6 — Having A War Against My Best Friend

 took a brief breath.

"Lily…" My voice was hoarse and cold, possibly due to the city's humid air and the breezy wind.

And yes, currently… we were approaching the winter season.

My eyes were closed. My mind was shut. My body was stiff, while my lips were trembling. I couldn't even open my mouth. As if a machine had finally shut down.

I could sense Lily's eyes were wet, almost in tears, and her lips were about to part.

But before any words could reach my ears, I stopped her from speaking by raising my hand into the air. Not even a syllable would come out after that.

"Swording." I declared, half-sighing.

"Let's do it."

Those two words shocked them both. Lily grabbed my shoulder again, this time firmly. I could sense she was about to snap, or perhaps about to slap my cheek.

"Are you… nuts?" Despite her usual dry tone, I could tell she was visibly annoyed.

Myra dropped her spoon and fork immediately. I couldn't be bothered to look.

"M-master, you aren't gonna do it, right?" Myra joined the conversation immediately.

From her tone alone, I could sense her worry. Even blind, I could see through it.

But then, I opened my eyes. I couldn't bear to hold back these thoughts anymore.

"It's your fault, Myra." I looked at her.

"Everything is your fault."

Myra hissed, probably because seeing my eyes made her want to cry.

"Because of you, I will have to do this."

"Do you understand now?"

Sorry, Myra. I don't want to hurt you at all.

"Master, you are evil! I hate you!"

She ran away, bursting the door open, and didn't return for hours.

I couldn't help but be so rude. I needed to bare my fangs, then strengthen my resolve just so I would be ready for everything that got in my way.

All alone, that is.

All I had to do back then was kill her, saving everything I had ever had.

Yet I couldn't.

I was such a coward.

Pathetic loser. No wonder all of the Gods and Goddesses never wanted to help, let alone pity me. Instead, they gave me such a curse that I could no longer bear, no matter how good—

Ouch!

Apparently, Lily had enough of my nonsense.

A slap finally landed on my cheek. Its sound was like an exaggerated clap. It didn't hurt physically, but it hurt mentally. She then grabbed my collar.

"Clara, back then you weren't even a teenager!"

She then hugged me, burying her face in my chest.

Is she… crying?

"I knew you always wanted to avenge them, but what if something similar happened?"

Something similar…

So, that's what she always worried about. That must be why she made those pervy jokes. Why she always criticized me. Why she always teased me.

I see… I understand now.

At least, that's what I told myself.

I dared myself to move my hand, then patted her hair—the comfort she always deserved.

"It's now or never, Lily."

She would definitely come back again. I knew she would.

"Hmph… what a cheat."

"I'm not gonna forgive you right away just because of this, you know."

How dishonest. You are enjoying this too, aren't you?

I loved the way I ran my fingers through her long black hair. She reminded me a lot of my childhood friend. He always ran to me whenever he felt like he wanted to cry.

His family didn't allow him to cry because boys should never cry.

"I never asked you for any forgiveness. But please, for this time…"

"Let me do this in my own way."

She didn't answer, possibly too busy crying on my chest.

However, a subtle nod from her was more than enough to settle it.

After talking things out with Myra, we made up, and I apologized for hurting her.

The memory of it still stung. She had come back hours later, her ears flat, her tail dragging, and she had refused to look at me. I had knelt down on the floor of the dormitory—not because I had to, but because she deserved it—and I had said the words plainly.

"I was wrong to say that. It wasn't your fault. It was mine."

She had stared at me for a long moment. Her ears had twitched. Her tail had given one small, hesitant wag.

"Kon… Master is mean."

"I know."

"Master is really mean."

"I know."

"Yip." She had stepped forward and headbutted my knee. "Master is forgiven. But only because Master is sad."

That was the closest thing to mercy I was going to get. I had taken it.

However, the afternoon was far from gone.

We had enough time until evening, which meant we could practice swording with Lily.

And yes, wearing our uniforms. No need for formal dress, unlike in any tournament.

It's not like our skills were restricted by limited movements.

If that were the case, that would just be a skill issue.

So, in this open field where the Extra usually conducted training…

It was one-on-one between me and Lily.

With Myra as the judge, standing in the middle of the field.

"Ready? I bet you're gonna cry," Lily said, opening the conversation without any hesitation.

Said the one who was crying on my chest a few moments ago.

"Meh. It's not like I will go berserk." I rolled my eyes.

Though, it would be funny if I did while using this wooden sword prepared for basic training.

All of a sudden, everything was silent. We looked at each other, while Myra assessed our readiness with her eyes. Even a few seconds felt like a minute when everything was stationary.

"Yip! Are you girls ready?"

We nodded immediately.

I must win this.

Lily is a genius at swording. So, you probably got the gist here.

"Start!"

I rushed forward the moment it was allowed. I started the first swing, targeting her neck immediately.

My grip was strong, firm, and flexible, giving me enough advantage—

Woah, that was quite close!

The eeriness of her counter, lunging toward my stomach, was a swift, breezy sound to my ears.

"Imagine chasing my neck. You really want to kill your own roommate so badly, don't you?"

Her voice was teasing and chilly at the same time. I couldn't tell which one anymore.

You said that while trying to stab my stomach? How amazing.

"Talk to yourself, mate. Ain't ya even gonna win this?"

That taunt was loud, so full of myself.

Following that, she slammed her wooden sword toward my face—the one I held against mine. A loud sound from the wood was overwhelming. It almost felt like having a war against your best friend.

"Give up now, Clara?"

I stuck out my tongue immediately after hearing that, still with an air of seriousness.

"Never, you scum."

I turned around before her strike landed. Roughly so.

And there it was.

Her left foot had shifted. Just slightly. A fraction of an inch outward, the way it always did whenever she committed to a forward lunge. She had told me about it herself once, in passing, back when we were children and she was teaching me the basics of the stance. She had called it her bad habit. She had said she was trying to train it out of herself.

She never had.

I drove my wooden sword into the gap beneath her guard—the one her shifted foot had opened. Not a killing blow. Not even a clean hit. But enough. Enough to break her balance, enough to send her stumbling, enough to end the match.

Myra's mouth went agape before slowly but surely pointing her hand at me.

"Match's over! Clara wins!"

How anti-climactic…

I helped her stand up by offering my hand.

"I can…"

A pair of watchful eyes stopped her from saying something so selfish.

Please, just this time.

"Never mind."

She accepted that gesture gracefully, as I helped her up from the ground.

"You have changed a lot," Lily said.

"How did you notice it?"

Her eyes narrowed. She was still catching her breath. Her wooden sword was still on the ground where she had dropped it.

"I noticed your foot," I said. "You always shift it before you lunge. You told me that yourself, years ago."

She stared at me.

"I told you that when we were nine."

"And you never fixed it."

"I never fixed it," she repeated. Something flickered across her face—something between irritation and something softer, something she didn't want me to see.

I rested the wooden sword on my shoulder. I mean… I won, but at what cost?

Her stance was unusual, and obviously, this was far from satisfying.

But still, a victory is always a victory. Take it or leave it.

"Of course I did. I was searching for that gap."

I don't want to lose anymore. Nope, not this time.

I couldn't afford to lose anything.

I had to avenge my parents.

And the one who had taken them was still out there.

Somewhere.

Waiting.

...