Life Finds a Way

Chapter 25

She was on her tenth lap when the boys around her finally started scrambling to look busy. She didn't need to look over to the door to know who had just walked in. She finally turned when she heard an irritated voice call out. "Williamson!" She turned to see Sergeant Mays heading toward them, surprisingly unburnt. She hid the laugh she felt bubbling up as she realized Genesis did have some restraint. As he got closer she realized if looks could kill, they would all be dead. She only hoped that didn't mean Genesis was going to be pissed off as well. When he drew even with her, he just jerked his thumb back toward the door. "Out of my sight!"

She gave him a quick salute before heading toward the door. She hadn't made it there before a scowling Genesis entered the room, followed quickly by Angeal. That would explain why Sergeant Mays was still standing. She didn't voice that thought though, instead she gave both men a salute. "Commander Rhapsodos, Commander Hewley." When Zack peeked around Angeal's shoulder and gave her a small wave, she couldn't stop her grin. "Lieutenant Fair."

If anything, that caused Genesis' scowl to deepen. Clarissa quickly cleared her face and waited for his orders. When he saw she wasn't going to add anything else, he turned to the door, calling out over his shoulder. "Follow me."

Their little troupe followed Genesis out the door and down the hall. Zack fell into step beside her and looked like he wanted to say something, but Clarissa gave him a small shake of her head while looking pointedly at Genesis. Zack caught on pretty quick, blanching at the point she was making. It was obvious that Genesis was in a foul mood.

They had only walked a few doors down from the main training room when Genesis stopped and unlocked a room on the right. Inside was another training room but this one was much smaller. It was obviously designed for small groups. From the way Zack moved around the room, it was obvious he and Angeal used it often. Clarissa stood near the door, waiting for the next instructions.

Clarissa felt uneasiness creep in when Genesis turned to her and his scowl faded into the blank look he had when he first stood across from her in the training room. When he started speaking she felt her palms start sweating again. She couldn't help but be worried about her worst fears. "You are not trained in any form of combat and we have just over six weeks to get you to the point that you can pass the Soldier exams. We have no time for you to be idle. Every afternoon I will be training you in both armed combat and materia usage. Angeal has agreed to observe and possibly assist with armed combat, which is why he is here. Each day we will focus on that aspect first. After dinner we will move to materia."

He paused at that point and moved to grab a practice sword off the wall, much like the one he had first tried to get her to use. When he tossed it to her she squeaked before jumping out of the way of the dull blade. When she turned back to him with a scowl it was wiped off her face at the look on his. "You could have caught it. From now on the first thing we will focus on is for you to unlearn your instinct to cower away. That will end up getting you killed." He picked up another blade from the wall and pointed it at the one on the floor. "Pick it up. We will have you move through basic forms. Be on alert for random attacks and block, don't dodge. I will slow down enough to make sure you can block each attack if you pay attention. If you dodge it will be worse."

Clarissa hadn't expected Genesis to be an easy teacher, but this was ridiculous. This was far worse than her step dad throwing her in the deep end of the pool to learn to swim. There was no life guard this time, instead there was a pissed off ginger with the equivalent of a metal club threatening to hit her if she tried to dodge. As much as she logically knew this training had a purpose, she couldn't keep her tongue in check. "So, you're telling me to suck it up and get hit? What kind of logic is that?"