Blackblade 0.07 - Afraid of Heights

Fuck fuck fuck!!
What? What is it?
Get over here right now! Fuck!!
What?! What’s going…
NOW!
Well, where are…
On top of the north tower, hurry!
Osamu closed his eyes and focused on the location. He knew the spot well, and the magic prevented him from missing his mark, but he pictured it clearly anyhow. Even rushed, he wouldn’t allow sloppiness. He felt the pull of the magic, and almost immediately appeared on the tower where Mako had directed him. “What’s goi…” Before he could even finish the sentence, he felt a shove from behind, which sent him over the edge of the balcony and careening towards the ground. Reacting quickly, he focused again, teleporting back to where he had just stood. The magic dropped him roughly back on the tower, as it didn’t reduce momentum, but he managed to fall into a crouched position rather than sprawl across the wood.
“God, you’re such a pussy,” Mako chided. He stood over Osamu, arms crossed. Reaching down, he helped pull the new shogun up, then with lightning speed, twisted the arm he held around and shoved Osamu again. Though this time he knew it was coming and fought back, but Mako always was the stronger combatant, and the surprisingly non-malicious struggle ended with Osamu falling over the edge again. Teleporting once more, he landed back on the balcony with a rough thud. “Seriously, we’re never going to know if you don’t try,” Mako continued conversationally as he picked up his friend again, casually making to toss him once more to what would be death for most people. Osamu made sounds of protest, though no particular words came out. At least it was the dead of night, so it was unlikely that anyone was watching this odd display. “And as a gensui, it’s my prerogative...no,duty!...to know the abilities of all of the men at my disposal. This includes my shogun,” he explained through the scuffle. It ended as the first two, with Osamu lying on the wood floor of the balcony after a short stint in the air.
“…Do you have to throw me?” Osamu asked almost defeatedly as he fought against Mako, who prepared to shove him again.
“Hmmm…” Mako made an exaggeratedly thoughtful face, scratching his chin with one hand while he manhandled his friend with the other. “Yes,” he concluded, pitching his friend over again. “You wouldn’t do it otherwise!” he yelled after him as he fell. As Osamu dropped once more onto the floor and Mako put him in an armlock, he said, “And if you really didn’t want to, you wouldn’t keep popping up back here.”
Osamu sighed as his arm was wrenched behind him. He released the enchantment that maintained his human appearance and shut his eyes as Mako shoved him once more into the air. Instead of immediately teleporting, this time he tried using the bat-like wings of his demonic form. Unfurling them acted like a parachute, slowing, though in no way abating, his decent. He could feel the air pushing against them, straining muscles that were new but oddly familiar. Experimenting with the angle of his wings slightly, he tilted awkwardly about like a maple seed falling. He kept his eyes closed, only opening them a sliver and immediately shutting them again when he saw the ground coming to greet him. “I think you have to flap, dumbass!” Mako called from his vantage point, causing Osamu, even in his current position, to roll his eyes and sigh slightly.
Yes, thank you for your deep insight, he muttered, not with his voice but his mind.
“Anytime!” Mako shouted his response rather than use the telepathic link. Osamu gave his wings a powerful beat, which joltingly sent him back upward. Repeating this, he fought his way against gravity until he was back at the height he had started. Hovering awkwardly with significant effort, he turned and looked back towards Mako, who was holding up a white piece of paper with a large, inked 5.5 on it. “Not bad, definitely lacking finesse, but you didn’t crash,” he stated.
Osamu blinked at him with an unimpressed expression. “Did you bring that here just for this?”
Mako smiled, “Obviously.” Osamu sighed again, rubbing his eyes. “Hey, we both know you’d be a bigger bitch about this if I wasn’t making fun of you,” he added with a tinge of seriousness as he let the paper drop. “Now, if I were you, I’d keep practicing. I’ve seen less ungainly baby birds in the air than you.” He grinned, “I think you’ve beaten out the chickens though.”
The devil smiled slightly at this. “This is much less accurate than using magic,” he added seriously, still having troubles maintaining his position. “To say nothing of dignity.”
“Ahh!” Mako replied, raising his index finger. “But this can’t be dispelled!”
“I suppose,” Osamu conceded. His gaze wandered down towards the ground, and immediately darted away, clenching his jaw and pursing his lips.
Mako chuckled, “You can walk into Hell and back, but you’re still afraid of heights.”
Category:Banishment of the Blackblades