I had planned this to get a rise out of her, but she was managing to get a leg up on me. She does that to me so easily. She hadn’t blinked or hesitated at all. When did she learn to dish out this kind of comment? Why isn’t she reacting at all to what I say?
I needed to up my game. She should at least get flustered with these kinds of comments. I grinned wickedly when something came to me. “You’re avoiding my question. Do I need to drag Rylan away to allow for you and Raikidan to have some alone time? Time to learn how to eat something delicious off him?”
She jerked back, surprise and repulsion clouding her face. Still there was something else—a slight bit of reddening to her cheeks. Bingo! “What compels you to have and share such outrageously weird fantasies?”
I wagged my finger at her. “Not weird. Delicious. And I know you think so, too.”
She pulled back more. “Can you not be so bizarre for once?”
“Oh, don’t be shy.” I looked to Raikidan. “You wouldn’t mind that, would you, Raikidan?”
The two men stared at us, Rylan looking irritated for some reason, and Raikidan, well, he looked clueless. How does he not understand? That wasn’t a very subtle topic.
I flicked my hand, dismissing them, and sighed. “You’re no help. Well, go on you two. Go back to doing your manly thing and beat each other up some more.”
The two looked at each other and shrugged, going back to their sparring. Their actions remained the same for a bit, Raikidan swinging wildly while Rylan showed his more refined prowess. I shamelessly ogled. Laz watched with a critical eye, calling out Raikidan’s improper moves to correct him. I didn’t get it. How could she act like this wasn’t fun to watch? How could she act so indifferent to men?
I knew this wasn’t how she used to be. I knew that person; the woman who ultimately found herself shoved in a cage and hidden away for her own safety. She still had to exist in there, waiting to be released again.
Raikidan landed a solid hit on Rylan, pulling my attention back. Raikidan’s posture had changed. It wasn’t a mood shift, but a focus shift. It matched more what I’d seen Rylan holding. Wait a minute.
I watched closely as Rylan threw out a strike and Raikidan deftly moved out of the way. Rylan tried again and Raikidan blocked the attack, as if anticipating the move. Laz leaned forward as the pair circled the mat, Raikidan watching Rylan carefully; even adjusting his stance. She also sees it. Raikidan was mimicking Rylan.
Wait… Raikidan ducked a perfectly timed attacked from Rylan and struck him in the side with a good punch. He’s not just copying. Raikidan was finally using his head and learning from Rylan—and maybe a bit from Laz with her back-seat coaching.
Raikidan blocked three consecutive attacks and deflected another without blinking an eye, his focus serious, and intent on following Rylan’s moves. This was quite fascinating to watch.
I looked to Laz. “He learns fast. I didn’t expect him to pick up any technique from one sparring match. Yet he’s gone beyond that and has figured out how to execute well-thought-out strategies on the fly.”
Laz nodded, but her focus on the match kept her from saying anything. I didn’t blame her at this point. Raikidan’s improvement was important. I’d have to hold off on my teasing and testing of the waters until these two calmed down a bit.
Rylan came in for another attack, which Raikidan blocked. It appeared as if he was about to follow up with a left hook, and Rylan readied to deflect, but Raikidan feinted and landed a right-handed blow to Rylan’s gut.
I couldn’t help but cheer. “That was amazing, Raikidan! You’re picking this up so well.”
Raikidan nodded, acknowledging my praise, and continued his attack.
“He’s actually giving Rylan a run for his money,” I said to Laz. “If I didn’t know his fighting skill, I’d have thought Rylan was the amateur fighter.”
“Raikidan is always full of surprises,” Laz said.
I grinned, my eyes narrowing. “I’m sure he is.”
Laz completely ignored me that time.
Raikidan ducked under a punch and jabbed Rylan in the jaw with a perfectly timed hit. Rylan staggered back and fell on his ass. The stunned and confused face he made sent Laz and me into a hysterical fit of laughter.
Rylan caught his bearings and glowered. “Stop laughing.”
“Your face was priceless!” I said through my fit. “Raikidan, that was an amazingly timed hit.” I wiped a tear away. “Ry, I don’t know how you managed to let him do that to you.”
“You think it’s easy fighting him?” Rylan got to his feet. “He’s a reckless, unpredictable powerhouse.”
I waved him off. “Oh, don’t be so dramatic.”
He stared at me in disbelief. “Dramatic? You’re not the one sparring with him.” He held up his hands and then pointed at her. “You know what, you spar with him, then tell me I’m being over dramatic.”
I jumped to my feet, excitement bursting through me. “That’s a great idea!”
Raikidan took a step back. “No.”
I placed my hands on my hips. “You promised we’d have a match to prove who is stronger. This is that time.”
“I didn’t agree to hit you. I agreed to do something to test our strengths in other ways.”
“Oh really?” I winked at him. “Sounds even more fun.”
His brow rose, his eyes showing he wasn’t getting my teasing implication. Wow, he’s a new level of clueless. Rylan glowered but clenched his jaw shut. What’s with him? I shook the thought from my head. He was just mad at me for my earlier comments, though I couldn’t understand why. It’s not like he cared I was talking about Raikidan so much. Right?
I took a deep breath and stood my ground. “I want to spar with you. I can hold my own against you.”
Raikidan crossed his arms. “Not happening.”
I turned to Laz. “Laz, make him spar with me!”
She held up her hands. “What do you expect me to do? He wouldn’t let me spar with Rylan. I can’t make him do things. He’s not some pet on command.”
He could be your hunky pet if you tried harder. I stomped my foot. “He’s the only one who might be capable of holding his own against me, and I really want to spar.”
Laz sighed and beckoned Raikidan with a finger, walking away to a corner. He followed and I shamelessly eavesdropped.
“I don’t know why you want to talk to me over here,” he said. “I’m not doing it. No matter how much she carries on like a child.”
Rude!
“Just this once.” She placed her hands on her hips. “It’s not going to kill you.”
I stifled a chuckle. Depends on how excited I get.
“I don’t hit females.”
My brow rose. That wasn’t the first time I’d heard him using strange words. He really is an odd guy. I grinned. Perfect for our odd ex-assassin.
Laz pinched her nose but then straightened. “Then don’t see her as a woman.”
Excuse you!
Raikidan’s face scrunched. “What?”
“If seeing her as a woman is the only issue here, don’t see her as one. Just see her as a person. Even pretend she’s your mortal enemy. Whatever gets you to forget she’s female for maybe ten minutes.”
Yeah, like he’s going to last that long.
Raikidan’s lips pressed into a line and his shoulders tensed. Man, he’s yummy. How could Laz ignore that?
Her eyes softened and her posture drew inward, giving her a less authoritative and more gentle presence. “Please. Just this once. For me.”
I stared at her. I couldn’t believe she was trying that tactic.
Raikidan hung his head and sighed, the pitch telling me he was giving in. “Okay. For you.” He held up a finger. “But just this once.”
A smirk spread across my lips. Nothing between them, my ass.
Raikidan faced me. He didn’t look happy, but at least he was finally going to give this a try.
I pointed to the mat. “So, we go
ing to go at it, or not?”
Rylan choked at my wording, Laz pinched her nose as she sighed and Raikidan… looked more clueless than ever. I don’t know why, but that clueless reaction is fun to see after making comments like that.
“Let’s get this over with,” Raikidan said, taking up position on the mat.
Giddiness fell over me and I bounced over to him. Laz returned to sitting on the table, and Rylan joined her. I pulled myself into a fighting stance and waited. Raikidan looked unsure, but after a few moments took some sort of fighting stance.
We stared each other down until my impatience took over and I slammed my fist into his chest. He crashed to the ground on his back, gasping for air. Laz smacked her forehead. Dammit. I didn’t even use a whole lot of strength in that blow. I thought he’d be able to handle it.
Raikidan caught his breath and pushed himself into a partial sitting position. “I was not expecting that. Are you sure you’re a woman?”
I looked down at my enormous chest and popped on my toes, making them bounce, as well as sending a bit of discomfort through me due to their weight. “I’m pretty sure that’s what these indicate, and they’re one hundred percent natural.”
Raikidan looked at me with a puzzled expression and Laz laughed. I glanced her way to find her holding her sides, and Rylan hiding his face.
My brow rose. “What’s the matter, Ry?”
“It’s nothing,” he mumbled.
Laz continued to laugh. “He’s lying. He’s so lying.”
Rylan smacked her but didn’t stop hiding his face. Warmth spread over my cheeks. Did that really get to him? Duh, Ryoko, he’s a straight guy, and not a clueless one like Raikidan. Raikidan’s reaction actually interested me. Unless he was only into men, that should have gotten a much different reaction, even from someone as clueless as him.
Raikidan stood up. “I’m guessing that was supposed to be some sexual joke?”
“Man, you are clueless,” I blurted out without thinking.
Laz laughed more and Raikidan look unamused by my insult. Oh well. Even clueless, he was a good match for Laz. I could feel it. There was something about him that made him different, and not because he was able to get up after being hit hard by me.
I waved him to come at me. “Now you hit me.”
Raikidan took a deep breath before throwing a punch at my arm. When his fist met my arm, I frowned. “What the hell was that? The old lady down the street could hit harder than that!”
He pulled back. “It just… isn’t right to hit you.”
“Isn’t right?” My eyes narrowed, rage boiling in my chest. “Isn’t right? I can take a hit! I’m not fragile and in need of coddling.”
“Ryoko,” Laz warned, an edge to her tone. “Keep your anger in check.”
I didn’t listen. “You agreed to spar with me. That means you don’t get to hold back. Take your stupid moral code and shove it up your ass!”
My unchecked anger took over, and I grabbed Raikidan’s arm. Using all my strength, I flung him into the wall behind me. Raikidan crashed through and the bricks fell on him.
Laz gasped. “Ryoko!”
My anger ebbed and then I reeled back. “Oh no! I didn’t mean to do that. I’m sorry!”
Rylan jumped to his feet. “Sorry doesn’t count if he’s dead.”
My anger flared up again. “I said I didn’t mean to! His refusal to see me as an equal pissed me off.”
“We’re not treating you as if you’re unequal.”
“Yes, you are! By refusing to treat us like you would some guy, you’re saying we’re not deserving of equal treatment. Why is it so hard for your ice-encased brain to understand that?”
“Why is it that you can’t understand it’s not like that at all!”
Laz watched us bicker, her eyes showing her clear discomfort and inability to figure out how to stop it.
The sound of moving ruble caught our attention. Raikidan pulled himself out of the wall, groaning with effort. Damn, he really is made of tough stuff.
“No way he’s human.” Rylan looked at Laz. “No ordinary person could get up from that.”
“He’s not ordinary.” She didn’t look at Rylan as she spoke, her eyes pinned on Raikidan.
Raikidan’s eyes snapped to me and his lip curled back into a snarl.
“Raikidan,” Laz warned. “Keep your head clear.”
He either didn’t hear or didn’t care to listen, because his eyes showed his livid state. He charged before I could think to react and slammed into me full force. Pain raked across me as I slammed into the ground, but so did excitement. He was strong!
I pushed myself into a partial sitting position, my head spinning a bit. “Wow. That was a nice hit.”
Raikidan blinked and then took a step back as if only now registering he’d hit me. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“No, you should have!” Excitement built up in me and I jumped to my feet. “You did exactly what Laz said, and forgot that I was a woman. You were hit hard, so you hit hard back. That’s what I want. What we want. For you to stop treating us like we’re different and can’t handle the same things.”
I looked myself over. “Look at me, barely a scratch. I’m made of tough stuff, just like you. You’re the first to be able to keep up with me! Not even most other Brute experiments can hold out like you. It’s exciting!”
I watched him think this over. Whatever controlled him to be careful around us women had to be rooted deep. This wasn’t going to change overnight for him, and I was starting to realize that was why Laz told him he only had to fight me once. She already knew he was like this before she brought him here. She knew it’d be a struggle but was willing to either overlook it or work on it with him if he was able to bring other kinds of advantages to the table to aid us.
I punched the air. “C’mon, let’s keep going! This is fun. I want to see what tough stuff you’re made of.”
Raikidan watched me, and then nodded, his hesitation melting away. Maybe I’d finally gotten through to him in some way.
The two of us went at it some more, Raikidan taking a defensive stance more often than not. He appeared to be fighting with his weird moral code, but kept up with my hits well. I could tell they hurt him, but he wasn’t complaining. Very impressive. If I had any reservations about wanting to get to know him, they were gone now. He was something else.
Oh, that’s it! If I were to get him and Laz together, I needed to know him. I needed to try to get close to see how she’d react, and so I knew what I was dealing with with him. He wouldn’t be an anomaly anymore.
The door to the living room opened. We all looked up to find Genesis carefully making her way down the steep steps. Halfway down, she poked her head under the banister. “I have—what happened to the wall?”
“Ryoko,” Laz said.
I crossed my arms. “Rat.”
Genesis shook her head. “As long as you get it fixed, I won’t get on your case. It’s not a major support wall, so I’m not too worried about it. And these assignments I have for all of you are more pressing.”
I placed my hands on my hips as I relaxed out of my fighting stance. “What kind of assignments?”
“Surveillance for Eira and Raikidan, and some undercover work for you and Rylan.”
I tapped my lips, trying to quickly come up with a way to utilize this. “Can I swap with Laz?”
Her brow furrowed. “Well, I picked this pairing because of the simulation results. I would like to test them to determine the accuracy.”
“I get that, but I think it’s a good idea if more than just Laz works with Raikidan. I mean, we’re a team, and she’s the only one who knows him all that much.” And I really don’t think it’s a good idea for me to work with Rylan. My stupid misplaced feelings would not work well with that set up, especially with today’s constant bickering.
Genesis looked to Laz. “What do you think?”
I turned to face her to find her in thought. Ryl
an next to her looked irritated but I couldn’t be sure why. Laz nodded. “I think her reasoning is sound.”
I looked to Raikidan. “You’re okay with it too, right?”
He nodded. “I don’t see why it’d be an issue.”
I smiled. Perfect. I was a bit disappointed Laz wasn’t insisting on keeping the assigned teams. I wanted her to show some sort of jealousy or claim to him. But I could live with learning about Raikidan for now and getting under her skin another day.
I hooked my arm into Raikidan’s. “Okay, friend, let’s go find out what we’re doing.”
He merely nodded and let me drag him to the stairs.
Laz snickered. “Ryoko, making friends one broken bone at a time.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t my goal to make friends that way, but it did seem to be a theme for me over the years. And I liked the idea of being friends with Raikidan. Now if only I could get Laz and him past that part.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
(Eira)
The days had grown hotter as summer came closer, making working in the shop a pain, but work was work. It beat some of the other jobs I could be doing to bring in income for the rebellion.
Wiping the sweat off my brow, I pulled on the wrench one last time to finish tightening the bolt. Raikidan leaned on the car as he watched me. Stretching, I sighed and tossed the wrench down on a workbench. Raikidan sighed, and with his shirt, wiped away the beads of sweat that had formed on his brow and then pulled his shirt back down and tugged on it a few times to help cool it off.
“You know you can remove your shirt, right?” I told him.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because it’s hot?”
“Why don’t you remove your shirt?”
“Because I’m a woman.”
“So, men can remove their shirts, but women can’t? That doesn’t make sense.”
“All done?” Ryoko asked as she walked over, saving me from that unwanted conversation.
I nodded. “What’s next?”
“I need to go grab a few things so we can get the engine and wiring harnesses hooked up. Then we can get the custom fiberglass paneling back on the car.”
Destiny (Experimental Heart Book 1) Page 43