"Rise-chan, what are they doing?" Nanako asked, peeking over the windowsill in bewilderment.
Truthfully, Rise wasn't sure herself. Astaire and his shadowy opponent had been walking in circles for a while now, with neither party having yet landed a blow, or even thrown one. The boys had all hustled over at the other side of the room, congregating and theorising about what was going on. "I bet it's like one of those old Western movies my grandpa watches." One suggested. "Where they all stand in a circle and wait to fire at each other."
Watching the scene unfold, Rise realised something. Astaire seemed to know that this would happen, thus she could assume this was something of a normal occurrence in Lordran. If so, then this would be the first time she'd seen how Astaire fought somebody from his own world. His shadow could hardly count, empowered by the TV world as it was. Ever since, he'd never really gotten into a serious one-on-one fight, at least not in front of her.
Astaire was a destructive enough force on his own. What on earth would a fight against something as strong from the same world be like? The thought filled her with equal parts anxiety and intrigue.
Outside, the tension was palpable. It didn't take a genius to guess that although the Washing Pole was unwieldy it'd be a hell of a lot faster than a Zweihander. It was a situation Astaire had been in many a time before. Of both parties, he'd be the one with the bigger opening after attacking first. That was when they'd strike. It was always when they struck.
The ground shook as Astaire threw the first blow, hitting naught but air as the Dark Spirit nimbly backstepped out of his range. As he'd expected, the moment his blade was at rest, the keen edge of the Washing Pole has darting towards him like a ravenous animal after his throat.
A fresh surge of pain splayed across Astaire's torso as the elongated sword made short work of his armour, slicing through it as though it weren't even there. Ever still, the battle-hardened knight grinned through the pain. "Fell for it, you bastard." His muscles roared into action once again, ploughing into the Spirit's side. And again. And again. Each hit more taxing than the last, keeping the Spirit off balance so as to make running away impossible.
The two separated, now keenly aware of what the other was capable of. Adrenaline levels hit their peak, the scent of blood fresh in the air. Such was Astaire's focus that he entirely blocked out the drip-dropping of the growing pool of blood at his feet. No time for that. He had to protect Rise and the children.
Both fighters caught their breath, lunging at each other once again, wise to the tactics of the other. Both swinging their massive weapons about with reckless abandon, an unintelligible flurry of steel and blood to the eyes of their onlookers.
The urge to roar out in pain was palpable as the Spirit stabbed into Astaire's thigh, yet more fresh blood spurting onto the ground. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He wouldn't give his opponent an inch, not even affording him the satisfaction of a yell. He swallowed the pain, channelling it into the raw, unbridled force which connected with the Spirit and sent them flying across the playground.
Inside, the crowd was going wild. The boys cheered and yelled through the glass with each hit Astaire landed, shouting words of encouragement for every one he took. The girls, Rise included, weren't so ecstatic. Her heart filled with worry at the sight of her protector outside. His deep, gasping breaths that fluttered the cloth of his hood, the way he wavered on one foot when trying to retain his balance. The thick spurt of blood he spat onto the ground beside him. He wasn't looking good.
The brief moment of respite only served to remind Astaire how many hits he'd taken. It felt like his entire body was on fire, his blood littering the ground underneath him. A far cry from his opposition. Spirits didn't bleed, nor did they speak or cry out in pain. They were cold, emotionless, impossible to read. It rose up from the ground, straightening without a hint of hardship. It was enough to make Astaire wonder if he was doing anything at all. He seemed to be the only one suffering.
No. Impossible. He had to be doing something. Nothing was that strong. Not strong enough to shrug off the Chaos Fire coursing through his sword. That was what he told himself. It was just a shame he wasn't buying it. The sheer severity of the pain crawling up his body was enough to make him want to double over. It was only through sheer, resolute iron will that he still stood.
There was no other choice. Astaire quickly reached for his Estus Flask and gulped greedily at it. He relaxed as the soothing sensation swept down his throat, taking all the aches and pains with it. His relief quickly turned to horror as he lowered the flask from his lips.
It was dulling. The flask has only half as bright as it usually was, the upper half returning to the dull, glassy green of the flask's body, ignorant of the wondrous golden glow of its contents. Just as he'd feared, his greatest boon was running out. As the Spirit began looming towards him again, the thought snapped out of his mind. He lunged forward, his fighting spirit newly lit.
Rise's breath fogged the window, her eyes wide. Forget never seeing Astaire like this, she'd never witnessed a fight like this. It was different from a shadow, a ghost, a darkwraith or even with a Goddess. Each hit was visceral. Each wound deep and painful. The crimson-soaked battleground deepened a shade with every second that passed. Yet Astaire still stood. It seemed impossible, but some undeterrable force from within was keeping him on his feet, trading blows ever more.
The two locked swords, their faces inches apart. If Spirits breathed, Astaire would have felt it. "I don't care if it takes every drop of Estus I have left, you can't keep this up forever!" He shoved his opponent back, clashing with the ground as the blade toppled, pushing them back further.
All throughout the fight, the spirit had kept both hands on his sword. At Astaire's words, it was given pause. One hand dropped. A sign of resignation, perhaps? Astaire could only hope so. Hope which faded as the spirit reached around to its back. It had a shield. Branded with the insignia of a foreign land, long and stable looking. A Balder Shield, in other words.
The act of unabashed pragmatism didn't ease Astaire's thoughts at all. The fight had gone on long enough without this on top of it. "Hide behind whatever you like, coward. It'll avail you naught, once all is said and done." Astaire closed the gap between them, sensing this would be the final bout.
The obvious approach would be to rush up and kick the shield away. One solid kick. Yet as Astaire laid into his target, it seemed it wasn't to be that simple. He lowered his guard, attempting to rear up a kick. Before he could act, the Washing Pole bit at him. Pain. Fresh pain. All the way down his leg. Again. Had to try again. Again, the blade struck him. Again, the pain shot through his lower half.
The pain seemed blinding. The situation seemed hopeless. He couldn't act fast enough. A diabolical panic finally took hold in Astaire's chest as he came to the realisation. He was too slow to knock the shield away. He was getting torn to shreds.
There was one last resort. The one that barely anybody counted on him doing. He drew one last, ragged breath through his teeth as he tightened both hands on his weapon. He roared as his sword clashed with the sheet of metal, strike after strike after strike after strike sounding out like a mighty gong across the playground.
But it wasn't enough.
A chill ran down Astaire's spine as the Zweihander lodged itself uselessly in the concrete at his side. He'd given it his all. He'd thrown all he had at the Balder Shield and its wielder, yet it didn't budge. He might as well have been fending off the wind.
His stamina was gone. He'd wasted it all on a useless endeavour. There was nothing he could do. He watched as the spirit lithely rolled around him, just before an indescribable agony shot through his entire torso. Finally, he cried out in pain as he saw the tip of the Washing Pole pierce up through his chest, stained with his own blood.
"ASTAIRE, NO!" Rise cried out, her thoughts echoed by every child in the room. As the spirit withdrew its sword from Astaire's back, her heart sunk to the bottom of her chest as her nigh indomitable friend fell limp to the ground.
No. No no no no. There was no way. It couldn't have happened. It was impossible. Astaire-kun couldn't be dead. He couldn't have been bested by the first thing to properly come from his world, could he?
Her thoughts didn't cease racing as she saw the spirit turn and begin walking towards the school. Panic shot through her like lightning as the realisation hit. Whatever this thing was here for, it wasn't Astaire.
And she and the kids were the only other ones here.
"R-Rise-chan?" Nanako looked up at Rise with eyes that could have broken her heart. "What's gonna happen now?" The young girl seemed on the verge of tears, as did many others in the room. Astaire was their only defence to rally behind and he was lying on the ground. A tightness in Rise's throat made speaking difficult, but nevertheless she leaned down and wrapped her arms around her Senpai's Little Sis.
"Don't cry Nanako-chan, it's going to be alright." She lied, cutting at her heart like a knife. "We've just got to… we've-" Her attempts to calm everyone down were halted as a loud bang resounded from downstairs. Followed by another. And another.
The spirit was at the door, and it wanted in.
The children watched the door to their room in horror. Rise fell to her knees, hopeless. There was no escape. Not from the school grounds, the building itself or even the room. Not even she could muster up any comforting words as she and everyone else waiting for the inevitable sound of the doors giving way.
The spirit rounded up again, sending another kick into the door and gaining another inch on the inside. It wouldn't take many more now.
"...Hey…" The spirit turned around, ceasing its assault on the door. The hooded knight stood, his blood streaming down his torso from the hole his chest and pooling around him. "We're not finished. Get back here." He tried to move, yet found himself unable to walk without falling on his sword for support. Even then, he could barely straighten his back. "I won't let you hurt them. Come back here and fight me, you coward."
The spirit turned back to the door. It was clear to anyone that the hooded one was done. Bravado didn't stem bleeding. As the door threatened to give way, a surge of light emanated from behind the spirit, followed by a severe burning sensation that felt as though the sun itself had struck them. It turned around just in time to see the lightning dissipating from the hooded one's off hand.
"In the name of Lord Gwyn and the Warriors of Sunlight," They began, priming their massive sword to strike over their shoulder with both hands. "I'll banish you right this second or die where I stand."
It wasn't a trick or a ploy, not that the spirit could see. He truly was using the last of his strength to hoist the massive weapon above his head, leaving every other part of him completely open. He didn't move, either out of sheer, iron-plated resolve or lack of energy, it was hard to tell.
The passing seconds felt like years ticking by at a time. The only measure being a rhythmic dripping, widening the crimson pool at the knight's feet.
Finally, the spirit drew its sword once again. Time to call the knight's bluff. "Come now, so I can banish you back to whatever abyssal hovel gave you form."
The pounding at the door stopping, Rise and the kids looked at each other in confusion. It didn't sound like it had broken in, so had something happened outside? Grasping at a few scant threads of hope, Rise rushed back over to the window, her heartbeat frantic. There Astaire stood, coaxing one last attack from the spirit who broke into a sprint towards him.
The air hung thick as everyone gathered back around to watch. Nobody dared say anything, nor did they dare utter a breath.
The Washing Pole's tip disappeared behind the spirit's back as it wound up for one final hit. No sooner had it asserted the force to bring it back around for the kill, all was interrupted by a deafening, earth-shaking sound as the blade of the Zweihander met the ground with an almighty crash, the very concrete around the impact giving way and splitting like it were made of wood.
Everyone inside balked in amazement as anything not kept nailed down in the room suddenly leapt up into the air by a few inches. The flower pots sitting on the window, pencils and pens on desks, even a thick stack of books strewn over the teacher's table, all rocketed away from their respective surfaces as the bone-shattering force of impact ran throughout the school building.
A thick cloud of dust had been kicked up as a result of the blow. Obscured from everyone, Astaire gazed down at the spirit lying at his feet. "Thought I was waiting for your attack to hit again, didn't you?" He raised his sword once again, similarly grasping it with both hands. "Having something to protect makes all the difference." He said with a satisfied grin. Before the spirit could get up or roll away, the earth shook once again as another earth-ravaging blow crushed the invader into a sickening black dust.
The fog wall behind him proceeded to thin and finally fade, allowing the wind to carry away the scant remains of the fiend who had terrorised the school. Satisfied with the outcome, Astaire felt any semblance of energy leave him as he fell backwards onto the concrete. If he'd had the stamina to breathe a sigh of relief, he'd have done so.
"ASTAIRE-KUN!" As much as he wanted to, getting up to face Rise wasn't happening. This was even worse than the haunted house incident, moving at all was out of the question. Her face appeared above his own as she tore off his hood, peppering him with freshly fallen tears. "Come on, get up! You can get up, can't you?! You're not dying, right?!" She asked with increasing maniacal concern.
It took effort on par with moving a boulder, but Astaire managed to loll his head to one side, his eyes meeting the brilliant yet fading golden glow of the Estus Flask. Following his gaze, Rise scrambled to free it as quickly as she could, fumbling as her hands trembled and shook.
Finally freeing it, Rise carefully set her hand behind Astaire's head and propped him up on her lap, freeing her hand to part his lips while the other poured a generous helping of Estus down his throat. She watched his face with intent, desperately balling her fists with such force that her knuckles went white.
The many harsh, bleeding wounds around Astaire's body began stitching themselves back together as the spark of life returned to his eyes. He blinked, slipping off a gauntlet to rub at his eyes as he sat himself upright, smacking his lips as the taste of estus lingered in his mouth. "Thank goodness." He smiled sincerely. "I'm glad you and the little ones are alright."
The knight was silenced as Rise threw her arms around his neck, locking him into a hug so tight it threatened to choke the life out of him all over again. "I thought you were dead! He stabbed you all the way through!" She said through waves of tears. "You were on the ground, a-and we could hear the door being kicked in, and, and…" Rise buried her head in his chest, armour be damned.
"I'm sorry for scaring you like that." Astaire placed his unarmoured hand on her back, pulling her closer in an attempt to calm her, her back twitching as she sobbed. "Come now, it's alright. As long as you and the children are safe, everything's fine." He said as soothingly as he could.
He couldn't say it out loud, but the situation felt quite nice. Nobody had ever been waiting for him to return from a fight before, nor been actively rooting for him when the Dark Spirits came about. His contented thoughts were quickly jostled loose as he realised Rise was banging uselessly on his chestpiece, her eyes still awash with tears. "Don't ever make me worry like that again, got it?!"
"I can't make any promises." Because if he was able to pick and choose who impaled him and who didn't, he wouldn't be in this position. "If fate should decree that getting run through again is the only way to keep you or others from harm, I'm not in much of a position to deny it."
Rise sniffed as she calmed her sobbing ever so slightly. "You can't just say that. I couldn't ask you to do that, I couldn't ask anyone to do that!" She insisted, again banging at the chestpiece like a child having a tantrum. What the hell was he thinking, having been nearly killed and saying he'd do it all over again? It didn't make sense.
All the knight could do was shrug. "Didn't I tell you? This is what I'm best at. For being useless at everything else, I should think taking a few impalements is the least I can do." In truth, Astaire figured that if he hadn't already been wounded, he'd probably have just gotten right back up and kept fighting. Not like it was the sort of thing that hadn't happened before.
It was hard to tell how Rise felt in the flurry of emotions that'd swamped her. Sad? Frustrated? Scared? Relieved? Happy? It all sort of mixed together and coalesced into a feeling she wasn't quite sure how to properly place. She was bereft of words as she shook her head, knowing only that she was glad not to be mourning Astaire's death.
Some commotion from within the school brought the two to attention. "Nuh-uh, you're not allowed outside, girl's rules!" A young girl's voice piped up.
"Girl's rules?! That sounds stupid, let us out!"
"No! You guys will ruin everything!"
Upon closer inspection, some of the girls were nervously peeking around the door at Astaire and Rise, then quickly jolting back inside. The two looked at each other, as if the other would have some idea as to what they were up to, when they realised how the situation looked to onlookers. Both of them sitting with each other on the ground, one alternating between wrapping her arms around the other and banging on his chestpiece out of concern? After nearly dying in a bloody fight no less?
Oh Gods above, they forgot the children were watching.
Both protector and protectee quickly scrambled to gather themselves, just as whatever squadron of girls was keeping the boys back seemed to give way, leading to a storm of youths swarming out the door. They weren't long out before they all stopped in awe.
The playground was a mess. Chunks of concrete were taken out where the Zweihander had lodged itself after swings, dwarfed only by the single, massive crater which was left in place of the Dark Spirit that'd coaxed the attack in the first place. Far worse even than that was the thin layer of blood which was now strewn across a good part of the area, puddles and footprints left as a gratuitous, yet detailed map of the ebb and flow of the battle.
"Whoa…" The boys all chorused. One would think they'd have been more upset at having their play area thoroughly banjaxed by some oddball with a large sword, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. Everyone rushed over to the crater, peering into it as though they were expecting something to crawl out of it. "You did this, Sensei?!"
Sensei? Wasn't that what Teddie called Mr. Narukami? Assuming they meant him, Astaire gave them a careful nod.
"Whoa…" They echoed one another again, staring back into the hole. That was, until one particular lad's head shot up out of the crowd. "Wait a minute! Isn't all this blood yours, Sensei?!" He rightly pointed out to the notably unwounded Astaire.
Drat and double drat. How were they going to explain this? Both he and Rise stammered as they tried conjuring a suitable answer from the aether. After a second or two, inspiration hit. Astaire opened his mouth and- "Astaire-kun's got superpowers! He can heal really quickly when he's not fighting someone!" The knight's expression didn't change as she slowly turned to gaze confusedly at his companion's outburst. "Here's something else I bet nobody knew! Astaire-kun's also going to be in a whole heck of a lot of trouble if we don't try and clean away the blood, right Astaire-kun?" Rise added through gritted teeth, more out of panic than anger.
"Alright, I'll take this end of the hose, and you twist the valve whenever I say to, okay?" One of the boys instructed Astaire, who returned a thumbs up as he grasped the rusty valve with his other hand. "Good, now open it up, Sensei!" One squeaky, hesitant to turn hose valve later and…!
Nothing happened.
Well that was weird. It always worked when the teachers did it. "Hey, can you check if there's something blocking the nozzle?" The boy asked, handing the end of the length of hose to Astaire. "Y'know, just at the front there. See anything blocking it up?"
Several minutes later, a soaking wet Astaire was helping hose down what he'd left on the grounds. "Sneaky little rascals, you are." The droplets hung his hair around him like a shaggy dog, giving endless amusement to the boys as they messed around with the water, sometimes running for cover as Astaire playfully threatened to soak them during his wash up.
The girls of the class, meanwhile, had been a bit more tentative in approaching the guy who'd registered on the Richter scale not too long ago, instead content to talk with Rise and watch the boys go about their tomfoolery, slowly clearing the playground of any blood. The debris, on the other hand? That'd be a bit harder to cover up. Secretly, Rise dreaded whatever knock-on effect this was going to have, but chose instead to take solace in the fact that there wasn't a dead body to add to the mess.
While keeping an eye on the increasingly wet boys, Rise leaned over to Nanako, who had sat next to her and seemed to have brightened up a fair bit from the classroom to now. "Are you okay, Nanako-chan?" She asked, just to be safe. "It was pretty scary in there for a minute."
The younger girl nodded half-heartedly. "What was that thing? That thing that was trying to get inside?" She seemed a bit calmer than earlier, but it was clear that it was still weighing heavily on her mind.
"I'm really not sure, Nanako-chan. Astaire-kun might be able to tell us though." Though she said it, this didn't seem to alleviate her worries at all. Nanako's gaze retreated to the floor as she mulled the whole situation over. Seeing the little girl in such a way was hard for Rise to look at. "...Hey, if you're so worried, do you want Astaire-kun and I to walk you home?"
That did the trick. Nanako's eyes widened and her face lit up at the prospect. "Really?! You'll walk home with me?!"
Rise winked and put on her best winning smile. "Definitely!" In a flash she was on her feet, assessing the progress everyone had made on clearing up the mess. It still looked like a meteor had struck, but at least it didn't look like it'd crushed someone on impact as well. Nodding in confidence, Rise cupped her hands and turned in a general Astaire-ish sort of direction. "Hey, Astaire-kun! We're gonna walk Nanako-chan home, alright? Senpai'd probably kill us if we didn't!"
Not wishing to incite Senpai-centric wrath, he nodded firmly and handed off the still-running hose to his posse of new admirers, giving them a low bow for their assistance. He yelped as the stream of cold water leapt down the back of his coat, the boys rolling around in fits of laughter as he danced around on the spot, chasing off the lads shortly after.
"Gods above, I'm soaked to the skin!" The drenched knight laughed. It was hard to imagine he and the one who were bleeding out on the ground were the same people, given the attitude change. "Ah well, I'm sure I'll dry off sooner or later. Shall we be off?"
Nods from both girls sent the new trio on their way, Nanako and Rise waving goodbye to the girls and Astaire bidding farewell to his legion of half-pint students.
After the bleak and depressing circumstances which had transpired only a few minutes ago, the gentle breeze and the blue sky was never more welcome. "Oh yeah, we also met Teddie on the way over here, didn't we Astaire-kun?" Rise asked, breaking the silence between the trio.
Nanako looked up at Astaire expectantly. However she knew Teddie, she must have been pretty fond of him. "We most certainly did. He wound up nearly breaking my nose, too. If he hadn't snuck up on me beforehand I'd almost have forgiven him."
Clearly Nanako found it funnier than he did as she giggled upon hearing of his antics. "Teddie's always doing silly stuff like that. There was this time during Big Bro's school's culture festival where he dressed up like a girl and won the crossdressing competition!"
She said it casually, but Nanako's statement froze Astaire in his tracks as he processed what he'd just heard. "He… he what? Why in blazes was there a crossdressing competition in the first place?" He asked, thankfully not noticing Rise smiling to herself as she looked at him.
"I dunno, but Big Bro told me all the guys in his school were really confused that he wasn't a girl!" Nanako giggled. "And then, there was this other time when he and Big Bro…"
Naoto pored over her notebook, assessing the notes she'd taken thus far as she hung several critical details from the corkboard in front of her. Her pencil flourished across the latest entry as she recorded the details of the message Rise had sent her a few minutes ago. Easier said than done, give the usual nature of her text messages.
A wall of fog. A being made of shadows carrying a sword and shield, presumably from Astaire's world. The fog clearing after it was defeated.
She tore the newest page out, pinning it up next to the other entries before leaning back in her chair and surveying it at large.
The singular re-emergence of the Midnight Channel, with the insides modeled after the world of it's victim. The "Haunted House" with the darkness that lay underneath, and now a manifestation of darkness appearing from nowhere and attacking others. Given the relative peace over the last couple of months, it seemed foolish to assume that Astaire's arrival in their world hadn't acted as some kind of catalyst to fuel these happenings.
...But why? How? As much as she thought about it, Naoto was at a loss. Even working under the assumption that Astaire was the trigger for all these events, that provided little insight into exactly how they were even being made possible. The only one with any kind of knowledge of the workings of the other world was Astaire himself. Admittedly, nobody had really known him long enough to get a proper feel for him (other than Rise, likely as not,) but he'd been in as much danger as the rest of them. The odds of him purposefully trying to ruin their world seemed unlikely, at least for now.
Naoto sighed and got up from her chair, rubbing her head as she slowly paced around the room. She'd been collating these notes and aggregating details for the past few days at any chance she got, it was bound to get to her eventually. "Coffee. Coffee will probably help me."
Coffee didn't help her. The moment the dark, caffeine-imbued elixir touched her tongue, she recoiled at the taste. As much as she told herself it was an acquired flavour, acquiring it wasn't proving easy. Reasoning that letting good caffeine go to waste wouldn't help her, Naoto steeled her resolve and continued drinking, beating away the urge to screw up her face by pondering the situation further.
"If something caused these events to transpire all at once, there has to be some way of stopping it." She thought to herself between light sips. As much as she pondered the matter, she wasn't rapidly approaching a solution of any kind. Choosing to read back over her notes yet another time, she retreated back to her room from the kitchen and sat back down.
Think. Think. Rubbing her head and drumming the table proved to be of little help as Naoto pored over her notes yet again. Nothing about what she'd learned about their mysterious visitor was giving her any indication as to what was causing all this to happen, and it was beginning to frustrate her. Good thing nobody else was around.
"Preposterous. How can anyone be expected to complete a puzzle without first having all the pieces?" She asked herself. It was the only conclusion she could come to. Whatever was causing Astaire to affect the world so negatively, it didn't seem to be anything he was knowingly doing, nor was there anything about the minor hints at his past that provided any clarity either.
Naoto rolled onto her bed, resting her head on her hands and idly staring up at the mound of paperwork decorating her desk. She had so many cases lined up already, taking up another hardly seemed wise, especially one so cryptic. Yet something nagged at her in the back of her head. Something told her that this was important. Important enough to dwarf the priorities she held to her other clients.
"...I need a break." Naoto concluded guiltily. It didn't seem befitting of the Detective Prince to seek out a distraction so readily, but this case was a bit different from the others. The only clues that'd be of any use to her lay beyond the borders of her world entirely, it was hardly as simple as going to the police station and digging through files. "Perhaps consulting the others for ideas could shed some light on the subject." She told herself.
Slipping her trademark cap on, Naoto locked her door behind her and set out for Inaba. There was only so much one could do while sitting alone in one's own room.
"...so then Big Bro came over with everyone and brought a great big watermelon!" Nanako enthused, her smile as bright as the sun. Faced with a smile like that, Astaire found it hard to complain about having been subjected to her non-stop story time the entire way home. That said, he had the distinct feeling that he likely knew more about Yu Narukami than Yu Narukami did at this point, given he'd received about a year's worth of information in half an hour. "It's too bad I got so sick, though. Going to the beach would have been fun…"
No sooner had the word "beach" passed her lips, Rise felt a jolt of inspiration hit her like a bolt from the blue. "Y'know, Nanako-chan…" she sidled up beside the shorter girl, hands behind her back as she teasingly gazed off to the side. "...I still need to show Astaire-kun around, since he's still pretty new here." Nanako and Astaire looked at each other in confusion before both turning back to Rise. "So if we, oh, I dunno, happened to wind up going to the beach…"
The shift from 0 to 100 in Nanako's mood happened in an instant. She looked like she'd just been told Christmas was coming early. "W-Would you get Big Bro and everybody to come with you too?!" If she was trying to conceal her excitement, she was doing a horrible job at it.
"You bet we would! Isn't that right, Astaire-kun?"
Under the gaze of both girls, who could have the heart to say no? "Absolutely. I've never even seen a "beach" before, so I'll need someone wiser than I to educate me as to what it's like, won't I?" He said while motioning to Nanako, who looked fit to burst with happiness at any moment.
"Well, here we are!" Rise's announcement caught Astaire off guard as he prepared to walk right past Nanako's house. "Wait a minute, isn't that your Dad's car, Nanako-chan?" She pointed out. "It's a little early for him to be back home, isn't it?"
Though Astaire could only guess at what Nanako's father would be like, he could have sworn that something in Rise's voice didn't sound quite right. Almost like she was worried about something. He put it out of his mind as the sound of the front door drew his attention, a man with a red tie and black-grey attire stepping out thereafter.
"Hey, I thought I heard somebody out here." Dojima's casual tone as he stepped out betrayed his face as he laid eyes on Rise. "Rise Kujikawa? What are you doing here? Inaba's not exactly a stone's throw away from the city."
Ignoring his baffled expression, Rise shot him a grin. "Hey, Dojima-san! We were just in a neighbourhood and met up with Nanako-chan, so we figured we'd walk her home!" The "We" was what prompted the second baffled look from Dojima. "I figured it'd be as good a time as any to introduce her and Astaire-kun to each other!" She bubbled.
A glance off to the side showed Dojima exactly what she meant. The man Rise had brought with her was tall enough to look him dead in the eye, in spite of barely looking half his age. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Dojima. I'm-"
"You're "Knight" Astaire, Rise Kujikawa's bodyguard." Dojima finished for him. Rightfully taken aback, Astaire's words hung in his mouth as he realised they were no longer needed. "I'm well aware of who you are, don't you worry." Though he said as much, it was becoming readily apparent to Astaire that anytime someone could forgo his introduction, it wasn't a good sign for things to come.
Both girls seemed to be aware of what he was getting at. Nanako had mentioned that Astaire was scarier on TV, so there was little doubt her father hadn't seen him too. That being said, only one of them had seen him away from the prying eye of the press. "He's not as bad as the TV says, Dad!" Nanako insisted, "This weird guy showed up at our school and Astaire-san beat him up to keep us all safe!"
It took every willing fibre of her body for Rise not to deeply sigh. If there was one thing she hadn't wanted being brought up in front of Dojima, it was that. Dojima shot Astaire an incredulous look. "He did, huh?" He spared the fellow a moment as he knelt down to his daughter. "Leave that sort of stuff to the police, okay? We'll take care of it the right way."
"I'm afraid it wasn't that simple." Rise's mood plummeted as Astaire returned the incredulous look he'd been given earlier, returning Dojima to his full height. "He wasn't leaving without a fight, so I gave him one. Waiting was hardly an option." Though he sounded calm, it was clear to see that Astaire wasn't what many would call pleased.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, neither was Dojima. "If some creep is skulking around my daughter's school, I'd like to see him behind bars where he belongs. Are you saying you can do the Police's job better than they can?"
"I'm telling you, it's not that simple." As much as he wanted to shout "It was a murderous dark spirit, you dolt!" or something similar, not even Astaire was stupid enough to think he'd understand. "I drove him off and I can assure you beyond a doubt he won't come back."
"Is that so? Did you use that sword of yours to do it too?" Dojima said accusingly, narrowing his eyes.
As the detective's tone harshened, so too did an edge creep into the knight's. "What I did it with matters little. I handled the situation and resolved it as I saw fit."
"It matters to me. Don't go thinking that rubbing shoulders with celebrities means you can do whatever you want regardless of the law, much less in my town." Dojima bit back, extending a finger at Astaire's chest.
He paused for a moment, gazing over Dojima's shoulder to the girls behind him. "Should I need to defend Ms. Kujikawa from whatever misfortunes may befall her, I'll gladly take a fall or two if need be." He replied, deciding the omit the part where he'd basically already done so once.
Nonetheless, Dojima squared up to Astaire, so close he could smell his breath. "You're not disregarding the law on my watch, or anyone else's for that matter." He growled. The two stared each other down, both refusing to look away as their respective resolves were tested.
"Alright, that's enough!"
"Please leave Astaire-san alone, Dad!" Both girls interjected, pushing their respective parties away from each other forcefully. They'd been staring at one another so intensely it was a shock sparks hadn't begun flying.
Both detective and knight exhaled deeply. Neither could refuse the demands of the pleading gazes which currently held them back from one another. Both relaxed as the adrenaline seeped out of their systems, allowing them to look at one another through more level-headed eyes. "Listen, I work hard to keep this town safe. For my daughter and everyone else's sakes." He motioned to Rise, who still had her hands on Astaire's chest. "I won't stop you from doing your job, but you've got to let me do mine, too. Don't give me a reason to haul you in myself."
"Sure, the next time some unholy agent of the Dark begins wrecking this world and I'm bleeding out on the floor, I'll be sure to give you a call."
...Is what Astaire felt like saying. If Dojima had been there himself, he'd have understood what he did and why. But there was no getting through to him. He was in an unexplainable situation. "...Right." Was the response he finally settled on. He felt the tension leave his body as he calmed down.
"Right." Dojima answered acceptingly. "C'mon Nanako, let's get inside." And without another word, Dojima turned his back to the blue-coated swordsman and took his leave, leaving the door for Nanako to close.
The pigtailed lass looked up at her new companion, an apology on the tip of her tongue. "I'm sorry for being such a bother, Little Miss." Astaire began, beating her to the punch. "Your father is a good man. He too has someone he wishes dearly to protect, albeit very differently from myself."
Nanako seemed to ponder this, her gaze lingering between Astaire and Rise. Finally, she settled on a nod as a response, a smile returning to her tiny face. "Does that mean we're still gonna try to go to the beach?" She asked tentatively.
"Silly! Of course we are!" Rise assured her. "Besides, even if things had gotten much worse today, I'd just have left Astaire-kun at home and we could have gone on without him!" She laughed wholeheartedly, drawing Nanako in as well, in no small part assisted by the horrified look Astaire gave them both. "Anyway, you go in and play with your Dad, alright? We'll talk to you later." The idol affirmed as she playfully patted the youth's head.
Another nod and Nanako was hot on her Father's trail. "Bye, Rise-chan! Bye, Astaire-san!" She called as the duo took off towards town, shutting the door in their wake.
The menacing bodyguard was still fresh in Dojima's mind as he brewed a fresh pot of coffee. Even having overheard what he'd said to Nanako in his absence, he still didn't feel entirely certain about his character. However, it did make him feel a little better about losing his cool. "Breaking the law to protect one girl, huh." He may not have agreed, but it certainly seemed he was the dedicated sort at least. He almost wished he wouldn't have to arrest him some day.
Almost.
The pitter patter of Nanako's feet on the floor briefly paused behind him. "Oh, by the way Dad!" Dojima craned his neck around in response, raising an eyebrow. "Rise-chan was telling me that Astaire-san is friends with Big Bro and Teddie and everyone else, too!"
Where Nanako expected some kind of response, only silence followed. That was, until Dojima bent forward and let out a long, sustained sigh. "That… that would explain a lot, really. Somebody weird shows up in town, chances are they know him one way or another." Dojima rubbed the bridge of his nose, shaking his head as he poured out two coffees. "I swear, if I hadn't lived with him for a year I'd say he was cursed."
For a while, Astaire and Rise simply walked in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence, however. Rather, Astaire was struck by how quaint and peaceful Inaba town was. He relished the soft, cool breeze which swept over the both of them, the sounds of human-centric hustle and bustle replaced with cicada song and the rustling of the flora in the wind. Sunlight eked through the tiny spaces in the trees, unhindered by tall, obtrusive buildings as it usually was in the city streets. Every breath felt better than the last.
"Astaire-kun?" The knight snapped out of his nature-induced trance as his twin-tailed charge piped up. "About what happened at Nanako-chan's school…" She began, a pensive look drawn on her face. "...How did it feel? Y'know, the-" She cut off, pointing at the centre of her chest.
It only made sense she'd be curious, it hardly seemed like a common occurrence. "It's nothing I haven't felt many times before, if that's what's worrying you." Vivid recollections of the Darkroot Hunters' frequent forays into his world flooded his mind before he cast them aside. "Still, I wouldn't call it entirely painless. Good thing I didn't get the worst beating today."
The event had replayed in Rise's head like a damaged record all the way over from school. Her bodyguard and his opponent face to face, bleeding out and completely open, followed by a cacophony of noise, dust and sheer physical force threatening to topple the entire building.
Rise shook her head, knocking her thoughts aside. "...Thanks, by the way. I don't think me or Nanako-chan would be walking back home if it weren't for you." She finally said, catching her knight's gaze. Having caught it, she felt herself compelled to turn away so as to hide the ensuing redness on her face as she continued. "Not to mention… it was actually really kinda cool." She hastily admitted.
That was all Astaire needed to hear. He couldn't stop a grin spreading as he welled up with joy at Rise's words. "Well then, I daresay getting run through was well worth it, eh?" Chuckled the fellow who'd been bleeding to death with a hole in his torso nary an hour ago. He took little notice of the fact that Rise hadn't chuckled back, stuck on cloud nine as he was. Her eyes met with Astaire's shadow on the ground in front of her as she got lost in her thoughts.
Something had felt off in the past few days. Not just with the oddities taking place in their world and the TV world, but with Rise herself. More and more she'd found herself having moments like the one she was having now, letting her thoughts run rampant. The frequency at which they'd happened since Astaire had begun accompanying her was telling, especially.
This was unacceptable. Getting people this flustered was her job, not his! While she quickly dodged past puzzling out the reason as to why she was so caught up about Astaire in the first place, Rise formulated a plan. If Astaire was going to insist on being so damned fluster-worthy, with his displays of bravado and good intentions, the only option was to one-up him! Nobody was going to make Rise Kujikawa have confusing feelings and get away with it.
Out of sight, Rise balled her fists in determination. The sound of her footsteps slowed as she inched her way behind her blue-coated guardian. "Sorry Astaire-kun, my legs are getting a little tired from all this walking." Though she sounded plenty convincing, her body language was anything but. Before he had a chance to turn around, Rise shot into a sprint towards Astaire and pulled off a leap that would have made Chie jealous, landing squarely on Astaire's back before quickly wrapping her arms around his neck. "You couldn't carry me for a little while, could you?" She cooed playfully in his ear.
"B-Beg pardon?!" Astaire squawked as his voice broke in surprise.
"Come ooooooooon! You didn't have a problem with it when we first met, right? Back in the TV World?" She teased, resting her chin on one of Astaire's shoulders, lolling her head back and forth.
Every second she spent clung to his back, Astaire could feel his heartbeat quicken further and further. "Th-Th-That was entirely different! I had my armour on! I didn't know you as well as I do now!"
"What? What difference would that make?"
"Because back then I didn't…!" Astaire began, quickly stopping himself before he said more. He dared to look over at his inhabited shoulder, catching Rise giving him a look which encouraged him to continue. "I didn't… I, er…"
Without warning, Astaire rocketed forward, his limbs swinging at speeds only barely visible to mortal men. Whatever situation it was that he was in, the best solution appeared to be run the hell away from it. His burst into top speed was such that Rise found herself clinging ever tighter to his neck, which only served to spur him into running faster. A vicious circle of embarrassment and fear of falling off.
Needless to say the couple weren't long of reaching the town center at the speed they were clocking.
"Okay, I think that'll do, thanks Astaire-kun!" Rise chirped as she hopped off her larger companion's back and cleanly onto the ground. "How are you holding up? I don't think I've ever seen someone run so fast for so long, not even Chie-senpai!"
"Please refrain from doing that again." Astaire managed to say between desperate gasps for air. He was still red, only now for a different reason. Sweat ran down his face like he'd been caught in the rain, his limbs exerted to the point where even the slightest nudge sent a fresh wave of pain down whatever had moved. "I don't know what got into you back there, but I'm a knight, not a horse." He added as he slowly regained his stamina.
The building they'd stopped outside was a familiar one for Rise. After all, she'd spent a fair few months calling it home. She hadn't spoken to her Grandmother since she'd left Inaba, meaning it only made sense to call in while she was in the neighbourhood. "Astaire-kun, could you do me a favour?" She asked, not entirely looking forward to his reaction. "I'm gonna go inside and talk to my Grandma for a little while, could go to Kanji's place and meet me later?" She could see the questioning look quickly race into his eyes before she spoke again. "It's just that I haven't seen her in a while, so-"
"That's fine by me." Astaire jutted in. "Just tell me where I'm going and I'll go."
He didn't sound at all how Rise had expected. Concerned, maybe even offended? Sure, no problem. She'd been rattling together a explanation solely in anticipation of such a reaction. Instead, Astaire seemed completely unperturbed. "Wait, aren't you worried about wandering around on your own?"
"I think it'd be fair to say we've both wandered around stranger places and come out alright. Besides, didn't I say you need only tell me to give you some space and I would?" He said with a smile.
Well, if he was certain, who was Rise to say otherwise? A quick explanation of where exactly Kanji's home was to be found and he was off, a smile and a wave being all he left behind him. Seeing him walk off contentedly, Rise felt the concerned weight on her chest quickly make itself scarce. No problem, he was definitely alright.
Astaire was far from alright.
To be sure, he'd meant everything he'd said to Rise nary a few minutes ago, but that was then, not now. Now that he was on his own, he could feel old habits dredge themselves up from the deeply-etched pits of his soul. He and his sword cast a long shadow to the East as his eyes madly darted around the quiet street.
An alleyway there. A side street there. Too many hiding spots. Too many potential ambush points. His hair disheveled itself as his head bolted from one direction to the next, flicking light beads of sweat to the ground as they did so. His steps were heavy yet calculated, the air hung thick as naught but the sounds of the environment filled his ears. It had to come some time. It had to. The sign of something happening. Something nefarious lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment.
A dog barked, sending Astaire halfway across the street as he visibly recoiled at the sound, looking like he'd damn near leapt out of his skin in fright doing so. He shot a glare at the scruffy canine, scraping at the gate keeping it in the nearby backyard.
Astaire let free the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. "I can't go on like this, it's pathetic. Got to keep my wits about me." He told himself, steeling his resolve and continuing his way down the street.
"Yo, Astaire." Kanji called from the chair he'd set up outside Tatsumi Textiles. He gawked slightly as Astaire turned to him, his face screwed up tightly into a look of scowling, iron-clad determination. He looked like he was about to kill someone. "Jeez, what's got into you?"
His question appeared to wash the look clean off him as he calmed himself, running a hand down his face. "Nothing, it's nothing. Just erring on the side of caution, is all." For reasons he chose not to disclose. "In any case, good day to you too, Mr. Tatsumi." No sooner had the words escaped him, Astaire jumped as Kanji sprung from his seat, tossing the magazine he'd been reading to the ground as he strode over and firmly grasped him by the shoulders, looking him dead in the eye.
"Kanji."
"Beg pardon?"
"The name's Kanji. KAN. JI. C'mon, say it with me. KAN-"
"K-KAN?"
"-JI."
"JI?"
"KANJI."
"KANJI?"
Kanji loosened his grip from the unendingly perplexed knight's shoulders. "Alright. Good." He said as he sat back down, only serving to cause even more confusion in the other party.
"For goodness sakes, I already told you I know what your name is. You're an odd one, Mr. Tatsumi."
"YOU'RE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE, AREN'T YOU?!" Kanji fumed, raising a fist in Astaire's direction.
Several minutes later...
"You ain't with Rise today?" Kanji asked as the atmosphere began losing some of its previously held tension.
Meanwhile Astaire tried fixing his hair as best he could after nearly having the life shaken out of him by the shoulders. "Indeed. She instead wished to impart a visit upon her Grandmother in private. Hardly the sort of thing I could disincline." He explained as he graciously accepted a can of melon soda from Kanji, popping it open with ease. "Huh. Seems like that "muscle memory" theory Mr. Narukami put forth is at it again." He noted before sipping at the can's contents.
Kanji eyed him up, taking particular note of the large gash in the side of his coat from the previous night. "Guessin' you're here to get that thing looked at, huh?" He rolled his eyes as Astaire paused for a moment, evidently having forgotten that his coat was the reason they came to Inaba in the first place. "No sweat. Just take it off and hand it to Moms in there and she'll work her magic."
Within the space of an eyeblink, Astaire's coat had left his body and been folded neatly in his arms, replaced instead with the top half of his armour. It took a few eye rubbings for Kanji to realise it had indeed happened in real time. Within no time at all, the half-armoured knight returned from within Tatsumi Textiles, now coatless, retaking his place next to Kanji.
"So when you gonna tell her?" Kanji piped up after a moment.
"Tell who what?"
"Tell Rise that you like her, duh."
The ensuing spit take glistened in the sun as Astaire's head rocketed around to eye up Kanji sharply. "Such insolence! How dare you suggest such a thing! I'll have you know that my feelings towards Ms. Kujikawa are…" His energy slowly died off as he saw the unconvinced look Kanji was giving him. "...they're-they're entirely…" The words left him as he massaged the bridge of his nose. "...Is it that obvious?"
"Plain as day."
On the list of things Astaire needed to hear right at this moment, that was sitting somewhere around the bottom. He visibly slumped with a groan. "Ah, bugger. I suppose if you've noticed, anybody would."
It took a moment of nodding for Kanji to fully catch what he'd said. "Hey, the hell's that supposed to mean?!"
"Being that as it is, I suppose it's no far stretch to assume Ms. Kujikawa herself is aware of how I feel." Astaire continued, ignoring Kanji. Without warning he suddenly grabbed his empty can and crushed it against his head. "Imbecile! How could I be so loathsomely dense?!" He asked as tossed the can across the street, resting his hung head on his clasped hands.
Not like Kanji could deride anyone else for being dense, but nonetheless he exhaled heavily at his antics. "Frickin' calm down, will ya? It's not that big a deal."
"Of course it's a big deal, you oaf! One of the first things she told me upon arriving in this world was to waylay any evidence that we were… involved. How am I supposed to tell her anything of the sort with that in mind?!" Astaire fumed, his face returning to the beetroot shade it was by now well familiar with. "Besides. For a knight to hold those kinds of feelings for his charge is… indecent. Unbecoming of a Warrior of Sunlight. I feel as though I'd be exploiting my closeness to her if I were to act in such a manner. We're supposed to be the sorts who derive meaning through helping others, not by selfishly pursuing our own desires."
Having let out how he felt to somebody, anybody felt far better than Astaire felt. Even the strongest bottle couldn't resist overflowing. "Oh come on, you sound like my Grandpa." Kanji's words served well in worsening whatever contented mood Astaire had gained before. "Probably not even him, more like my great-great-great Grandpa."
"Don't chastise me, you cur! When do you suppose you'll get around to telling Ms. Shirogane about how you feel, hm?" Astaire retorted, gaining a reaction from Kanji all too similar to his own as Melon Soda cascaded into the sunlight.
Kanji outstretched a finger as he readied to tell the orange-eyed doofus to watch his damn mouth, but no words followed. He lowered his arm as he went slack in his chair, facing the sky. "Well, I guess if you noticed, anyone would." He sighed.
The two both gazed skyward, defeated smiles on their tired-looking faces. "We're both pretty terrible at hiding how we feel, aren't we?"
"Guess we are."
The two sat on for a while. Though their feelings were laid bare, there was something soothing about it. Knowing that neither was entirely alone in their pursuits brought forth a feeling of camaraderie between the two fellows as they basked in the comfortable silence.
"Hey, I think I know what'll help your ancient-sounding ass to loosen up a little." Kanji stretched as he sat back upright. "I'm gonna teach ya how to not talk like an old man." Clearly not well versed with the conversation patterns of the elderly, Astaire raised an eyebrow in response. "Y'know, like when you killed your shadow in the TV."
Oh. That. "That?! That was a mere tip of the slongue-I mean slip of the tongue! A moment of absent-mindedness upon getting caught up in the moment! I-"
Astaire promptly shut up as Kanji raised a finger nary an inch from his face. "Don't care. If you can remember how to do all this other crap, you gotta remember how to swear deep down. It's a vital part of not sounding like an ass."
There wasn't a sigh long or loud enough for how Astaire was feeling right now. It seemed there was no getting around it. "Whatever you say. Mr. Ta-" He suddenly halted as he clamped a hand over his mouth, seeing the oncoming fiery stare being tossed at him. "...Kanji. Whatever you say, Kanji. Have at me."
Apparently he was capable of breaking bad habits. This was a good sign. Kanji cracked his fingers, wearing a toothy grin as he did so. Time to learn this towering dolt a thing or two.
Several more minutes later…
"Alright, piss off. There's no way I'm saying that."
"This is important, damnit! Gettin' you to loosen up how you talk is only gonna help you loosen up overall!"
"Like you loosen up around Ms. Shirogane when she's nearby?"
"LEAVE NAOTO OUT OF THIS, DAMNIT! Now repeat after me, from the top! "Hey, asshole!""
The sheer onslaught of vulgarity was beginning to wear Astaire down. Swords and stun guns to the gut he could take, but swearing? That was a whole other story. "Oh, to Hell with this. I'm not repeating any of this to anyone."
Wait, did he just…? "GOTCHA!" Kanji enthused as he snapped a pointed finger in Astaire's direction. "I knew we'd start gettin' somewhere eventually!"
Oh gods, they were getting somewhere. Why had Astaire agreed to this in the first place? The first incident in the TV had to be some hangover from one of his previous lives, there was no way anyone in Lordran would dare utter such detestable oaths. Maybe he'd picked it up in the same place he'd learned to play the piano and eat with chopsticks.
Gods, what a tiresome position to be in.
Seeing Astaire's momentary slip as a reason to continue his tutelage, Kanji continued talking, yet only muffled noise fed into his student's ears. While he wasn't exactly intending to become a foul-mouthed miscreant overnight, he'd at least given the fellow the courtesy of paying attention. Yet even that was swayed as something caught Astaire's eye.
Somebody was watching the both of them.
Somebody peeking out of a side street, a single, narrow eye watching with intent as a thick handlebar moustache could be made out above their upper lip. It clicked immediately. He was watching Astaire back at Junes yesterday.
The same uneasy feeling which had taken hold of him back then crept down his back and ran a cold finger down his spine. Perhaps he was just being paranoid. Perhaps the fellow lived nearby. But something about him really set Astaire on edge.
The sound of the door to Tatsumi Textiles sliding open behind was the only thing to break his concentration. "There we are, good as new." Kanji's mother informed him, cradling the folded lump of velvet in her arms.
The astounded knight blinked rapidly for a moment, barely willing to believe it was actually sitting on front of him. "You're joking, aren't you? I barely got here, how could you have mended it already?" Yet true enough, as he took it by the shoulders, the coat at full length looked absolutely brand new, like nothing had ever happened to it. "Well I'll be. Thank you graciously for your astounding work, Mrs. Tatsumi." He said with a low bow.
"Mom's always been good at stuff like that. Even I dunno how she does it that fast." Kanji commented, secretly a bit jealous that his mother could work as quickly and efficiently as she did.
The bow of gratitude was returned with one of Ms. Tatsumi's own as she smiled lightly. "Anything for a friend of my Kan-chan." She said, seemingly unperturbed by the half-armoured knight, or the protests of her son at being called Kan-chan. "I do hope my son hasn't caused you any trouble, young man. He's never really been an awfully social sort." She continued, only serving to upset her son further as he protested ever further.
Astaire could do little but scratch the back of his head sheepishly. "It's quite alright. I believe it'd be all too easy to pin down which of us has caused the other more trouble, as of late." He admitted.
Thinking of trouble, a cursory glance behind Astaire revealed exactly what he'd feared. Taking his sight off the suspicious figure had given him ample time to disappear altogether. Whatever paranoid feelings he'd had about walking alone earlier, they were bound to only worsen on the way back.
He couldn't let it go. He had to know who he was, or where he went at least. Pardoning himself for the abrupt departure, blue coat newly adorned, Astaire took off down the street after his suspicious onlooker.
Every nook and cranny was empty. Each wayward glance over his shoulder proved fruitless. If the odd-looking fellow was still after him, he was hiding himself incredibly well. As he proceeded further and further down the street, a growing knot of worry slowly pulled itself taut in Astaire's gut. Assuming this mystery man was spying on him for some reason, and had gone this way after he'd caught on, he was being left with very few places to hide.
This would have been a good thing, had Astaire not been making a beeline in Rise's direction. After a while, his paranoia was overpowered by his concern for his charge as he quickened his pace, forgetting almost immediately about examining his surroundings. Where the odd fellow was was now irrelevant. What mattered was where he wasn't.
As he drew nearer to Marukyu Tofu, an unfamiliar voice slowed Astaire's lengthy stride.
...Then again, now that he heard it, something about the voice did seem familiar. Curiosity getting the better of him, Astaire sidled up with his back against the large stone structure neighbouring Marukyu Tofu, straining his ears to get a better idea of what was being said.
"Look, I already told you once, I won't tell you again! Leave my Granddaughter alone and get out of my store right this instant!" An elderly, female voice demanded, hatred glazed over every word.
"I shall depart once the young girl answers me. All you need do is humour me and I shall be on my way post-haste." Came the frustratingly familiar inflections of the third party. As much as Astaire racked his brain, he couldn't remember where he'd heard it.
Finally, the one unmistakable voice amongst the lot interjected. "It's no business of yours, or anyone else's, for that matter! Don't make me call the police!" Rise threatened. Whatever was going on sounded serious.
Just as Astaire began rounding the corner to intervene, having heard enough to know all wasn't right, the third party spoke again. "Tell me what your relationship is with the one known as "Just Astaire." How close are the two of you? It'd be that easy to be rid of me."
As the fellow pressed ever more fervently, he was suddenly swung around on the spot as a white-knuckled hand shot to the collar of his fine black suit, lifting him into the air. "Mayhaps we could find an easier way, what do you think?" His blue-coated aggressor spoke.
Just as Astaire had feared, he held in his hands the unmistakably lip-bristled figure from earlier. He clawed at his balled fists, trying to free himself from Astaire's ironclad grasp and failing miserably. "Now, I've only just had this coat fixed up and cleaned," he began, "So I'd be loathe to sully it in the midst of a tussle, if you catch my meaning."
Sadly, it wasn't to be. The captive fellow reeled back his head, following it up with a devastating headbutt that sent Astaire reeling, his hand moving to his nose to catch the trickle of blood which trailed from it. The suited man doubled over, raggedly catching the breath that Astaire's iron grip had stolen away from him.
"Astaire-kun! Are you alright?!" Rise called over, beginning to take a cautious step outside.
As Astaire met the eyes of his assaulter through his now-bloodied hands, something stirred within him. He was powerless to resist it. The feverish urge which gnawed away at every being in Lordran, not just him. The instinctive reaction which he'd, on occasion, garnered from others upon carelessly attacking them, be it accidental or out of rage.
One did not simply strike out against a sane being in Lordran and get off scot-free. Astaire loomed forward before his fist met the bottom of the bedraggled man's jaw, sending him reeling backwards, clutching at the area of impact. "You audacious cur." He growled, shaking off his bare fist. "Weren't you ever told not to start a fight you can't finish?"
If being lifted by the collar wasn't enough of an indicator to run the hell away, the murderous look the knight was giving him certainly was. Nonetheless, the suited man shared a thin-eyed look between Rise and Astaire, apparently gleaning some information from the situation as a grin spread across his face. "A trifling matter. I believe I've seen all I need to." He said with a leer. Though he sounded calm enough, the manner in which he quickly turned tail and ran betrayed this image.
"Get back here, you cretin! I'm not through with you yet!" Astaire roared as he kicked off into a sprint, prepared to traverse half the globe if it'd mean getting his hands on the wretch that'd struck him and troubled Rise.
"It's alright, Astaire-kun, just let him go!" Rise's command seemed to clear away whatever primal urge was clouding his better judgement, bringing him back to his senses. His eyes lingered on the fleeing form of his target as he felt his fists loosen up, straightening his posture as they did so.
A sobering thought suddenly struck him. Had he not just displayed that particular outburst, not only in front of Rise, but her Grandmother too?
Oh, Hell. He had.
Astaire briskly made his way to the front of Marukyu Tofu, cleaning the blood from his hand with a spare Canvas Talisman he'd quickly retrieved. "Sorry about that, I'm not quite sure what came over me. Are you two alright?" He asked concernedly.
"Yeah, we're good. Thanks for getting rid of him." Without smearing his face over the shopping district, Rise thought in relief. "I thought we really were gonna have to call the police, right Grandma?" She asked her elder, who had spent the last few minutes seemingly eyeing up Astaire.
Her stare could have bored holes right through him. He shifted uncomfortably in his coat as she held her gaze. The blood from his nose still present from his prior tussle. Taller than Rise by a few heads. Straight-backed posture. Fair skin. Keen to taking and dishing out a beating.
"Hmmmm." The elder rubbed her chin, seemingly deep in thought. Finally she turned to her granddaughter, shooting her a smile and a wink."Mmhmm, I'd say he's a keeper."
AN: Astaire's finishing move against the Dark Spirit was inspired by a move from another game. Three points to whoever guesses what it was!