Beacon Academy, Kingdom of Vale

Days turned into weeks, and more students from around the four kingdoms arrived at Beacon Academy for the Vytal Festival. Out of all the new transfer students, the ones that stood out the most to XNTW were Ferris Gray and his partner Tobias Fynn, for differing reasons. If you asked Wren or Kira, they would say that the two exuded an aura of smug strength and a sense of purpose. If you asked Taiga or Niko, they'd tell you that something about the two rubbed them the wrong way.

Niko, specifically, felt a sense of deja vu upon seeing Ferris.

He couldn't figure out why for the life of him.

"-ko. Niko!" he was snapped out of his thoughts by Kira's voice.

"Huh..?"

"You spaced out there. You okay?"

"Oh, uh… I'm fine. Don't worry." He was grateful for his bangs, the shadow cast by them hiding the dark rings under his eyes.

Something's off about that Ferris guy.

-XNTW-

"Excellent work, Mr. Valkyrie. You'll have no problem getting a spot in the Vytal Tournament." Professor Xiao Long said, as Sig helped an Atlesian student back to their feet. "Any volunteers for the next fight?" Wren's hand shot up at the same time as Taiga's. "Alright."

Wren and Taiga descended to the arena. Once in the center, they shook hands and walked in opposite directions, stopping on the edge of the arena.

"3!" Wren adjusted his gauntlets, dropping into his usual stance.

"2!" Taiga rested her hand on her longer blade, crouching down.

"1!" Taiga and Wren both blinked out of sight at once, reappearing in the center of the arena. Taiga drew her katana in a flash, aiming for Wren's neck. Metal on metal rang out as blade clashed with gauntlet. Wren smirked, hitting Taiga in the jaw with a glowing left hook.

She recovered and blinked out of sight again, striking Wren in the leg from behind. He leapt into the air and flickered out as well.

They reappeared, clashed again, and vanished once more. They continued this pattern, moving at immense speeds through the arena. The audience snapped their heads to and fro as the two dueled.

Wren skidded to a halt as Taiga came down from above him. He adjusted his glasses and met her in the air with a shoulder charge. As she smacked into the ground, Wren attempted to finish the round with a question-mark kick. Before he could land it, though, Taiga drew her short blade and swept at his descending leg, knocking him off balance. He fell onto his back, his Aura dissipating. Taiga descended upon him, drawing her blade at lightning-speed.

"Stop! His Aura already broke!" Professor Xiao Long called out, startling Taiga. She slowed her swing to a halt, the blade hovering right in between Wren's eyes. She sheathed her blade and helped Wren to his feet. "You need to pay attention to your opponent's Aura level." Xiao Long gazed at her mechanical arm. "That mistake, in part, messed me up last time…" The two students began the walk back to their seats. "Anyway, you'll both have no problem qualifying for the tourney."

Taiga pulled her hood further down her face, furrowing her brow. I should've been paying attention! This isn't like me… She looked back down at the arena and saw Ferris walking into the ring. Is he..? He seriously freaks me out, but why? Across the way, Niko was thinking the same thing.

"I'll fight him!" a girl with a high voice piped up from the stands. She stood up, dropping down into the arena. She was dressed like a witch, with a pointy hat and long black cloak over a bodice and skirt. She wore cuffed boots and a blindfold, and carried a deck of cards.

"Ah, Miss… Kismet, is that right?" Xiao Long asked.

"Yes. I'm from Team SLFR."

"Oh, right. Faye."

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Ferris." His chain rattled as he gathered the coils from his waist.

"Take your places!" Xiao Long called. "3, 2, 1, go!"

Faye drew a card from her deck, the Five of Swords, and materialized an array of five swords behind her. They flew towards Ferris, who calmly sighed. He raised his arm, which briefly appeared desaturated and grey. The swords stopped in the air. He flung his arm to the side, and the blades followed, slamming into the ground. Ferris began walking towards her, swinging his chain in lazy circles.

Faye drew more cards, various numbers of Coins, summoning mandalas and blasting Ferris with various dust-powered energies. Ferris swung his chain, spinning it in circles and figure-eights, knocking the blasts out of the air. He lashed out with his chain, nearly skewering Faye, who dodged to the side and drew two more cards, a One of Swords and Strength. She briefly flashed red as a blade materialized in her hand. As she readied herself to attack Ferris, his chain suddenly curved in its path, almost as if it had a mind of its own. She leapt upwards, and the chain followed her.

She landed behind Ferris, yelling as she ran towards him. She swung at his back, but before she could hit, her sword was stopped by an unseen force. As this registered to her, his chain wrapped around her waist. Ferris slowly turned around, his unwavering expression making him look completely unhinged to Faye. The chain pulled her back, where more chains erupted from the ground, wrapping her arms and legs. Ferris walked up to the snared girl, raising his foot and hitting her with a push kick, knocking her out of the arena.

"Ferris Gray wins by knockout!" Xiao Long yelled from the sidelines.

"Yikes… wouldn't wanna be her." Wren winced. Next to him, Niko was starting to connect the dots.

That… I've seen someone do that before. Could he… wait… was he that bandit leader? Niko stewed, his eyes darkening. Ferris Gray… I'm gonna figure you out, even if it's the last thing I do…

From the arena, Ferris looked up at Niko, meeting his eyes, and smiled.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

I feel like the shorter chapters are more effective for these faster scenes. The chapters will start getting longer when the story picks up. I've got big plans for that moment…

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Thank you, and see you all in the next chapter!