Visual Kei

Dodging an incoming feint, I both met the actual hit dead on and nearly toppled over while doing so. My face flew back, my body following its path closely, and I landed on my ass. Again. I reached up and touched my cheek, not yet feeling the pain, but it throbbed a little. I hoped I didn’t look like some kind of Lord of the Rings extra in the morning, but I could taste a little blood from accidentally biting down on the inside of my cheek.

Samael offered me a hand to pull me up, but I just wallowed in poutiness for a little while longer. “You are getting better, whether you think so or not.”

“I was until you added this crap!” I complained, knocking the high heeled shoes against the floor in displeasure. “Seriously, why anyone would wear heels when kicking ass is beyond me.” I took his hand then, and stood shakily. My legs felt about to give out. I hadn’t exercised in my life, really. It was only genetics and adrenaline that had saved me from having a heart attack.

He laughed. “You’ve got to be ready to fight, even when you’re held back by inconveniences like that. After you get good with those, you’ll be fighting in combat boots and weaponless.”

“Again?” I complained loudly. “My calves are killing me already!”

“It really is easier for men,” he agreed smugly. “From the beginning.” Before I could protest, he struck, jabbing quickly at my stomach. I danced around his attacks erratically, mostly following through with my actual tripping. At one point, I fell on him, my full weight knocking him off balance unexpectedly, but before I could get a hit in, he recovered and countered. I dodged his attacks easily enough, but I hadn’t touched my divine strength yet so my attacks barely damaged him. Even kicks in the groin were next to useless.

His elbow grazed my shoulder, knocking me away from him. I struggled to stay on my feet, clumsily meeting a knee in the chest, which sent me flying into the wall. Making contact with it sucked. I slid down and scrambled to the side just in time to see his foot flying through the air where my face just was. I leapt back, lost ground, and he rushed to fill the gap. I had no time to recover, and soon my dodging was more luck than skill. Flopping around like a dying fish was going to get me a black eye. Sure enough, his fist grazed my face, but I followed the blow, minimizing the damage before snapping up on his side and clothesline-ing him. As he clutched his neck, he made a face of discomfort, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think it would stop him.

While Samael was surprised, I took the opportunity to whirl behind him and take his feet out from under him. He righted himself on his way down by using both hands to vault backwards and flip up into a standing position. But I was on his ass, and before he knew what was happening, I reached out and stuck my fingers into his nostrils, pulling roughly so that his face was inches from mine. His eyes went wide and began to water with pain, but when he realized what was happening, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Sorry,” I said, relinquishing his nose. I laughed too. “I always wanted to try that on someone. I’m just kind of sorry it had to be you.”

Rubbing his nose, he said, “It hurts like a bitch . . . but I think I’ll try it sometime too.”

“I knew it would,” I replied with a smile. “My brother used to do it to me all the time.”

“You hit me more than once this time, and you’ve been training for almost an hour and a half today. I’d say that you’ve improved a lot.”

“I’m still not good enough to guard myself against anyone but mortals.” I turned away slightly. “I’m tired of being such a pansy.”

“That’s why you’re training, right? Don’t worry about it; it’ll come to you eventually.”

“Thanks, Sammy. I’m going to call it quits today, though. My feet and calves are seizing, I think.” As I spoke, I pulled off the wretched heels and tossed them into the box of goodies next to the door. It was full of weapons and, as Samael called them, “inconveniences” that we used for training. I started out the door.

“Nice try, Alice,” he said with a hint of amusement. He was never angry with me, only slightly annoyed and amused. “Get back here and do your meditation.”

I groaned. “Doesn’t a girl ever get a break?” Sitting in the middle of the room, I crossed my legs and assumed the “Zen” pose. Although meditation was supposed to calm me down, it never really worked. My heart was still beating like an obnoxious drum in my chest, viciously pumping blood as if I never stopped my training. And my calves still felt like they were going to shoot off like rockets. Still, I just sat very still and breathed out of my nose a lot, making no noise or sudden movements. Eventually, when my heart rate was down enough, Samael let me go.

I went straight to the showers to wash all the sweat off my body. If I didn’t—well, let’s just say it’s not pleasant. Plus, the hot water felt great. When I was done, I was ready to crash, so I headed to my room. To my surprise, Ray was in there waiting for me. When I slid the door open, he turned with a look of amusement in his eyes.

Immediately, I groaned again. “Please don’t tell me—“

“I’m here for my own reasons.”

“Great!” I said, perking up instantly. I flopped on the bed, ignoring that my hair was still dripping. “What’s on your mind, Blondie?”

“There’s something I need you to do for me,” he answered in his deep, quiet voice. His lips quirked a little as he twirled his lip rings.

“I don’t do anything involving children or old people,” I said, lounging back on the mountain of pillows behind me. “And if it has anything to do with marijuana, count me out.”

“Judging from experience, hm?”

“Hell no! I just don’t like kids, old people, or weed, so if what you’re gonna ask has anything to do with any of those things, nuh-uh, I’m not getting involved.”

“Lucky for you, then, I suppose,” he said with the barest hint of a smile. I gave him a strange look. “I must ask you to accompany me tomorrow night, to confront someone.”

“Someone?”

“If you want the details, she ingests souls.”

“Ohhhhh, I see. A lost love. How cute. So, what you’re saying is that it’s over because she tried to slurp your soul out of your—“

“She is far from a lover.”

“A rival, then?”

“You could say that,” he replied, turning his eyes down toward his hands. “I would rather not speak of her.”

I nodded solemnly. Why did you ask me? I asked softly.

The cold determination in his eyes wavered for just a moment, but I realized that it didn’t make him weaker. I don’t know if I can do it alone.

What about Seheon?

I couldn’t trust him with something like this . . . he said, his mind brushing mine momentarily. Some of his memories leaked into my consciousness, but they were fuzzy and uncertain, and as soon as my mind latched onto them, they slipped away as if they were never there to begin with. Ray looked up at me for a moment, making eye contact, before dipping his head away again. I trust you more. Alice . . .

Without looking at me, he asked quietly, “Will you go with me?”

“If it means that much to you, yes, I will go.”