“Those two are coming along fast,” Jenn said. “Nessa’s a little ahead of Daciana on the mind path.”
“It’s the other way for body,” Yukiko countered. “They balance each other nicely in that regard.”
“Do we need to stop and check the match-ups?” Gregory asked as they were leaving the training hall.
“Shouldn’t need to,” Jenn said. “We know who is fighting who.”
When they stepped out of the building, they had to stop, as Laozi was sweeping the area right in front of the door. “Excuse me, Novices. I don’t mean to delay you,” he said as he kept sweeping the area.
“It’s not a problem,” Gregory said. “We’re waiting for Magus Erichson to post the schedule.”
“Ah, even though your final fight is already set?”
“It’s always best to verify that things are as you believe,” Yukiko replied. “I’ve only ever seen you sweeping. Are there others?”
“Just those that the council punishes,” Laozi grinned.
“How long have you been sweeping?” Jenn asked.
“Today, since an hour before the sun rose above the horizon.”
“I meant more along the lines of how many days?” Jenn clarified.
“Ah… that will take a moment,” Laozi said, stopping and leaning on the broom as he thought. “A little over forty-thousand.”
Yukiko’s jaw dropped. “You’ve been sweeping that long?”
“It just seemed to happen,” Laozi chuckled. “I’m not complaining. It’s a fulfilling life for me. You see, the thing people miss is that I’ve always done something. I can look back and see that I’ve changed things, even if someone comes through with mud on their boots and leaves a trail behind them as soon as I finish. I don’t despair, as it again gives me something to accomplish.”
Gregory snorted. “You don’t get upset?”
“Only when people don’t pay attention. Pointedly ignoring a sign is a reason for the flat of my hand.”
“If you tell us, we’ll listen,” Yukiko replied.
“I figured you would,” Laozi smiled. “Ah, here comes the one you were waiting for. I need to start inside. Pardon me.”
Laozi slipped past them and into the building. They looked past him to see Magus Paul coming their way, along with two sets of guards, marching in step.
Paul gave them a nod. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be here to see the posting or not. It’s as you expect. Your fight is second to last today. Pettit, your guards are on the right. They’ll be with you until after the tournament. Bean, yours are on the left.”
“Like last time,” Gregory said.
“Except this time, you’re fighting in the last fight and will be inside the academy walls all day,” Paul said. “You’ve done more to aggravate the Eternal Flame. The guards hopefully won’t be needed, but they’re here, just in case.”
“Thank you, Magus.”
“Men, you have your charges,” Paul said as he posted the paper.
“We’ll be walking together,” Gregory said, “until we get to the arena and the boxes.”
“Understood,” one of the men said.
~*~*~
Gregory thanked the guards when they reached the box. “I’ll be here until just before the fight. Thank you for making a path for us.”
“It’s our duty,” the guard said.
Gregory shut the door and turned to say hi to Hao and Yoo-jin, but stopped. Words failed him when he saw his father standing there, staring at him.
“Gregory. It’s good to see you.”
A torrent of conflicting emotions clashed inside of him.
Yukiko looked a little panicked. She was standing off to the side, but between the two of them. Hao and Yoo-jin— who had been smiling— were slowly losing their smiles.
“I’m sorry. I was surprised when I was asked to come. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea.”
Taking a deep breath, Gregory clamped down on his turmoil. “I had no idea that you’d be here, or that you’d even want to be.”
“That’s my fault. I know that after your mother died, I wasn’t the father I should have been. Nothing can change the past, but maybe I can make amends and build a better future… If you’ll let me try?” Carmichael asked.
Gregory looked at Yukiko, who was near tears, and suddenly knew what her wedding gift to him was. “Yuki. This is your gift to me?”
“Yes,” she said softly, unsure if she had erred.
“I love you, dear one,” Gregory said, then turned back to his father. “The rift that’s come between us since Mother passed would’ve made her sad. Part of me wants to rebuke you, but that wouldn’t be what she wanted from us.” Taking a deep breath, Gregory stepped forward and extended his hand to his father. “I am willing to try.”
Carmichael swallowed hard, but didn’t take the offered hand. Instead, he stepped in, grabbing his son and hugging him hard. “I’m so sorry, boy,” Carmichael managed to strangle out, trying to hold in the tears that threatened to spill.
Gregory had to infuse his body with aether in order to resist the hard hug and back pats from his father. “So am I,” Gregory replied, patting his father’s back in return.
Yukiko let out a hiccupping sob. “I was so worried that I’d made a grave mistake.”
Gregory broke the hug with his father and took Yukiko gently into his arms. “No, Yuki… you did something I hadn’t even thought was possible. Thank you.” Kissing her cheek, he held her for a long moment.
“Carmichael, will you tell us about Gregory’s mother?” Yoo-Jin asked, guiding the big man to a seat. “It’s obvious that she had a big part of his heart, and we’d like to hear about her.”
“It’s the least I could do for the people who paid my debt in full,” Carmichael said, sitting. “Would it be too much to ask about your daughter in return? I want to know more about the woman my son’s going to marry tomorrow.”
~*~*~
Gregory felt a bounce to his step as he walked toward the arena floor. He hadn’t known how much he had wanted his father’s support until today. A wellspring of happiness made him feel like he was flying. What about you, Mother? Would you smile on us now? We’re going to make amends, and tomorrow, I’ll wed my heart. I’m sure you felt that way for Father, and he felt the same for you, as his heart seemed to vanish when you died.
Exiting the tunnel with Mindie trailing him, Gregory was smiling broadly when he met Jenn’s gaze. She’d stopped by their box during the day and met Carmichael. Gregory chuckled when he thought of her bumbled attempt to introduce herself.
Jenn was serious— she wanted to win, but as she crossed the arena and locked eyes with Gregory, a smile touched her lips, too. His happiness that his father was there had made her heart swell for him.
Grandmaster Yunlo gave both of them a pointed look. “Are you here to fight, or are you going to make a mockery of the tournament?” The words were harsh, but it did as he wanted and wiped the smiles from their faces.
“I fight to win,” Jenn said firmly.
“I fight to win,” Gregory added a second later. “Clan member, friend… it only matters that we give everything we can.”
Jenn nodded.
“We’ll see. You know the rules. Bow to the council.”
They turned and bowed to the council’s box before bowing to Yunlo, and then finally, each other. Jenn took an aggressive stance as she stared at Gregory. Gregory fell into a defensive posture, meeting her challenging gaze. Both of them tensed as Yunlo raised his hand, ready for anything.
“Fight!” Yunlo commanded, suddenly thirty feet from them.
Gregory brought up foresight, quickly shutting it off as he deflected her first three strikes. She was balanced and meditating lightly when the fight began, negating his foresight. Gregory grimaced as he deflected her strikes with difficulty. The enhanced strength from her magic made her hit harder than anyone he’d faced during this tournament. Pushing off the last attack, Gregory leapt back and swept the naginata in a hard horizontal strike to keep her back.
“You know how to negate me,” he said.
“It isn’t as easy as I had thought it would be,” Jenn said, her voice slightly detached. Adjusting her footing, she got ready to come for him again. “I have the advantage in this fight.”
“You do, indeed,” Gregory said. His ability to see aether didn’t work on her since her aether use was internal, so he knew he’d have to count on his skill with the naginata to keep him in the fight.
Jenn knew she’d have to use her aether sparingly to keep going as long as she could. A brief wish for her earring to be charged or her armbands to be of use flitted through the void of her meditation. It shook her concentration, but did not break it.
The two clashed over and over, Gregory using every ounce of skill to keep Jenn at bay. With her magic helping her, she was faster, stronger, and more agile than he was. She was pushing and felt as though she was close to winning when something she didn’t expect happened: he stopped one of her follow-up kicks dead.
Gregory grunted when his left arm blocked her high kick, but the force was negligible compared to everything else she had thrown at him. Gloves, Gregory thought. Need to find a way to use them more, but with her holding that sword, it’s nearly impossible.
Jenn sprang back, as her momentum had come to a stop. Meditation broken from the shock, she asked the only thing she could: “How?”
“Later. We have to fight until one of us wins,” Gregory said as he moved into an attack stance and charged her.
Jenn was forced onto her back foot as she dodged, barely managing to deflect his onslaught. Twice, he skimmed her arm, but both were negated by her magic. I need to get back to balance! she cried internally. Steeling herself, she prepared to fight dirty.
“It’s good that your father made it,” she said as she twisted past one of his strikes.
Gregory grunted, much like he did when a blow landed. The flow of combat had shattered for him as surely as her meditation had earlier.
“Seeing you talking with him was good,” Jenn continued as she took a deep breath, trying to center her own mind.
“Damn it,” Gregory hissed when he realized what she was doing. Rushing at her again, he failed to account for her shift in tactics.
Jenn smiled as he came at her, the world again back in balance. Just as he closed in, she threw her sword at his face, making him bring the naginata up to deflect it. When he did, she attacked not him, but his weapon. The sound of breaking wood was loud to them as the naginata split into multiple pieces.
Gregory let go of the shards and was just able to get his arms down to defend against her flurry. Each blow hit lightly as the gloves sapped the aether from them, but she attacked with such ferocity he couldn’t even begin to counter.
“I will win! I must win!” Jenn howled as she infused herself with aether and tackled him.
Gregory had been determined to win the fight, but his determination was a candle before the hurricane. Even when his gloves stopped her fists, Jenn’s knees crashed into his sides and her head slammed into his.
Gregory was lost. His head was aching and his mind reeling, right before a memory came to him: Gin dropping his practice blade to attack Gregory barehanded. He’d forgotten that important lesson in this critical moment, and now, he paid for it.
“Stop!” Yunlo shouted as he appeared behind Jenn and plucked her from Gregory’s unresisting form.
Jenn snarled and spun on Yunlo, but blinked when she found herself across the arena from them. “Oh…”
Mindie and Klim were already rushing to Gregory, who was trying to sit up.
“Greg…” Jenn whispered, unsure if she should go to him or not.
Yunlo was suddenly in front of Jenn. “Are you done, Novice?”
“I apologize, Grandmaster,” Jenn said, bowing deeply to him.
“Yes. I’ll accept that, as it appears you were just lost in the moment. Bow to the council and your opponent, then leave the field.”
Jenn bowed to the council and to Gregory. Standing back upright, she met Yunlo’s eyes. “Sir, might I check on my friend?”
Yunlo looked back to see Gregory being helped to his feet. “Yes.”
Jenn walked toward Mindie and Gregory slowly, unsure if he’d forgive her for what she had done at the end.
Gregory gave her a pained smile. “You won, Jenn. Mindie says I need to go easy for the rest of tonight. My ribs are badly banged up. They fixed my nose and jaw, though, so I can eat normally.”
“You didn’t hold back,” Mindie said a little reproachfully.
“I… couldn’t,” Jenn said softly. “Greg, I… I’m so sorry.”
Gregory snorted and winced in pain. “No need to apologize, Jenn. We both agreed to do everything we could to win. I failed twice. I should have kept foresight up once you stopped blocking me, and I never should have forgotten an important lesson… that my weapon might be as much a target as I am. If anything, I should be thanking you for helping me relearn that. It might save my life later. You won our rematch, fair and square.”
His easy acceptance of his loss made Jenn’s heart ache and feel light at the same time. “I cheated. I used your family against you.”
“No, you used everything you could.” He eased his arm away from Mindie. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” Mindie asked.
“Yeah. Jenn has me,” Gregory said as he draped his arm on Jenn’s shoulder. “Don’t you?”
“Yes. Always,” Jenn whispered as she helped him along.
“Pushing each other to do better,” Gregory said, missing her meaning. “Let’s go hear what Yuki has to say about it.”
Mindie paused in the hall as the other two kept walking. She watched them curiously before she started to follow them, wearing a thoughtful expression on her face.
