"Ok, waystone touched. So now what? Should I just wander around, searching for people?"
Rowayne didn't bother counting, but after a long walk, she stumbled upon another student, a black-haired boy wearing a blindfold. What was peculiar about him was that he was using his sword as an improvised cane.
"Hello," Rowayne waved her hand at the boy.
But before she could say anything else,
a sword was already coming for her.
Clang~
Metal hit metal.
"Not even gonna tell names?" Rowayne said.
Her thoughts, however, were
'strong'
[form shift]
"You might wanna draw your sword, whatever your name is…"
The boy was startled by the change in pitch and frequency of the voice and threw his sheathed sword. He felt that the person he was holding against had gotten a little bigger and the center of balance was different, the strength was different too.
'A shapeshifter?' the boy thought. Nevertheless, he answered.
"Anxiao, Shen Anxiao"
"Rowayne"
"Now, Shen Anxiao, how about unsheathing your sword first? Hitting a sheath with a blade feels wrong."
"You are not worth it," Shen Anxiao said coolly.
"You're like that, huh?" Rowayne smiled.
"Wanna bet?"
Rowayne twisted his wrist (male form), deflecting the sword away from him.
Then they stood facing each other. They moved at once, without any signal, as if it were a pre-coordinated performance
Rowayne's tachi moved toward Shen's chest but was intercepted by Shen's blade and deflected downward.
Another flick of the wrist changed the blade's angle toward Shen, this time, he parried.
Then they stood facing each other once again. The first clash had established a silent understanding.
It was Shen's turn now.
And he did the unexpected. Shen threw his sheathed sword at Rowayne, but just as it was about to meet Rowayne's sword, he pulled the strap of the scabbard, which caused the blade to come back to him.
Meanwhile, Shen himself kicked up his sandal, meeting Rowayne's blade, while his sheathed sword went toward Rowayne's stomach.
Rowayne's sword struck the wooden sandal while he used his other hand to deflect the incoming sword sideways
Shen kicked downward. The sandal, now stuck in Rowayne's sword, came free. He then punched the lower half of the sandal, which got unstuck due to the now applied force, grabbed it, and threw it toward Rowayne, who promptly deflected it.
"Didn't work br-"
Slap
Only to be slapped in the face with Shen's other sandal, being hit in the face with a wooden sandal hurt more than he could have imagined
They were both playing with each other, neither showing their cards. Then Rowayne made his move this time, though.
This time, when the sheathed sword was upon his neck, he didn't defend. Instead, he ducked and shifted to 2nd form. His body grew shorter as the blade passed over her (female form) head, and she went for Shen's leg.
Shen sidestepped and brought his sword down, which was dodged by Rowayne, who also sidestepped. Rowayne twisted her wrist again, aligning the blade upward, then shifted form.
His (male form) reach was farther than hers (female form); a late realization struck Shen.
But it was too late, the sword had already grazed his chest, a shallow wound.
But Rowayne drew the first, a feat which made him worthy in Shen's opinion (he is blind bro, can't be worthy in his "eyes").
Saying that, Rowayne put a hand in his pocket, holding the sword with the other.
What ensued after that seemed like a dance to an untrained eye. Rowayne had given up on landing a decisive killing blow and instead was aiming for small, shallow cuts.
That wasn't all. Rowayne was constantly alternating between male and female form; the unpredictability was throwing Shin off, but it wouldn't for long. Shin was adapting in real time, distinguishing the sounds of footsteps between forms. The strength applied to the blade differed between forms too, which made the blade produce a slightly different sound when it cut the air.
All this was perceived by Shin, and the rhythm of the battle was shifting in his favour.
A few parries and deflects later, Shin's blade was on Rowayne—until Rowayne smirked.
Bang~ (A/N ~ i have mentioned that mc shoved the pistol in his pocket, guess you weren't paying attention)
The sudden sound of the gunshot disoriented Shin, and seizing the opportunity, Rowayne aimed for the head.
But Shin's instincts weren't something to be laughed at. Shin dodged the blade, but it came at a cost.
One of his ears was cut off along with the blindfold.
As the blindfold fell off, his silver pupils were revealed.
'So he is blind. The gunshot caught him off guard—that means he didn't see the pistol in my pocket, so it's not spatial perception either. He is reacting to the subtle changes in the environment to predict my location.
But his sword… though.
It's as if he knows where my sword is aiming. His parries and deflects are too precise. Could be part of a gift—now what if…'
An idea started forming in Rowayne's head.
"So you really are blind? I was starting to doubt that."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Shin dashed at him, but suddenly stopped and stepped back.
Rowayne's vision focused on a single point between them.
A small projectile could be seen passing between them; it would have hit Shin had he not stopped.
Rowayne had two sudden, simultaneous realizations.
'A bullet, a sniper is watching!'
'Now is my chance.'
He threw his sword at Shin and took out his pistol from his pocket.
As predicted, Shin parried the sword, but…
"Parry this, you filthy casual!"
Then… Shin's eyes shone, and in the next moment, Rowayne's worldview tilted.
A head fell with a thud sound.
"I parried, but I guess you couldn't," said Shin.
He then looked in the direction of the sniper, smiled, and mouthed, "Run while you can."
Then he started walking, using his sword as an impromptu cane.