Been awhile eh? This one took a while to write. Started reading the Percy Jackson series again and finished it. Now I'm reading the Heroes of Olympus series, again. Got a whole list of books I wanna read and reread. Anyway, enjoy these fights. Two in this chapter.

Chapter 36

"Alright, I hope Professor Reece didn't let you go all soft. We got a tournament to finish," Swigg said, standing up from his desk. The rest of the class were excited. Some were ready to fight, others ready to watch.

"Let's get right to it. You all remember the bracket?" Swigg said, looking to the class. They all nodded. "Okay, so first up is Grey and Alfred. You two ready now or do you want some time to prepare?"

"If it's ok with Grey, I wanna get right into it. We've had almost a week to prepare," Alfred said.

Swigg looked at Grey and he nodded.

"Right away it is. We'll give the others a few minutes to get to the stands while you two get down to the arena then I'll start the match." The two nodded and made their way to the arena.

"I hope you don't plan on winning," Alfred said, grinning.

"Oh I'm going to win, Al, just don't be too disappointed when you walk out the loser."

"You sure can talk, but can you back it up?"

"You know I can. I haven't lost once this year. You on the other hand…"

"You count my match with Swigg but don't count yours?"

"I didn't lose that match though. You did."

"You did not beat Swigg," Alfred said.

"You're right, I didn't beat him, but I didn't lose. He called the match before there was a definite victor. Therefore it was a draw."

By this time they reached the T in the hall that went to either side of the arena.

"Well there's a first for everything," Alfred said, turning right.

"But today won't be it," Grey said, turning the other way.

The two boys were standing in the arena, facing each other. Alfred was bent almost double, his axes inches above the ground. Grey was in a much more relaxed position. His sword still sheathed, arms crossed. Not that his unready position fooled anyone. They had all seen him move faster than the eye could see.

Swigg's whistle blew and the match began. Alfred, just like Grey predicted, was impatient and wanted to show Grey up. He immediately ran full tilt towards Grey, or at least tried to. It was like he was running through molasses. Grey just stood there, looking smug. In reality, his mind was running a mile a minute trying to figure out a way to beat Alfred. He couldn't keep him slowed forever. Plus Grey didn't want to win using his semblance all the time.

And yet I'm using it right now aren't I? He thought to himself, cutting off the effect of his semblance on Alfred. Alfred lurched forward, running faster to keep his balance. Grey had his sword out and was ready when the two clashed.

Grey's knees almost buckled under Alfred's first strike. He had the force of his full sprint behind him and he used both his axes. Grey slid 15 feet back from the impact.

Alfred's mouth broke out into a grin, while Grey's was set in determined line.

I know I can't out muscle him, so let's use some finesse, Grey thought to himself, getting ready as Alfred sauntered up to him.

"Not so smug now, eh Mr. Perfect?" Alfred said. Grey didn't respond. He was too focused. What he was about to do was going to extremely difficult without his semblance. He's seen how strong and fast Alfred could be, he just had to hope his math and his reaction time was right. Running quick calculations in his head, he factored in all he could. Reaction time, Alfred's speed, the angle he would strike at, the force of his strike, then the resistance Grey could put up without being crushed. He figured Al would go all out, and considering he's pushed his bench limit to 725 lbs, he was stronger than anyone in the class, including Swigg.

So when Alfred started running, Grey finished his calculations. He got into position, his right shoulder facing Alfred, his sword held over his head, the grip directly over his head while the blade angle downward, so the point was pointing at the ground, behind his back.

Alfred saw this stance and knew what Grey was going to do. He was going to deflect his attack. So he aimed his strike at Grey's hilt. Right as the blade meets the cross guard. His face contorted into a mix between a snarl and a smile. He struck with all his might at the V where he'd been aiming, and that was the last thing he remembered.

The entire arena was silent, Grey felt Alfred's neck and felt a pulse, he let his breath out in a huge sigh. He gave the others a thumbs up and it was like the entire arena let out a deep breath.

"What just happened?" Priscilla asked to no one in particular.

"Grey just pulled off a move even I have never seen," Swigg said, almost in a whisper, "And without the use of his semblance too. I'm not even sure if Reece has tried that move."

Uly was just as amazed as the others. As far as she could tell, Grey had tricked Alfred into hitting the point where his cross guard met his blade. Then, once Al made contact with both his axes, Grey let go of his sword. The pressure of Alfred's attack spun Grey's sword like a clock hand. Then Grey somehow managed to grab his sword after a single rotation, and Alfred, expecting to feel the full resistance of Grey, felt none, fell forward. Grey helped him along by hit him in the back quite hard with his sword. The entire move took a split second.

Swigg blew his whistle and called in Ms. Helpps.

"Well that was quite the finish, but next up is Amanda and Rose. You two want to go right away of wait the 30 minutes? "

"Right away," they both said in unison.

"Ok, well then by the time you make it to the arena floor, Alfred should be moved."

He was. As the two girls entered the arena, Alfred was nowhere to be seen. They both took their ready stance, and Swigg blew his whistle to start the match.

Immediately, Amanda went on the offensive. Blinking right to Rose and started punching. Rose held her own quite well, dodging half the punches and blocking the other half with her dirk. Every now and then Amanda would teleport behind Rose and land a hit before rose could block it. Rose was completely on the defensive. Then, for some reason, Amanda decided to take a ranged tactic and started firing off dust attacks from her bracelets. Rose responded in kind. The Thorn turned into a pistol, which fired, well, thorns. They had an aura around them, almost like a cloud of poison. Amanda dodged a few but one hit her and she staggered. It was like getting hit by a truck. And to make matters worse, it burned. The pain distracted her and she got hit by 3 more. She could feel her aura draining. Finally, her aura dropped below the threshold and the match was called.

Rose immediately turned The Thorn back into it's dirk form and the burning stopped.

"That's one helluva weapon you've got there," Amanda said, wincing.

"Thanks! Sorry To hit you with so many shots but I was getting low on aura myself. Why did you change tactics?"

"I dunno, just felt like it. Totally regret it now though," Amanda responded.

"Alight, next up is Dewi and Uly. You two ready?" Swigg asked back in the bleachers.

Uly nodded and Dewi shrugged.

"About as ready as I'll ever be," he said.

"Good enough for me. Get down there so we can finish off for today. Semi's tomorrow and then finals the day after."

Well I was going to make Rose's dirk become a semi automatic rifle but then I started writing it and remembered Thorn from Destiny and thought, why not? Anyway, the next one will be up whenever. Screw the schedule, I'm terrible with keeping it so fuck it. It will be up eventually. Hopefully soon. Till then,

JaayyMann