Hey, I'm back for yet another chapter. I'm hoping to make this one longer than the last one, and more interesting too. One of the comments was that I should give Riou more of a "backbone", which I thought was kind of funny, seeing as he doesn't have a "backbone" in the first place. He's branded as a bit of a wimp, and I'd like to keep that consistent in this fiction. The thing is, he's determined to prove Bacura wrong. Oh, and he's not trying to stay back, it's just Bacura has some unknown reason for picking on him and putting him down. I'll go into that later. Now, on with the fanfiction!

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"Pugna!" Bacura shouted, his arm shooting into the air. The two men tensed, holding the swords ready, circling one another. Suddenly the burlier man lashed out, the other moving to the side and whacking him sharply across the wrist with his wooden sword. The man cursed loudly, and Bacura growled.

"Cease! You know what you're doing, Rognas, but you're ending the fight too soon. What crowd will cheer for a man that fights no more than a second? Lengthen your strokes, be more dramatic! And Siphax? Don't be so hotheaded. You may be stronger than he is, but acting the cocky, foolish bastard will win you no fight. Now return to training. Twelve laps of the field for the both of you before you return to normal practice." The two men nodded, running off to do as their master bid.

Bacura sighed, rubbing his temple with two fingers. It had been a long, sweltering hot day, and all his men were out in the field training with the older Gladiators. His school's pride-and-joy Gladiator was at a large fight at a private residence- otherwise, he would have been supervising the combat training.

The tall, dangerous figure wandered through the neatly distributed pairs of men, watching them combat with wooden weaponry, checking for grace, style, and stamina. A Gladiatorial battle was more than a simple bout with a winner and a loser- it was a play, an act of bravery and contempt of death. The gladiators who fought were trained in how to prolong the battle, how to win, how to lose, and, in appropriate situations, how to die. They were dancers bearing shields and blades, an image of danger and elegance, an act of skill and swordsmanship. Indeed, Bacura knew he did his job well. Still… if a gladiator was weak, then he would lose. It was that simple.

He crossed his arms, pausing in front of a shorter man, who was having difficulty against his much larger, and obviously more experienced opponent. The net of the Retarius was wrapped haphazardly around his right leg, ensnaring him with his own tool. He blocked the swings of his huge adversary with his three-pronged trident, sweat dripping down his neck from the exertion and the glaring heat of the Italian sun.

"I'm losing hope, Eugi." Bacura snarled cruelly, eliciting a dark glance in his direction before the shorter gladiator focused his attention once more on his training partner. "You seem to be getting even weaker. It's no wonder your pathetic village stood no chance, if they were all as weak as you are." A dangerous flash appeared in the young man's violet eyes, and he shoved his opponent with a mighty lurch and left him staggering backwards. Using the little time the manoeuvre had earned him, Eugi faces Bacura, bristling.

"Take that back, coward. You fight with words, but cannot raise a hand to me!" Bacura smirked, his eyes on the muscular man looming behind Eugi.

"No, I have others to do that for me." Eugi was suddenly struck in the shoulder, throwing him off balance and tossing him to his feet. He snarled, suddenly brandishing the net and whirling it above his head, jerking his arm so that the weighted net suddenly caught over the other man's head. He opponent yelled, pushing forward and slashing with the wodden sword. Eugi struck him with trident, having the advantage of weapon length, sending the man to his knees.

"Satis!" Bacura yelled, a smirk forming on his lips. "You see? Any man can fight like a demon loosed from the grip of the underworld. All he needs is a little motivation- something to fight for, you might say." Eugi's chest heaved, and although he had won the spar, his torso was adorned with bruises, and it would be sore for the rest of the night. Anger burned in his eyes, despising the man for all the filth he spouted about things he didn't even understand. How cruel could anyone be? Maybe he would have preferred to work in some sort of quarry, after all. The thought was suddenly banished from his head as he caught a cry from across the field, a heavy, undistinguishable accent on the shout of victory.

"Euge! Ego sum victor!" Gionoci roared proudly, his sword held high above his head. Bacura smiled dangerously, but did not approach him, instead turning to the men and raising his bejewelled hands up to the sky.

"The sun is high! Return to your rooms and water shall be brought to you. Tonight is the greatest task of all for the newest students- the test of skill, the battle that will decide whether or not you are fit for the arena. Now go, rest and prepare!" Friendly banter sprung up almost immediately after Bacura has finished talking, the dull clunk of wood on wood indicating the men were packing up weaponry for the moment. Eugi wandered over to where Gionoci stood, his now clean-shaven face bronzed from yet another month in the sun at the school of gladiators.

"You've been doing well lately! How many wins for today?" Gionoci paused, counting in his head.

"Seven, I think. I clobbered the first three, but then this huge fella' challenged me and I almost took a fall. Got 'im in the end though." The training was doing well for Gionoci's overall appearance. He'd become much more talkative, and his natural muscle had become well-honed and almost bulged, despite the fact that he was still a bit thin compared to the other men in his class. Eugi couldn't help but frown as he immediately thought of how the women back at his village would have reacted. He couldn't just leave his past behind him, could he?

"Well done, amicus, you must have sent them running like sheep being chased by wolves."

Several hours later, a man lay on his bed, sorting out his thoughts. Bacura needed to think things out before he became confused and lost sight of his goal. In the days when he himself was a champion gladiator, that was the one thing that he'd ever feared- losing sight of his goal. Now that he was free of the endless toil of battle after battle, he wasn't sure what his goal was anymore. Back then, it had been freedom. But now, there was something else on his mind. Something that just happened to knock on his door at that moment.

"Intras." He stated dully, sitting up to watch the door open. Riou stepped into the room, holding a chalice of diluted wine.

"Coquus asked me to bring you this. He said you'd asked for it-"

"Yes, yes. Put it on the table." Bacura waved his hand absentmindedly, taking the cup and sipping at the cool drink inside, already feeling the calming affect it had on his nerves. He closed his eyes, relishing the flavour, then frowned when Riou was still there as he opened his eyes. "Did you want something?" He raised an eyebrow, placing the chalice on the table and crossing his arms. Riou faltered, obviously wanting to say something but afraid of what the answer might be.

"I uh… I was just wondering… um… why… why you…"

"Spit it out, boy!"

"Why are you keeping me back? You know just as well as I do that I'm just as fit, if not more so than any… anyone… anyone else." His stutter returned as the brief moment of courage faded, the fear coursing through him now that he was faced with Bacura's narrowed eyes, though lurking behind his crimson irises. After a pause, he replied:

"You lack ambition."

"I lack ambition??" Riou retorted suddenly, offended by the fact that Bacura was well aware how damn hard he'd been trying to get past his stupid 'You're too weak' comments. "That's a lie, and you know it." He pulled back the short sleeve of his simple tunic, flexing the muscle that didn't lie about how hard he'd been training. "Look at that, master," he spat, suddenly filled with anger, "and tell me I lack ambition!" Bacura was taken aback by Riou's change of character. This was not the Riou that had signed the contract, meek, afraid, and daunted. This was something he'd never seen before.

"Very well." He waved his hand, his rings glittering in the candlelight. He was eager to get Riou out before he himself actually said something that he'd regret. "I'll move you up to the next level." Riou was shocked. That was all it took? Surprised by how easily swayed Bacura had been, he left the room with a nod, utterly speechless. Bacura watched him leave, his hand wandering to the chalice of wine once more.

"Strange boy…" He whispered under his breath, watching Riou's quickly retreating figure. "He's more than I expected. Not like he needs to know that though." Bacura sighed, taking a deep swig from the cup and finishing it off in one go, finished with relishing the flavour and personality of the beverage. Now there was a different personality on his mind- and it had nothing to do with food.

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Pugna! – Fight!

Satis! – Enough!

Euge! Ego sum victor! – Hurray! I am the winner! (rough translation)

Amicus – Friend

Intras – (you) enter

Coquus – Cook {noun}

Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! Please review and tell me what you thought, comments are always welcomed!

P.S. Hey Ashley, did I add enough Latin for ya? ;) I tried to put in a few more, just for you.