Just shortly after the commotion with Taiyo and Aimee, another battle was well underway at one of the southern training grounds as well. Unlike the impromptu fight that had landed one of the Umitasora siblings in hot water, this brawl was more than sanctioned. Once again Hikari faced off against her Aunt and mentor Kyuen, yet unlike her training the day before, Hikari was now accompanied in battle by two other younger women as well. Arielle Lirash and Syra Voss. The two young women in question were Hikari's classmates and friends who often trained alongside her against Kyuen. Much like Hikari the two Nikugan wielding women were amongst the top of their class and showed promising futures as Sentoki. Arielle, a short, blue-eyed, strawberry blonde haired woman dressed in brown and red, danced around the battlefield surrounded by wisps of pink Ki. She had been friends with Hikari and Syra ever since the two other girls had discovered Arielle had a bit of a crush on Hikari's older brother Taiyo, a crush that quickly disappeared as she matured over the years. Arielle dodged and weaved across the field in between her friend and counterpart Syra Voss, another young woman who had been Hikari's friend since before the two of them could recall. Syra, who stood just a bit taller than Hikari with deep auburn eyes and long dark hair that had been braided into thick locs, grew up as neighbors with the Umitasora family and had formed a friendship with Hikari as far back as their infancy. Dressing in dark green attire, Syra led the charge against Kyuen. She charged in holding a long and slender katana that had been dulled for training, its tip pointed directly at her opponent. Across from the three women, Kyuen stood in anticipation. Despite her often dismissive and cold demeanor, she truly loved her times training with these young women, the next generation of strength.
Also equipped with a dulled katana of her own, Kyuen responded to the approaching threat. Unlike before when she could afford to toy with Hikari one on one. Against three promising and vigorous students Kyuen was forced to take things at least somewhat seriously. Kyuen's eyes lit up green as she flicked her blade out in front of her, egging on the young girls. As she did, her Ki extended down her arm and wrapped around, enveloping her sword in a bright green inferno. She rushed forward with bursts of her flames propelling her and clashed with Syra, their blades sending sparks into the air as they met. For Sentoki the use of weapons was different than it would be for someone without a Mesukiro. In the hands of a Mesukiro User, a weapon becomes an extension of their body and will, and subsequently their Ki. It is even said in Sentoki legend, that over time a user's Ki can begin to infuse with their weapon, giving it a life of its own. But for Sentoki, weapons are often much more about how they are used rather than what kind of weapon is used or any specific advantage one might offer in battle. As their blades touched, Syra's lavender shaded Ki did the same and Kyuen's and enveloped Syra's blade, but as a Nikugan user, her way of wielding a weapon was entirely different. Syra's Ki concentrated more and more around the blade until it was just a barely visible haze. Kyuen's eyebrows raised as the feeling of Syra's blade against her own grew heavier and heavier, until it felt like the young woman was bearing down on her with a steel beam in her hands. Kyuen shifted her weight to the side and let Syra's sword sail past her and into the ground, thinking she could simply evade and target one of the other girls. Syra just smiled as her blade fell, knowing Kyuen had underestimated her. As Syra's blade touched the ground it was as if the force of a small earthquake erupted from its dulled edge. The ground split in front of Syra and opened up and even though she had technically missed, the shock of the impact knocked Kyuen off balance for just long enough to create an opening. The green flames surrounding Kyuen's sword were quickly snuffed out by the after shock of Syra's blow and as she tried to fix her footing she realized she had lost sight of her other two opponents.
Kyuen turned her head back and forth in search of the other two girls but she was too late to get the upper hand. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of silver rushing towards her and knew she had to block. She haphazardly regained her footing, raised her sword and released her Ki. splitting the stream of flames that had been launched toward her in half as they diverted around her. "Where did the third one go?" Kyuen thought to herself as she looked around, still trying to see. At the last second she felt a presence coming down from up above and she lifted her head to see the dark silhouette of Arielle wrapped in bright pink aura as she closed in. Kyuen gritted her teeth at how well the girls were working in unison. Not only was Hikari maintaining her stream of flames that kept Kyuen in place and on the defensive, but now Syra had turned on her heel and was approaching with her sword drawn once again, with Arialle closing in from up above. "We've got you now!" Hikari shouted from behind her wall of fire, her breath ragged and her body pouring sweat from their day of sparring. A smile of satisfaction spread across the face of each of the Sentoki women as they seemed to have gotten the upperhand.
"Don't get cocky now, girls…" Kyuen whispered to herself as her own mischievous grin grew wider. Without so much as even a warning, Kyuen's entire body seemed to wrap in flames that quickly burst out in all directions. It was as though her own body had exploded, and before any of the girls could land their attack they were all swept back by a screaming wall of Kyuen's fire. Hikari, Arielle and Syra all rolled across the charred ground, coughing and gasping from the heat that had sucked the air from their lungs. Their clothes smouldered as they came to a stop and tried to recover. "Ugh so close!" Arielle pouted as she punched the ground a bit. "Not really, she's still barely even trying," Syra replied with a defeated tone as she rose to her feet using her sword to help her up. "No Arielle's right… we were close," Hikari said with a voice full of ambition, already on her feet and ready to approach Kyuen once again. Syra and Arielle finished brushing themselves off and stood behind their friend, their eyes all glowing with the determination to succeed. "We'll go for her all at once. Don't stop swinging until we overwhelm her and then try to finish things as fast as possible," Hikari said as she exchanged a look of confidence with her classmates. "Ready? Let's go!" She shouted as they planted their feet
Almost like the ground and sky had been swapped, the vision of Hikari, Arielle and Syra turned upside down before they could even begin their charge. Their bodies thudded against the ground and a chill took over them, making their spines crawl a bit before they had realized what had happened. "It's so cold…" Hikari thought to herself as she lifted her body up off the ground and looked around, only to see that the entirety of the field had been blanketed in a thin black sheet of ice. Hikari slowly picked herself back up off the ground, carefully stabilizing herself on the ice so as not to slip again. As she looked around, she quickly noticed that the ground surrounding Kyuen's feet had not been frozen at all. "Excuse you? Do you know who you're interrupting? Kyuen scowled with a vicious tone as her eyes pierced through Hikari and the girls, toward the entrance to the training grounds behind them.
Hikari slowly turned around to look behind her, the ice beneath her feet quickly dissipating as she did. Standing in the archway to the training field was a young woman dressed in all black. As the young woman approached, her features became clearer. Tall black heels supported her slender frame, she stepped forward in sheer black tights and a frilly black skirt, its playful style almost an objection to its gloomy color. A black dress coat covered what was another black garment that all seemed oddly prim and proper to be found anywhere near the training grounds. Her long dark hair fell across her shoulders, almost disappearing against her black attire. She held a tight, smug expression across her quaint and pale face, her thin lips pursed in a condescending grin. If it were not for her arrogant expression, she would have looked rather approachable despite her gloomy wardrobe. "Hikari, is it?" the young woman spoke out with a lofty and affluent cadence as she began to step forward. "I was told to keep my eyes out for a white-haired try-hard who's supposed to be top of her class, is that you?" said the woman who had interrupted her duel. "Sorry about the ice, I figured someone with your reputation would have reacted in time… but I guess not," she said passive-aggressively. "You can answer my question first," Kyuen said as she stepped past Hikari, greeting the woman in a pseudo-standoff as she approached the group.
"Harrow Hawthorne," The young woman said promptly as she quickly lowered her head in respect to Kyuen. "Forgive me for intruding on you Miss Goddess, I simply came to see my competition," Harrow said as she raised her head. "Competition?" Kyuen asked impatiently. "Why of course, I've come to Kaika Temple for the Placement exam!" she said cheerily as if she was amiss with Kyuens' anger. "I myself am a privately trained student-" Kyuen cut her off as she began to explain herself. "A student able to wield ice? That's almost unheard of… " She asked again. "Are you impressed?" Harrow asked, "Maybe I should be the one to train with the Four Goddesses? But we can't all be the Headmaster's niece, can we?" She said with a fake smile as she glared past Kyuen and at Hikari. "Are you guys going to be training much longer? My tutors and I had reserved the field for this time," Harrow said with another fake smile and shallow politeness that was more see-through than the threads of her tights. "We were just finishing." Kyuen said with annoyance in her voice as she walked away, leaving Hikari and the other girls face to face with Harrow, a woman who had clearly come here to either challenge or antagonize them.
"I've heard quite a bit about you, Hikari," said Harrow as the two of them stood across from each other in the center of the field. "The kind and polite overachiever who sits above the rest of her classmates, yet never looks down on them," she said mockingly. Hikari gritted her teeth, still panting from her grueling afternoon of training as she stepped in close to Harrow, leaving their faces only inches apart. Behind her Syra and Arielle swallowed their tongues with anticipation, unsure of what to make of the woman who had suddenly appeared. Harrow didn't flinch with Hikari's approach, instead, her smile grew more sinister as an aura of dark black Ki began swelling around her. With some of her last remaining stamina, Hikari's Ki began swelling around her as well, swirling and clashing with Harrows as the two faced off. "I guess you didn't hear everything about me," Hikari said through tense lips, "Otherwise, you would know I didn't reach the top of my class by just being kind and polite," she said threateningly. "Ooohh, fire girls got some heat!" Harrow teased, "Not that it'll save you… I may have come here to graduate and earn my rightful place as a Sentoki, but I also came here to show those women where I deserve to be!" Harrow exclaimed as she looked over towards where Kyuen now stood under the archway to the field. Hikari scrunched her face in both anger and confusion. "Ever since I opened my eyes, my goal has been to join the Four Goddesses, and I came here to show them that, by crushing you at graduation! To be honest, I had no idea that I'd find you two together like this, but it just makes it that much easier to accomplish my goals… I'm going to humiliate the top student during the exams and take my place as the Goddess's prodigy!" Harrow boasted, her rambling growing somewhat insane sounding as she went on. Hikari looked over to her Aunt to see her reaction to Harrow's tirade. Kyuen simply stood expressionless as she watched. Hikari looked back at her newly formed and formidable rival who had seemingly come out of the blue. "Good luck," Hikari muttered with a dismissive scoff as she turned to walk away, leaving Harrow in the center of the field. She had only been able to take a few steps before she felt the chill of Harrow's malice once again. "Watch out!" Syra and Arielle shouted in unison as they tried to warn their friend.
Hikari's Ki flared as she spun her foot around. Her white flames shattering a shard of black Ice Harrow had launched toward Hikari's back as she walked away. Harrow just continued to smile as Hikari glared at her before slowly turning away once again. Arielle and Syra timidly followed suit, their eyes darting back and forth between Harrow and Hikari as she and they met up with the Kyuen underneath the archway, and together the four of them walked out of the training grounds. All the while, Hikari made sure not to give Harrow the satisfaction of even drawing another word out of her. Meanwhile, Harrow stood and watched their every move as they walked out of sight.
"Who the hell was she??" Arielle erupted as soon as they seemed to be out of earshot. "No clue, but…" Said Syra as she looked over at Hikari who she could feel was seething with rage. "You okay Hikari?" Syra asked as she craned her neck forward to try and see her expression. Kyuen looked back at her niece, only to see Hikari's eyes wide and her face painted with an expression of both thrill and bewilderment. "Kyuen… How does that girl already have a secondary element" Hikari muttered as she looked down at her own hands. "Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are… Being able to wield an elemental combination like that means having a high level of mastery over at least two elements, in her case those would be water and air. I doubt she has any more elements in her arsenal besides those." Kyuen said astutely as the women trailed behind her and listened in. "How… How far away do you think I am from being able to do something like that?" Hikari asked, her mind racing with the idea of achieving a goal she had never contemplated before. "You don't need to be able to wield a combination to become a Goddess you know…" Kyuen said slyly over her shoulder. "Yeah but…" Hikari replied, her voice trailing off as her imagination chased around her ambitions in her thoughts. Kyuen smiled softly as she turned forward once again, "Don't rush it… You'll get there in time." Kyuen said in an almost warm voice, catching Hikari somewhat off guard yet still managing to reassure her just a bit. Hikari smiled as she walked with her friends in tow, still caught up in the thought of what she could achieve. "Could I… get to that level?..." She wondered.