Chapter 19:
Leaning over, Isabella snatched up one of the pillows on her bed before burying her face right into it. Drawing in a deep breath, Isabella released her frustration in a long, muffled scream. Once she had run out of air to continue, Isabella pulled the pillow away from her face, panting hard, before she chucked it across the room. Jumping up from her seat on the bed, Isabella stormed out of her room. As she passed into the main room, she walked over to the empty couch, swiftly stepped into her boots and tied them tightly on her feet before she marched right on out of the bunker.
"Damnit all!" she muttered through gritted teeth. The need to hit something hard quickly shadowed her anger and Isabella found herself searching out a training room. Entering the room that Snake Eyes had brought her to the day before, crossed the floor and located a punching bag that was set up on the other side of the room, opposite of where the rack of weapons lied. Taking up a basic stance, Isabella raised both hands, now fists, up from her side. Then with a powerfully swing, she threw a hard right punch at the bag. When her right fist collided with it, her left fist followed till she was beating the darn thing up with every ounce of strength she had. And time seemed to breeze on by.
Before long, as Isabella was wiping sweat from her brow, she turned her head to glance at a clock and saw that was almost noon. She had been at this for a couple hours at least; the throbbing in Isabella's hands confirmed that. With her anger now spent, Isabella stepped away from the punching bag and slowly collapsed to the ground, taking a seat on her knees with her legs tucked comfortably underneath her. Bringing her hands into her lap, Isabella looked down on them with a soft frown. Her knuckles on both sides were slightly swollen and red and Isabella could see purple, bluish bruising starting underneath the skin.
"I'll be feeling that tomorrow." She stated quietly as she carefully flexed her hands; she cringed softly at the movement as it brought back a painful stinging to the tops of her knuckles. "Oh yeah…I'll definitely be feeling it."
With a sigh, Isabella fell onto her back and stretched her legs up in front of her before she had her feet brace her knees off the ground. Carefully tucking one arm under her head for support, Isabella draped the other over her stomach while closing her eyes. Then with her eyes resting, Isabella sought an escape within her mind.
"Hey has anyone seen, Bella?" Breaker asked as he typed words into his laptop from his seat on the couch. Ripcord and Duke, who were sitting at a round table playing a game of cards with Heavy Duty and Scarlet, shared a quick glance before they turned their eyes upon Breaker.
"No." they replied in unison.
"Yeah, where is our newest recruit, hmm?" Scarlet asked calmly as she skillfully shuffled a deck of cards before she passed the deck over to Heavy Duty who started dealing right of the bat.
"Well last we saw her, we were heading to breakfast." Ripcord stated as he collected his growing pile of cards in front of him.
"Yeah." Duke confirmed, "What, she not in her room?" he asked.
Breaker shook his head, "Nope." He answered. Movement out of the corner of his eye, caught Breaker's attention and he turned his head to see another figure joining the rest of them in the room. "Oh hey, Snake." He greeted.
The black clad ninja, who had just come from his room, nodded at him in acknowledgment.
"Hey Snake, have you seen, Bella?" Breaker asked.
Beneath his mask, Snake Eyes raised an eyebrow and shook his head. Breaker sighed in defeat.
"Maybe we should go look for her." He suggested while he closed his laptop and moved it off his lap.
"Breaker," Scarlet answered, "I think you're overreacting." She stated with a quick laugh and shake of her head.
"But guys…." Breaker started, "….after all she's just a newbie." He reminded.
Heavy Duty, not glancing up from his hand of cards, chuckled, "Breaker, the worst scenario in all of this is that Isabella got lost somewhere."
"That's horrible!" he exclaimed while he rose to a standing position, "I mean this place is huge, which means she could be anywhere."
Shaking his head, Heavy Duty glanced over at his Moroccan friend, "Even if that is the case, she's not a lost puppy. She's actually one, tough, feisty soldier. I'm sure Isabella will find her way back."
Frowning softly, Breaker turned to look over at Snake Eyes who stood a couple feet away watching the card game going on. Sensing eyes upon him, Snake Eye's dark head turned towards Breaker.
"Snake, will you help me find her?" he asked pleadingly. "I really don't like the idea of her being lost somewhere in the pit."
The black ninja slowly nodded his head, accepting the task. Breaker clapped his hands together once in triumph.
"Great!" he stated before he took off across the room heading for the bunker's exit. Snake Eyes fell into step alongside him. "I'm heading over to security to tap into the cameras and see if I can locate her from there. Snake…" Breaker addressed, turning his head to look over into the ninja's masked face before he raised a hand up and clapped him on the back, "…do what you do." He finished.
Snake Eyes nodded once more before he made an 'ok' sign with his hand. At the first intersection in the corridor they came across, the two men split up, going in different directions.
Though it was a smart idea for Breaker to go check the security cameras, Snake Eyes didn't think it was really necessary. If there was one thing Snake Eyes was certain about, it was the fact that Isabella wasn't the 'getting-lost' type.
"She knows exactly where she is." He stated in his head. "Besides, there's only a handful of places here in the pit that's she'd be familiar with anyway." He added.
In less than five minuets, Snake Eyes was walking into the training arena. His eyes carefully searched the groups of soldiers around for any sign of the young woman. And when he couldn't find a trace of her, another idea came to him.
"Perhaps she just wanted to be alone in the first place." he thought before his dark head turned in the direction of one of the spare rooms. As Snake Eyes stopped in the open doorway to look within the room, he found his head tilting to the side as his eyes landed on a figure lying down on the floor. Centering his weight perfectly, Snake Eyes slowly crossed the room without making a single sound; even his footsteps were undetectable. When he reached the young woman, Snake Eyes crouched down to the ground right beside her in wonder.
"Well this is a new sight." He stated as his eyes traced over Isabella's features. It wasn't everyday one finds someone like this in a training room.
Her breathing was deep and even and her facial expression was peaceful. With a soft shake of his head, Snake Eyes found himself smiling gently beneath his mask.
"You truly are something else, Isabella." He sincerely thought.
A shadow slowly loomed behind Isabella's closed eyelids while her mouth slightly turned down in a frown.
"What the….?" She thought to herself before her eyes fluttered open. Almost instantly they landed on an all too familiar figure dressed in black, hovering just a few feet from her. Isabella's heart slammed into her chest in astonishment before she herself uttered a quick scream of surprise. Her hands swiftly clasped themselves over her mouth in response before sitting up off the ground. Not wanting to look Snake Eyes in the face just yet, Isabella turned her body away slightly so she could collect herself. After taking a couple moments to calm down, Isabella lowered her hands from her mouth back down to her side before she turned about to face the black clad ninja who still sat on his heels watching her every move. Her turquoise eyes narrowed into an accusing glare,
"Damnit Snake Eyes, must you keep sneaking up on me like that?" she asked irritably.
Snake Eyes, in response, reached a gloved hand out and placed it lightly upon Isabella's shoulder before he gave it a soft squeeze. Interpreting it as an apology, Isabella nodded her head in acceptance while a sigh slid past her lips,
"So what brings you here on this fine day?" she questioned sarcastically as she reached her arms back behind her to support her upper body, her head inclining to the side slightly as she stared the black ninja down.
Behind his mask, both of Snake Eyes' eyebrows rose up. Then keeping his balance exclusively on the soles of his feet, he crossed his muscled arms over his chest.
Reading his body language, Isabella frowned. Though he made no hand sign or anything like it, there was without a doubt in her mind that he was silently throwing the question right back at her with 'What are you doing here?'
Isabella was quiet for a few seconds before she opened her mouth to reply. "Training." She answered firmly while she brought her arms in and placed most of her weight on them so she could shift her position so that she was sitting on her legs once more.
Snake Eyes arched an unseen eyebrow, his eyes searching Isabella's for the truth. Isabella stared into his hidden face silently before she averted her gaze and started moving again, this time bringing herself to stand up.
Snake Eyes followed her movement, straightening up from his own position to his towering height of 6ft'2. Then without another glance, Isabella slowly made a move around him but had barely stepped a couple feet before she felt his hand close around her wrist from behind. Isabella froze at the contact before she turned about to stare at the black clad ninja who seemed to be staring down at her hand that he now held.
Moving his grip on her wrist to hold her hand, Snake Eyes raised it upwards before he used his thumb to brush over the purple, bluish stains that lightly covered the tops of her knuckles. Though his touch was surprisingly gentle, Isabella gasped quietly and winced before she pulled back on her hand. But Snake Eyes refused to let go and instead raised his head up to stare into Isabella's face.
Knowing instantly where this was going, Isabella swallowed before staring hard into Snake Eyes' black visor, "I told you…" she began, "….I was training." She explained. Snake Eyes' head bent to the side at her statement before he sighed. Then before Isabella could blink, with her hand still in his, Snake Eyes led her over to the white board before he used his free hand to pick up a marker. As Snake Eyes uncapped it and raised its tip up to start writing, Isabella tried pulling her hand back once more. But like before, the black ninja wouldn't give it up, in fact this time, his hold tightened to a firmer grip while his other hand began writing words down on the board starting from the top.
"You wanna try that again?" he wrote looking back down on her, clearly not believing her lie.
Isabella frowned, "I don't need to explain myself to you." She pointed out. Snake Eyes turned away to continue writing.
"You're gonna have to if you want me to let go." He answered.
Isabella's eyes narrowed, "I. was. training." She replied, dragging the statement out for emphasis, "What more do you want?"
Keeping his back towards her, Snake Eyes shook his head while he started writing again, "You expect me to believe those bruises were from training?"
Isabella sighed in annoyance, "That's kinda what I just told you, wasn't it?" she returned.
Snake Eyes' writing hand paused for a second before it began moving again, "And what did this training of yours consist of? Hitting a wall?"
Isabella rolled her eyes, "Don't be ridiculous." She replied, "I used the punching bag." She answered defensively. Snake Eyes then angled his body away from the board to face Isabella while he continued writing.
"You do realize that there are certain gloves you put on for that sort of work?"
"Stop talking to me like I'm so ignorant child!" she exclaimed angrily, "Of course I'm aware of gloves but personally I never use them, ever! I mean why should I?" she threw back.
"To prevent that…" he replied while nodding down to Isabella's bruised hand.
"Well I find it pointless to train like that cause let's face it, when it comes to an actual fight, I can tell you now your not going to be wearing gloves on your hands." Isabella returned smartly. "So might as well get use to going bare skin."
Snake Eyes sighed and shook his head again while a tiny frown pulled down on his lips, "Even if that is the case, beating your hands senseless is not an ideal form of training."
Isabella shrugged, "Works for me." She answered.
Snake Eyes was still as Isabella's works sank in, then right before he capped the marker, he quickly wrote down the words, "I don't believe you."
Reading Snake Eyes' last message, Isabella frowned before stepping up and removing the marker from his hand before she quickly undid its closed cap. Then bringing its tip right below Snake Eyes' words, Isabella neatly printed her own message.
"I'm not asking you to." She replied before capping the marker and setting it back down on its metal tray. Then she turned her body to face the black clad ninja, a silent challenge burning brightly behind her eyes. Gently shifting her hand within Snake Eyes, Isabella distinguished the fact that his grip had loosened. Then with a quick, powerful twist of her entire arm, Isabella broke the ninja's grasp on her hand before taking a step back; a tiny, proud smile then pulled at her lips seeing how she had caught Snake Eyes off guard.
"Always expect the unexpected, Snake Eyes…." She informed, "…I would've thought that with you being a ninja, you'd know all about that."
Snake Eyes straightened up even more, if that was possible, at Isabella's words. And though it could not be seen by her, behind his visor, the black ninja's eyes stared intently into Isabella's face, memorizing her every detail from the twinkle in her turquoise orbs, to the teasing smile her lips displayed.
"Her words both challenge and taunt me at the exact same time." He thought to himself while his hands slowly flexed down by his side in anticipation. Inside his mind, Snake Eyes laughed. "Dangerous mistake Isabella."
When Snake Eyes made no motion to reply, Isabella's eyebrows rose and fell triumphantly before she started to turn away from the black clad ninja.
With tremendous speed, Snake Eyes' two, powerful hands reached out and grabbed Isabella by both her arms from behind. Isabella barely had enough time to utter a gasp of surprise before she felt herself swung about while Snake Eyes changed the position of his hands from the back of her arms to the front. Next thing Isabella knew, she found her back being pressed tightly up against the wall right next to the white board with Snake Eyes standing directly in front of her. His hands held her arms out by her side, pinning them effectively to the wall while his own arms acted like a well built cage, surrounding Isabella's form, keeping her trapped on the spot.
Isabella glanced down on her pinned body in disbelief before raising her head up to glare into Snake Eyes' hidden face. It was then she took notice of how close the black ninja was actually standing. Only a few inches of distance seemed to be separating their two bodies now; it was so close Isabella could practically feel his own body heat radiate off his form. And if she even dared to take in a deep breath of air, surely their chests would touch. Against her will, her heart had started to race and the awareness of Snake Eyes' body being where it was brought forth a new, deep feeling within Isabella. His hold on her arms was sending bolts of electricity all throughout Isabella's body, leaving behind a warm, tingly sensation.
"Wow…." Isabella dazedly thought to herself before her conscious finally kicked in.
"Snap out of it, girl! What are you doing?" it screamed.
Isabella averted her gaze and instantly shook off the distracting feelings with a quick shake of her head while her tongue came out and lightly brushed her suddenly dry lips. When she felt in control, Isabella gazed back up at Snake Eyes; her eyes had once more narrowed in irritation while a scowl pulled at her lips.
"Touché." She stated in her coldest tone. Even through his mask, Isabella could not mistake the smile that was pulling at the ninja's mouth. With a nod of his head, Snake Eyes released Isabella's arms and took a step back to give her some space. She then released a long, quiet breath that she didn't even know she was holding at the time before she started taking small steps around the black ninja's larger form, not even bothering to look at Snake Eyes once as she moved. "Don't get use to it though," she added in a serious tone while a single corner of her mouth turned upwards into a tiny smile, "I'll take you out later." She promised as she made her way across the room, heading over to its open doorway. When she finally passed through and disappeared around its corner, Snake Eyes shook his head in amusement while his arms came up and crossed themselves over his chest,
"Sounds like a plan." He thought in response.
