Chapter Text
Nodoka breathed heavily, clutching her side. That last kick had hurt her more than she might have wanted to admit. Her opponent barely showed a sign of exhaustion.
“You’re good.” The other girl threw a fist towards her and Nodoka barely dodged it. “But not good enough to defeat me.” Nodoka stumbled during her dodge and her opponent made use of that moment with a low sweeping kick to knock her to the ground. “Your defense is lacking.”
Nodoka grit her teeth. “I know!” She lunged forward from the ground, tackling the other girl, but her opponent easily writhed herself out of Nodoka’s grip. Nodoka was forced to get up again, staggering as she held the other girl’s gaze. “But I won’t lose here.”
Her opponent just sighed. “Part of being a good fighter is knowing when to give up. You clearly don’t.” She aimed another kick at Nodoka, throwing her back a good chunk until she finally fell to the ground. “Your legs can’t support you any longer, even if you still want to continue. Come back to me when you’ve gotten stronger.”
Nodoka’s glare fell off her face and she leaned back with a laugh. “Okay, okay! It‘s my loss. But it was fun! You’re so fast!”
“Good to know you’re being amenable about it.” The girl held out her hand to help her up. Nodoka appreciatively accepted it. “I’m Phoenix Kyouko. Come around again when you think you can take me.”
“Yuuki Nodoka.” Nodoka made sure her legs were able to handle her weight before she let go of Kyouko’s hand. “You can bet on it. Next time, I’ll defeat you.”
Kyouko only responded with a laugh. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Yuuki Nodoka: First year, transferred to Eden Academy in May because of a move. Aiming to become the strongest for unknown reasons. Loves fighting, is a fan of honest fights with no cheap tricks or weapons.
Offense: 8/10
Defense: 3/10
Sneaky Tricks: 1/10
Weapon use: 4/10
Phoenix Kyouko: Second year, rarely around in school. Looks fragile but packs a surprising amount of punch. Mysterious. Nodoka’s first opponent at Eden.
Offense: 7/10
Defense: 8/10
Sneaky Tricks: 6/10
Weapon use: 7/10
“Hey there!” A small girl set her lunch tray down next to Nodoka. “You’re the one that fought Kyouko, right? You’re amazing!”
Nodoka didn’t bother swallowing before she replied. “Yeah, she was pretty strong. But I don’t think she’s the strongest around here.” She glanced over the girl next to her. “Why, wanna fight?” She was about to get up and take a stance when the girl hurriedly dragged her back down.
“No, no, no way! I’m not good with my fists! I just wanted to get to know you a little.”
“Oh.” Nodoka shrugged. “I think it’d be easier to get to know each other if we fought. It’s much more honest and open that way, wouldn’t you say?”
“Maybe. I haven’t really tried that yet.”
Nodoka turned to the girl, her eyes gleaming. “Wanna try it? I bet it’ll be fun! There’s ten minutes of break time left, we can easily-”
“I told you I’m not good with my fists. Unless you want to use a bokuto? But they’ll be hard to get, with the club rooms locked.”
Nodoka sighed and leaned back. “I don’t really do weapons. Maybe some other time.”
“Can we still be friends?”
Nodoka eyed the girl’s fried shrimp and stole one. “Sure! I don’t see why not. I’m Nodoka.”
“Shouko.” The girl stole one of Nodoka’s omelettes in return. “Marufuji Shouko.”
Marufuji Shouko: First year, in the same class as Nodoka. Rather unnoticable. Does not seek out fights, but can hold her own if challenged as long as she has something resembling a wooden sword.
Offense: 2/10
Defense: 5/10
Sneaky Tricks: 4/10
Weapon use: 9/10
“So, who are you going to challenge next?” Shouko chewed on her pencil, already having half given up on the math problem in front of her. “I heard Akebi is pretty strong.”
“Who’s that?”
Shouko shrugged and put the pencil down. “Hirona talks about him a lot. I haven’t actually met him yet.”
Nodoka got up. “Then I’ll ask her myself.”
Shouko almost fell out of her chair, as fast as she tried to get up to hold Nodoka back. “Are you crazy? Just because we have self-study right now doesn’t mean you can just walk into other classrooms like that! What if they don’t have self-study?”
Nodoka looked at Shouko’s pleading eyes. They reminded her of a hamster, somehow. “Fine.” She sighed. “I’ll wait until after school.”
Hirona was happy to lead them to Akebi, anything to watch him training in his club after school. A sharp noise cut through the air and ended with a thud. The noise kept repeating and grew louder the closer they got. Nodoka began to make out the yells of the club instructor.
“Release!” Shff. Thwock. “Release!” Shff. Thwock. “Gather!” Silence, footsteps and some congratulatory murmurs. Hirona opened the door to the club grounds and solved the mystery. People in traditional clothes were milling around, gathering arrows from targets and the grass next to them. She watched the whole thing for a bit, then turned to Hirona and Shouko.
“This is cool and all, but I can’t really fight arrows with fists.”
“I guess.” Shouko watched the club members gather back at the shooting line. “I’m sorry. I just thought, since he’s really strong and all…”
Nodoka pondered the idea of fighting against someone with a bow and arrows. She could try catching the arrows in the air and train her dodging reflexes against them while slowly coming closer to the person shooting. Hirona elbowed her in the side.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking but I can tell from your face it’s something stupid. Don’t.”
Misawa Hirona: A friend of Shouko. Nodoka hung out with her a few times, but doesn’t know her that well yet. She considers her a friend, but still wants to exchange blows at some point.
Offense: 6/10
Defense: 7/10
Sneaky tricks: 6/10
Weapon use: 5/10
“Are you sure you can’t fire arrows at me? I really wanna try catching them with my hands.” Nodoka chewed her third helping of curry.
Akebi pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t care how often you ask, the answer will still be no, you know. I will not shoot arrows at you. Or anyone else, for that matter. It’s a taboo in kyuudou. Or any type of archery, really.”
“Not even with blunt arrows?”
“Just because they’re blunt doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous! No means no.”
Nodoka waved her spoon around. “Then what’s the point of even learning archery if you don’t get to use it in a fight?”
“It helps me focus. Especially before exams. Everything around me slows down and I’m able to focus on the problem at hand, be it mathematics or needing to find my way around a new place.”
“Hmmm.” Nodoka debated stealing part of Akebi’s lunch. “Maybe I should try it.”
A brief look of horror flashed through Akebi’s eyes. “Please promise me you never will.”
“What? But you just said it’s super useful!”
“You’d only hurt yourself. Just stick with using your fists, please.”
“I guess…”
Akebi sighed. “You know what? If you want to fight someone strong so badly, I can introduce someone to you.”
Nodoka visibly perked up. “Oh? Who? Are they free now? There’s still five minutes of lunch br-”
“She’s not free.” Akebi interrupted her. “Just wait until school is over, okay? You cannot fight someone in the last five minutes of lunch break.”
“What do you mean? I’ve done it before. It was a good fight, and we even had a minute to spare.”
“Just because you’re strong doesn’t mean everyone can be defeated within five minutes, Nodoka. There’s always people stronger than you.”
Nodoka shrugged. “So far, I’ve only met one person stronger than me around here.”
“Trust me.” Akebi put down his chopsticks. “My sister is stronger than you think.”
Tenjouin Akebi: Hirona’s not so secret crush. Nodoka is still trying to persuade him to have an arrows against fists battle. Luckily for her, Akebi has a few more brain cells to not agree to it.
Offense: 6/10
Defense: 7/10
Sneaky tricks: 4/10
Weapon use: 10/10
“So you’re the one going around challenging everyone you can see.” The girl in front of her crossed her arms and looked her up and down.
Nodoka laughed and bounced from leg to leg to warm herself up. “That’s one way to describe it.”
“And you want to fight me as well?”
Nodoka lowered herself into a fighting stance. “Obviously. Akebi told me you were pretty strong.”
“I suppose I can take you on then.”
Nodoka grinned. “That’s what I wanted to hear.” She pounced.
Furea dodged her initial strike, but got hit by Nodoka’s other fist, a punch strong enough to make her briefly choke. She returned the favour with a kick between Nodoka’s legs, making her keel over and stumble back.
“You know, guys aren’t the only one vulnerable there. It just hurts them more.”
“I noticed.” Despite the pain, Nodoka’s smile didn’t waver. She lunged again, a good punch to the gut, followed by a low kick in the shins. Unluckily for her, Furea managed to dodge both, at least partially, so what should have been a powerful combo only grazed her. Nodoka barely managed to escape her counterattack, a strong upwards hook aimed at her jaw.
“Not bad.” Furea settled back, giving Nodoka a short breather. “But you have to do better!” She lunged for her and this time Nodoka didn’t manage to dodge. A painful blow hit her square in the shoulder, shooting pain through the rest of her arm. Furea was good. Not as fast as Kyouko, but her punches were stronger than Kyouko’s. Must have been the size difference. Nodoka shook her arm, trying to get rid of the numbing effect of the pain. She needed both arms for this fight.
Furea lunged again. Nodoka jumped back and bent back to avoid another blow to the jaw, barely keeping her balance. What Furea didn’t have in speed she made up in continuous attacks. Nodoka took another jump back and stabilised herself before she took the opportunity to launch an attack of her own, a spin kick aimed at Furea’s waist. It connected and Furea coughed, stumbling a little.
“Gotcha! Don’t take me too lightly.”
Despite it all, Furea grinned. “That should be my line.” She kicked high, aiming for Nodoka’s jaw as usual, and, unluckily, hitting exactly where she had been aiming at. Nodoka crumpled to the ground.
“You’re good.” Furea crouched down in front of her. “But not good enough.”
Nodoka rubbed her jaw, a little dirt from Furea’s shoes coming off of it. “I guess that makes you the second person I’ll have to seek out again when I’m stronger.”
Furea blinked, then threw her head back and laughed. “I can see why you’re so notorious among the first years. Good luck working your way up through each year. I’ll fight you again when the time comes.”
Tenjouin Furea: Second year. Despite assumptions others may have, she resembles Akebi in many ways. Her choice of fists balances out Akebi’s choice of far ranged weapons. If the two ever had to battle on a grand scale, they’d be almost unbeatable together.
Offense: 8/10
Defense: 8/10
Sneaky tricks: 6/10
Weapon use: 2/10
“Well? Will you shut up about arrows now?” Akebi sat next to Nodoka as she got patched up in the nurse’s office.
“Maybe for a little while.” Nodoka grinned. “Your sister’s strong! I want to fight her again soon!”
“Idiot.” Akebi gently knocked against Nodoka’s forehead. “You’re lucky she went easy on you. Usually she beats her opponents until they can’t move. I guess she took a liking to you.”
Nodoka took the ice pack the nurse handed her and held it against her jaw. “She didn’t seem that brutal to me.”
“It’s mostly her opponents being overwhelmed by her strength that leaves them unable to move.”
Nodoka and Akebi turned towards the source of the new voice. A tall girl leaned against the doorframe of the nurse’s office, arms crossed.
“Considering that, you did pretty well. Not well enough, but pretty well.”
“Akie.” Akebi got up, putting himself between Nodoka and the new girl. “What do you want?”
“Just checking out Furea’s latest challenge. She spoke pretty highly of her. Said she had potential.” She leaned to the side to see past Akebi. “And considering how well you received your damage, she might be right. That’s almost light, considering what Furea could have done.”
“Nodoka isn’t in a state to fight you yet. She needs time to recover.”
“I don’t!” Nodoka protested, but Akebi ignored her. “I could fight her right now!”
“You can’t fight Akie right now.” Akebi glanced at Nodoka, then back at Akie. “Unless you favour broken bones.”
Akie snorted. “Fine. Since you’re so adamant about it, I’ll wait.” She checked her watch. “I wouldn’t have the time for a fight anyway. I got a date lined up and while I’m sure I can finish you before it starts, I want to avoid bruises.”
Only when she left did Akebi relax. “Nodoka. Please promise me you’ll wait to fight Akie. At least until next week. Okay?”
She considered it. “Only if you-”
“For the last time, I won’t shoot arrows at you!”
Nodoka grinned. “You got me.”
Marufuji Akie: Little is known about her. Akebi seems wary of her. Seems a bit haughty. Gets along well with Furea.
Offense: ?/10
Defense: ?/10
Sneaky tricks: ?/10
Weapon use: ?/10