The day after his meeting with William, Rose and Ms. Clark, he was on his second day back to his class. They continued their studies so they could eventually take the D rank exam, just like any other time Ms. Florence doesn't teach in the class.
"So, what's the plan?," Thomas asked, after class ended. "Are we going back to training like we used to?"
"Wasn't Allen training with the student council president?," Cecily asked, half paying attention, trying to finish up what she was reading in her book.
"Well yeah I was, but only for the duration of the month I had until my duel with Nathaniel," Allen explained. "I'm up for the training like we used to do"
"Wait, really?," Thomas' eyes seemed to be beaming with light.
"Well yeah, of course. It's been awhile since we all have trained together," Allen said, grinning.
"Yes, let's go!," Thomas suddenly got out of his chair, almost jumping with excitement.
"I don't know what's getting you so excited, it's just training," Cecily said, sighing. Although, she was smiling a little bit.
"Well, it's because it's always fun when you train with all of your friends," Thomas said after pausing from his 'jumping' session.
"You're still interested in that rematch, right?," Allen asked, getting out of his chair and stretching.
"Oh no," Cecily sighed, closing her book.
"Rematch?," Thomas was confused for a moment. "Oh yeah! We need that rematch, Allen!"
"Well then, if you're up for it, then we'll have that rematch for our first day back from training," Allen said while grinning.
"You're on!," Thomas responded, grinning back.
"We're in for it now," Cecily mumbled.
Not long after their conversation, they began to head over to the training grounds. Since Allen's training with Rose was finished, they no longer trained together in the special training room where they could train without being bothered by any other students.
However, after the training was finished, Rose let Allen borrow a key to the training grounds, saying it was fine if he continued to use it with him and his friends. She explained how the training grounds were never used unless a duel was going on or for the preliminary rounds of the tournament, so it would be fine if Allen continued to use it. They even got the okay to do so from William.
"So, these are the training grounds you and Rose used, right?," Thomas asked, while they walked the quiet halls of the academy a bit after classes ended.
"Yep," Allen responded. "She said we are still allowed to use them. Even William said it was alright"
"The director too? Geez, he almost lets you do anything. Wish I knew him like you," Thomas sighed.
"Just be glad we can use the training grounds," Cecily remarked.
"But, Cecily!," Thomas exclaimed. The three of them then laughed afterward.
"Here it is," Allen said as they arrived at the training grounds, near the back of the academy. They finally reached the door at the end of the hallway, which was locked. However, Allen had the key and unlocked the door.
"Woah, so this is the training grounds you and Rose used?," Thomas exclaimed as he looked all around the room.
"Thomas, we were here just a week ago," Cecily sighed.
"Wait, we were?," Thomas asked, confused. "Wait…"
"This is the same place where Allen and Nathaniel had their duel," Cecily explained. "Although, we were in the stands above"
"Seeing this place afterwards sure does bring back memories of the duel," Allen mumbled, but loud enough where Cecily and Thomas could hear.
"We don't have to train here if you don't want to, Allen," Cecily said, concerned.
"Yeah, I get it. We could always train in the regular grounds," Thomas added.
"No, it's fine. The duel is already done and over with. The problems that arose from it can be solved later," Allen explained. "Besides, I'll have to come back here later in the year for the preliminaries"
"The preliminaries?," Thomas asked.
"He means the preliminaries for the tournament later in the year. The Annual Magical Knights Tournament," Cecily explained.
"Right. I plan to participate in the tournament, regardless of the fact I already have to," Allen explained.
"Oh right, that was one of your conditions, right?," Thomas asked, looking down at the floor.
The room was silent for a moment. The three of them all knew of the conditions placed on Allen in order to graduate. Thomas and Cecily were simply F ranks, and all they had to do was get to D rank to make it to their second year. However, Allen had more than just that to continue.
"Guys, don't worry about it too much," Allen said, smiling. "I don't plan on backing down that easily for the tournament. As I said before, I planned to participate anyways, even if it wasn't in my conditions"
"Oh right, that's true," Thomas said looking back at Allen. "So, are we doing the rematch?"
"Of course," Allen said, grinning. "Cecily, were you participating?"
"Well, originally it was Thomas and I against you, however this time I think it should just be you two," Cecily explained.
"Why's that?," Allen asked, curious.
"Well for one, he's more excited about it than I am. Plus, I think you two would make good practicing partners. Finally, I think this fight won't be as easy as it was last time," Cecily explained.
"Like last time?," Allen asked.
"Well, you weren't the only one training for that whole month," Cecily smiled. "We too worked hard to get stronger. So I wouldn't be surprised if Thomas can give you quite the duel now"
"Is that so?," Allen asked, grinning.
"Guess you're going to find out," Thomas responded, grinning back.
"Then, should we start-"
Suddenly, the door to the training room flung open. Allen, Thomas and Cecily all looked over to see who had walked in. Only one person would fling a door open that hard.
"Hello everyone," Rose greeted them as she walked in casually, as if swinging a door open that hard was normal.
"Rose?," Allen said, reasonably confused.
"The Student Council President?," Thomas and Cecily asked at the same time, both reasonably confused as well.
"So, how's the training going?," she asked while walking over to them.
"Well, we were about to start until you decided to make a big entrance walking in," Allen said, giving her a look.
"I don't know what you mean," Rose casually said, avoiding Allen's eyes. "Thomas and Cecily, right?"
"Yes," Cecily quickly answered.
"Yeah, I'm Thomas," he said nervously.
Rose looked at both of them as they spoke, but she and Cecily seemed to be giving each other weird looks. They seemed to be unsure of each other, as if they were unsure if they liked or hated each other. It was most likely because of when Allen was still in the infirmary, and something Thomas did that triggered Rose to almost hit him with her sword (or just threaten him), and Cecily moved in to defend him.
"So, what brings you here?," Allen asked, breaking the silence.
"What? I can't just say hi?," Rose asked, annoyed.
"You wouldn't just stop here just to say hi, or for no reason," Allen stated.
"And what makes you say that?," Rose asked, curious.
"Because we are both aware of the work the student council has to catch up on constantly due to a certain head director," Allen said, shrugging.
"I-," Rose suddenly got flustered. "You're- you're not wrong, I suppose"
"So, might as well answer the question," Allen said, trying to get her to finally answer.
"Well… I thought I would train with you," Rose said, a bit flustered.
"But, I thought you would only train with me until my duel with Nathaniel, and that is already over," Allen said, recalling what she told him before.
"Well… I don't mind if I continued to train with you," Rose said, flipping her hair a bit.
"Well, I'm fine with that. I don't mind if you still trained with me," Allen responded.
"I wish Rose talked to me like that," Thomas mumbled, a little jealous.
"Oh really?," Cecily responded, elbowing him in the gut.
"I-," Thomas said, all he could say before falling on the ground for a moment.
"Well then, guess it's time to train not just you, but all three of you," Rose exclaimed, hands on her hips.
"All three of us?," the three of them all said at the same time, with Thomas still on the floor.
"Well, of course. It's not just Allen who needs a bit of training," Rose said while doing a few stretches. "So, how should we all train today?"
"Not that I don't want to train with you, but I already told Thomas I would have a rematch with him today," Allen explained.
"Rematch?," Rose asked, confused.
Allen explained to her how near the beginning of the academy year, Thomas, Cecily and he had a duel. Allen ended up winning against both of them at the same time, and Thomas wanted a rematch after he was out of the infirmary and ready to duel again.
"So, Thomas and you were looking to practice duel again?," Rose asked.
"Of course!," Thomas exclaimed, grinning.
"Is Cecily not dueling with you?," Rose asked.
"No, I'm not too interested in a rematch," Cecily explained. "Besides those two are almost already dead set on dueling each other"
"What?," Allen and Thomas both asked at the same time, while they were stretching.
"Well then what did you plan on doing while they duel?," Rose asked.
"I suppose I could practice a bit on my magic," Cecily said while thinking.
"Why not duel with me? I'm sure we could both learn something with each other," Rose asked, trying to put up a smile.
"I-," Cecily started to say, but hesitated for a moment. "Alright, sure. Thanks"
"While you two boys have your rematch or whatever, us two ladies will duel over on the other side of the arena," Rose explained while walking with Cecily.
"Alright, good luck," Allen waved to them.
"Wait, Cecily is gonna duel the student council president? No fair!," Thomas exclaimed while falling on his knees again.
"Oh be quiet, Thomas. Enjoy your duel with Allen," Cecily waved while walking with Rose.
"Are you wanting to have our rematch, or are you going to ogle Rose the entire time?," Allen asked, staring blankly at him.
"Well of course I still want our rematch!," Thomas exclaimed.
"Well then, you better start preparing yourself, or our duel is going to end like it did last time," Allen remarked while stretching a bit more.
"Oh, I don't intend to lose like last time," Thomas said, grinning. "It wouldn't be a real rematch if I went down like last time. You see, I've been training a lot too. It won't be as easy to beat me like last time!"
Allen figured it wouldn't be as easy as last time, as he could tell Thomas trained well. He seemed to be built a little bit bulkier than last time, plus he had a bit more confidence in himself. Even though Allen managed to handle facing off against both Cecily and Thomas at the same time, they were not easy opponents.
"Get ready, cause I'm already ready when you are!," Thomas exclaimed, holding his fists up.
Allen noticed he already physically enhanced his fists. Just like last time, they seemed a bit hardened and brown in color. However, they seemed to be a little bit stronger than before, and seemed to reach closer to his elbow now. It seems all of them are getting stronger as the year progresses.
"Sure, I'm ready for you!," Allen exclaimed while drawing his sword. He got into his stance, and began to ready his mana within him, so he could use it whenever he needed to.
"Great, I've been looking forward to this for awhile!," Thomas exclaimed, getting ready to move at a moment's notice.
"Let's begin!," Allen announced, reading his blade to attack or defend, depending on Thomas' first move.
"Take this then!," Thomas said, immediately charging in towards Allen. He quickly leaped at Allen, launching his right fist at him.
"No you don't!," Allen said back at him, while using his sword to defend against his attack.
Thomas' fist landed on Allen's sword, but his fist was stronger. His fist pushed Allen's sword back, forcing Allen to move instead of defend. Allen swiftly veered to the right, right after his sword wasn't enough to defend against his attack.
"Well, how was that attack?," Thomas grinned as he pounded his fists together. His fists seemed to make a sound like if you were to slam a rock into another rock.
"Definitely way stronger than when I first dueled you," Allen said, grinning back.
"But you also got stronger, and faster," Thomas noted. "You easily moved out of the way once you noticed your sword wasn't able to defend against my fist once they connected"
"That's true, but I've yet to use any of my mana," Allen responded.
"Wait, really?," Thomas asked, confused. "I thought you used your mana to make yourself quicker"
"Nope, that's my regular speed. Rose helped train me to use less of my mana, but still be fast in combat. Since I don't have much mana to begin with, I need to conserve it and use it when necessary," Allen explained.
"Heh, this is going to be a lot more fun than I expected," Thomas said while grinning. "It's time we really get into this"
Allen glanced over at Rose and Cecily for a moment. Rose seemed to be dueling with Cecily, with Cecily managing to hold her own against her. Then again, Allen could tell Rose wasn't going full out against her. More than likely, Rose was testing her abilities.
"Of course, I'm ready," Allen said, turning back to him.
"Don't cry when I beat you!," Thomas exclaimed while he began to move in towards Allen once more.
"I think you need to worry about yourself," Allen responded, moving in for the offensive.
Allen began to strike at Thomas, with Thomas crossing his fists into an 'X' shape to defend against his attacks. Allen's sword kept connecting with Thomas' arms, dealing no damage.
"Looks like you're getting better overall at both offense and defense," Allen noted, while continuing to try to strike him. He managed to push Thomas back a little with each strike.
"Of course! I trained real hard for this very moment!," Thomas responded, continuing to defend against his attacks.
Thomas quickly pushed back Allen's blade, and began to strike back. While his attacks weren't that fast, they packed quite the punch, enough to where Allen could not directly block with his blade. Allen had to dodge every single attack, lest he wanted to get sent flying across the training room towards where Rose and Cecily were.
"Do you really have to dodge every single attack?!," Thomas exclaimed, trying to hit him at least once.
"And why wouldn't I try to dodge?," Allen laughed.
"Fine, then take this!," Thomas said as he leaped up to strike at Allen.
As Thomas was heading to strike Allen once more, Allen realized his next hit would be much harder to dodge. He could tell the moment he veered to the left or right, Thomas could and would immediately move to strike him.. He would have to take this hit head on, however doing so would be very difficult. He began to concentrate mana to his arms, like how he did in the duel against Nathaniel. This should allow him to strengthen his arms a little, and allow him to move his arms much quicker. The tradeoff would be the fact he couldn't have his mana in his legs at the same time, but he wasn't planning on moving this time. He had to take the hit head on.
"Come at me!," Allen announced, ready to block his attack.
Thomas landed his hit on Allen's sword, however Allen could already feel the pushback. Using mana in his arms did not do what he intended to, and it barely helped anything. It at least allowed him to move his arms much quicker.
"Heh, take this!," Thomas said as he threw his other arm for a punch.
"Crap," Allen exclaimed, getting the full force of his attack on his sword, pushing him several meters back. Other than getting thrown across the room a bit, he was just fine. He managed to land on his feet.
"How'd you like that?," Thomas exclaimed, showing off his arms like prizes.
"Well now, you're going to make me serious now," Allen laughed, as he already began to prepare his next move.
"Serious?," Thomas said, confused. "Don't tell me you-"
Allen closed his eyes and began to muster all the mana he could within his body. It was clear conserving his mana wouldn't get him anywhere in this fight, even though conserving his mana is generally the best move. No, if he wanted to gain a high edge against Thomas, he had to use any and all of his mana within his body in a full, frontal attack. Except, the best part was this 'frontal attack' wouldn't be a frontal attack at all. He managed to gather any air mana he could, and concentrated it all to his legs.
"You're preparing your mana, aren't you?," Thomas asked, looking over at Allen while Allen had his eyes closed. "I won't let you do that!"
Thomas began to rush in towards Allen at the quickest speed he could, however there was only so fast he could go. Allen opened his eyes and began to rush straight towards Thomas, at about half the speed he could go with the mana in his legs. He wanted to make it seem he was using his mana in his arms instead.
"You're going to attack me dead on?," Thomas exclaimed, stopping to prepare to defend. "Oh I see now"
Allen moved in as if he was about to attack him dead on, and that is what Thomas was expecting. He moved his arms as fast as he could, to make it seem like he was using his mana in his arms.
"I won't let you!," Thomas exclaimed, getting ready to defend against Allen's direct attack. He planned to defend against the attack and then immediately follow up with a full force attack of his own. He wasn't sure how powerful Allen's attack would be, so he readied himself just in case.
Just as Allen was expecting, Thomas had readied himself for a frontal attack. Right before he was about to land a hit on Thomas, he quickly veered to the left. He moved all the way behind Thomas at a moment's notice, Thomas' back facing him. He quickly turned, ready to strike Thomas from behind.
"You didn't!," Thomas exclaimed, realizing what Allen was doing. He turned around as quickly as he could, doing his best to defend against the attack from Allen that was coming.
"I did!," Allen responded, quickly shifting gears. Instead of trying to land the strike, he quickly moved his left leg in for a kick, heading straight for Thomas' leg. Thomas wasn't expecting the second quick shift in Allen's movements, and was still in the middle of preparing for Allen's original attack from behind.
Allen landed a solid kick, right onto Thomas' right leg. Since Allen had his mana concentrated within his leg, it moved at twice the speed, and was a bit stronger of a hit with the speed that came with it. Thomas immediately tumbled over, falling onto the floor. He had to use his arms to brace for his landing.
"It's over," Allen announced, already pointing his sword down at Thomas' head.
"Uh-," Thomas looked up at the current predicament he was in. "Guess it's my loss"
Allen sheathed his sword away and put out his hand to help Thomas back up. Thomas took his hand and got straight back up.
"Well, that was a great fight, Al!," Thomas grinned as he returned his arms back to normal.
"I agree Tom," Allen responded as he went in to fist bump Thomas after he was done.
"So, are the ladies over there done?," Thomas asked, looking over to where Cecily and Rose were across the room.
"It would appear so," Allen responded, looking over as well.
It seemed their practice duel ended several minutes ago, as it looked like they had been talking since then. Not long after they were looking over at Rose and Cecily, they too looked over at Allen and Thomas. Noticing they were also done, they both headed over to them.
"So, how'd it go Lily?," Thomas asked as they finally got over to them.
"It was great. Rose helped me a bit with the use of my mana," Cecily explained.
"She did really well, I was not expecting that from her," Rose explained.
"That's good to hear," Allen smiled.
"Nice Lily!," Thomas grinned.
"I suspect you lost, Tom?," Cecily looked at him a little mischievously.
"M-Maybe…," Thomas responded, looking down a little. The three of them proceeded to let out a small laugh. "Really?!"
"By the way, it looked like you two were talking a bit after you practiced. What was that about?," Allen asked, after things settled down again.
"Oh, nothing you need to worry about," Rose exclaimed, her face a little red.
"There were just a few… misunderstandings we had to clear up first," Cecily explained, but seemed to be looking away a little.
"Huh?," Allen and Thomas both said, confused.
"Either way," Rose said, clearing her throat. "It seems like your duel went well, other than Thomas losing again"
"I'll win next time!," he exclaimed.
"Just keep up your training, and you might," Allen said, crossing his arms and grinning.
"Oh, you bet I will. I'll train 4 times harder now! I'll-"
"Well, now that that's over with, looks like we'll need to head out. Getting a bit late," Rose interrupted. Thomas grunted after he was unable to finish his sentence.
"True, it's already sundown," Allen noted, after he noticed outside the windows the orange-like color of the sky.
"Oh, before we head back to our dorm rooms, William wanted to speak with us," Rose explained.
"All of us?," the three of them all asked.
"Yes. It seems to be in regard to Allen's previous duel against Nathaniel," Rose explained. "It's a bit about what we talked about not long after you got out of the infirmary, Allen"
"Alright, let's head over then," Allen responded.
"Sure," Thomas and Cecily both responded at the same time. They were both curious what this was about. Plus, Thomas likes to see the head director when he can.
They quickly made their way over to William's office, which was located on the other side of the academy. They wanted to get there as quickly as they could, as curfew was getting closer. Then again, they could probably get away with it if Rose was with them since she is the Student Council President.
"Here we are," Rose announced, as they got to the door. "Let's head inside, he's waiting for us"
"I'll open the door," Allen said as he quickly went his way over to open it. He didn't need Rose to slam the door open again.
"Oh- alright," Rose exclaimed, surprised to see Allen moving quickly to open it. She didn't really think much of it.
"Welcome in," William greeted them as the door was opened.
"William, I brought all of them as you requested," Rose announced as she walked in with them.
After Allen walked in and closed the door behind them (not hard, like Rose would have), he looked over to see William sitting at his desk like usual. Surprisingly, there wasn't much paperwork on his desk, as he suspected there to be more. Ms. Clark was standing to the left of William, like where she was last time Allen was in here. She waved to the four of them as they all went to take their seats. Allen didn't take his seat quite yet, as he thought to himself for a second.
"Now then," William cleared his throat, getting ready to speak. "I brought you four in for-"
Suddenly, the door quickly opened behind them. It opened quickly, but not as fast as Rose usually opened it. In came Stephen Windblade, the one who was referred to as "The A Ranked Genius". He was the one who visited Allen in the infirmary, and had quite the conversation with him. He also happened to be William's only child, which may explain his sudden appearance in the room.
"Father, I-," Stephen began to say as he walked in, but immediately noticed Allen. Since Allen didn't take his seat right away, he wasn't that far away from the door, and would be the first person you'd see if you walked in.
"Oh no," Rose suddenly exclaimed, knowing what was about to unfold.
"What's going on?," Thomas quietly asked Rose, as he noticed something was up.
"Stephen, what brings you in today?," William casually asked in a friendly tone, that sounded forced. It seemed something was up, and William could tell too.
"Allen, what are you doing here?," Stephen asked him, with a blank, yet curious look on his face.
"Oh hey Stephen," Allen greeted him, not really sure why Stephen had a weird look on his face. "I was called in here to speak with William"
"William, you say?," Stephen echoed the way Allen had said his name. His face went from blank to annoyed, and almost to a furious look. "You're him, aren't you?"
"Stephen, we can talk about this," William tried to intervene, knowing something was about to happen, and it wouldn't be pretty.
"Stephen? What's wrong?," Allen asked, curious yet concerned.
He looked at Allen with the most furious look on his face, as if he was about to throw Allen out the window.
"You're the one who took my father away, aren't you?!"