Chapter 46
“How long has this fight been going on for?” Spark asked as he woke up from his nap, disappointed to find out the same two guys were still fighting.
“Four hours and forty minutes,” Mallogory answered, her eyes glued to her handheld video game.
“And you’ve missed nothing,” Scamp added, looking to be suffering as she sat there, with nothing to do but listen to the radio. She’d run out of books to read long ago, so she was doomed to listen to the most boring fight ever. “They just keep chasing each other, and barely even fight. Right when you think they’ll stop, one of them lands an attack and they go at it for a few minutes, then right back to chasing.”
“Folks, I’m terribly sorry for this match. Beezle and Yomilake are equally matched in all ways, and can not find a way to gain the upper hand on the other. We might be here a long time,” the radio announcer said, sounding very deflated and bored, as he’d run out of things to say to try and make this fight even somewhat entertaining.
Scamp groaned as she grabbed one of her books and attempted to reread it again, “I’m amazed they’re letting it go on this long.”
The other two nodded in agreement as the radio continued to give bland commentary on the fight.
“I wonder how our guy Shane will be fighting in the next match,” Spark said, trying to get them talking again.
“Well, his opponent seems a bit powerful, so unless he’s got a trick up his sleeves, I don’t actually think he’ll win,” Mallogory stated, shrugging as she focused on her game.
“Well if he’s a Beltosh, then I think he’s got this,” Spark commented, getting a nod from Scamp.
“He’s demonstrated some amazing skills so far. He’s beat his last two opponents with two completely different attacks. I believe in him, for now.”
“Beltosh’s, outside of myself and older brother, are not really fighters. We’re a gunsmithing family who specializes in custom weaponry. To actually be a fighter of this caliber means he’s an outlier, like me,” Mallogory said, giving them a wink. “But again, I don’t think he’ll beat his next opponent.”
“Wanna make a bet?” Scamp asked with a smirk.
“You’re on,” she replied, grinning at her wife.
“I bet Shane wins, and if he does, you gotta give me your little gaming device till this trip is over.”
Mallogory rolled her eyes and held out her hand, “deal. But when he loses, you gotta let me put you in a dress. A really girly dress.”
Scamp narrowed her eyes, “you fiend…”
“Love you,” Mallogory laughed, blowing a kiss at her.
“Deal then,” Scamp said firmly, shaking hands with her wife.
“Enough,” a new voice suddenly sounded over the radio, clearly not near the mic but loud enough that it came through clearly. “This little dance has gone on far two long. We are bored now.”
“Now now, Galben, let’s not-”
A loud pop was heard over the radio, followed by a distant explosion.
“It is done. We declare Beezle the winner,” the other voice declared.
“Well that’s it folks, the battle between Beezle and Yomilake has been decided by the great Galben. We will now take a small break as we wait for round three to begin!” a moment passed as it sounded like the mic was lowered from Flavio’s face, but he was still broadcasting, “Galby! Did you have to blow the poor guy to pieces?!”
“It had to be done. They displeased us.”
“Galby, nooooo!”
ooo000<^>000ooo
“Finally,” I groaned as I watched Galben vaporize one of the opponents that had been fighting for the last five or so fucking hours.
I laid my head back on the bench behind me, deciding to stay here and wait for the next round. The others were sleeping around me, having given up long ago while watching this match. I was getting close myself, but for whatever reason my body and mind were saying screw you when it came to sleeping.
Oh well, probably better if I stay awake anyways. I still have three more matches to fight in, no need to be even more tired while doing them.
At the sound of Flavio complaining to Galben, Domitor stirred and sat up, looking completely bedraggled thanks to the way he’d been sleeping. “Is it over?”
“Yep, Galben blew one of them up, was pretty fucking rad,” I laughed, watching as a person wearing a shirt with Galben’s face on it run out and start cleaning up the arena of all the gore. “Should have been awake.”
He grunted as he stood up and walked over to me, plopping down next to me. “Are you ready to hear about your next opponent?”
“I guess,” I sighed, shaking my head.
“Her Thorn is actually a bit concerning,” he said, frowning as he pulled out his notebook where he’d written some notes. “It’s actually a bit complicated, and I’m not even sure I really understand it.”
“Probably not,” I pointed out, putting my hands behind my head as I smirked at him.
“Yeah, well,” he said as he rolled his eyes. “She’s able to launch imaginary attacks, like false movements and stuff like that. And as far as I could see you can’t really see which one will be the real attack.”
“Of course you can’t see it,” I mocked, punching him rather hard in the shoulder, “but me? Yeah, I’ll be able to see right through it.”
“She’s killed everyone she’s fought in one attack pattern,” he warned, causing me to snort laugh.
“You said the same shit about the last guy, and you saw how I handled him.”
But he didn’t smile as he stared at me, “look, I know you’re an amazing fighter, but please take this one seriously. Please. She’s already made a comment backstage about how she’ll end each of her fights in one move.”
“And she can try, but do you think she can kill me?” I asked, slamming a fist into my chest.
“Please,” he pressed, annoying the shit out of me.
“Fine, yeah, I’ll take this one seriously, okay?” I groaned loudly, waking up the other two with my volume.
“Thank you,” he said with a head nod. “Now if you want my two bits on how to fight her-”
“Nope, I do not want your opinion. I got this,” I said confidently, leaning back and kicking my feet as I waited for my name to be called.
Vanilla stepped up before me, hands behind her back.
“Shane,” she began as she stared sternly down at me. “I suggest you heed Domitor’s advice. Your opponent is actually a sub-contractor for the Cakehurst family. She has never failed a contract and is a ruthless killer.”
“Oh a Cakehurst's lackey?” Floria asked as she glared at the Halwen. “Let me guess; she’s with you?”
“In a way, yes,” Vanilla admitted, getting a glare from me as well. “I admit, my family sent me with her to this tournament to gain the favor for us. But I am not affiliated with her at this moment. I am merely the family representative for this event, I have no real role outside of being present.”
“So you have a horse in this race?” Domitor asked, looking a bit upset and betrayed. “Are you just with us to have two chances?”
“Absolutely not,” she stated firmly. “I am among you three for my own reasons.”
“What reasons are those?!” I snapped, scowling at her angrily.
She just looked right into my masked eyes, “personal reasons. And we will leave it at that.”
Floria blinked a few times, then began to laugh, “are you serious?! You’re hanging around us for that sweet sweet Kejtdra puss puss?”
This caused Vanilla’s face to go bright green as she spun around and stared off into the ring. “I’ll have you know, no, that is not the reason. I find myself very fond of you three and want to see how your little group dynamic works out in the long term.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head, “What? You wanting in my pants or something?”
Vanilla let out a yelp as she jumped forward a bit, looking back with a face of horror, “N-no! Of course not! My family has made me be here and I am looking to do anything to avoid doing what they wish for me!”
“Sure,” I laughed, flexing a bit, “I don’t blame ya though, I do be a sexy beast. But I'm not interested, cupcake.”
“Ooo, Shane, do that thing you did to me!” Floria laughed, clapping her hands as she watched me.
“Oh?” I said, looking around seeing that no one else was in the arena around us except Flavio and Galben, who were talking amongst themselves. Plus the single person cleaning the arena. “You mean this?” I flashed away only my chest armor, leaving everything else on as I struck a pose and flexed as hard as I could, my muscles exploding around my arms and chest.
“Oh my…” Vanilla said as she covered her mouth, then fell backwards, unconscious.
“Fuck yes!” Floria yelled as she rushed over and stood over the passed out Halwen, “I knew that’d do it!” she leaned down and began to poke her in the face, “should we draw on her face or something?”
“Leave her alone, Floria,” Domitor said, shaking his head at me as I re-equiped my armor.
“Give me a pen, Dommy!” she yelled, holding out her hand to him.
“Floria, no,” he said firmly, causing her to pout at him. “No.”
“You’re no fun,” she complained as she stood up and left the unconscious Halwen alone.
Domitor facehoofed, “did you have to do that though?”
“It was funny,” I countered, giving him a thumbs up.
“It’s called bullying,” he threw back. “You just found out she has feelings for you and the first thing you do is torture her?”
“What can I say?” I chuckled, flexing again through my armor. “When you got it, you just gotta show it off. And boy do I got IT!”
“Fucking hell,” he groaned, rubbing his face in annoyance. “Just one big child.”
“Says the pants wetter,” I laugh, flipping him off. “Yeah, you’ve lost all credibility with me after that little revelation.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” he sighed, not even trying to defend himself.
With this I looked out at the arena, seeing they were almost done cleaning.
Domitor just sat back and pulled out his notebook again, seeming to be drawing something.
“Hey,” I said, smirking at him. “You drawing or something?”
He frowned at me and did not answer, just kept drawing.
I knew he was an artist, with his stupid cutie mark and all that, but I’d never seen his shitty art before. Guess it’s time to change that.
“Give me that,” I said as I snatched the book from him.
“Shane!” he snapped, standing up and squaring up with me. “Give it back. Now.”
“Hang on, sissy boy,” I said as I opened it, “I just wanna see your stupid art.”
“Then ask!” he growled, causing me to roll my eyes as I flipped through the pages.
I had to admit, some of this was actually really good. Like, professional levels! But I’d never admit that shit to him.
“Pretty lame, what’s this supposed to be?” I asked, flipping it around to show a picture of what I assume to be him in a costume.
“It’s nothing, are you done being a dick?” he said, holding his hoof out to me.
“Keep your panties on,” I chuckled, going back to flipping through the pages. A few images caught my attention, as they were super fucking badass drawings of armor and weapons.
“Domitard,” I said, tossing the book back to him. “You’re alright at that art shit.”
“Thanks,” he grumbled, eye switching as he glared at me.
“Draw me.”
“What?”
I crossed my arms, smirking at him, “yeah, draw me. Right now. Full detail and all badass. If you can even catch my awesomeness that is.”
“You want me to draw you?” he asked dumbfounded. “Why? So you can make fun of me some more?”
“I won’t make fun of you if you make me look cool,” I countered, tilting my head back and giving him a toothy grin behind my mask.
Behind me I heard Vanilla let out a groan as she started to wake up. “My… what happened? Are we all okay?”
“Yeah, we’re all good,” I laughed, spinning to face her as I flashed my armor away again, striking an even harder pose, “but this is what happened!”
Her eyes went wide as she laid there staring up at me as I switched poses, making my muscles ripple.
She jerked a bit as she foamed at the mouth, slumping back onto the ground, KO’ed yet again.
I just started laughing loudly as I put my armor back on, turning to see a disappointed Domitor.
“Really?”
“Yes, really, now get to drawing, pony boy!” I exclaimed happily, really proud of myself.
“Shane, I love the hell outta you for that!” Floria yelled as she sat there, a wide grin on her face.
“Thank you, my gracious audience,” I said as I gave her a bow.
Domitor groaned as he sat back, propping up his notebook. “I’ll draw you, but you gotta promise to stop bullying Vanilla. Okay?”
“Let’s say I’ll try,” I offered as I reached over and flicked one of his braids, causing him to roll his eyes as he began to draw.
I stepped away from him and over to Floria, who was looking very pleased with the situation.
“Should we screw with her in other ways?” she asked, rubbing her hands together.
“Nah, I’m done, I just wanted to fuck with her a bit,” I said, sitting down next to her.
“Boo,” she whined, shaking her head. “We could make a powerful duo, fucking with that Cakehurst till she pops. Come on!”
“I’m good,” I chuckled, scratching my neck as I watched the man in the arena start packing up his cleaning gear. My eyes then drifted to Domitor, “still trying to get into Dom’s pants?”
“Eh, I’m trying in the most respectful way I can,” she replied, sitting back as she stared at him as well. “I’ve tried overly energetic girl, bored and detached girl, and even fun and supportive girl. But he’s just not interested.”
“He’s a dork,” I pointed out, “I don’t see what you see in him.”
“He’s a good guy, funny, and caring,” she said, rubbing her chin in thought. “Plus, he’s always there when you need him. And he’s not afraid to take the blame to save your ass from embarrassment.”
“Still, he’s annoying and stupid, those two traits outweigh all else in my book,” I countered, looking away from him and to the passed out Halwen.
“What about you? Thoughts on our preppy rich girl?” she asked, gesturing to Vanilla.
“Eh, don’t really care. I’m not interested in all that romance crap.”
“Okay, but what are your thoughts on her?”
“I don’t have thoughts on her, I barely know her. I’ll fuck with her and make fun of her, but that’s about as far as I want to go with her. She’s weird and foreign as fuck.”
Floria snickered, slugging my arm, “come on! You gotta wanna fuck or something, right?”
“Nope,” I deadpanned, frowning behind my mask. “Honestly, I’ve thought about it, and I think I'm going to become asexual. Physical contact outside of combat bugs me, and I hate the idea of showing emotions like that. So I’m good as I am.”
“You’ll change your mind,” she said, getting a glare from me. “You have a LOT of sexual tension, and that’s clear. I just can’t tell where it’s coming from. Pretending it’s not there is just pissing you off.”
“She’s right,” Rosemary interjected from my mind.
“Okay, that’s enough, I’m done speaking about this shit,” I announced as I stood up and walked away, heading for the door that led to the standby area.
“Think about what I said!” Floria called after me as I entered the doorway.