GaLe: Apocalyptic Love

Chapter 7:

"Levy, this is Gildarts, the last Leader. He trains everyone," Mavis said as we walked up to a huge man, taller than Gajeel even, with orange hair and a brown cape.

"Yo, a newcomer. What's up, kid?" He said and bent down giving me a fun loving smile. I sighed.

"Sir I'm not a kid," I said respectfully, "I'm 18."

"Oh? I'm sorry then. What's your name?" He asked getting back up.

"I'm Levy McGarden, nice to meet you!" I said and shook his hand.

"She's got manners. I know you two are already fond of her," he laughed.

"Better believe it. There's finally another person who understands my pain!" Mavis said happily.

"Mhm," I nodded.

"She's respectful and kind, but can keep Gajeel in check like Lucy does with Natsu. She even insulted him multiple times and didn't get hurt. You know I already like her," Erza said with an approving smile.

"Really now? She'll be a great addition. So, when am I going to start training her?" He asked.

"Well Jellal and I are going to take her on a mission so if it's okay with you and Levy, could you start today?" Erza asked.

"I'm fine with it. You?" Gildarts asked me.

"I'm okay with it!" I said.

"Great. Is it okay with you guys if we leave you here to get started?" She asked. We nodded and said our goodbyes, and then they left.

"So. Which skill do you want to start with first?" He asked.

"Skill?" I asked.

"Scavengers have different levels of skills than the rest. But since you don't have a role yet, I need to train you with all of the skills. So you need to pick one to start with first. We'll start with the main four skills. Speed, Intelligence, Quick Thinking, and Combat. Which would you like to begin with?" He asked.

"Um, well maybe Combat?" I asked. He nodded.

"Very well. Now, do you have a weapon on you right now?" He asked.

"Yes. I have a knife," I said and took it out.

"It's a good weapon that suits you. Because of the way your body is structured, a knife would be the best suited weapon. I hope you took no offense to that," he added.

"I didn't. Gajeel actually said the same thing. He said I'm hard to hit but I hit back hard," I said.

"Well that is indeed true. We're going to max out your speed to the fastest you can go, and I'm going to teach you combat with knives and combat with no weapons. You won't always have your knife on you," he said. I nodded and we began our lesson.

"Let me see your starting position," he said.

"That's an odd choice of stance. Is that the way you feel most comfortable?" He asked.

I had my right hand, which held the knife, in front of me with my left hand back.

"Well kind of. It always feels a little weird but I've gotten used to it," I said.

"I see. Attack me," he said.

"Wh-What?!" I yelled.

"That's right. Attack me. Don't worry, I just want to see how you fight with that stance. I can block it easily if I need to. I wouldn't be the trainer I'd I didn't have the skills to block a knife," he said.

"B-But . . . I've never attacked a person before," I mumbled, unsure.

"You've attacked zombies," he said.

"But that was for my own safety. It was self defense!" I said. He stayed quiet for a minute.

"Levy, how do you feel when you kill zombies?" He asked. I froze.

"Why?" I asked.

"Please just tell me. What do you feel when you strike and slay a zombie. If you had one word to describe it, what would that word be?" He asked.

"Well . . . remorse I guess. I mean, they were people too. They were just unlucky," I said.

"Unlucky to survive a bite, you mean?" He asked. I nodded.

"Do you feel regret then?" He asked.

"I-I don't know. I know they would have killed me if I didn't kill them. It was to protect myself and I'm still alive now, so I shouldn't regret killing them. But, they were still humans. Everytime I kill one I feel sick. Disgusted at myself for it. But I know it's necessary," I said, spilling the thoughts I've have for these past few years of dealing with this new world.

"I see. It is perfectly okay to feel that way," he said.

"But you guys don't feel that way, and you all are the organization that saves people! How can you say it's fine to feel regret?" I asked.

"You think we don't feel that exact same thing when we do it?" He asked strictly.

"Well, yeah. Gajeel killed the zombies so quickly without hesitation," I said.

"Because it's an instinct. We all feel remorse for those we've killed. We don't hesitate because we've gotten used to it. It doesn't mean we don't regret it. The instinct takes over and then the regret comes later. It slows the feeling of regret down until after the deed is done. Now, attack me. If it makes you feel better, I can give you a fake knife that feels the same to handle as a real one," he told me.

"Fine . . ."

I place my knife down and got the fake one, and resumed my stance.

"Okay, now attack!" He said.

On command, I lunged for him. He only stood there, observing me as I got closer to him. I was about to stop because I was getting too close, but then I noticed his body moving. He was planning to dodge it. This was a fake knife anyway, so it wouldn't hurt him. I should be going all out.

I switched aim and swiftly turned to the left. His gaze followed me. I leapt towards him and he blocked the knife with his arm. I jumped back. He gave a slight nod and I leapt again. I ran around trying to get his gaze off me. That's when I realized I needed to be faster. I released my remaining energy and pushed myself to a new speed limit. Now he could barely keep up with my movements. Perfect.

His back was open and I ran towards it to get a hit. I was 7 feet away when I saw why it was open and unprotected.  It was a trap. His hand was moving to catch the knife he knew I would try to get his back with. I couldn't stop in time so I did the only thing I could think of. I slid. Like those baseball games I used to watch before the apocalypse started, I slid like I was sliding to home base. I avoided his hand and accidentally slid through his legs and appeared in front of him. I decided to use that to my advantage and I quickly got up and put the knife to his chest where his heart would be, signalling that if this was a real fight, he would be dead. Now, if this was a real fight where he fought seriously, I have no doubt he would have won. But the sparring is over for now. I stepped back and he clapped.

"You have great skills in combat, now we just need to make those skills excellent. I don't think we need to work on quick thinking. Why didn't you use that speed in the beginning?" He asked as I panted.

"I used all of my energy to be that fast. I knew if I went faster I'd have a better chance at getting out of your field of vision," I said.

He handed me water.

"Well then speed is what we'll work on next. By the time training is done, you'll be able to go even faster than that without using much energy," he said.

I smiled and training resumed.