The day finally came. Kids from all over the village surrounded the training grounds. I heard rumors about their being bets placed, but there was no way for me to figure it out.
Now that I think about it, I had never seen Marco. There were short descriptions of him that I never paid attention to, because they were never physical descriptions.
He was described as a cool person, like, unbothered. Unaffected by anything. That was why it was such a shock that he decided to fight Tou. Tou must've really had an impact on him.
Apparently, he had gone to a juvenile detention center, for hanging around the wrong crowd.
There was a short silence, as a boy pushed through the crowd. Finally, I could see what Marco looked like.
His hair was really short, and dark in color. That must've been due to it being recently cut, while in the juvenile detention center.
His eyes were orange, almost glowing. The first eyes you'd spot in a dark room. His face was covered in scars, and his expression was without emotion.
"I'll let you choose your weapon first, Tou."
His voice was calm and had no anger in it. That was very confusing to me. Why would he be so calm? Even though I disrespected his family, he had no reaction.
Ah, I see.
His fist was balled so tightly, that his nails dug into his skin. Blood started to drop, but it seemed that nobody noticed it. So he was angry.
But he sure was good at hiding it.
I had been so caught up in analyzing his appearance, that I didn't even really do what he was asking me to do. To get my weapon.
There was a rack that held all of the training weapons. They were all made out of wood, as to make sure not to cause any fatal damage.
I picked up a wooden sword. It had the most marks of damage, which means it was used the most.
Marco walked over and picked up a pair of daggers, spinning them around a few times before actually holding them.
We stood about 4 meters apart, waiting for the referee to count down.
"3..."
I tightened my grip on my sword.
"2.."
Marco raised his daggers into a proper guard.
"1... go!"
Marco closed those 4 meters almost instantly. It was so fast, I thought my eyes wouldn't be able to catch up with his movement. Of course, they did.
I raised my sword to block. By instinct. Instead of actually striking with his dagger, he kicked me.
This was an obvious attempt to startle my position, to damage my balance. But something like that would not work on me.
I pushed his foot off my sword, regaining my position, and sprinting back toward him. His balance was a little off, but he regained it quickly.
Another clash came. He blocked with both of his daggers. Again, I pushed his daggers off my sword. This time, I was coming for a different approach.
I swiped my sword at his stomach. A hit! Finally. I was tired of not getting any hits in. It was almost getting frustrating.
The blow sent him back, though he made sure to reduce his recovery time to a minimum. He switched to an ice pick grip.
An ice pick grip? I saw Marcus use this once, but he was horrible at it. Maybe he wasn't horrible at it. Maybe I was just too good.
Yet again, Marco cleared the distance instantly. I was a lot more prepared this time, blocking his strike. His attack was wide. Full of openings. It was the perfect time for me to counterattack.
So I did just that. With as much force possible, I struck Marco. A clean hit in the head.
The only part of Marco's body that moved was his head, flying back. He was obviously disoriented, and bleeding on his forehead. This counts as a win, right? I win?
"Is this my victory? Are we-"
My body shivered. I raised my sword up.
Huh?
A flicker. It was a flicker. Something so fast, that I couldn't track it. But I was sure of it. If I hadn't raised my sword just now, my head would've flown straight off.
I looked at Marco. He looked back at me. It seemed like he was finally getting serious.
He dashed at me yet again, this time, a lot faster. It was getting harder and harder to track his movements.
The left?
I turned to the left, prepared. Only the dust that was created from the quick movement of his feet faded away in the air.
So the right!
I was almost too slow. He swiped his dagger at me, his face still calm and expressionless. I just barely moved out of the way, my tunic getting sliced. If I had moved any later, my guts would've been spilling on the floor right now.
Again, he was coming for another strike. This time, I was slightly more prepared than last time. That's what I thought, at least.
The dust was making it especially hard to see, obscuring my vision. Damn it!
Wait.
Thank goodness, Marcus. I nearly forgot about my training.
I closed my eyes.
The left. He was coming from the left. I'm sure of it. If I was wrong, it would be a fatal mistake. With all the strength I had left, I swung.
Crack!
The sword connected. I opened my eyes, to see a bloodied Marco. Had I used too much strength?
"Th-the clear winner of this fight is Tou! Take Marco to the infirmary!" the referee yelled, raising my wrist into the air. His hands shook, and so did mine. Fear lingered in his voice.
Did I go too far? I wasn't trying to kill him, or anything like that. But if I did... would I be charged for it?
It was an accident... it was an accident!
I turned around to the bystanders. They all looked as scared as I was. But they weren't scared of the injuries that were on Marco. They were afraid of me.