The horizontal slash barely missed Kael by inches as his body swayed like a wind. His hair ruffled in the breeze from the blade that passed by.
Kenji's straight thrust was deflected into a harmless diagonal that slid past his shoulder by his already-present bokken.
*CLACK-THWACK-CRACK!*
Their movements caused chaos in the courtyard. Kenji's violent attacks came in unrelenting waves as he swung his wooden sword like a hurricane. Exhaustion and frustration caused his breathing to become spent.
"ORAAA!" he roared, putting everything behind a series of overhead strikes.
Kael can sense Kenji's intent with every swing, and his body would sway just out of reach. He sensed where he was aiming and where his sword would be, gently guiding the thrust aside rather than blocking it.
Kael remained composed. His feet barely touched the gravel as he swayed and turned. His bokken was a silent, powerful shield, and his movements were graceful.
Kenji's blade was sent wide by a gentle parry that used his own momentum against him in response to each of his strong swings. Kenji's grunts of effort accompanied the otherwise quiet courtyard with a steady, sharp rhythm of clack-clack-thwack.
"Stand and fight, coward!" Kenji let out a roar, his anger exploding. Sweat had now matted his neatly combed hair. He breathed in rough gasps. Despite throwing everything at Kael, he had failed to land a single clean hit. He had the impression that he was hitting water.
"I am not your enemy, Tanaka-san," Kael said, his voice still calm, though his own body was coiled with a quiet readiness.
The words only enraged Kenji further. "Don't you mock me!" he screamed, and gathered himself for one final, powerful attack.
He concentrated all of his anger and pride into a single, devastating thrust that was directed straight at Kael's center mass. This time, there was no tricky combination or feint. Just overwhelming, pure force.
RAAAHHHHH!"
The blow was powerful enough to break bone and, if it made contact, put a definitive end to the battle. But as it came down, Kael experienced that familiar feeling—time slowing, his senses widening until he could see the trajectory of the attack as clearly as if it were drawn in the air.
This time, Kael didn't just defend. As Kenji's bokken leaped forward, Kael moved. Stepping slightly sideways, he let the thrust slide harmlessly past his ear in one smooth motion that was almost too fast to follow. He didn't aim for Kenji's head or body. At the exact angle and moment, his bokken swept up in a flawless diagonal cut, stopping Kenji's downward strike.
*CRACK!*
Both of their arms trembled from the impact, but Kael's method was preferred by physics. After being completely knocked out of his grasp, Kenji's bokken spun through the air and landed ten feet away in the gravel with a hollow *THUNK*.
However, Kael's counter did not end there. The arc of his blade continued, and it came to rest with its tip barely touching Kenji's neck, close enough that a single drop of sweat trickled across the wooden edge and down Kenji's throat.
The courtyard fell absolutely silent.
Kenji's eyes were wide with shock as he stood motionless. For the first time since the start of the duel, his face was devoid of all pretense and arrogance as his chest heaved with fatigue.
He appeared to be a seventeen-year-old boy who had recently realized that the world was much bigger and more complicated than he had ever thought it would be.
"Are you alright, Tanaka-san?" he asked, his voice soft, filled with genuine concern.
Kenji's face flushed with rage and shame. He slapped Kael's offered hand away with a trembling palm and turned, storming off without another word. His friends rushed to gather his bokken, but kept their heads low, silent now.
Kael's shoulders drooped as he watched him leave. Despite winning the spar, he didn't feel like he had won. All he had wanted was peace, but instead he had made things worse. He let out a sigh.
From the crowd, a quiet voice broke the silence.
"He did it again after his fight Park Jimin," Lucien Moreau murmured, adjusting the cybernetic interface behind his left ear. The glint of data lit his lenses. "No wasted movement… his balance is unnatural."
Arjun Kapoor crossed his thick arms and tilted his head, nodding once. "That's... something else."
Beside them, Mina Saito's expression was unreadable. She shifted the weight of her bokken on one shoulder, watching Kael without blinking.
"His center of gravity never broke," she said quietly. "Even while defending."
Near the garden stairs, Ayane Nakamura clutched her tablet to her chest, eyes wide. "That was... incredible," she whispered to herself.
Around them, students murmured in whispers. Some looked in awe. Others with apprehension. A few with envy.
Where Kenji had stood, Kael bowed once toward the empty space. Then he put the wooden blade away in the rack and returned to the stream of students going by, silent and quiet, like nothing happened.
The afternoon sun bathed the glass towers in gold. Class periods would resume soon. The hallways buzzed with energy again.
The Yamashiro Institute's corridors were starting to fill up once more, but this time the talk was about holo-diplomacy competitions, simulation rankings, and stock prices. It had to do with Kael.
As he passed the students in uniform and the glass-paneled lecture halls, whispers trailed behind him. Their low, curious murmurs, barely concealed by coffee cups and earpieces, were neither loud nor mocking.
"Was it really just a wooden sword?"
"He didn't even swing hard…"
"Tanaka's still shaking, did you see?"
"Where did he learn to fight like that?"
Kael continued to walk after slinging his school bag over one shoulder. He avoided making eye contact. He was embarrassed by the attention he hadn't requested, not because he was ashamed.
He was halfway down the spiral corridor when someone fell into step beside him.
"Kael-kun," came a familiar voice, warm and cautious.
He turned, surprised to see Ayane Nakamura—shoulder-length black hair tied in a low ponytail, her expression a mix of relief and mild scolding.
"Oh… Nakamura-san," he said, smiling awkwardly. "Good afternoon."
"Morning?" she blinked at him. "You just fight with one of the most famous students in the school, and you're greeting me like you just woke up from a nap?"
Kael rubbed the back of his neck, flustered. "I-I didn't… I mean, I didn't want to fight, really. I have no choice…"
Ayane stopped in front of him, frowning gently. "You were incredible. But are you okay? He insulted your mother, Kael. And then you look awesome."
At the mention of it, Kael's expression faltered.
"I'm fine," he said softly. "I just… couldn't let that slide. Not about her."
Ayane looked at him. He was still Kael, with his characteristic softness, his uniform blazer that was a little too big, his wide, honest eyes, and the faint scratches that were still on his knuckles. However, he had appeared completely different for a brief moment in the courtyard earlier.
"You really don't know how terrifying you are when you get serious, do you?" she said, crossing her arms.
Kael blinked, startled. "Terrifying?"
Ayane smiled, half fond, half exasperated. "It's not a bad thing. Just… don't lose that gentleness, okay?"
He looked away, cheeks reddening slightly. "I don't think I could, even if I tried."
She nudged him with her elbow. "C'mon, hero. Class is starting soon. And if we're late, Sensei Kuroda will make us do hand calisthenics while reviewing quantum harmonics."
Kael groaned. "Ugh… I'd rather spar with Tanaka again."
They walked side by side, the conversation lightening, even as a dozen more sets of eyes followed Kael's retreating figure.