The silence was broken by a slightly distant laughter. "This is a first. Not only did you do nothing while your classmates became my punching bags but you're also looking down on them. Very well, don't disappoint me then." Instructor Summers had a wide smile creep across her face as she looked across at the lone man still on his feet.
With only a smirk and no warning, the silhouette of Joe vanished from beside his kneeling classmates. Seeing them battered and bruised only brought amusement to his soul. Before he reappeared, a dust cloud arose in the place the instructor had been a moment ago. "Try not to look down on me too much. I may not be the strongest or even the fastest when compared to the geniuses on this campus but there is something I have that they do not."
With that, Joe immediately returned to an offensive posture. With every movement pre-calculated in his head, the instructor could slowly be seen losing ground. Bit by bit she was pushed closer and closer to the campus walls. Without warning, the game of tag was reversed. Joe was forced to defend his vitals as an onslaught of punches began to assault ever bit of soft tissue on his body. From his legs to his upper back, no inch was spared from the beating.
To the onlookers, this fight seemed decided in that moment. Shock covered their faces when one of their classmates came flying back towards them. Having been kicked in the stomach, a rather stout young man bounced off the ground before rolling to a stop before the spectators. A booming voice sent shivers down each of their spines. "You all had your chance. The next to interfere will receive far worse treatment from me so sit there like good boys and girls before you make me angry."
The class was frozen in fear at the killing intent seeping out of Joe. Not only did he stand by and do nothing the entire time they had been getting thrown around before but now, he turned on one of them after he'd tried to capitalize on the instructor's distracted mindset. Just what kind of monster did they enroll with was the only thought most of them had.
"Well, this is rather rare. A man with a sense of honor? Maybe it was just arrogance. How about you just take a seat with your classmates over there." Following her words, Instructor Summers moved in to land a final blow on Joe's abdomen. What greater her was a calm smile and a swift counter. Her fist met only air and before she could blink, a sharp pain was felt in her side.
Keeling over from the sudden pain, Instructor Summers could only look up at the man standing before her. During her entire enrollment in this very Academy, no person had been capable of laying a hand on her. Even when she had held back during the initial test for the new students, all fell before her. Yet, this man's presence towered over her after a swift ending to their little bout. What shocked her even more were the words that ripped her from her thoughts.
"I'm not interested in being exempt from the class today or any other day. I came here to learn how to keep those I care about out of harm's way. I look forward to your continued instruction in that regard." With the last words leaving his lips with a gentle smile, Joe reached his open hand down to the woman kneeling before him. His entire demeanor had changed. During the fight, it was as if he was in a trance. The only thing he saw was an enemy that he needed to surpass. None of that mindset remained as he slowly lifted the lightly injured woman to her feet.
"If you don't want to sit out for the next class then what would you actually like as a reward?" There was a slight seriousness to her words, but curiosity was written all over her face in that moment.
"There's nothing I can think of asking for. How about you think of something and surprise me?" With an enormous, genuine smile stretching from ear to ear, Joe simply gazed down at the curious face of the woman he had just been exchanging blows with. The rest of the class was just as confused at what they were witnessing than the instructor herself. A confusion that was increased tenfold when her amused laughter began filling the courtyard.
"Very well, I think I know a reward you'll appreciate. Especially because nobody else has gotten such a reward from me in the past." With determination filling her eyes and the rest of the class left speechless, the five-foot four-inch Instructor nearly jumped to bring her face in front of Joe's. In the next moment and only for that moment, their lips met. With her feet both firmly on the ground she turned to walk away before stopping and looking back at the shock on his face. "Don't get the wrong idea, I meant nothing behind that. Just don't disappoint me in the days to come Mr. Merril."
After giving the entire class a fifteen-minute break to recover and catch their breaths, she began the lesson as if nothing had happened between any of them. Nearly everyone focused intently on the introductory words falling on their ears. Only two men were unable to concentrate. One was seething with rage as he was barely able to stand while grasping at his own stomach in agony. The other was Joe who was deep in thought.
'What was that fluctuation just then?'