Sword Clash

She charged toward me, swinging her sword at my legs. I managed to block the attack with my own sword, but the force was enough to knock me off balance. I stumbled backward, trying to regain my footing, but she didn't let me. She swung at me again, and again, and again until I couldn't keep up anymore.

"Guhh!!!" I yelled, taking a direct hit to my side. The pain was excruciating, and I couldn't help but drop to one knee, clutching my wound. It hadn't hit any fatal areas, but I wasn't used to pain like this.

I forced myself back up, but she was already upon me, swinging her blade once more. I managed to block it with my own sword, but the force was enough to break my stance, and she landed a direct kick to my chest. Luckily, I was able to coat my chest in armament haki, surprising her with my durability, which gave me the opening I needed. I swung my sword, hitting her in the side and knocking her off balance.

She stumbled backward, but she quickly regained her composure and charged at me again, swinging her blade. I managed to block the attack, but she continued her flurry of blows,, not letting up for a second. She had a similar attack pattern which allowed me to predict her movements. It gave me the chance to parry most of her attacks, but the ones that made it through left some slight wounds on me.

"Tsk, damn it! How's she so fast?" I needed to figure out her attack pattern fully and let my instincts take over. Rather than focusing on my armament haki, I put all my thoughts into my observation haki. After all, haki was my only advantage and it should be enough to beat her.

"It's time to finish this," she grinned, raising her sword high above her head.

"Try me!"

I jumped up into the air, swinging my sword downward. She blocked the attack with her own sword, but the force was enough to knock her off balance. I followed up with another attack, and she barely managed to dodge it.

"How did you..." she muttered, but I didn't give her the chance to finish her sentence. I continued my assault, swinging my blade at her with all my might. She managed to block most of my attacks, but I could see her becoming more and more worn down. I was slowly gaining the upper hand in this fight, and I knew it.

I swung my blade at her again, and she managed to block it with her own sword. But this time, I followed up with a kick to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flying back into a tree.

"Guhh!!!" she groaned, clutching her stomach.

I didn't give her the chance to recover, charging at her once more. She attempted to defend herself, but I was too fast for her. I landed a series of quick hits on her, leaving her battered and bruised.

"You... you're... too strong..." she muttered through her teeth. "I've... I've never lost before... How? You're just a young girl like me."

"Yeah, well I trained hard," I replied. "And I'm not about to lose here. I can't make it hard for Eden."

"Eden? That's your captain, right?"

"Yeah. I need to be strong enough to protect him."

She chuckled, wiping the blood from her lips. "He must be a very lucky man."

"Well, it's not like we're lovers or anything like that."

"Huh? Okay? I don't give a shit about that. Just finish me already."

"I wasn't planning on killing you. I need to capture you and-"

"Then, I'll do it myself!" she interrupted, taking her blade and stabbing herself in the stomach. "Guh! Fuck!"

"What? Why would you do that?" I panicked, running over to her. "Why would you do that?!"

"Because, I'd rather die than be captured by the navy," she coughed, pulling the blade out of her stomach. "Either you go help your captain. Or he'll die to Alger."