Tyrant in the Shadows

Part 16

Miriam hit the ground and let out an "oof" of air. 

"Rhodes wins again," one of their classmates grins, "Who would've thought that Miriam, all powerful when it comes to her potential, wouldn't be able to beat her own partner in a spar."

The girl pushes up into a push-up position and stands up, spinning to glare at the other student, "First of all, he's not my partner. Second of all, you couldn't beat him either. Or me. You have absolutely no room to criticize."

Ivan laughs, "Actually, if he sees anything wrong with what you did, he does have room to criticize. You won because you were stronger. He has a lot better tactics than you do. Dane?"

"Well," Dane starts, looking nervously at Miriam, he was so dead, "You're kind of overconfident. You're so sure you're stronger, you're not ready for the next attack. Even though you're really good at recovering after you get hit, you'll be worn down eventually. That's why he keeps winning."

Miriam tilts her head, thinking while Ivan and Delaney both nod.

"Ok," Miriam nods, "Again."

Rhodes raised an eyebrow, "Do you ever get tired?" He was sitting on a bench, wiping sweat off his face. "I need a five minute break. Then we can fight again."

Miriam gave him a disgusted look, "Tactics or no, I don't see how I haven't beat you yet. I train way more than you do, my endurance is higher, and I'm a lot more agile."

"Pretty decent assessment," Delaney agrees, "But Rhodes is smarter than you. By quite a bit. And, of course, I mean no offense by that. You're a pretty bright girl."

Miriam glared, she knew Delaney was right but it didn't mean she had to like it, "But he's such a bookworm. And he like flowers. Flowers. A nerd that like flowers. I don't even see why he's here to fight."

Rhode's eyes hardened, "Yeah, I like flowers. But my family was killed by shadows, just like yours. I've woken up from the same nightmares you have. Just because I like flowers and reading, doesn't mean I'm willing to stand for what those imbalances do." He stands up, "Ready?"

The rest of the room was watching in a nearly awkward silence. It was weird to see two people who were in a partnership (even if it wasn't official) to argue like that. On top of that, Rhodes and Miriam were the only two who had lost nearly if not all of their family to a shadow attack. Most of them couldn't imagine their internal battles.

Miriam and Rhodes faced each other once again. They traded blows, dodged, feinted. This time, Miriam was watching the shifts in her partner to predict his next move. When he shifted in what was preparing to be a roundhouse kick, she stepped back out of his range, but he quickly changed tactics, going instead to the ground in a roll. He grabbed her ankles and stood up, turning her upside down and cracking her head on the floor along the way. He then dropped her.

Miriam yelped, eyes widening when her vision began to swim.

"Rhodes, that was uncalled for. Hitting her head could've very well been an accident, but dropping her definitely wasn't," Ivan chided, kneeling next to Miriam. 

"Sorry," Rhodes muttered, turning around and leaving the room.

"You know, as much as they argue and insult each other, I never thought I would see Rhodes do something like that," one of the girls, Mai, muttered.

"Yeah. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," a light weaver named Carlos agreed. 

Mai stood up and walked to Miriam when she saw the blood, "Here," she pressed her hands to the wound. It healed quickly.

"Are you going to apologize or lecture him?" Delaney asked, quirking a brow.

"I'm going to punch him," Miriam scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Wasn't on my list but that works," the senior officer chuckled.

"We really shouldn't be condoning violence. But he dropped you. So it's fair," Ivan laughed as well.

Miriam stood up and stalked out the gym, following her "partner". She sped up when she got close to Rhodes and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around.

"That's for dropping me," she hissed punching him hard in the gut. He kind of curled his shoulders in, but he didn't look at her. "Well, are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

His eyes met hers then, and they were red rimmed like he had been crying, "I thought I was over watching them die again and again, and not be able to do anything about it."