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Bismuthite had been spending a good bit of time lately training some of the newer lieutenants. He didn't think he was all that good of a teacher - he wasn't patient, and he held them to his standard of what one should do and how to do it,' and he also had a hard time humbling himself. He wanted to win, to show his awesomeness, but this was training, not sparring or even a real battle. He was learning though.

But it left him itching for a real challenge.

So that was why that morning, when Billy entered the living room to find Ladon doing whatever it was he was doing, the dark haired boy would hear his dear boyfriend whine;

"Laaaaaaaaadooooooon~"

Billy walked over and kneeled down on his knees in front of Ladon, wrapped his arms around his waist and proceeded to snuggle him before looking up at him pathetically.

"I want you~" nuzzle, "to spar with meeeee pleaaaseeeeeee~"


Okay, so all that stuff about finding humility and humbling himself to be difficult? Well, there was always an exception.........

Not bored, just really really really needing a good fight, and it was too early to go out senshi-hunting. He should probably be leaving Ladon to his studies, but he never really asked for much, not often anyway, and besides - he'd make up for it by helping him study later anyway.

"Why would I want to stop? It''s nice to hear your laugh," Billy said, smiling up at him while getting bapped by the book.

With the book then set aside Billy crawled on to Ladon's lap and his hands reached in to Ladon's hair, slightly massaging the boy's scalp.

"Yes, I do. I've been training lieutenants all week - I neeeeeeeed youuuu to spar with me," he said in a way that made it seem as if he figured Ladon knew the feeling and could sympathize.

"I accept those terms," he said with a grin as he stood and took a couple steps back to allow Ladon some room to stand. Then within moments they were in uniform and off to the Rift.

Once they were there, the playfulness was of, for the sake of 'business.' Bismuthite was generally good at respecting the boundary between their personal and work relationships. Part of him wanted to see how well he could test that boundary. Billy was always gentle with Ladon, could he as Bismuthite bear to bring any measure of harm to his General? He wanted to test that just as much as he itched for a good fight.

"Shall we begin, my General?"

Bismuthite shrugged, "I'll use my hands. You can use your weapon if you want. A few nicks aren't going to hurt me. And I'd hope I know how to dodge by now," he laughed, confident.

If he did get hurt, he'd just have to have Ladon play nurse later.

The area suited Bismuthite just fine and he sunk into a fighting stance some distance away from Wolframite, ready to begin.

"Very well. Make me dance then," he smirked.

I twas still Bismuthite's little secret that he had died. Wolframite didn't need to know that.

But he was as quick with his mind as Wolframite could be with his blades. His swift decision making on the field was perhaps his best aspect. Bismuthite dropped to the ground as the weapon came flying, rolling out to the other side and getting back to his feet. It'd been close, but then again Bis knew to expect the chain coming his way - if not simple because they had just been talking about it, then because Wolfy's wind up was a tell-tale sign that s**t was about to fly. From there is was all a matter of timing, and he'd cut it close, misjudging the speed with which those heavy blades could sail.

His first thought was then to grab the chain and yank Wolframit towards him, but Bis was mindful of the second blade that could quickly come his way, and instead of having the General come to him, he dashed towards him. Some might have taken a artsy flying leap towards their opponent, but Bismuthite knew that if Wolfy hurled his blade at him while he was mid-air there would have been no way to avoid it, so he'd quickly decided against that course of action. At least by running head-on her had more of a chance.

"Even the tiny, petty, flea can fell a king," he replied, a plague reference. Granted he didn't think any royalty had actually died during that, but the message was still the same.

The trip was used to his advantage, or attempted to, although it did initally come at a suprise, as he was then close enough to reach out to try and grab the chain in front of Wolframite's face as he came down. Whether it was meant to steady his fall, or attempt to drag the General down, well, he wasn't exactly divulging that information. In the end he was on a knee and the fact remained he was now within range to attack, and he aimed an uppercut at Wolframite's solar plexus.

Bismuthite tried to catch the hand that wrapped around his throat before it could get there, but ended up gripping a dark sleeve instead, and the hand met it's mark anyway. The muscles in his neck clenched. He didn't react with panic or fear but merely narrowed his stare down at Wolframite and moved his grip from the General's sleeve to his wrist. Afterwards, the idea was to twist Wolframite's wrist and break his grip.

The punch to the side of his neck, struck and addled his efforts, especially with his muscles bunched up as they were making the punch feel all that worse. He coughed, then grit his teeth, hardened his stare further and continued the effort.

He had one hand trying to free his throat, but his other was still free to attack, and so he did - seeking to grab that hair he'd earlier been running his fingers through and yank.

Wolframite's grip on his throat hurt, and he'd been losing air, he could feel the beginnings of black tinge his vision. Finally, he freed himself of Wolframite's grip, and coughed.

Bismuthite was about to reply to Wolframite when the General's punch managed hit him right on the temple. He let out a bit of a yell and clenched his teeth. He could feel the sting of involuntary eye-watering as his eyes clenched shut during the impact. However rather than loosening his grip on Wolframite's hair, it only made him tug harder. Bismuthite was the type that clinged. Now, fueled by some measure of irritation he delivered an almost crushing grip to the wrist that was still his captive.

"Seriously!? Blind you!? Attack vitals!? This is sparring, not life or death!"

He did let go of his hair, however. Bismuthite could feel the headache coming on strong from that blow to his temple, and already noticed the disorientation as he slowly blinked his eyes to try and make to world stop wobbling, but every movement just made his vision...laggy. This shouting wasn't helping.

"Fine, your way then.."

In a quick motion Bismuthite brought his elbow up then aimed to strike down on the area where the base of the throat and the collar bone meet - the sternal shield. It was a dangerous place to strike. A blow like his could produce pain and shock to the respiratory and circulatory systems. A fiercer strike could destroy thoratic nerves and crush the chest. But Bismuthite was aware, and careful. Or as careful as he could be at the moment. Like he said - this wasn't life or death. This was a sparring match. But if Wolframite was going to b***h about how he should be going for vitals, then he'd give it to him.

He then released Wolframite's wrist and attempted to shove the General away from him.

They had only been sparring for a short while now, but it felt like longer. Of course, when you knew where to hit, or were lucky enough to hit the right place, a fight didn't have to last very long. At least this had given him what he'd been wanting - a fight where his opponent knew what they were doing. A fight where he didn't have to stop and instruct. A fight where he wasn't giving up a piece of his pride.

And now he knew that he could attack the darker side of his boyfriend without hesitation. That had been important...