Eclipse (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Chapter 10: Siege

It was no surprise to find her brother practicing with his sword in a secluded spot after the Tribe split up into those who would fight and those who would evacuate. Izuki's smile was deceptively easy-going when he lowered his weapon and turned to her. "Ah, Miyuki. There's nothing quite like a little sword practice to exercise both body and mind, wouldn't you agree? What do you say, will you join me in a spar?"

Admittedly, she was still a little surprised that he didn't protest when she insisted publically that she would stay and fight when the call for the women and children to evacuate came. Izuki himself had taught her to wield weapons just enough to defend herself when she needed to, but he had never seen the true extent of her fighting ability, even at the level that she was before she left the Northern Tribe. He had no reason to think that she would be able to protect herself in a true fight, and yet, in the face of all those people who doubted her, her brother was not one of them. Neither in public nor in private.

She picked up the spare sword that he evidently had prepared for her in advance and took a moment to take in the weight and balance of it before flipping it to the blunt side and shifting her stance. Sword fighting was her brother's specialty, and she hardly expected to be able to secure a victory on this front. Not if it was a proper spar where she didn't use her bending.

He took the first strike without warning and she leapt back a pace to dodge. As expected, his movements were graceful and flowed from one form to the next with practiced refinement. The arcs he took with his sword were wide, and thanks to his height, he took far more ground than she was capable of taking back. "Izuki, can I ask you something?" she asked while she ducked to avoid his attack.

"Of course, dear sister." He maneuvered out of the path of her attack with neat, precise footwork. He never wasted any movements, never took two steps to dodge when only one was needed or ducked further than absolutely necessary. It was a good reminder.

She took another swing at him and sliced cleanly through the air. "Are you really alright with me fighting in today's battle?"

"Ah, you caught it then. For a moment, I wanted to protest-" he admitted, his attacks hardly faltering despite the hesitation in his voice. She parried his attack, and the loud clang of metal hitting metal rang out loudly around them. She wouldn't be surprised if he had to find a new secluded spot to practice after this given the amount of parrying that she needed to do in order to keep out of harm's way. "But if you wish to fight, I have no right to stop you. Naturally, I don't want you to get hurt, but I know you, Miyu. If you didn't think that you could handle it, you would not insist on partaking." He smiled at her as their weapons clashed again.

Her arms were beginning to hurt, but she could hardly afford to give up now. Not when he was admitting that all of this was out of her concern for her so earnestly.

"Besides," he continued, "it helps that I heard about your demonstration during Master Pakku's lessons. 'Like the most terrifyingly beautiful dance I had ever seen,' I believe is what I was told." His expression was almost prideful as he nodded. "We are indeed related."

She laughed softly at the statement. It was a strange connection to draw, but it didn't surprise her at all coming from her older brother. "I would have thought of a different metric for it, but I agree. We are indeed related."

"It worries me that you're as calm as you are at the precipice of battle, but I can't say that I'm not the same." Izuki shifted out of a fighting stance and put his sword back into the sheath attached to his hip cleanly, all in one fluid motion. "Even still, I've seen all that I need to see, Miyuki. Thank you. My heart is at ease."

She put the spare sword that he had prepared for her away and he went to her side. She was about to speak when she glanced up at him and noticed the oddly sentimental look in his eyes.