A Block...
Lilyan: " to think you would be placed in the first block..."
They were actually in the common room where the two men were making final adjustment to their LBXs before the start of the matches.
Evangeline: " you may have to end up against Ruri and Ken."
She said looking at their direction. The purple head was adding some final touches on their units while Ken was checking their opponents lists.
Odin: " to be honest, I do really want to battle them."
Ban: " right. I got really thrilled during their underworld tournament so I can't wait. Though..."
He sweat dropped as he peeked over his shoulder with an awkward smile, Ota Pink and Otohime where about to throw hands at each other.
Ota Pink: " listen little girl, you should just give up, Jin will never look at you!"
Otohime: " don't you talk now you weirdo! I'm sure Jin-sama will be never interested in a chicken dyed in pink!"
She snorted at her while her finger was rolling a lock of her hair.
Ota Pink: " you little-"
Not sooner that she stepped forward than her friends restricted her.
Ota Red: " stop, pink!"
Ota Black : " they will kick you out of the tournament if you start a brawl here!"
Eva was hardly bottling her laughter, especially seeing Jin's face who wanted nothing more than to vanish into thin air right then right there.
Lilyan shifted her eyes from the group to him.
Lilyan: " you sure are popular among girls."
Jin merely heaved a tired sigh. Such turn of events wasn't expected at all. Elie on the other hand had a death glare at the other girls.
Elie: " listen, Onii-chan, Jin..."
Her voice was so cold and she looked back at them with a very terrifying face.
Elie: " smash, dice, tear and blow them apart. You're not allowed to lose, understood!"
They both nodded multiple times.
Elie: " good."
MC : " to everyone, it's now the due time for the first block's battles! Are you ready?"
They all stood as most of the people there started walking out and heading to the arena.
Elie: " that's your cue."
Ken and Ruri walked up to them.
Ken: " are you ready, Ban-san, Jin-san?"
The two males nodded.
Lilyan: " good luck to you all."
Beargguy : " we will be cheering for you."
Unicorn: " do your best."
Evangeline : " and be careful with your LBXs."
Valkyrie: " leave it to us."
And so they split as they left the hall...
MC: " here we're ladies and gentlemen, the A Block first battles!"
At his comment, the players ascended their platforms and faced off their opponents. The crowd let out a loud roar of cheering.
The snowy haired boy sat on a comfortable cozy chair and held a chalice of juice with his right hand, though his eyes never left the scene of the arena.
Knight: " let's see what your players are capable of, Minerva."
Down there, Jin and Ban were face to face Ota Red, Ota Pink and Ota Black with the last two partaking in the battle. Ruri and Ken were against Ma who was all alone.
Ken: " he doesn't seem that strong."
Ruri: " but Ban-san spoke highly of him, we shouldn't underestimate him."
MC : " now! Descend your LBXs!"
Ban: " Odin!"
Jin: " Zenon!"
Pink&Black: " Bibinbird Chaos!"
The two pink and black bird shaped LBXs landed on the diorama of the desert.
Gouda: " New LBXs?"
Kazu: " other than the weapons and helmets nothing more changed."
He pointed out with a sweat drop.
Black: " not really, master Otacross made sure to upgrade their power by 30 times."
Hiro&Ran: " by 30 times!"
Pink: " in his head that's."
Both fell down to the ground.
Hiro: " should have seen that coming..."
Ran: " that's Otacross for you..."
Pink: " Jin-kun, finally I can get your mail address!"
Black: " Ban-san, today I will defeat you and Jin-san, and gain Elie-san's heart!"
Ami heaved a sigh as she massaged her forehead.
Ami: " there is no agreeing with those guys..."
Ban looked back at Jin with a sweet smile contradicting his aura.
Ban: " Jin, let's show them no mercy, ok."
On an other platform, the Reizetsu siblings and Ma send out their LBXs.
Ken: " Ranger!"
Ruri: " Valkyrie!"
Ma: " K-Arthur!"
The golden LBX landed on the ground of the forest Diorama, making it shake under its weight.
Sendou: " even the kid got a new LBX!"
Ami: " it seems strong."
Evangeline: " judging by the boosters on its wings I can say it can keep up with Odin when it comes to speed."
Ruri: " seems we have a tough opponent from the start, Nii-san."
Ken let out an excited smirk.
Ken: " I don't care who my opponent is, we will make sure to be the winners at the end and face Ban-san."
Ruri casted a look at the two older men who were on the platform next to theirs.
Ruri: " right, Jin-san and Ban-san won't lose here, we should get up there and face them."
MC : " are you ready!"
They clenched their fists firmly on their CCMs waiting for the signal.
MC : " Battle Start!"
The LBXs made their first moves. Jin and Ban dashed to finish them with one blow. But both Black and Pink were able to dodge and back in time.
Black: " sorry but we've learned already."
Pink: " you're not running from my feelings this time, Jin-kun!"
Both Bibinbirds shot at the them using their launchers, and the dust filled the area. They kept attacking till they ran out of ammo, and they looked down at the stream of dust rising up.
Black: " that marks the end of your journey."
Both LBXs performed their poses as they celebrated their victory.
Unfortunately it wasn't the case, for the glimmering of two green visors was seen through the dust.
Ban: " I wouldn't celebrate yet if I were you."
The dust cleared to reveal the two LBXs who were spared from the rain of missiles using Odin's shield.
In a split of second, both Zenon and Odin dashed forward, Ban slashed at Black's LBX and Jin smashed down the hammer on Pink's.
As they got away, both LBXs exploded immediately.
MC : " the second match is over! Winner, Ban and Jin team!"
Elie held up a fist with a satisfied smirk while Sendou pulled out a card.
Sendou: " their win was predictable after all."
Gouda: " now is Ruri and Ken's turn."
He said shifting his attention to the other arena and his eyes widened at the situation. Valkyrie was barely brushing K-Arthur's attacks with an injured leg.
Ranger was struggling to hit it but couldn't for it was too quick to lock on.
Ken: " damn it."
Lilyan: " the situation seems bad over there."
Mirai: " Valkyrie got damaged from the start of the match?!"
Aya: " from the first instant, K-Arthur directed a hit to its joint, causing Valkyrie to lose balance almost immediately."
Yosra: " Ranger managed miraculously to escape."
Evangeline : " he aimed to cause them a serious damage from the start."
They were pushed to a corner, Ranger's arrows hardly scathed the LBX. Valkyrie was having difficulties attacking and evading because of her injured leg.
On the other hand, K-Arthur's speed was extra ordinary for an LBX with a heavy armor, not to mention its power. It continued brandishing its heavy sword around, causing more damage to Valkyrie.
MC : " ooh, seems we have a one sided battle over in the fourth match."
Ken: " we've got carried into his pace."
Ma was having the time of his life, striking Valkyrie and dodging Ranger.
Ma: " no one can touch me."
Ban and Jin were watching the battle from far away after they returned to the side chairs.
Jin: " he got really more powerful."
Odin: " it has been more than five years, of course he would improve a lot."
Ken: " Ruri! Any bright ideas!"
Ruri squinted at her screen, trying to spot the slightest flaw that could turn the table.
Ma: " it's useless! Hissatsu Function!"
K-Arthur quickly backed and shape shifted to a jet.
" Attack Function: Jet Striker!"
The LBX dashed toward Valkyrie, knocking her away with a strong force.
Ruri: " Valkyrie!"
The small robot fell down on the ground with sparks flying out of her, struggling to stand up but unable to do.
Ma let out a loud satisfied laugh.
Ken: " damn it..."
Ruri: " Nii-san..."
Ken snapped his head back at the purple head who gave him a determined look.
MC: " Otto! The third match came to an end finally! The Kamui Daimon representatives had won!"
Arata: " ho, seems they're better than what we thought."
Elie: " doesn't matter at all, when they will battle Onii-chan and Jin they will be done for."
MC : " ho! What's happening there!"
The MC turned everyone's attention back to Ma and Ken's battle. Ken had quickly changed Ranger's weapon to a pair of daggers, changing the combat to a close range one.
Ma: " do you think you can defeat me?"
The smile never left his face.
Ken commanded Ranger to sidestep and dodge the sword that almost fell upon him.
Ken: " I don't think... I'm sure I will win."
Ma: " you..."
He seemed pissed off at Ken's confidence and he commanded his LBX to back.
Ma: " Hissatsu Function!"
Once again K-Arthur changed to the jet form and dashed towards Ranger, tossing him away. Ma smirked proudly.
Ma: " that should close your mouth."
He said as K-Arthur was transforming back.
Ruri: " I'm not so sure about that! Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Holy Lance!"
The stream of light finally pierced through K-Arthur's abdomen, causing it to fall down and break over. Ma looked down at his CCM with wide eyes, unable to believe what happened while Ken and Ruri exchanged a high five.
MC : " it's finally over, K-Arthur is down! Winners are Ruri and Ken!"
There was a loud cheering from the crowd behind them. Unbeknown to them back in Japan, Fumie and Akio where hugging and jumping happily for the victory of their cousins.
Mikoto as well smiled proudly at their accomplishment.
Ma: " how... How did you manage to do that?!"
Ruri looked back with a smile.
Ruri: " I realized that after you attacked me, when you change back to the LBX form, you need to slow down or stop, because of the difference in air resistance. So the only chance for us to attack was when you would change back. Seeing that you would focus on Ranger as he had more HP than Valkyrie, it was decided that I will be the one that would attack with what was left of Valkyrie's energy. I admit that I was worried, if I missed we would have been defeated."
Ma sighed, but with a small smile.
Ma: " as expected of Ban-san's friends, you're really good. It's a shame I'm down right from the start, but that's LBX. I will get even better to defeat you next time!"
Ken smirked.
Ken: " we look forward to that."
Ma's smile grew into a smirk.
Ma: " tell Yamano Ban in my stead, that I will reclaim the title of the king again one day."
And he left the arena while Ken and Ruri blinked in confusion before heading back to where Ban and Jin were.
Ban: " that was a good battle."
Odin: " managing to defeat the previous Master King is really something."
Ken: " thanks. And by the way, he wanted us to tell you that he will reclaim the title of king again or something."
Ban's smile widened as he exchanged looks with his LBX.
Ban: " we're not going down easily."
Ruri: " I don't yet understand... King?... Ban-san?"
Odin: " it's a long story..."
Jin: " anyway, seems our next opponent is decided."
He said pointing at the huge screen showing a man with long brown hair and holding up his Gladiator.
Ban: " Kanzaki Shou..."
Odin: " doesn't seem like an easy opponent."
Zenon: " tell me about that, we've been following his match for the whole time."
Jin: " he was impressive six years ago, and now he has gained even more experience."
Ban: " even dad had acknowledged his skills. Jin, can I take this one? I want to battle him."
Jin nodded.
Ban: " it's decided then."
Ruri turned to her brother.
Ruri: " Valkyrie received a bad damage, I think I can fix her by the third match since I brought spare parts with me, but I can't use her for the second battle. You go."
Ken nodded.
Ken: " I will make sure to finish quickly as to give you more time to fix her."
Ranger: " you can depend on us."
As soon as all of the first matches ended, they took their places for the second ones. As expected, neither Ken nor Ban had faced any troubles claiming victory. Ken managed to take his opponent by surprise when he decided to opt for a close range battle unlike usual. Ban on the other hand faced Kanzaki head on, and while it was true he had improved, he still couldn't do much against Ban's strong defense and offence. In the end, he was defeated while trying to take him down by surprise from above. Kanzaki didn't take his loss any better than before and stormed out the venue rather pissed off.
Otohime and Jason manged to get through as well, which meant they were to fight against Ban and Jin.
Ken: " have you finished yet?"
He peeked from behind the hunched over back of his sister who was strapping the final pieces of Valkyrie's armor.
Ruri: " done, as good as new. So, who is our next opponent."
Ken: " a team from Mexico, it will be 3 vs 2."
Valkyrie: " doesn't sound like an easy battle."
Ruri: " we better go with our usual formation. If we keep calm I'm sure we can defeat them even if three against two."
Ranger: " Roger that, leave the back up for us."
Ban on the other hand was sweat dropping at the girl who was staring at Jin for the whole time.
Ban: " you said she was your student right... How did you manage to bear her in class?"
Jin: " believe me I don't know..."
MC: " finally we've reached the semi final matches! Who will be the ones to reach the finals! Watch out for the winners!"
Ken turned over to Ban and Jin.
Ken: " don't you lose, I want to fight you both in the end."
Ban: " I should say the same, do your best."
And they walked over to their platforms. Jin and Ban stood on their side, facing both Otohime and Jason. The woman had an ear to ear grin while the male was brushing back his blond hair.
Otohime: " finally I can battle Jin-sama, it's like a dream coming true."
Jason: " dreams are tomorrow's truth. Nothing is impossible as long as you have determination."
Kazu: " just like his father."
He commented with a sweat drop to which Ami giggled.
Ami: " well, as they say, like father like son."
Momona: " who do you think will be the winner."
Wataru thought for a moment.
Wataru: " I don't think Jin-san and Ban-san would be defeated easily. But at the same time it's Kamui Daimon's representatives we're speaking of. I doubt they got here by mere luck."
Muraku interjected at that.
Muraku: " of course they won't. The school was actually preparing a mini competition for the sake of determining who will represent it. For them to be here means they had defeated all the players who had participated in that competition."
Mirai squinted at the duo.
Mirai: " means we shouldn't underestimate them..."
MC: " get ready!"
Jin: " Zenon!"
Ban: " Odin!"
Otohime: " Siren!"
Jason: " Musha!"
Ruri: " Valkyrie!"
Ken: " Ranger!"
" Gladiator!"
" Konoichi!"
" Titan!"
All LBXs were now on place, ready to move.
MC : " Battle Start!"
Siren start launching missiles at both Odin and Zenon, separating them.
Jason: " the real warrior expects everything!"
He took Odin by surprise while he was trying to dodge Siren's attacks.
Odin was pushed back by the heavy sword of the other LBX. Zenon tried to approach Otohime's LBX and stop the rain of missiles but in vain for he couldn't get any closer to her.
Otohime: " sorry Jin-sama, but as much as I want you to approach, I want to win as well."
Musha and Odin were clashing, but in front of the heavy sword, Ban's lance was in disadvantage.
Jason: " like the final petal of the Sakura flower, I will make your end worth of the name of the legendary player."
Musha was assaulting non stop, leaving hardly time for Odin to recover from each strike.
Zenon held his hammer up in defense, blocking the missiles that were directed at him.
Otohime grinned from ear to ear.
Otohime: " good, we're pressing on them, they will hardly be able to react."
On the other end, a loud cheering could be heard as the other battle came to an end.
MC: " they did it! The Reizetsu siblings claimed their place in the finals! It was a hard battle, but Ken jumped to rescue his sister in the last second, switching to his daggers in the right time to finish the last LBX!"
Ken and Ruri exchanged smiles before they looked over at the other arena.
Ban: " nothing less expected from them."
Jin: " we can't stay long here as well."
Ban: " true, Odin!"
His visors glimmered as he pivoted around, brushing away the heavy sword so that he was standing behind Musha now.
Ban: " it's my turn!"
Odin rushed forward, attacking the other LBX and piercing through its armor.
Zenon kicked the ground and soared into the sky before holding up his hammer and swiping down to hit Siren.
Otohime: " no! I won't let you!"
She said flinging her weapon up.
Jin: " too slow!"
The hammer hit the launcher and Zenon quickly got away. Siren tried to escape but she was caught in the explosion of the weapon and was thrown away, hardly moving.
Ban&Jin: " the end!"
Their fingers pressed quickly on the CCMs' keys and both Musha and Siren let a light explosion, signaling their break over upon receiving the last strike.
MC : " break over! It's decided! Both Ban and Jin team and Reizetsu siblings team will be facing each other to decide on the finalist of A Block! I'm really excited for the battle that I have goosebumps already!"
Ban and Ken exchanged looks and smiles before both teams got back to the resting area, making the final checks for their LBXs.
A few minutes of silence reigned over the stadium as everyone were waiting for the the final battle of A Block. Knight who was sitting comfortably on his chair let out a smooth smirk as he watched both team preparing their LBXs.
Ran: " Ban and Jin vs Ken and Ruri. I'm really excited for this!"
Lilyan: " we can't speculate the outcome of this battle."
Sendou took out a card.
Sendou: " the wheel of fate, upright. They're the only ones who can decide how things would end now."
MC : " the players are heading to the area now!"
Both teams climbed up the short ladders and took their spots by the Diorama.
Ban: " finally I'm facing you."
Ken: " I can't believe it's happening."
Jin: " give it your best."
Ruri: " don't expect us to lose easily."
MC : " get ready!"
All four LBXs descended to the ruins diorama and the players clang on to their CCMs without looking away from their opponents.
MC: " Battle Start!"
Zenon made for Valkyrie, attacking her immediately. While Ken was trying to back and find a good spot to support his sister, he found himself under attack from Ban.
Ban: " not that easily!"
Ranger managed to dodge Odin's thrusts, but he couldn't attack just yet, so he tried to keep a distance between them.
On the other hand, Valkyrie was having a hard time facing off the power type Zenon.
Ruri: " as expected of Jin-san..."
MC : " Yamano Ban and Kaidou Jin, they're pressing on the Reizetsu siblings! How will Ken and Ruri act now!"
Ken: " tsk, I didn't think we would have to use it this early."
Ruri: " it was our only chance to fight against them from the start, so we would end up using it sooner or later. Though we can't do it the same as them."
Ken: " very well... Akio, Fumie, we will be borrowing your strategy for a while."
Ranger jumped up high above the arc, Valkyrie did the same.
Ban: " you won't run!"
As Zenon and Odin jumped after them, they were attacked mid air and thrown back.
Ban: " what!?"
Jin: " how?"
Both Ranger and Valkyrie jumped down once more, but to everyone's surprise, Ranger was holding the Valkyrie Spear and Valkyrie was holding Ranger's bow.
MC : " they exchanged weapons! Is this the siblings plan?!"
Odin and Ranger quickly engaged into a spare, each trying to pierce through the other.
While Zenon was trying hard to catch up with Valkyrie who kept a safe distance from him. Thanks to her agility, she was able to move away easily and launch arrows at him, finally damaging him.
Jin: " not bad."
Asuka: " what are you both doing! Are you going to lose! Don't hold back on them, Ruri! Ken!"
Sendou: " pick up a side!"
Ranger tried to bring down the spear on Odin but he blocked it using his shield.
Ban: " now!"
The booster roared as he pushed back his opponent, stopping in time, he left Ranger to continue flying and ram into a pole behind him.
Valkyrie on the other hand was taken by surprise by Zenon who managed to catch up to her and attacked her from behind, thrown her on the ground.
Elie: " seems they got used to their new style."
Ken merely smirked as Ranger pulled himself up.
Ken: " Ruri, switch!"
Once again, they had exchanged weapons. Ban quickly pulled Odin's shield, narrowly blocking Ken's arrows as they were launched at him. Valkyrie, dashed towards Zenon as soon as she got back her spear, slashing at his side. Zenon quickly backed and held his hammer in defense.
Suddenly Jin's eyes widened when he realized she was no more holding the spear, but once again the green and purple bow as she launched the arrows at him.
Zenon hardly managed to dodge.
And so they kept that way, exchanging weapons every while which was making Jin and Ban struggle to keep up with them.
Back in Japan, Akio and Fumie were watching the TV with wide eyes.
Akio: " isn't that..."
Fumie: " our special technic? But when did they manage to mimic it?"
Akio: " well, it's hardly on the same level as ours."
He shrugged.
Fumie: " we're twins after all, no one can pull such technic the same way as us."
Back in the stadium, both the HP gages of Ban and Jin were reaching their halves.
Ban: " I'm impressed they managed to push us this far."
He said with a wide smirk.
Jin: " you're enjoying it right now, aren't you?"
He had a similar smirk as well.
Ban: " of course, facing strong opponents and trying hard to think of a way to overcome them is what makes LBX fun."
Jin: " agree... Ban-kun..."
Ruri and Ken narrowed their eyes.
Ruri: " be careful, they have some plan up their sleeves."
Ban and Jin ordered for the attack, Valkyrie backed as usual while shooting arrows while Ranger held his spear ready to block Odin.
Suddenly both Zenon and Odin backed and ran away.
Ken: " wait hold on!"
Ruri: " oh no you won't!"
Valkyrie quickly caught up with him and shot his leg, forcing him to kneel down with sparks flying out of it.
Ruri: " our technic will be useless if you both join forces again, that's why we have to keep you separated."
Ken: " as she said!"
Ranger was running on the ruins and jumped down on Odin, knocking him backwards.
Ranger span around the spear before pointing it at Odin.
Ken: " I won't let you go to Jin-san."
Ruri: " I will finish you now!"
Jin merely smirked while Ban squinted at his screen for a moment before his eyes widened suddenly.
Ban: " there! Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Gungnir!"
Odin was overflown with a strong aura before he flew up and gathered the energy in his lance then unleashing it.
Ranger managed to dodge, but just as he did that Ken realized his mistake. Ruri's eyes widened as the attack cut it's way through the area and towards her LBX, knocking it away.
The wave of energy passed above the kneeling Zenon and hit Valkyrie straight, throwing her backwards and breaking her over.
MC: " B-B-B-Break over! What a plan! He hit her from the other end of the diorama! Is that what you were aiming for!"
Akio&Fumie: " Ruri-nee!"
Their expressions were that of shock at the loss of their cousin as they latched at the screen.
Ban let out a sigh and then looked back to his friend.
Ban: " can you still fight?"
Jin: " ah, maybe the right leg isn't in its best shape but that doesn't mean I'm backing now."
Ruri: " they got me..."
Ken: " I should have known he was aiming for you from the start."
Ruri: " even if you did, what would you do? If you stood there to protect me you could have broke over as well. Either way they were going to defeat one of us."
Ken: " you have a point, but I won't let that slide easily. I'll be the one to win this battle."
Ruri: " Zenon's leg is damaged, he shouldn't be able to move as before, so attacking him may be easier..."
Ken: " alright."
Ranger threw away Valkyrie's spear and switched to his daggers. He dashed towards Zenon.
Ban: " not that quickly!"
Odin rushed after him.
Zenon was struggling to stand, leaning on his hammer. Ranger made for him, ready to slash at him. Zenon quickly held up his hammer to block him, he hardly manged to keep him at bay with his leg that kept sliding away and almost made him lose balance.
Odin suddenly attacked, kicking Ranger's side and pushing him away of Zenon. The green robot rolled on the ground before standing up, holding his bow up.
Jin: " he got the bow!"
Ban: " when I pushed him... He manged to grab it..."
Ken: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Sagitta Rain!"
A rain of arrows fell down on them. Odin quickly held up his shield, but he couldn't keep away all of the arrows. Their HP gages were almost at their ends.
Ken: " one more time... Just one more time and they will break over for sure..."
Ranger held up his bow.
Akio: " do it! Ken-nii!"
Fumie: " don't you lose now!"
The twins kept shouting at the TV screen, hoping their voices could reach him.
Jin: " not so easily! Zenon!"
Zenon's wing boosters activated as they pushed him towards the other LBX, hitting him hard, both of them lost balance.
Jin: " Ban-kun!"
Ban: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Jet Striker!"
Odin dashed forward in his jet form, hitting Ranger hard across the chest and tossing him away. The LBX fell on the ground and broke over under his player unbelieving look.
MC : " Break Over! With this, Ban and Jin team wins! They're A Block's finalists!"
The cheering roared again all around the stadium. Ban and Jin let a breath they didn't know they were holding before retrieving their LBXs.
Both Fumie and Akio were trying hard to suppress their tears, still sniffing in front of the large screen in the living room.
Akio: " Ruri-nee... Ken-nii..."
Fumie: " although they did well..."
The woman in the Fire Sweet uniform sighed at the end of the match, yet, her face lit with a smile.
Mikotoba: " you have a promising future, guys."
Back in the stadium, Ken and Ruri approached both Jin and Ban, each with a satisfied smile.
Ruri: " that was an amazing battle. I will never forget it."
Ken: " though it's frustrating, but I don't have any regrets losing to you."
Ban: " you're tough I have to admit. And if Jin didn't make that last move we could have lost to you."
Jin: " though it was a gamble, he could have dodged it and finished us both."
Ken: " but that didn't happen. As expected of the Legend and the Split Second Killer Emperor. Looking forward to our next battle"
Ruri: " and then we will be the winners."
Ban: " not that easily."
From above, the snowy haired man had stood up and clapped his hands.
Knight: " I have to admit, that entertained me a lot. They're quite strong. I can understand why they were chosen. But..."
He looked back at the white LBX on the stand next to his chair. The shadow was falling down upon it so not much of it could be seen.
Knight: " there is only one way to the future. Thank you, future."
He said with a wide grin and two glimmering eyes...
