Ayako stood alone in the shattered ring. Her gaze burned with a quiet rage of restraint as she watched Emelie's retreating figure. It took everything she had to fight down the overwhelming urge to chase after her and force her to finish what she had started.
Emelie, unaffected by the daggers being stared into her back, casually strolled back to the benches. When she reached her teammates, she stopped in front of a wide-eyed, mouth hanging open, Zack, and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"Looks like you're up, senior. Make us proud."
Zack couldn't believe what he was hearing as he looked at Emelie in disbelief. He slowly turned his head to look at the arena, where Ayako was currently radiating a dark aura of plain frustration, and then looked back to his junior, who simply offered him a cheerful wink.
Zack nervously pulled up his red scarf, covering the lower half of his face. "Hey, uh... can I just forfeit? Like, right now?"
