Chapter 17.52: A Blade For You

As Ramza slept soundly in his bed, a dream surfaced to his consciousness. As far as he could tell, he was on top of a mountain, high up in the sky that he could see the clouds beneath him. He reached out to touch them, a loud crack of thunder interrupted his thoughts. Ramza looked to the sky, but it was as clear as day.

The thunder sounded again, and with it came gusts of wind. It was only a breeze at first, but then the winds started to push him around. Ramza immediately looked to find a sort of foothold, but the gusts then blew him off the mountain and into the sky. He started to fall down, and he sailed past the clouds.

Ramza's vision shook as he descended, wind whistling in his ears. The roar of a storm was behind him, and he felt the pitter patter of rain on his back. A flash covered his eyes, and lightning struck him.

"Gah!" Ramza yelled.

He jolted up in bed, breathing heavily. He took a second to look at his surroundings; he wasn't falling anymore, but was in his own home.

He put a hand to his head. "A dream?"

Ramza sighed. Dreams never came to him. Why now?

"Urgh-" Ramza rubbed his eyes awake. "What time is it?"

He stood up and opened his curtains, revealing a starry black sky.

"Still not morning..." He muttered.

"You are awake, I see." A woman's voice said.

Ramza turned his head to the door, and had to do a double take. Why was Erza in his house?

"Uhh, Erza? What are you doing in here?" Ramza asked with a bit of nervousness in his voice.

"I'm here for your training." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't tell me you've forgotten."

"I haven't. It's just-" Ramza fumbled his hands around, "Aren't we doing this like, I dunno, at morning or something?"

"It is morning." Erza replied. "Therefore we can begin."

"The sun's not even out yet..." Ramza complained.

"I thought you wanted to become stronger?" Erza glared at him. "You asked for this."

He groaned. "Alright, fine. Just let me have some breakfast and some coffee."

"Yes." Erza nodded.

The two of them descended and went into the kitchen. As Ramza scrounged around for his food, Erza observed him from behind.

"So, what d'you want?" Ramza asked.

Erza narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean?"

"Y'know, for breakfast?" Ramza shuffled through his cabinet. "I can cook pretty much anything, so yeah."

Erza relaxed. "Anything will do."

"Cool." He then popped out of the cabinet with a loaf of bread and a few eggs.

Ramza cracked the eggs and put them on the pan, while he suspended the loaf of bread in the air with a wind rope. He then cast an Ignaten rune to light a fire underneath the pan, while simultaneously heating up the loaf of bread. In no time, he had some steaming hot bread alongside a few well cooked eggs. Ramza placed them on some plates and put them on the table. He also got a large pitcher of water and coffee and cooled them with a Frigis rune.

"Bread and Eggs." Ramza presented, "Hope you like it."

Erza bit into the bread. "You haven't disappointed me yet in the food department, Ramza."

"Well, I'm thankful for that." Ramza picked up an egg with a fork and swallowed.

They then ate in hushed silence, but not one of them felt uncomfortable. They soon finished their meal, and placed their plates next to the sink.

"Now that's over with," Erza said, "We'll now begin your training."

"Alright then." Ramza steeled himself. "What should I do?"

Erza smiled at him. "We'll begin with an early morning run."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"Around the town of Magnolia."

Ramza blinked. "You serious?"

"Yes." Erza then swiftly walked over to the door. "Let's begin."

Ramza took a deep breath. "Right."

Determined, Ramza followed the redhead to the edge of town. He expected to run until the sun rose, but what he didn't know was that it was three in the morning. Which means he would be running the entire perimeter of Magnolia for at least four hours.

Nonetheless, he kept running. While Erza had no trouble with the run, Ramza's legs quickly tired. He surprisingly didn't run out of breath, but that doesn't matter when your two feet can't move anymore.

"Just a bit of rest, Erza?" Ramza pleaded, two hours and a half into the run.

Erza looked back at him. "Fine."

The wind mage fell on his behind, clutching his calves. They ached so much, Ramza felt as if his legs were on fire.

"Argh-" Ramza winced as his muscles contracted painfully. "I think I got a cramp..."

"Here." Erza offered her hand. "Up you go."

Ramza hesitated. "Isn't that gonna hurt? Plus, I don't think I can run anymore..."

"It will hurt-"

"I knew it." Ramza snorted.

"But it is necessary. The pain will fade." Erza's face softened. "I'm sorry if I'm pushing you so hard."

Ramza shook his head. "I kinda asked for this, so yeah. But my legs really aren't listening to me right now."

Erza glanced down at him. "Take my hand."

The wind mage sighed. "This is gonna hurt quite a bit."

Ramza took Erza's hand as she pulled him up. He flinched as his muscles squeezed and throbbed, but the redhead steadied him on his feet.

"Ahh... Ah..." Ramza groaned, standing upright. "Ohh, okay. That's not good."

"Try putting your foot forward." Erza suggested.

"I'll try." He put his right foot in front of him, but it seemed to be weightless and it began to buckle. Before he fell over, Erza quickly stepped in front of him and caught Ramza with her back.

"You okay?" Erza asked, eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Thanks, and I'm fine." Ramza tried his foot again. "Stupid leg..."

"Just lean on me." Erza said, "We'll walk back to the guild."

"But aren't we going to keep on running?" Ramza said, though he probably already knew the answer.

"You are in no condition to run right now." Erza replied, "You should get some rest when we return."

"Sorry for this..." Ramza said in nearly a whisper.

"It's alright." Erza said, turning her head to smile at him, "You're my friend, as well as my student."

"Thanks, Erza."

The two of them walked back to the guild, the sky still dark. Ramza, still leaning on Erza, awkwardly shuffled his feet through Magnolia's streets. It would have been embarrassing if anyone had seen him walking whilst being basically carried by Erza, but fortunately it was too early for anyone to be out at this time. When they both reached Fairy Tail, the sun was just a bit above the horizon. Ramza let go of Erza, standing on his own feet. It still hurt, but it was enough to bear.

They went through the guild doors, which was already reconstructed. A portion of the guild hall was already finished, and a bunch of members were eating breakfast. Ramza waved over to Levy, as well as Jet and Droy. He greeted Macao and high-fived Romeo. He greeted a bunch of other members, including a grumpy purple haired girl. 'What was that about?' Ramza wondered.

He sat on one of the benches that was exposed to the sky, where Gray and Natsu sat as well.

Gray noticed Ramza's labored walk. "Hey man, you okay?"

Natsu frowned. "Yeah. You look really roughed up."

"Oh, uh." Ramza chuckled weakly. "Yeah, about that-"

"We went for a run." Erza sat down beside them.

"What!?" Natsu and Gray's eyes bulged. "You went on a run with Erza?"

The redhead glared at them. "What do you mean by that?"

The two boys stiffened. "Nothing!"

"So, yeah. We went on a run and I kinda stumbled a bit." Ramza rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"You good now though?" Gray asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"That's good." Erza took a cup of tea from Mirajane. "So I take it we train now?"

Ramza frantically squirmed his arms around. "Nononono! Uhm, maybe later?"

"Very well." Erza took a sip from her cup of tea.

Ramza breathed a sigh of relief, but then he was grabbed by the collar and was shook back and forth by Natsu.

"You're training with Erza?" Natsu had the most conflicted face, "I would call you crazy, but at the same time I want to train with her too!"

The fire dragon slayer turned to her. "Can I train with you too?"

"No. You're too much to handle." Shot down Erza.

"Aww..." Natsu whined.

"I gotta say, training with Erza is a pretty hard task." Gray looked at Ramza. "You sure you can handle this?"

"I hope so." Ramza replied.

"You'll be fine." Erza said, "You just need the willpower."

"Oh and, Gray?" Ramza asked, "What did you eat for breakfast?"

The ice mage raised an eyebrow at him. "What for?"

"Humor me."

Gray put a hand to his chin. "Well, I remember eating some bread, as well as some fish."

"Woah, fish?" Happy flew in, "Who said fish?"

"I did." Gray said.

"Do you have any? I'm starving..." Happy's mouth watered.

"No. I ate it for breakfast." Gray answered.

"C'mon! You should have left me some!" Happy beat on Gray's legs.

"Ramza." Erza said.

"Yes?"

"Meet me later after lunch. We'll begin your training then."

"Sure." Ramza said, "Though I've got something to do in the afternoon..."

"I understand." Erza responded. "See you later."

"Yeah."

....................................

Ramza spent the time before his training to purchase some important items. First of all, he went to the weapons shop to buy some additional weapons. He restocked on arrows, bought a few throwing knives, and let the smith polish his wakizashi. He stored them in his requip dimension, then made his way to the outfit shops. His coat was unwearable, so he just got a new one, as well as a few other spares. He made sure that it was resistant to fire now, so it wouldn't get easily singed.

He dropped his unnecessary things at his home, and made his way to the Fairy Tail guild. The construction took up a lot of space, but there was an open area just behind the site that was open for anything. Erza said that they would meet there and sure enough, the redhead was standing against a wooden beam, looking into the sky.

"Hey Erza." Ramza waved over to her.

"You're here." She faced him. "Are you ready?"

Ramza nodded determinedly. "I am."

"Then let us begin." Erza summoned something and tossed it to him. "You will use this."

Ramza fumbled with the item that Erza gave him. "W-what's this?"

"A wooden katana." Erza answered. "Don't worry, I'll use one as well."

She summoned a wooden sword into her hand, giving it a few test swings. Ramza did the same, but he felt a bit uncomfortable with its weight. He held it in front of him sideways, observing that it was a bit longer than his wakizashi.

"So we just use these?" Ramza asked, swinging the wooden blade.

"We will practice a few sword forms and styles," Erza said, "And then we will spar."

"Spar?" Ramza blinked. "Like, we fight each other?"

"Not to the death, of course." Erza chuckled, then smiled at him. "And there is something I am offering."

Ramza tilted his head. "Offering?"

"Yes." Erza summoned another sword into her hand, but it wasn't a wooden one. It was an elegant but thin dark curved blade, which gleamed in the light. The handle of the sword was beautifully wrapped in a crisscross pattern, with the hilt in a spiral pattern. The sword was interlaced with curved intricate designs, with the color scheme of dark and violet. Its sheath was in Erza's hand too, mirroring the whirls of black and purple.

"Woah..." Ramza fawned, "That's so cool..."

"And you can have it," Erza said, "But only if you can strike me by the end of the day."

Ramza grinned at her. "Alright!"

And so, their training began. They began with the basics, with learning how to strike with the newfound length of Ramza's weapon. When he got used to it, Erza taught him some techniques with the sword. A flurry of slashes, a feint with a follow up strike, and a quick thrust were some of the things that Erza demonstrated, to which Ramza rapidly caught on and performed well. She then showed him how to deflect incoming projectiles. He probably couldn't slice an arrow out of the air, but he could probably deflect a few rocks thrown at him with the wide edge of his sword.

Then, she showed him how to fight an opponent who was armed with a sword, with a sword. Erza instructed on which attacks should be deflected, dodged or parried given a certain situation. Additionally, she taught him to know when to go in or play safe. Parries give a window to attack, while deflections are more on providing time to jump back and reassess the situation. Knowing how to clash a sword with your own is important, she said. It can determine whether one wins, or loses.

"I guess that's all for today." Erza said.

Ramza sat down on the ground, pretty tired from the exercises. "I'm beat. But y'know," He smiled at her, "I'd like to have that spar for the sword please."

"If you insist." Erza brandished her wooden blade in front of her.

"Let's do this." He quickly doused and blew himself dry, instantly revitalizing him.

'That water may have helped,' Ramza thought to himself, 'But this fight needs to end quick or I'm screwed.'

"On you." Erza said, her hair blowing with the passing breeze.

Ramza quickly dashed at her, sword poised to strike. Erza blocked it, and forced his sword down. She then punched at him, but Ramza ducked. In one swift motion, the wind mage's feet swiped at Erza's, intending to knock her to the ground. He was genuinely surprised when her legs didn't give and was soon greeted with a kick to the chest.

Ramza flew back and landed on the ground, but he quickly returned on his feet knowing Erza would attack. He was right when the redhead slashed at him, to which he raised his sword to block it. Suddenly, the direction of Erza's sword changed, ignoring Ramza's block and hitting him at his side.

The wind mage promptly stepped back, and summoned his wind buckler as he held his gut, which still hurt from her sword slash. Erza looked surprised for a second, but then pressed her advantage. She sliced at him again, but Ramza responded with a quick deflect. Ramza stepped to her side and thrust at her. She slashed at her front, turning Ramza's blade away from her. The wind mage turned around and slammed his wind buckler at Erza, victory gleaming in his eyes. The requip mage moved faster and grabbed the small shield by her own hand, and lifted Ramza into the air. He blinked as she threw him into the sky, still not comprehending what was happening.

A second passed until Ramza realized he was falling. His eyes searched frantically for something to aid his fall, looking at everything in the area. As he fell closer and closer to the ground, Ramza felt stupid. He was a wind mage, right? He slowed down his fall by an updraft, and was shepherded safely to the ground by a pillow of air. He breathed a sigh of relief, but he locked on to Erza who was coming at him with her wooden sword held high.

Panicking, Ramza sent his wooden sword into the pocket dimension and summoned his bow. He fired a burst of three arrows, but the Erza leaped over the first and simultaneously sliced through the second and third arrow. She twisted, her wooden sword high in the air. Ramza stepped back and saw an opportunity. He quickly made a plan. Requipping back into his wooden blade, he parried Erza's incoming strike. The redhead reeled back for a moment, but then struck again with her sword. Ramza anticipated her attack and blocked with his wind buckler.

He then twisted, locking Erza's sword in his wind buckler's grasp. Erza pulled her sword out of the lock, but not before Ramza summoned his own wooden sword and slashed right down at Erza's sword, cracking it in half. As the redhead stepped back with only one half of her wooden sword, Ramza looked down and saw that his own weapon had suffered the same fate; his wooden blade was splintered into two.

Ramza sighed, knowing that that the fight was over. "That's the-"

He was cut off when Erza rammed into him with her shoulder. A bit of spittle flew out of his mouth as he fell back. As he was coming to, Erza came over and put a foot on his back, preventing him from standing up.

"The fight's over," Erza loomed over him, "When someone admits defeat."

Ramza struggled. "But our swords are broken. Isn't this the time to end this?"

Erza scowled. "No. The fight goes on."

"Really?"

"Yes."

He grinned. As Ramza was being held down, he made a gesture with two of his fingers and swiped. A strong gust of wind blew Erza to the side, knocking her to the ground. Ramza quickly got up, requipped into his wakizashi, and pointed it to her throat. Erza stared at the blade apprehensively. Ramza then softly poked her in the head with his fingers, tilting Erza's head slightly back.

She looked bewildered for a second, but then she quickly punched Ramza's sword hand, making him drop his blade. She picked it up in the air and pointed it at his throat, copying his stance.

Ramza raised his hands. "Eep! I'm done, thank you!"

Erza narrowed her eyes at him. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"You poked me in the head. What for?"

"It counts as me hitting you, right?" Ramza asked nervously, eyes on the blade pointed at him.

"How come you-" Erza then realized what he was talking about. "I see. Clever."

"I didn't need to win. Just one hit and I've got that sword." Ramza chuckled.

"If you'd struck with your sword or shield, I would have anticipated that and countered you. I did not expect you to poke me on the forehead." Erza admitted, then reached out the prize blade to him. "Here, you deserve it."

Ramza eagerly took the blade and partially unsheathed it, admiring his new weapon. It then blinked out of existence, as it was being sent to his requip dimension.

"So now you have a new weapon." Erza said. Her hair no longer waved back and forth; the wind had died. "I hope you'll find a good use for it."

Ramza grinned at her. "You bet! Hang on- I feel a little dizzy."

He then slumped to his knees, vision blurring. His eyes then rolled up into his head, and all he saw was black.

..........................

So hey! Thanks for reading up to this point in the story! I'm pretty busy with school, hence the delayed chapters. I'm also Betaing for a friend, but I'm working on the next chapters with all of my effort.

This chapter is the second of three fillers. I may add a few more fillers, so stay tuned for that. Feel free to PM me on what you would like.

Thank you all so much for the support that you all have been giving me. To all who commented and left a review, you're all awesome. I'd shake your hands, but y'know.

Please leave a comment or review. I read every one of them, and it puts a grin on my face whenever I read a good one.

Until the next chapter. Stay safe, and stay epic.