The rain didn't stop.
Not the next day.
Not even by morning's end.
It poured like the heavens themselves had chosen to train alongside them, relentless, unforgiving, and loud.
But today… no one complained.
The rookies stood in formation once again, soaked but steady.
Boots planted.
Breath timed.
Gear fastened tight.
Mud splashed beneath their feet, but their stances held. Their hands didn't fumble. Their voices didn't shake.
Red stood at the edge of the field with arms crossed, his cloak soaked through but his gaze sharp.
"Formation Alpha," he ordered.
"On it," Selena responded, raising her shield.
Red: "Forward strike pattern. Move!"
They stepped, not as scattered rookies, but like a functioning unit.
Selena took point, shield up, pushing into the wind like a wedge.
Lio covered her right, blade held low for tight parries and sweeps.
Rika stayed far left, half-wading through thick puddles while notching arrows and loosing them mid-step.
Yuzu walked behind Selena, hands steady, casting defensive buffs with clean, practiced gestures.
Hina stood at the center-back, her staff glowing faintly as healing pulses rippled across the field like warm tides, keeping stamina flowing, easing bruises, softening pain.
And Greenie?
He bounced between them with uncanny timing, now trained enough to mimic the formation without getting in the way.
Mostly.
Red called the next set.
Red: "Formation Beta. Rotate right. Combat rhythm!"
Selena pivoted.
Lio moved back to guard Hina's flank.
Rika shifted to the right.
Yuzu slid left with a low dash, casting [Sparklight] to blind the target dummy before Rika's arrow hit it dead center.
Thwack.
"Targets down!" Yuzu called.
"Rotate again!" Selena barked.
They flowed like water through a storm.
Red watched from a distance, unmoving.
He didn't speak for a long time.
Not because there was nothing to correct…
But because they were already correcting each other.
Selena checked Lio's stance.
Rika pointed out gaps in the wind.
Yuzu warned Hina before casting mana-draining spells.
Even Greenie offered a shout when Lio's boot nearly caught a hidden root.
"Poyo~ Poyo~"
Lio: "Thanks, buddy!"
"Poyo~Poyo~" *Making a kiss sound...*
Yuzu flushed. "GREENIE!"
Selena muttered, "Can't believe that's still being brought up."
"It was yesterday," Rika replied dryly. "It's still fresh."
Lio groaned. "I'll never live it down, will I?"
"Nope," they said in perfect unison.
By noon, their bodies were sore, legs caked in mud, shoulders trembling from fatigue, but their eyes still burned.
They didn't want to stop.
Red finally raised a hand.
Red: "Final challenge."
They looked up.
Red: "Pair combat. Rain setting. One-on-one with swapped partners."
They blinked.
"Swapped?" Selena asked.
Red: "You've all learned to rely on each other, now learn to adapt."
He pointed.
Red: "Selena, with Yuzu."
Yuzu blinked. "W-what?"
Selena nodded. "Understood."
Red: "Lio, with Rika."
Rika's smirk could've split stone. "This'll be fun."
Lio paled. "I'm suddenly not feeling well."
Red ignored him. "Hina, with Greenie."
Greenie threw his gooey hands up. "Poyo~!"
"Begin," Red said.
Selena and Yuzu squared off against two dummies.
"Think you can handle front line?" Selena asked calmly.
Yuzu gulped. "I'll try."
Selena gave her a brief nod. "Then don't try. Do. I'll cover your back."
Yuzu took a deep breath and stepped forward. The rain lashed her face. Her boots sank a little.
But she didn't slip.
With a flick of her staff, she cast [Fire Ball], smaller, more stable now, and struck the dummy's chest with enough force to stagger it.
Selena used the momentum to shoulder-check it to the ground.
"Nice combo," she said.
Yuzu smiled.
Across the field, Lio and Rika circled their own target dummies.
"Alright," Lio said, trying to keep his footing. "Let's work together"
Rika didn't wait.
She fired an arrow so fast it ripped through the first dummy's neck before he finished speaking.
Lio: "Uh. Okay. My turn then"
He stepped forward, slipped on a wet root
And fell again.
Straight forward.
Right into Rika.
SLAM.
She staggered, grabbed him instinctively, but the mud beneath them gave way,
And they both slid.
Lio flailed.
Rika cursed.
And in a move that could only be described as cosmic punishment
Their lips met.
Again.
SPLOP.
Smack.
"…mmmff—!!"
"MOTHERF—!!"
They both sprang apart.
"WHY?! AGAIN?!" Lio shouted.
"You! You're cursed!" Rika yelled, spitting out mud.
Selena wheezed from across the field. "Twice?!"
Yuzu turned crimson. "W-what do you mean twice?!"
"Not on purpose!!" Lio shouted. "I slipped!!"
Rika glared at Lio, face flushed. "Next time, I'm planting an arrow where the sun does shine."
Red, without missing a beat, said: "Lio, work on your footwork."
Lio nearly cried.
Back at the house, they peeled off their soaked clothes and bathed one by one in hot water, which Hina had prepared in advance, bless her.
Dinner was quiet at first, until Greenie started reenacting the double-kiss saga with dramatic flair, complete with mud impersonations and stick puppets.
Selena couldn't stop laughing.
Yuzu didn't know whether to pout or laugh.
Rika nearly threw her plate at him.
And Lio, curled in a blanket, whispered, "The rain is cursed."
Even Red smirked slightly, sipping his coffee.
They had grown.
Their rhythm had become real.
The rain hadn't broken them.
It had refined them.
Storm by storm.
Step by step.
Slip by kissed.