Attacca ─ Five Hargreeves

08. Memory Lane

The horizon was still reluctant to dispense certainty about when the sun or raindrops would wind up at the surface. It still favoured the gloomy grey, it was tedious, and Genevieve was totally disenchanted with the sight. Although the two were still ringed by blaring volatility, they ultimately returned to the same pattern before the brief separation. The voyage to find her mother's safe house began again, this time she had a jovial twist since they were looking for the places together again.

As numerous things usually went, they found comfort in silence. One was busy revising numbers, the other was seeking the coarse ground, wishing they wouldn't have to sleep in the open later. Yes, unfortunately, the tunnel had become a thing of the past, there was no such thing as staying in the same place in this situation according to him. Surely, that rewarded the boy with some fleeting protests because during the four months she kept returning to that site, it was a safer haven than the open air.

But Five was quite persistent, he would only counter her arguments with pieces she had never even heard of. Either he really disliked the tunnel, or he just wanted to show off the knowledge in his head that was as wide as the ocean. Nevertheless, they started walking again looking for supplies and a shelter to rest.

It was in the middle of the day when Genevieve randomly stumbled upon a sign with the name of some gym, she immediately walked around, spotting a lot of gym equipment that was out of shape, most of it broken from destruction, but she kept looking for she might find something to hit people with. And that abruptly filled an idea in her head. The world might have ended, but it didn't rule out the possibility that threats were still lurking out there. Her insight was far ahead, if he managed to polish his power to go back, they would definitely surrounded by people again, not all of whom had good intentions.

So Genevieve needed to be prepared. A bit excessive, but better to be safe.

"Teach me how to fight," said the girl, her tone was firm.

Five nearly choked on his own saliva upon hearing her sudden request. "What?"

"Some basic defence skills work for me."

He gazed at her for a few seconds before shaking his head. "No."

"Oh, come on!" she groaned.

"You don't need that," argued Five. "Look around, there's nothing that requires fighting."

"There's you." This earned her a vicious glare from him, she waved a dismissive hand and spoke, "look, I'm able to start a fire, not the fire that scorches down a building, just regular fire. I can heal mortals, being able to fight will enrich me to protect myself."

There was a deep scowl perched on his face. "I can fight."

"I can't," she insisted. "Please?"

It was not what Five meant. The boy could fight because it was part of his training along with his siblings, yes. It was not a string of terrific moves, but he was pretty good at it. Yet the meaning of his utterance was that he could fight for her. It wasn't that he underestimated herself, he was sure she would be great at fighting too, but for him, the girl was already skilled at other things—one that did not need violence to taint the purity in her hands.

Five wanted to refuse, besides that there didn't seem to be any peril around, he just didn't want her to hurt herself in the process. It was a bit ironic because healing was actually her specialty, the last thing she could worry about was getting hurt, but he was the one who was bothered since he was frantic about going too far. He and his siblings were used to fighting to win, not to train. He also had no experience coaching others, so this demand was completely new to him.