Clashes of steel rang across the battlefield as the finals of the singles side tourney drew closer to a victor, the electric energy of the onlooking crowd alive and wild. Among the sea of bodies sat teams KRME and AMBR, watching the two combatants with keen interest. Gayle was the most invested; Ceridwen had managed to fight his way to being one of the finalists.
"C'mon, Cherry Bomb! You totally have his number!" the young lizard girl cried, an ember of anxiety hot in her chest. If Ceridwen heard her, she couldn't tell, but the boy down below upped the tempo of his attacks. To his unfortunate opponent he was like a raging river. All of Ceridwen's moves, whether it be for offensive or defensive purposes, threatened to overtake them with his sheer precision and unpredictability. Ceridwen was dictating the direction of this fight, and it was clear he was becoming the crowd favorite.
"What a brilliantly fought duel!" Port commented over the PA system, "Mr. Ianthe has really gotten the crowd on his side for this final stretch of the singles side tournament! Methinks his desire to move onto the main event next week is a mite stronger than his dear opponent."
"A logical observation, my friend," Oobleck agreed, "His opponent, Kobalt, has been masterfully forced onto the backfoot of the fight, and is struggling against Ceridwen's surgical precision. Unless something shakes up the pace of this battle, we could be looking at our winner very soon!"
Ceridwen, raising his ornate rapier, went in for the finishing touches. Keeping Kobalt at a safe distance with his superior reach, the silver haired young man placed a flurry of lightning fast jabs with the tip of his blade, what were ultimately pinpricks on their own becoming an aura draining onslaught. Kobalt couldn't do a thing to guard against such ludicrously well placed strikes; Ceridwen had learned all his defensive openings. In a flash, Kobalt's aura was beautifully torn to shreds, the young man falling to his knees as the strength in his body melted away with his broken aura.
"AND WE HAVE A WINNER!" Port boomed as loud as he could muster, fighting to be heard over the loud buzzer, "OUR VICTOR OF THE SINGLES SIDE TOURNAMENT, AND SECURING A SPOT TO THE VYTAL FESTIVAL TOURNAMENT: CERIDWEN VI IANTHE!"
Deafening cheers reverberated all around the arena. Ceridwen took in the admiration with a cool smile, turning to wave at various masses of the crowd until spying his childhood friend. Gayle clapped her hands jubilantly, congratulating him on his win. With a series of gestures only they knew about, the lizard faunus learned of Ceridwen wanting to finally follow up on that long overdue chance to properly reconvene.
"Hey guys," Gayle asked her team, "would it be alright if I go spend some time with Ceridwen? We've been so busy, I haven't gotten the chance to properly catch up with him yet."
Azure and Rember shared a look before they easily gave their youngest member their blessing, the former adding a quick reminder their final preliminary duel would not be that long in the future.
"You got it, Bossman. I know our appointed slot, and it's plenty of time."
"Mind if I tag along?" Jad piped up, "Don't want the sea of bodies swallowing you up."
'Oh! Uh, sure! You just want to get me there without getting lost?"
"Of course. I won't intrude on your personal time. Think of me as your stalwart guide to and from our esteemed seats."
Gayle giggled at Jad's figure of speech.
She found them funny, if not confusing sometimes. She agreed, and the partners were off like a shot. As promised, Jad used his taller physique to cut a path towards where Gayle directed them. No sooner had the pair made it to where Ceridwen shared with Gayle he'd be, Port announced the final wave of team fights to determine main tournament seeding would then begin. Ceridwen happily waved down Gayle to grab her attention, the merriment on his visage cracking for a fleeting moment when noticing Jad accompanying her.
"Long time, no see, Whiptail," the silver haired boy greeted. "How'd I do?"
"What kind of question is that, dingus? You just won a whole tournament!"
"Well, yeah, but I think I could've done it faster if I had noticed some key things sooner in the fight. Oh well, c'est la vie."
Watching the pair go back and forth, Jad stood still and silent. It might've been something else his instincts were telling him, but he could feel an air of disapproval being directed his way. Felt like it was coming from the same direction as his partner and her old compatriot. Not enjoying the vibe, the boy with the fedora looked around for some kind of food stall. He was hungry.
Gayle didn't notice her partner slip away, and Ceridwen didn't point it out.
"So c'mon, Spill! Just what have you been doing all this time?" the lizard faunus pressed.
Ceridwen, along with his family, had moved away from Kinsfell back when they were younger. It was so sudden, the pair of friends had no chance to say a proper goodbye. Then Gayle was kept at home, thrown headlong into her studies and training until she got her early access recommendation to Beacon. That was a handful of years ago, and Ceridwen stayed a memory in the back of the young woman's mind until he had suddenly reached out to her at the beginning of the new semester.
"Honestly? Not that interesting. I've been a road warrior, drifting from tournament to tournament." the boy answered. "Always moving, always polishing my skills."
"Same old stuff, huh? How on brand. You know there is such a thing as too much training, Ceri."
"Haha. Not to this one. Besides, I know you feel the same way with your quest for knowledge. Do you still need someone to come and give you food and water during study sessions? Hm?"
"Wh-Hey! That was one time! Or… twice. B-but anyways," Gayle retorted, "I can take care of myself, Ceri. And even then, my team has my back if worst comes to worst."
Ceridwen's face cracked the faintest scowl. Before Gayle could notice, the boy's smile returned. "Oh yeah? Guess I better be careful, or my job of being your personal guardian angel will be stolen right from under me."
"Pfft. Funny. Besides, what would Mona say? And how's she doing, by the way?"
Any jovial air Ceridwen had suddenly evaporated. The sober look didn't escape the lizard girl this time, tilting her head quizzically.
"Uh, everything okay?"
Ceridwen snapped back to attention, as if his mind was momentarily transported someplace else at the mention of his twin. "Y-yeah, yeah. Of course. Mona is fine," he responded, "Still stuck at home but she's fine."
Gayle hummed, a mite skeptic. The pair continued their frivolous conversation as long as they could before Jad came back to retrieve his partner, Ceridwen eyeing the tall and skinny redhead as the pair of partners went back to their team.
Plopping back down, Gayle pulled out her notebook as her gel pen readied itself to begin recording. "So, Bossman," she asked, "who's up before us?"
"AMBR," Azure answered.
Checking their weapons as they entered the colosseum, AMBR felt anxiousness bubble up the closer they approached the octagonal arena for what, hopefully, wasn't the final time of this competition. They needed this last match to go their way in order to qualify for the main tournament next week as their last fight was a key loss, making this fight the decider.
"Alrighty," Valerie spoke up to her team as she positioned Ignacia Neci at the ready, "Let's make sure we're on top of our game, alright?"
The rest of AMBR nodded, Sonara the most enthusiastic among them.
"Did anyone check our pool bracket to see who this last fight is?" Kyra asked.
"I did," Rosalie answered, "And…well…"
The crowd, whose cheers rose and fell with AMBR's arrival, came like rolling thunder at their opponent's appearance. At the opposite end, a team consisting of three boys and a single girl squared off against them. AMBR recognised them immediately.
"And representing their competition," Professor Port's voice boomed from the surrounding speakers, "are Haven Academy's very own first years: Team NFMA!"
KRME watched as all participants met in the center, curious as to who would win. In the announcers box, Professor's Port and Oobleck continued their commentary.
"So tell me, good friend," Port ventured to his associate, "Rumor is members of both Team AMBR and NFMA have some shared history, hmhm~!"
"Yes, you would be correct! Members Sonara Brunswick and Rosalie Caelum from AMBR, as well as Judas Arany from NFMA, were all friends that enrolled together in Sanctum Academy back on Anima." the green haired teacher answered, "Needless to say, they all chose different avenues on their journeys to attain the title of Hunter."
"Well let's just see who has the bigger resolve to achieve victory, and secure their team a spot in next week's main school tournament!"
The mass crowd roared in excitement, Rember wincing at the volume. Down below, Flynt gave AMBR a warm, welcoming wave.
"Well lookit that! Long time no see ladies," the wolf faunus remarked, bowing his head.
Kazuki and Judas made their own respective greetings, and Shuichi seemingly couldn't be bothered, the young man staring off into space dismissively.
"Hey hey yourself!" Sonara reciprocated, "Your team didn't have the best runs either this week, huh?"
"Oh, I wouldn't say that! We had a few scraps that could've fallen either way. But we're here, and we're ready to tussle!"
"Cool! Just make sure to watch yourself out there, Pebbles!"
Flynt visibly flinched upon hearing the unwanted alias he was given by Valerie. Judas and Shuichi chuckled at the reminder.
"Great, I can see that won't be going away anytime soon…" the wolf boy mumbled.
Judas spoke up beside his teammate, smiling wryly, "And why would it?"
"Judas, c'mon! That's not my name!"
"Shut up, Pebbles." Shuichi monotonously ordered, and Kazuki patted her partner's back consolingly.
"Don't worry about it Peb–I mean– Flynt!" she commented, but the fact she accidentally began to say 'Pebbles' brought Flynt further despair.
"No! Not you too Kazu!"
"I'm so sorry!" she amended sheepishly, "It's just a really cute nickname!"
"Oh, you all wound me. This cuts deeper than even the sharpest edge…"
Holographic projections of a slot reel lit up around the arena's perimeter. They spun and accelerated till all that could be seen on them was a blur, abruptly halting on two different icons, depending if they were positioned behind AMBR or NFMA. The teams took note of them when, without warning, the exterior metal panels that covered a majority of the battlefield unlatched and withdrew to reveal two new biomes. Behind AMBR, a lush, coniferous forest. Behind NFMA, a collection of floating platforms and rectangular prisms, all covered in glowing cybernetic lights.
"Okay, ladies," Valerie addressed her teammates, "last chance to get our spot for next week. Let's make it count!"
The four young women all took their combat stances, enticing NFMA to do the same. On the speakers, Professor Port counted down until a loud buzzer rang, signaling the fight had begun. AMBR kept firm in their position, waiting to see what their opponents would do next.
Shuichi, the team leader, slowly turned and began walking away the moment the starting bell rang.
Such an unorthodox start froze AMBR in confusion. Funnily enough, the same was happening with Shuichi's teammates.
"Uhhh….Shu?" Kazuki called out to her friend, "Where are you going?"
"Anywhere I'm not wasting my time."
"Wha–? B-but the plan!"
"Will work fine without me. You don't need me to fight a bunch of emotional females…"
The members of AMBR were floored at such a remark.
"Should we be offended? I think we should be offended…" Kyra remarked, unimpressed.
"On one hand, we get an advantage," Rosalie commented, "But…"
"Screw this guy!" Sonara exclaimed, her temper hot.
Judas, resentful of his partner's blatant misogyny, halted the headphone-toting boy by the back of his collar, ignoring the ennui Shuichi threw his way.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" he demanded, "Kazu's plan need's all of us, you sexist idiot!"
"Pfft. If you truly believe that, you're a weaker fighter than I thought. They're just a bunch of menstruating, sissy girls who have nothing better to do than whine and complain."
Kazuki deflated as one of her predicted worst case scenarios came to pass. The wolf girl knew Shuichi's predisposition when dealing with girls that weren't herself, but it was something she didn't fully understand. If they couldn't figure out a way to get their leader into the fight, their chances of winning would be that much harder. She had taken time to study AMBR during their earlier fights, and she knew they needed to be at their best to beat them. Valerie saw how lost Kazuki looked at her team's predicament, earning her sympathy. She quickly thought up an idea, and put on her best playful demeanor.
"You know, you're probably right," the beautiful maiden enticed. "Just how could the four of us mere, unremarkable girls be worth getting your hands dirty? I mean just imagine if you actually decided to fight us, and the very 'females' you're slandering mop the floor with you? Talk about the potential embarrassment."
Shuichi's gaze focused immediately on Valerie, eyes narrowing in intense irritation at the insinuation. She wasn't perturbed though; the glare was rewarding in a funny way.
"What did you just say, you red eyed bimbo?" the boy growled lowly, and Valerie's coy grin widened while she flitted her eyes.
"Oh~? Don't like that? Then why not come on over here and try shutting me up?" the young woman challenged suggestively. "That is… if you don't think a group of 'females' are so terrifying to such a grouchy little boy."
The provocations did their charm. Shuichi stomped back to his team's starting position as he freed himself from Judas' grasp. Tapping the tips of his boots on the ground, the young man didn't take his eyes off Valerie.
"Screw the plan," he stated, "that one is mine."
"C'mon and get me~" Valerie smiled, turning to her teammates, "Ky? Do the thing!"
On cue, Kyra's green eyes glowed an ethereal blue as a cool, thick mist rose up around the battlefield. It enveloped AMBR and hid their side of the arena from view, the rate it grew controlled by a combination of Kyra's and Rosalie's semblances. Shuichi kicked off into a sprint into the screen, undeterred. The rest of NFMA ran close behind their leader and the battle began in earnest. The three members lost Shuichi in the fog enveloped forest, listening to the young man clashing metal with what they could only assume was Valerie. Judas and Flynt went about acting as sentinels for Kazuki, who was considerably less effective at close quarters combat.
"So what's the plan now, oh strategist?" Flynt asked their female member, ready for enemy attacks. Kazuki ruffled her hair in frustration, doing her best to formulate something coherent.
"We need to find the one who made this fog, and get her off the field," she deduced. "But we're sitting ducks right now, and who knows what other surprises our opponents have in store."
"Yeah? Like what, you think?"
As if to answer Flynt's inquiry, a large chunk of stone appeared and shot itself towards the three from the mist, hitting Flynt dead center and separating him from his teammates. Judas cursed under his breath; Sonara's semblance was Geokinesis, how could he forget? Gripping tightly onto his swords, he bade Kazuki follow close behind him while they did their best to avoid the bits of earth being chucked their way.
Kyra moved with silent speed when she saw them. The young woman readied the blades of Ciara Tyne, hiding in one of the surrounding trees while her semblance induced cover hid her from easy detection. She could take them on individually, but as a pair it would be difficult. Valerie was being occupied by their opponents' piece of work misogynist, with Sonara and assumedly Rosalie were dealing with the tall wolf faunus. The white haired woman was confident in her ability however. She would just need to determine which of the two before her would be the first target…
Kazuki kept vigilant, the anticipation heightening her reactions. The anxiety of the unknown was starting to creep into her soul, but having Judas near was keeping it in check. The wolf girl readied her weapon, an arm mounted crossbow she affectionately named Flutterfall. She scanned the treeline in front of her, looking for any tell of activity.
Kyra descended in a flash. The woman in white appeared as if one with the mist, directly behind Kazuki and poised to perform an early knockout. Judas was quicker to react and caught the attack, pushing Krya back. She clicked her tongue in annoyance at the failed sneak attack, but didn't relent. She peppered her opponents with gunfire from her weapons secondary function to try getting them off balance as she began her second advance. Judas blocked what bullets he could while Kazuki used her crossbow to cover him, the faunus acting as support. Kyra and Judas quickly discovered they were evenly matched, each of the pair being built for speed, and not power. No matter who attacked, the other could keep up a defense. It was only more difficult for Kyra due to the fact of being outnumbered. If she was going to win this encounter, she needed to get rid of Kazuki…
Judas spied the glance his opponent threw at his teammate, pushing Kyra back as hard as he could. The woman in white allowed herself to become enveloped in mist once more, using the terrain for her next attack.
"Kazu, stay close!" the young man ordered, but it came just a bit too late. Kyra spread her aura into her legs, weaving herself into a prime position between the two. In rapid succession the woman landed multiple slashes on Kazuki's backside, depleting her aura and retreating once more into the fog. A loud buzzer echoed from the speakers, signaling the wolf girl could no longer continue the fight via tournament rules. Judas caught Kazuki as she began to crumple to the ground, Kyra cracking a satisfied smirk at evening the field.
"Oww…" Kazuki mumbled, feeling stinging sensations all over her body. "Sorry, Judy."
"That's okay. She's pretty slippery."
"But I feel terrible for getting knocked out first…"
"Kazu, seriously, it's okay."
Getting helped to her feet, Kazuki discreetly slipped something into Judas's hand, limping her way off the stage. Judas glanced at his teammates parting gift: a pair of her homemade Dust compounds. He wasted no time in equipping the crystals into his blades and took a defensive stance. He wasn't out of the thick of it yet. The young man took a breath, waiting for Kyra to make the next move.
She attacked from his blindspot. Like a phantom Kyra moved with eerie precision for another surprise attack, but Judas was ready. In the moment he was given, Judas activated his own semblance, Enhancer, and caught Kyra'e gauntlet blades with his swords. The pair of blade practitioners were a storm of steel and speed, the battle so vigorous the mist began to clear around them. Kyra jumped back and tried to chip away at Judas' aura with gunfire, only to end up evading herself when Judas mimicked her by transforming his swords into their secondary handgun form. Kyra felt the sting of the projectiles hitting key marks on her person, her aura taking the brunt. Suddenly, the young woman felt one particular shot Judas landed on her leg generating some kind of weight, throwing her balance off and making her tumble across the artificial forest floor. She shook the blunt headache away best she could before she noticed an encasing of ice around her left knee. Before she could remove it, Judas shot Kyra's unhindered limbs with his ice infused bullets, immobilizing and lowering her aura enough to knock her out of the fight. The mist Kyra had created soon lifted, and Judas ran to the closest scuffle he saw. Flynt, the poor boy, was in a disadvantaged situation against Sonara and Rosalie, hanging on for dear life as the pair of girls held him down with gusts of wind and propelled rocks.
"Go, Sonara! I'll back you up!" Rosalie shouted to her partner, the smaller girl cackling with enthusiasm. Sonara bum rushed their target, who was hiding behind a tree for protection. Verdigris Nia poised, Sonara jumped into the air to send a earth rending shockwave under Flynt, ready to send him packing. Her attack never came to pass, unceremoniously halted by some sort of invisible barrier she bounced off of and sent tumbling across the forest floor. Flynt thanked his semblance for creating the vital opening and readied his war hammer, taking a large swing at Sonara while she got her bearings. Just before impact the faunus pulled a trigger attached to the hilt, activating its secondary function as a shotgun, to add a ferocious punch to its power. Sonara felt the push of a gust of wind when the force of Flynt's attack threw her into the air before Rosalie caught her and safely returned her partner down to earth. It was at this moment Judas came in to support Flynt, the wolf faunus grinning with appreciation. Both pairs of combatants readied to engage the other, the crowd roaring with excitement at being finally being granted full visibility for the first time.
Both Valerie and Shuichi abruptly dropped in from seemingly nowhere, placing themselves in front of their respective teams.
"Oh good! The grouchy one has finally come to assist us," Flynt commented, and Shuichi flipped him off. Seeing her recent opponent so perturbed made Valerie incredibly pleased with herself. Her combative skills really improved since that first practice duel in class fighting Azure.
"What's the matter, cutie?" she taunted Shuichi, noting the look of bewilderment at being given the compliment. "Where's all that big talk you were throwing around just a few minutes ago?"
"Shut up!" Shuichi growled, glaring darkly. "I said I'd be the one taking you out, and that's what I'm going to do!"
"Ooo~ You don't say? But we haven't even got to know each other yet! Dunno if I'm a fan of how forward you're being, hot stuff."
Shuichi's cheeks flared pink while his brain began to short circuit. Why the hell was this girl acting this way? And while in a fight? Her behavior just didn't make sense to him at all, and it bugged him beyond comprehension. Judas stepped in to shake some sense into his partner at the dumbass stare he was showing their opponents.
"Dude, get a grip," he chastised. "We need you helping us, not make us look like idiots!"
"Shut up, Arany. I can carry my weight."
"Yeah? Then explain why we as a whole are on the backend?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I just thought you could stand your ground against such feeble, sissy opponents. Clearly, I was mistaken thinking you two were competent to carry yourselves."
"Noriker, can you please stop making such sexist comments?! As well as the constant jabs at your team?! It's not helping!"
"Skill issue."
Flynt sheepishly sighed at the heated bickering between his two teammates. Across the battlefield, the three remaining AMBR members quizzically watched the scene unfold, unsure if they should allow this.
"You boys okay over there?" Rosalie piped up, and her words momentarily broke up the infighting.
"Ah, don't worry about it," Flynt assured. "Just…give us just one second?"
There was a pause after the wolf faunus's request, only for Sonara to abruptly send the ground beneath Flynt's feet rocketing out of the arena, the poor boy unfortunately along with it. Shuichi and Judas merely stood around like fools while Rosalie turned to chastise her partner for the underhanded tactic.
"What?" the girl in green asked innocently. "He said one second. I gave him one second!"
"Sonara…" Rosalie scolded, as if she was their mother.
Judas could feel sweat trickling down his cheek; now they were really in trouble. Shuichi clicked his tongue in annoyance, the gauntlets attached to his legs that were his weapons clacking and rotating to engage new Dust enhancements.
"Cheap trick," the boy in headphones critiqued. "You learn that playing in the sandbox, little girl?"
"Excuse me?! Keep up the smack talk, and I'll bury you, ya emo wannabe!" Sonara snapped, her aura emanating a strong glow around her. Valerie coolly put up her sword to block her teammates advance, not taking her eyes off Shuichi.
"No need to be rude, hotshot," she reprimanded. "I hope you don't kiss mommy with that foul mouth."
Shuichi's entire being changed. The young man's body tensed, frozen in place. Valerie couldn't see any emotion in his eyes, and it puzzled her. Did she say something wrong? She didn't have to wait long however. The paralysis that befell Shuichi quickly melted away, replaced with a deep, cold anger. It was razor sharp in the boy's grayish black eyes, and such a look of intent sent a small chill down Valerie's spine.
"Uh-oh," Judas commented quietly, glancing over to his partner.
The attack came without warning. In the blink of an eye, Shuichi closed the distance with his weapon via Dust propulsion, Valerie barely managing to raise her shield to guard. A strong, heavy kick was placed upon the young woman's protective cover, the impact making her buckle and slide back a few feet. Rosalie and Sonara attempted to assist their leader, but as quickly as he attacked, Shuichi was back at his partner's side. Valerie cursed under her breath. Of course he was still holding back on them. Guess that was on her.
"Rosy," she called, "time to bring out our new trick!"
The tall pink haired woman nodded, waiting for the signal. Concurrently, Valerie steadied her nerves, and cleared her head. The air temperature around the silvery blue haired maiden began to rise as her body radiated heat. Small, delicate looking wisps of fire began to emanate off her body. Rosalie guided air currents to her team leader, the concentrated oxygen feeding Valerie's fire.
Shuichi and Judas had to shield their faces when Valerie became engulfed in a ferocious blaze, the heat threatening to dry out their eyes. Their skin tingled from heat radiation, and Shuichi focused back on his target with a grim expression. Valerie, with help from Rosalie, used her semblance to become something akin to a human fireball. The young woman's luscious red eyes shone bright with her red aura, her soul's power feeding her semblance and protecting her body. With weapons drawn and enveloped in fire Valerie charged down Shuichi, Sonara opting to follow close behind as support. The girls' target knew he needed to get to a more favorable vantage, and ditched his partner to deal with Rosalie alone.
Rosalie watched her teammates run off before focusing on Judas. She noticed how rigid he was when he squared off to face her. That was not like him at all. Raising Lavender Thorn and assuming her ready position, the pink haired young woman made a goading gesture with her free hand. Judas made the first move, his twin swords whistling as he went on the offensive. Rosalie knew this opening gambit of his, and was overly prepared as her rapier deftly deflected the advancing slashes. She took his attempt at gaining momentum and turned it around, thrusting attacks aimed at his feet to throw off his footing. Judas growled, frustrated by being put on the backend so quickly, but Rosalie let him recover after being staggered. Judas took another stab at opening up Rosalie, but she knew his style a bit too well from their time training together.
"Damn it…" Judas mumbled, his ire overtaking him.
Rosalie cracked a small frown. This wasn't like Judas. He was just as talented as Sonara and herself, if not more. Their versus record before they went to different academies reflected this, being close to dead even in sparring sessions. But he was so tense, and seemed to not have his heart in the moment. It made her wonder, perhaps, if she was the cause of his underperformance? It was possible, She had tried to get her childhood friend to open up about some secret he had been harboring from her. If what her gut told her when they talked during the dance was right. After repelling another attack from the black haired young man, Rosalie grimaced. She didn't feel right having this easy of a time against Judas. But…what should she do about it?
"Hey!" the young woman called out, brandishing her smaller dueling blade to accompany Lavender Thorn, "got lead in your legs over there, Jude?"
Judas scoffed at the taunt. Her tone was too light if that was meant to anger him.
"C'mon, I know you got more in you than that!" she encouraged. "I want to see just how far you've come since you've joined your team! Gimme your best! Make me earn beating you!"
The young man blinked at the pep talk being. It earned a chuckle out of him as he shook his head. He should've known Rosalie would do something like this. She was probably picking up on his distracted mind too. But she was right; he did have more in him than that. He came to win, and that's what he was gonna do.
"You might regret that, Rosalie. You had the advantage," he commented, a dry smile on his face.
Rosalie responded with her own eager grin.
"This will be more satisfying," she answered.
Rosalie took the initiative. The young woman made precise thrusts and slashes at Judas, the latter parrying and redirecting each attempt. Judas readied his semblance to give him a small, but significant edge, using his enhanced abilities in an attempt to overpower his target. Rosalie in a moment of clever thinking used her own semblance to feel the change in air currents, helping her predict the direction her opponent would attack from, and put up a defense. The crowd cheered at the high octane of their fight, eagerly waiting to see who would triumph in their brawl. They didn't need to wait long, for as when Rosalie was about to attempt another preemptive block, her Aura levels became unsustainable for use of her Semblance. She had used it too much in the earlier sections of the duel, and now was paying for it. Judas caught the slight delay of Rosalie's reactions and capitalized, zipping in from her blindspot and landing a strong enough attack to dip her Aura down to a place where she couldn't continue. The young man couldn't dwell on his victory however, Shuichi needed his help.
At the other end of the arena, Valerie squashed Shuichi's attempts to attack her. Her fiery covering kept him from physically attacking, and Sonara used her Semblance to manipulate barriers of earth to counter his Dust attacks. He was losing, and he would be beaten if something didn't change. To his surprise, change indeed came. Without word, Valerie's human torch mode abruptly fizzled out, and Judas made passing blows on both remaining girls from AMBR before he regrouped with his partner.
"Miss me?" Judas asked, smugly grinning as Shuichi flipped him off.
Both sides took a breath, feeling the electricity from the crowd. No more tricks were in store for either team. All that was left was a good, straightforward brawl.
Valerie and Sonara attacked. The bluenette charged Shuichi with her shield placed in front, acting as a vanguard. The young man in headphones twisted his body and kicked with all his might, trying to force an opening in the girl's defense. Valerie held strong and attempted a slash in retaliation, but was stopped by Judas who finished breaking her guard and landed a small hit on her. Sonara precisely rendered pieces of earth from the arena and pelted both boys with them, allowing her teammate to attempt another attack. This time Valerie scored hits on both of them, all four participants' Aura levels dropping fast. It was a war of attrition, both sides trading blows.
"Arany, get out of the way!" Shuichi suddenly demanded, and activated multiple Dust crystals in his weapons. Judas quickly did his best to comply as Shuichi jumped into the air, coming back down and creating a massive explosion with a Dust enhanced flying axe kick. The attack shook the arena, creating a thick smoke cloud. All the attendants held their breath, anxious to see the result. Once the dust cleared, all four competitors were on their knees, ready to pass out. Above on the arena's monitor, three of the four had no more Aura left to continue. That left only one, and the crowd exploded at the result.
Judas. It was Judas who was the last one standing.
"And there you have it, folks!" Oobleck announced. "Due to a last minute kamikaze attack from Shuichi, Team NFMA has secured their placement in the main tournament bracket! Talk about a nail biting finish!"
"That would be an understatement, my friend," Port added. "There were moments during the fight it looked like the ladies from Team AMBR would've won. But it seems luck and chance went to their opponent this time. You still have my undying support, my students!"
Back on the floor, teams AMBR and NFMA reconvened. Flynt was the first to extend a hand in good faith, putting on a friendly smile.
"Good fight! You four are definitely fierce fighters," he said, exuding a jovial air.
Sonara took the outstretched gesture and shook the wolf boy's hand, slightly crushing it.
"You're no slouches either," Kyra commented, brushing off small bits of dirt off her gear. "That last gambit from your horrendously prejudiced leader was the last thing I would've imagined him doing."
Shuichi growled, irritated at the transparent jab thrown at him. The pair of teams walked off the arena together, waving to the congratulatory fans.
"Well, well, that was quite the spectacle!" Port boomed over the speakers, "But sit tight, our endearing audience! The next match will be in less than fifteen minutes!"
Getting up from his seat, Azure looked to his team.
"We're up," he said, and team KRME began making their way to the arena.
The interim went by in a flash. In the stands, the buzzing energy lingered, all present abiding the wait. AMBR and NFMA found their own respective places among the crowd, watching as the next two teams took the field.
"Now, all you folks in attendance, as well as those tuning in around the world," Port said, voice laden in anticipation. "This next fight is going to set your hearts aflame. They have already done very well in the preliminaries, this fight is merely to increase their chances at a more favorable placement. Make some noise for Beacon Academy's very own first years: Team KRME!"
AMBR cheered for their friends along with the crowd. KRME took their positions, sizing up their opposition, who were promptly introduced as team EBNY from Shade Academy. Waiting for the match to start, NFMA's Kazuki began making mental notes for all eight combatant's down below. She was their strategist, and kept diligent. With a loud buzzer from the speakers, the pairs clashed, fighting as intense as those that followed before.
"This KRME is good," Flynt commented to his team, watching keenly as Jad and Gayle did a combo attack on one of EBNY's members.
Shuichi let out a dismissive grunt, but Judas and Kazuki had to agree with Flynt. Rember had expertly controlled the space between her and her opponent with Ashweave and Stormshatter, the electric whips keeping all enemies away from her and her teammates, as well as securing the first knockout when trapping and shocking a poor unlucky soul with her weapons electricity. Impressive as KRME was however, Kazuki and Judas had their eyes set on one of them in particular.
Azure.
"Damn," Judas remarked, "that dude in white is dancing circles around his opponent."
Judas watched Azure keenly. They shared similar weapons, but watching Azure made him feel like his own abilities were a joke. Every shortcoming he felt about his own fighting style, the young man in white before him found an answer for. The more he watched, the more Judas wanted to meet this Azure. Maybe this archer held the key on how he himself could improve his skills.
"What'd you think, Kazu?" he asked his teammate. "Who's the most dangerous of these guys?"
Kazuki knew Judas was addressing her, but she didn't catch a word. She was lost in watching the movements of the white haired young man before her. He fought with an elegance and purpose she'd never seen before. It was almost beautiful, the sight of him dismantling the defenses of his opposition with an air of cold, ruthless efficiency. The wolf girl was drawn into the intensity of Azure's fern green eyes peering through the jagged layers of his white hair, enthralled.
He looks so cool… she commented internally, teetering on the edge of her seat.
KRME won by a landslide. Even after the results, Kazuki remained fixed on the young man in white, Shuichi brusquely snapping her out of her stupor to focus on the next fight.