A/N: Sorry about the wait. Bad weather, illness, work, and McDonald's stupid Wi-Fi kept me from posting another chapter. In addition, it took me longer to actually choreograph the Midnight's Shadow/Snake Eyes fight scene. But, I finally got it done and am very proud of the end result. Enjoy!
Oh! And by the way, don't panic if I don't post immediately. I never give up on my stories and I am certainly not giving up on this one. I think I may instigate a posting day. Like every Friday I'll post whatever I got done that week. That way, it'll also save me gas because I actually have to drive to McDonalds to post these chapters and it's sucking all of my money away. And I would really like to keep my money.
Midnight's Shadow stumbled through the group of soldiers in front of her after Scarlett pushed her. They did their best to get out of the way, but she still ended up tripping slightly over a foot. She staggered out onto the mat, her hands held out to help catch her balance. After a brief moment, when she sure she had her feet securely beneath her, Midnight's Shadow threw a murderous glare over her shoulder at Scarlett. The red head offered a small smile and a wave. Heavy Duty and Breaker were grinning, knowing what was to come. Then, the wall of spectators closed and she could no longer see them.
"Well!" Midnight's Shadow turned her attention back to the officer. "It appears we have our next challenger!" He gestured for her to come forward. The dark haired woman glanced from side to side nervously. The man smiled broadly, breaking his tough appearance. "Don't be shy. Come on." Straightening herself, Midnight's Shadow took a few strides forward until she stood beside the man. He clapped her on the shoulder in a friendly gesture. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Umm," the dark haired woman glanced warily about, feeling uncomfortable under the gaze of so many people. She returned her blue gaze back to the officer, determined to keep her attention on him and not on the spectators. "Midnight's Shadow," she answered.
She half expected the other man to laugh at such an outlandish name, but he didn't. She had to inwardly remind herself that at GI Joe, everyone had such a name. She felt his grip tighten slightly upon her shoulder. "Midnight's Shadow. A fine name. Do you think you can beat our own resident ninja?" he asked with a playful tone.
The dark haired woman bit her lower lip. She found her eyes wandering over to find Snake Eyes. The black ninja stood where he had during the entire spar with the previous soldier. His arms were crossed over his chest as he watched her through his dark visor. Midnight's Shadow felt that uncomfortable feeling welling up inside of her- making her want to squirm under the intensity of his gaze. It always felt like he was staring at her. Like he was sizing her up or perhaps doing the same thing she was doing- trying to deem if she was trustworthy or not. Then again, who could tell? Maybe it only felt like he was staring because there were no facial expressions to accompany them.
Snake Eyes simply stared at her- his thoughts unknowable. Midnight's Shadow stared back, unsuccessfully trying to reason out what he was thinking as he looked at her. Finally, she shrugged and looked back to the officer. "I don't know. I suppose it's worth a shot," she answered.
The other man laughed heartily, a few scattered laughs joining him from the surrounding soldiers. "Well, best of luck to you. Snake," he looked to the black clad ninja. Snake Eyes tore his attention from Midnight's Shadow to look at the officer when he heard his name. "You ready?"
The black clad ninja nodded. He returned his gaze to Midnight's Shadow. He uncrossed his arms, letting them fall to his side.
"Alright then. Whenever you're ready," the officer said very simply. With one last clap on Midnight's Shadow's shoulder, he turned and rejoined the throng of soldiers.
Midnight's Shadow watched him walk away before turning her attention back to Snake Eyes. The black clad ninja stood there, waiting for her to make a move. She cast another wary glance around her, looking at all the expectant faces. She saw a few of them exchanging money. Were they placing bets? Midnight's Shadow forced it out of her mind and directed her attention forward once more. All that mattered was the here and now, along with a certain black ninja standing before her. As she looked at him, she couldn't help but to remember when she had stood across from Storm Shadow and fought him. It seemed like so long ago when, in reality, it was nothing more than a few days ago. It felt like an eternity.
Once again, Midnight's Shadow had to force away any thoughts in her mind. One thing she had noticed about herself was that she could never seem to turn her mind off. The dark haired woman planted her feet upon the mat, readying herself into a fighting stance. She took a calming breath, clearing her mind. She felt the surrounding area beyond the line of the mat disappearing-melting away. The watchful eyes of the soldiers disappeared. Their voices distorted until they became silent altogether. Her bright blue eyes opened to fixate upon the black figure before her. Everything else had disappeared. The world beyond the mat was a blank canvas, the entire area still and silent. All distractions were gone. There was only Snake Eyes and Midnight's Shadow.
Snake Eyes nodded, as if to confirm that she was indeed ready. Midnight's Shadow nodded back. Everything was so quiet, that she was sure that she could hear her own heartbeat. They both stood there for the longest time, patiently waiting for the other to make the first move. Midnight's Shadow was sure that Snake Eyes was used to his opponents making the first move-making that their first and last mistake. She was not going to make the same mistake. So, she was content to stand there and await his move. But they stood there for so long that she actually began to wonder if the fight had actually started or if Snake Eyes thought he was still waiting for her to get ready. But just as that thought crossed her mind, the black clad ninja attacked.
He crossed the mat with blinding speed. His leg raised up, poised to strike her. But yet, somehow, Midnight's Shadow was fast enough to block this attack, which was more than likely aimed at knocking her back. The dark haired woman brought up her own leg, meeting his in midair and effectively stopping its advance. Her foot hooked around his and forced it back down to the mat, keeping it in place. Seizing her chance, Midnight's Shadow brought up her fist and attempted to punch Snake Eyes' masked face.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if they were supposed to be holding back. Then again, she wasn't entirely sure if she was capable of commanding her own body to hold back. She supposed that it was a good sign that she hadn't snapped Snake Eyes' neck yet. The mere thought of that caused a brief shiver to travel down her spine before she returned her attention to the fight at hand.
Her fist cut through the air towards the ninja's masked face, but Snake Eyes was too quick. His arm raised and effectively blocked the attempted attack with his forearm. Bringing up her other arm, Midnight's Shadow tried to punch him from the other side. Once again, the black clad ninja was too quick. But instead of simply blocking it, he grabbed her wrist. In one swift movement he twisted her arm behind her back. Then, with a turn of his foot which was still pinned to the ground by Midnight's Shadows' own foot, he turned the restraint against her. She lost her footing and landed on the mat, hard.
Despite herself, Midnight's Shadow felt her temper flare. Her face and body stung from where she had struck the mat. That was not even remotely gentle. She wondered if Snake Eyes was even bothering to hold back. The dark haired woman turned her head to look up at the black ninja with a murderous glare. He leaned over her, still holding her arm firmly against her back. He noticed her gaze and cocked his head slightly to the side, as if he was confused about why she was angry.
That was when Midnight's Shadow noticed something. Snake Eyes was merely pinning her to the mat with one hand, holding her arm securely behind her back. That was the only thing confining her to the floor. If Snake Eyes was smart, he would pin her legs as well. That way, he could ensure she wouldn't escape his grasp. But he wasn't. Did that mean that the fight was over? The murderous intent left her blue eyes as she looked up at the ninja, waiting for him to release her. But he didn't. It was like he was waiting for something…
And then, it dawned on her. He was waiting for her to escape his grasp so they could continue the fight. This was a part of the test. Snake Eyes was testing the extent of her skills. This wasn't about winning the fight. It was about seeing what she could do. Suddenly, another realization occurred to her. He had been directing this fight the entire time- ensuring that they entered situations that would test her combat skills. A skill like how to escape from being pinned to the ground.
Through this realization, Midnight's Shadow recognized just how far out of her league Snake Eyes was. He was so good that he could almost sit back, determine the entire flow of the fight before it happens, and then tweak it in just a few spots so that it can go the way he wants. She was no match for him.
She inwardly steeled herself. But that didn't mean that she was giving up. With as much strength as she could muster, Midnight's Shadow raised her leg and struck out at the dark ninja, intent on landing a blow to his hip. In order to dodge this, Snake Eyes was forced to release his hold on her and jump out of the way. As soon as he released her, Midnight's Shadow was on her feet at once. More than likely out of her residual anger from being slammed to the mat, the dark haired woman immediately went on the offensive. Closing the short distance between them, Midnight's Shadow raised her leg to kick Snake Eyes in the head. It was almost as if she had done the attack in slow motion. He leaned back just enough as her foot cut through the air mere inches from his masked face. Once it passed, he straightened into his previous posture. Missing its mark, Midnight's Shadows' foot passed by Snake Eyes and landed back on the mat. As soon as it touched down, Midnight's Shadow spun around, using the momentum to launch another kick with her other leg, this one with more speed and power behind it. This time, instead of dodging the kick like he had the first, Snake Eyes reached up and grabbed her ankle, effectively halting her attack.
Midnight's Shadow had no choice but to pause. Now what? Her mind instantly came up with an idea, but it was certainly a risky move. If it didn't help to free her, then she would only end up hurting herself. Still, no other option presented itself and Snake Eyes didn't seem keen to release his hold on her leg.
Taking a few minute hops on her free leg to adjust herself, Midnight's Shadow tensed her muscles in preparation. After taking a brief breath, she attacked. She pushed off from the mat with her only free leg and jumped into the air with as much strength as she could muster. She twisted through the air, swinging her leg through the air towards Snake Eyes' head once again. As expected, the ninja saw the attack coming and instantly released his hold on her leg.
Perhaps it was out of surprise. Perhaps it was just so that he could dodge the attack. Or, maybe it was because if she missed and he held onto her leg, Midnight's Shadow would continue to spin, twisting her restrained leg. The end result would be her dislocating or turning something the wrong way around in her ensnared leg and then a broken nose from when she would slam back onto the mat because she wouldn't' be able to get her free leg back underneath her in time. Somewhere inside, Midnight's Shadow was sure that the last one was a definite contributing factor. Snake Eyes didn't seem like the type to unnecessarily harm comrades in practice fights. The most that they would walk away with would be a few bruises and some sore muscles.
Her leg newly released, Midnight's Shadow managed to complete the spin and land securely back on her feet. Instinctually, the dark haired woman ducked and dodge rolled away. Rolling back onto her feet, she turned around to see that she had narrowly missed an attempt by Snake Eyes to ensnare her once again from behind. She couldn't help but have a slight smile cross her face as she realized how she had managed to dodge the attempted attack. It was because Storm Shadow had done the same exact move when they had fought one on one not so very long ago.
The two of them continued to spar for the next hour or so. Snake Eyes consistently employed different techniques, restraints, and attacks to test the extent of her skills. Midnight's Shadow was able to keep pace with him, but mainly because he was obviously holding back for the test- unlike Storm Shadow had. It was rather amazing. As they sparred, Midnight's Shadow noticed similarities between the way that Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes fought. From techniques to their inhuman speed to even the way that they moved- they mirrored each other. The dark haired woman wondered if it was merely because they were both ninjas and they were all taught to fight in such a way. Or maybe it was more than that. What if, somehow, they knew each other? In the end, Midnight's Shadow threw the thought away. She had met two ninjas in a matter of days while an average person might not even see one within their lifetime. The odds of the two of them knowing each other were certainly not in her favor.
So, after the hour was up, and Midnight's Shadow was knocked down more than once, the soldier from before stepped forward from the crowd. He rested his hand firmly on her shoulder, stopping her as she tried go back and attack Snake Eyes. As soon as she felt the pressure on her shoulder, she halted her determined advance and turned to look at him questioningly.
Instantly, a smile was on the other man's face. "That's enough. I'd say that you've more than proven yourself." He turned to look at the black clad ninja. "Right, Snake?"
Midnight's Shadow looked to the dark ninja. Snake Eyes crossed his arms over his broad chest and nodded. Despite herself, the dark haired woman felt a light blush rise to her cheeks from the complement from the ninja. She shifted her feet rather awkwardly as she briefly averted her gaze, her blue eyes darting down to look at her feet before shifting back up to look at the masked ninja. Snake Eyes' head shifted in her direction. Under the intensity and weight behind that gaze, Midnight's Shadow immediately looked away, returning her gaze to the officer.
"But I didn't win," she stated in a dreamy sort of way.
The other man laughed heartily and clapped her roughly on her shoulder. "Well, it's the closest I've seen any of us ever get. Which makes you," he raised a hand and poked her shoulder, "the second best hand-to-hand fighter that we have. Congratulations. It looks like you've passed you're hand-to-hand test with flying colors."