Why Dilandau Chose Guimel as a Dragon Slayer
By Threshie
AN: Here's an odd idea that came to me…short and hopefully funny. Enjoy.
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Five years ago...
What skill...! The albino youth thought, watching the smaller of the sparring partners whirl and swing his blade through the air. Guimel Hitsuji, as the cadets master told him the fluffy-haired boy was called, was a wonder to behold—graceful, lightning quick, and obviously very skilled with swordplay despite his young age. His woolly cream-colored hair made him look a little silly, and he had the peculiar habit of walking around with his eyes closed, but anybody who saw him with a blade wouldn't ever underestimate him based on his appearance. Dilandau could only imagine how amazing he would be when he was a full-fledged soldier…
"I'm taking that one," he told the cadets' master matter-of-factly, and then strolled off with his nose in the air before the incredulous man could offer a word of protest. This is perfect…if I could just find 14 more Guimels, I'd have the most imposing army Zaibach has ever seen!
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Present day…
"Guimel!" The creamy-haired young man turned large green eyes on his captain, wide awake and serious.
"Yes, sir?"
"Pay attention!" Dilandau groaned, slapping himself on the forehead; no matter how many times it happened, he couldn't regret taking Guimel on as his Dragon Slayer too many times. That first day he had been so amazing…but every day since, he had been slow during every sparring match, clumsy in every duel he attempted, and seemed to have forgotten half of the swordplay skills he'd had down pat as a cadet.
Where the hell did he go wrong…? Dilandau wondered, watching tiredly as the fluffy Slayer attempted another round of sword motions with Dalet—one of the more ADEPT of Dilandau's men. Little did he know that Guimel, taking his job as a Dragon Slayer very seriously, had kept himself awake and alert ever since that day he'd been chosen to be one of Dilandau's men. Before being a Dragon Slayer, he had really not thought that much of being a cadet, had walked around half-asleep and in a haze….and thus had excelled, for Guimel Hitsuji fought best on instinct, without the conscious mind to interfere.
As Guimel sheepishly scratched his head and apologized to one irked Dalet for accidentally chopping off a few locks of his longish brown hair, it was obvious to anyone that when he thought about what he was doing, he couldn't do much at all.
And that is why Dilandau chose Guimel for a Dragon Slayer…and also why Guimel never got anything beyond a passing mention and three half-second bits of screen-time through the course of the whole series.
--The End
AN: Okay, it's pathetically dorky and badly-done, but there we have it—the reason Dilandau chose Guimel for a Dragon Slayer. It's because he's an awesome soldier! At least, he is when he's asleep…when he's awake and concentrates too much, instead of letting himself do things by instinct, he over-thinks it and messes up or hesitates. Oh, btw, hitsuji is the Japanese word for 'sheep'…sorry Guimel, couldn't help myself. ; Er….I don't own Escaflowne. (Nods) There we go, said it.