"Shame." Rui shook his head. "But at the end of the day, it is what it is."
Nel met up with them once he got off the ring, grinning ecstatically. He was immediately bombarded with biddings of congratulations.
"Great fight." Rui told him.
"It was awesome." He grinned. "Wish we could fight more, but this thing ends today right?"
"Yeah." Rui said. "One way or another. But you can fight us even in the future."
"Hehe... I sure will." He said as he each of them. "All of you."
Soon, Fae joined them, after being healed up, with a dismayed expression.
"Why the long face?" Kane asked teasingly.
"Shut up." She glared at him.
"You came pretty close." Rui consoled her.
"Indeed." Hever agreed. "Just the slightest difference and the match could very well have gone down a different path."
"Yes, but it didn't go down that way." She sighed. "The fact that it went the way it did was mainly my fault. I still have many shortcomings to fill up before I can be satisfied with myself."
"Heh." Nel smirked. "We can fight again when you're satisfied. No, there is no need to wait that long, we can fight today again!"
Everyone ignored the battle maniac.
"On the bright side, dissatisfaction pushes you to grow stronger." Rui smiled. "You're probably more motivated than you would be if you'd won. It's the same with me too."
They all bantered for quite some time, shifting from place to place every time one of them had a match.
Rui's fight with Kane had been rescheduled to be the last match of the day due to 'logistical issues'. An excuse that Rui found to be total nonsense, of course. The Academy was overflowing with logistical support, the idea they would be unable to hold the Rui's match with Kane was just silly.
Headmaster Aronian was unilaterally the cause for this. Rui could almost picture the old man stroking his beard with a mischievous grin as he rescheduled their match to be the last for the sake of suspense, tension and entertainment.
Rui shook his head with resigned amusement. It wasn't particularly a big deal, so it didn't really matter when the match happened today as long as it did happen today.
And soon, it came.
"Apprentices Rui Quarrier and Kane Arrancar. Your final match is soon to commence, please be at the assigned ring." A staff member told them.
They nodded solemnly.
"Good luck to both of you." Fae wished.
"Looking forward to a good fight." Hever calmly told them.
"Fight hard." Nel instructed.
They left after accepting the well-wishes of their friends.
Rui didn't even need to look around.
Everybody was there.
Everybody.
The Squire instructors, the staff, every single Martial Apprentice, even the Explorer students had gathered to witness this momentous fight.
This fight would decide which of the two of them would represent all of them in one of the most prestigious Martial contests in the entire Martial Festival!
How could they not be there?
How could they not want to be there?
Their emotions trickled into the air, saturating the atmosphere.
Excitement. Uncertainty. Anticipation.
The very air tingled with the various emotions floating about. Even breathing it became harder, as everyone held their breaths as the two Martial Apprentices boarded the ring and faced each other.
They didn't say a word.
They didn't exchange well-wishes, or trash-talk.
They simply stared at each other.
Even though Kane's expression was neutral, Rui could see a meaningful look in his eyes.
A meaning that only he understood.
A meaning that only he was supposed to understand.
And understand, he did.
A silent pressure built-up.
The lack of emotion. The lack of aggression. The lack of exchange.
These did not ease the atmosphere.
No.
They hardened it.
The two of them weighed upon everyone else pushing down everything else. Even the Martial Squires weren't drawing attentions to themselves, they too had gathered to bear witness to this battle.
"Take your stances." The supervisor instructed. His voice cutting through the frozen taut atmosphere.
Kane began lightly hopping between his feet. A dynamic stance that allowed him to shift to max speed in any given direction as quickly as possible. His hands were loosely brought in front of him to abdominal height, allowing for speedy jabs.
A silent, sharp pressure could be felt when one looked at his eyes. Some even shivered.
In the past month, out of all the Martial Apprentices that had partaken in the preliminary contest, none had left a greater impact and impression on everybody than Kane Arrancar.
All of them had faced him.
And all of them had felt helpless against his perverse formidability. All of them distinctly remembered the experience of being relentlessly harassed and bullied by an invisible shadow, putting up futile and meaningless resistance.
How could anyone compete with that?
And yet.
"Fuuu..." Rui closed his eyes.
Black.
There was darkness.
There was a void.
And VOID.
Even when his eyes were closed, he could see his Martial Path. He could endlessly stare deep into its depths, deep into its void unfalteringly
He yearned to walk down its path every second.
Step by step.
Yes, step by step.
This fight was just that.
Another step.
His concentration trickled, gathering bit by bit.
His concentration sharpened.
His mind converged.
He was ready.
He opened his eyes, throwing a simple glance at Kane.
The simplest of gestures.
And yet.
Everyone's eyes widened.
They widened in shock as they felt boundless weight erupt from within him.
Even the Martial Squires raised an eyebrow, surprised.
Just how much depth did this young boy possess?
His pitch-black eyes greedily consumed the very light around them, seeing through everything, seeing through everyone. Those eyes made one feel as transparent as glass.
Kane's mouth cracked into an almost indiscernible smile.
Rui brought his guard up, as he centered his legs, crouching them.
It was a stance that emphasized defense, balance and stability.
He was ready. It was time.
The final battle was about to commence.
