Practice Round

"We already did that," Honey lowered her practice sword.

"No, I let you attack me, and I blocked. Not the same. Did you think I was trying?" Noble furrowed her brow.

"I don't know. I have never seen you fight." The girl hedged, her eyes darting away. 

'You have seen me fight plenty. You just didn't know it was me,' the duelist thought. Her lips pulled tight.

"I haven't seen you fight either but I know you weren't going all out. Which brings me to my next point." Noble stopped. "Unless you don't want to hear it." 

The girl knew she was being baited. But not knowing was worse than giving in and letting her parent keep teaching.

 "Tell me," she sighed. 

Noble balanced her sword in her hand and then suddenly gripped it tightly, aiming it at Honey's neck once more. The motion was so seamless that Honey barely saw her move.

"You cannot hesitate. I might be your mother, but if I tell you to come at me, I expect your best." Noble touched the wooden edge of the dummy against her daughter's exposed skin.

"But I…"

"You love me. I love you too. And I raised you to practice mercy and grace. I stand by that principle when it comes to the human world. But in a battle for one's life, hesitation is death." Noble had told her students this in class many times, but saying it to her own daughter hit differently. 

She didn't want her child to be a killer, but the Spell made the unthinkable necessary. It was just the way things were. 

"I understand," Honey took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "I won't hesitate again." 

"Good girl. Now," Noble lifted her practice sword and swung it around into a ready stance, "Fight." 

Honey lifted her weapon. The lacquered synthetic wood reflected the light of the ceiling dully. The ladies began to circle. 

The professor nodded. "Now whenever possible, don't wait for your opponent to make the first move. To lure someone in, your reaction time has to be perfect, and until you become more skilled, I promise you it will be too slow, so..." 

The girl closed the gap between them, striking in the way that she had just been taught. Noble blocked the hit and the two disengaged. 

"Not bad!" The professor hummed softly. "A little rigid. Add in some flexibility. We may not have as much strength, but lack of bulk means we can twist and bend to avoid and attack. Use those unexpected angles to your advantage." 

"You are giving me a lot of information." Sweat began to form on Honey's brow. 

The floating Awakened raised an eyebrow as she let her sword rest on her shoulder. "If you want me to slow down..." 

"I didn't say that." The girl felt suddenly defensive. "I am just trying to process it all." 

"Take your time," Noble smiled. Then, like lightning, her practice sword lifted from her shoulder and struck Honey's arm. 

"Ouch!" the girl nearly dropped her blade to rub her bicep. 

"I told you to take your time, not mine. You would be dead by now if I were being serious." Noble's face darkened. That was not a pleasant thought. 

The comment seemed to put a fire into Honey as well, for at last Noble could feel her become tense. 

"Good. Use that emotion. Take that frustration and focus it properly." The professor nodded. 

Honey let out a scream like a war cry. She came out swinging with all she had. 

'Finally,' Noble was getting a glimpse of her daughter's real ability. 'She is so far ahead of where I was at her age. I wouldn't be surprised if she is ahead of her legacy peers. 

The legacies she knew trained basically from birth, forgoing childhood in the quest to be the greatest warriors. If Honey was anywhere near them in fighting prowess, that was an accomplishment beyond what Noble thought possible with her minimal training. 

'She's a natural.' 

Matching Honey stroke for stroke, Noble got a true sense of the girl's capabilities. They were far from perfect, but they had so much promise! Her intuition and grounded technique would be a brilliant foundation for adding a myriad of more complicated skills. 

Honey was sweating, but she refused to give up. Her determination to get at least one solid hit against her opponent was admirable. 

"You are just toying with me," the girl said at last, "I can feel it." 

It was true. Noble was barely putting forth any effort to thwart her daughter's attack. 

But that was due to the extreme difference in power between a mundane and an Awakened. Even the most skilled mundane fighter would have difficulty making this nearly-undefeated duelist break a sweat. 

"You want a challenge? So be it." Noble's mouth twisted into a mischievous grin. Her footwork, which had been mirroring her daughter's, suddenly changed.

What looked like a solid line dance transformed into a graceful ballet.

Before Honey could even register what happened, she was hit on both shoulders, and her left leg. Spinning around, Noble reversed the practice sword and poked Honey in the stomach without even looking her way. The last action tickled more than it hurt, but Honey instinctively moved to protect her midsection. 

The sword clattered to the ground.

"I yield!" she cried, raising her hands in the air. A smile bloomed on her face. "Mom, that was amazing!" 

"If you say so," Noble shrugged and picked up the discarded weapon. She added it to the one in her hand and rested the points lightly against the ground.

"I didn't know you could fight. I mean I knew you could fight at least some, but not like that. You looked like you were flying. I don't even know how you could see what you are doing. You were a blur." Honey's words of adoration made Noble swell with pride. 

"I do know a thing or two. I know that is hard to believe," the Awakened winked. 

"Where did you learn that last move? You weren't even looking at me!" Honey touched her stomach as she remembered the jab.

Noble winced slightly. "Ah, I suppose that was a bit of showboating. A blind fighter once told me that your eyes are not the only way to see. I owe him a lot." 

"With moves like that, you should really fight in the Dreamscape," Honey looked around the room. "You already have the pod for it. Why don't you give it a try sometime?" 

The professor glanced at the specially designed machine. "Maybe I will." She took the swords in her hand and hung them on a hook on the wall. "This was fun. Thank you for humoring me." 

"Are we stopping?" Honey asked, surprised. 

"I have to make dinner and you probably need to wash up." Noble tilted her head to one side and looked at the girl. Was Honey...disappointed?

"Could we do this again tomorrow?" the teen asked as casually as she could. 

The professor's heart beat faster, but she managed to hide her excitement. "Yes, I suppose we can do that if you want. I did say I would train you." 

Honey nodded. "Good. I want to learn to fight like a woman." 

Noble hugged her daughter and kissed her forehead. "I would rather you never have to fight, but if you do, I want you to go one step further than that, sweetheart. I don't want you to fight like any woman. I want you to fight like you."

Just then, Noble's communicator buzzed. It was Umbei.

One of her students had escaped the Dream Realm.