Chapter 6

"Well if it isn't Kylie? Are you still feeling tough?" Nick commented snidely.

"Really, I'm sure that you're capable of not being a jerk. If you think you're strong and such a skilled fighter. How about wearing a blindfold and I promise I'll only use a finger to attack?" I smiled over sweetly.

"Just don't go crying. If I win, I get one night," he leered.

"Alright, if you win." I agreed with a shrug. He placed the blindfold over his eyes and five seconds later I'd paralysed him using pressure points having struck them with a finger as I'd stated earlier. I removed his blindfold and grinned. "You want another go?" I asked as I released his paralysis with a carefully practiced slam to the chest. Without wasting time he lunged at me while I was still close and I simply ducked and side stepped him. I had to give him a little fighting credit. At least his stance was good and so was the swing of his arm. He faked a right blow to my head and brought his leg up hoping to kick me. I stepped slightly further to the side and forward. At that moment I knew he didn't have total balance and with a firm prod to the head he fell backwards. Those who were closest stepped to stare.

"Valentine, have you had training before?" Guardian Jenson demanded with glee.

"Since I was born. I'm mainly a martial artist among other things." I shrugged. "Do you mind if I ask a favour?"

"Go ahead."

"Towards the end of the session, I want to spar with those three at the same time." I pointed at Dan and the twins. It was just my luck that they were in my class.

"Sure, can I ask why?"

"I have a personal debt to settle but I'll let them have as much warm up as they need."

"You want to spar all three at the same time?"

"It'll be quicker that way. Do they bruise easily?"

"They've grown tough over the years. They'll be fine." Guardian Jenson said with amusement lacing his tones at my confidence.

"Valentine, let's warm you up." Joe commanded gesturing for me to pair up with him. "That was nicely controlled," he complimented as he threw a punch towards me at a fast pace. "I thought you were going to beat the hell out of him."

"So long as I've damaged his ego and gotten my message across it's fine." I shrugged. "From the looks of things those three are much better fighters so I'll step up the game for that one."

"You be careful, the Dragomir twins are pretty good fighting paired up and can sometimes be unpredictable and Zeklos certainly has a few tricks up his sleeve."

"What did you call them?" I stared in shock as I blocked another attack.

"The Dragomir twins and Zeklos."

"They're fucking royals?" I hissed.

"Language."

"What made them decide to take combat class when they'll be assigned the best guardians?"

"Who knows but they're good so don't underestimate them."

"Alright thanks for the heads up."

"Why do you smell of delicious food?"

"I just cooked and ate in Home Economics."

"Ah, you good at cooking?"

"I'm not too shabby." I grinned. "If you go find Maria later I think there's some left in the classroom that she's saved for some people."

"I look forward to it. Fish isn't my favourite so I was going to eat plain pasta for lunch. But if there's stew on offer and you're still alive after eating it, I'll try some."

"Of course I'd still be alive!"

"Sorry but your parents were the worst cooks imaginable," he whispered.

"I suppose." I agreed. After an hour and a quarter of sparring with Joe, it was time for the fight against the three royals.

"So I take it you haven't forgiven us." Dan grimaced.

"Afraid not." I smiled. "I don't hold it against you for attacking me particularly but I'm a protective friend. Call me a bitch if you want but I would be doing my friends injustice if I didn't kick your asses."

"That's understandable." Quinn shrugged.

"We cocked up so now we fight." Jackson agreed as he flexed his shoulders.

"Strike a vital point and you're out." Guardian Jenson stated. "A clean fight people."

"Give me a moment." I asked and I placed the blindfold over my eyes. Nothing like giving myself a challenge. "Okay, whenever you guys are ready." I told them.

At first nothing happened but then I felt something to my right so I dropped and slipped under the arc of his arm. Swinging up I trailed along his back and struck his pressure point. From the position, I reckon I delayed his reaction time. Spinning around I punched his stomach, slammed my hand on his chest forcing the air from his lungs and threw him in the general direction of the crowd. One down two to go.

Suddenly I was thrown into the air and just as they were about to land a kick I grabbed their legs and propelled myself from harm. For around five minutes things were pretty tight with none of us able to land any critical strikes. Joe wasn't kidding when he said they were good. But even with their sync, they managed to leave several vulnerabilities. Taking the initiative I surged forward and threw one into the other. Then following my movement I used one of the twins as a propeller weapon and slammed him into his brother. The pair of them together protected each other well but I realised that defending solo was not their forte so all I had to do was separate them for long enough to attach and end the fight. I had to say that they kept the act up well covering most openings.

At the first chance I got I grabbed one by the arm and as the other moved to follow I jumped and kicked him away slamming my leg against his arms as he lifted them to protect his chest. Then I applied pressure to certain points of the twin I was still holding and went for his heart. Then the other twin lunged leaving his back completely open. I flipped over him, grabbed his shoulders as I timed my movements precisely and threw him to the ground before striking his heart as a signal for fatal point. He was out.

Then awareness surged when I sensed someone else join the fight. I rolled away just in time to avoid my hair being gripped. Instead the hand caught the blindfold and it fell away from my eyes. Spinning around I avoided the worst of Drew's tackle. The pair of us tumbled to the ground and I felt the air leave my lungs. Heaving upwards I threw him off and the two of us circled each other.

"So I guess you wanted a go." I blew at a lock of hair that fell into my face.

"Like I said before, I want to see what that body of yours can do." Drew grinned before faking a left. His strike had more speed and power behind it compared to others and I could tell I was going to have to step up my game a little more. I flexed my hands releasing some of the tension and simply waited. He suddenly held me in a headlock and slammed me to the ground. Come on Ivashkov, you know a way out of this headlock remember?

Pulling my hands back and past his shoulders I applied pressure on a certain point at the joint between the neck and the shoulders. Immediately his body responded with a spasm. I'd learned that pressure points were important even against Strigoi. It simply took repeated attacks and strength to make it work.

Curling my leg around his I flipped us over. We were up and standing again a moment later. Twirling I slammed my hand on a point on his back forcing him down to one knee, then using my fingers I located a sensitive spot behind one knee before applying pressure causing it to numb and buckle therefore becoming useless for the moment. He tried to grab me but I wrestled his hands away and slammed him to the floor. I struck his chest where his heart would be before he could react.

Our laboured breaths filled the silence of the room and pride surged when I noticed he was way more out of breath than I was. Hurray for me! Cheers erupted from the room and I removed myself from his body. "Hang on a sec and don't move for a moment." I warned him. I rolled him onto his back and struck a few points in a specific sequence.

"Wow, I can fell my limbs again." Drew smiled as he stood up.

"You're not that bad." I complimented. "I was under the impression that all Moroi sucked at fighting. Guess I was wrong. You guys too." I turned to the other three. "Do you want the painful way or the nice way of ridding the numbness?"

"Nice," the trio chimed. I stood behind them and repeated what I did to Drew.

"What about Nick?" Quinn asked.

"He already got the painful way. The shove in the chest got the nerves working again." I explained.

"It's hard to believe you're new here." Guardian Jenson commented. "I don't think I've see that skill before."

"It's a mixture of acupuncture, medical knowledge, understanding of the body and the nerves." I smiled. "Now I don't know about everyone else but I could so use some food."

"Alright, everyone dismissed!" the two guardians announced.

"Score! Food time!" I cheered. "Els let's go!"

"Boy did they work us hard." Els huffed.

"That wasn't that bad." I laughed.

"Oh don't worry it'll get worse. How the hell did you keep up with Drew Ozera? He's like the best out of all the novices. He even beats those in the year who are supposed to be graduating this year."

"Drew who?"

"Andrew-Blake Ozera." Wow I really should've known that. He was the kid who saw my escape all those years ago. Funny, I couldn't recall him ever being a serious fighter. He never paid attention in class or anything. Now that I thought back on it, there really weren't any other Moroi boys back then with hair like his. Glancing over my shoulder back at them, I noticed with a smile that his hair was still pretty much the same, perhaps a tiny bit longer but no drastic difference. In other words, it was as messy as it could get! I wonder what changed him to becoming a dedicated fighter. The skill he showed in that lesson spoke of thorough and highly intense training for years.

"Isn't Ozera like… one of the royal names?" I asked feigning ignorance.

"Yep, he's a royal alright." Els sighed dreamily. "So were the other three that you fought at the end. Daniel Zeklos, Jackson and Quinn Dragomir."

"Now that's a name I recognise! Weren't we talking about Lissa Dragomir in class or something?"

"Yep, the one who helped revive the knowledge of Spirit users." Els nodded. "I thought you were asleep."

"I can learn things even if I'm half asleep." I grinned.

"Impressive."

"Damn useful if you ask me."

"Els! Kai!" Roxy and Ingrid shouted.

"What's this about you beating Drew Ozera?" Roxy demanded practically shaking me by the shoulders.

"And Dan, Jackson and Quinn blindfolded!"

"Kai is quickly becoming the top fighter of the novices." Els beamed. "How did you get to be so fast anyway and how did you guys know?"

"There was a mass text." Roxy and Ingrid chimed.

"You really want to know how I got so fast?" I grinned. "I'll show you later when you come to collect me for dinner." I understood what Joe meant about the fish at lunch, it wasn't the nicest thing I've tasted at all. After that I had half an hour of break before my extra lesson. I took the weights down with me in my sports bag and I found him stretching as I walked in. "Here take the bag." I said holding it out. His eyes widened and his arms dropped a little at the weight of it.

"What the hell have you got in here?"

"Books." I rolled my eyes. "They're the weights I was talking about. I've been running with those ones for the past year. I'm about to move onto the next mass. I usually go up in fives or tens, it depends what I feel like doing. You can have those ones since I don't need them anymore."

"How do you pay for them? They can't be that cheap." I gave him a look at his stupid question. "Never mind, you have two jobs, one of which is well paid considering your popularity." Joe scoffed. "Reckon it'll take me a while to get used to these. Could you show me what you do?"

"Sure." I nodded. I strapped the weights to my ankles, wrists, shoulders and waist.

"Let's run a few laps to get you warmed up after lunch."

I shrugged and followed him. We made three laps around the field and he was impressed to see that I wasn't at all out of breath.

"No wonder you're so damn fast." Joe commented. "Your stew was amazing by the way. Maria is really impressed with you."

"She is?" I beamed. "She hasn't changed at all, still as motherly as ever. And is it possible that she's grown even more beautiful over the years?"

"Well, maybe it's because you've been away for so long?" Joe suggested.

"Maybe… There's definitely some logic to that." I grinned. "If we're going to spar today, you better hope you don't get hit because it'll hurt like hell in the morning."

"Oh I won't get hit." Joe said confidently causing my pride to twitch to rise up to the challenge and prove him wrong. To say I could get competitive would be an understatement. I felt challenged so easily I always ended up getting into fights. I'd been told far too many times that I was easily provoked.

After an hour we were both panting and out of breath. We were lying on the mats and staring at the ceiling to calm our breathing down. "Jesus girl did you magically improve over lunch break or something? How did you land so many hits? I'm going to have so many bruises."

"Back in class I wasn't planning on landing any more hits than necessary. I was only aiming for the fatal points and avoided hitting them in general. If I wanted to, I could've beaten them to a pulp to get the fatal point I reckon but I felt like giving myself that challenge. Using violence is easier than tactic but I wanted to improve my tactics. That was another reason why I decided to stay here instead of throwing too big of a fuss." I panted. "Dude I hurt."

"So do I. I reckon I'm hurt more than you are," he laughed.

"And I have learning to do for Brooks." I groaned. "I hate vampire 101!"

"But you need it to graduate."

"I used to think European history was boring. Vampire history is even worse."

"I take it that's what Mark is teaching at the moment."

"Yeah." I nodded. "And Joey, if it isn't too much to ask, can you not mention graduation again for at least another year? I mean, it isn't for another two years so…"

"It's alright. I get it little Kai. I'll stop mentioning it. It's been getting under your skin right?" Joe asked softly.

"Just a little. I mean, it's not the promise mark that saves lives, it's the strength and skill the person possesses. How is knowing the history of the vampire community going to help?"

"It's all to do with learning about their successes and failures. Not everyone gets mentioned Kai and while it may seem boring, these people and events were mentioned because it's significant in some way. It stops people from making the same mistakes. Things which have been especially recorded have value and therefore shouldn't be lost through time. It's like the element of Spirit. Because the number of Spirit users diminished, the element became a fairytale, a legend rather than a true possibility. These people are recorded because they've done incredible things whether they be wicked or good. History can sometimes help improve the world and our society. It may be a boring process to learn it but it is valuable in the end." Joe explained.

"Wow… that was one hell of an impressive speech." I marvelled. "But I do understand your point and I suppose you're right. If a horrendous error was made a long time ago and knowledge of it was lost, it would be likely for people to repeat the same mistake."

"So as horrendous and tedious as the lessons may be, it is useful to learn it. It definitely wouldn't hurt."

"Well it will if I end up arguing with Brooks but it will benefit me in the end." I accepted. "Maybe I'll be a good student for once and actually read what the teacher says."

"Don't you normally?"

"Of course not! Don't joke. I just cram the information in five minutes before by asking the geeks of the school or the smart people." I said with a horrified expression. "Me? Reading text books? I don't think so. Things just fly right over my head Joey."

"Wow, somehow I'm not surprised."

"Hey, I'm a teenager, cut me some slack. I can fight well, that's good enough for me."

"What about strategies?"

"Solo wise I'm good but I've never commanded a team for an attack for anything. I can do sports strategies though. I can normally work out the weaknesses of my opponent pretty quickly too."

"In a fight that's always useful."

"It's extremely handy in anything really." I shrugged.

"So if you have a specialty with locating weaknesses, what're mine?"

"Although you anticipate well, your body's commands are a little slower than your brain. Your right arm isn't as strong as your left and there's a fraction of delay between each attack even if you managed to plot an onslaught of attacks. Also, the worst thing is your eyes. As much as I love their green colour, they give away everything. You fake brilliantly with your body but you have small habits that give things away." I listed as I analysed the fight in my mind. "Oh and you're not very good at moving your hips and making small bends or tilts to avoid an attack. Some of the attacks I made, you moved more than you really needed to and those are the things I managed to gather from that one fight. Have you never learned to lie with the eyes? To deceive someone?"

"You managed to find out all of that in one fight? Bloody hell Kai how did you become so observant?"

"By being an anti-social but still keeping up with things as a kid and living on my own since the incident and working with crowds." I grinned. "So did I get them right?"

"I didn't even know about a couple of them. I'll have to ask Crispin about that and see if he noticed?"

"Who's Crispin?"

"That's Guardian Jenson. He transferred here two years ago." Joe informed me.

"Are there a lot of new guardians here?"

"No."

"Please tell me that Jules is still the head of the guardians here."

"She is and I'm sure you'll be pleased to know Rosette is still the nurse and over seer of the infirmary." Joe grinned.

"Pfft, I shouldn't be going in that direction nearly as often as I used to."

"I remember you having your own room," he teased.

"What can I say? I've been trained to the max pretty much since I was born." I shrugged.

"That is so true." Joe laughed. "So what are you reading up on?"

"Who knows?" I shrugged. "I only know it's chapters one and two."

"Straight from the beginning huh?"

"Unfortunately." I sighed. "So since we're obviously done, can I go?"

"No, I want to fight you without the weights; I want to see the difference."

"Well since I'm leaving them here fine. We'd better be quick though. I told the others to come find me here before dinner." I told him.

"Let's see how you do then." Joe nodded. I slipped off the weights and flexed my shoulders. After half an hour Joe was decked on the floor for the fifth time and I was leaning over him with concern. "Wow those weights really are something and you're not even giving your all into this fight. Maybe I should get Crispin to join our training sessions. As a solo and team fighter you're good but with both Crispin and I attacking and training you, we're bound to stretch your skills and push you to the limit."

"Okay, that's fine. Judging from his stares from the lesson earlier, I think he'd like that." Then I turned around and stared at the doors of the gym. "And guys you don't have to hide." I laughed.