Whist (and Zoro)
Vs.
Avatar Roku with Sylar
Whist waited impatiently at the central hub, sitting in a slouch at the foot of the massive spiral walkway, fiddling with one of his razor-disks, his mind a muddled mess of half-thoughts. He had no solid focus, but he mulled over the recent happenings with a vague frustration. He was given no time to clear his mind, however, because in the next moment a green-haired man sporting three swords at his waist approached.
"You must be Whist." He said, extending a hand. "I'm Roronoa Zoro, your partner."
Whist stood sharply, getting close to Zoro's face, his fists clenched. "I don't need you." He hissed, unexpectedly hostile. His patience and tolerance had worn thin over the past day, and he took offense easily at the smallest thing.
Zoro didn't step back, but instead leaned into the intimidation, thrusting his jaw forward defiantly. "And I don't need your fuckin' attitude. This round is two-on-two and I'm not gonna loose because you're on some sort of power trip."
Whist scoffed and stepped back, holding his hands up defensively, "Whatever, just don't go thinking you're gonna get any sort of warm friendship fuzzies from me, I just want to get this the fuck over with."
"Yeah, I'm starting to feel the same way."
The two of them folded their arms and scowled in opposite directions across the hub, staring into the ring of people that had gathered to watch the fight. The patrons of the mall had become well aware of Whist and Zoro's reputation for an entertaining and relatively audience-safe battle, and therefore a significant mass of people had thronged to watch.
In a few moments the crowd parted with whispers and then applause as an old, regal man and a man wearing a baseball cap and holding himself nonchalantly entered the ring of spectators. The man with an impressive beard and robe nodded politely to the people that stepped aside, and seemed to carry with him a presence that filled the entire seven-story atrium even as he merely stood before them at ease, watching them pleasantly.
"Good evening," He said, "My name is Roku, I and my partner Sylar will be your opponents."
Zoro nodded. "You're the one that invited us to a formal meeting before the match, right? I appreciate that, not many people seem to have that same sense of honor." He sent a sidelong glance at Whist, who rolled his eyes and shifted his weight.
"Come on already," Whist muttered under his breath. "Let's just get this started."
Sylar smirked under the bill of his cap, and as Zoro and Roku shook hands and exchanged brief opening pleasantries he discretely raised a hand and drew it slowly sideways. For a moment Whist's body didn't know how to register what was happening, and then his forearm felt like it was on fire, and he became aware of the fact that his skin had unzipped. He swore massively and instinctively chucked a pair of shuriken at Sylar and Roku. Sylar used a pop of telepathy to re-direct the shukiken so it stuck harmlessly in the far wall, and Roku ducked beneath the flying disk with ease, but then looked up at Whist with a confusedly offended expression.
"What the hell, Whist!" Zoro snapped. "What was that for?"
Whist held his arm up and shook it in Zoro's face so the blood flecked his face. "This it why, you ass! They started it!"
"Oh real mature."
Roku looked away from their feud to eye Sylar, who had replaced his hands within his pockets, and stood looking at the floor disinterestedly, though the remnants of his smirk still lingered on his face. Roku pursed his lips and shook his head, already worried about the quality of the approaching fight.
"Well, it seems our partners are getting restless." Roku said, grabbing Zoro's attention from where he and Whist were starting to get in each others faces again. "Let's begin."
Zoro smiled, and then drew his three swords, clenching one in his jaw and the other two in his fists.
"Oh give me a break." Whist groaned, eyeing the sword in Zoro's mouth.
Zoro ignored him, nodded to Roku and then jumped in. He made several swift attacks, but all were evaded, and then he was suddenly buffered by a massive gale of wind that seemed to sprout from nowhere, and forced him to break off attacking merely to hold his stance. That draft was what saved Whist from losing his legs. Had he not seen the strange shifting of the wind, he might not have realized in time that there was something coming towards him, and jumped over it in time to save himself. By the look on Sylar's face when the bottom of the spiral staircase split instead of Whist's shins, Whist made a few quick connections and started to get a better idea of what he was up against. Just as he was getting ready to start an attack, a wave of flame danced into the wind, and his entire assessment of the battle faltered again as Zoro had to fall flat to the ground in order to avoid being scorched. Once there, he started to roll, using his low position as an advantage against Roku's buffer, and when he got close enough he tucked his legs and, mustering all the massive force stored in his muscles, rocketed himself at Roku.
The old man was surprised that the lankier man had that much strength in him, and his evasion fell short, earning himself a trim along his hair and his wind sputtered out. As Zoro landed the end of his attack, he saw Sylar's flank revealed as he looked around the mall for Whist, who had darted off to hide when the fire started, as it served as a convenient distraction. He made for the opening, all three blades aching for a hit; hoping to end this quickly before these two had a chance to use their incredible powers to their fullest extent. But just as he was drawing near Whist dropped in out of nowhere, aiming for the same opening, and neither could halt their momentum in time if they had bothered to try. Whist's foot snagged Zoro's ankle as he made to chuck a razor disk at Sylar and as they both tumbled to the ground his shot went wide and Zoro nearly dropped the sword from his mouth. Sylar spun around and swung an arm, and a blade of psychic energy shot forth, carving the floor in its path. The two of them split and rolled away just in time, Zoro jumping to his feet instantly and Whist scrambling up with a stream of foul words that were offensive even to Zoro's ears.
"What the fuck!" Zoro roared, as he jumped away from another psychic blade.
"What is your problem?" Whist snapped, slinging a blade at Roku, to keep him occupied.
"You jumped right in front of me!"
"I saw an opening and took it! It's not my job to make sure you are staying aware of your god-damn surroundings!"
"I had him! If you were a half-decent team-mate you would've never tried that damn stunt."
They kept moving as they bickered, trying not to give their opponents a stable a target, and to give themselves something to occupy them so as not to start fighting each other.
"Haven't you noticed yet?" Whist yelled, jumping on the top of an elevator momentarily to dodge over a new blade. "I'm not a fucking team player!"
Roku had stood by long enough, he raised his arms and suddenly a wave of fire that spread along the entire diameter of the hub manifested with a roar and rushed towards Whist and Zoro with crackling rage. Whist cried out and lunged for the spiral walkway, sprinting up it for dear life (though Roku had no intention of taking it) with Zoro not far behind. The wall of fire recoiled and swirled in on itself, rising in a twisting pillar to follow them in their retreat. Whist spouted a fresh curse with every bound as Zoro merely sprinted on silently, brooding about his unfortunate pairing.
"That's it." He finally grumbled, and then grabbed Whist by the arm and upon reaching the fourth level, jerked him down the hall, the fire rushing past a moment later.
"What?" Whist asked, moving in close to Zoro, challenging him with a wide-armed posture. "What do you want now?"
Zoro sheathed the sword in his mouth and scowled at Whist, clenching his fist and taking the goad, getting up in his face. "I'll tell you what I want—I want to win. And I can't do that if you're not going to act like a decent partner."
Whist shoved him, not seriously, just to release a little aggression. "Listen, jackass. I only have one partner, I don't fight with anyone else. It's me and him or nothing. Otherwise I can take care of it on my own. If you can't handle that then you step back and watch me work."
"Oh yeah?" Zoro snapped, sheathing his other two swords and shoving Whist back. "Then where the fuck is your partner, huh? Why isn't he here now?"
"Fuck you."
"Is that your only answer? Cause if so it sure as hell tells me a lot about why he might have abandoned you."
"You have NO idea—"
"Shut up Whist!" Zoro yelled, getting barely an inch from Whist's face. "I'm not gonna listen to it! If you wanna win this at all you'll suck it up and be a real man! Get some sense in that skull of yours and get back out there and fight with me!"
"No! No I don't have to give you shit. I haven't gotten by this long by blindly trusting people!"
"And you wont get any further if you don't start now!"
Whist paused, glaring straight into Zoro's eyes, as Zoro stared back firmly, wanting nothing more than to punch Whist in the jaw but knowing full well that he could never win alone. And there was a moral point to be made here, which falling into mindless violence would only dissolve.
"Why?" Whist asked, his voice deadpan.
"Why?" Zoro echoed, surprised that Whist seemed to be cooling slightly.
"Yeah, give me a good reason why I should give up my entire lifestyle just for this one little fight because you need me."
Zoro took a moment to search Whist's face, and then said firmly. "Because I don't think you've ever had anyone need you before. And I think it's about time you knew what that means." Whist raised his eyebrows, but held his tongue. "I don't know what happened to make your friend leave you, but I bet it has something to do with this selfish attitude of yours." Whist's teeth were grinding, but Zoro kept talking so long as the other kept his silence. "So, this isn't really about me Whist, it's about you. You can mean something to someone." He gripped Whist's shoulders. "I'm not gonna pretend to know you, but I can tell that right now, it's about time for you to change."
Whist had stopped his facial fidgeting, and was staring back at Zoro with an entirely unreadable expression. His face was blank, but it was painfully obvious that there was a torrent of thought going on just behind his glassy eyes. Finally, he blinked and walked past Zoro back towards the Atrium.
"Whist?" Zoro said, brow furrowed.
Whist looked back over his shoulder, and Zoro raised his eyebrows at the suddenly playful and yet sharply intense gleam in Whist's eyes.
"I'm not gonna stick my neck out for your ass if you're not gonna follow me out there." Whist quipped, and with a wide grin Zoro unsheathed his swords once more.
- - -
The avatar of the planet was happy to sit back and wait while his opponents took a brief intermission. He had no worry in his mind that he would win when they came back, and honestly after the intensity of his last two fights it was nice to relax under the knowledge that he was not fighting anyone who threatened the natural balance or who seemed particularly rancid in spirit. He could actually enjoy the simple fight this time around.
Except for his partner. He didn't trust the man, and found his strange powers disturbing, and the way he used them repulsive, but now was not the time to address that. If they won this round it was entirely likely he'd be facing Sylar soon enough, and then he could handle whatever strange threat he posed.
His opponent was currently heading up the walkway off of which Zoro and Whist had disappeared, searching the immediate areas of each floor to hunt down the elusive pair. He didn't even have to make it to the fourth floor, because just as he was walking back out to the ramp Whist and Zoro bolted out of the fourth-floor hallway and went sprinting down the walkway with enthusiastic cries of battle. Whist sent his disks ahead of them, stopping Sylar from attacking them on their way down; they rocketed past him, and Zoro leapt the last story to land just before Roku and began a whirlwind dance of metal. Roku evaded him easily, even with Whist throwing blades in the way of his retreat, trying to pin him into Zoro's attacks, but wind lifted Roku's feet, and knocked aside Whist's disks, and the ground seemed unwilling to support Zoro, trembling and rocking to try to unbalance him and keep him away from Roku. Zoro tried not to let it him effect him, tried to use his ship-legs to help maintain his balance so he could get some work done before Roku exploded with the force that was customary to him.
Unfortunately Sylar was back in long before Whist and Zoro could even make a scratch on Roku, and Whist had to jump down and roll under the walkway to avoid the cut of two psychic blades slicing towards him in hope of quartering him. Once underneath Whist clung to the underside of the walk and waited for a moment, listening to Sylar walk towards him, and then with one massive burst he swung around to the topside again, his left foot cracking hard against Sylar's jaw. He landed as Sylar was still reeling and launched two shurikens at him, one of which only served to tear the sleeve of his shirt but the other lodged into his shoulder and coaxed an anguished cry from his throat. The sound fueled Whist on, encouraging him to continue and take advantage of his brief moment of dominance, but across the hall there was suddenly a massive surge of energy and the crowd swarmed out of the atrium as Roku began to unleash his might.
"Aww shit." Whist grumbled.
He had underestimated Sylar's recovery time, and when he turned back from the one moment he had used to observe the swell of elemental wrath Sylar was facing him once more with a hand extended and suddenly Whist felt as though a massive steel hand had clamped around his torso, and with a small smirk from Sylar he was suddenly slammed against the wall. He barely had time to cry out in pain before Sylar jerked his arm again and he rose several stories and crashed into an elevator shaft. Sylar continued like this, chuckling maniacally as he tossed Whist around like a ping-pong ball.
Not far away Zoro was running almost in a panic to avoid the flame and air that rushed him, but his every step fell unsteady as the earth cracked the foundations of the mall and surged beneath him to shake him off. Zoro had never fought against the sheer will of the earth, and he found it an unpleasant thing indeed. He had never imagined air could cut or that fire could move with the fluid precision of a master craftsman, he felt that he was going to have to get desperate if things didn't change soon.
Roku was holding back as it was, he chose not tear the water from the mall's pipes in respect for it's owners, and he had no desire or need to seriously hurt Zoro, only defeat him, and he hardly needed his entire artillery for that. But that still didn't mean he couldn't enjoy it a little.
The wind twisted the metal rods of an elevator shaft, tearing it from the wall an bringing it creaking down towards Zoro's head, and he had to fall into an awkwardly balanced somersault to avoid it, even then getting his shoulder badly bludgeoned by the collision. He had scarcely found his feet when a tongue of flame swept over the debris and again he was forced into evasion, and felt the attack scorch the very top of his skin, as he once more made it through within an inch of his life. He was used to living like that; dancing on the edge of defeat or death, so that didn't perturb him, it was the total lack of ideas on how to get out of this situation that was frustrating. Something flew by overhead, and he ducked instinctively, only glancing up after it passed and was horrified to see Whist flopping like a ragdoll in the hands of some invisible beast. He had no time to help, however, because more fire was rolling in.
Whist felt completely broken. His bones were cracked, his skin split and his head was ringing terribly. He had already puked out his guts, and now the acrid taste stung the back of his throat much like the sting of helplessness that overwhelmed him. Things abruptly changed from head-splittingly fast to surrealistically slow, as his brain struggled to keep up with what was happening to his body. As he slammed into a new wall he lingered there for a moment, staring across at the crowd gathered at the mouth of a hallway, watching the fight with wide-eyed awe, murmuring and gasping and placing bets…all but one, the woman standing in the very front and watching him with a stony and regretful face. Li'ain seemed to stand somewhere between pitying him and enjoying watching him get his just desserts, and he felt a fresh twinge in one of the few places Sylar had not yet damaged.
He looked up at her, one eye swollen shut and his lips bleeding badly, and he looked into her icy eyes trying to convey something he didn't even totally feel or understand yet. She looked back, and he knew she was aware of the connection, but her expression didn't change, and as he was ripped from that wall and dropped lower and flung across the room again she didn't even have the decency to cringe. That pissed him off. Yeah, he had been an ass, but he had also been her protector and guide these past months she could at least pretend to find his pain a little irking.
Fuck this, then. He thought, and dug his fingers into the cracks that had begun to riddle the walls under the force of the fiery hurricane that was swarming in the lower stories of the hub. When Sylar tried to pull him back once more he simply refused to go. He pitted his will against Sylar's, groaning and cursing with the effort as he felt as if his flesh was being seared apart under the strain. He had never had such an intense conflict of sheer will, no physicality involved, it was just down to whoever wanted it more. Then there was a flicker, and something roamed between them, riding the mental connection of their conflict and probing Whist's mind, grazing over his memories and conscious thought, into the core of his mind and settling to hover over that strange spot of his brain that, should it have manifested a physical form, would have been like a silver cord, reaching across brainwaves and emotions into another mind, one that was uncomfortably turned away at the moment. Sylar's conscious tried to ride the connection to it's other end, to really explore and grasp what it was and how the hell it had happened between two so different creatures, but Whist found the mere attempt to be the most appalling and unacceptable thing he had ever felt. That was a part of him that no one understood or let alone really knew of, to have someone within it, exploring it, like it was some kind of lab experiment was a perverted violation into his mind and it raped his soul. With a roar he felt his mental will explode and rip Sylar out, flinging him back into his body and away. As he did so the automatic repercussion was a thrum along the connecting string that touched the counterpart, but the symbiotic mind stayed quiet, and closed off. Whist had little time to grieve that, for he dropped to the top of an elevator and slumped there a moment, as flame rushed by just below, wind chopping pieces of the structure out and slowly crumbling the atrium. He looked up at Sylar, where he stood outside of the elemental torrent near the top of the spiral walkway, which was quickly crumbling into uselessness. In fact, as Whist jumped to it and charged up the walk practically shattered behind him to the point where he finally had to stomp the ground hard to power a flying tackle that took Sylar full in the chest and sent them both tumbling into the hallway of the seventh floor. While they were tumbling fists flew and thrashed, a senseless brawl that wouldn't allow Sylar to regain his composure and try to saw open Whist's skin again, and Whist lacked the distance advantage he could utilize with his razor disks. Honestly, though, Whist didn't mind. He was at the advantage here, where pure street instinct took over and all the special talents in the world didn't matter when you practically entangled in the other person and you hardly even knew where your hands were.
Whist swung his gauntlet-hand at Sylar's face and felt the satisfying crack of metal on skin, though it had fallen low and smacked his shoulder instead, then followed with a kick to…anywhere really, that landed solidly on his knee and badly skewed the joint. Amidst this Sylar scarcely had time to think, let alone concentrate on a psychic attack, and he was still jarred by the fact that Whist had resisted him. He wasn't used to not being able to manipulate someone's brain, much less to be ejected like that; it was truly unsettling, and so he remained stuck in the middle of the hallway, having a brawl the likes of which was seen in schoolyards around the world to lesser degrees but with the same style of head-first fist-pumping blind rage. Somewhere in Whist's brain he recognized this as a solid plan, to keep Sylar on the floor, in close-range combat where he had no time to use his psychic abilities, but what really kept him there was pure, animal instinct and the desire to knock his opponent's face in.
Sylar was mortified as he felt himself become weaker and start to lose control, his mind slipping under the physical strain. He didn't know what to do with himself, his limbs flailed wildly in a strained attempt to hit Whist anywhere and only succeeded in making it slightly more difficult for Whist to keep him pinned. They were a mass of simple, mindless old-school violence, and Whist felt adrenaline rushing into every inch of his body and rejuvenating him into an almost jittery mass of energy. But Sylar was reaching desperation, and in that he found his anchor, and caught on to it within his mind and finally with great cry he popped a massive psychic bubble between them and sent Whist flying off him. He immediately sent a follow-up slice through the air, which Whist had already expected and tumbled out of the way of.
"Not bad, but based on your performance in our little brawl I bet you couldn't even take a solid hit to the head." Whist smirked.
Sylar cracked his neck, and then lifted his hands and brought them down with a massive sweep and suddenly the walls of the hall were cracking and trembling as two massive blades of energy rushed for him in the shape of a deadly x. Whist gulped, crouched and then just as the force was near he launched up and somersaulted through the gap between two of the arms of the deadly shape. He crowed in joy as he followed up with a disk thrown hard towards Sylar's head. Sylar glared and deflected it upwards. When Whist's smile didn't fade he furrowed his brow and traced the razor disk's path and found it spinning to—and the next second clean through—the chain holding a light above his head. He felt a moment of shock and minor fear and then deflected the falling light fixture with ease, thinking as he bit his lip angrily that Whist was doing a frustratingly solid job of wasting his time. Of course when the rock-hard sole of Whist's shoe hit the back of his head he realized what exactly the skin-dyed boy's plan had been, but by the time he fully grasped it he was already fading into unconsciousness.
Whist allowed scarcely a breath to celebrate victory, for in the next moment a bolt of light flew down the shaft of the atrium only a few feet away, and he was brought again to the immediate task at hand. He went to the end of the hall and then paused, staring down at the bottom, which was now entirely burned out, and realized his only way down was a straight drop. Zoro was still somehow holding his own—or at least surviving. He was badly burned and looking half-dead but he was still standing and that was what counted. Of course, Roku still looked in peak condition and was bending the elements out of nothing all around him into fresh attacks and barraging Zoro relentlessly. He had to get down there. With a deep sigh he backed up several paces, took a disk in each hand and then sprinted full-tilt towards the opening and went flying with a massive shout. Zoro and Roku paused to look up and watch Whist collide with the wall across from him, hands first so the razors they held would dig into the wall and plant him there. Of course, his un-gloved hand suffered major cuts for it, but once he was there he could use the cracks and holes to climb down swiftly. Unfortunately he had had more faith in the wall's structural integrity than was wise, and when he was still three stories up his supports crumbled and he was suddenly tumbling down head-first.
It occurred to him as he was plummeting that this was a frustratingly stupid way to lose the match, and in those few seconds he managed to curse himself in many unsavory ways before he automatically tensed in anticipation of impact—but something significantly softer broke his fall and tumbled him mostly un-harmed to the ground. Groaning and rubbing his head he sat up slowly and look over at where Zoro, too, had been knocked flat by his rescue attempt. Whist shook his head; it felt strangely full of cotton balls, and in the back there was still that residual thrum.
"Thanks…" Whist murmured.
"I want to win too." Zoro replied nonchalantly, and then got once more to his feet.
Roku had paused during this display, mostly for the entertainment of watching them collide into each other, but now he raised his arms once more, and through the fresh-broken skylight a storm swept in, filling the hall with its wrath. Zoro and whist exchanged a glance as it first started to settle and then rise in intensity and both knew exactly what needed to be done. Almost in unison they turned and bolted down the nearest hall, running with a level of desperation that was probably exaggerated against Roku, but added to the spectacle as they stumbled over weakened legs with faces skewed in wide-eyed worry.
They dashed down the halls aimlessly, feeling the static of lightning and the spray of a pummeling gale right on their heels. They were both feeling the frustrated uncertainty of what to do next. How the hell were they supposed to face the forces of nature itself? How could they be expected to fight a storm? Apparently, there was no way for suddenly, without even trying, the storm folded around them and they were enveloped in a tormenting monsoon. Rain lashed them so hard in nearly broke skin, and the wind buffeted them to their knees. Hail began forming, cracking on bones and growing significantly in size by the second.
The ground was rolling again, adding to their hopelessness. Any pride Whist had felt over defeating Sylar was lost now as the continually intensifying storm raged against him. He yelped as a small flicker of lighting brushed his skin, and Zoro struggled with all his might to find his feet—but his cause was hopeless. They were entirely lost. Suddenly the ground surged massively just below Zoro and as it re-settled it heaved over itself again and broke apart, opening a massive crevasse below Zoro, and with a shout he was pitching over—but did not fall. He looked up in shock to find Whist clutching his wrist and a slab of concrete that had been broken up from the rest of the floor to anchor himself as he pulled Zoro back with a grunt and heaving effort. Zoro had no time to thank him, as Roku had now stepped into the center of his storm, and suddenly Whist and Zoro couldn't even keep their feet on the ground, the wind was lifting them and trashing them around the hall in a fashion Whist had had quite enough of by this point, and as they were tossed about there was always the hail and rain to meet them like a million tiny daggers piercing their skin with un-deadly force but enough that eventually, all too quickly, they would be torn apart.
They were helpless, there was nothing they could do, though neither would ever give up for the sake of pure pride, but Whist could feel his spirits dying with every agonizing moment. There was no way out. They couldn't control their movements, couldn't get to Roku by any means, they wernet even entirely sure of his location. Whist grabbed a hold of a windowsill and latched on to try and stay still for a moment, and collect his thoughts, try to find something…anything…somewhere in the back of his mind there had to be a scheme that would help them. But the hail was raining harder, the lightning coming closer and more often, he'd be well tenderized and friend to a crisp by the time he could form a coherent sentence.
- - -
Roku stood at the eye of his storm, deep in the meditation of holding the massive thing together, and falling into the trance of it brought him deep calm and at the same time the biggest thrill he knew. He loved the beauty of bending like this, and indulged in the chance to utilize it. The storm grew continually; the hall it occupied was now a disaster zone as his storm began to reach hurricane levels. He could feel Whist and Zoro's mind within it, struggling to maintain consciousness, holding on to the last moment; but they had no idea how long it would take to reach that moment if they held on like they were doing. If they didn't surrender to the storm soon it could become permanently damaging.
Then he paused for a moment as he felt a vibration ripple through his storm, a strange disruption in his bending that unsettled him for only a moment and then he fell back into the pace again. But he could feel it, something more within his storm now, slinking low and coming close.
Interference? He wondered. He had thought them above trying to slip in a false move under what cover they could gain, but he had learned that all types roamed the world and put nothing past anyone.
He was ready to face it when it arrived, its pace was slow and by the time it crawled near enough to the eye to do any real damage Zoro and Whist may have well been passed out already, if it even lasted that long.
But then it disappeared. He knitted his brow in thought, trying to trace it, trying to make sense of how something could just blink out of existence and end up…right behind him. He spun around in a wave of fire but a pair of massive dog paws had already landed on him and then he and the newcomer were gone.
When he became aware of himself again he was looking at the mall from across the superhighway and the dog beside him thumped his tail twice and then with a whuff flickered out again.
Roku stood in thought for a moment, and then chuckled lightly and began his walk back.
- - -
"Sylar has fainted and Avatar Roku is Out of Bounds! The match goes to WHIST AND ZOROOOOOOOO!!"
The crowd was roaring with appreciation for the upset victory; having never thought anyone capable of defeating a master like Roku and a fiend like Sylar. Zoro accepted his congratulations politely, if a little uncomfortably, while Whist ignored his admirers to gush over Blink.
"Good boy, I'm sorry. You awesome, amazing, wonderful dog!" He fussed, rubbing Blink's neck and shoulders rigorously, garnering a heavily thumping tail and a few happy yaps of appreciation.
Upon Blink's return there had been a flash of communication between them that had said it all; the apologies and explanations—the acceptance. Always, between them, there was unconditional acceptance. They had wavered briefly, but when Sylar's probing had set off a tremble along their connection Blink had become aware in his animal way of the words Zoro had said that had seared under Whist's skin and brought incredible guilt and shame into Whist's mind. Once he had known Whist had had a little sense knocked in him, he was ready to return.
Whist stood when Zoro approached. "Good fight." He said, holding out a hand.
Zoro took his hand with a breathless laugh. "It's all thanks to that dog of yours." He smiled broadly. "It was a damn good fight though."
Whist grinned and released Zoro's hand. Zoro headed off to the medic almost immediately after that, and Death by Chocolate heavily encouraged Whist to do the same; but Whist had seen pair of unmistakable blue eyes through he crowd and searched them out again desperately, but Li'ain was already long gone, and after a few more minutes of seeking her out Whist had to acknowledge that she did not wish to be sought and grudgingly let Death by Chocolate take him to the medical wing.
I had to pull a hellaz all-nighter to write this, and after that intense Kyuubi chapter it really took a lot of will power. Either way i'm pretty damn proud of it, and hope you enjoyed. I had no idea about Roku's and Sylar's characters, and only a ague knowledge of Zoro, and i wish i had managed to show off Zoro a bit more, but overall I'm happy with this end result!