Author's Note: I wanted this chapter to focus mostly on Sephiroth's experience of the Debut, with a bit more understanding of Kuja's internal conflicts. Enjoy!
Also, big thanks to Cecily Rose Midnight for all of the help with spot-checking and motivation!
Alarm clocks are perhaps my greatest ally, as well as my worst enemy. Being woken up at seven in the morning by a sound not even Satan would stoop so low as to torture souls with? That definitely wasn't helping their case.
I, quite literally, rolled out of bed, dragging most of my blankets and pillows with me. My hair, all four feet of it, twisted around my skull like spaghetti on a fork, blinding me on my way to the bathroom for a shower. Halfway across my bedroom, my sight returned and my hair fell towards the floor, as did my sheets. I'd, most likely, take care of them later.
I shuffled through the door opposite mine in the hall, and disposed of my clothing, which, honestly, was just a pair of boxers. I turned the shower handles slowly, the cold slower than the hot, and waited for the water to heat up nicely. Once I was satisfied, I stepped into the tub and stood under the spray, letting it splash on my face in order to get rid of some of my grogginess. After I was reliably conscious, I grabbed the bottle of shampoo and went to work on the mop of gray that fell from my scalp. About five minutes later, that was finished, so I moved on to conditioner. Another five minutes, and I was ready for soap, which took all of thirty seconds.
I sighed, then turned off the shower. I was going to miss its warmth once I opened the curtain. I did that next, and, within seconds, my body was covered in goosebumps. I quickly surrounded myself in a towel, then stepped in front of the mirror, plugging in the hair dryer. Ten minutes of hot air and a brush, and I was ready for clothes.
When I opened my closet, I realized I had no idea how I should dress that day. I texted Yuffie in a slight panic, only having a half-hour left to get to school, which started at eight. She responded almost instantly, saying that it was casual attire, but I would probably want to wear something I could move around in easily. Taking her advice, I picked out a pair of white jeans and a tight, short-sleeved, black shirt. Even though it was the middle of August, I refused to wear shorts. In fact, the only shorts I owned were a pair of swimming trunks.
I quickly dressed, pulled on a pair of black boots, then headed for the kitchen. As soon as I opened my door, the smell of pancakes hit me. I felt my mouth water in anticipation, so I figured I wouldn't be so cruel as to deny my taste buds of what they wanted.
As I entered the small cooking space, which opened directly to the living room, I saw my mother at the stove wearing an apron. She must've heard my footsteps, for she turned to me with a smile. "Didn't want you to be hungry on your first day," she said, scooping up three more golden-brown circles of deliciousness and stacking them on a plate. She then dowsed them in syrup and whipped cream, and set the plate before my usual chair. I swooped in on the food, inhaling it at the speed of light. With a few delighted moans, which sounded exactly like sex, I was finished, and stood to wash the plate and utensils.
"God, those were good," I breathed, and my mother smiled happily. She snatched the plate from my hands and scrubbed it down, then spun around to give me a kiss on the cheek. "What was that all about?" I asked, not expecting her to act like that. "I could've taken care of the dishes, Mom."
"Nonsense," she replied, still smiling. "You just get yourself off to school now. I can't wait to hear how it goes!"
I hugged her firmly, then grabbed my empty notebook and a pencil and left the house. It took only a few minutes to walk there, so I showed up at seven forty-five, fifteen minutes early. I was surprised to see that I wasn't the only one, though, or even close to it. There were already hundreds of students waiting in the courtyard, catching up with friends, running through the lawn, or sleeping. That last one sounded like a fantastic idea, but I knew that if I fell asleep again now, I wouldn't wake up for hours. I just had to grin and bear it, even if I wasn't really that tired anyway.
I found a nice, shaded spot on a low wall, so I situated myself on it and pulled out my phone.
"Hey, where are you?" I typed, but rather than receive an answering message, I got an answering shout.
"Right here!" Yuffie called out, waving her arms in the air so that I would be able to see her. Not that it did her much of anything, but, fortunately, she was only a few feet away. She pushed through the last few people that stood between us, receiving several angry grumbles and stares, and seated herself next to me. "Lookin' good!" she complimented, judging my outfit.
"Thanks. I figured it would work for today," I told her, still a little uncertain if it was acceptable. Well, I guess I was actually more nervous about the upcoming day in general, and not only my appearance, and even more so when I spotted a familiar, feathered teen in an incredibly attractive outfit making his way towards the stairs just to my left.
Please don't see me! Please don't see me! I pleaded to myself. I'm not entirely sure what made me want to avoid him. All I know is that my heart skipped a beat or two, my lungs had some difficulty filling with air, and a small heat was building in my jeans.
"Hey! Kuja!"
Fuck you, Yuffie…
He turned reflexively towards the commotion, his eyes focused on a book in his hands, but froze mid-step, one leg in the air, dropping whatever he was reading, when he noticed me. There was a brief moment in which everything else seemed to be entirely frozen as Kuja and I locked onto each other, broken only by his lack of balance.
"Kuja!" I yelled, jumping to catch him. I dove, rotating in the middle of the air, and hit the stone ground on my back just in time to catch the other male's torso with my own. I instinctively wrapped my arms around him, holding him firmly to me, and I'm certain that he could feel the pounding in my chest.
Once the adrenaline faded from both of us, I heard him let out a small squeak, so I raised my head to look at him. He was gawking at me, his crystal eyes wide and his cheeks burning a dark red. The people around us were gaping at the scene, and Kuja, regarding their stares, squirmed anxiously in my hold. I released him, and, the moment my grip was weak enough, he was above me, hovering several feet off of the ground. A thin, violet aura surrounded his body like like loose fog, and his hair fanned out beautifully behind him. Without realizing, I reached my hand up to run my fingers through it, but my skin was met with nothing but air as Kuja quickly grabbed his book, righted himself to his feet, and hurried away.
"Kuja," I called, sitting up. I felt someone's hands brushing at my back, and I turned to see Yuffie swatting away the dirt on my clothes. I stood, and she cleaned the rest of me. I, though, was paying more attention to the boy at the entrance to the school building, waiting impatiently for the doors to open, his face hidden deeply beneath a wall of lavender.
At exactly eight, a bell rang from somewhere above me, signaling the beginning of the school day. I looked for the source and saw a large, gold bell hanging in an open spire at the center of the roof. I then returned my sight to Kuja, who was already disappearing into the academy.
"Hey! Kuja!" a familiar voice yelled. Recognizing that it was my classmate, Yuffie Kisaragi, I started to move for her, raising my gaze from the binder in my hands, only to fall upon a set of gorgeous, mossy emeralds framed in a mane of silver.
My grip slackened, and I vaguely comprehended a loud thud on the path before me. At the same time, my breath hitched in a loud gasp and my heart throbbed sporadically, my palms grew cold, and the muscles in my abdomen clenched tightly. My entire being was petrified.
It was because of my sudden paralysis that my left foot remained several inches above the earth, and it was because of gravity that I began to sail towards it.
Magic! I screamed in my mind, squeezing my eyes shut. Magic! Unfortunately, though, I hadn't recovered enough from my shock at seeing Sephiroth to do anything to save myself. I braced for impact, but whatever I collided with definitely wasn't cobblestone. It was sturdy, but not entirely solid, and very warm.
Curious, I opened my eyes to inspect whatever I had landed on, only to see a plane of smooth, black fabric leading to a rougher, white one with a faint mound in it at the point where it divided in two. Once I noticed the pieces of black leather at the ends, I understood that that they were boots, the white material was a pair of jeans, and the black was a shirt.
Hold on… If the white is the jeans, then…'that' must be…
I yelped in surprise and shuffled around, attempting to stand, only finding myself to be barred down by the toned arms of whoever this person was. I observed the thin, pale locks on before me, and craned my neck to the side, watching as those unnaturally verdant eyes lifted themselves to view me. I hadn't noticed until that point, but my skin was on fire, and I writhed a little more, trying to escape my embarrassment as a crowd formed around our scene. I felt the snare on my back weaken, and immediately heaved myself from the shamefully appealing man, suspending myself above him with a simple Float spell.
He remained perfectly still for several more seconds before his fingers extended towards me. Out of panic, I hastily retrieved my workbook and returned myself to a standing position, resting on the ground. Once sure of my footing, I brushed through the students in my way and brought myself to the sizeable slabs of oak that bared my way to sanctuary. I veiled myself in my hair, waiting. I would feel safer once I was lost in the inevitable swarm of bodies in the halls.
The bell tolled, resonating through the courtyard, and I tore the doors before me open, sauntering down the revealed corridor. I made directly for my newly assigned locker to dispose of my things, but wasn't able to flee before being intercepted by a small party of my acquaintances. I was bombarded by their intrigue before they had even fully advanced to me.
"Dude, what was all of that about?" Tidus, a freshman, pestered, followed by his older sister, Faris. "Yeah! That tension was as thick as mythril, Kuja!" Refia, a sophomore, continued the interrogation with, "What's with not telling us about this new man of yours, Kuj?" Just to add to the ensuing drama, a senior, Dona, approached, banishing several younger students from her path. Dona was the real problem of the throng of annoyances before me. She was very self-preservant and harsh, as well as a notorious tormentor of underclassmen. Juniors, apparently, were no exception.
She stood herself before me, with her arms crossed, and a smug grin beneath her obviously unoriginal nose. I hung my head in despair.
"So, you've actually dared to date again? After your fiasco with Balthier last year, I would've thought that you'd be too afraid to keep trying to sell that body of yours."
"Hey! Shut that cum receptacle of yours that you call a mouth, Dona!" Faris, who was also a senior, burst. Honestly, I'd never expect her to come to my defense, but, then again, she had also never given me cause to believe she wouldn't. "Only reason any of that ever happened is 'cause you fucked your way in between them and broke them up!"
"I did no such thing! Balthier came to me first!" Dona defended.
"Yeah, after you got him drunk!"
"I can't be held responsible for what people do while intoxicated!"
"But you can still be held responsible for getting him so screwed up in the first place!"
"Like it matters. It's not my fault or problem that Balthier wasn't being fulfilled in his relationship. I was merely helping the poor, deprived guy out! I did him a service!"
"From what I witnessed, you did him plenty of services," a new voice piped, laced with resentment. I looked up once more to see my ever-loyal sibling weaving her way through the cluster of students. Dona's attention was stolen from Faris by her arrival, as was Faris', in fact.
"Ha! From what you've witnessed? You're obviously a biased source, considering that Kuja is your brother. How can we trust that what you say is true? For all I know, Kuja could have been just as guilty, if not more! For all I know, he could be a prostitute! He surely dresses enough like one!"
I looked down at my outfit: a pair of low-riding, dark violet jeans, a tight, gold T-shirt that exposed my waist, and a long, white trench coat.
Do I really look like a slut? I asked myself, before returning my focus to Dona.
The already heavy atmosphere became suffocating when a loud crack vibrated through the air. I was shocked as I watched my sister whip her palm across the cheek of the torturess before me, and even more shocked to witness the fast-darkening, scarlet bruise left in its wake.
"That's how."
Nobody so much as breathed for the next few seconds, until Dona huffed and stomped away, her hand cupping the area beneath her left eye. Once she vanished, Terra received a raucous of applause and cheering from the audience that still remained before my locker, and a smile a pat on the shoulder from Faris, who chuckled and said, "You done well, kid. You done well."
Terra, now blushing from all of the attention, faced me and pulled me into a warm embrace. A single tear of mine escaped from its prison, and she swiftly brushed it away. "Don't let that bitch get to you, Kuja. You're too good for crying."
I did my best to smile as she grabbed my hand and we started down the hall to the gymnasium. About halfway there, Terra acknowledged my remaining doubt, and asked, in a very exaggerated tone, "Y'know whatcha gotta do when life gets you down?"
I giggled amusedly and feigned thought, then answered, "Just keep swimming?"
She shook her head, then explained, "In our case, dear brother of mine, the correct term is 'Strutting!' Just keep strutting!"
I burst with laughter as we both began to do just that, strutting our way down the hall to the Debut.
Yuffie took it upon herself to shoo away the gathered mass in front of our lockers. She and I had made sure to be placed right next to each other, along with a few of her other friends that I was going to be introduced to today.
As we moved through the clearing gang, I noticed that the lockers here were a bit different from how they were in Fynn. Instead of a row of stacked, metal boxes, they were tall, individual doors built into the stone wall of the building itself. Once I opened mine, I found that they were about two square feet wide and deep, and about six feet tall. I was glad that they were larger, but not too strange from what I was used to.
We placed our things inside, then waited for Yuffie's circle of friends to arrive. The first of them, a decently short girl with red pigtails, chatted excitedly with Yuffie before turning to me and introducing herself as 'Vanille' and offering me her hand. I shook it gently, replying, "Sephiroth."
"You've got yourself quit a bit o' hair, eh, Sephiroth?" she joked. She had a strange accent, but I couldn't place what kind.
The second and third of the group were obviously a couple, and Yuffie named them both for me. "This is Vaan," she said, gesturing to the male, a white-blonde, "and this is Quistis," she finished, now pointing at a long-haired blonde with glasses. Vaan, though seeming a little reluctant, took my offered hand, as did Quistis, but with less hesitation.
"Ah! Vivi!" Yuffie shouted suddenly. I turned in the direction she had called to see a small, colorfully dressed boy making his way towards us. He wore a large, pointed hat that shadowed his entire face, but his eyes still glowed a bright yellow from the darkness. "This is Sephiroth," she told him, pointing to me. He held out a gloved hand and gave me a quick, "Hello!"
"Well, that's everyone!" Yuffie cheered, and, once all lockers and notebooks were taken care of, we headed to the gym for Debut.
"So, how exactly does the Debut work out?" I asked to our group in general.
"Well," Quistis started, "Once we enter the gymnasium, we shall be divided between melee-oriented and magic-oriented branches. I, being a spell caster, don't know the initial workings of the melee side, but the mages ready their preferred spells, then we are all asked to display our knowledge and skill in one-on-one duels with randomly selected opponents, be them mage or fighter. If the professors like you enough, they might even ask you to participate in multiple fights. After we have proven ourselves and been evaluated, an instructor that specializes in our talents will select us as one of their students for the year."
"It's really not that much different for us fighters," Vaan explained once his girlfriend was finished. "We, however, prepare our weapons instead of magics. There are swords, knives, axes, spears, bows, guns, and special weapons." I asked him what he meant by 'special weapons.' "Stuff like bombs, scythes, shuriken, etcetera. Yuffie over here is a shuriken expert," he revealed, chuckling.
"Pssht! I'm no expert! Just a god," she declared, and I laughed out at her false modesty.
"Anyway," Vaan continued as we neared the doors to the gym, "I'm both a sword-fighter and archer, so I alternate my studies between both of them. You don't look like much of an archer to me, though, so I'm assuming you use either swords or spears, what with how tall and slim you are."
"Umm…well… I don't really know…"
"What?" Vanille burst. "If you don't even know how to use a weapon, how did you end up at Alexandria?"
"Well, I've got a long track record of assault, and this was the only school that would freely accept me," i admitted guiltily. "I don't have much of an idea as to how any of this works. Umm…it may sound stupid, but how do I know if I can use magic?"
There was a light, echoing giggle, and I looked down to my left to see Vivi covering what I assumed to be the shaded area that was his mouth. He then turned to look up at me and his eyes startled me with how bright they were. "If you don't know if you can use magic, then you definitely can't. Not now, at least."
I nodded, slightly embarrassed by my lack of knowledge, then turned to Vaan again. "So, swords or spears? Am I supposed to just try them both out and see what works best?"
"That's exactly what you do," he responded, smiling. Quistis snickered a bit, and I gave her a questioning look.
"Haha! I'm sorry! It's just that we don't have a lot of 'fresh meat' here. Most students already know their way around an armory. However, the last time we did have someone as inexperienced as you claim to be, several sophomores were almost hospitalized by his haphazard casting of Fire!" she crowed at the memory. I attempted a smile, but my nervousness was obvious.
What if I injure someone? What if I kill someone?!
I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Yuffie smiling up at me. "Don't you worry, Sephy! Vaan'll find the perfect weapon for you!" As she started to talk excitedly at Vaan about different types of swords, we entered the gym, and I let out a gasp at the sight.
Each wall was lined with stone bleachers, surrounding the middle of the circular room. A few feet from the bottom row of seats was a four-foot high metal fence. There were six gates evenly spaced along the ring, which allowed you to enter the huge, sunken floor inside. Looking around, the only thing I felt I could accurately describe the gym as was a coliseum.
"Earth to Seph!" someone called, and I noticed Vanille waving her hand around by my face. I looked at her and shook my head a bit, refocusing on the people around me. "Hey! Yuffie and Vaan are waitin' for ya!" She pointed to the blonde and brunette standing near a large mass of muscly teens. I thanked Vanille, then made my way to the others.
"Impressive, huh?" Yuffie said, understanding my awe at the room. I nodded with a chuckle, and the three of us moved into the crowd, Yuf shoving her way through, Vaan apologizing for her, and me trying to ignore the looks and stares.
After about a minute of struggling, we made it to a table that was being swarmed by half of the student body. At it, two teachers were hurriedly taking and writing down names. We approached the one on the right, a small, blonde-haired woman with large, green eyes. She looked up to us and grinned widely, then spoke, "Yuffie! Vann! How are you little punks?"
"Same old same old! How about you, Rikku?" Yuffie chimed. I found it strange that she was on a first name basis with the woman, but didn't say anything.
"Ugh! Swamped as Hell, as usual! So many little bastards here to take roll of!" she joked, then looked up to me. "Well, hello up there! What's your name?"
I smilled and answered her, she scribbled something down on the paper before her, then we were told to head for the equipment manager. With short goodbyes, Yuffie and Vaan led me to another table. This one, though, was placed in front of shelves upon shelves of different weapons. The instructor, a tall brunette with a scar on the bridge of his nose, nodded silently to Yuffie when she asked about helping me.
"Newbie, huh?" he shrugged, then waved me over to him. "I'm Professor Leonhart. So, Vaan suggests either a lance or a sword. I'm not sure how well the lances will work out for you, given your posture, but we can always try. Take a look at some of the blades over there and choose a few that you like."
I agreed, and moved over to a display of different types of swords as the teacher sorted through his spears. Vaan followed me to explain the different pieces of metal in front of me.
"Longsword," he said, holding up a long, straight blade. He then brought out a shorter, thin one with a covered handle. "Rapier." I took the first in my left hand, but underestimated its weight, and it crashed to the floor. I heard a groan behind me, obviously from the instructor. Vaan laughed quietly, before taking the longsword from me and putting it back on its shelf.
"Okay, so no standard swords for you. Try the rapier."
I did as he told, and found the second choice to be much lighter. I swung it a few times, but stopped as Vaan started to laugh again. He took it from my hand and held it in his own. He then moved into a fighting stance, one leg behind the other, and his left hand out behind him. He thrust the sword straight ahead of him, demonstrating its use.
"This is a piercing weapon. You stab, not swing," he informed, then returned to rapier to its place. After a few more moments of searching, he shouted in victory. He turned back to me, holding up a tall, thin blade that started to curve upward slightly about halfway along its length. "Katana," he named it, then handed it to me. I took it, and immediately felt the balance in my arm. The hilt was long, making it easy to hold onto, and the metal itself was unexpectedly light, and the bend in it made the weight shift upward. Overall, there must have been at least five feet of steel.
This feels…perfect.
"I knew you 'preferred the swords', but you really seem to have taken a liking to that one," Yuffie's voice broke through my thoughts. I turned to her, wanting to complain about her little joke, and my eyes widened at the huge, four-pointed thing she was carrying. She snickered at my reaction, then held the object out for me to see. "This is a shuriken! They're good for stabbing, throwing, slicing, and extreme Frisbee.
I laughed at that last idea, knowing that that was something Yuffie would actually do, then returned my awareness to my katana. "It feels…right. Like, there isn't any awkwardness in holding it. It's almost as if I was supposed to chose it," I told them, then noticed Vaan holding a tall, metal spear. "You still wanna try a lance?" he asked, and I shook my head. I had settled on this strange-looking sword, and I didn't want to let it go.
We returned to Leonhart, who took back the spear and asked us to head for the bleachers. As we did, I finally noticed that Vaan had already gathered his equipment: a thick, medium-length sword and a large, tight bow. He was also wearing a quiver of arrows on his back and a pair of leather gloves.
After another half-hour of watching people prepare themselves, a loud voice rang through the gym. I recognized it, and started to look for Principal Jenova, who I found standing on a balcony at the back of the room, overlooking the pit below. She was dressed in a black, pinstripe suit, and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, fully revealing her bright, red eyes. In front of her was a microphone.
"Welcome back, my children, to another year at Alexandria Academy! Today is the day that we prove ourselves worthy of our skills, as well as form a basis upon which to improve, so hold nothing back! Let yourselves shine just like the stars you are, and show us what you've got! Let the Debut begin!"
With her final words, Principal Jenova threw her hands in the air and the entire student body roared in applause and cheering. As the sound died down, she started to call off names of pairs who would battle each other. I was surprised to hear Vaan's name so soon, but he wasn't shocked at all. He even left his sword behind, saying that he wouldn't need it against his opponent.
In the Debut, they call down a total of eighteen random people at a time, nine mages and nine fighters, to the center of the room, which is divided, tic-tac-toe-style, into nine sections. Each pair is assigned to a different area, and all are given a total of three minutes to duel.
Apparently, the objective of these fights is to land three strikes on your enemy before they do to you. Fortunately, the instructors would cast Protect on you before the battle so that nothing could actually pierce your skin, and Shell as to prevent any serious magic damage. Vaan's partner had to have been grateful for that fact, because the moment the bell sounded for the fights to start, Vaan had already drawn and fired off three arrows at once, right into the other teen's chest. They bounced of, but the impact itself would cause bruising anyways.
There was another minute or two of fighting before all of the other pairs were finished as well, and Vaan returned to his seat next to us. "Told ya," he said, smirking proudly. Yuffie and I congratulated him, then we all sat back to watch the next two hours worth of sparring.
A few of the students caught my eye, including the girl I had seen Kuja drive off with over the weekend. I was a little stunned to see her walk into the pit with a sword, a katana like mine, and use it to bat a fireball at her opponent. She then charged at him, slamming an ice-covered fist into his chest, then bringing her sword down onto his arm. I hadn't even expected her to attend this school, let alone be able to fight so well with both spells and a weapon.
I also watched as Quistis entered her battle, a long whip in hand. I snickered at a comment by Yuffie about Vaan being a whipped boyfriend, but my humor was cut off when the whip cracked hard against the side of a young mal's head, then wrapped around his leg, pulling it out from under him and slamming him to the ground. The boy was apparently a knife-thrower, because he tossed one at Quistis' face from his spot on the floor. The dagger struck her glasses, sending them sailing off of her nose and shattering on the floor.
"Oh shit, that kid is so screwed," Vaan said, laughing to himself. I questioned what he meant for a second, then was answered by an enraged Quistis whipping her head to face the boy. A bright yellow-green light shot from her eyes, of all places, and exploded against her enemy. With that, Quistis was undoubtedly the winner.
Another hour or so passed, before another mage caught my sight. I watched as a few familiar, silver-violet feathers, sprouting out from a set of same-colored bangs, made their way to the area of the battlefield closest to us. On my left, Yuffie nudged me gently and I groaned in discomfort.
Kuja gracefully arrived to face his opponent, smiling cheerily. He always seemed be made of pure confidence…well, at least he did whenever he wasn't falling on my stomach in the middle of a crowd. This moment wasn't any exception. As he swayed gently, arms flowing out at his sides, waiting for the signal to begin, he was the very definition of self-assuredness. I was on the edge of my seat, wanting so badly to see him victorious.
One second, the bell rang. The next, Kuja's enemy was laying on the stone floor, unconscious. I had no idea what had happened, or how, but I didn't care. I was overjoyed to see him come out on top.
On top? No…I want him beneath me…
Dammit! Those thoughts again! Why were they torturing me so badly! I could feel the heat rising in more than just my face, and I took a deep breath, calming myself down, before hearing my name called out from one of the loudspeakers, as well as another one that I recognized.
"Sephiroth Crescent and Yuffie Kisaragi!" Principal Jenova's voice announced. I looked at Yuffie with shock, but she was grinning madly.
"Awesome! Sephy, you and I get to battle each other!" she squealed, then grabbed my wrist and pulled me along the row of seats, then down the stairs to the middle section of the stadium. An instructor came over to us and put up both of the protective barriers around me, then did the same to Yuffie, who patted my shoulders, turning to move to her side of the square. "Alright, pretty boy! Don't hold back on me!"
I tried to grin, but I was still too distracted by the fact I was going to have to duel my best friend. I was drawn out of my distraction by a kick to the side of my head. I was dazed for a bit, but when I came to, I saw Yuffie hopping from one foot to the next, pumping herself up.
"What was that, Seph?! You didn't even try to block me!" she yelled. I just shrugged at her in reply, but she sighed loudly. "Just 'cause I'm your friend doesn't mean you should just let yourself get the shit beat outta you! Think of it as training! I'm teaching you how to be a better fighter! Don't pussy out on me!"
I laughed at her taunting, feeling a weight fall off of my shoulders. I stood tall again and held out the sword in my hand, glad I had been holding on to it the entire time. Had I not been, Yuf would've dragged me off without it.
It truly did feel like it was meant to be here, in my fingers. The extra weight felt as if it was an extension of my arm, letting me reach further than before. I gave it another testing swing, then lunged for the girl before me.
She was taken off guard, that's for sure, but she was able to jump to the side before I made it to her. She brought her shuriken around from behind her back, aiming it at me, but I deflected it with a quick swipe of steel.
"That's more like it!"
I chuckled, then brought my blade back down on her once again. This time, she wasn't able to move her arm, weighed down by her weapon, away from my path in time. She yelped a little in pain, but assured me that it was nothing. I nodded and backed away from her, allowing her to regain her form.
I barely had time to think as she dove, shuriken pointed out, trying to stab at me. I spun from its path, bringing the metal of my katana down on her back as I completed the turn. She dropped to the floor, and I extended my arm to help her up, only to receive a punch to the stomach.
"Why would you help an enemy up?!" she shouted.
"But that's just it! You're not my enemy!" I responded.
"I can make myself your enemy," she said, a wicked smile on her lips. I raised an eyebrow at her as she stood, making her way back to her side of our field. She answered me by looking into the crowd and calling in a very sing-song tone, "Oh, Kuja!"
"Yuffie!" My eyes grew incredibly wide as a stared at her.
She just smiled wider as the person she was beckoning glanced between the two of us. "I've got something to tell you!"
"Yuffie!" I shouted again, but louder this time. She continued to ignore me as Kuja's face became concerned.
"It's about Sephiroth!" she yelled, and the teen's cheeks darkened.
"Yuffie!" I now roared, trying to stop her.
The girl just laughed some more, and kept on with her aggravating. "Whenever he sees you, he-" she began, but was silenced as I angrily sliced my sword through the air, crashing it to the stone below us.
It took me a few seconds to notice that most of the room was silent, and that Yuffie wasn't in front of me anymore. Instead, there was a gash in the floor before me that must've been about fifteen feet long. Beyond that, across the zone next to ours, she was sitting up against the wall, a huge grin on her face. She stood, with some difficulty, before limp-running her way over to me.
"That was friggin' awesome, Seph!" she congratulated. "I never knew you could do that!"
"Umm…what did I do exactly?" I asked, growing anxious from all of the sudden attention from virtually everyone in the school.
"That energy wave! That was amazing! You threw me over half of the pit!"
"I what?!" I shouted, immediately worried. I attempted to make sure Yuffie was alright, but she swatted me away.
"It was the coolest thing ever! Can't you still feel the power inside you?!" she yapped excitedly. Now that I thought about it, I could definitely feel something, like a humming in my chest. My left arm was buzzing madly as well.
"I feel like I'm being electrocuted," I explained to her, and she nodded.
"See?!"
From somewhere behind me, I heard applause. Turning to find the source, I found Principal Jenova standing a few feet from me. She was clapping, a smile on her face. Soon, there was more applause, and I could see Quistis, Vivi, and Vanille to my left, and Vaan to my right, standing in their places in the audience. Within seconds, the entire gym was filled with cheering, and I attempted to hide myself in a sheet of silver, only looking up when I noticed Kuja approach Jenova and whisper something in her ear, to which she nodded. A microphone was lowered to her from above, hanging by its wire, and she quieted the room.
"Wasn't that quite a spectacle?" she asked the student body, receiving a loud chorus of agreement. "Well, I know I would certainly like to see that again! So, why don't we give our dear Sephiroth an opportunity to do just that?" My gaze shot up to hers, and she raised her hand to announce the next duelists.
"Sephiroth Crescent and Kuja Branford!"