A Knight and A Warrior [Private]

Job info:

Zenshin was, above all else, a mage and a scholar. That said, he was also a knight, so when he saw that a man had a wish to die honorably, to die in battle, he couldn't help but accept the request. The job was in Oshibana, a city that did not exist last he could remember, though he was unsurprising at how quickly the world could change in three years. Zenshin still did not have a handle on his magic, so he looked for jobs which required little to no magical ability, jobs which are thankfully common among the D-Rank. Just to test out his magic once more, he held his hand out and attempted to recreate his scythe: The Reaper, though as soon as it would've been completed, it broke apart like glass shatters and the pieces floated into the air and disappeared. Figures, though that was a lot farther than I usually get he thought, hopeful that the more he practices the closer he will get to finally recreating again.

"We are now arriving into Oshibana station, thank you for riding with us" the voice informed before the train doors opened and Zenshin made his leave. He walked down the dirt road away from the train station and eventually found what appeared to be a native of the town. "Excuse me, would you be able to tell me where Ior lives?" he asked, expecting an answer due to the fact that the town was so small. It was more than likely that everyone knew everyone else, at least as acquaintances. "Thank you for your valiant service, I'll take you to him" the women said before leading him down a few more dirt roads to a tiny house tucked between larger homes. Modest. I suppose that's part of why the other villagers seem to hold him in such high regard he though as he knocked on the door. Of course the woman had left, probably going back to what she was doing before leading Zenshin to the home of a man who wanted to die, so he waited alone until he heard a voice tell him to come in.

"Hello Ior, I'm Zenshin. I will be the one to best you in battle" he said before sitting down on the floor across from the man. "Splendid! I appreciate the confidence, boy. Come with me!" he with a smile on his face as he got up and walked into an adjacent room. Zenshin followed and was surprised to see an armory with two wooden stools to sit while one armored him or herself. "Help yourself to as many weapons as you would like to use during our battle. I prefer a simple kite shield and sword." Zenshin looked around, though he could not find his weapon. "Excuse me, would you know where I could find a scythe?" he asked, serious as can be so as to not give the impression that he was joking.

"The farming implement? Are you sure? Well, I have one in a small shed which we'll pass once we make our way to the battlefield. You'll probably want this, though, as I have never touched it for the purposes of battle" he said, tossing Zenshin a whetstone. As soon as the man had gotten his long sword and kite shield ready, they exited the home through the backdoor to a circular clearing surrounded by grass that he had apparently prepared for this moment. Without a word, Zenshin went into the shed and found an old scythe that was in surprisingly good condition. The blade had no chinks nor was any rust present. With the whetstone, he sharpened not only the blade on the inside of the farming tool, but also the metal on the outside to essentially make a double edged scythe.

When he was done, he walked to a position where his back was touching Ior's at the center of the circle. "Ten paces on the count of three. One, two, three!" he said and they both began forward exactly ten paces before turning around to face each other. "Would you mind if I broke off the grip?" he asked, "I won't miss it, haha!" was his response. Zenshin smiled at the man and broke off the grip before the words "Now lets begin!" left the old man's mouth.

The old man rushed him, sword in hand followed by a stabbing movement directed at Zenshin's neck. Zenshin quickly lowered the blade of the scythe in his two hands clockwise, using the snath to deflect the blow followed by bringing the blade back up and knocking the old man in the head when the portion of the weapon just under the blade. Before he could pull back to decapitate the man, however, he received a face full of shield. As Zenshin stumbled back, he noticed that the warrior had been careful to move his head, for as his neck would've certainly been cut as Zen stumbled backwards.

Before Zenshin could get his bearings, the man slammed him again with the shield and he fell backwards on the ground. Ior was attempting to drive his blade into Zenshin to strike the final blow, but he was blocked in a quick reaction from the downed warrior. One more blow was attempted from overhead, but when Zenshin blocked the sword went through the weak wood and almost made its way into his chest had Zenshin not acted quickly. After the long sword broke the snath of the scythe, Zenshin threw the wooden stick from his left hand at the warrior who instinctively swatted it away with his shield. This action gave Zen just enough time to wrap the beard of the blade just behind the warriors left Achilles tendon and pull, severing it and causing him to fall onto that knee.

As the man was processing what just happened, Zenshin used the bladed portion his weapon to cut the hand holding the long sword between the thumb and the index finger, causing the man to drop it. "I see you're acquainted with the weak points of the body, haha! Great fight. Ended quickly and most importantly, honorably. I had my doubts about a wizard who knew his way around a tactically unfeasible weapon, but I see I had one last surprise in my old age" he said, never losing his happy demeanor. "And I honestly didn't expect an old man to be such a fierce warrior. No superfluous movements, no flair, you were just trying to kill me as quickly as you could" Zenshin said, returning the smile as he walked behind the kneeling warrior. "You quickly learn that flair and style are insidious on the battlefield. Those are the true killers. Remember that" he told Zenshin. A final piece of wisdom before the beard of what was left of the scythe came down in front of his neck and was pulled back.

His body dropped like a dead weight and the fight was over. Zenshin closed his eye and dropped his head for a second out of respect for the warrior before driving the blade of the scythe into the ground next to the body. Upon turning around and making his way to the train station, Zenshin would forever swear that he heard the words Farewell, and thank you

WC: 1222/1000