"Can I ask you something?"
"Always."
"Do you believe in things being set out in front of you?"
Duo Lon looked over at Leona, rubbing his chin. "You mean like destiny?"
"Yeah," she said quietly.
"I…don't know," he said. He looked out over the horizon as the two sat on top of the building. "I think, perhaps, yes."
The pair had decided to go take a bit of a walk while waiting for their friends to get finished their business, and instead of sitting inside-due to it being a rather nice, chilly early evening-they had decided to go toward the top of a building in a less-traveled part of the city. They both enjoyed sitting up high and looking out over things.
"I want to say I don't believe in it," the blue-haired soldier replied. "But there are times where it sort of…pokes at me. Reminding me it exists."
"I…know what you mean. I have had my life laid out before me since I was a youth. Born to a clan of assassins which my father ended up the leader of but a scant few years after I was born. I knew what I was to be-a killer, and then likely taking over the clan. Which I still plan on doing."
Leona pat the assassin's hand as she adjusted her bomber jacket. Both of them were dressed fairly casually, with Leona in her bomber and cargos and Duo Lon opting for his leather jacket over a sleeveless shirt, which he hardly wore to tournaments. Smiling sadly over at him, she sighed. "I just remembered being told I couldn't escape my destiny. I…very faintly remember my father's words."
"What were they?"
This actually caused the sad smile to spread, a mix of grief, but also fondness. "Destiny can eat shit."
Duo Lon actually chuckled at this. "I think he's right."
"I notice with you," she started, tracing a finger absently down his hand, over what seemed to be a scar. "That you choose to do what you do. You may have been born into being who you are…destined to lead your clan. But you seem to want it."
"I do," he said, unhesitatingly. "I have always felt this." He rubbed his chin as he adjusted his long braid, the heavy weight at the end draped over his legs. "Growing up, I knew what I wanted…but I never thought I'd be doing it this way."
Anyone that knew Duo Lon well knew he had his father targeted for his crimes against the clan; he was going to kill him with his own hands, using the same skills that were granted from the clan itself. Ron had long been in hiding, however-no one knew if it was because he feared his son or was looking to gain even more power.
Or both.
"It's sort of funny how our situations seem...almost reversed."
"You choose to not follow yours," he said. "I choose to follow mine. Either way, I think we both have chosen."
"I feel better about it," she said. "I used to doubt that my choice mattered. It feels different now. I don't care what he told me back then. After my first tournament."
He smiled softly at her, touching her under the chin gently with his nail, which made her smirk. She always liked that. "While I never knew him…just going by what you told me, you have picked up a bit from your father," he said.
"I guess I did." Her expression was soft; while she was still waiting to find out exactly where he was-if he was around or not-she felt like her life was going in a way that she wished it. "You broke away."
"Similar, yet different."
After a few moments of silence, she turned back toward him, taking his large hand again in hers.
"Hmm. I'll say that...destiny or no…I think I might be a bit thirsty."
The assassin chuckled at this. "Ready to go to our usual place?" The pair had a heavy metal bar they frequented that was down an alley. It was dark and had booths they could hide nicely in, as well as decent drinks and food. It was also rarely crowded, which suited them.
"Yeah."
The two stood, taking one more look over the city.
"Thank you," he said, looking down at the soldier.
"For what?"
"Our discussions."
"They make me feel better, too."
Sliding their arms around each other a moment, they held one another briefly before Leona pulled the assassin toward her for a quick kiss, which he obliged. Breaking, Duo Lon peered down the side and smiled.
"Are we jumping?" he said, eying the fire escape. This was usual for them, whenever they'd hang out up high.
She only flashed him a soft smile as she would, before backflipping off and landing lightly on the top. He quickly followed, opting to jump off the wall instead. The two usually somber types found a lot of fun in this, for some reason.
Upon reaching the ground, the pair wandered off through the alleys toward their favorite place; the discussions they had, as always, reassured them that they had chosen the right paths for themselves.
A/N: This was written on the spot, on the fly, so if it's more disjointed than normal, that's why.
Taking place during just a random chat between the two. Two people who have a supposed destiny; one who wishes to follow theirs, and one that does not, but in the end, it comes down to both believing in choice.
This is one of those "If you're not familiar with my stuff, might need a fill-in" pieces-Duo Lon and Leona are an item in this timeline (forming their first bond back in the story Summer Party.)
As we know, both of these characters have a sort of 'destiny' surrounding them. Leona's apparent destiny with her lineage, Duo Lon's with his own. But at the same time, I feel like both of them are choosing their paths, right now, even in the game; I'd like to think they'd continue, even if they do believe in the concept.
"Destiny can eat shit" was a quote from Gaidel before he died in the old Ureshino material. Unfortunately, this was never translated for us. The West kinda got robbed in a lot of ways in this game.
I'm not sure when exactly Ron became the leader of the Hizoku, but he was only about sixteen when Duo Lon was born. I imagine he took over when he was maybe twenty or twenty-one or so-so Duo Lon would have been four or five (this is all HC, the written lore is very vague on anything Hizoku-background related.)
Anyway, another 200 words of author's notes for a short piece, but hope you enjoyed!