Nager Avec les Ames Vertes Ch. 4 "Trust"
(To Swim with Green Souls)
To put your trust in someone, is to lend your heart and soul to them.
The crowd of meisters and weapons lined the walls surrounding their rooms. Each one of them was different in their own way, not one being the same to the one next to them. Yet, all of these people had something in common. A familiar scowl on their faces. These scowls showed an utter disgust like no other.
"Damn it...Not that...thing again." Bellowed Kid, sighing as he leaned against the brick wall. Next, Black Star shifted his position, as to turn and tap a finger on Tsubaki's shoulder. She turned to face him, her hands resting behind her.
"Yes, Black Star?" She asked, smiling as she always does.
"Quickly, Tsubaki, fey blade mode, before that wretched thing comes our way." He said, sending a smile back at her.
"Ok, but why?" Tsubaki said, turning into the demon blade. Black Star's grin grew wider across his face.
"Just some payback, if you knew the thing, you would understand." He said, holding the blade in a playful way, though he flinched from the pain of moving in such a simple manner.
"Hey, Kid, wanna join me? Just make sure not to take my spotlight." Black Star said, walking over to Kid. The shinigami's smile enlarged to match his. "Sure, why not? Liz, Patty, let's go." He said, placing his body into the twisted stance of sin.
"Let's kill the bastard!" Patty giggled as she transformed. Liz followed silently.
"Maka, this should be fun to watch." Soul said, nudging Maka with his elbow.
"I suppose, you sure they won't hurt themselves?" Maka asked, a look of concern submitting itself.
"Like I care" He replied. Neither Soul nor Maka had grown a hatred toward Excalibur as the others, yet.
There was another quick and subtle movement, only this time from Cigale. She lifted her arm up to put her small hand on Prix's tall shoulder.
"Us too, Excalibur deserves a good ass whooping" she said, her french accent emphasizing the vowels, also, she attained a grin that expressed utter joy. As she said so, the white heathen entered the scene, swinging his cane as he strolled toward them. He was joyfully singing his own self-given theme song.
"So...that is what you always talk about?" Prix asked, looking down at his meister. Kid and Black Star's heads shot up.
"You know who Excalibur is?" They asked simultaneously. Cigale answered enthusiastically.
"I was going to ask you the same! And, oui [yes], I have met this being. Not to long ago, my..." She stuttered a bit "My father and I traveled to witness the legendary sword. You probably know what happened next." She explained, now moving her hand to rest on her chin. Once again, Kid and Black Star spoke in sync.
"We understand"
Excalibur made his way over, and began to speak.
"It seems as though you all wish to hear my tale! It all started in the 12th Century!" He said, spinning his white cane in a large circular motion. Suddenly, there was a wonderful phrase to be heard.
"SHINIGAMI-CHOP!" And with that, Excalibur was sent flying into the opposing wall, sending debris in every direction.
"F-FOOL!" Said Excalibur as he jumped, rather happily, from the crumbled wall. He then shoved his cane up in Shinigami-sama's face, well....mask.
"HELLOOOO There! What brings you here tod...." He was interrupted by a classic Excalibur phrase, only a little scrambled.
"FOOL! My century started in 12th!" There was a brief silence, and you could have heard the wind blow a tumbleweed in front of the scene. Everyone began to laugh uncontrollably.
"Looks like he was hit real hard in the head!" Black Star said, almost falling to the floor in laughter.
"I think honorable-father must have rattled his brain, and by the way Black Star, you get hit 'on' the head, not 'in' the head." Kid said as Patty and Liz returned to human form.
Patty took the liberty in lunging at Excalibur.
"Rhino-thingy Bastard!" She cheered, pulling Excalibur into a dangerous death-hug. She wailed him about while she laughed.
"FOOL! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!" He said, struggling to release himself from her grasp. Eventually, the white complexion turned a dark blue, and it went limp. To the enjoyment of everyone else in the room.
"Onee-chan! The stuffed animal bastard fell asleep!" Patty yelped, setting the limp ball on the floor. Sid was then called over to "Escort" their unwelcome guest to the front door.
"I was a dignified man, but I never remember taking out the garbage. That wasn't the man I used to be." He said, holding Excalibur away from his body, as though it was a bag of trash.
As everyone re-situated themselves, Niagus stopped by to give them some good news.
"You all can return home! As long as you refrain from any physical labor." She said, smiling, though they couldn't see it through the bandages. A loud "Hooray!" Was heard from all of them as they left to return to their homes.
"Come on Prix, we need to go train." Cigale said, walking hastily toward the door. Prix could do nothing but follow in the same swift manner.
Why is she in such a hurry? He asked himself.
It was a beautiful evening outside. The sun was out and chuckling, and not one cloud landscaped the flawless pale-blue sky. These kind of days are obviously meant to bring happiness, and a fresh sense of fulfillment. Sadly, not everyone can appreciate these kind of days.
Cigale paused and stood still, taking some time to stare blankly up at the sky. She pulled her right hand over her eyes, though the sun's rays were not strong enough to effectively harm them. Then, she ducked her head down and continued walking, and soon enough, her short strides became longer, and she was in a full out sprint. Her partner struggled to keep up with her, even though his legs were significantly longer than hers.
Eventually, they ran up to a large patch of trees. An uncommon spot in the deserts of Nevada. Once slowing her pace to a stop, Cigale stood underneath the darkest point of the canopy. Again, she looked up toward the sky, and this time she couldn't see it. She smiled as she observed the almost pitch black darkness. As she let out a sigh of relief, her back leaned up against the nearest tree, and slid down into a crouching position.
"I'm sorry, Prix. I shouldn't have run off like that." Cigale said, resting her face in her hands.
"It's...o-ok....why did you do th-that anyways?" Prix asked, still catching his breath from the 200 yard dash. Walking up and standing by her, he leaned up against the same tree.
"Prix, you know how I feel about these days. They resemble the days I spent with mon pere...[my father]" She said, burying her head deeper into her palms. A moment of silence was held, and through that humble stillness, a rustling of leaves was recognized. Prix turned his slender body to look at the adversary of the noise, while Cigale continued to mope in her empty memories.
"What business does a Shinigami have here today?" Prix asked in a smart-ass tone. He was now standing straight up against the tree, and slowly made his way in front of Cigale. He held this protective, brotherly stance.
Immediately, Cigale snapped her head up to see, only to return to her previous state. She mumbled through her hands, that way, Kid would not see her sudden flush of color.
"H-Hello, sir" She said, peeking slightly up at him. A look of great amusement crossed Kid's face, and he gave a small chuckle.
"I don't think anybody has ever called me, 'sir' before." Cigale dove her head further into her arms. Her muffled squeaking could be heard again.
"I-I aplogize, I just don't know what I should..." Her voice faded to nothing, and Prix flinched slightly as he kept his stance in front of her.
"Cig, you don't have to treat him like royalty, he isn't King Henry the 8th. Though I'm sure he would be glad to cut your head off." Prix said, taking a few shallow steps toward Kid.
"So, Shinigami, what the hell do you want?" He spit, seriously, as well as defiantly. Kid just stood in a relaxed way, putting both of his hands in his pockets. He then hunched his left shoulder, implying a wordless "I Dunno". Prix took yet another step toward him, this time, it was a threat.
As he planted his back foot into the ground, his right arm became a long green knife-like prong, similar to his trident form's center.
"Eh? I have myself a punk-ass Shinigami!" He pointed to his arm, "How would you like this, to go through your spleen, possibly your liver, and then, have it protrude out of your back?" He said forcefully, pressing the tip slightly against Kid's Solar Plexus. The boy didn't budge, and instead, looked the menace in the eye.
Prix then began to press his weapon with more force into Kid's stomach, just enough to not break skin nor clothing. A sudden blur flashed past Prix's left side. Cigale had both hands on his armed appendage. He looked down to see her face streaming with small, practically unnoticeable tears.
"Arreter! Pas plus, s'il vous plait! [Stop! No more, please!]"she begged, sorrow blinding her, thus returning to her first language for a moment. She began to pull Prix's arm away from Kid's untouched abdomen. With her other hand, she attempted to wipe away her tears, but they continued to run down her face, each individual droplet hit the partially barren, sand covered terrain.
"Don't take your personal views against Shinigami out on someone you haven't even gotten to know!" she demanded.
Prix then retracted his weapon back into a regular human hand, and kneeled beside his technician.
"Prix, you know I don't need this, not today!" She said, her voice being covered by her sobs. Prix then gave her a reluctant, but friendly hug. Once again, the area was deathly silent, and was broken by the most silent of people there.
"I-I apologize if I interrupted...I saw you fleeing, and figured something had gone wrong." Kid said, drifting over to crouch next to Cigale. Slowly, Prix released his partner, and stood up. He glanced at Kid for a second, and then turned his back on him.
"Cig, I'm going to get some water, it's damn hot out here." He said, leaving the wooded haven. As soon as he was out of sight, Kid edged himself over to wipe away a few of Cigale's tears. Many words ran through her head at that moment.
Damn it! I didn't want anyone to see me cry...
She snapped out of her thoughts as the man she barely knew in front of her, grasped her face in his hands.
Her chest stung in agony, and she could have sworn that her heart had dug its way out of her chest with something dull, and painful.
"What is the explanation for these tears? Why do I see your soul mourning?" Kid asked, pulling closer to her. His face was within inches of hers now. The wind now picked up to a higher level. Cigale struggled to even whisper as she tried not to choke on her nerves, let alone the constant beating of her heart. Was this what it felt like to be truly happy? Or to be absolutely enveloped in endless sorrow?
"M-my father. He died one year ago today." She began to sob harder now. "He was a meister, like myself, and he was killed while trying to obtain the soul of the murderer, Charles Manson." She said, grasping the front of Kid's black coat, and lying her head against his torso. He vehemently wrapped her in his arms, and place his head on her shoulder.
"Unlike your partner, your soul trusts a man you met only an hour ago, you trust him enough to shed tears in his presence. Your soul trusts a man, who could kill you right now." He whispered in her ear. After a few moments of silence, that were not unlike the dark periods spent in an endless void, Kid moved his body enough to lift up her chin, and stare into her emerald green eyes. Following the action, Cigale couldn't help but stand up, never had she been so close to somebody she didn't even know for more than a day.
This time, as she wiped away the water from her face, and it didn't return. Taking a step backward, she grinned a weak smile.
"I take it you want to know why my weapon took such disgust toward you." She said, her smile morphing into a desolate frown.
"I would greatly appreciate it if you could explain." Kid said, walking with her to sit next to a fallen oak tree, it's surface growing a bright green florescent moss. He picked up half of an orange leaf, and let it go. His eyes traveled as he watched it flutter away like a tiny butterfly. The sudden change in wind velocity caused the top of the trees to sway.
"If you haven't noticed, Prix doesn't take lightly to Shinigami." She answered while picking grass from their roots.
"It was rather difficult not to notice." Kid said, grimacing. Cigale looked around desperately, making sure her partner wasn't around to hear what she was about to say.
"Prix was never very close to his parents, and often would reside in his other family members to comfort him. The closest to him was a cousin he had, and they spent almost every waking moment together, considering their close ages." She shifted unsteadily, and an uncomfortable look overcame her. "His cousin was a weapon, and he began to consume innocent human souls." She looked over at Kid,
"And to avoid him becoming a Kishin, Shinigami had to eliminate him." Kid's face developed a look of understanding, and he knew that Prix would rather blame the Shinigami for his best friends death, than to accept that it was the best possible action to be taken.
"I see." Kid said, standing and stretching out his usually still arms. Soon enough, they could both see Prix coming into sight. He had not two, but three bottles of water. As he approached them, he handed Cigale a bottle, and then held the other out to Kid. He smiled slightly, and resistively, probably just to appease Cigale.
"I felt your wavelength Cig." He said, sending a look over to her.
"And Shinigami" This time, he did not emphasize "Shinigami".
"Knowing Cig, if her soul trusts you, then mine can as well." He said as Kid grasped the bottle kindly. As Prix opened and drank his water, Cigale grabbed his hand, and raised up. She chuckled as she opened her bottle, suddenly thrusting it up in the air, water raining down at every angle. Before they hit the ground, she waved her hand in a straight line, and the drops suspended in mid-air.
"We came to train, remember?" She said with a mischievous grin. Prix returned it, and switched to his trident form.
"Shinigami" He said in a sarcastic, friendly way.
"Behold, our power". Cigale spat on him, and said.
"Prix, don't be a cocky bitch, we aren't masters yet, though we can show the God of Death a thing or two!" She said, swinging Prix at a bundle of trees.
"Onde Rouge! [Red wave]" Quickly, a red, water consistent fluid sprouted from the tip of the trident at immense speed. The trees were incinerated in a matter of milliseconds. A cry could be heard from the trident.
"GOD DAMN IT CIG! THAT HURT! HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET SOME OF THAT ON ME!!!" Prix yelled, a sound similar to water in a frying pan could be heard as the ground around them crackled in the acidic fluid.
"Oh, oops, je regret.[I'm sorry]" Cigale said, moving her hand in a circular motion, thus bringing the water back to the tip of the trident, and having it disappear. The tip was still covered in red water, and within the next second, Kid had hold of the trident.
"Hey ass whole! Let go of me!" Prix yelled, sprouting a green fluid this time, an epoxy and glue-like substance known as "Onde Verte [Green Wave]" Kid easily dodged the goo, and grabbed hold of the staff.
"The outer forks are perfectly symmetrical." He said, staring stupidly at the twisted sides. His face then turned serious, and he ran his hand up and down the middle prong repeatedly, trying to somehow make the asymmetrical center.....symmetrical.
"But the center is a disaster!" He squealed, still running his hand up and down furiously. Distant laughter came from Cigale as she tried not to fall to the ground.
"KID! You don't know how wrong that looks!!!" She yelped, hunching over in breathless giggling as Kid continued to fail in his quest of fixing Prix's weapon form.
"STOP THAT!!" Prix said, returning to human form. Thus, Kid's hand rubbed up and down his face, he hadn't noticed that he had transformed yet. Throughout the sound of girlish laughter and the rubbing of a poor man's face, the crumpling of leaves was heard, and Liz walked up to them. By the time she arrived within talking distance, Kid had acknowledged his epic failure, and was grovelling on the ground.
"Oh Kid....Come on" Liz said, nudging him with her foot.
"Filth.....I am swine......Kill me..." Kid said with his hands over his head. Eventually, Liz picked him up into a piggy-bag position, and started to walk home, only having the energy to wave goodbye to Cigale and Prix. She began to jog as it started to pour down rain, a result of the constant wind blowing about.
"This is more like it. J'aime la pluie [I love the rain]. It really is calmer." Cigale said, basking in the rain.
"Yeah....What the hell are you smoking? And can I have some?" Prix asked, pulling Cigale as he walked out of the wooded area.
"Let's just go home" She said, smiling.
"It's been a long day."