It's been a long day, involving events that tired you out in more ways than the merely physical. Although Briar's magic neatly addressed your body's fatigue, she couldn't do a huge amount about your emotional weariness - which, in the wake of your brush with shadowy doom, is greater than it's ever been in your life. Considering that you live on the Hellmouth, have the King of Evil lurking in the shadows of your soul, and are aware of both factors, that says something. Although it occurs to you that some of the people you've met and formed tentative friendships with during the tournament are probably hanging out in the audience right now, you can't really muster the energy to act on that realization; you'd much rather just sit back and relax, and chat with Lu-sensei and the girls about... well, something. No particular topic comes to mind, but you're sure you'll think of a good one.
...
"Well, don't everybody try to speak all at once," Cordelia finally remarks, after about three solid minutes of silence.
"I think we can chalk the lack of conversation up to being tired," you sigh. "It's been a busy day, and the two of us" - you gesture at yourself and Altria - "probably should have had a lie-down after our last match. Not to mention we all had a fairly big meal."
"You always did nap after lunch in Pre-K," the brunette reflects.
"'When on comfy ground, sleep,'" you tell her.
Your teacher stares at you. "Did you just mangle the wisdom of Sun Tzu into an argument in favor of naps?"
"...maybe?" You're not entirely sure who Sun Tzu is, though the name sounds vaguely familiar. It might have been mentioned in the books Lu-sensei has made you read as part of your training.
"I'm honestly not sure whether to be annoyed or proud of you."
"Go with whichever one's less likely to get me Enlightened," you suggest.
ENLIGHTENMENT!
"Ow!"
"Don't get cheeky, kiddo," your evil old master advises, vanishing the Enlightenment Stick back to its hellish realm of brain-twisting koans and concussions. "And remind me to find you a copy of the Art of War."
"Yes, Lu-sensei," you sigh, rubbing your sore head.
"You know, Alex," Briar says then, from her accustomed spot on your shoulder, "you really need to stop giving him openings like that."
"I'm working on it," you insist, before turning to Altria, who's been silent through all of this. "Out of curiosity," you ask her, "is that guy using the wooden sword one of the members of the school that invited you to come watch their matches?"
"He is," the blonde replies. "I had the opportunity to see him and four of his classmates in the preliminaries yesterday. Three of them were knocked out, and the fourth appears to have been eliminated before we arrived." She frowns slightly at that, obviously unhappy to have missed the bout in question.
"How well do you suppose this guy will do?"
"That is hard to say. His main advantage at this point is that he has a weapon, which gives him the advantage of reach and striking power over most of the other competitors. At least one of his potential opponents has superior range, however, and several - including the one he is up against next - can use that high-speed movement technique to close the range to zero instantly. A disarming or disabling attack at point-blank range could end the fight."
You spend the next couple of minutes talking about swordplay with Altria. It's not a field that you have much experience in, at least in this life, and it's interesting to hear about it from someone with actual training and skill in the field. Lu-sensei pitches in a few times as well, describing a couple of those "disarming attacks" Altria mentioned, and how well they work - or don't work - against swordsmen, or weapon-users in general.
"It's something we ought to work on, if you intend to return for the next tournament in four years' time," he says seriously.
Gained Sword Training F–
Gained Weapon Defense F–
Before long, your conversation is forced to a halt, as the Announcer begins stirring up the crowd for the third round. How do you wish to observe these four matches?