Gregory tried to quell the unhappiness he felt as he gazed at Yukiko across the arena from him. Yukiko’s parents had been shocked and disappointed that their first fight was against each other, but understood they had no recourse. Looking to the reserved box for the academy council, Gregory noted Master Damon, the black panther eurtik who worked at the archive, a number of other masters, and three grandmasters.
Magus Paul stood in the middle of the arena, motioning them both to him. Gregory steeled himself and moved to the Magus. “We will begin when the eighth bell chimes,” he told them. “Follow my instructions and begin when I tell you to fight.”
“Yes, sir,” they answered together.
A moment later, the eighth bell chimed and Paul cleared his throat, holding up a gently glowing bronze circle. “Ladies and gentlemen, today we see what our novices have learned thus far. This is their first test of skill against their peers. This tournament shall determine which novices have grown strong, and which are lacking.” Paul’s voice carried easily to the audience seated around the arena, though it was not overbearing to Yukiko and Gregory. “We are joined by the heads of the academy,” Paul bowed to the biggest box. “We hope our novices can show you something worth your time.”
Paul stepped back a few paces and put the circle into his pouch. “Novices, face the boxes and bow.” Once they had done as instructed, Paul spoke again, “Novices, face me and bow.” When they had done that, he inclined his head to them. “Now face each other and bow.” Once they had done so, Paul moved back a few more feet. “On my signal, begin. Do not stop unless your opponent is unconscious, surrenders, or I tell you to.”
Gregory set himself into the defensive stance Yukiko had taught him, and she did the same. The two of them did their best to set aside their feelings, trying to concentrate on the bout. Taking a deep breath, Gregory felt calmness settle over him.
“Fight!” Paul shouted.
Yukiko was the first to move and she closed the distance quickly. A flurry of strikes forced Gregory to focus on defense, but he smiled when he realized she was following their normal sparring routine. As she slowed, he countered and began to drive her back.
The two of them flowed from attack to defense and back without slowing. To the crowd, it looked as if they were evenly matched. Both backed away at the same time, small smiles on their lips.
“Ready?” Yukiko asked now that they had warmed up.
Extending a hand, Gregory gestured her forward, his stance shifting to one Gin had taught him over the last few months. Yukiko smiled as she advanced, ready for the real fight to begin.
Yukiko held a real edge in speed and flexibility over him, allowing her to land far more strikes than he did. Gregory’s counters, when they landed, made Yukiko back off before reengaging with him.
Neither wanted to significantly harm the other, but they both wanted to win, making the fight stretch longer than it should have. Gregory found his moment, managing to stagger Yukiko significantly enough that she dropped to a knee. Gregory tried to follow up and take advantage, but found himself abruptly off balance as his legs failed to move. A glance down showed the shadows pooled around his legs had deepened and were binding him. Jerking his head up, he was just in time to see Yukiko’s foot coming at him.
Grunting as he went over backward, Gregory shook his head, trying to push himself back to his feet. He was slammed back to the ground by Yukiko landing on his hips, followed by a flurry of hand and elbow strikes to his face. Pulling his arms in, he covered his bleeding face.
Yukiko kept hammering at him, so Gregory was left with little other choice but to trade pain for survival. Jerking his upper body up, he uncovered his face and hugged Yukiko to him. His nose became a bright point of pain as Yukiko flattened it with an elbow, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to his chest. Yukiko squirmed against him, but Gregory held her tight, getting his feet flat to the ground and shoving. As they turned, Gregory went from clenching Yukiko to pushing her away, which forced them apart.
Getting back to his feet with blood dripping from his nose, Gregory met Yukiko’s determined gaze and gave her a grudging nod, remembering that they had agreed to fight to win. Yukiko returned the nod and set her feet, ready to attack again.
Their next exchange of blows ended up being the last. Yukiko failed to block one of Gregory’s strikes, and his open palm slammed into the spot directly under her ribs. She gasped as her legs buckled, unable to get the air she needed. Gregory caught her, slipping behind her as he did.
“Tap, Yuki,” he whispered. “I don’t want to go further.”
Yukiko, feeling his arm go under her chin, slapped the ground three times.
“Hold! Warlin forfeits,” Paul declared loudly.
Removing his arm, he stayed behind her, his leg holding her upright as she struggled to get her breath back. Standing slowly so as not to disturb her, Gregory bowed to Paul.
Yukiko managed to catch her breath. “You win,” she wheezed.
“Face the box and bow,” Paul told Gregory.
Gregory eased Yukiko to the side carefully so she would not fall, then turned to the boxes holding the important guests and bowed to them. When he stood back up, Yukiko was getting to her feet. Bowing to Yukiko, he gave her a worried smile.
Yukiko bowed her head, “Forgive me, but I don’t wish to flex that far.”
“Your match is over. Please leave the arena,” Paul told them. “Be ready for your next bouts.”
Gregory and Yukiko walked away from each other and headed for the doors, neither looking back as they left the arena floor. Gregory walked quickly, wanting to make sure she was okay. Yukiko walked more slowly, not wanting to face Gregory after battering his face so much.
When he got to the waiting area under the arena proper, Gregory’s steps slowed. Hayworth was there, laughing at him. “Took that long to deal with that slip of a woman, and she broke your… nose?” The last word came after a noticeable delay.
Gregory felt the pain in his nose ebb as Hayworth faltered. Walking past Hayworth, Gregory gave him a cold smile, “I hope to see you tomorrow. And don’t worry— your friend won’t be faring any better.”
Hayworth’s lip curled up into a sneer, but someone calling his name distracted him. Gregory ignored him and the others who whispered after him as he exited the staging area on his side of the arena.
He found Yukiko a few minutes later. “Yuki?”
Yukiko met his gaze, her eyes searching his face, clearly worried. “Are you okay?”
“Worried about you,” Gregory said. “The ring took care of the damage.”
Yukiko dropped her gaze, “Good.”
“Worried for me?” Gregory asked as he stopped a couple of feet from her.
“Worried you might hold it against me,” Yukiko said softly.
Looking around and not seeing anyone, Gregory stepped forward, his hand going under her chin and gently tilting her gaze up to him. “No. We both had to fight to win, just like you said. I’d never hold that against you.”
Blinking back tears, Yukiko gave him a tentative smile, “Partners?”
“For life,” Gregory whispered.
Gregory stepped away from Yukiko at the sound of approaching footsteps. A moment later, a couple of people passed by them, heading for the stands.
Yukiko exhaled deeply, clearly pulling herself back together. “We shouldn’t have to do that again until the last day,” she said after a moment.
“Good,” Gregory said. “Are you going to be ready for your next bout?”
“As ready as you will be.”
Exchanging another smile, the two of them went up to the stands to watch the fights while they waited for their next matches. In her next fight, Yukiko dismantled Fureno quickly, leaving him unconscious on the sands in just a few minutes.
When Yukiko rejoined him in the stands, Gregory chuckled, “You didn’t give him a chance.”
“He upset me,” Yukiko said primly. “I no longer consider him a friend.”
Gregory frowned, “What happened?”
“Unkind words regarding my heritage,” Yukiko said tightly.
Gregory’s jaw clenched as he stared at the current fight without seeing it. “You’re right. He’s no longer a friend, and his friends are likely not ours, as well.”
Yukiko placed her hand on one of his fists, “It doesn’t bother me. Well, not as much as it used to.”
Gregory gently took her hand between his, “I’m up against Clement soon. Don’t know if I’ll finish him as quickly as you did Fureno, but I’ll make sure he isn’t in the best shape for you.”
“Focus on your fight. I’ll handle mine,” Yukiko said before lowering her voice to a barely heard murmur, “but thank you, dear one.”
Gregory went up to face Clement when his name was called. They arrived in the center of the arena at the same time. Clement smirked disparagingly as he faced Gregory. His clothing was clean and fresh, as this was his first fight for the day.
“You were lucky in the first fight, fringer,” Clement snickered. “You’re about to eat your first loss.”
“Quiet. Save the taunts for after the fight begins,” Magus Paul told them. “Follow my directions when told.” Paul had them bow to the boxes, him, and each other before instructing them to fight.
Gregory met Clement halfway; they had both gone on the attack. Clement was surprised when they clashed, not expecting Gregory to be as skilled as he was. Gregory capitalized on that shock and pressed the advantage. Clement did his best to stop the onslaught, but was flying through the air before he could even find his balance.
Gregory took a page from Yukiko, following his thrown opponent. Straddling Clement, Gregory rained blows down upon the prone man. Magus Paul shifted around them so he could see if Clement decided to forfeit or got knocked out. A minute went by and Gregory began to tire a little, but Clement stayed covered up as best he could.
As Gregory slowed, Clement tried to buck Gregory off while finally striking back. Gregory leaned back, causing the strike to miss, and was able to stay atop the downed man. Gregory’s next strike came down like a thunderbolt, shattering Clement’s nose and flattening it against the man’s cheek.
Clement’s eyes went glassy and he stopped trying to fight back, only feebly able to defend himself. Gregory hammered Clement three more times before Magus Paul called him off.
Gregory got to his feet and stepped back, bowing to Paul, then to the boxes, and finally bowing to his defeated opponent. Making his way back to the stands, he took the seat beside Yukiko again.
“Didn’t give him a chance,” Yukiko said with a hint of laughter in her voice.
“He upset me, and he was never a friend,” Gregory replied with a snort. “What he said didn’t bother me. Never had before, either.”
Yukiko giggled softly, shaking her head, “Do you think he’ll be ready in an hour?”
“I think he’ll be ready, but he’s likely to be more cautious.”
Gregory was proved to be right an hour later. Clement had seen a healer and his nose was back in place, but was still slightly tilted to the side. When the fight started, Clement stayed entirely defensive, letting Yukiko lead the fight. It took her longer than it had Gregory, but Clement never managed to land a clean hit on her. The fight ended when Yukiko got a hold on Clement’s arm and forced him to submit or have a broken elbow.
Gregory gave her a smile when she came back to their seats. “It’s three hours until my next fight. Should we go find your—”
“Yu, your parents would like to find some food,” Lin said, approaching them.
“—parents?” Gregory finished wryly.
“I find myself a little hungry,” Yukiko said. “We have three hours.”
“Your parents are aware.”
“Very well,” Gregory said as he got to his feet.
