Betrayal is where Trust was

(Quick Author's Note: exp. = experience. Pronounced (X-Pee))

I was going to detox from boys. Mainly, him. That was all I wanted to do. That was my only goal. And that was all I resolved to do. Though it soon became much harder than what I imagined.

"Again!" my trainer yelled.

In sweat drenched clothes, I gritted my teeth and heaved my leg up again. I crashed into the red target quite unevenly and it wobbled on the trainer's hand. He held it down, even once more, and tried to force it down to the ground, with the flat of my foot still beneath it.

I struggled and grumbled as the man stood there, pressuring my foot and groaning as I fought to stay where I was. Still held there, in the same position, I felt a rush of sharp aches down my leg. The stand off was over as his hand began to win, pushing me down.

I swung my food away and panted insanely.

"You're not kicking aggressively enough; I seem to recall your kicks being 3 times as powerful as what they are now!" my trainer exclaimed.

I put my hands on my knees and huffed in deep breaths, "I...Guess I'm just...Out of...Practice."

"This is far more than a few months of rust; I dare say you've turned into a little girl," he said.

"Who the hell cares what I am!" I yelled, resolving to try another front kick. The target met my foot. I kept my hands in to help balance, but that same pang of weakness ran throughout my leg and I pulled it down hesitantly.

I staggered back a step or two and swung my fist at his face, he blocked it with the target. I drew away and round-house kicked him through the side of his face; blocked with crossed arms.

I backed up again, "I'm so much weaker than I thought.." I moaned, plopping on my butt, legs, chest, and upper arms throbbing from just and hour of light training.

"I thought you quit Martial Arts to improve that kick of yours," he taunted, "looks more like you quit to go to the spa."

"Soccer season is over!" I argued.

"Ah, your attitude has changed too, I see. You know, I doubt I would have ever heard you giving an excuse to not exercise. But here the complaints are, spewing out out your mouth," he said, a disgusted look drawing over his old, wrinkled face. His black and gray hair made him look like some weird sage. "Pain and sweat are part of getting stronger. Now get up, or I may rethink teaching you."

I sat where I was.

He burst out in a strained tone, "Get up!"

I stood up rebelliously, but I rethought everything when I heard my trainer mumble to himself, "Just like a spoiled child.."

It was true. To get away from boys, I wanted to become stronger. I wanted something to focus on, other than them. I wanted. I wanted. I wanted. Too selfish. I didn't know what to do, though. I wanted to back off, but everything I did just made me seem that much more girly. Why was I so defiant? I came to this trainer because he took me in as his student when I was young. I felt stronger under him than I ever had in soccer. And even though I wanted to get strong again, I wanted it instantly. Why?

This was where I was strongest. And I came back here to become strong again. I was going to cooperate; because pain and sweat was part of getting stronger. I was as weak as I was at 2 years old. I had never dealt with this weakness before. I was a tomboy for as long as I could remember. And now I had to suddenly become one again. It was weird because I knew what to do, but I just couldn't do it as fast as I could plan it. So slow. I wasn't very patient.

My trainer said that nostalgic word that he'd always told me. That would that pushed my forward, "Again!" he yelled, and I rose to meet him.

In the Game

Hiyori furiously swung her sword down toward me, It shrieked as I met her blade with equal strength. Our blades shook and cried as we pressured the two together.

"Good..."she said, observing me.

I grinned, "Thanks."

I forced her back. And as she slid in the dirt, eyes wide in surprise, a smile drew across her face.

"You're upper body strength is increasing," She grinned.

I pushed her sword off mine and quickly slashed a clean, deep cut through her arm. She staggered backward as the wound spat out fresh blood.

"-500 hp," the announcer said.

Then suddenly, all my wounds healed and the ground below me lit up with a white ring of light. Out of the dirt, the ring formed balls of light that rose up and surrounded me.

"Level up! Player Kurai-Hime is now level 489!" the announcer proclaimed.

"See what happens when you're on the ball?" Hiyori flaunted in my face. She put her hands on her hips, "Though I'm not the one to thank for your progress!" she said in amazement.

Hiyori was now a visible level to me. Toshiro remained "incomprehensible". However, I was determined to reach his level bracket. Hiyori was level 508; she told me that even she couldn't see Toshiro's level. That meant he had to have been at least level 700.

"I'm still not where I want to be; if I don't work harder, I'll never win the tournament!" I said.

"Don't get too absorbed now," she laughed, "You really like that computer character, huh?" She'd made it a habit to call Toshiro "computer character" ever since she figured out I was the infamous Kurai-Hime and he was the Ice Lord.

"I'm winning this tournament to kick his ass. I never liked boys in the first place!" I said, poising my sword forward.

"Sure, you may not like boys..But you like that boy," she laughed again, ignoring any signals to move on with the training.

"Would you quit it." I sighed.

"Face it, as a tomboy, you're far from redemption. All those magazines say the same thing about you and your lovey-dovey romances. Even I know you're the reincarnation of Bella Swan." she taunted.

"And since when are you looking at magazines?" A voice asked, accompanied by a large hand that planted itself in Hiyori's hair.

She glared back up and spat out, "Because I care about my student, unlike you."

His blue eyes sparkled as a mocking smile spread across his face. A smile that was so unlike his common trade mark smile; but he gave me that old Hairo smile as he gave me a quick glance and ruffled up Hiyori's hair, "No, you were looking through them for some new pick up lines," he laughed, then turned to me, "Hiccup here's got herself a little crush!"

She swatted his hand off her head and snarled, "Do not! And would you quit call me that!"

"It's that new Co-leader, isn't it? I heard you met him at a game convention and it was love at first sight!" He laughed.

She bashed him in the back of the head, the way I always did, and chased him around, continuing to beat him. When she finally stopped, she blushed slightly, "It was a martial arts tournament...and anyway..." She looked up furiously, fist balled and cheeks puffed in a pout-y fashion, "And I don't like him! He's an annoying pain in the ass!" she exclaimed.

"Oh really," he smiled evilly, "then why do you have bells in your hair? You buy them from the REM New Years Clothing Cato log?"

I never noticed, but Hiyori's two hair rubber bands where replaced by sparkling hair ribbons with a pair of silver bells attached to each bow. Maybe I tuned out the noise, but they really glittered and jingled if you knew they were there.

Hiyori coughed and began anxiously, "Anyways, if Karin wants to even look at that guy's level, she was to be at least triple her level now."

"I what?" I asked, shocked.

"What guy?" he asked.

"Why are you even here, Hairo?" I responded to him.

His smile turned up even more, "Is it a big deal? Who's this guy anyway?" Hiyori shivered at his smile. She always hated his over optimism. But as he drew closer to me, I shivered as well with the fear that I might loose all of my progress. Detoxing from boys was hard. And it was that easy to get back on them.

At the same time, both Hiyori and I rushed over to Hairo, spun his brunette self around, and pushed him back in the direction he came.

"Get that creepy smile of yours outta here," Hiyori said.

"You need to go." I said, quite lamely. But it was all I could do to keep from blushing. Me and my crazy hormones. Some times nothing could be blamed for me "Bella" moments. Getting off drugs was hard...Or maybe, since I was detoxing, I was drunk on guys instead. Ack! Who cares, that wasn't the point.

When we finally got Hairo out of the way, Hiyori continued explaining what she had attempted to let out, "I know for a fact that you will never reach equal rank with that computer character before the tournament," Hiyori began.

"Why not?" I asked in dismay. Where did this come from anyway? Why didn't she tell me before?

"Because he has an element? You can only specialize beyond class if you're level 1000 or above!" She informed me.

"W-what?" I said, before thinking. My head was in a jumbled. All I understood was "Level 1000".

Hiyori sighed and began irritably, "Rule one for rising warriors; at level 30, you can acquire a class. That's something like a thief or magician. If helps you narrow your fields and focus your exp. more. You can ultimately level 2 times faster than normal, If you have class.

"Rule two: at level 1000, you can level triple time by specializing even more with an element. Now I've seen that computer character fight; and by the looks of it, he has the element at Ice. And that alone says he has to be level 1000 or above. You know, I didn't even know NPCs could get elements..." She said, stopping herself before she got off topic. But that was interesting, maybe Toshiro's hair style and everything changed because he leveled..But never mind that, what was she talking about?

"Class? Element?" I asked, my head still spinning. "I've never heard of anything like that..."

"I'm telling you all of this for a reason. Obviously you wouldn't know about it or else I wouldn't be expl-" She stopped, mid sentence, and stared at me, "Wait does that mean that you never chose a class?"

"Well I became level 201 instantly after finding Toshiro. So...Guess not!" I laughed, scratching the back of my head and getting my brain working for a moment.

"To have progressed so far...With nothing but a general focus of exp..." Hiyori whispered to herself.

An then, she suddenly snagged my hand and pulled me away with her. Her blond pig tails jingled with the bell ribbons as she ran. I remembered what Hairo had mentioned and smiled, realizing that every girl must go through the same thing at one point in time. Boy troubles.

She sped down the dirt training area faster than humanly possible; the same quick speed she demonstrated when I first met her. No one else knew was as quick as her.

Hiyori ran past trainer after trainer and their students. I caught a glimpse of Yuzu training in the coniferous training environment. The dirt/desert environment was the largest of all training areas and took up over 75% of the training hall. Of course there were other environments, but Hiyori chose to focus on my training rather than preparing me for different weather conditions.

Yuzu began to call my name, but I zipped by her too fast for any sound to be heard. What was amazing was that I was keeping up with Hiyori's speed. Maybe it was because she was touching me; but I wasn't even panting from the run.

Then, all of a sudden, her feet slid to a halt and I slammed into her back with an "oomph!". When I looked in the direction Hiyori was looking, my eyes widened in surprise.

Panting, as they both were, both their eyes still burned with determination. Neither of them noticed us as one foot slid back, and a hand poised a sword. Two weapons clashed and a gust of wind blew from the source of the impact, out in either direction.

Fiercely, they refused to back down to one another; like typical boys. Blue eyes glistened against teal, and at their feet, rings of white air formed. Their blades shrieked as neither of them budged in the dirt. Then all of a sudden, the rings blazed; one with ice, one with fire.

"Whoa..." I mumbled. Immediately, everything stopped at the sound of my voice. The two boys paused in their stances, both fire and icy auras dissipating.

White hair and dark brown dripped with sweat as two all-too-familiar faces turned toward me. I wanted to shrink and disappear at the sight of them. But, in the end, you have to face your weaknesses in order to top them.

I swallowed hard and tried to avoid another "Bella" moment. Though it was hard not to notice how weird I felt seeing them both sweaty; I had a thing for sweaty people.

I wasn't sure if I should've apologized for interrupting them, so I just stood there. But then Hiyori grabbed my arm and stormed up to Hairo. He leaned down and put his hands on his knees, mockingly, "What's up, Hiyori-Chan?"

She threw my arm to the side and put her hands on her hips, "Don't call me -Chan either. And what's up with you!" She barked, "You were this fool's teacher for—what—three weeks? And you didn't so much as tell her about class!"

"What're you talking about?" he asked, becoming serious and giving the petite girl a confused look.

"She's level 489 and she doesn't have a class yet!"

"You don't have a class?" Hairo said, turning toward me in astonishment.

"Her progress is ridiculous, even if she had a class. But...What do you think?" Hiyori asked him.

Hairo stared at me for a moment, "Already that far in just a few days?" He turned to Hiyori and began yapping about stuff I didn't understand. All the while, I noticed Toshiro out of the corner of my eye. He looked on as if trying to avoid me. There was no way. I mean, sure he'd changed a lot. But that was just because of his appearance, right? When he got a higher level, his hair style changed. That's all. There was no way there could be so much difference in him as to be level 1000!

I shriveled up my nose and walked over to him. He'd changed so much. Too much. He turned toward me and waited for me to reach him. I balled my hands into fists and began slowly, "Duel me." I looked him straight in the eye.

Silence came and the coldness in Toshiro's eyes had also changed. It had intensified; the longer he was away from me, the more he seemed to forget me. It was a relentless stare. As if I were a newly born puppy, dropped at the mercy of a demon.

Then he said plainly, "No.

"An act of mercy. You won't win against me." he said, brushing my shoulder as he glided by me.

I turned around and thrust my fist at his back. That was when Hiyori and Hairo stopped talking and looked my direction.

"I don't think you know me then," I said, my hand drawing closer to his center back.

He turned around suddenly and grabbed my wrist forcing me forward. He used his grip on me to force me onto my butt. And with sheer strength, he used his foot to pin me in place.

"I really wished you would've used your brain and walked away," he sighed.

I grabbed his ankle and tugged him down on the ground. I rolled over on top of him. Slamming my hands down on either side of his face, I growled, "Are you suggesting I don't use my brain?" I had a tone of threat in my voice.

"Not hardly; you don't even have one." he retorted.

I snorted and began to say something when the collar of my training uniform was tugged. I was pulled backward while I saw Hairo helping Toshiro up.

"Your student seems to have a lot of potential. But she won't measure up mine." Hairo taunted, pointing his thumb back at Toshiro as if advertising his pride and confidence in him. Unlike your stereo-typical boys obsessing over the same girl(not to say I thought they were obsessing over me), these two seemed very friendly rather than deadly. I wondered why...

"Hey, You're part of my team. Don't have so much confidence in the enemy!" I snarled at Hairo.

"We're not enemies...Yet." Toshiro said in a rather matter-of-factually tone.

"Alright! You love birds creep me out with your damn drama! Burn all your heartbreak in the tournament." She turned her gaze toward Hairo and began irritably, "Now, continuing from where we left off; I'm asking you kindly to let me in on your secret." Hiyori began.

"Everyone knows Karin has as much potential as anyone in this training facility! Yet your student manages to at least triple her progress in half the time!" She said with a piercing glare, "So, we can do this the easy way or the hard way." She said, poising herself for some sort of combat.

Now I kinda wished I'd listened to their conversation. What was this sudden tension in the air?

Hairo calmly walked over to Hiyori and plated his hand in her hair. Then, the evilest smile slid across his face. It was almost menacing.

"I'm pretty sure you already know the answer to his progress." he opened his eyes and stopped smiling sending her an intense stare, "Do you really think she won't figure it out too?

What were they talking about?

He ruffled her pony tails and smiled, "But, if you must know, it's all about technique." he smiled, "When you have a killing technique, you'll get more exp. and level faster.

He turned toward me and winked, "But you're not too good with technique, are you?"

I gripped my two fists together and burst out childishly, "I can do anything you guys can! And besides, I'm already a higher level than you are!" I remembered back to when Hairo told me he wasn't the "best" player like the REM ratings said. He was right. There were tons of people better than him. And now, I was one of them.

He laughed and said simply, "Check again..."

Hairo and Toshiro did the courtesy of leaving their own training area. They knew that both I and Hiyori were too hot headed to back down.

I scrolled down Hairo's active bar and checked his level. My eyes widened slowly as I gasped; "incomprehensible".

I lifted my leg up in the highest kick I could. Then, suddenly, Hiyori slammed her hands into my back so that my leg was forced onto the ground. It was flattened, parallel with the ground and with my other leg, on the opposite side. I felt my hip pop out of socket and an unimaginable sting that streamed down the blood veins that were spread trough my split legs.

The birds flew away as I let out a horrific howl of pain. The training area we were on was different from the desert/dirt arena. This environment was the rain forest. It was lacking in most animal life that was potentially physically harming, but there were birds here. The only thing that was absolute was its moist floor which regrettably wet my underwear when I performed my first split. The forest floor was dark brown with highly fertilized soil. All of the foliage was so tall and thick that nothing could grow on the ground, and you couldn't see farther than 30 feet away. The temperatures were hot and humid, terrible for wounds. And if the real dwellers of this biome were to be here, I'd have even more to deal with. If the tournament took place here; I'd have a lot of problems.

The birds chirped as they flew away and my screech rang past the thickness of the forest, out to the desert environment.

"It'll take you 2 weeks to do a split naturally. So I sped up the process." I heard that same tomboy say.

I reared back, in the same position, eyes watering. I gritted my teeth and barked, "You could have at least given me a warning!" I flung my head back and looked at my knee and leg lying out before me. It hurt so bad. I winced at the pain and held back tears. Why did this have to be part of my training?

"That's right, keep back those tears." Hiyori informed. She walked beside me and sat next to me. "Oh come on," she said, "get out of that position and quit being a drama queen." Difficult though it was, I swallowed the pain and pulled my leg back to center. I put both my legs straight out in front of me and rubbed them relentlessly. Hiyori began irritably, "You know, the old you would've shown even the slightest hint of tears."

My eyes widened but I looked down in shame. It was true; even though I had vowed to detox from boys, my personality was still out of whack. Did I really adapt to change that badly? I used to break my leg and not let out so much as a yelp. It was so that I wouldn't burden my family with my sorrow. What ever made me believe it was suddenly ok to be so disgusting? I hated who I was, yet I couldn't help it. I was girly. Wimpy. I wasn't myself. I lusted after entities which used to be my companions(and thought of as only that). I had hormones now! Boobs! Nothing about me was the same. And I adapted to change in the worst way possible.

"You're out of your playing field. It freaked me out too: seeing that the body you're in now is your future self. It's a little too much to handle, huh?" She asked.

I blinked twice and wondered who it was next to me. Hiyori was never the one to use sympathy as a drive for training.

"Listen-" She began, but then a voice yelled over her.

"Hey! Duck!" a male voice called.

Instinctively, Hiyori obliged to the yell and flattened herself to the ground. Sitting right next to her, I panicked for a moment, looking down at her, cross-legged with her hands pressed closely to the ground. Just as I was about to follow her lead and hug the ground, I felt a sharp sensation run across my right arm. For a moment, it stung. But then, the pain dulled and all I could do was wipe the blood off my skin and look up at the culprit for my wound.

There before me, was a man about the age of Ichi-nii. He had this really scary looking smile that revealed all of his teeth. His eyes too, were a mocking aura. His species seemed to be human, but he could have been some sort of demon..Looked freaky enough to me. With yellow hair that was cropped in straight bangs and hair reaching just before his shoulders, he was anything but dated in his retro-style hair cut. Still, he was fit and just as tall as Hairo and Toshiro. He lifted his left hand up and a weapon flew by me and into his lifted hand.

The weapon was a peculiar shaped blade that curved in like the talons of an Eagle. It was small and was most likely a throwing weapon because of its hilt which was a circlet that fit like a ring around the finger of the man. On the tip of it, was a dark red blemish. My blood.

He winced and laughed oddly, "Oh ah...Sorry 'bout that." He bowed briefly in my direction.

Hiyori immediately jumped to her feet, the bells in her hair jingling madly. She balled her hands into fists and yelled, "Shinji you idiot! Where were you aiming?"

"Oh, hey Hiyori, I didn't know you were training in this part of the forest," he gave her an I'm-Innocent smile that was so obviously fake.

"What kind of a trainer are you? All of us are required to document what area we're training in so that we don't get too close; so that something like this doesn't happen." Hiyori growled, pointing to me and my tiny wound.

They went on sort-of bickering. Mostly Hiyori chewing out the man. But as they bickered, I heard the bells in Hiyori's hair jingle even louder as she surged forward with her fists balled and her mouth screaming. My eyes widened as I suddenly realized that this man must've been the guy she liked. No wonder...

"Hey, are those bells in your hair?" the man asked.

She stopped, processing what he asked, and then she crossed her arms, turning away in a flushed state, "N-no.."

He drew his hands over her pony tails and fluffed them up, sending the bells jingling their sweet tune, "They look cute." he smiled.

She turned red for a moment and then angrily punched him in the stomach,.

"Idiot." She mumbled, turning away again.

I muffled my laughter, Definitely in love. Such a cute relationship too.

Then suddenly, a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from where Hiyori and the man were. I ran deep into the rain forest, where the birds chirped louder and the insects began to join in the orchestra. I stepped in the moist soil and finally came to a stop. That's when I looked up at the person who led me away. From the back, I still knew who he was. Those same muscular features applied to his back side, and let's not forget his unkept, dark brown hair. Certainly Hairo.

He turned around to face me, a more serious look on his face. More serious than usual, at least.

Blue eyes said too much for words, while the lips quickly tried to convey the impossible, "What was she talking about?" Hairo said.

"What?" I asked.

"Earlier today, Hiyori asked me why I didn't teach you about class. But the problem is, I never even taught you long enough to know your fighting style."

I looked down and averted his eyes as he began, "And then before that, she spoke to you about beating a certain guy. As if your whole reason for training was him."

He let go of my wrist and began over the music of the forest, "Tell me, was Toshiro your trainer?"

I didn't answer.

"Before Hiyori, was he the one who trained you?"

I crossed my arms and began defensively, "What does it matter?"

He grabbed both my wrists and pushed me back with his strength. I tried to fight him off, but again, I was not strong enough. Pinning me up against one of the moist trees, covered in greens vine life, Hairo gave me that same pained look again. The one that made me look away in agony. I'd hurt him too many times over.

"Everything matters." he said.

I tried not to look at him, but he kept staring at me, just the same, "Does he matter to you that much?"

"Don't make it sound like something it's not." I said.

"Then what is it!" he yelled, suddenly.

The small light that fell in through the tops of the trees had been slowly fading. And now it was not visible. Though the sky of the dome was fake, it set and rose like the sky of REM. Night had fallen. And now that birds no longer sang, but the chirping of the crickets remained. The only noise I could listen to. The only thing I could rely on to tune out Hairo's voice. I couldn't give in. Not while I was this close to detoxing from boys. To becoming who I used to be.

Everything was silent for awhile. And then Hairo laughed to himself and let his head rest on my shoulder, "Of course I find the only girl in the world who has to choose between me and a perfect NPC..."

I felt my heart start to pace. I predicted the question he'd ask next. I wasn't ready for it, and I prayed he wouldn't ask it.

"I'm sorry." he said, and my eyes widened in surprise.

"I shouldn't be so protective..."

Why was he always so nice and considerate. It almost hurt me to see his overbearing kindness. Something I could never return.

I wiggled one of my hands free from his grasp and gripped his training uniform tightly.

He lifted his head up and smiled at me; that same genuine smile, "I'm not going to make you choose. But I will ask something of you." he began.

I got up off the wet tree and moved away from him, "Sure, ask away."

"Would you grant me one New Years Dance?" he said, still grinning a bit mischievously.

"What? But it's not even New Year-" I began, blushing slightly. God this was not good for detoxing...

"Who cares. It isn't that kind of dance anyway," he said, holding out his hand.

Then, like a manga, two swords appeared on the ground beneath him, lodged in the ground, sheath and all.

He grabbed one for himself and tossed the other to me. He unsheathed some of the blade to check its luster. Sharp and bright enough to reflect what little light came in through the thick forest.

"You wanna fight me?" I asked.

He fully unsheathed his sword and threw the sheath to the side, "I wouldn't joke about this sort of thing."

"B-but there's no room," I said, feeling suddenly so handicap with all of these trees around.

"Then make room." he replied, pushing off of the soil and running toward me.

His sword clashed with mine once, and then twice. It was too fast for me to keep up with. I stepped back once and leaned backwards to avoid his blade. I soon found myself instinctively backing up to deal with the pressure of his blows. But this..This was not like the fire he had when he battled Toshiro today. He was taking it easy on me. But he didn't with Toshiro. No, he and Toshiro seemed to be friends. Strange that they were. Most likely because Hairo has a habit of seeing the good in everyone and believing that it can shine through.

"Hairo.." I said as I leaped backward, in order to distance myself. I was panting and dripping with sweat from the fast, strength of his blows.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I was just...Wondering why you and Toshiro are so close...And how you both leveled so fast..." I said. He was more than likely in the same level bracket as Toshiro. They probably trained each other, getting better progressively over time. But I didn't know if even Hairo could find it in his heart to befriend Toshiro; after all, he was something of his rival. Toshiro himself said he didn't like Hairo from the start.

"If I like your dancing, I might tell you." he responded, proceeding to continue our fight.

I tried to remember again and again. Technique. Technique. My feet need to move in a set pattern. Like a...Like a dance! My eyes widened as I saw what Hairo was trying to tell me. Fighting technique isn't hard if you think of it like the choreography of dancing. Then the weapons are your props, they have to be an extension of yourself in order to flow correctly in the dance. Yuzu took dance and I'd watched her try to use batons and streamers when she lacked the capacity to dance and preform simultaneously. And just like in soccer, we had to memorize steps; the basics so that we can flow with the ball when the game started. I didn't have to fight using only learned steps; but if I understand the basics, I can form a style that's best for me.

I stopped trying to focus on two things at once. Blocking Hairo's blows and matching my footwork. I'd have no time to try to go for an opening. I let my feet flow they way they'd naturally pick up the ball in a game. I focused all my energy on meeting Hairo's blade and looking for an opening. Then finally, my eyes shot opened as I saw his center was finally venerable. I forced his sword away and drew mine back toward his stomach. But that opening closed as his blade met mine once more.

He made a tisk-tisk noise from his mouth and laughed, shaking his index finger in my face, "You can't end it that easily."

Again, the relentless attacks began at lightning speed. Finally, I gave up looking for openings and focused purely on his attacks. He never had one opening. Never.

I drew tired as I struggled to block his blows. Finally, I felt the hard tree behind me and the back blade of my sword grazing me cheek. My blade quivered as I began to loose strength in my limbs. Finally, in my last bit of strength, I forced him off and used my strongest body part, my legs. I lifted one of my legs up high. I prepared to kick him but found him swinging his sword at me again. Before I could think, I had to detain him in some way. And there was no way to use my sword from this angle. So I too my leg and forced it down on the back of his neck, keeping him down. I curled my foot in so that stayed down. Then, I used my leg to pressure him down until he fell forward, then I used my foot to guide him up. In short, I accidentally used my leg to make him front flip.

His sword slid across the ground and I looked at him and at the sword, confused at what I'd done.

He quickly rolled over to his sword and met me again. The second time I was forced into the same situation, my leg instinctively kicked him, but I was aware of my action and used my sword in the action, successfully slashing him once, through the neck. Eventually, Hairo kept imitating the same situation until I got what I was doing. Extend leg. Wrap around head, Turn until sword is poised. Decapitation. Though it felt weird to have a guy so close to my..Ahem...Lady parts. It was an affective way to take advantage of my body. I didn't really hurt Hairo though...He had too much HP to be affected by any of my blows.

Finally, the sword in my hand disappeared into red smoke, as did Hairo's. "Congrats." he said, "You've created your signature killing blow."

"Huh?" I asked.

"I told you that you need technique to level faster. This move will kill your target in one blow and give you the maximum exp. per kill." he began, "A late New Years gift; discovering the act that will win you the tournament."

"That's why you fought me?" I asked.

"Well Hiccup is too obsessed with guys to worry about training you. And you've gotta work fast to catch up to Toshiro, right?" he winked.

With some sort of relief, I suddenly felt the pain that stretched down my legs. My muscled had strained themselves in the heat of the moment, the adrenalin had caused me to forget I'd just done a split and probably torn a few tendons. Hairo quickly rushed over and grabbed my hand so that I wouldn't fall. I looked up and saw his blue eyes, and I felt a bit of triumph. I'd learned that you could use a bit of everything. Sometimes the basics can form who you are.

That's why I finally understood that being myself doesn't mean going back to being a complete tomboy; but completely changing myself won't help my self-satisfaction either. I had to find a balance. And somehow, by achieving one move in this RPG game, I had found myself in the process. For once since I found Toshiro, I was some how happy with who I was.

"So you really think I have a chance at beating him? But just this morning you were saying that I couldn't beat him-" I started to say.

"Do you really think that I'd have such little faith in you?" Hairo questioned, gripping my hand tighter. "After you get your class, your level will sky rocket."

I remembered what Hairo had promised me earlier. "That's right!" I began, "Hey, aren't you supposed to tell me how to level faster."

"I already did, your killing blo-"

"You and Toshiro leveled to almost triple what you two used to be. Hiyori was right, there's no way simple technique could breed such progress." I said.

"You're right," he said, "but I'm not the one you should be asking this question."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He walked me over to a tree and helped me sit up against the trunk. Then he continued,"Consider Toshiro's appearance which has changed dramatically as he switched masters. Then, thinking about his personality and determination which has led him to become the level he is. Such characteristics can be reflected as his will. But as you and I both know, he still has feelings for you. So it doesn't make sense for his mind to willingly forget you and focus on leveling." Hairo explained.

"What are you getting at?" I dared ask. This was turning into something I couldn't understand. Hairo was just as good as Toshiro when it came to examining the details.

"I think Toshiro slowly resets his system whenever he switches masters. He conforms his appearance, personality, and skills to the liking of his owner. In essence, being cold to you is not his act. He has actually been rebooted to have absolutely no feelings for you." Hairo explained, "I've been watching him, and he acts as though he's perfectly fine with me. I think that last night in the forest was the last willful act the old Toshiro gave before giving up; I think the person I'm training now isn't the Toshiro we know."

"W-what?" I questioned.

"Toshiro and I leveled so quickly because his raw determination and skill pushed me to work harder as his trainer. We trained each other. His will to become strong is linked to his new master's expectations of him. So essentially, Toshiro may be a pet that was designed to please his user." Hairo informed.

"So then..You mean that Momo is ordering Toshiro to become stronger?" I asked.

"Not Momo." Hairo responded.

My eyes widened as he continued to try and explain, "When you first found Toshiro, one of your wishes for him was to develop emotion. That, he did rapidly and skillfully as though he had already known it. With his emotions, he was able to defy you as his master by speaking out for or against your actions.

"But with Momo, he has virtually no emotion. Under the influence of his personality, we can assume that Momo wouldn't want Toshiro to disobey her like you so allowed. But he went out of his way to see you on that first day on the training grounds.

"I doubt that it's correct to assume Momo is his master. Tell me, have you seen her around lately? Has Toshiro following her around like he did to you? Has he been trying to please her? No. From all the heartbreak that girl endured, it isn't possible."

"What...Are you getting at?" I asked.

"I leveled as fast as I did because I happened to be training with Toshiro. If he's leveled this fast, it's because his master wants him to. But more than anything, we know Momo can't be his master..."

"You're saying that Toshiro has a master that's been telling him how to level faster?" I asked. "And if it's not Momo, then who is it?"

He was silent for a little while before finally voicing, "Why don't you ask Hiyori?"

Author's Notes:

Hey SOOOOO sorry for the late update. But between midterms, crazy Chinese relatives, Christmas, and New Year, I didn't quite have the time to make the chapter I had planned. But eventually I'll get to what I had foreseen to put in this chapter. Anyways, Happy New Year! Please keep those reviews up! I saw that I seem to be loosing some of you. Don't worry, this chapter did set everything straight. Goodbye hormonal Karin! Though it was so fun to play with you, it doesn't seem like too many of my readers like you, so now you're going forward to your more mature state! Have a great winter season everyone! Review Review Review!

Love ya,

~*RukiaRocks*~

Reviewers to thanks:

ThornedSunflower

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Happy belated New Years and Christmas...And whatever the hell sort of holidays that are in the winter! Love ya!