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Aki watch Kuro and Kin in a frightened wonder. Each of the four fighters moved so differently. And they were fast too. She wasn’t sure if her speed would really be enough, let alone impressive, next to them. She kept a close eye on both fights, wondering if she should jump in and help and waiting for a moment when she might be needed. Her attention was so keenly fixed that she didn’t hear the heavy footsteps that fell behind her, she didn’t notice, that is, until and equally heavy hand squeeze her shoulder.
“Senpai,” he called out, a mean laughter lacing his voice, “look at what I found here—a little mouse.” Kuro’s opponent’s concentration was broken for just a moment, allowing Kuro to get in and make a small hit. The third monitor winced at his own mistake but it only fuel his fighting spirit. He turned his attention back to Aki. She now felt the weight of his metal knuckles pressing painfully into her shoulders.
“Little mice shouldn’t be out in the halls, why don’t we go…” as he spoke Aki felt braver. Every word he spoke made her adrenaline rise in confidence—she wanted to get rid of him. Her purple eyes squinted into the coldest stare she could manage, “I’ll stay right here, thanks.” She said. “Oh, mouse wants to fight, eh? Hahahaha.” He chuckled menacingly. “Say it.”
“Kentou,” she whispered, bringing her tessen up and hitting his elbow as hard as she could with the edge of the heavy fan. He cried out in pain, releasing his grip enough for her to slip away and ready herself. Aki wasn’t sure if that had counted as honorable combat but as long as she was away from him she didn’t care. He rubbed his already-swelling elbow and Aki was surprised to see how his face twisted into a crueler, angrier expression. He cracked his knuckles and closed in to throw a punch. Aki threw her fan open to block it, though the force of the two metals meeting was so hard it nearly caused sparks to fly out. Aki dropped to her ankles and spun to slice his legs with the razor edge on the fan. Again he cried out, but he moved his leg and threw Aki off-balance—ruining her swift escape and giving him an opening to land a blow on her back.
The younger member of the monitors seemed not to mind fighting dirty, though Aki was pulling some tricks of her own. Aki managed to block, slice, and club him, but never enough to knock him down, while he hardly hit her but when he did it hurt and decreased her agility. Finally, nearly exhausted and completely unaware of what was happening with the other two, Aki, managed to get in a good club to his neck, forcing him to drop to his knees, but the unexpected force of it caused Aki to loose her grip on the tessen and it when flying to the side. She did her best to dart to it quickly, and although there was still enough adrenaline going to keep her from feeling the direct pain of her injuries, she was wearing out. This wasn’t like anything she had practiced, and Aki was beginning to feel that she was in trouble.
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