Twist of Fate

Chapter 35: The Fourth

A/N: I don't like this chapter...I don't remember what I was thinking when i wrote it. The chapter title doesn't really fit. I got off track while writing this all those months ago, didn't I? Anyway, enjoy.
-Fun fact: Did I ever tell you I actually planned for Seíren to be a playboy and Zulén to be a player? Yeah, that wouldn't have worked out for either of them...

As a stretcher pulled Deth's prone form away to the Infirmary, I got to my feet. I took no mind to the Headmaster calling for the Block D winners, they were of no interest to me, and headed toward the doorway Deth had previously exited. To my surprise, Sian Rokku was entering at the same time. He was completely unchanged from when he first left, I noted, but maybe a tad disheveled. Deth would just hate that, and I made a silent promise to mention it when he tried to mock me again. That would get to either get him to shut his mouth or put his sword where his big words were.

Put that matter aside, I paused for a moment when we were side by side and met his gaze. "How long?"

His teal eyes shifted to me as he, too, paused. "I'm sorry?"

"How long until the paralyzation wears off?"

A blond brow arched slightly. "Ah, you noticed that? Then you are a friend of that boy's?"

"You could say that," I murmured in confirmation, squinting my eyes in an almost-grimace.

A corner of the boy's- man's? Seriously, even up close she couldn't tell his age- mouth twitched. "It'll wear off in about five minutes. I didn't get a solid blow since he moved at the last second. Your friend is quite strong."

I nodded in agreement. "Yes, he is."

"Being strong is good, but could you inform him that strength is not everything?"

I blinked at the sudden request and frowned a little. "May I ask why?"

"The look in his eyes." Sian said, gaze suddenly sharpening with a seriousness that seemed without provocation. "You are young and I don't expect you to completely understand, but it was the look of someone who would do anything to gain strength. I don't don't know why he possesses such a gaze, but I do know if he stays as he is, he'll ruin himself in the process."

My eyes narrowed warily. "What do you mean?"

"He's on a path that will only lead to destruction, and possibly not only his own. Help him, if you can. I know a many a great man who fell to such...I have no desire to watch another walk it and crumble before he has even built himself."

With those words, said with a heaviness that made me shift with unease and trepidation, Sian continued to his seat without another glance. I watched him for a moment with a frown, then continued in the direction I was going.

What did he mean by the "path of destruction"? The pursuit of power? Why would Deth be on that? I had seen the almost hungry look in his eyes when we started and exceeded our previous levels of skill, but I didn't think it was that serious. I just thought he was one of those boys who desired power and strength before they grew up and realized strength couldn't get them everywhere. I should've known he wasn't that idealistic and it was more than that.

If it was true he was chasing after strength, how could I help? I'd barely known Deth for a week. We weren't particularly close friends, or friends at all really, just acquaintances with a mutual respect for the other. I didn't know the reason behind his pursuit of strength, or even the specifics beyong my presumptions of why he entered the tournament. I didn't know anything about Deth, so how in the world could I help him?

I had no answer as I entered the empty Infirmary, save for Deth lying deathly still on a bed with his eyes closed. I walked to the side of his bed silently, though I doubted he was asleep, but I didn't want to alert him to my presence. I slid my gaze over his figure. He had wrapped his scarf back around his neck, unsurprisingly, and held his aquamarine blade tightly in his hand at his side. Aside from those things, nothing hinted at the reversal of his paralyzation or anything out of the ordinary. He had a few slowly healing wounds, some tears in his uniform, a bit a good here and there, but that was all.