Quite a gal...

[so-very-greedy.livejournal.com]

When: Sept. 8th
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Greed so_very_greedy and Naoto naoto_two
Summary: Greed and Naota have a "friendly" sparring match.
Log:

Greed sat on the edge of a veranda, looking out over Xanadu. He absent-mindedly plucked a flower and put it behind his ear, whistling while he waited for his sparring partner to show up.

"Yoo-hoo! Where are you?" he called out, "I don't like waiting."

He sat back and watched a few clouds drift by.

"This place is nice!" he exclaimed.

Naoto spotted Greed from afar and headed straight for him, not at all afraid to quiet her footsteps. She felt no need to hide her approach.

"You're the one called Greed," she said matter-of-factly. She tightened her grip on the sling of her duffel bag.

"That I am, sweet-cheeks! Glad you accepted this match," he smiled at her.

He hopped up and strode over to her, pulling the flower off of his head and offering it to her.

"May I have this dance? I promise I'll be gentle," he smirked.

She smiled not unkindly, but the bag fell from her shoulder to reveal her weapon. The moonlight gleamed off of the katana.

"Of course."

The blade sang, and the petals of the flower peeled from their stem.

Greed let out an appreciative whistle and cocked an eyebrow.

"Not bad! Not bad!" he laughed, clapping at the sight, "This could be good."

He danced back a few feet, bobbing from one foot to the other rapidly.

"Guess I'll have to be quick around you. Let's test how fast that sword is..."

He dashed in quickly, sweeping a large chunk of soft earth with his foot and launching it between them, trying to cloud her vision.

Naoto saw Greed pull his leg back and anticipated a kick. She jumped at him to dodge and attack at the same time, but the cloud of dust caught her by surprise. Instead she reached out and grabbed his shoulder, using that to somersault behind him.

She pulled her dagger from her coat pocket and flicked it at Greed's back.

Greed sensed the incoming blade at his back and ducked low, then launched himself backwards with just his arms, trying to catch her in mid-air.

"Nice! I like it!" he yelled.

Naoto was hurtling toward Greed's open arms. "I'm glad you do, Greed-san!" she shouted.

She pointed her katana at his smirking face, fulling intending to miss by a hair--she wasn't out to kill him, anyway.

Greed reacted to the proximity of the blade and formed his right hand into a shielded claw, parrying the sword. The move re-directed his momentum and sent him slightly off-course, smashing him into a tree.

"..Ow," he said, rubbing his back as the tree fell down behind him.

"Well," he cracked his neck, "That could've gone better."

He regained a defensive posture and shielded both arms.

"Now, where were we?"

Naoto started as Greed's arms turned into what looked like black stone. Then she smiled--she should've expected something unique in her opponent.

"Having special powers must be fun," she remarked. "But nothing beats raw skill!"

She dashed at Greed, her katana pointed at an angle to the ground. A few feet before she reached him, she leapt into the air, twisted out of his reach, and sliced at the unprotected flesh of his shoulder.

Greed let out a slight gasp at the contact of the blade. A large gash was on his shoulder.

"Nice hit. Just one problem. One not even skill can beat."

The flesh immediately healed on his shoulder.

"That's another of my tricks."

He dove for her, trying to strike at her sword.

"If I smash the blade, then you can't fight anymore, right?!"

His wound healed! she thought, aghast. But instead she said, "Hey, if you can heal yourself, then you won't mind a bit if I aim to kill you, right?"

Naoto crouched underneath Greed's lunge, ripped the katana sheath from her belt, and struck upwards with it and not the sword itself.

"You're right, Greed-san. Shatter the weapon and I'm no longer a Blade. But whoever said I could only fight with a sword?"

"I prefer you go all out, chick. Can't guarantee I will, though. I don't like hittin' girls. I can, however, lock you up in a position where you can't win."

Greed looked like he would say more, but was interrupted by the scabbard in his gut. He jumped to the side and stood up, grinning at her.

"Man, I love strong women!"

He ran and slid in low, trying to swing his feet under her and get her on the ground.

Naoto gasped as her back hit the ground, but she wasn't about to be defeated with a simple trip. She swung her legs up and flipped forwards, landing deftly on her feet. She smirked then.

"You're quite impressive! But don't worry about hurting me; I've been scarred by worse people."

She lunged at him with the sheath aimed point-blank at his face.

Greed fully shielded just before the sword had contact with his skull. It was easily deflected off to the side as he stood his ground.

"So tell me, how would you beat an enemy you couldn't harm?"

He jumped back and ripped a tree from the ground, then threw it at her, putting a slight spin on it.

Naoto crouched again, ducking the tree. She struggled to keep a straight face though her mind was racing, panicked. So the shield covers his entire body, she noted grimly."Tire him," she replied flatly. She was an acrobat. She lasted longer in a fight than most humans and monsters simply throught dodging; if she could conserve her energy, she could win.

Naoto waited, her sword and scabbard crossed defensively in front of her.

"Ha! I like it when people don't back down! You've got some spunk!"

He charged her, throwing a strong roundhouse at her midsection, followed by a lower roundhouse aimed at her legs.

"Gimme' more!"

He switched out of shield mode and continued with a few more kicks.

Naoto blocked the first kick with her scabbard and launched herself straight at Greed, sword blade glinting dangerously. She stopped it an inch from his throat as she shoved the sheath into his ribs.

"Check," she hissed into his ear. A light smile danced across her lips.

Greed hunched over slightly and stopped himself, then used her close proximity to try and hip-toss her into a some nearby bushes.

"Word to the wise, NEVER try to go close-range with me!" he laughed.

Caught off guard, Naoto flew a few feet and skidded across the grass. She pulled herself upright, picked a flower that had gotten tangled in her hair, and casually tossed aside the broken petals.

"I'll remember that."

She dashed for him, feigned an attack from the right with her katana, then swung at his left with the sheath. She whirled to his side, crouched, and sliced upwards with the blade.

Greed was unprepared for the flurry of varying attacks, and soon found himself being nearly cut in twain by a sword.

"Aah!" he stumbled back, clutching the wound, "Now that's more like it!"

He laughed loudly as the wound quickly mended. He picked up a nearby bench with one arm and gave it a test swing against a small tree, demolishing the sapling.

"Guess this makes me a swordsman, eh?"

He ran at her, giving a wide swing with the iron wrought bench. He followed it up with an attempt to grab her by the collar with his other hand.

"How long can you keep this pace, I wonder?"

Naoto had to admit, Greed was right. Despite her efforts, her body was beginning to slow; she cursed inwardly as a bead of sweat trickled down to the tip of her nose.

She hadn't anticipated his shield or his inhuman strength. Though she had a sword and acrobatics, she knew she couldn't last against a man who lifted benches as if they were twigs. But she wasn't about to give up.

Naoto leapt, easily dodging Greed's initial attack. She felt his fingers brush against her collar--her heart jolted in shock--but she twisted out of his grasp. She continued to dodge the swinging bench, finally ducking and rolling till she was right at his feet.

She launched a kick at his jaw.

Greed took the kick, his head snapping back with the impact, but he kept one eye trained on her. Even with his head back, he swung blindly.

"That's some nasty medicine!"

He threw the bench over her head and tried to tackle her.

"Ha! I can keep this up for days!"

Naoto ducked reflexively as the bench flew past her but failed to dodge Greed's tackle. She forced both sword and scabbard against his body, trying to keep a distance between them so she wouldn't be crushed.

Damn! she cursed at herself. Stupid, stupid fool! You let your guard down!

"Give up. All you have to do is submit, and the match is over."

He continued to rush forward, carrying her with him. They were heading for a tree.

"JUST SAY YOU GIVE UP!"

Naoto grit her teeth, infuriated, but she had no choice.

"I YIELD!"

She flinched as she slammed backwards into a tree. With Greed looming before her, she was cornered. Her weapons were rendered useless.

The sound of the collision, much to her surprise, was actually Greed's hand against the trunk, stopping the forward motion.

He quickly turned to normal and stood up, offering her his hand.

"So, pretty cool, eh?" he smiled warmly.

She smiled and took his outstretched hand. She was inwardly scolding herself for giving up; she couldn't blame Greed. He didn't seem like a bad person at all.

"Your powers are amazing. I didn't think humans were capable of... Well, I guess it's safe to say you're not human."

"Technically, I'm a homunculus. We're artificial people made with alchemy. We have a basic human make-up, just highly improved. We don't need to sleep, eat, regain stamina, breathe, or any of that other stuff."

He picked another flower for her.

"No hard feelings, right?"

"That's..." Naoto paused, trying to find the right words. Then she smiled again, wider this time. "That's pretty cool."

She took the proffered flower and savored its scent."No hard feelings," she affirmed, her anger slowly evaporating.

"By the way, I don't think I've properly introduced myself." She extended her hand. "I'm Naoto."

"Name's Greed, babe! Don't know if I mentioned it."

He knelt before her, and grasped her hand.

"It's always a pleasure to meet such a strong, beautiful woman."

Naoto felt a blush streak across her cheeks when Greed knelt and took her hand. She'd expected a handshake. All of the men she'd met had been either emotionless or out to kill her; she was completely unused to charm.

"P-Pleasure's all mine." Naoto pulled her hand away reluctantly. "I should be going, but I'd like to fight you again some time. When I've gotten better, of course."

"No problem. I look forward to it."

Greed waved to her as he lept away.