Tainted Souls, Tainted Swords
Chapter Twelve: A Wish Regretfully Granted
"Will you stop pacing, already?" Mina said over her shoulder, as she stood by the railing of the passenger ship that would carry them from Southern France as far East as they could go by sea. Why walk back to Korea? She had been looking out across the water on the main deck, watching the distant lands pass by as the sun just started its descent into dusk. Tried to anyway. Yunsung's pacing behind her was too distracting, and it was starting to annoy her. If Mina didn't know any better she'd say Yunsung would rather walk the whole way to Korea, back and forth back and forth. But no, he really just wanted White Storm back. "You know, I was never this bad, and that says something." (Although, she did have a lot more respect for Hwang now.)
He glanced nervously around at the other (mostly Europeans) passengers, "I'd feel safer with a weapon."
If Mina didn't know better, she'd say he was paranoid. But no, once again he just wanted White Storm back and was desperate for an excuse. "No one here cares who we are, where we're from, where we're going, or what our business is. The boat is sailing past Italy without stopping, so quit worrying. These people won't give us trouble if we don't give them trouble."
"Yeah? Then why do they keep looking at us?"
Was he trying to get on her nerves? Did he think it would get him White Storm back? On a sigh, "They're looking at me, not you."
"Oh? And how do you know that?"
She raised a brow, surprised he had to ask considering the nature of her red outfit. "Call it a woman's intuition."
Shaking his head, he continued pacing, "Whatever."
"Trust me on this, Yunsung." Now it was quite clear that he was impulsively spouting questions without giving them any thought whatsoever. Looking back out to sea, she quietly finished, "and you should know too." God knows she's caught him staring. Then she vowed to not answer anymore stupid questions.
"I'd still feel better with a weapon to defend myself with." And as Yunsung went on with a string of 'what-if' questions ("What if a fight breaks out? What if you need me? What if . . .").
Mina found herself unable to appreciate the scenery so she quietly sang a folksong to herself. The alternative was to go off on Yunsung and make a scene, which she very well may end up doing before much longer. For now she just hoped he would get the message and knock it off.
That's about when the sounds of the ship abruptly shifted from dozens of unintelligible conversations to a single gasp, followed by silence broken only by a clink, a thud, and call for help. Mina and Yunsung turned their attention to the center of the main deck where the passengers formed a ring around something. The Koreans couldn't see what, but instinct told them: fight.
Yunsung shot a glance to Mina, who didn't even acknowledge as she started to head towards the center of the disturbance and maybe help the person calling out since no one else seemed willing to. But she found herself stepping back as she witnessed a bizarre phenomena – some poor man thrown high into the air, as a string of metal fragments flew in a seemingly a random pattern and juggled him. Then just as suddenly, the metal fragments slammed him to the deck only a few short feet away from the Koreans.
". . . h . . .elp . . ." he whimpered. He wasn't a warrior, he was just a commoner. A little balding man, probably a poor merchant, wearing tattered clothing. He clutched something in his left fist as he weakly tried to drag himself to safety, "pl-please."
Mina went to him, exercising both caution and compassion, "What happened?"
"H . . . here," and the merchant held out his hand, to give his rescuer something. But Seung Mina heard the crack of a whip, and instinctively jumped to a defensive position. She glared up at the attacker, but couldn't see through the chaos of people on deck. Then the merchant slid across the deck away from her. The crowds parted, and Mina saw the merchant come to a stop at the feet of a female pirate.
"I just saved your life," the white-haired English woman announced snobbishly without even looking at Mina. Her weapon went from its whip state and reformed into a single blade. She stepped on the merchant, and the sword lashed out like a serpent (putting the merchant out of his misery) and then instantly reforming into one solid blade again.
"Hey!" Gripping Scarlet Thunder, Mina wasn't about to let this person – an obviously hardened warrior – pick on a helpless man, "You have five seconds to explain yourself." No way in hell she'd let this woman get away with cold blooded murder.
Kneeling down, Isabel Valentine wiped her blade clean on the merchant's clothes and collected a series of metal fragments from the merchant's dead hand. "This doesn't concern you." She declared, still refusing to make eye-contact. As far as Ivy was concerned no one on this boat would pose a challenge to her.
Yunsung recognized Valentine's point of interest – the fragments she took from the merchant! He had a fragment just like it before that ninja took it from him. "Hey, that's—"
"I'll handle this, Yunsung." Mina interrupted, unknowingly saving themselves from Ivy's wrath (at least for the moment). Then to the callused woman, Mina called, "You're a thief, and a murderer!"
"Believe what you want," Ivy responded, standing up, content to go on with the rest of the night as though nothing had happened. Only those tainted by Soul Edge had to get hurt, those holding onto fragments of the evil sword. Only those who stood in her way.
And before Isobel could walk away, Mina called out, "Your five seconds is up." One way or the other, she would make this white-haired heartless bitch acknowledge her. Advancing into striking range, the Korean wouldn't normally strike someone in the back, but this stranger had had enough warnings.
Valentine seamlessly changed to whip state. "I wouldn't do this if I were you." The crowds backed to either railings, afraid to get in the path of that weapon's ultra-wide sweeps.
"You're not me." Mina answered, two more steps and—
And Ivy spun around, swinging low so the sword wrapped around Mina's left ankle. With a swift tug, Ivy pulled the Korean off her feet. Mina landed harshly on her rear end, feeling pretty stupid. With a routine twirl, Valentine went back into solid form and Ivy still didn't regard her challenger. "You've been warned."
Yunsung's eyes went wide at how far away that whip-sword could strike Seung Mina. Finally, he might get his wish – he might see a weapon with greater range beat Mina down! He leaned against the rail, crossed his arms, and watched with a smile. If she needed him? 'Oh well, it wouldn't have happened if he had White Storm.'
"Cute trick," Using Scarlet Thunder to help her stand, Seung Mina advanced again (this time staying on guard now that she knew Valentine's range.) "but you're going to have to do better than that."
"More bloodshed," Ivy mumbled, spinning around and swiping upwards with her sword, bringing it into whip state so she could twirl it over her head. Seung Mina easily sidestepped, and closed in (tried to close in). Ivy performed a wide horizontal swing that smacked Mina in the face, nearly toppling her. Valentine wrapped around Ivy's body, and the pirate held it there in an en guard stance. "Spare us both. Give up already."
A scarlet streak ran from an open cut on the Korean's cheek. "That the best you can do—" Mina didn't even finish before she regret asking. The whip flew at the flick of Ivy's wrist, lashed out once-twice-three times and Mina barely managed to get her zanbatou into position to defend. Valentine returned to sword from, and Ivy made a horizontal swipe that Mina easily avoided and swiped upwards. "Let's see you dodge—"
And again, Mina regretted her own words. Valentine came back around in whip state, wrapped around her throat, and pulled her to Ivy's feet. "Your pathetic," Ivy commented, kicking the downed Mina in the face. The Korean's head snapped violently to the side, and her senses were sent into disarray. Her vision went blurry as tears instantly formed. The only thing pushing her back up was pure instinct.
To no one, Yunsung quietly asked, "Sucks, doesn't it Mina?" he was enjoying every second of this single-sided fight where Mina couldn't hide behind her weapon's range. To him, she was getting what she deserved.
Before she really became aware of her surroundings, Mina suffered a kick to the lower lumbar that forced her down on all fours. Scarlet Thunder fell from her grasp. Ivy, with her foot still planted on Mina's back wrapped Valentine (in whip form) tightly around the younger girl's throat, cutting off her air supply, and Ivy pulled the Korean to her knees. Choking her. "The next time somebody tells you 'this doesn't concern you', mind your own goddamn business."
Seung Mina tried to pry Valentine from her throat, but she could not seem to make any progress. It was as if the sword was squeezing her throat like a serpent constricting around her airways. She couldn't reach Scarlet Thunder. And she couldn't lash out at her opponent! Ivy had her right where she wanted her. Isabel Valentine patiently waited while Seung Mina struggled, watching wordlessly as Mina gradually grew weaker from lack of air. Slowly the fight drained from her, and Mina's body went limp. Her arms hung lifelessly at her sides. Ivy pulled on Valentine to bring Mina's head close so she could whisper to the unconscious girl, "Lucky for you, I'm picky about who I kill. And I'm sick of bloodshed." Then she released the Korean (not exactly in a gentle manner, but at least she released her). Mina crumbled to the deck in a pitiful heap.
Sliding her boot underneath Mina, Ivy rolled the girl onto her back then shook her head at the pathetic sight. "Unfortunately, you're not the type of girl who learns her lesson the first time, are you? You'll be in my way again the moment you wake up, won't you?" Ivy looked around at the spectators, then motioned for several against the starboard railing, "You. Throw her overboard."
"I don't think so," Yunsung stepped forward. Granted he wanted to see Seung Mina learn a lesson on ranged combat (which she got), he didn't want her seriously hurt. Time to intervene. Just a bit closer and he could reach White Storm. "She got what she asked for, and I'm okay with that. But if you think you're going to throw her overboard, you've got something else coming to you. You're gonna have to deal with me."
Isabel shrugged, "Okay." In his mind, Yunsung saw the encounter happen differently. In his mind, he saw himself actually doing something to defend Mina. What really happened? The sword, Valentine, went into whip state and wrapped around his neck. Then, in one motion, Ivy turned and flipped him over the railing down to the water below. Then she looked to the crowd, "Anyone else?"
No one answered.
The passengers lifted the unconscious Seung Mina up over their heads, and carried the girl to the port side of the ship where they threw her and Scarlet Thunder to the cold waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The shock of splashing down into the chilling waters jolted her back to consciousness instantly, and needless to say that she splashed frantically while she got her bearings back.
"Mina!" Yunsung called, waving to her from a good distance away, and he pointed as best he could to the slowly sinking weapon. "Scarlet Thunder!"
Her eye happened to catch a glimpse of her zanbatou before it went under. Taking a deep breath, she dived and retrieved her weapon (being quite thankful some of its materials could float and kept it from going straight to the bottom right away.) She reappeared above the waters, and filled her lungs with air.
"You have White Storm?"
Of course he would ask. Mina refused to answer. Having fought its weight in retrieving Scarlet Thunder, she didn't have to check to make sure the sword was still secured to her back. The two swam to shore, thankful the ship stayed so close to the coast, and thankful the waters were calm. Of course, that is relatively speaking. "Close" for a ship still meant an hour-long swim, and "calm" could still toss around a swimmer. But it could have been much worse.
The Koreans were exhausted when they finally crawled out of the waters onto the dry sands of a beach in northern Italy. Neither she nor Yunsung spoke nor did they care that the coarse sand stuck to their wet skin, clothes, and hair. They just regained their breathing and rested. Having fought Ivy before being thrown overboard, and having dragged both weapons, Mina had no strength left. She barely managed to roll herself over onto her back, and didn't think she'd be able to move again if she wanted to.
And before long, Mina closed her eyes and passed out from exhaustion while Yunsung lay awake, staring at the tip of White Storm poking out from under Mina just barely visible in the moonlight.
---
As the first signs of dawn marked the Eastern horizon and the tides began inching its way to the resting Koreans, Yunsung decided to finally force himself up and dusted himself off. His muscles really didn't want to comply, but he managed. "Congratulations, Mina," Moving over to the still sleeping girl, he rolled her onto her side so he could slip White Storm off her. "We tried things your way, and look where it got us."
Carefully he inched the sword within its scabbard off Mina, holding his breath as he tried to do it without waking her. "Just a little bit . . ." why it worried him? Who knows. She wouldn't be able to stop him even if she did wake up. "Got it." Hopping up (and almost falling back down, thanks to tired and uncooperative muscles) Yunsung gathered up Scarlet Thunder and headed northwest. "Let's see how you like being unarmed."
Ten feet, fifteen feet, fifty, away Yunsung looked over his shoulder to bid Seung Mina his final farewell even though she couldn't hear. And he stopped in his tracks. Seeing her just laying there all alone on the beach with nothing, he couldn't bring himself to leave her like that. Stabbing Scarlet Thunder into the ground, he headed northwest again content that she would have something . . . but again, he stopped after only a few dozen paces.
Drawing White Storm, he looked into the blade and didn't see his reflection. He saw both himself and Mina: she was handing the sword to him with a warm smile on her face and a proud gleam in her eye. Sighing sadly, Yunsung looked back to the girl sleeping seemingly peacefully in the sand. As a wave of realizations hit him, he glanced back down to White Storm, "Is there anything I haven't screwed up?"
Yunsung didn't want White Storm, he wanted the right to wield White Storm. Running away with it would get him nowhere, even if he found the Sword of Salvation it would mean nothing. Would he take Soul Edge sword through trickery and cowardice too? Can it be taken by such tactics? No wonder Hwang refused his challenge. No wonder . . . .
The cool waters against her skin pulled Mina from the dream world to the real world, and she found she had rolled over during her sleep. Her muscles still felt drained and ached ever so slightly. She brushed the sand off her hands, then rubbed her tired eyes as a shadow fell over her. Mina looked up to see Yunsung holding both White Storm and Scarlet thunder, and mumbled "great" expecting him to take advantage of the situation: Pay her back for making him travel without a weapon, kick her while she's down, challenge her to a fight, or something.
Seung Mina mentally prepared herself to go off on him, and/or put up whatever fight she could manage. But to her surprise, he offered her his hand, and she just stared at him confused. Looking into his eyes, she saw a different person from the kid who paced endlessly last night. This was a more mature person. Still reluctant, not really sure what to make of it, Mina accepted the gesture, and stood up. Before she had a chance to dust herself off, Yunsung held out both weapons and with a single sentence that confirmed what she'd seen in his eyes. "These don't belong to me." He said.
Slowly, Seung Mina took White Storm and slung it across her back, and then took Scarlet Thunder. Then she'd hate herself for the response she gave. She should have acknowledged gracefully: nodded appreciatively, or express her thanks. But no. What came out of Mina's mouth? Like the 'noble' teacher she was, Mina raised her brow and replied, "Um, what exactly happened while I was out?"
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Author's Note: Thanks for the kind feedback, everyone. In case anyone read my profile - I know I had initially hoped to get average one new update per week. I've since realized how impossible that can be to keep up with in light of real life, so I'm going to say once per two weeks unless circumstance intervenes.
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