In most cases, Reyna wouldn’t enjoy starting her morning with sparring sessions, but getting taunted and beaten by Niu, picked at by Kyo, and having the crushing realization that she’d have no real friends in this dorm to vent to or enjoy her day with had given her a lot of aggression to work out. And much to her relief Elenore wanted to check out Reyna and Kyo’s fighting styles to form a custom-made exercise regimen for them.

So there Reyna was, fighting against a kickboxer in the dorm’s training hall at 5AM in the morning. According to Elenore it was a fighting style that was basic enough for anyone to have a fair shot against, at least for a standup fighter like Reyna. And her opponent was supposedly going to fight at her level.

“Do your best and don’t worry too much about winning, I just wanna’ see your stuff.” Elenore had said.

So far Reyna had gotten a few hits in after deflecting her opponent’s punches and striking at an opening, and took few herself, namely kicks she wasn’t prepared for that had a surprising amount of force for a fight she wasn’t supposed to worry about winning. And after a while longer of trading blows Reyna found an opening. Well, she made one, narrowly dodging her opponent’s punch, she rushed into their space, pushing that arm off balance and striking at their neck with a chop. Her opponent went down right after that, groaning and rubbing her neck.

“Oooow…”

Reyna exhaled, settling into a resting stance. “Phew…” She relaxed, helping her opponent up and thanking them for the match.

“So… you’re taking Wing Chun, huh?” Elenore noted, watching Reyna help her opponent to their feet.

“Yes, it’s what my mother learned when she came here, and I’m just following tradition.”

“I see…” Elenore looked over Reyna., examining her and then her notes. “I guess the main thing with you is that you need to be more aggressive.”

Reyna canted her head. “Aggressive?”

“Yeah,” Elenore paused shaking. “I mean, your fighting style’s fine and all, but you just fight really defensively, like your personality.”

Reyna frowned, looking down.

“Yeah, like that. You don’t do much unless your absolutely sure it’s safe or you’re sure you’ll succeed. Kind of like how you never attack unless your countering. That’s what I’ve noticed anyway.”

Reyna said nothing, thinking over Elenore’s words.

“Anyway, I think I got a plan for you, kiddo, so you can scram and tell Kyo to come in.”

Reyna nodded, leaving the room right after her opponent had. Kyo was sitting right outside on a bench.

“Your turn,”

“Uh-huh,” Kyo walked in, and Reyna sat down in Kyo’s place, staring up at the ceiling. Am I really that easy to read? It wasn’t like she never spoke ever, or that she was especially defensive in her personality. I’m just… in a weird new place. Of course I’m defensive…

“Hey, new girl.”

Reyna turned, seeing a brunette girl in bruises, smiling wide. Her opponent from the sparring session.

“You got beat up my Niu, right?”

Reyna frowned, looking away to hide her narrowed eyes. Just the memory left a bad taste in her mouth.

“Wooow, you really are quiet.” She said, hopping over the seat and sitting next to her. “I’m Kinu by the way.”

She… doesn’t seem like a bad person. “I’m Reyna,”

Kinu gasped. “So you can talk!”

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The gasp made Reyna jump. “Y-Yes?”

Kinu giggled. “Sorry, Niu was just so pissed when I talked to her yesterday, saying you barely spoke, barely looked her in the eye, and only glared at her when you had to. I thought you were some scary gangster girl.” She said, leaning against Reyna. “Buuut, it looks like your just a shy little kid.”

Reyna frowned at that, but said nothing, earning more giggles from Kinu.

“So you’ll be in our class for a while, huh?”

“I suppose…”

“Scared?”

“A little…”

“Think we’re gonna’ eat you?”

“Wha-” Reyna was suddenly hugged by Kinu, and she started squirming. “H-Hey!” She wriggled her way out of Kinu’s grip, narrowing her eyes and pouting. “Please don’t do that,”

Kinu just giggled again. “Sure, sure,” She said, waving it off. “Anyway, I’m in the kickboxing course, as you noticed. I’m usually in the training hall after classes knocking some heads around, or the sandbag. Feel free to show up, I’m looking forward to a rematch!”

“Okay…”

Kinu patted Reyna on the back. “Hey, not everyone here is a scary delinquent. Just… most of us.”

Reyna looked Kinu over. She was still dressed in kickboxing attire. Fingerless gloves, ankle guards, dark purple shorts and sports bra, and her hair in a short ponytail similar to Reyna. She doesn’t seem like a bad person I think. “Are you?” She asked. “A delinquent I mean,”

Kinu gave a sly, mischievous smile, grinning. “Maaaybe~” She said with a wink. “We’re all here for a reason, aren’t we?” Reyna frowned. That wasn’t an answer she was hoping for, but Kinu was right. Anyone here was sent here for a reason, and clearly some weren’t as obvious as others.

I wonder how she ended up here. Kinu didn’t seem like a bad person, at least on the surface. She didn’t go crazy in the training hall when they sparred, and she was rather friendly compared to Niu and her gang, if a little too touchy. Reyna couldn’t imagine what someone like that could do to get sent to a detention dorm.

After a while, the sounds of fighting from the training hall died down. She could her Elenore’s muffled voice giving critique, and then-

“Jeez… that was rough,” Kyo soon came out, her face decorated with fresh bruises, or at least darker patches of gray than the rest of her skin, it was a bit hard to tell.

My, what kind of fight did she have in there. Reyna wondered.

“What?” The moment the two met eyes they glared.

“Nothing,” Reyna said. “What did she say?”

“None of your business,”

“Too unorthodox and experimental?” It was a common critique a lot of instructors had of her fighting style.

“None of your business,”

Reyna shrugged. “It isn’t, but I’m allow to speak my mind aren’t I?” Plus, it was much needed payback for all the snappy comments that came out of Kyo’s mouth.

“Blondie I swear to God I’ll-”

“What? Can’t handle what you throw ou- gah!” Reyna nearly fall out of her seat from the palm strike. She saw it coming but was too caught up in teasing Kyo to dodge. She rubbed her forehead, glaring at Kyo.

“Can’t take what you dish out?” She shot back.

Reyna’s eyes narrowed. Admittedly, she did start the fight, but she was going to finish it. “No, I can…” Reyna adjusted her ponytail and standing up, locking eyes with Kyo. “Feel free to stand there so I can hit you back in turn,”

Kyo grinned an impish grin. “Aw, wanna’ take turns?” She teased, beckoning her. “First one to lose a tooth loses? Gonna’ cry win I beat you?”

“Not even in your dreams, demon girl.”

“Bring it,”

“Uh, if you two are gonna’ kill each other, do it in here and not in the middle of the hall.”

The two turned around, seeing Elenore coming out of the door. “Actually… I got a better idea. Kinu, come in here for a second.” She turned to the door. “Hey Serena, stay there real quick.”

The two girls were shuffled back into the training hall along with Kinu and another girl that was likely Kyo’s sparring partner. This one was also in kickboxing attire, though her red hair was in a braid and she was about Reyna’s size unlike Kinu who was a bit taller.

“Okay, let’s see what a two-on-two can do for you guys. Using teamwork and all that to make the dream work.” Elenore said to at all the girls, then turned to Kinu. “Don’t kill them Kinu, Serena. I need them in one piece for class tomorrow.”

“You got it, teach!” Kinu said, giving a thumbs up.

“Don’t we have class at 6, Instructor?” Reyna asked.

“Yeah, but I get the feeling you’ll be knocked out by then.” She said, heading out the door. “Alright, I’m gonna’ go grade some papers before class starts. You kids have fun.”

Reyna and Kyo turned to Elenore, then each other, looking confused.

“Uh… aren’t you gonna’… y’know, ref?” Kyo asked, though Elenore simply waved it off.

“Naah, these girls’ll take you to the infirmary if they go too crazy. They’ve been housebroken though, so it’ll be fine.”

“Miss Elenore, I’d rather you stay as well.” Reyna added. Kinu she trusted to an extent. This new girl who gave Kyo a handful of bruises looked… rough.

“I trust these girls, you’ll be fine. Now have fun blowing off steam.”

With that, Elenore shut the door, leaving the room quiet. Kinu was bouncing on her toes, a bright smile on her face that was just barely hiding bloodlust. “Hey Rena, I already fought Ray-ray, so I wanna’ play with the cute little dark elf next.”

Ray-ray? Reyna frowned at the nickname but said nothing. Kyo clicked her tongue, immediately taking her stance. “I’m a demon, dammit!”

“Fine, I’ll take the blond pipsqueak.” The other girl, Serena, said.

Reyna took her stance in turn, taking a quick breath to ready herself. Looks like this was going to be quite the morning.