“I hope it’s today or tomorrow,” Yukiko was saying as they headed for the mess hall.
“That would be nice,” Gregory agreed. “Since Dia left—”
“Hey, Pet-tit,” Fureno said, cutting Gregory off, “I need to talk to you.”
The two of them stopped, surprised that Fureno was awake and waiting for them short of the mess hall. “About what?” Gregory asked.
“About your disrespect toward a great clan,” Fureno smirked. “Clanless, like you, need to be put in their place.”
Gregory shook his head. “Good luck with that. Come on, Yuki, we—”
“I’m challenging you!” Fureno snapped, again interrupting Gregory.
Gregory paused, frowning. “You’re serious?”
“Yes!”
“Fine. An hour before conditioning, in the arena we’re supposed to be at,” Gregory said. “No aether, no items, just hand-to-hand combat. What’re the stakes?”
“If you lose, you’ll publicly renounce your title as champion of the tournament. I’ll find an adjudicator,” Fureno said.
“No, I will,” Gregory said. “If I win, you’ll not participate in the next tournament. Now, pardon us, we’re on our way to breakfast.”
Fureno sneered. “Pets shouldn’t be allowed into the mess hall.”
“Why?” Yukiko asked as they went to pass him. “A weasel like yourself was allowed in.”
“My family hasn’t slept with beasts, at least!”
“How were you born, then?” Gregory asked as they continued walking.
Fureno scowled at their backs, watching them go. “You’ll pay for that…” he muttered and stalked off.
“That was odd,” Gregory said as they reached the mess hall.
“It seems like they’re going to start now,” Yukiko sighed.
Seeing the teachers having their breakfast, Gregory made his way toward Paul. “Sir, might I have a moment?”
Paul sighed and set his book aside. “What is it, Novice?”
“I was just challenged to a duel and am in need of an adjudicator this afternoon, an hour before physical conditioning.”
“Who?”
“Novice Fureno.”
“The Eternal Flame,” Paul nodded. “I will adjudicate the match. Rules and stakes?”
“No aether or trinkets, just hand-to-hand combat. I give up my position of champion, or he doesn’t participate in the next tournament.”
Paul’s eyebrows went up. “Very well.”
“Thank you, sir,” Gregory said, bowing to him before going to join Yukiko in line for food.
“That makes sure it’ll be a fair match,” Yukiko said.
“If he had declined, it would’ve been tough to find another I can trust.”
“A challenge?” Ravol asked.
“Yeah. The Eternal Flame is moving,” Gregory said.
“If they can’t use aether, you should win,” Zenim said.
“He should,” Yukiko agreed.
“We’ll be rooting for you,” Steva grinned. “Not that you’ll need it.”
“Your snacks are ready, as well,” Velma said, handing their snack bags and food over after she scanned their medallions.
“I’ve been meaning to ask— what are you doing when you do that?” Gregory asked.
Velma showed the ring on her hand. “This marks the medallion as having been here. If I try to scan it more than twice, it chimes loudly.”
“Huh… Thank you.”
“Have a good day,” the cooks said as the couple went to find a table.
~*~*~
After spending the hour in the archive, Jason stopped them on their way to economics class.
“I wondered what hole you were in,” Jason smirked, stopping them on a bridge a hundred yards from the classroom.
“We were improving ourselves,” Gregory said.
“That’s a simple thing, isn’t it? Not sleeping with animals would be a start.”
Yukiko touched Gregory’s shoulder and laughed. “For you, that would mean no longer licking Nick’s boots, right?”
Jason’s eyes went cold. “I wasn’t talking to you, half-breed. Someone will put you in your place soon.”
Gregory shook his head. “What do you want, Jason?”
“A challenge. The hour before conditioning. When you lose, you’ll publicly announce how inferior you are to any of the Eternal Flame.”
Gregory frowned. “Fureno has already challenged me for that time.”
“Are you refusing a challenge?” Jason snickered derisively.
“No aether, no trinkets. Just hand-to-hand combat,” Gregory said. “Your loss will require you to publicly kiss Yukiko’s foot.”
Jason’s face went white, red, and then white again. “I’ll enjoy watching you fail.”
“Will you move now? Some of us actually like to learn,” Gregory said.
Jason sneered as he walked off. “Your small mind will never learn.”
With him gone, Yukiko sighed. “Why does it feel like they’re up to something bigger?”
“No idea, but if Nick shows up next, I’m not going to be surprised.”
~*~*~
Economics and their second study session at the archive went as normal. Gregory was glad that no one else showed up to challenge him. Aether introduction was hands-on again, with the novices trying to duplicate what they had been taught a few days prior.
Gregory took notes, talking to the novices who seemed indifferent or partially friendly, but avoided the ones who looked hostile. While Yukiko was working on her shadow magic, she kept her eyes on Gregory to make sure he was okay. Dunn stopped by a couple of times and encouraged Gregory to keep trying different things.
When class ended, Gregory and Yukiko hurried to the arenas to find out where conditioning was going to be held that day. Seeing the paper on the board directing them to the green arena, they paused— the class had never visited the same arena as the day before. Not having anything else to go on, they went over to the green arena.
There was an old man sweeping the entryway when they got there. Gregory’s lips turned up at the corners, as he remembered meeting him before. “Laozi, it’s good to see you again.”
Pausing, the old man in the gray kimono looked up. “Ah, Novices. How are you?”
“We’re good,” Yukiko smiled.
Laozi’s eyes crinkled. “Why are you here? Novices should be at the blue arena today.”
“The announcement said green,” Gregory said.
“Hmm, odd… Either the magus didn’t change it, or someone is trying to get you in trouble,” Laozi said.
“That’s the first trick,” Yukiko sighed. “Thank you for letting us know.” She bowed her head to him.
“Oh, none of that. I’m merely a sweeper and am not worthy of a bow.” Eyes twinkling, he bowed to them. “I hope I’ve been useful to you both. Please excuse me, but I must go back to work.”
“Thank you, Laozi,” Gregory said, bowing his head. “You deserve respect. You’ve helped us again.”
Laozi waved off his words, smiling the entire time. “I wish you well, Novices.”
Once they said goodbye, they hurried to the blue arena. When they reached the sands of the arena floor, the novices of the Eternal Flame, the other novices, and Magus Paul were waiting for them.
“Pettit, I almost called you absent from your challenges,” Paul said sternly.
“Apologies,” Gregory said, his face grim. “When we passed the board, the paper said green. If not for the sweeper at the green arena, we’d never have known.”
Paul’s brow contracted, but before he could speak, Nick said, “Of course, fringer. Just admit you had cold feet. If you do that and beg forgiveness, we might not make you fight at all.”
“It’s the truth,” Gregory said simply as he pulled his bag off and handed it to Yukiko. “I’m here and I’m ready.”
“Very well. Everyone, move back,” Paul said. “We’ll get these challenges over with quickly. Pettit and Fureno, come stand in front of me.”
Fureno’s face was twisted in anger, but he did as Paul commanded. Gregory stared at the other novices as he took his position. “I’ll make sure you regret what you’ve done, Pet-tit.”
“Silence,” Paul said firmly. “This challenge is about to start. Recite the rules and stakes for all to hear.” Once they had, Paul raised his hands. “I am the adjudicator for this duel. You will listen to me, and the bout ends when I call it.”
“Yes, sir,” Gregory said.
“Yes, sir,” Fureno echoed.
Bowing when Paul directed them, the two took ready stances as the magus backed off and told them to start.
Fureno rushed forward. Gregory barely shifted, accepting a glancing hit as he grabbed Fureno and twisted. Fureno slammed into the ground right before Gregory kicked hard at him. Fureno rolled away and got up to his feet, avoiding the kick.
“I hit you first,” Fureno snickered. “So much for the vaunted champion.”
Gregory didn’t speak— he just adjusted his position and waited.
After a moment of them circling, Fureno rushed forward again. Gregory smiled when a glimpse of the future came to him. As Fureno feinted with the same attack, Gregory feinted as if he were going to block it. Fureno’s lips twisted into a grin as he shifted and went to plow into Gregory, but that grin fell away when he met Gregory’s knee.
A crunch and scream, accompanied with a fountain of blood, told of his shattered nose. Gregory didn’t stop— following Fureno as he backpedaled, his swift kicks and punches hit the dazed novice over and over again. Unable to properly defend himself, Fureno stumbled and fell. Gregory followed him down, rolling and wrapping his arms around Fureno’s neck.
Paul waited until Gregory stood back up before he stepped forward. Checking the downed novice, he nodded. “Winner is Gregory Pettit. Novice Fureno is barred from the next novice tournament, as stated.”
Jason stalked forward. “It’s my turn.”
“Indeed, it is,” Paul said. “One of you, remove Fureno from the area,” he told the cluster of Eternal Flame novices. “Now, state the rules of your challenge and the stakes.”
The rest of the class had shown up by the time Paul made them bow. Moving back, he commanded them to fight. Jason didn’t hesitate at all, coming forward in a flurry of kicks and punches.
Gregory found himself retreating, unable to blunt the attack. He blocked most of them, but enough were making it through his defenses to bruise him. The heavy assault pushed him back into a group of novices, who picked and pulled at his kimono, slowing his ability to block and allowing more hits to land.
“Stop! Break!” Paul shouted.
Jason didn’t stop, however. As Gregory started to lower his hands, Jason’s fist drove forward, just missing Gregory’s neck and hitting his collarbone. The moment the punch landed, Jason was quickly backing up, his hands held up as if he were complying with Paul’s order.
Paul glanced at Jason for a moment before turning back to Gregory, who had managed to step away from the novices who had been hindering him. “If I see any of you interfere again, I will make sure you learn a very hard lesson. Pettit, do you wish to continue?”
“Yes, sir,” Gregory panted, spitting a wad of blood to the side. He had bitten his tongue, and it was still bleeding slowly.
“Very well. Fight!” Paul commanded.
Jason rushed forward again, but Gregory didn’t back up. Instead, he ducked as Jason came in and shot forward the last foot, his shoulder catching the other novice in the gut. Lurching forward, Gregory’s hands clamped onto Jason’s thighs, lifting him from the ground. Elbows dug into his back, but Gregory committed to the attack, slamming Jason to the ground under him.
Jason wheezed as his breath was almost driven out of him. His attacks slowed and lost some of their strength, allowing Gregory to grab Jason’s legs and spin him into a submission hold. Jason let out a grunt of pain when he felt his ankle bend the wrong way.
“Tap!” Gregory shouted. “Tap or I’ll keep going!”
Jason screamed, refusing to tap. He tried to brute force his way free, but without his aether to help him, he wasn’t in a position to get the leverage he needed. Gregory grimaced as he applied more pressure, making Jason’s knee and ankle flex badly.
Paul came closer, watching intently and waiting to stop the match. Because he did, he caught the brief flash of blue just before Jason flung Gregory off him. “Stop! The match is over!” Paul shouted.
Gregory grunted as he rolled to his feet, his left arm a throbbing mass of pain. Jason surged to his feet, taking a single step toward Gregory before Paul grabbed him and forced him to the ground.
“I said the match is over, Novice!” Paul growled into Jason’s ear. “Now stop it, or I will make sure you learn the hard way!”
Jason was panting hard, but he let go of his aether. “I’ve stopped.”
“Good,” Paul said, letting him go and standing back up.
“Why did you stop the fight?” Nick demanded. “Jason reversed the hold.”
“Argon used aether,” Paul said bluntly.
Nick stared at him for a long moment before bowing his head the barest fraction. “I apologize, Magus.”
“Winner is Pettit,” Paul announced. He turned to Jason, who was having trouble staying on his feet with his damaged knee and ankle. “You may go see a healer, Argon, but when you get back, you’ll complete the loss as required.”
Jason’s lips curled back. “I will do it now, Magus, unless you order me otherwise.”
“I don’t want his lips to touch my foot,” Yukiko said. “I might catch something. I ask that the loss requirement be seen as done without the act.”
“Pettit?” Paul asked.
“If that’s what she wants,” Gregory said, his left arm still throbbing.
“Agreed,” Jason spat.
“Very well. The challenge is over and all conditions have been met,” Paul announced. “Argon, go see the healer, then go back to your clan for the rest of the class. You need time to reflect on your loss.”
Jason’s teeth ground together, but he bowed and left the arena.
“The rest of you, class starts soon,” Paul said bluntly. “Get ready to stretch and run.”
“Sir,” Gregory asked, “may I see a healer for my arm?”
Paul frowned, motioning Gregory to him. Taking Gregory’s left arm in his hand, he pushed the kimono sleeve up and nodded. “That muscle needs to be seen to. It must have torn when he forced you off. Give him a minute, then you may go.”
“Thank you, sir,” Gregory said through pain-gritted teeth.
“Come back for weapons training,” Paul added.
“Yes, sir.”
Yukiko touched Gregory’s shoulder as he started to walk away. “Take your bag. Your snack is still inside. I’ll see you here for training afterward?”
“Yes. Thank you, Yuki.”
“You did well, dear one,” Yukiko whispered as she gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Go get healed. I’ll see you after class.”
