Chapter 81

The first disc hit Elena the moment she came through the door. She yelped, falling back against the wall as the electricity coursed through her, and she barely had time to force air into her lungs before she caught the second disc coming at her out of the corner of her eye and threw herself to the left just in time to avoid it. "What…?" she ducked as the third narrowly missed her head, and then pushed away from the wall as Tseng continued to hurl them at her. Elena moved instinctively now, pleased with how easily she was avoiding the discs. It seemed as if Reno's bizarre little training sessions were proving useful in a way that would help her impress her boss.

Grinning a little, Elena continued to duck and weave, feeling graceful in her evasions. She was not prepared when Tseng flung two discs at her at once, catching her wrongfooted and then she overbalanced when the next hit her in the shoulder. Elena's vision went black and she shrieked when the disc delivered its shock and then she found herself on her back on the training mat, Tseng bending over her. "…Ow." She groaned, trying to sit up.

"That hurt, did it?" Tseng asked, pushing her back down onto the mat with his foot on her shoulder. Elena drew a hesitant breath, her eyes on his face. She'd figured that he would be pissed off, but she wasn't sure just how pissed off he actually was. She raised a hand, wrapping it around his ankle in case he decided to press harder on her, and she frowned.

"You know what those feel like, I'm sure."

"You think I've ever been hit by one?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her and, for a moment, Elena did wonder.

"Yes."

Tseng nodded and lifted his foot from her shoulder, allowing Elena to sit up. The discs that had hit her lay on the floor nearby, and Elena flicked them away before looking back up at her boss. "You're angry."

He raised both eyebrows at her this time. "Angry?" he asked, "Yes."

Elena got to her feet, brushing herself down to avoid meeting his eyes for a few moments. "Well… I'm sorry."

"You're sorry."

"That you're angry."

"Not that you did it?"

Elena looked up then. "Did what?" she asked, "Insisted that I was the right choice for this mission? I am. If you want it to succeed, then I'm the best choice. I'm not sorry for that." She watched the temper move behind Tseng's eyes. "Why don't you trust me?"

"That is not the issue, Elena."

"It is." she replied, trying not to clench her teeth. "If I was Reno or Rude, you wouldn't hesitate in letting me do it… but I'm me." She stared at him for a moment. "And you don't think I can do it."

"Elena…" Tseng's eyes narrowed slightly, "I don't doubt your abilities…"

"If you didn't there wouldn't be an issue!" she couldn't help raising her voice a little and Tseng shook his head.

"Elena…" He sighed, and she could hear the irritation in his voice, "I know that you're capable!"

"Then what is it?"

"I…" he ran a hand through his hair, and then sighed again. "I want to see how good you are."

"You just said you don't doubt my abilities."

"I don't. I know you're good. Now I want you to show me."

"Was that what that was all about?" she kicked a foot at a nearby disc. "You want to test me?"

Tseng shrugged out of his jacket and moved to set it by the wall and Elena gave a huff before doing the same. She trained with Tseng all the time. He knew exactly what she could do, so she didn't see why she had to prove it to him now.

By the time Elena had turned back around, Tseng was waiting for her in the middle of the mat. She flung herself at him, not wanting to wait a moment more to prove to him that she was just as good as any of the others, and not wanting to give him a chance to prepare himself further. It made no difference; Tseng dodged her with what appeared to be little to no effort, grabbing her wrist and twisting her arm in a way that resulted in Elena on her back on the mat.

She was on her feet in an instant, her blood pounding in her veins hard enough that Elena could feel each beat of her heart. Before Tseng could say anything, she leaped at him again. This time, she didn't give him a chance to grab her, but kept moving after every swing she took at him. Tseng evaded or blocked every one of them, but Elena was pleased that he was forced to keep retreating as she advanced. She felt sweat prickle her skin under her arms and across her back and pushed herself harder, giving a grunt of satisfaction when Tseng was forced to step back off of the mat. He went no further, however, and a second later he'd yanked her off balance and slipped past her back into the centre of the mat.

Elena spun to face him, and they continued in a series of back and forth movements while she grew more and more frustrated that she couldn't get the upper hand over him. Tseng always seemed able to anticipate her moves, reacting seemingly before she'd even thought about the move let alone made it, and Elena bared her teeth as she tried to be more unpredictable. She could feel the burn now, in her legs and arms and she wondered if Tseng felt anything at all because he didn't seem to be fading or slowing down in the slightest.

Panting with her effort, Elena found it difficult to maintain her energetic footwork. She knew that she was getting slower and, when Tseng began moving around her, she knew that he was doing it because he could and he wanted to show her that he could. Taking a leaf from his book, Elena yanked Tseng forward and kicked him behind the knee sending him down on one leg before she struck him hard across the face. She was then more than a little surprised when he managed to grab hold of her and drag her down onto the mat, pinning her before she had a chance to break free of his hold.

"Well…" she muttered, staring up at him while he held her with a hand at her throat. "guess you proved your point."

"And what was my point?"

"That I suck."

"That was never my point, Elena." He said gently, "Nor is it my opinion." He removed his hand from her throat and she sat up.

"Didn't pass your test though, did I?"

"It wasn't a test." He replied, "You know I think your hand-to-hand is remarkable. It always has been."

"Then I don't understand." She said, "Why didn't you want to send me?"

Tseng's hand stroked down Elena's hair and her breath caught in her throat. "You really don't understand?" he asked. She blinked at him.

It wasn't possible that Tseng was hesitant to send her on dangerous missions because they were fucking now. He was far too professional for that. If anyone was able to keep work separate from everything else it was Tseng. She watched him, and she could practically see him wrestling with something in his mind. His hand stroked her hair again. "If something happened to you… again…"

Elena frowned, not sure what to make of that. If he thought that he could pick and choose what she was allowed to do for ShinRa just because she was sleeping with him, he had another thing coming. She had worked her whole life for this job, and she was damn well going to do it.

"Tseng…" she said, trying to sound stern. "I'm a Turk."

"…Yes."

"I need to do my job." She looked at him, "It's all I've ever wanted."

He nodded, his hand dropping from her hair to her shoulder. "I know."

"Are… you going to try and stop me?" Elena's eyes flicked back and forth across Tseng's face, trying to read his neutral expression, "Because you're worried about me…?"

"I can see that would be a fool's errand…" He replied, "as you're willing to backchat me in front of the President."

"Sorry…" she bit her lip, "I didn't mean to be… insubordinate."

"I am worried about you." He told her, "But… I wont do you the disservice of trying to restrict you again…" Elena shivered as Tseng's hand moved down her arm, "We'll just have to ensure you are as prepared as you can be…"

Elena nodded, unable to take her eyes from Tseng's face. When had this happened? "Think I'm worn out tonight, though…" she could still feel the muscles in her legs burning and hoped that she wouldn't be too sore tomorrow morning.

"Not too worn out, I hope…"