Yoru stood in front of the device and tried to recall all the punching tips he had seen across various corners of social media.
'Evenly distribute weight…shift your weight at the crucial moment…extend the punch and keep your elbow straight…'
Yoru threw his fist forward and delivered a fearsome strike.
The machine displayed: 13
'Hey that's better than expected!'
Unfortunately it was Caster's turn right after himself, so with the aid of his Ascended Aspect, Caster scored a 21, completely shattering Yoru's own score and his pride.
'Old bastard!'
Instructor Rock smiled.
"Not bad. Now, we will move to sparring and evaluate your general level of training. I need two volunteers to begin."
Nephis stepped forward and walked to the centre of the ring.
"The rules are simple. Make your opponent's back touch the floor or throw them out of the ring. Use whatever abilities and techniques you find appropriate."
Then she proceeded to dismantle everyone.
One after another, Sleepers stepped forward, and one after another, they fell. Each bout lasted less than five seconds. Her movements were precise and utterly devoid of wasted effort.
But rather than the actual takedowns themselves, it was more impressive how unbothered the slender girl looked whilst doing so.
She moved with grace and ruthless efficiency, as though throwing people like sacks of grain was as natural as breathing.
She moved like inevitability.
Yoru couldn't help but to compare her to himself, and paled at the idea of even trying to fight such a maniac.
But he didn't need to be scared. If anything, this would be a great learning experience. This was exactly the kind of encounter he needed to refine himself and better prepare for the trials ahead.
Defeating Nephis was out of the question, so he developed a new win condition: Land a single hit. If he couldnt even do that much then how could he hope to overcome everything coming his way. Yoru assured himself that he wouldn't lose as badly as the others.
He was no commoner!
Steeling his resolve, he walked to the centre of the ring with a strained smile on his face.
"I hope you didn't take that earlier remark about Night&Gale to offense. It was a poor choice of words is all..."
She gave him a long unreadable stare before getting into a stance, her posture so natural it looked effortless.
'I don't think she's mad, though you can never tell with this walking statue.', He mused to himself, mirroring Nephis' own stance except much more crude.
The spar began and Yoru was wary. Nephis' possessed an indomitable ability to capitalise on every strike her opponent made, this is what allowed her to sweep so many legs thus far, so taking the offensive wasn't the best option. Trickery was a much better offense anyways.
Activating his dormant ability, Yoru clicked his fingers and a water bottle shimmered into his hands. The sudden appearance of the bottle stunned the audience of Sleepers and Nephis alike. With no warning whatsoever, he threw the bottle at Nephis, lunging at her.
Such an underhanded attack would most definitely be frowned upon, but Yoru wasn't one to care about such things.
Despite her earlier reaction, Nephis simply swatted the bottle away and evaded his lunge. A sleeper from the crowd, felt the need to comment:
"Wow, that was pathetic."
Nephis advanced with calm, measured steps, her gaze never leaving him for even a second. Once she had closed the distance between them, she sent a fist flying towards his temple. Yoru quickly brought his arm up in an attempt to block the strike but the impact never came. She had feinted!
Less than a second later, Nephis unleashed a savage kick to the unguarded side of his body. Her foot connected against his abdomen, knocking the breath out of him. Through sheer grit and tenacity, Yoru managed to remain on his feet, wearing a pained expression.
Honestly, he was stunned at himself for managing to withstand such a kick. It felt like he had just been rammed against a brick wall.
'Bloodydamn that hurts. Not worse than a sword through the chest though.'
He didn't step into the ring with the intention of having his ass kicked however, so in his next move he would return the favour.
Changing Star seemingly had no flaws in her battle style, so he'd simply have to create one.
Stepping forwards, Yoru muttered words just loud enough for Nephis to hear:
"Aster…Song…Vale"
For the briefest heartbeat, Nephis faltered. The words he had just uttered seemed to cut through the mask of indifference she usually wore and brought him a second of opportunity.
Not daring to waste such a chance, Yoru shifted his weight and with a sharp motion, delivered a punch directly to her chest.
Or so he thought.
To his horror, the desired effect he wanted those words to have on her seemed to have come undone quicker than expected. Nephis had somehow managed to catch his fist in an iron grip, pivoting - she dipped her shoulder under his arm and her hips turned with fluid grace.
'No…not like this!'
The entire world flipped.
The air was driven from his lungs as his back slammed into the mat. The sound echoed in the dojo, sharp and final. For a heartbeat he lay there, stunned, staring at the ceiling beams as though they held the answers to life itself.
Then her face filled his view. Silver hair, eyes of steel, her stare heavy enough to crush him flat.
"Who are you?"
****
Nephis' tone was impassive but a hint of caution lingered within it.
She had masked her panic expertly, but the fear still remained. She stared at the boy beneath her who had stars for eyes. His words still rang throughout her head, causing swathes of panic and alarm to course through her body.
"Aster…Song…Vale."
It was just minutes before that they shared mundane conversation about idols. And now that same person uttered words that threatened her very life.
How did he know of the Sovereigns? No Sleeper should know of their existence. Not even assassins trained in the shadows of the Great Clans. And yet… this boy did.
Her mind cut through possibilities with practiced speed. 'Was it Song? Valor? Did one of them send him? Yoru… I don't recall a Yoru among the great clans. A vassal, perhaps?'
Paranoid thoughts battered at her, but her face remained unchanged. Years of training had carved her into someone who could not afford to wear fear openly. Her expression stayed cold and disciplined.
Yoru grinned.
"That's a tough question. I'd like to say I'm a divine miracle who grants wishes. But now's not the time for such an introduction. So…I'm what you decide I should be. An ally, a friend or a foe.
Perhaps all of the above."
Nephis chewed on his words and tried to make sense of whatever nonsense he had just said. His response was so needlessly cryptic that it frustrated her. Was it because they were in the view of the public?
That was likely.
Nephis extended a hand and helped him up. Her gaze remained cold, indifferent, giving nothing away.
Yoru rose, grinned again, and turned his back on her, strolling toward the waiting Sleepers as if nothing had happened.
But her eyes lingered on him a moment longer, steel-grey and searching.
****
Yoru had messed up.
He hadn't intended to give Nephis even the slightest idea that he could be a threat but he had done so anyways. Why?
He was petty.
His pride wouldn't let him accept such a defeat and not get back at her. He wanted to give her a scare for defeating him in such a way and look how that turned out. He not only failed to beat Nephis but he couldnt even land a single hit. Even after employing such underhanded tactics, she still came out on top. It was pitiful.
He had boasted about how he was a divine miracle and even dared to think he could save the world, but after his loss today, he had no right to make such claims.
He was a fraud.
It took only a couple hours for him to ruin his relationship with the two protagonists, who were his strongest potential allies. One thought he wanted to kill her and the other hated his guts.
Who else could land themselves in such a predicament other than a fool like himself?
Not that the situation couldn't be resolved. All he had to do was make it clear to Nephis that he wasn't an enemy, and for Sunny…well…he'd figure something out. Both of these endeavours would be difficult to accomplish though, as they both relied on trust: a fickle thing that's hard to maintain, let alone restore.
With a sigh, Yoru stood up from his seat in the Locker room and thought to himself, 'Being wimpy and scolding myself won't change anything…I need to act.'
Besides, Nephis and Sunny weren't his only concerns. He needed strength - which also meant to grant wishes. So that would be his focus for now. He'd worry about his problem children some other time.
A/N: I think it's at this point in the story that you realise Yoru really is just a regular guy. Now of course things will change and he will develop but I felt he needed to learn his position in the world and exactly just how difficult his ambitions would be to achieve.
This Academy arc is turning out to be pretty long but I personally believe that it should be a much more fleshed out rather than breif, part of the story unlike some other fanfics that I've read. This is just a note to say that the time at the academy might be longer than I expected, maybe 5 chapters or more. And once this is over i will be taking a break to thoroughly plan out the forgottten shore.
You guys have no clue how happy it makes me that people genuinely enjoy reading this. It really means a lot so I will make sure not to drop this and disappoint you guys!