Chapter 4:Friendship, Hate and Love



Days of training went by like seconds. At times, Setsuna would enjoy the training but then there were times when Dilandau would go hard on her, pushing her to the point of both physical and mental exhaustion. Dilandau still didn't like the fact of having to train a woman to fight but he began to notice that she was becoming the perfect rival. Her skill was becoming equal to his. This both excited him and worried him. He feared that she would become stronger than himself.

After about a week of training in the isolated room, Dilandau brought Setsuna out and had her dual with one of his Dragon Slayers. "Miguel!" He shouted. A boy with short brown hair finished his dual with a blond haired boy and walked over to Dilandau.

"What is it Lord Dilandau?" He asked showing his respect to Dilandau.

"I want you to fight her." Both looked at him in shock. Setsuna did not feel ready to fight and Miguel was afraid he would injure her.

"Are you sure Lord Dilandau?" Miguel asked.

"Are you questioning me?!" Dilandau shouted at him angered. Miguel shook his head. "Good, now I want you two to practice fighting." Both unsheathed their swords and got into their fighting stances. Setsuna took in a deep breath as she lunged forward at Miguel. With one hand holding her sword, she drove it down towards him but he blocked it successfully with his sword.

Word soon spread around the training gym about the fight. All of the other slayers went and watched. Setsuna swiftly moved her sword away prepared to strike at him again. He blocked her attack nervously. Miguel then tried to turn the tables on her by attacking. Setsuna dodged his attack and using her sword, she knocked Miguel's sword out of his hands. She then pointed the tip of her sword at his neck. He looked down at his sword which laid on the floor with amazement as did all the others. Setsuna sheathed her sword amazed as well. How did I do that? She wondered.

As Setsuna headed back to her room, she was stopped by Miguel. "Hey, uh, it's Setsuna right?" he asked her. She nodded in response. "Hey, the other guys and I were wondering if you wanted to join us at the mess hall."

"Sure," She said a little shocked and surprised that he would have invited her even after their fight.

"Great, uh, be down their at about nineteen hundred hours." Miguel then continued his way down the hallway.

Setsuna went back to her room and had a warm bath to relax. She peered through the slightly closed door and looked at the hands of the clock which hung on the wall across the room. Hm, I've got one hour to get ready. She got out of the bath and dried herself off. Once she was dry, she put on her armour and braided her hair again. By the time she arrived at the mess hall, the clock had just stuck seven. Setsuna looked around the room nervously not knowing what to do.

"Hey Setsuna!" Miguel shouted as he stood up and waved at her indicating to come over. There was an empty seat beside him. "Sit," He said smiling at her. Nervously, Setsuna sat down beside him. "Here, have something to eat." He said as he pulled a plate of food in front of her. She looked at the pile of cooked ham. Using a fork and knife, she grabbed two slices of ham and put it on her empty plate. He looked at her confused. "Is that all you're gonna eat?"

"I'm not very hungry." She answered him shyly.

"Fine, suit yourself." He then grabbed about four pieces of the meat and put them on his plate. "Do you want anything else?" She shook her head no. A maid came by and poured some red wine into her empty glass.

"You drink wine?" Setsuna asked him surprised.

"Ya, but the alcohol level is low so it takes a lot of it to give you a good buzz." She giggled silently. After they ate, Miguel introduced her to the rest of the Dragon Slayers. Most of the night Setsuna stayed quiet, afraid that she may get on their bad sides if she said the wrong thing.

"Hey Miguel, are the rumours true about her?" Violle whispered to Miguel.

"Um, I dunno, I'll ask her though." He whispered back then turned to face her. "Hey Setsuna, are you really from the Mystic Moon?" Miguel asked.

"Um, well, if that's what you call Earth then, yea." There was a momentary awkward silence in the room.

"Whoa, how did you get here then?" Dallet asked astounded.

"Um, I don't really know. From what I remember, I was outside in the pouring rain then this pillar of light surrounded me and brought me here." She tried to explain.

"How'd you get so good using a sword in such little time?" Chesta asked. All the Dragon Slayers were paying close attention to her.

"I don't know, this is the first time I've been taught to use a sword in my entire life." She answered his question and hoped for there to be no more but that's not what she got. The rest of the evening she spent answering their questions about herself.

After hours of endless questions, Setsuna decided to retire to her bedroom. Gatti offered to escort her to her room and Setsuna kindly accepted. She didn't want to seem rude. Hm, I guess being here has its advantages, she thought and laughed inwardly. When she got to her room, she thanked Gatti and changed out of her armour.

"Ah, it's good to be out of that armour," Setsuna sighed in relief as she laid back on her bed and pulled the covers over her then drifted off to sleep.

The following morning went as every other morning. She got dressed, ate and went to the training gym. When she entered the gym, all of the other slayers showed her much more respect than they did before. Setsuna blushed at their kindness and walked over to the isolated training room where she found Dilandau waiting. She unsheathed her sword and he began the lesson. For some reason, to Setsuna, Dilandau seemed to be in a bad mood. During their practice fight, he had become a bit vicious. He swung his sword at her in a way that it could have seriously injured her.

"What is your problem Dilandau!?" She yelled at him for the first time. "We're supposed to be practising! Not trying to kill each other!" He lunged at her again violently, ignoring her remark. For some odd reason, she felt as if she knew what was wrong. "What, were you jealous that I may be liked more by your Dragon Slayers than you?" Setsuna asked him emphasizing 'your'. By say that, she allowed his anger to grow. "It is, isn't it?" He said nothing but continued to fight with her. "Well, maybe you should try to get to know them." She suggested but then with a swift movement of his wrist, he knocked the sword out of her hand. Dilandau threw her against the wall and held the blade of his sword at her throat.

Setsuna's breathing became quicker as she could feel the cold steel of the sword touch her neck and having to be face to face with Dilandau. Her body trembled not knowing what to do. He leaned forward towards her and brought his left hand up her side while dropping his sword to the ground. Dilandau then forced his and her lips together into a deep and passionate kiss. Setsuna let go of her sword and brought her arms around Dilandau. She ran her hands through his silky, silver hair. He began to undo the front of her armour.

"We can't do this here." She whispered to him braking the kiss. Dilandau nodded in agreement.

"Let's go to my room." Dilandau said kissing her one more time. Setsuna nodded and both picked up and sheathed their swords. Calmly, they walked out of the gym and went to Dilandau's room in a hurry. Once the door was shut, they kissed each other deeply and passionately. As they kissed, they removed each other's armour. Setsuna laid on her back as Dilandau crawled over her letting his tongue run up her abdomen and to her neck. He was teasing her and he knew it.

Setsuna's body shivered as his body felt like fire pressed up against hers. Dilandau bent his head close to hers. Once again, he allowed his tongue to explore her mouth. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist and he forced himself into her body. She bit down on her lip and let out a small, but silent cry as she was hit by a wave of pain. With another trust the pain ceased and turned more into pleasure. With each trust, she would let out a soft and joyous cry, urging for him to go on. His movements grew stronger and quicker giving her more pleasure. She ran her hands up his back as he continued. Her body began to tingle and she dug her nails into his back, telling him to stop.

"Damn you woman." He muttered as she dug them deep into his back. He then stopped and laid beside her.

"Thank you," she breathed as she cuddled close to him. For once, Dilandau smiled kindly at her and wrapped his arms around her.