Vitkus Twins

Chapter Fifteen

When the four arrived at training field four, Launce was already there with his sword out and it looked like his training blade had taken a beating. When Aldona looked at the wooden post behind him, she was able to put two and two together.

“Launce,” Aldona called out as Launce looked back to the wooden post. He was their fifth team member, at least for now, she didn’t know if he would work with so many people; their team was one of the largest team in Sashan. “We have a new teammate Montgomery Atspoguļo.”

“Atspoguļo? I don’t know him,” Launce told him, he had never seen Montgomery before, and no one named their child Montgomery for a near hundred years. Thus, Aldona had to be lying about Montgomery’s last name, but he just looked at him with crimson eyes. “Where were you?”

“Escaped from Nestanha Village,” Montgomery told him, narrowing his eyes before wondering how much information would give him away.

“Found him wondering outside the village,” Aldona told Launce, Azuloas nodding his head. Launce couldn’t know anything about Montgomery; no one could, and no one would believe them even if they told the truth.

“I see,” Launce muttered before going back to looking at his training sword, he was going to have to replace it. He was sure the blacksmith wouldn’t mind remelting the metal and using it for something else.

Launce would have to replace it with something slightly heavier.

“Let’s train then,” Azuloas told Launce while looking at the beaten training sword, before unsealing his own.

“Not with that sword,” Aldona told Launce, unsealing her own and handing it to him, Launce would hurt himself or Azuloas with that thing. Blunt swords did more damage then sharp ones, to both the user and the target, since it required more force to do the same damage.

“Mmm,” Launce told her, putting his training sword before taking Aldona’s.

Aldona turned at Jakoba and Montgomery, before nodding towards the pond. Jakoba looked at the water, Jakoba slowly following Jakoba and Montgomery onto the water. Aldona needed to start training Jakoba on fighting while on water, both she and Montgomery knew that battles could go anywhere, and it was better to be over prepared.

“Justus won’t be here for another three hours,” Aldona told Montgomery as they stood there, Jakoba had come a long way. This would increase her chakra storage, Aldona knew that Jakoba always brought a spare chance of clothes to training.

“He’s the teacher?” Montgomery asked.

“He’s sometimes three hours and then two hours, most of the time he is an hour late,” Jakoba told him. “Once he was five hours late.”

“One to five hours late,” Montgomery asked them, when both girls nodded. He looked at them with wide eyes, he’s teacher would have had their skin with they were five minutes late, let alone an hour and still remembered Rozalija was late and he tore into her.

“We use that time to train,” Jakoba told him, she knew that she was slowly catching up with Aldona and Azuloas. Aldona told her she was doing fine, that it would be awhile before they would go on missions higher than a D-rank.

“Well, then let’s start,” Aldona told them, Montgomery nodded his head. A free for all battle and Aldona knew that she was throwing Jakoba in the deep end. But better in a safe spot then in a life or death situation.

“You’re late,” Jakoba stated as Justus showed up. Forgetting about her fight with Montgomery and Aldona, who took the opportunity to kick her in the ribs and sent her into the nearest tree. Jakoba coughed and held her torso.

Montgomery stopped his own attack on Aldona, who just looked at him and did the same thing she did to Jakoba.

To be fair, Aldona thought to herself, it’s been a while since Montgomery fought anyone and was bound to freeze at some point.

“Don’t lose focus, Montgomery and Jakoba,” Aldona told them before shaking her head and crossing her arms. “In a real fight that would have cost you your life, instead of bruised ribs. If I were a real enemy, I would have placed a dagger into the back of your neck, Jakoba, and then into Montgomery’s heart since he froze.”

Montgomery just looked at her; he should have known better. But it had been years since he had worked in a team, since he had taken a mission and Etienne hadn’t let him near a battlefield in so long that he had forgotten what they were like.

One or two slips while in training were to be expected, Montgomery told himself. He could forgive himself, if they weren’t in an actual battle, as well as the situation wasn’t life or death.

“Also,” Aldona told her, while pinching her nose and looking up. “Justus’ hearing works just fine, you don’t need to yell at him.”

“Sorry, didn’t think I was yelling,” Jakoba told her.

“Accidents happen,” Aldona admitted.

“So, you must be Montgomery?” Justus asked him, Montgomery just nodded his head. Allowing Aldona to heal his ribs, before she went to heal Jakoba’s.

Azuloas was knocked onto his back, while Launce pointed his sword at his throat. Soon, Launce and Jakoba would change spots, neither of the twins would allow Jakoba and Launce to train together, since it was almost as if Launce was trying to kill Jakoba.

Aldona knew she was annoying back in the Academy, but Launce acted like she had killed his grandparents and then pissed on their graves.

“I have news,” Justus told them.

“We were training,” Jakoba told him walking over anyway, the faster that Justus told them what he wanted to tell them. The faster they could go back to training, she wanted to go over some of her swordplay, something to use if someone got to close; her short sword was merely backup.

Something the enemy wouldn’t see coming.

Aldona wanted to go over some of Jakoba’s techniques, since she should have bit more chakra to use in them. Her control was perfect, but the damage was so small that it didn’t do anything. It would be some time before Jakoba could do more damage with her elemental techniques, but Aldona knew that she wouldn’t improve if she never used them.

“That battles over,” Aldona admitted walking over to Azuloas, where she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Can’t win all of them,” Azuloas told her.

“You and Launce are even in swordplay,” Aldona allowed. “Wanna help Jakoba go over her elemental techniques?”

“I’ll try, but you know she’s better at Earth techniques,” Azuloas told her.

“And you use air,” Aldona remembered. “And I use water, Launce and Montgomery use fire, while Launce uses lightening.”

“Do we know any who’s Earth?” Azuloas asked her.

“Bellerophon uses fire, Dvesma is water,” Aldona told him, while going over their friend’s chakra natures. “Bednar is air. Apoloniusz and Lodoiska are earth, but I don’t know if either would be willing to help Jakoba.”

“Take her and Montgomery to the group trainings,” Azuloas told her, it would be the only way to find out. “The only way to know if by asking them.”

“And the worst thing that can happen is that they say no,” Aldona agreed.

“I’ll keep an eye on things then,” Justus told him, he had signed them up for the Battle Tournament that he had signed them up for. He had hoped that it might motivate Launce to train with the others, but then that would be the case if it was in Sashan.

And not in Nestanha.

“What did you want to tell us?” Jakoba asked him. Aldona and Azuloas shrugging before handing Jakoba something to eat, they would burn off anything they eat quickly enough that it really didn’t matter to Jakoba anymore.

After lunch they would complete their daily D-rank mission; but for now, Justus looked smug as he looked at Jakoba without answering her question. Aldona and Azuloas just looked at their older brother; they knew this trick and Jakoba knew this trick.

None of them felt like playing along.

“Do get on with it,” Aldona told him.

“The Battle Tournament is being held in Nestanha Village,” Justus told them, hands in his pockets as he kept an eye on his students. He nearly had enough for two teams “And I’ve signed you five up.”

“What’s involved?” Aldona asked him.

“Wait, isn’t Viktorija from Nestanha?” Jakoba asked them.

“So’s Etienne Atspoguļo,” Azuloas told her.

“Launce’s cousin,” Aldona chimed in, keeping an eye on Montgomery. It looked like they were looking at traditors with the name Etienne then.

“Nestanha Village will have two or three tests before the Tournament,” Justus told them, every single Tournament had at least two tests; depending on how many people got through the first two rounds. “I don’t know what there going to be. But Nestanha is known for their Nightmare Forest, so I don’t doubt something’s going to be held in it.”

“Torija would know more about it,” Aldona told him. Azuloas didn’t know if she would tell them anything, but if Ismay was how the rest of the village treated her. Then he didn’t blame her if she did; Azuloas wouldn’t blame her if she wasn’t loyal to Nestanha.

She was loyal to Launcelot, so Aldona and Azuloas could guess that she was more loyal to people then to the village.

“We could write to her,” Azuloas told Aldona and Jakoba.

“If she’s not in the middle of a mission,” Aldona reminded him.

“She’ll be back for the Tournament,” Azuloas told her.

“Home village always has the most entries,” Justus told them.

The Battle Tournament, Jakoba had ran into it in some of her readings in the Academy, but nothing in the twin’s apartment mentioned it. It something that was held to draw clients in, a showcase of strength; from newbies to veterans.

Jakoba didn’t think she would get into the last round, but she would train her hardest. She wouldn’t let down her grandfather, she’ll show him that she could do it. Nor would she let down Aldona and Azuloas who’ve put so much effort into her training.

Maybe he’ll be able to forgive her for being a brat for so many years.

“Training’s going to get harder?” Jakoba asked Aldona.

“If Torija’s team is in it,” Azuloas told her, Aldona pinching her nose and clinching her eyes shut like the thing she thought about was a headache. “Then you have a chance.”

“Ismay isn’t the strongest,” Aldona pointily told her. “She’s what you could have been, so she’s hard to look at.”

“Oh, poor Viktorija,” Jakoba told them. So, she knew one person that she might easily beat, maybe she could beat Hortenspa as well. Neither Hortenspa nor Jakoba had clan training and somehow, she doubted that Hortenspa had started taking her training seriously. “I pity anyone who’s stuck with that type of delusion.”