XJ → Harry Hook [1]✔

Requests

"You're strong," He commented, "Stronger than the last time we sparred."

XJ said nothing, but she swung once more immediately after her strike was blocked. This time, she did not aim for at her father's chest. Shan Yu jumped upwards with surprising agility for a middle-aged man to avoid the blow that was meant for his feet and landed back on the ground, just in time to block another attack.

"You've learnt new tricks," He commented again. "I'm not surprised."

XJ kept attacking and Shan Yu kept defending, commenting on her every move, as if they were sparring and his life did not depend on it.

"Good fake!" He praised as his back hit one of the medical beds, making a tremendously loud clang echo through the medical center as the metal frame of the bed crashed into the wall it was put against so hard that the brick wall cracked, causing Harry to cover his ears.

"Cunning strike!" Shan Yu exclaimed as he stumbled backwards to keep his footing, narrowly avoiding a blow from XJ in an attempt to pierce his stomach.

"Clever move!" Shan Yu shouted as XJ kicked a small table at him, managing to clip his side.

Harry jumped out of the way as XJ and Shan Yu fought, leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Medical supplies were crashing to the ground from metal basins, beds were being shoved and pushed this way and that as XJ tried to use her environment to her advantage and sheets and curtains were ripped mercilessly. At one point, XJ had even managed to stab through the glass of the windows and it shattered into pieces, emitting a sound similar to rain.

Harry looked through the small window built into the nurses' door, wondering why they weren't putting a stop to this, or hadn't even seemed to notice when he saw them all knocked out, unconscious on the floor.

"If you're wondering, boy," Shan Yu shouted from where he was still blocking XJ, whose ferocity hadn't decreased at all. "The magic that I released by changing back to my original form was too powerful. It knocked everybody within a fifty mile radius out. The whole school will be put under for at least an hour."

"Why are Xiao and I awake then?" Harry asked, tearing his gaze away from the nurses' room to look at Shan Yu, who was steadily looking more tired.

"I wanted Feng to be awake. I must have accidentally done the same to you." Shan Yu explained over XJ's feral snarls. "For that, I apologize. You wouldn't have to be in this mess if I hadn't."

"God knows I wouldn't have," Harry muttered under his breath. He looked up to see XJ, and unknowingly, he was entranced.

Some people would agree that letting emotions drive you during a fight would make you slip up. Harry begged to differ. XJ didn't seem to be slipping up at all. After all, from Harry's point of view, Shan Yu looked to be backed up against a corner.

Harry was hypnotized. Every swing, every strike, every stab...it was as if XJ was dancing. Her attacks seem to flow perfectly and she looked....absolutely gorgeous.

Huh, maybe he was insane after all.

But he had never seen XJ look so focused, so concentrated, so...angry. Even during her Coronation back at the hall, when she was fighting everyone at the same time, he hadn't seen her look like this. Every time she swung and missed, it only added to her rage, and her rage seemed to fuel her more and more.

On the other hand, Shan Yu was beginning to look tired. Harry didn't know why he wasn't attacking. Maybe he couldn't, not while XJ's wrath was raining down on him, compressing him and forcing him to do nothing but defend. Maybe he couldn't find a loophole. Either way, although experience, technique and wisdom came with being older, so did the physical effects of old age.