Tuesday came around, and once class let out, Tabitha had to remind Rebecca of her promise to train. She had almost forgotten it but stopped her whining to prevent a Tabitha ramble. The two had stopped by the dorm to change into their PE clothes - reserving costumes for formal events - and headed towards the gym. 

"We need to get some teacher for this, don't we?" Rebecca asked as they entered the gym. 

"Britt got one of her friends from the student council to referee." Tabitha corrected her. "They're allowed that responsibility if they've kept a good record, and Ruben Moon has... never done any damage on purpose." 

"Sounds like my kind of guy." Rebecca smiled blissfully. "I'd like to meet Britt's other friends - I've always trusted that gal." 

"You mean like that time you thought she was in a gang that had meetings after school?" 

"It WAS a gang! They were just the kind that do charity work. Easy mistake." 

It was when they made it to the arena that they found the espurr referee in question, looking to the door quickly when he heard it open - like a loud sound scaring a wild animal. 

"H-Hey, you must be Britt's friends." Ruben greeted with a small smile. "I was just, uh, going over referee protocol. Geez I hope I don't mess this up..." 

"Aren't referees just supposed to stand by and make sure no one kills each other?" Rebecca tilted her head slightly. 

"U-Uh--" 

"Nevermind her," Tabitha pushed Rebecca along, "We should just get started, shouldn't we?" 

Tabitha took off her glasses and passed them to Ruben. Rebecca took her place opposite in the ring to where Tabitha would stand, with with Ruben backing up towards the bleachers. He blew the whistle to start the match, then sat down on the bleachers in anticipation. As Tabitha ran towards her, Rebecca stood there for a moment to breathe in. 

A light started to peek out of Tabitha's mouth, and she unleashed a wave of Dragon Breath. Before she knew it, Rebecca was over her - she had jumped once the wave came her way and flipped forward. Closing her mouth to dispel the wave, Tabitha turned around only to get Rebecca's ponytails smacking her in the face. 

"Hey, watch it--!" 

A strong kick came from Rebecca, who was on all fours and facing away from her. Tabitha tumbled back, then kneeled as she slid back. She saw that Rebecca was sparking now, her frills unfolding. Due to her mildly blurred vision, Tabitha couldn't see what was happening other than she had an opening. She ran for Rebecca, only to realize what was happening. A bolt came down near her path, then another that was closer, until finally one hit her. Tabitha shuttered slightly, but she took the Thunder Shock damage and tackled Rebecca once she got close. Rebecca stumbled slightly, turning to see Tabitha once she landed on the opposite side of the ring. 

"You took that shock like a champ!" Rebecca remarked. "That's my best move." 

"Of course! Dragon types are resistant to most of the basic elements!" 

"Wait, you're a dragon?" Rebecca blinked. "I used that cause I figured you were, like, water or something." 

"I-- Yes!" Tabitha snapped. "That was the point of our match!" 

Tabitha's cheeks puffed briefly, then she belched out multiple sludge balls. Rebecca bent back nervously to dodge one, then stumbled to the side to narrowly miss another, only to have one hit her in the face. As she felt back, a nauseous feeling washed over her with the sludge touching her lips and eyes. 

"Whhhoa..." Rebecca got up in a daze, holding her head. 

"Did it poison you?" Tabitha asked. She raised her voice when she saw Rebecca wasn't paying attention. "Minimal movement is ideal in this sort of state!" 

"I-I got this!" Rebecca assured her. She assumed a stance, shaking her head to try and shake the poison damage. 

With Tabitha rushing towards her, Rebecca instinctively jumped over her, only to feel something sour stirring within her. She landed and started to fall back, attempting to backflip to recover. As she stood on her hands, a sharp pain hit her shoulder. She fell back and tumbled slightly, then got herself off the floor - her back was turned to Tabitha. 

Ruben's eyes darted between the two nervously after having heard something in his head... Tabitha turned angrily, seeing that Rebecca had ignored her entirely - she started to let off another beam of Dragon Breath, which Rebecca didn't make an attempt to acknowledge as she still faced away. Tabitha looked forward and saw that her beam was being blocked by a protective psychic shielding, which caused her to stop it abruptly in confusion. 

"You don't know Protect - do you?" Tabitha questioned, since she had reviewed their movesets the night before. 

"Sorry, sorry, sorry." Ruben muttered, leaving the bleachers to rush over to Rebecca, who dropped to her knees. 

Tabitha realized the match was over. She cautiously approached them, wondering what the cause of it was. 

"I'm really sorry about this, but I accidentally read Rebecca's mind. I-It happens, I swear." Ruben said, getting out the kit he brought along for injuries. "She... wanted to call it a draw." 

"You did?" Tabitha realized, moving over to face Rebecca. "Why didn't you say anything?" 

As Ruben applied some spray to Rebecca's shoulder and rubbed it with a cloth, Rebecca raised her head to look at Tabitha. 

"You just wanted to train so much I didn't wanna say anything." 

"It-- It wouldn't be so bad if you slowed down and didn't make any sudden movements!" Tabitha said worriedly. "I was trying to help." 

"Here." Ruben handed a small medicine cup to Rebecca. 

Downing a somewhat foul liquid, Rebecca winced, but she started to feel some slight relief from the poison - at least now her head wasn't hurting. 

"Are you both going to... continue?" Ruben asked presented Tabitha her glasses. 

"It's fine, that's enough for today." Tabitha put her glasses on. "Thank you for intervening." 

"Oh thank god." Ruben huffed in relief. "Sorry about that, though. Sorry." He added as he backed away and left the area. 

"We're done?" Rebecca asked. 

Once Tabitha saw that Ruben had left, she looked over to Rebecca with a pitiable look. 

"I'm sorry too. I got too worked up." 

Rebecca blinked, realizing something. "Now that I can think straight again..." She went over to the bleachers. 

"What is it?" Tabitha followed. 

Rebecca plopped down on the seat. "Why don't you trust me?" 

Tabitha winced, worried that such a question might come up. "It's... it's not like that." 

"But I mean, like..." Rebecca let out a frustrated scoff, "You got totally obsessed with this as soon as you saw who I was fighting! What's that about?" 

"Rebecca..." Tabitha walked over, sitting beside her. She looked to the floor nervously. "When I met you, I didn't think I'd get along. But I feel like we've become friends - maybe more than that. I care about your well being." 

"Uh huh?" Rebecca wondered where she was going with this. 

"It's like I said, this kind of match you've got coming is like a graduation match. And..." She sighed, "It's not just another small match - it counts more towards your grade than a match with another Freshman." 

"I didn't know that." Rebecca realized. "I figured they were all the same." 

"I'll admit, I should have more faith in your abilities." Tabitha added. "This match made me worry you might score too low to stay at the school, then I wouldn't see you again." 

"Aww, Tabs..." 

Tabitha started to smile weakly, realizing how silly that must sound, but as she looked her way, Rebecca gave her shoulder a light punch. She rubbed it and saw that Rebecca was not scowling, but instead smirking at her in a confident way. 

"You gotta believe in me more, seriously. I know you're smarter than that." Rebecca chuckled. She crossed her arms, "Think about how highly esteemed this campus is - even if you've only got the bare minimum of skill, anyone with the potential to grow is welcome here! And believe me, I'm gonna let it grow." 

"Wow, Rebecca, that's..." She smiled, impressed. "Quite profound!" 

"I read it on the brochure." Rebecca winked. "But still! Here I am." 

Tabitha took a moment to reflect on recent events. She saw Rebecca's skill at skating, and even during their brief match, she had an admirable agility that allowed her many openings, even making quick use of her long hair as a means of throwing her off. She may have briefly overlooked some typing difference, but there were subtleties to her fighting style that Tabitha could... respect. 

"So, we should try this again some time." Rebecca added. "With less poison." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, poison sucks." Rebecca stood, ready to leave. 

"No, I mean... you still want to train with me." 

"Oh yeah, that too. I should probably know what I'm getting into." 

. . . 

Ruben was heading to the school building to meet up with the other members of the council when Glee showed up. She slid to a halt at the stairs, giving him a scare. 

"Hey, you with the council?" Glee asked. 

"Yeah?" Ruben looked back. 

A piece of paper was held up, featuring Natsumi's photo paperclipped to a sketch with plenty of specific notes. 

"Got a costume submission for my roomie, Natsumi Machiko - think you can deliver it before you head out?" 

"I'll see what I can do." Ruben assured her nervously. 

"Good." Glee handed it to him politely, then gave him a deeply serious look. "Don't lose it." 

Ruben nodded as he took the paper, whimpering slightly at Glee's presence. He rushed off, if only to get away from her. 

"Man, look at him go." Glee smiled, taking her leave. "Got a lotta hustle, like me."