in Verona for years. The one and only other time he'd heard it, the storm had been the leftover of a hurricane that had ravaged the coast and other islands. Only Verona had survived unscathed.
Now, though, thunder was crashing, and flicks of lightning occasionally lit the yard so brightly it seemed like midday rather than early evening.
Mineko got another slice in, forcing Dante to drop his mano sinistra, putting him at further disadvantage.
No, no no no. Whatever was happening, whatever was going to happen next, he didn't want Dante dead.
Heart thundering in his ears, so loud even the actual thunder couldn't drown it out, Naoki drew his own sword and rushed into the fray. He caught the edge of Mineko's blade along his arm as he dove in front of Dante, then brought up his mano sinistra and prepared to face the one person he had never been able to best in a duel.
"Get out of the way, Naoki. Now is not the time to stop being a useless drunk."
"Stand down, Mineko. Can't you see he doesn't want to kill you? He said he's done. Listen to him."
"I'd sooner swim with sharks," Mineko snarled. "If you won't move, I'll make you move."
"Tesoro, stand down. This is not your fight, and I don't deserve your protection."
"You don't deserve to die, either!" Naoki said. "Do it, then, Mineko. Make me move."
She smiled, cold and cruel, and gave him a mocking salute. "In guardia."
Naoki surged forward, not bothering to give the appropriate reply, but sadly it didn't catch her off guard nearly as much as he'd hoped.
He parried and thrust and guarded to the best of his abilities, but cut after cut, one minor stab after another, he steadily began to lose. He was simply no match for her viciousness, the way she didn't care what damage she did. Try as he might, he could not bring himself to that level. He didn't want to fight to the death. He just wanted the violence and the dying to stop.
Mineko stopped briefly, chest heaving. "You're a coward, Naoki. Stop trying to be a hero."
"Maybe I just want to go back to my drinking," Naoki snarled, and resumed the attack. Mineko thrust, and Naoki parried it with his mano sinistra, sliding her blade away and thrusting forward with his own.
Mineko made to dodge, but her boot slipped in the mud, sending her twisting toward the thrust—and right into it, impaling herself on his rapier.
"Mineko!" Naoki let go of his blades, and the weight of the rapier pulled at the wound. Mineko gave a mean, broken laugh, grasped the blade by its edge, and yanked it out, worsening the wounds in the process.
"Don't!" Naoki cried, rushing up to her, only to be shoved back, sent toppling into the mud and water. He sat up just as Mineko collapsed to her knees, clinging to her chest, blood and spittle already on her lips as she drowned in her own blood. It spilled out from her chest and back, turning the water around them red and pink. "Mineko—"
"Fuck you." She wheezed, choked, and finally collapsed face down in the muddy stable yard. One last shudder, like a last desperate attempt to move, and then she went still.
"No! No! No!" Naoki said, mind reeling. "I wasn't trying to kill her, I just wanted her to stop! Oceana damn her!"
His arm was grabbed, he was pulled to his feet, and he went numbly as he was dragged into the house and down the hall to what proved to be an empty bedroom.
"It wasn't your fault, tesoro mio."
Naoki laughed, then started crying, and sank to his knees, wrapping his arms around himself. "The worst part is that I'm not sorry she's dead. I hated Mineko. I fucking hated her. I'm just mad she's made everything more difficult now. How terrible a person does that make me?" He laughed-cried some more, burying his face in his hands.
Distantly he heard Dante leave, but couldn't stir much energy to care, still too overwhelmed by the fact he'd killed Mineko. His own sister. His evil, horrid sister that frankly nobody but his worthless parents would miss. That didn't make it any easier to live with the knowledge he was a killer.
He looked up as the door slid open again and stared at Dante, who was still a mess, soaked in mud and rain and blood. Mineko had given him no quarter, and a fighter with even just slightly less skill would have been dead.
Dante knelt