trans_9 | Better Than Akido [Closed]

Dark Smoke Puncher was waiting. After all, you are never late when you have things scheduled. It messed everything up. The room was already set up like a dojo. Well, dojo/cave. Rocky terrain around the center mat to make it more interesting if they got that far.

Making sure no one else was around, he appeared. "Hey Brenda," Sean greeted. Thank GOD, he could talk NORMAL!

Oh thank GOD, he wasn't going to talk like a gangster!

She smiled, giving him a warm wave as she stepped onto the mats and looked around. "Hey Sean. I... wow. That's a lot of stalactites. Are those, er... traditional?"

Ninja's didn't put their enemies heads on rocky pikes right?

"Not traditional martial arts, but they provide some better training to use those skills in a more realistic fashion," Sean explained. "I trained with them."

"Your training sounds totally out there on so many levels." Brenda shook her head a bit, but smiled and tried hard not to look disconcerted.

"So... where do we start?"

"Well, my family did live in a cave in a mountain," Sean said with a shrug.

"First, let's get a good idea where your level is. I don't want to be too intense and get out the flamethrower if you're not ready for it yet."

"I think we can assume I'm WELL below flamethrower level so... maybe we should just start with some basic strikes." Brenda offered, holding her hands up sheepishly.

"How will we do this? You just wanna come at me and see what I can do to defend myself?"

"Well, you never know," Sean said with a shrug.

He thought about it a moment. "Yeah, a basic practice spar is probably the best thing." Even going easy on her, he should get a basic idea of how good she is.

Brenda stood up a little straighter, shaking out her hands and arms a little and sinking into a basic defensive stance. Muscle memory was a beautiful thing.

"Alright, do your worst."

Sean nodded. Well, she got the basics. And since this was just practice, no reason to go all out or try to trick her or anything like that.

So he went for basic and charged ahead, throwing a punch. A fast one, to see her reaction time in a real situation.

He's fast, for sure, but braced and ready her reaction time is pretty good. She can't stop his fist, but she dodges beautifully and gets a real solid grip on his upper arm, rolling with his momentum and hauling UP...

Sean goes straight over her head and then down on his back on the floor in a perfect shoulder-throw.

Brenda grins at him when he looks up at her from the mats.

"How was that?"

Sean blinked.

And he found himself on the ground.

He was expecting a block or a dodge, but a full counter...

"Um....very good," he said. Even with his guard down, to get taken in so much by her counter attack....it was both embarrassing.

And...

Well, it was hot when a girl could one up him.

Brenda beamed, tossing red hair out of her eyes and offering him a hand to pull him up from the floor.

"Sorry, I should have warned you. I'm known for my shoulder throws. Just ask Paco."

"Good to know," Sean said, taking her hand and pulling himself up. "You certainly earn the reputation," he said, stretching him back to make sure no kinks came in from the hard flip.

Brenda smiled again, feeling a little proud. If not for the look on his face she would have thought maybe he'd LET her do that but it was clear he hadn't. Even if it was because he'd underestimated her, shoulder throwing a bonafide ninja was pretty damn high on the 'Awesome Stuff Brenda Has Done' scale.

"Let's see if we can do that again minus the shoulder throw, yes?"

"Actually, if you can get the shoulder throw in, keep it in. If you're good at it, then we can see how well you react when someone can still move after it," he said. Now that he knew about it, the surprise would keep him from being still.

And if she was fighting, say, some monstrous beast that doesn't get stunned by someone flipping them in surprise, it'd be handy.

Sean was right. She needed that shoulder throw, and every other little trick in her small repertoire just to keep from getting smashed in the face when he came back at her after her first counter went off. All her sparring up to this point had been all about executing a move and then stopping.

Brenda was far from a one-trick pony but doing said tricks in succession on the fly instead of one at a time in a set pattern and with a clear head on assault right in front of her face was much, MUCH harder. She was pretty sure she'd learned more about how to really FIGHT in the space of an hour and a half with Sean than she ever had in three years of Akido and one of JuJitsu. It felt very '1980's movie training montage' and when she pointed this out to Sean he responded by asking Stacy to put on Eye of the Tiger, then made Brenda counter punches to the beat.

Music aside thought, it was FUN to do something so disciplined and physical again. She hadn't quite registered how restless she had felt - or how out of shape she'd gotten - since arriving on she ship until the first time Sean threw a punch that forced her into a back bend and she ambitiously attempted to put her hands down and roll with the momentum to kick him in the chest or the chin.

She missed by a mile and came down HARD on her shoulder, but laughed at the stupidity and just joy of having tried it, even while Sean was telling her that that move really didn't work so well unless you had the arms of a demigod (or Chuck Norris) and asking her if her collarbone felt broken.

By the end of 90 straight minutes she was prone on the mats in her workout shorts and sweat-drenched t-shirt staring up at Sean who looked like he was barely breathing hard in full ninja garb.

"No more." she panted. "All my limbs feel like noodles."

Sean was used to hours upon hours of training. Binges before a mission and all.

But he wasn't going to expect Brenda too. He was actually pleasantly surprised she lasted so long for how tough he was making it.

Yet another pro for her in the list that was already getting pretty lengthy.

Also another pro for the workout shorts. He was staring, but he was ninja enough to not make that TOO obvious. "We can stop for today," he said. "You did pretty good."

Brenda grinned proudly at the compliment - "Yeah? Thanks..." - the levered herself up with a groan, pulling off her running shoes and then hauling the damp shell of her t-shirt over her head to get a look at whatever bruise had cropped up on her shoulder from her tumble earlier.

She had a decently covering sports bra on and supposed he was probably used to ninja ladies in similarly minimal gear at some point. Besides which he could see more of her shoulder than she could standing behind her.

"Hey, how's that shoulder hit look down my back?" she asked, sliding the strap aside, revealing both her would and the wicked curve of a long scar that traced the edge of her shoulder blade.

The muscle underneath had taken a bit of damage at the time of the injury and whenever she pushed herself she felt that little stitch of scar tissue like an all new stab in the back. She hissed at the friction of the strap over the swollen and now tender skin. That would need some ice. Damn...

No, not really. Because the only ninja woman he trained with was his mom and...yeah, no. Mom is totally different from hot redhead he was crushing on. And fighting scantily clad female villains or henchwoman was also different from hothead he was crushing on. They were trying to kill him and that usually killed the mood pretty quick, no pun intended.

So it took Sean a moment of staring at the newly exposed skin before her question registered in his mind. "Oh, well, it's definitely going to be a wicked bruise, but it shou-" And he paused again as the details of the skin did register in his mind.

"...you don't get scars like that from aikido," he finally said. That was definitely a serious cutting wound. He had plenty of scars from his own training to get a pretty good idea of what can cause what scar and that was a serious cutting scar.

She'd forgotten, despite feeling the stitch of the old wound, how visible it really was to the naked eye. Nearly the only people who had ever seen it were Paco and Jaime and their families. It was awkward, thinking of it and realizing that he probably wanted to know how the hell she had gotten it.

Brenda had never had to construct a really solid lie about her injuries before. She groped to think of something and failed to come up with anything better before the truth slipped out of her mouth, at least in part.

"Yeah... glass. Got gouged with a broken bottle."

Of course for all he knew she'd tripped over a recycling bin. She mostly hoped he would assume something of the sort and not press it, trying to keep her voice casual.

With Brainy discussing this had been easy. He just... got her. In the time they'd spent together he'd seen, acknowledged and then unquestioningly ignored her various fainter scars (cigarette burns on her wrists, the one little bald spot just over her ear...).

Sean she would have to explain it to and she didn't know if she could. Brainy had known where she was coming from. The idea of trying to explain such sheer personal weakness to Sean though... It was embarrassing and made her stomach crawl with nerves.

He was one of the few new friends she had made not just on the ship but PERIOD since her father's death. She didn't like to dwell on what he would think of her for putting up with that shit for so long.

"Bit of muscle damage." she admitted. "That's why my strike range on that side is so poor. It's scarred up underneath."

Tripped? That'd have to be some fall to get it like that. No, he didn't think that was just some trip.

Sean gave the scar a scrutinizing look. And with how much of a pause and how tense she had become, he really didn't think it was just some accident. "What happened?"

Brenda sucked in a breath and let it out slow turning a million excuses over in her head as she folded her shirt up neatly just for something to do with her hands.

She could lie, she could do it easily, but what good would it do? It would just be the start of one long string of facades to keep up. Sooner or later they would discuss her family and she'd be giving him vague explanations of how both her parents had ended up dead before she turned 16. It was going to come up, it was just a matter of when, and now was when she decided to lie and keep lying, or be honest, be mortified, and not have to put up the front.

Just beneath dishonesty though was omission, which could be a nice enough compromise she supposed.

"I got attacked." she sighed, slipping the strap of her sports bra back into place and rubbing at the ragged top inch of the scar. "I figured I'd rather take a gouge in the back than in the face is all."

Sean wasn't as unobservant as people might think. He knew how to study people. After all, when you learn to lie, you gotta learn what not to do so you don't give yourself away.

And she was giving plenty of signs of hiding something. Not to mention blows to the back meant for the face didn't really make him think she was dodging. Sounded more like she was trying to escape.

"Who attacked you?" Who wouldn't she fight back against?

'I don't want to talk about this.'

It would have been so SO easy to say, and even easier to punch him in the face if he pushed the issue, but he asked with that tone of actual concern that needled at her.

She folded her shirt even further, squeezed it in her hands.

"My dad." She kept her voice even, soft and matter of fact though her whole body was taut and shaky. She flexed her arms, rolled her shoulders to throw off the tremor. Her father didn't deserve the power of still frightening her after all this time and the finality of his death.

For a moment, it didn't register what this really meant in Sean's head. After all, his dad attacked him. Hurt him. He had plenty of scars from fights with both of his parents.

But....Brenda was not him. Brenda was not raised to be a ninja. Brenda took aikido classes, not learning them from her parents. This was not teaching a child how to fight.

This scenario was attacking a child for reasons that had nothing to do with their future.

It took a few moments for this realization to finally hit and then Sean got this LOOK in his eyes. It wasn't one he felt often. A job was a job, but there were times where the target did disgust him. Make him angry.

Angry enough that even if he wasn't paid to? He'd kill them. And that was the look in his eyes. "That BASTARD!"

Brenda JUMPED when he shouted, wheeling around to toward him with shock and a perhaps a bit of fear plastered across her face.

She had expected perhaps a wounded hiss, or perhaps a quiet apology and a fast change of subject. Even if they had stayed on the topic she had thought at the most she would hear the same sort of empty weak platitudes she'd gotten immediately after that worst final beating that had put her in the hospital - the 'I'm sorry's that didn't quite reach deep enough to soothe her because everyone could apologize but none of them were the person that had hurt her.

For him to be ANGRY though, and so immediately at that...

Actually it reminded her of the way Paco had looked at her the first time she'd come to school with fresh cigarette burns on her arms and all the excuses she'd given him before then blew up in her face.

Brenda's mouth fished open and shut for a moment, lost on what to say.

"I... he's gone..." she mumbled, hoping that would be enought to dial back his kneejerk anger.

Edited 2009-10-09 23:05 (UTC)

"Good! If someone offed him or he got hit by a drunken driver and they come here, remind me to thank them," Sean said. "Even if I'd have loved to do it myself."

Oh yes, he was angry. He had a deadly look in his eyes, but he was trying to reign in some control.

"Parents do not attack kids unless it's to teach kids how to defend themselves from assassins and body guards for hits they take. And you don't use weapons until the kid is good at blocking not sharp things! To do otherwise is just....well, they make the scum of the Earth!"

Brenda flinched, biting her lip at that first 'Good' and trying hard to swallow the anger that welled up in her throat. Part of her was flattered by how much he clearly cared about what had happened to her and the wrong of it all, but the rest of her harkened back to the little girl she'd still been before her mother got sick, and the part of her that missed the father she'd had before drink and grief had transformed him into someone else.

"HE WAS STILL MY DAD!" she shouted, pulling her self up to her feet with a speed that surprised her. Adrenaline pumping and whole body trembling she closed the space between them in two strides.

"He wasn't always such an asshole! He was a GOOD Dad for the first eleven years! The last five was like living with a stranger. If my mother was still alive he never would have been like that! And just because he beat me up a few times doesn't mean I don't still miss him so SHUT UP! You don't know anything about it!"

For a second she wanted to slap him but wheeled away from him instead, knowing he'd just block it and not wanting to put out the effort without the wet smack of the palm to cheek payoff. She grabbed her shirt marching for the door. "God! I don't know why I even TOLD you!"

And then the anger came to a screeching halt and she was mad.

Shit.

Sean moved quickly, getting between her and the door. "Wait!" He said, grabbing her shoulders. "I'm sorry...I...I just....ah, shit," he said, eyes panicked.

"You just don't deserve that!" He said, the first coherent thing to come to mind. Wait, that was good. That was true. "You're a great person. A nice girl. You didn't deserve to be hurt. Even if your dad was hurting from your mom, hurting you was wrong. I mean....I...I got a line. A line what's abuse and not. You know, with ninja and training, I wanted to make sure everything was cool and....and I don't like hearing about parents who break that line. Especially to someone I like so much." He was babbling now, but he really didn't want her to regret trusting him.

Brenda stepped back from his hands on her shoulders, not going do far as to shove him because he wasn't frightening her but... she just didn't want to be TOUCHED right now. Not with all her hackles raised and the reflex to want to just deck him so strong she could practically TASTE it...

"Just... stop it." she said, lifting up a hand for him to quiet down and then putting both palms up to her facce, her shirt still dangling from one fist. "I get it, I know you're just trying to defend me or something but please don't. Not about this. I just... I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Her shoulders sagged, exhaustion flooding in as the relfex to flee or strangle him ebbed away a little, but she looked at the floor instead of his face because she just couldn't handle that kicked puppy look in his eyes right now.

"Okay, okay!" Sean said. "I won't bring it up," he said. He really, really didn't want her to be upset.

"Um....how about this! We go wash up and then watch...mythbusters. Or something with explosions. Explosions make everything better," he said.

He really, really, really, REALLY didn't want her upset, especially at him.

Brenda let out a long breath, running her hands through her hair.

"I... yeah. Whatever, alright." she muttered, dropping her hands to her side. "Whatever we don't have to think about hard."

"Right! So, up, go clean up and then, um, meet here in thirty minutes for explosion marathon and...something with chocolate?" Sean suggested.

Brenda eyed him for a second, baleful and not entirely forgiving, but she nodded, deciding to get through the shower and punch him in the arm later if she was still really pissed off after thirty minutes of shower to detox.

Actually, maybe a bath.

"Stacy, you know what a clawfoot tub looks like right?"

A half hour later, Sean was back and squeaky clean. He had Stacy make a living room with nice, comfy, big couch and comfy chairs if Brenda wanted her space and a fridge with lots of different chocolate things.

She didn't say no to the chocolates, so that met she liked chocolates. Right?

And there was a big screen TV and plenty of different things to watch with lots of explosions and no mention of abusive parents. Or tense father daughter relationships. Or any that really pay attention to that relationship.

He was not going to give her a reminder so soon of what they talked about.

And then...he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It was five minutes after they had arranged to meet he had started to worry.

"What if she doesn't come? What if she was really still angry? Maybe she thinks I'm a jerk now? A dork? A loser? What if she never talks to me again?" Sean muttered, starting to pace. He hoped he was being paranoid.

He really did, but he didn't believe it.

Brenda let him stew for ten minutes all told. Not deliberately though. Stacy had given her vanilla lavender bath salts and a tub like she had had at her Tia's. She'd taken some extra soaking time.

Emerging back into the main sensorium area she found Sean pacing intently, muttering to himself.

"What's wrong?"

Sean jumped, too much in panic mode to have been aware of someone entering. Mentally berating himself for letting his guard down, he looked at her a bit sheepishly. "Ah...I thought you weren't going to show...." he admitted just loud enough for her to hear.

Brenda sighed, pushing her hands into the pockets of the jeans Stacy had brought up for her.

"I'm not THAT mad at you, jeez. It's just a sore topic alright?" She scuffed her foot along the floor. "He hasn't even been gone a whole year. It's all really fresh still..."

"Oh. Um, sorry? I didn't want to upset you," Sean said awkwardly.

"I know you didn't. Just... let's just not get into shit about my family okay? I highly prefer the relative normalness of your ninja family problems."

"Right. Just...normal drama," Sean said, nodding his head in agreement. "Just...as long as you're okay..."

"I'm okay." she insisted, sighing gently. "And I'm sorry I screamed at you so just... lets do something fun and forget about it right now okay? I don't wanna waste my time with you being mad at you."

She gave him a light, friendly slow-punch in the arm (extra slow so he'd know it wasn't REALLY an attack).

"Let's watch some Mythbusters huh?"

At noticing how slow it was, Sean didn't block it. She wouldn't try one that slow, after all, so it had to be a fake one.

"Right. Mythbusters. I've got some of the really explosive episodes requested. Other action movies too that have somewhat decent science explanations and some more that are just tons of explosions for the hell of it," Sean said, gesturing to the TV and seating.

Better Than Akido [Closed]

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