Revelations

Facing off against one another on the top of a large cliff enclosed off by nothing more than tree’s as far as the eye could see were two individuals that were exchanging blows with one another. They were both carrying blades as the sound of their well crafted steel weapons echoed through the forest behind them. It was breathtaking — the sight of two exceptionally skilled warriors dancing with each other in the midst of combat as their swordsmanship was as refined and beautiful as their physical appearances.

On that note, the two individuals that were going at one another were both a man and a woman that were both clearly in their late teens, no older than twenty years of age. Ludius Grande Di Tetsuya — the black haired man who held his blade with a wide grin on his face was an anomaly among mages in realm of magic as he possessed ridiculous strength and was the rising guild master of the newly created Dawn Horizon guild that was the talk of. Violet Miyamoto — the purple haired woman who an acting member of the Avalon Brigade; a task force dedicated to eradicating all forms of criminal activity that lurked within the shadows of the country. With such esteemed individuals both in one place, the simple question of why they were fighting against each other was what would pop into anyone’s mind.

“Your skills are just as impressive as always, Viola” Tetsuya complimented as he smiled a bit further, clearly amused at his current activity. To him, these battles with Violet were becoming more and more enjoyable for him as he continued to see improvements in the young woman’s fighting technique with each passing battle, spurring on his desire to fight such a worthy adversary even more.

“You scum! Take this seriously!” Violet appeared non too pleased at Tetsuya’s lack of seriousness at the fight as she swung her Ryuuzetsu at him in several directions to throw him off, clicking her teeth in ire as he deflected all of her attacks with ease.

Jumping back to gain some distance, Tetsuya steadied his blade by his side as he looked directly at the aggravated woman. “You’ve got to learn how to relax Viola, your swordsmanship becomes sloppy every time you fall for my taunts”

Violet would have argued back against the ridiculous claim but knew there was some truth to it and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. This wasn’t good — she was neglecting the basic principles of her father’s teachings and getting too worked up. It was like he always said, a person is at their most vulnerable when they cannot calmly assess a situation.

Once she had calmed down, she lowered her stance a bit as she held her silver katana parallel of her forearm and glared at Tetsuya’s idle figure. “Today is the day that you will finally fall to my blade, Tetsuya!”

Seeing her reinvigorated spirit, Tetsuya’s smile widened as he also drew his katana back and took a similar stance. “Now that’s the Violet I know. Show me everything you’ve got and I’ll show you why its not enough”

The two of them then just continued to stand opposite of one another, glaring the other down as it seemed like an eternity had passed since they had last spoken. Neither one wanted to make the first move and preferred being the one to counter instead of initiating the clash. This was not a new sight — there had been an almost countless amount of times that this exact same scene had transpired across the country of Fiore as Tetsuya and Violet had dueled against one another more times than they could count. In all of the duels they had fought against one another however, there was one thing that was clear between them, one undeniable fact that could not be changed anytime soon.

And that was…

“Hah!

“Hooh!”

The two of them shouted as they dashed towards each other in an instant, thrusting their blades forward as time seemed to slow down and the clouds that were floating above them shook with anticipation for the outcome of the duel. In one bright flash of light, Violet and Tetsuya faced away from each other, both gripping their katanas with incredible force as their breathing returned to normal and change in the atmosphere returned to normal.

A left scar then appeared on Tetsuya’s face as a faint drip of blood fell from it and stained the soft soil underneath his feet. A triumphant smirk appeared on Violet’s face as she turned to face him and could not contain the rush of excitement that filled her stomach to know she had finally gotten the better of Tetsuya.

“It seems that I have won this exchange” She boasted.

Tetsuya didn’t say anything at first but soon lifted his katana into the air as he slowly placed it back into its sheath, pointing towards Violet’s green and white school top and mini skirt. “You sure about that?”

“Huh? What are you… eh!?” Violet’s voice trembled as both her top and mini skirt exploded outwards with numerous slash marks covering them. The shock of seeing her outfit destroyed in front of her caused Violet’s cheek’s to flush a deep scarlet as she quickly covered herself up by squatting on the ground and tucking her hands into her stomach to hide her exposed black and white undergarments that were in plain sight.

Tetsuya wiped the scratch off his cheek as he walked closer to Viola and crossed his arms. “Aw, what a shame. You were so close this time to, it’s just a shame that your speed hasn’t reached the same level as mine, which is why you lost again”

The undeniable fact was that Tetsuya was simply stronger than Violet.

“Y-You…” Violet growled with a still red stricken face as she cursed the man in front of her with every fibre in her being. How many times had he humiliated her like this? Was he nothing but a shameless pervert? It was bad enough that her family’s swordsmanship that she had mastered and honed for almost two decades was being bested by an improvised barbaric style that had no trace of elegance or form in it — but what made it even worse was that the person that she was unable to defeat just so happened to be the criminal that she and her squad had been trying to catch for many months.

“You know” Tetsuya began as he squatted down with her, cupping his chin in his hands in an innocent sort of way. “I’m surprised you’ve been trying to beat me one on one. You’d have a much better chance if you teamed up Sophia and the rest of those girls” He wasn’t lying. In a one on one fight, Tetsuya was simply too much for any member of the Avalon Brigade, including Sophia herself who was also a Dragon Slayer. That just illustrated the significant gap between himself and his pursuers.

Violet felt insulted by his choice of words as she swiftly grabbed his shirt and brought his face closer to hers. “Have you no honor? My goal is to defeat you with my own strength, my own power! I may be a member of the Brigade but I am still the next heir to the Miyamoto Clan! Do not underestimate the will of those in m bloodline!”

Tetsuya was surprised to say the least from the outburst of the woman that was grabbing him at the moment but that soon turned to amusement as his eyes descended downwards, Violet soon following his eyes as she realized the gravity of her mistake by standing up. Her face steamed with red again as she covered herself back up and looked both mentally and physically taxed from dealing with Tetsuya.

“W-Why do you torment me like this…” Her previously confident and borderline arrogant voice had faded and was replaced with a more vulnerable and softer tone.

“I’m not the one who decided to stand up when they were half naked” Tetsuya stated the obvious that annoyed Violet but she couldn’t refute it as it was completely true. He then stood back up as he looked into the sky, a raindrop having now dropped onto his forehead as he squinted his eyes.

“Shit, rain huh? Damn, of all the rotten luck…” With how far away he was from the guild base, travelling back now would be a huge pain in the ass to deal with. He was only wearing a jacket and a shirt underneath so it wasn’t as if he was unprepared to deal with rain, especially when he compared his attire to Violet’s lack of, courtesy of himself.

Scanning the area, Tetsuya was quick to spot the abandoned cabin that was near the edge of the cliff as he walked closer to Violet.

“Hey, it’s about to rain so we should find some shelter. I’m going to stay over there” He pointed to the cabin. “You coming?”

Violet followed his finger and saw the cabin, weighing the options she had at the moment. Heading back to headquarters was completely out of the question in her current state and calling for help would be disastrous if her squad ever found out she challenged Tetsuya alone. Since there was no other option, she would head to the same place. “I don’t have much of a choice. I will accompany you there for a short while”

Tetsuya smirked as he took off his jacket and tossed it to the startled Violet who caught it and blinked at Tetsuya who began walking towards the cabin with his arms behind his head. “Cover yourself up, it would suck for you if you caught a cold right after you got your butt kicked again”

“...That asshole” Violet murmured as she held the black jacket in her arms, the scent of Tetsuya now enveloping her nose that smelt like an unfamiliar cologne. It was surprising, to know that he took such good care of his personal hygiene and actually gave her his jacket. She wrapped it around her torso as she stood up and followed him to the cabin, planning on resting for a bit as the rain passed before initiating another plan on capturing the independent mage.

She had come this far and was determined to complete the mission at whatever cost. (Part 2 Coming)