"Are...are you sure you don't need any weapons?" Teacher Henry asks.
"Yup." Lara answers the teacher leisurely with her hands behind her head.
"Yeah." Brendon replies at the same time.
"Then..." Teacher Henry steps off the stage. "Begin!"
Lara drops her hands from behind her head and both of them sprint towards each other as soon as teacher Henry's voice drops.
'Clang' 'clang' 'clang'. The sounds of metal hitting metal sound out as they reach their point of contact.
"Whoa, that was dangerous. Thankfully I picked up a dagger. I didn't expect you to be a dual wielder..." Brendon says.
"You're not too bad yourself." Lara says.
The dust that rose due to their movements settles and the audience is finally able to see them. The two children stand a few steps apart with small daggers in both their hands, the daggers just big enough to fit their palms. They were on opposite sides from where they began.
'They had weapons...?'
The only one who saw everything clearly, Teacher Henry, was the most shocked.
Lara had attacked first with only her left hand, but the boy parried her attack and spun around her to attack at her from behind. Lara noticed this and turned around to block both his hands at the same time. And then, she struck at his neck. He dodged her attack and stepped back.
'What is it with kids nowadays? My pride has been wounded time and again....' Teacher Henry laments.
The two children start once more and the sounds of metal resound again and again for a half-hour, until they finally stop. Once more, they are a few steps apart only this time they face opposite directions.
"My win." Lara says, happily.
"Why?" Brendon asks as he turns around.
She turns around and points to his chest. He looks down and notices a huge cut across his shirt. Only his shirt had been cut, she hadn't drawn a single drop of blood.
He sighs. "It's a draw, huh? I was hoping to win...."
"A draw?" Lara looks down at herself and notices that her hair was resting on her shoulders. She must have lost her hair tie during the fight. Then she looks at Brendon and notices a lock of hair in his hand. She touches her hair and realizes that her hair had been cut near her external jugular vein. If he had cut her neck then she might have bled to death, granted that the wound was left unattended.
'So close!' She thinks. "Ah, I was thinking of fighting with you ever since I saw you. Now that I got my fight, I don't care if you fail."
"I won't fail!" Brendon exclaims.
Teacher Henry who had been silent till then suddenly asks Lara. " Should I fail him, then?"
"Ha?!" Brendon's eyes widen.
"I'm not supposed to call the shots here! You decide!" She scolds the teacher.
"No, but if you want him to fail, I don't have the right to veto. You have higher authority." He says.
"How did he do?" Lara asks.
"Good." The teacher replies.
"Would you want him as your student?"
"Yes."
"Then why are you asking me?! I am not the examiner!"
"Yes..." The teacher clears his throat. "Brendon Greene passes. Please take a seat in that corner." He points to a corner in the arena.
Brendon walks towards his seat with an unacceptable look. "This is somewhat anti-climatic! I expected to pass with flying colors!"