Page 11 of Vampire so Virtuous

“Good.Yop chagicombos.”

She switched legs, lashing out with a side kick as Joon retreated; she hopped on her standing leg and struck again, then spun into a back kick.

He sidestepped her, following the spin. “Good. You’re favoring your back kick.”

Now he was behind her, and she whipped into a roundhouse, feinting towards his body before striking his head.

He blocked just in time, her foot glancing off the top of the pad. “Better.”

Around they danced. As Cally got into the flow, her kicks became faster, more aggressive. It was all familiar, and Joon was fully defensive, padded up. She didn’t have to worry about anticipating counters or retaliations. The only sounds were their feet on the mat, the slap of her foot against his pads, and their grunts of effort or her shouts ofkihap.

Her mind began to wander.

Why am I so scared?

She focused back on what she was doing, berating herself. Even though it was a simple practice, she needed to be here, in the present, not off daydreaming.

A flying kick turning into a back kick, switching legs into a crescent kick; pad, pad, pad.

Before long, her mind wandered again.

What is there to be scared of?

She launched forward into a double roundhouse, alternating legs striking his pad, then finished with her foot flashing out towards his head. This one landed, his pads not rising in time, and Joon grunted from the impact.

“Oof.” He staggered away. “Break.”

Cally took a pace back, her fists unclenching and lowering. “Shit, sorry Joon.”

He shook his head, trying to clear it. “Ugh, I felt that one.”

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to catch you.”

“Heh. Sure you did. What’s with all the aggression today?”

“Oh, I… You know.”This was embarrassing. “Working through some stuff.”

“Mmm. Well, thanks for taking it out on me. If you were any other student, I’d say you need to work on your control, but clearly, you don’t. At least, not your physical control.” He shook himself again, then readied his guard. “You won’t catch me the same way twice.”

He was right, she didn’t. The next time she caught him was a twisting kick to the midsection, after a jumping scissor kick to the head. He blocked one and missed the other, and winced at the impact.

“Ow. You kick like a horse,” he said, pulling away his body pad to rub at his side.

“‘Like a horse?’” She placed her hands on her hips, mock-glaring. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

He laughed ruefully. “Okay, okay. It just slipped out. But that’s going to have to be all for today. We’ve been at it long enough, and I’m not sure I want to take another kick like that, pads or no pads.”

“Sorry, Joon.”

“Don’t be. It means you’re good, okay? But you still need to work more with your hands. Next time we’ll spar for real, and I can get my own back.”

She grinned. “Bring it on, old man.”

“I believe the correct response is, ‘Yes, Honored Teacher.’”

She snapped straight and bent into the respectfulkyungye. “Yes,Sabomnin.”

Joon returned her bow, and together they walked off the mats. “Have you given the Open any more thought?”