THE RAVEN KING, yoonkook

chapter xxv: a fight to the death!

A small frown appears on Taehyung's brow as he tilts his head to the side curiously. Confusion flashes across his face, clear in the way he goes to speak, before stopping and struggling to find the right words. He tries again, but is only left speechless. Finally, after a few seconds of frowning in astonishment at Yoongi, he speaks, "Really? I was literally trying to lead you to me... I thought I was being obvious."

"I thought it was Jimin." Yoongi admits awkwardly after a beat of silence. "I thought, he was going to kill the king."

"Oh... That's because of the golem, right? I was worried about that. Hadn't expected that." With a soft sigh, Taehyung tucks the amulet into his belt. It hangs at his side, purple gem glinting darkly in the light. With his hand now free, he rests it against the hilt of his sword, threat clear. "I suppose we're going to have to fight now."

"That's usually how these things go." Taehyung nods, looking slightly disappointed with this. He sighs again, shrugs helplessly.

"I must admit, I hate to do this." Still, his sword is drawn from its sheathe. Its silver metal gleans threateningly, a delicate pattern etched down its surface—the hilt is also ornately decorated, with a ruby embedded in the tip, carved into the shape of a flower. "You're quite the fighter, Yoongi. Don't lose to me."

"I don't intend to." In comparison, Yoongi's sword is bland, just plain steel forged into the sharp weapon. It isn't even his own; being an assassin, he isn't own to use swords, so he stole this from the armoury. Not his weapon of choice, but not one he isn't adept in either. As an assassin, he also has to know how to kill someone in a multitude of ways.

Regret stings in Taehyung's eyes, but he adopts a fighting stance anyway. It's a textbook stance, taught to all knight's when they're starting out—and Yoongi only knows this because he read a textbook on it, while stuck in Jungkook's room. Trying to remember what he read, he attempts to mimic the counter stance. This brings a grin to the younger's lips as he lunges, sword narrowly missing his side as he lunges out of the way.

"You're sloppy." Taehyung teases as he attacks again, chasing Yoongi across the room. "For a knight, you're hardly skilled at the traditional fighting methods."

"Fighting isn't a dance—you can't choreograph fighting, makes you predictable." Yoongi parries Taehyung's next attack, barely, as he swings his sword vertically. The sword bounces off his own, ringing clearly through the room. The defensive position the younger has forced him into bothers him.

"You don't talk like a knight, not one who's been trained at least—you talk like a killer." A sly grin spreads across Taehyung's lips, once again swinging the sword at Yoongi only to narrowly miss. With a soft frown, the older realises he's holding back again. "You can quit the act; I know who you are."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb—it's not fitting of you." Taehyung finally gets a hit in, sword slicing the edge of Yoongi's shoulder. It breaks shirt, miraculously missing skin. "I've been watching... with the golems? I've been watching for so long." The younger male sighs exasperatedly.

"Sounds... boring."

"Oh, sometimes it was. You wouldn't believe some of the absolute inactivity I've had to sit through. But, it's meant I've seen the important stuff too. Who do you think hid your clothes, after you tried to kill His Majesty that last time?" Yoongi tries to attack, only to be parried with fluid ease. Taehyung looks as though he's hardly trying, waltzing around calmly. He really does make this fighting like a dance—but Yoongi has never quite been skilled at that. "Who do you think got Namjoon for you? I couldn't have you be discovered... not yet, at least."