Kira 

~

"We’ll be doing something different today," Troy announces, wind billowing past his short cloak and hair. No matter how big a jerk he is, even I had the decency to admit he looked damn gorgeous with his hair braided long.

"Can you two stop giving me that look?" He spits.

“It can't be helped,” Kuro sighs.

Troy gives him a demeaning look but it seems to have no effect whatsoever. He turns to me, "We've been instructing you throughout last week, teaching you and correcting everything from your stances to how you attack. It might seem overwhelming but you don't have the luxury of years to catch up so it's best you adapt our teachings to your own style of battle.”

“My own style, got it!” I nod.

"If you want to be stronger in a short amount of time, you have to train more, work more, and sleep less."

I nod, less assured where this is going.

We've had this kind of discussion before, but this time I can tell there’s something different. Was he really me as a teammate rather than an inconvenience? Did it have something to do with what happened in the sewers?

"You're fighting me today, a real fight," He states boldly. 

I'm about to nod absently again when his words actually settle in, I flinch, "Wait, what?!"

"He's going to try and murder you." Kuro beams, practically bouncing on the ledge where he's perched, "It was meant to be me but our match would be over in seconds even if I went with my weakest attack so he's the better option."

"You're bragging." Troy and I state in unison.

He nods ecstatically.

Troy rolls his eyes. The air around him implodes with his Magic Energy, harshly dragging me from my thoughts, he moves his hands in swift graceful arcs drawing indecipherable spell runes in air, bending the light and energy to will. Turning the destructive form of nature at his command into Sais. 

My heart sinks, I’d never seen him do that before.

"You've gotten used to seeing me attack with my main weapon, and you also seem to succeed more at throwing long-distance wind attacks,” I note the shift in his stance and back off immediately.

'He's read you like a book,' Lucifer informs as I summon my weapon, 'You can try to keep your distance but he's more experienced, he'll break through and still engage in the close-range attack. It's inevitable, but you need to keep your head and find an opening.'

"Pressure? That's what this is about right?"

The blond lunges for me, "So you do have a brain?"

The vein in my forehead twitches in agitation, I feel the stone roof beneath my feet give as I take to the air to avoid him.

'Control how much force you put into take off!'

‘I'm trying!’ I arc through the air, diving back down to counter. I had the larger and longer weapon. It didn't make me confident but it gave me an advantage.

He dodges the first swing and catches the second one with the longer edge of his left sai.

"Precision. Wild swings won't work on smaller attackers," he instructs some more.

"Let's hope I don't chop off your hand."

"Please do!" Kuro squealed.

"Shut up!" We both ordered before returning to our fight. I try attacking again. I had to control the fight at all costs, subtly increasing the strength of my blows on my right side since I’d noticed he was left-handed. Something I couldn't help but pick up on while watching him do homework.

The wind roars past me with each strike our weapons connect and the air is tinged with the scent of a thunderstorm. I manage to push him to the edge but he just simply takes off to another much lower building. He's beckoning to come after him.

My blood is pumping through my veins at a frantic pace, the kind of rush I'd gotten when I was fighting the Jorōgumo but I could tell Troy wasn't at full strength yet. I'm debating leaping down at my own full strength and taking him by surprise. 

'Decent plan. Try not to destroy the roof,’ Lucifer adds nonchalantly. 

I smirk and launch myself down at the blond, I should have known better, the world lights up a dazzling gold, my situation made worse by my enhanced eyesight. I lost aim and tumbled to the ground. I barely registere my surroundings before he comes at me almost immediately.

This time with katanas.

Shit.

I spring out of reach, to my annoyance, he’s leading with his right hand this time. This guy was a freak.

“Your observation wasn't wrong, just incomplete," He tells me dryly, noticing how I'm taking his strikes with difficulty, "If it wasn't for your enhanced strength, I might have broken your wrist by now."

"Lucky me," I hiss, using the staff to stop the downward strike that might have left me without both arms if not for my reflexes. We lock gazes, he's still stubbornly trying to drive the staff down. 

I take advantage of his closeness, creating a whirlwind that throws him back into a wall. I'd been practicing them all weekend, trying to get them larger and larger.

A cry of victory leaves my lips, "Going on and on about long range attacks but you forgot I could still do that!"

I can see the anger and irritation in his eyes at being called out, I'malmost intimidated to take back my statement. He wants to come for me once more but Kuro's shout of concern breaks the atmosphere.

"You two get back!"

We both flew back in opposite directions as a bright blue ball of energy strikes where we’d been standing.

An unfamiliar voice cackles derisively, "What a pitiful fight!"

I stare in confusion as the wisps of bluish smoke clear to reveal a tall figure with an imposing aura, a billowing cloak of black smoke behind them and a Mask distorting the top half of their face.

At some point, Kuro had taken place beside me, and in a quiet whisper I heard him say in the most venomous tone to leave his lips.

"Nightmare."