Disclaimer: I Do not own Guilty Gear or any of its awesome characters...

Guilty Gear: Shades of Affection

Chapter One: The Fierce One

By Traingham

Ky Kiske stood poised on the crumbling stair steps of an old, half destroyed mansion that he was sent to investigate staring up at his foe with the thunderseal in a defensive stance. It was meant to be a simple reconnaissance mission, something assigned to him due to suspicion of the decrepit building being a former testing lab once used by the Post War Administration Bureau. It started off as a regular investigation until the french officer heard a loud explosion erupt from one of the lower lab levels, and sure enough, when he rushed in to survey the damage, it was him. Sol Badguy was there standing over the destroyed remains of a Justice Copy proto-type that must have been left behind to deal with intruders that might have sniffed around in the bureau's absence. The usual fighting words were exchanged between the two men and the duel kicked into gear, leading them back up to the first floor with Ky pushing Sol back while the bounty hunter defended against the flurry of slashes and stabs.

Right now Sol Badguy stood at the top of the stairway glaring down at him with the usual stance, laid back and full of openings. That would have been the truth for another man, but Sol could hardly be classified as a mere man. Past engagements with the 'Immoral Flame' proved that his capabilities far exceeded the common fighter and as far as that unguarded stance was concerned, it was the last that many saw in the final, fleeting seconds of their lives. Ky was currently devising an advance that would get him past it.

Sol appeared to have gotten bored with the stare down they were engaging in, taking a moment to work out a kink in his neck with a few cracks. "Stop shitting yourself, boy. We've held these same exact positions before."

Ky held the thunderseal low, tightening his biceps as the energy flowed through his arms. "Not exactly like before." He retorted, preparing a stun edge. "Prepare yourself!"

Sol answered him with the usual downward jab of his thumb and the fight resumed. Ky slashed his blade upwards sending a bolt of thunder sizzling in the red swordsman's direction. Sol flipped backwards to dodge, letting the bolt pass between the arc of his open legs, clearing the top of the stairway for Ky to advance forward and meet him on the first floor with equal footing. The knight was met with an exploding plume of flames by the time he got around the rail almost launching him up against the wall, but he defended against it with a lightning sphere that absorbed most of the impact. Sol rushed in immediately, bursting past the flames like a lunging tiger and leaping in the air to come down with a downward thrust of his right fist. It slammed directly into Ky's forehead, stunning him long enough for him to grab hold of his shoulders and follow with a knee to the chest.

"Keh!" The officer coughed out, thrown backwards by the rushing knee. He saw Sol resume his charge and managed to lift the thunderseal fast enough to deflect a downward strike from the fireseal in a clash of sparks that briefly lit up both their faces before taking that opportunity to kick the opposing man away. Ky recovered his center and fought back, charging forward and dropping into a slide to kick Sol off balance. The bounty hunter's form flashed out of his view as he jumped over him, whipping around to return to favor with a downward slash, but Ky reacted quickly, spinning around on one knee and deflecting with a rising slash that knocked Sol away for enough time to recover.

"Hyaa!"Sol went in for a straight forward kick and Ky used it to his advantage, defending against it and allowing the force of the kick to throw him back with enough distance for another stun edge, but Sol anticipated as much dashing underneath the spear of lighting when it came his way with a jet fire propelling him forward to deliver a crippling uppercut. Ky was lifted off his feet when the bounty hunter's fist smashed into his ribs, but he recovered quickly with an aerial vapor thrust. Sol immediately switched to the defensive, crossing the fireseal in front of him with both hands to brace against the concentrated blast of thunder magic and giving Ky much needed breathing space to reorient himself.

"Damn it." Ky stumbled back as soon as his two feet came in contact with the floor again and he held his side with a wince. That could have ended me.

Sol observed the slightly hunched man for a moment, "Up for another round, or are we finished here?"

Ky steeled himself, clenching his teeth to fight against the pain in his ribs and charged forward again, "Damn you!" When Sol was in reach he jumped in the air and twisted around to bring the thunderseal down upon him with all his might. Sol braced against the brutal attack with the fireseal, the floor cracking beneath his weight from the heavy impact of both sword colliding, and he smirked up at Ky. It was one reserved for one of the few men that could possibly push him for what would inevitably come next.

"Teyaah!" Sol forced the knight away while the man hung in mid-air and dug in deep to turn off the switch that held the gear in place, crying out, "Dragon Install!" The instant it was invoked an explosion of flames surrounded him.

"Hmph." Ky grit his teeth against the pulsing pain in his ribs as the temperature in the room shot up like winter to spring. Watching Sol release the restrictions that bound his true strength he knew there was only one final card he could play. His eyes came alive with the crackle of thunder and his hair started rising as the energy welled deep inside him to decide the match with a single stroke.

Sol sprinted forward like a beast, his movements barely traceable through the untrained eye with his enhanced speed as he fearlessly charged into the eye of the storm that Ky's body stood at the center of. The distance was closed between them in the blink of an eye and the white knight released all of the energy with a single thrust that should have ended Sol instantly---if it met its mark---

"Wha--" Ky's eyes widened in horror when Sol swerved to the side just as the sword almost pierced him, and resigned himself to his fate. "Guh!" The first blow came to his stomach, an uppercut carrying a force almost strong enough to rip his body in two. Sol's left hand went ablaze as he prepared the finishing blow and Ky Kiske's world was consumed in a final, brilliant explosion that sent his body flying across the room like a rag doll and slamming into the wall. He remained plastered there for a moment with the thunderseal still gripped tightly in his right hand before gravity brought him to the floor in a heap.

"Glad to know where you stand, now?" Sol's voice cut through the building haze in Ky's mind as the darkness started pulling him in, "Lay your sword down, Ky. Your fight ended a long time ago when Justice fell. Find yourself a good woman and pursue another path before you end up like Kliff."

"S...Suhl..." Ky's right hand scraped against the floor and tried desperately to reach out for the blurry, red figure, but--

"Shut up, kid."

-[BLACK OUT]-

.....B-Bmp.....

........B-Bmp........

...........B-Bmp..........

Pain. Pain meant everything to a man that was prepared to die. It was the driving force of a warrior, the defining relationship of the man and his counterparts. It made him vulnerable, mortal, sometimes even invincible. Pain was a divider and a bringer, it brought agony and ecstasy. Pain defined life.

Ky Kiske felt pain, therefore he was not dead.

Ky smelled grilled fish--wait...

"Fish?" Ky opened his eyes against the dying rays of sunshine falling upon his face to find that he was no longer at the abandoned mansion. Rather, he was in a small shack with his jacket torn open and blood stained bandages wrapped around his chest and stomach in a professional manner. "A doctor's office?" He curled forward to sit up and get a better look at his surroundings. It sure didn't seem like a proper medical clinic, but there were the basic tools lying around so the owner must have had some experience.

I can't be alone. He focused his attention back to the matter of the grilled fish. Someone was cooking and his stomach was demanding sustenance by the sounds of all the growling it was making. Ky stood up on two wobbly feet and ducked through the curtains at the shack entrance to find two people sitting on the porch, on the sides of a grill. One of them was an old man in a worn robe, likely the person responsible for treating his wounds. The other person, however, was someone he was familiar with--

"Miss Baiken..."

The strawberry haired samurai halted her inspection of the thunderseal and regarded him with her good eye when she heard her name called, "Damn. You're more resilient than I gave you credit for." She set his blade down before reaching for her smoking pipe, "On your feet already, eh?"

"Welcome back to the world of the living, kid." The old doctor greeted him before patting the floor, "Have a seat and eat something. You'll feel better for it."

"Thank you, sir." Ky accepted the offer politely, taking a seat between them.

"Aren't you polite." The man remarked cheerfully, handing him a grilled fish on a thin wooden stick before looking to Baiken. "Still, I'm the last person you should be thanking. Try this lovely young lady for starters. She dragged you here while you were unconscious."

Said young lady let out a puff of tobacco smoke. "Don't tell him that, old man. He'll only get the wrong idea." Baiken turned her attention back to Ky. "Thank the fact that my pipe got damaged in my last fight with some fat ass."

The old man smiled at her response in a fatherly manner, "Still rough around the edges, this girl. Don't take her words too hard, she means well." His words got a snort from the samurai.

Ky locked eyes with the woman hesitantly, " Thank you miss Baiken." He thanked her with a slight bow before--"Ow!" She whacked him on the top of his head with the side of her pipe.

"Stop adding 'miss' at the front of my name, pretty boy."

Ky rubbed the top of his smarting head. "My name is Ky."

"Right then, Ky." Baiken said his name almost mockingly. "You sure got yourself busted pretty bad back there. Who the hell did you pick a fight with?"

"An old comrade and enemy." Ky answered her vaguely before shaking his head with a sigh, "It's all in the past now."

The lovely samurai inhaled another puff, her barely concealed cleavage rising, and let it out with a few blinks. "All in the past? Bullshit."

"All in the past." Ky repeated himself.

"Again, bullshit." Baiken shot back. "If someone left me to die with wounds that bad I'd return the favor and kill the bastard as soon as I was back on my feet. Don't give me that 'all in the past' bullshit."

"Sometimes that's the best way to got about it." Ky watched Baiken raise her blade and slam the end of the sheath against the floorboards. The glare she shot at him held the vibes of killing intent that he was so familiar with.

"If I knew you were this much of a coward I would have ended your life myself, Ky." She turned her head to the side and spat on the dirt. "You call yourself a man."

The old doctor intervened before her temper could get the best of her, "Calm yourself, Baiken. The man just recovered."

"Yeah?" She questioned sarcastically. "Well I don't think it was a full recovery. The man is still missing his balls." The strawberry haired samurai looked to the road and suddenly stood from the porch, adjusting her sword to her waist. "I'm heading out." She picked up her booze jar and hooked it on its waist strap before tapping her pipe and putting it away.

"Off already, hmm?" The old man mused slapping one of his knees. "Do be careful, young lady."

"Hmph." Baiken snorted, turning her back to the two men. "I don't need to be told that. Try to stay alive for my next visit, old man. No doubt my pipe will need fixing again."

"I'll try." He laughed, and the woman was off on her way again. Ky watched her off until she was but a pink speck down the road.

Baiken... The french officer thought back on the expression she looked at him with and swallowed another generous chunk of fish. She certainly did not like his response, almost as if his words were an insult to her. Looking through her file back at headquarters, she had quite a few brushes with the law on her travels so perhaps she simply had personal feelings against his profession. The 'mad sword' was what some of the officers affectionately dubbed her in the file.

"Hey kid." Ky was pulled away from his thoughts when the doctor called his attention.

"Yes?"

"I didn't want to believe it earlier, but she might have been on to something with that balls comment earlier."

"...Excuse me?" Ky blinked curiously, unsure of what to make of his comment. What have I done to deserve this treatment?

"You two are past acquaintances, correct?"

Ky nodded after considering the idea, "I suspect you can call us that."

"Well, I certainly can't tell what circumstances you both had in the past, but that woman saved your life. She dragged you down here with her only arm."

Ky narrowed his eyes questioningly, "But the pipe..."

The doctor stared at him.

"She said that I..." Ky felt his throat go dry as the doctor proceeded to continue staring at him. It almost felt as though he was disappointed in him.

The old man shook his head with sigh, "Boy, she saw something in you worth saving, but I highly doubt it was genius." He pointed in the direction that Baiken went, "Go after her. It seems like the only option left to you with meaning at this point."

"Right away." Ky got to his feet quickly and almost dashed off.

"Hey!" The old man stopped him in his tracks with a shout. Ky turned around and regarded him quizzically. "You're forgetting your sword." He gestured to the thunderseal lying on the porch.

Ky blinked almost feeling mortified for coming so close to leaving behind the blade that Kliff entrusted to him. "Thank you, sir!" He snatched up his sword and went off running in Baiken's general direction like a man on a mission.

The old doctor returned to his meal, munching his fish before cackling to no one in particular. You'll likely need it to stay alive.

- [Guilty] {GG} [Gear] -

It was noteworthy how long Ky Kiske had to jog before he caught sight of the lovely Baiken walking down the road. She was either very nimble on her feet without exerting herself, or she took off running shortly after she vanished beyond their sight earlier at the old hermit's shack. Either way, he managed to catch up with her so the easy part was behind him. Predictably, now came the hard part since the last time they locked eyes she came rather close to making an attempt on his life.

Giving it a shot, "Baiken!" He surprised himself when she stopped and turned around to look in his direction, a look of confusion and irritation on her face from the looks of it. He honestly had not expected for her to hear him, much less stop for him. When he caught up to her he cracked a surprised smile, "You actually waited."

The samurai placed her hand on her hip before cocking them to the side, "What do you want, pretty boy?"

"My name is Ky."

"I don't give a shit about your name!" She scolded him like a child. "Why the hell are you following me?" Her hand rested on the hilt of her sword like a silent warning.

Ky observed her shift with his eyes discreetly, "I've decided to pursue a different path in my life," Baiken looked intrigued as he spoke, "And in order to accomplish that I wish to follow you, madame Baiken." And by the end of his sentence she looked more amused than anything else.

"You want to follow me?" She chuckled almost sinisterly. "The hell does a righteous, law upholding officer like yourself expect to accomplish by following me? You want me to be your master or something?" That hunch he had about her having something against his profession was beginning to hold some water.

Ky shook his head, "I wish to be by your side."

"Huh?" Baiken blinked, her shoulders slumping briefly before a tinge of pink colored her cheeks, and she did not look pleased. "N-No way! I don't need any useless baggage weighing me down on my travels. Leave me alone if you know what's good for you."

"How will I convince you?" Ky persisted.

She scoffed, "I don't want anything to do with a coward." With that she turned away from him and resumed her walk down the road.

"I am not a coward." He retorted calmly. "I simply see no need for pursuing vengeance." His statement stopped her on the spot like a tug on the shoulder.

"The hell do you know, pretty boy?" Her hand gripped the hilt of her blade, "What do you know about revenge?"

Ky mirrored her action. "My name is Ky." He corrected her again. "As for vengeance, I've wasted three years of my life obsessing over it and it has given me nothing, but lost time in return."

"So what is it that you're trying to tell me, pretty boy?"

"My name is Ky."

"Answer the question."

"What is the question?"

"Don't fuck with me, pretty boy."

"My name is Ky, and I'm doing nothing of the sort, madame."

"What will vengeance grant me?"

"Nothing."

There was a moment of silence before Ky watched her click the hilt of her blade out of its sheath and he assumed a stance with the thunderseal in kind. "You know what, Ky?" She kept her back to him as she finally addressed him by his name, "No one has ever pissed me off as much as you have."

Ky said nothing.

Baiken continued, "And for that reason I will remember your name the moment that I finally kill That Man," She whipped around quickly and the grass reeds that were standing on both sides of the road swayed for a moment before falling to the ground. "So that my vengeance will be even sweeter!"

"I'll give you a better reason to remember it!" Ky rushed forward as she did and slashed the very moment that he saw one of her fingers twitch. Two white arcs traced the air as their shoulders brushed each other and they whipped around to face each other silently.

--Shkritz!

Ky looked to the right sleeve of his ruined jacket just in time to see it fall off exposing his entire arm and a fresh, bleeding cut. "What..." He studied Baiken to find her without a single cut or scratch on her body. He never touched her.

The samurai studied his response and smirked viciously. "I'm not one of your usual brutes!" She finished her sentence by launching a claw at him from her armless sleeve. He reacted quickly, parrying the claw to the side and letting a stun edge rip in her direction, but the samurai vanished like the wind the moment the bolt of thunder reached her. In reality she had leapt in air swifter than his eyes could hope to follow.

"Ah!" Ky raised his gaze in time to see her descending upon him and rolled out the way, thinking ahead of her and slashing at the air to deflect a slash from the samurai. He answered her with an overhead slash and she blocked it with her sword before countering with another hidden claw that shot out from underneath her kimono. The white knight cocked his head to the side in time to avoid being hit in the face and kicked her away to regain his bearings before she could take advantage of his disorientation, but she refused to let up, using the force of his kick to her advantage and whipping around with a slash from her sword that nicked the bridge of his nose just barely. He kicked back to put some distance between them and she charged at him to keep him from doing so, sheathing her sword again and attacking with a sudden draw technique that would have taken him out if his instincts had not told him to deflect the moment the click of her hilt reached his ears.

"Damn you!" Baiken cursed him as she appeared behind him. She moved in to slash him as he had his back to her, but he whipped around with a slash to deflect the surprise attack and followed with another overhead slash only to have it blocked by her quick reflexes. What followed afterward transcended the senses as she countered with a bizarre rolling maneuver that made her vanish from his sight again. Ky attempted to whip around before it was too late, but---

"Ngh!" The white knight bit back a cry, holding his side as it suddenly burned without warning. When he held his hand before his eyes to examine it there was blood dripping from his palm. I need to take a different approach... He looked over his shoulder to find her standing there admiring her handy work. It didn't look as though she wanted to end this quickly.

Or had she planned to kill me to begin with? Ky turned around slowly to face her and lowered his blade. Her fighting style relies on the aggression of her opponent. She counters all attacks that are directed at her from close quarters combat...

Baiken appeared to be growing impatient with him, slapping her hand on her forehead, "The hell are you waiting for?!"

...But how does she handle force projectiles? With a new strategy in mind he raised his blade, sending the samurai on alert again. He tightened his biceps and let a stun edge rip in her direction fforcing her to take action and deflect it before flying at him like a bullet similar to the last time.

"Huhp!" Ky snapped his fingers and a lightning sphere came into existence right in front of him. She slammed right into it and was thrown back by the impact leaving an opening for the french officer as he charged a vapor thrust. The concentrated wave of thunder magic ripped across the road, zeroing in on her and she was forced to defend against it, presenting another opportunity for Ky to run forward and close the distance between them.

"Rah!" He whipped around and slashed in an arc, hoping to use the momentum to knock the sword out of Baiken's hand, but as soon as their blades made contact--

"Idiot!" The samurai cried out as a flurry of cherry petals obscured his view. She went in for a thrust while he was distracted, but to her shock he dodged as though he had anticipated the counter attack. The air pressure shifted without warning and--

KeRak!

Ky Kiske stomped the ground releasing an electric current that knocked Baiken off her feet and onto her back. She attempted to recover her ground quickly, but before she could react the tip of the thunderseal was at her left breast and the white knight was standing over her, his chest rising and falling as he filled his lungs with air from the exhaustion.

"Well, what now, Ky?" Baiken breathed out, feeling the sword poke her chest every time she took in a breath and it irritated her. "You going to lay my soul to rest?"

"Of course not." He replied as he withdrew his blade from her chest. The samurai stared up at him skeptically when he offered her a helping hand. "I can't be by your side if I did such a thing."

"Do you pity me, or something?" She asked him, refusing to take his hand until he answered her.

"I do not." Ky replied truthfully. "How you choose to live your life is your decision. The choices you've made were yours alone and nothing will change that. Nothing will keep you from facing the consequences of your path unless you see that for yourself."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I will not try to force my views on you." He offered her a friendly smirk. "All I ask is that you let me accompany you."

"Hmph..." Baiken was silent for a moment, studying his eyes as though she was searching through them for the truth before offering him her forearm, never letting her grip on her sword loosen. You have yourself a deal, Ky."

"I'm glad to hear that." He replied as he hoisted her to her feet.

"Not so fast, pr---Ky." Baiken corrected herself before he could do it himself. "I want that damn jacket off."

"My uniform?" He gestured to his ruined threads with a blink. "But--"

"I'm not traveling with you while you look like one of those pricks, got it?" She cut him off, pointing a finger in his face. "So take it off or I walk."

Ky nodded reluctantly and stripped the torn jacket off his lean frame. Baiken raised an eyebrow as the jacket fell to the ground and stroked her chin as she stared as if to appraise him. The former officer noticed the look of interest in her eyes and asked, "What seems to be the matter?"

"There's a lot more of a man beneath those clothes than I thought." She surprised him with a smile that made her look mischievous. "Looks promising, Ky. I have a lot of potential to work with."

"I don't understand."

"You don't need to." Baiken replied simply before leading the way down the road. "Let's get moving then. I wanna reach the next town before the bandits start coming out from behind the trees."

"Agreed." Ky nodded, shouldering the thunderseal before he followed her down the road, noticing a suspicious sway in her hips that wasn't present before. He decided not to let his eyes linger too long. "By the way, Baiken."

"Yeah." She asked, turning her head.

"Thanks again for saving me."

"Whatever." She said dismissively, a tinge of pink coloring her cheeks again. He had to admit that it was lovely sight. "There are few good men left in the world. It would've been a shame to let one die in front of me."

Ky blinked, "I can't say that I saw that coming." His remark earned him a jab to the rib from her elbow.

"Shut up. You made me say it."

He coughed, rubbing his new sore spot,"I'm glad I was here to witness it."

-[BLACK OUT]-

"What the--Baiken?"

...Silence...

"Baiken!"

"We haven't even done anything yet and you're already crying out another woman's name."

"What..." Ky tried to move his body, but the sensation in his aching muscles was so painful that all he could do was remain still just to hold on to consciousness. It finally dawned on him that the reason it was so pitch black was due to the fact that his eyelids would not open. The only thing left to him was to confront the mysterious voice. "Who are you?! Where am I?!"

"You're exactly where you were when you ended up this way, Ky." The husky, feminine voice informed him as the rhythmic click of heels got closer to him. A hand rested on his head and began stroking his hair almost possessively. The supposedly calming gesture only made him feel even more helpless than he did when he realized that his body was inoperable. "As for who I am, I'm your guardian angel, Ky Kiske." The woman giggled sinisterly, drawing pleasure from his confusion. "Can you guess who I am? Can you?"

"I-NO..." Ky growled the name of his tormentor. "I recognize that voice now."

"No need for that tone my scrumptious eclair." I-NO cooed in his hear as she tapped him on the nose. "I'm here to take care of you."

"Take care of me?" Ky could not help but feel suspicious.

"That's right. Ky is my favorite after all."

To Be Continued...

On the next chapter:

"We had good times! Like that time you and I went into the past to solve the case of the mysterious rapist--"

"I don't want to talk about that!"

"But it was such a twist"