Round 3 (Part 2/2)

Rei found herself hesitating to attack again, as her mind busied itself trying to think of an answer to the question presented to her. Why does she think people look down at her? Because… Rei clenched her fists, pushing the thoughts aside. She has to just focus on fighting, and everything would be alright. “Shut up!” she screamed, throwing a punch that missed its mark, “Just shut up!” because she looked down at the person she’d become?

Todd lifted his arms, blocking a punch. He then backed away as the girl paused briefly, “There you go again! Overreacting to normal statements-“ he cut the remainder of his sentence, to avoid a spinning kick, “woah!”

Rei bit her lip, why couldn’t he just shut up and fight?! He was distracting her, she hasn’t been able to land a proper hit since he opened his big, fat mouth. Growing frustrated, she jumped towards him again, her left throwing a hasty punch.

Instantly, Todd moved his head to the side, grabbing her wrist with his left, and then kicking her legs from underneath her.

Rei closed her eyes as her back slammed onto the coarse ground, and the next thing she knew, she was pinned to the ground, with the guy sitting on her torso. She tried to free her left arm, but it was being squeezed against her side with his knee, while her right remained in his tight grip. She glared up at him, waiting for his next move.

Resisting Rei’s squirming for a few brief moments, Todd remained silent. Finally when she settled, he tightened his grip around her wrist, getting her full attention, “Look, contrary to what you think, I haven’t spent my whole life living in an ivory tower somewhere, oblivious to what goes on in the world.” He paused briefly, taking a deep breath, “You’re not the only one in the world who’s had troubles, as a hero who spends his time helping people, I know that for sure. Now I don’t know what your issue is, but unless you lose the ‘woe is me’ attitude, you’re not going to win the fight… And I don’t mean this tournament.”

Rei’s brows knotted tightly, her face slowly turning red. She remained motionless even when Todd stood up, and backed away, waiting for her to respond. What.. What did he know about what she went through? How can he expect her to put that all behind her, and just forget? If she let go of her pain and hatred, what would she have left? If she was no longer Mew-Rei, if she no longer had powers, she’d go back to being nothing. She can’t, she can’t at any cost let that happen. She slowly stood up, keeping her face lowered.

Todd kept a straight face, placing his hands on his hips, “So, are you ready to stop mopping around, and fight pro-“

Once more Todd’s sentence was interrupted by Rei’s attack. She ran towards him, spinning around, and trying to kick him. Failing to land a hit, she did a vertical flip backwards, her heal just barely missing his chin. She hopped back to her feet, backing away and recalculating her attacks.

Not giving her much time to do so, Todd ran towards her, pulling his arm back in precession to punch.

Catching his attack in time, Rei leaned back on her right leg, meeting him with a kick to the gut.

Todd stepped back, cradling his middle as he fell onto his knee, “Damn, I didn’t know I was running that fast.”

Quickly Rei moved towards her leaned over opponent, kicking sand into his face before he could lift it.

Todd jumped back as best he could, just to receive a kick in the chest that sent him falling onto his back.

Rei stood over her opponent who was still scratching his red eyes. She hesitated only briefly before kicking him in the ribs as hard as she could.

Todd groaned, forcibly flipping onto his side.

Once more Rei kicked the guy in his back, watching him jerk in pain. A win is still a win.. Right? She pulled her leg back, but found herself hesitating. She’d never had quarrels about something being wrong in a fight, so why now? Why couldn’t she finish him off like she wanted to? She did want to, didn’t she? She lowered her foot, taking a step back and watching her squirming opponent. Why didn’t she want to win like this? She needed to win, and change things, to make them better.

Rei’s hesitation lasted long enough for Todd to regain some of his power. He unstably stood up, his face holding clear pain as he suspiciously watched her. “Why didn’t you finish me off, huh? And don’t try to say ‘because it wouldn’t be fair’.”

Heck, if I knew! Was what Rei wanted to say, but she knew she couldn’t. She crossed her arms, feigning carelessness as best she could, “you looked so damn pathetic, that’s why. I thought maybe you’d have enough sense in you to know when you’re beat, quit on your own, and save me the effort of beating the shit out of you again.”

Despite the obvious pain he was in, Todd smirked confidently, “You know that’s not an option.”

Although Rei hadn’t really expected him to quit, the confidence he was showing only bothered her further. She cracked her knuckles, “Fine, have it your way.” She charged at him, “Go down as an idiot!”

She stopped about a step away, leaning out of Todd’s fist range.  She then grabbed his collar, pulling him down into her knee. As he began to fly back, she spun around, kicking him in the chest.

Todd fell back, but was quickly on his feet again. He jumped to the side, evading Rei’s charge, before swinging his leg around, kicking her in the side.

Rei stumbled back a few steps, lifting her arms defensively as she struggled to regain balance. But before she could, she felt a strong blow to the back of the neck. The whole world spun, she barely felt herself falling face first into the ground. She cracked open an eye wearily, realizing that she was real close to losing consciousness. Her ears were ringing and her blurry surroundings swaying. She can’t lose now, she can’t let things go back to what they were. She mustered what little power she had left in her, and tried to push herself upward, but her arms quickly gave in, and once more her face fell into the ground. She felt tears welling in her eyes, not like this, she can’t be so pathetic.

Todd’s approaching footsteps caused her to tense, she lifted her eyes, glaring at the person who crouched down next to her.

Todd’s face was dead serious, he rested his arms on his bent knees, staring at her blankly, “You ready to admit defeat yet?”

Rei glared, but forced out a smirk, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She pushed her hands against the ground, her arms shaking as she struggled to get up. It took enormous effort from her, but she finally managed to stand unstably, “Heh, see? I can still fight.”

But despite her defiant attitude, it was clear from the way she swayed slightly, that she was struggling to maintain her balance at all.

Todd watched her silently for a few moments, before finally standing up slowly. “Why push yourself so hard? Is it really for the money?”

Rei flinched, nearly losing her balance. She propped her leg back, tightening her fists, “What else would it be about, then?”

Todd lifted his shoulders slightly, shaking his head meaninglessly, “I don’t know, you tell me. But it looks like you’re fighting a lot more than just me.”

Remaining silent for a few moments, Rei struggled not to think about the question. Nonetheless, the question kept replaying itself in her head. “Shut up! And just focus on the fight!”

Rather than doing that, Todd crossed his arms, lifting a brow calmly, “So, why? Why are you fighting?”

Rei’s hands shook, as she grew increasingly angry, “Because!” she thoughtlessly shouted, she then hesitated, “Because.. I’m not pathetic!”

Feeling a lot more balanced than previously, She lifted her hands again, spreading her feet and flexing her fingers. She ran towards her opponent, turning her torso slightly as she reached him, and bringing her elbow around at his face.

Todd leaned back, “Well your outlook on life sure is pathetic.”

Rei’s eyes widened, instantly her hand swung around, slapping Todd’s cheek. Tears weld up in her eyes, “I’ll make you take it back.”

Despite the reddened cheek, Todd smirked. He then balled his fist, throwing it in her direction.

Pushing his arm up with her forearm, she leaned her head out of the way. She then swung her other fist around, hitting him in the jaw.

Todd backed away a step, then quickly ducked under Rei’s following kick. Leaping back to his feet, he spun around with a kick.

Rei leaned back for a second, then ducked down, with a quick spinning kick she knocked his foot out from underneath him.

Falling on his side, Todd propped himself up with his right hand. Switching to his left, and swinging his body around, he kicked his right leg upward, hitting Rei in the side.

Just as she regained her balance, Todd was coming at her with a punch. She ducked out of the way, throwing her fist upward into his face. As he was pushed back, she grabbed onto the shard necklace he wore around his neck, roughly pulling him towards her and slamming her head against his.

Her surroundings jolted slightly, but surely he was feeling far more unstable. Recovering quickly she locked her right arm around his, circling him and twisting his arm back. She pressed her shoulder against his back, flipping over, and pulling the sheath of his sword off his back with her free hand.

Rei released his arm, letting him spin around with the momentum.

The girl waited until her opponent was facing her again, before swinging the long sheath around, smacking its original owner in the face.

Todd covered his nose with his palm, knotting his brows.  His words were given a nasal accent as he spoke, “Hey! We agreed to no weapons!”

Ignoring his funny sounding protests, Rei tightened her hands around the cover, running at him and swinging it around like a large bat.

Todd jumped back, “Fine! Have it your way!” his hands and eyes lit up again with the familiar blue light.

Rei’s brows knotted further, knowing that she needed to watch out for the flying sword. She brought the weapon down at her opponent, hitting him between the neck and shoulder.

With Todd’s concentration momentarily broken, the sword faltered slightly, swooshing between the two opponents and missing both.

Rei snickered, jumping back then forward again, swinging the sheath at Todd’s head.

This time the sword swooshed back, intercepting the weapon and then deflecting it back. Once back in Todd’s hands, the glow disappeared. Todd smiled mockingly, “Although that was cheating, I can understand why you feel like you can’t win otherwise.” He shrugged lightly, “Old habits die hard, I guess.” 

“You’re wrong!” Rei immediately shouted, she then pushed his sword out of the way, spinning around and hitting him in the side. “I’m.. I’m not that kind of person anymore.”

Todd cradled his side, backing away from her in pain. “Yeah.. sure.. whatever..”

Rei flinched back, her brows curling upward. She starts fights with everyone, and then claims to be a victim. She complains about the world being a rotten place, and so treats it as such. But deep down, she’s the one with the most darkness in her. Waking from her thoughts as Todd charged at her, she lifted the sheath, blocking his sword. How else can she treat the world? How can she expect herself to be happy?

Todd swirled his sword around, pushing Rei’s weapon down and out of the way. He then leaned back, kicking her in the gut and pushing her back.

Rei dug her heals into the ground, stopping herself quickly. She can never be happy, she doesn’t deserve it. She’s just as rotten as the world she hates, she has no right to ask for joy. Tears streamed down her cheeks, she lifted her weapon again.

Todd heisted momentarily, keeping his sword ready but without advancing forward. “H-hey…”

Rei lowered her head to the side, trying to shake off the tears that continued to flow. Even though she doesn’t deserve it, why does it feel unfair to her? She charged at Todd, swinging her weapon around continuously and mostly aimlessly. Even though she’s so rotten, why does she think she has a right to fight for herself?

Todd easily found an opening in Rei’s attack. Pushing the edge of his sword against her weapon, he swerved it around it, pulling it upward and out of her hands.

Stunned, Rei stumbled a few steps forward before falling to her knees. She could see the sword aimed at her from the corner of her eye, but it didn’t seem to matter anymore. “Enough…” she whispered, her voice cracking.

Todd stood unsurely, he leaned his head to the side slightly, “Huh?”

More and more tears fell from Rei’s eyes, “I’ve had enough, I’m tired.” She lifted her eyes towards Todd, “Can’t I stop fighting now? Please? I don’t mind, if I just disappear.. I’m exhausted.”

Todd shifted his weight to the other foot, staring unsurely at his opponent. “Why.. would you disappear?”

Rei chuckled bitterly, “Because I’m no one, you see?” she slowly stood up, still smiling while tears continued to stream down her cheeks, “I’m nothing.. The only way.. The only time anyone noticed me, was when I did horrible things to people.. I showed them what they created, they had to pay attention then..”

Rei threw her head back, laughing dryly. She lowered her head again, staring through her bangs with lowered eye lids. That’s right, they got what they deserved. It’s not like she lost anything, she wasn’t anything to begin with, she’d disappeared long before that. She turned her head back to Todd, a wicked smile on her lips, “So why stop now?” she hummed in a singsong voice, “I can’t be fixed, so why bother trying, hm?”

Before Todd could respond Rei whipped around, kicking his sword out of the way, the driving her fist into his face.

Todd stumbled back, gripping his sword tightly as he tried to regain his balance.

Rei quickly picked up the fallen sheath, smashing it against the side of Todd’s head. She continued smiling, but more and more tears poured out of her eyes, “Can’t you see? This is the only way.. I can only be someone like this!”

She pushed the sword to the side again, spinning around and elbowing her opponent in the face, then kicking him in the gut with her heel.

Todd fell  backwards, he dug his sword into the ground, picking himself up quickly as the sheath hit the ground next to him.

Rei continued to wave the sheath around desperately, “This is the only way I can feel anything close to happy!”

Todd’s brows knotted tightly, he pushed his foot forward, and swinging his sword around, stopping the girl’s attack. “Are you an idiot?! You think hurting people will bring you happiness?”

Rei pushed against her weapon with all her might, “What else do I have?!” she shifted her foot, leaning forward and trying to gain an upper-hand, “This person you see in front of you, is nothing, doesn’t amount to anything.. It would be better if she didn’t exist at all!”

The swordsman held his weapon steadily, masterly pushing it forward, “You’re absolutely right, this person in front of me is nothing.”

Rei’s eyes widened, she stared in shock at Todd’s stern ones. “W-what?” Although that’s what she’d been saying and feeling all along, hearing those words hurt to no end. So it was true? She was in fact as worthless as she thought?

Todd pushed his foot forward again, applying more pressure against Rei’s weapon that began to loosen. “That’s why, the only solution is…”

Cutting off the rest of his sentence, Todd suddenly twisted his sword around, giving it a sudden push.

As the sheath slipped out of her grip, Rei’s eyes widened. She watched it fall to the ground, before turning to face her opponent once more, leaning away and starting to lift her hands up defensively.

At that moment Todd came at her, grabbing her wrist with his left, and kicking the back of her knee.

Rei fell forward, but Todd’s grip prevented her from falling to her face. Instead, she sat limply on her knees, as if all strength and will had been drained out of her. She heard his sword swivel in the air, but it was as if what he’d do with it no longer mattered to her.

Letting go of his foe’s wrist, Todd grabbed her long ponytail, tugging at it slightly.

Feeling tears still streaming down her cheeks, Rei leaned her head back, not resisting the man’s pull at her hair. That’s right, that’s the only way. She won’t even resist, ‘cause she deserves it.

“That’s why, the only solution is,” he repeated coldly, positioning his sword at the back of the girl’s neck, “To get rid of her for good!”

Rei jolted with his shout. She closed her eyes tightly, anticipating the piercing of his sword into her flesh. But none of that happen, instead, she felt a rough tug at her hair, then her head felt unusually light. “Eh?” she blinked unsurely, turning her head towards Todd.

The fighter just smiled, opening his hand and releasing the long and short strands of hair.

The girl’s hand instantly jumped to the back of her head, running her fingers through the stub of her ponytail. The pink and white ribbons slid off the short hair, falling into her hand, and letting the soft hair fall a little past her shoulders. With widened eyes, she inspected the ends of her hair in shock, “Ehhhhhh?!”

She jumped to her feet, staring at her opponent with disbelief. Oddly, she realized, she wasn’t feeling as angry as she’d imagined. “What the hell was that?!”

Todd dug his sword into the ground, leaning against it casually. He gestured at the scattered strands of green, smiling, “I got rid of her, the old you.. She’s gone now, so you can start being someone new.”

Unsure of what to say, Rei’s lips parted but no sounds came out. She opened her hands and closed them again, looking around her. Could it be that easy? Could the old Rei just disappear like that? But what of all the things she’s done? Rei clamped her hands together and lowered her head, “But.. My past won’t just blow away like that..” she opened her hands, staring at them sorrowfully, “It can’t just…”

“It will if you just let it go..” Todd interrupted calmly.

Rei lifted her eyes towards him, she stared at his confident stance, “If I….” she flexed her fingers, “Then it’ll disappear?”

She tightened her fists, lowering her head and squeezing her eyes shut. But then what? What is she supposed to do? She has nothing but darkness in her, she’s void. What if the dark feelings come back, and take over again? And what if they don’t? She realized then that she was trembling, she opened her eyes, she’s afraid. “I.. I can’t! There’s no way…”

“Okay, let’s make a deal..” Todd interrupted once more, “We finish this fight, if you win, I’ll give up , and you can do whatever the hell you want.. But if I win.. Then you have to forgive yourself”

Rei’s brows creased, as she stared at her confident opponent. The deal wasn’t the least bit logical, but somehow at that moment, it made sense to her. She lifted her closed fists, feeling her heart beating out of control. “D-deal!” she hesitantly said, shifting from one foot to the other.

Todd’s smile widened, his brows lowering determinately. He lifted his sword in both hands, “Alright then!” he suddenly charged at her, swinging his sword around horizontally.

Rei quickly ducked, tumbling by Todd’s leg. She sat up, moving just in time to evade the tip of the blade that came her way. Finding herself next to the sheath, she picked it up, swinging it around with both hands and hitting him in the back of the knees.

Todd fell forward with a short yelp, he quickly dug his sword in the ground ahead of him, holding himself up. He flipped over, throwing a kick in Rei’s direction.

Leaning back sharply, the girl nearly fell over. Her tail flicked up, balancing her just in time. She steadied her hands on the sheath, watching Todd get up and ready his sword once more. What was she fighting for anymore?

With Rei not advancing, Todd jumped forward, his sword slashing through the air.

I’m afraid. She realized as she moved her weapon to intercept Todd’s sword. I’m afraid of what’ll become of me. The past had always been a painful, but safe place to hide away from the world. Hide way from the person she’d become. Rei put her weight on her back leg, pushing the sword to the side, “I’m afraid!” she shouted, swinging the bat like weapon in Todd’s face.

Todd leaned his head away, letting the sheath whizz by him. He then lifted his sword horizontally, blocking the sheath again. “What?!”

Failing to push Todd’s sword, Rei jumped back. She quickly spun around, aiming a kick at his abdomen, but missed. “What if I lose everything again?”  Tears weld up in her eyes, as all the things she’d already lost rushed through her mind, “What do I do then?!”

Todd spun around, his sword extended ahead of him. The blade nipped at his opponent’s right arm before getting blocked by the sheath, “Then you start over!”

Rei jumped back, inspecting her forearm shortly. She then lifted angry eyes towards Todd, “That’s totally pointless!”

Before he could respond, she ran towards him, holding the sheath to the side. She swung it around, managing to slap Todd’s hands to the side slightly, “Why keep trying, when you’re just going to fail?” She continuously swung her weapon around, forcing Todd to back away, “Why build something, when it’s just going to get knocked down?!”

With those words, she dug her heels into the ground, suddenly stopping while Todd continued to back away. She whipped the sheath at Todd with all her might.

The long sheath spun wildly in the air, smacking Todd square in the face.

 As Todd was pushed further back, Rei jumped high into the air. She flipped around once, before coming down at him with a kick.

However Todd managed to move out of the way, letting his opponent hit the hard ground instead.

An explosion of pain shot through Rei’s leg as she landed roughly. Somehow managing to maintain her balance, her head snapped up, a glare aimed at her opponent.

Just at that moment Todd’s fist was hitting her in the face.

Ignoring the pain as best she could, Rei grabbed onto Todd’s shirt, managing to keep herself from stumbling back. She steadied her feet on the ground, pulling her fist back, then launching it into his abdomen.

Todd’s stance faltered slightly, but Rei kept holding onto him. She clinged to his shirt, pulling him forward and driving her knee into his middle, then finally letting go. As he stumbled back, Rei spun around, kicking him in the chest.

With that Todd, fell onto his back, the back of his head slamming against the ground.

Rei instantly leapt forward, positioning herself on top of Todd. She sat on his chest with all her weight, pinning his arms down with her knees on his shoulders. She wrapped her fingers around his neck, tears in her eyes, “Why even try to be happy?”

Todd squirmed, trying to move the woman sitting above him. But she was sitting on him with her full weight, and her flicking tail was keeping her balanced.

Rei squeezed tighter, tears falling onto her opponent’s face. She was winning, soon it would all be over. She could let things go back to how it always been, she’d be able to manage, and shun the world some more. But why did she suddenly feel like it was no longer enough? Why did she feel like she wanted more? She closed her eyes tightly, pushing against Todd’s throat harder.

The man gasped and wheezed, but it seemed like all the struggling in the world wouldn’t be enough to make her budge. He suddenly hit his knees together, Rei’s tail between them.

Rei shrieked, bouncing up. She closed an eye in pain, quickly moving away.

Todd stood up, picking up his sword. He gripped it tightly in hand, staring at it for a short moment before looking up at his opponent, “Wouldn’t it be worth the pain, if you were free?”

Rei froze, staring wide eyed at Todd. To be free of her past, couldn’t she endure the pain of trying and failing? She lifted her hands defensively, but they were trembling.

Todd readied himself to attack, watching Rei carefully, “Don’t you want to be free?”

Was it possible? Was she allowed? Despite her sins, could she move forward? Tears overflowed from her eyes again, and she tightened her fists, “I.. I do!”

Todd’s smile widened, and he turned his sword to the side. “That’s all you need.” Just as his words finished, he charged at Rei, swinging his sword around as he neared her.

Startled, Rei instinctively lifted her arms, crossing them in front of her to shield her face. However, contrary to what she expected, the blade didn’t pierce her skin. Instead, she received a kick that pushed her back.

Not stopping at that, Todd continued forward, throwing a punch in her direction.

Just as Rei was able to regain her balance, she saw Todd coming at her. Quickly, she lifted her arms once more, blocking his punch with her forearm.

“There’s just one thing I need you to do for me.” Todd said, still advancing towards her.

Rei lowered her hands slightly, attempting to back away from him quickly. “What?”

Todd didn’t answer, instead he ran towards her and slashed his sword downward.

Rei moved her hands out of the way quickly, stepping back sharply. She lifted her eyes quickly, “Wh-…”

“I need you to let go!”  Just as Todd uttered those words, he spun around, kicking Rei in the chest.

The girl gasped, feeling the air escaping her lungs as she flew back. She suddenly felt her power drain out of her, the world turning hazy. No, it couldn’t be.. Her back slammed down on the ground, just like it did roughly 3 years ago. She heard a shattering noise, and her vision went black.

“Let go.” A woman’s soft voice whispered in her head.

 She opponent her eyes, seeing nothing but pink. She looked around confusedly, to see that she was floating in the air. Her eyes landed on what appeared to be the outline of her mew form, but it was just a blank pink form inside. The figure suddenly turned around to her, its face was a blank slate, with large, black, animal like eyes. She stared unsurely at it for a few brief moments.

The figure didn’t break eye contact, approaching her in a soft glide. It paused, before slowing lifting its hand up towards her.

Rei’s hand also rose on its own, mimicking the form’s actions. It was then that she realized that there was a very thin thread, tied to both their wrists. She fixed her gaze on the figure’s.

It stared back at her, as if expecting something.

It didn’t take long for Rei to realize what was required of her to do. She twisted her hand around, grabbing the thread tightly between her fingers, with the figure mimicking her actions. She hesitated, reluctant to take the next step. Her hands trembled, did she really want to let go of her powers, now that she’d finally got them back? Would it really set her free?

She shook her head roughly, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. She closed her eyes tightly, pulling at the string hard. Surprisingly, it broke easily, with a low snap. She opened her eyes, looking up at her mew form.

The figure lowered its hand, now gaining a separate will. It leaned back, motionlessly staring at her for a while. It then suddenly leaned forward, startling Rei, and prompting her to lean away. But the form grabbed her face, pressing invisible lips against the girl’s forehead. With their contact, the mark on Rei’s leg began to burn.

“Good bye.” The same whispering voice spoke into her head.

With those words her surroundings disappeared, everything turning to black. Rei then felt herself still bouncing off the ground, flipping for a few short moments before settling among the gravel.

“You’re free now.”

The whisper was quickly covered by the crowds roar. Some sort of festive music began playing loudly, as Shaina’s voice suddenly boomed, “Rei Sekai is unable to continue the fight! Todd Axzeus is the winner!”

Rei opened her eyes, staring at the blurry image ahead of her. She felt incredibly weaker, and somehow so much lighter. She slowly sat up, her black bangs falling over her eyes. It took her a moment before the realization hit her. She jerked back, looking at her black and grey gloves, her white and pink tank top and army patterned pants. She was back in her human form, probably for good this time. Her hands shook, but she quickly tightened them, lowering her head and sitting still.

Did that mean that it was over? Were her sins redeemed? Did she no longer need to fight or run?

Todd slowly approached from behind, staying a few steps away. “H-hey, are you alright?”

Rei’s shoulders began to shake, as she kept her head lowered. Tears fell onto the ground in front of her.

Todd hesitantly extended a hand towards her, “S-sorry.. Your form changed.. Did.. did I do something…”

Rei suddenly burst out laughing, throwing her head back. She leaned back slightly, lifting her hands to wipe away the falling tears. “It.. It was that easy.. All this time.. I can’t believe it was that easy.”

Unsure of what to say, Todd stood to the side, watching her quizzically.

Rei continued to laugh, still trying to stop the tears. She turned to Todd slightly, her shoulders shaking as she attempted to subdue her laughing, “S-sorry, it’s just that.. All I had to do was…”

She covered her mouth, leaning forward and giggling for a few more moments. Finally, she stopped, wiping away a tear and standing up. She turned to face Todd with her full body, still giggling slightly. She tilted her head, smiling calmly, “Congratulations Todd, you won.”

“I did?” his face then lit up, “Well of course I did, I knew all along I could do it! I never questioned it at all!”

Rei kept smiling calmly as he began celebrating his victory. Engaging himself in conversation with the yellow creature she’d previously seen, who came in from somewhere.

“Thank you, Todd.” She whispered.

She turned away, tuning the calibration behind her out. She headed towards the exit pushing her hair behind her ears. The quiet and solitude seemed very calming, and suddenly pleasant.  It really wasn’t too bad of a way to start over, it could be fun. She stuffed her hands in her pockets, exiting the arena and staring at the glaring sun with a smile.

“If there’s something to be thankful for, it’s got to be pockets.”