A loud thud resounds from the living room, followed by yelling. Hiro again? Give me a break. I’m tired from an intense day of training yesterday. Let me sleep more and enjoy the last day of vacation. Well, technically not a holiday, but I’m already prepared for the test, so it’s the same thing. Classes don’t resume until our exam tomorrow. I don’t want to deal with this maniac if I don’t have to. He’ll leave to go off to whatever he does soon enough.

“Kai!” Hiro exclaims and bangs on my door. “Are ya awake? Hey, Kai! We have important stuff ta talk ‘bout!”

I sigh. Reluctantly, I sit up from the bed and put on some clothes before opening the door.

“Took ya long enough.”

“What’s so important…?” I ask, yawning. I walk past Hiro and then sit down at the table. Everyone’s already here eating their portions.

“Good morning,” Luna says.

“Morning,” I answer and then indulge myself in Luna’s and Marin’s cooking. It’s a step down from the prepared meals by the Academy during our first year. But, a new term comes with new responsibilities. Luckily, Luna and Marin are in our group, who are already familiar with cooking, so they volunteered to take care of that for us.

“What’s so important? Don’t tell me ya forgot already?” Hiro asks.

“He is talking about the rankings we decided on our first day,” Sitos informs.

Oh, yeah. The rankings that Sitos decided. There was no me in that we. Everyone thought I was talentless, and I was put into sixth place. I can’t blame them, though.

“Yeh! As promised, I’m gonna beatcha in a duel now that I’ve gotten trainin’!” Hiro exclaims. “I’m the most talented Crusher anyone’s ever seen! No one’s beaten me yet!”

“That’s gotta be an exaggeration,” I say. His stamina and speed are beyond Sitos and me, but you require more than that to win fights. You need wit, and he has shown very little in that department the past year I’ve known him. I suppose all his brainpower might’ve gone into fighting. If that’s the case, I’m going to need to see it to believe it.

Sitos smirks and says, “He cannot be beaten if he never fights anyone.”

“That’s true,” I say and giggle.

“Tell ’em Marin and Drugo,” Hiro says, standing smugly with a smile.

“We saw Hiroster beat ten kids back to back without a scratch on him the other day,” Drugo informs. “He said he hasn’t lost since they started sparring in the middle of our first year, and I believe him.”

“Yeah…” Marin responds.

Seriously? If Drugo says it, it must be true. That guy is never dishonest. He wouldn’t deviate even if it’s completely harmless. He’s a straight arrow. Marin too, she rarely talks, so I trust her word too.

“Interesting. We will see how good you really are,” Sitos says.

“Right back atcha,” Hiro replies. “What’re ya waitin’ for? Fight me right now.”

Sitos stands up and answers, “Let us go then. Everyone can watch me beat your ass.”

“The only thin’ gettin’ beat is your face, snob. Marin, come and watch!” Hiro exclaims and walks with Sitos toward the front door.

“Boys, be nice,” Luna says, following them.

Marin and Drugo are leaving too.

“Hey, wait!” I exclaim. I chug my glass of orange juice and take several slices of bread with me. I chase after them, enjoying the rest of my breakfast along the way. Would be a shame to waste the efforts of Luna and Marin.

We arrive in an unoccupied training room within the Academy. It takes a few minutes for Sitos and Hiro to get ready. Sitos has his usual two wooden swords, and Hiro wields a similar-looking sword, except only one. It’s also longer and thicker.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“I will admit defeat if you hit me once with that thing. You can have a handicap. I require five hits to win,” Sitos says.

“Fine by me!”

“Good…luck.”

“Heh, thanks Marin!” Hiro exclaims, turning his attention to Sitos. I’ll make ya regret underestimatin’ me!”

Hiro charges forward.

Let’s see what Hiro the Great can do.

Sitos transitions into his stance while standing his ground.

Hiro pulls his arms back, shifting his sword behind his neck on his right.

He’s giving away how he’s going to attack before he closed the gap. What’s he going for? A feint?

“Yahhh!” Hiro exclaims right before entering his attack range. He sweeps his weapon horizontally in a wide swing.

Sitos hops backward and avoids the attack. If he had ducked, Hiro would be defenseless for a counterattack. But this is someone undefeated we’re talking about. Is it a trap? He’s purposely making himself look vulnerable. That’s why Sitos is better than me. He thinks ahead. I would’ve simply gone for the obvious move.

Hiro continues attacking Sitos with an onslaught of full-ranged slashes. Horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. It almost seems like he’s waving his arms at random. Sitos dodges all of them effortlessly, staying on the defensive. Hiro’s just wasting his energy at this point. Can’t he see that Sitos won’t take the bait?

The more time passes, the more doubt I have regarding the intentions behind his attacks. No matter how I look at it, his form is awful. Every time he swings, it seems like he’s about to lose his balance. He’s taking his strategy to the extreme.

“Stop runnin’ away, ya pansy!” Hiro exclaims while maintaining his offense. “Fight me like a man!”

His remark casts additional uncertainty in his abilities. Wait a minute. How do untrained people typically fight? I press my hand into my face and shake my head. The answer was so simple.

Every opponent Hiro has fought up until now has tried to take him on head-on. They haven’t learned to dodge yet. That’s why he’s undefeated. His speed allows him to always get the initiative and overpower them with brute force. In the event the fight is dragged out, Hiro has superior stamina.

Looks like Sitos has realized this too. Instead of dodging backward, he ducks under Hiro’s attack. He thrusts the tip of his swords into Hiro’s body. Right, left, right, left, right. It happens fast with a minimal amount of force to keep him in the same position, except the last blow that propels him through the air.

“Gah!” Hiro interjects. He loses grip on his weapon and slides across the wooden floor.

Five hits or one, it ends the same if Hiro leaves himself open like that.

“You disappoint me,” Sitos says. “Most talented Crusher, my ass.”

“What didja say, ya dickwad?” Hiro asks, leaping to his feet.

“Don’t be mean, Sitos. Show some sportsmanship. Hiro did good for someone with less experience,” Luna says.

Sitos sighs and then replies, “Yes, you are right. Excuse my previous comment. It was a good match, Hiro.”

“Tch. Ya heard ‘er. Ya only won ‘cause ya have more experience. I’ll getcha next time.”

“If that is your mindset, you will limit yourself.”

“Whadaya mean by that?”

“Try fighting Kai,” Sitos suggests.

Finally, it’s my chance. At the very least, I’ll prove to the team that I’m above this moron.

“Huh?” Hiro interjects. “Why would I do that? He’s in last place for a reason. Has he beaten anyone before?”

“No,” Sitos chuckles with a smile.

Hiro laughs. “Seriously, Kai? Man, ya need ta work harder!”

I frown. Sitos failed to mention that I’ve only ever fought him, and I’ve never beaten him, so of course, I’ve never beaten anyone before. And I don’t want to bring it up because I would have to admit losing to Sitos over a hundred times without a single victory…

“Kai isn’t ready to fight Hiro yet,” Luna says. “Don’t pressure him if he doesn’t want to.”

Ugh. She’s still overprotective of me. I want to prove myself as soon as possible and resolve this misunderstanding. I’m not some weak, fragile thing.

“Well, do you want to, Kai?” Sitos asks.

Nice assist, Sitos. I smile before responding, “Yeah, actually, I do. Lemme have a go at it.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard, Kai.”

“I won’t,” I answer.

Sitos hands me his weapons.

“Why don’tcha ask me if I wanna fight ‘im? I don’t wanna fight someone who hasn’t even won a single time. I’m undefeated, ya know?”

“You already lost a moment ago,” I mention.

“Ehhh… Sitos doesn’t count. He had an unfair advantage over me.”

“You scared?”

“What?! No, I’m not scared! You’re scared! I don’t even need my weapon ta beatcha. Ya remember that time I chased ya with a carrot? Ya were practically beggin’ me ta stop,” Hiro says and then breaks into a cackle.

The room fills with laughter. I force a laugh. That wasn’t a good day for me, but I can see how it’s funny. They don’t know the horrifying things Emdos can do with carrots.

“Technically, that didn’t count because you never hit him with the carrot, and he didn’t have a weapon in his defense,” Drugo says with a stern voice.

Silence follows.

I frown with a skew. Drugo strikes again. His honesty aside, he’s also too serious. It can be a real buzzkill at times because he doesn’t understand when we’re joking. He’s gotten better over the past year, but we still have these awkward moments. I know he’s a nice guy deep down.

“Yeh, I know,” Hiro says. “Well, let’s fight then, Kai. I’ll go easy on ya.”

He doesn’t seem as bothered by Drugo’s interruption. I guess he’s gotten used to it since they were already good friends. It’s strange how they ever bonded. They’re total opposites.

“No, don’t,” I answer. I don’t want him to have any excuses when he loses.

“Why’s that? Don’t think I’m easy ta take down ‘cause ya saw me lose. Sitos had more trainin’.”

“I wanna see your real power. Can you show me, Hiro the Great?”

Hiro grins and responds, “Well…when ya put it that way, how can I refuse?”

What a simpleton. Hiro picks up his weapon, and we get into our starting positions.