Today is fight day. It was fun to see them all jittery as they warmed up when I arrived. Jake and Uriah knew they'd be fighting, so they were in one corner play-fighting, throwing jabs in the air without actually hitting each other.

Confidently striding into the middle of the training room, I didn't have to say anything for the ten Dauntless to gather around me. I gave them a mischievous smile.

"Ready?" I asked, holding a tablet in my hand. "The first round of fights. Uriah versus Jake, Lynn versus Marlene, John versus George, Fany versus Oliver, and Kate versus Sarah. Remember, time and the skills I've taught you in these days are what we're looking for."

The ten nodded, but their faces fell as they glanced behind me. I turned to find Eric making his intimidating entrance. I flashed a smile and returned my attention to my initiates, noting their scared expressions.

Eric has a reputation, and even though he hasn't done anything to make them fear him yet, the Dauntless gossip is enough to build his reputation.

"The supervisor is here, guys." I said. "He'll be evaluating your performance and mine, so pretend like you've actually learned something."

Eric joined me, taking the tablet from my hands with professionalism. No matter what we are emotionally, in our jobs, he's strict enough to call me out if I do something wrong.

He cleared his throat. "Uriah and Jake, to the ring." he ordered.

The group of ten initiates made their way to the ring, with Uriah being the first to step into it.

"I thought you'd be with Four." I murmured to Eric.

"His fights will be after I'm done with these." Eric replied. "Hill took Mike, and he'll be here late. Plans changed." he shrugged, keeping it simple.

"What's the time limit for the fight?" Jake asked.

"Until someone can't continue." Eric responded.

"I thought it was until someone concedes." Marlene asked from a couple of meters away.

"According to the old rules, new rule, no one concedes." Eric replied, flashing a smile.

I frowned. I had never been told that. Last year, it was until someone couldn't continue. He didn't give us a chance to concede, and even though I wouldn't have, I would have liked to know.

Everyone nodded without objecting. Uriah and Jake got into their fighting stances, and the battle began, a fierce fight where, three minutes in, Jake fell from a frontal kick from Uriah. His head hit the ground, and he was knocked out. With the help of another initiate, we carried him to the bench. I grabbed the first aid kit, and after a few minutes, he regained consciousness from a cotton ball soaked in alcohol.

Eric tapped on the screen, entering the winner. Uriah would remain the first unless Lynn defeated him in the next fight.

Next, Lynn and Marlene stepped up. They were friends, and Marlene tried to smile to reassure their friendship, while Lynn was so focused on the fight, on her opponent's movements that, in less than a minute, Lynn hit her three times in a row, kicked her knee, and delivered a spinning lateral kick, knocking her down completely. Marlene didn't get up, but knowing her, she was probably just pretending not to continue.

I was proud. They were all applying my combinations, following my instructions and advice. Although some needed to refine details, they were minor.

After an initiate named George defeated John with an incredible double jab, the rest of the fights were even more boring, without any excitement. I even yawned, and although I was aware it was cruel of me, their fights and poorly executed blows didn't help.

Oliver, Kate's brother, secured seventh place, while his opponent Fany came in eighth. As expected, Kate, with all the bruises I gave her, took down Sarah, leaving her in the infirmary. That was probably the most interesting thing she had done.

Kate understood. She didn't look me in the eye again and continued to practice what I had been telling them for the past week and a half. I'm not sure if Mike had anything to do with putting her back on track, or if it was me.

Eric had taken off his jacket, and I had barely noticed. He made the lists and put them on the electronic board. We gathered around it.

- Uriah.
- Lynn.
- Jake.
- Marlene.
- George.
- John.
- Oliver.
- Fany.
- Kate.
- Sarah.

"New rule, next week there will be a cut after the second fight. The one in 10th place will be out. At the end of this stage, there will be another cut after the fights with the transfers, and the top 15 will advance to the next stage." Eric said, his words dripping with malice. He enjoyed seeing their faces under pressure. "That's all from me. Dismissed."

Eric turned to look at me, expecting me to say something since the initiates hadn't understood and were looking at me for orders. I cleared my throat.

"Take a break, we'll continue with training. You heard him, after this round and the new rules, it's enough to motivate you." I said.

The nine initiates walked to the benches to rest, grabbing ice packs and laughing at the jokes they made.

"Not everyone knows how to teach fighting." Eric said with a smile. "But you do. I saw many of your combinations in those fights." he added, crossing his arms and approaching me.

"I enjoy teaching." I admitted. "But I miss getting into that ring and hitting someone."

"Hit someone?" He chuckled.

"Of course, I miss that. Now I have to watch them fight and envy them. I miss that pressure of having to push yourself to make the cut."

"You never had the problem of not making the cut, you were always in the top." he said.

"Yeah, you're right, but the pressure of being second in command is something I wouldn't be able to handle." I shrugged.

"No one would have." he agreed.

He smiled, referring to Mike, who would have been the leader, and everyone was grateful that I didn't allow it, even Max was satisfied with Mike not being the leader.

"Hey, I have to ask you something." I said, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow, looking at him seriously.

"Why weren't we told last year that we could concede in fights? We were just told it was until someone fell."

Eric shrugged with a poorly disguised smile. "Everyone would have conceded, it would be too boring to watch them fight. Trust me, I did it for their own good. Now it's official, and Max didn't care."

I shook my head with a smile, letting the topic go. I'm sure Freya would have objected, but she's gone now, and Max will make Dauntless hell for those who were used to empathy.

With a smile, he approached me and planted a kiss on my lips before saying goodbye. He had to go with Four for the next fights.

"I'll see you later." he murmured, passing by me and leaving.

            ***************************

I gave them a choice: we could go to weapons training or continue warming up and practicing. They unanimously chose the latter. Eric had motivated them, and they didn't care much about their bruises and bloody noses, they were eager to train, except for Fany, who fainted when she got up from the bench after her break. I paired them up. Their offense was somewhat regulated, but their defense was a mess, they didn't know how to stop a punch, so I taught them a technique to do so.

With my arms crossed, I couldn't help but feel dizzy again. Furrowing my brow, everything started spinning once more. With a grimace, I sat on the bench, placing the screen aside as I leaned my hands on my knees, waiting for the dizziness to pass. I need to eat better.

I looked up once the dizziness subsided. I had to ensure that my initiates were doing a good job. Today, Eric showed me that he really pays attention to their efforts and my work. Marlene insisted on being with Lynn, but it wouldn't help her, so I put her against Jake, Lynn against Uriah, and so on according to the table.

They kept up a brisk pace, some focused while others laughed and teased each other about their punches.

This group pleased me. Despite their teasing comments, they were firm in their objectives and concentrated as they should. Now I understand what Eric told me last year. The transfers are like kids in a candy store, Dauntless is something new to them, and they seek to indulge in it regardless of their place on the leaderboard. I hated that. The fights with Ian for missing his alcohol-fueled parties, I'd rather kill myself in training than stay in the pit drinking. There were times for fun, and my initiates knew it.

I got up from the bench when I heard some screams.

"Enough!" Marlene shouted. Jake stopped, raising his hands. She took advantage and pushed him several times, tears in her eyes. "It hurts, you idiot!"

"What's going on?" I asked, approaching them.

Marlene's anger didn't subside, her tears were a combination of anger and pain, and she looked at me with a hysterical expression.

"He hit me really hard." she choked back a sob, biting her lip. "That's why I didn't want to be with him, he's a big guy. I prefer Lynn, she's a woman, and we're the same height."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is this a joke?" I laughed.

"Don't say it's weakness! It's not, I just get hurt by someone taller than me because you insist."

"It's not weakness, Marlene. It's cowardice." I chuckled. "It doesn't matter the size of the opponent, it's the ability to dodge their punches."

"I can't dodge them all! It hurts!"

"Endure the pain!" I frowned, looking up at the others who were watching us attentively. "This goes for all of you! Want to cause pain? Learn to endure it too!" I raised my voice.

"You never come out of a fight clean, even if you have a bullet in your body, a knife buried in you, or are on the verge of death from the blows. Stand up and find a way out, ignore the pain, and look for an exit. That's why we train you like this, so you never give up." I continued.

Marlene wiped her tears, and the others lowered their gaze. My words had been enough for them, they all understood and nodded.

"That's enough for today. Go home." I said, turning around to grab my screen as the others left the training room. There were still 30 minutes left, but I couldn't bear to see her crying.

I picked up Eric's jacket from the bench with a groan. If I leave it here, someone will take it, and Eric is very particular about his clothes. I took his jacket and walked towards the exit, heading to the other side of the training room where the transfers were.

I approached the group of initiates, Four and Eric were there, with two girls on the mat. I walked up and positioned myself between them. Eric looked at me puzzled as I handed him his jacket, and he nodded as he put it on.

"And your initiates?" Four asked. "We heard you yelling at them."

I rolled my eyes. "They got me mad." I excused. "Told them to get lost."

"These ones are getting on my nerves too." Eric admitted bitterly, looking at the mat. "They're not ready."

"I told you." murmured Four, crossing his arms.

The three of us watched the fight, there was a significant height difference. The short-haired girl with a large build looked at her opponent like prey, while the other girl looked at her with fear.

With a smile, I closed my eyes. "Is that the newbie?" I asked Four, who nodded.

"What position is she in?" I asked.

"She's the weakest." Eric replied, handing me the screen. I looked for the girl, Tris, she's almost at the bottom.

"And who's the other?" I asked.

"Molly." Four replied.

"Molly is number 4." I frowned, looking at Four, who shrugged, indicating it was Eric's fault.

Rolling my eyes, I understood everything. Eric was at it again this year. This time, the Abnegation girl would be the one to suffer.

"Enough with the games." Eric growled, looking at them, ignoring Four and me.

The initiate named Molly understood it was time to finish off Tris, so she hit her hard, causing her to fall. However, Tris didn't faint, she slowly got back up, assuming a fighting stance.

Now I understood Eric. His lack of balance and stability were testing my patience, especially with the other girl just waiting for her to get up. Neither of them had coordination, but Tris was exaggerating.

"Would you let me train them? Just for one day, and I'll make them less stupid." I smiled at Four, who shook his head without taking his eyes off the mat.

"No, you'll kill them." he said.

"That would be for the best." Eric chimed in, shrugging.

I laughed, but then the sound of Tris's fall caught my attention, followed by several blows from Molly. I grimaced, she doesn't even know how to throw a punch.

"That's enough." Four said, approaching.

As Molly got off the mat and headed toward the bigmouth who was really coming, he laughed at seeing Tris unconscious with blood on her face. I approached Eric a bit.

"Was that how I looked in my first fight?" I grimaced, still watching as Cuatro carried her away to a safe distance.

"No, you looked worse." Eric replied, followed by a laugh.

I laughed and punched him in the shoulder. "Don't play with me, you made me fight Roy." I frowned.

With a smile, he typed on the screen, putting Tris in last place. Then his phone buzzed, and he stopped smiling, picking up the device to check it. It was a message, and although I couldn't see who it was from, I didn't plan on investigating. I turned my attention back to the initiates, but Eric's sigh made me turn back.

"I have to go." he said, putting his phone down to look at me. "Marcus is affected by the new Erudite article, and Max asked me to accompany him."

"The new article?" I asked.

"You need to start reading. You're the leader of Dauntless, Grace, get informed a bit. You can request it at the Pit or read it through the tablet." Eric shrugged.

"Ugh, if I read, I'd be in Erudite, not here." my comment made him chuckle, he shook his head and stroked my hair, taking a strand between his fingers.

"I'll be back tonight, won't be long." he murmured, turned around, and left.

I turned back to the others, noticing the initiates' faces, even some looked surprised. It's not every day you see Eric smiling and being kind. And what I liked most about this situation is that he's only like this with me. I have the exclusive on his good humor.

I approached the ice packs, took one, and walked over to Four and the initiate who was slowly regaining consciousness.

"Here, it'll help." I handed her the ice pack, and she took it, smiling.

Laughter started to ring out, and I turned to see the real loudmouth along with other guys laughing.

Four stood up, looked at them, and shook his head disapprovingly.

"Are the fights over?" I asked Four, who nodded, looking at me. "Can I hit him? Since he got here, I've been wanting to do that." I murmured to him.

There was no need to specify who I was talking about, we both knew who was responsible. I have an issue with the Candor, or maybe the Candor has an issue with me.

"His name is Peter, and no, you can't hit him." he chuckled, crossing his arms.

I huffed. "You're so boring." I rolled my eyes. "I want to hit something. Better tell them to leave before I use this Peter guy as a punching bag or that Christina who called me heavy." I crossed my arms.

Four laughed and nodded. "You can leave." he raised his voice to the initiates. "The list is updated now."

Now, all of them went to the board with the new ranking, the brunette turned to me. "Do you want to hit something?"

"Yeah." I admitted. "I miss being part of those fights, Four. Hitting people and getting praised for it." I sighed wistfully.

"I think the balance is level now, don't you? It won't be like last year when we fought." he looked at the ring.

I raised my eyebrows, a smile playing on my lips. "Are you proposing a fight?"

"Why not? Trainer against trainer, so they know what fighting is about."he suggested, nodding towards the initiates who were looking at the board.

"Perfect, but don't cry when I hit you hard." I warned, approaching the ring.

I took off my boots and socks, then climbed onto the platform eagerly tying my hair into a bun. Four also climbed up barefoot, drawing the attention of the initiates who were approaching.

I smiled, raising my guard. Four seemed calm, his eyes half-closed as he analyzed my movements. We set aside the gazes of the transfers while I plotted my moves and combinations. He'll dodge the first punch, so I need to find a way to distract him.

"Look! It's Grace, she's fighting Four." Uriah's excitement could be heard in the distance. Now, both trainers would fight in front of their students to prove who was better.

I've been through too much to not be able to overcome this, to not defeat the one who trained me a year ago. I hope the student has surpassed the teacher.

I threw a jab with my left fist, hoping he'd deflect it, but he opted to catch my fist with his large hand.

I can't lose in front of my students.

Quickly, I struck the edge of his arm to bring him closer, then aimed to kick his knee. When he released me, I elbowed with my left arm, planning to attack his abdomen, but he applied a hold on my right arm, grabbing my back. I gasped in pain as he kicked my knee and threw me to the ground.

I had only allowed myself to have fun.

I turned to get up. With a smile, I jogged towards him, dodging one of his two punches, and hit his jaw while he pushed me away. With enough space between us, I managed to land a side kick, hitting his ribs.

I stepped back in several jumps and without waiting another second, I delivered a tornado kick, hitting his cheek.

Definitely, kicks are my thing.

I glanced away for a moment, noticing that not only the transfers were watching, but also Uriah, Lynn, Marlene, Jake, and Kate.

However, my foolishness caught up with me. I received a kick to the abdomen, knocking me back. I laughed at my own stupidity. You should never turn your back.

He climbed on top of me, deflecting my punches and then grabbed my wrists to immobilize me.

"Will you let me train you? In one day, I'll get rid of your clumsiness." Four murmured, looking at me with a smile.

I pushed my legs forward, managing to catch his armpits with my feet, then dropped him forcefully to pull his torso down.

As I got up, I noticed my lip was bleeding. With adrenaline coursing through my veins and my own insistence on immobilizing Four, who was getting up to do the same, someone's voice interrupted us.

"Are you done?" Zeke's voice interrupted us.

We both turned to look at him, his amusement evident in his smile. "You're scaring the kids, look."

We looked around and saw some of the transfers watching us with uncertainty, scared, thinking this was serious and we were fighting to the death.

I laughed, getting up along with Four, who raised his hand towards me. I shook it with a smile.

"Draw?" he asked.

"Never. I want a rematch. I refuse to live without knowing what could have happened." I smiled, noticing his slightly swollen cheek with a slight cut where blood was oozing.

He chuckled and nodded. We both climbed down from the ring, my hair came loose from the poorly tied bun, cascading down my back. The initiates began to leave, Uriah showed me a thumbs-up with a smile, then walked towards the exit. I shook my head with a smile, and the three of us waited for everyone else to leave. Tris was the last one, who gave Four one last look and then left.

I raised an eyebrow as I saw Four and Zeke exchange glances, but Zeke approached, ruining their moment. I disguised a smile as I watched the hesitant figure of the stiff girl leaving the training room. My smile turned into a grimace as I remembered how much losing Andrea had hurt Four, and now I could sense possible tension.

"Grace, come back to reality." Zeke said, snapping me out of my thoughts. I blinked several times.

I felt him take hold of my shoulders, and I quickly turned towards them, trying to rejoin their conversation. But it seemed that was not going to happen. Another wave of dizziness hit me, and I closed my eyes, unconsciously waiting for it to pass. Zeke took hold of me firmly as he noticed something was wrong.

"Are you okay?" Four asked, showing concern.

I nodded, trying to smile to reassure the situation. However, nausea kicked in, and I grimaced, swallowing hard. My hands went straight to my stomach, and the gurgling began.

"Oh no." I muttered. "I have to go." I said, covering my mouth, and I ran towards the public restroom in the training room. I rarely used it, as I disliked the smell there.

As soon as I reached the toilet, I collapsed, hitting my knees against the floor. Despite the pain from the fall, I ignored it as I started retching, and vomit was expelled from my throat.

My breakfast, consisting of a coffee and two bites of a chocolate cake, along with yesterday's dinner that I skipped, all came out.

Note to self : If I don't eat well during the day, I have to avoid fighting at all costs.