The facility bells rang, signifying the start of the match. Right off the bat, Elmira fires out multiple bolts of fire at Chad. Seeing this, Chad resorted to running around to the right in the direction of Elmira. The firebolts darted across the air, always seeming to graze Chad bit by bit. The battlefield appeared to be almost like a fireworks show, with crimson flames trailing off from the bolts. The closer he got, the harder it was for him to avoid each firebolt. It was then that, when Chad got within striking range of Elmira, he envisioned the next attacks Elmira could take.
"Clearly, at this distance, she could do a multitude of attacks. Doing a push kick to the stomach, punching me in the jaw, or firing a firebolt in close range. I don't want to hurt her, so I'll just resort to grappling her to the ground."
As the distance closed in, he went with a blast double takedown, targeting her legs. In his mind, this was the perfect position for a takedown. She's cornered, and her stance would lead to terrible posture. "It's finished," he thought. This thought was cemented in until an unexpected move hit Chad right in the face. A strong slap echoed throughout the facility. The force was so strong that the noise got the attention of almost everybody in the building. Disoriented by the blow, Chad fell to his side. Sitting up from the fall, he asks, "Who slaps someone in a fight?!" putting his hand against the vibrant red handmark on his cheek. The pain was pulsating, almost like it had a heartbeat. On the other hand, Elmira's response was quite different from what Chad expected. Her face was a bright shade of red, giving off an immense expression of embarrassment. "You pervert, you really tried to look under my skirt, didn't you?!" she squealed.
"Eh?"
"What did she mean by that? I wasn't doing anything of the sort." he thought.
"Umm... what are you talking about?" Chad questioned her in a very confused tone, still not knowing what wrong he had done. In pent-up anger, she screamed, "You tried to dash under my legs to look up my skirt, didn't you?!" Chad tried to recall any moment he attempted at this, soon to realize she had a huge misunderstanding. "Wait, that was a takedown called a blast double; I really wasn't."
A kick is hurled at his jaw, knocking his head back. Following that, multiple firebolts shot directly at him, forcing Chad to roll back. Sitting up, he raised his arm. Elmira noticed this small action in play and was perplexed as to why he was doing it. "Why is he just raising his arm?" With the last remaining firebolts nearing a collision, she noticed a white, glowing aura emitting around his arm. Soon after, Chad used his arm to shield himself from the last firebolts, leaving no scratch on him. Elmira wasn't amused by this action, though; in fact, she thought it was ridiculous. "You just used Aura, didn't you?"
Chad, standing up and dusting himself, responds. "Yeah, I just did. Pretty cool, right?" he says, smiling brightly. Elmira still gives the face of disapproval. "Aura is a rookie technique with little to no uses. It's a technique derived from people with no magic trying to mimic magic users." Giving a small chuckle, she continues her statement with, "Don't tell me this whole time your plan was to use aura against me."
Chad nodded. "Mhm."
Hearing this, Elmira was even more disappointed in Chad. "Why would you just admit that right away? Don't you have any shame as the student council president?!"
In reply, Chad shook his head. "Nope."
Pointing her finger at Chad, she smirked. "Well, if that's your last resort, it ends as a total failure!" Firing three more firebolts at Chad, he didn't hesitate to block more of the shots with his arm covered in aura. Elmira still wondered what his game plan was. Chad was stuck on the defense and he was just making pointless actions in this battle. He kept mindlessly running around her and blocking all attacks but never retaliated against her.
The attacks she let out were endless, and the battle stretched out longer and longer. Elmira's hand was tired, struggling to even hold up from how long it took to keep it raised. Chad kept the pressure on Elmira in multiple directions; cutting out his path last second and averting it. Soon, she could no longer back up as her back touched the wall, pressing her body against it as if it could move further back. Looking behind her, she realized that Chad had managed to trap her in the same position she was in previously. "C-Crap!" she stuttered in fear, seeing Chad dashing at her at a blinding speed. The look of malice on his face as he blitzed at her horrified her—the face of someone who had taken many lives before. His fist charged up, surging with a build-up of aura that flashed in her eyes. She thought, "This blow... it'll definitely kill me!" Wanting to move, her legs struggled to even pick themselves up. They twitched violently but couldn't even do a single step.
She shut her eyes tight, expecting a killing blow. The gust of wind pushes her hair back, her movements frozen to the core, and her whimpering breaths, slowly edging towards her breaking point. A tiny, sharp pain hit her forehead, making her release the tension that had piled up under her stress. "G-Guh..." she opened her eyes, seeing the released finger of Chad in her face. It appeared as if Chad had flicked her in the forehead, not even laying a singular blow to her. Upon realizing this, she passed out in exhaustion, knowing she wasn't going to be killed.
Her body flopped to the ground, producing a loud thud sound on impact. "H-Hey, are you okay?" Chad was panicked, seeing as if he might've gone too far in this battle. After notifying Mr. Hansley, he was given a quick scolding about going too far in sparring.
"Yeah, I deserve it."
Later on, after leaving the doors of the facility, he gave a deep sigh. "Well, I suck as a bodyguard. I can't believe I harmed my own client." Disappointed in himself, he dragged himself to the front of the school. On his travels, he is hit with a raindrop. Touching the wet spot on his shirt, it multiplied by the second. Soon after, it started pouring rain. Quickly running inside the school, he went to the student council room. Opening the doors, he grabbed his bag and his umbrella. "Glad, I brought this to school; the news said it would pour today."
Walking out of the room, he locked it with his ID card. "Okay, now that's settled. It seems like everybody has already been dismissed." As he carried his bag to the entrance of the school, he noticed a familiar face standing at the front. It was Niantha, peacefully gazing at the rain. He went beside Niantha, mentioning a few words. "Pretty rain, am I right?" The words caught her attention, and she slowly turned her head toward him. "What are you doing here?" she questioned. "Well, I was here to get my umbrella, that's all. How about you?" Niantha turned her head back to the rain as if she were deep in thought. "I forgot my umbrella today." she told him. The sound of him unclasping his umbrella came in right beside her, opening it up and putting it over her. "Then let me walk you home; I'm supposed to watch over you anyway."
Niantha led the way back to her home as they left together. The rain pattered over his umbrella in a beating rhythm, never changing in the calming rains. "By the way, where are Shoka and Keisha?" Chad asked. He had hoped they didn't leave Niantha behind in the rain; that would've been too cruel. But luckily, that wasn't the case, as Niantha answered. "They left earlier than me. I only stayed behind to finish my homework."
"Oh, but couldn't you do your homework at home? I mean, that's the whole purpose of homework."
"Yes, I could, but I like the mood of the After-School Study Club room. It's the perfect area to do your work in."
Niantha's responses were way too blunt. She was stoic and seemed like she didn't care, but her voice was soothing and ever-gentle. She then gave Chad a question, which Chad didn't expect. "What do you think of Elmira?" she questioned him with a somber tone, still gazing upon the calm weather. He thought about it for a moment, thinking about her introduction and their sparring match. "I honestly don't have any opinions on her so far as we just met today." he said, giving her the most genuine answer he could think of.
"Well, I hope today didn't leave a bad impression on Elmira. Even though she loses her temper quickly, she still has a big heart."
"Oh, don't worry, I never thought of her as a bad person at all, I just thought she was pretty unique!"
"That's good to hear."
Niantha turned her head to the nearby park by the road, saying, "Let's take a quick detour." He brings him to the park bench underneath the big leafy tree, which remains untouched by the rain. With both of them sitting by each other, Chad folds up his umbrella and tucks it away. "President, why do you think Elmira pushes herself so much? She relentlessly trains every day and she wins national combat tournaments hosted by every school district."
"I dunno, all I was told is that she felt obligated to do so."
"That is indeed correct. She feels obligated to become stronger no matter what. After a certain incident, she decided to become strong enough to protect everybody in the After-School Study Club. That's why I have a favor to ask."
Curious about what incident Niantha was speaking about, he asked, but was quickly shot down.
"We can't disclose that; none of us can. All that I can hope for you to do is to always stick with Elmira, no matter what happens. That's the only favor I can ask for, President." She said, giving Chad a somber look.
What an unexpected favor and a quite specific favor as well. Suspiciously, he agreed to the terms. "Okay... but I already agreed to protect you guys till this whole harassment is resolved, I don't understand why ask me this now."
"Well, this issue could be getting more complicated now, and it could turn fatal for all of us. Even though I don't want an innocent bystander like you to get hurt, you're our last resort, President."
Chad smiled, aiming his thumb at himself. "As I said, I'm the strongest."
Sadly looking down, Niantha uttered words that made her appear afflicted with herself. "Strength... huh."
"Hmm? What's with the sad look?"
Her face gloomed with disappointment, out of character from her usual stoic look.
"Elmira is trying so hard to protect us, but maybe that's because I'm so weak. I'll be quite frank, I was born with no magic so the most I could do was use my smarts to ease ourselves through tough situations. The rest of the club members say it's perfectly fine for me to have no powers but in my personal opinion, I'm holding everyone back."
"Then why not use Aura?" Chad recommended. He raised his arm and circulated a white aura around his arm, making it pulsate with a bright light. Niantha was confused about what Chad meant. From what she studied, Aura is considered a basic technique. "Aura? You mean that beginner technique?"
Chad gave a deep groan before standing up. "Geez, do they really make you undermine Aura that much in school? What are they teaching us these days..." Closing his eyes, he covered his body in aura, making a bright glow in the area. "You see, all living organisms have mana circulating inside their body. Aura is simply exerting that mana and controlling it."
Pretty simple science that they learned from school. Niantha was already aware of this information and wasn't impressed by it. She also couldn't understand why the student council president, a prominent figure, was sharing this useless knowledge with her. "Yeah, that is pretty well known, President. Why are you telling me this?" Chad smirked, aiming his arm at a nearby tree. "That's because, when you get to master it at higher levels, you can do some pretty useful stuff." From the palm of his hand, he used all of his charged-up Aura and twirled it into a ball. Then, right after, he shot it at the tree. The makeshift ball made out of aura rippled through the rain, a sight that was uncanny to many. Niantha, was shocked at the sight, viewing as if the ball was moving in slow motion the more she tried to comprehend what just happened. Finally, the ball struck the tree, making a loud thud noise on impact; leaving a huge dent in it as well. As the leaves scattered from the impacted tree, her eyes were fixated on Chad himself. "President... how did you do that?"
"How did I do what?" Chad asked, confused. "You shot out the ball of Aura and made considerable damage to the tree. There's no way Aura should be able to do something like that." Upon hearing this, Chad let out a very amused laugh, so loud that it echoed throughout the park. "President, I'm not laughing here. The general use of Aura control is to amplify magical attacks. Only high-tier students are capable of using Aura as a physical barrier, but not a strong one. How are you able to control it that well where you can shoot it and leave a dent into a tree?"
Chad realized their limits of Aura were vastly different than the common experience fighter. No wonder they thought it was still a basic combat technique, schools weren't teaching it to the best of their abilities. Knowing Niantha has no magic, she should obviously know something important like this.
"Well Niantha, let me give you a brief explanation of Aura then. It appears that common education doesn't go fully in-depth with Aura but it's essential for combat. In the Battle of Synone, magic was commonly used. So users with no magic had to resort to using Aura 24/7 as their only capability to survive."
Niantha's eyes widened at the name. Her face nearly broke with disgust upon hearing it. "The Battle of Synone... one of the most brutal wars in the world which took place 2 years ago. It's estimated that around 3 billion people perished horribly in this war."
"Yes, indeed. In a war this brutal, those straggling non-magic users had to improvise, or else they would've stacked onto the count. That's why they evolved Aura to the point where they could do many things."
"Like in giving it a physical property, just like what you did before?"
"Yes, you could make it so it could physically harm people with Aura. Same with fortifying yourself with Aura, or even increasing your physical attributes. I've seen people stick to walls and jump at super high distances with Aura before! You essentially become as strong or even stronger than magic users."
He charged up Aura in his arm before punching a nearby tree, smashing a hole in it. Turning back to Niantha with a grin, he smiled. "See, ain't it cool!" Turning his head back at the tree, he quickly went into a panic. "O-Oh crap, I just vandalized the tree! Whatever you do don't tell anybody about this Niantha!" he says this but the words don't register for Niantha. She was fully fixated on the potential of what Aura could do.
Listening to what Chad was talking about Aura, her eyes widened. She felt desperate in trying to know this valuable information. A feeling that was so close to being strong, a dream that could be achieved right there at that moment. The countless hours of trying to study ways to get magical abilities, learning martial arts, and even using a variety of weapons like daggers and guns, all felt useless up to that point. The feeling of being left in the dust was something that she struggled to bear with. Seeing her friends collectively improve when all she could do was study for a living; something that she teared up thinking about.
Chad heard something collapse behind him, making him worry something happened to Niantha. He darted his head behind him before witnessing something that surprised him. Niantha was kneeling down and bowing her head, ignoring the muddy dirt floor smudging her clothes and forehead. "President, please... teach me how to use Aura more efficiently." It shocked Chad the most, seeing Niantha who was a calm, stoic student, in this desperate state of character.
"C-Calm down, Niantha, let's not be too hasty here, I'll teach ya' alright? Just don't do this in public it'll make me look bad!" he said, pleading with the desperate girl. She continued though, not stopping no matter how much he asked. It was until their moment was cut out by a random voice.
"Wow, and people call ME weird..." the voice said. It came from within the playground, catching both Niantha and Chad off-guard. As Chad faced the direction of where the voice came from, he was greeted with many pellets of rain darting toward him. Soon, nearing Chad, the rain darts solidified into icy shards.
Niantha quickly raising her head, screamed, "President!"