Candle in the Dark

[AsukaStrikes]

((Pagoda Battle, AsukaStrikes vs. HikariAngel))

"...Asuka."

Morning rose from the horizon as the words hung in the air, silence being the only response to the name. However, the silence that came was not truly silent - Robins sang amidst the leafy canopies while larks and doves chorus in unison from afar. Moistened grass reflect a cascade of rainbows from below, throwing colors against deep shadows where the light had yet not shown.

Truly, a silent morning was not all that silent. Only devoid of all urgency and unrest. A silence that was going to end very soon.

"You have a challenger, you know."

The words came again, distant but familiar. They rode in with a chuckle and a smile, one she saw over and over again in her time here at the Dajas Pagoda. Every morning, every afternoon, every evening. Every day since her time here as a Warrior and even more back when she was a nobody, or rather, just another survival from the Serenti tournament.

"Why aren't you getting ready for the match? She will be here very soon."

The man, clad in those muddy brown garbs of the Ai'Bron monks famous for their healing powers in the Corone Citadel, smiled casually at the figure sitting quietly at the edge of a stony platform. He merely stood with his hands concealed in their sleeves when the figure opened her emerald eyes and stared out at the rising sun, the glowing orb slowly driving away the mist below. The rays rippled off her cascade of copper locks, playing across the fiery waterfall down her shoulders and touching lightly the scabbard of leather at her side. The sun rose out from behind the trees, letting its beam play across the matted grey blade resting in her laps as she slowly lifted it in her hand, softly returning to its sheath with nary a sound.

"You really had to interrupt me, don't you?" The Warrior grunted as she rose onto her feet, tying the sword onto her right leg. "All I needed was a morning meditation and even you had to take that away from me."

The monk chuckled light-heartedly even as the lass stretched lazily in the morning sun and headed back into the tower. It was a scene he had always become too familiar with. Even when the Akashiman girl appeared to be in a bad mood, she was always interested in fighting. It was, after all, the reason she was in the Warrior hierarch in the first place.

"But even still, your heart desires to fight." He spoke all too casually, who was rebuffed by a disgruntled huff.

"Yeah, whatever." The Warrior turned back to look at the laughing monk. "Just go prepare the arena and I'll be down there when it's time. You know the drill."

The monk nodded with a grin, disappearing into the hallways shortly after and leaving the red-hair girl to herself once more. She glanced out at the sky again, a slight breeze greeting her face from the south. Without a word, the maiden merely blinked and disappeared into the darkened hallways of the Pagoda. The soft sound of footsteps slowly becoming quieter by the second.

Bad Luck...

[hr]

The Warrior sat quietly upon a small flat pillow, quietly meditating as the gigantic bronze dragon watched over her tiny form from behind. The room glowed a soft amber color from the many candles standing still upon its dish, nary a breeze stirring them from their perch. The specious room stretching unbroken from wall to wall, intruded only by the four pillars holding up the ceiling.

The maiden remained motionless, eyes closed and facing the great dragon Kazen even as a slight breeze stirred the row of flames flanking the statue.

"Welcome to the Dajas Pagoda, challenger." Without even batting an eye or standing up to meet the threat, she continued on with merely a glance over her shoulder.

"I am Asuka, your opponent."

[HikariAngel]

Serenity. To most, it was a fleeting dream of an emotion; one brought on by misguided thoughts and the wistful dreams of those wishing to escape the harsh reality of life. To some, however, serenity was as common as opening one's eyes and realizing that this day would be another one where the threat of death was as negligible as always. It wasn't a perfect life, but it was a comfortable one. Unfortunately, comfortable often meant dull. That was the kind of day that this day started out to be.

It began as a whim; a conversation once overheard that piqued her innate curiosity. Someone had mentioned something about an arena where death was not permanent and the only drawback was a small gold setback for not winning. Since everyone seemed to know about this “Pagoda” place, gathering information was simple for the cat-eared girl. Not long after she heard about it, she also overheard that one of the warrior rankers, apparently the lowest class, was taking challenges. After fronting her entry fee, which amounted to all the gold she had, she was given a short bit of time to rest and prepare of the battle.

It was the day of reckoning, in a matter of speaking. As the silver-haired catgirl walked down the corridor toward the fighting arena, the knot in her stomach slowly began to tighten as her thoughts raced and her own personal tension mounted. She wasn't a warrior; why did she even think about entering this fighting arena? A hard swallow loosened the rock in her gut and slowed her rapid heart for a moment, but the relief was welcome. It took a conscious effort to check the gloves that covered her hands, but after unsheathing her natural claws and seeing the hidden six-inch blades reveal themselves in response, her anxiety lessened even more.

She could do this. She had to. Wow, that's a big door.

The monk, dressed in a rather drab brown garb, glanced down at the short woman before opening the door into the arena that would be her home for the next stretch of time. Her soft feet made almost no noise at all on the hardwood floor, but still the other figure, a woman with copper hair, seemed to know that her challenger was coming. The hazel eyes of the catgirl met the emerald orbs of her opponent, and the knot in her stomach turned once more into a rock. Her tight-fitting sleeveless olive blouse and matching skirt caught the amber candlelight; the gold and silver embroidery already faded from years of wear and use reflecting little more than the dull base color. There were a few areas, specifically around her rather small chest, where the evidence of mending showed, but other than that, her clothes seemed to be in good shape. The ambient lighting turned her pale skin a rather light red tint, but she didn't seem to notice.

Only the metallic plates on the back of each glove marked her as either ready or preparing for a fight, but what good would armor do with no weapon? Sure her teeth might work, but that would be rather difficult to win a fight like this with. She wouldn't show her true weapons until she had to. Her opponent spoke, the voice seeming like thunder compared to the near-absolute silence of the area before.

“Well, Asuka, I guess you can call me Monica. You could say... I'm your challenger.” Her own voice faltered with a combination of nerves and uneasiness, but it still managed to reach a steady crescendo at the last phrase. Her dim eyes searched the gargantuan room for anything that could be used to her advantage, but nothing particularly stood out. Thankfully her posture didn't give away how nervous she was as much as her voice did. Her opponent seemed civil enough; things were going to get cold soon.

[AsukaStrikes]

The challenger's name was a strange word to pronounce, but Asuka bat it aside to focus on more important aspects of the lass. However dim the lighting within the arena was, whatever illumination present came from the multiple candle stands spread throughout the room, she could clearly see that her opponent for this match-up was indeed not human. The red-hair Warrior almost felt nostalgia coming over her when she noticed the fluffy white ears and slender, playful tail that meekly peeked out from under her voluminous clothing.

...She almost looks like you... The Akashiman mused, letting a small huff escape her as she slowly rose from the reed-woven floor. Seeing no visible weapon to which Monica could use to parry her own, Asuka untied her sword and placed them in front of the gigantic draconic statue. Although the strange-looking gauntlets do present a threat to the Warrior's safety, she reasoned that the catgirl was not too keen on waving any secret weapon around when there was no need to.

Asuka merely had to play the fool and keep her from using it from the start.

What fun would it be if it's a one-hit kill? The warrior maiden grinned confidently, taking three full strides until she was a full twenty feet away from her combat partner.

"I take it you didn't come here looking for an afternoon kill, Monica?" Asuka folded her arms and stared directly at the white-hair catgirl, trying to get a feel of her opponent's mind. She could tell the lass had no intention of killing anyone off the bat - the timid expression in her eyes said it all. It could be just the dancing flames reflecting off her face, but that was what Asuka wanted to believe.

"Well, now. Don't just stand there all day, we have a sparring match to begin." The Akashiman jovially ushered her opponent in with a wag of her finger. "Don't worry, I'll promise not to punch you too hard."

[HikariAngel]

Asuka, by the catgirl’s guess, was no average fighter. The blade the warrior hierarch laid at the base of the great dragon statue caught Monica’s eyes, but only because it had a nice sheen to it. Gold glittered in her eyes as she tried to think of where she could go to sell it, but the woman speaking once more broke her from her train of thought. With a valuable piece of equipment to focus her attentions on, the knot in her stomach all but disappeared. She was in familiar territory now; how could she make off with that weird sword?

“Well… I guess I was just bored yesterday. You could say I was looking for an afternoon to kill.”

It may not have been a funny joke, but the feline chuckled anyway. She thought it was funny. Her voice was also steady once more, a realization that dawned on her a few moments after she stopped talking. There was the matter of her opponent’s second string of words that held her attention now… and something about how she said what she said didn’t set right in the challenger’s ears. The grey-tufted silver ears perched atop her head twitched a couple times as she tried to figure out why someone would promise to not hit someone too hard. Wasn’t this place supposed to be safe? Didn’t they have healers to take care of everything… including death?

“Mrow!”

When the impulsiveness of her race sometimes took over, there wasn’t much Monica could do but go along with her own spontaneity. Before she knew what was happening, she was down on all fours charging Asuka with her tail twitching behind her for balance. Small indentations in the wooden floor and the clacking of claws on wood made her assault inhumanly fast, but that was to be expected from one who wasn’t human. Her gaze shifted from the blade to her target as she ran, making absolutely certain that the woman wasn’t going to pick it back up. Seeing how proper Asuka acted, she wouldn’t use that sword until “ten surprises” manifested themselves. For now, she simply vaulted herself toward the redhead from six feet away, right foot extended in a kick that would hopefully connect her heel with her target’s stomach. Or left ribs. Either one worked.

[AsukaStrikes]

Wow, she's fast.

Asuka barely had any time to focus her eyes on before the kitty girl broke into a full four-paw sprint, dashing along the reed-woven floor in a blur of white streak.

Asuka, however, held her ground. She knew tackling head-on against such an agile opponent was just asking for trouble, as the catgirl could probably evade any and all incoming blows as if she could see them a mile away. It was one of her strength as well, as Asuka relied heavily on light feet and nimble legs to dance circles around the more heavy-weight fighters in the realm. Fighting against one of the Neko kinds, however, she was never too fond of doing. Asides from having sharp claws and teeth, their agility was on a completely different level than her own.

She was no match against them when it came to speed.

The Warrior stood firm against the rough flooring as her opponent flew through the air, blazing down in a quick flash of white with a limb extended to meet her in the gut. The red-head could see the foot flying towards her and she thought about side-stepping the attack completely. But her body would not respond right away, even when the kitty-ear lass was still a full three feet away. Time slowed to a crawl, the dark shades of her opponent's foot almost shining deep red from the flickering candle lights within the arena.

The Warrior's left foot moved backwards and her hands opened out, as if waiting to hug the girl when they collide.

"Hurgh-!"

The foot connected with her stomach in all their glory, the red-hair lass almost flying backwards from the combined forces of weight and velocity. The target was just a bit off, however, as she had taken one step backwards merely a second before in anticipation. It did knock the lass off-balance, which was more than enough of a shock for Asuka to latch onto the kittygirl's right leg and swung the girl around with the momentum of the kick. With a mighty heave of her arms, Asuka whipped her comparatively heavier frame around on unsteady legs and launched the attacker's body back the way she came - head first into the air.

The fighter herself went numb from the blast to her gut and dropped to the floor seconds later, saliva streaming from the corner of her mouth as she tried to prop herself up with one good arm.

"Ow, that hurts- kak kak-!" The red-hair Warrior muttered to no one in particular, whiping away the dribble with her free left fist. "You weigh a lot for a catgirl your size. Been eatin' much?"

Holding onto her aching stomach, Asuka unsteadily forced herself onto both feet. The whole room seemed to have spun a little and she could feel the floor move on its own. But she knew it was no work of an earthquake. It was a sign she would have to go a bit easier on her next spinning attack.

[HikariAngel]

Warning for me >.<
The world flew by as the silver-haired catgirl sailed toward her target. For some reason, the redhead wasn’t moving at all, even in the face of a kick that was sure to hurt. She almost felt sorry for the ranking hierarch. Almost, because like it or not, the predicament she was in now was solely the result of her own boredom. That and the lineage that blessed and cursed her. So many times, just like what sent her on the collision course with the woman, her own impulsiveness could have easily led to her demise. It was certainly doing a good enough job of that right now.

“Nya?”

The soft flesh of Asuka’s stomach surprised her some, but what surprised her even more was the sudden pressure she felt on her leg. Glancing down to her now-trapped foot involuntarily, shock streaked across her face. This wasn’t part of her still-nonexistent plan. There was no time to think. Her new trajectory was not one she would have chosen for herself, not willingly at least. Thankfully, her fiery-spirited opponent must have forgotten exactly what she was fighting.

Flying through the air was no different than falling if you ignored the reasoning behind each scenario. Spreading her legs wide, she twisted her upper body then closed her legs, spread her arms, and twisted her upper body. Instincts were wonderful like that. Instead of flying out of control, she was now looking at the ceiling. It was a simple matter now to arch her back and plant her hands firmly on the ground. The woven reed floor met the catgirl’s awaiting hands and did exactly what it should have: absolutely nothing. Her arms bent slightly to absorb the impact of the fall then sprang straight again. She would have ranked this landing in her top ten had she not overcompensated and landed with her center of gravity behind her. Backpedaling as fast as she could, she traveled at least twenty feet before finally giving up and landing solidly on her posterior.

“Ay ay ay ay ay…”

Her eyes never left her opponent who would surely capitalize on her blunder. She almost didn’t realize that she had her tail curled around her waist to protect it during her rear assault. Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford to stay seated for long. As soon as her vision stopped swirling and her narrow eyes adjusted back to the lesser light farther from the candles, she rolled backward and sprang up onto her feet how she originally planned to. With her left foot behind her right and her stance shifted to position her body as near perpendicular with Asuka’s potential line of attack as possible, a small glimmer of something undeniably sharp peeked out from her left forefinger just before she concealed it by positioning her hand by her ribs. All ten blades could be revealed in an instant, but for now, only one was necessary. Dark grey-tipped ears twitched in anticipation. She had no idea what she was about to do.

[AsukaStrikes]

One warning for me as well.

Well, well. Asuka grinned as she glanced across the candle-lit arena towards her agile opponent a good distance away. The warrior could already see Monica setting up her defense, a good side-way stance she had seen a few times during her time fighting on the streets. This little kitty's got some bite to her moves.

If it had been any other light-weight fighters, the Akashiman was sure her opponent would at least gotten a sprained ankle. Too bad the one fighting now was a Neko - a rather quick one at that. It also meant Asuka would not have to worry too much in a tight scuffle - Nekos were not very known for their immense strength nor devastating punches. If anything, the warrior would have more trouble catching them than trying to avoid their fists.

With less than a feel of urgency, Asuka shook away the lingering dizziness and formulated her plan of attack. If anything, getting up close and personal with the kittygirl was not the hardest thing to do. Monica seemed to be a close-quarter fighting type from the way she attacked earlier, so it would only be a matter of time the two of them would have to cross fists again. Getting up close and trading blows would be another matter - From that same display, Asuka realized her running speed would be no match for the catgirl at all. Natural agility of the feline kinds had always outshone those of trained humans, even if just by a small margin.

I guess there's only one way about this. The Akashiman warrior sighed, taking slow and measured steps towards the catgirl with her hands at her hips.

"Nice moves ya got there, Monica." The warrior chuckled as she got within seven yards of her opponent, still in her casual stance as if mocking the battle-ready kitty. "But you'll need a bit more power behind that kick of yours to really do some damage. Oh, yeah. And a word of advice..."

The flame-hair maiden lifted a finger in disdain, shaking it in front of the catgirl as if she was a school teacher scolding a child gone astray.

"If you really wanted to use that much speed to your advantage, don't try the flying kick. If your enemy's as strong as I am, you'd be in deeper trouble than you were against me."

Without giving Monica a chance to reply, even though Asuka was expecting one, the maiden launched herself forward at the catgirl with her arms outstretched. Knowing full well the challenger would probably jump back in surprise, she rushed head-long at Monica in a bid to tackle her onto the floor. With the power of her legs under her, it would take Asuka a little more than a second before her left shoulder would connect with Monica's stomach.

[HikariAngel]

Despite what Monica thought would happen, the fiery-haired woman didn’t capitalize on her rather unorthodox landing. Indeed, the redhead seemed more interested in casual conversation than actual fighting. Even as the catgirl prepared for a sudden outburst surprise attack, it never came. Asuka just… walked toward her calmly while talking. Monica almost thought of dropping her guard to listen, but her cautious nature refused to budge on that issue. There was only one thing that puzzled her as she listened to her opponent chastise her form and give suggestions on what to do in later times. Why would she help out an enemy?

“Nya? I-”

When her opponent stopped talking, the silver-haired girl started to respond, but the reason behind all the conversation became obvious when the strange redhead launched herself at the confused catgirl. A chill coursed through her bones, not cold enough to make her shiver, but cold enough to know that she was still alive. The only thing she could do to avoid a potentially painful situation was get out of the way. Sure she could probably end the fight in a moment if she allowed herself to get hit, but the prospect of trying to think clearly, wrap her arms around her nimble opponent, and then stab ten blades into her back wasn’t something she wanted to consider attempting. There were far too many things she couldn’t control in that scenario.

Jumping forward or backward in her opponent’s line of attack was not the way to avoid getting hit, but she was also in a position that didn’t allow for the best sideways motion either. Her best option was dashing at an angle toward her opponent’s right, but far enough away that a stray arm couldn’t snag her anyway. Of course, being in more street fights than anything else made this thought process instinctual for the little neko; as soon as Asuka sprang, she abandoned her defensive posture and dashed out of the way. Her arms trailed, swept back like the wings of a plane, and a quintet of six-inch blades blossomed from her hands, one blade at the end of each finger. The chill in her bones spread to her claws, and from her claws spread to the blades, lowering their temperature to a degree that would cause a fair bit of pain if they came into contact with human flesh. They weren’t cold enough to create a trail of frost as they moved, but they were close.

The catgirl didn’t even realize she had shown her trump card as she did her best to get out of the way.

“That was mean, you... meanie!”

[AsukaStrikes]

((Two strikes, HikariAngel. From here on out, we continue for EXP and GP only.))

"Oh, a meanie, am I?"

Asuka came to a screeching halt as she realized her target was no longer there. Lumbering forward to a slow trod, the flame-hair lass finally came to a full stop after almost careening into one of the massive oak pillars holding the ceiling of the arena upon its bulk. Taking a menacing glance over her shoulder at the spry young catgirl, she almost regretted leaving her sword Kazeryu unguarded before the statue of the Great Dragon. The feline claws, it seemed, would give the Akashiman a great deal of trouble if the two of them came within arm's length. Human flesh was no match for a feline's claws, any day of the week. Asuka's legs no match for Monica's speed as well.

But what she lacked in cunning tactics, she could make up with raw power.

"You can keep on running if you want, Monica." The Pagoda Warrior yawned and leaned idly against the massive column, taunting the lithe catgirl into frustration. "But you know you can't win this fight if that's the only thing you can do."

This was the Dajas Pagoda, after all. To Asuka, it was a sacred battle arena as well as a training ground for the inexperienced. She was supposed to act as a form of hands-on instructor, helping each and every combatant to test out their prowess and skills. Apparently, not everyone saw this place as such. In the first few days Asuka entered into this arena, she was thinking not too highly of the establishment - Just another place to fight for fame and glory to her name. As the days went on, she came to realize this was more than just fighting.

It taught her how to fight. It taught her how to survive. And because of that, it was now her duty to teach these greens how to be like that as well.

"What's the matter, little kitty?" The maiden smirked as she leaned casually against the column, scrutinizing the figure quietly with a glint of anticipation in the corner of her eyes. She was sure Monica would capitalize on her "vulnerable" position. Even more sure than that reaction, Monica would be attacking her with those inch-long claws of her... but where?

Head? Now way, the kitty's too short for that. Even then, it would be a very awkward strike where Asuka could easily counter with a quick jab to the catgirl's ribs. Expecially if she was trying for a flying attack... again.

Neck? Too gory. Besides, Monica did not look like the kind of girl to aim for a kill.

The arms? Most likely. What better place to attack than against a target that was sure to meet her claws? With her guards up, Asuka was in no position to avoid getting hit with a well-aimed strike.

The torso? The legs?

They all seemed possible, moreso when taking into account the catgirl's nimble form. The warrior was going to have a hard time giving this kitty a good lesson in close-quarter combat.

And for all that to happen, the maiden waited with the patience of a lion. Leaning quietly against the oak pillar with the flickering tongues of fire dancing wordlessly nearby.

So, what now, kitty? Ready for some fun?

[HikariAngel]

“Yes, you are!”

The catgirl stuck her tongue out at her opponent for a moment before realizing how childish she was acting. Was it really her fault if she saw things differently than most people? Or everyone? She had managed to avoid getting hurt too badly up to this point, but what Asuka said was true. She would never win if she just kept running away. The problem was that she felt like she was trying to fight a train with a butter knife. Sure she could do something, but it would never be enough to win.

The silver-haired girl rapped her knuckles on her head to get that line of thinking out of her brain. Even if you could win, you were guaranteed to lose as long as you told yourself you couldn’t win. It was time to get serious. Maybe. Well, once the redhead decided to stop playing around. But wasn’t Asuka responding to how she fought? She would have to get serious first, then-

Another taunt.

As easygoing as Monica was normally, even the nicest of people have their breaking points. Sure she had done her share of taunting, but that didn’t mean she could take as much as she dished out. Playful fled the hazel-eyed girl’s countenance as a wave of determination spread through her body. She checked her gloves to make certain they were taut then flexed her fingers. Her eyes narrowed. There was no way her opponent could have failed to see the half-foot blades that extended from each of her fingers; she had been a bit dramatic about revealing them as she warmed her fingers up for what she was planning to do.

Careful steps brought her increasingly faster toward her fiery-haired target, hands swaying in rhythm to her steps. She had fled quite a ways to avoid Asuka’s attack, which gave her plenty of space to even out her page to a human’s quick jog. The distance closed rather slowly for the girl used to running much faster, but she had a plan, and she couldn’t very well hope to attack and evade at full speed. Effectively, that is. This also gave her opponent plenty of time to wonder what she was up to. Hopefully she would draw the wrong conclusion. It was a bit of a stretch to say everything hinged on tricking the veteran warrior, but to say that it was essential was not.

Toned muscles catapulted her from a brisk jog to her top speed with three steps remaining to her target. The pillar would present a unique challenge if she missed, but she figured her claw-blades were sharp enough to dig into the hard wood so she could reorient herself. Her last step, taken by her left foot from six feet away, put her on a slight leftward course. It also put her right fingers, all locked flat with blades parallel to the floor, on a direct course with Asuka’s chest. Ice still flowed through her veins, almost literally by this point, which meant an extra surprise for her fiery-haired opponent. Brushing skin against the metal blades would do little, but prolonged exposure, such as metal piercing skin, would mean a certain bit of pain to the afflicted areas.

That was, however, only if Monica’s plan included striking the warrior’s chest with her claws. Her steps had been carefully measured as best she could so she would take the last step with her left foot. It wasn’t a stretch to say everything hinged on that small detail. The rest was just timing. The catgirl had no intention of skewering her foe, but the thrust-return fake that her right hand performed was not just for show. Well, it was, but the right knee boosted by momentum that wanted to meet Asuka’s stomach again was the real threat.

[AsukaStrikes]

While the catgirl moved with painful precision and calculation, Asuka left it all to the wind and reacted on her instincts. The Akashiman's instincts, however, did not tell her to move out of the way. Indeed, she saw the bladed claw coming for her chest - all in a split second. However, her movement was far from subtle and never one to be as precise as Monica. After all, Asuka fought with only her instincts from the start.

At the instance the catgirl leapt into the air, Asuka lunged into her opponent's strike. As a sword fighter, the red-head had experienced first-handed the drawbacks of fighting with blades at close quarter. With every weapon, not even with bare hands and feet, there was a limiting range for effective strikes. The maximum distance was dependent on how far one could reach with the weapon. Swords have about 2-3 feet worth of attack radius. Spears and halberds, 3-5 feet depending on the reach of the head. The fists and feet, mere inches to as much as a foot.

That was a given. But then there was also the minimum range of an attack.

The lass closed the distance of six feet between herself and the kitty within seconds, her right hand snapping forward to catch the gloved wrist of her feline opponent. In her haste, Asuka was chastised deftly by the solid jab of the knee which dug into her gut. Blood shot into her head as the Akashiman dealt the counter blow, throwing a wide downward hand chop with her left whilst the catgirl's clawed swipe was abated by her right hand's hasty grab.

The two combatants were now locked in a dangerous embrace, one with a knee in her gut and another with a chop aimed between her ears.

Ugu- The fleeting thought raced through Asuka's head as the impact vibrated through her body. I'm definitely feeling that in the morning.

[HikariAngel]

It worked. It actually worked.

Her plan actually did exactly what it was supposed to do. It was amazing; a joyous occasion that was cut short only by the feel of her opponent’s left hand clasped securely around her right wrist. But even so, feeling the soft flesh of her opponent’s stomach was still enough to send her mind to higher plane. She had actually done something right. It wasn’t until the redhead split into two hazy, slightly overlapping images that the catgirl realized she was still in a fight. A dull throbbing in her forehead cued her in to what happened as she stumbled back and wrenched her arm away from her opponent’s grip.

The floor started undulating as Monica made headway away from Asuka. When the floor turned into a wall- no, that was still the floor. It didn’t spin quite as much on all-fours, but she must have looked drunk scampering in an ever-straightening line.

You should have killed her. You were close enough to end it.

A voice inside the neko’s head made her almost stop dead in her tracks as she scurried along the perimeter of the arena; she could actually see well enough to run almost normally again. Was this one of Asuka’s tricks? No, it couldn’t be. She wouldn’t ask why her opponent didn’t end her life.

Fssssss… The smell of candle smoke permeated from one of the sections of wall. Perhaps if she just ignored the voice it would go away?

It’s not easy, Moni Ca Letum, to see you such a shambled husk of who you truly should be.

Now it was getting scary. Not only was the voice talking directly to her, but it apparently knew her name. Her real name. Nobody in this land knew her name. Nobody in this land knew her past. The braziers that flanked the main entrance flickered then died as a gleam of metal replaced flame. The stench of smoking candles permeated the outer perimeter of half of the room now. Grey-tipped ears twitched as wax slid from the polished icy metal that composed her claw blades. Two of the four walls would have to be enough for now. There was no way Asuka would just stand idly by as her world was plunged slowly into darkness. But still… half of the room was now dark enough to slink through from one shadow to the next.

Who are you?! She tried to talk back to the voice. She also tried to push the feeling that someone else was in her mind out, but seeing how she had never done anything of the sort, she simply looked constipated. How do you know who I am?

A sinister laugh echoed throughout the arena, but only inside her consciousness. She felt the world fading… everything went dark… no, that was just the effect of looking from the still-lit areas back to the darkness of the other half of the room. That didn’t explain how she was now looking at the floor from the shadowed side of the pillar set furthest in the dark. The floor below had to be at least fifteen feet away and there was still a good ways to go to reach the top of the area. It was a good thing she had her claws dug firmly into the solid wood; she would have fallen otherwise.

It’s my turn, you chicken. You had your chances, and you blew them.

A dangerous gleam in her eyes was the only significant change in her appearance, but that alone would be enough to alert her prey that she was ready to kill now. That was, if Asuka did what no other human ever did. Nobody ever looked up. Then again, being hidden in the darkness on the back side of the darkest pillar didn’t help Asuka’s case for finding her query, even if it was the most obvious spot to hide.

Time to play cat and mouse...

[AsukaStrikes]

Ooh, that smarts...

The maiden staggered backwards after the two combatants split, sending the Pagoda Warrior slamming against the far pillar near the dragon statue. Gripping her stomach as the pain coursed through her body, Asuka slowly collapsed onto her knees. However, upon her face, a smile slowly made its way across her face.

Fufufu... Now that's what I'm talking about.

The maiden was actually starting to have some fun with the kitty girl. She was not expecting any less from her challengers, after all, even though the warrior was supposed to be doing the teaching. So when the candle lights started fading away one by one, she was just that much more excited. It was starting to feel more like a real fight than just a sparring match.

Alright, no more playing around.

Groaning audibly, completely unaware about the changes happening to the catgirl, Asuka pulled herself up and planted her back against the column of wood for support. Casting her sights about the darkened room, she could not help but illicit a chuckle at the ingenius tactic her opponent appeared to be using.

"You just gotta love fighting in the dark." Grinning through her teeth, Asuka's fist clenched uneasily as she waited for the feline to attack. She had no idea what surprise Monica had in store for her.

"It's time to play."

[HikariAngel]

This isn’t right! Monica screamed to herself as her body continued to refuse to listen to her. It felt like she was trapped inside a dark room, locked away from the physical shell she was so familiar with. Laughter permeated every wall of her prison until she mentally curled up and focused on blocking the mad thoughts that drove her flesh even now. I can’t kill her!

But I can. Sinister, definitely evil, and a voice that the catgirl would rather never hear again, her “other” self was the reason behind everything that was happening now. The self she was during her dark years had surfaced again. And I will, just you watch.

The feline warrior’s eyes, normally hazel, had undergone a slight change as the dark side took control. One eye was blue now; the other was gold. It was a small change, but an important one to note had she been on her home world. Discord city, the city of chaos, would have had every hand searching for the devil cat if even one person caught a glance of those eyes.

“How about game of hide and seek?” The voice was colder and more evil-sounding than before; it lacked all of the insecurity and immaturity that marked Monica as innocent. It was also coming from the darkest corner of the arena. “Unless you’re afraid of the dark, that is.”

A moment later, a dark silhouette, barely visible in the border between light and dark but clearly feline, smiled as the light glinted off her eyes. The shadow slinked back into the darkness, toenails clicking against the floor mats as she deliberately gave her position away, and then there was silence. The soft pads on her feet effectively muffled any noise she didn’t want to make.

“Here, mousy, mousy, mousy…”

A rough tongue moistened her lips as she scampered to another location in the dark, occasionally clicking her toenails on the floor. The wooden walls and ceiling meant she had six times as many surfaces to use to attack from as Asuka had. It was slow going, but the catgirl did manage to make it to the joint between the ceiling and the wall where she waited for her cute little mouse to wander by. This was her game now, and she always played to win.

[Karuka]

I'm not really going to put many comments down here. Good...half a battle.

Continuity

Asuka: You had a decent reason for being at the Pagoda (seeing that you were a warrior), but I didn't get much background other than that she'd been at the Serenti.

6

Hikari:

You mention that you came to town and got bored and so went to battle, but later you mentioned a "devil cat" and didn't really tie it in. Granted, you might have done it later, but as such it doesn't do much to help you.

6

Setting

Asuka: You did a beautiful job of describing the setting at the beginning...phenomenal, really, and then it kind of dropped off.

6

Hikari: At the beginning, you didn't seem to notice the setting much, but later on in the thread you really started utilizing it. I'm sure you'd have scored much better if the thread had completed.

6

Pacing

Asuka: The pacing was going great! And then the thread didn't finish. Since it was your post next, I have to deduct points here.

4

Hikari: Your introspections added to your character, but took away from pacing, they weighted the thread down and would have taken longer in some instances than she actually had.

6

Persona

Asuka: You know your character, and play her well. I couldn't find many flaws here, and she was consistent throughout.

8

Hikari: This character seemed to flow very well, and you get to know who she is from the very beginning, but I'm not sure about this second persona. It wasn't mentioned in your profile.

7

Action

Asuka: Very well done, for what there was of the thread.

7

Hikari: Like I said before, you slowed some parts down with the long introspections, and I'm not entirely sure how she wound up so high on the pillar in the second to last post of yours, but other than that, it was pretty good.

6

Dialogue

Asuka: Sensible, but there just weren't any shining moments.

7

Hikari: Your dialogue was really fun in this thread.

8

Mechanics

Asuka: You make little mistakes, like put the wrong tense or have a spelling error or something, but you make them often. While it's not egregious, it is kind of distracting.

6

Hikari: You had a couple of mistakes, but did pretty well in this category.

8

Technique

Asuka: You had some very beautiful imagery and even symbolism in your first post, but it dropped out pretty quickly after combat started.

7

Hikari: I saw a couple of little metaphors from you, but it was mostly straightforward.

5.5

Clarity

Asuka: It was good here, I understood everything that you did.

9

Hikari: It was mostly clear from you, although there were a couple of movement things that didn't quite make sense when you described them.

7.5

Wild Card

Asuka: I'd really have liked this to come to a conclusion. It was going really well, and then it just ended.

5

Hikari: You have an interesting character here. Her development should be interesting.

7

Totals

AsukaStrikes: 65
HikariAngel: 63

AsukaStrikes wins!

Rewards:

AsukaStrikes receives 1100 EXP and the victor's 150 GP.
HikariAngel receives 300 EXP.

EXP/GP added!