There is something unintelligible, graceful, even alluring about watching a girl performing any type of artistic, martial, or psychically demanding gesture.

Maybe it was the focus, strength, and uncanny amount of effort needed to do it. Maybe it was the very nature of their being, stretched to their limits and under pressure able to make their spirits reach a higher value through their body's aesthetic.

Or maybe it was just the hormones, all riotous inside Oliver's teenage body. The only certain truth was that as the boy watched Kiki standing in the grass menacing and with her Katana unseated, he felt himself more appealed to her than afraid.

There, as the time froze for Oliver, Kiki stepped sideways, dashing way faster than what Oliver's eyes could see, vanishing from her place, only to appear behind the creature, wielding her weapon in the middle of a slash.

A second, and she dropped her edge over Him’s shoulder, with all the strength of her body, twisting in the air. As the edge fell, a straight line drew itself in the air. She got Him, or so she thought.

A clean movement already practiced many times, that ended with her gracefully landing on her feet. When she touched the ground, she jumped out of Him's range, like a rabbit would do out of a trap, steady. But as fast as she did it, she gave a look at her sword, then her face became filled with doubts.

— Didn’t I tell you? —

Him said, not even giving her the pleasure to turn himself around, tilting his head to watch her over his shoulder instead.

How was it possible? What exactly had happened? why did her hands keep shaking? She knew it by fact, even being inside a human body, she should be able to cut the creature down. Him was standing inside the dim light range of action, the whole possession was a sign of it, and even if that wasn’t enough to define its very nature, the extent of his strength was proof of it, Ardeen had explained it himself during classes, it was impossible to work wonders without becoming one. So Halfbreed, possessed or not, Him had crossed between worlds and hence it should be cut by her katana. But he wasn’t, and she couldn’t tell the reason why.

— Have you already figured it out? —

Asked Him, turning himself back to her.

— No? well, I’m so sorry for you —

Then, he waved his hand sideways, and an invisible strength wall shocked her by the side. She put her katana in the way and got thrown a few meters away. Her body rolled over the grass, staining her white shirt, and she landed bent over her feet, like a wild animal on the run.

“If one cut isn’t enough, then a thousand should do”

She thought, before springboking out a second invisible wave, all the way through Him’s side.

— Quit it! —

He said, watching Kiki’s poker face from up, as she sneaked under a third wave and slashed her Katana right into his face, so strong, that he stepped back on its place.

— Tsk —

She snapped her tongue the second right after, pivoting on her right leg, before leaping again, dropping another row into his side, and pulling herself away. When she stopped, looking at him squat after the exchange, she began examining her sword again.

— You goddamn little rabbit! —

He cursed out giving her a look, unscratched and raging.

— I’m telling you, you won’t make anything out of that! —

Said Him, while a thin blood string flowed out of his nose. Then she knew, it wasn’t like her blows didn’t do anything but only the edge was unable to reach Him. Everything else, the strength, direction, and even balance acted in the same way. Whatever he was doing, it was only a trick. And that wasn’t something she hadn’t faced before, and she knew the answer to untrick yourself. You just needed to outwit the other part. She knew what she had to do.

— I really don’t like to use this technique, it tires me, and makes my body sore afterward —

She said, shaking her katana to a side, and changing to a two-handed grip. She stepped strong in the grass, and her calves grew a whole inch in muscle.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

— W-what’s that? what the hell are you talking about? W-which technique? —

He said, raising both of his hands in between them.

— Stop right night with whatever you’re doing! It’ll be useless! —

He claimed sweating, raging, and still resenting his jaw from the last hit. Then, she suddenly disappeared, leaving a wind whirl in her place. He searched with his eyes, first right, then left, then back, nothing.

— Were? —

When he watched down, he found her and her blade, a couple of inches from his face. Before he could do anything, the blow landed with such strength that not only raised him out of the ground but ejected him through the air, into the wooded area. A big, grassy, and noisy shockwave came after, raising a dust cloud in the middle of the backyard, letting a deep hole inside the ground where Him had stood before.

— I… didn’t know you were so strong —

Said Oliver, witnessing the scene, close enough to have his hair filled with dirt from the display. Kiki, breathing in deeply, turned herself to find him right where he was a moment before.

— Why did you take your shirt off? —

She asked, all covered in scrabbles, Oliver saw himself for a second and realized how weird could that be for a non-sympathize.

— I know it may seem weird, but this is part of my plan! —

Kiki raised an eyebrow, gave him a good look, and turned back to the woods.

— And it’s working? —

Oliver stopped a second, still with his notebook and the marker Park gave him before in his hands, and read the new hexes drawn onto his body.

— Actually, yes, I feel a lot better —

Kiki gave him a gaze.

— If I asked you to distract him, you think you could follow me? —

Remembering the previous exchange, Oliver thought about it.

— I may have to receive one or two hits with the speed at which you move, but I can take it, sure, count on me —

He said on his knees, giving a confident look, that somehow she managed to trust. Then she gave him her hand.

— Then, let’s go —

Both of their eyes met in between the nightly haze, and she leaped again, making Oliver start to move.

As soon as he stepped ahead, a movement from its insides gave the order to the command to execute itself. Quickly, he felt himself being filled with a strange energy that made him feel almost overwhelmed with excitement, sharpness, and something very similar to rage. It was the newly drawn Hex doing its effects.

Faster than he could expect, both entered inside the woods as he fell under the almost spelling unknown feeling of sharpness that made him able to both see and move better inside the darkness, running as if he was almost jumping, mimicking Kiki in her run, from tree to tree, and managing to avoid crashing into them inside the barely illuminated for the three-quarter moon and convoluted stars umbrella of trees, possessed by quasi-supernatural reflexes, till they suddenly stopped. While watching Kiki’s hand fully extend to her side on a tactical “stop” sign, Oliver realized, as they stood in front of an area of trees torn and twisted for the fall, that they had found Him. He was there, quietly lying on the ground.

— This is our chance —

Oliver said, stepping mindless ahead.

— It’s a trap —

Kiki replied, wielding her katana upfront as she carefully stepped down with a hunting air.

— How do you know it? —

— I can smell it, but we’re going anyway —

— Are we? —

— There’s no way back, only through —

Oliver swallowed, as a headache took control over his head, probably caused by the unexpected impacts of the Hex in his body.

— Stay back and steady, all right? —

— Roger that —

Right before leaping forward, she said.

Then Him woke up, wide-open eyes, in time to catch her in the middle of her flight, it was like he had never been laid, throwing himself against her to grab her into his hands.

— GOTCHA —

He screamed, as she twisted herself like a mammal in the air, and struck him like a whiplash with her edge. Him’s body bounced right on the instance, all the way through Oliver’s place, where the blond raised his hand as he activated the expelling command on his right hand.

— GET THE HELL OUT! —

He screamed almost in a hurry, and on time to catch one of Him’s shockwaves swirling invisible from the wavering of his own hand. Both forces collided in the middle, and both blonds got expelled in the opposite direction as a result.

When Oliver was able to raise his eye, he saw Him rolling over his back, right before being struck by Kiki’s katana again on one of his sides. She stopped and gave him a split-second look along with a nod.

They were doing good, while standing himself up Oliver thought... now he just needed to keep the pace.