Lessons in Respect (Inora)

[Victor Ambrose]

Duck. Dodge. 'Patience Victor. Wait for the perfect time to strike.'
He spent about 3 minutes dodging and analyzing the opponents move. 'Psh... repetitive. Pathetic.'
Victor counted the number of patters, the number of moves in each pattern, the speed, the strength, the stride of legs and arms, everything.
'NOW!'
He grabbed a punch in midstride with his left hand, and placed his right hand on the elbow joint of the opponent. He then placed his right foot behind his opponent, twirled to the right, sliding under the arm and putting himself behind the opponent, bending the arm, and he struck the neck with two fingers, knocking the opponent out, all in one fluid and fast motion.
"Pathetic."
His back was to the audience of the gym. He didn't care what they thought of him, nor did he care what he just did. Another day, another match. Some person keeps leading people to him, claiming that he is the best.
He unwrapped his hand from the tape, and noticed that there was red on the tape. (Colorblind)
'Must have been from all the punches I laid on the fucker. To bad he couldn't lay one on me.'
Victor spent his whole life fighting, and because of it, he was a tough. He developed his own style, teaching it to no one. To add to this, he joined various dojos, learning their styles, incorporating them to his own.
He walked out of the ring, and grabbed his water bottle from his previous station, and just continued.
He had a set of stations depending on the day.
Today, Speed Bag, Punch Bag, Jump Rope, Quick Steps, and Sprint Workout.

[Inora Theos]

Inora stood up as the man walked away from the ring, she had been in the audience for the whole show and had seen every minute of the action. This man was Vic Rose, she was sure of it. Lately, Inora had been feeling like she was a failure. She had run away from so many fights since she'd become a werewolf, one of which was nearly the death of her. She had spent the last few months in South America and the werewolves there were a little more wild then in the U.S. but Inora didn't know how to fight so she had nearly been killed a bunch of times.

When she'd complained to a co-worker about her lack of skill, he had told her about this awesome fighter that went to his gym. He hadn't been sure whether this amazing fighter would be able to help her but he'd written the name down reguardless and sent her to the right gym.

Inora looked down at the paper. Vic Rose She certainly hoped this was the right guy. She was a little afraid to approach him but she decided to anyway.

Her footsteps were muffled as she stepped toward the man in her tennis shoes. She'd dressed as logically as possible in loose capri pants and a tank top, but she still felt out of place in this gym filled with testosterone. She walked carefully over to the man and stood nearby while he did his thing.

"Excuse me sir, are you Vic Rose?" Her voice wavered annoyingly and she cleared her throat to try to give herself some courage, no one would want to teach a wimpy nervous girl how to fight. It'd be a waste of time.

[Victor Ambrose]

"Excuse me sir, are you Vic Rose?"
The name hit him like a brick.
"Yeah..."
A feminine voice came from behind him. He didn't stop hitting the punching bag. He didn't lose his focus. It was stupid to do that.
Every step, every punch, every deviation from a pattern, everything mattered in a fight, and he had to treat this like an actual fight.
His moves seemed random, but they were all logically planed out.
His punches and kicks didn't follow patterns.
He took a step back, and tripped on her foot.
He fell back and hit his head against the stool there.
"OH FUCK!"
He put his hand on the back of his head, and looked at this hand. Red.
He got up, and grabbed his towel, placing it on the opening.
"MEDIC!"
He turned to the girl.
"How may I be of service to you?"
'Vic Rose? Again? Who keeps sending these people to me? I'm getting tired of all of this! What are they trying to prove anyway? That they are tough and bad ass by beating me? There is no prize nor is there anything to look forward to. Just broken bones and a shattered ego. Oh well. I guess another person wants to try their luck against me. It's a shame I have to hit a girl.'

[Inora Theos]

"Umm..." He hadn't turned to look at her, simply kept on doing what he'd been doing when she approached. This threw her off, but she needed to get his help. "Mr. Rose, my name is Inora Makani.." As she began to introduce herself he stepped back and tripped over her foot. She watched, the world seeming to slow down while he fell, hitting his head with a sickening thud.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry." She said, bending down beside him, but he got up almost as fast as he'd fallen. Inora looked up at him and stood slowly as he asked how he could help her. "Um, as I was saying, my name is Inora Makani. One of my colleagues told me I should come find you." She looked at the back of his head. "Are you okay?" She wanted to ask him but she hadn't worked up that much courage yet, and she had no idea how to say I'm a wuss and don't know how to fight, would you teach me how to kick some major butt like you?

[Victor Ambrose]

"Yeah, this is a flesh wound. Happens all the time."
'Except, usually I get the shit beaten out of me first, and then I beat the shit out of the guy who made me bleed.'
"So Ms. Inora Maka....whatever, you still didn't answer my question. If you have something you wish to ask me, then by all means, ask. Otherwise, stop wasting my time, and indirectly, yours."
He put the towel back on the wound.
"WHERE THE FUCK IS THE MEDIC?!"
'I would rather train without having my blood splattered all over the floor.'
He started walking towards the First Aid Kit on the wall. 'One way or another, I will stop bleeding.
The sound of grunts, swings, falls, speed bags, and everything else was starting to get on his nerves. He needed the training. Lately, he hasn't had time to come to the gym everyday, so he was having a 5-7 hour workout session, nonstop. This wasn't his idea of doing so.
A sigh escaped his mouth as he opened the first aid kit and found that he was lucky. There was one last piece of gauze wrap.
"You...hold this."
Before she had anything to say about it, he placed the bandage wrap, the pre-wrap, and the gauze wrap in her hands, along with the clips. "Don't lose those clips."
He placed the gauze square with disinfectant gel on it on the opening, followed by the pre-wrap, and then he used the gauze wrap and bandage wrap. Clipping one end of the bandage wrap to the other. Usually, the adhesive works, but there are those days when shit just doesn't stop hitting the fan.
A little sting came from the gel, but what was a little sting compared to getting punched in the gut? Nothing.
"Well? Speak or be gone."

[Inora Theos]

“Makani.” Inora stated, “Inora Makani, I know it’s kinda hard but I don’t use my last name that much, just call me Inora.” This man was rude, she was beginning to see that, he seemed to have a lot on his mind and she did realize that she was probably wasting his time, which clearly didn’t make him happy. She opened her mouth to ask her question and was interrupted by his cursing. She followed him as he walked over to the First Aid Kit and took the gauze and other things he thrust at her.

Her leg kicked out the side as she waited for him to get done. “Look,” She held the materials out to him. “You could ask instead of telling.” She thought about offering to help him but surely he would only snap more and tell her he was fine. He seemed a little touchy that way. “Alright, fine.” Speak or be gone, how rude was he going to be? “I want to learn how to fight, how to defend myself. I’m tired of running away from fights, tired of being constantly scared that someone I love is going to be in trouble and I’d have no way to help them.”

She crossed her arms and looked at him. “Could you teach me?”

[Victor Ambrose]

Her last words struck him. He didn't realize his behavior till now.
He looked at her, arms crossed, and a look of determination as well as a hint of anger at him was present across her face.
"Could you teach me?”
"Teach you? Okay, I know I was rude just now, which I apologize for, but I had my head busted open, but not to be rude on purpose now, why should I teach you? Do you know what fighting is about? Do you know what it means to fight for and not fight against? Do you know the concept of the work involved? Do you understand the pain I might subject to you if I do teach you? Are you willing to do this and suffer all of this?" He could hear his own words as he asked all those questions. His own answers were crystal clear in his own head.

• Do you know what fighting is about?
  'No. No one does. Fighting is more than just moves, it's a way of life. For anyone to say yes, then he/she is a fool.'
  
• Do you know what it means to fight for and not fight against?
  'Yes. Fighting for is fighting with patience, diligence, and with a purpose. To fight for a cause or a loved one. To be able to show yourself that you are a person people can depend on.'
  
• Do you know the concept of the work involved?
  'Yes. Fighting is both a mental, spiritual, and physical process. It takes so much work to perfect just one move.'
  

"Better yet, punch me. Show me what you got?"

[Inora Theos]

Inora looked at Victor carefully. He seemed as though he were testing her, but she didn’t know the answer that would make him happy so she decided to just be honest.

“Look…I don’t know why you should teach me, all I know is that I want to learn. I don’t know what fighting is about, that is why I need you, so that you can teach me the answers to these questions. I know that I don’t want to fight against, I just want to be able to protect myself. I’m not asking you to teach me so I can go out and attack random people, I just want to know that if someone comes after someone I love, I’ll be able to protect them. I have no idea of the work involved, but I know that I won’t quit once I start something. You couldn’t make me. I don’t have any concept of the pain you might put me through, but I know that I’ve been through pain before, pain you don’t know anything about and probably never will. I do know that I am willing to take everything you throw at me if it means that I don’t have to be scared anymore.”

His words caught her by surprise. He was asking her to show him what she had, obviously she had nothing since she was here asking him to help her. She didn’t want to do it but if she was trying to convince him to teach her, she had to show that she was willing to take directions, willing to make herself look stupid in order to learn how to do things the right way.

Inora looked at him, sighed heavily, pulled back, and swung at him using a small percentage of her strength…she didn’t want to miss completely and go spinning away or to loose her balance and fall.

[Victor Ambrose]

He grabbed her punch with his right hand, swung his arm clockwise, forcing her to turn, and forced her arm up to a point of pain. He then grabbed her left hand, lifted up, behind her head, and then bent her arm so that she was touching hands.
"If you want to learn, you need to be able to come at me with all you have. I don't want you to be afraid. I don't want you to wuss out in the middle of a fight. I want you to show me what you have. Now throw me a punch!"
He moved her to a mirror so she could see herself. "That is you now." He pulled her arms closer together, to give more pain. "This is you with pain introduced. You want to be able to protect and fight, you need to be able to come at me with all your strength and skills." He spread her arms a bit so the pain would go. "Look at who you are. You wanted to get better. Why? Look at yourself and find that answer."
He let go of her left arm and twisted her right arm so she was facing him at a distance at which she would punch him.
"Show me what you got."

[Inora Theos]

Inora gasped as the pain hit her. She knew that he was good but his words actually made her angry. "I don't have any skill. I don't have anything to show you." Her voice was husky, filled with pain but she hardly showed it. "I can't throw you a punch because I never learned how to fight, I can't show you my skills or strength because I have neither. I want to get better because that's the only way I can go, I have no idea how to fight you."

She felt herself get spun around and faced him. "I didn't come here to challenge you, I came here to learn, how is me attempting to punch you going to help? Are you trying to access my skill level? There's no need, I can tell you right now that I'm at the lowest possible one." She shook her arms, trying to get rid of the lingering pain.

Her head came up and she looked at him. "Fine, you want all I have I'll give it to you, but you're still going to be disappointed." She swung at him with all of her werewolf strength, everything she had in her power, her entire bodies weight and all the muscle she had accumulated from running in wolf form.

[Victor Ambrose]

From what he saw then to now was different. He was shocked at the amount of strength she had. He dodged the punch, but he slid his right arm around her neck, and forced her down on the mat by swinging his right leg bag, tripping both of them. He knew it was coming, so he braced himself for it.
She hit a mat hard, but not enough to cause her and damage.
He stood up. "That is what I want to see." He stuck his hand out so she could grab it. "And to answer your question about how is you attempting to punch me going to help proves my first lesson. When fighting, use your brain rather than your emotions. As for me me being disappointed, you are sadly mistaken. I just gained my first student ever. Congrats. Be here bright and early tomorrow. I want you to get the following items, and use them on your time.

• Foot weights
  
• A pull up bar
  
• A mat
  
• A full length mirror
  
• Something like a punching bag
  
• A treadmill if possible

For now, I want you to keep trying to hit me. I won't hit back or reverse you. Your main goal is to hit me and worry about nothing else. Forget your surroundings, but be weary of them. Now go."

[Inora Theos]

A loud "umph" and groan escaped through Inora's lips as she hit the mat with all her momentum and some of his too. She felt the wind get knocked out of her body and lay stunned for just a second before jumping up after him, ignoring his hand mostly because she hadn't realized he'd been holding it out.

"Alright, no emotions in fighting. Got it." She had been told the before but had yet to master his type of control over the emotions. She could never keep her emotions in check, she would have to work harder on that. Inora couldn't help but smile when he said that he'd gained his first student. "You're really going to teach me?" She asked softly, more to herself then to him. She didn't expect him to say anything since it was obvious he was.

She mentally took note of all the things that he asked her to get and wondered where exactly she should go about finding these items, but thought better of asking him. "I will get them." She said simply, and then fell back into the only fighting stance she knew: legs spread shoulder width apart, one foot slightly in front of the other. It wasn't good but it was all she knew at the moment.

A deep shuddering breath went through her body as she prepared to do as he said. She opened her mouth to say something, to let him know she was ready, but at the last minute she realized that he would probably just yell at her for warning her opponent before she attacked. Therefore she simply stepped quickly closer to him and threw another punch, using almost all her power and keeping the rest to maintain balance.

[Victor Ambrose]

She was fast, he had to hand it to her, but her swings were far to wide, and her stance needed a little bit of work. She had what it took to be a fighter, but she had a long way to go before she could ever get to where she really wanted to be.
He had to say that he was a little impressed though. It was hard to find someone who can move as fast as she was. He was even more impressed when she landed some hits on him. That was a feat on its own.
Finally, at the very last punch, he grabbed her left hand and twisted it to the right, and then suddenly, bent down on one knee, twisting her hand AND arm to the left, being careful not to break it. He would just end up falling on the mat with no damage to her, and no pain if he did it right.
"Good. I'm impressed you actually did what you did. But now, let's work on some technique..." He looked at the clock on the wall, and noticed that it was almost closing time. "Seeing as we don't have much time, I want you to pick a stance from one of the many stances I will mention, and we will work on it next time. Bright and Early, you come running. Wear the leg weights all the time. Walk in them, run in them, use them for work, and even do some kicks and leg lifts with them. Since you don't have any, you can take those." He pointed to a pair that he had laid out on a bench. Each one was fifteen pounds. He wanted twenty five pound weights, but the guy said he didn't have any, so he bought those to stay in shape for the mean time."Don't worry. They are brand new and haven't been used. The gym open at 7 A.M. Be here. Now the stances I can teach you are:

• Karate
  
• Judo
  
• Tai-Kwon-Do
  
• Tai-Chi
  
• Boxing
  
• Kick-Boxing (2 stances)
  
• Street Fighting

Keep in mind that each style has it's own strength and it's own weaknesses. I can only teach you 2 maximum. Can't be giving out all my secrets."
He was about to turn around and wave to her, but he had one last condition. "Oh, one last thing. Never mention my name or that I am teaching you to anyone. You are not allowed to teach this to anyone and you are not allowed to use these styles and techniques outside this gym unless I say so or in self-defense. You may practice at home, but not around company. Do you understand?"
He had to make sure she understood. He didn't want people coming to him for lessons or to fight. It was getting annoying.

[Inora Theos]

Inora let out a shout as he grabbed her and almost threw her to the floor. “I thought you weren’t going to hit or reverse me!” She straightened and rubbed her shoulder which hurt from his twist. Nora looked at him and sighed, finally learning something. She listened to his instructions and smiled, she had no problems running to the gym everyday. However, she would be tempted to run in her wolf form which wouldn’t be a good idea in the middle of Hollywood. “Yes sir.” She responded, she would wear the leg weights with no problem. Exercise had always been something she enjoyed. Her favorite class in school had been gym, which had weirded her friends out. She noted the location of the leg weights and smiled. “It’s alright, I’m not afraid of cooties.”

She paid close attention as he rattled off the list of stances. “I understand that, I’m just thankful that you’re giving me any secrets you can.” She thought through the list. “Umm…I guess I’d like to learn street fighting and Judo.” She wasn’t sure why she wanted those two in particular but they seemed like as good a choice as any other. Her eyes raised to his face as he went on. “I solemnly swear to you , oh great teacher, that none will hear your name from my lips and none will learn your secrets through my teachings. And I’m not stupid enough to go picking fights. I understand perfectly, this must be annoying, having some girl you don’t know coming up to you and asking you to teach her to fight. But I really appreciate what you’re doing for me Vic.”

[Victor Ambrose]

"If those are you final choices, I defiantly recommend you get those items pronto. That and you will need a lot of Icy-Hot, Tylenol, or something of a similar nature. Street fighting requires you to get a lot tougher, because we are going to work not only on you muscle mass, but your skeletal density. This is going to hurt a lot. Judo on the other hand is going to depend a lot on your reflex time, and your speed. I am going to force your brain to work faster than it is use to, so aspirin might be something you might want as well. Either way, you are going to need a lot of work. A lot. No shortcuts. You are going to have to push your body to a limit. You aren't a machine who is use to such strenuous activities. If you were, then you wouldn't need this work. Now, I don't have like a three strike policy or whatever. First strike and you are out. Zero-Tolerance. I am going against my natural instinct of not trusting anyone. Don't disappoint me. Dismissed."And with that he turned around, and went to continue his own work out. He was FAR behind, and he needed to get in at least some work out before the gym closed, which was soon.
But as he was working out, something hit him.
What possessed him to accept helping her?
Was it her determination?
Was it her spirit?
Was it her strength?
Was it her will?
Or was it because....he wanted to?
That last one disturbed him a bit. He never trusted people. Trust was a weakness. Trust was a flaw. Trust breaks.
So why trust?
He hit the punching bag using a Chi method, and almost broke the bag from the ceiling.
"VIC! EASY WILL YA!"
"Sorry Joe."
He didn't want to do anything anymore. He lost the mood.
He started heading to the changing room, the thoughts still agitating him, like a splinter in the back of his mind.
Why did this bother him so much?
He punched the nearest bag.
'There is no point in wondering. What's done is done Victor. Move on.'
He needed to relax.
He needed to calm down.
He needed a shower.