Setsuna walked over to Konoka and gave her a hug and kiss. Then she said the one thing that she didn't want to but had to. "Kono-chan I'm staying here until the wedding day. Evangeline is making me undergo training in exchange for letting you do anything you want to decorate. The catch is I will be unable to see you the entire time and I cannot leave here. Know this before I go though, I love you more than anything and I will always love you." With that she kissed Konoka again and walked away.
Setsuna was determined to make everything perfect but now that she had sacrificed a part of her happiness she was beginning to worry about how Konoka was going to take it. Now was not the time for those thoughts though. Setsuna now had to totally focus on whatever Evangeline was going to throw at her. That was going to encompass almost all of her time and thoughts. Completing this task would prove to Evangeline that true happiness did have its place it Setsuna's life.
Her thoughts continued to change from one thing to another until they abruptly halted all together. Directly in front of her was Evangeline. Evangeline was flying in the air and above her hovered a ball of ice and water. "Foolish girl your training begins now!" Evangeline all but roared the last word as she hurled the spell toward Setsuna. Setsuna's mind went blank and her body reacted purely out of conditioned reflex as she cut the ball in half with her sword.
Setsuna almost panicked, she hadn't expected this at all. Evangeline wasn't going to hold back in this at all that much was clear as Setsuna guarded herself from an onslaught of spells and other attacks. Setsuna was being thrown into a virtual corner, unable to attack only defend. "Come on Sakurazaki! Don't just defend, attack! Attack me with everything! To do less would be disrespectful in a fight. Show me how it is when you stop holding back!" Evangeline taunted Setsuna with those words. Evangeline was trying to get Setsuna to not hold back and showing her that it was her only option if she wanted to survive, let alone win.
To give everything of oneself was the essence of combat. To give that everything even more was all but impossible, unless you tried something out of the box. This is exactly what Setsuna did. She did something unorthodox for a Shinmei school taught person. She took out her shoto sized blade and threw her katana as hard as she could at Evangeline. In that same moment she used Shundo to move behind Evangeline. Setsuna spoke as she put the shoto's blade to Evangeline's neck, "Surrender, I have won this fight." Setsuna was confident she had won. Evangeline merely smiled and then teleported away. The sword Setsuna had thrown at Evangeline was now headed straight for its owner. An impact from this would certainly harm Setsuna but to no avail. Setsuna sidestepped it and caught the katana as it went by.
Setsuna went after Evangeline with everything after that point. Sword went against Magic, Skill went against skill. It was something that to witness it you would have had to slow down time. The speed of the fight had far surpassed the ability of a normal person to see. Teleportation had become not only necessary but practically the only form of movement. The fight went on for hours only slowing once both of them became tired enough that every move had started to require more effort than normal.
Evangeline had started to worry once the fight picked up in pace. Setsuna had to use everything just to keep up. Both of them were tired now and it showed. Each of their breaths was ragged and panting. Finally Evangeline spoke up, "I think that you are ready to truly begin your training Sakurazaki. For you to keep me on my toes you are worth my time to train. Here is my last condition. The entire time you are training with me you will wear only this." Evangeline held out a swimsuit. It had a bikini top and shorts that only went to mid thigh. The color of it was blue for the top and a lighter blue for the bottom. Evangeline continued speaking, "The areas in which you will be training is here at the castle for combat and in the desert area for survival and other things that I will tell you later.
Setsuna silently agreed and went to change. Everything fit nicely and wouldn't hold her back during combat. She looked at Evangeline and then quietly spoke, "Now what master?" Evangeline smiled at this and said, "Now we go to the desert and get you acquainted with your new home for the next twelve days." With that Evangeline and Setsuna went to the magical teleportation circle that would bring them to the desert.
The desert was unbearably hot with an oppressive heat. Setsuna was surprised that Evangeline had picked out clothing that was suited to the environment she was going to be in. "Welcome, to the endless desert." Evangeline spoke. "Here you will find that daytime is hot enough that if you can find a rock you would be able to cook on it. However, nighttime here is the exact opposite. It is so cold that it occasionally snows here. Enjoy your stay. I will be back in three days to come grab you for more combat training. That will be your cycle of living, one day of training and three days out here in the desert. See you in three days." Setsuna stood and watched as Evangeline vanished from in front of her.
Alone in the desert with nothing to accompany but her thoughts, Setsuna began to search for shelter. The next three days would be long and hard but she would prevail. On the other side of this training hell were paradise and the warm welcoming smile of someone she loved. So began three days of trying to find food and water.
