Mermaid Heel's New Flare (Chapter 2)
Flare Corona rolled out of bed and let out a huge yawn before she looked at the time. It was 8:30 in the morning, only thirty minutes before her training with Kagura Mikazuchi. Flare went to the bathroom in her room, turned on the sink, and started wiping her face with the flowing cool water. After spending a few minutes using the toilet, brushing her teeth, brushing her hair, and putting on her red dress, she left her room. However, the moment she left her room, Flare jumped when she saw Beth Vanderwood waiting outside for her.
"Beth!? What're you doing!?"
"Good morning Flare, Kagura told me to wait for you and show you to the battlefield," Beth explained as Flare looked at her in suspicion before nodding and following Beth down the stairs and to the back of the guild. As they were walking, Flare was thinking about what type of training Kagura was going to put her through. From what Flare remembered about Kagura in the Grand Magic Games, she was no-nonsense, very powerful, and a bit scary.
"Beth…how exactly is this training that I'm going to be doing with Kagura?" Flare asked as Beth stopped and looked at Flare with her eyes slightly bugged out and body shaking slightly, making Flare feel unsettled.
"Uh…well…it's…very hard…but not as painful as…it feels," Beth stammered before suddenly grabbing Flare's right hand and leading her to the back, with Flare getting more and more nervous the closer she got to the battlefield behind the guild. By the time she and Beth got to the battlefield, Flare was terrified of what was going to happen during this training, and Kagura's steely glare directed right at her didn't help assuage her fears.
"Good morning Flare, are you ready for your training?" Kagura asked seemingly ignoring Flare's obvious concern.
"Uhhh…I hope so," Flare mumbled before Kagura suddenly jumped up and shot herself at Flare, with her right foot up for a kick. Flare screamed in fright before jumping back, causing Kagura to kick the ground with enough force for a crater to form under her.
"Not bad, but you're going to have to do more than dodge in a real battle!" Kagura exclaimed as she brought out her sheathed Archenemy and pushed it into Flare's gut hard enough to knock her on her back. Kagura attempted to slam the blunt end of the sheathed sword into her gut again, but Flare was able to roll out of the way and get back to her feet.
'Kagura's not playing around, so I might have to attack her!' Flare thought before running at Kagura and hitting her with a punch as hard as she could. However, Kagura barely flinched from the strike, grabbed Flare's arm, and hit her with a Judo flip that sent her crashing to the ground back first.
"I am happy you are starting to attack, but you are doing it all wrong," Kagura stated as she grabbed Flare's hand and helped her back to her feet. "For starters, your form is all wrong," Kagura began as she grabbed Flare's fist and moved her thumb over her middle finger.
"When you throw a punch, make sure to keep your thumb in front of your middle finger, which will prevent any unnecessary injuries. You also have to keep a tight grip on your fist so that you can prevent a sprained wrist," Kagura explained as she backed away from Flare, and beckoned her to punch her again. Flare took a deep breath and punched Kagura in the arm again as hard as she could. Kagura backed away slightly from the punch, but still stood on her feet.
"Much better, and now when you're confronted by an opponent, you have to improve your stance," Kagura explained before walking up to Flare and moved her left foot in front of her right foot. "This'll make it not only easy for you to throw punches at your opponents but also to use your arms and hands to defend yourself from your opponent's attacks," Kagura explained as she finished setting Flare up in the A-Stance, as it was called in combat sports.
"And you should also make sure that your feet are directly across from mine so that you can pivot your body easier while in this stance," Kagura continued as she threw more strikes at Flare. Much to the surprise of Kagura (and Flare herself), Flare was able to block the strikes with her hands and arms, before finally grabbing Kagura's right arm mid-punch, punching her in the elbow, and throwing her to the ground with a Judo throw.
"Very impressive Flare, you learn quickly," Kagura said before she kipped up and dusted herself off. Flare looked at Kagura with a brief expression of shock before smiling at the thought of improving. At Raven Tail, Ivan never bothered to teach her fighting techniques and just taught her and her guildmates to rely on their magic and underhanded tactics. It made Flare really happy and touched that Kagura wanted to give her more of a chance to succeed and fight without her magic.
'I don't know why Beth sounded so scared of Kagura's training? It seems reasonable to me,' Flare thought before seeing Kagura's determined glare fixed on her, causing a chill to go through her spine as if something bad was about to happen.
"Now, we have to make sure that this comes as second nature to you. We're going to fight, and keep fighting until that you can defend yourself in your sleep!" Kagura exclaimed as Kagura leaped towards Flare with her sheathed sword in her hand.
'Oh…," Flare thought fearfully as she prepared for a long day.
Six Hours Later…
The members of Mermaid Heel were in the living room, finish off their lunch and talking to each other before the door to the back of the guild opened, revealing an exhausted and bruised Flare accompanied by a bruised but somehow not tired Kagura.
"Kagura! What the hell!?" Risley exclaimed as she got off of the couch and ran up to Flare, who looked like she was going to pass out at any second.
"What? We were just training," Kagura responded as she shrugged and went to the kitchen.
"You could've gone a little easier on her! It is her first day in the guild!" Risley argued, laying Flare on the couch and putting a pillow underneath the back of her head.
"Her opponents in a real fight wouldn't 'go easy on her' Risley, you know that," Kagura countered as she poured herself a glass of water. Risley sighed, knowing this argument would go nowhere and that she needed to focus on Flare.
"Can you at least give me a glass of water for Flare, and maybe something for her to eat?" Risley asked as Kagura nodded and opened the refrigerator.
"She deserves the rest of the day off after the fight she put up," Kagura responded as she brought out a plate of leftover spaghetti from the refrigerator. "So that she can get some energy back in her body. Carbohydrates are good for that," Kagura continued as she gave the plate and glass of water to Risley. Before Risley even had a chance to thank her, Kagura's seriously determined look came back with a vengeance.
"I will have to work with Flare to improve her stamina. It's decent, but we can make it better," Kagura insisted as she looked through the fridge to find herself something to eat. Risley sighed again as she put a table near Flare, and put the water and food on the table. Flare looked up at Risley as she was petting her long red hair. Flare's face was turning as red as her hair before she turned around so that her face was pressing against the dark blue couch.
"Thank you," Flare mumbled with her voice muffled by the couch cushions. Risley noticed her thanking her and smiled with the other guild members going back to their own activities.
"Anytime Flare. Just let me know if you need any help with anything, and I'll be more than happy to help," Risley said as she left to the kitchen as Flare continued to hide her face due to the growing blush. However, Flare did hear something that made her smile when she heard Kagura and Risley talk again.
"I spoke with the guildmaster about Flare's admission into the guild."
"Oh yeah? What did she say?"
"I told her Flare's whole story and how I've been training her, but she wants to meet Flare in person before she admits her into the guild." Flare smiled at the prospect that Kagura of all people had gone to bat for her, but that smile quickly dropped into a nervous frown as she heard the next part of their conversation.
"So when does she want to meet Flare?"
"Tomorrow at noon. That's when she gets back from her trip."