Here Comes The Tournament

I lay awake the entire night, the words of the note replaying in my head.

'You're not supposed to be here.'

I had read it ten times over, trying to figure out who sent it.

The handwriting was in elegant cursive but the ink was partly smudged, which meant that whoever wrote it was of noble descent, but also wrote it in a hurry.

But the note had no signature, no initials, not even a house crest. Nothing to make it a credible threat, which somehow made it even worse.

However, the fact remained that whoever slid it under my door, knew exactly where my room was, and that meant they had been watching me for a while.

That narrowed the list of suspects to… almost everyone in this school.

With magic, I could have easily cast a trace spell to pinpoint exactly who it was. But without it, I was just a target waiting to be shot.

So, I had to stay awake until my stalker decided to show their face.

*****

Miss Fumiko came to class earlier than usual the next day. By the time all students had arrived, Miss Fumiko had already been in for twenty minutes.

"We have something special approaching," she said, her voice calm but clear. Then she picked up a piece of chalk and wrote on the board in an elegant, legible font.

FIRST YEAR TOURNAMENT

A slight murmur rippled through the class.

"Most of you must have already heard rumors," she said briskly, "so I'll just clarify."

She suddenly made a pause as if she'd forgotten what she was about to say.

"The date for your first year tournament has been released," Miss Fumiko finally announced with a certain sense of pride. "And it's starting next week."

A slight grin appeared on her face like the idea of students knocking each other out was something to look forward to.

"Every year," she readjusted her glasses. "Each first year class is expected to provide noble candidates for a small-scale tournament. These candidates are going to compete against each other for the position of First Year Rep. on the school council."

By the time she finished her statement, most of the other students had already lost interest.

"Class 1C has been asked to provide two students by the end of today. If you're interested, or if you'd like to nominate someone, come forward."

Nobody spoke.

"If no unanimous decision is made by the end of the day, I will choose myself."

Without another word, Miss Fumiko left the class.

Immediately after, the entire class erupted in noise. Each student whispered the name of who they thought was strong enough to participate in the tournament.

But while they murmured and debated who had the best chance of winning the tournament, I observed each one of them, trying to figure out if any of them was the one who left that haunting note at my door.

'You're not supposed to be here.'

Perhaps it was some noble prank to make me feel uncomfortable here or a fellow student who had discovered that I wasn't able to use magic.

Either way, both probabilities were unacceptable to me, so I hatched a little plan to catch the culprit.

*****

"I've decided to participate in the First Year Tournament," Lucy said when we met in the orchard that day.

She seemed quite happier than on most days. The idea of fighting in a tournament probably made her a little excited.

It was nice to see her cheerful, even though the idea of Lucy fighting scared me to my bones.

"What about you?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"No?" Lucy gave me a quizzical look. "Why?"

"I don't like fighting."

She didn't respond. She just stared at me like I had said something wrong again.

*What is it?" I asked.

"You've really… changed."

"How so?"

Lucy lowered her voice. "Since your last visit to Erentha, you've become quieter. More distant. Mature, maybe. But different."

A good difference, I hope.

"We all have to grow up someday right?" I smiled.

Lucy maintained her silence.

"Don't fight in the tournament," I added.

Her lips curled into a frown. "Why do you say so?"

"I don't think it's a good idea."

She slowly turned to me, her eyes, cold and flat. "You think I can't handle it."

"I didn't say that."

I didn't have to say it. She could sense it anyway.

"You didn't have to," she snapped, as expected.

A brief silence ensued.

"I have a feeling something will go wrong," I added. "There are students who do not like you. Someone might try to harm you."

In other words, you could actually harm someone.

"They already do," she said, her temper rising. "Every day they whisper evil things about me. Some of them even wish me dead. You think I don't know that?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Let me guess. You're just trying to protect me. Keep the darkblood girl away from a fight or someone might get hurt."

"That's not it."

"Then what?" She demanded. "You've barely spoken to me or sent me a message since we came to Viridale. And now suddenly you care? Because I might lose?"

"No," I replied. "Because I'm afraid to see you get hurt."

In other words, I'm afraid you'll hurt someone.

She stared at me, eyes narrowing. Then she stood up.

"You've changed. The Rin I know trusted me to handle myself."

Her voice dropped to a level just above a whisper.

"Now you're just like everyone else."

I've been hurt by many things, but her words hurt me more than any dagger.

Before I could say anything else, Lucy stormed off.

*****

Just before the last bell rang, Miss Fumiko returned to the class.

"Out of the twenty-four students in this class, only one person volunteered to participate in the First Year Tournament." She paused, eyes searching. "Ginny Lillith."

Of course. The bully's sister. The one who was born to sneer.

"I was hoping you guys would cease the opportunity. Well, the school insisted on two students, so I'm going to pick out the second candidate for the competition."

I smiled to myself. Good luck trying to pick a good fighter in a class filled with E-Rank magic students.

It didn't really matter who she picked, because he or she was definitely going to be obliterated in the first round.

"Rin Stormborn!"

F**k.