Harry Dresden (Wizard) (thewinterknight) wrote in elsewhere_rpg, @ 2017-12-20 23:53:00 |
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Magic wasn’t a strange concept for Kirito. Neither were wizards. In his mind, they were a given in most worlds… but then he lived in virtual worlds far more than he lived in reality, so maybe his ideas were just a little skewed. Whatever the case, Harry Dresden being a wizard didn’t surprise him. What did surprise him was the wizard’s size. The wizard was fucking gigantic in the same way North and York were, though both of them had quite a bit more raw muscle than Harry did. Kirito had looked up and up and up at the wizard’s face and then made a smartass comment about beards. Why didn’t Merlin have one? Harry had retorted something mean about being Japanese and that had set the tone for their adventure. Childish? You betcha. Which one of them was more of a 16 year old in that moment was a question for the ages. What was also a question was whether they were joking or actually being assholes to each other as they walked. Kirito was limping ahead, since he knew where they were headed, and the wizard trailed behind keeping a wary eye out for ugly surprises. “Hey, emo kid, the 2000s want their trench coat back,” Harry taunted. “Don’t start crying.” Kirito was, of course, dressed entirely in black. He glanced over his shoulder. “Says the man who belongs in a western movie.” Harry was wearing his usual duster. “Or a bondage porn set.” The duster was black leather. Kirito smirked. *** The only one in that little group who belonged on a bondage porn set was the short man sat atop his dark horse, covered from shoulders to toe in brown leather straps. The dark horse could be seen coming out from behind a thick row of trees to the East, but the direction of the animal changes as its rider took note of the miniature titan and his titan-killing protege. If Levi had been the type of man to smile, he might have smirked. But he wasn’t. So he just turned Arturo to head for them, meeting them straight on and pulling the animal up to a stop. Like this, he was taller than Harry. No wonder Levi liked to remain mounted when in a group. It was the only time he wasn’t the shortest. “You’re limping.” He accused to the boy in black, then he looked at Harry. “Where are you taking him?” As if Harry were kidnapping him or something or the sort. Though, he didn’t look accusing. He rarely looked anything but disinterested. Arturo shook his head some and stuck his neck out to nose at Harry. Did you have any food for him? He was hungry. Feed him, please. *** Harry was a trained PI with decades of experience behind him, if he couldn’t pick up the sound of a horse and rider coming near them then he was failing at every aspect of professional work. Not that Levi was trying to hide. The little man rarely tried to do anything, that Harry had seen. Either way, the wizard pulled up short, looking the little man and his giant horse over. “Hey, Frodo, the Bruinen is that way,” Harry jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the opposite direction of which they were walking. But he did reach out and touch the horse’s nose. Harry liked horses. He liked riding horses. Horses apparently liked him, too. “Aren’t you nosy?” he grumped, but did reach into his pocket to pull out … a granola bar. Did horses eat granola bars? Guess they’d find out. It was homemade. Neither Harry nor Texas would ever make any sort of food like that, so where the wizard had actually gotten it from was another question that would go unanswered. There wasn’t exactly a Quaker Oats plant just on the other side of town, after all. Kirito had stopped too, raising a brow as he turned to look at his master and the horse. He’d inclined his head respectfully, which irked Harry for reasons he couldn’t explain, but snickered at the Tolkien comment - Levi was hobbit sized. “Broken legs do that.” Kirito was a smartass, which pleased Harry and annoyed him at once. “Yeah,” Harry jumped in, “I’m taking him out to the woods so the rest of us don’t starve to death. I left the dog behind to pick up the bread crumb trails.” All references only Harry and Kirito understood, so only those two snickered. *** The tallest of them (Ha, take that, Jolly Green) just stared down with a bored look on his face. Their jokes went ignored. They made no sense to the darkest of the-- wait. No he wasn’t. For once, there were no blondes around. Look at that. Just three dark, broody men. Two of which were snickering like school boys who’d just seen their first pair of tits. “Tch.” The noise was clicked out with displeasure and the little, angry man dismounted from his horse, but not in the conventional way. He couldn’t swing a leg over and then step down to the ground, it was too far. He had to swing his leg over, as if he were going to sit side-saddle, then he simply slid off and landed in nearly a crouch on the ground, before standing. The horse was nearly taller than Levi at the shoulder. Big horse, little man. And Arturo wasn’t even the largest horse in the regimen. “You shitty brat.” He accused Kirito. “If you fuck up your leg worse, I’ll never get that vacation. Get on the damn horse.” The damn horse that was currently munching down on Harry’s granola bar like it was the only thing he’d had to eat in months. The Captain shoved a hand against him to try and push his massive head away from it. The animal didn’t budge. “I’ll sell you for meat.” The blue-eyed man warned. The horse didn’t listen. *** Harry had problems with authority figures, mostly because authority figures had always had problems with him. So when Levi issued his rude command, his dark eyes narrowed and slid aside to watch Kirito, taking in the micro changes in his body language that told the wizard how the kid felt about being bossed around. “Here’s an idea,” Harry said, still petting Arturo’s long face, “how about you cool the attitude down to something size appropriate.” His tone remained cheerful. “It’s okay, once grandpa goes on vacation he won’t be riding my ass.” Kirito pivoted, stepping up to the horse which was just as large for him as it was his master--given Kirito was only about three inches taller than Levi--reaching to haul himself up. A lot harder to do when you had a lame leg, believe it or not. At least the horse was busy eating, so he didn’t shift around and knock Kirito off his feet on accident. Good boy. *** It would take time for Kirito to feel out his new master, and vice versa. Right now, he knew very little about the short man in front of him, save that he came from a really horrible monster-ridden place. Eventually, they’d both figure it out. But not for a while, certainly. Those dead eyes lifted to Harry when the wizard made his comment, blue locking onto brown. Harry would certainly turn his eyes away-- a sign of submission. It was an instant win for the little maniac. He didn’t have to come up with a snappy retort, the wizard had backed down all on his own. Pathetic. And as Kirito got half way up, a hand set to his rear-end and gave a push, shoving him up the rest of the way in a surprisingly casual manner. Yes, he set his hand on boy’s butts all the time to get them up onto huge horses. What? “I’m old enough to be your father, show some respect.” It might have been a joke, or a simple declaration that he wasn’t old enough to be a grandfather. Well. He was. Just not Kirito’s grandfather. *** Harry averted his gaze almost immediately. Hell fucking no, he was not making eye contact with an angry little midget from Giant Man Eating Monster World. He’d rather touch his junk to a block of ice than do that. What the fuck was with these two anyway? They kept wanting to make eye contact and both of them stared too long. It made Harry uncomfortable. Was there something on his face? Kirito turned his head around when Levi pushed him up. He said nothing, but his eyes narrowed slightly as he slid into position, wincing. Ouch. Decidedly, his foot didn’t need to go into the.. Stirrup (he struggled to think of the word), because it would make the pressure on his injured leg that much worse. He leaned forward and pat the horse’s neck gently, “Good boy,” he told him, fingers curling into the mane. “Don’t throw me and I’ll feed you apples all summer.” When summer came, of course. If he lived until then. Harry snorted, “Neither of you look old enough to know what to do with your parts.” With the exception of Levi’s eyes, he looked like he couldn’t be much older than 20. Harry shook his head. “Whatever, we’re burning daylight, so pick it up princesses. Can you keep up or do I need to carry you, too?” Harry looked at Levi. With Kirito on a horse, they’d walk a lot faster and Harry had a long stride. Levi was child sized with a child sized stride. *** Those dead eyes shifted back over to Harry again, almost looking tired, like a parent dealing with a petulant child. “You’re about five years older than I am.” Declared without hesitation, then he was looking forward again, through the forest. He scanned through the trees, then up towards the sky, and soon back around to Kirito. It was true, he’d never really be able to keep up with the two of them comfortably, the wizard’s legs were as long as the horses, and though Levi’s legs were long for his small stature, they were nowhere near Harry’s length. The two triggers pulled from their holsters, beneath his cloak, Levi’s fingers got to work, pressing latches down, pushing slides, clicking catches, pulling the two triggers in kind, then he ultimately pulled the large lever in front. Now, Harry had seen Levi end up on scene, as had Kirito, just in time to save the day. But neither one had actually gotten a proper look at what that gear did. They were about to. Lever pulled, a dart-like projection, attached to a long, thin metal cord, would be shot out and up. It slammed into a tree and the spikes extended to hold it there, then another click of the handle, a flick of his thumb, and the cord was beginning to retract, while the cartridge at his back shot out a stream of propelling gas, and he was yanked rather violently off of his feet (something he and the other members of the survey corps managed to make look graceful) and thrown up towards where his spear had dug into the tree. As he was thrown, he shot out another one in the opposite direction, which lodged into a tree, the first one released, and he was thrown forward with the motion. Within a matter of seconds, he was a good fifty feet ahead of them, just with the two throws, and he allowed himself to swing down and rest rather casually, crouched against the vertical trunk of a tree, about twenty feet off the ground. He’d wait there. Well? *** Harry and Kirito both watched curiously--Kirito because he’d need to learn to use the levers and buttons all on the gear, and Harry because the wizard was a nerd who wanted to know for fun. Both of them stared a little more stupidly when Levi was dragged off the ground and thrown through the trees as gracefully as if he’d been born to do it. “Show off!” Harry called. “Spider-Man wants his invention back!” Kirito looked at the wizard, who looked back at him, grumpy. “What?” “Nothing,” Kirito sighed, urging the horse into motion to trot after his master. Harry stepped along after him. “Does the Spider Monkey know where we’re going?” Harry asked. “No, but I don’t think he’s going to have a problem seeing us from the trees, grandpa.” If Harry didn’t like animals he’d have sent Arturo panicking through the woods just to watch the little shit on his back struggle to hold on. Harry had anger issues. Sue him. He muttered to himself, gripped the quarterstaff a little tighter and went back to looking around them for signs of trouble. So it was, the rag tag little group of brunettes walked deeper into the woods, with Kirito giving directions. Harry had to walk away a couple of yards every time the boy referenced his map, because he brought it up on a piece of technology that flickered for being so near. They would eventually make it to their destination, thus far--good omen or bad--unhindered. Their destination? A rather large, abandoned house in the woods. Levi made it there first, since he could actually see it well before it came into either Harry or Kirito’s sight. “What’s here again?” Harry asked, steadying the horse before he reached out and unceremoniously lifted the boy off the horse’s back. Yeah, dropping from his side with a bad leg would go oh so well. Harry put him down. “I’ve only heard rumors,” Kirito said, his dark eyes switching from Harry to Levi. “Don’t touch anything. Let me go first.” Harry snorted. Like he’d let that happen. *** Levi dropped down a few feet from them, his cords retracting and the grips being pressed into the holsters that hung beneath his arms. “Tch. Like I’m letting you go in there first.” Not the injured boy. Not his replacement. “Let the asshole go first.” Yeah. He wasn’t volunteering. Screw that. Harry could go first. Those dead eyes swept back to the tallest among them, locking onto Harry and staring. He was unmistakably Japanese, save for the color of his eyes. Yes, Harry, you’d been stuck with two of them. But only one knew what Japan was. Only one of them even knew what an Asian was. Sure, Levi heard reference, he knew it was what people looked like. But that was it. Everything else he learned had come from this place, from someone else explaining it to him. And he was painfully curious. He wanted to know. But he wouldn’t show too much interest-- not the level of interest he actually had. He wanted to read books about it-- but his reading level was low enough he couldn’t read the books around here. Not well enough to really understand them, at least. Sometimes Georgia Mason confused him on the network. With some help, he’d set his tablet to speak it aloud to him, which made it much easier. “Go on.” He encouraged the big man, taking hold of the horse’s reins and standing by. *** Kirito made a face, gritting his teeth, and curling his fingers into fists. He’d been fighting solo in a death game for almost three years by now. Entering an abandoned house was the least dangerous thing he’d ever done. And these two giant assholes were standing there pretending he was helpless. It was infuriating! It was also a dumb idea, but none of them would know it yet. “What’s with the staring? I know I’m a pretty princess, but take a damned picture. It’ll last longer.” Harry grumped at Levi. Neither Kirito nor Levi found the staring weird, Kirito didn’t even realize he was staring, since this was normal. So he just blinked at Harry. “You don’t have to be nervous, I can go first if you’re afraid.” Why else would Harry have such an attitude the whole way? Kirito smirked again. Harry shot him a look, then looked at Levi. “Do you let him kiss your mother with that mouth?” Then the wizard was stepping forward, reaching out with his senses to probe around the overgrown lawn and dilapidated porch for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing stuck out. It wouldn’t become obvious until they were inside. *** When called on his staring, Levi just stared. What was he going to say to that? He wasn’t staring. Then, Harry mentioned his mother and the little man clicked his tongue in disapproval and jerked his head violently to the side, spitting on the ground. Sure, maybe Harry didn’t see it for the intensely disrespectful gesture it was, but Kirito certainly would. “Shut your fucking mouth and go.” A demand from the Captain, who turned his attention entirely onto the horse at his side. Harry would go in first. Then Levi would allow Kirito to head inside, and he’d follow behind. Or, he might just stay out there with the horse, who was to say? Right now, all he wanted to do was kick Harry Dresden’s ass, so he tried to direct his attention into a more friendly state. Arturo could always do that, he could always calm him down. “You can go behind him when it’s clear.” Permission for Kirito, of course. Not that he needed it, particularly, but it was granted all the same. *** Harry, if he’d seen the gesture, would have counted that as a hard win. And he’d have zeroed in on mothers being a sensitive topic and poked mercilessly at it until Levi reacted horribly, in which case Harry would have considered it an even bigger victory. He was an asshole, what were you going to do about it? As it was, only Kirito saw and understood, both brows went up considerably. This was going to be a very long night. He was suddenly concerned both the adults with him were going to rip each other’s head off. Or maybe rip their hearts out of their chest and eat them. Kirito watched too many fantasy movies. No, he played in too many fantasy games. He bowed his head toward Levi in acknowledgement, “Hai,” he agreed. He couldn’t help it, he forgot frequently that Levi didn’t speak a word of Japanese, but it was natural for him to codeswitch. He slipped a lot of Japanese words into his dialogue with Levi. Once Harry mounted the steps, pushed open the front door, and didn’t immediately catch on fire, blow up, or get chopped in half or any number of horrible potential happenings, and stepped inside, the black swordsman followed after. He did reach up and loosen the swords on his back, just in case. But they were with a wizard. The wizard would find any traps. Right? He would, just not until it was too late. “Let’s clear the rooms,” Harry was telling the kid. Then he paused. “So, what’s the likelihood he’s going to cut my throat?” Kirito gave Harry a look that said maybe he should shut up for a little while. *** What’s the likelihood he was going to cut Harry’s throat? Pretty good if he mentioned his mother again. Did Kirito want to see a five-foot-three man, weighing a buck forty-five thrash a six-nine two-hundred-fifty pound man? He might get a front row seat. After Harry and Kirito had been inside for a minute, the smallest of the group finally stepped inside, his face taking on an immediate look of disgust. This place was dirty. His fingers ran over the nearest flat surface, picking up a year’s worth of dust. “Tch.” Unacceptable. He rubbed his fingers together. Who the fuck lived here? No one, apparently. “Why are we here?” He questioned, finally stepping further into the house. All the way into the house. It wasn’t very big, but it was big enough to fit the three men. Well, one was nearly a man. That counted. Blue eyes swept over the area, then focused onto Kirito, as if he would have the answers the dark man was seeking. *** It was filthy. It was decrepit, and smelled like dust and mould and if you really sniffed around--like blood. Of course, only Harry and Levi were accustomed to that metallic smell, so Kirito remained blissfully unaware. Only the two adults would recognize the dark spots when they came across them. They could speculate about them all night long. Maybe they would add to them, who knew? “Yeah, genius, what are we here for?” Harry prompted after Levi did. Kirito looked around, having the good sense to look up because you never knew what would drop on your head in a boss battle. When nothing dropped down and tried to eat his face, he got just a little more anxious. Too easy. This was way too easy. Where was the trap? “A map,” Kirito said plainly. Harry furrowed his brows as the boy spoke. “To what?” “A wellspring, there are rumors about the water having healing properties.” Harry’s turn to stare. His eyes dropped down to the boy’s leg. Kid played way too many games. *** Whatever map they were searching for, it didn’t matter a lick to Levi. His attention had turned off the moment he’d noticed the dark stain on the wall, opposite the door. He left the other two to investigate the bedrooms and he strode forward on light feet, reaching a hand out to trace his fingers over the grain of the wood there and the dark color someone’s blood had left behind. And it likely wasn’t the only one. He could smell it, it stained the wood. The place was disgusting and falling apart and not somewhere the three of them should be exploring. They were here for a map? It was likely that the blood on the wall had come from a person searching for a map as well. Moving away, Levi would let his feet carry him into the small kitchen area, where he found a larger stain on the floor there, and dark splatters along the cabinets. Had the people in this house ended up slaughtering one another? Why? Not over this.. Map.. right? Suddenly, the little maniac decided he didn’t want to be here anymore. “We need to go.” He announced from his spot in the kitchen, soon passing back into the living area. Whatever those two were doing, it could wait. *** They split up. Because in movies you had a better chance at staying alive when you split up, of course. Lucky they weren’t in a movie--even though Harry was fairly sure his life was a giant cinematic event for the universe to be entertained by. Levi remained in the main area, while the other two headed down a strange hall into the bedrooms. The wizard called light to himself, and Kirito used the bright light of his communication crystal to see by. A little shiver of warning rolled down Harry’s spine when he crossed into the first bedroom, the hair on the back of his neck standing. There was a power here, a presence that clearly indicated they shouldn’t be there. He didn’t want to be here, either. He could hear Kirito moving steadily around the other room and he very suddenly wanted the kid to stop and come back. He felt that same anxiety at the exact moment Levi called out to them, telling them they needed to go. Harry turned and- “Holy f-” He wouldn’t get the word out before a blast of cold, dark energy radiated outward in concentric circles, knocking the wizard onto his ass and killing the light he’d called with a very definitive snap. In the other room, Kirito had rushed fast enough to hit the hallway again before the wave of energy met him and threw him to the ground too with a painful clang and the clutter of limbs and aged wood as he struck a wall and rolled to the ground. His light died, the pieces of technology he carried simply blinking out of life with the same finality Harry’s light had. The wave rolled outward. The dark didn’t let up. “Don’t move! No lights!” Harry snapped, which was fine, because even if he wanted to, he couldn’t call his light back. He reached for his power, diving into that deep well that lived just on the edge of his reach and found.. Nothing. There was nothing. *** The large windows in the front gave Levi enough light to see by. For now. The sun was setting rapidly and the trees were blocking out a lot of it. There would be no moon for them tonight, not under the cover of those giant trees. But when he heard Harry, he turned and headed that direction, only to be thrown back as well. Luckily, he was used to being tossed around and rolled neatly before falling into a crouch and then slowly picking himself back up. “Kirito?” He demanded, immediately moving forward again, whatever damn thing that had been could go to Hell. “Kirito!” He snapped his name put again when he got no response the first time. “Harry?” He was less important. Moving into the hallway, he looked into the first bedroom to find Harry there, then the second to find his boy-- and that was the room he headed into, to check on him. “Are you alright?” He had reason to wonder, with that broken leg. It was really dark back here, he could make out faces, but only just, it was mostly forms and shapes of bodies. Fucking darkness. At least he saw better than most in the dark, he's lived his entire life in the dark, as had his mother, and her parents, and her parents parents. “We need to leave.” He announced to the darkness again. It was time to get out. *** Harry grabbed his staff with both hands. In the dark, it wouldn't amount to much but it made him feel better if he needed to use it as a club. He pushed himself to his feet, dark eyes peering through the shadows. What the hell had that been? He had gotten a bare glimpse before it had knocked him on his ass and disappeared into the dark. Harry approved silently when the man barely chanced a check on him then moved on to find Kirito. At least they agreed kids came first. He was fine anyway, he'd been through his fair share of being thrown around. He just couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched. And he was shaken because he couldn't find his magic. He kept it under control though, because cold panic wouldn't help him focus and reach inside for it. In the other room, Kirito dug himself out of a pile of crap that had fallen on him. The blast of kinetic energy had tossed him violently back into the room and because he had an injured leg, he'd been unable to roll gracefully with it. He inhaled sharply when Levi’s form appeared in the doorway, shadowy and vague enough to make Kirito reach for the swords. Only Levi’s voice told Kirito who it was. He slumped back briefly. “I'm alright,” he said. “That would be the trap.” He pushed himself up from his wary crouch and stepped forward blindly, closing his eyes to tap into his other senses to guide him. “Yeah. Let's go, we can regroup and come back later.” *** By no means was Levi a cat in the darkness, able to see everything-- but he seemed much better off than Kirito, who opted to close his eyes instead of try and strain in the darkness. It was a good idea. He didn’t need that sort of eye strain on top of his other injury. Though, as the boy said that, about the trap, the Captain pinned him with a bland look. Not that he could see it, but still. “You expected a trap?” And they’d walked in anyway? “Idiots.” He chided, but remained there in the doorway, oddly protective, placed between the younger man and whatever might be roaming through the house by now. “Harry, can you see?” He asked over to the giant of a man in the next room, who was making his way slowly towards the hall. The Captain couldn’t sense any magic, but he was sure he could feel eyes on him. And he had experience with being watched. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. “Come on.” He said again to the dark young man, having spoken up only to ensure that Kirito could find him in the darkness. *** Levi stood as the bridge between the two, though he was also acting as a wall between Kirito and whatever lay out there. Harry emerged from the room first, having done what Kirito was--but faster and better. When you had thirty years of experience on everyone, everything you did was better and faster. Besides, Harry had the training to shut down his thoughts, ease the beat of his heart and block out interference and just Listen. He never knew if that was magic or just a weird talent he’d honed over the years. But he Listened instead of looking, stepping into the hall where he could hear Levi and Kirito talking while making sure nothing was going to jump on him out of nowhere. “In a minute,” Harry said, “Eyes are dumb.” And they’d adjust in minute, so no big deal. Meanwhile Kirito played Marco Polo with Levi, following his voice. Oddly, he stopped short of running into him. Cool what your other senses could do when you used them appropriately. “There’s always a trap,” Kirito said. “It’s pretty formulaic, now you just keep your eyes peeled for the monster. It’s why I brought a wizard.” Harry scowled in the dark. “I’ve got nothing. Levi’s right though, let’s get the hell out of here. Place gives me the creeps and whatever the hell that was doesn’t want us here anyway.” “Like it’s protecting something?” Kirito asked. “Like it doesn’t want us here,” Harry repeated. “And unless you wanna be some bloodstains on the wall, we’re gonna be nice houseguests and leave.” *** The shortest of the group nodded just once as Harry said his eyes would be fine in a minute. His would get better over time, too. Of course, it was getting darker by the second. “Where’s Mustang when you need him?” Fire, of course. “Come on.” With that, he was turning abruptly on his heel, a violent sort of spin, and he headed back down the hall, happy to lead the way. Whatever was in here would have to go through him to get to Kirito. Oh, and Harry was back there, too. Without his magic, he was little more than a baby in a duster. Levi would look after the giant of a child, as well. He strode forward with confidence. No shuffling feet, no small steps, no uncertainty. Levi could see there through the darkness, the bit of light still filtering in was plenty enough for him to be able to function on. Just his footsteps, the flexible but tough soles of his boots impacting with the wooden floors, would be enough to signal to both men behind him that he could see. “The way is clear.” He assured as he stepped out into the main room and slowed his progression, so he could wait for Kirito and Harry and ensure they made it through the open living area and to the door safely. Outside, Arturo lazily munched on grass. *** Where was Mustang when they needed him? “Getting pissed drunk and having sex with a set of twins,” Harry said, and he said it in a way that clearly indicated Mustang was the smart one to be off doing that instead of being trapped in a creepy house with a kid and a madman. Not exactly how Harry wanted to spend his evening. Remind him never to agree to come out anywhere with Kirito. The wizard happily let Levi take the lead, putting Kirito between the two of them because Levi would either get picked off first, or Harry would, leaving Kirito safely in the center. They made their way down the hall, both of them keeping their back to the wall on instinct. Huh, kid had experience fighting in close quarters. That was good. He also didn’t look particularly tense, from what Harry could see of him. Which immediately made the paranoid wizard suspicious. “You know what this is, don’t you?” Harry asked, reaching out to grab the kid by his shoulder and roughly pull him back. “You walked us into a trap and you didn’t say anything!” Harry had anger issues. Winter approved. *** Harry and Kirito walked with their back to the wall. Levi walked down the center of the hall with his back exposed to the men behind him. He was either very stupid, very confident in his own abilities.. Or felt very safe with Kirito and Harry both behind him, sure that nothing would get through them to his back. It was anyones guess which it was. “Next time, I’m joining Mustang’s expedition.” Instead of Harry and Kirito’s. It sounded like a much better way to be spending his time. Though, as the air shifted behind him and Harry grabbed hold of Kirito, yanking him back and making demands, the smallest among them came up short and turned his head to look back over his shoulder. “Now is not the time for that. Once we’re back in town, you can throttle him properly. Until then, handle yourself accordingly, wizard.” They were sharp instructions from the maniac of the group, his head turning forward again to regard the door, finally stepping forward to reach for the handle, while Kirito was detained and Harry distracted. If he needed to shove them out the door, then he would. *** Harry had problems with authority figures, so he ignored Levi’s command. Was Levi right? Of course he was, and on some level, Harry knew that. Harry was also an idiot. He was also right, in his own way, too. He didn’t let Kirito go, though the boy had turned his dark eyes up to look at the wizard. Harry could see them dimly reflecting the dying light outside. The wizard’s heart started beating rapidly in his chest, his mind spinning, sure he was missing something. His eyes moved from Kirito’s face up to Levi’s back just as the man reached for the door handle. “Don’t!” Harry barely got the warning off when Kirito took advantage of the close quarters and brought his foot up to kick Harry in the knee. He connected, Harry shouted. The boy pushed himself off the wall and launched himself into the center of the room and pulled his sword. The details snapped into place in Harry’s mind. “It’s him!” Harry hissed. More that whatever the fuck had been watching them was in their kid. Bodysnatchers were assholes. *** Don’t! Levi’s fingers fell short of the handle and he turned in time to see Kirito lash out at Harry. It’s him! Him what? Who? The Captain didn’t pick up what the wizard was throwing down. There were no body snatchers, no creatures that could control your brain. There weren’t mind-readers or wizards or shapeshifters in Levi’s world. It didn’t even cross his mind that there could be something inside their kid. “The fuck is wrong with you?” He was snapping immediately at Harry. Yes. It was Harry’s fault. He’d grabbed the boy, and Kirito had every right to slam Harry to the ground for it if he wanted. “Back off.” A demand to Harry as the little Captain stepped away from the door, towards the scene. His attention was on the wizard, who had assaulted Kirito first. “Don’t touch him.” Levi didn’t draw his own blade, it wasn’t much good in other applications. Too long. Too sharp. Too delicate. Sure, he could cut your head off, but he’d likely break some of the pieces off of the blade. If he could even swing it in such a cramped place. *** Oh, hell. Harry hated vanillas. Though, some part of him inwardly appreciated Levi’s defense of the kid. Say what you would about his shitty attitude toward Kirito earlier in the day, but at least when it mattered the madman was stepping in to protect him. It just sucked that he was doing it now. Levi was facing down Harry, so Harry got to watch as Kirito turned his attention to the man closest to him. It was like slow motion for the wizard, watching as the boy adjusted his grip on the hilt of the sword--which Harry could barely freaking see, because the stupid sword was black and then rush at Levi. He brought the sword in an upward angle that would have taken Levi at the hip and slashed clear up to the opposite shoulder, likely severing his spine in the process. “Levi!” Harry wasn’t going to make it in time. He swung his staff, not at Kirito who was just too far out of reach, but at Levi to make him move. Of course, Harry hadn’t anticipated just how quickly Kirito could adjust, having never actually seen him fight. In a flash, Kirito had turned and brought the blade down along the staff. With a horrible crunch and a jolt that rolled up Harry’s arm to his shoulder, the staff broke. Harry was going to freaking kill him. *** The air behind him shifted. Harry shouted and was moving. Levi had only enough time to throw a glance back behind him before he launched himself forward with a hiss-- a neat twist of his body and he landed on both feet, one more heavily than the other, and he unsheathed a small knife he kept on himself. The thick, metallic smell got stronger. “What are you doing?” He’d demand of the boy, holding the knife twisted back so the flat of the blade was nearly pressed up against his wrist and forearm. Just like he held one of his swords. “Back down, Kirito.” It was a hard demand. He didn’t understand there was something inside him. It was a hard thing to fathom when you knew nothing about that type of world. “Enough.” Another demand as he held his knife at the ready. Yes, he was going to take on the taller young man, with his huge, heavy sword, with just a pocket knife. He’d taken on larger with the same knife. Something was very wrong here. He could see that, he could tell that, but he didn't know what. *** Harry knew enough about sword fighting to know he didn't know much. He knew enough to know--or in this case, to assume--that taking a nail filer into a sword fight was going to get Levi killed. That was what it looked like to the big wizard anyway. But both the men looked confident, like they knew what they were doing, each was comfortable with the weapons they held. Kirito had come to a stop again, and Harry could see what he'd been aiming to do. Having failed to strike down Levi, he'd pushed Harry and the little man closer to each other. Shit. They needed to split his attention, then he couldn't focus his energy and attention on either one of them for long. “He's being puppeted. It's going to try to make us hurt the body, then it'll bail and leave him behind.” Rinse. Repeat. Suddenly the blood made sense. Kirito, having decided who was more of the threat at the moment, threw himself at Levi. *** It wanted them to hurt Kirito? Levi was torn. Did he hurt the boy, and make the.. Thing.. Whatever it was.. Leave him? Or, did he try his best not to hurt him and buy time for Harry to figure out what he could do, to get the thing out of his boy? He didn’t have long to think. The taller, but lighter boy was hurling himself at him and that big, heavy sword came swinging up. It was strong, it was made to break other blades, and Levi was well aware of that fact. So as he prepared for impact, he braced himself-- and at the last moment, shifted his feet and jumped up just enough-- no more than an inch or two-- that the heavy sword impacted his small blade and instead of breaking it, simply pushed the Captain through the air, the momentum carrying some, until Levi dropped his feet again and put on the breaks. A little hop was all it took to cushion the impact and keep his own blade from breaking under the force. Then he was leaning into his own small blade and digging his feet in, pushing back against Kirito and his heavy sword. Had it been anyone else, he likely would have lost this fight of brute strength against brute strength, but Kirito was lighter than he was and Humanity’s Strongest was able to push the Japanese boy back, eyes narrowing down. “You let him go.” He demanded to those dark eyes across from his own bluer set. A knife against a sword, and look at him go, Harry. Humanity’s Strongest indeed. He didn’t know how to lose. *** Humanity's Biggest Distraction. Harry didn't care about anything else, leaving them to their battle as Kirito launched into his assault with renewed vigor. He was quick! Levi had to be faster if he didn't want three feet of steel pushed through his torso. How he didn't die was beyond the wizard. That was a level of skill the big wizard would never be able to match. Michael Carpenter could, Fist of God and master swordsman that he was. If Harry had his magic at his fingertips this would have gone a lot faster. As it stood, the wizard was left with what was in his pockets and his wits, which didn't amount to much. Fortunately, they were in a tight space so that Kirito wasn't able to go all out--though to Harry it looked like he was. They had to dodge around furniture, watch for loose floorboards and ultimately temper their dance, which gave Harry a few extra seconds. Nothing Harry could do for Levi but let him go at it--watching as blades met and the spark of light went up each time. So the big guy pushed up and ran back down the hall, skipping the first bedroom to dodge into the second where Kirito had looked around. Harry didn't want to do this, but with a snarl he forced himself under control and drew up his Sight, pushing aside distraction as he searched for clues. He’d come back on a hunch, after all. His Third Eye, which let him see the world under the surface, revealed an ugly picture. All the light and the darkness and the beauty and the pain. He was exposed to the world as it was. The bedroom was horrible. It was ugly and molten, and dark. And the walls… they were marks of prison, of entrapment. No hope. Only despair. The scrawls that were etched over walls and windows, all. The three of them were trapped with whatever was being held here. Not a bodysnatcher. Maybe a really violent ghost. Maybe a demon. Didn't matter. His eyes swept around all that chaos and when he landed on an ugly, dark corner buried under the rest, he knew it was what he was looking for. It was emitting a strange music... He rushed forward and dug it out. It was a music box. Harry shivered, because that wasn't creepy. He dropped his Sight, hefted the music box in hand and rushed into the hallway where he shouted, “Hey, asshole!” and threw open the lid, on a whim. Instead of a peaceful, gentle tone there was a sound of shrieking, a swirl of air like a vacuum that willed the thing to leave the boy's body. For a moment nothing happened, then Kirito turned to face Harry and screamed an inhuman sound that likely ripped the boy's throat to produce. Then all at once that black shadow and wave of energy burst from the boy's body and rushed at Harry. The wizard held up his pentacle necklace, taking shelter behind it, head ducked low. The shadow and wave washed over the wizard and went into the music box with a rush like wind. Harry slammed the lid closed. Near Levi, Kirito collapsed. *** What the fuck was that?! One minute he was fighting Kirito, who came at him like a man possessed. But Levi hadn’t fought back. He’d defended. Whatever was in the boy’s body was doing this, not the boy himself. He couldn’t exactly excuse beating the snot out of him. So he’d met sword to knife each time, avoiding the slashes-- he’d even ended up in a backflip or two-- he’d pushed off the walls and put furniture between them to avoid the swinging sword. The furniture didn’t fare as well as the Captain, who managed to keep himself from getting sliced to ribbons with a six inch blade against a massive, heavy sword. He was just starting to try and think of ways to knock the boy out, when suddenly Harry reappeared and the Captain’s boy was screaming. A bunch of black.. What was that? Smoke? The black smoke came rushing out, aiming for Harry, then it suddenly went around and slammed into the box instead. The lid shut. Kirito collapsed. The room fell silent. Only the sound of Levi’s slightly heavier breathing echoed within the bloodstained walls. A hand reached to touch his lower back, fingers feeling the sticky coating of blood there. Shit. His fingers pulled away and he made the short trek to the dark boy, where he knelt down and reached out his clean hand to feel for breath. When he found it, he let out the one he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Kirito was alright. “What the fuck was that?” He asked of Harry, sweeping his cloak off of himself and tying it around his waist like a sash, tightly, to try and stem the bleeding from his lower back. Fuck, it hurt. The kid had gotten him good, when he’d taken that first cheap shot. *** “Best I can come up with is a Black Cloud,” Harry replied, rubbing his forehead where his headache was beginning to form. The Third Eye really screwed you up, which was why wizards refrained from using it frequently. It could drive you insane if you exposed your mind to the stimulation in the world. He kept a hand on the music box, to make sure the lid remained shut, though he didn't want to actually keep touching it. Dark eyes trailed to Levi. On a hunch for the second time that night, Harry took up his necklace again and called light. Light answered, the wizard turning his head away as the blue white light bloomed from the pentacle and cast a warm, safe glow around them. The smell of blood got more obvious when Levi waved his cloak around. The oppressive nature of the evening made it worse. “Let me see it,” the wizard said. He wasn't a medic, but he had plenty of practice closing up his own wounds with homemade bandages over the years. At least enough til he could get to Butters in the morgue. His eyes dipped back to Kirito. He'd look at him later to see if the thing had taken anything from him. For now, best to let him stay unconscious. Harry was slightly concerned if they woke him now he'd keep screaming. Click to continue... |