Inside>Out! Ch1 Fed Up! pt3
Leopold immediately lashed out at Shinta's face with an open paw, claws extended. Ducking it by a tiny margin, Shinta crouched and then sprang up, using his right paw to deliver a spinning uppercut to Leo's chin. It made full contact. Leo staggered back under the impact, his legs suddenly weak. Using his airborne position and Leo's surprise to his advantage, Shinta extended his leg, letting it follow the rotating path his body was already on. His hindpaw landed another strong blow to Leo's cheek. It sent him down, growling in frustration.
Leo slowly picked himself up, looking at Shinta with great detestation. Upon completing his recovery, Leo planted his right paw down hard in front of him and pulled his arms in close to his waist. He let out his loudest and most bestial roar. Shinta could feel the wind shift as the Leo's fans, which made up the majority of the crowd, cheered at the tops of their voices. As Leo let out another roar, members of the audience mimicked his roar in response. Returning to his ready stance, Shinta braced himself.
"This is his power coming out. I've seen this behavior before just before his victory, but this early...?"
In the middle of his third roar, Leo charged Shinta, winding up with his right paw. Shinta readied himself to redirect the blow to open Leo to a counter attack. Leo was just a couple feet away, and then Shinta felt something impact on the back of his head. _"What was tha--_WHACK!"
Leo's right wound-up hook hit Shinta under his left eye. Losing control, Shinta let his upper body move back from the force of being hit. Losing neither his opportunity, nor his fury, Leo followed with a slash from his left paw which raked across Shinta's right shoulder and upper chest. Shinta fell to the ground on his behind. The attacks he had just suffered were taking their toll on the little calm he had managed to gather. Upon inspecting the slash he suffered, Shinta found the wounds gave off a pungent odor at closer proximity. "That bastard! He covered his nails in a poison! Knowing Leo, it's probably not fatal without a better dose, but it might mess with my body enough to weaken my defenses."
Standing up and turning his side to Leo, he saw a small grin flash across his opponent's lips. "I knew it...bastard. Well fine...if I can't defend, I'll attack. He thinks he has me right now, so he won't see a kick coming." Leo charged again, and Shinta waited for his chance. His plan was to crouch lower and brace himself with his paw, aiming a kick upward at Leo's chest. As he was about to do so, he felt another impact on his head. With his brief hesitation, Shinta fell victim to Leo's attack; Leo had used the momentum from his rush and placed his paws on the ground, bringing his hindpaws down in a sort of somersault attack. His claws slashed Shinta where the hook had earlier impacted, causing a deep wound to appear. Shinta found himself crying out in pain, and only was briefly aware that Leo followed through with his somersault and used the momentum to deliver a slash at the new wound. The claws dug deep into Shinta's flesh, intersecting with the other wound.
As he fell to his knees, Shinta was beside himself in pain. The poison scorched him. It was so searing he might as well have been bathing it in lemon juice.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Leo laughed, beside himself with glee. "Your techniques may be effective on children, but unless you get physically stronger they'll never stop me. No one will defeat LEOPOLD!" The crowd began to chant in rhythm, boosting Leo's ego.
"LE-O-POLD! LE-O-POLD!"
"Ha ha ha ha HA HA HA HA HA!" Leo soaked in all of the crowd's confidence, basking in glory. And then he threw himself at Shinta, unleashing a nasty round kick to his head. As Shinta flew backwards with no control, time seemed to freeze, and his vision of the world warped and collapsed before him as if it were sucked down a drain.
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Walking. Shinta was walking. Walking through compete darkness. No sight, only the feel of a cold and smooth stone floor under his pads. Forward, forward he walked, until at last light came into view. It was pure white, a wide beam revealing only a wide circle on the ground. As he came closer, Shinta could see that the light shone upon an octagonal dais, with larger octagons under it to form stairs. In the very center, a sword protruded from the ground. It was a marvelous sword: two-edged, with waves on the the bladed area that were sharp like flames. The handle was of natural polished wood with a guard of simple steel molded in the shape of a phoenix's head where it intersected with the blade. The majestic wings of the phoenix extended from either side.
Transfixed, Shinta strode as softly as he could toward the sword. Upon his entry to the circle of light, he heard a moan of suffering. He jumped, and looked above him to find a male (or at least, he looked like a male) suspended above the dais in chains. His every limb was bound, and even his neck and waist were trapped in metal bands. He was covered in a black cloak that had it's hood drawn, which was bound shut by the band around his neck.
Cautiously, Shinta made his way forward again. He ascended the stairs of the octagonal dais, and looked at the sword. It was indeed a beautiful sword...there was always something he had loved about a well made sword. He glanced quickly at the male suspended above, and then back to the sword. He wasn't sure if it belonged to him, but perhaps if he freed him from his bonds he might be able to say. Slowly Shinta reached out, and he lightly touched the handle of the--
"STOP!!! DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!" It was the male suspended above who had screamed. At his cry, Shinta again looked above him, and he could now see the mystery male's eye. It was all that he could make out, but it pierced into his soul. _"If you do, all of Hell will break loose!!!" _
Deciding that the mysterious male was half mad from being imprisoned, Shinta only hastened to grasp the sword and begin to pull it out. Light of rapidly shifting colors shot in great beams from the hole where the sword rested. It was almost blinding, but he stubbornly refused to put the sword back. Something about it called to him, and he felt he could bear no longer to leave it. The overwhelming brightness surrounded him, and took away his sight.
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Shinta stood up, eyes glowing with intense light that changed colors. An aura of the same light surrounded Shinta, causing a small crater in the nearby ground. The crowd was silent, and Leo turned deathly pale. He felt true fear for the first time as he looked into Shinta's eyes.
Shinta's body started to convulse, skin started to expand and contract, and fur became soft and luscious. The aura extended appendages that appeared to be wings and the head of a bird. As the transformation ceased, Shinta rushed at Leo. Landing round kick followed by crescent kick followed by round kick again, Shinta finished Leo with a rising uppercut, soaring incredibly high. Leo didn't even grunt--he was out cold before he hit the ground. Panting, Shinta collapsed. As the darkness crept in again, only one train of thought remained: what happened? And what should she do now?