Wine Stained Lips
Chapter One
It has been some time since he's seen the red haired girl, he hadn't seen that shade of red again as far as he had been looking. Not that he had been, it was dangerous to get attached anyway. Yet, Kiro had been stuck, daydreaming of the color red, and when he found himself doing so, no amount of scolding to himself would make him feel guilty. Even if he refused to accept it himself, the Meister knew this, he wanted to know her.
But that was a stupid, whimsical thing. It would fade, surely it would fade. It had to. He hadn't been attached to anyone else since the incident with Sage. Before that, his father and brother. Shaking his head, he looks down to the bag slung beside him, heavy with the weight of his drink and books. He was supposed to be studying something, but he couldn't recall quite what. Something about the resonance between a Meister and Weapon. Absolutely pointless for him to learn, but the DWMA, it was an Academy. You had to learn the curriculum.
Even the basics of normal schooling. There were advanced classes as well, classes he attended, though at this point he had begun to question the why. His brother had been dead for nearly three years, approaching the next April eleventh, it would mark four years. A year short of half a decade, and maybe if he had been younger, Kiro would question his resolve to his shared dream with his deceased younger sibling.
But he wasn't, instead drinking away the pain, drinking to keep people away, to avoid getting attached to other people again. Teeth click together, and the young Meister reaches inside of his bag, glaring down at the bottle, loosely gripped in his hands. There was the intense urge to smash it against something, maybe throw it at his wall.
But then he would have to clean it up, and if he cut himself on the shards, Kiro wasn't sure he would bother bandaging the cuts. He'd bleed out. What use was an anemic Meister again? Useful enough to be in the E.A.T class as it was, even if it was for missions regarding a sensitivity to soul perception. He had a talent with that, picking up souls from miles away, though he had to be closer to identify the emotion felt when a lie or truth was told. He had potential, that's what he was told, so many times over, if he would just take a partner, he could make them a death scythe in a snap.
But Kiro wouldn't take one up. His partner was supposed to be Zachariah, his brother. That was the reason he was here, he wouldn't disrespect him in that way. Of course, even he wouldn't ignore his own taste of loneliness. The Meister could acknowledge that he was, in fact, lonely, and alone.
Bitter and resenting everyone else, who were so close to their friends and partners, not even thinking about how they could be stolen in an instant. It was why Kiro would never take another partner again.
He wouldn't put himself through it again, his brother taking half his heart to the grave. Becoming heartless was essentially the beginning to becoming a Kishin yes? The path was there, though with no weapon that was entirely impossible. He wasn't sure, having not entirely paid attention, he should be, he knew. It was why Kiro was here. His brother and he, having dreamed of being like his mother. Someone who cut down Afreet Eggs almost instantly, or so their father stated. He had never questioned it before, maybe he should have. He sets the bottle to the floor, deciding that it was a wasted effort, wasted money, to throw it.
Aside from such, he had to meet up with Sage to begin their training. It was ironic, claiming he needed no attachments and yet he befriended this green haired girl. There were secrets to her as well, secrets he refused to pry apart, even if perhaps, he may be close enough to ask and receive answers. It wasn't something he wanted, knowing someone else's issues and then having to shoulder them.
Shrugging aside his thoughts, Meister went up the stairs to his room, fingertips dancing along the spines of used books once there. There was a worn book splayed across his sheets, others scattered across the floor, placed in haphazard piles on his desk, yet they were all stories. Some filled with the academic tools needed to study during schooling hours, and after.
It was those that he was after, gathering them onto the surface of his bed and sifting through them, they all had been highlighted in some way or another. His studying wasn't the best, but with all the notes on the side, this would help both him and Sage in certain aspects of class.
Fingers are pulled through his bangs before he bags up the required books and notes. Even if they never went through them, Kiro wasn't about to risk her asking. Bag in hand, he quickly descends the stairs and locks up his house, keys clinking together as they are shoved back into his pants pocket. He didn't live too far away from the Death Weapon Meister Academy, which was a good thing in hindsight. However, that wasn't where he was going, not completely. Sage wanted him to meet up with her at one of the outdoor training grounds, one she had described as pillar heavy with a bit of an open field to it.
Apparently, it would be near the forest area. Bag slung over his shoulder, Meister begins to make his way through the City. It was fairly busy, as it most always was, the center marketplace seemingly forever bustling with travelers and new students. He nearly laughs when he sees a younger student buying into one of the scams here. A drink that would help improve your weapon control. None of it ever actually worked, but people were naive and nonetheless, no matter what they were told, they would buy it.
It was why he never bothered to interfere anymore. A rite of passage to the city one could say. Overcoming the superb marketing tactics and gold plating. Eventually, he manages to move past the heart of the city, walking along the edge of the forest, before eventually seeing the pillars Sage had been speaking of.
The girl was surprisingly easy to spot, amongst all the dark greenery of the forest, bright, pastel green hair made her easy to discern from the rest of the scenery. She didn't appear to be sleeping, which was good. She must be getting a better hold of her condition.
"Kiro?" She heard him, turning to face him, violet eyes honing in on him from a distant. He nods as he approaches her, smiling to her as he sets the bag down. "I'm here. Notes and books are in the bag." Sage glances down to the bag, a brow rose before she shrugs, turning her back away from him. "That's good, though we won't be getting to them."
It was one of those days then. Her staff, not a weapon partner surprisingly, was held loosely in her hands. She had been teaching him how to use the staff, how to block others with it, to reguide the force of the blow and to kill with it. It wasn't a violent fighting style at a glance, however, having been on the receiving end of those blows, he pitied those who would disregard her. Without a weapon partner or not, Sage was impeccable when it came to the staff. To get her job and duty complete.
"Take your stance. Your staff is on the furthest pillar." A brief nod and Kiro makes his way over to the furthest pillar. The staff she brought for him was weighted evenly throughout, smooth and well taken care of. Sage once told him she had gone out of her way to get it made, whether it meant she herself made it, or someone else did, Meister didn't know.
Once dropped into his stance, she walks over to him, cheerful light muted in her gaze, looking him over. "You're going to be blocking me today. Blocking and redirecting." No offensive strikes today then.
Kiro doesn't question her at this point. They had been training together, sparring like this, for a couple of years now. She had been taught by another, and so she taught him in return for his help. Afterward, it had just fallen into place. Meeting like this, helping each other improve over their own shortcomings. Even if they weren't as close as the average friends in the Academy, Kiro would still defend her should someone attempt to bully or speak ill of Sage. She did the same thing from what she had told him.
So when she comes at him, her staff striking down in a sharp, fluid motion, he plants his weight into the ground, and whirls his own horizontally, before yanking back. Sage wasn't to let him up, following after him with a swirled strike to his left. It's another block, and Kiro realizes he's blocked twice in the first few moments, he was on the defensive, as he should be.
But today was not just defense, but to redirect. So when she aims at his center, he is swift to direct the force of her blow, up and towards the laughing sun. It's a good mark before Kiro is moving again, avoiding and redirecting, blocking. A one sided mock battle that has him playing so much defense it nearly grates against his nerves. Perhaps that was her point, to test his patience. Make him crack and eventually, instinctually strike back at her. 'I won't be doing that today.' The goal was to last as long as she was rushing at him, if lucky, he would be able to do so. Sage always held near limitless amounts of energy.
It was incredible really. He's getting winded as the sun crawls across the sky, sweat making his face slick, his clothing just sticking to him and burning as the heat continued to beat down against the two of them.
"You know." Sage is speaking now, something she happened to do now and again. "I haven't told you yet have I? I've finally found a partner." There's a grunt from him, blocking a heavy strike aimed to knock his feet from underneath him. "Is that so?" Panted words, as he circles around her again. "Yes, a little red head that was brought to the Academy recently." There's a ringing in Kiro's ears, there's only one red head he knew of.
"Gold eyes?" He questions Sage, her forceful blows never letting up, even with them conversing. "Yes actually, her name is Maria. Apparently, some E.A.T students found her while tracking a witch."
Dimly, Kiro can recall that bit of information now actually. A blue haired Meister boasting about how he saved a girl's life as a god like he should. His weapon simply trying to get him to hush, while on the side giving what details were allowed and up to grab. "She had been burned pretty badly in a house fire, there were scars all over her back. I think she's a halberd or something."
A staff-like weapon then. It would do Sage and the new girl, Maria, good for themselves. Though would it last? Choosing to be partners was one thing. Sometimes the Souls wouldn't match up. Unless they really worked on it.
"That's good then. You've been looking for a weapon for a while now." Sage finally lets up, stopping her serpentine strikes, possibly to correct something. "I want it to last." Her voice is quiet, barely a whisper against the air. "But I can't tell her everything yet, she may not even want to stay my partner once she finds out about my condition." It was a valid fear for her to have.
After all, Sage had difficulties finding a partner because of her condition. Narcolepsy. In truth sometimes even Kiro doubted she should be a Meister. Such a condition was dangerous to have when your partner was dependant on you during a fight.
Many times Kiro had found her sleeping, or having nightmarish hallucinations. Sometimes Kiro just wanted to tell her to stop. She was only going to hurt herself. But he couldn't just tell her that. Sage was fighting this condition day in and day out. Taking the proper medications and treatments, because being a Meister was something she really wanted to do. It wasn't his decision to take this from her. Nor was it in any way his right to do so either. But he wanted to nonetheless.
He just didn't want to see her get hurt. "You don't need to tell her everything. But your condition, having Narcolepsy, you need to tell her that much if you want to match your wavelengths with her. If you don't, you could really scare her, if not make her angry for keeping such a secret."
Weapons were the bread and butter needed for the Academy. Meisters came in all shapes and sizes, anyone could choose to become one. Weapons, however, that was in their blood, their very soul.
As far as Kiro knew, it couldn't be replicated. In some cases, weapons didn't even come to the Academy in hopes of becoming a death scythe. Some came just to control their inner weapon, and then get back to a normal life style. After all, one couldn't proceed with a normal job if they were accidentally hurting others with something they couldn't control. He claims a heavy sigh, before shaking his head.
"It's your choice. Just keep what I said in mind." With that said, he hands over the staff she had been letting him use for today's session. Taking it from him, Sage doesn't quite seem to meet his eyes.
Would she take his words to heart? Who knew. A part of him, quite a large part much as he was reluctant to admit, hoped that she wouldn't. Hoped that she would finally quit. The bag ripped from the ground, Kiro slings it back and begins to make his way home. Sage's voice calls out, but the most he can hear was something about her new partner joining them for tomorrow's training session.
He would see first hand how these two were going to work out. If they did at all.
Author's Note: Here we go! we have introduced Kiro and Sage, who we will see more of in the future! We also have a little bit of insight of who the red haired girl was, AKA Maria. Let's see where this takes us ne?
Stay tuned for more of, Decay of Heaven!
