Work Text:
"Fight me, one on one. Let's see who's really the strongest around here."
Wendy had not been at all surprised when Yamza issued the request. They hadn't even bothered trying to explain to him how little this mattered. Yamza had been pressuring them and trying to get a leg up on them since the moment he'd joined up, not realizing the gap that existed between the two of them when it came to how close they were to Clayman.
Yamza was here for power, and it was extremely obvious. Wendy was here to support their family, their love for Clayman only growing deeper and more romantic in nature as the centuries passed. Wendy had been here since the beginning - and Yamza didn't know that. All he saw was Clayman's favoritism towards them.
This match had been inevitable, and they found themself dreading it.
"Heh," Yamza said, as he stood across them in the arena, arms crossed. "Lord Clayman is here to see me kick your ass."
Wendy held back a sigh, glancing over to see Clayman off to the side. His expression was almost bored to Wendy's eyes, though clearly Yamza thought otherwise. They held back another sigh. Clayman was rather protective of them - they were sure, if Yamza were to actually injure them, Clayman would step in to berate him. Probably, more than anything, Clayman wanted to see Wendy fight, and assess Yamza's strength against them.
"I wouldn't be so cocky," they said, sighing. "It's a bad look in the case that you lose, you know."
"Ha! Like I would lose to you , suck up," Yamza sneered. Wendy sighed again. This was really tedious, and they were doubtful that kicking his ass would change anything.
"Well, can't say I didn't warn you...I'm ready when you are." Wendy took a fighting stance, the magicules around them reacting to the way they prepared their own, making the air feel electric.
"Let's go then!" Yamza yelled, running at them with his sword raised.
The sound of metal against Wendy's ability, <Unique Skill: Crystalline Barrier>, was loud, ringing out across the arena. Unconcerned about the match, Wendy took the opportunity to use the smallest shields possible, conserving energy with thin splashes of glowing blue that followed the movements of their arms and hands, blocking Yamza's sword with the bare minimum of effort.
This clearly frustrated Yamza.
"What, too scared to fight back?" He mocked, as they started dodging in addition to shielding.
Yamza's sword fighting skills were top notch, Wendy had to admit. Sooner or later, he was going to get them off guard as the complexity of his attacks increased. That being said, they were still holding back, hoping to beat him without showing all of their power. To them, the match was already settled - there was no real chance of them losing, their powers not far behind Lord Clayman's, though they endeavored to hide that from the others who served the Demon Lord. They were Clayman's ace in the hole in that regard.
They made no response to Yamza, sending a few sharp shards of the same blue material flying at Yamza, a result of <Unique Skill: Crystalline Shard>. He dodged them effortlessly.
"Is that all?" He taunted. "You might as well give up now."
Wendy was still assessing what level of strength they needed here, sending more shards his way as they continued blocking his attacks.
He's feinting , they observed coolly, but where is he going?
It had been a sort of double feint, and their eyes widened as they realized a bit too late what was happening. They jerked backwards, large glowing blue shards sprouting from their back in the shape of wings to give them additional speed.
It wasn't quite enough - Yamza had been drawing closer than they had realized, and this was an odd move to make. His sword grazed their chest, as it sliced upwards, and-
The fabric of their shirt was sliced open along with their bra.
They flushed darkly at the humiliation, momentarily distracted by it as their breasts hung down without the support of their clothes. The fabric had pulled back, partially exposing them.
They could feel Clayman's murderous aura from here, and it brought them back to themself as they blocked Yamza's next attacks, trying to ignore the burning on their face as their breasts swung free with the movement. If they didn't take Yamza out in the next 30 seconds, it was pretty likely that Clayman's anger was going to boil over.
"How do you like that?" Yamza snarled, clearly pleased with himself.
"Sorry for this," Wendy said, gearing up for an attack, "or I would be, if you weren't such an ass."
They ducked low and to the side to dodge his sword swing, and brought their fist up fast to his chin, with a Crystalline Barrier wrapped around it. The impact sent Yamza flying, and knocked him out cold.
Wendy breathed a sigh of relief, feeling Clayman's aura disappear, before the humiliation set in again. Goddammit Yamza, you son of a bitch. They crossed their arms over their chest, hiding their breasts from sight. And in front of Clayman, too...
It wasn't like their clothes hadn't been destroyed in fights before, but that had typically been before they'd gotten magically enhanced clothes. The fact that Yamza had damaged them meant that he'd very much done it on purpose - it wasn't easy to do by accident. He'd probably concentrated all the magicules at the tip of his sword...
What an ass.
"Wendy, are you alright?!" Clayman ran over to them, his face going from concerned to embarrassed as he took in the sight of them. "Er, pardon me..."
He averted his gaze, slipping his tuxedo jacket off and holding it out to them.
"Thanks, I'm...I'm fine. More annoyed than anything," Wendy admitted, pulling the jacket on and buttoning it. Well. That was still a fair bit of cleavage but at least their nipples were hidden again. "I shouldn't have gone so easy on him."
"You ought to show him his place. Be proud of your strength!" Clayman advised them, looking annoyed himself as well. "But to use such a dirty, inelegant tactic-! I'll have his head for embarrassing you like that."
The way Clayman was snarling sent a wave of warmth through Wendy's body, which they pointedly ignored. His defensiveness over them didn't mean he returned their feelings, and they needed to remember that. He was just...their friend, and friends got defensive.
"No, I- don't do that," Wendy was quick to object. "It's over now, no harm done-"
"No harm done?! I hardly think that's true! You were-" Clayman's eyes slipped to their cleavage, and he swallowed hard, bringing his gaze back to their face, his train of thought clearly lost.
Wendy blushed. "It's- it's okay. It is a valid tactic, and the only person around to see it was, um, you, so...so it's okay..."
Well, and Yamza himself, but Wendy was certain that man didn't have those kinds of feelings for them. He'd just wanted to embarrass them. It was, quite frankly, an idiot's strategy.
"...if you say so." Clayman sighed, crossing his arms with irritation. "Still, if he asks to fight you again, kick his ass more cleanly, alright? I know you were using him to practice magicule conservation, but I'm certain he didn't realize that."
Wendy laughed. "So you noticed that?"
Clayman rolled his eyes with a smile. "Of course I did. Who do you take me for? I know your capabilities as well as my own. It's obvious to me when you're holding back."
"The Demon Lord Clayman is ever observant," Wendy replied, winking. Clayman froze for a moment, pink dusting his cheeks, before he chuckled in response.
"I told you, when we're alone, just call me Clayman."
Wendy smiled warmly, a twinkle in their eyes. "Well then, Clayman-"
A low moan from Yamza, still lying in a tangled heap on the ground, drew both their attention.
"I'll handle this," Clayman said confidently, expression hard as he stomped over to where Yamza was beginning to stir. "Yamza!"
"L-Lord Clayman- GURK!"
Clayman had crouched down in front of him, grabbing him by the collar and yanking him up. Yamza scrambled to get his hands in position to hold himself up, loosening the tightness around his neck.
"Don't you dare pull something like that with Wendy again," Clayman scolded him, expression pure malice at that moment.
"We- we were just sparring, Lord Clayman-"
"Do you take me for a fool, Yamza?" Clayman's aura flared and Wendy swore Yamza might faint then and there. He held on, visibly withering.
"N-no, my lord."
"Then apologize for your obscene tactics!" Clayman hissed.
"I'm sorry, my lord-"
"Not to me , Yamza! To them!" He tossed Yamza to the ground, towards Wendy.
"I apologize for my obscene tactics!" Yamza said immediately, getting on all fours so he could bow his head all the way to the ground. "Next time, I'll fight you fair and square!"
"Apology accepted," Wendy replied. "It would be unfortunate for you to be...discharged, given your use to Lord Clayman, so I choose to forgive the offense for his sake."
Yamza stiffened at that, and Wendy suspected that behind his mask, he was gritting his teeth. The remark was meant to irk him, and had the side effect of making Clayman smile at them. That was a lovely bonus.
"Good," Clayman huffed, crossing his arms. "Shall we return to the castle, Wendy?"
Wendy nodded. "I would be honored to accompany you, my lord."
