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 [u][b] Los Paraisos : the Grande Diamond- 9th floor[/u][/b]

One big drawback of being completely blind was that it was impossible to see exactly where she was hitting, forcing her to pull her strikes just in case she hit too hard or too deep. She darted forward once more towards the source of the smoke, feeling her fan slice through fabric before Kenneth pulled back again. 

Aria was pushing to keep up the illusion, starting to feel the strain on her mind. She took a moment to regain her focus, trying to keep her heavy breaths as silent as possible. Judging by the dizziness tugging at the back of her consciousness she would have to release the blindness soon lest she deplete her magic entirely. Just a bit longer-
A loud explosion rocked the building, causing her concentration to waver and the darkness flickered for a moment just in time for Aria see the man lunging towards her, a switchblade in each hand. She quickly staggered back as the darkness enveloped them both once again, but not fast enough to completely avoid Kenneth’s attack. 
She winced as a blade made a shallow gash on her arm, but before the stinging pain cut in she was forced backwards as she felt a light gust of wind rush past, the switchblade narrowly missing her face. Had the man managed to break through her illusion? No, his attacks were too haphazard for him to have regained sight. Perhaps he had figured out her trick as well? 

She was being forced into the defensive now, parrying as best she could as she moved back but still accumulating a good amount of stinging gashes across her arms. Her illusion was flickering more often now despite her efforts but before she could dispel the now mostly useless illusion a particularly vicious strike forced her to leap back, only to trip over something on the ground. She fell backwards with a yelp, fans dropping to the ground as she clutched her head that had thudded painfully onto the (thankfully) carpeted floor. 

The impact had successfully broken the illusion and Aria cracked open one eye only to see Kenneth standing over her with a victorious smirk. She glared back. It seemed that the wavering illusion had allowed him to push her all the way back to where Thunderhawk was collapsed on the ground, causing her to trip over his legs and land in a painful heap. Her hands began edging toward her fallen weapons but froze at the golden switchblade pointed to her throat. 

The two stared at each other for a moment, neither blinking. A low groan from the blond-haired ranger on the ground tore Aria’s gaze away and she scanned the man worriedly. Luckily he hadn’t fallen on the knives and the wounds weren’t too deep, while bleeding had been kept to a minimal due to the blades still wedged firmly in his flesh. He wasn’t in any immediate danger.

With a small sigh Aria flopped back onto the ground, hissing as the cuts on her arms throbbed and looked tiredly up at the other illusionist. She didn’t have enough energy to try her illusion again, and she certainly couldn’t jump up without getting skewered, but was ready nevertheless to move out of the way just in case. She eyed the man warily, but could help but give a dry laugh. 

"Looks like you win this one."