Akashic Arcana Clash of Egos - Part 2

Aer Shiana

Aer Shiana

Active Member
Clack. Clack. Clack.

The sound of sparring swords colliding filled the training room of the Arcadia gym. Artoria had lost count of how many sessions they had gone through at this point, but the previously unfit Jayden was starting to improve quite a bit in both his physique and his form.

However, as demonstrated by his wide, telegraphed swings, he still had quite a ways to go before he'd be considered even remotely skilled.

Noting his off-balance stance, Artoria sighed internally. Stepping into him inside his guard, she hooked her left foot behind his, then shoved her weight against his, easily tipping him over.

Offering a hand to help him up, she'd comment "I'm sure you know what you did wrong, there." There was no disdain on her face, simply a neutral expression that hid any feelings she would have had at that moment. She had to practice hiding her anger with him, in an attempt to keep things from escalating between them. If they were to be forced to interact like this, there needed to be some level of professionalism.

@Boxaman
 
After weeks of physical training, he finally accepted her offer to train him. Accepting such a consession that his physical prowess needed a helping hand was a serious blow to his pride, but he bit his tongue and managed to figure a way to work with the Princess without escalation. Over the course of a few sparring sessions, Jayden slowly learned the basics of sword combat. He was no natural by any means, but he quickly made up for that with his work ethic. Every physical day, he showed up ready to work.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Jayden was feeling pretty confident today as he blocks Artoria's swings at his defenses. The past few sessions had been relatively simple, with Artoria giving Jayden a lot of leeway with mistakes. However, today was not one of those days.

"AAAH." yelled Jayden in surprise as he goes down. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPH" went his lungs as he lands on his back, knocking the wind out of him. He gasped for air as Artoria helps him to his feet. Once he got his breath back, he rasped out. "Stance." he huffs and puffs a few more times before his speaking cleared. "Stance, I am guessing. Seems like 99% of mistakes I make is evidently my stance."

It was clear he was harboring her no ill will towards her, for now. Jayden had learned that his feelings had no place in physical excercises. He then stretched as he waits for her explanation of what he did wrong. His progress in physical prowess was showing, as his frail frame was noticeably bulkier though his muscles lacked real definiation so far. His skin even had a healthier hue to it, making the usually frail and pale boy looks considerably more attractive and less sickly.
 
Under normal circumstances, lifting Jayden up would have been like picking up a small child. But with her Divine Blessings dampened by the room's anti-magic effects, her strength- her natural strength- was rather lacking. It took some effort to get him up to his feet. She nodded in confirmation at this answer.

"You had most of your weight on your left leg, which put you off balance for that particular stance you were in." She lightly tapped his left calf with the tip of her sword. "In a duel, stance and footwork is everything. You could learn and master a vast library's worth of techniques for any weapon, but if you're weak in either of those, you will be defeated. Every time."

Striding back to a reasonable distance and dropping to her ready stance, Artoria nodded to Jayden. "There's no right stance that works for every situation, but typically, the idea is to keep your center of weight in line with your torso." With her left leg forward and slightly bent, and her right leg back and straight, her sword pointed at a 60 degree angle towards Jayden. Her left foot was also pointed towards Jayden, while her right was turned, perpendicular in angle to her left. "In this instance, 70% of my weight is on my back leg. This allows me to easily pivot, since my front foot is kept planted lightly, and it keeps you from being able to sweep me off my feet like I just did to you."

She paused, and would allow Jayden to get close to inspect her stance if he wanted to. It would be difficult to push her over if he attempted to do so. "Is this making sense?"
 
Jayden nodded as he watches her demonstration. His crimson eyes took in every detail, from her leg positoning to the way she held her practice sword. However, his eyes wondered off just slightly, admiring more of Artoria. She was wearing a blue tank top with grey sweatpants. She looks quite lovely when she is in combat mode, fiercely attractive..

To end his thoughts, he shook his head swiftly to clear himself of such thoughts. Stay on task, fool. Besides, shes your rival. He thought as he watches the last part of her stance. Jayden then nodded "Yes. That clears up a few things."

Instead of moving over to inspect her, he decided to copy her stance almost perfectly. If she was watching closely, she would notice that it was an unnaturally perfect copy of her stance. Jayden then looked at Artoria with a gleem in his eyes. "En Garde!" he yells before stepping forwards.

He rushes forward, stepping quickly to close the gap. He plants his right foot before stepping forward with his left with a horizontal swing, though he would be slightly off on his distance choice from Artoria. This could be played off as a rookie mistake...... However, this turns out to be a feint as Jaden plants his left foot to rapidly step forward with his right foot. Jayden then swings his sword to come down with a with a vertical strike aiming at her, hopefully, unprotected head.
 
Once Jayden was done looking and sought to replicate her stance, it was uncanny how similar they were, almost like looking in a mirror. Artoria thought this to be strange, but figured it was just a fluke that sometimes happens. After all, she couldn't let small details like that distract her, since he was moving to attack once again.

Watching his charge carefully, Artoria saw that his apparent leap was starting at too far a distance to be all that effective. Raising an eyebrow, Artoria's guard wandered to her left to intercept his attack. Then there it was. A feint. The second step, and Jayden's weapon changed angles of attack. Artoria's eyes widened, not expecting a technique like that from a novice, especially executed as it was. However, there was definitely a mistake on Jayden's part. He misjudged the distance, and would land too close. For his efforts, Jayden earned an elbow to the ribs, and Artoria yet again shoving her weight into him and sending him sprawling.

Blinking a few times while processing what happened, Artoria smiled slightly at Jayden's apparent quick learning. Strolling over to help him up again, she'd comment. "A good attempt.. slightly off on your judgement of distance, however." She'd let out a low giggle.
 
"AH! OOOOOOOOOPH!" yelled the crimson eyed kid as he goes down again. He shakes his head to clear it, unsure where his mistake was that time. I know I got the stance, the timing, and the angles right... what did I miss?" he thought as Artoria strolls up. The realization of his mistake occured to him as she makes a comment. "Damn. I'll get it next time!" he says with zeal. It was clear that he was excited and pumped to get back into the spar. He lifts and grabs Artoria's hand with his own as she bends over to help him up... Disaster strikes quickly and without warning.

The sudden, and unexpected, giggle from Artoria surprised him. He was used to either her stone 'professional' face or her angry, pissed off face. The innocent, and rather pretty, smile that occured as she lifts him left Jayden utterly flabbergasted as he just stares at her face. Was she always this pretty? He wondered as he took in her features in slow motion. Between the adrenaline pumping through his system from his excitement of the spar and the increased blood pressure from his admiration of Artoria... he underestimated his strength as he pulls himself up. This caused him to launch himself up.... and straight into Artoria. He tries to stop himself, but ends up awkwardly wrapping his arms around her. This only ends up with Jayden pulling himself even closer to her as he tries to use her to stay standing. The resulting confusion finally ends with the two standing there in a tight embrace.... and their lips locked.

Jayden's eyes go wide as he realizes they are locked in lips. His face turns red, his eyes impossibly wide, and steam seems to puff from his ears. "Holy shi-" he starts to say before he is cut off....
 
Artoria had no idea what happened.. or how it happened. All she knew was that Jayden was close. Too close. His arms were wrapped around her.. and.. his lips were pressing against hers. Upon full realization, her face flushed completely with pinkish blush. Her head was filled with a hot and intense feeling, and she got a wave of dizziness. Out of pure instinct to get out of an uncomfortable situation, her right hand balled into a fist, reeled back, and decked Jayden in the jaw as hard as her strength could muster.

"Wh-What the bloody hell do you th-think you're doing?!" Hearing the princess curse in such a manner would be an absolute shock to anyone that heard, given her usually clean language. Once Jayden recovered from the punch, he would be able to see that she was 100% flustered. It wasn't pure anger, though she was visibly upset. She didn't give him a chance to explain, let alone speak. She went on a nearly unintelligible rant, though he would be able to understand tidbits such as "trying to make moves on me" and "getting too friendly because of this one instance". Leaving her sword on the ground, she'd practically fly out of the dueling room, her face still practically glowing red.

Storming straight toward the locker rooms, Artoria went to the sink to splash cold water onto her face. She stared into the mirror, unable to wave away the fact that some part of her did enjoy that little incident. Her heartbeat was still racing, and her thoughts were mired in that one image of their lips and arms interlocked. She splashed more water onto her face. Whether it was by luck or the intervention of some merciful god, the locker room was thankfully empty except for her. The last thing she needed were a pack of older girls gossiping about her. "Urgh.. get it together, Princess." Now she was talking to herself.
 
Jayden was utterly shocked at their present situation, but was even more flabbergasted as he goes flying back down to the floor. With his adrenaline pumping, he barely felt the imprint of her fist on his jaw. After landing, he looks back up at Artoria as she goes on a long-winded and unintelligible rant. The more he caught snippets of her rant, the more flustered he got himself. He kept trying to interject "It... I ... It was a mistake!"

Alas, his pleas were not heard and she stormed out of the room. Jayden then sat alone on the ground. His face was red up to his ears, his eyes still wide, and his right hand over his mouth. I kissed her. I kissed Artoria. he thought. He silently stood up and walked out, their sparring tools still on the ground. He silently walked passed a bunch of idiots who looked like they were setting up a prank of some kind. He ignored them as he made his way into the male locker room. It was, sadly, not empty. He got strange looks as he silently moves to his locker and just sits on the bench in front of it.

There he contemplated what had just happened. The failure of a pull up, the kiss, and reactions afterward. At first he was pleasently surprised at how good he felt from kissing her. However, this turned into hurt as he replays her negative reaction to the accident. The more he thought about it, the more the words stung. His eyes watered up some as he remembers her words, though he wipes them before anyone saw him. He then slams his face into his hands "Urgh... get it together, Jayden!" he mutters as he continues to sit there. The more he continues to sit there, the more her words turned his feelings to anger, though he tried to keep the anger in check.
 
After a long cold shower, Artoria finally managed to calm herself. The entire time, she kept replaying that scene in the dueling room in her mind. Over and over and over. Planting her forehead against the tiled wall, she felt embarrassed. Not from Jayden's actions, but her own. She had acted in such a brash and violent manner, that not only did it feel a dishonour to her name and title, she truly felt guilty for the harsh words she had given him because of an accident. The more she thought about it, the more she curled up into a ball.

As she was getting dressed, Artoria made an internal promise. She was going to find Jayden and apologize, make things up to him somehow. She paused, wondering how angry he was likely feeling. He'd likely have some choice words for her, and she felt like she would deserve it. "No. I'm a princess, and I must act like one and take responsibility for this. No putting this off."

Snapping her hair into its usual tight bun, Artoria strolled out of the locker room. However, the moment she turned the corner, she would be met with something... extremely unexpected.
 
Suddenly, a series of magical explosions occur to Artoria's immediate left and right. The explosions were not harmful and were more puffs of smoke. However, they launched colorful confetti everywhere in blue, white, and red. Soon after, more explosions shot down the hall side by side and shooting more confetti everywhere. The last explosions created extra smoke that obscured the rest of the hall.


An annoying loud song is heard coming from the smoke. Artoria would reconize it as teh French national anthem, only instrumental. More confetti would rain down, still blue, white, and red. Right at the climax of the song, a tall lanky man dressed in a white tuxedo with gold linning. A chorus of female opera voices rang out "Reviliere Beaumont! Reviliere Beaumont! Reviliere Beaumont!" as he poses and flexes his non-existant muscles (he is even skinner than Jayden was at first). Revilier then says, with a thick French accent: "Artoria Pendragon! I have come to announce my offical statement that you are the object of my desires! The lilly to my pad! Allow me to take you to the Winter Ball so that the world may rejoice in such a glorious political and" he wiggles his eyebrows "enviously attractive pairing!"

He then runs forward and slides on his knees across the ground as more explosions and confetti go everywhere as the song hits the climax. He stops just before Artoria as he manuevers into a kneeling posture with his left leg forward at a 90 degree angle. He then magically pulls out a flower and hands it to Artoria with a creepy attempt at a seductive look as he waits for her answer RIGHT as the song ends.
 
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"What in the-" Artoria managed to watch her language this time, despite being thrown completely off guard by the explosions. However, when she realized what it actually was, she was no less confused. "Confetti?" The chain of confetti pops continued, followed by a violet smoke the obscured the hallway in front of her. She had no idea how to react to this.

Then the song and dance played out. The French national anthem, accompanied by a line of girls chanting a name that only filled her with great irritation. When he showed himself, Artoria's face was hard to read, as she was trying her best to keep a neutral expression instead of looking utterly bewildered by the entire demonstration. She felt the urge to punch him as he declared his intentions, but again managed to restrain herself. The lightning of the hallway darkened the upper part of her face as she looked down at him while he knelt, giving her an extra-judging aura.

"No."

One word was all she said, and she walked off, trying to brush off all the confetti that had landed on her. She never did managed to get it all off, before she ran into the next surprise waiting for her.
 
Reviliere was utterly defeated. As Artoria walks away, he looks up and yells "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" with tears streaming from his eyes and shaking his fist at the sky. He then falls foward with his hands and knees on the ground as he sobs. As Artoria walks by, she gets disgusted looks from the females who helped the poor Frenchmen before they ran and started dotting on him. It was clear they were his fangirl club of admirers.

As Artoria turns the corner, yet another suitor was waiting. This time it was a 24 year old 3rd year who was disarmingly attractive. He was Italian with dark skin and jet black hair with a pedo-stache over his lips. He yells "ARTORIA PENDRAGON!" after he sees her, and that she rejected Reviliere. He sprints over and does the same slide down the hall that Reviliere did, ending in he exact same pose with a dark purple rose appearing in his hand. He hands it to Artoria, his left hand over his heart "I wish to name you my date to the winter ball. Will you give me the honor?"

Behind him, Artoria could see several other suitors lying in wait with similar flowers. It was clear that she was about to be pestered to death with suitors seeking her as a date. The creepy part was the ages of some of them, as a few even hit up to the max academy age.

Suddenly, the door on Artoria's left opens and out steps Jayden. He was now dressed in his usual black suit, though it looked slightly unkept as if he didnt really care to make it immaculate this time around. His face was still slightly sad, though there was a bit of anger in there as well. His eyes look as if they just got done crying when he notices Artoria. Instantly, the anger and sadness leave his face and instantly was replaced by a flustered, complicated, and confusing mess of emotions. "Artoria, I-I-... he stuttered out before noticing everyone else. "Wait is going on here?" he asked, clearly perplexed by the strange lustful looks the various men were giving her.
 
Artoria was usually much more sympathetic and diplomatic when it came to situations like that, but she was already in a rather unpleasant mood, and had little patience for this sort of nonsense. Ignoring the looks for the french noble's fanclub.

When yet another man tried to ask her out, the only thing that Artoria could think of was the moral questioning of these older students trying to ask out someone as young as she was. Did they not have girls their own age to- No. They just want to be able to say that went to the ball with the Princess of Britannia. Anger flared inside the young knight, especially when she saw the huge line of people waiting for their chance. The number of them greatly unsettled her. Backing away slightly, she started "Gentlemen, as much as I appreciate your.. enthusiasm.."

And then her savior appeared from a door opening to her left. Artoria was never happier to see Jayden before, for several reasons. "...But.. " She rushed to Jayden's side, hooking an arm around his. "I've already got a date. Sorry." She gave them an innocent smile, and slightly nudged Jayden, hoping to high heaven he would play along.
 
Jayden's jaw drops and his already red face turns a dark shade of cherry as she wraps his arm in hers. He barely manages to stammer out "Wha-Whatever y-you say, g-gorgeous."

The suitors in the background all grumble and looks upset they didnt even get a chance. The italian in front of the couple just looks at the ground, his face darkened by the light. "How could this happen to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?" he starts to sing quietly.

Behind the couple, Reviliere had just walked around the corner, loooking as if he was going to ask again. He drops to his knees a second time with an even louder "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" as he looks to the sky. "HOW CAN SHE CHOOSE MY GREATEST ENEMY!?!?!" he sobs as he looks cresfallen at the ground again.

At this point, his fangirls all just facepalm and walk away, muttering to themselves. One could catch the words "idiot," "moron," and various other derogatory phrases whispered to each other. Reviliere suddenly notices they are gone as he scrambles after them "Lovelies! COME BAAACK."

At that point Jayden snaps out of it. He becomes disgusted and abit weirded out by the happenings around them. He gulps and looks at Artoria "Wanna get out of here, princess?"
 
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The word "gorgeous" echoed in her mind for what felt like eons. Artoria's face immediately flushed with red, wondering "Was he being serious? Or was that for real?" Either way, the princess was free of the legion of proposals that were awaiting her. It took Reviliere's cries of "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" to snap her back to reality. Her expression changed to one of disgust as he approached yet again, demanding an answer as to why she chose Jayden, "his greatest enemy", over him.

"Leave us alone!" In a display of magical skill, Artoria summoned up a gust of wind and propelled the frenchman away from the pair, sending him tumbling into a wall. When Jayden addressed her with a question, she would nod quickly and flatly say "Yes." Leading him by the arm, she would absent-mindedly stay attached to him as she walked to her dorm. She wasn't fully aware of her actions, and was also oblivious to any discomfort that Jayden might be having.

When the area around them was clear, as they took the less populated scenic route to the dorm building, Artoria would quietly look up to Jayden then back to the ground, and mutter "I'm sorry." It was barely audible to him, but he would still be able to vaguely hear.
 
Jayden fowns at Revelier "For the last time, your weak skills are not even in my le-" his words would be cut off by Artoria sending Reveliere flying. Jayden would be surprised, but also impressed by Artoria's display. "Impressive." he mutters.

Jayden would then willingly be pulled out of the gym. The couple then dodged more people as they took a sceneic route to the dorms. It would take an extra 30 minutes to avoid the more populated areas of the Academy, but the two didnt seem to mind. The two enjoyed the peace and quiet of the route they took, both of them surprisingly comfortable with their locked arms. Neither made a move to unwrap their arms as they walk together.

As they stood infront of Artoria's dorm door, Jayden was surprised at her apology. It took him a second to remember her words from the sparring room. Uncharacteristically, Jayden smiles at Artoria. The smile was genuine and not in a mocking manner. His crimson eyes would twinkle with a different kind of flame in them than the usual raging flame. He then shrugs "It was my fault. You were just impulsively reacting to a weird situation! Though......" his eyes narrow and leer at her "......you could have been a bit more diplomatic."
 
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Artoria snorts, feeling very self-aware of her flaws. "Yeah.. impulsive..." This was a trait that often got her into trouble, a fact often pointed out by Lancelot. She glanced off to the side and into the distance reminiscently. However, there was a certain melancholy to this situation. Perhaps her and Jayden could learn to get along after all.

Then Jayden had to add that last part. A vein nearly bulged in her temple out of irritation. Despite her anger, she kept a big smile on her face, and forced a laugh in reaction to his joke. "Ha ha ha, I guess so." What would have been a simply playful punch by any other person... Artoria's strength made this punch rather painful, enough to make Jayden keel over. It was practically just a light tap into his side, and Artoria played it off like it was nothing. Maintaining her faux friendly facade, she opened the dorm room door. "Anyway, thanks for walking me here, see you at the next tutoring lesson."

Again, she wouldn't give Jayden time to retort, and retreated into her dorm room, shutting and locking the door behind her. She stayed at the door, though, to listen to whatever Jayden had to say, if he had anything to say. Once she heard him walk off, Artoria made her way to her desk, shuffling through all the papers on top. Her and her roommate, Amira, would exchange brief greetings and attend to their respective activities.
 
Jayden would immediately regret his choice of words. He kneels over as he holds his side and heaves as the wind is utterly knocked out of him. He is still heaving as Artoria enters her dorm and shuts the door.

Jayden moves to a sitting position, his back against the door frame of Artoria's dorm. He talks to himself, unknowingly having an eavesdropper. "Damnit Jayden, you fool. Once again, your mouth gets the better of you. Just when you finally could get along with the gorgeous Princess, you had to run your damn mouth. Hopefully I didnt piss her off too much..." he then slowly gets himself up "Ow... my kidney..." he mutters "Though her unnecessary punching pisses ME off..... I better go see a healer...." Jayden then shuffles off out of the dorm and to the nearest clinic.
 
Hearing that word uttered from Jayden's mouth a second time had Artoria blushing even harder this time around. And since he wouldn't have known she was right there, that was his true thoughts. She managed to hide her face from her roommate, and the next couple of hours was spent trying to focus on her schoolwork, yet failing due to her thoughts returning to Jayden. Thankfully, it was the weekend. "Ugh.. I'll work on this later."

Later that night, Artoria would have to ensure she got to the Kenjutsu Club without crossing paths with Jayden again. There were no words for how awkward such a meeting would be. At least now she didn't have to worry about anyone asking her out to the Winter Ball. At least she could focus on the sparring, rather than her rogue thoughts of teenage love. Or could she?

FIN~
 
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