What goes bump in the night

The moment that Adrian let his guard down, Vojta broke the pen in his hand. The seconds where both Haiku and Adrian almost offed each other seemed to pass in centuries, watching his best friend and someone he feared almost end each others lives left him stunned. The world seemed to spin a bit as he tried to wrap his head around the fact that he almost lost his best friend, again. And in the same circumstances as the first time, Vojta felt helpless, unable to act, and most of all afraid. He teetered on the edge of the roof trying to contemplate what had almost happened before falling, and the last thing that came to mind was the sand rushing up to meet him, then darkness.
 
"You're acting as though I wasn't trying to kill you as well." Haiku chuckled, unamused. "We both went past the line. And that's why I say that we tied." She walked around the door and saw him leaning against the bag. For some reason, Haiku felt much more comfortable now that she had crossed blades with him.


"I hope that they never fight like that again. Someone will get seriously injured if they do...." Neimi trailed off, staring at the compound in which the two had disappeared.
 
Adrian took his head off the sandbag and turned to face Haiku. He shook his head solemnly, but his ever-present grin had returned, though still tinged with regret. "I cannot accept calling that a tie. You were forcing me on the defensive the entire time. Besides, I lost to both you and myself, as well." He strode to his bed and sat at its edge, resting his arm on his knee. "I lost my cool. I saw red. However you want to put it, for a moment I lost sight of the difference between 'sparring partner' and 'enemy to kill'." He sighed. "My nickname in the KGB was Kindjal. The man who trained me, however, had a different name for me: Sleeping Bear."


"We are all trained to be able to kill with zero hesitation," Adrian explained. "However, that obviously isn't such a good thing to be able to do when just sparring. It was a weird: the stronger my opponent, the more dangerous it was to spar with me. I would break bones, dislocate sockets. One man I accidentally deafened in his left ear. Still not sure how THAT happened. It was pretty bad. My trainer, one hell of a man, taught me to keep a friendly and happy disposition. By keeping a smile on my face I could more easily distinguish who I should and should not try to kill. It also proved hilariously unsettling to my enemies: the look of confusion as I smiled at them would last almost until I took the kindjal out of their chest," he said with way too much amusement to match what he was saying. He seemed to realize this because he coughed into his hand awkwardly. "He dubbed me 'Sleeping Bear' to warn my sparring partners of my nature: warm and calm on the outside, but capable of great death."


Adrian chuckled. "Despite what happened, I enjoyed our duel, though we probably shouldn't do it again. Also, a deal is a deal," he said, his smile friendly and kind once again, "so I owe you a favor for whatever you want. Name it and I'll do it," he said jovially.


-----


"Without a doubt," Samuel agreed somberly. His eyes narrowed as he heard a dull thump from fairly nearby. He looked in its direction and saw Vojta prone on the ground.


"Vojta!" Samuel exclaimed and rushed to his side. "...fainted..." Samuel muttered. With a grunt he hoisted the man over his shoulder. He was lighter than he looked: was it because he was a vampire? "He's probably fine but I should take him to the infirmary so Serisa can keep an eye on him, just in case," he said to Neimi before heading inside.
 
Muerte calmly stood up from the tree he had been leaning against and walked by Samuel and Neimi, not saying a word. He had memorized it all: the attack patterns, there facial expressions, how they carried themselves in a fight against someone of strength similar to their own. All useful knowledge to have in his eyes. Unlike everyone else however, the emotions of such a confrontation seemed unnoticed by him.
 
Haiku half-smiled. "I'll think of one in time. Who says I need to spend it now when it could come in handy later?" A mischievous glint entered her eyes. "And I did enjoy our duel. It's been a while since I've found a challenger worth my time." A flush crossed her face as she realized something. She had technically not beaten him, but he had not beaten her. She had not figured out any ideas of what would happen in the case of a draw.


----


Neimi followed. "I've never known a vampire to faint for no reason." She studied the man intently, taking the time to memorize his scent while she did it. Never know when a scent will come in handy.
 
Although he considered it his loss, Adrian hadn't even considered the possibility of a draw either. For some reason he thought the only two possible outcomes would be himself winning, or Haiku winning. "Glad to know I was worthwhile," he said with a chuckle, and threw himself backwards with a groan, lying on the bed with his arm stretched out to his side. "I hope the Commander isn't too displeased with us dueling...and how it ended," he said. Somehow he knew that there was no way they would be able to keep it a secret from Shepherd.


-----


"Can't say I've known a vampire, period," Samuel said with a playful smirk. He took Vojta to the infirmary, explaining to Sarisa that he seemed to have fainted. Sarisa thanked Samuel for bringing him in, and the young man left the infirmary with Neimi. "Er...I'm going to look for Muerte. Believe it or not I want to speak with him. I know he watched the duel; I'm intrigued as to what he thought of it, given his detatched nature. You're welcome to come if you wish, I just figured I'd warn you of where I'm headed," Samuel said. Neimi didn't seem overly fond of Muerte. Samuel couldn't say he liked the guy, either.
 
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"The Commander would not have let it happen if he thought things would end badly." Haiku shook her head ruefully. "He knows everything that happens on this island. He knows when you sleep, train, eat, interact with others, etc. The Director allowed us to finish this duel, which I take as a symbol that he trusts us both enough to stop before anything got out of hand."


----


Neimi sighed and her nose crinkled involuntarily. "I'll go with you. I don't really have anything else to do at the moment." She was definitely not looking forward to this. The stench of death was something that normal people with normal sense avoided. When one had heightened smell, you tended to not be within five miles of that smell.
 
Adrian felt a pang of guilt at that last statement...it almost had gotten VERY out of hand, because of him. Then he realized something: heshot to his feet, a little bit of panic in his eye, and his hand flew to his empty scabbard. He'd dropped his kindjal.


-----


Samuel, with Neimi in tow, entered the complex and began searching for Muerte. "I saw him come in," Samuel muttered to himself. "He can't have gone far...where is that man?"
 
As it turned out, Muerte had not gone far. He had turned down the hallway from the entrance and was heading downstairs. Presumably towards target practice.
 
Samuel finally found the man as he neared the target practice area. "I should've known," Samuel smirked. "Muerte!" he shouted as he caught up with the man. "I'm sure you saw the duel between Adrian and Haiku? What did you think?" he asked with a friendly grin.
 
"What is there to think?"


Muerte didn't turn to make eye contact as he loaded one of his pistols and set the target down the field


"It was a display of physical prowess, in which they are both very skilled. I know what tasks they can be trusted to perform."


A few gunshots rang out as he fired at the target


"Why would you need my analysis on such an activity?"
 
Haiku blinked before holding out the kindjal. "I figured that you'd want this back. A good weapon like this deserves to be used by one who has the technical ability to know how to use it." She smiled down at the blade; Haiku knew that this was a weapon of finesse and beauty. Adrian was definitely the correct person to handle this weapon.


----


Neimi again wrinkled her nose and stayed absolutely silent. This person absolutely disgusted her, standing so close to one that reeked of death. Muerte was probably her least favorite person in the world and it wasn't really because of his physical appearance. It was because he seemed to understand nothing of emotion and that was something that Neimi found scary.
 
Adrian's face lit up when Haiku brought out his sword. "Many thanks, Haiku." He thankfully took it and stowed it in its sheath, which he then unhooked from his belt and placed on his dresser. He turned to look at her, a wide smile in his expression. "You flatter me too much. Even with both arms I could never handle two weapons at once. It was not a skill I could master. You use them as extensions of yourself. It's amazing."


-----


"I suppose there was nothing unusual about the majority of the battle," Samuel agreed. "I am interested to hear your thoughts on the duel's conclusion," he added, his expression serious and thoughtful.
 
"They decided to stop. So they stopped. Why would I have any opinion on the matter?"


Muerte unloaded his entire clip before pulling back the target. Most of the shots were centered around the bullseye, with a few stray shots here and there.
 
Samuel opened his mouth to speak but after a moment's consideration he closed it. He shook his head with a grin and turned on his heel, leaving the firing range and Muerte behind him. "I should've known," he muttered, disappointed but amused. "He didn't...no, he couldn't see it."
 
Shepard let out a sigh and pushed his fingers against his temples. This night was definitely going to be a long one. In front of him lay numerous reports, along with a screen that held a few vague images.


"I swear to whatever gods exist, if that old fogey--"


He was interrupted by the phone ringing, which elicited an even more exasperated sigh. He lazily shited one arm and picked up the phone, not bothering to move any other part of his body.


"PDA director--"


Some very quick and panicked italian came to the other side of the line, clearly urgent. Shepard started speaking back in his own italian, somewhat broken but functional.


(The following dialogue is translated for convenience)


"Yes, I'm looking at the data right now . . . no, I don't have answers for you right now . . . It's a collection of darkness and tentacles centered on the coliseum! Given how much death occurred there it could be anything! . . . Yes there will be a team tomorrow, just keep the public out of the area for the next 12 hours . . . NO. I cannot in good conscience send out the force with no special equipment, that's why we need the night in the first place . . . your force is there to protect people isn't it? Have them do their damn jobs for twelve hours, that's it! Yes prime minister, I am heartless."


*clack*


Shepard let out another long breath, closing his eyes


"I'm going to need more coffee."
 
Haiku's face hardened a bit. "It was not originally that way. Before, my sister and I wielded one each of these scimitars. They called us the Twin Huntresses, back then." As she went back into the past, her eyes softened with a far away look. "She was the cautious one, while I was bold and brash. She went on the defensive, while I went on the offensive. We were Yin and Yang, practically." Her hands fell to her sides and clenched the pommels of her scimitars.


----


Neimi looked at him curiously. "...what do you mean by that?"
 
Internally Adrian was conflicted. He wanted to inquire more about who this 'Minuet' was, but he knew that her existence had been something important to Haiku. This was a past he felt it would be rude to trespass in. He couldn't find any words that he felt were adequate so he settled with a hand on her shoulder. His grin had left him for a calm but concerned expression.


-----


Samuel sighed with a smile. "He couldn't see the feeling, the emotion in those last moments of that fight. How could he? He does not experience them himself, so there is no way he would recognize them." Samuel absent-mindedly headed to the roof. "Though that man can be...infuriating, I must admit he's quite intriguing as a person." He opened the door to the rooftop and strolled to the railing, lighting another cigarette in the cool night air. A gentle breeze played with his long gray hair as he took a drag. "He's interesting because he's so disinterested," he mused with a chuckle.
 
"And she's the reason....." Haiku reached up to the side of her mask, touching it gently. Suddenly, she remembered what she was talking about and turned heel, marching out of the room. Once in the hallway, she proceeded to go to her room and jump into her own bed. Had she almost....told him? This was insanity! Haiku had sworn never to talk of that moment again! She fell into a restless sleep after musing for a bit, letting the night come.


----


"Night is falling." Neimi could see the moon barely peeking up over the horizon. "You should go inside and get some sleep." Her eyes darted out onto the beach, towards the trees. Another night, another tree.
 
Adrian felt a little guilty. Had he heard something he wasn't supposed to? Had he pried too much? Then again it wasn't his fault. He hadn't been inquiring. Still, he felt like he'd done something wrong. After shaking his head to clear it, Adrian straightened up the room a bit and collapsed in his bed. He didn't bother shutting the door; he figured Vojta would handle it when he eventually returned to their room. Adrian slowly drifted off to sleep, hoping the next day would be a little less catastrophic.


-----


Samuel kept staring off into the night. "Should I assume you'll be sleeping outside again?" he asked before taking another drag from his cigarette.
 
"It's more comfortable than sleeping inside in an enclosed space." Neimi chuckled. "In the community, we only slept in buildings during the full moon period. And then it was only to keep us caged until the madness passed." Her words were casual because she really didn't think much of mentioning this to Samuel."
 
Samuel knew nothing about werewolf society (well, nothing outside what Neimi tells him) yet for some reason that sounded reasonable. He was running out of cigarette so he decided he might as well head inside. The moonlight shone down on them as he turned to Neimi. "I supposed I will turn in. Good ni-"


He was interrupted by what he saw. Neimi was looking right at him, moonlight was illuminating her beautifully, and Samuel's mental processes momentarily stuttered. He tried to remain casual by taking a hasty drag, which caused him to caught violently for a second. He used his right hand to destroy the stub of his cigarette, blushing stupidly as he put on his glove. "Er...G-good night, Neimi," he said to the floor, and strode inside.


"Stupid," Samuel said and pounded his head on the wall of his room. He collapsed in his bed, only barely noticing that Muerte wasn't there but not at all surprised by that fact. Sleep couldn't come soon enough for him.
 
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Neimi was surprised at this reaction. What had she done? What had she said? Was it even her fault? She shook her head and took off into the trees. After finding a suitable one facing the ocean, she curled up in it. The moon's crescent was growing larger and with it her emotions would begin to flare. She had to be careful that no one got hurt by it. Especially Samuel. No one was going to hurt him, including herself, not while she was around. After a few moments, she drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
 
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