The promise of trouble
Due to blood loss I was unconscious for several days but none the less I survived yet another close to death experience. Alce was still alive, no surprise there. She was the only reason I didn't bleed to death but she was still very much injured. She didn't speak a single word knowing that she lost the bet and would have to take me to Natsuki, however, Yamimortel came back to tell Alce that she was to report in person with me in three days. The journey takes roughly a day and in our battered condition, two. That means that we would be leaving in less than a day. We didn't train or do anything beyond what was necessary in an attempt to recover. Neither of us could sleep due to the lack of anything. Hesitantly, Alce stood up and waved for me to follow. The travel took all night but we were out of the thick of the forest. Along the border we set up camp to rest and recover. We woke around noon the next day and immediately got back on the move. The closer we got to the city the more my hand started to hurt. We still hadn't spoken a single word since the battle, even when we got to the large chasm.
"Deja vu, it seems like it was just yesterday when we were going into the enchanted forest and now we're going right back to that big ass building." I thought to myself as we crossed.
Oddly enough, it didn't seem like we were going to the building.
"Where are we going?" I demanded, stopping Alce.
"You want to see her, and you landed the hit. Multiple at that. A promise is a promise so I'm taking you to her." Alce responded.
To this I took my hand off her shoulder and we continued until we reached a large gate. "You know who I'm here to see." Alce said to the guard who quickly opened the gate and led us in.
We were led down a long flight of stairs to a long hallway filled with cells. At the end of the hall was a large metal door that had scorch marks around it. "She's been a handful since you brought her in. 5 men in the past month, all kia." The guard said, unlocking the lock.
Before the door opened, Alce put her hand on my shoulder and whispered "if you try anything, you won't be walking out of here."
In the condition she's still in, she shouldn't pose much of a threat. Especially when I have Natsuki however, playing along is still necessary to learn as much as possible for the inevitable final battle. As the door slowly crept open, Natsuki was revealed to be sitting in the corner messing with another ball of fire.
"So what is this? A rescue, or an execution." She asked in a serious tone while extinguishing the fire.
"A time of leave if you will." I responded walking in.
"How can I trust you when she is standing there and you're still alive?" She asked, pushing off from the wall.
"Simple, I trained and beat Alce. The deal was if I could hit her when she was giving her all she'd take me to you." I responded, walking closer.
"You really are one crazy son of a bitch, you know that?" She said, examining me from head to toe. I still hadn't been able to change so all the blood had stained and all the lacerations to the clothes were still present.
"You don't have to tell me twice." I said, rubbing the top of her head.
"Make it quick." Alce said, turning away.
"Guess that's our que to follow." I chuckled.
We walked for nearly an hour before we got to the building. Walking through the doors with Natsuki at my side, not running or fighting definitely felt weird. Finally we arrived at the same doors that started the whole training. Alce was still very hesitant to knock on the large doors. It was almost like she was frozen from fear of the man seeing Natsuki and I together again.
"No time like the present." Natsuki said, walking up to the large doors and banging on them. Still, Alce was frozen. The first person we saw the moment the doors opened was none other than Yamimortel.
"You're early." He said, staring at me and Natsuki.
"Surely showing up early isn't a problem, right?" Alce asked rhetorically while pushing past him. "Alce, it's good to see you again. Surely he hasn't been that much of a hassle to you." The man said as the room stood to attention.
"He can be a little difficult at times but he passed the basic training." She replied, kneeling down. "Basic! Nothing about the training was basic. If that's basic then mastery would be nearly impossible!" I yelled in my head.
"And why is the titan with him?" He asked in a more serious tone.
"I'm a woman of my word, I promised that if he landed a hit on me while I was going all out, I'd take him to her." She said shackly.
"Defining the Grimm Reaper of all people? We thought you were smarter than that." One of the people in the crowd said.
"Silence! Yes, she did break the one rule that could put everyone in danger. However it is understandable as to why she did what she did. It might be more of a danger but for the next portion of his training I want you to train both him and his weapon." he replied with a booming voice. Alce released a loud breath of relief at the sound of this. Alce froze for a moment realizing what was just said.
"H-h-his weapon? As in, you are no longer requiring any restrictions on the two?" Alce said, trembling more than normal.
"It's important that he learns to not only fight with her but learn how to harness her. He shows no sign of the want for destruction so I'll trust him. This trust however will only be until you try something serious. Should this day come I will show absolutely no mercy to either you or your weapon. You three are now dismissed!" He boomed out. Quickly, Alce stood up and nodded before taking off through the door.
"Never seen her so scared. Before I go after her I'd like to make one thing very clear, ok?" I said, gathering his attention.
"Go on," he said calmly.
"I have no intentions on using Natsuki to conquer anything, all I work for is to give her a peaceful life that she was denied due to who she is. In other words, everyone lets us live peacefully and there will be no problems." I said before walking through the door.
Before anything else could be said the doors closed. Alce was hiding just beyond the hallway against the wall.
"A ruthless fighting machine that is scared of a loud voice. Color me surprised." I said, crouching down next to her. "
You wouldn't get it. That is a reaper, and one of the more powerful ones. If I cause problems… he would surely kill me." She explained while shaking so much that I could feel it through the floor. Letting out a sigh I picked her off the ground and threw her over my shoulder.
"Just what do you think you're doing!" She exclaimed as I walked through the big doors that led to the outside.
"If you're too scared to walk on your own then I'll just have to carry you back." I explained. The wound hurt like hell but the bleeding has stopped.
"You know we were both injured. If you even try to go half way you'd open your wounds again!" She yelled angrily.
"Do us both a favor and just be quiet, it's a long way to the edge of the city." I said, pushing through the thought of the pain. Going down the steps was hard but there was much more land to cover between us and the bridge.
"Derek, What you said back there. About the peaceful life. Did you actually mean that?" Natsuki asked, keeping right at my side.
"Yes, is it bad that I want my friend to be happy?" I responded.
"No but, you're going too far. There's no point in pushing yourself past your limit over and over again. You'll die." She said, burying her head into my side. Tears had started to form as we stood there.
"Die? Why bother? I have a job to do and a promise to uphold now. I'm not doing this for my sake, I couldn't care less what happens to me. However, you will get the life you deserve. Even if it's the last thing I do." This sent Natsuki into full blown tears. Slowly, I put my arm around her and started petting her hair.
"I never said I was going to die anytime soon, you're going to soak my shirt with tears." I chuckled, crouching down next to her. She wasn't short but she wasn't very tall either. Taking the opportunity, Alce pushed out of my grip and landed on her back.
"Just make sure you stay alive for at least another month." Natsuki demanded while wiping the tears from her face.
"I'll survive this month and the one after and the one after that. I'm not dying till I'm ready to do so." I promised, before grabbing her and pulling her in for a bear hug. Quickly, Natsuki did the same, nearly crushing my ribs. Before she could I let go and caught my breath.
"You might be stronger now but you ain't going to be out muscleing me." She laughed before letting me go.
Slowly we made our way back through the city till we reached the edge where we stopped. The sun was starting to set, bringing a dark, cold wave over the city when we started to cross the bridge to the forest. On the other side of the bridge lay the kid from the academy. "There you are. This time I will beat you!" He yelled, raising his kusarigama.
"Listen kid, I currently don't feel like fighting but if you want me to kick your ass I'll gladly oblige." I replied as Natsuki turned into a blade. Alce stepped to the side and sat on the edge of the bride as the silence grew thin. Both of us raised our weapons, preparing to settle things again.
"This should be fun to watch." Yamimortel Chuckled to himself from a distance.
We stood there for about a minute waiting for the other to make the first move when the wind stopped and there was nothing but complete silence. I dashed at the kid and sliced upwards causing him to go flying backwards. Without hesitation, I dashed after him. I managed to get under him and was getting ready to slice him when he blocked my strike with his chain. He then forced the chain to be completely straight, sending him flying backwards. Right as his feet touched I was in front of him. Before he could think I kicked his weapon out of his hand before kicking him to the ground. I raised my blade ready to kill him.
"That's enough! If he dies by your hand then both Alce and I get into major trouble. It's one thing for a spar, it's another for a deathmatch." Yamimortel yelled with his knife in hand.
"Oh come on, the kid needs someone to put him in place. Just let things take its course." Alce said, laying on the railing.
"Sorry, not happening. As his instructor, it is my duty to ensure nothing kills my student, you should do the same Alce." He said, putting his blade up while staring directly at Alce.
"She's not responsible for my safety or health or anything. That's all on me." I said in her defense.
"Not if she's supposed to be training you." He argued.
"Sorry but, whether you like it or not. I have a score to settle." The kid said, swinging his blade around getting ready to throw it.
"Don't say I didn't warn you kid." I said, readying for the attack. The moment he let go of his weapon, I charged in and kicked him over the edge of the bridge. Before he could fall to his death, I grabbed the kusarigama and wrapped it around the railing. On the other end he was hanging on for dear life.
"There, fight over and he's still alive." I mocked, shoving past him. Quickly, Yamimortel ran to the edge and pulled the kid up. Before he could turn around we were gone.
"You really need to get that kid in check Alce." He murmured to himself as he took the kid back to the fortress.