Seventh Sense

f o u r t e e n || eyes open

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀However, it works. The thought snaps me out of it. I break eye contact with James and the knife falls to the ground. My vision sparks red as I strike out. It would've been such a good punch but I lose my balance and only make contact with his lower jaw.

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀"Subtle Suggestion." He would sound prideful if not for the tiredness in his voice.

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀"What did that prove?" I ask, rubbing my neck. There's a small indent from a possible knife wound. He looks at it blankly.

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀"That I don't need touch you to kill you," he replies simply, looking at me head on. "How can you fight me if you don't control your mind, right?"

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀I shield my eyes from his. Next time, I may not be able to get out of it. "So what? Learn a Sense and I'm set?"

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀"No. Learn a Sense, expose yourself to an enemy and oh shit; now he knows your weaknesses. Next time, they'll show up to a fight without any skin showing. Now what? Sixth Senses are our last resorts." I want to argue. If we have powers, we should use them, right? It's what makes us special. "You're different - when you use your Sense, you gain Energy. For the rest of us, it drains like a -" he stops himself, looking behind him before carrying on with the lesson.

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀"Say if I were to do this," he grabs my arm and twists it behind me, "what would you do?" I instinctively move the other hand towards his neck as it tingles, ready for the kill.

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀When my hand meets contact, his grip slackens but he uses his hands to grab my throat. My connection breaks as there is no more Energy. "Don't really expect someone to just stay there."

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀"So, what?" I ask once he lets me out of his iron grip.

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀"Tire them out. Make them use their Sense. Something. And when they're weak, go for it." His face turns grave for a second.

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀"Use it as a finisher move," I whisper to myself. "How do I do that?"

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀He shrugs, no definitive answer in his mind. "Practice. Train as if your life depends on it."

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀Out of the blue, he swings at me, catching me off guard for the second time. I don't even see the fist - but the throbbing in my lip and chin proves its existence. I go down with the hit. "Lesson one: how to take a hit."

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀I get up, still touching the wound. When he swings again, I duck, using my weight to tackle him down. He falls off balance as I straddle him. I'm far too involved to care about how this looks. In any other situation, my face would be red from embarrassment but the redness comes from straight anger. A desperation to prove myself. If he isn't already, the shock appears on his face when I grab his throat. And when I let go. I get off quickly, like I was never there. "How was that?" I ask sarcastically, cracking my knuckles.

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀"You lack discipline. You act according to how you feel. If I were Chase, you'd be done." He's referring to Chase's tactic of goading; making his opponent sloppy.

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀"That stuff doesn't work on me," I try to explain.

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀"With Chase, it works on everyone. You need to learn how to fight with more than just a survival instinct." He sticks out his arm in the same punch as I duck. "That is training. What you did before was instinct."

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀He continues to coach me on things I'd consider pointless. I'm so far out of shape that the slightest thing tires me. James pretends not to notice. Instead, he pushes me harder and I depend on my Energy to keep me going.

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀Most of his commands sound foreign but my bones seem to understand. After a demonstration, I copy the attack with Demon pointing out that my footwork is sloppy. She seems to know what she's talking about too, which is odd.