Old Stomping Grounds (11/35)

Tak. Tak. Tak.

Muted thuds could be heard from every step Jak took, the area being so quiet that one could even hear a pin drop. Crickets chirped and the wind whistled through the surrounding trees, but it was dead silent apart from those aspects.

That's how it always had been though, a silent place where Jak and Mako could train without any distractions, where the only noises were their own grunts of pain, exhaustion and heated war cries. Apart from the day in and day out of grueling exercises, sparring, and occasional literary lessons, the Stomping Grounds never really saw any action. It was a spot solely meant for the dual Rookies, a slab of land where the two could hone their skills for all the trials life had to offer.

Jak could still remember it.

Every swing of his katana. Every thrust of his fist. Every aching muscle screaming out for him to quit. It was as if it had happened only seconds prior, his training to become the strongest in the world.

Making his way to the very center of the field, Jak unsheathed his sword, the crimson blade practically glowing as it was drawn from its scabbard. Clutching the katana with both hands, the young redhead took a slow breath, steam escaping from his lips as he exhaled, breath curling and rising in the chilly night air.

"Ha!"

Jak swung his sword downwards in a perfect arc, a pure red crescent tracing its way in tune with the swords trajectory. Flames licked the ground as he drew it back up, a bit of his own magic escaping as he reveled in the feel of his own nostalgia.

"Ha!"

He swung the sword again.

"Ha!"

And again.

"Ha!"

And again.

"Ha!"

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"Ha!"

Jaks katana clashed into Mako's silver staff, sending sparks flying as the two collided in a near perfect stalemate, both of them wresting for control of the match. Separating and reuniting, the two danced around the field, aiming to win by any means necessary. The sound of metal striking against metal echoed throughout the surrounding area as the two individuals rapidly struck at each other, pieces of metal clashing over and over again. Their swings were quick but the force behind each hit was easily seen as the sparring duo gave it their all, holding nothing back as they sought to find weaknesses in the others defense.

On one side, a young man with dark blue hair and bright white clothes, and on the other, an equally youthful boy with fluffy hair the color of the brightest red garbed in pitch black clothing. It was unclear how long the fight had been going on, but the two were obviously reaching their limit as they began to slow down, their striking speed dropping rapidly with each interaction.

Mako twisted the long metallic staff clutched in his hands, unwilling to be the first to give up as he twirled around, deflecting the redheads next strike with precision and grace, spinning on the heel of his foot. Quickly following it up, the boy slammed the other end of the staff onto Jaks ankle, aiming to break it and bring an end the spar. However, the youth didn't seemed phased by it in the slightest as he took the blow without flinching, instead taking the opportunity to swipe the long, blunt, katana shaped hunk of metal into the blue haired boys shoulder. Unlike the redhead, the other adolescent flinched a little at the pain he received from the strength put into the swing.

"Shall we end it here today?" Mako Kunzite asked as he retracted the metallic pipe, sticking it into the earth. After receiving the full force from his opponents strike, he no longer had any reason to continue, having already gone back and forth with the redhead for a few hours. "I think you almost broke my arm with that blow. It sure hurts like all hell. I wonder how many times I got to be reminded of your freakish strength, damn monster."

Jak Yanda let out a small laugh as he removed his blunt katana away from his opponents arm. Despite the pain that was currently running rampant through Jak's left leg, the result of nearly having his bone fractured by Mako's metal pole, the young redhead felt ecstatic. "You're no slouch either. That smack to my ankle was perfectly targeted, just as clean and precise as it always is. Not to mention your defensive magic which is just as sturdy as it always is. Ya damned wolf."

Jak let out a small breath as he took a look around, red hues scanning the area around them. Up until that point, he hadn't really noticed, but now that he had ceased his recreational match with Mako, everything became clear.

Upturned earth, damaged trees, flattened shrubbery, and large dust clouds that continuously swirled around them. Having entered into a sort of zone where he only focused on his opponent whilst forgoing his surroundings in order to react quicker, Jak had unknowingly rearranged the nearby landscape. While Mako only struck with calculated movements and wasted no energy in his attacks, Jaks style was much more wild, relying on overwhelming strength and speed to overcome his adversary, absorbing hit after hit without faltering. While this was effective in pushing Mako back and keeping him on his toes, it boded poorly for the landscape as most of Jak's attacks missed and ended up causing massive damage to things around him.

(("Maybe I went a bit overboard? Hadok's gonna kill me for the destruction to his garden.")) Jak pondered as rubbed the back of his head. (("I should work on getting some actual skill with a sword."))

"All that aside," Mako noted, interrupting Jak's contemplation, taking a deep breath as he plopped down onto the ground, sweat pouring down his face. "I've noticed you've gotten faster. I could barely keep up.....although, you're still full of openings so I guess that doesn't mean much."

"Tch, at least you noticed though," Jak said as tossed the blunt katana aside, moving to sit beside Mako. He decided not to dwell so much on the nearby area, deciding that instead, he'd just focus on improving his skill level. Apologizing to Hadok would also probably save him from a sparring match. "You probably didn't notice much since you kept deflecting all my strikes, but my strength also went up quite a bit."

"Been forced into training with Hadok and the others again? Whatcha do this time?"

"Accidentally broke one of his prized plates."

"Ah, so that explains it. It also explains why you have such a drastic increase in stamina. Not to mention your recovery time." Mako glanced at Jak through the corners of his light blue eyes. From his perspective, the redheaded youth had already managed to recover and had stopped sweating, all while he himself was only halfway done collecting himself.

"Oh shit," Jak muttered as he suddenly stood up, looking up through the trees to find the positioning of the sun. Having brought no time dial with him he was clueless as to what the current hour was. "What time is it? I'm gonna miss the trials!!"

"Just reschedule for tomorrow then. You can take it with me." Mako let out a breath as he watched his close friend rapidly gather his things, of which wasn't much, head of crimson bobbing all over the place. "We can compete to see who'll get the higher score."

"Not a chance," Jak replied, letting out a small laugh. He had already paid to take the trial, as well as paying extra due to not being of the proper age, and it would be completely stupid to not at least try and arrive at the WGC on time. "Wouldn't want to embarrass you too badly. Besides, I'd have to pay to reschedule, which I can't afford to do."

Mako let out a sigh as he reached into a small rucksack positioned next to him. Cocking his arm back, the blue haired youth chucked a small vial of red liquid, of which was easily snatched out of the air by Jak as he ran past. "At least take a recovery potion with you, ya impatient dolt. Going in at half your strength will hurt your score and we can't exactly have that."

"Thanks," He yelled back as he disappeared into the distance.

After a minute or two had passed and Mako was sure the boy had left, he pushed himself up from the floor and dusted himself off. "What an energetic fellow. Whether or not he'll pass isn't the question. Its whether or not he'll score higher then me. I'm getting excited just thinking about it."

Jak Yanda and Mako Kunzite, two youths on a quest to build the greatest guilds in the world, set out to make a name for themselves.

Or at least, that's how it should have been.

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"Jak. You in there Jakky boi?"

The crimson haired teen slowly opened his eyes, red hues greeting the world as he gradually regained consciousness.

Jak wasn't entirely sure when he had fallen asleep but the next thing he was aware of, it was morning. The sun was resting far above his head, bathing the Rookie in its warm summer rays, alerting Jak that it was around noon. Meaning he had been dozing on the floor of the training grounds for seven plus hours.

"There he is. I was wondering if you would ever wake up."

Jak fully pushed himself into a sitting position, choosing to ignore Mako's scathing remarks in their entirety. Stretching his body every which way, he managed to shake the stiffness from his limbs and muscles after some time. Though used to sleeping in all kinds of places, his body itself never seemed to agree with any place unless it was a soft cushioned area. The youth quickly made sure he had his sword tightened and his pitch black cape still situated on his back before eventually rising unto his feet.

"Where's Antarope?" Jak asked, finally addressing Mako's presence.

"No good morning?" Mako queried, tilting his head. "Kinda stings man."

"Looking at you hurts even more."

"Looking at your fashion sense doesn't even compare."

Jak let out a snort. "And yours is any better?"

Forgoing the cloak and clothes from yesterday, Mako had on an entirely new set of clothes, one that perfectly matched his own wild blue hair. Slightly loose blue pants that started out turquoise but darkened the closer they got to the ankle, a sea green undershirt with a loose white overshirt that only reached about mid stomach, exposing the undershirt. With intricate markings on both the the overshirt and pants, its actually looked quite good, even if Jak would never admit it.

"It's the official outfit my guildmates made for me," Mako explained, waving aside the insult. "If it's bad then tell them that. I wear it so they know their efforts didn't go to waste."

"Where's Antarope?" Jak asked, changing the subject. "She said to meet her here."

"Oh, her? She didn't want to wake you up and she had some important business to take care of." Mako turned around and began walking away. "She'll be back. In the meantime, why don't you go get freshened up, wash the stink off of you, and meet me in our thinking room in an hour."

Jak hesitated for a brief second. "Why?

Mako laughed, turning to glance at his red haired friend. "It's time we got you all caught up."