Defending Class

The next class came and this one was where we all split off into separate groups. I attended this class with Alexia and one of Boo's friends, Naomi. Alexia naturally gravitated toward me, while Naomi stayed far away.

This was a class I needed, as I couldn't defend against human or Rubeki targets, I could just receive hits and then attack. Learning to defend would be important for going forth.

"Alright! For this class, we'll be learning the basic defending techniques. Now, follow my lead." The teacher began. This teacher seemed to have a different style, which I liked as I would learn from her and not other students.

"Swinging back and forth simply will not work! Observe!" The teacher said. Using another kid as an example, the teacher swung at the kid's wooden blade but didn't back off. The teacher held onto it and pushed it against the kid's wooden blade, causing the kid to retreat backward.

"Fighting isn't a game. Sure, you don't think about this when playing with toy weapons, but we don't use toys here. You need to block, you need to defend. When in this situation, you need to push against me. Try to gain some sort of ground against my weapon, like this." The teacher explained.

She tilted the sword downward so it pointed toward the kid's head. I see... she was using the sword to gain ground by pushing down on the kid's sword. It's easier to push down than to push up, so by bending her sword and manipulating the direction, she's able to gain the metaphorical 'high ground' over the kid. The kid caught on as well, moving his sword to be able to push down on hers.

"Good job! That is the basic tactic in defense, but what about when your opponent is physically stronger than you?" She asked around.

"Do you plant your feet harder?" One girl asked in class.

"Nope! Anybody else want to try?" The teacher asked again.

Several more answers came and went, but the teacher declined every single one until Alexia decided to try her luck.

"Do you run?" Alexia asked the teacher.

"Bingo! When fighting a human opponent, things might be different... but the Rubeki is a different game. They're strong and vicious, they don't listen to pleads for your life, and will eat you alive. If your opponent is a Rubeki and stronger than you, you will run until Ali, Lucas, or Zach can come to handle it. Fortunately, it's highly unlikely that would ever happen, since there's only one Rubeki that most can't handle, so you don't need to worry about it. You should know what to do in the rare case that you do meet, however." The teacher explained.

Nobody knew who she was talking about, but I did.

Providence.

That scary Rubeki that everybody feared... that's who the teacher was referring to. I wonder what made her so strong. Either way, I know to run from now thanks to the teacher.

"Anyway, for human opponents! Strength doesn't mean anything, as we all have weak points! Specifically, pressure points and joints. Behind the knee is a great one, along with the heel, and if you can nail it right, by the neck. I won't demonstrate, but here are the locations." The teacher said. She pointed all over her body to demonstrate the effectiveness.

I learned a lot in this class, in contrast to the one before because I didn't know how to defend myself.

"Hey! Asterio!" The girl named Naomi shouted. Right as class ended, she ran over to me to talk... or something. I wasn't exactly sure what she wanted.

"Hey, I saw you tamed our wild beast of a friend. She even lets you call her Boo now?" Naomi asked me. I nodded.

"Well, don't get the wrong idea! She doesn't like you, she's just okay with your existence. She's actually got a thing for Mitra." Naomi told me.

"That's fine, I wasn't interested in her anyway. Why would you tell me that though?" I asked her. Naomi shrugged and giggled.

"Just had to make sure our friend was safe from the clutches of an Asterio," Naomi said to me.

"Well, it's Sky, not Asterio. If I'm friends with Boo, then I'm friends with you as well." I told Naomi. She nodded with a smile again.

"Yeah! And I'm Alexia! Don't call me -------." My hearing was blocked out as Alexia started to speak and I held my hands over my ears to silence the noise I heard instead.

"Sky? You alright?" Naomi and Alexia asked me.

"Yeah, sorry. Well, Naomi, we'll see you around, right? And hey, does that mean we're friends with that Mitra guy as well?" I asked her again. Naomi, with her eternal smile, shrugged.

"Who knows, really... maybe he'll like you, maybe he won't. It's all up to time and how it decides to work things out. I'd say it's safe to assume your friends have no problem with me now, right?" Naomi asked me, to which I nodded.

"Excellent. Hey, why don't you come over to our dorm tonight and we can have a little celebration for being friends now? Then, you can find out if Mitra and that other idiot Myth are friends with you." Naomi offered. She certainly knew how to bargain, that was for sure. She seemed dangerous as an enemy but valuable as a friend.

"Sounds good to me. Should I bring anything? I can cook pretty well." I told Naomi. Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Really?! You can cook?! Oh please! Boo tried cooking but she's terrible at it and I'm going to starve! Hell, I'll pay you for some good food here!" Naomi told me. I laughed off her shallow insults to Boo and agreed.

"Sounds like a plan. Well, we'll see you around, Naomi." I told her. Alexia and I waved Naomi out to her next class and were left behind alone.

"She's certainly a lot nicer than Buusu... and you're friends with her? When did that happen?" Alexia asked.

"Last class, I'm surprised you didn't see... well, no matter. Are you coming with me to my next class?" I asked Alexia. She wasn't, so she waved me off and we both split paths. I met up with Illya and we walked together to the next class.