Knowing what I don't know[Private|Solo]

"Not you again!", the thief shouted. He was cornered by Nico deep inside the dark alleys of Reim. Not the same place where they both encountered each other and fought brutally but the pressure's the same and the scenario - Nico standing there, blocking the exit, and the thief cornered. Will it be the snatcher who will win this time? Or will Nico continue his winning streak.

The thief was holding on to a lady's purse. The same greedy look that Nico easily recognized made him disgusted - disgusted of thievery. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth which was not seen because of the dark shadows that cover his face. Winds prevailed which caused his cloak to wave and which gave a pretty intense scenario.

"When will you stop that? Is it not enough that I stabbed you in the chest?", Nico uttered at the thief.

The thief's eyes widened, as if he came to a conclusion. He then grinned. What is he up to this time? Nico thought. The thief is pretty unpredictable. Nico doesn't know what he will do next so he kept his guard up. Little did he know that the thief already charged at him.

He was shocked by the immediate action of the thief but luckily, he was agile enough to dodge. He was curious. Why isn't the thief holding any weapon? As he moved to the right to dodge the thief, his hood was removed, unveiling his face. The thief now stood at his back, and turned saying, "I knew it! You're one of those Kou soldiers that came here."

Nico doesn't know what he was talking about but what he said gave a chill to his spin. "What.. are you talking about?", he finally said as he turned his head around and faced eye to eye with the thief.

The pressure got far more intense. The thief was smiling while Nico was still curious about what he said. "It's obvious you're not from here. You're not from Reim. You're from Kou. That light skin, those facial features - it's obvious dude", he finally said which made Nico furious.

He doesn't know why it made him angry all of the sudden. Hearing the word Kou makes his blood boil which he doesn't really know why. Is it because he hides great anger for Kou in his past?

"I-I... I'm not from Kou. I'm of Reim blood. I don't belong there... or that's what I know of...." Nico's voice slowly faded as if he went to a deep realization. What if I am really not from here?, he thought. Impossible. I am of Reim Blood, he kept forcing himself that he is from Reim.

Suddenly, the thief charged at him in his time of confusion. He recieved a solid punch from the thief to his face. He fell to the ground and tried to endure the pain from his cheek. The thief's punch left a bruise which was so painful. He was still conscious. He stood up despite the strong fall.

His face became a bit deformed but still normal. It's pretty normal for him to receive bruises like that because of how he grew up. He grew up to be a swordsman and now, thanks to the thief he came to another realization. He's truly from Reim and a Reim swordsman fights.

This time, he felt real. He unsheathed his sword from the scabbard and posed differently. Unlike a Reim Swordsman, his pose was different, probably because of his style, his mentor said. He had a unique style, something that couldn't be found in Reim. A style from other countries - something which Nico doesn't have any idea. His mentor didn't give him any information about it.

With his curved blade made from Heliohaptan Iron which his mentor had said that made his swordsmanship better, he Lunged forward and stabbed the thief not to his chest, but to his arm. Somewhere which was still manageable to heal. In a split second, the thief wailed in pain. His wail alerted the guards near them.

"Better hide your face now that the guards are here", he uttered his last words before he fell to the ground, unconscious but not dead. Nico's eyes widened and watched the thief fall to the ground. As usual, as he witnessed the thief's downfall and blood, his head ached. The same fragment, over and over.

After some time, the guards came, with the same lady from before. Her again?, he thought. He did what the thief had said, to cover his face. Now, his face was covered by the shadows of his hood. The lady was once again joyous for the return of her purse 'again'. Just like the routine from before, he did not ask for a reward this time, the guards carried the thief away, probably to jail, and he left, same with the lady. He wanted to reflect about this day's events. What he discovered what he knew about himself. How can I be different, he thought to himself.

But this day's events made him curious. Things about Kou and Reim has stirred and now that the thief has told him about his identity, he couldn't shake the feeling of being different from Reim. But, he was able to shrug it off for now, and end the day with a sleep.

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Techniques Used:

Magoi used: 10
840/500 words