My messages on being attacked seemed to gain low attention in the group chat. Mackenzie didn't respond, Alex responded with a 'thumbs up' emoji and Griffin asked if I killed them. Openly discussing murder didn't seem to appease me. After a strongly worded text, I entered my apartment. Tomorrow I was going to work as hard as I could to find out who was behind everyone being attacked.
Back at school Classroom 1-C had become our unofficial meeting place. Whenever Mackenzie entered all other students would leave. After her chilling introduction I would have done the same. We all took seats around Griffin at the back of the room.
"How long will it take for people to stop being attacked?" I asked. Griffin paused and put a finger up to his lip.
"Hmm. I'd give it a week, or so. If you guys gather Stand Users, and I do reconnaissance this should go smoothly."
"How many do you want?" Mackenzie said.
"Around 6, or so. That should be enough."
The conversation ended abruptly. Mackenzie left the room so Alex and I followed. Slowly, the other students started filing into the classroom. In the empty corridor we began discussing potential candidates.
"There's Evie in our class," Mackenzie said.
"Who's that?" I asked,
"A short, insufferable brat who thinks she's hot shit," Mackenzie responded. Something told me she didn't like the prospect of working with Evie. "Daiki and Tia are Stand Users that run our school's fighting ring. They're in it for the money, so I can bribe them. As for the rest, I'll write a list and we can divide the work equally. For now, let's focus on Daiki and Tia."
Their 'underground' Fight Club was actually done on the roof. Only a small crowd had gathered to watch. Two combatants were fighting each other, with no signs of one dropping out. A small box stuffed with bills and coins was left next to the person I assumed to be Tia. Daiki was watching attentively at the fighters. Waiting for one to go against the rules. At the sight of us Tia stood up and greeted us.
"Do any of you wish to participate?" Tia said. Upon standing up I noticed she was at least 6 foot tall. Her skin was bronze and her hair was wavy and black. I had mixed vibes looking at her. Scary but gentle. Ruthless but caring. Tia was somebody I didn't want to become enemies with.
"Yo, we're fine, in fact we'd like to discuss a business opportunity with you." Alex said. Due to our presence, Daiki walked over.
"Knock it off Yakuza Girl, we're not interested." Calling someone a nickname based off of their interests was dumb. I looked at Daiki. His brown hair was dreaded, thick, and it was rather long. Noticeably, his golden eyes were the first thing you'd see when you looked at him. His shirt was untucked and his sleeves were rolled up exposing his muscular arms.
"Why don't you listen to what we want to say, shorty?" I said. Daiki was shorter than me and I was 5'5. I'm sure he had a lot to say but Tia stopped him from verbally abusing me. In fact I saw her smiling.
"Business? I'm sure we can make an agreement. Let's wait until the match is over, I think it's going to be a close one."
The match wasn't even that interesting. Somebody won and half the crowd was divided. The money was divided among the crowd but Daiki and Tia kept most of the products. After that, Mackenzie led us to an empty classroom. It was a science room which I hadn't been in yet. Stools were lined up on tables. Beakers filled with colourful liquids lined shelves at the back of the room. Gas taps that pointed in every direction lined the walls. The whole room seemed to be in violation of multiple safety hazards.
"So, how about, you two take on us three."
"That's a ridiculous request," Daiki said, brushing his dreadlocks from his face.
"Fine. Alex, Sophie, leave the room." Mackenzie said. Her face was blank, like she was restricting the emotion from her face. Since I didn't want to be a burden I left straight away. Daiki had a cocky grin while Tia remained composed.
Watching through the glass, I asked Alex a question,
"Think Mackenzie can take both of them?"
"Consider this," Alex said. "In terms of our school Mackenzie is one of the strongest. Her powers are basic but she almost never gives up on a fight. Even if both her arms were broken, she'd claw her way to victory with her teeth.
Muffled sounds came from the science classroom. I pressed my ear against the window and heard a cacophony of shouts.
"Girl in Red!" Mackenzie shouted. A buff stand appeared behind her. It had a main colour palette of crimson, pink and a light purple. Small amounts of yellow stuck out on the Stand's clothing and headband. Moreover, the Stand had fire extended from its eyes. With a singular punch, Mackenzie created a trail of fire leading to Tia and Daiki.
Daiki slid out of the way while Tia unravelled her black belt. A small logo stood out to me. The buckle was silver but had a specific design I couldn't place my finger on. Gucci, Louis, Fendi, or Prada? It all looked the same to me. After swinging the belt around a few times it erupted into a burst of colours. First a vivid white then a mixture of reds, blues and greens. It transformed there and then into a single edged great sword, with a large blade. Even if it was just her Stand to be able to effortlessly wield that meant she was strong. I gasped audibly after seeing the Stand transform, with my hands shaking in front of my face. This fight was getting exciting.
Jeez, would that girl ever give me a break? Who places their face against a wall when somebody's fighting? Even if you are curious it's poor etiquette. At least Alex had noticed my signal. Now it was back to fighting two people at once.
Turning slightly, I parried Daiki's attack. His Stand looked similar to him; with the same golden eyes he had. Random spots of metal armour that only made him appear less defenceless. Our Stands were evenly matched in Speed, but I had the advantage in power. A barrage of attacks caused Daiki to duck backwards. Forming a fist, I inhaled air and tensed my arm. Once enough time had passed I punched and exhaled the air. Using my Stand's power I was able to launch a fireball at my opponents. The ground shook. A singular light bulb in the centre of the room flickered momentarily. Flasks in the back of the room fell from their shelf; liquids oozed from their container while the soft tinkling of glass was heard even from outside.
Time to get serious. Both of my opponents weren't going down without a good enough fight. Now that I've assessed their abilities I can take them out. Daiki always goes in for a frontal attack while Tia supports him. He has low endurance but makes up for it in power. If I get hit by Tia's sword there's no chance I can survive. So, get Daiki low on stamina and finish Tia off quickly. Easy.
Motioning downwards created a spiral of flames that I was able to send forwards. The heat was intense but not enough to do lasting damage. Daiki braced by forming a cross with his hands. The orange flames pushed him back slightly. In this brief moment I sprinted towards him and attacked. My Stand sprung from a table and attacked Daiki. One punch landed but the rest were met with a volley of attacks. More fire came from my Stand and little flecks caught on textbooks left out. The fire wasn't major enough to spread indefinitely.
Stepping backwards, I noticed the amount of space I had in between the desks. I hopped over one and deflected a throwing knife from Daiki. Throwing a stool at Tia was easy enough, but she sliced it in half effortlessly with her sword. My Stand engaged in another fight with Daiki. Blows were exchanged and my own knuckles started going red. Burning my fingertips was the trick I needed to fake out Daiki. Fire wafted from my hand as he leaned backwards. I grabbed his arm and squeezed tight, sending a wave of fire up his blazer. From a hidden pocket Daiki brought out a bunch of throwing knives.
Through a medium of punching, throwing and spinning, Daiki and I both reflected his throwing knives. At this rate one of us was going to slip up. Even though we were less than a metre away from each other our Stands were doing most of the deflecting. Tiny slashes were being made on my fingers. Tiny blades were always a weakness of mine. I moved backwards and started throwing the knives at various places. The wall, the ceiling, the desks. We had one knife left when Tia joined the fight. Her Stand changed shape, again, and transformed into two separate whips.
Since the blade was traveling so fast I barely had any time to react. I was being restrained by a Stand, so it would follow simple rules. Girl in Red held out one arm and completely torched the whips. Admittedly, I went overboard but it was in self defence. After the flames died down I noticed that the whips were completely unaffected. Without any time to completely dodge the knife I turned and let my shoulder take the brunt of the damage.
Shit! Why the hell did I let it hit me? Blood trickled down my sleeve and patterned the white tiles with an abstract design. The floor was already being stained with scorch marks. Gripping tightly, I removed the blade from my arm. It was a slow process, and hurt more than if I were to leave it in. But it would restrict my movement. In this fight movement was key for my victory. The knife spun and dug into the wall. It hurt more than I cared to admit; but admitting defeat now would mean we couldn't recruit anyone else. And I didn't want to fail before Griffin did. Winning was everything to me and if I couldn't beat these two then I wouldn't be able to take on anyone else. I sized up my opponents again and braced for another attack.
First, I braced my right arm with fire. By shaking my arm I was able to create a sort of wave that neither could parry. It caught on models, posters, anything paper; which was a lot in this classroom. The fire danced and swirled on the walls, closing in the distance between us. To my right was a desk that was extremely flammable. Liquids had spilled earlier that would increase the potency of my flames. With just a small amount of fire the desk lit up instantly. Tipping the desk over caused the fire to spread around the general area. My arm was limp and dangled to the side. After Daiki used his throwing knives it hurt to even move. But at least I was more alert and would expect anything.
Tia slid across the room and used a singular whip. It latched onto my wrist and I was dragged downwards. Daiki moved towards me and punched with his Stand. Using my left hand, I created a large wall of fire stretching to the ceiling. I saw that his hand was singed.
"What? Just because I didn't use my left hand didn't mean your weak attack did anything," I said, clicking my knuckles. "In fact I'm more than capable of beating you two. Watch."
The fire in the back of the room had reached a sizable height. Humid air filled the room, but the edges were just warm. So I had to act quickly. Punching Tia was easy enough. If I moved close her whips lost the effect. And at least now I knew to not use my elemental attacks on them. She dodged all of my attacks, almost effortlessly, but slipped up once. I landed a hit, square on her face and she clutched her nose. One whip hit the air close to me while the other fell to the ground. She raised out her arms in defence, but I wasn't going to attack just yet. Currently I had my sights on Daiki. After watching me demolish his friend he wasn't going to just sit still. Through my peripheral vision I noticed him running closer. Just a few more inches…
Like a leap of faith, I leaned backwards completely still. My flames embraced me and transported me to the ones I created earlier. Wisps flew around the room as I emerged from the wall. Daiki was in slow-motion as I attacked. He turned and summoned his Stand but it was far too late. With my fist clenched (and a fair amount of fire surrounding it) I punched his jaw and sent him flying into the wall.
Crawling across the room, Tia slid up the wall next to the fire alarm. If it was pulled the fire in the room would be extinguished and my Stand's abilities nullified. She panted, but her face contorted into a sick grin like she had just won.
"With your flames out of commission I've won." Glass shattered and spread across the floor. The lever was pulled, but nothing happened.
"I asked Alex to disable the fire alarm earlier. You won't be winning any time soon." I said. I dashed forward and punched Tia in her ribs. Tia was launched backwards; a neat pile of stools was knocked over after she fell.
The fight had come to an end. Mackenzie was slumped on the ground, inhaling deep breaths. Stepping over glass shards and stools, Alex and I rushed to Mackenzie. Her wounds were deep but she seemed completely calm. If I was injured that much I certainly wouldn't be reacting the same way.
"That's two recruited. I won't be back in time for the last two periods. Alex, Sophie, try and get Evie on board. She'll be hard to convince but at least it won't go violent."
"Don't you need help?" I asked. Mackenzie got up, stretched, then moved towards Daiki and Tia.
"Nah, I'll be fine. Plus I need to interrogate these two." She said. Effortlessly, she lifted Tia onto one shoulder and Daiki on the other. Despite being injured heavily she managed something like that. She didn't even use her Stand for God's sake.