Liam and Hannah both took a seat on some stools, the other three students standing before them.
"Let me get this straight," Hannah said as she folded her arms and sat up straight. "Your seniors told you that the Hunter Class was notorious for fighting, constant training, and bullying."
"Yes," Bob replied, his expression downcast.
"So you decided to take that with a grain of salt, until you saw us waking up every morning to go train."
"Yes," Elona nodded dejectedly.
"Naturally, you assumed that the fighting and bullying part was only something that happened in your seniors' time, until you heard about the incident between us and the Hero Class."
"...Yeah," Bruce sighed.
Liam frowned at the three, and Hannah chuckled.
"And your response to meeting two violent bullies was to blackmail them?"
The three fell silent, then Elona and Bruce pointed at Bob.
"It was his idea," they chorused.
"Wha-hey! Traitors!" Bob hissed as he glared at them. He flinched as Hannah pointed at Liam.
"By the way, he's the one that beat up the Hero Class's ringleader, so you should apologize to him for trying to blackmail us. He's a real crazy one."
Liam leaned back in shock, then jumped as the three turned to him. Waving his hands in front of him and shaking his head, he stuttered, "P-please don't apologize to me! H-Hannah's the one th-that owns this w-workshop, so you should apologize to her instead!"
The other three gaped at Hannah, and Bob was about to prostrate himself when Hannah rushed to stop him.
"Okay,okay, I get it. Enough of the theatrics. We aren't some crazy bullies, so we're not gonna hurt you."
Bob looked up at her, a surprised smile on his face, then it slowly vanished when he saw the look on Hannah's face.
"But then again," she said, smiling with narrowed eyes. "You interrupted us, and you're now privy to an experiment you shouldn't know about. So, I'm afraid you three are going to have to be some extra muscle."
Hannah laughed as Bob paled, and Liam scratched the back of his head and gave Elona and Bruce a thumbs up.
"W-welcome to the club, I guess."
****
The next day...
"Hey you two!" Nanami laughed as he put his arms around both Jay and Liam's necks. "What're you whispering about?"
The two briefly exchanged glances before Jay turned to Nanami. "We aren't whispering," he said, "we're just not being as loud as you."
Nanami pouted. "Oh come on~ don't be like that! We're friends aren't we? Tell me what you're talking about!"
Liam sighed as Nanami began whining. As the three of them began walking to their respective dorm rooms, he glanced back to see Lisa walking with Elsie and Jason.
I'm worried about her, he thought as he turned away. That Jason guy seems to have it out for her, and I don't know much about Elsie. Maybe I should invite Lisa over to talk?...She might be busy though... hm?
Liam frowned, realizing it was quieter than before, and he glanced at Nanami. The normally loud boy had pursed his lips, and Liam turned his gaze forward to see Kazumi and Hannah standing in front of them.
It's kind of scary how his presence alone makes the group tense, Liam thought. He looked at Hannah, then frowned at the dejected expression on her face.
Did Kazumi... ask her to train?
"Um... Liam," Hannah mumbled. "Uh... Kazumi has something to say."
Liam blinked repeatedly. What kind of situation is this?! It's so awkward!
"Paxton. I'm challenging you to a sparring match today, since you're second place on the leaderboard."
Liam froze up completely. Slowly, he looked up straight into Kazumi's eyes.
"...Huh?"
Kazumi raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you forgot about the deal? All nine of you agreed to accept my challenge. You have no real justification to decline."
I know that! Dammit! Liam thought as he looked down. But... but...!
Liam's hands began to shake as memories of the time he had been thrashed by Kazumi flooded his mind.
You have no sense for combat, your reaction time is terrible, you are incapable of making split second decisions, and your decisions are horrible.
...No.
You got confident when you barely managed to dodge the attacks I let you dodge and assumed you could have gone in for the attack.
So what?
Honestly, you should quit the course right now. You have no talent for this. You were obviously born into timidity and laziness.
...I was not.
Liam scratched his hair as fear and irritation mixed together in his gut. What was it that Lee said? I needed to hear that...
"Well?" Kazumi tilted his head. "What do you say?"
Liam looked up at Kazumi's eyes and sighed. "If I don't agree to this... I'd be proving you right, wouldn't I?"
Kazumi narrowed his eyes at Liam. If he was being perfectly honest with himself, he was a bit surprised. During the entrance exam, he had been made to fight Raidou, and even though he had won in the end, he had become interested in the combat ability of everyone else in his year.
On the very first day of school, he discovered the class rankings for the entrance exam. He had completely ignored the presence of the others except Raidou during the entrance exam, so he was curious about the person who was right behind him.
Through that, he had ended up sparring against Lee, and enjoyed himself immensely. However, an unexpected guest walked in on their fight.
In Kazumi's eyes, he looked like a perfectly average person.
Meaning he was weak.
Surprised at the development, Kazumi had approached him and challenged him to a sparring match. The boy was nervous and weak-willed. He seemed to be a poor fighter, and was letting fear cloud his judgement.
Infuriated that someone so weak was right behind him, he berated the person who called himself 'Liam Paxton'. The 'ideal Liam' Kazumi had imagined was the complete opposite of the boy he had faced.
Yet somehow, Liam had refused to give up. Of course, Kazumi hadn't expected him to. He had hoped that his harsh words would do something to force Liam's growth. And he was proved right.
Kazumi smirked down at the boy who had put in constant effort since day one.
"You have no idea what 'right' you're proving."
Liam stared at Kazumi in silence, then nodded sharply. "You were the first person I fought, so it makes sense that I have to face you again..."
"I assume that means you accept?"
...I don't want to fight you, Liam thought as he remembered everything that had happened on that day. But... I didn't do all that training for nothing. I don't want my fear to make me useless... Lee said he wanted me to be a blade that can sharpen him. So I'll have to be one whether I like it or not.
"Yeah..." Liam nodded. "I'll fight you."
Kazumi stared into Liam's eyes, as if searching for something. The corners of his mouth rose a little, and he nodded back at Liam.
"Good. I'll see you in the Crucible in fifteen minutes."
Kazumi turned on his heel and left, and the tension that had fallen on the group seemed to melt away.
"Damn, Liam." Nanami stared with raised eyebrows. "I have no idea what happened, but I did not expect you to accept it just like that."
Liam sighed and raised his shaky hands. "That was scary. dude. Please don't joke around."
Nanami raised his arms in surrender, and Jay quickly walked out of their range. He hid behind Hannah and muttered, "Liam, you know you can't beat him, right?"
Liam gave Jay a blank expression as he dodged Nanami's arm. "What, do you think I'm stupid? Of course I can't win."
Liam and Jay began to run as Nanami chased after them, and Jay shook his head. "You see, that's what we call a tactical error. AKA: stupidity. Why fight a battle you can't win?"
"Well..." Liam glanced behind them for a moment, recoiling in mild disgust at Nanami, who was making strange faces.
Then, after the entrance ceremony, I went to the class to check my results. The only person there was Kazumi, and he was looking at the board intently. The moment I entered, He turned and asked me something, Can you guess what he said?
...
Fine. Have it your way. This is what he said. Pay attention now...
"Are you Liam Paxton?"
Liam furrowed his brow at the memory of Lee's words. He exhaled sharply as he and Jay leaned into a corner, then continued, "I guess... this really isn't about winning. It's more about... changing? No, 'growing' is a better word. I was timid, a pretty bad fighter—"
Jay cut him off, "You still beat me though."
Liam rolled his eyes as they took a sharp right. "I mean physically, I'm way behind a lot of people here. Lee helped me get better, but..."
Both I and Kazumi were expecting this Liam person to be a bit like us. Someone who can hold their head high, make clear judgements, and is a great fighter. Instead we have you.
You, someone with the mere potential to be all those things.
"I guess my lack of confidence wouldn't let me accept that I've grown, even a little."
Jay stared at Liam from the depths of his hoodie. Then he sighed.
"You're a lot stronger than you think. So I'm assuming this fight is to convince yourself that you've grown?"
Liam raised an eyebrow as Jay vaulted over a trash droid. "I guess... you're right."
Jay nodded. "Of course I am."
Liam stared at him in disbelief. This guy...
"Anyway," Jay said as he turned to see Nanami fall over the trash droid. He spoke as he pointed backwards, "If you want to raise your own morale, then I guess I'll have to take back my statement about you being stupid."
Liam frowned as he slowed down. "Was that supposed to be an apology?"
Jay nodded as he came to a stop and turned around. "Obviously. Was it not clear enough?"
Liam felt a vein throb in his forehead, and he calmed himself down as the two of them began to walk towards Nanami's prone body. "You could just say sorry."
"Hmm..." Jay put one hand in a pocket and the other on his chin. "Nah, sounds insincere."
Liam stared at Jay, then shrugged before shook his head, deciding not to reply. Soon, they reached Nanami, and both began a quiet debate about who would grab the electric guy's hand.
Liam lost the argument, and he squatted with a sigh.
"Hey, Nanami."
The blue-haired ball of energy groaned before looking up to see Jay standing with his hands in his pockets, and Liam squatting with a small smile, offering him a hand. "Come on, since when were you so slow?"
Nanami looked at Liam's hand in silence, then smiled as he clasped it with his own. Liam hauled him up, and Nanami laughed while scratching the back of his head, "Thanks guys."
"Don't mention it," Jay replied, ignoring Liam's pointed stare.
"So, Liam, what are you gonna do about Kazumi?" Nanami asked as he rubbed his nose.
Liam glanced at the two, then shrugged as he recalled Lisa's words.
Don't feel bad. If he does challenge me, I'll give it my all. If he challenges you, I don't expect you to not do your best.
He smiled at them as he began to turn around.
"I'll do my best, of course."