Well then. I hope I can keep up this pace. I really wanted to write a chapter about Kimiko specifically as I haven't really done one, so to end off Part 2, here's a chapter about her.

See you at the bottom.

Chapter 21

Keeping the Promise

"You sure you want to do this?" I looked at the blank page in front of me.

Kimiko nodded. She put on a smile and took a deep breath. "I just want to know how I'm doing every week."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and shrugged. I took out a pen and dipped it into the ink, ready to write down everything she said. "Okay then…well, start whenever you're ready."

Kimiko nodded. "I was born in the year 372 in the time of the realm of humanity. My mother works at a stall in the town, selling wares, while my father makes them in the blacksmith shop. My original Calling was as a blacksmith, being the only child. However, one day, I picked up a sword and the captain of the guard saw some natural talent. I began using my own style which I perfected over the years, using the blades I made as a blacksmith apprentice." She began to smile slightly. "Then my father saw me practising one day and told me to enter the Duelling Tournament, and if I could get into the Swordscraft Academy, he would release me from my Calling to go be an Integrity Knight…and to fix my memory loss." She leaned back in the chair and sighed. "And that's basically when I met you. You…annoying guy that used my own style that I came up with."

"Didn't you say someone taught you that style?" I raised an eyebrow at her and I continued writing, quickly dipping the pen in the ink again.

She frowned. "I don't remember. I think maybe I had seen someone else using something similar…but I…" She looked pained.

"It's okay." I placed the pen down on the table, gently blowing on the page to allow the ink to set. "So we're doing this again next week?"

Kimiko nodded. "I want to know how much I remember…"

The leaves had faded from the bright greens of summer to orange and gold, almost making it look like a sunset every time you looked outside the window.

Luna yawned as she finished her combo. The training rapier was certainly doing her wonders for her speed. I was kind of worried that the day was coming that she would finally hit me. My stamina was certainly being pushed closer to its limits. I grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from my forehead, passing one to Luna.

"You're…getting there…" I said between sharp breaths, raising a skin of water to my lips.

"Light, you should…be careful. If you push yourself too much…your Life will decrease." Luna muttered as she took the skin from me and drank from it.

I shrugged. "If I'm not pushing myself…then how can I expect you to do the same?"

She sighed, shaking her head in disbelief. "Well, you should hurry. Kimiko will be waiting for you."

I nodded, sheathing the Night Shadow Blade on my belt and returning the training sword to its holder. After saying to Luna that I'd see her later, I headed back to the dorm.

"You're running behind." The slight jab came from the sofa as I placed my sword on the shelf again.

"Yeah, well you know how training can be." I took another swig from my water skin before sitting down, paper in hand. I didn't really need it now due to hearing the story so many times, but it was nice to keep tradition.

"Take a minute to breathe, jeez." She lifted her legs up, sitting cross-legged opposite me. "It won't be good if you pass out halfway through."

I nodded, taking several deep breaths to allow the adrenaline from training to slowly fade. I nodded, leaning back on the sofa and unrolling the paper.

"I was born in the year 372 in the time of the realm of humanity. My mother works at a stall in the marketplace, selling wares which my father makes in the blacksmith shop. Originally, my Calling was a blacksmith, being the only child. However, one day, I began swinging around a sword that I made and the captain of the guard happened to see me. His praise drove me to start using my own style which I practised for a long time, using the swords I made as a blacksmith apprentice." The same small smile appeared like it always did. "Then my father saw me practising one day and told me if I could get into the Swordscraft Academy during the Duelling Tournament, he would release me from my Calling to go be an Integrity Knight."

I nodded. All the same details were there. "It's still the same."

Kimiko looked relieved. "I had a feeling I had forgotten something. Thank goodness."

I shook my head. "You're still good." A small weight being lifted again. Every week, I worried what if she forgot something. Luckily, this week wasn't that week…

Decaying leaves littered the grounds outside, poking through a blanket of white snow which blinded me every time I looked out of the window, the sun reflecting off the surface like a mirror.

Training had been cancelled due to the weather. Apparently the training halls were like a freezer that butchers used to store meat. I sat down on the sofa, breathing into my hands to attempt to warm them a little faster than the small metallic container could. It was something Kimiko made in her spare time, filling it with heat elements to warm the room. It was effective, but I kind of wish it would be faster.

"Ready?" I asked the bundle of blankets as I unrolled the paper, letting it rest on my lap.

The head poking out of the top nodded. "Yeah." She took a deep breath before starting. "I was born in the year 372 in the time of the realm of humanity. My mother was a merchant at the market, selling stuff. My Calling was a blacksmith, but I-"

"Hang on." I stopped her. "What did your mother sell?"

"She sold…"

The heat from the container seemed to drain from the room. I could've sworn my heart froze for a few seconds as I begged that she was only kidding. The moment her eyes widened in terror was when I realised she wasn't.

"What did she sell?" The blanket suddenly became very tight around her, as if she was trying to shield herself. "What…what did she…Mum…what did you…?"

I stood up and walked around the table, sitting down beside her. I took a deep breath before talking. "Your mother sold the things your father made in the shop."

Her eyes became wet. "Dad was a blacksmith…of course…where else would I get my Calling?" She gripped her hair and bent down, breathing heavily. "How could I forget that!? It's so obvious! What is wrong with-"

I gripped one of her hands. "It's okay…it's not your fault…"

She looked up and rested her forehead on my shoulder. I reached an arm around her back and began patting it. I could feel the sleeve of my jacket getting rather wet. I didn't really know what I could say or do other than this. This was the first time she had ever actually forgot something major for me. Other times, it was small stuff, like she forgot what the date was, or what the exact wording for a Sacred Art was, something I had to ask Luna for help with, but it was stuff that could easily be recalled or relearned. This…this was hard to stomach.

"I'm sorry." A croak came from my shoulder.

"It's okay." I stopped patting her back, letting her retract from my shoulder.

She forced a smile. "Before, I would be sat there crying for hours…so thanks for being here."

"No problem." I dreaded to think what it was like for her before, sitting alone and desperately trying to recall the memory. A chill ran down my spine.

She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to return it to normal. It had become messy when she grabbed it. "Shall we continue?"

"You sure?" I looked at her, worried.

"Yeah."

I stood up and walked back around to my sofa. I nodded at her.

"One day, I picked up one of the swords I made…"

The air has warmed a little, but still the bite of winter remained whenever the wind picked up. The snow had melted from the bright white to a disgusting grey colour, winter slowly coming to a close.

I walked into the living area of my dorm to see Kimiko sleeping on the sofa, a book resting on her chest. I couldn't prevent a small smile from appearing on my face. I grabbed a trainee jacket that sat on a hook and put it over her. I then pulled a chair over and sat down next to a window in the glow of the moon. I sighed. It was only a few weeks until the Four Empire Unification Tournament, the end point of my journey so far. It has been something I've worked so hard to get to…but now, I didn't even know if I wanted it. Kimiko had specifically not told me about this so I would fight the best I could during our duel. Now? I didn't know if I had to will to shatter her dream if I could beat her.

Not going to lie, she's strong. Easily the best swordswoman I've seen in the academy. So much so, I wondered why she was only Rank 7, especially with her grasp of Sacred Arts that I didn't have. I actually didn't know if I could beat her now, despite beating her back in Vetal.

I wanted to keep our promise of going all out, yet I wanted her to live a normal life more than anything. And seeing her break down like that after losing a memory from her past…it almost broke me too.

A noise came from behind. I looked to see her bright sapphire eyes staring at me. "How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough to know something's bothering you." She swung her legs around and sat up straight.

I shrugged, shifting myself so I could see her properly. "It's fine. Just thinking."

"About the Tournament?" She asked. I smiled sadly, knowing she had got it in one. She rolled her eyes before wrapping the jacket tighter around her. "You're too kind to me…and too cruel…"

I shook my head. "Sorry. I just-"

"I know you enough to know what you're going to say, so shut up." Kimiko looked down at her knees. "You promised me when you found out that you'd give me the best duel of my life right?" I nodded. "I'm going to hate you if you don't keep that promise…"

"I'd rather you hate me and live a normal life rather than potentially watching you lose all your memories." A lump formed in my throat as I said that.

She threw her head back and let out a long groan. "You don't have to sacrifice your dream just to protect me, okay!?"

"Oi! It's the middle of the night!" A voice came through the wall.

We both winced. I took the opportunity to speak before she could. "The difference is…I don't even know if this will even lead to where I need to go. You…you need this. There's no other way that you can think of right?"

Kimiko brought her knees up to her chin and sat in silence for a few moments. She took a deep breath before speaking. "Why are you willing to throw away everything for me?"

I stared out at the setting sun as the tower crumbled around me, the blonde girl smiling brightly. "Because you're my friend. I think that's a good enough excuse."

"Because you're my friend." I repeated simply.

She shook her head in disbelief. "You're unbelievable."

"Well you're willing to gamble away your memories in a duel." I pointed out.

"True…" She sighed. "But I guess it's something else other than just friendship…" Immediately, my mind jumped to conclusions. I looked at her, waiting for the answer, but a sly smile appeared on her face. "I know you're going to ask what…so I'll tell you, if you beat me in the duel."

"That's just cruel…" My heart felt like it was going a hundred miles an hour.

Kimiko sighed. "Well, either way, we have our final exams before the Four Empire Tournament. If we both get into the final three, you won't have to worry about losing anything if you do lose…except that now."

I nodded. I had almost forgot about the final exams, focusing more on the final goal rather than hurdle I had to overcome first. A yawn escaped me. "Fine…I promise to go all out, in that duel. No matter if we're in the final three or not."

"And the Tournament?" She looked at me with a piercing gaze.

"No promises there…take it or leave it."

She rolled her eyes. "I guess it's better than nothing." She stood up, ready to go to bed. "Even if you don't go all out though in the Tournament, I'm going to, and I don't know if I'll be able to go stop short."

"Don't they use real swords in the Tournament?" I frowned.

"Not anymore. Two years ago, there was an accident." She gave me a smirk. "So I'm pretty sure you can take a few jabs from a training sword."

I smiled. "A small price to pay."

"You'd have a lot more to pay if you don't…" She went into her room before I could respond.

I sighed and looked back up to the moon outside the window, the ghostly light illuminating the room. I picked up the trainee jacket off the sofa and placed it on the hook again. The book that Kimiko was reading, I put back on the shelf.

I went back into my room, removing my shirt and lay down on my bed. The moonlight wasn't exactly allowing me to sleep. I just stared at the ceiling for a while. I knew the next few weeks would be the most intense fights of my life…at least that I knew of.

So...I guess my biggest worry is that I haven't communicated Light's changing mindset well enough. I wanted to try to show his hesitation in going for a win. Last chapter, he was talked into keeping his promise, but after experiencing what Kimiko's memory loss was like for her, we reached a point where he can't keep his promise. Or will he? Who knows. We'll have to see how it all pans out.

Part 2 has come to a close. I guess the first part would be the "beginnings and journey" arc, now it's the "relationship building" arc. Next will be the "tournament" arc. Prepare for a lot of battles...and some farewells for some characters. I hope you'll stick around.

Reviews:

blackbutterfly1313: Thank you. I think the pacing can be a bit quick at times, but thanks. Hopefully as we got into Part 3, I'll keep it up :)

That's all for now. I'll see you all in Part 3. Hope I can keep up this pace (reading some of blackbutterfly1313's fanfic helped give me motivation today, so if you have the chance, check out her fanfic. It's really good).

Until next time, Stay Cool.