Date - 21st June 2004
Place - ???
Time - ???
(Narration)
"Ugh… Huh…where am I…? How did I get here…?...I don't remember coming out in the streets and just standing still at a random place… It's daytime but nobody's around, that's odd…" Lucy whispered to herself, standing in the middle of some road with houses around, "I won't get anywhere if I just stand here so I should walk"
tap tap
tap tap
"There's…so much fog, I can barely see a thing! Not even the houses are visible anymore…"
CRUNCH
'Hm? Did…did I step on something? This place is giving me the creeps…' She thought as she crouched to look at her feet.
"Eh?! It's some sort of liqui-!" She exclaimed but stopped as she saw what it was after she touched it.
drip drip drip
Her fingers were covered in blood which dripped down, the sound of which rang within her ears in this eerie silence.
"What…is this?!" She exclaimed, her breathing became heavier and faster by the second.
'Calm down me…calm down, need to figure out wha-'
CRUNCH
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something breaking as she stood up and took a step back. It was an arm she stepped on, the body to which the arm connected was lying dead on the ground, the neck was slashed and the stomach had multiple stabs on it.
'Who…did this…'
You did it.
Someone said through the dense fog, the voice echoed throughout.
'?! Who…' The fog started fading away and she started looking around to understand where she was but,
You seem surprised, is something wrong?
The anonymous voice said once again as countless dead bodies covering the entire ground came in sight after the fog cleared up. Men, women, old people, children; not only the ground but even houses, trees, electric poles, trash bins had such bodies lying on them which a crimson moon in the dark sky illuminated.
'W-why…so many bodies…everywhere…what is th-?!' She looked towards her trembling hand which was clutching onto a bloody knife.
THUD!
"NO…!!" She exclaimed as she dropped the knife and fell on her buttocks.
"WHAT DID WE DO TO YOU THAT YOU KILLED US" shrieked one of the corpses as it grabbed her feet.
'?! I…did this…? No…no…NO! What are you saying?! I didn't do this!" She exclaimed, forcing her feet out of the corpse's clutch and stood up quickly about to fly away from this hell.
Why lie to yourself?
Said the voice once again and a dark silhouette stumbled closer from a distance, stepping on the corpses. An unnerving presence which had a face and appearance that belonged to someone else.
'Isn't that…' Lucy wanted to say that but voice wouldn't come out of her throat as she looked at the silhouette who was standing right in front of her. Now its appearance much more clear, 'it' was she herself. 'It' had soulless eyes, untied hair and tears constantly streaming down but there was no speck of sadness on its face; just a plain emotionless face.
You are the one responsible for all of this, you did it.
"No…no…I didn't-!" As Lucy said that, the countless dead bodies around her slowly started moving their broken hands, the sound of bones breaking and crackling filled up the place as they crawled towards her. Then, one of them grabbed her feet, digging its fingers into them, "?!"
They started to drag her down and climb her.
'Why…why am I unable to fly?! Why am I unable to use energy?!' She thought as she tried to get away, forcefully turning around and shaking the corpses off of her.
It is useless, you cannot run, this is your fate, our fate.
The corpses started to pull 'it' as well.
thud!
Lucy fell to the ground as she tried to run and the hundreds of corpses covered her sight.
"NOOOOO!!!" She screamed and then everything went dark.
…
"GASP! PANT PANT… A dream…?" She whispered waking up on her bed and turned towards the clock beside the bed, it was morning.
"A-another…nightmare…" She whispered, holding onto herself tight, shaking as tears rolled down her face.
I
Place - North District, Home
Time - 8:40 pm
(Brax)
snap!
'Where am I going wrong…why can't I do this?!'
I want to scream that but I can't as it's night time and shouting would be a disturbance for the people trying to sleep.
It's been a week since I started training after coming here and also been a week since this trial was given to me by Si…s (it still feels odd to call her that…) which is to not break the rock as I pass energy into it but…I haven't made any progress at all so far! It's a little frustrating to try so much for something but getting no results at all. The worst part is that she won't teach me anything ahead unless I get past this stage… Can I really do this…? All things said though, even this is unbelievable…I have the power to shatter a stone just like that? It's almost unreal…and the fact that this is just the beginning of many other such things…I can't give up here!
snap!
…
AAAAAAHHHH WHERE AM I GOING WRON-
"Hey, dinner's ready"
"Oh…alright"
I reply to Feirin who's standing in my room. Perhaps eating firs-
SLAM
What was that just now…it sounded like something heavy fell…both me and Feirin go in the hallway-
"M-Master…? Are you alright?" Feirin asked Lucy who's…lying on her back in front of the staircase…
"Uh…yeah…I just hadn't gotten enough rest so I was half asleep and slipped on the stairs…" she says, still lying on the floor…there are bags under her eyes.
"Anyways! Let's eat up before the food gets cold!" she said as she stood up on her feet, "What are the dishes for the day chef?"
"Yakisoba noodles, miso soup and okonomiyaki" Feirin replied.
"Feirin made food today?"
I asked as I sat on my seat beside Feirin. Ever since I've come here, it's always been Lucy who made food but this time it's him instead… I realised something the next day after I came here, and it's that food made by different people has different tastes. The food which I ate was ordered on the telephone from a resta…ruant (I think that's what it's called?) and the food I ate the next day was made by Lucy but there was a clear difference in the taste even though some of the dishes were the same (All of it was good for me but Feirin seemed to be quite critical of it…). So I wonder how today's dinner will taste.
"Yep, we alternate with each week, next week it'll be me who cooks again and then him but now that you are here, perhaps we should include you in the mix too"
Me? Learning to cook…in the case that it does so happen that I am…left on the streets again…would cooking come in handy? I would need some utensils and items first to even cook at all which I may not even find…but if I do find the items then I should be able to make something at leas-
"Oi!" Feirin exclaimed and pointed at the food.
! Oh…I was lost in thought that I forgot I had to eat… I pick up the chopsticks and start eating. UWA! IT REALLY IS SO GOOD TO EAT ACTUAL FOOD!
"So, any progress with that step yet?" she asked.
"sigh"
I shake my head saying no, which she almost seems to have a satisfied expression…I look towards Feirin who's silently eating his food, ever since I've come here, we have barely talked. Talking with him feels much more difficult than Lucy…
"It'll probably take some more time before you get the trick to doing it, let's eat up for now!" she said as she started drinking the soup. I still can't have enough of all of this food…it's all so delicious! I grab the bowl and-
"Gah! cough cough"
So hot! My tongue is burning! How'd she drink it without burning her tongue!
"Tch, there's a proper way of drinking soup, give it here" Feirin said and snatched my bowl… He's been spinning it with the spoon for a minute now…(give it back I want to drink it…I can feel my mouth watering…)
"Here, blow it a little before drinking, just like how I am doing" he says as he shows me how he's drinking his own soup. I do as he says…oh! It's not as hot anymore! (I quickly gulp it all down, so tasty!)
But he kept spinning it until it got colder huh…wait…oh!
"Your expression…seems like you thought up something interesting" Lu…Sis says (can she read my mind…?)
"I-is it that obvious? (She's nodding)...I have something to show you after dinner"
I say and continue eating.
"I see" she says with that smug face again…it's a little different this time though…almost as if there's a joy of curiosity in it rather than for the sake of teasing me.
II
Time - 8:27 pm
It's been about a week since I've been on this step of learning how to control…what was it called again…soul energy yes. For this part that I am stuck on, I need to pass 'energy' into a stone and not break it which is exactly what I've been unable to do as the stone always snaps into some pieces but that changes now (I think).
I pick up one of the many stones in the yard and hold it in my palm…I can feel it…something passing through my hands into the stone but this time…don't pass too much of it and…
I open my hands…! It's…not broken!
"Look Lu-Sis! I did it! The stone didn't break this time!"
"H…how could this be?!" she…has a horrified expression…if I don't remember it wrong, I cleared the steps before this one much faster than her from back when she first did her training, could it be…
"Did I do it faster??"
I asked (...wait, why's she making that mischievous face again…).
"Nope! Not at all! It took me only three days to do this part whereas you took more than a week! Boo!" Eh? Then why…
"Then why were you surprised just now…?"
"That was just me teasing you" She says with…a very proud look…again, I fell for her trap…
"But, what you did for the stone to not break wasn't a bad method, you passed a certain amount of energy into it and kept spinning it within. That's one way of doing it, pretty good"
"One way? There's more than one answer?"
I ask (Also…how did she know what I did…)
"Yes there's another one which is even more simple and that is to not pass energy at all"
…? Eh?
"Wait wait…so it would've been fine even if I didn't pass any energy into the stone at all? I thought that was a necessary part of it!"
"Both the methods get to the same conclusion and that is controlling of energy. It sounds easy when I say 'just don't pass any energy' but it's a little more deeper than that. When you hold a stone and concentrate on your palm, 'energy' will pass into it regardless whether you want to or not, you can't just simply stop the flow unless you learn how to control it. Therefore both the method you did of rotating the energy or just simply not passing energy at all achieve the same goal, did you understand what I just said?"
"I…think?"
"Pft, well it'll work out as long as you are able to do it, it's like muscle memory"
Muscle memory? What's that? I should ask about it when she teaches me about things like she has been since this past week.
"Anyways, now that you've completed this step, it's time for the final step"
The next step is the final one? That means,
"You have to mold your energy into a sphere now"
Making energy into a sphere…I can do that already…? No, doubting myself won't do any good. After all, I could do the first two steps just fine.
"Put your hand up and give it a try" she said and sat near my room's window. Mimicking the way of how she made energy into a sphere, I bring my left hand up to the level of my chest and concentrate with my eyes closed.
...whirl
! I open my eyes…it's very small, only a little bigger than a dot but it's there-!
poof!
It vanished already…? I am out of breath…
"It'll take some time before you are able to maintain it properly. Sustain it for twenty seconds at…this size" she says as she creates one within her palm which is about the size of a baseball. Twenty seconds at that size…can I-no I won't doubt myself, I can do it!
"We can continue this tomorrow yawn…let's sleep for now"
"I…I'll try practicing for a while…I'll sleep in a bit"
I say and put my hand up once again.
"I see yawn, don't overdo it or you'll be too exhausted. Goodnight! See you tomorrow" she said as she went inside.
…
"pant…pant…"
It's only been about thirty minutes…but I am so tired…it hasn't gotten any bigger at all…it's barely a little bigger than a dot…
whirl
poof! thud!
"pant…pant…pant…"
I can't do it anymore…I am so tired that I fell on my back…I am also…sleepy now…
(Narration)
"sigh…don't just sleep in the yard like this" Lucy said to herself as she stood beside the sleeping Brax who had completely dozed off in the yard.
'You really are like me, at least in the case of being stubborn that is…practicing on hours end then just falling asleep afterwards' she thought to herself as she sat on her feet staring at his sleeping face.
'That's why you should just kill him'
Her eyes widened as that echoed in her head. It was her voice yet not hers; she whimpered and trembled at the insane thought, holding onto her mouth with both her hands as she felt the urge to vomit and ran inside.
III
Place - ???
Time - ???
(Brax)
"Argh…hrm…"
My head feels heavy…I open my eyes…huh? Where am I? How did I come here…I am standing on the roof of a building…and there's many other buildings all around…the night sky is filled with stars but there's no moon, strange… What was I-
!! I remember now! I was trying to maintain energy in the form of a sphere then laid down for a bit and…maybe I slept? So how did I come here…?
"Brax"
? Someone called my name, I turned around to look at-...it's a person who's glowing white from head to toes! No way…is this…A GHOST?! IT'S WALKING TOWARDS ME!
"H-hey don't c-come closer! O-or else I-I'll shoot you with a blast!"
"Calm down, I am not going to hurt you" …it says as it lends its hand to me (It's a little taller than me and there's no face, it's a person glowing white…even the long hair is glowing white!)…I stare at the hand then at its 'face' for a moment…then take it…ohh…it's warm…wait why am I here again…? …Oh! I know!
"This is a dream right? Which is why none of this makes any sense!" I exclaim, leaving its hand, and look around, "I was trying to do something just a moment ago and now I am at a completely different place which doesn't make any sense! There's no moon in the sky either!"
"That's because I am the Moon" it says…? Moon? This thing?...Well dreams don't actually ever make sense so this shouldn't really be anything unnatural…
"Before coming here, you were trying to maintain energy in the shape of a sphere right?" (I nod)
"Put your hands forward" (I put my left hand upfront)
"Both of them, like this"
Oh alright. I put both my hands upfront in the manner the spirit wants me to, keeping both of them against one another.
"Now, close your eyes and focus. Imagine a ball within the space between your palms and don't break concentration"
Imagine a ball? Alright…a ball…a ball…a ball…a ball… What's a ball? It's an object which can be used for playing games. What shape is it? Circular. What's the size? …about as big as my fist but perfectly round and spherical…that's a bal-
whirl…WHIRL!
I can feel it! I ope-
"Don't open your eyes, it's unstable so continue focusing"
Oh…alright…I did get a slight glimpse of it, it's a little bigger than before but I feel even more tired…
WHIRL!
…whirl
I can still feel it but it feels…calmer than earlier?
"Now, open your eyes slowly"
"I can?"
"Yeps" (yeps? I guess that means yes, I open my eyes very, very slowly)
"gasp…ooh…"
It's there…in between the space of my palms, in the shape of a ball, huh? The spirit also has its hands in the same shape as me towards the ball.
"You did give it a form but it was unstable so I stabilized it a little, this is how you make one" it says and takes its hand back.
"Stabilized?"
"Erm…it means I gave the ball's form a proper flow and corrected its shape"
Ooh…so this is how I make one huh… It's still a little smaller than the one Lucy made but much bigger than the ones I could make before! I bring it close to my face, it's floating within my hands…this is so cool! I can't believe that I am the one who made thi-
tap!
thud
Huh? What just happened…? I think I fell down (Did the spirit flick my forehead with its finger?) The energy ball dissipated as I fell and I can hear the sound of the flick echoing all around a little.
"It's time to wake up now Brax" I can see it walking past me…my eyes…they are…getting closed against my will… "All the best"
The wondrous stars in the night sky and the many dazzling lights from the buildings including this roof I am on…they are slowly crumbling away…leaving nothing but darkness behind…
"Wait…than…k you…"
I said as my eyes closed…
IV
Date - 22nd June 2004
Place - North District, Home
Time - 6:58 am
(Narration)
"AAHHH!!" Brax screamed as he opened his eyes and sat up straight.
"WAHHH?! WHAT HAPPENED WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING?!" Lucy exclaimed who's sitting at the table.
(Brax)
"Eh…? Ah, so it really was a dream!"
"...a nightmare…?" huh? Lucy is in my room? Wait, how did I get in here? Wasn't I in the yard? (...Did she carry me again…?)
"No, nothing like that, it was just a strange dream"
I say and stretch a little, hmm? The bags under Lucy's eyes…they've gotten worse…
"I see…that's good…"
"Lucy, Are you alright? Have you slept at all?"
"Erm…is it that obvious? (Yes it is) Ahaha, I've been having quite a few nightmares that's why I haven't had any proper sleep, that's all…sigh…it should be gone sooner or later so it's fine!" she says, her eyes closed and head lying flat with cheeks pressing against the table, she looks like an annoyed child…
I look at the clock, it's almost 7 in the morning so there's still time before I start training but it feels like I should be able to do it much better this time around…I know it was a dream but…I want to try it out once, closing my eyes, I put both my hands together just like the spirit told me and close my eyes to focus. The shape…of a ball…
(Narration)
"I told you not to overdo it yesterday night, if I didn't see you in mornin-!" Lucy stops as she opens her eyes the instant she feels the energy nearby and sees the boy shaking on his bed with his eyes closed, not heeding attention to anything else in his surroundings.
whirl…!
'…He's making it, there's an energy ball between his palms, it's still small but it's there…how did he already figure out the trick to focusing on his own so quickly…? I don't remember telling him to use both his hands or closing his eyes…' she thought as she saw the energy ball he was desperately trying to sustain.
poof!
"PANT…PANT…"
'He kept it up for about ten seconds…inte…stin-!"
thud!
She thought and fell asleep on the table.
(Brax)
"Eh?!...Lucy…are you alri…"
Oh she's fallen asleep that's all…I don't think that was twenty seconds but…hehe, I could feel despite my eyes closed that it was much better this time!
"snore…! snore…!"
Eh? Pfft…I didn't know she snores when asleep but she hasn't slept well so maybe that's the reason why? This isn't her room but looking at her sleep, best that I don't wake her up…
V
Time - 1:23 pm
"Ahem! Today we are a little late to start because of an unfortunate mishap which I am sorry about"
Lucy says as she stands in the middle of the yard, (I am sitting near the window of my room) she was asleep until about twenty minutes ago and I was trying to sustain the energy ball (but she doesn't know that).
"Today we will learn something new apart from controlling energy, (huh?) but before that, it's important to reach the end for the current step. So show me your progress"
"Reach the end?" Feirin says as he walks into the yard from my room, "You mean to say that he can already sustain his energy in the form of a ball for twenty seconds in just a day? That sounds ridiculous, it took me three days. Don't tell me…you told him the trick and didn't let him figure it out on his own? You didn't tell it to me when I was doing this part!"
"Calm down, calm down! I didn't! Instead…it appears that he himself figured it out because he's smarter than you heh" she says as she stops Feirin and looks with that…smug expression (I don't think it'd be a good idea to tell them that I was told about the 'trick' by something in my dream)
"Tch, is that so? Let's see it then, even so he shouldn't be able to keep it up for even ten seconds much less twenty"
"Who knows~ what if he does do it though?" Lucy's smug smile seems to expand across her face as she says that…she was there when I did it in the morning which was seven seconds…
"Huh? You really have a lot of confidence in this brat huh? Alright then, if he manages to do it then I'll make not only the dinner but also the breakfast, lunch and wash the dishes for this week"
"Next week as well" she says…which annoys Feirin.
"Sure, SURE! WHY NOT! LET'S SEE IT THEN" (he really doesn't seem to like me…)
I noticed that if I keep trying overtime without giving myself any proper rest, the time I can sustain it for reduces due to exhaustion…that's why,
(I close my eyes and put both my hands together…a ball…a ball)
(Narration)
'That's why…I made sure to get proper rest for an hour before this!' Brax thought as he channeled the energy through his arms into the space between his palms.
whirl…WHIRL!
'Grh…try to stabilize it…' He thought as the energy came into an improper form.
WHIRL!...whirl…
"pant…pant…"
Brax opened his eyes, it was now twenty complete seconds yet the energy didn't dissipate; it was in the twenty fifth second that the ball finally vanished.
(Brax)
"So, three weeks now right?" Lucy said with her most smug looking face.
"THAT WASN'T PART OF THE BET!" Feirin exclaime-
thud!
Aah…I didn't know I would be this tired that I just fell in the yard (face first)…
"In any case, you did great Brax" Lucy says as she makes me lean on the window.
"Tch, Is this all I was called here for? For this humiliation?"
"No no it's nothing like that, there's something I want you to do and it's been a while since we have sparred, can't really say that I have been doing a great job as your Master ahaha…" Lucy said to Feirin as she went back to her position.
"Brax, now that you have cleared off this step, the basic part of how to control energy is over (the basic part…? There's more to this thing?), we can now move to how one can sense people's energy"
Sense…energy?
"Everyone in the universe uses energy whenever performing an action, some actions exert more than the other but even simply living without doing any tiring actions also uses energy; this step isn't really that difficult once you learn to have grasp over your own soul energy and how to manipulate it. To perform it, all you have to do is close your eyes and let your mind be at peace for some time"
"That's all?"
"That's all, try it out"
"Alright…"
I say and close my eyes.
Hmm-!! I…I can see something… Two…bluish cloudy spirits? One of them is bigger than the other and…more denser…
"Are you (!) able to do it?"
They disappeared…it disappeared once Lucy spoke… I open my eyes and nod.
"Did you see some type of cloud?"
"Yes, two of them"
"Was one of them bigger and denser?"
"Yes" (How did sh- oh right, she can sense them too)
"Those two were me and Feirin"
"I know, there's nobody else standing here after all"
"Mm hmm! But with this we can finally confirm something"
"That is?"
"You indeed do have The Balancer within you"
!! That's…
"Isn't that the thing if one doesn't have then they die after a certain age??"
She nodded…AHH! I AM RELIEVED! I won't die because of something strange (She did say that it's very rare but still…).
"And once you learn better how to focus on sensing energy, those clouds will take our shape and in that manner you will be able to tell me and Feirin apart much easily"
Oohh!! That sounds cool! Being able to see even if my eyes are closed…wow…
"And now, moving to the main goal you have to achieve in the following months, it's called a state"
"A state…?"
"This is where my student Feirin will shine for us, it's time to show off your skills Feirin! Go go go!"
"sigh yes yes" Feirin says and Lucy steps aside.
"Close your eyes once again and focus on sensing the energy around you"
"Oh okay"
I do as Lucy said, close my eyes once again and let my mind be at peace…I can see the spirit once again but the bigger and denser one is further away now, that one is Lucy as she moved away from her original position. Why's her so different though? Is it because she's stronger? I think so-! Feirin's cloud…it's shaking and getting bigger by a bit…I can feel it! This is his energy increasing!
I open my eyes-WOHH! His body is covered with some type of glow…a very light blue glow flowing around him…I can still feel his energy even though I haven't closed my eyes…this…
"T-this is…?"
"That's what a state is, your goal that you have to achieve to become stronger. You should be able to feel it even without focusing with closed eyes because this is one of those actions which exert a good chunk of soul energy" Lucy said.
It looks…very odd but amazing…I can feel chills running down my spine looking at him…
"H-how do I do it?!"
"sigh she just said, unlike the previous steps, this is a GOAL that you have to achieve" He said and the energy flowing around him stopped (I can…do that as well…? I wonder how it'd feel to do that…)
"A goal…?"
"Yes, a goal, one that'll take quite some time to get to hehe" Her expression, I don't think I like it at the moment…something tells me that this won't be fun…"Simply speaking of how to do it, you need to absorb the surrounding energy to an extent and that will let you achieve it but to do that~"
"To do that…"
"From today on! You will try to sustain your energy for TEN minutes (W-what?!), run TEN kilometers (what's a kilometer…?) Focus on sensing others energy for thirty minutes, train your body at the best and after that spar with Feirin EVERY SINGLE DAY"
E…eh…? That's…isn't that…a bit too much…? That sounds a bit too much…
"Don't worry, all of these are just goals which you have to achieve overtime and don't have to do them from the start itself but you will have to crash your limit everytime until we do exceed it. Not to mention," She says, pointing towards me, "You have already improved in the past one week and doing very well compared to even me from when I first started out"
Compared to even her…? Well…now that she says it, it really is the truth; before coming here, I looked like bones but now I look like an actual person and did all of these unimaginable things in just a week…
"Master, I think it's about time that we spar, don't you think so too?" Feirin said and walked away a bit at the edge of the yard.
"You are right and judging by your expression, it appears that you are quite displeased with me" Lucy said as she walked towards the other edge, "Rightfully so, I've been making fun of you far too much in this past week after all"
"You are wrong, I don't really care about your dumb teasing"
"Eh?" Lucy said, looking surprised, "Really…? I thought doing so would piss you off which would ultimately make you angry enough to put out a lot of energy during this sparring match…" (that's the reason why she kept belittling Feirin…?)
"sigh It was a slight annoyance for sure but…what really angers me is something else" He sai-! He's entering that state thing again! But…this time his energy feels even stronger…than when he did it before…
"It's because you…YOU! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU FOR THOSE PAST THREE MONTHS?! WHY HAVE YOU BEEN JUST IGNORING THIS QUESTION EVERY SINGLE TIME?!" He said, gritting his teeth and clenching his hands-!!
…I feel many chills running down my spine…my body is trembling…his energy is…s-scary… It's too much for me…the flowers in the yard are shaking a lot as well… I-I can't help but hold onto myself with both my hands, scar-
"Brax"
…? I look towards Lucy, the look on her face…it's…a serious one unlike any other I've seen before during this week…
"This is a good opportunity for you to see what you have to really reach (huh…?). You said you wanted to be the strongest right? Then for that you have to properly watch this fight and learn from it, understood?"
"...Y-yes!"
I exclaim (she's right…).
"And Feirin…sorry but I can't speak of it…at least not yet but…if you do land a punch on my face then perhaps I'll be willing to tell you about it, show me that you are worthy for it. However this match will end if I hit you five times instead before you land a single punch. No energy blasts allowed"
"Is…that so…grhh…!!" Feirin said, clenching his hands…
(Narration)
'It hasn't even begun yet but…this…this is what a real fight feels like…? One person's strength can make me scared just looking at it… The things that I felt during a fight on the streets never felt like this…but…there's something weird about it…it's…scary but also…somehow at the same time, it's exciting in a way…!' Brax thought, trembling with a smile spread wide across his face.
"Come!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Yes!" Feirin exclaimed and dashed at her with his hands clenched tightly raring to hit Lucy's face in order to find the answers to his question.
clasp!
A loud sound was made as Lucy caught Feirin's fist with her hand.
'Is…Lucy not going to enter the state?' Brax thought as he watched.
"Gah?!" Feirin groaned as Lucy pulled him in front of her face with the hand she had grabbed and punched him in his stomach with the other.
'That's the first one from Lucy! Four more and she'd win…but he has to land only one hit-!'
flick!
Feirin tried to hit Lucy after he was punched in his stomach but Lucy dodged it by stepping a step behind and flicked his forehead with her finger which knocked him in some distance.
'Eh?!' Brax thought, 'By a…flick?!'
"Tch!" Feirin landed on his feet and dashed once again then started throwing a barrage of punches.
thud thud thud thud thud
Each of which Lucy blocked with one hand before any could even touch her face.
THOMP
"GAH?!" Feirin groaned as Lucy punched him in his stomach through his barrage of punches, not a single of them even touching any other part of her other than her palm.
"argh…!" He groaned but kicked from the side which Lucy blocked with one of her arms and then took hold of it by grabbing it with the other hand and threw him away.
"?!" Before Feirin could react after landing on his legs, the instant he looked towards Lucy, she was already standing right in front of him and punched him twice lightly on his face with both her hands.
"With that, I win" Lucy said and put her hands on her waist, "Not bad, you have improved a little since last time with bouncing back on your feet and reactions but it could still see some work"
'...this is…the power of a 3rd Top Lord…she didn't take a single punch nor even enter in that state thing which Feirin did…' Brax thought, nothing but clear astonishment filling his face over what he just witnessed.
"I lost…sigh I am not worthy then…I see" Feirin said as he exited from the state he was in and walked inside through Brax's room. For a second it looked as if Lucy wanted to stop him but retracted herself.
"...So did you watch the fight properly?" She asked as she came towards Brax, to which he nodded three times in excitement.
"Fighting skills and experience make a vast difference in combat, higher energy isn't the only thing that matters"
"Ooh! That's why you didn't transform into that state thing??" He asked with extreme enthusiasm and curiosity.
"Yeah I didn't need to but that state has a name too, call it with that, it's called Focus and it's first of the five such states"
"First of the five? What?"
"Uh…as I said, it's the first state called Focus then there's the second one called 2Focus, I personally call it Tocus! And then there's-"
"Wait wait wait…you mean there's more than one state?"
"Well…yes? I never said that there was only one state"
"And…I am training for the first one called…Focus…for which I have to run 10…something, maintain my energy for ten minutes…concentrate on sensing energy for thirty minutes…and fight him each…day?"
"Mm hmm" She mumbles and nodded.
"So…the training for the second state will be…even…harsher…?"
"Uh sort of?"
In that moment, Brax's enthusiasm and excitement crumbled slightly which was somewhat reflected by the shock in his expression. But,
'To be able to fight like her…the way of how she dodges and initiates…that must've been a lot of training…and she didn't even enter into Focus…no, she's probably at a level far ahead already…maybe at the third state or perhaps even the fourth…she is THE 3rd Top Lord after all…" But the enthusiasm soon returned within the next instant with those thoughts.
"When will we start with it then?!" Brax exclaimed.
"Oh? You sure are quite excited, if that's the case then we can start right now itself but-"
growlll
"We should eat up first…" Lucy said as she held onto her growling stomach.
VI
Place - North District, outside Home
Time - 7:54 pm
(Lucy)
It's been a while since I've gone on a jog like this…doing something normal…
"It's a good thing that our speed and stamina are far more compared to a human otherwise you would have fainted midwa-"
thud!
Oh…I turned around to look at him to find that he did actually end up fainting, it's at least right in front of our house though…
tap tap
I hear and turn to the sound of footsteps, it's Feirin who has groceries in his hand (…I just remembered the spar we had earlier today…not to mention I went too far with my teasing in this past week…this might get a little awkward…)
"Erm…Feirin-"
"He fainted?"
"....he fainted" (why does he have to cut through before my apology!)
"You are going a bit overboard for his first day, I am glad that Ms. Amane was my coach for the first week of my training" (You just don't know how bad it was with her because you were her third student and she had learnt from her mistakes by then! Mom has experience because of me and Rebecca being her test subjects of how to train someone!)
But he is right, I did go overboard…maybe it's because he's already got some good reflexes and feels like he's quite a natural. Still, it'd be best if I have him take some time to get used to this hellish training before he can even start to spar with Feirin at the end of the da-
"There's something…I want to ask…" He said, he's been looking gloomy ever since the spar…and I know why…
"Oh…uhm what is it?"
"Master…can you really not tell me even a little about where you were?"
I knew it…he still wishes to know about it.
"I can't…"
I say, shaking my head.
"Let's talk about this later. Look there, him lying on the road like that feels strange"
I say, pointing at Brax who's been laying on the road in…quite an uncomfortable looking posture (I know I shouldn't say this but thanks for fainting for the sake of my excuse Brax…!).
"Master! You still have some of those injuries from that day, don't you?! Two days ago…you had blood coming out of your ear! Not to mention that you suddenly became so pale…"
!! He…saw that…? What do I do to calm him down…it's clear from his expression that he's just worried about my condition but still…
"Would you not tell about it to even Ms. Amane and…that Rebecca?" His face became slightly disgusted there for a second when he mentioned Rebecca. (He really despises her eh… Well getting his hand twisted and almost fractured on the first meeting with a girl who's a Thysia year younger than him would leave a good amount of disdain I guess…)
I could make an excuse to not tell him, but how do I make an excuse for Mom and Rebecca…
"Rebecca…she'll have to go through a similar test before I tell her and about Mom…I'll tell her about it later"
"...I see"
"W-wait" I say, holding onto his shoulder as he was heading inside, "I am really…sorry…both about not telling you about this entire thing and…"
"And…?"
"And…being a pain in the butt for a week…"
His face is so stale…it feels as if it's radiating silent annoyance…
"At least I won't have to deal with it to THAT extent anymore so I don't mind it" he said and went inside. phew, seems I dodged that and he won't ask about it anytime soon…erm I should take him inside now, he's been lying over there for quite some time now…
splash!
Ooof! It's been so much time since I did something normally and got into the bathtub with cold water in it…it's so relaxing…
Reminds me of when I first started training (because Feirin mentioned about his training with Mom), the time when I first flew and cut through the winds in the sky like a bird…
"I can't do it! It's so difficult to do this!"
"You can, if Rebecca is able to then so can you"
"Rebecca must be some sort of genius…I don't get how she's doing it"
"Everyone has their own pace and takes their time, you too will figure out your own way in some manner or other. After all, the sky's just a limit"
…brings back memories, it's been such a long time since I met Mom, I want to meet her again but…I can't…I am scared…I can't bring myself to face her…what will I say to her…she'll see right through any excuse I make…
(Narration)
She thought, sitting in the tub with her knees close to herself, holding onto them with her hands.
VII
Time - 9:21 pm
(Brax)
…Am I still alive…? If so…how… The training…it wasn't training…it was hell…my body is heated up and drenching the bed with sweat which I am lying on, feels like my bones are melting…getting torn apart…and I couldn't complete any of them, not to mention that I didn't even spar with Feirin today, that part will come later on (if I don't die by then…).
Aaaaahhhh…I have to do THIS every day…? But…it's better than living like I did before…so I'll accept it…
…
It's been some time since I've been lying down…about an hour and it feels a lot better now, I should…probably change the sheets…they smell bad after all of that sweat then I should go bath and eat the dinner which they must've already eaten…
knock knock
"I am coming in"
slide
Huh? It's Feirin…does he need something from me? He hasn't ever come here on his own before.
"You going to take a bath now?" He asked (not looking at me directly but looking around).
"Mm"
I mumble and nod.
"I see then before you go, if you don't mind I have a question to ask"
"What…what is it?"
A question he wants to ask of me? What is it that he wants to know from me…
"That day when you came here, you were with Master, right?" (I nod)
"Then…could you please tell me…if you know anything about where she was…what condition she was in…no matter how much I try not to think about it, even if I am not worthy to find out…her behaviour ever since she returned has been odd…please! Tell me if you know anything!"
Her behaviour…it is true that something about her felt weird…sleepless nights, becoming lost in thought at random…but how would I know anything-! Wait…knife…there was a knife in her hand when I first met her…and injuries as well…what was that all about…
"That day-!"
"Promise me that you won't tell anyone how we met…what I was doing…what you saw or anything related as such, you won't talk about this to anybody. That's the only thing I want from you, this promise"
…I can't tell him…I made a promise with her, something that once made shouldn't be broken no matter what…I think I understand its meaning a little better now.
"That day?"
"Uh…that day Lucy just found me lying on the road and picked me so…no I don't know what happened to her before that"
I am sorry Feirin…I can see from your face that you really want to know what happened but I made a promise with the person who saved my life and I don't want to break it…
"I see…you can go bath now" He said and left, he looked very disappointed… But even I am in the dark as to what really happened…it's just that I know a little more than him…that knife and those injuries, just what was the reason behind them…?