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002

beginner's luck

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The first time Yellow beats him in a sparring match, her eyes open wide, stunned by the occurrence and shocked into silence.

To say that Green is stunned would be an understatement; he's flat on his back, wind knocked out of him. The gangly teenager before him had a mean right hook and a nasty side kick, two things he hadn't expected in sequence. Her whirling motions looked too dainty, too feeble to do any real damage.

And yet here he is, completely floored.

"Green?" she asks, dropping her fists and rushing over. "Are you okay?"

He grunts, rubbing his hip and pulling himself upright. "I'm fine," he barks, glowering at the girl. For the first time, he looks at her critically. She's short and light, but she's smart and fast. She knows how to hit where it hurts; she knows to get out of the way before he can retaliate.

Hell, she knows way more about fighting than he knew when he was just starting out, that's for sure.

Reassured that she hadn't permanently injured her mentor, Yellow jumps up and down. "How was that, then?" she asks eagerly. "Did I do that right?"

Green waves her off casually. "It was beginner's luck. You'll need to do that a couple hundred more times before I believe that you're actually capable of fighting me off." He punches her fondly on the shoulder. "Fists up, kid."

This time, he won't take her so lightly.