Restraint [Nat's A exam]

Nat was no doubt honored to have been given this very vital and sensitive assignment that could very well dictate the political and social landscape of all of Fiore for years to come. So much so, that this particular mission required deft, precise and sensitive hands which made Nat question his selection as he gazed out of the window of his ride, his hands shaking as he held them together, nervous of what he could do or worse, not do.He had always been a soldier, a frontliner always eager to charge in and end it quickly with a blade through the heart. But he also did not doubt the wisdom of the Ambassadors whom he just assumed had their reasons for choosing him. Hidden potential maybe? And in an attempt to steer his thought process elsewhere, Nathaniel thought of how apt their titles sounded like. “Ambassadors” are indeed representative of countries in international affairs and it so happens that his mentor is one of the Ambassadors. His content expression earlier from thinking of that little fun fact quickly turned to panic and anxiety. His lips slowly fading away his smirk and turning it blank and eventually into a frown. His eyes grew wider and wider. Sivvy. The Ambassador. Is his mentor. So if he fails, it will not only will it spell disaster for the guild, most especially its leaders and officers which would personally strike Nat since Sivvy. The Ambassador. Is his mentor. He let out a sigh as if he was slowly blowing something out. The pressure is on like it never had been before at the start of his assignment. Fortunately, he was not without a plan.

The commute vehicle he was on had reached its last stop in Rose Garden. Like the rest of the passengers, Nat got up and left the ride, his shoes sounding upon tapping on the stone pavement of the ground. He wasn’t on his uniform today because he thought it would be advantageous to look inconspicuous while hunting down a man that doesn’t want to be found. The brown shoes, black jeans and blue shirt that had gold and white trims does make him look like he was just another city boy out on a stroll in the magical area. His sword was nowhere near him as he believed there would be no need for it. His quarry was not to be killed or harmed and whenever Nat has that blade, he moves in to kill. Nothing less will that blade be used for. All he had was a satchel of supplies and rope to tie the Major up with. Nat immediately walked towards the famed Silver Moon Inn, a very successful and famous establishment in the area where he would meet an informant that could have information about the troublemaker in question.

Nat arrived safely at the inn and was packed as usual. The chatter of different customers would fill the ambiantic music being played by the inn’s employees. Once more, Nat took those blowing sighs he’s been taking. It was his way of trying to get the nervousness out of him. Loosening himself up and convincing himself that he could do this. He would mutter to himself continuously that is just like any other mission, no big deal, no big deal, you’ve done the information gathering before while looking around to find the spot they have always been on. Thankfully, their spot which was this less than attractive and dim corner near the kitchen door with no windows nearby. Which was honestly hardly surprising since it really wasn’t appealing, nor was it big enough for the usual groups who come around, making so as if the area was made for shady business. Or at least private conversations, since he did notice a few people break up in the same spot.

He approached the area and patiently for his informant who was obviously not there yet while looking out to the crowd. Who knows, perhaps his target could be there at that moment. His eyes scanned the room slowly and carefully with squinted eyes and so far, all he could see, hear and sense were magical items serving drinks, and lighting the place all the while magical beings laugh and share their magic-related stories. Content with the evidence that the Major wasn’t there right now, he slowly closed his eyes and turned his body to face the table and then let out a sigh once more at the end and then he slowly opened his eyes. He was still trying his best to remain calm, even called on a waiter to order a piece of cake, and a cup of tea.

However, it had been hours since he had been waiting. The cake and tea had already arrived and consumed yet his informant is still nowhere to be found. He had begun to fear the worst that something has happened to him. He had been warned of the target’s intelligence and information gathering, but he didn’t expect to get hold of an enigma such as this anonymous informant. There was something he could do however, stake out a residential street in Rose Garden. Being this hub of shops and other commercial establishments, Rose Garden only had a couple of places for permanent residences. And one came into mind for those that would love to keep a low profile. He knew what the man looked like at least, so it wouldn’t be hard to eliminate a few civilians in his search radius.

That night, Nat positioned himself at a comfortable vantage point that overlooked the entirety of a street lined up with townhouses. Beside the soldier who was sitting down on a wooden chair as he looked on with a pair of magic binoculars he bought that afternoon was a small table with cakes and tea on it. He had been on the stake out for four hours now and he had been able to narrow it down to two townhouses, who, according to the registry were both occupied. Now, one of the townhouses had their residents just stay at home all day. The way they acted in dinner would suggest that they are waiting for one more member of their family while the other had its lights off all day. Curious to be sure, but nothing can be what it seems, as there was nothing that says an informant can’t have a family. And if it were to be so, Nat would definitely understand the need for hiding out. He put down the binoculars and opted to look on with just his eyes, as they were good enough to spot any figure entering the houses from where he was. He looked towards the table with the cake on it and decided to take another bite at his own delicacy, taking the cover off of it to protect it from external dangers such as smoke, flies and such. He then began to think about how things would change after his assignment. Would he be entrusted with more difficult missions? Will Sivvy be proud? Can he afford to see Trinity more often now? These were all exciting thoughts but the responsibilities seem to be greater, especially if he went with the current mission as a prelude of things to do.

His musings would be interrupted however when he saw a figure, nearing the house with a family. Quickly, Nat reached for the binoculars and saw if it was the informant or not, it wasn’t. Now Nat was left with one more alternative, one that he quickly pursued.Coming down from the rooftop, Nat snuck into the house through the back. Luckily, the window was open, and it was just a matter of sliding it up and going in. Quietly, he checked every room. All of which had bear essentials to be called the room that they are. The dining room had a table and a chair, along with the kitchen stove, the living room had a desk table on which numerous papers were laid out, potted plants on the corners. The state of the house would imply that he wasn’t left yet and now there was only one last room to check: The bedroom. He opened the door slowly, creaking for only a bit when it was already wide open. The bed looks made as well, and there were still clothes in the closet. It was clear that he didn’t leave, but where is he? Nat went back to the desk with all the papers on it. He was looking for a clue for either the man’s whereabouts, or information on his target. All he found were pictures and letters. Pictures that showed that the informant had known of this assignment, which was… disturbing. He knew the full details of this mission even before it was handed out to Nat. The papers also lead to the inner workings of Fiorian government and their relations to Pergrande and Bellum, with information on their military. Why would the informant have this information? What was more impressive however is how detailed the Bellum report was… With widened eyes, he realized --

Suddenly there was a creak at a room Nat failed to check, the bathroom. He quickly turned around to face whatever entity approached him. There was none. But he still knew where the sound came from. Slowly, he walked towards the door and opened it with a creep.

There was no one there. But if Nat just took it as it is, he wouldn’t have made it this far as a mage. Something is definitely here, and it has him on its sights. But his senses cannot help trace the magic the entity possessed, obviously because he doesn’t have any. It was all starting to add up to him… and would be made clear when he slowly turned around, only to be struck to the rib with a blade.

Or at least he would have been, had he not stopped it with his arms, bracing the incapacitating blow. The assailant left him there and made a run for the door. But in the moment of the attack where everything seemed to slow down as one would be in their moment of death, he saw a robed figure, with Pergrande armor underneath, with the face of the informant underneath the hood. It was confirmed that the informant and the so-called Major Ivanov are the same. And he has taken his time to arrange travel to another country. He had to be stopped now or he will be out of their jurisdiction. So with a snap of his fingers, Nat’s arms that were bleeding and opened were healed and quickly, he stood up and made chase. He was headed for the door were his target was waiting for him to come and get Nat’s head chopped off if it weren’t for the crusader’s reaction of arching his back as if on a limbo. It wasn’t over though because Alexander caught his collar and threw him back to and through the house, ending at the back yard. A shockingly quick response to what seemed to be a surprising maneuver, speaking volumes to the skill in combat Alex did possess. Nat must be very careful, already, he took out a Natcake that healed him and granted him additional speed as he quickly got up, drew Ashbringer and prepared himself while his target slowly approached from out of the shadows of the house, sword drawn.

“Major.” Nathaniel said mockingly.

“Nathaniel.” replied Alex.

Quickly, Alex charged forward while Nat held his ground and blade tightly. He met Alex’s blade with his own, and they locked briefly, before pulling out and clashing once more. He wasn’t supposed to kill him despite being constantly reminded of his numerous atrocities to human life, trying to get into Nat’s head because he knew the Dies Irae mage had to take him in alive and relatively unscathed. As they fought, Alex every dirty trick he could. Such as when their swords would clash, he would push the small Nat off and would seemingly rush in with a shoulder tackle which was only a faint and he’d throw sand on Nat’s face and then trip him over with a foot sweep then kick him on his stomach when he was about to get up. Now being kicked with a steel plated foot guard was no joke and already Nat was panting as he rolled away and placed distance between them. They circled each other for a time, making Nat turn his back on the house, essentially cutting Alex’s escape off. All the while he gloated all the wrong doings he had done just so Pergrande can have the upper hand against Bellum. All the biological warfare, all the raids that left not even women and children alive. Nat’s anger boiled up inside of him. He wanted every strike to be lethal from here on as his entire body shook. A dead giveaway in Alex’s eyes as he charged on for a battle to the death.

But Nat had to stay composed, this was bigger than him, bigger than Dies Irae, countries are at stake. Numerous thoughts came rushing to his head the same time once more as he was about to die. The nervousness, the strength the enemy possessed. He saw the attack coming in, he knew where to move his weapon to block it. But he was afraid. He closed his eyes as it came in. His wobbly, weak defense was overpowered by the powerful force behind the strike and Nat was brushed off to the side. He was knocked down and in his gorginess, Alex once more tried to walk away. All the while flashes of people that influenced him, from positive to negative, all their connections flashed before him. Leo’s fighting style, Master Sivvy’s strategies, the lessons of restraint Commander West beat into him. He had gone so far and there’s still plenty more ways for him to give up now.

As Alexander was nearing the door out of the house, a ball of light sped through beside him and immediately set fire to the ground just outside it. It made Alexander stop and slowly turn around to see a barely slowly getting up Nat that used his sword as some sort of cane. When he got on his feet, he pulled Ashbringer out of a ground and snapped his fingers to heal himself once more. The same hand he used to snap also summoned a ball of light afterwards.

“The only way you’re getting out of here is when I die.” He announced as he pointed his sword towards him.

“You try to run, I send this ball out to the sky and alert authorities. I know what you look like, you can turn this into a wild goose chase, on which you will never find rest. Because I know everything that you do.” He added.

Alex was seeing if this was worth his time. There was a threat to be sure, but was he that much of a threat? Before him was a naive crusader that wanted to kill him so bad. With a smirk, he obliged the young man and stepped towards him. Slowly he approached him, until his pace picked up with each step, until he was charging at him full speed. Nat readied himself, muttering balance repeatedly. His stance was solid and his grip on the sword flexible and appropriate to parry the enemy’s charging stab.

But the attack never came. Alex made a faint and headbutted Nat quickly. While groggy, Alex held his weapon overhead and attempted to strike down. But Nat, ever the quick thinker, snapped his fingers while closing his eyes and a quick flash of light erupted, momentarily blinding Alex while Nat quickly moved behind him with magical speed and slashed him on his knees, making the better swordsman kneel. Alex, with a quick shrug using his elbow, he was able to put a considerable distance between him and Nat. Far enough to give Nat time to strip some armor off, making him considerably faster. Alex caught his breath and attempted to stand up, barely managing the action. He attempted to appeal to Nat’s fiery desire to kill even the smallest hint of even only potential evil. He mocked him, telling Nat to finish him. Reminding him of his crimes, this time going into detail of how every civilian died slowly until they begged for death. Nat knew what he was trying to do, as he eyed the Major, though he was not convinced he was done for yet. Alex had full armor on him. It would take more strikes to the man’s knees to truly defeat him and he was sure Alex knew this, so Nat has to be more creative now.

This will not end with both of them being defensive right now. With Alex due to his knees, and with Nat's personal combat style. Reaching out to his back, Nat grabbed a piece of rope and tied it to Ashbringer’s pommel and charged. Alex prepared himself and threw a punch right to Nat’s face that hit the recklessly charging crusader. Before he got hit though, he threw Ashbringer sideways, landing directly behind the major and was then pulled back when Nat was punched, slicing the knees once again. Though weak because of the lack of force, though it opened the area up more and was certainly irritating for Alex who groaned afterwards. He also heard a flash nearby, it was Nat healing himself again by eating a strength enhancing cake. And now Nat just threw the sword out to Alex’s knees and he deflected it with his sword, but with nothing to support him now, his upper body fell to the ground, perhaps he underestimated himself and the added weight of his armor. As he fell Nat ran in and slashed the knees with force that it sent the Major screaming in defeat. Or at least he would have had it not been for Nat gagging him. Can’t wake the neighboring family now.

With the target incapacitated, Nat bound the major’s arms behind him with special shackles given to him which were especially designed to hold Pergrande’s best and even healed the knees enough for him to stand.

“I do want you dead, but someone else is gonna do your killing.” he whispered to him as he led him out after phoning the capture in, leading him inside the house, not forgetting to put out the fire he started just outside it earlier.

The next morning, an inconspicuous looking vehicle parked outside. Nat noticed the over reliance on magic lacrima and nodded his head as he thought that it definitely wasn’t Bellum trying to pick their major up. He even greeted the casually dressed “delegate”, who even said the code word right when Nat asked for it. He then happily handed the major over when he tugged his rope, the same rope he tied to Ashbringer last night. When the handover was done, Nat fell to the ground in relief as he hadn't slept all night, keeping an eye on the major and just napped there. A few hours passed and a kid was poking Nat with a stick, eventually waking up from it. The kid asked if Nat was ok and what he was doing on the ground. Nat replied “Nothing” and stood up, dusting himself off afterwards. The kid didn’t believe what he said because it didn’t look like nothing to the young lad. He even said how all the adults had walked passed and were afraid to come close since they saw a sword just by the doorway. The kid also asked what happened to his house and he just replied “Had a fight with my girl.” before walking away. He entered the house once more, closing the door behind him and went to the living room to gather all the papers from the desk and placed it on a bag he had that he set down nearby before the whole fight started. He also grabbed the gear he stripped down earlier and placed them on the bed, along with his clothes that he was taking off. He decided that it would be a good time for a shower after all that had happened last night. He slowly went in the shower and turned it one, facing the shower as he waited for the refreshing water that he sighed to once they touched him. As he was taking a bath, Nat thought how funny it was that he suddenly had a house to himself. Maybe he can even bring Trinity over sometimes if she wanted. Just the two of them playing house. Yeah. He’d like that very much, especially now that he feels more worthy of love.

Later that afternoon, Nat was waking up to the Ambassador in Dies Irae’s hall, handing over a letter stating Bellum’s satisfaction with Nat’s handling of the situation.

WC: 3,506