Blades and Brotherhood

Kyosuke headed towards the roof after putting Komugi to bed. She had fallen asleep as they walked home, so he carried her in and laid her in their bed. When Kyosuke opened the door to the outside, he paused to listen to the music his brother was weaving. The melody, as always, was a sad and lonely tune. It was filled with energy, though, and promised new hope. This promise almost, but not quite, covered another one, a promise of vengeance for sins against the player. Kyosuke smiled as he listened, before moving to join his brother in the haunting melody.

Shinji was so involved, he almost didn't notice the arrival of his brother, but he instantly took his sibling's own sounds into his own, as they fused into a much more active song. It was no longer lonely, but filled with the sounds of battle and passion. Their souls merged with the music, constantly clashing against each other, their cries harmonizing with the melody, further filling the song with the sounds of life.

The song ended abruptly, with no warning, as both musicians opened their eyes. They smiled, and began anew, creating a companion song as their blades met again, though this song was no longer one of life, but one of battle, rising and falling as both fighters sought out advantage and struck at the other, attack and counterattack merged into the song, feints and blocks creating the harmony, while their footsteps created the underlying beat, keeping both of them in time. Finally, one melody rose above the rest of the song, revealing its full beauty to the players. With a final peak in the song's rhythm, it ended as it always did, with the faint sound of a blade grazing the fallen's throat.

Shinji gazed at his older brother, showing no emotion, then breaking into a grin while gladly accepting his hand to pull himself up. Kyosuke returned the smile, before heading down to their apartment. Before he allowed the door to shut, he whispered something that Shinji's ears almost missed. "Don't stay up too late little brother." Shinji grinned again, and replied, "I'm not little, I'm fifteen." "Whatever." Kyosuke answered to the indignant, though amused retort. As the door swung shut, Shinji mumbled to himself, "You always have to have the last word, don't you brother?" He shook his head, before returning to his practice. Dawn was a few hours away, and he planned to use that time to the fullest.

The next day, Shinji entered school with no expectations for the day. He planned on sleeping through most of the day, as many of the students did while the teacher droned on about the Second Impact. When they adjourned for gym, he leaning against the wall, expecting nothing out of the ordinary to occur. When he casually glanced at the gym teacher, he started chocking on his own breath, seeing his brother there with a fighting gi, instead of the normal teacher who simply observed the students during their exercise. Hikari, recognizing him from the day before, inquired, "Excuse me, Mr. Tokisaka, but what are you doing here?" He smiled from behind his sunglasses and replied, "I'm starting a dojo nearby, and your teacher graciously allowed me to teach you the basics today, in hopes that I get a few of you to join." Many of the students eyed him with a wary expression, not trusting him about the lesson. He casually tossed a sword at Shinji, who deftly caught it, though the surprised expression remained on his face. "You won't mind helping me with a brief demonstration, will you Shinji?" "No, it's not a problem." Shinji easily shifted into a fighting stance, already analyzing his brother for information on his strategies.

The class watched on as Kyosuke charged Shinji. Surprising most of them, Shinji threw up an awkward looking defense, and after a few blows, lost his grip on his weapon. Shinji instantly jumped away from his brother, and dashed to his lost weapon. Just as he grasped it, the blade his brother held brushed against the back of his neck. Some of the students started laughing at him for losing his weapon so easily; Asuka's laugh was the loudest, and easiest to pick out from the crowd. "Does anyone else want to try?" all laughter ceased at this question, none of the students wanted to be on the receiving end of their teacher's wrath. Kyosuke gazed across the crowd, and locked eyes with Asuka. She put on a brave face, and prepared for his request, refusing to allow him to intimidate her.

"Touji Suzuhara." Asuka's eyes widened as Touji stepped forward, and fury once again began to fill her body. Kyosuke had looked at her, and judged her unworthy he had the nerve to pick that stooge over her. She couldn't stop herself from trembling as the jock picked up the sword, mimicking Shinji's stance.

Kyosuke ran at him, in the exact same way when he attacked Shinji. Touji swung at the approaching blade, and was surprised when he saw it be knocked away. For a moment, he felt pride surge through his body, before it caught in his throat at the cold metal of Kyosuke's concealed dagger.

"Thank you Mr. Suzuhara. You may return to your place." A badly shaken Touji returned to his position while Kyosuke gazed out over the class. "Many of you thought that Mr. Tokisaka here was a bad swordsman when he lost his weapon, but he noticed my concealed blade, and made an effort to block that as well. This caused him to lose his grip on his sword, but Mr. Suzuhara would have paid the heavier price of his life, had this been a real battle. The key to winning is to watch your opponent, for any hidden advantages he may have, and to adapt almost instantly to them when they are brought into play. I will divide you into pairs, and give each of you a training blade, made of blunted lead." As he gave each student a weapon, boys a standard sword, and girls somewhat lighter katanas, each buckled under the unexpected weight of the weapon. Each did their best to adapt, but only a few managed to hold it with any degree of success. "All names I call come over here for basic training, the rest of you, keep getting used to those blades, as they may take some getting used to. Ginji Akabane, Sora Kamiya, Jyou Midou, Asuka Sorhyu, Touji Suzuhara, and Kei Zhan." As the six students lined up, Kyosuke went through the basic motions of swordplay, and then paired them up. Touji and Asuka groaned as they were forced to work together. Surprisingly, their mutual dislike sparked an intense skirmish that far outclassed the other four students.

When class ended, almost all of the students could no longer move their arms. When they began returning to class, both Asuka and Touji were held back by Kyosuke. They braced themselves for the chastisement for their intense fight, but were surprised by the words they heard. "I think both of you show moderate amounts of potential, that could develop into some very fine swordsmanship if you had the proper training. I would like it if both of you would come for lessons. I would hate to waste your skills without you at least trying to tap this potential. The first lesson is in two weeks at 7:00 P.M. I hope to see you both there." With that, Kyosuke stood up and left, leaving two stunned children behind.

"Do you really think that that's such a good idea?" Kyosuke didn't bother to turn at Shinji's inquiry. "I think that they could only benefit from it, and I think there's more to their relationship than just hate." Shinji couldn't suppress a snicker at this. "If they heard that, they'd gut you and hang your corpse in front of the school." "Maybe, but Komugi wouldn't let them. Now get back to class." Shinji turned and left, taking his brother's advice. Kyosuke looked up, and asked himself whether forcing two enemies to work together was such a good idea. He shrugged, and mentally told himself that no good would come from worrying about it. 'At the very least, it will keep life interesting for me, instead of just watching from the shadows.' He headed home with that comforting thought in his mind.

Well, that's four installments done for this. And an average of over 1000 words per chapter. The problem: I'm not allowed to use the computer at home anymore, so that drastically cuts down on writing time. Expect major delays, because now I have a huge, complicated process to go through to work on this and any other stories I might start posting. However, the next chapter will feature the first angel appearance! So that's a good reason to put up with my delays!

God, I hate writing these messages, but I don't think people check my profile…

Make my life easier, check my profile, so I don't feel like an idiot for writing this in as part of the story.