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"Today you will learn how to fight each other."

...

Alex vs. Kate

Tom vs. Eliza

Evelyn vs. Erin

...

I looked over at Tom and he looked back at me, a grin spread over his face, wide and open, showing his slightly yellowish teeth.

I had never talked to him before but I knew that he was one of the top initiates, built tall and strong and in that moment his motives were laid bare, he was a mocker, one who enjoyed whatever torment he could inflict on others.

From the things I had heard so far I could tell that he behaved in a way that was rude and too confident towards others. Or simply, an arrogant douche.

This worried me a lot, why would they put me up against someone like him on my very first fight? I knew he wouldn't go easy on me.

I looked over to Eric and caught him staring at us, something flashed beneath the surface of his hardened expression and I tried to investigate the sudden shift, but it was too late, the emotion disappeared before I could identify it.

"I don't want to fight you." I heard Kate whisper to Alex.

"Me neither." Both sounded concerned.

I turned around and gave Kate a small side hug. No one should have to beat up their friends, even if it's just for training.

"First pair, up in the ring!" Eric's authoritative voice echoed through the room.

Alex and Kate involuntarily made their way up to the mat, which was spread out on the floor, and positioned their bodies in a fighting stance, with their arms protectively held in front of their faces.

"What are you waiting for? Begin!" Eric commanded and I couldn't help but notice that something seemed off with him today, his voice was cold and his expression stern, even more than usually. Every hint of friendliness I had seen in him yesterday was completely gone.

The first punch glanced Alex' chin. He punched back and hit her in the stomach multiple times. It went on like that until both of them had enough and Four ended the fight, Alex won.

Next up were Tom and I, we walked over to the mat and I passed by Eric. Before I could reach the mat, Eric's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, holding me back. I didn't even have time to react to his action because it only lasted a matter of seconds.

"Go on offense. You're fast, so you can win if you attack first. You get inside, you jab to the throat." 

I took my stance in the ring and once again met that wicked smile of Tom's in front of me. "Ready to go down?"

Dickhead.

"Don't hold back. You'll be ranked on this." Eric yelled.

I took a deep breath trying to blend out everyone else in the room and only concentrating on my body and the target in front of me. 

Alright. Focus. Remember what Eric said.

I dodged the first few punches and then jabbed my hand to his throat, catching him off guard. He choked and tumbled back a few steps looking at me furiously.

Tom hit me again, connecting his fist with my jaw making me taste iron. I spit it on the ground and lunged at his face. My fist hit the bridge of his nose and it started bleeding.

Next he slammed his hand into my rips twice, making me wince. The pain rippled across my chest but I didn't want to give up and kicked him in the guts. We stumbled apart for a brief second to catch our breaths before diving back at each other, eyes narrowed in determination.

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