Let's launch the secret attack! (part 2)

Maxim and Youngwoo were walking through the forest slowly, careful not to step onto any traps laid around. The taller one, seeing how they were going a fair distance away from Hilda and Donnie, decided to ask:

"Say, Maxim?"

"Yes, Lee?"

"I've been looking for a certain item for quite some time now, and my leads are telling me you might be able to help me a bit."

"Is that so? What is it?"

"It's an amethyst, about this large." He showed with his hand, forming a circle roughly 2 cm in diameter.

"Is that someone's heirloom that you're looking for it?"

"Kind of. It's a magical item, and it's important to me. Do you happen to remember if anything like that was in Issar's estate?"

"Hmm... I cannot tell." Maxim put a hand on his chin for a moment whilst looking for traps. "It's possible that it's somewhere, but I don't really spend my time in my home anyway."

"No? Then where do you spend your time?"

"Oh, it depends. Sometimes I help old Beliarche in cutting wood, sometimes I go and work in field with Lenar and Gustav. There are days when I skin animals with Lorelei... Ah, my apologies, Lee. You must not know who I'm speaking of." Maxim made a faint smile and chuckled.

"They're Issar's villagers, no?"

"Yes." He nodded lightly. "I'm working with them every day to ease their struggles even a bit. They were having very difficult lives before you came around 6 years ago, Lee."

"I'm glad to know that I was able to help. I'm sure everyone feels the same. But then, why did this invasion happen in the first place?"

"I believe it was because of my mistakes. I truly thought that if I gave people good deeds, I'd receive good deeds back. That's how my late father taught me to live, and that's how I wanted to live with everyone in Issar. In harmony. However, after a few months since you went away, some... problematic individuals started appearing."

"'Problematic' how?"

"Well, it's a subject as wide as a sea. It started with some drunkards stealing booze from Mandy at inn, then some stole a few farming tools from Gustav, never to be returned. Over time, they started forming their own little society under our very nose. On the surface, they looked like normal villagers, but underneath that were monstrous beings who only cared about themselves."

"..." 'So, because he was lenient, gangs started appearing in full...'

"I suppose that was my fault altogether. I thought that I could reason with people who didn't care about prosperity of others. In the end, I was **** to create a militia unit, and banish those people away from our town. That was 2 years ago. I sincerely thought that they decided to disperse elsewhere and become better, but... well. They started gathering forces a few months ago in nearby mountains. I sent multiple letters to Hol's lord, but every time I got an answer back that I was exaggerating. Well, until a week ago, when about 15 merchants from a few nearby cities vanished at hands of those bandits. Still, Hol's lord told us to hold fast for a month while they get reinforcements from other lords."

"And so, here we are."

"Exactly, Lee." Maxim nodded glumly. "So far, we lost 17 people. I don't care if I die here. I just want this bloodshed to end."

"I'm with you on this one."

"And even though I don't like it... we may have to kill their leader."

"Do you know anything about him?"

"His name is Dulan. He used to be a farmer, but something happened along the way, and he ended up burning down a few buildings in Mortana. After that, he became famous among the outlaws, and started gathering power about 3 years ago. Other than that, not really."

"Hmm..."

"I'm certain there is a way to get to him. All I need is one clean shot." Maxim said. He was keeping his cool, but Youngwoo could tell how much the man hated what he was saying.

"I'll make sure we won't need to do that. I promise you." He said. "Maxim, no. Savi. You're a very good person. Even in the worst of all you saw good. I really hope everything works out for you."

"Lee..." Started Maxim. "I hope I will not fail."

"I'll do whatever I can to make sure nobody is hurt. We'll try to talk with Dulan."

Maxim nodded lightly; he also hoped for talk to be possible. After a few minutes, they both gathered enough fire to cook some meat (once they hunted some, that is). On their way back, they barely exchanged any more words, instead focused on not accidentally tripping. By the time they got back to Hilda and Donnie, the sky was taking in a dark shade of blue, signalling that the night was setting in.

After breaking up the twigs into more manageable pieces, they made a small pile and lit it up quickly. As the fire started breathing on its own, the four of them sat in silence for a few long minutes. Even though nobody spoke up, everyone knew the reason for the tension. They were so close to the enemy that they could be discovered at any moment.

"So, Donnie..." Started Youngwoo, wanting to unload the atmosphere. "How come you're called 'Donnie'?"

"Oi, that's a simple story. In my platoon, we had a habit of naming newcomers some names. And when I came there, I was wearing a TMNT shirt, and my buddies thought I looked bright, so Donnie it was."

"Huh. I see."

Suddenly, Maxim spoke up:

"I don't want to say anything, but please try to get some sleep. The sooner we set off in the morning, the better chances we will have to surprise them before they wake up. I'll stay on guard." And with that, he took some steps into the forest, and started to scout.

"Ay, captain." Replied Donnie. "'night y'all." And with that, he leaned against a tree with his back, closing his eyes.

Youngwoo looked at Hilda, who only shrugged. It seemed that Donnie was the way he was, and there was little one could do about it. But, it seemed that he was reliable, at least. No more than 2 minutes later the man was asleep (or at least he seemed to be in Youngwoo's eyes).

"I'm not sure I want to sleep." He said, slowly getting up from his position.

"Where are you going?" Asked Hilda, tilting her head a little.

"I'll go and find a safe spot to train in."

"Wait, I'll go too."

"I'm not sure if you should use your magic, Hilda. You know, it's pretty noisy."

"I know. I just don't want to sleep, either." She replied, and he already knew; she wouldn't stay put even if he asked her to. She left her bag and backpack behind, and quickly followed behind him.

Youngwoo was taking his steps very carefully, peeling his eyes out to see any traps hidden underneath their feet. How Maxim was able to see them easily remained a mystery (but he was 100% sure it was a skill). However, remembering the road he had taken before with the man, they both soon found a small clearing.

It was incomparably smaller to the one they used to train in, but Youngwoo decided it was enough. They couldn't be picky, anyway. Deciding to begin, he drew his sword and held it tightly while Hilda watched him from a small distance. And then, he begun his stride. Move after move, slash after stab, Youngwoo slowly practiced his sword dances.

The night came in full after just a few minutes. The two moon's light shone through the trees' cones, illuminating the forest somewhat. The sword's blade was swung, and his feet moved in a specified manner, and his body arced. Technique after technique, he unleashed sword dances for a few minutes, until he heard Hilda say:

"Youngwoo."

"Yes?" He stopped momentarily, lowering his sword a bit.

"Why do you link Pinnacle and Kill so often?"

"...? You know those techniques?"

"I've seen them enough times to realize some of them." She replied. "I can't help but wonder, why? All it does for you is make you charge forward at breakneck speed, and for what? You open yourself to attacks from sides and up."

"...I never really thought about that. It's just easy to link them." 'And their fusion completely demolishes single-targets while disregarding defense...'

"Then why not use Link instead? Stride a bit from using Pinnacle, use Link, and then Splendor. Wouldn't that work well?"

"..."

"I'm not saying I know it will." She said, as if correcting her words. "You have much more experience with this than me. I just wonder if what you're doing can be improved."

"...It's a good idea." He said. Actually, he now noticed a flaw in his usage of Pagma's Sword Dance. He didn't like using Pinnacle first, and preferred either Link or Transcend, just like it was used in the book. But, maybe that wasn't the only way to go about it?

"Then..." She came up closer to him. As she reached his side, she begun her stride forward. "Like this..."

It was clumsy movement, but Youngwoo clearly saw what she meant. 'She might've just been observing, but she actually knows differences between individual sword dances...' But, he didn't speak up his mind. Instead, he sheathed his sword, walked up to her and carried out what she had proposed. His stride, much more sophisticated, connected footwork of Pinnacle, and then carried out Flower to make a bit of distance, followed up by Link and Splendor. 'Hmm... something's missing.' A thought rang out in his head. But, he paid it no mind. He could try doing that later, when he was on his own.

As he finished his final step, he looked at Hilda. She, in turn, simply came closer and faced him up front. As he was about to ask what she was doing, she got hold of his hands. She brought them closer to herself and held firmly, as if making him to imitate holding a sword.

"And now..." She said quietly, and pulled.

Youngwoo followed her lead without much resistance. Hilda used footwork she had been watching for so long, and the man followed her lead. Transcend, Pinnacle, Wave - her steps were taken with not all the technique, but he understood her intention, and responded with Dragon and Splendor. Step after step, sword dance after sword dance, they actually started holding hands. As some minutes passed by, their movements became more fluid and synced. Whenever Youngwoo begun a stride, Hilda responded with appropriate dance, whenever she pushed or pulled, he also carried out some footwork. It was like out of the sword techniques resembling different dances, an actual, completely new dance was born.

5, 10, 15 minutes - the two of them just kept on going on and on, sweat appearing on their faces and their breaths becoming fast and ragged, but their movements didn't stop. On the contrary, even, they sped up as Hilda became more and more adept in linking footwork (albeit her movements still were clumsy). In near complete silence (safe for their breaths), the two looked at each other, just barely caring for the trees they nearly bumped into here and there. And then, they stopped.

Their faces were just few centimetres apart. Sweat was dripping both of their faces, and their hair were glistening. Eyes wide open, the two stared at each other as their breaths mixed in the air between them. Youngwoo held Hilda lightly, but he definitely felt that her entire back was wet. Had his heart always beat so loudly? For a moment, it seemed like the time had stopped. And then, Youngwoo had a thought. 'Ah, fuck it.'

He pulled her in. Their lips met, first just for a split second, before Hilda pulled back slightly. Just when he was about to think that he screwed up, she came back to him, and they locked lips for longer. Much longer, in fact. Just like their legs before, now their tongues danced for long seconds, their eyes closed, them both uninterrupted by anything.

Soon, they parted their faces. In the still young night, the two stared at each other, holding each other.

"...care for one more dance?" Asked Youngwoo, somewhat shyly.

"...sure." Replied Hilda coyly. Still, a smile appeared on her face, even if only for just a few seconds.

Meanwhile, about 20 metres from them, Maxim stood, hidden in tree's shadow and nearly invisible. Seeing their weird dance and its finale, he couldn't help but smirk to himself. This was exactly what he fought for. Love, friendship, all the positive feelings. And now, after witnessing so much bad in the past few days, he almost felt like laughing when finally seeing something good again.

[A/N: Awww, was not expecting that. And just as I was writing their dance scene, 'In the beginning' by Johannes Bornlöf came up on HDSoundi. How fitting. Does this count as romance? I feel like it counts as romance.]