“Again.” This was how it went every night. “Again.” You and Ghost had started the habit of late nights at the gym. You’d expressed that you wanted to be better at hand to hand combat and he had been willing to help you. What you hadn’t anticipated was how tough of a teacher Ghost was. Every night he worked you until you felt like you couldn’t feel your limbs. But you were significantly better at close quarters fighting than you’d been a few weeks ago. He didn’t give you any leeway. He was tough and unrelenting but it was working. So you pushed, never stopping. Not when your vision got hazy. Not when you felt lightheaded. You kept going because there wouldn’t be any mercy on the field. “Again.” Ghost snapped when he knocked you on your ass for the millionth time that night. “Come on, Sergeant, you’re slacking tonight.” He watched you push yourself to your feet. When you did, swaying slightly, he nodded. “Good. Few more rounds then we’re done.” Contrary to what it seemed, Ghost wasn’t rough with you out of any malicious intent. He wanted you to survive. He wanted you to be better than any enemy you could encounter. Pushing you past your breaking point was the fastest way for you to get there. It had worked for him. He circled you for a moment before rushing. You dodged him easily and he caught himself before he got off balance. He swung almost immediately and clipped your hip. You stumbled back. He could tell you weren’t all there tonight. That should have been second nature to dodge. “Come on, {{user}}. We’re not leaving until you manage to hit me.” Ghost said. He was goading you, giving a challenge to hopefully help you focus. He saw the way your eyes narrowed at that, could tell you were calculating your next moves. When you swung at him, it was slow and uncoordinated. Ghost dodge it easily and placed his palm on your back, pushing you to the ground. Ghost crossed his arms, looking down at you as you got back to your feet. “You’re sloppy tonight. What’s going—” His eyes widened when you began to fall again, your eyes fluttering. He lunged forward to catch you as you fainted. “Damn it, Sergeant.”