Act: 61
Early in the morning, the sound of a car horn could be heard beeping from outside Shizu's home. Looking out his window, he saw a fancy black car parked out front. In the back sat Chul-Moo, dressed nicely, wearing black pants and a T-shirt with an expensive-looking watch. While staring, he noticed that Chul-Moo was signaling him to come on.
Once Shizu made it downstairs and greeted him, he got into the car, and they spoke to each other for a while. Shizu then called Ito Sensei, telling her she better arrive at the tournament and watch them fight, given that she didn't have a class to teach that day.
- - - -
[ The tournament ]
When the two of them arrived, they stepped out of the car and admired the enormous building alongside the countless people walking around; they were excited as they entered inside. He could get past the line and bring Chul-Moo with him, thanks to Shizu. He also told the attendee that someone named Ito sensei and his grandpa would arrive at some point and must be vouched. Walking around, they spent a portion of their time admiring what they saw, even witnessing the people who were currently fighting before it was his turn. Meanwhile, they ran into Taku, Oto, Hano, and Chisaka.
"Look what we have here."
Hano said.
*Tsk*
Surprisingly, they all responded similarly: they were annoyed with having to run into Shizu first before the finals began. Taku rolled his eyes as he proceeded to say something but was surely cut off by Hano speaking up again.
"Shizu. You really shouldn't be here, I mean, for god's sake. Shizu! You're not a fighter; you can't keep up with us. Fucking using your hands without any power, what makes you think you can fight anyone higher than a fucking 1 star. Hah. I guess against a 2-star, you may have some odds. It's almost sad watching you want to become someone so bad. Look at yourself for once; it's pitiful to watch. I could only imagine the crowd's thoughts."
Han Chul-Moo glared Hano down. While slightly glancing at Shizu's hand, which he had been gripping tightly, holding back the urge to swing at him. And so he thought to himself.
'It wouldn't be fair if Big Brother is holding back and for me to ignore that and selfishly fight him for myself. I'm unsure if I'm making the right choice here, but hopefully, I am...'
"Chul-Moo, let's go. No point in staying here after all; how about we find your seat, and I will see you off from there."
The two walked away in the opposite direction from them as they finished exploring more of the place. When the timer hit, it was their turn to head over to the stage and get him seated. Going further, past the crowds and crowds of people leaving from watching a group before them fighting. Shizu spotted Aikawa out in the distance, who looked like she was being bothered to some degree. However, as he headed in her direction, two guys approached her. The first guy was mixed and much taller than the second, wearing black glasses, a white T-shirt, and tan cargo pants. He had a muscular build and was bald. The second guy was shorter by a few inches, with a caramel skin tone, brown eyes, short pearl white hair, and two bangs on the side of his head that reached the edge of his chin. He wore black baggy shorts, followed up with a dark green hoodie.
The man in the hoodie had a deep, young voice, speaking softly and calmly to her.
"So you're like one of us now? I can tell. What brings you here?"
Aikawa brushed him aside, ignoring what he was saying.
"Huh? Sure, I know you have no idea who we are and that we can be intimidating, but I was curious if you desired to join us."
"Hmph, your Japanese sucks. I want nothing to do with you, and I have no idea why I would join you. Go away."
"Ok. Ok. No problem, I will-"
A voice from their left.
"Excuse me. What do you want with her?"
The shorter guy leaned his head out of confusion, taking an in-depth glare at Shizu.
"Are you- No? It's not. Damn, you for having black and white hair; I swear you're one of the four people that I have seen here in this entire building with white hair, as for her. I want nothing from her. If anything, I just wanted to see if she would be willing to join our clan. That's all. Sorry to bother her."
The bald guy cleared his throat and spoke to him in English with a raspy and deep tone.
"We should leave for now? I don't think he's here. It's not worth our time. We can inform the boss later about us finding nothing in Japan."
"HUH?! But... there's so much more to see..."
"Fabura. We're leaving."
*sigh*
"Fine."
Fabura and the bald guy had stepped aside from those three, making their way to the exit.
"Well, Rulan, this was almost a waste of time overall. We found nothing and sat watching all those weak ass people fighting, a bunch of kid games. I could've taken them all at once. Hmm, that guy back there was most likely the closest to the guy we were looking for. Yet his star energy was god awfully weak, so no way it could've been him."
You know Fabura. This could be easy if you allowed us to get a photo by chance or possibly have someone else come to aid us. No. You were so confident, and look how far it has got us."
"Hey! It makes sense why I thought a guy with white hair and immense power would be easy to locate. I didn't think it was this rough. Come on, let's ditch this place."
As the two strange men walked off, Shizu spoke to her gently.
"Aikawa, you alright? Hano should be making his way here soon. Good luck with your fights."
"Huh? I could've easily handled myself- No."
She paused for a second, turning her head away, and sighed.
"Thanks, Shizu, for stepping in."
His eyebrow raised, shocked by what he heard. Something new: Aikawa is friendly to him for the first time.
"Uh-um, yeah, no problem. We'll see you at the stadium then, and like I said before, Hano and Chisaka should be heading this way. You can't miss them."
When Shizu and Chul-Moo left, they wandered around until they found out where they needed to be. Once more, the locker rooms were a waiting area for the current contesters alongside nurses with healing stars. Finally figuring out where they needed to be, Shizu fist-bumped Chul-Moo bye for now, and with his front-row seating, thanks to Shizu's help, he left, getting his seat in the stadium.
Upon sitting in his spot, Han Chul-Moo looked around because this location was much bigger than the schools for apparent reasons: screens everywhere, and it seemed like thousands of people, maybe even more, were watching. Not only was this being broadcast to the people here, but all of Japan, possibly overseas too. Astonished; the center field was much wider and had white tile flooring. With each second passing, he became much more anxious, ready for his big brother to shine and show his potential to the entire world.
Meanwhile, with Shizu in the locker rooms.
"This is it... It's my time to shine out there. I'm going to make sure that we win! And if anyone needs to put Hano in his place, it will be me."
The room itself is pretty spacious, with blue lockers and checkered flooring. Taku and the others weren't there yet, but he found that team Revenant had been sitting down on the benches, waiting for it all to begin. Each member began to stare at Shizu.
"In a few minutes, we'll have the first round begin. Are you excited, oh, you 2-star user? Honestly, you're dragging down your entire team. A shame that the first round is where you stop."
*Ha ha ha*
Shizu rolled his eyes, waiting for everyone to arrive. Dachi, Taku, and the entirety of the student council walked into the locker rooms. Ready to begin the final round of the tournament.
"Cut it out. Let's not say anything, yet you don't know what he can do."
Said one of the other members of team Revenant.