I walked into the training room where Ashley and Allie were currently training with their karate master. I could only see them a few times when they both stopped to catch their breath. Only during these times did I realize that they were sparing against each other.
"How can you two move so fast?" I asked them. They both looked at me.
"What do you mean? We're moving really slow right now," they both said. I felt a sweat drop form on the back of my head and I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. I looked behind me to see their karate master looking down at me.
"Don't feel bad that you can't see them. I mean, it's a good thing that an ordinary person like you can't see them when they are fighting. It means that those two are improving faster than your eyes can adapt to their speed. I can see those two going very far in their dreams," he said.
Another memory flooded into my mind. This one stung the most.
I had turned down a back alley way, thinking it was going to be a short cut home. When I turned the corner, I saw two thugs trying to beat up a little boy for trespassing in their territory. They pushed him against the brick wall and held the little boy up by his throat.
"I don't think you understand us, little boy. Why don't we teach you some manners?" the thug holding the little boy said. He pulled back his fist and was about to strike.
"STOP!" I yelled, dropping the groceries I was carrying and ran to the little boy. I tried to pull the thug's arm away from the boy but it wouldn't budge. The thug laughed and released, causing me and the little boy to fall to the ground.
"Ah!" we yelled as we hit the cement ground. However, the thugs didn't let us just stay on the ground. Well, at least not me. The first one picked me up by my neck and let me dangle in the air, attempting to claw at his hand to let air into my lungs.
"Oh, looky here. This pathetic girl wants to be a hero? Isn't that sweet?" he said, smirking. He tossed me against the wall then let me fall to the ground again. He was about to step on me, but I pulled out my Taser and zapped his foot, causing him to fall to the ground, falling unconscious. The second thug looked back at his buddy, then back at me.
"You little bitch. You wanna be a hero? Then taste this!" he said. His foot hit my face so quick that I didn't see it. "Don't mess with me. I take karate which you obviously don't! Then again, an ordinary girl like you wouldn't be able to pull it off. Now just lay there and watch this kid get his own punishment." He let me lay there and walked over to the kid. He picked him up by the neck again and threw him into the air in front of him. I saw him start to turn, but I didn't see him hit the boy. All I saw was the boy flying away into the street and him fly into the windshield of an oncoming car.
"No," I muttered. The second thug chuckled.
"That's what he gets when an ordinary woman, no, an ordinary person tries to rescue someone as stupid as him. Trust me lady, neither of you ordinaries deserve to live," the thug said. He walked back towards me and I shivered in fear.
Luckily, Ashley and Allie had looked for me and stepped in to kick the guy's butt before he could hurt me anymore. They also later found the boy and he survived the incident.
My hands clenched into fists and I felt tears fall onto them. Kenichi turned towards me when a whimper escaped my lips.
"No, not again," I whispered.
"Huh? What was that Haley?" Kenichi asked.
"I won't let it happen again," I muttered. Kenichi walked towards me.
"Haley? Is everything alright?" Kenichi asked. Akisame and Sakaki said nothing. I stood up and turned towards the post, glaring at it as if it were those thugs who almost killed me and the little boy.
"I won't let it happen again!" I repeated, this time louder. I got into stance.
"You won't let what happen again?" Kenichi asked. I didn't answer him. Instead, I followed his earlier advice and kicked the post with all my strength, causing Kenichi to jump away.
"Um, is there something wrong?" he asked in a scared voice.
"1," I said.
"Huh?" he asked, confusion in his voice. I brought back my leg slowly, letting the pain remind of that night, refueling my anger. I kicked the post again, my shin hitting the post hard, then bringing it back slowly, the pain ringing in my very bones.
"2," I said.
"Oh, I get it. My quickness inspired you so much that you wanted to try again, right?" Kenichi asked, laughing as if I praised him. I didn't answer; I just focused on my kicks. "Okay, well, I'll just let you do your thing now. See you around Haley!" Kenichi went by the masters and sat down with them. I kept kicking the post until I got to 50, the masters and Kenichi silently watching. However, I didn't stop there. I didn't even realize how far I had gotten until Sakaki stopped me.
"Okay Haley, I said 50. You can stop now," Sakaki said, suddenly appearing behind me. However, I was in the zone and didn't want to stop kicking the thugs. I was about to kick them again when Sakaki appeared beside me and held my leg in midair. "That's enough. We'll let your shins rest for now." I kept glaring at the post. He snapped his fingers in my face and I blinked twice, being brought back to the present.
"Huh?" I asked, looking at him, then at my leg which was still in midair. He sighed.
"Do you realize how many kicks you did?" he asked. I shook my head.
"No but could you let go of my leg?" I asked. A blush crept onto his face but it quickly vanished.
"100," he stated. My jaw dropped.
"What? Seriously?" I asked. He nodded. Wow, looks like my hatred for those guys actually turned into something useful. I just hope I can use my anger to help me through these training sessions.