"Azazul, you wanna spar with me?"
"Sure… why not?"
The two of them stood across from each other—Akiko with her pristine white dagger, and Azazul with his beautiful electric-blue tachi. Their weapons were already unsheathed; after 1 year and ten months of training, they were more than comfortable with them.
In front of Azazul stood a girl in a white tunic and brown sandals. Her elegant, dark black hair danced in the wind, adding to her refined grace. She'd lost the childish roundness in her face, replaced by a more mature, elegant look. Her body had become slender and athletic, and she was taller than before—only a head shorter than Azazul now.
Across from her stood a tall, lean, but fit boy. Long jet-black bangs obscured his heterochromic eyes. His face had sharpened, though it still held a trace of youthful softness, giving him a slightly feminine look. He wore a short white tunic and black trousers.
"Hey, weirdo, you just gonna stand there?"
Without answering, Azazul launched forward with immense speed, lifting his sword for a downward slash. Akiko blocked just in time. She shoved his tachi aside with her dagger and threw a left hook at his face. Azazul caught the punch with his sword hand, then quickly shifted his blade upward, twisting his grip so the tip pointed to the sky. He brought the hilt down on Akiko's right shoulder, expecting the shock to disarm her.
But Akiko had a follow-up. She drove her dagger—still in her right hand—into Azazul's ribs. He lurched back, but she didn't give him room to breathe. The moment he retreated, she sent wind-attribute slashes through the air. The transparent attacks were hard to see, so he dodged left, then right…
…but the last one clipped him, cutting off his arm at the elbow.
Damn it… why the hell is she trying to kill me?
Azazul dashed forward again, appearing right in front of her. His arm had already regenerated up to the wrist—his hand not yet fully formed—then he slammed the stump into her face, then planted a kick in her stomach, sending her flying several feet back. But he wasn't done. His hand still needed time to heal, so he threw his sword at her. Akiko tilted her head, narrowly dodging the blue tachi.
Azazul flashed forward again. He grabbed her right arm—the one holding her dagger—and twisted his body, hauling her over his shoulder and slamming her onto the ground. He hopped back and raised his hand. The electric-blue tachi froze in the air, then shot back to its master's grip.
As Akiko stood, preparing another attack, Azazul flashed infront of her and drove his sword into her stomach.
She collapsed to her knees.
But he felt a weird feeling and noticed her dagger buried in his chest.Azazul staggered, yanked the blade out, and coughed blood—though his deity genes were already repairing him. By his third cough, the wound had mostly closed. He stood and shot Akiko an irritated glare.
"I thought we weren't gonna use elemental magic?!"
Then he walked over and offered her his hand.
"Come on. Let's go eat."
She took it and muttered, "Next time I'll go for the heart."
"Wait, what?! No—under no circumstances go for my heart! Are you actually trying to kill me?!"
"Come on, let's go, weirdo."
She slung her left arm over his shoulder and leaned lightly against him as they walked.
Azazul awkwardly asked, "Akiko? …Do you mind cutting my hair?"
Akiko snorted. "Why do you wanna cut your hair? A princess doesn't cut her hair."
"Does it look that bad?"
"Yeah. But don't get rid of the long hair—we'll just trim it. I like you more with long hair."
Azazul shot her a strange look, making her face warm.
She punched him in the stomach. "That's for earlier!"
He wheezed, then gently set her down on the log near the fire pit. "Go get the scissors, weirdo!"
'Damn you women…'
Azazul fetched the scissors and sat on one of the logs. Akiko stood behind him, trimming the back first.
While she worked, she asked, "Whose hair color do you have? Your mother's or father's?"
Azazul kept his voice even. "Well… I never saw my father, so I wouldn't know. But my uncle says I got it from my mother."
Akiko answered softly, "We're the same, then. I never saw my father either."
"I never saw my mother, too… but everyone says I look exactly like her."
"She gave you those eyes too, I take it?"
"Yeah. All three of them, to be exact."
After a short while, Akiko said, "I'm done."
She took one of her white hair ties—embroidered with her name—and tied his hair into a ponytail, letting his long bangs fall forward. Then she moved around to face him, gently trimming the bangs to reveal his face and heterochromic eyes.
She thought to herself, Like I said… I like you more with long hair.
Azazul blinked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Akiko turned away toward the horizon, her face warm. "No reason."
"Next time we spar," he muttered, "can you not stab me in the ribs? It feels weird."
"Stop being a baby. It's not like you're gonna die."
Azazul mimicked her tone. "Stab me in the heart and I might just die."
Akiko unsheathed her dagger and gave him a creepy grin. "You wanna test that theory?"
"No, never. Put the dagger away!"
At that moment, Matthew arrived from his journey. He sat on one of the logs. Akiko settled next to Azazul, and Matthew said....