Passing Sorrow
The presence of the erratic autumn wind sent a browning leaf spiraling to the ground below, which was quickly filling up with similar leaves of its kind...
A young man stepped forward to face his opponent, not a sign of emotion flicked on his face. His eyes lingered only briefly on the Chinese sword dangled from a tree far off on the other side, before fixing his gaze back onto his opponent. Blood and adrenaline coursed side by side through his veins.
He knew, that her small frame and innocent face didn't say much about her true ability. And he knew, that beneath the glare that she was shooting him, was a insecure, scared little girl.
She could see. The tiny, minute lines running along his arm, and across his bare chest. She could see as he filled out his lungs with air, breathing hard up and down, in slow rhythmic motion. He looked... menacing. For a brief moment, her heart pumped a little faster, and she inhaled a little deeper. Slowly, cautiously, she eased herself into a fighting stance, and he followed suit.
"Don't you go easy on me," she warned. Behind him, hanging lazily off the rope from its middle, was her prized weapon, desperately beckoning her to come get it.
The person who can manage to hold off the other long enough to reach their weapon, and to deal the final blow will be the winner.
He smirked in reply - a conceited, confident kind of smirk that just irks her so much. "Bring it on."
The wind, as if on cue, swept across the land, and the battle begins.
The two advanced each other fast, trying to read into each other's mind in that short span of time for a clue as to what was coming.
She hesitated - just a little glance to his left for a split second to give herself away - and regretted it immediately. He saw it. And as she rolled on her back to his side, she felt the unmistakable pain of a chop landing on her shoulder.
She grimaced slightly, but was quick to send a low kick to his side as soon as she got onto her feet. The Zanbatou was now only inches away from her. Just a few more... she thought as she successfully, and painfully, blocked out many of his punches and kicks.
He's really not going easy on me huh, she thought dryly. The pain was getting onto her, seeping through right into her bones...
"Argh!" she stepped back defensively, dodging a potentially hazardous kick flying towards her from the side.
They paced slowly in a circular motion. He was good. But she hadn't lost. She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to keep up with him if this fast pace continued.
A really quick one to bog him down, just to buy her a few seconds, was enough.
Without warning, the petite girl leapt forward into mid air, moving in fast for a - supposedly - unforeseen move.
"Gotcha," he whispered into her ear, in that deep voice of his. She was caught in his arms, body to body. Before she could protest though, she was being slammed onto the ground, all the wind knocked out of her.
And he was hovering above her, his lips so close...
She swore, he knew then that her heart was going crazy.
He pecked her cheek, winking playfully, and grabbed, as she lay stunned on the ground his weapon not very far off.
Blushing uncontrollably, she managed to get her weapon too. A new kind of feeling surged through her now. How could he make use of her weakness like that? She will get even with his for this.
Clang. Block. Slash. Dodge. Another round. The atmosphere was fierce. She was losing patience with herself, as she missed yet another attack. Besides, she didn't like the fact that she seemed to be the one who was retreating, almost unnoticed.
She knew it was all over, when she felt her back touch the surface of a very hard and rough tree trunk. Her eyes were shut when he brought the blade of his sword close to her throat. How could she bear to see it? She had lost to him, again.
A wave of disappointment threatened to drown her, but she didn't allow any emotion to get her. Not now. Perhaps it was time for her to accept the fact that she was incapable of defeating Hwang, the apple of her father's eye. And he was her love.
She felt Hwang's strong arms around her. He was carrying her, to where she didn't know – she didn't ask. The journey seemed to take forever, but it felt so comfortable here...
She was almost reluctant to open her eyes when he set her down onto his lap, but when she did she let out a small, awed gasp.
They were on a cliff, overlooking the yellowish-brown forest below, which seemed to go on forever... until it reached the massive mountains near the horizon. In the light of the setting sun, everything appeared orange, in a hue that she had seldom noticed before darkness ate up this beautiful scenery.
She felt his hand on hers, and Mina didn't feel so small anymore.
"Isn't it beautiful?" he asked, his other hand stroking her hair carefully while she stared unblinkingly at the perfect scene before her. She snuggled closer to Hwang.
"Sorry..." How could she be thinking about trying to prove herself, when all he had been trying to do was to make her happy? How could she? Now the tears came... but she didn't want to cry in front of him...
"Hush, hush," he gently placed a finger on her lips. "I should be saying sorry. I shouldn't have... distracted you. With that kiss." A guilty, sheepish look gleamed on his face.
"I don't blame you..." she smiled. She pulled him close, for one small kiss. "I trust you, Hwang. And I love you..."
AN: Yay! I've just finished the one-shot fic... I've left out a lot of details like what their relationship is like and how they got into this sparring and where the hell this place is.. everything is up to your imagination! Also pardon me for the uninteresting sparring.... I am very inexperienced at reading/writing these stuff... Well then, if you enjoyed this please review!!! if ya didn't, it's ok you can always tell me what's wrong! I will work harder to write better stories next time! ;)