"Apex!" Togiri shouted, his grin quickly fading.
"Xenia!" Togiri's surprise was evident. 'What if this fatass has a perfect memory?' Togiri's suspicions were correct. The hacker, Roland, possessed a photographic memory and had devoured several dictionaries and encyclopedias.
"Apple." "Elegant." "Tree." "Eating." "Gastrectomy." The word chain continued for an extended time until Togiri abruptly stood up. He dashed forward, appearing ready to tackle the prisoner.
"AH!" The hacker cried out in fear. Togiri halted his attack and smiled. "You didn't say a word, and you used the wrong letter. I won!"
"B-But, you—" *Poke* Togiri striked with his finger tips behind the prisoner's ear. Roland collapsed.
A prisoner yelled out "What did you do?!" Togiri said coldly "He will never again be able to type on a computer again"
The prisoner that asked got goosebumps. @Master, what did you do?@ 'I slightly damaged his brain vessels. If he tries to concentrate strongly on something he will get dizzy and his body will tremble'
@Thats cruel!@ Seven expressed loudly. 'Is it? Than you better look away for the next prisoner'
"Next!" Togiri called out, looking toward the prisoners on the platform outside the arena.
"You cheated!" Roland woke up. He slowly stood up clenching his fist and swinging his arms in anger.
"Ahhhhh!" Roland barely managed a few steps before his vision suddenly went black and he collapsed again.
"You should be grateful, you sleeping pig, that I've learned how to disable someone using pressure points. A few months ago, things would have ended much worse for you," Togiri said, clapping his hands.
"Applaud me for training myself to handle weak opponents. A few months ago, I might have accidentally broken your neck or permanently disabled you by hitting your pressure points too hard."
@Killing would have been easier.@ 'I'm sure once I've upgraded you, I'll get great benefits for my first kill.' @But didn't you kill that guy back in the warehouse?@ 'No, I don't think so, but it doesn't matter'
"Who's next? I still need four more wins, so let's make it quick."
A woman leapt high into the air, performing a series of acrobatic maneuvers. Togiri flinched as she landed gracefully.
"Wow! How did you manage to land from such a height without making any sound? Teach me!" "....." The woman didn't answer.
The woman silently removed her hood and discarded her tattered prison clothes.
She revealed herself to have long, thick black hair tied into a bun. Her large breasts were visible through her thin black shirt, as she wore no bra.
Her appearance was striking—flawless white skin and a face that could be mistaken for a doll. She wore no makeup and was dressed in simple black attire, giving off the aura of a ninja.
@Hot and badass female kunoichi? They exist!@ (Kunoichi is a female ninja)
'You don't even have a real body. What are you going to do, you little pervert?' @...Shut up@
"If you wore makeup and lipstick, you could seduce any man" Togiri remarked trying to provoke her.
The woman remained emotionless, ignoring the comment.
"Fight to the death," the woman said in a monotone voice. "To the death?" Togiri questioned. "If I knock you out or you surrender, does that count as winning?"
"Yes." The assassin wasted no time, launching an attack. She threw a flurry of traditional Japanese weapons at Togiri—kunai, shurikens, and steel needles.
Togiri dodged or caught a few, stashing them in his many pant pockets.
'How does she have hidden weapons? And why is she the only one not wearing these crappy clothes? I guess she's not planning to knock me out—she's aiming to kill me.'
"They call you a Kunoichi, right? My name is Togiri. What's yours?" Before he could get an answer, she threw a black ball to the ground, and purple mist filled the arena.
Togiri couldn't see his hands in front of his face and inhaled some of the mist. @She got you.@
'This mist is highly poisonous. She makes no sound when she moves or when throwing weapons. Not even the friction of her clothes make a noise.'
Togiri closed his eyes and formed an En barrier around himself, trying to sense her next move. A thin needle suddenly pierced his arm, and he collapsed to the ground, motionless and seemingly not breathing.
Half an hour passed as the mist slowly dispersed. Togiri layed on the floor, unmoving.
The ninja observed him closely for the last 30 minutes before finally turning to walk back to the other prisoners.
The moment she turned her back on him, she collapsed as well, lying on the floor like Togiri.
"Oh, you can still move your head," she heard a voice next to her slowly starting to laugh. Her indifferent expression finally gave way to fear.
"Hahaha. Beautiful and deadly. I only noticed your attack after it happened. I'll have to ask you later how you did that, but first..." Togiri pressed several pressure points, allowing the woman to move again. "How about becoming my subordinate?"
In response, dozens of needles flew at Togiri's chest hitting him—the same type that had previously bypassed his En. Togiri calmly pulled them out and tucked them into his pockets.
"They don't work. The needles pierce my skin but not my flesh," Togiri explained. "Impossible! These needles cut through steel like butter!"
"My body is harder. The kind of training I do, with thousands of repetitions, tightens my muscles to their limit. The reason the first needle pierced me was that I wasn't tensing my muscles."
As they talked, more weapons, including needles, were hurled at Togiri. He only moved to block those aimed at his face or crotch, collecting the rest that managed to bypass his En barrier.
"So, what do you say? Become my subordinate. I don't know what you did, but I can help you get out of prison if your crimes aren't too horrific."
The Kunoichu was still running in circles, attacking him, when she suddenly stopped. She felt a small hand on her shoulder, pushing her down to her knees.
"How about it?" Togiri asked, looking deeply into her eyes. Her eyes widened as she realized she couldn't budge his hand.
"W-...Will you help me get my revenge against the Zangs?" Her face grew pale, more surprised by her own words than Togiri was.
"Zangs? Sure, why not." Togiri removed his hand from her shoulder and extended it to help her up. They continued holding hands after she stood.
Togiri then smirked and asked, "What's your name?" The woman quietly answered, "Kikyo."
Kikyo then smiled, pushed her chest out, and declared loudly and proudly, "Kikyo Higurashi!"
Her slight smile made Togiri blush and quickly look away, his face turning as red as a tomato. @Virgin loser.@