POV: Aria Akari
~ One Hour Prior ~
With the evening approaching, I began changing into a more comfortable set of clothes, consisting of a burgundy windbreaker, black leggings and white running shoes as Sarah laid on my bed in an unusual position, scrolling mindlessly on her phone with her legs raised against the wall until she noticed me getting dressed.
"Are you going to the gym?" Sarah asked curiously as I shook my head."
"No, I'm actually about to spar with Rai today. He made a deal saying that if I was able to land an effective attack on him, then he'll be my sparring partner in order to prepare me for the final exam, but don't you think he's underestimating me? Surely there's no way that I won't be able to land a single attack on him, right?" I asked with a confident grin until I noticed Sarah narrowing her eyes in concern.
"Aria, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think he's underestimating you." Sarah answered amidst me putting my hair into a ponytail as I was surprised, yet somewhat annoyed from her unexpected response.
"Are you serious, Sarah? Rai gave me a three hour time limit, which means that within three hours, all I have to do is land a single effective attack on him and yet, you really believe that within that time, I won't be able to land an attack on him?" I questioned as Sarah sighed, rolling backwards into a sitting position as she turned to face me.
"You're strong, Aria. Very strong for your age. That fact is undeniable, but Rai isn't like us. He's different."
"He's well-versed in terms of combat and I'm sure you've seen his body, which is covered with scars that a teenager our age shouldn't even have. Do you remember his expression when Wrath appeared before us?" Sarah asked as I listened intently.
"Rai wasn't even fazed. Even Arthur, who is usually childish and carefree in most situations was serious, not to mention, we don't even know how strong Rai really is as he's always holding back. I'm sure he wasn't trying to insult you by underestimating you, Aria. I believe that he's probably so strong that he doesn't even recognize you as a proper threat." Sarah added as I felt a sense of unease arise from within me, causing me to question my own confidence.
"I'm more disappointed in myself than anything as after Ryan's demonstration, I realized how weak I truly am."
Sarah's right.
Although Rai's proposal came off as arrogant, I could tell that he genuinely believed he was weak, which is concerning as if he considers himself weak, then…
No, there's no reason for me to think negatively!
"Thank you for your thoughts, but I don't plan on letting Rai have his way today. I'll be back later on tonight!" I said as I left my room, leaving Sarah alone inside as I soon exited my dormitory and began heading towards the evaluation facility, pondering on the potential outcome of the spar as I started to doubt myself, I slapped myself softly with both of my hands as a newfound confidence arose within me.
You can do this, Aria!
~
Approaching the evaluation facility, I found Rai waiting for me outside as his attire was also a casual one, consisting of a long sleeved black shirt with his sleeves rolled up, gray cotton shorts with black quarter socks and black slip ons.
He's already here.
"How long have you been waiting for me?" I asked curiously as I noticed Rai's nose was slightly red from the frigid temperatures.
"Not too long. Are you ready?" Rai asked nonchalantly as I nodded, prompting him to tap his keycard on the card reader as the steel doors of the evaluation facility opened before us, allowing us to enter inside.
It seems like Rai really does have access to every building, which makes me wonder…
"Rai, did the Headmaster actually raise you?" I asked as Rai's eyes widened in surprise.
"You're awfully curious, you know that?" Rai remarked with a smile as we walked through the main corridor while I felt a subtle blush of guilt grow along my face, prompting Rai to let out a sigh.
"Yes, Ryan did raise me. When I was six, my parents were killed by a villain and the one to save me was none other than Ryan, who made the decision to raise me and although I find him annoying, I'm grateful for him as I would never be the person I am today without him." Rai answered with a faint smile as I felt an agonizing sadness clench my heart, nearly bringing tears into my eyes as I felt even more guilty than before for unnecessarily prying into his tragic past once again.
When the Headmaster said that he raised Rai, the thought of his mother also being dead never crossed my mind.
I feel absolutely horrible now.
You're such an idiot, Aria!
His father and mother is gone and yet, I don't know what to say to him, despite my own ignorance and curiosity being the sole purpose for ruining his mood-
Abrupting my thoughts was Rai, who grabbed the collar of my windbreaker tightly and with an impressive display of raw strength, he threw me several meters across the evaluation facility as I accidentally let out an awkward yelp from his sudden actions startling me.
Huh?!
Within the air, I focused on recovering my balance as I then slid backwards across the ground upon my landing, planting my feet in order to reduce the momentum as I noticed half of the facility was in shambles with the exception of our general area, which
was a spacious forest with a small field in the center of it as there were a few benches along the trail.
What the…
What in the world happened here?
"Are you ready, Aria?" Rai asked casually, grabbing my attention as he stretched his legs.
"I am, but why did you just throw me without warning!?" I asked with a vexing shout as Rai cracked his neck before shifting his focus towards me.
"No reason. Now, let's go. You have three hours, Aria. Use them wisely." Rai replied with a smile as he taunted me with his fingers, nearly provoking me to rush towards him until I took a deep breath to calm myself as I noticed he left his guard open, which irked me as on top of his arrogant stance, he didn't even bother to activate his Aspect as I felt disrespected by his haughtiness.
"Are you not going to use your Aspect?" I asked.
"Whether I use my Aspect or not, it wouldn't make a difference as I was serious about what I said earlier."
"Within three hours, you won't be able to land an effective attack on me." Rai declared with such confidence that for a moment, I began to believe him until I resolved myself and positioned myself into a forward stance as Rai placed his hands inside of his pockets, waiting patiently for me to initiate the first move as I felt a trickle of cold sweat roll down the side of my face from the nerve-wracking tension within the air.
Alright, I'll admit it.
Now that I'm actually facing him, it's somewhat intimidating, but despite how strong Rai may be…
I'm going to land an attack on him no matter what!
Springing into action, I sprinted towards Rai with a feint into a spinning high kick towards his head, but to my unexpectancy, Rai parried my leg away with his hand along with sweeping my remaining leg from off the ground with his own as gravity carried me towards the ground, causing me to land on my side as I was in disbelief from the sudden sequence of moves until I noticed Rai looking down at me in amusement.
"Try again." Rai said in jest, but I found his playful demeanor irritating as I tried to sweep him off the ground amidst spinning my body upwards, however, Rai simply stepped backwards as I took a moment to recuperate before planting my back foot into the ground.
This is frustrating.
Within a second, I rushed towards Rai and tried to land multiple strikes across his torso, although every attack proved to be useless as his ability of weaving was deft, allowing him an opportunity to strike my chest with a gentle palm strike, causing me to stagger backwards as I was vulnerable from losing my balance, but despite being presented with the chance to land a lethal strike upon my body, Rai chose to flick my forehead instead with mild force as I clenched my jaw in exasperation while I felt the warmth of blood rushing within my face from being humiliated.
Rai isn't even taking this seriously.
He's just toying with me!
On the verge of losing my composure, I rushed towards him once more as I wanted nothing more than to wipe his condescending grin from off of his face and yet, my desire would be left unfulfilled as despite giving it my all, Rai evaded every one of my attacks with such grace and deftness that it seemed as if he could perceive the future.
~ Present ~
Within the hour of me sparring against Rai, I came to one conclusion.
With the way I am now, It's impossible for me to land an attack on him, so I'll throw my pride away because within the next two hours…
Amidst picking myself up from the ground, I took a deep breath and activated my Aspect as I released my Aspectual Force towards Rai, whose amused expression persisted as I found myself pleased by the warmth embrace of my golden light flowing gently around my body.
I'm going to hit him so I can wipe that stupid smile off of his face!