Breeg awoke several hours after the fight feeling much more rested. "I am never running all night again." He thought as he began to stretch. "Although, I'm pretty sure I've said that before." He smirked.
He raised his arms and arched his back, stretching. He was about to yawn when he suddenly noticed someone else there. He turned to his right, and saw a young woman sitting next to him, leaning against the rock. Her eyes were closed, so he assumed she had fallen asleep. He was looking at her, when he noticed a pile of dark robes lying behind her.
"She must be the woman from before." He thought to himself. "Did I actually tell her to keep going to where she was going, or did I just think that? Either way, she's not the brightest, laying next to a stranger who could rob her in her sleep."
He looked at her as she slept. She had rose gold shoulder length hair that rested over her face. She wore a shoulder-less long sleeve shirt that was mostly green, but had white accents. She had short leggings on, white in color. And she was wearing... lime green heels? Breeg scratched his head as he looked her over. "She has got to be kidding, traveling around dressed like this. She's just begging for trouble!" He sighed to himself mentally.
But then he stood up and continued stretching. After he was satisfied with how loose his joints were, he picked up his sword and moved away from the rock. He unsheathed it, then leaned the scabbard against a tree. He got into his usual stance, and began thinking over his last battle as he did. He went through the steps of the battle as he practiced, from the first somersault, to when he thrust his sword through the leader's scimitar.
He pulled his sword out of the dry ground, then raised it in front of his face. He was about to strike again, but noticed a drop of sweat had fallen on the golden hilt. He lowered his sword, and realized he was almost drenched in sweat. He planted his sword in the ground and proceeded to take his shirts off. He laid them out in the branches of the tree he had rested his scabbard against, then looked up to the sky. Not a cloud in sight.
"What is causing this drought?" He said out loud. "There's never been one like it before." He sighed and looked down to the ground, shaking his head. He shuffled his feet and watched as the dust was disturbed. He sighed again, then got back into his stance. He continued with his sword drills for a good while, as he thought precisely how long it had been since it had rained...
Kisune yawned a note as she woke up. She blinked awake and looked at the sky. She smiled and slowly started to close her eyes again. But suddenly remembered everything that happened just a few hours ago. She jolted up, remembering where she was. She looked to her left, only to see that Kazu wasn't there anymore. She looked around in a panic and laid her eyes on a figure several yards in front of her. Her eyes grew wide, and her cheeks turned hot.
She saw Kazu going through sword drills similar to the ones she had grown up watching her fathers men go through every morning. But these ones were much more complex and precise, but with a little flourish. But that's not what had her staring. What had was the man himself.
Kazu was half naked in front of her, his body glistening in the sun with the sweat he was covered in. And her eyes only grew wider as she looked over what she saw.
"He must be able to lift a cart by himself!" She thought to herself in amazement, when Breeg was actually just thinking he should work out more because he had trouble lifting a large flour sack for Kara not too long ago.
"And look how tall he is! He must be six foot four at least!" She thought to herself, gazing at the man, who also had trouble getting said flour sack up onto the top shelf it needed to be on, since he was only five foot eleven. He ended up having to toss it to get it up there. He began to think the only reason she had him do it was to amuse herself. She is head and shoulders taller than him, and much stronger.
Kisune looked on as her beloved hero began to walk over to her. She gazed in awe as he approached her. She leaned toward him without even knowing it. And she almost fainted when he got to her and said...
"Could you hand me the water canister?"
"Huh?" She said almost dreamily.
Breeg cocked his eyebrow. "The water canister, next to you. Could you hand it to me, please?"
She snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh, sorry. Uhh... here!" She handed him the canister. "Thank you." He responded.
She looked completely composed, but inside she was bouncing off the walls. "Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh! He's even polite!" She said, almost swooning on the inside. But again she was snapped back to reality when she saw him spit out the liquid.
"Ugh. I forgot to refresh it further up the river." He said, looking at his canister in disgust. He tipped his canister over and poured out the contents.
Kisune wrinkled her nose when she saw the red tinted liquid. "Oh yeah, I forgot he was drinking. That may be a deal breaker." She though, slightly disappointed. "But he did spit it out, so maybe it's not such a big deal." She thought with hope.
Breeg leaned down and began to gather his things. He began to lay them in his travel bag, which didn't take long since he didn't have much out. He straightened back up and began to walk back over to the tree to retrieve his shirts and scabbard.
"So where are you going?" He called over his shoulder.
Kisune was slightly off guard at the question. "As long as you're here, I may as well make sure you get to your destination safely." He called back as he pulled his undershirt over his head.
"Uhhh, Magnolia!" She replied. Breeg stopped in the middle of pulling his other shirt on. "Magnolia?" He called back, turning around. "Yeah, Magnolia." She confirmed. "You see, I'm looking to join the Wizard's Guild there-"
"Fairy Tail." Breeg stated as he walked back over.
Kisune looked surprised. "Yeah, that's it. Are you a part of it? I thought maybe you were a wizard during the fight, because you were moving so fast, but I wasn't sure."
Breeg laughed as he strapped on his sword belt and mounted his scabbard on it. "No. No, that's not magic. That just comes from almost twenty years of practice with several very accomplished swordsmen and women." He replied.
"Oh." Kisune said, taken aback. "Well it was very impressive."
"Thank you." Breeg said, smiling at her. Kisune turned red. "Oh my gosh, he's even got a gorgeous smile!" She squealed inside. "Uh... don't mention it!" She said nervously laughing as she smiled and waved back back at him.
"So I guess you're looking to join the Guild?" He asked, pulling Kisune back on subject.
"Yeah," she replied. "But if not, then I at least want to see their opinion on my magic ability. I've never had much opportunity to use it, so I don't really know how good I am."
"Well, any mage can be great in my opinion, no matter how powerful. All it takes is a little creativity." Breeg stated. "What kind of magic do you study?"
"Ring magic." She replied proudly. "I've been taught it ever since I was little."
"Ring magic, eh?" Breeg asked. "Well I can tell you, I don't remember any Ring Mages in Fairy Tail, so that'll work for you. But I haven't been there in years, so that might have changed by now."
"You keep talking like you know Fairy Tail pretty well. Why is that?" Kisune inquired, curious.
"I was raised there. That's actually where I began my sword training. Have you heard of Erza Scarlet?" He asked.
Kisune's eyes grew wide. "You were taught by Titania Erza?" She asked incredulously. Breeg nodded, laughing softly when he heard the nickname. But then something else suddenly occurred to her. "Wait a minute, if you were raised there, how are you not a wizard? You were surrounded by magic, didn't you ever want to learn?" She questioned.
Breeg leaned down and started to fasten his pack. "Actually, I did try and learn magic. But I could never focus on anything I was taught. I was so frustrated with myself too. But one day I woke up early and found Erza practicing in the courtyard. I went out to watch her, because seeing her sword fighting was entrancing. She saw me, and came over to the pillar I was hiding behind. She leaned down to my level and held her hand out. After some hesitation I took it. She took me over to a bench, and we sat and talked. She said she had noticed I kept getting distracted from learning magic. I almost cried when she said that, because I was trying really hard to learn. She looked down at me and raised my head up to look at her. She said that it was okay that I couldn't learn, not everyone can.'
'Then she stood up, and offered to try and teach me to fight. I wasn't sure at first, because I was afraid to let her down because I wouldn't be able to focus again. I guess she read my thoughts, because she told me 'You'll never know what you can do if you don't try.' Those words really struck me. So I got up and asked her to take me as a student. She smiled, and then handed me one of the training swords that were in the courtyard. She grabbed one herself and so began my sword training." He said with nostalgia evident in his voice.
"I trained hard for the next five years, eventually giving up magic, so I could focus more on training with Erza. There was something about sword fighting that just felt right with me. Whenever I pick up a sword, I feel a drive and focus I don't know with anything else." He said as he raised his own sword skyward. But he sighed as he sheathed it again. "But regardless, I knew I couldn't stay forever. So I eventually left, and when I did I just traveled the country, looking for work and for new masters to train under and teach me things I never knew before.'
'And that's how I got to be where I am now." He finished. "Saving women from bandits on the road," he said, gesturing towards Kisune.
Kisune just sat there, thinking over what all he had just said. She looked up as Breeg was shouldering his bag.
"And speaking of the road, we had better get going. I'm going to Magnolia as well, so it won't be any trouble to escort you there. Do you want me to carry your... things?" He asked, gesturing to her robes. Kisune looked at them. "No, it's alright, I'll just put them back on." She said as she stood up.
"Are you sure? 'Cause we need to get mov-" Breeg began to say, but stopped as he watched her pick up her robes and swing them on, already prepared to go.
"What were you saying?" she asked from under her hood. Breeg kinda just looked at her, wondering how she did that.
He shook his head. "Nothing." He said.
"I'll figure it out later." He thought.
"Alright, then let's go, Kazu!" She stated.
Breeg had already started moving, but stopped. He turned back to her. "'Kazu'?" He inquired.
Kisune grew wide eyed, then blushed. "Oh, sorry. That was just the name I gave you while you were fighting. I guess I should ask for your name then, huh?" She smiled, still slightly embarrassed.
"It's fine," Breeg said back. "My name's Breeg. And yours?"
"Kisune." She replied. "But 'Breeg'? I dunno, I think I like Kazu better. I think it matches you better."
"I think Breeg suits me just fine." He replied, slightly offended she didn't like his name.
"Nah, Kazu seems more like the name of a drinker." She stated simply.
"Drinker?" Breeg thought. Then he remembered he thought he heard someone say that before the fight. "I guess that was her."
"Wait, I thought I told you I was tired, not drunk?" He told her.
"And that's just what a drunk would say." She replied. "But you tell yourself whatever you need to so you can sleep at night. Not that you need any help, I'm sure."
Breeg opened his mouth to retort, but realized they were wasting time. "Whatever. Come one, let's go." He said, as he continued his march Eastward.
Kisune was about to follow when she suddenly remembered the light that had come from him in the fight.
"Hey, Kazu! I just remembered, I wanted to ask you about that light that you shot out at the other guy when he tried to stab you!" She called as she ran to catch up. "If you're not a wizard how'd you do that?" she continued after she had caught up to him.
"Light-based magic armor I picked up on a job a few years ago." He replied. "As long as their is a source of light within a certain range of me, I can fight without much worry of getting injured. However, the impact from something can still hurt. So if that guy had hit me with his sword earlier, it wouldn't have cut me in half, but the impact would still have sent me flying." He turned to her. "Can I borrow your knife?" He asked. She nodded, and handed him the curved dagger. He held it in his right hand, and raised it up to his left arm. He lightly slide the blade across it, but instead of cutting his skin, a light shone forth from it. He handed the knife back to Kisune, and she sheathed it back, looking at him. There was absolutely no sign that there was any armor on him!
"Well that's all well and good for a little slash, but if you really wanna impress me, you'll try and stab yourself, and then we'll see how good your armor is." She stated seriously.
Breeg laughed. "Well it doesn't just work as armor. It also returns the force of the blow back onto the source. That's why that man's dagger flew out of his hand when he tried to make me his new dagger sheath." But he quickly stopped laughing. "Speaking of that guy, man he was a lot tougher than his boss. I'm surprised HE wasn't the leader." He observed.
Kisune looked at him puzzled. "What do you mean? He went down after you hit him once!" She exclaimed.
"Yeah, but that was the third time I had taken him down." Breeg replied. "Not to mention he just got back up and held you captive. I was getting geared up for a longer fight, I was surprised when he went down after I threw that rock at him."
"But those were..." Kisune began to say, but stopped when something occurred to her. "Wait, how many guys do you think you fought?" She asked, wondering if she was right.
"Two, I counted. One big guy, and then a resilient little guy." He replied simply.
Kisune looked shocked. "There were five guys! One big one and four smaller guys. You kept taking out different guys, not the same one!" She almost yelled at him.
"Really?" Breeg asked back, sounding surprised himself. "Well then, those guys weren't near as impressive." He said to himself.
Kisune just stared at him agape. "How could you think there were only two guys? Oh wait, that's right. You were drunk." She remembered.
"I was not drunk!" He replied sternly. "I was tired, I didn't get much sleep last night."
Kisune almost laughed. "Yeah, because you had a long night, I'm sure."
"I did." Breeg replied. But realized what she meant after he looked at her. "Not that kind of long night." He corrected her.
When he said that Kisune thought of what he had meant. "What other kind of long night could he have had?" She wondered. Then her eyes grew wide, and she glanced up at him. "Unless..." She moved a little further away from him and suddenly felt a little unsafe around him, being the gorgeous woman she was.
Breeg cocked an eyebrow when he saw her move away. He looked at her worried face, and a few things connected in his head. "Not that kind of long night, either!" He said, trying to assure her.
Kisune looked him up and down suspiciously. "Well either way, you keep your distance just in case." She told him.
Breeg sighed. "Alright, if that's what you want." Breeg said as he looked out on the landscape. Suddenly he spied a blessing: a passenger cart! But it was out of calling distance.
"Not a problem." Breeg thought. "Kisune, cover your ears." He told her.
"Why?" She asked suspiciously.
"Just do it." He replied. She did, after some hesitation. She watched as Breeg's finger's raised to his lips, and then whistled.
Kisune shut her eyes tightly and clamped her hands harder on her ears. That had to be the loudest whistle she had ever heard! She opened her eyes again to see Breeg waving. She looked out in the distance, and saw a passenger cart turning and moving toward them. She uncovered her ears, which were ringing.
"Okay, how did you do that?!" She yelled over her ringing ears.
"You don't have to yell, I'm right here." He replied. "And again, that's just something that comes with practice." She wasn't sure if she believed him, but they were getting a ride, so she'd let it go for now. Soon the cart arrived. Breeg told the driver they were going to Magnolia, and payed the price in full.
"Huh, no haggling." She thought. "He must either be too tired to care... or he's rich!" The thought had never occurred to her, and she remembered why when she looked at him again. No way he could be rich with so few belongings and ratty clothes.
She never got to finish thinking though, 'cause she was jolted out of her thoughts as the cart began to move. She watched as Breeg put his things down and settle in to his side of the cart. She was getting settled in as well. She was always surprised by how comfortable these carts were. She had just thrown back her hood when she heard Breeg speak.
"So Kisune, what's your story?" He asked as he leaned against the side of the cart...
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed Breeg's back story. Provided the chapter doesn't get super long(which it shouldn't because of what I have planned. It may actually be shorter than usual), they should arrive at Magnolia next chapter.
But thanks for the views, and reviews are welcome.
Have a great day guys! Cheers! ;D