The room finally went quiet.
I let out a long breath, dropping onto the mat. "Okay… remind me never to underestimate you again."
She was already sitting, barely even tired. "Took you long enough."
I smirked, turning my head toward her. "Hey, I was being nice."
She raised a brow. "You? NICE?"
"Ouch," I placed a hand on my chest. "You wound me."
She rolled her eyes, but there was the tiniest hint of a smile.
Yeah… I saw that.
I always did.
"Don't get used to it," she said.
"Too late," I replied instantly.
For a second, we just sat there, catching our breath. The silence wasn't awkward—just calm.
But my eyes kept drifting back to her.
Everytime.
Like they had a mind of their own.
Sensei's voice echoed from somewhere.
"Take five."
"FIVE?" we both said at the same time.
I groaned. "That's not even enough time to recover from your punches."
"You'll survive," she said casually.
"Barely," I muttered, shifting a little closer. "I think my soul left my body at one point."
She glanced at me. "Good. Saves me the effort next time."
I laughed. "Wow. Violent and funny? That's a dangerous combo."
And I meant it.
Everything about her felt dangerous.
"You talk too much," she shot back.
"And you hit too hard," I said.
"Well... we all have our talents." She huffed softly, looking away.
I leaned back on my hands, still watching her—this time not even trying to hide it.
The way she sat there, calm and steady, like nothing could shake her… like she hadn't just been in a fight that would've taken most people down.
She didn't even realize how unreal she looked in moments like this.
Or maybe she did.
"You've gotten stronger."
That made her pause.
"…So have you," she said after a second.
I smirked slightly. "Was that a compliment?"
"Don't make it weird." She shotted back.
"Too late again."
She shook her head, but there was no comeback this time.
I nudged her arm lightly. "You still punch like you're trying to prove a point though."
She looked at me sideways. "Maybe I am."
I tilted my head. "And what point is that?"
"That you're still annoying."
I grinned. "Wow. After everything we just went through, that's what I get?"
She didn't answer—just looked away again.
I let out a quiet laugh, but my eyes stayed on her a second longer.
Not just looking.
Studying.
Memorizing.
It's honestly annoyng.
How easily she made me OBSESSED.
This— this feels different.
Not hate. Not friendship either. Something in between—frenemies, maybe.
And for some reason…
I still couldn't look away.
I forced myself to sit up. "Focus, Kai," I muttered under my breath.
It didn't work.
My attention snapped forward when the sound of metal sliding echoed through the room.
A door ahead slowly opened.
We stepped inside.
The new arena was massive. Sunlight poured through high skylights, reflecting off polished wooden floors. Weapons lined the walls—rows of swords, staffs, bows. Training dummies stood spaced out perfectly.
"Whoa…" I breathed.
She stepped forward slowly, eyes wide. "I've never seen anything like this before…"
"Same here," I said, though I was watching her reaction more than the room.
Our watches suddenly buzzed.
I glanced down.
Bright marks and numbers flashed across the screen—green, red, blue—updating rapidly.
"Your points and scores," Sensei said.
"Wait… our scores?" I whispered.
She leaned closer, her shoulder almost brushing mine. "It tracked everything we did…"
I stared at it.
Every hit.
Every mistake.
Every detail.
And somehow… even then, my attention kept shifting back to her.
Sensei's voice cut through again.
"Next lesson. Sword fighting."
I froze.
"…SWORDS?"
Her head snapped toward me. "SWORDS?!"
"We've never even touched swords!" I said. "How are we supposed to—"
Beep.
The watches updated again.
A glowing sword icon appeared. The scores started moving in real time—tracking stance, grip, movement.
"…Wow," I muttered.
She slowly walked toward the rack, curiosity taking over.
I followed, watching her.
She picked up a sword carefully.
Held it out.
Her eyes widened.
"…I like it."
I raised a brow."Careful. You look a little too happy holding a weapon that size."
She brought it closer, inspecting it.
"…Okay—no.Wait I love it."
let out a laugh. "That was fast."
She didn't look at me, her thumb tracing the crossguard. "It's balanced. Better than the practice staves."
"Is it?" I stepped closer—tooclose—closer than I needed to—until I was standing right behind her shoulder.
I lowered my head almost to the same level as hers—trying to get a closer look at the sword.
When I turned she was already looking at me—our gazes locked—her cheeks warmed. I couldn't even remember how to breathe.
We jerked apart—both of us at once—like we'd accidentally touched a live wire.
"yeah—umm it looks very balanced" I managed, a nervous laugh doing nothing to kill the heat rising in the room.
As I was still sweating trying to process what happened.
She suddenly froze.
"…Oh no."
I blinked. "What?"
She lowered the sword slightly, staring at the blade.
"…It's actually sharp."
I snorted trying not to laugh."Yeah. That's kinda the point."
She looked at me, dead serious. "No, like… really sharp."
I laughed, shaking my head. "Wow. Now you're scared?"
"I am NOT scared," she snapped, immediately adjusting her grip like she didn't trust herself.
Beep.
We both looked at our watches.
Green checkmarks appeared.
"Correct grip detected."
"…It's grading us for HOLDING it?" I said.
She stared at hers, amazed. "This is INSANE…"
I also picked up a sword, feeling the weight settle in my hand.
Cold. Sharp. Real.
I glanced at her again.
Still trying to process everything.
Still… impossibletoignore.
Sensei's voice cut through the quiet.
"So,You both ready to get started!?"
We glanced at each other.
"Yes! sensei"
And just like that, sword training also began.