Day One

Rustling the perfectly trimmed grass with each of my hastily paced steps, I began closing in on Chelsea, or so it had seemed but strangely enough, despite my hurried steps catching up to her felt strangely difficult. Each of her steps seemed to cover more ground than three of mine.

With no other choice, I was forced to engage in a light sprint. The excessive physicality of such motions was still rather new to me, but I didn't particularly find it to be stressful. As Michael had put it: "One had to be in their physical prime to walk the path of the sword" and I quickly discovered that his words were indeed true, although in my current state I still had a long way to go.

Now breaking out into a light sprint, I gradually began to fill each of my steps with more and more vigor. With the steady increase in my pace, the mild sensation of the evening air soon began washing over my face and I could feel it starting to circulate throughout every orifice in my body, invigorating my blood flow and speeding up the rhythmic thumping of my heart.

Soon afterwards came the euphoric sensation that followed in the wake of my body slowly heating up when being pushed to the limits of its physical potential, and although it was always a strenuous task, not once did I ever dislike the experience, the exhaustion I felt was always triumphed by an even greater feeling of satisfaction by the end.

"Ch...Chelsea!.....hah...hah"

Stopping in her tracks, I saw her brows furrow in confusion as she watched me approach, but soon after, the confused expression she wore began to mellow out into a warm, embracing smile. Positioning herself against the backdrop of the setting sun, her silhouette was embraced in a golden sheen that only emphasized the radiance of her smile. Returning her gesture, my lips curled upwards in the very same way despite the ragged breaths that now escaped me.

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"What's got you so worked up to the point where it made you chase after me? Is there something else you'd like to ask?"

"Haah....haaaah...haah..."

My body was now slightly hunched forward, with a hand placed on my knee, I slowly started to regain control of my haphazard breathing. I could hear Chelsea's voice coming from above, but the loud thumping of my own heart had all but overpowered her words. Even though I was still a complete amateur in terms of mastering this body's physical capabilities, such a light sprint didn't usually have this big of an effect on me. If I had to deduce the reason for this unusual sense of fatigue, it must have been the compounding effect of the three-hour swordplay lessons I had been receiving from Michael earlier in the day. I hardly had any time to rest afterwards so it was natural for this vessel to be nearing its limit.

"S-sorry Chelsea.....Could you say that again?" With sweat now dripping from my face, I turned my attention to the girl now standing before me.

"O-oh I was just...wondering if you needed something?" Her eyes flickered the moment I looked up at her, but it was a gesture I was now getting used to.

"No not really, I just came to see my tutor off!" Grinning with that childish remark, I promptly rose to my feet.

"Huh? That's why you ran all the way here?"

"Yea that was basically it. Is something wrong?"

She stared at me with a blank expression, her mouth was slightly open and from where I was standing it looked as if her lips were faintly quivering, but soon after, her expression returned to normal. Whatever she was going to say just then had been driven back by her sheer willpower.

"Pfft.....hehehe....ahahahaha!..."

Bursting into laughter, she clutched her sides and slightly hunched her body. Now sparkling in the glow of the fading sunlight was the faint hint of moisture that had welled up from the corner of her eyes. Either something about my actions or my response was funny to her, but I could only wait for her input on what exactly it was.

Quickly calming her breathing and stroking back her silky white hair, she gently wiped the fluid that was escaping her eyes.

"Arlen....you really are a funny kid...."

"Isn't it good manners to see a lady off?"

"Yes that's right, but the way you made it seem as if something dire was happening as you ran towards me completely changed my train of thought, I wasn't expecting that."

So it was my running that she found funny then?

"Well, at least it made you laugh...." Trying my utmost to mimic Michael, I quickly crafted a witty response.

"Why do you sound so proud of that? You're smiling too..."

Her voice just now carried a hint of sarcasm, but she was correct. Unbeknownst to me, an unconscious smile had indeed formed on my face. The sudden realization left me with a perplexed feeling, it felt as if this body had somehow gained a brief moment of autonomy.

"Arlen?"

"Huh? O-oh Chelsea what's wrong?"

"You were spacing out just now....I thought you were here to escort me to the gates?"

As bewildered as I was, I had no choice but to regain my calm.

"Sorry, I just remembered something....but let's go, the gates aren't that far."

With a noble gesture, I extended my hand towards the paved path lining the way to our short destination.

"I'll take you up on the offer then."

Following my lead, she proudly continued in the direction I had indicated.

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Walking along the paved brick path that extended from the courtyard to the gates, I surveyed the estate, now enveloped in the fading glow of the sun's brilliance. A little ways ahead of us on the right, I caught a glimpse of one of the fish-like creatures erupting from the sparkling pond. Its shining scales could almost be called beautiful for the contrast it now had with the environment. It seems Chelsea even had enough control over her techniques to avoid harming them.

"Arlen...thank you."

The timid sounding words came at me from behind.

"Hm? For what?" Without stopping, I glanced at Chelsea who now focused her vision on something off in the distance. With her hair now slightly dancing in a sudden updraft, she straightened its delicate strands before meeting my eyes.

"For letting me tutor you today....to tell you the truth, this is actually the first time it's gone so well."

Even though she was smiling, her tone sounded hollow, and her expression soon turned to one I hadn't seen in a while. Even though her features seemed pleasant enough, her downcast eyes all but erased the notion that she was speaking about pleasant memories.

"You made everything really easy to understand so I should be thanking you. Your lesson was great."

Chelsea abruptly stopped in her tracks, and only after a few steps did I realize her sudden gesture; promptly turning to face her, I saw it. Now on her face was an expression of pure shock, it had seemingly erased the somber feelings being reflected on her face just moments before.

Only a few short steps separated us, and with another rustle of wind, her hair was once again blown in the direction of the passing breeze, but this time, she hadn't bothered to fix it immediately. With the fading glow of the sun now reflecting off her face, she asked a single question:

"Y-you mean, you're really fine with me being your tutor?"

Her expression was still one of shock, and even though I wasn't yet adept at deciphering human emotions, I knew full well that her expression would change depending on the answer I gave.

I compelled myself to form the childlike smile that I was now so used to practicing.

"Of course not, my tutor's a prodigy after all."

Right on cue, her eyes widened, and her cheeks were now subtly being dyed in a light shade of red. With a trembling motion her lips soon began taking on an expression that resembled my own. Now bathed in the radiance of the sun, her ecstatic grin had seemed that much brighter.

"Hehehe....then leave it to me!"

In a bold voice, free from the constraints of any hesitation, Chelsea affirmed her resolve.

Continuing the rather short journey, not much else was said between us but it felt as if Chelsea was putting in a great deal of effort to remain at her now fixed distance behind me. Soon enough, the daunting gates of the estate comprised of an arched arrangement of solid concrete was now looming over us. There seemed to be a lone guard here and upon our approach he simply gave a humble nod.

Stopping in the shadow it cast, the arched overpass was now directly above me as I waited for her to pass through the gates.

"Since this is your first escort, I'll give you a passing grade, but next time you should really watch your pacing."

Her tone had now returned to normal, and the feeling of pride she usually resonated was now on full display.

"You're tutoring me on that too!?"

"Of course, since you're officially my student now you should be competent in any task given to you. I'll make sure you are....."

As she spoke those words, her eyes narrowed in a devious manner.

"I-I'll keep that in mind."

"Well then, I'll see you later. Today was just our warmup, we're getting started for real next time so prepare yourself." Leaving those words with me, she started walking towards the districts exit.

"Okay, I'll always be ready for your lessons!"

Without even glancing back at me, she gave a subtle overhead wave, yet I could still vaguely guess the expression now on her face.

As I returned to the main house, the darkening sky had once again stolen my attention, and the moment it did, my swirling thoughts about the day's events were swiftly dispersed.

"Getting started for real huh?" Now stretching my limbs, I tried to banish the creeping fatigue that was accumulating by the minute.

The day wasn't over just yet.