Passive Aggressive

"But there was another incident in which Cordayl was challenged by a martial artist who recognized him. Cordayl tried to talk himself out of it, but it was useless. The martial artist struck a stance and began to rush Cordayl.

"At first, Cordayl dodged all of the hits, trying his best to retreat and not engage in the fight.

Then, the martial artist started to land a few blows on Cordayl. The damage was minimal, but after that, Cordayl's face changed. I had seen that look a few times, but now, recording it down in our conversations, I know that something snaps in the young lad whenever it seems like he is losing.

Cordayl is running through a desert, being pursued by an unknown woman. The lady grows tired of chasing Cordayl and decides to corner him.

Jumping up and landing to deliver a devastating stomp, she causes a giant fission into the ground wide enough to swallow Cordayl.

Cordayl takes a turn, which she anticipates, and again kicks into the earth to cut off Cordayl's path.

Turning around, Cordayl sees the woman standing across from him. Cordayl tries again to talk sense into the woman. "Look, I want no smoke with you. Please let me go to the bathroom, and I will leave town after that. That's all I want."

"And I want fame! Once I defeat the Diablo, there will be no question that I am the greatest martial arts master on the planet. I will make every student rub your detached head before entering my dojo." The woman states.

"Why does everyone want to cut off my head?" Cordayl murmurs.

"Prepare yourself, Diablo. You are about to be destroyed by the soon-to-be legendary Cassoa the Kicker." The warrior tells him.

Cordayl tries to take a step back but feels his foot slip. He catches himself and stares into the rocky bottom 100 feet below.

Then, the fatal feeling of making the mistake of taking your eyes off of your opponent hits him. Turning around, he sees Cassoa immediately upon him, straightening her leg to kick him right in the chest.

Cordayl barely dodges the kick and the one that follows as he turns away from the crevice. He then goes on the defensive as Cassoa relentlessly throws kick after kick.

Each kick is thrown harder and faster than the last one, and Cordayl realizes that this opponent is stronger than anyone he has fought since breaking out of his coma.

"You better wake up. Or she is literally gonna kick your ass." The voice laughs at Cordayl, who is still on the defense.

"Shut it!" Cordayl retorts, trying to focus. The attacks are coming too fast, and Cordayl can't dodge them without contact. He must now use his arms to avoid a clean blow from this fierce warrior's attacks.

Cassoa smirks as she realizes she is wearing Cordayl down. Then she makes this street dance move, sweeping Cordayl's legs out from under him.

Cordayl sticks his hand out to catch himself before he hits the ground completely. He only has a split second to shield his head, though, as Cassoa comes crashing down on top of it.

The weight of the kick is so strong and focused that it crushes Cordayl into the earth.

Cassoa flips away, preparing for round two, as Cordayl crawls out of the hole.

The look on his face sends a chill through Cassoa's body as she realizes Cordayl is now serious.

"She's pretty good. I like her." The voice in Cordayl's head comments.

"Yeah, me too," Cordayl says. Flipping his dreads back and tying them up, clearly showing his face.

"Oh, you really like her! Let's get it!" the voice says excitedly.

Cassoa is a little surprised to see Cordayl tie his hair back, but she is equally shocked to see how handsome he is. Moment of love over, Cassoa says to Cordayl,

"Ready for round 2?"

"Are you?" Cordayl says in unison with the voice.

This new confidence turns Cassoa on as she dashes in to attack Cordayl. Cordayl doesn't hesitate to meet her in the middle, and foot meets fist. The impact of the contact sends shockwaves throughout the desert.

The two fighters exchange fists and feet as their battle grows more intense.

However, Cordayl starts to gain the advantage as he is equally skilled with his fists and feet. His combos overwhelm Cassoa, and he lands a hit that sends her skidding to the cliff's edge.

The impact of the hit leaves Cassoa breathing hard and trembling as the vibrations flow through her bones. Her vision blurs, but she doesn't drop to the ground.

Shaking the hit off, Cassoa stands tall as her energy intensifies to the point that her aura shows.

"Damn, I think I am in love." The voice comments, causing Cordayl to smirk.

Seeing the smirk on Cordayl's face makes Cassoa's blood boil. She explodes across the arena, flying in to kick Cordayl straight into oblivion.

Cordayl catches her leg, trying to slam her down into the ground. Cassoa catches herself on the ground and delivers a series of one-legged kicks at Cordayl as she is upside down.

Cordayl swats away each kick, but the last one is aimed at Cordayl's wrist, breaking his grip on her leg.

Leg free, Cassoa pushes off the earth and propels both feet at Cordayl. Cordayl blocks the attack, throwing one of his own to show he is still on the offensive.

As the two of them keep exchanging blows, Cordayl manages to push Cassoa away from him.

As she catches her breath, she grows angrier to see that Cordayl doesn't even show the slightest sign of damage.

Realizing she won't be able to win in a match of stamina against this monster, she decides to bet it all on her next move.

Flipping back to the arena's edge, Cassoa closes her eyes and focuses her energy. Her aura explodes, and the atmosphere roars as her energy skyrockets. Taking her stance, she looks at Cordayl with murder in her eyes.

"Don't move." She tells him.

This order she gives him causes a vein to pop up on his head. He crosses a line in the ground with his foot and then takes a few steps back. Standing perfectly still. Cordayl closes his eyes as he waits for Cassoa to make her move

Cassoa's eyes widen as she watches Cordayl close his eyes, and then they squint with anger before she explodes off the edge, destroying the ground as she flies through the air to defeat Cordayl. As she quickly nears his torso, she watches Cordayl still sitting there calmly.

Cordayl closes his eyes and focuses on his environment, which expands well beyond the ground they battle on and into the atmosphere.

Cordayl feels as Cassoa launches her attack, her most powerful so far, but his calm is not disturbed as he feels her getting closer by the millisecond.

The moment that Cassoa's toe crosses into Cordayl's atmosphere and her toe passes the line Cordayl drew in the dirt, Cordayl slams her with the weight of a mountain.

The sudden impact slams Cassoa straight into the ground, breaking her hip as she crashes into the earth.

The intensity is too much, and Cassoa lets out a sound of pain. But as soon as the weight is felt, it disappears.

Cassoa turns over, defeated. She can't seem to catch her breath as her emotions start to stir at the realization of her defeat. She hears Cordayl walking over to her and turns her head so he doesn't see her tears.

"Don't cry," Cordayl tells her. "You are one of the best warriors I have fought… That I remember." He says.

"Shut up and get it over with, " she tells him, regaining herself.

"Get what over with?" Cordayl asks, puzzled.

"Killing me. I have lost the fight and thus my life." Cassoa says, putting her arm over her face.

"What? Kicker, that was your goal, not mine. I just want to go to the bathroom." Cordayl reminds her.

"Whatever, monster, " she says. Suddenly, she feels weightless, and when she removes the arm from her face, she realizes that Cordayl is carrying her.

"What are you doing?" She asks, shocked.

"Taking you to a hospital. My father would disown me for leaving an injured woman alone in the desert. Don't even want to think what my mother would do." Cordayl says as he heads back towards the town.

Cassoa is utterly shocked to see that her opponent, let alone the Diablo, is showing her such kindness after she tried to kill him. Her heart explodes as she realizes she has found the warrior of her dreams.

She blushes and turns her head away from his chest. "Whatever. I want a rematch after I heal, " she says as fatigue forces her eyes closed.

"Maybe one day." Cordayl replies as he catches up to Esquimo.

"Lad, you are truly a different breed." Esquimo compliments.

"If you say so, Esquimo. Hey, jump on my back. I really need to go to the bathroom." Cordayl tells him.

"Go on ahead. This is the way we were heading anyway. I'll wait here for you, lad." Esquimo says. That's all Cordayl needed to hear before sprinting away.

The lad's strength is extraordinary. But with that said, he has a kind heart. There was this time when we found ourselves guests at a retirement home. This retirement home had been under attack from a local goon trying to extort them. He wasn't the brightest color, not in the least, but that day, he sure was the unluckiest.

"Stop playing with me, gramps. I've been trying to be patient, but you keep trying my patience. Pay me the protection fee. NOW! Or I'm burning this bitch down." The thug yells.

"Young man, we've been over this. I have no money to give you. This is a retirement home. The most expensive thing we have is our TV, " the manager responds.

"You expect me to believe that! I know ther-"

"Is everything alright?" Esquimo asks, stepping outside to see what's wrong.

"And if it wasn't, what would you do? Older man." The thug responds, mugging Esquimo.

Calm as ever, Esquimo tells him. "Young man, If there was a problem, more specifically, if the problem were you, I would eliminate it without hesitation."

The thug laughs at this threat. "You know what? I'm not leaving here empty-handed. I will take that TV, and you'll pay extra next week if you want it back."

"No, please, " the manager pleads, but the thug pushes him aside.

Esquimo steps in front of the thug. "Young man. You will leave here the same way you came. With nothing."

The thug looks down on Esquimo, eyes full of anger. He takes a step back and does a quick measurement to see if he is at the perfect distance from Esquimo before stretching his long leg and kicking it straight into Esquimo's chest.

Cordayl quickly catches the kick before the thug's foot plunges into Esquimo's blade.

Still holding onto the foot, Cordayl asks Esquimo if everything is alright.

"Quite fine, lad, but since you are here, do you mind escorting this rude young man off the property and asking him never to return? " Esquimo asks.

"This guy was being rude to you?" Cordayl asks, squeezing the thug's foot, making him scream in pain.

"Very. He was about to break in and steal the elder's television." Esquimo informs him.

"The TV we just bought them?" Cordayl asks, squeezing the thug's foot even harder. "They love that TV," Cordayl says, turning his angered gaze toward the thug for the first time.

The thug's body freezes in fear, making eye contact with this terrifying man. Cordayl continues to squeeze the foot, making the thug hit the floor in agony.

"Okay, okay. Look, I promise to leave them alone. Just let go of my foot, please, " the thug begs.

"You tried to take my tv, so now I'm thinking about taking your foot," Cordayl says in a cold tone, looking down on him.

"No, please, please! This is my favorite foot! Please. Look. Listen. I promise I will not even walk past this property again. Just please let my foot go so I can run away."

"Apologize first," Cordayl tells him.

"Apologize? Man, you got me fu-" The thug screams in pain as Cordayl crushes his foot.

Crying, the thug apologizes, then promises for a third time to leave the elders alone forever. Cordayl then picks him up and, still holding the foot, and escorts the hopping thug off the property.

Returning to the porch with Esquimo and the manager, Cordayl tells them he is going back to finish watching the movie and enters the house.

"Such a nice young man. Scary as hell. But a true man." The manager comments as he also enters the house with Esquimo.

"I truly enjoy our travels together. We are about halfway to our destination, which brings me a tinge of sadness because our journey is halfway over.

"I'm getting tired now, my love, so I'll conclude our talk. I love you the most and can't wait to see you again.