CHAPTER 67: LEAVES TRAINING

Chapter 67: Leaves Training

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"I’m scared, I’m actually scared," Lucy said to Arios as she held his hand tightly, her gaze fixed on Kyousuke’s unreadable expression. "Knowing that people are truly capable of reaching such strength."

The words sent a jolt through Arios. He looked at Lucy, her face was pale, her eyes wide with a fear he hadn’t seen since the first night they met. A memory, sharp and vivid, bloomed in his mind. It wasn’t the memory of the alleyway itself, but of the quiet, intimate conversation that followed days later, in the calm and safety of his dorm room.

****

The setting was simple and quiet. The late evening sun streamed through the window of Arios’s dorm room, casting a warm, dimmed yellowish glow on the polished floor. He had just finished reorganizing his books on the shelves, a meticulous process that brought him a sense of order. Lucy was sitting on the edge of his bed, fiddling with a loose thread on her sleeve. The air was a little heavy with unsaid things, but it was also comfortable. They had been talking about nothing in particular for a while.

"So, the new professor, what was his name again? Professor Marrowbone? The one who looks like a grumpy potato?" Lucy asked, trying to sound cheerful. "He gave us a pop quiz in Magical Theory this morning. I’m pretty sure I failed."

Arios chuckled softly, sitting down on the chair at his desk. "Professor Marrowbone is his name, and he is a grumpy potato. He gives a pop quiz every Tuesday. It’s his thing."

"Seriously? How did you know that?"

"I asked around," Arios said with a shrug. "It’s good to know the patterns of your environment. It helps you prepare."

"Wow, you’re so smart," Lucy said, the compliment sounding genuine. "It’s like you know everything."

Arios watched her carefully. He knew this conversation was going somewhere deeper. "It’s not about knowing everything. It’s simply just about paying attention," he said.

The silence stretched on for a long time. The only sounds were the distant chattering of other students as they walked adjacent to the window and the occasional rustle of leaves outside his window. Lucy finally broke it.

"I still feel it," she said. "That fear. Every time I walk down a dark street, every time I see him from a distance... it’s just there. And it’s horrible."

Arios nodded slowly. "That’s a normal reaction. What you went through was terrifying."

"But I hate it," she said, her voice rising slightly with a new wave of emotion. "I hate that I’m so weak. That I couldn’t do anything. I just... froze. I stood there and I was so scared I couldn’t even scream. And then you showed up, and you just... handled it. You were so calm and composed. And I’m just... not. I hate feeling like I have to depend on others to protect me. I hate being helpless."

She looked up at him, her eyes pleading. "You said it yourself, that night. You said you would protect me. That I shouldn’t worry, that you will always protect me. Do you remember?"

Arios’s expression softened. "I remember."

"And you... you said you would teach me," she said, her voice filled with a hopeful desperation. "Was that... was that just something you said to make me feel better?"

Arios rose from his chair and walked to the window. He looked out at the late evening sun, his mind already formulating a plan. "No, Lucy," he said, turning back to face her. "I meant it. I always do."

He gestured to the open grounds outside. "Get up. We’re going to start now. But first, there’s something you need to understand. You are not weak. Fear is not weakness. Everyone feels it. The difference is what you do with it. You can let it consume you, or you can use it to push yourself forward."

She stood up, a new spark of determination in her eyes. "So, what do we do? Do we go to the training hall? Do we get a sword?"

Arios smiled. "No," he said. "We don’t need a sword."

*****

The late evening sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and yellow. They were in a small, secluded grove, a massive old oak tree towering over them. Arios handed her a long, slender tree branch, its leaves still intact. "This is your sword," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What am I supposed to do with it?" Lucy asked, her grip on the branch still tentative.

Arios gave the tree a firm shake. A shower of green and yellow leaves rained down around them. He then took his own tree branch and began to hit the falling leaves. His movements were a blur of motion, his body moving with a fluid grace that seemed to defy gravity. He didn’t miss a single one. Every leaf that fell from the tree was met with a precise, effortless flick of his branch, his agility boost from his seven-winged physique gave him the edge he needed.

"Your turn," he said, handing her his branch. "The goal is simple. Hit as many leaves as you can before they touch the ground. Your condition for the training to be complete is to hit 12 leaves."

Lucy took the branch, her hands shaking slightly. She watched as Arios gave the tree another shake. A new shower of leaves cascaded around them, and she swung her branch with all her might. She hit one, then two, but the rest fell to the ground untouched.

"Again," Arios said, his voice filled with encouragement.

She tried again and again, her frustration mounting with every passing moment. She missed more than she hit, her swings wild and clumsy. She was fast, but her movements lacked the precision and control that Arios had displayed.

"I can’t do this!" she finally screamed, her voice filled with a mix of frustration and despair. She threw the branch to the ground, her body shaking with anger. "It’s impossible! They’re too fast!"

Arios simply walked over to her, his voice soft, his eyes now filled with a deep and unwavering resolve. "Nothing is impossible," he said. He picked up the branch and handed it back to her. "The goal is not to be fast, but It’s to be precise. You’re swinging your branch with all your might, but you’re not focusing on the leaf. You’re focusing on the swing itself. Stop trying to hit them, and just let yourself feel them first."

She looked at him, her eyes filled with tears, and she took the branch. She raised it to the sky, and with a deep breath, she shook the tree herself. The leaves began to fall, and she swung her branch with a newfound determination. She hit two, then three, then four. She missed more than she hit, but she didn’t stop. She swung the branch again and again.

"I’m still missing them," she said, her voice a little shaky.

"You’re not missing them," Arios said, his voice filled with encouragement. "You’re getting closer. That’s what matters. You’re learning."

The training went on for what felt like an eternity. They moved from the tree in the grove to another in a grassy field, from the field to another in a small, hidden stream. They even trained under the pouring rain. They trained until her hands were blistered, until her arms ached, until her body was sore all over. But she never gave up. She kept going, her determination a fire that burned brighter than any sun.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, things started improving. He shook the tree, and the leaves began to fall. She raised her branch, her eyes filled with a quiet confidence that had not been there before, and she began to swing.

She swung her branch with a graceful, fluid motion, her body moving with a newfound agility that had not been there before. She hit one, then two, then three, then four, then five, then six, then seven, then eight, then nine, then ten, then eleven, and finally, twelve. She did it, she had gotten his desired number.

She simply stood there, her body shaking with a mix of exhaustion and triumph, and she looked at him, her eyes filled with a mix of awe and gratitude. "I did it," she whispered, her voice filled with a sense of relief. "I really did it."

Arios simply smiled, it was a small, genuine smile. "I told you you could," he said, his voice filled with a deep sense of pride. "I knew it all along."

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[A/N:] I just want to thank everyone for the support, your power stones, gifts, comments and many more are what motivates me to keep writing. This humble author will keep trying his best.