Yashiro got back to the Arena just in time. Aibuto and Tanori were facing off against each other.
Tanori stood shirtless with his fists up, his hair tied back in a messy man bun and Aibuto stood with his fists in front of him aswell, with no shoes on.
"Ready?" Izume asked, the room falling completely silent.
"Begin."
Both boys made their first moves simultaneously, Tanori stepped forward, activating one of the runes on his chest, as he did so.
Aibuto activated his ability using his toes. Causing his the skin to mimic to soft concrete ground he was standing on.
Tanori was faster than Aibuto anticipated, and was struck in the face before he could react to anything. However, Tanori winced as his fist connected. He stepped back and smiled, narrowly dodging a follow up attack from his opponent while thinking, [he's much faster at mimicking now. The speed rune won't work on him].
Subsequently, he deactivated his rune.
Tanori took two steps back, then activated 2 different runes.
[since when could he activate two?] Aibuto thought to himself, uncertainty slowly creeping in.
Regardless, he charged forward, brushing the thoughts from his mind.
He threw a series of jabs at his opponent who dodged the first two before putting his arms up to block the rest.
Aibuto was relentless, throwing the jabs at regular intervals but preventing Tanori from doing anything but blocking.
He thought, [there's only so much more of this he can take. My skin is hardened. If he keeps blocking it won't end well for him. He will have to counter or lose]
After a few seconds,Tanori seemed familiar with the intervals began dodging again before swiftly stepping back and throwing a well timed punch that would interrupt his opponent.
However, immediately he pulled back to throw the counter punch, Aibuto leaned forward, transitioning into a low grappling stance. He quickly closed the distance between himself and Tanori, then extended his arms, interlocking them in a vice like grip behind his opponents waist. Then drove his shoulder into Tanori's midsection, to knock him off balance.
Using the momentum of the punch as fuel, he twisted his body, easily lifting Tanori of the ground and slamming him hard into the ground, causing a crack at the point of impact.
With his opponent now pinned, Aibuto quickly transitioned into a different hold, with one hand pinning his opponent's head to the ground and with his other hand, pulling Tanori's arm behind him in a way that put immense pressure on the shoulder socket.
"It's pretty easy to snap your arm from this position Tanori" Aibuto said, confidently. "Give up"
It was quiet for a few seconds. Aibuto pulled and bent the arm further.
"Tanori, please, I don't want to break your arm. Concede"
Though his opponent couldn't see, Tanori smiled in response.
Aibuto noticed a golden light on Tanori's back but it was already too late.
There was a large and sudden explosion, lifting and sending Aibuto flying away from the Arena.
He tensed all his muscles, anticipating impact with one of the walls. He was surprised to feel himself slowing down.
Dota had erected a wall of air in front of his classmate. Slowing him down, and eventually suspending him in mid air.
Aibuto laughed as Dota slowly brought him to the ground. Meanwhile, in the ring, Tanori stood up slowly. His hair untied, falling to the side and partially covering his face. He ran one hand through his hair, lifting and pulling it back, revealing a grin as he deactivated his runes.
"Aibuto is out of the ring. Tanori wins" Izume said, "Aibuto are you okay?" She asked
He gave an enthusiastic thumbs up with a smile on his face while Tanori walked off the arena.
"Good fight" Tanori said, walking up to Aibuto with his hand extended.
Aibuto shook it, saying in agreement, "Yeah, great fight, and very quick thinking from you. What runes were those?"
Tanori smiled at the chance to explain exactly what he did.
"The first rune give me a way to deal with your physical attacks. A damage absorber of sorts, and the second converted a percentage of the damage I received into a single explosion."
Aibuto laughed, "that's brilliant" .
Just then, Izume announced the next combatants.
"Okay, Sando and Rando, it's your turn" she said, causing all the students to turn in excitement.
"This is gonna be a good one" Tanori said, to Aibuto "who do you think will win?"
"It's too hard to say"
Tanori nodded in agreement as they watched the boys enter the arena.
Sando had a wild smile on his face as usual.
[finally, I can go all out] he thought as he stared at his opponent who seemed very calm, but was also staring down Sando.
Rani walked up to Yashiro slowly. She was nervous because she wasn't sure how he was feeling, considering he had lost a fight not too long ago.
"Who do you think will win?" She asked, walking up to and standing beside him.
He smiled, "I think it'll be close but Rando will win. He's stronger"
"I think so too" She looked down at her feet, then back up at Yashiro. "Are you okay?"
He smiled reassuringly, "Other than my busted nose, I'm good. I've found the blueprint to get stronger all I need to do is work on it. I still can't believe I destroyed Minako's ice in that way, with a single punch" he looked at his fist as he said this, causing him to grin.
[He's found his resolve again. I'm glad] Shihata thought, before saying, "I'm proud of you Yashiro, you came out stronger"
Yashiro couldn't hide his smile, or the crimson shade of his cheeks as he sheepishly said, "Thank you, Rani"
She chuckled , "You're welcome"
In the arena, Sando and Rando had taken their stances. Sando was crouched in an unorthodox offensive stance while Rando adopted his usual boxing stance, his fists up, protecting his face but with a small gap in between his hands so he could see his opponent.
"Ready?…Begin" Izume Instructed.
Sando wasted no time, using a jet of flames from his feet, he propelled himself forward.
He sailed through the air like a bullet aimed at Rando.
In an instant, he had closed the gap between himself and his opponent. While midair, he swung his leg forward, while flames gathered at his foot, then drove it into Rando's midsection.
At the point of impact, the flames that had been gathering engulfed Rando in a fiery explosion.
While still midair, he then hurled a fireball into his opponent, after another explosion, Sando smiled.
However, he quickly released a jet of flames from his feet again causing him to move horizontally as a blackened fist pierced through the flames, and narrowly missed him.
Sando landed on his feet as the flames dissipated. He noticed Rando was in his steel form, completely unfazed.
Sando laughed, "I knew it wasn't going to be that easy. I hope for your sake you can handle what's coming"
Rando smiled, "Good luck"
Sando took a very deep breath. Slowly creating another fireball.
Rando went into his stance again, thinking [He obviously knows that doesn't work. What is he thinking?]
His eyes widened as the fireball began to turn blue, right before it was hurled at him.
Sandos thoughts were very simple, [More Intensity]
As the flames hit him, Rando's eyes widened. He coughed slightly as the fumes were caught in his throat.
[Fumes?] he thought to himself in surprise. He looked at his arms which had prevented the fireball from hitting him in the face. The were red and smoking, causing the smell of scorched iron to fill the air. [Unbelievable] he thought, before taking a step back as he saw Sando moving through the air again with a terrifyingly animalistic grin on his face.
Using controlled bursts of orange flames from his feet, he moved in a zig-zag pattern pattern through the air. A manoeuvre that made Dr Yahara smile.
When he was close enough to his opponent, he intensified the flames propelling him so that blue flames shot out of his feet instead of orange, which caused a considerable speed increase.
The resulting kick caused Rando to stagger backwards, his face partially engulfed in blue flames.
He grit his teeth as he put the flames out with his hand. He looked up to see Sando still smiling then for the first time that fight, went on the offensive.
He closed the distance between himself and his opponent very quickly, causing Sando to shift into a defensive stance.
Rando threw very fast jabs and punches. Continuously pushing forward.
Sando raised his hands but didn't cover his face because he understood blocking would be detrimental. Instead, he focused on minor head movements and hand swipes to deal with the fast and dangerous punches.
Though Rando gradually increased his speed, none of the punches were landing.
Rando decided to do something next that caused Yashiro to smirk from the crowd of spectators.
He swung his leg, hitting Sando in the side of the knee, causing the joint to buckle. He subsequently fell and immediately rolled backwards to avoid a grab attempt from his opponent.
However, Rando was relentless. By the time Sando stood up from the roll, he had already closed the distance again.
[ I can't put weight on my left leg] Sando thought, [I have to go up]
Pushing off his stronger foot, he leapt in the air, using a burst of flames to boost him further.
His eyes suddenly widened as he noticed Rando seemingly flying towards him.
[shit] He thought, instinctively raising his arms to block.
Rando grabbed his opponent by the arm and with all the strength he could muster While mid air, threw him forwards.
Sando positioned his hands and legs so that they were behind him then released a simultaneous blast of flames from both hands and legs, which caused him to stop just before exited the arena.
He immediately ascended, using flames beneath his feet to propel himself to a greater height
He raised his hand, an orange fireball emerged from his palm.
It began swirling and slowly increasing in size, turning blue as it did so. In a few seconds it was large enough to engulf half of the arena.
[oh, crap] Rando thought, realising he couldn't outrun it.
He slammed his fists together, making a metallic clang which rang out like two iron bars smashing together, leaving a lingering hum in the air.
His skin transformed to a darker grey colour, just like he had done the day The Guardian came to visit. This was the highest tensile strength his steel skin could currently reach.
The heat from Sando's flames were intense. They could be felt all around the room, distorting the air, and causing various eyes to water around the room.
Before things could progress further, Izume's voice rang through the speakers, carrying a tone of urgency.
"The match is over. It's a tie"
"Tsk!" Tutted an irritated Sando before unwillingly causing the flames he had built up to dissipate, descending as he did so.
Rando exhaled and deactivated his ability. He looked down at his arms and noticed they were red from where the blue flames had hit him. He smiled and went over to Sando to shake his hand.
"Really good fight" he said, with his hand extended
Sando shook his hand and smirked, before saying, "This isn't over. Next time, you'll melt"
"I guess we will see" Rando responded, with a bigger smile on his face.
Izume Insisted that Sando to go Dr Hirime to get his knee checked. He nodded in agreement, realising stubbornness would get him nowhere.
After Sando had departed and the conversations had died down, Izume announced the next students.
"Shihata and Sezato. In the Arena please"
This caused several "oo"'s from the students as they realised the potential of this match up.
[I had a feeling it was going to be him this should be interesting] she thought to herself, as she left her friends to go to the Arena.
Sezato watched intently as she slowly climbed the arena stairs. Her mind racing, thinking of a plan, while his remained still.
As they took their stances, Hirowa asked Yahara, "Precognition Vs Instinct. What do you think will be the determining factor?"
Yahara paused momentarily before replying. "I think speed and fatigue will play a big part in this battle. It should be a very interesting exchange"
"Agreed" Hirowa said, in agreement, turning his attention back to the arena.
"Begin" Izume commanded, but neither student moved.
The entire room watched in complete silence, in anticipation of the first move.
Sezato's voice broke through the silence as he said, "I have two questions for you."
Shihata remained silent and cautious. Her opponent continued.
"Is the future you see set in stone?"
Again, Shihata remained silent
"Secondly, can you avoid everything you see?"
Immediately he finished that sentence, he dashed towards her.
She got into a defensive stance, blocking her face with her arms.
[I have no choice] she said to herself.
Sezato's first attack was a low kick, which she dodged easily by stepping back.
He stepped forward and grabbed her wrist, then attempted the same low kick again. This time, completely sweeping her off her feet.
She rolled to her feet immediately but instead of pressing on, he took several steps back, noticing her eyes were glowing.
"I see everything you're planning Sezato. Instincts can only help you so much. You cannot win."
"Maybe,". He responded, keeping as calm as possible, "but I react faster than you think"
He realised that as she fell from the swipe, she tapped him with her free hand so that her powers would activate.
[impressive] he thought, while she charged at him.
He backed away again, then stopped abruptly, thinking, [ isn't this the future she saw? Of me backing up. Instead, I'll do this]
He aggressively charged directly at her so they were running at each other, his fist cutting through the air as it traveled to her face.
Shihata nonchalantly sidestepped this, and tapped on his knuckle as he reached the apex of his movement, to keep her ability activated.
Using the remaining momentum of his charge, Sezato spun and attempted another low sweeping kick. Shihata stepped back effortlessly, her movement precise but graceful.
He immediately got up and lunged again. This time, he came at her with a flurry of attacks, attempting to overwhelm her and force her into making a mistake. Jab, cross, hook, leg kick, elbow.
However, this was to no avail as Shihata, almost in a fluid dance, parried, twisted and ducked, never letting him land a hit.
His final attempt was another jab. As he threw this, Shihata stepped into his range, making her first move of the battle. She swatted the punch to the side, reactivating her ability, as she went for a low grab behind his knees.
His sixth sense rang through his entire body, to him it felt like there was a horn in his head informing him of the incoming attack.
He immediately jumped backwards, marginally avoiding her hands grabbing his legs.
As she got up, there was an inexplicable look on Shihata's face that suggested something had gone wrong, her eyes continuing to glow purple, she seemed to be scanning Sezato for his next moves.
He backed away slowly, realising just how dangerous his opponent really was.
He couldn't help but think, [I can't believe she nearly grabbed me, but what was that look on her face just now?]
Both students continued to watch one another intently. Uncertainty starting to fill the air. The arena remained silent as everyone watched in complete amazement.
They began to circle each other. Sezato noticed she was on the defensive again as her eyes had stopped glowing.
However, this time, she attacked first. She closed the distance between them in 2 steps, with the aim of not giving Sezato the space to evade as freely as he wanted.
She went low again, then changed her mind and went for his mid-section the moment he adjusted his body to avoid the grab.
His ability gave an indication of where her hand was going to land, so, he grabbed her wrist and twisted before it could land.
"Predictable" he said to her, looking down at her
"Am I?" She responded, and even though she was in pain, there was a slight smirk on her face.
He frowned as he realised she had a trick up her sleeve, but it was too late.
With him holding her in place, there was little to no gaps between the both of them. Her theory was that even though he could see it coming, there wouldn't be enough space for him to do anything about it.
So, with her free hand, she grabbed his shirt, pulled down and simultaneously jumped with all her might.
Sezato's ability told him his face was about to be hit so he leaned back but it was not enough as Shihata's forehead smashed into his nose.
There were noises of cheers from where the students were spectating from and a smile broke out on Izume's face as Sezato hit the floor, clutching his nose.
He realised with the opponent he was facing he could not afford to stay on the ground for long. So he fought through the pain and rolled backwards onto his feet.
His nose bleeding heavily. He focused his gaze on Shihata whose eyes once again were glowing purple.
[oh, give me a break] he thought to himself.
Meanwhile, as she looked at him with pure intense concentration, she thought to herself, [I see it. My chance at victory]
What she was referring to was the moment Sezato would leave himself open for her to take him down, and it came in 7 moves.
[7. That's all I need. I can do this] she said to herself calmly, before dashing at full speed towards her opponent.
Her strikes were fast and precise. She followed what she saw in her head as closely as possible, but his sixth sense even in his injured state allowed Sezato to avoid these strikes.
The sixth move came- a feint. His eyes saw her hand go up so he poised himself to avoid a punch, leaning in the process. Her true attack followed, a kick to the side of the knee.
His ability allowed him to shift his body to avoid it but now he was unbalanced, leaning backwards, almost falling, one arm awkwardly flailing.
The seventh move.
[there's nothing you can do] she thought, as she went for a high takedown. Reaching for his flailing arm and preparing herself to sweep his standing leg as soon as she grabbed his arm.
Sezato accepted his fate, she had bested him, in that instant he felt hopeless.
However, his sixth sense screamed louder than ever before. Time seemed to slow down, the horn in his head raged, seemingly giving commands to his body as it moved on it's own.
His body twisted unnaturally and he found himself rotating midair horizontally like a cheerleader who had just been thrown by their partner.
Shihata was helpless as his shin sweetly caught the side of her face.
The connection it made could be heard all around the arena.
She dropped, in complete shock, [How?] she asked herself as she lost consciousness while still falling. Izume already waving her hand, signifying the end of the fight and rushing to the Arena.
[How did it end up like this? This…this was not the future I saw]