Kaguya was shaking as she stood alone in the waiting room. She shuddered and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. After several breaths she was almost centered when the door opened and Samantha came in, causing her chest to seize in fear.

“You can’t be here,” Kaguya hissed, rushing forward to try and push Samantha back out of the room.

“Hey, no, don’t do this,” Samantha said, standing her ground and, after a moment, pulled Kaguya into a tight embrace. She brought her arms up, trying to fight Samantha’s hold on her, but she refused to loosen her grasp. “Look. You decide not to kill him and I’ll back you up. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. But I’ll also understand why you did it if you end up killing the guy, okay?”

Kaguya watched Samantha’s aura and saw it change when she said she’d understand. It was true, but she could see how sad that would make her too. She had to close her eyes and turned her head away. “I… I can’t promise anything.”

“I know.” Samantha smiled leaned in and gave Kaguya a long kiss. “I won’t hold it against you.” She gave her shoulder a squeeze and then left the waiting room.

Kaguya stood there for several moments, a little dazed by the kiss, and then realized that she didn’t feel as anxious about the fight as she did before. She didn’t have time to contemplate it further, as a teacher stuck her head in and called out to her. “It’s time, Miss Kazegami.”

Kaguya nodded and took a deep breath before stepping out into the arena, katana already in hand. She was glad Samantha had calmed her, but as the audience cheered from the stands, she felt the uneasiness return. She knew that Samantha was telling her the truth and that she would understand if she had to kill Ivan, but Kaguya really didn’t want it to come to that.

Kaguya stepped up to her place along the starting ring as Ivan did the same, his large axe resting against his shoulder. She put her brain to work, calculating the strength it would take to operate a weapon of that caliber. Ivan was strong, that was obvious, but he would have to use both hands when swinging the axe or it would throw him off balance. The teacher gave the normal speech about a clean and fair fight before slinking off to the side of the arena.

Kaguya positioned herself with her left leg behind her, and her right leg bend slightly. Her katana was pointed at the ground away from her body, eyes closed. Ivan saw that as his opportunity and ran forward, the blade of his axe almost dragging on the ground. He yelled as he reeled the axe at an upward angle meant to decapitate.

Kaguya opened her eyes and rolled out of the way as the large piece of sharpened metal passed over her. She dove out of the way as he made his passes and watched closely as he quickly wore himself out. Kaguya put her katana in its sheath at her side as Ivan prepared another attack. She stood pin straight with her back to him as she caught sight of Samantha in her peripherals, she sighed and closed her eyes. Ivan charged at her full force, unaware of how deadly his opponent was in that moment.

She could hear his steps getting closer to her, she drew in a deep breath as he swung his large axe in her direction. But with a small shuffle of her feet, the axe passed right over her. Within seconds, her katana was out and slicing through the thick air that surrounded them. Ivan stopped in his tracks as her blade stopped, the point resting against his throat. Immediately Ivan released his grip on his axe and it hit the ground with a thud.

“I yield,” Ivan called, his hands up in surrender. Kaguya gritted her teeth, the blade was right there, one small gesture and he would bleed out and make her father proud. She growled with frustration before sheathing her weapon once again. Silently, she turned and stalked back off toward the waiting room. She could hear the shock in the teacher’s voice as she called the match, the audience erupted into shocked whispers.

Kaguya was summoned to the main Kazegami house after the fight, and while fearful of what her father would say about her not killing the foolish boy who challenged her, she knew better than to ignore him. A man was waiting outside the front door, and opened it with a slight bow, “Miss Kazegami.” he greeted. Kaguya ignored him and as she crossed the threshold into the house, a maid bowed to her and led her deeper into the house. The further they walked, the more Kaguya could feel the fear gripping in her chest, making it harder for her to breathe. They passed her father’s office, and turned down a dimly lit corridor that lead to her father’s training hall.

Once they reached the door to the training hall, the maid bowed again and left her standing alone. Kaguya took several deep breaths, trying to loosen the knot in her chest. After a moment she gathered the courage to push the door open, in the middle of the room sat her father. He was meditating, which was not uncommon, but he had two wooden swords on the mat beside him. She tried to close the door quietly, but it’s weight won and hammered closed, his eyes immediately going to her.

“Come here, child,” he said softly. Kaguya knew better than to trust his tone, fearing that this was just the calm before the storm. But she couldn’t disobey, so she swallowed down her refusal and the bile trying to rise up, and walked over to him. “Why didn’t you kill the boy in your fight yesterday?”

“He was just an idiot,” Kaguya mumbled. Her father was on his feet in a flash, hand gripping her jaw as his grey eyes stared into her soul. “I’m sorry, Papa. I know you expect me to show no mercy.”

“And yet you have disobeyed me,” he growled, spittle sprinkling on her face. He pushed her face away from his, causing her to lose her balance and fall onto the mat. He picked up the two wooden swords and threw one at her, hitting her just above her right eye. She stood up with the sword in hand, as she could feel a small trickle of blood work its way down her face. “Come now. We’ll see if you can remember what I have taught you.”

Kaguya stood in her fighting stance to face off against the man who built her to be the ruthless fighter she’d become. He swung on her a few times as she blocked and dodged him almost effortlessly. He stepped closer coming at her with an overhead swing that she blocked just in time, her practice sword positioned above her head. With that opening, her father threw a kick that landed directly on the right side of her ribcage.

She stumbled backward and he came at her again and again, the pain in her ribs distracting her from her full potential. Her father spun around and with the sword landed another shot to her ribs. This time, she swore she heard something crack. She tried blocking his next few hits but it was a sad attempt. “Getting weak on me now, child?” he taunted as Kaguya fell to her knees.

She tossed the sword away from her, knowing that she couldn’t keep going. “I taught you better than this, do not disappoint me again.” He stepped closer to her and delivered a swift kick to her stomach, “I will not go so easy on you next time!”

Kaguya fell onto her side and heard the door close to the training hall. She felt weak for not being able to stand up to him, for letting him beat her like he did. She hated herself for letting feelings get in the way, she hated that she could no longer hold the pain in and her tears began to fall.

Eventually she managed to get to her feet and, sucking in as deep a breath as she could, asked one of the servants to call for a car to take her back to the school’s grounds. None of them were able to give her a hand to go out and get into the car, but as soon as they were at the school, the driver was quick to help her out of the car.

“Should I have taken you to the infirmary instead?” he asked quietly as she took a moment to gather herself outside the dorms.

“No. Thank you for the assistance that you’ve given me here,” Kaguya told him with a small, pained smile. The driver hesitated, but bowed and got back into the car to drive back to the house. She stared at the dorm for a moment, and then started to walk and instead went to the gazebo where she usually met with Samantha on campus. It was a little disappointing that Samantha wasn’t there, but she was also a little glad about the solitude that she could have here.

After taking a painful seat she pulled out her phone, touched the screen a few times, and then stared at Samantha’s name in her contacts. It still hurt to breathe, and she was sure that he’d cracked a rib or two. There was nothing to gain by calling Samantha right now, but she couldn’t help but want to despite that.

“I want to see her, but…” she sighed, setting her phone aside and slowly sprawling out on the bench she was sitting on. Above her, hanging half out of the shadows, was Souma. She quickly sat up and winced at the pain, glaring at him as he dropped down beside her. “What are you doing here?”

“I was checking on my baby sis,” Souma said with a small grin that quickly faded away. “You know, you could always ask one of the other families for help. Gianna would vouch for you with her father in a heartbeat.”

Kaguya shook her head. “No, this is my duty,” she told him. “I can’t abandon my duty as the heir to the Kazegami name.” She tried to stand but the pain was too much, tears threatened to come to the surface, which she quickly shook away. Souma reached out to her and she placed her hands in his. He easily did most of the work in helping her get to her feet.

Souma wanted to push her more, but he saw her staring at her phone that had fallen on the ground frowning. “Fine, I won’t talk about it again. But I want you to remember that I’ll make it happen if you just say the word.” He picked her phone up and held it out to her. “Samantha would probably like to see you. She’s been worried sick since you disappeared after the fight.”

Kaguya glared at him as she snatched her phone. He shrugged and slipped into a shadow, letting her be alone once more. “Gianna, Gianna,” Kaguya grumbled, staring at Samantha’s name in her phone. “So not only is Samantha getting cozy with her, but my brother has been too.”

Angrily, she typed out a text to Samantha.

> Kaguya: We need to talk. Meet me at the gazebo in an hour.