The next morning found Aida with another breakfast bar, experimenting with new kick combos before the last day’s placement matches started. Shon had been able to anticipate her kicks, because she only kicked with one leg at a time. He was only caught off guard - and subsequently injured himself - because she decided to try using her second leg while her first was still in the air. Even she knew (with how awkward that kick was) that no one else in their right mind would fall for a trick like that again.
“We brought you some more biscuits!” Sue’s cheerful chirp permeated the crisp morning air. Aida stuffed the rest of her bar in her mouth, attempting one last double kick on the dummy before turning to Sue. It was getting smoother: she was able to get decent rotation in her hips in the air before having to land. Hopefully she would be able to pull that move off smoothly in an actual fight.
“Are you and Levi ready for your match?” Aida asked as she received the handful of bars Sue pressed on her. She picked through the trove of goodies: Hardened Nut Milk, Floret Roll, Bovine Bits Biscuit, Fruit Cider Cookie.
“We all know Sue has the elemental advantage,” Levi sighed. “I’m just aiming to not get hurt.”
“With how poorly I’ve been doing this cycle, you’ll probably end up beating me too,” Sue said mournfully.
“You seem like you’re in a better mood, though,” Aida observed. “Isn’t that what you said? Mental fortitude and all that?” She was careful not to look at Caleb as she spoke to Sue.
“Yep, feelin’ pretty good, at least today will be my day!” Sue cheered. She aimed a quick one-two punch at Aida’s dummy, her movements bouncy and cute. They looked more like a playful endearment than a serious attack bolstered with power.
“What about you?” Aida asked Caleb. “How are you feeling against Lara?”
“Ah, well, not too different than normal. I just have to focus on doing my best,” Caleb said diplomatically.
“I swear to the great tree, you’d better not lose your match,” Levi said loudly.
“I don’t intend to,” Caleb retorted, bristling slightly.
“Levi,” Aida said disapprovingly. “Focus on your own match.”
Levi fell into a sulk, crossing his arms dramatically. Blissfully unaware, Sue took the Floret Roll from Aida, nibbling delicately. “At least things will be over today, and we can go back to normal schedule next cycle.”
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Sue and Levi’s match showed Sue returning to form. Despite Levi’s strong combat prowess, he couldn’t match Sue’s raw speed and destructive power. She never even gave him a chance to grow anything, and he couldn’t get close enough to hurt her. It seemed like she took the disgrace of her four straight losses very seriously, engulfing Levi in a ball of fire and brimstone. The flames threw Sue’s face into stark relief, making her delicate features look terrifying and vengeful.
Aida shivered. “I’m glad I don’t ever have to fight Sue.” Professor Bruce was hovering near Sue and Levi’s ring, his wand raised at the ready to douse the flames and rescue Levi.
Caleb nodded silently next to her. “I don’t think I deserved to win our match.”
“Take what you can get, I suppose.” They continued to watch the bonfire silently. Finally, Bruce called into the flames, voice lost in the crackles. He listened, then shook his head, sighing as he waved his wand. A disc of water appeared over the flames. Bruce carefully held the disc with his wand, then dragged it down in a straight line. The thick layer of water smacked viciously into the ground, quenching the blaze. Levi stood in the middle, very much drenched, but looking not at all like a wet dog.
Aida pried her eyes away, scowling. He probably looked just as great as Ezra when wet, but she wasn’t going to arm him with ammo by admitting she had seen him when he was wet.
“So Sue gets at least one win during this cycle,” Caleb said conversationally.
“Yeah, all of the earlier matches were just bad luck.” Aida hesitated. “Caleb…”
“Yes?”
“What do you think of Sue?”
Caleb’s mana, originally placid, began rumbling. Aida’s gut clenched; it was the same kind of instinctual fear that would spread through her body whenever the ground started shaking in her home city.
“You don’t have to tell me,” Aida said quickly. “I’m just being nosy.” And being this shaken is answer enough. Levi had been relatively calm and controlled with his mana when she asked him about his feelings, so Caleb’s reaction tracked with her suspicions.
Caleb’s mana, instead of calming down, actually became more agitated. Alarmed, Aida put a hand on his shoulder, attempting to soothe him - but his mana started to downright pulsate, throwing her own mana off. Dimly remembering what everyone said about Caleb’s mana control not being the greatest, she quickly backed away from him, the hand that had been on his shoulder held in front of her like a shield. “Sorry for asking,” she heard herself saying. “I’ll see you later. Going to get ready for the Earth-Water match.”
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Booking it towards the gate, Aida ran smack dab into Dev and Pritchard, who were coming down from the stands themselves. “Aida,” Dev said in surprise. “Are you all right?” Behind him, Pritchard’s face twisted, but he looked away from her, not saying anything.
“Hey!” Aida said brightly. “How are you guys doing?” Dev smiled back, holding his arm out to let her pass in front. He looked behind her, frowning.
“Did you two get in a fight?” Aida glanced behind her. Caleb was still sitting in his seat, his face in his hands. His mana was roiling off of him.
“No, I just asked an annoying question,” Aida said in a small voice. She cleared her throat. “Caleb! It’s time.”
Fortunately, she didn’t have to go back and get him. He took another moment to pull his mana back, then stood up. He nodded at Dev and Pritchard as he approached, his face stiff. “You all right?” Dev asked warily. Caleb said nothing, brushing by them. Aida released her breath. Focus. Talk to him later. Or maybe even not at all.
Following several steps after Caleb, she waited for Healer Luk to let them through to their rings.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Aida shuffled her feet, trying to avoid Tera’s gaze. She didn’t know how the girl would react to Aida beating her sister, especially in the wake of Lyn’s irrational expectation.
Tera seemed to be in a similar dilemma, awkwardly forming an anthill with her mana and kicking it down when it reached her knee height.
“Miss Trippe, please do not use your mana until the matches start,” Professor Bruce said sternly as he walked past their ring.
“Right, sorry.” Tera dissolved the pile, stamping it firmly back into place. There was a pregnant pause. “Thanks for beating some sense into Lyn.”
Aida blinked, looking up at her. Tera was casually looking up at the sky, squinting into the sun. Her caramel-colored hair fluttered around her. Even though she was clearly uncomfortable, she still stood with poise. The kind of poise that comes from someone confident in themselves and their abilities, yet still humble enough to not tip over to arrogant.
“…You’re welcome?”
“I mean, it’s a bit of a long story,” Tera said, looking down at the ground again. “But Lyn’s kind of been coasting. She doesn’t see the point in trying, because she says she’ll just end up wherever she’s at now, so why try, you know? Why fight destiny and all that sludge.”
“…Aren’t you worried she’s going to see losing to me as even more of a reason not to fight?” Aida asked cautiously. Tera grinned.
“That’s the beauty of it! She’s always had a backup with our family, so she never got to see the worst-case scenario. But if she really did end up on the bottom…” Tera shook her head ruefully. “Anyway, she was really banking on using the excuse of being just slightly better than you, but after you shot up to top fifteen she’s lost her escape goat.”
Aida smiled awkwardly as she tried to make sense of what Tera just said. Unfortunately, Bruce didn’t give her time to respond.
Tera moved immediately, opening up holes in the ground and causing Aida to stumble. Cursing herself for being distracted, Aida quickly Mana Surged, buying herself some reaction time. She was able to lift her foot out of a hole that closed as soon as her toe cleared the ground, while she scouted the terrain to get a feel for Tera’s combat style.
Tera was similar to all the other Earth types Aida had seen (and everyone but Lara, admittedly): she relied primarily on using her mana to manipulate the earth. Unlike most of Aida’s other opponents, though, Tera was agile. She didn’t stand in place as she directed her element as she pleased. She was careful to keep pace with Aida, aiming to stay at least several leg lengths away from her.
Aida fired a few Mana Blasts at her to see what she would do. Tera didn’t bother doing anything, knowing Aida’s Blasts were just fancy lights. She tried charging Tera, to see if she could get a few kicks in - but Tera stayed away, even erecting several earth walls in front of Aida to block her.
Aida swore. This might be the match she couldn’t even do anything in. Tera seemed to come to the same conclusion, as more walls started sprouting up around her. Realizing her predicament, Aida dashed out of the enclosure Tera was making, easily leaping over the budding walls with her mana-assisted jumps.
As she flew over a dirt wall on the edge of the arena, she saw Dev in the next ring over, fighting Pritchard. Pritchard’s strategy seemed to be similar to Tera’s: trap the Water opponent in an earthen tomb. Except Dev was strong enough to blast holes through the constructs with his water, allowing him to escape and return fire. Her eyes lingered on the water still puddled within the structures Pritchard created. Why not?
Extending her mana as far as she could, Aida snatched at the water Dev no longer had use for. Landing on the ground, Aida continued running, trying to get a good view of Tera around all her walls. She was distantly aware of Dev’s water trailing after her, slowly catching up.
Tera had slid to a stop, eyes wide. Taking advantage of her opening, Aida sent the water at her, the stream collapsing on Tera at the center. Ice Blast.
Tera pulled a shell of earth over herself, capturing the icicles in the dirt. Drops.
Swerving, Aida sprinted towards the little outcrop Tera was huddled behind, coming upon the girl just as she looked up, her mouth slowly dropping open. Without thinking about it, Aida slid along the ground, dropping below the mana blasts Tera sent at her. Their legs tangled, with Tera tumbling on top of Aida.
Grasping her wand in two hands, Aida aimed her wand at Tera, firing a Mana Blast with most of her remaining mana at point-blank range. The blast hit Tera in the face, knocking her head back and into her rock formation.
Aida paused, panting. She felt for Tera’s mana. The girl was out cold. Slowly releasing her surge, she climbed to her feet, rubbing at her sore derrière.
Professor Bruce arrived, looking conflicted. Beyond him, she saw Professor Havi yelling on his platform, thrusting a finger at her, tomato-red. On another platform, Professor Kozu’s smile was so broad she could see it from where she was. Professor Lloyd had a similar smile reflected on his face, though he quickly tempered it with a more professional demeanor. Professor Gemma simply looked amused, and a tad bit exasperated.
“Are you injured?” Bruce asked. When Aida shook her head, he gestured for her to exit the arena as Healer Luk bustled over to where Tera lay.
Dev walked with her, glancing at her with a sly smile. “That was sneaky.”
“Thank you,” Aida offered belatedly. She returned his smile. “For the water, not for your slander.” She glanced back towards his ring. “Where’s Pritchard?”
“He’s waiting for Luk to finish with him. She had started healing him, but then she felt Tera get knocked out so deemed her condition more severe than his.”
Aida sighed. “Well, at least it’s all over now.” She stretched, finally enjoying the sun on her face. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about nonstop daily fighting until the end of the school year.