All This Time

Training

"Go Claude! You've got it!"

Claude smirked as he cracked his knuckles. His Teach had decided that Claude himself would be elected for the tournament. He had told her it was unfair to put him against other soldiers, she had told him it would be good practice for them.

She had a point.

That's why Claude found himself holding a training bow and in the middle of the training grounds. They were surrounded by people; most of them cheering for Claude (for obvious reasons) while the others cheered for the poor blokes about to face Claude mostly out of pity.

"Round one!" The announcer roared, clutching his hands in front of him in excitement. "Fight!"

This poor soldier was shaking. He was wearing full body armor, out of Claude's request in order to not fully injure anyone. Marianne and the other healers sat the the side, fully prepared to step in if Claude got injured, and that was enough for him.

Claude raised his bow as the soldier shot an arrow at him. The arrow was in a trajectory towards his feet, so Claude quickly crouched and shot.

Claude's arrow split the soldier's arrow in two and continued onwards, only plinking off of the soldier's chest plate. The soldier immediately dropped his bow.

"I surrender!"

As they were trading the soldier out for another fellow, his Teach shouted to her from the outskirts of the training grounds.

"Hey, maybe try for close range with a bow," She told him, laughing at his confused expression. "It's just a challenge so that you don't completely demolish these people."

"Ah, sure Teach. No problem."

The next soldier was not decked out in armor. When Claude raised his brow, confused as to why they had not honored his wish, the announcer shook his head.

"She is willing to be injured and healed for this battle," He explained. Before Claude could protest, his voice boomed throughout the grounds. "Ready..fight!"

Claude was forced to dodge immediately as an arrow came flying his way. With an easy sidestep, Claude flipped, and the arrow went flying past him. Grimacing, he held his bow with confidence. He briefly looked over the training bow; it wasn't anywhere near as sturdy as his Failnaught, but it would have to do.

He planned out his attack in a second as the soldier fired another arrow. Claude rushed towards the soldier, flipping his grip and holding his weapon in front of him. The arrow pierced through the wood, embedding itself in the middle of his training bow. The point of the arrow had almost pierced through Claude's forehead. He slid under another of the soldier's arrows, propelling himself upwards and slicing his bow horizontally.

The soldier managed to dodge, but Claude, as always, had a backup plan. He swung his leg underneath the soldier, knocking her off balance. Claude reached out, pushing her to the ground and swiveling himself forward. In an instant, his bow with the arrow embedded in the middle was aimed directly at her neck. The soldier swallowed, raising her hands in surrender.

"The winner is...Claude! Congratulations!"

"Well, that was exciting!" His Teach smiled and clapped as Claude stepped off the training grounds. The announcer was giving a lecture on how the troops needed to take after Claude and learn how to take the enemy by surprise...leaving him and his Teach the best opportunity to slip out. As they quietly snuck out, she giggled quietly. "I certainly didn't expect you to hold up your bow like that, you gave me a heart attack! How dangerous, what if the bow wasn't strong, and the arrow had gone all the way through?"

"Don't worry, Teach," Claude quickly reassured his Teach, who had gone into a frenzy of 'what if's' that could have happened. "I assessed the situation before I went in. The bow was made out of Almyran Oak, one of the strongest materials in the world. Trust me, I would know."

"Huh. You're a lot more interesting with your fighting style than I am," She admitted with a guilty look on her face. They were walking towards the forest, needing a place to hide when it was found out that they had left early, "Oh, and more precise, so much more efficient...I mean, I just swing my sword until I win..."

"Well, there's a certain charm to the way you fight," Claude reminded her, not wanting her to over exaggerate his fighting skill by too much. "You're ruthless, incredibly strong, but most importantly, you're good at like...everything."

"Not true."

"Uh, yeah," Claude disagreed. "Your sword, obviously. You know how to wield a lance, an axe, cast magic, beat people to death...you can heal, lead people...Do I need to go on?"

"Maybe you have a point..." She sighed. "Oh, but you know what? I don't know how to do one thing."

"Oh?" Claude raised his brow, confused as to what he was missing. "And what's that?"

She shrugged, an embarrassed look on her face. After a moment of fidgeting, she finally replied.

"I can't shoot a bow..."

Claude's expression slowly molded into a confident smirk.

"Oh, really?"