Reiner - My Teacher

“No defense is better than self-defense. You can have bodyguards and stuff but at the end of the day, it’s always better if you can defend yourself as well,” Reiner stated like it should be obvious.

I didn’t like where this conversation was going at all. The fact that we were standing in a secret underground room filled with weapons wasn’t helping either.

“I see…I don’t think I can beat anyone at physical combat though…” I mumbled truthfully.

Please don’t expect me to fight. That is something that I absolutely don’t want to do. Why does he think I never took up any self-defense classes up until now? It’s because I didn’t want to.

“Probably true. If you can’t fight them, then you shoot them,” Reiner said as he reached for a small pistol that was laying on a table close to his right hand.

Please tell me that that’s not real. Although, I knew that it probably was…real.

“Huh?” I gasped in shock.

One look at Reiner’s face and I could tell that he was completely serious. Is this what he meant by the real deal starts tomorrow?

What sort of logic is that anyways? I can’t just randomly shoot people.

“I’m going to teach you how to shoot a gun. We’re not going back until I’m satisfied with your achievement,” Reiner stated.

My face felt numb, and my lips suddenly felt very dry. I can’t believe he’s being serious about this.

The words from the old man came back to me in full force.

‘If you want to be with him…you’re going to have to be very brave’

Is this what the old man meant? Did he know that Reiner brought me here for this?

“So, the next time you meet a suspicious and creepy old man like that, just shoot him dead,” Reiner said before grinning at me.

After that Reiner led me outside and after a short walk, we arrived at what was probably an outdoor shooting range. I have never shot a gun before in my life, and honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to it at all. After introducing me to various types of guns in the weapon storage room, Reiner picked up a small revolver for me. Obviously, I went along with whatever he recommended because I had no experience or knowledge in this particular area.

“Do I really have to do this?” I asked.

“Of course,” Reiner replied without a thought.

The weather was pleasant enough but the tension and nervousness that I felt was making my hand sweaty. When I came on this trip with him, I never dreamt that I would end up learning how to shoot a gun like this. Honestly, even if something were to happen to me, I didn’t think that I could shoot anyone.

Telling that to Reiner wasn’t going to change his mind though.

“First, I’ll explain to you how a gun works…” Reiner said seriously.

I listened to him explain while his hand showed me various parts of the gun. Truthfully, I was more scared than interested. However, I had to pay attention to Reiner. He’s such a good and patient teacher, honestly. I loved the sound of his voice and how his hand moved gracefully yet expertly as he held the gun in his hand and moved it around fluidly.

“Are you listening?” Reiner asked as his eyes narrowed at me.

Ok…I lost focus for a bit there. More like I was focusing on the wrong thing. It wasn’t like I could help it.

I found my teacher much more interesting than the subject that he was trying to teach me. I laughed a little to cover up my shyness at being caught before I stuck out my tongue a little.

“How did you know?” I muttered.

“Doesn’t matter how I knew. Focus, Natalia…” Reiner replied sternly.

I sighed loudly as I tried my best to focus on what he was saying and what he was showing me. The fact that we were outside, and the training ground seemed so real, precisely because it was real, made me extremely nervous. Why couldn’t he take me to a shooting range like what other normal people did?

Simple…Reiner wasn’t a normal person. I wanted to laugh and cry the same time. The sunlight reflecting off his red hair makes his hair look so magical and soft…

“Natalia…” Reiner called my name sternly.

“Right…yes…I’m listening…” I said as I snapped out of my thoughts.

“No, you’re not…” Reiner said knowingly.

I rolled my eyes at him. Shit, he caught me again. This is why he should have hired some other instructor to teach me instead. Seriously…

“What about a demonstration?” I suggested.

“You want me to show you?” Reiner asked.

“Can you?” I asked before smiling up at him.

“Sure…” Reiner replied.

Wow…I’m about to witness Reiner shooting a gun. Maybe this lesson was worth it after all. This trip…

my whole life up to this point was all worth it. I couldn’t see myself, but I was sure that my eyes must have sparkled with excitement.

“When you’re shooting someone, just aim at the center of their body. If the target is moving, that’s your best bet. Even if the target moves, you’re bound to hit him somewhere. It doesn’t matter where, just hitting your target is a good enough start,” Reiner said.

“Aha…” I mumbled.

I pray that the day never comes when I have to actually shoot someone. I mean, please. There were three targets positioned quite far from us. Narrowing my eyes, I could roughly make out the bull’s eye at the center of the target silhouette’s chest. Seeing it and hitting it, I knew were two completely different things.

“If you think you’ll get scared, you should cover your ears…” Reiner warned.

I quickly nodded and covered my ears with my hands and stepped away to give him plenty of space.

Once he saw that I was in a safe place, Reiner lifted his arm, took aim, and shot the gun with ease. I counted the gunshots as he fired rapidly until he emptied the gun. That was six rounds…

“Come here,” Reiner said as he beckoned me over to him.

After he lowered the gun, I quickly went to his side before we walked towards the targets to see the result of his impressive shooting.

--To be continued…