After The Ending [Ayalumi]

(Not) A date in Ritou

The two ladies had been talking for quite a while when Ayaka dropped the idea of them sparring, just like they had many times in the past. Lumine had no reason to turn her down, both of them were fairly adept in the ways of the sword and had faced each other a multitude of times, it was almost a habit of theirs at that point.

This time, however, to add some excitement to the match, they wanted to add a prize for the winner or a 'punishment' for the defeated. Try as they might, they couldn't come up with anything good enough. Both of them would hand to the other the world in the blink of an eye if they could, so what are they supposed to do when the world isn't theirs to give? Well, they'd have to settle with something less.

The solution to this predicament that they decided upon was a rather silly one, it was more of a joke than an actual prize. It was the promise to meet up again in Ritou in two days; it could have been sooner, but as the Shirasagi Himegimi, Ayaka was burdened with a good amount of responsibilities that she couldn't ignore for the Traveler's sake, despite how much she wanted to. So, the defeated in their little spar would have to accompany the victor in Ritou, so no matter who won, they would meet again there; totally not an excuse for them to hang out again.

After the 'award' had been decided, the two stood up and got ahold of their swords, before they assumed their fighting stance at the area where Ayaka was practicing prior to their reunion.

Their little sparring didn't last long; after a few practiced dodges and perfectioned slashes, one of their swords hit the ground for the second time that day. As expected, Lumine was victorious once again. While the cryo vision holder was far above most when it came to swordsmanship, the Traveler was able to knock the sword off her hand quickly. She could have won much faster, but it had been a while since their last match, so she tried to make that moment last a little longer without making it obvious that she was holding back.

Saying that Ayaka hadn't been practicing all this time with the goal of reaching Lumine's level would be a lie. She deeply admired the Traveler and wanted them to be equals, but it seems like she needed a lot more practice to reach that goal. That doesn't mean that she was upset by losing, quite the opposite, she was glad the Traveler was still invincible as ever. That meant that she basically had her safety guaranteed, she was untouchable in Ayaka's eyes, just like the moon in the night sky. So alluring, yet so elusive at the same time. She wanted to get closer to her, but that only made her realise the distance between them. They were from two different worlds and whenever she wanted to take a step to close the gap between them, she only felt it grow larger, keeping her further and further away from the Traveler. She remembered then that she didn't even know the Traveler's name; that's how distant they were.

It didn't take long for Lumine to notice the sadness covering Ayaka's gaze and spoke up, worryingly. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?" She didn't look injured, but that wasn't enough to make her worry less about the silver-haired girl standing before her.

"No, I'm good, don't worry. I just was caught off guard." A pretty flimsy excuse, but it seemed to convince the blonde. "So, that means I'll accompany you in Ritou, right?"

"Yes, that's the price you have to pay for losing." Lumine made it sound as if it was a fate worse than death, when it was more akin to a gift for Ayaka, rather than a 'price'. Both winner and defeated were smiling brightly, a happiness they couldn't contain even if they tried radiating off of them. Their glee was washed away when the Traveler took notice of the position of the sun, it was starting to set and they had been together since morning. She had left her brother all alone for the whole day just because she loved Ayaka. She knew he would be fine, there was no doubt about that, but she thought it wasn't right of her to abandon him like that for hours on end either. She should go check up on him and see how he's fairing. "I'm sorry, but I should get going soon. Aether isn't very familiar with Inazuma and I've left him all alone." She informed Ayaka. While she didn't wish to leave yet, she would have to eventually and she feared that if she stayed for longer, she would completely forget about Aether and get lost in Ayaka's eyes.