Disclaimer: I own nothing that isn't mine.

Chapter Five

Scorpion sat on the floor against the desk in Tori's room. He hadn't seen her all day because she'd been in school, though he didn't mind that much. It was bad enough he had to train the brat. He didn't want to spend all his free time around her too. Why did Raiden even waste his time with these children? Scorpion could have gladly gotten rid of both sorcerers himself. It would've been better than relying on a weak young girl. Hearing the door open, Scorpion looked up to see Tori walk in. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt and a pair of running shorts. She looked over at him.

"I see you've decided to grace me with your presence," she said before sitting on the bed and putting on her shoes. Scorpion didn't answer. Ignoring his silence she went on.

"So when are you gonna start training me?"

"Next week," came the short reply. She had already told him this was her last week of school before she got out on summer break. That gave him a week of freedom before he had to train her. Looking up, he saw her giving him a faint smile.

"What?"

"You don't want to train me, do you," she asked.

"Look girl, I'm only training you because Raiden told me to. I don't want to be around you any more than I have to." Tori's eyes narrowed and she got up and walked to the door.

"Where do you think you're going," Scorpion asked as he stood up.

"I am going to go exercise. You are going to stay here," she said in a cold voice. Scorpion was about to say something in return but she cut him off.

"Don't worry. Nothing should attack me, though you probably wouldn't care if it did." Opening the door, she walked out and violently shut it behind her. Scorpion stood there a moment. He had figured she'd start crying or something. He didn't expect her to get mad. What she said echoed in his head. He actually did care if something happened to her. Raiden had promised a fate worse than being undead if anything had happened to her, and though he couldn't think of anything worse than the way he was right now, Scorpion didn't want to find out what the thunder god had meant. Instead of going after her, however, Scorpion sat back down. The girl thought she could handle herself. He would just wait until she figured out that she actually did need his help.

Tori made her third lap around the track. Her earlier anger had subsided and to her surprise she felt somewhat sad. True, Scorpion was her favorite character, but that didn't make him any nicer. She shuddered to think of her upcoming training sessions with him. He'd probably have her doing a hundred push-ups each day or something. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but she didn't think she would be able to do that and live through it. When she was done walking she started back to the gate that led out of the football stadium. The school usually kept one of the gates open so people could walk the track during the summer or after school. As she was walking by the home stands she noticed a man standing by the fence. Her guard rose. He looked normal enough in a t-shirt and jeans, but she was still suspicious.

"Hello," he called out in a friendly voice when she was within hearing range.

"Hi," she said in a quiet voice. She was shy around people she didn't know, and she wasn't exactly the social type either.

"I came here to walk for a bit but I didn't want to disturb you," the man said. He had bright hazel eyes and light brown hair.

"Oh, well that's okay. I'm done now," Tori said. The man smiled at her.

"Well I guess you have things to do still. It was nice meeting you. My name's Chris."

"I'm Tori," she said. Turning, she started towards the gate again.

"Oh, Tori! I forgot to tell you something."

"What is it?" She turned back around and suddenly found his hand clamped around her throat.

"Die," he said in a casual tone. Tori tried to pry his hand from around her neck but he was too strong. His grip tightened around her throat and she gasped as more of her air was cut off. Black spots started to cloud her vision. There was no one to save her this time.

"GET OVER HERE!" The man's body jerked backwards and he let go of Tori, who fell to the ground. She watched in a daze as the man was run through with Scorpion's sword. As with the previous people, the body disappeared before it touched the ground. She looked up and locked eyes with Scorpion before falling forward. Running over, he grabbed her by the shoulders before she could hit the ground.

"Hey! Look at me," he said to her in a calming voice. "Don't faint on me okay." He finally got her breathing normally again and he sat there, holding her up while she got over her initial shock of almost being choked to death. He didn't know how long he sat there with her, but she eventually told him she was well enough to drive home. He walked behind her to her truck, just in case she fainted. Once in her truck, Tori gripped the steering wheel to try and stop her hands from shaking. Looking over, she saw Scorpion sitting in the passenger seat watching her. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled before asking, "How did you know I was in trouble?"

"It's just something all three of us can do. If I want to, I can appear anywhere you are. Look." Tori looked down to find the key chain of Scorpion clipped to her key ring along with her keys.

"The teacher is bound to the student. That's what Raiden said."

"But why did you save me? If you can't stand being around me why didn't you let him kill me," Tori asked.

"Because Raiden promised a fate worse than being undead if anything happens to you." He paused. "But now do you understand that it's vital for you to have me nearby?" Tori nodded before starting up the truck and heading home. It was weird. Scorpion was being nice to her in a mean way, if that was possible. She sighed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Author's note: Enjoy! My friend almost died laughing when she read this chapter because of the 'die' part.