At this point, the brute in front of me had no awareness of the people around us, not the handful of educators approaching or the gathered seniors who shouted and screamed in delight. His eyes burned a bloodthirsty glare as he raised a fist at me.
"This is what I'm talking about!"
"I love the first-years man, they never disappoint!"
Is this what all those people were waiting around for, did they know a fight would break out? This has gotten a bit out of hand, maybe I should wrap this up.
I sharpened my stare, "If you don't stand down, I'll have to hit you back."
The giant of a man stepped closer in silent fury, the rage only built in his eyes. Clearly, there was nothing I could say that would stop him. He charged into a full sprint and drove another punch my way but this one didn't come close to me. I tucked under his arm and weaved through his attack like a snake.
Dodge, weave and step out of the line of attack. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I was a fighter but I'd gotten into enough arguments at my old school to know how to defend myself. Barely, but with my body moving better than ever, it felt kind of easy. I could clearly see his movements and stepped accordingly. His frustrated glower spread across his face into a murderous expression as I effortlessly dodged around him.
I thought he seemed a little excited but I guess it was for nothing, he's barely able to keep up with me. Too bad for him, my body's always been a little faster than most. But today...I feel so much lighter on my feet!
Heavy breaths escaped his mouth as the relentless flurry of punches finally stopped. He glanced over his shoulder at the white-haired princess and his entire demeanour shifted into nervous shaking. The woman he revered more than life itself barely looked at him, she seemed more interested in my side of the fight if anything.
"You're… making me look like a fool… in front of the princess? So that's your aim." He muttered.
"Wait, are you blaming me for this?"
"You… Screw holding back, I'll just fuckin' kill you."
A light glint of red resonated from his arms as metal appeared around them in a flash of lights. Both his hands and forearms were suddenly wrapped up in a dark red metal, decorated with spikes and black rings. His fingers flexed towards me as if signalling that he'd use them to crush me in his palms.
"This is my weapon, Skull Crusher. With this, I'll redeem myself to the princess. So make it easier on yourself and hold still!" He charged ahead without a second to reply.
I pulled away but he moved a lot quicker than before, by the time I turned, he had already closed the gap.
He's using his magical weapon against me?! He's going all out, I've gotta avoid that at all cost. I shifted my weight to the side when a flutter of faint green hair caught my eye. A person had thrown themselves between us. Shit, there's no time to get her out of there–
An immense burst of pressure landed against my open palm as I thrust my hand towards his gauntlet. The impact shook me to my core, to the point where I nearly threw up but somehow, I remained standing. With my free hand, I grabbed the woman and held her to my chest so she wouldn't be caught in the blast. The ground around us shook slightly as dust rose and pebbles danced between my feet.
Once the cloud around us settled, the cacophony of screams and cheers dulled to silence.
It's a good thing I made it in time, she nearly got her head blown off. Damn… looks like my shirts ripped a bit. I tried my best to not stand out on the first day but I guess that ship sailed long ago.
"You saw that, right..?"
"Yeah, he stopped that other kid's weapon with just his hand. It must have been a weak attack, right? Everyone knows a first-year can't control their strength very well."
"Yeah…that must be it!"
The students grew rowdy again as one by one they whispered amongst themselves. Not that I heard much of it, I was too busy with the two people in front of me.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? Why'd you jump in the middle of that?" I lowered my gaze to speak to her but she already had her eyes locked on me, almost like in a trance. "Uhm…are you okay?"
"Thanks to you I am! Sorry to be so reckless but I can't stand to see classmates fighting one another." She pulled away from me and dusted herself off. Her buttoned white shirt was covered with marks but after a few taps, returned to its pristine appearance. It was only then that I noticed she wasn't dressed like the other girls, not even the seniors wore a skirt like that or such a formal blouse. "I'm glad to have such rowdy students but I hope in the future you'll restrain yourselves a bit more, okay?" She winked.
"Students?!"
The mysterious woman flicked loose strands of her emerald hair that just barely touched her shoulder, all the while she displayed a bright smile.
"That's right, my name is Iris Amanae and I'm a teacher here at Kishi Academy. But you kids can call me, Ms. Iris!" She said quite proudly. Her attention shifted to the brute, "I'm sure you're already aware but it's a violation of the rules to draw your magical weapons on school grounds without proper clearance to do so." Feeling satisfied with his reaction, she looked up to one of the school's many balconies where the seniors were watching, "You all should know better than to egg them on like that!" She pouted.
"Sorry teach'!" The seniors grinned.
The brute stood up, there was a slight stagger in his step but he managed nonetheless, "Tch! I don't have time for this." He scoffed and walked off but stopped in his tracks once the group he was originally, left without him. His hands quivered as the princess stared past him as if he never existed. "Princess…?" He dropped to his knees defeated.
"The princess doesn't have time for weaklings." One of the girls muttered before leaving as well.
So that's the woman he was fighting for? I hardly see the appeal… I feel kind of bad now, should I say something?
"Uhm, you're the boy from before, aren't you?" A feathery voice asked.
I turned around to the soft head of hazel hair and blue eyes that peered towards me. Her hopeful expression was only amplified by her creased expression. "The boy who saved me before, that was you, right? The officer I spoke to didn't give me your name so I'm not sure but I couldn't forget your face."
A weight lifted from my body as she went on to talk with a cheerful grin.
What was I worried about? I'm glad to see she's alright, I was honestly pretty worried that she'd never want to see me after what happened. I focused on her face a bit more. Suddenly she became red in the face and her mouth hung open, almost as if she had lost the words before they could leave her mouth. She doesn't seem traumatised by it but she's acting a little weird. Is she embarrassed that I suddenly brought it up?
"I-I uh…" She muttered softly. She shook her head from side to side and seemed to regain her composure again. "I'm really glad to see we're in the same school, although, I can't say I'm surprised after what happened. You were incredible!" Her eyes brimmed with an intense amazement that suddenly threw me off my guard. "I'm surprised you have the energy to be getting into fights again after the other day." She looked at me, still amazed.
"No way, I wasn't picking fights with anyone! He started with me and well, it just sort of turned out that way. Also, I'm not all that tough either, I never knew I had knight abilities before that moment after all." I scratched my cheek and forced a smile.
"You're kidding, right?!" Her eyes widened. "So you jumped in there against another knight without having any powers just to save someone you didn't know?" Doubt hid in her words.
"Well, I guess…I mean, it seemed like the right thing to do. I'm sure if I didn't, someone else would have." I averted my eyes, too embarrassed by her intense stare.
She seemed pleased with that answer, her face turned a deeper shade of red and pink and smiled softly. "Yeah…"
This girl…I guess she's one of those goofball types. Still, I had no idea she was a knight to begin with. She never showed any signs of abilities in the incident before. Maybe she was just hiding her abilities? It's not really my place to find out, I've only just met this person.
I opened my mouth to ask but was interrupted by a sudden wave from our teacher, Miss Iris. She cupped her hands over her mouth as she addressed the entire courtyard of people gathered, "I think we've had enough time outside for now, everybody head into the hall, please!"
Everyone followed her commands reluctantly, surprisingly the seniors were the first to move. They seemed to respect her a great deal, not that I could tell why. Well she seemed nice enough so I decided to follow along.
"Should we go ahead, it looks pretty important?" The girl poked at my arm. "What's your name by the way?"
"I'm Shin, and yours?" I held out a hand nervously and she took it without hesitation.
"I'm Sarin Onishi, I hope we can be good friends!" She grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the hall entrance.