(A/N) I personally don't really approve of this chapter. I just hope you all can appreciate it. The next posting may not be for a while. See, I'm having a tough time getting on to my computer and seriously write this story.

Dancing on a Knife's Edge

Slashing at the wooden stands, the warrior dashed through the maze. It was a temporary training sight for him. The open chamber of the factory proved to be quite spacious and it served his intentions greatly.

Dressed in a black vest over a sleeveless shirt, he face was once again covered. The mask was a simple pair of handkerchiefs that completely covered his hair and lower face. The opening between them was large enough for his eyes to be seen. In his gloved hands was the katana that meant the world to him. Now that he was healed enough, he pushed himself very hard in his strenuous training regime.

Rounding a corner of the maze that he'd hastily constructed, a demolition ball swung forward. He flattened himself to the ground instantly and the ball sailed harmlessly over him. Rushing forward, he slashed at two wooden targets that popped out and lunged at him. As if sensing the ball returning, he ducked as it loomed behind him. Running for the next corner, he spotted the exit and sprinted through it.

As he passed through the threshold, he hit the stopwatch that hung on his neck. 1:43 seconds. It was a little slow for him but he smiled happily. It was much better than he thought he could do. Lowering himself down to the floor, he rested. Dropping his katana, he waited in his crouched position for his breath to slow to normal.

Standing, he walked forward to where he had placed his equipment. There were extra uniforms, katanas, staffs, and throwing blades. All these weapons he had used while under tutorage of his master. However, the bronze hilted katana had been a special gift to him when he finished his training. That memory brought a smug grin to his face.

"Good morning, warrior," said a voice behind him.

Whirling around, he unsheathed one of his katanas out of instinct. Yumi stood near the maze exit with a neutral expression. She wore her usual black clothes with a lightweight jacket against the wind.

"Good morning, Yumi," he said, lowering the katana slightly.

"You can take that dumb mask off," she said in a forceful voice. "I know who you are."

Laughing quietly, he shook his head. "Really? Who am I?"

"You're Ulrich," she said without hesitation. "Your arms were bleeding before you had even started fighting. And I seem to remember you getting hurt when you strangled that one monster."

Smirking, he walked over to a pillar and leaned against it. He held his katana at the low ready. "Close," he said smugly. "You're right, though. I was watching the same movie. But you forget that when those beasts appeared, they were attacking everyone before they singled you and your friends out."

Yumi thought about this for a moment. It this boy was telling the truth, it did make some sense. But it just as easily could've been a ruse to confuse her. Unable to make up her mind, she glared at him. "If you're not Ulrich, then who are you?"

"Call me a not-so-secret admirer," he said with a chuckle.

"Tell me!" Yumi snapped as she approached him. She stopped just out of his reach with his katana, glaring the whole time.

"Why?"

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," she growled, trying to keep a cool head. "Do you understand?"

"Ah, no," he said chuckling.

It was incredible how beautiful Yumi was when she was mad. But this time he had pushed too many buttons. Snapping her arm up, Yumi pushed the tip of his prized katana none too gently into his chin.

"Oh," he said, remembering his master's first rule: NEVER drop your guard!

Batting the blade away, he started walking away as he said, "Knock it off."

Yumi swung the blade around and pressed it against his throat. Stopping instantly, the boy looked at her. From her serious expression, he could tell that she wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" he asked, batting the blade away again.

This time he faced her and was prepared to defend himself. Yumi smiled smugly as she held the katana level at him. "I was the best swordsman in my martial arts class in Japan before I came here."

Nodding, he lifted his katana and crossed their blades. They were quickly interlocked in an ancient dance of swordsmanship. At first the warrior was just playing with Yumi. As if sensing this, Yumi proved quickly that she was not one to be toyed with. Shrieking, she brought her katana down in an arc. The blade sliced through his vest and left a small hole in his shirt.

Backing up he examined the damage, then smiled smugly at her. Yumi had her smile on her face, knowing that she'd breached his defenses. This is going to be fun, she thought as their swords clashed together again.

This time he was a bit more defensive and much more cautious. Yumi, being the attacker, sneakily backed him into the pillar that he'd been using as a leaning post. The moment he bumped into it he unintentionally dropped his guard. Taking the chance, Yumi's katana flashed again.

This time she cut the handkerchief covering his jaw. Splitting it by his left cheek, she smiled. Holding her blade under his chin, she lifted his chin as he was looking at the ends of the handkerchief.

Holding the split ends up with his free hand, the boy frowned at her. Thrusting his katana into his belt, he pulled the ruined cloth from him. Then he pulled his vest off him, it was mostly for show and in this fight it would only get in his way.

Seeing his actions, Yumi followed suit and took off her jacket. Throwing the clothes into a pile off to the side, they circled one another with their blades at ready.

Smiling, the boy fought Yumi with better control. Swords clashing, they quickly lost track of where they were, why they were fighting, and what was important. Yumi, though rusty, was enjoying herself. This boy was a very good swordsman and sportsman.

Feeling restless after a few minutes, the boy began toying her again. When she had lowered her guard, he managed to cut her shirtsleeve from the shoulder to the wrist without flicking her.

"Hey," she said as the split sleeve revealed her slender arm. Lunging forward in her anger, she shouted, "This is my favorite shirt!"

Blocking her furious slashes, he said, "Then I should make it a matching set."

With that said, he cut her other sleeve from shoulder to wrist. With both her arms exposed she glared at him, gripping the sword with both hands. A large grin was on his face as she lunged forward again. Dodging out of the blade's path, he grabbed her hands, leaving her defenseless. Then he shoved her none-too-gently backward.

Recovering, Yumi sighed deeply then smiled.

"Not bad," she said.

Locking blades again, they faced each other for a moment. Leaning forward, they tried to shove the other away

"That's nothing," he said.

He leaned in closer and gave her fast kiss. Then, just as quickly, he broke it and leapt backward. His face was alight with redness and a large, happy smile.

Gasping, Yumi was surprised at this sudden act. Narrowing her eyes, she attacked again. Maneuvering around her blade, he got in her face again and kissed her. This was a slightly longer kiss but he broke just as quickly.

Backing up, he held his katana level with her. Laughing quietly, he waited for her next attack. This time he underestimated her badly and she sent his katana flying out of his hand. Backing up against the pillar again, he tried to look as though he had everything under control. But that was kind of hard when his opponent was holding a katana blade in his face.

"This may be slightly harder," he said quietly, glancing around. Spotting the bundle of clothes nearby, he smiled as he returned his gaze to Yumi. "I must say that you're the best opponent I've faced in a while."

Not allowing herself to get distracted, Yumi poked the tip sharply into his chest. Batting the blade away, the boy flipped over to the clothes pile and snatched his vest. Bringing it up, he batted her swings and stabs aside. He grabbed the hilt when she lunged too far. Releasing the katana, Yumi dashed to his katana that was lying on the ground nearby with him hot on her heels.

Kicking the katana away from her, the boy laughed. With the tip of his katana under her chin, she stood up and faced him. Standing an arms length away, he pointed sharply at her.

"Don't move," he said sternly.

Then in four fluid cuts, her shirt fell away to reveal her slender body and a dark bra. She gasped in shock as he tried to not look too proud of himself. He didn't even try to stop her when she ran for her jacket.

Zipping her jacket up, she faced him and glared. "You son of a bitch!"

He didn't bother trying to hide his smile as he leaned casually on his sword. It had been a gift from above for him to have been able to kiss her, twice, but to see her like that, unwilling perhaps, was enough for him to die a happy man.

"Don't you look at me like that," Yumi growled furiously.

A feeling of humiliation swept over her and she turned her back to him. She had hoped to slice the rest of his mask off, but she had underestimated his ability with his katana. Now she had been embarrassed unlike she had ever been in her life or could possibly in the future.

"Sorry," he said.

Glancing behind her, she saw that he stood right behind her. Had she wanted, she could've snatched his katana from him. However she had lost her fighting spirit to this masked vigilantly.

"Are you?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

"Yes," he said. "I know that I shouldn't have done that. But you would've done something similar to me."

"No I wouldn't—"

"Yes, you would," he said evenly. "Don't lie to yourself, as well as me."

"What are you talking about?" she demanded, facing him.

He had a blank expression. She looked up into his dark eyes before he broke their connection and walked over to his weapons.

"Will you not answer any of my questions?" she demanded.

"No," he said he pulled out a small, silver object. Looking at her, he smiled when she realized what it was. "It's late. You need your sleep. Maybe we'll duel again sometime, but be ready next time."

With that he threw the object on to the ground. On impact, it exploded and a cloud of smoke engulfed him and his weapons. Moments later the smoke cleared and Yumi saw what she'd expected. He had vanished with all his weapons, save one. The katana that he had using lay on the floor near her. Taking the sword, Yumi left the factory with more questions than she had answers for.