Outsider Chronicles: Born as a Blade
Most people who get reborn into other world have a choice, join the hero, become a villain or attempt to live a normal life. I didn't have that luxury. Oh no, instead here I am, reborn bound to a broken girl as something other than Human. I just hope some moron doesn't decide to dissect me...
Right, I didn't actually intend to do any more of this, but since I got a lot of interest, fuck it. This is probably gonna end up flip flopping between Taylor and Hyorinmaru's POV, although only the latters section will be in first person. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 2
Taylor was pretty sure she was going to die. Surrounded by darkness and all manner of disgusting refuse with no one to free her, it was frankly just a matter of time before something killed her, be it shock, hyperthermia as the schools heating system shut down for the night, infection or even being eaten alive by the many bugs that slithered across her skin. Fortunately, whatever her fate was to be, she wouldn't be conscious to witness it.
Taylor groaned, turning over as she tried to resist the irritating pull of wakefulness. Her bed was so comfortable, if a little cold. Then, something landed on her cheek. Against her will, her eyes fluttered open. It took her a moment to realize that the soft, white substance she was looking at wasn't in fact her bed sheets. No, it was...snow? Then, memories of what happened to her slammed into her and Taylor sat bolt upright, looking around wildly as the snow that had slowly been covering her was dislodged in a flurry of flakes.
To her surprise, Taylor found herself, not at home, in a locker or even at hospital on the off chance she had been saved or it was all a bad dream, but instead sat in a large drift of snow atop a mountain. The view was breathtaking. From where she was sat, she could see for miles, even with the black rock mountains that stabbed like daggers into the sky, each one covered in snow that was slowly drifting from the clouds above yet somehow managed to be thin enough that the blue sky and sun was visible. Somehow, despite the height and snow, Taylor wasn't cold. Oh, she could feel the cold, but it didn't bother her like it should. It was quite, with the only sound being the occasional creak of shifting snow and the faint whistle of the wind.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" said a voice from nearby.
The voice was as deep and soft as the snow around her and, despite the suddenness of it, Taylor didn't jump. It was like she had already known its owner was there. Taylor turned and saw that the owner of the voice was a short distance away, sat cross legged on a large, flat rock that was clear of snow. She stood and slowly approached, examining her companion as she did. He was tall, she could see that despite the fact he was sitting down, with long, teal coloured hair, gray eyes and an icy blue x shaped mark on his face. He was wearing a dark blue chestplate under a teal coloured robe that was held shut by a pair bronze, star-like clips joined by a pale green rope and a dark green cloth belt that extended back like a tail with the tip covered in ice. Around his neck was a scarf shaped piece of ice and his hands and feet were covered in the same stuff. Resting at his side was a long sword she recognized as being Japanese in origin.
As Taylor approached, the man looked up and smiled. Despite the ice on his body and clothing, the smile was warm.
"Hello Taylor," said the man, "I was beginning to think I was to late."
Taylor blinked.
"How do you…?"
"Your Father came barging into your room screaming your name shortly after I brought you to the Hospital," said the man.
Taylor frowned.
"Wait, Hospital?" she asked, "Is that where I am?"
"Thats where your body is," corrected the man, "I created this place and drew you here so we could talk without being interrupted."
"Talk about what?" asked Taylor, a tickle of fear appearing in her chest, "And who are you?"
That sounded a bit to much like a Master power to her. She really didn't want to have anything to do with a Cape who could do something like that. The man blinked, before giving a sheepish chuckle.
"Oh, how rude of me," he said, "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Hyorinmaru and, well, I suppose the simplest way of putting it would be to say that I'm your powers."
Taylor blinked
"My power?" she asked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean that you Triggered in that Locker," said Hyorinmaru.
Taylor's eyes wided.
"Triggered? Wait, you mean I'm a Cape now?"
Hyorinmaru made a face and made a sort of gesture with his hand.
"Ehhh, kind of, not really," he said, "Technically, you are, but theres a bit more to it than that."
Hyorinmaru made another gesture and the snow was blown away from a nearby rock, leaving the black rock clear.
"Take a seat and I'll explain," he said, ignoring Taylor's wide eyes.
Taylor slowly did as she was told as Hyorinmaru shifted on his rock so they were facing each other.
"Alright, where to begin?" he mused.
"How about with where we are," said Taylor, "And what you meant by 'you being my powers'?"
"I guess thats fair enough," said Hyorinmaru, "Alright, this place is basically a mental plane I created using the bond between the two of us. It doesn't really exist, although I think I did a good job if I do say so myself. As for what I am, well, I dare say that the PRT will designate me a Master construct, but the truth is, I'm my own being. You didn't create me, you merely called me here."
Taylor frowned.
"Called you?" she asked, "You mean like from another world?"
Hyorinmaru nodded.
"Yep, although I'm not sure how," he said, "What I do know is that you somehow dragged my Core Crystal across to your Dimension and activated me."
"Core Crystal?"
Hyorinmaru nodded and placed a hand on his chest where a star shaped gem was glowing faintly.
"I am a Blade, a sentient weapon with incredible power," said Hyorinmaru, "Our origins are shrouded in mystery, not helped in the least by the fact that we lose all memories once our Master dies and we returned to dormancy, but we are very powerful. Our abilities range from being able to heal grievous wounds to being able to control the elements."
He gestured to their surroundings.
"As you can probably guess, my power is over water and ice. As my Driver, my powers are yours to command, although I strongly suggest you also learn to use my weapon as it is."
He patted the sword next to him. The motion served to draw Taylor's eyes to the weapon. Even to her inexperienced gaze and in its sheath, she could tell that the weapon was exquisite. Its lacquered sheath was painted dark blue with a dark bronze cap at the end, matching the for pointed star shaped guard and pommel, while the hilt was wrapped in light blue silk over white rayskin.
"You...want me to learn to use that?" she asked, not quite sure what to make of that.
Hyorinmaru smiled thinly.
"If you want to use my powers, you're going to have to," he said.
"Oh…"
Taylor had no idea what to make of that. Hell, she had no idea how to respond to any of this! She, Taylor Hebert, victim extraordinary, was a Cape? And with a power that apparently had a physical, sentient form at that! How in the world was she supposed to tell her Dad about this? Telling him about the bullies and what they had done was looking to be hard enough, without adding the Blade across from her to the mix!
Speaking of the Blade, despite how outlandish his story sounded, Taylor somehow knew that he was being mostly honest with her. She wasn't sure how, but she did. Everything he had said was true, although a few parts of it were slightly twisted. He wasn't telling her everything.
Hyourinmaru perked up slightly as that thought crossed her mind and raised an eyebrow.
"Huh, that was quick," he said, "I thought it would take longer for you to notice that."
Taylor blinked.
"Are you reading my mind?" she asked.
"More like your emotions," said Hyorinmaru, "We are bound together after all. Its what allows Blades and Drivers to operate efficiently in combat. I can't read your thoughts, but I can get some idea of what your thinking, just like you can with me. You are right though, I'm not telling you everything. I'm also not going to."
Taylor opened her mouth to protest, but Hyorinmaru cut her off with a raised hand.
"I'm not keeping secrets because I don't trust you, but rather for your own good," he said, "If you knew some of the things I do, you would likely lose all hope or possibly go insane. I may tell you when you get stronger, but for now put your trust in me and don't ask."
For a moment, Taylor was tempted to do just that, but she ruthlessly crushed it. She might have just met the teal haired man, but she found that she did trust him. Probably due to the bond he mentioned. Plus, the idea of having a friend who wouldn't stab her in the back was a nice one. Taylor took a deep breath and bet Hyorinmaru's eyes.
"Alright, what now?" she asked.
"Now? Now we wait for you to recover," he said, "Then I teach you how to use a sword, followed by your real weapon."
Taylor frowned.
"Isn't the sword my weapon?" she asked.
Hyorinmaru smiled.
"No, thats just a conduit," he said, "I am a Blade of water and ice, but I go far beyond what most can do. Your weapon, once to master my powers, will be every drop of water in the atmosphere."
Taylor's eyes went wide. Hydrokinesis on that scale...that was on the same level of Leviathan! The idea that she might one day have power to rivel an Endbringer...it was a scary thought.
"Don't worry Taylor, it'll be a while before you get to that point," said Hyorinmaru, "Before that, you'll have to master my sword…"
He trailed off and glanced up as if listening to something.
"However, the first thing we should to is wake up," he said, "Oh, and Taylor? Trust your Father. He can do a lot more to help than you might think."
Taylor opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Hyorinmaru reached across and flicked her forehead.
Taylor's eyes opened, blinking blerally up at the white ceiling above her. She could tell that she was no longer on the mountain simply by the fact she was now warm as opposed to the strange not-cold sensation of the snow in the mental realm. She slowly sat up and looked around. She was in a small, sparsely decorated room that she recognized as a hospital room. There was an empty chair next to her bed and a familiar head of teal coloured hair sat cross legged in the corner with his sword resting against his shoulder. She wasn't exactly sure how the Blade had managed not to get kicked out or relieved of his sword, although she had the distinct impression that it likely involved threatening to freeze something or, more likely, someone. She wasn't sure where that came from, but it tickled her nonetheless.
She looked back at the chair next to her bed and reached out, absently noticing that her arm was shaking slightly. The seat was still warm. Whoever had been sitting there had only just left. At that moment, the door opened and a startled gasp followed by a paper cup hitting the ground reached Taylors ears. She turned, just in time to be pulled into a tight hug by her sobbing Father. Taylor froze in shock at the sudden display of affection. She couldn't remember the last time her Dad had given her a hug, but it certainly hadn't been since her Mom died. A moment later, Taylor teared up and hugged her Dad back, finally letting out a year and a halfs worth of hurt and loneliness into her Fathers shoulder.
Unfortunately, the Father-Daughter cry session was cut short by the arrival of the doctors who promptly ran Taylor through a battery of tests, before declaring her healthy but that she needed to stay in the Hospital a bit longer for observation. Once they were left alone, Danny returned to his seat. For a moment, Father and Daughter sat in an awkward silence, before a slight shift and the sound of metal on metal drew attention to the corner of the room as Hyorinmaru got to his feet and stretched. Taylor winced as she heard the sound of popping joints. The Blade let out a groan as he rubbed the back of his neck and rolled his shoulders.
"Right, next time I have to do anything mentally, I'm sitting on a chair," he muttered, "Fuck tradition, I think my butts gone to sleep."
Taylor giggled. She couldn't help it. Hyorinmaru's statement just seemed so at odds with his dignified appearance and voice. Danny glanced between his Daughter and the tall, teal haired man who had been sitting in the corner like an ice sculpture since his Daughter had been brought into hospital in no small amount of confusion. Up until now, he had brushed the man off, being more interested in making sure his Daughter was alright, but now…
"Um, pardon me, but who are you?" asked Danny, "Are you a friend of Taylors?"
Hyorinmaru blinked and looked at Danny.
"Hnn, I suppose thats one way to put it," he said.
"Whats that supposed to mean?" growled Danny, his mind immediately jumping to conclusions as all Fathers with teenage daughters are want to do.
"Whoa, cool it, thats not what I meant!" said Hyorinmaru before Danny could do something stupid.
It was at that point that Taylor decided to step in before an argument between her Father and Blade could start.
"Dad, calm down!" she said, "Hyorinmaru was the one who helped me. And…"
She took a deep breath. Somehow, she just knew this would go over about as well as telling Danny about the bullying.
"Hes part of my powers."
She was completely correct.
And done. I have no idea if Blades other than the Aegis can do the mental construct thing to talk to their Drivers, but frankly, I don't much care. FANFICTION AND CAPE BULLSHIT FTW!
Speaking of, considering that the fight between Halibel and Hitsugaya boiled down to them using each others weapons against them, do you lot think that Hyorinmaru's power would let Taylor turn Leviathans attacks back on him? I just have this idea of her using Hyoten Hyakkaso or Sennen Hyoro to give Brockton its very own Endbringer ice sculpture in the bay.
Next question for those who like Xenoblade, would you want to see Taylor somehow manage to summon more Core Crystals and other Parahuman's gaining Blades? Huh, for some reason, I'm now picturing Amy armed with Dromarch and/or Tattletale with Brighid...and maybe a Tinker somehow making Poppi, although I guess that wouldn't really be Taylor's doing. Maybe have Greg Trigger and build her...this is gonna end up as more of a crossover than I was expecting at this rate so I'll sto...OH, JIN WITH DINHA!...sorry.
Anyway, I'd better sign off. Don't forget to review on your way out!