Chapter 2
-Outside-
-Shades' POV-
I walked down the stairs, the metal stairs creaking as our weight seemed strenuous on it. As our clanking footsteps reverberated along the walls, a thought came to mind— I have yet to learn the gray cat's name. Without breaking our stride, I popped the question, "Hey, tomcat."
The gray one look up at me, since I was behind the two of them and the pink one, Aeris I think, was in front. "Yeah?" he asked.
"I don't think I got your name."
The gray one turned his head back down towards the ground and merely stated his name, "Leo. Leo Leonardo III."
I scuffed slightly, "Strange name."
I could tell Leo frowned at this, "Well, at least my name isn't something people wear all the time!"
I could only reply, "Touché."
The rest of the way the stairwell was in silence, save for our footsteps. I would have liked to break it, but I couldn't think of a subject to talk about… In fact, I couldn't think of much at all. My mind was a blank slate. All I could remember was my "name", which I'm sure is nothing but a nickname… But the question is who that girl who said my name was.
Did I know her? Yes, I must have. I mean, minds don't just make up voices; they have to use a sound they heard… right? I remember… I can only remember some places… and there was a girl… white fur… black hair? I can't remember much more, not even the name of the girl… Were we friends? Hm…
I stumbled a bit as my feet hit a much more solid surface; the actual ground. I regained my footing without the other cats noticing me stumble- I think- and continued to follow them. We stepped into the apartment complex's parking lot and I was surprised to see that it was vacant of cars, save for a blue Volkswagen. I turned to the gray cat, which was adorned from head to toe with blue, "Nice car."
Leo grimaced, "It was a gift from my parents for finally getting out of the house. I'm sure they could have gotten something nicer… but I'm okay with what I got. I mean, it's not like it's a bicycle or something."
I rose an eyebrow and stopped moving, Leo stopping as well, "Unthankful, are we?"
He shrugged, "I guess that's one of my faults."
I shook my head in disgust, "I hate people like you. Ungrateful for everything they have."
His ears lowered, his face giving a pained look, "'Hate' is such a strong word…"
I turned to face him, "No. I can say with 100% certainty that I HATE ungrateful people. That means you too," I said, jabbing a finger into his chest to punctuate every word. I then turned to face the pink cat, "I hope you're not the same?"
She shook her head, her shoulder-length hair swishing back and forth, "Nope," she said without looking back as she moved on without us. "Unlike Leo, I'm actually appreciating the things I have, like my laptop."
"Filled with gay fanfics," Leo muttered under his breath, silent enough so she couldn't hear, but loud enough for me to hear. I glanced in her direction. When I first met her, she seemed like she meant business… but does someone like her really write… yaoi?
I shook my head from side to side; anyone can seem one way, but be something completely different. I have to remember that lesson. As we walked across the parking lot, I asked myself a question; why did I lash out like that? Surely I would have a reason to do something like that… but that sad thing is that I didn't, at least, not one I can remember. Was it some sort of habitual thing, like how spiders are able spin their webs without instruction? Did I really hate that type of person to the point where I automatically called them out? I have no idea.
And as I was thinking about this, I noticed some graffiti on the wall of the apartment. It was a picture of a skeletal human zombie thing with yellow-orange hair with something along the lines of a sneer on his face. He was also wearing a lime green shirt and was staring forward, seemingly at you. The person who "painted" this art wrote "Eddie" under the picture. Was it the name of the artist, or the name of the zombie? I don't know, but the whole idea of graffiti was strangely nostalgic for some reason…
I shook my head clear of those thoughts as we continued our walk. The snow began to fall in small clumps, latching on to the ground before getting smothered by the other flakes of snow. The little flakes made a soft crunch noise as my heel s compressed them into the ground below. Aeris stopped and spun on her heels and crossed her arms, "So, are we going to fight or what?"
Leo and I stopped in our tracks and looked at her, or at least I looked at her. Leo's eyes were on me the whole time, and I don't blame him. I would do the same thing if I almost got my throat slit. I shrugged and cracked my neck, "Sure."
-General PoV-
Leo stepped back until his back was against the wall; you couldn't be too careful with Aeris swinging her fists around. Shades and Aeris faced each other, a good 30 feet of black top separating the two fighters. Aeris cracked her knuckles while Shades looked around, standing still. Aeris raised her fists so that they were on level with her chin and her feet planted on the ground, Shades doing the same. Aeris threw a few test punches to get her blood flowing as the bitter cold outside was beginning to get to her. Shades merely continued to stand in place as fog was already beginning to come out of his mouth. Leo scratched his head and raised a hand, "Hey, can I be the ref?"
Aeris glanced at Leo from the corner of her eyes, "Why would we need a ref? The first person to yeild or get knocked-out loses. That's all there is to it.
Leo nodded, "But if it gets a little crazy..."
The pink cat scuffed, "Like you would have the balls to jump into the middle of a fight with ME involved."
Leo realized her knowledge and nodded in agreement, "R-Right, can I at least say went the fight starts? I always wanted to do that in something like a boxing match!"
'Boxing...' Shades thought as he continued to stand. When Leo said that, a flash of light burst behind his eyes and forced him to wince. Then some memories began to spring forth:
"Come on dipshit, raise those fists! I don't give a damn if you're sweating enough to fill the Hoover Dam, you're still gonna box 'til you sweat BLOOD!" screamed a rough, grouchy voice.
"Remember Shades, ya fists haveta cover ya jaw. One blow there and say good night!" said a different voice. It sounded much calmer and had a hint of a southern accent to it.
"Shades, never stand still, you gotta bounce on your toes, keep alert, feel when it's time to strike back," said a third voice. It was the first voice, but it was less excited and it was giving some nice words of wisdom.
Shades again had to wonder why these fragments of his memory were coming back to him, but now wasn't the time to question it. He let out a deep sigh and raised his fists. Each fist was hovering over each side of his jaw and he began to bounce on the balls of his feet. Shades gave a few jabs and nodded at Leo, "I'm ready when she is."
Aeris nodded as well, "I'm ready."
Leo grinned in glee and he raised a hand, "Ready? FIGHT!"
Aeris was off like a shot and quickly closed the gap between her and Shades. The black cat was caught off guard but managed to block her oncoming fist with his forearm by twisting his body slightly to the side. Shades quickly twisted to the other side and caused Aeris' fist to slide away, making her take an involuntary step forward and he spun away, slightly losing his balance but creating some distance between them. 'Alright Shades,' he said to himself as he regained his footing, 'just calm down and gather your thoughts.'
Aeris growled in annoyance and twisted on her heel, facing the black cat once again. Shades raised his fists without thinking about it and began to weave back and forth. The pink cat ran towards Shades once again, building momentum for her punch, while Shades was waiting. He watched her from behind his shades, observing, scanning. Aeris was but a yard away when she threw her punch. It made a straight path to his face, but Shades saw it and reacted on instinct. He leaned to the right, bending down as he did. And using his momentum he gained from dodging Aeris' fist, he threw a right hook to her side.
Aeris' shot wide open and she staggered back, bent over and clutching at her side in pain, but her pride wouldn't let her fall to her knees, at least until she landed a clean blow. Struggling, she straightened up and raised her fists, trying her best to ignore the throbbing pain in her ribs. She was sure that nothing was broken, but she was damn sure that she would be feeling it in the morning after. Shades on the other hand was looking at his fist in wonder, 'What was that feeling? It felt so... right. The way my fist cut through the air...'
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and went back in his stance, bouncing once again. Aeris was more than pissed off at this point and even Leo was starting to feel uncomfortable at this point. He had never seen anyone hit Aeris like that. It wasn't that fact that she was a girl and no one ever hit her. It was the fact that Aeris always got back at the person in the end with no problem, even if their hit was wimpy, but the way she reacted to the black cat's punch scared him.
Aeris carefully stepped forward, this time taking a safer approach. She had seen what Shades was able to dish out, and she wouldn't like to get another serving. Shades shuffled forward as well, his blood running fast in his veins as well as adrenaline, the thrill of the fight getting to him. Aeris took steady breaths to help ease the pain when she took one final step. When she took that step, Shades rushed forward and let loose a flurry of jabs with his left hand. Aeris stepped back in surprise as she struggled to avoid all of the punches thrown at her. Aeris growled in frustration at the fact that she couldn't see a way to get a clear shot, but then the jabs briefly stopped. The pink cat leaped at the opportunity, literally, and took the chance and threw a punch, only to be met with a solid hit to the face. 'It's a trap!' she thought as she stumbled back.
Shades gave a grim smile and began his assault. The black cat gave no slack as he threw a one-two combination to Aeris' stomach. Aeris clutched her stomach in pain as she felt the urge to puke rising, the bile literal rising in her throat not helping. She glared at Shades and, despite the pain, kicked the black cat in the back of his left knee cap. Shades fell to one knee as his knee was no longer supporting his body and Aeris took the opportunity to throw an uppercut to his jaw. The black cat flipped over and landed on his back with the force of her punch.
Aeris stood up, panting. Shades slowly sat up, resting on his hands as he leaned back. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his head and stood up. He dusted off his pants and asked, "Ready for round 2?"
Aeris snarled, "Are you mocking me?"
Shades shrugged, "I just think that our fighting is more or less a waste of time; don't you agree?"
Aeris kept a frown on her face, but didn't say anything. Shades turned to Leo, "Let's call this a draw, shall we?"
Leo jumped a little, not expecting to be called upon, "S-Sure."
