#fun fact: in this au saki's illness is due to her & tsukasas mother using dark magic to save a then-toddler tsukasa before saki was born

[egret-orchids]

i thought you'd be better than this | pjsk fantasy au oneshot

^inspiration art by @/gamurin although i did crop the image to make it more header-y

word count: 657

cw: blood, fighting, injury

Mafuyu skids to a halt, boots sliding across the marble of the derelict throne room’s floor. They narrow their eyes, frowning as they wipe the trickle of steadily drying blood from their broken nose off of their face. They growl under their breath, lifting their sword in front of their face, ready to block the next attack, ignoring the twinge of pain from their broken rib; they'd been slammed into the wall early on in the fight. “Must you really push yourself so hard, General?” the sorcerer mocks from somewhere above; he’s likely standing on the balcony overlooking the main court, yet Mafuyu can’t see him. The bastard’s masking the noise of his movement with muffling spells.

They leap to the right as a blast of crimson light slams into the floor where they were just standing. They force a cruel laugh. “You ought to focus on your attacks, not stealth. That’s your problem- you waste energy on masking your sound, yet it drains you, doesn’t it?” they say, almost as if they’re simply discussing the weather, not sparring for some probably fictitious title that would take them from mere soldiers to the honour that the top ranking possible for the Imperial Soldiers bestowed. Or Rui thinks that's what they're sparring over. Mafuyu’s half-brother is a fool. Stubborn and extremely powerful, yes, but an illogical fool who would achieve his goals rather than making sure his health doesn’t suffer any more than it already is. Has he not noticed the Yoisaki emblem embroidered on their uniform? It was a recent thing, but...

Rui doesn't reply, simply reappearing in front of Mafuyu and shoving them onto the ground. They glare up at him as he places one of his feet of their dominant arm and presses his weight onto it, rendering both that arm and their sword useless until he moves. "I always knew you were weak, brother," Rui croons, a devilish smirk on his face, golden-brown eyes alight with mirth, "but never this weak. You're stronger than me, skilled with both magic and the art of the sword, yet I can easily overpower you with a simple attack. Strange, isn't it? I thought you'd be better than this."

Mafuyu scoffs. "I'm not weak. You've done something to your power, haven't you? Amplified it." they reply quietly. Rui's magic, when visible, always gave off a violet glow. Only the Emperor's mages' spells were crimson, and that was through the dark magic they were permitted to use. Sorcerers like Rui aren't physically strong or mentally stable enough to- using it could be deadly. Rui opens his mouth to reply, only to stagger backwards as harsh coughs wrack his body. Mafuyu jumps up, but doesn't attack at first. But then instinct takes over when Rui stops, a thin line of blood trickling from his lips. They take the opportunity to press their sword against his throat, cutting deep. Rui freezes, before grinning and summoning an orb of that deadly crimson light. "Really going to kill me, brother?" he mocks. Mafuyu doesn't reply, ignoring the lump in their throat. Slowly, they pull their sword away, ignoring the tug of disgust in the stomach when they take in the slit along Rui's throat. They swallow, sheathing their sword. "No. I'm meant to teach you a lesson, Rui. I'm not on your side." they mutter.

Rui stops, the crimson orb fading. His eyes shift to Mafuyu's uniform, widening in recognition when he sees the carnation emblem of the Yoisaki kingdom, mumbling a soft "Oh..." before finally stumbling away, face pale. Mafuyu turns on their heel, rushing away.

They are already out of the throne room when Rui Kamishiro, sorcerer for the Emperor, best of his year, famed across the entire empire for being damn-near invincible, collapses to the floor.

Pity they don't notice the gunslinger and his shy assistant sneaking into the room, the greenish glow of a healing spell on his fingertips.