What goes bump in the night

"I didn't mean to drop the sandwich on you, and I knew you would be mad so that's why I ran." Vojta said from the shadows, remorse in his voice. "Besides, you would've torn me to shreds! Confrontation has never been my strongest point..."
 
Samuel, after mentally being absolutely certain that his gloves were still on, answered Neimi by tightening his embrace. "I fail to see how I could possibly find it anything less than okay," he muttered. This was an even more pleasant feeling than he'd imagined it would be. "But...aren't you scared of me? Of these hands?" he asked tentatively.


-----


Haiku's glare didn't phase Adrian in the least. Really, he seemed all the more amused by it. "Sorry, Haiku, but I won't let you down until I am certain that you have calmed down. Now, Vojta is deeply sorry. Do you accept his apology?"
 
Roy had been working in his truck but, as he was sawing off the appropriate amount of silver from one of the chains in his recycling bin, his saw broke. He grumbled to himself and said a well-worn swear. He stood up and left the truck, closing the door behind him. Carrying the broken saw he headed out searching the complex for either a storage shed or someone who could direct him to something of the sort.
 
"I will accept the apology." Haiku sighed. "...just....please....put me down now...." She was growing redder by the second and she closed her eyes, trying to push away the embarrassment. Ever since these new recruits had come in, she had turned into...well....a girl. Foolish girly impulses had governed her and now it was even worse. She desperately wanted everything to return to normal again where one person couldn't make her blush every few minutes!


----


"I do not fear them." Neimi answered. "I know that you are in control of them and you are too careful to let them hurt someone." Her eyes were downcast, however. "I know that you fear what I will become during the full moon. That is why I will lock myself away so I will not hurt anyone and so that you won't see the creature that I become."
 
After considering to himself for a few seconds, Adrian nodded once and sat Haiku down gently. "Good to hear. Vojta, do be more careful next time," he said to his partner. "Glad we could settle this amicably." It was then that Adrian noticed Haiku was the color of a tomato. He stepped around to see her face. "Haiku, is something wrong? You're so red." He placed his hand to her head. "Hmm. Not particularly feverish...still, are you feeling ill at all?" he asked, a gentle grin on his face and minor concern in his voice.


-----


Samuel was silent for about half a minute. Finally, he spoke, a tense whisper. "...I want to see it..."


He took his left hand from around Neimi and gently took her chin in his fingers, tilting her head up to look him in the eye. His eyes were more focused than they usually were, and a strange determination had appeared. "You are not afraid of me. I don't want to be afraid of you."
 
"....n-nothing is wr-rong...." Haiku stuttered. Okay, this was going way too far. Fear coursed through her body as she stepped back; fear of what exactly, though, was the question. Haiku had remained a loner since Minuet's death. No one touched her. No one. Yet, here this guy was, touching her and she wasn't hacking his hand off of his arm for it.


----


"But...." Neimi shook her head. "I won't know you. I'll have no idea who you are. All I'll know is that you are prey and I am the hunter. Even in the cage, I'll still be able to reach outside of it enough to hurt anything that came close. I don't want you to get hurt...." Her voice trailed off and her eyes were far away. It wasn't going to happen again. No one else was going to hurt because of her.
 
Adrian blinked once, and then twice, as he stared into Haiku's eyes. He clearly didn't believe her, but even so he let his hand fall to his side. "If you say so." He glanced out the window of their room...the sun was already setting?!


A wide grin formed on Adrian's face. "Looks like its just about time," he said, strolling over to his bed and strapping his kindjal to his waist. "Meet you down on the beach, then!" he said with a wave to Haiku and the shadows of Vojta, and left the room.


Samuel put his hands reassuringly on Neimi's shoulders. "I won't get hurt. I trust you, Neimi. You won't know me, true, but I'll know you. I'll stay out of arm's reach and keep you company, that's all." He smiled. "Nothing drastic or dangerous."


"Yes, drastic and dangerous are things to avoid," said Adrian, having just arrived on the beach near the two.


Samuel reacted like he'd been subjected to an electric shock: he recoiled several feet from Neimi in his surprise. "A-Adrian! What brings you out here?!" he asked, his face a beet red.


"It's getting to sundown," Adrian said with an excited smile. "Haiku and I will be dueling soon. Care to watch?"


Samuel considered for a moment, then shrugged. "I suppose so, if its alright with you and her."


Adrian nodded, and started stretching out. He was clearly extremely excited for this duel.
 
Haiku snapped out of it and marched to her room. The two scimitars were sitting there, just read for her to take them to play. She glanced over at the picture of Minuet and sighed. "Wish me luck, sister." And with that, she began to walk down towards the beach.


Neimi also nodded. "A duel? What brought about this duel?"
 
Adrian looked thoughtful for a moment. "It's...you know, I'm not sure. Technically she challenged me, actually."


Samuel looked to Adrian in surprise. "She challenged you?" He hadn't expected that answer at all. "Any idea why?"


Adrian's grin widened as he saw Haiku approaching. "Nope. Ask her yourself!"


Samuel chuckled nervously but said nothing. There was no way he was asking Haiku that!
 
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Haiku approached, swords sheathed and a confident look in her eyes. The sun was setting in a blaze of red, orange, and purple and now was the time. If she beat him, then she would know that he was not her equal and was nothing to be feared. If he defeated her....she dared not think of that outcome.


Neimi chuckled to herself. This would most likely be an interesting duel, just for the sake that these two were probably the most feared fighters she had ever seen in her life.
 
Adrian stepped forward, flexing his fingers as they popped satisfyingly. He calmly reached to his waist and drew his Kindjal, and with a flourish pointed it at Haiku. He was gripping his sword in such a way that the curve of the blade was facing himself: if he slashed, the back of the blade wouldn't cut Haiku. "I believe the challenger is supposed to make the first move," he said as if making casual conversation, "and as part of that first move, you should probably draw your blades," he added with a chuckle.


Samuel retreated slightly as the two combatants approached each other. Though he knew they were allies, and that Adrian was one of the friendliest men he'd ever met...somehow Samuel had a bad feeling about this fight.
 
Off in the corner, quietly examining the goings-on, was Muerte. He didn't say a word, nor did he seem interested in talking to anyone else. His gaze was kept focused completely on the two that would be sparring.


--------------------------


"Sir?"


"What is it?"


Shepard gave a sigh and looked at the secretary that was in front of his desk


"Well . . . two of the new recruits look like they're going to be fighting, I thought I should--"


"It's Adrian and Haiku. Those two are skilled enough to avoid killing each other, and too duty-bound to let themselves make a mistake that will jeopardize future missions. Let them get it out of their system."


"Ah--Yes sir."
 
Vojta sat perched on the roof, sketching the beach, and most importantly, the two combatants it contained. He was eager to see Adrian fight, since the last time had been on mission and he had only seen what his scope would allow. Vojta exhaled softly. 'I'm glad was able to apologize to Haiku about earlier without making her an adversary today.' He chuckled as he thought. 'I really need to work on not being so clums-eeeEEEE' His thought was interrupted as he almost dropped his field book. He looked dejectedly at it. 'Today is really not my day is it...' He sighed as he began to sketch again, albeit with less gusto than before.
 
Haiku nodded, without a hint of emotion on her face as she drew the twin scimitars. All previous thoughts of fear and doubt were gone. She moved cautiously, circling, like an animal preparing to spring. No words were going to come out of her mouth; silence would pervade all of her movements.
 
Adrian, despite his disarming air of calm, kept his eyes locked on Haiku as she orbited him. As a contrast to Haiku's blank, emotionless expression, Adrian was still grinning. His eyes showed amusement and excitement as he gave his kindjal a twirl. When Haiku had made her way in a half-circle around him, he suddenly lauched at her, throwing himself into a flurry of relentless slashes.


He was determined to get on the offensive; there wasn't much chance that he'd be able to defend against two scimitars with one arm and one blade.


Samuel grinned slightly as Adrian launched his attack. "Here we go..." he muttered. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a slow drag.
 
Haiku's eyes flashed with bemusement. Her body twisted as she dodged and parried the blows. Her defensive movements were also paired with occasional feints and shallow stabs to keep him on his toes. There was no way that she would let him have the upper hand.


"You smoke?" Neimi's nose crinkled a bit.
 
Honestly speaking? Adrian was having a blast. He hadn't had a competent opponent since he'd been in training in the KGB. Haiku was more than merely 'good' with her scimitars: they were like an extension of her arms. Adrian did everything he could: slashes, feints, parries, lunges...she more than exceeded his expectations by countering his moves with her own. They were perfectly matched...


Or they would have been, if he still had his left arm. As it was, she was ever so slightly forcing him back. He hadn't even noticed yet, but if he wanted to win he would have to soon.


Samuel gave a small, apologetic grin. "I'm not proud of it. The first time I visited Oxford I was given a cigarette and a match as payment for healing a young man's broken arm. Before I was whisked overseas to come here, a cigarette now and again was all I had to calm my nerves in-between bouts of fleeing for my life." He spoke with no particular feelings towards what he was saying. "I imagine it must be unbearable for your heightened senses..." He looked at his cigarette, conflicted.
 
Haiku immediately noticed that she was gaining ground. Her strikes began to come faster and harder, trying to break his impenetrable defense. This current style wasn't apparently enough. Suddenly, her body snaked into a second style that literally made her entire body into a weapon. Now, it wasn't just swords he was having to block; now kicks and elbows were thrown in as well.


"I've...smelled a lot worse...." Neimi half-smiled. "If you feel that you must, then go ahead."
 
Adrian's grin faltered slightly as he braced against the onslaught of blows. Luckily he'd been warned of this second style by Vojta, so he was barely managing to avoid being hit. His eyes widened a little as he was forced to retreat a step...and another...and another...


I underestimated her, he thought to himself matter-of-factly. I knew she would we strong, but I think I still underestimated her! Amazing!


Samuel gave a small nod, and returned his attention to the fight. He still felt a tinge of guilt as he took another drag from the cigarette he held between the fingers of his gloved right hand. He needed calm nerves and a clear mind for this: he likely would not see them fight again in the forseeable future, and he wanted this opportunity to learn anything he could, at least as much as possible from observing. Though as he stared in awe he couldn't help but be a bit surprised. "He's losing..." he muttered to himself.
 
Haiku knew better than to think that the victory was hers. Faster strikes. It was time to decide whether to try one last thing or not. Harder strikes. She didn't want to reveal her full hand before seeing his. She flipped behind him, trying to catch him off guard with a back stab. It was more to test his reaction time than anything else.


Neimi's eyes widened. "If I didn't know better, I'd think that she was trying to kill him." Haiku seemed to be a loose cannon in her opinion. There was an obvious anger within her and a lot of pain. But there was no way that the stoic Haiku was going to let go and tell anyone here what was wrong. She had a feeling that the Director knew, but he wasn't about to tell them.
 
Adrian's body reacted before he thought it out: he twisted his body clockwise, deflecting the stab with the kindjal in his right hand and aiming a roundhouse kick at her neck. Haiku dodged it, of course, but it could very well have broken her neck if it had landed. Adrian blinked as he took a step back to regroup.


Samuel's eyes narrowed. "I think that intent is mutual," he said, and took another long drag.


Calm down, Adrian thought. Smile. His weak grin was widened and reinforced. "Very nice!" he said cheerfully, though the friendly tone was a tad less natural than typical.
 
Haiku knew something was off. The power behind that last attack would have felled a lesser being. It could have broken her neck. She re-calculated quickly; was this fight really a good idea? They both were used to death matches....she snapped out of it as she went back on the offensive. No time to think; only to act.


"If one of them lands the blow on the other, someone's going to get seriously hurt." Neimi looked at Samuel. "...should this really continue?"
 
Many things happened in the span of seconds: Haiku pushed Adrian to the limit that he could hold himself back, and in an instant he'd abandoned all pretense of defending and swung his kindjal at her jugular. He'd even flipped the sword so that he was holding it normally. The blade was a hair's width from Haiku's neck, but because he'd opened up his defense her pair of scimitars were pointed at his heart and liver. The two were frozen in a near-deadly tie.


Samuel dropped his cigarette and took a step backwards in fear: in that moment when Adrian attacked, his grin had disappeared. Cold and grim determination were a startling sight on the man's normally warm and friendly face, and both Samuel and Adrian noticed that. With a deep and shaky inhale, Adrian dropped his kindjal to the sand. He stepped away from Haiku, to both catch his breath and cool his head. Finally he sighed, and looked to her with an apologetic smile. "Damn. I lose." With a respectful bow to the woman he acknowledged as defeating him, he turned and strode back into the complex without another word. He would make for his room where he'd begin brutalizing a sandbag with devastating blows.


Samuel picked up his now-extinguished cigarette and looked over to Haiku with both confusion and wariness. "Er, m-miss Haiku...you should probably go return that to him," he said, pointing with his cigarette at the abandoned kindjal at her feet.
 
Haiku shakily picked up the sword after sheathing her own scimitars. That...that had gotten out of hand. She began to walk slowly back, barely acknowledging Samuel and Neimi. She made it inside and heard Adrian pounding on the sandbag. Hesitantly, she spoke from the door. "You didn't lose; we tied."


Neim's jaw had hit the floor and was still kind of there. "What....what just happened?"
 
The sound of blunt-force assault ceased and the creaking of the swaying sandbag broke the silence for the first few seconds. "...Wrong," Adrian finally said quietly from behind the door. He was leaning his forehead against it, though it wasn't locked. "I lost. I didn't keep my cool. I could have killed you. I could have killed us both."


Samuel stroked his chin with his left hand, his right still occupied in holding the dead cigarette. "In that fight both wanted to win, but at the same time had to hold back," he mused. "It appears Adrian broke the latter condition. If I were to describe how he fought during the mission in France, I would say it was mostly calm and controlled with a hint of downright ferocity." He shivered. "This duel was like that, until that last blow: it was more ferocity than I've seen from cornered dogs."
 
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