Here, have a thing. This space reserved for indexing, future edits, etc.
**************
Seven Moons
Prologue
***
Sunlight poured over the Juuban district of Toyko, bathing everything and everyone in it in brightness and warmth. Tohno Shiki was strolling through one of the local parks, taking in the sights and familiarizing himself with the area. He was in his normal street clothes, hands in pockets, eyes wide open and scanning the terrain around him. The best part about 'daytime patrol' was that no one would think twice about him exploring public areas. No one even remotely suspected he was casing potential battlefields and killzones. Parks were great at night: decent cover available, very little chance of innocent bystanders, and many escape routes.
It was these and similar thoughts that sputtered to a halt as he felt an impact on the side of his head, followed by a soft clatter.
He turned, and surveyed his situation. Apparently what seemed to be a group of young students receiving mixed martial weapons training were all looking at him apprehensively. None more so than the two boys nearest him, one holding out a padded training sword pointed at his partner, and said partner holding on to naught but thin air, glancing between Shiki's eyes and feet. He didn't have to look down to know that he had been bonked by a weapon knocked free of its wielder's hands.
Great, he thought, Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Pure Eyes, years of internal subconscious conditioning, and surviving more Dead Apostle antics than 99.999% of humans alive today . . . and I have nothing on some kids screwing around. No killing intent, no lethal (or even harmful) force involved; he didn't notice and got clocked. He was, to put it mildly, annoyed.
Not at the children, just himself and his obliviousness. That said, he wasn't above some childish antics himself . . .
He reached down and scooped up the training blade. Not a proper shinai, more like a toy than anything. Foam, rubber, and tape created a rather comical-looking device. However, its weight and balance seemed up to snuff-
"Um, Nii-san, can I have it back?" the weaponless kid asked.
Shiki blinked, and regarded the kids, and then the 'class' again. They all had similarly built weapons. No one was wearing any sort of armor or protection. The age spread seemed to go from elementary through high school. For that matter, they weren't even wearing uniforms or gi. This wasn't a group practicing kendo.
"Ah, Nii-san?"
Shiki looked down at kid again. The kid blinked. Shiki smiled. "No."
"Ah, thank- eh?" The kid reached out to grab the sword and then caught himself after realizing what had been said.
Shiki stepped back and readied the blade as his smirk widened. "If you want it, you will have to defeat me first."
I'm used to a tiny, pinpoint accurate blade, going for razor-thin targets at point-blank range. A sword is huge, comparatively unwieldy, and totally throws off everything about my fighting style. I don't intend on letting a single one of these kids touch me. This should be fun.
The weaponless child blinked, stepped back, exchanged a glance with his sparring partner, and shrugged. Then they both jumped at him, the sword going for his body, and the unarmed kid going for his legs.
Well, that was unexpected.
With a single lazy motion, he sidestepped both of them, and landed two solid hits. Both kids dramatically cried out and collapsed, and the armed one screamed "Avenge us!" and was still.
Suddenly about a dozen more kids swarmed him, and he danced. Each subsequent fallen child tried to outdo the previous one's "death animation." He tried to hit each kid quicker than the last. He apparently overdid it a bit because the last three were paused mid-strike, slackjawed as he 'finished' them. The chatter began in earnest.
"He's as good as Tomoe-nee!"
"He's faster than Tomoe-nee!"
"He can't be as good as Tomoe-san, I only lost an arm!"
At that, Shiki raised an eyebrow.
"She will avenge us! She will restore our dojo's honor!"
"GOZEN-SAMA! AVENGE US!" they began to chant.
Shiki looked around, and spotted two women standing off near the rear of the area the group had been practicing. One was roughly middle age, and had a tied bunch of the play-weapons hoisted over one shoulder. Obviously the instructor. The other was a tall (for her age) wisp of a girl, midnight black hair and dark violet eyes, holding what seemed to be a foamified naginata.
Ah. "Tomoe Gozen-sama*" indeed.
The older woman looked mildly amused, glanced at the girl, and nodded. The girl approached. When in speaking range, she lowered her gaze to the ground and softly asked,
"Will you give it back?"
Shiki took one more look at the sprawled out audience, and decided to ham it up.
"Only death shall ease my grip on this blade!" He felt so ashamed of himself, but he was having fun.
"Then, death shall find you shortly, challenger." And she moved.
She was not fast. She was not graceful. She was not . . . skilled. Not really. But after two thrusts and one horrifically overly-flashy spinning slash, Shiki felt every hair on the back of his neck rise. A couple of his strikes were actually deflected, and then he deflected her next series of thrusts. He ducked and weaved, and began to sweat -but not from the exertion. Not because he took any hits.
One more exchange, to confirm.
He blocked and parried, and left his right side wide open. She stepped back, spun her blade backwards in a wild arc, and came up from below and the left in (what a trained observer would call) a seemingly sloppy and childish bit of showmanship.
All Shiki knew was that every single thrust, slash, and strike this girl unleashed was going straight for his lines.
The audience grew quiet, then silent, as the duel continued. Tomoe was famous among them for her seemingly stupid moves- just when you think she left herself wide open, one end or the other of her weapon came around and struck you, and you knew you were dead. There was no question, just a grim certainty that all members of the group shared without doubt. That this crazy guy was standing here blocking every single 'Tomoe special' flung his way effortlessly was almost mind-breaking.
Both duelists were sweating, and Shiki was beginning to entertain the idea of getting serious when the girl's expression hardened, and she went for one single, perfect thrust. He didn't have to wonder, he didn't have to think. His 'dot' was positioned such on his chest that all he had to do was lean a bit to the right, drop his sword, bring down his left elbow, twist violently to the left, and the naginata was ripped out of the girl's hands. He went low and forward, and stopped dead- his fingertips to her windpipe. An undeniable kill, if he had followed through.
She blinked, and fell to her knees quietly, her expression unreadable. A cross between a deer in headlights and a confused cat, perhaps.
Shiki reached for the discarded blade, and laid it down in front of her.
"I concede. It would be a tragedy to ruin such delicate porcelain beauty for a mere blade."
Her expression didn't change, but her face turned about eighteen shades deeper red.
Yep- I've still got it. He stood up, turned, and walked away.
The peanut gallery held for a beat, then roared.
*****
Elsewhere, one Aino Minako sat up abruptly from her afternoon nap, mumbled something incoherent, and immediately collapsed back into slumber.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by VelspertheCat
