We arrived at the Virtual Battle Center in no time. The center was practically a stadium renovated to become an arena. The building was colossal, no doubt. Looking at it for the first time would make you feel nauseous and nervous.
"T-this!" Saki exclaimed.
Our eyes were widened to the point they could pop out any second. Still, we couldn't waste more time.
"Let's enter. Otogi should be inside the building. I need to settle the score with her for that kick in the mall."
"You better beat her up!" Saki clutched her fist in excitement.
I brought out my hand towards her. Saki knew immediately what my intention was.
"Aha! Signature handshake?"
"Still need to ask?"
We then proceeded with the coolest handshake in the history of mankind. It failed the first time, though, but we succeeded on our second try. "Woohoo!" Saki shouted.
"I'll watch in the Battle Data Analysis room. Fight to your heart's content, Hiryu-san. I'll make sure every movement is recorded and analyzed."
I felt like I was Azuma's prized treasure or something. She always wanted to take good care of me, so I was overjoyed.
"Can't thank you enough, Azuma."
"Call me Hiyori."
I nodded accordingly. The friend-making operation was going pretty smoothly, but I still hadn't found a guy friend yet, which was confusing.
Hiyori then entered the stadium first. Ichinose, who hadn't talked for a while, suddenly grabbed my hand and shook it up and down, "Win, okay?" she smiled and started tailing Hiyori.
Just as I was about to enter the building, "Yo!" a familiar voice echoed behind us. "Who's she, partner?"
"Otogi?"
"That's Otogi!? Wow, she's beautiful," Saki googled at Otogi.
She was wearing a black cropped hoodie over a compression shirt. Her abs were well-defined, showing the amount of training she poured in.
"I want that shorts..." Saki was still staring at Otogi intently.
'I guess all that hatred for Otogi disappeared.' A moment ago, Saki had the eyes that wanted to kill her. Now all I could see was Saki admiring Otogi's beauty and physique.
"Why are you sweating already?" I asked.
Otogi was drenched in sweat and was breathing heavily. "I ran here. Gotta warm up first, y'know?"
"You sure you want to be tired this early? Seems like defeating you will be easier."
"Trash talk already, huh? I like you. No worries, I can still kick your ass before you know it."
Otogi had that smug look that desperately wanted to be punched. She was good at provoking people, so no wonder her communication was poor, and her charisma was off the charts.
After conversing for a bit, we walked inside the building and were greeted by a head instructor. He gave us a tour of the place while talking about the rules and risks of sparring inside the virtual arena.
20 minutes later, we were assigned our designated instructor, and they placed us in two separate huge cubic rooms with nothing inside. Every side was covered with a soft metallic pane to minimize injuries.
The instructor gave us the so-called virtual glasses, and once we wore them, the whole landscape transformed into a huge dirt arena. Of course, because the room was not infinite, the virtual space had barriers, indicating where the walls were.
As soon as I put on the glasses, I saw Otogi swinging her dual daggers inside the arena. It seemed like she had already accommodated herself, while I was still struggling to get the hang of it.
"Call your weapons! It'll automatically show up in your hands," the instructor spoke through the glasses' speaker.
I was told that the weapons we possessed could be stored as data in the main database, meaning I could use my katana inside this virtual space.
I called out the name of my katana in my head, 'Nichibotsu.' Seconds later, the weapon I was familiar with appeared in my hand. It felt creepily real and satisfying at the same time.
I swung it for the first time, and the wind gushed out violently from the tip of my sword.
"What the hell?"
The face Otogi made that day is still edged in my brain. The usual calm and fierce demeanor changed to a flustered and distorted one.
"Regretting it now? I suggest we end it before it even starts. You'd never want your dear partner to injure herself, right?"
I thought that would diminish her confidence a bit, but I felt even more bloodlust from her. 'Is she crazy?' I wondered.
"You think I'd get scared of that mere trick? You're as doomed as it gets. HAHAHA!"
'What the hell?'
Her laugh actually resembled a crazed psychopath. It even made me want to swear. Her confidence was something else. I needed some time to get used to fighting virtually.
About five minutes later, I was ready.
"Shall we start? I'm done with my warm-up."
"Took you long enough. I thought you were stalling because you're scared. Don't shit your pants during battle, yeah?"
The corner of her lips lifted smugly. Her eyebrows drew closer and her eyes shone a bright fire. Holding dual daggers, her stance seemed relaxed but no openings can be seen.
"You really have a way with words. I have to shut that mouth of yours."
I too took a stance ready for battle. Taking her fast maneuvers into consideration, I started with a defensive stance first. People who are confident with their speed always attack first.
START!
'Damn!'
Not a second had gone by and Otogi had already appeared in front of my face. The two daggers were clashing with the middle part of my 'Nichibotsu'. I swung the sword horizontally to deflect her attack.
"Good reflex as always, partner!"
Leaving no time for her to run, I closed the distance immediately and attacked her lower half. She instinctively tried to jump up with her flexibility, but that was a fatal mistake.
I brought my right leg forward and bent my knee on purpose to make her think that I would perform a lower-body slash, but it was a feint.
"Shit!"
The trajectory of the sword followed upward and grazed Otogi's left cheek. She tried to block it, but she lost momentum the moment she decided to jump, and I had all the momentum in the world.
To deal with a fast-paced tempo of movements, cunning and decisive sword strikes are needed to slow their momentum. As soon as Otogi touched the earth, I immediately retrieved my sword and performed a thrust.
However, she managed to dodge it within a hair's breadth by turning her head to the right. Otogi then lowered her body and dashed towards me like a freight train without stopping. Her glare was heavy in contrast to the complacent behavior of hers before.
'She's not bad.'