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The blast caught Yami just as he was about to signal Finral. Instead of bracing, Yami let it pick him up and hurl him backward. If the other guy wanted to do the work, Yami thought as familiar mana flared behind him, then he was welcome to it. Though it meant going through the portal a little faster than planned-
Shit-
There was a disorienting blur of sky and ground before Yami made impact with the latter. The force sent him hurtling through what felt like every thicket and bramble in Clover kingdom before he managed to stop. Mildly dazed, he blinked up at the sky.
Fuck Diamond. And wind mages. Fuck wind mages.
Yami sat up as a second portal popped into existence ahead. Finral stumbled out like he’d done something funny with gravity again, canceling the portal the instant he was through. His eyes widened as they followed the path of uprooted… cotton?
Huh. Cotton field. That was a new one. Yami got to his feet cursing, stinging from several dozen scratches. The not-so-soft bits of the plant hadn’t taken very kindly to a swordsman crashing through them, apparently.
There was a high, muffled sound. Yami looked up.
Finral had one hand clapped over his mouth, the other arm curved around his rib cage like he was trying to crush himself. He closed his eyes, visibly trying to compose himself, but promptly lost it again when he looked back at Yami. His face was slowly turning a shade of red Yami associated with suffocation.
The fuck…?
Abruptly Yami realized that scratches and tears were not all he had acquired from his tumble. Little bits of fluff were everywhere. They were tangled around his belt, clinging to his shirt and trousers, and dusted through his hair. He looked like he’d lost a fight with Charmy. In a plush factory.
Yami drew in a breath, about to vent his annoyance by ripping Finral a new one, when it hit him.
Finral was laughing. For the first time in over a week, Finral was laughing.
And not the fake-as-shit polite laughter, to go with the fake-as-shit polite smiles, that he’d been plastering on ever since he’d come home as Finral Roulacase instead of Finral Vaude. It was the real deal- if mildly hysterical.
Yami’s annoyance faded away. He’d been there. Spend enough time on edge of tears, and it was just as likely that the thing that cracked you open was something that hit the stupid side of the funny bone.
Oh, what the hell. Lord of destruction, covered in fluff; yeah, that was actually pretty funny. Yami’s exhale turned into a laugh of his own as he started picking off the cotton.
Finral made a strangled sound. Yami glanced up, assuming that the lack of air had finally caught up to him. Instead Finral was staring at him, eyes wide in his red face. Yami snorted. Now that’s a look that’ll impress the girls.
“Don’t act like I don’t have a sense of humor. If something’s funny, I’ll laugh.”
Finral took a few deep breaths. Then he tentatively replied, “You usually laugh when someone is about to get beaten up, though.”
Yami smirked. “Because that shit’s hilarious.”
Finral flinched, and Yami sighed. Great, now he thinks I’m going to beat him. He shoved down the sudden burst of anger. It wasn’t Finral he was mad at, and he didn’t want his aura to freak the guy out further. But someday, Yami promised himself, he and certain members of House Vaude were going to be having words. I’ve never laid a finger on him, but every time he comes back from that place, he’s jumpy as a feral cat.
At least there was a silver lining to Finral getting disowned, Yami realized. No more of those damn visits.
Not wanting to deal with eye contact, he busied himself getting the cotton bits off of his scabbard. In lower, calmer tones, he said, “Don’t you remember what I told you? You have your own style of doing things. Like I’ll be mad if you get back at me for being a hard-ass your own way.”
In the corner of his vision, Finral sputtered, paling dramatically. “I didn’t mean to throw you through the field like that!”
Yami shrugged, getting off the last of the fluff. “Too bad. Would have been a good one.” Finral gaped at him. Pretending to ignore it, Yami looked toward the horizon. “We should get back to it. Can’t lure out the main force if we’re sitting on our asses.”
Finral snapped his mouth shut, then straightened. “Yes, captain!” Yami rolled his eyes.
“I told you, our squad has less than half a dozen members. Ditch the ‘captain’.”
Finral blinked. Then he smiled. It was small, and timid, but real. “Sure, Yami.” Turning, he opened a portal. For the first time in a week, his posture wasn’t stiff as a board.
Something unwound in Yami’s chest.
Finral would be fine. Probably a pain in the ass once he settled down again, but that pretty much described every member of the Black Bulls anyway. Yami sure hadn’t recruited them for pleasantness and civility. Without a second glance, Yami walked through the portal.
He knew Finral would be right behind him.