So then, time to wrap up some loose ends before we head towards the combat. Fair warning, because of the nature of the combat, chapters might take longer to come out because I want every fight to feel fresh, not just the same fight over and over again. So it'll likely take some time to write out each fight. Anyway, see you at the bottom.

Chapter 22

A Net to Catch you

I swung my sword upwards at the underside of Luna's rapier, knocking it upwards and leaving her front wide open. A small smile slipped as she drew her rapier towards her body into a defensive position. I pressed my attack, the dull sound of the wood smacking against wood ringing against the walls with every strike I made towards her. She was being pushed back.

Something was off though. She was letting me push her back too much. Before, she would at least try to attack back…

I put some force into my next strike, knocking her rapier to the side. I went with the momentum of my swing, spinning around to her open side and swinging for that.

One second, a boot heel was in my face. The next, I had been knocked to the ground, head dazed and ringing.

"Are you okay?" Luna leaned over me, looking concerned.

"Yeah…just give me a second." Partly due to my head, partly to figure out what Luna had done.

Luna poked me in the side with her rapier. "I win."

I smiled a little. "Yeah…yeah you did."

Luna raised her arms into the air, letting out a cry of victory. I had barely sat up before I was knocked back down, Luna wrapping her arms around my neck and laughing. Her glee was contagious, and I couldn't help but feel happy for her, making me forget about the pain in my cheek. I could feel her trembling, the adrenaline rushing through her. I wrapped an arm around her back. For the briefest moment, I thought I felt her heartbeat speed up, but it quickly returned to a normal pace.

"Can I be a little selfish?" Luna's voice was so quiet, I barely caught it. "Can we stay here…for a little while longer?"

I nodded. "Sure."

Luna closed her eyes and tightened her grip around my neck. The room became still, and the moment stretched on for a lot longer than it actually was. It was nice. But that feeling of happiness soon faded when I heard her sobbing.

"What's wrong?" I removed my arm from her back and shifted myself so I could look at her properly. Luna moved off me, sitting alongside me. Her cheeks were bright red and her eyes looked puffy, though no tears had fallen.

"I thought I'd be able to keep it in. But I guess win the fight finally overwhelmed me." She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and blew her nose. "Sorry…I…" She took a deep breath. "I might never see you again after the Tournament…and you've done so much for me. If it weren't for you, I would've never gotten this far. I would still be that…brat that would've gone to die if she ever stepped foot in the Dark Territory."

I felt a pang of guilt to my heart. It was true, I would be leaving her behind. But I smiled, standing up and offering Luna a hand. She took it and I lifted her up. "Well, you could always follow me. If I get there that is."

She nodded. "If you win, I'll follow you…but if not…y-you're welcome t-to…" Her voice trailed off. I let her take her time to finish. She drew in a breath and closed her eyes tight. "You'rewelcometocometomyhouseandstay!" Somehow the shade of her cheeks deepened. Any redder, and I thought she would overheat.

The invitation surprised me. A while ago, while waiting to apply to the Swordcraft Academy, I had done some reading on the traditions of the Human Empire. So I knew what Luna was asking. She wanted me to become part of the Regal family, and because I was older, would be taking over the household in place of her.

But a commoner taking over a noble household? It was unheard of. Practically laughed at. Luna was ready to uproot the entire noble structure. So I put a hand on her shoulder and looked dead in her eyes. "You sure about this?"

She nodded. "Yeah. The way I see it, my parents were perfectly content with setting me up to fail and possibly send me to my death. Most people would let me win out of fear of repercussion or tear me down, happy to leave me at my lowest point just because I'm a noble. You tore down the weaker parts of me and built me up stronger than I had been before. And…the least I can do is give you a good future should you fall." She waved her hands in front of her. "Not that I expect you to fall."

"I know." I took a step towards her and embraced her. "Thank you." She smiled and returned the hug.

It made giving up in the Four Empire Tournament more tempting at the very least.

I stepped out of the training hall, sword at my side, when a fist collided with my jaw. I was sent spiralling to the ground, landing hard on my shoulder. I winced in pain, standing up properly and drawing my sword.

"You? Becoming a noble? Don't make me laugh." Diaz spat at me, the thick liquid hitting my eye and blinding me for a moment. And that moment was all he needed to punch me again.

"STOP IT!" A scream came from the training hall. I wiped the spit from my face to see Luna standing between me and Diaz. Being a lower ranked noble, Diaz couldn't touch Luna without serious consequences…or that should've been the case. He grabbed her shoulder and pushed her to the side before raising a fist at me. Luna's interference gave me time to catch my bearings however. According to the Taboo Index, I couldn't hurt a noble directly. But it said nothing about indirectly. I ducked under his punch, which he had put way too much power into. Missing made him stumble forwards, his stomach slamming into my couched back, and sent him tumbling over me. He landed on the ground, straight on his back.

I sheathed my sword and immediately went over to Luna who was curled up on the ground. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm fuming." Luna sat up, her whole body shaking and a flame of pure rage in her eyes, which she quickly directed straight at Diaz. "What the hell was that!? It's completely against the Taboo Index to attack another person unprovoked!" It occurred to me that it should be impossible to attack someone anyway. That wording is sneaky. "And on top of that, you attack a first ranked noble."

"You aren't a noble. Not anymore." Diaz returned her anger with a gaze filled with a fury I had never known. "You're going to bring a commoner into nobility? And him no less!? It's absolutely ridiculous!" His voice seemed to be raising with every word.

A loud bang came from the entrance and Mr Galsworthy stormed towards us. He picked Diaz up by the scruff of his neck, standing him up straight, before walking over to Luna and lifting her up by her arm. "Both of you, to my office. Elite Disciple Light, you will head back to your dorm immediately."

"But sir-"

"He started-"

The air suddenly seemed to violently stir around Mr Galsworthy. "Do I make myself clear?" His voice was soft, but his tone held so much anger behind it. I didn't want to tempt that anger. It seemed to shake my soul. I bowed and headed straight to the dorms while Luna went to the office.

I headed inside, seeing Kimiko and Becchi studying Sacred Arts. I headed straight into my room to not disturb them. I sat on my bed and waited as seconds seemed to drag on. Seeing Mr Galsworthy with that aura of pure rage was terrifying. Even the air around him seemed terrified to be near him. I couldn't understand why, or why he dragged Luna away. She hadn't done anything wrong as far as I could see.

I clutched my cheek as it began to throb with pain. I couldn't lie, Diaz had one hell of a right hook. But why did he attack me…and how?

My mind wandered back to the days that I lost Myne. Everything I could think of was blocked by the existence of the Taboo Index. But being clobbered in the face just now…it made me think about it more. If there was some way to bend the rules without breaking them. And then it might narrow down who had taken Myne…

I shook my head. No. Even if I figured out who had taken her, it was far too late to go looking. She would be long gone, and I couldn't go looking without breaking my promise to Kimiko. It…almost tore me apart inside because I hadn't realised that I had given up. Hell, the fact that Myne rarely even entered my mind except when I picked up that sword…it felt wrong. I lay back on my bed, my heart torn in two. Because before she disappeared, I did start to love her. Slowly though, I had begun to forget her.

The door opened and Luna stepped inside. She took a deep breath before sitting down. "I never thought I'd see Mr Galsworthy so angry."

"What happened?"

She shrugged. "Apparently Diaz couldn't see me as a noble anymore due to inviting a commoner to my household, and because your status as either a commoner or a noble is now in flux, you're not technically either, so neither the rules for commoners or nobles apply to you. At least, that's the reason Mr Galsworthy thought of. Because Diaz shouldn't be able to attack either of us like that."

I nodded. "Yeah, I couldn't work it out, but I guess that makes sense."

"It's not like you're a part of the household yet, only if you have nowhere else to go should you somehow lose during the Tournament." Luna frowned. "Not that you will lose, right?"

I shrugged. "If I lose, it'll be for a reason."

A sad smile appeared on her lips. "Yeah…I know."

I sat up. "Right, now that that's all sorted, what do you want?"

"Huh?"

"Our deal was if you hit me, you'd get something."

Luna's eyes widened. "Oh! I had completely forgot…" She began to think. "Okay…stand up."

I did so. She slipped her arms underneath mine and link them behind my back. I couldn't help but smile. "Really? Is that all you want?"

"To me, this is priceless…" She muttered under her breath, barely loud enough for me to hear it.

"You didn't have to win a bet for this you know." I raised my arms, placed one hand on the small of her back and the other on the back of her head.

"Wouldn't have been worth it then."

My heart was warmed by her comment. I knew out of everyone in the Swordcraft Academy, I would miss her the most in the week we have before heading to the Tournament. But at least a few days would be spent with her while I prepared for the Advancement Exam.

Luna unlinked her hands from behind my back and smiled. "Right! I should get on with cleaning. Hopefully Becchi hasn't taken the cloth again."

I nodded. "Well, I've got to help you get ready for your Advancement Exam right?"

"I mean, the only thing I struggle with is Sacred Arts, and you're not exactly great at those."

I grimaced at her comment, because it was true. "Right. Well, maybe we can go see an instructor or something." The fact that I couldn't cast Sacred Arts was a little bothersome.

"Yeah. I'll be working extra hard for the last few days." Luna gave me the brightest smile I've seen on her face.

So, very soon we'll be saying goodbye to Luna. Maybe for a short time, maybe for a while. Who knows. Well, I do, but that's not the point. I wanted her to fulfil her dream of hitting Light, to have her journey come to an end...at least for now. Also, it shows that Light can lose a fight, which he hasn't really done up to this point. Then again, people like Lord Grant were holding back. And I haven't forgotten about Myne. Heck, I have something planned involving her in the future.

Reviews:

dndkeg: Glad you're looking forward to it. Hope I can deliver XD

blackbutterfly1313: No problem, I really enjoy your fanfic and I'm sure many others would. I'm not a genius though, it just takes a lot of time to write, hence why the next lot of chapters will likely have a long break in between. And yeah, one day we'll get to the end hopefully XD

ZelotArchon: Thank you for your kind words. Glad you're enjoying. I'll get around to No Land Beyond some day...maybe. God it's taken a long time to actually start that up. But thanks, I hope I can deliver when I actually write it.

Something I do want to address. Now Lycoris has released, a lot of my fanfic has been contradicted by the game. But I won't be changing any details from Nightshade to fit with Lycoris. For example, the Wesdarath Empire will still have Vetal at the edge, where the Ravine is in game (trying not to spoil anything).

As always, thank you all for reading. And thanks for all the reviews. Until next time, Stay Cool.