Chapter 84: Two Days To Go
Two days until the Monthly Ranking Test.
Aegis ducked under Scarlett’s swing, the practice sword whistling past her ear. She rolled left, came up on one knee, and immediately had to throw herself backward as Scarlett’s follow-up nearly took her head off.
"You’re getting faster!" Scarlett grinned, spinning her sword like it weighed nothing. "Still slow as shit, but faster!"
"Thanks for the pep talk." Aegis wiped sweat from her eyes. "Really feeling the support."
They circled each other in the training courtyard.
The afternoon sun made everything too bright and too hot. Aegis’s uniform stuck to her back, her hair plastered to her forehead. Scarlett somehow looked fresh, like she’d just stepped out of the bath instead of spending the last hour trying to beat Aegis into paste.
Off to the side, Sophie sat cross-legged on a bench, cheering every time Aegis didn’t immediately die. Beside her, her friend Vera slouched, looking extremely casual, her black hair falling over those green eyes of hers. Lune had set up her easel nearby, painting what was probably Aegis getting her ass kicked.
"Your footwork’s still garbage," Scarlett said, feinting left before driving right.
Aegis barely got her sword up in time. The impact rattled her teeth.
"My footwork’s fine!"
"Your footwork looks like a drunk toddler trying to tap dance."
"That’s... oddly specific."
"I’ve seen drunk toddlers. They move better than you."
Aegis activated Aether Step, blinking three meters to Scarlett’s left. Her sword came around in what should have been a perfect strike, except Scarlett was already moving, already blocking, already grinning like she’d expected it.
"Predictable," Scarlett said.
Their swords locked. Scarlett’s muscles bunched, and suddenly Aegis was airborne, thrown to the sun by pure physical strength.
She hit the ground hard, rolled twice, and came up spitting dirt.
"Big sis!" Sophie called. "Use the secret technique!"
"What secret technique?" Vera muttered.
"The one where she seduces her opponent mid-fight!"
[She’s going to be the death of me.]
"Well well well."
The voice made Aegis’s spine lock up.
She turned to see Kai’Lin and Mei’Lin Summerfang standing at the courtyard entrance, tails swinging side to side in perfect sync.
"Mind if we join, nya?" Kai’Lin asked, though she was already walking forward.
"The more the merrier," Scarlett said before Aegis could object. "You two any good?"
"We’re adequate," Mei’Lin purred, her chest bouncing with each step.
Immediately, Aegis realized what was happening.
[They want to kill me.]
There may have been a more innocent explanation but that was all Aegis could think of at the moment. The way Kai’Lin sized her up, the way Mei’Lin was smirking as if the plan was a guaranteed success. It all definitely lined up with the two girlfailure dorks Aegis knew from the game.
Her HUD shimmered into existence, text floating in her peripheral vision like a helpful ghost with terrible timing.
Dialogue Choice
1. "Actually, we were just finishing up..." [Deflect]
2. "Sure, but let’s set some ground rules first." [Diplomatic]
3. "Only if you can handle getting your asses kicked by a commoner." [Aggressive]
4. "Trying to kill me during practice? How unimaginative. At least make it interesting." [Special]
Aegis stretched, arching her back until her spine popped like bubble wrap. Both twins tracked the movement with the intensity of cats watching a laser pointer.
"Trying to kill me during practice?" She examined her nails. "How unimaginative. At least make it interesting."
Kai’Lin’s tail stopped mid-swing.
"What are you implying, nya?"
"Oh, nothing. Just that you’ve been planning this for what, three days? The timing, waiting until I’m exhausted, the positioning—one of you drawing Scarlett’s attention while the other gets behind me. It’s adorable. Like watching kittens try to hunt."
Mei’Lin’s smile didn’t change but her grip on the practice sword shifted. Just a tiny adjustment. The kind of movement that preceded someone getting their kidneys rearranged.
"Those are serious accusations, nya," Mei’Lin said.
"They’re not accusations if they’re true. Also, your tail’s giving you away."
Both twins’ tails went rigid.
"Our tails don’t—"
"Mei’Lin, yours curves left when you’re about to attack from the right. Kai’Lin, yours goes straight up like an exclamation point when you’re excited about violence." Aegis picked up her practice sword, testing its weight. "You might as well be wearing signs that say ’We’re About To Commit Murder.’"
Kai’Lin moved.
She was fast. Her sword came in low, aiming for that sweet spot between ribs where all the important organs lived, while Mei’Lin circled right.
[Oh shit they’re actually good.]
Aegis activated Aether Step, blinking backward just as Kai’Lin’s sword passed through where her liver had been. But Mei’Lin was already there, already swinging.
[Double shit!]
Aegis threw herself sideways. She hit the ground wrong, rolled worse, and came up just in time to see Kai’Lin’s sword descending toward her skull.
Metal met metal with a sound that made everyone’s teeth hurt.
"Not bad for a commoner, nya." Kai’Lin pressed down harder.
"Not bad for someone whose tail looks like it got caught in a blender."
Kai’Lin’s eye twitched.
Aegis shoved back, created an inch of space, then had to immediately duck as Mei’Lin tried to take her head off at neck level. She spun, parried, stumbled backward, and nearly ate dirt avoiding Kai’Lin’s follow-up.
[They’re actually trying to kill me. Like, for real kill me.]
"Your form needs work," Mei’Lin observed, her next strike forcing Aegis to fold herself in half to avoid it.
"Your face needs work!"
"That’s not even creative, nya."
"Your mom’s not creative!"
Sophie stood up on the bench.
"Hey! Cat bitches!"
Both twins paused mid-swing.
"My sister’s cock could satisfy both of you at once and still have energy left over for your mothers!"
The courtyard went silent.
[... What?]
"That’s..." Kai’Lin’s mouth opened and closed. "That’s not relevant to the ongoing situation, nya."
"Sophie," Aegis said through gritted teeth, currently holding off both twins’ swords, "please stop helping."
"I’m providing psychological warfare!"
"You’re providing future blackmail material!"
Vera actually laughed. Not a snort or a chuckle, but an actual laugh.
Aegis got back to work, though. Her Aether Whip materialized, wrapping around Mei’Lin’s ankle. One yank and the white-haired twin went down hard.
Kai’Lin snarled and came at Aegis with pure fury. But fury made people stupid. It made them telegraph their moves.
Aegis sidestepped, stuck out a foot, and watched physics do its thing.
Kai’Lin tripped over Mei’Lin, who was still trying to get up. They went down in a tangle of limbs. Their tails somehow wrapped around each other.
"Stop moving!" Mei’Lin hissed.
"You stop moving!"
"I’m not—OW! That’s attached to me!"
"Everything’s attached to you, nya!"
"That doesn’t even make sense!"
Sophie walked over and peered down at them.
"Wow. For assassins, you really suck at this."
"We’re not assassins," Mei’Lin said, still trying to figure out whose tail was whose.
"We’re mercenaries, nya," Kai’Lin added. "Totally different profession."
"Mercenaries who were trying to murder my sister."
"Only a little bit!"
Aegis watched them finally manage to stand, both bright red from their ears to their collarbones. Their tails were still slightly tangled, forcing them to stand uncomfortably close.
"So," she said, twirling her practice sword, "we done with the murder attempts? Or should I schedule you in for tomorrow?"
The twins looked at each other. Some complex conversation passed between them consisting entirely of ear twitches and tail movements.
"We’re done," Mei’Lin said finally.
"For nyaow," Kai’Lin added quickly with a murderous glare.
"But only because you fight dirty!"
"All fighting is dirty," Scarlett chimed in. "Otherwise it’s just aggressive hugging."
Soon, the twins disappeared around a corner.
Scarlett picked up her practice sword.
"Want to keep going? Now that the assassination attempts are over?"
Aegis looked at her sword. Then at Scarlett. Then at the sun.
"You know what? Sure. But if anyone else tries to murder me today, I’m filing a complaint with the dean."
"Fair."
They squared up again. This time Aegis was ready for Scarlett’s patterns, could see the telegraph in her shoulders before she—
Scarlett’s fist connected with Aegis’s stomach.
She folded.
"Lesson one," Scarlett said, standing over her. "Stop watching shoulders. Watch hips."
"I thought... we were... using swords..."
"Swords are just long metal fists."
"That’s not... how weapons... work..."
"It is when I use them."
---
The walk back to the dorms felt longer than usual. Aegis’s entire body was one giant bruise.
Scarlett had gone off to shower. Sophie bounced alongside them, powered by whatever sustained younger siblings. Vera walked beside her. Lune carried her painting supplies while somehow managing to sketch in a small notebook at the same time.
"Your ribs are showing interesting colors," Lune observed.
"Those are bruises."
"I know. The purple really complements the yellow."
"Thanks. I was going for an autumn kinda palette."
They rounded the corner toward the dormitory entrance.
Serilla Frost leaned against the wall. Pink hair spilled over one shoulder. Her uniform was unbuttoned just enough to be interesting.
She was talking to some noble Aegis didn’t recognize, but her eyes—
Her eyes were locked on Aegis.
Not a glance. Not a quick look. Full eye contact.
[Why is she looking at me like that?]
"—and that’s when I told him that if he wanted to see flexibility, he should watch me in combat class," Serilla was saying to the noble, but her eyes never left Aegis’s face.
The noble laughed. Serilla smiled. Her tongue ran across her lower lip.
They walked past. Aegis could feel Serilla’s gaze following her. The sensation continued all the way up the stairs, down the hall, right until Aegis’s door closed behind them.
"Well, that was something," Aegis said, already pulling off her destroyed uniform. "I need a bath. Or an exorcism. Maybe both."
Sophie flopped onto Lune’s bed without asking.
"So what’s her deal? Serilla, was it?"
"I dunno."
"She wants to fuck you."
"Sophie!"
"What? She does! Did you see how she was looking at you?"
Vera nodded.
"Sophie’s kinda right. That was definitely ’I want to do unspeakable things to your ass’ eyes."
Aegis just shrugged.
[Probably trying to get in my head. Might make it easier for her to deal with Talia if she can throw me off balance.]
In any case, Serilla wasn’t going to occupy too much space in Aegis’s mind.
Aegis peeled off her shirt, wincing as the fabric caught on dried sweat. Her reflection in the mirror looked bad.
"I’m taking that bath now."
"Want company?" Sophie asked innocently.
"No."
"But we used to—"
"No."
"Fine! Geez. No fun."