I was only here a few hours ago. Well, this chapter isn't as long anyway. And besides, what else am I going to do at 2 AM when I wake up for no reason at all. Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 15

Deepening Bonds

"Right then, first off, get into your striking position."

Luna crouched down, left leg stretched behind her, and right leg bent in front. Sword pointed at my chest and her hand just in front of her left breast. I walked over to her. Her grip was certainly better than I've seen her do before. "Right then…" I grabbed her elbow and lifted it slightly, so the sword rested in front of her chin. Next, I began lightly kicking her right foot's heel, moving it into a slightly more comfortable position. I made sure she was still focusing where I had been previously before heading back there, getting into my stance. "Come on then, hit me."

Luna launched herself at me. I once again went for the upwards slash. I knocked her sword upwards, but instead of going flying, it stayed in her grip. Her feet dug into the ground, drawing her to a halt, before she drew her sword back to her chin and began rapidly jabbing at me. I focused on diverting the tip of her sword away from my body, before I noticed that everywhere she jabbed at, she looked first. As she aimed for my left arm, I brought in a huge hit from the left, the two blades colliding with a loud clunk, and sending her off balance. I grabbed her as she stumbled forwards.

"Very good." I couldn't help but smile.

"Damnit…I still lost." Luna looked disappointed as she stood up straight.

"Don't worry about it. You've already show improvement. I didn't knock the sword out of your hand on the first strike."

Luna smiled. "I almost had you on the second strike."

"Maybe." I got into my stance again. "Right, I need to confirm something. So come at me the exact same way you did that time."

As soon as she struck at me the second time, it confirmed that her eyes were the issue. I knocked her off balance a lot quicker this time, diverting her strike over my left shoulder, grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards me and tripping her over. I held onto her wrist so she wouldn't hit the ground.

"Great, so what am I doing wrong now?" Luna looked annoyed as I pulled her onto her feet.

"Your eyes. They kept looking at where you were going to strike next."

Luna looked annoyed. "Well how am I supposed to be precise and not look at the same time? That just sounds ridiculous."

"Well, there's a bunch of things we can try." I stroked my chin as I began to think. "Hmmm…maybe not keeping your head as static. I guess it can also depend on your opponent's fighting style. Moving around more maybe? Damnit, Kristina is a lot better at this than me… Um, yeah, let's try something." I got into my stance. "Try crouching up and down as you strike, no matter where you're going to strike. Try and make it as infrequent as possible."

Luna raised an eyebrow in confusion, but got into her stance ready. Immediately she launched at me. As she struck, she went high and low, her feet constantly shifting to allow her to crouch at her desired altitude. All the while, I tried focusing on her eyes. And while sometimes I could see where she was aiming at, the constant change in elevation made it difficult. Eventually I gave up and focused on the tip of her sword.

The way she can adapt so quickly to my advice is almost scary. Most people can't divert from their style, but Luna has done that so easily.

Then she did something I never expected. She suddenly jumped to the left and aimed for my exposed right. Due to being right handed, I had no way to easily parry the strike. I acted quickly, twirling the blade in my grip to an inner grip, and blocked the strike with the flat of my blade. Luna's wrist bent at an awkward angle and she dropped her sword, wincing in pain.

"Hey, you okay?" I dropped my sword and went over to her. She was holding her wrist which was bright red.

Luna forced a smile. "I almost…had you there…"

"Never mind that, your wrist is hurt." I pushed her sleeve back. It was looking a little swollen. "Right, let's go down to the kitchen. I'm sure they have some ice to help bring down the swelling."

"I'm fine. I can continue." Luna reached down to pick up her sword but I immediately stopped her.

"If you continue, it's only going to make it worse. Come on."

She sighed, an annoyed look on her face. "Fine…"

"System Call, Generate Luminous Element…"

Mr Galsworthy muttered as the yellow balls of light slowly descended into Luna's wrist. She grimaced slightly as the balls touched her wrist, but then the redness and swelling disappeared. She began flexing her wrist, moving it without trouble. "Thank you Mr Galsworthy."

"You can thank me by not telling any of the other students that I was here." He grabbed a plate of food that had been prepared for him. "We take in too many students. Trying to eat in here is a nightmare when the hall is full."

Tell me about it. I bowed at him. "Thank you sir."

"Just make sure it doesn't become a habit. If it does, you'll have to actually learn a Sacred Art." He walked out of the kitchen.

Luna snorted. "You don't know any Sacred Arts? That's like…really basic."

"Well, I know them, I just can't physically speak them for some reason." I muttered to myself.

Luna giggled. "I was wondering why you were only Rank 8 if you were so good with swords."

"Cut it out." I chuckled, feeling my cheeks heat up a little. "Anyway, even if we're quick heading back, we'll only get in a couple of minutes more of training."

Luna looked disappointed. "I almost had you. How are you so fast at reacting?"

"I don't know honestly." I shrugged, a small smile on my face. "But you were amazing. I might actually struggle to keep up with you at this rate."

Luna's cheek turned slightly pink. "Hehe…thank you Light." Her eyes began to water up. "That's the first time someone's been genuinely happy at me maybe beating them."

"Just wait until you actually win a duel against me then." I patted her head. "Well, you're dismissed for the rest of the day. I'll see you later for cleaning."

Luna stood up straight, doing her salute. "Yes Elite Disciple Light!" She turned on her heel and walked away from the kitchen.

I should step up my game. She almost got me back there, and I was actually trying. I sighed, disappointed in myself for almost being bested by her on her second week as my page. "Well, there's plenty to work on. Like defence for instance."

"Are you just going to stand there talking to yourself? We're busy." One of the chefs said angrily.

"Sorry!" I quickly walked out of the kitchen.

The evening sun warmed the room. Summer was definitely on its way. I wasn't looking forward to it. Being close to the Southern Empire, our summers were extremely hot. Not quite scorching like it would actually be in the south thanks to the desert, but with the amount of physical work we do in the Academy, it meant a lot of sweaty shirts and jackets.

I finished writing in my journal about the day's events and placed in on my bookshelf. I soon heard a knock at the door. "Come in." Luna entered and immediately began cleaning. I grabbed the book of commonly used styles quickly and began flicking through the pages as she worked. I went back to the Fencing Style and began reading.

"By the way Light, one of the Elite Disciples had a letter for you, but she seemed nervous to knock for you, so I took the letter." She reached into her jacket and pulled an envelope out.

"Why? I haven't done anything to make someone nervous I hope." I frowned as I took the letter from Luna. She just shrugged before continuing with her cleaning. "What colour was her uniform?"

"Black."

A pang of guilt hit me. "Ah…I know why." It was the girl who I had collided with during my duel with Diaz. I hadn't had the chance to apologise yet, as whenever I approached her, she would walk past at a quick pace, head down, and pretend she didn't hear me.

I placed the letter on the table to read once Luna had gone. She finished folding the fresh clothing that I had lazily put on a spare corner table and put it on one of the shelfs of my bookshelf which is where I shoved all my clothes. "I think I'm done now. Do you need anything else Light?"

"No, I'm fine thanks." I turned around to face her properly. "Hey Luna?" She was just about to leave the room, and turned to look at me as she held the door open. "Good job today. Enjoy your day of rest tomorrow."

She sighed. "I was hoping that I would be able to get you to buy me something. Next week, I will get you though."

I rolled my eyes. "We'll see."

Luna walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. I turned my attention to the letter that was on my desk. I took the small knife that I normally used to cut tough meat and drew it along the top of the envelope.

My smile grew as I realised who it was from. It was from Killian. I read through the letter rather quickly, him asking me how I was, what's been going on in Vetal, his new girlfriend-

I froze as I read the final paragraph. I slowly put the paper down on the desk, my hands shaking. The first three words echoed around in my head for a good few seconds before I actually registered what they meant.

Myne is missing.

Plot twist! Oh man, I love these cliffhangers. I was considering not leaving a post story ramble down here just to let that sit, but there's other things to talk about.

I hope you've all liked Luna's development. It might be a little rushed, but I kind of wanted her to have a "reality check" of sorts. And that changes her outlook on things. I'm not fully done with her yet, as we still have a year of her and Light at the Swordscraft Academy. She'll just become more of a supporting character now. And we'll see her development.

But I'm afraid I have to annoy you. Next chapter, we'll be returning to the real world for a bit. Here, hopefully I can shed some light (hehe, get it) on Light's real life in the real world. And I'll finally get to introduce you all to Holly, or as she is known in the virtual world, Flower.

So until then, Stay Cool.