Chapter 6 - A Way To Fight
Moments after the dreaded words left my teacher's mouth, I instinctively knew that everyone had fixed their gazes on me, marking me as an easy target. They weren't wrong by any means, and there was little that I could do to change that.
My teacher's voice broke through once again.
"This is the opportunity to show the class just how strong you are. Just how much conviction you have. Just how far you are willing to push your limits to achieve victory. More importantly however, you'll get to show me just how strong you actually are. You won't be heading to the upper classes without my permission. Keep that in mind when speaking to me."
The sounds of our sighs must've provoked him in some way, as the next thing we heard left us shaken.
"You can all stop sighing right this moment. I am your teacher. I have ultimate authority, and I can and will fail you if I need to."
All sounds ceased inside the room. An eerie chill circling past us all. However, if what he just said left us shaken, the next thing left us blue with fear.
"As ultimate authority, I can expel you. And I will not hesitate to either."
I begrudgingly had to hand it to the teacher, he really knew how to handle a troublesome class. His voice came around once more, and it had some students leaving shortly after.
"Boys, you will stay in here, girls you will go to your designated changing area."
He left, while we started to get into our practice clothes, each student staring at me as I got changed. Now, by no means was I a muscle man. If I had to define myself however, I would call myself lean. A body acquired from all the running I had to do, in order to escape bullies. However my most striking feature was a long, diagonal scar across my lower torso. That was a reminder. A reminder that I'm weak and pathetic. A reminder that I couldn't save anyone.A reminder that the weak will always be weak.
I got it from a fight two years ago. A wind blade that cut open my torso, and left me hospitalised for nearly a week, even with healing abilities. It was just some common thug. A nobody. Not even that strong. And yet. I still lost to him. And better yet, I got blamed. I think that's when it really started to happen. When I slowly realised that, maybe this life isn't as fair as everyone told me.
After putting on my uniform, and covering that ugly scar, I sat down and idly scrolled through my phone, looking for something to pass the time. A message flashed from my mom. I put my phone back in my pocket. I couldn't afford to be distracted when the fate of my schooling is on the line. He didn't say it directly, but I just knew that whoever didn't at least impress the teacher, wouldn't be making it through the rest of the day.
Speaking of whom, said teacher burst back into the classroom.
"Alright everyone, follow me to the training grounds. Also, you are allowed to bring specialised equipment, just as long as you take responsibility for whatever happens to it."
I grabbed the surprise weapon that my mom left for me, a weapon that has served me well for most of my life. My only means of defence. Apollo. A long, black, wooden katana, with the word APOLLO spelled out on the blade, and with a dark blue, almost purple hand guard. It was truly a thing of beauty.
I walked with the rest of the class until we got to the training grounds, a large, almost dome like room, with several small arenas spread along the floor. My nerves were kicking in right about now, however, I could not, would not, let that affect my performance today.
I knew what was about to happen, and so with practiced ease, I slid the katana out of it's immaculately crafted black wooden sheath, once again with the word APOLLO written in dark blue upon it.
"Alright class, get ready for your names to be called, then make your way to the stadium to fight."
Our teacher was located in a small viewing area with a microphone, amplifying his voice so that we could all hear.
"First up, we have Amon and Hikari."
We stepped on our respective sides of the arena, staring each other down, almost daring the other to look away.
Grasping Apollo tighter in my right hand, I got into one of the basic kendo stances, grateful for all the practice I had. Slowly lifting my left finger to the tip of the blade, I gathered up all of my remaining energy, feeling the familiar spark of heat, as my finger was lit by a small orange fire. I was momentarily surprised that I could create that fire so easily, with how much energy I wasted earlier.
With a swift, and precise movement, I dragged my alight finger down the length of the blade, leaving a trail of familiar orange flames as I went.
I let a small smirk grace my lips.
'It won't be as easy as you think.'