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“Well, little sun…I believe now may be a good time to call in that rematch you promised me.”
Sunana was quite surprised by that, her golden eyes widening as she stated, “Oh, now? Are you certain? I did learn some rather frightening attacks.”
Her surprise had quickly turned into smugness, and Raubahn gained a scoff as he said, “Well, I expected you would. And you will likely learn even more if it’s postponed any longer.”
“True that…and it would be quite fun to show off in front of my son.” Sunana reached over to pat her son, Isenaji, on the head because he wasn’t paying attention. He looked up at her with his deep brown, almost black eyes and asked, “Wha?”
“Do you want to see me fight your grandpapa?” She asked as she smoothed over his ebony hair, and she could see curiosity in his dark eyes as he asked, “Do you think you’ll win? He’s kinda a lot bigger than you.”
“Oh hun I know I’ll win. You know what they say, ‘the bigger they are, the harder they fall’.” She gave him one of her signature sassy smirks, and her son grabbed her arm as he nearly shouted, “I’d love to see that!”
“Well, Raubahn? Should we set a time and place for it?” Sunana asked, and Raubahn made a thinking motion before saying, “Well, it would be rather symbolic for me to in a way return to the Bloodsands.”
“The Coliseum it is then, we’re sure to have quite the crowd.” Sunana stated, rather unaware that her partner was listening…
-
It was only a few days later that they took their places in the Bloodsands, and the first thing Sunana shouted was, “You did ask to be pitted against the same style I used on Pipin, but are you quite sure? I will warn you my rather frightening ability may make it seem as though I have lost control of myself, but I assure you that is not the case.”
“Well now, all you have done is make me curious,” Raubahn replied, but then he lifted his sword and said, “I would be a poor gladiator indeed if I let your ‘warnings’ deter me!”
“Very well,” she stated casually, changing her outfit into the same she wore in her trial with Pipin over a year ago. It was a fairly casual outfit, just a linen shirt with a few belts, form fitting black breeches and complimentary boots, all topped with a yellow bandana. Though her outfit was casual, the Axe of the Demon she pulled out most certainly was not, and as she had no intention of closing the distance first she simply put her axe on both her shoulders as she taunted, “Well? Come and get it!”
He must certainly know she had reason for not being the first to run forward. But he did run forward, and she surprised him by rushing over and shoulder-checking him with Onslaught when he had barely made it halfway to her. He didn’t block that, but he did block the Heavy Swing that was followed by Maim and both the spin and the cleave of Storm’s Eye. She went through her combo a few times with slightly more power, and he was struggling slightly when she was still going easy on him.
Any swings that weren’t him blocking didn’t even touch her, she was very agile and very small. She was just dancing around him, so he decided he needed to pull out the big one. He kicked her back, which stunned her slightly, then started to cast his signature move, the Bull of Ala Mhigo.
And he would have finished it…if she had let him. But she didn’t.
“Oh no you don’t!”
She hit him with Holmgang, using the chain not only to bind him but to pull him closer. And now, she was going to stop going easy on him and show him exactly what she meant by “frightening ability.”
She crossed her arms, then pulled her arms back with a growl as she was surrounded in a red aura. Her eyes were simply glowing balls, but the taunting smile on her face was easy to see as she said, “Hope your armor is strong enough for this.”
Anyone else would be terrified by that, but the Bull was known for being brave. But she sure was putting him in a world of pain, because she used five Fell Cleaves on him.
The chains grinding sounded out over and over, and thanks to her Holmgang he had no way of blocking them. With her final one she finally dispersed the chains, then promptly gave him a hard kick that tumbled him a few yalms back.
She stabbed her axe in the ground casually, one hand on the pointed end of her axe handle and the other on her waist as she said among the cheers of the crowd, “That is what I meant by frightening. I daresay I am the only warrior in history that is able to tap into the unbridled power of my inner beast without losing the ability to tell the difference between friend and foe.”
She looked up at the cheering crowd, and added very loudly, “I’m glad most found it entertaining rather than horrifying!”
“Well…perhaps it was a mistake to pit myself against a style like that. May I try another?”
He was back on his feet, and she smiled as she said, “Why, of course! In fact…”
She put her axe away and changed classes, now being dressed in a black Ala Mhigan gown with leather pantalettes and fringed boots, matched with a cutesy yellow flower crown. She pulled out her Inferno Claws, and after taking a second to center her chakra she called out, “I have always wondered how the Bull of Ala Mhigo would fare against an Ala Mhigan monk.”
She really loved this class, being able to do fancy flips and kicks incredibly quickly really got her adrenaline going and never failed to make her soul burn. Every time her soul burned her sunspots began to glitter and her eyes began to glow with all the glory of the sun, something that was gaining many “Ooo”s from the crowd that only made her more confident. Raubahn could barely keep up with her Warrior attacks, there was no way he could keep up with her flying fists. But hey, no reason not to try right?
Since he was on his feet again, she used Form Shift then immediately tackled him. It brought her right to him, and she got right up in his business with Demolish. Flying fists and kicks didn’t have to hit him to hit him, thanks to her chakra. And the lingering effects were showing, because the mix of physical attacks followed immediately by spiritual ones made it so he was constantly under siege. He still managed to dodge a fair few and get some sword swipes in too so he wasn’t just on the defensive, but she moved too quickly to be caught by a sword. The crowd was clearly amazed by this constant stream of action, then Raubahn tried to bring his sword down on her. It cracked the stone, but she had moved to the side. Then…she jumped on top of it.
She was standing on the sword, and as much as Raubahn tried to pull it out, he couldn’t.
She didn’t want the crowd to think he was weak though, and he wasn’t. So she explained for the benefit of all, “So you know, I am not weighing the blade down with my weight. Rather, I am using the force of my chakra, which is far heavier than one person could be.”
The power of her chakra would make sure the blade wouldn’t move at all, so she shifted her feet because she was about to attack. With him still holding the blade he was in the perfect position, so she ran up and used Celestial Revolution. Her feet went up his chest before flipping over, catching his jaw with such force that he went a couple yalms in the air before crashing back down, and she gracefully floated back onto his blade with perfect balance.
He had no weapon, and from the look on his face he was quite worried that the combined power of her incredible kick and the chakra that accompanied it had broken his jaw. And so…
“Well, a gladiator without a sword is hardly of any use, so I suppose I’ve been defeated.”
Sunana laughed as the crowd went wild, and she jumped off his blade before sticking a fist in the air as she shouted, “I won! Though of course I do have the benefit of youth. You were right when last we crossed blades that indeed things could have been different had I faced you in your glory days.”
He did at least seem a little glad of her compliment after so disastrous a loss, and as he got up she grabbed his sword and pulled it out of the ground, tossing it over to him with a grin as she stated, “That’s no reason to be complacent though, you have some training to do!”
“Ah right, right,” he said with a laugh, still clearly elated from the thrill of battle as he replied, “Though no amount of training would make me feel more alive than I do when crossing blades with one as strong as you!”
“Hear hear,” said a voice off to the side, and Sunana’s golden eyes opened in all their glittery brilliance as she shouted, “Pipin! What are you doing here?”
“Papa!” shouted a voice from above, who both of them could easily recognize as Isenaji’s. It made both of them laugh, and Pipin answered her by saying, “I suppose I really couldn’t deny the opportunity of facing you.”
Then he looked over at his father, giving him a Flames salute as he shouted, “Father! I may stand a better chance against her than you.”
“Because you have been sparring against this class to increase your speed and agility.”
Everyone looked at her when she said that so matter of factly, then she gave him a taunting grin as she said, “You’ve been improving, but will it be enough?”
The crowd was practically holding its breath when she made that challenge, and Pipin drew Tizona as he stated, “Why not find out?”
The crowd cheered, and Raubahn shrugged his shoulders as he said, “Well, I’ll leave it to the young ones then. Do me a favor and avenge me.”
He gave Pipin a humorous wave as he exited the arena, and Pipin gave him another salute as he stated, “I cannot promise I will, but I will try my best!”
“You had better try your best. They are not watching for you to pull your punches, they wish for a spectacle.” Sunana gave him a confident smirk, and he returned it as he said, “Oh, I would not dream of it.”
-
Her fight with Pipin was proving to be a surprisingly long one, and though they had both said they wouldn’t pull their punches it was clearly not the case. Granted, they were mostly checking each other, matching each other by predicting what the other would do. She was still faster at dodging than he was at swinging, though not by much so every dodge was at a hair’s breadth. Her chakra was clearly battering him a bit, but he was more used to it than his father was. She was mostly spending time opening her forms, but after a particularly powerful Flint Strike she suddenly found…that she couldn’t move her feet.
That was new, she didn’t know he could bind someone. Nobody could bind her for very long, but she then suddenly saw why he had cast that on her.
“Roar, Tizona!”
Oh no, she thought as she looked around, noting that he had learned to cover the weaknesses that attack had that she had been able to take advantage of in the Grand Melee long ago. There was no way she could dodge this or stop him from casting it, so with a mutter of, “Dammit, you improved it…” she grit her teeth and threw her fist down to use Riddle of Earth.
It definitely helped her weather it, but she was thrown back and barely on her feet. She was breathing heavily, but she wasn’t out of the game. She made that clear as she straightened up, saying with a bit of a smile, “I am glad you are not pulling your punches, I would be insulted if you were. But I am afraid I cannot let you do that again, so I will have to pull out my fireworks.”
“Oh? I feel so honored,” he replied teasingly, and she laughed and said, “I will show you that you have not seen everything this class can do.”
She breathed in, then moved her fists around her as she was encompassed by a red flower. It slowly blossomed with her movements, then completely disappeared as she thrust her fist forward. There was a slightly more brilliant glow in her eyes that brought a blush to his cheeks though otherwise there was no change…until she tackled him and used Tornado Kick.
With a flurry of fists and kicks along with a huge burst of wind he was knocked back, flipping over as he tried to catch his breath. He got up again, but it was clear that was a very telling blow as he gasped, “That seemed more powerful than usual…”
“Indeed it was,” she said with a sly smile, then tackled him again and used Dragon Kick. But…he blocked her leg.
It looked like she was trapped…but only her legs were trapped. So she shifted her fists and caught his blade between her Inferno claws and dragged it over her head. She had knocked him off balance, and with him falling over her she freed her leg and landed an incredibly powerful kick directly into his right side.
He was thrown to the side tumbling a few times before landing on his back with a groan, and she planted his blade right next to her. Then she rushed him again, putting one of her feet on his chest as she pointed her fists at him. He couldn’t get up with her chakra weighing him down, so she shouted for all to hear, “Looks like you lost again, darlin’.”
He never failed to blush when she called him that, but he did give her a sheepish smile as he lamented among the cheering of the crowd, “Ah, beaten again. You may as well be the queen of disarming people.”
“In more ways than one hehe~,” she said, as she could disarm people physically and mentally. But as she had won she felt no reason to weigh him down anymore so she took her foot off and put her Inferno Claws away before offering him a hand. He took it, and her voice was quite full of pride and humor as she said, “You lasted longer than anyone else has, and I have rarely had reason to use that form.”
He let her pull him to his feet, then put a hand on her shoulder as he asked curiously, “What was that form?”
There was still glitter on her sun spots as she replied, “The Riddle of Fire. In case the effect was not apparent, it adds more power to my chakra. I look forward to learning the Riddle of Wind, that would increase my speed.”
Just the thought made her punch one fist into her palm in pure excitement and determination, and her partner gave her a sheepish look before he said, “Well I for one do not look forward to fighting that.”
That made her laugh, and the two of them walked out of the arena to the sound of the cheering of the crowd that had been utterly amazed by their display of incredible power.