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Post by sheila on Jan 5, 2007 20:16:40 GMT -5
Sheila walked out of her closet and into the noisy, rowdy club. It was primetime in the evening hours, and the parties had only just begun. Men were drinking and boasting about their adventures in various places, none of which she recognized even in a distant dream. Those women who were among them also gloated about times they fooled lesser soldiers and bandits and sent them fleeing with their tails between their legs. Women hookers danced their pleasure away on customers' laps. Men hookers, well... *ahem* the lot were doing something much more interesting.
The young woman dodged as two challengers of a bar fight wrestled past her, and ducked under a flying beer bottle. She made her way through the crowds.
And up to her cage.
There, within the iron bars and crowded space, she sat... and waited... there was bound to be some kind of an not a very nice person willing to try to show off his strength.
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Post by Daemon [Naryae] on Jan 7, 2007 19:23:54 GMT -5
=When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight=
I watched her with interest. There was a certain feeling of her that I liked, but I didn't understand why. Anyone in this place was almost as bad as me. How many had killed, slaughtered, raped, stolen, and committed many other crimes this day? How many of them really cared? None, none of them did. They could move on with their lives, numbly tossing away the life of others, thinking such things are expendable.
But I knew differently, and I wish I didn't. What was the secret they held in their hearts, which made them so cold to the sun's touch, so welcoming to the harsh shadows? How many would repeat the day over, and how many more would suffer under their rule?
I snorted at the irony of my thoughts. I was like them, I was worse then them. It was my fault my mother was dead, my father killed himself, my aunt died in pain, my friends were tortured to death, and my officers were slaughtered. Their blood was on my hands, and here I stood criticizing these people.
With a sigh I pushed off from the wall which supported my frame. Today was my first day out of hiding, and so far no one had noticed me. Perhaps Kakashi had faded from the country's memory, and I would remain here without trouble. Surely by now someone should have recognized the tattoo which snaked up my left arm, or the silver hair which fell over my eyes. And surely they would have wondered why I wore my cloth mask, the black one which covered my lower face, curving over it's features but hiding what lay beneath. Surely they must have realized I was the traitor.
I wasn't sure if I was happy or sad about this, and, instead of drowning my self in drink and love like so many were around me, I searched for a fight. To feel the white-hot rage flow through me, to be able to take out my anger and pretend like it was everyone else's fault. That is what I wanted, so I turned to the interesting woman, and lifted a black gauntlet-clad hand to the sword which lay across my back.
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Post by Riot [Pike] on Jan 7, 2007 19:29:57 GMT -5
"Pay the fee before you enter," gruffed the clerk that guarded the entrance to the cage.
Sheila eyed the new man Kakashi with a hateful glare, as a wolf would stare at the hunter with a gun. She felt a feeling of hopelessness, seeing the man who came to challenge her this time... Then again, she had felt this way each time a man came to fight her.
And thus far, she had only ever lost once in the entire year of fighting challengers.
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Post by Daemon [Naryae] on Jan 7, 2007 19:55:37 GMT -5
=When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight=
There was a voice in the back of my head telling me something. Something like "This is wrong." I didn't listen to it, already sinking into my anger, my hopelessness, my sorrows. I wanted to cut myself off from the world, and the world included myself.
As I handed the clerk the fee, the voice tried again. "What would Nana say?" I didn't listen to it again, because I knew Nana was dead, and she wouldn't have said anything anyway. She'd never loved me, I could see that now. She'd blamed me for my father's death, she'd known it was my fault and she'd hated me.
I stepped inside, eying the woman, sizing her up. My hand returned to the sword, but it hovered there for a moment. I thought for a second that the voice was coming back, but it didn't, so I gripped the sword handle. And then I let it go. It would be more satisfying to use only my hands, wouldn't it?
the voice sneaked up on me, hitting me hard. It knew where to strike, and eventually it found the weak spot. "Your mother would be disappointed," it said to me, and the anger was sub-due. She would have been, probably, but I would never know because she was dead too. What would she have said?
I sighed, looking around myself for the first time, and realizing unhappily I was in to deep to back out. They other's eyes were upon me now, and I wondered if any recognized me yet.
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Post by Riot [Pike] on Jan 7, 2007 20:00:27 GMT -5
Sheila stood up, her gaze as hard as ever. It wasn't clear if she could read the sorrowful thoughts that tormented Kakashi again and again. It seemed to her that her opponent was disabled in some way-- a way that she wondered if she could use to her advantage.
She stanced in her martial arts style. "...You've come to challenge me."
Kakashi would not see the eyes of the audience-- whether they were familiar or not. All he would be compelled to see were the merciless-seeming yellow gems that stared coldly at him.
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Post by Daemon [Naryae] on Jan 7, 2007 20:11:19 GMT -5
=When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight=
So it would seem.
I said with a shrug, my mouth twitching into a small smile. Not that she could see that, though.
I felt a bit lost for a while, looking around myself as if there was something in here I wanted. Maybe I could break through the bars, or maybe...
...Maybe I could do what I came here for. Maybe it didn't matter what my stupid mother thought, because she was dead. Maybe none of this mattered, because tomorrow I'd be dead, an no one would care. I wasn't even important enough to be labeled a wanted traitor, to catch the eye of many of the officers I knew were here. I was unimportant, and unimportant I would stay unless I did something. So with the hot fire burning in my eyes, I stepped to the left, waiting for her to make the first move, so I didn't have to. Self-defense was an easy excuse when you came back to reality.
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Post by sheila on Jan 7, 2007 20:16:40 GMT -5
Sheila, however, remained where she was. She was deaf to the roaring crowds that urged the fight to begin, and yet she did not move. The men outside threw eggs at her, trying to provoke her in any way to start the challenge, and yet she did not move. Sheila eyed Kakashi almost hatefully now.
...And yet, she did not move. "It is the guest's honor to make the first move."
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Post by Daemon [Naryae] on Jan 7, 2007 20:26:30 GMT -5
=When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight=
I didn't move either as she spoke, and I barely heard her words as I slowly drew into myself, blocking out the crowd and their noise. I didn't know what I would need to win this fight, and I didn't know how far it would go before it ended, but I would soon find out. Working on instinct I crouched down, leaping forward and kicking out ahead of myself, uncertain if I would score a hit. It was a simple move, and prepared myself for a counter attack, or even a landing, all things were uncertain at this point, and I understood this. There was no real way to win a fight, unless someone let you. And I was going to have to make her let me win.
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Post by sheila on Jan 7, 2007 20:29:46 GMT -5
"What is your business here?" Sheila demanded, catching his leg in a cross-arm block.
The crowds roared, finally witnessing the beginning.
(Mindie: Way to pay attention, Pike :lol: )
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Post by Daemon [Naryae] on Jan 7, 2007 20:50:10 GMT -5
=When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight=
I held up my leg, turning my burning eyes on her. She was the target, and this was a mission now. I hadn't just lost myself, I'd lost my bearings, and as I spiraled through my memories with chaotic results, her figure wavered before me.
What do you think?
I growled, retracting my leg and coming around with a strait punch, wanting to see her counter, to feel her strength. Each move brought me closer to understanding her.
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Post by sheila on Jan 7, 2007 20:55:05 GMT -5
Kakashi was in luck, for Sheila did not hold back on anything she knew, if it proved effective against his strikes. As Kakashi went for the punch, Sheila twisted the ankle of the leg he threw at her the first time, hoping to force the punch in another direction while she moved away from him.
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Post by Daemon [Naryae] on Jan 7, 2007 21:09:55 GMT -5
=When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight=
I felt her twist my ankle, and instead of fighting it, I went with it, letting her twist my entire body around. Extending my hands I caught the ground, looking at Sheila's lower half upside-down. I narrowed my eyes in concentration, trying to keep her form crisp. Everything was getting blurry, and I didn't know why.
I kicked out my other leg at her stomach, mustering as much force behind it as I could, and hoping it would hit it's mark. The more I fought, the less I liked the odds.
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Post by sheila on Jan 7, 2007 21:12:37 GMT -5
But because of Sheila's firm grip on Kakashi's ankle, as she took the kick to the gut, both she and Kakashi were sent flying into the cage wall.
Sheila, for her part, faltered but recovered as she somersaulted away from the wall and Kakashi, hopping to her feet and turning around, malicious eyes glaring at the silver-haired man.
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Post by Daemon [Naryae] on Jan 7, 2007 21:22:45 GMT -5
=When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight=
I felt her dark look, and as I rose to my feet I returned it with my own, wishing my blue daggers could pierce her flesh as her pools pierced my heart. I wasn't sure how this was going to end, and I didn't want to think about that, but I did. And then I became angrier, as thoughts of death always make me.
I clenched my teeth, looking around at the cage which confined us. I imagine the crowd was going wild, but I couldn't hear them anymore, and could only judge their emotions by their actions, which were chaotic in the least.
Not far from reach spied something useful. A full mug sat at the edge of the bars, it's owner punching someone in the face. I slipped over and snatched it up, looking down into the murky liquid numbly. It would serve my purpose well enough, and with a flash of a smile, I tossed out the liquid, concealing myself for a few moments as I disappeared into a shadow which had suddenly appeared.
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Post by sheila on Jan 7, 2007 21:28:31 GMT -5
For the first time since they met, Sheila showed a sign of emotion... in a smirk. ...He is a fool to think he can use shadows to his advantage.
She waited for Kakashi. And at the first sign of his presence reappearing... she disappeared.
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