61ST GEAR - FLUONESSIA’S ROUTE
“Uwuuuuu… That hurts, Jonathaaaan…”
Flu rubbed her reddish aching forehead as she wept. She is legit crying right now with tears flowing out of her eyes. She sat down on the fine white sand and protected her head like an armadillo.
I know I just hit a cute girl with a book, so sue me! I don’t care! I am still angry right now and I’m suppressing all these emotions by clenching my fists!
“You… You stupid idiot!” I roared out loud.
This time, my tears sprinkled all the way. I will not deny that I am now crying as well!
“E-Eh?” Flu uttered. “A-Are you crying, Coach!?”
“You can’t just pull out from your promise! You made an oath that you would become a Speedmage Champion for me! You are the reason why I joined Merry Knights! So fight for it until the end!”
“B-But…” Flu sulked as she put her hand on the white sand floor. She clawed a handful of those white grains and squeezed. “I am a failure. A no-good loser like me will never be a Speedmage Champion. There are many more Speedmages who can grant that promise to you.”
“You’re the one I want! It has to be you!” I cried out loud.
A gentle breeze from the ocean skies brushed upon us two. Fluonessia’s long pink hair was swept by the soft wind, and combined with her blushing adorable face and glinting sapphire eyes that is bluer than the big blue sea, she looked like a picturesque painting of a fallen goddess.
I blushed too. I felt like I just made the most cringe confession in my entire life, not that I have ever confessed my love anyway. And it was not a confession at all, it is just a declaration that I want to forge her into the ultimate Speedmage Champion. I can’t blame her if she takes it the wrong way.
I saw raindrops falling to the ground. No, it was Fluonessia’s tears. She held her chest tight and bowed down. Her shoulders shook with each sob as tears rolled down her face in a steady stream. Her soft voice came out a little hoarse.
“Jonathan… Why do you trust me this much?” Flu’s voice was soft and weak.
“Because you have what it takes to become the Speedmage Champion. It’s not just me who can see that. Prez, Cruzo, Miss Terror, Captain Tezza, and even Vincent… They know that you are a genius.”
Flu shook her head. “No. You are wrong. I am not a genius at all. I have lost a lot of Speed Battles already. From Prez, from Vincent, and from Lilith. I am just a crying, sulking, weak, and no-good girl.”
“If you’re not a genius, then I will make a genius out of you then,” I said as I genuflected and peeked at her face.
Her eyes are red and puffy while crying, and her reddish cheeks are glistening with moisture as she wept. I projected a smile in the hopes that she might be infected by it.
“Yesterday’s losers are tomorrow’s winners. It doesn’t matter if you lose a lot of Speed Battles. You just needed to win one tournament, and all those losses will vanish and people will forget. Being a champion is not a matter of talent, or hard work, or luck. It is a matter of destiny.”
“C-Coach…” Flu’s sapphire eyes glittered with a tiny ember of hope. She slowly raised her hand and took mine.
“You have been offering your hand ever since we first met. This time, I am offering mine, and I want you to trust me. This will be your route. I will make you a Speedmage Champion.”
I dragged her up and we finally stood side by side looking at the horizon where the afternoon sunset made its exit. Flu wiped away the tears from her eyes and she finally went back to her usual smile.
“You’ll come to practice tomorrow, right?” I said as I gave her back the Speedmage Tactics book.
“Yes, Coach!” Flu saluted jollily as she accepted the book for the second time.
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The next day, after school hours, we went to the Merry Knights Guild Building. There were only Flu and me during that time, and it seemed that our seniors had some academic errands to do. So we two decided to go to the Triangle and do some warm-ups.
A standard warm-up will only consist of running laps around the Triangle and touching Checkpoint Towers. I had my stopwatch in my hand and whistle in my mouth to record and officiate Flu’s current record.
Fweeeeeet!
I sounded the whistle.
“Wind Accel!” Flu tapped her shoes, and pink wind contrails blasted from it.
Yeah, it blasted. It is like an old water faucet that explodes all of a sudden after a decade of non-usage! Something is wrong with Flu!
“Waaah!” Flu cried as she was immediately pushed up in the air and tripped on her foot!
Wham! Her face was slammed to the floor!
“F-Flu!? Are you okay?” I cried.
“I-I’m okay, tahahaha!” Flu scratched her head and gave a plastic laugh. Good thing she was protected by her Speedmage Suit’s magical barrier, or else her nose would have squished.
Flu immediately stood up and restarted the speed spell. “Wind Accel!”
There was it once again. An explosion of pink wind launched her about a meter in midair, but this time she landed perfectly on her feet. She continued to run with this weird control of her Wind Accel spell, and now she looked like a drunken man running at super speed.
What happened to her? Two days ago, she was fine! But now it seemed like we were back to square one!
“Woaaaah! Waaaaah! Eeeeek!” Flu cried as she uncontrollably zigzagged back and forth and then bumped into the 2nd Checkpoint Tower with her face!
Beep!
“Flu, try using Phoenix Arrow to reach the 3rd Checkpoint Tower!” I said through the mic.
“R-Right!” Flu made a Rocket Jump and then swiped her fingers in the thin air to create a pink Air Trampoline, then she acrobatically maneuvered to step on it with both of her feet! “Phoenix…wah!”
The pink Air Trampoline popped like a balloon and made her fall to the ground.
“Flu!” I cried out loud. But there was nothing I could do as I was hundreds of meters away from her.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
Bam!
Flu crashed on the ground, head first. It made a small crater that made her face stuck in the earth. She withdrew her head from the hole and then waved at me with an apologetic smile.
“Tahahaha! I’m sorry!” She scratched her head yet again.
I do not know what to feel about this if I should be angry, or sad, or worried. Flu’s performance right now is at its worse compared to our dry runs since the joint training camp. It is like she has lost her save file and forgot all the progress we made over the past months.
“Flu, try doing some basic runs using your Wind Accel for now,” I said through the mic.
“Roger that, Coach!” Flu saluted, then she continued to run in an unstable manner with her speed spell.
While watching the pink idiot do some drunken moves, Ericka arrived at the third floor of our Club Building, still in her school uniform. She held her hips and smiled at me.
“Nice afternoon we have here, huh? And you decide to spend it on practice, you Speed Battle addicts.” Prez said.
“Well, the grind never stops. Flu may have been eliminated in the Regionals, but we have to dedicate all our time to improve.” I said, then I turned to the mic. “Flu, try using Flash Step to touch the 1st Checkpoint Tower!”
“Yes, Coach!” Flu said. With a glint in her eyes, she aimed at the Checkpoint Tower as she focused mana on her right heel. “Flash Step!”
Boom!
As soon as Flu teleported to the Checkpoint Tower, her face bumped into it, which made the tower glow with a beeping sound. However, Flu fell flat on the floor because of the impact. She is now unconscious.
“F-Flu!?” I cried as I immediately dropped the headset and rushed towards the stairs.
But Ericka tried to stop me by grabbing my attention. Her arms are crossed and she seemed to have just withdrawn from an observational thought.
“Hey, is Flu’s Wind Accel contrails always that glittering?” Prez asked.
I immediately went back to the balcony of the third floor and inspected the Triangle with my Mystic Glasses. I saw glittering pink mana trails on the field where Flu's footsteps can be located. It’s like some kind of stardust that can be only seen at night.
“No.” I shook my head. “Normally, Flu’s Wind Accel only leaves plain pink contrails.”
“Something is not right with her,” Ericka said in a serious tone. “Have you seen that kind of mana traces in the tournament when she fought Lilith?”
I can still remember fresh in my mind what happened in the Semifinals. During the last seconds of the Speed Battle, Flu made a final mysterious Air Trampoline spell that has a glittery pink color. It popped the same way when Flu tried to use the Phoenix Arrow earlier.
“Do you think she is sick?” I asked Ericka.
It was dumb of me to ask that question in the first place. Of course, she is sick, but not physically. I saw her almost quitting on me yesterday with all those self-loathing speeches she gave. There is a good chance that she is still mentally affected by her loss during her Speed Battle with Lilith. And here I thought my Talk-no-Jutsu yesterday worked.
I saw Flu finally moving and getting up on her feet. I immediately picked up the headset and called her.
“Flu, come back here.”
“R-Right,” Flu said as she walked with slumped shoulders.
Ericka and I went down to the first floor of this abandoned-hospital-like building and regrouped with our adorable pink-haired Speedmage. Flu immediately sat on her knees and sulked.
“Tahahaha, I’m sorry, Coach. I’m such a failure after all.” Flu laughed with sorrowful puppy eyes.
I genuflected and looked her in the eyes. “Don’t sweat it, Flu. Just do some stretches and we will call it a day.”
“Eh?” Flu uttered in a worried tone.
“Do some mental training when you get back home. Maybe do some meditation and cleanse your mind. Then let’s give it another shot tomorrow.” I said with a smile so that she won’t be worried about me.
“G-Got it.” Flu bowed with a frown.
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However…
The next day, Flu did not show up in school.