Krion ched his fists, fingernails digging deep into his palms as he strode forward. He had ehe Hall of Bonds with quite a bit of uainty. The prospect of seg a bodyguard was intimidating enough, pounded by the repeated rejes he’d faced due to his House. But when he overheard the two ss talking about the Leporihat all fell away. Krion hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but the closer he came to the cell that held the Leporine woman, the easier it was for his ears to catch the unmistakable sneering tones of the two ss outside it.
“…just a bunnykin,” the oh the rank of a t’s house on his shoulder scoffed, his tone dripping with derision. “I hear they’re obedient enough once broken. If not, I wouldn’t mind taming her myself.”
The sed s threw back his head and ughed, letting Krion catch a glimpse of a marquis rank on his shoulder. “I don’t even need her to fight. She’d make a delightful distra in my quarters.”
Krion’s steps faltered, his breath catg in his chest. His fists ched harder, and the world seemed to go silent save for the pounding in his ears. Grinding his teeth, Krion tiriding towards them, his expression dark and unyielding. Crissa was saying something to him urgently, but he didn’t care enough to hear what.
The two ss, still ughing at their coarse jokes, didn’t notice him until he was nearly upohe one who had spoken so flippantly about taming Hatsune — a tall, pale youth with sharp features and an air of entitlement — looked up with a sneer.
“ we help you, Bcksword?” he drawled, deliberately emphasizing the name like an insult.
Krion tinued walking closer, his shadow falling over the two shorter ss as if he were a storm cloud blotting out the sun. His presence was immediate, heavy, and inescapable. The air seemed to thi around him as his pierg red-gold gaze locked on the Marquis’ s, who had been mid-ugh. Krion’s greatsword shifted in its harness on his back with a metallic whisper as he squared his shoulders, making his already imposing frame seem even rger.
“Say that again,” Krion said, his voice low and steady, cutting through the room like a bde. The mena his tone was not shouted but carried an iro that promised sequences.
The s belonging to a Marquis’ house took an involuntary step back, his bravado faltering under Krion’s unyielding stare. The s’s patriot, previously smirking, shrank into himself, his hands fidgeting nervously.
Krion’s hand drifted he hilt of his sword, not drawing it but letting its presen, a silent reminder of what he could do if provoked. her of the ss he faced had ons of their own, but such was Krion’s a what he had overheard that part of him hoped they would give him a reason to pull his greatsword. Instead, both averted their gaze from his and stepped back from Hatsune’s s.
Anger abating slightly, Krion ighem both to g the woman oher side of the gss. She had paused mid-dodge to gnce over toward the otion. Her expressive eyes reflected a mix of fusion and apprehension as she caught sight of him. Krion reached out to press the button on the s.
“Excuse me,” he said, addressing her directly. “I have a few questions if you don’t mind.”
Hatsune blinked, her ears twitg nervously. “Y-yes, of course,” she stammered, her voice soft but clear.
“What are your primary bat skills?” Krion asked, his tone brisk and professional to cover up the anger he still felt.
“Hey! You’re interrupting —”
Krion turned his head slowly, fixing the s from the Marquis’s house with a gre that could freeze fire. The pale-skinned s had raven-bck hair that was impeccably styled, framing an angur face with steel-gray eyes. A perpetual sneer seemed to have etched itself into his face, but it faded uhe look Krion was direg at him. “Be. Quiet,” Krion said, his voice low but ced with menace.
The s bristled, opening his mouth to retort, but ultimately s shut, his jaw tightening. Krion held his stare for a moment longer before turning back to Hatsuhe other s again fotten.
Hatsune’s ears twitched, the motion subtle but unmistakable, as Krion focused ba her. The tension in her body betrayed her wariness, not that Krion could bme her. From what he saw, her of the other ss had even attempted to hide what they had been saying from the Leporine. Her green eyes followed him with a mixture of apprehension and guarded curiosity. At least that was what he thought he saw. It was difficult to be sure.
“What is your primary skillset?” Krion asked.
Hatsuated, looking over to the other ss that still lingered before looking back at Krion.
“I am trained in a range of bat styles,” she began, her voice quiet but firm, “but my stro skills lie in swordsmanship and unarmed bat. I have also been trained in evasive maneuvers and reaissance.”
Krion nodded, his expression thoughtful. “Reaissance. What does that entail, exactly?”
Hatsune’s brow furrowed as though she was sidering how much to reveal. “Gathering intelligehout being seen or heard. Trag, stealth, observation. My f— instructors emphasized adaptability in the field.”
Krion caught that she had been about to say something other than instructors, but he was not sure what. Not that it mattered at the moment. “And your swordsmanship — how would you rate it? pared to the other prospective bodyguards here?”
He caught a flicker of pride passing over Hatsune’s face, but she quickly ba, returning to the look of guarded wariness she had been expressing when he had walked up. “I was trained by some of the best swordsmen in my homend. Among my peers, I am sidered exceptional. Here, I would say I am in the upper ranks of skill, but it’s hard for me to tell. They don’t allow sparring. Too many ces for acts, apparently.”
She said the st almretfully like she wao test herself. Krion tilted his head, sidering. “Modesty. A rare trait.”
Hatsune narrowed her eyes slightly, uaiher he was mog her. “It’s not modesty. It’s truth. The Multiverse is vast, and there are always stronger oppos. Such might have made their way here as well.”
Her words resonated with Krion, though he did not say so aloud. Instead, he tinued, now more curious than interrogative. “You said you’re adept at ueiques. Eborate on that.”
This time, she answered without hesitation. “Joint locks, grapples, pressure points. Teiques desigo disable or disarm an oppo. Despite my speed, my size is at a disadvantage in terms of raw strength against many, so I was traio use an oppo’s momentum and vulnerabilities against them.”
Krion nodded. Her responses had impressed so far, but he had one more he was curious about. “An your lineage?”
Hatsune’s ears twitched sharply, and her amber eyes narrowed into a fierce gre. She crossed her arms, standing straighter as if to shield herself from the weight of the question.
“My lineage?” she echoed, her tone clipped. “That is none of your business.”
Krion raised an eyebrow but said nothing, giviime to tinue. He noticed then that she had a tail as well. It was flig behind her, betraying tension.
“What matters is that my family will e for me,” she said firmly, her voice steady but carrying an undercurrent of defiance. “No matter what circumstances brought me here, they will not abandohey will not fet me. They will fihat is all I will say oter.”
“I didn’t mean to offend —”
“You haven’t,” she interrupted sharply, though her voice softened as she exhaled. “But I won’t speak of this again.”
Krion mulled over Hatsune’s words. Her decration about her family wasn’t just a statement; it was a shield she wielded to defend herself from the vulnerability of her situation. At least, that was what he guessed it to be, given her side g the two ss that had been harassing her. He couldn’t help but admire the strength it took to hold onto such vi, especially in a pce that seemed desigo strip prospective bodyguards of their agency. Her firm tohe set of her jaw, and the glint in her eyes showed a fierce determination that seemed to define her. Yet, behind that strength, Krion swore he could sense an ache — perhaps the fear that her faith in her family was all she had left. He wondered how she came to be here, in the Hall of Bonds.
Finally, he asked, “Do you want to bond with anyone here?”
The Leporiiffened, caught off guard by the direess of the question. She gnced away, her expression unreadable. “Want is irrelevant. My duty is to survive. If a bond is what ehat, even if it means serving ahen I will e.”
Her response uled Krion, though he didn’t let it show. The idea of binding someone against their will felt wrong. But he also couldn’t shake the heavy awareness of the other two ss that still li his back. Though cowed, for now, their presence lingered like a pair of shadows, h too close and too eager. Though he couldn’t see their faces, he could still feel their anticipation — sharp and predatory. He didn’t o guess what they would do if given the ce. As much as he still tried tet it, he had met men like them before ba Earth. They had made their iions toward Hatsune all too clear earlier, and the thought of her being subjected to their whims turned his stomao, he could not let that happen.
“What would you expect from the one you bond with?”
Hatsuated, her green eyes meeting his red-gold ones again. For the first time, there was a true flicker of vulnerability in her gaze. “Strength. Iy. Someone who will protect me, not use me, as I protect them.”
The simplicity of her aruck a chord in Krion. He had no illusions about the kind of power dynamics that existed in the Hall of Bonds, even if Crissa had insisted otherwise. But hearing her speak so pinly reminded him of the humanity — or beastkin nature, in her case — that he suspected often got lost here.
Finally, Hatsune broke the silence.
“Why are you asking me all this?” she asked, her voice being cautious again.
“Because I want to know who I might bond with,” he said, straightening. “And because I o hear your perspective, not just about your skills.”
Her ears twitched again, this time in apparent surprise. “Most ss don’t care about that.”
“I’m not most ss,” Krion replied simply.
Hatsuudied him a moment longer, her eyes lingering on his scars, perhaps searg for hidden motives. Whatever she saw must have satisfied her, however, as she said, “Then maybe you’re worth sidering.”
“I will be ba a moment, then.”
The marquis s, who had been watg the exge with growing irritation, stepped forward. His eyes burned with anger as he jabbed a fi Krion’s chest. “You have nht te in on our discussion! She’s already caught my i!”
Krion didn’t even flinch. It was hard to feel any intimidation after the Storm Wolves he had fought not long ago. Instead, he looked at the other s and spoke, his voice like steel, “And what are you going to do about it?”
The s’s hand dropped, aook a step back, his fidence again leaving him. Krion turned his ba him without another word and walked toward the tral desk. He could hear fuming behind him, as well as angry whispers when the s’s patriot apparently joined him.
“I’ve made my choice,” Krion said to the attendant behind the desk, who looked up from a ledger she had been making notes in with a polite smile.
“You’d like to bond with the Leporine?” she asked, gng toward Hatsune’s cell.
“Yes,” Krion firmed.
Before the attendant could respond, the angry whispers behind him cut off as the s who had challenged him stormed up to the desk, his face flushed. “I also wish to bond with her,” he decred loudly, his voice trembling with barely tained frustration.
The attendant’s smile didn’t falter as she turo Hatsune’s cell. “As per protocol, the final decision lies with the prospective bond.”
Tapping something on the desk, the pane of gss faded away from Hatsune’s cell, almost like it haded in the first pce. Despite not having heard what they had been saying, when all eyes turo Hatsune, she looked between Krion and the other s. With quick strides, she came over to Krion’s side, stopping on the side farthest away from the other s who had tried to make a bond with her.
The other s’s face twisted in disbelief. “You ’t be serious! Don’t you know who I am?! I am Chadwick Copperhand, heir of a Marquis!” he sputtered. Chadwick turo Krion. “You will regret this,” he snarled, venom dripping from every word. “Mark my words, you washed-up heir of a crumbling Archducal House. You will regret meddling in my affairs.”
Krion stood motionless, but Hatsune fli the other s’s words, her ears fttening. Chadwick’s gaze was attracted by the movement, his eyes cold and filled with disdain. “And you,” he spat. “You dare reject me? You’ll regret it more than he will.”
When Hatsuated again, her small movement back as mustinct as iion, Chadwick twitched as if he was about to move toward her.
Krion’s hand rose to his sword, and with a single fluid motion, he uhed it just enough for the light of the room to gleam off its bde.
“Try it,” Krion said, his voice again filled with menace. Chadwick’s hand darted to a pocket, but before he could pull out whatever he was reag for, the attendant behind the desk barked an order.
“Enough!”
Krio a sudden pressure on his back, firm and unyielding. He gnced sideways and saw the glint of a white mask — a Sentinel.
J-65’s hand pressed firmly down against the hand he had lifted to the hilt of his greatsword, barring him from pulling the on further. “That’s quite enough, s,” she said, her voice cool. “You’re in the Hall of Bonds, not a dueling ground.”
Krioed, his hand releasing his on. Chadwick slowly pulled his hand from his pocket, his expression furious, but he didn’t dare challehe Sentiher.
With the immediate tension diffused in the face of J-65’s arrival, the manager gestured toward the desk. “Both of you, enough theatrics. We have dots to sign.”
When the manager slid a thick part across the table, Krion moved in close to see it appeared to be a tract detailed with intricate script and bordered with a seal that looked to depict a stylized Hall of Bonds.
Krion sed the dot, his brow lifting slightly. “A bit… eborate, isn’t it?”
The manager chuckled dryly, extending what looked to be an ink pad. “The Imperial Academy, and the Empire, loves its record, s. Everything must be doted. Makes disputes much easier to resolve. Now, the Mark of Bonds, theh of you, pce your thumbs on this line here.”
Krion handed over the Mark of Bonds, which the manager dissolved into the dot somehow. He then leaned over to press his thumb against the ink, then against the dot. His thumbprint shifted to form a perfect signature of his he same thing happened for Hatsuer she pressed her thumb down, her hand trembling slightly. The moment it was done, a faint golden glow surrouhe both of them and a s appeared in his vision.
Academy Assig - Mark of Bonds: Your First Bodyguard (plete)
gratutions, S Krion Bcksword, and Bodyguard Heishi Hatsune. Your bond has been formally reized and sealed under Imperial Regution Code 42.3.1: S-Bodyguard Agreements.
S Krion Bcksword and Bodyguard Heishi Hatsune, you are now officially reized as a bonded pair. May your partnership uphold the honor of the Empire and the legacy of your House and Line.
By the will of the Empire, the Mark of Bonds is now active.
As soon as he closed the s, Chadwick’s sneering face came bato view.
“Enjoy your little creature,” he spat, the word ced with pt. “You’ll regret this decision, both of you.” Without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed off, dragging the other s with him.
J-65 watched Chadwick leave, her posture rexed and she stepped away from Krion, her hand ing free from his own. She turo Hatsuhen back to Krion.
“Not the stro choice,” she said ftly, her tone unreadable.
Hatsune bristled, her ears perking upright in indignation. “And what is that supposed to mean?”
Before the Sentinel could respond, Krion interjected. “She seemed right,” he said simply. “And I couldn’t leave her once I heard what Chadwick was saying.”
J-65’s head tilted again, though this time the movement seemed ptive. “That’s a noble se,” she replied, her tone now carrying the fai edge of approval — or perhaps it was just the absence of disapproval. “But nobility doesn’t always lead to survival.”
Krion’s lips turned up in a slight smile, having missed talking with the stoitinel. “Perhaps not. But it’s a good pce to start.”
Hatsune looked between them, her gaze returning to Krion. “I don’t o be ‘saved,’” she said, her tone slightly indignant. “I’m capable of proteg myself.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Krion replied, trying to head off a potential argument based oone. “But everyone use an ally.”
J-65 observed their exge in silence, her head tilting slightly again as if weighing some unspoken thought. Finally, she straightened, her hands g behind her back. “Your choice is made,” she said, her tone final. “And I have duties to return to.”
Without waiting for a reply, she turned on her heel and began walking away. Hatsune’s eyes followed her retreating figure, her ears flig in annoyance before she turned back to Krion.
“It is my job to protect you, you know. You didn’t have to defend me,” she said after a pause, her voice quieter but still holding a note of defiance.
“I know,” Krion said simply. “But I chose to anyway.”
Hatsune seemed to study him for a long moment before letting out a small huff. “I suppose I’ll have to get used to that.”
Krion was not sure how to respond to what the Leporine had said, so the sileretched between them as Kriohe way back to the entrance of the Hall of Bonds.
A raised voice pulled them both up short before they could exit.
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