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RP: ZHS [Episode 3] Zenjinkaichi Budokai

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Reynolds

Reynolds

Well-Known Member
North Building, Lobby

The main building was bustling with activity once again. After a few more days of gathering support, gathering mud to fling, general gossiping, polling, pleading and last and least importantly voting, the student council had been decided on. The results had been posted on the long wall facing the main entrance, and a group of students were crowding around to see whose names were on the list. Bryn was excited to see herself listed as the Class President for the East building...even though she'd been running unopposed. She also spotted Sarena's name listed as an assistant at the North building, as she continued to skim the list of people she'd be working with.

The Neko noticed a larger crowd forming at the next bulletin board over. After a moment, even the crowd around her was shifting over, excitedly talking about the other list of names posted. Almost every first year student was listed, below the large, bold title:

ZENJINKAICHI BUDOKAI
FIRST YEAR TOURNAMENT

Other familiar faces were filing in, some coming to see the results of the elections, others simply interested in the commotion. It would take a bit for anyone to get close enough to see their name on either list. The lobby was filling up again, getting a bit noisy and rowdy...
 
Zoia scratched at her mane in confusion as she stared at the sheet. "I... I got it?" She asked herself curiously, trying to figure it out. "Was I uncontested? This doesn't seem to be right" She said, looking around. Regardless, she was the South President. She noticed Bryn was the other president. Well... They had something in common at least. A teacher who seemed to take an interest in both of them, even if Bryn wasn't too fond of the alien.

Now, it was time for her to check out the other thing that was on the books. A First-year tournament. She was by all accounts a first year student, and Piano was a second-year student. She wouldn't see that one again, but she would certainly see those twins. She drew her thumb claw across the other claws, making a slightly ominous clicking sound. "Oh... This might be an interesting tournament" She said, looking to see who she was going to fight next.

Skuld Asakaki. Zoia knew she had seen her around before. She was an amazonian fire-engine-red Type 33 Neko. She closed her muzzle and made a low growl. Neko's were a problem. They had abilities she herself could not replicate without technology. She was going to have to deal with this quickly. "Well... So far I've done serious bodily harm to win... Well... So far the only rule I have is, don't kill my opponent in battle. I am sure as long as I give them a chance to survive... I'll be ok. It will also put people on the defensive when dealing with me. Hmm... This might work out in my favor" She thought aloud, knowing the amazonian would be massive compared to her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn't hard for Zoia to find the woman, she stood out like a red dot on a green background. It was actually rather comical. The thin, 4'7" Vekimen verse the stacked 5'6 Neko who was lumbering up to her. The two didn't say any words, Skuld calling over a teacher as they maintained eye contact. They were a first round fight. They were in the middle of the courtyard just staring at each other.

Once the teacher appeared, Zoia slowly started to lower herself closer to the ground, claws out, teeth bared, ready for a fight. The Amazonian getting ready, taking a stance notable from Sesshoku Sentō Ichi-Kai. Zoia had spent some of her free time looking up the basics at least of the more notable Yamatai martial arts. She knew her natural flexibility would be a huge advantage in this.

Skuld narrowed her eyes. "Try not to maim me, yeah?" She said, causing Zoia to smile.

"Don't use your neko tech then..." She responded, her voice taking the squealing raspy tone common to her race speaking without emulating anything.

The Neko narrowed her eyes. "Fine... Be that way then..." She spat, getting ready again.

"Alright, I want this to be a fair fight! If applicable disarms only. Keep the nasty stuff to a minimum" The teacher commented before commencing the fight.

The fight was pretty short. Zoia's natural flexibility allowed her to counter many of the moves Sesshoku Sentō Ichi-Kai was famous for. It put Zoia at an advantage, as she used one of her opponents grapples against the student. The blows went on for a while, and Zoia decided to bide her time a little bit, before Skuld threw a grab attempt that went wide.

With blistering speed, Zoia latched her teeth to the Neko's arm, just above the elbow, and jumped up to plant her taloned feet on her ribs and neck. Using the full power of her coiled leg muscles, she kicked off the girls body and tore the arm completely out of the socket.

Skuld dropped to her knees, body in shock as the Nanobots in her hemosynth freaked out to stop the bleeding. Zoia just stood, spitting out the arm. "There... I disarmed her..." She growled, turning to walk away.
 
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North Building Lobby

Kunio was dressed as usual. He had come to view the results of the election as something to do. When he had reached the first bulletin board he view the results, and hearing the crowd's talks noticed the tournament for the first years. He listened for it's details as he read through the names from the election, knowing that he wouldn't be able to fight but maybe someone would ask him for his Sora-Mai subclass. He laughed to himself at the thought of being a coach. Even more since he planned on running for the Rugby Varsity team and hope to be up on the food chain for it as well.
 
North Building, Lobby

Sarena was led to the board by her fellow students. She didn't want to see the results, but the other students from her floor wanted to see her reaction. Outnumbered and half-asleep, it was easier to comply than resist. Once she was pushed up to the board, she closed her eyes without meaning to, and the seconds seemed to slip by unheeded until someone grabbed her arm and pointed her toward the south dorm postings.

Sarena wasn't sure what her 'friends' were expecting, but she was too tired to give it much thought. She laughed. "Haa... Hah, hah. Ha." It was a cruel joke, of course it was. After the past two months, things that should have shocked and horrified her were starting to become routine. Even if the joke was at her expense, she found she could appreciate the absurdity of it. The dorm had chosen to arrange the worst candidates in the worst possible combination.

Perhaps she wasn't as inured as she thought, though. She felt a bit faint... or perhaps merely inclined to go to sleep on the floor, never mind all the other students who wanted to take a look at the election results. Anticipating a long day that would only get longer, she yanked her arm out of the grip of her giddy new colleague, smashed her elbow into his ribs, and stormed away from the board, giving them the reaction they wanted, after all.

For a brief moment, she was in the clear; the game had turned to the boy, who was doing his noble duty as an adolescent by attempting to 'prove' that the wimp hadn't hurt him, and he still had his cool. The respite wasn't worth much. Sarena desperately needed a class to sleep in. She didn't notice the Neko youngling who'd frozen solid, after observing Sarena's name opposite hers in the tournament bracket, and was well across the room when her opponent's fear had thawed to the point where she could sprint out of the building. Maki Takara.

Sports Field, Round One Match: Sakura Sarena vs. Maki Takara

The fight was arranged to take place on the sports field, under a tarp, to keep off the rain. Sarena arrived early to sleep on the bleachers, rain or not. It was better than sleeping under them, in this weather. That had been a mistake she didn't want to repeat... even if it was convenient, given she was keeping most of her belongings in the nearby locker room.

Takara arrived right on time, though Sarena was unaware of her presence, or much else, until after she was woken by a sharp prod from the teacher who'd come to observe their match. Sarena struggled over to join them under the tarp, yawning and rubbing her eyes. Sleeping without a bed didn't do much for her fighting condition, but at least she was too tired to be nervous about the fight. Heck, she hadn't had enough energy to do any proper worrying.

Takara was a different story. The youngling Neko was terrified. From a certain point of view, it seemed justified. In her current state she was no stronger than a Minkan, and Sarena was taller by fifteen inches, more than half again her size. It had much less to do with a realistic assessment of her opponent, and more to do with the stories she'd been told about Nepleslians in general, and Sarena in specific.

Sarena was not the only student at school who other students had made it their mission to torment. Takara was from a sheltered background, and a bit out-of-touch to begin with. It had become very popular to tell her tall tales, to test if she'd believe the most unbelievable things. That Sarena was a combat cyborg, for instance, or that her apparent meekness was only a programming limitation that kept her from killing without orders. That Nepleslians were really all metal and wires underneath, that their apparent softness and tendency to bruise easily were just a ruse. And that they could breathe fire.

Takara, at least, wasn't sure whether to believe that last one. They'd said the same thing about the Vekimen, the principal, and the vice-principal, but she couldn't find any conclusive evidence of past fire-breathing when she looked it up. Sarena, though, there wasn't much information available about her. She had found video of Sarena's mother setting some world aflame with burst-fire incendiary rounds, and while the woman was wearing a full face mask, and the weapon did not appear breath-related, observing it had not been a comfort, especially since it was a promotional video meant to appeal to Nepleslian customers.

Even so, despite her terror, Takara was not timid. She'd been waiting in a ready stance, as if the fight were about to start, even half a minute before Sarena came under the tarp to blearily take her position. Takara noted that Sarena did not seem to be taking her seriously--indeed, she even looked half-asleep! Was this the look of a cyborg that would casually toss her over the horizon at the slightest misstep? That didn't seem physically possible, but Takara hadn't been getting good grades in her math classes, and she'd been warned it could happen...

The teacher, meanwhile, only wanted to go back inside and get out of her rain gear, she didn't care much for the outcome of the fight. A moment after she'd seen both fighters were more-or-less ready, she said the magic word, "Begin." If she could have started reading a pocket book, she would have. Instead, she watched and waited, as duty required.

The wait was not long. In fact, Sarena hadn't processed the teacher's instruction before Takara was already at her legs, swinging. Takara punched left, threw another with her right, and then kicked out in the same order, striking Sarena in the thighs, knees and ankles. They weren't made of metal, but what did Takara know of it? She was bravely fighting the colossus!

Sarena winced at anything, but the joint strikes were almost unbearable. She lurched forward and brought her elbow down at the top of Takara's head, but was deflected aside, and kicked hard in the chest. Already reeling, she stumbled over backward to sit on the turf, holding her arms up to ward off further blows. The pain had been bad enough for Sarena to forget she was in a fight... it seemed more like an everyday beating!

The distinction was not lost to Takara, though. She held off long enough to look over at the teacher, whose irritable reply came before Takara could speak; she repeated much of what she'd said while no one had been listening. "She has not yielded! You must pin her or make her submit. Fight, until I say it is over!" Takara nodded firmly, and dove into Sarena with a flying tackle.

Sarena was in pain, not asleep, and was not taken off-guard twice in a row. She could do little to fend off the fast little fists and feet, but an entire Neko leaping at her through the air was somehow a simpler problem. There was no use in a throw, Sarena knew, a Neko would simply catch herself with her gravity organ. Instead, she took the tackle full in its stride, counter-grabbed, and brought her forehead onto Takara's face with all the force of the incoming Neko's momentum, and then some.

The sound of the collision, not quite like the sound of coconuts, was heard far beyond the sports field. Sarena was dazed and in pain--she suspected a bone fracture--but her opponent's cute little nose had been moved nearly a half-inch off-center, and had been squashed like an overripe fruit. The Neko's hands went to cover her face, too preoccupied with the injury to focus on her opponent. She hovered in mid-air, without seeing, while Sarena climbed back to her feet, in great pain.

Despite her respite, Sarena couldn't think how to land a good blow on a little hovering ball. Only the head was vulnerable, she'd been told, but she had no good angle to reach it with. If only she could still land a kick, without falling over...

She shook her head and quipped to the teacher, "Is it my turn to hear the rules again?" Takara saved them both the trouble of that conversation, having regained enough of her wits to take another swing at Sarena, from the safety of her curled-up position in mid-air.

Takara underestimated the distance between them, and Sarena took a single lurching step back while leaning away. She then stepped back in, and caught Takara by the wrist when she made a redictable follow-up lunge.

Sarena still couldn't throw the Neko effectively, but so long as she was floating with her legs out of play, it wasn't too difficult to hurl her into a clockwise spin. Takara, relying on speed to serve her better than caution, dropped to the ground on all fours, aiming to spring with another lunge; her fist up to Sarena's chin, this time.

She made it as far as making the fist, before Sarena fell on top of her, elbow first. It was such a beautiful move, Sarena recalled. Once her opponent was facing the ground, all she had to do was fall down in the proper alignment, and let gravity do most of the work. As her elbow impacted with Takara's skull, Sarena felt a sharp pain behind her shoulder blade. Her body was so unreliable! It was probably for the best, though; Sarena wasn't aiming to kill anyone; she just wanted the fight to be over, so that she could sleep.

Takara flipped onto her back, spastically, and groped at the sky for a moment, becoming non-responsive, her pupils pinpricks in the bloody mess of her face. The teacher began a count, repeated the end of it with irritation when Sarena gestured to indicate she had not been knocked out, at the last moment. At last, she declared Sarena the winner, in about the same tone most would use to say something like 'My sunroof was ruined by the hailstorm.'

It took a few moments for the implications of victory to sink in. Once they had, Sarena decided she could afford to stand up, and demonstrate she could still walk and use her arms, at least to some degree. She even still had most of her teeth; though, at her age, she didn't have all of them in, yet, anyway.

Sure, having to participate in the next round of the tournament was a downside, and she knew she'd be hearing her win had been a fluke, soon enough, but maybe, just maybe, some of the other students would keep their distance for a little while... and most importantly, she wouldn't have to endure the usual mockery re: Nepleslians having no redeeming qualities vis-à-vis Yamataians in general. Not that she was about to try and determine what part racial characteristics had played here, in this fight, today.

Pain overcame her enthusiasm about five seconds later, and she stole a chair to sit down. The teacher was already contacting someone on her communicator, but had yet to say anything. Sarena decided to make sure, and raised her hand. "Um... medic? Please?" The teacher pursed her lips, and continued her button-tapping, seemingly in time with the rain as it landed on the tarp and the benches. Sarena gave in and zoned out again, while Takara had a dream about life in an unreal world, made of glass and sand.
 
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North Building Lobby

Kunio watched the sparring with an even tone, though he wasn't a first year student, it was still something entertaining to watch instead of walking the grounds for a few hours. He looked at the board quietly in between Zoia's fight and Sarena's noticing he was West Building's president. He gave a smirk and watched Sarena's fight go on. He smiled at her well placed moves to counter Takara, and winced every so often. After he Victory he walked over to her chair and gave her a smile of approval. He carefully put a hand on her shoulder and spoke quietly, "That was...great. Though I can teach you a bit more."
 
North Building, Lobby

Hmm, Bryn thought, going down the list of the student council. Yes! I'm one of the class presidents. She almost started dancing there, but then she noticed that the Vekimen was also a class president. Ughh...now I have to work with her? The discovery had almost ruined her mood, but then she realized that most of the crowd wasn't looking at the positions list. Instead, there was a huge crowd of students around a list of names, with the title ZENJINKAICHI BUDOKAI FIRST YEAR TOURNAMENT!!!!

Okay, the Neko thought, looking at the list with a critical eye. So, we're just supposed to pick someone to fight? Or what? She became more skeptical when the lizard went down the list, murmured about killing people, then walked off. Morbidly curious now, Bryn worked her way closer to the list and, after a few minutes, found the Vekimen's opponent. Skuld? Hmm, the bright red Neko? She shook her head and after finding her first opponent, Eir Miyagi, she walked after the Vekimen, wondering where she was going.

Courtyard

Finding Zoia's fight ongoing, the student got there just in time to see Skuld's arm get torn off by the alien. The crowd went silent as the winner made a pithy remark, then walk off like nothing happened. "She really likes biting things off, doesn't she?" she murmured, looking as the fallen Neko was run to the clinic.

"Well, looks like we got a psycho on the campus" A Neko commented once things started to move. The Chocolate coloured Neko with long white hair crossing her arms and looking at one of her friends. "But I can't fault her on being thorough... I don't see Skuld wanting to do that again"

"For sure," Bryn said. nodding for emphasis, "Hopefully the lizard gets beat soon enough."

The Neko shrugged "Ah, she's from a different Culture. I hear she has the skull of her classmate in her room, so maybe shes just normal" She responded. "We'll never know until we find out, but Skuld, Piano, and then I heard a rumor about a teacher? Seems like a pretty common tactic for her. Keep your limbs close if you fight her, yeah?" She giggled.

"Or stay as far away as possible," the student agreed, smiling at the other Neko, "And aim for the windpipe. Apparently that's an easy way to disable her."

"Through that mane of hers? Would have to be a pretty strong hit. Gravity Manipulation seems her real weakness, but I wouldn't bank on that with how much she is willing to damage to win" She sighed.

Bryn shrugged, then said, "If that's what it takes to win, then someone's going to have to do it."

"Welp, thats true. Fight fire with fire I guess. Anyway, I need to go find my opponent" The girl smiled, starting to turn away with a wave.

"Who are you looking for?" the student asked. "I might know them and where they are."

"Some girl named Bryn. The Class president for East wing" She sighed. "I'm not too sure who'll win"

After a second of confused emotion, somewhere between shock at the chance meeting and pride at hearing herself being called the class president, she smiled and said, "Well, that's easy, because I'm Bryn. So, you're Eir?"

The girl shook her head, turning back aroud. "Oh! Wow, that is a chance meeting. Yeah, I'm Eir Miyagi. So, I guess we are fighting?" She asked, looking around for a teacher. "Who will officiate?"

"I will," Nenna said, coming out of the crowd and walked up to the pair. "Miyagi-san, Nishizaki-san," she said, doing her best to treat them equally, "prepare yourselves as I clear a space." Turning to the rest of the crowd, she yelled, "Back up! If you want to see another fight, then back up!" Eager to watch another fight, the crowd did as the teacher said, giving the two Nekos more space to manuever.

Reaching into her purse, Bryn pulled out her holstered training pistol, essentially a low powered NSP. I probably should turn the power down, since there is a crowd, she thought, configuring the gun to shorten its range once she had put the holster around her waist.

Eir had also prepared, walking to the other side of the clearing and bowing. "When you are ready, Nishizaki-chan" She said, taking a stance.

Throwing her purse to the side, Bryn held the pistol in her right hand, turning so she was standing in profile from the other student's point of view. "Ready as ever," she said, leveling the pistol and crossing her body with her left arm.

"Ok," Nenna said, having moved the crowd back enough to give the combatants an arena 10 meters across. "As both of you are ready, we'll start in a moment. No holds barred, just don't kill you're opponent. Are you two agreeable with that?

"I don't have much of a choice I take it" Eir giggled. "I'm not getting this fight anyhow. Let's go" She said, readying herself even more

Not getting it? Bryn thought. "Yes, Hoshimoto-sensei," she said aloud.

"Okay," the teacher said, raising her arm. "On the count of three, the fight will commence...1...2...3!"

The gun-totting Neko wasted no time, firing at her opponent three times to bracket her target. Eir managed to dodge the first two, but jumped right into the third one, taking the stun round to the shoulder and being thrown to the ground with a rather "flashy" spin if only it was deliberate.

Seeing Eir go down, Bryn darted forward, keeping the gun pointing at the Neko.

Eir didnt hesitate. "Yield! I yield!" She shouted, before giving Bryn a pained smile. "No way Im winning against a gun. Im not that good" She giggled, hissing out a little as she tried to get up. "But, fair's fair. Good job Bryn!

"Brynhildr Nishizaki has won," Nenna said, making the yield offical.

Taking a second to realize she had won, the student blinked and shook her head. Mom was right. Projectile school is the way to go. "Thanks," she said, putting her gun in its holster and helped the other Neko to her feet. "The stunning should wear off in a few minutes," she said. "I've been hit by it enough to know."

"Thanks, wish I could have made it more interesting for you, but I'm a wrestler of sorts. I'd have to get in your face to do any good" She giggled, trying to roll her shoulder. "Anyway, good fight, again, but I have classes I need to get too. It was a pleasure" She said, bowing. "Oh, and congratz on the presidential win! Good luck!" She called over her shoulder, waving.

"Arigato!" Bryn replied, smiling and giving a small wave back.

"Well," Nenna said, coming back once she had helped the students who had been hit by stray bolts, "that was short."

"Like mom always says," the younger Neko said, "Shoot first, fight never."

Shaking her head, the teacher gave the student a pat on the back. "Good job, Bryn-chan. But I got to go," she said, walking the way Zoia had gone. "I got a student to talk to."

"Okay, bye," Bryn said, picking up her purse and walked the other way to her class.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zoia sat in the back of the courtyard where she usually hung out, absent mindedly doing advanced physics equations while listening to what the Yamataian's called music. She had taken a liking to this particular song, something about the rising sun? No words, just a very pleasant tune for how simple it was.

The Lizard heard Nenna coming before she saw the woman, not looking up from her work. "I didnt kill her. I kept my promise," She called as Nenna got within earshot. She sounded matter of fact, as if she didnt do anything wrong, which she didnt.

"Yes, you did," the teacher replied, sitting down next to Zoia. "How's homework going?"

"Done a while ago. This is extra work that I asked for," She sighed, fliping through the pages on the datapad.

"So, you doing astrophysics or something?" Nenna asked, not recogning most of the diagrams the Vekimen was looking at.

"Meh... Physics of somekind. I'm not really trying anymore. The Sivaro Curse is hitting me. None of this interests me anymore" She sighed, putting the datapad down with a huff. "But I cant have anything more or else Im to far ahead of the class and the teacher can't rein me in apperently"

"You don't like being controlled," Nenna said with a smile, "That's for sure. So, what do the other Sivaros do when they get the 'Curse,'" she asked.

"Find harder work obviously" Zoia muttered.

"Okay," the teacher said. "What are you interested in, these days?

"Well, what I need is a way to counter that stupid fucking Gravity bullshit you Neko's have. Otherwise, this whole thing is worthless. I'm the best fighter in my race of my time, and I can't beat some of the most mediocer so long as they know how to use their gravity manipulation" She grumbled, hissing a little.

"Well," Nenna said, "The best way I know is to bait them into a move, then hit them before they can react. Throw a few feints, don't attack until you know you have them, and then go in for the figurative kill. Or," she continued, laughing a little, "literally disarm them if you prefer."

"Well, so far that is my tactic. As we learned from my fight with Piano though, that isn't going to be an option later on in the tournament. As the crowd is culled, I need a solid defence agaist the Gravity Maipulation, and my best idea was just remove the organ that allows you to do it. Or at least ruin its day and make it unusable in a fight" She sighed, leaning against the tree at her back.

"And then you found that it wasn't that easy?" the Neko said, "Something that might work is to focus on not getting into a position to be stomped on. Your tail might be useful there, keep you upright and helping you dodge gravity-assisted attacks." Shrugging, she continued, "Obviously I don't know how easy that is, but I'd be willing to help you figure that out."

"Well... I can't exactly just take a Neko going from zero to seventy in a second, hitting me with three times their body weight or you know... Flying.

"Yeah," Nenna said, "We could give you a stunner. Guns are the great equalizer."

"Not exactly my style... I prefer to feel my victim suffer" She stated, her tone going a little dark.

"I do know that feeling," the teacher replied, thoughts going back to wars gone by. "Either way," she said, getting up and brushing the grass off of her. "Let me know if you want to try something. I've got a class to prepare for."

"I've got the mob of angry amputees to prepare for, so I guess I'll take you up on that offer later. Keep me updated when you are free, I could use the practice" She sighed, getting up and kicking at a rock.

"Will do," Nenna said, patting the Vekimen's shoulder. "You'll figure something out." Walking away, she said, "I should be open to practice tonight. I'll send you a message when I know the exact time." The teacher reassured, leaving the Vekimen to brood in her bordom.
 
ZHS: West Building

William was laying on his bed, reading a one of the Mangas he had received during Halloween. His swords were set next to his kendo armor and he had the room to himself. He set the book down and walked to the door when he noticed someone had stepped up to the door and opened it. "Hello?" He asked as the he saw Hiroe.

"Hello reject." The cheery face of Hiroe Akita looked back at William. "I need an opponent for the school tournament, and I am going to beat you so bad you won't come back to this school." She said crossing her arms.

William stared back with a blank face. "You wish to fight?" He asked. "Sure. I'll fight you." He said shutting the door in her face.

"Hey!" She called through the door. William flopped back down on his bed when...

*BOOM*

His door exploded inward. William shielded himself as the door shattered and pelted him with shards.

"When I am talking to you, reject, you listen!" She said cocking her fist and was about to swing when Rei came bursting through the window. She had been outside when she had heard Hiroe Akita's voice and rushed to the aid of William.

"Are? What is going on?" she asked emphatically.

William had shot up when Hiroe had been about to attack him when Rei jumped in. He turned and bowed to Rei. "Sensei-Sama, we discussed a fight between us for the tournament..." He was about to elaborate further when...

"Then this reject slammed the door in my face. He shouldn't even be here Sensei!" Hiroe yelled looking at the still bowing form of William.

"Eeto..." Rei murmured. "You will have a fight tonight, prepare your things and come with me."

Rei led the two to the field, where a light mist moved and swirled as if being pushed around in a great cauldron. There was little light, but those that shone on the field were bright enough for the three of them to make one another out.

"Otagai ni Rei," the Samurai said. "Bow to one another."

The fighters bowed to one another, however, Hiroe's bow was on the border of disrespect. If William noticed he did not show it. The fighters stood and looked at each other.

"Hajime!" Rei called out for them to begin.

William drew his swords and dropped into a defensive stance as Hiroe wasted no time in her attack. She charged him, throwing a hand out to snag his wrist, with the hope of crushing it. William, expecting an attack jabbed out with his sword, cause her attack to falter. He then swung across with his second sword hitting Hiroe in the ribs with an audible thud.

"You are gonna regret that reject!" She said using her neko ability of gravity manipulation to propel herself up into the air with astounding speed. When William looked up to react she prospered herself downward by increasing her gravity. William threw his sword up in an X to defend himself, but Hiroe simply landed on his swords and kept dialing up the gravity. "That's right you reject, I'm going to crush you..."

William kept fighting the gravity, but he soon dropped to a knee, grunting against the strain. Hiroe laughed. "You will fail. I will break all the bones and you will be forced to...ahh!" As she monologued, William threw himself out from under Hiroe and she flew into the ground with a crash. William was up like a light and swung with both swords. Hiroe stopped one, but the second sword struck her across the throat.

Hiroe gasped for breath, as she tried to catch her breath. William stood and took a few steps away, allowing her to stand and recovered. "You are going to regret that..." she said charging him with full blood rage. William simply turned and held both swords out, allowing Hiroe to be struck in the stomach by the quick thrust. She doubled over in pain and cried out. As before, William moved and let her stand. As William's back was turned she jumped up and grabbed William's arm, twisting and pulling downward.

With a horrifying pop, William cried in pain as his left shoulder was dislocated. His arm hung by his side lifelessly. Hiroe cackled and moved to strike again, when William struck her with a loud thwack.

He struck her across the face, and broke her nose, blood sprayed out from the wound. Before she was able to recover, William jumped in the air and twisted bringing his sword out and striking her in the temple, dropping her instantly.

"Yame," Rei said, then repeated, "Yame! Stop, Wil!"

William stopped and looked to Rei. He tried to wipe his sword, but attempting to move his arm was to painful, he walked over to Rei. "Momma san, would you please put my swords away, I can't move my arm..." He said looking to her, trying to hide his pain.

"You are a true warrior, William-kun," Rei said to him and sheathed William's kendo swords for him in a quick motion. She placed a palm against his back and another on the front of his shoulder and relocated his joint into place with measured strength. With that, Rei moved away from the child she had adopted and she went to Hiroe's side and bent low to help raise the student up. "I will take her to her room. You, go to yours. You have won this round. I hope that you win the next, musuko."

He gritted his teeth as his arm snapped back into place. Pain radiated outward and he flew faint. After a few moments he steadied himself and smiled at his mom. "Tha...thank you momma-san. I will go rest now..." He said as he made his way back to his own room.

Rei attended to the downed Hiroe, who had begin to stir from being knocked out cold. "I.. I lost... to a reject..." she said bitterly as she was helped up by Rei.

Rei said, "You fought well, young Neko, but you lost. Fight another day and you may see another outcome."

Hiroe grumbles but doesn't say anything else as she was led to her room by Rei.
 
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West Building
Rooftop

A few hours prior to their rooftop encounter, Yuu Sakaki had listened while Damu Keita had mocked her bonsai in the classroom, saying they were spindly and looked forced. Sakaki had, in fact, forced the mini trees to look incredibly spindly, save for the tips, and took the intended insult as a compliment, instead.

Keita had shouted in class, "I'll fight you, Yuu Sakaki, and you'll learn lessons you never dreamed of!"

Thinking that she could use a few lessons to learn a few more things, Sakaki nodded and went back to looking out the window, dreaming of the day that Tavigo would let her hold his feral cat.

So they met, under Rei's jurisdiction, on the rooftop.

"Otagai ni rei," the Samurai shouted and the two girls bowed to one another before she again shouted, this time saying, "Hajime!"

Yuu Sakaki stepped her right foot back and raised her left fist to be in front of her right, which was closer to her chest. She bounced on the balls of her feet and kept a stone-cold face as Keita dipped low, then sprung up in a jump kick, aimed at Sakaki's shoulder. Sakaki jumped back and when Keita landed, she pushed her foot out in a snap kick, knocking the Keita off balance. She brought her forward leg that had kicked back and jumped away from Sakaki but, determinedly, Sakaki lunged forward and, with a knife-hand, struck Keita with the edge of her fingers. She brought her leg up, again, in a kick to Keita's stomach and Keita stumbled backwards.

Keita, though, gained her footing and brought her leg out, again, in a surprise roundhouse kick. she had stunningly long legs and nearly landed a blow to Sakaki's head but, Sakaki grabbed Keita's ankle and threw her with the direction of the kick. Keita bounced on the rooftop and, if she had not engaged her gravity manipulation system, would have fallen from it easily.

She flew at Sakaki, now, and brought out a series of lunge punches on the tall Neko. They made contact with her pronounced chest and forcibly pushed her back. She began blocking them, though, her wrists and forearms making contact with those of Keita, and once the volley of attacks was complete, Sakaki gave one of her own. She back-fisted Keita, hitting her ear and sending the NH-33 down. She hit the roof with a thud as she covered the side of her ear with her hand.

"Yame!" called Rei for them to stop and Sakaki put her hands in front of the center of her hips, left on top of the right, and bowed graciously.

Rei went to Keita as the girl pushed off of the roof with her free hand and said to Keita, "Daijōbu desu ka? Are you okay?"

The girl nodded, tears springing to her eyes as she did, falling as she looked at Sakaki standing tall over the both of them.
 
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A Few Days Later...

All limbs had been reattached, and William's shoulder wasn't feeling quite as sore. Bryn was settling in as ruler of her tiny empire, with the soft-spoken Defa always by her side, even if the Neko often forgot she was there. The easily overlooked Minkan was so unremarkable that Kunio had already forgotten how he had defeated her during his tournament match, which none of the other students seemed to remember attending either. Nevertheless, a new notice had been posted in the North Building.

ZENJINKAICHI BUDOKAI
FIRST YEAR TOURNAMENT
ROUND 2

ZOIA SIVARO VS SUTAUTO KUNIO

SARENA VS BRYNHILDR NISHIZAKI

YUU SAKAKI VS WILLIAM

This time, the stage had been set for the field behind the school, with classes suspended to allow all of the students to attend. The fights would occur one after the other, with the triple threat final round taking place the next day. Prizes were also listed for all three finalists, mostly coupons and credits for stores in Tsubomi, with the champion taking the largest cut. The three were also promised a weekend trip to an exotic location.

Besides recognition from the school and students, the victor was also promised a...unique opportunity...
 
ZHS Sports Field: Range

Sarena had made it through the first round! Which was... amazing, but mostly the luck of the draw, as far as she was concerned. She didn't expect to get further, but now that the prizes were not so far away, she was starting to feel very tempted by them. Especially the vacation. It was hard to get any rest, sleeping in class was putting her in danger of failing grades by mid-semester, and she was almost out of fresh fruit!

From what she'd heard, her opponent, Brynhildr, wasn't that tough, but was very tricky. It might come down to luck again, but how much she knew about her opponent might also be important. When Sarena had her fight with Takara, being able to safely guess what the Neko would do was important, though keeping a step ahead of Takara hadn't been difficult. She always used the same combos and strategy... even half-asleep, Sarena hadn't needed to think very hard.

For all she knew, Bryn would be like that, too... but with guns. Sarena knew how to shoot, but she'd learned mostly about how to fight on and around a starship, at extreme ranges, or in and around corridors. She didn't know what a gun duel on the ground would be like, and although she'd seen a few shows where it happened, they had a habit of cutting away to a splash screen at the moment the heroes and villains actually made their shots. That wasn't much use to her education, upon reflection.

Sarena practiced rifle shooting the most, just as usual, with her goggles and headgear on. She'd considered showing up in full riot gear, like she'd thought about doing if she ever had to fight Zoia, but it wouldn't help in a real fight with a Neko, like a rifle would, and it felt silly to show just as much fear in facing a Neko, when those made up most of the school, as the one Vekimen student that was rightfully terrifying. Sarena felt a lot better about holding a rifle steady, anyway.

She just needed to find out the rules, in time to make the final decision. Although, the thought struck her belatedly, if Zoia won the first fight, and was guaranteed to go on the vacation, that meant Sarena would be free from her and able to use their 'shared room'. That would be almost as good as winning, without taking any effort on Sarena's part. If she weren't so tired, it could have been enough to get her to start rooting for the bane of her existence..! It was better to wait and see. Sarena still wanted to win...
 
ZHS Sports Field: Practice Area

Kunio was on the corner of a bench sharpening his blade. He was surrounded by a few of the rugby players, and the captain was beside him holding the sharpening block as well as what looked like a ceremonial scabbard furnished for a blade similar to Kunio's. It could be expected that it was either a replacement or a memento or something of the sort. Kunio was dressed in a black exercise jumpsuit that looked padded slightly though moved with extreme flexibility as he moved his blade edge across the block. He lifted it up and spun it in to a black scabbard on his hip.

He stood and walked slowly towards the area he was told would be his battlefield. He felt ready and felt a sense of pride, since the rugby team was behind him in a hasty march before breaking off to head for their seats and spots along the battle line. Kunio breathed slow as he walked forward to the threshold of the arena, and had one of the students bring him a Kendo sword that could be used if that became the rules. He stopped once he arrived and took a stance near the battlefield waiting on any final words to be said.
 
ZHS Sports Field: Kumite Mode
High Noon

With classes cancelled for the day, everyone had been allowed extra time to either enjoy their mornings or prepare for their fights. The stands had begun to slowly fill an hour or so before the first fight was scheduled, students chatting and sharing their thoughts about the various competitors' chances. Teachers were stationed around the field and near the stands, which were located on either side near the '50 yard line'. Eventually kids from other schools in the Ward, or even other Wards in Tsubomi, began to show up, their uniforms standing out in the sea of black, red and gold. Martial arts enthusiasts given permission to observe, even if they hadn't been accepted to the school originally. Adults were popping up, parents or family friends, local workers or business owners. A few enterprising individuals were even selling snacks.

A wide box had been drawn out with the same markings the field usually had, designating the combat area. The competitors were expected to keep the fight roughly within the square, although there were no particular penalties for going out of bounds beyond the scorn of the teachers. Fleeing across the field or into the stands was also strongly discouraged. Students whose style required weapons were allowed to use them, although firearms had been modified to emit a shock pulse that would dissipate before travelling far enough to reach the spectators. Due to her natural weapons and protective scales, students had also been granted permission to use bladed weapons (instead of the usual wooden training weapons or dulled blades) or light protective equipment in their matches against Zoia, as long as everything was checked by the teachers and shown to the Vekimen before the fight began.

The rumbling of the excited crowd grew louder as the time approached, a few whoops starting up as the Principal stood up from her front row seat. A loud bellow for QUIET got them settled down, though. Returning to her seat next to Mitsuko, Shayla nodded for the teachers to summon the first pair of competitors. The six had been kept separated for the day, one from each pairing led from opposite directions to opposite sides of the field. The four not currently competing were welcome to watch from their own front row seats (if they weren't recovering elsewhere) as long as they didn't try to harass their opponent across the field.

With her training and experience, Rei would be the only judge allowed on the field in case of any incidents, although Neena, Tavigo and the other faculty were close at hand to monitor the competition. As the first pair were sent towards the field, the crowd began to whoop and cheer again....
 
ZHS Sports Field: Stands

Sarena sat and watched the preparations, transfixed. Unlike many other days, she wasn't half-asleep this time; she was positively wired. It was easy to joke that she must have drunk some "SPEED" anti-sleep soda, but truth be told, spending four hours at the range practising her shooting with various weapons and poses was an all-natural way to wake up and put herself hard on edge. Even with her protective gear, the noise might have had something to do with it.

Everyone would be watching, this time, so it didn't seem wise to relax, anyway, although perhaps it still might have been. Sarena had decided she wasn't going to lose on purpose, but she still was afraid of winning! It was enough to tie her in knots... but perhaps it was for the best. She had no idea how to win a gunfight with her eyes closed.

Still, she made sure she to keep her gaze averted as the two fighters came out to face each other. The last thing her nerves needed was to exchange a glance with Zoia... or Kunio, for that matter, although for entirely different reasons. It was no time to melt, or think about things other than stun bolts surging through the air.

Come to think of it, was observing the fight before hers the best idea? Or even listening with her eyes closed? That gave Sarena an almost brilliant idea! She turned and looked back into the stands. "Hey, does anyone have headphones and music, for me?"

The crowd was not impressed--there were almost no students at the school who had any need for a device that Sarena could use, and even fewer on this side of the field--but serendipitously, Sakaki was sitting right next to her, waiting for her turn to take the field, and realized she had what Sarena was asking for.

She rummaged in her bag to retrieve the music player she'd been holding onto for Willam, to give him after the fight, one she'd bought it in town as a special gift, and loaded with music he might like to practice with. Quizzically, she handed it to Sarena.

Sarena turned around and let out a surprised, "Thank you, Yuu-san!" She donned the headphones with more speed and precision than ever seen in her combat drills, and started the music.. just in time for the next fight to begin.
 
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ZHS Sports Field: Arena

Kunio had walked out dressed in a dark jumpsuit carrying both of his swords in his hands. He knew that his opponent was of a different race, but he hadn't seen her fighting style alone, even against a sword arm. He held them both out and spoke with a relaxed tone, "Kendo, or Steel?"
Zoia already stood in the ring, her eyes clearly looking over her opponent. As he approached, her eyes narrowed at his question. She looked down at her claws, then her talons, and finally gave a toothy smile. "Steel. Seems only fair after all" She stated, starting to undo her uniform. This was a serious fight to her, and she wasn't about to have it wearing a stupid, pointless uniform.

Kunio gave a slight grin, and tossed his Kendo sword backwards almost carelessly and drew the Steel. It glimmered as the light touched it's edge, it didn't look cheap or terribly made. He gripped his with two hands, his right hand seemed to grab it harder than the left and began to walk a slow circle.

Zoia finished removing her uniform, looking the other student over. Both were capable of killing their opponent, which made her feel more confident that she wouldn't be harassed for going overboard with how she dealt with her opponents. She knew she was going to have to focus on disabling the arms, of just staying out of the way until her opponent made a mistake. Her tail swayed slowly behind her, poised as if it were ready to lash out at a moments notice. Her mane puffed out as she lowered her stance, claws out and ready to attack. giving a low, ominous hiss to indicate she was ready to go.

Kunio made a quick dash forward, and then rocketed backwards as a taunt. shifting his sword forward. His eyes leveled out and looked as if he was sensing something, or just waiting intently. He seemed adamant not to make the first move. He did seem to be floating slightly, though not off the ground completely.

Zoia narrowed her eyes as her opponent backed up. How he did it, how he seemed to have a weightless appearance, she knew he had gravity manipulation. Stupid damned Yamataians and their gravity manipulation! Still he backed up to start a fight. Obviously a style focused on counter attack and defense. On all fours she scuttled closer, staying far enough away to not just be hit, but close enough to still have the offensive, threatening position. Her demeanor would scream wild animal, and that was her hope, letting out another threatening squeal and snapping her teeth at the swordsman.

The Minkan made his head follow the opponent, raising an eyebrow to her screams. He still seemed calm and collected, then he did something slightly cocky. He jumped heavy and high, contorting with grace as he landed about the same distance away but to the side. He muttered just under his breath, "Let's Dance." and made somewhat of a death charge. Though it seemed his footing was light and his shoulders looked like they were shifting for some sort of rugby tackle, sword tightly in hand. Just about within arm range he ducked down and went for her legs, shifting his weight to his right shoulder and braced the weapon to slice as he attempted to stagger his opponent.

Zoia followed the Minkan, turning into his charge and waiting. He ran at her, leaving his face for the most part open. She jerked her head forward, spitting out a mist of bacteria ridden saliva right into the Minkan's face. The smell would be vomit inducing, overloading his olfactory with rotting flesh, death, and decay before she used the involuntary reaction of disgust to try and slip in past his guard, launching at him with claws and talons ready to grasp onto him.

Did he regret his move, probably. His guts seemed to almost want to explode after a millisecond of entering the cloud. The Swordsman gritted his teeth before jumping up, though into the Vekimen's claws. His pain was secondary to his staggered constitution and his fight had just begun. He turned violently and lunged at her higher chest. Shifting his weight again, it looked as if his Katana was the missile and he was the trail.

Zoia knew he couldn't see, but she wasn't expecting such a true strike so fast. She tried to duck out of the way, but the metal blade caught her in the shoulder, cutting through the white flesh with ease. She screamed. Ear splittingly she screamed, lifting up her leg and using all the pain-filled strength she could muster to kick the Minkan away.

Now pain took the first place in the dash to the first finish. He used what little control he had at this point and moved to the other side of the area. His constitution gave in a he lost a little from a his gut and spit blood. He made his body clear his eyes the best they could. His vision returned though he felt his face become warm. He looked over at his opponent and looked slightly in pain but straightened back up in defiance. She was in what looked like a worse stance, and he mustered his strength as he walked forward. He lunged forward again and wince slightly at the shift in speed and went to even out her injured side by going for the leg that hit him. He seemed determined, even though that his injured stomach complaned. He went rocketing forward again, though lowered himself to the ground and went for a spot of white around her upper leg. His right hand moved level with the blade and gripped the unsharpened side. Once in position he put a large amount of his strength behind the blade to go in deep, he seemed to begin to lose his calmness for determination though his pain increased.

Zoia was not pleased, and it was clear in her actions as Kunio tried to get over what she did to him. It took her a moment to compose herself and get back into the fight, and that was a moment too long. When she was ready to react, Kunio was already halfway into his attack. She scrambled to get the leg he was targeting out of the way, but the blade managed to cut through, the hard black scales being the only thing stopping her from outright losing the leg. Blood shot out of her leg with enough force to splatter the arena. Her leg lost its strength and she hit the ground, still somehow upright with another earsplitting scream, this one high pitched and certainly angry. Some students covered their ears to defend against the audio onslaught, but she was still in the fight.

Kunio stood up with a flutter and began a staggered walk over to his opponent, wincing every step either by his pain or her screams. He raised his Katana and spun it by his shoulder pointing it down to her neck about a centimeter from the neck. It was a mistake though, closing in like that.

"Weakness..." She hissed, pushing the blade away swiftly, cutting her arm on the blade. It didn't stop her, though, as she pushed of with her good leg, maw open dangerously as she sunk her teeth down into the soft flesh of his stomach. Razor teeth slicing through skin, fat, and muscles like several vicious scalpels, twisting her head and tearing it all away. It wasn't much though, as her teeth clasped onto the squishier insides of the Minkan.

Kunio's vision went blurry as he mustered his failing strength to swing his Katana at her for a passing blow. His move failed as his muscles contracted and spasmed and his blade went harmlessly onto the ground, skittering across the floor. His calmness failed him as he let a blood-curdling scream of his own before spitting blood from his words, "W-W-Weakness, is only...f-f-for the... cowa-AUGH" His parting words were cut off from one spasm before he fell unconscious, his body's nanobots attempting to heal is critical wounds.

Zoia didn't have much time to continue before several teachers were on her, pulling her off the student. She screeched out again, but more as a display. She didn't fight the teachers, even if she could. "Or the stupid..." She hissed, before she suddenly got light headed. She looked down at her leg, blood pouring down from it, her arm, and shoulder. Without another word, the alien collapsed to the ground, having stayed up long enough to have the fight called reluctantly in her favor...

The two were rushed to the Medical Ward, both needing life saving treatment. Despite the appearance to the contrary, the Vekimen needed it far more than the Minkan did...
 
ZFHS: North Building

Bryn sighed as she looked at the list of matches. Part of me wishes I could have taken the lizard on. Her close-quarters combat would be entertaining to tear to shreds. The fem Nep though? Who knows what she’s going to do. She took out her last opponent close in, but I’m sure she has other tricks up her sleeve. That attitude of hers has to be fake…right?

“Come on, Defa,” the Neko said to her shadow, turning away from the bulletin. “I’ve got some training to do.”

“Okay, Bryn,” the Minkan said, following in her leader’s wake. “Are you going to need a live target?”

The President looked back and beamed. “If you’re willing, I’d appreciate it very much.”

Defa didn’t look very willing, but replied, “Of course,” anyway.


A few days later...ZHS Sports Field: Practice Area, Round 2

Bryn cringed at the alien’s underhanded tactics. Literally eating his guts? Disgusting! And when she should have yielded. Who keeps going after they get cut like that? She breathed deeply, trying to keep her temper. At least he isn’t dead…hope the Principal or whoever is in the clinic can deal with that. But the Neko wasn’t given too much time to brood, as her fight was up.

-------

Nenna for her part couldn’t keep a smile off her face. Got to love Zoia’s determination, she thought as her colleagues carted off the previous combatants. I’ll have to make sure those two are alright after everything is over. As the next fight was prepared, she wasn’t too sure who to root for. I mean, I love Bryn-chan to death, but Sarena doesn’t exactly have an abundance of friends. Heck, the teacher thought with a grin, if Bryn-chan lost, maybe she’d get over her racism.
 
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ZHS Sports Field: Practice Area, Round 2

Though she'd been protected from the screams by the headphones, and from much of the rest of the fight by averting her gaze with her hands held up in front of her goggles, Sarena was still perturbed by what she had seen on the field, just before her match. Zoia and Kunio had made her fight with Takara look like it had been fought with pillows, by contrast.

"The sword on the neck means she lost. Dead. Stupid cheating classmate-killer!" Sarena removed the headphones just as deftly as she'd donned them, and passed the music player back to Sakaki, jaw set without any more words as she slung her rifle and marched out onto the field.

Sarena was quite unhappy with herself for voluntarily walking out to the site of the fight, in theory to do what the last match-up had done. and it didn't help that she knew the weapons she and Bryn had been given were set to stun, and had no chance of causing such carnage. Zoia and Kunio had been half-dead when they, or at least most pieces of them, left it, and it was hard to shake that sense of doom.

Unknowingly in agreement, Bryn as well tried and failed to put the last fight out of her mind, as she approached the next, along with her Nepleslian opponent. What is this going to look like? I mean, she's not a freaking combat robot, like everyone else says...right? Come on, girl. Get a grip. However it was, the Neko had difficulty focusing entirely on the fight ahead, as she watched the others taken be carried away. I mean, do I really want to go somewhere with that monstrosity? It was only after she was given her NSP that Bryn was able to look at her opponent across the field.

As the two students walked out to take their places, the crowd started making noise. Some of it was in support of Bryn, other voices addressed Sarena with the usual jeers and taunts. There was one voice that was cheering Sarena on, Nenna, whose position on the field made her audible to the Nepleslian. If Sarena had been less focused, she might have spared her a bewildered glance.

Bryn looked at her sensei with annoyance, but shook her head and took her stance, holding her pistol at her right side, and standing in profile to her opponent. Sarena held her own rifle low--an ancient-looking, modified GP-12--in a relatively casual ready stance. Her expression was hard to read behind the protective goggles she was wearing, but she was far more tense than her posture suggested.

Huh, Bryn thought, she does know how to shoot. She nodded to her opponent, doing her best to show some respect before looking at Rei for the fight to begin. Sarena quickly returned the courtesy with a full bow--a bit excessive--then stiffly attempted a drill to demonstrate her skill, one which failed to impress, mostly having the look of her waving the gun around aimlessly. At last, she settled back into her ready position, more awkwardly than before.

Rei raised her yukata-clad arm, looking between the students. "I will drop my hand on the count of 'san', at which time the match will commence. Ready?"

"Ready," Bryn said, now looking squarely at the Nepleslian across the field. Let's see what she can do.

"...Yes," Sarena managed to squeak out, then repeated a bit louder. "Yes!"

The Samurai nodded in response, then said, "Ichi... Ni.... SAN!" She then dropped her hand.

On the count of three, Sarena dropped to one knee, the rifle squared to her shoulder, and started tracking her opponent. She'd expected the much more agile Neko to start moving immediately, and not thinking much of her chances of outmaneuvering one, she kept her focus on aiming, instead.

She was soon proved right in doing so, as Bryn began bouncing from side to side, varying the lengths of her jumps and their timings, and fired a few shots to the side of her opponent to see how she would react under fire. Speed is life after all.

Sarena stayed far too focused on predicting where Bryn would go next to spare a glance for the shots inbound for her. Still, she seemed to take the sound of them passing her as a signal to fire, sending her first burst of three shots down a line between where Bryn had been, and where she'd been jumping to previously, aiming it all above her opponent's shoulders.

The Neko took the moment she got from seeing Sarena's trigger pull to force herself higher and flat, jumping between the first two shots and over the rest, and somersaulting in the air, as she fired a burst of her own, aimed in the Nepleslian's general area.

Sarena threw herself into a roll away from the flurry of stun bolts, aiming, forward and left, and barely avoiding the worst of it. While she'd acted fast, she hadn't been ready or thinking, and found herself sprawled prone, in a miserable position to return fire. She gave Bryn one simple shot, missing her weapon hand by several inches, then flung herself onto her back, set her weapon to full automatic, and sprayed it wildly into the sky. Six shots flew toward Bryn, arriving with more than a meter between them.

She got lucky. As Bryn came back down, one bolt--one that had been farthest off the mark, and fired only by accident--struck her in the left foot, making it impossible for her to return to the ground without giving up her mobility, something that Bryn really did not like to do. She kept to her movement strategy, hitting the ground with her gravity strengthened good foot, and flinging herself in another direction, this time flipping upside down, in an attempt to keep her injury as far away as possible as she returned fire.

Sarena, not aware that her shot had hit and desperate to recover, stopped shooting and took one hand off her gun, to throw herself up onto her knees. It didn't seem like she could stand, anyway--she hadn't dodged the whole earlier burst, after all; a stun shot had still struck her right lower leg, leaving it numb and unresponsive. She had to commit to her original stance, after all.

Tracking the Neko through the sky had seemed too difficult, with three dimensions of movement instead of two, but at a second glance, she realized it was simpler--without her boots on the ground, Bryn couldn't disguise her intentions without losing balance. Fighting a foe flying about with their own personal gravity wasn't all that different from combat in free fall, which was far more familiar to Sarena.

Bryn couldn't stray too far from her path, that was for certain. Coming back down from a jump, she didn't slow down fast enough, and almost fell over when her left foot hit the field. Grimacing at the pain, the student bounced upward again anyway, though this bound was less energetic than the last, and it sent her flying in a simple ballistic arc.

Sarena swung her rifle to point at Bryn, tracked her movement briefly while the back of her mind did the math, then pulled it ahead to point at where she judged Bryn would land. Trusting nothing to reflexes, against a Neko opponent, she then held down the trigger, and held on to her rifle tightly, in a form that would make any true Nepleslian marine either laugh or crindge. Fortunately for Sarena, she was of the energy weapon school, and there was no kick to throw her shots off target, bruise her shoulder, or smack her in the jaw. Wherever the marines were laughing now, with the GP-12, her system worked.

The Neko was unable to change her path enough to veer aside from the incoming bolts. Her attempts to do so even backfired, accelerating the rate of her fall, and she was caught by two of the bolts before she could slow down for a landing, resulting in a dusty crash. The dust cloud held in the air for a moment, leading to a few members of the crowd standing up, wondering what had happened to the Eastern President. As the dust finally settled, Bryn came into view, her hand shaking as she struggled to bring the pistol to bear on Sarena.

Sarena quickly laid herself prone, her weapon aimed through the grass at Bryn, giving her a very small target to hit... as much as some of the other students from the South dorms liked to joke about her having a big head. She hesitated to fire, mostly for fear of overkill. She made a question of it, to Bryn. "I still have thirty-five shots, you know... How many do you need?"

Bryn laughed, then replied, "Depends where you hit me. I'm not yielding though, so go ahead," she said, before firing a bolt at Sarena, over the Nepleslian's larger than average head.

Sarena quickly swept fire across Bryn's position in response, from her toes to her head. Two shots landed, two went high, one fell short and hit the turf. She readied her aim for another shot.

"Come on," the Neko said, trying to wipe the dust out of her eyes as she fired erratically. "Try already!"

Sarena took a deep breath and held it, then did the same with a pull of her trigger. She'd taken aim at the Neko's head... just like she'd been trained to do.

The Nepleslian's aim was true, hitting her target right between the eyes. Bryn's body went limp immediately, releasing her grip on the pistol, sending it into the grass.

"Yame! The match is finished!" Rei announced. "Sakura Sarena is the winner!"

The crowd was nearly silent, before Nenna whistled and started clapping. "Good job, Sarena," she said, running over to her and helping the Nepleslian to her feet. "How's your leg?" she asked, as the crowd dissolved into polite clapping and incredulous mutterings.

Sarena was too busy starting to panic to answer the question, having just remembered where she was, and what she was doing after ending the fight. "Oh no, I won..."

The teacher sighed, helping the victor to the bleachers as a couple of other teachers checked on Bryn, before deciding that she was just taking a well-deserved nap. "If you're worried about Zoia, then don't. I'll deal with her. Besides," she said, looking at Sarena, "Looks like you need a vacation."

"I need a bed that doesn't have Zoia in it," Sarena muttered, mostly to herself. Maybe she meant 'bedroom'. Maybe she meant what she said. It was hard for even her to be sure. "Do you know how the third round works?" The anxiety in her tone suggested this was probably related to Zoia, as well. As for her leg, it seemed to be asleep for the moment.

"I think its a three-way fight," Nenna said, setting the student on a bleacher before sitting down next to her. "You, Zoia, and whoever wins the next fight gets to duke it out." Looking over at Sarena, she said, "You should have time to get some sleep though. I think there's a spare room you can get to."

"...Alright. It's a long walk from here. I should get my things." Sarena stood up, and immediately crashed back onto the field. She stood up again, hopped once on her other foot, then sat back down. "...in a minute. I might as well watch the last fight, first, I should be able to walk by then."

"Might as well," the teacher agreed, turning to look at the field.
 
ZHS Sports Field, Round 2

Though not exactly 72 hours later, Kunio had found his way outside the medical bay. He looked slightly downtrodden but was dressed up slightly in a clean uniform, Katana and all, but something seemed slightly uneasy with his steps which made him look barely off kilter. He found himself a seat about halfway up the stands and relaxed on the seat behind him to watch the fights. He eyed up the fighters down at the entrance as caught a glimpse of Sarena and someone else and decided to walk down to the field edge and watch the next fight, ending up on her right a few meters away.
 
ZHS Sports Field Practice Area, Round 3

William sat quietly, as far away he could from everyone. He ended up sitting at the very top corner of the bleachers. He didn't even watch the other matches. His mind was elsewhere. After learning that he was supposed to fight Sakaki, he was trying to steel himself for the match, but he couldn't. He didn't want to fight Sakaki. He couldn't explain it, but he just didn't. His thoughts were interrupted as he felt a glare coming from... "Your turn reject! I hope Sakaki wipes the floor with you!" His former opponent called from her spot near him. William merely shot her a glance as if to say, "I will beat you to a bloody pulp in a second." and began walking down to the prep area.

Sakaki was led down there, as well. The morning could be, in a sense, called a nervous morning. She had done everything she normally did from brushing her teeth, to putting on clothes, but every single moment of those activities had been instilled with a sense of fear. She walked down, still very much unable to associate this fight with good things. She had fought before. Tons of times. And for audiences. But never ones this huge, this formidable, with opponents she didn't believe she could win against.

When she got to the edge of the practice area, she put a hand up and brought her hair behind her head in one swift motion as she leaned over and excreted her stomach lining onto the field.

She had barfed, missing her feet but hitting the grass quite apparently. It was disgusting to behold and a great many of the onlookers gasped, two fainted, one had a cardiac arrest and had to be taken out of the stands and to the hospital. It was something unheard of and astounding to those watching.

She lifted her body and head and looked with wide, crying eyes to Rei, who was stepping close to her, a hand up towards Sakaki's elbow to hold the NH-33 as she looked ready to fall.

"Daijōbu?" Rei asked. "Are you okay?"

"I-I-I..." Sakaki stuttered as Rei's hand touched her elbow and steadied her. She looked towards William as he approached, not knowing what to say.

William had seen what had happened to Sakaki, and his he felt great concern for her. He quickly ran to the school nurse and grabbed some anti-nausea medicine and cold water. He then quickly made his way over to Sakaki, giving her a soft friendly smile. He approached and undid one of the cloths on his kendo swords, much like he did the first time they met, and wiped the excess bile from her face. After finishing, he dropped the rag and undid the other and wetted it with the cool water. He then softly placed the cloth around her neck. "Here Sakaki-Sama. Take this; it will help with your stomach." He gave her the medicine and the rest of the water, and took her other arm. "Sensei-Sama, let's move her back away from the stands a bit." He suggested to his mother, as he held the smaller neko steady.

"N-no," Sakaki murmured. "I can do it." Then, more emphatically, said, "I can!"

William smiled. “Know you can, I was merely suggesting a little more time to recover. Take the medicine. It will help I promise."

"I don't want it to, uh-" Sakaki felt more nausea coming over her and bit back the feeling. "I don't want it to affect my fighting."

William shook his head. "Sakaki-Sama, you can read the side effects, it will do no such thing." He said softly to her, looking at his mother for some support on the matter. "I want you to be at your best." He said softly to Sakaki.

Rei said, "Eeto... get to it." Motioning to the practice area, she nodded and smiled half-heartedly.

"Let’s have a good fight, Wil-kun!" Sakaki said, feigning confidence as she walked to the center of the arena.

William half smiled. "Good luck to you Sakaki-Chan." He said as he dropped the pills to the ground and smashed them. He looked to Rei and whispered. "They were merely sugar pills... The mind can do marvelous things when it believes in something." He said as he threw the cloths in the garbage and walked out to the center of the field.

"Huhhuhu," Rei muttered to herself after hearing Wil's aside to her.

When both contestants had entered the ring, they looked at one another, thinking of the match that was to be. Sakaki thought on her nerves and how to stifle them. She wanted to be the best fighter she could be, but something was stopping her today. Somehow, her mind wanted to be here while her body did not. She wanted to understand herself more, but couldn't look into this oddity of the mind and body besides on a shallow, inconclusive level.

Rei shouted, "Otagai ni rei! Bow to one another!"

William cleared his mind and walked forward and bowed deeply to Sakaki. "You will do great Sakaki-Chan. I know you will." He said softly so that only the two could hear it.

Sakaki was far from feeling up to the fight, but bowed regardless.

As with the other fight, Rei said as she raised an arm, "I will drop my hand on the count of 'san', at which time the match will commence."

William smiled at Sakaki one last time before stepping away to his side of the ring and drew his kendo swords, dropping into a low defensive stance.

Sakaki had gotten a few training swords and was ready in a stance of her own. She was far from ready, but looked to Rei as the sensei counted.

"Ichi!...Ni!... SAN!" Rei dropped her hand and the match had begun.

William began to slowly circle Sakaki, waiting for her to make the first move. His swords were both up and the tall Nepleslian was in a low deep stance. He didn't want to fight Sakaki, but he had no choice. He cleared his mind and emptied his thoughts. He could deal with the aftermath after the match.

Sakaki bit back her feelings of bewilderment and confusion at the current situation, wondering why it was she was having such a hard time in front of so many people. She wanted to know what to do and how to make her inner feelings about the match better, but the more she focused on it, the more she found herself struggling to even keep herself on her feet. She circled around Wil then, like a flame on a match recently struck, her instincts kicked in and she flung herself forward, towards William.

William waited for Sakaki to make a move. His face resting in its neutral blank expression. However, when Sakaki charged him, William allowed the corner of his mouth to turn up in the hint of a smile. "That a girl..." He thought as she snapped out of her funk. His swords both came up, preparing for Sakaki to launch her attack. His off hand held its sword while his other held his sword in a ready position, to react to Sakaki. She brought one sword towards his sternum while bringing the other down towards his leg, striking fast and hoping to make impact on him. His sword that was up, was out of position and he tried to bring it back quickly. He partially succeeded... He deflected the sword that was coming for his chest, but instead it struck his arm. The other sword aiming for his leg was deflected by the sword that he had waiting. As he felt the strike to his arm he flipped over Sakaki and lashed out with his swords like a tornado, aiming to strike at her back. Moving without ease, but impetus, instead, Sakaki pushed out of the way of William and spun around to again be facing him. She charged at William, again, this time, raising one sword while the other defended her torso. She brought her other blade down, towards his skull.

William landed and spun to see Sakaki charging. He began running at her to meet her charge, both sword moving to match hers, however as he sword came down to strike at his head, he turned his charge into a slide. He swung his swords up to defend himself as he kicked out his leg to catch her mid sprint. Her legs made impact with his, but she immediately manipulated gravity and was in the air, floating to William's right-hand side. She lashed her blade out, towards his shoulder. His swords were already up and stopped her swords as he slid past. He twisted and jumped up spinning back around to find Sakaki floating in the air. His swords flashed and he waited for her to again make a move. She jabbed one of her swords towards him, ready to pull back if he retaliated, but for the time being was intent on getting the tip of her blade to hit his body.

William allowed Sakaki's sword to get in close. As the sword came for him, he deflected it and striked out, aiming for the side of her head. Seeing he was going for her, she dodged out of the way, flying, now, to his left side and she pushed the tip of her blade towards his shoulder, quick and with lightning speed. His body ducked the incoming strike and leapt out again with a strike of his own, bringing both blades out to strike at her midsection. She pulled herself back and away from the strike, threw down one sword, then lunged forward again, grabbed one of his wooden swords in her hand, and pulled on it to bring him close to her. She brought the blunt end of her other training sword around and went to jam it into his stomach. William however had another idea. As a Nepleslian, his body posed a considerable amount of strength. He instead swung the sword she was holding onto, as if to throw her over his head and out of the ring. The Neko simply let go of the sword and hopped to the ground, manipulating gravity to ease the descent. She pushed her lone sword towards William, then faltered, feeling a violent outburst of stomach upset coming back over her.

She put a hand up towards William for him to stay back and a long stream of bile let loose on the arena.

"Yame!" Rei called as she rushed towards Sakaki. "Stop, stop! The fight is over!" She put a hand on the young Neko's back and patted it concernedly.

William grimaced in concern and sheathed his swords, moving to Sakaki's side. "Let's go Sakaki-Chan." he said softly as he took one of her arms, leading her to the nurse’s station, away from prying eyes.
 
ZHS Outside Arena: Round 2

Kunio watched the whole fight, from gut wrenching beginning to the end. He bit his lip with concern and decided to help. He took large steps to end up behind William then hovered his was at speed to end up at his right, "What happened?" His face was covered in general concern but he looked better from his evisceration a few days before, evident due to his healing factor. He let his legs pick back up his walking and he began to look in between Sakaki and William. He jogged over to the nurses station and asked to help. He received a blanket and anti-nausea pills and sat down on his knee with a concerned face, holding out the blanket and a few pills. Some of the rugby team arrived next to Kunio to ask him something but looked sightly less concerned than him.
 
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ZHS Sports Field: Kumite Mode
End of Round 2

With the three finalists determined, the field was closed for the day and the spectators sent home. Students could hear the outsiders chattering about the show, some of them a bit surprised by the gore and other fluids they'd seen, although most seemed eager to return the next day. Tavigo and the other staff members had an afternoon of work ahead of them, to clean up the field and stands to prepare for the next day's final round. The Principal headed off to check on all of the competitors that needed a stay in the Nurse's Office, determined to ensure they were all rested and recovered before the festivities continued tomorrow.


Final Round

While the previous day's crowd had been impressive, the stands were packed today. With the final match scheduled for noon again, many students, local workers and even some Star Army soldiers all had time to attend during lunch breaks. More vendors were set up outside of school grounds this time, while member's of L'kulra's family had been allowed to set up a temporary BEST KEBABS stand near the sports field. The group of Iromakuanhe were definitely drawing a crowd themselves.

Yesterday's competitors were given seats together in the front row near the Principal and Vice Principal, to observe their opponents from a different angle. The three finalists had been separated and observed carefully for an hour or so before the competition, before meeting briefly in the staging area (the locker room that was attached to the nearby pool) to go over the rules and inspect the weapons and other equipment along with Rei and other teachers. The same rules from the day before were still in place, with Zoia appropriately singled out to avoid causing the same sort of unnecessary injury to William, who was at more of a risk than either of the others.

The trio was led to the field by the Samurai, greeted by whoops and cheers from the crowd. A few students and other Neko could be seen floating about in the air to the sides of the field, attempting to get a better view of the action. The three would be led to the center of the marked area, which was slightly larger this time, and separated a fair distance before Rei began the fight. There were no rules in place to encourage or discourage teaming up or exploiting a distracted or engaged fighter, as that was part of what the teachers were observing. Fights were not always fair, or simple, after all.
 
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