Kiah joined the others already gathered on the floor. Most sat cross-legged, their backs straight, their eyes shifting anxiously. Thorne hadn't arrived yet, but the tension was high.
She slipped back into her group like she hadn't abandoned them minutes ago.
"The prodigal child returns," Kira muttered without glancing at her.
"How was the spicy beef? It looked like you enjoyed it." Naya asked with a pout.
"Look at her shamelessly crawling back after tasting luxury." Wayne chimed in last.
Kiah scratched the back of her head, trying not to meet any of their eyes. "It wasn't like that."
"Oh? Then what was it like?" Naya pressed. "I thought we were supposed to suffer together. Tell me honestly, did you even think of saving us a scrap of beef?"
"...No," Kiah whispered.
Naya clutched her chest dramatically. "Shame. On. You."
Before Kiah could reply, Kira raised a hand, silencing the dramatics with a casual wave. She stood and moved closer to Kiah, plopping down beside her. Closer than usual. Their arms brushed slightly.
Kiah blinked. Kira had never sat this close before. She threw a confused, almost panicked look at the others, who both looked equally baffled.
"Tell me," Kira began, her tone laced with open confusion, "how did you and Warden Eden get that close? How does someone as incredible as her end up friends with someone like… you?"
The way she said it made Eden sound like some divine being, and Kiah like a bug she'd graciously decided not to squash.
Kiah gave her a flat, unimpressed look, but Kira barreled on, completely ignoring it.
"She even bought you breakfast. That's unheard of. I've been dying to meet her. Can you introduce us?"
Kiah blinked.
"You could just walk up and say hi. She's actually very friendly."
Kira snorted and turned away with a dramatic shake of her head. "Never mind. I like my limbs intact."
To be honest, she'd never understood why people were wary of Eden so much. Sure, she was a skilled killer, but in private, she was… fluffy and cute.
"She wouldn't—"
"She's not called Ghost Blade for nothing," Naya cut in, serious. "She could dismember you before you even know what's happening."
"But she only does that to the bad guys," Kiah argued, genuinely confused.
"I wouldn't risk it." Kira shrugged.
Their banter faded the moment Thorne stepped up onto the platform.
The room instantly quieted.
"Good day, Initiates," he said, his sharp voice slicing through the air. "I'm Warden Thorne. And your first day of combat… has officially begun."
***
"Today," Thorne began addressing the room, "we are going to start with something simple. The screen will randomly select two people to spar. You'll step forward onto the mat and fight until someone taps out, or hits the floor with their backs."
He crossed his arms, gaze sharp. "This is a test of strength, so don't hesitate to knock your opponent down."
The screen blinked to life, and two faces popped up — Wayne and a girl.
"Wish me luck," Wayne muttered under his breath as he rose to his feet.
"Good luck," Naya whispered back, patting his arm.
Wayne stepped onto the mat, calm but slightly hesitant on seeing his opponent. When Thorne signaled the match to start, the girl struck first, launching a fist straight toward his face. He dodged neatly, but did not retaliate.
The girl threw a couple more blows, but Wayne still seemed hesitant to strike back.
Thorne's face twisted in irritation.
"What's this?" he snapped at Wayne. "There is no such thing as a fairer gender here. You all have an equal chance of dying out there. Don't insult her by holding back. She can take it. Fight her like you'd fight your enemy."
Wayne nodded stiffly and dropped back to his stance.
This time, when she lunged, he didn't hesitate. He sidestepped, grabbed her waist, and flipped her clearly onto her back with a thud.
The match was over.
The girl sat up, gave Wayne a tight nod of respect, and walked off the mat without a word.
The screen shuffled again. More names came. There were more matches. One by one, the initiates were called and tested. Wayne, Kira, and even Naya had taken their turns.
Naya had put up a solid fight, landing a few decent hits. Her opponent was a girl whom she easily overpowered and slammed to the ground. Everyone was surprised. Turns out she sparred a lot with her siblings at home and was quite versed in slamming people.
Now, only one person from their group hadn't been called.
Kiah.
She knew it was coming. The screen shuffled and paused. Kiah's face appeared next to a bulky boy with arms the size of her head.
Kiah stared at the screen. Then, at the boy. Then back to the screen.
She stood and made her way to the mat. Her opponent did the same. As they faced each other, Kiah tilted her head up to meet his gaze. He was at least a head taller than her, twice her width, and built like a brick wall.
She sighed. 'This is hardly fair.'
"Isn't this interesting?" Thorne muttered from the sidelines.
Kiah didn't turn to him and instead kept her eyes on her opponent, already calculating for a weak point.
A low whistle sounded.
"Start!"
The boy charged at her, faster than she expected for his size. A fist swung for her face, and she narrowly ducked, feeling the air ripple past her cheek. If not for Eden's occasional training, she was confident she wouldn't have been able to move away in time.
She barely had time to recover when an elbow slammed into her gut, knocking the air clean from her lungs. She staggered, reeling backwards, but stayed on her feet.
Barely.
Her opponent didn't let up. He threw blow after blow. She dodged what she could, but a few hits met their mark. Thorne's "equal treatment" speech must have really fired him up.
Eventually, his rhythm faltered. Maybe he was getting tired, or perhaps he was getting too cocky — from the look on his face, Kiah figured it was the latter — he slowed down.
Kiah took her chance. She curled her fingers like she saw the others do and drove her fist into the jaw with everything she had. She had studied his body language during the spar and deduced that it was the best spot to bring him down. His weak point.
His head jerked to the side, and the crowd let out a soft gasp.
Her opponent was disoriented, shaking his head like he was dizzy.
The hit was perfect, and he was open. This was the perfect time to end this.
But she hesitated for a second.
Watching him trying to shake off his dizziness, something stirred within her. She couldn't bring herself to knock him down in that state.
In her moment of contemplation, the boy's head whipped back. He grabbed her shoulder in a crushing grip and slammed his forehead into her face.
A crackling sound was heard.
Pain exploded behind her eyes, and the world tilted sideways. Her legs buckled, and she hit the mat with a heavy thud, blood streaming from her nose. Her eyes turned watery from the pain.
Through the haze, she saw a figure with blue hair.
Thorne stood over her trembling body, arms crossed.
"Disappointing," he said coldly. "Never hesitate to strike your enemy down."
Kiah groaned as she propped herself up slowly. She could feel a headache building up.
"Someone help her to the infirmary—"
Kiah shook her head.
"I can go by myself. I don't need help." she rasped, already standing up.
She got up, refusing to meet anyone's gaze and slowly left the training room.