I use my white paw to open the doors of the dojo, the heavy wood having difficulty giving way against my push. I can’t help but smirk as I recall why it was installed: following noise complaints after Pirth and Gill sparred some more since their first foray. In fact, they were only used whenever Pirth would spar on account of his slur-slinging or when the dojo would be closed for the night
I enter. Normally it’d be empty since the never-enforced “quiet hours” were already in effect. This wasn't surprising considering that even during the day it was relatively unused, but the two occupants within stare at me.
I let the door close behind me, hearing it shut with a solid thud that fills the room alongside my voice. "I thought I was right on time.”
The combusken, KFC, who is leaning beside the crates of medical supplies, is quick to respond. "You are. I've just been waiting here early since I had some spare time."
"Me too," rings a voice to my right. I turn my gaze towards it and see Nira the sneasel, who is missing her usual accessories of an ivory-white scarf as well as her pouches and blue armband. She taps her clawed foot impatiently as she chews idly on a seed. I can hear it crunch under her teeth when she speaks. "Booker was tired after our mission today so he fell asleep earlier."
I scan her up and down and see that her partner – though often inseparable – is indeed nowhere to be found.
Exactly as planned.
"Well," I say, "the outlaw we hunted today was easier than expected so we weren't as tired; that's why I took a bit longer than I woulďve liked… Pirth wanted to play a game given the free time. But now everyone is out. Just you and I, as we had agreed."
Annoyingly, Nira lets out a sideways glance at the door and sees that no one followed.
As we had agreed... I tell myself, annoyed Nira doesn’t think my word is enough. I nod to KFC and he stops leaning, instead standing up straight and rummaging through the crates to grab an assortment of berries. I look back at Nira and she, too, sheds her casual stance as we both walk towards the center of the dojo, where the typical beige floor of the Clover Guild is replaced with a sturdy cream-colored mat.
Nira stands at one end of it, at the end of the grey line that runs down the middle.
"I hope you didn't mind asking for the privacy, Sneasel," I say, causing her to growl. I don't do it on purpose, of course—she just changed her name recently and it's been taking some getting used to—but I note that it seems to anger her.
I mirror her position on the other end of the dojo's battlefield, "But we both know that Booker and Arimis wouldn't want us to spar."
"Booker's got no problem with me sparring," she replies as she takes up a fighting stance, one claw held closely to her side while the other is raised and pointed at me. "But cuz you made it clear you want to fight... I don't think either him or Arimis—since they're all buddy-buddy—would want us to go to the extreme. Not how we both wanna."
I position myself at the ready, as if I am a dog readying to pounce. "Thanks for not wearing your scarf, by the way; I left my items in my room. Are you ready for it? Neither items nor accessories, just pure combat?"
Nira smirks. "Why else would I be here? It's been what? Almost a year since we first—"
"Enough talking, seriously," interrupts KFC, drawing both our attention away from each other and back to him. "Are you both just going to stand and chat the rest of the night away or are you two actually going to go through with the whole reason you asked me to be here? I'm fine with losing some rest to see how you two fight, not how you bicker. Honestly I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner considering how much you two are at each other's throats. So… with the agreed-on terms of stopping only on yield or knockout, are you two ready?”
I look away from KFC and back to Nira. My heart pounds heavily and I can feel it reverberate through my entire body, each beat giving me a small jolt. Alongside it as well I feel an ardent rise of energy within me, an energetic pulse that seems to match my heart in its transit throughout my entire body, from the tips of my finned tail to my paws – one white and the other blue – that are tense, ready to leap forward. "I'm at the ready."
Nira, likewise, turns her sight back to me. Her eyes close and she takes in a deep breath then exhales; I can see the released air has a hint of cool condensation to it that forms a small cloud, obscuring her face. She opens her red eyes that gleam through it, looks at me, and grins. "Ready."
KFC's unamused voice rings out. "Then start."
Soul Silver's Battle! Rival Silver
Immediately I spring into action. The world whirls around me as I leap forward and begin my sprint towards Nira, who has already summoned an ice shard in the claw she had held to her side.
She readies to throw it, but I take a leap and feel the energy within me surge forward, up my chest and towards my face. I let out a stream of water that, though fast, Nira is quick to dodge.
She doesn't know it's near-useless by itself, I make quick note.
She repositions herself by leaning backwards, regains her footing, and looses the ice shard at me. However, her aim was thrown off enough by dodging my chilling water for me to only need to make a slight sidestep. I hear it whizz by my finned ear and I see her form another ice shard – she still has enough range for a free shot – in her right claw while her left is idly held against the gem of her chest.
I press forward and I feel the energy go to my hindlegs as I entice the water in the air around me to form a small jet. I press myself against the water that has formed around my paws and manipulate it alongside my own limbs to propel me into a single last bound to close the distance.
I sail through the air and Nira smirks. While I am still airborne she, in one swift motion, takes the ice shard between her claws and slams it into her left claws as she swings it forward from her chest. I'm stuck on a trajectory straight towards it as the broken shards of ice rapidly form into a thin layer of ice on the claw that she raises towards the sky.
Shit.
I close my eyes and brace for impact. By the time she slams her claw down onto me it is fully wreathed in cold ice, a frost I can feel pierce my head and chill my entire body. Still, I'm carried by inertia and as I'm thrown towards the ground, I tumble into Nira's legs and cause her to fall down as well.
I turn back to her as I pick myself back up and she does the same, though I can see she has a wild glint in her eyes and an ever-annoying smile. "I got the first blow, ďAlin. I'd say you should—"
"Shut up, Nira. I'm here to fight, not get advice," I say as I take a step back, once more calling forth the burning energy within and letting it rise all throughout my body. It surfaces all at once, the energy manifesting itself as scaled, translucent plating that adorns my forelegs up to my upper chest, shimmering into existence alongside my back from the tip of my tail onto the front of my face.
As I do so, however, Nira has already risen and formed another ice shard in her claws. By the time I'm no longer bound to the formation of my armor and am able to move, the ice shard is leaving her claws. I don't have enough time to completely dodge it but I level my left shoulder with it instead.
It makes contact and, while I can still feel the bitter sting of the attack, it's far less than it normally woulďve been, I'm sure. Curious, I look at my shoulder and see the scaled plating, slightly glowing under the pressure, slowly subside its luminosity and reform from where it took the brunt of the sneasel's attack. Only a slight bruise remains.
This armor is so bada—
My thoughts are cut almost immediately; turning my attention away from my opponent for even a moment was a mistake. Nira, with a burst of bright-white energy, practically teleports from where she stood onto me. Her strike hits my side and, while the armor once more takes most the attack, it still sends a wave of pain across the left of my body.
I stagger from the impact but regain my footing and refocus on her. She makes note of the armor's defense and steps back, raising her claws to the air and laughing in an eerily familiar jeer. "C'mon ďAlin, are you gonna hide behind more of that armor or actually fight? Cuz it seems like you don't wanna spar, you acting like a training dummy and all."
I can't help but growl. I didn't intend on using my armor again but with that even the thought of doing so is out the window; I need to shut her up now. Still, I probably have one time I can use Nira's former name to bait her, and I want to save it for a critical moment. Thus, I do my best impression of a bow a quadrupedal creature can do and reserve that taunt for later. "As you wish, Nira."
She moves towards me and in response I take a dramatic stance and raise my head towards her as if to shoot another burst of water. This causes her to slow in order to avoid the attack that will never come, though she's still carried by her initial momentum towards me.
Perfect.
My energy is already flowing towards my hind. The air around me is quickly deprived of moisture as it forms around my tail that I start to swing towards her. Emblazoned by the armor, I can see and feel the water coalesce around my fin as its state of matter changes from solid into a shaped liquid, the water bristling with a teeming energy.
The edge of my liquefied tail which retains its form—abetted by the water from the surrounding atmosphere—cuts across the sky in one lengthy motion. I leave myself quite exposed as I have to turn my entire body in a 360-degree motion to move it, but the effort is proven worthwhile. The attack connects, a splash of water mired with a hint of red being flung into the air. I let the inertia carry me back to where I stand where I resume my stance as Nira staggers back.
I take a quick glance at my tail. Any excess mass lost to the attack is regained by the surrounding moisture in the air by instinct when I use liquidation, and I see my tail solidify from its hard-water state back into my regular, light blue fin.
I swiftly turn my attention back to Nira and see the gash, though not deep, is still stained a bright red. She had let out a gasp that was more surprise than pain. Still,I saw that it garnered the attention of KFC who stands upright and at attention with an oran berry in his grasp. He takes a step towards Nira but stops when she raises her clawed hand at him.
Her voice echoes in the mostly-empty dojo. “Yield or faint. That’s what we said, and I didn’t do either.”
He nods, clearly having forgotten this wasn’t a regular duel, and takes a step back, prompting me to return my gaze to my opponent. I see crimson fury in her eyes as she looks at me, and although I don't think my attempt to goad her is anywhere as good as her earlier taunting of me, I still have to try.
I smirk and say, "Ready for more? Sneasel?"
Come on, Nira. Take the bait.
She bites. Her eyes turn downwards in annoyance and her frown becomes readily apparent. With a wild charge she lunges towards me, ice forming around both her claws, but a hasty sidestep lets me dodge Nira altogether as she swings at empty space. I lunge forward, surrounding myself in water once more – this time at my fore – and slam into her. The blunt impact sends her flying backward, but I have no opportunity to relax. Not while I have the advantage.
As she gets up I once more charge towards her, the water collecting around my entire body both shielding me from the force of the impact while amplifying my movement and power. It's barely enough for Nira's reflexes, however, and despite my speed I make only a glancing blow against her.
Still, this is enough to cause her to stagger from the strike. She quickly forms an ice shard and steps back to try to gain distance, but I am relentless in my pursuit. I sap the surrounding air of water as the energy within me bursts forth and I feel myself liquefy. I am a force of nature, a raging tsunami, a surge of whitewater rapids crashing against rocks, as I hit Nira once more and once again, the final wave of my torrent of liquidations.
The water sprays around the air from the impact but rapidly returns to me as I reform into my regular, solid self as I watch Nira tumble backwards. She digs her claws into the floor and leaves scratches behind as she anchors herself to the ground. I can't help but smile as she remains looking down, on her knees.
Time for the finishing blow. Time to put her in her place.
I charge, maintaining my corporeal form but still sheathing myself with the last remaining bits of moisture in the air as within a matter of moments I stand over her in triumph, lift up my paw, and bring it–
The swirling tempest of water around me is cut through, the water splashing on the ceiling. It is accompanied with a hint of red. More red is my left forepaw, the white now joined by a sickly crimson.
In one swift motion Nira – her claws no longer wreathed in ice but instead enveloped in a shadowy black that reminds me of Ari – cuts upward, not only parrying my attack but striking me in turn.
I let out a yelp as I stagger back in both surprise and pain, almost tripping over my tail. I allow myself a cursory glance at the wound. Not deep but bleeding a lot. Looks far worse than it is.
I look back at Nira whose body is still locked in the upwards motion she used to attack me. I ready myself into a battle stance, trying to ignore the sting above my paw. I can easily manage to continue the battle. I can beat her.
The energy within courses through my veins and begins to rise up to my throat to bait her once more into avoiding a chilling water as I look at her and my eyes meet hers.
For a split second the energy recedes, the remaining water surrounding me threatens to dissipate as it wavers, and my heart skips a beat.
There is an undeniable fury in her eyes, a paradoxically cold and fiery anger that makes me recall the terrible storms of the past I had weathered. She seems almost lost in it, in the overwhelming wilderness that seems to fester within her. That wild fury forms a light frost around her fur and feathers and I can see the bits of ice glint against her gems.
I feel another surge of worry when I realize it deprives me of much-needed moisture.
Damn.
My mouth tastes dry as I try to steel myself and ready myself to attack, to land just one more solid blow, but she's already in a mad dash towards me.
I let the energy within me flow up to my head once more and unleash a torrent of water at her, hoping to delay Nira's advance. She doesn't move, however, and instead raises her claws in an "X" motion to shield herself, and her claws turn the color of a stately steel. I watch helplessly as my high-pressure but still weak attack practically glances off her, only serving to polish it and leave it glistening. Although she seems surprised by my attack, she doesn't seem less tired.
Normally the sheer cold of my burst of water would sap the energy of my opponent, but for Nira she seems practically invigorated.
What's going on? I can't help but wonder.
Nira smiles at my apparent confusion and raises her claws dripping with already-cold water towards me, ready to demonstrate. Her grin doubles in intensity as a thick layer of ice forms on them.
Well... crap.
She makes a wild lunge at me and, unable to move in time, I opt to give her my armored shoulder once more. Despite my defenses, the sheer force of the attack combined with the weight of her whole body pressed into her strike forces me onto the ground.
Despite my natural resistance to ice, the attack is undeniably painful, the frost making my blood run cold.
I step back as she raises one claw up again and threatens to bring it down on me. It’s far too high for a quick and light blow, meaning it would be just heavy and slow enough for me to dodge. I leap to the side in an attempt to avoid the strike, but the attack doesn't come.
Huh?
Nira grins and stares daggers into me as a burst of air surrounds her still-upheld claw, and I can see bits of frost feed into the tiny whirlwind. Already midair, I am unable to alter my momentum and see that she presses her claw forward, towards the exact spot I would land.
Damn it all.
Being resistant to the icy wind that roils against me doesn't make it any less powerful, and it seems to bypass my armor completely, chilling my entire body further and the entire dojo.
I try to truss myself in liquid once more to counterattack but the surge of energy within me is not augmented by the surrounding atmosphere; it's too cold for the little moisture that remains to form into water.
Smart bastard.
She knows it, too, because Nira charges straight into me with a slash of her claw when I woulďve normally been able to counter with another blow of liquidation.
The attack, imbued with a shadowy energy once more, glances against my armor and makes me stumble into another furious swipe that penetrates the armor and draws a splash of blood.
I try to launch myself in a desperate attempt to land just one more blow, but I'm assailed by an array of attacks coming from practically all angles.
My acidic armor manages to hold, but only barely. I can feel it on the verge of collapse, the plates of energy glowing bright under the extreme pressure. I gather what remaining power I have for a final attack, the aura within me rising and pumping me full of fury that should be enough fuel to allow me take her down once and for all.
But her wild red eyes see this and she lets out one last, desperate blow to take me out.
Her claw swings wildly towards my left side, whistling through the air, but her wide strike governed by fury instead of discipline gives me just enough time to turn and take the blow with the armor on my right which is faring better than the other bits of plating.
It also, I realize as I conduct the masterful maneuver, gives me the perfect chance to strike her with my tail. I’ll end it here.
My tail does not liquefy for the extra power since there's no more moisture in the air. Still, my tail alone should be enough, I think as I turn around and try to repeat my attack that served as the opener of my initial barrage.
Nira's claw, as expected, makes direct contact with the armor adorning my shoulder, shattering it as it takes most the blow, but this does not slow my momentum. I look at her as I swing my tail encompassed by my armor and furious water towards her.
I can't help but smile as I see her eyes turn from the location of her attack towards my tail, wide with…
But my grin fades as quickly as it appeared.
Not surprise. Excitement.
Her eyes, as they pass over me, behold a tamed fury, a raging inferno stoked by tempered practice. She has already repositioned herself against my blow, the one she baited out of me.
Oh shi—
My tail hits her outstretched claws donning a steel coating once more and a wave of water washes over her, but it merely joins the frost adorning her fur and feathers. She uses the inertia to grab on to my tail and moves with my blow, not only lessening the force of my attack significantly but also lifting me off the ground.
I let out an involuntary yelp once more as she swings me away and towards the wall. I fly and slam into it with full force.
I land with a heavy thud and collapse, but I can't let myself lose. Not yet, not at all.
I still have strength... I'm not done yet...
I hoist myself up and raise my head up high, ready to make a last valiant stand and to turn the tide of battle, but I am unable to find Nira.
Wha–
With a blur of white energy she reappears before me. I let my left pauldron take the ensuing blow, but it's so weak it shatters anyways. She readies herself to strike where I’m exposed for a second time but I manage to successfully reposition myself. It doesn't matter. I was so focused on that I failed to see her other claw, brimming with shadow, connecting against my equivalent of breastplate in a sort of clawed uppercut.
The armor shatters and I'm thrown skywards from the force of the blow. I'm in the air just enough to see Nira's eyes – beneath the fire they were no doubt cold and calculating, I realized all too late – focus on my exposed underside.
Helpless, I see her siphon the remaining moisture in the air into a thin frost on her claws that swiftly cuts into my vulnerable stomach.
A sick feeling from the depths of my very being erupts through me as I think I might've been gutted, but the attack is shallow. Unbelievably. Purposefully, I realize.
Her eyes meet mine as I fall back down to the earth. I can't hide the pain and anger I know are adorning mine, nor can she hide the triumph of her victory in hers.
I fall to the ground with a thud and she stands over me. She points a claw at me, tinged red with light streaks of blood.
"I'm not knocked out yet, Nira," I say despite me being unable to raise myself to my legs without shaking. But it woulďve been better if I was.
"I coulďve gone deeper or made the attack worse by not using ice and you know it," she declares. "Yield now. Don't make me knock you out, ďAlin."
I let out a huff of breath as I try to stand myself up, to fight, but even though she’s not here, between the chill of battle and circumstances I can’t help but think back to my old leader, from what feels like so long ago. My heart sinks. Remember, don't let your ego get the best of you, ďAlin.
I feel myself blush as I raise my left paw towards her, letting the red gash she made at the onset of battle face the sky. "You got me Nira. I yield."
Her claw grasps my paw about as gently as I woulďve expected from her, considering we just fought. She hoists me back to my feet.
KFC approaches the two of us and, though he says nothing, he hands us both a plentiful amount of oran berries, plus an aspear berry for myself. I happily down them as I feel my wounds heal and warmth returns as the fresh juices fill my body. I let out a sideways glance at Sneasel, who I still can't get myself to like, regardless of the strong friendship both our partners share.
I finish chewing a berry and let it go down my throat. Before I grab another, however, I speak.
"Nira?"
She likewise takes a break from chewing and meets my eye. I'm normally her height but, because I'm still reeling from the blow against my underbelly, I'm hunched over, looking up at her. Annoyingly.
"Good fight," I say, "but don't think I like you, though."
"Hmph. Whatever, ďAlin I–"
"I have, however, gained some respect for you. Nira. Try not to lose it."
She looks back at me and I can feel her red eyes study my white irises surrounded by my stormy-blue sclera. She chews on another berry but speaks while doing so.
"Yeah, same here. Good fight. I was kinda surprised at first; you almost had me. But not before I would've torn up that cloak of yours. And I just know you would've surrendered since you care so much about that bundle of feathers."
I roll my eyes. "A fight with all our equipment? Maybe someday. Besides, my cloak gets damaged enough when on the hunt. After Ariados threatened to report me for fraud for not outing myself as a member of this place for her 'unlimited repair' scheme, I just started sending it to Cheris to fix. She does so happily."
Nira chews and says, "Hmm. Then maybe we will. I was kinda hoping this would let off some steam I have about you, but I don't dislike you less. Respect? A little, but you're still an annoying fish."
I ignore the insult, "Sure, sure, Nira. Who knows when we'll fight with all our stuff in another all-out battle, but I know we can do it someday. And I know I'll win. Till then, I guess we just have to bide our time, and I guess you savor your victory."
Nira smiles and nods. She grabs another berry from the pile and hands one over to me. I accept it.