Disclaimer:sporfle: After having written the original version of this, I don't think anyone would WANT me to own Outlaw Star.

Author's Note: So Amanda's now fifteen and has more experience in writing than she did when she popped out the original version of this… garbage. So I've put some effort into re-writing and finishing it, because I know how many people liked it. And, you know, I don't want to be pummeled by that guy who said he hates me like he hates terrorists and druggies. Thanks, buddy.

Anyway, I've tried to improve on everything I could, but still some aspects couldn't be changed without changing too much of the 'fic itself to be kosher. So… yeah. Sorry about that. PS: All attempts at fan!Japanese have been removed. Those were embarrassing. PPS: New, spiffy HTML formatting. Yay!

Break me, then Walk Away: Prologue - part A

"Hitomi! You have to pay attention to what I'm doing!" Aisha yelled at the younger Ctarl. Hitomi growled softly within her throat, then executed a roundhouse kick. Aisha ducked under it, then countered with a strong right uppercut to the chin. The younger girl staggered back a few steps but quickly regained her composition.

Hitomi growled once more, louder this time, bearing her teeth. A strand of her gray hair, with a bit of the natural purple streaks, fell into her bright green eyes. Hitomi readied her fists, now aware fully of what she needed to do. Her claws were bared slightly, making them a quarter inch out of the finger.

Aisha posed as well, perfectly knowledgeable of Hitomi's capability to beat her in a fight with ease. Hitomi was a rare colored Ctarl, with a deep gray coat with purple-black stripes. And everyone knew rare colored Ctarls were more powerful than normally colored Ctarl, if not weaker in other aspects. If only she would concentrate.

Aisha leapt at Hitomi, landing directly in front of her. She swung a fist directly at Hitomi's head, which the latter immediately dodged, then retaliated with a low kick that threw Aisha's feet out from under her. Aisha landed on her back and rolled to avoid Hitomi's feet; the younger girl leapt up and landed where her torso had just been, denting the Dojo floor.

Aisha connected a right hook to Hitomi's jaw and sent her flying a few feet across the room. She still wasn't anticipating her moves. The bigger Ctarl performed an elbow drop on the smaller one, landing in in the center of her spine, earning a sharp cry of pain from her lips. Hitomi tried desperately to push off the ground, but the shear weight and power was too much for her, along with the pressure on her back in the spot she'd been injured earlier that week.

"You give, Hitomi?" Aisha spat, receiving a low, loud growl from her sparring partner. Hitomi tried to flip around and catch Aisha with her fist, but failed miserably as the elder girl dug into her flesh deeper. The little Ctarl whimpered and collapsed, but said nothing to prove she was beaten.

Aisha snorted, grabbed Hitomi by the back of the neck and threw her against the wall. "You're pathetic, Hitomi. You should have won that fight, and you know it. You'll never be good enough for the Empire." With that, she spun around and stalked out of the Dojo, leaving her companion to herself, tears swelling in her eyes. Hitomi wasn't one to give up easily, but that remark was enough to flush her dreams of being an instructor down the toilet. With a sniffle, she wiped the tears away and scuffled off to continue her solitary training.