"It matters to me...! You're my friend...!" She argued, "I hoped you at least thought the same...but I guess not..." She muttered before leaving without another word.
Shion refused to seek either of them out, and for a few weeks, she would continue the same routine, slaughtering her opponents, then returning to Genkaku to get her fix.
"I'm gonna arrange to fight her." Moriko said firmly while sitting in the bath with Yui. She had been so stressed about Shion that Yui dragged her into a warm bath to relax, "If I fight her, maybe she'll snap out of it." She knew that wasn't the case at all, but she wanted a chance to talk to Shion face to face.
Yui had her arms wrapped around Moriko’s waist, holding her tightly against her chest. “No.” She said simply as she ran her fingers through Moriko’s hair.
“No.” She said again, resting her chin on Moriko’s shoulder. “You’ve seen her fights lately, I won’t have her lay a hand on you, and you aren’t going out there to forfeit another fight.”
"I only forfeited ours cuz I didn't want to fight you..." She muttered with a pout, "But I'm not gonna forfeit! I'm so mad at her, I wanna teach her a lesson!"
"I don't want you eating her...!" She protested, sticking out her bottom lip, "Please, Yui? I'll be careful...! And if anything happens, you can punish me...!"
Yui drummed her fingers along Moriko’s sides, making a noise before finally giving in. “Fine, but you better stick her ass in the ground; you win that fight, you hear me?” Her voice was soft, and it was more than clear Yui was genuinely worried for Moriko.
Moriko pulled some strings and bribed some guards to get Shion's next match to be with her. If she was honest, she was scared. She had seen enough of Shion's matches to know that she was not in a good place at all. But this would be the only time to get through to her.
Shion didn’t know who she was fighting, she didn’t care to know, it didn’t matter. She was in a foul mood due to Genkaku refusing her for nearly a week now, and she was craving something fierce. She just needed to kill, that would hold her off for just a little longer.
When it was time for the fight, Moriko stood anxiously in the elevator as she made the ride up. She tried to keep calm as she stretched everything out. It had been a really long time since her last fight, she hoped she hadn't gone rusty.
When the gates opened, Moriko stepped out slowly, "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to a very rare fight indeed! Today we have Secretary Bird going up against the ever elusive Kakapo!" the announcer shouted. Moriko rolled up her sleeves and adjusted the metal bangles around her wrists, three razor sharp points jutting out at the bottoms, "It's been so long since we've seen Kakapo in the cage!"
Shion stared from her spot inside the elevator, stepping out with a blank expression on her face. “Moriko..” She scowled. “What the hell, why are you here?”
"I came to talk to you. And since this is the only way it seems I am able to, I'm here. So, let's talk." She said calmly, crouching down on one knee and holding out her arms slightly, the points aimed at her calves.
Shion scowled heavily, the bags under her eyes making her seem much older and worn out; she already had a wound open, the one on her palm. “Forfeit the fight.” She said lowly.
"No." She huffed and when the buzzer rang, she cut her legs down the sides. Her blood shot out and wrapped around her legs all the way up to her waist, her blood turned almost metallic as it took the form of heavy plated armor with raptor claws around her toes. She shot forward, wicked fast before snapping a high kick toward Shion's head. "I told you to come to me for help! If you ever got a hankering, I would keep you busy!"
Shion ducked in time for Moriko’s leg to just graze her head, grinding her teeth and closing the distance between the two of them, slamming her elbow into her nose. “You don’t understand! It’s not that easy!” She snarled.
Moriko winced, blood gushing from her broken nose, but she only used it to her advantage. She wiped the blood along her arm and a gauntlet formed from her knuckles to her elbow, swinging and driving an uppercut into Shion's gut, "That's why you have me, and Senji. We're here for you, god dammit. We have so many ways to help you keep away from that junk, but you tossed us both aside like we meant nothing."