Hot For Teacher (Mature)

'Eh? Really??' Not only was she calmer than expected, but she didn't hate him. Makoto wasn't sure if he should still be terrified or switch to total elation. "Yes! Thank you, Sensei!" He bowed in both apology and appreciation.

Karin smiled. "Don't make me regret it... but holding a grudge would make me a hypocrite. I did the same thing once when I was younger. That said... I'm still going to be just a tiny bit vindictive today at paintball. I promise not to shoot you in the crotch though."

Makoto's relief was cut short by reality. 'I'm alive, but we're going to a place where it is legal to shoot me. Repeatedly.' Vindictive was a strong adjective... this was going to hurt. Still, all things considered, she was letting him off pretty easy. "Penance is penance, so I wouldn't complain either way... but, thank you." Makoto wished he owned a cup.

Karin shrugged. "We'll have some fun, and put this behind us. And I'll admit... considering how polite and respectful you generally are, it's somewhat flattering that you lost control like that because of me. It's always nice to know that people find you attractive. It helps that... well, I'm more accepting of things when it's not in public. When people make comments about me or do things in public, it can be degrading. It's like 'look everyone, she's an object, not a person'. It's humiliating. Takuya humiliated me yesterday. What you did... that's private. It was wrong, but I can understand it, and accept it. Does any of this make any sense to you?"

"Yes, actually." Makoto nodded. "I would never think of doing anything like that. Public matters differ vastly from private matters. Isolated incident or not, it was wrong; I just... wouldn't ever want to send the 'object' message. I feel a lot more relieved to know I didn't do that than I am relieved you don't hate me. Much more." He was prepared to simply take the torture if she hadn't known, though he's glad that was over with. It had taken less than an hour for him to nearly have a heart attack.

Karin seemed pleasantly surprised. "Well.. it's nice to know that you respect me that much... anyway, let's get going... and, I'll go easy on you when we go against each other."

Makoto blinked, not sure if he'd heard her right. No point in questioning a blessing. "Alright. I'll be ready in a minute." He finished getting ready and was waiting at the front door before too long. "All set, Sensei?"

Karin nodded, a bag of her gear and her rifle slung over her back. "Yep. I'll need you to carry this while I'm driving though, otherwise there won't be room for you behind me."

"Sure." Makoto accepted the items and threw the pack over his shoulder. Getting there wouldn't be a problem this way. The gun was lighter than he'd expected. "Huh. No problem."

The trip there was uneventful, and getting set up was fairly simplistic. To start, Karin rented out a small match field for the two of them to use. With them both in their gear, Karin instructed Makoto in using the paintball gun, and in keeping low and moving fast. "You're going to want to use cover, and minimize time spent in the open. Keep to a crouch when you can, but not so low that you can't move quickly. It's a balance, but it's important. You need to make yourself a smaller target, and make it difficult to get a good shot. Try not to stay in one place for too long; it gives your opponent time to change locations and possibly get the drop on you."

Makoto was absorbing the information on two fronts; how to utilize it to the best of his ability whilst decreasing the opponents' capacity to do so. Things like wind direction, vantage points, height difference and even solar positioning became important. In theory, he was grasping the sport soundly. In practice... that had yet to be seen. 'Thinking it' and 'doing it' were two completely different things. Plus, getting shot at may change the situation for the worst. "Got it. Mobility's key, stay stealthy, take cover often."

Karin nodded. "Now... let's see if you can put knowledge to practice." She pointed to one end of the field. "Go over to that end of the field, I'll go to the other. THen, I want you to move from cover position to cover position, using what I've told you, until you reach me. If you are moving too slow, I'll pop a shot just behind you. If you are too visible while in cover, I'll pop one over your head. Since this is 'training', I won't actually hit you."

"Right!" Makoto took off down the field to its opposite end. He ducked behind the farthest bit of cover before taking mental stock. Knowing the wind's direction did little good here since he wasn't doing the shooting. He remembered where the closest points of cover were, but only had a general idea where Ms. Littner was. Theories did little to help practice without certain knowledge. He darted into the next wall a bit clumsily, unused to running in such a strange posture. "Ugh." Makoto sighed before rushing to the next low wall, his technique slightly improved from last time.

On the second pass, a paintball wizzed behind him, followed by just over his head. She was telling him to move faster, though get lower. It was difficult, but important. It would also help him stay alive if someone was ever shooting at him with a real gun. Karin was only barely visible herself, the barrel of her gun poking out from a slot in one of the far cover positions.

The bullets passing by him were more of a learning experience than Makoto had expected. Although they were fake, he still achieved a small rush. In addition to learning his bearing was slightly off, he could guesstimate his teacher's approximate location. With every cover switch, his movements improved and his cover skill increased. Movement was coming to him fairly quickly. He made his way to Ms. Littner with only a few mistakes.

Karin was silently pleased by his improvement. When he finally reached her, she smiled, standing up. "Take my position. Now, I'm going to be the one advancing, and I want you to try and tag me with a paintball before I can reach you and do the same." She hurried over to the other side, taking cover, before calling out. "Let me know when you are ready!"

Makoto took point behind her cover. Aiming the gun felt weird, to say the least. He took a few practice shots at some nearby cover to get a feel for the shots. "Ready when you are, Sensei!"

Karin nodded. A moment later, and she darted from behind cover to the next, then almost immediately dove to the next after.

The sudden movement threw off Makoto's aim. His first shot sailed way off target. The next was closer, but he needed to start leading his shots. This was harder than it looked.

Something else happened when Makoto fired, and Karin made use of it. She suddenly vaulted her cover instead of running, and opened fire on the area Makoto was at. She knew the shots would very likely miss, but hitting him wasn't the point; keeping him from firing was, and she advance much further than was normally feesible before going back into cover before Makoto could recover.

The sudden volley completely took Makoto by surprise. He ducked behind cover while keeping watch around it's edge. Damn, she covered a lot of ground! He was a sitting duck there. As soon as she took cover again, he rushed to the side swooping low and fast. His shots were weak in terms of aim, so he decided to use his mobility to his advantage. Close was dangerous, but his best bet. In the meantime, he rolled to the next wall keeping away from the crosswind. It's on.

For some reason, Karin seemed to have disappeared. There was no sign of her at her previous position, and no indication of where she went.

'She's gone?!' Makoto leaned into his cover and quickly surveyed the area behind him. He saw no signs of her in either direction. 'Damn. High ground!' He rolled from his guard to the next wall, then zipped to the next, all the while keeping close surveylance on his surroundings. He was really getting into the swing of moving quickly, but that wouldn't do any good if he couldn't find the target! Once he took a higher position, he cautiously scanned the field for the slightest of movements. In a few seconds he'd need to move, so this was his only shot.

"You really should be careful of where you decide to take cover, and consider the possibility that someone with a rifle might also go for the high ground." The barrel pressing against the back of his head emphasized the point.

"Crap..." Makoto relaxed his shoulders; he was caught so quickly! Apparently, he wasn't so great at fully grasping his surroundings just yet. He'd thought that she would come this way, but forgot to factor in her superior speed. "Damned if that wasn't fast. And why do I get the feeling you were going very easy on me?" Well, she didn't shoot him.