Pruned Trees Re-Sprout!! ~ Ragazza Volpe Magica ~

Red eyes slowly fluttered open on the morning of the 10th of July. However, that only became apparent as Rebecca checked her tuner, holding it overhead. The days were bleeding together at this point and it was hard for her to conceptualize the passage of time. She sighed, allowing her arm to drop, remaining sprawled out in the comically oversized bed, alone.

Over the past month and a half of being Shouri’s Resonator, she had slowly gotten used to living this strange, albeit free life. Anything she wanted was just an ask away. He was so good to her and she didn’t know what she did to deserve it. But in the same respect she still very much relied on her Maestro for direction. With him temporarily out of the picture, there was nothing for her to do except lie listlessly on the bed. How dull.

Raising her head was the other occupant of the room, banished to the couch, Pacifica. She was curled up on the couch breathing softly

Thwump!

Back down Rebecca’s head went, idly staring at the shiny white ceiling. Yesterday certainly was one of the days of all time.

The day prior…

There was a knock at the door to room thirty-six. Rebecca laid on the couch, letting the TV play whatever it wanted. She didn’t make any moves to answer the tapping. No, that was up to Colette, who had been at the desk working on schoolwork or something (Rebecca didn’t care to ask).

“Coming!” Colette cried out, dropping her pen and rushing to the door.

Sure enough, it was Kaira as had been expected. However, the second Resonator accompanying her wasn’t Taika, but Pacifica.

Rebecca sat up, the red stream of emotions flowing through her anew. As Pacifica slowly stepped into the room, her exhaustion was apparent. Even without the physical signs, her rhythm was as weak as Taika’s – that is to say, if she wasn’t physically ill, she certainly was pressing her luck with her rhythm.

The two Resonator’s eyes met. “I’m sorry,” Pacifica mumbled, quickly refusing her counterpart’s pointed gaze.

Rebecca’s brows descended. There was so much she wanted to say, but she bit her tongue. Instead, the vixen got up from the couch. “Here.” She motioned to it. The otter hesitated for a moment before she trudged over to it and collapsed onto it in a heap. In an instant, she had fallen asleep.

“She hasn’t been sleeping well,” Kaira told the other Resonator.

“Taika’s with Sho now, I can rest easy knowing that too,” Rebecca grumbled.

“You think Pacifica is at fault?” the jackal asked.

“She knows better than that. She shouldn’t have let her guard down,” the fire Resonator growled.

“That’s not fair. You don’t even know what happened,” Kaira retorted.

Rebecca spun to face the jackal, baring her fangs as she did so. “I wouldn’t have let that happen.”

“Correct. But you wouldn’t have gotten the same results,” Kaira countered

Such a quick rebuttal disarmed the fox. “Are you saying it’s good he got stabbed?” It was taking all of Rebecca’s willpower not to scream at the earth Resonator. Those nasty feelings welled up again, her previous aggression towards Pacifica being directed at the earth jackal who stood before her.

Kaira ignored the intense scowl being thrown her way and continued her explanation. “She refused to strike him and even struggled with it when she was cornered – she was concerned more for his health than her own.”

“But she knows how Sho is! Sho would never let her get hurt like that!” Rebecca hissed, stomping in frustration at the other Resonator’s perceived lack of understanding.

All the anger earned her was a pitiable head shake from the earth-Resonator. “Why should she take the blame for other people’s decisions? Our rhythm makes us more resilient than our Maestros, and yet Maestro Shouri still threw himself in front of that attack knowing all this,” Kaira explained calmly. “He even knocked Zino to the ground after he himself was struck.”

Rebecca’s eyes widened. “Sho… hit him?” she gasped in disbelief. It was one thing for Shouri to resort to physical violence, but it was another for him to have struck so hard that he managed to knock the dinosaurian straight off his feet.

“The adrenaline probably saved his life if I’m being honest,” Kaira quipped.

“Hrm…” And now Rebecca was conflicted. She didn’t want to admit it, but Kaira was probably right. She stole a glance at the sleeping Pacifica. Even so… she should have known – she should have done anything to stop that from happening!

“Stop looking for someone to blame,” Kaira said. She turned and sat in the nearby recliner. “You’re just wasting your time.” The jackal pulled a book she had stowed in the cushion and opened it up, picking back up reading where she had left off.

“Hrmph.” The ombré vixen folded her arms across her chest, turning her head away in a huff. “Can’t tell me how to feel.” Though Rebecca said that, what was this doubt welling up in her?

Back to the present, Rebecca let out a sigh. Why couldn’t things be simple? It should just be black and white, what was with this… greyness?

So annoying…

The next time Rebecca opened her eyes was when there was a knock on the door. “Urgh…” She sat up, meeting eyes with Pacifica who had also sat up. “I got it.” The otter rose from the couch and shuffled to the door.

Rebecca swung her feet off the bed. She sighed once again, hunching over and staring blankly at the ground.

“Here.” Kaira presented a take-out container to Rebecca, breakfast.

The fire fox regarded the box with confusion as if she couldn’t identify what she was looking at for a moment. After the gears in her brain finally clicked, she accepted it but left it unopened for the moment still in her feelings.

Kaira remained still for a moment, regarding the fox that remained alone on the bed. After getting her fill of that the jackal returned to the couch to sit with Colette and Pacifica who were quietly eating their food.

Alone on her side of the room, Rebecca just stewed in her emotions. She eventually caved to hunger and picked at her breakfast. Even with the distraction of sustenance, she continued to spiral until she finally had enough.

The fox rose from the bed. “I’m going to see Sho,” she declared. Colette opened her mouth to say something, but Kaira motioned for her silence.

Rebecca felt the three pairs of eyes on her as she got ready to leave. She ignored them by doing most of her prep in the bathroom, swapping out her velvety pajamas for her everyday wear. Given how rough the past few days had gone, she took some extra time to brush her hair and tail before deciding she looked presentable enough to see her Maestro. Finally, she departed the bathroom and made her way to the door, continuing to disregard the gazes on her back. She brushed a hand down her side, confirming her tuner was at her waist. “I’ll be back,” she announced before taking her leave.

There wasn’t a waver in her step as she navigated the hallways of the Maestro’s quarters. However, she came to a stop when she hit the lobby, finding a certain pair that elicited complicated feelings in the young fox.

“Ah, those beds aren’t quite up to snuff, are they?” one Elijah Klein addressed his Resonator.

“Mrrpgh, don’t really care,” Zino grumbled.

Rebecca’s initial intention was to just blitz past them and make her way down to the hospital to see Shouri. But instead, she stepped over to the pair, stopping just short of them. “Hey,” she spoke up, determination in her voice.

“Oh, Miiiiss… Rebecca? Right?” Elijah raised a brow, recalling he had heard her name but was never introduced to her properly. Her posture certainly wasn’t one of wanting a casual conversation, she had approached them with intent. Her eyes weren’t directed at him, but at the Resonator by his side, Zino.

Zino nodded, leaving the Maestro out of the silent conversation. Said Maestro followed the two Resonators to the front counter.

“We’re using the dirt court for a spar,” Rebecca told the attendant.

Without missing a beat, the front-desk worker checked something on their computer. “It is available at the moment. How long will you need it for?” they asked.

“Fifteen minutes, tops,” the vixen said with a smirk.

Elijah hummed and stroked his chin in thought. The attendant turned their attention to the Maestro behind them. “Is that okay with you sir?” the MA Office worker asked.

“Why are you asking me? They’re the ones who wish to battle,” Elijah chuckled with a shrug. “If you’re looking for someone to foot the bill for collateral damage, just send the bill to the Klein Foundation, tell them Elijah authorized it.”

The employee jumped at that name. “Yes sir!”

Rebecca shot a glance back at the mysterious Maestro but quickly dismissed it. She trembled, not from fear, but excitement.

“You better not disappoint me, mammal!” Zino shouted.

“I was about to say the same thing, lizard!” Rebecca grinned toothily.

The dinosaur and fox stood opposite of one another on the dirt battlefield that was hosted in the back of the campus. Most Maestro Affair’s Offices had one of these in addition to their indoor facilities. The indoor facilities had all kinds of amenities and customization allowing the combatants to change the battlefield conditions, but there was nothing like just good old-fashioned dirt under one’s feet.

It was mid-morning, so the foot traffic around the campus had picked up. As such there were a few interested Maestros and their Resonators that had gathered around the impromptu match that had been organized.

“Do try not to kill each other. I’d rather not have the front desk become cross with me!” Elijah called out to the pair of Resonators, though neither acknowledged him.

A breeze blew over the battlefield as the two combatants refused to tear their gazes from each other. Zino flexed the digits of his hands, licking his lips in anticipation. Rebecca slowly rose to her toes, her heels sparking at the ready.

Elijah sighed and shrugged, shaking his head. “Oh well.” He grinned. “Nothing I say will dissuade them.” Taking in a deep breath he held it for a moment before raising a hand straight up into the air. “Zino versus Rebecca!” he declared like a thunderclap which boldly contrasted his normally soft, but elegant voice. “This is a one-on-one battle with no substitutions! Goal is twenty-five percent rhythm remaining! Let the battle begin!”

It started in an instant. Rebecca vanished in a burst of flames, reappearing in front of Zino. The dinosaur’s eyes went wide as a cold sweat permeated his form. Time slowed to a crawl within that fraction of time allowing him to re-consider his current situation. He was only able to find where his adversary was when it was too late.

Rebecca had cleared the distance and slid into a position where she was low to the ground. As she positioned herself, she brought one of her legs back and shot it skyward like a spring, the ball of her foot shooting up like a rocket. Zino clearly was not used to dealing with such a blazingly fast opponent as Rebecca’s attack hit true, not only making contact with the Dinosaurian’s sternum but propelling him high into the sky.

The Renard spun around, moving her legs back under her and jumping into the sky at top speed. While he hung helplessly in the air, Zino took another round of attacks, as Rebecca chased him skyward to continue her assault. She juggled him with three kicks before she lost out to gravity and her quarry fell back to the ground with a thud.

Zino wasn’t done - as when he hit the ground, he was finally able to arm himself, pulling his signature dirt claws out of the battlefield beneath him. But he couldn’t go on the offensive, only able to bring them up to block the dive kick from the still airborne fox. She kicked off of him finally landing and skidding back.

“Fuck fuck!” Zino cursed, punching back into the dirt to make new claws.

“What’s wrong lizard!? You were talking some of that good shit a minute ago!” Rebecca roared, her eyes blazing wildly with red rhythm.

“This mammal is fucking crazy,” Zino grumbled, rising to his feet.

As this beat-down was occurring, Elijah’s eyes were on his tuner.

Elijah Klein

Resonator: Zino

Species: Demi-Human (Therizinosaurus)

Element: Earth

Attribute: Fossil

Rhythm: 21% (!!!)

Status: Singed (Hands)

“Even with his claws to protect him, she was still able to inflict singeing on him. What world-class power,” the Maestro observed quietly to himself. His eyes rested on the twenty-one percent rhythm. Normally the tuner would stop both combatants from receiving rhythm at this point to prevent the battle from continuing. However, the current battlers were using their own rhythm for this scuffle, and what’s more, Zino had no intention of backing down.

Even though this was his loss.

The dinosaur charged the fire fox, claws out and at the ready. Rebecca relaxed her posture as he approached. He brought a claw down to slice the Renard to ribbons, but she was just out of his reach. Another swipe, another miss. No matter how many times he tried to land a blow, he always came out just short of his target.

Zino pulled back one of his claws, forming it into a single lethal point. He thrust it forward with all of his might. As his deadly drill approached the fire fox he heard two words from his adversary: “I’m bored.”

THWACK!

…and then it all went black.