The Eminence - In Taimanin's Shadows

The Afternoon(?) With Rinko

As Cid was leaving the academy to walk to his home, Rinko blocked his path.

She looked serious, as if she wanted to talk to someone as bland as him. Why, though?

"Huh, aren't you Yukikaze's friend? What do you want?" He asked, and Rinko had become a bit more serious.

"I want to talk with you at the school's gym until dusk, is that okay with you?" She asked, awaiting his response.

"Eh.... I think I might have to leave." He replied, knowing that this is not a good time for a mob like him.

But it seems like he underestimated the Heroine, who decided to tightly grab his arm.

"Kagenou.... I want to talk with you in the Gym." She stated, this time, she was dead serious as she emitted aura close to that of an angry Oni.

And being the mob that he is, decided to look scared to her.

"A-Alright, fine! Please don't hurt me..." He said, making himself sound weak, flinching on her grasp.

Rinko led Cid forwards until when nobody could see them, she created a portal made out of Taima Particles before entering it.

This room being the inside of the Gym right behind the campus, where most training sessions and certain sports activities would be held.

For a campus with around 1500 students, it sure had a large Gymnasium ready to fit all of them here.

Feeling that the pressure on his arm was gone, Cid looked at Rinko once more.

"So what do you want to talk about?" He asked the older girl, as she was standing right there without a change in expression.

For a while, she asked him different questions, about Yukikaze, about himself and his dreams for the future.

To her, it seemed like he was weak, and he actually was just some student with average looks and personality like her brother, but her instincts told her there was something off within Cid.

Something that resembled a Demon of sorts.

'... Must be my imagination, he doesn't feel like a demon to me.'

Cid wasn't an incubus, nor was he something else. What she should do was not give herself to superstitions, but a simple thing she'd do.

Test his ability and strength. Maybe he was some sort of secret genius due to his strange background?

"Care for a spar with wooden swords? I'll be gentle enough." She asked him, and he looked around in mild confusion.

"Huh? Why? We don't have anything to pick up around, and this request of yours is sudden."

The Gym was completely empty, there were no school equipment that could be used for them.

Rinko took a while to walk towards the wall, and pressed a hidden button to reveal a set of kendo sticks, coming from inside the walls, revealed like a secret room behind a rotating bookshelf.

Picking out two, she tossed one of them to Cid, who took it by the hilt.

"Strike me with your best!" She spoke out loud, gesturing for Cid to come as she took a defensive stance.

'.... Looks like I have no other choice, huh....'

"Haaa!!!"

Cid held onto the kendo stick with both his hands and charged towards Rinko, raising the stick up like an amateur, calculating the strike needed to hit her.

Then, with the calculated force, he struck Rinko, who blocked the attack with no difficulty.

She redirected the attack behind in order to make Cid trip to the ground.