Gunned | SatoSere

Chapter 30 - Back in Action

It's purely nostalgic watching Ash fight again.

The day after he fully woke, he was practically itching to escape the hospital room. There were several instances of Serena yelling at him, "For gods sake, Ash, you're going to make me end up in the hospital next due to a heart attack! Stop messing around and lay the hell down!"

Miette failed to hide her cackling from behind Serena whose hands were on her hips and Ash looking suitably reprimanded with a wince.

But the boss would never be held down for long, much to Serena's chagrin. She was completely against it, telling Ash that he should take it easy for a while. They have all the time in the world now and there wasn't any need to rush, but he swept Serena's concerns away with a deep kiss and a dashing smile that left her dizzy.

Ash is standing tall once again with new scars stark against his skin beneath the lights of the training room while propping a training spear on his broad shoulders. It's annoying to Serena that he's still impossibly attractive, but takes great satisfaction knowing they belong to one another.

Finally.

"I just want to test it out, Serena. You don't think I could lose to Dawn, do you?"

Serena rolls her eyes and takes her seat to spectate from the sidelines. She gives Ash a look. "You better not or I'll be the one kicking your ass."

Ash laughs and saunters away with a twirl of the spear. "Yes ma'am."

Dawn seems all the more excited to be squaring off with Ash again, practically bouncing on her feet and stretching her arms. She picks up the wooden sword beside her with a large smile.

"Well, hope you're not rusty, Ash! I'll be scoring that win on you!" Dawn calls from across the arena.

Ash raises his brow, leaning lazily on one foot with a hand on his hip. "Confident already, Dawn? I'll make sure Iris keeps the med bay set up for you."

Dawn takes the challenge willingly, her heels grounding into a firm battle stance while Ash takes his own, breathing slowly as he grips the spear between his palms. He gracefully finds his opening stance as though the spear was an extension of his body, spinning it and readying it at his back.

"Dawn hasn't been able to shut up about this," Misty comments, walking into the room to take a seat beside Serena. "She kept going on and on about how she finally has a chance against Ash with him being on so much bedrest."

Serena crosses her arms and peers at Misty. "You don't actually think she can do it, do you?"

Misty lets a smirk appear on her lips. "Not a chance."

The spar explodes as the two warriors spring into action, clashing their weapons, grins on both of their faces. The room begins to echo with the sounds of solid strikes and battle cries. Serena can see that Ash is still sharp, but with the endless spars they shared, she knows that the leader is a notch slower, needing two hands to fully block some of Dawn's full frontal swings, but he still weaves through the battle smoothly, black hair sticking to the side of his face with sweat, looking completely in his element as his muscles flex with every attack and every block.

For the blue haired warrior, Ash's time away isn't enough to give him the edge. He thwarts one of Dawn's slices mid-strike, disrupting her balance. He takes this opportunity to fully test his range of motion. He groans loudly, immediately jumping and twisting into a roundhouse kick that sends Dawn sprawling to the floor. She groans from where she lays on the mat while Ash laughs victoriously, eventually extending a hand to help her up.

"Give it a few more years," Ash remarks when Dawn is back on her feet.

"Yeah, yeah, boss," she replies, the expression on his face a disappointed one and his tone lacking the usual cheerfulness she always carries.

Ash puts a hand on her shoulder, her head raising to meet his approving gaze. "Hey, don't get so down on yourself. You did good. It's with that strength that we were able to win against the Ketchums. Now's not the time to beat yourself up, you hear?"

Dawn brightens with a smile and nods. "Yeah, you're right. No need to worry. I'll get stronger, Ash, just you wait!"

He punches her shoulder with his approval and props the spear against his shoulder once again, turning to their audience. "Yo, Misty! You up for one?"

Misty shakes her head. "After that show, I'd say I'm not in the mood to be treated by Iris today."

"Well then," Serena begins flippantly as she rises from her seat. From the rack on the wall, she draws a wooden katana and twirls the handle between her fingers before giving a good downward strike, testing its weight. She points the tip of the blade towards Ash's curious expression. "Got room for one more?"

Ash smirks and Serena ignores the flutter in her chest as he beckons her to come forward. "Always."

Dawn bristles with excitement as she moves quickly to take her seat beside Misty. "Now, this'll be a great fight. The two bosses are fighting it out."

"Don't throw a fit if I kick your ass, babe," Serena taunts, taking her stead on the opposite side of the ring.

Ash knows full well what Serena is capable of now. She remembers the first day she came to train with him and how clumsy she was, striking tentatively whereas her personality was thunderous like a torrential storm. How her hands used to shake when she drew first blood on a stranger to the unflinching, indomitable will that made her enemies tremble.

Serena caught up to Ash like she swore she would, and became her own star, leaving him to revolve around her gravity as they collided. She controls her strikes with a flourishing beauty, a perfect balance between deadly strikes and resolved will. Their audience watches with rapt attention, unable to deny that Ash is still a remarkable fighter and that Serena is very much his equal.

They clash again, breathing hard in the space between them from the intensity. Serena gives him a satisfied grin and giggles, bringing an infectious smile to Ash's face. They're both brutal, addicted to each other's relentless onslaught. Though Ash loves this woman with his entire soul, he is nothing without his own teasing demeanor that will always challenge those around him.

He ducks beneath one of Serena's strikes and nearly takes her off guard with an upward swing of his spear that Serena parries narrowly with a glare

Ash grin widens. "Careful, beautiful. I just might top you."

Serena immediately flushes red, reacting outwardly as she leads with a two handed slash that Ash blocks with a guffaw of laughter.

From afar, Dawn's blush can get close enough to the hot shade of Misty's hair from what they heard as she slowly stands. "We should... probably go."

Misty agrees wordlessly, grimacing from her own embarrassment and averting her gaze from the couple clearly lost in their own world. The two women duck out of the training room quietly while Serena and Ash don't even notice.

To Ash's word, he wins the match and it ends with them in a mess of limbs atop the mats. Serena rolls her eyes at Ash's slim victory, her sword across the way from being disarmed.

"I let you win," Serena huffs, breathless. She wills herself not to notice how handsome Ash is with the lights painting an ethereal halo against his raven hair. She fails and Ash's lips widen into a smile when he catches Serena's gaze flickering from his lips, and back to his eyes.

Ash doesn't let her suffer the taste of defeat for long as he leans down and whispers lowly across Serena's skin. "Of course, Serena."

Serena, a skillful tactician, takes the opportunity to flip Ash onto his back that makes the mafioso yelp. It's his turn to look flustered and Serena takes her prize with amusement. The aftermath of the spar is filled with stolen kisses and soft laughter.

"Cheater," Ash mumbles in between.

"You love me," Serena fires back, emphasizing her point with another kiss that makes Ash melt beneath her, a firm grip on her hips as he holds her close.

Ash would never argue something so undeniably true.