๑『CorRUPted』๑

【Chapter Twelve: Merciless】

((((Just a quick question for the end but... anyone notice how different the old Darcy is to the current time Darcy? :3...))))

【Chapter Twelve: Merciless】

“Come at me with the best you’ve got.” Sweat matted my forehead, gathering along at my eyebrows as I crouched down in a feline stance, ready to pounce forward with the knife stashed between my teeth. My limbs were equally sweaty, but I didn’t think of it as a disadvantage. No, it was better, and when he did lunge for me I leapt over his body and did a quick tumble on the ground, letting my wet body slide the rest of the distance to the wall. Sion laughed, already charging for me, giving me only a split second to either get out of his way or lunge forward. 

I chose the latter, letting myself glide forward and collide with Sion. Immediately we were trying to disarm the other, and hands moving fast but not fast enough for the other. By the time I had disarmed Sion, he’d done the same to me and we both parted to land three feet away from each other. Sion grinned, holding my knife up and I crouched low once more, something like a switchblade in my hands. “Is that your best? Because clearly it’s not working for you.”

Again we lunged, and this time I chose for a lower approach, letting my body skim the ground almost like a leopard would as it leaped, it’s belly just barely scraping the ground. That was me, or at least, how I envisioned myself, while Sion went up much higher, always going for the larger leaps, the higher jumps. I twisted my body in the air, anticipating Sion’s attack at just the right moment, deflecting the slash he made for my waist with his switchblade, and we both slid past each other in the air. I landed easily on my back and did a quick flip, throwing the switchblade for Sion and going for his shoulder. It missed, but only because Sion had laid flat on the floor instead of recovering himself as I’d done. 

Swearing, I ran for the rack we had full of weapons, ready to reach for one but stopped by my dagger hitting one of the many weapons by the hilt. “No weapons now!” Sion calls out, already in the center of the floor and waiting for me. I stalked forward, biding my time as I tried to come up with some sort of feasible plan to bring Sion down. In the past year that I’d been training with him, I’d only beat him once, when his leg was injured and even then I was wounded worse than him. What does that say? 

“Ready or not, here I come,” I whisper, putting myself across from Sion and taking a defensive stance. I’ve never really been able to fight him in the offense since he always finds a way to break down my moves, but in the defense I can at least wear him down, right? Wrong. Sion has high endurance and stability, even if he goes all out in offense and doesn’t even try for defense. Me? I have to change between the two, try what’s best and not have any recurring moves. If I do, Sion will surely take me down the moment he spots it. 

Our fights are all about spontaneity. That’s why Sion had been smart enough to stay down when I’d thrown his switchblade. He’d known I’d back flip to stabilize my stance. That had saved him and made me look bad. I had to make myself look better. Stronger. When I’d been sent to Sion for training, I’d thought he’d be nothing but another sod who thought he could fight, just like all my past trainers. I hadn’t realized that the guy practically lived in the training rooms, fighting against anyone who thought could face him and take them down within the minute. People that lasted five minutes with him were usually exceptionally great, but not great enough. Not like me. 

When it had become clear to me that Sion was better than given credit for, I realized the hard way that our training sessions would mean actual pain and actual stress. Unlike the rest of my trainers, Sion taught me to give up self-restraint with him and give it my all. He was confident, but he had reason to be. That knife stunt? It wasn’t my first failed attempt. After it became clear that Sion was holding back on me… well, I just tried that much harder, listened that much better to his advice.