Foul Ball

Today would be the day. I had finished working out all the kinks to my new technique. However, I was still anxious about showing it to Moonlight Guardian. Instead, I had been seeking validation from others like River and Dawn, who had assured me that Moonlight Guardian couldn't not be impressed. Still, I was anxious. Not that she would hate it or think it was stupid, but that she would be dismissive. That really shouldn't matter, I knew it would be highly useful, but I really wanted her respect. I wanted her to acknowledge me as useful. Sure, I could help take some of the load off her by patrolling, but otherwise, I wasn't contributing anything she couldn't already handle. I was hoping this would change that. And so I was anxious.

But this wasn't likely to change, so I was just going to force myself to show her today at our sparring session and that would be that. As I carried out my duties for the day, it goes without saying that this occupied a corner of my mind. I was sure it didn't distract me from anything needing immediate attention and knew Moonlight Guardian would clean up if I missed anything. If she did, hopefully, she wouldn't bring it up, as it would be all the more difficult to show her what I had planned.

The day passed quickly, perhaps because, despite my anxiety, I was excited to finally debut the product of my research. Moonlight Guardian met me at the usual spot—an area on the forest floor right next to the South tree. She was carrying the two wooden swords we used for sparring as she always did.

"Did you see anything on patrol today?" She asked.

"No, everything looked fine today," I replied.

"What about the tribe? Anyone we should be keeping an eye on?"

"You mean other than the usual suspects? No, everyone seems fine." Ever since I had started going on solo patrols, she had started asking for these informal reports. As for this last question, we are not playing the role of Big Brother. It's just that sometimes tribe members get some crazy idea and engage in reckless behavior. I've already explained how Bucket Head would go off on crazy quests for rare mask components.

"Do you have any questions?" In the beginning, I had a lot of questions. However, my stockpile had been dwindling.

"No..." I tried to think of something, but given the circumstances, it was a futile effort.

"Okay, then let's get started." She threw me a sword and then squared up to start the first bout. This was it, I needed to summon my courage and brooch the subject. If I could do that, inertia would do the rest.

"Wait! ...Before we start..." I swallowed down my nerves. "I have something I want to show you." Her ear twitched with subtle intrigue.

She lowered her sword. "What is it, Indigo?" I was locked into the ride now, there was no turning back. My heart rate elevated and I tried to breathe slowly to calm myself. I wondered if Moonlight Guardian could sense my anxiety. I wasn't transmitting it—I made a conscious effort not to—but she was sharp. If she did, she didn't say anything. She just waited patiently.

"I've been working on this for a long time... I think it could be helpful." It would be just like me to put a little self-doubt in there. Anyways this was the moment of truth.

I clapped my hands together and not just because it looked cool. This was actually the easiest way to form it. As my hand parted an electric blue glow stretched between my palms and I grasped it with my right hand as they continued to part. I could sense bewilderment coming from Moonlight Guardian. It seemed she wasn't sure what she was seeing. She just stood there, wide-eyed I imagine.

I finished and now held it in front of me. I couldn't bring myself to say anything. I was still nervous about her reaction. "...What is that, Indigo?" Moonlight Guardian eventually broke the silence.

"It's a sword!" I've been wanting to say that for so long, I couldn't help saying it with enthusiasm.

"...A sword?" She tilted her head.

"Yes..." I looked for a suitable object to demonstrate on and readily found a small twig. I lifted it with fox magic, gave a quick motion, and split it in two. I could sense that she was impressed and she approached observing the sword. I relaxed.

"I call it the 'wraith blade,'" I said with pride.

She looked at me sideways. "...Wraith blade?" Her confusion was understandable. For one, names for anything outside of people aren't a thing. Names in Yutsuukitsuu telepathy are just associations. Associating one item with another item would be very strange. On top of that, I used the Caster words for "wraith blade," and the concept of sounds having meaning was completely alien to the normie Yutsuukitsuu. To the uninitiated, it would be quite a bizarre experience.

"That's the name I gave it in Caster... Umm, that is the human language." I cobbled together a short explanation.

"I see..." She didn't see.

"But I modeled the shape on our swords." She walked around me, observing it from multiple angles while rubbing her chin.

"You modeled it?"

"Yes, the technique can be made into any shape, but I practiced to get THIS shape correct." To demonstrate, I reshape the wraith blade into the form of a hammer, and then into a spear. It took me some time to do this, as it was difficult, and the other forms were simple in design.

She stopped in front of me, now that she had gotten a good look. "How are you doing this, Indigo?" My tail wagged with vigor, she was asking how it worked!

"Well, It's kind of a push-pull. It creates a stabilizing force..." Her head was about to fall off. I was about to try and explain in a different way, but she held up a hand.

"Don't worry about it." My ears lost a little spunk. I guess she wasn't that interested... "You intend to use this in combat? Can it hold up in a fight?"

This was the million-dollar question. I knew it could hold up to anything, given enough force and control, but... "Eventually, I'm not so sure about right now though. It also requires a lot of concentration to maintain it."

A wind swept across the clearing as Moonlight Guardian stood unusually quiet even for her. A moment passed before she spoke, "Let's test it then."

The anxiety had returned and I felt my palms begin to sweat. I hadn't prepared for a stress test and I had my doubts. Perhaps I should have been ready; of course, she would want a more practical demonstration. I had no idea how much abuse this sword could take, but I wanted to prove my worth to her, so I would give her everything I had.

She took up one of the wooden swords as I stood there with my wraith blade at the ready, nervous the sword would slip through my sweaty palms, although by nature of the technique this wasn’t possible. She started off by taking a few light swings at the wraith blade, very much like she would throw when I was first learning the basic forms for defense. After the first few, she started to put a little pep into the swings, but still, nothing that would ruin your day if you got hit.

I could feel each strike as it hit the sword. The first one was a little jarring, but the novelty of the sensation wore off after the first couple strikes and it wasn't so bad after that. I felt my confidence returning. There was merit to my technique. I should have more confidence in myself. After taking these swings she paused and I thought she was satisfied, however...

She took up a fighting stance, and I had just enough time to get my mind back in the game. The strikes started coming and it almost felt like we were sparring, only she was explicitly targeting the sword. Unlike before, I felt every blow ring through me as I struggled to maintain the form.

STRIKE! I felt the blow run through my arms. STRIKE! My core rang like a bell with my ribcage as the bell tower. STRIKE! I felt the shock even down to my toes.I was managing to hold my own, her every attack gaining ferocity. It was very much like Moonlight Guardian to push me to my limits, sometimes past them. She always had my best interest in mind though. She would always pick me back up after I fell.

However, Moonlight Guardian kept attacking well past the intensity at which we sparred. It wasn't a sparring match though, she was only targeting the sword, so that's all I needed to focus on. Still, with each impact, I could feel a shockwave shoot through my nervous system. It almost felt like I was blocking these strikes with my bare arm. I gritted my teeth trying to hold it together.

Moonlight Guardian was always trying to help me grow, but this time felt different. I could see her wanting to push the wraith blade to failure... to a point. I felt a fear start to work its way through me. Something had changed, this wasn't Moonlight Guardian the mentor, it was... something else. Something you might expect to find on a battlefield.

But then abruptly, she stopped. I was relieved. She was just taking me up to my limit after all, and I suspected I had earned some of her praise for holding out. I heaved a sigh of relief, but then I saw her adopt a different stance with the wooden sword couched almost as if she would pull it from a sheath. She had never used it before, but I had seen enough anime to recognize a stance designed to launch a fast and powerful attack. For the first time since I had met Moonlight Guardian back in that clearing with the humans, she was terrifying.

Once I realized what was coming, I tried to back down, but just before I could issue the message... I couldn't even see the attack coming. She cleared the gap and swung the sword almost as if she had teleported. The wraith blade splintered into pieces and it was as if something inside me had broken as well. Instinctively, I flinched back and felt something graze between my eyebrows as something exploded across my face.

...You know how in movies after an explosive has gone off near a character and the world is ringing, their eyes can't focus, and presumably they are only partially aware of the world? That was how it was with me. Slowly the world came back into focus and I found myself on the ground, but wasn't exactly sure how I had gotten there. I found myself staring at the spot where my head would have been had I not flinched. I was only vaguely aware of the figure standing behind that spot. It shifted and stood there.

As my mind began to restart and my memories began to return, I found my perception shifting from the spot where my head had been to the figure behind, Moonlight Guardian. As they returned, I felt a primal fear rise up in my mind. I remember the first time I had seen her, back at the merchant's caravan. I had thought she looked like something out of a horror movie, but now, she also felt like one.

I felt a wetness running down the middle of my face. Was I crying? Reaching for the area with two fingers, they met bare skin, unmasked. I could sense there was a lot of moisture. Pulling my hand away, I saw my fingers were covered in red. I looked back at Moonlight Guardian and saw her slowly stretching out a hand. "Indigo..."

"I've got to go!" I quickly jumped to my feet. "The Elder will be expecting me." I wasn't sure why I felt it necessary to give an excuse given the circumstances. I took off running back to the village.

I didn't meet Moonlight Guardian the next day or the day after that… or the following day. I couldn't hide the fact that my mask was missing or that there was a stream of blood running down my face when I returned to Snowcap Elder's residence. Naturally, he was concerned and even Mesa was alarmed. I told them it was nothing, and they were prudent enough to let it go without further inquiry.

Despite my lack of attendance at Moonlight Guardian's apprenticeship, she never came to find me. It would have been no great effort on her part, even if I was trying to hide. She had always come to retrieve me before when I was truant, but this time she refrained from doing so. I was confident that I could rely on this pattern holding.

During the day I would still head out from the Elder's residence and bum around town. I wasn't ready to face up to what had happened and if I offered my services to the Elder full-time, it would inevitably lead to me having to come clean and face what happened that night.

For anyone who knew me, it was plain to see that I was shirking my duties. I would wander around, but it was clear that I wasn't patrolling or keeping an eye on anything. Naturally, Dawn and River took notice.

"Are you okay, Indigo? You seem off..."

"Why would you say that?" I tried to pretend that everything was fine.

"You haven't made any of your rounds in several days." They pointed out the obvious. "And what happened to your mask?" I had been wearing a loner mask until I could procure a new one, but I was in no hurry.

"...It broke." They waited patiently for me to elaborate, but they soon realized I wasn't going to.

"Did something happen between you and Moonlight Guardian?" I suppose it didn't take a genius to see that. I wrapped my arms around myself while turning away and shrinking down on myself. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, but I made no effort to hide my reluctance. They took the hint and gave me space.

I began returning to the Elder's den increasingly earlier, filling my time with reading and studying various subjects. I was under no illusion that the Elder was aware of what was going on; he was a layabout, but he was still an Elder. However, he didn't pry into the situation, so I had to give him props for that.