Disclaimer: I don't own starocean
Karin: wonder where's Kiran...
i flushed him down the toilet boil.
Karin: oh... which one?
the one down the hall.
Karin: oh... that one clogs easily.
i know.
She was worried. There was nothing more than that. She was just too worried. What if something was to go wrong? What if they failed? What if they were destroyed? She just couldn't sit still and wait. Anxiety filled her as she paced up and down her room. Why haven't she heard anything from them yet? He promised that it would not take that long, but... it's been over an hour already. Her own fleet has entered gravitic warp space, and are reaching the Genosis system. It would not be long before they are in the middle of the battle zone. A knock came from the door. Only two people on this entire ship would knock and not use the door button.
"Come in."
Maria said, pressing the door key on her console and letting the door slid open. Nel walked in with her usual attire, followed shortly by Albel.
"Hi guys, what can i help you with?"
Maria asked, not really feeling so patronizing at the moment.
"Maria, are you feeling alright?"
Nel asked, concerned for her friend.
"Of course she's fine, wench, how else can she be walking around in circles in her own room?"
Albel replied in a sarcastic tone. Nel punched him in the face and sent him flying to the wall, creating a large dent with his face imprinted in it.
"Albel's right, i'm fine actually."
Maria tried to smile, but it came out to something closer to a smirk of an alligator. Nel took note on that smile-turned-smile and decided to take a more... subtle approach.
"So, i heard that Fayt actually truely proposed to you."
Nel winked. Albel suddenly managed to recover, as he just appeared out of nowhere, next to Nel, nearly making both girls scream.
"That worm did what? What do you mean by truely proposed?"
Albel raised an eyebrow. Nel punched him once more, but in the gut, since he was the one who raised the questions in the first place, so she guessed that he at least deserved the answer to his stupid question.
"I mean what i said. Fayt gave Maria a ring that he borrowed from a friend, and later gave her another ring, one that he got himself, get it? Unlike some people, who pick up their rings from the floor in some ruin."
Nel answered with irony spread all over her words.
"I wouldn't go waste money buying some stupid ring."
Albel retorted.
"You wouldn't? So you decided to go pick up a dumb ring from the floor? And besides, it's the feeling that counts, which i think some people don't have."
Nel felt hurt, emotionally.
"If it's really the feeling that counts, then what is the difference in the ring found on the floor and one that is bought? It's all the same if the meaning is there and has gotten through."
Albel shot back, not really considering much about his own words. Nel and Maria were both shocked, however, by his words, since they did hear and consider it.
"Albel... do you know what you just said?"
Nel asked.
"...Not really."
Albel crossed his arms, still not knowing too well what he just said.
"Oh, praise be to Apris! Albel! I never knew you cared so much!"
Nel said, flinging her arms around Albel, which was immediately attempted to be dislocated by Albel himself.
"What do you think your're thinking, wench? Get off me!"
"Aww, Albel, my dear! That was so sweet of you!"
"GET OFF!"
"Come here and let me give you a kiss!"
"NOOO!"
Maria could only turn away from one of the most weirdest scenes she had ever seen in her life. If there was anything weirder than Nel and Albel kissing, it had to be Nel trying to kiss Albel while Albel was trying to tear her off from him, therefore at the same time, trying to avoid her lips at all cost. Though it seemed very interesting, Maria knew that they had some business with her and also that they could be entering the battle zone soon. She gave a slight cough, interrupting the two from their... vigorous activity.
"Look, i'm sure you two have lots to catch up on, but you came here for a reason, didn't you?"
Maria asked. Nel looked to Albel, who nodded in return.
"Well, we decided to see whether you were alright. After all, Fayt is not here with you so..."
Nel could not place the words. She never knew the pain, the loneliness.
"So you thought you could come over and cheer me up. Thanks guys, but i'm sure Fayt will be okay. He promised he'll come back."
"We know that, Maria, and we decided to er... train you! Yes, that's right. Albel here will teach you."
Nel smiled, patting Albel on the back. Albel just crossed his arms and looked very... impatient, as always. Though his face was rather, red.
"Teach me? Teach me what? What can Albel possibly teach... Wait a minute, you don't mean-"
Maria's face reddened at that thought. Some girls can be just so... imaginative at times. With each step Albel took towards Maria, Maria took two steps back.
"L-look, Albel, you don't have to do this. I-i mean, you know-"
"Does it look like i want to do this, worm?"
Albel snorted.
"Albel, you promised to go easy on her."
"I will, you don't have to remind me so many times, wench"
Albel said. Maria was absolutely terrified. She had no idea what Albel was going to do, but it certainly wasn't going to be... nice. Albel reached out for her hand, and though Maria tried to pull it back, she was just too slow.
"Stop moving around, worm. Stop squirming! Nel, she won't stop moving!"
"Maria, i promise Albel will be as gentle as possible. He is quite the expert, after all."
That did not make Maria stop, but rather, more agitated.
"Dammit, keep still!"
Albel raised a hand, and Maria closed her eyes, almost prepared for an attack. But instead, she felt something placed into her hand. Curiousity got the better of her as she opened her eyes to see. Albel had placed a familiar looking blade in her hand.
The blade itself looked like it was pure silver, with strange runic carvings on it. The half hilt was golden and had not been used at all. How could Maria forget about it? Tenkai, the heavenly blade bestowed to her by the people of Elicoor II. It was proof that she and Fayt were connected. The two blades, Tenkai and Setsuna, were two of the same blade. They were seperate, yet whole. She was connected to him, in many ways, and this blade, was one of them.
"This is... Tenkai?"
"Yes, worm, finally realized it? What were you thinking? Making it hard for me. Sheesh."
Albel still looked angry.
"Sorry, i thought-"
"Oh never mind what you thought, let's just get this over with. Come with me to the training hall."
"Now?"
"What else?"
Albel wasted no time and dragged Maria off, while she was still trying to resist to ask some questions, just that Albel would not stop, or let go to listen. Nel shrugged her shoulders and followed the two out of the room. The training room was not that far from the cafeteria and the armoury. Strangely enough, the infirmary was also close by, though Maria had no idea what went on in the training hall, since she never bothered to go in in the first place.
Albel looked at the door panel and was tempted to punch the cirucuits in, when Maria stepped in front and pressed her number. The door acknowledged her key and opened. What she saw inside, certainly did surprise her. All sorts of training were happening in the room. From firing ranges, to boxing. Even archery, martial arts and symbology. The sheer size of the room already shocked Maria. If there was one word to describe the size, it would be gigantic.
It was about the size of a small starship. Maria figured she could lay out twenty fighters in this hall and still have room for the technicians to roll the transports around. Albel walked up to a small square with four poles at point. He motioned for Maria to come over and she quickly complied. As soon as she walked into the square, the poles lit up and formed a red beam, connecting each other to form a boxed area. Maria noticed that all of the training spots had the same thing. She figured it was prevent any stray hits from exiting the area.
"Right, now i'm here to teach you the proper use of the blade. I have studied Fayt's techniques for quite sometime now and i can teach you moves for you to enable you to coordinate attacks with Fayt, got it?"
Albel started, drawing his blade.
"Fayt's? But he learn his moves from video games!"
"But they work, and that is the most important thing in swordmanship. If a technique works more than enough times, it can be counted as a true style of fighting. Now pay close attention. The main point in swordsmanship is knowing when to attack and when to parry."
Albel demonstrated an attack, thrusting his blade forward.
"While attacking, your master foot should be in front. This way, you can maximize your blow, but it gives many openings, so use it when you find an opening in your enemy only."
"What is the master foot?"
Maria asked, not quite sure on the terms.
"Your master foot is the foot you use when you take your first step after standing still."
Nel explained. Maria nodded. Her master foot would be her left, while Fayt's was right.
"Right, using this master foot thrust is only when your enemy is open and has little or no chance of retaliating, got it?"
Maria nodded. She tried it herself, stamping her left foot forward, while thrusting her blade, which was in her right arm, forward.
"The way in which you handle the blade is interesting. Most people's master foot is the same as their blade hand. Yours is different, but there is a simple way to correct this. Try holding your blade in your left hand."
Maria did as she was told, and found that her balance was slightly lost.
"Now swing the blade, thrust it forward and do all that without moving."
Albel demonstrated, standing still, while swinging his sword with great force that it created a shockwave. But the shockwave was nullified by the barrier, so much for causing random mayhem and destruction. Maria tried, and fell forward the first couple of times, but managed to keep on her feet after the tenth try.
"By controlling your balance, and by using the same hand as your master foot, you can be more agile in attacks. Being able to dodge enemy attacks more easily, but parrying would be more troublesome. That is where the other hand comes in. For those who hold the blade in the different hand as their master foot are quite good at defence. They also sometimes excel at being average at everything, attacks and defence, therefore would be best it would best if you were working solo. Get the difference?"
Albel asked. He felt sort of sick, teaching Maria and acting all nice, but if he didn't Nel was hop in and whack him one. Wives can be a nightmare. Or a pain, which ever is your favourite. The training went on, for hours, and even gained a couple of onlookers. Who wouldn't be interested in their commanding officer training in sword battles, which she is quite fast at learning, it seemed. Maria started to get the hang of it, thought she was quite puzzled about one thing about swords.
"What's the difference between your blade and mine?"
Maria noted that her blade was your average blade, straight, while Albel's sword was slightly curved, and much longer.
"This, worm, is a special blade which specializes in fast attacks. You could say i did some research and a smiliar style was founded on Earth quite some centuries ago. You Earthlings would call this a Katana, or Nodatchi. Do some research on that, but for now, let me challenge you to see how well you've learnt."
"What!"
Maria felt slightly shaken by his words. She may have gotten the gist of it, but she certainly wasn't ready to fight a master. Albel got into a stance, poising his blade at the same level as his face, point facing her. The onlookers cheered Maria on, and Maria could have sworn people were passing fol around. So they were betting on her fight? Her new crew sure do have certain guts.
"A thousand on the captain."
"Make that a hundred thousand."
And they were pretty rich at that too. But just as Maria was thinking on how to take revenge on her own crew, Albel lunged forward, thrusting the blade forward. Maria managed to catch the movement in the corner of her eye and her natural flexibility and reaction instincts kicked in and she bent backwards, having the blade slide harmlessly over her torso.
Albel twisted the blade down, aiming to cut down, but Maria did a backflip, kicking the blade back. Maria managed to get back on her feet, just in time to see Albel charged once more, cutting from the ground-up. Maria side-stepped and slammed her boot into Albel's gut. A strange glow luminated fron where she connected with him, protecting him from the blunt of her attack, but still dishing out the impact. Albel stumbled backwards, but still had his balance.
"Nice moves, but i told you, use your sword, not your kick."
Albel steadied his sword.
"I don't remember you saying that."
Nel said from the side lines.
"Me neither, but who cares. Look, worm, the whole point of this is for you to get use to using a sword. If you keep using your feet, you won't be able to even take a swing at me. Right, let's go."
Albel charged once more, slashing diagonally down. Maria set her left foot back, swinging her sword in the opposing direction, parrying Albel's attack. The full force of the impact from the two blades pushed Maria backwards, but she stayed her ground, forcing most of the force into her left foot, which served as a support. Maria knew she did not have enough strength to push Albel back, but she did know something.
With one swift movement, she jumped backwards, letting Albel stumbled forward. She ran forward, sword raised above her head, planning to strike from above. Albel was quick to recover, leaping back and slashing his sword upwards. Maria managed to side step that attack and brought her blade side ways, slashing Albel in the chest on his right.
The protective barrier prevented any real damage to be done, but it was clear who was the winner. Albel sighed, sheathing his sword. Maria was just simply surprised she managed to win. The crowd cheered loudly at their captain's victory. Money were passed around.
"Wow... i didn't think i could have won..."
Maria said, staring at her sword. It suddenly felt lighter than when she first held it. Was it because she had gotten used to it?
"Don't get too cocky. I let you win, that's all. If i had let out my full strength, you-"
"She would have still won, right? Albel?"
Nel appeared next to Albel as the training barriers disappeared, one hand behind his back and Maria was guessing it was a knife. Well, judging from Albel's change of expression, it must have certainly spelt certain doom for him.
"Thanks guys, i know i wouldn't have won if Albel hadn't gone easy on me. I've seen him fight many times before, so i know. But thanks. It felt great."
Maria smiled.
"See? She knows, no point in hiding it anyway. But i'll tell you this, worm, and i won't say this again, so treasure it."
Albel said, corssing his hands.
"You fought great. Your style and fighter's spirit were exactly like Fayt's. With slightly more training, you could be on par with Fayt himself. But i'm still the better fighter than he is, don't you forget it."
Albel turned around and wanted to leave but Maria stopped him.
"Wait, there is something you two should know. Come over with me to my room and i'll you guys about it."
AN: Pretty neat, yeah? This is the chapter where the sword gets the explaination of its purpose. Albel has to go OoCness cause if not, Nel would not give him something at night, aww, poor boy.