**
"Hi, I'm Scaf"
He has been following this girl for a few days, but he didn't get the courage to talk to her.
So he waited, for a good occasion.
And one just showed up, one where he could show her what he was good at.
Crushing people's bones basically, but still, it seemed like it would please a lady like her.
He didn't expect for her to jump in his arms, but this was certainly not what he had expected.
He thought that she would be afraid, run away from him.
He was used to that, and in a way, he understood the reaction.
But she wasn't afraid.
She was on the floor, yes, but she was crouching.
Like a predator, ready to jump on his prey.
And her eyes.
There was something in her eyes.
Something sharp...
**
...Something dangerous.
Scaf didn't feel the need to take a stance, or to even protect himself, in a very long time.
But this time he had no choice, if he don't defend, he will die before even realising it.
And he was right, because not even one breath after he took his stance, Grou dashed toward him, like a wildcat, getting his claws out as soon as he was in range.
Aiming for Scaf's chest, his blade cut through the air so fast that Scaf was able to dodge only barely.
But Grou didn't miss, he wasn't aiming for Scaf's chest, he was aiming for under his arm, right in the artery.
Blood erupted from the wound, coloring Grou's face in red, but he didn't flinch, he kept his gaze on Scaf.
And Scaf responded by slashing downward, toward his head, but Grou swiftly dodged it by jumping back, and he unsheathed another blade from his back, this one looking like the one Scaf is wielding.
And he jumped right back at him.
It took Scaf a few clashes,and a short sword as a second blade, to understand how he was able to go this fast.
And it was about time, because Grou had managed to land a few other blows on him.
Not deep, but just in the right places so that, if you add it to the first blow he landed, he would be in a very dangerous position if the fight lasted for too long.
And that's when Scaf remembered, Grou was a warrior, used to battlefields.
He didn't just fight, he made strategies.
Even if Scaf was also used to battlefields, he was more into living in the moment.
And now he just found the limits of this method.
But at least he understood something, why he was so fast.
After cutting Scaf right under the ribs, Grou backed off, and then, right before he jumped back at him, he relaxed himself totally, to the point where it was almost as if he was falling.
And then, in an instant, he exploded, like a spring, and dashed toward Scaf.
But this time Scaf knew about the trick, and he moved just before Grou exploded, just an instant before.
But an instant could change everything in a fight.
And Scaf was able to land his first hit on Grou.
The cut was clean, but Grou reacted just in time so that it wouldn't be fatal.
Scaf aimed for the carotid, but Grou had raised his short blade just in time so that the cut would only be superficial.
And he was now running out of time.
So he decided to change stance, to a more aggressive one.
He put his short sword in front of him, the tip aiming toward Grou, and the short blade on top of it, the tip aiming to the left.
And Grou took back the pose he started with.
Blade in its sheath, very low.
They both took a deep breath.
Relaxed.
And finally, they exploded.
***
Their blades clashed, and so did their fists, knees, elbows, and every part of their body that could be used as a weapon.
All of that just to create one opening, no matter how short it was, one opening was enough.
Enough to lend the killing blow.
Rosa fought mixing her proficiency with blades to her use of magic.
Francis had a more direct approach, simply using his body and blade.
But this would not be enough.
Rosa launched a flaming uppercut toward his solar plexus, he dodged it, but still felt the hit of the flames dancing on top of her fists.
As he spun around he was met with a blade coming toward his carotid, this one he blocked, but got knocked ever so slightly off balance.
But that was exactly what Rosa needed.
They were both exhausted.
But in terms of weapon fighting, Rosa was the indisputable champion.
She punched him in the guts, taking advantage of his momentaneous loss of balance.
She hit him so hard that his stomach, already greatly wounded, couldn't take it.
But he still tried.
He tried to take it.
To stay up.
And he succeeded.
But there she was.
Already attacking him, she was fighting like a demon.
Like an enraged beast.
And yet, the only thought that crossed Francis's mind about it was that she looked beautiful.
Such grace mixed with such destructive strength.
He knew from the beginning who deserved to be grand master.
Not from the beginning of the fight, from the first time he heard about her.
And now it was so clear to his eyes.
But he simply couldn't give up.
He launched one last, desperate attack, directly toward her carotid.
He focused all his nerves, every last bit of energy he had in that last blow.
And she was waiting for it.
She had been putting extra effort on his right elbow, weakening it as much as she could.
All for this moment.
As his blade went in a straight line toward her carotid, she dodged to the side, and wrapped her arm around his wrist and lifted it, breaking his elbow.
He let go of his blade, and she put hers on his neck.
"Well, it looks like this how it ends", he said, with a smile on his face, his face didn't show any fear, it was almost as if it was glowing with some kind of unearthly light.
"Apparently, yes", she said, smiling back at him, before putting more pressure on his neck, with her blade.
And blood started flowing.
***
They clashed a few times, each of them beginning in the same way.
They take their stances.
Breath.
Relax.
Explode.
And then they would clash, cut each other a few times, and then back off.
And repeat.
But Scaf's view started to blur, he needed to finish this with the next blow.
And Grou knew that.
"You know that the next moves will be my last right ?", he said, trying to keep as much focus as he could.
"I know, and I do not wish for a win like that, I want to feel your last breath being cut by the tip of my blade"
"So I guess we're throwing defense by the window? I mean, the one that still stands after the next move win"
"I guess so".
And they both took their stances.
Breathing.
Relaxing.
Exploding.
Scaf got cut clean in the stomach, the wound going from his left, passing by his solar plexus, and ending at his femoral neck.
Grou got cut clean in the face and the chest, the wound going from right cheek, passing right under his lips through his chin, and ending at his collar bone.
Scaf fell on his knees, bloody, he didn't have the strength to stay up, or even to hold his blades.
Grou was on his knees too, but he was holding himself using his katana.
Please go down, thought Scaf.
And then Grou fell.
"Please stay down", he said this time out loud.
After a moment of silence, he felt some kind of relief, he won this battle.
Then he heard movement behind him.
When he turned around, he thought he was seeing a demon.
Grou was standing there, bloody, dirty, his breath heavy.
But at the end, he was the one standing.
And even with all the exhaustion, his eyes still had those blazes in them.
"I won", he finally said, between two heavy breaths, "Now, warrior Scaf, do you have any last word ?"
"Actually", Scaf said while a smile appeared on his tired face, "I have".