"D-did she… just pull Naelle back so she could keep fighting?" Akeno's breath caught, her voice trembling in disbelief.
It didn't make sense. Not to her.
"Ever since I've known Kinuko… she's always hated fighting."
Back in the village, Kinuko would dodge training every chance she got, dragging Akeno into her excuses too.
The elders would scold them both endlessly. Kinuko despised combat so much that, without realizing it, she created a second self – an alter ego that burst out in battle, fierce and merciless, just to end things quickly.
But now… Akeno's eyes followed the girl in the ring, blades gleaming, her grin stretching wide.
She hadn't just stepped into the match willingly. She hadn't complained. She was enjoying herself.
Akeno's chest tightened. 'No… this isn't the Kinuko I knew. She actually wants to fight. She—she likes it.'
The thought both shocked and… warmed her.
Akeno's lips curled into a soft, almost secret smile. "We've both changed since meeting Shiro… maybe that's why. But even still…"
She exhaled, almost gave out a laugh. "I love this side of her. Because I feel like it's only time she's being completely truthful with herself."
...….
"Now… now, we can't let it end that quickly, can we?" Kinuko whispered into Naelle's ear, her grin stretched, tongue slid out in a playful taunt.
One of the attendants shot to his feet. "Captain Rovan!"
But before he could take a step, Rovan's arm snapped out, barring his way. His eyes never left the ring, cold and sharp. "Sit down."
The attendant froze, then sank down into his chair under the weight of that glance.
"She pulled her back in, huh?" Rovan muttered, lips curling. "This is starting to get interesting…"
Back in the ring, a bead of spit slid from Kinuko's lip and splashed against Naelle's shoulder. Disgust flashed across Naelle's face – she shoved Kinuko off with a burst of strength and staggered back into the center.
"You coward!" she shouted, fury burning in her voice. "How dare you hide behind me!?"
Kinuko tilted her head, eyes wide mocking sweetness dripping from every word. "Awww, is my baby mad? Want me to pat you on the head?" Her tongue dragged lazily across the edge of her blade, leaving a slick shine.
Naelle's staff spun in her grip with a sharp whrr. She planted her feet, eyes blazing. "You won't touch me again."
Kinuko's laugh rang out, wild and chilling. "We'll see about that."
The arena trembled with energy as Kinuko and Naelle collided once more – steel against wood, speed against fury.
Naelle's staff tore through the air in a blur, each swing heavier than the last, but Kinuko only laughed – dodging, weaving, her grin wild.
"Hey, hey! Are you even trying to hit me?" she teased, voice dripping with mockery.
Naelle snarled, closing the distance in a single stride.
CLANG!
The staff met Kinuko's blades, sparks bursting between them. The crowd gasped as the rhythm turned relentless – strike, parry, twist, step.
Then, with a flicker of motion, Kinuko slid her swords aside and vaulted upward – her body spinning like a flash of silver and crimson.
WHAM!
Her heel crashed against the side of Naelle's face. The impact sent a shockwave through the dust.
Kinuko landed lightly, blades at her sides, a feral grin stretching across her face.
Naelle staggered, wiped the blood from her lip, and reset her stance – eyes burning, voice low but fierce.
"Come."
Kinuko's grin widened at Naelle's challenge.
"Oh, I am coming," she purred, lowering herself like a predator ready to pounce.
Then she moved–
A blur of motion, twin blades flashing as they cut through the air.
Naelle met her halfway, staff spinning in controlled arcs, each rotation ringing with precision.
Their weapons collided in a symphony of strikes–metal and wood clashing, kicking up sparks that painted streaks of light across the ring.
"Too slow!" Kinuko laughed, ducking under a swing and raking one blade upward.
CLANG!
Naelle caught it just in time, sliding the staff down to redirect the force.
The crowd roared, their cheers blending with the rhythm of the battle.
Naelle gritted her teeth, using the momentum to twist the staff around Kinuko's arm, locking her in place. But Kinuko only laughed again–
"Got me? You sure?"
In a flash, she dropped her weight and flipped backward, wrenching free. Her heel swept across the ground, kicking up dust as she spun low, forcing Naelle to leap back.
Kinuko rose in a single fluid motion, hair whipping, blood trickling down her cheek where a stray strike had grazed her.
She licked it off slowly, eyes locked on Naelle.
"Now this…" she said between breaths, "…is getting fun."
The crowd erupted, some cheering, others frozen in awe as the two circled again, every muscle coiled tight for the next explosion of motion.
"Fun, you say?" Naelle rasped, chest heaving, staff held like a coiled spring. She slid back into stance, lips curling.
"You're on edge. You're at your limit, aren't you?"
Kinuko's laugh exploded – short, sharp then a keening cackle that cut through the air. "My limit?" she wheezed between laughs, doubling over as if the very idea were hilarious.
She jabbed a finger toward Rovan like a child calling out a joke. "You should thank him, you'd be dead by now if it weren't for his nanny instincts!"
The laughter ramped up, fingers digging into her sides as she rocked with it. "At my limit? I can't – I can't believe it!"
"Can you stop–" Naelle barked, trying to drag the moment back to reason.
Kinuko's grin snapped shut. The laughter stopped like a flipped switch. Her eyes went cold; the mirth drained from her and whatever softness existed was gone in an instant. She stepped forward until the tip of Naelle's staff was two breaths from her chin.
Her voice was low, ice-laced. "Interrupt my laughing again and see how fast I stop being funny."
Naelle's mouth opened, closed; she swallowed and steadied the tremor in her hands. "I–no,"
"Laughing this hard while in battle, do you not take your opponent seriously?" she forced out, recovering some steel in her tone.
"No," Kinuko tilted her head, a smirk slowly creeping back but with a razor under it.
'What's wrong with her,' Naelle thought. 'She's a mix of emotions, one minute she's smiling the next minute she's frowning.'
"This has dragged on long enough." She bounced on the balls of her feet , eager, manic light in her eyes. "I'm about to end this. And trust me–you're not touching me again."
"What do you mean–" Naelle snapped, raising the staff like a question and a warning all at once.
Kinuko's grin widened into something that tasted like hunger. She flicked both blades forward, a taunt and a promise, then launched.
"You'll find out."