The next day, Rain is back in the Academy's amphitheater. He's seated with the general audience, waiting for the tournament's first match of the day to start. Coincidentally, it's now the semi-finals, which means that there are only two matches...and he has friends in both. Ronin in one, and Nik in the other.
Fortunately, since he's no longer in the tournament, he does not have to sit in Academy-assigned seating. So, Tess is seated comfortably next to him. Perhaps a bit too comfortably.
Rain glances over at her, noting how her arm is looped around his, her head resting affectionately on his shoulder. He also glances around him, seeing the many pairs of eyes shamelessly locked onto them.
If envy had mass, there'd be a black hole where he's sitting.
He whispers into Tess's ear.
"Uhm...Tess...should we really be so...close...in public like this?"
She doesn't even spare him a glance.
"Why not? I've been seen sleeping over in your room, Rain...repeatedly. As far as the Academy's rumors are concerned, we've been lovers for at least a few weeks. I'm just making sure there's no doubts about my relationship with you."
He gives her a puzzled look.
"Okay, but...why does it matter if the other students have doubts? Nik and Ronin already know the truth...we don't hang out with anyone else."
She smiles in amusement.
"Oh...there are a few reasons. The one I'm most interested in right now is sensing the satisfying cycle of excitement, disappointment, and jealousy within other girls as they look at us."
He raises his eyebrows.
'What the hell is she talking about?'
"Uhm...sorry, I'm not following..."
She rolls her eyes.
"Your reputation has skyrocketed since that display in your final match, Rain. All of the non-Legacies respect that you beat a Legacy, hardly anyone thinks you should have been disqualified, and even those people who were whispering about how you deserved to be humbled have decided that they'd rather not be on your bad side.
"Naturally, that's not the only way that public opinion of you was changed that day. I've also heard whispers among some of the girls, and felt their intrigue as they look at you. Apparently you've been upgraded from a gloomy loner to a mysterious bad boy. You're garnering quite a bit of romantic curiosity now.
"So, when the girls here see you, they get a bit excited. Then, when they see me holding you like this, they feel understandably disappointed. Finally, they feel jealousy...towards me. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm quite fond of that sensation, Rain. Understand now?"
He blinks repeatedly.
He's aware that some people are more positive towards him than normal. Appearing to remember his name more, saying they enjoyed his last match, etc. But he hasn't witnessed anything like what Tess is describing.
"Uhm...I haven't experienced any of this 'romantic curiosity' that you're talking about. And me being a 'bad boy' is kind of laughable, don't you think? Your sources sound about as credible as the people who thought Ronin and I were sleeping together."
Tess smirks, and finally turns her gaze to him, her eyes full of amusement as they seem to study his face.
"That's because you're a dumbass. But I don't mind...the less competition, the better."
Rain snorts instinctively, glancing briefly at Tess with an incredulous expression before he responds.
"Tess, there's not anyone in this whole Academy worthy of being called your competition."
Her eyes widen and her mouth parts, and she studies his face in stunned silence for several moments. After, she calmly averts her gaze, leaning her head back against his shoulder without saying a word. She just stares straight ahead...
A shameless grin on her face.
Oblivious to her emotional state, Rain's attention is quickly stolen by activity on the stage.
"Oh, here we go! Nik's making his way to the stage...I guess the match is about to start."
He watches as Nik walks onto the stage below, flashing a polite smile to the Academy staff responsible for applying his Talent monitor to his Mark. Meanwhile, Rain notices another student walk onto the stage.
It's a girl around 19 years old, between his and Nik's heights, with short, white hair and tan skin. She has a lean, muscular build, not unlike Ronin's, and she's only wearing tight training pants, a grey sports bra, and her Academy-issued, white vest armor. Well, that and a cocky smile.
She's also carrying a massive, training greatsword...something he hasn't seen any other student using. He's not even sure if he's seen them in the training room.
Rain recognizes her from one of the past few days' matches, but...he doesn't recall ever seeing her around the Academy before the tournament. Even dressed more modestly, she's far too unique-looking for him to have not noticed her before, or for him to have seen her and forgotten about the encounter.
'Then where did she come from?'
He turns to Tess with a curious expression.
"Hey Tess...do you know anything about Nik's opponent? I've seen her a couple times since the tournament started, but I'd swear she wasn't even a student before that. Come to think of it, even since the tournament started, I haven't seen her elsewhere around the Academy."
Tess is already staring at the strange girl, her eyes full of confusion, and her distracted gaze lingers for several moments before responding.
"My recollection is the same...I've never seen her outside the ring. So, I haven't heard anything about her. However, I can tell you two things with pretty high certainty. She's a Legacy, and she's extremely dangerous."
He raises his eyebrows.
"What makes you say that?"
Tess frowns.
"Nik. I can sense what he's feeling right now, and...he's terrified of her. Since neither of us even remembers seeing her, they must have a history."
His eyes widen.
'Nik...afraid of someone? That's a scary thought...'
He turns to study the girl again. Now, she's resting one hand on the hilt of her greatsword, which is shoved point down into the ring. Her other hand is scratching the back of her head as she yawns. Then, she suddenly arches her back, appearing to stretch her muscles lazily.
After she's done, she walks into the ring, a little closer to Nik, and her eyes study him as a small smile finds its way to her face. From his position in the ringside seats, Rain can just barely hear her as she speaks.
"Well hello, Niklaus...how's my favorite little lost boy doing? Resolved your daddy issues yet?"
Rain widens his eyes at the girl's flippant, disrespectful tone. Despite it, and the fact that she called him by his full name, Nik doesn't even show a hint of emotion. Instead, he just nods his head slightly towards the girl.
"Lady Veldanava, I am well...thank you for your concern."
The girl sighs in exasperation. Picking up her greatsword, she slings it over her shoulder, then scowls at Nik.
"You'd think the infamous Shame of the Raging Sun would at least remove that stick the Abel clan inserts up their Legacies' asses at birth. But sadly not, huh? Gods you're such a disappointment. Grow a pair and get a little disrespectful...you're boring and it's pissing me off."
Rain thinks he sees Nik's face pale. Meanwhile, his own expression is incredulous.
'There's no way this girl is actually a Legacy, right? I mean...even I sound refined compared to her.'
On the other hand, he's certain that she is...and a pretty important one, too. After all, Rain's only heard Nik use an honorific like 'Lady' with one other person...Ronin. Not even other Legacies he's interacted with have had that honor.
He wishes Ronin was nearby so he could ask about Veldanava, but she's seated separately from the non-contestants. At the very least, though, the way the girl referred to the Abel clan makes him think she's part of the Veyron clan.
'That's the same clan as the Legacy I fought...who intended to kill Ronin. If this girl is someone important in the Veyron clan, and as proficient a fighter as Tess suspects, then is she here with a similar agenda?'
Rain's Ichor starts to stir as he stares at the girl intently, anger towards her taking root despite himself, and his eyes begin to darken. Only a moment later, though, he feels someone grab his wrist firmly, snapping him from his dark thoughts. He glances over in surprise, and sees Tess holding him.
Her eyes are full of concern, and she whispers at him urgently.
"Rain...whatever you're doing, you need to reign it in. When you get like this, I can feel it...like something in the air. It seems like most people can't tell, but...someone else is bound to be sensitive to it. You're going to draw attention to yourself."
Rain blinks, a bit confused.
'Again?'
Tess has said something similar before...that sometimes his irises turn black, and he emits an unsettling aura. From what he can gather of her descriptions of when she's seen it, it sounds like something that happens when he's in an especially intense emotional state. Strangely, though, he never feels anything out of the ordinary in those moments, and there's nothing in his Soul Temple descriptions that would explain the phenomenon.
He lets out a sigh, and nods at Tess.
"Sorry, I didn't know...I'll try and be more mindful. Thanks."
She nods, letting his arm go, but continues to watch him in concern. He smiles reassuringly, returning his attention to the impending match. As he does, however, he sees Veldanava staring directly at him, a confused expression on her face. He feels himself tense.
'Oh, you've got to be shitting me...'
Just as he's wondering how to react, her eyes slide away from him and back towards Nik, and he breathes a sigh of relief. However, he only gets a few moments of reprieve before he's startled by a sharp whistle...
The match has begun.
Nik lunges forward immediately, while Veldanava just smiles and lifts her greatsword between them. Rain's never seen anyone fight with a greatsword before, so he's surprised when the girl starts swinging it in wide arcs around her head and upper body at breakneck speeds. Her sword is fluid and continuous, appearing to never waste momentum as the directions of her strikes constantly change, as if she's surrounded by an impenetrable barrier of long, phantom blades.
Nik is immediately forced back to avoid colliding with her heavy strikes. With over double Nik's reach, no significant openings in her relentless sword swings, and a time limit short enough to keep her from exhausting herself, Veldanava seems to have the clear advantage.
She begins pressing Nik, almost jogging towards him while keeping up the dizzying series of arcs around her. Before long, Nik is cornered at the edge of the ring, and he's forced to start bearing the brunt of her strikes. Rain watches as heavy sword blows fall on Nik from all sides in an endless cacophony, his friend barely managing to deflect them quickly enough to endure.
As Nik is repeatedly staggered by the force of the blows, his face strained, the girl's strikes only grow more fervent, and a wolfish smile finds its way to her lips.
As the seconds tick by, Nik tries to evade along the edge of the ring so he's less cornered. However, every time he moves one direction, an especially heavy side slash from the greatsword blocks his way.
Nik is trapped and overwhelmed.
"She's a monster…"
Rain can't help but whisper his thoughts aloud, and he hears a soft reply from Tess.
"Yes…she is…"
In the next moment, just as he deflects Veldanava's latest strike, Nik dashes forward desperately at her with a speed that stuns Rain. Before he knows it, Nik is within Veldanava's reach, his sword piercing towards her neck at a startling pace. Already overextended and slowed by the opposing momentum of her massive sword, Veldanava has no chance to parry Nik.
Taking in the massive and sudden flip in the situation, Rain's eyes widen in a mix of disbelief and excitement.
'He's got her!'
At least, that's what Rain assumes...right up until Veldanava lets her own sword go without hesitation, a manic grin on her face.
Before Nik's sword can reach its mark, and now unencumbered by her sword, she steps toward Nik, ducking under his strike. Then, she drives a full force punch directly into his stunned and unsuspecting face.
CRUNCH!
SPURT!
Rain watches in horror as her fist crashes into Nik's nose, a sickening crunch echoing across the arena as blood sprays out in a fine mist. Nik staggers, his legs wobbling from the blow as his eyes seem to flutter on the edge of consciousness. Before he can recover...
CRACK!
Veldanava performs a roundhouse kick, driving her heel into his sternum, the faint sound of bone cracking audible to those nearby. Nik is sent flying over the boundary of the arena, sliding across the floor limply, before coming to a stop.
Completely still.