Ch 103

"Come at me." 

I had knocked out around half of the guys that were here, many weren't able to block my strikes. I looked down to my knuckles, a little red but nothing noteworthy. 

No blood and no cuts. I'm being gentle with them. I'm knocking them out, but they come awake just a few seconds later. 

I only do it to send a message. Don't come back when I can so easily make it worse. 

The next guy came up, he had a katana. So weapons were alright, huh? I thought those guys snuck kunai into the mix but I guess not. 

I glanced at Orochimaru, he already had my katana in his hand. Guess he knew I would need it. While I would fight this guy without it, I don't think I would like to try that this time. 

Orochimaru threw my katana my way to which I caught it, unsheathed it and brandished it. No need for my second one, a single katana is enough. 

These guys are not even that strong. I know Orochiamru has stronger ones, but why did he give me the weak ones? 

Never mind, I don't care. 

The clash of blades rang out in the almost empty arena as us two dueled, the sound bouncing off of the bare walls, creating a cacophony of metallic chimes. 

The unnamed man and I moved with practiced moves, dancing across the dusty ground with the grace and skill of trained fighters. 

It was good that he actually knew how to wield a katana, as I was hoping this would be a longer match. The fight was engaging. I could feel the rush of adrenaline coursing through my body, causing my pupils to dilate. 

Each thrust and parry was met with a counter, the weapons clashing with a spark that lit up the space in a burst of heat. This fight was a little harder for me, not for the fact that he was stronger, but for myself holding back so much. 

It sucks. 

My mind's been in constant thought for days on end without stopping. My emotions have been through hell and back along with my body. 

And now, while fighting, I find that my mind still doesn't turn off. It actually gets worse, I think a lot more now. 

My face flushed from the battle, and my eyes glazed over. I look at my opponent's eyes, seeing that he is still inexperienced in the whole field, even though he is good. 

His eyes show his next attack. He looks before he attacks, an amateur move. When he senses my glaze, I give a half-hearted smile before I look away. 

I don't need this to be an easy fight, no need to use his weakness against him. The battle wasn't intense, but it was still stimulating. 

A symphony of steel and sweat, if you will. But finally, with a swift twist of my wrist, I disarmed the man, sending his weapon clattering across the ground. 

I won again. 

I asked him to come forward, and I could sense hesitation from him, but he still did what I said. 

"Work on your eyes, everytime you go for the attack, your eyes move before your katana. Fix it." 

And I sent him off. There's no need to hit a down man. You'd be worse than scum in my eyes. Even though I was upset, what others would call emotional, each punch I threw wasn't infused with my pent-up emotions. 

I was better than that. I could seriously hurt someone if I decided to go all out. Honestly, holding back took even more energy. And I even gave a few tips, how weird is that. 

And another guy came, yay. 

There's only so many left. I definitely overestimated my energy levels. Haven't I been saying how tired I was. 

The next guy didn't have a weapon this time, so I threw my katana to the ground. We stood on guard as I waited for him to throw the first punch. 

His knuckles were wrapped in rough fabric, something I should probably do as well. The tension was thick, but when was it not, we were sizing each other up, just waiting for the first move. 

It didn't take long, a sudden burst of movement, the man charged forward with a fierce left hook, aimed directly at my face. 

He was fast, but I could see his every movement. He was slower than me, I could take him out right here if I wanted. 

I felt the blow impact against my skin, the rough edge of his knuckles scraping against my cheekbone. The pain was sharp, but I refused to let it distract me in any way. 

With a sharp burst of my own, I planted a right hook directly against his jaw, sending him staggering back. There was a flicker of satisfaction that crossed my mind, but it was fleeting. 

It was barely even there, it felt just as quickly as it came. The feelings of guilt were also slightly lingering in my mind, but they were silent as I remembered where I am and who is watching. 

I would say I can't afford to look weak, but it's too late for that. Orochimaru won't do anything to me, he'd probably leave me alone for the time being. 

I am a person who's sadness turned to anger, but to be honest, when does that not happen to people? Who honestly doesn't feel such a strong emotion from a loss. 

I could see a few guys' veins pulsing in their neck or temple, looking like they were really mad. I didn't even need to see that detail, a lot of them wear their emotions on their sleeves. 

The guy wasn't getting back up, but he was still awake. Guess I hit a little too hard this time. 

"You're so soft, I thought you would've killed them, if not a few." 

I narrowed my eyes on Orochimaru, who was watching me fight like he was watching a movie. Why's he suddenly interrupting me with useless commentary? 

"Isn't it harder to not kill them? You should be praising me, I kept your resources alive and intact." 

A/n I published two chapters at the same time so that I could show the full effect and thought that I tried to put in these chapters. The next chapter is where I give a small explanation to these last few chapters (in case I didn't write what I was trying to well). Enjoy~