Training Day

The light from the television illuminated the dark room. The curtains hadn’t been drawn yet, even though the sun was about to set. Outside, the sounds of cars screeching along the road did battle with the sounds of birds chirping, as if both were contesting for largest noise award. There was an eerie silence inside the Azumi Estate’s living room. A lone girl was staring at the TV, her eyes fixated on what had just appeared in front of her. It was the daily news night show, only this time a report had appeared that sent a shiver down her spine.

‘We go live now with a special report, renowned neurosurgeon Yolenda Azumi has gone missing, she was last seen in the Lower Quarter. If you have any information regarding her disappearance, please contact-‘

‘Miyuki! What have I told you about watching television this late at night! Go to bed at once child.’

‘Father? Why did the TV say Mother is missing?’

Miyuki’s father let out a defeated sigh as he sat down on the couch next to her.

‘ You see child, sometimes what gets reported by the media isn’t always the truth. I thought I taught you to not believe everything you see. ‘

‘But Father, you lied to me. You lied to me about Mother, y-you told me she was coming home. ‘

Miyuki’s father let out a hearty laugh as he looked her in the eyes

‘No, my child. Your Mother is fine. Now go, get to bed. Someday you’ll be running the estate! Then you can stay up as late as you want watching TV. But until then, you must do as I say. ‘

‘Please Father, just 5 more minutes?’

‘For crying out loud. OK, fine. But no more than 5 minutes. Understood?’

‘Yes Father.’

Miyuki reached for the remote and turned the volume on the television up.

‘In other news, scientists have yet to determine the cause of yesterday’s massive energy signature. We go live now with our science correspondent-‘

‘Miyuki? Don’t space out now. Grab the blade on the table. We’re starting training in 5 minutes.’

‘Y-yes Hanan. Sorry. Just spacing out.’

‘Hmm. Well you practically slept like a dead corpse last night. Anyway, grab the blade on the table.’

Miyuki was now wide awake and realised she wasn’t inside the Azumi Estate but instead inside the laboratory. Molenda had left her weapons on a table next to the row of computer monitors.

Hanan took a sip of water from her canteen before tossing it to one side, then unsheathed her own sword. , which was a long curved piece of steel, able to poison opponents thanks to the venom tipped end.

Hanan stared Miyuki down as she tightened her grip on the hilt.

‘The first exercise today is going to be sword practice. If stuck in close proximity with an enemy, sometimes slashing them to bits works wonders. Now draw your sword.’

Miyuki responded by unsheathing her own weapon and aiming the blade directly at Hanan. Sparks began to light up the laboratory as steel met steel, both combatants furiously slashing away at each other. As the two crossed swords, Miyuki used her sword’s hilt to stun Hanan by whacking it in her face, however Hanan managed to avoid the attack and strike Miyuki’s legs, knocking her down on the floor. As Hanan prepared to end the mock duel, Miyuki got back on her feet and began to wildly slash at Hanan, before ultimately being knocked down a second time.

‘L-Lady Miyuki. Yo-You have lost this duel. Do you know where you went wrong?’

‘No. There’s no way I could’ve lost. I had you right there.’

‘Look around Lady Miyuki. You lost. What did I tell you about letting your anger dictate your decision making? I left myself open 3 times and all 3 times you failed to take advantage of it. ‘

Miyuki began to sulk as she got back up and sheathed her sword.

‘So, oh great and powerful Hanan, what’s next?’

‘Gun training. Molenda has very kindly built us a shooting range. Follow me.’

Hanan walked to the back of the laboratory and pressed a hidden button on the wall. The back wall of the laboratory slid open to reveal a small shooting range, comprised of 3 targets. As Miyuki got closer, the lights flickered on to reveal 3 gagged criminals with targets painted on their chests.

‘Hanan. What is this? Why do these people have targets on them?’

‘You mustn’t feel bad for these people Lady Miyuki. They’re criminals. The type of scum your father sought to eradicate to cleanse the city. Now load your weapon.’

Hanan tossed Miyuki a magazine as she revealed her small sub machine gun, and slid the magazine in before locking the bolt back.

‘The purpose of this exercise, Lady Miyuki, is to test your marksmanship. You’ll need every shot to land at the bullseye or else you will fail. Notice that criminal on the left? He’s wearing protective armor. To hit his bullseye, you’ll need to shoot precisely between the gaps in the armor.’

Miyuki nodded then turned to face the target wearing armor, lining up her shot. It only took one bullet for the man to fall over crumpled on the floor as a result of Miyuki hitting her target with pin point precision. She could sense the fear in the criminal sat in the middle as his eyes begged her to stop. This criminal and the one next to him were stripped of all protective gear. Two more bullets clattered to the ground as the middle target and the right target were hit with perfect accuracy. Hanan began to show a sly smile as she watched Miyuki handle all 3 targets with ease. The final test was about to begin, this time involving the use of gadgets. On top of one of the workbenches in the laboratory lay a box of smoke pellets, as well as poison gas capsules. Hanan walked over to the smoke pellets first, picking one up and hurling it at Miyuki’s face. As the smoke began to clear, Hanan was nowhere to be seen. Miyuki began to call out to her.

‘Hanan? Where did you go? Is this part of the training? I know how to use smoke pellets, you don’t need to teach me this.’

Miyuki felt a cold steel touch on her neck as she looked behind to find Hanan pointing her blade directly at her.

‘Smoke, lady Miyuki, is useful as a distraction but also for confusing the enemy and getting behind them for an easy kill. For the final test, we are going to play Cat and Mouse. Your objective is to use all you’ve learned to defeat me. Understand?’

‘Yes, Hanan.’

Both Miyuki and Hanan disappeared in a flash of smoke and the game began. The sound of steel mixed with gunshots peppered the laboratory as both combatants used their expert knowledge to defeat the other. Miyuki began to furiously slash with her sword, while incorporating her gun skill in an attempt to defeat Hanan, who used the shield provided by the cover of smoke to attack from behind. Hanan gripped Miyuki by the throat and threw her across the room, knocking the gun out of her hand. As Hanan drew closer, Miyuki threw her sword in Hanan’s direction then quickly got to her feet, collecting the dropped weapon and shooting 3 bullets, hitting the hilt of Hanan’s sword causing her to drop it. Miyuki ran forward and delivered a single punch to her face, then grabbed Hanan’s sword and pointed it at Hanan’s neck.

‘Well done Lady Miyuki. You have passed. For now.’

‘I did?’

‘Yes my lady. But there is still more work to be done. You need further training with a sword. We will have to-‘

‘Holy shit! My laboratory! What the hell have you been doing in here?’

Molenda entered the laboratory with a grim look.

‘Molenda. What have you learned about Club Aurora? I can’t send Lady Miyuki there unprepared.’

‘Oh right. Yes. Club Aurora. It’s a nightclub on the edge of the LQ, it’s managed by Tisephone, and there’s a dress code. That’s about it really.’

Hanan shot him a furious look.

‘Is that really all we have? Well, My Lady, we’re going to have to send you in blind. Go get dressed. You’ve got a club to go to. ‘

The smell of dust from the rain began to creep in as dusk drew near and the night would once more begin.