Amelia shouldn’t have been surprised when people kept wandering out of the beginner room to get a drink and never returned. Part of her knew, just knew, that it was only a matter of time before Raven fever swept the building. Still, she ignored the impulse to go see what the one-armed girl was doing until the nice senior instructor informed her that she had fulfilled her required calisthenics for the day, releasing her after she promised to watch a small vid clip on a site he provided so she could practice later.

She’d watch the clip and then learn the first few stances and practice them on her own at her leisure. It was nice, this sort of regularity, and normal. She was sweating a little bit, and even enjoyed the blandness of the white room with padded floors. The vacation to normal life ended almost abruptly when even her instructor seemed to catch the bug -- through the walls. The instructor just kept looking around and she could tell they were itching to leave and have a look themselves.

“I guess it’s contagious, whatever is going around?” Her blonde instructor smiled, looking around quizzically at the half-empty room.

“I guess.” Amelia acknowledged, taking a free towel from the rack and wiping her face and arms down. She placed the towel in the tray meant for water reclaiming and then sonic washing. She felt better. “Thanks for today! I was having trouble sleeping but I think I needed this.”

“Hey sure. Can’t be chemically asleep all the time.”

“Right. Take care.” Amelia tossed a wave over her shoulder and let herself out, surprised when someone almost bumped into her in their rush to move past the entrance in a different direction. “Sorry!” Amelia apologized reflexively even though it hadn’t been anything she had control over.

Her gaze followed the small kid as he ran, practically skipping through the halls. Her eyes followed him to an open doorway into a large room, where her view of some spectacle was being blocked by a large number of practitioners with their backs turned. Amelia had a sinking feeling she knew what this was about, and with dread walked toward the room and turned to see what the crowd was watching.

“Unreal.” Someone in front of her whispered. A young boy who was just tall enough to see through the small throng of people.

Oh, Raven, Amelia thought when she first witnessed what so transfixed the crowd. How could I have ever doubted you?

Suji was standing calmly, breathing evenly and not looking like he was exerting himself much. When he moved forward, his feet barely left the floor while his shoulders and torso remained almost absolutely still. The slightest shuffling of feet and the distance between Suji and Raven closed. Raven leaped off the mat from her ready stance and twisted incredibly through the air, her left heel aimed at his chin. Where Suji was controlled motion and utter calmness, Raven was wild and disproportionate movement and frantic energy.

Suji leaned back fractionally avoiding the heel and started to move back toward her while she was still in the air before deciding to retreat again. He had plenty of time when her other foot spun the full circumference and passed through the area where he might have been if he had moved carelessly forward. He made it look simple but many of the people around Amelia startled, surprised at the sudden range of motion that the short two legs were capable of in the air.

Raven landed, once again facing him as he aimed an incredibly sharp and straight front kick toward her chest. Amelia felt a rush of air in her chest as she inhaled, suddenly concerned with the power and violence the man had put into it.

What was this? Her impression of Suji was one of kindness, not violence. It immediately began to plummet as--

Raven leaned backward, and then kept going, planting her hand on the floor for balance as first her left foot came up and passed his leg on his right side, and then her other came up and aimed at his chin on the left side of his leg. Suji blocked the kick with his left hand from below without relinquishing his kick stance, holding his leg out firmly. Shock rode his face as the foot that had already gone by came down in a heel drop and he was forced to block it from above with his free hand, dropping out of his kick stance. A strange moment held where both her legs were being blocked from above and below while she did a hand-stand before she simply fell on her back and then rolled to the right.

“Hey, super thanks for not grabbing me and hurling me through the air by my legs.” Raven panted.

“Resorting to wrestling moves is unnecessary,” Suji replied kindly, he dropped his hands. For a moment Amelia imagined that he might cross his arms in a classic lecturing pose. He did not. The hands immediately stayed casually up and ready for use.

It was like watching one of those action streams.

When Raven had told Amelia that she wanted to spar with the head of a dojo she had looked earnest, but Amelia hadn’t really thought much of it other than it was just Raven being Raven. Now, though, it was clear she had underestimated Raven. This was the girl who had lived through the death game and exercised and played every day after her release as if she were making up for years of lost time.

Life and death battles occurred on a daily basis for the Raven of the past, and for some reason, Amelia had thought that the Raven in the game was just that, a powerful digital avatar that existed only in the game. Now she realized her error. It had only ever been Raven who was extraordinary, not the data that had been used to record her represented strength in the virtual environment. Here she couldn't use supernatural strength or speed. Here there was only her small and frail body; somehow it was almost enough.

“It’s been half an hour.” Teddy was looking nervous where his director was not. The big man was sweating. “You know, I thought this was a farce, but he’s taking it so seriously.”

Raven stepped in and delivered a blistering number of straight punches and jabs with her one good arm. Suji blocked all the blows with both of his hands with open palms, moving them to the side or simply stopping them. He braced himself very subtly and struck at her stomach but she turned her body and blocked the blow with her own elbow, grunting and spinning away from the force of the blow.

“Oh. I apologize.” Suji suddenly said. “Although you may wish to return to kicking. It’s hard to feint with only one-arm.”

“It was nothing!” Raven, after Suji talked to her, straightened slightly and lost her stance.

She smiled, then her smile turned to a grimace. “Oh wait! It was delayed! It stings! Ow ow ow.”

She hopped from one foot to another rubbing her elbow against her stomach, and then suddenly planted her left foot and aimed a side-kick at his midsection in a sucker-kick type move, her face changing from fake pain to an amused sneer. Suji caught her foot in both hands by her arch and twisted her leg. She spun easily with the motion and landed on her feet about a meter away.

“Deception!” Suji sounded amused. “Good use!”

“Stop lecturing me!” Raven rushed in and hopped lightly over a short kick aimed at her feet and calves, snapping a kick at his face with the motion instead.

“I was going to end this a while ago but you have surpassed my expectations!” Suji praised.

“They totally forgot about us,” Amelia said to Teddy.

She motioned to the crowd. It seemed clear to her that both the participants in this crazy mad kung fu battle had totally forgotten about their audience. It was almost playfighting except for the sincerity in which blows were being thrown back and forth.

“I was going to kick or punch you a while ago but you’re surprisingly feisty!” Raven growled back. Her kick had hit nothing but the air of course. She was beginning to wonder how this old guy was so spry.

“Yes, well all I have to do is hit you once more.” Suji supplied, his voice teasing.

“That first one didn’t count!” Raven complained.

“It counted,” Suji said. “The judge called it.”

“Yeah, but…” Raven complained again and then was shocked when Suji rushed forward and into her space.

She had obviously expected him to throw a punch or a kick or let her continue to complain. Instead, he moved within inches of her even as she began to back up. He simply moved with her and his shoulders straightened. What happened next Amelia didn’t see clearly because of the crowd but it looked like he had struck her with his open palms, both of them, even as she raced backward trying to get away. She collapsed to her knees, coughing, even as the judge moved forward and announced a clean hit.

Amelia pushed through the crowd just in time to hear Suji, as he was bowing to her, “I have great expectations of you. I shall see you tomorrow?”

“Yes…” Raven sounded winded and fatigued and her eyes were comedically widened like she couldn’t believe this turn of events.

People watching the exhibition began to applaud. Before long there were hoots and shouts of encouragement. She looked up, looking dizzy and sweating and tired. She grimaced as her eyes slowly refocused on Amelia.

“Amelia, Aura ran out,” Raven complained.

“Must be time to go home, then,” Amelia whispered, helping the girl to her feet and letting her use her as a crutch even as the applause in the room began to gain strength.

“I’m so happy,” Raven said quietly. “I think my ribs are broken.”

“Hospital?” Amelia asked, suddenly terrified.

“No. Maybe not broken. Just…” Raven sighed. “So happy.”

“Home,” Amelia said firmly, horrified that she had ever let Raven out of her sight. She turned her face toward Suji and gave him a dark look.

“He saw me,” Raven said with a dopey grin.

--

“...and that’s how I became an apprentice to the legendary Tsujimaru Kensuke.” Raven finished.

“Kinsuke.” Amelia corrected half-heartedly.

“Whatever.” Raven shrugged.

“I don’t remember the lasers or giant robots. The rest was disgustingly spot on.” Amelia added when both Elisha and Hunter turned toward her with wide-eyes seeking confirmation of this tall-tale.

“Where’s Aidan and Forsythe?” Raven was slurping down some sort of instant noodle that Elisha had dutifully handed her when she stormed the ranch and demanded Forsythe feeding time. Amelia could tell that Raven still hurt in the rib area, but she had recovered remarkably in the journey home. Elisha had handed her the instant bowl which steamed when the top came off, Raven had been pretty hesitant but had made it vanish after the first sip.

“Forsythe is still in the game,” Hunter said from the sink. Amelia wasn’t sure what she was doing other than scrubbing the sink with some localized cleaner. The sonic was a big thing in this house and everyone was pretty good at loading the thing with their dirty dishes since they were mostly freeloaders and paying her a small amount for the price of staying. They kept paying, though at some point she had announced it wasn’t necessary.

“Aidan is on sentinel, is what he told me. He’s with Forsythe. I don’t know what that means.” Elisha admitted, handing Raven another unopened instant bowl of noodles. “What’s sentinel?”

Raven put down her fork very carefully and pushed the unopened bowl aside, surprising everyone. “Sentinel? That was his exact word?”

“Yeah?” Elisha answered, but before she could do more than answer Raven was gone. She leaped from the chair, actually unbalancing it. The chair clattered to the floor as Raven rushed out of the kitchen.