Obstinate Elitists

24

Swords clashed with one another, the sound of it as uncomfortable as nails scraping upon the chalkboard. The girl in front had short, chopped hair, yet the color of it was haunting. It was dyed pink, a cutting similarity to Riki's hair. However, the resemblance stopped there. Unlike Riki's warm, brown eyes, this girl had crystal blues ones. The girl who you were put to play against was named Azumi, a rank two among the system.

Your own sword was kept at a stalemate, locked in defensive mode in case the girl broke through your walls. Your arms were beginning to shake from the weight, getting easily tired for holding the heavy thing. That was when you remembered what Ginjirou taught you last weekend. If there came a time things became defensive, stay in that state, but lean forward with every hit. It would throw the opponent off guard and perhaps lead to an opening.

So that was what you did. Azumi aimed for another jab towards you and when the swords slammed upon one another, you tipped forward and tried to stop her tracks. Her feet stumbled backwards and her gaze widened in surprise. It worked...! Just as you were about to thrust your weapon at her, she quickly gained her footing again and held the wooden stick right at the nape of your neck. You froze in shock, quickly lowering your arms in defeat. Chest rising up and down in exhaustion, you slumped your shoulders when she relaxed her position.

"I see what you're trying to do," she said, nodding in approval. "You had a chance there, but was too slow. Not only that, but during that small time interval, you left your defenses open and allowed me to attack back. Next time, don't hesitate."

Her personality also differed drastically from Riki's. While your old friend had been the carefree type, Azumi was very stoic and independent. The type of person you aspired to be. It was strange to see her only in rank two though. To anyone's eyes, she looked stronger than someone like Michiko -- that one bully. It seemed unfair. Hopefully she would reach rank four by the end of the school year. She would go to places.

"Thanks for the advice," you responded, smiling.

"It's nothing," she brushed it off, walking with you to the back of the room, where others were taking a water break. Wiping her forehead with her forearm, she grabbed a water bottle and chugged from it, liquid running down the sides of her face. You went to do the same. "You're improving. Have you been secretly training by yourself?"

You shrugged casually, thoughts running through the training session with Ginjirou. Obviously, you couldn't tell her that. "A little here and there on my own. That's all. You noticed?"

She nodded, wetting her dry lips. "Yeah. Your hits are harder and you lasted a good five minutes."

"That's great to hear." You dropped to the bench and watched the ongoing matches. Two rank fours were going at it mercilessly, shooting jabs back and forth. They looked like actual swordmen -- nearly something you would see out of a samurai movie. It was kind of insane and despite watching it for a while now, you could never get used to it. They were only wielding wooden swords, but a hit to a sensitive spot would certainly send you to the hospital. Good God... what if this class transitioned to real swords?!

Before you could voiced the question to your sparring buddy, she had an inquiry of her own. "Hey... so I've been noticing something." Eyebrows raised and you turned to her with a curious expression on. "You spend an awful lot of time with the elites. Are you friends with some of them?"

Shit. She noticed it... Did that mean everyone else noticed it too? It was getting increasingly hard for you to hide or limit your interactions with the elites, for they almost popped up wherever you go. Quite the infamous person you were becoming. This was turning into a major problem.

Scratching your head, you released a nervous laugh. "That's not exactly it... It's kind of hard to explain."

Eyes grew cold and the corners of her mouth curved downward into a disappointed frown. What kind of reaction was that? You tensed up and knitted your brows. "Are you trying to suck up to them?" she suddenly accused you.