CONTROL - Ver. 2

XIV

"HQ here. Biska, can you hear me?"

"What do you mean 'HQ', Warren?" The group all scanned the arena from their positions. "No movement from Master Ivan, over."

"Understood. Team Raijinshu plus Lisanna. How about on your end?"

"Raijinshu plus Lisanna here. No conspicuous movements from Raven Tail's current location."

"What about you, Rin?"

The brunette sighed. There was a whole lot of nothing going on. But at least she was in a place by herself without any type of distractions, meaning she could sit out the rest of the day.

"Nothin," she mumbled. She watched from an empty walkway toward the top of the stadium. She could see the entire arena and there wasn't a single thing that looked out of place. So, she got in a comfortable position to watch.

"Start the match!" As soon as the gong was rung, Laxus was knocked down by a tough hit to the chest. Rin cocked a brow, not expecting a start like that. For Laxus to take a hit right off that bat... Now that was suspicious. Rin sniffed the air, catching a foul odor and flinching from the vile scent. That was definitely unusual. Rin moved around a bit, trying to see if she could spot the source, but there was none. It was emanating from the entire arena.

In order to avoid smelling such an awful stench, Rin moved within the arena walls to save her nostrils from their abuse. While the scent faded a bit, it was still present. But this was better than nothing.

"Where are you going, Rin? We need you on lookout! Get back to your posi―" Rin used her magic to physically block Warren's telepathy. He was giving her a damn headache.

"Too fuckin' noisy," she mumbled. She rubbed at her temples, completely ignoring whoever was approaching her from the front. Well, she tried, anyway.

Rin stopped walking, a glare washing over her face as Sting stood in her path. He glared back without hesitation. The blonde looked over his shoulder to Rogue who had been the one to bring him down this corridor. However, the black-haired male was nowhere to be found.

"Rogue, you traitor," he growled. Though the girl had many words she wanted to scream at him, she couldn't find her voice right now. And she simply didn't want to deal with him. She continued walking, aiming to dodge him completely, but he stepped right in front of her in order to stop her from leaving. "Oi―"

"Leave me alone." The brunette attempted to step around him but he was quick to get a grip on her arm. He pulled her back without giving her a chance to escape.

"Don't walk away when I'm talking to you."

"Why not?" She stared up at him in defiance. "According to you, I'm not your mate. So, why the hell should I listen to you?" Sting would normally back down in a situation like this; handle it more calmly. But his hormones mixed with hers at this close proximity and he couldn't help the rage that built up in his body. She had never once underestimated his physical strength, but it shocked her at this moment.

He slammed her into the nearest wall, leaning so closely that she could feel his heated breath on her skin. Shocked or not, she wasn't backing down. "I swear," she warned, "let go of me or I'll kick your ass."

"Good luck. We all know you drained your magic during the competition this morning." She continued to glare at him, trying her best not to reveal that he was indeed correct. "Look, I didn't exactly want to talk to you either, but here we are. So, don't fucking ignore me." What had happened to the obnoxiously fun Sting that she had gone on a date with the other day?