After Noah and Enlit head back to their chambers Scarlet and Brock stand across from eachother on different sides of the arena's field. Herostratus walks out between them.
Herostratus: "Alright, everyone. Round #1 begins in..."
Herostratus walks off towards the sidelines. He pulls out a pistol and cocks it back. Scarlet and Brock stare intensely at eachother. Scarlet holds her hand on the handle of her Odachi as Brock gets down in a charging position.
The crowd falls silent as they lean forward in their seats waiting for the gun to go off. The stars fill t-
BANG!
The gun goes off and they're charging towards eachother in an instant. Brock stampedes forward leading with his shoulder. His feet leave behind imprints in the dirt.
Brock: "Wallbreaker!"
Scarlet gets down incredibly low to the ground and darts forward leaving a cloud of dirt flowing towards the crowd.
Scarlet: "Arrow Slash!"
As they arrive on the opposite side of the arena Brock dives shoulder first into the ground to avoid leaving bounds. Scarlet looks back at Brock seeing her attack did nothing but shave some of his leg hair off.
Scarlet: "You're usually not so aggressive in these Championships, Brock. I'm surprised."
Brock gets up and dusts his pants off. He turns around and walks towards her.
Brock: "I'm just itching to see you bleed. It's nothing personal, but it has been a long time since I've let loose."
Scarlet turns to face him. She moves her right arm across her body and holds her Odachi on the left side of her.
Scarlet: "Isn't the whole point of your clan not to let loose?"
Brock let's out a huff. Steam blows out of his nose as he glares down at her.
Brock: "I have to let loose to give you a chance."
Brock tenses up his muscles as hard as he can, to prove he cannot be broken. His body turns beet red as his veins stick out like thin snakes.
Brock: "Reinforced Fortress!"
Scarlet runs towards him and jumps up into the air and immediately begins to spin around.
Scarlet: "Net Snare!"
A wave of slashes hit Brock from all over as Scarlet continues her attack until she lands on the ground behind him. Ultimately doing nothing to him.
Start of Brock's POV...
Knowing I can only use this technique a few times before the muscles in my legs rupture, I decide to use it while she's off guard.
Brock: "Hydraulic Step"
I turn around with explosive force, practically an instant. My legs muscles swell near the point of bursting before I relax them. I swing my arm down and grab her. I dig my fingers into her stomach as I align my thumb with her spine. I meet her gaze as she glares at me with suprise. A smile crawls up my face as I'm flooded with joy.
Scarlet: "How did y-?!"
Brock: "Condensing Forge!"
I pick her up as I charge towards the wall to my right. I cock my left arm back and slam her right side into the wall feeling it collapse around my hand. I pull her out as I keep my grip on her. I grab her ponytail with my right hand. I spin on the heels of my feet before I throw her across the far side of the arena straight into the wall.
I clap the dust off of my hands as I walk back towards the center. My smile stays on my face as the crowd erupts in cheers. Hearing all my juniors and some of the village folk cheer me on is everything I live for. Although, half of them sit in silence.
I watch Herostratus intensely looking over at the huge cloud of dirt where Scarlet's body is.
Brock: "See, when I keep it tight, you stand no chance. Women like you should never step up to a man such as I."
Herostratus begins to lift up the flag with our clans logo in it, indicating my victory.
CLANK!
End of Brock's POV and Start of Scarlet's POV a few moments ago...
My hand hand tries to pull myself up, but my grip is too loose. My shoulder is dislocated. I sit up and clench my fist as hard as I can. I slam my fist into the ground and hear my shoulder pop back into socket. I reach out and grab my Odachi that sits a few feet away from me. I swing it at the rubble sitting at the top of my leg.
CLANK!
The rubble gets cut clean in half as the cloud of dirt surrounding me disperses. I stand up and feel my forehead. Blood immediately drenches my hand. I wipe the blood off of my face with my sleeve before I drop the top half of my kimono to my waist. I begin to slowly make my way back towards the center of the arena. Hatred floods my body like it's trying to rip me apart.
Scarlet: "You raise that flag, Herostratus, and you're next, so don't even think about it."
I glare down at him as I watch him awkwardly put it back down. I hear my juniors cheering me on from the crowd, but I quickly tune them out as the throbing gash on my forehead continues to release blood, that flows down the left side of my face.
Brock: "It seems the misfit can't even fit into a grave. I thought I injured you enough, so you'd succumb to your injuries after this was over, so I can't get disqualified. How disappointing that you're still standing..."
My pupils constrict into small dots, the world around me disappearing as Brock becomes all that I see.
Scarlet: "You need to shut your fucking mouth. You don't know anything about me, or where I come from. I'll show you the wrath of a samurai!
The moonlight glows down on me. I resheath my Odachi and take a very wide and low stance with one leg in front of the other. My eyes locking onto his.
I grip the handle with all my might as I kick off of the ground not even leaving footprints behind.
Brock: "Reinforced Fortress!"
My body does not yield as I soar towards him. I begin to draw my Odachi with all of my strength.
Scarlet: "Bloodmoon: Spear of Wrath!"
Once I'm close enough, I draw my Odachi and precisely slip its tip under his middle finger's nail. I thrust it upwards. My blade splits open the sides of his finger as it travels all the way up past his elbow and into his bicep. I see the tip resurface and I immediately swing it down to the side to cut his arm open, once my blade is free I twirl it around in my hand and swing it back towards his arm, slicing the other half that keeps the top part of his arm attached.
I tune out his screams entirely, along with the gasps from the crowd. I jump up and spin my body around quickly.
Scarlet: "Bloodmoon: Spear of Wrath, Second Thrust!"
I thrust my Odachi towards my own neck. I quickly move it out of the way and run my blade against the side of it. I stab his eye with the tip of my blade, then immediately pull it back out.
I don't even turn around to look at him as he screams out in agony. the crowd joins him, horrified at what they saw. All I care about is Herostratus raising the flag of my clan to signify my victory.
Brock: "FUCK, MY ARM! MY EYE! YOU EVIL BITCH, YOU'RE A MONSTER!
Herostratus looks away while he winces in disgust. He raises my clans flag and I immediately walk off without looking back as he formally annouces me the winner. I swing the blood off of my blade as I walk back through the tunnel to my chamber. I hear footsteps in the dirt.
Master Polka: "I'm glad, you won. You're crazy, you know that, kid?"
I collapse against the wall as I sheathe my Odachi. I look over at her as my pupils widen. I bite my lip as I try to walk towards her.
Scarlet: "I wasn't thinking straight and I just...because he..."
I feel Master Polka wrap her arm around me. I look down at the ground in disappointment. Blood continues to drip from my forehead.
Master Polka: "I understand, Scar. Let's just focus on patching you up. You're not done yet."
My lip trembles as my adrenaline wears off. My leg shakes, the gash on my forehead continues to throb and everytime I breathe it's like the ribs on the right side of my body are stabbing my lung. Not to mention how hurtful my lack of discipline is to my ego.
End of Scarlet's POV...
...
Start of Noah's POV...
I continue to sit in my chamber. Sokai and Azar sit with me. We sit in silence as Brock screams out in pain while still in the Arena. We hear the crowd directly above us talking about what just happened, but to us, it's whispers.
Noah: "I'm guessing Scarlet won, but it doesn't sound pretty. I really wish I could've watched. But...I also understand that they don't want me to know how strong my opponent is before I potentially fight them. It keeps it exciting for the crowd.
I move my eyes from the door of my chamber back to Sokai and Azar.
Sokai: "Yes, it's always been like that, strategy is viewed as abusing the person who uses the technique, not the technique the person is using."
I look over at Azar as he peeks out of the door to the chamber and onto the arena field.
Azar: "Your match will probably be postponed a few minutes. They're bringing out a team of medics. We should go over what the 'Mind Clan' techniques do again."
Azar has an unusual smile on his face. I'm happy because Scarlet won, however, I feel that he's happy because Brock lost.
Noah: "Yeah, that's a good idea. Even if it's not exactly how he fights, it'll be good to know. You're taking this very seriously, Azar. I will not disappoint."
I fiddle with my Grandpa's bandana on my wrist nervously as I stares intensely at the ground. My gaze intensifies the more I realize what's on the line.
...
End of Noah's POV...
Within the chamber of the "Mind Clan" sits Enlit dodging Master Shui's cane as he tries to stab him with it.
Master Shui: "That boy's aura gives off the feeling of wind if I had to choose one. There's only been a couple users of that in my lifetime. It's never seemed that strong. As long as you dodge his attack you won't be superficially cut. That is if you want to win. Brock lost, so he'll be in the loser's bracket."
Enlit continues to skillfully dodge the thrusts and swings of Master Shui's cane, whilst he wears his blindfold.
Enlit: "You're acting like I won't give it my all in spite of that. If I get too close to winning I'll collapse on purpose, regardless I'm going to give it my all. It'll make good practice and I want to see the result of my training."
...
End of Chapter 8...