Not gonna lie, the last chapter was a bit short, but it had to be. I didn't want to drag it on needlessly, so here's the next, and also last part, of this mini-arc. But, before that… let's jump into my response to comments and reviews!
[Responses to reviews/comments]
(Qoutev) Unlucky the unfortunate magical girl: Last time, on Gamer of The Multiverse! Jolyne killed three out of the five assassins Fuyuhiko sent out to kill her, while also dragging Chiaki, Mahiru, and Hiyoko into danger! Now on a warpath to kill the final two and teach Fuyuhiko a lesson he soon won't forget, what other crazy shenanigans will occur in this episode of… Gamer of The Multiverse! (Don't look at me like that, I had to do it and you know it).
With that out of the way, let's jump into a new chapter!
[Chisa Yukizome]
By all rights, Chisa Yukizome had every right to be as concerned as she was right now. Normally, she wasn't when it came to her students. She knew almost all of them like the back of her hand. Therefore she never really did have to keep a measured eye on them for too long to know they'd come back to class. But with the latest addition that was a bit of a different story. She hadn't yet gotten to know Jolyne Brooks enough to know if she would come back on her own or not, and that was what was making her so concerned.
She had spent around 5 hours looking for her, and the Ultimate Mage, as strange as a title as that was to believe to be real, was nowhere to be seen. That was not a good thing. Anyone with supernatural abilities being unaccounted for was bad news, no matter what side they were on, no matter if they were on the side of Hope, or if they wished to see the world burn.
Munakata made that apparent to her when she called him after meeting the black and pink-haired teen. He was none too pleased to know that she was a wildcard, and to make things worse, that her eyes were off of the mage. He still had a bit of skepticism in his tone when he talked, but she knew he had no reason to doubt her. After all, the world was a strange place, and so a mage existing in this day and age wasn't all too troubling. Hell, she believed half of what Gundham said, even if it was perhaps blown a bit out of proportion.
So for someone who outright proved that they did have magical powers to be missing, and for said person to be in her class, well, that wasn't exactly a good thing. But just in case it wasn't already obvious that it was, what she saw in her classroom only made it twice as apparent that she needed to find Jolyne and to find her sooner rather than later.
When she walked into her classroom, she was greeted with a shattered window, several stains of blood around where the now broken window was, and a far larger pool of blood by one of the desks. Chiaki, who she left to lock up the classroom for the day, was cleaning up the blood with a concerned look on her face, mixed with an air of worry and fear. All of those three emotions were something that didn't look good on the Ultimate Gamer of class 77 – B, and that same worry that was on her face spread to Chisa's.
"Nanami-chan!" Chisa called out, walking up to her with an added sense of emergency in her movements. The mauve-haired teen looked up at Chisa, stumbled back from the blood and swallowed back what appeared to be her barely constrained nervousness. "Nanami-chan, what happened here?! Why is one of the windows broken? Where did all this blood come from? And have you seen Brooks-san?" Chisa asked as Chiaki tried to compose herself.
"I… uh… well, you see. Brooks-san came here to look for you. She found me instead and uh… she offered to play Mario Kart with me. I was going to go to the storage closet to grab the TV and Wii… but… then she tackled me to the ground and someone… I think, started shooting at us from one of the trees…. The next thing I knew I was told to hide. I heard gunshots… she told someone to get down, who I found out were Saionji-san and Koizumi-san. She later said that "the gunman was dead" and "you can come out now." The rest was a blur, and then she left after apologizing."
After Chiaki finished her explanation, Chisa was now beyond concerned and now fearing just where it was Jolyne went. Someone was trying to kill her, or perhaps multiple people. Chisa bit her lip, looking over the classroom, then frowned. "Nanami-chan, I want you to stay put, okay? I'm going to go find Jolyne. Which direction did she leave in?" Chisa asked, putting a comforting hand on the mauve-haired teen's shoulder.
Chiaki looked at the ground, a finger on her chin. After a few seconds, the gamer girl spoke up. "She went left… I think. I smelt smoke coming from that direction… she was probably using that fire thing she did before. Uh… I think she called it "Fuego" or something like that," Chiaki murmured, still shaken after the shooting.
The former Ultimate Housekeeper could feel the distress wafting off of Chiaki. There was no doubt that what had just occurred was traumatizing for the young girl. School was meant to be a safe place for those to learn and enjoy their time; not dodging bullets and hiding in closets fearing for one's life. She was thankful, if not disturbed by what Jolyne supposedly did to save them, and while she knew there was nothing else that could've been done, she silently wished for there to have been another way.
Chisa nodded, thankful for the information before hugging the Ultimate Gamer, soothingly rubbing her back. Small whimpers and sobs came from the mauve-haired girl. It pained Yukizome to know that this happened and that she wasn't here to at least help them through it. It had only been six hours since Jolyne joined their class, and things were already getting dicey. That was never a good sign. But she couldn't blame Jolyne. Perhaps it was a coincidence. And if it was, then she was glad that Jolyne was here to protect her students when she couldn't.
"Shush… it's okay now, Chiaki. You're safe now… everything's going to be alright…." Chisa comforted her, the teacher's voice barely above a whisper. A soft sniffle was all she got in response. But that was okay. "Okay… change of plans. I want you to go to Class 78 and stay with them. If their teacher asks why you're there, tell them that the classroom was shot at and that you needed somewhere safe to be. I'm sure they'll let you stay there. Once I gather the rest of our class, I'll have Nekomaru grab you, and we'll meet in the courtyard on campus, okay?"
Chiaki pulled away from Chisa, wiping a tear from her eye as she nodded. The teen wasted no time in leaving, hurriedly making her way to go where she was told. Chisa couldn't help but frown, giving a passing glance at the classroom. A wave of anger filled her body as she processed what Chiaki had said. Who in their right mind would target a bunch of children to see them dead? Even if it was just one of her students, the idea alone was enough to piss her off, and Chisa rarely, if ever, got angry.
Pulling out her phone and opening up the class's group chat that she created so that everyone was able to contact everyone, Chisa sent everyone a message to meet in the courtyard in 20 minutes. When the message was sent, it only took a few seconds to get a sea of "OK" and "Alright" responses. With that done, Chisa put her phone back into her apron pocket.
The next thing on her agenda was to find the newest addition to her class.
She would find Jolyne and ask her what was going on. Depending on her answer, she would dictate her next actions from there onward. And with that, Chisa walked out of the classroom of Class 77 – B and headed left, just as Chiaki told her to do.
[Jolyne Brooks]
Jolyne held a suited man by his throat, the man making a choking sound as he struggled to pry her fingers open. Blood dripped down her mouth as a knife remained in her stomach. By happenstance, as she was searching the school, and while she was storming up the stairs to get to the third floor, an assassin jumped through the window and tackled her to the floor. A fight ensued, and this was the result.
"Now, I'm only going to ask this once. Where is Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, and what is he doing right now?" Jolyne asked the assassin, glancing at her health bar out of the corner of her vision. It was at half, something she hadn't expected, but could care less about. It wasn't in the danger zone, at least not yet. She already had Blood Control going overtime to do whatever passive healing it could on her internals.
She was banged up pretty badly, so expecting some internal injuries was a no-brainer. Thankfully, from what she could feel and tell it wasn't much. The knife had stabbed through to her stomach, which normally would be a death sentence had it not been for her Blood Control spell and her new knowledge about it.
"L-Like I-I'll tell you shit! I-I'm—"
Jolyne sighed, activating Hellfire and setting the assassin ablaze before dropping him to the floor, his screams filling the stairwell. Looking down at the knife in her stomach, she frowned. It was a serrated blade, meaning if she ripped it out it would damage her more than when it entered. But seeing as she was no longer in combat, she would heal faster than she would be damaged.
So, with that in mind, she gripped the handle and ripped the blade out of her stomach, doing 20 damage to herself. Jolyne bit back a gasp, tossing the blade on the floor as it tumbled down the stairs. After a few seconds, she began to regenerate her health as her body began to patch itself up. The dual-haired teen looked at the assassin as he writhed on the floor, a small smirk taking up her visage. She couldn't see past the flames, but she knew the man was close to death.
And after only two seconds of watching, the man went limp. When he did, 100 more Exp was added to her experience bar, and a small pop-up appeared along with it.
[Hit List – Part 1 – 80% complete]
"I don't know what I was so worried about. With Hellfire, these guys drop like flies! No matter how far they are from me, no matter where they attack me from, I just have to light them on fire and they're done for!" Jolyne thought, her smirk turning into a wicked smile. However, that smile dropped to a frown as the fire on the man died down, revealing his charred corpse. "Although, I suppose I can't kill Fuyuhiko like I'm killing these guys. They might be assassins, but I don't know their level, their HP, or their stamina. For all I know, they're all level 1, which is why I'm killing them so easily. Up against someone as durable as Fuyuhiko or worse, Pekoyama would be stupid. Control yourself, Jolyne. Deal with the last assassin, and then, once I'm done with that, I'll see what the next quest is."
Jolyne sighed, looking down at her uniform. It was drenched in blood, and while she could easily take it back into her body with Blood Control, she thought that the intimidation factor of being soaked in blood and still standing would be enough to scare the crap out of the Yakuza heir once they came face to face.
"Four down, one to—"
"Brooks!" A voice called out to her, and as she heard it, Jolyne turned around. Standing a few steps below her was Yukizome, who, upon seeing her blood-soaked appearance, her eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"Sup, Sensei. Uh… as you can see, I'm a little busy at the moment," the dual-haired teen said, gesturing to the area around her. "Oh, and this blood is mine, not anyone else. Well, maybe except for the splotch of it on my face, but aside from that, it's all mine. Don't mind the charred corpse to your right, he deserved it," the mage continued as she leaned against the wall next to her. "Can I help you? If not, I kinda need to find the last bastard sculking around here. Can't have wild assassins crawling around the school, you know?"
Yukizome was still in a daze, but instead of remaining that way, she shook her head and looked at Jolyne. There was a mixture of worry and even a tad bit of fear and anger in her eyes, though she could tell the anger wasn't directly aimed toward her. "Brooks! As your teacher, I have to ask you to please stop! You're injured and you need medical attention! Come with me and I—"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Yukizome-sensei. I don't want to drag you or anyone else into this mess like I did Chiaki, Hiyoko, and Mahiru. With all due respect, I have to go now. Once this is over, I'll be back in the classroom, okay?" Jolyne said, turning her back to Yukizome as she turned the corner. When she did, a hand was placed on her shoulder. Turning around, she was once again met with the orange-haired teacher.
"Brooks. Please, just listen to me. I know we don't know each other, and I know that we just met, but please, trust me. I just want to help… if there is anything I can do for you, then just tell me." As Yukizome said that, Jolyne bit her lip in contemplation.
This was all sounding very, very cliché and it was kind of annoying. Though, it wasn't as if she cared all too much about how it was cliché. And if she meant anything, then she could potentially use this to her advantage.
"Well… do me a favour then. Go find Kuzuryu and bring him to the front courtyard. Convince him that it's important, and when you're done, wait for me there. Don't tell him that it's about me, don't even hint at it. I'm going to need him there for something. Okay? Do that, and you'd be helping me in the best way possible," Jolyne explained as Yukizome nodded. Without another word, Yukizome left, and as she did, a smile made itself present on the mage's face.
She went to crack her knuckles, and when she did, she couldn't help but notice a small scar on her pinkie fingers knuckle. The scar was a reddish blue colour, and when she touched it, it burned. "These are the scars that Hellfire's description was talking about. Damn… that's annoying. It might be better to use Blood Control for a while. That burn is a sign that I'm overusing Hellfire. Can't be damaging myself too badly just yet," Jolyne muttered, looking down the hallway in front of her.
She was back to full health. That conversation bought her enough time to heal and seeing as she was now ready to continue her hunt, and with a destination right in front of her, she smirked. "Welp. The others were easy to deal with. This last one should be just like the previous four."
She took a few steps in front of her to go look out for the last assassin, and as soon as she stepped forward, several sharp pains erupted from behind her as six small bullet-sized holes protruded from her stomach and lower chest region. Each shot did 15 damage to her, dealing over 90 damage. 90 out of 125 health was depleted from her within the span of a few seconds.
The sudden amount of damage done to her made her fall down. She immediately activated Blood Control to stop the bleeding, and collect any loose blood around her. The spell filled in the bullet holes instantly and began to passively, but slowly regenerate her HP. She was down to 35 HP, which was NOT good at all.
So, in order to make it seem like she was dead, she lay still on the ground, not moving even an inch. Not only would it convince the assassin that she was dead, but she could also get the information that she needed. Once he was done talking, she would skewer him.
"Target's been dealt with. Clever bitch killed four of us, but the deed is done. You'll be safe now, boss. Where do you want to meet? How about the courtyard? You already have business there? Alright, I'll wait at the gates of the school to collect my payment. No worries, she's dead. At least one of those shots pierced her heart, and even if it didn't, she was pretty beat up from the others. Alright, I'll see you there. 7:30 PM? Understood. Have a good evening, Boss."
"The gates at 7:30? Heh, that won't matter. I'll meet him in the courtyard, and when I do, I'll beat him till he's within an inch of his life," Jolyne thought as she glanced over her shoulder. The assassin had turned his back on her. That had been his worst mistake. When he did, she silently stood up, and as soon as she did, she activated Bear Claw. In the blink of an eye, she put her hand on the man's shoulder, his eyes widened underneath his sunglasses, and before he could react, she stabbed him through the chest, his heart on the ends of her blood-red claws.
"Try checking for a pulse before you confirm your kill, dipshit," Jolyne spat, ripping Bear Claw out of his chest, heart in tow as the man fell to the ground, dead. Another 100 Exp was given to her, and with it, she finished her Quest and levelled up at the same time.
QUEST COMPLETE!
Hit List – Part 1: Complete!
REWARDS HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED!
.
LEVEL UP! LEVEL INCREASED FROM LV 4 to LV 5!
[Name: Jolyne Brooks: Ultimate Mage – Age: 16 – Class: Renegade – Level: 5 – Faction: World Ender/Remnants of Despair – Race: Human]
Stats:
HP: 150
Stamina: 150
Mana: 102
Atk: 16
Mg Atk: 55
Def: 16
Mg Def: 55
Endurance: 16
Int: 5
Crit: 2.5
Crit Def: 2.5
Mg Crit: 6
Charisma: 5
Faith: 0
Luck: 0
Karma: 55 (Evil), 1 (Neutral), 2 (Good)
HP Regen: 1.5 per second
Stamina Regen: 1.5 per second
Mana Regen: 4 per second
Currency: 26,000 Yen
Class Bonus: Deal Extra Damage to those who sided with the Future Foundation and other Ultimate Students.
Title Bonus: As the Ultimate Mage, all of your magic stats (Mana, Mg Atk, Mg Def, Mg Crit) have doubled. However, your attack and Defense stats have lost 30% of their normal upgrade. (+3 instead of +5)
Exp till next level: 1,500
Perks:
Good Meal – Eating a good meal will grant you a random stat buff, as well as fully heal you, refill your mana, and well as give you a tiny amount of EXP.
Gamers Luck – Gamers Luck provides the holder of the perk an increased drop rate in all Gacha's, as well as increases EXP rewards by 25% on all normal enemies and bosses.
Traits:
Flame resistance – The user becomes resistant to fire-based attacks up to 500 degrees Celcius. Anything past that and the users' skin will be damaged, be it by the user's own attacks or not.
Spells:
CHECK (Lv. 1/max): This allows the user to see the opponent's Level, Health, and a small tidbit of information about them.
Blood Control (Lv. 3/100) Gives the user total manipulation of Blood.
Construct Unlocked - Bear Claw: Bear Claw is a construct that can be formed at the shake of a hand, so long as you have an open wound, or if there is blood on the ground. When it is formed, any physical damage you do is doubled. You can form it on one hand, or both. To deactivate the construct, you must shake your hand again. To use this skill, you must consume 30 mana.
HellFire (Lv. 2/75) Allows the user to summon powerful blasts of fire at the cost of 2.5 Mana per second! Prolonged and over usage of Hellfire will damage the user's skin. Upon unlocking Hellfire, the user will be granted basic flame resistance as a trait.
.
New Spell Unlocked Through level up!
Spell: Puppetry (Renegade exclusive Spell)
Description: Upon causing any form of physical damage to anyone, or any animal, the user is able to control that person's or animal's body with perfect control using strings that come out of the user's fingers. Puppetry's control can be broken only when the user is knocked unconscious. This spell costs 50 mana to use once, and afterwards, has a 20-minute cooldown between uses.
.
Story Quest
[Hit List – Part 2]
Description: Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko is under the belief that you're dead, and that now he can sleep in peace knowing that the biggest threat to him is now dealt with. Prove him wrong, and then some. Make him regret ever sending the assassins in the first place.
Quest: Defeat Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu (BOSS FIGHT – Difficulty: Ultra Violence). [Completion criteria: Take him down to half health, then, knock him unconscious]
Optional Quest: Kill Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu (BOSS FIGHT – Difficulty: Nightmare). [Completion criteria: Drop his health down to 0]
Quest Rewards: 15 Karma (Evil), 20,000 Exp, negative 100 reputation with Kuzuryu Clan. Plus 100 reputation with ?.
Optional Quest Rewards: 50 Karma (Good), 35,000 Exp, negative 100 reputation with Kuzuryu Clan. Negative 100 reputation with ?.
"Oh… I see…. Well, that's interesting…." Jolyne thought, cupping her chin as she felt a wave of rejuvenation wash over her. Not only did she level up, but she also gained a new spell that was exclusive to her Renegade class. Puppetry. The new quest was also… interesting. The amount of Exp gained from defeating Fuyuhiko was beyond insane. But then again, the difficulty was Ultra Violence. That was two degrees higher than I'm Too Young To Die, which probably meant it was pretty difficult, to begin with.
But with Puppetry… "Depending on how things go, this could be a cakewalk, or it could be an absolute mess. That, and even if the rewards are tempting, I think Killing Fuyuhiko would be worse in the long run. I don't know who this mystery person is, but 100 reputation with them right off the bat? That would mean whatever perk I get from completing that part of the quest would be insane. That, and I don't want anything to do with Good Karma. I'm already deep into Evil Karma, and digging myself out of that just to become a goody-two-shoes would be immensely annoying."
Jolyne stared down the stairs, a smirk appearing on her face as she did so. It was time to go to the courtyard.
[Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu]
He felt a sense of relief when he got word from one of his assassins that Jolyne was now a non-issue. She was dead, and now that she was, he wouldn't have to worry about her coming after him. Not only that but Natsumi was avenged. Even if she wasn't dead, the pain that had been caused to her was now paid back. It would make his younger sister happy to know that the bitch who hurt her was dead.
And right now, he was sitting next to Yukizome-sensei, who had called him over to the fountain to talk. He didn't know why, but he quite honestly didn't mind talking to his teacher. Had this been the beginning of the year, he would've blown her off and told her to go fuck herself. But as the months went on, he grew a bit attached to Yukizome.
Like Chiaki, she had done everything she could to try and understand him and the world he lived in. Not many people afforded him that luxury.
As he took his seat next to her, he folded his hands together, then glanced over to his teacher. "So… what was it that you wanted to speak to me about, teach?" Fuyuhiko asked, the orange-haired teacher smiling as she turned her attention to him.
"I just wanted to know how you've been. I heard what happened to your sister, and I know how much she probably means to you. I know what Jolyne did to her was… beyond unacceptable, especially to you, but… Perhaps try and make amends? It's up to you, but… I don't want there to be a wedge in the class because of some previous bad blood between two individuals. She most likely had her reasons for doing what she did, but I can't claim to know them," Yukizome said, earning a frown from the Kuzuryu heir.
"Tch… Yeah, whatever. Look, quite frankly, I don't want to make amends. As far as I'm concerned, the time for amends never even existed. It's one thing to attack my sister in a fight, but nearly killing her is a completely different story. Karma's a bitch, and I'm sure that whatever happens next is deserved," Fuyuhiko stated, standing up from the bench in front of the fountain and putting his hands into his pockets.
"Yeah… you're right. Whatever happens next is deserved…." A hoarse-sounding voice spoke up from his left as a hand clasped down on his shoulder. Fuyuhiko's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he turned around to see who the unknown voice belonged, only to get a punch in the face as his reward for turning around, knocking him down to his ass as he grunted.
Yukizome, startled, jumped up from her seat on the bench as a bloodied and battered-looking Jolyne stared down at him with malice so fierce that had he been a weaker person, Fuyuhiko would've pissed his pants.
"W-What the fuck?! I thought—"
Fuyuhiko wasn't given the chance to finish speaking as a boot came slamming down on his chest, winding him as the Ultimate Mage glared daggers at him. Small strings came from her fingertips and attached to his shoulders, elbows, waist, knees, and ankles. Using those strings, she dragged him up from the ground and brought him close to her, face to face.
There were several bullet holes in her body, several slashes and deep wounds, all of which were moderately filled in with dried blood. Her face was caked in red, as was the rest of her body. She looked like she had been put through hell. He knew that she was because he was the one who put her through it.
And what made things worse was that behind him, he could hear the rest of his classmates showing up. When they saw him with literal strings attached to him and then saw Jolyne, gasps were plentiful.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Nekomaru's loud, booming voice echoed out through the courtyard as Jolyne spat up blood over to her right. Fuyuhiko was raised into the air by Jolyne, not answering the Ultimate Team Manager's question. The blond heir to the Kuzuryu Clan was lifted six feet into the air, and then, The Ultimate Mage, with fire and fury in her eyes, threw his body to the right and slammed him into the fountain… shattering the fountain.
Pain exploded throughout Fuyuhiko's body as he gasped and screamed in pain. He felt several bones in his body snap almost instantly, his chest feeling like it was about to explode. His legs vibrated in agony, as did his arms and head as his body crumpled to the ground. His breathing was harsh, struggling to remain conscious as Jolyne lifted him up again like a ragdoll on strings.
"KUZURYU!" Pekoyama's strained shout reverberated through the now mortified class as Fuyuhiko looked over in her direction. The Ultimate Swordswoman, at blinding speeds, pushed through the rest of the class and ran toward Jolyne, closing the distance. She drew her sword with blinding speed, and just as it got inches from her neck, Peko stopped, dropping her blade.
The reason? Well, it was because Jolyne had stabbed her Bear Claw through Peko's stomach region, its bright shiny claws peeking out of her back as The Ultimate Swordswoman crumpled, shoulders sagging and eyes wide in pain.
"The two of you… no… your whole family… since day fucking one of me waking up from my coma has caused me nothing but grief," Jolyne began in a voice loud enough for the rest of Class 77 – B to hear loud and clear. Fuyuhiko was just barely conscious, and even then, he knew damn well what was about to happen next.
So, before she could expose him, he would expose her.
"And… whose fault was that?! You nearly killed my sister!" Fuyuhiko spat. Several people gasped from the class behind him. When he looked over his shoulder, Akane looked like she was about to speak, cracking her knuckles in the process of stepping forward. She was ready for a fight, and he had no doubt that whatever she was about to say would start a fight. He could then use that to run, or even call for help.
But before she could do or say anything, Jolyne spoke up.
"Ditto, dipshit. She nearly killed me. For what? Because I breathed the same air as she did? But you know what, I'll give you that. I probably shouldn't have done that, and yeah, I'll admit that it was a douchebag thing to do. Still doesn't mean that she had the right to attack me out of nowhere, so, in reality, It's called self-defence. But that's not where my problems with you end, now is it?" Jolyne growled, slinking her clawed hand out of Pekoyama's gut before slamming Fuyuhiko into her, pinning them both to the ground using the heir as the pin.
"Let's see… where should I begin… oh! I know! How about the FIVE fucking assassins you called to kill me, huh? If I hadn't had my ability to control my blood, I would've died, and you would've been all the happier for it. But since I can control my blood and patch up my wounds, that backfired for you royally. Oh, and let's not forget how one of them nearly shot Chiaki in the head had I not tackled her to the ground, or how that mere act alone was enough to trigger Hiyoko's PTSD. Not to mention the property damage to the school? The shattered windows, the charred corpses of your assassins littering the school, all of that because of YOU and your shitty little clan."
As Jolyne spoke, an aura of killing intent flooded the courtyard. Fuyuhiko hadn't felt anything like it before. It was triple the amount he felt from his father after he found out what happened to Natsumi, and double the amount from his assassins after he sent them out to kill the mage. The rage that he saw within Jolyne's eyes was nothing compared to what he had seen before, but that wasn't nearly as important as what his classmate's reaction to it was.
None of them were prepared for it. All most all of them had gone pale or lost all the colour in their skin—metaphorically speaking. Fear danced about their expressions, including Akane, who was known to have an unbreakable spirit. This random nobody, who showed up out of nowhere, was able to break Akane's resolve by simply being furious at HIM.
And that was when he realized something.
He was going to die.
This random nobody was about to kill him and do who knows what to Pekoyama. The worst part about it was that he could do nothing about it. He couldn't move his body. All he could do was talk and move his head. That was it.
"If… If you're going to kill me… you'll regret it…. The Clan will hunt you down, butcher your family, and make you watch…! My death won't be in vain, I know that much… so get on with it!" Fuyuhiko growled, earning a shake of the head from Jolyne.
"No… Killing you would be a mercy. If I killed you, you wouldn't be able to live with the consequences of your actions. Instead… I'm going to spare you. But not before I do this…." As Jolyne said that, a small flame built up on the edge of her fingertip. Her finger came closer to his face, and as it did, she proceeded to brand him. His screams filled the air as his skin cooked underneath her fingertip.
When she was done, she drew back from him as the strings slinked back into her skin. She delivered a painful kick to his side, making him groan in pain. He tried to pull himself up from the ground, but, as it was made apparent, he couldn't move. This time, not because of the strings, but rather because almost all of the bones in his body were broken. He watched as Jolyne lifted Pekoyama up by the scruff of her hair, picked up her sword, and held it.
"You see… I almost died three times, and so, while I made my way here, I tried to think of something that would show you just how much of a bad idea attempting to kill me was. And then, I thought of something that not even you could ignore. You see, I was brought to the conclusion that Pekoyama works for you. I kinda hoped that perhaps one of those assassins was her. But seeing as that is not the case, I think a perfect punishment for you would be watching who you hold dear the most, outside of your precious sister, die. Unless, of course, you have a better idea, to which I am open too."
That was when someone in the class behind him broke free from her Killing intents grip and charged forward. The heavy footfalls made it obvious as to who it was, but in case he needed confirmation, Fuyuhiko looked up at the person running in their direction.
Nekomaru, the same person who demanded what was going on before, was now the person who was rushing to prevent the escalation of the events. Jolyne didn't see it coming, and as a result, the large teenager football rammed her in the stomach, sending her back while also making her let go of both the sword and the seriously wounded Pekoyama.
Jolyne used her Bear Claw to stab into the ground, stopping her from crashing into a tree. She coughed, blood coming out in thick globs from her mouth and the plethora of wounds that she had acquired over the previous few hours. "What do you think you're—"
"Brooks… I think you've done enough," Nekomaru interrupted, picking up Pekoyama and helping her stand up. From there, Yukizome quickly took the injured Swordswoman and ran back to the rest of the class, the orange-haired woman looking back at the injured Jolyne with nothing but an upset expression on her face. Fuyuhiko didn't know what was going on in her mind, but he had to guess that shock and horror were at least one of the two emotions that encompassed her actions.
"I might not know how you're feeling right now, but this…!" The tall brown-skinned muscle man gestured to the site of the beatdown that had occurred moments ago. The top of the fountain was broken, water spewing out of the snapped-in half pipe like a torrent of gushing blood from a newly opened wound, as bits of rubble surrounded the pathway. Blood stained the grass and sidewalk, making it look like more than just your typical schoolyard fight had occurred. And if that wasn't enough, the petrified faces of Class 77 – B drove the point home. "…Is not necessary. I can see that you're pissed off, but killing someone—anyone for that matter—is not right, even in self-defence. Calm down, and come with me and Tsumiki to the medical bay. You're running on adrenaline, and if you don't stop, you're going to die from exhaustion."
He watched as Jolyne tried to stand up, but as it was made apparent by Nekomaru, Jolyne fell to her knee, looking up at the teen with a pained expression in her eyes. The fury was still there, but it was less than what it was before. It was no longer a burning, searing rage, but rather, it was easily comparable to lukewarm anger. The new dominant emotion circling through her emerald-coloured eyes was pain, so much so that tears began to prick at the sides of her eyes.
She was done, that much was for sure. Although for a brief second, that rage and fury returned when her eyes looked over to Fuyuhiko. But, as soon as it came, it left. She turned her attention back to Nekomaru, and then, in a voice barely above a whisper, she spoke. "Alright…."
The Ultimate Team Manager nodded, then turned to Fuyuhiko, glowering down at the ash-blond teen's crippled state. "As for you, you're coming too. But when you've recovered at least into a more healthy state, you have some serious explaining to do." There was no room for argument as he spoke, so Fuyuhiko didn't even bother to try. He simply accepted whatever fate had in store for him. And as soon as he did that, he fell unconscious, the adrenaline in his system dying down as the pain of being thrown around like a ragdoll overtook him.
The last thing he felt before he went unconscious was him being picked up, and then, after that, all of his senses went numb.
-To Be Continued-