"I'll get up… just don't threaten me like that." I said while raising both hands. There was nothing I could do about it… I was completely at her mercy and I liked it quite a bit.
Hey, Maybe I was into crazy women that wanted to crush my little brother.
Gwynn looked down at me for a moment, then stepped away and planted her foot on the ground.
"Get into position." She said with the same flat tone she'd used for everything else since we started.
I wanted to try something.
You know those cool flips that movie characters did before landing on their feet? That was exactly what I had in mind. Get up smooth, get into stance, show her I wasn't completely useless.
I attempted the flip. Instead of landing on my feet I hit the ground again and flopped around like a fish out of water.
Fuck!
I looked up at Gwynn and her right eye twitched once.
"Are you playing with me right now?" She asked, the twitch settling into a look that looked dangerously close to genuine irritation. "Get up, Let's continue."
I got up immediately, finding my feet and staggering for half a second to stabilize. How much damage had she actually managed to deal with three attacks? I felt like I had taken a full loss already.
"Good." Gwynn settled back into her stance and I got into mine, the makeshift thing that probably looked ridiculous from the outside.
Unlike before, she didn't wait for me to come to her this time so she moved.
The punch came in clean and fast with no warning in the shoulders, there was no drop in her knees before the launch though I caught it just in time to step to the outside and let it pass.
Despite the petite build, the air behind that punch was harsh. How the hell did she manage to gather so much power within these punches with her smaller stature?
Who exactly were these siblings' parents?
The Fricking Hulk?
Wait… Who was the Hulk again? I hated the way my brain handled these memories.
They surfaced in references I half-understood and then dissolved before I could grab them. Was my own brain messing with me on purpose?
The kick came from the side in the same rhythm which was a sweeping low motion that covered distance fast.
I moved away from that one too.
"Why do you keep dodging?" She asked with no particular emotion in it. "We won't get anything done like this."
"What? You expected me to just stand there and get my ass beat?" I raised an eyebrow.
And I meant it. The only reason she wasn't tagging me cleanly was the range… with a petite frame, she had to close distance to reach me, and my clumsy dodges were just barely keeping ahead of that.
If this was Ivor, or even Josée with her longer reach, I'd already be on the ground again from the first exchange.
"You just thought about how petite I am, didn't you?" Gwynn said.
Before I could process that she had just read my face like a page, she closed the distance in half a step and drove a kick directly into my stomach.
The air left.
I coughed out and she was already moving with the same leg pulled back and two knuckles shot forward before pressing into a specific point just below the center of my chest with precise force.
My legs stopped working.
I folded to the ground slowly, landing face-up beside her on the packed earth.
Nothing was responding, Not my arms… Not my legs… Not my jaw… My mouth stayed shut regardless of what I was trying to make it do. I was sending instructions to my body and the body was simply not receiving them.
This was how paralysis felt.
Why was there a pressure point in the middle of my chest? When did that happen to the human body? I had lived in a human body for several years and nobody had mentioned this was a thing that existed…?
Gwynn sat down beside me on the ground, cross-legged and completely composed.
"Don't worry. This is temporary." She said, as if discussing the weather. "Ivor usually makes this part much worse. New entries to the Dojo typically receive a proper beating during the opening ritual… enough that they understand their place from the first day. It ensures they don't overestimate themselves."
She was quiet for a moment. "But that drives people away and even though I don't particularly care about what happens here, I'm trying something different."
Trying something different????
I would have taken the beating. Being beaten up at least had the dignity of consciousness. I was currently lying on the ground unable to move my jaw.
"You know, it's actually quite satisfying to take out frustration on a random person." Gwynn continued. "You should try it sometime. I almost feel bad that I paralyzed you instead of just kicking you more." She sighed. "I don't know why but it's easier to say things when the other person isn't able to speak back."
......…
"Ivor spoke about you. He said you had good battle instincts." She added after a moment of silence between us. "I hope you stay at the Dojo."
With that she stood up, brushed off her coat, and walked away without looking back.
In the distance I could hear her telling Ivor in a flat voice that she wanted the money he owed her, waiting for it, and then the sound of her footsteps leaving the dojo entirely. She didn't glance back once.
I lay on the packed earth staring at the sky above the open space, sensation slowly returning to my extremities in a crawl.
I couldn't even properly organize what I felt about any of that. She had paralyzed me, monologued at me, told me she preferred it when people couldn't answer, and then left.
Was she insane?
Was I insane?
What kind of food would Lida cook tonight?
"Young Paxton." Ivor's voice arrived a few minutes later and I managed to turn my head toward him.
He stood with his arms folded and the expression of someone who found this deeply normal.
"How did you enjoy the sparring?" He asked.
"Sparring." I repeated the word while pulling myself up to sit on the ground. My body was coming back but the dignity was not. "I was getting my ass handed to me."
"Yes, Gwynn is truly brutal, is she not?" Ivor said with the tone of someone genuinely impressed by this fact.
He took one step back onto the field. "But the session is not yet complete."
I looked up at him.
"Not yet?"
"Indeed." He unfolded his arms. "Since Gwynn has left, your remaining opponent will be me. The others are occupied."
He gestured toward the disciples running drills at the far end of the dojo… Josée leading them through a sequence with their feet hitting the ground in unison.
I was going to get murdered, wasn't I?
"What exactly do I have to do?" I asked.
"It is simple." Ivor looked down at me. "Land your strongest hit on me. I will return one as well… not with equal force, naturally, as that would kill you. But you will understand the difference."
He paused. "Do you accept?"
I had come to this dojo to get stronger. If I was going down, I was going down with a swing.
"Haah. Alright." I got to my feet and walked to my side of the field.
"I respect your courage." Ivor said, settling into his stance across from me with his feet planted and arms loose. "Should anything go wrong here today, I will speak well of you, Young Paxton. Your legacy will be honored."
I did not like that framing at all but I took my stance, reached into whatever I had, and charged.
The distance closed fast. I built speed across the packed earth and the moment I got in range I pulled my arm back and threw the hardest right hook I had ever thrown at a living person.
The impact connected and Ivor's whole head cocked to the right from it.
I took a step back, I had actually moved his head. I had thrown a punch at this man and physically moved his face.
That was genuinely something and for exactly one second I felt the beginning of something like satisfaction—
Then the pain caught up.
"Fuck." My hand throbbed all the way up into my shoulder. It was like punching mortared stone... What was his face made of?
"Magnificent." Ivor straightened, tilting his head back to center slowly "The Dojo will improve you greatly. I can feel the potential in that strike."
He raised his fist. "Now… My turn."
I saw that he had moved bhat was all I got.
His fist covered the entire distance between us in an interval that didn't exist on any clock I knew about and his knuckles arrived at my face with conviction.
All I could see was white.
…
"And that's how I got a black eye." I said at the dinner table and set down my chopsticks.
Lida, Naveen, and Ralts all looked at me.
Several hours had passed since I left the Dojo. Ivor's single punch had knocked me out cleanly and apparently also nearly rearranged my face… Maria had been visibly concerned when I walked back to the Research Lab and her Chansey had worked on me for a full fifteen minutes before the swelling came down to something manageable.
The black eye while it was a bit reduced had stayed a bit so I had no choice but to wear it.
Lida set down her own chopsticks.
"You sound like your day has been very eventful." She said.
"Very." I looked down at the food she had made… a Lumiose-style rice dish with what smelled like roasted vegetables and a side of something that was giving off a warm spiced smell but it was good.
Everything Lida made was good.
The dining room had its usual evening atmosphere except Taunie was nowhere to be seen and even Félix was absent from dinner again to "train" somewhere outside, which I had stopped questioning.
Naveen was at the table with us but one earbud in.
"Naveen." Lida turned to him. "Did you manage to get those Colorful Screws you were talking about?"
Naveen didn't look up from his phone but he reached into his bag, unzipped a small inner pocket, and tilted it open on the table.
Inside were the screws… they looked small and hexagonal with each one about the length of a thumb joint, with a flat groove cut into the head. They weren't all the same color with some being a deep violet, while others closer to blue or teal.
There were at least thirty of them in the bag.
"It wasn't that difficult." Naveen zipped it closed and moved the bag from the table.
He took a bite of the sandwich he had made for himself and chewed once before speaking again.
"I'm waiting for the second distribution... They're releasing more Colorful Screws around the city soon and whoever submits a hundred first gets the Giant Canari Plush." He stopped.
The earbud that was out of his ear went quiet too.
"My competition is—" He stopped again.
He resumed eating.
"Well. Whatever. I'd win regardless." He put the second earbud in and zoned all of us out.
At least I had to give him credit for the fact that he was watching a building-climbing tutorial on his phone rather than a stream.
I turned back to Ralts who was eating from her small dish beside me, and Fletchling who was on her perch at the corner of the table picking at the few berries I'd set out alongside her food.
The rivalry with Pidgeotto was doing real things to her, the turning radius on her Quick Attack was tighter now and her aerial spins were cleaner too. Pidgeotto was also teaching her how to use Aerial Ace or at least that was what Bill told me.
And next to me, the Riolu egg sat in its incubator harness.
I rubbed it once as I ate... It was only some time now and when Riolu hatched, the training would start properly.
There was a Fighting Pokémon section at the Dojo specifically, and I had personal unfinished business with Ivor that I intended to resolve in the future with significantly more preparation behind me so for now, I would train under him then rock his shit in the future.
"Uh… Paxton…"
Lida's voice came in shy and I turned to look at her. She was looking at her food with her thumbs moving against each other on the table. She wanted to say something obviously but she was too shy about asking for it which made me more curious what it was.
"Yes, what's up?" I asked.
"You spent time with Taunie today, right?" She asked.
"You spent time with Taunie today, right?" She asked and I nodded, it was more like she dragged me to several places in Lumiose but Noveau Cafe was really a steal and I wouldn't mind having more Coffee from there as well.
Lida nodded slowly, still looking at her food.
"So… why don't you come along with me tomorrow? To my dancing school and watch me." She said it all in one stretch without looking up. "It'll only be a few hours and then you can leave whenever you want. The boyfriends and brothers and even relatives of the other students come to watch sometimes so it wouldn't be strange or anything. But if you don't want to, you don't nee—"
My Rotomphone pinged.
Lida flinched at the sound and I picked it up.
[Emma: Apologies for replying to your text so late. Thank you for sending me your schedule details regarding your other work, I've reviewed everything and I have decided that we will meet at Nouveau Café at 12pm sharp tomorrow not a minute later. Also bring your uniform. I'm aware Taunie got sidetracked but she'll be at Hotel Z shortly.]
I typed back immediately.
[Me: Alright. Also, Goodnight Beautiful.]
A minute of silence, the three dots appeared then they stopped and they appeared again.
[Emma: I'll accept the compliment, but I'd prefer you not address your Boss informally. Regardless… get some sleep, Paxton, and be on time or you'll lose the job.]
She went offline.
I set the phone down and took a breath.
"Paxton." Lida was looking at me now, one eyebrow up. "Are you texting another girl?"
She looked genuinely irritated about it, Lida being jealous was unexpectedly cute.
"It's just my new Boss." I said and took a bite of the rice dish, talking slightly through it. "But yes, I'll come to your dance school. Just tell me what time."
"Don't talk with your mouth full." She sighed and then her expression shifted, the irritation dropping into a warm smile. "I'll hold you to it. I'm really glad you said yes."
Just then the front door opened.
"Heyyyy AZ and Floette~" Taunie's voice came from the lobby, she sounded a bit tired and droopy.
Naveen pulled one earbud out.
"Welcome back Taunie." Lida and Naveen said at the same time as Taunie came into the dining room with a package tucked under one arm.
"Thanks Lida… you too Naveen, ugh I'm so tired."
She was currently moving at three-quarters speed and walked over to me leaning against me completely.
"Hehe~ Pax. Evening."
"Evening." I said. "Why do you smell weird?"
"I had a drinking contest with some friends and naturally I won." She straightened slightly and dropped the package on my lap. "Emma sent this for you, it's your new Detective Uniform and I think it looks good."
She paused. "I also heard you got your ass completely beat at the Dojo today."
"Please don't remind me." Though I was surprised that Taunie was a drinker.
"Don't worry." Her hand came up and grabbed my face, tilting it toward her. Her hair was still down and even tired she looked exactly as good as she had this morning. "I'll protect you."
I removed my face from her grip and tried not to think too hard about that mental image.
Taunie protecting me from Ivor… Taunie protecting me from the woman who had paralyzed me with two knuckles. Not that Taunie couldn't fight, she clearly could but the Dojo people were on a different tier and she was closer to where I was than where they were.
Before Taunie could continue, Lida inserted herself between us, putting her body between Taunie and me and turning to face me with an exasperated exhale.
"Taunie's always like this when she drinks." Lida said. "She won't remember any of it by morning."
She put a hand on Taunie's arm and steered gently. "Taunie, let me take you to your room."
"But I want Pax to carry meeeeee~"
Naveen put both earbuds back in and it was clear, he was done with this.
Taunie folded her arms and planted herself with stubbornness.
"If I'm going to my room then Pax has to carry me there like a Princess." She said firmly. "That's the condition."
Lida gritted her teeth once, then exhaled and went back to her seat.
"I'll leave that to you." She said, massaging her forehead.
Taunie immediately wrapped both arms around my neck from behind and breathed against it, which made the back of my neck feel weird.
…
"Here. I'm done." I said, stepping back from Taunie's bed.
I had moved everything to my room first… Riolu's egg, Fletchling's Pokéball and even Ralts… honestly everything that needed to be in there for the night then carried Taunie up the stairs.
She hadn't looked heavy but she was heavy which was a meaningful difference.
Taunie's room was simpler than I'd expected.
Lida's room at least had things on the surfaces with little pieces of personality showing through like a personal Starmie wallpaper.
Taunie's room was almost blank with the walls bare and even the table looked clear.
She was on the bed now, laid back with a smile on her face like she was completely content with the evening and everything in it.
"Thank you~" She said.
"Are we done? Do you need anything else?" I asked. Lida was outside in the corridor, I'd seen her follow us up and I wanted to finish talking about the dance school timing before it got too late.
"I…" Taunie touched her own forehead with two fingers. "I want a goodnight kiss."
"Hm?"
"My mom used to give me a goodnight kiss right here." She tapped the spot. "So I want one from you, Pax."
She looked at me and her cheeks flushed red. "Won't you?"
I stood there for a second.
I was a bit confused, did that mean that she saw me as her Mother or something? Regardless I took a step closer and lowered my face to her forehead.
I couldn't deny her innocent face after all, so I gave her a kiss on the forehead and then her face lit up red all the way to her ears.
"Thank you." She said, already rolling over to the other side. "You can go now, Goodnight Pax~"
I said goodnight back and walked out.
Lida was in the corridor with one eyebrow raised.
"You actually gave her a forehead kiss?" She said.
"She asked." I shrugged.
Lida looked away from me and was quiet for a moment.
"I'll let it go, you didn't really have a choice with her when she's like that." She turned back, and her expression had moved back to business. "Anyway, the place is called L'Académie de Mouvement Libre, it's in Bleu Sector 3. Come at nine in the morning. You'll spend two hours there and then you're free to go."
She tilted her head slightly. "Will you actually show up?"
"I said I would and I won't disappoint." I smiled.
Lida smiled back then she looked at my eyes.
The cute girl took one step toward me or maybe half a step, it was hard to measure exactly and her face was closer than it had been a second ago, it was close enough that I could see her really round cute face up close and how her lips twitched then she blinked.
Her eyes went wide like she'd surprised herself, she turned and went through her door in a rush, the latch clicking behind her with slightly more force than necessary.
I stood in the corridor alone.
What the hell just happened?
"Rara!" Ralts called from my room.
"Coming!" I called back, already heading for the door.
It was really going to be a long night.
[Author's Note]
Apologies for the really late chapter, the next one will come out in a few hours. Been a bit sick for the past few days but I'll manage to write the chapters I owe you guys.
Thanks a lot for the support.