Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei does not belong to me
Chapter 22: Hostile Encounter
(Soundtrack: Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major BWV 1048)
"Rookie Division, male Crowd ball. First High School Contestants: Krueger Toni, Jamming Power: Unknown, Launch Speed: Unknown, Rewrite Size: Unknown, Danger: Unknown."
An image of the disgustingly handsome unknown German was projected on the wall.
Gendo was giving a lecture, analyzing and picking apart the competition one by one. If competitors were math problems, I'd solve them all. If anything, the ones from First High School were the most interesting. In the Third High School advisory committee room, Masaki, Airi , Kichijouji, Touko, and the senpai Mizuo listened intently, along with all the representatives of the Crimson School.
"Rookie Division, Monolith Code." Gendo pressed a button on a small remote control and another image was projected on the wall."… Shun Morisaki … danger: high…. Rookie Division, Crowd Women's Ball … Nanami kasugi … danger: medium. Satomi Subaru …medium danger. In his past matches he disguised his presence. I found no evidence of parede . I suspect she's a super power user. However, his speed is lower than yours, Airi . I recommend that route to beat her."
"Rookie Division, Women's Ice Pillar Break. Kitayama Shizuku … danger: very high. Shiba Miyuki, danger… very high. Akachi Eimi … danger: high; Rookie Division, Battle Board, Mitsui Honoka …danger: high ."
"Mirage Bat, Mikhailov Marishka …" From the First High School replacement, I managed to find the same information about her as about Toni: none. "danger: unknown."
[~~~]
Gendo prevailed in the preliminaries, the round of 16, the quarterfinals, the semifinals until he met Masaki in the final, as promised. Gendo had displayed the same cold mind and array magic as Toni. It's rare to watch a game when you already know who's going to win. Gendo was shown to have superior magic to Masaki, but lost.
Fatigue took its toll from not sleeping well and having to repeatedly use Uroboros to the point of exhaustion. On the other hand, Masaki always had a superior psion count, and amazingly executed the strategy made by Kichijouji: throw the balls to the edges of the court where the oscillations are weakest.
When he won, Masaki greeted Gendo, and ran to a private balcony to celebrate with his parents and sisters. Unlike Heinrich Krueger and Kouichi Saegusa, Gouki takes the time to watch his children's school events.
The women's category also passed quickly: Nanimi Kasuga, a competitor in charge of Aleera, was eliminated by Airi in the round of 16. And before she knew it, Verona was preparing her competitor for the final.
First High School's operations store, the two of them finished making adjustments.
"And did you see Toni- kun ?" Subaru said , dressed in the white uniform, shorts that reach above her knees.
"No. I haven't had time to go through." Verona said.
"If he hadn't played against someone so brilliant from the start, he could have gone far."
"Whether they want me to go far is something else."
"What do you mean, Verona-san."
"Toni is a good boy, he has no malice, but no character either. In the end, what limits him is part of him."
[~~~]
Half the court went up.
Subaru greeted the applauding audience while holding his racket in his other hand. He really enjoyed being the center of attention.
"We are already in the final of Crowd Ball …" The presenter said.
The other half ascended, slowly showing Airi, wearing a dark red uniform, with her long hair in a ponytail.
"With Satomi Subaru of First High School and Isshiki Airi from Third High School."
The start bell rang again.
Subaru and Airi jumped. The blonde made a serve, but Subaru returned it and Airi did the same. The ball moved back and forth so fast you couldn't see it.
The scoreboard read: Nine to Eight.
Airi made another serve.
"I didn't see it! Just as Gendo-kun predicted." I watch as Subaru was already where the ball was going. "It's an illusion. No, it's the right entity. But it can't sense its location."
Subaru made a serve towards a corner, while his glasses glowed.
"With my magic power of 'Cognitive Inhibition!' She can see me, but not detect my presence. It's my innate magical power. Even if, Ishihiki-san, realizes, there is no remedy."
The ball traveled centimeter by centimeter. The world was seen in slow motion from Airi 's eyes .
"It's fine." Airi closed her eyes. "If I can't predict his moves, I'm going to focus on the ball. Pick up speed and knock balls I can see!"
His eyes saw the ball. And I ran forward to reject her. Subaru couldn't see, much less reject her; he just turned back in surprise.
"Are you lucky? No."
Airi took off and took off while Subaru had no time to reply. He tried to catch a ball that passed to the side, but he couldn't, it wasn't fast enough. A ball bounced on the floor near his foot, he couldn't answer either.
If Toni saw this, she would have deja vu.
Subaru widened his eyes. "No, I can't stop her."
The necklace on Airi 's chest glowed . "When it comes to speed, I'm the best. My name is Eclaire, I'm lightning!"
Airi took out at full speed. Everything turned white, it was so fast that it became part of the light, at least that's what he felt.
"Satomi Subaru twenty. isshiki Airi sixty. In Crowd Competition Women's ball ."
…
On the giant screen, Subaru could be seen with his head lowered and Airi waving to the audience. One of them was much happier than the other.
"Ah! As expected, Airi !" Touko said .
"What… what a shame." Marshka said.
In the stands, Verona, Aleera, Marishka, and Touko watched the competition. The blonde particularly had hopes that weren't fulfilled: Toni lost, Subaru lost. Dealing with defeat and frustration was nothing new for the sisters. But Marishka was even worse at it than Aleera and Verona.
"Is the one in second your friend?" Touko watched the screen as the top three places were placed on the podium. "Although she lost by triple score, she scored double figures against Airi ."
"But with that difference." Mariska had her hand on her heart. "Looks like I crushed her."
Third High School students have interesting tricks." Aleera propped her head on her hand.
"So you saw the light?" Touko said. "You must be very sensitive to Psionic light . What you saw was the light from Airi's CAD necklace. Since it has a minimal magical form, it has a tiny light, but you could see it! Airi 's magic is based on seeing the information directly ." with his spirit. Counterattack, run, operate the CAD; his magic directs those movements from the spirit directly to the body."
Even though it felt so bad, Marishka asked, "Does that mean you move before you have to think about it?"
"Before seeing him to be more exact. And that's why they call him ' Eclaire '"
"And is it okay for you to tell us something so important?"
"No problem."
"That is all?" Aleera said. "Sounds like a nice spell."
Do you think that is little?
"I'm not saying it's not good. But it's just like Gendo : magic is strong; not the magician."
"One runner-up and two championships. It was a good morning for Third High School." Verona got up. "Come on, Aleera. We have to meet up with Miyuki and Eimi for Ice Pillar Break."
[~~~]
Airi entered the locker room. She was sweaty and breathing heavily, but full of pride and joy. He wanted to hear those words from his engineer.
"Congratulations, isshiki-san." Gendo said.
"Thanks. LL" Retching stopped her. She covered her mouth as her head jerked forward.
"Do you need the bucket?"
"How funny." He felt that something was coming. "Bring it."
Airi took it and vomited on it. Gendo grabbed her hair as she doubled over, giving hoarse moans. Her body trembled and tears formed at the corners of her eyes.
"You will be fine?" Gendo said.
"Yeah. It's just yesterday's ice cream. Last night, I ate like a pig."
"I have to go to the Ice Pillar Break arena. Goodbye, Isshiki-san."
Airi was left alone holding her vomit bucket.
[~~~]
"Deplorable." Said Nanami, a dark brown girl.
" Isshiki was so strong." Subaru rests his elbows on the table.
An aura as depressing as it was absurd was projected onto the two girls.
Verona, Aleera, Miyuki, and Eimi arrived at the operation shop, seeing the depressed girls.
"Cheer up, girls." Godo turned to the girls. "They got good positions."
"They've been like this ever since they lost." Shizuku said.
"And where is Toni- kun?" Said Eimi, dressed in black boots, tight white pants, a thick black jacket, and, covering her red hair, she wore a helmet.
"He went to the hotel. He said his head started to hurt." God replied.
"Oh, I wanted him to watch my game."
"By the way," Aleera said. "What did you dress up as, Eimi."
"It's my Jockey uniform."
"Come on, Yokey. I have to adjust your CAD."
"Shizuku us too."
[~~~]
Ice Pillar Break, male and female, was split in two days. After the girls, the boys would follow. As clothing should not influence, competitors are allowed to wear whatever they want, as long as it does not offend the rules, which is why many have criticized the women's division for becoming a fashion show. In the changing rooms, the competitors were getting ready.
"So, Shizuku, are you going to use that?" Godo said.
"That's right. I'll wear this suit. No rules prevent it."
"Won't those long sleeves get in the way?"
"I'll be fine. The sleeves aren't that long." Shizuku tied a rope to her chest to keep her kimono sleeves out of the way. The rope itself, reminiscent of something BSM that made Godo look away.
"What happen?"
"It's just…" Godo took out a small box from his pocket. "I bought this for you, I think it matches well. I don't know much about it."
Shizuku looked at a flower-style hair clip. I take it and put it on. "How I look?"
She said, with a small smile, giving off a happy, adorable, and innocent aura. She wore a cyan colored kimono and a flower ornament in her hair. She looked so fine and delicate.
"You look beautiful." Godo made a goofy face, with red cheeks until he realized what he looked like. "I mean! Hey, I'm going to see how long it is until your turn."
[~~~]
On the stage, there were five rows of ice blocks, each of three blocks.
Shizuku ascended on a crane, wearing a kimono.
On the other side, her adversary ascended, cosplaying as a high school student, wearing a black uniform, a black cap and, for some reason, a long black cape.
On one side, there was a cylinder of different colors. The red light came on, then the yellow and finally the green.
The two girls typed a sequence, but Shizuku was the fastest.
* Vibration Min *
A magic sequence was projected on each pillar. Vibrations hit the most sensitive parts of the pillars. In just seconds these ended up shattered, as if they exploded.
The crowd applauded Shizuku 's victory . As she stood up there, she remembered that it wasn't just her victory, someone else was committed and worked just as hard as she did.
When she was training, Godo invited her out to the cafeteria, under the pretense of talking about strategies. The two sat at a table, with drinks.
"I've been wondering something." Godo swirled his drink through his straw "Do you have an affinity for swing magic?"
"That's right."
"There are a couple of spells I want to try. For Ice Pillar Break, there is a spell from my family that might work."
"Clan magic…?"
"Niyukiooto Clan magic, that's right." Godo smiled.
[~~~]
After Miyuki changed into her shrine maiden dress, a white kimono with a long red skirt, she sat on one side of the room, facing Verona, adjusting her CAD on the other. It was weird for her. All his life, his Onii -sama was in charge of the adjustments.
As I was thinking this, President Mayumi walked in accompanied.
"You have some guests, Miyuki -chan."
A woman wearing a wine dress came out from behind Mayumi. She was beautiful and sexy, with an aura that made you feel like the darkness was swallowing you up, they said.
"Oba-sama."
"Hello, Miyuki . Ayako and Fumiya wanted to come say hello."
Behind her, a small boy and a girl dressed as a gothic lolita appeared.
" Miyucki-san ." Fumiya said . "You look beautiful."
"Good luck Miyuki ." Ayako said .€€
"The twins wanted to come wish you good luck." Maya smiled. "So I brought them with me."
Miyuki pointed at the other girl.
"This is Verona-san. She will be my engineer, Oba-sama."
"Hello, it's nice to meet you."
Fumiya looked away from the brunette, her cheeks flushed.
Mayumi stood by the wall as the Yotsuba talked. After greetings and a short chat, Maya said goodbye.
"Well, we have to go now. Say hello for me Ichijou Masaki if you see it."
Miyuki raised her eyebrows. "Do you know him?"
"Sure, I'm your father's partner, just like Mayumi - chan's." Maya came out.
Mayumi's smile, standing to the side of the wall, was a bit lopsided. I knew what he meant by "partners."
…
While Maya walked out to the one who saw her through binoculars.
Clifford Shields, with blue eyes like the sea, and blonde hair. He was wearing a dark gray suit, no tie. He had worked for years as the boss of an illegal MAP, Mystic killer Platoon, dispatching foreign targets in the name of the USNA. Now he had his eyes on Yotsuba Maya as he watched her adjust her hair.
"Woman, why can't you stop moving your hair?" Cliff murmured.
"It fixes for you." Said a voice with a slight hint of playfulness.
Tatsuya secretly moved to the right side.
"Hmm, you really are good. I didn't realize you were stalking me until you hit the roof over there." His arm pointed to the right. "Classes with Yakumo-sensei are worth it. You are quite the ninja turtle."
"Shinobi is said ."
Clif stood up, revealing that he was a head taller than Tatsuya. At 1.98 he stood out a lot among Japanese men.
"You grew up fast. Someday you'll catch up to me." smiled.
"Perhaps, Shields -san." Tatsuya bowed.
Tatsuya had known him since he was a child, when Cliff started working for the Yotsuba , shortly before he lost his emotions.
Now that he was standing up, he could get a better look at his appearance. He was handsome, tall, his mature but harmonious features make him look like an attractive middle-aged American actor. He saw why Maya made him her head of security so quickly. The Yotsuba Clan first came across Cliff, after he and his platoon were demoted, when they were working as mercenaries for a GAA movement, which the Yotsuba was investigating.
He used to have a lot of differences with his penultimate bosses, they planned to use them as cannon fodder and kill them, but it was the other way around. After the Chinos were massacred, Maya gave them employment. Your appearance or your resume ; it was difficult to know what the added value was. But the idea was simple: have one killer stop another.
"Come on, Tatsuya." Clif's voice brought him back to the present. "Maya wants you to come watch your sister's game from her private balcony."
[~~~]
Touko and Airi were sitting on the bleachers, hands in their laps. Both got together to watch the competition.
"You can't wait for it to start, right, Airi?" Touko said
" First High School 's competitors have been…irregular." He said, his eyes narrowed as he trembled slightly.
Miyuki was standing on the crane, wearing a classic white kimono with a red skirt.
Her opponent was a brown-haired girl who, for a change, wears a Pokemon trainer cosplay .
The green light came on.
Miyuki activated her magic sequence.
*Hell*
As its name indicates: an infernal heat flooded the stage. The pillars melted like popsicles at three thousand degrees.
It was a first class A spell of extreme difficulty. Oceans of tears were cried by ojou -samas who failed to launch it.
His opponent desperately tapped on his wrist CAD, but there was nothing he could do. In the end, she looked from side to side overwhelmed with helplessness.
The pillars exploded only leaving ice dust behind.
Above the stands, a couple of security officers were watching the game.
"Hey, Benji. Doesn't the loser look like a mini Kyouko ?"
"Borushi would love to meet her."
…
Elsewhere, engineers watched from the school balcony.
"I've been thinking." Aleera said. "Toni is a prodigy at creating heat, isn't he? And that would be useful for melting ice cubes, didn't he melt the library door? Whoever picked him for wizard tennis must be retarded."
"Relax, Aleera." Verona said. "Tell me what did you think of Miyuki 's match ?"
"You won the competitor lottery." Aleera said. " Hell . Not bad…for a Japanese girl."
"What do you think Marishka ? Marishka ?"
"Ah um, I expected to see more beautiful dresses in this competition but these are not to my taste."
"Japan's traditional clothing is ugly." Aleera said.
"Shizuku looked pretty." Godo said.
[~~~]
Mizuo Saho, the senpai of Third High School, was in the stands when one of her kohai approached.
"Can you help me with something, Saho-san." Gendo said.
"Yes of course." Said. "What do you need?"
"Can it cover my dark circles?"
[~~~]
Many students from lower years grew fond of Mizuo. It was easy to have a younger sister-brother relationship with her because of her calm and sweetness. Gendo, despite trying to act cool and logical, was no exception. In fact, she found it cute when he tried to act like an adult.
In the bathroom, Mizuo's feet were close to Gendo's. They stood in front of each other while she made up her dark circles.
"How are you?" Mizuo said . "We're not exactly the same skin tone, but it will work."
"Thank you very much."
Gendo looked at his reflection in the mirror.
"I didn't know that looking good made a wizard more powerful." Said Mizuo.
"It may be that the signs of fatigue give my opponent confidence, and that confidence gives him a better performance."
"Sounds logical." Said. "Airi and Masaki already asked you about your dark circles."
"It's not the first time it's happened to me. They always come out when I work seriously."
"You are going to prepare to compete again."
"I already have everything ready."
"Hey you did fantastic in Crowd Ball."
"It's okay." A stream of blood came out of his nose. Gendo quickly covered himself.
"God. Are you okay?"
"It's not the first time it's happened to me. Since I got my nose broken last year, it happens every time I'm stressed. It's just the sensitive blood vessels. If it was something else. Serious, I wouldn't bleed like this. This is more like a stung nose."
[~~~]
(Tekken 7 OST: G Corp. Helipad)
The men's category began. Once again, the hopes of Third High School rested on the shoulders of Gendo and Masaki .
Gendo got into position in his normal school uniform, taping up his sleeves to keep them out of the way of his wrist CAD. His redheaded companion hadn't bothered to change out of his Crowd uniform. Ball . Speaking of clothing, his adversary was not wearing anything very different from him.
Green light and the two began typing on their CADs.
*Ouroboros*
At its full power the bouncing and reproducing infinite waves blew out all the pillars in seconds. It seemed that before each piece hit the ground Gendo was proclaimed the winner and walked away.
"Let me know when the next game is."
[~~~]
At night, when the Messenger went back to his bedroom after another heavy day, another endless day sitting on the bleachers, trying to justify it, he smelled something he liked.
The association gave a banquet for the schools, like a dinner. After sneaking in, he put the stolen shrimp in his pockets. He never says no when he can steal some good-smelling food. What nostalgia: stealing food just like in his childhood in his hometown.
The Messenger kept a handful of shrimp in his pocket. He also spilled some saliva as he was at it.
"What are you doing here, Moreno?" Kirihara said. A little behind him was Kazuto .
"Listen to me, you foolish hairs. I've been in your country of rice and sharp eyes for a year, a week watching one mediocre magician parade after another... eh, what questions do I ask here?" The Messenger stuffed a handful of shrimp into his mouth. "I have lost the direction of my life, in a nutshell."
I put away one last handful before he leaves.
"Say hello to Sayaka for me or, even better, I'll say hello to her for you."
As he left, Kirihara would have followed him if not for Kazuto putting his arm out in front of him.
…
"Gabriel is still Gabriel." Godo muttered as he watched him from a distance.
"Keep acting crazy." Aleera replied, sullenly.
They turned to see the group: the girls, with admiration in their eyes, surrounded one girl in particular.
"Wow, Kitayama -san you were fantastic."
"Shizuku was great, I loved her kimono and how she cornered her opponent."
"Yeah, it was great."
After gaining speed Shooting and having an equally fabulous performance on Ice Pillar Break, the little student became a mini idol.
"It was all thanks to Godo-san." Shizuku said .
"Yes, Godo-san is the best engineer."
Aleera's eye started to pop out.
"If Godo-san had been my engineer, I would have won." Said Subaru.
"Godo was Toni's engineer, and yet he had the most convincing defeat in the entire history of Crowd Ball in front of everyone." Aleera turned and left.
All the girls fell silent.
Godo took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Is right."
…
Aleera was used to being hated. That's what most of the wizards and military men who watched over her when she was a child did. After all, it was just a research project. But all those magicians weaker than her must recognize her power. What was new was that they despised the talent, not the person.
What gave a hot, frothy rage that reached her throat was that her sister's talent was being disregarded in favor of someone else. Godo was not a perfect engineer. He had a certain suspicion of him, his work could not make Toni win, not even save him from being humiliated. But it wasn't his fault.
For her, the devices, engineers, etc., are innocuous, superfluous: there is no added value that makes you defeat a higher magical power. Today's results only checked his posture. If she was horribly honest: She felt sorry for her sister for doing an irrelevant job.
"Hello, Aleera-san, right?" Airi said, with a fake respectful tone.
In the tunnel that connected the dining room to the hotel, Aleera looked up seeing a blonde girl, followed by a boy and her little friend.
"Ah, hi, Airi. And how are things at Third High School ?" Aleera said.
"Hey, everything's fine."
"There, there is also someone left traumatized after losing."
"It is none of your business!"
"Just curious."
Airi's response was more raspy than she was aware of. He didn't want to miss the class, but he wasn't sorry about stopping it either.
"Aleera." Her sisters and Erika came out the door, looking for her.
"Everything's fine?" Verona said after giving the Third High School girls a quick glance .
"Yes. I was just congratulating Airi on winning Crowd Ball . It's like tennis, isn't it?
"Something like that, take inspiration." Gendo replied .
Aleera walked past her. By this point his mood was already very different.
"I challenge you to a duel of Crowd Ball ." Aleera said.
"That?"
"Give me the honor of seeing how good you are."
"The field should be closed by now."
"I know a way to open it. Ultimately, we came here to play and have fun, but I understand if you're afraid I'll embarrass you in front of your friends." Aleera gestured, raising her palms to shoulder height, her open hands pointing in every direction. "Your school has already done many pathetic scenes. Tell me about Lightning . Did you do it alone? It wasn't what I expected, of course, the effort you put in is respected."
"An amateur like you has no chance, are you so stubborn that you can't see it?"
"Angry? I didn't mean to say that you're not good, you are. But you put a lot of importance on being born into an illustrious family; what matters is being born with power. weak you are doomed."
"Aaay." Verona snorted. "Please indulge my sister."
"Go over it." Touko said .
Airi turned to Gendo.
"For me, all good."
[~~~]
The engineers went for their team and met at the stadium.
Aleera's magic, which manipulated electronic fields, is very useful for surveillance, infiltration or pranks. After he used it on the system, the group walked inside. In the arena, the lights came on, as if they were studying ready for a normal game.
"It's an interesting… magic." Gendo said .
First High School "team" sat in a front row. While Verona finished adjusting a CAD hastily, Marishka tied her sister's hair up in a bowler hat.
" Ouch ."
I pulled Aleera's hair too hard.
"So sorry!"
"It doesn't matter. Are you okay?"
"It's just nerves. This whole competition thing is so sudden."
"Clever." Verona fitted her sister with wrist CAD. "Be careful. It's borrowed, just like the racket."
"Subaru is very generous, even if she doesn't know it." Aleera said.
"Good luck, darling." Erika kissed goodbye.
Aleera used magic to jump onto the field.
"Do you know what to say to the security guards if they catch us?" Marshka said .
"I have no idea." Verona said.
"We could tell him we got lost looking for the bathroom."
Third High School "team" sat on the other side.
Gendo's long day would be a little longer. Although to be honest, adjusting Airi 's CAD was easy, she already did it all day, it was just a few tweaks.
"Will you be one hundred percent?"
"Yes. Take something for nausea."
"I'm done. You can grab your CAD now."
"Come on, Airi !" Touko said .
The big screen lit up, displaying the words, Aleera Vs., Airi .
The two girls entered the transparent polymer room.
Airi had her hair tied up in a long ponytail. Instead of wearing his Crowd uniform Ball , had removed the bleizer from her uniform, just like Aleera, leaving her black nightgown and bare shoulders.
"You have thin shoulders. Too bad they were wasted on you."
"Your friend did your hair for you."
"You want to give me a beating? Give it to me on the scoreboard, if you can."
For a heavy second, both girls looked at each other until the screen said start.
The machines launched the balls with pressurized air. The two typed on their CADs before brandishing their rackets. Airi had faster acceleration, but Aleera was starting to catch up.
"You won't." Airi cast Lightning . Again, he was moving so fast that everything he saw was white, as if turning to light.
"Lightning? What's the rush?" Aleera thought. He looked around, saw all the balls.
A red light came out of his ring. All the balls went against Airi 's wall . The same thing was repeated over and over again.
The final bell rang.
Aleera 112- Airi 72.
"Well, it was fun."
As Aleera returned to her sisters, Erika jumped towards her, hugging her with her legs.
"You did it, Love."
For her part, after putting on her blazer, Airi left the stadium with her teammates.
"What happened?" Touko said.
"I'm not sure," Gendo said. "But most likely Drakulia -san moved the balls by reversing their polarity of attraction over and over again."
"That requires…"
"Requires immense raw power." Complete air .
"Well, we can go to the banquet now." Gendo said .
"Wow, I can't believe what he's capable of!" Touko stretched her arms to the sky before turning around. "Shall we have some tea?"
"Do whatever you want." Airi said.
"What's wrong? That's not the Echaire I know. You're the champion of Crowd ball. And besides, maybe our opponents are just as talented as her."
"Do you want to compete?"
"Correct." Touko raised a finger, "Being able to face someone of that level without being able to quit is a unique opportunity!"
"You're right. Maybe we'll get powerful opponents. Therefore, defeating them makes much more sense. As long as it's a competition according to the rules, and not a comparison of egos, we can beat anyone." Airi placed a hand on her heart. "It's what we've trained for. That's why we can definitely, win!"
"Good luck." Gendo said .
"So be it!" Touko stretched out her arms towards the sky.
[~~~]
That night, in Yokohama's Chinatown, a Caucasian man walked into an office. He was wearing an expensive suit. His hair was black and his features were young and handsome; he couldn't be more than twenty-one. Marcus Marek Pearson looked like a boy band member or the sexy older brother who would piss off high school girls.
The other five men in the room, the leaders of the Not Head Dragons, were in their fifties, but they were eagerly awaiting their magical advisor.
"What's going on?" Marcus said. "They look nervous."
A man responded with an angry tone at the simian question.
"The First High School is having its second wind: we did not expect their victory in Speed Women's shooting, and the scenery in Ice Pillar Break gives them hope."
"A victory could define the entire competition." Said another man. "We need you to run another errand."
"Of course. That's another twenty-five million." Marcus almost reaches out for his payment.
"Who the hell do you think you are? The only wizard in the world?"
" Daah, you already admitted that you need me to do the job."
"Bastard!" Another man sitting in a chair growled.
"I'm the only one who wouldn't rat them out to Richard." Marcus said. "Maybe if they didn't turn so many mages into brainless generators, who can only serve as bodyguards or assassins, they'd have someone who's cheaper." I glance sideways at the meat doll that was standing by the wall.
"You already know: we bet on the collection of our income. If we lose, and we don't pay, we will be hunted down and killed by all our collectors. If we do, we will be killed by our own boss, Richard Sun. " Dick Sun , the boss's cousin, took a calculated risk.
Saegusa Mayumi , Juumonji Katsuto and Watanabe Mari were acquaintances, but all things pointed to Gendo Niyukyooto would be the one to define the competition.
"Blackmailed by a brat old enough to be my son." Dick rubbed the hundreds. I had a headache. "I think age is getting to me already, did you say twenty-five million?"
"And in advance."
Dick stood up, went to his safe to take out a large bag of money. He dropped a fortune on the table. Marcus counted out the thousand yen green bills into thick wads and returned them to the bag.
"Well. That will cover it." He smiled, "Have a good night."
He left, walking, with the bag on his shoulder.
As he walked through the lobby and through the parking lot to his car, his partner, a slightly shorter and older Chino began to walk along with him.
"Well, how did it go with the elders?"
"Shui. We'll have to sabotage First High School more."
"How much do you offer?"
"Three million."
"Eight million. I know since I've been earning a lot from this madness." Shui said.
"Five million. Just because we're friends." Marcus opened the trunk.
"Emh, deal done. What do you think his divinity Zhang will think if he finds out? You really are crazy, Kyui ."
He put the bag in the back of his car. "It will surely skin us both: just a scolding and a little lesson."
Marcus Pearson, or Kyui , was originally from the USNA.
His parents were wizard deserters from the army. He came to the Great Asian Alliance with them when he was ten years old. Shortly after, his native country planted a bomb in the family car. Officially, he died with his parents; unofficially: he became a ward of the state, and his training in the military began. From his early teens, he was a secret operative agent, in charge of espionage operations as well as assassinations.
In the AAG, criminal organizations are supervised and maintained by the government. A few months ago, he made contact with the Not Head Dragons on a spy mission. Marcus had more in common with the Messenger than being young, handsome, working in a foreign country, and being a ruthless bastard. Through the information networks, his code name, " Kyui ", was as feared and associated with black ops as that of Lu Ganghu .
[~~~]
(From the Sea- Eskimo Joe)
Sometimes a moment is marked. No matter how hard you try, you can't change it. You can't go back. You can't hit the rewind button.
No matter how hard you try, once you lose, you lose; even if you try again, even if you win again, if you do, it will haunt you for the rest of your life. It will be there when you go to bed and when you get up, it will be there, entangling you, when you are rolling around in your bed.
Toni tossed and turned on her bed, feeling more like a failed Krueger than usual. He had rejected all the calls from his uncle, his mother and his brother.
"German!" Toni sat up suddenly at the sound of that voice. Godo opened the door before saying, "Aren't you ready yet? Come on, get ready"
"So that?"
"For the party. There's one for the losing competitors and their engineers in the woods. If a champion goes they get dragged out. They have free drinks and music; you'll love it."
"Um, um, I guess I'm not in the mood."
Godo pulled his sheets.
"Do it as a favor for me. Please, Brother, I don't want to go alone."
[~~~]
(Fail Out Boy - Dance, Dance)
"I feel like a…"
"Even when you're nervous you look handsome, like a super model." Godo said. "You are as handsome as Gabriel, Toni."
"What?"
"Did you never notice?"
The two were at the bar of a small field, decorated with balloons, inside there was a drinks stall, most of the students were dancing.
"If Gaby were here, she would take all coke, Colombians and coke. Let's dance anyway. Which girl do you think is the lucky one?"
"Should I approach a girl?"
"Nah , start dancing, and they'll come to you."
Toni was already on the dance floor when she remembered that she knew absolutely nothing about dancing.
"Godo."
"Yes." Godo I speak to everyone. "Clear the track, my friend is going to polish it up. Go crazy, Brother."
"Oh, to hell."
By this time Toni knew that she would not escape ridicule, so she decided to escape ahead. If he couldn't be a dancer, he would be a comedian. He grabbed his own leg and started to poke it towards his head, in an old-fashioned step. I pull out the whole arsenal of bad dances, mostly disco.
"Come on, Toni! Come on, Toni! Come on, Toni!" Everybody ran.
After he ended up on the floor, trying to spin around in a horribly done break dance move, Godo grabbed his hand to lift him up.
"Damn, Brother. That's showing off."
[~~~]
Early the next morning, Marishka was high up, a hundred feet off the ground, too high. In the sky, several holograms of balls were projected. As she hit a hologram with a pink scepter, dressed in physical education clothes, she avoided not looking at the floor. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if he fell.
Today, they would train at the stadium where Mirage would be played Bat . I could see all the bleachers there; on competition day, they would all be full of people, watching her. Above her, a zeppelin hovered, covering her from the sun.
When Verona explained what Mirage was about Bat knew that the advisers chose the least suitable of all the sisters. Not that Marishka minds waving a magical girl scepter, much less modeling or dressing like one. The problem is that he had to do it in the heights.
Since he began to take his feet off the ground, little by little, he left his comfort zone. With every meter that moved away from the ground. It was like that since I was a child, I knew it wasn't a rational fear.
He tried to catch another ball when he crossed paths with his partner. Quickly change course. Then, her partner stopped in front of her.
Keiko Kabayakawa , her partner in Mirage Bat , with short black hair, was two years older than her biologically, but when he stood in front of her, it could be seen that he was half a head shorter.
"Why did you stop? You were going to catch him before I did." Keiko said.
"And me." Marishka said
"Okay, you're very good, but you need to be more determined. I also get very tied up in these competitions, I'm trying to loosen up more."
His poor performance was no coincidence: he was afraid of heights, rather, of falling from it. All his life he had it.
The magic of flying could be mastered, the accident rate could be reduced until they became almost impossible; but his fear did not understand that. And she understood that if nerves took over, if fear took over, she would end up hurt, maybe dead, even if she survived, she would lose her magic for the rest of her life.
How ironic it is to make a baby in a lab to be the new level of magic, and lose its magic in an accident. You've already felt the frustration of things not turning out the way you expected. Toni looked so sad when he walked off the court. What would her sisters think of her: if she turned into a pathetic flesh doll without magic?
She had shared everything with them, and they shared everything with her, Aleera even shared Elena and then Erika. However, they were not the same. In the past, he had always stayed behind, hoping that Verona would see what was best. He was happy just being with the people he loved. In contrast, Verona had no problem pursuing what she wanted: magical engineering. Nor did Aleera, even with Elena's death that tore her little heart, move on.
On the other hand, she had something that she loved: but she just didn't follow it. Although they have wings, some birds are not meant to fly.
[~~~]
After training was over, Marishka went to shower, dry off, and changed into her normal school uniform before heading out.
In the hallway, she saw Honoka walking towards her.
I had told him to come to this one now. Battle Board will be this morning. You will have to hurry to meet the schedule.
"Good morning, Marishka-san . How was your practice?"
"Eh. Fine, fine. Come on, we have a place to go."
End of part 22 /?