The crowd was still buzzing after the last match, their voices a chaotic blend of excitement and disbelief.
"Did you see that counter?"
"I thought she was done for-"
"Nah, that blue haired girl didn't even break a sweat..."
"You're crazy, she was barely keeping up-"
Kinuko just stood there, mouth hanging open as Akeno stepped down from the ring, the light breeze catching her deep-blue hair.
"What?" Akeno asked flatly, catching her stare. "I just can't believe..." Kinuko blinked twice in disbelief, "...you actually listened to me and didn't use any Jutsu."Akeno tilted her head. "You really think I'd need that to beat someone as weak as her?"
"Hehe..." Kinuko smirked, scratching the side of her head. "You looked like you kinda struggled though."
Before Akeno could snap back, Kinuko stepped forward and suddenly pulled her in, hugging her tight. "Anyway... I'm proud of you. You've grown up."
"Mmph-ugh!" Akeno muffled into Kinuko's chest, cheeks burning. "W-what are you talking about?! Stop acting like you're older than me!"
They started lightly shoving at each other, their scuffle almost playful - until a deep voice cut through the chatter like a blade.
"That was a good bout."
The crowd instantly went quiet. Rovan's voice carried an authority that made even the wind seem to hesitate. His gaze swept across the ring before he spoke again.
"Next - Naelle Voss."
The air shifted. A tall figure stepped forward from the shadows, her movements deliberate, precise. The red trim of her uniform marked her mastery, but it was the cold, calculating stillness in her eyes that sent a ripple through the spectators.
She stopped just at the edge of the ring, her hands loosely at her sides, as if the fight ahead was already decided.
"And..." Rovan's eyes locked onto Kinuko. "You."
Kinuko let go of Akeno, grinning. "Ooh, seems it's my turn." She rolled her shoulders once, striding toward the ring with the energy of someone who'd been waiting for this all day.
Naelle didn't move. Didn't blink. Just watched. The crowd leaned forward, sensing a very different kind of battle about to unfold. As they stood in the ring, Naelle kept her eyes locked on Kinuko.
'Now I can't fight without a weapon, can I?' Kinuko thought, her tone almost playful.
Without hurry, she strolled towards the weapon board beside the ring.
Naelle's voice cracked across the ring, sharp and impatient. "You're wasting time!" Kinuko lazily lifted her pointer finger without turning around. "Relax... I'm looking for a weapon." Her gaze drifted across the array of choices.
"Hmm... there are so many it's hard to choose," she muttered, pressing a finger to her lip in mock contemplation."There!" she suddenly said, her tone brightening. "I thought they wouldn't have it."
She snatched two hiltless short swords from the board, their bare tangs wrapped in thin leather strips. "Be quick!"
Naelle's voice rose again- But before she could repeat herself, Kinuko moved.
She launched forward in a blur so fast it was as if her body had skipped through space. One heartbeat she was at the weapon board; the next, she was inches from Naelle's face, her blades poised.
"STOP!"
His voice carried the kind of weight that froze blood in veins. Even Kinuko hesitated. Both girls froze mid-motion. Sweat trickled down Rovan's temple - the kind of sweat that came not from heat, but from knowing how close something deadly was about to happen.
Kinuko slowly turned her head toward him. Something in her demeanor had shifted. This time, she didn't look like the same cheerful, teasing girl from a moment ago - her tongue lolled slightly from her mouth, and her breaths came in rapid, ragged bursts, as though she'd ran a thousand miles in a single step.
Naelle staggered back, instinctively patting the side of her head as if to make sure it was still attached. "W-When did she get here? She was at weapons board a second ago..."
"In case you've forgotten the rules," Rovan said, his voice tightening, "let me remind you." His eyes locked on Kinuko. "No killing. I don't care if you're faster, stronger, or angrier - you stop short. You leave your opponent breathing. Do I make myself clear?"
A murmur spread through the watching crowd - some whispering about Kinuko's speed, others about how close Naelle had come to dying.
Rovan's shoulders eased slightly. "Now that I'm sure you know the rules... you can begin." He muttered under his breath, barely loud enough for those nearby to hear, "What's with the girls entering this year...? If I didn't stop her now we'd be cleaning up a corpse."
Kinuko lowered into a stance, her knees bent, her short swords angled forward. Her eyes gleamed dangerously. Naelle mirrored her, planting her feet firmly, jaw tightening. The tension between them was thick enough to choke on.
Amidst the chaos - assistants scrambling, examiners barking orders and whispers rippling through the crowd about how someone nearly died in an entrance exam - Akeno stood still.
Her hands pressed against her flushed cheeks, and despite the tension all around, a smile tugged uncontrollably at her lips. "Yes..." she whispered, her voice trembling with excitement. "Yes... this is the part of Kinuko I love to see the most."
Her eyes glistened, locked on the girl now standing at the center of attention. To everyone else, Kinuko's shift in aura was shocking, even terrifying. But to Akeno, it was familiar. It was truth.
'Ever since we were kids, she's always hated fighting,' Akeno thought, the memory pulling her back in time. We were weak, mocked, outcasts. 'Every fight she got into... she went all out. Not because she wanted to fight, but because she wanted it over quickly.'
The memory sharpened, vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
"Please... leave me alone!" Akeno sobbed, curled on the ground as the boys stomped and jeered. Her voice was raw, desperate, but their laughter only grew.
Then came a shadow.
A small figure stepped forward, chin lowered, eyes hidden by bangs. "Leave her alone."
The boys turned, their laughter louder. "Look, it's the other failure."
"Yeah-my dad says she doesn't even know any Jutsu."
The girl raised her head then, and Akeno saw it for the first time - that quiet fire burning in her eyes.
Her fists clenched tight as she stepped closer.
"Leave. Her. Alone."
The boys sneered, closing in. "And if we don't? What are you gonna do?"
She didn't answer. She just moved. The first punch landed so fast it shocked everyone, even Akeno. The rest was a blur of limbs, blood and furious determination. By the time it ended, she was bruised and bleeding, standing over her would-be bullies who now whimpered on the dirt.
Breathless, she knelt beside Akeno. "You okay?"
Akeno sniffled, wiping her sleeve across the girl's cheek, smearing the blood away.
"You're bleeding..."
"It's just a scratch." The girl stood, stretched out her hand with a grin that looked far too bright for the scene around them.
"Let's be friends. My name's Kinuko."