A Room Divided

Kim squeezes her gaze through Lack's barely-open bedroom door. Her strawberry eyes focused on the boy in front of her.

Lack had a mixed expression of confusion and anxiety. Still, his cheeks were flushed like he had a cold, and his eyelids looked like they struggled to stay afloat.

Kim breathed a silent sigh of relief, thankful that she was not discovered. However, she wondered why she was thankful for that when she was about to make an introduction like a villain and 'assault' the target.

But accompanied by her pondering, was a pounding sixth sense in her head, similar to a woman's intuition, pleading for her to realise something was amiss.

'I only looked away for a moment, but something in this room rubbed me up the wrong way... What's causing this feeling?' She thought, switching gears and seriously scanning the room like a machine.

Listening to her intuition, she began playing a real-life game of spotting the difference, using her before and after memories as references.

Within seconds, she spotted the only difference in the room: a rectangular gap in the ceiling. 

Not only did the random gap appear directly above Lack, but there was something black, long and thin hanging down from the gap. Something like hair?

Moving her gaze up to identify the source, her eyelids grew apart as the light in her eyes dimmed and was replaced with seething rage boiling up inside. 

The same description as above could be used to depict the reaction of both girls when their eyes locked onto each other. In that still moment, a chilling silence envelopes the room, mirroring how both girls desired to envelop Lack in the depths of their desires.

Imaginary orange sparks scatter into the air between their fierce red and yellow stare, as veins appear on their foreheads and their teeth ground, creating a high-pitched screech.

While keeping her original purpose in mind, 'Kim', the girl above, gracefully descended from Lack's ceiling and effortlessly landed on the floor beside the boy. She extended a hand to her side as if instinctively showing that she was prepared to guard Lack.

Seeing her actions as a provocation, Kim immediately pushed forward into the room to confront her doppelgänger.

The room echoed with muffled sounds of their movements. They now stood just a few steps apart, and in that moment, an eerie silence settled between them, as if the world outside had ceased to exist. However, the light spilling through the window confirmed that life beyond this room was still in motion.

Although neither of them has made a move, both possess a bloodthirsty spirit, and these spirits are locked in a fierce, silent battle.

Witnessing this spiritual battle in person, Lack could only watch in fearful worry, concerned not only for his safety but also for the well-being of his room.

Having one girl within his premises was already unsettling, but the sudden appearance of two, invading his room like falling serpents and charging bulls, triggered a blaring alarm in his head.

"What do you think you're doing here in his ceiling?" Kim snapped, crossing her arms and fixing a bone-chilling stare on the girl across from her. Yet, the girl remained visibly unshaken by Kim's glare and countered with one of her own, a silent battle of wills unfolding between them.

"I was watching out for lunatic wenches like you. How long have you been lurking behind that door?" 'Kim's voice voice seethes with rage, her words dripping with possessive anticipation.

"Hah. Lunatic? Have you paid any attention to your clothing? What mentally sane person crawls around inside someone else's ceiling without a shirt?" Kim smirks at her response and points out a devastating and undeniable fact.

'Crap, I was so caught up in her pace that I forgot I left my shirt in the bathroom!' 'Kim' glances at her chest, but maintains her face of fury.

'Tch, you brought this upon yourself!' She thought as she opened her mouth to retort.

"So? You've probably drooling all over the floors of this house just to get here."

"Then you must have been spreading your disgusting saliva throughout Lack's ceiling. Not only is it inconvenient, but you're as dusty as my ancestor's ashes."

"Hoh? And how is that worse than  traumatising my beloved with bloodshed?" 

Caught off guard, Kim clenched her fist, spreading her fiery emotion throughout her entire body. Sternly and firmly, she responded, "Don't call MY beloved YOURS."

"DON'T change the subject. Go on, tell me. 'And how is that worse than traumatising my beloved with BLOODSHED?'"

'This damned b!^ch,  HOW DARE  she call  MY LACK  HERS?! TO HELL WITH HER! WHAT DOES SHE MEAN BY TRAUMATISING?...'

Kim quickly glances at her beloved, still on the floor and some parts of him hidden by the wench blocking her. Her eyes could not help but show momentary shock upon seeing his expression of fear.

'...Me? Traumatise? Him? That's impossible. He's afraid for sure, but he can't be afraid of me. He can't. He's not traumatised by  me.' Her mind flows with thoughts of self-justification, as her face returns to how it was moments before, and her gaze draws back up to the girl in front of her.

'...Right. Right... RIGHT... He's not afraid of me, he's simply shocked by the fact that two of me suddenly appeared in his room at similar times. There's no way he can be afraid of me. I love him after all. There's no way he can be afraid of me.'

Completing her self-justification, her eyes roared with searing anger as she spoke again, "It was necessary to keep him safe. Lack is everything to me, and I would do anything to keep him safe. Bloodshed or not, he's MY beloved, and I won't let anyone harm him."

"Hmphf. I'll have to thank you for keeping my man safe. But you didn't have to go to such lengths when you could have ended it in an instant, did you?"

"Oh? You make it sound like you wouldn't have done the same. You who is a complete replica of me."

"Tch. Don't group me up with cold-faced maniacs like you."

"And why is that? We both look the same, don't we?"

Both parties' rage grew to an exponential amount due to their constant criticism and specific mind-poking questioning. A red aura overtook them both, as they continued their stare-off. 

Lack could taste it: dread on the tip of his tongue. His eyes felt like they were playing tricks on him, as he lay on his front on the plush carpet.

'Kim's eyes widen with fury and seriousness but then revert to her innocent guilt-free gaze. She had begun her attack.

Her face was still towards Kim, however, her eyes looked shocked as she turned her gaze to something beside Kim.

Kim wasn't focused on her face but was still surprised and unprepared for this outcome. Kim was paying attention to her copycat's murderous intent, paying attention to the sudden spike which would indicate when she would strike.

What caught her off-guard though, was the fact that as soon as the seriousness slid off her face, so did the ill-intent she harboured. Seeing as how her gaze shifted from her to something beside her, she was tremendously curious as to what she was focused on.

She couldn't help but slightly turn her head and shift her gaze in the direction where 'Kim' appeared so surprised. Suddenly, sensing a massive surge in murderous intent, she quickly snapped her face back toward 'Kim,' who was only an arm's length away and in the midst of throwing a wide overhand right.

'She's fast!' Kim thought as the fist began closing in on her face. With smooth and swift motions, she leaned her upper body to the outside of 'Kim's fist and responded with a right hook to the solar plexus.

'Kim' was quick to react to her attack, however, as she slightly leaned her body backwards and pivoted on her left foot to marginally dodge the incoming hit and to get to Kim's right side. She then replied to that attack with a powerful uppercut left aimed at her liver.

'She has fast reactions! However... A liver shot, predictable. I'll tank this shot and perform a takedown.' Kim thought, time moving as if it was in slow motion. She was surprised but acted calmly by retracting her extended right arm and guarding her liver with her elbow, slightly leaning down.

But although she was prepared to take the shot, she was not prepared for the impact it brought along. The fist collided with the side of her elbow, however despite blocking this she felt a massive shockwave flow from her right elbow to the tips of her left hand, her feat also lifting a few centimetres off the ground.

It was like the force of a truck crashing into a stone wall, both will become damaged, but one more than the other.

Still, underestimating the force of her attacks caught Kim off-guard, giving her no time to perform her takedown as her legs became slightly unbalanced.

Taking advantage of her small shock, 'Kim' threw another wide right hand aimed towards her face.

'I shouldn't underestimate her punches, they're both fast and come packing!' Kim thought quickly, as she balanced herself and turned her body. Bringing her right hand up to her face, she parried the right hand by tapping the fist from above.

Instead of engaging in an in-fight, she chose to disengage and hopped backwards with light steps.

'I remember knocking her out quite easily a while ago, but she's much more different from before. Was I lucky that time?' Kim thought with a serious frown, questioning her and her opponent's capabilities.

'I'm not the same from then. I'll take you on seriously this time! I will erase you!' 'Kim' thought, also frowning while hopping back further into Lack's room.

Both Kims stood at opposite sides of Lack's bedroom, Lack pin-point in the middle between both of them. Their movements were swift and precise, that was all he could tell from their quick confrontation.

They both were back to their silent stare-down. However, the atmosphere in the room became notably heavier than it was originally.

Both of them acknowledged the other's skills. 'She's good, I shouldn't underestimate her,' they thought simultaneously, their determination growing. 'I'll kill you!' And with that, they launched into another bare-fist fight.

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- Sorry if the chapter was long, I got a bit carried away. I'll also take the opportunity to say thanks for sticking with my generic story. :) -