kurarifox

“That’s it! You are disqualified from the tournament!”“Fine by me, just make sure it goes on the record that this is his loss, understand?” The ref was silent. “Understand? I don’t care about the next match, just so long as I am the winner of this one. So go ahead and say it. I want to hear you say it.”

The fight continued in that fashion. Over and over again, Abner charged Reiss, only to be soundly beaten and hurled back. He’d hit the ground and slowly get to his feet, often while reciting some motivational quip that made Noah roll his eyes. The young man’s tenacity was admirable, but Noah wished he would stop screaming about the merits of determination and friendship. He had a rule against taking pleasure in the suffering of others, but was letting this fight continue for his amusement in seeing Abner getting knocked around. Even for an ancient spirit like Noah, the young man’s unrelenting “put me in, coach!” energy was aggravating, and he wanted to see his spirit break.

As he looked into her beautiful blue eyes, saw her adoring smile, and admired the flawless scarlet of her hair, he felt a stirring in his chest. After all of the one-night stands he had experienced, his evening with Sophia at the academy should not have affected him. He stepped aside, letting Alexis be with her as they were meant to be, and yet, at the moment, he found himself longing for her. She was sweet, loving, courageous, and pure of heart while honest about her desires. He wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to caress her, to wake up beside her and see her smile. But was that because of his feelings for her, or his feelings for who she reminded him of?