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Tidas grimaced; “That’s not what you said before..”

“I didn’t specify an order, either,” Genie replied.

“But your words were ‘If you can get passed the three I assign to you, then you can have a go at me’. Your words exactly, Genie..”

Tidas had had a slight smirk on his face as he’d spoken, which irritated him a bit. But there was no denying that those had been his words..

“Alright fine, but don’t get upset when you realize how frivolous your efforts are now. Especially since Skye won’t have a chance to team up with you.”

“Oh, I think you’re underestimating me,” Tidas replied with his smirk still on his face.

Genie kept his expression placid; “I’m really not.”

A deep scowl covered Tidas’ face while Genie walked over, and stood directly in front of him. His features shifted from calm, to something that Tidas had only seen a handful of times in his youth. It was a mixture between irritation and disappointment, but there was something else mixed in, too.

.....

After Genie had stared at Tidas for a few unnerving moments, he spoke with a tone that brokered no interruptions..

“I have killed mages with almost every trait there is. I have commanded armies, and infiltrated places that no one knows exists on solo missions. I have seen every continent on this planet-”

“Every known continent,” Skye muttered, earning her a sharp glare from Genie before he continued; “My point, Children, is that you have fought, who? The Highlanders? Slavers? Desperate raiders from the Sync kingdom? None of that compares to my experience..”

“I am Genie to you two from your childhood, but here in Sai: I am Jin Laos. If I train you personally, then I doubt that any force on this earth will be able to stop you two. But in order for me to do that, first I have to see what you two are Actually capable of. Not what your egos Tell you..”

“After I assess your shortcomings individually, we will assess what your capabilities are together. First, you two will be fighting me..”

Skye and Tidas shared a slightly cocky look between themselves before Genie added; “Then, you’ll fight each other.”

The exchange between them this time was a bit more worrisome as Skye commented; “Tis fine. We spar all the time-”

“I’ve seen how you two ‘spar’, and that’s more like a workout together; not sparring. If I’m generous, I could even say it’s a warmup of sorts. But you two Definitely do not fight seriously enough for it to be declared an actual sparring match,” Genie said with a slightly irate tone.

“My point is, that you two need to fight each other seriously in order to learn each other’s weaknesses. I can assess you until the dragons return, but it won’t help you in the middle of actual combat.”

Tidas quirked a suspicious eyebrow at him; “You speak as if we’re going to war.”

Genie sighed heavily; “Do you think that the Sync kingdom and Ital kingdom will sit idly by while Alcon creates ties with Sai? Especially considering the progress you’ve made with the Highlanders? Not to mention threats closer to home..”

“What do ya mean by that?” Skye asked.

Genie glanced between the two; “I know that you two don’t want to think about it, but King Magnus is known for having unstable health. To be honest, I’m surprised that he has lasted this long..”

Focusing on Tidas, Genie’s words had a deathly chill to them as he asked; “Will you two do nothing if your brother turns out to be exactly the kind of ruler you know he will be?”

Tidas clenched his jawline as he and Genie stared at each other. Since Lawrence couldn’t ascend to Alcon’s throne, Tidas was the only one with the right rank and authority that could do the job. Combine that with Skye’s authority in the Highlands; Tidas was the only logical choice to succeed Magnus.

The thought of the chaos that would ensue if Tidas challenged Marco’s rule was horrifying. The kingdom would tear itself apart from within, leaving it vulnerable to attacks from outside forces. The whole situation made both of their guts twist as he locked eyes with Skye.

After a long moment, Skye looked at Genie and asked; “Is that the purpose of all this? Yer tryin’ ta prepare us fer a civil war?”

“That is a part of it, yes. My goal is to prepare you two to handle whatever comes your way, Together,” Genie’s demeanor became completely serious; “By the time I am done with you two, you will know every singular flaw you have, and the other’s as well..”

“You will move as one, fight as one, and win as one. All shinobi understand that not all missions can be completed alone because they understand their own limits.. Those will be made painfully clear to you after today.”

Tidas felt his whole body tense when Genie looked at him, as did Skye. The gleam in his eyes reflected his promise, and sent a nervous chill down each of their spines. As Genie walked back over to his original spot, Skye wondered if he had gathered any outside intelligence on their time in the highlands..

“If ya want us ta fight each other wit our magic, then I decline,” Skye stated as soon as Genie had stopped.

“Why?” Tidas asked with a bit of surprise in his voice.

Genie stared at her expectantly; “Exactly: why?”

Skye didn’t even flinch as she replied; “Cause I don’t wanna hurt me husband, that’s why.”

Tidas barked an sharp, arrogant laugh; “Hurt me? Who ever said that you could?”

“So ya think yer two traits stack up against me own four? I think ya need ta recheck yer math there, love,” Skye replied with matched arrogance.

Tidas’ expression faltered slightly; “I also have a lot more battle experience than you do, Wife. Underestimating your opponent isn’t smart, Skye.”

Skye’s eyes narrowed on him; “The same goes fer you, Husband.”

“Okay,” Genie stepped between them as he spoke; “This is an assessment, you two. There’s no need to turn hostile. Let’s see what Skye can do against her assigned shinobi, then you two can have a match. Until then, keep the glaring to a minimum.”

The two backed off, but the tension in the air hadn’t dissipated at all. As Skye took her position, Genie wondered if he really should have them fight against each other in such a state of mind.. ‘I don’t want this to devolve into something outside of these training grounds.. Guess I’ll have to give them a common enemy to bond over..’

As Genie readied to signify the start of the match, Tidas whispered; “I hope you know what you’re doing, Genie.”

With a wide grin, Genie replied; “Mostly..”

Without another word: Genie signaled the start of Skye’s match..

Skye looked over the three ninja before her with a blank expression. She could tell that one was a Fire mage, and one was a Tank, but she couldn’t tell what the other was. His frame was built, but he wasn’t overly muscular, either.

The mystery ninja had several items poking out from his pant line, which made Skye wonder if he was a Manic mage.. ‘They all be ninja, so maybe they’re just tools of the trade? But the ones from Tidas’ match didna use tools except fer the Manic..’

As Skye was on the cusp of losing herself to her thoughts, Genie gave the starting signal..

Tidas was the only one who noticed the fleeting panic cross his wife’s face as two of the three shinobi lunged at her. Instead of building up her magic like the others, she’d become distracted, and nearly gotten taken out within the first few seconds of her match.

With wide eyes, Skye had instinctively used her Earth magic, and made rounded spikes shoot out of the ground in all directions. The ninjas gracefully dodged them, and jumped back and landed near their comrade. It was an impressive improvisation, but it had also been a rookie mistake..

It had been slightly amusing to Tidas, but Genie was a bit disappointed that Skye still had the habit of letting her mind wonder during critical moments. He hadn’t seen her panic, but he’d recognized the far-away look on her face from when she was a child. Shifting on his feet, Genie focused on his student with a scrutinizing gaze.

Skye could feel Genie’s eyes on her, but she ignored it. The shinobi in front of her seemed to move a bit quicker than the ones that Tidas had fought. They jumped around with ease as they avoided Skye’s spikes, but she figured they would.

Flooding the ground with magic, and attacking them with poorly-aimed spikes was part of Skye’s plan. She was herding them towards a pitfall, but the third ninja barely moved. He just jumped onto the blunted tips of the spikes, and stood there; watching her.

Deciding to deal with him next, Skye used her Eath magic to move the shinobi right to where she needed them. As soon as the ground began to give way below their feet, the third ninja made his move..

Throwing his arms back, he activated some kind of mechanism connected to his arms. The sleeves of his shirt shredded and turned to ash as electrical currents ran between two metal cuffs at the tops, and bottoms of his arms. When he swung them forward, and loud electric-snapping noise echoed out.

When he yanked his arms back like he was tugging so ropes, the other two ninja suddenly flew backwards, and away from Skye’s pitfall. It was then she noticed that they were wearing some kind of metallic belts around their waists. When the mystery ninja released his hands, the other two stopped being pulled backwards.

“Ohhh! That’s quite cleaver! Lemme guess: Genie told ya I’ve used this trick before?”

The three said nothing to Skye, but one did glance in Genie’s direction, which was all the acknowledgment she needed. She found it a bit unfair that they had been given intel on her, but none had been given to her on their abilities.. ‘But I guess that’s how it goes in battle sometimes.. The enemy knows shite, but we don’t..’

“That’s fine, though.. I got some new tricks ta try out, anyway,” Skye muttered.

Tidas wasn’t sure if she’d meant to say the thought out loud or not, but what she’d said had piqued everyone’s interest. As the three ninja started to carefully move towards her along the tops of the spikes, Skye suddenly slammed her foot down..