K-ON!: Shattered Dreams

Chapter 21: Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

The air was tense. The setting couldn't be any more perfect for either combatant. Tainaka Ritsu and Nodoka Manabe stood across each other, glaring at one another. Ritsu, in particular, had this pent-up rage that she was about to let go any time now. First off, Ritsu was locked in and beaten badly by Nodoka way back then, and now, Nodoka had hurt her friends, Jun, Tsumugi, Ui and Azusa. Ritsu clenched her fist hard, cracking her knuckles in the process. She had waited a VERY long time for this moment, and it came to her in such a fitting manner and circumstances.

"So... you enjoy every minute of this, Nodoka? Enjoy being Akiyama's little pawn every minute of your life? Enjoy hurting what you USED to be surrounded with, that being FRIENDS?" Ritsu shouted, trying to drive any insult she had into Nodoka's head, but all she did was scoff at her.

"And do you enjoy being a vagabond without a cause, Ritsu? If I just had the chance to kill you back then, I wouldn't hesitate. But of course, Akiyama wanted me to keep you 'fresh and alive' for HER to play with." Nodoka said.

"Heh, I'm reduced to Akiyama's plaything. That's so degrading, but hey, if it means getting the chance to burn your scrawny little bum, then by all means, Nodoka. Insult me more. You're going to get your just desserts right now." Ritsu said, the rage building up in her now.

"Like I'd waste my breath on scum like you, Ritsu." Nodoka stood firm, now with her scythe in hand. She got into her fighting stance and has left her glasses off, keeping her demon eyes the way they are. Ritsu just sighed, grabbing her Sais and spinning them around before assuming her battle stance as well.

"I'll tell you right now, Nodoka... I'm not gonna let a demon like you beat me. You've got the eyes all right. AND you've used your demonic powers to beat up everyone here... but that's where it all ends. Allow me to floor you right now!" With that statement, Ritsu immediately charged straight for Nodoka. The latter, however, used her range to her advantage and swiped at Ritsu with her scythe. Ritsu wasn't having any of it. She hopped over to the other side quick, making sure her scythe had fully passed and charged forward. She ignited her Sais and attempted to strike her. However, the demon in Nodoka wised up, immediately pulling her scythe back to block the blow with the blade of the scythe. The moment it clashed, the force was so strong that Ritsu's Sais emanated flames from the very impact of the clash. They continued to clash over and over again, Nodoka not letting Ritsu hit her at all. When the next clash came in, Nodoka shoved Ritsu right off of her to make some space for herself. The fire-wielder ended up skidding on the ground to the other side, showing her how strong Nodoka is right now.

"W-whoa! Damn, being a demon sure has its perks." Ritsu, however, had no time for idle talk as Nodoka had sent her mini-scythes after the drummer. Ritsu knocked the first two of them away and dodged the next two, but little did she know that she rolled right into Nodoka's path. She was alerted at the last minute, but ended up taking a straight punch right to her stomach, forcing her back a lot. "N-NGH!" She groaned, clutching the hurt part of her stomach. "O-ow..."

"Do you see now, Ritsu? The absolute difference of power between you and me?" Nodoka taunted, waving her hand of any backlash she felt punching the drummer. Ritsu, though feeling the pain coursing through her body, stood ready. Nodoka wasn't going to allow her to breathe, unfortunately. She immediately dashed right for Ritsu and continued her assault. Ritsu didn't have time to recover from her pain and just had to block anything that was coming for her with her Sais. With every clash she had to block from Nodoka, she was slowly growing weary. She took the opportunity to dodge a delayed slash from Nodoka, but it only served to slash her in her already-hurt leg. She winced at the pain, and when she tried to get away, Nodoka had stuck her foot right on her leg. "Where do you think you're going?"

"A-agh! D-damn it...!" She groaned, trying to break herself out of this. Nodoka had that sick smirk on her face once again, thinking of every little possible thing to torture her prey.