Essence of Blades [Carlos/Closed]

The small Impmon named Dio sat cross-legged on a small stump on the ground, listening intently and nodding at everything her teacher said. Had it been anyone else, he would have probably fallen asleep during her “lecture”, or gotten too distracted by something more interesting going on.

This wasn’t anyone else however; this was K, the Apostle of not one but two Royal Knights, an incredibly powerful digimon on her own right (two facts he respected and was jealous of at the same time), that had offered her time to teach the small virus digimon the ways of the Keys, as she called them, which would not only help him get stronger, but hopefully achieve the digivolution he desired so much. And perhaps more than that…

As her explanation continued, she decided to give him a more tangible example…literally, as she used her Saberk blade to manifest a small triangle of pure energy, which she then gently sent floating in Dio’s general direction.
He’d catch the blue triangle between his hands, the energy construct not only feeling incredibly warm (but not hot) to the touch, as well as being lighter than a feather. Unlike the energy coming from her during their fight, this one felt completely different, less harmful, more peaceful and controlled. This wasn’t energy created with any ill intent behind it, but pure care and compassion. It would soon banish from his hands however, disappearing into infinitely small particles of blue that too disappeared into thin air.

A moment later she came close to him and…asked him to hold hands. Dio blinked at her for a moment, and then looked down at her open hands. A very faint reddish blush appeared on his white face not long after.

Of course, he knew exactly why she wanted to do this and the point she wanted to make, but he still felt…so incredibly awkward about it. The poor imp was conflicted, he couldn’t put his finger on it but now that he was completely alone with her, he feld rather…odd towards K. Every time she got particularly close to him, he both felt rather uncomfortable and awkward…yet at the same sort of relieved and comforted by her presence. It was an extremely weird mixture of sensations and feelings that frankly annoyed Dio just for how unclear they were.

Regardless, there would be time for that later, right now he had a lesson to learn, so he did his best to ignore his slight embarrasment over feeling that way and focused on the task at hand.

“Er…fine.” He said, slowly and somewhat hesitantly placing his gloved hands on hers, K’s palms being big enough for the imp’s hands to look like those of a child by comparison…which considering his size wasn’t that far off.

“So, how exactly will this help me digivolve?” He questioned the fox, looking up at her with a quizzical look. “I understand controlling my power is important and I want to learn. But I’m curious as to how this would help me with that in particular.”

“And…will this help me at all?” He would ask somewhat worried, before adding, ”I mean you don’t have a human partner, and from what I understand the process of digivolution works differently with a partner.”

While Dio was paying attention to what K had to say, his focus was slightly centered on something different inittialy. Namely, K’s palms as he places his hands on them. Specifically, just how warm and god damn soft they felt. It was hard to describe, but it was like holding the softest, warmest, fluffiest pillow ever.

He had no time to mull over this however, as he forced himself to shift his attention and pay attention to K’s words.

As they locked hands, he could soon feel something else happening, as he felt a foreign yet oddly benign energy start to seep into his core, weaving around gently and gingerly. It didn’t took him long to recognize that energy as the same from that blue triangle a minute ago: It was K’s, somehow reaching deep down into his very being and pulling out his energy from his body. Odd comforting aside, it felt similar to what he felt every time he prepared an attack but…more controlled somehow, like the difference between pouring water into a glass with a bottle instead of using your bare hands.

A moment later she (or rather, she and Dio) slowly manifested said energy out of the imp’s hands, which took the form of a small purple blade. Dio’s eyes widened, completely at a loss of words, not sure if he had to be amazed at the Apostle’s complete control, or at his own power being the source of said thing. Perhaps more surprisingly of all was that he didn’t even feel slightly winded or tired as she helped him manifest that power, it was almost completely effortless.

“Wow.” Was this power really inside him? Even with his larger than life ego the digimon was stunned.

As if he couldn’t feel more surprised, when K eventually let go of his hands he noticed the blade was still there, flickering ever so slightly but maintaining its general shape and intensity. Dio let out a bemused chuckle.

“…so awesome…” Maybe he wasn’t so weak after all. Maybe there was still hope for his dreams of power.

Unfortunately he soon felt a small shift on the blade’s energy, and found himself struggling to maintain it, wincing a bit as he felt himself suddenly lose energy just to trying to keep the now flickering blade from going out. The blade eventually fizzled out and banished, leaving only warm air behind. “Damn it.” He cursed under his breath. Seemed he still had ways to go.

“What are we waiting for, then? Let’s learn how to use it! Teach me how to do…that thing again!” He exclaimed, both exited and somewhat impatient. Admitedly, he didn't 100% understood everything his teacher was trying to tell him, but he got the general gist of it (at least he hoped he did) Besides, wisdom and knowledge were good and all, but he wanted to get into the thick of things.

“Saberk? That’s…not exactly too creative a name, is it?” He said with a bit of a sly smirk. Granted he had no room to talk here, considering an attack named Pillar of Fire wasn’t anything to write home about.

He shifted a bit around, uncomfortable when she brought up the possibility of him learning through absorption. Truth be told he had never done that before, but mostly because he had never actually defeated that many digimon in combat beforehand. Even back on the Dark Area, he had tried to keep to himself, only attacking in self defense, and most of the times it was against someone stronger than him so the chances of him actually winning those fights had always been almost nil. That said, while he was aware that loading other digimon was frowned upon by the more “civilized” groups, he didn’t seem too against the concept, if only because growing up in such a horrible place as the Dark Area had conditioned him to accept such a thing as a normal occurrence.

Regardless of his feelings towards that subject, after the “assignment” was laid out to him, the imp nodded once, shifting a bit into a more comfortable position as he readied himself. He closed his eyes as he slowed down his breathing.

“Focus.”

A minute of focusing later, he exhaled softly as he felt the energy slowly gathering on his hand.

Ok, step one done.

Now came the difficult part, actually controlling said energy in such a small amount. He was the Dark Lord for crying out loud, this should be easy! However, as it turned out, he was very used to exerting large amounts of energy in equally large, unwieldy bursts, which usually meant more damage, but also wasting more energy.

After another moment, he slowly drew his slightly trembling fingers apart, a very faint, shaky line of purplish energy arcing between them. Even through his meditative state, he couldn’t help but smirk a bit. He was actually doing it!

Unfortunately, his joy was not to last.

In what could not be more than a second of distraction, a small miscalculation, he found himself accidentally sending a whole burst of energy through his so far “controlled” stream, resulting in the feeble line spontaneously growing in size and , suddenly changing from mere energy into a small, but loud and hot crackle of fire. The resulting spark that erupted from his fingers startled the imp, breaking his focus, the surprise being so great it made him fall on his back as he let out a (rather undignified) yelp of surprise.

“God damn it!” He cursed as quickly got back on his feet, but not before punching the ground in frustration, doing all he could to avoid looking back at K’s eyes. Obviously blushing all the while. He was making himself look foolish and he was painfully aware of it.

The imp pouted a bit in anger, frankly disappointed at his lack of control, both in power and anger, as his little outburst compounded with what he felt was a rather pitiful display of control could have achieved nothing other than disappointing the Apostle.

God, he was sure he must have looked so pathetic in her eyes. He was already expecting the harsh words mocking his weakness coming, just like all those times before…

So of course, when he not only didn’t hear anything of the sort, but rather encouraging words of praise, which were then further punctuated by a gentle, unbelievable soft pat to his head, the imp couldn’t help but to freeze for a moment, his eyes widening a bit as he gazed upwards, looking at his teacher’s gentle feature and suddenly feeling a rather odd warmth within him.

“Whu-what…really?” Was that really considered a good first attempt? He had nearly blown his face off, how was that spectacular? “…a spectacular failure, maybe.” He mulled a bit, looking down at his feet both unconvinced and trying to hide the red blush that kept threatening with taking over his entire face. “…thanksthough.” Was all he could muster to add in a surprisingly bashful and meek tone, perhaps as thanks for the fox still giving him the benefit of the doubt and respect.

He wasn't exactly used to that, as he could easily count with one hand the people that had treated him like that...but he still appreciated it.

That said, for a moment he almost wished he could kick himself right now. Just what was happening with him? What was this lousy feeling that kept distracting him and making him feel so…weird every time K reached out to him? Was it shame? Respect? A mix of both?

Luckily for the small purple rookie, the vulpine teacher’s tone would change from encouraging to a rather inquisitive one just as she would stop petting his head as well. After a moment he was able to block out the feeling and blush once again, putting his concentration into K’s question.

“I mean, I guess? What better motivation than getting stronger and wiser though, right?” He asked after pondering for a moment. Hard work was its own reward and all that, but Dio was just as interested on the journey as he was on the destination. After a moment of thinking however, he would also ask “What do you mean with “something to help”? Do you plan to give me some sort of incentive?”

Even through the faint blush and mild embarrassed feeling the imp couldn’t help but take note of K’s words, his eyes widening in surprise for a moment. Losing her entire hand? Talk about difference in strength, if that was what stronger digimon had to deal with on a daily basis he was almost grateful for being wea- I mean not as strong.

The rest of her teachings ringed just as strongly with him. Playing the role of the fool seemed like an apt way of putting it, and considering the way he had been treated by others in the past or how must people he met seemed to treat him like a big joke, he could see her words ringing true and applying to him all too well.

He gulped a bit as she pressed her finger against his forehead, both experiencing the same blushing feeling from the previous pet, and for a moment almost fearing it would somehow end with her sending him flying with a flick of her finger. She had proven to be a bit of a rough teacher just a few hours ago, he wouldn’t put it past her.

As that momentary feeling passed however, he found himself questioning the Apostle’s inquiries.

“I’m…not quite sure.” He said, looking down at his feet for a moment, unsure. What was it that he really wanted? For others to respect them? To have the strength not to be taken advantage from again? To be powerful enough to protect both himself and what he cared about?

…to fill that odd feeling of emptiness and loneliness, that blank space in his soul?

“I want a lot of things but…I’m not sure which ones are worth pursuing. I figured maybe, if I got stronger, I would know better what I want but…I’m not sure anymore.” He mused, somewhat sadly, letting out a sigh. Damn it, her training had barely started and he already was feeling tired just thinking about a good answer.

Luckily he was able to distract himself for a moment, quirking an eyebrow upon hearing K’s suggestion.

“Mints?” He asked aloud, somewhat surprised that was the kind of treat K meant. He had expected something a bit fancier than a mere mint, like a fruit, or perhaps a chocolate. Of course, he was not going to turn down the fox’s offer. He reached out with one hand and took the small candy K was offering him. He rolled it on his fingers a bit, inspecting it for a short moment before taking out the small wrapping paper surrounding it. He had learned that’s how you were supposed to eat candies the hard way back on Carlos’ house, though now he was no longer restricted to his in training form he was able to actually open them himself.

As he put the mint flavored candy on his mouth, he could feel am odd, cool air shooting through his mouth, accompanied by a rather nice sugary taste.“Hmm, sweet!” He said with a smile and a small nod, enjoying the refreshing yet sweet taste from the candy for a moment, before asking. “Ok, this is…nice I suppose, so what now? How should we proceed?”

Dio simply nodded at K’s words, somewhat glad she seemed willing to be patient and take time to help him out. As much as he wanted to rush out his training, he knew in his current state that it would take longer than just a few minutes. And specially about him figuring out a good answer for her questions. Her comment about needing to interact with Carlos was met with…somewhat mixed feelings though.

“But we’re so…different. Sometimes I wonder if we’re really partners, if fate is not just pulling a bad joke on both of us.” He mulled, scratching the back of his head.

Still, as conflicted as he felt Dio figured she was probably right, judging by the other partners they had met so far. Their bond was very clear, and they had both proven to be a lot stronger than Dio ever dreamt of. Maybe…he’d have to give Carlos another chance later. But that was then, now he had to focus on improving himself.

He pondered that question as he focused once again, closing his eyes as he drew energy to his hand yet again, a faint glow between his fingers as the same question echoed in his head.

What was it that he wanted?

But no matter how hard he tried to think, the answer wouldn’t come to him. Perhaps because of this, perhaps because, something went wrong with the exercise again, and  this time he saw it coming as he felt the control on his hand banishing, replaced with uncertainty and doubt. It was much to late to do anything about it though.

The result was largely the same, yet different. Yes, he had underestimated his own power once again, and yes that miscalculation manifested itself again with a large release of energy. Except instead of fire almost exploding in his face, this took a completely opposite element, as the temperature on his hand lowered at an alarmingly fast pace. Before Dio could even react, he found his whole hand suddenly become heavier as his whole gloved fist was frozen solid, completely encased by a thick block of ice.

Letting out a surprised grunt, the small imp found himself losing his balance because of theunexpected weight, falling forward face first…and right into K. Would the fox not do anything, the imp would stay there with his face lightly pressed against the Renamon’s furry body. Dio stood still, paralyzed as if his brain had momentarily shut off trying to understand what just happened. A good five seconds of awkward silence later, the imp finally seemed to snap out of his shock and suddenly reeled back in surprise whilst falling on his back to the ground again, his face as red as deep as the one from the bandana wrapped around his neck.

“GAH! S-sorry, that wasn’t meant to happen! It was an accident I swear!” He stammered, almost panicking as he looked away as if to hide his embarrasment, banging the frozen block against a nearby stump in an attempt to break it.

As if his training wasn’t going badly enough already.

"Oh I don't know, I'm pretty sure the Digital World has its own twisted sense of humor sometimes."
Sure, there was problably a good reason for him and Carlos to end up partnererd, but it certainly wasn't inmediatelly obvious to him. And besides who was to say the Digital World didn't  enjoyed playing with its inhabitants fates from time to time? He had been borned and stuck on the Dark Area since...as long as he could remember. If that wasn't a rather cruel joke from part of the Digital World, he didn't know what it was.

"But how can you tell? I-I'm not saying you're wrong of course, the Dark Lord should of course have great potential...but why do you believe that? Most people just...think I'm a joke." He sighed, frustrated. It was such a weird situation, all his life he had wanted others to take his boasting seriously, and yet here was K, doing just that, and he had no idea how he was supposed to feel. Flattered? Moved?

Even as his mind raced all over the place during that embarrasing display of lack of control he couldn't stop thinking about what she saw in him that was so promising.
And of course she would ask him to get closer. Sighing and cursing under his breath, he'd approach his teacher yet again, head hanging down in defeat, as he offered her his frozen hand for closer examination. It was rather shameful to him that he was still making what he perceived as huge rookie mistakes. Not even In training digimon got this amount of problems when using their own powers. Why was he having such a hard time concentrating?

Though as expected, she didn't belittled the imp for his failures, instead offering a different approach to solve his problem. While her following advice was...slightly vague at best, he had a bit of an idea of how he could do as he was asked. Though her following comment made him raise an eyebrow.

"Happy...accidents? That's a bit of an oxymoron, isn't it." How could an accident be something good? By definition it was something that was not meant to happen, how could that be seen as positive?

Nevertheless, he. Once again he'd close his eyes, take a deep breath, stretch his arms out with palms open (at least the not frozen one was open) and focus. Despite the coldness in his ice encased hand, with enough will power he'd soon feel energy converging on that point, slowly building up as the cold seemed to move into the other hand. Soon enough both hands would emit a small glow, before the so far unnafected hand would slowly start to emanate small ice crystals from Dio's palm, and the ice surrounding the frozen hand would begin to melt, a tiny spec of fire emerging from within it.

Even before he opened his eyes, the imp knew this time he had made a good job.

"I-it worked! Can't believe it worked!" Dio laughed, smiling whilst now gazing at both the flames and changing ice formations on his palms, before he'd look at K, eyes filled with excitement and expectation. "Now what?"