Welcome to the land of Kickassia![Mei]

[Luke Denmark]

It was early in the morning, most people were either just waking up, or starting breakfast. Not Luke Denmark though. The tall young man had been up for hours and training. He'd gone on a long run around the city, then returned to his apartment and lifted weights, did push ups, pull ups and then went down to his dojo and trained against a wooden blocking dummy. He struck it expertly with solid hits, using his feet, elbows, knees and of course his hands, the object spun freely and not once did his movement falter.

As he finished his training with the dummy he moved to the center of the room and started moving, slowly at first, as if performing some strange ritualistic dance. Each movement was fluid and smooth, transitioning from one to the next with the perfection that came from years of dedicated practice. Pivoting on his right foot he spun, dipping his body low and drawing himself out of it and then he slowly kicked out, extending one leg so it was nearly over his own head, perfectly straight in a high kick. Lowering his leg he bent both knees and began moving his arms faster until he was punching swiftly, his hands almost a blur and then he leaped up and became a frenzy of motion. He punched, kicked, jumped, flipped and twisted himself, bouncing all around the room, using the elevated mats and walls to his advantage.

Only when sweat coated his body and his chest rose and fell swiftly with the effort of his actions did the boy take a break. He crouched on the floor breathing hard, his shoulder length blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail to keep it from his blue eyes. Sweat from his face ran down the scar under his left eye and followed it all the way to the tip of his chin. "More." He whispered to himself, "Don't stop now. Push yourself." and he slowly got onto his hands and feet on the floor and with a shove, pushed himself into a handstand, and began doing vertical push ups. It was obviously difficult for him, but the look on his face told everyone it was also fun for him.

Dangling from a hook on the wall on a thin metal chain was a wooden flute about six or seven inches in length. It looked to be hand carved and had the young man's name inscribed on it in beautiful writing.

[Mei Chang]

x x

Of course he had known. Ling always knew things that he had no right to know, so Mei honestly didn’t know why she was surprised. Heck, the Emperor had probably known that she was going to run off to Amestris before she knew it herself. When he wasn’t acting like he was an absolute idiot, he was just plain scary at reading people, so she supposed she’d probably have to thank him maybe when she got home, because he didn’t tell anyone. Not like she wanted to, but it was only fair, right? Though she was delivering the letter for him…

Yeah, she had found, tucked away in her bag, a letter that she was supposed to deliver to Central HQ. The princess wasn’t sure what the letter was about, because even though she had pulled it out of the envelope to read it (and did Ling really suspect that she wouldn’t?), it was in code, and she didn’t have enough time to solve it. Ah well, maybe she could ask him later? If she remembered, she really wasn’t that curious about it, as it was probably some boring political stuff that she didn’t care about at all.

Heading back in the direction of the train station, stepping through the quiet streets with Xiao Mei on her shoulder, the princess was about to maybe strike up a conversation with her panda, or hum slightly, as it felt too quiet, when she saw the building out of the corner of her eye. Huh, a dojo? That could be interesting, if there was anyone there! She was always willing to spar with someone, and even if there wasn’t anyone there who was willing to, she could always spar Xiao Mei. They hadn’t done that in awhile, actually, maybe she would…

Looking both ways and then quickly crossing the street, the girl tried the handle on the door, and found, much to her pleasure, that it was unlocked. Stepping quietly inside the dojo, and shutting the door quietly behind her, Mei looked around curiously… and saw him. Long blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, a strong, muscular body that he was obviously working hard, as he did vertical push-ups… He was like an image of those princes she had imagined, before she had met Edward and Alphonse. It was… He was… perfect!

No, no, get your mind away from that! Mei scolded herself, dragging her mind from admiring the clearly older boy’s handsomeness. After all, she was loyal to Alphonse, and even though she hadn’t seen him for awhile, he was definitely better looking than this man, and probably more kind. Because he was Alphonse! Right. Remember that.

“Excuse me?” the princess asked, speaking up as she took a step closer. “May I use your dojo, please? I’d like to practice…” He was obviously still warming up, and looked tired, so she wouldn’t ask him to spar with her… yet. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t spar with Xiao Mei!

[Luke Denmark]

Suddenly, a small voice alerted him to someone's presence and he yelped, surprised by the sudden sound. Losing his balance he fell onto his left side and then nodded and pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Of course you may." He said, standing up "Since this is your first visit to my dojo, you can use it free. Just this once though. I've got to make a living somehow." He said with a laugh and headed over to a little sink "But first...." he took down two glasses and filled them with water, heading over to her. "Thirsty?" He asked, handing down the glass to her and then, noticed the animal on her shoulder.

"........Is that.....a panda?" He asked, kneeling down to stare at the little creature. ".....I'd say it was a baby but.....it....doesn't seem like one." He muttered and then smiled at the small girl "Sorry." he said and stuck out his hand "Luke Denmark." he told her and sat back down on the floor, taking a long drink from his glass "If your .....friend wants anything to drink or to eat he.... or she?.....Can help himself." he offered, "Have you eaten? I haven't. I never train on a full stomach."

This girl seemed awfully small to be off on her own, but something in her eyes told him she knew how to take care of herself, and the way the panda clung to her shoulder and watched his every move made him think there was a lot more to the little guy as well.

He finished his glass of water and stood up again, moving toward the sink to put the glass back in it and took the flute from the hook, and rubbing the smooth wood between his thumb and index finger.

"So." he said, "Feel like sparring?" he asked, as he began stretching "I'm actually used to sparring with someone your size. I have a little brother and he's always challenging me to matches. So what do you say Mei?" He asked, smiling down at her and then replacing the flute on the hook from its chain.

[Mei Chang]

x x

The man’s fall, as he had obviously not seen her, made Mei giggle slightly at the sight. He was obvious good at martial arts, as he had dropped to his side in the standard fall position, but how good would have yet to be measured. Promptly beaming at the man as he answered her question in a positive manner, she spoke up. “Great! I’ll have to remember that for next time!” It was likely that she would be back again, eventually. After all, she could be sent to Central for another political reason, or to deliver something for Ling, or even here on a trip with Alphonse, and the city was not an easy place to find a spot to practice, without alarming other people. She’d have to do an exchange of her money, of course, but it would be nice to have this already prearranged. “Ah, sure!” she replied, somewhat bemused, as the princess accepted the glass of water. Mei hadn’t expected that, but she was kind of thirsty, so why not take it?

Taking a sip of water, and inwardly laughing at the surprised expression on the man’s face, Mei explained. “Yeah, Xiao Mei’s a panda,” she told him, though her eyes widened slightly as he observed that she wasn’t actually a cub. Huh, recognizing her as both a panda (not a cat, which most Amestrians thought she was) and realizing that she wasn’t a cub? He was quite observant! After exchanging a glance with Xiao Mei, to make sure it was okay to divulge the information, Mei offered up an explanation for her friend’s small size. “She actually has a disease which stunts her growth, so I took her in, and now we’re sisters!” Mei announced brightly, before taking another sip of water, and then offering the glass to Xiao Mei.

While the panda took a sip from the water, Mei took the offered hand, grinning up at the now-identified Luke Denmark. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Mei!” she told him, and was about to tell him Xiao Mei’s name, as well, before she realized that she had already identified the panda, so no need to do it twice! At the offer, she blinked in surprise, before shaking her head and pulling back the glass from Xiao Mei, taking a sip of it herself. “No, we can share water, and I’ve got some bamboo shoots in my bag for her,” she explained, before shooting a ‘look’ at Xiao Mei that clearly read (to the panda, at least) ‘do not eat those now’.

At the question (which the answer was really obvious to, honestly), Mei shook her head. “I ate a few hours ago, so I’m fine for training. I try not to, either, but sometimes you get caught up in impromptu fights…” Back when there were assassination attempts, and fighting against homunculi and Alphonse and Edward and the military… Wow, her life really had settled down since then, hadn’t it? Kind of weird to think about…

Taking a last sip from her water, Mei set down her pack and glass against the wall (the latter for Xiao Mei to have the rest of), while her panda scrambled down her arm and to the floor. Beginning to stretch, with Xiao Mei in sync with her every action, she found her eyes curiously drift over to the beautiful flute(?) that Mr. Luke was holding, but she didn’t ask. It wasn’t the sort of thing that one asked about, she thought, dropping to the ground to do two-finger push-ups, and it looked sentimental, and she knew how that was. Ah well.

When Mr. Luke spoke up, Mei rose from the ground in one fluid motion, grinning. “Sure, sounds great!” she chirped, thrilled by the thought of sparring someone new. While Xiao Mei was always a fun sparring and work-out buddy, you could only spar someone so many times before it began to lose its charm. Sure, it was fun, but it wasn’t as fun. So it’d be great to spar someone new! About to drop into her ready position, a thought occurred to the princess, and she reached into her sleeve to snatch one of her concealed knives, bringing it to the open. “Weapon-less, or with weapons?” she asked curiously, uncaring of which it was. Either way, she’d have fun, but she’d have to remove all of her hidden knives…

[Luke Denmark]

"Great! I hope there is a next time in that case." Luke said with a smile, for this girl, though tiny and young seemed to have the spirit of a giant and the heart of a lion. "Really? Aww well....she's not small! She's....fun sized! My little brother isn't related to me by blood either. He's adopted." He informed her, "And it's nice to me you Xiao Mei." he thought about petting the little creature, but then decided not to invade her space and let her come to him.

"Mei? Alright. I'll remember that." A short name for a short little girl. He didn't point that out to her though, no need to be rude.

"Don't I know it." Luke said with a laugh, "If it's not my little brother trying to get the better of me it's someone else."

Concealed weapons? Just who was this girl? Why did someone as small and innocent looking as her need to carry hidden weapons on her person? He thought for a moment and then gave a nod "We'll say.....with weapons." He said and moved toward the far wall, where two swords were mounted behind a shield. He removed them from their sheaths and gave them and slight twirl in his grasp. The weapons were long and perfectly straight and they shined as if they'd been recently polished. On one hilt was a blue stone, the other housed a green one. Both blades were two feet long and a hand's width.

"My father made these." He said softly, "The blue stone are supposed to be my eyes. The green one, my mother's. His wife's." He moved toward Mei and held one out to her to take. "They look heavy, but they're feather light. He was a brilliant alchemist, he only used alchemy at the very end to make them impervious to damage. They won't break, no matter what. Other than making them indestructible....save I guess with alchemy.... he did it all by hand, no alchemy involved." He took the weapon back and then moved across the room.

"You ready?" He asked, dropping into a stance and standing sideways, both swords at the ready, and though his expression was quite serious, his blue eyes danced with anticipation and the small smile on his face made the scar ruining it seem a little less frighting.

He started out with circling Mai first and then once he saw his chance, he made his move. First he stabbed the blade of the sword in his right hand into the floor and used it to lever himself up, aiming a powerful kick with both legs at the small girl's frame. He abandoned his weapon and rolled sideways across the floor, springing back up, his left blade slicing in an arc and blocking the kuni Mai had thrown at him.

For every blow she threw at him, Luke had a reaction for. Sometimes he'd dodge and counter, others he'd allow to strike only to trap her limb with his hand and attack her once he had her pinned. They were evenly matched, sometimes Luke would be sent flying across the room from the force of the smaller girl's attacks and sometimes he'd send her flying. At one point, Luke gave a laugh of delight at the match. It was so much fun!

Luke yanked his sword from the floor and then leaping and spinning across the room he used his last ditch effort move. It was one he'd practiced a thousand times and had very few reasons to ever actually use it in a fight. He flipped over Mei's head and landed neatly on the floor behind her and when she made her move to attack him, Luke made his move.

He came at her, swinging one sword expertly, spinning the other as he charged. He didn't however swipe them at her. Instead, he threw them both straight up where they stabbed into the ceiling and the boy leaped up after them, almost in the same instant. He gripped the handles and kicked out hard with both feet. Knowing Mei would dodge, he gave both blades a jerk and as he fell, slammed the first into the floor again, hoping to pin Mei's dress with it as she landed and with the second he blocked more blades and then launched himself at the girl.

His energy was nearly spent, this was a very last ditch effort. If he missed, Mei would probably over take him. If she was just as worn out as he was, he'd pin her to the floor with his sword at her throat and he would be the victor of this match.

[Mei Chang]

x x

Mei nodded at his response, in full agreement with the man. “It’s so hard to find places to train in Central, so when I end up back here, I’ll probably stop by,” she told him, smiling. Honestly, it was really nice to find a training spot. She couldn’t get out of practice, of course, as that was one of the fundamental things that was constant in her life, as well as an activity she took much pride in, so it was a must to have somewhere to practice at. His comment about Xiao Mei, though, made her giggle brightly, sending a smile to her panda, who grinned back. “That’s perfect! I’m using that from now on!” she told him brightly. “Fun-sized”, indeed! Maybe she’d mention that to Edward and Alphonse, soon as she saw them! The latter would get a kick out of it, and well… She liked tormenting the former too much.

Her mouth formed an ‘o’ of both surprise and understanding at his statement about his brother. Of surprise, because honestly, not many would say such a thing to a complete stranger, and of understanding, because her closest family was not related to her. “Yeah, blood doesn’t really matter,” she replied in the affirmative, before giggling slightly as Xiao Mei rewarded Mr. Luke for his greeting with a baleful stare. After the match, she would probably end up biting the man, but she knew better than to attack someone that Mei was going to spar. After all, the playing field wouldn’t be level, then, would it?

“Same for me, Mr. Luke!” she told the man brightly, her word a promise. She was quite good at remembering names, after all, even if she didn’t always remember faces (as her memory, for whatever reason, often distorted them into something they were not), but she would remember his, if only for the fact that she could look him up again for a sparring buddy and not at all for the fact that he was very handsome, nope. Grinning at the fact that he also got into fights, Mei wholeheartedly agreed. “Yes! I think the only place I’ve honestly been in, and not gotten into a fight, had to be the desert…” Though there was also a fight for her life, as well, there, as it was quite exhausting and she nearly didn’t have enough water and it was almost as bad as watching her father die, even if she had never even called him ‘Dad’.

Eyes sparkling at his surprise (because it never got old when people were surprised about her weaponry), Mei faintly beamed fit to burst as he decided for the weapons, sliding hers back into its hidden place. “Bang ji le!” she crowed, excited and slipping back into Xingese, smile fixed on her face. Curious eyes followed Mr. Luke as he removed the swords, widening slightly as they took them in. Wow, they were beautiful… The jewels really complimented the clearly high quality make of the sword, setting off of each other with the contrasting colors, and though jewels often took away from the functionality of weapons, Mei couldn’t help but nod inwardly with approval. They were well done, and she found herself tuning into Mr. Luke’s words, quite interested, as well as taking the weapon to examine.

Listening to him speak with a smile on her face, Mei ran her hands lightly over the sword, taking in the feel of it and its energy. Yes, it was quite telling that it had been adapted, even if ever-so-slightly, by alchemy, though it seemed to be of incredible make, and Mei was quite interested to be going up against an opponent with said weapons. Mr. Luke handled them well, too, so it should be quite fun… “They’re very well made,” she told them, as she handed back the weapon. “Your father did a great job!”

Falling into her own ready stance, feet slightly over shoulder-width apart, hands resting at waist-level, ready to either make their way to the floor to hold her up, grab some of her knives, or provide balance for a kick, Mei nodded, delight glimmering in her eyes. “Hao.”

As he circled her, Mei waited patiently, unwilling to attack first. She had to first judge the proficiency of such an opponent, as this was a spar and she actually had such a luxury, so she was patient, simply shifting to keep him at the forefront of her vision, when he struck. The stabbing of his sword into the ground was a maneuver that the Xingese had not seen before, and it was quite an interesting one, she thought, slamming herself to the ground and rolling to dodge the kick. Popping up quickly, she snatched two of her hidden kunai, throwing them with a flourish only to see one of them knocked out of the air, and the other dodged, though how intentional the dodge was, she was unaware.

She quickly had to recover from the fact, however, avoiding the advances of the skilled swordsman, and retrieving her kunai at a later point, for the long-ensued battle. There was no exchange of banter, no remarks back and forth, no comments or insults, rather the clash of steel on steel, clothing rustling, and the impact of their bodies as they hit the ground, either intentionally, to dodge the opponent, or involuntarily, as they were thrown across the room. Both of them fell victim to the latter at points, unfortunately, with a feeling of triumph in the times that Mei managed to catapult the other across the room, and handstands and careful falling, with the occasional wince, as she found herself in the same position.

It was quite marvelous, though, to be able to spar like this, and Mei felt herself wanting to join Mr. Luke in his laughter, even as she dodged the sword point, scooping up another of her thrown kunai, but she resisted, letting a smile settle on her face, as she didn’t want to waste any energy. Mr. Luke did seem to be feeling tired, however, and even though Mei felt weariness drag at her as well, she was used to running on no sleep, to having her nerves stretched taut as she fought for her life, so little but passing out and absolute defeat, with no way out, and nothing on the line, would stop her at this point.

Mr. Luke seemed to know his limits, as well, for he grabbed his second sword, which had been lying in wait, the whole fight, and seemed to be at his end. His moves were unlike anything that Mei had ever seen before, though, and that uncertainty on her part would certainly give him an edge. Her mouth fell into an ‘o’ shape as he ended up going over her head (a move that she had rarely seen done by anyone besides her Xingese kin), and she quickly spun around, knife in each hand so that she could block, but she was ready to take a jumping sidekick at his head to end to the fight once and for all (though she would definitely have to hold back on said kick, as she didn’t want Mr. Luke to have to go to the hospital or anything).

His next moves, however, completely boggled her brain. “Da Bien!” she swore, eyes wide as he threw his swords at the ceiling and jumped after them. That was just… what… her brain honestly shorted out on that one, and it was only instincts that brought her back and alerted her to the fact that he was attacking again. Dodging the kick on pure reflexes, the princess’s eyes grew even wider as she realized his intentions (well, either that, or he was going to try and run her through), and she cursed again, throwing her knives in a last ditch effort, and doing her best to dodge. Her dress did get caught, unfortunately, as per his plans, but with a quick application of a knife, that part of her dress was cut off, revealing more of her pants than was traditional, and dodging the lunge that Mr. Luke sent at her, likely to try and pin her to the floor. With that, the girl drove her own lunge at the older man, knee to the gut, knives blocking the sword, and one at his throat, ready to press enough to draw blood, if necessary. “Yield,” she simply stated, though her sparkling eyes betrayed the enjoyment she had been having.

[Note: I decided to let Mei win, simply because I couldn't see her letting herself lose a simple spar like this, plus the way she owned Envy that one time...]