The Academy's Unluckiest Bastard - Chapter 10: Sparring with Hate
Standing across the circle from him made my stomach churn and were it not for the constant snide chuckles Ashroth kept making I might have been able to cool my head. Gripping the spear with both hands I resolved to a shorter grip as the longer grip in such a small circle would only screw me over if he got in close. Looking across I saw how he rolled his wrist with the blade with a level of fluidity that even my siblings would respect. My mouth felt dry at the idea of being embarrassed in another combat class since the last. It might not be my talent but no one wants to be throttled publicly.
“Begin!” Bellowed the instructor loud enough I could feel my bones shake.
Hal took the declaration with gusto as he rushed forward determined to close the gap. Feeling the pounding in my chest I went low and thrusted forward forcing him onto a back foot, his face twisted into a startled expression. Clearly he expected an easy fight but I was not going to waste years of studying this damn stick to be thrown out that quickly. I went for a second thrust angling it up towards his chin causing him to lean back in a way that looked as if his spine had folded.
My eyes followed the erratic movement as he dropped a foot back and contorted his entire body whipping the sword across towards my side. Unable to pull my spear to block, I risked using my forearm and swatting it away. Looking back he got up with a grin to his face as I could feel my forearm throbbing. If that hit on my side I would have been staggered out of the fight.
“Good block, but can you block this overhead?” He remarked with a grin as he rushed in. Yet something felt off as I went to ready a block as his sword was above me I felt a foot slam into my gut, tensing my abdomen I was pushed to the edge of the circle with a cough. His face tilted as he looked amused. “Here I thought you would have fallen from that.”
“Dirty bastard, that hurts.” I coughed back as I rushed in and swung my staff towards his side. His blade glanced away as I shifted my grip and took the chance to swing the other end into his knee.
“Fuck, don’t you dare call me a bastard. Insult my family again and I’ll crack your damn jaw.” He spat as he seemed to be limping a little from the strike into the knee. Looking over to the instructor he seemed more excited as we got heated clearly he was not planning on stepping in.
“You could try but if your family has a shitty attitude like yours it’s probably just the truth.” Spitting insults at his family felt counter productive but an angry enemy was a simple one… usually.
The vein in Hal’s head was practically bulging as he gripped his sword with both hands and rushed forward, going back to a low stance. I went for the thrust to try and get the charge broken but he side-stepped. His sword came into the side and frankly if I was upright that blade would have hit my ribs at worst but in a low stance meant it was going for my head. Hastily I brought my staff to block it only to hear the unfortunate crack as my hands lost their tension and I could barely process my staff in two as the blade hit with a dull thud into my head. Rattling me I nearly hit the ground flat barely using an elbow to prop myself as I could see Hal was fuming. But even though the side of my head was throbbing the instructor seemed to be simply watching as cheers and excitement practically radiated off the other boys watching a spectacle. Using a leg to swipe at him he stood back clearly not wanting to lose his footing as I staggered up. My whole body swayed like a ship at sea and the fact I was seeing double did not help. Yet all I had were two halves of a staff so deciding a desperate bid I tried to bait him.
“My jaws intact you fuck. Guess you can’t even stand up for your family when it counts.” At this point Hal would have definitely gutted me if this was not an actual class. He went into a low stance which I responded to in kind as he took a step from the other edge of this circle. It was nearly a blink as dust swept up in his rush. Panicking not expecting this level of speed I tossed one of the broken stave pieces into his face causing him to curse as I dived even lower and slammed it into his stomach. I felt a little solid managing to land it only for that feeling to disappear as his sword came full force onto my skull. I could swear everything went blank for a second as my face ate a load of sand and I was barely able to even think.
“Fight is concluded, Lucas Alphonse has failed to stand after twenty seconds.” The instructor declared that I could hear his announcement.
‘It was already twenty seconds?’ I thought barely a moment passed by as I forced myself to sit up on the sand. Looking over I could see Hal’s sword had a broken blade where it must have snapped hitting me in the head. Spitting out the mix of blood and bile into the sand I grimaced as everything tasted like I was forced to have a mouth full of rusty nails. The instructor patted me on the back.
“A valiant fight between the both of you. Good use of both sides using insults and baiting to manipulate the fight. Though not honourable, honour only matters in a fight when you have the luxury to walk away alive in war. Anyways drink up and you can head off to your next class.” He set a water bottle down as he seemed to be heading off to talk with the other instructors. Looking over I could see the other circles where other students had begun practice spars whilst Hal was nowhere else to be seen. Most likely gone off to clean up or the sort. Groaning the sun felt too bright, the sounds too loud and the wind too cold as my head kept throbbing. I was most likely concussed and my vision was doubling so badly I could barely find the will to stand. Yet as father always said ‘Unless you are dead, you find the will to stand.’ So I forced myself up. I kept my balance somewhat as I began walking off to the changing rooms. My body felt bruised and the feeling of sweat was mixed with something stickier as I touched the top of my head I could feel blood. It was most likely nothing major as I dragged myself to get changed.
“Child, I do believe it might be in your best interest to visit the infirmary. I will admit you fought admirably enough to keep me amused but you seem to be in quite a sorry state.” I chuckled as I would look miserable if even Ashroth brought it up.
“I’ll be alright, an Alphonse wouldn’t need medical care for something like this. It’ll heal on its own.” I muttered too tired to care if I looked insane talking to myself, hearing Ashroth mutter something along the lines of ‘a classic Alphonse.’ I mused at the idea my persistence could be recognised as a trait of the family I was privately no longer a part of. Getting changed I used my ring to clear myself up as I forced my way into my uniform and headed to the lunch hall. After this was alchemy and hopefully nothing would go wrong.