'So he's taking the offensive,' I muttered to myself. I gave the room a quick sweep, a plan formed in my mind.

A glint flashed in the eyes of the man before me then he slashed low, toward my stomach. Moving with him, I moved another step back and then to the side. I replaced the dagger's scabbard, flipped it so that I was holding its sheath instead of its handle. I then placed my index and middle fingers on its cross guard before bringing the shaft over his forearm, pointing it down, and slas.h.i.+ng him on his wrist. Kaname was shocked, he didn't foresee my moves just now.

"My lord, had I attacked you with the blade, I'm afraid you'd have dropped your weapon and be bleeding now," I winked at him, earning me a smirk.

"True, true," he agreed. "But I was only testing the waters, my lady."

He slashed high this time, I countered by slas.h.i.+ng with my dagger pointing up at the underside of his forearm. When defending myself during knife fights, my coach always told me to aim for either the forearm or the wrist area. He said it's better to take the defensive position and attempt to get the opponent to drop his or her knife than actually attacking.

"Oops," I chuckled. "Gotcha again!"

He grunted and threw several attacks. When I found an opening, I decided to attack and aim for his stomach. Kaname saw through my move and grabbed my wrist with his free hand. He pulled me with such strength that my entire body fell on his chest. Copying what I did earlier, he winked at me before giving me a wet kiss on the lips. With the b.u.t.t of his dagger's handle, he then proceeded to stab me on the chest. Startled and still in sparring mode, I pushed him and broke free from his grip.

"Cheater," I accused. "You don't fight fair."

"My dearest wife, I do whatever I can to get the upper hand during fights," he laughed. "I just killed you, by the way."

I clenched my fists, I did 'die' just now. "So this is how you fight your enemies? You give them surprise kisses?" I scrunched up my nose in disgust.

"Of course not," he was enjoying my disappointment. "That move was something I thought of just now and it is reserved just for you."

"Sneaky b.a.s.t.a.r.d," I was being a sore loser but I didn't care. "Let's start again."

"Sure," he nodded and made a come hither motion with his fingers.

Although I was annoyed, I knew it wouldn't help if I let my anger get the best of me. A clear and quick mind is essential when fighting. Because he just played a dirty trick on me, I decided to do the same. Sort of.

I gripped my weapon, pointed it towards him, and faked an attack which he immediately prepared to block. I flipped the dagger so it was sort of hidden in my palm, I held my dagger-wilding fist with my other hand and decided to hit him with my elbow. My elbow connected to his jaw, I tried my best to control the impact but I still managed to hurt him a bit.

"Ow!" he exclaimed as he staggered backwards. He ma.s.saged his jaw then threw his dagger on the tatami-lined floor. It fell with a thud before he pounced at me.

As his hands neared me, I grabbed his right little finger and pulled it back towards his elbow. I knew how much it hurt so when his arm tried to follow, I twisted it so that it went behind his back. I immediately kneed him so he fell on the ground. I placed my knee at the center of his back and held his arm in place until he tapped the floor in surrender. Kaname towered above me and couple that with his well-built frame, it wasn't an easy feat to take him down. I was panting from the effort.

"The score is now 1-1," I announced before letting him go.

"This was the second time you were able to take me down," he winced as he rotated his right shoulder. "What kind of moves did your master teach you? I've never seen anything like it."

"Mixed martial arts," I told him in English.

"Are you talking to me in your mother tongue?"

"No," I reverted back to j.a.panese. "My take down moves a while ago came from that practice."

"It seemed very interesting," he nodded seriously.

"It is," I agreed. "Another round, my beloved husband?"

"Sure, but let's stick to knives."

"I just wanted to get even," I told him before handing him his discarded dagger. He laughed again.

Kaname closed in on me. I took a step back with every forward ones he made. I shot a quick glance behind me and saw that I was almost at the wall, he intended to corner me! I planted my feet and made my body small, ensuring that I was protecting my vital organs. He made slas.h.i.+ng and stabbing motions as I tried my best to evade them. I held my dagger in an ice pick grip and counterattacked. We were at each other's throats, both wanting to break the tie and win.

I gasped when I almost lost my balance when Kaname elbowed me before thrusting the knife to my throat, I caught his wrist and bit it. He pulled his wrist and tried to take me down with a sweep of his leg but I saw through his intention and skipped. I then went for the kill and head-b.u.t.ted him. His hands flew to his forehead, giving me the opportunity to slash his abdomen. I twirled my dagger and, with the knife's pommel, made a slas.h.i.+ng motion on his exposed midriff.

"I won," I proudly said while still trying to catch my breath.

"This is domestic violence," he said while ma.s.saging his forehead. "I might need to subject you to a trial for battery."

"You said you won't go easy on me," I reminded him. "So of course I wouldn't be gentle, I'd give my all."

"Good," he straightened up to look me in the eyes, ceasing his poor-me play. "At least I know and I can rest a.s.sured that you can take care of yourself even when I'm not around."

"And you, if the need arises," I promised him. "I will protect you with my life."

"Then we are in each other's care."