Between Pen and Paper

Drabble Four

Nagi knew. Oh yes, he knew. One could almost say he was omnipotent but there was one thing he hadn't foreseen. And that was the woman standing before him, naginata braced against her arm, fingers flexing almost imperceptibly. Why he hadn't expected this escaped him at that moment. Out of all the HiME, he should have expected the Fujino girl to be the one to come after him, to work out where he would emerge once more into this world. How she had done that, he wasn't sure of either and he realised he wasn't quite as omnipotent as he had first thought. 

He did know he wouldn't fall to her blade though, that he was certain of. He felt quite powerful after his long rest and he was sure he could defeat any single HiME in combat, even if his form did appear weak. Appearances could be quite deceiving after all. He eyed her, a grin pulling at his features as he watched her every movement. She seemed almost wild in the low light of the cave, her crimson eyes darting back and forth whilst her muscles tensed in expectation. Yes, she seemed quite the animal to Nagi, not at all the cultured Kyoto woman she was so often perceived to be. He knew her true self.

Those crimson eyes focused on him as he stepped forwards, pupils shrinking as she recognised him. He wanted to say something to throw her off guard but he felt content in merely watching her for the time being, to see what it was she thought she might accomplish here. She took a singular step forwards, hoisting the shaft of her weapon across her body so her torso was partially shielded by it. His grin shifted to a smirk as he realised she wasn't as foolish as he thought she might be. She seemed to be aware of the threat he posed.

He tilted his head to one side as he paused in his motions. Had she said something? Her lips had moved slightly but he hadn't caught the sound clearly. Perhaps his senses hadn't adjusted to this world quite as quickly as he had hoped. It didn't matter to him though, they would soon enough and he was more than powerful enough in his current state to take down this HiME if she had the gall to attack him. His thoughts wandered to the reason he was here and he pondered taunting the Fujino girl with that information before taking care of her.

The woman opposite him took a few more steps forwards but Nagi didn't feel threatened in the least. He had the advantage here and she was merely closing the gap to her demise. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle at that thought and Shizuru paused mid-step. The hesitation lasted for only a second and she soon closed the gap, standing only a few feet away from him, peering down warily. He felt amused that she'd come so close. She could have stopped much further away and still be within reach for her naginata to do a great deal of damage yet she had come this close. She was a strange one, that was for sure.

"A more mature Fujino-san is certainly more appealing," he murmured past his smirk and he watched in amusement as a flicker of annoyance passed through those crimson orbs.

"Why are you here, Nagi?" her words reached his ears with far greater clarity this time and he wondered if it had been the distance that made it hard to hear her before. 

"Oh my dear, I think you already know that," his smirk grew as he spoke. "And I could ask you the same question."

Her eyes narrowed, her irises darkening in colour. "And you should already know the answer to that."

He let out a low chuckle, waving a hand slightly as he opened his mouth to speak. "Oh yes, of course. You want to protect that little whor--" Nagi blinked in surprise, his words dying in his throat as he felt a warmth flood his chest before it turned to a chilling spear of ice. 

He looked down slowly, the red metal jutting from his chest drawing his gaze and he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly as if to say something but no sound emerged. Shizuru's hand was still clasped firmly around the shaft of the weapon and her eyes burned with a fury Nagi had never seen before. Not even from his Lord. Darkness began to creep in around the edge of his vision and he found himself wondering why he didn't feel any pain.

His body shook as it hit the ground and he hadn't even noticed he was falling. Dust and dirt swirled in the air around him before settling against the blood soaked ground once more. A cough racked his body and he tasted something metallic in his mouth, something that left a heated moisture upon his lips. How could this have happened? He had known he would be the victor, hadn't he? What had gone wrong? As the darkness began to fill his vision entirely, he decided upon something. 

Omnipotence was overrated. 

"Damn... you..." he coughed again, the last of his life force draining from his body. "... Shizuru..." 

END OF DRABBLE