Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Midvalley's Serenade ❯ Graduation Day ( Chapter 20 )

Graduation Day

We got a few hours of sleep that night. Nick was up and out the door a little after the first sunrise. For him that was sleeping in. He gave me a kiss before he left. I slept in until the second sunrise, cleaned up and dressed in the coolest suit I owned, a pale yellow with light gray pinstripes that I wore with a pink shirt so pastel it was practically white. I put on my two-tone wingtip shoes and checked my outfit in the mirror. No doubt about it. I looked good.

I took Silvia out of her case and polished her until she shone. I put my lips on the mouthpiece and tested the reed. I played a bit of the song I hadn't finished, the one I'd come to think of as Nick's tune. Before I knew it, a half-hour had passed. I set Silvia down and headed out the door. I strolled over to the dining hall. It was practically empty. Due to his demanding preparations for the picnic, the cook had put minimal effort into breakfast. Most of the students and staff ate a sparing breakfast on the last day of the school year, saving up room for the culinary main event, a whole tomas slow-roasted on the spit with all the trimmings.

There were donuts and muffins on the sideboard. I selected a plain donut, poured a cup of coffee, doctored it with cream , and then headed out the door taking the cup with me. I was curious to see how close to the scheduled start, events would actually begin.

Leonof, as usual, was putting a lot of effort into making sure the picnic was a success. He had put several of his puppets to work already. The cook was supervising their efforts in the shade of a tented area set aside for food preparation and service. One was stoking the fire in the fire pit, a couple were peeling potatoes and still others, chopping up onions and peppers.

Leonof was sitting in the shade, programming instructions into more of his puppets when I greeted my former mentor and partner.

"Hey, Leonof, I see you're hard at it, as usual. Is this thing going to get off the ground on time?"

"Of course. Speaking of time, you're just in time," he said.

"In time for what?" I asked just a bit perplexed.

Leonof paused as he checked the wiring in another puppet. He always enjoyed injecting a bit of theater into our interactions.

"I can't wait to hear," I prompted him, and then waited a bit while he got around to telling me in his own good time. Knowing Leonof, it was sure to be interesting.

"It's that Mine fellow, the one who was bad-mouthing you and Chapel and that Jigenzan fellow, Rai-dei. He was full of himself this morning, fresh from the conquest of Dominique last night. I asked him to help me untangle some of the control wires on the puppets and he said to me, `You know what, old man,' he had the nerve to call me old, Midvalley, `Old man, I don't take orders from you any more. From now on, I pull my own strings."

"I can't believe he was stupid enough to say that," I said, and truly I couldn't believe he had been stupid enough to say that. Leonof was legendary at the academy for the novel paybacks he invented for students who pissed him off. Leonof didn't take shit from anyone.

"So, what are you doing?"

"You'll see."

I heard EG Mine shouting, "What in the hell are you doing?" before I saw what he was shouting about. He was attempting to hurry away from a pursuer. Running in his heavy weapon suit was almost impossible due to the weight of the spikes. The best he could manage was a fast walk and Grey Nine-Lives was already almost on top of him.

"Leonof, those spikes of his could be dangerous," I warned my former mentor.

"Rest easy, Midvalley, one of my puppets already disabled the triggering mechanism."

I watched with some satisfaction when Grey bent down and picked up Mine by the ankles and held him upside down. Mine was pulling fruitlessly on his trigger release cords and swearing a blue streak.

"Fuck, shit, goddamn cock-sucking cords," he spewed. "Where the fuck are you taking me, Grey? Oh, God, no, Grey!"

Grey started to swing Mine around in a big circle, around and around, to build up a head of steam. Grey then moved over to a food prep table where a very large boneless raw tomas roast was sitting. Grey smacked the raw meat with E.G. Mine in his spiked weapon suit, battering the meat again and again. Each time Mine's face was only inches from the raw carcass, his open mouth screaming in terror.

I had to laugh when I finally realized that Grey was using Mine as a meat tenderizer. "Just when I thought I'd seen it all, you outdo yourself. Another one for the record books," I put out my hand and shook his.

"You were always my best partner, Midvalley. None of these new whippersnappers is worth a damn. Mark my words, one of these days you'll be Legato's right hand man."

"That's very flattering," I commented, "but you and Chapel the Evergreen serve him so well, he is allowing me to go on tour with my band."

" Legato bears a heavy burden," he continued. "His dedication to the work of Master Knives leaves him with few social outlets. You were the only student near his age whose talents came remotely close to matching his, the only one with whom he developed a rapport. Though Chapel the Evergreen and I aid him to the best of our abilities, we cannot give him the understanding that someone of his generation would. It is obvious to me and to Chapel the Evergreen, that he is sorely in need of a peer and confidant and we hope that some day, you will be that man."

"As I say, this is all very flattering, but I haven't spent much time with Legato since we were students. And now that he is my supervisor, it is difficult to see him in any other light. I realize that Master Knives is a demanding taskmaster, and confess that I am relieved that Legato bears the burden of pleasing him. Legato seems to be handling his duties with great confidence. When I met Legato a couple of weeks ago, I asked after Master Knives. He told me that his health was improving. Since you get nearly daily updates from headquarters, I am curious to know how much better he is now, if I'm not out of line."

"Master Knives is not well. His health has taken a turn for the worse since Legato left. I am told that he can no longer leave the regeneration tank. In addition to his other psychic abilities, Legato is an empath with some healing ability. Master Knives' healing accelerated when he was able to tap into Legato's talent. It takes a toll on Legato. He has looked pale and ill after, but willingly gives of his strength to aid our master."

Legato will be leaving to rejoin Knives either this evening or tomorrow morning. I understand that Knives has been in an angry mood. I would not want to be in Legato's shoes…or in Mr. Mine's. It appears that Grey is finished, the roast is tenderized, and E.G. Mine will likely never insult me again."

After Grey thwacked the roast with the E.G. Mine spikes one last time, he rapidly swung the terrified student around in circles for almost a minute and then set him down on his feet. Mine lurched and staggered dizzily like a drunk until shortly he stumbled over his own feet and fell. Then he threw up in the face mask his wore. Leonof sighed happily.

I dunked my donut into the now tepid coffee, took a bite and headed off to the assembly field considering Leonof's words about Legato while I faced facts about what was on Legato's mind with regards to me.

It seemed to be about sex. I had been in denial but it was obvious that he wanted to have sex with me. Had had sex with me several times, if only vicariously through the mental link that time had not erased. Despite my gratitude to him for past kindness, Legato was not quite a friend anymore if he had ever been that. But he was more to me than an acquaintance, surely, for we had been intimate. At the beginning of our short affair, years before when we were students, I had at one point felt the beginning of loving feelings for him, which I thought he had returned. It had seemed to me at the time that when Legato became Master Knives' man, he forgot entirely about me. It hurt me when he left without even saying good-bye. It made me feel that I had misunderstood his intentions. Then I rebounded, fell into bed with Lenny, and from Lenny on, had for the most part avoided the entanglements of love. All I wanted for the longest time from a sex partner was to just fuck with no strings attached and no chance for heartache-until Nick came along.

If I was honest with myself and for some reason this morning I was, Legato was the reason why I gave up on love. If I was honest with myself, I had been in love with him. If I was honest with myself, the truth was I felt Legato abandoned me and broke my heart. After he left me, I decided that I would never let myself be that vulnerable again-until Chapel came along with his innocence and naivete and set the life I'd been leading on its ear, when he taught me how to love again. And now with Nick leaving soon, I felt some of the same fears and vulnerabilities returning.

But why was Legato so interested in attempting to resume a sexual relationship with me? I deeply resented his interference in my relationship with Nick, but now that I realized the mindset that precipitated it, I began to understand some of the feelings that lay behind his behavior. I sensed that what Legato felt was more than just an itch that he wanted to scratch though I doubted it was love he wanted from me. Maybe it was what Leonof had suggested that he wanted an intimate confidant.

To be completely honest with myself, I was flattered that someone as brilliant and attractive as Legato still wanted me, despite the hopelessness of that desire. With the empathic link between us there was no way Legato could have missed the depth of my feelings for Nick or the satisfaction that my fidelity to him gave me. I sighed just to think again of how my love for Nick made me feel whole.

I reflected on the sexual images Legato had sent me over the past weeks. He had reminded me of the purity of his excitation and the emotional closeness he felt with me when we made love as students and he had let me see how Knives used him and I had felt his pain.

I sensed that Legato's overtures to me were an attempt to achieve a degree of intimacy and understanding that Knives denied him. "I am so lonely," Legato had said. Though Legato almost always presented a calm unruffled demeanor, yet in my empathic link with him I could feel loneliness and unhappiness. I had this sense of his hanging back like an unloved child.

In an intuitive flash, it dawned on me. He wanted me to use my healing ability to ease his pain. Just as he had after his arm was amputated and the pain he sent through our link killed Mark. The truth was I was afraid to open myself to Legato. I had always told myself I was afraid of his power, but I was more afraid that if I opened myself fully to the empathic link we shared, I would find the reason that he had rejected me. But secure in Nick's love, I no longer cared why Legato had abandoned me. It felt satisfying to finally come to terms with the truth that had unconsciously driven my behavior for so many years. Out of curiosity, I opened the link with Legato and reached out.

At this very moment, Legato was suffering, his heart twisted by a pain so deep, I could barely stand to touch it . I had rarely recalled, that he was an empath like myself until Leonof had reminded me. Now, I understood what he had done on my behalf after my rape, the magnitude of the suffering he had taken into himself for me. With no thought of being unfaithful to Nicholas, but with every thought of paying Legato back for his past kindness to me, I reached out with the healing touch of my mind to Legato and lent him my strength. He took everything I gave him, but it barely made a dent in healing the pain. I was about to pull away, but against my will, he drew more from me. I struggled to resist, but as he continued to drain me, my knees grew weak, my vision went dark, my hands started to tremble, and the coffee cup slipped from my nerveless fingers. Finally with the sound of roaring in my ears, I reeled, collapsed and fainted.

The next thing I recalled was the grip of a hand round my wrist, and voices whispering in my head.

"I warned you this might kill him."

"Another dead spider. Oh, the gods will weep and mourn."

"It's not easy finding one's with healing ability."

"You'd say anything to save your whore."

"He's no good to you dead"

"Save your spider-whore, then."

"As you wish, master."

"I defiled that arm when I gave it to you."

Then for a time the only sound I heard was calm, deep, measured breathing and the rhythm of it put me to sleep and I dreamed.

I heard my mother's voice singing, "Rock-a-bye, baby, on the tree-top,"

I saw her looking down at me with love in her eyes,

"When the wind blows the cradle will rock,"

I looked up at her again, and saw Legato bending over me in the pink dress, watching me with tenderness,

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall," he whispered with tears falling from his golden eye as he began to take me in his arms,

"And down will come baby, cradle and all…"

I slipped out of his grasp and started to fall from a great height. I saw the ruined hulks of ships cratered in the sand of the planet below, looked up and saw the eyes of the five moons on me. I felt strong winds buffeting me, looked below and felt a shiver of fear as the ground rushed up to meet me. I'm going to die, I realized with a sob in my throat. When I hit the ground my body bucked and I cried out-

and woke with a start my hands clutched in the sand of the street, my heart beating like a rabbit's.

"Midvalley."

I felt arms around me.

I looked up startled and saw Nick looking down at me. His face was pale under his tan.

"What happened? Are you all right?" he asked with worried eyes.

I struggled to make my mouth form words.

"I fell," I said.

I was none too clear on what had actually just happened. I had a splitting headache.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I said.

I rolled out of Nick's arms onto all fours, my body wracked by waves of nausea. After the coffee and donut came up, there wasn't much left to follow, but the contractions of dry heaves continued. When they finally stopped, I sat back on my haunches.

"Have I been out long?" I asked.

"Only a few minutes," said Leonof. I turned my head to look at him. He was standing next to Legato.

"Legato," I murmured in surprise. A memory tickled at the back of my sluggish mind.

"Did you need a hand up, Midvalley?" Legato asked and he knelt down beside me and encircled my wrist with his fingers.

Nick knelt on the other side and gripped my hand and elbow and they helped me to my feet. I think I came up too fast. I must have lost consciousness again and started to fall, for when I came to, I found myself propped between Nick and Legato. Their arms around me had kept me from falling. I felt my strength returning. When the support of Legato's hand finally left me, I found I was able to stand on my own. I sighed in relief.

"Feeling better?" asked Legato.

"Much," I sighed again. Even the headache was gone.

"I hope you're well enough to play your sax at the dance."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, " I said.

"I've got to go, said Legato, "It's time to start. Stay with him awhile, Chapel. Let me know if he starts to feel worse."

Legato looked at me as if he regretted leaving me. Now that I looked at him more closely, I could see he looked a little drawn and fatigued himself. He walked slowly towards the assembly field, while Leonof trailed behind him.

"The sharpshooting tournament is about to begin, Midvalley. There are seats in the shade. Can we go see it?" Nick said with some eagerness in his voice.

"I wouldn't want to miss your moment of glory," I said with a smile.

Nick strode off briskly and I tried to keep pace with him, but I still felt weak and had to walk slowly. When Nick saw I was lagging, he was back at my side in an instant with a contrite look on his face.

"I didn't know you were still feeling ill, Middie," he said apologetically.

"Just a little weak is all."

"Can I get you something to eat or drink?"

"I'd probably just throw it up."

"You're not having a relapse from the concussion, are you?"

"I don't think so, Nick."

"You have to promise me that you'll take care of yourself while I'm gone."

"Don't worry about me," I said. "While you're out killing bad guys for Knives, I'll be holed up in my studio making beautiful music with Silvia or out on tour with the band. You'll be in a lot more danger than I will."

"When I found you lying on the ground back there, you were so still I thought for a minute that maybe you were…"

"Did I make a handsome corpse, Nick?" I chuckled. "I think this suit might be a good one to be buried in."

"It's not funny, Middie."

"When I die, what's that bit of scripture? He who lives by the something?"

"He who lives by the sword shall perish by the sword."

"Yeah, that's it, but for me it would be, `He who lives by the horn shall perish by the horn.' I can't think of a better way to go. Dying with my lips on Silvia's mouthpiece, taking one last breath, and then blowing myself out like a candle…"

"Why so morbid, Midvalley? This isn't like you."

"The stink of death is all around us," I said grimly.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Nick asked in consternation.

I burst into laughter and said, "I haven't got a fucking clue. Let's see this tournament."

This year, as in some previous years, but by no means all, there was a team tournament in addition to an individual tournament.

Nick found us seats in the shade. I saw Dominique sitting in a different section and waved at her. She acknowledged the greeting with a nod of her head. She looked a little hung over, and the collar of her shirt was buttoned to the top, I noted.

As we settled in, Nick filled me in on the action. "Right now, Ben Evans is competing against E.G. Mine in rifles."

I could see Nick was tense watching their technique.

"Relax, exhale, aim and squ-e-e-eze," I heard him say under his breath. His body moved in response to the bullets' trajectories. It was as if he thought he could will them to their targets with body English, though it was his teaching ability that was getting the job done.

Ben Evans was cool and collected as he aimed and shot at the targets, his stout arm holding the heavy rifle steady as he shot form the prone supported position.

E.G. Mine was more highly strung. Rai-dei coached him from the bleachers, "Calm yourself, Mine. Find the flow. Breathe out, steady, aim and sque-e-e-ze," he said.

Nick was relieved when Mine found his rhythm again, but I noticed that Mine's eyes drifted to the scoreboard and when he saw himself falling behind, his concentration faltered again and he missed another target.

"Concentrate, crap-ass," growled Zazie from his seat at the top of the bleachers "You're letting the team down. Pretend you're screwing Dominique. Shoot your wad in her hole," he finished with a yell.

I looked over to see Dominique's reaction and then back at Zazie.

One second Zazie was perched on his high seat laughing as if he'd made the wittiest joke of all time, the next, he was lying on the ground gasping with the wind knocked out of him and Dominique looking down at him with a highly amused smile on her face.

"Need a hand up, teeny wienie?" she asked him.

Zazie's face was purple with rage as he tried to articulate the words. His lips tried to make an "eff" sound, but with no breath to back it up, nothing came out.

"I guess not," said Dominique blithely and she teleported to a seat near Legato.

Although, Dominique got satisfaction from her revenge on Zazie, as for E.G. Mine, Zazie's training tip had paid off. Mine didn't miss a single target. By the time the match ended, Team Talent, was only down by two points. Bernie, Jake and Ned were whistling and cheering for Ben Evans, who bowed, his new glasses reflecting the suns' light.

The next match-up featured Jake Berkis against Grey Nine-Lives. The weapon of choice was shot-guns. In this exercise, the shooter had to acquire and shoot six targets and hit the bull's eye. Easy enough, maybe, but not when there's a mechanical device rapid-firing paintballs at the shooter. The shooter had to dodge the paintballs, reload twice and try to hit all six targets. The winner would be the last man standing without being hit. If they both took no hits, the winner was whoever finished first. If both got hit, the winner was whoever hit the most targets first without being paint-balled.

Grey Nine-Lives was machine-fast on the reloading but he lacked dodging ability. When the contest started, Grey put down five targets before Berkis started his third but a paintball splattered Grey before he hit the sixth. Berkis conducted a clinic on the art of the shot-gun as he rolled, dodged, reloaded and pumped his rounds, took out the targets and finally sprang to his feet in triumph. Grey earned 10 points for "Team Talent." Berkis scored 12 points for the no-talent team. Now they were up by 4.

The next contest was a machine gun battle between Ben Evans and Grey. I remembered Chapel's story about Grey's speed on the weapon range and began to despair for the chances of the no-talent team.

"Don't give up on Evans just yet, Midvalley," Nick advised me. "It's not just about speed. Control and accuracy is another part of the contest.

As predicted, Grey destroyed the six targets in record time and scored 6 points. Ben Evans had a creditable round and scored four. The next part of the contest measured the shooters ability to put a three round burst in the target.

Grey never grasped the delicate concept of the three-round burst, so as usual he sprayed about 100 bullets in each target and lost the chance of scoring any points. Much to Chapel's pleased surprise, Evans scored three hits and overall beat Grey 7 to 6. That match also went to the no-talents and they went up by 5 points.

The next contest involved sniper rifles and no one from Team Talent really wanted to go up against Ned Pitts.

I heard Rai-dei with some exasperation exhorting Zazie, who had finally caught his breath..

"You must try, Zazie. If he shoots unopposed, we will likely lose all 12 points. Ben Evans wasn't afraid to compete against Mine or Grey. Don't be such a chickenshit. It's only from a mile out."

Rai-dei held out a rifle to Zazie who grumbled as he took it. Leonof had a jeep waiting for Zazie and Pitts. The two contestants got in the vehicle and Leonof peeled out and drove to the one-mile sniper's point.

An eight foot 2x4 was set up on a pair of saw horses at a safe distance from the bleachers. 12 empty glass bottles were set up on the wooden rail, a half-dozen for each contestant to shoot at.

Moments later, the bottles on Ned Pitts' side lay in shards. It took Zazie a half-minute to break all the bottles on his side, but break them he did, and the score for that match went 12 to 9-advantage to the no-talents, who led by 8 points.

In the next contest Zazie and Bernie competed with pistols and each scored a perfect 12 . Even with a sudden-death continuation of the pistol contest, there was no way that Team Talent could make up the point deficit. So Chapel the Evergreen announced, "The winner of the team competition is the Randall City Team."

The Evergreen couldn't bring himself to say the Randall City No-Talents.

They cheered for themselves, high-fived and slapped their backs.

Bernie Welch held out the palm of his hand and stuck it in Zazie's face.

"Pay up, Beast Boy. You lost," he said with a sneer.

"It's not like I have it on me. I'll get you later."

"Be sure you do."

The rivalry between the two was getting uglier and I was sure it would probably come to a head in the quick draw contest, but for the moment, the students were taking advantage of the half-hour break before the tournament that would determine the best all-around weapons handler.

The brightness of the sun had given me a migraine and the sensation of jagged flashing lights on the periphery of my field of vision was making me nauseous again. Sweat beaded on my forehead, the back of my neck got clammy and I got the burning sensation of prickly heat in my back. I closed my eyes and groaned as my head began to pound.

"What's the matter, Midvalley," Nick asked me.

"My headache came back."

"Take my sunglasses, Middie. I'll get you some pills. Anything else you need?"

I put on the dark glasses and it helped a little, but it hurt too much to think so I just sat there dumbly with my head throbbing.

I felt his worry for me through our link. He stroked my shoulder, said, "I'm going to get something for you," and hurriedly started to leave-a man on a mission. Just then, one of Leonof's puppets, dressed in a butler's suit came over to Chapel and me. He carried a tray that held a plate of salmon sandwiches cut in quarters, two tall glasses of icy red-fruit juice and a bottle of pain killers.

"With the compliments of Master Legato," said the puppet. "For the two of you. The Master is particularly concerned for your welfare, Midvalley."

"Thank you," I said, and reached for the bottle of pills. I shook two into the palm of my hand and swallowed them with a sip of the juice. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was and eagerly drank almost half the glass.

Nick took the tray from the puppet and sat down beside me and the puppet walked back to the food tent. Nick seemed disappointed in himself that he hadn't thought of the refreshments first.

"I was just going to ask if you needed anything," he said.

"Don't worry about it, lover. You always give me what I need," I said absently as I reached for a sandwich. I wasn't prepared for the flood of emotion that poured through the link from Nick in response.

"You never called me that before," he said. "I love you so much," he whispered with his voice trembling.

"Do you need your glasses back, Nick?" I asked with a touch of humor. I knew he was on the verge of tears.

"No, you keep them. I brought a spare in my pocket today. You never remember to bring them along," he mumbled and he slipped the extra pair over his eyes.

I ate slowly and sipped the drink. The pain relievers knocked out my migraine in less than a quarter hour. When the pain left, I heaved a deep sigh.

"You okay?" Nick asked me.

"The headache's gone. I'm starting to feel better. So tell me about the all-around contest? Who do you see might take the honors this year? Zazie?"

"Zazie's not competing in the all-around. If the low recoil from a rocket launcher dumps him on his ass, you can imagine what a 50 cal or a shotgun would do. He's got a very small frame. I was about Zazie's size when I first came to the academy. My dad didn't start me on machine guns and shot guns until I was almost 10."

"So he hasn't qualified with all weapons," I said. "If he doesn't win the quick draw, it will take a miracle for him to graduate."

"Exceptions are made for physical limitations as long as mastery is demonstrated."

"That's right," I considered, "Now that I think about it Hoppered the Gauntlet never qualified with any of them, but he graduated."

"As well he might. He's a damned fine field agent and one of the best intelligence operatives around."

"He has his physical challenges, but he's nobody's fool, that's for sure."

I stood up, stretched and looked around. The students hadn't returned from their lunch break. Legato was deeply involved in a discussion with Rai-dei, Leonof, and Chapel the Evergreen. Rai-dei's face was flushed with anger. I wondered what made him mad.

I looked back towards the Academy offices and saw a figure in the distance. As he got closer, I knew he looked familiar but couldn't quite place him. He was carrying a small case of some kind in his left hand. He started to wave at me, and called out, "Hey, Midvalley, I made it!"

It was the bass player from Skip Walker's band. He came over and shook my hand.

"Hey, Jason, good to see you."

"Hi, Chapel," he said to Nick and they shook hands.

I looked at the small case he was carrying and said, "What happened to your bass? Looks like it shrank!"

"I get that a lot, Midvalley. I knew you were full up on bass with Toby, and you didn't really need another lead guitar. Sonny and Randy are awesome and I'm not bad either, but three's a crowd. So I brought along my fiddle."

"I didn't know you played fiddle."

Yeah, I play washtub bass, bass fiddle, electric bass, guitar, mandolin and fiddle."

"What? No keyboards?"

"Well, in a pinch, I can fill in on piano."

"I was only joking. Damn, you're talented."

"You haven't heard me yet, I might suck hard."

"Do you?"

"Nah."

"Fiddle player, hmmm. This could get interesting. We ought to get in some jam time before the dance. Do you know the "Low-down Hoe-down"?

"Randy and I used to play that a lot. It was written for guitar. Bet it sounds great on a sax."

"It's different, but yeah, it sounds pretty good."

" The band is set to meet here at 4 and the music starts at 6:30 after the picnic dinner. The rest of the band is staying at The Hotel Progress in town. Did you want to hang out with them there and freshen up?"

"I'm kind of low on cash. I spent almost my last double dollars on cab fare here."

I reached into my jacket, took out my wallet and pulled out a $$20 bill and handed it to him. "Consider it part of your payment in advance."

"Hey, I didn't know I'd get paid. I just came to jam. Thanks, Midvalley. See you at four. Bye, Chapel, " he said and walked away.

The students filed back from their break and the sharpshooter tournament started. I didn't pay that much attention to most of it. The idea of having a fiddler in the band was so intriguing that I spent quite a bit of time thinking of the songs I knew that could feature that instrument. I could hardly wait to rehearse with him. One of my new songs, "Under a Pale Moon" could really benefit from the singing tone of a fiddle.

I paid some attention to the contest, but really only because Nick squeezed my arm every now and then with excitement to give me an update. I kept expecting him to tell me Bernie Welch had taken the sharpshooter all-around, but it ended up that Ned Pitts had the highest scores. I was completely surprised but Chapel wasn't.

"Concentration is so important, Middie. Well done, Pitts," shouted Chapel.

"Huh?" I said.

Chapel looked at me with an indulgent smile.

"You haven't really followed much of this since Jason showed up, have you, Midvalley."

"Hardly anything."

"Well, the only outcome I'm really curious about is the one between Zazie and Bernie Welch. Though I can hardly wait to see the exhibition that Caine and Pitts put on. You're not going to want to miss it, Midvalley. I saw them practicing. You're gonna be amazed."

"When does it start?"

"In about 10 minutes. They're setting up now."

Out on the field, Caine and Pitts were hanging partially filled beer bottles from a taut wire tied between two poles. After they hung thirty or so, they got into Leonof's jeep and headed out towards the 3 mile sniper point affectionately known at the academy as the Sniper's Roost. In a few more minutes, there was a mirror flash from Caine and Pitts to let us know they were about to begin.

And then they started a rapid fire drill. Caine and Pitts didn't break the bottles. No, that would have been too easy for them. The bullets they aimed glanced off the bottles. It took me until the tenth bottle to find out what they were up to. They played about two verses worth and didn't miss a note even with the bottles still swinging from the previous hit.

"Hey, they're playing that song, `Sound Life'" I chuckled to Nick. Soon the rest of the crowd in the seats caught on. We were all just in awe of Caine and Pitts. I clapped and clapped when they finished. They showed up a few minutes later and got another ovation when they stepped from the jeep. I think they were a little embarrassed by the attention but pleased also.

I think it was the most impressive weapons exhibition I ever saw at the academy.

The individual weapons contest held few surprises. Ned Pitts got the highest scores with rifle and sniper rifle. Jake Berkis won for Shot Gun . After a little chat with Grey, Rai-dei put Grey #5 in charge for the machine gun contest and Grey won. I know Nick was very pleased that Grey finally mastered the three round burst. Zazie and Bernie Welch tied for first with pistols. They shot over 100 rounds each with neither missing and that is a feat with hand guns. So it was decided that if either one won the quick draw, he would also be declared the winner of the pistol sharpshooter award.

Finally the Quick Draw Tournament started, right around two PM. As expected, Zazie and Bernie trounced the opposition. Ned Pitts didn't compete. He was covered with enough glory that he didn't need to be covered with paint. Only a cock-eyed optimist would have gone up against Zazie or Bernie. But several tried and I saw Ben Evans, E.G. Mine, Grey, and Jake splattered with red paint.

It all came down to the moment of truth between Zazie and Bernie Welch. Just as in the contest between Chapel and Zazie, Caine was officiating. Zazie and Bernie walked down to take their places thirty yars apart. Rai-dei stopped Zazie to tell him one last thing.

The crowd was silent with tension as they watched the two contestants. Caine's derringer barked and Bernie and Zazie began to shoot. Bernie was acting very odd. His body jerked and spasmed, twisted and ducked and his bullets kept missing Zazie, but Zazie's shots also missed Bernie. Bernie waved his hands around wildly and he now appeared to be dancing. He jumped and jerked his head, rolled onto the ground and then up again, wriggling and hopping. He finally managed to squeeze off a round that hit Zazie in the chest. And there stood Zazie, dripping with red paint and screaming obscenities at the top of his lungs while Bernie continued to dance and jerk and run and wave his hands wildly. Finally Bernie just ran towards the student quarters like a swarm of bees was after him.

"What the FUCKING FUCK?" roared Zazie. I was amazed that such a small person could be so loud. He used the word for about three minutes with a few other words thrown in. When the audience starting laughing at him, he yelled it louder, yelled, screamed and shouted the word `fuck' until his throat was raw. It got so fucking funny that Nick and I were almost hysterical watching Zazie's tantrum.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!!!" he screamed finally at the top of his lungs.

At this, Rai-dei intervened but Zazie would not keep silent. Finally Legato walked over to the boy with silent dignity. He didn't have to say one word. Zazie shut up, bowed to Legato and left the assembly area. I wasn't quite sure what I had witnessed, but it seemed to me that Bernie Welch had won the Quick Draw Tournament.

The Graduation and awards ceremony was set for 5 in the afternoon.

Nick and I walked back to our quarters.

"What the hell just happened back there?" I asked him.

My friend just shook his head in bewilderment. "I don't know," he said shaking his head. "Strangest quick draw contest I ever saw." He paused to pull a cigarette out of his pocket and light it, taking a deep puff with a satisfied sigh.

"Are you feeling better, Middie?" he asked me.

"Like I never felt ill, Nick," I said.

"Wonder what got into Bernie Welch. I'll ask him at the awards ceremony. Are you going? I know you've got rehearsals starting at 4."

" I thought I'd tear myself loose long enough to see the ceremony. I'm sure Legato expects all the instructors to be in attendance. "

"This is my first time teaching. I didn't know it was mandatory. But I was going anyway."

"I should have told you. I keep forgetting you're a novice. I know you hate awards assemblies, but at least Legato and the Evergreen never drag it out."

One great thing about the Academy is the shortness of the assemblies and ceremonies. The longest one I ever went to lasted half an hour. Most clocked in at under 15 minutes. The only reason any one attended at all was to find out first who graduated or didn't. And that scene Zazie made had me shaking my head.

"I'm a little curious to see if Legato will make an announcement about who won the teaching contest, you or Rai-dei?"

"The whole teaching contest idea was totally bogus and unfair. I've had a month with the students and Rai-dei had only two weeks. I don't know why Legato even proposed it.

"You never know with Legato. I always get the impression there's something he's holding back. Did you want to come to the rehearsal, Nick? I'm just stopping in to pick up Silvia."

"I'm going to try to find Bernie Welch. I'm a little worried about him. I want to make sure he's all right. There was definitely something wrong about that match."

"Then I'll see you at the ceremony."

After I picked up Silvia, I went to meet the band. They were at the small band shell where the dance was held every rear at the academy. It was near the picnic/ food preparation area. By the time I arrived, Lenny was already putting Jason through his paces and getting him up to speed on the numbers we planned to do.

Jason was a quick study, I recalled from the evening we played the saloon together. He played with a lot of power. It looked like Lenny had every intention of keeping Dixie busy. He had her shaking the maracas while he gave his bass pedal a workout. Whatever they were doing, it sounded great. I unpacked Silvia and joined the jam. We laughed a lot at our flubs and fluffs. But we all felt pretty good about the state of the musicianship. I took Jason through the two new songs I had composed. He found a spot in each for a fiddle break. Dixie took the opportunity to put down the maracas and pick up one of her harmonicas. What she could do with a mouth harp amazed me.

At five of five, I headed back to the assembly area and saw Nick chatting with Bernie Welch. I couldn't help noticing that Bernie's face and arms were covered with swollen red welts.

As I came closer, I could hear Bernie explaining to Nick.

"I don't know where the hell they came from, these freaking little bees. I'm kind of lucky they were dive-bombing me. Zazie's a hell of a good shot and if I hadn't had cause to dance around so much, there was a better than fifty-fifty chance he would have nailed me. They burn like the devil though."

"You ought to get those looked at Welch," I said as I walked over to join Nick. "That many bee stings could be dangerous."

"That's what the doc said when he saw them. Said I was really lucky. Just a few more stings and I'd of been a goner."

"We'd better shut up and sit down," I said, "Master Legato is back."

Welch walked over to sit with the rest of the students.

Nick and I took seats together.

I relished Legato's ability to command quiet, without saying a word. A hush simply fell on the assembly and Legato spoke .

"This academic year has been a remarkable success. Nearly a quarter of the class is graduating. The caliber of instruction has been particularly high especially in the all crucial last month when students are attempting to demonstrate their mastery of the course content.

This year on the recommendation of Master Knives, four students were sent to us, only one month ago and all four are graduating. These students are Bernard Welch, Benjamin Evans, Jacob Berkis and Edward Pitts. Of the students who have been resident at the academy for a year or more, only two are graduating, Grey Nine-Lives and E.G. the E.G. Mine.

These students are now moving on to assignments with mentors who will help the graduates fine-tune their skills. Benjamin Evans is assigned to Hoppered the Gauntlet, who could not be with us today as he is out on an assignment. E.G. Mine, you will be pleased to learn that your new mentor is Leonof the Puppetmaster.

I saw Mine turn pale at that announcement while Leonof wore a gleeful smile.

Dominique the Cyclops will oversee the efforts of Grey Nine-Lives.

I think she'd been hoping to be assigned Berkis or Welch, she rolled her eyes and snorted with disgust when she heard the announcement.

Chapel the Evergreen will continue to develop the talents shown by Jacob Berkis.

Caine will continue the excellent mentoring of Edward Pitts, and Rai-dei the Blade will mentor Bernard Welch.

Zazie's face turned red with anger when he heard of his teacher's reassignment to his rival.

Legato continued.

"We were very pleased at the performance this year of the so-called "no-talent" students. However, and let my remarks serve as a warning, we were correspondingly disappointed by the performance of one of the "talented" students. We might have overlooked his inability to master some critical weapon systems had he demonstrated other outstanding abilities or a degree of appreciable maturity. But as he continues to mock his superiors and indulge in temper tantrums, he will be held back from graduating for another year or until such time as he proves himself worthy. But enough about this disappointment.

Let's have a round of applause for our graduates, please."

We clapped politely.

"And now it is time for the awards. Legato stepped down from the podium and walked over to the chairs where the graduates sat. Chapel the Evergreen followed him, carrying a small box..

Chapel walked up to Jake Berkis and addressed him. He pulled a green ribbon with a rosette emblazoned with #1.

"Jacob Berkis, it's a pleasure to award you this ribbon for your excellence with the shot gun. As Chapel the Evergreen's apprentice, a part of your duties will include instructing in weapon handling. Thank you for your efforts," he said and shook the youth's hand.

"Grey Nine-Lives," he said, handing Grey a purple ribbon. "Congratulations on your great improvement in marksmanship and classwork. You owe a debt you can probably never repay to Chapel/ Wolfwood."

"Edward Pitts," Legato declared as he handed the lanky sniper a plaque with an engraved bronze inset, "You have earned the golden rifle award which is given every year to the student who proves himself the best with the five basic firearms. Your talents are most impressive." He handed him a yellow ribbon for excellence with the rifle and a red ribbon for excellence with a sniper rifle. With Caine as your mentor, you will take on a number of assignments for Master Knives and pass on your remarkable skills to our students."

He walked up to the final student to be honored.

"Bernard Welch, it was exciting to me to see the amazing progress that can be made when a dedicated, motivated student works with a dedicated, motivated instructor. Congratulations," he said, " for winning the pistol Marksmanship award and the plaque for first place in the Quick Draw tournament." He handed both items to Welch. "Your technique was unorthodox but effective," he continued as he shook the graduate's hand. "With Rai-dei for your mentor, I am certain you will soon master the finer points of bladework and assignments. We have put you in the hands of a total professional and expect great things of you."

Legato went back to the podium and said, "Now it is my pleasure to present the award of Guest Instructor of the Year to our weapon's instructor, Chapel/Wolfwood. Show him your appreciation."

Most of the students clapped warmly for my Nick.

"If any of you should ever fail on a mission, which I am sure you will not, you cannot lay the blame on him. He has done you all proud. So join me in thanking him for his efforts on your behalf. I've never seen an instructor work so hard."

There were quite a few raucous cheers for Chapel. When they died down, Legato continued, "Master Knives also insisted that I should take this occasion to commend Midvalley the Hornfreak on the excellence of his teaching and mentoring skills and present him with the Mentor of the Year plaque.

"Congratulations, Midvalley. You earned this," he said.

The students applauded me and so did Nick with an affectionate look in his eyes.

"That concludes the graduation ceremony," said Chapel the Evergreen. "Let the picnic begin!!" he exclaimed and the students made a bee-line for the refreshment tent.

I turned to leave, plaque in hand," but Legato called to me, "Not so fast, Midvalley. You were so ill this morning, I was very concerned about you. You are better, I hope?"

"Completely well, I think," I said.

"I will listen to the music with great pleasure then," he said. "Sometimes, I worry that your music drains your energy."

"Oddly enough, I think the opposite is true. I believe I get energy from it, when it's flowing well."

"Interesting," he said, and he turned away to confer with Chapel the Evergreen.

Nick and I headed towards the picnic area. As we were passing close to the building where tactics classes were held, we heard Zazie's angry voice, coming from the door well, cursing about something. He couldn't see us, but we moved a little closer to eavesdrop.

"That piece of shit Whorefreak got the mentoring award. And we all know what he mentored him on. Legato's pet is Chapel's lap pal. What a bunch of perverts. They probably didn't graduate me because I didn't ace hand jobs and blow jobs."

"You're full of it, Zazie. No one put any moves on you. You didn't graduate because you lost to Welch and you acted like a total baby about it. I can see why they held you back. You really do need to grow up."

"You fucking shit pants!"

"You know, I'd rather be called shit pants than teeny wienie any day, and that's what everyone is calling you now, thanks to Bernie Welch. Even those snot-nose first year students. You're famous, teeny, just not the way you thought."

"Rot in hell, Mine."

"Don't be such a drama queen."

"You're the queen, you Chapel-loving fag. I bet you let him fuck your face just so you could graduate. You've got less talent than the "no-talents".

"At least I graduated."

"I swear I'll kill you, Mine.

"In your dreams."

" I almost killed Welch."

"Ooh, I'm scared of you, now," said Mine with a mocking tone. "Yeah, and I suppose Welch looked almost dead when he got his award from Legato? Dream on."

"I'll show you all."

"Well don't show your wienie. It's nothing to brag about. Hey, you ought to change your name to "Zazie the Least" in honor of your cocktail sausage," Mine laughed at his own wittiness and ambled out of the door well without a look behind him."

Zazie came out a minute later muttering to himself, "I'll show Rai-dei, I'll show Legato, I'll show that goddamn whorefreak, goddamn fucking Chapel, and GODDAMN FUCKING WELCH!!!!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

He walked hurriedly towards the student quarters and Nick and I just looked at each other and laughed.

"Next year's not going to be much fun for him," said Nick with a twinkle in his eye.

"I don't feel sorry for him though."

"Neither do I."

"God, the smell of that tomas roast is making my mouth water. Let's eat."