ABS0LUTE ZER0 (TW0): A Collection of Zero Two/Hiro One-Shots

Champion of the Sword: Vengeance

Their blades intersected once more as Artoria took a heavy breath, panting from the constant battle. Zero Two appeared, normal per se, save the single bead of sweat trailing down her face. However unusual, the fight had been going on for over fifteen minutes, something of that caliber being predicted. Zero Two hadn't attacked Artoria once, while the latter had been constantly on the offensive, attempting to find a break or weak point in her guard. Artoria swung her blade once more, the golden afterimage crashing with the dull end of Wishreaper, grinding against its side as Excalibur pressed into her blade. The clash continued for a few moments, Zero Two finally finding an obvious fluke in her swing.

Zero Two immediately capitalized, parrying her swing and immediately switching to offense. She began slamming her blade into her weak points, Artoria barely able to block as she whipped her blade in a methodical dance, swing after swing. With the force of a demon, Zero Two was relentless in her offensive technique, her swings appearing to have no rhyme or reason as they randomly changed direction almost every second. Zero Two finally cut through, sweeping her legs through Artoria's after being parried at the hip. As she fell, Zero Two swept her rapier through Excalibur, opening her guard as she fell to the ground, the tip of Wishreaper pointed at her neck. Zero Two smiled.

"That's been one of my longest fights to date. You sure are an amazing swordfighter, aren't you?" Artoria nodded. "Coming from the greatest master of the sword, I will wholeheartedly take that complement. Thank you for the battle." Artoria looked to the referee stand in the center of the arena, nodding. "I forfeit."

Cheers were heard across the arena as Zero Two helped Artoria off the ground. The booming announcer's voice was heard once again, the echo ringing through the field of play. "By defeat and forfeit, Zero Two, the Champion of the Sword, wins the first round! What a stunning set of preliminary matches!" The two begin walking towards the exit, side by side. Artoria had a slight limp in her step after the sweep from Zero Two, but that didn't matter at the moment. Zero Two turned toward her, opening her mouth to speak up. "You know, if you ever want to train, you know where to find me." She gave Artoria a warm look. "I most likely will after that battle, Champion." They entered the arched gateway, going into their separate waiting rooms as the battle finished. Zero Two saw the next fighter as she walked through the room, noting Ichigo's blue hair. Zero Two gave a slight nod, Ichigo immediately turning her head after making eye contact. She exited the room, ignoring her current thoughts to possibly do something atrocious to Ichigo. Her bodyguards remained outside, beginning to follow as she began to leave. The room after it was just as wild as before, the cheers of the contestants booming through the smaller room as Zero Two walked through. She made it through, eventually ending up in her own quarters, her bodyguards still in tow. They stood outside as she turned the knob, entering. She set her sword case down, opening it and replacing Wishreaper inside.

"Only one more round today. Let's see if I can keep myself together... for a short while." She demonically said that to herself as she sat on her bed, staring at the window. Two random fighters she cared nothing for. Whatever.

A few hours passed, Zero Two passing the time through training and sitting on her phone doing absolutely nothing. She would text friends if she had any, but that wasn't the case. The cheers of the crowd were heard through the frail walls of the room, but she paid them no mind. Soon, it was time for her next match.

She decided to pull a different blade from her case this time. It featured two simple katanas, the blade made of pure tungsten, polished to perfection. The hilt was one of wood, made with a thick mahogany, wrapped in red fibers. Set and Osiris, she called them. She inspected the blades once more in the waiting room, standing on the pedestal wearing the same robes she did before, the bracelet on her wrist slightly pulsating. She inhaled. The platform rose.