The Baker's Weapon

By: Atomic Kokoro

Storyline

Post-Kiba series. During a get together, the gang is attacked by a mysterious stranger. With Zed still missing and Robes back at the castle, who'll step up to the plate and fighting the hooded stranger?

Before You Read

As I said; I don't write well until I'm either inspired or it's late at night. Hopefully this will be a decent story. It's all about fighting, so...

Anyways, on with the story.

…

The Baker's Weapon

"-and he said it looked like another world when he looked at it upside down!" Roya laughed. "Can you believe it? Do you think it would actually work?"

Noah nodded. "Yes, it does. I would know," he said.

Mickey stood up, turned around, and bent over to look at the lake between his legs so it would be upside-down. "Hm."

"Well?" Roya questioned.

Mickey tilted his head. "I guess it sort of works," he said. Then he smiled. "Actually, it does work. It looks like the sky is sparkling and the ocean is bluer than ever! It feels like I'm in some distant fantasy land."

"Let me see!" the black-haired female gasped, standing up and trying what Mickey did. "Oh, my gosh! You're right! It's so beautiful."

Noah laughed and leaned back, almost sleeping under the willow tree by the lake they used to fish in.

Ginga had been sitting quietly in the tree near the back, watching Mickey and Roya admire the beauty of their new, upside-down world.

Pinot was still unloading the basket of food and placing it out nicely so it would be ready to eat.

Segiri admired Pinot for her work with the food and setting everything up before standing and joining Mickey and Roya.

After a little while, Mickey stood up straight again, stretching his back, sore from staring the upside-down lake too long. His eyes opened slightly. Then he gasped.

Roya stood straight and glanced at Mickey, walking forward a few steps forward to examine his expression. "What's wrong?"

The question earned the attention of everyone at the picnic. Everyone stared in the direction Mickey was looking to see a masked figure standing on the other side of the field. The figure glared at them, his blue eyes piercing and threatening.

The mask covered all of his face save for the eyes and his hair was bounded under the cloth as well. No color, whatsoever. Not even on his clothes; a black outfit with scarf tied around the waist. The man drew a Templar sword which came to life with a blood red blade.

He raised the blade at the group of heroes. Mickey quickly pulled his small, one-handed sword granted with an orange blade.

Segiri grabbed Roya by the waist, refusing to release her grip, and pulled her back to Noah. Ginga simply watched from where he was, looking smug, as if he knew a secret that no one else knew. A special secret.

Mickey walked forward and demanded, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The man didn't reply. Instead, he charged towards Dumos' former student, preparing to swing the sword that outsized Mickey's by quite a bit. Mickey merely prepared for the attack, assuming a feeble fighting position.

"C'mon, Mickey!" Segiri cheered as the swords met. The sound of red and orange clashing together echoed through the valley.

Mickey pulled his sword back and grasped the handle with a second hand before slashing at the man's chest. The man jumped back, summoned several red balls from the back of his left hand, and sent it Mickey's way.

Mickey got to one knee, summoning several of his own brown colored shards from the marking on his shin and created a shield with what he had. The red balls from the man burst into a raging inferno and it crashed against Mickey's shield. Mickey growled in effort, managing to hold the fire back.

The fire cleared and the man charged forth without giving Mickey a second to regroup. He brought his sword down on Mickey's shield, creating a slit where the sword sliced through the outside metal. Mickey pushed his shield forward, forcing the man back and off his balance, and took the opportunity to deliver a powerful kick to the stomach.

The man jumped back a good couple feet, giving Mickey enough space to gather himself together. Before standing, he summoned a spirit shard and tossed it into the sky. "Slugna!" he called and the small shard morphed into a giant knight-looking creature.

The man muttered something inaudible. For a moment, nothing happened. Suddenly, beautiful white wings unfolded from his back. White feathers were lost into the wind that blew freely. The angel dressed in black flapped his wings and took to the sky towards Mickey's spirit.

Slugna drew one limb and slashed at the man-turned-angel. The stranger ducked under the attack and drove his sword into Slugna's armor. Mickey blinked before spinning around and staring at the angel and the spirit.

"No way," Mickey gasped.

Segiri buried herself into Roya's clothing, trying to gather as much as a sense of safety as she could. "Don't worry," Roya assured, smiling. "Mickey will win this fight."

Segiri smiled as though she were comforted, but deep inside she could still feel the doubt.

Slugna morphed back into the spirit shard and it returned to Mickey's hand. Mickey stared at the shard in terror mixed with anger. He watched the angel land back at the other side of the field. "What are you?" he questioned.

The man shook his head and charged again. This battle is getting nowhere, Mickey groaned in his head. Unless I change my style.

Mickey ducked under the man's swiping sword and sent a knee against the man's own. The man tripped and hit the ground with a thud, his sword spinning out of arm's reach. If Mickey hadn't fallen himself, the man would've lost. Unfortunately, Mickey lost his sword, too, as he collapsed onto the ground.

Both got to their feet and charged head on into a hand-to-hand combat battle. The man drove a fist into Mickey's stomach. Mickey cringed, yet still delivered his own attack involving the palm of the hand striking the man's chin.

The man stepped back and Mickey thrust his second palm into his stomach. He finished off his combo with a kick to the side of the head. Mickey spun three-sixty and the man slid against the ground.

Mickey laughed triumphantly. He slowly walked towards the downed opponent, his arms folded. "Are you going to tell me who you are or what?" he said, sounding confident as though he won the battle.

The man sighed and got to his feet. "No," he said. "You haven't won yet."

Mickey raised an eyebrow and uncrossed his arms. "What do you mean? Do I have to kill you to find out?"

The man shook his head. "No," he said again. "I'll have to give up. And I haven't yet."

Mickey frowned. What's with this guy? Suddenly, the ground exploded into fire, blowing Mickey off his feet and against the ground. Hard.

"No!" Roya screamed. Everyone watched in a terror-filled silence.

The smoke cleared and the field was visible. Everyone could see the black angel standing on one end of the field, waiting for something to happen, but only those who were standing could see a seemingly lifeless Mickey lying on the other side.

His black hair, free from the hat he often wore (which had been blown into the trees), waved slightly with the wind. There was silence. Then, there was a groan. Roya sighed with relief.

The man was still, watching closely as Mickey rolled onto his stomach and got to his hands and knees. That was... He found the strength to get to his feet. He took a deep breath then turned around to face his opponent.

"Very good," the angel said.

"Shut up," Mickey hissed. "I don't need your praise. I don't need any words from you." He pulled a small, yellow-bladed dagger from his back pocket and clenched the handle tightly. "Shut up and fight me!"

The angel brought up his sword. "Well, that's new," he muttered to himself.

Mickey charged, flipping his dagger to hold it the way Roya did her own blades, crying his battle cry, ignoring the hot pain of his burned leg, and slammed his dagger against the man's own sword which had been lifted to block.

Mickey attacked blindly and without a moment's rest or hesitation. Every attack was blocked or parried but the angel was unable to fight back. With Mickey on a strong offense... the man thought. This might be interesting after all.

The man struck a fist into Mickey's stomach, risking being stabbed with the dagger. Mickey took the hit without trouble and continued his onslaught. This is crazy! Mickey matched his dagger against the man's sword and pushed forward.

The man stumbled back. Mickey jumped forward, using his body weight to push the man to the ground. Both landed on the ground.

Ginga could feel the end of the battle drawing near.

The two enemies wrestled on the ground, one trying to gain dominance over the other. Mickey pushed himself onto the man and attempted to drive the dagger through his opponent's neck. The angel grabbed his wrist and held the dagger back before knocking it out of either's reach.

Both stumbled and chased after the dagger. It was close but Mickey's grasped it first. He landed on his back and pushed the blade of the dagger against the man's neck and held it strongly. The man choked as the blade was pressed into his neck.

Mickey pressed the blade, pushing the man back onto his wings and held the blade there, sitting on the man's chest. "Give up!" Mickey yelled. "Tell me who you are!"

The man stared at Mickey for a minute before sighing. "I give up," he said. Mickey hesitantly got off the man's chest but still wielded the dagger to use as a weapon if the man went against his word. The man reached for the cloth around his face and hair and pulled it off.

Everyone gasped.

Stood before them was Zed, the white-haired, blue-eyed warrior. He stood, smiling. "You've definitely gotten better," he praised. "But I guess flying around the world doesn't help either."

Everyone at the picnic stumbled to their feet and raced over to the two warriors. Mickey dropped his dagger and stumbled forward, embracing his friend in a great hug. "You scared me," he growled. "You freaking, son-of-a-"

He was cut off by Roya, who screamed Zed's name repeatedly until she got to him and still wouldn't be quiet when she was hugging him tightly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Where have you been?" she whispered, only loud enough for him to hear.

Zed smiled.

…

Roya took a moment to use her healing shard on Mickey's burned leg (which Zed apologized about) before they all dug into the food, which consisted of fish, various meats, fresh vegetables, and a warm batch of Mickey's bread (which Zed missed so very much).

Segiri showed Zed the lake upside-down. "Isn't it pretty?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

"It's very pretty," he said. "So beautiful."

After a day of catching up and other interesting subjects (however flowers became a subject at one point while reminiscing about the past), they returned to their homes.

Zed took his normal bed by the window in the dining room, staring out into the starry night.

"I'm glad your back," a voice said by the door of the dining room. Zed glanced over his shoulder.

"Me, too," he said.

Mickey walked over to the bed and sat beside him. "Things have been quiet without you. Even though there was peace, we all still missed you." He looked out the dining room door towards Roya's bedroom. "Especially Roya. She always seemed depressed without you here."

Zed pressed his forehead against the window before his eyes trailed down to Mickey's injured leg which had been wrapped in a bandage. "Is it bad?" he asked.

Mickey raised an eyebrow in confused before 'ah'ing in understanding and shaking his head. "No. Roya healed the majority. Nice trick you pulled there."

"Thanks."

A moment of silence passed between the two. "I missed you stealing my bread," Mickey said, breaking the silence.

Zed laughed. "Yeah."

Mickey pulled his hat off his head and threw it onto the dining table. Another minute of silence passed. Nothing was said; Zed just reached over and wrapped an arm around Mickey's shoulders. Mickey leaned into Zed, letting his head rest on his chest.

Zed played with Mickey's hair for a second to ensure it wasn't going to tickle him at all (he hated being tickled, especially when he was tired) and rested his chin on Mickey's head. "Your worst weapon against me," he whispered, using his free hand to stroke Mickey's chin. "is the way you look at me."

Mickey closed his eyes and thought about what Zed said for a minute. "Really?" he challenged. "I always thought it was my dagger."

The white-haired angel chuckled. Zed released Mickey from his hold and laid down on his bed. Mickey frowned and laid down as well, pressing himself against the other. Zed wrapped an arm around Mickey and buried his nose into the black hair.

Zed could feel Mickey's cold finger lacing with his own and he quietly returned the gesture. "G'night," he said.

"Goodnight," Mickey replied with a sleepy drawl.

The two fell fast asleep.

THE END

After Notes

Sorry. A bit of a ZedxMickey fan. I don't even know where the pairing came from. I was like, one day, "Hey! That's a good pairing!" That was like with RenoXKennedy. Hey! They're cool. That's a pairing!

Weird.

Anyways, hope you enjoy!

Loved it? Hate it? Wanna read it again? Let me know! The review button is right there!