[April 11th]

Kirihara took a call from her mother outside the gate that day.

"You know your father and I are rooting for you."

"Yeah. Aditya's gonna, uh, try to be home for summer, right?" said Kirihara, referring to her brother.

"…well. You know how the military is, but…"

"Could try to use my presidency a bit." said Kirihara. "Can't deny a request from me, right?"

"We'll see." laughed Amiti. "But just be careful, alright? I don't know how this 'Mia' woman is, or what she's like, but if she's…" She trailed off.

"…yep." muttered Kirihara, rubbing her neck's scar.

"Are you still ahead?"

"Lemme check." she muttered, taking her tablet out - " - god - are you fucking, ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! I should have - don't fucking call me again when I'm busy, I fucking - FUCK!"

She threw her phone against the wall.

◆◆◆

Mia had already dealt with two Revenants that day, and had been called in for a green-haired teenage boy turned villainous.

She stepped inside the china shop, civilians that weren't from China & china that was from China around. She heard someone shouting "Detroit Smash!" from the backroom ahead, and in the next instant -

- the floor started to shake & stagger; screams filled her ears, walls suddenly growing cracks and starting to collapse, roof up above starting to crumble -

" - Worldwide!" she shouted; a cloud of ice scarabs flew in to the ceiling -

- and new ice formed to prevent the building's collapse as she rushed across the room, civilians safer now & fleeing behind, backroom ahead with the door still closed. With no time to waste, she pressed against the wall, sword & scarabs readied, and in the next instant -

- a shockwave blasted the wall to bits & her away with it -

- but a swift wall of ice caught her & kept her flight from going too long, landing only twenty feet away from her previous spot; she heard her foe's fingers snapping ahead -

- and another shockwave blasted her against her own wall -

- and another -

- and she melted her wall of ice before the third could plaster her to it, third wave blasting her away and back to the store's entrance, grunting as she landed and the smoke cleared ahead. She saw her green-haired & teenage male foe stomping out ahead -

- and a fissure shot through the floor and towards her -

- turning her in to a woman of laughter as she filled it with water & swept to the side; her electrical scarabs flew in to the sudden flood, and as the electrical current entered his body -

- the next scene was instant. His right leg kicked -

- and a shockwave blasted him with the strength of a thousand away & through the back wall -

- and surprisingly not another, flying out to the avenue outside & landing there, disappearing behind the rubble and out of Mia's sight. With no time to waste, she rushed across the room, came in to the back, hole ahead & sidewalk & road beyond with parked cars -

' - as if.' she thought; a pillar of ice burst below her feet and launched her up -

- and her body burned blue to get her through the roof, landing on top of the building with a better vantage point; below, she saw her foe with a black whip in hand -

- with one end attached to the building, starting to yank it down; she staggered -

- but the next scene was instant. She leaped off and down; below, his free hand formed one fist to catch her as she fell, and as she drew within range -

- an electrical arc sparked -

- and yanked a car with the strength of a million in to him from behind; a horrific shriek erupted from him as he was launched forward -

- and Mia laughed as she landed safe where he'd just been a second ago, turning to face the china shop and laughing as she spoke - " - that's why you need more experience!"

Ahead, the building started collapsing as her ice repairs melted, ceiling crumbling & starting to rend inward -

- but her foe punched his way out of the ruins, grunting as the smoke cleared, one red rib jutting out of his chest. Mia rushed back to the further sidewalk, slicing through one car's gas tank with her blade and making it drip, fifty feet separating the two as she turned back.

"B-Blackwhip." he grunted; his black whip shot towards her -

- but retreated as soon as she raised her burning purple blade to block it, now wary of Mia's sudden counter. Blade drawn, she started stepping towards him; leg readied, he kicked towards her -

- and a shockwave erupted out -

- but a wall of ice burst up ahead to block it, seemingly absorbing the foul wave as Mia swept against it for cover. She'd learned a trick to deal with wind Revenants recently, laughing as she heard another few shockwaves enter her wall of ice but do nothing at all. She felt his whip hit the wall -

- and the chill froze it immediately; a sweep of burning purple went through it -

- and disintegrated half of it without a single ash left before it scurried back to its master; her ice wall lowered as she rushed forward, boy's right arm starting to crack ahead -

" - O-One-For-All!" he shouted, right leg sweeping forward -

- and a gust of wind blasted him with the strength of a thousand away, sailing over the rubble & behind the ruins; Mia sighed as she rushed in pursuit and up a ramp of ice, no counter for that tactic yet as he landed in another road ahead next to three cars -

- which another shockwave blasted towards her; her body burned blue as she rushed through them, and as she came up over him on a platform of ice -

- she jumped down, only fifteen feet separating the two; a blast shoved her back -

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- right in to another wall of ice; with a groan and a curse, she swept behind it for cover, only twenty feet separating the two -

- and another flurry of shockwaves entering her wall of ice but doing nothing.

'I wonder when he'll realize.' she thought, burning purple blade starting to run out of oil. She snuffed her blade and tried not to laugh at his kicks of frustration behind, and as he started panting & pausing -

- a dozen jets of water burst out of the wall and towards him -

- and she glanced back just in time to see his shockwaves blast the liquid to the ground, no direct streak connecting them but a pool still ahead of him, exasperatingly asking - " - why the fuck isn't it working?!"

" - does this work?" shouted Mia; one ice scarab flew to the pool as another dozen water jets shot towards him -

- he kicked -

- and as soon as the shockwave hit the frozen pool underneath, he was doomed and he knew it; it shattered in to a hundred frozen shards -

- whose keen ends ripped his chin off of his hair; a terrible noise passed him as he staggered back -

- just in time for Mia's thrown burning purple blade to impale through his front & out his back -

- and three electrical arcs yanked three cars in to him, bones crunching & sandwich of gore oozing out and between the metal; another arc peeled them off him in the wreckage and she knew that he was dead.

"'Why isn't it working.'" she laughed, crouching down to scan.

SWARM (162)

CARVE (160)

"Simply - simply need to keep focused." she laughed as she came out to the sidewalk, waving civilians back out through glass windows. She knew Serena & Naomi were in town, so she texted them asking if they wanted to meet up. She passed one corner, and in the next instant -

" - ah, Kirihara." laughed Mia, twenty feet separating the two. "Don't worry. I already dealt with -"

" - don't even fucking try to brag. Don't even fucking try to -"

" - did you see the new ranking? Here, if you'd like, you can look at it - see -"

" - you have some fucking nerve, you know that? You fucking think that because you got to hunt with everyone else helping your ass for the entire fucking year -"

" - go, go on -"

" - seems pretty bad that - what, I've been hunting solo for three years, and you're still only two kills ahead of me -"

" - I'm sure it'll be much more by the thirtieth -"

" - remember when you fucking lost in front of everybody your first year, because your fucking cunt of a girlfriend -"

" - you're bringing up -that-?" cackled Mia, stepping back as Kirihara stomped forward. "Some tournament nobody remembers -"

" - yeah, and they'll fucking remember you losing this time, too."

Carve's saw formed -

- and disappeared as someone past the corner called for Mia; Mia glanced away, still laughing as Serena came up -

" - what's - oh." She glared at Kirihara. "Uh. Naomi's looking for a restaurant."

"Alright." Mia laughed, and the two went off as Serena healed her wounds.

Kirihara's vision filled with red. "Fucking bitch!" she shouted, and she turned -

- direct in to a black-haired man, stumbling back at her expression. "What the fuck do you want?" she grunted.

"I-I'm a l-local journalist, hoping for -"

" - go fuck yourself. Ask Mia."

[April 14th]

Kirihara had gotten called in that day to deal with a clothing thief with an eyepatch, though the thief wasn't there yet when she arrived at the store. Covertly, she browsed one rack at the front, glancing back at the door fifty feet away. As with most stores of the type, there was one center aisle & rows of clothing flanking it.

So far, she was back to doing better than Mia without any help, but she wouldn't have a squadron when she won. She thought about who she would've even had in it, but shook her head clear. She didn't like most people and had no trite 'yearning for acceptance' beneath it. She simply was herself, & by herself she'd gotten to #1.

Another call came up on her silent tablet, but if she left now, they'd show up as soon as she left. She sighed, glanced back to the front door, and in the next instant -

- a woman wearing an eyepatch walked inside. Kirihara stepped near the end of the aisle, and felt the woman come up to the other side. Kirihara glanced over, and in the next instant -

- the woman started walking away, no clothes in-hand -

" - hey, dick!" shouted Kirihara; Carve's saw formed and flew towards her -

- but the next scene was instant. The woman shrunk to a microscopic size and fell to the floor -

- but Carve's saw scrubbed the floor -

- and out of the steel teeth popped the woman's liquid corpse & one pilfered shirt, still-beating heart left on top of the saw.

"Nice and easy." muttered Kirihara. She crouched down to scan, and Carve destroyed it once she finished.

[April 17th]

Kirihara had gotten called in that day to deal with a Cambodian man with dual daggers. She stepped in to the skyscraper's lot, building two hundred feet away & her foe a hundred. Carve readied, she started stepping towards him already ranting.

" - we are all ruled by something greater!" he shouted, fifty feet separating the two - " - memes! The DNA of the soul!"

["Stains of Time" - Metal Gear Rising. Instrumental is acceptable.]

'Great.' thought Kirihara. 'Whatever. Time to let it rip.'

Carve's sawblade formed ahead, and as it flew forward -

- the next scene was instant. The man's arms separated in a hundred sections, purple lightning connecting the floating pieces, dagger in both hands; both arms detached and shot towards her -

- and there was no memory, only dry inside as she swept back, sinking deeper in to the mud and in to a peaceful life; two daggers of Carve formed as his arms flew towards her -

- and met them dead-on, four daggers sparking as they met; bowing to her mental command, another dagger of steel formed above his wrist & tried to stab it -

- but it swept with the speed of light back and shot towards her -

- just in time for one of her two daggers to meet it again, Kirihara stepping back, trying to keep track of both hands - but a divided mind couldn't fight an equal battle. Inch by inch, the pressure of his strikes forced her back; one arm swept behind her -

- and a plate of steel formed over her back just in time to block its stab; Carve's dagger blocked his from the front again -

" - war is a cruel parent!" he shouted fifty feet away - " - but an effective teacher!"

" - Carve!" shouted Kirihara; another sawblade appeared above his floating elbow -

- and tore right through it in the next; sudden limb lost, the front half of his arm fell limp & to the ground -

- and Kirihara spun just in time to sever the second arm from the wrist-up; no arms left but still twitching, she started rushing towards him, Cambodian foe still staggering on the other end. As she drew within range, Carve appeared at her side and flew towards him -

- but the next scene was instant. His body separated in to a hundred shards, electrical arcs keeping them together but floating independently -

- just in time to let Carve pass right through the hole where his stomach had been a second prior; behind, Kirihara heard something rumbling -

- but didn't turn in time for two daggers to enter her back & go out her chest; grunting as she staggered, two saws formed over her wounds -

" - free will is a myth!" he shouted, and in the next instant -

- a current like a hundred volts went through her; wounds charring with no rest, she swept with the speed of light right, building up ahead & a hundred feet away, foe only a dozen feet to her left as she turned to face him, limbs glowing purple & crackling now.

'Gotta get him against the wall.' she thought as the two started circling. One limb shot towards her; she raised her sword readied -

- but it swept back to its master before the two met, still circling. She waited until his back was towards the building before she rushed towards him -

- and two spears of Carve burst out of the ground, impaling his flying wrists; only his body left to fight, she rushed up to him with shoulder sawblade readied -

" - Carve!" she shouted as it detached and flew towards him -

- but his body flew back to dodge it; behind, she heard his flying wrists escape their spiked prison -

- but another wall of spikes burst up behind just in time to impale both of them on the way back, and she rushed up to him with sword readied -

- just in time for him to dodge back again; only thirty feet separated him from the building now. Inch by inch, the pressure of her strikes forced him further back, and as his back touched the wall -

" - Mons-"

" - CARVE!" she shouted; her sawblade flew forward -

- and the next scene was instant. Four bars burst out of her saw and bound him against the wall; spikes grew as their ends dug in to the wall, and as they touched the wires within -

- a current like a thousand volts went through him; he shrieked as his body fell in to a hundred pieces, detached head left on the ground -

" - HERE!" she shouted, ripping one bar out of the wall, metal bat forming with her foe still stunned below - " - TRY TO FUCKING DODGE NOW!"

- and one bash slammed his skull right in to his jaw. Kirihara grunted as she stomped&stomped, more pieces of Carve forming to tear him in to a thousand, and as for his blood -

" - DEAD-ON!" she shouted, another bash -

- and it would come like a flood of pain, pouring down on her, and it would not let up until the end was near; and it would come, through her darkest day, in her final hour -

- and it would never rest until the clouds were clear, until it finds her dreams have disappeared.

Once she calmed, she scanned and checked her position.

CARVE (168)

SWARM (163)

'…focus. Just stay focused. Keep it up.'