*Ning*

I hummed as I walked alongside An on our way to the arena. Too bad there were others with us...

"You're really as cool as a winter squash," An said, laughing.

I smiled at him. His metaphor reminded me of when I still lived in Aief. We had some wild squash near our house. An and I would go up and hike to get them, even if it meant plowing through snow. It had been a while since I had any.

"Ning's always been pretty calm," Orichalcum said, grinning.

"Sometimes, I wonder if she even has emotions," Tashunke said.

"Brother," Tasunke said, pulling him a bit to the side.

I tilted my head. 'I've never been very emotive. Not even as a kid.' I eyed An. 'Back in Aief, I didn't have many people who wanted to be friends with me.'

***

[Twelve Years Ago]

I fiddled with gears as I stood to the side of what was a park in all but name.

"Hey, wanna play?" a girl asked, walking up to me. I raised my eyes at the blue-haired girl. She was one of the big kids. Why would a big kid want to play with a little kid like me?

"I'm okay," I said, turning my attention back to my gears.

"W-what's that?" a small voice came from behind the girl. It was a kid around my age. Was he her little brother?

I put it behind me and took a deep breath. "You wouldn't get it even if I told you."

The boy frowned.

"Why do you say that?" the boy's sister asked, tilting her head.

"Because it's complicated," I replied, not looking up from my gears.

"Complicated?" the boy asked, blinking. He looked down and frowned.

I was used to this kind of reaction. Most kids my age couldn't understand my fascination with gears and other machinery. At first, they would find it cool and new, but they would gradually grow board and return to running around and playing pretend. I, on the other hand, found joy in the intricate workings of gears and machines. I could stare at the cyclical motions for hours.

"But I want to understand," the boy said, frowning.

I blinked. "Do you really?" 

He nodded eagerly, looking at me with wide, curious eyes.

I hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Alright," I said, setting down my tools. "I'll try to explain."

The next hour was spent explaining the basics of mechanics to the boy and his sister. To my surprise, they listened attentively, asking questions and showing genuine interest in what I was saying. It was the first time anyone had shown such interest in my passion.

From that day forward, the boy, An, became my best friend. We spent countless hours together, exploring and learning from each other. His sister, Claire, often joined us, adding her own unique perspective to our discussions.

***

['Present']

Looking back, I realized that it was thanks to An and Claire that I was able to open up and express my emotions, even if only a little. They accepted me for who I was and encouraged me to pursue my passion. They were the first people to see past my calm exterior and understand the depth of my feelings. Because of them, I felt like I could open up to others. Sometimes, it didn't work out. But there were times when it did. Like when I met Orichalcum in my first year.

Despite the teasing and the jokes, I knew that my friends understood me. They knew that beneath my calm exterior, I was just as passionate and emotional as they were. And for that, I was grateful.

An took a deep breath as we entered the arena. Was he nervous for me? Silly An, I was the one facing off against Renshu.

"Are you ready?" An asked, his voice filled with concern. I could see the worry in his eyes, but I simply nodded, giving him a reassuring smile.

"I'm always ready," I replied, my voice steady. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins, but I was calm. I had prepared for this moment, and I was ready to face whatever came my way.

As we walked into the arena, I could feel the eyes of the crowd on me. The atmosphere was electric, filled with anticipation and excitement. I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the battle ahead.

Renshu smiled as he turned to look at me. Yuzu stood beside him. All three wore their cloaks. I held my hand out and summoned my blue cloak depicting bronze gears.

"Time to begin the third year matches for today!" Ms.Key said as she stepped into the ring.

"Huh? Where is Marina?" Yuzu asked.

"Sonata wished to be the MC, so I let her," Marina said, walking over to us.

"That attention hog," Ms. Zettai said, sighing.

Ms. Key took a deep breath before yelling, " Let's begin with the calm and cool, Ning! Her opponent is the harbinger of smiles, Renshu!"

I blinked at Renshu as we stepped into the ring. "Harbinger of smiles?" I whispered.

He blushed. "Well, I do like making others smile. My goal is to become a star! And a star's job is to make other people's lives feel less stressful. Even if only for a short time."

Right, he did keep saying he wanted to become a singer, dancer, and actor since we were first years. A 'triple-threat' he called it.

"That sounds like a good dream," I said, nodding.

He laughed. "I'm pretty sure I mentioned it a thousand times by now!"

I hummed. "Guess I forgot."

He hung his head. "Ning..."

"Sorry?"

He sighed and rose to his full height again. "It's okay." Vines curled out of his verdant-prana laced fingertips. "Well, we're here to battle, not talk."

I dodged his vines and held out my hand. Electricity cracked around my wrist as metal prana flowed out of my palm. 

Renshu spun, tearing the ground with his vines. Only a day had passed, but I could already see improvement from yesterday. If he kept growing like this, he could one day become a mage to be reckoned with. Assuming he continued to study magic. Only about a tenth of the school's student body go on to endeavors in magic. Among that ten percent, an even smaller percentage become magical researchers and scholars.

He wasn't going to let me reform my cannon, was he? Not that I needed more time! "No. 3- Blazing Projectiles." Tiny bee-sized objects manifested around me. They sent out a stream of beams at him.

Renshu's eyes widened. "Wait! That's too fast!" He created a wall of thorns between us to shield himself from the lasers, but the wall was rapidly incinerated.

I held out my hand. "You aren't strong enough."

He gritted his teeth and sent a powerful gust of wind at me. It easily lifted my small body.

"Ahh!" I said, trying to avoid getting thrown out of bounds.

"Gotcha!" he cried, sending a barrage of flaming darts toward me.

"No. 5- Barrier!" I chanted.

The barrier blocked his flames, but it was taking a lot of prana to keep it up. I wasn't used to using it, but it was fun to try something new. Well, rarely used.

I smirked as Renshu continued avoiding the mechanical bees. "You can't keep this up forever. If you surrender, you might not end up with a broken arm or worse."

"I'm not going to give up! I didn't make it this far just to lose!" Renshu yelled.

"Very well, I will show you the gap between our abilities."

Renshu glared at me and launched another barrage of flaming darts at me.

I formed another blue energy barrier, dispersing the flame prana.

My opponent jumped back as I formed my cannon and launched powerful blast of prana in his direction.

He sidestepped it and gulped as he stared at the huge crater it left where it had hit. "Hey, are you trying to kill me?"

I scratched my head. Maybe I should've toned down the power a tad.

Renshu smirked sent a volley of vines at me, followed by a blast of high concentrated air. The hit struck the thick woody vines, sending chunks of splinters flying.

I blinked. What was he up to? He destroyed his own spell!

Renshu held up his hand and began chanting, "Cōnglóng de shēngzhǎng, chūlái tīngcóng wǒ de zhàohuàn!"

His spell caused the splinters to expand, becoming giant vines.

I jumped back as the vines shot out, narrowly avoiding being entangled. They weaved together where I once stood to form a giant vine cocoon "Impressive."

Renshu laughed from behind me. "Thanks!"

I gasped and turned around. When had he gotten behind me?

He smirked and sent another barrage of vines at me.

I barely managed to dodge. His style of constant attack was reminiscent to Ori's. Had he decided to copy her? Well, it didn't work for her, it surely wouldn't work for him! 

"No. 1- Metal Storm!" I chanted. A flurry of metal shrapnel shot out from my cannon.

Renshu gasped and threw his hands in front of his face as the razor-sharp leaves cut through his clothes and left shallow wounds.

"You need a new outfit," I said, staring at the torn fabric.

His face turned pink. "P-perv!"

I blinked. "What? I'm merely pointing out that your clothes are ruined."

He huffed and covered himself in vines. This technique, it was reminiscent of Aida's plant giant.

"So that's what you're trying to do," I mumbled. "No. 2- Metal Clone!"

Renshu gasped as a robotic clone of me formed and launched itself at him. He blocked at her rapid-fire kicks.

I used the distraction to move into a better position.

"Hey! Don't think you're getting away!" he yelled, shooting vines at me from his hands.

I dodged them and smirked. "Who said anything about getting away? No. 8- Metal Snake!"

Renshu gasped as a mechanical snake shot out of the ground. He barely had time to form a wall of vines. The robotic snake's mouth creaked as it tried to chomp down on the wad of vines.

Renshu gritted his teeth as he covered my clones in dense vines. He threw his arms forward, grabbed the snake and spun it around, sending the mechanical snake flying.

'He's stronger than I give him credit for. Guess those toned arms of his aren't just for show.'

I smirked. "You've been working out?"

He blinked. "Um... yeah?"

I nodded. "It shows."

He blushed. "Th-thanks. Hey! You're just distracting me!" He glared at me. "Don't think I'll let you win just because you complimented me!"

"Like I would expect that."

I dodged his vines.

Renshu pouted. "Stop moving!"

"I don't think so," I said as I charged my cannon. It was time to finish this!

I aimed and fired a powerful blast of prana at him.

The blast exploded against his vine armor, exposing him to my robot snake which was flying through the air. It opened its mouth wide, revealing its sharp metal teeth.

Renshu gasped and shot seeds at it, but they had no effect. The snake lunged forward, its teeth sinking into his shoulder.

He screamed in pain and grabbed his bleeding shoulder. "N-no!"

I snapped my fingers, making the snake vanish.

"Ning," he groaned, clutching his injured shoulder.

I frowned and walked over to him. "I warned you to give up while you still could."

"I know," he mumbled, his cheeks reddening. His hand glowed emerald green. "Ventus Draconis!"

I leaped back as he thrust his palm forward. A wind dragon flew out of his palm and coiled around me.

I gasped as the dragon tightened its grip.

"Gotcha," he said, grinning.

I frowned and held my hand out. "No. 7- Magnetic Wave!"

My spell sent a powerful shockwave through the dragon, dispersing it.

Renshu took a deep breath as he gathered prana. Was he aiming to cast a level three spell?

He closed his eyes and began chanting, "Arbor Angelus!"

The ground shook beneath me, and I stumbled. A large pillar of wood grew out of the earth, and a pair of wings made of leaves and flowers formed from it. Two wooden arms emerged from its sides, wielding two swords made out of wood. Its face was that of a beautiful woman.

Not a level three spell, but still a dangerous one.

I took a deep breath and began gathering my own prana. This battle was far from over!

Renshu smiled as he jumped on top of his spell. "You're amazing, Ning. I'm surprised I've last this long against you."

"You're strong yourself," I said.

His angel's twin swords slashed down at me.

I gritted my teeth and casted another barrier. The blue dome shook and crackled under the pressure.

"Your shields are impressive."

"Thank you," I said.

He grinned and ordered his angel to attack me again. The swords tore through it this time, but I was ready.

My handheld cannon shot out a beam of prana, destroying the wooden angel.

"No! My spell!" Renshu cried, leaping into the air.

"It's over, Renshu," I said, smiling as I dashed at him.

He gritted his teeth and launched a final barrage of fiery arrows.

I gasped and jumped back. My barrier had no time to recharge, so I had to rely on my physical skills.

One of the arrows burned a hole through my cloak and scorched my shirt.

Renshu winced. "Are you alright?"

I sighed. "Don't show pity to your opponent until they're beaten. You can be assured I won't show you mercy."

He gulped and launched another barrage of flame darts at me.

I ran straight at them and leaped over them, landing in front of him. I slammed my left palm against his exposed chest, throwing him unto the floor.

"Do you yield?" I asked, pointing my cannon straight at him.

"Damn, you're good," he said, grinning as he raised his arms in surrender. "Alright, you win, Ning."

I smiled and lowered my cannon. "That wasn't too bad."

"For you, maybe. You're pretty tough," Renshu said, laughing as he stood up. He sighed. "Seems I still have a long ways to go."

"Hey, you were great. And it looks like you've been practicing a lot since yesterday," I said, nodding.

"You noticed, huh?" he said, blushing. "I didn't want to look bad in front of everybody, especially you."

The guy really cared too much about what people thought of him...

I tilted my head. "Why especially me?"

"I've always admired you, Ning," Renshu said, rubbing the back of his neck. "You're always so calm and collected, and you never let anything faze you. You're like a rock, and I've always wanted to be more like you."

Was that supposed to be a compliment? "You should be proud of your own strength. You've got a lot of talent."

He sighed. "Do I? I don't feel especially talented when everyone around me seems so much stronger. Especially you, Taho, and Yuzu."

"Don't compare yourself to others," I said. "Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. The only person you should be competing with is yourself."

"But—"

"Besides, if you keep worrying about what everyone else thinks, you'll lose sight of yourself."

"Sight of myself?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It's important to be true to yourself. Otherwise, you'll just end up lost and confused."

"I... I guess you're right," he said, sighing.

I turned and waved at him. "Come on, let's go. Yuzu and Taho are up next."

"R-right!" he said, running after me.

**Solar Note: This chapter was written with the assistance of A.I. ^^. Finally, after a long hiatus, I am back with an update! Thoughts on Ning vs. Renshu?**