AAAAAAND I pull out Cat Days 3~
I actually had this one finished a while back, but held back from posting it so that I'd get reviews for the one snippet with the Sacred Blacksmith.
I'm sneaky like that. ^c^
Anyways, I marathoned a few episodes of Dog Days, and had the urge to write some Cat Days.
So I wrote some Cat Days.
'Ere ya go. (*・_・)ノ⌒*
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"Heh. About time I get to put you in your place human." Said Gaul with a ferocious smirk.
"Ohhh Boss! He called you a human! Are you just going to take that from that little pipsqueak!" Said OS as he rattled about in his sheath, spoiling for a fight.
"Don't call me pipsqueak!"
"Shaddap pipsqueak! Grown men are talking here!"
"You are a sword!"
"It's a man's dream to sink his sword into soft pliant flesh!"
Shirou Zelretch Schweinorg sighed and pushed OS more firmly into his scabbard to shut him up, Shirou had been right, ever since he woke up OS had had a field day. "Guys guys…I just got use of my eye back yesterday, can't we call this one off for a day or two?"
"No!" Answered Gaul immediately. "I've been waiting far too long for this! I am going to put you in your place for being such a pain!"
Shirou tilted his head. "And what place is this?"
Gaul blinked. "Erm…well you know…your place."
"And this place is?"
Gaul stood there staring at the Slider for a few moments before speaking. "Shaddap and fight me!"
"Kid, let's not and say we did." Said Shirou tiredly.
"Don't call me kid!" Screamed Gaul petulantly.
"Man, let's not and say we did." Repeated Shirou in the same tone.
"Don't talk to me so familiarly!" Yelled the crown prince with his ears standing straight in a show of aggression.
"Cat, let's not and say we did." Repeated the Slider with a greater edge of fatigue in his voice.
"ARRGH! Dammit are you a man or a chicken!?" Demanded Gaul pointing at the Slider.
Shirou stared at the agitated prince for a few moments before answering. "Buok."
Gaul gave a growl much more akin to what a dog would make.
OS managed to pop out of his scabbard again. "C'mon boss! Let's put the brat in his place!"
"Not helping OS." Said Shirou in the same tired tone.
"GRRR! FIGHT ME!" Demanded Gaul again, pulling out his clawed gauntlets.
"No." Answered Shirou as he turned around and began to walk away, to the disappointment of the Genoise and the relief of the cleaning staff.
Gaul stared openmouthed at the retreating figure, completely unbelieving that that human would back down from a challenge."Y-Y-Yeah! You better run away coward!" Screamed the crown prince a few moments later.
"Yeah yeah, coward whatever." Answered Shirou as he scratched the left side of his head absentmindedly. Fixing that eye had caused an annoying itch that he had to figure out a way to get rid of. Maybe that balm he got from that old lady?
"Yeah that's right! Go back to my sister you manwhore!" Yelled Gaul with a huff.
Shirou stopped.
The Genoise, the cleaning staff, the maids, Gaul, and everyone in a fifty meter radius felt their skin break out into gooseflesh as the ice-cold hand of fear took a hold of their spine.
"Ooohh crap. Kid! Hey Kid! Snap out of it and run away!" Screamed OS with a genuine tone of panic in his voice.
The warning caused Gaul to snap out of the trance that had transfixed everyone present. "W-What?" Unfortunately, while his body was more than ready to begin running away, his mind had yet to reboot.
"Dammit kid! Don't waste any time run! You don't want to be near Boss when he gets like this!" Yelled OS.
"W-What i-is he f-f-finally going t-to f-fight me?" Said Gaul in an attempt to put on a brave face.
"Oh Kaleidoscope! Don't try to be tough kid! Run awa-hmpfb!" OS' warning was interrupted when he was forcefully shoved into his scabbard.
Shirou turned around slowly, the eyes of everyone in the hall glued to his every movement. They desired to run away at top speed yet they remained frozen to the spot like terrified hares. Their animalistic instinct warned them; to move was folly, to move would cause the slaughter to begin. If they remained still, one would be lost while the rest could run away.
Shirou finished turning around, his eyes boring into Gaul with the intensity of a blade, causing the young man to start. Then a beaming smile broke on his face. "What did you just call me?" Asked Shirou in a jovial tone that caused a shiver to run up the spine of the crown prince.
"I-I-I c-c-called y-y." Stuttered Gaul before stopping himself, he took a deep breath to fortify his nerves before roaring out into a belligerent challenge. "I called you a manwhore!" Unfortunately for the pride of the Galettan prince, his voice broke and so his declaration was made in a high pitched somewhat fearful squeal.
Shirou's smile, impossible as it should be, widened. "Well…as the challenged party that means I get to pick the terrain doesn't it?" He asked so quietly everyone present had to strain their sensitive ears in order to hear him.
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They stood in the woods of a thick forest, the sunlight was magnificently reflected from the lush green leaves of the trees and grass. As a terrain prepared for skirmishes and wars, it held great protection that would not allow a native of the world to come to any harm. It would be a peaceful scene if it weren't because of the still smiling Shirou.
Gaul had had more than enough time to regain his nerve. He was the crown prince of Galette! He could not afford to be intimidated by the likes of that human! "So human, when do we start?"
Shirou's smile brightened even more. The Genoise, cleaning staff, and other servants all shuddered even though they were more than a safe distance away and watching it from a screen. "Prism Trace: Fallen Protector. Downloading memory, understanding basic growth, expanding history, comprehending organic skills, orchestrating expertise, empathizing personality, synchronizing…Engage!" With a Kaleidoscopic flash of light, Shirou's clothes changed.
He was dressed entirely in black and dark grey, clothing that would blend in perfectly with the shadows. His shoulders covered by a near weightless dark gray hooded cloak, its tail blowing against his black clad legs. Soft black leather boots encased his feet. The lower half of Shirou's face hidden by a black silk mask. Strapped against his chest was a large smoothbore pistol, beside it were two belts each of which held five wicked metal darts. On his hips were two quivers, each holding ten arrows, sheathed at his right hip was a long sturdy straightsword, while a pair of one-handed hafts could be seen peeking over his shoulders. Strapped to his back was a metal contraption Gaul could not readily identify, yet he could not shake a feeling of familiarity that emanated from it.
"Right now." The two words were the only warning Shirou gave before he threw a pair of darts at Gaul's eyes. The Crown Prince started and threw himself to the floor, allowing the darts to sail over him.
When he returned his golden eyes to the place his opponent had been, he was nowhere to be found.
"Dammit where did you go! Fight me like a man!" Screamed Gaul as he brandished his weapons.
A black metal arrow with a serrated head sailed past his head, so close that it cut a lock of his hair and its tail kissed the tip of one of his sensitive ears, before imbedding itself halfway through a thick tree trunk.
"Wha!?" Said Gaul intelligently as he tried to suppress a shudder. The only response to his unvoiced query was a quiet chuckle that seemed to reverberate around him.
Gaul growled and called upon his power emblem. Blue-green lighting jumped in chaotic patters from his fingers as he readied his attack. "Calling upon the thunder I-!"
A second black arrow struck his right arm guard and caused his arm to smack into his stomach with enough force to knock the breath out of him. Gaul grit his teeth and fired the bolt in the overall direction that the shaft had come from. A powerful explosion could be heard a few moments later. Even though he had not finished charging it, the excellent pedigree of the house of Galette de Rois showed itself true.
"HA!" Screamed Gaul in triumph. "How did you like that human!?"
"I found it." Said Shirou's voice to his right. "Insufficiently impressive."
Gaul wiped around so fast his neck got whiplash and just in time to see his opponent. Shirou blended surprisingly well with the shadows cast by the trees, in his hands was the metal contraption Gaul had caught a glimpse of.
And that's when he realized why he had felt such a sense of familiarity with the weapon. It was a bow, a bow unlike any ever conceived by the mind of man. Rather, any bow which could have even the barest chance of functioning properly by the known laws of the world. Yet here it was, its grip held strong before its arms split in twain. At first glance, one would think it to be two wholly separate bows held parallel like some manner of mockery against the practice of archery. But it existed as one. Each of the four arms holding a string of some strange fabric which came together at a perfectly calculated intersection. It was an ominous shape, like the open claw of a monster. And the arrow drawn along the crossed bowstrings hummed, eager to fly and carrying far more power than any could have imagined.
The fingers released, allowing the serrated headed metal shaft to soar towards him. Now that he was no longer flatfooted, Gaul contemptuously stepped aside and allowed the powerful projectile to soar past him like so much trash, before sending a bolt of lightning toward his opponent as a riposte.
The half hearted attack was evaded as easily as Gaul had done for the arrow that had been fired at him.
"Is that all you got?" Asked Gaul contemptuously. "Is that all you can do? Skulk in the shadows like a thief and fight like a coward?"
The only response Shirou gave was the drawing of his fourth arrow, this one from the opposite quiver. He once more pulled back the string, such was its tensile strength that even through the distance that separated them, Gaul could hear the creak of the unnatural bow as it was put under stress.
Gaul sighed and took a defensive stance. He would show that human how useless that bow would be now that he was ready for it.
Were Gaul to hold the tactics used by Shirou up until that point in just a little less contempt, he might have realized that something was up. Had he used his keen eyes a little better, he might have realized exactly what was strange about the projectile that even now sung for his blood.
The shaft was released. The blunt headed arrow sailed toward its target swiftly yet lacking the grace of its previous three sisters.
Gaul swiped his claws at it and broke it in two.
And that's when it became obvious what exactly his opponent had planned.
The arrow was nothing more than a delivery system. What it delivered was a primitive warhead. A container filled with volatile liquid taken from large creatures that resided deep within the oceans. The oil was everything the temper of those creatures was not. And treated as it had been, ignited into a furious white glare as soon as it met air.
The incandescent oil then landed all over Gaul, covering him from head to foot and eliciting a cry of pain from the young Crown Prince. For though the protection of the land would keep him from harm, not even it could keep the pain of the incandescent flames away.
Gaul grit his teeth, his scream changed, transforming itself from a scream of pain to a roar of rage as he called upon his emblem. The signet took form behind the crown prince surrounding him with a corona of incandescent energy that blazed higher and higher, coursing arcs of electricity bleeding off into the ground and trees. The fires of the oil guttered out, consumed by the wrath of Gaul Galette des Rois.
He then kicked off the ground and soared to his opponent, screaming his rage for all to hear as he closed the great distance between them in a moment's span.
"Explosion!" Screamed as he made his attack, causing a blast of tremendous power, its shockwave powerful enough to fell nearby trees, the furious roar it emitted so intense that it was heard by people in the city walls.
The forest was covered in an enormous cloud of dust. Gaul was panting, his clothing torn in places from the furious wind stream of his attack.
He then felt something cold, hard, and circular pressed against the back of his head. "You know." Said the voice of Shirou. "I would think that it is a bad move to cut down on your visibility when your opponent has shown a tendency to hide."
Gaul growled low in his throat and turned around, swiping a claw through the place he suspected his opponent to be. Only for that claw to meet empty air.
The barrel of the pistol was once more pushed against the back of his head. "I mean honestly. You know I've been hiding and firing from cover. Why would you hand me such a tremendous advantage?"
With a scream of rage, Gaul turned around and brought another blast of lighting down directly behind him, cratering the ground and increasing the dust floating in the air.
His opponent's amused chuckles reverberated in the air around him.
"STOP TOYING WITH ME!" Demanded Gaul as he brought down a veritable monsoon of lighting all around him.
The barrel of the pistol was pressed against one of the armored plates on his hips. Then the trigger was pulled. The loud thunderclap nearly deafened him as the powerful impact cracked the durable plate and drove the air from his lungs at the same time that it knocked him to his rear.
"I'll take you seriously when you prove you deserve it, pipsqueak." Said his opponent with a contempt filled voice.
Gaul stood back up and called upon his crest again. Then he fed it all of his power. When that ran out he fed it everything he had. His anger, his frustrations, his rage, everything was thrown into the crest to increase its power, the roar of wind around him drowning out his scream of incandescent fury.
The powerful winds quickly vanished the cloud of dust, allowing the nigh-unbearable light of the crest of Galette to destroy all of the shadows of the forest.
And so Gaul was given a perfect view of the black boot as it descended from above and smacked against his face. The rest of the body soon followed and the greater body mass of his opponent drove him to the floor.
He then felt something cold, sharp, and hard pressed against his neck. He opened his eyes and saw the edge of a short black scimitar threatening his collar.
They remained like that for a few moments until Shirou spoke, pressing the blade to the boy's neck a little more tightly. "Pathetic."
Gaul however, smiled. "You got cocky." Stated the white haired prince as he pressed both palms against his opponent's chest. His hands emitting a bright blue-green glow as the energy they commanded prepared itself to be explosively released.
And then a small black boot hit the two of them on the temple, sending Shirou sprawling to the floor and causing Gaul to roll a couple of times on the ground.
They both turned to look at their assailant, and were met with a sight that drove fear into both of their hearts.
Leonmitchelli Galette des Rois stood in front of them, her beautiful waist long hair writhing around her as her body was surrounded by an aura of flame, a mere side effect caused by the anger of a royal among lions.
Her flashing golden eyes focused upon Gaul with such intensity that the young man suddenly wished that the ground would open beneath him and swallow him whole. "H-H-H-Hi sis?" Asked Gaul with a stutter.
"Gaul." Said Leon in a calm and reasonable voice, causing Gaul to hiss in fear and press himself harder against the ground. "What. Are you doing. To our guest?"
"W-W-W-Well I t-t-thought I-I w-would e-enjoy a f-f-friendly s-spar with-" Stuttered the young man in fear. His stutter becoming an outright panicked screech as his sister picked him up by the collar.
"I-I'm sorry!?" Screamed the young man reflexively.
Leon's right eyebrow twitched. "And how does the fact you are sorry change the fact that I had to waste forty minutes to get here?"
"I-I-It d-d-d-doesn't?" Asked Gaul with fear in his voice.
Leon nodded. "Indeed it doesn't. Do you know what this means?"
"T-T-T-That I'm v-v-v-very sorry?" Asked Gaul hopefully.
Leon smiled, causing him to whimper.
"You will do my work for me for the next two weeks. You will have no way around this, nor any choice in the matter." Stated Leon with finality.
Gaul opened his mouth to protest. Then saw the glint on his sister's eye. "Y-Yes ma'am." He muttered instead.
Leon let go of his collar, causing him to drop to the floor in a confused heap. She then looked around for her target and realized something.
Shirou had taken advantage of her distraction to melt into the shadows.
Leon's other eyebrow twitched. "Shirou, come out now." She demanded.
The forest remained quiet and empty.
Then her personal emblem took form behind her along with an enormous curtain of flame.
"Oh god no sis don't!" Screamed Gaul as he tried to scamper away.
Leon raised her arms, a tornado of fire howling into being on her hands. The whole of her body was surrounded by a luminescent corona of flame, and she then roared the verdict of an Avenging Angel. "Explosion. Of the Lion King!"
The blast dwarfed everything Gaul had done, the fury of the incandescent flames transformed every tree it touched to a pile of ash in but an instant, the shockwave extending a great distance and splintering even the most ancient of trees like mere twigs, the merest fraction of its fury broke against the city walls, knocking a few hapless guards off their feet.
A completely naked Gaul lied on the floor twitching, knocked cold by the powerful attack. Leon completely ignored her tormented little brother and stared around, her keen eyes seeking her quarry.
When she spied something quite a distance away, she walked to it at a hurried pace. It was a black gauntleted hand, the leather armored glove modified to leave the fingers free. It was poking out of a pile of trees that had been splintered by the shockwave of her attack. She pressed her foot against the topmost trunk (which was thicker than all of her) and kicked it off without much effort. Where she found Shirou, much in the same state as her brother barring the nakedness even though his clothing had taken severe damage.
She picked him up by the collar and began to walk back to the city of Galette, complaining all the while about idiot men and their stupid fights and how they encroached on her petting time.
The Genoise, cleaning staff, and other servants all blinked. Yet not even in their confusion did they say anything.
Perhaps because truly, there was nothing that could be said about what they had just seen. As one they all turned from the viewing screen and got back to work.
Charley Framboise blinked and realized he had forgotten to commentate on the fight. He was the one to break the silence. "W-Well I guess that means the duel is a draw?" He asked slowly.
He was not given an answer. A few moments later he followed the crowd back, the fate of the Galettan prince driven from his thoughts.
Back in the field, a cloak was draped over Gaul's prone and recuperating form. He blinked and looked at the one that draped the cloth over him.
The rather sad Nanami met his inquiring gaze. She knelt in front of him and stared at his dirt covered form.
"Hey Gaul." She said softly. "Can…I pet you?"
"NO!"
Nanami wept.