Emelio: "Alright, everyone! Gather up! Emelio's voice echoed through the field, elegant, dramatic, and overly flamboyant as always. His white gloves clapped like thunder, and his violet hair shimmered with the arrogance of a man who believed he was the universe's gift to aesthetics. He strutted along the slightly wet grass, cape fluttering as though an invisible wind orchestra followed him. "My shining disciples, you know the drill, pair drills! Two students! One soul! One synchronization! One—"
Mike: "—one chance to get hit in the ribs by someone who can't aim."
Erika: "You say the funniest things, Mike."
Mike: "I'm not trying to be funny."
Emelio: "Now, let's see… who shall be with who?" His elegant finger pointed dramatically at the air as if he was conducting destiny itself. "Erika with Sylvie, as usual. Remi Tsuikina, with…"He paused dramatically, and Remi tilted her head. "…me, of course. You shall assist in demonstrating proper grace and posture. Dakota, with Yuji. Miles, with—"
Dakota looked over at his partner. He hadn't talked with him before, and there's a reason. Sharp eyes, permanent scowl, and a personality that could probably rust metal.
Yuji squinted at him. Dakota squinted back.
It was like watching two alley cats trying to intimidate each other off the same trash can.
Yuji: "You look like you're dying to watch the new magical girl anime."
Dakota: "And you look like a cigarette came to life."
Erika and Sylvie exchanged worried glances.
Erika: They're… getting along?" She whispered hopefully.
Sylvie: "That's not what 'getting along' means."
After Emelio finished pairing the students, he clapped once: "Wonderful! Tension! Rivalry! The flames of competition burn brightest between equals!"
Yuji grunted: "He's not my equal."
Dakota sighed: "Trust me, I don't want to be."
Emelio: "Enough!" He clapped once more, dramatic as always. "Swords up! This is the Harmony Drill! You must match each other's strikes perfectly, as if two dancers in a single rhythm!"
Dakota looked at Yuji. Yuji looked back. The silence was the kind that begged for background crickets.
Yuji: "Alright," he muttered, tightening his grip. "Let's get this over with."
Dakota: "Yeah, yeah."
Their swords clashed.
CRACK!
The sound echoed through the field like a gunshot. Erika flinched. Remi covered her mouth.
Emelio gasped dramatically: "No, no, no! You must move together! Not like enemies in a brawl!"
Yuji: "That's because we are enemies."
Dakota: "I'm just trying not to die."
They struck again, both aiming to hit as hard as possible. Dakota realized he was outmatched, and accepted that this was the day he'd die at school.
Sylvie whispered to Erika, "Are they supposed to look like they're reenacting an old drama sword fight?"
Erika smiled nervously and laughed.
Emelio, arms crossed, nodded sagely: "Conflict builds character, and character builds beauty. Proceed!" He let them continue, which eventually led to Dakota being knocked on his ass.
Dakota had sweat dripping down his jaw.
Yuji: "You're too slow."
Dakota: "You swing like you're trying to kill me."
Yuji: "That's called discipline."
Dakota: "That's called assault."
Emelio sighed: "My beautiful flowers of masculinity, you must connect! Like yin and yang! Sun and moon! Toilet paper and—"
Shinatsu: "Please don't finish that sentence."
Yuji turned away, sheathing his sword between his belt: "Tch. Waste of time."
Something in Dakota twitched: "Oh, sorry, your majesty of discipline and rage, I didn't realize my incompetence ruined your morning."
Yuji: "We got a problem?"
Dakota: "No. I just think if we're going to partner again, we should schedule it after I write my will."
They stared at each other again.
Erika nervously tried to step between them: "Hey, um, maybe you guys just need to find common ground?"
Yuji crossed his arms: "There's no common ground to be had."
Emelio clapped again: "Remember, tension is what sharpens a blade!"
Dakota: "Then I'm a katana by now."
Yuji cracked his neck: "More like a butter knife."
The field emptied out after Emelio dismissed them with his signature flamboyant monologue.
Erika, Sylvie, and Shinatsu walked ahead, chatting about dinner. Dakota trudged behind, towel around his neck, regretting his choices for the day. Shinatsu saw Dakota suffering and stuck her tongue out instead of helping. Yuji walked beside him, though "beside" might've been generous, it was more like a slow-motion competition of who could ignore the other harder.
Yuji: "Hey, put up a fight next time will ya?"
Dakota: "Hard to when your opponent's a gorilla."
Yuji stopped walking for a moment, genuinely thrown off: "We're training to fight vampires. Last time I checked, they're stronger than gorillas."
Dakota: "Training to fight a vampire and traj ing to fight a gorilla are two entirely different things."
Yuji: "You're either a genius or an idiot."
Dakota: "I'll take that as a compliment."
For some reason they found themselves walking back together. They got to the dorms and Yuji stopped in front of the common lounge: "You drink tea?"
Dakota: "Yeah."
Yuji: "Good. You're buying."
Dakota: "And why on God's green earth would I do that?"
Yuji: "Because I just spent the whole class trying not to beat you into the floor."
Dakota: "Well thank you for your benevolence."
The dorm common room was a chaotic paradise of half-functioning appliances and emotionally broken furniture. You'd expect the furniture to be top of the line. Well it is, for the girls at least. The boys get the bare minimum because they break or damage stuff too often. A group of underclassmen were yelling about who stole their laundry. A ceiling fan spun unevenly, occasionally making a clank that sounded suspiciously like a death rattle.
Dakota and Yuji sat at the table in the corner, mugs of tea steaming before them. Austin saw them on his way out but decided not to say anything because he was in a hurry to meet a certain someone. Yuji sipped his tea which Dakota paid for, grim as ever. The defeated boy just stared at his like it came bearing bad news.
Dakota: "You're drinking that way too fast. Aren't you burning your tongue?"
Yuji: "I'm used to it."
Dakota: "Oh yeah? Like you're used to being alone?"
A beat of silence. Dakota thought he'd one-up Yuji here with a quick insult.
Yuji: "Yeah. I'm not the kinda guy that likes making friends. I'm a lone wolf."
Dakota cringed hard: "I bet you say that when you're jerking off. Ah, I'm a lone wolf. Ah, I'm a lone wolf!"
Then, Yuji let out something dangerously close to a chuckle.
Yuji: "You're a weird one."
Dakota: "You just noticed?"
Yuji leaned back, arms crossed: "Most people around here try to act cool or noble. You just… exist."
Dakota: "That's the nicest insult I've gotten all day."
The two sat in silence for a while, not the awkward kind, but the sort that came when two people unknowingly started acknowledging each other without admitting it. Then suddenly, there was a loud commotion.
Student: "Someone's cup noodles exploded in the microwave!"
Student: "Someone forgot to put water in," Erika said solemnly.
Yuji turned to Dakota: "You did it, didn't you?"
Dakota: "Dude, I've been next to you this entire man."
Student: "Someone needs to clean this."
Student: "Who's is this?"
Silence.
Everyone slowly turned toward the corner, where Emelio Sensei — yes, Emelio himself — stood frozen, holding a fork and looking suspiciously guilty.
Emelio: "I… was attempting to demonstrate culinary grace," he said, voice trembling with pride and shame. "But perhaps… I have overestimated the resilience of instant ramen.
Yuji pinched the bridge of his nose: "You're a teacher. Why are you even here?"
Emelio: "Great masters must live among their students to inspire them."
Student: "I've seen you here before! You're just here to take our snacks!"
Emelio: "I refuse to dignify that with a response."
Dakota: 'You just did.'
***
The next practical class, Emelio announced another round of pair drills.
Emelio: "Partners remain the same!" he declared. "For the bonds of swordsmen are not forged in a day!"
Yuji sighed: "Guess we're stuck together."
Dakota stared at him: "Great. I can't wait to get another ass whooping."
Yuji: "You're welcome."
Dakota: "That wasn't a thank you."
Yuji: "Sounded like one."
And yet, as they took their stances, there was something different. The strikes weren't perfectly synchronized, but they weren't hostile either. They moved with rhythm. Not harmony, not yet, but rhythm. Like two opposing forces that had accepted the other's existence.
Erika clapped excitedly: "They're actually matching!"
Emelio placed a hand over his heart: "My students… they continue to grow!"
Yuji grunted mid-swing. "You still swing half-assed."
Dakota exhaled. "I can assure you, nothing about my swings are half-assed."
Yuji: "Is that so? Then step it up, this is hardly training for me."
They continued to bicker, but for the briefest moment, both of them smiled.
Over the course of one week, Dakota and Yuji learned that mutual hatred was just as effective at training as friendship.