The Betwixt and Between was the perfect place for me to train: no obstacles, no true foes, and no mutual acquaintances to get in my way. Using the three weeks I was allotted I slaughtered millions of Nobodies with no opposition, slowly bringing my reason for being in that barren world to fruition. Almost there…one more test to go…
I didn’t have to wait very long for the next round of ill-fated opponents to show up. This next group that was brave enough to charge at me consisted of twenty Dusks, ten Assassins, five Dragoons, and one Sorcerer for a grand total of thirty-six Nobodies. Honestly I had hoped for more, but I guess even lesser Nobodies learn who not to mess with after so many have been wiped out. Looking at their lack of real numbers, I malevolently smirked and asked of them, “Oh…are you all who came to the party? The others must've turned down their invitations.”
Almost immediately two Dragoons thrust their lances directly at me with three of the Assassins taking a dive into the floor, and all except the Sorcerer floated around to take their positions around me; the Sorcerer went into standby. My first plan of action involved catching the weapon of the Dragoon on my right, spin around, strip it of its said weapon, and joust it straight into the both it and the Dragoon next to it. This maneuver went smoothly up until the last part where I nearly got bombarded by one of the assassins in the floor. Barely missing it, I activated my ability Lock Heart to make certain that I wouldn’t be caught off guard again by it or any of its comrades.
One of the Dragoons that were left decided to come at me from above, swarming with its dark energy. To avoid its assault I “joined” the other Assassins still in the ground—their number increasing to four since two followed the originals after the first one attacked and left—and unleashed Kage no Kokoro to wipe them out. Flying out of the shadows in the ground I dodged two Dusks and went straight for the Sorcerer.
As was typical with Sorcerers its only strategy to defend itself was by summoning those magical cubes to try and reflect my attack. Taking advantage of such a simple tactic, I used the force generated from my own might to launch myself back into the frontlines, took out the two Dusks I dodged earlier, and went to work on practicing my new technique on a Dragoon I caught from behind.
Alright…let the games begin. Making a false-swipe at the Dragoon, I whispered, “Muchitsujo no Yoru.” In response to what had just occurred the Dragoon spun around to try and injure me. Staggering back after missing terribly the Dragoon suddenly started attacking invisible enemies. One Dusk got to close to this warring Nobody and ended up getting slain by it, causing the others to shift their attention at this loner who was now a threat to their existence. Some of the others still tried to come after me, but I escaped from them by shrouding myself in shadows and it was from there that I decided to sit back and watch the fun unfold, only coming out to eliminate the few who came too close to killing the Dragoon.
Five Dusks immediately swarmed around the rouge Dragoon, two of which went straight to attacking it. It managed to get hit by one of them, but the other met its end when the Dragoon recovered and rammed its lance straight through its chest. Without pausing it went to successfully doing the same with three other Dusks when one of the other Dragoons made a move to disarm it. Leaving my experiment to fend for itself I went after the other Dragoon still lurking in the wings just as it was about to use its signature move. Killing it and four more Dusks that were foolish enough to get in my way, I went back to my dark perch. In the time that I had done this my experiment killed the other Dragoon that went after it and two Assassins. Using its lance like a pitchfork it stabbed one of the last two Assassins left and tossed it in the direction of other that was airborne at that very moment. The two of them landed on top of a Dusk that couldn’t slither away in time. No longer able to keep their presence on the field the two Assassins exploded, taking helpless Dusk with them.
Making quick work of the last Dusk remaining, the only two Nobodies—other than myself, of course—left on the battlefield was the Sorcerer and my renegade Dragoon. For a while all that the Dragoon did was watch its foe remain in place, rippling its body as usual, with a more than apparent sign of difficulty on its part to remain focused. When neither combatant stirred I provoked the Dragoon into making the first move by summoning shadows to engulf it. Charging dead ahead into the Sorcerer it quickly met up with the wall of magical cubes, but instead of ramming into it the Dragoon quickly resorted to using its signature move. Narrowly escaping the attack, the Sorcerer conjured a line of magical cubes to go on the offensive. The Sorcerer proved that it could more than hold its own against the Dragoon in terms of raw power for each time it manipulated the cubes into assailing the Dragoon, the Dragoon in turn found great difficulty in sustaining its stance. Finally finding an opening when the Sorcerer had the cubes raise above its head the Dragoon sprang forward to pierce the Sorcerer dead-center.
Good work. Now that my test is complete, it’s time to relieve you of duty. Before the Dragoon had a chance to calm down I leaped at him from my hiding spot and beheaded him. After sheathing Kage no Kokoro I noticed a familiar presence draw closer. Smiling I asked, “So the Great and Noble Heathen has finally found it beneficial to return to the Land of the Conscious, eh? Tell me, how is the weather in the Land of Dreams?”
Etxel responded comically, “Alas, my Lady, the Land of Dreams is in the middle of a drought and has been deprived of the very thing that attracts me to that land.”
“Oh?” I asked playfully. “Is this thing that the land has been deprived of me, by any chance?”
“Very close, my Lady, but not quite.” he laughed.
“Then whatever may this thing of attraction be?” I asked truly curious and unprepared for his next comment.
Without skipping a beat, Etxel answered, “Mead; my head is still reeling from the rocks falling on top of my skull. I figure if I am going to suffer this much it might as well be self-inflicted, and what better way to do that then by partaking in the nectar of the gods?”
I was no longer able to partake in this conversation because my laughter barely even allowed me to breath. What made me all the more jolly at this was the contrast in character of the man saying this; normally Etxel takes on a down-to-earth, mildly serious persona, so hearing him break from that and revert to the light-hearted man he truly was at the core was refreshing.
When my mirth had finally subsided Etxel took on a practical voice once more. “In any event Lady Xakiah, what have you been busying yourself with since our last meeting?”
Straightening myself up I simply told him, “Training…lots and lots of training. And yourself?”
“Not nearly as much I’m afraid. Truthfully, I woke up from my injuries about two days ago, but Sir Verex insisted that I remain in the infirmary until my body regained more health.”
“Is that so?” Now how did Verex get this stubborn knight to stay indoors?
“Yes…” Extel sighed, “he even drugged me to make certain that I couldn’t leave Citadel Abyss.”
Smart move.
“Anyway,” started Etxel, “what type of training have you been doing? I saw you a while ago fighting off some of the lesser Nobodies, but I cannot quite figure out exactly what you have been up to.”
“Ah…that…” I briefly described to him that I had been in the process of developing a new technique for the past few months and had been in the process of testing if it works properly. I also mentioned to him that after thirteen tests my technique worked just fine.
“Thirteen? Why do you test it that many times?”
“Call me superstitious if you want…but it’s my firm belief that if a test can be passed for that number of times then God is willing to let you proceed as planned...without too many hitches, that is.”
“You need not worry about being called ‘superstitious’ by the likes of me—let us not forget that my Somebody was a pagan.” he winked. “So, might I ask what this technique does?”
“Well…” I had to think about this for a while. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Etxel, I just couldn’t find it in me to trust him completely yet after what had transpired. Another reason I had to not tell him the whole truth was because I was concerned that an eavesdropper—particularly an eavesdropper currently residing in Avalon—was spying in on us, and I couldn’t risk the enemy knowing the fundamentals of what I had worked so hard to develop. Etxel must have sensed the dilemma I was facing and reassured me that I didn’t have to tell him everything, and that all he was wondering was what he was going to have to look out for in the near future. With a grin I said, “Alright, I’ll give you a hint: do you recall my technique, Gai no Yoru?”
He shuddered before saying, “That I do.”
“Well…let’s just say that it’s a lot like that…only it’s meant for those who lack hearts instead of those that do.” Shaking his head, Etxel informed me that it was for these very reasons that he dreaded the thought of ever being put down on my hit-list.
Redirecting the conversation, I asked, “So, Etxel, what brings you here to the Betwixt and Between?”
“Yes, about that,” he said in a grave tone.
“Oh no…this is going to be a long story, isn’t it?”
“No, my Lady; on the contrary, it’s about the Organizations and the war between them.” He looked at me for a little while for a sign that I would give him my undivided attention. After nodding to him, he continued, “From what I have acquired from Verex not much action, save for perhaps a conflict here and there, has been happening between the two. Some of the members of Zero have been getting anxious lately, and quite frankly I too am getting a terrible foreboding about what this silence is supposed to mean. With this in mind I came here for two reasons, this question being the second: Do you know what is going on in Castle Oblivion? You need not tell me the details; my only concern is if whether or not I should kidnap you to protect you from whatever is transpiring in that realm.”
“Etxel,” I moaned, “I’m a full-grown assassin. You don’t need to concern yourself about my well-being.” Even though it is rather touching.
Lowering his voice, almost to the point of sounding like a song, Etxel said, “Mo croí, I have dedicated my whole existence into making certain that we can continue to see the dance of the heavens together. The very thought of being enable to aid you—or worse, fail you—is a nightmare that would surely destroy me if ever given the chance to come to pass.”
Curse it! Why, in all of God’s creations, must this man be the one to weaken me with nothing more than his voice? And why, in all of God’s goodness, must I be swayed to obey him when that voice of his, coupled with those amber eyes that illuminate the shadows of my soul when near, is brought to surface? (And why on earth am I talking as though I were back in the Medieval era?!) Curse these predicaments that render my own will useless!
Turning my head away to try and relieve me of my trace, I meekly told him, “Very well, if you really want to know then I regret to inform you that I don’t have an answer to your question. I’ve been away from Castle Oblivion for these past three weeks so I’m not sure of what anyone there is up to at this point in time.”
“I see…” Clearly, my answer did little to steady his nerves.
“But,” I said using a stronger tone of voice than before, “when I do find out, and if it does have anything to do with what you say, then I assure you that you’ll be the first person I ask for help.” Smirking, I added, “Does that sound fair to you?”
Giving me a smile in return, Etxel told me that it sounded so.
Not much more could be said between us, other than some usual small talk. After we had our fill of that I turned to leave for Castle Oblivion when Etxel embraced me from behind.
A little shocked I stammered, “Etxel, wh-what’re you—?”
“You never did ask me about my other reason for coming here, my Lady. Would you like to hear why?” Not waiting for me to respond he answered, “It’s because I wanted to talk to you about something else, besides what has already been stated.” Curious as to what he had in mind, I waited to hear more from him and even encouraged him to continue. “It is about where our relationship stands as of right now. Due to our Organizations being at war with one another, combined with my betrayal of your trust, we are now in a predicament that may separate us permanently. I do not wish to be your harbinger of pain, so if you desire to be liberated from me then all you need to do is say the word and I will be out of your life without any quarrel.”
I would’ve laughed at such impudence, if not for the sorrow that weighed heavy in his voice. Taking in a deep breath, I told him, “The one thing that never ceases to amaze me about you, Etxel, is your inability to realize that both love and pain affects both parties. As I’ve come to understand, emotions are present in all things that have any awareness of what they are, regardless of whether or not they have hearts or not. So you see…if I were to so carelessly say ‘go away’…I might as well be asking you to die. And don’t deny it—that’s exactly what you would try to do if I were to ever be so cruel. Though I may be hurt now at what has transpired in the past, I have the confidence to acknowledge that such wounds can heal, given the right amount of time. In this particular instance, you may find that receiving my forgiveness is much easier than you may be willing to believe because…because…well, I have to constantly remind myself of why I’m upset at you in the first place.” I slowly turned my body around to reach up and grasp his face gently in my hands—these same hands that were purposely trained to demolish such life, such beauty—and lower it to softly kiss him. Barely separating my lips from his I whispered, “But…for your sake of honor and for your desire to repent, anamchara, I will allow you to try to find some means of earning my forgiveness. Agreed?”
Drawing me in even closer to his embrace, Etxel slowly caressed my lips before whispering back, “Yes. Thank you, mo croí.” Before he even finished saying that last part he went back to kissing me, which slowly grew in intensity to the point to where my thoughts could no longer take form, increasing the amount of pleasure I felt.
Prying ourselves from each other before our moment of compassion got out of hand; we humbly said our goodbyes and made our way to our respective Organizations. My only concern, the entire way back, was how to hide the blood that had rushed into my face.
~Xakiah
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Xakiah: Why?! >__<;
Me: Why what? o_o?
Xakiah: Why did you have to change the music you were listening too when writing this?! >__<;
Me: Umm…is there a problem? o_o?
Xakiah: YES, YOU IDIOT!!! You started out listening to Metallica’s S&M album to help write the fight scenes, only to suddenly switch to the Beauty and the Beast OST—particularly the song “If I Can’t Love Her” (which you have on a different album, but is besides the point!)—to write that mushy crap!!! >__<;
Me: (*sadistic grin*) You like it, and you know it. TTwTT
Xakiah: (*anime drops*) >__<;
Non-English Words of the Day (hmm…most of these are actually in Japanese today. Sweet!):
Kage no Kokoro—(Japanese) “Heart of Shadows” or “Shadow Heart”
Muchitsujo no Yoru—(Japanese) “Night of Chaos”
Gai no Yoru—(Japanese) “Night of Mischief”
Mo croí—(Irish Gaelic) My heart
Anamchara—(Irish Gaelic) Soul mate
