Chapter 6: Learning to Fight Again

I sat behind a large tree, panting. My eyes were closed. I didn't want to face the scene around me. I still had the eery image etched into my mind. There was no way I would be able to forget about this haunted forest. The tall, misshaped trees with drooping branches and wilted leaves. The swamp-like ground that squishes beneath my feet whenever I try to run.

My eyes opened and I started to stand up. I needed to continue moving, if I want to get out of here safely and without getting caught by the crazy creature that was fooling with me. I was never sure where it was because I could barely see anything in front of me and it never showed its face. That was all thanks to the lack of lighting. I began at a jogging pace, trying my best to keep going. I was getting tired and I was also worried that I would fall and get stuck in a pile of mud. Carefully weaving around the trees, I kept a sharp watch for any sign of the mysterious creature. That was the last thing that I wanted to run into.

Who wants to play hide and seek? There was the voice of that creature again. The way it sounded reminded me of the disturbing sound you hear in horror movies of a young child possessed by some demon. The chilling sound sent tears down my face. Who's hiding in the dark? Come out, Come out, where ever you are.

My jogging turned into a run. I was now running as fast as I could now, trying my best to move away from the voice. There was no way, in any circumstance, that I wanted to play any games with them. I didn't like the sound of it at all, especially acknowledging the fact that I had no clue what they meant. I was sure though, that it wasn't the friendly kind of hide and seek that I use to play when I was younger. My body continued pushing forward despite how jittery I was.

Let's play hide and seek. This time I stopped dead in my tracks. The voice was much closer to me this time around. It was as if they were standing directly behind me now. I turned around to where the voice was coming from. Who's hiding in the dark? I was right about it standing behind me. With my eyes wide open, I let out a huge scream.

It was just another nightmare. It was no surprise to me that I was having a nightmare because they have been the normal for the last couple week. It was a bit strange, but I was starting to become accustomed to having them. I sat their trying to regain my breathe. Just as my breathing was going back to normal, I was startled once again by yet another voice. I wasn't at all sure if I would ever get some peace for a change. It would be nice to relax once in a while.

"Are you alright?" Ezio's voice came from behind the door as it slowly crept open.

"Shit. You have to stop scaring me. It was just another nightmare. I'm fine."

"Well now that you're up, perhaps you should get dressed and we can start today's work?"

"Alright, I guess. I'll be there in 10."

"Meet you out back when you're ready then."

"Okay"

It had been a few weeks since I have been release from the infirmary and Al Mualim thought that it would be a good idea for me to get some extra training. It was to help regain my muscle strength and control after not being able to use it for a while due to my injury. A muscle only remains in good condition if it is being used and it obviously wasn't during that time period. Ezio volunteered to be that tutor. I'm not a hundred percent sure as to why he would, but I wasn't complaining. It also meant that I didn't have to make an outing to go to the extra training because he lived in the same place that I did.

I simple put on a comfortable outfit that wasn't too fancy. I wasn't going to class or anything so their was no need for the robes. All that was needed was something that I could easily move in, but still look half decent. There was no way that I was going to go out their with Ezio, looking like a mess. That was the last thing on my list right now. I quickly made my way down to the back of the building, where there was a clearing. It was a perfect place to practice because of the profuse amount of space and also the fact that it was a fairly quiet place where there was little chance of us getting interrupted. I stood there in the middle of the field waiting for his arrival. I didn't think that it would take him this long to get out here. I mean he didn't have to change outfits or do something else first so he should be out here by now, shouldn't he?

"Are you ready for today's practice?" Ezio asked as he slowly came up behind me.

"Maledizione! Ezio, really? You scared the shit out of me again."

"I'm sorry, but I can't help it that you've been easily scared as of late."

"It's fine. Hopefully it goes away soon."

"Yeah. It would be best."

"Agreed. Let's not worry about that though and let's get started."

"Alright. Then let's start working on those non-existent muscles of yours."

"I might not have as much muscle definition as you, but I do have some you know."

He was clearly taunting me. Trying to get me all riled up for the practice fight that was about to happen. He was clever because it was working. I pushed my eyebrows together and playfully glared at him. I held the blade with my weakened arm with as tight a grip as I could, though it was probably a bit weak. I made a quick lung, swinging the blade with all my strength. It was expected that Ezio easily deflected the attack. I wouldn't be able to do it when I was in good condition let alone now. I flew back slightly from the force he put into the deflection. I took a step back to destabilize my balance. That didn't help much because it ended up being on a sharp rock. I fell backwards and onto the ground. Ezio let out a laugh and sauntered over in my direction. I could just imagine what he was going to do next.

"Is that all you can do?" he leaned over me. "Surely you weren't that terrible before the injury."

He held out his hand, offering to help me back up. I knew his tricks and he was simply tricking me into a trap. I couldn't take hold of his hand. I swatted it away. "I can manage to get up myself. I'll call on you when I can't, which will be never." I jumped back on my feet and without warning took another swing at Ezio. He calmly made a leap back as if he was a cat. It amazed me, but I tried hard not to let his grace distract me from what I was here for. We stood there in silence for a moment. I was trying to predict what his next move would be, while I'm sure he was plotting his.

"You know what. This fight is so unfair. How am I suppose to get any better by fighting with you if it means I'm always failing. That leads me to hardly learn anything."

"Oh just give it another try. We'll see how far you can get."

"Yeah. Not very far."

"You'd be surprised. Don't give up so easily."

"If you say so. I'm not going to argue with you."

I went back to the hold onto by sword. I had an idea in the back of my head. It was worth a shot to try and use it in order to have a chance at getting back at Ezio. I couldn't see how it would hurt because even if he still ended up winning, I would at least know to try something else and we would have to have yet another fight. That wasn't such a bad thing. It was my own turn to take the upper hand in this fight. "Are you ready, Mr. Ezio Auditore?" A slight smile appeared onto my face.

"I guess if you're ready, I'm ready too."

"Then make your move."

He sprang into the air towards me, not taking his eyes off of me. As fast as I could, I took my grip off of my sword so I could tuck and roll out of the way. Without any hesitation, I popped back up onto my feet and swung around to face his direction. He was already facing me. He was faster than I had realized and that was going to require a little more effort on my part, but it was manageable.

"See. You're getting better at this."

"Maybe you're just going to easy on me."

"If you really want me to be a little more harsh, don't tell me that I didn't warn you."

"I'm fine with that. Just give it a try. I'm daring you."

I ran straight forward, looking at him in front of me. If he wasn't going to go easy on me, then there was no way that I would be going easy on him. As per my prediction, Ezio blocked me by raising his sword up in front of himself. My sword quickly came out as well to clash against his. It didn't take me long before I swung my right leg at his side to try and weaken him. He slid his lower body out of the way as his upper body remain relatively still. I could tell that he was laughing under his breathe, but he had no idea as to what the rest of my plan was. I was just starting to warm myself up.

I let my leg drop back down and I placed it on the ground beside him. I made sure that it was firmly placed on the ground before I pivoted around so I was now behind him. I dropped my sword on the ground so I could have both of my hands free as I did so. I hooked my right arm around his neck as the other grabbed hold of his left shoulder. I pretended to engage my hidden blade on him. I had successfully won the battle and I enjoyed the fact the he probably didn't think that I was capable of doing much of anything. I was happy to prove him wrong.

"I win."

"I can see that you have. You caught me slightly off guard and I'm impressed."

"I'm not all idiot up there you know?"

"I never said you were stupid."

"I'm just making sure." I gave a sigh looked up at Ezio who was turning around to face me once gain. It was made clear by his expression that there wasn't going to be any more training for today. "Does this mean that I can go to the grocery store now? I need to pick up a few things."

"Alright, I'll let you have your way. Go to the store, but you'll have to try not to get caught by me."

"What?"

"I'll give you a small start before I start chasing you. If you can make it to the store without me catching you along the way you can do your shopping."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"What if you catch me?"

"Well then you will find out when it comes to that."

"Great."

"So are you in for the deal?"

"Fine."

"Then we'll start now."

Even better. I was still a bit exhausted from the fight and now I have to go do this task. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I might as well try and get it over with. I began to jog towards the street before calmly walking along with the crowd. I thought that this would the best thing to do until I could think of some plan. Knowing Ezio, he knew this was going to happen all along and he already had everything plotted out on his end.

I rounded the corner and began walking along an alleyway. It was just my luck because I spotted a pile of fabric by an open door. That would be perfect to try and hide myself. He already knew what I was wearing, so this would at least cover that up for a little bit. I grabbed the light blue one and draped it over myself. I continued walking until I got to the other side of the alley. I then walked a short distance to a nearby bench. I sat there with my head down, both trying to catch my breathe and thinking of what the best way to get to the store would be.

I sat there pondering for a moment or two. As I was doing so, a villager sat down beside me. I ignored them because I had better things to think about. Their hand reached out and placed it on the top of my thigh. It was strange, so I looked up to see what they were thinking. It suddenly hit me when I saw that it was Ezio who was sitting there. I knew that a surprised look came across my face when he smiled back at me. I gasp managed to escape my lips.

"I caught you." I stood up rapidly and let the fabric drop to the ground. Ezio followed the same path and looked down upon me. I took a step away from him. "There's no point. You have already lost."

"You might have seen me here, but you haven't actually captured me yet."

I turned around and started to run, but Ezio already had a hold onto my wrist. I tried to tug myself way, but he just tightened his grip. It wasn't long before I stopped and I just stood their facing the opposite direction. I didn't want to admit my defeat against him. He tugged at my arm, but I remained looking away. He then tugged a bit hard to pull me in towards him. We looked at each other for a quick moment before he turned around and walked into the the alley that I just came out of a while ago. I was pinned against the wall.

"Please."

"I thought that you liked me."

"I do... It's just."

"Just what?"

"I don't want to rush things. I hope you understand."

"If it makes you happy, then I will wait until you are ready."

Ezio took one of my hands and lightly kissed it. Before he ran off he whispered "I hope you have a good afternoon then." He climbed to the roof behind me and he was gone, just like that. It pained me to say it and I wasn't entirely sure why I did say no to him. Perhaps it was because I was nervous about it and was scared to mess things up with him. The last boyfriend that I have ever had was back in grade four and you can hardly call that a boyfriend.

I decided that I didn't need to go to the grocery store any more and just went right back home. I could always go another time. There was no rush. I entered the apartment to hear the sound of the radio and the coffee machine going. I wandered my way into the kitchen to investigate the situation.

"Finally! You came home. I really needed someone to talk to besides cranky pants Malik. He's been so grumpy ever since he came home."

"What is he complaining about?"

"Oh. Just about everything. I don't blame him though. I would be too if I got my arm chopped off."

"True enough."

"I hope that this stage doesn't last for long, especially when he has to come back to class with us. I don't know if I would be able to stand him all the time like that."

"It should pass once he realizes that nothings going to change and he might as well get use to it."

"Maybe. You never really know. I was going to get him some coffee. Hopefully that does something beneficial. Perhaps he'll unlock himself from his room."

"Well I hope it helps. I'll be in my room if you'll need me"

"Alright. If I need you I will come and find you."

I walked over to where my room was and laid back onto my bed. I had a lot to think about because for some reason, there was a lot more drama and crap going on lately. It was strange, but by the looks of things, I had better get use to it all. I knew that there was way more of it to go.

OoOoOoO

Yet another chapter up! I spent so long on this. I actually stayed up most of the night because I really wanted to finish this chapter. Now that this is done I have to start planning the next few chapters because I'm not really sure what I want to put in them and order of events.

I also enjoy reading everyones comments and suggestion. I'm wrote them down on my idea paper and I'll try to fit them in somewhere in the next little bit.