Ivory, a rare gift of sight
A cool breeze greeted Izalith, rustling though his pale blonde hair as dusk unfolded around him. While the sun still had not fully set, it was much too late for his liking to be returning home from his Schnee Corp Labs internship. Lately there had been rumors of increased illegal activity in the neighborhood that stood between himself and home, however Izalith took the shortcut though a small park to save some time, muttering to himself along the way.
"Argh, really, the most knowledgeable in the use of Dust and these folks still can't put together a simple mix?!" he muttered in agitation to himself before stopping suddenly, "Though I suppose you gentlemen aren't too keen on listening to a rant like that?" Sitting amongst the various park benches were a group of five men wearing black suits with red ties, red sunglasses and a black fedora. The "uniform" of these men were become more and more well-known, however the sharp contrast of the black and red which made them stand out was comical enough that Izalith had to stifle his laughs. None of the men seemed to be in a good mood as they sat on the various benches that lined the path. "I'm sorry, did I keep you waiting?" Izalith grinned boyishly.
A uniform grumble was heard in response to Izalith's teasing question as he added insult to injury with a mocking bow. The largest of the men, likely the group's leader, stood up wordlessly and held his hand out in expectation. Izalith could see his gritting teeth betraying the otherwise calm expression. "Hmm? I don't recall setting up a sale today." he replied, putting his hands into the pockets of his slacks as her pretended confusion. This prompted a round of groans and the leader's face fell from irritation to exasperated resignation. Another man who appeared to be a second-in-command seemed to mutter something along the lines of "moron".
"Kid, stop messing around, just hand over the Dust mix." With a nonchalant shrug, Izalith pulled out three glass vials containing a dark red powder from his messenger bag and offered it, much to the surprise of the suited men. A few questioning looks were passed between the men before the leader quickly swiped it from Izalith's hands.
"Careful with the mix, okay? That mix right there is especially volatile stuff, try not to get blown up accidentally, okay?" he cautioned, as a mother would a child with a new toy.
"...yeah, sure, thanks." was the tension-filled reply. Izalith saw how on edge the men were; it was obvious that they had expected a fight and were surprised that target did not seem like he was posing a threat and was warning them to be careful. Too tired to look into it any further, the leader pocketed the three vials in his suit pocket and signaled his compatriots to leave. With an overarching sense of relief, the men turned around and began to head out, before being called back once more.
"Uh, guys? Aren't you forgetting something?" The men turned around to see Izalith with his left hand out in an expectant manner. Instantly, exasperated looks returned to their faces. "Aww...really? C'mon, I don't usually give my stuff to others, so throw me a bone here."
"What, did you really expect us to pay you?" Izalith shrugged and frowned at the leader's question, continuing his façade of non-aggression.
"Not really, no. On the other hand..." Reaching into his messenger bag with his left hand, Izalith pulled out what looked like a bundle of flowers, with leaves and petals shaped like Lycoris, yet all colored in pale ivory. The men recognized it immediately as a wand for controlling Dust. "…did you really expect me to hand over Dust?" The ease and care-free tone of Izalith's voice was now gone, replaced with quite seriousness.
"Well, no, not really, wait, what are you sayin'-" A smile lit Izalith's face and, with a flick of his left wrist, the confused faces of the five men were suddenly blinded by a dark red circle of light centered on the leader's pocket. The next moment, a loud bang and a powerful blast engulfed the five men. The blast threw the five men in different directions, with the leader suffering the worst of the blow by being its epicenter. Izalith remained unharmed, scratching his head in an obviously false show of embarrassment.
"Hehe, oops?" Utterly enraged not only by being caught off guard but also by being so openly mocked, the remaining four men shook off their injuries from the blast and slowly rose to their feet with their swords and axes drawn. The first man up was the group's second-in-command, and upon seeing his leader knocked unconscious, immediately growled angrily.
"You'll pay for that!"
"Oh, unfair, I was the one asking for payment first! So! How about we call it even, then and go home?" In contrast to the suited men's grim faces, Izalith wore a face of mocking joy, hoping to provoke the men further. Pointing the ivory wand towards the men, he angled his body to hide his right hand preparing itself inside of his messenger bag. "Alright then, if that's what you all want; come along now! My hands are a bit full at the moment, so you'll need to come over here if you want something."
Izalith's invitation was enough to send the four men charging at him with their weapons poised to strike. As the men drew closer, four light clinks coming from blue-colored vials were heard at Izalith's feet. Moments before the men entered striking range, Izalith raised the wand and the four capsules glowed briefly before shrouding Izalith and the four men in a dense cloud of blue smoke. Within the smoke cloud, the rearmost attacker's nerves sung, and he spun around to his right only to find more vials, this time colored a bright red, now hurtling towards him. On reaction, the vials were deftly parried before being lit up by a red circle of light then exploding with a massive concussive force, knocking down the three who were too slow to react.
Faced with only a single attacker, Izalith grinned and his right hand reached into his bag, drawing out four pale yellow vials, one held between each finger. With four quick throws the vials were sent into the air at different trajectories and were met with a four precise slashes by Izalith's hand, scattering the contents everywhere. As the blue smoke cleared, the rest of the men, including the leader, regained their footing, bringing the fight back to five-on-one. Izalith pulled out the final piece of his plan from his messenger bag but kept it hidden in his right hand. The setting sun illuminated the floating Dust that now surrounded everyone, a tense reminder its volatility. Seeing the stalemate, the suit leader changed tactics, meeting mock for mock now. "What's wrong, kid? Out of ammo? Can't recklessly explode your Dust anymore? Oh, that's right. Try that trick again and you'll get burnt to a crisp too."
"My, my, you are right. I have nothing to throw and recklessly blasting away would be most definitely be detrimental to my well-being. But really..." Izalith revealed what was hidden in the right hand: another ivory-colored wand in the shape of a stiletto. "...what gave you the notion that I was doing things recklessly?" The edge to his voice was chilling to the group and they knew right then and there they were through. With a grand flourish, pale yellow circles of light erupted at from the tips of the two wands. With a wave of the left wand that controlled power, the still-floating Dust began to glow a vibrant yellow, illuminating the now dimly-lit park like fireflies, night now beginning to take firm hold on the scene. With a wave of the right wand that controlled precision, the luminous Dust rushed forward, engulfing the smiling Izalith and the doomed men in a brilliant tempest.
As the winds died down, groans of pain coming from five men weaved with the sound of the dusk breeze. With a relaxed and jolly air, the unscathed Izalith walked over to the leader and pulled the remaining vial from its pocket. Upon realizing the theft, the leader finally snapped out of his daze, only to see Izalith remove the cork from the vial and pour a part of its contents into his mouth. As the leader's expression of shock grew, so did Izalith's laughter.
"Hey, hey, what's with that face? It's just raspberry candy." he said with another boyish grin. Izalith's revelation caused the leader's shocked face shifted to confusion and then back to shock, trying to comprehend the full level of deceit that was laid upon him. With a triumphant laugh, Izalith turned his back to the five men lying on the park ground in various levels of embarrassment, shock, and consciousness. "Now, gentlemen, be good, and stay safe. And for both of our sakes, let's hope we never meet again, okay?"
The light posts in the park began to illuminate as night claimed the world. With another light laugh and a lazy wave of his right hand, Izalith left behind the park and the men as he faded into the dark.
