"With magift?" the bear said curiously.
"We can go crazy with magic during the game without breaking any rules." Leona pointed out with a smirk.
Ruggie gave a hushed chuckle, "Shishishi! Leona, you're such a bully. These guys don't look like they could handle more than one game."
"Mmggh mmgh mmgh!" Grim growled, "I'm not gonna just take that lyin' down!"
Deuce sighed in exasperation and shook his head, "Ugh. Doesn't feel like we can refuse and go home."
"Alright, let's do this." Ace agreed with a sneer, "Cater! Don't forget about the tryouts."
"Eeh~..." Cater sighed in exasperation and defeat, "Seriously? You're all hopeless~."
Cater grabbed a hold of Yuu and pulled him back, "Prefect, stand somewhere out of the way. Watch the other team and help us figure out their plays."
"Yeah!" Grim cheered hyped as they went onto a magic shift field, "I'll show you what I'm made of!"
Lotus shook her head with a sigh, "At least, it'll take a lot of the energy Grim keeps in him."
The field was very large like the one used for athletic class. there was a large spectator seat as well, but it's not like it's a place for her anyway.
"Better get your trash talking done now." The hyena snickered.
"Bring it on!" Leona sneered as his tail flicked behind him, "It's no fun if you don't have a backbone. Then, come at us however you like, herbivores."
"Hmph!" Grim sneered, "We'll show you!"
With that, he magically manipulated a disk and swung it over to Ace who caught it easily. Cater and Yuu remained in the back since Cater would do better than taking the front with impulsive freshmen and Yuu can't use magic. Lotus, however, found it too fun not to take part in it and stood further to the rear. She didn't do much though aside from watching the situation next to Yuu.
She watched the run back and forth on the field tossing the disk back and forth as the Savanaclaw students kept stealing the disk from them or bump into them.
"Okay!" Grim called out with a smirk, "Let's keep bringing the heat!"
Ace grumbled, "Those Savanaclaw guys keep smirking... I've got a bad feeling..."
"Your intuition is spot on, Ace." Cater responded with a wry smile.
"They're better than we thought, Leona." Ruggie whispered to Leona.
"Ah..." Leona sneered, "'Thought' is the key word."
Despite this, his eyes shifted to Lotus and Yuu who did not falter in the least. Deuce took the rear and Ace the center as he shot the disk to him midst run. Deuce raised his pen to catch it, but it was snatched away by one of the students with the cheetah ears who flung it to the goal. The next game was Leona's team's turn as he picked up the disk with his magic.
"Grr..." Deuce scowled, "If they hadn't stolen the disk we could've scored a goal!"
"You still don't see we're toying with you?" Leona smirked as he watched their frustration play on their faces and raised the disk before jumping into the air, "Take this!"
He swung his pen tossing the disk straight to the goal from the center of the field. It hit through the goal with a shower of light shocking Lotus's team.
"What the hell was that long shot!" Ace shouted in bewilderment, 'That's a super play!"
"Let's go again." Leona sneered, "Hehehe..."
He glanced over to Lotus who continued to stand there firmly with a smirk. Interestingly enough, this guy was the only one that hasn't broken a sweat or even instructed any of them. What bad sportsmanship...
To Lotus, the game was rather simple, but the problem was that it was a little boring to her taste. She would prefer a competition of martial arts and hunting compared to this.
Feeling eyes on her, it was then that Lotus made eye contact with him with a look of confusion on her face which made her return the look as well as he raised a brow. Lotus nodded her head quietly as she turned to Grim, "Are you feeling tired yet?"
"Wh-What are you trying to say?!" Grim scowled at her, "There's no way I'm going to lose!"
Lotus shook her head with a sigh and turned to Leona, "I apologize for the trouble, but I guess we'll have to trouble the sempais a little longer."
Leona frowned in confusion when he heard this, but he didn't like her attitude in the least and scowled at her. He wasn't the only one.
Cater looked to her in confusion as well and bewilderment. This guy!
He wasn't even breaking a sweat!
By the end of the first game, they completely lost an utter defeat.
Half way in the second round, Lotus followed after Yuu as the students began to close in on them. Lotus raised a brow and turned to Leona to find him watching with a smirk. Lotus could feel the eyes on her and a wide smirk rose on her face.
Want to see what I can do?
She reached out and grabbed Yuu's arm as she swiftly weaved through the two incoming fox and cheetah surprising the two before suddenly appearing behind Cater giving the poor guy a scare when he found an unsteady Yuu behind him. Lotus took this chance of surprise to turn on her ability and lept up to the roof of the stadium before leaving the group behind with Xiao Li hiding in Yuu's pocket.
Silently and sleek, she then lept towards the boulder she had been under before looking around and found Jack about to make his way back from the tracks. Lotus smiled when she saw him before muttering quietly to herself, "Apologies, Jack. But, I'll need your help."
With herself hidden, she noiselessly landed softly on the rock next to the entrance and ate a pill as she could feel her windpipe constrict slightly and shift. Finally, just as Jack was about to enter the dorm, she called out in a small squeaky voice, "Are you Jack?"
The wolf ears perked up as Jack spun around with hair standing on end with a look of confusion. When he saw nothing, Lotus continued, "Then, I guess you are Jack. I have a question for you."
Baring his teeth, the wolf raised a brow and folded his hands with a scowl, "Who are you?"
"I'm Peony." Lotus responded, "It'd cause too much attention if a girl suddenly appeared here, so I won't show myself."
Jack frowned and continued to look about nervously. Lotus found that this was rather interesting and continued, "I'll also need your help."
Jack raised a brow in confusion as she continued, "What do you think about the Dorm Leader?"
The wolf guy glared into the empty space to which prompted lotus to continue, "Not his leadership, but his skills in Magic Shift. There's a tournament coming up, right? I saw that his planning in the game is pretty flawless and he has the ability to make it to the top."
"Ah." Jack responded hesitantly in suspicions, "He's one of the reason why I came to this dorm..."
"Admiration." Lotus nodded upon understanding, "But, why is he acting like this?"
Jack's ears perked up when he heard her words, "What do you mean?"
Lotus frowned with a look of concern, "Ruggie, the injured, and the excuse of a game to beat up trespassers."
"What?!" Jack's eyes widen in bewilderment.
It wasn't hard for Lotus to figure things out after she heard the situation with the Savanaclaw. The dorm had always been the number one till Malleus appeared and claimed the spot. It must've been the guy that messed with Leona's pride, which led him to use Ruggie to use an ability on the students. Since Riddle and the other injured didn't get to feel the magic attack, it could've been a unique magic. The one that was used to force Grim to swap out his deluxe sandwich that day.
"Leona is fast in strategizing and has amazing ability in Magic Shift." Lotus agreed firmly, "With his skills, he could be the top of many games, but why would he use a magic shift game as an excuse to actually beat up other students trespassing."
Lotus frowned and continued, "I won't tell you what he's doing from my perspective anymore. If you go to the stadium and observe, you'll see what I mean. Hopefully, you can talk some sense back to him before things get out of hand. I'm telling you this because one of my friends is also amongst the students getting beaten. They told me to come find you. They said it's the same as violence at this point."
Jack's eyes widen as he hesitated before hurrying to the stadium. Lotus saw this and nodded, "As I thought, it was the right choice to come find him."
'But, can he get some sense back into that rude guy?' Ying Hui pouted from the ring, 'He was a scheming cat!'
Lotus frowned, "No matter what he is born as, as long as he has the brains and the will, he will still use it to his advantage. Also..."
Lotus hesitated before she began to make her way back to the stadium, "In a world of survival of the fittest, when has one never used their brains in the battle? What matters the most is how and for what you plan to use it. I'm afraid, Leona-sempai has mixed up his reasoning a little. A shame too, since he does have the ability to be the best in the game..."
As the wind blew, she could feel a slight chill in her while she scowled and clutched her chest then moved on downing bottle of gold liquid which cured the effect of the previous one. A throat constraining pill and an elixir. All of which she had made a few weeks ago in her ring.
.....
As she walked back into the stadium, she could hear Yuu's voice call out, "This is the same as violence!"
She looked up in bewilderment when she heard the exact words she had used to tell Jack with. Yuu and the others were covered in sweat and grim as Lotus approached them. Yuu was helping Ace up as Lotus reached out to pick up a weary and dizzy Grim who was a little teary at the moment having beaten up badly in the game.
"What're y'all doing." Jack snarled as he stepped into the field.
"Huh? We're just messing around with some trespassers." Leona explained bluntly.
"What's fun about kicking newbies around?" Jack folded his arms without retreating.
"What's this?" Ruggie snickered, "Jack, you're so cool. Like a hearo of justice. Shishishi!"
Jack wasn't happy in the least as he stood between the two groups, "I can't just stand by while something heinous is happening in front of me."
Leona clicked his tongue with an annoyed look, "You're a buzzkill."
"Hey, Jack!" the cheetah called out with a scowl, "You're sure cheeky for a first year!"
Jack shook his head and folded his arms with a scowl, "I could say the same for you. You're not doing something befitting an upperclassman."
"Come again?!" The bear called out with a scowl as he got into position, "You wanna join them?"
"Ha." Leona huffed in annoyance, "Fresh-baby, being assertive is splendid."
He sighed and continued, "Whatever, I'm bored. There's no point in going up against you guys."
He called out to Ruggie as he turned to walk away, "Let's go, Ruggie."
"Yes~!" Ruggie smiled and followed after Leona behind.
Lotus unveiled herself and went over to help Deuce up. The fox glared at them as he scowled, "We won't let you off so easy next time you trespass on our turf!"
"Ah!" The bear reached over with an elbow to Ace when Lotus narrowed her eyes and shot a killing intent towards the guy forcing him to crumble on the spot.
"Wah!"
While doing so, he accidentally toppled over the fox in front of him.
"Gah!" The fox pushed the bear ear guy away, "What in the world?!"
Seeing Leona turn around in confusion, Lotus already feigned a look of confusion as she picked up a white marble she had intentionally dropped next to the scene, "You tripped... over a marble?"
"Damn it!" The bear scowled, "Shut up!"
He then hurried away slightly flushed in embarrassment and anger as Leona let them pass with a sigh of exasperation. His eyes, however, rested on Lotus quietly as she purposely ignored him to tend to the others on her team.
"Leona..." Ruggie called out, "Are we leaving?"
He frowned before walking away without another glance, "Ah."