10. redo of brawler

The first time I was told to break a board, I refused to. One, it looked like it hurt. Two, I was ten. Three, I was a coward. Four, and most importantly, I did not want to be perceived.

Even then, I did not want to be perceived.

I did not want to stand in front of a crowd at a stupid exhibition to break a board and get clapped at. So I never did. I broke one for my parents at home, mostly because they wouldn’t shut up about it. And that was it. I never broke one again. By this point, it’d been so long since I last practiced that I’d probably end up breaking my foot instead.

I stood before the prion dummy, staring at it. See the prion. Feel the prion. Be the prion. Get mad cow disease and die.

“...Ishidaseishin?”

This was as good a time as any to confess that I’d yet to awaken. What was the worst they could do? Send me home?

“There’s no mouth to stab,” Yukimura said. Classy.

“Anything will work,” Connie said. “Anything. Just use your instinct.”

It worked to pretend like the dummy was a board–was Yusuke–because I snapped it in half with a kick. That thing was thin as paper. “Um,” I eloquently stated, “That’s… that… dust. I used dust for the… yeah.”

Connie had his hands behind his back. “Dust, hmm…”

“Yes. Dust.”

“Is there any attack you can think of that might work from a distance? Using dust–sand magic?”

I shook my head.

“Is that so…” Connie trailed off, glancing at each and every one of us. “Tissu, would you mind assisting us as support?” Translation: they all suck, please help.

Tissu nodded. She agreed and she pitied us.

“...we’ll have to wait longer than expected for your species to be assigned. We do not want any errors. Yukimuraisami, Kawakamiaoko, come with me. I will test your defensive abilities using a different kind of prion. The rest of you, please continue to practice. Offensive, long-distance spells, if possible.”

As he spoke and with a twirl of his paw, the prion reassembled itself. Yukimura and Aoko followed him to some room. Hisui, Tissu and I stood before the dummy. See the dummy. Feel the dummy. Be the dummy.

Tissu kicked it. She whimpered, then clutched her foot. “Ha! You naive creature.” Hisui the naive creature stepped forward. “This is why you lost. It’s all about the angle and momentum.”

Moments later, she was clutching her foot. I was so, so glad that Connie had left.

When a newcomer arrived, he not only kicked the dummy but pulverized it. I swore I could feel an impact wave pass me as he did. “Like that?” Asked Sen. “How’s it going, Tissu? Still mute?”

Tissu gave him the finger.

Sen snorted. “Sakura? Ishida? That’s how it’s like, right? Your first name is your last name.”

Hisui was very unsubtly checking him out. “H-how did you do that?”

“This?” He rearranged the dummy only to pulverize it again. “Angle and momentum.”

“Ohh!” She clapped. These women were so unsubtle. First Tissu and Yukimura, now this. What was next, Aoko declaring her impossible love with Connie, not because he was a rabbit, but because he was green? “Ishidaaa! We can’t stay behind now. Do that.”

Sen rearranged the dummy. “Go on,” he said. “Impress me.”

That did it. I used him as my dummy. By the time I was done he was minced…

…yeah, no. I was heeding Connie’s warning. Besides, not even I was dim-witted enough to attack someone who could literally pulverize wood with a kick.

“Or would you like to spar with me instead?”

I shook my head.

“What–why not?”

“Yeah, Ishida, why not?” Both Sen and Hisui stood before me, hands on her hips (the latter imitating the former).

“I–I just–no.”

“You’re the leader, aren’t you, Sakura?” Sen asked. “Can I attack him?”

“Yeah. Pulverize him.”

Based on the way the wind howled as he threw a punch I sidestepped, he sure tried. Yeah, no. I’d absolutely get wrecked by this guy. No Igasu seemed to notice or care about his presence. The air around his jump kick hissed. “Good reflexes, Ishida! Very good. But where’s your magic?”

Hisui had created makeshift weed pom-poms for both her and Tissu. I supposed the latter wanted to see me pulverized.

…ah, right, we could actually die with little consequence in this world.

What if I just let him do it?

If there was a revival chamber, it’d mean peace and quiet for some time at least. As I dodged, I kept my hands in my pockets, even knowing how much that affected my balance and coordination. Why? Because he did the same as he attacked. He was relentless, uncoordinated, unskilled. Even then, I didn’t dare strike back. I’d just keep this asshole entertained until one of the Isagus–

“Didn’t you say you were gonna break my face?”

Classy. Classy.

“Nahhh, Tissu, how did he hurt you? This pipsqueak? All he does is dodge. Like a mosquito.”

One–he was talking. Two–he had his hands in his pockets. Three–he relied on strength. Four–he relied on fear. Five–he wasn’t taking me seriously. At all. I couldn’t blame him, of course. It was also because of this that when I awkwardly kicked at his face, he grabbed it, and while he thought of pulverization, I used the momentum to swing my other leg at him. If I kicked hard enough, I’d break his face, and since I thought that, I kicked hard enough.

Something crunched.

We collapsed on the floor at the same time.

We sat up at the same time. Sen held a bleeding mouth with his hand. He was laughing. “Y-you really–you really… ow…”

A swarm of Igasu showed up. SERIOUSLY? Predictably, Connie hopped out of the room not too long after. “Ishidaseishin…”

I would’ve apologized, but I wasn’t sorry. At all. I also wanted to laugh.

That thing I’d felt during the encounter with Tissu–it was there. Then, speed. Now, strength. Long-distance spells? Weak. Weak.

Sen waved the hand that wasn’t holding his bleeding mouth. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I asked him to spar. Out of today’s candidates, he’s not even the first to hurt me, but not like… this.”

And of course Yukimura and Aoko showed up. “Nice,” said Yukimura. “We leave for five minutes and this happens.”

Tissu, who had been cackling, immediately straightened and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

Hisui and the Igasu helped Sen up. Mostly Hisui. “The twink can heal, right?” He asked. “How about he uses me as practice?”

Shockingly, Connie consented. Hopefully Yukimura would use the frosty blade whatever attack instead of a snowsong.

These creatures just had the worst timing, didn’t they? They could’ve showed up as I narrowly avoided death multiple times, but noo.

While Aoko turned on her back, Yukimura tried, and failed, to heal Sen’s injury. It wasn’t even that hard. I’d split his lip at best. But noo. Some other girl from a nearby squad joined, and together, they healed such a life-threatening injury. “Thank you, thank you,” Sen told the girl clearly ogling him. “Very strong candidates this time, huh, Connie?”

Connie closed his eyes, but it wasn’t a smile. “How is Hiyamahanabi?”

“She’s fine. Reading, mostly. She reads a lot.”

“I’m glad. What brings you here?”

“Curiosity, of course! This is the biggest batch of sacrificial goats you’ve gotten in a while. Ah, sorry… Toags?”

“Nickname them as you wish,” Connie said. “Just don’t do anything you might regret.”

“I won’t. Don’t worry. Since I’m good now, I’ll go test other outlanders.”

…or recruit.

The look on Connie’s face was vicious. Did he know what was going on–whatever was going on? Why not stop it, then? I could’ve asked this, but instead I turned so I wouldn’t have to face him or apologize. Instead, there was Hisui and Tissu, shaking their pom-poms.

Did Tissu know? Well, not that she could tell us right now.

One of the Igasu staff said, “What happened?” And then, “Oh, my,” and then, “Of course it was Connie’s group,” for it spoke to a co-worker.

So… batches, huh?

How many batches had come before us?

Where did they go?