Chapter 5: Blades

Happily returning to the dorm for the day, Noah couldn't help but smile at the idea that he really wasn't the only person in the world that had problems. Axel,Guy, and Zack were also set apart from the rest of the town, so it wasn't so bad that he was seen as half a person. At least he had people that understood him. That alone gave him a warm feeling, in his chest.

Suddenly he felt and arm locking itself around his neck and pulling him back,choking him.

-Hey, hey, kiddo! How was school today?- he looked behind and saw a grinning Lucy, looking down at him.

-L-let go! -said Noah. More like, he tried to say it, but the choking and all...

-Well, you're gonna need some submission moves to be a good BladeMaster! -she smirked- Maybe I should suplex you to demonstrate...

-N-no!

-Fine...you're no fun...- then, she let him go.

Noah sighed.

-School was a mixed bag.

-Well, puberty does that to ya. I never went to a regular school and all, but I know being a teenager is hard with the zits and the cracking voice and the height and girls and acceptation and prom and love an--

-Well, I'm not really sure that being like an alien is normal.- he quickly interrupted.

-Oh, shucks, you're such a drama queen, Noah. It'll pass once people know you're just a regular, boring boy.

-Why does that make me feel worse?...

-Sorry, I guess I was mean...-she apologized- Well, let's make you a tiny bit special by training you to the bone to be the best BladeMaster an alien can be.

-I'm not an alien!

-Sure, sure...Well, let's go!- she pushed him in the dorm's direction. They passed by the building and entered a back area. Attached to the dorm, there was a small house, little bigger than Noah's classroom. They entered, passing through various people, old and new, all dressed black like Lucy, going in and out the house, holding papers with bounties for certain people or requests to deliver goods, some doing calculations in a big desk, some counting golden coins. They all waved at Lucy and she waved back at them with a radiant grin. At a far end wall, there lied a set of wooden swords and Lucy grabbed one and continued pushing Noah. They opened a back door, leading to a big field, with more people engaging in simulated fights, in a rhythmic fashion, like a dance.

-Well, this is were he train,kiddo. And before you ask, yes, it is super fancy.

-I...wasn't planning on asking...- he shutted himself up, not wanting to pursue that discussion.

-Well, I am a pretty efficient girl. Well, enough chit chat. Let's start training!- with this, she handed out the wooden sword to Noah.

- A wooden sword? Why would I need this? A BladeMaster can't fight with this.

-Oh, you seem to know a lot of an amnesiac boy.

-I seem to know a lot of things about fighting...but I don't remember where I got that knowledge from...

-Well, that'll skip a lot of explanations. Well, I gave you a legit practice sword because you can't summon your own Blade, that being the weapon a BladeMaster uses, not necessarily a sword. A Blade is formed from the user's own soul, as is it's entire source of power. As a soul gets stronger, the Blade and the owner's Element get strong too. A BladeMaster usually learns how to summon its Blade at a young age, but as you don't know how to do that, we'll skip that so you can start learning the basis for fighting.

-O-o-ok...Fine, lay it on me,Lucy.- he lightly swung the sword around.

-Okie dokie!- she grinned.

-Alright, I think the first thing I should learn is...

His body didn't register pain as her feet was planted on his stomach and sent flying across the field. Landing a dozen meters away from Lucy, Noah couldn't even breathe.

He struggled to get back on his feet. Lifting his face, he saw a grinning Lucy, hands on hips.

-First lesson is about taking pain. It's pretty much the basis to all fighting.

-Y-you kicked me!

-Yeah. I did. Would you have preferred a punch? Can't. I just did my nails.

-You could have warned me first!- he clutched his stomach, his legs shaking.

-The enemy isn't gonna be nice and wait for you! And like I told Cidy yesterday: I'm not gentle.

She then leaned towards him and then he couldn't see anything. It's like...she vanished. He tried looking around for her, but all he felt was a blow on the back of the head, sending him flying again. He rolled on himself as he fell but got up again. But then, he was grabbed by the back of his collar, spun around quickly and sent rocketing upwards. Up there, he couldn't react or do anything to prevent it, but he saw a black figure appearing above him, kicking him in the stomach again, sent plummeting towards the hard floor lifting up a screen of smoke.

Noah coughed, unable to move a limb. When the smoke cleared, Lucy's face hovered above him.

-So, how did it feel?

-It...hurts! A lot!

-Well, I can name a couple of things that hurt more. Like a slash. A stab. A good kick to the mommy daddy button (that's a favorite among our men). Just be glad I didn't summon my Blade.

-S-so...glad...

-Well, I'll be nice and let you get up now.

-Thaaaank you...!- he slowly got up, both of his arms dangling. His wooden sword was picked up by Lucy, who handed it to him. He clutched it and pointed it at Lucy.

-Oooo, already back in action, huh? You learn quick, kiddo. Let's keep up the lesson, ok?

-Suuuuure...

-Alright, let's change it up a lil'! This time, I'll tell you what I'll be doing!

-You should have done that from the beginning!-moaned Noah, barely standing. How was he supposed to learn anything?! His opponent was the strongest BladeMaster in the world! How could he keep up against someone who's on a completely different level than him?

-Geez, glad the sass isn't gone...alright, first I'll kick you, like this!- she jumped towards him, her leg arching back, taking aim at his face. Noah had a split second to react and jumped backwards. Lucy's heel barely scraped his chin, but at least he dodged it.

Noah landed safely on the floor and he saw Lucy's satisfied face grinning at him.

-NIce, nice! Now dodge this!- she leaned downwards as she ran towards him and, with unimaginable agility turned around herself and planted her heel on his chin, sending him rocketing on an arc across the air.

-Now, this!- Noah heard her shout. Still in the air, he turned against her, who jumped towards him and was already mid kick. He raised his wooden sword, parallel to his chest as her sole planted itself to the blade. For a second, Noah was happy that he managed to block the attack, but a cracking sound filled his ears and was immediately propelled backwards by a force out of this world. Even with the sword blocking it, Lucy's kick almost broke his arms, the force was that big. He landed on the ground with a thud and slid along a couple meters, the air completely absent from his chest.

Lucy landed softly on the ground and walked towards him, crouching besides his numb body.

-Sorry about that. I got too happy when you started decently reacting to my attacks. I don't really know how to pace myself. Again, sorry, kiddo. Here, let me help ya up. I guess you can call it quits today. - she let out a condescending smile, while giving out her hand to help him get up.

But Noah refused her hand and slowly got up, shaking. He stumbled back, tripping on his own feet, but he eventually got his bearings back, pointing his blade at her.

-I can keep up...I can take more..!

Lucy huffed, her breath blowing a lock of her silver hair slightly. Then she let out a faint smile, crossing her arms.

-Well, I guess we'll skip the "Never give up attitude" lesson. The enemy won't stop until you're reduced to a bloody, blonde pulp so you better give your best, at least. Because sometimes, tenacity is key. "Never quit", "Believe in yourself", "Break your limits", "Power of friendship", those things can actually lift you up...sometimes. If your legs are still good. But I'm getting besides the point. Come at me, kiddo!- with her hand, she pointed at him to go at her.

Noah stumbled again, at first. But has he kept going, he found his balance for good and gained more speed. He held the sword aside him, the tip pointing at her. When he reached her, he swung the sword on an downwards curve. With an elegant step to the side, Lucy easily dodged the attack. Noah quickly turned at her and swung again, this time sideways. Lucy jumped backwards, the blade completely missing her again. This kept going on for a while. Noah stroke every way he could but nothing hit Lucy. With a grace out of this world, she dodged every strike, like she was dancing, instead of fighting, spinning on her heels to circle around Noah, making his increasingly more frustrated as he tried, in vain, to hit her anywhere.

The rest of the bounty hunters eventually stopped what they were doing and gathered around the field, forming a circle around the two fighters. Under all those stares, Noah swung more angrily. He stroke upwards, but Lucy backhand slapped the blade, making it completely miss her head. Using that opening he clenched her fist and threw it at Noah, hitting him in the stomach, her punch sinking not only on his belly but seemingly on his entire body. For a moment, Noah didn't even feel pain, like his very being was leaving his shell. His knees hit the floor and he fell again, clutching his stomach.

-Well, I guess that ends it. Good game, kiddo. You can go back to your room now. - she said, starting to walk away from Noah.

Noah felt like he could never breathe again. His mouth was filled with some hot, metal tasting, liquid. he spit it out and when its scarlet color hit the dusty ground, he knew he was bleeding. That made something new grow inside Noah. Not doubt, nor hesitation anymore. It was pure terror. To know that outside the walls of Soula lied people that wanted to hurt him and kill him without any mercy terrified him. He felt paralyzed, preferring to just lie there, curled up in a ball than to stand up and fight again.

At least...that was his mind was yelling at him to do:

"Don't get up! She's the strongest BladeMaster! You're both so far apart that she might kill you on accident! Stop!"

But something else...something deeper was telling him to jump back up and continue on:

"You're still conscious, right? You can do it! Go at her! Until you fall over dead, there's no use in stopping the fight! Wipe that smug smile off her face! "

Like he had no say on the situation, Noah felt himself getting up again, platting his feet on the ground and facing Lucy yet again. She had her back turned to him but she still stopped.

-You're just a bag of surprises, huh? Good! -she turned to him, with a big smile on her face, like she was having the time of her life- I love surprises! Clothes, sappy novels, perfumes, strong men that aren't scared of me...! I adore it! Come at me, kiddo! Gimme everything you got!

Noah blasted off the place he was standing on and ran at a speed he never knew he could achieve. He reached Lucy and started swinging his blade in all directions, in a crazed frenzy. If he could hit her just once, he knew it would be a victory. Lucy, unsurprisingly, was dodging everything like she was swatting a fly. When Noah stopped for a second to catch his breath, she reeled back her leg and launched it at Noah. His pure adrenaline made everything seem slower, so he quickly dodged it. She kicked again, this time sweeping the ground, but Noah jumped and avoided it again. Lucy caught that opening, stepped back and threw a punch at the airborne Noah but he blocked it too. Again, he was sent flying back, but landed on the ground, his feet sinking on the dirt. He clenched his teeth to withstand the impact but he refused to fall over. Surprise splashed over Lucy's face, but she grinned and ran at him, as did Noah also do.

He readied the sword, holding it with both hands, reeled it back behind his head and swung with all his might at Lucy. With her blindly running at him, that had to hit!

Suddenly, the cracking sound filled Noah's head again. To his despair, as he looked up, he saw the wooden blade, getting broken off the handle. Under it, Lucy's hand was finishing its arc as it just chopped off the wood like it was hot butter. The blade fell hopelessly onto the ground and Noah passed by Lucy without getting hit again. He stopped and looked at the remains of his weapon in his hand, now reduced to a simple handle. He looked backwards and saw Lucy massaging her knuckles.

-You, sir, owe me a new manicure. And it was so cute too! But oh well. That all you got? I mean, I wasn't expecting your to defeat me, but still. You just have to hit me once! Is that all that hard?

Noah gasped for air, his adrenaline rush fading out. He stared back at Lucy and let out a faint smile, to much his own surprise.

-Well...against the famous Grim Reaper, I'm just happy I got to survive these minutes against you.

Lucy smirked:

-Well, you are doing pretty good for a newbie. I guess you do have a natural knack for this. I recognize talent and and I admit: you got plenty. But ya know...talent will only get ya so far. The rest comes from experience.

-Then, what carried you so far, Lucy? What made you the strongest BladeMaster? Talent or experience?

Lucy thought for awhile. Then she looked back at Noah with a "I'm so wise" face:

-Why don't you try to uncover that for yourself? For me, I want to say my good looks, but that's my opinion.

Noah sighed:

-Why am I not surprised...

The circle of bounty hunters was starting to get restless from that sudden break in the battle, so they either started to go back to their training or try to incite Lucy to finish Noah off, yelling words of encouragement at her. Yet again, Noah felt like a big third wheel, getting smacked down by the world he was just thrust into. Lucy sighed, happy with the spectacle both she and Noah were providing. She really liked having a crowd watching, apparently. She cracked her knuckles and lunged at an unprepared Noah and punched him right on the cheek, sending him flying towards the group, which quickly formed an opening in its circle to let the flying boy zoom by and land on the ground. The adrenaline rush came back again and Noah jumped right back up. He couldn't really describe it but that fight wasn't bothersome anymore. It still hurt like hell (how could a single woman punch that hard?!) but knowing that he probably could dish out just as much pain lifted his spirits back up. In a way, knowing that he had survived so long against the infamous Grim Reaper gave him an unknown courage to fight back.

Of course he only had the broken hilt of the wooden sword as a weapon so there wasn't much he could do. Like an amputated arm, he felt like part of his being was gone. Maybe, in his lost memories, he was a proud fighter who got so used to holding a Blade that he didn't feel comfortable not having it? Maybe. But that sure wasn't the time to think about that as Lucy ran in his direction again. Noah grabbed the hilt and ran at her too. If he was getting beaten up, at least he could always put up a fight. He felt it. Being on the battlefield was a sensation his body never forgot, even with the blank state of his memories. Maybe he really had talent for fighting. Making the most of that feeling, Noah pointed the broken hilt at Lucy and stroke.

Of course, she immediately dodged the attack and sunk her fist into his stomach again. The pain was unbearable but this time Noah stood his ground, his feet not moving an inch, his body not flying off again. He gritted his teeth, making a tremendous effort to not fall down and turn his waist around to try and strike Lucy again. She quickly jumped back, completely relaxed, looking at her broken nails as she elegantly stepped backwards.

"Wipe that smug smile off her face! Now's the time to do it Noah! She's completely open!"

That unknown voice ringed inside his mind again. Ins-tin-ct? Yes! That was it! His body had not forgotten how to fight! Lucy had her eyes completely off of him and Noah saw that as the perfect chance to attack. His feet forced his whole body to accompany them in a swift movement as they kicked the ground, lifting a big cloud of dust, as Noah lunged at an incredible speed towards Lucy. He saw her relaxed face turn slowly into an expression of surprise, disbelief towards Noah's reaction and movement speed. He pointed the hilt towards her and felt, inside his chest, a somehow familiar feeling of victory assurance and swung the blade.

CLANG!

The sound of metal hitting metal filled the fields. Still entranced in those sensations, Noah just noticed the long, metal katana he was holding in his hands. Making sparks against it, an even bigger, wider blade was being held by Lucy. She jumped back, away from the clash and Noah could see her Blade: Jet black on the edge and white as snow in the middle, with a long hilt, big enough to be held with both hands, Lucy's blade shone brightly against the setting sun. It strangely fitted her uniform, or lack there of (seriously, isn't she cold in that?), and silver hair. It gave off this chilling vibe, ghost-like, like the two-handed sword could cut through anything like butter. Noah looked back at the object he held in his own hands. It was a simple, kinda rusty katana. It had a simple hilt and it was very bland. Was that his Blade? Not very uplifting.

Lucy grinned immensely. He turned her Blade around and stuck it on the ground, crossing her arms afterwards.

-Training is over for today. Great job, kiddo!

A confused Noah looked around him. The bounty hunters seemed very surprised by his performance, even if Noah didn't actually manage to hit Lucy.

-Seriously, you were amazing!- Lucy walked towards him and ruffled his hair- You totally caught me off guard (maybe I should pay an itsy-bitsty more attention) and took that opportunity to attack. Most rookie BladeMasters wouldn't even notice that and react with speed such as yours, so you should be feeling pre~tty proud of yourself. You even managed to get me to summon my Blade, Genesis!

Noah looked at her sword.

"She even gave it a name? Good grief..."

Lucy placed her hands on her hips as she walked around, thrilled to bits, talking more to herself than to Noah.

-Wow, if I didn't block that enough, I'd have a pretty bad wound. Of the bleedy kind. I'd have to switch outfits and that wouldn't be nice at all... Well, I could just ask Cidy to patch it up. She wouldn't like that a bit!- she giggled at herself and turned back at Noah- Well, not only did you manage to keep up with me, you also managed to summon your Blade, first day in training, second day in existence! Noah, I think I'm falling in loooveee~!

Noah sighed and even didn't felt like it when he fell on the ground, completely exhausted. His katana then shone brightly and, before he knew it, it was gone.

-Well, as you keep training more, your soul will grow and you'll manage to keep the Blade summoned for a whole lot longer. Don't try to summon it again. Try to rest for the day. Looks like you'll be kicking bounty butt way sooner than expected!

Even while feeling sore all over, Noah mustered up a faint smile as Lucy picked him up on her back and carried him back to the dorm. Before he knew it, he was thrown onto bed and his bedroom door slammed with a "G'night!" yell from the other side. Noah didn't have enough strength to worry about Lucy's antics so, as the sun hide behind the horizon, he fell asleep.

*

Lucy hummed at herself as she walked down the dorm halls. Suddenly, a rough voice sounded behind her:

-Looks like you have a new favorite, Lucy.

Lucy turned back at the boy and happily nodded:

-Yup! I haven't that a thrill like that for awhile! Even if faint, that Noah shows promise! And I'll mold him to be just like me! Maybe we'll go shopping together soon!

-Tch, why does the strongest BladeMaster care for anything more than battling...

-Oh, calm down, Mr. Uptight. Why can't you be more like your sister?

-Because I'm not weak.

-"Because I'm not weak"- repeated Lucy, with an awfully nasal voice- If you worry about that too much, you'll get wrinkles! And I won't be sharing any of my lotions with you.

-I'm leaving.- he walked past her, down the stairs- Just advise the kid to keep himself away from me. If he gets too cocky and tries to challenge me for my position, I won't have mercy.

-Just like my strongest employee would say. Just don't overwork yourself, Merceny.

"Merceny" didn't respond and went down the stairs.

"Suit yourself, Mr.Uptight", Lucy thought.

Then she lightly skipped towards her own room.