Pick Up [Part 6]
Sep. 15th, 2014 10:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonFandom: Noblesse
Summary: M-21 asks for a spar with Muzaka.
Rating: PG-13
Notes: And canon kicks my butt again, AHAHAHAH. I WAS WRITING THIS BEFORE 337 CAME OUT AND OH MY GOD. CANON, WHY. WHAT WAS THIS AMAZING CHAPTER, AUUUUUGH.
But yeah, I'd started writing this part before the 5th part, as well as 337, so there might be some weirdness that stuck after editing and I'm keeping the path I originally had. X3;
Genre: Family
Word count: 1,657
Total word count: 4,345
Status: Work in progress
Living in Frankenstein's house wasn't so bad. It was smaller than Raizel's, but after everything Muzaka had seen of the modern human world, it was at least quiet. He appreciated that.
He was crouched on top of the balcony railing, overlooking the rest of the neighbourhood. There were people walking inside their houses and he could hear a few dogs barking in the distance. They weren't saying anything interesting, only having a repeated argument.
"Hey."
Muzaka turned his head towards the voice, recognising it. "Hey."
M-21 exhaled, not coming closer. When Muzaka looked over his shoulder, M-21 was hovering by the doorway, his gaze elsewhere.
A shake of the head and M-21 focused on him again. "Do you want to spar?"
Oh, so that's what it was. "Sure," Muzaka said, hopping off the balcony.
M-21 started a little, his eyebrows shooting up. "Really?"
"You thought I was going to say no?" Muzaka asked with a snort as he walked over. What was the point in asking then?
M-21 shrugged. "I didn't know what you were going to say."
"It's about fighting; my job is to teach the younger generation how to." Frankenstein was good, but he didn't know the ins and outs of how werewolves fought.
"I'm n…" M-21 sighed, his expression flickering. He seemed to have a problem with Muzaka calling him that.
"I know," Muzaka said with a wave of his hand. They'd been over that M-21 was a modified human already. "You're younger than me." And had werewolf blood. Those two things were all that mattered to him, really. And there was no-one else that he could pass this onto; who knew what the hell Maduke was teaching the younger werewolves.
M-21 studied him and then nodded. "All right."
"Where do you spar around here?" Muzaka asked as he walked further in doors. The thought of sparring in Frankenstein's lab made him wrinkle his nose in distaste. The lab was far too enclosed for his liking, too limiting.
"There's the lab…" M-21 started, "but Frankenstein has an island as well." He gestured in the direction of the sea.
"An island," Muzaka repeated. "Like Lukedonia?" Why was he not surprised Frankenstein had one?
"Not that big," M-21 said with a snort.
"Let's go, then." The earlier they started the better.
* * *
It didn't take them long to reach Frankenstein's island, and a building stood out against the rest of the scenery in the distance. That wasn't what had Muzaka's attention though – the place was wrecked, sweeping slashes gouged the ground, disturbed soil and uprooted trees everywhere. Nature had started to take it back, grass and other plants starting to cover them, but the destruction was still easy to see. It must have happened a few weeks ago.
"There was a fight here?" Would it be that safe to spar here if it had been attacked before?
M-21 shook his head. "No, this was us sparring together."
As he said that, Muzaka picked out four parallel slashes grouped together.
"Hm, fine." Muzaka wandered away, giving them some space between them and then turned around to face M-21, a smirk on his face. "Show me what you got, cub."
M-21 hesitated for a second and then nodded, charging at him, transforming, the silver fur appearing in a flash.
Muzaka didn't transform, watching M-21's approach. When M-21 swung down, the ground exploded, flinging dirt and rocks skyward. Muzaka jumped around the way, waiting to see what M-21 would do next.
M-21 closed the distance between them, slashing at him. Another leap to safety and before he landed, Muzaka braced himself for M-21's attack, raising an arm to block.
They struggled against each other for a second and then Muzaka transformed. He saw M-21's eyes widen as he flashed his free arm out and rapped his knuckles on the crown of M-21's head.
"Wha-"
Muzaka jumped out the way before M-21 could regain his bearings. M-21 patted his head where Muzaka tapped him.
"You left yourself open, cub," Muzaka said, lips twitching at the sight.
M-21 frowned for a second and then nodded.
The second time they clashed, M-21 brought both arms into play. The cub had power for his apparent age, Muzaka had to give him that.
He shoved M-21, forcing him to stumble back a step. Muzaka lashed out, tapping M-21 in the torso – his wrist was caught as he pulled away, M-21 baring his teeth at him. Heh, fast too.
"I thought we were going to spar," M-21 said through gritted teeth.
Muzaka raised both eyebrows. "We are." What did M-21 think sparring was?
"You're holding back."
"Of course I am," Muzaka said with a snort. "I'd kill you if I didn't and you wouldn't learn anything that way."
M-21 opened and closed his mouth, still glaring at him.
"Look," Muzaka said, stepping back and relaxing – they weren't going to spar until he'd given M-21 a satisfactory answer. M-21 stiffly let go, watching him. "Me beating the crap out of you won't help. You'll learn to dodge, sure, but what's the point if you leave yourself open when you're countering?"
The expression on M-21's face started to soften.
M-21 was stronger than the two other modified humans, Seira would give him trouble if she brought her soul weapon out, but she would be fair. Frankenstein on the other hand… That to be where M-21 learned this from. "Frankenstein's used to fighting beings more powerful than him and his fighting style shows that." He pointed at M-21. "Your strength's in your claws and you use them differently from how Frankenstein uses his Dark Spear."
M-21 glaced down at his hands. "I know how to-" M-21 pursed his lips, his expression blanking off.
Muzaka huffed. Frankenstein had mentioned the cub's self-worth problems. "I know you do, but you've still got stuff you can improve on. If you didn't think that, you wouldn't have come to me."
A slow nod, and M-21 squared his shoulders, looking ready to fight again.
They'd spent a lot of time talking though, and Muzaka wasn't sure how much M-21 had left. "Can you transform to your next form?"
M-21's eyes widened.
Huh. "No?" He'd seen him do it in the last fight.
M-21's expression twisted, going bitter. "I lose control."
Oh, so that was what the problem was. "It'll be fine," he said, waving a hand. "There's no-one to hurt here and I can take you out." M-21 would tire himself out before reaching the city anyway. "That's why you wanted to spar with me, right?"
Some more hesitation and then another slow nod.
"So get going, cub," Muzaka said, giving him space.
He got a long suffering sigh for that. "You're not going to stop calling me that, are you?"
"Heh, nope. Got a problem with that?"
"No," M-21 said, exhaling. "Just another nickname on the list."
Muzaka had a feeling most of them came from Tao.
M-21 screwed his eyes shut, fisting his hands as best as he could.
Muzaka raised an arm to protect his eyes from the explosion of power from M-21, feeling some of the debris scratch his skin.
When Muzaka lowered it, M-21's shirt was gone, scraps of it fluttering in the wind. Long tufts of fur ran up his arms. His hair had spiked up, revealing the parallel stripes on his cheeks, M-21's slitted eyes.
M-21 didn't move, glancing around himself before spotting Muzaka. Even then, M-21 didn't jump to attack him. Huh. Interesting.
"Oi, cub." Muzaka bared his teeth, raising a hand as if to strike.
M-21's only reaction was to tense, but still not move.
This was what M-21 considered 'lose control', or had he regained it?
Well, whatever. Muzaka growled, charging at him. If M-21 didn't react to that…
M-21 did, zipping at him. He was faster than before, far faster than what transforming could account for; M-21 was holding himself back.
They clashed against each other, Muzaka grunting as M-21's aura thrashed against his. He was also stronger than Muzaka expected. Muzaka transformed further as well, just in case, using the boost to shove M-21 back.
As soon as he touched the ground, M-21 flung himself back at Muzaka, snarling.
When Muzaka flung him away a second time, M-21 landed fine, but only managed one step before dropping to his knees, his transformation receding.
Hn. Couldn't hold that form for long, but that was to be expected if M-21 had only just got it. M-21 shouldn't have been able to get that form at his apparent age anyway. Most werewolves took a couple more centuries before maturing enough to even get their claws, let alone that form.
"Fuck!" M-21 panted, his hands curled into fists.
Muzaka raised his eyebrows, letting go of his own transformation. What was he angry about?
"Like I said," M-21 said through gritted teeth as he got back to his feet, "I don't have any control."
"Huh," Muzaka said, resting a hand on a hip. "Looked like you had plenty of control to me."
M-21 paused, staring at him before shaking his head, his lips pursed. "I don't remember anything that happened."
"Oh, is that what you were meaning?"
"Yeah," M-21 said with a clenched jaw.
Muzaka reached over and ruffled M-21's hair.
M-21 blinked, stilling under his touch.
"It'll pass," Muzaka said, trying not to make it obvious he'd seen M-21's wide eyes. Had no-one touched him like that before? …Well, the only person who probably would was Tao in that house. He should do something about that. "You've got good control over yourself already – I had to goad you into attacking me first."
"But-!" M-21 sighed, his shoulders slumping. "We should get back," M-21 murmured, turning to the direction of Frankenstein's house. "Dinner should be nearly ready by now."
Muzaka nodded – M-21 wouldn't be able to go on anyway. And once they were back, he would be having a few conversations with Frankenstein and Tao.
Summary: M-21 asks for a spar with Muzaka.
Rating: PG-13
Notes: And canon kicks my butt again, AHAHAHAH. I WAS WRITING THIS BEFORE 337 CAME OUT AND OH MY GOD. CANON, WHY. WHAT WAS THIS AMAZING CHAPTER, AUUUUUGH.
But yeah, I'd started writing this part before the 5th part, as well as 337, so there might be some weirdness that stuck after editing and I'm keeping the path I originally had. X3;
Genre: Family
Word count: 1,657
Total word count: 4,345
Status: Work in progress
Living in Frankenstein's house wasn't so bad. It was smaller than Raizel's, but after everything Muzaka had seen of the modern human world, it was at least quiet. He appreciated that.
He was crouched on top of the balcony railing, overlooking the rest of the neighbourhood. There were people walking inside their houses and he could hear a few dogs barking in the distance. They weren't saying anything interesting, only having a repeated argument.
"Hey."
Muzaka turned his head towards the voice, recognising it. "Hey."
M-21 exhaled, not coming closer. When Muzaka looked over his shoulder, M-21 was hovering by the doorway, his gaze elsewhere.
A shake of the head and M-21 focused on him again. "Do you want to spar?"
Oh, so that's what it was. "Sure," Muzaka said, hopping off the balcony.
M-21 started a little, his eyebrows shooting up. "Really?"
"You thought I was going to say no?" Muzaka asked with a snort as he walked over. What was the point in asking then?
M-21 shrugged. "I didn't know what you were going to say."
"It's about fighting; my job is to teach the younger generation how to." Frankenstein was good, but he didn't know the ins and outs of how werewolves fought.
"I'm n…" M-21 sighed, his expression flickering. He seemed to have a problem with Muzaka calling him that.
"I know," Muzaka said with a wave of his hand. They'd been over that M-21 was a modified human already. "You're younger than me." And had werewolf blood. Those two things were all that mattered to him, really. And there was no-one else that he could pass this onto; who knew what the hell Maduke was teaching the younger werewolves.
M-21 studied him and then nodded. "All right."
"Where do you spar around here?" Muzaka asked as he walked further in doors. The thought of sparring in Frankenstein's lab made him wrinkle his nose in distaste. The lab was far too enclosed for his liking, too limiting.
"There's the lab…" M-21 started, "but Frankenstein has an island as well." He gestured in the direction of the sea.
"An island," Muzaka repeated. "Like Lukedonia?" Why was he not surprised Frankenstein had one?
"Not that big," M-21 said with a snort.
"Let's go, then." The earlier they started the better.
It didn't take them long to reach Frankenstein's island, and a building stood out against the rest of the scenery in the distance. That wasn't what had Muzaka's attention though – the place was wrecked, sweeping slashes gouged the ground, disturbed soil and uprooted trees everywhere. Nature had started to take it back, grass and other plants starting to cover them, but the destruction was still easy to see. It must have happened a few weeks ago.
"There was a fight here?" Would it be that safe to spar here if it had been attacked before?
M-21 shook his head. "No, this was us sparring together."
As he said that, Muzaka picked out four parallel slashes grouped together.
"Hm, fine." Muzaka wandered away, giving them some space between them and then turned around to face M-21, a smirk on his face. "Show me what you got, cub."
M-21 hesitated for a second and then nodded, charging at him, transforming, the silver fur appearing in a flash.
Muzaka didn't transform, watching M-21's approach. When M-21 swung down, the ground exploded, flinging dirt and rocks skyward. Muzaka jumped around the way, waiting to see what M-21 would do next.
M-21 closed the distance between them, slashing at him. Another leap to safety and before he landed, Muzaka braced himself for M-21's attack, raising an arm to block.
They struggled against each other for a second and then Muzaka transformed. He saw M-21's eyes widen as he flashed his free arm out and rapped his knuckles on the crown of M-21's head.
"Wha-"
Muzaka jumped out the way before M-21 could regain his bearings. M-21 patted his head where Muzaka tapped him.
"You left yourself open, cub," Muzaka said, lips twitching at the sight.
M-21 frowned for a second and then nodded.
The second time they clashed, M-21 brought both arms into play. The cub had power for his apparent age, Muzaka had to give him that.
He shoved M-21, forcing him to stumble back a step. Muzaka lashed out, tapping M-21 in the torso – his wrist was caught as he pulled away, M-21 baring his teeth at him. Heh, fast too.
"I thought we were going to spar," M-21 said through gritted teeth.
Muzaka raised both eyebrows. "We are." What did M-21 think sparring was?
"You're holding back."
"Of course I am," Muzaka said with a snort. "I'd kill you if I didn't and you wouldn't learn anything that way."
M-21 opened and closed his mouth, still glaring at him.
"Look," Muzaka said, stepping back and relaxing – they weren't going to spar until he'd given M-21 a satisfactory answer. M-21 stiffly let go, watching him. "Me beating the crap out of you won't help. You'll learn to dodge, sure, but what's the point if you leave yourself open when you're countering?"
The expression on M-21's face started to soften.
M-21 was stronger than the two other modified humans, Seira would give him trouble if she brought her soul weapon out, but she would be fair. Frankenstein on the other hand… That to be where M-21 learned this from. "Frankenstein's used to fighting beings more powerful than him and his fighting style shows that." He pointed at M-21. "Your strength's in your claws and you use them differently from how Frankenstein uses his Dark Spear."
M-21 glaced down at his hands. "I know how to-" M-21 pursed his lips, his expression blanking off.
Muzaka huffed. Frankenstein had mentioned the cub's self-worth problems. "I know you do, but you've still got stuff you can improve on. If you didn't think that, you wouldn't have come to me."
A slow nod, and M-21 squared his shoulders, looking ready to fight again.
They'd spent a lot of time talking though, and Muzaka wasn't sure how much M-21 had left. "Can you transform to your next form?"
M-21's eyes widened.
Huh. "No?" He'd seen him do it in the last fight.
M-21's expression twisted, going bitter. "I lose control."
Oh, so that was what the problem was. "It'll be fine," he said, waving a hand. "There's no-one to hurt here and I can take you out." M-21 would tire himself out before reaching the city anyway. "That's why you wanted to spar with me, right?"
Some more hesitation and then another slow nod.
"So get going, cub," Muzaka said, giving him space.
He got a long suffering sigh for that. "You're not going to stop calling me that, are you?"
"Heh, nope. Got a problem with that?"
"No," M-21 said, exhaling. "Just another nickname on the list."
Muzaka had a feeling most of them came from Tao.
M-21 screwed his eyes shut, fisting his hands as best as he could.
Muzaka raised an arm to protect his eyes from the explosion of power from M-21, feeling some of the debris scratch his skin.
When Muzaka lowered it, M-21's shirt was gone, scraps of it fluttering in the wind. Long tufts of fur ran up his arms. His hair had spiked up, revealing the parallel stripes on his cheeks, M-21's slitted eyes.
M-21 didn't move, glancing around himself before spotting Muzaka. Even then, M-21 didn't jump to attack him. Huh. Interesting.
"Oi, cub." Muzaka bared his teeth, raising a hand as if to strike.
M-21's only reaction was to tense, but still not move.
This was what M-21 considered 'lose control', or had he regained it?
Well, whatever. Muzaka growled, charging at him. If M-21 didn't react to that…
M-21 did, zipping at him. He was faster than before, far faster than what transforming could account for; M-21 was holding himself back.
They clashed against each other, Muzaka grunting as M-21's aura thrashed against his. He was also stronger than Muzaka expected. Muzaka transformed further as well, just in case, using the boost to shove M-21 back.
As soon as he touched the ground, M-21 flung himself back at Muzaka, snarling.
When Muzaka flung him away a second time, M-21 landed fine, but only managed one step before dropping to his knees, his transformation receding.
Hn. Couldn't hold that form for long, but that was to be expected if M-21 had only just got it. M-21 shouldn't have been able to get that form at his apparent age anyway. Most werewolves took a couple more centuries before maturing enough to even get their claws, let alone that form.
"Fuck!" M-21 panted, his hands curled into fists.
Muzaka raised his eyebrows, letting go of his own transformation. What was he angry about?
"Like I said," M-21 said through gritted teeth as he got back to his feet, "I don't have any control."
"Huh," Muzaka said, resting a hand on a hip. "Looked like you had plenty of control to me."
M-21 paused, staring at him before shaking his head, his lips pursed. "I don't remember anything that happened."
"Oh, is that what you were meaning?"
"Yeah," M-21 said with a clenched jaw.
Muzaka reached over and ruffled M-21's hair.
M-21 blinked, stilling under his touch.
"It'll pass," Muzaka said, trying not to make it obvious he'd seen M-21's wide eyes. Had no-one touched him like that before? …Well, the only person who probably would was Tao in that house. He should do something about that. "You've got good control over yourself already – I had to goad you into attacking me first."
"But-!" M-21 sighed, his shoulders slumping. "We should get back," M-21 murmured, turning to the direction of Frankenstein's house. "Dinner should be nearly ready by now."
Muzaka nodded – M-21 wouldn't be able to go on anyway. And once they were back, he would be having a few conversations with Frankenstein and Tao.
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Date: Mar. 29th, 2015 01:55 pm (UTC)