Title: Knife's Edge
Author: Phoenixflame
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Fujin Matahana has more than a few skeletons 
in the closet, and one of them just came back to haunt 
her...
Disclaimer: This fic is made purely for my own amusement. 
And because I like Fujin's character. This fic is not 
being used to make money, and I am making negative 
quantities of money on it.
Authors Notes: Set nominally in the same universe as 
Winter's Child. The idea of Fujin as the daughter of 
Adel's Knight was just /neat/ and I had to play with it 
a little. With apologies to whoever wrote that fic...



Fujin liked edged weapons.

Almost half a year ago, in Garden, she'd been pushed to 
settle on a single weapon, along with Raijin. Fujin held 
the idea of specializing in one single weapon distasteful. 
Unfortunately, the Garden Faculty weren't a bunch to be 
dissuaded by a loud "RAGE!" and a kick. So she settled on 
an odd bladed weapon shaped like a circle of blue flame.

But as soon as she had money after the Sorceress War, 
she'd bought herself a katana, a sai, and a few bone-handled 
knives. She kept the assortment on a weapons rack in the small 
room of the ramshackle little house in Dollet, along with the 
weapon she'd taken from Garden. 

The singing of a blade was music to the silver-haired girls 
ears. There was no weapon she couldn't master. Only the fact 
that Seifer wouldn't let her or Raijin touch his gunblade 
kept her from adding it to a long list of weapons she was 
proficient in.

She reverently lifted the katana from the weapon's rack, 
and rose to her feet with a smooth elegance of movement that
 most people didn't expect of her. Her booted feet echoed on 
the old wood of the house as she headed for the roof.

Before the former Disciplinary Committee had bought the house, 
it had been a house no sane person in Dollet would want. Old 
and rickety, it had been built by a rich but insane man decades 
ago. He had died in the house, and it had been rumoured to be 
haunted.

Of course, the moaning of Blood Souls didn't help matters any. 
After a summary eviction of the nest of pesky monsters, the
 three had paid a small amount for the house, and proceeded 
to fix it up. While not on a par with the more upscale houses 
of Dollet, it was clean, warm and comfortable.

Fujin climbed the rope ladder to the roof with only one hand, 
the katana and the cleaning kit in the other. Hoisting herself 
up onto the roof, she moved over to the back of the house, where 
the roof peaked over a small balcony just big enough for all 
three of the house's occupants to stretch out on.

Sitting down, Fujin unlaced her boots and set them aside. Removing 
her socks, she neatly balled them up and stuck one in each boot. 
The silver-haired girl loved order, and was fastidious in her 
day to day life.

Crossing her legs, she centered herself, then spoke.

"And among the Hyne was the Goddess of the Wind, Halleyana." she 
said, speaking in the oh so betraying sing-song voice that marked 
her as a child of one of Adel's bloodthirsty and loyal Knights. It 
sang sweetly of the wind, and sounded like a chime. "Halleyana was 
tall and slight, as thin as a reed, and as fay as her domain." She
opened the case which held the supplies she used, and laid it down
by her knee.

"Halleyana had a brother, who's name was Adranall. He was the
God of Swords, and he had gifted her with a light and thin blade
fashioned in mithril and diamonds. And whenever Halleyana wielded
the blade, the wind blew." Fujin unsheathed the katana in one 
smooth motion. It shimmered in the moonlight.

"It sang, Ho, I am the blade of wind. Fashioned by Adranall,
Wielded by his sister. Lo, I am the wind, Speak the name of Sanneska,
And that shall call the storm."

Fujin took out a stone, and rubbed the blade smooth. It had a very
small scratch from practice with Seifer during the day. As she
worked, she sang softly.

"Ho, I am the blade of wind. Fashioned by Adranall. 
Wielded by his sister. Lo, I am the wind. Speak the name of Sanneska,
And that shall call the storm."

She put down the stone in the case, and picked up a square of cloth.
After finishing her thorough polishing, she folded the square of 
cloth and put it back in the case." Picking up the katana, she
climbed up onto the roof, and began to run the sword through
various drills. 

The simple drills of cut, slash and block passed swiftly, and
the silver-haired woman quickly moved into the forms she'd
learned as a child in Esthar. Halfway through Dragon Form,
she became aware that someone was watching her.

Twirling gracefully out of the pose she had been in, she settled
lightly on the pads of her feet, sword held up with one hand,
pointed at the man who stood near the ladder. 

"Se..." She caught herself, and cleared her throat, roughening 
her voice. "SEIFER. AWAKE. WHY?" The ex-Knight often slept 
like the dead, unawakable until morning, and even then it
took coffee that made Fujin's hair curl just by smelling it.

"I got woken up by someone singing. And drop the bullshit talk,
we both know you don't really sound like that."

Fujin frowned. "KNOW... How do you know?" she asked, lapsing
into normal speech.

"Raijin may have forgotten your little speech on Lunatic
Pandora, but I sure as hell didn't." he replied flatly. "When
did you get so damn good with the katana?"

"I've been practicing."

"Bullshit. You don't improve like that overnight. You were
holding back."

"WAS NOT."

"I can tell just from that form you could have held your
own, but I disarmed you in three moves."

"SEIFER GOOD. FUJIN BAD."

"Speak normally, for chrissake!" Seifer yelled.

From the roof beneath their feet, a sleepy male voice
emerged. "Keep it down. Some people are trying to sleep,
ya know."

Fujin just scowled.