Authors Note:
Better enjoy this, its almost 4k words this chapter.
-------------------------
The training yard behind the Twilight Manor was a wide, flat ground of packed earth and surrounded by high stone walls on three sides to prevent people from peeking in. Weapon racks lined the eastern wall holding everything from wooden practise sword to weighted polearms. A few training dummies stood at the far end with their surfaces scarred and dented from years of abuse.
They had the training room underneath the Manor too, but after years of use, they all found themselves preferring the training ground outside. Hours of training and exercising would make the underground training room too damp and humid over time.
Yuji arrived first as the morning sky was beginning to lighten.
He opted to wear something more practical, a simple pair of pants and a form fitting red shirt with black boots. He stretched in the cool morning air, rolling his shoulders and loosening his joints unhurriedly.
Hearing another pair of steps behind him, he pushed up his sleeves to his forearms before turning to see Aiz stepping onto the training ground.
She was in her usual combat attire, wearing her lightweight armour over a white blouse with her sword, Desperate, sheathed at her hip. Her eyes was fixed on him, and he could sense a layer of anticipation leaking out from her.
She stopped at the edge of the training yard and looked at him.
"You're early." Yuji said.
"I couldn't sleep."
"I thought you said you hadn't slept for the past three days." Yuji said with a raised brow.
"I slept last night." She added on before pausing. "A little."
Yuji shrugged and gestured towards the open space. "Rules are simple enough. No magic, no enchantments. Sword only for you, we can't risk damaging the property after all. I won't use anything either, just my hands. First to land a clean hit wins. We go until either of us calls it in or I say stop."
Aiz nodded before speaking, "I don't want you to hold back."
Yuji shook his head at her words. "I can't do that."
"Why?" Aiz frowned slightly at his words.
"You'll die."
Aiz drew Desperate in a single fluid motion following his words, the rapier's blade reflected the morning sun. She settled into her stance, pivoting her weight onto her back foot with her sword arm extended with its tip angled toward Yuji's centre line. It was a stance she's honed and refined through years of repetition until it was indistinguishable from instinct.
"Okay." Aiz followed up, understanding he wasn't merely boasting, just stating a fundamental fact.
Yuji stood with his hands at his sides and his feet spaced out evenly. He didn't have a stance or any visible guard.
Aiz's eyes narrowed slightly at the lack of a defensive posture but she didn't comment on it. She'd seen what he could do in the Dungeon, and wanted to find out what this gap between them was like.
"Whenever you're ready." Yuji said.
Aiz then moved.
She was fast. Even for most Level 6 they wouldn't be able to keep up with Aiz's speed when she was Level 5, especially more so when she was now a newly fledge Level 6. The distance between them closed in less than a heartbeat as her rapier thrust out towards Yuji's left shoulder, aiming to immobilize his use of his arms.
Yuji merely shifted his weight at the very last second and the blade passed through the space his shoulder had been a fraction of a second prior. He didn't move far, just sidesteeping slightly out of the way.
Aiz didn't hesitate and followed up with another swing, transitioning her thrust into a lateral slash and adjusting her angle mid swing to compensate for his movement. The blade cut through the air towards his torso.
Yuji stepped towards her instead of moving back, causing her arm to swing into his side rather than her rapier as he lifted his arm up and locked that same arm against his body.
Before Aiz could prepare a follow up attack, Yuji swept his leg under Aiz's feet. Sensing the movement, she tried to jump up but could barely get up off the ground with Yuji locked her arm between his own and his body.
With her little hop, Yuji used her own little momentum against her, tossing her away like a ragdoll towards one of the training dummies.
Quickly adjusting her rotation midair, she landed both feet against the training dummy's torso, putting her into a crouch mid air. She pulled her rapier behind her body and, cracking the training dummy in half, she propelled herself towards Yuji once more, swinging her rapier in an upwards diagonal slash, aiming at his hip.
Yuji merely lifted his foot and kicked the blade that was threatening to cut through him, causing her to flinch and narrow her eyes as the feedback from the counter travelled through her rapier and up her arm.
Using the momentum from that kick, she spun on her left foot and brought her right leg up in a roundhouse kick towards Yuji's head.
Yuji raised his arm and blocked the kick as a solid thud rang through the air. Before Aiz could react, she felt a powerful force impact her back, sending her flying through the air and crashing through another training dummy before she crashed into the stone wall, causing cracks to spiderweb out from the point of impact.
She coughed violently, leaning forward to get up onto her knees and looking towards Yuji. She could see him lowering his left foot back down and cracking his neck.
"I can tell how tough you are, something like that will just leave a bruise." Yuji said as he shifted his posture, pulling his left leg behind his body with his right facing Aiz. He lifted his right hand in front of his body with his left close to his face.
"Warm ups' over. I'm doing it for real now." Yuji calmly said as Aiz's instincts flared and goosebumps ran throughout her body.
She quickly pushed off the ground and threw her body to the right as Yuji's body disappeared from his position and a loud crash echoed from the position Aiz was at.
Turning, she was Yuji pulling his leg back out from the crumbling stone wall and before she knew it, he was in front of her face.
She quickly raised her weapon into a guard but Yuji crouched low, thrusting his palm into her abdomen and causing her to stumble back with a painful wince.
"Ack-!"
Before she could counter, he grabbed her right arm, holding her rapier, twisting her wrist and causing her to drop her rapier with a painful cry.
"I've noticed people prefer to use weapons in my time in this city." Yuji said calmly, stepping back and holding Aiz's rapier in his hand, with her nursing her wrist. "What happens when it breaks? What happens when all you have left is your own body to defend your life with?"
"But-"
He tossed the rapier away before Aiz could come up with a response, letting it clatter along the ground as it blurred behind the girl.
Without any time to look back, she twisted her body to the side and lifted her arm to protect her face. Yuji's boot crashed into her arms and the impact sent her reeling towards the ground, pushing her back as she scrambled along the ground and turned to face him.
She could only widen her eyes as he rearer back to deliver a punch right to her face, but the look in his eyes was what caused her to freeze for a split second. When her mind finally kicked back into gear, she raised her arms in defence again and shut her eyes instinctively, before feeling a sharp impact on her forehead.
Wincing, she opened her eyes in confusion, seeing Yuji stand in front of her with his fingers extended after flicking her forehead.
"Do not close your eyes, ever."
Aiz blinked for a moment, letting her guard drop and that was the last thing she remembered, that and Yuji's fist impacting the side of her face.
It was only a couple of minutes when she woke up again, with Yuji leaning against the crumbling stone wall and Aiz lying on the ground. She looked confused before resignation settled into her features, but that was only for a moment as a feeling of joy also surged into her being.
Sure she might have gotten her dominated one sidedly by Yuji, but she couldn't remember the last time someone was willing to go this far when training(sparring) with her.
"You're too used to fighting monsters."
Those were the first words that greeted her when she sat up, finding her rapier laying on the ground by her side. Looking up at Yuji next to her, she tilted her head.
"Thank you?"
Yuji sighed, "You don't have the mindset of fighting another person when we were sparring. I don't fault you for it, but its dangerous if someone aims for your life in the future. They could exploit this flaw."
Aiz looked down after hearing his words. "All I need is to kill monsters."
"People can be monsters too."
She blinked and looked back, seeing Yuji staring back at her. She merely stayed quiet before standing up again.
"Show me how, please." Aiz simply said, feeling the sting on her cheek.
"You'd better grit your teeth then, I believe in tough love."
The sparring continued for another twenty minutes. By the end of it, Aiz was breathing hard, sweat marring her face and body as bruises accumulated throughout her body. She wasn't physically exhausted per se as she had the body of a Level 6 adventurer, but it was the mental strain that fighting someone like Yuji weighed on her mind and body.
Yuji hadn't broken a sweat the entire time.
"That's enough for this morning." He said and Aiz lowered her rapier, her chest rising and falling with measured breaths, one of her eyes half closed from a forming bruise.
A second later, Yuji raised his hand and she began to feel her body lighten, the stings and bruises her body had gathered slowly receding away.
"Pretty sure Loki would have my ass if she saw you in this state." Yuji said, causing Aiz to let out a smile before she looked down at her rapier.
"I didn't land a single hit." She wasn't complaining but was merely stating the obvious.
"You won't for a while, but that's not the point." Yuji replied simply. "The point is that you're better now than you were twenty minutes ago, and that's what matters."
Aiz looked up from her rapier towards him as quiet satisfaction settled onto her face.
"...Same time tomorrow?"
"Hell nah, it's my off day. You should go down to the Dungeon instead tomorrow. I'll let you know when I'm up for it again." Yuji replied simply and she smiled in response.
Giving him a nod, she turned toward the Manor and prepared to head down to the Dungeon immediately instead.
She made it three steps before she noticed the audience.
The training yard's periphery was filled with members of the Loki Familia at some point during their session. Tiona was seen leaning by the side of the stone wall with her arms crossed and her mouth hanging open. Tione stood behind her, one eyebrow raised with Lefiya peering around Tione's shoulder, her staff clutched to her chest and her eyes wide. The other lower ranked members crowded behind them, some standing on their toes to see over the heads of those in front.
Whispers spread out amongst them after the session ended, as they had enough respect to not make any noise during the spar. They had just witnessed the Sword Princess get one sidedly beat down in the span of twenty minutes. Sure she didn't use any magic or enchantments, but neither did Yuji from what they saw, and from what they knew, he was still a Level 1.
Gareth was stationed at the back with a mug of something steaming, his expression carrying a measured assessment as he watched it all unfold.
Bete was leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed, his amber eyes locked onto Yuji with an intensity that bordered on obsession.
The yard slowly grew very quiet when she approached to enter the Manor.
"...How long have you all been standing there?" Aiz asked.
"Since about a minute in." Tiona said, her voice carrying the particular reverence of someone who had just watched something she couldn't fully comprehend, laced with a layer of excitement and something else. "Aiz, he was reading you like a book."
"I know." Aiz said without a trace of embarrassment. "That's the point."
She walked past them into the Manor. As she passed Tiona, the Amazon grabbed her arm.
"When's the next one? I want in."
"Ask Yuji." Aiz said and disappeared back inside.
Every eye in the training yard turned to Yuji.
Tiona was the first to move, striding across the yard with an energy she could barely contain, her fingers fidgeting by her side as she walked very, very fast towards him.
"Me next! Me next!" She said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I want to spar! Did you see what you just did?! You didn't even break a sweat, and she's Level 6!"
"Tiona, he just finished-" Tione tried to reason with her sister.
"He's not even sweating, Tione!" Her sister yelled back as her excitement grew.
Yuji looked at the crowd that had assembled and let out a slow breath. He already had a feeling this was going to happen when they heard the commotion and began crowding around the training yard.
"Fine." He said to Tiona. "Don't make it a regular thing, though. Same rules. No magic, just your weapon and I'll use my hands."
Tiona's face split into a grin so wide it threatened to reach the back of her head. "YES! Someone get me a practice weapon! Where's a sword? A pole? Anything!"
One of the lower ranked members threw her a wooden greathsword from the rack. She caught it one handed and tested its weight with a few swing before taking her position.
Unlike Aiz's refined stance, Tiona's was wider and looser, her body coiled with the raw explosive power that the Amazon's were known for. If Aiz was known for precision and efficiency, Tiona was momentum and force.
She charged in without warning.
The wooden greatsword came down in a diagonal arc that would have cratered the ground if it connected. Yuji sidestepped and the blade carved the air beside him.
Tiona didn't stop. She let the momentum carry her into a spinning follow up, with the greatsword sweeping horizontally towards his chest. Yuji ducked beneath it and the blade passed over his head close enough to ruffle his hair.
"You're faster than I thought!" Tiona shouted, already mid swing again.
"You're louder than I expected." Yuji replied, weaving between a series of strikes that came faster and wilder as TIona's excitement built. The Amazon fought with a grin on her face, each missed swing only making her hit harder and faster.
They went for another ten minutes. Tiona never came close to hitting him but she was laughing by the end, drenched in sweat and vibrating with the particular joy of someone who had learned something new about her body.
"That was AMAZING!" She declared, planting the wooden sword in the dirt and leaning on it. "Tione! You're next!"
Tione who had been watching with her arms crossed, shook her head. "I'll pass for now. I want to study him more before I go in."
"Lefiya?"
The elf went pale and took a step backward, shaking her head so fast her hair whipped around her face. "N-no no thank you! I'm a mage! I don't- I can't- Absolutely not!"
Tiona merely pouted but didn't push her.
From the far wall, Pete pushed himself off the stone wall and walked toward the centre of the yard. His stride was unhurried and deliberate. Those near him could feel the controlled aggression he was pushing back the longer he watched. They parted way for him to approach.
"You done playing around with the kids?" Bete said, coming to a stop five paces from Yuji. His eyes sharpend and his jaw tightened.
Yuji looked at him.
"Bete, this isn't-"
"Shut it." Bete interrupted Tiona without taking his eyes off of Yuji. "He was just dancing around your attacks without hitting you back, while he beat Aiz into the dirt. That might be fine for you, but I'd rather have the real deal."
He raised his fists.
"I just need to know where I stand."
The training yard went very still as the lower ranked members exchanged nervous glances. Tione's frowned and Gareth strained from his lean, lowering his mug slightly.
Yuji studied the werewolf before him. He could feel the tension in his body and the slight forward lean that said he was ready to move the instant Yuji gave the word.
He remembered their first encounter back down in the Dungeon, how the werewolf had charged at him and ate a black flash before going unconscious. He had been carrying that quietly ever since.
This wasn't just about training. This was about pride.
"Same rules?" Yuji asked, intending to give im the same treatment as Aiz instead of just dodging.
"Tch. Do whatever you want. I'll use my legs."
Bete exploded forward.
There werewolf was fast, his Level 5 speed augmented his natural agility as a beastman. His opening was a kick aimed at Yuji's ribs, delivered with enough force to shatter a stone wall.
Yuji caught the kick against his open plan. The impact created a shockwave that rippled the dirt around their feet and caused several of the onlookers to shield their eyes.
Bete's eyes widened.
He pulled back and unleashed a barrage of kicks. High, low, spinning, each one faster than the last. His style was different from Aiz's as fire was from water. He was all aggression and overwhelming force, designed to break through defences through the sheer relentless pressure he inflicted onto his opponents.
Yuji deflected each strike, his hands moving just enough to redirect the force rather than absorb it. In between his redirections, he threw in a jab or thrust out his palm, pushing Bete back with each hit as he only grew more aggressive and retaliated back with even more ferver.
The werewolf's attacks grew faster despite the hits he was taking from Yuji in between his own. His eyes narrowed as he bared his teeth. Every fibre of his being was committed to finding a gap, an opening and moment of weakness that he could pull out and exploit.
He couldn't find one.
After two minutes of sustained assault, Bete was sweating up a storm as his breath grew more ragged. He planted his foot and launched himself into a dropkick aimed at Yuji's chest, pouring everything he had into a single, decisive strike.
Yuji caught his ankle, using the momentum to pull Bete in and set him back down onto his feet as though he were placing a glass cup back onto a shelf.
The werewolf stood there, breathing hard as he grimaced and stared back at yuji.
"You're stronger than most people in the city." Yuji said, his voice carrying no sign of mockery. "But you fight angry, and that makes you predictable. The harder you hit, the more committed you are, and the less room you leave yourself to adapt."
Bete's jaw clenched and his fists tightened at his sides.
For a moment, it looked like he might say something sharp. The old Bete would have, but instead he exhaled through his nose, turned and walked away without a word.
As he passed Tiona who was watching with wide eyes, the werewolf muttered something under his breath that she barely caught.
"...The hell is he."
The training yard slowly returned to life after Bete's departure. The lower ranked members buzzed with excited whispers and Tiona was already recounting the entire session to anyone who would listen, complete with sound effects.
Gareth drained the last of his mug, now gone cold, and walked over to Yuji.
"Not bad." The dwarf said. "You held back."
"Of course I did." Yuji replied.
Gareth studied him for a moment, his deep set eyes carrying the weight of decades in the Dungeon. "The girl's got more potential than she realizes. That boy's got more pride than he knows what to do with. And the Amazon's got more joy than either of them combined." He let out a slow breath. "You're good for them."
Yuji looked at him.
"Don't tell them I said that." Gareth added on before walking away.
Yuji stood alone in the training yard for a moment. The morning sun had fully risen over the Manor's towers, and the sounds of the Familia starting their day filtered through the walls as they left the training yard to go back to their own routines.
He picked up the wooden greatsword Tiona had left planted in the dirt, returned it to the rack, and headed inside for breakfast.
Behind him, from one of the bridges connecting the Manor's towers, Loki watched the empty training yard with her vermillion eyes. Her face bore an expression that she usually reserved for when Finn executed a strategy that exceeded even her expectations.
"Well, well." She said to no one in particular. "Aren't you full of surprises, fossil."
She glanced down at her own body, still sore from the cocoon she'd been tied up in that morning, before she was discovered by Gareth.
"Still worth it." She grinned, and disappeared back inside, but stopped when she heard Tiona's voice reach her ears, causing her grin to morph into a smirk.
Tiona caught up with Yuji and without caring for who was nearby, asked him one simple question.
Loki couldn't help but laugh, hearing Yuji cough violently, being asked the question by Tiona while he was drinking from a cup of water.
"What kind of girl is your type, Yuji?"