Mei taught Evan Hokushin Itto-ryu through sparring. Or rather, she taught him swordsmanship through sparring while also honing her own skills.
Evan didn't copy the stances Mei used, and she didn't specifically ask him to. There are differences between men and women; the "optimal" way to draw a sword is always unique to the individual. Evan was mostly figuring it out for himself.
Mei's sword was all about speed. It wasn't just a single strike, as the name "Itto-ryu" (One-Blade Style) might suggest. Her approach seemed to be about continuously striking a single point to break through the opponent's defense. For a woman, whose average strength is lower than a man's, this was indeed a very suitable method.
Evan thought about it and quickly gave up on a copycat approach to Mei's point-breaking style. He had a Stigma. Even if it was just Shigure Kira (T) for now, his future potential was high. He would eventually have enough power, so there was no need to force this kind of attack method. A single, full-power strike should be enough to cripple a Honkai Beast.
Right now, Evan was just searching for the most perfect way to exert his strength. Although in Mei's eyes he had made great progress, Evan wasn't satisfied. He could feel he still had room to improve.
"Will we... continue sparring tomorrow?"
Two hours later, Mei took several deep breaths to calm her ragged breathing, trying to speak in a normal tone. Her hand, hidden behind her back, was trembling slightly. Facing Evan, who possessed superior strength, was not easy for his sparring partner.
If nothing unexpected happened, Mei felt that tomorrow she would only be able to perform at ninety percent of her strength. For no other reason than she was too tired and wouldn't be able to recover in time.
Although she had only sparred with Evan for two short hours, Mei felt that it had drained more of her energy and spirit than five hours of solo practice. If the two practice bamboo swords hadn't been custom-made for her back when she was a "young lady," ordinary ones would have long since been destroyed by the force of their clashes.
"No, this kind of training should be gradual. It wouldn't be good to overtax your body. Your classes start again after the weekend, don't they? But, if it's okay, could I still come find you tomorrow just to chat?"
Despite completely ignoring the principle of gradual progression this past week, constantly pushing his own potential, Evan, whose body was far more fatigued than Mei's from the prolonged lack of proper rest, was now telling her to get some rest.
He played the part too well, further convincing Mei that her earlier feeling that he was under great pressure had been a mistake.
"Is that really okay? Chatting isn't a burden, but it's a ten-minute walk from Tachikawa Academy to Senba Academy, right? That's over half an hour round trip. Won't it be a bother?"
"If you don't find me bothersome, Mei, then it's no bother at all."
This "chatting," of course, wasn't a way for Evan to relax, nor was its primary purpose to increase Mei's affection for him. It was mostly for the friendship points, to increase his own strength faster.
Mei certainly didn't find Evan bothersome. In fact, for her, who had been studying in solitude for so long, every smile she showed while talking to him for every minute and every second was genuine. This was someone she could talk to, someone who came looking for her specifically, someone who would spar with her. If possible, Mei even wished he would transfer to Senba Academy and become her classmate. That way, she would have someone to talk to after class, just like everyone else.
But if a handsome boy like Evan joined her class, the other students would surely flock to him, and she wouldn't get much of a chance to talk to him. And if Evan ignored the others to talk to her specifically, it might cause resentment and lead to unpleasantness.
Besides, transferring schools wasn't that simple, and Senba Academy was an all-girls school.
This small, greedy thought flashed through Mei's mind and was quickly dismissed by her more rational considerations. Watching Evan's back as he walked away, Mei quickly called out.
"Tomorrow, can we meet half an hour later than usual, at six-thirty?"
"No problem. If you have other things to do, I don't have to come and bother you."
Although friendship points were extremely important, Evan had no intention of high-handedly interfering with Mei's life just for them. He would push himself to his limit before the Third Honkai Eruption, but he wouldn't force others to do the same.
"Ah? No, that's not it. I just wanted to make you a little something... Well, anyway, it's a promise. You'll come tomorrow, right?"
"Yes."
Waving goodbye to Mei, Evan walked to a corner of Senba Academy, took a deep breath, and nimbly vaulted over the two-meter-high wall, landing on the ground outside the school. The moment he was completely out of Mei's sight, his breathing, which had been only slightly heavy, suddenly became rapid and ragged. His hands trembled. Since waking up today, he hadn't let his hands, already sore from previous training, rest at all. From typing on the keyboard to organize files at ME Corp, to sparring with Mei just now, and all the other things before today, the heavy workload his hands had endured was enough to cause chronic injury in an ordinary person.
Thankfully, Evan had a Stigma and had gone through a series of training exercises. His body was stronger than an ordinary person's. Right now, he was just very tired; he hadn't reached the point of chronic injury, nor had he even reached his limit.
The fact that Kiana hadn't appeared at Senba Academy meant the Third Honkai Eruption was still some time away. He could tentatively assume no accidents would happen. Evan didn't need to ensure his body was always in a perfect state to exert one hundred percent of his strength. He just needed to keep working hard.
So, after returning to the dorm, the training would continue.