Training Day (Open)

[Matrim]

It was 11:00 PM and he was out for blood. Something Matt never really had happen to him, but for once in his life he really wanted to deck somebody, and hard. He wanted training, a fight, not just a fight. He wanted a brawl, to get his ass kicked and toughen up a little from it. Or possibly he might be able to kick several people's asses, but he doubted he could. He knew how to handle groups, but if they had Qi's, it was very unlikely he could control a group of three. Two? Maybe... just maybe depending on who those people were. So instead of grabbing somebody by the collar and saying "Putem up!" He headed to the gym to blow some energy.

One kick two kick left punch right punch, he attacked the punching bag, using control so that he made contact without an overdone heavy hit. He needed to have more speed if he wanted an effective offense. Sure he could grapple but that was when the opponent was a little more exhausted, or more inclined to get up close and personal. Someone with a Qi like Alex's would definitely stay back more if they were smart.

If they were smart they would avoid me altogether.

He took some medicine, something his doctor perscribed years ago, something that might help prevent the same heart disease his father died from. Something he hoped would keep him from ever having any heart problems for the rest of his life.

"OK back to work," Matrim took off his shirt, he was in gym shorts and barefoot, he had wraps on his wrists, fists, and ankles. He went back to work on the punching bag, getting in a few harder hits this time. He wasn't tired but he was getting a little sloppy because of his impatient nature, that's for sure.

"Just for once I want a real challenge.... maybe a teacher." Matrim heard rumors of monsters at this school, he had come to find that he was one of those rumors. The monster that brutally murdered a teacher. One who nobody seemed to remember.

He sat down for a second drinking from a water bottle he had in his gym bag. He put his shirt in there along with the shoes he was wearing before he headed up there. He took off his hemp necklace since it was a little scratchy against his neck and got up to go back to work.

"No rest for the wicked...." He said, the clock read 11:20pm. He couldn't sleep,

[luyu]

Luyu's shoes pattered down the hallway. Everyone on campus was sleeping, so she suspected. She hadn't been able to sleep. In truth, the woman hadn't slept a whole night in many days, sleeping in short naps while the sun was out. It wasn't that she wanted things to be this way, but she only escaped into the dreamworld when forced from utter exhaustion.

So much had happened in her life lately, she didn't know what to do anymore. First she had been reintroduced to the love of her life, Kane Hikari. They had spent a lot of time together in the less than a year. She had opened herself to him, meeting and instantly loving his children, though she didn't know if they felt the same for her.

It had felt like they were young again, giggling and holding hands while whispering their love in the moonlight. He had given her the diamond engagement ring she still wore on her left hand only a few weeks ago while she had been on vacation in Australia, just before they had spent the best night together of her life.

Then, only a few days ago, he had been killed. The unbreakable, unstoppable man that she loved had been killed because of a misunderstanding during a battle. Her eyes burned, she had no tears left. She had nearly destroyed the history wing upon learning the news, had almost lost control of her Qi.

All of this was in the past, though, and if Luyu had learned one thing in her strange life it was that she had to move on. She had to keep living and keep learning, especially since she now had the responsibilities of a teacher. She owed it to her students to pull herself together, at least in public.

Tonight, though, she would work on her fighting skills. It was something she had started doing once she lost Kane the first time, followed by the sudden loss of her grandmother. Sweating away the pain worked wonders.

Though the woman looked in her twenties, she was past thirty and still had not met her match. Not even Kane had been able to fully take her out. That was why she worked out at night, she did not enjoy people constantly challenging her while they watched her train.

Walking into the gym, she was surprised to see a boy. His name was Matrim, she knew, for the woman had made it a point to learn all the student's names. Ignoring him, she was not in the mood to have a conversation. Knee-length yoga pants and a tight white underarmor tank top accentuated her muscular frame and black pumas with white accents covered her slender feet.

Taking off her shoes, she placed them in a cubby and walked to where some mats had been spread out. Touching her toes, Luyu began to go through some yoga poses to stretch out before she started her actual workout. She needed to calm her mind and soul before stressing her body. Her long black ponytail rested on the ground as she changed poses.

[Matrim]

Geez... that's rude. Not even saying hi. Guess teachers really don't care about their students. Maybe she doesn't remember me from music class. Oh well, not like it matters. She looks a little down though.... and pretty buff. Who knew?

Matrim walked over to the free weights and began putting weights on the bench press bar. Seventy five pounds on either side, not necessarily a lot of weight, one hundred and seventy five total along with the bars weight. Matrim didn't need a spot or anything anyway. He laid down on the bench with his eyes towards the high ceiling above. His thoughts drifted a little as he began pushing and counting. Eventually he lost count in his thoughts somewhere around twelve and just decided to go as long as he could.

"So... You can't sleep either, huh?" Matrim said, he wasn't looking for a response necessarily, it was just akward with the silence in the room and just the two of them, "Guess that's going around lately. Lot of stuff on peoples minds lately."

Like how the hell to get out of this dump short of assasinating the jail guards and booking. Or why the ghost of my father seemed so desperate over a letter from Samara to Matrim Aldon. Dad.... dumbass.

"Guess that comes with the territory.... of course I never knew of a jail guard who worked out with a prisoner," Matrim meant the slight about of despite. In the classroom he'd be polite, but otherwise he didn't see this school as the distraction that it was. He was a prisoner, he did not want to be here, he didn't belong here, "So I guess you gotta wonder what kind of jail guard you are, exactly. Who knows. Maybe you might slightly give a shit. Or just the opposite, maybe you give none what so ever."

Matrim put the bar on the rack and sat up on the bench stretching his back. He took his water bottle out and took a few gulps, "Or quite possibly you are the type who wouldn't mind having a go at one of the students, by which I mean beating the living shit out of one to get out any pent up aggression."

Matrim wanted to fight, more importantly, he wanted to lose now. He had worked out, and he wanted to have a least a small chance at winning, but he wanted to feel some genuine physical pain. None of that burn or smoke damage crap that alex gave him.

Boy if Dani were here she'd probably force me into her gang. She gets off on this sorta stuff, students standing up to the teachers. Of course those terms don't really apply. More like the prisoners standing up to the guards.

[luyu]

"So... You can't sleep either, huh?" Matrim's voice interupted her meditation. She was bent backward with her head on the ground and her hands gripping her knees, though all of her weight rested on her legs. "No, it's a restless night." She said quietly, not sure if he had heard her, due to his response. "Guess that's going around lately. Lot of stuff on peoples minds lately."

"Guess that comes with the territory.... of course I never knew of a jail guard who worked out with a prisoner," Luyu changed poses. She was now doing a half shoulderstand. The woman didn't merit his words with a response. She didn't see herself a a jail guard, only as an observer. Most of these students were criminals, and she was here to simply teach them music.

"So I guess you gotta wonder what kind of jail guard you are, exactly. Who knows. Maybe you might slightly give a shit. Or just the opposite, maybe you give none what so ever." Luyu continued to ignore him. He was either an odd conversationalist or he was trying to pick a fight. She melted easily into Uttanasana II.

"Or quite possibly you are the type who wouldn't mind having a go at one of the students, by which I mean beating the living shit out of one to get out any pent up aggression."
Finally, as she went into downward facing dog, the boy stopped talking. He sounded so aggressive she could hardly stand it. Luyu learned about people by listening to their voices and in her current mood she wouldn't mind kicking this boy's pride in the balls to get him to shut up.

Luyu was silent a moment more as she came up into The Triangle stance, facing him. She opened her hazel eyes and breathed steadily, looking at him. "Are you trying to pick a fight with me, Matrim Gallagher?"

She went into Warrior II, "If you are, know that it will be one you won't win. Even without Qi." Her words were soft, slightly taunting. This boy had no idea who he was messing with, Luyu knew. At his age, she had ruled a gang in Detroit and had killed more than once.

Luyu wondered if he would be fool enough to start something.

[Matrim]

"I know." He said, he acknowledged that he lost this fight already, and it hadn't even started, "That won't stop me from trying to pick one though."

I'm not going to brag about killing a teacher, that'd just come off as a threat to murder her. I'm not going to say 'I'll kick your ass if you don't use Qi' cus that would just be arrogance.

"I'm simply suggesting a sparring match. No holding back, go full out Qi on me if you want. Will I win? No. Will I gain much out of it? Probably not... but the truth is you look like somethings on your mind, and I know it helps me to sleep if I get my ass kicked, or if I kick someone's ass," Matrim stood up and crossed his arms, "So what I'm saying is this. You get a punching bag that tends to fight back, I get to see what a teacher fights like and what your Qi is capable of, worst case scenario I visit the nurse. I needed to talk to her about something anyway, it'd give me an excuse to go say hi."

Matrim stretched his arms and walked over onto the wrestling mat, arms still crossed and facing the teacher, "So either we can keep this akward silence between us in this large room," He used hand gestures and spoke a little louder to get a good reverberation going to emphasize his point that it was a large room with two people, "Or we can come together, do each other a solid, and work out whatever issues we have by fighting till all we know is the adrenaline, the pain, and the exhaustion that follows which will undoubtedly give us at least 5 solid hours of rest."

Never had to convince somebody to kick my ass before. In the end this is slightly unorthordox. But this is me. This is all I know. This is my past 5 years in a nutshell. This......

He looked down and clenched his fists.....

This is my lullabye.

[luyu]

Luyu stared at him. He obviously was unaware of the full force of her Qi, for her second level could burst his eardrums and cause hi brain to rupture. She wouldn't tell him that, though, because as he spoke his voice began to grate on her nerves. She had come here for solace and had found an angry student who wanted someone to pick on. . . or someone to pick on him.

"Or we can come together, do each other a solid, and work out whatever issues we have by fighting till all we know is the adrenaline, the pain, and the exhaustion that follows which will undoubtedly give us at least 5 solid hours of rest." Rest. That was what she really wanted. Turning to face the boy for the first time, the pain and anguish screamed at him through her eyes, though her mouth stayed shut.

"Alright, Matrim, if this is what you want," She walked to the Mat, her bare feet padding silently, "then you have it." She took stance, her favorite form of taijutsu, a discipline of ninjitsu. "I won't go 'full out Qi' on you, Matrim, though you may do so on me. I do not want you to die." It was a simple statement of truth. Luyu's Qi could kill this boy, especially since she had mastered it to a T.

Changing her mind on fighting style, Luyu's eyes took in the student as if for the first time. He was taller than she, and much heavier. He had more muscle, though she had been using hers loner. The woman's stance changed to that of the fighting style she had learned as a child and teenager, that of her potawatomi tribe. She would not use her Qi unless she had to.

Luyu waited, eyes open and mind clear. The woman didn't want any distractions or thoughts to make her lose control. She was going to hurt him, not kill him.

[The Doctor]

Name of Fighter 1: Dr. Luyu Kodiak
Name of Fighter 2: Matrim Gallagher
Monitor: Moi!
Location: School Gym/ weight room/ work out area
Description of Location/Setting: Free weights, bench presses, inclined benches, wrestling Mats.
Time Period: Night time, shortly before midnight.
Special Rules for the Battle: umm..... no ball kicking? *refers to other judges* nevermind. Ball kickings fine. Anything Goes!

LETS GET IT ON!

[Matrim]

"Heh. Right then." Matrim immediately activated his Qi. He wasn't a dumbass, this match was going to be over with two hits if he didn't bring his best. First being him getting hit, second being him hitting the floor. Thats pretty much it. This way he might actually get half a punch in if he was lucky.

Wrestling? Naw. Boxing? Naw.... Kick boxing? Naw....... I'm gonna have to fight dirty.... damnit.... I hate fighting dirty......

Matrim turned his head to see the free weights, he saw the 50 Lbs. Weight on the ground that he was using earlier for situps.

Damn I hate fighting dirty.....

His Qi full activated Matrim picked up the weight with both hands and tossed it towards Luyu as hard as he could, immediately chasing behind it he jumped to the left and threw a straight right Jab towards her chin.

And this is the part where something really painful happens to me.... thank god my shields up....

[luyu]

The corner of Luyu's lips rose as she watched Matrim contemplate. He seemed to be undecisive as to how he wished to fight. The boy seemed resigned to the fact that he was going to lose, but apparently he just wanted to get out as much aggression as possible.

Fine by Luyu.

She watched as he lifted the weights and hurled them at her. Using neutral Ji, she waited and listened until the weights were nearly smashing into her face. Moving swiftly to the side, the weights hurled past her and into the weight set that had been behind her.

Matrim, who had been swiftly following the weights, was now in her empty spot, as she had moved in a 90 degree angle. Shooting back towards him, her leg preceded her, foot curved so that her heel would meet squarely with his knee. Her own knee was slightly bent so that any shock would be absorbed into her own body.

Luyu wasn't going to use her Qi yet.

[Matrim]

Matrim raised his knee up a little, his punch had obviously failed and he attempted to dodge the kick altogether, sadly he was too late for that, and too devoted to his punch. Instead of his knee the kick hit his shin, and surprisingly, it hurt. Would it have hurt worse without his shield up? Yes. But it still hurt a lot regardless.

Matrim fell forward and nearly hit his face, instead he did a sommersault and sprung up quickly turning and dropping down low to the ground, sending a kick low to possibly sweep the teacher off of her feet, doing a full turn he planned to elbow drop the ground if his sweep was succesful.

God I wish I was faster then this....... and this is our music teacher...... and this pain in my shin isn't exactly helping either.

[luyu]

Luyu's kick missed the knee and struck the shin. Though it wasn't exactly what she had planned, it still worked. The force with which she had thrown herself at him had been the perfect amount, for while it didn't seem to offer too much damage, it did seem to hurt him. Luyu knew this boy's reputation, for teachers had a tendency to gossip. He had shields.

Coming into a defensive position almost immediatly, she saw his sweep. He was too close for her to avoid it completely, having devoted too much into the position she was currently in, so Luyu threw herself backward, in much the same position that she had been using in yoga when the boy had first begun speaking to her, only in the air.

Her feet flipped over and landed on the mat, a few feet behind where he was. His leg had brushed her foot, and Luyu decided that he was better than she had assumed. Perhaps she would have to put in some effort after all, if she didn't want to use her Qi.

Moving fast, Luyu's left hand shot out, gripping the boy's shoulder and pulling him close to her, off balance. Her right hand shot forward and would connect with his collar bone sending him flying, unless he could find someway out of her first grip. This strike would snap the bone of a normal opponent, but Luyu thought that his shield would prevent any snapping.

[Matrim]

Hey! I actually did something good for once! Huh... whats that?

Matrim was too slow and not very good at the whole paying attention and second guessing your opponent part of fighting. Which is why he needed shields in the first place. His shoulder was grabbed and he grabbed her left hand with his own attempting to pull it off. Of course she was a lot stronger then he was, which wasn't shocking since she seemed pretty tough and well trained.

It was only a split second later that he saw her punch. He smiled as it came, not a sick twisted smile, but a content smile that involved a great deal of relief.

Finally.... a straight shot, a good punch that doesn't involve flaming inferno's or making copies of yourself, or trying to electrocute your opponent.... a straight punch.

Matrims collarbone was definitely bruised from what happened, but he didn't feel anything go pop or snap which was a definite plus. He went flying back however. Oh, and remember that weight he threw at the good Dr. Kodiak earlier? Well, 50 lbs. weight, meet the back of Matrim's head. Back of Matrim's head, 50 lbs. weight.

"Ahhhh!" Matrim said standing up, his shield protected him from cracking his head open, much like a helmet would have, but that didn't protect everything on the inside necessarily, there was still that second hit inside his head. He was a little disoriented and shooken up. "Ok fate..... Ok...."

Matrim steadied himself again, making sure to keep his heart rate down and breathe easy. He decided his next attempt at an attack and charged the woman, an extremely sore chin and what was most likely a bruised collarbone and a bump forming on the back of his head, Matrim charged at full speed and then jumped, leaning back pulling his legs in to his chest he kicked them both outward aiming dead center for the teachers chest.

Afterall, they were on a wrestling mat, might as well do a few self-destructive moves.

[luyu]

Luyu moved into a defensive stance once more as she watched Matrim fly backwords from her hit. His head slammed into the weights he had thrown at her earlier and the woman flinched. She felt bad for the boy. Sort of.

He got up and wobbled a bit, though, and then seemed to shake it off. The woman smiled at him and grinned. The midnight workout was turning out to be much more entertaining that she had orginially though. Especially with Matrim's interesting shielding ability.

The boy ran at her, once he reached the mat, and leapt into the air. She nearly scoffed. Did he really expect her to stand there and wait for him to kick her? Moving to the side, Luyu reached out and grabbed Matrim's arm. Pulling him off route and off balance, she slammed him hard onto the ground.

Moving back, Luyu did not make the mistake of getting too close to him. Though she was faster and stronger, he was by far the heavier of the two and she did not like the idea of getting caught beneath him. Then she would have to use her Qi.

[Matrim]

Oh sweet mother I knew that would happen....

Matrim fell hard on his back, he wasn't that high up, his shield was active, and it was onto a Mat. Still, it stung just a bit, he was starting to get a little sore. He got up and stretched his back. He noticed Luyu stepped away pretty quickly as if she was taking him as a serious opponent. Once again Matrim smiled.

Even for a split second she thought of me as a possible threat. She refuses to underestimate..... although.... she isn't using her Qi. Probably out of pity... I want to see her Qi.....

Matrim said it, "Come on, you obviously know my Qi by now, I'm basically the energizer bunny with bullet proof vest on, I just keep going and getting shot at. I'm curious to see yours though.... mostly because I want to see if it can even effect me," Oh yeah, he went there, "If it's even good enough to penetrate my shield."

Diggin himself deeper, "start off light if you want, lightest you can if you feel bad, I guaruntee, unless it's something really special, it won't do anything against me." Like for instance anything having to physically pass through my shield that is Qi based, "So come on, bring it!"

Matrim took a swift step forward with his right foot then spun on it towards his right, sending his left foot to perform a roundhouse kick. Hoping to connect, most likely leaving too many openings, one particularly cheap opening that he prayed to god she didn't take, hoping that his words did more harm than any kick would.

Come on lady... what the hell can you do?

[luyu]

"Come on, you obviously know my Qi by now, I'm basically the energizer bunny with bullet proof vest on, I just keep going and getting shot at. I'm curious to see yours though.... mostly because I want to see if it can even effect me, if it's even good enough to penetrate my shield." Luyu smiled at him. The boy was trying to taunt her into using her Qi, he seemed desperate to know what she could do. She didn't respond to him, though, not giving him any satisfaction. The woman could ignore insults and slights, that was easy enough.

"start off light if you want, lightest you can if you feel bad, I guaruntee, unless it's something really special, it won't do anything against me." The woman's smile didn't change. Her eyebrows didn't twitch and her color didn't fluctuate. She knew how to taunt an opponent, especially when he was trying to taunt her. The fact was, Luyu wasn't going to use her Qi until she either needed it or he wasn't expecting it.

"So come on, bring it!" Oh yes, right now he was expecting it. She wasn't sure if her Qi would penetrate his shield, which was a minor reason she hadn't used it yet. Her voice, on its lowest levels, could shatter glass and rupture metal from the waves, but it could also take an unassuming form. She didn't know enough about his shield to try it. He had been able to hear her accomanyment in class, but she didn't know if his shield had been up at the time. It didn't matter what the sound, if he could hear it then it could pass through his shield. She also wondered if his shielf covered his ears and if it only blocked Qi. He could obviously hear her fine and all her Qi really did was change the levels of waves that came out of her mouth.

Pulled out of her moment of thought, Matrim delivered a swift roundhouse kick in her direction. A smirk played on the woman's lips. Should she take the shot and cripple him or ignore it? Hmmm.

Moving swiftly, the woman closed in. She grabbed his ankle, pulling him off balance with the force he had put into the kick by pulling him in that direction. Lifting her arm, she tapped his exposed area (heh) with the back of her hand not hard enough to cause damage but hard enough to hurt.

"Don't insult me with such foolish openings, Matrim."

Moving away from him once more, the woman seemed to dance as she moved. Luyu had not yet broken a sweat and she grinned at her student, "I'll show you my Qi, if you prove yourself worth my using it on you." Her voice took on a taunting tone and she grinned menacingly. She used to behave like this when sparring Kane, Luyu thought to herself. He always said it was when she was at her most seductive. The woman hoped that he was watching her.