Clang! Jisoo flinched as she was barely able to deflect Lisa's sword yet again. So far her butter knife was proving to be adequate for defense but inadequate to create an opening for attack.

"Jisoo!" Jennie called in from the sidelines. "Remember, you've got three other limbs!"

Thinking fast, Jisoo again used her knife to block Lisa's sword, then cocked back her foot and kicked Lisa in the stomach. Lisa collapsed to the ground, clutching her stomach. Jisoo kicked her sword away, then advanced and held Lisa down while she pressed her knife against Lisa's throat. Lisa tapped the mat to signal that she yielded. Everyone clapped for Jisoo as she stood up and made her way to the edge of the mat.

As Jisoo put the knife back on the weapons table and tried to catch her breath, Madame Park drew the next matchup and weapons from two jars full of slips of paper.

"Moonbyul with parasol and reticule," Madame Park called out, "versus Solar with pistol." The pistol was a new addition to their training. It was a wooden pistol that fired a rubber band. It could also be used as as melee weapon, either before or after firing. Madame Park had ruled for purposes of their training that there wouldn't be time to reload a pistol in a fight, so whoever had the pistol only had one shot.

As Moonbyul and Solar squared off for their fight, Jennie came up behind Jisoo and started rubbing her shoulders. "I won't always be around to remind you you've got legs, you know."

"I know," Jisoo said quietly. "I think I'm getting better. It's just actual combat is so much more complicated than scientific boxing."

"Well," Jennie said in her ear, "the real world is more complicated than the academy."

Jisoo nodded, having no repsonse to this. She turned her attention back to the fight between Moonbyul and Solar. Solar fired the pistol just as Moonbyul swung her reticule and hit her wrist, causing the shot to go wild. The Moonbyul managed to catch Solar behind the knee with the handle of the parasol, knocking her to the ground. She was able to kick Solar in the ribs and hit her across the back of the legs with the parasol before Solar could tap out.

Solar jumped up and glared at Moonbyul. "Surely all of that wasn't necessary," she said.

"When a woman faces you in combat, she is your enemy," Moonbyul said calmly, "even if you have just taken tea at her table that day."

Solar had balled up her fist and was drawing her arm back when Madame Park called out "Solar, the match is over. Go for a walk."

"Yes ma'am," Solar said, not taking her eyes off Moonbyul. "This isn't over," she said so quietly that only Moonbyul and a couple of people nearby, including Jisoo and Jennie, could hear her.

Once Solar had left the hall, Moonbyul came to stand by Jisoo while Madame Park arranged the next match."

"You've made an enemy there," Jennie said to Moonbyul.

Moonbyul shrugged. "Solar's never liked me. Why should I give her the added satisfaction of letting her beat me in combat?"

Jennie shook her head. "I can't explain exactly what it is, but Solar's different now. She's always been competitive, but there's a hardness to her now that wasn't there before."

"Maybe her first mission affected her more than she let on," Jisoo said.

"Could be," Moonbyul agreed. "Only Solar and Madame Park know for sure what happened during that mission."

"Well, whatever it is, just watch yourself," Jisoo said.

Moonbyul only nodded as Madame Park started calling out the next matchup.

While Jennie was having her morning piano lesson with Solar, Jisoo went for a walk in the rose garden with Rose.

"So. . . " Jisoo said, "looking forward to your first mission?"

"I don't know that looking forward is how I'd describe it," Rose said quietly. "I'm looking forward to it being over."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Jisoo said. "You always do well on all your assignments here at the academy."

Rose shook her head. "But here I know what to expect. When I'm out on a misison, anything can happen."

'You'll be fine," Jisoo said. 

Just then, Hwasa walked into the rose garden. Rose saw her first and ran over to give her a hug. "I'm so glad to see you back!"

Jisoo walked over and gave Hwasa a smaller hug. "How'd the mission go?"

Hwasa took a deep breath and began "It was rough, but I made it."

Rose looked nervous. "Is there anything you can tell us about it?"

Hwasa shook her head. "Madame Park told me not to talk about it."

Jisoo nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty typical. I think I only got to talk about mine because there was no way of hiding what I came back with."

Rose shuddered. "If I don't get sent on a mission soon, I might lose my nerve."

"You'll do fine," Hwasa said.

"That's what I've been telling her," Jisoo added. Just then they heard the first bell ringing to signal that they should go line up for lunch. They quietly made their way to the front hall, to find that they were the last ones to arrive, though still well before the second bell. They separated and went to their places in the line.

"How's Hwasa doing?" Jennie quietly asked Jisoo.

"About as well as can be expected," Jisoo said. "She said it was rough, but there's nothing else she can tell us."

Jennie nodded. "Sounds about right," she said. 

Just then Madame Park came into the front hall. "I'm so glad to see you all here on time," she began. She paused and looked down the length of the line. "We only await Whee-in's return and our numbers will be complete again.

Hong Jin-Young wanted walked in just as the second bell rang.

"Ah, Ms. Hong," Madame Park said. "Thank you for your