Kaede jumped back a little as Miyako charged in quickly after her. It was all to get the distance she needed to spin her long black hair around. However, this wasn’t a new attack to Miyako anymore. She knew what it could do and threw herself into the nearby classroom to evade the attack. Amused by the effort, it took her a moment to move for her next attack.

The delay was all Miyako needed as she came charging through the wall as cover straight for Kaede. Her hair had no time to get up when Miyako decked her hard in the cheek to send her tumbling through two classrooms before coming to a harsh stop.

In the hall, Miyako glanced at her hand seeing shallow cuts from merely being that close to her to get a hit. ‘Damn, the bitch is going to be even more annoying than I thought. That hair of her’s is razor sharp.’ Moving some of the bandages on her body around, she wrapped up her hand. It was a poor remedy, but it was all she had.

Appearing out of the hole Miyako punched her into, Kaede resurfaced a little bloodied by Miyako’s punch and with a part of one of the desks she collided with embedded in her shoulder. Her hair had cleaned up the edge enough that it was no longer in her way. “That was rather rude of you.”

Miyako popped her knuckles preparing for the next round and to show her resolve. “You kids are in need of some serious straightening out. It’s my job as the adult to show you all your place.”

“We have adults amongst us as well.”

“I’ll be dealing with them too.”

“Oh is that so? Big words for someone I sent fleeing with her tail between her legs last time.”

“It won’t be like last time!” Stamping her foot down, she flipped up some debris and a chunk of wood from the rubble. Quickly spinning around, the back of her fist and arm shot the pieces like an arrow released.

Turning her head a little, heavy strains of hair fell over Kaede’s face just as the projectiles came in to hit. What would have hit her turned to slivers to fall to the wayside. Anything that didn’t hit its target embedded into the walls around Kaede knocking out small holes. “You can’t even touch me without getting sliced up! You’ll be dead in a minute!”

Chapter 333 – Back-to-Back Knife Edge

“Arrogance will be your undoing, kid,” baited Miyako. She had already seen enough of how the hair worked to have a good idea about it. ‘My usual charge in solutions ain’t gonna work against her. I’m just going to end up dead like she said. I’m not a patient person, but I don’t have a choice in the matter. My life isn’t mine anymore…’ Before she would have run in without a single thought. That was how she was most comfortable with fighting. But she learned the hard way that blindly attacking didn’t solve all the problems.

Kaede smirked a little, looking ready to laugh. “You going to just talk me to death or you going to fight?”

“You’re the one that looks afraid to fight me. That blood remind you that you’re not immortal?”

“Who’s afraid?!”

Miyako grinned a little since it worked. ‘It’s too easy. Kids are always impulsive and easy to provoke.’ The whole act still had more danger to the situation, but no fight was without danger. Even baited, the razor-like hair presented a heavy advantage. “There’s only one person I see before me. And she’s just a little baby that got afraid from just a single landed punch. You’re just a joke. It’s disappointing that you’re the only challenge present to me. I’m not even going to break a sweat.”

“Is that right?! Let’s see who’s on the floor in pieces after I’m through with you!” Completely committed now, Kaede charged forward fuming mad ready to show the woman her words. She spun up her hair for the attack as she closed the distance.

The attack was too loose and wide. Her emotions broke down the focus and precision that she did have with her attack. So it was too easy for Miyako to slip around and throw out a kick to her back as she went by her.

She sped to the floor with her hair cutting up the wood planks as she fell. It carved out a rough little pit for her to trip inside and lay amongst her hair. Kaede flipped around quickly only to find that Miyako didn’t wait for her to stand up. She had no chance to dodge, a fist smashed into her forehead knocking her down into the pit.

“When ya gonna prove me wrong?” she taunted more rubbing in that the losing side belonged to Kaede.

“Damn you!” Kaede jumped and tried to get Miyako off guard, but she anticipated her attack. A boot caught the edge of her jaw and threw her across the hall into another classroom.

Slowly marching into the hole she made with Kaede, Miyako went after Kaede. ‘I’ll give her this much, she’s resilient. Most of their minions I’ve taken down with just one punch, but she’s taken two from me. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I can only keep her so steamed.’ Miyako kicked off some of the wall in the direction of Kaede. It gave a good shotgun effect. She wanted to keep her off balance. “Just going to run away with your tail between your legs?”

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“You…”

“Ya got something to say?” Kicking another floorboard, it knocked Kaede back up to her in the air. Miyako followed it up with another punch that sent her flying through the wall of the classroom into the next. She took a glance around the room, suddenly noticing it. “Disgusting. I thought I had seen the most depraved individuals already, but Takako is starting a new list. I’m looking forward to seeing the moment the Commander puts her down for good.”

Across the room, she found Kaede struggling to get back to her feet. Her hair chewed up the floor leaving her footing poor. Miyako marched keeping an eye on her while approaching. “Looks like you could do for a bit of a trim. Yer tripping over ya hair.” Once the range decreased enough that she felt comfortable with a strike, she dove in with a quick jab to get her up and a kick to toss her around the room.

At the end of the barrage, Miyako dropped her through another wall with the hopes that it was finally putting her down. Unfortunately, the darkness of the school and smoke made it difficult to see. She quickly lost sight of the girl as she scurried away. “Cowards always flee when they get afraid. However, I’m not so kind as to forgive and ignore you.”

Pounding her fists together, the hole that created quickly approached. It was one of the darker rooms with it still mostly intact, but she had gotten used to it by now. Comfort didn’t make it any easier to spot the girl. “You started this fight, but I’m going to finish it.”

“Seems all you know how to do is talk. If you really were wanting to finish it you would have already.”

Miyako’s eyes narrowed, picking up on the change in tone from Kaede. ‘Looks like she got her senses back. This just got harder…’ Challenge or not, it didn’t stop her from keeping her advantage going. “And seems you only know how to take a hit. It’s not going to win you any fights.”

“So very true. This isn’t going to win the fight.”

“All that talk and yer giving up, huh?”

“Hardly.”

‘She’s planning something…’ Which she was right, but she didn’t have a chance to say anything more. Sounds of swift steps approached. It was a familiar sound for Miyako and the only reason that she managed to even react in the darkness.

Out of the gloom came a fist, something that took Miyako off guard. She didn’t expect Kaede to be trying to take her in a fistfight. Miyako pulled back, but the speed of the girl had overtaken her at a greater pace than she anticipated. It scored a direct hit to the face.

Miyako stumbled and slid back from the force. ‘She’s more than just focused. She’s moving differently and taking a completely different tactic. Did she realize that she wasn’t going to be able to beat me with her hair anymore?’ The changes brought her a lot of new questions, ones that the veil of night did well to disguise.

The connected punch gave Kaede some confidence back to her it seemed. She quickly came in again for Miyako. It was very easy to read this time for Miyako. Trying the same thing multiple times was a terrible plan. Miyako dodged and countered, but didn’t get in a clean hit. In the end, she could only settle for a full deflection.

However, the failure didn’t seem to dissuade Kaede yet from the approach. Repeating things over and over again gave Miyako all she needed to counter. She spun around and caught a piece of Kaede with her foot casting her out of range. All of the noise made it clear she had crashed into something. Unfortunately, nothing that improved the lighting.

Miyako stopped playing around the opening and committed to taking a stand in the room. ‘She’s thinking that the darkness gives her some sort of advantage. But she’s just inexperienced. She’s just a little school girl that’s never been in a real fight. She’s a terrible fighter. Only having powers has kept her standing for so long.’ Knowing her way around a fight left things still in her advantage even with the shift. But it left her curious. “You thought you could stand a chance against me if you fought with your fists?”

“It’s rare that I do this. So I haven’t gotten accustomed to it yet. But I'm quick to figure things out.”

“Seems all the punches to the head has knocked some screws loose.”

“You’ll understand soon enough.”

‘What the hell is she going on about?’ Miyako countered her attacks again as empty attempts as they were. They had power and speed behind them, but nothing that she couldn’t handle. She could hear very well in the darkness with her sight failing to be as reliable. It softened her own counterattacks, but it still soundly kept the fight on her side. ‘Something’s off about this whole thing… She’s losing, but she doesn’t seem to act like it.’

With the next attack, Miyako wanted to see what was going on. She was tired of fighting in the room. The longer they stayed the harder it was going to be for her to finish the fight. Grabbing Kaede as she came in, Miyako redirected the energy and turned it around pointing Kaede at the outside wall.

Shattering bricks smashed the low silence and gave Miyako a reason to chase after Kaede. The light of the moon would give her better vision. She charged after Kaede planning on using the new light gave her a solid hit finally, but Kaede disappeared from in front of her. “What?!” She appeared on her flank just as came out of the school and dropped a heavy fist upon Miyako.

The force and surprise threw her off and sent her flying along the side of the school. Her directions thrown off, Miyako grappled with the walls of the school to slow down her speed, nearly standing on it for a moment before launching herself back. ‘What was that?’ She had a clear sight on Kaede once more closing in, but she disappeared on her in the last second and countered Miyako once more.

Miyako flew out sliding over the ground before coming to a slow stop. She picked herself up quickly despite feeling the last hit very well. It rattled her jaw a little. ‘She’s got a lot more power than before and speed too. What’s going on?’ Then Miyako finally got a look at Kaede now that the moon gave her sight back.

Near the edge of the school, a short auburn haired girl stood with a very different presence about her. She had the same body and face of Kaede, the girl she had been fighting, but the dye job and hair cut dramatically changed how she appeared.

“I didn’t think you’d take it literally when I said you needed a trim.”

“You’ll find that I become reborn when I get a haircut.”

“Is that right? Ya look the same as before.”

“I was just getting warmed up and used to things.” Kaede disappeared once more and then reappeared as a blur in front of Miyako. She had barely seen it, but had no time to react. Taking the punch head on was the only thing she could do. She went flying crashing into the wall of the grounds.

It took her a little longer to stand up, but she started to rise to her feet. She had to wipe away blood from her lip. “Warmed up, eh? This is getting interesting.”

Kaede bounced a little on the balls of her feet appearing much lighter than before. “You’ll find that my strength and speed have increased greatly. I’m going to pound you into the ground until you’re nothing but paste!”

Miyako grinned suddenly, feeling some excitement in the fight for once. Her feet straightened out with her back as she regained herself. “Finally, you’re giving me a real fight! Just the way I like it!” Sliding into a fighting stance, Miyako’s eyes shone with eager anticipation of a brawl.