Okay, I didn't realize that Lexia and Xiba were actually siblings in the canon story at the time I wrote the first chapter, and I love the story to much to change it now, so anyone who's bothered by it should just think of this as a seperate AU kind of thing where they aren't siblings, or just not read it, thank you.
Kilik joined with yet another one of the many spirits he channeled, and he swung a Katana right at Tira!
Fighting with a style very reminicent of Mitsurugi.
Tira managed to dodge the swing, did a spin-like movement around Kilik, and tried to slam her sword over his head!
Kilik quickly blocked the attack,
A dead lock ensued for a moment, the two Warriors glaring eachother down,
" Wow, Kilik's sure determined, not at all like he was 17 years ago," Jolly Tira mocked him further," I wonder why that is?"
" Thats none of your concern, Tira!" He shouted angerly as he shattered her blade into millions of small, sparkling shards that sprayed all around then,
And in the haze of the shock of the attack, Kilik lunged forward with a look of intense hatred and slashed clear across Tira's Torso!
Tira choked in pain as blood came out of her mouth, she fell to the ground, she clutched the bleeding injury given to her by the once peaceful Monk, who was now glaring at her with a look she had never seen from him before,
It was a look that reminded her of simular look in the eyes of, other people,
Like with Rafael, Sophitia, Cassandra, Patroklos, and even that blonde Kunoichi,
What did that look mean?
Why did it fill her with such rage and envy,
She felt a sudden emptiness, a dark void within her, that she couldn't explain.
" Well, are you going to kill me, Monk? Have you truly reached a point to where you'll just kill someone in cold-blood without the influence of the Sword?" Gloomy Tira asked darkly with an evil laugh, followed by a hard cough that spilled up more blood.
Kilik said nothing, he just allowed his weapon to disappear to dimentions unknown, then silently walk away.
Even though he knew that Tira would probably be better off dead, he wouldn't be the one to bring about her ultimate fate.
He didn't want Lexia to find out that her Father is a Deserter, and a Killer.
" What, aren't you going to kill me? You know that I'll just go after Lexia again if you don't!" Tira screamed from where she layed.
Kilik turned around slowly, a dark gleam in his dark brown eyes.
" I'm letting you live because a pathetic, sad woman like you, with no will of her own, a puppet who just dances on the whims of a dead Demon Knight, is not worth staining my hands with,
And I promise you, if you ever so much as think about going after Lexia, or any of my other friends again, I will change my mind, and I will destroy you!" He swore, and he meant it, with every fiber of his being.
" Damn you, you Bastard! Damn you! I'll send you straight to hell!" The Gloomy, enraged side of the tormented girl's fractured mind screamed in her rage!
Kilik would have normally empathized with the endless torture that was Tira's life,
But no more,
Not after she hurt Natsu, and threatened his Daughter.
He would never forgive that.
He then walked away, leaving the broken doll of a girl to her agony...
Lexia and Xiba sparred playfully with one another, she would swing ten feet of blue, and it would be blocked by the Kali-Yuga, and that continued to be their ongoing dance of the two equally matched young fighters,
Then Xiba stopped as soon as he noticed that Lexia was getting tired.
" Hey, Lexia, do ya wanna stop?" He asked in an excitedly cheerful tone, doing a backflip and balancing on his staff.
" Yeah, I guess we can stop for a moment," Lexia replied, placing her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.
" I just can't figure out how you have so much energy, Xiba."
" Well, when you spend most of your life in the wilderness, you get lots and lots of energy to spar." Xiba replied, jumping off of his Staff.
And to survive the ruthless enviorment!
When he landed on the ground in front of Lexia, for a fleeting second, their eyes were locked into eachother.
Then they quickly looked away, cheeks flaring.
Xiba may have already come to terms with his feelings for her, and prayed to every god that he knew of that she felt the same way about him, but it didn't mean he had reached the point where he was brave enough to tell her yet!
When it came to fighting, it was an easy task, but when it came to things like love and girls, he was at a loss, he had no idea what to do with himself whenever he was around her.
He had spent much of his life all alone, with no one to talk to, to spent time with, or even talk to, to have fun moments like the ones he has with his friends now,
Nothing,
It was just him, and he didn't know why, to this day it was a mystery to him.
Which was the reason why his demeanor was apparently childish in most people's eyes, he never truly learned how to associate with other people, let alone the proper way to act his age,
But he was mature enough to know that sometimes people just don't think of answers like that, and would rather just assume their own.
But none of that mattered, not anymore,
Now, he had something worth fighting for.
For his new-found friends,
And proving that he was indeed worthy of Kali-Yuga,
And most of all, for Lexia,
She meant the world to him, she was his world.
He loved her, more then words could describe..
Now, all he had to do was finally get up the courage to say it to her himself!
" W-We should see what the others are doing." Lexia suggested, breaking the awkward silence, but did nothing to penitrate the determined tention that still hung in the air between them.
" Good idea, maybe they have some food on them!" Xiba shouted excitedly!
All you can successfully talk about is food, Xiba, real smooth.. He bitterly scolded himself,
Then the two teens heard Maxi shout,
" Hey guys, are you alright?" The former Pirate aproached them with an unconscious Natsu in his arms.
" We're fine, Maxi. Why are you shouting?" Xiba replied, a little startled.
The air is thick with blood, who's? Xiba thought, the sensitive nostrils giving to him by the wilderness flaring up.
His eyes widened upon seeing Natsu in the condition she was in, but did his best to make sure that his face was that of fright, and not the rage that burned within him...
" Oh my god! What haapend to Natsu" Lexia gasp as she ran over to her side when Maxi set her down.
She was completely shocked to see a Warrior as strong as Natsu in such a state!
Lexia hired her as her bodyguard because she had confidence in the Kunoichi's strength, and because she was happy to make a new friend,
But it never crossed her mind for even a second that something like this would come of being her Body guard!
You were naive, Lexia, how could you be so stupid? She thought in her despair!
" She was injured by some Woman in Armor, but don't worry about that, it feels like Kilik already defeated her,"
" Will she be alright?" Xiba asked, worried.
" She's badly injured, but she should be fine." Maxi explained to Xiba.
Xiba silently gave a sigh of relief.
But Lexia fell dead silent," She was protecting me, wasn't she?" She asked softly, tears streaming down her pretty face.
She wouldn't forgive herself if this was all her fault!
If she was responsible fr her best friends injuries,
" I'm not sure, it could have just been a one sided attack." Maxi said with a shrug, but still concerned for Lexia, if she was anything like her Parents, which he alread knew that she was, both of them equally! This would be just the kind of thing she'd hold herself responsible for.
Whether it was her fault or not.
" Yeah, so you don't have to feel bad about it, Lexia!" Xiba chimed in, placing a comforting hand on Lexia's back.
" Right," She replied, wiping away her tears." Thanks, Xiba." She said with a smile.
Your so naive, Lexia, She scolded herself again.
" Anytime!" Was his response.
Then her face turned more normal," I will be the one to tend to her wounds, its the least I can do." She said.
" That, and because your both girls!" Xiba shouted tactlessly.
" Okay, let's get going now before you get yourself hurt, Xiba." Maxi said with irritation in his voice as he dragged Xiba away from the two girls.
" If you need any help, just call for me, okay?" Maxi called out to Lexia.
" I will, thanks!" She called back.
Then when they were gone, and she was alone with her unconscious friend, her face went solemn, and in silence, took off Natsu's broken Armor, ond torn up clothing, and proceeded to clean and dress her wounds,
Then, when she had finished, she could not hold in her grief any longer!
" I'm so sorry, Natsu, I didn't mean to put you in such a state, I had no right to take you away from your Village, I never should have let you come with me, then maybe you wouldn't have been hurt like this!" She lamented to Natsu and the forest surrounding her as she sobbed like a helpless child to the endless tree's!
Then, she felt a warm hand place itself on her shoulder.
She gasped at the unexpected contact, then looked behind her her only to find,
Kilik.
" Oh, Kilik-San!" She exclaimed while trying to wipe away her tears.
" Are you alright, Lexia?" He asked, kneeling beside her, and looking upon his recently discovered Daughter sadly.
" I'm fine, its Natsu you should be worried about." She replied.
" Natsu should be fine, she just needs to rest, now are you alright?" He asked once again, seeing the despair that she felt clearly.
" Thank you for all of your concern, Kilik-San, but I promise you, I'm alright." The young Adventurer insisted with a cheerful smile. " By the way, Maxi said that you took care of whoever it was that attacked Natsu,
Can you tell me who it was?"
" It was Tira, I don't know if you know who she is, but she is now the new Nightmare." Kilik explained calmly.
Lexia nodded," I've never met her, but Patroklos told me about her, he said she's really evil." She replied.
" She is, and she is also insane, and her loyalty to the original Nightmare is obsessive, and absolute, it doesn't shock me that she would want to become that which is the only thing in this world that she loves." Kilik continued to explain.
" Did you kill her?" Lexia asked, worried.
" No, I didn't." He answered. " But because I didn't, she may be trouble in the future."
" I'm fine with that." Lexia replied.
Besides, when she comes back, I can get back at her for hurting Natsu! She thought angerly.
" But theres one more thing that I'm still not clear on," Lexia said.
" What is it, Lexia? " Kilik asked.
" Why did she come here in the first place?" She asked.
Kilik fell silent at that question, which made Lexia nervous.
" Whats going on, Kilik?" She asked again, panic rising in her voice.
" Well, you see," He began,
He didn't know what to do, how do you tell someone that their best friend got gravely injured because someone was looking for her, but her friend just happen to get caught in the crossfire?
And Lexia was so sensitive, so emotionally frail, this news would kill her to hear.
But Kilik knew that she deserved to know why her dearest friend got hurt,
And that she was going to be hunted by the forces of darkness.
She also deserved to know the truth about her relation to him, but that would have to wait till later.
" Tira, was after you, Lexia." He answered sadly.
Hey dark Brown eyes widened and a shocked gasp came from Lexia's mouth at his words,
" I'm not sure why they are just yet," The Monk continued, but paused when he saw how upset that she was!
Tears started to fall from Lexia's eyes at the realization that,
It really was her fault!
" Lexia, don't blame yourself for this." Kilik tried to calm her as she continued to cry.
" Why not? Its was my fault! Tira wanted me, and Natsu tried to protect me, and-" She went quiet when, to her surprize, Kilik pulled her into a hug.
It was a little surprizing to Lexia, Kilik was always kind, but he was also very distant and quiet, like he didn't want anyone to get to close.
Yet here he was, hugging her, comforting her in her moment of dispair, it was surprizing, very surprizing.
" Lexia, this was not your fault, there was no way that you could have predicted this, Tira, and everyone else who has every fought on the side of Soul Edge, are masters of deception, and attack people without any warning, so there isn't any need to hold yourself responsible for this." He told her, as he allowed her to cry in his embrace.
He held her tightly as she sobbed relentlessly into the night, lamenting the dark path that awaited her the following day,
And the danger that her friends would be in because of her.
" Don't worry, Lexia, you won't face this alone, I promise you, I'll be right by your side every step of the way." Kilik promised his Daughter, from the very bottom of his heart, he meant every word of it.
" Thank you, Kilik. Your a good friend." Lexia said in a soft voice in between her sobs,
This was the first time since she left the Palace that,
She felt helpless!
Like the helpless child that she truly was.
She never should have left her Mother, or her home.
But she was happy to have Kilik there with her.
He was a kind Man,
A kind Man indeed.
Lexia was happy that he was her friend.
And thats chapter 2 :)
