A thud and a groan. Akane is lying on his back, pinned by Ceane, who looks down at him with disappointment, which quickly switches into a grin as Akane twists him around so that Ceane is now pinned under him. "Gotcha," he breathes. The tutor laughs, tapping on the ground thrice before Akane helps him up.
"You have improved," he comments eyes once again sliding to his new student. "Can't wait to see what you've got."
They start with some simple stretches, and Ceane demonstrates how to throw a punch.
"We'll start with simple close combat before any weapons alright?" He doesn't wait for an answer as he gets in position. His feet are spread apart for balance, knees slightly bent and his hands are raised as fists. He punches the air in front of him and pulls his fist back. "See," he demonstrates the punch again. "It's not that you move your shoulders or back in front, you should direct the punch with your hips. And to get closer, use your knees so your opponent can't attack you because you can just go back to the original position."
He stands up and nods at Sai who gets in position. "Don't spread your legs too wide, you'll lose balance and find it hard to move too. Yes!" He rejoices at Sai's attempt at a punch. "That's how you do it, although put in much more power when punching and pulling it back. The pulling back bit is another attack in itself, you know, to hit someone from the back with your elbow."
He teaches Sai a few more stances in martial arts and the basics of fighting- "stay on your toes Sai, yes, now shuffle front and back." -and how to kick- "no, don't just raise your leg up like that, bend it at the knee as high as it can go, open it and kick and then fold it when you're bringing your foot back down. It helps with the accuracy and strength of the kick."
She does as she is told, her legs barely reaching Akane's hip- he was acting as the practice dummy. He just blocks her kick off with ease, causing her to scowl as she lands on her bum.
"Thanks," she growls at him while Ceane snickers from the sidelines, glancing at the window. The sky has cleared, making way for the little spots of light against the darkened background. The garden lights flicker on, casting a glow on the stony path and the glistening wet blades of grass.
"I'll teach you some leg stretches," he says thoughtfully. "If you do them daily, you'll be able to kick that smirk off Akane's face," he grins and Sai grins back. Ceane wasn't so bad after all.
Akane just looks at him wounded. "I'm not showing up for practices again," he announces, crossing his arms. "Being a dummy is boring!"
"Fine, we'll put you up for duelling when Sai is ready," the tutor rolled his eyes, leading the cool-down exercises.
They exit the classroom and Sai makes her way to her dorms. The stairs seem extra long, as her legs feel so good from all the stretches and maybe, maybe, she got the hang of this. Maybe she can face the killer of her parents in a few years.
She pushes open the door to her room and grins at Ashe sprawled on her bed watching something on her phone. She's on her stomach, legs swinging in the air, light from her device highlighting her soft blue eyes.
"Hi," she grins back, rolling over and patting the space she just created for her best friend.
"What are you watching?" Sai asks, unlacing her shoes at the door. She pats the wall looking for the light switch and flips it, white light illuminating the dark room. Opening the door of her closet, she pulls out her favourite pyjamas- a lilac t-shirt and cotton pants.
"A TV series, it's so good," Ashe puts her phone face-down on the bed. "How was your first day of training?"
"Akane is so annoying," she groans, opening the door to the adjoined bathroom. "I'll tell you the details after I shower, I'm so sweaty right now."
Ashe smiles, resuming her show. What Akane was doing at Sai's private tutoring was a mystery she was yet to solve.
a little note~
part ii as promised!!
i'll post another chapter
tomorrow as an apology
for the short chapters <3
ty for 130+ reads!!
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Marked by Daemons
ParanormalSai Osama's parents were murdered at their house when she was fifteen. The murderer? A thousand-year-old High Daemon, unlike anything the Association has dealt with before. Not since High Daemons were eradicated decades ago. What's more? Sai has bee...
