Breathe

Chapter 36 - Family

 Another day passed, and so it was another day of training. As I stood in the training room, I waited for Newvy, who was supposed to be bringing in someone for me to duel with. Since we had two weeks left, he thought it would be appropriate for me to start seriously fighting others besides him to ensure I understand a variety of styles and could adapt to them.

Waiting for time to pass, I began to knock my wooden sword against the ground.

Thud.

Thud. Thud.

It still wasn't going by fast enough. Glancing at the clock, I noticed that only thirty minutes had passed. That was still at least ten minutes too long—shouldn't he have found someone sooner? Surely there was someone within at least a hallway that was willing to fight against me.

Looking around the room, I couldn't help but notice the number of people in it. Since it was Sunday—a weekend—there was a bountiful amount of people working out. Additionally, there were more people than usual due to the operation coming up. Surely he could have asked someone in here. Though they did appear to be much stronger than me and much bigger, that shouldn't be an issue; at least I would have experience fighting someone bigger than me.

Hearing footsteps draw closer, I turned to see Newvy standing there with...

"Axel?"

The redhead nodded. "Ya called?"

Looking at Newvy, I inquired, "Why is Axel here?"

"You'll be fighting Axel today," he responded, face as nonchalant as always. "You have yet to fight against someone bigger than you, and Axel is the perfect size."

Now that I thought about it, Axel was a rather tall man. Standing at least 6'1, he more than towered over me even when I stood on my toes. Not only that, but he had legs for arms—more so now than before—and I was certain that the circumference of one of his arms was about the same as both of mine.

"I heard from Newvy that you needed someone, so I came runnin'," Axel said. "But 'cause I was helpin' someone with trainin' some runts, it took some time. Sorry 'bout that."

"It's fine." Getting on my feet, I threw him the spare sword that was on the bench and got into the pose.

He snatched it and swung it around a little before he got into the pose. With the sword pointing at me, he asked, "Ya ready?"

"Of course," was my only response.

Standing to the side, Newvy held his hands up. Then, in one swipe, he said, "Begin!"

Immediately, Axel bolted to me.

Swoooosh.

He swung his sword, letting it swipe the air. Quickly, I jumped back, narrowly missing it by a mere second. In that mere second, I saw him smile.

Standing a few feet away from him, I watched as he rested his sword against his back. His back arched and his shoulders back, he looked down at me and smirked. "You're fasta than I thought you'd be," he commented.

"You're as reckless as I thought you'd be."

Grinning, he said, "It's not a fight if you don't have fun."

Before I could respond, he lunged at me. Aiming for my chest, he thrust his sword, its narrow side on its width.

Blocked.

I brought my sword up and barely blocked him. Our swords clashed. My arm trembled as I held it by the blade and holder, trying to prevent his slash. Underneath, my feet were beginning to drag against the concrete. Peering back, I saw that it wasn't looking good. My stance was always suffering and anymore than this, I'll be unstable. Looking back at him, I saw a smirk still plastered on his face.