Chapter 2: Eclipse

Taichi stepped through the automatic double doors of the skyscraper, his gaze flickering around the sleek interior aimlessly. There wasn’t a single person in sight, leaving him unsure where to go. He pulled his acceptance letter out of his bag, scanning it in frustration. Sure enough, there were no instructions in it.

He walked deeper into the modern building, reached the second floor, and crossed the glass bridge that overlooked the lobby below – still nobody. With no better plan, he held onto a random doorknob he found, class 1C, took a deep breath, and swung the door open.

“I’m sorry!” he blurted out, bowing his head.

Everybody’s head turned toward Taichi, and the teacher stepped away from her podium.

“You aren’t in my class,” she said. “Why are you disturbing us?”

“Oh, umm, I–”

“Talk coherently.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I…” Taichi took a deep breath, forcing himself to look up from his feet. He glanced at the whiteboard and saw the name of the teacher written. “I transferred here today, but I was late. I don’t know where my class is. I apologize for interfering with your lesson, Yukimura Sensei.”

“Transfer student? Oh, so you’re that man’s son…”

“You know my father?” Taichi asked, his eyes glowing.

“Only through stories – I heard about his passing, though. I’m sorry for your loss, Hayato Taichi,” Yukimura responded.

“Thank you, Sensei.”

Yukimura cleared her throat, realizing she was still in front of her class.

“You’ll be in Class 1A – their classroom is two doors down, but I think they’re in Gym A right now. Here’s a map of the campus.” Yukimura dug into her desk and pulled out a flyer with each labeled building. “Leave the main building and take a right. Get moving.”

“Got it, thanks!”

Taichi ran out of the building, feeling the gaze of every student on his back as he left. Yukimura closed the door and continued her class, while Taichi went out to find his new class.

Once he reached Gym A, he opened the door to the sight of various mats with students sparring with each other using shinais – a familiar sight to Taichi, who was trained by his father in kenjutsu since he was a child. The setup, however, was different from anything he’d ever seen.

Each student wore a special vest traced with micro-sensors. Above each mat, there was a screen displaying health bars for each student, correlating to feedback from the sensors. The amount of technology in this single room was more than he had seen in his entire life.

“Class! We have a visitor!” the teacher declared.

The sparring stopped, and every student turned to stare at Taichi.

His eyes widened when he saw Asumi at the mat closest to the teacher’s side. She met his gaze, brought a finger to her lips, and gave a small shake of her head.

“What’s your name and why are you here?” the teacher yelled.

“I’m Hayato Taichi. I was told this is my class by Yukimura Sensei.”

“Hayato Taichi… huh?” The teacher looked him over. “Alright. Take the shinai and get on the mat.”

“Huh?” Taichi yelped out as a long sword-shaped bamboo stick came sailing across the room to him.

“Yuki Asumi, you were late today,” the teacher continued. “So you have to spar with him. I’ll permit the use of aspects.”

“Wait, wait, what’s happening?” Taichi asked as a sensor vest was shoved into his arms.

“Isn’t it a little bit harsh to make Tai- I mean… to make Hayato’s first spar at this academy against me, Kodaka Sensei?” Asumi asked, trying to wriggle out of this.

“Don’t question my judgement,” Kodaka responded. “You’re giving him a taste of how this class is. If you go easy on him, I’ll cancel your Rank #2 bonus cafeteria credits and add them to Natsu’s Rank #1 this week.”

Asumi gritted her teeth and clenched her shinai. She glared at Kodaka and then shifted her gaze to Taichi.

“I’m sorry, Taichi…” she said softly. “I’m not losing my cafeteria credits.”

Taichi backed up in fear and gripped his shinai.

“Wait, can somebody at least explain the rules?” Taichi begged.

“Our duels are no-holds-barred. The mat has healing and self-regenerative properties, so neither you nor the building will be irreparably harmed. The health bars above will track how much damage you would’ve taken without the healing properties. Get the other person to 0 first, and you win. Get to 0 yourself, and you lose.” Kodaka explained. “Or, well… that’s how our general duel format would work, but this match is simpler: First clean hit wins, whether it’s with the shinai or with an aspect. Now, are you ready?”

“Wait, wait, she gets to use magic???” Taichi asked.

“You can also use your aspect.” Kodaka shrugged off.

Taichi was about to explain that he had no idea how to, but Asumi shook her head and held her shinai firm. Arguing would get neither of them anywhere. Taichi sighed and nodded.

“Alright, I’m ready, Sensei.”

“Then start.”

Around their mat, pale walls of energy rose from the floor, enclosing them in silence. The surface looked completely opaque, hiding the outside world.

“Asumi…” Taichi began.

Without a word, roaring flames began erupting around her, arching like a wreath of burning petals before surging toward him.

The mat seemed to fall away beneath his feet as he leapt between each blast, the heat licking his skin as he barely avoided contact with each of them.

“Asumi, can we talk?!” Taichi shouted, dodging another stream of fire.

She didn’t respond. She dashed forward as quickly as she could, shinai swinging. He raised his own just in time to block the blow.

Her eyes weren’t violent. She didn’t want this fight – but she kept coming anyway.

“So I need to fight you. That’s how it is?” Taichi asked, bouncing back from Asumi’s strike. “Then I won’t hold back either.”

Taichi took a deep breath, gripped his shinai, and rushed at Asumi, who had conjured another wall of fire, more intense than before.

“Let’s see what this thing can do,” he muttered.

He dodged two of the fire blasts effortlessly, but a third was perfectly placed as if Asumi was able to predict his dodging pattern.

She’s good…

Taichi swung his shinai up. The blade struck the fire head-on, and the flames dissipated.

Asumi’s eyes widened in shock – the blast should’ve sent him flying. A simple shinai shouldn’t have been able to block it – it should’ve shattered from the force!

“Gah…” Taichi grunted as the impact rattled his arms, forcing him to take a step back before regaining his balance.

If she keeps me at a distance, I can’t win.

He charged without hesitation, dodging every fire blast he could and deflecting what he couldn’t. His health bar progressively declined, and his body ached, but none of these could be considered clean hits. He was still in it.

Step by step, he closed the gap, making Asumi’s heart pound with every inch he gained. The heat on the mat intensified with Asumi’s desperation to finish the fight at a distance. A massive plume of fire rained down from above, scattering in all directions around Taichi.

It didn’t matter.

He slipped between each falling flame with the footwork of a seasoned fighter, and with a single lunge, he made it within striking distance of Asumi.

Asumi gritted her teeth and gripped her shinai, flames wrapping around it in a blazing spiral. The moment he entered striking range, she struck down. Taichi blocked her blow, but the force behind it was far greater than before, sending a shock down his body, singeing the tips of his hair. The longer their blades locked, the hotter her flames roared, forcing him back inch by inch.

Taichi’s eyes widened as his feet slid back from this overwhelming pressure.

“Not yet… not yet!” Taichi roared out, pushing harder against the flame-clad shinai.

For a moment, they were equal.

Sweat dripped down Taichi’s chin. His arms shook from the residual shock of each blast he’d deflected. He gritted his teeth, trying to muster enough energy for just one final push.

Suddenly, he felt Asumi’s shinai slip past his guard.

Taichi's breath became ragged and his vision narrowed from exhaustion, but the fire in his eyes refused to go out. He dropped low, the world slowing to the rhythm of his heartbeat. The heat pressed against his skin; his muscles screamed in protest.

One hit… just one…

He pivoted, swung upward with every ounce of strength left in him… and suddenly, the walls sank soundlessly back into the floor.

The two shinais sent a sharp, ringing crack that echoed through the gym. The air shimmered with the remnants of Asumi’s flames, slowly fading into golden embers before vanishing completely.

Taichi stood frozen, his chest rising and falling, the sting of Asumi’s flames still clinging to his hands.

The fight was over.