Part III
Chapter 52: The Graduation Tournament
"Think of your elbow," Nik panted, as he dodged the quarterstaff that was flying towards him. "Yeah, just like that. Very good."
He and Jenny were sparring and had been doing so for the last three hours. Blocking, dodging, attacking, almost no breaks except for a minute here or there to drink something. And this was no light sparring either. In the past few weeks, Nik had decided that he would go full out, to see how Jenny would fair against this, and she had surprised him. To be completely honest, a few years ago, just after she had started, he had almost believed that she would never get to this level.
Nik could feel the sweat running down his face, his neck and his back and he was sure that their match would be over soon, because except for the grin on Jenny's face, she looked pretty exhausted as well. He wasn't sure how she felt, but every part of his body was hurting, screaming at him to stop, or at least to slow down and take it easy. Jenny had been keeping him on his toes the whole time, and this wasn't the first time she had done this.
Gone was the little girl who couldn't properly hold the staff or the sword, gone were the insecurities while fighting. Instead he was now facing a confident and competent fighter, against whom he was probably going to lose. Again. Because Jenny beating him in their sparring matches – be it with the quarterstaff or the swords – had become a quite common theme in the past few weeks. And somehow, she wasn't even aware of it.
He really needed to talk to Li, he decided, as he tried and failed to dodge the quarterstaff, as it hit him on the back. Nik went down to his knees and dropped his own staff. "I surrender," he groaned, already knowing that, come morning, his body would be littered with bruises. Oh yeah, gone was the time when he left a sparring match with Jenny unscathed.
"Already?" Jenny asked incredulously. "But we're just getting started!"
"You're kidding, right? My whole body is hurting!"
"Then you shouldn't hold back and allow me to hit you so often," Jenny countered, holding out her hand and helping him back to his feet.
Nik actually raised his eyebrows at that, as Jenny turned around and picked up his quarterstaff as well. Was she really thinking that he had been holding back, when he had, in fact, been giving everything? "Delusional," he muttered under his breath, so that Jenny wouldn't hear him.
But there was a wide grin on his face. He really needed to talk to Li.
"So, we better hit the showers. I'll see ya at dinner?"
"Sure," Jenny replied, as she was already on her way to the armory to bring the quarterstaffs back. First when she was sure that Nik wouldn't see or hear her anymore, she let out a sigh. She really hoped that Nik would stop holding back soon, because while she enjoyed the sparring matches and still thought they were challenging, she felt that she needed… more.
Nik groaned, as he stretched his arms over his head, feeling a few joints plop. He was already feeling loads better after the shower and some stretching exercises, but neither the hot water nor the exercises would keep his skin from turning blue, where Jenny had hit him really hard. Well, he was a fighter, so he just had to live with it. Though it hurt. A lot. And he was a man and wasn't allowed to whine. Damn.
Rolling his shoulders slightly, he walked through Li's house and knocked at the door to his office. With any luck, Li hadn't gone to dinner yet and he could still talk to him. He smiled relieved, when he heard Li's voice ask him to come in.
"Hey Li," Nik greeted him, as he slumped down on the soft couch in the corner of the office. He had to suppress another groan, hoping that Li wouldn't notice how sore he was, but the older teacher must have seen something pass over his face, as he sat down across from him chuckling.
"Hard training today?"
"Not really," Nik replied, "'twas just the last sparring match today. I'm totally beat."
"And yet you're here and not at dinner or in your room," Li pointed out. "So, what brings you here? Is it about the graduation test?"
"As a matter of fact, it is," Nik admitted. "I think I've found another candidate to take the test, but I wanted to hear your opinion first."
"Who is it?"
"Jenny." Their gazes met for a second, as Li looked at him, not with surprise, as he had expected, but with understanding. "In the past few weeks, I've been going full out during our sparring matches and it seems that we're about equal. I beat her, she beats me. But… the weird thing is… she thinks I'm still holding back."
"So, you think she's ready to take the test."
Nodding, Nik continued with his explanation. "Strength-wise and technique-wise, yes, I think she's ready. She's certainly one of the best fighters we have at the moment. She could wipe the floor with several older students, I'm sure of that."
"So…" Li said again thoughtfully, "you think she has reached her full potential, that there's nothing left that we could teach her?"
"Yes, I believe that she has come as far as the limitations of her human body allow her to come." The expression on Nik's face was one of complete seriousness. He had been thinking long and hard about this, and he had come to the conclusion that he had taught Jenny everything he knew. And she had been soaking it up like a sponge. Only lately, in the past few weeks, he hadn't seen any progress in her. Other teachers had said the same about her, when he had discreetly inquired about it. Of course, Nik had always been really careful that Jenny wouldn't find out about his thoughts about her training. "Sure, she still makes mistakes now and then, but we all do. That's because we're only human."
"Human…" Li muttered, and then leaned back in his chair for a moment, closing his eyes. Nik waited patiently for Li to open his eyes again, to finish his ponderings, but Li's voice sounded through the room before he opened his eyes again. "Tell me… do you think that, if we'd let her stay here for one more year, we'd hold her back?"
"Yes," Nik answered with conviction. "Her human body has reached its full potential. There's nothing more for us to do other than let her go, so that she can enhance that, which she has learned here, in her Saiyajinform. We can't offer her that kind of training. We would never stand a chance in a sparring session against her and because of that we would be more of a hindrance than a help. She needs to do this alone, or with Vegeta. Although," he added with a grin, "seeing her perform that what we have taught her in her Saiyajinform would be totally awesome!"
Li couldn't suppress the laugh at seeing the excited look on his former student's face. "I'm sure it would be 'totally awesome'," he agreed, still chuckling, but quickly sobered up. "Nik, I'm glad that you have come to see me, because you've just confirmed what I've suspected as well. Jenny is ready to take the test."
Nik sighed in relief. He had been a bit afraid of what Li thought of his judgment, but hearing him say that he was thinking the same gave him a small boost of confidence. Still, not all his concerns about Jenny were gone. "But Li, there's still something, I'm worried about. Jenny doesn't expect to graduate for another couple of years and I'm not sure if she even wants to take the test, if she believes that she's ready for this. And I'm also a bit afraid of the setback she might experience, if it somehow shows during the test that she wasn't ready after all."
"Tell me, Nik, in the years that you have been at this school, has there ever been a student who has failed at the test?" Nik thought back for a moment, but then shook his head. "See? It's because almost none of them do. Ever since I've founded this school, there have been three students who didn't graduate after taking the test, and this was back at the beginning. And even then, it hadn't been them who had failed, but it had been my judgment. However, I believe in the past few decades my judgment has become a lot better. You see, basically, the moment I decide with the other teachers that a student is ready to take the test, he or she has already graduated. The test is just a formality, nothing else."
Nik was stunned to hear this. Though it was already his third year as a teacher here at this school, he hadn't known that there was no meaning to the test. He had already helped with two of those tests and never had he even suspected that they didn't mean anything in the end, that it was already decided that the student would graduate. "Do the other teachers know?"
"Some," Li admitted with a sheepish grin, "the ones that I trust most not to tell it to their students. I don't want the students to take the test too lightly. As of now, you are one of those that I trust, not to blab it to your friends."
"Don't worry, Li," Nik replied with a twinkle in his eyes. "I solemnly swear that I won't tell anyone about how the test isn't a real test. Now, let's get back to Jenny."
"Yeah, Jenny," Li mumbled thoughtfully. He shared Nik's worries about Jenny thinking that she wasn't ready. "Only what to do about her?"
Both of them fell silent for a moment, until suddenly a wide, mischievous grin spread over Nik's face. "I think I've got an idea."
Wednesday morning. The week was almost over, as was the school year. Note even two more weeks and then she would go back to Vegeta and once again spend the summer holidays training with him and hoping that she could still spend some time with her friends, just as last summer. But before she could go home there was one big event she was looking forward to – the final test of those students who would graduate at the end of the year.
This year, two of their group would graduate – given that they passed the test. Ejnar and Zoe.
Jenny sighed. Once those two were gone, only she and Sel were left of their group. Until now, there had been no new students that fit to them, when she wasn't counting Hamal, who had, after all, only been there for two weeks before he had bolted. Stupid coward, she cursed in her thoughts. Oh yeah, she was long over him. But this didn't mean that she wasn't angry at him for giving up so quickly.
"Good morning, Jenny," Mailin greeted her with a bright smile, as she joined Jenny in the bathroom. "How was the morning run?"
"It was okay," Jenny replied with a yawn. Even after almost four years at this school, she would never get used to getting up at the crack of dawn, or in winter, looooong before dawn. Weekend and sleeping in had never sounded as good as during the months that she had to get up so early. She just couldn't understand Nik, who, even though as teacher no longer needed to go on the morning runs, still joined them every single morning. Suddenly, Jenny frowned. "Wait… Nik wasn't there…"
"Really?" Mailin asked in disbelief. "He's never missed the morning run, unless he was really ill. What did you do to him during your sparring match yesterday?"
"Nothing, really," Jenny reassured her friend, who was looking at her incredulously. "Really! He was at dinner, yesterday, and he was normal! I'll just ask him at breakfast."
"Let's do that," Mailin agreed.
They both finished their business in the bathroom and, freshly showered and dressed, they walked to breakfast together. Damian was already waiting for them at their table, complaining about them always taking longer in the bathroom. The girls just laughed it off and turned their attention to their breakfast. A few minutes later they were joined by Selvyn, Zoe and Ejnar.
"Hey Jenny," Zoe said, as she sat down next to the younger, but since about two years ago, taller girl. "I've met Li outside. He asks you to come to him after breakfast."
"What did you do?" Damian asked suspiciously.
Jenny threw her hands in the air and shook her head. Why did everyone always think that it was her fault? "I didn't do anything. Really!"
Grumbling, she turned her attention back to her breakfast, but still couldn't help but wonder, why Li wanted to see her. As far as she knew, she really hadn't done anything that might warrant a visit to Li. And if Li just wanted a friendly chat, he wouldn't summon her to his office. Looking around, she hoped to find Nik. Maybe he knew more about what Li might want from her. But her friend was still nowhere to be seen.
Damn it! Where was he?
Once she was finished with her breakfast, Jenny excused herself from her friends and walked quickly to Li's house. She had decided that Li just had to know something about Nik's no-show during the morning run and breakfast and thought she could use his wanting to see her to ask him about her missing friend.
She only had to knock once before she heard Li's voice telling her to come inside and she just wanted to say hello to her teacher, when she saw that one of the chairs in front of the desk was occupied by none other than her missing friend Nik. "Here you are!" she said instead of greeting Li. "I've been worried about you, after you missed the morning run and breakfast. Where've you been?"
"Hey Jenny," Nik greeted her with a cheeky grin and then turned slightly in his chair, pushing his right leg to the side, a leg that was in encased in a white cast. "I'm sorry you missed me, but I was down in town to get this."
"What happened? What did you do?"
Nik chuckled dryly. "Missed the last step of the stairs this morning and broke my leg. Kinda embarrassing, huh?"
"Does it hurt? When will the cast come off?"
"Nah, doesn't hurt… the cast's just itching a bit. And it will come off in about six weeks. And this kinda sucks."
"And this is also the reason why I've asked you to come to my office," Li threw in, amused by the fact that Jenny seemed to have completely forgotten that he was there and that he had asked to see her. But it also warmed his heart to see how worried she was for her friend.
Jenny looked up startled, her eyes wide. She had really forgotten that Li was also in the room. Blushing lightly and with an embarrassed chuckle, Jenny scratched the back of her head. "Oops… sorry Li, I was kinda distracted. But first, good morning."
"Good morning, Jenny," Li chuckled again, but decided to spare the girl any more embarrassment and get straight to the point. "As you have noticed, Nik is currently unable to perform his duties at this school and I've asked you to come here because of this."
"What do you mean?" Jenny asked, a suspicious note creeping into her voice. Why would Li ask her of all people to see him when Nik was injured? She was just a student here, after all.
"Ah, don't worry, Jenny. I'm not asking you to take over his classes. That's all covered." Jenny almost breathed a sigh of relief, when Li assured her this. However, the grin on his face promised a 'but'. She dreaded it, but wasn't surprised when he really continued with this stupid word. "But with the graduation test coming up next Saturday, I really need your help. But why don't you sit down, while we're talking about it? Would you like some coffee?"
"No, thanks," Jenny replied, as she sat down next to Nik. She gave her friend a warning look, as he seemed to be in on whatever Li wanted to ask of her. Of course he was in on it; it was because of him that she was here after all. "So, what do you want me to do?"
"Face Ejnar and Zoe during the test," Li told her bluntly, thinking it best to get over with it as quickly as possible. Her eyes widened, but before she could say or do anything, Li continued, "You will fight Ejnar with the swords and Zoe with the quarterstaff. But don't worry, that's the only two fights you'll have to participate in, as Zoe is facing another graduating student with the sword during the test."
"Don't worry?" Jenny mumbled in disbelief. "Don't worry? Li, I'm fourteen years old, I've only been at this school for four years! I can't face them in a real fight! They'll kick my ass!"
"Language, Jenny," Li admonished her gently, but smiled inwardly. This was just the reaction he and Nik had expected and he was glad that Nik had had this brilliant idea to get her to fight. When she was already like this, when she only had to substitute, how would she have reacted, if they had told her that she would be an active participant in the graduation test, meaning that she was taking this test as well? "I'm not expecting an answer right now, but tomorrow morning I would like to know what you've decided."
"Li, I really…."
"Think about it," he interrupted her. "Talk to your friends about it. Make your decision. And tell me tomorrow. But I have to tell you that it would really be a big help, if you decided to do this. As you know, the graduating students are always facing other graduating students during the test. However, this time we were short of two opponents, one in the category 'sword' and one in the category 'quarterstaff'. I've asked Nik to fight the two students instead, seeing as he's only been out of school himself for only a few years. But now, with Nik out of the picture, we have a problem. I really don't want to ask older teachers, as they might have the unfair advantage of experience on the students. And currently, you are the only student advanced enough with the quarterstaff to take on older students. And since your work with the sword is also by far more than satisfactory, we thought to ask you to replace Nik in both his fights, instead of involving even more students."
"Please, Jenny, think about it…"
Jenny turned her head and looked into Nik's wide eyes begging her to do this. He had perfected the puppy dog eyes and they worked on many people, only his girls, meaning Anisah, Zoe, Mailin and Jenny herself, were somewhat immune to it, after having been exposed to them too often. Today, however, Jenny felt pity for him with the broken leg and all and allowed the eyes to work on her. "Alright, I'll think about it and tell you guys tomorrow."
"That's all we ask, Jenny, that's all we ask." Though Li really hoped that she would agree to this, that somehow the Saiyajin in her would drive her to accept the challenge of fighting seemingly stronger opponents in public. Or maybe, if it wasn't the Saiyajinside, it would be the compassionate human side and the guilty conscience that would tell her to help her friends out.
Jenny was late for classes – she had barely realized that she had spent most of the morning in Li's office -, but fortunately Suki had already been informed by Li that he had needed to talk to Jenny. Mailin and Damian wanted know why she had to go to Li, of course, but Jenny first got the opportunity to tell them the whole story in their lunch break. Her friends listened with rapt attention and surprise, while they were walking to the cafeteria and going to their table. Jenny was glad to finally get this off her chest, after having already stewed over this ever since Li and Nik had asked her to do this.
"That's awesome," Damian said astonished, once Jenny had told them everything that had occurred in Li's office. "I mean… of course not with Nik's broken leg, but you know what I mean."
"What's awesome?" Selvyn wanted to know, as he, Ejnar and Zoe sat down at their table, at the same time as Zoe asked slightly panicky,
"Nik's got a broken leg? But he's supposed to face Ejnar and me during the graduation fights, he can't have a broken leg!"
"Aw, don't worry," Damian quickly tried to calm her. "Jenny's his replacement."
"Jenny's what?" Ejnar asked confused, just as Jenny cried out,
"Hey, I haven't said yes, yet!"
"What are you guys talking about?" Selvyn wanted to know, sounding confused.
Jenny sighed and buried her face in her hands. Sure, Li had asked her to talk to her friends about this, but she already knew what they would say. For now basically the only thing she needed was some time to think about this. Alone. Without her friends' input.
Fortunately, she didn't need to say anything, yet, as Damian, still being the most excited of the group, decided to fill their friends in on what had happened that morning. "Li asked Jenny to replace Nik in the fights against you two, because of his broken leg."
"Wow!" Ejnar whistled in appreciation. "That's amazing. Jenny, that's really a great honor! I can't wait to fight against you! It's gonna be just great!"
"But I haven't said yes, yet!" Jenny repeated, frustrated. Why were they all so excited about it? They were her friends, friends who she had trained and sparred with! They all had to know that she wasn't ready for something as big as this! She still had a couple of years left at this school, so how could they expect her to participate in the graduation tournament as opponent of two graduating students. Li said that he didn't want teachers to fight, because they had too much experience and that this would be unfair, but wouldn't it also be unfair to let them fight against an opponent that was so much weaker and worse than them?
"But you're going to, right? Right?" Zoe asked her. "'Cause I really don't wanna fight a teacher! And to be honest, after Nik, you'd be my second choice."
"Zoe is right," Ejnar agreed. "If they've really asked you to replace him, you just have to say yes."
Jenny shook her head, not wanting to hear more about it, but when Selvyn put his hand over hers, she looked up at him. His eyes were kind and sympathetic and even though the only thing she now wanted to do was to get out of here and get some quiet time, away from her friends, so that she could think about it without anyone trying to convince her, she stayed where she was and listened to what he had to say.
"Jenny," he said softly. "I know that this is quite overwhelming and that, in the end, it's your choice. But please, really, really think about the chance you get. You get the chance to participate in the graduation tournament, in front of an audience, without any pressure. Just… just think of it as a training match, a simple sparring match, a test run of what will happen, when it's your turn to do this for real. But now, it doesn't matter, if you win or lose, you can do it just for fun."
"But what if I make a fool out of myself?" Jenny asked quietly, voicing the fear that had been nagging her the whole time, which had kept her from even considering it.
"You won't, trust me," Selvyn reassured her. "You are a good fighter, Jenny, no one doubts it. Least of all Li and Nik. If they think that you can participate as opponent for Ejnar and Zoe, then you can be a worthy opponent. Think about it, Jenny."
"Thanks," Jenny mumbled, as she got up. She was no longer hungry, and if she got hungry later this afternoon, she could still go to the kitchens for a snack. Now she needed to be alone and think. And while she was thinking, she could just as well get some training done. "I'm sorry guys… I'll see ya later."
It was later in the afternoon, after the regular training was over, when Selvyn walked to the gym, where Jenny had been since she had left them at lunch. With the graduation tournament looming on the horizon and summer starting most of the regular training had been held outside, so that the graduating students could use the gym to prepare for their fights. After all, a lot depended on them.
As he entered the stands of the gym, he wasn't surprised to see Nik there, sitting on one of the benches of the stands, with his crutches lying next to him on the floor. "Hey," he greeted him, sitting down next to the older boy. "How's the leg?"
"It's good," Nik told him. "It's just… the itching is so annoying."
"I see," Selvyn mumbled thoughtfully and turned his attention back to Jenny, who was practicing with two swords – two swords with blunt edges that Li had specifically made for her training. In the background, she had some classical music playing, which was slow and gentle one moment and then quickly became light and fast. Her movements were in sync to the music, one position gliding flawlessly into the next. It looked truly beautiful and if he didn't like Mailin so much, he could have fallen in love with Jenny right then and there.
When Selvyn looked back to Nik, he saw that the other boy was a bit lost in thoughts, though he was still watching Jenny's every movement.
"She's really good," he said to Nik. "I can understand why you want her to participate on Saturday."
"Yeah, over the last few years she's become an amazing fighter," Nik replied, his voice filled with pride.
They both fell silent again, once again watching Jenny. The music changed, the classical piece being replaced by the beats of some heavy rock music. Immediately her movement changed as well, becoming more aggressive, faster, harder.
"So," Selvyn said at length, "what's gonna happen to me next year? With Ejnar, Zoe and Jenny gone, I'll be the only one left in our group."
Nik's head swiveled around so fast it was a wonder that he didn't get whiplash. "What are you talking about?"
Rolling his eyes, Selvyn told him, "Come on, Nik. I'm sure the others are too nervous about the test to realize this, and I'm not stupid. I've been wondering for the past few weeks, why Jenny wasn't scheduled to graduate with the others this year, so I haven't been surprised, when Jenny told us this morning that you've asked her to replace you."
Grinning, Nik chuckled, "Sometimes you're just too smart for your own good. But you're right. I'm sure, Jenny will kill me, when this is over, for not telling her, but you've seen her reaction. Li and I were pretty sure that she'd never participate if she knew that this is for real."
"Yeah, for someone usually so observant, she really doesn't see her own abilities clearly."
"Yeah, that's our Jenny," Nik agreed with a small smile, once again turning his attention back to the girl in the middle of the gym.
Oh sweet Dende, what the hell was she doing here?
Dressed in comfortable fighting clothes, consisting of her favorite black training top and jazz pants, Jenny was standing in the midst of the graduating students, waiting for Li to say some last words before the fights began. It was half past nine in the morning – the fights would begin at ten o'clock – and the sun was shining brightly and warmly down on them. A perfect day for the humiliation she was sure she would experience today. The stands were filled with the families and friends of the graduating students, as well as other students, who just wanted to watch the fights.
Great, just great.
She had only been to one other tournament, and this tournament had consisted of only one fight for her, before she had been disqualified. And after that, Earth had gone to hell.
Why, oh why had her curiosity and stubbornness and not to forget her conscience won, when she had decided whether she would help out Li by replacing Nik in the graduation tournament? There was no turning back now, and even though she had trained hard in the past few days, she was sure that she would be the laugh of the school once this tournament was over.
"Hey Jenny!" She whirled around startled and saw Nik hobbling up to her. "How are you doing?"
"Just peachy," she mumbled, swallowing hard. Was there some place where she could hide?
"Don't worry, Jenny," Nik told her with a comforting smile. "You'll do great, I'm sure. Just do your best and everything will be fine. Don't forget that."
"I'll try…" Jenny mumbled again, and after he had given her one more smile, Nik hobbled away again, to the front, where Li was now standing.
The moment he cleared his throat, all attention was immediately upon him. He smiled brightly, as he said, "Good morning everyone. I'm glad to see that you're all here and healthy, ready to participate in the graduation tournament. Now I would once again like to remind you of the rules… The fights last thirty minutes and end when the time is up, one of you is out of the ring or knocked out, we count you out or when you surrender. Between each fight we'll have a break of fifteen minutes. There'll be a lunch break from quarter to one until quarter to two and we'll have our last fight at four o'clock. We'll tell you, if you have passed the test until five o'clock and the ceremony to celebrate the graduating students starts at six. And I know I've told you before, but I'd like to tell you once again that you don't need to win the fights to pass the test. Just do your best, show us everything you've learned, and it should be enough. Do you have any questions?"
"How do we know, when it's our turn?" a boy asked.
Chuckling, Li replied, "Sorry, I knew I've forgotten something. At the notice board over there you'll now find the schedule for today." They all looked over their shoulders to the notice board that had previously been empty, but now showed a white sheet of paper. "Go, take a look. I'm sure you're all curious, when you're going to fight."
Excited chatter broke out around her and Jenny followed the other students to the schedule for the fight, looking for her name. She knew it would appear twice and she quickly found it. Her first fight would be at half past eleven against Ejnar with the swords. And then she would be up against Zoe with the quarterstaff directly after the lunch break at quarter to two.
"Oh god, I'm starting," Zoe groaned next to her.
"Come on," Ejnar, who had appeared on Jenny's other side, said, "at least your first fight will be over soon. Me and Jenny will have to wait until half past eleven."
"It's Jenny and I, and you're right," Zoe sighed. "So, Jenny, you're up to the fights?"
Burying her face in her hands, she muttered, "What have I gotten myself into?"
"Don't complain, Jenny," Ejnar grinned at her and took her hands away from her face. "You had the chance to say no, but you didn't, and now you have to go through with it. But come on, it'll be fun! Let's go find some seats and cheer for Zoe."
"Okay," Jenny agreed reluctantly and let herself be pulled away. "Good luck, Zoe!"
Zoe's first fight ended after thirty minutes in a draw, but Jenny had always known that Zoe's strength lied with the quarterstaff. She was still very good with the sword, though, and had shown this in an excellent fight against her opponent. Jenny was more than sure that Zoe would pass this test, especially since the other fight would be against her.
However, during the second fight Jenny found it difficult to concentrate and towards the end, she and Ejnar left the stands to get ready for their fight. She tried to relax and went through a series of katas to warm up. This helped a bit to clear her mind, but the time to prepare was over too soon and Li announced the next fight to start in five minutes.
The next moment, she and Ejnar were standing at the entrance of the ring, ready to enter when called.
"Are you ready, Jenny?" Ejnar asked her with an excited grin.
Jenny swallowed before she mumbled, "I think I have to puke."
Ejnar laughed and clapped her on the back. "Keep it inside until the end of the fight, okay?"
"I'll do my best."
"And now I'd like to introduce the next two students. Ejnar and Jenny and they are going to fight with the swords," Li's voice pulled Jenny's full attention back to the upcoming fight.
She and Ejnar stepped into the ring and stopped a few yards apart. Two teachers handed them their weapons for this fight and somehow Jenny immediately felt calmer upon having the two training swords in her hands. While they weren't the same ones as the Dragon Swords, she still felt as if they were vibrating in her hands, as if they belonged there. The noise of the audience disappeared in the background and Jenny found herself concentrate on the situation at hand. Once Li said so, she was going to fight Ejnar.
Finally Li gave the signal and an excited grin spread over her face, as Ejnar got into a fighting stance with his long broadsword held in his right hand. This, fighting, was what she was born to do, so why was she afraid? This was her arena, her playground. And even if she lost, she would learn so many new things.
She could do this.
Right at this moment, Ejnar attacked, swinging his sword at her. The grin on her face widened even more, as she managed to block his hit with both of her swords and pushed him back a few steps.
Ooh, this was going to be so much fun!
The noises of the audience around them disappeared, as all her concentration was on the fight. Energy cursed through her veins, excitement and adrenalin pushing her further than she had ever gone at this school. Everything came to her so easily, blocking, dodging, attacking. Using her advantage of being smaller and nimbler than the tall and muscular Ejnar, she kept weaving around him. The swords were like extensions of her arms, almost moving of her own accord.
Or, Jenny thought, still grinning, as she managed to hit Ejnar's leg with the blunt edge of the long sword, maybe all this training had just made the movements with the swords part of her fighting instincts. Her body just knew what to do. She didn't need to think about the movements, she just acted. The only thing she needed to think about was the tactic she would use. But that was easy. While Ejnar was definitely stronger, Jenny was faster, and she was already using this to her advantage.
Ejnar cursed, when Jenny's sword connected with his leg. It actually hurt and she was almost too fast for him to get a good hit himself. But he was still enjoying himself immensely. When Jenny had told them that she had accepted Li's request to replace Nik, he had been secretly relieved that he didn't have to fight against Nik. He had been so sure that, while Jenny would surely put up a good fight, he would defeat her, but now he suddenly wasn't so sure anymore.
He had never expected Jenny to be this good! This fight surpassed any expectations he had had. He hadn't had that much fun during a fight in a very long time.
Then, finally, he landed a hit on Jenny's back, sending her stumbling to the ground. She groaned, as she pushed herself back to her feet. Damn, that had hurt. Ejnar was really strong.
"Oh god, Jenny, I'm sorry… are you alright?" her worried opponent asked her, as he leaned down.
"Damn it, Ejnar," she grumbled. "You shouldn't worry about me. I'm your opponent for Dende's sake! You should be happy that I was on the ground!"
"Oops… right…" He grinned sheepishly, and fastened his grip on his sword again.
Jenny's grin transformed into a mischievous smirk, as she announced, "But you just wait. I'll get you for that!" And then she was on him, lashing out with the long sword in her right hand, followed by a sharp jab with the short sword in her left hand, when he managed to block the first one. Ejnar whirled around, just barely missing the blunt point of the short sword, and immediately retaliated with a strong hit of his own.
Jenny gritted her teeth, as she blocked Ejnar's sword with the sword in her left hand. Her arms vibrated under the strength of the hit and her palms stung, but she refused to give in. With a snarl, she pushed forwards, but Ejnar pushed against her. Instead of gaining ground, she was losing ground, as Ejnar forced her to take one, then two steps backwards. Finally, she gave in, changing her tactic, and dropped to the ground. One leg swung around, surprising Ejnar and the next moment he was lying on his back, with Jenny's sword at his throat.
She smirked down at him, breathing hard, not really wanting to believe that it appeared as if she had won. "Do you give up?"
Ejnar replied with a grin, "Nope." And then, he grabbed her ankle and pulled her to the ground as well. Jenny shrieked in surprise, but rolled away. Ejnar was doing the same and the moment they were on their feet again, their swords clashed. Jenny almost staggered under the strength, once again feeling the pain in her palms and wrists, but she didn't give in. Their swords met again and again, and Jenny once again began to rely on her speed to evade his hits.
Finally, Jenny had no idea how much time later, she had miraculously managed to drive Ejnar towards the edge of the ring without any of them noticing it. They first realized this, when Ejnar made a step backwards to dodge an attack and felt only air underneath his foot. Floundering, he cursed and he would have landed outside the ring, if Jenny hadn't dropped the sword in her left hand and grabbed Ejnar's wrist. Immediately his fingers curled around her arm and Jenny pulled him back.
"Now we're even," she told him, as she picked up her sword again.
"Yeah, thanks," Ejnar replied with a sheepish grin. "You could have just let me fall."
"Yeah, yeah… But I didn't. Now, let's get this over this."
"Sure, sure…" Ejnar replied with a grin, as he realized something. Behind Jenny, he could see Li and Nik and both of them were smiling proudly, because of Jenny he presumed. Apparently, Jenny wasn't just Nik's replacement, no, she was in this tournament for real. Only, she didn't know it.
They both got again into a fighting stance, but before any of them could make a first move, a gong sounded through the air. The signal for the end of the fight.
Jenny looked around startled, as the crowd began to cheer. Was it already over?
"The thirty minutes are up," Li announced. "The fight ends in a draw, even though both Ejnar and Jenny had their chances to end the fight earlier. However, in a show of fairness, they've given their opponent another chance. Now we'll have another break of fifteen minutes, before the last fight before lunch starts."
Once Jenny and Ejnar stepped out of the ring, they were enthusiastically greeted by their friends, congratulating them on a great fight. She didn't notice the knowing look passing between Nik, Selvyn and Ejnar, still too stunned about her own performance. The first fight in the graduation ceremony and she hadn't lost. Okay, she hadn't won either, but this didn't matter. She had stood her own in a graduation fight, and she was sure that she could be proud of that fact.
Now, feeling somewhat less nervous after not having made a fool out of herself in the first fight, Jenny enjoyed her first meal that day at lunch break. It didn't even matter that she was up against Zoe directly after, because for one she knew that Zoe was better with the quarterstaff than she was, and second, she had already proven to herself and the rest of the student body that she could fight with the swords.
Her friends had been right – now that she had seen what the graduation tournament was like, she wasn't scared to participate once it was her time to do so.
After lunch, Jenny and Zoe were bantering back and forth on their way to the ring. They didn't even stop, as Li announced them. Grinning brightly in anticipation, they stepped into the ring and accepted the quarterstaff, as it was handed to them.
"Are you ready, Jenny?" Zoe asked her. "Ready to get your ass kicked?"
"Bring it on," Jenny replied and they both got into a fighting stance.
And then, when Li told them to start, Jenny once again felt her blood pump through her veins and all the outside noises faded. It was just her and Zoe in this ring, and no one else.
The next second, Zoe attacked and while she was busy dodging, blocking and attacking herself, Jenny quickly realized that while she was good, Zoe was better. The quarterstaff was Zoe's favorite weapon, just as Jenny's were the two swords. Jenny knew that once Zoe had graduated, Li would present her with the weapon that had chosen her, a beautifully crafted staff. And it was because of this that Jenny slowly but surely noticed how Zoe was beating her. She was losing ground, Zoe was a bit smaller than her and now had the advantage that she had used against Ejnar.
But somehow, it didn't bother Jenny much, though the Saiyajin in her grumbled a bit at the coming defeat. Yet, true to her nature, Jenny refused to give up. So, when Zoe first managed to hit her in the stomach with one end of the staff, and then disarmed her with another twist of her staff, Jenny wanted to continue the fight without her staff.
However, now she was even more at a disadvantage. Without a weapon and pain blossoming in her stomach and hand, she wasn't fast enough to block the staff when it hit her face. Something cracked, pain shot through her face and Jenny felt something warm run over her mouth.
Damn! It seemed as if her nose was broken.
Distracted by this, Jenny didn't react, when Zoe again swung the staff at her, hitting her in the back, at the exact same spot where Ejnar's sword had already hit her earlier this day. Jenny dropped to the ground, slightly dazed. She tried to get back up, but a weight on her back kept her down. Jenny didn't know, if it was Zoe's foot or the staff, but even as she managed to push herself up slightly, she didn't get far and was pressed to the ground again.
What should she do now? Give up, or keep fighting until the time was up?
Fortunately, this decision was taken from her, when Li began to count. If she didn't manage to get up by the time he got to ten, the fight was over and she had lost.
Naturally, Jenny kept trying, but with the blood still gushing from her broken nose and the pain in her stomach, face and back, Li called out "Ten!" before she had managed to get up. With a sigh, she let her body go limp and felt as the weight on her back disappeared. Jenny heard Li announce Zoe as winner of this fight three minutes before the thirty minutes were up (had they really fought almost half an hour?) and then, just a short moment later, she was surrounded by feet and eventually Zoe's worried face.
"Jenny, are you alright?" she asked worriedly.
"I'm fine," she groaned, hearing how her voice sounded strange through the broken nose, and now finally pushed herself up into a kneeling position. There, where her face had been lying since she had hit the ground was a small puddle of blood. Yikes.
"Oh god, I'm so, so sorry," Zoe apologized, as she took in Jenny's battered face and bleeding nose. "You should go to the infirmary."
"It's fine," Jenny insisted, knowing that she just needed to get somewhere quiet, so that she could set her nose and then use the nifty technique that Tenshinhan had shown her a few years ago to heal the nose. "Let's get out of here…"
"Okay…" Zoe and her other friends helped her to her feet and then led her away from the ring and the crowd. "Where do you wanna go?"
"Over there, to the tree line," Jenny told them.
Once there, she sat down, leaning against a tree and took a deep breath through her mouth. Damn, who would have thought that a broken nose would hurt this much? "Ejnar, could you please set the nose? I don't want it to look crooked, when it's healed."
"Are you sure…" Ejnar said hesitantly. However, one pointed glare from Jenny told him that this had been a stupid thing to say. So he knelt down across from her, put his palms over her nose and then pulled. He winced, as another crack sounded through the air, but Jenny remained quiet. There were tears of pain running down her face and she was breathing hard, but seemed to be okay otherwise.
"How does it look?" Jenny asked as the pain from the realigning began to fade – damn, this had hurt! -, but she could already hear how her voice sounded more normal. She could still feel the warm liquid running from her nose, but otherwise the nose was feeling lighter somehow.
"Pretty, as always," Zoe said with a worried chuckle, "but I still think that you should go to the infirmary."
"Nah, just give me a few minutes, and it'll be okay," Jenny told them, as she was already closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. She concentrated on her ki and just a few seconds later could feel its warmth settle around her nose, healing it. Her friends knew about this technique, but even though Jenny had tried to teach it to them, it only seemed to work for people who had a lot of experience with ki. She could feel the bleeding stop and the pain fade to a slight ache, but she didn't stop until all the pain was gone.
Once she didn't feel anything anymore, even when she wrinkled her nose, she let the ki go and opened her eyes. Everyone was staring at her in amazement.
"Wow," Damian breathed. "No bruise, no swelling, no more bleeding."
"Yeah, gotta love ki," Jenny told him grinning, though she could already follow his line of thoughts. Just a couple of weeks ago, he had yet again come back from a doctor's appointment in disappointment, after he had been told for the umpteenth time that there was nothing they could do to repair the damage done to the nerves of his spine. After having given him hope that they might have found a new procedure, of course. "Only too bad that it just works on small injuries like this."
"Yeah, too bad," Damian agreed and Jenny reached out to squeeze his hand.
"Hey guys," they suddenly heard Nik say, as he hobbled up to them on his crutches. "Urgh, Jenny, you look disgusting. How's the nose?"
"Healed," she told him, but as she looked down at herself, she grimaced. Great, her favorite top was ruined by all the blood. And she desperately needed to get cleaned up. "But what brings you here?"
"Li asked me to tell you guys, since you're finished with the fights, that you have all passed," Nik told them grinning. "Congrats, guys! I knew you could do this!"
"Yes," Zoe hissed and exchanged a high-five with Ejnar, who was grinning just as brightly. And then they were hugging Jenny, Ejnar even going so far as picking her up and whirling her around once, both of them laughing.
Jenny was truly happy for her friends, but somewhere, deep down, she had a weird feeling, as she caught Nik's twinkling eyes.
It was six o'clock and the graduation ceremony had just started in the cafeteria with Li's congratulations to all the students who had passed this test – which was everyone who had participated in the tournament. His speech was great and didn't last long, for which everyone was thankful. The graduating students were sitting in the first two rows and Jenny and her friends had gotten the seats directly behind them.
Jenny could see them wriggle in their seats and fiddle with their dark green (one of the students had exclaimed that they 'thank god' weren't maroon) graduation robes in excitement. In just a few minutes, Li would call them forwards to the stage, where they would receive their diploma and their weapons. If Jenny was completely honest, she was a bit jealous that they would finally get their weapons. She couldn't wait to hold the Dragon Swords in her hands again.
And then it was time. Li called the names of the students and as Ejnar and Zoe were called and given their diplomas and weapons, Jenny and her friends cheered extra loudly, even going as far as standing up while they were applauding, just as they had already done for Nik and Anisah in the previous years.
Once everyone was on the stage, Jenny expected Li to say some last words and then the graduates to throw the caps into the air, just as he did every year, but everyone hushed, as Nik stepped onto the stage, without the cast on his legs and the crutches.
Jenny's breath caught in her throat, as she realized that he was carrying one more diploma, a graduation gown and cap over his arm, and very familiar sword sheaths including two leather hilts emerging from the sheaths.
No, no, no, no, no!
"Oh…" Jenny heard Mailin exhale next to her, as the same thing that Jenny didn't want to realize occurred to her, too.
They fucking tricked her!
Nik stopped in front of the microphone, grinning mischievously, as he gazed over the crowd. "Hello everyone," he greeted them, "I'm sure many of you wonder, where my cast and crutches have gone. Well, I'm glad to be rid of them after the last few days, especially as I never needed them. It's all been an elaborate scheme cooked up by Li and me to get one person to participate in the graduation tournament, who would've never participated otherwise, at least not if we had told her that she was going to take the test for real."
Some students chuckled and many looks were directed at Jenny, all of them knowing why she had taken part in the tournament – or least they had thought they had known until now. The girl in question swallowed hard, but on the inside, she was fuming. Ooh, they were so going to get a piece of her mind, once she got to them –preferably alone.
"Now, I know that she doesn't like to be the center of attention, and because of this I won't make this long and drawn out. I'd thought of preparing this long and boring speech about how small she had been, when she had started at this school, and about how back then, we'd been worried if she'd ever get the hang of fighting with weapons. Well, she did, and today she has shown this. But seeing as she already looks ready to kill me, I'll make it short. Dear students and colleagues, we have one more student who has passed the test today and graduates from this school tonight. She will, along with her fellow graduates, receive this diploma and the weapon that has chosen her. Jenny Son, please come up to the stage and get what you've worked for so hard in the last four years."
Jenny had half a mind to just be stubborn and remain seated, but the urgings and not so gentle nudging from her friends next to her convinced her that it would probably far less painful, if she just got up there and got this over with. So, with a sigh Jenny walked onto the stage under the applause from the other students; loudest of all were the standing ovations from her friends.
She wanted to keep glaring, especially, when she saw the smug grin on Nik's face, but when he handed her the diploma and the sheaths with the Dragon Swords – holding them in her hands somehow felt like coming home -, she couldn't help but smile.
"Congratulations, Jenny… You've truly earned this. And… I'm sorry for deceiving you like this," Nik told her with a sheepish grin, before hugging her tightly.
"Thanks," Jenny mumbled against his shoulder. "But don't think I won't retaliate for this."
"I can't wait," Nik chuckled, as he let go again. "And now, you better put this on. Your fellow graduates are waiting."
Jenny, still smiling, quickly pulled on the robe and put the cap on her head, before joining the other graduates. Ejnar and Zoe pulled her to stand between them, each of them clapping her back and grinning at her. She saw Li beaming at her, too, and somehow, she couldn't feel that angry at him any longer.
"And now," Li announced, now standing next to Nik, "I'd like to present our graduates this year. Congratulations to all of you."
And as one, they all threw their caps into the air, to the wild applause of the remaining students.
