More response to the first chapter than I honestly expected (and thanks to all of you for that), wonder if that means there are plenty of people, like me, who really wanted more QB fanfiction?
A month had passed since the climactic events that followed Alleyne guiding Yuuji to free his mana, a necessary step for both his personal growth, and physical well-being.
And though their wounds had healed, and the normalcy they had found had slowly limped its way back, over the course of that month, the number of times they referred to one another by name could be counted on one hand.
Given that this number was shared between them, one would think that their newly-formed relationship had been the only victim unable to walk away from that battle.
… Anyone who watched the two interact with one another for any length of time would not believe that, not even in the slightest. Neither were much for outward displays of emotion, yet the shrinking of the distance between them showed itself in countless little things.
Instead, most would probably begin to wonder if Yuuji referring to Alleyne as 'Master' and her referring to him as 'my student' simply meant the two had odd tastes in nicknames.
In all her many years of life, there had never once been a moment where Alleyne felt anything but love for the forest.
So it represented a curious, but not unwelcome feeling that she could not quite get to the bottom of.
Perhaps the forest had simply woken slowly from the winter chill this year, and spring had dragged its heels.
Because she was certain that the forest had grown much more… vivid?
It felt almost as if she was bearing witness to spring for the very first time, a girlish and innocent thought that was more than a little foolish for a woman pushing a thousand to have.
The leaves were more colorful, the scent of the flowers more sweet, the birdsong more musical, the sunlight more soothing, and those little half-smiles of Yuuji's were just a little more-
A strange warmth in her cheeks, Alleyne abandoned her train of thought, in favor of quietly choking on the air that had gotten lodged in her throat.
This mana stuff was pretty convenient, Yuuji had noticed. Though it wasn't like a video game where he suddenly had a pool of MP or something like that, he'd gotten plenty of benefits already.
What defined someone as a 'warrior' was mana that naturally bolstered the body, which could be trained and honed further, just as if it were a 'muscle' of sorts.
Better strength, speed, reflexes, even his range of vision had improved. He'd more or less woken up superhuman, and left feeling a bit strange that Alleyne was happier about it than he was.
Well… calling himself 'happy about it' might have been a stretch, to begin with. Perks were perks, though, and this one seemed to come with no strings attached.
Alleyne upping the intensity of his training to levels that would have quite likely killed him before didn't really count.
On her own, Alleyne's weight on his back would have only been a pleasant distraction, and still was. But, he certainly appreciated how the boulder that also sat on top of him rested across Alleyne's lap instead of across his shoulder blades.
It seemed impractical from Alleyne's side of things, but Yuuji wasn't about to point that out because Alleyne was soft and rocks were hard.
She'd also begun to teach him in a more academic way- though she had candidly admitted that somewhere between five and six decades had passed since her last foray into the outside world, Gainos was slow to change, and thus, much of the general knowledge could be relied on.
Like how Gainos had been ruled by a line of Queens since before Alleyne was born, and how that Queen was decided, of all things, by a tournament known as the Queen's Blade. A female only tournament (mediated by angels of all things) to determine the strongest and most beautiful woman in the land.
It gave Yuuji the odd mental image of Snow White throwing poisoned apples at her enemies.
The reason Yuuji didn't question that his new world apparently followed the divine right of queens was simple- Alleyne was the only person in the new world that he had met. Alleyne being average was hard to imagine even as a joke, but if there were women who could compete with her, whether in looks or skills, then women like that running things made a lot of sense.
Another possible explanation was that Yuuji was just a little too accustomed to hot, bossy women.
But while the history lessons were very interesting, given how highly active both Alleyne and Yuuji were, it was no surprise that the bulk of their focus was on training and fighting.
Which came back to mana, one way or another.
That was how Yuuji learned that using mana didn't make you a mage, anymore than swinging a sword made you a warrior. Yuuji was fairly sure there was some nuance being lost in translation, though.
Unsurprising, since he still didn't have a clue how the translation was happening.
Regardless, Alleyne had taught him about warriors and their Arts- techniques bolstered by their own mana to achieve results beyond the norm. They sounded like something out of a manga, but from Alleyne's explanation demonstration, his working theory was that it was like any trained technique, just using magic as a shortcut to muscle memory.
Other Arts seemed to convert mana in some way, like how Alleyne could launch her students around with gusts of wind by turning her mana into wind mana.
Spells were different though and seemed to mostly involve memorizing chants and gestures. More varied and potentially more powerful effects, but practicality varied just as much, giving dubious value for a lone individual without a proper catalyst.
That, and the talent of a warrior and the talent of a mage rarely aligned- Alleyne confessed her own talent was nothing worth mentioning.
More curious than anything else, Yuuji had asked if she thought he'd be any good at it.
With a twinkle in her eyes, Alleyne had assured him, quite seriously, that with a decade or so of diligent study, his usefulness as a spellcaster might rival a torch.
Yuuji decided to stick with flint and tinder.
Her student's growth was something to be celebrated.
Alleyne had been unconditionally proud of how quickly Yuuji had tamed his mana to gain a warrior's strength. To revisit her own preferred analogy, Yuuji had seemingly gone to sleep a fox and woken up a lion, not even a full day after their battle.
Thus, more than once, Alleyne had found herself second-guessing who had actually won their fight, given that her own recovery had taken almost three days.
But it was a small price to pay.
Yuuji still wished to be her student, even after she'd wronged him so. In no uncertain terms, she had tricked him into freeing his mana, into exposing his own soul.
It was also true that she'd placed her body on the line for his benefit, but that had little bearing on what she'd done to him, in her eyes, and she had said as much.
And she had told him all of this while she was still weak, more vulnerable to his ire than she had ever been. Alleyne still could not say if it was a form of atonement or self-destruction, placing herself at his mercy like that.
Her student had taken full advantage of her weakness… by assessing that he could carry her safely to the sheltered pool she used for bathing, thus allowing her to cleanse her body in a more satisfying fashion than with a towel and basin.
He had been… so very gentle.
Even when he told her to stop being stupid, and that she was the only one blaming herself for anything.
He'd then gone on to point out that she was quite possibly the only person in all the world that he knew, and had pointedly asked her what she expected him to do without her.
A strange warmth had kindled in her breast when a little glimpse of insight suggested that the increased sharpness of her student's tongue was a sign of embarrassment, despite how his tone had shifted little.
That warmth had paired well with that other welcome bit of strangeness- Yuuji's back seemed so very broad and strong to her, and being carried against it offered an unobtrusive, yet clear sense of security.
How curious.
Oh, certainly Alleyne was aware that solitude had weighed upon her, more than she cared to admit, but it did not change at all the fact that those days of solitude seemed distant. Far more distant than the month and a half that had passed since Yuuji had entered into her life would suggest.
Her role as combat instructor for the village was currently 'between generations', meaning it had been the better part of seventy years since she had trainees to instruct.
Yet those seventy years felt like a woefully brief time compared to that month and a half.
Perhaps old age weakened the resistance to solitude.
… Not that she was old, she may have been the oldest active warrior in the forest, but compared to a human, she wasn't even middle-aged! She was merely one of the first children to be born in a time of peace, that was all.
Truly.
Long ears flicked as Alleyne's contemplation was interrupted by a voice, repeating a single word with a faint hint of annoyance.
From below her.
Glancing downwards, she found Yuuji, who had been instructed to count out twenty reps of handstand pushups, repeating the word 'twenty' over and over.
"That will do, my student," Alleyne said briskly to hide her embarrassment, hopping down from her perch.
Her perch, which had been the upturned soles of her student's boots.
Boots that suited him well, just like the rest of the elven clothing Alleyne had procured for him. She still refused to consider the oddly pitying look she'd received from the women of the village when she'd requested male clothing, without the slightest mention of a male to wear them.
Yuuji righted himself but remained standing, bare chest heaving subtly as he regained his breath, sweat dripping down his lean and chiseled body.
His already well-honed physique had been tempered further under her guidance, Alleyne noted, as she examined his rocky midsection with keen elven eyes.
An exceptional balance between power, stamina and flexibility, muscular yet with no superfluous mass.
Truly exceptional.
"Eyes are up here, Master." Alleyne's head snapped up, to meet that damnable half-smirk of his that she secretly enjoyed bearing witness to, even when she felt the urge to tug it from his cheeks.
It was proof that her student could firmly be counted among the living, in its own way.
It was proof, she hoped, that her decision to take the strange, listless young human under her wing was not wrong.
… And neither of those two facts were hurt in any way by her student being easy on the eyes.
"Take a break, my student, while I-" Alleyne's head jerked sharply to the left, her gaze fierce, but distant. "... That will be all for today, see to your own meals from what we have in the larder, and do not stray too far. I shall… return before nightfall."
Bless his heart, he seemed to have questions that she was not yet ready to answer, but he kept his silence, that soldierly rearing its head.
"Understood, Master."
In truth, Alleyne hardly heard his response.
Yuuji's 'intrusion' upon the forest was proving to be a precious experience she would not soon forget.
She doubted this new intrusion would be half as memorable.
… Nor a fraction as pleasant.
Yuuji watched in impassive silence as Alleyne vanished into the forest, heading east to go kill someone.
Maybe several someones.
It wasn't like Alleyne had revealed anything in particular, but he knew she was a 'guardian of the forest' and he'd seen more than a few professional killers called off to work.
He'd been one of them, once.
So he'd wait patiently, and, even though she'd told him to eat without her, he'd make a little too much and just happen to keep it warm.
That was the plan, anyways.
Maybe it was a side effect of living with Alleyne that he noticed this sort of thing. The enchanted elven forest he'd woken up in seeing him as a friend of a friend, or something. It wasn't like he'd been in a forest where elves lived before, so maybe it was normal for the wind and trees to seem kind of… expressive?
Because Alleyne hadn't even been gone ten minutes before he felt his gaze drawn south.
So… she'd gone to the east, and he wasn't supposed to go more than an hour to the west, even though the swamp he needed to stay away from was north (he had his guesses about why Master didn't want him going west, but kept his questions to himself), and she was going to be gone for a few hours at least…
… Well, it had been nice, but Yuuji had never really held any illusions of having left behind who he was. And the day all but confirmed what Alleyne had never told him, but didn't have to.
Because Yuuji knew all the signs of someone who had been fighting lonely battles for far too long.
A single sigh marked Yuuji's departure into the shaded woods, and became a symbol for the birdsong to grow silent, and for the trees to hold their breath.
Perhaps the language had changed somewhat over the last decade or so- seemingly at random, at times human society would change with a baffling swiftness, at least by elven sensibilities.
After all, how else could she tell the humans 'turn back or suffer the consequences' and seemingly have it be interpreted as 'capture me at once, so that I might be sold into slavery'?
Yuuji was a much better listener.
"10 points." Her staff scythed the man's legs out from underneath him as he tried to tackle her, his momentum coming to an end when face met boulder. "Only an idiot would attempt to overpower someone he can't even touch."
And Yuuji's eyes may have lingered appreciatively, from time to time, but respectively, and she had never once felt like he was attempting to taste her body with gaze alone.
"5 points." He also wouldn't let his eyes be drawn in by a bouncing bosom, at least not when the owner of said bosom was winding up to dash his brains across a tree. "Perhaps you'd have seen the blow that killed you if breasts were my weapon of choice."
"8 points. Crude, indolent, unskilled." Her student was precisely the opposite.
"15 points." And a tenth of Yuuji's talent.
"25 points." It was not a bad attempt to grapple, but her student could outgrapple the man with ease, even tying his hands behind his back would have not been too great a handicap for Yuuji.
Flipping the man over her shoulder and slamming him to the ground, Alleyne stepped over him before he could recover. Pincering his neck between her ankles, she twisted her hips hard, snapping vertebrae and ending his life.
Stepping back, Alleyne also thrust back, the dull stone point of her staff briefly inverting the curvature of a paunchy gut. Swiftly repositioning to the slaver's side as he collapsed onto hands and knees, Alleyne swung down as if wielding an executioner's axe, and not a staff.
The effect was a good deal less bloody, but every bit as permanent, and Alleyne took a pass on grading the performance of a corpse.
Stalking over to the man who had more or less bested himself with his failed lunge, Alleyne kicked him onto his back, and then lifted her leg high.
The battle ended when her heel came down.
"Even one round of sparring is a better workout than this." What part of 'those with ill intentions never leave' did those vermin miss from the stories? She'd put in a lot of work to keep those cautionary tales alive.
How dreary. How dull.
She calmed the horses and freed them from the wagon's yoke, easily persuading the ill-used animals that her people would treat them as friends, and not tools. The dead slavers received no burial, they were merely dragged off into the bushes, with the sincere hope that their remains would not make the scavengers ill.
Grim drudgery taken care of, Alleyne turned on her heel, wasting no time in beginning the trek home, where Yuuji would be waiting for her.
… There was someone at home, awaiting her return.
Alleyne herself remained unaware of how drastically her mood had turned for the better, and thus, only the trees bore witness to the joy of their guardian.
Yet when Alleyne returned home, Yuuji was nowhere to be found.
It was a nostalgic scent.
It called to mind metal, but was sharper than a knife could ever be. A scent that made you feel a little more alive, even when it marked a life ending. And finally an undertone, thick and heady, like a strong drink.
More than a few memories of his were marked by the scent of blood.
And yet here he was, making more.
He'd listened in, for a while, to get a feeling of what he was dealing with, at least until he heard them making jokes about 'sampling the goods'.
Turns out elves were considered something of a luxury item.
Yuuji imagined those grubby hands reaching towards Alleyne, and decided that the little expedition he was watching unfold was going to be one way.
An acidic taste stung the back of his throat, but an airy lightness buoyed his limbs, feeling somewhat like he'd puked out all his burdens.
Committing himself to the murder of his fellow man was the most normal he'd felt yet, in the Forest of the Elves.
Before he'd realized he'd moved into action, his hand was clamped over a mouth, and his knife was opening up a throat.
It was a nostalgic scent.
Panic was an unfamiliar and unwelcome emotion for Alleyne.
Hurtling through the branches so swiftly it must have seemed as if she'd sprouted wings, heart hammering in her breast as the forest slowly darkened around her.
Endlessly it repeated in her head, the memories of the earlier days.
Of a listless young man whom she was convinced that, if left alone, would quietly wander off somewhere to die.
What had once seemed a part of a strangely distant past had abruptly grown so very immediate.
Where had he gone?
Why had she left him alone?
She had known from the start he was no stranger to violence, so why did she try to shield him from it?
Her body moved before her mind could catch up, and Alleyne didn't realize she had left the trees before she was on the ground in front of him, lungs burning and hands trembling so violently it was a wonder she kept hold of her weapon.
"... You okay, Master?" Yuuji asked slowly, giving her a strange look.
Alleyne would have felt the fool if she wasn't busy suppressing the urge to search every inch of his body for injury, by hand. Struggling to stamp down on the strange desperation that had gripped her tight.
"W-where, where did you go…?" She managed to croak out, the words dragged up from out a dry throat.
Those stagnant dark eyes captured a hint of sunlight as a languid smile stretched across his lips.
Shaking the limbs of the doe he had draped across his shoulders for emphasis, Yuuji's reply was soft and slow, with just a hint of mirth.
"I was earning my keep."
All through dinner and even after, a tense silence had held.
Alleyne, wrestling with nameless anxiety, and Yuuji, giving off little but a faint confusion.
His unsolicited 'assistance' in Alleyne's duties had brought up something he… wasn't actually sure if it could be considered a 'problem', just something to think about.
The little 'safety' in his head, put in by Asako to counteract the mental conditioning of the days when he was an 'attack dog' with the wrong sort of owner, was nowhere to be found.
Swinging the knife was easy. Six men died by his hand, without a migraine or vomit session to show for it, the only casualty on his side being his knife. Medieval armor was a new obstacle for him, and on-the-job learning always came with complications.
His own well-kept weapon being stymied by a rusted hindrance to mobility was a sore memory.
Stupid chainmail.
… As the chief guardian of the forest, Alleyne was always kept apprised of any 'intrusion' into its borders. And it took no great wit to determine what had happened when the smaller of the two 'intrusions' had vanished from the forests' awareness, in the direction Yuuji had returned from with a notched blade.
He had… taken it upon himself to aid her in her lone vigil. What would have been recklessness in the untested instead became a practical and timely solution from one as skilled as he.
She should have been grateful, and she was. Yet most of all, she was left feeling faintly ill.
Unskilled in matters of heart and mind, Alleyne had avoided the topic, but had not abandoned her theory that Yuuji was a former assassin, worn down by his bloody work at too young an age. Being exposed to his tired and hollow soul had only enforced that.
And yet he had taken to bloodshed yet again, on her behalf.
Was she just deluding herself, that she could do right by him? The fighting arts were what she had devoted her life to, both for herself and for what she passed on to others. The life of a warrior was the only life she knew how to live.
There was no way for bloodstained hands to wipe clean bloodstained hands.
Foolish.
Irresponsible.
"Alleyne." A mild monotone cut through her swirling thoughts like a drab knife.
Her widened eyes took in how his own did not look her way, reflecting naught but the firelight.
"I'm not going to disappear unless you want me to."
Foolish.
Irresponsible.
Exactly which one of them was the master, and which the student?
The silence that stretched on in the wake of his words was a comfortable one.
"That you've ruined your blade is convenient in a sense," Alleyne said the morning after. "Now that you've stepped firmly upon the path of mastering your true strength, I believe it is high time you received a weapon worthy of accompanying you."
Alleyne produced the sheathed weapon she'd been holding behind her back, presenting it to Yuuji.
As his eyes were drawn to it, Alleyne continued on to say "and, as your teacher, I have taken the liberty of selecting a suitable weapon for your needs."
… As in she'd wanted to give him a real gift but found herself strangely in need of an excuse. Retrieval had taken her far, far longer than it should have- even though she'd long since made certain… alterations to ensure it felt truly suitable for Yuuji.
Yuuji accepted the weapon with a quiet, almost solemn air, taking in the dark polish of the leather sheath.
It had looked like a shortsword in Alleyne's hands, but just managed to still qualify as a knife in his.
It made no sound as it slid from the sheath, and Yuuji gave an appreciative whistle as he took in the blade profile.
He was fairly certain that the man the weapon was named after in his world didn't exist in Gainos, but what Yuuji held in his hands looked exactly like a finely crafted Bowie knife.
A long, heavy blade shaped like a clip point cleaver- straight-backed and single-edged. A utilitarian crossguard that nevertheless looked more suited to a sword than a knife, and a dark wood handle with a gently curving pommel to reduce the chances of slipping.
"The blade is almost black, was it treated with beeswax?" It was an old school method of darkening metal and protecting it from rusting, still in usage in modern times.
"Ah, indeed it was, my student." By her own hands, no less. "I'm impressed you know the method, though you should also know that we elves have a bit of an advantage there since bees are rather fond of us- you'll find the coating needs no reapplication."
"Handy." Yuuji nodded, taking the knife in hand to get a feel for it. Eighteen inches in length, twelve of it blade.
Dimly, he called to mind a quote he'd heard about what a Bowie knife should be.
'It must be long enough to use as a sword, sharp enough to use as a razor, wide enough to utilize as a paddle, and heavy adequate to utilize as a hatchet.'
Perhaps a bit exaggerated, but with the reliable weight of the blade in his hand, Yuuji was somewhat inclined to believe it.
"It's beautiful, Alleyne." Yuuji said softly. "Thank you."
When Yuuji smiled at her, it felt like the first real smile she had ever seen from him.
At that moment, Alleyne decided in her heart that no matter what might come of it, she would never again doubt her decision to take Yuuji under her wing.
As happy weeks passed, Alleyne never let herself forget that they were on borrowed time.
Naturally, the people of her village were unaware that she had a human living in her home. That they had been able to get away with it, for as long as they had, was simply due to Alleyne spending decades in solitude being the norm.
Most were a little afraid of her, and she truly did not mind- though Alleyne had recently learned she was less immune to loneliness than she may have thought, that did not render her preference for solitude false.
Yuuji just shared her temperament to a degree that made their cohabitation work in seamless fashion- it was neither strange nor unwelcome for either of them to have days where they shared few words beyond her instructions.
But it was only a matter of time before someone grew curious and came to check on her, and there was only so long she could keep Yuuji a secret.
The Council would never condone his presence, and she knew that.
Her greatest wish was that they not discover him before he (or she) was ready.
There was a whole world out there, filled with dozens, hundreds of ways to live one's life. She had chosen hers, but Yuuji was still young, and deserved a chance to choose for himself.
One day, perhaps soon, she was going to push him from the nest, so to speak, and when the wind carried him away, she would see him off with a smile.
Of course, she would not disapprove if that wind one day carried him back to her, but that was neither here nor there.
Beyond that, it was simply a matter of time in a different sense.
Yuuji was human.
She would easily outlive him by centuries, millenia even.
There was nothing she could do to overcome the difference in lifespan.
It was very much like Alleyne to see that not as something to dread, but as encouragement to not waste any time.
It was an odd feeling, that she supposed was only made possible by her long years as a teacher.
Laying flat on her back, weapon far out of reach, and without a single recourse to defend herself against the sharp edge tickling her throat.
… Alleyne couldn't have been prouder of Yuuji's first win against her.
"I yield," Alleyne conceded, relaxing her body beneath Yuuji's. "Masterfully done, my student."
After a moment's delay, Yuuji sighed and retracted his blade, releasing Alleyne's wrists, which were crossed over one another where they'd been pinned, above her head.
"Thanks Master, only took me two months," Yuuji remarked without bitterness.
"Do not sell yourself short, my student," Alleyne chided gently.
A prim mask briefly falling into place, Alleyne corrected him with a playful hint of haughtiness.
"It would have been two months if you bested me tomorrow."
She couldn't contain the little laugh that escaped as Yuuji rolled his eyes, and truthfully, she did not want to.
"Now, my student, how long do you intend to sit on your teacher's stomach?" He was still straddling her, and though it was most certainly not unpleasant, it was…
… What exactly?
The heaving of her bust went still as her breath caught, cheeks warming in a way that had little to do with the air hinting at summer's approach.
"You've sat on me enough times, so I was curious if the reverse was comfortable." Yuuji shrugged, nonetheless standing up as he did. "The view's not bad, anyways."
It was starting to feel like summer, and Alleyne had ditched her cloak, which, given her preference for skimpy clothing, was actually a significant portion of her outfit.
He was still kind of impressed that she managed to make a halter top and miniskirt combo look like proper combat gear. Probably had something to do with how serious she was, he was pretty sure Alleyne could make a bikini look like formal wear.
"I-I see," Alleyne said with a cough, accepting the offered hand to let herself be pulled up. "I see," She quietly repeated as she turned her back briefly to retrieve her staff.
As she bent at the waist to scoop up her staff, Yuuji's earlier words sprung to the forefront of her mind, unbidden, and Alleyne froze with a gloved hand against the polished wood.
Given that her back was to Yuuji, her current posture would perhaps look somewhat… did it not look, perhaps somewhat, that she was, if only a little… 'presenting' her posterior for a better view?
Thus, when Alleyne straightened up quickly and turned on her heel, only to not find Yuuji looking her way, that confusion culminated in a brief surge of annoyance.
After all, she did not precisely mind if he looked, provided he was not a boor about it.
While she was aware that she was somewhat… unapproachable, it would have been false modesty to pretend that the lack of charm in her personality was reflected in her figure.
But he hadn't looked at all!
Alleyne was incorrect, and forgetting that shamelessness was an understated but integral part of Yuuji's personality. He most certainly had looked, just as she was most certainly overthinking the topic in splendid fashion.
Thus it was no surprise that her trail of thought led her to an odd place, her mouth leaving behind her brain on the way.
Plucking at the thin strings of her halter top, Alleyne glanced briefly down at the beads of sweat meandering their way from collarbone to cleavage.
"Training on a hot day is a fine way of increasing one's fortitude, but as neither of us are lacking in that regard, I suppose there is no harm in cutting things short today. Yes, that is what we shall do then," Alleyne briskly decided. "Come, my student, join me for a bath."
Yuuji nodded in acceptance as Alleyne turned swiftly on her heel, but only when her curiously rigid back was turned did her words catch up with him.
After brief consideration he decided not to make any assumptions, but he also decided not to argue.
Alleyne's preferred bathing spot was a clear pond almost the size of her hut, fed from a small creek diverting near the river she'd found Yuuji alongside, surrounded by just enough foliage to afford a sense of privacy.
The last time they'd gone there together had been very different, as she had still been recovering from her wounds, and she had kept to herself that the memory was more cherished than not. But given that Alleyne had been forced to depend heavily on Yuuji's aid meant that, more than anything else, what had been largely 'exposed' to his gaze and his touch was her weakness.
But this was very different.
This had nothing to do with necessity, and even the excuse that no bath in the deep forest was entirely safe was not a very good one, given the caliber of those bathing.
No, this was different.
But what of it?
There was nothing for her to be ashamed of, she just wished to deepen her bonds with her student, and she had heard that bathing together was an excellent bonding method.
Triple-checking that the towels were both firmly in place- one to rein in the jiggling of her bosom, and the other tied off over one hip like a pareo of sorts, Alleyne sauntered over to the pond, enjoying the feel of the cool grass between her toes.
"Join me when you are ready, my student, tis as good a place as any to take shelter from the hottest part of the day." Alleyne said in her clear and calm voice, deftly ignoring that the rustle of cloth from behind her had stopped a fair while back.
They hadn't bothered with anything like physical distancing as they disrobed, merely turning their backs on one another. It was a small reminder of the trust between them that Alleyne found herself grateful for.
Fresh and still water like this was something like nature's own mirror, on more than one occasion Alleyne had bathed after dark, merely for the chance to see two moons at once.
Even her entrance to the pond did not disrupt its reflection over much, her long legs breaching the surface with minimal rippling.
The depth should be pleasant enough for Yuuji, Alleyne confirmed to herself as the water came up high on her hips- Yuuji was taller than she was by a fair few inches, but the difference was made up by how leg length made up somewhat more of her height than it did his.
Alleyne had made it to the other end of the pond, turning to sit herself on the smooth submerged rock that was her preferred seat, when Yuuji entered the pond.
She felt no shame in looking and appreciating, if anything, she hoped Yuuji would take it as permission to do the same. Though she'd never told a soul and likely never would, Alleyne took some measure of pride in how her breasts were large enough to achieve a clear measure of buoyancy in the water.
… She may have also wondered once or twice if an ample bosom suited Yuuji's preferences, for she had been dancing around the fact that Yuuji was her preference for no small length of time.
The elf-wives must never learn that the eternal bachelor did, in fact, have a type, and he had just joined her in the bath.
In her defense, Alleyne's initial approval and admiration of Yuuji's body had been for how well it suited a warrior. His lean physique was more robust and muscular than that of any elven male, yet had grace and flexibility to spare.
The rugged impression was enhanced in no small degree by his sharp, handsome features, and many scars.
Every wound told a tale, and Yuuji's told a strange one- that there were more than a few scars that Alleyne, who had mastered more weapons than she cared to count, could not identify, showing just how truly far removed his former 'world' was from hers.
She did not know if it was the right answer, but she had avoided questioning him about his past. There was no telling which 'wounds' of his were still raw, and she had no idea what damage she could cause with carelessness.
No, it was not the time for brooding, they were supposed to be relaxing.
But… by the spirits, were her students' abdominals made of muscle or stone? It was a wonder she hadn't broken her foot the last time she'd kicked him.
Master's seated posture was confident, almost masculine, yet not making her seem any less feminine.
Well, she looked confident, but Yuuji hadn't failed to notice how the water was pleasantly cool, yet the tips of her long pointed ears were visibly warm.
He also didn't mind her checking him out- he was returning the favor- but… strangely, it had taken him a bit longer to undress than it should have.
It wasn't like him at all, to hesitate to expose his scars for anything other than avoiding annoying questions.
He just felt like physical evidence of how much of a mess he was might make her sad, and it was something he'd prefer to avoid if he could.
Might encourage her to waste time on something stupid, like doubting if her presence was a good thing for him.
The distance helped him get a new perspective- he'd been in a nosedive from the moment Asako's condition passed the point of no return, and the crash had been the moment her eyes closed for good.
He still didn't know why or how he'd ended up in Gainos, but he reminded himself every day that it would have meant nothing had Alleyne not found him and taken him in.
Which was why it was important to do his best not to become her burden.
And part of that was not making the first move, if any move was going to be made.
Of course, none of that had anything at all to do with enjoying the view.
Alleyne was a work of art, and Gainos was fortunate that cars didn't exist there, if only for all the traffic accidents a woman like her could cause walking down the street.
Yuuji could readily admit that his preferences led towards more active women (even JB, who had a 'desk job' of sorts was almost fit enough to be on active duty), and Alleyne was basically what happened when you gave supermodel curves to an Olympic gymnast.
Also, he liked big and all natural breasts, and while he'd seen bigger, Alleyne's rack still easily passed what he liked to call 'the float test'.
So Alleyne was definitely his type, even without considering that she was easily gorgeous enough that she should really be anyone's type.
So if Alleyne did make a move, he'd match it in a heartbeat.
But for now, he'd enjoy all the cute fidgeting she was doing.
And wonder if it was an elf thing or an Alleyne thing that her emotions were shown first in the movement of her pointy ears.
Humility was an important trait, and she'd beat it into countless trainees, and herself.
Which was why Alleyne could admit, at least to herself, that she currently hadn't the faintest idea what she was doing.
What did 'skinship' entail? It was mentioned too freely to be something blatantly sexual, and she had never attempted it with how she intimidated her past trainees…
Didn't that make her seem like somewhat of a hopeless person? Irrelevant, she should act first, and sulk later- then, perhaps she should sit closer? No, the only place to sit over there was his lap-
Trying and likely failing to make it seem natural, Alleyne used getting her hair wet as an excuse to cool her head.
Breaching the surface once more, Alleyne returned to contemplating with calmer thoughts, and immediately found the obvious solution she'd overlooked in her fluster.
"Why are you sitting all the way over there, my student?" Alleyne questioned, pleased her voice was level. "Come, sit beside me, no need to be shy."
If she couldn't sit beside him, he could just sit beside her.
Yuuji quirked an eyebrow and her pulse shot up, but Yuuji nonetheless rose with an 'excuse me, then' and made his way over.
Her chosen seat had just enough space for the two of them, but only if their hips were in contact.
It perhaps felt like a greater step forward than it should.
Truly, having a warm body by her side was more appreciated than she could have imagined.
Alleyne did not herself realize that she had 'gotten more comfortable' until it clicked that her head was resting against Yuuji's shoulder.
But he made no indication that the gesture displeased him, and thus Alleyne took it as another win.
It was hardly dignified of her, but Yuuji had not thought less of her for other moments of weakness, so she was certain she could trust him with this one.
Another of many comfortable silence between them eased its way into being.
Yuuji weighed his options.
If Alleyne was being a bit more 'forward' then he shouldn't make her do everything, but how to match it in a way that would make her feel comfortable?
… Actually, no, it might be the time to push just a little, gently test things out before her strange tendency to overcommit to things kicked in.
Carefully, so that she could pull away at any time, Yuuji slid his arm around Alleyne's taut waist, resting just above her towel so she wouldn't think he was trying to do anything with it.
Alleyne went rigid, and he could feel the heat of her face on his shoulder.
Then she relaxed, and more or less snuggled in.
Yuuji could be forgiven his confusion for being caught off guard with that being the moment where her nerve broke.
Water went everywhere as Alleyne sprung to her feet, and she spun, her elegant features flushed red.
Interestingly, Yuuji noted that Alleyne seemed the most surprised out of the two of them.
But he didn't get to contemplate it at all, because Alleyne did something graceless for the first time he'd witnessed, and splendidly slipped on a smooth stone, shapely white legs flinging out to the side in almost comical fashion.
… And dainty hands snapping out to latch an iron grip onto his shoulders, pulling him under with her.
That was how they ended up with Yuuji on top of Alleyne, their faces inches apart, for the second time that day.
Only this time underwater, hardly a big deal when they could both hold their breath far longer than any Earthly athlete, and could just stand up when the need for air did approach.
A trio of towels made the surface first.
Alleyne had gone from 'rigid' to 'paralyzed', fingers digging into his shoulders and preventing him from easily pulling away.
The term 'scandalous' probably existed for positions like this, with Alleyne's bent and bare legs gripping his hips, though he couldn't honestly tell if it was intentional on her part.
Alleyne's eyes were opened so wide it was a wonder they weren't floating out of their sockets, but proximity made the changes in her expression extremely easy to make out. The clearness of the water, and the lack of silt stirred up by their little tumble only made it easier.
For a brief moment, Alleyne wore an expression more befitting a battle than a bath, and her grip tightened enough to make his bones creak.
Alleyne's boldness reemerged with a vengeance as she kissed Yuuji full on the lips.
… Later, an unspoken, but binding, agreement was made, to never mention how their first kiss almost had them both drowning in waist deep water.
The currents caught this ship and have been moving it right along.
If anyone else got a bit of whiplash from Alleyne's thought processes, be patient with the girl, there's a lot of new territory for her.
Probably be one or two more chapters before they get frisky, meaning two or three more chapters in the introductory arc of this story. We'll learn a few more important details about the wider setting, and soon start meeting more and more of the Queen's Blade ladies.
That quote about the Bowie knife is a real world quote by culturist and researcher from Arkansas, Russell T. Johnson. The Bowie will be Yuuji's main (but far from only) weapon going forward, it's a knife that gives a good blend of modern and medieval (ie Grisaia and QB), while suiting Yuuji's needs as a practical but brutal weapon.
I considered a kukri among other things, but as an owner of a kukri I can attest that stabbing with them is a stupid idea, and Yuuji's going to be doing plenty of stabbing.
Anyways, plenty of exposition here, but I don't think it was too dry, and it establishes a rudimentary framework for some of the cloth-ripping, battle harem shenanigans to come.
Get ready for things to both heat up, and speed up, in the near future.
PS: if you wanna discuss things more or just hang out with cool people, I'll invite you to the Discord I'm an admin for- discord .gg MhENMuhQM3