[KH/FF] Treachery of Fate: Imperfect Imposter

Chapter 52

 You grunted, annoyed as Fang parried your third attempt at escape. In the time she had attacked and prevented you from leaving, you only wanted to avoid further conflict from her—a continued fight in the enclosed space would only alert Serah, Snow, and whoever else was present in the front. Only a few minutes had passed, yet it felt long as again, the two of you stepped circles around one another, weapon drawn and ready, with the noise of conversation and clinking of plates echoing in a muffled distance. The singular bench usually in the middle of the room was now flipped onto its side near you, with slashes lightly scratching the surfaces of the lockers against the wall; your only progress indicating leaving were the small pressure points you were able to hit on Fang, which unfortunately did little to paralyze her, and as she stated, seemed to tingle instead.

In the current point, you felt a sudden pressure on you, not necessarily coming from Fang, but within yourself. Your heartbeat seemed to ring in your ears—almost drowning away the outside sounds aside from the high pitched ones, your breathing came in quick, silent bursts of air, and your mind raced through for both an answer to the inevitable question she was to ask, as well as a way out. Every sense heightened, you channeled the oversensitiveness into keeping tabs on Fang's movements, and judging by the tense shoulders she slumped ever so slightly with, you were right in doing so.

Fang's knuckles lightened the grip on her spear as she readjusted herself—her skin no longer clenching hard enough to be tinted with white. You took the opportunity to slash at her as she did it again, blade stabbing through the opening at the end of the side pointed towards you. Rotating the katana as you then lowered it, you locked it in within the base of the end, jerking the weapon towards your right, consequently thrusting Fang into the row of lockers as she fumbled, losing her balance in the surprise. Her body knocked harshly against the protruding locks as she winced, letting go of her spear, and you followed up by completing the slash—a whining creak coming from the locker in protest of her spear stabbing into it.

She brunette gasped, huffing as she attempted to remove her weapon, yet as she did, you panicked, and pressed your blade further through it. Again, she gasped, stumbling over her baggy pants, and losing footing once again to fall onto her bottom. Her eyes were sharp as she glared at you and called back her weapon, small particles reforming near her hand to bring it out once more when the door opened behind her, revealing a concerned Snow and Serah. At first sight of the situation, Snow jumped into action stepping over Fang as he lunged for you, elbow leading the way forward. You called back your katana, barely dodging as he dented the locker you were once by—the crinkling of the metal screeching in your ears. He immediately turned as well, and you bolted back, eye darting to the door where Serah lingered, urging for Snow to slow down. Yet as your eyes caught movement, you exhaled sharply—his palm coming into contact with your stomach, causing you to hit the wall behind you with a thud.

Your heartbeat rose in volume, draining out all other noise into a high-pitched ringing at the end of each beat. You lurched off of the wall, breathing escalating, and immediately dodged Snow's next swing which landed above your head, his snarling whooshing through your hair as you swallowed back the urge to slice him down—an easy task because of his light guarding. Instead, you took the opportunity to crawl between his legs as he recoiled from the punch, grabbing your small bag, and jumping over Fang, Serah gasping as she made room for your to pass in the doorway. You turned to your right, and sprinted down the hallway to the exit. The upcoming rooms were the kitchen and the behind the counter areas of the cafe, with the latter of the two swinging open, causing your to skid to a stop: your body hit the door, the door hit the person, and you heard dishes clatter after them.

The door swung back into the counter area, and your nose numbed with a throbbing pain. The sound of yelling began to echo within you, over the sound of your heartbeat, replacing the ringing in your ears. Your eyes locked with the fallen person, soaked in coffee, creamer, and the crumbs of food over both them, and their uniform. Quickly taking the moment however, you grabbed your bag once again, and attempted at running, only to be met with the sleek shoes against a slippery floor, causing your to again, hit the person, but this time, falling on top of them. Without hesitation you pushed yourself up, the numbing spreading through your face as you sat yourself facing down the hallway—Snow's body showing no attempt at letting you go.