[b][i]Sunday, 3:35 P.M.
Himura Dojo[/i][/b]

They had been going at it for a full five minutes, which anyone that knew how a real fight went compared to the Hollywood movies, knew five minutes was a prolonged battle. Somehow, even though Aki was holding back for Ranae’s sake, she had managed to keep him at bay for this long. He went a bit slower, took longer to react, but she still showed amazing skill in being able to predict his movements - something that both surprised and interested Aki. Though he had spent his life training his body and practiced breathing techniques and endurance, Ranae’s stamina was almost at his level and in a small way, he felt disbelief despite the facts.

Finally, Aki jumped away, causing the young lady to mimic his maneuver and ready her next strike before he held his palm up, motioning that she was to pause. With a slight hesitation, she finally stood up straight, glancing to her fellow students. Ranae didn’t blame them for looking at her like that; disbelief, shock, uncertainty - she felt the same inside as her gaze went back to her sensai who only stared at her with a quiet reflection.

[b]“Ranae-san ...”[/b] he started, lowering his hand and folding his hands behind his back. [b]“Have you been holding back this entire time?”[/b] The question had took Ranae by surprise as she shifted her stance back a little, but soon realized where he was coming from.

[b]“No sensai, I- ... I’m not sure how I’m doing this ...”[/b] The thought was already planted though as she noticed her peers looking at her with less disbelief and more disgust - the idea of her fooling them making them upset, as if she had played them all as fools. After all, who would believe she could’ve suddenly gained such skill in only a week?

Aki was unsure however, despite Ranae’s peers settling into the idea and simply nodded. [b]“I see... well, for now we’ll unofficially grant you the title of ‘Journeyman,’ but this new development requires some thought. You are all dismissed..”[/b] He bowed his head respectfully to the class as everyone stood up and bowed deep at the waist. As Aki left the room, so did the other students, but not before giving her sneers and disappointed looks - except one of the younger men who only addressed her with confusion.

[b][i]Sunday, 7:23 P.M.
Ranae’s Apartment[/i][/b]

She had turned the T.V. Off after dinner, avoiding watching the news, mostly because she never watched the news though she admitted to herself to avoiding any news concerning any possible discoveries of super powers or other strange events. She knew she couldn’t just put this up to chance or something that she caught on to by some weird mental technique. It wasn’t luck either because in the full five minutes she spent in that sparring with Aki, she was flooded with knowledge of moves and skills that she had never been taught. It wasn’t like they had overwhelmed her and in fact had the opposite effect; she felt more in control and more calm than she ever felt in a situation like that and she could recall the same knowledge even now. 

It wasn’t just knowledge though. She felt her reflexes heighten, her perception grow, and her body move faster - no, this was not normal at all and with her fascination with the comic book world, her mind almost instantly went to the existence of super powers. The question wasn’t what anymore, but how she got them and she spent the last hour trying to figure it out, running through the last few days until it the realization hit her. [i]The bus.[/i] It was the only out of ordinary thing that she could describe and it wasn’t like you got in a crash like that everyday, but it didn’t really answer how the event caused her sudden adaptation unless her power was genetic on some level.

Even beyond this, she finally had something to reach her first goal. She ran her fingers through her brown hair and stroked Axlis’ back a few times before she started to purr, making the woman break into a small smile. [b]“So, what do you think Axlis’? What sort of name should I get?”[/b] Ranae tilted her head a bit, but Axlis’ didn’t care, just closing her eyes as she continued to purr happily. Shaking her head, Ranae looked around the room for a bit and spotted on of the comics that had fallen from the shelf sometime while she was gone. The woman hopped up and bent over to pick the book up and place it back when the cover gave her an idea.

[b]“.... hm ... black .... I like red better.”[/b] She slide the comic book of Black Canary back into the shelf and paused. [b]“Red Canary. Has a nice ring to it.”[/b]