Singularity

Kira hit the bed and cried until she got it out of her system. Then she pulled off her ruined shirt with a hiss and threw it on the floor. She made her way to the dresser and pulled out the black leather vest and pants. They slipped easily on and fit snug against her skin. She found a pair of boots in the corner next to the dresser, pulled them on and laced them up. When she had finished dressing she sat on the bed and concentrated on healing until the pain in her shoulders ebbed to a dull ache.

Kira knew that she couldn’t fully heal. Not without having the elements around her. But what she could manage would have to do. Michalei was back in her door way and it was time to go.

“You alright?” He asked.

“I’m fine.” She replied as she made her way out into the hallway.

“It looks like the clothes fit.” He commented as he looked her over.

“Standard issue dress code.” She managed a smile.

“If you had been wearing it when you got busted you would have walked away with a few welts.” He pointed out.

“I’ll have to remember that.” She sighed.

“It’s not that bad here Kira. You will get used to it.” He said as he pushed open the door to another training room.

“I don’t want to get used to it. I just want to go home.” She muttered as she watched him walk across the room.

“Good afternoon Elder Michalei.” The class said as they snapped to attention.

“Good afternoon.” He replied. “Let’s begin shall we?”

“Crap,” Kira muttered as she found a place on the floor.

“Basics for our new recruit.” He barked. “What do we do here?”

“Hand to hand training elder Michalei.” The class barked back.

“Why do we do it?” Michalei asked.

“Can’t depend on weapons alone elder Michalei.” They replied.

“Are you with us so far Kira?” He smirked with his eyebrow raised.

“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised elder Michalei.” She barked attempting not to giggle.

“Pair off.” He stated and the class divided.

“It looks like you’re with me Kira.” He said as she stood alone.

“Crap,” She muttered again as she made her way to the front of the class.

“You ready to show me what you’ve got?” He said as she stepped up in front of him.

“As ready as I’m going to be.” She replied as she put her fists up.

“Begin,” He barked.

Michalei took a step back placing his weight on his left leg as he put up his hands. Kira threw the first punch. He easily deflected it with his forearm as she came in with a kick. He was quicker than she was grabbing her leg and throwing her off balance. She stumbled but recovered quickly as she managed to connect her fist with his jaw.

“Not bad, where did you learn to do this?” He asked as he circled her.

“I sparred with papa every day.” She replied.

Michalei took a swing, open fisted at Kira. She ducked out of the way and slid behind him. She kicked him in the back of the knee. He didn’t even flinch as he swung around and backhanded her across the cheek. She hit the floor and looked up at him in shock.

“Now that we’ve established I’m not your father you can quit pulling your punches.” He smirked.

“That hurt!” She yelled.

“That was me being nice. Now get up and start taking this seriously.” He demanded.

Kira climbed to her feet. Michalei barely gave her a chance to breathe as he began throwing punches and kicks. She ducked, dodged, and blocked the best that she could but he was just too fast. Most of what he threw at her connected but she managed to stay on her feet. She got a few kicks in herself but none of them seemed to faze him at all.

“Enough,” He said at last.

Kira wiped the blood away from her split lip. She was out of breath and bruised and the wound on her shoulder had opened back up.

“Class dismissed.” Michalei stated and then the room cleared out quickly.

“You’re not half bad for a newbie.” He chuckled.

“You could have warned me.” She growled.

“Yeah, I could have. But that’s not part of my job.” He smiled.

“What is your job anyways?” She asked as she followed him down the hall.

“I lead classes on occasion, train like everyone else, and escort people like you around until you get familiar with the routine.” He replied.

“Here you are, back to your chore now. I’ll pick you up for supper.” He smiled and then he was gone.

Kira took a moment to catch her breath and then made her way over to the pile of weapons she had left in the middle of the floor. One at a time she picked up, dusted off with a rag, and put it either on the wall rack or on a shelf. She knew now that even if she thought she was alone that she was being watched. She didn’t stop moving until she was fetched for supper.