The Sparring Partner

As her bestfriend mentioned his name, a tall man with blue eyes and blond hair came to her mind.

***

Two years ago when they first met. It was a hot afternoon of summer. Misha was busy running around in the oval plaza. She was still wearing her favorite headphones in her ears not noticing a man was sprinting like a kangaroo behind her.

She's been punished by her grandpa for slacking off her training for three days and she had to ran 10 times around the plaza. It was a huge plaza. It was about the same size as a football field. She's been sweating heavily when she's just about to ran 5 laps.

The man behind her have been sprinting like a kangaroo for almost 2 hours. Judging by his looks, he's a foreigner. She didn't noticed the man and was ran over by him causing her to fell on the ground flat. That was the second most embarrassing moment in her life.

The man asked her, "Are you okay?" in a worried tone.

"Do you think I am?" she asked back sarcastically. She's rubbing her nose which ached in pain. She wanted to cry but not in front of a stranger.

She raised her head only to realize that a pair of blue eyeballs were looking at her worriedly. "I'm sorry. I will take you to the nearest clinic." then he grabbed Misha's hands and dashed away with her. Misha did not realized that blood rushed down from her pointed nose but Richard saw it. So, he panicked and he dragged Misha hurriedly. They arrived at the clinic panting and Misha was getting dizzy. Her vision was spinning and blurry. Richard wanted to grab her hands once more but Misha dodged causing the man to hug the palm tree outside the clinic.

"I can take care of myself from now on, so no need to worry." she said shooing Richard away.

"But.." the man wanted to offer his help but she didn't want to accept any of it.

"Okay. But, I'll cover your expenses." he said and placed a calling card on her hand. She just shoved it in her pocket.

Her nose bled and she stopped her punishment for a moment. A side of her was happy but more of herself was worried. She didn't want to entangle herself with a strange man.

She walked balk to her grandpa's dojo.

She tilted her head 80 degrees whil walking. From afar, she looked like a zombie. Her face twitched as she saw her shadow. 'I feel like an idiot.' she said to herself. 'But what can I do?' she shrugged. She's about to enter the dojo when she noticed a familiar silouhette.

'But what was he doing here?' she asked. She continued to walk towards him.

Richard didn't notice of her approaching. He looked down and saw a zombie-like shadow behind him. He suddenly felt nervous. He turned around slowly and then shrieked.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!! A zombie!!! A zombie!" he shouted. He was about to ran when Misha suddenly grabbed his hands and she smiled at him. And that freaked him out even more.

"So mean! If it's not because of you, I wouldn't be like this!" Misha protested.

He gave her a second look and this time, he inspected her carefully.

"You're like a dog! Stop it!" she said as she was getting uncomfortable with his stares. "So, what are you doing here?" she finally asked.

"You, what about you? What are you doing here?" he asked back.

"It's where I live. So now, what are you doing here?" she repeated.

"I was asked by the master to come here." he said to her . They were bantering with each other when her grandpa arrived.

"What happened to you?" the old man asked sternly. Misha lowered her gaze and pursed her lips into a thin line.

"I tripped over then my nose bled so I walked like this." she explained.

"How many laps?" the old man asked her again.

"Five.." she answered shortly.

"Okay, continue it tomorrow morning." the old man ordered. "As for you, young lad? Why are you late?" he asked menacingly.

The blond man suddenly sweated on his forehead. "I'm running around the plaza too. I've been doing kangaroo sprints." he explained.

"Is that so?" theold man narrowed his eyes.

"Yes master." he said in a respectful tone.

'Master? Could it be he was the one mentioned by grandpa as my sparring partner?'she asked herself.

"Then, let me introduce you to my grand daughter." the old man gestured.

"Richard Morell, this is my granddaughter Misha Lewis." he said.

The blond man looked at her with an amusement in his eyes. She could see them glimmering.

"Nice to meet you." he offered a handshake. Misha smiled and grabbed his palm and squeezed it hard.

"Nice to meet you too." she said while gritting her teeth. Richard wanted to cry out of pain.

The next day, Misha continued her punishment. Then after, they sparred with Richard. She beat Richard black and blue. Causing him to flew back to London with his injuries. He swore to defeat Misha when he come back. Now he's back, what could've he wanted.