Ebony quickly dodged Black Star's attack, launching herself into the air and then doing an aerial flip to the side in order to avoid another attack. She landed gracefully on the ground, her silver hair billowing madly.
She looked at Black Star as he charged her again and said, "Hold on a sec." She slipped an elastic band off of her wrist. When Black Star continued to approach, she simply jumped to the side and began to tie her hair in a loose ponytail.
Seeing this, Black Star shouted angrily, "This isn't the time to be doing your hair! You're supposing to be fighting me, goddamn it!"
He skidded to a halt and threw a punch at the girl, just narrowly missing her cheek as she inched backwards. Her mesmerizing eyes carefully scanned Black Star's face as he attempted to punch her again and again, failing every time.
Ebony continued to avoid the attacks, Black Star's fist just barely grazing the tip of her nose, until she decided to go on the offense.
Black Star aimed another punch at Ebony's face, but she merely grabbed his fist with two hands halfway to the target point. She struggled to hold it back, but she tried to act confident. She glanced over the tangle of hands to stare into his eyes.
"You can't beat me." Ebony's lips curled into a smug smile. "But I think you know that already."
Black Star smiled. And he kept smiling. Soon Ebony grew annoyed, his smiling face bothering her. She frowned, small lines creasing her forehead. "What's with the happy face?"
He didn't answer right away. "You're not as strong as you make yourself out to be, you know. Just look at your hands." Ebony glanced fleetingly at her hands. Beads of sweat were beginning to form on them, and they were shaking with the effort of holding off Black Star's brute force.
Black Star added, "And with both your hands busy, now you're vulnerable." Ebony grimaced. Not good…
Before she could react, Black Star laid a heavy punch down on her skull with his free hand. A loud cracking noise erupted from the affected area. Ebony's body crumpled at Black Star's feet.
A small dribble of blood leaked out of her mouth as she looked up -- with one eye closed -- at the grinning boy. She squeezed her eyes shut as he continuously kicked her in the chest. She feared her ribs would break if she didn't get up soon. But the searing pain spreading throughout her body was keeping her immobilized.
A vision came to Ebony's mind as she floated out of consciousness. She couldn't quite make out what it was until her soul drifted close enough. A small girl was looking up at an older woman, her scarlet eyes holding back the flood gates that kept the tears from streaming out. She was crouched on the ground, quivering as the older woman's eyes glared critically down on the child.
The woman whispered slowly, "I'll try to make it quick this time, m'kay?"
The woman kicked the child in the head, no emotion crossing over her face as the little girl cried out in anguish. The child squealed, "Momma, Momma! Stop it, Momma! Momma!"
Her voice cracked as she screamed, but her mother showed no mercy as she kicked the child over and over. Over and over. Even as the child's scalp began to produce blood, the ruthless torment continued until the child's soft cries stopped.
The small girl slowly raised her head and looked into her mother's eyes, silent. The woman didn't say anything for a while, just stared at her mangled daughter.
"I will never see you as my child if you grovel and beg like that. You take the punishment like a grown-up and bite your tongue. You hear me?! Never, ever lose Ebony. Otherwise, you're worthless to me."
Ebony's soul reached out to the girl, her arms spread out wide, attempting to embrace her. But her soul was slowly drifting away, leaving the girl all alone.
Ebony opened her eyes to find herself still being kicked. In a flash of fury she shot up into the air, a surprised Black Star following her with his eyes. She landed several yards away.
Black Star charged again. Ebony was slouched over, blood dripped all over her face and a black ring around her left eye. Her ponytail had become loose and now stray hairs floated in front of her face.
As Black Star charged, a crazed smile crawled across Ebony's porcelain pale face. A sudden jolt went through her body, seeming to electrify her.
When he got close enough, Ebony shoved her palm into his forehead. As she did so, it seemed Black Star was frozen in the moment.
She screamed in rage and pushed harder, steam rising from her hand. Eventually Black Star began to cry out in pain, his eyes growing large and starting to shake. He fell to the ground and clutched his head.
On the sidelines Death Scythe's face grimaced. Crap… He quickly intervened in the battle, angry shouts coming from the audience. As Ebony attempted to lay another punch on Black Star's face, Sid, who had been watching the fight quietly, grabbed her shoulders and held her back.
Death Scythe bent down to inspect the still screaming Black Star. He gently removed the boy's hand from his forehead, his heartbeat growing faster as he took in the damage Ebony's bare fist had caused.
Upon Black Star's forehead was the imprint of Ebony's palm, branded onto his skin.