Fiery Love- Chapter 32

"Alright class, let's begin with the regular warm up." Aurora stood in front of her students. It was Monday afternoon and she was starting her lesson with her last class for the day. "Let's begin with some Aikido warm-ups. First, Funakogi Undo."

She put her right foot forward and placed her hands at her hips. Then she moved her hips forward ever-so-slightly so that she could still see her toe, shot her hands out, then moved her hip back and moved her hands straight down. Her students repeated the movement with her as she continued.

"Now the katate Osa Undo." Aurora put her right foot forward again, then put her right hand out. With her left hand, she grabbed her fingers, then proceeded to stretch it down and out. "Now remember to relax down to your center, keep the tension out of the shoulder, and lock the elbow out right against your body to give more of a stretch, not only on your wrist, but also on the tricep."

The students proceeded to do as she said. Some did it better than others, and some definitely needed to work on it. A few even giggled at how some were doing it, then would immediately stop when Aurora gave them a stern look.

"We'll do one more and then proceed with the lesson." Aurora got in another stance, putting out her left foot. "Kotegaeshi Undo." She held her left hand in front of her face, her palm facing towards her. Then reached around with her other hand and put her fingers around the fat part of her thump, and placed her thumb underneath her pinkie. She twisted it so the blade of her hand was in, brought it to her chest, relaxed her body, and stretched her hands down toward her belly button and held it there. "Be sure to put which ever foot forward that's on the same side with the wrist that you're stretching." She stretched it up and down a few times, then switched to the other hand.

The students proceeded to do as she did, repeating it with her. Just like with the other two stretches, some were able to do it and others had a little trouble. When they were done they all lined up and stood with perfect posture.

Aurora smiled. "Very good." She proceeded to walk from one end of the line to the next, her arms folded behind her. "Now, who can tell me something we reviewed last week?" Out of the corner of her eye she picked one of her students, Tom. She whipped around and looked at him with a serious face. "Tom."

"We did the sweeping block." Tom said immediately.

Aurora pointed to the spot right next to her. "Demonstrate." Tom walked over to where she pointed and they faced each other. He lifted up his arms, rolled his fingers and locked his thumbs. Aurora proceeded to throw slow punches at him since she only wanted him to demonstrate. He then blocked her as she did so. When she was satisfied, she smiled. "Very good."

Tom grinned, happy that Aurora was pleased with him. He bowed, lowering his upper body slowly, then straightening up and went back to his place.

"Now everyone spread out." Aurora ordered as she turned to face the wall of mirrors. "We'll do single punches for a few minutes, then go onto something new." She watched her students through the mirror as she got in the correct stance, tightened her fists, and pulled her arms back to home position while they did the same. They all pushed one fist out, then the other as the first went back.

After they had done this for a few minutes, she turned to face them. "Very good. Now, we will go onto the next lesson. Today I will teach you the spinning back fist." She did the movements as she spoke. "Now You'll set up with one leg forward, your hands are up, take your back leg, shift it behind, then twist all the way around and strike. Be sure to strike with the back knuckles instead of the back of the hand, so that you don't accidentally break those bones."

She went back to the first position and they copied her. She then slowly went through the movements so that they could try and follow. She repeated this several times and then had them try on their own. She watched as they attempted to do the movements, though none of them did it exactly right since it was the first time she taught it to this class.

She had them repeat the movements until she felt satisfied with their efforts. Then she let them take a short break to catch their breaths and get water if they needed to. Afterwards, she had them practice on the punching bags for the remainder of class.

When there were ten minutes left Aurora made them stop. "Alright, that's enough for today. You've all done very good today." They all smiled when she said that. "Keep on practicing and we'll continue from here tomorrow." She smiled. "Now get your things and head home. You all deserve some rest."

They all gathered their things, put their shoes on, and filed out the door. As they did they smiled and waved goodbye to Aurora, to which she smiled and waved back.

Aurora then went and put everything away that had been out. She went to her office and quickly changed out of her martial arts uniform. She put it in her duffle bag and then went around and locked the doors.

As she did she looked out the window and saw that Marcus was waiting for her. Thrax had said he was going to have one of his guys come by to make sure she got home safely. She didn't really argue with him because it seemed like a good idea. She walked out of the building, made her way over to her car, and smiled at him. "Hey Marcus."

"Hey." Marcus said. "Bruiser dropped me off here and went ahead to your place to make sure everything was alright."

"Alright." Aurora unlocked her car for them both to get in. As they did, Marcus was looking around, his hand on his gun the entire time in case anyone popped up. "So is it just you and Bruiser that Thrax sent?" She started the car after Marcus got in and buckled up.

"This time." Marcus replied. "If it goes smoothly then it'll probably be just him and me. If not, the boss'll most likely add a couple other guys."

"Okay, just checking." Aurora pulled out of the parking lot and drove home.

The entire time she drove there was silence. Marcus kept his hand close to his gun and kept looking out the window and the side-view mirror. It made Aurora a little uneasy, so she decided to have the animals keep watch within a five mile radius of her and let her know if there was anyone from the Strikers gang nearby or heading in her direction.

An hour and a half later she drove up to her house and parked her car. There hadn't been any problem, which relieved her. She got out and Marcus followed, still looking around.

Aurora grabbed her duffle bag from the back and headed to the door. As she did, she looked down the road and saw that Bruiser had parked a few houses away and was well hidden, probably to keep watch so that no one got suspicious. She could see why Thrax picked these two to start out with, they didn't kid around.

She opened the door and closed it after Marcus walked in. "Make yourself comfortable."

"Thanks." Marcus looked around the room and then turned to her. "I'd better let the boss know we're here." He pulled out his phone. "Then I'm gonna check in with Bruiser real quick."

"Alright. I'll be in my room." Aurora headed down the hall and to her room. She put the stuff in her duffle bag in the hamper and then put it in her closet.

She then went into the bathroom to take a quick shower. She closed and locked the door and started the water, letting it warm up as she undressed. She got in and the water was nice and warm. She washed her hair and rinsed it, repeating the process twice, as usual. As she washed herself she played with the water a little, making some of the droplets stay in midair for a few seconds and then go down the drain.

When she was done she turned off the water and got out. As she grabbed a towel and dried herself off she started humming a little tune. After she was done she got dressed, put the towel in the hamper, and went to check on Marcus, still humming. She found that he was looking out the front window.

Marcus turned around when he heard Aurora walk in the room. "The boss'll be here in a little bit."

Aurora nodded, then went and sat down on the couch. She picked up a book she'd been reading recently and picked up where she left off. Then thirteen pages later she heard a car drive up, followed by footsteps. She looked up as the front door opened and Thrax walked in. She noticed he had a stressed look in his eyes.

"Go keep watch with Bruiser." Thrax ordered Marcus, who then immediately went out the door and closed it.

Aurora put the book down and gave Thrax a concerned look. "Are you alright, Thrax? You look stressed."

"There's just a little problem with one of my other businesses." Thrax went and sat next to Aurora on the couch.

"Anything I can help with?" She asked.

"I doubt it." Thrax sighed. "It's just a contract that needs to be renewed. The problem is it has to be renewed by tomorrow." He began to rub the back of his neck. "But it won't take long to do."

Aurora watched how he rubbed his neck. "Problem with your neck?"

"Just a little crick in it." He kept rubbing.

Aurora got up and walked around the couch to stand behind Thrax. "Where is it exactly?"

"Right here." He moved his dreads, pulled the back of his trench coat collar and turtleneck down and pointed to the spot where he'd been rubbing. "What are you-?" He stopped short as Aurora gently pressed her fingers on the spot he pointed to and started rubbing. "Ooooh... Oh, baby. That feels good."

Aurora smiled and gently rotated her thumbs on the spot and used her healing powers for good measure. As she did, Thrax began to relax and let out a moan from deep in his throat. After about three minutes she moved to his shoulders, feeling the tension that he had in them. Then she began to do the same as she did with his neck, making his shoulders relax too.

"Mmmm." Thrax laid his head back. "Is there anything ya can't do?"

"Let's see," Aurora said thoughtfully and half jokingly. "I can't play a cello, violin, or bass. I can't fly, play hockey- You know, you might just wanna stop me right here because I'll keep on going." They both laughed. Then she wrapped her arms around Thrax from behind and rested her head on his shoulder. "Better?"

Thrax grinned. "Much better. Now come here." He reached from behind the couch and grabbed Aurora by the waist. He then pulled her over the back as he reclined on the couch so that she was lying on top of him.

"Hey!" Aurora laughed. "Give me more of a warning next time." Thrax just chuckled even more and she couldn't help but join in. "I'm serious." Though the laughing didn't help her case.

"Doesn't sound like it." Thrax put one hand behind his head and kept the other around Aurora's waist. "So what are you doing Thursday for Thanksgiving?"

"Nothing yet." Aurora rested her chin on Thrax's chest. "Though Lilly might ask in the next day or two if I want to come over and celebrate with her, Damien, and their family. She does every year."

"But she hasn't asked yet?" Thrax asked as he ran a hand through some of her hair.

"No." Aurora replied.

Grinning, Thrax sat up a little and pressed his hand on the couch to keep himself up. Making Aurora have to sit up a little too. "Then how about this year you celebrate it with me? Just the two of us."

Aurora smiled. She liked the sound of that. "I'd like that a lot." Thrax grinned, pleased with her response. "Though Lilly's most likely gonna be disappointed."

"Well she's had you every year." At this point they were both sitting up completely. "One year isn't gonna kill her. 'Sides, I'm sure Jones'll be there, so she'll be fine." His eyes moved to the sliding glass door.

Aurora turned her head around to see what he was looking at. "Is something wrong?"

"I thought I saw something." He kept looking. Then stood up and walked over to the door.

She tuned her ears to listen outside and heard a squirrel in her backyard, keeping watch. "It's just one of the animals I commanded to help keep watch."

Thrax turned back around and gave Aurora a confused look. "What?"

"I'm having some animals keep watch within a five mile radius of me." Aurora said as she turned her body completely around to face Thrax. "I figured it wouldn't hurt. Plus I felt a little uneasy when Marcus had his hand on his gun the entire way here. They'll let me know if anyone from the Strikers gang comes within the set perimeter."

Thrax smiled. "Well that makes me feel better about your safety." He went and sat back down on the couch.

Aurora looked at the time and saw it was nearly six O'clock. She figured they should get something to eat, so she got up and headed into the kitchen. "Do you want something that'll be quick to make or is there something specific you want for dinner?"

"Something quick is fine." Thrax replied.

"Spaghetti it is." She got a pot and started to fill it with water. As it filled up she opened one of the cabinets and got the box of spaghetti down. "Do you have it with spaghetti sauce, or butter?"

"Sauce." Thrax said.

Aurora got the jar of spaghetti sauce down and put it in a small pot. She put it on the back burner and turned it on. Then she went and turned of the water and put the pot of water on the stove, but instead of turning on the burner she decided to try something. She focused on the water, trying to see if she could warm it up and make it boil.

Soon little puffs of steam started to appear, then it slowly began to boil. She smiled and continued to make it boil as she put the spaghetti in. Eight minutes later she stopped and drained it, then turned off the back burner and put the sauce on the spaghetti.

She got a couple of plates from one of the cabinets and forks from one of the drawers. "It's ready." She opened the fridge and got out the grated parmesan cheese.

Thrax came in and grabbed one of the plates. "Thanks, baby." He got some of the spaghetti and sat down at the table. "Looks good."

"Thanks." Aurora grabbed the other plate and got some, then sat down at the table as well.

After they were done eating she rinsed the dishes off, put them in the dishwasher and got it going. Then she went and grabbed her laptop, plugged in a couple of little devices, and started typing.

"What are you doing?" Thrax asked, looking at her curiously.

"Checking up on the Strikers gang." Aurora continued to type as she hacked into their security cameras and files.

Thrax immediately became interested and moved his chair so that he was right next to her and could see what she was doing. "What are ya checking up on?"

"Everything." Aurora finished typing. "I'm in." She clicked on the files to see if they changed anything. "Well it doesn't look like they've changed anything so far." She scrolled down and noticed something. "What's this?" She clicked on it and a receipt for library books popped up. She read what the books were about. Some were about myths and legends and the others were about nature.

"They must have gotten those because of what happened." Thrax said.

"I doubt it will really help them, though." Aurora kept scrolling and everything else was the same as the last time she hacked their system. "Those books just have the regular information about nature, and the others just have the usual myths and legends. Nothing that would tell them about my ancestors or lead them to something like that. So we don't have to worry about them finding out about my powers."

"That's good to know." Thrax thought for a moment. "I wonder what they think caused it then?"

"They'll probably look through the books to see what mythical beings and creatures had nature powers and try to see if they connect with it." Aurora went to the security cameras. "If nothing seems to fit, then they'll probably just assume it was a sorcerer or something."

"They must be more spooked than I thought." Thrax looked at the screen with her as she moved from one security camera to the next. "What's that?" Thrax pointed to something that was being moved into a truck by some Strikers gangsters.

Aurora zoomed in to get a better look. "Their next weapons shipment." She watched as they moved it through the abandoned railroad tunnel. She got an idea and smiled slyly. "Let's slow them down a little."

She began typing and hacked into the lights that were in the tunnel. She made them flicker on and off, making it hard for them to see. Then she made them overload and completely shatter and made the camera go to night vision so she could still see what was going on. The two watched as the gangsters stumbled in the dark for their flashlights and lamps.

They turned on their flashlights, lamps, and the headlights to the truck, argued a little, and then went back to loading it.

Aurora frowned. "If only I could get control of the truck." She realized something, one thing she could control was electricity. "Wait, I think I can." She focused on the truck to make the lights flicker just to make sure she could. They began to flicker and she smiled, realizing that she didn't need to be in the same place as what she was controlling.

The gangsters ignored it since they had their flashlights and lamps and went to start the truck. As they went to start it, Aurora took complete control of it, making sure it didn't turn on. She made it short circuit so that it would stay off.

Realizing what she was doing, Thrax grinned. "Might as well practice some of your others powers, too."

"What did you have in mind?" Aurora asked.

"Well they're in a tunnel," Thrax said. "Make the ground shake or something."

"I'll do more than make it just shake." Aurora made the ground slowly tremble beneath the gangsters' feet.

She watched as they got out of the truck to figure out what was going on. She then made it increase a little and shift, making them fall to the ground. They tried to crawl near the walls, and once they were a good distance form the truck, she made the ground underneath it form a giant hand, and crush the truck and everything in it. Then she made the hand-shaped rock disappear and made the ground stop shaking.

"Well that should slow them down a little." Aurora finished going through all the security cameras and everything else was fine. She turned to Thrax. "I'm guessing you already took care of their informants?"

"Yep." Thrax replied. "Did it this morning. I also took care of the guys that went after you."

Aurora logged out of the cameras and turned off her laptop. "Really?" She knew he was going to do something eventually, but didn't think it would be so soon.

"Yep." Smiling, Thrax put his arm around Aurora. "Nobody messes with my baby and gets away with it." He pressed his lips against hers.

The kiss was gentle and sweet. Aurora pressed her hands against his chest as she kissed him back. Thrax then wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her close as they continued to kiss. It slowly became more passionate and Aurora began to lose all her senses.

Thrax slipped his tongue passed Aurora's lips and pulled her deeper into the kiss. She loved the sweet sensation she got from it. She slid her hands up and around his neck as he pressed her against him even more. She let out a little moan and he let out a deep, sexy groan.

Suddenly Aurora felt the temperature in the room slowly drop. At first she ignored it, but it continued until she felt herself shiver, so she pulled back. Thrax must have felt it too, because he pulled back when she did. They both looked around, then their eyes rested on a blushing ghost. Serena had come for a visit.

Aurora felt herself blush a little since Serena had dropped by when they were making out. "Hey Serena. What brings you here?"

Serena was still blushing as she spoke. "I-I-I'm sorry. I can come back later. I didn't realize that you were... well..."

"It's alright." Aurora assured her, though Thrax didn't look too happy that their moment was interrupted. "You're already here." They both stopped blushing. "So what did you need?"

"Well I was wondering if you would like to practice some of your powers tomorrow after you're done teaching your classes." Serena said.

"Yeah sure." Aurora didn't see a reason why not. "So where do you want to practice tomorrow?"

"In the woods." Serena casually said. "There'll be no one around to see what's going on." She grinned. "And I doubt the Strikers gang will try going into the woods for a while after what happened."

Aurora laughed, thinking about how the guys from the gang had reacted after their attempt to kidnap her. "Alright."

"So that's what you look like?" Thrax studied Serena. "Aurora told me about the visit at my place."

"You weren't exactly happy that ghosts were at your house were you?" Serena asked and Thrax nodded his head in response. She grinned. "Who is?"

Aurora smiled and decided to say something to lighten the mood. "People who do seances?" Serena giggled and Thrax chuckled a little. She then turned to Thrax. "I guess you won't need to send Marcus by tomorrow since I'll be with Serena."

Thrax frowned. "Ghosts don't count as a loop hole."

"Do so." Aurora said.

"Do not. She's dead." Thrax countered. "How could she possibly protect you if something happened?" He challenged.

"Body possession, poltergeist, move objects, and probably come get you super quick if something does happen to her." Serena said.

"How about this," Aurora suggested. "Marcus goes with me on the way to the woods, but waits by my car while I go into the woods by myself?"

"That, I'll agree to." Thrax said.

Serena gave then an inquisitive look. "Might I ask why you're having someone with her?"

Aurora turned to Serena. "I promised I wouldn't go anywhere alone until after the whole Strikers Gang ordeal is taken care of. Just to be safe."

Serena thought for a moment. "That's understandable. After what happened with me the guards were around me for months before we felt it was safe for me to be by myself again." She turned to Thrax. "I swear on my grave that she will be safe, and if anything does happen, I will immediately go to you."

Thrax smiled. "Alright."

"Well, I should go now." Serena said. "Again, I'm terribly sorry for interrupting your moment."

"It's alright, Serena." Aurora said. "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." With that, Serena disappeared, taking the cold with her.