Kaz stood in a 'secluded' area of Central Park. Secluded being relative in a place like Central Park, there was nowhere secluded, only places less frequented than others. The sun was still up and shining, but it would be going down in three or four hours Even at night, the place was still visited often with many people sticking to the best lit areas while the unscrupulous slunk in the shadows.

Kaz had driven to the park in his backup Hummer, since his encounter with Panu had left his favorite one busted up. While it was being repaired, if it could be repaired at least, he was driving the less heavily reinforced and less powerful one, but it got the job done. Having found a clearing not too far from one of the many running trails he set the large steel case down. The thing was a massive thing, five feet long, a foot and a half thick, and two feet wide. There was no way two or four large strong men would be able to pick the thing up without a lot of effort and probably throwing out their backs in the process. Inside it was a collection of various weapons included swords and knives, various pole and staff type weapons, as well as some other miscellaneous things. Almost everything in the case was illegal in some way. Most of the things in it were modular which made them impractical for use in actual combat, but made them perfect for practicing with. And that was exactly what Kaz intended to do with them, practice.

~~~~~~~~~

Over the time he had been in the spot Kaz had gone through various swords and pole weapons including a scythe and halberd as well as attaching a sword blade to the end of one pole which was quite impractical, but kind of fun too. He had acquired a few viewers from time to time, though when he made it clear he didn't care for them to be there or completely ignored them they left him alone. An officer had come over to him after he had just put the modified Zweihander together and closed the case. The officer threatened to do...something, Kaz hadn't paid him much attention, telling the officer if he thought he or the whole NYPC could take him on, he would be happy to deal with them, and if not, to buzz of and go eat some donuts. Since no one had come to try and haul him off, Kaz assumed the cop found a good donut shop to drown his inadequacy in.

The Zweihander Kaz was currently using was an oversized version of the weapon putting it at just over 6'5” in total length, with a foot long hilt. This particular one had a modified blade, where the first 10in was capable of being used as a secondary hilt so the weapon could be used at closer ranges, it also had it's own guard, though much smaller. The entire thing weighed in at nearly 20lb, double what a normal one did. It was made to be a practice weapon, to get the body use to the oversized thing and condition a person to not tire out quickly when they used the real thing.

Kaz had no formal training in the thing, but he knew enough about swords to take a guess at how a person was suppose to employ such a large sword. At first he did just that, until he got bored and began to do things the sword was never meant for. Things like swinging it one handed.

Noel found comfort in routine.

Typically, she got up with the birds that sang outside her window. She started the coffee pot, grabbed an apple from the fridge, and retrieved her jogging shoes from the laundry room. They were usually dry by the time she was ready to go jogging again. These things that she came to expect everyday brought her comfort.

The place may have been different, but the routine was the same. That was what mattered.

The apple core went into the kitchen garbage. She rinsed her hands of sticky apple juice and used the moisture to smooth back the fly-aways that the humidity freed from her too long braid.

Every morning the ex-agent circled Prospect Park, 3.6 miles running. Sprinting if she could manage it. She warmed up on the way and cooled down on her walk back.

A Google Keep reminder popped up on her super secret spy phone: Central Park. Don't forget. She snoozed the alarm until tomorrow.

Right. Central Park was closer from this location. A wrinkle in her routine.

She didn't talk to anyone. When she stopped for water and fellow joggers tried to engage her in polite conversation, she had a hard time connecting to any one of them. Had they met before? She was never quite sure and it just made her feel awkward. Today, most made passing comments about the white-haired weirdo in the bend beyond the 3 mile marker. The unspoken question was, was it a mutant or a publicity stunt? Was he dangerous?

Only one way to find out.

Noel kept running. At times, she was gripped with an overwhelming feeling of deja vu. Anything from remembering how she'd tripped over her own shoe, to memories that felt like an entirely different life. She had a facial scar. She was in Ancient Rome. She saw herself shuffling a photograph beneath other papers. Finger-less gloves. A yellow bike courier shirt. A whiskey tumbler, flying freely through the air...

She pounded those confusing images down and out through the soles of her feet. She remembered running for her life. She also remembered promising all that was holy that she would run more and run better if only someone would help her run away.

So, now that she wasn't working a night shift, every day Noel ran. So that someday when her life depended on it, she could live to run another day.

It was obvious when she got to the right place. There were three on-lookers loitering along the path, loathe to run on. What was the big deal? Noel hazarded a peek and then slowed to a stop.

Weapons.

He had a butt-ton of weapons.

She was gripped by deja vu again. Weapons. Weaponsweaponsweapons. She saw at least a dozen different kinds pass through her hands, through man hands, through pale hands and tan hands. Were some of those hands his hands? He didn't look familiar, but that didn't mean anything.

"How long's he been at it?"

"Dunno. I've been here maybe 5 minutes?"

Picking up on the thread of conversation, another onlooker chimed in, "What's that he's got now?"

What indeed? "Hey! What's that one called?" It looked kind of doofy, not like anything she had recollection of. She shouted the question to the man and immediately the small crowd around her tensed as one.

What? Did she do something wrong?

Though the Zweihander had a secondary hilt on the blade, it really was not made or meant to be used as the main or only hilt. The large sword didn't move right when used that way, Kaz still made it a point focus on just that hilt. Why? Because it was awkward and strange and different. If he could get to a point where he could use the overly large Zweihander easily and smoothly then if he ever found himself using a normal one, it would be an absolute breeze. While physical strength was necessary to wield such a large blade, it isn't as important as most people assume. Technique and proper use were the key. Even a small person could wield it well, if not for very long, if they knew how. That being the case, Kaz's strength allowed him to swing the massive blade as easy as a fencer does a foil, the blade whistling with every swing.

Many people had stopped to watch and then leave after a time, some just watched, others talked, some tried to talk to him. He hadn't responded to anyone who had tried to speak to him. Why should he? They said nothing that interested him, never asked anything but stupid, pointless questions. One person had even compared him to some anime and video game characters, which had been mildly entertaining for a minute or two, but it hadn't been enough for him to stop what he was doing.

None of them had actually bothered to ask him any questions that he was interested in, until a new female voice shouted out to him. A glance over his shoulder pinpointed her location near a gathering of a handful of people. He made eye contact with her for half a heartbeat while he continued to move. The people around her seemed to be taken aback, leaning away from her as their body language screamed, 'It wasn't me!'

Increasing the speed at which he moved the blade, he began putting it through a series of spins using the secondary and main hilt in alternating patterns, letting the blade's tip barely score the ground in a series of parallel lines. He moved in a small circle, scoring the ground with every step. Once the circle was complete he stepped into the center of it, looked at the woman, ”Zweihander.” Kaz let the blade go into the air. It went high into the air before gravity's pull changed its direction and it fell, blade first into the ground a dozen steps or so in front of the woman. The blade had sunk two feet into the soft earth, the hilt quivered slightly as it settled.

Kaz stood still in the center of his circle of scored earth, one hand behind his back, the other one held out straight from his side, his head turned in line with his outstretched arm, his body turned sideways at the woman. He was a line, an arrow pointed at her, ”What are you called?” He said with a smile.

The group scattered. Not a one of them stood their ground once that blade was in the air and sailing in their direction.

What they didn't know, and what Noel had some experience with, was the way a sword moved. This thing was too heavy and clunky to make it with that kind of toss from from the stranger to Noel. She could measure that much with her eyes based on how he'd handled it, how his muscled had corded and bunched, and the arc.

She was smiling by the time it buried itself point first in front of her. It was a neat trick, keeping her attention with the eye contact and then carving the ground up. He was a showman, or at least had a bit of drama in him.

"Noel." She didn't bother trying to hide it. It didn't even occur to her that giving out her name might be a bad idea. The truth came easiest and he'd asked. "Zwei-" She hadn't been expecting such a hard word. "It sounds German." And looked equally gothic brutal. She took a step toward the gently swaying weapon.

"This thing's ridiculous." Nearly as tall as she was if she had to hazard a guess. "Would you mind if I...?" She motioned to the two-handed hilt and when he didn't stop her right away, she took it in her hands and pulled.

He'd been swinging that around with one hand at times. Even if the strange hair and devil-may-care attitude didn't tip her off, the extra strength it must take to swing this monster around one-handed was enough to cinch the idea. This man was a mutant. She had to tread carefully. Though this one seemed genial, mutants were generally testy and easily insulted.

"Guh." If the ground hadn't been dry and soft, she wouldn't have been able to draw it from how deep it'd embedded in the ground. Noel worked to level the tip, both hands on the grip. She could hold it. The balance and weight were terrible for her, though. Sebastian had some experience in two-handed swords. Nothing this huge, but they'd practiced enough that she at least knew how to hold it, swing it, and where to put the pointy end.

And yeah. It was as unwieldy as she'd thought. "You got anything more useful in there?" She took a test swing to prove she wasn't hopeless.

Kaz's grin grew as everyone but the woman ran away from the 'Crazy bastard'. The woman though smiled right back as the sword stopped, she hadn't moved one bit from where she stood. He had seen her eyes tracking the sword's progress. Kaz figured she had to be quite bold and fearless, or knew a little something about swords, or maybe thrown objects. Whichever it was he liked it. The sword hadn't landed where it did by chance or accident, Kaz had chosen the spot as an invitation of sorts. Human or not, it didn't matter to him when it came to martial arts or swordplay.

Kaz gave the woman a polite nod when she introduced herself. ”It very well could be German. I'm not exactly sure if that's what that type of sword is actually called, but I like the word and it does seem to fit.” He spoke with a smirk on his face and a little shrug.

When she asked if she could..approach/touch/grab the sword Kaz shifted his stance to the exact opposite of his previous one, ”Sure, go for it. I wouldn't have let it go otherwise. It's much heavier than it looks.” The brunette found out how true the statement was moments later. For a few seconds the sword didn't seem to budge at all, Kaz was almost certain the woman would give up when she couldn't get it out at which point Kaz would take it and dismiss her out of hand. But she kept at it and after working it out little by little the blade finally pulled free, a few small clumps of earth stubbornly sticking to the steel.

It looked to Kaz that Noel was going to be overbalanced and fall when she lifted the weapon, but after a few moments she got a proper grip on it and centered herself. It was clear that she had never held one that big in her hands before, but she had the right idea, he was impressed. Even more so when she swung the blade and didn't fall over. Laughing a bit, ”They're all useful, but I do have something less unwieldy.” Kaz motioned with is still extended hand toward the case before dropping the arm and moving toward the woman. As he closed the distance, he held a hand out for the blade. ”Name's Kaz by the way.”

On the way to the case, ”You know a bit about swords it take it. Did'ja learn on your own or take classes?” As they got closer all manner of weapons could be seen inside it, most of them were recognizable even if a person didn't know what they were called. ”Do you have a preference or favorite?”

"Maybe if you're 12 feet tall this thing's useful." And since neither of them were over 6, she stood by her assessment. This sword was practically worthless.

He came to her, thank God. She didn't dare take a step with that thing and she hadn't wanted to drag it in the dirt. Noel turned the weapon to offer it hilt first. She didn't usually get along with people right away, but there was something to be said for proficiency and common ground.

"I think you're scaring the little old ladies, Kaz." That didn't stop Noel from walking further in toward the weapons cache. How did this thing get to be here, in this clearing? It had to weigh a figurative ton and didn't look like it'd been there long enough to collect bugs or overgrowth.

> ”You know a bit about swords it take it. Did'ja learn on your own or take classes?”

"Oh a little of column A, a little column B." A metric buttload of column C: learning via unicorn kiss. Column C wasn't exactly the best ice breaker for a stranger, even if he was a mutant. "Took some fencing lessons and spent way more time than I should have training with one of those really old mutants who never die." She shrugged it off. Nothing teaches you how to stab a dude like having a guy let you stab 'em.

Did she have a favorite? Well, now that she was looking, she could see more than a few old friends. "I prefer the shorter swords. Gladius. Some of the Japanese ones are okay too." Because Sebastian had the most experience with those, those weapons were what they'd practiced together.

"Geez, are these all yours?" Because now that she was looking at them, like really looking, there were a lot and they were all in fine shape.

Noel planted her hands firmly on her hips. "You're a wealthy mutant assassin, aren't you?" Because, crap, she couldn't seem to make friends with anyone else.

Kaz smiled, the swords were ridiculously large, but they had a purpose. With a little chuckle, ”That one especially, but to be fair, it's a training tool for the real thing, which is much lighter. The actual ones were used to cut the ends of pikes so they could close into melee range.” Kaz took the sword by the main hilt at first before switching his grip to the secondary hilt, it was easier to transport it that way. On their way to the case, ”They should be scared, it keeps them breathing.”

The nod of understanding Kaz had given at Noel's answer turned into a small shudder when she mentioned an old, undying mutant. ”Gah, yeah, I've met one of them.” Of course Kaz was thinking of Hunter, the old vampire who survived having a whale dropped on him. Seriously, who survives that? A freaking whale. A monster that's what. ”Always seem to know more, and do more than I ever could. Damned unfair it is. We get one lifetime, they have hundreds.”

Kaz stuck the giant sword into the ground, knelt down in front of the case and moved a few things around in it, he wasn't worried about nicking any of the blades, almost all of them were practice blades anyway, but they also had sheathes or coverings. ”I don't think I have any foils in here.” He looked to Noel with a lopsided smirk, ”I've never been much of a fencer, can't put much power into the things. They're only really good for poking people, like giant toothpicks.”

”Shorter swords huh?” Kaz turned and looked the woman over. She didn't seem to have a lot of upper body strength to her so a short blade would probably work well for her, her legs though, ”Nice legs.” He said grinning, ”Ever used a spear or glaive? You've got the legs for it.” Turning back to the case he lifted one of the layers up and revealed even more weapons. Grabbing two items he turned back to Noel as she spoke again. ”Who's else would they be? People don't leave cases of weapons laying around all willy-nilly.”

Laughing Kaz held out two swords, one in each hand. ”Wealthy mutant, quite. Assassin, no. Assassins get paid.” Kaz winked and smirked to show he was joking around. It was true though, murderers didn't get paid to kill, they did it for...reasons, assassinations were a job, and like any job, you get paid for your work. Kaz had never done any sort of assassination. ”I don't have a gladius, just a generic European shortsword and a wakizashi. Well, at least that all I have with me right now.”

”I have to say, I didn't expect anyone that stopped to show any real interest in what I was doing. You do this sort of thing often?”

She didn't miss Kaz' shudder at her mention of training with Sebastian. Well, there were more ancient mutants besides just the unicorn. Maybe they were all like him.

> ”Always seem to know more, and do more than I ever could. Damned unfair it is. We get one lifetime, they have hundreds.”

She did know a thing or two about how very much Sebastian knew. "No kidding. And their multiple lifetimes aren't even enough for them. Awful greedy." Aaaand that was about the point when Noel remembered her arm and shoulder tattoos were showing. She didn't have on her usual long sleeves. Too hot.

Don't date married men. and Everyone will betray you eventually. Those were both relics from her time with Sebastian. Not that they'd dated. They'd just lived together for a couple years.

Okay. It was one date. One date where his wife showed up.

Noel heaved a huge sigh. Why couldn't she forget the hella embarrassing stuff?

Giant toothpicks, eh? "The fencing was still good exercise and honestly what got me into the whole melee weapons thing anyway. The fencing club I used to frequent was cool about people using their abilities. Made for crazy fights. There was this one guy who did shadows... I don't think I coulda beat him even without that kind of advantage, but it's a whole new kind of thinking, you know?"

>”Nice legs.”

Well that was unexpected. She didn't quite know what to do with that compliment besides moving past it. Because oh hey. Weapons!

"Nope. No pole arms." That she could remember anyway. Noel searched her memory for something from Sebastian, but she'd only reinforced the useful memories like sword and hand-to-hand fighting. If she'd gotten much else, by now it had faded. "Again. A glaive doesn't exactly seem the most practical of weapons to carry around." Meaning, she had some practical applications in mind for what she usually carried.

Running, of course, was the exception to her armed-at-all-times mantra. Though ever since Kaz had mentioned training with extra weight, she was reconsidering that choice. When she did need to run away, she'd most likely be more weighed down than this. Hmm.

>”Who's else would they be? People don't leave cases of weapons laying around all willy-nilly.”

"Pfff. You'd be surprised." Yeah. Super strength. At least she made him laugh. It was a good sound.


> ”Wealthy mutant, quite. Assassin, no. Assassins get paid.”

And then... he winked? What the heck did that mean? Again, she was either going to have to move past it or but her head right on through something she felt like she didn't understand.

"So you... kill people for funzies?" This was dangerous ground to be treading so casually in. She held up her hands in a placating gesture. "Wait. Don't answer that. I think I'm better off not knowing."

Not that she worked for any good guys lately. Well, legally they weren't good people. Morality was a whole other kind of headache.

> ”I have to say, I didn't expect anyone that stopped to show any real interest in what I was doing. You do this sort of thing often?”

"Run? Yes. Swords? Yes. Talk to strangers who are bristling with weapons? Hell no."

Nodding in the affirmative to Noel's words, ”Very greedy indeed.” Kaz felt he had to honest, ”Though, I can't say I wouldn't take the option to be immortal, or at least live a few hundred years more, if I could. I've only learned a fraction of martial art styles and weapons, I'd love to have the time to learn them all.” Kaz sighed knowing it was a pipe dream. It really would be nice though.

Kaz wasn't sure if he had offended the woman with his words. He hadn't meant to, he just wasn't too interested in fencing. ”Whatever gets your foot in the door is a good first step. I've got a decent reach and a heck of a lunge, but fencing just isn't really my style, so I'm slightly bias. I usually go for maximum strength and speed, foils have the speed, but that's about it.” Not that he couldn't use just about every bladed weapon he owned just as easily as a master fencer could use a foil. ”I use to be an assistant instructor at a sword club here in NYC, the same one I trained at, we had a 'don't ask, don't tell, don't show' policy on mutants and abilities. Not to discriminate, but because we didn't care and it didn't matter. They were there to learn swordsmanship. I kept the same policy when I had my own dojo overseas. And like you said, when abilities are mixed in, there can be some crazy fights,” Kaz chuckled a little, ”Don't need a novice mutant screw up with a real blade when they try to do something fancy with their powers.”

If he hadn't been watching Noel, and speaking to her in a somewhat normal way for a few minutes, he might have thought the more-rapid-than-normal blinking was due to something in her eye, maybe. Instead he was absolutely sure it was because of the comment he made about her legs. Kaz found himself thinking of her legs, they most likely weren't superhuman, or even much above the human norm, but they seemed, to him at least, to be fairly strong. Instead of saying anything more, he listened to her answer. ”Heh, true enough. So practicality and, I'm assuming, easily concealed, are selling points for you. I've got something in mind for that, if you're open to it.”

Kaz quirked an eyebrow. 'I'd be surprised?' Yes, he would be, he was curious who carried around and left cases of weaponry laying around.

He had opened his mouth to answer her 'for funzies' question when she told him not to answer it. His eyes crinkled as a big grin spread over his face. ”Yeah, you might be. Keep in mind that ignorance, while bliss, is also dangerous.”

Kaz held out both blades to her, hilts first. ”If they'll work for ya, give'em a try.”

Returning to the case, Kaz pulled out two wood poles, roughly two feet long and 3/4th of an inch thick. ”Why did you then? What made you call out?” He said as he took a stance opposite of her, but not necessarily opposing her. It was an invitation.

"You make a compelling case for knowledge, but I've seen the other side of immortality." Noel shrugged. For a time, a short time, she’d been granted “immortality.” And it had ultimately failed. Add in the fact that the memories from Sebastian about swords often came with memories of losing friends and lovers and Noel was ready to live a normal-sized life. "Not that I want to die, mind you." Though her reckless lifestyle probably said otherwise.

She nodded along with his reasoning for snubbing the foil. She hadn't taken offense. Noel was far too practically minded for that. "At first it was just exercise. Then it was the challenge of squaring off against mutants in a forum where death was strictly off the table. Fencing will maintain a place in my heart. Just like running.”

Kaz's history was particularly impressive when it came to instruction. Noel found herself licking her lips. 'No! Bad, Noel. There's no extra room in your head for martial arts!' Plus, hand-to-hand with human physique against the kinds of people she squared off against? Nah. Really, she did want to live.

Noel took both swords in hand though she’d never comfortably dual wielded. Maybe it was the different types of hilt wraps and shapes, but it just felt… weird.

"I think that's kind of sad, the don't ask, don't tell, don't show thing. The people in my life who have "gifts" or whatever... it's a part of them. Sure, I get it. You go to learn weapons, you ought to learn weapons first. But what's the point in keeping the two separate after that?" Unless, of course, the weapons he'd taught were strictly academic and practice for exercise. Ah. That was a real possibility.

And that was probably the most opinion that she'd shared with a near stranger in months. For someone who had mere moments ago seemed so unapproachable, now she was planning on sticking around for a bit. Noel glanced back at the small group of onlookers. Someone gave her a thumbs up.

>”So practicality and, I'm assuming, easily concealed, are selling points for you. I've got something in mind for that, if you're open to it.”

Open to receiving recommendations from an experienced instructor? "Uh- yeah! I’m not on a time crunch or anything." Actually- Noel shuffled the weapons around so she could check her phone and browse her agenda for the day. Yeah. She had to host a girl scout meeting at midnight? but nothing until then. Sheesh. This phone was either picking up someone else's calendar or she had really forgotten a lot of stuff lately.

Kaz had looked like he was ready to answer her casual murder question. Gah! Ignorance was definitely bliss on this one. She would much rather face off against wooden sticks than carrying around the truth of deaths. Nope. That could wait until they were friends and he knew the full truth of what Noel could do. And of course, she didn’t want to tell him that either. Couldn’t they just have fun for a little bit first?

"Both swords at once?” She put the phone away and readjusted her grips while Kaz dug around for his own toys. "I’ve mostly been a one-at-a-time kind of girl so far.” But that wasn’t to say that she wasn’t willing to learn. Now, even. If that was an option.

> ”What made you call out?”

"Weapons.” Weaponsweaponsweaponsweapons. Again, she had a quick rush of mental inventory. She covered the slight eye glaze of her shifting focus by bringing both weapons up to bear between them. He had issued a non-verbal invitation. It was time to answer. "You had that real big one and I was curious. It’s a passion I’ve got a lot of time sunk into.”

She cracked her left wrist and then her right and changed her stance accordingly. "Besides-” she grinned "-I was looking for a good workout today anyway.” Noel tested the waters by leading with her off hand. She sure as heck didn’t want to maim anyone, but she did want to show off at least a little.

”Sounds like fencing is to you what gymnastics is to me. I still practice every so often, even got my own gymnasium just for it, but I moved onto martial arts and weaponry, and that's what I prefer and have a strong connection and affinity for.”

Kaz found his eyes drawn to Noel's lips as she licked them. Part of him just watched noticing that it was a different action than she had previous done. Another part of him paid attention to them intently, comparing what he felt against what she might be, realizing that to him, there was no reason to moisten his own lips, so why was she? Her lips didn't look in any way dry. His sharp eyes picked that up easily, it was one reason he tended to avoid looking at people too closely, you'll end up seeing things you do not want to.

Was she nervous about something? Kaz didn't think so, she had been quite bold for the most part and hadn't shown any real hesitation in anything. Was she excited for some reason? Possibly, though he didn't know what the reason could be.

An idle, short lived, and easily dismissed thought (like most thoughts), a thought that wasn't fully formed, passed through his mind, '..look....soft..'. Even as the thought flitted away it was drowned out by what he could feel about his own lips, the small scars from being split open a number of times. The small indentations from one of his teeth where he bit the lip in the same place, the same way. The slight roughness over the more general smooth and soft skin of his lips. All of these things went through his head and were gone so fast he hardly had time to grasp that they were thought he had.

Kaz watched Noel as she held both blades, he didn't even need to ask to know that holding both felt awkward. He hadn't expected her to take both, not that he cared that she did, but it surprised him a little. Not only were the hilts different, but the blades were designed for two different forms of combat. That, he knew would make things difficult in actual combat, until you knew what to do, and how to use each one to its best advantage. 'Maybe a dagger would work better for her if she want to use two at once...' He had one in the case...

The girl was right, and he told her so, ”After you learn the weapons, learn how to use them, and once you respect them, there is no reason not to use them with your abilities...if you have abilities.” Kaz shrugged slightly and moved his hand to draw attention to himself, ”I mean, look at me, that's what I do, it's what I've always done. I couldn't ask, let alone tell, anyone else not to do it, not without being a complete hypocrite. But I've also seen what happens when someone doesn't take the time to learn and respect the tool they're using before trying it with their powers...it...wasn't pretty.”

Kaz had to admit to himself he was glad that Noel was free, at least for a while. Not just free, but ready, willing, able, and excited? at the idea of learning something new. While she got a hand free to check her phone, Kaz rummaged in the case and pulled out a Dirk, a slim, 'long' bladed dagger. It was only slightly longer than a traditional western dagger, but its thin blade profile made it look longer than it actually way. If he had a Tanto with him, he would have pulled that out as well, to give Noel the option to choose from.

”Only if you feel comfortable with both. I hadn't expected you to pick both,” Kaz laughed lightly, ”Feel free to use just one, or swap out the Wakizashi,” He motioned to her right hand, and then to the dagger on the ground, ”with the Dirk. The Dirk was a fairly normal companion to a short sword when dual wielding back in the day. Though I'd guess most any dagger compliments a short sword when used that way.”

Weapons.

Her answer was quick and honest. He liked it. He liked how her eyes seemed to glaze over a bit, the reason she did it, he wasn't sure, but he suspected the reason was similar to his own. Kaz suppressed the smirk he felt as she continued, '...real big one...' Yes, it was completely immature, but sometimes thoughts like that just wormed their way in no matter what. Instead of letting the immature smirk show, he looked at her curiously. ”A lot of time huh? You can't be more than...what? 23..25 at the most. When did you start?”

Keeping the Escrima sticks in hand, Kaz followed Noel's lead and began cracking his knuckles, joints, neck, and back, as he took deep breaths to bring his body down to the level of a normal human. It wouldn't be any fun if he didn't. Looking at him no one would able to tell that anything had changed in the man, but he could feel it as he squared off with Noel, bringing the sticks up to mirror her own stance.

Kaz only smiled as she moved her off-hand in a strike, and he moved to double tap the flat of the blade out wide, one toward the end of the blade, the other closer in toward the hilt. Meeting the business end of the blades with wooden sticks was a loosing tactic. Instead Kaz focused on the flats and backs. Escrima's strength was in the quick movements of the tips and using the rod in joint locks, holds, throws, and breaks. Since practical and easily concealment were what Noel was looking for, he was going to show her what these two, innocent looking sticks could do.

He let one of the sticks slide until he held it at its center and used it as a double ended baton as he moved to catch her wrist between the rod and his arm, and keeping the weapon away from his own skin, while using the second rod as a defensive tool, deflecting incoming strikes.

Swap? Too late! This was what she'd been offered and it was worth a shot. Though, this was exactly why she hated dual wielding. Sure, her first strike hadn't been full force. She had to test the waters. But when she got knocked wide and off course, Noel was already shaking her head. Every opponent was a problem to solve.

She tested the waters again with her main hand this time, arcing over hand, and for a second time was rebuffed by the sticks. He used them with a feather-light touch. Sort of a flick, really. It was interesting to watch.

The weights of Noel's weapons were different, but she was starting to get used to the idea and the disjointed flurry of memories that trickled down to her consciousness as a result.

Okinawa, Japan. If she had to guess, maybe the 20's based on clothes and hair. Sebastian had been working with someone who inherited the Nihon Denryu Heiho Motobu Kenpo Dojo. Funny. She could recite the words, but hadn't a freaking clue what it was other than a building.

The other memories were dimmer, almost as if they had trickled down through water. The weapon had a large rib down the middle, but its weight was similar to this one. He used something like it to shear wheat. He was not cutting wheat in this memory.

Kaz trapped her wrist as she tested the waters a third time, still partially distracted. She brought the other weapon to bear in a low followup strike that was, quite simply, parried.

She smiled. "Yeah. A lot of time."

Age didn't have anything to do with it. Noel had practiced with Sebastian almost every single night for nearly three years. He had beat thousands of years of experience into her until she could meet him strike for strike.

What happened next was like dancing.

Noel loosened her grip on the haft of the European weapon and let the momentum of Kaz's strike against the flat of the blade carry the point back. Her loose grip acted as the fulcrum so that she was able to reverse her grip. Meanwhile, Noel dropped her weight suddenly so that her wrist pulled back out of Kaz's hold and he would have to chose to either trap the sharpened blade that was snaking out after her hand or just let her go.

The European short sword made contact and drove into the earth behind her, a miniature version of what Kaz had done earlier with the German behemoth. Noel's sinking center of gravity meant that she had to slide her feet to a wider, lower stance. As soon as the rubber of her running shoe made contact with the still wobbling short sword, the brunette exploded from what was now a crouch. She was able to reverse her moment by pushing off of the planted short sword. She lined her body up with the strike of the wakizashi, leaving as little recourse as possible and slashing in what was really a fast draw technique centered around drawing the sword and cutting as a simultaneous attacking action.

Kaz could tell the two different blades were throwing Noel off a bit, if she was use to dual wielding. If she wasn't, Kaz was a bit impressed. Most people couldn't handle two at once, either they used one and nearly forgot about the second or they got 'tangled up', the second weapon getting in the way of the first. The difference in weight and styles of the blades Noel held were what seemed to be her biggest issue, though after the first couple strikes she seemed to be getting over that. Either she really had sunk a lot of time into this sort of weapons training or she had a natural knack.

Kaz returned her smile with one of his own.

When Noel began to drop low and break his hold on her wrist, he could have used the rod to rotate her arm, move to the side and put her in another hold, locking her arm out straight in an easy position to break the elbow or strike a painful or deadly blow against her neck and head. Instead he let her slide out as he watched as the blade swing in her hand to be taken up in a reversed grip. In practice the move wasn't difficult, but in a fight, even a friendly sparring match, it was a gamble, the wielder could be disarmed easily as the blade swung. Kaz didn't go after that blade, he was curious what she'd do with it.

He had not expected Noel to let one of the blades go, did not expect her to retreat the way she had, did not expect her to use the discarded short sword as a springboard of sorts. Kaz had begun moving forward when she reversed direction and came right at him, the wakizashi in a draw position at her side. It was something he was familiar with, though he had doubts it could reach the same speeds during the draw as it could if it had been sheathed at the beginning of the draw. It was still fast and Kaz had only enough time to twist his body and move to the side opposite her drawing arm. He felt when the wakizashi's blade skimmed across his skintight shirt, parting the fabric in a short, clean line. If his skin hadn't been hardened the blade would have drawn blood, not a lot of blood, but a little, it would have been a superficial cut. He wouldn't have cared about being cut if it had happened, if you weren't prepared for it to happen, you had no right to play with real blades.

Kaz didn't back away after the strike, instead he continued his twist and struck out at the side of Noel's head in a mostly glancing blow meant to disorient though it could just as easily break bone, as the second one moved in to the back of her head in a smashing blow meant to break the skull and damage the brain inside. Of course neither strike would land with anything more than a light tap.

Kaz moved away after a few heartbeats to a neutral distance, one that would allow her to continue if she wanted, but also showed he had disengaged. If she wanted to continue he would, but, ”Well,” He said as he put a finger through the cut in his shirt and tugged at it a little, smiling, ”I have to say, I'm a bit impressed. That wasn't something I've ever seen anyone but myself do.” Kaz motioned to the wrist he had trapped. ”Mind if I show you how to get out of that hold without opening yourself up?”

When she gave him permission, he showed her not only what he could have done, strike at her neck or head to disable, disorient, or kill, break the wrist, elbow, bones in the upper or lower arm, or shoulder, he showed her how to get out of it safely, and then how to counter it. He also informed her that many of the escrima techniques could be used with knives and daggers instead of the sticks.

After showing her he took a stance and invited her to come at him again.

Back and forth they went, a series of short exchanges, some taking longer than others. After each one he showed a counter or how to get out of a hold or offered some other advice. It wasn't one sided though, more than once he asked her show him something she had done, asked why she had done it, and followed along as she repeated it. If she offered to show him how to counter, deflect, parry, or avoid something, he would listen, but he never asked, he liked to figure out that sort of thing on his own.

The shadows had grown long and begun to disappear by the time they were finally done, Kaz sported more than a few little cuts in his shirt and pants, and though he could only guess, he suspected Noel would be sporting a few bruises herself.

Kaz bowed to Noel, not deeply, but still respectfully, when she was ready to stop. Smiling, ”I didn't expect to have this much fun. You hungry? My treat.” Even if she turned his offer down, Kaz knew he had to eat soon, he could feel it in his gut. Though he hadn't pushed himself much or shifted his body often, he still needed a lot of food.

Kaz broke the giant sword down and stowed it in the case along with the dirk, shortsword, and wakizashi. When the case was closed he still had the escrima sticks in hand. Those he held out to Noel, ”A gift. They fit what you mentioned; Practical and easily concealed, and easily dismissed by others. “

Noel beamed at his praise. After seeing Kaz move, she could guess that he wasn’t the kind of man who would just pass out compliments without meaning it. And it meant so much more to her that the words tasted of honesty. She’d surprised him. He’d surprised her as well.

At first she thought their styles were incompatible, but, no… it was just differing realms of expertise. She was eager to bridge that gap and he was eager to show her. A perfect match so that by the end of the day, it was Noel that had to call uncle.

Learning this way first was novel. If she could get his memories to back this up, she would be set. How much greater was her understanding now that she’d taken the time to understand first?

The brunette returned his closing bow and rolled her neck and shoulders while she helped clean up. The slice at her shoulder was a pink pucker of scab now. If she reopened it now, that would be a hideous scar. It ached from the unexpected stretching it’d gotten today.

He promised her food, his treat. ”You sure do know the way to a girl’s heart.” And that road was paved with pizza. He also gave her the escrima sticks. She had half a mind to refuse, but… well, he was rich. Noel was learning that rich people did stuff like that. ”Thank you. I feel bad ‘cause I didn’t get you anything.” Maybe she owed him a new shirt?

She teased him as they walked to his vehicle so he could deposit the cache of weapons. It was hilarious to her that he just picked that whole thing up. ”Like. No big deal. Just a couple hundred pounds. It’s nothing.” She did a fair impression of Kaz, if Noel did say so herself. Weapons secured, they started to get their food plans nailed down.

She was distracted with the good company and through the day had learned to ignore the group of onlookers. That’s why she didn’t pay any mind to the leather jacket clad group they were walking into.

At least, not until someone stepped into her path.

“Going somewhere?”

She had to look up. And up and up. He was bald and there was a long slice in his shirt that framed a long slice of pink puckered scar like Noel’s, only his had been much shallower or he just healed that much faster.

“Remember me, pumkin?”

Oh. Crud. Pop quiz time? She looked at him and was really drawing a blank. ”Should I?” She glanced at Kaz to make sure he wasn’t about to white knight her and then went to step around the buffon.

“Oh no.” He put out his arm to stop her. “You’re not leaving that easy, girl pie. You owe us an apology for the incident at Vaterland.”

“And a new belt!” Someone else chimed in, eliciting a round of chuckles.

”Vater…” Her face fell. Oh no. She’d seen video footage of herself and Hades wading through a sea of leather clad and irate bikers in front of a German bar. Vaterland.

”Ah.” She looked up and made sure they had real good eye contact before she let her pupils vibrate back and forth. Forget about the bar fight. Forget why you’re mad.

“Don’t look her in the eyes!” Someone took a swing at Noel’s head. She was a bit too absorbed to be paying attention to her periphery and had no shot at stopping it in time.

Good thing she wasn’t alone.

Kaz like to think of himself as being observant, especially when it came to those he faced off against, but until everything was packed away he hadn't noticed the cut on her shoulder, or the tattoos, or the bruises that he instantly knew he hadn't inflicted. He wondered if he would have noticed them if he hadn't seen her stretching her neck and shoulders which called his attention to them. He realized that he had begun frowning after noticing them all, partially due to not noticing them before and partially because he wondered where they had come from. Cuts like her's weren't something you got accidentally in the kitchen. He was curious enough to ask about them, but decided that whatever happened might be a prickly subject, and if she didn't volunteer the information, he'd leave it alone.

Grinning, ”I aim to please m'dear.” He said as he gave her a little bow and tip of the head. He waved off her comment, ”But you did. An unexpected good time, and you showed me a few things I hadn't known before. I'd call us even.” If she had tried to give the escrima sticks back to him, he would have pointedly ignored them until she relented. Reaching down he grabbed the case's sturdy leather wrapped kevlar strap, once off the ground and they began walking he slung the strap over his shoulder and head, adjusted it and had the case laying across his back at a slant, similar to how someone might carry a sword. The weight of case had him leaning forward at the waist just a bit. Kaz might be ridiculously strong, but physics was still a thing and he still had to play by its rules.

Kaz looked askew at Noel when she began teasing him about the case. It was something he did so often it really didn't seem like that big of a deal to him, but apparently it was to normal people. When she did an impression of him, he couldn't help but snort out a laugh before it turned into a real laugh. ”Well, it is nothing, to me at least. But it is damned awkward, keep feeling like I'm gonna fall backwards unless I lean really far over.” He made an exaggerated show of leaning forward while taking heavy, deliberate steps, while trying not to fall over.

After stowing the case in the Hummer they began walking toward the pizza parlor Noel had suggested. ”Pizza is the king of foods...After steak...or..maybe bacon is.” Kaz's face was quite serious as he spoke. Turning to her, ”What do you think? Bacon or pizza, which one reigns supreme?”

Kaz wasn't as distracted as Noel was, he had seen the cliche Hell's Angels wannabes ahead of them, but he hadn't given them more than a passing thought. If he had, he would not only have realized it was a very, very odd thing to see them in Central Park, but that they were men on a mission, their attention clearly on Noel.

They had been standing off to the side of the path until the two of them came close. When the largest of the group stepped in front of Noel, blocking her path, Kaz looked the guy up and down. He was probably suppose to seem imposing with the leather, bald head, beefy frame, and scars.

“Going somewhere?” The man said in a gruff voice. Without moving his body much, Kaz looked from the man to Noel. The scar he sported didn't look as fresh as Noel's, but Kaz took a monumentally small mental leap and figured both were from the same incident and that Noel had given it to the burly man.

“Remember me pumkin?” 'Really? Did he really just say that?' Kaz mentally groaned at the words. There was no question now, there was definitely something going on here he didn't know about.

”Should I?” Kaz glanced at Noel when she spoke. He wasn't sure if her glance to him was a way to ask for his help or just to see what he was doing or if she was trying to tell him not to do anything. As far as Kaz was concerned at that moment, he might like Noel as far as he knew her, enjoyed sparing with her and enjoyed her company up to the current moment, but the situation was a conflict between humans. It wasn't his problem. He wouldn't let them kill or seriously injure her, but until it went to that point, he'd stay out of it.

Kaz watched the short exchange between the two while he kept an eye on the other four men in the group. They really did look like a group of scum-bags, Kaz wondered if he would be doing the world a favor if he killed them all, right then. It didn't take much wondering, he would be doing the world a favor. If it came to it, he could, and would, kill them, if he felt inclined to do so.

Kaz was snapped out of his personal musings when one of them shouted something about not looking into Noel's eyes. That was important. So when the doubled up chain was swung at her head, Kaz's arm shot out and caught the metal links in his hand well before it would have connected with her unprotected skull. Turning his look at her, ”You're a mutant?” Going by the shouted words, it was true, but he wanted confirmation. Not that he'd wait for it before acting. If there was a possibility that she was, Kaz would act first and find out later.

The man holding the chain looked at Kaz in surprise, whether because he had caught the chain or because of how fast Kaz's arm had moved, or maybe it was something else entirely. Kaz thought he might have seen a very slight light of recognition in the man's eyes. For his part, Kaz noticed the chain was wrapped around the man's hand as he gripped it. Pulling hard on the chain took the man's balance and chain from him, nearly dislocating his shoulder in the process, and brought him into Kaz's reach. ”It's not polite to hit a lady.” Whipping the chain around the man's neck he pulled him close, out of reach of Noel.

Kaz's face was stony when he looked at Q-ball. ”We got a problem here baldy? Why don't you tell me what your issue is with my friend here, hmm? Or would you prefer I snapped this moron's neck?” Kaz watched the other men bristle at his words and brandish a couple knives and at least one had a bat that he could see.

The one Kaz held close to him with the chain around his neck, had apparently been concealing a knife as well because Kaz felt it when the blade jabbed at his gut, cutting yet another hole in his shirt. It was the man who cried out when the blade failed to pierce Kaz's skin. His hand had slid off the grip and along the blade when it stopped suddenly against Kaz's body. Releasing his hold on the chain and the man, Kaz spun him away a few steps before kicking him in the back. The man landed in a heap some 15ft away, bleeding from the large, very deep gashes in his fingers. ”Humans,” He looked away from the man, ”Are you all that stupid?”

Kaz picked up the knife at his feet, holding it out, hilt first, toward Noel before setting the chain to spinning at his side.