Two days later...
With nothing but this blood on my hands...
"Get your moping ass up now, Sparrow."
Shina batted away the hand shaking her awake. "Fuck off." Who the hell would even be bothering her to begin with?
"No. You made a fucking bloodsword and I'll be damned if I don't get to see you do it again. And I think I'll enjoy crushing you, so just a bit of a fight would be nice. More challenge is more fun, am I right?"
Senji. Crow. Whatever. "You're already damned," she groaned, "so now fuck off and leave me in peace."
Her eyes snapped open as blistering pain sparked through her missing appendage. She suppressed a shriek as the man dragged her to her feet, a crushing iron grip on the wrist that once had a hand. He gave a slight smirk, pressing harder. "Are you coming to the gym or what?"
"Fine," she said in a high-pitched whine, sagging in relief as he released her left wrist. "Why the hell should you care anyway?"
"I told you. I want a bit of a challenge, Sparrow."
Shina grumbled irritably to herself, turning her back to him and awkwardly trying to get her shirt over her head. Senji's sudden squawking noises caused her to raise an eyebrow as she turned around to see what the problem was, only to find him red with embarrassment and thrusting his jacket at her. "For fuck's sake, c-cover yourself!"
A grin slipped over her face, the first one since the day Wes died. "What? I guarantee, I don't have much to get flustered over. And you try to change with only one hand, you pushy bastard."
"But I-argh!" She stifled a laugh as he bolted out the door, footsteps echoing down the corridor. Shina collapsed back onto the bed, yanking on another shirt Minatsuki had loaned her. That girl was a psychopath, but really...didn't that address everyone who'd had the misfortune of ending up here?
If she didn't follow soon, Crow was sure to come back and pester her again, and after witnessing a match of his-how he tore his newcomer opponent into bloody shreds-she didn't want to cross the man, easily titillated or not. Reluctantly, Shina bent her steps towards the room she'd caught a glimpse of her first night there.
She stepped inside only to have Crow's blades against her throat. "Let's see the bloodblade, little Sparrow," he growled, eyes narrowed.
Shina stumbled back, banging against the closed door just as she did her first time here. "W-weren't you just running away from my indecency?"
"Oh shut up!"
He backed away, slicing open her right palm and slashing through the bandages on her left wrist, leaving her to gasp in shock. "Ow," she squeaked, blinking at him in surprise, "that hurt."
"Forgive me, it's terribly rude to hit a woman, but suck it up." He glared down at her before sighing in contempt. "Well? Start it up already!"
Shina was a fencer, primarily epee but occasionally saber. A left-handed fencer. Without a left hand. The only reason she'd been able to do anything in that arena was because she just pretended it was a normal blade in her hand. No hand, no blade. And using her right? It would take her months to get that mastery back, if she could manage at all! Just looking down at her arms made her bark with laughter-the muscles of her left arm were nearly double those of her right. "Start up what, Senji? I was dead the second that slot machine stopped spinning."
"Look," he began, clenching his jaw, "I don't know what sort of pansy fake fighting you did on the outside, but that shit won't be working in here. Either use what you've got or find yourself a new goddamned hand. Rumor has it that prosthetics are worth six months' worth of candy, and I don't care whose ass you kiss up to, there's no way in hell you'll be getting there anytime soon. Now show me. The Bloodblade."
Six months. A new limb was worth six months of life, parceled out in three-day packages. Holy hell. And he did not just call one of the very few sources of joy in her life 'pansy fake fighting.' Refusing to meet his gaze, Shina tensed, forcing the blood coating her right hand to take on a familiar shape as she settled into a stance reversed from her usual one. "I do not kiss ass."
A bloodthirsty grin spread over Crow's face. "That's more like it!" Almost immediately he struck, giving Shina less than a second to react and put her blade up before one of his scythes rammed into it, the other curving around and forcing her to duck. Stumbling up to her feet, she ran to the open part of the room, keeping her eyes locked on his arms as Crow made his next move, cutting the equipment beside her into ribbons. Shina gritted her teeth, standing her ground as he drew ever-closer. Her own feet were tripping her up, leading with her right foot just wasn't natural to her. As it was she could barely keep up trying to block his dual blades...
"Make me try, Sparrow! This should be interesting!"
She feinted a parry and retreat, hoping to catch the man off-guard as she launched forward with explosive force, aiming directly for his chest. He caught her lone blade between both of his, shoving her back violently. It was clear trying to hit with the point would be useless, so Shina switched tactics, quickly running saber slashes and blocks in her head, trying to switch them around so she could fight with her other side. Responding to her thoughts, her blood thickened, sharp edges tapering the sides of the blade. Senji slashed her deep across the shoulder while she was distracted, blood oozing out and staining the light yellow shirt.
"Ah, won't Minatsuki kill me because of that!?"
"Your fault for wearing it."
He resumed his relentless assault, pushing Shina farther and farther back until she thudded against the wall, panting and with sweat dripping into her eyes. A smile spread across his features. "You give up yet?"
She clenched her jaw, beyond ready to quit, but her stubborn pride wouldn't allow it. "Never." He merely shrugged, the blades of his arms bearing down on her head just as she counter-2'd. Shit, wasn't he supposed to wait to kill her in the Carnival Corpse? Unexpectedly, his fist crashed into her jaw, causing her to stagger backwards. So he was fighting dirty now, too? Deciding to return the favor, Shina aimed a kick at his crotch, only for Senji to reach down and catch her leg, yanking backwards and twisting her onto her stomach. Her weapon was reduced to a bloody splatter on the wall.
"Done?" She didn't reply, clutching her dizzy skull and squeezing her eyes shut. "C'mon, little Sparrow, already? Not gonna put up more of a fight?" At her silence, he sighed in irritation, allowing his weapons to dissipate as he hauled her to her feet. "I mean, I figured you were fucked, but that was pathetic."
"Screw your overly-muscular ass, and stop calling me that," she hissed, pulling away from his grasp and tiredly making her way towards the door. Shina could hear him start chuckling behind her.
"What, little Sparrow? That's what you are! A tiny little songbird, being circled by birds of prey!"
Shina ignored the rage and humiliation building in her chest-the bastard was right-opting instead to cast the middle finger over her bloodstained shoulder.