Ah, another update…
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~* Six months later *~
Click. Click. Click. Click. My footsteps echoed in the empty hallway as I walked to the gymnasium. I had Batik staff practice again. I palmed open the door and stepped into the changing room. I pulled off the skirt portion of my outfit and exchanged it for a pair of pants. I crossed to a tall metal cabinet, pulled open the doors, and removed a staff from the rack inside. I ran my hands over the polished wood of the weapon, and tugged at the cloth-wrapped handgrips to make sure the bands were secure. I ran one finger along the blade, testing its sharpness, and trailed the ribbons tied at the base of the blade through my fingers.
"Perfect," I whispered, holding the Batik in one hand and walking through the door and unto the brightly illuminated sands of the practice ring. Tallest Red was waiting for me. He too had opted for pants, and had removed his hover belt. I approached him to about ten feet, before stopping and bowing. He bowed in return, and we both assumed a fighting stance.
"Ready?" he asked with a smirk.
"Of course," I replied. Almost faster than I could see, he had whipped his staff around and was swinging it just above the sand towards my ankles. I jumped over it, and brought my own staff over my head and down towards him. His flew up and blocked mine, before pushing it aside and coming towards me. I jumped back, ducked under his next swinging blow before dodging around behind him and swinging my staff towards his back. He spun and stepped back. We continued to exchange blows, we were evenly matched, but he swung his staff in an unexpected direction and knocked me off my feet. I hit the sand hard, and he dropped on top of me. That was odd. Something was wrong here. I looked up into his eyes and saw a malicious gleam there. A slight smile played on his lips.
I shuddered, and drew my legs up underneath me. I kicked upward as hard as I could. The Tallest flew off me and skidded, sprawling, to a stop in the sand a dozen feet away. I jumped up and snatched his Batik out of the sand, before advancing menacingly on him and pinning him to the sand with a blade.
"I believe, by the rules of the game," I said, "I win."
"Not if I can help it," he said with a smirk. He reached up and wrenched the staff from my grip, before using it to knock me off him. I flipped and managed to right my self and land on my feet, holding my staff in front of me in a defensive position. He came at me and swung it as hard as he could. It slammed into my side and I became airborne. I hit the sand, bounced into the air, hit again, and rolled. He came toward me. I jumped up and dove between his legs, heaving upward to send him sprawling. He rolled over and swung his staff into my ankles, knocking me down. He jumped up, and swung his staff up. I rolled, and the blade buried itself halfway into the sand where my head had been.
"You're lucky I rolled," I said. "I could have been killed."
"I know."
"Oh, that's it!" I jumped up and, gripping my staff in both hands, swung it as hard and fast as I could at him. I nailed him in the hip, and he spun and fell. I used the end of my staff to knock his out of his hands. I slipped behind him, pushed him down in the sand.
"I win," I said firmly. He nodded. "That's what I thought," I added. I let him get up, and bowed to him once again before turning and walking off. As I entered the locker room, I heard a door open out in the practice ring. I lingered in the practice room doorway, and watched as Purple crossed the floor to where Tallest Red was leaning on his staff.
"That was great," he said.
"No…it…wasn't," Tallest Red panted. "She beat me…I haven't been beaten in years!"
"I know," Purple replied. "That's why it was great." Tallest Red glared at him.
"I need to talk to you tonight," he said, adding after a pause, "alone. In my room." He shot a glance at the doorway; I ducked out of sight, before turning and walking out. I walked over to the cabinet, pulled the door open, and found one of the polishing cloths in the back. I put some of the polish on it and began to clean off my staff. Purple walked in.
"Hi," I said.
"Yeah," he replied.
"You sound depressed," I said.
"Huh? Oh no…I guess I'm just distracted."
"Something wrong?"
"No…not really. I…I saw your little skirmish thing."
I snickered. "What'd you think?"
He shook his head. "I think Red needed that. No one has either dared to or been able to beat him at Batik fighting. Or any other type of physical combat, for that matter."
"Wow," I said. "I don't know whether to be proud or afraid for my life." "Afraid for your life…believe me," Purple said. "You know how 'well' he takes defeat."
"Yeah…"
"I need to go," Purple said a moment later. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and walked out.
"Bye," I said belatedly.
I went back to my room…but didn't really have anything to do, so I decided to…um…test out some of the things I had learned so far. I snuck down to one of the lower levels of the Massive, where there was a technical workshop. I slipped in. There were a few Irkens in there, working on different projects. I walked into a storeroom in the back and rummaged around in some boxes. Finally I found what I was looking for: a tiny, remote spy camera. I pocketed the miniscule piece of equipment and a control program too. I walked out, and no one asked me any questions…being tall can have an advantage. I hurried back upstairs, and went into my room. I installed the control program into my computer, and, after a few test flights of the little thing, I released it into the Tallest Red's room. I checked the video feed transmitted from the camera. Crystal clear. Excellent. I sat back to wait.
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Sakura, thank you for the mousey sympathy. *Sniffles* Rogue…Ah well, I'm over it!
Um…yeah…review!!! Please? Or I'll stab you with…*Looks around* …a ruler! Yeah! So…review!
Oh, and Adam? I know who you are…so…just read it next time before you review? *Laughs* Gotta love the kid…