Vanguard
Oho.
The scene that unfolded could've been recorded for centuries, carved in stone and painted for generations to behold. In response to this mighty affront, even the ground elow them had cracked as the tableware scattered around like flying debris. And yet she did not move, not even a muscle. Her eyes were cool, relaxed, but they had indeed followed the blow. So why did she not react?
The dust had finally cleared, Vanguard glanced back to the terrified owner with his cold blue eyes. Didn't he pay him enough already to stay quiet? There was no need to glare at him like that.
"What's wrong, are you jealous? You want to hit her too?" He asked back nonchalantly, to which the owner simply ran away, terrified. Vanguard sighed, how truly disappointing.
Was it out of brazen defiance that she had not responded to his blow? Or perhaps out of ignorance? Did she simply not care if he hit her here and there? Did she look down on him and believed that the devastating blow that could easily bend steel would not even graze her? No. It was nothing so benign, even he could tell. It couldn't be, he would've never believed it himself.
And yet, did she really? She couldn't have...
Vanguard laid down his leg and smiled kindly before laughing with warm mirth. And yet, the candor had lost its inviting charm, it was nothing but artificial. Like an ice cold fabrication, a laughter of frozen thorns ready to sink into flesh and destroy one's soul. This was no gentle warmth, but it was the furthest away from cold malice as well. If one had to define his tone, it would be one of bitter respect.
"Impressive, you did not move. A normal person would have reacted subconsciously, but you've suppressed the shackles of your reflexive instincts and gone beyond. It takes an immense amount of control to achieve such a feat. I think I'm starting to fall for you."
Before she could even react, his arm had already wrapped around her waist like a tree's roots, and his sapphire eyes met her green eyes with unyielding hunger. His hand stroked her cheek and caressed her hair, and when he softly spoke, his breath smelled of mountains. This close, one could almost compare the two to lovers.
And yet they were anything but.
"To control your body, rather than being controlled by it, one needs restraint. But such control does not arise from nothing. Before determination, before skill, before power, there is trust. To trust in your abilities, to trust in your teachings, to trust in your convictions. It isn't one's power or will, but the ability to trust another that determines one's trustworthiness."
Their chests touched so close, so intimately that they could melt and become one. Compared to her luscious, sweat ridden skin, his magnificent ebony cover was nothing but a filthy wrapping, an imitation unfitting to be called even human. The aura he was releasing was unlike anything any creature could ever release, but as wild and mighty as it was it lacked the control and restraint born from that girl's trust.
Even if her soul far dwarfed the soul of an immortal warrior, as the two stood they were equals. His heartbeat was slow, steady, and mighty. It was his grip, his eyes, his words and his very expression that spoke of an unyielding, dark determination.
Because he was strong.
Like a carving of a mountain, no matter how she struck him or struggled, her destiny had already been sealed the moment he had laid eyes upon her. He had no intention to touch her or harm her, not in the physical sense at least. But while holding her, it almost seemed like the two would become one.
And then, almost too quickly, he released her.
"Anyways, I will respect this trust. And because of your ability to trust, I will place my own trust in you." He bowed apologetically, the coldness and warmth all gone form his aura and replaced with cruel indifference.
He reached for his pocket and handed her a thick envelope, filled with a considerable amount of money.
"Take this, please accept it as an apology for my arrogant attack. You may consider it... a first taste of the full payment for your job. That is, if you were to accept it."
