There was the wham of a heavy impact, coupled with an eruptive splash, and what few onlookers were gathered in the stands all bellowed with excitement.
As many times as they’d seen a projected field before, Aria knew she wasn’t the only one of her friends to stare with glee up at the transparent, towering hologram they were taking in from the back. A variation of what had to be “Cliffs”, the zone was a two-level fighting space bisected by a narrow river. The flow rushed across a flat, upper plateau for 15 yards before spilling off into a waterfall, which collected in a shallow stone pool almost 50 feet below.
And it was from this pool that Jack Benaly was fighting to get to his feet, wrenching the steel of his green-gold fist from the still, submerged form of the Mauler Jasmine Ranjha to hold it aloft.
“Fatal Damaged Accrued,” said the Arena on cue. “Victor: Jack Benaly.”
“Well that’s another top sixteener down!” Despite the sparsity of spectators, Catcher still had to raise his voice over the echoing of the cheers at this announcement. “Only a good thing for us!”
Aria nodded, not looking to see if Rei and Viv agreed as she watched the field begin to dematerialize, bringing Benaly and Ranjha—who had indeed been another of the summer group—down to the projection plating below.
Seven more to go, she thought to herself, ticking off the names she knew Rei and Catcher might have to face off against once they made it through the day.
She didn’t bother letting herself consider the fact that they might not, in fact, make it through the day.
“We’ll have to remember to congratulate Benaly tonight, if we catch him,” Rei said, and Aria felt the brushing of his hand against her shoulder. “Come on. I’ve got no doubt whoever Reese has instructing squad-training is on orders to brig the lot of us if we’re so much as two seconds tardy.”
The place he had touched her tingled a little under her jacket even after she’d turned around to see him pass, making for the nearest entrance to the underworks. Catcher was right on his heels, but Viv slipped an arm under hers to pull her along behind the boys, giving Aria a knowing smile but—for once—saying nothing untoward.
*****
With Reese’s consistent absence from their squad-training afternoons second to his arbiter responsibilities, the environment of the sessions had rapidly grown much less stressful with the rotating staff of instructors and observers. Even Captain Dent had taken over a class or two—though undoubtedly not at the major’s request, based on what Aria had gleaned of the man’s opinion of her—with those days being particularly enjoyable. This afternoon, Liam Gross had been put on duty, and she thought it was a testament to Rei’s improving performance in class that the sergeant major had only seen fit to glare at him once or twice by the time training wrapped, ending with a final exciting Team Battle that had come down to Kastro Vademe and Logan Grant as the last Users standing among their squads.
It was Grant, unfortunately, who’d come out the winner.
Given that the main floor of the Arena had been claimed by the Intra-Schools nearly every afternoon since the start of the quarter, all of the Institute’s post-noon training sessions were held in the subbasement, and so it was to the regular locker rooms that everyone retired to once Gross had dismissed them for the day. Rei and Catcher stretched and stayed loose in their combat suits while Aria and Viv showered and changed back into their regulars. After that, it was with a good portion of their joint class-blocks that they returned to the Arena proper together, climbing the steps out of the underworks right on time to see Kay take down poor Candice Brett in what must have been the first minute of their fight, impaling the Duelist against the crumbling brick wall of their Deserted Settlement variation. As Major Barnes congratulated the Lancer on her wholly unsurprising victory, Aria followed Rei’s lead up the steps into the southernmost section of the stands, finding their usual seats. Since the entirety of the first year class was done with lectures and training for the day, the rows were abruptly filling up quickly, most everyone choosing to linger either to cheer on a friend who was fighting soon, or merely wanting to watch the upcoming matches.
Unfortunately for their group, they’d all barely sat down before Aria saw Catcher blink at a flash of his NOED.
“Oh, they want me downstairs.” His eyes lifted to the corner of his frame, a look of surprise crossing this face when he caught what must have been the time. “Whoa. Yeah, I should get going.”
“I’ll come with,” Rei said, standing up with him. “I’m probably the fight right after you anyway. Are you east or west entrance?”
“East.”
“Nice. Me too.” Rei turned to Aria and Viv. “Wish us luck.”
“I’ll save that for next week,” Aria answered instead, giving them both a smile matched by Viv’s double thumbs-up.
When the boys were gone, heading down the stairs again quickly, Viv leaned in close. Aria was afraid she was about to be drilled with some very uncomfortable questions about Rei, but the girl chose instead to keep the conversation more immediate.
“You’re positive they’re both gonna make it through today?”
Unsure if she felt more relieved or disappointed, Aria nodded. “Yeah. Catcher can take Jax any day of the week, so long as he doesn’t try anything stupid.”
“And Rei? You’re that confident in him taking on Renton.”
Aria smiled. “Even more so.”
“She’s faster than him.”
“She’s also a coward.”
“But she’s faster.”
Aria shrugged. “So was Camilla Warren, probably, and look how that ended up. Honestly, you could tell me Renton had C5-Ranked specs across the board and I’d still put Rei down as having a fighting chance against her. He’s just… better.”
Viv gave her a sidelong glance. “And you’re not at all biased on that subject, are you?”
There it was. And Aria had walked right into it.
“Sneak,” she muttered while Viv grinned.
“Well it’s not like you’re gonna talk about it outright, is it? I’ve got to pry it out of you.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Aria lied as firmly as she could, trying to channel her mother’s impassive face for once as Dyrk Reese started up the field for the combatants she hadn’t even heard Major Barnes announce.
“Uh-huh,” Viv said sarcastically. “Either you’re in denial, or you’re full of it.”
Aria decided to change tactics. “What about you? Are you worried about them?”
Viv frowned a little. “Ordinarily? I’d say no. I agree that Catcher could take Jax with Arthus tied behind his back. Rei, I’m a tad bit more concerned about, but that’s just me, I think. I’m kinda used to having his back. It’s been… weird, not having to stand up for him as much.”
“I have a hard time imagining him ever needing you to fight his battles,” Aria muttered, trying to conjure up the image and failing.
“Oh, he never really did, and he always grumbled about it. But that’s what friends do.”
Aria nodded. Below them, the fight started—a pair of Sabers she didn’t recognize, and whose names she hadn’t caught. They were duking it out in one of the ship-bay variations of Zero-Grav, but after seeing the Lasher’s bout on a similar field, the two first years’ clashing looked nothing more than sluggish and unrefined.
“I just feel like the other shoe is gonna drop.”
Viv’s muttered words reached Aria over the slamming sound of carbonized steel. Concerned, she looked around to find Viv chewing on the inside of her cheek, arms in her lap and chin tucked to stare at the ground between her legs while she leaned against the projected seat back behind her.
“The other shoe…?” Aria asked tentatively.
“Yeah…” After a second Viv looked up to meet her eye. “You don’t think things have been going too smoothly lately? For Rei, I mean. Galens hasn’t been the easiest time for him from the start, but ever s
ince he took down Warren…” She lifted a hand to gesture over the field, where the elevated disc that held Dyrk Reese and Hadish Barnes was hidden from view by the projected steel wall of the holographic bay. “Even Reese seems to have let up on him, hasn’t he?”
Aria glanced away quickly. She had it straight from the horse’s mouth that there was a very good reason Rei’s last four pairings—including Renton—had been fairer, but that was information she was definitely not supposed to have. What was more, despite having confided her secret in Rei, Aria had never quite found the right moment to tell either Viv or Catcher about Rama Guest. She knew it was a stupid fear, born from the heart of a girl who’d never before had anything she would have called a “real” friend, but a part of her was afraid of how they would react, whether they would judge her for the fact that her uncle was the commanding officer of the very school she’d elected—or been made—to attended.
“It’s not just Reese, though.” Viv kept on, apparently not having noticed Aria’s avoidance of the topic. “Michael Bretz has loved Rei since the first parameter test, but the other sub-instructors have recently been coming around too. His fibro has been in remission for months. He’s winning matches. Selleck is leaving him alone.”
At this, Aria couldn’t help but give her a look. “You mean Grant.”
Viv’s mouth shut with an almost audible snap, and she refused to so much as glance at Aria, who couldn’t help but laugh despite the conversation.
“Viv, when are you going to give up and tell us what’s going on? I’ve seen the way you two have been sneaking looks at each other during training.”
Still, Viv said nothing.
“Viv, if you’re worried about what Rei will think, I don’t—”
“I’m not.”
The words came out as an uncharacteristic squeak, and Viv blushed as soon as she heard the blatant lie in her own voice. Clearly trying to save herself, she forged on.
“Rei thinks Log—Grant—has a thing for you. He thinks he’s been picking fights because of a jealousy complex.”
Aria almost laughed again, but stopped herself just in time. “Honestly, Viv, if Rei did think that at some point, I don’t know if he still—”
“He doesn’t.”
Aria blinked. “Rei doesn’t think that? I’m confused.”
Viv’s cheeks went even redder. “No. Grant doesn’t have a thing for you.”
Aria gave her an amused smile. “Yeah… That much I figured out on my own. He’s got a thing for you.”
Viv didn’t answer, but this time it might just have been because the fight they were supposed to be watching ended rather abruptly, with one of the Sabers cleverly using everything she had to rocket a heavy steel container at a port window near her opponent. The undoubtedly “impact proof” glass proved unable to handle a User’s Strength, and the window shattered, pulling the other Saber out into the void. The Arena appeared to count this as a loss, because the announcement came only a second later.
“Fatal Damage Accrued. Victor: Amelia von Leef”
Aria felt a little ashamed of herself for being distracted enough to not have recognized the victor, given von Leef had been her opponent in the fourth and final week of the winner’s bracket. She clapped as loudly as she dared to make up for it, keeping her applause going until Amelia had taken leave of the field, along with the disqualified loser.
The whole time, Viv hadn’t said a word.
Her silence lasted through the next match, too, and Aria didn’t press, wondering if maybe she’d poked a little too far. It didn’t really seem fair given the girl’s tendency to tease her about Rei, but she supposed the circumstances were a bit different. For one thing she’d always expected Viv more likely to go for some older girl in the second- and third year, based on several of the more private conversations they’d had when Rei and Catcher were around. For another… Well…
This was Logan Grant, they were talking about…
It wasn’t until after that second fight and well into the next, nearing the moment of Catcher’s match, that Viv finally spoke again.
“When I say I’m afraid of the other shoe dropping. Logan’s not who I’m talking about.”
Aria felt the knot of concern loosen in her gut, and she looked around. Viv was watching the fight—Leron Joy, who’d made it surprisingly far for being a prick, versus the Saber Clement Easton. For another couple minutes, though, she went quiet once more, not saying anything more until Joy lost his head to Easton’s blade.
As Major Barnes began to congratulate the winner, Viv started up again, even raising her voice to be heard over the announcement.
“We’ve… been talking. For a while.”
Aria didn’t miss a beat, understanding now that this really wasn’t an easy topic for Viv to discuss. “Since when?”
“Since the night Selleck jumped Rei with Warren and the others.”
Aria tried not to show her surprise. That event had been more than 8 weeks ago. She was somewhat impressed Viv had been able to keep this a secret—if badly—for so long.
“He just…” Viv squirmed uncomfortably, still not looking at Aria. “He changed my mind a little, that night. About him.”
“When he put down Selleck.”
“When he put down all of them, Aria.” Viv shook her head, leaning forward now to rest her elbows on her knees. “It was… shocking. I mean don’t get me wrong, it was hot, too.” She smiled slightly, and seemed to gain a bit more confidence in her words as she kept on. “But it was mostly shocking. Not in a bad way,” she added quickly, finally turning to look Aria in the face. “Maybe it was a little scary, yeah, but it was more of a wakeup call. He’s still an ass, but there’s more to him. A lot more to him…” She shook her head, her gaze drifting off again. “You should have seen his face. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so angry. Like what they’d done made him want to tear them apart with his bare hands.”
This reminded Aria of something suddenly. As Clement Easton helped Joy to his feet below them so they could walk together off the field, she recalled something Rei had once described.
“Like the time Grant went after him in cross-training? After the match had already been called?”
Viv’s immediate nod said this was exactly what she was talking about.
“Then what’s his deal?” Aria asked, feeling herself getting a little impatient as she recalled the story of how the Mauler had nearly beaten Rei bloody despite the fight having ended. “As far as I know, Grant’s had a bone to pick with you two from day one, hasn’t he?”
“Not me.” Viv shook her head. “Just Rei.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
Viv took a breath, looking to the field again. On the observation disk, Reese and Barnes looked to be conferring about something while the first years around them all started murmuring in anticipation of the next match.
Finally, she started to talk in a gush, like the words had been held back for too many weeks to keep at bay any longer.
“Logan’s got a history, Aria. Or his family does, at least. There’s a reason he hates Rei. Or did. Or does. I’m not really sure anymore, since we’ve been talking. It’s why he beat Selleck and the rest to a pulp, and has laid off us all ever since. His f—”
Before she could finish her thought, however, Hadish Barnes started speaking again, and what he had to say snatched away every ounce of her and Aria’s attention both.
“Uh…” The large man looked a little uncomfortable as he addressed the stands. “Due to an incident that occurred last night involving multiple injured students, there has had to be some unplanned reshuffling.”
Aria felt every hair on her body stand on end, and beside her Viv snapped up to sit as rigid as stone in her seat, eyes suddenly narrow. Around them, there were whispers from the rest of the class.
“Incident? What incident?”
“I heard someone from 1-C got hurt. Anyone know who?”
>
“I heard 1-B. Was anyone missing for squad-training?”
Major Barnes continued over the noise, looking down now to where Aria knew the upcoming fighters were waiting their turn along the wall of the Arena floor.
“We apologize for the last-minute notice, but it’s taken a little time for corrections to be manually corrected by ISCM oversight.”
Bullshit, Aria thought, something very much like fear crawling up her throat.
“Everything has now been properly implemented, though, and the rest of the day’s fighters will shortly be notified of their modified pairings. For the time being, however, please give a cheer for our next combatants. Layton Catchwick…!”
Bullshit, Aria thought again, knowing what was about to happen.
“… versus Reidon Ward!”
At once their section of the stands erupted as the first years—who to a one undoubtedly knew that the two boys were close friends—suddenly smelled blood in the water. Several people were on their feet, some cheering while others hurled catcalls, and after an elongated pause a pair of figures both appeared from under the eastern ledge of the walkway, awkwardly making their way towards the field side by side.
“What is this?” Viv snarled, half-rising in her fury. “What is this?”
Aria barely grabbed her by the sleeve of her jacket, pulling her back to sit again before the girl thought to leap down to the floor herself.
“Viv, calm down. There has to be an explanation.”
“There’s no explanation!” Viv snapped, yanking her arm loose as her brown eye lifted to the focus of her ire. Reese. “He did this! I’ll bet you anything he did this.”
“You don’t know that,” Aria insisted, though she could hear the disbelief in her own words. “You don’t know what’s going on. It could be anything. It could be—”
And then Aria stopped, a thought cutting her short mid-sentence. She tensed, going rigid so abruptly it was enough to have Viv take pause, turning to look at her with a hint of alarm punctuating her anger.
Iron Prince: A Progression Sci-Fi Epic (Warformed: Stormweaver Book 1) Page 89