Hesitating after hearing my introduction, the stiff lad standing before me responded uncomfortably, “My name is Setxune…”
“Setxune…” I repeated, relishing the way that rolled off the tongue. That aside, I realized by this initial reaction that if I was going to get anywhere with this guy who—if my hunch was accurate—wasn’t used to people confronting him, I would have ask my next round of questions cautiously. “And might I ask what your skill is in? As in your element.”
“Why would you want to know?” Clearly he was eager to leave, but I wasn’t about to let that happen. Not until I got some info on him first. That way, if he decided to help me or not, I could further increase my knowledge over this castle and its inhabitants in the event of the leader finally losing that last shred of restraint and partaking in a killing spree. And considering his mentality as of late, I was beginning to feel that such a catastrophe was going to happen soon.
Earnestly curious, I softly answered him, “I just would like to know…”
With that, Setxune gave me one of those looks that told me he was skeptical and was searching for a more plausible motive behind my question. As aggravating as that was, I found myself appreciating and respecting him for it, especially since that’s exactly what I would’ve done.
Perhaps he thought he would obtain a better understanding of what I was up to if he just went up and cooperated with me. Or perhaps he was just that interested in appeasing me. Either way, he relinquished enough of his skepticism to converse with me after a few moments had passed, but still maintained a firm level of caution during the talk. “Alright then…I’ll tell you. It seems to be Darkness…”
“‘It seems to be?’” As far as I was concerned, you either had power over a certain type of power or simply didn’t. Sure, I have come across at least five cases in which a person’s power was constantly shifting, but I seriously doubted this lad in front of me could be one of those types mainly because none of the ones I’ve known were mentally stable.
“Yeah, I’ll leave it at that.” he reassured me before turning to leave.
“Wait!” At this point, my curiosity barred me from leaving this matter unsettled. “Where are you going? I just—”
“Yet another question, Xakiah?” Setxune interrupted. Taking in a deep breath, he softly said, “I’m sorry…I’m not used to having people ask or even talk much. Please forgive my behavior.”
Grinning a little at his awkwardness, which was, I found, a natural characteristic of one brand of people who wield darkness, I gently reassured him, “I know…I can see that in you.”
The sound he produced upon my saying that told me in return that he didn’t appreciate the thought of being able to be read so easily. Not that I blamed him, of course. “So then, what is it that you need from me?”
Finally, the moment I was waiting for. Drawing in closer to him, I explained, “I’m looking for someone that has abilities that can be useful for what I need…”
Setxune tilted his head at this. “What you need…and what is that which you need, if I may ask?”
“I need someone who can manipulate darkness and that knows computers.”
“Well I’m no good with computers…so you might have to look for someone else.”
Oh my…it looks as though he’s misinterpreted what I was asking—wait! When I reexamined what I had told him, I realized that I made a phrasing error and was about to curse myself out for it when I remembered that I had already formed an alternative option. “Then I’ll ask you one other thing: Do you rely primarily on your weapon in combat rather than your powers?”
“Actually,” he started, “I do…”
Truthfully, I thought RaXi might’ve been the only member of this motley crew that I could call a kindred spirit due to our similar stubbornness (among other things). But after watching this lad try to analyze every little detail concerning our conversation, and hearing that, like me, he preferred to utilize his weapon more than his powers in combat, I was beginning to wonder why I hadn’t taken the initiative to expose myself to the other members of this place sooner. Unquestionably pleased with his response and eager to test the integrity of his words, I smirked and said, “Then let’s just see if you’re truly are what I’m looking for.” Flexing my arms around, I asked with anticipation, “Are you ready?”
Returning the smirk, he replied, “Yes, I am…” Eager for what this fight would ensue, I was about to draw Kage no Kokoro from its sheath when he made a notion for me to stop what I was doing. “Are you sure you want to fight here?”
“Why not? I couldn’t care less about where we have our bought.” I commented innocently.
“Truthfully,” he started, “I feel the same way, but I can’t help but wonder how the other inhabitants of this castle would react to that.”
Straightening up, I asked him with a tone of indifference, “And why should we care about what everyone else thinks?”
Smirking again, Setxune responded, “Let me rephrase that: I don’t want to willingly subject myself to a long-winded lecture about ‘order’ and ‘how we’re making his life difficult’ from Triskix.”
I chuckled at that. “You make a valid point. Very well then…we’ll take this fight elsewhere. Does the Betwixt and Between sound good to you?”
Shaking his head he responded, “No…too much trouble. How about the training hall?”
I shrugged, “Whatever pleases you.” I didn’t care where the fight was going to happen. All I was concerned about was having my fun and getting back to business as soon as possible.
Without another word, Setxune and I made our way to the training hall to test our skills against one another. Along the path we came across a few other members of the Organization, and fortunately none of us bothered to stop to make small-talk. However, I did notice by the look in his eyes that Setxune had something on his mind that was causing him strife. As interested as I was in hearing his story, I figured by the successful attempt he made to cover that feeling from his face that he wasn’t keen on talking about it. Which was perfectly fine by me—concern for people I barely even knew was certainly not a personal quality I held in my possession, and nor did I desire to add it to my resume.
As a precaution against a sudden change in character though, I decided it best to conjure a strategy for our upcoming bout. Alright; as is standard protocol for those I’m not familiar in combat with, I’ll start the fight slow and prioritize defense. Now…to make that plan more specific…what can I defer from the way he carries himself? Taking a few moments for proper analysis, I studied Setxune’s movements and physical physique very carefully. His steps are light and swift—this is a man who prizes agility. He isn’t exceptionally broad shouldered so his weapon of choice can’t be anything big, like a halberd or a Buster sword, but they certainly aren’t scrawny, like someone who only flings around magic or uses short-range weapons. Setxune most likely uses…either a mid-range weapon, like a sword or a quarterstaff, or a powerful long-range weapon, such as a longbow. (Personally, I can see this lad using a long-bow, but hardly anyone uses them anymore so I highly doubt that’s his choice of weapon.) On a final note, Setxune—like myself, thank God!—seems to prefer avoiding banter and getting straight to the point.
“Xakiah, what are you doing?” Setxune asked after finally taking notice of my prying eyes.
Smiling coolly, I told him, “Oh…nothing much…just taking notes.”
Pausing for a while, he continued, “I suppose that’s another response I shouldn’t be too surprised of. And before you ask…the reason why I say that is because I already know about how you go around telling everybody that you’re an assassin.”
The way he said ‘assassin’ told me that he had his doubts pertaining to my claim. I was curious as to whether or not it specifically concerned my abilities as an assassin or if that was a legitimate title, but I figured such questions would have to be asked at another time. Besides, I’ve always found such skepticism against me entertaining; what better way to catch someone off guard then when they’re in complete denial? Maintaining my smile I countered, “Good. I’d…hate to have to go up against someone that’s completely unprepared.”
“I see…” Turning his head away from me Setxune quickened his pace just fast enough to make it to the door. Holding the door open, he said, “After you.” He smirked after seeing me raise my eyebrow up to this and commented, “Not many girls curtsey anymore…and I figured ‘why not return an old-fashioned courtesy?’”
“Old fashioned?” I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult. Despite my thought, I did find this gesture…soothing on the soul. The last time a man—other than Etxel or Múinteoir of course—held a door for me was…well, I suppose a sentiment of that nature has been long past due and has no business in the present date.
Smiling for the real this time, I trailed off in a trance-like state and commented, “Gestures of this nature, regardless of what it may have meant in the past, have become scarce with passing generations due to an increased belief that it demeans both parties of a sense of independence. There are plenty of exceptions to this notion, of course, but they are usually held in contempt by the other individuals and labeled ‘sexist’ or ‘ignorant’ because, in their words, they are acts of ‘subservience.’ Despite that though, I highly encourage you to continue practicing these sorts of acts for the simple matter…” I couldn’t continue that statement. I wanted to, but Etxel’s image was already too vivid in my mind. Completely lost in my trance, I could literally see Etxel standing before me, smiling with that warm, sincere grin of his that lessened the degree of intimidation most felt due to his huge stature. I could also gaze into those amber eyes of his that never failed in drawing me to him—like a moth that’s uncontrollably attracted to a flame, if you will. If I had a heart, it would’ve stopped at him calling my name with that soft and deep voice of his, but that feeling was cut short when that image was destroyed in an instant by a single flash of light, ending itself in a display of Etxel’s blood painting the atmosphere around us.
“Xakiah?”
In another time and place, I would’ve killed Setxune for witnessing my moment of nostalgia and, even worse, my moment of weakness without hesitation. Truth was I was furious at myself for betraying my current objective and for allowing myself to experience those emotions. Pushing my temper and my wavering over what would ultimately become of Etxel to the side, I reminded myself of why I was there and why this man needed to remain amongst the living. Reverting back to my trademark grin, I commented, “My, my…so much for avoiding long-winded lectures, no? Anyway, thank you,” and rushed right inside. This time, Setxune was the one to stop the other from getting away by grabbing me by the arm. He looked at me straight in the eye for a while, clearly wanting to ask something, but not a sound escaped his lips. We stared at each other in silence before he finally let go, requesting that I forget what he just did.
When we got inside we were met with a huge, spacious room that was perfect for what we were about to do (which definitely had to have been the case with the fresh signs of wear still apparent on the walls). I wish I could’ve said that this room was empty, except for the two of us, but directly to our left was a little girl who prevented that from happening. Focused entirely on whatever she was doing with the gadget she had in hand, she didn’t hear us come closer to her.
Genuinely interested in her project and a way to forget what had just occurred, I inquired, “Hmm…might I ask what you’re doing?”
Jolting at the sound of my voice, she looked up and stammered, “N-nothing much, just working on my latest invention.”
“Really? I would think that such experimentation would be best done in a lab.”
“Maybe, but I felt like doing it in here today.” The lassie casually stated.
Setxune looked somewhat puzzled at this. “Why?”
“Well,” she explained, “I would do this in the library because it’s quiet, but I was told not to because ‘my gadgets are too loud and annoy everyone else,’ so I came in here to do my work because I can make as much noise as I want without anybody complaining.
“By the way,” she said changing the topic, “who are you two anyway and why are you here?”
Shooting her a grin, I said, “Where are my manners? Hello, my name is Xakiah. The quiet man standing behind me here is Setxune. And you are?”
Brightening up, she proudly exclaimed, “My name is Xena, the Techno Freak!”
Really? Interesting… Taking her title into consideration, I postulated whether or not she’d be willing to partake in my mission. Hoping that she’d be the type that would, I continued, “Hmm…well, nice to meet you, Xena. To answer your second question, Setxune and I are here to partake in a sparring match.”
“Would you mind if I stuck around?”
Setxune was about to respond when I cut him off. “Not at all—feel free to do whatever you like. However, I would ask a favor of you before we begin.”
Tilting her head, she asked, “Really? What is it?”
Perfect. “I’ve been asked by an acquaintance of mine for a favor, and I need two people with specific abilities to help me out with it. And it just so happens that one of those people I’m looking for is an expert in computers. Tell me…are you up to the task?”
Xena turned her eyes away for a moment to consider what I had just asked her long and hard. Listening in, I could hear the rise and fall of her tone that resonates within the vocal cords when one evaluates the positive and negative aspects of a situation. As interesting as it was to witness this thought process from the surface, I quickly grew tired of watching this indecisive display and decided to take a different route to resolve this matter. “Don’t worry too much about giving me an answer right now. This little mission of mine will start at noon, tomorrow, so you can give me your answer then. Okay?”
Setxune jumped in right after I said that. “That’s a little sudden, don’t you think?”
“Think of it this way,” I started while giving him a backward gaze, “you can either do that, or you can be a good little puppet for the leader of this Organization and actually do everything he says.”
“Big talk…coming from a fellow ‘puppet.’” Setxune smirked.
Turning my entire body to him, I enthusiastically riposted, “That may be so, but at least I’m willing to admit it.’” I stopped the conversation right there by shifting my attention back to Xena. Honestly, I was more than willing to continue what would’ve become a spat of verbal jousting with a like-minded comrade. What made me decided against it was because this small moment managed to renew my spirits for the fight and alleviate what I felt earlier, and I had no intentions of spoiling that feeling of relief by dragging it out. If allowed to continue, though, I believe we could’ve proceeded that way for much longer than expected, but that was a venture we would have to attempt at another time. Provided that the both of us were willing, that is.
“Anyway Xena,” I offered with more vigor than before, “go ahead and take your time answering my question. In the meantime, Setxune and I will be testing each other to see if the other has…a legitimate reason to boast about their abilities.” Well…at least Setxune will be testing that theory for my case. I, on the other hand, will be testing to see if Setxune is really worth all the skepticism and sarcasm I’ve had to put up with today, I thought to myself humorously.
Xena shrugged, “Okay,” and then repositioned herself to optimize her comfort on the bench.
Meanwhile, Setxune and I were making our way to the center of the room. This time, however, we filled in the gap of time by making small talk…for lack of a better phrase. “Xakiah, about this mission you have in mind…just what exactly is it?”
I decided to play innocent. “Oh, nothing much…just a favor for an acquaintance, ‘tis all.”
“Yeah, you said that earlier, but that doesn’t tell me exactly what this mission of yours is.” By the tone he took, I originally thought that he was quickly losing his patience with me. His eyes, on the other hand, told me he was trying to postulate the sort of mission I had in mind that would involve him and Xena, and not having much success with it.
“Now, now, Setxune…I wouldn’t be alive today if I revealed to a complete stranger everything I was up to, now would I?”
Annoyed, Setxune sardonically asked, “This goes right back to being an assassin, doesn’t it?”
“Well,” I smirked, “I guess you’ll just have to find that out during our fight.” Bowing our heads to each other, as was customary, we separated to take our positions opposite of each other and prepared our weapons for the oncoming onslaught. Setxune’s choice of weapon was a set of dual blades which were cloaked in an aura—I one wished to call it that—of its own that would’ve been invisible to an untrained eye. As with most other sets of duel blades, the revealing point being the way the hand guard was shaped, this weapon was made to connect in times where a stronger weapon was required. Sleek, slender, and infused with a little of his own power, these blades complimented and reinforced what I had made of Setxune’s capabilities earlier: he was fast and to the point.
Retaining my grin due to this subtle similarity in weaponry, basic skills, and for the anticipation for what was to come, I withdrew Kage no Kokoro along with its sheath in preparation for a battôjutsu. On the one-hand, having such a small weapon concealed within too large of a scabbard gave me two advantages; an incredibly fast draw and one hell of a confused opponent. However, the downside to this maneuver was that I would have to draw my weapon at a later time than normal in order for it to actually parry my opponent’s blade, thus exposing me to a direct assault should I pull Kage no Kokoro out too late. (That, of course, could never happen while I’m in top form, but I’ve always found it beneficial to pretend as though my life was on the line anyway for the sake of self-preservation.) For this reason, my real goal was to use the battôjutsu as a cover-up to stop Setxune long enough to launch my real assault. In the past, this tactic had proven to be most effective against those who weren’t aware of what I could accomplish on the battlefield so I figured, “why stop something that works?” Of course, if by some miscalculation on my part that my reputation had preceded me further than I imagined—heaven forbid!—I already had a backup plan formulated to defend myself.
With these plans for the present and flexibility for the near future set, I looked at Setxune and told him to charge at me whenever he felt like it. Void of hesitation, Setxune paid heed to my request by charging at me post haste. Just as planned, I deflected his first attempt at an attack, which took the form of a diagonal downward slash that was delivered by his right arm, by revealing the true identity of the piece of steel he was up against and pressing it near his hand guard. His eyes grew in shock of this discovery of this, just as I assumed would happen, but this emotion was short-lived and only granted me a split-second window to continue on with my plan. When he did recover he immediately launched his left blade in a backhanded slash aimed right at my torso; this venture, however, turned out to be for naught for I had already dived into the floor by the time he unleashed the sword’s potential energy. Unharmed, I used Kage no Kokoro’s sheath to club Setxune’s kneecaps together while his arm was still across his body, sending him on a collision course to the ground face-first. Flipping him over me before he could attempt a counter-attack, I retreated a few feet away from him and bided my time to see what he would do next.
Rubbing the back of his head, which was the first part of his body to come in contact with the floor after his fall, Setxune said nothing and gave me a look that told me he wasn’t particularly pleased with what just happened. Raising my eyebrow, I shrugged my shoulders and mockingly mouthed the question, “what?” Annoyed, Setxune shook his head, rose himself back to his feet, and came back at me with more determination than before.
Replacing the sheath to its proper place, I braced myself for the counter Setxune had in mind. Just before I could read in his eyes what that counter was going to be though, Setxune suddenly materialized in front of me to deliver what he had failed to do before. Out of time I ended up taking the brunt of his first stroke dead on, but I managed to stop him by the second one and retreated back from him yet again.
Ignoring the numbing sensation that was pulsing down my left arm, I stole a glance back at Setxune just in time to see him rush at me again in a fashion greatly resembling before. Instead he surprised me by disappearing from my sights yet again to materialize in the blind spot on my right. Shooting my scabbard straight up from where it rested at my side, I caught the first opposing blade before it had a chance to be swung down. From there I had Kage no Kokoro deal with its twin immediately afterwards by spinning myself around to greet its master. Successfully executed, Setxune’s torso was left defenseless and completely susceptible to my spell, which I unleashed after commanding, “Lock Heart!”
Regaining sovereignty over his limbs after the brief stunning effect of my spell, Setxune rebounded by taking the sword which had previously been deflected by my sheath and thrusting its handle towards my chest in a backhand motion. Dodging at the last minute, as was my style, I finally let my own blade have a sample of my opponent’s blood by making a quick jab at Setxune’s back. Following his lead to break away from pattern, I decided to pick up my game by twisting my self to the other side of his back to deliver that same attack, knowing full well that he’d go on the defensive to try and reclaim the upper hand. Sure enough, when I slashed at his other side he disappeared yet again. This time, however, I could literally feel where he was going off to and could formulate a perfect defense against the assault. Meeting him as he reappeared, my grin intensified in response to his expanding eyes. Instead of having our swords clash with one another again, he disappeared to try and come at me from another angle. What he clearly didn’t realize at that point was that the spell I used on him a few moments ago prevented him from vanishing completely from my senses, but I felt no need to inform him of this. In fact, I wanted to revel in his disparity over what was to come.
I will have to give Setxune his props though; in these next rounds of silent combat he did come close to piercing my vitals, and at times he proved to have a degree of velocity that I couldn’t measure out quite right. Nevertheless, our fight turned into a one-sided match consisting of constant fading in and out of our respective elements, flashes of our swords, and my growing hysteria.
Completely taken in by how well Setxune was able to keep up thus far, I temporarily stopped our quarreling by laughing out loud. “Well, well, well…if I had known that fighting you was going to be this much fun, I would’ve skipped the formalities and went straight to the action!” Setxune said nothing as I went right back to cackling manically once more. I don’t know what was running through his mind as he charged at me in the middle of my doing so, but with a few parries and powerful kick that sent him to his knees I let him realize under no uncertain terms that his decision proved fatal.
Escaping into the safety of the shadows, I mocked, “Lad, haven’t we been through that scene already? I’ll acknowledge your swordsmanship and your speed, but your sense of judgment…seriously needs improvement.”
Darting his eyes in hopes of catching a glimpse of where I was going to appear next, Setxune called out, “Really? And why would that be?”
“Because, lad,” I started as I cloaked my whole presence to make myself virtually invisible, “if your sense of judgment were any sharper, you would never have to worry about someone doing this.”
“Doing wh—?!” I answered his question by letting him feel the cold tip of my blade brush against his throat. Slowly releasing the barrier I had placed over myself to hide my presence, I let him further know that I was behind him the whole time.
“I think it’s safe to say that this match is over.” Fading back into the shadows one last time, I reappeared in front of him with a less psychotically-driven grin than what had blossomed during the fight. “So,” I began asking as I bowed back to him out of courtesy, “Will I see you here at this time tomorrow?”
~Xakiah
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Okay, it’s official—short posts are beyond me. But oh well, this just means I get to have more fun with what I do with my character. Right? ^_^; Anyway, sorry for the wait!
Alright darkittlylove and/or tigerlilly, your turn! ^_^
