Is this destiny?

Emma, JoAnna, Sophia and Pam were chatting when Ryan and Sean approached them.

"Why are you so happy?", Emma asked her brothers who were grinning.

"Allen and Julius approved us as bodyguard material.", Ryan said proudly.

"So, from now on, we will go with you and watch your back.", Sean added.

Emma frowned, obviously displeased with this. What is going on? They came to Los Angeles to study and get degrees in engineering and business, not to be bodyguards.

Emma was looking to find Charlie. He is the one who told them that they will be considered as bodyguards as long as they have skills. Didn't they agree that her brothers need to have some achievements in school first? Did Charlie tell them otherwise? He should handle this.

JoAnna is well aware Emma's concerns about her brothers acting as her bodyguards. She patted Emma's hand, to get her attention before speaking to the Ronin twins.

"So… bodyguards…", JoAnna said while eyeing Ryan and Sean. "You know… if you want to protect Emma, you need to be better than she is."

"What do you mean?", Ryan and Sean asked in unison.

JoAnna smiled knowingly. "If someone will watch over Emma, that someone needs to have more skills."

"We have more skills.", Ryan said confidently to JoAnna.

"Are you sure?"

Sean confirmed. "We are training daily."

"So is Emma.", JoAnna said matter-of-factly.

Ryan was (almost) out of arguments. "Julius and Allen said that we have good skills."

JoAnna rolled her eyes. They are friends and considering how pushy Ryan and Sean can be, Allen and Julius probably praised them only to get them off their case.

"Emma is training with Sarah who taught Julius and Allen so… Sarah should be the judge. Agreed?", JoAnna didn't wait for their response before calling Sarah to join them.

Emma looked at JoAnna in disbelief. Why does this sound how Emma should fight with her brothers and if they win they get to be her bodyguards?

Not long after, Emma is standing in the rink, tying her hair in a ponytail while facing Sean.

What happened before...

After a short chat between JoAnna, Sarah and Emma, they agreed that Emma will spar with one of her brothers, and if Emma wins, they go back to school and there will be no bodyguard-talks for the next year. If one of her brothers wins, then they can be her bodyguards on occasions which are not impacting their school schedule.

Sean and Ryan played rock-paper-scissors to determine which one of them will fight, and Sean won.

Back to present…

Sarah is in the rink with Emma and Sean, acting as a referee. "You are siblings and I hope that you will not seriously hurt each other. Match ends when one of you is out of the rink, can't continue fighting or admits a defeat. Understood?"

Emma and Sean confirmed, and Sarah took two steps back.

Charlie watched this with a frown and his body twitched few times as he was torn if he should interfere or not. Ah, this is all his fault! If he didn't give hopes to Sean and Ryan they would not assume that they are ready, and it would not escalate to this point. He doesn't care much about Sean, but what if Emma gets hurt?

"My dear sister…", Sean spoke to Emma. "Do we need to go through this? Can't you just accept me and Ryan to be by your side when it counts?"

"As your big sister, my job is to make sure you are on the right path. Stay in school and focus on studying. It is OK to train and practice, but I don't want you to get in a dangerous situation on purpose."

"When I defeat you, promise to let us go with you."

Emma's eyebrow arched. "IF you defeat me."

Sean reluctantly lifted his hands and glanced at Sarah, silently asking her to announce the beginning of the fight.

Sarah shrugged. "You can start anytime."

"What's with the reluctance? Did you give up on being my bodyguard?", Emma taunted Sean.

Sean narrowed his eyes and leaped toward Emma. He was surprised that Emma avoided his attacks nimbly. Well, Sean didn't really attack with full force because he feared that he will hurt her, but she is faster than he expected.

Emma was always fast and nimble, and the trainings she does with Sarah are enhancing that further while teaching her different moves and techniques. Also, they practice more than just fighting (as Sean will find out soon).

Sean swung his right arm toward Emma's head, and she blocked his attack by grabbing his arm, just above wrist, and dodged it.

A smile bloomed on JoAnna's face and she started the stopwatch on her phone.

Before fight, JoAnna gave ring-like gadgets to Emma which are loaded with anesthetic, one for each hand. They are made to look like regular rings, so Sean didn't suspect a thing. 

Sean's attacks were getting faster and fiercer, and about ten seconds later, the base of his left palm was going toward her chest. Emma swiftly rotated on her right heel and hit his right arm with her palm, pushing it away from her.

JoAnna's grin increased and she glanced at the time.

Next twenty seconds were Sean attacking and Emma avoiding. He was unable to land a single hit.

Sean paused his attacks. "Do you think that you can win by dodging?"

"Time!", JoAnna exclaimed from the side.

Sean glanced at JoAnna in confusion which doubled when his gaze returned to Emma and saw that she is smiling smugly.

Sean inhaled sharply when he realized that both of his arms are numb. "What did you do?", he asked Emma in disbelief.

"I won.", Emma declared proudly. "Now you and Ryan go back to school obediently. Don't make me hear any bodyguard nonsense for a year. Until then… train hard, and study harder."

Many of the spectators were confused. What happened? It's obvious that Sean was at the advantage. Attacking and putting pressure on Emma who mostly dodged. She didn't even attack him once.

Sarah approached Sean. "Based on the rules, you need to admit a defeat. Or she can knock you out and then we say that you can't fight anymore."

Sean admitted a defeat and Sarah helped him out of the rink. Emma followed.

Charlie was right next to Emma, looking at her with sparkles in his eyes. His fiancée is awesome.

"What is wrong with my arms?", Sean asked. At this point, he can barely lift them.

"It's an anesthetic. It will wear off in about half an hour.", Sarah responded.

Sean glared at Emma when he remembered that she touched him twice, once for each hand. "You cheated!"

Sarah shook her head in disapproval. "What she did is not against the rules. If you want to be a bodyguard, accept that people have different ways of winning. Take this as a lesson."

Ryan also joined dejectedly, not happy that Sean lost. Allen and Julius approached as well.

Sarah spoke to Ryan and Sean while gesturing at Allen and Julius. "The two of them are bodyguards. Can you defeat them?"

Ryan and Sean shook their heads.

"Can you match them?", Sarah continued probing.

Ryan and Sean shook their heads again.

"Are you close to them in skills? Can you land at least one hit during a three minute spar?", Sarah's question hit them right in their pride.

"No.", Sean said in a low voice.

"Did you practice with firearms or with any other weapon?"

"No.", Ryan said.

Sarah sighed. "I admire your willingness to help Emma. And so does she. But if you go as bodyguards with your current skillset, you will only put yourself in danger… and Emma as well."

"What should we do?", Sean asked Sarah.

"Focus on your studies. And not just at University for the exams but learn about different weapons and tools." Sarah saw that both Sean and Ryan frowned, so she decided to give an example they can relate to: "On one of the missions as bodyguards, Al saved the team by disarming a bomb. If you want to be a good bodyguard, you need to know much more than fighting."

Emma smiled and gave Sarah a thumbs-up. It seems that Ryan and Sean are listening to Sarah. Going forward, Emma will send them to Sarah to talk about this bodyguard-nonsense, Charlie is not reliable because he wants her family to approve of him.

Allen and Julius nodded in agreement with Sarah's words.

"Even playing a piano is useful.", Allen said and hooked his arm around Julius' neck. "By playing we develop our memory, coordination, and concentration. And by practicing together, we are improving our teamwork and understanding of each other."

Sarah patted Sean's shoulder to comfort him. "I was watching your fight. Your moves are not bad. But you need to practice more."

Sean and Ryan exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

"We will help.", Julius spoke for him and Allen.

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