Despite her rather adamant behavior, Tess's eyes widen in surprise, staring back at Rain blankly for a moment. He maintains a calm, serious expression, waiting patiently. Eventually, she speaks, her tone becoming hopeful.
"You're...really going to tell me? You're sure?"
Rain can't help but roll his eyes at the ironic change in pace in the conversation.
"Yes...I'm sure, if you're still sure that you want to know?"
After another moment of blank staring, Tess's expression suddenly warps into an excited smile, and she leans forward, pressing herself against Rain as she kisses him affectionately. He squeaks slightly as her lips are unexpectedly pressed against his, and he feels the familiar dizziness of being entangled with her like this.
After several seconds, she breaks away from him breathlessly, her expression betraying deep satisfaction, her eyes scanning over him with an intense warmth. Her voice comes out excitedly, laced with a mix of relief and gratitude.
"Yes, I'm sure! Okay...uhm...but me first, okay? Show me how to bring you into my Soul Temple before you tell me everything...I still haven't told you about my own Quirk. I want you to know that I'm willing to put just as much trust in you."
He watches her bright green eyes study him earnestly...affectionately, no trace of doubt in her expression. Despite himself, Rain smiles in amusement. He's more than a little touched by the display, and his tone becomes...appreciative.
"Thanks, Tess...really. But uhm...do you mind if we wait a few days, just until we're done with the tournament? I'd rather not do this tonight, with everything else going on."
He expects her to call him a dumbass, or accuse him of being a tease, or otherwise complain about him saying that he'd tell her and then not doing it right away. Instead, she just smiles encouragingly and nods. Without another word, Tess lays down on top of him again. She buries her face in his neck, wrapping her arms around his chest, and she lets out a deep, satisfied sigh.
After a moment, she speaks softly into his ear, her voice warm and sympathetic.
"Waiting a few days for something this important is fine, Rain...I don't mind at all."
Pleasantly surprised, Rain sits in silence for several moments, contemplating how to respond. But, he can't think of anything meaningful to say in response. In the end, he just hugs her affectionately, giving her small frame an appreciative squeeze.
Eventually, they both drift off to sleep.
*****
Two days later, Rain is sitting in the stands of the amphitheater, watching as the next two combatants don their tournament weapons and Talent monitors. He feels a particular level of excitement over the next match – apprehension, too – because the students about to face off...are none other than Tess and Ronin.
Yesterday's round two of the tournament went well for him and his friends, with everyone winning their matches.
He had his first Daemon Bloodline opponent, which was thankfully still not a Legacy. The student used a more careful, speed-based attack strategy than his first opponent, and he had some difficulty landing attacks on her. However, he eventually prevailed by waiting for her blade to find him, and locking their weapons together so she couldn't evade right away. Then, he delivered a savage, full-strength kick to her side, sending her from the ring.
Tess also had some trouble, but similarly prevailed, while Nik breezed through his fight rather easily. Ronin's match was just as seemingly bland as her first...she matched her opponent for most of the time-limit, then seemed to gain a slight advantage in the end and prevail in a matter of seconds. Rain's now certain that her performances are deliberate – goal-oriented – but he's unsure of what Ronin hopes to gain.
Today, Nik has already competed in his third round match, which he again won easily, while Rain's is later in the day. He's sure this one will be his toughest match yet, because his opponent...is one of the Legacies. He asked Nik about the guy he'll be facing, and Nik mentioned that he wasn't anyone exceptional by Legacy standards...just a guy from a minor clan. Nik even told Rain that he stands a chance of beating the Legacy...though only a chance.
Suddenly pulled from his reflection by a commotion below him, Rain notices that Tess and Ronin are now taking up opposite positions in the ring. He lets out a long sigh, trying to calm his nerves. When the two girls found out for sure yesterday evening that they'd be facing off, they reacted quite differently during their evening meetings with Rain.
Ronin mostly made no mention of it...business as usual in their sparring. Ronin did say offhand that Tess might be the most singleminded fighter she's seen at the Academy, even if she falls short of others in skill, and that those are the people to be most wary of in combat. Then, Ronin didn't say anything else.
Tess, who'd already seen Ronin's monstrous score from the qualifiers, asked Rain if he thought she stood any chance of beating Ronin. He'd been a little thrown by the blunt question, and hesitant to answer at first, but eventually he told her the truth. He doubts that any student at the Academy can take Ronin one-on-one if she's serious, but if anyone is going to undermine his expectations, he's sure it'd be Tess.
She seemed a bit troubled by his assessment, but eventually he just saw the familiar determination sparkling in her emerald eyes, and she dropped the subject with a smile and a joke about not wanting to discuss other women anymore.
A sharp whistle snaps Rain's attention back to the ring, where he sees Tess already launching herself at Ronin, her spear pointed forward, her eyes cold and intensely focused. As in her previous matches, Ronin calmly deflects the opener with her sword, keeping a comfortable distance between the two of them.
However, that only seems to incite Tess to even more aggressive tactics. He sees her face frown in disapproval, then her spear strikes suddenly triple in speed and frequency, collapsing into a endless cacophony of clashes between their training weapons.
For several minutes, Tess continues with her all-or-nothing strategy, until Rain can see the strain in her expression, the profuse sweating on her face. But still, she won't relent with her assault, continuously trying to reduce the space between her and Ronin, giving neither of them time to rest or strategize.
At first, it just seems like senseless, unrestrained aggression to Rain...a desperate attempt by Tess to try and overwhelm Ronin quickly by getting just one lucky strike to slip through her defenses. However, as time goes on without Tess landing a successful hit, he notices that her expression doesn't seem the least bit frustrated, nor does she appear to change tactics. Then, he realizes what Tess's actual goal is, and his eyes widen in surprise.
'She's not trying to actually beat Ronin...she just wants to run down the clock...'
If Tess can survive all fifteen minutes, remaining the primary aggressor, she'll be awarded a technical victory. This insane pace of spear thrusts that she's been maintaining since the start of the match is effectively just to pin Ronin down.
Rain watches in awe as the countdown timer on the match falls below two minutes. He studies Tess, noting how much the exertion has taken a toll on her. Now, her breathing is heavily labored, her complexion dangerously pale, and her hair is completely matted to her forehead and neck with sweat. She's gritting her teeth fiercely, and she looks like she could collapse at any second.
And yet, her spear doesn't falter.
As the match time continues to fall to only ninety seconds left, he finally sees a change in Ronin...the same subtle shift he's seen two other times now, when she's ready to turn the tables on her opponent. Suddenly, Ronin unleashes a burst of speed that allows an extra strike to find its way between Tess's spear thrusts, whereas before she had been barely matching Tess's pace of blows with deflections of her own.
Seeing the drastic change in Ronin, Rain can't help but feel a rush of sympathy for Tess as
Ronin's blade moves towards her. She put up a great fight, but...she had no way of knowing what she was really up against. Ronin's been holding back, after all, and it didn't feel like his place to warn her of that.
As Ronin's swift strike closes in on Tess, however, Rain's expectations are undermined...by Tess. She suddenly flicks the wrist supporting the back end of her spear, using the shaft of her weapon to deflect Ronin's attack just enough to miss. Then...all hell breaks loose.
To his shock, a grim smile appears on Tess's face, and her terrifying barrage of spear attacks spikes in one last burst of ferocity. If her pace was relentlessly determined before, now it's downright manic...any semblance of calm obliterated.
Under the terrifying barrage of attacks, Ronin is forced to escalate her own speed and precision to deflect the innumerable spear strikes. He watches in fascination as she turns into a blur of white fabric, blonde swirling hair, and dark black sword strikes, masterfully countering every one of Tess's attacks.
However, though she makes several attempts at further blitz strikes between Tess's spear thrusts, Tess just increases her pace every time to shut Ronin down, refusing to falter for even a moment. The sight leaves Rain's mouth agape, as he watches the match timer fall to only thirty seconds.
Barely believing his eyes, he turns to study Ronin. Throughout all of her matches so far, including this one, she's never had anything except a calm, stoic expression. As he watches her now, though, he finally sees that trend break...her lips twisting into a subtle frown.
'Is she...struggling? Could Tess actually win?'
The crowd around him seems similarly transfixed, shocked whispers rising to meet his ears. They'd already been impressed with Tess's display so far, whose primary reputation revolves around her looks and Talent, but overwhelming Fated Blade's daughter is another matter entirely.
A seed of hope begins to take hold in his chest as he roots for Tess.
In the next moment, though, he more senses than sees a qualitative change in Ronin. The tournament so far, her fighting style has felt unnatural to him...performative, even. It's been nothing like what he's experienced in their own sparring matches. Now, though, he feels the fluidity and severity of her sword strikes transitioning into a familiar pattern. At the same time, he sees her eyes narrow menacingly, and the tension in her posture turn more aggressive.
In a flash, the entire flow of the battle changes. Instead of trying to slash at Tess between spear thrusts or create distance, she uses the next gap in Tess's attacks to throw herself directly into them. Tess seems startled by the change in tactics, quickly concentrating and shortening her spear thrusts to try and drive Ronin back.
However, Ronin doesn't balk.
Instead, the blonde menace presses directly into Tess's attacks, using the base of her sword to dexterously deflect Tess's spear tip just enough to avoid a devastating attack, and allowing anything else to berate her limbs with glancing blows. Before Tess can even register the insane recklessness being employed, Ronin almost materialize in front of her, as Tess's spear is pushed slightly to the side by Ronin's sword.
Then, as Ronin's cold blue eyes stare evenly at the exhausted and temporarily unguarded Tess, Rain registers Ronin's now free hand crash into Tess's chest in a brutal blow, causing her emerald eyes to go wide in shock. In an instant, Tess is thrown across the ring like a doll, sliding several meters before passing out of the boundary of the ring...then lying still.
Concerned about the severity of the blow, Rain freezes for a split second. But he soon sees Tess's chest rising and falling, and her eyes fluttering open weakly, and he breathes a sigh of relief. Then, a sharp whistle pierces the air in the deathly silent room, signaling the end of the match.
Ronin has won by ring-out.
As the crowd erupts in cheers, Rain tears his gaze from Tess and notes that the match timer has stopped at only four seconds remaining. He turns to study Ronin, but she's just standing in the ring, staring after Tess with that same frown on her face from before.
Instead of turning and swiftly exiting the ring as she has before, Ronin purposefully walks across the ring to where Tess is lying on the floor, leaving Rain watching in confusion. Then, to his shock, Ronin bends down and scoops Tess up in her arms, calling over her shoulder to the similarly befuddled professors acting as judges. Her tone comes out firm...not inquiring.
"She'll be fine, but I'm taking her to the infirmary to rest. I will return our Talent monitors after she's settled."
Then, without waiting for a response, Ronin leaves the amphitheater abruptly, carrying a weak but bewildered-looking Tess with her.