Adorabat flew about the room, all giddy to start today's lesson. After getting stung, Mao Mao postponed any hero training until he was deemed "all clear" to be active once more. Today marks when Mao Mao is deemed fit to go back into the field, meaning hero training is back on!
Tanya slouched on the couch, watching the blue bat in amusement as she flew around Sheriff HQ. "You're really excited to go back to training, huh?" Tanya asked, nonchalantly.
Swooping down from the ceiling, Adorabat landed the couch's armrest. Looking up at tanuki woman, Adorabat began to jump up and down, light squeals could be heard in her voice. "Yeah! Mao Mao says his sisters will be taking part," half shouted Adorabat, still elated from when she heard the news. "I'm so excited my little heart just can't wait!"
"Where is Mittens anyway?" Tanya asked, her head swiveling around trying to find the aforementioned caped Sheriff.
"Oh, he's up at the castle," replied Adorabat in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Why is he there?"
"Mao Mao's getting rehavilization," replied Adorabat.
Tanya giggled to herself, finding Adorabat's mispronunciation of larger words oddly cute. "I see."
Minori groggily walked out of the kitchen, a cup of coffee tightly gripped between her hands. She shuffled over to the coffee table, dropping down to the floor as soon as she was near the table. With half lidded eyes, Minori took a sip from her mug, placing it on one of the coasters when she was finished.
Tanya smirked at the sight of a 'legendary hero' at what could be interpreted as a vulnerable moment. "Up all night were you?"
"Yeah, I was cooking myself a midnight snack," answered Minori, making sure to leave out the fact that the food wasn't for her. Turning to Adorabat, she asked, "you ready for today's training session AB?"
"Yeah, what're you gonna teach me?" Adorabat asked, her impatience to start the lesson getting the better of her.
"Me? Nothing," said Minori, much to the blue bat's dismay. "Mao Mao's the one teaching. Vi and I are just helping out with the lesson."
"Yes, so let's please stick to our brother's lesson plan," spoke a monotoned voice. The three turned to the stairs, seeing Violet coming up from the lower level.
"You say that like I don't plan to," Minori's tone dropped in pitch at the sight of her older sister.
"I know you plan to, you just have a tendency to get ahead of yourself," noted Violet, previous experiences coming to mind as she said this.
"I'm not doing this with you today," turning to the clock, Minori checked what time it was. Looked like Mao Mao was going to be home any minute now. "Let's just assist with the lesson, and we can go our separate ways."
"Agreed," replied Violet.
Confused, Adorabat looked between the two sisters, before voicing her concerns to Tanya. "I don't get it, they're sisters, why aren't they getting along?"
"You're an only child, right, kid?" Tanya asked.
"Yeah," responded Adorabat, unsure as to why that was important.
"Well you see, just because two people are related by blood, doesn't necessarily mean they'll get along," explained the vigilante, trying to keep it as simple as she could for the five year old.
"Do you have any siblings, Tanya?" Adorabat asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
Every inch of Tanya's body tensed up on hearing the question; a long moment of silence passed before she gave an answer. "Well, yes. But I don't really...," Tanya paused, looking for an appropriate word to use. "I don't really like talking about my family. Let's just leave it at that."
"Family problems, huh?" Minori said, taking another sip from her mug.
"Yeah, sure," Tanya replied hesitantly, averting her gaze to the opposite corner of the room.
Violet's ears twitched, turning over to the door, she said, "he's back."
Seconds later, Mao Mao opened the front door, greeted by the sight of his sisters and friends. "I'm back."
"Mao Mao!" Shouted Adorabat, flinging herself from the couch over to the red cloaked Sheriff. "Can we begin training now? Can we? Can we?" Adorabat flapped around the Sheriffs head, never seeming to hover in the same spot for more than a few seconds.
"I don't see why not," Mao Mao started towards the dojo, his sisters in tow.
Looking back, Adorabat asked, "Aren't you coming Tanya?"
Picking up the remote, Tanya began flipping through the channels. "Nah, hero training isn't my thing. But don't let me stop you from having fun, I'll just be watching...", she stopped channel flipping. "Surfer Trio?" With a simple shrug, Tanya leaned back in the couch.
Slightly disappointed that the bounty hunter had no wish to participate, Adorabat pulled herself to the dojo, where the trio of Mao's were waiting for her.
Mao Mao was waiting for Adorabat off to the side, while Minori and Violet were left in the center of the large room. Flapping over to Mao Mao's side, Adorabat perched on the railing that separated the four of them from a steep, 5,000 foot drop.
"Okay, now I need you to listen close Adorabat," Mao Mao spoke crisply so as to capture the ward's attention. "Today, we will be covering fighting styles and their compatibility. You may find yourself at a disadvantage against your opponent's fighting style, which may perfectly counter yours." Mao Mao grabbed one of the wooden practice swords and tossed it to Violet, who caught it easily. "Violet, can you hit Minori as hard as you can with that?"
Hearing her brother's request, Minor did a double take. "Hold on, you want to run that by me again?"
Before Mao Mao even had a chance to, with lightning speed, Violet shattered the sword against Minori's shoulder. The sudden impact threw Minori to the ground, and the upper half of the sword was sent skittering across the floor.
Violet looked at the training weapon, seeing the splintered wood, she discarded it. Seeing her sister pull herself off the floor, Violet took a step back.
"You maybe want to give some warning next time, little brother?" Minori asked, dusting off her gi.
Mao Mao flushed, realizing that he accidentally skipped some of his explanation to the point of this exercise. "I'm terribly sorry, Minori, this was to prove that everyday weapons don't have an effect on you when used with raw strength."
As Minori began to calm down, Violet said, "you're overreacting, I know you've taken worse than what I just hit you with."
"Of course I have," complained Minori, rubbing the spot that Violet struck. "But pain is still pain!"
Mao Mao coughed into his fist, drawing the attention of his sisters before their argument escalated any further. "I would appreciate it, if you two would spar to show Adorabat how different fighting styles can affect the outcome of a battle."
The two sisters exchanged glances, looking back to their younger brother, they both gave their answer.
"Yeah okay," said Minori, with a grin spreading as she began to stretch.
"Very well," replied Violet, simply nodding her head.
Dropping into fighting stances, Minori and Violet began circling each other. The Mao sisters looked each other over, searching for an opening to exploit.
It didn't take long for Minori to throw caution to the wind, rushing her elder sister, she threw a barrage of punches. Each one failed to land on their mark, as Violet stepped out of Minori's reach.
Frustration welled up in Minori's mind at an astonishing speed. It was times like these she cursed her relatively short stature in comparison to her sisters. For every two steps Violet took, Minori needed to take three to cover the amount of distance.
Violet continued to avoid Minori like the plague, taking advantage of the martial artist's impatience. There was no need to fight if her kid sister was going to tire herself out for her. A smile tugged at her lips; something about Minori getting worked up made her heart flutter.
Out of the corner of her eye, Violet noticed Adorabat's attention had been diverted to a butterfly that was passing by. Guess watching one person avoid another got tiresome pretty quickly. There wouldn't be much point in this sparring session if the blue bat wasn't going to watch.
Reaching into her hat, Violet produced a naginata, probably one of the better weapons she had to combat Minori's fisticuffs. Using the pommel, she batted away from Minori's strikes. Shifting her hand positions, Violet swung the pole arm in a wide arc, forcing Minori to take a step back.
Violet looked back, it looked like that caught Adorabat's attention. In that case, perhaps it might be better to make a show of it.
Violet began spinning her naginata, sweeping her arm side to side, she made sure Minor stayed on the other side.
Unamused with these party tricks, Minori rushed her older sister. Sticking out her arm, the shaft of the pole arm clacked against her bangles, the twirling put to a halt. Grabbing the pole arm with both hands, Minori jerked at the weapon, pulling Violet along with it. As soon as her older sister was within reach, Minori reared her arm back and with full force, clocked Violet in the face.
Reeling from the blow, Violet stepped back several feet, her hand coming up to feel the spot on her cheek. Her light touch was all that was needed to make it sting. Violet looked back to Minori, who held her naginata in her hand, "was that really necessary?"
In response, Minori glared at her older sister, "if we're going to spar, take it seriously!" Minori tossed the naginata back to Violet.
Snatching the weapon out of the air, Violet shifted the weapon back and forth. If Minori wanted a fight, there was a better weapon for it. Gently lifting the weapon back into her hat, she pulled a second weapon to replace it, a hook sword. "If that is what you wish."
Upon hearing this exchange between his sisters, Mao Mao realized that he had probably just had a lapse in judgement. Just yesterday, these two were at each other's throats, and now he had given them a reason to trade blows.
Maybe if things escalated too far he could get Badgerclops and Tanya to assist him. But even then, Mao Mao could only imagine how that would go.
Minori equipped a devilish smile, dropping into a fighting stance once more. Eyeing the peculiar weapon with curiosity; Violet was aware standard weapons couldn't do much harm to Minori, so she armed herself with a less than conventional weapon.
This peculiar weapon wasn't designed to just hack and slash, but a number of other things. However, Violet's vow of no killing renders most of them moot as she's dulled the sharp edges. Leaving the hook and the crescent guard, both of which were designed to block, snag, and counter. The perfect weapon to use against a martial artist such as Minori.
Minori could feel her blood rushing through her veins, very rarely could she get a chance to feel like this. When it came to being a hero, there was only one thing she wanted. It wasn't recognition or fame, it was a good fight, one she could hold until dawn. Very few, other than her sisters, could satisfy this need.
For that reason, Minori put no thought into her movements as she rushed Violet for a second time. Quickly covering the distance between them, Minori attempted another swipe at Violet's face.
Her fist hit nothing but air, Violet reverted back to her initial strategy of dodging Minori's attacks, and parrying those she couldn't. Violet moved her arm in a windmill-like sweep, knocking away another one of Minori's strikes.
Mao Mao watched the fight intently, only to be broken out of his concentration, via a slight tugging on his cape. Turning back to Adorabat, he could tell instantly that she had a question on her mind. "Yes, Adorabat?"
"What's this supposed to be teaching me again?"
Bending down to meet her on eye level, with his hands on his knees, Mao Mao answered, "studying this exchange, will help you prepare for future bouts against foes you may not have prepared for. It will become apparent when the time comes. Watch this."
Mao Mao pointed to his sisters still going at it, nothing seemed to have changed so far, until Violet whipped her arm, several projectiles flying from her loose sleeve. Minori caught one, however, the others found their mark, bouncing off her unbreakable skin. Clattering to the ground, Adorabat could see that they were a set of kunai, similar to the ones Mao Mao kept in his bed.
Looking on in a mix of awe and confusion, Adorabat had to wonder, where did Violet get those weapons? As far as she knew, she didn't draw them from her hat, maybe they had been stashed up her sleeve from the beginning?
"Where did she get those?" Adorabat asked, pointing the throwing weapons on the ground.
Mao Mao launched himself into an explanation, "you see, Violet is a master of Iaido, the art of the quickdraw. She's learned to combine that style with the weapons stored in her hat. Combine that with some slight of hand and she can pull out weapons when ever she wants without anyone noticing."
"Woah!" Adorabat exclaimed, her eyes widening in amazement.
"Woah indeed," said Mao Mao. "Violet has worked hard on perfecting this fighting style for years."
The two turned their attention back to the fight just in time to see Minori catch the sword in one hand, and bringing her other to the side of the blade, snapping it in two.
"Ha! Not so confident now are you?" Minori exclaimed triumphantly.
Violet reached into her hat, bringing out her naginata once more. "Have you forgotten? It was our confidence that brought about our undoing once before."
Minori recoiled, glancing over at Mao Mao. "You really still think about that day?"
"You still do," retorted Violet, glancing down at the orange fabric still wrapped around Minori's wrist. "What's your oath this time?"
"None of your business!" Minori rushed toward her older sister, her patience having reached its limit.
Thrusting the polearm into the ground, Violet leaned her weight away from the weapon and backwards. Keeping a firm grip on the shaft with one hand, she used the weapon as an anchor point, spinning around it to avoid Minori's strikes.
Gritting her teeth, Minori continued to lunge for her sister, missing with each swipe. "Stop running!"
Violet rolled her eyes. "Your double standards are tiresome. First you want me to fight you, then you want me to take this seriously. I have no intention on taking kicks to the back of the head like you."
"What?"
Violet spun on the spear, using her upper body to hoist herself up off the ground. Whipping around the pole arm, she extended her leg, landing a solid strike to the back of Minori's head.
Sent sprawling across the ground, Minori quickly pushed herself up, bent low to the ground. "Are you serious?" Minori said.
While Minori was recovering, Violet hoisted herself up further. Placing a foot on the butt of the pole arm, she proceeded to balance on it, her loose clothes billowing in the gentle breeze.
"I thought you enjoyed a good show," said Violet flatly, glowering at Minori from underneath her hat.
Not wasting anymore time, Minori dashed towards the naginata, aiming to snap it beneath her sister.
Watching passively, Violet removed her hat from her head, holding it out in front of her. She shook the golden weapon once, a monsoon of glass spheres fell from her hat, carpeting the floor.
Minori, too late to notice what covered the floor, slid over the marbles, continuing until she slammed into one of the pillars that held up the roof.
Before the martial artist could fall to the ground, Violet drew a bola from her hat, throwing it at Minori. The weighted ropes swung around the beam, securing her to the pillar.
Struggling against the chains that bound her, Minori found herself defeated. "Okay, I give, you win!"
Hopping down from her perch, Violet strode over to her bound sister. Untying the bola, she released Minori from her binds.
While Minori patted out the wrinkles on her gi, Mao Mao faced Adorabat, seeing her with a wide eyed expression, multiple expressions chasing each other across her face, excitement, amazement, confusion, and an assortment of other emotions that showed how ecstatic the child felt.
"Well," Mao Mao said to Adorabat. "What'd you think?"
"That was so amazing!" Adorabat squealed. "But there's just one thing I don't understand."
"What's that?" Mao Mao asked.
"I thought weapons didn't affect Minori," Adorabat stated plainly. "So how come she still lost?
"Well, it's important to remember that indestructible, and invincible, are two separate words," began the Sheriff. "When used in a head-on attack, weapons won't work on Minori, yes. But Violet knew that, so she took a less direct way of tackling Minori's impenetrable skin. The marbles to make her trip, and the bola to subdue her are perfect examples. Despite the poor matchup, Violet's cunning, is what allowed her to come out on top!"
"Wow! You're sisters are incredible!" The light sparkled in Adorabat's wide eyes as she hopped up and down
"Well what do you expect?" Minori said as she and Violet walked back over the teacher and student. "We're the best of the best!"
"Did we not just talk about that overconfidence?" Violet whispered under her breath, just audible enough for Minori to hear.
"Now," Mao Mao turned back to Adorabat. "Let's breakdown your fighting style, and determine what your matchups are."
"Hold on little brother," Minori held up a hand, signaling to stop before going any further. "Don't think you can get out of this that easily."
Mao Mao, confused, tilted his head to the side. Did he miss something? He was sure that the sparring session had covered everything.
"Come on," Minori turned her hand over, curling her fingers, beckoning her brother to come out into the middle of the floor with her. "Let's see how your fighting style matches up with mine!"
•••
Tanya continued to watch Surfer Trio, at first the show didn't seem appealing, but it eventually grew on her. It might even be her new favorite show.
A groan pulled Tanya's attention from the television to Badgerclops, who waltzed out of his and Mao's bedroom.
"Did you just wake up?" Tanya asked, raising a brow.
"Yeah, why?"
"Because it's almost noon," said Tanya, pointing out the hands on the clock, over the television.
"Hm," said Badgerclops simply. It didn't appear that this news affected the deputy in any way.
The phone in the Sheriff's office rang, making the badger and tanuki jump. Badgerclops went into the office space to answer the phone.
Badgerclops pulled the phone off of its resting spot. "Hello? Okay. Sure, I'll be there soon."
"Who was that?" Tanya asked out of curiosity.
"I've gotta get to the castle," answered Badgerclops, "they want to talk to me about the party next week."
"Cool, have fun!" Tanya replied having quickly lost interest.
Badgerclops walked down into his workspace/garage. The Aerocycle was parked were it always was, the only thing different was Tanya's Aerotruck parked next to it. With the two vehicles taking up as much space as they were, the garage felt so much smaller. Perhaps when he built the the Sheriff's HQ, he should've added extra space for visitors; maybe on the off chance it gets destroyed again, he'll do just that.
Putting the thought aside, he hopped onto the Aerocycle, equipping his helmet. Revving the engine, the cybernetic badger took off, making his way to the Pure Heart Spire.