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Final Fantasy Tactics- A Time To Spar

Posted: 9th May 2015 17:45

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Black Mage
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Joined: 7/1/2014

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Thanks to Ker for her critique. This little story kind of sprang from my fingers in about 45 minutes at 4 AM one day. I woke up, typed it out, then went back to sleep.

Feel free to comment away on it.

Disclaimer- The following characters are property of Square/Enix. This is not intended to be a profitable undertaking. Square makes the GNP of Europe in one year, and I'm poor, so please have mercy on me.



Ramza loosened both of his wrists by giving the two swords he wielded a quick twirl, one at a time, and flexed his muscle. These swords had been his companion since he earned them at 16, and the War of the Lions had started. He was now 19, and very much a hardened warrior. Through field experience, combined with his Gariland Academy training, he had become a decent swordsman in his own right. He wasn't very tall, probably about five feet and nine inches tall. Since leaving the Hotuken, he had let his light blond hair grow a little longer and had been slightly more lax about shaving. Never the less, he was lean and well muscled. his fighting style was the same as that of his fathers, and of the mightiest swordsman in the world, T.G. Cid.



Across from Ramza stood someone who could be nearly Cid's equal. At six feet tall, she seemed to tower over the shorter Ramza, and the armor she wore added what looked to be a lot of bulk. The woman's face, however, was very delicate and yet stern. her long, flowing blond hair was bound in a very disciplined braid she currently slung over her sword arm, which she faced Ramza with, her hand resting lightly on the sword about her opposite hip. Her head was angled slightly downward, but her eyes were definitely glued to him, sizing him up as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.



"I don't understand why you need to do this, Ramza Beoulve. You've proven yourself a capable tactician and an excellent warrior on the battlefield. You've won the respect of your people and mine. Even Grefgarion deferred to you from time to time. I don't see your need to prove anything to me or anyone else," Agrias said, her voice that terse calm that had become her trademark. She was a church knight, and had dedicated her whole life to God and her sword. She was 22, but had been swinging a sword since she was 12.



She hitched her kite shield and raised it, her brown eyes seeming to scan all of him at once. Ramza knew she expected to be answered. When those eyes locked onto anyone, they had no choice but to answer. Ramza had seen that look cause nobles, commoners, and clergy all waver at that gaze. Neither man nor woman could withstand it.



"I have to know, Dame Agrias. I have to know how I stand as a swordsman, and you're the best I know. I have to measure myself against you," Ramza replied, trying desperately to hide the trembling he heard in his own voice.



Agrias shook her head calmly. It was that terrible calm that Ramza desperately wanted to exhibit himself. The quiet confidence of one who knows what they're doing is right. "This could only end in folly, milord."



There was no hint of conceit in her voice, and that only served to frustrate him. "Draw your sword, Dame Agrias, and let us begin."



Agrias smirked. The transformation of her face was almost unnerving. The stern mask she constantly wore suddenly morphed into a young and beautiful woman.



"After you, sir," Agrias said, proffering a slight bow.



Ramza shifted his hips and pointed his toes toward his opponent and closed with her at a slow and oblique angle. He waved his swords in a series of deliberate feints. Agrias remained impassive, her hand clasped around the hilt of her sword and her head still slightly bowed. Otherwise, she seemed not to move.



Ramza took a quick step and jabbed lightly to Agrias's front. She didn't move saved to raise her eyes. She locked eyes with him and remained there.



What was she doing? Ramza asked himself, feeling a little bit of frustration. Why won't she move?



Ramza lunged, his blade sweeping through the air to exploit a hole in his opposite's defense. it was an obvious trap, but he needed her to move before this could begin in earnest. With a slight but lightning fast movement, Agrias turned her body to position the sword between the shield and her body, successfully catching the thrusting blade in that clinch. She turned her hip in the same direction, wrenching Ramza's right arm backwards from the elbow. She had also managed to draw her sword in that time, so quickly that Ramza had missed the motion.



The sword arced toward his back, threatening a touch and the end to the match. Ramza whirled his other blade and deflected the dangerous sword shot by a split second. Using the momentum from the awkward parry, he dropped to one knee and slammed his pommel into the side of Agrias's exposed knee.



Agrias grunted stumbled back, forced to release the clinch she had masterfully put on her younger opposite. This gave Ramza time to recover and scramble to his feet. Agrias nodded, her lips pursed in an expression of approval.



Ramza feinted with his right hand and slashed horizantally with his left, trying to sneak the blade passed her sword arm. Agrias, however, stepped into the feint and batted it away with her shield, turning it toward the sword moving in for the kill shot. This caused Ramza to try and halt the blow, and left his ribs exposed for an underhand stroke. Ramza pulled his elbow in, causing the blunted blade to rap smartly off of his elbow and deflect behind him. Before he could react further, Agrias followed the attack with her shield, connecting it solidly off of his jaw and snapping his head to the side.



Ramza stumbled backward and could barely keep his footing enough to bring both swords to bear and used to cross parry a vicious angle shot that would have caught him in the middle. In a real fight, that would have cut him in half. The act, however, knocked him from his feet and sent him crashing to the ground.



He now was in a sitting position, and Agrias capitalized, sweeping aside his attempted parry by quickly changing the angle of her attack from a forehand to that of a backhand. She then kicked with her heavy boot and connected solidly with Ramza's exposed face. Ramza's head snapped back from the impact of the heel of her boot and crashed backward to the ground.



As he fell back, he felt his swords leave his hands and felt the hard ground meet his back and head. Stars and halos suddenly passed in front of his eyes as the supreme headache was suddenly beginning to manifest. So much so that he barely noticed Agrias's boot on his chest and blunted blade under his chin.



"I yield," Ramza said thickly and at length.



Agrias sheathed her sword and offered her hand to his, "You're a fine swordsman, as I've said before. You still have a lot to learn, however."



"Will you teach me?" Ramza asked, taking her hand and allowing her to assist him to his feet.



Agrias seemed to consider his question a moment, then nodded, "Your style is unusual, but I can teach you what I can. I would recommend you have a priest attend your wounds presently."



Ramza didn't feel like arguing the point.

--------------------
"So, are you a fan of the Fett?"

"Nah, I'm more of a Star Wars guy."
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