Sometimes the Best Defense is Defense

“What’s the plan? You show me some nice attack spells? Another sparring match?”, Hinako asked with brimming anticipation, as they both walked into the sparring hall

“Show me your most powerful defensive barrier.”, Kuro demanded.

“Huh?”

“Defensive barrier. They still teach you those at the academy, don’t they?”

“They do…”

“Well then, show me what you got.”

Hinako hesitated a bit before she extended her arms formed a magic glyph in the air and murmured the spell. Slivery threats emerged from her fingers and formed a shimmering, translucent wall in front of her. She looked a bit unsure towards Kuro as soon as she was done with the spell. He blinked twice and looked at her confused.

“I meant your most powerful, not your most lackluster… I have seen that one yesterday already and that thing will do you no good… well in a pinch, I guess it’s better than nothing, but you could also hold up a piece of paper…”, Kuro remarked.

He tapped the translucent wall with his fingertip, and it shattered immediately. Kuro then crossed his arms and looked at her, waiting. Hinako sighed and began casting a barrier spell again. This time a more complicated one. The most powerful she had learned at the academy. Pinkish threads came out of her fingertips and slowly, very slowly formed a barrier in front of her. It took way longer than the first one, but the shimmering magical wall was way thicker and opaque. Hinako looked very surprised at it.

“How many attempts did it usually take you?”, he asked casually.

“Four times minimum… often much more… wait, how did you know?”, Hinako replied confused.

“Just a Hunch… good… your control is getting better, but you take ages… well, let’s see how much it can withstand.”

Kuro stood back a few paces and made a small hand motion. A small pebble materialized floating in front of him. He flicked it with his middle finger and shot it towards the barrier. The magic wall crumbled as soon as it was struck.

“Weak…”, Kuro commented.

Hinako gave him an angry look.

“Well, I’m sorry that I can’t do stupid defense magic well… I’m more the offense is the best defense type!”, she said through gritted teeth.

“Oh, I know… But for that to work you need a good offense…”, Kuro retorted.

“Are you implying that I lack offensive capabilities?!”

“Exactly that.”

“How dare you! I graduated with the top grades in all offensive classes! I was told that, I was the best in the last ten years!”

“Compared to other students, maybe… But to me you look more like a kid playing with fire.”

Hinako’s eyes grew large in outrage.

“What do you even know about fire! You specialize in earth magic, you stupid… otaku!”, Hinako hissed enraged.

“What gave you that idea?”, Kuro asked calmly, further infuriating her.

“Oh, I don’t know… Could it be those damned ROCKS you fling around all the time?”

Kuro sighed, raised his right hand and snapped with both his ring and middle finger in one motion. A roaring fire pillar shot up behind him in an instant. It was a mixture of purplish, blueish and yellowish flames stretching from the bottom to the top of the room. Hinako looked between his glowing blue eyes and the flames in disbelief. The Homura family had brought forth countless exceptional fire mages over the ages, so she was used to the sight of flames from a very early age. But these flames behind Kuro were nothing like Hinako had ever seen. They were different than any fire she could produce, and rivaled those of her grandfather, the most powerful mage in her family. Mesmerized, she looked at the flames dancing up and down. Hinako felt the ominous heat of them radiating against her skin and it was clear to her that this fire was not for show but to incinerate all and everything. Kuro snapped with his finger again and the flames dissipated with a final roaring hiss. Hinako watched the last sparks fizzle out. Kuro looked at the young woman’s stunned face with satisfaction, but her next reaction took him by surprise.

“That was not full power, was it?”, Hinako asked staring at him.

“How do know that?”, Kuro replied taken aback.

“I don’t know… It just felt… incomplete... somehow.”

Kuro tilted his head a bit and looked at her surprised. A fleeting smile flashed across his face.

“Interesting…”, Kuro mumbled more to himself.

“So, you specialize in Fire magic as well?”, Hinako inquired curiously.

“Nope.”

“What then?”

“I’ll tell you when your barrier can withstand one attack of mine.”

Hinako looked very dissatisfied with that answer.

“Can you do water magic too?”, Hinako asked her curiosity at its peak.

“I’m not some trained dog you can just ask for tricks!”

“Pretty please?”

Kuro watched her make big brown puppy eyes and sighed. He raised his left arm with the palm up and a floating water bubble manifested itself atop it.

“Oh, what a good b-…. Oi!”, Hinako shrieked, because the water bubble hit her mid-sentence, washing of her cheeky smile.

“And before you ask…”, Kuro said casually and flicked his hand in an upward motion.

A sudden gale of wind rushed towards Hinako and flipped her skirt up. She didn’t even flinch or tried to hold it down.

“Really?”, Hinako asked, staring him dead in the eyes.

“Black, huh?”, Kuro countered and tried for a dirty smile, while meeting her gaze.

“How do you know? You didn’t even look.”

“I hung them up yesterday, remember?”

Kuro watched her facial muscles move, but the expected flushness of the cheeks never came to be. Hinako instead took a few steps towards him.

“Oh? And how do you know that I’m wearing them?”, She asked getting closer to him, still dead locked on his eyes.

“You… don’t have another… pair…”, Kuro replied with a rising feeling of uncomfortableness, but still unweaving in his gaze.

“Maybe I didn’t put them on today?”

“What!? There is no way you ran all the way here… commando-style…”

“Well, if you are so sure… Why don’t you check for yourself? I’ll allow it.”

Hinako, now only an arm’s reach from him, grabbed the bottom of her skirt and flipped the front up. Both had their eyes still locked onto each other. Kuro turned his head to the side and looked away first.

“Weak…”, commented Hinako cheekily.

“Do you young ones have no decency at all these days?”, Kuro grumbled.

“Says the guy who just flipped my skirt and probably sniffed my panties yesterday!”

Kuro turned back to her, his ears bright red.

“I did no such thing! And they were just plain boxers!”, He said flustered.

“Oh, you sound so disappointed. Sorry, all my sexy ones went up in flames… maybe I’ll buy some new ones. Extra for you.”, Hinako remarked and gave him a cheeky wink.

“I… what?... no… I… don’t…”

Hinako burst out laughing seeing him stutter panicked. Now not only Kuro’s ears were red but his whole face. Hinako, after calming down again, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down towards her a bit.

“If you really want to creep me out and make me want to change partner, you have to do way better than that, old man!”, She said with fire in her eyes.

Hinako then released him and went back a few paces. Kuro just looked at her deeply confused and flustered.

“So, what do you want me to do now?”, Hinako asked, after turning back around.

“Huh?”, Kuro asked still very confused about what just happened.

“Training… You know, the thing we came here to do… or are you now too occupied wondering about what may or may not be under my skirt?”

“No… Uh…”

Kuro cleared his throat.

“Yes training… Uhm… Yes… I want you to do that barrier again, but this time do it faster and stronger.”, He continued finding his composure again.

“And how do I do that?”, Hinako asked with a smidge of annoyance in her tone.

“Like before, but faster and stronger?”

Now Hinako looked a bit confused and slightly annoyed. But she then just sighed and began casting the spell. It took her exactly the same amount of time and the strength test ended in the same result.

“I said faster and stronger… again.”, Kuro said, now with his usual tone again.

Hinako shot him an annoyed look but did not talk back and began casting again. The next five times ended in the same result.

“This is gonna take some time…”, commented Kuro casually.

He then quickly grabbed a chair from the side of the room and sat down in front of Hinako. Kuro then grabbed a magazine out of the plastic bag, that he got from the convenience store earlier.

“Continue.”, He casually said and began reading the newest Weekly Shonen Falls.

Kuro noticed that Hinako still wasn't talking back, even though it was taking all her willpower, according to her facial expression. She began casting again. The time flew by and Hinako erected countless magic barriers, only to have them immediately shattered by one of Kuro’s pebbles. After finishing the manga magazine, he had pulled out his phone and started to watch anime episodes on there. The only words he said the whole time were “Faster”, “Stronger”, and most of all “Again.”

“This is pointless… I’m getting nowhere…”, Hinako huffed exhausted after her barrier got smashed for the umpteenth time and expressed her first complaints in hours.

Kuro looked at the pebbles floating around him, that had gradually nearly doubled in size since they began.

“Again.”, He said casually.

Hinako breathed heavily, gave him a defiant look but began casting anew. Kuro looked closely between her and the timeline of the anime he was watching. She managed to finish the barrier ten seconds faster than at the start. Kuro shot his pebble again, shattering the barrier in pieces.

“See? Nothing has ch-“, Hinako began to complain but could not finish the sentence.

Fainting from exhaustion she started to fall over, but Kuro grabbed her before she could hit the ground. He looked at the unconscious woman in his arms and then on his phone.

“Seven hours… color me impressed, kid”, he mumbled and nodded approvingly.