Chapter 11; Hit Harder

“Bang Su Min, are you insane?” Xiumin shouts for the first time in awhile. He has an icy demeanor to him, which Su Min can’t help but find fitting. She rolls her eyes and ignores him, her arms crossed as she walks along the barren streets. “No, really, you must be! I mean, you saw that kid, he’s a killing machine!” Xiumin continues, beginning to ramble as his heart clenches in fear.

Kyungsoo, on the other hand, is rather quiet. Strange, seeing as how he’s the one who’s always talking. Su Min turns around and pokes Xiumin’s chest roughly with her pointer finger. “Kim Minseok, if you’re so afraid of being hurt, then why on Earth did you come with us? This is the real world, bub, outside of your little pansy town. Grow up, it’ll do you good.” she snaps, her lips curling with annoyance. Anyone who knows Su Min would know that she’s like a rabid dog; always unpredictable and angry.

His mouth snaps shut and he kicks the dusty ground absentmindedly, too embarassed to do much of anything else. With that, Su Min turns around and continues forward, desperate to start training the two of them. “Do you think we have a chance?” Kyungsoo finally asks, his wide eyes making him seem like a curious owl. She bites her lip and brings a hand up to rub the back of her neck. The right thing to do would be to tell them a white lie, nothing big, just enough to give them confidence.

But Bang Su Min doesn’t lie.

“Honestly, you have no chance. But, hell, why not try?” she says, shaking her fist in the air. “Plus, who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky.” They all know that the chances of that happening are slim and none, but even the truth makes them slightly more confident. Then again, it might just be that constant want to prove Su Min wrong. Not that that really matters at this point.

After all, they’re definitely going to lose.

- - -

“Kick higher,” she orders, her arms crossed as she walks around the two boys. Kyungsoo kicks once again, ing his leg into the air. “Higher, I said, you twit!” she screams. He casts her a disdainful look but does as he’s told, kicking his foot level with the head of the dummy. She nods and turns around to watch Xiumin, who’s struggling in the heat. “What are you doing? Keep going!”

Xiumin sighs. “I’m dieing!” he yells, leaning down and resting his sweaty palms on his thighs. “We wouldn’t have to do this if it wasn’t for that god damn mouth of yours.” he snaps spitefully. Su Min steps forward, grabbing him by the edge of his robes.

“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even know of your powers,” she growls. “Get a grip.”

With a final shake of his head, he goes back to ing his fists out in a sloppy, but acceptable manner. After all, the two of them are rookies. Su Min places her hands on her hips, her fingers tapping the side of her stomach slightly as she watches them. The stakes are high, as usual, after all, this is a fight with Lieutenant Lee. “With more force, Kyungsoo.” she says, her voice barely a whisper.

But he obeys.

His foot flies in the air, and as it comes back down, the ground cracks beneath his foot. “Damn,” she breathes, staring at the crevice. His owl-like eyes stare down in surprise, but he quickly smiles, as if the action was totally planned. The fact of the matter is, it wasn’t. Neither of them know how to use their powers, let alone control them. The ground could collapse in on itself if Kyungsoo isn’t careful, or we could be into another ice age because of Xiumin. Neither of which seems very appealing. “If you could do that during the fight...” Su Min begins, the smallest edge of hope curling into her voice.

“I can’t.” he states simply as he continues through the drills.

Her face falls against her own will. The idea of maybe winning this thing is unbelievably tempting. But that can’t happen without some greater force A.K.A. the two Divine Forces currently standing in front of her. Sadly, they’re like little children who don’t know the difference between left and right, or right and wrong. Anything could happen when it comes to them. So, in the end, they’re right. Using their powers is too risky, but Su Min can’t help but feel anxious about it.

What if they get hurt?

“Take a break,” she mumbles before walking off to get some alone time, her hands gripping tightly onto the fabric of her robes. The woods is thick around here, and the transition from forest to the small, barren town is rather drastic. A small military town such as this one, what would Lieutenant Lee be doing here? That is, unless he knew that she would be here, and wanted to torment her. The likelihood of that is surprisingly high, and her father is way too lenient when it comes to letting the soldiers he trusts wander about. That’s how we lost our last lieutenant.

And that is when the majority of her problems began.

Su Min ducks behind a tree as her ears alert her to the sound of scuffling feet. Seconds later, she finds Lieutenant Lee and that Chinese kid practicing. “Harder, you idiot!” he screams, whipping the kid across the back of his head. He winces and continues, his foot slamming into the hard wood of the dummy. Training as hard as that will only result in injuries, Su Min herself would know that, as she’s done it to herself all too often. “Faster!” Lieutenant Lee orders, dealing another blow, this one to the kids back.

Su Min looks away, the sight causing her blood to boil. The nationality of that kid does not matter, he’s a human being, and he should be treated as such. She moves to step forward, but stops as she finds that kids eyes on her. He begs her not to, and for some reason, she listens. His brown eyes were pleading, and Su Min knew that if she were to step in, it was that kid who would suffer in the end. At that point, she remembers his name.

Huang Zitao; a poor soul.

- - -

Kyungsoo rests his hands on his back, leaning backwards slightly as the trio walks down the street. “This place is like a ghost town,” Xiumin mumbles, glancing around nervously. “The people here are like skeletons.” he finishes, his face pale in the fading light. Kyungsoo nods and shakes his head, appalled at the inhumane conditions of the place. It’s disgusting, the mere thought of sleeping here for one night is troubling.

“Well, this is what military life is like. They don’t need comfort, they need efficiency that comes at a good price,” Su Min spits, her eyes hard as she states at the solid stone walls of the passing buildings. “We’re at war pretty much all of the time. Soldiers need to be produced as quickly as possible, and this is how they get there.” she continues, turning to look at Xiumin. He simply nods.

The two boys look at her, “Did you go through this back where you came from?” Kyungsoo asks.

A bitter laugh escapes , and the sound is reminiscent of a monster cackling. “You mean hell?” she retorts, a small smile curling onto her face. The first smile they’ve ever seen from her. To a a degree, what she said was the truth. The camp was like living in the devil’s layer, growing up there was brutal. Even at age nine, she was pushed around by her seniors and beaten to a pulp when she did things wrong. The life of an elite warrior is difficult, but, in some respects, totally worth it.

The trio approaches the field they saw earlier, but it’s deserted, as the majority of the trainees are eating a meek dinner at this time. Waiting in the middle of the field is two men, both clad in black, their faces sullen. One is Lieutenant Lee, his long black hair looking slick, and the other is Zitao, his dark skin giving him the appearance of someone menacing. If only people knew of the kid’s hardships. The abuse. “Are your boys ready to get their asses kicked?” Lieutenant Lee asks smugly, smiling crookedly all the while.

“About as ready as they’ll ever be,” she snaps. Placing a hand on Xiumin’s shoulder, she ushers the two of them to come closer. “His weakness is, surprisingly, his height. Stay low, stay far away, and for the love of god, don’t get hit!” she instructs before pushing them in front of her and backing away. From now on, it’s up to them to handle this. If they fail, that kid will surely hurt them, after all, he’s a ruthless soldier. That’s it. Yes, her pride is on the line...

But so are their lives.

Author's Note;

► Hey, guys, long time no see! Sorry for the wait, I've been a bit busy recently. Thanks for the comments, I love reading them, and I'll try to reply to them as well~ Oh, by the way, how do you like the poster? Isn't it awesome? Well, I got it done at New Breed Graphic Shop, so go check them out! How are you feeling about the incoming fight? I'm nervous because I  at writing fight scenes. Nevertheless, I shall press on. I'll update again by Friday, so look forward to that. Well, remember to comment, subscribe, and upvote as well! Bye, my lovely readers~ <3

► Peyton