Almost four months had passed since the two Rikus had began their new lives. Riku L. had continued to train under Artemis and visited the Gilbinga family often, about two to three times a week. When he wasn't visiting the family or training under Artemis, he spent time training on his own to keep his body and shape and practice the various fighting techniques Artemis and Riku F. were teaching him. He had also taken on several quests as a hero to earn himself enough money to keep treating the Gilbinga family, as we as the rest of the slums.
On the other hand, Riku F. had begun his gym class with Jira and, although he struggled at first, after about two months had passed, he was finally starting to get the hang of things. Not to mention he also went off to exercise on his own at times when he wasn't spending time with Jira and Remi. Due to being friends with two of the most popular girls in the organization, the other women started to not mind him as much, though there were still a few that would glare when he passed or give him the cold shoulder when he tried to greet them. At this time, Remi and Jira were still his only friends.
The two Rikus talked back and forth often as well, giving each other reports about their days when they didn't get a notification from their devices. Though they would talk about a lot more than just how their days went. They would tease one another about the women in their life, talk about the different types of games and anime, and do their best to help them fit in one another's worlds. Despite that fact, neither of them talked or asked about one another's lives before they switched.
On this day, Riku L. was training with Artemis yet again. Riku was rather skilled with his blade gauntlets now, but not nearly as skilled as Artemis. She could even incorporate her magic into her blades to make them glitter and flash, which she used to distract Riku when they sparred.
Riku sighed as he, once again, held his hands up in surrender with Artemis' training blade held against his throat. Artemis' serious expression turned into a soft smile as she backed off, the virtual, hologram like blades fading from her wrists as she pressed the buttons on her palms. "You're lasting a lot longer than you used to. I'm really impressed with how far you've come within just a few months, Riku."
He chuckled a bit, making his blades vanish as well. "Well, I do have the world's best weapon instructor teaching me."
"Aww, you're going to make me blush." She teased him, making him blush instead, and she giggled at his reaction.
"So is that it for today?" Riku started slipping his training gauntlets off as well as the light training armor he now wore while training. It looked just like the other students' training armor, who now knew of his presence. A few were jealous he got to train directly under Artemis, but they didn't make a fuss.
"I actually have a test for you." Artemis said.
"And what's that..?" Riku muttered.
"Might wanna put your gear back on for this buddy." He heard the voice of a young man and turned to see someone walking up the plateau they were training on. The young man wore the same training gear as Riku, and he had purplish red hair that was a bit longer than the usual male's. He also had green eyes and was about just as lean and built as Riku, if not more so, and not to mention taller than him.
Riku looked at the young man, confused, then looked to Artemis for answers, who smiled back at him. "For your last exercise today, you're going to be going up against one of my students training with the same weapon as you. He's one of the stronger ones of course, so it won't be easy. I'd say he's either around or a little above your level right now Riku."
The young man grinned and held out his hand. "Name's Konba. Honored to meet you, Hero Riku."
Riku took his hand and shook it. "Likewise, but just call me Riku please." He smiled nervously.
Konba nodded and let go of his hand. "No problem. I'm ready to start whenever you are."
"Alright, one sec." Riku quickly readjusted his gear. Afterward, both of them stood about ten feet apart, on opposite sides of the plateau.
"Whoever falls off will be considered the loser, no matter how it happens, and magic is prohibited for now. Ready?" Artemis held her hand up and both of the young men pressed the buttons on their palms, both of their holographic training blades popping out at once, Konba taking a unique stance while Riku just took the basic stance Artemis taught him. "Begin." She swiped her hand downward and the two dashed at each other, their hologram like blades clashing with one another in a test of strength.
Riku tried to push Konba back, but Konba stood his ground, not budging an inch. "He's strong..!" Riku thought to himself as they both pushed harder and forced each other to jump back simultaneously. Riku was the first to dash forward once again. "With this type of weapon, whoever is the fastest will usually have the upper hand." Artemis' words played back in Riku's head as he swung one of the blades upward at Konba. Konba blocked with one of his blades and swung the other at Riku's side. Riku ducked and avoided it, jabbing at Konba's stomach with his other blade. Konba kicked Riku's wrist before he could connect however, parrying his attack and flipping over Riku.
"Damn, this kid's good!" Konba thought and grinned, spinning in mid-air so he was facing Riku when he landed and rushed at him the instant he did. Riku rushed at Konba as well and both of them swung rapidly, clashing blades with each swing. Artemis smiled as she watched the two of them continue battling one another, though said nothing. She simply thought to herself, "They're evenly matched..."
"Damn, he's just as fast as I am... I'll have to move faster if I wanna win!" Riku thought to himself as he moved to do just that. Konba noticed what he was doing however and moved faster as well. The speed they were moving at seemed almost inhuman, but Riku was so focused he couldn't even tell, continuing to think to himself as well. "An opening... I have to find an opening..." He watched Konba's every move, the smile never fading from Konba's face, but he still looked serious, as if he was having fun. Riku swiped his blade at Konba's head and Konba ducked back, spreading his arms. Despite Konba's fast movement, Riku saw it, a small opening.
Riku thrusted both of his blades forward in the blink of an eye as Konba swung both of his blades inward. Konba's eyes widened as Riku stopped both of his blades with his own. Riku didn't stop there however, he moved his blades swiftly and hit the bottom of Konba's blades with his own, forcing his arms to go upward and making him stumble back a little. "A-Ah..!" He tried to stop himself, but Riku jumped and kicked him in the chest, sending him rolling down the plateau.
Riku panted heavily, drenched in sweat. Artemis clapped her hands softly and smiled. "Riku is the winner!" She yelled so Konba could hear from down the hill.
"Ahh...man..!" Konba groaned and slowly rose to his knees.
Riku slid down the mountain and held out his hand. "Are you alright?"
Konba paused for a second before grinning and taking his hand, Riku helping him stand. "Nah I'm fine. The armor protects us from getting any seriously bad injuries, like sprains and broken bones. Might be a bit bruised though. I'll feel that in the morning." He laughed, and Riku smiled with relief. "You're good dude, really good. I can see why Artemis chose to train you personally. You'd be way down the ladder if you started out like the rest of us."
"Why thank you. I'll make sure this doesn't boost my ego too much." Riku snickered. "But it's not like I was always this good. It's all because of Artemis...and another friend of mine." He smiled.
"I meant that she saw something in you, dork." Konba chuckled. "Oh, and one more thing."
Riku tilted his head. "Hm?"
"You should smile more! Even in battle. My motto is to keep on smiling! So even if you die, at least you had a smile on your face." Konba smiled brightly.
Riku chuckled and smiled a bit. "Guess you're right..." He then thought to himself, "This guy's probably got his own fan club here huh..?"
Artemis gracefully jumped down the plateau and landed a couple feet in front of the two of them. "I honestly wasn't expecting you to win. Good job Riku, you did really well. To beat a student who's been here for almost a year when you've only had a few months of training... I'm impressed."
"Like I said, I do have the best teacher." Riku half teased her, but he really meant what he said.
Artemis smiled, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. "Well look at that, you really did make me blush." She giggled softly. "Alright, you're both dismissed for the day. Thank you again for volunteering for this Konba."
"Anytime. It was nice meeting you, Riku. Let's spar again in the future." He grinned, holding out his fist to Riku.
Riku smiled, bumping fists with him. "Anytime."
After putting all his gear back and saying goodbye to Artemis, Riku headed to the store to buy some food, mostly meat, though he got a few other things as well. He smiled as he walked out of the store, heading to the slums to see the Gilbinga family yet again. He had been seeing them about every other day now. As he walked, a foul stench filled his nostrils and he stopped walking for a second. "Smoke..?" He looked up from the ground toward the direction of the slums to see a cloud of smoke rising into the sky above the area. His eyes widened and he dropped his groceries, running to the slums as fast as he could.