Aviantei

By: Aviantei

Part Twenty-Eight: Vulnerability

Because of the way Hao was, there had been two main priorities in setting up their camp on the Island of Tokyo: its close proximity to the natural pools of hot springs and its lack of close proximity to the rest of the Shaman Fight participants. Yes, it was a bit out of the way from regular conveniences, but that was life with Hao. It was really only because of the relative civilization at the Patch Village that Ivy noticed the difference, and it didn't matter much to her in the end. There was still the opportunity to take a bath to clean off the grime of the day and food to be eaten around one of the many campfires as the flames cast their lights off the walls of the abandoned military base they'd chosen as their base.

Watching Yoh-dono's match against the Ice Men had been a good palette cleanser for her emotions, as had soaking in the bath. She still felt uneasy—and like marching her way over to the X-Laws' obnoxious ship taking up half the island's beach to see how much destruction she could cause—but it was a far more muted feeling than before, and that meant it was manageable.

"Are you okay?" Kaede asked, her quiet voice enough to pull Ivy from the loop of thoughts she'd gotten caught up in again. The still mostly full wooden bowl of soup in her lap proved that she couldn't even focus on something as essential as eating, and she pulled the spoon towards her mouth. It wouldn't do any good for the emotional nausea to pass but to upset her body by not eating. "You've been spacing out, which you hardly ever do. Plus you were acting strange during the match today."

"Oh yeah," Issebella said, plopping back into her seat from refilling her own bowl, "what was up with that? You acted all upset over what was happening to that X-Law kid and wouldn't even answer when I asked you questions. That's so not fair, Principessa!"

Normally, a sharp retort would have slipped off Ivy's tongue at Issebella's whining, but she didn't have the irritation left to fuel it. "It's just…" From her memorial tablet hooked to Ivy's belt, Mya gave a reassuring pulse of energy. Yes, Ivy could let it be, talk things over with Mya later, but she'd already made enough of a scene in front of her teammates earlier. She might as well try to be a good leader and explain herself. "The boy. Lyserg. I met him before. We're…" Do I even have the right to call us friends? "We're very similar."

That got her an outright expression of disbelief from Issebella and a faintly raised eyebrow from Kaede—which were equivalent to the same thing. Considering that Ivy was comparing herself to a member of Hao's sworn enemies, she didn't blame their skepticism. Ivy took a big sip directly from her bowl before setting it aside. She realized, perhaps a bit too late, that neither Kaede nor Issebella knew her whole situation.

Better now than before I slaughter Ander in front of them, I suppose.

"When I was young, my parents were killed." It had been so long since she'd said it in those exact words. The faint tremble in her voice surprised her. Gratitude that the rest of Hao's followers had long acclimated to not joining Ha-Gumi mingled the rest of the emotional cocktail spreading throughout her veins. "Hao-dono picked me up after that." Issebella, though her circumstances differed, nodded in understanding. "The point is, Lyserg and I had the same experience with that loss. And we're both aiming for the same thing—to kill the person that took our parents from us."

"Except the person who killed his folks was Dio, and the person who killed yours wasn't." Ivy nodded; simplistic assessment or no, it was the truth. Issebella shifted to cross her legs, not caring a bit about the spread of her skirt. "I'm guessing that he wasn't an X-Law when you met him, though, Principessa. I don't see you giving one the time of day to breathe, otherwise."

Ivy exhaled a weary laugh. "You're not wrong." To think, it had been a coincidental encounter that had brought them together again. The slightest change in their paths, and Ivy wouldn't even be having a problem. Or maybe she was kidding herself and just the memory of him in the middle of that fire as a child would have been enough. "But now I know enough, so it's difficult to just view him as an enemy. If I could, I'd protect him, keep him safe from all this. Keep him away from the X-Laws and their shitty ideals."

But I can't because that would cause too much problems—for both of us.

For once, Issebella fell silent, and her face screwed up in concentration. She looked over Ivy once, then twice, before glancing to Kaede and back again. "Principessa, that's cheating."

"Excuse you?"

"You're cheating on Dio!" All other emotions became forgotten as embarrassment and hormones decided to kick out all semblance of rational thought, and Ivy almost knocked over her still waiting soup bowl in shock. Issebella waggled a finger through the air, her other hand nested in her hair. "Don't glare at me like that! You never care about anyone else's wellbeing besides yours, Opacho's, or Dio's. And, I mean, Opacho's just a kid, so that's fine, but you can't have the hots for someone else."

"Do you even listen to the words coming out of your mouth? I don't 'have the hots' for anyone." Kaede didn't say anything, but she did thoughtfully purse her lips, and Ivy shot her a look of betrayal. I thought we were on the same side here, dammit. Glad for a petty argument to distract her, Ivy straightened her back and shoved an accusing finger back in Issebella's direction. "Besides, if giving a damn what happens to someone else is cheating, what do you call what you do, Miss I'm-Going-to-Flirt-with-Whoever-I-Please-Twenty-Four-Seven?"

"No, no, no, you have it all wrong!" Issebella said in that annoying tone that indicated she thought what she was saying made perfect sense, even if it was likely nonsense. "It's because I act without hesitation whenever I feel my heart calling out to me that my feelings are the purest of them all!" Ivy wished that they'd cooked something more than soup, just so she could have something to easily shove down Issebella's throat. "But you're not like that, Principessa. You've always committed yourself to Dio."

Ivy settled for a glare. "Because he's my master."

"Uh, yeah, that's not what I mean." Ivy caught wind of Issebella's meaning, but refused to acknowledge it. She'd known her own feelings for Hao for years. She still wasn't any position to act on them. She had a duty to fulfill, especially when they were in the thick of the Shaman Fight. Just the upcoming Star Festival alone would take up so much time and energy. It was almost impressive what Issebella had the brain power to contribute herself to. "You get what I'm talking about, right Kaede?"

Two heads swiveled towards their teammate, and Kaede gave the faintest of nods that made Ivy consider dying right then and there—though she noted it was more likely that Issebella had babbled about her conspiracy theories to Kaede that gave the answer, rather than Ivy being obvious about it. Then, after a few beats of silence that only left room for the sounds of the night and the conversations of the other followers, Kaede said, "Tao Ren."

Issebella sucked in a dramatic gasp that just fell short of dragging in everything within its immediate vicinity with the force. "I can't believe I didn't realize that, holy crap! Principessa—"

"Goodness, you lot are as lively as usual." Hao's chuckle announced his presence, and it didn't take too long for Ivy to notice their master approaching their campfire circle, Opacho skittering at his heels. He must've gotten back not too long ago, seeing as Opacho was sticking to his side. "I hope you don't mind if I join you," Hao said, already taking a seat. Kaede, composed as ever, got to work on prepping him and Opacho their own bowls as if she hadn't just added more fuel to Issebella's unnecessary fire. "What were we discussing that's gotten you all so energetic?"

"Oh, Dio, we were just—"

"Talking about how the matches today were a good reminder that training and effort are necessary to build strength," Ivy said, her voice clipped but not sounding completely unnatural. "In fact, Issebella, I'm impressed by your devotion to ensure that we achieve our goals. I know that you recommended that we rest, Hao-dono, but since our match isn't for another two days, I think it would be fine to let Issebella do some extra training tonight, wouldn't it?"

The message was clear: Spout any of your nonsense to Hao-dono, and, as your team leader, I'll work you into the ground tonight.

Issebella muttered a few choice complaints in Italian, but ultimately relented and returned to her soup. "I suppose that given how the matches went today, that would be enough to get everyone a bit motivated, hm?" Hao said, drinking soup directly from the bowl, seeing as Opacho had easily taken his other arm hostage. Ivy glanced down, sure she was about to get a scolding for her behavior during X-I's match. "That Tao Ren is intriguing, really. I tried to recruit him today, but he didn't take the bait. Not yet anyways."

Ivy's head shot up, and the soup sloshed in her bowl, though the level was low enough that nothing spilled over the edges. "He didn't?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Hao nodded, and even Opacho peered up at him, her small cup still between her hands. "He's a stubborn one. He wants to achieve things through his own power, not through someone else handing him the results—even if he knows those outcomes are likely not going to be as efficient. Of course, having the resolve to stick to your ideals like that is part of what's necessary to succeed as a Shaman." Hao smiled, seeming content with the results, and Ivy felt herself glad to hear that Ren was sticking to his determination, even if it still put them on different sides. If nothing else, they weren't as direct enemies as she and Lyserg were. "He seemed rather interested in hearing about you, though, Aviantei."

Ivy said, "Huh?" at the same time Issebella pumped her fist and declared, "Lo sapevo!" Kaede, still pokerfaced, turned her head to face Hao a bit more.

"You're both warriors who have faced off against each other before," Hao said, by way of explanation. "While he still has a way to go, you consider him a worthwhile opponent, don't you? It's partway because of your interest that I considered him as a potential recruit—of course, his own merit has plenty to do with that, too." For some unnecessary reason, Ivy's chest swelled with pride. "I hope you don't mind, Aviantei, but I told him if he wanted to learn more about you, he'd have to join up with us. Naturally, I offered training, as well, but I figure that a little incentive never hurt."

I'm not sure if you can really call that a motivating incentive, but— Ivy couldn't deny that she'd like to learn more about Ren, what he'd been through since they'd last fought, since the time they'd crossed paths as children. "If that's what Hao-dono thinks is best, then I don't mind."

Maybe Ren would ultimately accept Hao's offer and join their side. Maybe he wouldn't and instead would continue to forge his own path. Either way, Ivy hoped, that if nothing else, he would be in a position to fight for his dream—whatever it may be—until the very end.

Thanks in no small part to Hao's assurance that Ha-Gumi would be fine even without an extra day of work and Issebella's own good behavior in not spilling their previous conversation, Ivy didn't put her through a rough course of training. As such, Issebella, with her belly beyond full from all the dinner she'd eaten, had quickly fallen asleep, letting out the occasional snore as usual and providing a consistent backdrop to mingle with the sound from the other followers still awake in the other parts of the building, going through their nightly routines and still in occasional conversation.

Ivy stared up at the ceiling, half contemplating the cracks as she worked towards falling asleep. She tended not to have much trouble resting on most days, but it usually took her some time to get there. Then again, most days, she hadn't watched people act as a reflection as the person she could have been if she'd stayed with Master and Teacher, if she'd gone back with Ander when he'd come to pick her up—a convenient killing machine formed through some of the cruelest forms of nurture.

Then again, am I all that different? I still ended up a killer, anyways.

Ivy exhaled a bit too loudly for the quiet room and tried to roll onto her side to see if it would help her restlessness. If worse came to worst, she could always use the leaves to lull herself to sleep, but there tended to be few issues that a bit of meditation couldn't handle. Shifting her focus from her active thoughts to the sensations of her body, Ivy became more intimately aware of the tense muscles in her left shoulder, of the core of chi settled just beneath her navel, of the way the blanket's weight felt draped over her body, of how breaths filled the lungs and expanded the chest before emptying, deflating—

"Are you still awake?"

Kaede's soft voice made the deep mindfulness shift away as a world beyond Ivy's own body came back into proper focus. Issebella was still snoring, meaning that she was gone enough that quiet conversation wouldn't disturb her. The last thing Ivy wanted to put up with now was a long series of ramblings from Issebella, especially whenever they would start to blur the lines between rational English and Italian. Just because Ivy could understand it didn't mean that she wanted to.

They were safe from that threat, though, so Ivy opened her eyes in acknowledgement. "I am."

In the faint bit of light that existed, Kaede's pale skin looked almost luminous. If it weren't for the fact that the rest of her didn't have the same slight glow, Ivy might have mistaken her for a spirit. It was hard to judge Kaede's expression, even on a good day, and the limited vision wasn't doing the process any favors, but she didn't seem the slightest bit tired. Rather, Ivy thought the look in her eyes was contemplative.

Kaede stayed unmoving for a few moments longer, and Ivy was starting to trace the lines of her pale hair across her even paler face when she opened her mouth at last, the words forming in Japanese. "You talked about what happened to you earlier," she said, the monotone words occasionally faltering in hesitation, even in Kaede's native tongue. "Issebella already knows what happened with me, so I wanted to share."

Ah. The last person to open up to Ivy about the wounds of their past had been Lyserg, and even that was technically unnecessary, since she'd been there for it. She'd also been around for Hao recruiting most of his other followers, Issebella included, so conversations about such topics weren't necessary then, either. For the few that had been around before Ivy, she'd never made herself into the type of person that would be anyone's first choice for confiding their soul's scars to.

"If this is about making things even between us, then you don't have to bother," Ivy said, her language and volume matching Kaede's. "I don't keep tabs on such things. There's way more important stuff to worry about, you know."

Kaede shook her head. "It's not like that at all. I want you to know." Vulnerability could turn into such a weakness, and yet Kaede was choosing to walk into it headfirst. "My family had shamanic blood in it, but my father didn't make use of it. Instead, we ran an inn out of the country. It was me, Tou-san and my little brother. We were happy, but then the word got out about our family history." Ivy could guess well enough where the story was going, and a fresh pit excavated itself in her stomach. Kaede's matter of fact delivery wasn't helping matters. "Tou-san realized what was going to happen and he arranged for us to go live with a faraway relative. My brother went, but I hid away and stayed. I didn't want to leave him alone."

The slightest beat passed, enough to call it hesitation. Kaede continued.

"They killed him. I couldn't do anything. And then when I panicked, they captured me. I can't really remember how long I was there, but it hurt. Fia found me first, set me free. Issebella came after that…" Kaede shrugged, as if it were some sort of punctuation mark that indicated the story was over, even as she lived in the continuation. "I just want Momiji to be safe, but I don't want to have to always fight to make that reality. If Hao-sama wins the Shaman Fight, then that won't be a problem. So I'm willing to help."

Ivy thought that might have been the first time she'd ever heard Kaede express something like a desire, thought maybe she was misremembering. It was, however, the first time one of Kaede's requests had made such an impression.

Just what am I supposed to say to that? Why in the world did Hao-dono think I was fit to be a leader?

Hao would know what to say. But then again, what he would say would be something that made sense for Asakura Hao, an onmyoji of over one-thousand years of life. What could Lon Ivy offer in comparison to that?

I can offer myself.

"Hao-dono will win." She'd said it so many times that the words might have become meaningless, but, to Ivy, they were an irrefutable fact. "I'm going to help him in any way I can, and I'll gladly take your help. Even that thickheaded Issebella over there is going to contribute, so you can rest easy." Kaede's lips quirked into the faintest shape of a smile. Issebella let out a satisfied yet somewhat sleazy chuckle in her sleep, as if she could sense the show of happiness without even needing to be conscious. "If you don't want to fight too much, I won't make you. I plan on handling our first match myself, and there's no point in the tournament after that. So you just need to help when it comes to the Star Festival, okay?"

"I can do that." Considering the vein of their previous conversations, Ivy thought it would end there, as they covered what needed to be covered, but Kaede surprised her by opening her mouth one more time. "Can I…call you something besides Lon-san?"

Ivy was pretty sure Kaede had never called her that in the first place—then again, she didn't use names much anyways—but she didn't argue for the sake of sentiment. Kaede was just trying to be polite. "I really don't care what you call me."

A nod. "Hime-san, then."

"Absolutely not."

"Sorry. That was supposed to be a joke." Her sheer monotone brought to question whether it was really a joke or even if you could call her words an apology, but that wasn't worth splitting hairs over, either. Ivy didn't think she could handle anyone else treating her like a princess, but she didn't have any alternate suggestions, either. So she let Kaede think things over, Ivy ultimately falling back into her meditation as sleep started to finally pull back at her mind. She was halfway there whenever Kaede finally spoke, the word quiet enough that it was almost inaudible, even in the stillness of the night.

"Ka-san."

Ivy felt too tired to know if she'd heard directly, and she didn't care much if she did, either. All she wanted was the ability to slip into the dark, where her soul could stop trembling from all she'd thought about that day.

With the fresh sting in his cheek and the pulsing of the bruises along his collarbone, Lyserg Diethel could not sleep. There were other aches in his body, but they were far less pressing of priorities, and he'd gotten used to their pain as it slipped under the layers upon layers of fresh punishment.

He'd had the opportunity to leave after his failure in the arena, but he'd walked right back into it. If he couldn't withstand a little hardship like this, he wouldn't be able to even begin to stand up against Hao.

All the work he'd put in would be for nothing.

He'd never see vengeance for his parents.

He knew that and yet, talking to Asakura Yoh made his heart waver.

Throwing an arm over his eyes to try and ignore the fresh sting of tears from him, Lyserg tried to take even breaths. He couldn't just stop. Not after he'd spoken such big words back in the Patch Village to the girl who was pursuing a similar ideal to his. If he was encouraging her to move forward, then he should have the resolve to do the same.

Lon Ivy's somewhat sad smile as she shared her thoughts hadn't left his memory.

I hope I get to see her soon.

[Author's Notes]

What's this? A POV that isn't just Ivy or Hao? That's right, we're expanding our horizons! Look forward to more of that, soon!

Thanks to LyriaHart for the review! I'm just as excited as you are for regular updates, so let's have a great time with this one. Island of Tokyo shenanigans, go!

I'm still managing to do alright and, I've gotten the opportunity to see some of my family that I haven't in a while, so we're making it. Stay safe everyone!

As for updates on how the early chapter rewrites are going, I've made it through the super early set thus far! There are a few big changes, but nothing that will super effect the plot up to this point. I'm gonna work on finishing those up in a couple weeks, then I'll work on uploading them. All the details on that update will be in the Author's Notes section, so keep an eye out!

I'd love to hear guesses on what you guys think will happen next based on the next chapter's title.

Next time - Part Twenty-Nine: "Monsters." See you in two weeks, so please look forward to it!

-Avi

[05.12.2020]/[06.28.2020]