Six sighed, trying to maintain his focus despite the distractions. He couldn't afford to let his guard down, not with the safety of both Holiday and himself at stake, but Rex's and Bobo's antics were already starting to test his patience.
He couldn't help but feel annoyed by their behavior. It was as if they had no respect for the situation or even for the food they were devouring, chewing too loud and talking about which one of them deserved their praises more.
"You can do it, Doc!" Rex exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air as if he were the one in the fight. His whistling and cheering distracted the woman from her training, causing her to forget that one of the fastest men she had ever met was already running towards her and pinning her down easily in a headlock. The woman struggled against Six's grip, desperately trying to break free. Holiday could feel her energy draining, but she refused to give up.
Six released his grip, allowing her to stumble back, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The moment's intensity hung in the air, leaving an awkward silence between them only broke by Rex's voice still rooting for her in the background. He let a frustrated sigh, feeling a mix of anger and trepidation, staring down at his now red palms after almost choking her, turning his hands into fists, piercing his skin with his nails.
There was no damn way he could teach her everything she needed to know in just three days, as he gritted his teeth and looked down at his shoes as if, somehow, he could disassociate from the situation and try to find a way to calm himself down.
He had never felt as alienated as he was at that moment, and keeping his emotionally detached persona was proving difficult.
"Kick the green bean in the groin!" Bobo exclaimed; his mouth stuffed with potato chips. The teenager scowled briefly but then nodded in approval.
"It may be a dirty move, but all's fair in a fight!" Rex's competitive spirit ignited as he joined Bobo in the chaotic cheering, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
Six clenched his teeth, his anger rising as his blood boiled to an unhealthy level. It was time to show them the consequences of their actions. He took a deep breath; there would be no escaping the wrath he was about to unleash.
The sound of a blade meeting the box echoed through the room, momentarily silencing the chatter, causing Rex and Bobo to jump in surprise and Holiday to gasp and quickly grab Six's other arm to try and stop him.
Rex and Bobo exchanged worried glances, unsure of what had just happened. Holiday's heart raced as she struggled to understand why Six had acted so unexpectedly. She desperately hoped that she could calm him down before things escalated any further. Holiday knew something was terribly wrong. The usually composed and stoic Six was visibly trembling, his face contorted with anger. As she held onto his arm, she could feel the tension radiating through his body, and it terrified her.
"Shouldn't the two of you be somewhere else!?" His voice echoed through the underground level.
Rebecca had never heard him scream like that before. While he tended to do it when the environment was too loud or they were too far from each other, she had never seen him lose control in such a way before. Six's dedication to training remained resolute and Holiday knew she had to brace herself for the intense lessons that awaited them, knowing that every moment counted.
She couldn't shake the feeling that she was glimpsing a side of him that few had ever seen before.
His past as a mercenary.
Holiday felt a mixture of fear and curiosity as she watched him demonstrate a series of swift, precise movements. With each technique he taught her, she could sense the weight of his experiences. She absorbed his knowledge like a sponge, eager to learn more. As she practiced alongside him, she could feel her own confidence growing, despite how much in pain he sure was because of his injury.
Six rarely used his blades against her as she didn't have any weapon to counteract his attack, as they could practically cut through any material they touched and using guns was out of the question. Holiday knew that she always had to find a different approach to defend herself, as she watched Six's swift movements.
An idea sparked in her mind and as much as it irritated Six, she decided to take a few hits to use her logical brain and find a pattern in his approach. She quickly noticed that he favored long-distance combat over the direct method. He was used to extending his blades and throwing them to injure the enemy without engaging in physical combat unless it was his only option. She observed how he strategically positioned himself to maintain distance from his opponents, taking advantage of his agility and precision. Rebecca realized that his preference for long-range attacks allowed him to control the battlefield and keep his enemies at bay.
With this newfound understanding, she began devising a plan to counter his tactics and exploit his weaknesses.
Holiday knew she had to match Six's speed to stand a chance against his relentless attacks. She focused on her footwork, trying to avoid his every strike each time he approached her.
It wasn't always a success, but soon enough, she began to understand that in order to defeat someone like Six on the battlefield, she needed to be creative and do something unexpected.
Each time he decided to punch her, she chose not to deflect the hit but instead to kick him in return. While this may not have been the most efficient method, as each impact caused her great pain, it did allow her to reduce the damage by half by surprising him. She knew this was a risky strategy, but it was the only way for her to assert her strength in the situation. It caught him off guard every time, causing him to recoil and rethink.
Once one of her knees gave up, Six stopped and looked at her now red face and hands, knowing that the rest of her body under her combat suit sure wouldn't look any better within the days. Gritting his teeth again, Six decided it was time to rest as he extended one of his hands to her to help her stand up. She hesitated momentarily, engrossed in the combat and unsure if she could trust him. But the pain in her knee was too much to bear alone. Reluctantly, she reached out and accepted his hand, grateful for the support.
His injuries were nothing compared to the pain she sure felt for their intense training, even if his lower abdomen said the contrary because of his exertion and the few kicks that Holiday managed to land precisely in that spot. He knew she murmured her apologies a couple of times, but he was surprised by how her logical mind tried to find gaps in his combat moves each time he tried a different approach.
Perhaps that strategy would work against a single enemy, but it wouldn't be effective against an entire army of well-armed gangsters attacking her from all directions.
"How did someone like Five manage to deflect each of your movements so quickly?" She asked, taking a sip from her water bottle. They sat together against one of the wooden boxes, trying to catch their breath.
"Someone like Five?" Six asked, raising an eyebrow. She realized she needed to clarify her question.
"I mean, how long did it take her to match your strength?"
Six interrupted her before she could continue. "Are you asking this from a woman's perspective?" Six shook his head before she could defend herself. "While Five may be lethal, she is not always successful in stopping me. That's why sometimes, someone else needs to be involved in the fight to stop either of us."
It made sense, sure.
"Don't you ever feel frustrated by our current state as humans?" Holiday asked, seemingly lost in thought as she gazed at her water bottle.
"What do you mean?"
"Just think about it - you, a trained killer, and me, a scientist desperately searching for a cure for a problem that should never have existed in the first place."
"I haven't considered it."
"Of course not," Holiday sighed, gazing at the vast underground facility.
"One of the positive aspects of my training is that there is no time to dwell on emotions. This helps me to ignore many of the injustices that occur constantly around me."
"Injustices? You were a mercenary. What could be more unfair than taking someone else's life for money?"
"That's the fundamental part of your argument that you're completely ignoring: The ability of the human race to change."
"Have you changed?" Holiday asked, turning her head to look at him. Though Six's eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses, he mirrored her actions.
"I can confidently say that I have. Otherwise, I wouldn't be risking my life to save yours."
That hurt more than any hit he could have given her during their training session.
"You don't always seem to think the best of people." Six continued. "Or at least of people like me."
"I just simply can't understand why we can't find a reasonable way to deal with this without having to resort to fighting and killing others."
Sadly, that was inevitable.
Three days of training. That had to be a joke.
It was easier for him to kill her by accident during their training sessions than to teach her enough moves to keep herself safe.
"Do you still believe that offering yourself as bait is the solution to all of this?" Six's voice sounded distant, even though they were only millimeters apart. He avoided looking at her as if he knew the answer and didn't want to confront the truth.
"I do," she sighed. "Let's face it, Six. If it's not me, it'll be Rex or something worse. Maybe this will give us a slight chance to stop them. And, to be honest, I'm tired of always being the damsel in distress in this situation."
Then, there was no other option.
Leaving his water bottle on the floor and standing up, Six dusted his green suit, turning to Rebecca and extending his hand again as a silent invitation that they had to return to training if she wanted to be ready enough.
Six couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt every time one of his kicks and punches landed, questioning himself how much pain she could endure for their cause. Yet, he knew he had to follow their chosen path, no matter how much it tore him apart. Deep down, he wondered about the sacrifices Five had made before joining the team, realizing the immense effort she must have put into honing her skills to keep up with the others as the group's only woman.
Holiday's words caused him to reflect on parts of his past that he had never considered before. He deflected another one of her kicks, grabbing her by her foot with one hand, lifting it high enough to make her lose her balance and fall backward.
But he never saw Five as a woman, at least not in the mere sense of the word. For the way she behaved around them, he always thought that she was simply another one of them in a woman's body.
With Holiday, that perception was different, which hurt him even more.
Perhaps he was being a bit unfair with her because he knew that Holiday could also fight, but the idea he had in his mind of her, as much determination she could show and even hold someone at gunpoint, was still one of a woman.
It was time for him to change his perception of Holiday.
"Remember." He started after deflecting another of her punches as the woman seemed more and more focused on each training session, they engaged in. "No matter how much pain you feel, you must try to ignore it. Space yourself out enough till your entire body goes desensitized."
She nodded, sweat dripping down her forehead as she pushed harder. Each blow she landed became more precise, fueled by determination. The pain slowly becoming a distant sensation as she focused on perfecting her technique.
"There's no point in fighting if you end up being cornered. Instead, focus on finding a place where you can lay low until help arrives or devise a plan to escape if we cannot save you in time."
Six's voice caressed her ear as he cornered her against one of the walls, punching it hard enough to leave a mark with his knuckles. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her skin as he whispered.
"Don't let any of those guys touch you," she could sense the weight behind his words, even though he didn't bother to look at her. It was clear that the mere thought of it disgusted him greatly.
Holiday couldn't help but feel a shiver run down her spine at his intense warning.
"I don't plan to," was her only reply, pushing him away with one hand and lifting her fists, anticipating Six's next move.
The next visit of Rex and Bobo became a session of questions about whether she was well enough to stand, as he had never seen her that tired before. However, there was no time for her to respond to these questions, as Six, with his arms crossed, was constantly monitoring the time between resting and training.
"Six, this has to stop!" Rex's words seemed to bounce from one ear to the other as he stared at Holiday, tending to a rather nasty cut on her upper lip. He would gladly stop, but it was her and White's decision. If there was one thing he took pride in, it was following orders, no matter how much he despised them.
Oddly enough, that ended up causing an old wound between himself and White Knight in the past.
"Don't waste your time, Rex," he told the teenager, tapping his wristwatch to signal Holiday that it was time to continue, whether she was ready or not. "Holiday wants to fight, and she will."
The look of determination on Holiday's face, aside from her tiredness, made Rex feel as enraged as he supposed Six was feeling. Of course, he thought the same as Six, that the woman could fight. But he also felt that it wasn't precisely her fight but that she was simply a casualty of something everyone had been looking for ages, and that was the special abilities that his Nanites possessed.