Tales Of The Underlands (jjba part 5 Wonderland AU)

Unexpected Opponent

The life at the camp had quickly become a routine and before you noticed it the moon was as full as the day that you had arrived in the Underlands.

One month.

One month you had spent here, without knowing if you would ever get home. How were your friends and family dealing with this? Was the police looking for you? You didn't know what was currently happening in your world.

Maybe they thought you were dead or kidnapped. There wasn't a single day were you didn't miss any of the people from your home. Sometimes, late at night, you thought of them, returning to them and giving them all a hug.

You thought of your home, your room and the things you had there that you missed. When you were bored you made a list of things you wanted to do when you got home, it made you feel happy. That happiness was short lived when you remembered that it might take you years to return to them.

Then there were the thoughts that scared you almost more than your recurring nightmares. What if the Underlands were in some sort of time Paradoxon? What if time here passed way slower than time in your world or the other way around. You could return to your world and time as an way older person or, and that was what frightened you most, you could return home and see that centuries had passed while you were in the Underlands. Everything and everyone would be gone.

You distracted yourself from these thoughts by talking and training. You tried to get some infos out of Narancia, about what happened that day at breakfast, but his mostly lose tongue stayed quiet about that topic, he probably had a lot of respect for Abbaccio.

Your skills with the knife from your world had gotten better, you were regularly training with Narancia, and every other day with Risotto who watched training every day. The other members of his team preferred to train together somewhere else, saying they didn't like the looks the guards gave them. You fully understood that.

Risotto was the only one out of them, who didn't get any snares, looks or spit at, it was like everyone at the camp feared him too much to do so.

You joined Narancia for some history lessons with Fugo, out of curiosity. The history of the Underlands was complicated, but interesting to say the least. You didn't remember all the noble houses, that wasn't your task, but you loved to hear about the legends and stories, the battles and the prophecies. It surprised you to hear that every ruler of the Underlands had a prophecy assigned to them at birth, that only they knew.

Well except for Bucciaratis, which was well known at this point.

There was the legend of the first prophecy,   out of all the ones that Fugo talked about, it was your favorite.

Little was known about it, but it was said that the goddess of light and dark came from the stars to the people of the Underlands in the form of an rainbow and gave them the Starshine lily, the only plant which doesn't glow. Through this plant Underlanders could form a soul bond with animals and make them their companion, drinking the Starshine water from the plant.

So sometimes history could be fun and it made it easier for you to have something to talk about with others.

It was another one of those days where you would fight with Risotto. He was a good teacher, making sure to get the movements into your muscle memory, while Narancia was a good Trainer. He made sure that you wouldn't forget anything that Risotto taught you.

The last few days Bucciarati hadn't joined the training, leaving Abbaccio to train with some of the guards, even if they weren't up to his skill level. He had been too occupied with making plans, talking to Giorno about a cure and questioning Pesci about the river roads.

Today he had shown up, his sword dangling at his side. He looked tired, bags forming under his eyes, his hair looked a bit unkempt, but it gave him a slightly rebellious look.

Aside from his disheveled appearance he looked fine.

Abbaccio looked relieved that he wouldn't have to train with some guards again, he had seemed pretty bored the last few days.

You would have another training session with Risotto today. You still weren't a threat to anyone who had grown up in the Underlands, but you knew that learning how to fight took time and training, you tried to avoid frustration by practicing patience.

Risotto praised you for your effort and your quick learning ability. Right now you could last around five seconds against him.

As you got ready to fight with Risotto, Bucciaratis voice interrupted you.

"Would you like to fight with me today?" his question was directed at you. "I would like to see what you learned first hand." he gave you a polite smile, completely ignoring Risotto.

Said man huffed in annoyance. "I was about to teach them something important. You should try tomorrow."

"Im sure you'll let me borrow your student for today. I haven't gotten the change to experience her new skills." Bucciarati quipped right back.

"Fine, but don't go hard on them." Risotto reluctantly agreed, before stalking off to the side of the ring.

You took out your dagger as the Prince did the same with his sword. For a few seconds you just circled each other, you were waiting for him to attack, and it appeared he was doing the same.

Time seemed to pass slower, every movement slowed down, like wrapped in honey.

Then it happened, quicker than you had anticipated. You almost had no time to react when the sword clashed against your dagger. The raw force of the blow making your hand hurt you quickly took a step back, while pushing Bucciarati back. You decided it was time to leave the defensive and started your own attack. Your opponent had a surprised expression on his face as your blade clashed against his. Everyone of your blows parried with ease.

Still he didn't attack you again, it was like he was mocking you. Maybe unintentionally. After he had enough of your, to be honest, uncoordinated attack, he started his own. His clashes where calculated making you lose your balance from the sheer force.

Your back landed in the snow, the sword stopped, pointing at your throat, before it was sheathed and a hand was extended towards you.

You took it and Bucciarati helped you up gently.

This cycle continued, circling, attack, disarmed, defeated. Your back hurt from falling into the snow so many times.

"You have gotten better, but you still won't  be able to hold your own in a fight."

It is a compliment that stings, you want to be able to help, to not be a burden but you know that you'll need more time and certainly more training to accomplish that.

"I'm sure you'll learn quickly, but Im afraid it'll take at least a few months."

That was a blow to your ego, you thought you might be able to master it in a few more weeks.

"They're better than many of those kids you picked off the street." Risotto, who had been silently watching the exchange, chimed in. " Even without a companion."

You didn't know if Risotto was saying that because he really believed it or because he was angry with Bucciarati. Probably the latter.

You decided to ignore it and took another stance.

What was it with those two and their arguments? It felt almost like a rivalry, if you only knew about what. It could certainly help you maneuver through this easier.