Heroes of Dreamland, Book 2: Kirby and the Returning Darkness (OLD)

The Other Time, Part 4

Meta's POV:

I take deep, silent breaths. The fingers of my magic gloves tighten their hold on my sword. Don't think, just listen and feel. Don't think, just listen and feel, I tell myself mentally.

I smile a little as I sense something behind me, then wait until I hear quiet breathing. That's my cue. I spin around suddenly with a "Ha!," then open my eyes as soon as I hear metal clang against metal. I look at Blossom, a satisfied smirk on my face, an irritated frown on hers.

"How do you do that?" she huffs. "Do you really keep your eyes closed?"

"I do not cheat, and you know it," I chuckle in reply.

She sighs. "I'm just having an off day, I guess."

"That is what you have been saying all week," I remind her, just a little bit smugly.

"It's not fair. I can never get you, but you can always sneak up on me. I don't know how you do it! I know you don't warp because I've made you do it with your cloak tied up. Likewise, you don't fly. It's like you just appear out of thin air!" she rants, and I laugh at her. Not derisively, just out of my enjoyment of her aggravation.

"It's a gift," I reply. "It always has been, and hopefully, always will be. You just do not appreciate that the student is beginning to surpass the sensei."

I have grown up in the over a decade she has spent here, but she doesn't seem like she's aged even a day. That's normal, Star Warriors mostly seem to quit aging once they are fully grown, until they get to be very old. She and I seem to be about the same age now. When we travel together as part of my training, people now assume we are brother and sister. In the past, they thought us to be mother and son, which drove Blossom crazy.

"Oh, I'm still the sensei, Meta," she mutters, her eyes narrowed.

"Is that so? Well, prove it then," I challenge.

"All right then," she agrees, a bit of a smile appearing on her face. Dueling is her favorite exercise.

I use my cloak to warp not far from her, then draw my sword in a spectacular fashion, letting my cloak flare out behind me. I finally hit my growth spurt several years ago, so it fits perfectly now. My voice has deepened as well, I no longer sound like a child.

"Drama queen," she murmurs with a roll of her eyes.

"Blossom, my friend. I am not a drama queen, I just simply have more panache than you do," I tell her. "Now, en garde."

She draws her sword, and we slowly begin to circle each other. I allow her to attack first. She swings at me suddenly, and I block, then parry. She blocks it, and nearly knocks my sword away.

"You've come a long way, Meta," she tells me softly. "But not far enough." The duel continues, and at one point, it seems she's won. She knocks my sword out of my hand, but I duck and roll around her, picking it back up within seconds.

Soon after, I think I've won, when I send her sword flying up into the air. "As you were saying?" I chuckle, about to point my sword at her, but she suddenly jumps up, uses my head as a springboard, and grabs her sword before it lands.

"Ta-da," she smirks. Moments later, she's knocked my sword out of my hand again, and this time, I really think she's won. Until I remember a handy little trick: I warp away, grab my sword, and warp back silently, re-entering reality right behind her.

"Where did he go?" she murmurs.

I tap her on the head with the flat part of my sword. "I win," I whisper.