Week 5

[airlockedmods]

[Five weeks in, and suddenly your numbers have been reduced by a lot. All evidence of Oda's methodical slaughter has been wiped away by the robots, but getting rid of the memories isn't going to be so easy. Not to mention the emotional scars.

Again on Sunday morning, you'll find yourselves with some new memories and some new items. Today, however, there are no new rooms.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday


(( ooc: Don't forget to turn in your AC for Week 4, submit your memory regains, and put in your Benefactor threads! ))

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Before the banquet

[power_of_dominance]

[Too much nervous energy. Too much stress, too much fear, anxiety waiting for the ball to drop in the wee hours between today and tomorrow. Will it finally end? Will they all come through this night alive?

Soma finds himself somewhere between frozen with dread and utterly numb. It's not a good place to be, mentally or physically. So early in the morning, hopefully before the man has left his cell, Soma slips a note to Akande under the door.

Rematch today if you're up to it, in the exercise yard. I can't stand sitting still right now.
Soma

And Akande will find the teen waiting there, still wearing the cloth tied around his head almost over his eyes. Something in the way Soma stands is different, brooding but not showing weakness, every inch of him tensed like a predator. Still, there's no murderous intent radiating from him, only a strange blankness.]

Akande.

[No inflection to his voice, no emotions betrayed, only quietly firm syllables. He's tightly wound but not about to snap. He can't. He has to stay in control.]

[goldrighthand]

[Called out, huh.

Far be it from Akande to turn it down. He's there soon enough, and...slowing down soon enough. It's immediately obvious to him that something has changed, and he's no fool; he's trying to understand what, exactly, it is.]

Soma.

[There's a long pause in which he regards the youth, tilting his head. Finally, if somewhat awkwardly-]

Are you all right?

[Something Is Wrong. Not enough to dissuade him from this, but...it feels prudent to ask.]

[power_of_dominance]

I don't know.

[It's soft, almost flat and yet... for a flicker, there's a waver of pain in the words. Uncertainty.]

I don't want to think about it right now. I just want to fight, to forget again.

[He settles into a ready stance, but unlike the strong but not perfect guard he showed the first time they fought, there are no obvious openings.]

[goldrighthand]

[Well, he knows what that's like. Still, he gives Soma a long look before nodding.]

Very well.

[He notices that lack of openings, and it's what keeps him from launching forwards- instead, arms up, he starts circling Soma. Searching. And finally making a feint, partly to try and make an opening-

Partly to see what Soma does, now that he's deliberately left one of his own.]

[power_of_dominance]

[Soma doesn't even blink at the feint, his stance unwavering as he circles to keep Akande in front of him. He doesn't go for the opening, instead biding his time.

Then his guard shifts to protect his upper body from punches, though it leaves him open to kicks. His eyes dart between Akande's massive arms, seeking the slightest twitch.]

[goldrighthand]

[Soma's learned. Or - he'd mentioned possession, before, hadn't he? Is this what he meant? So-

Another feint. Followed up by a low strike, at the youth's legs. He knows they're his primary weapon - it seems fitting that if he needs to take this seriously, which he's getting the feel he does, then he damn well better prioritize]

[power_of_dominance]

[There, that's what he wanted. When Akande takes the bait and kicks at his legs, Soma jumps, planting his foot on the bigger man's knee and launching himself higher. His other foot snaps out for Akande's face, much faster than any attack he'd thrown during their first two fights.]

[goldrighthand]

[Soma couldn't do that before.

When did Soma become a ninja.

As the strike hits him solidly in the face, forcing him back, Akande makes a quick mental adjustment; he cannot consider this Soma. At least, he cannot base this on previous fights with Soma- there is too much that is different, too little to connect. Shift done in the space of a heartbeat, he actually growls a bit, reaching up to try and grab the man and to try throwing him]

[power_of_dominance]

[There's no moment of surprise or panic as Soma is grabbed, not even wide eyes as Akande throws him. He twists in the air so he lands in a backward-skidding three point crouch, his gaze fixed on Akande with laser focus. He's barely stopped sliding when he's launching himself forward again.

His left fist swings back and out in a broad backhand strike, but it's the straight right that's far faster, more sneaky, and aimed for Akande's solar plexus.]