Hit Me With Your Best Shot

[Sync]

(ooc: September 5th. For the battle between Arietta and Sync. Anyone who wants to watch the fight can.)

Finally; Sync had been dying to get into the arena all day. He knew the fights wouldn't be to the death, at least not this day, but he could hardly wait to get in there and put his life on the line. Or perhaps it would be him putting his opponent's life on the line. Either way, the green-haired youth was all the more eager to pummel someone into the ground. It had been what he'd been trained to do since he was small, and no pink-haired girl was going to change that much. Sync would make sure he put his all into the fight and make it entertaining... At least on his end. If he couldn't enjoy the fight, he thought it would be all the more apparent that no one else was enjoying it.

He strode out into the arena wearing his usual white and black attire, and he flicked some stray strands of green locks out of his face. Some might have called him attractive as he walked forward, but him? Not so much. Sync wasn't concerned with looks; he was concerned with getting to go up against that little Arietta girl. He was curious to know what kind of fighting ability she even had. Surely there wasn't a lot of strength behind that tiny body. It was time to find out.

Sync could already see her across from him on the battlefield. Not that Sync was all that chivalrous, but he wanted to see what she could do. He'd let her have the first move... But not without throwing another taunt her way.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's see what you can do, shrimp!"

[Arietta]

Arietta had felt sick the entire day, she had been hoping to get out of this battle by faking it, but chances were no one would let that happen. The arena was not what she expected, and without animals, she was going to have to rely on something else. At least she could run fast. There was that. Yes. she could probably get the hand on him by sneaking up or just running straight for him. What could he do?

She could hear the mockery in his voice already. She hated guys like that, everyone always underestimated her because she was a child. Today that was going to change. She was going to win. Princess Luna and the others, they wouldn't see her get beaten, she would be strong and fight, not for herself but for them.

"Don't give me your pity!" she growled in an animal like tone before running at him, magic? She would use that if the time was right. Right now, she wanted to see just what she was dealing with. Despite how tiny she was, many knew she had power. Her punch came fast at the boy's stomach.

[Sync]

An eyebrow rose with intrigue as Arietta ran at him. That wasn't quite what he had been expecting, but he'd roll with it. Somehow, he got the impression that Arietta wasn't the most experienced fighter int he world. Running straight at him was a bad idea if Sync ever saw one. He didn't make an effort to move straight away, though. If he could give her the impression that maybe he thought she had a chance, it would be just that much more amusing in the end. He just had to wait a little bit longer. Then, when she was close enough...

Arietta went to try and punch him, and Sync reacted. He leaped to the side, silently thanking his teacher for making him go through all those agility training sessions, and ended up to the side of the girl. So far, so good. Sync wasn't about to show mercy just because Arietta was a girl. On the contrary, this gave him all the more reason to put his all into the fight. Sync wasn't going to lose to a girl... Even if he did want for someone to try and put an end to his life. That person wouldn't be Arietta, though. It was too soon. That was rather opposite of what he had hoped in the first couple of days, but somehow he didn't think it would be that great if he went down in the first fight.

It's not a fight to the death, he reminded himself. Of course neither of them was going to die. That didn't mean he couldn't fight to his fullest, though.

Without further hesitation, Sync struck his leg out in an effort to kick Arietta to the side. It was time to actually get the fight started. Maybe Arietta would get lucky and land a hit sooner or later, but somehow he doubted it.

[Arietta]

Arietta reacted quickly to Sync's kick, thankful to the animals who had kept her safe, she learned how to react in their own way. Sure it was a bit odd but it was her way of dodging and fighting. No one would take that way from her. Maybe this fight would be good for her. It would be a way to build up her abilities and confidence. Though, Sync seemed to be more in tune with fighting, maybe he had years of experience behind him?

'Right so attacking from the front won't work. Maybe...from behind?' she thought to herself, the arena didn't look like much, she could have used it to her advantage had there been more to it. Her heart was beating fast, and the fight had only just started. Arietta couldn't help but wonder just who was watching the fight right now. And just who was going to cheer for who.

Shaking her mind clear of those thoughts, the girl ran in an attempt to get behind the green haired boy and aimed a kick at his head.

[Sync]

If there was one thing that played as a disadvantage to Sync, it was his height. He was only a bit taller than Arietta was, and her kick actually managed to connect with his head. That was the one thing he hadn't been expecting. He'd been following her as best he could with his gaze, but still somehow was unprepared for a back attack. The kick knocked Sync forward and he cringed upon feeling her foot against his skull. Already he could hear his old teacher's words ringing in his head. Pathetic. Worthless! You should have been paying more attention, he would have said.

Fortunately, Sync regained his footing quickly enough. His head was throbbing a bit, but it wasn't anything too serious. Not yet. After rubbing a hand against the bump he could feel beginning to form, Sync whipped around and smirked at Arietta. She'd managed to catch him off guard once, but he wasn't going to let it happen again. Maybe it was time to kick things up a notch. He already made it obvious that he was skilled with martial arts, but he had yet to show anyone in this school what he could do with magic. Now he'd get to do it for a live audience. The idea was probably the best he'd had in all that time he'd spent in the arena... At least for the moment. A better one was bound to come along sooner or later.

Sync leaped back, not daring to utter a word about his next plan, and assumed the position. His expression turned to one indicating his levels of concentration, and soon flecks of red light started to flicker in the air around him. A nice, quick fire spell... Or something better. A combined attack of magic and martial arts. Yes... That was perfect.

Quite suddenly, Sync gave a cry akin to that of an attacking animal and he leaped toward Arietta. The flecks of light vanished and a spiral of fire formed around his body. A blazing cyclone... That's what it looked like.

[Arietta]

Arietta had almost smiled when her kick had made its mark. Finally, now she could show this jerk what she was made of. Then, her smile faded to that of fear at the sight of what Sync was doing. Magic? He had magic too? Maybe it was going to be much more intense than she had thought. The boy's cry reminded her that of the ligers back home and he leaped towards her.

She didn't even have time to react, the fire's heat slammed into her, pain entered her arm, she could barely see the burn marks coming from it. She had to get free of it. It could kill her. Was that what the green haired boy wanted. To kill her?

She wouldn't let it happen. Pink eyes narrowed in anger. He wanted to play with magic. Fine. She could play that game too. She closed her eyes, focusing on the dark magic. flicks of black light appeared before the two of them. 'Negative gate!' If anything, the spell would just be enough to drive the boy back a bit.

[Sync]

Fire began to dissipate from around Sync's body and a wicked grin formed on his face. That had been perfect. It had taken at least a year or so to perfect that technique and knowing that he'd gotten to use it against Arietta made him all the more pleased with himself. What he didn't expect to see, however, was that Arietta was getting ready to cast a spell herself. He'd seen the technique... He knew he had seen the technique when he was learning magic himself. Some little brat with pigtails and dark brown hair had been learning it for herself...

"Negative Gate!"

Sync barely had time to react. A large shadowy vortex had formed and the gravity was pulling him into it. Sync had to dig his heels into the ground as best he could to avoid getting sucked in, but the power was still intense. He felt his body being battered by the magic. He had to get out! There was no way Sync could let this little girl beat him. Granted, she wasn't all that little. She must have only been a couple years his senior in spite of her height, but that wasn't to say that she was stronger than him. Sync refused to be beaten by Arietta. He had to use his own magic to counteract hers.

As he was sucked in closer to the dark void, green light flickered around him. Sync really didn't know if this would work, but it was worth a shot. Anything was better than losing to a girl.

"Turbulence!"

As soon as he could, Sync unleashed his spell. A powerful gust of wind rushed up from around him and he hoped it would be enough to blow the vortex away... And maybe enough to blow Arietta back as well.

[Arietta]

Blown back she was, the pink haired girl tumbled backwards quite a bit away from Sync. He had very powerful magic, that much was certain. Stumbling to her feet, Arietta began to take in her injuries. Burnt arm, and a few badly placed bruises, not to mention several cuts along her arms and face. Her heartbeat was all she heard. If the crowd was cheering she certainly didn't hear them.

Panting, the girl rose to keep her eyes in contact with her opponent. He was good. Very good. She was going to win, she had people watching. Hiccup, Luna, friends that would want her to win. Concentrating once again, she held her hands up to the sky. "Feel the hammer of light! Limited!" let's see him try to dodge this.

[Sync]

As for Sync, he had received a minimal amount of beating so far. He had his bumped head and a bit of battering from the dark magic, but that was about it. The fourteen-year-old felt his heart racing, but not with fear. Excitement was what was driving him to keep going. Even if Sync did want his life ended, he couldn't deny that there was a satisfaction to fighting that he couldn't have gotten anywhere else. His breath was coming out in quick bursts and his expression was easy to read. Sync quite possibly was the only one who would be enjoying this particular day.

Green eyes flicked back to Arietta as the girl cast a second spell. Light this time rather than shadow. The girl apparently had a wider range of magic than he would have expected. Sync still had speed going for him, though, and he was going to try and utilize it. When the beam of light shot down, Sync shot forward and made a run for it. He didn't escape unscathed, though, because the light struck him just moments before he got away from it completely. Sync winced visibly, but he had to bite his lip to keep himself from crying out. His teacher had taught him not to voice his pain. His suffering must be silent, he'd learnt. The green-haired youth would be feeling that in the morning, there was no doubt, but he had to shake it off as best he could for the moment. He still had a fight to win.

Rather than relying on another round of magic, Sync stuck with his roots. He raced back toward Arietta and, when he was close enough, he went to try and punch her as forcefully as he could in the stomach.

[Arietta]

Arietta was not expecting that. In fact, she was expecting another bolt of magic. But for him to use the same kind of move that she had at the beginning of the fight, was surprising. The blow hit her harder than she was prepared for. The blow made her cough up a little blood, as the blow hit, she didn't really have time to register what to do next, and raised her hand and scratched his face. She wasn't an animal, but growing up with ligers and the others. She had to know how to protect herself no matter what.

[Sync]

Blood. He had actually made blood fly. Some might have been horrified, but Sync was just thrilled by it. The rush of it all was what he lived for. This was the one thing he could safely say gave some meaning to his otherwise meaningless existence. There also was that girl he'd met... But the chances of the two of them encountering one another beyond that stupid manners class seemed rather slim. No, Sync was still convinced that his whole meaning for existing was out on the battlefield. It was where he thrived, and it would be where he died. There was no way of convincing him otherwise.

Bringing himself back to the battle, Sync thought about what move to use next. He didn't want to just go with another straight punch. He wanted to... Wait. What was Arietta doing? The next thing Sync knew, the girl's hand was flying at his face and he felt nails scrape across the bridge of his nose. Surprise betrayed itself in his eyes, and in spite of what he'd been taught a gasp escaped him. Her nails weren't as sharp as liger claws, but they left enough of an impact to leave lines of red, freshly scratched trails in their wake. It was only lucky that she didn't seem to have terribly long nails.

Sync's instant reaction was to take a step back and shake his head. That had hurt... Maybe not as much as it could have, but dammit it stung! A soft grunt followed and the green-haired boy grit his teeth. He had to try and finish this. There was no way he was going to come out of this fight with the humiliation of being defeated by a girl. ...Maybe it wasn't that humiliating, and he would admit that Arietta was a bit better than he expected, but still. Sync wasn't going to let Arietta beat him. Not this time.

His next move may have seemed like a repeat, but there was more force put behind his next technique. It was what appeared to be an open-handed punch, his palm facing Arietta rather than a balled up fist, but there was a distinct force behind it as Sync moved his body forward.

"Reaper's Toll!"

He normally didn't name a lot of his techniques, but this was one of his favorites. Of course Sync would name it.

[Arietta]

She had drawn blood. And it seemed to have surprised him. Finally. Maybe it meant that he wouldn't be mocking her anymore. She couldn't believe it. She might actually have a chance at her first fight. It wasn't that big of a deal but to the young girl, it meant everything to her, just to win this first fight. It meant that those watching would know who to be prepared for. Yes. All she had left to do was...wait? He was coming back at her, with a repeat move? why would he do that?

She didn't even have time to block the attack, it was an unexpected attack, one that she should have been prepared for, instead, the "Reaper's Toll" as he called it, sent her flying, all she could register was hitting the back wall of the arena. Ow.

The pink haired girl lay there for a moment, trying to register what was going on. Blood ran down her right arm. Had the boy managed to use that much force to cause this much blood? Maybe it was broken. It certainly hurt like it.

[Sync]

When Arietta was sent flying, Sync watched as she slammed against the wall. He didn't even cringe when she'd made her impact. Sadistic was the perfect way to describe Sync in that particular moment. He was loving every single moment of this match... Even if she had managed to scratch his face, kick him in the head, and blast him with her magic. For the most part, Sync didn't look too worse for the wear. He'd certainly be feeling the damage he'd taken the next morning, but it was the least of his worries. Sync could see where she was bleeding from where he stood, and the sight of red dripping down onto the arena ground was just divine. So far, this was turning out to be a good match. It was only as he stood there that the real pain of Arietta's light spell began sinking in. Although he didn't show it on the outside, he was cringing inwardly and kicking himself for not being fast enough to dodge it completely.

...Now what? Did he spare her, or did he go for more of a beating? He knew he wasn't supposed to kill Arietta, but did he really feel satisfied just leaving the fight at that? No. Sync couldn't just leave it there. The sadistic teen had to get in some more before he finally felt content to call himself the winner. So, Sync started to stride toward where Arietta lay. As he walked, he brushed a black-gloved hand against the bridge of his nose and tried to wipe away some of the blood that was there. He hadn't thought she'd scratched him hard enough to draw blood, but that seemed to be the case. Just who was this girl? Some little wild girl... A wannabe liger...

Soon, Sync was standing over her and looking over his work. He had to sneer a little as she laid there. Arietta had really thought she stood a chance against him? More like a snowball's chance in hell. It was pathetic. Still, she had actually hurt him some. Did she deserve Sync's snide remarks? ...Probably. The world never showed him any compassion, so why should he show any back?

"Still think you've got a chance?" he sneered.

[Arietta]

Arietta glared at him, rising from the ground, holding her broken bloody arm. "I..I am going to win." she said through pained breaths. His attacks had done more damage then she realized. Maybe she should have stayed down. She had nothing to prove, a voice in her head kept telling her that. Stay down. Don't make things worse. Your bleeding for goodness sakes.

In the eyes of animals, it would be obvious that she would fall to the predator, mainly him, but even she had to at least one more try. She shouldn't have used this magic in this state but it might have given her the upperhand. "Bloody Howling!" she cried as the wind in the arena became harsher.

(ooc after this feel free to have him really make her life hell)

[Sync]

She still had the strength to get up? Even after all he had put her through just then? Sync could hardly believe his eyes. Still, he wasn't about to admit that he was impressed by what he was seeing. His expression remained as unreadable as he could manage while Arietta claimed that she was going to win. He would have laughed, but Sync could see Arietta preparing another spell. The fact that she had shouted its name right then and there didn't make matters any better. Unlike the last time, though, Sync wasn't able to dodge it. He was surrounded by a fierce cyclone of dark red, almost black energy within moments and blasted by the energy.

Sync's eyes squeezed shut and he bit his lip to try and keep himself from crying out. The blast was growing more powerful with each passing moment, his body was being battered worse than before, and he could feel cuts being formed in various places on his body. Finally, he couldn't take anymore. He'd been biting his lip so hard that it had drawn a bit of blood. A scream of pain followed, and as the energy faded he collapsed on the ground for a few long moments. Sync knew his teacher would reprimand him for what he had just done, but he wasn't there to do so. He would never know what went on inside the arena. That thought was strangely comforting to Sync. His teacher would never know he had showed such signs of weakness... On top of that, he'd never know he'd been dealt such a blow by a girl. Let alone a girl that somehow reminded him of that brat with the pigtails.

It was time to start wrapping up the fight. Sync wasn't going to play around anymore (not that he had been before) and so eased himself to his feet. Blood stains were evident in his white clothing, and he briefly reflected that he would have to actually go to the trouble of washing them. No matter, though. Sync would be able to attend to that much after he had finished pummeling Arietta. As he stared her down, he wiped blood away from his lip and briefly thought over what technique he should use next. Soon, though, he came to an answer.

He backed up, ran toward Arietta once more, and made it seem like he was going for a frontal attack again. At the last second, though, Sync leaped to the side and struck at the girl with as powerful a kick as he could manage.