Fair warning – this one gets a bit spicy towards the end.
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Cardin Winchester took 0.16 seconds to swing Executioner from inside to outside, 0.19 seconds from outside to inside, and 1.3 seconds from high to ground level. Tack on another 0.2 if he used the Fire Dust crystal built into the weapon to cause an explosion on impact.
Brawnz Ni took 0.03 seconds to throw a right hook, 0.008 seconds for a jab, and 0.05 for all other punches. His kicks were slightly slower at 0.4 seconds each, and his knee strikes took between 0.9 and 1.4 seconds depending on the angle and power he used. Thus far he had no shown evidence that his weapons were capable of firing projectiles or launching him forward in any way (ie, it wasn't clear if it was also a gun), but the basics of his style were pretty obvious.
Ciel Soleil was at 93% Aura and holding fine. Her reaction speed was at full, and Pendulum was fully stocked with Dust. No problem.
Cardin struck, inside to outside, aiming for her head. Ciel ducked, shot out Pendulum and snagged Cardin's boot to throw off his balance. Brawnz came close after; Ciel pulled Pendulum back, activated the Hard Light shield, and deflected two punches before pirouetting to his right, shooting out Pendulum again to snag his left hand, then yanking to pull him around. She yanked at the precise moment his balance was on one foot only, removing the annoying advantage fighters like him had by using the ground as leverage.
0.5 seconds after, Cardin attacked again; Ciel kept Pendulum wrapped around Brawnz's hand and slid around his upturned leg, kicking him into his partner's attack range as she passed and watching as the larger boy's mace landed dead center on Brawnz's torso. The swing landed 0.2 seconds too slow, which meant-
Boom! A blast of Fire Dust sent Brawnz hurling across the practice field. His picture flashed red on the screen; Aura too low to continue.
Ciel was holding steady at 92%. Cardin was only down to 50%.
Without waiting too long, the larger boy tried a new move – instead of top to bottom, he brought Executioner along the ground and tried to swing it upward, which would have been impressive if not for the fact it took him a full 2 seconds. More than enough time to sidestep.
Ciel flared her Aura, briefly registering the burst of power in her muscles, then whipped out Pendulum again but this time with the shield active. The edge of the Hard Light barrier wasn't deadly sharp, but it was more than enough to take a big chunk of Cardin's Aura out with each hit. And she hit him several times, in rapid succession, every time she dodged another hit.
Cardin growled in frustration and reached for something in his belt.
Ciel activated her Semblance.
Time seemed to slow down around her; colors fading and everything slowing to a crawl… with the exception of her focus. Cardin's hand remained brightly lit as it appeared to separate itself from the rest of him – it pulled out a small Dust crystal from his pocket, Gravity by the color, and threw it in her direction. Cardin had not moved, but his hand proudly proclaimed his intentions and exactly what would happen if she let did nothing.
Foreshadowing. Ciel could peek into the future.
Acting on this knowledge, Ciel darted forward and struck before Cardin could even get his hand out of his pocket. She wrapped Pendulum around his wrist, then jumped over his head and wound the cable around his torso and his other hand before landing on the other side, and pulling with her Aura-enhanced muscles. Her leverage defeated his and yanked him backwards… right into a spinning side-kick.
Cardin's Aura dipped into the red. A buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the match.
As Ciel retracted the chord of Pendulum, her miniature Hard Light shield generator on a cable, she ignored the cheers of the other students at Haven Academy. They didn't matter. She took a breath as she let her Aura disperse, feeling the fatigue begin to set in. That was a constant danger of using the power unique to Huntsmen – if overused, the body paid the price.
Ciel paused before exiting the field and mentioned to Professor Corbett that Cardin had brought a raw Dust crystal into the sparring match (which went against the rules). From there she headed back to the dorm room for a shower and some quiet time-
Aren't you forgetting something? Or rather… someone?
Dammit… not you again.
You know that chick always wants to hug you after a fight… why not let her? Bury your face in those lovely flesh pillows for a few minutes and just-
SHUT UP already! Gods… if this keeps up I'm gonna run out of people to fight!
Then why fight at all?
This had been going on for a few weeks now, ever since her… discovery. Ciel had finally come to realize that Nora Valkyrie, her partner, had awakened a set of long-dormant emotions within her. Emotions Ciel had never felt before. Emotions she didn't know how to deal with. Emotions… that might lead to her getting expelled.
Along with these emotions came a new voice in her mind, one that sounded an awful lot like her own but said some rather… lecherous things.
Then again, if you don't want her to hug you, then you could let her sit on your lap again like two days ago. Remember that? How she planted that round, delicious backside right on top of you at lunch?
I'd rather forget that event, if you don't mind.
I DO mind. And besides, Nora seemed to be enjoying herself. I know you remember how she bounced a little when she looked back at you. And she was blushing. She wants it, and you know it.
Nora always blushes around me. That's just who she is.
Because she wants it!
No! She's a naive, simple girl who already has someone she likes!
Why the hell should that stop you?!
I won't get between them! She and that… what was his name? Lie Ren? They're already together-
"Actually, we're not… together-together…"
Ciel leapt 3 feet, 5 inches off the floor from a standing position. Standing right behind her was the ginger girl from her nightmares. Or darkest fantasies, depending on which voice you believed.
"H-H-How long have you b-b-b-been standing there…?" Ciel said with a deep sense of dread.
Nora looked away awkwardly. "Well… kinda… maybe… the whole time? You kept muttering to yourself and I didn't wanna interrupt, sooooo…"
Muttering…?
She was saying that all out loud?!
Ciel's face came exactly 5 degrees away from spontaneously catching on fire as she turned and ran, scrambling away as fast as her weary muscles would allow. This time she checked to make sure Nora wasn't following, and was relieved to confirm this.
It didn't occur to her until later that night that Nora's face was one of hurt.
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There is a fairy tale that speaks of the moon, and why it appears to be shattered as it floats over the night sky. Apparently it used to be the sun, but then stupid people caused the sun to crash into the ground and break, spilling its light all over the place. The people rebuilt the broken sun as best they could, fashioned a new sun out of glass with the light it spilled, and put them both in the sky to give the world back its light.
This story has absolutely nothing to do with Ciel; Nora just liked it.
Ciel seemed to hate her now. Either that or there was something nasty written across her face that only Ciel could see, cuz Nora never found anything in the mirror.
Not that she looked too hard – you can never trust mirrors. That's where the reverse-people lived. And for them, lies are truth and truth are lies.
Oh right, Ciel. What's up with that girl, anyway?
Maybe she just didn't like hugs, which was a crying shame cuz she was super huggable. Every so often Nora would get the urge to snatch Ciel's little beret and run, if only to get the girl to actually chase after her, instead of the other way around. Snatching a pair of her underwear wouldn't work since she had extras. Not that Nora knew exactly how many Ciel owned… or that they were all meticulously folded and stacked in the top drawer… nope, she had no idea.
Using food to lure in her wayward partner still hadn't worked, but not for lack of trying. Ciel refused the strawberry pancakes, the chocolate chip pancakes, the cinnamon pancakes (how dare she?), and even the super-spectacular-best-in-the-world buttermilk pancakes Ren always made! She even followed the recipe right this time, and it still didn't work! Fudgenuts!
But that wouldn't stop her! Mama Nora didn't raise no quitter!
…Cuz, you know, she's an orphan. She raised herself, so she never knew her-
Oh never mind.
Ironically, the only thing that seemed to have any effect on Ciel was also the one thing Nora found the most embarrassing; flirting. Little winks here and there, a slightly gaped open shirt, or a random booty jiggle… all of these managed to bring the dark-skinned girl's attention directly onto Nora. Fully. As in, the same look Nora would give to a plate filled with Ren's pancakes. This was usually followed by another bout of Ciel screaming and running away.
Why was that embarrassing? To Nora "I'm-Queen-Of-The-Castle" Valkyrie?
Cuz… cuz… just because, okay?!
It absolutely had nothing to do with the fact that Nora was starting to get a bit hot under the collar whenever Ciel gave her a scolding, or the fact that she kept getting excited whenever she noticed Ciel staring at her in her pajamas that included short-shorts and maybe possibly rode up a bit too high and showed off a bit of cheek, or the fact that her heart rate seemed to spike every time she managed to catch Ciel for a hug, or the fact that she'd started having dreams about her and Ciel doing a bunch of really nasty things that sometimes included chains and whips and various toys, which was a dream that came after a dream of eating a pile of pancakes bigger than she was, but also came right before a dream where she was served a giant pile of pancakes that Ciel was buried inside of while wearing a swimsuit and covered in maple syrup…
Nope… nothing to do with any of that. Nuh-uh.
And if Ren were here, he'd have bopped her for such an obvious lie.
"Miss Valkyrie?" A voice pulled her out of her thoughts as the school's VP walked up. "Do you have a moment?"
"What's up, Miss C?"
Professor Corbett sighed at the nickname and said, "Do you know a young man named Lie Ren?"
"Sure do!"
"Well… Headmaster Lionheart has informed me that someone by that name has been trying to contact this school since the semester began. He seems worried."
"Ren? Why wouldn't he just call me? It's not like we don't know each other's Scroll number by heart or anything…"
"I do not know the circumstances, but it seems the students of Beacon are… isolated for some reason. I believe they are having issues with the CCT network in Vale, but I do not know any details."
"Okay, so they can't call anyone. Can we call them? At least to let Ren know I'm alright?"
"Well…" Corbett couldn't hide her smirk. "Actually, young Ren seemed more concerned with the status of the school than with you. Lionheart was not certain what to make of that."
Nora laughed. "Yeah, that sounds about right. We grew up together, so he knows first-hand how much trouble I can be."
A pause in the conversation caused Nora to shuffle uneasily. Corbett just blinked in confusion. "Trouble? How so?"
"Well, I… I'm usually wild, doing whatever I want and not caring who gets hurt. If Ren wasn't there to hold me back, I'd probably have torn down the school by now-"
"But Lie Ren is not here… and the school appears to still be standing."
Nora couldn't really counter that.
"While I admit that you were hyperactive at the start of the year, it did not take long for you to calm down and stay in line. In fact, I would say you are one of my most well-behaved first year students. Especially compared to your taller teammate, Mr. Winchester."
Nora felt her jaw drop. For the VP of Haven to say that Nora behaved better than Cardin… was this a dream? Then that means…
"What are you looking for, Miss Valkyrie?"
"Oh, uh…" Nora stopped whipping her head around and booped her fingers together. "Kinda thought I'd see a giant plate of pancakes behind me or something… danggit."
The conversation ended with Professor Corbett laughing through several dozen calories as Nora went after Ciel, her face flushed red.
However, not just because of embarrassment – thought that was part of it – Nora was blushing with delight. She'd finally found her answer. Up until she arrived in Haven, Nora had only ever felt like she belonged wherever Ren was. She'd belonged with him. In a way, she never felt complete unless she was by his side.
But now she had Ciel, a girl who gave her that same feeling. She just knew she belonged with Ciel Soleil.
And she would be damned if she gave up on that now.
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Ciel was ready to give up and just go home.
Nothing was working out the way she planned. Nothing. Her team was disagreeable at best and downright hostile at worst, the various assignments and essays she had to do were not on the subjects she wanted to master, and Haven was just too damn hot. Gods, why couldn't she just go to Atlas?
It was late when Nora and the boys came into the dorm room. She ignored them as they set about getting ready for bed, since Ciel herself was already showered and under the covers. Nora halfheartedly tried to say something, then decided Ciel was probably asleep and quit.
Just roll over and face the other way… then when Nora climbs into the top bunk, you can get a good look at them legs-
You need. To shut. Up.
You can't deny me forever, bitch. One of these days you'll slip and I'll make a move for you. Then you'll have to accept your feelings.
Or get arrested for sexual assault. Then what will you do?
Fight 'em off, duh. You can handle yourself just fine.
If that's how things go, I'll just surrender. Then maybe I can get some psychiatric help to shut you up.
YOU MADE ME, BITCH! I ain't going anywhere! Not until I get to squeeze dem tiddies!
…Now I think I understand why people drink.
Her inner monologue continued for about an hour after the lights went out. Eventually Ciel staggered to her feet and shuffled into the bathroom.
Several minutes later, after she was done, she opened the bathroom door… and nearly screamed. Nora was right there. The taller girl clapped a hand over Ciel's mouth and pushed them both back into the bathroom before shutting the door.
Ciel tried to hiss What are you doing? but was distracted by the fact that Nora never wore a bra under her pajama top. And the bathroom was chilly.
Nora spoke first, "Okay, champ… what is going on? Let's just get it out there, right now, without anyone listening in."
"Nora…"
"Do you hate me?"
"Of course not!" Ciel's mouth started speaking before she could stop herself. "I think you're the most wonderful person in this school!"
Oh, really? Now where is THIS coming from?
SHUT IT.
Nora crossed her arms, brow furrowed. "Then why do you keep running away from me? What is your problem, Ciel Soleil?"
Ciel's arms broke out in goosebumps. She'd never heard Nora say her name like that.
And she kind of… liked it.
Nora said other things, but Ciel had quit listening by that point. Her heartbeat was drowning out the rest of the world. Along with that came the desire to know how Nora's heartbeat sounded. Her body began to move under its own power, walking closer to Nora and reaching out before-
CUT IT OOOOOOUT! ! !
Ciel's hands stopped less than an inch away from Nora's chest. Both girls had gone totally quiet, Nora staring at Ciel's hands and Ciel unable to pull away and stuff herself in the trashcan.
But then… Nora grabbed her wrists and… put Ciel's hands on her.
And they felt exactly like marshmallows.
"You could've just asked," Nora said in a quiet voice. She didn't let go of Ciel's wrists as her own face gained a heavy blush. Her smile didn't carry even the slightest hint of a tease.
Ciel waited, but nothing happened. Her body did not act on its own. No voice cried out from inside her mind, calling for her to do something naughty. But she could feel it waiting, watching.
("Then you'll have to accept your feelings…")
Ciel spoke slowly, deliberately, making sure every word was her own. "Nora… may I… kiss you?"
"Only if you're not this pathetic about it."
"?"
Nora finally broke contact between Ciel's hands and her chest, pulling the hands apart and leaning in close. "This isn't the Ciel Soleil who can keep me under control with just a few harsh words. This isn't the Ciel Soleil who can defeat two bigger and stronger guys by herself. I don't want to kiss a whimpering version of my team leader… I want Ciel Soleil to kiss ME."
And just like that, Ciel's uncertainty blew away.
Hearing Nora say her full name like that a full three times was enough to bring Ciel's excitement level up to full. She slid her wrists out of Nora's grip, grabbed the sides of her head and pulled. The moment their lips locked together, Ciel felt something akin to electricity surge through her body. Her heartbeat accelerated, and she finally felt Nora's heartbeat – it was hammering just as fast.
The rest of what they did was a blur of colors, body heat, and smooth skin. They spent the entire night locked in the bathroom, heedless of the fact that it was the only one the team had. Cuz it didn't matter. All that mattered was that they'd finally found what they needed. They both finally found release.
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Sometime during the night, when Nora and Ciel's cries from within the bathroom were at their peak, a hand reached down from Cardin's bunk with a wad of Lien in it. A second hand came up from the lower bunk and snatched it away.
"What'd I tell ya?"
"Shut up…"
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Author's Note: I know that seems like the end, but it isn't. I still have one more chapter I wanna put out so I can explore how this new development changes things, as well as tie this story into the larger narrative of my Crack Ship universe. (…how the hell did that happen?)
For those wondering about my thoughts on the recently finished volume 8… don't ask. I never want to think about it again.
OwO