Chapter 9 – Mikasa (Arc 4)
The two held their ground, both poised to attack but neither wanting to yet, rather opting to observe. Mikasa saw the pride, strength and intelligence in its eyes as they flitted up and down her, she could only assume, looking for a weakness.
The Razorwhip saw the strength in the girl's form, it was rigid yet flexible as the bamboo of the forest below them, her eyes burnt with the fire of the forges of her old home, in control, but stronger than an inferno and her sword. She wielded the sword as if it were a natural extension of herself, it's form flowing in perfect accordance with her own.
The Razorwhip knew not whether or not she could truly wield it as she had not seen her move yet, she stood, observing her like a statue.
The two stood in tandem to each other, neither wanting to give away any weakness and then suddenly, the Razorwhip beat her wings slowly, shifting her weight to the side, causing Mikasa to do the same in opposition, resulting in the two circling each other like predators.
But there did not seem to be any hatred no fear here in fact, the only thing that either has felt is appreciation of the other and wariness for their own survival. And even deeper than that, both felt the burning desire to test the other.
As they slowed once more, Mikasa noted the shift in weight of the tail of the Razorwhip as it snapped around, it slicing through the air as if a lumberjacks', Mikasa was able to place herself back easily, something was odd about that, there was no intent. Was that… Is she… Testing me?
Before she had time to think, the tail came again, but faster, causing Mikasa to focus as the attacks became more frequent and with greater strength in each strike. On what must've been beyond its 20th attack, it swung its full force, looking to see if it could end it, Mikasa froze, she knew that even with her tuned weapon of a body, she couldn't avoid that quick of a movement… wait… A weapon!
Her sword drew a faster arc through the thin air than she had ever been capable of in training and as her sword parried the metal of the Razorwhip, she felt it, they both felt it. It was there.
Resonance.
As the pair's strikes grew faster and faster, their attacks became less of a battle, more of a dance, exploring each other's mind and soul through their blades, the Razorwhip now bringing its wings and firepower into the equation to bring greater life to the dance, Mikasa felt no anxiety at the shift, she had reached a state of mind that had been lost to her for some time now.
Clarity.
As the Razorwhip threw both of its wings forward, releasing a bolt of fire and slinging its tail towards her, another thought had entered her mind that had been forgotten for quite some time now, as the deadly strikes closed in on her form, the word came to clarity, resonating in both of them as she raised her sword, one final time,
Defiance.
As the blades rung and the dust settled, blade of Mikasa Ackerman stood in unity with the blade of the Razorwhip, both panting and maintaining eye contact. And then slowly but surely, the Dragon and the Soldier both retracted the weight from their blades, not breaking eye contact, but the blades and weaponry were calmly retracted, Mikasa sheathing her blade and the Razorwhip lowering itself from its hovering flight.
As they looked into each other's eyes, the real end to the fight occurred. Neither of them were stronger than the other. Every motion the Razorwhip enact, Ackerman had a counter, every swing taken by Mikasa, the Razorwhip reacted to. The two of them were in completely synchronisation. Complete harmony. As so, the two both felt it, they begin to bow in respect to one another, allowing their eyes to break away.
Without looking up, she raised an offering of her hand to the Razor whip's snout.
Without looking up, it pressed itself against her hand, offering itself as an equal.
And as an equal, Mikasa did accept her. She offered a name to the Razorwhip that seemed apt for her, Gloria, and as the words left her lips, she felt Gloria's head dip as she takes the title for herself.
As they broke off, they turned to look out, Mikasa pointed to the sea, raising her eyebrow, trying to copy how Armin always does it and the Razorwhip ends up giving what looked almost like a smile with all those teeth and she found it rather endearing as she patted its neck gently whilst stepping onto the docks.
As they stepped off the boat, Mikasa felt the chilled air embrace her once more as she felt Gloria's snout push against the small of her back, urging her to lead the way.' Yeah,' she thinks, 'this is going to be good' allowing herself a brief pause in thought, 'I wonder what kind of dragons Armin and Eren got' allowing a small smile to spread across her face as she walked through the gates of her home with one of her new closest allies. Her new partner. Her Defiance.