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It was a relatively cold day for the end of may. Ashley had already put on her gymnastics pants to not have to use the changing room of the academy because they were always very full and smelled like all perfumes and deodorants in the world where used at the same time, combined with sweat. She liked silence and calmness before training and the changing room was anything but quiet. But she now had to pay for changing at home with a cold breeze stroking around her legs. At least her jacket was warm though.
It was a fairly short walkt to the academy training center and therefore she often used the walk to warm up her muscles a bit by holding her sports bag tight and jogging.
The entrance to the training area was plain and easy to overlook, it looked like a simple inexpensive gym from the outside, but that was intentional. It was still a more or less secret facility. She opened the door (which was really have at the beginning of her training and now she could open it with just two fingers, it was as if the door was proud of her progress). By passing through the simple and a bit dirty looking entrance area to the back - Ashley revealed the true face of the facility.
The training area was split in a main gym with all the known machines and tools for the soldiers to regularly train and an area only for women. On the opposite side of the entrance area was a large window with a row of treadmills in front. From there, you could overlook a park. It was very early in the morning (around 5:40 am) and already quite busy, what was to be expected. Soldiers and agents are trained to be up early, something „Americas princess“ had to get used to.
Ashley walked past the open training area through a door leading to some rooms only used for private training. As an aspiring agent, that had become her routine three times a week. She had two trainers who would train her on these days, one for close combat (twice a week) and one for firearm and other weapon use (once a week). The rest of the week she trained herself. Today’s training unit would consist of knife use. She had already gotten quite skilled with the knife so she was ecstatic to show of her skills to her substitute teacher. Her regular teacher, a skilled female marine martial arts master, had taken her family on a well deserved holiday somewhere in Europe. She had joked about not recommending Spain the day before she had left a few days prior. They liked each other and she enjoyed the strict but very fun atmosphere with her, so she hoped the replacement would be as nice. And not some over the top, strict muscle monster of a soldier. Luckily no one here knew that she was the presidents daughter (her father had taken her private space quite serious and he had never presented her to the media), everyone used their first name or some nickname that had gotten stuck in group training or general classes. Hers luckily wasn’t „baby eagle“ anymore but little kill bill because she always moved like a dancer while fighting (according to her colleagues). And thats the name that was used an everybody knew. She liked it.
She arrived at the door of room 103 just to find it opened a crack wide. The light of the windows in the room shone through the door, painting a line on the floor. That’s new. Normally she arrived before her teacher to warm herself up so they could get into training immediately, therefore she was ten minutes early. Maybe it was some kind of test. She wouldn’t know until she set foot in the room.
She adjusted her sports bag to her back, then she carefully touched the door and stepped inside the room. But she didn’t get far as her legs got torn away by a strong leg and her body pushed to the wall. At least that is what the attacker had planned but ashley‘s well trained instincts kicked in and prevented her from falling to the wall by skillfully jumping over the leg and blocking the attacker’s arm with hers crossed. Her thoughts about not wanting to train with some over the top muscle soldier popped up again. She knew those all to well, she thought.
Then she looked up in his face. Her eyes met by eyes so blue they made the sky look like a dirty puddle. His face was a bit edgier, his hair a bit darker, a beautiful shade of brown, looking almost like liquid caramel. But it was him. older and with even more muscle, but unmistakably him. He didn’t immediately recognized her (she too had changed. Her hair was longer, braided tight behind her head. She had gained muscle and she had grown a few inches). But as he did only his years and years of training and experience prohibited a reaction of shock. He calmly let his arm down and she leaned against the Wall. „Little Kill Bill, isn’t it?“ He said with a smirk on his face.
„Yep. I earned that name you know?“ Ashley replied.
„I see“
She couldn’t hold herself back as she advanced him and hugged him tight. „Hello, Leon“ she chuckled in his ear. He shyly returned her hug, holding her tight for a few heartbeats.
As they separated, she stepped back to get a better look at him and he did too. he was much cleaner then in the moment they said goodbye after the island. But his confident posture and his a little arrogant but mostly cute smile had not changed the slightest and she was happy about that, she had to admit.
„Okay so you truly meant what you said on the island, and wow, I wonder if you even need more combat training“ ( :) ) He said.
He looked up and down her body and admired with a certain pride that she had developed the body of an aspirin agent. Her muscles were natural and lean but as he had noticed by attacking her, strong as iron. She had developed fast instincts and had reacted to his attack in the blink of en eye. He was surprised, she actually was one of the last persons he had expected to meet in a secret training facility for U.S agents and soldiers. But she had clearly made said environment her space. She looked very content and happy he noticed with a warm feeling in his chest. He was just happy the Las Plagas incident hadn’t broken her.
„Sooo, little kill bill, do me the honor and dance with me“ he said. Are you warm yet? Or do you need some time?
She actually should have said yes and should have warmed up accordingly, but adrenaline rushed through her veins, making her existed to show her former savior what she had learned. In a lightning fast move she had gotten rid of her bag and had drawn her training knife, aiming for his throat. He however had seen that coming, as expected and he effortlessly parried with his arm. What he shouldn’t habe expected but did, was her other and with a second knife aiming for his ribs. Well, he did and her arm slipped over his, pricking into air. His knife, however hit her sternum with its apex.
She was fast, very fast but not fast enough for him. yet. she moved like a ballerina, her footwork more dance then steps. But it was very good. She had trained hard apparently.
The two separate, ashley a tiny bit out of breath. Again, Leon just said. And this time she let him come to her, acting as if she had already lost some of her strength. But he was obviously no fool and attacked with full strength, leading her two reply with two fast steps back, ducking to get to his exposed belly, but he was there, blocking her. She let herself drop down fast and calculated to grab his calf to throw him to the ground but he replied by stepping back and hooking her arm, turning her sideways. His legs now out of reach, she could only push herself from the ground, wrapping her legs around his and her forearm getting them both to hit the floor. They both landed soft and well trained on the ground, next to each other.
„Not bat, for a baby eagle“ he grinned.
She smiled, it was a proud smile. even though she could never have killed him with that move in a real fight, she would have had just enough time to get away from him to safety.
They both were out of breath now, slowly sitting up. For a moment they just let each other catch their breath. The moment was silent but not awkward. They both needed to process that they suddenly were in the same room after years of not hearing a word about the others whereabouts.
Ashley broke the silence. „Where have you been? What have you been doing the last few years?“ she asked.
„I have been on a few missions, none of them were as hard as ours though. I have been training a lot - and believe it or not - I have bought a dog.“
„Our Mission“ caused Ashleys heart to feel warm. „Ohhh what breed is he? Did those missions involve zombies or parasites?“ she asked with a grin.
„She is a husky. Her name is not jet chosen I honestly don’t know how to name a dog. I found her in a cartoon near my house so I think about lucky or something or blue because she too has blue eyes“ he laughed.
„Call her sky. I think that would suit you both. Your eyes - her eyes - both looking like the sky.“
„Sounds nice“ A moment of pleasant silence later, he answered her question regarding his missions.
„So I had to clean out a military camp of rogue soldiers, I can’t tell you were exactly - you know why- but it was hard. It is different to kill humans who are still fully human. It was difficult and I am still recovering from that. I killed hundreds.“
She gave him space. Thinking about the right answer. „Thank you for telling me“ She just said. She meant it. His honesty truly surprised her. Well she wasn’t the 21 year old, helpless student anymore. She was older then he probably was at the time he had carried out her rescue and he seemed to have very much noticed and adapted his communication towards her. Which made her proud.
„I have not yet killed a human or even an infected and I am honestly pretty afraid of the moment I will have to for the first time. Do you remember your first?“
„Yes. Ashley, you never forget your first and it won’t get easier. You just learn to use you instincts instead of your brain or heart. So the remorse and the feelings of guilt afterwards become the hard part“.
She let those words sink in. She noticed that he didn’t want to talk about it much further, so she got back up.
„Ok then, teach me what you did earlier!“
„Alright, little princess. let’s begin from the start“
He too got up, putting his knife away. „show me where to slice and prick and while doing so explain me when to use those.
She did, starting by aiming to his shoulder. „If I want to hurt you so you let go of me when you come to close or even grab me but I don’t want to kill.“ He stood still. letting her continue without comment.
She hinted a slicing movement across his belly. „If I come from underneath you and I want to kill with great pain“
She does a slicing movement across his throat „If I stand at a good angle. You would be dead in minutes“ she underlined her move with a smirk.
She aimed for his temple and said „only when I have no other choice because I am not quite strong enough to prick through bone so eye or mouth would be better. all three instant kills“
She paused. tugging away her knife waiting for a response from Leon. She had a feeling she forgot something.
„Good. but a few things“. He said. „You aim for calfs and the achilles tendons if you are on the ground with your whole body. And you forget one of the most potent spots. The heart. How would you stab me in the heart?“
She blushed. She would do anything to prevent something from piercing his heart. or piercings anything of him. She remembered how close she came, infected by Las Plagas, her body uncontrollably grabbing his knife. She froze. He immediately noticed and knew what was going on. He took the knife out of her hand and laid a hand on her shoulder. Squeezing it lightly. Its okay, I am fine, you are fine and you absolutely didn’t mean to.
She took calm breaths just as she was trained to do and the memory faded, the anxiety had no longer a grip on her. She was calm again. „Okay“ she said.
Leon took her hand and began to guide her finger to show her where he would stab.
„You can stab my heart through my left lung by stabbing me in the side, but you would have to go through muscle and around the ribs“ He rested her finger on his side, showing her the perfect spot.
„Or, you could stab me from upfront, but to immediately kill, depending on what kind of knife and its size, you need to be very precise and fast. Bigger knives, less precise, smaller knife, very precise, you got it? You know wehre exactly the heart is?“
He took her hand and planted it in the middle of his chest, a bit to the left. she hovered over his chest, not daring to fully touch his heart. His very source of life, so often in danger. He noticed her hesitation. He guided her to onto the floor, sitting down opposite to her. „Ashley its ok. You can touch me. I am not hurt and you won’t hurt me.“ He placed one hand on her shoulder and took the other again, guiding it to his heart. He placed it flat back over his beating heart and pressed with his much larger hand against hers, so she could feel every movement. She could feel his strong and steady heart beating calmly beneath her palm. She could feel the two beats (the strong and the weaker one) that together made a whole.
„A human heart moves around five liters of blood a minute. Ours, because we are well trained should get it too 6. Well women’s hearts aren’t as efficient as men’s but well trained they come close. so mine is moving around six to seven liters a minute and yours something like six, so you can imagine what it does to a body when it gets stabbed through one of its main arteries. You can aim for some of them too in some situations.“
She just wanted to feel his heartbeat, not thinking about blood and gore. After all those years of not knowing what had become of him - hell he could have died on a mission and she could have totally missed his funeral because she was not yet an official… hear thoughts began to spiral into an abyss. He - as he always did - noticed. Squeezing her shoulder once more. „You can have a hug, if you want? If it helps?“ he offered. She didn’t hesitate and let herself sink into him. forcing him to lean onto the wall behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, placing her ear where her hand was just seconds ago. Her reward was hearing his strong, healthy and calm heartbeat again, like almost ten years ago in the room of the merchant.That is all she needed right now. She had needed that for a long, long time.
„Please don’t just disappear again, Leon“ She mumbled against his chest. „I missed you“.
„I won’t, I promise“ he replied, tugging her close with his strong arms. „I have missed you too“.