Chapter 43: The Bell Brothers: Part 3
Nick was standing in the center of the combat arena. Standing before him was a fellow first year, who was weilding a spear.
"Cant believe they let kids into this academy." He smugly said. He was insulting Nick due to his height.
"Isn't that your little brother battling?" One girl asked Mike.
"Of course!" Mike said woth a grin. He and his groupies were all huddled around to show Nick support.
"Don't go crying to mama. Little guy."
Nick paid no mind to insults. He was use to it since he competed in the streetfights during his time in the inside.
"Hey little bro! Try to go easy on this bum, ok?!" Mike yelled.
"Tch." The opponent sucked his teeh at Mike's insult.
Pyrrha was sitting in a separate bleacher by herself. She was curious about what Nick is capable of. She glanced at Mike's groupies who were cheering him on.
"Good luck Guren!"
"Kick his ass Guren!"
'I wish Mike would shut them the hell up.' Nick then activated his weapons before getting into his fighting stance.
"Since today is your first combat class of the year. I will explain the rules." The instructor said aloud. "Now please be sure to look at your-!"
"Just start the damn match already." Nick said to the instructor. Not even looking his way.
"Fine... little brat." The instructor muttered. "Are both fighters ready?"
Nick and the other first year nodded.
"Alright! Lets begin!"
(Magi: Adventure Of Sinbad OST: Assassin)
Nicholas Bell VS Corvus Blackwing
"Take this!" Corvus dashed forward. He then thrusted his spear at Nick while spinning the spear in a circular motion.
'Looks like he can back up his words a bit.' Nick kept his eye on the center. He was soon however, surprised but then was shock to see bullets flying out from a barrel located at the bottom of the spear tip. Due to the combination attack, Nick had to roll out of the way.
"Whats wrong kid?! Are you amazed by my skill with my gunspear?!" Corvus masterfully twirled his spear before continuing to stab at Nick, who looked as if he was on the defensive.
"Is he going to be ok?" One girl asked Mike.
"Yeah... Corvus is pretty amazing with his spear. Guren might have a hard time getting in close."
However, Mike said nothing. He just continued to watch and see what Nick was going to do.
"Come on! Fight back! Or is those gauntlets for show?!"
'This bastard just loves the sound of his annoying voice'. Nick rolled his eyes in annoyance. 'Guess I can stop toying with him.' In a single fluid motion, he caught the spear in an armpit lock.
"What?!" Corvus tugged at his spear. He could not get it free.
"Oh ho! Nice one!" Mike said.
"What did he do?" One girl asked.
"A simple armpit lock." Mike said. "In order to do it perfectly, you definitely need to have upper body strength."
"I... I can't break free!" The spearman struggled to get his spear from out the lock. He saw that Nick's muscles had expanded. 'What is this kid?!'
"One thing I hate is being looked down on." Corvus then saw the look on Nick's face. A huge grin was plastered on his face, completely unnerving him.
"And another... is being called a kid!" Nick then instantly broke the weapon in half.
"He... he destroyed his weapon." Pyrrha was shocked by what she saw.
"Sirrocco!" Corvus' yelled in horror before being struck in it by a powerful roundhouse kick. Sending him face first towards the ground. The instructor then took notice of Nick's hand twitching.
"That's enough! Corvus' aura is in the red! The winner is Guren!"
A loud applause erupted. They were amazed by the fact that Nick defeated an opponent in one hit.
"Mr. Guren. I must say, using an armpit lock to disable the spear movement was quite the move. Good job. Although next time, let me finish my speech or I will fail you. Understand?" The instructor warned.
"Yeah. Yeah." Nick walked back to the locker room to change.
"He's an incredible fighter. But he's in need of an attitude adjustment. If i hadn't stopped him, he might've really injured him."
"You were great Guren." Pyrrha said. "I didn't know you were a close range type?"
"I prefer to be up close an personal so that I deal to the most damage to my opponent." Nick deactivated his weapons.
"Nice one little bro!" Nick looked up and saw Mike and his groupies.
"You were great!"
"Chrome said I can give you my number!"
Nick could only sigh while Pyrrha chuckled at the antics. It's been a month since Nick and Mike arrived at Sanctum. The two had garnered a reputation amongst the students. Nick for being somewhat of a brooding loner who was extremely good in a fight. And Mike for being a playboy. Their main plan was to not stick out. However, it was soon impossible when each brother was gaining fame and notoriety in the academy.
Since beating Corvus, plenty of students desired to battle Nick. Only for them to be soundly defeated by him. He was on the path of being undefeated. Only for all of that come crashing down in his fifteenth match.
"Winner! Pyrrha Nikos!"
Nick was on the floor with a spear near his face. His face was that of disbelief as he heard many students cheering for her.
"That was a good match Guren." Pyrrha held her hand out to the fallen boy. Who surprisingly took it. She saw the look on his face. It was that of complete shock. "Are you ok?"
"Huh?" Nick soon snapped out of it. "Yeah. I'm fine. It... certainly was."
"I... I hope you not mad?" Pyrrha sadly looked at Nick.
"What?! No! I'm... just surprised... that's all." Nick had a small smile on his face. "I'll train harder so that next time, I will beat you. Until then, don't you dare lose to anybody else."
"It's a promise." Pyrrha said with a smile.
However two days later, that would all come crashing down. As everybody watched Pyrrha fall to floor thanks to a powerful uppercut to the stomach. Delivered by none other than Mike.
"Winner! Chrome!"
The entire female student body in the arena cheered loudly. Nick couldn't believe what he saw. Pyrrha, the one who was able to beat him. Was easily defeated by Mike. He couldn't even land a single attack on her, but Mike defeated her with ease. He could only grit his teeth in anger as Mike was cheered by everybody.
"What's wrong Guren?" Pyrrha asked. They were both sitting at their usual spot having lunch.
"Nothing... I'm fine." Nick said however, he couldn't fool her.
"Does it have something to do with the fight?"
Nick scrunched his face up. "Was it that obvious?"
"Well, Chrome is surprisingly strong. He was able to easily predict my moves and land precise blows. I honestly couldn't keep up with him. I just have to keep improving until one day I can beat him." Unbeknowst to Pyrrha, Nick was getting a bit annoyed with the prasing. However, he wouldn't get a chance to say it as the person that they were talking about soon came into the picture.
"Yo!" Nick and Pyrrha were greeted by Mike, who sat in the middle. "Man! Today's fight was great! Although I barely took a scratch. You did pretty good."
"Hello Chrome. And yes it was." Pyrrha greeted the older Bell brother.
"You've shown quite the skill with that spear and shield. Honestly if I was anybody else. I might've lost."
"Careful Chrome. Those words might come back to haunt you." Pyrrha and Mike began to laugh, while Nick huffed.
"Everything good little bro?" Mike said with a smile. He saw a look that he was well familiar with.
"Five days from now." Nick stood up. "Me and you. Let's have a fight."
"It's been a few months since we last fought. It might end up being-"
"No... it won't." Nick and Mike were soon face to face. "Because this time. I will beat you."
Mike was silent for a moment before smiling. "Alright. That's fine by me." Mike tried to ruffle Nick's head but he moved it out of the way.
"Remember, five days from now. And you best not hold back!" Nick himself left to go to the training room. Mike sighed at the way he was acting.
Five days later
"Class it seems that we have two volunteers today." The instructor said. The students were shocked to see Nick and Mike standing in the arena.
"Look! The brothers are fighting!"
"Who are you rooting for?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
"The hot one!"
"Although Guren is pretty cute!"
"But I don't think he's as strong as Chrome!"
"Mike. Do something about them." Nick pointed to the audience of girls yelling at each other. "They're starting to be a distraction."
"Hey! Shut the hell up! Your damn gawking is annoying!"
"Ok..." surprisingly, it worked like a charm.
"You two know the rules. Once your aura is in the red, the match is over. Got it?"
"Yeah." Nick activated his weapons.
"You know. You never told me what your weapon's name is?" Mike also activated his weapons.
"Weeping Willow." Nick got into his fighting stance.
"You named it after that tree Bambi always talked about?" Mike said in surprised. "Didn't think you actually remember that." Mike also go into a fighting stance.
'They're fighting stance is nearly similar.' Pyrrha was observing the subtle differences of the two. Nick's stance was a orthodox, while Mike's was southpaw.
"Are you two ready?" The instructor asked. They both nodded their heads. "Alright. Begin!"
(Fire Force OST: Guren)
Nicholas Bell VS Michael Bell
Nick charged first. 'Combine testui and the power of redirection.' He began launching a flurry of punches from multiple directions. "Tsubame Gaeshi (Swallow Strike)"
Everybody was amazed the attack. Mike looked as if he was on the defense. He was able to push Nick back with a front kick. However, it had little effect as Nick charged forth again. This time throwing numerous haymakers.
"Not bad Nick! Now this is what I consider to be a warm up!" He weaved every punch and kick that was launched at him before striking Nick square in the face. Nick shrugged off the attack as he threw a right hook. However, Mike leaned back to avoid the strike. Using his upper body strength to support his weight, his kicked his little brother in his stomach.
"Gah..." Nick gritted his teeth as he held his stomach.
Mike then performed a windmill in order to maneuver into a leg sweep. Knocking Nick off balance before sending him flying with another kick to the jaw.
"What a kick!"
"Wow!"
"Amazing." Pyrrha muttered. "They looked evenly matched. But it's obvious who has the advantage."
Nick was able to redirect his landing before charging forth again. This time, the two brothers were throwing numerous strikes. Mike found an opening amd struck Nick in the back of his head woth a axe hammer strike. However, the younger brother stood his ground.
"Rekka" Expanding his leg muscles, he was able to move behind Mike at blinding speeds.
"That was fast!" Mike took notice of Nick as he tried to strike Mike in jaw. Only for it to be blocked. The two then began grappling with each other.
"Just look at them!"
"Neither one is budging!"
It soon came to an end when Mike headbutted Nick square in the nose. He released his grasped and was struck in the jaw with a right hook to the jaw. Nobody said anything as they didnt want to miss a single thing.
"Dammit..." Nick glared at Mike as he rubbed his jaw. He then stepped forward. "Testui Kyaku" Lauching a roundhouse kick at Mike who was caught off gaurd by its power. Mike was able to block the strike.
"A kick using that Goutaijutsu? You really have been practicing." Mike shook his arm.
Pyrrha could see the look on Nick's face. He was getting angry that he couldn't even strike him not once. Mike then got back into his fighting stance.
Nick soon charged forward. He pulled his fist back to strike Mike who launched a counter at the easily visible strike. However, he soon realized that he stuck what appeared to be an afterimage.
'He disappeared?' Mike looked and realized that Nick was behind him again.
"Tetsui" He launched another strike to his jaw. But it was easily blocked by and elbow block.
"But how?! He had him!" Pyrrha gasped in surprise.
Nick held his hand in pain. "Dammit."
"As I said before. You're too predictable." Mike struck Nick in the face with a roundhouse kick. Sending him flying towards the wall. Mike soon dashed forth and the two began launching and avoiding each other's punches and kicks.
"Look at them."
"They're in a whole other league."
"It seems that the other students realize how far ahead these two are." One teacher said.
"Especially Chrome. He easily outclasses Guren in terms of combat skill."
Nick tried to backflip away but couldn't as Mike rushed forward. Sending a right straight to Nick's jaw.
"Got ya!" Mike had a smirk on his face. However, he felt something was wrong. Nobody noticed it, but a flash of purple went through Nick's eyes.
"Cocky... bastard!" Nick launched a powerful liver blow.
'Dammit... what power.. that was much stronger than his normal punches.' Mike manage to block the second strike. It was powerful enough to push him to the other side of the arena.
'Did he... just get stronger?!' Nick dashed forward at blinding speeds. The two began to throw numerous punches and kicks.
"Come on Guren..." Pyrrha said. "You got this."
Mike threw another punch straight into Nick's face. However he saw that it did nothing but made him angry. Nick pulled back his fist. Ready to strike Mike in the jaw.
'Well shit...' Mike was prepared for what's to come. However, Nick's eyes soon went back to gold.
"That's it! The match is over!" The combat instructor stopped the match. "The winner, Chrome!"
"Wha... but... I had enough... aura." Nick looked up and saw that his meter was completely at zero, while Mike's was at greenish yellow.
"Man! That was a good match little bro. Way better than back then." Mike held his hand out, only for it to be slapped away. He saw that Nick's expression was that of pure anger.
"I... don't need you pity Mike." Nick got up and left the stadium. Pyrrha could see the look of anger on his face and went to chase after him.
"Dammit!" Nick punched a wall, easily creating a small crater on it. "No matter what I do... no matter how hard I train... he's always... ahead of me!" Nick gritted his teeth in anger as tears began welled up. "Come on... you said you wouldn't cry anymore." He was able to fight back the tears before calming down.
"Oh Guren..." Pyrrha wanted to go up to Nick and cheer him up. But she knew that it would only do more bad than good. So she decided to leave him by himself.
Nick's jealousy of Mike's talent never wavered. Because of how well he fought, he was able to challenge students of higher years. Effortlessly deafeating each one. He was soon known as the "Hope of Sanctum". And it made him angry that he was left behind. He soon decided to put his challenge on hold. At least for the time being.
Four months later
"Hey boys!" Nikaido walked into the locker room. She had bags of food in her hand. "I know you two probably haven't eaten all day. So I took the liberty of having my chefs cook you up something."
"Awww man! Thanks babe!" Mike began stuffing his face. "So Nick, you want the first match, or are you good?"
"You can have it." Nick said. "I'm curious as to how you might do."
"Praying on my downfall little bro?"
"No. Just interested in how you might do."
Today was Nick and Mike's debut matches in Purgatory. The audience was suprised that two kids were participating in a dangerous place like this. But of course it didn't matter to them, as long as they saw a bit of blood.
"Well, no take backs!" Mike stood up. "Thanks for the food Haru! Wish me luck! Not that i need it."
"Of course." Nikaido hugged Mike. "Come on Nick. Lets go to the stands .
Not even two minutes passed and the match was already over. Although how it eneded bought disbelief to the audience. Everybody was shocked by what they witnessed. A red, dragon like human, in the middle of the arena. Standing over a fighter in flames.
"Holy..."
"What the hell?"
"Is that the same opponent?"
Nick's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he saw either. "He... unlocked his semblance."
Mike was greeted by a thunderous applause. Although not knowing what to do, Mike just waved to the crowd before running back to the locker room.
"What the hell was that?!" Mike looked at Nick with an extremely tired expression.
"I think... I just unlocked... my semblance." Mike was breathing heavily. "My aura's completely drained though."
Nick held his head down. Again the gap between the two had widened. However, he took a deep breath and decided to congratulate him on his win. "Good job on the win... and unlocking your semblance."
"Thanks Nick. And no worries, you'll get yours soon enough." Mike looked up and saw the time. "Looks like you're up."
Nick placed his headphones on. To which he pressed a button as it became a face mask.
"I didn't think you were serious about that." Mike had a small smirk. "Let me guess? That superhero show you be sneaking to watch at nights?"
"Sh... shut up..." Nick turned his head.
"Go get em' little bro." Mike said.
"Yeah."
Nick's first match was not going well for him. He was badly bruised. His opponent was not only bigger than him in height. But was over 250 pounds heavier than his weight of 146. The audience was cheering for Nick's opponent.
"Nick's gonna die out there if he don't surrender." Nikaido said worriedly.
"No... he won't. Nick has worked too hard for it to end here on his first match." Mike was not smiling. "He won't lose."
"I can't believe that they would wven allow children here." His opponent said. "Then again, I'd rather fight the other kid. He seems stronger than you."
Nick gritted his teeth. He was underestimating him. "Shut up..."
"What was that?"
"I... said... shut the hell up!" Nick got back up and charged forth, only to take a fist into his face, sending him head first to the ground.
Nikaido placed her head onto Mike's shoulder.
'Come on Nick...'
The crowd was yelling out for the match to end. In other words for Nick to die.
"Maybe I'll just break his legs so that he'll never think about entering a place like this." His opponent was going to finish Nick off. However, that would never happen. Nick's eyes opened wide. And what they saw next was the hulking opponent's face completely caved in.
Everybody was shocked to see Nick standing back up.
"What... kind of punch was that?"
"His face..."
Mike's eyes widened a bit. He thought back to when they fought and how Nick suddenly got a huge surge of power. 'It's... just like that time.'
As Nick's opponent fell to the floor, he pounced on top of him. And began to pummel his opponent's face in until it was completely unrecognizable. Everybody realized that he was no longer moving.
"He's... already dead." Nikaido muttered.
Nick completely blacked out. He continued to lauch numerous hooks and hammer blows into his opponent. Thinking back to the many times he lost to Mike, as he let out a roar. He was then stopped by the announcer..
"The match is over kid! He's dead!" Nick was breathing heavily. He saw his opponent was not moving a muscle.
"That kid's... a demon."
"He just wouldn't stop."
"He's gonna be big one day."
Nick heard numerous murmurs and whispers in the stadium.
"Hey kid... what do I call you?" The announcer said.
Nick didn't think long about it. He thought back to the one word that he remembered. However, he decided to use the Eastern Mistrali meaning of the word. "Ashura."
"The Ashura? That's a demon that loves to fight." The announcer said. "I love it." The announcer then held up Nick's arm. "Your winner! The Ashura!"
The audience let out a thunderous applause.
"Let's just say... you just made a lot of money today." He then took notice of Nick's body. While he had well developed muscles, he was still lean. "I suggest you start building up muscle kid. You can't have a name like that if you're that scarwny. Especially when you're gonna be fight even stronger opponents."
And so, Nick would continue to participate in match after match. He, alongside Mike, whould be known as "The God of War" took over the underground arena by storm. They were fighting opponent after opponent. They were soon under the watchful eye of a certain headmaster.
Four years later
Nick was in the locker room. Today was his 300th match. His attention was to the television, where he saw a familiar face.
"Eveybody knows that a prefight meal is the most important. Thats why I always turn to pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow flakes before a match." Pyrrha then took a spoonful of cereal. "Tastes that? That tastes like victory!"
"Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes. The tasty treat that'll toughen your tummy."
"Ugh. That stuff is horrible." Nick looked up and saw Mike looking at the television. "You can tell she doesn't want to do this commercial also. But still, who would've thought she end up being famous? Bet you wished you never left huh?"
"It is what it is." Nick said. "And sorry about you and Nikaido by the way."
"Hey. Shit happens." Mike shrugged his shoulders. "So, excited about your big match? 300 wins is a huge milestone, you know?"
"Can't say that I'm not." Nick stood up to stretch. "If you wasn't too busy chasing girls, you'd probably have just as many wins as me."
"But who's more popular?"
"Whatever." Nick said with a smirk. "Anyways, I'm off."
"Break a leg little bro. I mean their leg, not yours of course." Mike and Nick bumped each others fist before walking out to the arena.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Today is an important day! As the Ashura will be fighting for his 300th win! I hope you're just as excited as I am?!"
Nick could hear the crowd cheering loudly for him. He pressed a button on his headphones to activate the face mask before stepping out to the arena. Ready to continue his undefeated streak.
Present
"You know, it really did seem like I was always chasing behind him. No matter how close I got, he always found a way to get ahead of me. I guess that was why I threw myself into match after match."
"And you never thought to sit down and talk to him about that?" Blake was soon beginning to nod off.
"No... I thought that if i can beat him just once... maybe I could stop thinking that way about him."
"You two have too much pride." Blake then stood up. "Nick... go find Mike. Talk about this, and apologize to each other."
"I... yeah. That sounds like a good idea." Nick said. "Thanks for listening Blake."
"Of course..." Blake also stood up. "Now... I think, I'm gonna head back to the library." As she walked, she began to fall to the floor, but was soon caught by Nick, who sighed. "I think you need to rest."
He carried her and took her to her dorm room a d placed her on her bed. As he leaving out, he saw Pyrrha, who was surprised to see him.
"Guren!"
"Pyr!"
Pyrrha grabbed Nick by his shoulders. "Where have you been these past few days?! We were worried sick."
"I'm... sorry." Nick turned his head. "It was my fault that it led to that."
Pyrrha was surprised to hear that. But of course, she still needed to reprimand him "You two were both wrong for your actions. Had it not been for Professor Goodwitch intervening. Who knows what might've happened?"
"I know. That's why... I'm looking for Mike. I... wanna apologize to him."
"Yang had snatched him away in order to talk to him. As for where they are? I'm not entirely sure."
"I... might know where." Nick was ready to run off but stopped to look at Pyrrha. "And I'm... sorry for worrying you."
Pyrrha was a bit surprised as she watched Nick tun off. "I really can't stay mad at him... can't I?"
Rooftops
"Did you ever think about just sitting down amd actually talking about this?" Yang asked. She had Mike's head on her lap.
"I... never thought anything about it til now." Mike said. "I guess in some way, it was my fault too."
"At least you're not pinning the blame on him." Yang chuckled a bit. "I really don't like seeing either of you like this. None of us do. So the sooner you two fix things up, the better." Yang then had a smile on her face as she looked forward. "Which... I think might be now."
Mike lifted his head up and saw Nick standing by the rooftop door.
"Hey Yang. Mind if... we had some privacy?" Nick asked.
"Sure thing Nicky." Yang lifted Mike's head as she got up.
Mike also got up from the ground. He felt a hand press against his back.
"Remember. You two are all that you got. Besides all of us of course." Yang kissed Mike on the cheek before heading off. The two were staring off the roof ledge. Finding a way to start a conversation.
(Kingdom 2019 Film OST: A Dream)
"Hey..."
"Hey..."
The two awkwardly stared off. Finding it difficult to speak their minds.
"It's... been nearly four months since we came here... crazy right?" Mike tried to start some small talk to ease the tension.
"I don't know why... but I thought back to the day when we first started training." Nick said.
"That's crazy! So did I!" Mike turned his head to Nick. "That was quite the punch you threw! You've definitely gotten way stronger than before. I think this time you might actually beat me." He then let out a hearty laugh.
"Mike... can I be honest with you?" Nick turned to his brother.
"Yeah man! Come on we're... brothers. I'd expect you be honest with me at all times!"
"The truth is... I've hated you."
"Woah... I... guess you really meant it huh?" Mike was shocked to hear that. "If there's anything else that you want to let out. Now's the time." He then had a sad smile on his face.
"Or... at least I thought saying that would make me feel better. I mean... we both trained at the same time, and yet, I'm always the one eating dirt after we had one of our matches. And then during Sanctum when they were singing your praise." Nick shuffled around a bit before continuing.
"I guess... you can say that I was jealous of you. Jealous of how strong you were. By how you can always walk around with a smile on your face... jealous of how... you were able to easily move on from Bambi and Verity's deaths. And how we ran away back to the same bullshit that nealry got us killed." Nick then had his head down. "But... even then, everything you did... you did for me. For us. I guess... what I'm saying... is... it's hard for me to hate you... when I should be grateful for everything you did."
Mike turned his head away to wipe his eyes. "I don't hate you either. And while I was hurt by what you said... I don't ever want you to think I did everything for you just in order to place it over you head." He then turned back to his brother. "Nick, you wanna know something?"
"What's that?"
"You're the reason why I can always have a smile on my face everyday."
"That sounds weird the way you put it." Nick cringed a bit.
"Oh shut up! I really mean it!" Mike pouted a bit before staring off to the roof. "Before all of this. Before Bambi. It was only us. Doing everything it took to survive." Mike then looked up at the sky. "Even then, when we would get our asses kicked for getting caught stealing. When we went days without eating, and a proper roof over our heads, those were some of the greatest times I had." Mike touched the left side of his chest. "Do you remember the first word you said when you learned how to talk?"
Nick had a huge grin on his face. "How could I forget? It was your name. Michael. My brother, my best friend, my savior." Nick began to wipe his eyes as tears fell. "Do you... regret taking me in?"
"What?! Of course not! I don't regret a single thing." Mike turned towards Nick. "Never had.. never will."
Nick soon began to cry. "Mike... I'm sorry... for being a horrible brother to you... for all these years."
"It's all good. Didn't I say siblings are meant to redirect each other when they do something stupid?" Mike went and placed an arm around Nick. A huge grin spread acrossed his face while tears fell.
"It goes both ways." The two began to laugh all the while crying their eyes out for a few minutes.
"So let me ask you something? What did you really do to get that money from Nikaido?"
"Killed all her bodyguards, stole her scroll, and left her for dead." Mike said nonchalantly.
Nick's eyes widened a bit before turning back to normal. "I never liked her anyway."
The two shared a laugh before Mike stopped. "Also I have something else to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Remember the week after you met Pyrrha at Sanctum?"
"Yeah?"
"I tried to talk to her once."
"You bastard!" Nick yelled as he stood up. His face was as red as Mike's eyes. "Wasn't you happy enough being around those... groupies?!"
"Relax! It didn't go as far as you expected it to!" Mike howled with laughter at Nick's reaction before calming down. "So as your brother, let me ask? How come you never told her how you felt when we were leaving for Purgatory that day?"
"If I had told her... I might've stayed."
"Wouldn't that had been a good thing? I mean... sure there's a age difference... and a height difference."
"Oh shut up!" Nick yelled. " I mean... it would've. But I can't change what's already done. And besides, she told me that she likes Jaune now."
"Jaune?! Oh man! Is that rich!" Mike began howling with laughter.
"How drunk were you? I told you all at the club!" Nick yelled.
"Come on Nick! I can see how she feel about you. Like the day you came back to Beacon and "stepped off" for a bit?"
"Wait... you saw that?"
"Can we... stay like this... for a little while longer?" Mike imitated Pyrrha, all the while laughing.
"First off! That... was actually a very good imitation. And second, you shouldn't eavesdrop on people's conversations!"
"Look... all I'm saying is go for it. Before someone else actually takes her away."
"I'm fine... with her being taken away."
"Really Nick? Are you?" Mike glared at Nick. "Because no person would've reacted like the way you did just now." He knew that Nick needed to be pushed forward in this ordeal. "Then how about we do this? Let's fight!" Nick was shocked by Mike's declaration.
"If you can kick my ass, you can let Pyr "be happy" with whoever the hell she wants. But if I kick your ass? Which of course will most definitely happen. You have to tell her how you feel."
"That's!" Nick stood up before stopping himself. "Fine!."
"Five days from now. You better train hard, because I'll be making sure you confess!"
"Yeah, yeah!" The two then gave each other a hug.
"I'm glad things are back to normal." Mike said.
"Yeah. Me too."
Ten minutes later
"Now you two better not, and I mean ever not, fight again!" Weiss said. Reprimanding the two for what happened days ago.
"Alright, we got it princess, sheesh!" Mike huffed.
"That's right! You don't see me and Yang going at each other's throats, right?" Ruby said to the the two.
"Well, we're still going to fight. Although this time... in the arena." Nick said.
Everybody was shocked to hear that.
"I swear." Weiss rubbed the side of her temples.
"You all telling me that you don't want to see us fight?" Mike asked.
"I'd rather you two just behave!" Weiss huffed.
"There's no stopping them once they put their mind on something." Kevin said. "So! When's the fight?"
"Five days from now." Nick said.
"Five days?!" Everybody was shocked to hear that.
"Isn't that... a bit too close?" Jaune replied.
"Not really. Especially since the dance is a few weeks away." Mike said. "Best we got it done sooner, than later."
"This might be the biggest event to happen since that livestream." Yang said.
"I'm happy to see that you two are brothers again!" Penny went and gave the two a bone crushing hug.
"Dammit... how strong... is she?!" Mike struggled to break free.
"Let... go..." Even Nick had trouble getting out.
And so, Nick and Mike trained hard throught the five days.
"Gah!" Yang was sent flying towards the training hall. "Owww! Damn Mikey! You're going a bit overboard..."
"Sorry Yang. It's just that... I'm a bit excited about this battle." Mike held out his hand to pick Yang up. "Nick must be training just as hard as I am."
"Well I'm glad you two are back to being brothers again." Yang smiled at her boyfriend before wincing in pain.
"How about we call it a day, and I give you a "special" massage for all the hard work?" Mike winked his eye.
"Hopefully you get the right spots." The two decoded to call ot a day. As they left the training arena to have that "massage".
In Nick's consciousness, Nick was completely battered and bloodied. While Prometheus was absolutely healthy. "I'm impressed. On the first day, you were knocked unconscious during our first battle. Now, you're still standing."
"Looks like... I'm showing improvement!" Nick was breathing heavily. Struggling to keep his balance.
Pandora walked up to Nick and healed him. "While I'm quite ecstatic that you've been taken the time to visit us all week. We were hoping it would've been for more than just for training."
"Yeah I know. But this is Mike we're talking about."
"Mike? The red eyed one?" Prometheus asked.
"He reminds me of him. Especially that arrogance." Pandora muttered
"One of these days, you're gonna stop being cryptic and tell me what's up?" Nick said. "How come i don't feel tired in here compared to outside?"
"That's because time runs slower here. One hour of meditation could feel like days. Hence why you're extremely tired after leaving from here."
"Does it now?" Nick wondered. "Speaking of time? What's my limit now?"
"Six minutes and forty two seconds." Prometheus stared at his watch. "Combined with Golden Time, two minutes."
"Seems like I'm slowly getting the hang of it." Nick said with a smile. As he said that, an earthquake occured. "What the hell?!"
"It seems that someone's trying to wake you up." Pandora suddenly activated a portal. "Seeing that tomorrow is your fight. We left you a gift... as a way of saying good luck."
"Well how would I get it when I'm out in the real world?"
"When the time comes." Pandora said. "Now, off you go." She then pushed Nick into the portal.
"He's gonna want to know someday, we can't keep hiding it from him." Prometheus said. "He even muttered one of their names."
"All in due time. Until then, he needs to master this power as soon as possible." Pandora said.
Nick finally woke up to see that it was Ruby, who was shaking him.
"Huh... Ruby?"
"Are you ok?!" Ruby asked worriedly. "I've been trying to get you to wake up for over an hour, but you wouldn't budge!"
"Sorry... I was meditating." Nick stood up. "Didn't mean to worry you there." He then ruffled her hair.
"So this is where you've been training at?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah." Nick stood up. "I come up here after my regular training."
"I don't know if I can mentally train myself after physically training myself." Ruby said. "It just sounds like it's too much."
"Well, when you've been at it for as long as I did. You'll become use to it."
As Nick and Ruby were walking downstairs, she began to twiddle her thumbs. Her thoughts were on the dance.
"Ummm... so... Nick..." Ruby said.
"What's up?"
Ruby's face began to heat up as she began to talk. "So... I know... that you said that the dance is stupid... but... maybe it wouldn't be as bad... if."
She never got the chance to finish as they both ran into Pyrrha.
"Pyr!" Nick was surprised to see her. "Just the person i was looking for."
"Hello Guren, Ruby." Pyrrha greeted the two. "And... you were?"
"Yeah." Nick had a smile on his face. "I... was wondering if you can be my sparring partner for the remainder of the night?"
Pyrrha's face began to heat up. "Oh... Of course!"
"You can go on ahead Ruby. I'm gonna train a bit with Pyr."
"Oh... sure." Ruby muttered. "See you guys tomorrow! And make sure you get some rest!"
"I will. Later Ruby. "
"Good night, Ruby." Pyrrha said.
The two waved goodbye before she dashed off.
And hour later, Nick and Pyrrha were going all out in the training room. Fist and spear had clashed. Nick was able to get the upper hand. Slamming Pyrrha on the ground while placing a fist in her face.
"That... was incredible!" Pyrrha had a smile on her face while breathing heavily. "I can't believe how strong you've gotten with only five days of training!"
"You really think so?" Nick got off of Pyrrha and they both sat down. "You know... Mike is probably training just as hard as I am. Things will be different compared to the last time we fought four years ago."
"You don't have anything to be nervous about." Pyrrha held Nick's hand. "You're different from back then. I believe you can do it."
"Thanks Pyr." Nick soon saw that Pyrrha was holding his hand. Causing him to blush. "A... anyways... it's getting late! I don't want Goodwitch to yell at the both of us."
"Y... yeah..." Pyrrha released Nick's hand. "You need plenty of rest for tomorrow."
"You're right." Nick proceeded to walk out the dorm. "Come on, I'll... walk you to your dorm."
"It is on the same floor." Pyrrha began to laugh.
"I... I know." Nick mumbled. He suddenly felt her hold onto his arm.
"So, I'll accept that walk to my dorm." Pyrrha said with a smile.
"Y...yeah." The two left the training area before stopping in front of Team JNPR's dorm.
"Now make sure you get plenty of sleep. No midnight snacks or video games. It's a miracle you even wake up on time."
"I will." Nick waved as he walked to his dorm. "Night Pyr. And thanks again."
"Night Guren. And of course! Any time." Pyrrha proceeded to go into her dorm.
Team KNTM's Dorm
Team KNTM were lounging around, playing a four player multiplayer game on the duststation.
"Nice! We finally beat it!" Kevin hooted.
"Finally! And it took us three months." Nick took a deep breath.
"It's 1am. Shouldn't we all be asleep?" Torren said.
"What are you my mom?!" Kevin said.
"Torren's right you guys!" Mike clapped his hands together. "Tomorrow's gonna be a big day! So I expect everyone to be accounted for in the arena."
"Somebody's happy." Torren was munching on a bag of chips.
"Not as happy as this guy! Right?!" Kevin pointed at Nick, who proceeded to blush. "You and Pyrrha were... "training"?"
"Yes! That's exactly what we did!"
"Relax. I'm just messing with ya!"
"Yeah yeah." Two gave each other a fistbump as the four of them got into their respective beds.
"You know? I'm glad...everything's back to normal." Kevin couldn't help but smile at the fact that the four of them are back together. "It's not the same when we're split apart, you know?"
"Yeah. I know what you mean." Nick also had a smile on his face.
"Less talking, more sleeping." Mike pulled the cover over himself.
"And try not to break this clock Mike." Torren joked.
"Night guys." Nick said.
"Night." The four then went to sleep.
The next day
"I heard all classes were cancelled today."
"They said to report to the combat training area."
"How come? Is it an emergency?"
Students from all different years were going to the combat training arena. Their concerns showed as they were uncertain as to why they had to report to the arena.
"Awwe man! I cant wait!" Kevin plopped down on his seat. He had a large piece of paper in his hand.
"What's that you have in your hand?" Penny asked Kevin.
"Oh, that's right. You were with Ironwood throughout the week." Kevin showed Penny an extremely detailed poster. It was of Nick and Mike clashing their fists. "Two Brothers, One Battle. Who Will Be Considered The Strongest?"
"Oooh!" Nora took the poster from Kevin. "This is sooooo cool!"
"Hey! Give that back! I spent all week making that poster!" Kevin yelled.
Blake took notice of the poster. She looked even more refreshed than before. "Wow Kevin. You made this?"
"Yep! Forgot to mention that I'm a jack of all trades." Kevin had a grin on his face.
"Hey Blake. You're looking quite refreshed." Sun said.
"I decided to take a much needed break." Blake then sat down. "Besides, that can wait."
Glynda took noticed of the large number of students entering the class. 'I cant believe I'm doing something like this.'
Four days ago
"You want me to do what?" Glynda raised her eyebrow.
"Make it flashy!" Mike said. "You know? Like an arena entrance!"
Nick could only sigh before having a grin on his face. "You know it wouldn't make a difference right?"
"I know. But I want this to be special."
Nick's eyes widened a bit at what Mike said.
"I want it to be like Purgatory." Mike placed a hand in Nick's shoulder. "You know? With the entrance music and all!"
"But this isn't Purgatory. This is combat training." Glynda said with a tone full of annoyance.
"I'll allow it." Everybody turned towards Ozpin. "While combat training is mainly in order to improve one's skills. Many students don't seem to take this class seriously. However, maybe this match will light a fire in them."
"This is was why I like you Oz." Mike grinned.
Glynda's face scrunched up in anger before sighing. "I should be suspending the both of you for your actions... but seeing that you'll keep acting rambunctious no matter what I say. I'll let it slide. Although the next time I will be suspending the both of you from all activities for the rest of the year. Vytal Festival included!"
Nick and Mike gave each other a high five.
"And don't ask for something like this ever again!" Glynda barked.
"Thanks Goodwitch." Glynda stopped for a moment. Realizing that Nick actually thanks her. "And sorry for everything that happened."
Glynda had a small smile on her face. "You're welcome Nicholas." She then pushed her glasses before walking off.
Present
"Students. Today's match is something I'm sure you had hoped would happened ever since the beginning of your school year."
"Hey Coco!" Yang yelled towards the second year.
"Yang!" Coco ran up to her and gave her a hug. "I heard Mike and Nick are supposed to be fighting! In the ring this time of course!"
"Since when did you two become friends?" Kevin asked.
"Since I found out she has excellent taste in clothing... and men." Coco had a smirk on her face.
"We were worried when we heard what happened." Velvet said. "But I'm glad to see that they're back to normal."
"I'm putting my lien on Nick." Fox said. "I have a good feeling about him since that livestream. What about you Yatsu?"
"I heard rumors about Michael. He apparently took over the entirety of Sanctum Academy during his time there. Know that it was mostly girls who said that." He replied.
"I'm glad that those two decided to fight it out in the combat arena." Coco said. "I couldn't fathom what would occur should they had fought in the hallway."
"Mass destruction!" Torren yelled. He had loads of snacks in his arms.
"Why are you carrying around all of that junk food?!" Weiss was suddenly handed sour straws.
"Because this is basically what I would consider to be the biggest event ever!" Torren then gave Weiss some sour straws. "Now suck on your sour straw, sit down, and enjoy the fight."
"Hey Torren! Got any nachos?!" Sun was thrown a bag of nachos and dip. "Thanks!"
"I wonder where's Pyrrha's at?" Jaune asked.
"She wasn't with you guys?" Kevin finally snatched the poster from Nora.
"Sorry I'm late." Pyrrha soon walked up to everybody. "I had something to take care of."
"Ooooo, I wonder what that was?" Kevin had a huged grin plaster over his face.
"You guys! It's about to start!" Ruby squealed in excitement.
The entire room had gotten dark. Some of the students began to mutter as to what's going on.
(Metal Gear Rising Revengeance OST: Rules of Nature)
"The first fighter! A raging flame that won't be put out! His fighting skills considered to be second to none!"
"Wait.. is that?" Blake finally put two and two together.
"With a height of six foot one! Weighing in at 183 pounds! The God of War! Michael Bell!"
Explosions were let off at the main entrance. Suprising nearly all of the students.
"Did he really have to be flashy?" Weiss had a deadpanned expression. "And how did he get music for his entrance?"
"However he got it? I love it!" Yang yelled in exitement. "Yeah, Mikey!"
Mike soon walked out into the arena. Stretching his arms and his legs. He looked around as a thunderous applause was let off.
"Hey look! Your crush is performing." Mercury began to laugh at Emerald, who proceeded to glare at him in anger.
"For someone who's always sleeping in my class. He sure seems energized." Professor port said before laughing.
"So... who do you think is going to win this fight Oz?" Ironwood asked.
"I feel that I should keep that to myself." Ozpin said. "Although, I have a good feeling about how this might turn out."
"I've heard that he defeat the Pyrrha Nikos effortlessly." Ironwood said. "Something Nicholas had a hard time doing."
"I can tell you James. It doesn't matter how you win. So as long as you win, is what matters."
"Mike, I love you!"
"Mike!"
"It's the strongest first year!"
"Woah... look at the applause he's recieving." Sun said.
"Yeah... I guess being popular does have its merits." Neptune added.
"Yeah Mike!" Kevin cheered.
"I... don't know who to cheer for?" Penny said.
"Why not both?" Torren said as he was munching on donuts. "That way, nobody is left out."
Penny soon has a smile on her face. "Go Nick! Go Mike!"
(Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator OST: Sky Should Be High)
After the cheering died down, Glynda proceeded to call out the next fighter. "The next fighter is in my own words, a stormbringer who had garnered a huge reputation since being here. He's known for his ferocity in battle. This young man continues to claw his way to the top. Or should I say punch?" Glynda sighed before continuing. "With a height of five foot eight and weighing at 164 pounds! The Ashura! Nicholas Bell!"
Nick walked out from the opposite side of the entrance. He was also greeted with a thunderous applause.
"It's the Ashura!"
"Good luck Nick!"
"Are you single?!"
"Go Nick!" Ruby yelled out.
"Wow! I never knew he was that short." Jaune said.
"The height difference will definitely play a huge part of this fight." Torren said.
Pyrrha's attention was all on Nick as he emerge from the entrance.
Five minutes ago
Pyrrha was standing by the entrance. "Listening to music before heading out?"
Nick twirled his headphones around. "Not really. As you can hear, there's no music playing."
"Was that your way of calming down?"
"Pretty much." Nick then stood up. Pyrrha's face lit up as she couldn't help but notice well toned his body was. It would put nearly all of the students and most adults to shame. He then put on a shirt with his jacket before placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry too much." Nick said with a smile. "Otherwise, I'll be worrying even more than I already am."
"Guren... give it your all."
(Kaiji OST Vol. 2: Hakairoku)
"Of course." Nick stopped for a moment. "Pyr..." Nick tried to say something but stopped himself. "Thanks."
"Of... of course."
Present
Mike stretched his body, making sure he's ready. "You know... you've really come a long way. But that doesn't mean I havent either. So... I want you to come at me with everything you got. Becsuse I'm here to win."
"Right back at ya." Nick had a smile on his face. "Every punch, every kick, I'll throw it with everything I have. Thats exactly what any fighter will do."
"I know that everybody here is excited to watch this match." Glynda said. "However, you will be going through the same rules as any other combat training match."
"Oh man! I'm actually pumped to see this!" Jaune said excitedly.
"You and everyone else." Blake said.
"And here I thought you would be too busy to even show up." Weiss retorted.
Blake looked at Nick. "I owe it to them. I think we all do... in some way."
"Now that Nick has his own semblance, he might be able to keep up with Mike." Ruby said.
"It's not the semblance that makes the fighter. But the heart." Kevin then turned to Pyrrha. "So Pyrrha... you excited for this fight?"
"I am..." Pyrrha looked at Nick, who was bouncing on his heels. "Guren's been waiting for this day. Longer than the five days he spent training. And this is the day that he's going to prove to Chrome that he's got what it takes."
"Well one thing's for sure. Mikey will show him whose the big brother." Yang said.
"I'd advise in putting stock into a fotune that hasn't been told Yang." Weiss said.
"I agree with Weiss." Pyrrha said with a smile.
"Come on Nick! Kick his butt!" Ruby yelled out.
"Good luck you two!" Sun yelled.
"Nicholas... Michael... are you two ready?" Glynda asked the two.
"Of course Ms. Goodwitch." Mike got into his fighting stance. "Ready when you are."
"Yeah." Nick did the same.
"And-" Glynda didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as the two struck each other at the same time. Each punch pushing their faces in.
Nicholas Bell (The Ashura) VS Michael Bell (The God of War)
The two are finally getting ready to fight. This won't be your ordinary combat training fight, so I'm throwing all the punches out with the following two chapters. Which of course will be a double release. Anyways, with that being said, be on the lookout for the next chapter.