He sat up quickly after erupting from his sleep, panting wildly as his face was covered in sweat.
He felt a sting in his left eye. Though he couldn't see it, both of his eyes were flashing in a dark red hue with sharp, dark pupils.
They started to calm down as he steadied his breathing, and soon enough they were back to their ordinary black colour.
By then, both Hyogo and Lloyd had been woken up by his sudden burst. They found him panting softly as he stared down at his right palm.
"Yo Izumi, are you okay?" Lloyd asked.
"Have you been having those nightmares again?" Hyogo asked too.
"I'm fine," he replied, turning to the two of them. "It did happen again, but at least it was easier this time."
Before they could reply, the door slid open and Miyuki stepped in.
"Good, you're all awake," she said. "Come on, breakfast is ready."
Amid stretches and yawns, they complied and shuffled out of the room after folding their bedding and laying it in the corner.
Then all six of them—Izumi, Lloyd, Hyogo, Miyuki, Ayako, and Kanami—sat by the small table, eating their breakfast.
"So what are you guys doing today?" Miyuki asked. "Do you have the day off?"
"We've been off ever since we finished that project the other day, so yeah," Izumi replied.
"What about you, Lloyd?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm free too. Why do you ask?" he replied.
"I was hoping we could go to the forest to get some training in," she answered. "It's been way too long since we last went, plus I've been wanting to try out some new barrier tags I've been working on."
"Sure," Izumi replied, having cleared his bowl.
"I don't mind," Lloyd added, still halfway through his.
"What about you guys?" she asked Hyogo and Ayako. "You wanna join us?"
"It would be cool to see all those things you told us about firsthand," Ayako answered.
"Why not?" Hyogo added.
"That means that you'll be alone in the house, Kanami," Ayako exclaimed.
"I'll be fine," she said with a faint smile. "You go out and have some fun. I'll just stay in like I always do."
"If you're okay with it, then it's fine," Ayako said hesitantly, "but we'll be back as soon as we can."
With that settled, as soon as they had finished up and Miyuki helped clean up, the five of them left the house.
The house was by the edge of town where there weren't any walls because of the uneven ground and the large number of trees.
Thanks to this, they were able to walk deep into the forest without any worries of being hindered.
After about half an hour of walking, they came upon a large open field. Miyuki handed Izumi and Lloyd some paper tags with inscribed writing on them, and the three of them split into different directions before coming back to the center of the field where they had first started.
"Did you set them up?" she asked the two of them once they were back together, and they both nodded in agreement.
After getting the confirmation, the four of them stepped away while she stayed at the center of the field alone.
Ayako nudged Izumi and asked him, "What were those pieces of paper she gave you?"
"Those were some barrier spell tags that she had us set up to help boost the efficiency of the barrier she's about to cast," he replied.
"You can store those Vahir spells in paper?" she asked again, confused.
"Vahir spells can be stored in physical objects through a special kind of writing called inscription," he replied. "The amount and quality someone can make is tied to their skill as a caster."
"If you ask me, it's a real lifesaver that she's learning to make them," he continued. "I'm trash at using Vahir, so if she can master inscription, then I won't ever have to worry about casting my own spells."
"Just sounds like you're lazy," Ayako said with a blank face at his relaxed look.
"Why work hard when someone else can do it for you," he replied, chuckling.
"Careful, Izumi. You're doing wonders for your impression," Lloyd said.
Izumi and Lloyd suddenly turned their heads toward Miyuki, with Hyogo following close behind. Ayako, who was the last to turn, watched as a large septa circle appeared beneath Miyuki's feet and spread out across the ground.
Though she couldn't see them, Miyuki could feel the presence of the barrier tags they had set. All three of them simultaneously burned away as she called out her spell.
"Tower Series: Number 23: Silent Sphere."
A bubble spread out from her body and stretched until it had covered the patch of forest surrounding them before fading from sight.
"What was that?" Hyogo asked.
"It was just a simple barrier to prevent anyone outside from sensing us," Izumi replied. "Now we can let loose."
The two of them joined Miyuki at the center of the field while Hyogo and Ayako sat on dead tree trunks on opposite sides of the clearing.
Another septa circle appeared beneath Miyuki as particles of light converged in front of both her palms.
They twisted and shaped themselves into swords before the light peeled away, revealing two single-edged swords.
She tossed one to each of them, and Lloyd immediately started complaining.
"You know I use a double-edged sword. Why do you keep trying to force a single-edged one on me?" he complained.
"Making these things isn't as easy as it looks," she replied. "Plus, it's really hard envisioning a double-edged sword since I'm not used to it."
"It's no big deal. You can learn our fighting style and integrate it into your own," she continued.
"But when will I ever get the chance?" he asked.
"Let's just get started. We don't have a lot of time to waste," Izumi interrupted.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Lloyd said, seeing right through him. "Now you can beat me and claim that you're better."
"But I am though," Izumi said with a smirk.
"Just you wait. I'll beat you at your own game," Lloyd said.
"Oh, like you did last time?" Izumi replied in a mocking tone.
"That's enough," Miyuki cut in. "Just get in position or I'll beat both of your asses myself."
They turned away from each other and walked until there was a fair distance between them.
Then, with another synthesis spell, Miyuki riddled the field in front of them with thick bamboo and whistled for them to start.
Both of them leapt onto the bamboo stalks and hopped from one to another as they approached each other.
You could hear Ayako cheering, "Go, Lloyd!" in the background.
Once the two were close enough to each other, they stopped.
For a moment they stood staring at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.
The stalk beneath Lloyd's left foot shifted slightly, drawing away his attention and prompting Izumi to charge.
He opened with an immediate downward slash aimed straight for Lloyd's head, but Lloyd dodged by shifting his footing onto another stalk at his side with a spin. Using that same turn, he swung for Izumi's back.
Izumi jerked himself forward, dodging the blow, and immediately turned to strike at him again. This time the two wooden swords collided, and after a brief struggle they both leapt back.
That was when Lloyd noticed something hurtling toward him at high speed and moved out of its way just in time.
It was another bamboo stalk, though this one was thinner and harder, more like a spear.
When he turned to see where it had come from, he saw Miyuki down below, already busy making another stalk to throw at them.
"You're getting distracted," Izumi grunted as he swung at him, only missing his shoulder slightly.
The two stood facing off again, shifting from stalk to stalk.
Lloyd suddenly stopped, and before Izumi could react, he tilted his head sharply to the side. A bamboo stalk flew past him, launching straight at Izumi.
Izumi jumped out of the way but almost lost his balance as Lloyd charged at him, just as Izumi had done only a few seconds before.
He thrust at Izumi's chest, but the angle felt off because of the nature of the sword, and he missed. Just as he did, another stalk came flying toward them.
Both of them tried jumping out of the way, but the stalk was still hurtling toward Izumi. Lloyd prepared himself to strike as Izumi tried dodging again, but shockingly enough, he caught it with his left hand and flung it right back at him.
Lloyd moved away and dodged, but the stalk kept flying, its trajectory now aimed at Ayako.
Once she saw it flying toward her, she curled back, but right before it could hit her, another stalk thrown by Miyuki deflected it away.
The two of them got off the stalks and ran down to see if she was alright.
"I'm fine," she insisted.
Izumi let out a deep sigh of relief.
"What's with you throwing it at her, huh?" Lloyd snorted.
"You're the one who dodged, so it's your fault," Izumi shot back.
"I don't think I'm safe here," Ayako said, trying to escape the argument. "I'll go sit somewhere else."
Before they could say anything, Miyuki cut in.
"You still have a minute before the end of that round. Get back up there!"
They clicked their tongues at each other before leaping back up.
"Those two can get really competitive, don't you think?" Ayako's voice cut into Hyogo's thoughts as he sat staring at them.
"Oh, yeah, that's right," he fumbled. "I thought you said you were going to sit somewhere else."
"Yeah, I'm sitting here," she said, sitting beside him.
He shuffled awkwardly away when she got too close and turned his attention back to the fight.
"Look at that. Lloyd almost fell."
"Yeah," she muttered absentmindedly as she shuffled closer.
Hyogo sat fidgeting for what felt like an eternity until the first round was over and the two leapt back down.
"Yo, Hyogo, you good? Your face looks kind of red," Izumi asked, noticing.
He shot up to his feet.
"I'm fine!"
He tried looking back but turned away so fast it left Ayako confused.
"What's up with him?" she thought.
"You know what," Hyogo suddenly said, "why don't I go up for a round?"
"Where is this coming from?" Lloyd asked.
"Can't I try something out without all of these endless questions?!" Hyogo shot back awkwardly.
"Fine, if you insist," Lloyd said, tossing him his sword. "You can go up against the big shot here."
"A quick stretch won't be so bad," Izumi said. "I won't break any of your bones, so don't worry."
"Sure," Hyogo said.
The two of them lined up on the ground right by the stalks, with Hyogo fidgeting as he tried to copy Izumi's stance.
Miyuki walked up to Ayako and asked, "Did something happen?"
"I don't know," she replied. "He just got weird all of a sudden."
Then the two of them turned their attention back to the spar.
"Come charge at me," Izumi said. "Nothing's going to happen if you just stand there."
Hyogo grunted as he clenched his grip on the sword tight and charged. He swung downward just as Izumi had done at the start of the other fight, but his strike was met and countered.
Izumi pushed him back and tapped his shoulder with the sword.
"First point to me."
"Don't you know how to go easy on a beginner?" Hyogo complained.
"I don't swing that way," he replied, getting back into his stance. "You're the one who asked for this, remember."
"I guess I just have to get serious, huh," Hyogo exclaimed as he mimicked his stance.
They stood steady for a moment before charging simultaneously with identical swings. The round ended in a draw as they both had their swords at each other's throats.
"Not bad," Izumi said as they stepped back.
"I'm just a natural," Hyogo replied.
"Are you going to lose again, Izumi?!" Lloyd yelled from the sidelines. "Figures that you were all talk."
"Shut up. I'm going easy on him, and you know it," he yelled back.
"I thought you said that wasn't your style," Hyogo said, getting into his stance again.
"Just wanted you to feel challenged, is all," Izumi replied as he got ready too.
The round kicked off, and they shot at each other. Izumi pressed the attack, but Hyogo was dodging surprisingly well.
Hyogo went for the legs but missed and was pushed back. Izumi swung at his head, but he dodged by lowering himself.
The back and forth went on until Miyuki called that the two minutes for the round were up.
"Really?" Izumi exclaimed. "It was just getting fun."
He turned to Hyogo.
"Wanna go another round?"
"I'm fine, thanks," he declined. "I think that's enough for one day."
"If you say so," Izumi sighed. "Now I have to go back to fighting the boring amateur, Lloyd."
"There you go taking privilege for granted," Lloyd cut in. "I should knock out a tooth for the disrespect."
"Bring it on!" Izumi yelled as the two of them walked toward the stalks.
Hyogo sat by a tree a few feet from the log Ayako was sitting on. He took a few deep breaths before turning his attention back to the two as they kicked off their second practice round.
But every now and then he would steal quiet glances at her.