Tidal Waves

5. Company

At the crack of dawn, Maya woke Raven up to start training her to wield swords and shoot a pistol.

"Like this?" Raven questioned as she firmly held onto the handgun and carefully positioned her fingers.

"Make sure one elbow is locked when you fire it," Maya gave her a tip as she readjusted Raven's arm, "It could dislocate your arm if you're not careful."

"Okay," Raven said and kept her position firm, her finger hovering over the trigger as she did so. She didn't fire the gun because they had limited ammo. She aimed at a target and let Maya inspect her.

"I think you've got guns down," Maya praised and patted her on the shoulder. "Now let's work on swords."

Raven handed her the pistol and watched as she pulled out a sword from its holster.

"This was Damian's first sword," Maya informed her as she handed Raven the dulled katana.

Raven carefully took the sword in her hand and studied it. "A katana?" she questioned, "Doesn't a pirate usually use a cutlass?"

Maya let out a sigh. "Well-" she started, but she was rudely interrupted.

"His grandfather taught him how to wield that katana before he even learned how to walk," Emiko informed. Neither of the other two girls had a clue how long she had been standing there. "There's no telling how many heads he's whacked off with that old thing," she added.

She was standing in the doorway of the gun room, leaning against the wooden frame with her arms crossed over her chest. Instead of her red suit, she was wearing a simple black t-shirt and jeans.

"How do you know that?" Maya questioned as she stared at the girl suspiciously.

"Let's just say our pasts are very similar," Emiko responded, her voice holding the faintest tone of sadness in it. "Ra's Al Ghul is a demon, and most people that know this believe that Damian is cursed."

"He's not cursed," Maya responded, "We just come from shitty families, alright?"

"Your father was an assassin that Damian murdered, and Suren's father is just as evil as Ra's Al Ghul," Emiko said, "All they wanted to do was make you three a pawn in their sick game."

Maya narrowed her eyes at this. "What are you, a stalker?" she questioned.

Raven let her eyes widen the slightest as she processed the information. Maya instantly got defensive, which meant Emiko's words must be true.

"Just a good listener," Emiko responded.

"I'm sure your story isn't the brightest either," Maya retorted.

Emiko flashed the two girls a half-crooked smile. "I can't judge any of you. I was kidnapped as an infant and trained to kill people," she responded and forced a laugh. "I plan to find what's left of my real family."

"I... hope you do," Maya hesitantly said. It was hard for her to tell if Emiko was being genuine, but she decided to take a chance.

Emiko made her way over to the two girls, grabbing her bow from a hook on the way over. She took the katana from Raven's hands and replaced it with her bow.

Raven raised an eyebrow at the sudden transaction before Emiko explained what she was doing. "Before you move on to swords, how about I teach you how to shoot some arrows?" she offered.

Raven shared a glance with Maya before responding. "Uh, sure," she decided and let the other girl teach her how to work the bow.

"A major factor in shooting your arrows accurately is your stance and grip," Emiko informed her and positioned her the way she was taught. Once she was ready, Emiko told her to shoot.