The training yard rang with the sharp rhythm of steel.
Kazuo swung, water spilling from the edge of his blade in a jagged arc — but instead of cutting forward, it broke apart midair and splashed harmlessly onto the dirt.
He hissed through his teeth, resetting his stance, sweat dripping into his eyes. His shoulders burned from repetition, his legs unsteady.
Behind him, Setsuna leaned casually against the fence post, arms folded.
"Good, good," he drawled. "You almost look like a swordsman instead of someone wrestling a broom."
Kazuo shot him a glare, but lifted his sword again. He focused, drawing water tight along the steel — the shape of the spell holding, if only barely.
He swung.
Another watery blur tore loose — only to collapse into droplets before reaching the target dummy.
Kazuo's knees gave out. He dropped to a crouch, panting, sweat darkening the front of his tunic.
Setsuna strolled over, crouched beside him, and offered the faintest smirk. "Come on, Kazu. You're acting like you've never held a sword in your life."
Before Kazuo could answer, a voice cut across the yard.
"Setsuna!"
Tetsu appeared at the gate, glasses slightly askew, holding a notebook stuffed with loose papers. "You said you were going to help me train today!"
Setsuna straightened and snapped his fingers like he'd just remembered. "Ah. My bad."
Tetsu huffed, adjusting his glasses. "Unbelievable." He shot a look at Kazuo, then muttered something under his breath and started toward the far side of the yard.
Kazuo blinked after him. "Wait… what kind of training?"
Setsuna gave a low chuckle. "Less about body training. More like… I'm used as the test dummy for his gadgets."
Tetsu's ears went red. "You're not a dummy — more like a… voluntary tester."
Setsuna waved him off lazily. "Sure, sure. Go on ahead, genius."
Grumbling, Tetsu marched off toward the workshop at the edge of the yard, already scribbling notes as he went.
Kazuo couldn't help but smile faintly. Good for Tetsu. I hope he succeeds in whatever he's building.
Setsuna tilted his head back toward Kazuo. "Now, where were we? Ah yes. You drowning the dirt."
"Break time, Kazuo?"
Sora strolled in from the path, licking at an ice cream cone. She had another in hand, which she dangled in front of Kazuo with a smirk. "Want one?"
Setsuna ran a hand through his hair "Gosh, what's the matter with you all today… you're all so damn annoying."
Kazuo stared at it, then at her, then sighed. "...Yeah." He took it and bit in, cold sweetness cutting through the salt of sweat.
She turned toward Setsuna, waving her second cone like a peace offering. "And what about you?"
Setsuna gave her a downright disgusted look, as if she'd just offered him spoiled milk, and waved the cone away. "I hate ice cream."
Sora blinked. "Wait. You? The Ice Captain? Hates ice cream?"
"Exactly."
He gave a short snort and shook his head. "I'm better off going to help Tetsu. But you—" he jabbed a finger at Kazuo, "—once you're done stuffing your face, get back to training. I can smell your sweat from everywhere."
With that, Setsuna turned and headed off toward where Tetsu was waiting with his notebook and tools.
They sat on the ground by the fence, backs against the posts, licking their ice creams while the sound of Setsuna's voice drifted faintly from where he'd gone to Tetsu.
Sora nudged her cone toward the yard. "So… Tetsu's training again. He does that a lot lately."
"Yeah," Kazuo said. "After what happened in the Royal Library with Vaskel…"
He told her the story while they sat there, the details spilling out between bites of ice cream.
When he finished, sora's gaze sharpened. "That's so typical of that weasel Vaskel. There's no magic in the world that's useless. No matter what."
Kazuo gave a small nod, then glanced sideways at her. "Speaking of Tetsu… I understand now why he joined. But I never asked you, Sora. Why did you join the Royal Guard? You once mentioned your magic could only really be used on away missions."
For once, Sora didn't fire back with a quip. She looked down at the half-melted swirl in her cone, her smile slipping just slightly.
"I don't talk about my past," she said at last. "I don't want to be defined by it."
Kazuo waited, silent.
She didn't answer at first. A bead of melted cream sliding over her fingers. The grin she usually wore wasn't there. For a long moment, the only sound between them was the faint clatter of steel where Tetsu and Setsuna trained at the far end of the yard.
Then she drew in a slow breath.
"…Fine. You deserve something."
Her tone had shifted — quieter, heavier. She lowered the ice cream to her lap, no longer interested in it.
"My magic is Poison. Even just a small amount is lethal"
"Poison?"
"I couldn't control it at all," she continued. "It reacted to my emotions. Anger, sadness, even happiness… it always leaked out. Once…" Her fingers trembled faintly around the cone, and her voice hitched before she forced the words out. "I hugged my parents. Just once. And I almost killed them."
The words hung in the air, sharp and ugly.
Her voice thinned, the edges cutting like glass. "After that, everyone kept their distance. Nobody wanted to come near me. No squad would take me in. I was… too dangerous."
She swallowed. "And I couldn't forgive myself, either."
Kazuo didn't move. He could only watch the way her fingers curled tight around the cone, as though she was holding herself together by force. He had never seen her like this — the typically playful Sora was gone.
The silence between them was heavy, broken only when Sora let out a brittle laugh. "So I sought Setsuna. Challenged him, thinking maybe if I beat him, I'd earn a place."
"You challenged Setsuna?"
"Yes," she said without hesitation. "And I lost in just a few minutes. Completely crushed."
A faint smile tugged at her lips, though it didn't reach her eyes. She let the silence linger before going on.
"After my defeat, I thought that was it. The end. But instead… he took me in and helped me through it all. He guided me when I couldn't even trust myself. He taught me to control my magic, and if it ever leaked out again, I knew he would be there to stop me."
Her eyes met Kazuos.
"And now… now I can control it perfectly." Another pause, softer this time. "Still, I'd rather not use it — except on away missions."
She leaned back against the post, licking the last of her ice cream. "You could just think of me as a cool little secret weapon."
Kazuo exhaled, shaking his head slightly. "I must say… Setsuna really is a remarkable man. He took Tetsu in when nobody else would. He even accepted you — after you'd tried to, well… kind of kill him." A faint breath of laughter left him, though it carried no mockery.
His gaze lowered for a moment. "And me… he saved my neck when Cedric would've had it. If not for him, I don't think I'd still be standing here."
He let the thought settle before lifting his eyes to hers. "And you're right. No magic is useless — that goes for you too, Sora. Besides… I don't see you as some secret weapon. I see you as Sora."
For an instant, her whole body jolted. A flicker crossed her face — a sharp, involuntary flinch. The words dragged up a memory she had buried deep: someone else's voice, years ago, saying the same thing. I don't see you as a weapon, Sora.
Kazuo noticed. "You okay?"
"Uh—yeah," she said quickly, forcing a small laugh. "Sorry. Talking about this stuff… it just gets me all weird."
She glanced down at the last bite of her cone, popped it into her mouth, and stood, brushing dust from her clothes. "Anyway… I've got some stuff to take care of. You should probably get back to training before Setsuna gives you an earful."