Chapter 6 - Crossings and Tensions

The sky was clear, but the air smelled of hot metal and anticipated sweat. It was physical training day. Once a week, all students were required to attend a weapons combat class: swords, spears, staffs. Even if they were not specialists. The idea was to "know the limit of your body and that of your opponent". Or so the manual said.

Tokura Yoshi stood in the training yard, along with dozens of other students lined up in rows. Teachers called out names in pairs. Some students turned and smiled to find their friends. Others protested. Yoshi just hoped he wouldn't be called.

-Tokura Yoshi and Lizes Von Arcadia.

A murmur went through the line of students. A couple of girls looked at him with a mixture of pity and envy. One of them whispered:

-He touched him with Liz... poor guy.

-But he's so lucky! I would kill to be within three feet of her.

-Sshhh, it's coming.

Yoshi swallowed saliva. Feeling every drop of sweat on his neck, he turned slowly.

Liz walked with the same precise elegance as always. Her silver hair waved with every step and her eyes, deep as ice, looked at him for a second without saying anything. She wore her combat uniform with impeccable sobriety. No jewellery. No adornment. Just her and her training sword.

-Delighted," he said, his voice so calm it hurt.

-Ditto," Yoshi replied, barely ducking his head.

As they took their positions, the teacher walked along the line correcting stances. At the opposite end of the field, Haruka was practising with a short-haired student. Their movements were quick, dry, precise. A group of boys watched them from the edge.

-Haruka is so fast. It's scary.

-But you saw Liz before the class started. Just by unsheathing the sword, the air changed...

Yoshi tried to ignore them.

When the whistle blew, Liz adopted an offensive posture.

-Don't attack me. Just defend yourself. I don't want to hurt you by accident.

-O-okay...

The first collision was a gentle one. She pushed him with the blunt wooden blade and Yoshi fell back two steps before regaining his balance. The second was harder. And the third knocked him down.

-I'm sorry," said Liz emotionlessly.

-I-it's okay...

"She doesn't say anything. She shows nothing. She remembers nothing."

From the ground, Yoshi looked at her for a moment and sighed slightly. She had already lowered the sword. The tip was barely touching the ground. But her eyes... her eyes were fixed on him. Empty. Unchanging. As if they were seeing nothing.

"There is no hatred. There is no coldness. There's no nothing. That's the best thing."

In the next round, they changed pace. Now he had to try to attack. He hesitated. He took a step forward. She did not move. He took another step. He raised his sword.

And he stopped.

-...

Liz barely cocked her head to one side.

-Not yet.

Yoshi lowered the gun. The whistle blew again. Shift change.

As he walked back to the edge, he passed Haruto.

-Ah, good... fellow Yoshi, isn't it?

-That was a good dodge earlier, you almost stayed on your feet!

Yoshi nodded with a forced smile.

-B-beginner's luck...

-Sometimes luck is worth more than ten spells," said Haruto, and continued on his way with a friendly smile. Another group called out to him from the other end.

"So simple. So naive. So like him."

The training continued. Students fell, laughter, a few stumbles. On one of the raised platforms, the teacher watched with a notebook. Kyria and Charlotte were not in that group. Advanced class, noble class, or just a different schedule. Yoshi didn't ask. He didn't want to know.

In the afternoon, the sun fell through the cypress trees lining the field. The training was over. Some students stayed to continue practising. Others dispersed to the pavilions.

Yoshi sat on a bench for a while. He had dirt on his uniform, his palm was scraped and his arms were shaking.

But he was still in one piece. He was still invisible. He was still alive.

For now, that was enough.