Date: Mid-spring, Second Term Begins
Location: Academy Grounds – Training Hall, Observation Balcony, Dorm Commons
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Second-years arrived last week.
Some looked weathered, sharp-eyed — likely mission-hardened. Others carried the same arrogance I've seen on too many green soldiers: the kind who believe strength lies in posture, not discipline.
They gathered at the training hall today. Their instructor let them roam. Said they were to "measure their juniors." What she meant was, "Test who you can step on."
Some of them looked at me the way bored cats eye mice. I didn't react. I never do.
But fame is a funny thing. Especially when you didn't ask for it.
---
Lily turned down a team invitation. That much I knew.
What I didn't know was that the rejected boy — some blade-wielder with a scar too clean to be earned — decided to make a scene of it.
He approached during lunch.
Laughed with his group.
Said I was a fraud. Said I only got the "tactician" title because I hid behind better fighters. Then he grabbed me by the collar.
His hand reached for my throat.
That's when the air changed.
---
Leander's sword was unsheathed faster than anyone could blink. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't threaten. He simply stood beside me — blade drawn, the edge humming just above the boy's neck.
Gideon took two steps forward and cracked his knuckles like breaking ice.
Alice didn't speak — but her eyes had gone blood-red. Her shadow flickered unnaturally. The second-years didn't notice it at first.
Riya's flame lit unconsciously at her fingertips.
Anna stopped eating.
Even Elric looked up from his book.
> "Stop," I said.
Just one word.
It was enough to still Leander's blade.
But not enough to keep the second-year from stumbling backward and falling flat on the floor — in front of everyone.
They looked around. Laughed nervously. But it was too late.
The challenge had been issued.
---
They called for a team duel.
Said if we were really as good as they'd heard, we'd fight without me. "Let your shadows shine, Commander," one of them joked.
I agreed. Not because of pride — but because my team has waited too long to release what they've learned.
They didn't disappoint.
---
Leander was first — and cruel. Not malicious, just… elegant in his humiliation. He weaved between strikes, taunting with words and footwork, never once taking it seriously. His blade never even nicked his opponent — but it disarmed them in less than twenty seconds.
Alice fought next.
She used her blood this time.
Her dagger moved like an extension of her breath, her movements efficient and precise. Her opponent didn't even realize she was cut until the pain kicked in five seconds later. Then she whispered something — and the blood froze. He dropped like a stone.
Riya and Anna paired up — played a game of elements and illusions. Their opponents couldn't tell what was flame and what was false until they were too close to either.
Gideon didn't move fast — he didn't need to. Every strike he blocked shattered their footing. The floor cracked beneath him. His silence spoke more than a hundred threats.
And Elric?
He healed their wounds before they even left the stage.
The entire duel lasted under seven minutes.
---
After it was done, the second-years didn't speak.
Their teacher stood, ready to protest — until she saw David watching silently from the high platform above.
He didn't speak either.
But he nodded. Once. Almost invisible.
They say he trained us.
But the truth is, we trained each other.
---
That evening, laughter echoed through our dorm.
Anna teased Leander for his "dance steps."
Gideon actually smiled. (Still rare.)
Riya braided Alice's hair while mimicking the second-years' flustered retreat.
Even Lily smiled. A real one.
And me?
…I wrote this down. So I wouldn't forget the day they tried to shame us.
And learned what happens when you call out the Commander's name in the wrong tone.
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> "Let them mock. Let them sneer.
But when the pieces move — we move together."