Chapter Six: CQB-HTH

Sig

Social Welfare Agency, Undisclosed Location, Italy

Round 1

"Let's go, Sig," Henrietta said. Sig nodded in reply and the two girls exited their rooms. Henrietta was not wearing her usual grey dress and coat. Rather, she was wearing an above-the-knee cycling shorts and a quite loose white shirt. Sig on the other hand wore the clothes Jean left her: jogging pants and a red knitted sweatshirt. Jeez, who would want to wear this boyish clothes That Jean has no taste, Sig complained.

The two reached the Agency's running field. Already there were the other Handlers and girls sans Claes.

"So this is the exchange trainee?" asked Hirscher.

"Yeah. Let me do the introductions," replied Jean, "Everyone, this is Sig. Sig, these are the Handlers and their girls: Giuse—he's Henrietta's Handler, Marco and Angelica, and Hirscher and Triela." The Handlers just gave Sig a nod except Giuse who gave her a smile. Sig blushed. Henrietta noticed this and immediately a sense of jealousy started building inside her.

"Please to meet you, Sig," Triela smiled, "I hope you'll enjoy your stay here. As a house-warming, we can have tea and snacks later. Right, Hirscher?" Her handler just gave her a look which said Well, what could we do.

"Hi, Sig. Let's do our best," Angelica smiled.

"Hai!" Sig smiled in return. It's good that they're all friendly, Sig thought.

"Okay. Enough. Let's begin the training," Jean interrupted. "Let's have a warm-up first. Give me ten laps around the field."

"Sir, yes, sir!" the girls replied. Sig's eyes grew wide. The field was around 500 meters. This guy is crazy, ten laps! But she didn't complain. Orders are orders and she knew that. They started running then.

Just after three laps, Sig stopped and started panting. Jean approached her. "What's wrong?"

"*huff*…*huff*…ten laps…it's too much…I'm tired. Can I have a break?"

"You only have a break when I say so. You only had three laps and you're already tired. Ten laps is the standard here. What kind of training do they give you anyway? Get back on your feet and run!"

This time, Sig can't contain herself anymore. "For your information I am a gun. And you're so crazy and mean as an instructor!" She nevertheless stood up and ran again.

"Just you try that again and you'll pay for it!" Jean shouted heatedly.

The other Handlers chuckled. "Looks like you got yourself a tough nut, Jean. Too bad you can't condition her," Giuse said.

Round 2

"Now that warm up's over, let's begin training," this time it was Marco who was instructing.

What?! You had me run ten laps and do push-ups and sit-ups and all that stuff and that is just 'warm up'! Sig screamed in her mind.

"CQB and HTH are as important as gun skills—" Marco continued but was interrupted by Sig.

"Excuse me, what is CQB and HTH?"

"Close quarters battle and hand to hand combat, Sig. It's fighting within a short range or confined spaces with or without weapons. Usually you just use a knife or your bare hands," Marco explained not hiding his amusement that Sig does not even know what CQB or HTH is. "As I was saying, CQB and HTH are vital. You don't always fight with guns. You cannot rely on your piece always. You have to learn to use your hands or any object around you to fight,

"Today, you'll just practice what you've learned last time: blocking and counter-attacking. Also, you'll do knife-fighting. Now I want you to break up in pairs. Henrietta and Sig you go together and Giuse will supervise you. I will handle Angelica and Triela."

The girls then broke in pairs with their assigned Handlers. Sig and Henrietta faced each other.

"Henrietta. Sig is just a starter. So be nice to her," Giuse said with a smile. Henrietta blushed and nodded. "Now 'Etta, attack her. Sig, try to block and give a counter-attack to Henrietta. Both of you, take it easy. We don't want anyone to get hurt."

After some moments, Giuse said, "Begin!"

Henrietta aimed a punch at Sig's solar plexus. Shocked, Sig stepped backward, lost her balance and fell. Giuse caught her in time and stood her up. Sig blushed. "Sorry. I really don't know about this CQB and HTH."

"It's okay," Giuse said with a warm smile. "Here, let me teach you a couple of moves. Since you're just a beginner, it's more important to learn to defend yourself." That Giuse did, holding Sig gently by her hand and arms and correcting her body posture. Sig blushed all the time. Henrietta's jealousy began building up.

On the second round of sparring, Giuse instructed the two to do it in slow motion so that Sig can master the moves. Giuse also gave Henrietta and order "not to use her full potential." By the third round, Sig can defend herself and block most attacks.

"Now it's about time you learn how to defend yourself from a knife attack. Again, since you're a beginner, the focus is on defending yourself and disarming your enemy so that you can run,

"Remember Sig: running is not a weakness. It's better than getting yourself killed. Remember also to trust your instincts—they are attuned to preserving your life."

After the lecture, Giuse again taught Sig. Holding her hands more frequently. Giuse also held her legs and body as he taught her how to kick.

Oh no, is this what Funko's "hammer problem" feels like? Sir Giuse is so gentle and kind, Sig thought and got distracted resulting in her falling again. Giuse caught her again. "You got distracted Sig. Always keep your concentration. If this knife was real, you'd be dead already," Giuse lectured but still with a smile. All the time Henrietta watched, her jealousy brooding. Her face was starting to twitch in irritation.

It was now time for a knife-sparring. Henrietta was the attacker and held a wooden knife while Sig was the blocker and readied herself.

"Begin!"

Henrietta's face grimaced in hatred. She did not aim at the shoulders or a non-lethal area but at her throat. Sig panicked when she saw Henrietta's fierceness. Instinct instructed her to go down and hit Henrietta's knees. That she did but the cyborg was much faster. When Sig knelt, Henrietta kicked her by the chin sending her pummeling to the ground. Henrietta put her left knee in Sig's chest and her left hand clasped her neck. Her right hand which was holding the knife was about to strike her in the eyes.

"Yamero!" Sig cried, "you're killing me! Tasukete kudasai!"

Giuse came just in time, grabbing Henrietta's hand and pulling her upward. Immediately Henrietta calmed down. After that, he tended to Sig, "Sig! Are you okay? Jean, Marco!"

"Yeah…thanks…" Sig said amidst panting. The two Handlers came as well as Triela and Angelica.

"Jean, take Sig to Dr. Bianchi at the Infirmary, I'll attend to 'Etta. Marco, could you take care of the other things?" Giuse asked.

"No problem Giuse," Marco replied. Jean was already assisting Sig towards the Infirmary.

Giuse led Henrietta away from the others. When they were far enough, Giuse talked to her. "'Etta, what was it back there? Why did you lose control of your emotions?"

Henrietta blushed and she stuttered while replying, "Uhm…I got jealous because she was taking you away from me…"

"Just that? I was just training her 'Etta. And even if she liked me, you'll always be my partner," Giuse hugged 'Etta.

"I'm so sorry, Giuse," Henrietta sobbed and choked; she hated it when Giuse was disappointed with her.

"Don't tell that to me. Apologize to Sig and be a good friend to her. And don't ever repeat that again. That way, I'll overlook this. Promise me you'll say sorry to her 'Etta."

"Yes, Giuse," Henrietta replied while sobbing.

Meanwhile at the Infirmary

Sig lied in the bed. Dr. Bianchi was examining her while holding the manual that the Japanese Teacher handed to Chief Lorenzo.

"How's he, doc?" Jean asked.

"She's fine. Luckily, there's nothing broken; only a couple of bruises. Nothing that will significantly reduce the performance of her gun as the manual says. It might take a while for her to get totally okay though."

"Good."

"Uhm…could anybody explain why 'Etta got berserk?" Sig asked.

It was Dr. Bianchi who replied. "From what Jean told me, it's a mere case of jealousy. Giuse was training you and that roughed up 'Etta's attitude. You see, the girls are 'conditioned' to be loyal to their Handlers; a side effect may be having an obsessive liking to their Handlers, seeing what happened between you and Giuse as a threat to their relationship—"

"But it's not like I was getting Sir Giuse!"

"I know. It's not about you. It's about them. Anyway, Giuse knows 'Etta well. He'll talk to her and sort things out. When Giuse talks to her, you have the assurance it won't happen again."

Later that night

Triela, Angelica, and Claes visited Sig at the Infirmary. Sig and Claes were well acquainted already. Claes even bought Sig some books about CQB, HTH, and guns of the world.

"You'll stress her out with those books Claes!" Triela laughed.

"No, no! I love reading and these books are just great!" Sig said.

As they were conversing, 'Etta entered the room. She had with her flowers. She approached Sig and gave her the flowers as well as a hug.

"I'm sorry, Sig. I just…lost control of my emotions…" Henrietta cried.

"That's alright 'Etta," Sig smiled and added with a laugh, "and don't worry, Giuse is all yours." Henrietta looked up and beamed.

"I guess Sig is not yet that well to have that tea party," Angelica said.

"About that Ange'…" began Henrietta. "I asked Giuse if we could have it here as a welcome and apology for Sig."

"And what did your lovey-dovey Handler say?" Triela teased.

"He immediately talked to the others and to Dr. Bianchi and they said it's fine," Henrietta beamed widely.

"Good! Let's give Sig a tea party à la Triela et Henrietta style!" Triela exclaimed.

Rico

Seishou Academy, Undisclosed Location, Japan

Recess Time

Rico, Elle, Sixteen and Funko were eating their recess. Actually, Funko and her friends were just sharing their food since Rico was not able to prepare any food since it is her first day.

"Arigatou for the food," Rico said with a smile.

"No problem Rico. If there's anything you need, just ask, okay? Funko replied.

"Hai!"

"Say," this time it was Sixteen who spoke, "'Rico' is a boy's name and you were wearing boy's clothes on your first day. Are you sure you're a girl?"

"Hai, Sixteen! You see…" then Rico told them about how Jean picked her name and her life in the Agency except of course about the killings.

"What a tough life," Funko said sadly.

Rico shook her head. "I love my life in the Agency. I can move my body because of them and everyone there is nice too. In fact, my close friend, Henrietta is just like you Funko."

"Really? Thanks. I wish Mr. Jean would allow you to wear girl's clothes though. You really look nice in them," Funko was referring to what Rico was wearing now: the above the knee uniform of the Academy.

"Hey, you're the new student, Rico, right? Do you play the violin?" it was AR-18 and she was pointing to Rico's Amati case.

Rico shook her head, "I don't. It's not a violin. This is my gun case."

"Gun, you said? Can we see what kind are you using?" AR-18 asked.

Rico opened the violin case and she showed her disassembled guns. "These are my favourites, a Dragunov SVD and a CZ-75."

Sixteen gave a smirk, "Eastern guns. Why do you use them? They're pieces of trash. Western guns are the best."

A memory played inside Rico's head.

Jean handed Rico an Amati violin case. "Inside are your favourite equipment Rico. I had them cleaned and tuned up. Take care there and do your best."

Rico beamed widely, "Yes, Sir Jean!"

"Don't…insult…my guns!" Rico stood up and lifted Sixteen by her collar and sent her flying across the room. Sixteen hit the shelves behind the room. Without haste, she wielded her gun and fired at Rico who dodged the shots. Rico quickly jumped at Sixteen and tore her gun away from her. She threw it at the window and it landed on the grounds. Sixteen kicked Rico's chest but the latter did not flinch. Instead Rico grabbed Sixteen's ankle and hurled her at the door. The door broke as Sixteen passed through it. She stood up and blood was now coming out of her mouth. She aimed a blow at Rico's face but Rico just caught her by the arm and hurled her to the right.

Rico started advancing but Funko went in between her and Sixteen and cried, "Yamete kudasai!" , Henrietta's face flashed before Rico and she stopped. Elle quickly ran towards Sixteen and held her; she was already unconscious.

Because of the commotion, Garand came running towards the site. Upon seeing the mess, he barked Elle and Funko to see Sixteen to the Nurse's Office. As for Rico, he ordered her to follow him to the Headmaster's Office. The exchange student followed but not without bringing her Amati case.

At the Headmaster's Office

"That was quite a mess you made there, Rico," Springfield said after she and Garand made their reports. "You should notice that at the Seishou Academy, most, if not all, of the guns used are from the Western bloc. Thus, the girls are sensitive towards Eastern guns which they consider to be rivals.

"I cannot blame you though; no one told you about that. And of course, that gun is precious to you. But still, you should not have done that."

"I'm so sorry Headmaster," Rico replied flatly though sincerely.

"If you promise me that this will never happen again and that you will say sorry to M-16, I will overlook this matter and we won't have a need for what Madame Olga left me for emergency purposes," Springfield showed a black medical kit containing several syringes. Rico recognized them as the very strong tranquilizers that Dr. Bianchi gives to immobilize her. She didn't like that. She hated hospitals and lying in beds. It brings back memories when she "didn't have her body."

Afraid of the threat, Rico nodded and said, "Yes, Headmaster, sir!"

"Be nice to them Rico. They are very friendly and they don't deserve what you did."

Later, at the Nurse's Office

Sixteen was now conscious and she was sitting in her bed. According to the nurse, she had no serious injuries, only a sprained right hand.

"I'll make that tomboy pay for what she did to me!" Sixteen complained.

"You were lucky you didn't have any serious injuries Sixteen. Besides, you might have hurt her feelings when you said something bad about her guns. I know you don't like Eastern guns but…maybe those were special to her," Funko said.

"So now Funko is siding with that exchange student! Is your hammer triggered by that boy?"

"That's not it! Of course you are my friend and she did something very wrong. But let's hear her side; you also did something wrong too y'know," Funko protested.

"Oh, speaking of the devil!" Sixteen cried. Rico just entered the room. She approached the three and they tensed.

"Uhm, Sixteen…I'm very sorry…I didn't mean to do it. I now know how you hate Eastern guns. But those guns are special to me. They were given by someone special and so I…formed an attachment with them. It's not that I like them as they are… " Rico explained and made a very low bow.

*SLAP!* Sixteen hit Rico in her right cheek using her uninjured hand. It was so hard that blood dripped from Rico's mouth. "You're crazy! You almost killed me! Had Funko and the others been not there, who knows what happened?! Sheesh!"

"Calm down Sixteen! She said sorry already! She means it!" Funko appealed. "Daijobou, Rico?" Funko approached Rico and wiped the blood with her hanky. Again, she remembered Henrietta.

"I'm okay, Funko. Thanks. I'm sorry again, Sixteen," Rico said again with a bow then stepped backwards, turned and started to walk outside. Funko gave Sixteen a begging look.

"Hey," Sixteen suddenly said. Rico stopped and turned. "Ms. Hammer here is begging me to end this…so, I guess, hmm, I said something wrong…and uh, yeah…"

Rico shook her head, "I already forgave you for that. We just misunderstood each other and I lost control."

"Tell you what, tomboy, you do have nice moves. They're helpful if our guns are taken. If you teach them to us, I'll forget all about this."

"Hai! No problem! As soon as you get well, I'll teach you!" Rico smiled while blood started dripping from her lips again. Funko wiped them again. "By the way, who's Ms. Hammer?" asked Rico.

"Oh, her. Funko. Her hammer always goes off especially with that good-for-nothing Sensei. Be careful, her hammer seems to have taken a liking for you and it's quite obsessive y'know." Sixteen grinned wickedly.

"SIXTEEN! STOP TELLING SUCH THINGS! It's embarrassing!" Funko hollered out loud while red as a beet.

"Eh?" Rico's face was clueless. But she laughed together with Sixteen and Elle.