The Vigilant Yaksha

Chapter 15

Vena and Xiao had been at it for hours, Xiao simply side-stepping her sloppy swings or just clashing his spear with her blade to parry her very obvious attacks.

He'd expected as much- coming from someone who could barely hold a sword right.

Her ragged breathing yanked him from his thoughts, causing him to halt for a moment and let her breathe.

She gladly took the time to relax a bit, bending over slightly with her hands on her knees while her blade now floated behind her back.

Hours had passed, and she hadn't managed to even knick him once, but she showed no signs of giving up or complaining, she just kept going, remembering the words he'd said.

"I-... I'm sorry- for the other day." Xiao spoke out awkwardly into the silence, causing Vena's head to snap back up to glance at his face, confusion flooding her features.

A few fleeting moments later, her eyebrows raised, clearly remembering what he was referring to.

He'd never had much human contact to begin with, let alone been around many people enough to actually do something he'd felt he needed to apologize for, but he couldn't shake the guilt that had been following him around since that day, even remaining while he was slaying demons over the few days he was away.

The look in her eyes when he spoke to her like that kept flashing back into his head over and over ever since.

"It's nothing-" Vena began, only to be cut off by Xiao's stern voice.

"No. You're important- to a lot of people- and... I didn't want to risk you getting hurt." Xiao actually found himself tripping over his words a bit.

A smile once again formed on Vena's face as she looked at him with such a soft gaze.

She knew he was trying, and that's what mattered. He actually wanted to be friends, and just that simple realization was enough to fill her heart with joy.

The doubts she'd had about him being upset with her or just seeing her as a charity case had evaporated. This only helped to steel her confidence even more.

I can do this. With my friends by my side, I can do this.

Xiao's face was blank, similarly to how it almost always was, so Vena was taken completely off guard whenever he disappeared from where he had been standing, leaving behind nothing but a trail of leaves and Anemo particles.

Turning her head back and forth, the girl searched for him, not even hearing a sound. It's as if he just poofed out of existence.

A strong arm wrapped firmly around her neck, pulling her backwards a foot as she felt her back collide with a solid yet warm object.

She couldn't help but let out a yelp, only receiving a short but coy laugh in response from the person behind her, who now had her in a firm yet gentle choke-hold, held up flush to his chest.

"Anddd- snap- you're dead." Xiao whispered slyly in her ear as he released her from his grasp, backing up a few steps to allow her to swivel around to face him.

A very angry yet somehow still cute expression adorned the girls face while she softly ran a few fingers across her own neck.

"You scared me!" The purple haired girl squeaked out, her voice almost cracking in the process.

"Lesson number two- always be on your toes." Xiao smirked at her playfully, taking note of how he was actually enjoying this little training session more than he ever thought he would.

"You never know when danger will strike, so it's best to always be on your guard-" Xiao raised a hand as if imitating a teacher about to speak out his lecture when something wizzed right past his raised arm.