Chapter Thirteen: Escalation
Asuka ducked under the horizontal swipe and kicked out at Rinoa's shins. To her surprise, Rinoa jumped back, causing her to miss. It did grant Asuka sufficient time to dive to the side and reclaim her katana from the ground where it had ended up a few minutes prior.
As she pulled it from the soil, she threw a casual salute in Rinoa's direction before gripping it with both hands.
"You're faster than I thought!" She called.
Rinoa grinned and returned the salute, which would have been a fatal move had this been a genuine battle and not a training spar.
As this round had progressed, Asuka had begun to notice a flaw in how she attacked, mainly because Alicia often used the same trick to disarm her that the brunette had used after less than a week of sparring. On the positive side, it demonstrated that the former Instructor was a fast learner. She had also taken Asuka's advice, as black leather gloves now adorned her hands, contrasting with her blue arm warmers.
I need to work on that and find a way to not leave myself open, as I seem to suffer from it often! Maybe Instructor Ives can advise? Said Instructor was observing the duel again, making no effort to keep a smile from her face this time.
Taking a few large steps to her left, while also spinning her sword around backwards around her wrist, hoping to keep Rinoa guessing about her moves so that she could test something that she had noticed earlier. Holding one hand in front of her, she ran towards Rinoa, slipping from side to side so that she would have to keep guessing before she feinted a strike at Rinoa's shoulder. As the grey blade moved to block, as expected, she twisted her wrist and targeted her knees. To her credit, that was partially blocked, but not enough to prevent a deep cut along her shin.
Asuka held her sword in guard position as she stood up and moved away. If Rinoa wanted to strike her now, she would have to move closer.
And that won't be easy with your blood flowing like that. Give it another minute or two, and you'll be down.
The pale skinned Sorceress did indeed have a deep red line below her knee, and Asuka was sure that the inside of her boot wouldn't be very pleasant later on.
I guess I was right; she seems to be unwilling to use magic! Does that mean the Bangle isn't working, or is she just unwilling to risk using magic of her magnitude?
Asuka held her guard for almost a minute before Rinoa charged at her, a little slower than before, the redhead's trained eyes being able to spot the slight drag on her right foot.
As she approached, she spun her sword around her wrist, and then joined both hands on the handle as she lifted it above her head for what would have been a powerful vertical strike. Asuka predicted it though, and placed her left hand on the side of her own black blade with the sharp edge pointing to the floor; she held a horizontal guard and deflected the strike towards the ground. Coupled with her injury, this caused her to stagger, putting all of her weight onto her uninjured side.
Gotcha! Asuka thought as she dashed forwards and struck at Rinoa, but managing to get her blade inside Rinoa's arm before twisting her sword and wrenching it from her hands. It was a much cruder form of how Rinoa had disarmed her earlier. Keeping a smirk from her face as the blade hit the ground; she placed her own against Rinoa's neck.
Her eyes wide, but smiling, Rinoa raised her hands.
"You keep surprising me."
Asuka withdrew her sword and held it at her side, before picking up Rinoa's and returning it to her.
"Get used to it. I've been doing this for a long time, and have plenty of surprises hidden away."
"You are progressing quickly Rinoa," Instructor Ives announced, "And you are very fast when you move. Is that part of…?"
"No, they are blocked. My speed is natural, not magic enhanced."
"I see. Impressive speed and co-ordination, regardless of how you gained them," Ives smiled, "And I'm glad I didn't have to intervene this time."
Rinoa looked sheepish while Asuka kept her face neutral, as they had got carried away in their last spar and, according to the Instructor, looked like they were going to kill each other. She had moved between them and blocked both of their strikes without fully drawing her Corusca Blade. Rinoa had been blocked using what little of her sword she had drawn from the sheath, while she had stood on Asuka's blade with her boot, trapping it on the floor. Once they had backed off, she too stepped back and ended the spar.
"Is that why you are still observing?" Rinoa queried.
"Not really, I like watching how you've progressed," She turned to Asuka, "And to see if you can invent any new techniques from your field experiences."
"You've seen most of what I've learned or developed since graduation." Asuka admitted as she cast a weak Cure spell to heal Rinoa's shin.
"Oh thank you, that saves me from visiting the Infirmary."
"It's a clever way to weaken opponent though. Blood loss can have many side effects in a very short time."
"So she showed me." Rinoa had a slight wince on her face.
"It's not really something you can really protect against though," Instructor Ives continued, "Katana blades are sharp enough to cut through most clothing and the skin beneath."
"No point in changing your outfit then." Asuka quipped.
"I suppose not." Rinoa smiled.
"Right, I'll see you both next time then." Asuka saluted the Instructor, and nodded to Rinoa before heading towards the Garden building. She had a phone call that she wanted to make:
It's taken a while, but I think we are getting on like we used to, if not better, Asuka mused as she approached the dorms, and all we had to do was fight, how ironic!
Grabbing her phone as she shrugged out of her coat and tossed it onto her bed, she searched out the correct phone number and pressed send, hoping that her adoptive brother was at his Dollet home, and not visiting his parents in Deling City.
After Asuka left, Rinoa headed to the Library to borrow a book that she had had her eye on for a time. As her eyes scanned the shelves, she thought about her current situation:
A lot of Balamb Garden and the people in it don't care that I'm a Sorceress. Those that do have left or are keeping quiet. Squall's paranoia might not be as paranoid as it first sounded, as some of the people here could be plotting against me. Damn it to Hyne! He's finally passed that trait on to me.
Her musing was interrupted as she spotted the book she wanted, which she grabbed and headed for the desk. Naturally, she couldn't get there as her ear started buzzing.
"Angelo." She muttered as to not disturb the others in the Library, but loud enough for the microphone to detect.
[Rinoa, please come upstairs immediately!] Quistis's voice said before the link was cut off.
What's going on now? She wondered as she checked her book out, and headed out of the Library at a brisk pace.
"Are you certain about this?" Squall asked the man who had apparently insisted on personally brining him a report from Esthar Military Intelligence regarding the ASR planning an assault on Balamb Garden using modern weapons and mechs.
"I'm certain, Laguna allowed me to read it before I handed it into you. I promise you that no one else outside of Laguna, Kiros, Ward, and me has read the contents."
"So why deliver it yourself?"
"Because I want to help you all," He looked around the gathered people, before looking at his old friend/rival, "We've had our disagreements in the past, but you don't deserve to be treated as you are in some places because of unfortunate circumstances." His gaze drifted to Rinoa as he spoke of circumstances.
"The world seems to be mostly willing to leave me alone after my part in the Ultimecia Incident, so what can't they leave you alone? You wouldn't harm anyone unless they attacked you first, even before you became a Sorceress."
"I appreciate that Seifer," Rinoa smiled at the "courier", "But I alone can't accept your offer. We're all in this together."
"I know you Commander," Seifer pointed to the folder in Squall's hands, "You had a plan prepared in case something like that was to happen."
"Yes, but not on this scale. How did the ASR get so many weapons so quickly?"
"Small purchases, one or two units at a time over the last two years," Seifer explained, "The large planned purchases were a smokescreen to draw attention away from the smaller activities. It's obvious when you think about it."
"And a textbook decoy manoeuvre," Squall acknowledged, resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands, "We vote on this: who accepts Seifer's offer of help with Last Resort?"
A knock on the door stopped the vote before it could be taken:
"Commander?" His aide called through it, "Instructors Ives and Shepherd are here to see you. Apparently you asked for them?"
Squall moved from the desk to the door, thanked his aide, and let the two Instructors in. He moved back to his desk, and tried to move Seifer from his new seat, perched on the corner of it, but the older man shook his head and stayed put. Squall rolled his eyes and leaned back against it.
"Commander," Instructor Jason Shepherd saluted, Ives doing so a second later, "You asked to see us?"
"Yes. I need to ask you both a few questions, and I would appreciate honest answers."
Both Instructors nodded their consent, and Ives looked to Seifer:
"Mr Almasy, you're the last person I expected to see in here."
"Nice to see you too, dear Instructor," He smirked, "Don't worry, I'm not here for anything SeeD related, this is about friends."
"I don't understand, what's going on sir?" Shepherd asked.
"What is your opinion about Rinoa being a Sorceress?"
"It doesn't bother me sir," Ives answered first; "You've never harmed anyone, so why should you be considered a threat?"
"Shepherd?"
"Honestly? The fact that she is a Sorceress does concern me. She could be biding her time to build up a power base, and then conquer the world. However, I've looked into her eyes before, and unless she's had a personality transplant, or something equally unlikely, I don't see her personally as the type to want to take over anything."
He looked to Squall:
"The fact that she has a Knight supports that argument."
"Ok…so neither of you agree with the ASR?"
"Not a chance!"
"They're fools chasing a foolish quest. The power of a Sorceress cannot be contained: when the current holder dies, the power passes onto someone else."
"We understand," Quistis took over after a nod from Squall, "and we have a plan ready in case she ever does change her stripes."
"Instructor Ives, Instructor Shepherd," Squall took control again, "If the ASR were to attack Balamb Garden in an attempt to get Rinoa, where would you both stand?"
"I take it this isn't hypothetical?" Ives asked what they were both apparently wondering.
"No."
"I didn't think so," She stood upright and saluted; "I offer you my support Commander! Whatever you need in the event of an attack, I will endeavour to provide."
"Shepherd?"
"I'm with you sir, you've never given us a reason to consider you a threat." He looked to Rinoa before saluting Squall.
"Are you both certain? You could be kicked out of SeeD if we lose. Or worse."
"Thank you," He returned their salute as they both nodded, "I hope we're just overreacting here, but still... Seifer?"
"Yeah?"
"You were right in guessing that we have a plan in case we get attacked. We could use your support as well."
Quistis cleared her throat and addressed the room: "Before he answers that, would any of you not accept his help?"
No one raised their hand to object, not even Zell, which surprised Seifer.
"Excellent. Nothing to say Seifer?" She teased.
"Not now. We have work to do."
"Right." Squall handed Seifer a pile of folders, he took the top one and passed the pile to Quistis. She then passed it to Irvine. This continued until everyone had a copy.
"This is Operation Fallback, our plan for what we will do in the event of an ASR attack, and Garden is at serious risk."
"It must be a serious plan with a name like that." Ives quipped, but started reading her copy once she realised that no one else was smiling.