Damian looked closely at the woman who was supposed to be his new trainer. But to him, she did not seem like a trainer who would even last a few seconds against him.

He couldn't understand why his grandfather had chosen her of all people to train him.

The woman was probably in her early twenties but she was in a very pitiful condition. Her wrists and ankles had deep marks from being shackled and he had heard that she was one of the prisoners who were kept locked up in the dungeons.

He couldn't understand why his grandfather would want him to get trained by a prisoner. And from all he had heard about that woman from his mother, he felt it was a ridiculous idea to pit the two of them against each other.

He was Damian Al Ghul, the next successor to the Demon Head after her mother would claim the title. And she was just some prisoner who had been kept there and tortured for months. They were apparently no match for each other.

He analyzed that she was weak; her body was nothing but skin and bones and it shouldn't take him any longer than a few minutes to beat her. But those grey eyes were quite unnerving and he paused before stepping into the courtyard, turning to look at his mother again.

"Do I really have to fight her?" He asked, emerald eyes slightly cautious.

"Yes," she replied, "your Grandfather says it is a final challenge for you. If you are able to learn her techniques, you will be made the Head of the Demon Fist."

There was something about the woman's eyes that did not sit right with him. Even though he was just seven, he had fought many opponents but none of them had such ferocious eyes as the apparently weak woman in front of him.

If he wasn't already trained to be an excellent swordsman, those eyes alone would have terrified him.

"Judging by her state, she will die any second," he remarked bluntly, "if Grandfather wants her killed either way, he should have waited for a few more days instead of putting us into this trifle."

"Do not underestimate her, Damian. She is dangerous," she warned him, "and she will do her best to kill you. You have to be on your guard."

Damian nodded, his grip tightening slightly on his sword, "don't worry, Mother. I will not disappoint you."

Deep down, Talia was hoping that nothing would go wrong and Damian would end up succeeding. She could not let Mara and Nyssa take her rank and respect away from her. And if Damian lost, that was what would happen quite soon.

Her son had to prove himself worthy and there was no other way to do so than to succeed in that final test.

Damian had stepped into the combative ground and his sword was ready. Sayuri too had been given a sword but her ankle was still chained, to prevent her from causing any severe damage.

The length of that chain would allow her to move freely in the combative ground but not go beyond it.

Upon the signal, Damian charged and Sayuri paused, not wanting to fight against such a young boy. He was just seven after all, the same age as how she had seen her brother before she left for Gotham.

Thinking about Tim brought back her memories in full force and though for the past month, she had been feeling that she had died inside, a slight flame flickered in her heart.

She still had people she could call her own. She could still go back to Tim and Jack provided that she succeeded in escaping from the base. And that thought seemed to have brought her dead heart back to life.

She had to do everything possible to escape that tortuous imprisonment.

The blade was threateningly close to her when she reacted, blocking the blow as her sword clashed against Damian's. 

Damian had not been expecting that but he quickly took his position, analyzing what her next move could be. While Sayuri caught sight of his emerald irises; a clear proof that he was a member of the Al Ghul family.

So even if he was just a boy and she had initially not wanted to fight him, she thought that her Kai had been innocent too yet they had mercilessly put an end to him.

Then why should she spare the boy who was in front of her?

He had chosen to fight her himself and if it turned out badly for him that was solely on his mother and grandfather for allowing him to go up against her.

Besides, Sayuri had nothing left to lose, there was no reason for her to hold back.

Talia's eyes widened in alarm as she saw the apparently weakened Sayuri spark up and fight back. Damian too was shocked to see that despite her being in such a terrible state, he was finding it hard to stand his ground against her.

With time running out and him still not being able to defeat her or land a single blow on her, he was getting frustrated. The more frustrated and angry he got, the higher the risk became for him to make reckless mistakes. And it seemed as if that unexpected trainer had judged that about him fairly well.

She was intentionally trying to provoke him into lashing out.

Even after all that time being imprisoned, she hadn't rusted and the more she swung her sword for attack and defense, the better her grip became on the weapon. Damian who had been thinking it would take only a few minutes for him to defeat her was now facing a rough time trying to block her strikes.

He had never seen anyone fight like that before.

And the scariest part of it all was looking into her eyes that were blazing like embers. It was clear to him by then what Talia meant when she had said that the woman wouldn't hesitate to go for the kill.

Damian tried his best to disarm her but those thin hands were gripping the sword tightly, refusing to back off. 

The bell rang at last with neither Sayuri nor Damian being able to land a hit on each other. Though Damian felt as if she could very easily strike at him but had chosen not to do so intentionally.

Her chain was reeled in so that she wouldn't cheat and land a blow after the time was up and the assassins took her weapon away from her, shackling her wrists as well.

Damian was still standing in the combative ground, staring at the woman who was being dragged away to her cell. He got startled as a hand rested on his shoulder and he looked up to see Talia standing beside him.

"What is she, Mother?" He asked, clearly shaken up by the unexpected fight they had had, "I have never seen anyone fight like that before. Even though she was in such a weakened state..."

"She is the leader of the Sasuke clan," she told him, her eyes cautiously observing that Damian hadn't gotten hurt, slight relief spreading inside her because she had been very anxious that Sayuri would end up killing him. "She's the only one left of them and as you saw for yourself, she's an excellent warrior. That's exactly why your grandfather wants you to learn from her."

"Without caring that she might kill me if she has the opportunity?"

"You have to be on your guard," Talia remarked, "I tried to talk him out of it but he didn't agree. Think of this as your chance to prove your worth to him. He believes that if you are able to master the way she fights, you will become invincible."

Damian nodded in reply and put his weapon back, following his mother into the fortress where Ra's was waiting for them. After that first fight, Damian realized that he had been wrong to underestimate her. 

She was no doubt very dangerous and if he had to prove himself to his grandfather, he not only had to learn her techniques by observing her fighting skills but also manage to prevent himself from getting killed at her hands.

***