"You should've brought it out in the beginning." Meihui seemed untroubled by the intense energy of Hiryu's Sword Aura. The outpouring of fire that gave people chills did not affect Meihui.
In the past, swordsmanship and magic were worshipped as divine powers. People chased after one of the two and became obsessed, only caring about overwhelming abilities. Your standing in society was decided by how adept you were wielding those powers.
It was the same now. However, both catalysts were forgotten mostly and were replaced by Pulses. Sword and magic users were few and far between because they were outdated.
That was why Sword Aura was seen as the peak of swordsmanship nowadays. Hiryu made that power his at the age of 12.
"Round two." Hiryu immediately swung his white flame sword at Meihui. He endlessly swung them at the cost of his depleting energy. It was a sight to behold as the flames flickered chaotically around the two.
Despite Meihui being pushed back at every swing, the enwrapped Force made her arms tough as steel. It wasn't meat that the sword was cutting into. It was metal scraping metal. Hiryu was surprised, but there was no time to play into his emotions. He kept swinging.
None of the eyes could catch up with the swift slashes of the blade and the precise movement of the steel-infused arms.
CA-CHING! CLANG!
Only the noises of the strikes were heard. They could hear each other barely grasping for air after each round. Using Sword Aura and taking it on was equally exhausting.
The fight reached a stalemate after six rounds of continuous clashing. Meihui stood her ground after Hiryu's rain of flames. Her arms were full of shallow cuts bleeding out.
Meihui panted heavily, letting her guarded arms loose. "Wow. This is, just, incredible," Meihui could barely form sentences after receiving such strong blows. She didn't remember the last time she struggled like this, so she quietly smiled.
They decided to have another go at each other, but this time, one of them collapsed.
"Argh." Hiryu fell to the ground. Meihui landed a punch on Hiryu's stomach. Sword Aura absorbed too much stamina from him, and his body couldn't take it. He went all out, but it still ended miserably.
The flame embracing his body started to dwindle. His hands lost their vigor and gave up on the sword. He coughed out blood onto his empty palms. He reached the sword with his blood-soaked hands and gripped it tightly.
Like an old man using his cane, he pinned his sword to the ground and got up, pointing the sword toward Meihui. He spoke up with a huskier voice as blood was blocking his throat, "One more."
Hiryu didn't want to accept defeat. He'd lost too many things in his life because he couldn't protect them. He didn't even have the chance to protect them to begin with. Yet, he lived in guilt.
That guilt drove him forward, and the sword followed. Meihui dodged the flimsy thrust and threw another punch. Hiryu retrieved the sword in time to block it.
The role had been reversed. Meihui unemotionally rained what felt like millions of blows on Hiryu until one of them connected and shattered his defense. He was sent flying. His face distorted like never before, but Meihui didn't give him rest.
She leaped high and glided down towards where Hiryu was standing. His hands were flailing, but his mind toughened up. He raised his sword above his head and took on Meihui's slam-down kick.
BOOM!
The ground broke below Hiryu's feet. Dust circularly scattered. It got into Hiryu's eyes and blinded him for mere seconds, but those important seconds were enough for Meihui to use his blade as a platform, go behind him, and reverse-kick at the back of Hiryu's head.
THWACK!
Hiryu finally lost consciousness.
[Victory! Yuan Meihui!]
It was a bitter feeling. It was also a feeling he was used to, but that only made his circumstances more depressing. When Hiryu opened his eyes, he was met with complete darkness.
'Is this death?' he pondered. Glimpses of past memories started to shine like twinkling moonlight. They appeared momentarily but then went into hiding right after.
Hiryu didn't know what this lingering feeling was. His hands kept reaching out to these memory fragments uncontrollably. He felt like he wanted to seize them. He continued chasing them like an innocent boy who just discovered fireflies.
But the more he moved, the more his legs felt shackled, and eventually the ground sucked him in slowly. Hiryu wanted to shout for help, yet he couldn't speak a word in that abyss.
Not until the ground ate at his eyes did he wake up to reality.
"Hiryu. Are you alright?"
Hiryu saw Meihui's face blocking the view of the metallic ceiling. She was sitting down next to him for who knew how long. Hiryu checked his vocal cords to see if he could speak or not.
"Why are you humming? You looked like you saw a ghost when you woke up," Meihui's voice was monotonous as usual. However, her eyes got a little more shine to it the last time Hiryu saw her.
"I'm... fine." Hiryu sat up with difficulty. He figured he had to stay in this asylum-looking room for the time being because he overdid it with Sword Aura.
"Lie down," Meihui pleaded with Hiryu as she saw him trembling from just sitting up.
"I'm fine. Really."
Seeing as how Hiryu would keep being stubborn, Meihui silently grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down. Hiryu found this situation amusing, so he decided to listen to her.
"You fought well. You didn't give up until the end."
"I just didn't want my first loss to be this early," I sighed in resignation. "Well, I guess losing to you might be the best way to go out. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"You are pitifully justifying your loss, Hiryu. I'm greatly disappointed."
"There won't be any more losses. I'll challenge you in three months."
Hiryu felt certain that he would at least hold his ground against Meihui in the near future. He wanted to battle with their special abilities.
"You haven't even seen my Pulse, yet your confidence knows no bounds."
"I'm the only one who can defeat you in this academy, right? Even if I lose the next one, I'm bound to win sooner or later."
Meihui looked at Hiryu with judging eyes and said, "You're beyond shameless. Your words contradict each other."
Meihui found this boy amusing. She talked more than her comfort zone allowed her to, but she didn't feel out of place.
Hiryu suddenly turned his head to face Meihui and spoke shyly, "Let's... exchange numbers. Please help me in my future endeavors, Meihui-senpai."
"How do you do that?"
Hiryu inexplicably looked at Meihui. She was genuinely confused and didn't know how to exchange numbers.
"Do you not have any friends, Meihui-senpai?" Hiryu straightforwardly asked.
"I can only think of one person that deserves that title. Also, I told you to call me Meihui only."
"It's weird not to include honorifics, but I'll try. Anyway, I'll teach you how to exchange numbers when we get out. You should try to make more friends, Meihui-sen-." Hiryu almost slipped out the word, but his reflex saved the day.
"You're learning quickly," Meihui chuckled inwardly.
Meihui was elegant. Even her sitting pose struck utmost gracefulness. Hiryu saw her as a dignified noble with wit and beauty. He couldn't describe her wholly. That fact alone showed how heavenly Meihui seemed to Hiryu.
Meihui was drawn in Hiryu's blank eyes. His speech seemed expressive, but his eyes were so empty. Meihui desired to stay longer with this intriguing boy.
"I will stay with you until you recover so entertain me the best you can," Meihui firmly said.