There's Always Something To Bicker About

This is joint-written.

Niqi stood, carefully reading the complex chart that contained the fights planned for the Tournament. It started out all names, but the bottom was composed of round-something-winners. “S**t, Micah vs. Glide tomorrow?” she muttered, frowning, and then looked closer. “…Aha.”

 

…

 

Ambree was sitting on her bed, writing in a notebook, when Niqi suddenly burst into her room. “I have answerssss,” she sung, grinning manically.

Ambree put down her pencil. “You are so f*****g weird,” she responded, trying to keep the smile off of her face. “Answers to what?”

“Why Shetani submitted after three friggin’ swings. I mean, I knew the fight was going to be over like that,” Niqi said, snapping her fingers, “but I didn’t expect it to happen that way.”

Ambree glared.

“It was f****n’ boring, too,” Niqi went on.

“Would you just say what you came here to say?” Ambree asked, and then seemed to remember Niqi’s earlier words. “You said you know why she did that?”

Niqi nodded. “Answer’s right in plain view out there,” she said, gesturing out the door. “Winner of round one is slated to go up against Revan.”

Ambree blinked, and then rolled her eyes. “Doesn’t want to go up against her precious son?”

“I know, really! What is it with the people that surround us? I mean, remember what happened with Sandy and Davis during that sparring match?” Niqi ranted.

“That was ten years ago,” Ambree pointed out.

“I know it was,” Niqi retorted.

There was a pause. “You should get over it,” Ambree advised.

Niqi scowled.

There was another pause. “Thanks for the information,” Ambree hinted.

Niqi nodded. “Welcome.”

“Get out.”

“Sure.”

Niqi left.

Ambree sighed and went back to her notebook.

 

...

 

Niqi walked around until she found Keris in the arena once again. "I guess I'll just come here whenever I need to find you," she said, smirking.

Keris rolled his eyes. "What do you want this time? Do you want to fight now, or is this something different?"

"No, I'm not changing my mind about that," Niqi stated firmly. "I was just...looking at the fight chart, and...seriously? Micah versus Glide? After you went and did Ambree versus Shetani, which obviously didn't go as planned. Do you just have a fetish for humiliation or something?"

Keris shrugged. "The fights weren't planned. The entire thing was completely random."

Niqi raised an eyebrow. "Then how'd you select who fought who?"

"I pulled some f*****g names out of a hat. Get off my a*s." Keris muttered, walking away.

 

...

 

“Guess what’s contained in here?” Ambree asked. She set down about six thick notebooks on the desk in Niqi’s room.

Niqi barely glanced up from where she was laying on her bed, reading. “The innocent lives of several trees that used to be the natural habitats for all sorts of cute and cuddly creatures, who you then cruelly made homeless for the sake of your useless scribbling?”

Ambree blinked. “Pull the knots out of your panties. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Niqi stared at the ceiling and grinned more than necessary in response. “Ah, nothing. Gotta keep the banter fresh and interesting, y’know?”

Ambree rolled her eyes. “Really though, guess.”

“Go f**k yourself. If you’re going to tell me this year, tell me.”

Ambree smiled. “Four thousand days.”

Niqi sat up, surprised. “You got ’em all? But…we haven’t had a session in days. How could you…?”

Ambree grinned. “I figured out how to unlock the memories on my own. I think by now I know the inside of my brain better than the inside of my old room back on Seisen. I was able to find where I’d left off in my memory and just…push. Ten years of monotony happened to hold only a few gems worth remembering in the end, so it was a quick process to write down everything important. None of it’s fully-formed yet. I’ll need to go back and flesh the stories out more later. But it’s all there, the last ten years of my life.”

Niqi exhaled and flopped back onto the bed. She breathed deeply and sighed. “I hate being nice to you in any way, but thanks. You just lifted a huge burden off my shoulders.”

Ambree grinned again. “You’re welcome.”