Before he could finish, a sharp haymaker came crashing towards his face. He closed his eyes—but the blow never landed. Allison's fist stopped two inches from his nose.
"You're not the one I was fighting," she said, standing straight, wearing a dull expression. Her arms glistened with sweat, muscles taut and defined.
Thoroughly unnerved, he swallowed, "I'm glad you noticed, Allison…"
"Huh, and you are…?" Her eyebrows curled, changing her blank expression slightly, yet her tone stayed consistently hollow.
"I'm… Felix. Felix Aster."
"Oooh… That's a pretty name."
"…We've met before."
"Oh, we have? I see."
"Yeah…" He awkwardly responded, "You know, I'm actually ranked eleventh now."
"Oh, um… should I congratulate you? Ranked eleventh on what?"
"Of the board? You know… the Elite Agent's board?"
"Elite Agents? Oh, right. I'm a part of that." She lowered her head in response.
"Yes… you're ranked two."
"I am? Oh, right…" She turned her head left to right, looking at the crowds, "So, do you want to fight too?"
"Actually, I was just dragged into this, but…" He stopped as he heard his partner's voice call out his name.
"Felix, Felix, Felix!" Maria chanted his name and raised her fist in the air. Kaitlin added her voice to the chant, cheering his name enthusiastically, and the rest of the crowd followed suit.
From the other side of the crowd, a red-haired woman with red rabbit ears started to cheer, "Allison! Allison! Allison!" Followed by Rico's voice.
Kaitlin glanced at the lanky man with a curious smile, "Aren't you supposed to be cheering Felix on?"
"Blonde muscle mommy." Rico shrugged.
The crowds began chanting the names of the two combatants in repetition, roaring their excitement.
Felix looked over to the golden lion staring down at him. A vision of Luna facing off against Allison flashed in his mind.
"You know what? Yes. I do."
"Alright then." Her soft demeanor sharpened.
He raised his finger, "One sec."
"Hm?"
"Just give me a bit to get rid of the shards." He said, sweeping the broken wooden staff with his feet.
"Alright." She nodded.
I hate to admit, but the woman standing in front of me right now… makes me feel intimidated. No, scared. But I don't wanna back down from this. I want to beat the top dog. I will be the top dog.
The cheering from the audience died down as Felix took his own stance.
I guess now is as good a time as ever to see how far I've come.
After all…
Not even Luna could beat her.
From under the audience, the two red-eyed guests sat on the floor, catching their breath.
"Oh god, I'm bleeding from my nose, everything hurts." Isabelle sniffled and whined, "Hard to believe she's not an esper."
"Either way she's a monster." Nero remarked as a small stream of electricity crackled on his head. He then turned his head towards the arena and sneered, "How much you wanna bet one of them dies?"
"You're joking, I just hope none of us get killed just by watching." She responded.
"We'll get to see what the strongest esper is really made of." The blond man grinned with high expectations.
As the two watched intently, their hearts skipped a beat as a cold voice spoke from behind them, "Is it that hard to tell which one is gonna win?" Maria asked from behind the both of them.
A bead of sweat slid down Nero's face as an immediate thought crossed his mind, 'This girl, how did I not notice her come up to us?'
"She may not be an esper, but she's CHIMERA's number one." The dark-haired woman smiled confidently, "But Felix kills criminals and doesn't afraid of anything."
"When did you—?" Isabelle turned around, only to see that Maria was already in front of them, walking closer towards the combatants.
"A fight between the Black Cat and the Golden Lion." The chief adjusted her glasses with an amused expression, marching closer to the front, "It'll be fun seeing my two headaches beat the shit out of each other."
Kaitlin turned to her and responded in a small voice, "Ah, Chief… that's not a nice thing to say."
Felix kicked off any clutter left on the ring. His gaze shifted towards the audience slightly below him, a few in particular caught his eye. At the very front stood Maria, just outside of the ring. Another was his sparring partner, Lance. A woman with maroon red-hair and rabbit ears.
And then there were the other two, Rico and Kaitlin.
If the two rookies are watching, I should at least make this entertaining to watch.
"Kick his ass, Allison!" One of them shouted.
Felix moved to the edge, "Lance, you dick, you're lucky you're not the one here!"
"Just fight already!" The red-haired woman shouted.
He rolled his shoulder and gave a soft smile. "Alright… mats cleared of debris. We can start."
~