Tearless (Araluen Ekala&Squirrel

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He slightly nodded his head cause Taishi was right sort of but he wasn't mad that he had said it. With a deep breath he opened is mouth "I am a fighter" was the first thing he said but realizing that the word fighter could mean a couple of things. "Ok that probably confused you more, I'm sorry. What I mean to say is there are things that people don't notice every day. There are pairs that travel around looking for other pairs to fight with. These pairs consist of a fighter and a sacrifice. When I asked you earlier if you had a true name was because I was wondering if you were my sacrifice. I've been looking for my sacrifice for several years now because it's really hard to fight without one and since the others know that I haven't found my sacrifice yet I'm seen as an easy win however I am not" he took a breath after shifting his feet a couple of times. There was a lot to explain and standing here was going to be a bother soon so he pulled his arms away from Taishi a little bit and then sat down. He then pulled Taishi down into his lap, it was just too hard for him not to coddle the smaller teen but he just went with it.
"My true name is Tearless and my sacrifice will have the same name. That is how pairs are made. Do you have any questions?"
 
Of course Taishi had questions. He had absolutely no idea what any of it meant. Fighters? Sacrifices? It didn't sound nice at all.
"Why on earth... Would you willingly seek others out to fight? For no reason?" He shook his head before he was pulled down onto Leon's lap. His friends actions weren't doing much to help clear his head of all the confusion. He looked at Leon, head cocked to the side as the older boy spoke of his true name.

Taishi sat quietly for a moment, looking into Leon's eyes with confusion but also a distant affection that he'd always hidden from him. But with sitting on his lap and being let in on this strange fighter/sacrifice secret, the mixed feelings were making his hidden ones show. Leaning forwards, he rested his head on Leon's shoulder, his face tucked against the other's neck,
"And... You think I'm your sacrifice?" He whispered softly, not finding it strange at all that he was comfortable with being so close to his friend at the moment.
 
The corners of Leon's mouth turned up at Taishi's questions, he was right to ask those kinds and he was also happy that he had cause then he could understand more things and clearly. "I never thought of asking" Leon honestly told him cause as he thought on it more he couldn't not think of a valid reason why he should fight. But with other pairs coming for him to fight all he could do was fight back, that was how he was taught at the school. Well when he chose to go to it till recently but that was something he didn't want to tell Taishi at the moment. "It's just what it is. We fight and some lose" he ran his fingers through Taishi's hair still thinking on that question and then looked down at him. "It would make me feel better if you were to be my sacrifice but I'm beginning to wonder if I even have one but if you are mine then I will protect you. I will make sure that you are safe"
 
With his tail curling around Leon's leg, Taishi once again looked up at his friend, though this time there was a small smile on his lips.
"If what you're saying is like how my brain is comprehending it, then isn't it the Sacrifice's job to protect? Sort of..? A sacrifice would take the damage, yes? Otherwise what use are they?" Taishi was a cluey one, and picked up on things rather quickly. It was mostly the fact that Leon was being so patient with him and wasn't shoving the idea onto him that he was taking it so well; and the calming fingers running through his hair, and the other's heart beat... Though he didn't dare say that.

Slowly the young blonde pulled away and got to his feet, holding his hand down to Leon to help him up.
"Well, is there any way to find out if I'm your sacrifice?" Sure, he was a little unsure, but if doing this would make Leon happy, Taishi would gladly do it - even if he had absolutely no idea what to do or what would be involved; he was yet to discover the sheer agony Sacrifices went through.
 
Taishi was a quick one and Leon had forgotten just how well he had picked up on things even reading between the lines of things that Leon didn't want to tell him. With a deep breath he watched as his friend made his own assumptions and he nodded his head "Yes, sacrifices take the damage but if they are strong enough they can handle the pain" he explained to him hoping that he hadn't scared Taishi too much. "But as a sacrifice, if you are one, you would give your fighter orders. Like to fight or defend. Even in every day life the sacrifice could give an order and the fighter will listen" Leon took Taishi's hand even though he didn't need it to get up off the ground, it just felt nice to him that he would offer his hand to him.

Leon brushed his clothes back into place as his tail whipped about in excitement cause Leon's mind was already seeing things going his way for once. "Well one way is to see if you have the same name. You are older then when the name should appear, like mine. It appeared the day of my tenth birthday" with that said Leon turned sideways and lifted up his shirt to reveal his name that ran from the top of his ribs on his left side down to his hip and then he put his shirt back. "Though another way to find out is if we find another pair and challenge them and if we battle and there are no abnormal repercussions of fighting together then you are my sacrifice. Though I'd rather not do that cause that will cause even more pain then what a pair should go through and it is frowned upon if two unmatched names fight together as a pair" Leon placed a hand on Taishi's shoulder to reassure him "But we don't have to figure that out now so why don't you get some sleep for tomorrow and think things over. I don't want to overwhelm you too much in one night"
 
As Taishi listened, his eyes widened a little as Leon lifted his shirt. How had no one ever seen that before? Like at swimming events and... The ringing in his ears got louder and he openly winced a little right after Leon's hand came in contact with his shoulder. His ears went flat against his head, the blonde coloured fur meshing with his hair and it made him look like he'd lost his ears for the moment. His tail came whipping around, wrapping itself to his leg like a koala clinging to a tree.
"I've never found anything on my body that shouldn't be there. Yet, at least. And I'm 13. Should it be in the same spot as yours?" That was a logical enough question, right? If two people were to have the same "name" like Leon had explained, then that name should be in the same place on both people if they were a match. Though the fact that he was indeed a sacrifice, Taishi was sure of it that he had no name printed on his skin.

"Maybe... We should try?" He whimpered lightly, referring to the idea of battling the pair that were making his ears ache with the ringing; it was getting stronger all over again now that he was focusing on it. As much as he disliked the idea of having pain practically forced onto him, Taishi was still rather curious as to how this would all work, as Leon hadn't yet mentioned it was a spell battle of words.
 
"It should be in the same place or close to it and it should have shown up by now though I could be wrong. It might take longer for it to show up due to many things. However not having one could mean that you aren't a sacrifice or that you are special. I know of only one other person that did not have his name show up on him" Leon explained to him to the best of his ability though even he wasn't taught everything and could only relay the information that he knew. With a deep breath he was able to relax a little bit though he could still feel the battle domain of the other pair and it was beginning to bother him quite a bit. His eyes shifted down to Taishi watching his ears flatten and his tail whipping about. His on the other hand were standing straight up and his tail was by his side as if it was ready for something.

"Taishi it would not be a good idea to test out that theory right now. Not until you have understood what you need to. Let's wait till another day" he told him and dropped his and from Taishi's shoulder. He really didn't want his friend getting hurt by anything and if he was known to the others as a possibly sacrifice and he wasn't it would be disastrous. Leon leaned over and gave Taishi another kiss on his forehead and before his friend could protest to anything else he turned and left the house. Leon was quick about it so that he was not followed or stopped this time.

He was already halfway down the street trying to lead the pair away from Taishi so he would not get in the middle of this but in the back of his mind Leon wondered if he did go through with this battle would Taishi feel the pain. Even with that on his mind he continued to walk fast away from the house and down to the river that was usually abandoned "TEARLESS!" Someone yelled out making Leon stop in his tracks. He got ready for what was to come and turned around to face two teenagers "We are Moonless-" They spoke to him "Battle Domain!" Leon called out before they could say anymore, he had to be quick about this otherwise Taishi would find them in the middle of things and get hurt.
 
"But..!" Taishi sighed as Leon left, and didn't yet bother to chase after him. Instead, the boy quickly ran to the bathroom and stripped so he could look himself all over to try and find if he had anything on him that normally wasn't there - more specifically, a name. He remembered what the word had been on Leon's side. "Tearless". What an odd thing to be called. It was a few minutes later when he was wondering back into his room, dressed again, that he yelped softly as he slipped to the floor in a heap.

His ears ached to the point he literally wanted to rip them off.
"Leon..." He groaned, and once he managed to get to his feet he grabbed his jacket and, without bothering to find shoes, he dashed down the stairs and outside, following the pitch of the ringing in his ears in hope that it would lead him to Leon's location. With the hood up over his head, just because he hadn't flipped it back when he'd pulled it on during his run down the stairs, Taishi's face was mostly hidden in the darkness of the night. Leon had done nothing but confuse him but it didn't mean he wanted his friend getting hurt.

"Not a good idea to test out that theory right now." That's what Leon had said, but Taishi paid absolutely no mind to it, thinking it the perfect time to test the theory. He needed clarification. It was imperative to his sanity. Racing down the street, the young blonde tried to find the location of his friend, which wasn't the easiest thing considering he never went out much and the streets always seemed different at night. It didn't help that there was a heavy layer of fog that was rolling in from the river.
"That's it!" Taishi exclaimed to himself, though not in a loud tone, and changed his direction to head down towards the river; he stayed silent as he went, and could barely see four feet in front of him. Then he heard the voices and froze, waiting in the dense fog whilst he tried to recognise the voices without being noticed.
 
"Respond!" Moonless fighter called out and his domain went up however it didn't feel as strong as his own. 'Such little kids' he thought to himself but changed his stance "No sacrifice?" Moonless' sacrifice called out and Leon just smirked at them "To take down you two whelps I don't need one" "We've heard that you don't fight with one and it's taken us this long to find you so it better be worth the effort" Moonless' fighter called out to him and Leon knew that it was supposed to hurt him but he didn't care. He had put up with worse pairs then this and if fighting alone meant that Taishi would be alive to see tomorrow then he was fine with it. "I'll let you little guys go first" Leon's smirk turned into a full smile as he saw the fighter grit his teeth.

"Without the light of the moon you cannot not see" the fighter called out and then the battle domain was covered in darkness "without the moon the stars shine brightly" Leon called out bringing light to the battle "Gotta do better then that"

Words were thrown back and forth. Leon kept twisting their words and not letting them throw him off "How dare you mess with our spells?" The fighter called out "Then come up with better ones" Leon retorted back and the pair looked like they were getting worn down.
 
Taishi had a hand over his mouth to stop the giggle that threatened to escape it at Leon's comment about not needing a sacrifice to beat them. He could just see what was happening with their silhouettes and he could hear them perfectly. Though it was a little confusing as to the reasons behind everything, the concept was simple enough. How it worked was just as confusing as the reasons though. Taunting seemed to help too, especially against someone with a seemingly short fuse.

Slowly, Taishi began to slip closer. He could hear the sacrifice telling the fighter different things and then sort of began to understand what Leon had tried to tell him. As he tried to edge closer to them unnoticed, of course things had to go astray. Being that they were near the lake and that there was fog everywhere, Taishi couldn't see where he was crawling. A hand slipped in a strip of muddy grass and he went tumbling down the small hill, landing on his backside not too far in front of where Leon stood.

"Itaiiii." He groaned softly, before he realised he was pretty much in the middle of the fight. He blinked and looked up at Leon,
"Hi." A sheepish grin covered the young boy's face as he hid the pain in his tail from where he'd landed on it.
 
The battle was close to being over and just as Leon was going to finish them off something caught his eyes and he noticed the pair get distracted as well. He had to take a second to assess the situation now and heard the familiar voice. Leon's face went white and his mind blanked for a second before it caught up with his mouth. "Taishi what are you doing here? You're going to get hurt" he told him softly as he leaned over to help him to his feet, now things were going to get interesting. The only way for Taishi to even be able to get through the shields of the domain was if he was apart of it or had some connections.

"So Tearless what have we here?" "You're sacrifice perhaps...." "Were you hiding him? That's not fair" Moonless traded off speaking and Leon felt his nerves starting to wear. "It's none of your business. This battle was started and agreed upon by three not four." Leon called out to them and then grabbed Taishi's hand to pull him behind his back. "Just stand right here and don't move. Everything should be alright since I initiated this so you should not get hurt if you are my sacrifice. I chose to take all of the pain and the attacks onto myself" Leon quickly explained to Taishi and then turned back to Moonless. "Under the night sky with clouds as cover...rain down bolts of light" Leon called out quickly before they could respond and chains appeared on the arms and legs, even the neck of the sacrifice.
 
"The ringing wouldn't stop. It was hurting." Taishi murmured, feeling like he'd juts been told off despite Leon's gentle voice. As he was pulled behind his friend he glared over at the other pair as they attempted to taunt Leon. Instructed to stand there and do nothing... Yeah right! Taishi stepped close, and even though Leon had explained what he'd chosen to do, he could still try and help out right?

Taishi wrapped his arms around Leon's waist from behind and rested his cheek against the other's back, though he peeked around the other boy's side when he heard the noise of chains. His eyes widened in amazement as the other sacrifice was bound and in obvious pain. He quickly moved his face back to Leon's back so he couldn't see anymore.
"Is... Is that something that'll happen to me?" He asked softly, not allowing his voice to rise much above a whisper so that the other pair wouldn't hear him. He stayed with his arms wrapped firmly around Leon's waist, basically refusing to let go without even being aware of it, though it wasn't a tight grip.
 
Moonless had a temporary freak out before they got their act together however by that time Leon called out once again and the sacrifice was on the ground "I'll give you two choices. One forfeit and fight another day or I can finish this" he called out as he felt Taishi's arm wrap around his waist and he wanted so back to grab him and tell him that it was going to be alright but then that would be something they could use against him. The fighter looked at him with a death glare and Leon knew that he wanted so back to kill him right now but without an order he couldn't do a thing. The fighter turned to his sacrifice "Tell me to kill him. Please. Let me take him down" the fighter begged but Leon knew that the sacrifice couldn't take anymore "No. Forfeit" he was ordered and reluctantly the fighter turned to Leon "Forfeit" he called out and the chains were going along with the battle domains.

Leon breathed a sigh of relief "As per rules you can not seek me out again" and the two just looked at him while the fighter picked up his sacrifice from the ground. Leon turned to Taishi twisting out of his arms and wrapped his arms around him. He was glad that Taishi wasn't hurt but was also annoyed at the fact that he didn't not listen to him. After that brief moment he pulled away and then grabbed Taishi's wrist pulling him back towards the path that would lead back to Taishi's house. His ears were flat against his head from being irritated and his tail stuck to his leg. "You could have been hurt Taishi" Leon told him once they were far enough away from Moonless.
 
During the ending of the battle, though he wasn't looking, Taishi was strategising. He listened and he learnt. As Leon turned to him and he was encased in a hug, the boy thought that things were fine. And then he was basically dragged off back up the street.
"Leonnnn!" He whined about being pulled. And then came that look and the single line lecture that was exactly like his mother or father would give him if he did something wrong.

Sapphire eyes glittered in the street lamp light, as the fog blocked out most of the moonlight still.
"I was already hurting." He stated defiantly with a frown, shaking his head, "And what the hell happened back there?! What was with those chains?" Though his voice was a soft growl, he kept it down as to not alert the whole neighborhood that a couple of kids were out after dark. His arms folded across his chest, and his tail swished back and forth in his own irritation that he was being treated like a child even though he knew Leon was only trying to protect him. He wanted to know everything about what had just happened, but at the same time he wanted to get back to his life how it was before, too. Taishi knew that wouldn't happen.
 
Leon's emotions were all over the place and he couldn't settle on one, he was worried about Taishi, he was scared for him, he wanted to just blurt everything out but knew that Taishi wouldn't understand everything. He wanted Taishi to just relax and have time to understand everything unlike what he was thrown into. Leon finally released his wrist at Taishi's words "I'm sorry" he finally said and his ears now seemed to just lay on top of his head. He had angered Taishi and that felt even worse to him. "You aren't going to fully understand what happened unless you have training but with how things have gone you aren't going to get a lot of preparations now. They will spread the word that there is a new sacrifice and that you may or may not be mine. Which means that if others seek you out knowing you are a sacrifice without a fighter it's going to be an easy win. That can entail killing you which means that your fighter can not have another sacrifice and will also be an easy target. If it is me, as you witnessed, I am not easy" Leon finally took a breath though he still refused to look at Taishi, he had purposefully kept him in the dark cause Leon knew that he wasn't ready.

"The chains are a visual of the amount of damage the sacrifice has taking as well as the fighter. If either the sacrifice or the fighter goes down it is a lose by default or by forfeit. I gave them the choice because I didn't want you to see the other option" Leon looked up at the street ahead of them and the house was right there. He hoped that this time Taishi would listen and stay home and get some rest. Once they were standing in front of the house Leon turned to Taishi but still refused to look him in the eyes even though he was taller then him.
 
Taishi gave him a blank flat look,
"So you're telling me that pairs can pick a fight with a sacrifice? That's stupid. If a sacrifice is meant to take the damage while the fighter fights, a sacrifice wouldn't have combat training... That's REALLY stupid! The moron who made those rules is.. Well, a moron!" It was obvious in his voice that he was riled up, mixed with hungry and tired. However he didn't interrupt as Leon continued his explanation whilst they walked.

"I'm not a child, Leon. So just do me a favour and stop treating me like one. And for crying out loud look at me!" He demanded rather briskly, not even realizing that he was bring rather bossy.
"I'm your friend, remember. I'm not a little brother or a puppy or something that needs constant care and attention." Letting out a soft sigh, Taishi shook his head before he grabbed Leon's hand, though he'd been aiming for his wrist, and lead the other back inside the house.
"And I don't care what you say, you're staying here tonight. I refuse to let you go home alone and at night, especially if you're going to get into fights."

Taishi was rambling, he knew he was, but it happened every time he couldn't settle his emotions. He was about to lead Leon back upstairs but as his stomach growled loudly, he took it as a sign to veer from the chosen destination and head to the kitchen instead.
"Hungry?" he asked calmly now as he let go of the other's hand with a slight blush from having only just realized he'd been holding it.
 
Well he took that exactly how he thought he was going to, it was a tough thing to swallow for must but for Leon he just accepted it. This was now how his life was and he understood how Taishi was feeling. At the demand Leon immediately looked at Taishi even though he really didn't want to but something in him made him do it. He then realized that he was trying to treat Taishi like a little brother or something to that affect and that made him feel bad as well but kept his mouth shut about it aside from a soft apology. "Taishi I-" he was taken back when his hand was grabbed and then was being lead back into the house. "I really shouldn't stay" Leon told him but did nothing else to protest against his friend as he was lead towards the kitchen.

He could feel himself getting more worn out as the night dragged on with no end in sight and at the moment all he wanted to do was pass out. "You go ahead and eat. I'm not really hungry" he told Taishi as he leaned against a wall trying to stay away. His body was even more worn and sore from the battle then he figured as most of his bones felt as if they were fractured and his muscles were screaming at him to relax. "Referring to what you said earlier, both fighters and sacrifices are trained. Yes the role depicts what kind of training but both parties are trained to fight cause not all fighters find their sacrifice and vise versa" Leon explained since he felt that it need to be said however his words came off as tired or lazy.
 
Taishi plopped himself down on a stool at the bench after grabbing out a bowl of left-over pasta from the night before and he watched Leon; he could see all the telltale signs of fatigue and pain. He ate quickly and put the empty bowl in the dishwasher a few minutes later after staying silent the whole time. He then walked over to Leon,
"Come on. Upstairs with you." He smiled, relaxing into his usual self, happy enough to forget the day's discrepancies and be himself for the remainder of the night. He once again took Leon's hand, though this time intentionally, and took him back up stairs doubting the other boy would have made it on his own.

Once in his bedroom again, Taishi pushed Leon gently onto the bed before making sure his door was locked - in case his sister decided waking him up in the morning before his alarm would be a fun idea - and then walked back over, kneeling on the floor.
"You're sleeping here, and I don't care what you say or do." He grinned, his tone playful and light. "No more talk of fighters or sacrifices or anything to do with them. You need to get some rest." Truth be told, the entire evening's events had sent a hyperactive tingle throughout Taishi's body that was now preventing him from feeling tired like he should be. He mostly understood what Leon had explained and what he'd seen, but of course it would take more time and experience to fully comprehend everything. But right at that moment, he looked like a scruffy, and slightly dirty from his slip in the mud, puppy as he looked up at where he'd made Leon sit on the bed.
 
Leon's eyes glazed over a bit as he watched Taishi get himself something to eat, even the act of just watching him was making Leon tired. He was glad when it didn't take too much longer and that he was staying with his friend. He now realized that if he had chosen to walk home that it would have taken forever and he probably just would have found some place to sleep. Much like he had done before when he was too tired or in pain to want to move. Once inside Taishi's room his mind cleared a little bit though before he could tell his friend that he would just curl up next to the bed and sleep, he was pulled to the bed. Leon nodded his head at Taishi words and laid back against the pillows, his eyes on his friend as he sat down on the ground.

Not long after that he felt his eyes drop close and that was the end of it. He did not fight sleep anymore and nothing or no one would be able to get him to move from that bed for at least the next six hours. Leon's body had it with the days events and wanted to recover. His dreams were nothing to gawk at, mostly darkness with a spot of something that was shinning though Leon dared not go near it. He wasn't sure why, just that the feeling it gave him made him want to avoid it. Leon did not budge from the spot he fell asleep in and most probably would look at him and think that he was dead.
 
Once sure that Leon was asleep, Taishi went and had a shower, washing the mud from his clothes and hair. He spent a while under the hot water, figuring that his friend was a deep sleeper and any noise he made wouldn't wake him; though he was still as quiet as possible. Entirely butt naked excluding the towel that was around his waist, Taishi dashed through parts of his room once out of the shower, trying to find a pair of pants to sleep in. It took a while but he finally found a pair and quickly slipped into them before hanging the towel back up in the bathroom.

His sister had come home not long after Leon had fallen asleep, and she looked nearly as worn out as he had too. Taishi stayed up talking to her for a while, knowing that she liked to get a bad day's work off her chest before going to bed and he was all ears for her. The boy eventually dragged himself up to his room, of course after letting Kokoro know that he had a friend over so she wouldn't freak out in the morning, and then laid out an old sleeping bag he had tucked away in the cupboard out on the floor. It took him a lot longer than normal to get to sleep, as his mind wouldn't stop ticking over the evening's adventure. He probably got to sleep some time past 2am, and was awake due to a bad dream only a few hours later as the sun started to filter into his room through the thinning curtains at 5am.

Stirring, Taishi sat up and stretched, only to quickly realize that he wasn't in his bed but rather Leon was. Everything came rushing back to him and though he chose to ignore the confusion that had returned, the young blonde smiled as he watched his friend with a secret fondness that he always hid from everyone but himself on rare occasions. Taishi was indeed interested in Leon in more ways than a young boy should be, but it was something that he'd never expose; or at least until he was ready, perhaps. During his distracted daze of staring at Leon, a delicate smell of cooking pancakes drifted up the stairs and tantalized his senses.
 
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