“Do you like anyone?”
“New Myth’s meant to be good?”
“Sure, but I’ve only seen her in street fights. Arenas are a different beast.”
Jiho shuffled around the room as the match started up. Listening to all of the people that she could. Stopping whenever she heard anything in favor of either fighter. She’d picked up what people thought about Shiki, certainly. Remarks on her record and seemingly quick rise. Jiho’s aura was not so oppressive that people couldn’t be honest with their misgivings. As such, people’s mumbling of favoritism didn’t strike her as particularly salient. She wasn’t nearly as fond of the new young fighter as everyone else was. After all, she was the one who lost to this girl. Even in that duel, she was not without flaws. They simply weren’t flaws Jiho was ever going to expose. Things like a weak core, or a clearly unstable handle on one’s weapon. Things that Jiho would simply clear through; other fighters might see as the linchpin to victory.
For all she’d learned, Marwan’s weaknesses weren’t adequately covered by Shiki. And the room seemed to agree.
“This ain’t really fair,” one person remarked. “Marwan’s a ki specialist. Isn’t Shiki mid-range?”
“Yeah!” replied another, clearly more familiar with the match-up. “Marwan’s a Striker! Pure hand-to-hand stuff. All of his ki is channeled into his strikes! It’s supposed to be the peak of his martial art!” Jiho hovered around, listening and affirming what she could, when she could. “They’re on it,” said the vixen, much to the shock of the one who’d deemed the match unfair. “Ayy, Gumiho! What’s that? She beat you, didn’t she? You oughta believe in her undefeated streak!”
Jiho thought for a moment about Shiki. About what her real concerns were. What it really seemed like the issues were, and in that moment, she decided it was worth being honest. At least for this. “I believe in a lot of things. Luck, chief among them. Being in the right place, at the right time, and trusting in that little extra thing. It’s saved too many lives for me to say it’s nothing. But…Was she lucky then, or is she lucky now? That’s what I’m on.” A curious murmur fell over the group. It wasn’t that anyone had a lot of strong feelings for or against Shiki, but it wasn’t a perspective they’d considered. It almost felt unfair. So much so that even the younger and more energized fan seemed to reject the idea. “Well, that’s just you being salty!” To which Jiho shrugged, “I mean, if you like. I’m not saying she didn’t beat me clean. I’m saying she and I are both swordswomen. Marwan’s a striker. Damn good one from what I hear? And I know what I’m weak against.” The more seasoned among the group were more inclined to nod along, feeling the assessment more generous than perhaps they might be.
“Her grip’s not as strong as it could be,” said one woman. To which Jiho nodded.
“And a counterpuncher can be baited without too much trouble by anyone practiced.” To which she agreed again. Jiho grinned, pointing at herself. “I like Shiki as a swordswoman. She’s one of the best in it. But I don’t have a head for strikers. And I think my record speaks for itself; they know me better than I know them.” And while all of what Jiho said in that moment had been true, she had started from a position that no one else seemed to share. The inherent desire for Shiki to genuinely lose.
Allegedly, the match began.
At least, the gong was rung. Marwan stood at the ready. His stance was loose, but firm. On the balls of his feet and ready to strike. The earth under his feet was well turned, and he knew the texture. This was simply his way of doing what he always said he would. Fight a myth that would fight him. For Shiki, it was much more novel.
The fox looked up from her opponent and into the crowd. Her hands behind her back, she stepped into the glade with some apprehension, but infinitely more excitement. Her eyes were bright with the churning of data from the crowd. She could see them all clearly, and her ears twitched as she could hear them all just as clearly. Both individually and in concert. This new sound felt intoxicating. So much so that even her opponent, after some time of rocking, let his stance drop. Choosing instead to allow her time to seize the moment. While he didn’t know what it was like to be a young girl, newly thrust into the world of masters, he knew what it was like to step out into the glade for the first time.
“Are you still going by Shiki?” He asked, offering a hand to her as he moved to close the gap between them. “It was a different name then, but I go by Marwan now. We were runners together, some years ago.” The fox looked at him and tilted her head. Scanning him from top to bottom, she was positive they’d never met. But after the explanation, it made a little more sense. “Ah, for sure! It’s a pleasure to properly meet you, Marwan.” The two standing against each other answered any questions that skeptics might have had about the honesty of these matches. Marwan stood well over Shiki, and it showed in this moment. She looked up at him, and he looked down at her. They both shook each other’s hands, and the crowd erupted into a hushed murmur.
“She’s got the right vibe, I’ll give her that. Idol-fighter as fuck.” Jiho said, pulling on her kiseru in the front of the arena. Watching the fight on one of the many displays around the space.
Separating from one another, Marwan took to his position again, as perfectly coiled as he was before they broke to indulge in sportsmanship. Shiki responded in kind, unsheathing her blades and taking up the stance best suited to a duel. At least a duel as she best understood it.
It didn’t take long before Marwan closed in. His strikes were like thunder, powerfully and relentlessly crashing into her guard. The infusion of ki sent his might through her swords and into her hands. With every block, she took a hit. With every slip, she felt a kick. Her body took hits from sides she hadn’t even thought to protect. This was the difference in their skill, and what experience meant for a fighter.
Even as she took the onslaught from him, though, Shiki’s smile never seemed to fade. Her bright green eyes taking in everything that he’d offered up to her.
Shiki’s heart was beating in her ears. She could feel the tension in her muscles from the blows Marwan landed. She took the barrage better than she thought she would, and it showed in how she smiled through the exhaustion. Though now, she was the one to attempt the same. Her speed and her ability to counter – these were her tools of choice. When it came to attacking, though, she wasn’t without her tools.
One fox.
Three foxes.
Five foxes.
Seven.
Nine.
Each of them with a pair of dao, and in succession, they charged at Marwan. He was able to disperse one, then another. And another. Eventually, though, fangs met flesh. Her crimson whirlwind of steel swallowed up the man in a storm of slashes. From all angles she could, she would attack and attack. As fast as she could manage, leaving whatever she could in her assault. While his skin at the end of her attack was cut, they were largely superficial scars. Never taking the moment to see anything but her, remaining steadfast in his focus on victory.
“Overwhelming, but they don’t have the bite.” Declared the striker. Taking up his position again. A light-speed closure between them ended with a hard kick swinging up and colliding with her torso, sending her tumbling against the ground and dispersing the clones she made. Her ears were ringing, but her smile seemed brighter than before as she looked down at her empty hands. “So it’s reinforced…I know you felt that shit though, dude!” Gasped the worn warrior. On her back and looking up at the ceiling. The seemingly brilliant lights of her entry seemed to be heavier now. As if the heat of the overhead lights pinned her to the lush green earth under her.
Marwan looked down at his leg where a blade had been left. Cleaved through his dermal layer and musculature to finally stop at his bone. “I see, I didn’t even notice.” Reaching down to the blade, he pulled it from his leg and threw it off into the distance. “You’re willing to give up a weapon in hopes of slowing me down? I hope you’re right. Can you continue, Shiki? I assume so…” Raising her arm to wave her empty hand, growling in exhaustion. “Yep, I’m here. Nooo worries, man. How am I doing?” With a laugh, he pointed to the oozing gash in his leg. “If you played this right? Good.” As he called this out, the assault moved on. Dashing towards Shiki’s prone body. Marwan again did that same light-speed dash. The eyes of the crowd might not have picked up the shift, but she did. Her ears twitched as she heard him take off from the ground.
“!?” She appeared at his side, hands empty. Her hands moved with the same weight as if they were swinging her blades. She slashed the invisible swords with all of her might, and slammed her fist into his ribcage. A hit that was built from her style, but with the moment in mind. It wasn’t enough to force him to crumble, but it was enough to stop him. “!!” Again, another slash. Slamming into his shoulder, with enough force now to turn with her strike. Ending up behind him, and slamming her shoulder into him. This strike, though, was enough to send him rolling against the plush earth. As the crowds cheered, she sighed, reaching her hand out to grab the sword that she’d sent flying before the exchange. “I’m only faster than you by a hair, but that’s about a handful of hair now. And I think that’ll be okay!”
Marwan looked up from the ground with a stern smile on his face. It was harder than a lot of them realized, fighting someone like Shiki. He knew that the advantage was his in a lot of ways. Power, style, experience. He knew the math on paper, and so did the people in the audience. He knew more than that, though. “She’s unyielding…” He said, digging his foot into the ground to position himself for a rush. His leg wound was wrapped on the fly in a bit of wrapping from his wrist, and it would have to be enough for now. “But so am I!”
As Jiho watched from a new position, she couldn’t help but smile. “She’s really not gonna give’em to me? That’s honestly so rude of her…” The vixen had now broken from the crowds and found herself in the rarefied air of the witch’s Ace, Nikkita. “You gotta stop talkin’ about this girl like she’s not real. She’s gonna know you don’t think she can win if she knows you want her eyes.” Jiho laughed, raising her hand to show a pair of round jade orbs. “She knows. I told her. She doesn’t know what I want, though. And neither do you. Buuue.” Raising her brow, the tanuki shrugged and handed over a burning blunt. “I don’t, sure. But I know you can’t be mean to your juniors. That kid probably thinks the world of you.” Jiho thought for a moment, taking the blunt and dragging on it for a bit. Smoke poured out of her mouth as she explained herself. “I’m more interested in bro, anyway. She shoulda took that leg off. She didn’t fuck up; he stopped her. That’s new business.” And she was right. Marwan’s assault on an exhausted Shiki wasn’t from nowhere; he was pressed against the clock by her slash and had little in the way of retaliation. She landed a clean hit, and it had changed the texture of the fight.
On top of her again, she unleashed a flurry of blows. Punches, kicks, elbows. Whatever he could throw. Three strikes out for one to get through, whatever it took. After all, she wasn’t making up for their difference in power by slowing him down. His attacks made it through, but never without soft costs. Slashes on some blocks. Shaving blows on some parries. She was taking the brunt of the damage, but he was paying for more than he was getting in the exchange, and it was beginning to become clear to him. Pulling off the assault, he looked down at his limbs. The tape on his leg had been cut at some point. Each limb was leaking profusely. The slow shaving of his dermal layers exposed his synthetic parts to the audience and his opponent. “I see. Shiki, you’re paying more attention to this than I thought.” The fox replied by sticking out her tongue and tapping her head with the pommel of her sword hilt. “Don’t give me too much credit, man! I just sorta…Let you lead. I think it’s pretty clear this isn’t how I tend to win my fights. But I’m ready to wrap it up if you are?” Looking at her, and then himself, he didn’t hesitate to take the hint. “Very well. Then let’s be done with this!”
Shiki’s ears twitched, and her body jittered. It didn’t take a lot to follow the flow of the fight anymore. She’d finally fallen into it, and it was exactly what she thought. ‘He’s got an over–’ she couldn’t even finish the thought. He was on top of her once again. Raining blows on Shiki just as before. Six punches now, and faster than before. Harder and heavier too. As her body rattled and she tried to keep up with him, there was a beat. Just one, and that’s all it needed to be.
He swung his right fist, and she positioned her blade to block him. He’d feinted, and she missed. A firm shin crashed into her head. And a set of pointed claws sank into his chest. Her fingers sat against his heart, which was hot to the touch from how hard it was working.
She smiled; he smiled.