This is chapter thirty - six. Thank you Eddie Camp, explosivebagel, and caitlinkeitorin for reviewing last chapter!
Chapter Thirty - Six: Trouble
"Now, everyone draw your weapons and follow me."
It was only his first day in 'weapons practice', and Gillick already hated the man in charge. Aside from the fact that he disliked taking orders in general, the man - Kero - treated all of the Silver Fang assigned to him like they were novices who hadn't even begun to wield a sword. Since he got most of the newbies, it was usually true; however, Gillick was too angry and resentful to consider that point, instead muttering under his breath that he shouldn't be with this 'idiot of an instructor.'
"Is something wrong, Gillick?" Kero called, obviously hearing his muttering.
He didn't even bother to try and hide it. "Yeah. You."
Kero looked resentful at the admission, though not surprised. "I'll have you know that I've had much more experience with fighting than you-"
Gillick interrupted with a bark of laughter. "I doubt it."
"-and am a master swords man," the man finished, though he looked miffed at Gillick's interruption.
Gillick drew his sword around quickly and wrapped his arm around so that it rested firmly against the back of Kero's neck, drawing in close to prevent escape. "If you're so good," he growled, "then how come you let me do that?"
He released his startled, blustering prisoner and whipped around, sheathing his sword as he walked away. "Where are you going?" exclaimed Kero.
"Somewhere far away from you," Gillick responded over his shoulder.
Suddenly he felt something hit his back. He stumbled forward, caught off balance, and heard Kero's voice say, "Did that knock you down off your high horse?"
Gillick whipped around, dragging his sword back out of its sheath and lunging forward, snarling, "You're going to eat those words!"
"Make me, if you can," taunted Kero.
Their swords collided in a flurry of sparks. Gillick quickly backed off and rapped his opponent's sword arm with the flat of his blade. Kero's arm jerked away, but he didn't release his weapon. He spun around, blade flashing towards Gillick's midsection. Gillick jumped back out of reach, then lunged forward and ducked low, just barely avoiding Kero's stab. He swung his sword out, aiming to cut the man's legs, but he was able to jump away before he could. He swung back to his feet and turned back towards his opponent.
He was about to charge when suddenly there was a sword tip pricking the side of his neck. Strangely, Kero had one touching his neck, as well.
Then Silver's voice spoke. "That's enough. I won't have my warriors fighting each other."
"But, Miss-"
"No buts," Silver growled. "Get back to work; I'll talk to you later. Gillick, you're coming with me." He considered ignoring the order for several heartbeats before finally deciding that he'd rather not get kicked out of the Silver Fang, too, and slowly walked towards Silver's tent.
She was standing in the middle of the tent when he entered. He sheathed his sword and crossed his arms, waiting for her to speak. He didn't have to wait long. "What were you thinking, attacking your instructor like that?"
"In case you haven't noticed, I don't need an instructor," Gillick growled.
"I realize you're already proficient with a sword," Silver continued, "but you have to go through training, like everyone else."
"'Proficient'?" Gillick spat out the word. "I'm a bit more than fricken proficient."
"It doesn't matter!" Silver snapped at him. "And even if it did, that wasn't the way to handle things." Gillick opened his mouth to protest, but upon reflection realized she was right and closed it again. "Gillick, if you intend to fight with the Silver Fang, then you have to learn to follow orders."
Gillick glared at her, but tried to ignore the anger that was rising inside him at her lecture. "Yes, ma'am," he growled sullenly. He turned around to leave.
"You haven't been dismissed yet."
Gillick stopped and waited, but didn't turn back around to face Silver. "Well? Are you going to let me go?"
He heard her sigh. "You're dismissed."
Gillick stalked out of the tent, striding through the camp back towards his own. He hoped she didn't think he was going back to practice, because he had no intention of doing that…at least until the next day. He may not like the Keybladers, but he had a feeling taking orders and being surrounded by people constantly was going to get on his nerves very quickly.
A few days later found Gillick sitting stubbornly in his tent, glaring at the red fabric wall. Silver was outside, trying to convince him to return to practice. "Stop sulking and get back to work!" she ordered.
"I'm not sulking," he retorted. "Besides, I thought you said I wasn't allowed to kill Kero."
"You aren't." She sounded as if she was growing exasperated with him. Gillick snorted in smug response. Good; maybe she'll actually put me in a different group. Or better yet, let me practice on my own.
But when she spoke again, it was the same argument as before. "You need to keep your skills sharp and keep learning."
"Don't patronize me!" he growled in response. "I'm not an amateur!"
"I don't recall saying you were," Silver retorted dryly. "But everyone can learn more."
"And that's why you're never at these practices?"
"Gillick!"
The boy sighed, annoyed with her yelling at him and finally deciding it wasn't worth hiding in the relative solitude of his tent when she was constantly there screaming at him. "If I go, will you shut up?" he asked as he pushed his way out of the tent and past her.
He felt the cold tip of a sword blade pressed against the back of his neck. "Learn some respect," she growled to him.
Gillick snorted. "Forgive me for not shaking in my boots." He began walking forward again, effectively getting away from the weapon. However, he could hear Silver muttering behind him, and knew that there'd be hell to pay when he got back.
His eye twitched and he rubbed his temples as he walked. He was beginning to wonder how smart of an idea it was to join up with the Silver Fang, considering that he wasn't exactly a 'people person.' But he wasn't yet willing to give up the only chance he had to fight the Keybladers, no matter how slim it was.
"Halt!"
At first, Gillick thought the command was directed at him, and lifted his head to give a stinging retort. Then he realized it was aimed at two people who had made their way into the Silver Fang's camp. He blinked in shock as he saw the two nervous people being stared down by the warriors. "Riun? Mala?"
He hurried towards the two as the warriors continued to glare at them. "All trespassers have to go," one of the men growled.
"Then you might want to make sure you don't end up with a sword in your back," Gillick informed him. The Silver Fang warriors surrounding the two turned to look at him with surprised eyes. Gillick himself had been surprised at the comment, but decided it was a better idea not to show it. He walked towards them, looking at them carefully. Mala looked back with an unreadable expression. Riun was attempting to copy it, but his nervous excitement ended up showing through. Gillick whipped around and focused his attention on the lead tormentor, saying, "They're with me. Besides, I thought killing mindlessly is what Keybladers do?"
The man opened his mouth as if to make a response, but ended up closing it again, his actions reminiscent of a fish. Finally, he managed to splutter out, "Well, fine, I'll leave them be, but I'll be taking it up with Silver."
"Fine." Gillick rolled his eyes at him as the Silver Fang warriors dispersed.
A hand landed on his shoulder, and he glanced to the side to see Mala. "Thanks…for sticking up for us there."
"What are you doing here?" Gillick asked bluntly, jerking away from her grasp and turning back to face her.
She looked suddenly uncertain, her hand hovering in the air for a few moments before she lowered it. Riun, however, was not so hesitant, rushing forward to wrap Gillick in a hug, much to the older boy's chagrin. "Gillick! I found the Dark Army, and Mister Viril let me join, but Xuren was so mean, and he scared me, and…and…and…"
"Let go of me," Gillick growled, detaching him from his legs. Then he let out a quiet snort. "That idiot put Xuren in charge of you? He's mad."
He realized too late that his statement carried too much of a hint to his past, and noticed immediately the strange looks Mala and Riun were giving him. "Gillick…Xuren said that you and the Keybladers of the Dark Army were 'old friends.'"
Riun nodded. "Yeah, and he said people with amber eyes had been touched by darkness. And you have amber eyes!"
"And what exactly happened between you and Trevor?" Mala added. "What happened to make you two fight?"
Gillick was looking between the two of them with an uncomfortable feeling of nervousness, trying to fabricate an answer. They were getting so close to the truth…it wasn't good. He didn't want anyone to know of his dark past or of the fact that he was, at one time, a Keyblader, especially not now that he was a part of an anti-Keyblader organization. "It's none of your concern!" he snapped finally, growing frustrated.
"That's not an answer, that's an excuse!" Mala countered with unusual bravado. "Don't we deserve to know the truth?"
"You never answered my question," Gillick commented abruptly, changing the subject. "Why are you here? Weren't you going to join the Light Army and be with Trevor?"
All the confidence she'd appeared to have before seemed to be suddenly whisked out of her, until she appeared to be a shell. "Well…it's just…"
He snorted, realizing exactly what had happened. "Turned out he wasn't the mighty hero you thought he was, right?"
Mala nodded slowly, still appearing shell-shocked. "He…he killed a kid. I know it was because he was from the Dark Army, but…"
Gillick snorted. "I thought I warned you to let him go."
Mala looked awkwardly away from him. "You didn't answer my question, either." It was her turn to change the subject.
This time, however, Gillick was confident he could avoid having to reveal his secret; she seemed too upset about what had happened with Trevor to continue bugging him about it. "It doesn't matter." Not wanting to take any chances, though, he continued with, "So, you both saw that Keybladers aren't all they're cracked up to me, and decided to come back to the Silver Fang?"
Both nodded slowly. "Yes," the answered simultaneously.
Gillick snorted. "What makes you think they'll take you? Are you even willing to fight?"
Riun glanced nervously at Mala, who's head was still down, before turning back to Gillick and giving his answer. "I'd rather fight with you than Xuren. You're a hero; he's a bully."
Gillick sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I thought we'd established that I wasn't a hero."
"No, we decided you were a different kind of hero," Riun responded cheekily. Then he suddenly appeared serious. "I missed you, Gillick."
Gillick felt surprised by the admission. He looked at Riun carefully and, for a moment, he saw a version of Trevor when he was younger. He blinked and the image was gone, but it didn't stop his heart from giving a painful wrench. He shook his head. "Come on; let's get you two to Silver."
"…Gillick." He stopped as he heard Mala say his name. "I'll…I'll fight." She didn't sound certain, and Gillick turned back to look at her, intending to question her. However, she continued on before he could. "Did you warn me about Trevor…because you cared?"
He looked away. "Idiot. You're imaging things."
He heard her sigh. "You know, Gillick," she murmured quietly, "you remind me of a Keyblader sometimes."
Her words made him freeze. It wasn't possible that she could see that…could she? No, she didn't know…but she might be able to guess if he wasn't careful. Which brought to his mind thoughts of the Silver Fang. What he was doing, fighting against the armies, was so much like what he'd done before he abandoned the Keyblade…
No, he growled to himself, this is different.
He couldn't completely crush the tiny flicker of doubt.
Ok, so, that's the end of chapter thirty - six. No, Gillick hasn't had to give himself up yet. Review?