My fists rose. The silver-haired girl tilted her head and smiled. Just a little. The reflection of someone who finally finds something to bite.
"I like that," she said, and her front foot traced a light arc over the tiles.
TAP.
She launched. This time it wasn't a high kick; she twisted her waist and threw a low roundhouse grazing my knee.
PAM!
Her instep swept my calf. The pain exploded like a dry whiplash and my leg went numb instantly.
(Damn demon…!)
I stumbled backwards, and before I could regain my guard, she was already on top of me.
PLAF!
Her left fist slipped between my guards and smashed into my lip. My head snapped back, and a warm liquid ran down my chin. The taste of iron.
"Does it hurt?" she panted, her gray eyes locked onto mine.
"A little…" I spat a red drop onto the floor and raised my fists again.
(I can't catch her pattern…)
"Shit… Then I'll eat two just to land one."
I moved my feet, trying to find a rhythm. Tap-tap-tap. I feinted a jab to the face, but she read it without blinking. I pressed forward with several quick jabs, absorbing a kick to the forearms that left my bones vibrating. After several exchanges, I got into short range, where her legs lost their angle.
And then I caught her. The liver hook. Hip rotation, closed fist, and all my strength behind it.
PUMM!
The blow sounded like a wet drum. My knuckles sank just below her ribs.
"Ku…!"
The girl let out a short groan, a burst of hot air. But instead of doubling over, she pivoted on herself. Her rear leg rose in a vertical whip, aiming for my neck.
SWISH!
The air whistled in my eardrum. I pulled back, but her heel, on the return, sliced my eyebrow like a blade. A sharp sting, and then the sticky heat that soaked my eyelid.
(Damn… if that had hit me full-on…)
"Shit…"
I tried to cover up, but she cornered me against the lockers and launched a kick straight at my neck. By pure instinct, I caught it with both hands.
"Gan…!"
I didn't have time to finish. Her other fist exploded against my temple.
ZAS!
The world half-tinted red and my head bounced off the metal with a deafening CLANG! Shards of paint flew like macabre confetti.
I blinked to focus. She was in front of me, her chest heaving, her clothes soaked with sweat. From her split lip, a fine line trickled, painting her chin.
"You're good…" she said, and her voice sounded almost like a compliment. "Maybe if you had aura, you'd be a real challenge."
She reset into a low, elastic stance. I raised my fists as best I could. My knuckles burned. My eyebrow throbbed. My lip tasted like an old coin.
"You're not bad yourself…"
And then she laughed. A short, surprised laugh that lit up her gray eyes as if someone had lit a candle in a dark room.
"I like that," she repeated.
TAP.
She launched again. Low roundhouse to the knee.
PAM!
(Damn demon…!)
Her instep scythed my leg and I stumbled. Before I fell, her left fist found my face again.
PLAF!
My head whipped back and another hot line crossed my cheek.
"Does it hurt?" she panted, with a spark of excitement.
"A little…" I growled, spitting on the floor.
(I can't catch her pattern…)
Two probing jabs. Zip-zip. She dodged the first, blocked the second. She threw a straight, and I finally saw the opening. I slipped to her left and landed an upward cross to her jaw.
CRACK!
The sound was dry, clean. Her head turned, her silver mane flaring like a fan. But she didn't fall. Her legs absorbed the impact like springs.
"Damn it! Are you Terminator or what?!"
With an impossible hip turn, she returned a punch that exploded on my temple.
ZAS!
Everything happened so fast that, when I realized it, I could only see her from far away.
"No… not yet."
I tried to get up, but when I looked up, she was no longer there.
She was light-years away from me. Always one step ahead.
I could only watch as an unstoppable object came crashing toward me.
(Damn dead weight…!)
I wanted to duck, but it was useless. My body weighed like cement and I couldn't understand how there was such a difference between us.
TOMP!
Her fist passed a finger's width from my ear and smashed the next locker. The metal caved in with a clatter of scrap. A shower of paint chips and dents spattered the hallway.
"Damn it! I think I overdid it! I'm sorry!"
(Honor, bravery… to hell with that. This girl just destroyed a damn locker.)
Silence.
Only my broken breathing, the metallic echo of the lockers, and her piercing gaze.
"Hey, princess… what the hell were you doing here?"
She looked me up and down, and for an instant it was as if a she-wolf was sizing me up. But in her gray eyes there was no longer contempt; there was a curious coldness, like someone examining a raw diamond.
I swallowed and lowered my head, clasping my fingers together.
"I came to… take… you know…"
She crouched down to my level. Her breath smelled of mint gum.
"Ah… you're even smaller…"
Her hand grabbed my face. Her fingers squeezed my bruised cheeks.
"Uhhh… you're still calling me small?"
I screamed, panic-stricken, and even put my hand on her hair.
"Of course not, heavenly queen, immaculate beauty!"
She said nothing. And while my nervousness built, she remained silent, scrutinizing me. Her fingers stayed on my cheeks, pinching them lightly, as if assessing the texture of a fruit.
"Tch… okay." She straightened up and stretched her legs. "Listen, I'll make it so that nothing happened here, got it?"
My eyes lit up.
"Seriously?"
"Of course. But on one condition: you'll be my training partner."
She smiled and raised her hands like someone welcoming you to the family.
"Ah, I don't…"
I looked away. The mere mention of "no" transformed her: the spark in her eyes turned into a silent fury that froze the blood.
"…understood."
She clasped her hands and gave a little hop.
"Perfect! I'll expect you Monday afternoon. Here."
She tossed me a small pill. I caught it in the air with both hands.
"This is… some kind of supplement or magic pill?"
She looked at me as if I'd said the stupidest thing in the world.
"Just… eat it, okay? It'll ease most of the blows."
"Alright… so it is a magic pill."
She said nothing. She left through the door, and her silver mane vanished with a last flash, like mercury escaping down a drain.
I swallowed the pill. A gentle warmth spread through my body, from my stomach to my fingertips.
"Could it be some kind of forbidden pill…?"
I got up as best I could and left the locker room. Limping, bruised, but in one piece. The hallway was empty. Far away, silhouetted against the sunset light filtering through the gymnasium's stained-glass windows, I saw Misaki.
"Hello, Misaki!"
"Miss…!"
She grabbed me by the arms with a force that drew a groan from me. Her golden eyes scanned my face: the split lip, the bloodied eyebrow, the bruise on my cheek.
"What happened to you, miss?! Why are you so badly hurt?!"
"Haha… it's a long story."
(A very, very long one.)
Almost at the end of the school day.
"That's right, the great Felipe IV destroyed the plans of Countess Yuna Mashita and achieved the independence of the small country of Kazuma alongside his friend Kenji. To this day, their culture is still thriving and their—"
The history teacher wrote names and dates on the digital blackboard with an energy that belied her years. Her glasses gleamed under the light of the LED panels.
Meanwhile, I covered my head on my desk.
(Damn it! How huge is this topic?! We've been talking about it for two hours!)
My tablet had shown the same timeline for forty-five minutes. The names Felipe IV, Yuna Mashita, Kazuma, and Kenji danced before my eyes like a carousel of academic torture.
Ring-ring-ring!
The bell rang like an angelic choir.
"Ahhhh…" The teacher adjusted her glasses, with a satisfied smile. "Well, ladies, class is over for today. Remember that tomorrow is Friday, and therefore, it's the last day you can check out books from the library."
I began to happily put my things away. The sound of tablets closing, backpacks being dragged, chairs scraping against the floor was music to my ears.
Then, an intimidating presence appeared at my side.
I turned.
"Sienna…"
There stood Daisy, with her eyes very teary. Her irises glistened like gems underwater. Her orange locks fell over her face, plastered by the tears.
"Come on, come on… Tell me why you're crying, Daisy."
I stroked her soft orange hair with my open palm. Her head sank a little under my hand.
"It's just that we have exams coming and for sure Dad will be disappointed in me!"
Her sobs grew louder. Some girls who hadn't left yet glanced at us sideways as they headed for the door.
"Ah… what if we have a study group?"
She looked at me with tears still fresh.
"A study group? With who?"
Quickly, I pointed at the person sleeping on her desk, two rows behind. Her reddish head rested on her crossed arms. A thread of drool hung from the corner of her lips.
"Of course, with Arisha, me, you, and Misaki!"
"Oh…"
Daisy looked at me as if I'd described the Dream Team. Her eyes widened with a mix of hope and admiration.
"But… won't it be too hard on Misaki?"
I was surprised. I pounded my chest with my fist.
"Don't worry! I placed twentieth in my last course!"
She thought for a moment. Her fingers toyed with an orange strand.
"But, Sienna… you came in last on the last evaluation…"
(Am I an idiot?)
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
"No, seriously. I came in last? That bad?"
"Of course. As far as I remember, you didn't answer anything."
(Okay… this is going to be tough.)
"Don't worry. I've trained. So… let's go get our members!"
"How?"
"Like this. Watch and learn."
I stood up from my seat, walked to the sleeping Arisha, and leaned over her desk. Her breathing was soft, rhythmic. She smelled like strawberry gum.
"Look… if we calculate this and that but always solving for here…" I started moving the surrounding desks, dragging them with a deafening screeeech. "And then we do…"
Paf!
A smack on the rear.
"Ahhh! Damn it! Who did that?!"
Arisha shot up with volcanic fury. Her green eyes flashed sparks. Her reddish mane bristled like an angry cat.
"Run, Daisy, she's going to kill us!"
I grabbed Daisy's hand and we shot out toward the door.
"Sienna!"
Arisha chased us down the hallway, dodging the students still milling about. Her shouts echoed against the stained-glass windows. Daisy laughed and squealed at the same time.
We raced down the stairs at full speed. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap. Our footsteps were a storm of rhythm.
And then, reaching the first-floor landing, we saw her.
Our pink-haired salvation, immaculate, her usual beauty resplendent. Misaki was walking with some classmates, oblivious to the chaos about to descend on her.
"Misaki!"
I ran toward her with my arms outstretched and wrapped her in a hug that nearly knocked her over. Her body tensed for an instant before relaxing.
"Miss Sienna! What…?"
I looked back, just in time to see Arisha screeching to a halt two meters from us. Her chest heaved. Her eyes still flashed sparks. But in front of Misaki, she didn't dare attack.
And Arisha could only do nothing.
She crossed her arms and snorted.
"This isn't over, Sienna."
I smiled, still hugging Misaki.
"I know. By the way… want to join our study group?"