Disclaimer: I do not, repeat, DO NOT own Ragnarok Online. This is the property of Master Lee-Myoung Jin and Gravity Corporation. pRO belongs to its publisher Level Up! HOWEVER I do own anything within my sorry account, which means my character, is seriously mine and the character names I will use here are actually real people in the Philippine Odin Server. I'll have to give credit to them later on and I might mention some guilds, which are very much famous in our locale.
Okay, so here is some point of clarifications I missed in Chapter 4.
One, after Byakko had seen his mother's death, certain knowledge trickled to him, sort of like he was learning something without knowing it. Good example would be Harry Potter speaking in Parseltongue (but that's another story).
Two, the skill he used against the priest was Lex Interna; a spell used by past MVP's to knock enemies back by how many squares and cause collateral damage.
Three, it seems that Byakko develops a split personality upon seeing things related to his past. One moment he seems happy, then he all looks murderous. (Yay, now he's a schizophrenic freak!) X p
Concerning the battle between priest and Byakko, my Byakko in Odin managed to pummel a hunter AND a priest on PvP. I dragged a hunter along with my death, and concerning the priest; I used my Cursing Swordmace at him. Kept Blessing himself to rid the curse coz' he was a bit dummed to bring Green Potions. In the end, with all of his SP gone, I went for the kill and brought an end to his misery. His wizard friend showed up and I was Jupiteled to oblivion...
This chapter, here are some clarifications that can clear up your queries later on.
Ehm, the ever-wonderful Lex Arcana spell! A convenient spell similar like the Archer's Arrow Shower, this wonderful limited skill causes the MVP to emit an aura that can knock enemies away by how many squares and has a chance to stun and/or blind them.
Then, by some freaky magic, the enchantment of Damnation transferred to his new Swordmace from his former Chain. I made it that way so it looks kinda like the Cursing Swordmace my battle acolyte has. ;
One note, there is a festival here that I added. It's the Annual Lumina Festival, held at Geffen every year. The main theme is the celebration of magic, and with this, all activities are geared on magic. Suddenly, Geffen seemed so populated...
And for the sake of convenience, player killing has been activated here. (Ack! If pRO went as far as to activate player killing and dungeon dropping, I'd gladly leave the pRO world!) /wah o0;
To improve RO game play, press Alt F4...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
Chapter 5: Things Left Unsaid
Early that morning, Byakko found himself busying over a triple scoop ice cream across the parlor in Geffen.
A familiar flurry of blonde hair came closing on him...
"Groan...not her again..."Byakko said to himself as he pretended not to have seen her.
The ever-annoying Myashka, but one Byakko liked to have around.
Because he had to admit, she was starting to grow on him. The past few days, they were the constant partners down at Geffen. Myashka seemed more resilient than what Byakko had remembered. She had taken floods and floods of Poison Spore mobs, but on top of that, she was laughing her head off as the constant bumping of Poison Spores felt only like a tickle to her. Byakko could only sweatdrop at her. /swt
She was also the only person in the world to pay attention to him. Well, there WAS the thief Shadow Eyes, but he wasn't there was he? Myashka was the second person Byakko ever told his secret, and like the former, promised never to tell a soul about the things she had heard.
Myashka became like an older sister to her, even though she was way younger than Byakko himself. Her constant droning about how miserable life can be sometimes, then suddenly shifts to a happy-go-lucky kind of girl who never thinks of tomorrow amused him. Myashka was more mature for her age than Byakko is.
"Well, there she is. Hope she won't..." Byakko shifted his head to escape Myashka's view. The swordswoman stomped in front of him.
"ICE CREAM! Meh, Byakko! Care to treat me?" The blonde grew neko ears and started pawing at the annoyed acolyte.
"Jeez...stop looking so pathetic. You make me sick...oh stop that already..." Byakko hated how her puppy eyes kept glaring stars at him. The cuteness was too horrible.
"Oh here," He surrendered, giving up a few pieces of zenny to the swordie. Myashka gave a peace sign as she did a victory charade, then proceeded to an NPC to buy herself some ice cream too.
"Na, Byakko..."Myashka looked at the sullen acolyte. "Why look so gloomy at this wonderful day?" She asked, looking up to the blue and peaceful sky.
"...I...It's nothing..."He replied, finishing the last lick off his ice cream.
"Ahh..."Myashka slapped her forehead as she remembered something." Now I remember why I came here. Wanna meet my pen pal?" Myashka cheerfully asked him.
"Why? Is he or she coming here or something?" Byakko raised his eyes from his pertinent staring at his gloved hands. It somehow piqued his interest.
"Yeah...he's an assassin. Can you believe it?" Myashka said while licking (gobbling sounded more like it) her ice cream. "Said he wanted to meet me here."
Byakko began standing up as he raised a casual hand. "I'll pass..."
Quick as a flash, Myashka stood and placed herself between Byakko and the path towards the Magic Tower.
"Awww, c'mon. Don't be such a spoilsport. We'll have fun, the three of us! We'll go fishing, hunting, have a picnic by the riverbank..." Myashka droned on.
"I'd rather go hunting down in the dirty mushroom farms than spend the day doing something I don't like. "Byakko gave a /an expression as he walked past the swordie.
"I'll cry if you don't go with me..."Myashka threatened, her voice sounded heavy and desperate.
"Oh jeez, don't give me that round of tears again. It won't work on me the third time around." Byakko continued walking towards the door of the tower.
"I know I'll cry! And if I do, I'll blame you for it..." Myashka was now leaning on the edge of falling to tears.
"Take care not to flood the whole city! I heard the GM's ban those kind of people..." Byakko disappeared into the passages of the Magic Tower.
Myashka was almost going to bawl out her first round of crying session when a gloved hand covered her mouth, almost suffocating her from the surprise and instant deprivation of air.
"Fine...fine..." It was Byakko who grew a distinctive vein on his head, much to the annoyance the blonde provided. He seemingly popped up at her back just in time to stop her from crying. Myashka knew Byakko would never want to hear her cry again. Last time he did left him stunned and dazed. It took a few more Green Potions to knock Byakko back to his senses again.
Byakko retreated to his seat, as Myashka was walking around, browsing over the masses of people for the assassin. It was the Annual Lumina Festival at Geffen after all. People from around the Republic of Schwarzwald came to the city to view the main event later at night, the exhibition of magic from Geffen's finest.
In a creepy sort of way, Byakko felt his spine tingling with chills. The hairs on his neck stood up, and his ears perked up in a way that could mean somebody was there. His steely eyes began probing for the area, to search for any sign of movement.
All he could see was the distraught Myashka, who was still waiting for her friend.
Undeterred, Byakko began summoning his mental will and conjured a flickering ball of bluish white light in his hand. The ball began revolving around the acolyte, it's flicker similar to a giant blue firefly.
"Ruwach!" Byakko called out, and the ball began floating erratically. The ball flared up into two times its normal size and assaulted a tree nearby.
From out of the tree, the ball knocked something off of it. It was a human, wearing indigo tights and a number of bandages around his body. Ruwach immediately disappeared as the figure bounded upwards and quickly moved at such a dramatic speed, intermittingly changing positions from left to right. Byakko could only keep up with seeing a violet shade moving fast towards him.
"It was an assassin, maybe hired by that priest to seek revenge on me..." Byakko thought.
Byakko instinctively grasped for his weapon when he felt someone mold his body into his. One hand grasped strongly at his right arm, as the other held a Quhab onto his neck. The rash breathing of the assassin brushed with Byakko's ears, the humid air passing through his mask. The acolyte was unable to move.
He knew once an assassin fuses itself into his victim's form, it would be hard to escape as the body gives away its every move.
A small tensing of the muscles, and the assassin would know he was planning escape...
"He's good...too good perhaps..."Byakko thought as the assassin trailed the blade of his Quhab on Byakko's neck. "But...too cocky..."
Stilling his body for a moment, Byakko gathered his energy to one thing in his mind...
"Lex Arcana!" The acolyte shouted, as the air around him exploded. This sent the assassin skidding onto the cobblestone paths, who reacted by crossing his Quhabs across his face.
Byakko took the opportunity of arming himself with his new Damnation Swordmace, as the assassin recovered from the attack. The air around the assassin suddenly floated of a dangerously purple dust, as his Quhabs dripped with an ominous fluid.
The assassin rebounded back to the acolyte, his katars moving at inept speeds. Although Byakko's vitality held up, the sin's Quhabs shredded into Byakko. Small slashes and cuts appeared into Byakko's torn body. It didn't help that the poison was now creeping into his wounds, lowering his natural resistance and defense.
Myashka, who now had his assassin friend in tow, came just in time to Byakko's aid. Her assassin friend, a dagger sin, took it from there and squared off in perfect synchronization against the katar sin. Metal against metal clanged in the air. Venom flew in the air, as each wielded their weapon of expertise.
Byakko struggled to hold up on his own to give a Blessing and Agility Boost to the other assassin. The boosted assassin fought more furiously than before, until the katar sin retreated into the crowd, casting Cloak to hide himself.
All bloodied and poisoned, Byakko tried standing up. Hazy and dazed, he almost fell had not Myashka supported him. The katar sin used the Detoxification technique, pressing some vital points onto the acolyte's body. Poison began flowing out, yet Byakko couldn't take the pain anymore.
He fell over, much to the shouting Myashka made. The last things he saw were the assassin carrying him, and Myashka leading both of them back to Byakko's room in the inn as he fell into unconsciousness...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
"Sugoi!" Myashka made a soft exclamation of surprise as she brought a basin of hot water to Byakko's room. Byakko was sleeping on his bed, neatly bandaged and treated of his superficial wounds. The assassin was treating him of his poison wounds, expertly dressing them up as well. "You mean to tell me...you know Byakko?"
The assassin looked up from his work. "It just came in as a surprise that you also knew him. Didn't expect that of all people, I would meet him again. Honestly, you never mentioned him in your letters..." He politely took the basin and soaked a washcloth in it. He then placed it on Byakko's forehead. The acolyte just kept on breathing rapidly, chest rising erratically between each breath.
"We met only three days ago. You mentioned leaving for Geffen in your last letter, so I was never able to tell you of new things happening around here." Myashka sat down on the chair beside Byakko's bed.
"And did Byakko ever tell you he knew me?" The assassin took the washcloth again, soaking it and wringing it dry. He proceeded to clean the blood seeping off the wounds on Byakko's chest.
"He did mention having a thief friend way back when he was still in his early years. But other than that, he never mentioned your name Shadow Eyes." Myashka looked worriedly over the ill acolyte. Even she missed annoying him for just an hour or three.
"That's Byakko alright. He looks at the past more trivial than any other person." Shadow looked on at him. "He always believed, that in the end, there would be no one to depend on except yourself..."
"Because of what happened to his family, ne?" Myashka continued on.
Shadow looked surprisingly at the blonde. "He told you of his secret..." The swordie nodded wearingly at him. "You must have been very close for him to share his deepest secret with you..."
"Just as you do?" Myashka forced a smile on her face. "We're the only friends he has. Maybe even a family to him, a brother and a sister..."
"Yet no father and mother..." Shadow stood up and looked out of the window into the noon sun. "But I believe Byakko is strong. He managed living off without both parents..."
Myashka thoughtfully looked at her hands. "I guess you're right..."
Shadow...
Both perked up and looked at who said it. It was Byakko, who apparently had woken up. He managed to cast a few Heal spells on himself before sitting up on his bed, after Myashka helped him prop himself up.
"Shadow...you were right about me living off without parents. Yet, you were wrong about something." Byakko continued staring at the boy.
"I...I am not strong. I was never strong. Most people would see me as the insensitive battle acolyte who is selfish over his skills. I tried keeping to myself everything that I had..."
"...My happiness, my joys...my guilt, sorrow, fears...and pain as well."
Tears started falling from those eyes that seemed distant.
"Everytime I help someone, empathy starts to kick in. I can see the lives they had led. I can see...happy families...friends that came and celebrated with him in times of his joys, and consoled with him in his sadness...I can see things that I never had...things that I somehow wished for..."
"But never got...."
Byakko dropped his head over his revelation of thoughts, running his fingers into his tiger markings again.
"Gods...I...I even wished I would have never met you in the first place! All these times, the things I only saw in you was that scared little thief wanna-be. But..."
"But...after I shared my skills with you earlier, I saw it. I saw your life pass through. You were an orphan just like me. You grew up, unsafe and troubled in the desert streets of Morroc. Most people ridiculed you because you were unlike them. You had the ability to see the supernatural, to anticipate things that were to happen. You grew up in the same environment just as I had. But unlike me...over the years, which I shut myself away from others, you chose to be with people. You shared your time...and skills with them, and grew up to be an excellent assassin I see today..."
The acolyte buried his crestfallen head in shame, breathing heavily amidst his sobbing.
"That is how I define strong, Shadow. You managed life much better than I did, and somehow I feel jealous over it. But, it's too late to think about it, I guess. All I can say is..."
"I'm just glad that you're here and I got to see you again..." Byakko was unable to hold his tears any longer, as streams of it started flowing freely from his eyes.
"Don't say such foolish things, Byakko." Shadow interjected. "A person's strength does not determine his worth, does it? Let me remind you it is much harder for someone of your kind to live with the ones that killed your own. There is no point arguing the strength of another person." Shadow began walking towards Byakko.
Leaning closer, he spoke softly against the resting acolyte's ear. "But that's just you, ain't it Byakko? What's important is that there are friends here that remain to support you. Don't worry about the past or the future, the present determines both."
Byakko gaped at the assassin, who spoke of greater wisdom for his age. He cried heavily onto the assassin's shoulder, his tears now starting to lull him back to sleep...
Shadow left off and laid Byakko back to bed, a small smile on his face, as he sat again on the chair, apparently tired of the flow of emotions that went in the room.
"That was good, Shadow..." Myashka rested her head in her hands, listening to both of them. "Actually, you do kinda look cute up closer..." Myashka giggled, much to Shadow's blushing.
"Say...uhm, why don't we go out into the festival later on in the evening? I'm sure Byakko would be up by then... "Shadow didn't stop his incessant blushing.
"So long as it's your treat! "Myashka winked at him as she went downstairs to order some food for the three of them. Byakko only rested peacefully as Shadow stood guarding him. Who knows when the assassin will come back?
"Byakko," Shadow looked over the sleeping acolyte. "You're like two persons in one. A ruthless fighter and a scared child. But which one is it?"
Byakko only slept through the whole afternoon, peacefully, with his mother's wish on his neck. The crystal passed a mysterious small luster along its ebony veins, an omen that evil will arrive...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
Hmm...actually I was kinda unsatisfied with Chapter 5. So after reading your reviews, I decided to do this chapter the night after I uploaded the previous chapter. Kinda weird huh? Pure sentiments here, but I guess words speak louder than a thousand actions. (Or was it the other way around?)Zzzzz
Reviews, anyone?