From Here You Can Get An Excellent View Of My Foot
Despite being a crazed and sadistic assassin that beat down both you and Bosch when you first met, you were too impressed by the skills of Juri Han not to eventually swallow your pride, track her down to the slums of Nayshall and ask to learn her style. Juri had no interest in training you like any other martial arts master you'd come across. The only way you'd improve under her, she said, was to get your ass kicked so much that you'd learn how to kick ass like her. And kick your ass she did.
In comparison, your previous training made you slow and inflexible, and she ran circles around you, weaving around your predictable strikes and stopping your kicks before they could even begin, always countering with that vicious roundhouse to the face, making you think you'd emerge from this with a permanent foot-shaped bruise. Dragging yourself from the dirt for what felt like the millionth time, you felt it was time to discard your previous form, since it just held you back against such an opponent. Instead, you drew up into an imitation of Juri's stance - front leg up and ready to kick, arms up and wide to maintain balance.
That got her attention for the first time, and while it only made her sparring more brutal and punishing, you felt like you were actually learning with each hit you took, like she was beating her fighting style into you. Eventually you became accustomed to avoiding her attacks as you got faster and stronger, swaying away from her wicked straight kicks, jumping over her sweeps, ducking under the roundhouses, and even getting in a few counter-hits on the rare occasion she left herself open. It was probably just wishful thinking, but the grin she constantly wore seemed to become less her usual cruel rictus, and perhaps she allowed in a note of pride as she watched her student blossom into a proper street fighter.
Eventually she declared you'd learned as much of her style as she could be bothered to teach you, and the rest would come with time, practice and beating down any boneheaded thug that crossed your path. Besides, you'd become too strong to be an easy punching bag for her. There was no handshake, no mutual bow of respect, no sentiment as she walked away with a nod and a wink, but when your phone buzzed on the train back to the airport you saw she'd added herself as a contact.
She contacted you a few times over the next few days with her trademark lack of respect, or even common decency. Putting on you on the spot for a joke and calling you lame when you failed to tell one, tricking you into agreeing to do a job for her and then mocking you for acting like a goon, even trying to scam you one time for some reason. If you didn't know her, you'd say she was spending way too much time on the internet, but you were taking her words to heart, taking on challengers left and right as you refined your new set of techniques. After spending the last few days getting beat up by a taekwondo master, these guys were light work. Usually.
The guy that challenged you last thing last night, a tall and lanky Canadian, shaved except for unkempt blond muttonchops, turned out to be way tougher than he looked. He seemed to soak up your constant barrage of kicks as if they were nothing, constantly chasing you down to catch you in a devastating suplex or piledriver. By the end of it you felt like a ragdoll being thrown around the place, and by the time he eventually fell, you felt certain you couldn't take another hit. If it hadn't been for Juri's training keeping you mobile and supple so you could keep your opponent at arm's (or leg's) length, you knew it would have been a quick and mortifying loss. With this in mind, you used the last dregs of your strength to drag yourself into your apartment, flop onto the bed and let merciful sleep take you.
You felt like someone had worked you over with a sledgehammer when you awoke to the Metro City sunrise, groaning as you forced yourself to stretch out. Wondering what new and fantastic bruises were decorating your body, you trudged your way to the shower, the sound of a distant motorcycle breaking the silence. Your phone buzzed in your pocket as you went, and you sighed as you fished it out. Who would be contacting you at this time? Of course, it was Juri, and you rolled your eyes as you mentally prepared for her ill-mannered repartee so early in the morning.
As you opened the new message thread called 'How's stuff on your end', you saw her first message.
youre traveling the world, right
She was typing, and you waited a few seconds for the next one.
got a house somewhere?
You grimaced at this. She always ended up putting you on the spot, and it seemed nothing you could say was good enough, so you just texted her the truth.
Just a modest apartment in Metro City
Hey, it may have been small and poky but it was cheap and right in the heart of the city, which were usually mutually exclusive qualities. It even had an en-suite bathroom, which saved you having to shower in the local gym and show off your bruises.
sick
, came the reply.
means you can make yourself scarce whenever you get in trouble
That was nice. Even if she thought you were going to do crime or whatever, at least she approved of your living quarters.
The next few messages came in a flurry, barely seconds apart. Must have been using predictive text.
im gonna crash there the next time im in metro for work
im your master remember
better roll out the red carpet when I grace you with my presence
You chuckled at this. No way in hell were you letting her stay with you, no doubt bringing with her trouble from disgruntled gangs, law enforcement and God knows what else. Even if she was your master, you had survival instincts. She was probably just joking, so you just replied with a noncommittal thumbs-up sticker and hoped she'd drop it.
heh
seriously. red carpet. make it happen
She signed off with her usual cutesy cartoon spider sticker.
Still not sure if she was being serious, you slipped your phone back into your pocket and stripped down, stepping into a cool shower. The water hurt as it hit your abused skin, but by now you were used to pain, and the cold gradually soothed it as you cleaned up. Maybe you'd just work out and use the heavy bag for the next few days as you healed up. Maybe go for a run and grab a hamburger on the way back-
BANG BANG BANG
Someone was knocking on your door hard. The loud noise startled you. You didn't have any deliveries coming, and none of your friends would be busting down your door first thing in the morning.
"Give me a moment," you called softly. At least one of you was being respectful to your neighbours.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG
Clearly this wasn't good enough. The knocking managed to get even louder, and you wouldn't be surprised to see a fist-shaped dent in it after you'd told whoever was bothering you to piss off.
"Fine! I'm coming!" you shouted angrily, wiping the suds from your eyes and stomping out of the shower, wrapping a towel around your waist as you stalked, dripping wet, to the door. Unlocking it and wrenching it open before the knocker could beat a hole through, the words 'piss off' died on your lips as you saw who stood there. It was her. Of course.
Juri Han stood there, looking distinctly unimpressed as she looked you up and down. She crossed her arms over her spider-themed bodice, tutting and shaking her head.