The Sharpest Blade (My Vampire System Fan-Fic)

The day disappeared with the sun as it vanished beyond the horizon. The bright blue sky gave way to rich orange and yellow, soft pink and eventually vibrant purples and electrifying inky blues. The wide open, cloudless, night sky was ablaze with the radiating, searing white hot of the innumerable stars, glinting like a geode as they painted the vast evening darkness. The population of Earth has been drastically reduced after the war, but it had already started to recover at this point. However, it was nothing to the scale of what it had once been in the time before the Dalki descended. Far fewer major cities existed, and much less of a population resided in each one. So light pollution was nowhere near the issue that many elders had complained about when Vorden was a child.

He and Jade had lingered a bit when everybody first arrived since they had a few minutes before their table would be ready. They stood just outside the popular eatery. Vorden was behind Jade, and she rested her head back on his chest as he held his arms around her. They stood out of the way, off to the side, in the darkness. They both had their eyes towards the sky. Jade had a very impressive knowledge of the heavens. She knew the names of nearly all of the constellations and could even identify most of the well studied ones. Vorden too had been taught about the heavenly bodies, especially when it came to navigation. It was enjoyable just standing together, enjoying something that they both had a level of knowledge about.

It wasn't too long before their table was ready, and they all funneled in to be seated. They enjoyed light conversation, getting to know each other better. Vorden spent some time updating Sil on some of the things he was doing with his students. Shiro had many questions about the new Military base itself and as well as the command structure and various protocols of the military that has been improved upon. Specifically curious to know if they had implemented any of the ideas he had shared.

Eventualy, that conversation included more and more input from Jade. She was more familiar with the details of the military. This lead to questions about her subjects of instruction. Which of course surprised a couple, and inevitably had to be expanded on. As the evening carried on so did the drinks.

Raten just listened, not saying much and grinning, as he slowly swirled the ice cube around in his drink . Eventually he spoke up. "So, Jade, I gotta ask—do all history teachers talk as much as you when they drink? Or are you just a special case?" A maniacal glint sparkled in his eyes as the whole table fell silent.

Jade, with a deadpan expression, took a long drink of her beverage and responded coldly. "Oh, I'm definitely a special case. See, unlike many other nerds, I will not only bore you with a lot of facts, but I can and will also out drink you." She turned back to the others to continue the conversation being had prior.

Raten raised a single eyebrow and asked with a hint of amusement, "Is that a challenge?"

Vorden, tried to lighten the weight of the atmosphere that had suddenly settled over the table and added while mildly chuckling "Don't do it, it's a trap." To neither of them in particular.

Shiro leaned in close to him and whispered "Which one are you giving the warning to?"

"Both" he replied with an apologetic expression.

Jade simply smiled sweetly, then turned to face Raten "I love to take advantage of educational opportunities. You'll learn your limits real quick." Then she winked at him. Shiro shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

Cassidy couldn't hold herself back from laughing. "Oh, I like her." She said, very amused at the turn of events.

Shiro cast an exasperated gaze at Raten. "Please don't turn this into another one of your "who can make the dumbest decision" contests."

The corner of Sil's mouth turned upward into a grin. Then with one hand placed on Shiro's shoulder he said matter of factly, "It's too late. I can see the gears already spinning in his brain."

" Hey! I make great decisions. I just… usualy forget about them in the moment. " Raten replied with a mock offense.

Jade smirked and lifted her glass. "Then let's toast to poor decisions."

Everyone lifted their own glasses and a couple of chuckles could be heard as they all said, "To poor decisions!"

The mood lightened a bit to Vorden's relief. Then the evening continued and the playful banter did too as they finished their meals.

Cassidy began chatting with Jade about her work. "Combat strategy? That's impressive, it takes somebody with a great deal of intellect to be successful in that position. Did you have much training in that specifically or is it mainly experience based?"

"A little of both typically. I mean, I had loads of training both in my youth and at University. There are of course degrees that can be obtained but with the military they are always going to prioritize practical experience over simple theoretical." Jade slipped back into her teacher persona with ease.

Raten said through a mouth full of food, "You know what they say, those who can't do- teach." Then he smiled while he continued chewing.

Vorden narrowed his eyes slightly looking at Raten, then he asked with a grin, "You sure you want to keep poking the bear? If you push her too far, she might push back... "

Jade grinned mischievously. Then she spoke in an amused tone. "Oh, I'm counting on it."

Raten picked up his drink frowning. He thew his head back and drank all the remaining liquid inside with one fell swoop. When he had drained the cup completely he slammed the glass down on the table. He then slammed his hands down on either side of his plate, "That's it. After this, we're drinking for real."

Raising an eyebrow, mirroring his own expression she grinned and continued in her taunting tone "I thought we already were?"

The Blade compound's canteen was empty and pitch black when they first arrived. As late as it was this was not unusual. Of course the perk of owning the building is that the owner has the keys, and can open it any time he likes. So that's what they did. They all filed through the narrow doorway created by Shiro sliding the unlocked security gate over slightly. Instead of pulling it open all the way across the wide hallway width, he just held it open for everybody then allowed it to shut behind them. That way nobody would think it was actually open for regular use.

At a center table, one would never have guessed from the exterior but just beyond that security gate the real action was unfolding. Raten and Jade sat opposite each other, a growing collection of empty glasses lined up like trophies between them. Around the table, Vorden, Cassidy, Sil, and Shiro sat as eager spectators, watching the escalating contest with a mix of curiosity and growing concern.

Raten poured two more shots, the amber liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rim. "Alright, Professor Brightmoor," he said, sliding one glass toward her with a cocky grin, "let's see you back up all that big talk."

Jade took the shot glass with a calm, measured grace, completely unfazed. "Oh, I can," she replied smoothly. "The real question is, can you handle getting schooled?"

Vorden sighed, rubbing his temples as he watched the impending disaster unfold. "This is going to end in flames. Or broken bones. Or both."

Cassidy, already half-grinning, leaned into the table. "And I love it."

Sil sat back in his chair, folding his arms with an amused glint in his eye. "What's the over-under on who throws up first?"

"Statistically speaking," Shiro chimed in, "Raten has the advantage. Bigger body mass, and all—"

"Yeah, yeah, science boy," Cassidy cut him off with a wave of her hand. "But look at Jade. She's too calm. That's dangerous."

Another round of shots disappeared in seconds. Raten slammed his glass down, squinting at Jade. "Y'know, I gotta admit… I was expecting you to be, I don't mlknow, more... respectable?"

Jade gave him an innocent smile, her tone dripping with mock sincerity. "Oh, I'm very respectable. I just also happen to be exceptionally good at bad decisions."

Sil burst out laughing, clapping a couple of times in approval

"Words to live by," Shiro rolling his eyes, nodding solemnly.

Vorden, leaned in with a knowing look, and whispered, "You don't have to keep up with him, you know."

Jade gasped dramatically. "And admit defeat? I'd rather taste the icy kiss of death upon my lips than utter such ridiculous lies." She leaned in close and gave Vorden a kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, then leaned back and said looking him in the eyes "You've got it all wrong. It's HIM that has to keep up with ME."

Cassidy gave Raten a playful nudge. "I think you might have a long night ahead of you."

Raten, now noticeably tipsy, flashed a wide grin. "Nah, Cass. I think she's just stalling."

Jade tilted her head, staring himcool and collected. "I think you're just swaying a little."

With a thud, Raten downed another shot, slamming the glass down onto the table. "Alright—enough warm-up. Let's raise the stakes. Push-ups."

She laughed, a playful glint in her eye. "Tempting. But I feel like that might be a little unfair?"

"I am nothing if not fair, like any gentleman, I of course would accept yours to be done modified style."

Vorden's hand flew up and made a loud smacking sound against his forehead.

There was a quiet pause, as everybody looked around at one another. A silent question was being asked and answered by everybody in the room except Raten.

Vorden groaned and ran his hand down his face before letting out a big sigh and placing a hand on Raten's shoulder. "You know she is in the army right?"

Raten blinked a few times, looking around at everybody slightly confused.

Shiro couldn't take it any longer and blurted out "Like in the army? You know, boot camp and all?" He blinked back his hand out, waiting for the wheels in Raten's head to click.

When there came no moment of clarity for the oblivious Blade, Sil began to laugh. He leaned towards his unfortunate and confused brother. "As in the military, where in boot camp they are ordered to drop and perform any number of push up constantly? You first of all are quite offensive in suggesting that she for some reason can't perform standard push-ups but to take it a step further, you are challenging that military member to a contest to perform that very action in hopes of winning? Pretty foolish endeavour." Sil just shook his head with an apologetic expression.

Shiro had his arms folded, shaking his head along with Sil. "A foolish endeavour indeed. Just the strategy one should expect from a fool."

"Lies! Slander!" Raten cried, clutching his chest in actual offense this time. "I am not a fool, and I am an excellent strategist."

Vorden raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What's your strategy now?"

Raten hesitated for a moment thinking, then proudly declared, "Drink, until I win, of course!" puffing out his chest a bit as he spoke.

Jade didn't miss a beat following up with a quick "Flawless."

Several more rounds in, both of them looked worse for wear—flushed cheeks, swaying slightly—but neither showed signs of backing down. Cassidy, thoroughly entertained, leaned toward Vorden. "This is… honestly impressive."

Sil, his grin practically splitting his face, chimed in, "It's like watching two titans fight over a hill made of bad choices."

"I don't think any of this was a good idea," Shiro muttered nervously.

Jade, eyes glassy but still sharp, suddenly sat up straighter. "You know… I think Raten's suggestion was actually accurate, he just had the wrong answer, we need a new challenge."

Raten blinked at her, clearly processing through the haze of alcohol. "What's that? Did you just say that I was right?"

Rolling her eyes at first, Jade drew her arm up and slammed her elbow onto the table, hand outstretched. "How about arm wrestling."

Vorden groaned. "Oh, no." He brought his hand to his forehead once more.

"Absolutely not!" Shiro panicked, already envisioning the carnage. "Last time that Raten arm-wrestled someone in here, we had to replace a wall."

Cassidy giggled. "Yeah, and who could forget the tragedy of the dent."

Sil chuckled fondly. "R.I.P. that table. You were a good soldier." Vorden called across the room, looking in the direction of the kitchen back room where the table in question had gone to retire.

Shiro, looking like he might actually be sick, pleaded, "Please, let's not destroy the furniture again."

Jade, grinning at Raten, tilted her head. "Fine. Let's take it to the training hall."

Raten's grin widened. "Now that I can agree to."

Chairs scraped back as the entire group stood, most of them sighing in resignation. Sil casually placed a hand on the back of Shiro as they walked out.

"You're gonna want to move some funds around I think," Sil said, his tone far too cheerful. "You'll probably need it for the damages."

Shiro stopped dead with a look of horror before he said, groaning. "I hate that you're probably right."