Storyteller and Dragon [Private/Viola]

It had been a couple weeks since Ayato had finished his mission in Minstrel. While he thought about the enemies he defeated there, Ayato couldn't help but be worried in regards to future monsters, and what strength they would have to offer. Since those days in Minstrel, Ayato tried his best to stay out of Blue Pegasus' way, for it would only bother him more with all the other missions they had to offer. As you can see by now, the mission in Minstrel left a great toll on Ayato's soul.

Wandering through the Peace Village, Ayato attempted to find a nice area to relax. This village was renowned for its peaceful environment, though still, some areas were louder than others; Ayato needed to be in the quieter places. Ayato tried finding people for assistance, but he noticed that nobody was around. "What am I supposed to do?" Ayato thought aloud. He continued strolling through the village, hopefully to find this desired establishment.

While Ayato hoped to be heading in the direction of his desired establishment, he came across an interesting sight. The wind blew especially well here, though the presence of magic was also felt within it. It was strange to see the wind blow so violently in a village known to be so silent. Ayato approached the scene calmly, and saw that there was a woman and man focused in one area. Ayato watched the two from a short distance, and saw that what the two were doing seemed relevant to a training session. Ayato smiled lightly and watched as the woman seemed to unleash great sources of strength from her body. Ayato was amazed to see such power expel from the woman, though she seemed to get angry, Ayato backed up, worriedly. A few minutes passed after this moment, however, as all seemed to get a bit calmer. The woman had stopped, which made Ayato figure it was his time to introduce himself. By the look on this woman, it seemed as though she needed assistance, anyway.

Ayato walked slowly over to the woman, the smile still present on his face. "Hey there!" Ayato greeted with a wave, "My name is Seitenshi Ayato. Do you need any help?" Ayato gave the woman a curious look after, his facial expression clearly wondered what the woman was doing here, in the first place. "You know this is the Peace Village, right?" Ayato noted, reminding the woman that this was a village meant to be traditional with its silence, "On the contrary, if you do need help with whatever you're doing, I suppose since I have nothing to do, that I could be at your assistance for a bit." Ayato shrugged jokingly towards the woman, trying to make her think she had a potential friend by her side. This made a slight grin grow on Ayato's face. His book, the Sixth Sense, placed itself into Ayato's left hand, while simultaneously, Ayato grabbed the handle of his sword, and unsheathed it with his right hand. "I saw that you were training moments ago, and I believe I could be a great addition to whatever you need help with." Ayato concluded, "The wind is running violently here, anyway. I assume that you did this, which is honestly quite impressive."

Yes...help!" Ayato replied, "While I saw you from inside the village, you looked like you needed some support, so I'm offering my assistance." Ayato looked at the woman strangely, at first. She was coming off oddly to him, not giving him that good of a first impression. However, Ayato dealt with it, and remained still in his current position. He listened to her speak more as the female said something rather weird. Honestly, it left Ayato clueless, wondering if the girl was speaking poorly to someone near him. "D-Did you say Angel?" Ayato confirmed, "Well, I am surely not an Angel, so if you believe this to be so, then sadly you're mistaken." This woman made the situation rather difficult to progress; to further this conversation. It was until the female finally mentioned his name that Ayato could understand what the woman was saying.

"You know, your name would help, as well, Miss." Ayato replied, "On the contrary, it seems as though a spar is about to commence, so I suppose we can leave names until later." The girl was right on two points. First of all, it was right to not play easy on strangers. Secondly, any normal battle would normally ruin the peace for those nearby, though unless sudden company came over, there was nobody near this imaginary battlefield. Ayato's book moved itself into his left hand, where it would be illuminated by magic. Alongside this, of course, was the unsheathed sword, which gave off a great sense of power in Ayato's sword. "There is absolutely no way you can stand a swordsman who has travelled through all eras." Ayato remarked, "I will help you to my utmost degree, but while I have such experience, do not dare go easy on me." The book known as the Sixth Sense shined brighter than ever before as it had identified something Ayato never thought he would encounter.

"Now, come at me, legendary dragon of Eclipse Soul!" Ayato dared, "Let my book identify you further, for it knows a portion of you, already."

Ayato observed Viola while she prepared herself for this duel. "A two-handed sword? That must mean its weight is superior to my own sword's." Ayato thought. A grin appeared on his face, however, as he thought about the timing of actions. He was highly manipulative in this sense, able to make predictions of how one may strike based on the movement of their muscles, or identified actions. Ayato stayed highly focused on Viola, especially until she laughed herself towards him. He saw that the blade had been pushed forward during this launch to see that Viola was attempting a clean lunge on him. On the contrary...

Even if the blade was two-handed, this didn't mean the woman could handle friction upon it, especially if airborne. Ayato swiftly swiped his sword to the clash its blade with the woman's, knocking both off for a mere second. During this second, Ayato quickly moved beneath the woman, and knocked her upwards with the pounding of his book upon her stomach. This was only his beginning move, and while he knocked the woman upwards, he expected an immediate spell to follow, which he was worried to endure. "Anticipation..." The Sixth Sense- his book- reminded him, "Remember that most magic is conjured by the movement of one's hands..." Ayato smirked thanks to the information the book offered, and would definitely take it into account during the next move. However, there was something he felt from the woman during his encounter that made him there was more to expect than the book had told him.

Ayato smirked while he heard a gasp from Viola, marking a critical hit in his favour. He felt bad for hitting a woman, but with all due respect, it was for her own good. Ayato, however, had learned something from that hit, alone. He learned that his tactics with his sword and book held firmly had made him much more agile, and nimble on his feet. It was just in a second that he managed to knock Viola like that, anyway. Albeit, one hit wouldn't decide the match, especially not against a dragon. This is why Ayato figured that, while airborne, his opponent would have something up her sleeve. The female dragon spoke two elements, which triggered Ayato's mindset immediately. "Here it comes!" Ayato thought, preparing for a quick dash. His feet were positioned to launch himself forward in accordance to Viola's advance.

Ayato clinched his teeth while he was ready to launch forward, another two words spoken. If Viola needed a chant for her spells, then there was probably something especially powerful about them. Ayato grew hesistant, and so he swiftly edited his position, increasing his evasiveness. Ayato saw that Viola had finally advanced towards him, which caused him to launch himself forward earlier, passing Viola before she could hit the ground. Ayato dived towards the ground to avoid Viola's advance, then pushed himself upwards, followed by a flip, to reposition himself upright, his back faced towards the dragon. "Impressive..." Ayato commented, "It seems I'm gonna have to step it up a notch, aren't I?" Ayato smirked, his back still faced towards Viola, though his book and sword in clear view. The book could still sense what was behind Ayato for him, and his sword could still act for himself. Technically, this was a three-versus-one battle, though Ayato knew this was nowhere near an easy brawl. If anything, he was already worried about defeat. The sword that Viola had enhanced seemed quite fearsome at this point, and was probably prepared to deal some fatal damage.

Ayato grinned when he was complimented by Viola. A dragon had just thought highly of a knight- how ironic. Ayato thought to himself, however, as to how he could counter Viola while she held a sword with such power. As he heard previously, the sword possessed four elements: Fire, water, air and earth. Had Ayato not moved swiftly during that last encounter, he knew he would've received a fatal blow. There was obviously something special about that sword if allowed two pairs of contradicting elements to cooperate together under one blade. Even so, Ayato had to deal with it. The book continued to do its searching, notifying Ayato of the specific magic Viola contained. Meanwhile, the sword was exposing feelings on how to connect with its rival. This certainly was an issue.

When Viola had asked if he were ready, Ayato nodded softly. He didn't want to get cheerful as he didn't want to give away too much emotion. Too much emotion often led to defeat, anyway. Ayato overheard Viola give a second statement, which prompted him to engage in a brutal encounter. The book took notice of the movement of Viola's leg, which caused Ayato to quickly anticipate by swiping his leg to block Viola's, then lean forward whilst launching his other foot upwards to give Viola a swift uppercut. If Viola threatened to use the sword as a counter, the sword was prepared to do as Ayato's leg did to Viola's, and knock it out of the way, too.

Ayato stepped back the moment he saw Viola counteract with his hopeful uppercut, and knock her head into his chest. Ayato never expected the woman to be so flexible, though he figured Viola could curve her figure just as well as a dragon- she was a dragon, anyway. Ayato laughed slightly at the sudden hit he received "That wasn't very nice..." Ayato commented jokingly, standing upright once more. The two distanced themselves again, and Ayato watched as he knew Viola was going to prepare something else. She had already dodged what seemed to be an inevitable strike, but now what was she going to do? The Sixth Sense continued to analyze Viola however it could, though it could only go as far as profiling her by name, magic and power, themselves. Meanwhile, the Elucidator was eager to deal some damage, though it couldn't due to how far Viola had positioned herself from Ayato.

Ayato heard two more words in a chanting manner expel themselves from Viola's mouth. Though it was probably best not to charge Viola at this point, Ayato figured there could be an alternative, crossing his Elucidator in front of his chest, and charging at Viola with all of his might. Even his voice carried ragingly through the dash whilst Ayato approached Viola furiously. The book continued to make itself a third eye for Ayato, and listened to the words Viola spoke carefully. "The sky!" The Sixth Sense spoke telepathically. These two words triggered Ayato into colliding bodies with Viola at full force by diving at her, the sword held high as a shield from any airborne assaults. Though this may not have been the best move, Ayato used it as a tactic to catch Viola off-guard, and make this duel a close-combat fight, once more. Even if Ayato lost the sword, he always had the power to immediately have it in his grasp an additional time.

Health: 95%

Ayato smirked when he heard the gasp escape Viola's mouth, his dive successful according to this very noise. The book had hit Viola for the second time, though while Ayato had maneuvered himself well to hit Viola, he had not constructed what would happen after the hit was successful. The two were on the ground, and while Ayato thought about what to do next, he felt Viola embrace his face with her right hand. He quickly smacked it out of the way and looked at Viola curiously. He heard the word "zap", though he saw nothing from the hand that once touched him. He heard the sky rumble, which made both his sword and book gather more formulas. The two objects were never good with people, but rather with battles- battles only.

Ayato had ignored the fact that the sky had rumbled briefly, and looked at Viola. "Training can be fun, huh?" Ayato commented, looking at the village that once seemed peaceful, but was now damaged, "And no, I'm not scared. There is much more to life that can scare me than a brawl such as this one." Ayato stood up, and lent a hand to Viola. "Now let's get up, stretch, and space ourselves again so the battle can continue." Ayato added, "If you're ready, of course." Ayato smiled warmly towards Viola while he was only two feet away from her. Life was surely young, and is young, in that matter, though that didn't mean the two could make the best out of the time they had left, for they had plenty as far as Ayato knew. Ayato was only a nineteen-year-old male, after all, though he had no knowledge over the life span of dragons. It was clear the sky was currently against Ayato due to the powers that Viola possessed. However, Ayato always had confidence that even a book and sword alone could get oneself through any situation.

Ayato smirked when he saw Viola stand up again, leaving him hanging with his offered support. "I'll remember that." Ayato joked. The toothy grin Viola gave reminded Ayato of his own facial expression whenever he won a fight. The grin always grew as the victories increased, though once they reached extreme heights, the toothy grin disappeared. Fights were becoming too basic for Ayato, and boredom filled his mind like a disease. However, in this fight specifically, Ayato gave an even greater sign of happiness that couldn't fade away: his warm smile. He stood still while Viola positioned herself, relaxing his own body. "Show me what you got!" Ayato cheered. It was clear he was having lots of fun.

The sky rumbled once more while Ayato saw that Viola's sword had been discarded. There was no way she was going to use her bare hands to fight Ayato physically with a sword, which made Ayato assume the worst; the presence of spells. Ayato soon found himself surrounded by wind, and moments later, receiving a divine punishment as his body felt like it was being punched by metal. Ayato gave Viola a glorious smile while he was sent airborne, a sapphire aura covering his body. While the wind faded away, Ayato began his awakening of magic, though the show would start poorly. "Unsheathed Seeker!" Ayato announced while the last bits of wind hit him. A black hole appeared above the two, though nothing happened. This was due to the spell's mandatory activation. What the opposition couldn't know, however, was that the awakening of this spell prepared the presence of an even stronger force.

An emerald veil surrounded Ayato after he landed on the ground violently. The wounds disappeared from his body while he stood as if unaffected by Viola's spell. "Very impressive..." Ayato commented, chuckling simultaneously, "However, that will never be enough to defeat me. Not even close!" An uproar of magic power appeared as Ayato began to get serious in this brawl. "Awaken: Story of the Sword!" Ayato declared. And with this, Ayato charged with great pride towards Viola, his book and sword analyzing the new situation at hand.

"Come, Viola!" Ayato requested of his rival.

"I am no vampire." Ayato exclaimed while he stood upright, "This power lies in my blood! My lineage!" Ayato was quite excited to be in this brawl, at this point. Viola seemed like a true rival, whom Ayato was having a struggle with, yet lots of fun, altogether. The fact that Ayato was able to handle a dragon for this long made him proud. He could also image himself as a real knight, taking on the mightiest of dragons. This, you could see, was some sort of replica of this battle- or what it represented, perhaps. It was also funny to see that while this was a fight, Viola didn't want Ayato to get hit too hard. On the contrary, it wasn't like Ayato wanted to put Viola through lots of pain, either. This battle was just a friendly one, and no matter who won, Ayato was sure there would be lots of laughs and smiles, afterwards.

Another hint of silence rather through the battlefield while the soothing wind returned. It made the two feel refreshed, though their bodies obviously said otherwise. This was a fight, after all, which meant that the two would obviously get hurt, no matter how hard one tried. Even the lineage Ayato possessed wouldn't last forever, and he knew Viola was sure of that, as well. However, as he thought before, it didn't matter who would win or who would lose. This brawl was the ultimate test of the two's strength and determination. Ayato wanted to see how far Viola could bring a battle, generally. His adrenaline was pumping as Ayato felt so eager to unleash another assault. However, soon after he pondered these thoughts, Ayato saw Viola sidestepping. Unfortunately for her, while she might have thought that Ayato could not handle two similar movements, he could. "Not this time!" Ayato shouted, swiftly turning himself to face Viola before she could unleash a hit, and struck her straight in the center of gravity with his fist; a punch to the stomach with full force- enough to send a body flying. Ayato smirked while he hoped for this to connect. His smile not only indicated that he was up for challenge, but was having lots of fun, too.

Ayato looked at Viola with a warm smile when she had stopped him, grabbing onto his wrist to prevent the strike. "Impressive..." Ayato commented, "However..." Ayato smirked while the touch between the dragon and the storyteller had given the book an opportunity to study Viola's magic further. It had boundaries, of course, unable to read spells, though at least Ayato now had a sense of Viola's magic power. For the first time, Ayato was pleased to be in a fight. He never thought he would have so much fun sparring, let alone hitting a girl, which seemed immoral in many ways. However, the female was more than an ordinary human being- she was a dragon. This gave Ayato all the reason to challenge her, seeing as the origins of his magic allowed him to observe the dragon age, itself. The dragon age was the most dangerous era to see, of course, which is why Ayato spent the shortest time there when he was younger. The only thing Ayato could remember witnessing in the dragon age was a baby dragon that seemed eager to be his friend. It was very well possible that Viola represented this baby dragon, which gave Ayato a better reason to smile. He was joyous in more ways than one; fortunate, if you will.

"My punch would've only sent you airborne." Ayato replied while Viola still held onto him, "You would be able to tell if I wanted to hurt you. In this battle, however, all I want to do is see how strong I am." Ayato thought for a moment if proving his strength meant injuring the girl in front of him. She was highly intelligent in his eyes, which made Ayato doubt he could deal any fatal damage to her. However, if he had the chance, would Ayato have to go as far as putting Viola in pain to prove he was strong? Ayato looked at his wrist when it was released, a red handprint pasted onto his skin. He sighed and laughed a bit, wondering how Viola felt about this brawl. Both of them obviously wanted to win, but Ayato wondered if Viola had a bigger purpose than him to achieve something in this fight. For a moment, he looked into Viola's eyes and saw guilt. Did she not want to hurt him. "As long as you don't kill me, you may go as far as you want in this battle." Ayato stated, "Someday, you will have to protect yourself with your best efforts, so show them to me now. Even if I stand out to you as a friend right now, treat me as if I'm your nemesis." Ayato grinned after saying this, wondering if Viola would feel more at ease after hearing these words. "Now, come at me, Viola!" Ayato declared.

After this brief moment, Ayato kept track of Viola's running, trying to space herself from him. As much as Ayato wanted to cheaply follow her instantly, and attempt to slam her from behind, Ayato became aware of Viola's reflexes, and questioned if he would be able to strike her successfully before she could manage to turn around. This thought only passed for two seconds, which ultimately led to the idea being too late to present. Ayato's book and sword called out to them once they sensed the presence of magic. He had an idea, and it was going to be a terrific one, though it would deal him fatal damage, in exchange. While Ayato saw wind encircle Viola's arms, he charged at her with full speed. This maneuver would probably seem incredibly idiotic in Viola's eyes, though they seemed magnificent in Ayato's, indicated by his still-warm smile, of course. Once the two bodies of wind were launched towards him, Ayato sprinted as fast as he could, attempting to slide through the point in which the two tornadoes intersected, yet also to use their properties for a certain strategy. Ayato launched himself forward, then had the violent winds burst him upwards with their almighty strength to go for an aerial attack. From several feet in the air, Ayato barely had any energy left in his legs to run due to those tornadoes, though this new wind from up above could provide more strength for his sword, which he utilized. Ayato held his Elucidator as firmly as possible, throwing himself forward at Viola while he was in the sky. Sure, he would receive a massive bruising afterwards from colliding with the ground, even if he hit Viola, though his lineage would eventually come into use. "This is the end!" Ayato announced while gravity sped up the pace of his body descending from above.

Ayato gasped as he realized what he had done to Viola. His sword had perfectly pierced through her chest, and immediately, he witnessed blood pour from her mouth. "I wasn't thinking..." Ayato muttered, crying quite a bit while the sword was still inside Viola. He saw her try and handle the sword, however, which momentarily stopped his crying while the sword was moved, hurting him, as well. The great fall had hurt his legs brutally, though thanks to his lineage, they would heal eventually. However, Viola was more important, at the moment, as while Ayato thought a dragon would be able to sustain such a thing, the only thing he saw was a pale woman with a bloody mouth and chest.

Luckily, Ayato had an epiphany. "Hold on for a second..." Ayato remarked. He used the sharpness of the blade to touch his index finger and make it bleed. He then took his bloody finger and placed it over Viola's wounded chest. The blood overlapped hers, and so Ayato used his lineage once more to activate upon it. Soon, Viola would feel the sensation of extraordinary healing while Ayato pulled the sword out, and any pain Viola would have for a short amount of time would be reduced to nothing; even the sword that was now coming out of her chest while Ayato pulled on it. The tears stopped when Ayato heard an apology from Viola, but for what? He saw her block her face, then turn away. Was she crying too? Ayato sighed and looked back at his own legs. Wounds covered them, though they were all healing outstandingly. The hole in Viola's chest was closing in as the healing process seemed to work. However, what was wrong with Viola?

"I see..." Ayato concluded. It seemed rather clear that Viola was not yet mastered with the extraordinary powers she possessed, which is why her dragon-like abilities were never detected much during this fight; only the spells she had used. Ayato felt really guilty about piercing someone he thought was a true master of dragon-like abilities, though this was probably the reason why Viola had asked for a challenge. How dumb of Ayato think differently! Albeit, Ayato sat there, unable to get up for awhile due to breaking his own legs from that fall. The friction had caused him to take a beating to the chest, as well- and from his own sword, in fact. However, along with Ayato's legs, soon, Ayato would be able to heal himself. The only reason he was able to heal Viola so quickly was due to the collaboration of the little blood he had left for the ability, the tremendous amount of blood Viola obviously carried in her own body.

While time passed, Ayato could still see the tears run over Viola's fingers; fingers that probably hoped to cover the tears, generally. However, tears were tears, and ran down anything smooth that they could come across. "I'm so sorry..." Ayato confessed, "I should have never performed something like that on you." Sure, Ayato may have won this brawl by this deadly maneuver, but he felt terrible. Ayato sighed heavily while he looked at his heavily damaged legs. He took one of Viola's hands with his own, and wrapped it around his neck while the two both faced forward. He used his other arm to wrap around Viola's waist, then carefully stood up. He kept grunting due to the enormous injuries in his legs while he supported Viola in her movements with his own, though this little assistance surprisingly caused a smile to grow on his face. "We're gonna go to that tree over there with shade. After that, let's share stories, alright? You tell me more about yourself, and I'll do the same for you." Though his own blood had healed Viola, Ayato knew Viola was probably in a depressing state due to the sword recently pierced through her chest. There was a massive blood stain on her shirt, after all, which probably made matters worse.

Once the two arrived at the tree, Ayato slowly set Viola down. It was more than clear that he did this out of extreme generosity considering he broke down immediately after this move, though Ayato did not care. He crawled up against the tree, then rotated himself to have his back against the stalk, and face towards the sky. "T-That... was... t-t-the most fun... I've ever... had." Ayato commented poorly, his facial gestures indicating that his words were true, "If...only... I hadn't pierced you with... my sword, things could've been... a lot... better." Ayato looked down, freezing on point and laughing softly while he was severely injured. Blood was smeared all over Ayato's arms due to the blood that spurted from Viola's chest during the piercing, while blood covered Ayato's legs due to the fall. He was a mess at this point, yet a grin still appeared on his face, and the words he spoke were completely honest. "L-Let's...do this again...sometime!" Ayato cheered with great hesitance. He placed his hand on Viola's head, then looked at her with great intent.

"Don't be so glum, chum..."

"You could've kept fighting..." Ayato interrupted, "That assault caused me loads of pain in my legs, and fractures, as well. In other words, that was my final move." Ayato sighed and laughed softly. "I had a really good time." Ayato added, "Though we were fighting, I could tell both of us were really enjoying ourselves. Sure, part of the village is destroyed, though this is all due to the great moment we shared, right?" Ayato looked over to Viola with interest as she suddenly brought up a long story. He sympathized with her when she said she was not of this world, and her hybrid clan was not exactly tolerated amongst the others; the mix between a dragon and an alternate clan. Ayato could recall living in every era for a short period of time- a span of two years, in total. The dragon age was the only age Ayato chose not to live inside, for it was too scary and dangerous. The dragons often liked to partake in wild events that could easily kill a human; even one like Ayato. However, even existing in all of these ages for minutes, at least would give a great impact on history, itself. It could very well be possibly that people even a thousand years older than Ayato knew him as if he were the same age. However, he was not. The book had only given him this much power for two years until it was limited to this; a talking book that could identify all people.

Once Viola had finished her story, Ayato removed his hand from her head and placed it on his right knee. "You're somebody..." Ayato argued, "Somebody that this world should appreciate; a Mage this world should appreciate- somebody that I appreciate." Ayato attempted to sit up in a more upright position, but could not due to the conditions of his legs. They were utterly busted in most areas, and still could not move for a temporal period of time. He began to grow worried, though he knew his legs would be healed by the time evening came, at most. "When I was much younger, I was belittled by others. I was born too rich to be appreciated by ordinary human beings, and so I lived in a virtual world, instead- a true utopia, where everything I wanted existed, though none of it could be taken into the real world." Ayato sighed once again, ashamed that he could not present himself better as a young kid. "While I hoped to experience the world a bit better, luck was never on my side. I was mistreated. A literal curse was laid upon me to keep me isolated by the ones I love, and shortly after, magically grew hate in whomever knew me well. I took this curse for the sake of my sister, and due to this, was forced to live on my own. Like you, fortune was never on my side, and one day, I expect to live more unfortunate events. But..."

While Ayato was in the middle of a speech, he made a quick pause. He had an epiphany, and realized just who had been abandoned from his life, along with their importance to him. His fellow family members did love him, though due to his curse, were forced to hate him. His parents were also forced to set him aside and put him through a state of chaos and nothingness. Currently, he felt just as bad as Viola, though there seemed to be more hope resting in his soul than the female's. "I found out that I was somebody that could make a difference." Ayato concluded, "Even though magic had not been introduced to me quite yet, I knew that something in this world could change everything I went through; a great future. If I were you, I would believe in the same thing." Ayato saw that Viola had put herself in a miserable state, once more, and so he hugged her tightly. He really wanted to calm her down, even if it meant being affectionate. "You have nothing to worry about, Viola." Ayato finished before letting the woman speak.