Post by Rhythm on Oct 28, 2018 18:50:26 GMT -4
She laid her head back on the hard concrete and sighed, her eyes looking upwards towards the stars.
Ashley Aran was at the edge of a medium sized round arena made of concrete. Outside of that circle were hundreds of people, all screaming in the extreme of one emotion or another. Opposite of Ashley lay another man, this one twice her size and muscular. The match had ended anticlimactically, if you asked some, but Ashley was more than happy to end it. She was tired, and lucky that he’d underestimated her. The blow he’d received to his groin would probably hurt for weeks, but it was the only weak spot she’d managed to be able to hit as hard as she could, as her arms were weak and tired.
“Come on. Up ya get.”
A helper had come out and held out a hand to Ashley, who took it. She got to her feet and winced at the sudden pain she felt spread throughout her whole body. Another two helpers were dragging Ashley’s unconscious opponent away, most likely to be medically attended to. Or however much medical care one got in the underground fighting scene.
“Thanks,” Ashley muttered after a moment, realizing she hadn’t said a word to the man that had helped her up. She held her ribs as she said it, still making an ugly face due to the pain. “Talkin’ is…rough right now. Sorry.”
“No worries.” He bowed. “We’ll get you checked out. Any bleeding or other injuries?”
“No.”
“I recommend you getting checked out anyways,” the man continued, looking Ashley up and down. His gaze fell to the floor and he looked like he was struggling what to say before he bowed again. “You fight well. People are…wary. Please, be careful.”
Without another word the man walked off, leaving Ashley slightly bewildered. He was a plain looking guy, someone who blended in with the crowd, and before Ashley could say another word he’d vaulted the cement barrier and was off. The dark skinned woman quirked her lips back and forth before turning her head and blowing a huff from her nose.
It’d been two weeks since she’d gotten into the scene and already she was getting into trouble. She was fortunate, however, that the hostilities were coming from her own side as opposed to that of the Law. Still, the Law followed rules while her side was more of a free for all. In Thailand Li had protected her from such retaliatory nonsense but here in Japan she’d just jumped right in to the pool of sharks for need of money rather than spend at least a few weeks gathering information herself. Impatient, Li had always said, always so damn impatient.
Her stomach wasn’t complaining, though. Neither was her wallet. Dealing only in cash might have been cumbersome to most but it avoided a lot of hassle from being tracked electronically. Ashley felt more like herself now, thanks to this environment. She felt better here, surrounded in the seedy underbelly of society. She raised her fist suddenly, getting a huge reception from the surrounding crowd. She pulled off the earbuds that had been blasting music and continued to smile and wave as she pocketed them.
Fifteen minutes later she was on her way home in a cab, her head nodding as sleep threatened to overtake her. It had been a grueling match to be sure, but the man she’d faced seemed like someone who hardly knew what to do with a Quirk like his, and therefore fell far short of what the potential of his power could be. Ashley shook her head to drive the sleep away and breathed in deep, inhaling the odd smell the cab offered; something between pizza and Chinese food. She had a lot of money now, enough to even consider upgrading her living arrangements. The hotel she was at smelled worse than this cab, though at least the rent was cheap.
The martial artist unlocked the door and nudged it open with her foot, her eyes taking a moment to adjust to the dark. They swept the room silently and swiftly and, upon seeing nothing out of place, the woman stepped inside and flicked the light switch on before closing the door behind her, her gaze still keeping a wary eye out. It was hard not to, but Ashley trusted her instincts more than she did most people. She plopped down on her uncomfortable bed and fell back, her head nearly missing the headboard as she did so. She closed her eyes and sighed…
...until a few minutes later, when her phone began to vibrate. Or, at east, she assumed it was a few minutes later. It was dark now, she could tell, and her phone continued to vibrate. The call was from an unknown number, though Ashley knew who it was. Only one person had the number to this phone.
“Wilder,” Ashley breathed into the phone before yawning hugely. “Sup?”
“Rhythm. Fights next week, same place and time. The Caution Assessment Team concluded that no law official had gotten wind of this place yet, so we’re moving forward with the schedule there. Copy?”
“Copy.”
They always had short conversations, but at least he got to the point. He was her ‘handler’, and while Ashley originally thought that he was going to be the same thing that Li was to her in Thailand she soon found out that all his title meant was that he told her to go and then…that was it. He’d hang up and that was that. The martial artist sighed and dumped her phone back onto the dingy nightstand by her bed and lay back down, absent mindedly flicking a spider off of her arm. She had enough money to go out tonight for anything, if she wanted, but no real part of her desired to actually move and go.
The following week saw Ashley’s funds dwindle only slightly, as living cheaply wasn’t something that was new to her. If she spent it all at once, how could she save up? She didn’t want to live in a dump like this her whole life after all, so maybe buying weed probably wasn’t the best use of her limited money. She didn’t cave for extra food or drugs, and when the day finally came for her fight she felt more than ready to go. She stepped outside her place and closed the door, locking it behind her. It hardly mattered; she carried everything with her as it was so they couldn’t rob much, beyond clothes and some scattered books.
As soon as she turned to go, a car across the street exploded.
The brunette blinked rapidly, the fireball created by the explosion making light stars appear in front of her eyes. She squinted then, seeing a huge…something stalking a woman, who appeared to be crawling backwards from him the more he walked towards her. She was screaming now, her voice hysterical. The light from the explosion went suddenly out, and Ashley grit her teeth in frustration. She’d seen the whole thing right before her eyes, so ignoring it would only wrack her with more guilt. God knew she didn’t need more of that. Maybe is she was quick she could end this and get to her fight on time.
There was a voice of sarcastic laughter inside of her head and the woman pursed her lips tight and pulled on her headphones. After making sure they were secure she pulled the iPod that was attached to them and scrolled through the settings, picking ‘Speed’ and letting the song play. Better to check the situation and get that woman away from the lumbering shark…monster…thing. A second later she was scooping up the woman and holding her in the cradle position. The shark monster roared at her sudden appearance and lunged, but Ashley was too fast on the backpedal. She slid to a stop, and put the woman down. Before she could dash off again the woman grabbed Ashley by her shirt and pulled her close.
“Please…he can’t control it. His meds, he’s old…please, help him!!”
The woman was babbling, not paying attention. Ashley was, this time, and pulled the woman out of the way yet again as the shark monster threw a car. Ashley growled, the sound emanating from the back of her throat much in the manner a cat does.
“Stay. Here.” She enunciated each word carefully, sternly, as she put the woman down on the ground. “Ah…ah’ll do what’ah can. Ah’m not…look, this isn’t mah day job, savvy? Stay here.”
The shark monster was lumbering towards them now, though his attention seemed to be caught by every little movement. Ashley breathed in slowly, than let it all out a moment later. A feeling in her gut seemed to be twisting and turning as if vying for her attention. She ignored it now and charged in, her fist cocked as she swung in hard, hitting the shark on what she assumed was his snout. The monster cracked down, its face meeting the concrete with a hard splat. Over and over she heard the woman repeating her warning in her head and all Ashley could do was ignore it. She backpedaled again, thanking her instincts again as the shark monster dived up from its downed position, jaws and teeth snapping powerfully at empty air.
Her backpedal was too fast and sudden and Ashley skipped a bit on the concrete before stopping. She didn’t know what to do. The thing was tough, but the woman said he was old. Her only conclusion was that this was someone whose Quirk was probably going out of control. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t tough; Ashley flexed her arm and winced. His skin was tough, and he was faster than she originally believed.
Try as she might she couldn’t think of a way to effectively beat this guy. She needed help, and fast. Especially if she wanted to make her fight on time.
Ashley Aran was at the edge of a medium sized round arena made of concrete. Outside of that circle were hundreds of people, all screaming in the extreme of one emotion or another. Opposite of Ashley lay another man, this one twice her size and muscular. The match had ended anticlimactically, if you asked some, but Ashley was more than happy to end it. She was tired, and lucky that he’d underestimated her. The blow he’d received to his groin would probably hurt for weeks, but it was the only weak spot she’d managed to be able to hit as hard as she could, as her arms were weak and tired.
“Come on. Up ya get.”
A helper had come out and held out a hand to Ashley, who took it. She got to her feet and winced at the sudden pain she felt spread throughout her whole body. Another two helpers were dragging Ashley’s unconscious opponent away, most likely to be medically attended to. Or however much medical care one got in the underground fighting scene.
“Thanks,” Ashley muttered after a moment, realizing she hadn’t said a word to the man that had helped her up. She held her ribs as she said it, still making an ugly face due to the pain. “Talkin’ is…rough right now. Sorry.”
“No worries.” He bowed. “We’ll get you checked out. Any bleeding or other injuries?”
“No.”
“I recommend you getting checked out anyways,” the man continued, looking Ashley up and down. His gaze fell to the floor and he looked like he was struggling what to say before he bowed again. “You fight well. People are…wary. Please, be careful.”
Without another word the man walked off, leaving Ashley slightly bewildered. He was a plain looking guy, someone who blended in with the crowd, and before Ashley could say another word he’d vaulted the cement barrier and was off. The dark skinned woman quirked her lips back and forth before turning her head and blowing a huff from her nose.
It’d been two weeks since she’d gotten into the scene and already she was getting into trouble. She was fortunate, however, that the hostilities were coming from her own side as opposed to that of the Law. Still, the Law followed rules while her side was more of a free for all. In Thailand Li had protected her from such retaliatory nonsense but here in Japan she’d just jumped right in to the pool of sharks for need of money rather than spend at least a few weeks gathering information herself. Impatient, Li had always said, always so damn impatient.
Her stomach wasn’t complaining, though. Neither was her wallet. Dealing only in cash might have been cumbersome to most but it avoided a lot of hassle from being tracked electronically. Ashley felt more like herself now, thanks to this environment. She felt better here, surrounded in the seedy underbelly of society. She raised her fist suddenly, getting a huge reception from the surrounding crowd. She pulled off the earbuds that had been blasting music and continued to smile and wave as she pocketed them.
Fifteen minutes later she was on her way home in a cab, her head nodding as sleep threatened to overtake her. It had been a grueling match to be sure, but the man she’d faced seemed like someone who hardly knew what to do with a Quirk like his, and therefore fell far short of what the potential of his power could be. Ashley shook her head to drive the sleep away and breathed in deep, inhaling the odd smell the cab offered; something between pizza and Chinese food. She had a lot of money now, enough to even consider upgrading her living arrangements. The hotel she was at smelled worse than this cab, though at least the rent was cheap.
The martial artist unlocked the door and nudged it open with her foot, her eyes taking a moment to adjust to the dark. They swept the room silently and swiftly and, upon seeing nothing out of place, the woman stepped inside and flicked the light switch on before closing the door behind her, her gaze still keeping a wary eye out. It was hard not to, but Ashley trusted her instincts more than she did most people. She plopped down on her uncomfortable bed and fell back, her head nearly missing the headboard as she did so. She closed her eyes and sighed…
...until a few minutes later, when her phone began to vibrate. Or, at east, she assumed it was a few minutes later. It was dark now, she could tell, and her phone continued to vibrate. The call was from an unknown number, though Ashley knew who it was. Only one person had the number to this phone.
“Wilder,” Ashley breathed into the phone before yawning hugely. “Sup?”
“Rhythm. Fights next week, same place and time. The Caution Assessment Team concluded that no law official had gotten wind of this place yet, so we’re moving forward with the schedule there. Copy?”
“Copy.”
They always had short conversations, but at least he got to the point. He was her ‘handler’, and while Ashley originally thought that he was going to be the same thing that Li was to her in Thailand she soon found out that all his title meant was that he told her to go and then…that was it. He’d hang up and that was that. The martial artist sighed and dumped her phone back onto the dingy nightstand by her bed and lay back down, absent mindedly flicking a spider off of her arm. She had enough money to go out tonight for anything, if she wanted, but no real part of her desired to actually move and go.
The following week saw Ashley’s funds dwindle only slightly, as living cheaply wasn’t something that was new to her. If she spent it all at once, how could she save up? She didn’t want to live in a dump like this her whole life after all, so maybe buying weed probably wasn’t the best use of her limited money. She didn’t cave for extra food or drugs, and when the day finally came for her fight she felt more than ready to go. She stepped outside her place and closed the door, locking it behind her. It hardly mattered; she carried everything with her as it was so they couldn’t rob much, beyond clothes and some scattered books.
As soon as she turned to go, a car across the street exploded.
The brunette blinked rapidly, the fireball created by the explosion making light stars appear in front of her eyes. She squinted then, seeing a huge…something stalking a woman, who appeared to be crawling backwards from him the more he walked towards her. She was screaming now, her voice hysterical. The light from the explosion went suddenly out, and Ashley grit her teeth in frustration. She’d seen the whole thing right before her eyes, so ignoring it would only wrack her with more guilt. God knew she didn’t need more of that. Maybe is she was quick she could end this and get to her fight on time.
There was a voice of sarcastic laughter inside of her head and the woman pursed her lips tight and pulled on her headphones. After making sure they were secure she pulled the iPod that was attached to them and scrolled through the settings, picking ‘Speed’ and letting the song play. Better to check the situation and get that woman away from the lumbering shark…monster…thing. A second later she was scooping up the woman and holding her in the cradle position. The shark monster roared at her sudden appearance and lunged, but Ashley was too fast on the backpedal. She slid to a stop, and put the woman down. Before she could dash off again the woman grabbed Ashley by her shirt and pulled her close.
“Please…he can’t control it. His meds, he’s old…please, help him!!”
The woman was babbling, not paying attention. Ashley was, this time, and pulled the woman out of the way yet again as the shark monster threw a car. Ashley growled, the sound emanating from the back of her throat much in the manner a cat does.
“Stay. Here.” She enunciated each word carefully, sternly, as she put the woman down on the ground. “Ah…ah’ll do what’ah can. Ah’m not…look, this isn’t mah day job, savvy? Stay here.”
The shark monster was lumbering towards them now, though his attention seemed to be caught by every little movement. Ashley breathed in slowly, than let it all out a moment later. A feeling in her gut seemed to be twisting and turning as if vying for her attention. She ignored it now and charged in, her fist cocked as she swung in hard, hitting the shark on what she assumed was his snout. The monster cracked down, its face meeting the concrete with a hard splat. Over and over she heard the woman repeating her warning in her head and all Ashley could do was ignore it. She backpedaled again, thanking her instincts again as the shark monster dived up from its downed position, jaws and teeth snapping powerfully at empty air.
Her backpedal was too fast and sudden and Ashley skipped a bit on the concrete before stopping. She didn’t know what to do. The thing was tough, but the woman said he was old. Her only conclusion was that this was someone whose Quirk was probably going out of control. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t tough; Ashley flexed her arm and winced. His skin was tough, and he was faster than she originally believed.
Try as she might she couldn’t think of a way to effectively beat this guy. She needed help, and fast. Especially if she wanted to make her fight on time.
