The Smell of Old Books and Blood

Chapter 14: Oh Fuck

"54 to 53!" Tighnari cheered while letting Kaveh go from his vines. He wondered why Kaveh ever thought he had a chance at winning. Tighnari was much stronger, smarter, and-

"No no no, Kaveh, you are not adding your perspective on what you think Tighnari is thinking. Give me the full story unbiased." Kaveh sighed and pouted as his mother's words. She was no fun.

Kaveh huffed as he was let down, rubbing his wrists and looking down at his claymore. It was his father's. The first one he ever learned how to use. It was old and top heavy, but it was his and he loved it. He reached down to lift it up, checking for any new cracks are scuffs. Hmm... he'd have to sharpen it soon. He dragged his finger and frowned. Why was this upsetting him so much? Kaveh and Tighnari always went back and forth like this. He won the last fight. Tighnari won the one before. And so on. But something about this loss... he would've won if it wasn't for Tighnari's vision. It wasn't fair.

"You good?" Kaveh jumped when Tighnari was wrapping an arm around his shoulders and squeezing him playfully, "I didn't go to hard on you this time, did I?" The fennec laughed and Kaveh laughed along with him awkwardly.

"Yeah. You got me good this time. Next time I'll win though." That's how it always was. Kaveh dematerialized his claymore, huffing and making his way to sit down next to someone.

"You okay?" His neighbor raised an eyebrow.

"I'm fine," he shrugged, puffing his cheeks out as the random man that Kaveh had no association with whatsoever and his mother definitely didn't need to worry about ruffled his hair.

Tighnari followed Kaveh, plopping down next to him. They weren't alone anymore. A few people had stopped to watch their scuffle and joined there group, being Itto, Gorou, Kunikuzushi, and Kazuha. He really made an embarrassment of himself in front of Kazuha? God dammit.

Gorou was currently enraptured with a conversation with Cyno, who was leaning against the bleacher with an ice pack on his shoulder, "See, the problem is that people understatement people like you and me. We're much smaller, so they assume we're not as tough. That as well as I'm human, so I'm going to be significantly weaker. If it was a normal fist fight, Itto would've definitely kicked my ass. But I won due to strictly strategy. I acted before he could, catching him off guard."

Gorou quickly nodded, scribbling down some notes as his tail wagged excitedly behind him, "I see. Agility is something I've never had an issue with, so how did-"

"You're a very skilled bow man, Gorou. And the best part of fighting with a bow is being able to keep your agility while attacking from afar. Unfortunately, when you stop to deduce your surroundings, it's very easy to close that distance." Blah blah blah. Ever since Cyno's draw with Tartaglia, everyone's been flocking around him like some sort of celebrity. It's obnoxious.

"Congratulations on your visions, you two," Kunikuzushi chimed in, pointing at Cyno and the Tighnari, "I don't really look up to any of the Archons, but with what you both are, I can understand what it means to you. Especially for a Valuka Shuna to get a Dendro Vision. My Auntie cares a lot for her creations. But not all of them are blessed with her Vision."

Tighnari reached down and grabbed his vision, looking at it with a small smile, "Thank you. That means a lot. It's very... vindicating in a sense? I lost contact with the Dendro Archon not much after my manifestation. She hasn't contacted me since then."

"Odd," Kunikuzushi raised an eyebrow, "Nahida checks in on her familiars quite frequently. But by no means are you her typical creation. I believe she's going to be here tonight and the rest of the tournament. She's not one for violence, but she likes supporting the Darshans so she comes to pay for the tickets and buy some snacks. She typically would've been here already but she probably got caught up in something. Have you had her as an instructor yet?"