She fell to her knees in front of the man who stood before her. She didn't know how, but she kept missing her punches by inches or less and he'd always hit his, without so much as a twitch from his legs. It was like he was moving without actually moving.
She wiped her face and Ezekiel shook his head as he watched her try to stand.
“Would you give this up already? It's bad enough you're related to Ruby, but I can't imagine how much she'd get on my ass if I broke something in you. Listen for a kid your age…”
She reached out her hand towards him. He raised an eyebrow and his mouth opened slightly from the gesture.
“(Well, I guess I did beat her. It's nice to see that this kid isn't too unreasonable.) It's nice to have some strong principles in a girl your-”
His hand touched hers and he felt a strange sensation run through his hand and soon his body. He quickly slugged her head with his fist, with the skin on her face taking a moment to catch up to her skull and the girl with pink hair fell to the ground unconscious.
He quickly flicked his hand and got a look at it. There were strange marks on his hand and arm. Based on the smell it appeared she burned him, though thankfully the damage wasn't too deep.
“Gah, fuck!” He exclaimed as he held his arm. He quickly turned back to her and placed his hands on his head as he contemplated what to do. He crouched down and grabbed her hand, checking for a pulse. Thankfully it seemed she was alive at the very least, who knew how badly that could end if he accidentally killed her? But he wasn't out of the clear yet. That punch he hit her with was nasty, even by his standards. He couldn't imagine he'd be in for a pleasant experience if he brought her back to Ruby with a fractured skull.
He quickly picked her up and ran back into his house.
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Tina groaned, bringing a hand to her. She felt something soft under her and opened her eyes to see what it was. She was greeted by a room unfamiliar to her on a bed just as unfamiliar. She was covered in a blanket and quickly pulled it off. She still had her clothes on, so that was a good start.
She noticed a door opening and tried her best to get the hell out of there. Unfortunately, when she looked none of the windows could be opened. Just as she was about to break a window, the door became fully opened.
Ezekiel saw her and breathed a sigh of relief.
“So it's not serious, phew.”
“What do you mean?” She asked.
“Nothing, just be grateful the woman that birthed you gave you a body as tough as hers. And don't you dare break one of those windows, this is the old man's house, not mine!” He said as he ran over.
She seemed ready to defend herself but it looked like his only concern was the window. He ran past her and stood between her and it.
“You can leave if you'd like, but please don't break anything or else your mom is getting the bill.”
“My mom!? Don't you dare call that whore my mom, you gross old bastard!” She threw another punch and Ezekiel had no problem catching it. He quickly pushed her back with his magic.
“(It isn't surprising a woman like her would have a problem or two with her kid but why does this have to be my problem?) Listen, kid, just get out of here, I'm not a babysitter.”
She scoffed after she was pushed back and looked around the room.
“So that's it?”
“What do you mean that's it? I don't want you here any longer, so yes, that is it.”
Tina kept her gaze on him and watched him as she backed out of the room.
(“I-is that really it? That old bag made losing to him sound a lot more terrifying.”) She thought while inching away.
Footsteps were heard pattering quickly through the house and Ezekiel looked out of the window to see her run off.
(“Learn to control your daughter, Ruby this is getting ridiculous. I know how the old man was loose with me but I didn't go around fighting people… on purpose anyway.”)
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The next day came and he waved off Mr. Bentley. As soon as the old man was no longer in sight, he heard some movement out of the bushes and the same girl from yesterday appeared.
But she carried herself in a different manner this time. Before he could talk she began rambling.
“I now see why you're considered the strongest in the parish.” She bluntly stated. “However the gap between isn't as great as I imagined. I suppose in a parish like this, that's to be expected.”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
(“Where is she going with this?”) He thought as he walked off.
“Stay right there or I'll break one of your windows to get in your house!”
He quickly stopped in his steps and turned back to her. (“I don't know if this is better or worse than dealing with Ruby. Sigh, if she has another daughter I'm pretty sure I'll have grey hair by my next birthday.”)
“My name is Tina and by the end of this month, I will defeat you.”
“Well, Tina, I'd be happy to train you but if you're gonna just keep showing back up like this…” He stretched. “I might have to show you people have limits to how much bullshit they can take.”
“Yeah, you're strong but you sure as hell don't act like it. And that's something that divides the both of us. I have the ability and determination to fight to the death while you'll take your enemies lightly.”
She soon kicked up off the ground and ran towards him.
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In retrospect, Ezekiel really was full of hot air. A full week had passed since she made her declaration to defeat him in a month and Ezekiel was no closer to using drastic measures to get rid. He contemplated breaking her arm or any other limb but he felt it far too cruel for what she was doing.
“So aren't you gonna take a bath or something?” He asked. They stood in an open stretch of grass near the old man's house. He threw her a bar of soap and she swatted it out of the air like a fly.
Her hair was now noticeably dirty and her clothes had a few scratches and tears on them.
“Isn't Ruby concerned with you showing home like that?”
This would be the eighth time they fought. It seemed she was less eager in a sense, as each time she anticipated her defeat, she'd immediately run away.
“Stop talking like she'd care,” Tina answered.
(“I'm no counsellor so I guess I'll leave it at that. Man, it's not like I had a great impression of Ruby but each day this kid shows up, I feel like my respect for her gets even lower.”) Ezekiel thought as he readied himself.
The girl closed the distance between them and before her first punch landed-
GRUMBLE~~~~~~~~
Ezekiel looked taken aback and the girl stopped her punch. She turned around and cleared her throat.
“I had a light breakfast.” She commented as she headed back to the forest.
“Woah, hold on where are you going?”
“I'll come back after lunch, I can't expect to beat you on a breakfast of berries and herbs.”
“Hold on a second!” He grabbed her arm and turned her around. He thought she was looking leaner than usual but he couldn't have been more mistaken. Her eyes were sunken in and it was easy to see she had lost a few pounds of weight, both fat and muscle. She didn't look like she was in danger of starving, but she was very clearly worse than he saw her over a week ago.
She tried to fight him off and he had none of it. He dragged her inside his home, (and worryingly for her, quite easily) and handed her a loaf of bread.
“What are you-”
“Eat it.”
“Hu- Why would I eat this? You think I'd trust a piece of bread from a guy like…”
“Fine it's your choice but don't be surprised if you don't see me here tomorrow.”
“Wha- screw you, you wouldn't run away from a girl you called a child, would you?”
“Want to test it?”
“(Tch, if this guy runs I'd probably be forced to train with the hag. And the only time I'd train with her is when I can make sure I can kick her ass.) Fine, whatever.”
She quickly took a bite of the bread, eyeing the exit if she needed a quick escape. And she took a bite and another. Within a minute she'd finished the whole loaf. And wasting no time she grabbed another loaf from the basket on the table and scarfed it down. Next to it was some dried meat she had no problem taking as well.
She went through one more loaf of bread before she decided that was enough.
She dusted off her hands and headed for the entrance.
“I'll be back later.” She coldly stated before leaving.
(“Thankfully she isn't gonna starve, so that's a plus...hmm”)
Now that he looked at the table she'd finished all the bread he made.
GROWL~~~~
It seemed he was just as hungry as the girl that came in.
“Now that I think about it, I didn't eat breakfast this morning. Tsk, It's gonna take another hour at least to bake another loaf, maybe I'll just settle for some boiled wheat berries.”
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As the days passed, Tina got more and more brazen with entering his house. Like a street cat shown the fact it could enter your house, she began treating the place as if it were her home.
“Uh, Tina?”
“Yes?” She asked as she rested on his couch. The sweat on her head indicated she finished some sort of strenuous activity but her clothes were as dry as could be. In fact, she was in a familiar-looking shirt and pants.
“(Did she go into my room?) Ruby does know you're here, right?”
“Where else would I be?”
“Just checking… (Sigh, I never was good with dealing with women, but I never knew I was damned to women her age as well. Aren't they supposed to be more skittish?)”
She soon got off the couch and began doing some push-ups, using the couch to keep her legs in the air.
“I'm supposed to do it like this right?” She asked, presenting her form to him.
“Just like that. And remember, if you're going to exercise as much as you are, you have to eat more than you normally would.”
“Hmph, I'm surprised you're so willingly giving tips to your rival, but I guess it's better to have me surpass you now with your help than later without.”
She began doing some push-ups and Ezekiel headed towards the door, opening it so her sweat wouldn't stink up the place like the day prior.
As he opened it, he noticed someone outside.
(“Finally she's here.”)
He made sure not to show relief in his actions and walked outside as calmly as he could, using hand signals to point to a spot outside the view of the open door.