"Did they get her?" Ethelyn asked quietly from Blyke's left.
Blyke looked back down at the arena, trying to see through the thick smoke and flashes as the students unleashed their full-power attacks on the Queen.
Blyke's lips curled. "Of course not."
"Hmm?"
Blyke's eyes seemed to glow. "Do you really think she's shown her true strength in front of us? Of course, use your strongest attack before anyone can move, and you'll win, but also keep an ace up your sleeve."
"…One."
Everyone except the cadre gasped.
"Two."
A strong wind blew the dust away, and everyone saw Asha standing strong.
"Three."
Asha dodged what seemed like hundreds of fists, jumping, rolling, not getting hit once.
Blyke's curled lips turned into a sneer. She was too good at her role as Luminine's Ace, Queen. Too good…
He tilted his head. Who are you, Asha Phantomhive?
~
This was too easy.
Asha jumped over a fist. It was hard for her to fight the instincts telling her to fight back, but those same instincts also helped her dodge all of their physical attacks. All of the elemental or transcendental attacks delivered from the Amora were absorbed by the wind barrier.
"Four... Five... Six."
Asha bent backward to avoid a kick. "Sev--" Asha's eyes widened as a fist hit her collarbone. The pain was nothing,though. Had her Master been present, he would have beaten her for her carelessness.
Asha leaped back, jumping over the heads of the students trying to attack her. She landed on the outskirts of the ring, lips pulled up in a vicious snarl.
"She's over here! Get her!"
"Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve," Asha counted as they ran. They were slow and fumbling, tripping over each other in their mad rush to try to take her out. "Thirteen."
A girl with a cheetah Amora, a high-tier at level thirteen, was the first to reach Asha, and she kicked for Asha's face.
Asha jumped over the kick, stepping back. But her back hit the low wall to the stands. "Fourteen."
The next blow came to the left, and Asha moved to dodge, but the first challenger appeared to the right, his own blow already much too close.
Asha grit her teeth. And then she smiled. "Fifteen."
The power she had been drawing since she'd started counting rose, blowing the rushing hoard of people back.
Quetzico raised its head, waking from its nap, before rising from Asha's shoulders. It flew above her and its long form glowed. The light reshaped itself, and when it faded, Asha's hand closed around the hilt of a sea-green sword. At her touch, a dark blue aura surrounded the blade, giving off a heavy presence.
"Quetzalcoatl's third form: Materialization. Quetzalcoatl, common transcendental, Revenge: Counter!"
"Somebody stop her!"
The world went white, but before everything disappeared, Asha saw two things. First, the cadre leaping from the seats, a pair of amethyst eyes burning. Second, the fear in her student body's eyes.
A fear that she had seen in so many pairs of eyes. Gold ones. Green ones. Stormy ones. And two pairs of sapphire eyes.
"I surrender."
Every cell in Asha's body screamed for her to kill them, but she remained perfectly still as the cadre's Swords were pointed at her throat.
A twitch of Asha's fingers had Quetzalcoatl rising from its coiled position wrapped around her arm. But another and Quetzico vanished entirely.
She smiled. "I'm sorry, but I didn't realize that all of their attacks put together would be that powerful. If I had known, I wouldn't have used that transcendental."
Blyke and Daniel lowered their swords before reaching out to grab her wrists.
Asha's eyes narrowed and her lips curled into a fierce snarl as she knocked the blades of Amelia and Ethelyn's swords out of the way, ignoring the bite of the blades into her skin. She grabbed the blades of Tim's, a boy with brown-red hair and the same eyes, and Rosaria's, a girl with brown hair and red streaks and blue eyes, swords.
Asha flipped backward, the swords slipping from the grips of their owners. It was only a quick wrist movement and she had her hands on the hilts.
She raised Rosaria's blue sword, the small wave etches in the blade catching the light before she threw it at Blyke, Tim's red-brown blade with the foxtail crossguard at Daniel.
Asha snarled at them before turning and leaping, jumping over the tall barriers set in place around the stadium. She landed lightly amongst the spectators before leaping again, sailing completely over the rafters.
"She jumped over the bleachers!"
"She's going to kill herself!"
"ASHA!"
Asha activated Quetzico's second form, and huge turquoise scaled wings burst from her back. One flap and she shot up, rising above the arena.
Asha's lips were curled in a fierce snarl, eyes narrowed dangerously, practically glowing, as they looked down on everyone below. "You dare presume to touch me?! Don't kid yourself. Your penalty should be death!"
Blyke shouted, "Asha! What happened?"
Asha looked down on him. Out of everyone, Blyke was the most caring of all of them. That would get him killed, eventually.
Asha could bet that not even half of the cadre had killed before.
Asha raised a hand, preparing to strike.
"Asha, please! Please-- stop!"
Asha's eyes widened and she froze.
["_________, please! Please--stop! He's already dead! He's already dead!"]
[Her arms stilled, the black blood dripping down her arms, down the tip of the knife blade that was inches from a mutilated chest.]
["What have you done, ________?"]
["Arrest her. Throw her in the dungeons, for all I care.This girl is a monster."]
Asha's hand shook.
Disgust, pity, sadness, fury, and fear.
Those were the emotions she saw in the eyes of other people when they saw her true colors, saw the scars she hid so well. And these were the emotions she felt for herself.
The last thing Asha saw was a pair of amethyst eyes.
How long would those eyes follow her?
~
Amelia's eyes widened as the Queen fell out of the sky, the scaled wings going limp as a strong wind blew her over the edge of the arena again.
But this time, Asha couldn't save herself, though.
Amelia felt the sudden rush of wind, eyes widening even further as Blyke rushed by her, those strange purple eyes fixed ahead.
"Shadower, second form!"
Shocked. That was the only word Amelia had as furry panther ears appeared on Blyke's head, the tail swishing, the retractable claws sinking out of sight.
And then he jumped.
"BLYKE!" people screamed, Amelia one of them. She ran to the edge of the stands, leaning over the rails.
Blyke plunged after Asha. When he reached her, he held her against his chest as the ground grew nearer and nearer.
"Blyke, you moron!" Daniel roared.
"Don't worry!" Blyke's voice was faint as he fell further and further. Just before he smashed into the ground, his claws shot out, and as he hit the ground, the claws bit deep into the earth. His grin was wicked and sharp. "Cat's always land on their feet."
Claws of diamondsteel, Amelia realized, as they did not shatter.
"What a show-off," Tim muttered from beside Amelia.
Blyke's cat ears twitched as he straightened, still holding Asha, keeping her from crumpling on the ground.
Then he turned his back to them.
Amelia's eyes strained to track the blur of Blyke running with Asha. Damn, when he was transformed, he was fast.
"Where did he go?" Ethelyn asked quietly from behind Amelia, making her jump.
Amelia was always on guard around Ethelyn. It was eerie how easily she could sneak up on people. "I don't know. Probably to her room."
"Or he kidnapped her," Tim offered.
"It's not like Blyke can do anything to her. He's still a child," Rosaria said from a dozen feet away.
"You sound like you don't believe Blyke could kill her," Amelia said, amused.
Rosaria turned from them. "He can't. It's not in his blood. If he ever does kill, he probably will gain some sort of trauma from it."
"You sound as if you've killed before."
A wicked smile. "And if I say I have?"
Amelia's brows drew together.
"I'm only joking." Rosaria started walking away. "But some things can never be returned once they're taken."
~
["So… your name is Asha, huh?"]
["Yes."]
["All along… I wonder why I never saw the connection."]
["What about you, Trix? What will you do? With Inezirine? With the freedom you now have?" Asha asked, eyes sparkling in the fog.]
[The dark figure of Trix just shook its head. "We'll just have to see where the gods lead us."]
["Believing in such things as the gods or God is a mistake. They will fail you when you need them the most."]
["They already have. But that's the importance of faith in them."]
["Faith is a useless thing. I've learned long ago that anything you put faith in will betray you, eventually."]
The scene faded out, instead a smile appearing in the mist.
["Unclean. Unnecessary. Unwanted."]
[Fire spread, blocking everything out with their sickening ruby flames.]
[There was a flash of green and amethyst eyes before they vanished under the flames.]
[Hundreds of gruesomely grinning mouths and wide, made eyes appeared. "Unclean. Unnecessary.]
["Unwanted. Unclean. Unnecessary. Unwanted. You need to die. You need to die. You need to die!"]
-
Asha's eyes shot open. She sat up quickly, eyes wide, breathing labored. She scanned her surroundings, eyes traveling over the familiar scene of her room.
Nothing out of the ordinary, except for a few dishes in the sink and a steaming bowl on the table beside the bed.
Asha reached for it, cautious. But when she saw it was just a bowl of broth with a few pieces of beef submerged below it, she was confused.
Then a sharp, fierce pain shot through her head, and Asha nearly dropped the bowl.
Hands reaching out to grab her.
A pair of clear purple eyes.
Grinning mouths and crazed eyes.
The white-hot brand moving toward the boy with green-gray and amethyst eyes.
Asha curled in on herself, arms wrapped around her knees, drawing herself into a ball. "I'm not how I was before," she whispered. "I am not unclean." She added in a snarl to nobody, "And neither is he."
Knock knock.
"Asha? Are you awake?"
"Is that you? Azir?"
"Who else?"
"Come in."
Asha's hand went under her pillow, fingers closing around the knife she kept for emergencies. Her eyes narrowed as the door opened.
"You were only out for about thirty minutes. Don't worry. That cadre of yours calmed the masses down." Azir had shiny, dark gray hair, like iron, and the same color eyes with flecks of gold. Her skin was near translucent, from the small amount that was showing. Only the skin around her eyes was visible, everything else covered in black cloth.
"So, what have you come to tell me today, my precious info-broker?" Asha asked, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She was curious. Why would Azir come all the way to her? Especially when Azir had run out of their last meeting months ago, saying she was going to be busy for a long time.
"Just finished my job. It took longer than expected, but I found something you might like to know. It's about… him. Apparently he's not in Sophon anymore. However, where he went to exactly is unknown. I do know that he's in one of the northern continents. Artemesa, or Kephri."
"Really, now? Is he stupid or something?" Asha asked. She stood, moving so she was toe-to-toe with Azir. Asha's hand moved up, hooking a finger around the veil covering Azir's nose and mouth.
But before she could pull it off, Azir's eyes flashed, and the top of her foot collided with the side of Asha's head.
Asha flinched, hand going to where Azir had kicked her. If there were equals in this world, they would be Azir, Master, and Kaz Kyutaro.
And if there were people who could beat her, it would be Azir.
Despite over five years of association, Asha still know very little about any of Azir's background. Where she was from, where she resided, other clients, etcetera. Asha didn't even know quite what was under the veil or the long, flowing, Eastern-style clothes going to the floor.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, Asha, I must be going." Azir turned and was halfway through the door before her voice called, "And, Asha? I'd be very cautious if I were you. I was doing a little digging… and I found something many, many people would like to get their hands on. Like your full title. Farewell, for now, Young Mistress Asha Phantomhive."
Asha ran after Azir as the door shut, but when she managed to get it open again, Azir was gone. Asha ran her fingers through her hair. Azir wouldn't sell her out, would she?
But a figure walking up the path to her dorm house had her on guard again. She stifled a groan as she saw one of the people wanted to avoid for awhile. This wasn't the best time, and she wasn't in the best mood.
Asha leaned against the doorway, staring at the visitor. He'd better pray she didn't rip his pretty little head off his shoulders.