"Fight me."
Arms crossed, I returned Mercury's hard stare, countless people passing on the streets behind us and the few leaving or entering the apartment building side eyeing us as they passed, wisely choosing to stay out of business that had nothing to do with them.
I'd hoped, for both our sakes, that, excluding him turning around for the money he left on the table, we'd never cross paths again.
But I hadn't really believed that for a second.
"Have you thought about just taking the lien?" I asked.
"I told you, I don't want it." Mercury insisted, glaring down at me.
He was angry and frustrated. All the major cities across Remnant offered easy solutions, or at the very least bandages, for things like that, all in an effort to reduce Grimm attacks. Whether it be fast food, alcohol, drugs, government sponsored things like parks, or just the never ending mind numbing feed of media that any scroll offered, anyone and everyone had a way to distract themselves from whatever situation they found themselves in rather than facing it.
But all that only mattered if the person was willing to partake.
"Talon!" Emerald, Cinder in tow, emerged from the crowded sheets, stepped up just behind him, one of her hands near the guns at her waist as she looked between us. "Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine." I said without looking away from Mercury.
That anger and frustration was what brought him to me demanding something like a fight, but it wasn't directed at me. It was similar to the unfocused anger Cinder had about her. He hadn't come here looking for revenge or anything remotely close to that, but I was still the one who killed his tormentor.
Besides freedom, the only other goal, maybe the only goal if he didn't care about surviving it, was being the one to kill that man.
I'd figured there was a much higher chance of him coming back to me specifically rather than indulging in anything the city offered.
"Alright." I said. "Follow me."
I turned, stopped by Cinder holding up the blades I'd left with her. "I'll come by for them later." I said, the short blades from my sword hidden beneath my clothes. I didn't plan on using either though.
She glanced past me and up at the descending Mercury. "Be careful." She warned as she lowered the swords and walked past me. Emerald was torn between following Cinder or sticking with me, some assurances leading her to reluctantly do the former.
Whatever he was looking to get out of this, I could spare the time for it.
XOXO
A boot, steel toed and heavy, was brought up, the blow blocked by my raised forearm and holding firm despite the force attempting to push it aside. Mercury followed up with quicker kicks, instantly realizing that flat out overpowering me wasn't an option. Rather than dodging them I blocked them, maintaining my stance at the center of empty training room.
He was good at keeping a lid on his emotions and staying focused, nothing more than a twitch of his stony expression giving away his frustration as he switched tactics.
Preparing a high kick that was no more than a feint, Mercury dropped low and attempted to sweep my legs out from under me. As much as I'd rather not have made the comparison at all, the way he fought was leagues away from being a problem for me. There were little differences made to accommodate his smaller build but he was a less refined version of his father without any real tools up his sleeve.
I jumped over the sweep, fist pulled back.
Head just leaned out of the way, he quickly rolled himself away only to find himself on the defensive as I followed, sharp punches sent out for the first time since we started.
A one-sided assault wasn't doing anything for him.
Mercury tried to upset the momentum and get back on the offensive as he blocked by blows but I snuffed out any attempt, his legs kicked back down before he could truly start any attacks of his own and his few punches directed aside.
An elbow to his cheek. A kick to his knee. A simple but quick punch delivered dead on to his face. He was skilled when it came to a close melee but still far from being able to defend himself from me, more blows forcing him back and weakening his aura. One final kick to his stomach, hard enough to send him tumbling back, shattered his shield, aura crackling away.
That didn't stop him from rolling back to his feet and taking a defensive stance, a cautious stare focused on me despite his growing frustration.
"You wanted to kill him yourself." His jaw tightened, but, in another show of self control that'd no doubt been beaten into him, Mercury kept himself ready to fight, the rest of his body not reacting to the statement.
This, one random battle, wasn't going to be enough for him. Revenge might not be the intention, but I did represent the closest thing to proving he could've got it from his father in the first place.
What better way to prove to himself that he could've killed his father than beating the person responsible for his death? The man might be dead, but his influence held firm, Mercury unlikely to just let go of years of torture without getting some kind of satisfaction.
My eyes dropped to his neck.
Especially not with that constant reminder of the man.
Aura changing to match that bastard's I rushed forward.
XOXO
Hand raised and a yawn slipping out, I lightly knocked on Cinder's door.
Mercury had been stubbornly persistent and while I considered training without an aura shield vital for anyone looking to do real fighting, I had no interest in beating him down, something that would've taken broken bones rather than bruises for someone with his tolerance and persistence. In the end I spent most of the time dodging around until he fully exhausted himself.
He'd be back again. Beyond that I couldn't say for sure until then.
As another yawn built up and I started turning around, the clicking of locks came from the other side of her door and it opened up.
Cinder, in the doorway, stepped aside as she fully opened up. I stepped in, my light chuckle joining the faint snoring filling her apartment.
"You two were hanging out?" I asked as Cinder walked around the couch Emerald was sleeping across.
"She wanted to wait on you to get back." Cinder said as she picked up his blades from the corner they were propped against. She came back in front of me, holding them upside down by their handles. "What happened with him?"
"Just a little fight like he asked." I said as I took the blades. "He's probably coming around again."
"You aren't worried he'll try and kill you?"
I raised a brow. "Would you bother trying to avenge someone who did all that to you?"
"No." Cinder said. "But I-" She faltered for a moment, crossing her arms and looking away. "-would've wanted to kill them myself."
"Who wouldn't have."
Unlike most who would've been speaking from hypotheticals, she had some experience with that kind of thing. Even back when all she had were a few tattered rags to her name, her shirts had always been high enough to cover a lot of her neck. The dark one she wore now was just a little shorter than most others, my Sharingan easily picking out the subtle change in coloring to her skin peeking out from her collar, the faded scarring of the shock collar she'd once been forced to wear clear as day to me.
I was lucky enough that I couldn't truly say I knew what either of their situations felt like, but I did know what it was like to want someone dead.
"He was in a fucked up situation. It doesn't mean he's the type to do something like that." I said. "Besides, he's going to have his luck cut out for him if he tries."
Head turned back towards me just enough for one of her eyes to meet mine, Cinder stared for a silent moment. Well, one snored filled moment. "Still doesn't make any sense to risk it."
"Maybe but I can handle it." Despite the difference in our opinions, she held back whatever else she had to say about it so I looked past her. "Want me to wake her up or you good with her spending the night here?"
Cinder shrugged.
"I'll be taking that as a yes." Turning I headed for the closed door, letting myself out, her steps following behind me. "Goodnight, Cinder."
XOXO
"Goodnight, Cinder." Talon said as he stepped out of her apartment.
She still didn't quite understand him.
It seemed nonsensical, but she'd begun to compare him to those like Miss Malachite or the rich bastards she'd once dealt with. While they used money and image to do it, maybe he threw around his power and skills to do whatever he wanted.
She'd destroyed that comparison herself.
She'd gone against logic and his orders, chasing after him back when they first encountered that assassin. Then, despite half of her mind screaming that it was suicidal, she'd flat out rejected an order from him just to make sure she that the person after them was killed with her own eyes.
If he was anything like Miss Malachite, those rich bastards, or her stepmother, retaliation should've followed. She'd been prepared for it, ready to defend herself, but it never came.
Despite not wanting them to follow, he'd just accepted what she decided, not even throwing out some kind of excuse to dissuade her.
"Night." She muttered, closing and locking the door.
Talon wasn't anything like those people. Unlike them, he didn't need some arbitrary influence or reputation to get things to go how he wanted. He had real strength that could be used anywhere, at anytime, against anyone.
But, for whatever reason, he didn't go throwing it around to do just that.
Emerald's trust and reliance on him was foolish but maybe-
Cinder took a deep breath, walking past the snoozing Emerald and crawling into the comfortable sheets of her bed.
She'd been fooled enough. She wasn't going to go falling for anyone's act.
XOXO
Power Stone Goal: 600
(A/N: As I'm sure we all knew, Mercury wasn't just going to screw off into the void and never be seen again. He doesn't seem so intrinsically vengeful that he'd go trying to kill Talon just because he took his goal from him but the whole situation isn't something I could see him letting go too easily.
And of course there's Cinder, out here acting like she isn't already responding to Talon in ways she wouldn't anyone else and even chilling out towards Emerald.
Anyways, here is the link for those who want to read ahead for anything I'm writing:
patreon .com/ thirdratewriter
Random bit of trivia about my day: Not going to lie I almost missed posting for the first time in what feels like months because I spent all day at a mechanic. As lucky as I am to even be able to afford one, car trouble is a bitch when it does decide to crop up. It eats up so much time and money. That and I was checking out something others called a chaos gacha system along with a bronzdeck story I'm reading through. Seems interesting.
Will I write something with in the future? Maybe.)