Chapter 567 - First sparring session

~ White family property ~

It's close to midnight. Full moon is illuminating the White family property.

In the quiet night, noise of destruction from the training grounds is spread easily. Loud sounds that resemble wrecking ball smashing the ground and tearing into the trees woke up recruits whose sleeping quarters are close to the training grounds. Because it's night, in the absence of regular daytime activity, all sounds seems to be much louder than usual.

Recruits are peering from windows of their sleeping quarters while trying to see what is going on, but the only thing moonlight is revealing is a huge cloud of dust. Whatever is making that noise is hidden within it. They are curious what is going on, but no one dares to go and check.

Seven kids from central Africa are on the rooftop of the women's dorm, because that dorm is closer to the commotion. They can vaguely see two shadows moving inside that dust cloud. Based on the commotion caused, they can guess who those two people are. And they are right.

Those two shadows are Sarah and Aiden. Two of them are sparing, if you can call it that. For the first time, they are going at it. Seriously. At this point it's a stalemate, and it can't be determined who has the upper hand.

Their hits pack such a force that the ones which miss their target are causing damage to the training ground.

Sarah is faster while Aiden is stronger. Their technique, stamina, and precision are about evenly matched. For now.

He wanted to spar with her badly, but she always refused. He had to trick her (a bit) in order to get her here.

About one hour earlier…

Aiden convinced Sarah to go for a night run, while mentioning that moonlight is perfect. She assumed that he got something romantic on his mind, and she got giddy from excitement. She put her running gear on, because he said it's a run, and she saw him wearing his running gear as well.

Sarah was curious why did they stop on training grounds.

She found it strange when he suggested a game of tag. "You know I'm faster, right?"

If there is something else involved, he might have a chance to even the odds, but just running? She won that match before it even started.

He wanted to say something, but she knew that he is up to something. And by now she dismissed any romantic possibility. "Why don't you tell me what is this all about? Why are we here?"

"You know I want us to spar…"

"Not happening." Her rejection cut him off.

"Why?"

"I told you. I never had a 'friendly' match with anyone other than my mother. I don't know how to. With my mom I don't need to hold back, I know she is much stronger than me. And honestly, with her, I'm mostly defending and trying to avoid major injuries. I don't know how to hold back."

Aiden can tell that Sarah means what she said, and part of him got vexed when she implied that she is stronger than him. "You think that you need to hold back against me?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't want to risk it. What if I hurt you? Or did you wonder what will happen if you hurt me?"

Aiden agreed with her point. But at the same time, he didn't want to give up. There must be a solution that works for both of them. "What if we start slow and then we increase pace as we go? And if any of us can't keep up we call it out? That is how sparring matches usually go."

Sarah was exasperated. "Why are you so persistent with this?"

Aiden looked at her with a complex expression. He wanted to gauge her skills and see how she compares to him. But that is only part of it. Other part is more important, and if he wants her to agree with this, he needs to be honest.

"Because I'm not strong enough. And neither are you… and we need to get stronger if we want to keep what we have. I'm sure you feel it to. Whatever it's out there, it's coming. And the only way we can get stronger is if we work together. Sarah, there is no one else with whom I can do this."

And that was the truth. He can only practice with her, because with anyone else he needs to keep part of his skills hidden in order not to attract unwanted attention. That is how Stella taught him, and he believes that it's safer for everyone if he follows her instructions.

Sarah had to agree with him. Whatever mental block she has, she needs to overcome it if she wants to get stronger. And she wants to protect what they have. She does not want to allow anyone to bully them.

Back to present…

Now that they are going at it, Aiden is a bit concerned because they didn't establish what counts as a victory. Or are they going for a victory? But he is enjoying every minute of this. Sarah is blinding him with her moves, and he admires her very much. At the same time, he can go all out. She is skillfully dodging all his attacks. He feels challenged to be faster. He does not want to hurt her, but if he can deliver a move which is faster than her defense, he is sure that she will be impressed.

Sarah was reluctant at first, afraid that she will hurt him. But she observed that he is matching her pace, so she relaxed and soon realized that she is enjoying it. His moves excited her, and she wanted to see more. At the same time Sarah wondered if she will be able to land a clean hit. Can she be faster? Can she trick his defense? That other side must have fighters also, right? Are they strong as him, or stronger? Are they fast as she is, or faster? What techniques do they use? She does not know. There is no way to know that. The only thing she can do is to get stronger herself. Because she wants to protect what she has.

…

Next morning, Sarah and Aiden came to the training grounds in good mood. His arm was resting on her shoulder, and hers was wrapped around his waist.

Both Sarah and Aiden felt that during previous night, bond between them strengthened and they grew closer together. It is a good feeling.

Two of them faced bunch of confused recruits who roamed through what used to be training grounds. The rink is demolished, and the training dummies are broken. There is a lot of loosely dangling bits and pieces, and debris is everywhere.

"Boss, that was awesome!" Ade approached them first.

"Yes, yes. Next time, can you do it during daytime so that we have a better view?", Nala requested.

"Sure.", Sarah smiled. Now that they overcame their first sparring session successfully, she is confident that there will be many more.

Recruits who were nearby had difficulty comprehending what they heard. Based on what those kids said, it seems that Sarah and Aiden caused this destruction.

Aiden lined them all up and announced that group activity for the day is to rebuild training grounds.

Sarah and Aiden didn't provide further explanations to recruits on what happened, but their seven kids made sure to talk about what they saw previous night. They were very proud of their Boss and Boss's husband.