Disclaimer:Magic Knight Rayearth is exclusively owned by CLAMP and originally published by Kodansha Ltd. Tokyo, Japan. Please do not sue me!!!
Chapter 4: Unexpected
"I'll be your opponent." Lantis said to her, as though it was a commonplace occurrence for a kendoka of his caliber to challenge a girl like her. Hikaru bit her lip.
"Alright." All though she said it rather fearlessly, Hikaru knew that taking him up on his challenge caused her heart to pound like crazy. Tachycardia, if she remembered the term in physiology correctly. She didn't expect this day to be the date of her "final battle." Somehow, she had programmed her brain to detect any signs of her impending doom, such as Lantis assessing Ascot's skill in a spar before he moved on to fight her, the other newbie. She should have known that having several matches with the vice captain is in itself an omen. She felt like a nervous wreck.
"Good luck, lil' missy!" Geo cheered as he sat down to watch the fight. "I would like to bet my money on you, but seeing that your opponent is Lantis, I can't. He'd throw me out of the club if he hears me bribing you to kick his ass. But do kick his ass, anyway." Lantis wanted to roll his eyes.
Eagle could be seen leaning by the wall beside him, with a small smile on his face. "Hikaru-chan, don't get yourself too worked up over this. It's just Lantis, you know." He chuckled, guessing at her expression behind the face mask and laughing at his brilliance in delivering double-edged messages.
Lantis gave him a side glance to guess what he meant by those words. Every word and action from Eagle was calculated, and from the tone of his voice, he seemed like he was teasing. It's just Lantis, huh? Eagle, you dolt. You won't be saying that the next time we spar. Unable to pinpoint at his friend's ulterior motives, Lantis proceeded to wear his men.
Hikaru scowled indignantly, wanting to wring Eagle's neck. There he was again, openly hinting that she has a crush on Lantis, and in front of the captain no less! She was going to kill him if she had the chance. Yes, she was having a fit, but not over the fact that she has Lantis, her 'supposed crush', for an opponent! After a few seconds, Hikaru finally opted to just ignore Eagle's remark since she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of riling her up. She returned her focus on the match, which was inevitable like that fight between her and Satoru. I will not go home looking like a disfigured corpse. She said to herself as she eyed his shinai warily.
"Okay kids, let's get this over with. Hajime!" Geo spoke out.
Soon the loud sound of kiai can be heard outside of the dojo.
-scene change-
That must have been the longest battle of her life as a kendoka, Hikaru thought on wearily as she changed out of her bogu and into her school uniform after the match. Lantis, like Eagle, let her be the more aggressive one between them in the fight. Instead of the intimidating feeling Eagle gave however, the guy seemed liked he was concentrated on reading and predicting her every move. He parried each and every attack. All throughout the fight, she couldn't help but feel like he was measuring her skills, waiting for the moment she would get tired so that he could end her quickly. Sometimes, he would send a swift attack from an unexpected direction as a test of her defense. He would say words like, "Don't put your guard down. I can see an opening." and "Not fast enough." When he did attack her, it took all her strength to block them. It was easy to see from the length of his limbs the direction his attack was going to take, though. What Hikaru really had a problem with was the speed and strength with which he delivers his attacks. It was like lightning. Lantis scored a point when he sent an o-shomen her way. The second point was won brutally. He ended the shiai with a tsuki.
-scene change-
Hikaru sighed heavily as she walked out of the changing room. She didn't even pose a challenge to him. She wondered when she would be able to at least score in those three-point matches with the captain and vice-captain. Probably never. Wanting to rid herself of her negative thoughts, she slung her duffel bag over her shoulder and looked around at the almost empty dojo. She was surprised to see Lantis standing patiently near the exit and looking as if he was waiting for someone. Hikaru approached him.
"Lantis-senpai."
Lantis nodded his head in acknowledgement of her greeting. "A word with you please, if it's okay, Hikaru-san."
"I, uh. Yes, what is it, captain?"
"Please don't let it discourage you –the outcomes of these matches. I noticed that you weren't in high spirits, lately."
"Oh, that! Um, I acknowledge the fact of how experiencing losses one after another is such a huge downer, but it's really not enough to put me in a perpetual state of depression. I'm a pretty resilient person, don't worry!" Hikaru said cheerfully, raising a closed fist to demonstrate what she just said.
"That's good to hear. I came to talk to you, though, to say that during the last match, it was my height that had put you in a disadvantage.
"What do you mean, Lantis-senpai?" Hikaru frowned.
Oh no. He was the last person in the world she could think of who would make fun of her height. But he did say height, right? And he came to talk to her about IT? She didn't like where this conversation was heading.At all. "Are you saying that I lost to you, just because you're taller?!"
She wondered if she got hit too much on the head to suffer a concussion. She was certain she was already on the brink of insanity to hear such things from a man with a very grave expression.
"I wouldn't really put it that way." Lantis said, seeing her face gradually turn red from utter indignation. "What I meant was that your stature limited your movements to thrusts like the do and kote. I knew all along that you would be unable to execute thrusts in the head, like osho-men, hidari-men and migi-men, because of this fact. It would be good if you can work on your jump to overcome this flaw."
"Oh, I see" Hikaru blushed again. Damn! Her height is making it difficult for her, even in kendo. Of course, Lantis knows how to gauge the ability of his opponents! He plans his movements based on this, and he knew back then that I'm restricted to making a thrust at his wrists and trunk. And then it hit her. Was he trying to make her feel better? By informing her about her areas for improvement? She was certain that Lantis exceeded his customary limit of words for a conversation, and that it wasn't an everyday thing that he consoles depressed-looking people. Her blush turned to a deeper shade of red. "Thanks, Lantis-senpai. I really… appreciate the advice."
"It's my duty as captain to ensure the development of my fellow kendoka," he said without looking at her.
Hikaru smiled at his formality. That line sounded like it was stripped right off a medieval book.
"Thanks again, captain. Although…"
Lantis looked down at her, wondering what she was about to say. Hikaru made up her mind to utter the words, when she saw him look at her with a questioning expression.
"…Although I never expected you to say it to my face that I'm too short to reach your head or that you're too tall." Hikaru stated with a smile. Lantis' mouth curved upward. This girl had spunk.
"I'll walk you to the gate." He said after a few seconds of silence.
Definitions:
Bogu: armour in kendo
Hidari men: an oblique cut at the left temple
Kiai: an explosive sound, a kind of controlled yell or shout intended to inspire courage and determination in the utterer and fear in the opponent, and to upset the concentration of the opponent as a cut or thrust is made.
Kote: a cut at the right wrist or lower forearm
Men: face mask
Migi- men: an oblique cut at the right temple
O-shomen: a vertical cut aimed at the center of the forehead
Shiai: match
Tsuki: a thrust at the throat