28Spoilers for this chapter are through volume five. Technical references for volume fifteen or so.
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The door made a loud slam as it opened. Irene strode into the room, stopping upon seeing her target, hair and cape still despite the sudden change in momentum. Teresa finished buckling the last of the few pieces of armor the Warriors wore to her right arm before speaking. "Ah… It's been a while, hasn't it Irene? You look well."
The tightly controlled expression on Irene's face didn't change. "I'm here for your head, Teresa."
As she spoke, a smug smirk manifested itself lightly over her lips. "We'll see about that."
Large slashes erupted around Irene on the door frame, and when she stepped forward, they doubled in number and size, the door falling to pieces in the wayside. The faint smile Teresa was famed for shifted out of the smug look, "I don't mind you using your Quicksword, but leave the girl out of it." The smile remained, but her eyes were cold.
"It will be over before she even wakes. Don't worry." As Irene spoke, everything within range continued to fall apart. The door was practically splinters and mulch. As she approached Teresa, her sword stopped, caught on the sword of her opponent. Irene's eyes widened in surprise, more expression than she had shown in a long time, when dealing with anyone other than Kisuke. He was the exception to a number of rules.
"What's wrong? Your sword seems to be stuck." With a colossal wrench of effort, Irene whipped her sword free of her opponents block and retaliated with a flurry of steel. To her utter annoyance, Teresa matched her blow for blow. Even moving as fast as she was, her opponent was just that much better.
Irene's general irritation increased when Teresa's damnable smile widened and the number one spoke again. "You've gotten better." Another clash of steel, this one slightly disrupting Irene's balance; a large problem when fighting at high speeds. "But not good enough." Irene corrected her stance in time to prevent a gouge out of her upper arm.
Off to the side, the girl lying on the bed raised her head, sleep still fogging her eyes. The sound of the dancing swords had awakened her, the repeated clashes and clangs. Not quite conscious enough to know what was going on, she did recognize the woman whom she had been following. "Mmm… Teresa?" Was something wrong? And who else was here?
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Two houses down a man stood staring at the events unfolding across the road from him. If any could see him, they would stare and wonder how he managed to balance on the steep slate of the roof in only wooden sandals.
Kisuke sighed. The people were all focused on the fight. The other warriors with him were so foolish to attack here. The Organization's public purpose was to fight and destroy the yoma, as well as protect the citizens of the nation. Warriors fighting in public was not good for the peoples moral. Their hidden purpose, well, Kisuke had heard rumors. Not even rumors though, rumors of rumors. Those who knew were kept well away from one like him, and those who figured things out tended to disappear. It sounded like one of the stories he had heard as a child, a powerful group, terrible secrets, people going "missing." Maybe later he would have to find out what was really going on, something rather interesting to break the monotony. After this mission perhaps. Catch up with Teresa, blow some stuff up, and take on the Organization. It would be far different than usual; all the better then. The bucket hatted man grinned.
They had tried to kill him before, but he was too skilled for them. They had no idea of his full power. Heck, Kisuke didn't even know his full power. It wasn't like he could just train with his full power. Aside from the fact that it would be about as far from inconspicuous as it was possible to be, his yoma was…not nice. She didn't like to be called upon, even in a real fight. Why he had to be stuck with a monster in his body with the mentality of a PMSing woman he would never know. Though Kisuke would have to be careful she never heard him think that. She might just destroy him. He grimaced.
Then he grimaced again.
Noel had just jumped up and slashed across the window in an attempt to get Teresa. Honestly, these were supposed to be the best in the Organization? They were amateurs, getting by on power. Mind was important too, tactics, smarts. Wrecking the homes and inns of the villages was really foolish. Even if the Warriors tended to disturb the various normal people they met, it was just stupid to give them more ammo.
Teresa jumped out the window just before Noel managed to strike downwards, hardly surprising with her skill. What did startle Kisuke, enough so that he almost dropped his fan, was what the number one was holding under her arm. Holding her sword was normal, a pack was rarer, but still not far out of the ordinary; a small child was so far beyond expectations as to be a non-factor.
But there she was, landing solidly on the ground, Teresa's arm hooked around the girl's waist.
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Upon landing, the sound of shifting metal on stone hit her ears. Whirling around, Teresa's eyes widened in surprise, 'There was another one? I didn't sense her at all.' The number one's grip on Clare loosened and she stood, the smaller girl remaining on the ground. 'What is she, and how did she do that?'
The Warrior spoke. "It's an honor to meet you. My name is Priscilla, I just got certified." She shifted uncomfortably, something that confused Teresa. "I must apologize for my rudeness, but we've come for your head."
Teresa turned to the girl at her side. "Clare, step away."
"Wha…b-b-but…" She stuttered.
"I'll be fine, trust me. Just like I said before."
Clare looked hard at Teresa, before running off. Halfway across the street, she turned back, as if to reassure herself that her guardian had not disappeared. The child darted off again, as far away as she could and still see, as well as close as she dared. The thought of someone who could fight well enough that she thought she had a chance against Teresa terrified her, the fear purring her flight. Countering the fear was her desire to see her friend well, leaving the girl hiding behind a beam in front of one of the buildings, just eyes and fingers poking out.
With her charge out of the line of fire, Teresa was free to focus on the credible threat in front of her. Focusing more closely on the one who intended to take her head, now identified as Priscilla. "Priscilla, was it? I know you're new and everything, but answer me something. Why didn't you attack from behind? You might have wounded me, ended this fight before it began."
Without moving, Priscilla managed to convey a shrug. "But that would have been cowardly, wouldn't it?"
"Huh?" Teresa's brow furrowed.
"There was something I wanted to ask you." At that, the newly commissioned warrior had Teresa's full attention. "When the warriors came to get you before, why didn't you surrender yourself? You broke the Organizations rules."
Teresa didn't respond, and Priscilla continued. "Our job is to kill yoma, and protect the people. When you murdered those men, you broke the very thing we are. You broke the trust that we built with the ones we protect. By killing one of them, you tear apart the very thing we work for." At this, Priscilla's grip on her sword tightened and she slid into a slight crouch. Her sword held at her right side, similar to how most sheathed normal swords, she declared, "Forgive me, but by the rules of the Organization, I must take your head!"
Clare, hidden behind her post gasped at the danger that stood before Teresa. Irene and Noel stood merely watching at the window of the second story room they had demolished in the attempt to stop and defeat the rogue number one. Sophia was at the door, looking on. And Kisuke maintained his place on the roof, looking down, and his expression hidden, as often, behind the green and white folds of his fan.
Though concealed, the grin behind the fan widened more than it had been before. 'And now we see how far little Teresa has come. This Priscilla should give her a bit of a workout. If not, I suppose I'll need to step in."
Kisuke stood, green and white robes waving slightly in the wind, gazing down on what promised to soon be a warzone.
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Teresa angled her sword down, looking at her adversary. "You have done a wonderful job of justifying the Organizations logic. But you see, I'm afraid the real world doesn't work that way young lady."
Priscilla snapped. She darted forward, lashing out with her sword as she did so. Teresa managed to yank her blade into a block before she was sliced in two. Priscilla had moved far faster than she had expected. Ducking and throwing herself back, Teresa retaliated with an overhead swing.
Priscilla blocked, then sung again. The sound of blades clashing filled the street, and Teresa backpedaled furiously. This was not going at all the way she had planned. Her foe stuck again with her overly large blade, knocking Teresa back. She twisted around and used the momentum from the hit to collide with the building behind her feet first. Teresa surged back at Priscilla, her claymore already blurring into motion. She hoped to use the combined power of her body's motion and that of her weapon to break Priscilla's guard.
Priscilla slid aside, moving just enough to deflect the overpowered attack. Teresa was pulled past Priscilla's standpoint by her initial force, and tried to whirl around before Priscilla could attack. 'This is far harder than it should be,' Teresa thought. 'Why?'
Her opponent vanished and Teresa's eyes narrowed. A swish of air warned her, and her blade spun once again to protect her, this time from behind. 'I don't wish to hurt her, but she is making this far harder than it needs to be.'
Priscilla jumped forward, and was suddenly far too close to Teresa, as Kisuke would say, inside her personal bubble. Even though she was in the middle of a fight, Teresa blinked hard several times before fending off the number two's attack. Where had that thought come from? She hadn't seen Kisuke in years. A slice from Priscilla quickly brought her thoughts back on track. A flurry of blows passed, all closer than she would have liked.
Sweat trickled down her face. Teresa blinked. She was actually sweating?
It was time to take this a little more seriously.
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Alright, sorry people. I have no good excuses, but I'll say them anyway. I had this finished end of August, something like that, and planned to add more to it as I hate stories with short chapters. Then life kicked in and I headed off to college. More specifically engineering college. For those of you who don't know, that means I have very little free time, and most of that is taken up with gaming. SORRY! Anyway, you have this.