Wilderness Survival was much better than he expected. After class, he skimmed through the curriculum, and apparently, they would learn over fifty survival tactics! Even better, his instructor had a habit of rambling on about things. So, he'd spout information that he wasn't supposed to!
It was great!
He mentioned topics like underwater fighting, putting fires out, and surviving impossibly high drops. While those skills were not immediately useful, who knew when he'd need them.
Even Shade was intrigued — but from what he gathered, she was only interested in learning how to swim. It was a little strange that she didn't already know, but he was not one to judge.
Well, he was, but…
…Well.
At the end of the class, Awakened Hal assigned them with homework. The idea of homework filled him with existential dread, but this homework was… different from what he expected.
Rather than researching the horrors of the Dream Realm, their teacher requested that they participate in a dance battle.
Not against him, but against each other. He wanted Lunar and Shade to fight in dancing ability.
…
It was apparent that Instructor Hal had a few screws loose. Well, both of his students rejected the idea, so settled with the second best option.
A spar.
Now, Lunar and Shade stood face to face, both wielding metal bats. Their choice of weapon was questionable, but according to their instructor, it was "optimal."
They slowly circled each other, scanning the other one's body up and down, searching for weak points. Eventually, Lunar settled his gaze on a specific spot, while she did the same.
Since this was considered "homework", it took place after class, meaning that their instructor was not present. In fact, the duo was standing in the epicenter of an empty gym. And without a referee to control the match, their spar would begin once one of them moved.
They continued walking, grasping their bats with a pristine grip. Their stances shifted slightly as they stepped.
Then, finally, Lunar made a move.
He kicked off the floor, his rubber shoe squeaking against the wood. As he pushed forward, he positioned the point of his bat like a spear, ready to pierce. Typically this would have been moronic, as bats were meant to swing, not pierce.
Which was exactly why it would catch her off guard.
Anticipating Lunar's approach, Shade crouched to the ground, preparing to block. Unfortunately, a pierce was harder to block than a swing. So, she lowered herself even more, decreasing the surface area of his attack.
Then, as the bat approached her chest, she grabbed it with her bare hand, using the force of his attack to rotate, building momentum for her own counter. It hurt, but she was used to pain, apparently.
Unbeknownst to her, Lunar also felt that pain, but ignored it due to adrenaline.
Then, she delivered a metal bat to his exposed dome, knocking him unconscious—
Lunar wasn't there.
Her eyes widened, flickering in every direction to find him, but she couldn't find him. This was impossible! He couldn't have moved that quickly!
Unknown to her, Lunar was laying beneath her, his arms wound back in preparation for a powerful swing
"Heyo."
He mocked, slamming her stomach with his metal bat.
"Agh!"
"Agh!
They both yelped, nearly passing out from pain. Shade temporarily collapsed onto him before convulsing and jumping to the side. Lunar grabbed his own stomach and nearly spat blood.
'Curses…'
He coughed.
'Fool…!'
How had he forgotten!? Of all things, he shouldn't have forgotten his Flaw! He'd feel anything he did to somebody else! He had just slammed his own stomach like an idiot!
They both rolled across the floor like caterpillars. But eventually, the pain eased.
"For the gods! Are you a bastard!?" She exclaimed, feeling mocked that he was also in pain. "You literally won, bastard! You could have just said so, bastard! Damnation…"
He wiped a droplet of sweat from his forehead before standing upright and sighing.
She was right.
The moment he left her line of sight, he had won. They could have called the spar off there, and probably should have. But for some reason, he felt inclined to hit her. Unfortunately, he was instantly punished.
Perhaps karma was real.
"Did you just call me a 'bastard' three times in a row?"
"I did, whore's bastard!"
After deciphering what "whore's bastard" meant, he frowned. Did she just call his mother a whore? This was unacceptable!
"You filthy harlot! My mother is pure!"
She gasped.
"I'm no harlot!"
"And my mom is no whore!"
"..."
They both knew…
There was only one way to settle this…
They kicked their bats off the ground, skillfully catching them without fail. This time, they circled each other fiercely. Each step harsher than the one before. More deliberate.
They were both winded from the previous spar — still suffering from stomach pain — yet they stood unbothered.
This time, Shade struck first, moving impossibly fast. She kept herself low to the ground, preparing her bat for an upward swing. But rather than swinging the bat, she dropped it. Carrying less weight, her agility increased. And with this speed, she jumped, sending a nasty uppercut to his chin.
Strangely, his body didn't move, as though he had been anchored in space. Then, with the same momentum of her uppercut, a boulder hit her temple — it was a right hook!
She flew through the air, eventually colliding with the gym's wall, her face imprinting on it.
"Ack!"
Once again, he felt her pain — and boy was it bad. Perhaps he had taken it too far… Shade's face was now properly sculpted into the wall.
It was a beautiful sculpture, but still.
…
On another note, why was Shade so strong? Lunar spent years learning combat — techniques, physics, and even mastery over multiple weapons.
But the way she fought was… weird to him. It was unfamiliar. She looked more comfortable fighting with bare fists than a weapon.
It was like she enjoyed battling with a disadvantage.
"..."
Lunar silently acknowledged her.
"Ah wait… how am I going to deal with this."
—
—
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Author's Note:
– Did you enjoy the chapter?
– Feel free to point out things you don't like.
– Since the setting for this fanfiction will be unique, what kind of location do you think Lunar will be sent to?
– Would you like any official illustrations for the characters? I can draw digital art for them, I'm not terrible. I've already, for the fun of it, made a sketch and line art for a character I'm introducing later on. The person I've already drawn may or may not be the black-haired girl.
– Please… please read the disclaimer. From here onward, it's incredibly important. If you don't read it, you'll probably have a lot of questions about lore, timeline, and characters.
– Word Count: [1137]