Fate's Vinculum

Chapter 9.

"Thank you for not killing me," Matt spoke quietly.

Sires and him were sparring with bo staffs. Sires, confused, tilted his head to the side.

"Why would I kill you?"

"For the other day."

"What happened the other day?"

"The cafeteria?"

"Oh."

It was after that specific instance, where Sires unintentionally summarized his life to half The Compound, that people started to keep their distance from Sires. The bullying had even abruptly halted.

"So..."

"Yes?" Sires asked.

"How have you been?"

Sires nearly hit Matt in the head with his staff, and the other man ducked out of the way. Matt grinned. Dodging an attack from Sires was something to be proud of.

"Fine," Sires replied curtly.

The answer had been truthful, at least partially.

"Really? You look pretty banged up."

Sires cackled, side-stepping out of the way from a blow Matt almost landed. "I know; isn't it great?"

Matt looked troubled. "I don't...follow you."

"I did a lot of thinking this past week and a half. I've come to realize if I'm in the infirmary," Sires explained, suddenly unleashing a swell of attacks that caught Matt off-guard, forcing him to go on the defensive, "X leaves me alone. So today, I'm trying my hardest to get hurt."

"That's insane," Matt gasped, seconds later having to duck a blow to his head again.

Sires cackled and spoke gleefully. "Better than seeing X!"

"I guess–Sires!"

Sires hadn't let up from his attacks. As such, Matt had begun to back up. Sires was unrelenting. Matt's back hit the wall, and for the first time he actually felt afraid of the person he considered a friend.

Sires hit the staff again, and again, and again, using such force the pounding made Matt's arms go numb.

"S-Sires!"

Sires guffawed. Matt slid down onto his backside unintentionally, holding his wooden staff above his head. Still Sires' attacks were unyielding. Matt, too frightened to notice, didn't see the entire class had stopped and was watching them.

"Sires! Stop!"

Instead Sires swiftly performed an upper attack. Matt's own bo staff went flying. As Sires raised his weapon to strike downward, Matt cowered, throwing both arms over his head.

However, the blow never came.

A gentle tap from Sires' bo touched Matt's hand. He peeked out, and then put his arms down. Sires twirled the staff and then leaned on it, grinning down at Matt. Sires extended his hand. Unsure of himself, Matt reached out and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

Sires was panting, still smiling, and still holding onto Matt's hand. "I would never kill you, or hurt you. Remember that, it's a promise. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't hurt me."

Sires threw down his weapon. Class wasn't over yet, but he didn't care. It was his last physical lesson for the night. Walking towards the door, he glared at the unmoving bo instructor.

"I'm done for the day."

It wasn't until Sires had left, and the door shut behind him, did the class resume. Wordlessly, Sires made his way to the fifth floor. As his first full day back, Sires found that people didn't speak to him. Now they just scurried out of his way, or looked at him with a strange sort of reverence.