“Sorry. Okay. Yes. She did.”
“Mhm… Then—because all that’s not weird enough already—she assumes you’re dating Viv—who will kill us both if she finds out I heard that, by the way—admits to not having made a lot of friends at school, and confesses that you almost beat her at the Commencement Ceremony.”
“Yes. But you’re getting things way out of order.”
“Doesn’t matter. What does matter, on the other hand, is the fact that—after all that—we somehow ended up… here.”
“… Yes. Yes we did.”
Catcher nodded slowly, like an old man finished with lecturing a reckless child, not looking at Rei. Instead, the pair of them stood in their combat suits just beyond the perimeter of their usual Dueling field in the East Center facility, watching with dismay as Viv and Aria Laurent went at each other with astounding ferocity, Viv’s Duelist Speed and Cognition having proven themselves the only specs that had a chance of standing up to the Phalanx’s numbers for more than 15 seconds or so. It was like witnessing two tigers tearing at each other, except said tigers were armed with vibrantly glowing steel weapons and armor. As Rei’s neuroline had improved, so had his ability to follow the blur of such fighting, and so it was in silence that he and Catcher watched the two girls strike and slash at each other, Laurent’s shield and spear meeting Viv’s two blades every time they sought an opening.
It was genuinely breathtaking.
Gemela’s sword lanced in, but was slammed aside by Hippolyta’s shield. Laurent’s spear thrust forward, nearly taking Viv through the chest, but she dodged under it to take an opening, slashing at an exposed thigh. The Phalanx reacted by kneeing upward, accepting the cut of the slighter blade along the steel plating of the red-and-gold greaves that covered her lower legs, turning the clever block into a kick that would have taken Viv in the chin had she not spun out of the way. She was forced to duck again immediately following this, because Laurent’s spear whirled in an arc over her head to cut horizontally once, twice, three times, and Viv eventually had to leap backwards to be clear of the weapon.
All of that, of course, took about 3 seconds.
The two went on like that for almost a minute more, back and forth again and again over the center of the neutral white field they tended to prefer for sparring practice. They all knew Laurent was handicapping herself, not calling on Third Eye in the moments things got dicey, but Rei didn’t think anyone much cared. He and Catcher stood mesmerized to the side, watching with rapt attention.
The two girls, meanwhile, were both grinning ear to ear even as they tried their absolute best to kill one another.
As was not uncommon in CAD-fighting, the end of the match came abruptly. Viv’s Endurance was higher than Rei’s by far, but it was still her weakest spec, making her ill-suited for drawn-out combat against an opponent she couldn’t put down within any reasonable time. Rei noticed her getting slower some two and half minutes into the fight, and it was shortly after that Catcher started muttering under his breath, apparently seeing the same thing. Viv’s dodges became less deft, her strikes less accurate. Before long Laurent was steadily beating her back, towards the edge of the field. Rei and Catcher watched the press happen, waiting for the moment.
When Viv’s back bumped up against the invisible wall at the extent of the ring, the fight ended in a flash.
Laurent lunged forward, slamming her shield straight into Viv to flatten her against the wall. Before her momentarily pinned opponent could respond, the Phalanx shortened her grip on her spear and stabbed it into Viv’s hip, earning herself a scream of agony. The pain was so much that Viv looked to lose concentration for an instant, her weapons going limp in her hands, and Laurent pulled off in a blink, drawing her left arm back, then driving the bottom of her shield into Viv’s throat with a wham!
“Fatal Damage Accrued. Winner: Aria Laurent.”
“Damn,” Rei heard Catcher mutter under his breath after the field had announced the end of the match.
“Yeah,” he agreed, starting towards the pair as Laurent recalled Hippolyta in time to catch Viv when she started to fall, having undoubtedly lost all motor control from the neck down.
It didn’t take long for the neural interruption to fade as the field de-pixilated around them, and by the time Rei and Catcher reached the two girls Viv was standing mostly on her own again, all smiles as she talked with surprising energy.
“That was amazing,” she gushed, swinging her left hand in an imitation of half of Laurent’s killing combination. “You have better wide control of your Device’s parts than I do even as a Duelist.”
“Don’t forget that I’ve had two full months of additional one-on-one training,” the red-headed Phalanx said, sounding rather pleased to be able to talk so casually in the aftermath of the fight. “You’ve got a lot of skill. I hope you plan to take the Intra-Schools seriously. You could totally make it.”
“That’s what we told her,” Rei said, coming to a halt by the pair of them as Viv’s brown eyes lit up with excitement. “Judging by that expression, though, I get the feeling she might take your word a little more to heart than ours.”
“Judging by that match, she—” Viv pointed at Laurent enthusiastically “—could take you both on blindfolded. All three of us if she decided to use Third Eye. You’ll pardon me if I measure her opinion with just a liiiiiitle more weight.”
“Sure, sure,” Rei said with a roll of his eyes, but he laughed regardless. “You know, that’s actually the first time I’ve ever seen you lose a fight, now that I think about…”
“What are you talking about? Jenny Costa whipped me up and down the gym constantly my first year in combat team.”
“A CAD-fight, dummy. Also Costa was a fourth year and five inches taller than your skinny fifteen-year-old ass.”
“Well ex-cuuuuuse me for not reading your mind. How about you call up those pretty little kitten claws of yours and help me restart my winning streak, then?”
There was a giggle, and Rei and Viv looked away from their banter to see Aria Laurent watching them brightly.
“You two have definitely known each other a while. You’re like an old married couple.”
“Ew,” the pair of them said together, then snorted at the same time.
“You guys are gonna make me feel like a fourth wheel, at this rate,” Catcher muttered, looking Viv up and down as he spoke. “You up for another match? I have a feeling my Speed is like two fights from ranking up, so you’d make a good partner.”
“Give me a minute. My fingers are still a little numb.” Viv looked between Rei and Laurent. “You guys okay to pair?”
“Definitely,” Rei answered, not displeased to see the Phalanx perk up at the suggestion. They’d sparred a bit to warm up, but hadn’t had their promised match yet. “Can you split the field?”
Viv’s NOED flared—she was the one who’d booked the space for them—and a moment later the Dueling circle had divided itself into two equal portions. Rei supposed they could have moved to another room, but it was more fun to stay together, even if it meant letting Viv and Catcher watch him get absolutely pancaked what was likely to be several times in a row.
Fun…
The thought caught him, and he looked at Laurent, who was answering some question Catcher had asked her about her Device. It was strange, given they’d all only spent the last hour together, but the girl seemed somehow… happier. She was smiling through a sheen of sweat built up from the match, her red hair in a bun behind her head in her typical fashion, and abruptly Rei recalled something Viv had told him once, or had tried to. It hadn’t registered, then, but it came to mind now, her answer when he’d asked her if she thought the girl was aloof. Lonely, Viv had told him.
Rather than aloof, she had thought Laurent was lonely.
He must have been sporting a rather pleased expression, because Laurent cocked her head at him once Viv had told Catcher she was good to go.
“Wh
at’s that look for?” she asked him curiously.
“Nothing,” Rei answered quickly, raising an eyebrow at her. “You sure about this rematch? By your own admission I almost beat you last time we met on the field.”
The girl’s amused snort was half-endearing, half-terrifying.
Sure enough, he didn’t last more than 5 seconds in their first encounter.
With nothing but the flat semi-circle of space around them, Rei had no tricks to pull, no schemes to weave. All he could do was meet Laurent head-on in the middle of their half of the field, and he was rather pleased with himself when he managed to dodge the opening thrust of her spear.
Pleased, that is, until Hippolyta’s waiting shield caught him a titanic blow in the chest, sending him careening 10 yards back to slam with a crunch into the perimeter wall. He hit the barrier so hard he saw stars, and barely made out the red warning lines that marked him having suffered a crushed sternum, broken spine, and collapsed posterior skull.
“Fatal Damage Accrued. Winner: Aria Laurent.”
“Ah! I’m sorry!” The C-Ranker came rushing over, her Speed bringing her to his side in a heartbeat. Her Device already recalled, she started to reach for him. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I should have held back! It was just a reflex to—!”
She stopped short before she could touch him, Rei’s raised hand cutting her off as the pain of the simulated injuries subsided.
The moment his neuroline had cleared his mind enough to think straight, he grinned up at her.
“Again,” he said, making sure she heard every ounce of his enthusiasm.
She blinked at him, surprised.
Then she smiled back just as eagerly.
“Okay.”
They went again, then again, then again. Each time Rei found himself absolutely outmatched in every possible way, but each time he also lasted just a little longer, survived for just a few more seconds. By his sixth defeat—courtesy of a spear through the heart—he had forced Laurent to chase him down for a full 20 seconds, even managing a few clever deflections and testing jabs that had had her bringing her shield to bear in protection of her face or vitals.
After his chest had stopped hurting so bad he couldn’t breathe, he lifted his head to find the Phalanx looking down on him, something like awe sketched across her face.
“What’s that look for?” he echoed her early question with a pained chuckle, starting to push himself to his feet.
Laurent shook her head a little. “It’s just… You’re kind of incredible, aren’t you?”
Straightening up, Rei glanced at her sidelong. “Hardly,” he snorted, rubbing at the place Hippolyta had skewered him, willing away the fading simulation of discomfort. “All I can do against you is provide a moving target.”
“That’s not what I meant.” She was frowning at him, and her eyes—perhaps unbidden—had drifted to the scars made easily visible in the sleeveless fit of the combat suit. “I might be able to win again and again, but… I don’t know. You just make me feel like I can’t beat you, if that makes sense. It was the same thing at the Commencement. Even after Hippolyta took you through the stomach…”
Rei winced, recalling the unpleasant memory. “No idea what you’re talking about. Pretty sure that fight ended with me as a scrawny decoration on the end of your spear.”
“I’m serious. You don’t really give up easily, do you?”
At that, Rei managed a grim laugh. “No. I don’t. To my endless regret.” Then looked her in the eye. “Again.”
By the time they called it an end to the evening, Rei had lost no less than twenty times to Laurent’s superior ability. He’d never gotten to mark even a scratch on the girl—much less force her to call on Third Eye again—but his last couple of matches he had averaged nearly 40 seconds each time. He could read her better and better, and adapted a little more each time to her combat style.
“Phew!” Catcher groaned, letting himself fall back to lay on the cool surface of the black projection plating once Viv had recalled the field. He was sweating profusely, but looked all too pleased with the night’s results as he stuck a thumbs up straight into the air above him. “Rank up in Speed! Yeah!”
“Congrats,” Laurent said as she cocked an eyebrow down at him in surprise. “I didn’t realize you could make that kind of progress with sparring. No wonder you guys are all catching up to the curve.”
“Some of us more than others,” Viv told her, and through his distraction Rei saw her nodding towards him. “Like the half-pint over there. Watch this.”
Laurent turned to Rei, but he was too preoccupied to pay any of them any mind. In the frame of his neuro-optic, text was spilling across his vision.
...
Processing combat information.
...
Calculating.
…
Results:
Strength: Severely Lacking
Endurance: Severely Lacking
Speed: Severely Lacking
Cognition: Severely Lacking
Offense: Severely Lacking
Defense: Severely Lacking
Growth: Not Applicable
…
Checking combat data acquisition.
…
Adequate data acquirement met.
Device initiating adjustments to:
Strength. Endurance. Offense.
…
Adjustment complete.
Strength has been upgraded from Rank E2 to E3.
Endurance has been upgraded from Rank F9 to E0.
Offense has been upgraded from Rank E2 to E3.
…
Calculating.
…
CAD “Shido” has been upgraded from Rank E9 to D0.
Grinning hard, Rei dismissed the notification with a blink. His attention returning to his present soundings, he looked around to find all three of the others watching him, Viv and Catcher with eyes narrowed in suspicion, Laurent innocently and obviously a little confused.
“What?” he asked, trying to play it off.
“Don’t what us,” Catcher scoffed, sitting up again and pointing at him like some lawyer accusing a suspect on trial. “You managed it, didn’t you?”
“No idea what you’re talking about,” Rei said with a shrug of feigned virtue. “Nothing to see here.”
“Bull,” Catcher said, pulling up his own neuro-optic. A few seconds later and he gave a dry laugh. “Yup. Called it.”
“Called what?” Laurent asked, looking between all three of them at a distinct loss. “What did he manage?”
“Check his ISCM profile,” Viv told her, sounding like she was holding back her own smile as she, too, read over the script that was scrolling by her eyes.
Laurent frowned, then did as she suggested, the light flashing across her vision making their fractured green sparkle and dance.
Then her mouth fell open.
“D0?!” she demanded, dismissing the text and whirling on Rei. “D0?! Are you kidding me?!”
“The database doesn’t lie,” Catcher answered her darkly. Then, though, he managed an honest smile and looked up at Rei. “Congrats, man. That’s amazing.”
“Thanks,” Rei answered appreciatively. “A little bummed Shido didn’t achieve an evolution, but I guess I can’t complain.”
“C-can’t complain?!” Laurent stuttered, still gaping at him. “That would have been your third evolution in a month!”
“Yup,” Viv told her, shaking her head and turning to make for the door as she spoke over her shoulder. “Don’t worry. Keep hanging out with us and you get used to it.”
“To an extent,” Catcher grumbled good-naturally, pushing himself up to his feet. Once standing, he clapped Rei on the back and gave him a wink. “Just remember your first training partners when they make you a King, got it? I don’t need my own asteroid or anything, but I won’t say no to a nice estate on Earth or something like that.”
&nb
sp; “You bet, man,” Rei answered with a laugh, and Catcher let his hand drop to follow Viv towards the exit and the promise of a hot shower. Rei, in turn, looked around at Laurent, intending to ask her if she wanted to walk back with them.
He stopped, though, when he saw the look on her face.
It wasn’t… elation, per se. That would have been exaggerating. It was more of a sort hopeful excitement, her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes bright as they watched Viv and Catcher chatting by the door.
“What’s up?” he asked her, and the girl jumped at the sound of his voice.
“Oh,” she squeaked, and she flushed red. She seriously got embarrassed way too easily. “Uh…” She looked to be struggling to find the words, and Rei waited patiently.
If he’d learned anything that day, it was that Aria Laurent—C-Ranked User and top combatant among the first years by a mile—was about as much a tongue-twisted teenager as any of the rest of them.
“Do… Do you guys mind?”
The question came haltingly, and Rei didn’t follow.
“Mind what?”
Laurent squirmed before him, not meeting his eye, and her shy discomfort struck an unfamiliar chord with him. Something pinched in his chest, and it took him a moment to realize that he thought the girl was cute.
Way cute.
“If I… If I came back with you? The next time you guys train together? Do you mind?”
Her question, voiced in a tone that was somehow excited, embarrassed, and scared all at once, brought Viv’s words to bear again.
Lonely, she had said.
Lonely.
Rei could only smile.
CHAPTER 26
The next day proved a little more awkward than anticipated, starting with breakfast. Rei, Viv, and Catcher sat at their usual table, but despite each agreeing they had caught sight of vibrant red hair under the flat-top cap, Laurent never made an appearance, much less moved to join them. First lecture was being held in the Tactical Studies building, which was a hike from the mess hall, so Rei and Viv split off early, promising to see Catcher at lunch.
Iron Prince: A Progression Sci-Fi Epic (Warformed: Stormweaver Book 1) Page 40
