*Doing the correct thing is good; doing right and confounding your enemies at the same time is golden*
(Thank you Frontma for coming through again)
(This one picks up soon after the previous chapter ends)
(Yes, this tale is supposed to be somewhat humorous and outrageous too. While not always comedic I'd like to think it is mostly a good-natured romp.)
BLOW AND ARROW
"You are getting better, Zane," Molly Travers told me after my rotation to the shooting line.
"If you say so," I shrugged. "I've yet to hit the rings twice in a row."
"But you are hitting the target every time," she pointed out.
"Great," I chuckled, "if I ever get attacked by a rhino or a barn door, I'll do fine."
"If it is a big barn door...a really big barn door," she snickered in sympathy. "So...uhmm...what do you think your chances against Hope are?"
"Huh," I looked to her, "are you betting on me and Hope's sparring match?"
"It's not really a bet...more like a wager," Molly grinned.
"Betting and wagering is the same thing, Molly," I pointed out.
"Okay, fine, we are betting on the outcome," Molly admitted. "So what do you think the odds of you winning are?"
"Barring the intervention of large fighting robots, I'd bet on the cute Asian chick to win," I joked.
"Arrows," Chastity called out. It was my job to retrieve all the expended arrows from the field, being the junior member of the team. After that we did one more round, then we cleaned up and made our way to either study period or our next club. Chastity held me back so that we could go to Karate class together.
"Don't be too hard on Hope," Chastity abruptly told me.
"I'm not all that sure I can beat her, Chastity," I confided.
"Oh, there is no chance of that," Chastity assured me. "She's going to destroy you. I only want to make sure you are a good sport about it because she really likes you and she's worried you might take this beating the wrong way."
I stopped and stared at her somewhat incredulously.
"Oh, come on," I grumbled. "I have some sort of chance. She's not that good."
"If thinking that makes you feel better," she patted me on the back.
"Well, if you believe I can't win, you will be willing to make a wager on the outcome then," I challenged Chastity.
"What would it be?" Chastity mused.
"You in a little, itty-bitty French Maid's outfit for twelve hours of my choosing," I said.
"What do I get if Hope wins?" Chastity countered.
"What would you want?" I grinned.
"Any one favor to be decided on later," was what she came back with.
"Oh, please, my favor is relatively precise while you want the world," I pointed out.
"Okay, I want one 'forgiveness' in advance," Chastity offered. I groaned.
"You just have to keep busting my chops, don't you?" I sighed. "Fine, I'll make the bet."
For a private sparring match, Hope and I drew a great deal of attention. Christina, Heaven, Chastity, and Faith were expected, as was Coach Gorman. I had kind of hoped Cappadocia would hang around so we could hook up when the fight was over. Everyone else was rather distracting.
Both Hope and I went shirtless – me bare-chested and she with a black sports bra – as well as barefoot. We set up four meters apart with Hope doing something that mimicked warm-up exercises. It took a second of eye contact for the fight to begin. I kicked out viciously; she collapsed beneath the blow and swept my legs.
My back slapped the mats and before I could move or mount much of a defense, Hope was all over me. It was arm bar and she had my head in a scissor lock and that was that. I tapped out before she could render me unconscious. No one said anything as I regained my feet. I was careful not to make eye contact until I'd backed up a bit.
I had no clue to what kind of Monkey Kung-fu she had just worked on me but I knew that what little Thai Kickboxing I had wasn't cutting it, but I knew even less Karate and even less of what Gorman and Black had shown me. It boiled down to making use of what I did know to the best effect.
This time I danced to the left using a little trick Gabrielle Black had taught me (with some pain added). At first Hope mirrored my movements so when I lashed out with my first kick it caught her off-guard since I'd also been slowly closing the distance between us. She tried to snake within my reach but I kept shifting and kicking to hold her at bay.
When she finally did get inside, I hit her with every fist/arm/elbow strike I knew. I knocked her back, pursued her, and for a moment it looked like I had a chance. Hope kept maneuvering with the grace of a gymnast so I couldn't pin her to the mat. Once she got to her feet I sensed I was rapidly running out of options.
I certainly didn't expect a chop to my temple and that was pretty much all she wrote. She jumped up, put her knee into my diaphragm and rode me to the ground. I managed to block twice against her strikes as she straddled my stomach. I almost knocked her aside, we wrestled, and that was the totally wrong thing to do. I knew crap about wrestling.
My tapping out was a foregone conclusion once she got me on my stomach. For a second I lay there marveling how quickly I'd gone down – twice. I noticed that Hope was still standing astride my body so I rolled over in place and looked up. For a second she had this look that reminded me of staring into the pitiless depths of the ocean.
"My head hurts," I emphasized with a deep breath. That set off a flash of light in her eyes.
"The important one or the one on top of your neck?" she smiled from above. Hope crossed her arms and helped me stand. "Are we okay?" she suddenly seemed worried.
"Oh, hell, no," I gasped. "I've got to learn me some of those moves. You were freaking awesome." That outburst gained me a snort of amusement on her part.
