"Elisa?" Rin asked.

The blonde had been so lost in her memories that she had no idea how much time passed between her last two sentences. She turned her head over to Rin and asked:

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to know if you're going to come train with me, Eve, and the others tomorrow after class."

"Oh," the noblewoman said, taking a deep breath. "Yeah. I... I have to check if I'll be available, but, if it's up to me, then sure."

"Awesome," Rin smiled back at her. Now, after having spent so long remembering what that day had been like, that smile cut deep into her heart.

[... How the hell did she get here?] Elisa thought. She couldn't imagine how this sort of change could happen in someone's life. It would be as if she stopped being a noblewoman to go live out in the forests as a hermit. They were two different worlds.

Two worlds that, in Rin's case, she had apparently been connecting on her off-time.

[Well... Whatever.] Elisa exhaled her curiosity away. [It's none of my business.]

---

{Rin}

Rin's morning had been surprisingly pleasant so far. That talk with Elisa felt like some good bonding time, her walk through the Academy's halls had been entirely devoid of Alea's or Seth's douchebaggery, and now, she was on her way up to the Meditation Center for what she hoped was going to be some good training leading up to the weekend.

[I probably shouldn't even do the whole Triss thing on Friday, either. If somehow I end up being too tired to fight the next day, that would really suck.]

Eventually, she reached the fourth floor and walked over to the Meditation Center, where she found that the door was open. What she saw inside, however, was not Maria, but someone else who was sitting at the same spot where Rin's teacher could usually be found.

Sara had her legs crossed on the floor and her back straight as she looked out through the open wall. Raising a brow, Rin walked inside. If Sara heard her footsteps, she showed no sign of it right up until Rin was standing beside her.

"Hey," she smiled down at the woman, who then glanced up.

"..." Sara tilted her head a little, which Rin took as her way of offering up a greeting.

"Is Maria around?" Rin asked.

"Yep, I'm right here."

Her teacher's voice suddenly came from behind her and when Rin turned, she found the woman holding a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Oh, good morning."

"Good morning, my student," Maria replied, taking a sip from her cup as she walked closer. "So, today, we're going to be focusing exclusively on fighting other humans."

"Uh, really?" Rin asked, feeling caught off-guard after everything Maria had said about not wanting to skimp out on monster hunting training.

"Yes," Maria replied. "Because, well..." Her smile went away, then, as she looked down into her cup. "I spoke with the dean and he let me know what your next mission will be."

"Don't you pick them?" Rin asked.

"In truth, I make suggestions. Most of the time, those suggestions are met with agreement, considering my rank, however, this time that did not come to pass due to... Well, the point is," she waved a hand. "Learning how to fight other humans has suddenly become far more useful for us."

"Oh. Uh, awesome," Rin replied.

"Anyway," Maria's smile returned, "that's why I asked Sara to help us out here today."

On cue, the woman stood up, approaching the two of them.

"Okay, what are we doing?"

"We're going to be working on some of the specific nuances you run into whenever you fight a person."

Maria stated that and walked in front of Rin, with one hand held behind her back. Then, in a blink, she brought a fist up and Rin flinched, pulling back.

However, then, she took that same fist and pressed it against Rin's chest.

"Feints, measurement, and reading," Maria listed off. "All of these are things you can find in any fight you analyze between two people. Feints, for example, can be summed up as making your opponent believe you're going one way, before going the other. Measurement just relates to the distance between you and your target with the purpose of being able to determine your own footwork and punch accordingly. And finally, reading means your ability to predict your opponent's next move based on patterns you identify in their fighting style."

Finishing her coffee, she walked a few steps away and put her cup down by the wall.

"We've gone over some of this before, but it's good to revisit it now. And, Sara is going to help me illustrate all of this."

At that point, Sara stood in front of Rin and held two fists up.

"Now, all of this applies to armed combat as well," Maria explained. "However, in less controlled environments, you can make do without these things, because swinging your sword hard enough at any given monster will get the job done. In the Arena, these things are indispensable. That's why you will be sparring with Sara today, who has thankfully agreed to help us here. I've given her some techniques and moves to use, and she's going to focus on those. Whenever you're ready, you can start."

"... Okay," Rin replied, before rolling her shoulders and stretching a little. When she was done, she put her own fists up. "Let's go."

Instantly, Sara moved forward, looking like she was going for a punch aimed at Rin's gut. Rin went to block it.

Instead, however, Sara went up and punched Rin in the shoulder. The hit was hard enough to send Rin back a couple of steps.

"Ah," she hissed. "Crap."

"You reacted too quickly," Maria told her. "Sara hadn't committed yet to any sort of move before you blocked. The rest of your body made for a fairly easy opening to exploit. Do you see why that sort of move is effective?"

"Uh, yeah, I think."

"Good. Again."

---

By the time they were done, Rin's head hurt.

Partly because she'd been struck a few times, partly because just today she'd learned so many different dimensions to fighting that she hadn't been fully aware of. It felt like there was a level of trickery achievable in fights that she had only just discovered, like a long road that had been shrouded in dense mist and had just been opened up, only to see that it stretched endlessly.

Only, as daunting as it was, it was just as exciting.

[Ahhh, I can't wait for Saturday!] She thought. [This is gonna be great. I can feel it!]