Rovan's voice cut through the silence.
"You may begin."
The words hung in the air like a spark waiting to ignite.
Kinuko tilted her head, that manic grin carved across her face – wild, sharp, too wide to be anything but unsettling.
Her eyes gleamed as if she had already seen the ending of this fight, and it amused her.
Naelle's grip tightened on her staff.
Sweat trickled down her cheek, her breathing shallow. She didn't dare rush in recklessly, not after witnessing the speed Kinuko had shown before.
Then, Kinuko's smile widened. Her tongue flicked out, teasing the air, and in a voice that was softer yet cutting like a knife, she whispered.
"Ooh? From the way you acted earlier, I thought you'd leap at me the first chance you got. Or…" her grin sharpened, eyes narrowing, "…are you scared after all?"
The taunt slid under Naelle's skin like poison.
"Scared? As if!" she roared, fury surging through her legs as bolted forward, staff swinging.
The strikes came wild, reckless – but Kinuko didn't meet them head-on.
She leaned. Tilted. Slipped between each blow, her smile never fading, dodging so close that the staff whisked strands of her hair.
She was taunting Naelle with every narrow miss, like prey dancing just out of reach.
Then, Kinuko sprang back with a giggle, her tongue flicking again as she hissed,
"Careful, babe… you almost made me less pretty."
Before Naelle could retort, Kinuko's body spun like a blade loosed from its sheath. Her leg shipped out in a blur, a storm of kick's crashing against Naelle's guard.
Each strike rattled the staff, forcing Naelle back step after step until her heels dug trenches into the dust.
Thoom–thoom–thoom!
The last kick cracked the ground, throwing up a cloud of dirt as Naelle slid.
But Kinuko wasn't done.
She darted sideways, running along the perimeter like a predator circling its prey. Her twin blades flashed in her hands, arcs of steel catching the light as she slashed at the air – her grin stretching wider, laughter spilling from her lips.
Her movements weren't just fast; they were unhinged, like something possessed had taken hold of her body.
The dust swirled, the ring echoing with her chuckles.
Naelle set her stance again, staff trembling slightly in her hands as she watched Kinuko close in – the fight only just beginning.
Kinuko's twin blades whistled through the air in a blur of steel, every slash colliding against Naelle's staff with sharp, echoing cracks. The crowd leaned forward, breath caught between awe and disbelief – Naelle, the calm and reserved fighter, was holding back the storm that was Kinuko.
But Naelle wasn't impressed. Her arms shook under the weight of constant defense, her mind racing with frustration. "Tch… if I keep blocking, she'll tear me apart. I need an opening…"
With a sharp grunt, she shoved Kinuko back, forcing distance between them. Dust swirled at their feet.
Kinuko only grinned wider, her head tilting, eyes gleaming with unhinged delight. She darted forward again, blades slicing through the air like silver fangs. But this time Naelle was ready.
She let the first strike ride down the staff's length, her hands sliding, redirecting the force.
Sparks flew as the angle broke, Kinuko's body twisting into an awkward, bent posture. The crowd gasped – but Kinuko didn't falter.
No – she thrived.
Naelle barely had time to recover before a blade grazed just inches from her cheek. Her eyes widened – then she noticed. The edge wasn't facing her. Kinuko had used the back of the blade. A cruel smirk spread across Kinuko's lips before she flipped away, her cold voice cutting through the tension.
"Come on… try harder."
Naelle's teeth clenched. "This bitch–!"
She charged, fury exploding into motion, her staff whipping like a serpent in the wind. Kinuko lunged to meet her, blades leveled for the strike.
But Naelle spun, hooking her staff around Kinuko's arm mid-swing. It was a masterful weave – smooth, fluid and merciless. With a twist of her entire body, she locked Kinuko's limb and wrenched it, snapping the momentum against her.
The crowd roared.
For a moment it looked like Naelle had her – but Kinuko only laughed. In a blur, she bit down, slotting both blades between her teeth, her manic grin framed by cold steel.
Then she dropped, catching herself on her hands and spun. Her legs became a cyclone – her heel sweeping into Naelle's ribs, the second strike knocking her clean off her feet.
The arena erupted in shock.
Kinuko flowed out of the handstand, rolling backward, twin blades already sliding back into her grip as she rose with predatory grace. Her tongue flicked across her lips as she chuckled.
"Yes… keep going. Just like that."
Naelle groaned, pushing herself up, her staff steadying her as she staggered back into stance. Sweat beaded her brow, but her eyes burned hotter than ever.
"Fine," she snarled, spinning the staff into a ready guard. "Let's continue!"
They exploded off the mark – two blurs colliding dead center.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks erupted as twin blades and the staff lashed against each other in rapid succession, every strike a whipcrack of force. The crowd leaned forward, breath caught, eyes wide at the sheer speed.
"Holy–look at that!" someone yelled.
"They're going to break the damn ring!" another voice shouted over the chaos.
Back and forth, neither giving an inch, the rhythm almost hypnotic.
But then – Kinuko broke the pattern. She shifted, her grin flashing wild as she drove her blade straight for Naelle's guard.
CRACK!
Naelle's staff intercepted just in time. She didn't pause–her body flowed like water, spinning the weapon and whipping the opposite end straight into Kinuko's face.
WHAM!
The sound rang through the arena like thunder.
"OOHHHHH!!" the crowd erupted, half in awe, half in disbelief.
Naelle's chest swelled, "Yes! I hit her! Now push, push, keep pushing!"
But then… silence.
The cheers cut like a knife.
Everyone stared.
Kinuko hadn't fallen. She just stood there, cheek still bent, blood trickling from the corner of her lip. Slowly, she turned her head back to Naelle. Her grin widened – feral, unhinged.
"Cute… are you gonna pat me on the head next?"
The crowd went deathly quiet. A shiver passed through the front rows.
Naelle instinctively stepped back Kinuko's pupils burned with manic light as she licked the blood of her lip.
'This is it,' Kinuko thought, gripping her swords tighter, her voice dripping with hunger.
"This… this is the drive I've been waiting for."
Naelle's pulse spiked. She braced, staff sliding back into stance. 'Brute force won't take her down. Fine. Then I'll outsmart her. Let her rush in reckless. It's time to end it with this attack.'
Kinuko launched like a predator unchained, blades cutting a savage arc.
Naelle spun her staff into motion.
WHRRR–CRACK–WHRRR!
A storm of spinning wood encircled her fast, controlled, untouchable. Each slash Kinuko threw was met with a redirect, a strike sent sliding off course. Step by step, Naelle pushed her back.
The crowd gasped, watching the storm swirl. To them it looked like a cyclone–Naelle the calm at the center.
"Push her out! She's got her!" someone screamed.
Naelle's heart pounded, sweat beading, but her focus was steel. She forced Kinuko to the very edge of the ring.
One last push–Kinuko's boots scraped the line.
Naelle froze, panting, chest heaving. 'I… I did it. I won.'
But the arena was silent. Dead silent.
No Rovan. No cheers.
She blinked, confused. 'Why isn't it over?'
Then–tap.
A light kick nudged her from behind. Off balance. Her heel slipped over the edge– "Wha–!?"
Her body tilted forward. She flailed–she was going to fall out–
But something caught her shirt.
Naelle's eyes went wide as Kinuko yanked her back into the ring.
That grin–wolfish, bloodied, merciless–hovered just inches from her face.
Kinuko whispered, voice low and wild,
"Now… now we can't let it end that quickly, can we?"