No one's POV
After returning from Haltina's labyrinth the day before, the party had returned to Verbergen to rest. After dinner and a bath, Shizuku had gone to bed like everyone else.
But for some reason, she'd found herself unable to sleep. She'd tossed and turned for hours on end until finally, she couldn't take it anymore. And so, even though it was only 2 o'clock, she'd grabbed her katana and ran off into the night.
Shizuku: Taaah! Hmph! Haaah!
The sound of something whistling through the air. A streak of black cut through the mist once, twice, and then a third time.
The black streak was a katana being swung down with impeccable discipline and control. Its wielder's movements were polished to the extreme, as she continued her practice swings, cutting down any leaf unlucky enough to fall into her path.
Shizuku, paid no attention to the hundreds of
sliced leaves littering the ground around her. Her attention was focused entirely on maintaining her form and connecting each swing with the next.
Shizuku: Ah!
Suddenly, her dance faltered Her arms wobbled as her swing missed the leaf she'd been aiming for. As the leaf twirled to the ground, Shizuku lost her balance and twirled around herself. Fortunately, she managed to keep herself from falling, but she needed to
stick her sheath in the ground to do it. Shizuku smiled bitterly at herself.
Shizuku: Calm down. I need to calm myself down...
Calming her breathing, an image of a serene spring in her mind and took a few deep breaths. The first thing she'd learned when she'd picked up swordsmanship was how to meditate.
She'd used this method to calm herself down so many times that it had turned into something she did automatically anytime she felt herself losing her cool. However right now, the image of a certain boy kept popping into her mind, ruining her meditative trance.
Shizuku: Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
With a primal scream, Shizuku swung her katana down in an attempt to smash the
face that had appeared in her mind.
Shizuku: No, no, no, this is DEFINITELY not what it seems like!
The serene spring vanished from her mind. She was having a hard time thinking clearly.The cause of her insomnia was the same boy whose figure had appeared in her mind and interrupted her meditation.
Shizuku: Haaah! Taaah Raaaaaaaaah!
Her yells grew wilder, and she swung her sword with abandon. The more she tried not to think about it, the more she found herself
dwelling on what had happened in the labyrinth. Specifically, on what had happened when she'd been trapped in the dream world.
Her supposed ideal illusion had been so embarrassing that she'd blush intensely, her face turning bright red simply thinking about it. She refused to believe that was something
she'd actually desired, but the dream's contents were too shameful for her to talk to anyone about it.
Shizuku: Ryaaaaaaaaaaaah!
But the thing that nagged at her the most was the final trial. With her emotions reversed, she'd found those disgusting black cockroaches lovable, and that had certainly been traumatic, but that wasn't what truly bothered her. The biggest problem was that she'd found the boy currently on her mind utterly detestable.
Shizuku: Noooooooooooo! There's others who want to be with him... You can't... You're not... He's just a friend! That's aaaaaaaaall!
Her strokes were so haphazard they couldn't be called practice swings anymore. Shizuku was acting totally out of character.
YOU ARE READING
Arise From Weakness (OC/ Male Reader x Arifureta)
FanfictionNhazul Hatake did not start out as a cold and violent individual, only through the act of pain, agony, weakness and betrayal, did he start to become cold...In order to return home to his sister. He swore he won't let anyone or anything stand in his...
