How the Tables Turn

There was no reason why Zero would be wrong, but Sakura could still feel the nerves bubbling in her chest, questioning if she was capable of succeeding. It seemed ridiculous to be so nervous. After all, it was only Ren.

But that was also the problem.

It was Ren.

There may have been a time where brute strength alone could overcome the angel, the same way she continued to conquer other men, but it hadn’t been that way since they were children. He had grown accustomed to her strikes over the years and learned to observe her movements in order to always stay one step ahead until he could take advantage of her first misstep. It didn’t matter how strong or how good of a fighter she was, when it came down to it, her will was weak.

Just as Raz and Zero had said.

Just as Ren had always known.

There was no one who could set off her temper or bring her back to calm like he could. It was effortless, a game he could play all day. One he was obviously planning on utilizing. Raise her temper to the point of explosion, gain the upper hand in her moment of weakness, get her out of bounds, then sidle up to her with his calming assurances. And she would be weak to it all.

Sakura would have to get ahead of him before he could do that.

However, she couldn’t just go out there swinging like she always did. He was too smart for that.

But no matter how intelligent or observant the man was…

He was still an idiot.

And that idiot was staring at her with that big, goofy grin of his plastered across his giddy face as the dwarf announced the match and allowed it to begin.

She took a deep breath and released it.

She could do this.

Ren made no move to advance on the demon, choosing to stay comfortably in his place. But his mouth refused to be still. “You never cease to amaze me, Sakura.” He gazed at her adoringly, as though seeing a perfect vision for the first time. “I really thought I was gonna have to come out here and hold you down from killing him. But I didn’t. You figured it out all on your own. It was such a nice surprise, but a little disappointing. I was really looking forward to it. That’s alright though. I’ll just hold you now.” His grin grew, oh so very sure of himself.

It was now or never.

Just do as Zero said.

“Ren.” Sakura slowly sauntered her way up to the man, her legs crossing one in front of the other as her skirt swished around her thighs with the exaggerated sway of her hips. “Why are we doing this? We both know how it’ll end. I’ll lose my temper and go after you, and you’ll just wait me out until I make a mistake. Then you’ll probably scoop me up and toss me out of bounds. What’s the point?”

He smiled down at her as her hands found his shirt and began twisting the fabric in her fingers, her body drawing closer to his as his own hands instinctively found the dip of her waist. There was no denying that the woman knew him well. “The point is it’s fun. So come on, we’re wasting time. Go for it.” He motioned his head towards the ever increasingly disgruntled crowd. “We can’t disappoint these nice people. They came for a fight. Not for this, unfortunately.”

She watched the kneading of her fingers and bit at her bottom lip, expressing her uncertainty. “I don’t want to, Ren.”

Dark brows drew together in confusion as his enjoyment vanished along with his grin. This wasn’t like her at all. “What do you mean you don’t want to? All you ever want to do is fight.”

Timid emeralds peered up while Sakura shook her head lightly. “No, not like this.” Her voice soft and sweet. “I did want to fight and win all that coin. But I never wanted to fight you.” A shy smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Well, I do. I like fighting with you. But not like this. Not here... in front of all these people watching.”

Ren hadn’t really thought of it like that, but now that she had mentioned it, it made sense in its own way. The woman loved to fight, but she never sought out an audience for it. In the way that a woman might express her feelings through pretty words or intimate touches, Sakura used her fists. And in the same way that a woman may not want the world involved in her private matters, Sakura was probably the same.

She was a woman after all.

One who had him wrapped around her little finger.

His lungs filled with oxygen as her hands worked their way up to his shoulders and her chest thrust against him, further plumping up her already voluptuous curves for him to admire. “And what is it that you wanted if not a fight?” he asked.

“I just wanted you to watch me. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. Ever since we were kids. That’s why I do all of this. For you. So you’ll look at me.”

The man was definitely looking at her now, unable to break the spell that she had cast. “Is that right?”

“You know it is. This is silly, isn’t it, Ren? There are better things that we could be doing with our time rather than going against each other in a tournament.” Hands laced together around the back of his neck, inviting him to come closer. “Don’t you think so?”

“There sure are,” he agreed, going over each and every one of them in his mind.

“Then why don’t we just get this over with? You can throw me out of bounds if that’s what you want to do, get the coin, and we can get out of here,” she purred, drowning out the noise of the berating crowd. “Go do what we really want to do.”

How could he say no to that offer? “Fuck that,” the man growled, his fingers digging into her soft flesh, bringing her even closer. “I’ll take you here and let everyone watch.”

A luring smile brightened the woman’s face and she giggled. “That might not be a bad idea. Give them a real show.”

Ren was more than happy to follow the pull of her arms, the lust in her eyes completely captivating, and he went to meet her lips with his. The vixen was right, all of this was senseless, and he should have just sat back, relaxed, and let her have her fun. That way, things could have ended quicker and he’d get what he wanted sooner. It didn’t matter much now though, either way, the outcome was basically the same.

They’d get the coin.

And he’d have his woman.

Again and again.

Then, out of nowhere, like lightning, the quickest of flashes dashed across her eyes as he closed the distance.

From desire to malice.

And there was no time to respond as his face bypassed hers and became one with her raised knee.

Everything was so loud and dark and Ren had no idea where he was. Scrambled thoughts slowly gathered together until he could vaguely recall being in some sort of place. One possibly with people. Ones that make noise which might explain the mind numbing rumble of hollering that bounced like cannonballs around his head.

Carefully, he willed his eyelids open, the vision of cherry red a short distance off becoming more clear. Moments passed with the man confused as to why the woman was so far above him, her arms held high in the air holding a small, burgundy sack while the dwarf stood next to her with his voice booming through the chorus of cheers.

Then, it all suddenly clicked.

“Oh, shit.” He groaned and rolled over onto his back, an endless blue sky above him. That’s what the woman had planned the entire time, and he had fallen for it—hook, line, and sinker.

Sakura’s ears twitched at the sound of his misery, and she immediately turned and skipped over to the fallen angel. Stepping on either side of his waist, she crouched down, swinging the jingling bag with a tilt of her head and a smug grin. “Look who’s alpha now.”

This had not been what Ren was expecting.

What he had wanted.

But it had turned into so much more.

Never had he seen anything more spectacular in his life as he gazed up at the proud woman, her face lit up in the afterglow of victory and the satisfaction that she had outsmarted him.

What a perfect sight she was.

She was everything.

And she was his.

The man’s hand wrapped around the back of her neck and forced her to him, his lips crushing around hers and trapping them together. He pulled her back, smile and eyes wild and craving more. “I fucking love you.”

Sakura smirked. “Damn right you do.”

In one swift movement, Ren snatched the bag from the woman as he rolled to his feet, slinging her over his shoulder while she cried out in surprise before bursting with accomplished laughter. He looked around, spotting his two other companions, made his way to them—a man on a mission. “Give me a coin,” he demanded, tossing the sack at Ivy. “Hurry up, I don’t have all day.”

Everything was happening so fast, and Ivy was struggling to process it all. “Wait. What? What do you need it for? Where are we going?”

The bag was plucked from her hands. “It doesn’t matter.” Zero pinched a single coin from the velvet sack and dropped it in the angel’s impatiently waiting palm. The feral look in the man’s eyes was not something the boy wanted to question, and would prefer getting away from as soon as possible. None of it was his concern, and the woman was on her own in dealing with it.

He was hers, after all.

“That-a-boy.” Ren spun on his heels and away he went. “Don’t come looking for us, we’ll come looking for you. Maybe.”

The girl still wasn’t sure what was going on. “Wait! Where are you going?”

“To fix this dress!” he called, preemptively tightening his hold on the vixen. “And to reclaim my title as alpha!”

Sakura’s head shot up, laughter fading, as her eyes went wide and panic stricken. She pointed at the devil and fae with one hand and started pummeling the angel’s back with the other. “I’m alpha!” she screamed. “You two saw it! I won! I’m alpha now!”

“Wait! Ren!” Ivy called after the man and belligerent woman. “You forgot your sword and bags!” She sighed as he ignored her and made his way from the arena with his captive before looking down at the ground where the sword had been carelessly dumped earlier. “You’d think he’d care more about where he left his things.”

Zero shrugged, unable to find a care, and slung the two other bags over his shoulder along with his. Everything had worked the way he had hoped, and he had no interest in creating problems now. Especially not over a couple of bags and near impossible to move sword. “It doesn’t matter. That sword isn’t going anywhere.” It had taken him days just to transport Sakura’s glaive from the forest to Marisol’s. He doubted anyone would be as willing to try to do the same for a sword that they would never be able to wield anyways. Someone could try, but they’d probably be run off by the angel long before they managed to figure out how to even move the giant blade.

“I guess you’re right.” The girl watched as spectators filtered out of the arena and towards the town. She wrapped her arms around the boy’s and smiled up at him. “Do you want to go walk around the festival and get something to eat?”

That seemed like a much better idea than sitting and waiting around for the other two to return. Besides, Ren had told them plenty of times to not go looking for him. That he’d come looking for them. He could figure it out. He had always managed to do so in the past. Zero returned Ivy’s smile with his own. “I do.”