"Let's go, Luna, why do you always take so long?" asked Jin. "Because it still hurts to move around too fast. If you would like to carry me then be my guest but if not then I recommend you gain some patience." she replied. She pushed past him at the door and proceeded down the hallway. Before long the two had arrived back home and Luna was the first to enter. The last time she was here the living room had been torn apart due to her fight with the red eyed man. Now some new furniture took the places of the ones that were destroyed or covered in blood. A new solid wooden table replaced the glass one that she had gone through and various rugs were swapped out for much newer ones.
The usual family Christmas decorations were hung up on the walls and were placed on the dressers and tables throughout the house. The tree that sat in the living room had glistening silver tinsel draped over it and various sized red and green ornaments. A small golden star sat at the top with a picture of Jin and Luna when they were younger placed in the center of it. "You got out just in time, I thought we were going to spend another Christmas at the hospital." stated Jin. Luna remained silent as she looked around the room. Her memory of the night she almost died played back in her head as every move the two had made flashed in her mind. "Crazy to think I almost died here." she muttered. "Out of all of my close encounters I never expected the closest one would happen right down the stairs from where I slept." she continued, fixated at the spot where she laid after being stabbed.
A hand grabbing her shoulder from behind snapped her out of her fixation. "Try not to dwell on it too much, Luna." "I don't plan on it." She heard little footsteps rushing down the stairs and in a flash Shu was jumping at her legs barking with excitement. "Hey, buddy." she said, kneeling down to scratch his ears. "He's been spending most of his time waiting at your door, it hasn't been easy getting him to eat or go out." stated Jin." I didn't mean to leave you for so long, I hope you can forgive me." said Luna, smiling as she scratched Shu's stomach. "Everyone else was worried about you as well, especially Zin. The guy didn't stop crying for days, you should hop on Somerant and let them know you're out of the hospital." said Jin. "Zin was crying?" asked Luna.
"Something about losing two sisters and how his heart couldn't handle it. I told him you were fine but it didn't seem to help much." sighed Jin. "I'll be on in a minute, where's Mom and Dad?" "Dad's at work and Mom is out shopping for dinner I believe. You have some time before they get back. I however have to go, Tami wanted me to go shopping with her and I am already late so I'll see ya later." he said, pulling Luna into a hug. "Thanks, Jin, love ya." said Luna. "Love ya too, sis." He waved and stroked Shu's head for a second before leaving. Luna walked upstairs as fast as she could without causing any pain in her ribs and went straight to her bedroom. Shu ran ahead of her and leapt onto the bed before she got there before curling up at the end of it. She grabbed the AmuSphere and slid it over her head before lying down.
In a second she was lying on a feather mattress in an old dusty room. Deep orange light peeked in through the window as the sun was setting outside and a cold chill sent a shiver down her body. Her body felt as good as new and she jumped from the bed before jumping up and down. "It's so nice to be able to move again." she said, smiling. She exited the room and heard several voices coming from the sofa just outside the hallway. "Hey, guys." she said, nervously. Not even a second later Zin had rushed over and wrapped his arms around her. "I was so worried, Luna, why do you always have to do this to me?" he asked, nearly suffocating her with how hard he was squeezing. "It's not like it was my choice." she said, pushing him off of her. "Give her some space, Zin." said Remi, pulling him back. "Hey, Remi." said Luna, waving.
"Sup." she said. "How are you feeling?" she asked. "Fine here, not so fine out there." said Luna, smiling. Sitting on the couch was Heti and Karst who waved and invited her to sit next to them on the couch. "We got a surprise for you, Luna." said Karst. "Surprise? Like what?" she asked. Karst nodded at Zin who pulled a small book from his bag and handed it to her. "Here you go, all of the jobs that we need you to do now that you're back." said Zin. She took the book and smiled at him. "Wow, thank you so much. It's nice to get out of the hospital and not have my friends visit me because they were more concerned with chores instead of my well being." she said before throwing the book at him. It hit Zin directly in the head and bounced off into Remi's arms.
"I told you that she wouldn't find it funny." said Heti. "I know, you're always right." said Zin, rubbing his forehead. "Here, Luna, your real gift." said Remi, tossing a small golden coin to Luna. It had "Tournament" engraved on one side and a phoenix on the other. "What is it? I've never seen it before." said Luna. "It's an entry token to the upcoming fighting tournament in the capital. You can use that to gain entry as a spectator or to enter it yourself if you wanted. This idiot thought it would be a funny joke to hide it in the book that you just threw at him." said Karst, pointing at Zin. "Tournament? They have one here?" she asked. "Apparently, a flyer of it was hanging at the warp gate and we signed you up for a coin. Thanks to your reputation and player ranking they instantly gave us one for you." explained Heti.
"A lot of people were excited to hear that the Lightning Dancer would be participating." said Zin. She sighed at the sound of that dreaded name but smiled at him nonetheless. "Thanks, guys, I'll think it over about joining but don't get your hopes up. I just came to say hi real quick and bail, I'm pretty hungry so now that you all know I'm fine, this is goodbye." said Luna, standing up and pocketing the coin. "Bye, Luna." said Remi, hugging her. Everyone waved as Luna walked back to her room and logged out. After enjoying a meal with her parents she bathed and readied herself for bed and to prepare for school the next day.
The next morning Luna woke up and grabbed her uniform from the closet. While getting dressed she looked down at the stitches on her stomach and stared for a minute before buttoning up her shirt and grabbed her bag off of her chair. She met with Piper and Fi like usual after stepping off at the station and the three walked to school together. "Are you really alright, would you like me to carry your bag for you?" asked Piper. "I'm fine, I can carry it." said Luna, giggling. "Are you sure?" "Yes, Piper. It isn't too heavy so it's fine." "But your hand…" "It's alright." said Luna, holding up her left hand. It was still wrapped in bandages but that was mostly by choice to hide some of the scarring on her palm. "It's pretty much healed and I'm not using that to hold the bag anyways so let it go."
"She's just worried." said Fi. "I know but I am okay. I don't need any special help or anything. Most of the cuts are already healed so I just can't run or overexert myself. Carrying books and bags are fine so please, stop acting like this." she pleaded. Piper nodded and cleared her throat. "Alright then, I didn't really want to help anyways, I was just trying to be friendly but I can see you clearly find it irritating." she said, puffing her cheeks. Luna bumped her side, causing Piper to stumble a bit. "You know I appreciate it, right?" asked Luna. Piper nodded and returned to her natural expression. "I know." she said, smiling. "I'm surprised you turned down her offer to carry your stuff, most people would love that." said Fi. "I'm taking pleasure in being able to do something on my own right now. Since the hospital, people have been doing everything for me so it's kind of nice to be independent again."
They went through their classes until the lunch bell rang in which Risu, the volleyball captain, approached Luna who was sitting at her desk with her lunch in front of her. "Morning Luna. How are you doing?" asked Risu. "Pretty good today, yourself?" "Not too bad." "Can I help you with something?" asked Luna. "Actually, I was needing a fill in for practice again today and would love it if you would participate." "Sorry, Risu. I would love to but I'm not really allowed at the moment." "How come? Are you sick or something?" Luna raised her jacket and shirt just enough to reveal the stitches and smiled at Risu. "Healing." she answered. Risu stared for a while and noticed the bandages around her left hand as well. "What happened?" "Long story. Sorry I can't help you out today but once this is healed I promise to let you know." "Yeah, it's no problem. Hope you get well soon." She smiled and walked off, allowing Luna to continue her lunch.
After school had finished for the day, the three girls headed for the station once more and went their separate ways. Once getting back home, Luna logged back into Somerant and woke up again in the dusty room. She knew it didn't affect her real body but she enjoyed the ability to move anyways so she put on a hooded poncho to hide her face and exited the empty cabin. She ran through the streets, vaulting over obstacles and climbing up buildings before reaching the forest that surrounded the city. Luna kept running, leaping up into the tree cover and jumping from tree to tree as she kept moving. She finished her run and headed back to the cabin now feeling satisfied and tired.
She repeated this over the next few days until Christmas which was a day she knew she wouldn't be able to escape to Somerant until late at night. She went to school like normal but was a little later than usual so Piper and Fi weren't at the station waiting for her which she understood. Later in the first class, she ran into both of the girls as they were sitting in their seats at the back of the room. "Morning." said Luna, sitting on Piper's desk. They greeted her and noticed a green and red ribbon tied in her hair instead of her usual black one which was tied around her right wrist. "Getting festive huh?" asked Piper, pointing out the ribbon. "Yeah, my family has always enjoyed this holiday so I can't really help it." said Luna.
"Why, it's more of a western holiday isn't it?" asked Fi. "My mom stayed overseas for a bit when she was younger and loved the feeling of the holidays, she said it was so cheerful that she wanted to celebrate it as long as she lived. She also likes having any excuse to throw a party for the family so there really isn't any stopping it." explained Luna before hopping off of the table. "I don't mean to go off topic but how bad is it?" asked Fi. "It?" inquired Luna. "Your injuries. We weren't able to make it to the hospital to visit so we don't even really know what happened." "It's not that bad. A couple of cuts and a broken rib is all it was." answered Luna. Throughout the rest of the day people kept commenting on the scars on her face and neck as well as her wrapped hand until she began snapping back at people to give her some space.
By the time she got home she was exhausted and not in the best of moods. Upon walking into a house full of relatives and friends she once again was the center of attention as her mother had told everyone about what had happened. The night was a long one of trying to escape and hide from prying eyes and an inquisitive family that didn't care much for her personal space. "Enough!" she snapped at her aunt who had been following her around for ten minutes with a bombardment of questions. "Sorry, dear but…" "You were just worried right? I am fine. I won't say it anymore." Luna stormed off through the front door and left the party behind her.
"I was really hoping for a normal holiday." groaned Luna as she walked down the empty dim lit street. "When has it ever been normal?" Luna jumped, startled by the unexpected voice. "Jin? You followed me?" "Of course I did. What are you doing running off like that?" "I couldn't take it anymore, they never stopped with the questions. It was driving me crazy, you understand right?" she asked. "I do. I also understand that they were worried about you." "I'm tired of everyone being worried about me. I'm okay. I'm here, breathing and talking and…" "You don't seem to understand, Luna." interrupted Jin. "You've been through a lot these last few years but so have all of us. I won't say that what we went through was as dire a situation as you but even so, we all were hurt while you were gone.
Everyone in that house visited you while you were asleep those two years and everyone one of them felt worried that you were going to die from those injuries last week. See it through their perspective, Luna, especially Mom's. She held you while you were bleeding out in her arms so to see you walking around is like some kind of miracle for her." "I didn't think about it like that." muttered Luna. "I know you didn't, which is why I'm here to bestow upon you some knowledge. Always think of things through other's eyes and not just your own. It really changes how you see the world and how you act around those that inhabit it." "When did you get so wise?" asked Luna, smiling at him. "I have to be a big brother sometimes don't I? I hope that helps in some way, Luna. Just try to calm down and find it in yourself to forgive them.
I know they're a little pushy but they do it out of love. I'm going to head back now so take all the time you need." said Jin, turning around and walking back towards their house. Luna watched him walk for a moment before running after him. "Ow ow." she gasped, catching up with him. "You shouldn't be running. You could've just told me to wait." he said. "Sometimes I forget about it." she replied, rubbing her side. She accompanied him back to the party and for the rest of the night, she tried to be slightly more compliant with her family. The clock in the kitchen read "9:30" when the people began saying their goodbyes. Luna waved at them as they left and apologized to the ones she may have offended with her earlier attitude. By ten the house was empty and Luna was assisting with cleaning the place up.
Once she was done, she grabbed the new pair of pajamas that her mother had given her as a gift and headed for the bath. She untied her ribbons and removed her necklace before stripping off her clothes. In front of her was a large mirror with her reflection staring back at her. The stitches, the scars on her face, neck, and arm, her cut up hand. She turned her body around so her back was as visible as she could get it so she could see the scars that covered it. "I really messed myself up." she sighed. She rubbed her right arm, feeling the various sized grooves that were cut into her skin. She sighed again before sitting next to the bath and scrubbing her body clean, being careful around her stitching.
She was soon dressed and sitting at a desk she had in the corner of the room. A sketchbook and multiple colored pens were sitting there as she began drawing. She drew until an outline of a lone cabin was sketched onto the page and exhaustion was beginning to consume her. Her eyes were growing heavy and she was nodding off as she sat there so Luna closed the book and dragged herself to the bed. Shu climbed up with her and curled up into a furry ball by her side and she fell asleep with her arm draped over him. After her holiday break and new years, life seemed to return to normal. People stopped commenting about her injuries and her wounds were finally healing up enough to run around again.
As January flew by, she was now helping the volleyball team more than ever and she began taking Piper and Fi with her on her freerunning adventures after school when she had the time. She was starting to feel happier than she had in months until January twentieth arrived. It was a day she had only celebrated once but it struck a nerve in her. "So, where are we going today?" asked Piper. "I have my own plans today, Piper. Sorry but I can't reschedule." said Luna. "Are you going to tell me where that is?" "No. It's a little personal so I want to go alone. I'll tell you about it later." she said. After school Luna traveled until she reached a graveyard in Tokyo. There were headstones as far as she could see but after some walking she arrived at the one she wanted.
It was a black marble headstone, on it were the words "Clarissa Ann Willow" "Born: January 20, 2007" "Died: November 1, 2024" "Beloved daughter and a wonderful person that was taken too soon from this world. May she find peace wherever she is now". Luna stared at it for a moment, silent and fighting back tears as she read the gold lettering. "Happy birthday, Clair, I brought you some flowers." she said, placing a bouquet of roses down on the ground. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to stop by in a while but I was kind of in the hospital again. It's a long story so I'm not gonna get into it but I'm alright now so there's no need to worry." she paused and sat in silence as if she was waiting for any kind of reply.
"When I came here last I mentioned how I didn't know how to move on or how to deal with everything but recently… Recently I feel like things are changing. After this last fight I feel like SAO is finally behind me, like all of my past battles are dealt with. I feel like I won for a change, even if it cost me some things in return. I think that you are my last obstacle, Clair, the last hurdle that I need to clear but I don't know if I can or if I even want to. It's bittersweet thinking about you. On one side I feel happy because of the memories we had together but I also feel beaten and lonely when I think of the ones we could have made in the future. I wonder how you would be if our situation was reversed. I guess it doesn't do much good thinking about that though does it?
Jin says that I shouldn't live in the past and I know he's right, he usually is. It's hard though, I feel like if I move past you then I'll forget you. I know it's not possible but I can't help but worry about it. I suppose for now I just have to keep going until I find the answer to moving on without you losing your place in my heart. Oh, before I forget, you'll never believe this. Zin and Remi are getting married. I thought you might like to hear it though he probably already dropped by and told you. Ummm, Piper and Fi are both doing well. I think we're getting pretty close now so I guess that's good. I'm sorry if I'm not that good at this but I never really know what to say when I come here." Luna paused for a minute and took a deep breath.
"Back onto happier things, it's been getting easier to get out of bed lately. I feel like I have more reasons to nowadays. Jin, Piper, Fi, the guys, they all really help a lot and I don't thank them enough for putting up with me. I have to go soon or my parents will worry but I'll come back and visit soon, I promise. I wouldn't want you getting lonely or anything. I love you, Clair." Luna placed her hand on the grave and closed her eyes for a moment before returning to her feet. She smiled before walking out of the cemetery and made it home just after nightfall. Clair's mother Karen was at the table with her parents when Luna had returned home. A bottle of sake sat in the center of the table and the three of them looked like they had more than enough to drink so Luna just snuck past them and up to her room. She put on the AmuSphere and laid down in the bed before waking up in Somerant.
White hair fell over her eyes as she sat up in the bed. She tied it up with the ribbon she kept around her wrist and traveled through the empty cabin to the living room. A black hooded jacket was hanging on a hook by the door with a card slid in the pocket. "It took a while to get but this is for you to replace the one you damaged last month. It should be much better than that old thing and I think it meets all of your depressing requirements. With love, Zin." "I damaged huh?" Luna shook her head as she ripped up the card and it vanished into small glimmers. She held the jacket up which was made of a leather like material so it was rather light and durable.
She threw the jacket on which reached just above her knees. A zipper ran down the middle and stopped around her navel and the sleeves were the perfect length for her. She pulled out her journal and began writing a message. "Thanks for the jacket that you owed me. I really do appreciate the gesture as I didn't expect you to come through in the end. Jokes aside, thanks, it means a lot to me that you did this." She pressed the send button and pulled a coin out of her pant's pocket and held it up in front of her eyes. "It's almost time for you isn't it." she said. She flicked it into the air before catching and returning it to her pocket. She raised her hood and left the house to wander the streets of Hilor.
She explored aimlessly around the city in an almost melancholic state before coming across a scene where a player was in an alley with two others holding him against the wall. "Hand over the coin, kid, and we'll let you go. If you don't then we keep killing you until you're back to level one, it's your choice." said the bigger of the two assualters. "The coin only works for the one who it belongs to." said Luna, sitting on a railing above them. Her white tail swished back and forth as she looked down at them. "This your girlfriend or something, Stile? Need her to defend you?" asked the smaller one. "What if I am? There's nothing wrong with helping the one you love right?" she said, swinging her feet. The grey haired boy looked just as confused as the other two as they looked up at her. "There's also nothing wrong with a girl coming to help him, especially since this girl can easily take care of both of you." Luna continued.
"I'd like to see you try." said the larger person. "With pleasure." A blue spark lit up her sleeve as a black cable shot out and wrapped around him. She pulled upwards while dropping down and kicking him as she fell. The wire reeled in before his body landed and the smaller person looked puzzled at what course of action he should take next. "Come on, I am just a girl right? I thought you would be tougher than this with how you were messing with him." She removed her hood and wrapped her arms around his, holding him close. "Y-you're the Lightning Dancer. You're with him?" "Yes I am so I recommend you leave him alone or you two will be back to level one and I'll make sure you never leave it. Pick him up and leave before I finish both of you off." The smaller man scurried to pick up his charred friend and they fled the alleyway.
Luna released her grip on him and put her hood back up. "T-thank you Li…" "Don't use that name around me. It's Luna, nice to meet you." she said, extending her hand. He shook her hand. "Stile. Pleasure to meet you as well. Thanks for the help." "Don't mention it." She turned to walk away before he grabbed her arm. "W-wait. Ummm, could I ask you for another favor?" "If you let go of my arm then sure." He took his hand away and stepped back. "Uh well, would you mind guiding me to an armorer? I'm kind of new to this game so I don't really know my way around yet." She looked at the time real quick and looked back at him. "I know just the guy and he should still be on, if not then you can go back there tomorrow. Follow me." she said, smiling at him.
She led him to the warp gate and they suddenly appeared in Capital City. "If you're new, why do you have one of those coins?" "The friend that bought me the game gave it to me this morning. He mentioned it was to watch the tournament and I thought it sounded kind of cool." "You could also participate with it if you wanted but I guess your level might be rather low." "You can enter with these? Ahhh, so that's what he wanted. Thanks for letting me know about that." he said, grinning at her. "You're welcome? What does who want?" she asked. "It's nothing. No need to worry about it. Are we getting close to your armorer?" "Yeah, he's right up here." They soon arrived at Megaris's store and upon checking the door to see if it's locked, walked inside.
"I brought you a customer, Megaris." said Luna. The black haired man walked out and scanned the boy from head to toe. "New player?" The boy nodded and walked forward. He placed a large bag of gold on the table and looked up at Megaris. "What can I get with this?" Both Luna and Megaris were stunned by the amount of money and looked back at him. "Anything really. How do you have this much already?" "My friend, he said it was an investment." said Stile. "I'll just leave you two at it then. See ya later, Megaris." "Bye, Luna." She exited the building, leaving them two alone and continued her nighttime stroll. She constantly overheard conversations about the tournament as she walked throughout the city. Everyone sounded excited and impatient for the next week when it would start.
At the top of the mountains above the palace was a quiet stream with multiple benches lined along the banks. After taking a seat Luna closed her eyes and relaxed her body as the sounds of the flowing water filled her ears. Everything around her vanished as her mind focused solely on the rushing water and the whistling wind. She felt like she was in a distant place far away from any trouble or worry in either of the two worlds she inhabited. When she re-opened her eyes, the moon was at its peak in the star soaked sky. The clock in her journal read "12:56". "I must have fallen asleep." She stretched her arms and pulled a small purple crystal from her bag and held it tight in her hands. "Hilor." she whispered and with a flash, she was standing at the old familiar run down warp gate. After returning to the cabin she logged out and went straight to bed.
The next day after school she headed for an old building she hadn't visited in over two years. An old wooden shack not far from her old school, the walls were in fairly bad shape and it looked as if it hadn't been taken care of in a while. She approached and knocked on the door but there wasn't any response. "Hello, young lady." said an older woman from her right. "Hello." said Luna. "Are you looking for Mr. Siraji?" she asked. Luna nodded her head. "I used to train under him but I've been gone for a while. Did something happen to him?" "I assumed you were one of his pupils, he always loved helping the youth. I hate to break this to you, dear, but he had cancer for the last couple of years now. He lost that battle early last year."
Luna was left silent as she stared into the dull eyes of the old graying woman. "I'm sorry you found out like this. If it helps at all, he was smiling, even at the end." she said. Luna took a deep breath and calmed her nerves. "Thank you for telling me, have a goodnight." said Luna before walking past her. "Goodnight, dear." Luna smiled back at her and waved before continuing on her way back home. "He's gone huh? He really didn't deserve that." she mumbled to herself. After arriving home she sat at the table for dinner. "You went to go see Mr. Siraji right? How is he lately?" asked Akira. "He passed away last year." answered Luna. "That's really unfortunate. He was such a nice man." said Akira. "He was." stated Enji before taking a bite of his food.
"I'm sorry to hear about it, Luna." he added. Luna nodded before becoming silent. After finishing her meal, she thought of nothing more than a hot bath. Upon sliding into the warm water, her mind began racing through the memories of her years going to that house and of the people she met and sparred with throughout that time. The sadness she felt was an unexpected feeling as it felt different than she thought it would. As she delved through her thoughts and grasped the idea that the kindest person she had ever known was gone, she smiled as she stared at her bathroom ceiling. She was of course upset but couldn't help feel like he was in a better place. Her dream of Clair after her life threatening injury gave her a new perspective on dying, even if it was all in her head.
The idea that someone might be waiting for him in a place with no sickness or injury to be found there. He used to tell her stories of his wife when she was still alive as she died two years before Luna began training under him. "They're finally back together." she muttered. She was never all that religious before and never really thought about an afterlife but she had to now. The thought that the one she loved was awaiting her at their old home was the thought that had gotten her through those months of pain. Thinking about it that way left her with a smile as Mr. Siraji, in her mind, finally returned home to the woman he had kept waiting for so long. She spent several more minutes soaking before noticing that her body was pruning up. She jumped out and got dressed before returning to her bed to bring her bittersweet day to an end.
After school the next day she made her way to another martial arts dojo that she had looked up on her lunch break. It was a short walk from her school so she figured it wouldn't hurt to stop in. It was off the main road and resembled an actual dojo instead of someone's home. It looked ancient but well maintained and a line of girls and boys of varying ages were walking through the polished wooden doors. A middle aged man with strands of gray highlighting his black hair was welcoming them inside, shaking hands with some and simply waving at others. After the final person entered Luna approached the man, nervous and unknowing of what to say. "Can I help you, miss?" he asked. His voice was deep but felt calm and was rather pleasant on her ears. "Yes sir. I was hoping to join your dojo if possible." said Luna, bowing her head.
"Really? Have you ever practiced or trained before?" he asked, examining her body closely. "Yes, since I was a kid. I trained on my own for most of it and then trained under a teacher for two years. He passed away while I was gone so his school was closed down." she explained. "I'm curious what you're capable of. I hope you understand but I'm fairly cautious with self trained students. I will allow you to come in today and we'll see what you can do. We'll figure things out after that, understood?" Luna nodded and bowed her head again. "Thank you, sir." She followed him inside and was prompted to stay next to him while he spoke to the class.
"Welcome back, everyone. Before we get started, we have a guest who is considering joining us. Introduce yourself, young lady." She took a step forward and looked out at the faces that were staring back at her. "My name is Lunasara Mirahai, it's nice to meet all of you." she said before silence filled the room. "Alright, like I said, she was thinking about joining us so the first thing we're going to do is see what Ms. Mirahai is capable of. Ms. Kasama, would you mind coming up here?" he asked. A girl Luna's age stood up from the students and made her way to the center of the room where Luna and the teacher were standing. Her hair was a similar brown to Luna's and her eyes were like a sky blue. Her movements appeared stiff and tense as she walked but her eyes were focused and precise.
To Luna, her glare felt spiteful, as if harboring the intent to kill which she had experienced in the past. It was an aura of hatred and disdain as the girl stood in front of her. "Do you have any gym clothes to change into?" the man asked Luna. She shook her head. Besides her black hoodie, Luna was wearing her school uniform which was a long sleeved white button up, a black skirt, and she wore black tights under that to keep her legs a little warmer in the cold weather. The girl was wearing a blue track jacket with matching pants and she had a pair of white socks on her feet. "I'll be fine in this." said Luna, keeping her gaze fixed on the girl.
The girl put her long hair into a ponytail while maintaining her piercing gaze. "If you say so, Mirahai. Kisama, you ready?" he asked. She nodded instead of speaking to answer him. "Mirahai?" he asked, turning to Luna. "Yeah." she said, remaining still and watching every one of the girls movements. "Bow." he instructed. The two did so without breaking eye contact. "Fight!" he said, stepping out of the way. She made the first move with a sudden jumping kick which Luna countered by grabbing her leg and throwing her to the ground. Upon returning to her feet, the girl stepped forward carefully and threw a few punches that Luna avoided or blocked. She fainted another punch before sending a sudden roundhouse kick towards Luna's head. Luna ducked and switftly swept the girl's leg out from under her, sending her to the ground.
Kisama stood up and readied herself for another attack. Every punch or kick she threw, Luna had a dodge or a counter waiting for it. With each sweep of the leg or toss to the ground the girls face was growing more and more red as her frustration grew. Her swings became more predictable and her movements were more reckless and haphazard while Luna remained as calm as she could. Luna blocked or avoided another flurry of hits before Kisama threw one final punch. Luna dodged and maneuvered around her, wrapping her in a rear chokehold, and kicking the back of her leg so Kisama was down on one knee and gripped tightly in Luna's arms. "Alright." gasped the girl, tapping Luna's forearm.
Luna released her hold and watched closely as the girl took to her feet, rubbing her throat. "For being self taught, your defense is spectacular. It's not often I see someone dodge or counter the way you do." said the teacher. "Kisama, go take your seat. Mirahai, you can go sit over there for now." he said, pointing at a chair against a wall. "For the future, I hold classes every weekday, you're free to come whenever you want but you must pay once a month as this is my job but we can discuss that later. Also, bring some other clothes next time please. I can't have you fighting in a skirt and tights with all of these young men around here." "Of course, sir, thank you." she said, bowing her head. She held out her hand to the girl before she left the stage. Kisama ignored her and kept walking back to her seat in the stunned crowd.
Some of the people clapped and whistled as Luna took her seat away from the mat she had just fought on. As the class continued Luna kept peeking over to the girl she had fought with before returning her gaze to the instructor as he helped several other sparring teams. He would demonstrate a set of kicks and the students would try them afterward. They repeated different drills near the end of the class and once it was all over they all took their seats again in front of the mat. "Good work today everyone. Go home and get some rest." They all waved to their teacher and continued out the door in excited groups, most of which glancing at Luna as they left. One boy with short blonde hair approached her and held his hand out.
"The name's Kiritawa, those were some fancy moves, Mirahai." he said. She shook his hand and smiled at him. "You can just call me Luna, and thanks for the compliment." "Anytime, and you can call me Azuma If we're using first names. If you don't mind me asking, where did you learn to fight like that? Is there any style you specialize in?" "I learned mostly from video tutorials and books as I was growing up so I'm technically self taught. As for styles, hmmm… I would say I'm partial to taekwondo and a bit of Judo but I kind of studied everything from boxing to various chinese martial arts. If I'm being completely honest though, I kind of wing it most of the time. I just use whatever seems useful at the moment." she explained. "That's incredible. How did you have the time for all of that?" "It's a little sad to say but I never had many friends growing up so I had quite a bit of free time to learn it."
"I don't think that's a bad thing, it worked out for you and ya obviously love it so all's well it ends well. It was nice seeing you in action, I hope I get to fight you someday." he said before bowing his head and taking off out the door. "She's pretty cute." she overheard Azuma say as he ran to a couple of other boys. She smiled and shook her head as she watched them walk away. The next person to approach her was the teacher himself. "I hope you can forgive Ms. Kisama for her cold shoulder. She gets kind of frustrated when she loses since it doesn't happen that often." "It's fine, I used to deal with it all the time so it doesn't bother me all that much." "I appreciate your forgiveness. Now onto the matters of you joining my classes, I will allow it but like I mentioned, you do have to pay. It's 3500 yen a month so it's not that expensive and I would honestly like to see you back here again.
I was quite impressed with how good you were and that chokehold at the end was well executed." "Thank you for the kind words. I don't know how often I'll be able to show up due to other responsibilities but you can count on me to come every now and then." said Luna. "Glad to hear it. Go get some rest and again, good job." he said, helping her to her feet. Luna noticed the brown haired girl packing her things and decided to approach her. "I never got your name." said Luna. "You heard him say it." she said coldly. "I meant your full name. I don't normally like the whole last name thing but if you want me to call you by your last name then I will. I just thought we could introduce ourselves." She held out her hand once more. "I'm Lunasara Mirahai." After a sigh the girl turned around. "Yumi Kisama. Happy now?" she asked before pushing past Luna.
"Wait up. What's your problem?" asked Luna. "That's a pretty rude thing to ask." she said. "Well you're acting rudely so I thought it fit." stated Luna. "What does it matter? Just leave me alone." Luna reached out and grabbed hold of her wrist to stop her. Yumi let out a small gasp of pain as she pulled her wrist away. A little bit of a bruise was visible before she pulled her sleeve over her hand. "What do you want with me?" she asked angrily. Luna stared at Yumi's now covered wrist and remained silent for a second. "I uhhh, it's nothing important I guess. Sorry for bothering you." said Luna, smiling at her. "Whatever." muttered Yumi before walking off.
"I didn't expect you to be the persistent type. I thought you didn't like talking with random people that much." said Jin, sitting on the sofa in a dusk lit room. Luna swept her white bangs away from her eyes and leaned back on the couch. "I don't know. Something about her was kind of, captivating I guess. I felt like I should get to know her so I tried and like usual it didn't work out." "Don't beat yourself up, it's not your fault you're socially awkward and sometimes unlikable." joked Jin. "That's not very nice. Besides, I thought I've been doing better with that lately." pouted Luna. "You have been and I couldn't be more proud but the old Luna still shows through every now and then. Well, maybe not the old one but a somewhat evolved form of her.
You have definitely gotten better at putting people in their place. For instance, instead of ignoring my teasing like before, now you tease me back. It's a lot more interesting having you around now that you've gotten some nerves in you." "One of us had to at some point right?" asked Luna. "See, like that. Brilliantly done." said Jin, clapping his hands together. "I set it up and you hit it perfectly. I couldn't be happier." he said, smiling. "Now back to this Yumi girl. What do you think her problem is with you?" asked Jin. "I don't know, maybe because I kept beating her in the fights. The teacher said she didn't lose often so that might have been it." pondered Luna. "Or maybe you came on too strong." "Maybe. She seemed upset beforehand though. You know, I swear I saw a bruise on her wrist when I grabbed it, maybe it has something to do with that." suggested Luna.
"She trains in martial arts which involves sparring, don't you guys get bruises all the time?" "Yeah but this one seemed different, like it was fresh. I never hit that spot during our fight, she wouldn't let me so I couldn't have done it and it was the first thing she did when she got there so it wasn't from another one." "She could have gotten hurt a thousand different ways. It was most likely a bad day at work or school and then you kicked her ass so she got even more angry. Be patient if you want to get close to her and try not to pry too much." "Will that work?" "In my opinion, she sounds like how you used to be and as an expert in dealing with you, yes it should work eventually." "I'll have to take your word I guess." said Luna. "Don't say that like it's a bad thing, little sisters are supposed to take their elder brother's advice or I'm not doing my job properly. I wish you the best of luck so keep me posted."
"Will do, Jin. See ya later." The two hugged before Jin's body vanished in a blue light. Luna sighed before staring up at the ceiling. She couldn't get the image of Yumi out of her mind as her thoughts drifted. "Luna. Wake up." said a voice as her body was being gently nudged. "Huh?" she asked, slowly opening her eyes. Zin was kneeling down in front of her with a wide smile on his face. "Tired huh?" "Kind of." she answered as she yawned. "Busy day?" he asked. "A little but I don't feel like getting into it right now. What time is it?" "Almost midnight, you should probably log out and sleep in your actual bed." Luna nodded as she pulled a book from her bag and opened it. "Night, Luna, sweet dreams." "Later, Zin."