ᴛʜᴇꜱᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʏꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʙɪɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ, ꜰᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀ - H&S

“Bianca, please!” A soft voice came from down the hallway, whispered as though whoever had spoken was trying to remain unheard. The timbre of the voice suggested it was a child - one who hadn’t had as much experience being quiet as he should have.
“Nico, you know Father’s asleep! We can’t wake him up!”
“I don’t want to wake him up,” Nico pouted, “I just wanna play another game!”
There was a loud ‘shhh’ from Bianca and the pitter patter of footsteps as Bianca continued chiding Nico and led him back to his room. The boy issued one last protest before his voice trailed off and all that remained was the sound of Bianca coming back down the hall.
There was no sign of unrest in the house. Bianca was used to the presence of guards, had never had to live in fear. Her father held out hope that she would have allomancy, and so she had studied what to do if one day she Snapped. She knew how to protect herself, but she had no reason to fear that there would be a threat.
She was humming softly under her breath as she entered her room, approaching the open window and taking a deep breath. The air felt cool against the warmth of the building, and she let herself take it in for just a moment. It seemed she had noticed nothing wrong, at least not yet.

Bianca ran her hands through her hair, freeing it from the braid she had been wearing it in. She let her eyes close for a moment as she breathed in the night air, a soft smile pulling at her lips. She opened them again and was about to turn around when she thought she heard something behind her. She didn’t even have time to turn before fire exploded in her body and her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to scream, but it was too late. 
“Bianca?” Nico’s small voice came from a few feet away. “Bianca, I’m scared of what Father…” the boy had rounded the corner by that point, and all he could see was blood. He stumbled back a few steps, watching his sister’s body drop, her limbs splayed in such a way that a shudder ran down Nico’s spine. He thought he could see the moment her eyes glazed over, but he wasn’t sure. There was so much blood… his vision was obscured as tears welled into his eyes. No. No, no… there would be no one to protect him when his father grew angry. Nobody to hold his hand or press him close… his thoughts were coming in fragments. His entire world was falling apart. And then something happened and something felt different and Nico couldn’t quite place it but it almost hurt.
He looked up to meet Bianca’s attacker’s gaze, though he realized the man was still withdrawing the blade, Bianca’s body was still falling, everything had seemed to slow down to allow his mind to catch up. Or perhaps his thoughts were just racing faster than they ever had before. The man was going to kill him next. He knew who it was, of course. Kelsier did what he wanted and he didn’t tend to spare lives. If that was going to happen anyway… Nico screeched, a sound of pain and loss that tore out of him as the world caught up with his thoughts and he raced towards the now-limp body of his sister.

—
Revenge. That was what Nico was after. His eyes were red from exhaustion and the remnants of tears that had long been cried out. He had told his father that the assailant had claimed to be of House Venture, but they both knew it wasn’t true. Nico had been slapped for believing such a thing (although he hadn’t, actually, he just… well, he didn’t know for sure if his suspicion was correct, and he had wanted to avoid being punished for making assumptions). Nonetheless, his father had sent a message to House Venture - a warning of sorts.
Hatred burned deep in the pits of Nico stomach, though he hadn’t actually told his father the whole truth of the matter. That he had Snapped, just as Hades had hoped Bianca would for so many years. At the thought of his sister, Nico tensed, trying to shake the feeling of loss that ran all the way through his core. He knew his father had enemies. If he were to awake one day and find his father dead, he would understand. It would hurt, probably, but at least there would be a reason, right? Bianca had done nothing wrong.
So Nico had waited every night, waiting to catch another glimpse of the man he saw plunge a dagger into Bianca. The man whose eyes had locked with his, whose expression haunted him…
He had stolen metals from his father’s room, though he knew they weren’t likely to go unnoticed for much longer, and then maybe his secret would be revealed. He burned Pewter, just for practice as he made his way to the roof. He wasn’t used to it yet, but he was going to get used to it. It was harder than he had expected it to be when he heard the adults speaking.
Hades didn’t know where Nico was. Nico was sure he didn’t care. After all, Hades’ words still burned in his ear. “If you were truly my son you would have gone after her attacker. You would have fought him until you died, to teach him a lesson about our lineage. Your sister would have. Your sister had no question where her loyalty lay, and her killer is out there because of your weakness.” Nico tried to shrug the thought away, but the memory of his father’s gaze burned into his soul. “I would rather it have been you.” Hades had been enraged, but not with the heat… no, Hades’ anger was ice stabbing deep into Nico’s soul. “You will track down her attacker and kill him, or you will die doing so.” It hadn’t been a request. It was an order, and one that Nico was more than happy to oblige. There was nothing more he wanted than to have his sister back. The next best thing would be the blood of her attacker on his hands.

There. Nico hadn’t actually expected to see the man again, but like his thoughts had summoned him, there he was. He didn’t know if he had enough metals… he didn’t know how much power each of them gave, frankly he wasn’t even really sure he was using them correctly. He couldn’t recall which one did what beyond the basics, but that didn’t matter. He had taken one of his father’s old daggers as he fled the House, the newness of it all roaring in his ears.
His chest constricted as he burned Pewter again to leap off the building and land - not as gracefully as he would have liked - behind Kelsier. He would have preferred a sword, he thought, then he could attack from a further range but he ran forward anyway, trying to get close enough to deal some damage. He didn’t expect to win - that wasn’t even a thought in his mind. If he were right about who this was, then he had killed far more difficult targets than Nico. He just needed to get a scratch or two in before he died, that was it. Then maybe… maybe if he slowed Kelsier down his father would honor his memory as they were planning to do with Bianca’s. His eyes narrowed as he raised the dagger up and threw it with surprising precision towards Kelsier’s back, where he knew it would have the chance of piercing the heart.

Nico was scared, that much was obvious. He was also angry. He retrieved his dagger, still standing his ground even though it didn’t seem like Kelsier was inclined to fight. The little voice in the back of his head told him that even to Kelsier it was obvious his death wouldn’t hurt his father, but he batted the voice aside. Doubt and dread and fury seeded themselves in the boy’s stomach as he watched Kelsier turn to go. He didn’t have any words, didn’t know how to vocalize everything… had nothing that would get to Kelsier or win him over. He wasn’t charismatic like his father or sweet like his sister. He didn’t know what he was.
But he wasn’t going to be dissuaded that easy. “No!” he replied, voice almost deathly quiet. It shook with either fear or anger or some combination of the two as he launched himself at Kelsier again, this time putting absolutely everything he had into the motion. What Kelsier didn’t seem to understand was that he didn’t care if he died. Kelsier wasn’t another noble, that much was for sure, and though he had no way of knowing for sure who this was, he did know that the world would be better off without him in it.
It seemed Kelsier actually believed he had some sort of moral code, Nico observed. Why else would he refuse to kill him now? There was no room to wonder about it. Nico’s head was stuffed with the sickening memory of the night before replaying over and over again, and the echo of his father’s reactions. This man had taken everything, he was going to keep fighting him. And maybe Kelsier wasn’t aware that Nico was Mistborn yet. That could give him an advantage later, right? If he could ever figure out how to do it on his own…

Kelsier was giving him a choice, Nico realized. And he hated it. Because Bianca hadn’t been given a choice, so why should Nico have that luxury? He surged forward again, burning a bit too much and over balancing on the other side. He couldn’t have hit Kelsier that way even if the man hadn’t deflected. He cursed under his breath, wishing he had studied his father a little more thoroughly when Hades had been using his Allomancy.
Even though he knew what Kelsier had to say was true, it didn’t anger him any less. He didn’t understand all of this. He knew his father had enemies, he was aware of the existence of the skaa, of course, but he had never given much thought to it. Which he would later come to realize was just as bad as purposeful mistreatment of them. None of that struck him now, though. He didn’t understand that this ignorance and mistreatment by Hades was the reason his sister was now dead.
He wasn’t sure, but he thought he might be running low on pewter. That scared him. He didn’t know how to fight, and he really thought he’d be able to pick up on Allomancy faster than he currently was.
He couldn’t tell if Kelsier was skaa or noble… he didn’t suppose he cared, he just wanted revenge.
“You aren’t from House Venture,” he muttered under his breath. He didn’t know why he hadn’t told his father that Kelsier had lied. “You aren’t noble at all, are you?” There was accusation in his small voice, and he had the sense that it was an important distinction. He still didn’t understand why.

Nico’s jaw clenched at the accusation. Kelsier was right, though. He didn’t know what he was doing, he didn’t know how to fight, all he had to fuel him was adrenaline and the gut feeling that pushed him towards revenge. There was no way he could win this fight, but at least if he died he died with honor. That was all his father could ask of him, right? And then he’d see Bianca again. That was all he really wanted.
He saw the coins too late, trying to dodge and only just managing to avoid having them hit his chest. He winced as they collided with his right arm. It hurt more than anything he’d felt before and his arm felt heavy now, but he would keep fighting. Even if he had to use the dagger with his non-dominant hand.
And then the dagger caught him across the cheek. First blood. Kelsier was quicker than Nico was ready for, even as he burned Tin as though that would help him see where Kelsier was going next. It didn’t work that way, it seemed. It was disorienting, actually, so he stopped burning it after a few headache-inducing moments. He touched his fingers to his face, growling with rage as he lifted his dark gaze to meet Kelsier’s.
Nico couldn’t even try to dodge the next cut as Kelsier’s words hit him full force. “But you’re Mistborn!” he accused, not understanding. He had never heard of Mistborn Skaa. He still didn’t really grasp what this was about for Kelsier. He wasn’t as familiar as he should have been with the disparity in between the noblemen and the Skaa. It was just that the Skaa were beneath them, it was the natural order of things. Yet they were people, weren’t they? Nico had tried to befriend a Skaa boy who had worked in their house, but he’d learned his lesson quick after having to watch the boy beaten for “corrupting” the son of a Lord. Nico hadn’t really understood then, but he knew if he talked to Skaa they got hurt and he hadn’t liked when people were hurt. Now he wanted nothing more than to hurt Kelsier in the same way his soul had felt when it shattered.
He didn’t know what metal to burn now, but he was firmly aware that his father’s dagger - his father’s metal dagger was the worst weapon he could have chosen. He needed guidance… eyes narrowing he ran at Kelsier again, this time putting more effort into burning the Pewter, hoping it would make a difference. And it did, it seemed. It was easier to go faster and he felt stronger as he plunged his dagger towards Kelsier - too scared to aim for the heart, so aiming right above.

It was more and more evident that Kelsier was just toying with him. Nico snarled, wiping at some of the blood on his face. There wasn’t much, but still… Nico had the impression it would probably scar. His eyes blazed with an anger that made him seem more than just his ten years. It gave him strength, it seemed, but not much refinement. He could only run for so long on anger alone, but he was going to make the most of what little power it gave him. Kelsier’s words flew around him, and deep down Nico found he didn’t care. He didn’t care what Kelsier was saying about the Skaa because the truth was he had never really thought about it much. What mattered was that Bianca was dead and she was never coming back and the man in front of him was entirely responsible.
“I don’t care!” He cried, the words almost too much to have been ripped from the chest of a boy his age. He tried to dart away as yet another thin line of blood appeared on his skin, this one hurting more than the others. He knew he was a piece in a game, that’s all he ever had been, but now he was alone and he didn’t know how to stop himself from being a pawn. He didn’t know if he cared. All he knew was if he played the game right, then he would be able to go home and his father would hug him rather than strike him, or… well, if he played it right now, he might be able to see Bianca again. Was he scared of death? He wasn’t sure anymore.
Nico thought he was beginning to catch on as he dodged to left, only to be hit by a coin a few moments later. He hissed underneath his breath as it pushed him back, hard enough to knock the wind out of him. He thought it may have drawn blood but he wasn’t sure.
Desperation took over the boy’s limbs as he burned through what remained of his Pewter and launched himself full steam ahead at Kelsier. He wasn’t taking any bargain the man had to offer.

Nico hadn’t even managed to get a hit in. He was crying it seemed, though he couldn’t exactly tell. The tears were mixing with the blood on his face, the salt stinging the wounds, but he didn’t know if he cared anymore. He roared as Kelsier dodged him, trying to maintain his composure, but he felt like he was losing it. He was losing everything. He yelped, falling to his knees as the dagger hit his shoulder and then Kelsier’s foot hit him. He doubled over, doing his best to stumble to his feet and strike out wildly. He was going to get a blow in, he had to get one blow in, one reminder to Kelsier of the boy whose sister he had stolen for no reason.
And then as soon as he’d gotten to his feet another stab hit him, spearing him too close for comfort. He had the dignity at least to not cry out, but it took all of his willpower to remain standing, to meet Kelsier’s hazel eyes with his own dark, enflamed gaze. He grabbed Kelsier’s wrist, his entire body shaking. It was a challenge, almost. Kelsier could drag the dagger down, pierce his heart, and it would all be over, or he could pull away. It was a difficult gamble to make, but one Nico had a feeling was worth it. He didn’t care if he died, but it was time to see if Kelsier was enough of a coward that he would spare Nico’s life. He hadn’t met Bianca’s gaze when he’d killed her - Nico had seen that much. His grip was strong enough that Kelsier might not be able to simply bat him aside. That was what Nico hoped, at least.
The moment dragged out into infinity. Nico was sure it was probably not even a second, but it felt like much, much longer. He would have taken the chance now to actually attack Kelsier, but his dagger had been forced out of his hand when he’d fallen. He knew it was lying a few feet away, but he didn’t know how to get it. He didn’t know how to use Allomancy well enough to hurt Kelsier this way either. He was distantly aware that the tip of Kelsier’s dagger was still in him, but the adrenaline surging through his body hadn’t allowed him to feel it yet.
Maybe Kelsier would see this as an act of weakness, the way he clung desperately to Kelsier’s hand, in part to keep himself on his feet. But it took every ounce of strength Nico had. If he couldn’t get revenge maybe, just maybe, he could make Kelsier question whatever had driven him to kill Bianca. It was a long shot, but it was what kept Nico standing.

Nico smiled. It was dark and cold and full of every ounce of hatred that he could pour into it, but when the dagger went deeper, he smiled. It hurt worse than anything he’d ever felt in his life, almost. Losing Bianca had hurt more. It was almost as though the fire burning inside his chest was a reminder to stand up tall and face his fate as he was meant to. He didn’t care if he was one of many. He hadn’t even touched Kelsier in his wild attempts at attacks, but at least he had fought back. At least he wouldn’t crawl back to his father, disgraced. Oh Lord Ruler it hurt though, and more silent tears flooded down Nico’s cheeks as his face contracted with the pain of it. He forced open his eyes, holding Kelsier’s stare steady. His eyes had never been good at masking what he felt - they were shattered, in a way, but every piece of them screamed the same thing: hatred. If one looked a little closer, something else could be seen as well: longing. Longing to see his sister again. To return home with the knowledge he would be spared his father’s wrath. For this nightmare (for that was what it was) to end.
He gasped, smile fading and a look of shock framing his pale features as the dagger was pulled and he collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. Blood was staining his shirt dark as he pressed his hand desperately against the wound, grimacing against what felt like air flowing freely into and out of the wound.
“Coward!” Nico called into the mist, unable to force himself to his feet. “Coward!” he spat again and again until it became a quiet, chanted refrain. Yet he knew he was the coward here. If he had tried harder, if he hadn’t been scared… well, he might have defeated Kelsier, right? His body was racked with sobs until the sobs became quiet coughs, blood spilling from his lips as he continued to mouth the word. He couldn’t go home. He didn’t know where he could go or even take stock of his injuries. He knew which was most serious, but he knew he was also losing blood from the back of his shoulder blades where Kelsier’s first serious strike had hit, and there were the three cuts on his face - the one on his left cheek bleeding the most heavily. He also needed to see if the coin that had hit him in the stomach had drawn blood, and check on the bruising, but… he was losing blood fast. His vision went spotty as he continued staring in the direction Kelsier had disappeared into. He forced out one more thought, blood spraying from his lips as he voiced it. “This isn’t over.”

Time had not been kind to Nico di Angelo. He looked weathered now, the scars across his face a stark contrast against his now even paler skin. They had healed, yes, but the deepest of the three was still pink in color, as though it wanted to serve as a reminder for where the boy had come from. The boy still wore the clothes of the nobility, but they were in rough shape now. He couldn’t afford new ones, especially now that he was on the run. It seemed odd, he thought, that he was now seen as a criminal. It didn’t matter, he supposed. Even before that it wasn’t like people looked at him with anything but scorn or distaste. Or perhaps that had all been in his head. He now bore the marks of additional scars too - from fights he’d survived and the harsher aspects of training. It had been harsher than he had wanted, but for every day he had let himself believe he deserved it. This was the only way to hone him into a creature that could avenge his sister.
A shudder ran down Nico’s spine at the thought. He hadn’t actually been training for that, had he? A cruel smile plucked at his face. No matter what he had been used for, the fact was he was here now, and he was going to get his revenge. He wasn’t going to fail like he had that night so long ago. He had ingested enough metal to allow himself a range of strategies while fighting, and for the first time, confidence burned through his entire body. Kelsier was here, he had to be. And Nico was going to take him down once and for all.

Nico smiled coldly at the sight of the mistcloak flying through the air. It was just the sort of extravagance that he would expect from Kelsier. He knew what Kelsier did. He made a dramatic appearance somewhere where he wasn’t wanted, made some kind of stir, and then left. Always a specter, trying to make it all some sort of sick show. Nico shuddered at the thought. He had trained the past year and a half of his life to be prepared to face Kelsier. He was still inexperienced, and he could never match Kelsier in training, but he had other tricks up his sleeve. Of course Kelsier probably thought he was being stealthy. It didn’t change that he seemed to want to create an image of himself. Nico hated it.
He flared Tin, just as he had been trained to do. Keep it going for as long as he could until a fight was over, until he was out of danger. Deal with the aftermath when he was safely alone, when he could adjust to seeing life how it normally was.
He was able to follow Kelsier rather stealthily. He had a plan, one that would hopefully allow his attack on Kelsier to be lost in the chaos of whatever the man decided to start here. There were hundreds of thoughts tumbling about in his head. The first was that he didn’t know if he could do this. He didn’t know if he could kill… again. Then hatred flared up in him, filling him to the brim. It was the only reason he had managed to kill Lord Minos. He had to keep it concentrated enough to kill Kelsier. He was able to take in the entire scene in front of him, down to the finest detail. Minos had been right about that, at least. Flaring Tin was certainly useful. Now all he had to do was wait for Kelsier to make a stir.

Nico grinned. Kelsier was getting rid of all of the same people who would be after Nico at this point. The only difference was, Kelsier was notorious. Nico had only committed one crime. They had been told to keep on watch, Nico knew, that they knew he had been trained as a weapon, that they knew he would act on reflex, on fear, on anger, not caring who he hurt. But Kelsier? Kelsier was an even bigger threat, and unlike Nico he had exactly zero qualms about killing. The realization sent another cold shard through Nico’s heart. This would not be an easy fight. But Kelsier wasn’t watching for him, hadn’t prepared for this for years… Nico sucked in a breath.
A quick flare of Pewter and a Push on a coin sent him flying towards Kelsier, appearing in front of him with a dark smile. His heart was hammering in his chest, yelling that he needed to leave, yelling that he should end Kelsier as soon as possible, all manner of thing. He silenced the flooding thoughts and lifted his dark gaze to meet Kelsier’s.
“Remember me?” There was an edge to his words, although he wasn’t sure that Kelsier would remember him. What reason would Kelsier have for remembering some kid he had almost killed? Nico was going to make him remember now, though. Although… he considered for a moment that even if Kelsier did remember, he looked so different now that the man might not even recognize him. H let the thought simmer for a moment, then shook it away. He drew his dagger, trying to make himself seem like a force to be reckoned with. At the very least he had gotten better at that - the dark eyed, pale kid with a vendetta and no care for either his own life or the lives of people around him.
He didn’t wait for Kelsier to respond, instead charging like he had the first time, but with more power behind it, more speed, and a way to watch Kelsier carefully to see exactly which way he intended to strike. Nico stabbed forward, aiming a blow to Kelsier’s face, then changed directions last moment to catch the other man by surprise. With any luck, the dagger would still hit, and he would get his first strike in, just as he had failed to do that night. This… this had to make up for everything since. This was the perfect moment; he couldn’t squander it.

Nico had the advantage here, he thought. Not only had he been training for this moment every day for the past year and a half, but he had fought Kelsier before. He hadn’t seen much, of course - it hadn’t been a real fight - but he had learned what tricks Kelsier was liable to try, and he had learned from the way Kelsier killed others. There seemed to be a trail of bodies behind him wherever he went. And he had already got the first strike in. He managed to dodge the first coin, remembering all too well the one that had drawn blood in their first fight. That hadn’t healed as quickly as he would have liked it to, but it certainly wasn’t the worst injury he’d sustained. Any semblance of a smile he’d had disappeared as everything he had went into this fight. He could flare Pewter for a while, he knew, as long as he had the chance to recover afterwards. It wouldn’t be too difficult to find somewhere dark and lonely to burn through what he had left after this fight and wait. Wait for his body to feel almost normal before refueling and starting the process all over again.
The question cut through Nico, causing him to miss Kelsier’s faint and curse under his breath as the knife connected with his thigh - he had dodged, but not soon enough. Of course Kelsier wouldn’t remember, because Bianca had been nothing to him. Nico had become wiser about the politics of the situation since it had happened, but he that didn’t mean he liked it any more. It almost made it worse - Bianca had died to weaken Hades, and Hades had refused to be cowed. Publicly, of course, he was the grieving father who had sequestered his son so that he didn’t lose another child. In reality, he was plotting. That was all Nico and Bianca had ever been to him, Nico had learned. They were pawns in the life Hades thought of as a game of chess. Bianca had just been a more precious piece to lose.
“A shadow,” Nico replied, voice hard as he launched himself at Kelsier again, Pushing off just before he reached him and aiming his dagger so that if the strike landed, it would hit Kelsier’s throat.