Chapter 10: Sunless Day

09/28/2031- Afternoon

It was a cloudy day, as always. The sun shone, despite the fact that no one could see it. There was a group of curious watching the sparring between two people outside of the base, at one of the open training fields. The young one was using a sword. His opponent attacked with a thrust using a naginata. The swordsman was able to dodge it advancing diagonally towards the right.

"Gotcha!"

When he was about to slash, his opponent quickly made a spin to his right. The young ducked in time to avoid a hit from the bladeless side. His opponent quickly spun his weapon in front of him, bringing the blade in front of the neck of the swordsman. There was a "See?! I told ya!", followed by a "Darn it!" on the middle of the group.

"Not bad. You were able to predict the blow. But what made you think I would stop?"

"Tch… I thought you would be surprised and wouldn't react. When I advanced, I knew that you would try something along the lines of hitting me using the bladeless side. I just didn't expected a follow-up."

"Dodging to the side opposed to my weapon was a smart move. I would need to expose my back if I wanted to hit you with enough strength to actually hurt you and nullify any form of counter from you. It was foolish of you advancing with your weapon on the right side, though. If it was on your left side, your attack could've hit me."

"Yeah, I know. I didn't paid attention to that. I only noticed it when it was too late to change."

"If something like this happens again, be sure to step back. If you're fighting against someone that's using a pole weapon, you will have the advantage if you're close to the opponent. But anyone that uses a pole weapon is already aware of that and probably already knows one or two moves to attack if the opponent gets too close. You'll be facing a Persona, so you'll need to react faster and be ready to change your strategy all the time. Don't overestimate your abilities. It might cost your life or the lives of others."

"Those eyes again…"

They decided to take some time to rest. The group of people that were watching the training was mainly cadets training at the Sumaru Base. They left, with some of them complaining about losing a bet, while others were still refusing to believe what they saw. A couple approached the two warriors.

"Setsuna! How could you lose again?! And I was betting you could defeat him this time! It's your fault that I won't be having extra steak today! You better be ready to pay up!"

"Whoa, Chie-san! It's not my fault! Ken-sensei is pretty good. I was able to defeat him only five times in this whole week. The guy is pretty good." Letting out a sigh, Ken looked towards the man that was approaching.

"Junpei-san, I believe I told you to stop betting with the others."

"Well, I only said that Setsuna wasn't going to beat you this time and Chie-san decided to bet. It was her, on her own free will, that decided to bet, not me. Don't blame me."

"Well, thanks for believing in me, Chie-san, but you saw that I was already getting tired. Why did you bet on me?"

"I never thought Ken-san was this good. I thought that he was tired and that you were fine."

"Alright, enough talk, Chie-chan. C'mon, let the two rest. Weren't you suppose to deliver that paperwork from Akihiko-senpai to Dojima-san? We already lost too much time here. And don't forget that you own me a steak."

"I know, I know… You better not forget it too, Setsuna. You own me a steak!"

"Dammit… Yosuke-san always talked about Chie-san's persistence when it comes to steak…"

"That's the third person Junpei-san make a bet with… I better talk to him later. But let's rest for now, Setsuna-kun."

"Guess I should take this opportunity… Hey, Ken-sensei… Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Why did you quit your job as Instructor? I mean, if you don't want to answer, its okay… I'm just a little curious…"

"I'm surprised it took him this long to ask… Well… It's a long story, full of clichés and boring stuff, so let's just say that I screwed up and it cost the life of a student of mine."

"So that's the reason that you add "never let your overconfidence get the better of you" in some way or other every time you give a lecture."

"I can't undo what happened… The least I can do is try to prevent from happening again…"

"I see…"

Setsuna was staring to the sky, as if looking for something. Ken noticed he had a habit of doing so every time they rest outside. Different than his late student, he didn't made a determinate look every time he looked towards the sky, but a curious one, instead.

"What's up there that you like to see so much?"

"Nothing… I just find hard to believe there's a giant fireball up there. I know it's supposed to be huge and that's the reason for the sky to be illuminated at the day, but how can that be?"

"You mean the sun? Oh, that's right. You were born after the sky became hazy… You never saw how it was before, right?"

"Well, I did saw on movies and pictures. And I've studied about it, but I don't know… It's kinda strange."

"Heh… I wish you could see the sky… It has a soft, light blue color at the day, and at night it gets illuminated by stars… They are like white dots on a dark blue background…"

"That's weird… But this just makes me more curious… Can't wait for this to end."

"Why did you decided to join the war?"

"When I was little, my mother wasn't participating in battle directly, but normally helped with the paperwork and teaching cadets how to control their Persona… She wasn't a full-time Instructor, but it was something on these lines. I usually spend my time with one of her friends, but sometimes they were all busy. So, she left me on day care on these times. I remember the faces of my friends when their mothers come crying to pick them. Or worse, when someone other than their parents comes…"

"…There is no war that comes without a price…"

"Yeah… My mother said that my father was one of them, too… One of the people that died protecting everyone."

"Nanako-san told me that… She always talked about her "Big bro" and how he saved her when she was little. She said that she wanted to be like him, someone who fought to protect his friends…"

"Heh… My mother always told me that he was a weird guy. She said that he was somewhat distant and quiet at first. He rarely spoke, unless necessary, and that the way he summarize everything in few words was astonishing. Before meeting him, she was used to have Chie-san as company, who is someone that talks a lot, so she said that the dates she had with him were somewhat strange. The fact that he was the first guy that didn't really seem interested in romance at first made her a little curious about him… She said she never really was interested in romance before he appeared."

"A quiet guy who summarizes everything in few words, and is able to date a girl who isn't really interested in romance… Is that some trail of the Fool Arcanum?"

"Whenever my mother talks about him, she always had a sad smile. She tries to act like she already surpass his death, but I noticed she really miss him. When I was little, I used to ask about him a lot more. Sometimes, she cried after our talks. Of course, she never did this in front of me, but it was easy to notice."

"The lost of a loved one is never easy… Sometimes, even we don't notice that we still haven't got over. A little push might be necessary… to finally let it go. It took us a while… So, I hope we haven't disappointed you, Senpai… But you don't need to worry… We all are going to keep our promise…"

"Those eyes again…? No… They're different this time…they're like the eyes of Akihiko-san when he talks about the Aragaki guy… Filled with happiness, bud sadness at the same time…The eyes of someone who finally let it go…"

"You better not die in the coming fight… We all are going to be counting on you, even after we defeat Izanagi."

"Heh, don't worry. I don't plan to die before this is over."

"After it ends, too. If you die, it might be over for you… But it won't be over to your mother… and to us. And I don't know how your mother would react if she loses someone important again… Don't forget it."

"… I won't."

"Good. You ready for some more? Today is the last day. Let's use tomorrow to rest. All the training will be wasted if you can't fight."

"Okay, then. This time, I'll beat you. I hope that, after everything ends, she'll be able to have those eyes… And finally smile… a smile where happiness overcomes sadness… where fulfillment overcomes regret…"

"Really? I wonder…"

Both men got up. Once again, sounds of weapon clashing could be heard from one of the open training field, with two men fighting, watched by the unseen sun…

A/N: Again, something a little different than what I'm used to write. This time, even the battles are hard to describe… I guess I might be losing some inspiration… Or maybe I sucked from the beginning. The beginning and the ending of the year are always somewhat… difficult for me, for some reason. This one in particular. Anyway, enough babbling. We stay with the usual. See you next time.