Ja'far

I stare around my study. Everything is clean and neat, the papers arranged in perfect order. Not only that, for the first time, I actually had no work to do at all. For an entire day. And it's because of her.

The first time I saw her entire face is still replaying itself in my mind. The red moon carved into her face like a bloody crest. When she hastily covered her eye, I realized that I had been gaping like an idiot at her. "S-sorry," I stuttered. "Should we go back to palace now, (y/n)?" I asked. "Hai," she said before leaving with me.

By the time Yamuraiha comes to pick (y/n) up, I still have nothing to do so I go with them. "Yo, Yamuraiha," a familiar voice says. "Good morning, Sharrkan," she replies, a vein sticking out in her forehead. "This the girl that burned down half of the palace?" asks Sharrkan, bending down to look her in the face. "Hai. I sincerely apologise for that," (y/n) says, bowing formally. Sharrkan raises an eyebrow. "Well, there's one way you can make it up to me," he says.

"Fight me," he challenges. "It's only fair. You burned down my favourite training spot. Yamuraiha can wait." "E-excuse me?!" Yamuraiha yells while Sharrkan just laughs ignores her.

Sharrkan

I face the girl standing in front of me. (Y/n). I can't believe that this little girl burned down half of the palace. Both of us have taken our stances. I stare at her. Her stance is certainly unique, which is probably because she is from the Kou Empire.

I glance over at Yamuraiha and Ja'far. "One!" yells Ja'far. Yamuraiha sure does have a worried look on her face. Is she afraid of (y/n) losing? Don't worry. I'll make sure to go easy on her. She is healing from her injuries after all. "Two!" I turn back to the girl in front of me. "Three!"

(Y/n) and I shift to the left, eyeing each other. Despite her injuries, this girl seems to be moving quite well. She seems to be holding her stance quite we-

I block the attack just in time. Without any warning, (y/n) attacked. It's not just her speed...it's that she somehow managed to catch me completely off guard. Her eyes, her expression, none of them gave away any sign that she was planning to attack. I pushed her back and swung my sword. Her feet begin to jump back nimbly. Right. After she retreats, I'll-What?! She's attacking again! Is she crazy?

She's fast. I find myself moving backward. Who the heck is this girl? I glance over to my friends. Now Yamuraiha looks more like she's worried about ME losing! Ah. I see. (Y/n) is smaller than me so it would be better for her to attack me first and take me down quickly. If I can just stand my ground and push her back, I might win.

I almost give up my attempt. She's so fast that it's hard to block her moves if I don't keep moving. Still, I stand my ground. Finally, our swords clashed once. Yes! I manage to lock her in a position where we have to push against each other with our swords. Just as I thought, I can push back (y/n). When it comes to brute strength, looks like she can't hold out against me.

She's going to fall soon. I can see her leg shaking...wait. Isn't that her injured leg? I can see bandages peeking out from under her clothes. Why is she using a stance that puts weight on that leg?

Suddenly, her legs give way and the sword flies out of hand. Yamuraiha shrieks as the sword lands right in front of her. But I wasn't ready for it to happen so easily. I stumble a few steps forward. Oh crap! (Y/n) sweeps out her leg before I can react. As my feet fly out from under me, I look up at her (e/c) eyes. Eyes that are still as unreadable as before her first attack.

My body crashes onto the ground. Groaning, I open my eyes to an outstretched hand. "Congratulations," I hear (y/n)'s voice say. "Huh? Why?" "You won," she said, pointing to the sword I had knocked out of her hand, which was now sticking out of the ground in front of Yamuraiha. "I'm impressed. You really are strong," she says. "W-well. Thank you," I reply, surprised by the sudden compliment. But you're unexpectedly strong yourself, I think silently.

We walk back to Ja'far and Yamuraiha, who is still screaming at me for almost impaling her with the sword I knocked out of (y/n)'s hands.

I scratch the back of my head, watching the three of them leave.

I thought that (y/n)'s emotionless eyes never changed since the start of our match. But now that I think of it, they did. Just for a second when she was complimenting me, I saw something reflected in her (e/c) eyes – sincerity.

She is one unusual girl. I smile. But I like her.