Sparring
Demyx and Xigbar pulled the dining room table into the Grey Area, and Iris and Lexaeus sat opposite each other.
"Alright, on three," Xigbar said. "One…"
"Don't hurt him, Iris." Izzie called.
"Two…"
"This is ridiculous." Xaldin grumbled.
"Three!"
The moment he called the last number, Lexaeus put what he thought was enough strength into pushing the nine-year-old's arm down to the table, make it quick. But, much to his surprise, her arm barely moved an inch. It was like he was trying to bend a steel pole. He glanced up at her face to see she wasn't straining against him at all. Letting out a breath, he used just a little more strength, and again, nothing. She didn't budge. Izzie looked around to see most everyone looked shocked, and she couldn't help but feel a little smug.
Lexaeus strained a little harder, and this time, Iris's arm moved-all of two inches. It was then that Iris pushed, just using a fraction of her strength, and moved Lexaeus's arm halfway down to the table. He let out a noise of shock, and naturally began pushing back as hard as he could. As he pushed, Iris resisted, and the table underneath their elbows began to crack.
Demyx's jaw dropped, even though he had seen earlier how strong Iris was. Beside him, Xaldin looked just as surprised. No one was laughing now.
In the next moment, Iris slammed Lexaeus's hand down into the table, smashing the top of it and snapping it in half. As the table buckled, Iris let go and stood, crossing her arms and smiling down at Lexaeus, who straightened up and rubbed his hand.
"Yes!" She whirled around and lifted a hand, which Izzie slapped one of hers against.
"How did you do that?" Demyx gasped.
"Did you throw it?" Xaldin asked Lexaeus, who shook his head. Xemnas observed silently, his arms crossed. If such a tiny child had enough strength to best Lexaeus, he wondered just how strong the adult was.
"I would like to see your fighting abilities," Izzie and Iris turned to Xemnas, Izzie looking incredulous, Iris looking energized.
"Yeah!" Iris cried.
"Hold on," Izzie interrupted. "Do you mean Iris against me or one of us against one of you?"
"Both," When Xemnas said this, every Organization member looked at him, some like he was crazy, others like they were fed up, and the rest without an ounce of expression. Saix was one without a true reaction.
"Well, Iris and I can spar no problem, but one of us against one of you? Might be a bad idea."
"We'll just have to tone it down a little," Iris said nonchalantly. She seemed very gung-ho about this. Izzie narrowed her eyes at her.
"I will pair off certain members against one of you," Xemnas said, completely ignoring Izzie's apprehension. He eyed Iris. "And I believe Isabella should spar against who I choose." Iris huffed, crossing her thin arms.
"It's getting real tiresome, being underestimated." She growled.
"Xigbar and Lexaeus, you're a team, Marluxia and Larxene, you're a team, and Saix and Axel, you're a team." As Xemnas finished naming the pairs he wanted to see spar against Izzie, she frowned.
"Is Saix's leg okay for this?" He glared.
"My leg is fine." His voice was a little too harsh, a little too hard, even for him, Izzie thought-and that was saying something because she barely knew him-so she knew he was lying. But, she didn't push it. She just sighed.
Xemnas jerked his chin, signaling wordlessly for the group to move. He headed them, as usual, with Xigbar at his flank. Izzie and Iris trailed right behind them, everyone else to their backs. As they walked, some Organization members spoke casually to themselves. Izzie heard everything they said.
"I mean, once we get going, I don't see how such a little girl can best us." The deep, velvety voice belonged to Marluxia, his tone smug, as he addressed his fighting partner, Larxene. She giggled back in agreement.
At the other end of the group, she heard Demyx speaking to Luxord.
"That kid beat Lexaeus, Lexaeus, in arm wrestling. Have any of us managed that before?"
"I think Saix did once, but he was in berserk form." Luxord replied in his refined, British accent. Izzie looked over her shoulder, glancing back to Saix as he walked silently next to Axel. Her eyes trailed down, her gaze focusing on his left leg. He didn't seem to be limping as badly as he had been the last few days, but she could still see how he was avoiding putting too much weight onto it. When she looked back up, she saw he was glaring at her. She turned back front.
In a couple more minutes, the group arrived in the Altar of Naught. Those who weren't instructed to spar lined up at the far wall, Iris standing in front of them with her arms crossed, looking mad. Xemnas stood a couple feet in front of her.
The three pairs he assigned stood in groups around Izzie, each waiting his or her turn. Izzie opened her mouth.
"Alright. So there are a couple things I need you to know about how vampires fight. In a life or death fight, be it against a vampire or…non, vampire, we rip each other apart. Obviously I'm not going to do that to any of you, but if I touch your head, that means I would have ripped it off in real battle, and you're out. Same with you. If any of you manage to touch my head, with your hands or your weapons, I'm out." She looked to Xemnas, who nodded toward Xigbar and Lexaeus.
The two stepped forward, summoning their weapons. Izzie took careful stock of them. Xigbar's weapons were some sort of gun-like thing, the ammo glowing a light purple. He'd need to reload at some point. Lexaeus had a huge what looked like tomahawk, easily three times the size of Izzie. He'd be strong, but he'd be slow. She took a deep breath.
And it began.
Xigbar took aim faster than Izzie had seen someone work any type of gun before and fired. But even though the-bullet?-whizzed through the air faster than a normal person could see, it was moving almost as if in slow motion to Izzie. She stepped to the side, her body blurring, and the bullet flew right past her and burrowed into the wall behind her. Xigbar scowled, took aim again, and this time fired five consecutive shots.
Izzie spun her body, twirling and twisting and bending herself to dodge each one. As she was preoccupied with that, Lexaeus moved behind her and swung his tomahawk down. Without even looking behind her, Izzie reached up, bracing one of her hands on the weapon, and flung herself into the air, flipping over Lexaeus's head and planting her other hand on it in the process.
Saix was watching, like everyone else, but somehow he didn't think he was observing her in the same way. Everyone else seemed to be calculating, looking at her like she was some sample in the petri dish. Even though it should've been impossible, he was simply fascinated. In almost ten years, even after sparring with other Organization members, after fighting Heartless, after training, becoming used to fighting, Saix had never seen anyone move the way Izzie did. The way her body moved, it wasn't like she was fighting; it was like she was dancing. Moving so perfectly, so fluidly, becoming invisible at certain points. Some part of his mind knew he wasn't doing himself any favors by being hypnotized by her, but the rest simply could not help it. He wondered why that was.
Lexaeus sneered, and put his weapon away; he was out. As he moved out of the way, Xigbar teleported from his original spot, moving to hover in the air over Izzie's head, and fired again.
She cartwheeled around each shot, waiting until he had to reload. The glowing purple ammo was soon gone, and the moment Xigbar lifted the guns to reload, Izzie leapt into the air, grabbing him by his jaw and pulling him back to the ground. He landed on his back with an "oof" sound, Izzie straddling him, and she poked a finger on his forehead.
"I win."
He huffed, allowing his weapons to dissipate as she pulled herself to her feet, looking at her audience. Everyone had some look of disbelief or incredulity on their faces. Xemnas had a calm expression, and he motioned for Marluxia and Larxene to take their turn.
Like the other two, Izzie built a profile of her new opponents as they summoned their weapons.
Marluxia had a scythe. He could potentially use it to hook her if he wanted-he would have range. Larxene had eight knives, nestled in between each finger. She'd have to get closer, the disadvantage, but she'd also be much quicker.
Larxene was the first to make a move.
She darted across the floor, much faster than Xigbar and Lexaeus, but still easily traceable. Izzie watched as she bent her arm and launched her knives, aware of Marluxia slinking to her open side. Izzie ducked, simultaneously spinning her body to the side as Marluxia swung his scythe. It cut the open air where she was once standing. He pivoted his body, swinging at her again, and she backflipped over the sharp blade, twirling her body so gracefully to come to his side. Her hand flew out, and she pushed him, knocking him off balance.
The first time she'd even fought back.
As Marluxia stumbled, Larxene flashed up behind her, getting as close as she needed to be to swing. Izzie spun, deflecting Larxene's arms. She pushed Larxene's hands away, her motions like she was simply swatting at a fly, even though Saix knew how much strength Larxene put into each of her swings.
Upper lip curling, Larxene brought her leg up as if to kick Izzie's side, and Izzie smiled, waiting until her leg was just about to connect before ducking under it. She came up behind Larxene's back and grabbed the back of her head.
"Ugh!" Larxene let out a loud groan, spinning and stomping away, leaving just Izzie and Marluxia.
Izzie whirled around as Marluxia released a burst of energy from the blade of his scythe. She jumped into the air, flipping her body. She seemed to float, moving to a wall and bracing herself, curling her body and launching herself back to Marluxia.
He saw one of her hands prepare to touch his head, and as she closed the distance between them, he lifted his arm. Instead of connecting with his head, Izzie's hand clamped on his forearm. She flipped over him, and they spun around at the same time. There was a beat or two where neither of them moved, and when one of them did, the other soon followed.
It was like they were dance partners, Izzie lithe, graceful and majestic, Marluxia aggressive and abrupt.
He swung his scythe again, and when he missed, Izzie fell to the ground, sliding herself under his legs. The back of his cloak flitted up, and suddenly she was clinging to his back, one arm draped over his shoulders, the other resting on his head. She lightly tapped the top of his head.
"Hmph." Marluxia dismissed his weapon as Izzie let go of him and dropped back to the floor.
Four out of six "defeated", two more to go.
Axel stepped out into the ring, followed by a slightly more hesitant Saix. He wasn't sure why, but the idea of fighting Izzie made him uneasy. Maybe it was the near guarantee that both Axel and himself would lose to her. Maybe it was the fact that his leg still wasn't at a hundred percent. Maybe it was something else entirely.
Axel held out his hands, and in a spinning burst of flame, summoned his chakrams. Saix tucked his right arm behind his back, and in a flash of silver light, his claymore appeared in his hand. Izzie looked pointedly at each weapon. Axel could launch his weapons, much like Larxene could, and if he wanted to attack her with them, he'd have to get close to her. If he threw them, that would give her time to both dodge and close in on him. Saix's weapon was more like a sword. It was seventy-five percent the length of his own body, obviously bigger than Izzie's. The way he held it suggested he wielded it backward instead of forward. If he wanted to strike with it, he'd either have to lift his arm across his face, cutting his view, or spin his body in the air. Both had their advantages and disadvantages to Izzie.
Saix would be better at keeping his distance than Axel, but Axel would be better at evading than Saix. Axel would be easy, Izzie thought, but somehow, she was wary of going against Saix. She wondered why.
Axel lifted his arms, his weapons spinning in the palms of his hands, and he flung them at her. Like Larxene's knives, Izzie dodged them, and as her body moved his did, too, sliding across the floor as if he were on a skateboard to get behind her. He caught the chakrams and launched them again. She lifted her arms, covering herself with them as if they were a shield. The chakrams hit her skin, the sound unsettling-like metal hitting metal.
As they deflected off her, she sensed a presence coming up on her back, and she whirled, catching the head of Saix's weapon as he brought it down on her. She blinked, shocked at how much strength she had to use to keep him at bay.
Saix saw the surprise in Izzie's eyes, the way her eyebrows shot up, the way her lips parted, as if she wanted to scowl. He narrowed his eyes a little, not in irritation but in satisfaction, and pressed down harder. For the first time, Izzie let out a small grunt, her body tensing with the effort to hold him back. As she struggled against him, Axel came up behind her.
Saix saw her eyes flash to the side, and then her knees buckled, her body sweeping under his arm. He stumbled, his claymore coming down on Axel's shoulder.
"Ow!" He yelped, falling to the side.
"Sorry." Saix mumbled. Luckily none of the spikes pierced Axel's skin.
Still, both of them were distracted enough that Izzie, using one of Saix's shoulders as a springboard, launched herself into the air, her hand coming down on Axel's head. As she flipped over him, he groaned.
"Are you kidding?" Pouting, Axel tossed his chakrams across the room, where they dissipated in a flurry of smoke. As he stalked out of the ring, Izzie and Saix faced off.
Iris let out a breath as she watched. It seemed the Nobody and the vampire were pretty evenly matched…though, Izzie was holding back. It would be easy for her to break any part of Saix. He seemed to be faster, more agile, than the other five. At the very least, he was able to react quicker than they could. When he missed Izzie, there was barely a pause as he shifted his body to swing again. He was able to turn and twist and pivot much easier and more immediately.
Izzie let a small growl of frustration slip, a sound that didn't escape Saix. He used her frustration and clipped her shoulder, knocking her off balance. She sneered at him, and he felt his lips tug up at the sides, pulling his mouth into a smile. There was a strange tingling in his chest, a sensation that warmed his arms and legs. It was something he hadn't felt in a long time; the pleasure of fighting. Back when it used to be just for fun, not for survival, not because there had been any sort of goal behind it. Saix was enjoying this. Enjoying it. This was fun. The realization took him by surprise, the shock snapping him out of it.
Izzie took advantage of his momentary hesitation and lunged forward, her body blurring. Saix's attention came back to the present, and he covered himself with his claymore; Izzie ran into it, another metallic ting sound echoing throughout the room. The force of her body hitting the weapon sent a shock through his arms, zinging up his shoulders and streaking down his spine, and he stumbled back a couple feet.
His left leg caught most of his body weight, and there was a pang of dull yet sharp pain, making him wince. Izzie saw this and flitted over to him. He looked up just as her arms went around his waist, and they went tumbling to the ground. She hunched over him, and as she reached down, his arm snapped up, their hands connecting with each other's heads at the same time. Iris let out a gasp.
"It's a tie!" She exclaimed.
Saix didn't hear her. He was staring at Izzie, surprised at the feeling of her skin. Hard as marble, cold as ice, but somehow perfectly textured. Her hand was curled along the upper side of his face, her fingers brushing his hairline and the heel of her palm resting on his cheekbone. Her thumb was resting under his left eye. It felt like a statue was touching him.
But beyond that, there was a weird charge that seemed to come from the tips of her fingers. It was much less severe than a static shock, not painful in any way, but it was definitely pronounced. It made his stomach feel funny.
His own hand slipped from the back of her head as she leaned up off him and rose gracefully to her feet. As he pulled himself to a sitting position, he noticed she was holding one of her tiny hands out to him, and he scowled at her. She sighed and let her arm fall to her side.
"Is it my turn yet?" Iris whined, her impatience flaring. She didn't wait for anyone to respond before she swept over to Izzie, bouncing up and down on her tiptoes excitedly.
"You in a rush to lose?" Izzie teased, making the nine-year-old stick her tongue out at her. As Saix moved to the sidelines, the two vampires moved to opposite ends of the room.
"Let's try to stay so they can see us." Izzie said. Iris nodded.
Then they flew at each other. Neither one waited for the other to make the first move; it was like they were synchronized, like they were magnets. When one moved, the other did too. And Saix was shocked to see how Iris ran. Whereas Izzie was as graceful as a gazelle, Iris was faster, aggressive, like a cheetah. Maybe it was because she was a child-she was smaller, therefore quicker.
Her small stature gave her an obvious advantage; she dodged Izzie's lightning fast swings with even faster movements of her own body. Everyone could still see them, but they did become blurs a great deal of the time, and it was hard for Saix's less sharp eyes to catch everything they did.
Suddenly Iris flipped in the air, landing on the ground in a crouch. Her lips parted, and she let out a disgruntled growl. Izzie smiled back.
"How long you wanna do this for? Because we can't keep them here all day."
"You are such a crap talker."
"I thought you knew me."
Their banter and fightin-at least, what Saix could see of it-were playful, like a human child roughhousing with their parent. For the briefest of moments, Saix recalled a memory, fuzzy and dim from the passage of time, of a man with a smile on his face, laughing as they played. One of the few pleasant memories from being human.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw Axel was watching wistfully as well, remembering his own life before everything turned sour. Saix let out a small sigh, and looked back to the girls.
He must have missed something in the split second he looked at Axel, for Iris had her arms crossed and Izzie looked smug. He guessed Izzie beat her.
She looked to Xemnas, who had a thoughtful expression on his face.
"I see," He mused quietly. He then casted a quick glance to Saix, his amber eyes calculating, and Saix had to fight a sigh. He didn't know what Xemnas was planning, but he knew it was going to be a headache. Izzie saw this too, and her lips flattened a bit. "This was helpful. Xigbar, Saix…" He turned, motioning for the two men to follow him. The others took that as their cue to leave, and began filtering out. Izzie heard Larxene complaining about how unfair it was that she lost, then heard Xaldin tell her to suck it up and train harder.
Saix looked over to Izzie, his expression annoyed, and then turned to follow Xemnas.
He was limping again.
…