Out the Window

by Lucathia

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Sun Knight and make no profit from writing this.

Part 5: Ecilan

Our first test came before we could practice much.

"How do I look?" Sun asked me while standing tall and still, face void of emotion. It was a different kind of stillness than the grace he displayed as the Sun Knight. Before I could respond, he went on to say, "Spot on, right? Enough to trick him?"

I looked him over a bit more carefully. While we knew ourselves that we were all displaced, there really wasn't anything different he needed to do to appear as the emotionless Ice Knight to the public. They wouldn't be able to tell the difference... as long as we didn't actually have to go into battle.

I frowned. That's exactly what we have to do soon—fight a mock war for the public's eye.

Until we defeated the "Demon King," there would be no dessert making in the kitchen.

Besides, he would be able to tell the difference.

I reached for the Divine Blaze Sword, the hilt almost warm to the touch, unlike the usual chill of the Divine Ice Sword. I pulled the heavy sword in front of me.

Calmness fled from Sun's face, replaced by surprise. "I can't be that bad that you want to cut me down!"

I flicked my eyes at the Divine Ice Sword hanging by his waist.

Sun raised both eyebrows. "You want me to fight you with—" he drew the sword out, "this?"

I nodded and gave a few experimental swings before leveling the Divine Blaze Sword at Sun, the weight of the blade heavy in my hands. How would Blaze act in this situation? I think... he would be loud and say exactly what he wanted to do? So, I tested the words out and said, "...Ice, up for a spar?"

And... Blaze would follow that up with a grin?

I grinned.

I immediately knew that the grin was not much better than my attempt at a smile because Sun was giving me a weird look.

"You know, I don't know which smile is more awkward," he said, nodding at me and then at Judgment, who was awkwardly attempting Earth's famous, bashful smile. "Yours, or his."

Judgment's smile was more of a grimace than a smile, like the kind he would unconsciously show when something was too sweet. I'd resolved never to feed him any of Sun's chocolates to spare him that. To the side, Metal... no, no, Earth, had on a look of disbelief at Judgment's smile.

I tried relaxing my grin, and I let my shoulders loosen as well. There was no need to be so still.

"Ice," I forced myself to speak louder, "let's fight already."

Sun remained rooted to the spot, which fit my fighting style, whether or not he had intended it. "Sword idiot," he muttered.

As for Blaze's fighting style, it was the complete opposite of mine. He always took the initiative and struck hard, favoring strength over strategy.

Then, that's what I need to do instead of just standing here.

I rushed forward, swinging the Divine Blaze Sword at Sun, forcing him to take action. Instead of blocking me, Sun dodged to the left, the temperature dropping.

A glance told me that ice crystals had gathered by his feet, allowing him to glide effortlessly. Flakes of crystals traveled up his pants and his arms, even around his wrists, all the way to circle the Divine Ice Sword. He followed my gaze to the sword in his hand and said with a shrug, "The popsicle made it too easy."

Ignoring his disrespect of my weapon, I considered his words. Indeed, the sword was always icy and made gathering the ice element easier. It was just that I usually saved the ice element for icing my desserts instead of using it in a fight. After all, a lot of ice was required to keep the desserts of an entire Holy Temple fresh. My enemies, on the other hand, usually went down in one strike that fighting with the ice element was almost never necessary.

We caught everyone else's attention with our spar, and Earth—no, Judgment—even came over to give me some pointers on how to wield the Divine Blaze Sword, as it was a much heavier blade than my own. As I corrected my grip, Sun seemed to take that as an opening and struck.

Quick and direct.

The sword was surprisingly still in his hand. I blocked him.

"Could it be that Sun will be able to keep a hold of his sword now that he's not Sun?" someone asked. Metal? Hell? Metal, right? It was difficult to keep them straight in the middle of a spar. "Is it possible? All we needed for Sun to be cured is for him to be booted out of his body?"

"Hey, I resent that," Sun grumbled even as he rubbed his right wrist. He widened the distance between us.

"That's great news then! Oh, but that means... Oh man, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Good luck Moon. You'll need all the luck in the world," someone else said. Storm? No, Stone?

"Geez, thanks," Moon answered. "I'll add overcoming Sun's infamous swordsmanship onto the list of everything else I need to learn. Like, you know, sensing my surroundings. Easy. As if!"

Scarlet actually gave him a pat with her tiny hands.

For the time being, she had switched to perching on Moon's shoulder to be his eyes, and she claimed that they could easily speak to each other using telepathy, so carrying out a secret conversation wouldn't be a problem even in public. While Moon wasn't experienced at telepathy, Scarlet was, and she could direct the conversation even if Moon only thought at her in broken sentences.

Besides, Sun was a natural at telepathy. It should rub off on Moon, as he was currently Sun. At least, we hoped so.

Sun decided to strike again, possibly thinking that the conversation was distracting me. With Sun taking the initiative, I defaulted to my wait-and-see mode again, and the very next moment, I found myself knocking the Divine Ice Sword out of Sun's hand with a swing of my blade.

He scowled.

I frowned.

That wasn't what I had meant to do. Definitely too different from Blaze's style.

The sword landed a distance away from us. Sun walked over to pick it up, only to freeze. I looked over, following the direction the sword had flown in, eyes coming to rest at a pair of feet clad in black shoes lined with gold. I lifted my head. The rest of the person's outfit was similarly deep black with intricate golden designs, giving him a nefarious air that was mitigated only by his messy blond hair that betrayed his hurry to get here.

The Black General. The Demon King's top general and also Sun's vice-captain, as we had suspected given the timing of Adair's departure from the Holy Temple and the appearance of the Black General.

When did he arrive?

I hoped he had only just gotten here.

We had sent him news that our plan of getting Sun back was successful and so were expecting his arrival. We just hadn't filled him in on what had actually happened to us. If we could keep him from suspecting anything, then we could fool anyone. That was the suggested test. More like a challenge, actually. Earth claimed it was an impossible challenge.

Whoever gave us away would be tasked with explaining the situation to him and with taking care of preparations.

I hadn't seen him since he'd left the Holy Temple. Although he was pale and his hair was a mess right now, he appeared far happier than he had been during those aimless days without his captain, when he had wandered down the hallways like a spirit. Even giving him specialized bags of sweets had been of no help. They had only served to remind him of his captain's absence.

Adair bent down and picked up the Divine Ice Sword. As he handed it back to Sun, he murmured, "Captain..."

Sun took the sword stiffly.

It can't be that Adair has already seen through us?

Adair, however, was actually looking at Moon and hadn't paid attention to Sun's reaction.

"Captain..." Adair nearly whispered, voice shaky. He blinked hard, but despite the moisture gathering in his eyes, he refused to tear his eyes away from the sight of his captain in the flesh. Clear blue eyes, although unfocused, turned his way. Then, in a louder voice, Adair shouted, "Captain!"

He all but ran toward whom he thought was his captain.

Sun watched on in disgust. If Adair had been looking his way, Sun would have given himself, and subsequently the rest of us, away already.

Moon only had time to question, "Adair?" when Sun's vice-captain had already reached him, and in his excitement, gripped his "captain's" shoulders and startled him.

Adair exclaimed, "I'm so happy you have finally returned, Captain!"

Scarlet hopped out of the way, grabbing Moon's hair to pull herself on top of his head. "Careful there," she admonished from her perch.

Adair stepped back and wiped his face, regaining his composure. "Sorry, I'm just so elated. Welcome back, Captain. You are back, right?"

"Of course," Moon answered, chin tilted upward. "You played a huge part in making that happen. Thank you."

I agreed wholeheartedly. If not for Adair's involvement, Sun could have done something he would have regretted forever, and we would have had a difficult time getting him to our side once we were ready with the ritual.

"I-It was no problem," Adair answered. "I'm glad you're back."

"I'm glad he's, I mean, I'm glad to be back too," Moon said, quickly correcting himself when Scarlet pulled on his hair.

Adair merely nodded and eyed Scarlet. She cleared her throat, as if she had been trying to grab his attention. But why would a small crystal doll need to clear her throat? She doesn't have an actual throat... She then said, "I must thank you too for bringing my child back to where he belongs."

It seemed that they were all focused on sharing their gratitude, as Adair then said to Scarlet, "And I have to thank you in return for your aid."

"What?!" Sun abruptly exclaimed. "She would nev—"

He hurriedly covered his mouth, but it was too late. Adair swiveled his head to look back at Sun.

to be continued

A/N: Thanks for reading!