When Kaze woke up, he found himself lying in bed. For a second there, he thought that everything that happened was a dream until he noticed Lunaria in her outfit next to him.
"Good, you have woken up," Lunaria sighed in relief when she noticed him looking around. "Thank god Frey held back. For a second there, I was about to rescue you."
"W-Where… am I?" Kaze grunted, pushing himself up from lying posture. "Is this… the infirmary?"
"Yes. Everyone else left to get some food at the festival for lunch while I stayed back," Lunaria smiled reassuringly at him. "Don't worry, the fight ended well. I would say you already tried your best, especially against Frey."
"… It wasn't even a fight…" Kaze muttered at her words. "I was…"
"Kaze?" Lunaria stopped herself when she saw him grovelling into his hands, as if he was in pain. "Are you okay?"
"… No, it's nothing," Kaze took a deep breath to calm himself. "You said Yuuji and the others were out for food?"
"Yes… we can leave to find them if you want, or we can stay here and wait for them to get back," Lunaria slowly nodded. "I suggest we wait here because I don't know if you are comfortable enough with moving just yet."
At her words, Kaze plopped back down onto the bed, staring at the ceiling aimlessly. He flashed back to the fight earlier, as if trying to find out what he missed that made him unable to perform at his best. His entire body just froze up, like it malfunctioned and wouldn't listen to him.
"… Kaze, what happened?" Lunaria lowered her voice, leaning closer to him. "I could tell, even from afar, you weren't fighting like your usual self in training with me."
"… I don't know," Kaze shook his head, covering his eyes with one arm. "I think… I lost."
"No, not that. You know winning or losing isn't the main point," Lunaria frowned. "I was referring to why you were acting sluggish. You looked afraid of something every time you swung your sword."
A short moment of silence passed between the two of them after Lunaria's last sentence. Kaze felt like he knew the reason himself but wasn't able to confront it directly. What's more, he felt ashamed of talking about it with Lunaria, someone who judged him for who he was. It was embarrassing to show weakness to his enemy, but worse when it came to exposing himself to his friends.
"… Lunaria, can you… promise me one thing?" Kaze swallowed his saliva, glancing around the empty infirmary nervously. "I need to tell you something, but I don't want anyone else to know about it…"
When she didn't give an answer, Kaze just accepted it as a silent confirmation, seeing that she was still staring at him.
"I… think I'm afraid of fighting," Kaze's voice trembled as he admitted his weakness. "All this time, I have been training so hard just so I could improve myself. Even with the centipede and facing against Sir Ethan, I thought I had it in me to become someone I wanted to be. Frey… made me realize that I was not ready."
"… How strange, I never thought I would hear these words from you," Lunaria smiled, creating a sound barrier around them. "Carry on."
Widening his eyes at her very brief response, Kaze felt like she was urging him to crack open his heart to expose his true feelings to her. It was Lunaria's way of telling him that she was willing to listen to him, just as she had exposed herself a while back.
"… I regret not listening to your advice," Kaze admitted softly, squeezing Lunaria's hand without him realizing it. "To you, and the others. I… was already lacking the fighting practical experience that most of you have from training since you, but I didn't realize that until right now. Coming from the countryside, I had already realized the vast difference in swordfighting education here than what I got, but I assumed it would be alright if I just worked hard enough on my own. I was… not reliant enough… on people who were already there for me…"
"Admitting that you are wrong is the first step in correcting yourself, so it is good that you found out about this already," Lunaria nodded her head, agreeing with what he said. "I should have figured this out too, but it is like you said. Your training helped to establish everything that is needed to make you a swordsman who can use pure magic. What you didn't realize was that it wasn't enough… not where you are right now."
"Y-Yes," Kaze sighed. "Lunaria… I… need to apologise to Frey… When she smacked me, I was able to see how disappointed she was with this fight. It wasn't just me who looked forward to it, Frey was the same. Unlike me, she is someone who longed for a fight with others, instead of isolating herself to just training… Yet, I made her feel bad for my poor performance."
Lunaria's ears twitched a little when he mentioned about Frey but said nothing. Only her mind flashed back to when Frey kissed his cheek, her expression remaining the same. Yet, she started to feel nervous from his words for some reason.
"… Lunaria, what should I do?" Kaze mumbled, his thumb rubbing against her skin gently. "I don't know what the next step is from here on."
"T-Then, why don't you start with fighting against more people?" Lunaria stammered, blushing as she realized that he was holding onto her hand like a couple. "You know, through the ranking system."
"… Maybe I need something to eat," Kaze chuckled and let go of her hand, in which she quickly retracted. "I'm sorry you had to hear all that. Usually, I… don't have much on my mind."
"It's fine… I'm a little happy that you are willing to confide in me too," Lunaria made a small smile in response. "If you ever need help with training, just find us. We are willing to spar you anytime, since you are someone who fights with such a unique style too. You just got unlucky with Frey."
"Maybe I will, once I find out why I couldn't fight as well as I should," Kaze agreed with her willingly. "I wouldn't say I got unlucky with Frey… I was surprised to see just how strong she was too. It really didn't match with her personality."
"Maybe that's because you underestimate the ranked no.2 too much."
Yuuji's voice came from the door. Since Lunaria just deactivated the sound barrier, Yuuji and the others who came back were able to hear his last sentence. The few of them emerged with some food packed, smiling wryly at Kaze.
"How're you feeling? I was surprised when they brought you in," Yuuji asked Kaze. "I just got healed up and you blacked out."
"Yeah, I'm fine for now," Kaze greeted his friend, giving Yuuji a returning smile. "How about you? I saw you getting beaten up pretty badly out there."
"Albert and I are fine," Yuuji answered. "Shoko… she demolished her opponent, I guess."
"Hehe~ I only caught the last part of the fight, sorry about that," Shoko told Kaze with a grin. "I went to where Sera and Rena were after my fight ended, and only got back right after."
"It's fine, there really wasn't anything to see," Kaze sighed. "Ask Lunaria, she was there."
"Yuuji and I lost our fight too, so it really wasn't anything to be mindful of," Albert shrugged at this. "You probably did the best you could."
"You two should have seen how Lunaria fought against the number 1 though," Kaze turned to Luanria. "She was… nothing short of amazing."
"We can save all of our fighting experiences for later, when we are back home," Lunaria stopped Kaze from talking about it, knowing he still felt guilty from the fight with Frey. "For now, lunch."
With Kaze feeling better than before, the group left the infirmary to eat. Even though Yuuji and the other two had already packed their food with the intention of bringing it to the infirmary, they were more than happy to be moving around the festival too.
With day 2 of the festival starting off strong, the school was more populated with guests than the previous day. It was now open to the public for touring, though they would still have to pay for the food and games available within the festival itself.
Tonight, there was going to be a gathering for all the students as part of the festival schedule. It was a socializing event, much like ones the nobles always held. As such, students were all required to show up in formal wear at the school hall, which was going to be transformed with magic to suit the event itself. While this wasn't necessarily related to the Moon Festival, it was something that would help the students to get acquainted with each other.
Once Kaze and his friends walked through the festival grounds, they were immediately greeted with stares from the students around them. Most of them knew who the five were, after seeing their performance at the fighting round earlier. As such, it was normal to see students coming up to them with congratulatory words and admiration.
While Kaze himself got a few words from some of the students, it wasn't much compared to what his friends were receiving. Lunaria and Shoko, in particular, were the centre of attention among them. With their exceptional performances, the reception from it was obvious.
However good the response they got was, it was still interfering with their lunch. It made it hard for them to be able to hang around each other's company when there were so many people constantly coming up to them. Even Lunaria was starting to get tired at this point from their unwanted fame. They probably shouldn't have put up as good a show as they wanted it to be, even if some of them lost.
"Should we get out of here?" Yuuji suggested after they bought some of the stall snacks. "Maybe we can head back for now, especially when we already have what we need."
"Hmm, what do you guys think?" Lunaria asked the others, who were all looking even more exhausted than when they were fighting. "I think that is a viable option."
"Let's go please~ Even if it means leaving the festival," Shoko huffed, not used to all of this attention.
"Should we inform the others of our departure?" Yuuji considered their options. "We still don't know where Chris, Irene and Mitsui are."
"I don't think we need to worry about them. They aren't the one receiving all of this attention," Albert sighed. "I'm down with leaving, by the way."
"You guys can leave first, I will head back alone later," Kaze quickly informed them, heading off from the group first. "I will find the others."
"Ah, Kaze!" Lunaria reached out her hand to stop him from leaving, but he had already blended into the crowd.
With a heavy feeling in her heart, Lunaria knew that the reason Kaze decided to be the one to split up first was due to his feeling of discomfort with his performance earlier. Since he wasn't really approached by the students, she assumed he probably wanted some time alone.
Despite knowing all this and justifying for herself that this behaviour was acceptable, she still wasn't able to feel any better. One part of her wanted to chase after Kaze, but the other wanted her to move along with her other friends. There was no merit in pursuing Kaze since it wouldn't solve the issue he had. It was simply her emotions at play, unwilling to see him being so distraught.
That was what Lunaria had convinced herself of when she turned around.
- - - - -
It didn't take long for Kaze to stumble upon Chris and Irene right after he left the group.
The two were on a date with each other, going from stall to stall. Mitsui seemed to be with them for a bit before she split up, according to the two. Following them to where Sera and Rena were, they had a light chit chat together.
Sera and Rena were busy with helping the organisers with decorating the hall. Since it was going to be quite the trouble to set everything up with magic, there were some physical work needed along with evaluation. Sera and Rena volunteered to help them, seeing that some extra supervision was needed.
"How did the fight go?" Sera asked Kaze while they took a short break.
"I lost, as simple as that," Kaze made a small smile. "Nothing worth mentioning. I went up against Frey."
"Ohh, Frey huh?" Rena gave him a pat on the shoulder. "It's alright, I can imagine how it ended up. Lunaria and Shoko won their matches, I assume. What about Albert and Yuuji?"
"Both also lost but put up a better fight against their opponents than I did," Kaze admitted to them, noticing that even Mitsui had joined the group.
"We were there when it happened," Mitsui pointed to Chris and Irene. "I would say all 3 of you put up a better fight than the other 5 combined, though it was really one-sided."
"They were up against the top 10, what did you expect?" Irene giggled and gave Kaze a quick hug. "Don't worry, we aren't judging you."
In their eyes, perhaps it seemed like he was trying his best but deep down, he knew what exactly happened at the event itself. He felt a lump in his throat when he tried to talk about it with his enthusiastic friends, causing him to swallow back that lump. It was uncomfortable and frustrating, something new he hadn't experienced before.
After a bit more talking, they went their separate ways again. Kaze had relayed the information about heading home for lunch, in which everyone had their own schedule. One way or another, they would have to head back in preparation for the night gathering. It was something everyone looked forward to, since this would be the first time they wore something formal together. Only Kaze was slightly hesitant about it, considering he really didn't have much formal wear.
"Yo~"
"… F-Frey?!"
Kaze suddenly heard someone calling out to him when he was walking by himself, only to find it was Frey skipping over to his side. She had changed out of her fighting attire and was wearing her uniform, much like he was. He immediately looked away from her out of remembering the reaction she had when she knocked him out earlier.
Skipping to his side, she gave him a playful jab at his sides.
"Good fight out there. I was surprised you were so weak," Frey teased him. "Just kidding… are you having some emotional troubles~? You look like you couldn't focus while fighting, with the way you were looking around the fighting grounds."
"I-I guess…" Kaze fumbled with his words, unsure of how to explain the situation to her. "Frey, was I that much of a disappointment fighting against you?"
"Not really. You held up well against my armour form, even if it was only for a minute or so," Frey grinned at him, her earrings waving back and forth as she walked by his side. "Wanna grab something to eat? I'm famished."
"Haven't you eaten yet?" Kaze asked, feeling surprised by her offer. "The fight ended hours ago."
"Yes, but we had a meeting together as the top 10," Shoko sighed at his question. "We were discussing the outcome. Even though 2 of us lost, it was still a very good performance round."
"You couldn't do much about Lunaria and Shoko," Kaze chuckled. "If Sera and Rena joined, the performance was going to be at a much higher stake."
"Oh? You mean Lunaria-hime's friends?" Frey raised an eyebrow at this. "We didn't see them the other day."
"Yeah, they didn't audition. They were already busy with stuff," Kaze nodded. "Um, Frey, if I may ask you… how did you know what I did to the centipede?"
At his question, Frey made a cheeky smirk, knowing that he would be curious at her words during the fight earlier. Despite her reaction, the answer to that was very simple.
"I was there," she answered. "You know, outside of the barrier with Ken-chan and Ryuu-chan."
"Who are…? Oh, you mean Kenridge and Ryuuseki?"
"Yep! If you didn't know, a lot of people showed up to spectate the fight, only for it to go wrongly."
"I didn't know you three were close friends?"
"I wouldn't consider us close. We are friends, yes, but only to the extent of it being the same classmates and top 10s together. If you want to talk about close, maybe Yu Quan and I would be considered closer."
"Oh, that's new. I don't know if I should pry in your relationship…"
"No, no, it's fine. It is refreshing to speak to someone who doesn't just talk about how to get stronger all the time."
"You mean people like those who approach you?"
"It's tougher being a top 10 than you would know, Kaze. It might be ironic of me to ask, but I feel like today wasn't your best day, was it?"
Kaze gulped at her words. He knew this question was coming, it was only a matter of when. Since he was looking for Frey in order to apologise anyway, might as well talk about it now.
"… Sorry."
"Ah, then that explains why you were looking so moody~"
"N-No, not that. I'm sorry… for letting you down. You seemed to look forward to our fight a lot, as I was. Unfortunately, I lacked the experience needed to face off against you. I just got lucky with the dummy you controlled…"
"My, getting regretful are we? You don't have to apologise for something like that. It's true I was disappointed by our fight, but I also realized I shouldn't have placed such a high level of expectation on you~ Unlike Lunaria-hime or Shoko, you are just someone normal."
"… Would you… rather have fought with Shoko or Lunaria?"
"I would, to be fair, since Yu Quan and Ken-chan both look like they had quite a fun time~"
"… I'm sorry…"
"It's fine! It's fine. You asked for the truth, so I present it to you. Don't need to feel bad for yourself."
With a merry laughter, Frey comforted the ever-depressed Kaze. It seemed like the realization of his mistake took a bigger toll on Kaze than expected, causing both Kaze and Frey to feel surprised by this fact. While the matter was easily laughed off, it was clear that Kaze knew what he needed to do, even if he was acting differently.
The two continued their conversation to a different direction. Instead of swordfighting, they talked more about school stuff, their background along with bits and parts of other things.
Frey actually offered to walk Kaze back home, which he accepted since they hadn't had anything to do in the time being.
"Frey, are you going to be attending the event tonight?" Kaze asked her.
"Yep, everyone's required to," Frey nodded and smirked. "Are you trying to ask me out on a date?"
"No, of course not," Kaze sighed and shook his head. "I… um, plan to ask Lunaria for her hand in dancing, if possible…"
"Ohh~~ are you going to confess?" Frey widened her eyes at this. "Wait, before that, do you even know how to dance?"
"Don't mock me. I learnt when we started classes," the corner of Kaze's mouth twitched as she teased him. "Also, no one is confessing anything. I just want to dance with Lunaria."
"He~~~ is that so?" Frey frowned a little at this. "What a shame, even though it is quite obvious you like her."
"I do like her, but… I don't know if that sort of 'like' would count towards a romantic relationship," Kaze mused over this. "What do you think, Frey?"
"Even though I am not the correct person you should ask about this, since I am not interested in romance, I will say that it would take me no surprise if you did," Frey answered seriously, showing that she was not joking this time. "Kaze, I won't tell you what to do. On the off chance that you are planning to confess or anything, just… try not to do it in front of everyone. I have seen too many times where people confess in front of a crowd and they ended up scaring the girl away."
"Hey, I wouldn't have the balls to even confess in the first place," Kaze shuddered at her words. "Besides, I already said I am not going to do anything about it."
"Then why are you blushing?" Frey raised an eyebrow at him. "Something tells me that you have already fallen for Lunaria, just like a lot of boys in our school, but you are too dense to realize it just yet… or rather, maybe because this is your first love. Don't take it from me, I am not very reliable when it comes to these sorts of stuff."
"Sure, sure," Kaze chuckled, beginning to ponder on her words. "… Even if I do… I… don't think I will do anything about it just yet."
"Why not? You might regret it if Lunaria gets taken you know~?"
"Maybe she will… but I don't want her to look at me differently. She is already treating me very kindly and I don't want to ruin that sort of relationship with her."
"Or… you might possibly raise the bar for that relationship. Her family is here. Before they leave, you might want to consider asking Lunaria out so you can confront her family with this issue too."
"No way. Her sisters already tried to kill me when they first saw me."
"Is that so? I will make sure to attend your funeral then."
"Like I said, I'm not going to confess!"
Back at home, Lunaria laid on her bed for the past 30 minutes.
She was worried about Kaze. Since lunch passed, a few hours had gone by without him returning yet. Her mind was so distracted by this to the point she was unable to get any work done, forcing her to retire to bed to try and sort her emotions together.
Glancing at the closet next to her, she began contemplating about the event that would take place tonight. Her hand crawled up to her chest, squeezing down tightly to ease the pain in her heart that took form whenever she thought of Kaze's words to her in the infirmary.
'Why am I… so distraught by it? It's Kaze's problem, not mine…' Lunaria thought to herself.
'I should assist him as much as I can…'
'Frey felt disappointed…'
'Kaze lacked training…'
'What should….'
With even more thoughts clouding her mind, Lunaria shook her head roughly and sat up. Walking over to the closet, she opened it to reveal the dress she had chosen for tonight.
She stared at it for a little while, running her hand down the smooth creases and the fabric the made up the dress.
Closing her eyes, Lunaria turned around and fell onto the bed again. Her body had started to heat up once again, a symptom that was constantly reappearing whenever her mind trailed over to Kaze again and again.
Letting out a low groan of frustration, she buried her face into her pillow and tossed around for a bit. She felt guilty for worrying so much about him that she didn't even have time to think about herself. Admittedly, she realized that she lingered on her thoughts longer than she would have liked.
Recently, the heat had started to spread beyond just her face, trailing down to her heart. Whenever she looked into the mirror, she found herself blushing with a slight pout on her lips. It was the complete opposite of her calm and composed self, a part of her that she thought had died over the years.
With its recent reappearance came the emergence of another set of feelings that she was all too familiar with. It was something that scarred her in the past, but this time it brought warmth to her when the feeling arose.
"K-Kaze… I'm sorry…" Lunaria purred softly, the edges of her eyes watering up.
She flicked her finger at the door, using magic to ensure it was locked. She then lowered her hands, moving past her chest to her naval. Sliding it further down her smooth skin, her fingers slipped off the thin fabric of cloth that covered her lower half.
Lunaria shivered as she felt her fingers reaching over to the area in between of her thighs. Biting her lower lip, she began easing that piece of frustration inside of her as a result of her mixed emotions.
"Kaze…" Lunaria's panting resulted in his name being repeated over and over, the sense of relief she provided herself growing over time.