Chapter 17 - Mochi vs the Duel

By the time Milly awoke she was alone in the dorms. She could tell she had slept for a long time, as when she phased herself through the door of the cabin the sun was already high in the sky. She rubbed her eyes with her little paws and noticed a clanging sound in the distance. Remembering what Captain Issa had said the day before, she floated as fast as she could to where the sound was coming from, fully believing that dog paddling her little legs in the air made her go faster.

She arrived at the clearing they had been drinking in the night before, and saw Zen and Issa already engaged in their duel.

Zen was fluid and sharp in his movements, and maintained a safe distance from Issa, who had a longer reach thanks to her large build. If she swung her sword towards him, it would fail to land a hit by such a precise amount that Milly couldn't help but be impressed by Zen’s skill.

Milly looked on in awe as Zen used his speed to close the gap he had created in defense. He traded blows with Issa, and their swords rang out in an almost melodic sound each time they clashed. Zen was marginally faster than Issa, but Issa was physically stronger and was able to push him back if he didn't parry her strikes.

Nao appeared next to Milly with Mochi on her back, and explained when Milly gave a quizzical look.

“Miss Mochi wanted to ‘play’ too, but I held her back, and then-”

“My feet hurt! I don't want to stand if I can't play!”

Mochi wiggled around and Nao's crooked smile returned with a blush across her cheeks.

“It is an honor to carry you, Princess.”

“I'm a princess! Mama says so too!”

Milly looked at Nao with a bit of disgust and changed the subject.

“H-how long have they been fighting?”

“Pretty well since dawn. Neither of them are showing any signs of getting tired though. They've been evenly matched for the most part.”

“D-dawn?! That would have been hours ago!”

“Yes. You slept a long while, Princess.”

Milly wondered if her new sleeping schedule was simply because dogs slept longer than humans. Deciding not to dwell on it she returned her focus to Zen.

The two guard's battle raged on, well past the sun reaching its peak. Nao had prepared a small picnic for herself and Mochi, and was no longer interested in watching the fight. She sipped some tea she had found with the rations.

“Princess, please just let me know the outcome.”

Milly, however, was locked in on Zen for reasons she couldn’t explain. If she wasn’t covered in fur, someone might have noticed a faint blush on her cheeks as she watched him move. In her mind it was like he was dancing, dodging swings and thrusting his own sword forward when he could.

Right then, Zen and Issa both took a leap to the side, towards where the girls were sitting, and their swords connected again. They only held the position for a moment, but in that moment Zen looked over to Milly and confidently smirked. She felt her heart pound, but the feeling didn’t last for long as Zen quickly dashed away so Issa would give chase, and Milly was left with her internal battle of being grossed out by whatever it was that she just felt.

“It’s just Zen! It’s just Zen! It’s just Zen!”

Nao turned to Milly with a quizzical look.

“Hm? Sorry Princess, did you say something?”

“N-no! Nothing!”

Zen ran towards the edge of the clearing, picking up speed the farther he got, and glanced behind him. Issa was keeping pace and managed to catch up to just a few paces behind him.

Suddenly, Zen stopped and turned on a dime, and dropped himself to the ground.

Issa looked down at him with confusion but wasn’t able to stop herself as quickly, and before she realized it he had grabbed her free hand and pulled her down, but planted his foot firmly into her chest.

With a grunt and a heave, Issa's feet lifted off the ground, and the world spun. Her body arced over Zen, and in one flowing move she landed with a thud on her back, Zen had flipped on top of her, and had his sword pointed at her neck.

“Tricky man. Good.”

Zen stood and offered the captain a hand. Her weight made him lose his composure for a second as he pulled her up, letting air fill his cheeks, but once she was on her feet he smiled at her, and the two chatted about the duel. Zen non-chalantly stretched his shoulder and Milly saw him laugh. She had been furiously clapping from the sidelines with her little paws, clicking her nails with each ‘pomf’.

“Nao! Zen won the fight! He won! It was amazing! He stopped! And she flipped! And-!”

“My Princess, you’re certainly excited. Are you looking forward to our journey that much?”

“N-no!”

Milly pulled her ears down over her face and turned away.

“I’m not surprised he won though, believe it or not Zen is one of the youngest to make it into the royal guards. People think he’s a ‘prodigy’ or something. I guess he’s pretty good.”

“Not just ‘pretty’ good.”

Zen had appeared behind Nao and lightly tapped his fist onto her head. Mochi lunged at him in defense of Nao and he recoiled his hand and glared at her. Next he turned his teasing to Milly.

“What did you think, Evuli? I saw you watching me.”

“Yeah! You were great!”

Not expecting her answer, Zen’s face flushed and he looked away. Milly thought she heard him mumble ‘thank you’, but she couldn’t be sure.

Issa approached next and removed her helmet. Milly was impressed that both of them had fought so well in full uniform, but it made sense that they would have to be able to fight like that should they be on guard duty at the castle.

“I still do not think you should go.”

Mochi began to bark at Issa again and hopped around her, but she was ultimately ignored and returned to Nao defeated and whining. Zen sheathed his sword and looked up at his towering comrade.

“Captain, why don’t you come with us? Together we could make quick work of the Demon Lord.”

“No. My place is here.”

“But Captain, this place has been abandoned.”

“No, I am still here.”

“Captain-”

“My king… gave me orders. Captain Issa is in charge of the training camp. Captain Issa will train others. If I leave there will be no one to train others if they come. My king is no longer here to give new orders, so I will stay.”

Knowing it was a fruitless effort to argue, the group stayed for one more evening of drinking and playing before setting off the next morning. In the end Nao and Milly were left entirely unsure if Mochi hated or loved Issa, as she happily waved goodbye while shouting threats at her.

Zen: 1

Issa: 0