‘’Come out Chaeyoung’’ Jisoo sighed ‘’I know you’re following me’’

‘’What the hell are you doing in here Jisoo?!’’ Chaeyoung glared ‘’You of all people should know that this place is too dangerous! Even for us!’’

‘’I…’’ Jisoo clenched her fist ‘’I have to do this Chaeng; this could be a breakthrough if I created something like this’’

‘’Is it really worth the risk?! What if you could have gotten seriously hurt?!’’

GROWL

‘’Jisoo watch out!’’

Chaeyoung and Jisoo stayed still, back-to-back against each other and eyeing their opponents with sharp eyes.

‘’I told you so’’

‘’Shut up and let’s just get out of here quick’’

‘’Is that…’’

Chaeyoung sighed and looked at Jisoo knowingly who was grabbing a certain object and putting it in her bag.

‘’Looks like I’m not the only one following you…’’

‘’J-Jisoo?’’ Jennie whispered, tears slowly gather in her eyes

 ‘’I-is it really you?’’

Jisoo’s eyes softened and gently slashed Jennie’s blindfold ‘’I’m here Jendeukie…my little sister’’ She held Jennie tightly and looked at the proprietor of Jennie’s tears with anger and alertness.

‘’…let’s do this’’

‘’C-Chaeyoung?!’’ Lisa’s eyes were wide, being carried in bridal style by the person she just uttered in shock

‘’Y-you’re’’

Chaeyoung sighed and looked at the large shadow monster in front of them

‘’Less talking, let’s test our skills against it’’ Chaeyoung’s eyes darkened as she whispered angrily

‘’For mom and dad’’

‘’You know you should be thankful that we can choose partners’’ Jisoo chuckled; they’re in the rooftop after elemental class where Jennie and Chaeyoung finally passed the assessment for the grass version of healing

‘’You and Jennie would be quite a pair if you two paired once again in the class’’ She continued making Chaeyoung scoff, laying at the tiles of the roof to look at the calming light blue sky

‘’The two of us together can be quite a disaster’’ Chaeyoung muttered ‘’I’m just glad we got that over with. Healing is really not my forte’’

‘’Lisa is quite the prodigy despite hating you’’ Jisoo chuckled ‘’Can’t believe she got it down in one try, quite a talented maknae if you ask me’’

‘’Hey! I’m a maknae too you know’’ Chaeyoung looked at Jisoo to pout at her making Jisoo’s heart melt at the rare cuteness that Chaeyoung is sporting right now. Child Chaeyoung’s pout was adorable and Jisoo can’t believe it’s still adorable right now. Jisoo feels really happy to know only she can see this side of Chaeyoung.

‘’Be glad Wendy is not here to see you pout’’ Jisoo giggled ‘’She would have teased you endlessly’’

That wiped Chaeyoung’s pout off her face ‘’Speaking of Wendy, she’s eating lunch today with her girlfriend as well as her other friends, right?’’

‘’Yeah, if you mean Joy, Yeri, and Seulgi then yeah’’ Jisoo chuckled ‘’The five of them are quite a unique group don’t you think? A very unique dynamic of friendship if you ask me’’

‘’Well now that I’ve thought about it,’’ Chaeyoung suddenly looked deep in thought ‘’They seem to have quite a history with each other if they could stay together in one group despite having really different personalities’’

Jisoo laughed ‘’If you mean Joy’s annoying personality to you, then yeah, it’s quite a wonder how the five of them got so close and even together in college. Maybe they’re all childhood friends and decided to stay together in one school’’

Chaeyoung hummed at that ‘’Yeah, you’re right. We should probably ask Wendy about that’’

‘’Ooohh is this Chaeyoungie wanting to get closer to others instead of only me?’’ Now it was Jisoo’s turn to pout ‘’Are you going to cling to Wendy too when I’m not around and you want to cuddle!?’’

‘’No!’’ Chaeyoung laughed at her unnie’s 4D personality ‘’This is Wendy we’re talking about! Of course, I want to know more about our best friend’s history instead of just knowing her element and enjoying her company’’

‘’Well, Wendy seems like a person who doesn’t have a problem in her life’’ Jisoo reflected delicately ‘’If she did have any problem, it’s like she can take it on her own. She’s like the rock of a group don’t you think?’’

‘’Well…I don’t even know Irene, Yeri, Seulgi, and even Joy that well’’ Chaeyoung shrugged

‘’Well we could always ask Jennie and Lisa you know’’ Jisoo winked and that immediately earned a rapid shaking of Chaeyoung’s head

‘’No way in hell’’ Chaeyoung scowled ‘’Just because they asked help from us, we can come to them like nothing happened the past years’’

Jisoo’s eyes diminished a bit as she uttered out, laying beside Chaeyoung as well ‘’You’re right, we still can’t let our guard down.’’ Though she said it with a bit of hesitancy that Chaeyoung noticed immediately

‘’Jichu…don’t tell me you’re opening your heart to them again’’

Jisoo looked away ‘’I’m not the only one you know’’ She whispered a bit bitterly, remembering Chaeyoung and Lisa’s mysterious talks as well as saving Jennie from their P.E

Chaeyoung sat up at that, knowing Jisoo is clearly referring to her as well ''Is she serious?!'' Heart beating in nervousness and denial, Chaeyoung answered her with a bit of an edge to her tone  ‘’Are you saying I’m opening up to them?!’’ She looked at Jisoo in disbelief ‘’What the hell are you talking about?!’’

Jisoo looked at Chaeyoung, the air getting chilly a bit but Chaeyoung is unaffected to it ‘’ Don’t lie to me Chaeyoungie; I know you still care about them, even more than you let on.’’

‘’No,’’ Chaeyoung glared with denial all over her face ‘’I’m not. Stop spouting nonsense’’

‘’Yes you are! You care for them almost like you care about me!’’

‘’Do you want me to just let them get hurt?! Jisoo you know I have a promise to keep!’’ Chaeyoung yelled

‘’Always that promise Chaeyoungie!’’ Jisoo frowned ‘’ I know that promise Chaeyoung, that’s why I know you still care for them more than you let on.’’

Jisoo stared at Chaeyoung straight in the eyes ‘’Your promise to protect the people who are important to you, who you really care about, and the people you want to treasure in your life.’’  She emphasized what she meant in each italic word

Chaeyoung felt her walls crumbling down ‘’I…’’

Jisoo sighed and whispered a bit vulnerably ‘’It got me scared okay? Especially earlier…’’

‘’What…what do you mean by that unnie?’’ Chaeyoung asked softly, not used to seeing Jisoo and vulnerability together...

‘’We were actually being the friends that we were back in our childhood days…me and Jennie bickering quite friendly as well as you and Lisa, not hearing hateful comments or spiteful names for quite a while, and then I looked at you’’ Jisoo looked at her with knowing eyes

‘’I suddenly realized that things will change if this goes on…’’

‘’I actually felt kind of happy earlier you know?’’ Jisoo chuckled ’’I finally felt like the unnie I was supposed to be if we weren’t elementless. Jennie, for the first time in my life since she got her element, my little sister is finally coming to me and not calling me spiteful names.’’ She let out a ghostly smile at that

‘’And then Lisa, that goofy little kid who called Jennie a dumpling on our first meeting’’ Jisoo laughed lightly at the memory ‘’I missed that kid also…seeing her still her teasing self but her teasing remarks are actually light-hearted earlier instead of hateful.’’

‘’And then I looked at you, you’re not guarded anymore since… ’’ Jisoo looked down but continued talking ‘’Look, don’t get me wrong.’’ She took a deep breath and finally released her battling thoughts

‘’It’s just that, since you and Lisa talked in her room…you’re not that well-guarded anymore, and ever since then, you and Jennie seems to talk quite civilly to each other now since you’ve been paired for quite a while…’’

‘’I should be happy you know?’’ Jisoo laughed bitterly ‘’But do you know why I’m not feeling that too much at all despite me missing them?’’

‘’Jichu…’’

Jisoo looked at Chaeyoung and Chaeyougn herself could feel her breath get taken away seeing the openness of emotions in Jisoo's eyes ‘’I-I’m scared that you…our bond might get detached if you know what I mean…’’ She said quietly but Chaeyoung heard it quite clearly ‘’ I’m scared you’ll also be closer to them like you’re close with me…’’

‘’Not after I…’’ Jisoo thought, her lips quivering ‘’I began to have feelings for you Chaeyoungie…’’

Yes, Jisoo have developed feelings to Chaeyoung ever since then…that explains the jealousy and irritation whenever someone is getting Chaeyoung’s attention or is being clingy to her. It also explains her fear of Chaeyoung choosing someone else…

Like the two girls they’re talking about

Speaking of the person she’s having feelings off, Jisoo’s breath got caught in after feeling two warm arms wrapping themselves around her waist. She felt her head get tucked in the younger’s neck making her get enveloped in a pleasing sensation as well as her scent…

‘’Chaeyoung’s scent…’’ Jisoo closed her eyes and enjoyed the embrace especially since Chaeyoung smells like home.

‘’Jichu please don’t think of that okay?’’ Chaeyoung whispered soothingly to her ‘’You’ve been with me through my ups and downs…you saw me at my best and you saw me at my worst. No one could replace you as the closest person in my life.’’

Chaeyoung let go of the hug to look at Jisoo with resolve in her eyes ‘’You’re my clarity unnie; you always put some senses in my mind to make me stay in my pace and not get out of control…so please don’t feel threatened okay?’’

‘’Besides,’’ Chaeyoung let out a warm smile ‘’There may be people I may have allowed to get close to me but no one could ever replace a Kim Jisoo. You’re one of a kind you know that right?’’

Jisoo finally felt some weight getting off her shoulders as Chaeyoung reassured her ‘’Thank you Chaeyoungie…you’re the best’’ She leaned in and kissed Chaeyoung on the cheeks.

‘’I’m glad I have you in my life’’ Jisoo said lovingly with a dazzling smile that left Chaeyoung stunned while holding her kissed cheek

‘’I uh…’’ She blushed beet red at the sudden sweet gesture of her unnie ''She's been really affectionate lately...'' Chaeyoung thought, trying her best to ignore the tingling feeling of Jisoo's heart-shaped lips on her cheek.

Jisoo raised her eyebrows in amusement and was about to until they heard the door of the rooftop opening

Jisoo chuckled and said ‘’Oh Wendy! I thought you were having lunch with’’ Jisoo’s mouth dropped in shock, definitely not seeing Wendy walking towards them

‘’W-what?!’’ Jisoo stuttered that made the other girl let out a small smirk

‘’Hey,’’ Her cat eyes twinkled under the open sky ‘’Mind if we eat here?’’

‘’We do mind’’ Chaeyoung stiffened before looking at them albeit a bit coldly ‘’You don’t have to hang out with us just because Jisoo-unnie helped you’’

‘’Don’t be such a jackass’’ Lisa shrugged ‘’Jennie-unnie made us lunch’’

Chaeyoung’s ears perk up at that and she remembered the kimchi fried rice that Jennie made for her. Jennie noticed that and sent her a knowing smirk that made Chaeyoung blush a bit and look away.

‘’You don’t have a choice anyway, it will be troublesome to go back to the cafeteria’’ Jennie said and sat down in front of Chaeyoung while Lisa sat next to her that made Chaeyoung scoot away from them a bit, suddenly remembering what Jisoo said to her just a while ago

‘’No, I’m not lowering down my guard’’ Chaeyoung clenched her jaw watching Jennie and Lisa getting themselves comfortable around them ‘’I’m not’’

‘’Here, I swear there’s no poison in it’’

Jisoo looked apprehensively at the lunch box that Jennie is offering to her

‘’I cook Jisoo, just in case you don’t know’’ Jennie rolled her eyes

‘’I know’’ Jisoo answered and just accepted the lunch box without answering how did she know that Jennie can cook.

Chaeyoung’s eyes almost bulged out when she saw Jisoo accept the lunch box. Jisoo looked at Chaeyoung and sent her a thought if that was possible

‘Just flow with it. It will be troublesome if we sent them away or they might just follow us if we leave’

‘But…’

‘’Accept it, it’s free food.’

'Of course it's the free food...'

Chaeyoung sighed and snatched the lunch box on Lisa’s hands

‘’Yah! That’s mine!’’

‘’And it’s mine now. We all have the same lunch so just get one to Jennie.’’

Lisa pouted but followed her anyways, getting another lunch box from Jennie’s bag and together, the four of them began to eat in awkward silence.

Jisoo observed the three girls, most especially Chaeyoung since earlier they almost fought about how Chaeyoung opens her heart to the other two girls.

Now that they’re here together, will Chaeyoung be still in denial or will she really show her true emotions to other two?

‘’Taste good’’ Jisoo seems surprise that made Jennie snicker

‘’Of course, I’m the one who made it’’ Jennie smirked ‘’Right Chaeyoung? I'm sure you know that’’

The other two girls looked at Chaeyoung who was panicking a bit

‘’Ah yeah, it’s alright’’

Chaeyoung gulped, not only she was feeling Jisoo’s sudden sharp stare at her…and even Lisa is looking at her like that.

‘’What the heck did I do?’’

‘’By the way, thanks for the milk ice cream you gave the other night’’ Jennie said with a smug grin seeing that her sister’s jaw clenching which meant Chaeyoung didn’t tell her that.

She never knew it’s really fun to mess with them, especially now seeing Chaeyoung quietly panicking.

‘’…talk about adding fuel to fire’’ Chaeyoung sweated and felt the air really getting chilly now as she shivered, not only her, but Lisa as well.

‘’Is it me, or is it getting colder?’’ Lisa shivered a bit

‘’I feel fine’’

‘’Because you’re a fire elzard Jennie-unnie’’

‘’Anyways,’’ Chaeyoung cleared to change the subject that immediately caught their attention ‘’Why did you suddenly decided to come here anyway?’’

‘’It’s a thank you’’ Jennie said with an innocent grin ‘’For helping us at that healing technique.’’

Jisoo narrowed her eyes, it felt like her sister is planning something but she doesn’t know what…

Jennie is cunning while Jisoo herself is intelligent…

Which makes her keeps on wondering what is she or specifically what are they up to now

‘’It’s nothing’’ She answered ‘’ Though it will be a good show watching you two fail at your attempt to impress mom, but I’m too kind for that.’’

Lisa snickered ‘’It was Jennie-unnie’s fault for not just telling the truth.’’

‘’As if I would let my own sister beat me at my best subject’’ Jennie scoffed and Jisoo stopped eating to look at Jennie with raised eyebrows

‘’It’s just one spell, what’s got you so worked up?’’

It’s that competitive sibling rivalry that’s running in Jennie’s veins so she just said ‘’ I have a reputation to keep.’’

Jisoo shook her head, even after all these years, she knows Jennie’s attitude like it was the back of her hand. ‘’She’s definitely competitive’’

‘’I heard we’re learning katana today’’ Chaeyoung suddenly said to change the subject and not raise any more tension

‘’Where did you heard that?’’ Jennie asked

Chaeyoung froze a bit and looked at Lisa who was trying to keep her smile to a minimum seeing Chaeyoung slipping, Chaeyoung has no choice but to tell the truth

‘’Lisa told me.’’

‘’Why would she tell you?’’ Jisoo was the one who asked this time

‘’Sometimes Park Chaeyoung, you could be so stupid’’ Chaeyoung cursed

‘’ It was that night when I helped you in your sword unnie’’ She answered ‘’Lisa asked me some tips and she told me that we’ll be learning katana by the next lesson.’’

‘’Thank you for the tips by the way Chaeyoung, I know it will definitely help me later.’’ Lisa said, giving her a small smile then looked at the time ‘’We should probably get gong though, boss hates latecomers.’’

Jisoo nudged at Chaeyoung and gave an ‘I told you so’ look when Lisa gave her a smile in which Chaeyoung just ignored

‘’I do not open my heart to them after so many years of them bullying us…not now, not ever’’

Everyone nodded; despite the awkward and slightly tense atmosphere, they managed to have small talks without killing each other in their minds.

And it’s definitely an improvement for the four of them but will it last long?

‘’Good day everyone! So today we’re going to learn the katana’’ Sandara grinned, holding up a curved, slender single-edged blade with a circular guard. ‘’As you all notice, a katana is a lighter kind of sword. The swords you used last lesson are called longsword which has more stopping power and is definitely heavier than the katana.’’

‘’With the katana though, the advantage would be having a stronger cutting edge than the longsword. It’s also lighter in weight so you guys would definitely break no sweat wielding this since you all wield a longsword last lesson.’’

A hand raised up and Sandara called her out ‘’Yes Ms. Joy?’’

‘’Why do we need to learn weapons anyways?’’

‘’Good question’’ Sandara grinned ‘’I’m here to teach you different kinds of weapons but only their basic forms and strikes so that you could find your own calling. Weapons can really help you against your battles and might as well be your best friend. Some known figures were known to wield weapons in their battles, one of the most noticeable figures is Clare Park.’’

Chaeyoung stiffened hearing her biological mother’s name but she didn’t show it

‘’Clare Park has a sword that once you’ve been cut, you’ll have to suffer paralysis in a few minutes and that’s enough time for her to kill or defeat her enemies.’’

Some students shivered at that, damn the council members are scarily strong.

‘’She was actually the one who taught me swords you know’’ Sandara smiled happily before dimming to a softer one as she looked at Chaeyoung

‘’…and I’m glad some people are still using swords as their calling’’

Chaeyoung’s eyes widened a bit seeing Sandara staring at her knowingly

‘’S-she…she knows that I’m her daughter?’’

‘’Chaeyoungie…’’ Jisoo whispered, also seeing that look

‘’…yeah,’’ Chaeyoung narrowed her eyes suspiciously to Sandara ‘’She knows something…’’

No one knows much about Chaeyoung’s biological parents, only the whole Kim family as well as the council knows her true origin…

Chaeyoung felt like there’s no need for everyone to know who her true parents are…especially since she hates them.

There are many Parks around the magic realm so no one just connect the dots of Chaeyoung’s true birth parents.

But to know Sandara also has an idea?

Where has she been throughout Chaeyoung’s life?

‘’So today I’m going to teach you guys some basic forms of the katana and we’ll have some sparring matches against each other. This won’t be partnered though; this will all be done today since you’ve all passed the sword training last lesson.’’

‘’So first, holding the katana is slightly different than holding a sword’’ Sandara gestured the students to grab their own katana swords as she demonstrated the right way of holding one

‘’It depends if you’re left or right-handed though, just use your dominant hand for this.’’ Sandara said before continuing ‘’So your dominant hand must be about an inch from the hand guard, holding it in a relaxed yet firm grip primarily with the bottom three fingers of each hand gripping the handle.’’

Lisa felt like holding the katana sword is natural to her, maybe Chaeyoung and her boss was right saying that the katana might be good to her. She looked at the others and saw Jennie and Chaeyoung easily gripping the katana, with Chaeyoung helping Jisoo by holding her hand and placing it well in the hand guard.

‘’The strongest part of your grip should be from your little finger to your middle finger, the index fingers should barely be touching and very flexible’’ Sandara easily showed it to her students ‘’This what makes the katana very flexible than the longsword. It makes your strikes faster, not to mention the great cutting edge the katana has.’’

Sandara threw a piece of wood up and struck it in a vertical arc, slicing the piece of wood cleanly in half

‘’Another tip is that you must never lose your grip despite how loose your grip on the katana is. Don’t lose the control of your blade especially when cutting. Your opponent will definitely take advantage of that.’’

‘’The normal basic stance is similar to the swords but this time, we’re going to make it easier for all of you to move around since holding the katana would be lighter.’’

Sandara grinned excitedly ‘’Let’s get this started’’

Half an hour has passed and Sandara decided to let them practice ‘’For those who wants to finish the assessment, come to me and we’ll see who will be your opponent.’’

‘’Hey Jichu, I’m just going to Ms. Sandara and finish this assessment earlier.’’

Jisoo grunted, losing her grip to the katana since she’s been used holding the sword a week ago ‘’ Yeah sure Chaeyoungie, I’ll just be here don’t worry’’ She gave Chaeyoung a knowing look who was sporting a stone-cold expression as she walked towards Sandara

‘’Oh Chaeyoungie…no matter how much you hardened your heart, I could still see your vulnerability’’

Sandara looked up from her checkboard and was surprised to see the calm but guarded prodigy of the swords suddenly looking at her with eyes that could freeze a living person

‘’Is there something wrong Ms. Chaeyoung?’’

‘’You know them’’ Chaeyoung gritted her teeth ‘’You looked at me, you know the truth.’’

‘’Yes, I do’’ Sandara said calmly ‘’What’s the matter with that? I’m not showing favoritism now, am I?’’ She said light-heartedly

‘’…’’

Chaeyoung stared angrily at Sandara but she didn’t even know why. Is it because her biological mother used to train her that her hate for her mother has transferred to Sandara as well?

This was not right.

She already moved on from this but why is she still affected?

‘’…were they really strong?’’

‘’You mean your parents?’’

‘’Don’t call them that’’

Sandara looked at the loathe on Chaeyoung’s face sadly though she didn’t show it. ‘’Poor girl…she doesn’t accept them as their parents, but why Ms. Chaeyoung? Why do you hold so much in your heart that even your own biological parents you loathe so much?’’

‘’Yes, they’re very strong. They’re one of the council members, you do know that right?’’

‘’Of course. I just decided to ignore that fact.’’

‘’I’ve noticed your peers jeering at you and Ms. Jisoo’’ Sandara said calmly ‘’It shouldn’t be like that you know? You are both the daughters of one of the strongest elzards in the council.’’

‘’Because we’re elementless, it’s nothing new; no one knows who my real parents are and Jisung and Hyuna’s status can only do so much.’’ Chaeyoung answered before looking at the sky to calm herself ‘’So many people are saying you guys are strong…but what happened that made you guys leave me so early then?’’ She thought bitterly, taking a deep breath then looking at Sandara without the hostile eyes

‘’…I’m ready’’

Sandara smiled lightly ‘’I knew you are.’’ She looked at the incoming student who has a determined look on her face

‘’And looks like your opponent is too.’’

Chaeyoung looked back and her eyes slightly widened seeing Lisa staring back at her with an equally same emotion.

‘’She’s my opponent?’’ Lisa asked Sandara who nodded calmly

‘’Yes, you guys will have at least 2 minutes of sparring session. It can be earlier if one of you yields or been knocked unconscious, I will step in if things gets too heated of course.’’

‘’She learned using the katana that fast?’’ Chaeyoung’s eyes analyzed Lisa’s form and saw how naturally relaxed Lisa is ‘’My advice did her better than I thought it would be…’’

‘’Could I handle Chaeyoung in this spar?’’ Lisa bit her lips nervously; she saw how Chaeyoung fought ferociously against her boss so will she experience the same ferociousness?

Who was she kidding?

She was one of the main bullies of her and Jisoo, she’s almost a hundred percent sure that Chaeyoung would take revenge on her despite them being secret partners.

 ‘’We’re strangers’’

Lisa remembered the way Chaeyoung said it so spitefully that it ached her heart even though she has no reason to feel that since she hates Chaeyoung ever since that tragedy…

How about right now though?

Lisa doesn’t know…all she knows is that she has to do her best not only to not embarrass herself, but also prove to everyone that she’s has a strong potential to become an elzard warrior.

‘’Oh, and by the way’’ Sandra suddenly grinned savagely

‘’You can use your elements’’

Lisa’s ears perk up at that at the same time Chaeyoung tensed hearing Sandara’s sudden change of rules

‘’I thought we were focusing on weapons?’’ Chaeyoung asked, her lips on a thin line

Sandara chuckled ‘’And in a battle, you won’t always be using your weapons; you got to get used on using your elements and at the same time, your weapons so I’m installing that rule from now on’’

‘’Fine.’’

‘’Your sparring starts…’’

Lisa smirked and immediately her eyes glowed blue while Chaeyoung gripped the handle tightly

‘’Now!’’

They zoomed towards each other, katana on each of their hand showing their expertise of already holding it one-handedly. The clash of metals started as a loud clang was heard the moment their katana swords met each other.

It didn’t last long however since katanas are much different than swords, as Chaeyoung spun around and with quick speed, slashed Lisa’s right arm which made the younger girl hiss in pain making her jump away to create distance.

Her other hand that’s not holding the katana glowed green and Lisa quickly put it on her slash so that she won’t be bothered by it too much.

Chaeyoung groaned inwardly seeing the recently healing technique ‘’This is going to be annoying…’’

Chaeyoung felt vines crawling up her feet so she quickly slashed it and immediately placed her katana up in front as Lisa rushed at her with her katana up high. Chaeyoung’s arms struggled a bit and felt more vines at where she’s standing. She let gravity help her and let herself fall and catch Lisa’s strike but Chaeyoung closed her eyes, her one hand on the ground and quickly spun around to kick Lisa’s ribs to push her away.

‘’Ugh!’’ Lisa groaned in pain ‘’That’s definitely not a normal kick…that hurts!’’

Chaeyoung took a deep breath and opened her eyes once again and Lisa has to admit, it looked a bit…shinier?

Lisa exhaled through her nose and let her body feel light, going to a standard position that Sandara just taught them earlier and looked at Chaeyoung straight in the eyes. Chaeyoung seems to get the message and quickly charged at her, starting a dance of katana that the two of them will probably show off to the rest of the class.

Lisa moved sideways to avoid Chaeyoung’s fast overhead strike and struck horizontally but Chaeyoung just ducked and faced Lisa once again, a hint of smile on her face.

Lisa grinned and was definitely not finished; she used her water element to harmlessly splash Chaeyoung’s eyes, blinding her for a second and she finally got her revenge for the first blood as she successfully slashed Chaeyoung’s side while charging towards that open spot. She heard Chaeyoung hiss and could see the slight anger in her eyes so she prepared herself for another clash.

Chaeyoung quickly gave her a speedy flurry of strikes in which made contact to Lisa’s cheek but she was not bothered by it due to her adrenaline rushing throughout her body. Lisa gritted her teeth feeling her body getting wear down by Chaeyoung’s continuous strikes so she knew to herself she has to think of a way to push through this. If she strikes back, Chaeyoung’s strength and speed would definitely make it fly away from her hand since her way of fighting right now is mixed with her usual stance of sword as well as the katana’s way of striking.

She knew it was unfair using elements especially since Chaeyoung’s an elementless, but she has no choice.

Lisa needs to win

Without another thought, she saw her chance since Chaeyoung is striking upwards and decided to use that momentum to purposefully make that strike fly her katana upwards.

Chaeyoung’s eyes widened a bit seeing Lisa’s katana up in the air, certainly not expecting a weak comeback from the younger girl but knew the reason all too quickly as Lisa trapped her in a water sphere. Bubbles coming out from , glaring at Lisa with angry eyes.

''This should make her yield''  Lisa just needs to wait for her own katana to come back down in her own hands because she's maintaining the water sphere Chaeyoung is in right now. 

STAB!

 Lisa’s eyes widened seeing Chaeyoung’s katana stabbing her water sphere!

‘’What the ?!’’

With an evident roar, Chaeyoung sliced the water sphere in half and Lisa’s spell splat down to the ground with a heaving wet Chaeyoung glaring at her angrily, eyes sparking a bit. Lisa quickly ducked from the horizontal slash and jumped upward. Chaeyoung bent her knees and followed after her with strong determination to punish Lisa for that play.

Lisa reached out for her falling katana sword and looked down seeing Chaeyoung quickly coming closer to her with katana readied in her hands. With a deep breath, Lisa let the gravity’s momentum help her as she dived down to meet Chaeyoung’s strike; their eyes searching for weak spots as they come closer and closer

And then…

‘’Times up!’’

SLASH

Everyone waited with bated breaths as Chaeyoung and Lisa landed at the same time, their backs against each other.

Sandara looked knowingly at who struck deeper and smiled proudly ‘’I knew the katana would be good to you…’’

Lisa stab the ground with her katana sword, holding her bleeding left shoulder as she looked behind to see Chaeyoung crouching down, holding her right side which was bleeding profusely

‘’Lisa…’’

Sandara whispered and said in a loud voice ‘’Amazing sparring you two! You got a perfect score for this week’s assessment’’ She grinned happily

Jisoo and Wendy was about to rush to Chaeyoung but Lisa quickly made her way towards her which made them stop in shock seeing Lisa coming to her instead of ignoring her like always.

‘’Hey,’’

Chaeyoung chuckled quietly so that only Lisa could hear ‘’I knew you would be good at this…’’ She sent Lisa a small but proud smile ‘’Congrats I guess…’’

Lisa’s heart skipped a beat at that and what she did next shocked the whole class

She offered a helping hand to Chaeyoung and placed her arm to her shoulders to walk her away from the battlefield. Lisa’s hand started glowing green and immediately placed it on Chaeyoung’s bleeding side.

‘’Good thing I’m a grass elzard you know?’’ Lisa shared ‘’ It made healing a lot easier with deeper cuts like this.’’

‘’You purposely weakened your strike?’’

Lisa nodded at her questions ‘’Yeah…’’

Chaeyoung looked at her, stunned ‘’But why?’’ She whispered. Lisa never holds back against her…heck she hates her!

‘’I…’’ Lisa hesitated before saying in a soft voice

‘’I don’t like hurting my partner too much…’’

Chaeyoung’s eyes visibly softened at that; her soft spot to the younger girl since she was young definitely triggered once again.

‘’I…thanks’’

Lisa giggled, a sound that made Chaeyoung's heart skip a beat ''I'm not the only one who purposely weakened their strike you know?'' Lisa looked at her knowingly, a smile on her face

''I...'' Chaeyoung whispered and just looked away, her blush an answer to her staterment.

Lisa just smiled at her and let the quiet and comfortable moment take over them…not noticing the shocked expression of their classmates

‘’L-Lisa is helping her?!’’

‘’I’m sure it’s just for show’’

‘’But this is Lisa we’re talking about!’’

‘’This doesn’t make any sense! Why would she help that elementless?!’’

Irene looked at Joy who was stoically looking at the two ‘’Hey, what’s wrong?’’ Irene raised her eyebrows ‘’getting jelly again?’’

‘’…’’

Joy was just quiet however and just looked at Irene with a knowing look

‘’Yeah…I need to up my game it seems’’ Joy clenched her fist ‘’Looks like Ms. Protector is not the only one now…’’

Wendy’s mouth drops in shock seeing the two of them having their moment and slowly looked at Jisoo ‘’ I never thought Lisa would master the technique after learning it just morning if the two of you told me right’’

“yeah’’ Jisoo smiled but her fists are saying so otherwise ‘’seems like she’s a prodigy, as expected from being one of the strongest elzard in the academy.’’

Jennie eyed them and couldn’t help but notice the sudden soft eyes that Chaeyoung is sporting right now as she looked at the maknae who was healing her injured arm

It’s scaring her

‘’I…I hope this won’t affect something between the two of you.’’ Jennie’s eyes didn’t miss the longing way Lisa held Chaeyoung’s arm ‘’You better not be getting in my way Manoban…’’

Jennie gritted her teeth and slashed the tree in front of her making it fall and some of her classmates squirming away from Jennie's suddent anger as evident from her fire element sparking around her

''My way to her heart...''

Merry Belated Christmas everyone! I was supposed to post this yesterday but sadly I was too tired from my day of Christmas. I hope my almost a month hiatus didn't affect you guys too much and that I was able to suffice it with this chapter of revelation of feelings! Good news though; I finally have my own room back and possibly, weekly updates might be back on track once again! Cheers to that (insert party confetti blowing) I missed you guys and I hope you haven't forgotten this story :((( Again, happy holidays everyone and I hope you guys enjoyed your holidays like I enjoyed mine!