After a LONG wait (sorry), it's finally here!
We're getting quite far in to Chirch's first year in the Academy... I wonder what challenges await in the second half of the year?
Enjoy the latest chapter of Kingsguard!
KINGSGUARD
Chapter 4: Rock, Paper, Scissors
January 29th, 2252. 3. Kingsguard Academy – Director’s Office. The Academy Director, Director Stickman, is holding an informal meeting with two of the teachers from the Soldier Academy, Professors Braveheart and Kazuko.
“So. What’s the verdict on our new first years?” Director Stickman asked. Sitting with his long, spindly legs crossed, he took a sip from his glass of whiskey.
“They’re a good bunch,” Braveheart replied. “It’s still early to say for sure, but there’s three talents that stick out to me.”
“Any names?” asked the director.
“First up, Isabelle Song. As I expected based on her application, she’s an excellent technical fighter. With proper strength and conditioning training, she could be quite something. Secondly, there’s Donki Onato. He’s a quiet lad, but his natural intelligence and battle sense are almost blindingly obvious. But the most interesting of the bunch is Diana Chirch. She’s got no background, yet she managed to defeat Bell convincingly in a sparring match. Physically, she’s probably as strong as some of the bigger lads in fourth year, and she’s got the speed to match her natural eye for battle. She’s a quick learner, and all her peers seem to be very wary of her.”
“Fascinating.” Stickman replied. “It looks like you have a very strong class, then.”
Braveheart nodded. “The other kids are quite a bit behind those three, but hopefully over the coming months they won’t fall too far behind.”
“And how about you, Kazuko? Any talents in your class?”
Kazuko scratched his stubble. “Well… there’s one kid that stands out a mile. Fourth, they call him. Take Braveheart’s three fighters and roll all their strengths into one, and that’s him. You can tell how much he’s holding back just so the other kids can spar him. Hell, I might even have to spar him myself just so he doesn’t get bored.”
“Huh… impressive.” Stickman replied. “I hope you can get him into top shape for the rookie showcase in July.”
“I just hope we’ll be able to find him a challenge.” Kazuko replied.
Stickman chuckled. “Sounds like you’ve got a job on your hands then, Braveheart. Who are you expecting to finish top of your class?”
“Honestly? I’m not sure.” Braveheart answered. “Any of those three could do it. But if I had to pick who I think would be the most challenging fighter… then I have to say Chirch. It’s been a while since I’ve had anyone with that kind of potential.”
“Hmm. It seems we’ve got the beginnings of a monster generation going on here.” Stickman said, fiddling with his glass.
“Monster generation?” Kazuko asked.
“They use the term in the Kingsguard to describe a strong group of new recruits, if I’m not mistaken?” Stickman answered. “You’re new to teaching, but the longer you work here, you’ll notice the level of talent among graduating classes varies greatly between years. However, every once in a while, we’ll get a cohort of talented classes that arrive at the same time. It looks like the four first years you’ve mentioned, along with the Big Five in third and fourth year, have the potential to be such a generation.”
“Aye. Those 5 are probably the most talented group since that lot from the 65th class.” Braveheart commented.
Stickman nodded. “Indeed. That group were certainly something. De Polaris, Grinnington, Valentine, Deva, Moss and Rayleigh… of all the talented groups to come out of this Academy, they’re still considered as our Golden Generation. De Polaris and Grinnington are part of the current Elite guard, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the others eventually made it.”
“Do you really think the current five can match up to that group?” Kazuko asked. “I served alongside them, and they put a lot of veterans to shame almost instantly.”
“They’re not as far off as you might think.” Stickman replied. “Of the Academy’s current top five, Niklaus would probably enter the Kingsguard as one of its strongest soldiers. Sheikah and Em Rose aren’t too far off him, either. Jackson is an immensely skilled engineer, and von Belgien already has a wealth of practical experience thanks to his family’s clinic. Added to that, if those first years fulfil their potential, that group may just become the New Golden
Generation.”
Braveheart sighed. “Looks like we’ve got our work cut out, then.”
“I’ll be looking forward to see how things progress between now and the rookie showcase.” Stickman said, his expression filled with excitement.
*
June 9th, 2252. 8. Kingsguard Soldier Academy – Training Facility. Chirch and Rose are sword training.
“Hah! Not bad, Chirch!” Rose said, as the timer they had set went off. “One minute break, and then it’s our last round of the day.”
Chirch nodded, breathing heavily. In the four months she’d been training with Rose, she’d learned a lot. Each day, she felt her movements becoming sharper, and her combinations were giving Rose more and more trouble. There was still a long way to go before she reached Rose’s level, but she was enjoying the journey. Taking a big swig of water, she reviewed the previous round in her mind. She’d spent most of her time on the offensive, but she was having to exert increasingly more effort to land hits. She’d taken a lot of hits on the counter as well. If she kept fighting the way she was, she’d lose the round. Calculating the scores from previous rounds in her head, she figured Rose was leading by one round. If she could just land one critical hit in this round, she could earn the draw. However, she wasn’t sure she had the energy to. The timer sounded, and the girls took to the floor again for the final round.
“Three more minutes… can you handle it?” Rose asked, almost tauntingly.
“Of course.” Chirch answered.
“I’ll be going all out this time, so be ready.” Rose warned.
Chirch had little time to think as Rose went straight on the offensive. Moving so fast that there was a line of motion blur behind her, Rose went straight for Chirch’s abdomen with a sharp, stabbing motion. Barely reacting, Chirch managed to block Rose’s attack. She smiled, looking Rose straight in the eye.
“Finally you decide to attack.”
“Heh. I thought I’d let you wear yourself out.”
Barely giving her opponent time to breathe, Rose continued her attack, putting relentless pressure on her junior. Chirch gritted her teeth as she parried each of Rose’s blows. She could feel the effects of the previous nine rounds in her legs as Rose led her around the room with her attack sequence. This wasn’t good. Chirch needed a way to launch a counter, but Rose was making sure to leave no openings for her to exploit. She was constantly on the back foot, and had no choice in the matter. As she backpedalled, she felt her footing slip slightly. Although she only stumbled slightly, Rose immediately noticed the opening. Landing a shot to the gut, she watched as Chirch dropped to the floor.
“Two points for me.”
As Rose stepped back, Chirch took her time on the floor. There was no use in rushing in; she’d only get herself hurt. Regaining her breath, she stood up slowly.
“Oh, not rushing in this time?” Rose asked.
Chirch steadied her breathing, waiting for Rose to attack. Now wasn’t the time to dive in recklessly. Not just yet, anyway. As Rose made a direct beeline towards her, she took a deep breath. At this speed, this angle, she’d attack from…
“There.”
As Rose lunged in, Chirch took a two-step runup and then jumped, somersaulting over her opponent. In mid-air, she watched Rose carefully. She’d caught her completely off guard. Even if she turned, she’d be off balance. As Chirch’s feet hit the floor, Rose pivoted to try land an opportunistic shot. Chirch, however, anticipated this, ducking under Rose’s sword and performing a leg sweep. As Rose hit the floor, the timer went off.
“So that’s 2-2 for the last round, huh?” Chirch asked.
Rose was silent for a few seconds. What had just happened? They’d been sparring daily for over four months now, yet that move had taken her completely by surprise.
“Yeah, it’s a tie… but how did you?”
Unaware of Rose’s confusion, Chirch only had one thing on her mind.
“Come on. Let’s go eat!”
*
9. Kingsguard Soldier Academy – Canteen.
“Man, this really hits the spot!” Chirch exclaimed as she finished her post-workout meal. “It’s not as good as your cooking though, Rose.”
Rose smiled. “I’m flattered.”
“By the way, Rose. Do you think I’ll be ready for the summer soldier exam?” Chirch asked.
“Well I don’t think you’re in any danger of failing, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll be fine too… but do you think I can get the top score?”
“I didn’t realise you cared about that stuff.” Rose replied.
“Well, not really, but…” Chirch pause for a moment. “It might sound dumb, but me, Bell and Onato are having a competition to see who can get the highest score on the final exam.”
“The final exam isn’t the only thing your exam score is based on, you know. Your head-to-head in assessed spars is also used.” Rose answered.
“Well yeah… but we’re all tied on 18 wins and 1 loss.” Chirch explained. “I lost to Bell in the exam spar. Onato beat Bell, and I beat Onato.”
Rose laughed. “Like rock, paper, scissors, huh.”
“Yeah. But I’m kinda nervous for the final exam. Apparently, it’s the hardest thing we’ve done all semester.” Chirch answered.
“It might be the hardest thing most of your class has done all semester, but is it the hardest thing you’ve done this semester?” Rose asked.
Chirch thought for a moment. “Well… I haven’t done it yet, so I don’t know.”
Rose laughed. “That’s true. But, if you can hold your own in sparring against me when I’m going all out, then the final exam will be a piece of cake.”
“Could you start going all out between now and the exam next week, then?” Chirch asked. “I feel kinda bad for holding you back…”
“Chirch.” Rose answered firmly. “I stopped holding back two months ago.”
“Huh?”
“If I held back, you’d beat the crap out of me.”
“… Huh?!”
“You probably haven’t realised it, but you’ve grown a lot over the past few months. It’s almost freaky how quickly you learn.”
Chirch couldn’t help but let a smile escape. “Ehehe. That means a lot coming from you, Rose. But… I don’t feel that much stronger.”
“I’m sure you’re physically stronger now, even if only a little.” Rose answered. “But the main thing you’ve gained is technique. You’re using your power much more effectively now. I’m sure you can feel that too.”
“Now you mention it… I feel like our fights move a lot slower, even though we’re actually moving faster.”
“You used to hunt animals, right?” Rose asked.
Chirch nodded.
“And when you used to hunt, you’d have to make quick decisions all the time?”
Chirch nodded. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to catch them.”
“Well, think about our sparring matches as that “big decision moment”, but for a whole 3 minutes.” Rose replied.
Suddenly, dots began to connect in Chirch’s mind. “Ah! You’re right! No wonder it was so tiring at first…”
Rose laughed.
“Man, I’m glad I decided to join the Academy.” Chirch continued.“I’ve learnt so much.”
*
Two years ago. Chirch’s childhood home – her grandmother’s room.
“Hey, Grandma.” Chirch said, carefully closing her grandmother’s bedroom door behind her.
“Oh, Chirch. Back so early?” her grandmother replied, smiling.
“Yeah. There weren’t many fish around today.” Chirch answered. She stood awkwardly in the corner of the room as she spoke. Seeing her grandmother sick wasn’t easy; she was the only family Chirch had left.
“Diana. Come sit.”
Chirch took the seat by her grandmother’s bedside.
“There’s something on your mind, my dear. What is it?”
“Nothing. I’m fine.”
“Does it have something to do with the flyers that came through the door a few days ago?” she asked.
Chirch was stunned. “How did you…”
Her grandmother laughed. “The nurse sees you reading them every day. She told me.”
“Oh…”
“So tell me, girl. What are the flyers for?”
“They’re for this school… the Kingsguard Academy.”
“I thought as much.” her grandmother replied.
“Huh?” Chirch was confused. How did her grandmother know about the Academy?
“Your father was a Kingsguard soldier, you know,” her grandmother continued. “And so was your grandfather… in fact, he was one of its founding members. Let’s just say being a soldier is in your blood.”
“I knew about dad, but… Grandpa too?”
“He’s not in the history books.” her grandmother answered. “Anyway. Do you want to go?”
“I… I can’t leave you here alone.” Chirch answered. “I don’t think I could live with myself if I did.”
Her grandmother laughed. “Don’t worry about me. If it’s really what you want, then go.”
“Are you sure?” Chirch replied.
“Of course,” her grandmother answered. “The way your eyes lit up just now tells me everything I need to know. Besides, you’ve inherited your grandfather’s strength. I’m not worried about you one bit.”
Chirch smiled. “Thank you, Grandma.”
“I’ll be waiting for you to come home and tell me all your stories.”
*
January 16th, 2252. 7. A cemetery in Chirch’s hometown.
Chirch sat in front of her grandmother’s grave, laying a bouquet of flowers.
“Hey, Grandma. I’m leaving today.” Chirch said. “Wish me luck.”
*
June 16th, 2252. 2. Kingsguard Soldier Academy – the day of the exam.
“18 minutes, 54 seconds. Great job, soldier!”
The young soldier exited the room, exhausted. As he walked out, Chirch caught his eye.
“You’re next, right?” he said between heavy breaths.
Chirch nodded.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” The student replied. “By the way… you wouldn’t happen to have a bottle of water with you, would you?”
Chirch shook her head.
“Man… I don’t think I’ll make it to the water cooler…”
As her classmate exhaustedly stumbled towards water, Chirch entered the exam hall.
“Welcome, Chirch.” Professor Braveheart said. “How are you feeling?”
Chirch shrugged. “Fine, I guess…”
“That’s good. You ready for the exam?”
Chirch nodded.
“Great. Pick up a sword and stand in the centre of the room, and we’ll get started.”
Chirch picked out a sword from the armory on the training room wall, and made her way to the centre of the room, standing on a red X marked on the floor. As she did, she was immediately circled by what looked like a series of training dummies. However, these ones looked a little different. As she tried to work out what her task would be, an automated voice played over the PA system.
“Welcome to the Soldier Exam. In this test, your strength, speed, stamina, and ability to react quickly will all be crucial. At each corner of the room, there is a red button. Your task is to defeat the robot enemies in front of you, and press the red button that illuminates. The button will only illuminate once all enemies are defeated. The task will repeat until you have pressed a red button twelve times. You will get a three buzzer countdown, and once the long buzzer sounds, your opponents will move towards you. If you need time to prepare, please inform your examiner now. The test will begin in 30 seconds.”
Braveheart gave a thumbs-up signal to Chirch, who replied with a thumbs-up of her own. Doing a few stretches as she waited for the countdown to begin, Chirch felt oddly calm. The exam didn’t seem anywhere near as hard as the kid who went before her made it feel. As she finished up her stretches, the buzzer began to count down. As the long buzzer sounded, Chirch took a deep breath. As the enemy closed in on her, she waited. She counted a dozen enemies closing in on her, their approach times ever so slightly staggered. As the first three approached her, she waited for them to enter her range, and quickly took care of them with three quick slices. She waited as the rest approached her, following the same strategy to take out all twelve. For now at least, she planned to conserve her energy levels, in case the difficulty level were to increase later on. She looked to each corner of the room to see which button would light up. The button in the left corner opposite Braveheart lit up, and she ran towards it, pressed it, and made her way back to the X. However, as she did, she was quickly greeted by twelve more enemies. Seeing this, she smiled. This made things a little trickier, at least. As the enemies charged towards her, she worked out her quickest route back to the X. As any of the four buttons could light up, her shortest route would always be from the middle. Fighting her way through, she pressed the second button, and then the third. She carefully and meticulously dispatched of opponent after opponent until all twelve buttons had been pressed. As she pressed the twelfth button, she took a moment to breathe. But before she could relax, a podium rose in the centre of the room where the X had been, with a final red button. She ran towards it, and read the instructions.
“Press button to complete exam.”
Chirch tentatively pressed the button. As she did, the voice came over the speaker once again.
“Exam complete.”
Chirch breathed a sigh of relief as she made her way over to Braveheart.
“How’d I do?” she asked.
“Your time was… 7 minutes, 32 seconds. Incredible work, Chirch.”
“Thanks.”
Chirch left the room confidently. She was more than twice as quick as the person who had come before her, so she’d probably done enough to secure a high score. As she left the room, she saw Donki Onato waiting outside.
“How was it?” Onato asked.
“It wasn’t all bad.” Chirch answered.
“Of course you’d say that.” Onato replied. “Naturally athletic types always do well with tasks like those.”
“How do you know what the exam is?” she asked.
“Oh. I just watched you from the gallery.” Onato answered matter-of-factly. “I don’t think I’ll be able to outdo you, but who knows.”
“Good luck.” Chirch replied.
“Don’t need it.” Onato quipped back.
*
June 18th, 2252. 1. Kingsguard Soldier Academy – Class 1-1 common room. The results of the Soldier exams have been published.
As the class gathered around the noticeboard to check their score and rankings, there were mixed emotions.
“I came 6th! Hell yeah!”
“Ah shit… I’m dead last.”
“Don’t worry man. It’s close between the bottom three.”
As the rest of the class went back to socialising, Chirch, Onato and Bell headed to the noticeboard.
“This is the big moment, huh.” Onato said. “Time to find out who’s the strongest in this class.”
“If I don’t make the rookie showcase, I’ll be pissed.” Bell added. “I’ve worked so hard for this.”
Chirch remained quiet. As the trio made their way over to the board, they looked at the top 3 positions. The results on the board were there for all to see.
Diana Chirch. Head to head: 18-1. Time trial: 7m32s. Total score: 97.5
Isabelle Song. Head to head: 18-1. Time trial: 8m41s. Total score: 96.5
Onato Donki. Head to head: 18-1. Time trial: 9m15s. Total score: 96.0
“We were all even after the assessed spars, so it’s all about the exam time.” Onato added. “I’m just impressed I managed to keep up with you two.”
“You’re saying that like you’re some kinda weakling underdog.” Bell said, a hint of irritation in her voice. “You’re strong, idiot.” Chirch nodded in agreement.
“That means a lot, especially coming from you guys. So… thanks.” Onato replied.
“Idiot. You really think you’d be in this contest if you weren’t?” Bell answered.
“I guess you have a point. Anyway. Congratulations, Chirch. You deserve top spot.” Onato said earnestly.
“Hmph… I guess I need to train even harder, then. I’ll be coming for you in the second-year exams, Chirch. Get ready for me to kick your ass then!” Bell announced.
Chirch smiled. “Thanks, guys!”
“The rookie showcase is in two weeks, right? I can help you train if you like.” Onato offered.
“I suppose I could help you as well.” Bell added begrudgingly. “I wouldn’t want the person who beat me to end up as a loser, after all.”
“Do you guys know who I’ll be fighting?” Chirch asked. Both Bell and Onato shrugged.
“I don’t know anyone in Class 2.” Onato said.
“They all seemed like weaklings to me.” Bell added.
As they thought about who it could be, one of Bell’s friends approached the group.
“Hey, Bell. Apparently this kid in Class 2 got a 100 on the exam.”
“What?!”
*
June 18th, 2252. 1. As Class 1 discuss their results, a young soldier is diligently practicing in the training room.
Fourth wiped the sweat from his brow as the practice bot approached. He was beginning to familiarise himself with its movements, and had found a few weak spots through trial and error. As the bot attacked, he parried each of its blows with his blade, before spotting an opening in its guard. Sweeping the bot’s legs, he then somersaulted over its head, turning to stab it through the back whilst in mid-air. As the bot fell, he smiled. Deciding to end his morning’s training here, he exited the room and headed for the showers. As he stood under the water, eyes closed, he began to run through various battle scenarios in his head. The instant the water stopped, his eyes, deep red, opened. His mind felt clearer than it had ever done before, his body rejuvenated by the water. Taking a deep breath, he headed into the changing room, his irises returning to their natural brown colour. Opening his locker, he took out his clothes and got dressed. Checking his phone, he noticed a text from one of his classmates.
“U seen ur rookie showcase opponent?”
Fourth looked at the text, threw his phone into his gym bag and headed out.
END
Character(s) Debuted:
Director Stickman - The lanky director of the Kingsguard Academy
Professor Kazuko - Another of the Soldier Academy Teachers.
Onato Donki - The third strongest kid in Chirch's class
Fourth - The perfect soldier?
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