Chapter 47
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST An Abdominal Investigation]
Setsuna Tokage and Yui Kodai were walking down the hallway, making their way towards the monetary room as it was their turn to take the practical exams, since Tetsutetsu and Kosei's match was finished. While the two were walking together, Setsuna tried making some small talk with her partner. "So, now we're up to bat."
"Mm." Yui replied.
"Seeing as how the boys could win, let's show the teachers some girl power." Tokage confidently said.
"Mm." Kodai responded, sounding indifferent.
"...You know, it's hard to tell if you're excited or not when all you say is 'Mm.' right?" Setsuna told her partner. Yui just looked at her indifferently and then back forward. Tokage had a slight deadpan expression on her face as she stated "You are such, a kūdere."
"Mm." Kodai repeated in the same tone.
The two then got to the monetary room and entered it to see Recovery Girl walking out of the temporary nurse's office with Tetsutetsu, who seemed to be debating with the woman. The two girls also saw members of class 1-A talking with each other, until Sora noticed them and walked over to the pair. "Hey, uh...Setsuna right?"
Tokage was surprised that he remembered her name. "Yeah. Surprised you remembered that." She said.
"Well you were nice enough to be the 'attractive girl' I found in the scavenger hunt." Sora reminded her.
The green haired girl smiled at that memory, then had a slightly devious thought. "Eh, I figured I could help you out, since you didn't want to use any of your girl classmates. Plus, it was kind of funny. Did any of them get jealous though? I'm curious."
"I think they were too busy having fun in the side games to care." Sora replied, remembering the good times at the Sports Festival. Then he looked over to Yui "So I'm guessing you're that Kodai girl that's Setsuna's partner for this match?"
"Mm." Yui replied with a nod.
"Well, nice to meet you." Sora said.
"Mm." Kodai repeated.
After that, there was silence for a few seconds. "Uh...ok." Sora spoke up.
"She doesn't really talk much." Tokage told him.
"Ah. Got it." The Keyblade wielder understood as he just smiled and nodded at Yui, who curiously glanced back at the boy's sudden change of approach to her.
Then Vlad King noticed them and spoke up. "Ah. you made it. Alright. Time to show us how much you've learned."
"Right." Setsuna replied with a determined expression.
"Mm!" Kodai responded, looking determined as well.
As the two girls made their way to the platform, Tetsutetsu cheered out. "Go kick ass just like we did."
Sora then spoke up again. "Good luck you two. We'll be watching you win."
Tokage had a confident grin while Yui just looked at the two boys and nodded at their words of encouragement. Then they were transported inside the datascape.
[Silence]
The two girls were now looking around and seeing what was around them. Multiple factories and industrial buildings surrounded them and branched off into many different pathways. They recognized this place as Ground Gamma and knew that Setsuna's Quirk might be the only way that they'll find their way out of here.
[Play KH3 Re Mind OST Radiant Garden]
Elsewhere in the datascape, ones and zeros compiled together until Vexen was formed, and when he looked around, he immediately spoke in a curious tone. "What is this?" He was not familiar with this place, but he already began to note every single detail he could see within seconds. "An industrialized labyrinth consisting of inactive factories. Everything is in peak condition. On top of that, this place seems to be isolated by a gate in the distance, It could be that this place is an isolated work section regularly used by this world's inhabitants, yet no machinery is on, meaning that either all of these factories must be supervised by the inhabitants and remain inactive when said inhabitants vacate the area,...or this place is merely a testing ground of some sorts, modeled in the aesthetic of an industrialized area."
The Chilly Academic now began to branch off into this new hypothesis. "It would certainly make more sense, considering that it is broad daylight, yet there aren't any people or Heartless roaming about the area. Not only that, but the Organization's mission that I was given was to act as a sort of guard, which would be more befitting of Lexaeus, Xaldin, or Xigbar, considering their previous lives as castle guards, and not someone like myself, who is more suited for reconnaissance."
His train of thought was cut off as he heard an announcement go off. "Team Kodai and Tokage. Practical Exam. Ready? Go!"
"Practical Exam?" Vexen repeated, now getting his answer. "So this place is a testing ground of some sorts. And it seems that my arrival was conveniently at the time of this 'practical exam's' scheduled start. Whoever it was in the Organization that decided to approve of this idea must have a barbaric sense of humor." The Nobody then slowly shook his head in disappointment and annoyance as he then extended his arm and summoned his shield. "But for just this one time, I shall indulge them. I'll show them why I earned my spot in the Organization, even if I have to do so through the primitive and unsophisticated ways of combat." The Chilly Academic then walked forward and began his traversal through the industrial labyrinth before him.
Back in the real world. Tetsutetsu, was with the crowd as they watched the screen. Everyone had immediately noticed that the Organization member ran his mouth quite a bit. Even though nobody except Moogle could hear what he said, they could all guess that he was theorizing his predicament. The 1-A students ended up comparing him to Izuku and his motor mouth, while everyone else just figured that he just likes to think out loud.
In the datascape, Tokage and Kodai were walking around the datascape, however Setsuna had some pieces of her body detached and floating on their own in different directions. As her Quirk, 'Lizard Tail Splitter' was being used to her advantage. Not only that, but she was taking point, while Yui simply stayed close to her main body. It was clear who was taking command on this practical.
[Play KH3 OST Has Beens -cutscene-]
Close by, Vexen was moving forward, until something caught his attention. He saw what appeared to be a hand hovering a good distance in front of him. He quickly took cover around a nearby corner and poked his head out to observe the body part. He then noticed that there was another thing hovering close to the hand. It looked like a forearm of some sort, most likely what would normally be attached to the floating hand. Then both body parts branched off into different directions, with the hand moving towards his direction.
While he was curious as to what was happening, he also knew that if there was an arm that could split itself from its body, then not only would said body need to be found, but that there are most likely other limbs that would be detached and surveying other areas close by. He moved cautiously, as he didn't know if the limbs could detect him or not, and he didn't want to stay and find out. He took another turn around another corner and then saw an opening that led to a larger pathway. He slightly peaked his head out and then saw something that intrigued him. A pair of people moving away from his general direction, yet still seeming to be alert.
After only seconds of visual contact, The Chilly Academic had already noticed three key things. First off, one of the girls was lacking her arms. Two, said girl who was absent of arms aesthetically matched the floating arm pieces he saw earlier, meaning that those arms were hers. And thirdly, both girls seemed to be dressed up in a sort of costume that would be seen in a typical superhero world, meaning that he's in a world where Heroes exist and he's most likely in a testing ground for students.
After putting the pieces together, he decided that it was time to leave, but then he heard one of the girls speak. "Keep alert. That Organization member is close." Vexen remained silent as he continued to listen. "One of my pieces detected something earlier, but now it's quiet." So the limbs can detect him, and since they could split, and move on their own, he was most likely not going to remain undetected. "If we're lucky, he'll just get lost and we can just walk through the gate without a problem."
[Silence]
Vexen had enough information, and considering that he also had the element of surprise, now was the time to strike. He slid out of the alleyway into the center of the large pathway, quickly summoned a large chakram shaped ice construct and sent it towards the pair.
[Play KH Re:Chain Of Memories OST Face It]
Setsuna detected it and then yelled out "Behind us!" as she kicked Yui to the side and let her leg get cut off by the ice attack. It stung for a second, but other than that, she felt nothing. Her detached leg then blitzed towards the man responsible for it's separation, only to be stopped mid way by a blue shield. As Kodai got back up and Tokage recalled her leg and arms back to her, they watched as their opponent called back his shield.
The Organization member then spoke. "A pair of would be Heroins. And here I thought this mission would be a challenge."
"Would be?" Setsuna repeated, sounding a bit insulted. "You're looking at the real deal mister. And who are you to call us that?"
"Your offended response, young age, and the fact that we're standing in the middle of a testing ground all contradict what you just said." He pointed out to her. "As for who I am, you may call me Vexen. That is all you'll need to know, as I doubt you'd even comprehend what I am."
"You're a Villain, a member of an Organization of fellow Villains, and you use a shield as your main tool for combat, while having an ice quirk." Tokage told him what she knew of him, as if to challenge his analytical skills.
The Chilly Academic then took that comment as a challenge and replied "And you, are a Heroin in training who feels quite confident in herself, and her ability to detach pieces of her body with little to no negative effects, make those pieces hover around freely, use them to detect any abnormalities nearby them, perform long ranged attacks with them, and can recall said limbs and reattach them with little issue." Stating what he knew about her.
The lizard themed girl was actually a bit surprised on how detailed he was, and also a bit intimidated at how he was almost spot on with his description, and Vexen noticed this. But before he could say anything else, the girl detached her hands, arms, feet, legs, hips, stomach area, basically everything except for her head, chest and shoulders until she was 40 separate parts. The Chilly Academic then took that as a cue to get ready for a fight and he raised his shield. Yui, who was now off the ground, also got ready for a fight.
[Play KH Re:Chain Of Memories OST The 13th Struggle]
Multiple pieces Setsuna's body were flung towards Vexen, but he countered accordingly with a cold wind that was powerful enough to halt and quickly push back the floating flesh, even freezing a few pieces as well, rendering them useless. Tokage then scattered other pieces of her in multiple directions while directing others to attempt a pincer maneuver, but the Chilly Academic fought smart and used his shield 'Frozen Pride' to block one side, while simultaneously casting a few blizzard spells to clash with and freeze a few of the other pieces that attempted to reach him.
Back in the real world, as this was happening Present Mic spoke up. "The Chilly Academic, Vexen! His Quirk, Cryo Control! He can create and manipulate ice in many different ways. Not only that, but he's also able to withstand extreme cold up to the point that it doesn't even phase him."
Back in the datascape Kodai watched the skirmish unfold as her partner's head chest piece hovered towards her and whispered. "He's a defensive fighter and likes to counter. His shield is able to cover one side completely and his ice quirk doesn't seem to affect him."
"Hm." Yui responded with a nod, understanding how their opponent fights.
"I'll keep him distracted with my parts while you take out his defense." Setsuna whispered out her plan.
"Hm." Kodai once again replied with a nod, before she separated from Tokage and waited for her moment to go in.
Vexen was able to see them have that brief conversation, but was unable to hear it, due to the noise from the clanging on Frozen Pride and the sounds of ice forming around him. All he knew was that he was going to have to be on the lookout for the other girl now. He has to be cautious of her though, as he doesn't know her abilities, so he had to be prepared for anything. He continued to dodge, block and counter accordingly, freezing a few more body parts, including the two feet that kept trying to kick him.
As Setsuna was keeping his focus on her attacking body parts, she used her hands to grab some of the frozen pieces of her, take them to an appropriate height, and then drop them. Once those pieces hit the floor, the ice shattered and then she was able to use them again. However, she could only keep this up for so long, as the constant barrage of cold on her body parts was starting to get to her, and while she could regenerate her body parts if they were fully frozen solid and destroyed, her regeneration will exhaust her, and she was already split up to her current maximum limit of 40 pieces.
While many people would consider going full force at the beginning a bad call, she only did it to hopefully give her opponent a false sense of security, so that when her plan with Yui gets into action, it will look more like a desperate final push, instead of a thought out strategy. She could only hope that Vexen was the overconfident type.
The Chilly Academic continued to block and freeze more pieces, and then noticed the two hovering hands breaking the ice on the frozen pieces of flesh. Now he prioritized those, as he casted a series of Blizzard spells that would track and follow the hands as they attempted to flee. He kept his eye on the other pieces around him, but his attention was mostly on the hands, as he deemed them the current biggest threat.
Kodai noticed that he was more focused on her partner now, and knew that this was her chance. She quickly checked her front pouch and pulled out what she needed, the pair of cuffs that were now much smaller, thanks to her 'Size' Quirk. She strapped one of the cuffs to the base of her right ring finger, making it look like a ring, and then ran towards her opponent.
Vexen watched as the Blizzards were homing in on their targets as he blocked another attack with his shield, then just out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl dressed in red and white making a beeline towards him. Whatever she could do, she needed to be close, so the intellectual, quickly casted another Homing Blizzard spell towards her, before once again moving to block another attack from one of the flesh pieces.
Yui saw the ice come for her, and she side stepped it, only to then see the ice abruptly stop and change course to attempt to hit her again. She ducked and saw it once again stop and change course to try again. She dropped to avoid the attack and then rolled herself back to her feet as the ice continued to follow her as she got closer to her target. Unfortunately, she couldn't dodge it forever as it managed to make contact and then partially freeze her left wrist.
Vexen heard the freezing happen, and then turned to once again attempt to cast a Homing Blizzard Spell, but then he saw that she was about to make contact with him and he had to act fast. The Chilly Academic quickly moved Frozen Pride in between the two and then felt an impact on it as she slammed her hands on the shield. After a brief pause, he pushed her away to block another piece of flesh coming for him, only to then see Frozen Pride suddenly vanish from his sight.
"What?!" he exclaimed. In that brief moment of confusion, multiple pieces of Setsuna were blitzing towards the man, ready to overwhelm him. She was able to land three hits, but then he screamed out. "I've had enough of this!" Before a cold breeze surrounded him and he held his arms up.
Suddenly, he was surrounded by multiple ice spikes and then the spikes quickly trailed their way over to Yui. Before the girl could even attempt to dodge, ice spikes erupted around her and quickly immobilized her. She was trapped in place, with her hands stuck behind her. She struggled and attempted to break free, but the ice was too hard.
Tokage saw what happened and realized that her plan didn't go all the way through. She then saw more ice spikes trail their way towards her, and she acted fast, moving her body and as many pieces as she could up and out of the range of the spikes. She looked over to her partner and was beginning to plan a way to get her out of there, but then she noticed that Kodai was rapidly shaking her hands, as if to get her attention to them. After squinting her eyes to focus on them, she then noticed the shrunken cuffs and got the message. Sending both of her hands towards her partner, while using other pieces of her body to draw Vexen's attention away from her partner.
As the two hands reached Yui, she pressed her fingertips together and the cuffs grew enough to fall off of her finger and into Setsuna's left hand, yet still remain small enough to not be seen immediately. Kodai then watched as the hands moved away from her and she nodded to her partner, who then nodded back.
Vexen dodged and froze another piece of flesh that attempted to attack him, and then he noticed the lizard themed girl's left hand making a fist and attempting a punch, with the right hand following behind it. The Chilly Academic waited for his moment and then dodged the left hand, before raising his right hand and casting a Blizzard Spell point blank on the other hand, freezing it completely.
Tokage then screamed out "NOW Kodai!" and then Yui placed her fingertips together again. Vexen quickly attempted casted a second blizzard spell towards the immobilized Kodai in an attempt to stop her from what would most likely be her breaking free from her imprisonment.
[Silence]
Nothing came out of his hand however, and then he suddenly realized that he couldn't move anymore. "Ngh!...What?!" He began to panic. "What's happening?! Why can't I move!?"
Setsuna then began to pant from exhaustion as she recalled as many pieces of her that she could. "That was close." She said.
"What was close?!" Vexen yelled out. "What did you do to me?!"
"I cuffed you. That's what." Tokage answered as she pointed towards his left wrist.
The Organization Member was able to look at his wrist and then see a set of handcuffs strapped on his wrist that somehow immobilized him. "Huh?...how...how could someone with my level of intellect, be so easily defeated?"
Then the announcement went off "Team Kodai and Tokage have passed the Finals!"
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST U.A. Corridors]
As the datascape was vanishing, the two girls could hear Vexen yell out in what was most likely disappointment in himself, but then the two girls briefly saw numbers and then were once again back in the real world. The first thing the both were greeted to was Sora and Tetsutetsu congratulating them on their victory. After that, Setsuna realized that the other frozen pieces of her body were here as well, and after some help from both boys, she was fully put back together without any pieces of ice on her.
While Recovery Girl suggested that Tokage go get a check up, as frozen body parts usually would require a doctor to handle, the girl denied the suggestion and explained how her regeneration has got her covered. With that brief moment said and done, she and Yui decided to stay here to watch the rest of their class do their practicals.
The next two people then showed up and everyone was familiar with them. Neito Monoma was first in the door and of course had a very cocky expression on his face. Mainly directing said expression towards the members of Class 1-A. Alongside him was Itsuka Kendo, the one that is considered by some as the 'Big Sister' of Class 1-B.
They were here before when they stayed to watch the match with Mina and Denki against Luxord. They were lucky enough to be one of two pairs of students that actually had the opportunity to get at least a preview of their opponent's powers. And when they got what they needed, they left to plan their strategy. Now they're back because it's their turn to fight.
Neito strolled past the members of 1-A and spoke up. "I feel like we should wait for that pink skinned girl and the blondie to come back here. So I class 1-B can show them how it's done against the 'Gambler of Fate'."
"Monama. Stop." Itsuka sternly told her partner. "The only reason I'm not knocking you out is because I don't want to drag you body the entire time we're in the datascape."
"Alright, Kendo." Neito kept his cocky demeanor up as he walked over to the platform. "I'll just show them how much better we are."
Itsuka sighed and walked over to the platform as well. "Wish me luck." She told her fellow students.
"You got this." Sora gave her a thumbs up.
"Beat that Villain, just like we beat ours, Kendo." Tetsutetsu added.
"Show the teachers why you're the class rep." Setsuna told her.
Kodai had a smile and gave a nod to her, to show her support.
Itsuka smiled at the encouragement and then she, as well as her partner were transported inside the datascape. The students watched the screen with slight anticipation. Most of them saw what Luxord can do, and they were wondering how these two would fare in his series of games.
[Silence]
When ones and zeros were no longer in their sight, the two students then observed their surroundings. The first thing they noticed was that they were surrounded by multiple collapsed buildings. While it would stand to reason that they would be inside a data mock cityscape, they then saw in the distance, what appeared to be a dome. Then next to that, they could just barely make out a structure that looked like a giant waterslide, and then to their left, they could see what seemed to be the aftermath of a landslide. Both students then realized that this wasn't the mock cityscape, but the Ruins Zone of U.S.J.
[Play KH3 OST Drop Of Poison (The Carribean) -cutscene-]
After a brief moment of silence, the announcement went off. "Team Kendo and Monoma. Practical Exam. Ready? Go!" Then two two started to walk forward.
"I don't know if I should consider this location better, or worse." Itsuka commented, which caught her partner's attention as she explained why. "On one hand, we don't have to navigate through a maze. But on the other hand...there's no way that we can avoid a confrontation with Luxord."
"I'm not worried about running into Luxord." Neito stated as the two continued down the path.
Atop one of the destroyed buildings, a familiar Figure was standing on it, with cards in his hands listening to the two below. He had a confused expression on his face, but then that confusion quickly turned to intrigue. He loosely followed the pair, staying out of sight.
"Take this seriously, Monoma." The Class 1-B Rep ordered him.
"I am, Kendo." Neito replied to her. "I'm just that confident in our success."
"I feel like you're mistaking confidence for cockiness." Itsuka responded.
"Think about it, Kendo." Monama spoke up again. "We got to see what he could do. Sora told us how his games work, and we had plenty of time to plan a way to win. And that's not even mentioning our trump card."
Itsuka had an annoyed look on her face as she said "Would you like to tell me about this 'trump card' of yours? Because I don't remember us having one while we were reviewing our strategy."
"I didn't think I'd need to mention it, due to how obvious it was." Neito replied as he then pointed at himself. "It's me."
"...I stand by my statement that you're mistaking confidence for cockiness." She responded with a disappointed sigh.
"It's not, cockiness Kendo." He explained. "You know that my quirk allows me to use my opponent's powers by touching them once. All I need to do is touch him after winning his first card game and then his cards are mine to control."
[Play KH2.5 Remix OST Hesitation]
"So that's your strategy against me?" A voice spoke up from close by, catching the two students off guard. "To cheat? And here I thought that we could all play a nice and fair game."
As the two students looked behind them to see where the noise was coming from Luxord appeared in front of their path and then threw an X faced card towards the boy. Neito had turned around just in time to see the card coming towards him and he caught it, which caught his partner's attention as well. "Looks like you decided to eavesdrop."
"Studying one's opponent is merely common sense." The Gambler of Fate said in a displeased tone. "Learning how one thinks is key to outplaying them in any sort of competition. However you don't seem like the type to play by the rules."
[Play KH2.5 Remix OST Apprehension]
The card in Monoma's hand began to glow purple and the boy noticed, quickly throwing it out of his hand, only to see it float in the air in front of him, then suddenly his body began to glow purple as he felt himself being sucked towards the card. "Huh? Wha...?" He uttered out as he tried to move away from the card, only to be pulled in closer until his body began to shrink and swirl around until it made contact with the face of the card, creating a bright purple flash of light in that moment that forced Itsuka to cover her eyes.
Once the light faded, Itsuka looked around to see that her partner was no longer next to her, and then when she looked back at the card, she was shocked to see that the X that was previously on the face of the card was now replaced with her Partner's unconscious body. He was trapped inside a card. She reached her hand out to grab it, but the card moved on its own and went back to Luxord as he caught it in his fingers, before sliding it under his sleeve.
[Silence]
Kendo was frozen, unsure of what to do. She realized that she had no control of any part of the situation at all, and was at the complete mercy of the Organization member. She could only hope that he doesn't immediately trap her too.
Luxord then spoke up again. "I overheard your conversation about how Sora told you how my games work, and that you apparently watched me fight once. Rather strange, because I have no memory of ever meeting you, and I have never been careless enough to be seen by anyone I didn't want to see me." Itsuka was silent, then he continued. "If you are indeed acquaintances of Sora, and he had indeed told you about my games, then I suppose I don't need to go over the rules with you."
"Actually..." Kendo spoke up almost immediately, then paused for a moment before saying "I wouldn't mind a refresher." There was no response from Luxord as she then said "If I'm gonna play fair, I need to know the rules. And I can't remember all of them off the top of my head."
After a brief moment of silence The Gambler of Fate replied "Very Well. But I will not repeat myself. So make sure you remember them. And I doubt I need to tell you this, seeing that you saw what happened to your partner, but Don't. Break them."
"Understood." Itsuka acknowledged before she listened to him go over the rules while he shuffled the Fair Game deck in his hands.
Back in the real world. The students that were watching were all shocked at what just happened on the screen. The 1-B students weren't present during the first Luxord match, so they didn't know that this man could just put someone in a card like that. The 1-A Students knew about that already but were shocked for a completely different reason.
That reason being that Luxord didn't do that the first time. He approached Denki and Mina, confronted them directly, explained the rules to his games and then only after they lost all their time on his games did he trap them. He didn't just trap one person immediately and then begin explaining his game's rules to the other. Sora was the only one who could see that happening as it happened to him twice before, but this felt different.
The teachers themselves were also a bit surprised that Luxord would do that, but took that brief moment to think about it and they all came to the conclusion that Monoma probably said something along the lines of cheating in the games to win, and Luxord removed him because of that. It would justify Luxord's actions in the most logical way.
While everyone had these differing thoughts on Luxord's actions, they all had thought of one thing in common. Now that Neito was gone, Kendo was on her own. And if she messes up, she'll end up just like her partner.
[Play KH3 Re Mind OST The 13th Struggle ~Luxord Ver.~]
Back in the datascape, Luxord finished explaining the rules and then Announced. "Now that you know the rules. Let the games begin." He then threw a card towards Itsuka that was too fast for her to dodge and it went inside her. "We both have ten minutes. Let's start with my turn."
The Gambler of Fate threw a card towards Kendo, but the girl was ready this time and dodged the attack. She kept her eyes on her opponent as he threw a card right in front of him, then warped towards another area, where he threw three more cards towards her. Itsuka once again dodged the cards and saw Luxord plant another card on the ground in front of him.
The Organization Member warped to another area and then threw four cards in the air. The cards quickly made their way towards Kendo and then began to circle around her. He watched as the girl remained calm and then waited for her time to move. Once the four closed in on her. She jumped in the air and managed to barely avoid the pincer attack. He placed another card down in front of him, then warped to the center of the area.
Itsuka saw him turn into a card and then watched as he and his other cards grouped up together, then scramble around before they levitated off the ground and kept their faces hidden from her view. "Do you think you can find me?" Luxord asked her.
In spite of Kendo's best attempt, she couldn't keep track of his card during the scramble. But while she didn't know where he was, she had an idea to figure out where he wouldn't be. She stood in place and waited for a few seconds. Then she watched as one of the cards went to the ground and blitzed towards her. Once it got to her, she leapt to the side and watched it detonate. "Well he's not that card." She said to herself. Then after a few seconds more, she avoided another card attempting to detonate at her feet. "Or that one."
Luxord knew what she was trying to do, and simply let her be. He already explained the rules of each game to her. So she already knows that once there are six cards left, being the five O cards and his card, the game is over and he gets to take some of her time to fill his back up. There were ten cards left now, so she has four more chances before the game is over.
Itsuka waited another few seconds and then once again leapt out of another card detonation. She looked at the remaining cards and began to think about the most likely spot he could be in. While she thought about that, she saw another card come for her and she got out of the way again. There were two cards on the west side, one in the center, three on the north east side and two in the south. Once one more card goes after her, she'll make her decision.
As if on cue, one of the cards on the south came for Kendo and she got out of the way. In the few seconds she had to work with once the card exploded, she ran towards the center card and then struck it, only to watch it disappear. She was confused at first, but then quickly realized that she didn't guess right. She hit an O card, and then quickly bolted towards the two cards on the north east side. She managed to strike two of them, but both were O faced cards. The third card then bolted after her and she got out of the way.
Itsuka then felt a sudden tug inside her as she watched Luxord come out of the other card on the south side. "Don't squander your time." He said as he took two minutes off of her time to fill him back up to ten Before the game could continue. Cards surrounded the pair and then in a brief flash of purple light, they were now elsewhere in the datascape. Instead of the Ruins Zone, they were now in the mountains zone. "Now, the game continues."
Before Kendo could fully adjust to the new terrain, she had to get ready to dodge a series of red electrical cards coming towards her in pairs. As the first pair got to her, they each stopped to her left and right. She stood still and waited for her moment, then when the pair of cards closed in on her, she narrowly avoided them and kept her dwindling time from dropping faster than it already was. The second pair then got to her, and she once again narrowly avoided the attack. Then the third and final pair got to her and she once more avoided the attack.
The Gambler of Fate then warped in front of her and three X faced cards and an O faced card appeared behind him. "Pick a number between one and four." He told her.
"Three." She replied.
"The Order is from left to right." Luxord informed her as he snapped his finger, making the O card swap with the X faced cards in rapid succession from left to right on repeat. "Snap your finger when you want me to stop." Itsuka had her fingers ready and then watched the O faced card as it continued its pattern. She watched for her moment, then snapped her fingers. When the card stopped, it landed on the third space. "Hmm. Good." He complimented her as he left himself open for her.
Kendo took advantage of her opportunity and used her Big fist Quirk to deliver a powerful series of punches and smacks on her opponent, taking back a minute for her time. "That's one to one."
The Gambler of Fate warped away from her and then once again surrounded the pair with cards to warp them to yet another location. After a brief flash of light, they were now on the deck of the boat in the Flood Zone. "Let's move on to the next game." He said as he threw another card towards Itsuka, who dodged it. He warped to the center of the deck and then had eight cards circle around him before they all propelled him into the air and scattered around the deck of the boat.
Once Luxord landed on the ground, he threw two cards towards Kendo and another in front of himself. The girl managed to dodge both cards and then Luxord turned himself into a card and once again scrambled all the cards on the ground, before levitating them up and saying. "Pick a card."
Instead of remaining in place this time, Itsuka decided to stay on the move and remain at the perimeter of the deck. As one of the cards went for her, she stayed on the move and when it caught up to her, she leapt away just before it detonated. As she got up and continued running, something caught her eye. A few of the cards were turning slower than others. Five cards to be exact. She then remembered that there were five O faced cards in this game that she could hit that would cause something in her favor.
As the girl was putting two and two together, another card came bolting towards her. She just barely noticed it in time and leapt out of the way of its detonation. She managed to tuck and roll herself back onto her feet, and when she looked back at the cards, she could see the faces of the five slower turning cards and saw that all of them were the O faced cards.
Choosing not to waste this opportunity, Kendo changed course and bolted for the closest one, striking it and removing it from the equation. She then went for the next one and struck it as well. Then she went for the third one and took it out. As she went for the fourth card, another card blitzed towards her and attempted to detonate under her feet, but she saw it coming and used her Big Fist Quirk to grip a part of the deck floor and slingshot her way away from the explosion and kick the fourth card out of the game. She pressed her big hands on the deck and used them to stop herself before she hit another card that wasn't the last O faced card, then shrunk her hands back to normal, ran for the last final O faced card and struck it.
When the final O faced card was destroyed, Kendo watched as all the cards showed their faces to her, revealing all explosive trap cards, and Luxord's card on the second farthest from the east side. One of the trap cards bolted towards her and she waited for it to come to her. Once it got to her, she leapt out of the way of its detonation and then made a beeline for Luxord's card. She was half expecting him to throw the rest of the trap cards towards her, but was surprised to see that he didn't and when she got to his card and struck it, he turned back into a normal person and simply said "Well done."
She took another minute back from Luxord and then he warped away from her. The Gambler of Fate then once more surrounded them with cards and warped them away. This time to the Conflagration Zone. "The game continues." He said, sounding a bit thrilled at the challenge that Itsuka was providing him.
He warped away and then threw four pairs of cards towards her, each pair was red and now this time the cards were flaming, instead of pulsing with electricity. The first pair of cards reached her and then once again attempted a pincer attack. In spite of the sudden heat that was all around her, she managed to avoid the first pincer attack. Then the second pair came from a different direction and tired the same trick. She once again avoided the attack. The third pair of flaming cards came from yet another direction and she once again managed to avoid the pincer attack, but she ended up leaping right into the direction of where the last pair of cards was coming from. The pair of cards reached her and then began their pincer attack, but Kendo thought fast and used her big fist quirk again to slingshot herself away from the attack just in time.
Luxord warped in front of her once again and then five cards appeared. Four of them were X faced cards and one was an O faced card. "Watch closely." He told her as the cards began to circle around him.
The Class 1-B Rep already knew what she had to do and waited for her moment to strike. Once the O faced card was about to reach her, she quickly reared her hand back and by the time it reached her, she chopped the card sideways, removing it from the group. One of the X faced cards was replaced with an O faced card and she once more calmly waited and timed her strike to take out the O faced card. Another X faced card was replaced and then she once again took out the O faced card. One of the last two X faced cards was replaced and Itsuka chopped it, like she did the other three.
The final card was now turned into an O faced card and when it reached Kendo, she chopped it and destroyed the force field around Luxord as he said "Impressive." The man once again left himself open for her and she took another minute from him. He then warped away and then once again surrounded the pair in cards and took them to another location with a bright flash.
When the flash of light faded, Itsuka could see that she was now on one of the buildings in the Landslide Zone and then saw Luxord throw three cards towards her. The Girl got out of the way and avoided the three cards, then saw her opponent throw another two towards her, which she also promptly avoided. The Gambler of Fate then warped in front of her and said "Pick a number." as four cards appeared behind him again.
"Two." She answered.
"You know the rules." Luxord said as he snapped his fingers and let the card roulette begin again.
Kendo had her fingers ready to snap and watched as the O faced card trade places with the X faced cards the same way they did last time. She timed her moment and then snapped her fingers. The O faced card landed on the third spot. "Too bad." Luxord commented as he took two minutes away from her again. He then warped away from her again and then for the fifth time, warped her to another location.
Now the pair were inside the Downpour Zone and began to feel the water soaking them up from the simulated storm inside the domed urban area. Luxord threw a pair of cards and watched as his opponent dodged them. He then threw another one and watched her dodge that card too. Instead of continuing this game of target practice, he once again had five cards circle around him and make a force field around himself. But instead of keeping the cards close to him, he made the cards spread out and circle a much wider radius.
Kendo noticed this and was fortunate enough to be just outside the edge of the radius. She once again got herself ready to chop when the O faced card was about to reach her and once it did, she took the card out. Once again, one of the X faced cards was replaced and Itsuka timed her chop at the right moment and took out the O faced card. Another X faced card was replaced and she chopped that card too. The next card was replaced and The Class 1-B Rep made quick work of it. When the final card was turned into an O faced card, Itsuka went for it and took it out before dashing straight towards Luxord as his force field was destroyed. Once she reached him, she took a minute away from him.
Luxord then warped away and then once more warped the two of them to a different location in a flash. Kendo saw that she was now at the top of the stairway leading to the exit, while Luxord was standing in front of the exit. She got ready for his next game and when he snapped his fingers, she was surprised to see that nothing happened.
[Silence]
Back in the real world, some of the students were also confused as to what was going on. "Uh...where are the cards?" Tetsutetsu asked.
"What did he do?" Ochako wondered out loud.
"He just snapped his fingers and nothing happened." Toru said.
"Not exactly." Sora stated, which prompted them to look at him for an answer. "Look at the timers."
The students looked at the timers for Luxord and Itsuka and then noticed that they stopped counting down. "Wait. He stopped the timers?" Hagakure questioned.
"Yes. And that's actually quite strange." Tenya spoke up.
"If he didn't stop the timer, then he could easily win with a time out, as Kendo has a little over a minute left, while Luxord has over three." Momo pointed out. "These games take a little over a minute to do, and that's enough time for a win through time out."
"I think I know where Luxord is going with this." Sora said.
"What do you think he's going to do?" Setsuna asked him.
Back in the datascape, Itsuka spoke to Luxord. "What did you do?"
"I stopped our timers." He told her. "You don't have enough time to last for another game, so my victory is guaranteed if we continue like this."
"Huh?" Kendo responded, sounding confused. "Then why not just finish it?"
The Gambler of Fate then replied "Because it's more fun when you beat the odds."
Both in the real world and in the datascape, Sora and Luxord simultaneously said "One Final Game. Winner Takes All."
In the datascape Luxord threw the entire Fair Game Deck into the air and the cards surrounded the pair as Luxord spoke up once more. "Here are the rules." He pointed at the cards. "There will be nine cards hidden among my entire deck with me on their face. You must find all nine cards before the deck closes in too close to you. Can only miss three times before the game abruptly ends in my victory as well. However, get three of the nine cards with me on their face, and the position of the cards will reset and the deck will be subtracted by one third. I will still be able to attack you through the cards, but your timer will not drop at all."
Itsuka took a moment to make sure she understood the rules and then said. "That sounds a bit in your favor."
The Gambler of Fate then smiled and simply said "It's more fun when you beat the odds." Before pointing to her and telling her the prize. "Should you beat the odds stacked against you, then you will have control of my cards and can use them to end the game in your victory. But should I win, then you will join your friend inside one of my cards as well."
Kendo looked at her options and then said. "Game on."
[Play KH3 Re Mind OST The 13th Struggle ~Luxord Ver.~ (Luxord's Gambit)]
Luxord then turned himself into a card and warped into the deck as he said. "Now. Let the final game begin!" And just like that, the final game was on. Whoever wins this, wins the battle, fair and square.
Itsuka watched as the surrounding cards began to slowly circle around her and steadily move towards the center of the area she was occupying. The cards were flipping in a random order, with most showing X faced cards and blank faced cards. She watched as one of the cards flipped and it showed Luxord on it, and she bolted right for it. Once she was at the card's location, she struck it, removing one of the nine from the deck.
As the card disappeared, another one took its place and they continued their path towards the center. Kendo once again went to the center area and watched the cards flip to show their faces to her. She then saw another Luxord card and ran towards it, striking it and removing another of the nine.
The cards were getting a bit close, so Itsuka had to think fast, but then she saw a group of cards slide on the floor and bolt towards her. She thought fast and leapt out of the way before all of the cards rose from the ground like a geyser erupting. She got back to her feet and then saw the third Luxord card and bolted towards it. When she reached its location, she struck it and all of the cards that were closing in on her, dispersed, leaving the next set of cards to start their approach from the same starting point as the first group.
Kendo watched the cards start flipping to show their faces, but then had to quickly get out of the way of another cluster of cards attacking her from the ground. As she got up, she saw one of the Luxord cards, but when she got herself up and ready to go for it, the card flipped and then the face of the card changed to an X face. She now realized that round two will let him switch the cards like he did with the O faced cards in some of his other games.
She decided to remain close to the center area, but stay on the move. She'll need to move quickly if she wants to get these cards before they switch up on her. She watched as another card attack from the floor came for her and as she avoided it, she saw one of the Luxord cards close to her. She made her way to it and took it out.
Itsuka kept her pace the same and didn't slow down her speed. She kept her eyes on the cards and then saw another Luxord card across from her. Using her Big Fist quirk, she once again gripped the ground and slingshot herself towards where the card will be. She landed her feet on the card and it disappeared as soon as her feet were pushed off of it. That's five down.
As she was getting back up, another card group attempted the ground trick again while she was still recovering. Kendo barely saw it on time and rolled away as soon as it reached where she was and erupted from the ground. She then pushed herself back up and noticed the last Luxord card of this section was approaching her. Deciding to not risk waiting for it, she met the card mid way and chopped it.
The group of cards around her dispersed and now the final third of the cards were beginning their approach, however this time was much different. The luxord cards were all visible but were now swapping with the X faced cards in quick succession. There also wasn't a pattern at all, meaning that the swap could not be predicted.
As The Class 1-B rep noticed this. A pair of X faced cards next to one of the Luxord cards, grew in size and then shot out the Xs in their cards towards her. She dodged the attack, but then watched as the Luxord card that was there swapped to another random spot in the enclosing circle. The Luxord Card that is in between the pair of attacking X cards will stay in place during that attack, so that was the time to strike.
She got to the center of the area and watched the cards shuffle around and close in. Then when she saw two of the cards get bigger, she made her move. She used her Big Fist Quirk to slingshot herself again and drop kicked the Luxord card in between the attacking X cards. Luckily for her, the X cards' attacks could not hit her when she was in between them, so her strategy of threading the needle could work.
Itsuka then saw another Luxord card flip right next to her, and she went for another attack to try and get a two for one combo. However, when she was in mid swing, the card flipped again and she ended up hitting an X faced card instead. She backed up and went back to the center, but then had to avoid another group of cards erupting from under her feet. She only has one more freebie, and after that, she can't afford to mess up.
She saw another pair of cards grow in size and once again did the slingshot trick with her Big Fist Quirk to rapidly close the distance and strike the Luxord card in between the two X cards. Once the attack was finished and the cards shrunk back to normal, another Luxord card appeared right next to Kendo, but she didn't bother to attack it, figuring out that this was a fake out trick by the Gambler of Fate Instead she returned to the center and remained vigilant.
As the girl watched her surroundings, she saw another pair of cards grow bigger, but when she was about to do the slingshot trick again, she noticed a group of cards attempt the eruption trick at the same time. Itsuka leapt out of the way of the eruption attack, and then had gotten herself back on her feet just in time to avoid the twin X attack. She then watched as the final Luxord card flipped at an incredibly fast pace to random spots on the enclosing circle.
As it stopped and went for another twin X attack, once again, another group of cards attempted the geyser trick again. Kendo now realized that both of these attacks will now happen simultaneously for the rest of the game, as a method of keeping the final Luxord card difficult to catch.
The Class 1-B Rep once again avoided the set of attacks and then got back to the center area, but she knew that she didn't have long, as the cards were getting closer and closer. She watched as two cards got bigger and then saw another group of cards approach her. Once the group of cards reached her feet, she leapt out of the way of the attack, but made sure to leap in the direction of the Luxord card in between the X cards doing their attack. As she got back to her feet, the twin X attack came and she then once again leapt towards the Luxord card, narrowly threading the needle of the twin X attack.
Itsuka then swung at the Luxord card, but once again, the card flipped mid swing and she struck another X card. She then realized that there was no small interval between attacks anymore. When the attack is finished, the Luxord card will begin to rapidly and randomly swap places with other cards. She also then noticed that the cards were now closer than they were the last two times, and still getting closer. As she got back to the center, she realized that she probably had one final shot to win this practical, so she had to make it count.
She grew both of her hands with her Big Fist Quirk, took a deep breath then slowly exhaled. She knew what she had to do and needed to be calm, precise and ready for when it happens. She saw two cards get bigger and then she positioned herself to where she was going to launch. She then gripped her hands on the ground and took another deep breath. She had her eyes on the ground and then saw a cluster of cards get right under her feet. Her grip tightened on the ground and braced herself as she held her breath.
Once the cards below her feet began to rise, Kendo pulled with her arms and launched herself forward, just barely avoiding the eruption attack and blitzing through the air towards the Luxord card. She shrunk her fists to keep her speed and stay in the air longer, and thanks to that. She managed to reach the final Luxord card before the twin X attack was about to be sent out and she landed a powerful dropkick on the card.
All of the cards except that final Luxord card instantly shrunk and bolted to the air, while the final Luxord card turned into the Gambler of Fate himself and he felt the full force of that drop kick as he went flying backwards, with her feet still pressed against the center of his chest. As he began to descend to the floor, Itsuka was still on him and when his back hit the floor, Kendo was able to use him as a cushion for her legs, pressing into him before jumping off ahead of him.
She skidded to a halt a few meters away from the exit and looked back to see Luxord get up. As he struggled to get himself back onto his feet. The Fair Game deck quickly gathered together and blitzed towards the girl, however since she paid attention to what Luxord said before the final game started, she knew that this wasn't a problem.
The Hero in training extended her hand and watched as Fair Game swiftly went into her hands and allowed her to control them. She looked directly at the Gambler of Fate and saw his shocked expression, before saying "Good game." and flicking her wrist while letting go of the cards, allowing them to all strike Luxord in rapid succession.
[Play KH3 OST Luxord's Demise -cutscene-]
The Gambler of Fate fell to his knees and coughed for a moment, before speaking up. "You...you play the game quite well."
Itsuka was a bit surprised to hear that and replied. "Well, nobody's a fan of cheaters."
Luxord let out a small chuckle. "Speaking of which." He flicked out a card from under his sleeve and then tossed it to the girl.
Kendo saw the face of the card and then said "You're giving me..."
"Yes." Luxord confirmed. "You've earned it."
Itsuka looked back at Luxord and asked him "Why?"
Luxord had a smile on his face as he responded "I gambled my life as well as my claim to him, and I lost the bet...I am merely honoring my word."
Kendo was also surprised to hear that from Luxord and then said "You know...for a villain...you're not that bad of a guy."
The Gambler of Fate let out a light chuckle, then said "Maybe...in the next life...we could have another game. Just for fun."
The Hero in training had a small smile on her face and then said "Sure. In the next life, when we're just people."
"I should like that very much." Luxord agreed with her, as he watched her turn her back and walk through the exit.
As she went through the gate the announcement went off. "Team Kendo and Monoma have passed the finals!" And then the datastape began to turn back into numbers, with Luxord joining suit.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Each of Their Goals]
As Itsuka was brought back into the datascape, the first thing she saw was Tetsutetsu and Sora in front of her, each with an elated look on their faces. Tetsutetsu was the first to speak up as he said "Holy crap, Kendo! That was kick ass!"
"You managed to take on and beat Luxord by yourself." Sora pointed out her achievement. "So far, you're the only person to actually beat an Organization member in an actual fight on your own."
Itsuka just had a smile on her face as she replied. "It's nothing to get excited about. Sure, I beat him without help, and I'll admit it sounds cool, but I think the only reason I did was because Luxord chose to play fair and I respected his rules."
"Still though." Setsuna spoke up. "You've got a better result on your record, compared to the rest of us so far. Even if it's because he played fair, beating a Villain solo is still better than beating a Villain while teamed up."
"Speaking of your teammate." Sora noticed who was in Kendo's hand and pointed to him. "Is Neito out?"
Itsuka then remembered that she was holding the card that Monoma was trapped in and then looked at that hand to see her fingers pinching the back collar of his Hero Costume, while he himself was unconscious. "I...think so."
"Want me to take him off your hands Kendo?" Tetsutetsu offered.
"Nah, it's okay. I usually drag him somewhere whenever I have to stop him from antagonizing 1-A." Itsuka remarked as she dragged her partner's body to the temporary nurse's office. "I'll be back in a minute. Just gonna set him down on a bed and then watch the other matches with you guys."
"Allright." Sora and Tetsutetsu replied simultaneously.
As the students were having their discussion, Vlad King and Aizawa were discussing the results with each other. "Well, this turned out similar to that match with that lightning girl, when one student got taken out at the start, but the other still one the match." Vlad King stated.
"I already chose to fail Sero, due to him not actually doing anything other than letting himself get electrocuted by her." Aizawa told him. "I'd suggest that you do the same with Monoma, as he actually didn't do anything other than catch the card that was used to trap him."
Vlad King lowly growled at that comment, but couldn't deny that truth. "It makes the most sense...Still though, while he was an idiot for ticking one of the few reasonable members of the Organization off, you've got to admit that Kendo was able to hold her own when it mattered."
"Maybe." Aizawa simply said.
"What do you mean maybe?" Vlad questioned.
"Just that." The 1-A Homeroom teacher answered. "Now let's leave it at that."
"...Fine." The 1-B Homeroom teacher conceded.
As that conversation was ending, Itsuka came back from the temporary nurse's office and hung out with the other students while they waited for the next pair to come in and start their test. As if on cue, Yosetsu Awase and Manga Fukidashi came in through the door and were guided to the platform that would let them start their practical exam. The 1-B students in the room each gave them their form of encouragement, and while Sora didn't know these two, he still wished them luck as they stepped on the platform and entered the datascape.
[Silence]
The moment the two students entered the datascape, the first thing they saw was trees. And beyond that was...more trees. It was clear to the pair that they were inside Ground Omega. Yosetsu was the first to speak up. "Well...it's not the worst. You good to go Fukidashi?"
"Yep!" Manga enthusiastically answered his partner's question through his speech bubble head. "Once we pass this exam, BAM! We get to kick it in Summer Camp."
Awase spoke up again. "I get that you're excited, but let's save the onomatopoeias for the Villain, okay?"
The comic themed student nodded his head to that request and then the announcement went off. "Team Awase and Fukidashi. Practical Exam. Ready? Go!" With that, the two students moved forward and began to trek through the forest of Ground Omega.
[Play KH2.5 Remix OST Hesitation]
Elsewhere in the datascape, Xaldin was standing at the exit to the area, eyes closed and arms behind his back. He was given orders to guard this gate and prevent any and all entry to the area behind him. He didn't question his order, nor did he object. He simply followed his order and stood guard, like how he used to do so back as a human.
Whilst the Nobody was in this idle state, he was still observant of his surroundings, as when that announcement went off, it was easy enough for him to suspect that this 'team' the announcer spoke of was in the area, and that they would most likely encounter him. One of his Lindworm lances was planted on the ground next to him, should he need to use any force in this potential encounter. If the team should find him, he is ready to deal with them when the time comes, but for now, he will simply do his duty and guard this point of entry from anyone who attempts to pass through it.
[Silence]
A moderate amount of time passes and then Xaldin hears the rustling of leaves and the sound of footsteps approaching from a fair distance. He opens his eyes and looks in the direction of the sound to see two boys moving towards his general direction. They both briefly stop when they see him, and the black haired boy tensed up for a moment, but then the other boy, who looked like he had a manga panel where his head should be snapped the first boy out of it.
As the two decided to continue walking towards him, seeming to not care about discretion, as they came out in the open, Xaldin spoke up. "State your business here."
Both boys stopped in their tracks and then Yosetsu replied "What?"
"State your business here." The Nobody repeated.
"Um...we need to leave this area...and the exit behind you is the only one." Awase explained the situation.
"You do not have my permission to pass through." The Whirlwind Lancer stated. "Turn back and leave the way you came."
A few seconds of silence had passed by before Yosetsu replied to the man. "Well...you see, we..."
"Do not text my patience boy." Xaldin interrupted him. "It wasn't a request. You will turn back and leave..." His lance then was taken out of it's spot and hovered next to him, the Dragoon blade end pointed directly towards the black haired boy. "Or you will face the consequences."
Awase tensed up at the threat, unsure of his and Manga's chances against this guy and his floating lance. He took a deep breath and then spoke up again. "Under normal circumstances, I would do that." He noticed the Organization member's expression become more annoyed. "But these aren't normal circumstances." The boy finished.
"Then you will face the consequences." Xaldin concluded, before he raised his arm and crossed them in front of him.
[Play KH2.5 Remix OST The 13th Dilemma]
Suddenly five vortexes of air surrounded the Organization member and a powerful torrent of wind began to push the two students back a few feet, before Yosetsu used his Quirk, Weld to weld his hands to the ground and keep himself in place, while Fukidashi was able to grab the base or a tree and hug it to stop himself from being blown away.
As the wind died down, the five vortexes dissipated and showed five more lances that looked exactly like the first one. Xaldin grabbed one of them in his left hand and then grabbed another two with his right. The other three lances then began to hover around him and the two boys could see the air around him, bending to his will. The Whirlwind Lancer was ready to fight.
Back in the real world, while everyone could tell what the Organization member's quirk was, Present Mic still announced it. "The Whirlwind Lancer, Xaldin! His Quirk, Whirlwind! He can manipulate the air around him and use it in many ways."
Back in the datascape, Xaldin began to walk forward while his hovering lances followed suit. He watched as the black haired boy's hands were somehow welded to the ground, but as he positioned his lances and then thrust them forward with the wind, the boy managed to unweld his hands from the floor and roll away from the attack. Xaldin called back Lindworm and then watched as the boy ran off into the trees with his partner. He decided to give chase and jumped into the air, aiming his weapons at the students from where he was hovering.
Awase and Manga continued to run and as they were doing so, the latter spoke up. "And BOOM! Just like that, we're in the thick of it!"
"Well this is just great!" Yosetsu sarcastically exclaimed. "We're fighting a guy who can literally blow us away whenever he wants, and can use way more spears than a normal person can!"
"Add those together and FWOOSH! He's got a range advantage over us." Fukidashi added.
"Let's just hope that he has a limited range with those things." Awase said.
As the boy said that, one of Xaldin's lances pierced through the leaves of the tree above the two and struck the floor in front of them. As the Lance hit the floor, a small shockwave was released and it caused the two boys to trip and fall to the ground. As they were getting up, they saw the lance get out of the ground and fly back up from where it came, only for two more lances to come directly for each boy. The pair each rolled out of the way and the lances hit the ground next to them, but the shockwaves from the lances' attacks pushed them away before either boy could do anything to them and then they did the same thing the first lance did.
As both boys got up, Manga said "There's your answer, now let's keep moving before another one comes down and SPLAT!"
The boys got to their feet and were about to keep moving forward, but then three more lances slammed down in front of them. "Okay not that way!" Yosetsu stated, changing course as the lances went back up to their sender. As they attempted to run to the left, four lances came down and stopped them in their tracks. "Not that way either!" He said again as the pair turned around while the lances once again went back up. As they now attempted to flee in the opposite direction, five lances came down and stopped them. "Shit. Shit. Shit! Where can we run!?" The black haired boy began to freak out.
The five lances then got off of the ground and then circled around the pair of students, not allowing them to move from their spot. Fukidashi kept watch of the spears while Awase looked directly above them, praying that he doesn't see a sixth lance come down to shish kebab one of them. As the five other lances began to get closer, they all simultaneously went up, which made Manga look up as well. Then suddenly, through the leaves came The Whirlwind Lancer himself, with all six Lindworm lances right below him, poised to run through the pair of students.
Awase ended up tensing up again, but since his partner knew about this tendency of his, he was tackled out of the way by said partner, before any harm could come to him. As he was still recovering from the shock, he failed to notice the wind around Xaldin begin to gather together.
Once there was enough air condensed together, Xaldin set it loose and the air ball made its way towards Yosetsu. But once again he was saved by his partner, who yelled out "BANG!" And suddenly, the word BANG had intercepted the condensed air attack and they both canceled each other out.
"Hey! Get up!" Manga yelled out to his teammate, which snapped the boy back into reality. "You gotta move! ZOOM over to the exit and..." He was interrupted by Xaldin as the Whirlwind Lancer began to twirl his body around and the lances followed suit, spinning like a set of fan blades with him at the center. The Comic themed hero in training yelled out "BOING!" and then was bounced over the attack, just in time. "Go Awase!"
Yosetsu pushed himself off the ground and began running back towards the exit. As Xladin was about to pursue him, "SLAM!" he was his with the literal word SLAM and it actually slammed him back a small distance. Then he heard more words "CRASH! POW! SMACK! THWACK! BOOM! SLAP! PANG! BOINK! SMASH! BONK! CLAP! WHIP! ZAP! TWANG! BASH!" And suddenly there was an entire barrage or words that were attacking him, each doing different effects based on what the word was.
Fukidashi took a breath and then continued his Onomatopoeia barrage. "POP! SLASH! WHAM! PONG! CLANG! SPLAT! CLASH! HACK! PLUNK! SNAP! THUMP! SPANK! BUMP! THUD! KA-POW!"
As the words and their varying effects continued to onslaught Xaldin, he gradually became more and more angered, until he finally snapped and yelled out "ENOUGH!" All six lances began to circle around him as he then said "Wind, guard me!" making the air around him condense and form an air barrier around him that was so strong, that all of the words that were spewed out of the boy's mouth were now only affecting the barrier and not him. Xaldin then grabbed one lance in each hand and viciously swung them at some of the remaining onomatopoeias, shredding the words with each slash, he then latched the lances together and took another pair of lances, latched those together and twirled the latched pairs of lances around in each hand, extending his attack range and destroying the rest of the words and a the bases of the trees that were close to him. He then took the last two unlatched lances and latched them together along with the other latched lances as well, making a huge conjoined weapon that he then twirled around himself, to destroy the area around him.
The attack just barely missed the boy as he laid flat on the floor, to barely avoid the attack. It did however destroy all but one of the trees in the area, and that final tree ended up falling over and landing on the boy's legs, pinning him down and causing a great amount of pain as he yelled out "AAAGH!". Xaldin kept Lindworm latched together then jumped up and landed on the lances. He used the wind to keep them afloat and propel himself and the lances forward at an incredible speed.
Yosetsu was still running and he could see the gate just ahead. He heard his partner yelling out many different onomatopoeias, then the sound of trees being toppled, and then a scream, and he could only assume that his partner had just gotten take out, but the only way that he could help Manga is to get through the gate and pass the practical for both of them, so he closed his eyes and swallowed the bit of guilt he had in him, choosing to continue to move forward.
It was then that he heard and felt a breeze come from behind him, and he ended up opening his eyes and beginning to panic. He still kept running, but he knew that the Organization member was approaching him, and him knowing that, but not knowing how close he was, made the situation all the more frightening for him.
Awase then felt the breeze pick up, and just as that happened, The Whirlwind Lancer flew past him and planted one end of his latched Lindworm set on the floor directly in front of the exit. He then looked behind him and saw Yosetsu's panicked face. He smiled and then unlatched two lances and relatched them onto another lance, making a three pronged end that looked like a mouth as he yelled out "You will wear the face of despair!"
Suddenly, a huge gust of wind came out of the three pronged side of Lindworm, blasting the boy back the way he came from and blowing away all of the leaves and snapping off multiple branches on the trees in front of Xaldin. Nobody continued this wind attack until he could no longer see the boy and then finally unlatched all of the lances and held on to some, while others hovered around him and his wind shield.
Yosetsu ended up stuck in the air for the entire duration of that wind attack and only hit the ground after it was over. As he hit the ground, he ended up skipping and skidding on it for a bit, before he finally came to a halt after hitting the side of a tree that had toppled over. He groaned for a moment before he then heard a voice. "Awase?" He looked over and then saw Manga, with his legs stuck under the toppled tree.
"Fukidashi?" The black haired boy said, but before he could do anything else, he noticed his partner point back towards where the gate is, and could see Xaldin walking over to the pair. "...crap..."
"Weld yourself to the floor." Manga instructed.
"What?" Yosetsu replied.
"Just do it. STICK to the ground." The comic themed boy ordered. "And brace yourself for when he gets close enough."
Instead of questioning his partner, Awase just did as Fukidashi instructed and welded his hands to the ground again, but made sure that it didn't look like they were welded there. As the Whirlwind Lancer got closer and closer, the boy began to tense up again. He knew he had to brace himself when the man got close enough, but how close was close enough?
Xaldin was now a few feet away from them and he had all six lances hover behind him and position themselves to thrust forward and impale Yosetsu if he tried to move. "It's over."
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." Yosetsu said out loud, feeling like he was about to die at any moment, but then.
"KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" Manga screamed out at the top of his lungs, startling his partner, and catching the attention of the Organization member, who changed who he was aiming at and thrusted the lances forward.
As Lindworm was centimeters from the boy's face, a sudden humongous shockwave was created, blasting Xaldin and the lances away while a giant KABOOM was created, destroying all of the trees in between them and the gate. The comic themed hero in training then began to cough for a moment.
"Holy...Hey, Fukidashi. You okay?" Yosetsu asked his partner.
"Unweld yourself." Manga told him.
"Huh?...Oh. Got it." Awase complied, unwelding himself from the ground. "What's the play now?"
"Get in front of me." Fukidashi instructed. "And face the exit."
"Um...ok." Yosetsu did as instructed and got in front of his partner. "What now? I run while he's recovering?"
"Get ready to jump and WHOOSH to the exit." The comic themed boy ordered.
"Wait, what are you..." Awase began to ask, but was then interrupted.
"KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"
Manga screamed out again.
Yosetsu jumped in the air and then, just like The person prior to him, he went flying ahead. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Xaldin had landed hand on the wall near the exit and had just pushed himself back to his feet, when he felt the ripple of a second massive shockwave slightly push him again, but he stayed on his feet this time and saw another massive KABOOM. As he was focused on that, he was caught off guard by the sound of screaming coming closer and closer.
As he began to notice that sound, he then began to look for where it was coming from, and then as soon as it was loud enough for him to tell that it was close, he saw the black haired boy blitz past him and through the exit.
[Silence]
Back in the real world, the present kids in class 1-B were glad to see their fellow classmates pass the exam, while the present kids in 1-A were also glad to see the success, but were also a bit surprised with how that success came to be. Their moment of celebration was very short lived however, as a series of numbers showed up on the platform and then Awase ended up coming back to the real world, still flying at an incredible speed, until he ended up crashing into Tetsutetsu and knocking the wind out of both of them as they hit the floor.
"Ooooooooooh." Was the collective response from most of the students when they saw that happen, then Sora and Itsuka went over to check on the two and see if they weren't knocked out from that crash, with Recovery Girl also coming over, due to needing to check Yosetsu for any major injuries.
As the students and nurse were checking on those two, the announcement went off "Team Awase and Fukidashi have passed the finals!" Then the screens showed a series of numbers and then after that, the platform had multiple numbers generated until Manga was brought back to the real world, though he wasn't really able to stand at the moment and needed help getting to the nurse's office.
Finally! Jeez, this chapter was a pain in the ass to right. Aside from me dealing with the bad luck of life, (Until recently, as there are lots of good things happen to me right now.) and then dealing with the issues of keeping these not so well known characters consistent, I also had trouble finding the music on some of the parts and ended up going dead silent because I couldn't find a track. This was especially the case for Xaldin, as none of the music fits him except for 13th Dilemma, because it was the theme they used for his boss fight. Speaking of that, let's talk about the Nerfs. I already explained Luxord, so go back to that chapter if you forgot about his, but as for Vexen and Xaldin, since there wasn't much they could do, I found it hard to remove moves, as they had so few. So for Vexen, I just removed his KH2 Desperation move, and his ability to gather data and create a dark replica of whoever he gathered data on. AKA, no Anti Setsuna/Yui or Setsuna/Yui Replica. For Xaldin, I just removed his ability to warp around. So he had to run, hover, or right Lindworm to where he needed to go. But while I already said I wasn't going to talk about Luxord's Nerfs again, that doesn't mean I won't talk about the fight. Out of all of the 1-B fights I have done so far, his was by far my most favorite to write, because I got to choose the location and getting Luxord to warp Kendo around USJ was honestly the best thing I could ever do to make a fight that is essentially a set of card games seem more badass that usual. So now we have officially covered four of ten 1-B fights, with another six to go. Then once those are finished, comes Sora vs Xion. So our next set of matchups are going to be KH's Guts against two kids, Mr. Got it Memorized against two flammable people, and totally the real Ansem vs ghost girl and black boy (I don't mean any racial joke when I say black boy. Shihai Kuroiro is literally just colored only black, with white hair.) Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and until I decide to upload again. ;)