The day continued with the combat class held in the school's backyard, in a cleared area with compacted dirt ground and marked lines that delimited the practice zones.
The instructor was a man in his forties, solidly built, who spoke little.
Takeshi stood at the edge of the area and watched the rest of the class organize themselves. He had no experience in real combat.
'This body has some basic muscle memory, but nothing comparable to Aoi and Yuki.'
The instructor gave the initial instructions in a flat voice.
"This class covers the fundamentals of the magic system applied to combat. There are two types. The first is elemental magic, which has direct control over fire, water, wind, and earth. It requires sustained concentration. The second is infusion magic, which is fixed to a weapon and enhances its properties. It's more stable, more precise, but limited to the weapon in question. Today we're practicing basic coordination with your own weapons. No magic activation yet, just movement and positioning."
Several students summoned their weapons while others grabbed the ones the instructor provided.
'I figured this would happen after seeing Yuki summon her daggers to kill me, but it still surprises me. Still, what's the point of practicing with weapons?'
Takeshi spotted Aoi, who held a sword with a blue blade and white accents.
'From what I heard, Aoi was named a holy knight for being the strongest of her generation.'
He also saw Yuki, who had her shadow daggers in her hands.
'I also heard that the only one who ever gave Aoi a real fight was Yuki, but she could never beat her.'
The first pairings were random. Takeshi ended up facing a student with no standout stats who basically showed him that his current body knew how to hold a practice shortsword, but not much else, so he lost both exchanges quickly.
From his position he could see the other practice zones.
Aoi was working with a female classmate. Her movements were precise, every step had a purpose, every sword position covered the correct angle, and there was no visible effort. Her partner tried to keep up and couldn't.
Yuki was two zones away. She moved differently, less straightforward than Aoi, more unpredictable. She shifted her weight from side to side without warning and used the space irregularly. Her practice partner retreated more than he advanced.
'Both of them know what they're doing, that much I already knew, but seeing it in a non-urgent context makes it clearer.'
The chat popped up briefly.
[Combat class with two yanderes on the same field]
[The teacher has no idea what kind of trouble he's in]
Takeshi ignored the messages, but the problem started when the instructor reorganized the pairings for the second round.
"Mizuhara and Tachibana, go to the central zone."
Neither of them reacted with surprise. Aoi moved toward the central zone with steady steps. Yuki arrived from the other side and stopped in front of her at the regulation distance.
The instructor observed the pairing for a second, as if calculating something, then gave the signal to begin.
The first ten seconds went correctly.
Aoi advanced with a clean movement.
Yuki dodged to the left and responded with a lateral cut.
Aoi blocked and took half a step back before advancing again.
It was like any school practice, controlled and rhythmic, but it didn't last long.
At some point between the third and fourth exchange, the movements stopped having the cadence of an exercise and started having the speed of something else. Aoi stopped measuring her blade and Yuki stopped using only one dagger.
One of Yuki's cuts passed too close to Aoi's neck to be accidental.
Aoi responded with a thrust that, if it had connected, would have been a critical hit.
Several students around them stopped moving, as did Takeshi.
'This doesn't look like practice anymore.'
Both girls were still inside the zone lines, but the intent had changed and was visible to anyone watching.
Yuki shifted to the side with a quick, low movement, both daggers active, aiming for Aoi's right flank.
Aoi spun before she arrived and used her body weight to push Yuki's trajectory outward. It wasn't a block—it was an attempt to throw off her balance for a clean angle.
Yuki compensated by planting one hand on the ground and recovering her stance in less than a second.
Takeshi automatically checked both of their stats.
[AOI MIZUHARA]
[Life: 100%]
[Sanity: 55%]
[Confidence: 90%]
[YUKI TACHIBANA]
[Life: 100%]
[Sanity: 45%]
[Confidence: 70%]
'They haven't even hurt each other!?'
That could change soon.
The chat was active, but Takeshi didn't read anything.
Suddenly the instructor crossed the zone in four steps and stepped between them with one arm extended toward each side.
"Stop."
Both stopped, without struggling or trying to continue. Aoi and Yuki lowered their weapons. Both looked at the instructor with expressions that showed no issue with what they had just done.
The instructor looked at each of them. Then he spoke in the same tone he used for everything.
"This is coordination practice, not a duel. If you can't work within that framework, you don't participate. Understood?"
"Yes."
Aoi replied.
"Yes."
Yuki said.
"Good. Change of pairings."
That was all. The instructor reorganized the zone and the class continued as if nothing had happened.
Takeshi stayed where he was until the rest of the students resumed their exercises. Then he looked at Aoi, who was now working with another partner at the opposite end, and then at Yuki, who was doing the same in the central zone.
Both acted normally and neither seemed affected by what had occurred.
Takeshi processed what he had seen in order.
Aoi dominated distance and angle. Every one of her movements closed off options for the opponent before they could use them. Her skill with the sword wasn't just technique—it was the ability to read what the other was going to do before they did it.
Yuki was deliberately unpredictable. She didn't follow a fixed pattern, which made her hard to anticipate. She used the space in a non-conventional way and could recover her balance in situations where most people couldn't.
Both of them were dangerous. That wasn't new, but this display of skill made it more concrete.
'If neither of them is willing to hold back in a supervised practice, they're not going to hold back in any other context.'
He checked his own stats.
[Life: 100%]
[Sanity: 60%]
[Points: 5]
Nothing had changed in the numbers, but the information he now had was more precise than before.
The class ended twenty minutes later. The instructor gave some final instructions and the students gathered their things.
Aoi reached Takeshi's side before he finished putting away the practice sword.
"How did it go?"
"I guess badly."
Takeshi replied.
Aoi nodded as if it were a reasonable answer.
Takeshi looked toward where Yuki was on the other side of the courtyard and noticed that Yuki was also looking at him. When their eyes met, Yuki didn't look away.
Aoi followed the direction of his gaze. Her expression didn't change, but her posture did—the shoulders dropped a centimeter, and her left hand moved slightly toward where she normally summoned her sword.
Yuki finally looked away and headed toward the building.
Aoi waited until she disappeared through the door and then relaxed.
Takeshi reached one conclusion from that.
'I need to get stronger.'