Six Months 5

Showing an enemy any sort of emotion, whether it was anger, fear, or excitement would only reveal weaknesses to them.

More than anyone, Tora knew well of her short temper. When she was young, she was prone to violent outbursts when others angered her. It was something she has spent a long time trying to control, ever since she joined the Air Force Academy. She had gotten better at it as she became a more patient adult thanks to therapy. But, every so often, she could not help but release the built-up emotions and rage.

She preferred controlling her emotions through meditation, indulging in the dark side of her mind, or through exercise. Punching things did wonders for releasing her pent up bloodlust. Although these methods worked quite well in the past, they have not been working for the past few days. She found herself more frustrated and emotional than ever before.

Now, with Laura standing in front of her, she controlled her breathing. She simply puffed out her chest and stood with her spine straight. "I have someplace to be so if you need to tell me something, please make haste." Tora looked down at her watch. It may have seemed like an arrogant gesture to Laura but Tora could care less. She watched the time to see how long she had to eat before arriving at her destination. "I don't have all day."

"Ah, well, as to not take up any more of your time, I'd like to warn you to not make an enemy of Rouen. It could get quite dangerous for you and your family."

Tora scoffed as she tried to suppress her laughter. She raised an eyebrow. "Are you threatening me?"

"No. It's just a warning to be careful. You never know what might happen during your investigation. You may find things that may be dangerous for you, and for us. And we wouldn't want that now, would we?"

"Well, then you should make sure there's nothing to find. I'm sure you wouldn't want another innocent bystander to get injured. That could become the switch that leads to Rouen's downfall."

Laura remained silent for a moment. "The Supers associated with Rouen are going to be in training for a few months."

Tora clapped her hands together. "That's good. That means neither you nor I will have anything to worry about. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Tora returned to her car and backed up out of the parking space, leaving Laura to watch as she drove away.

***

Tora sat in her car in the drive-through lot as she waited for the vehicle ahead to receive their order. Her mind flashed back to Laura. Her mind flashed further back to Jacob, and again to that Sunday night to Darren and Electro as she, helplessly, watched them walk away. They never took responsibility for their actions.

She inhaled deeply.

"Just breathe," she said to herself. "Deep breath in." She breathed in through her nose. "Deep breath out." She exhaled through her mouth as her head rested against the chair headrest. "Let the darkness in. Let it take over for a moment. Let it float freely through the mind. Let myself feel the anger, the hatred, the need for vengeance."

The need for vengeance. Tora had been consumed with taking revenge. For Darren.

Just like her hands were dyed with Darren's blood, she wanted to see the ground dyed in the blood of the people who hurt him. A great injustice was done, and she needed justice done to be satisfied. Tora would never feel content until those people paid for what they did.

Her fists gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white as her body tensed. "Slowly, let the darkness fade away, overtaken by the light." She released another deep breath through her lips as she slowly opened her eyes. There was a soft hint of blue in her pupils that faded as the light came back into her eyes.

Tora moved her car up to the window as she took her order of fries, lemon soda, and a chicken sandwich from the vendor before driving into the street.

***

Tora walked past the display of trophies and through the hall with various photos that littered the wall. The hallway formed a timeline of stories told in the pictures from the most recent to the oldest.

She passed walked down the hallway as if walking down memory lane, watching the years go by along the wall. She reached a photo of herself in her teens as she stood in the middle of an auditorium, with hundreds of people in the background as she held up a trophy.

Next to that was another photo of her and her team when they won the year's US National Youth Martial Arts Competition. She was in the middle of her knockout roundhouse kick, as she stood on one leg with her other leg extended toward her opponent.

Many more photos of other students and of herself spread along the wall. Some of the images were of competitions while other pictures were of training. Those years went by in the blink of an eye.

Tora entered the studio with her duffle bag and was immediately bombarded with a loud chorus of, "Hah!" The children performed in unison, calling, "Ha!" with each move.

There were about a dozen youths spread out in four lines across the wooden floor of the studio. Each person wore a yellow uniform, with black trims on the cuffs. The buttons on the shirts went straight down along the body from the neck to the navel. She watched the people for a moment before she took in the rest of the studio.

Along the walls were a store of different weapons: staffs, spears, Jian, katana, dao, sais, fans, bastons, nunchucks, daggers, ropes, and many others. Although they were all dull, practice, and prop weapons, they are used by the students of the Black Dragon Martial Arts Studio to master their martial arts style.

Tora was once one of these students.

As a teenager, she was violent, aggressive, and emotional. She had too much rage and energy and had no way to channel it. She was getting into all sorts of trouble. Anyone who had enough balls to get on her nerves would end up at the end of her daggers of verbal and physical abuse.

The only people who knew how to calm her down was Darren, and her master, Samuel Levi.

While Darren would talk her down during her tantrums, Master Levi would force her anger to build up until she released all of it through her fists. Rage became the source of her strength until she no longer needed it.

Practicing martial arts for most of the day, she was no longer around people who angered her. As she channeled her energy elsewhere, she found it tedious to become angry at any little thing her peers said. Even after she left the martial arts school, she channeled her energy into the military.

Her eyes finally came back to the center of the room. She noticed a familiar figure standing in the back of the room with both hands clasped behind his back.

Her master. Samuel Levi.

Master Levi wore a black version of his students' uniforms with yellow rims and a grand yellow dragon embroidered on the back of the shirt. As he turned around to face the front of the room, there was little surprise on his face when his eyes met Tora's. He walked between the students, who paid him no mind as they continued to practice their forms.

His large built became more evident as he walked closer to her. Other than the gray hairs sprinkled throughout his short black hair and neatly trimmed beard, he doesn't look a day over fifty.

As he approached her, Tora dropped her duffle bag in a corner and took a few steps toward her master. She stopped about a meter before him, with both feet together.

"Master," she said. She clasped her right fist in her left palm as she bowed to him. "I have returned. I hope that you will accept me."

Samuel Levi nodded. "I've been expecting you. Welcome home, Tigress."