I Am

Four

Plucking the knife from the holster resting on her thigh Harper ducked as she threw it across the room. Without waiting to see if it hit where she was aiming she grabbed for her gun, lifting it and shooting a couple of rounds, hitting the target before her straight on.

"Yeah, yeah, full marks."

She let out a sigh of frustration as the simulation switched off and Shuri's voice echoed through the training room. Pushing the virtual reality goggles she was wearing off her eyes and onto the top of her head she turned to where Shuri was waiting for her by the door "Do you need me?" she asked, slightly out of breath.

"No," Shuri answered with a shrug of her shoulders, earning a roll of Harper's eyes in reply "T'Challa, Okoye and Nakia are in South Korea, I'm waiting around to be needed and I'm bored."

"You insisted on building this whole simulation so I could practise and now you're not letting me use it?" Harper asked with a teasing arch to her eyebrows as she hung the goggles up on their charging port and reached for her jacket.

"I'm bored," Shuri repeated as though it explained everything "Come and sit with me."

Though Harper shook her head a smile came to her face as she followed Shuri out of the room and down the corridor toward the lab "I would have gotten full marks if you'd let me finish."

"Of course you would," Shuri answered, though not sounding fully convinced, "You forget I can watch you on the monitor," she continued, gesturing to the screen set up on her desk as the two of them took their seats.

Harper let out an offended sound "I was doing good!"

"Your aim was off," Shuri said with a shrug, continuing before Harper could argue back "But you were fine."

"Fine," Harper scoffed beneath her breath. "Have you heard from them?" she asked "T'Challa, Okoye and Nakia?"

"Only that they've landed and have begun the mission," Shuri said with a roll of her eyes "Let's just hope my brother doesn't freeze this time."

"What is it with him and Nakia?" Harper asked with amusement on her face as the excitement of sharing gossip spread across Shuri's.

"They dated when they were younger," she began "But while my brother took on learning how to be king Nakia joined the war dogs."

"Badass," Harper said with a nod of approval.

"Badass indeed," Shuri confirmed "She was involved in a confrontation with some ivory smugglers during a mission in South Korea, which is part of why I was confused T'Challa wanted her going with him," she continued "If she's recognised as Wakandan then the whole mission could be compromised."

"I'm sure your brother knows what he's doing," Harper answered with a shrug "What happened with them? Did they have a big break up?"

"No but Nakia was out on an undercover mission in Nigeria, observing the trafficking going on there," Shuri explained "That was two years ago, a long time."

"A long time apart but speeds by when you're together," Harper said with a tight smile before catching sight of the inquisitive look on Shuri's face "It was the amount of time Bucky and I were on the run together."

"What was that like?" Shuri asked, leaning forward with her elbow pressing into her thigh and her chin resting in her palm. By the look on her face Harper could tell it was the question she had been dying to ask.

"Terrifying," Harper answered before smiling "And amazing."

Shuri looked like she wanted to ask more but, as she opened her mouth, the shout of her name cut across the room.