"Looks like there's only a few of us here."
Bowie stated while looking at the few other Commanders who made the trip to spectate the Soldiers' tests. The General was confident in his skills, it was showing in his face. He wasn't cocky about it. The blond just knows the extent of his strength. Under a classic military camo attire, a skin marked by countless hostile encounters was enveloping a resilient, proud and strong structure. Only possessing a bowie knife, the man looks like a normal soldier.
"Ha Ha Ha! It's not like we were expecting those lively youngsters to come anyway!"
Slash spoke loudly in a joking tone.
I'm honestly not complaining. Those loud idiots really annoy me.
Whiff ranted to himself, hidden in his thick black jacket, his lower face buried behind the collar. Under the hood were sleeping two honest and dark sober eyes. The introvert's mid-long black hair was covering part of his facial traits, giving him a second trustworthy protection from social contact. The Commander's anti-people outfit was also a way to keep his strong odor from emanating into the air.
"Hmm so, this test is almost over, has anything caught your attention yet?"
The General asked his fellow Commanders.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 2: Strength
Test 1: Pulling Test
#101: 2 - Rating: E
#9: 3 - Rating: E+
#3: 1 - Rating: E-
#47: 1 - Rating: E-
#89: 0 - Rating: F
#67: 0 - Rating: F
#48: 0 - Rating: F
#26: 1 - Rating: E-
#13: 0 - Rating: F
#98: 1 - Rating: E-
#51: 2 - Rating: E
#43: 3 - Rating: D+
#84: 3 - Rating: E+
#16: 1 - Rating: E-
#21: 0 - Rating: F
#2: DSQ - Rating: F
#91: 2 - Rating: E
#35: 5 - Rating: D
#42: 1 - Rating: E-
#31: 1 - Rating: E-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hmm.. Other than that guy who obliterated the device and got disqualified, nothing is interesting to see. Those tests are meaningless for a Commander like me. I'll just wait and see when they'll unlock their abilities."
Whiff calmly spoke in a monotonous voice.
"You barely ever speak, but when you do, it sure is interesting. I guess you're right. For you and me, there is no interest for now."
The General agreed.
"Ha Ha Ha! Don't be so lame you guys! You wouldn't be there if it wasn't at least entertaining to watch! Plus, it seems the show is about to begin!"
The lousy warrior said in an uplifting tone.
"What do you mean by that, Slash?"
Bowie asked, intrigued.
"Ha Ha Ha! Well, just watch.."
Slash spoke with flaming eyes and an excited smirk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#56
Tsk! This cheap booze sucks. It tastes like actual alcohol. Disgusting. Can't wait to do some work and get myself the good stuff. The stuff that tastes like nostalgia. Can't wait to get my hands on it again. Even though the bottle I got here tastes like shit, I need to take another sip. .... Are you fucking kidding me?! Empty? Tsk-! Imma need to do the test with my mouth dry. Now, that pisses me off. What did that dude say again? Just pull the handle as hard as you can? What kind of crappy test is that anyway? Hmm, let's see here. So I grab this. Now I just need to pull it. Tsk-! The other soldiers are staring at me, I feel their eyes on me. Just you watch, weaklings. Imma ace that test. And every other test. I'll become stronger than everyone here. Just wait for it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every pair of eyes were set on him. The mutilated drinker was standing in front of the device. Its functioning is quite direct. The handle is fixed to a section of the wall. This section is in fact movable. The result of the test is based on how much one is able to pull it out. This huge sliding section is scaled from one at its beginning to 20 at its end. The furthest one pulls it out, the bigger the number, hence, the greater the score marked by the examinee.
Every single Soldier, even the three Commanders and Doc himself was attracted to the single-armed youngster; as if they could tell something was about to happen. The area is completely silent. This soundless peace was broken by a scream filled with rage and determination. A scream coming from a young boy filled with anger and resolve.
A torrent of wind suddenly appeared in this indoor Coliseum. At the eye of the storm was this young man, now covered in a thick emerald aura, made up by the pupils of the public's eyes. This shroud had no solid form. It was rash and untamed. Unpolished. But it was frightening. At the top, Bowie and Whiff were shocked. While Slash was laughing. The armored warrior had once felt this young man's aura. Back then, he could sense something dormant within this childish drunken body. Something overwhelming.
The examinee finally made his move. He firmly gripped the handle with his only hand. He ferociously placed his left foot flat on the wall and started pulling. Shouting at the top of his lungs, releasing the air pressure was only natural while exercising so much force. The section started to slowly come out the wall, under a deep sliding noise resonating. In no time, he had already beaten the record of the day, by passing the fifth mark. The more he pulled, the louder he yelled. And the more chaotic his aura was. His foot on the wall then started sinking in, cracking the wall.
After a while, his voice and aura suddenly disappeared. His hand let go of the handle. The whirlwind stopped. The Coliseum had sunk in silence once again. The young man slowly turned around. Look up at the seats high up. He was the only one who knew about the presence of the head scientist. He saw him earlier. And now he's staring at him.
The young man rapidly lifted his arm and pointed at the old man. Doc could see the small figure targeting him. Everyone looked at where the drunkard was pointing. The young man only wanted one thing with this action. He wanted the old man to remember the promise he made. That he'll be the one killing him. The old man had a serious face. An angry one even.
You little brat. You know nothing, and yet you think you can kill me? You truly understand nothing, child. I'm invincible. And don't you dare forget. I made you a promise too. I'll make you pay. Just you wait.
In another spot from the Coliseum spectating area, two Commanders were dumbfounded; one was beaming.
"Who is that kid? How did you know about him, Slash?"
The top Commander baffled to the laughing red armor.
"Ha Ha Ha! I don't know much about him either. I met that energetic fellow at the bar, with his friends and that brilliant and promising young woman."
The warrior firmly grabbed the handle of one of his many swords, tightening his grip on it. A starving look in his eyes, a greedy smirk on his face.
"I felt it back then. Truly spooky. His Energy Thingy Funny Bubble Emotion Cloud Stuff is such a waste. So much unused talent and power. Well, it'll be so much fun for anyone who'll train him. Teaching a mindless beast to become a deadly weapon is truly the best Ha Ha Ha!!"
#56: 16 Rating: B
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ok ok kids, settle down. I already got my fill of it and we're not even done so please just shut up and listen. The next test is as simple as it gets. Everyone loves that one. You just punch the thing. Fun and easy right? Yay so fun. Now just make a fucking line and take turns cranking a punch, or well, whatever hit you want to land. It just needs to be as strong as you can. Got it? Good, now just, I don't know, go on or whatever, proceed!"
The three Commanders were now anticipating a test for the first time in the day. Witnessing what the one-arm boy could do on the previous one, they are now looking forward to what that same boy can do to a punching machine. The anticipation was even greater for the Shogun.
"Ha Ha Ha! Show me what you can do young boy! Show me you can back up that lousy and arrogant mouth of yours."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pulling Test Overall Ranking
#56: 16 - Rating: B
#35: 5 - Rating: D
#9: 3 - Rating: E+
#43: 3 - Rating: E+
#84: 3 - Rating: E+
#91: 2 - Rating: E
#101: 2 - Rating: E
#51: 2 - Rating: E
#98: 1 - Rating: E-
#3: 1 - Rating: E-
#16: 1 - Rating: E-
#42: 1 - Rating: E-
#47: 1 - Rating: E-
#31: 1 - Rating: E-
#26: 1 - Rating: E-
#89: 0 - Rating: F
#67: 0 - Rating: F
#48: 0 - Rating: F
#13: 0 - Rating: F
#21: 0 - Rating: F
#2: DSQ - Rating: F
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 2: Strength
Test 2: Punching Machine
This is killing me. Am I doing well in these tests? I have no idea. I'm spending the day testing my abilities without knowing the results. Am I weak? From the run, it looks like I am. But, I can't be weak in every field, right? I must be good at something... right? … Why does it even matter? I'm gonna die anyway. … Why can't I just believe in that? My whole mind is a mess. I woke up with no memory. With no emotions. I keep changing my mind. Why can't my mind just set up on something already?
Why can't I? Is it because I don't know what the real me would have wanted? Is it because I don't know what I would have chosen to do if I had my memory and my feelings? Even so, it doesn't matter. I can't go back to him. To that other me. I just need to become what I want. That might be the only good thing about my cursed rebirth. I get to restart fresh and decide to be whatever I want to be.
So what is it, me? You don't give a fuck about anything and you get yourself killed? Might be good. If I'm already cursed to only witness hell, I might just as well die with the least amount of horror seen. I could choose that option. The other option is more bothersome. Do I care? Do I try to become somebody? I was emotionless since I woke up. But lately, I've started to feel things. Curiosity. Anger. Ego. I want to know my worth. I want to know how strong I can become. ... Become strong? For what? For who? … For that girl? That young defenseless girl? That subconscious replacement for my long-forgotten deceased sister. She's living outside with her father and her sister. He might be a strong blacksmith, but he won't be able to do shit against a Hollow.
… But. Can I? What makes me think I have a better chance than the blacksmith? There's just no way I'm stronger than him. … Is that the actual point? Is that the whole point? Train to become stronger? Strong enough to beat these monsters? Strong enough to protect that little girl? Strong enough to protect anyone who can't become strong? Yeah. That sounds all heroic and stuff. That's great and all but.. Can I even become strong? What if I can't? Then I'll be the same weak I thought of protecting.
So what do I do? Wait and do nothing until I get killed by the only thing that can so I don't get to live through the horrible events lying ahead? Or do I try to do something to get stronger and fight to prevent such events from happening to anyone else? … Yeah. Won't be that easy. If I look at it closely and try to objectively pick the better option between them… Hmm… Well. They are actually compatible with each other. There's that option which obliges me to wait before dying. So, instead of wasting that time, I could use it to try and get stronger. Hmm… Yeah. It works.
That way, I don't need to choose an option myself. I'll try to become strong and I'll fight Hollows. If I die in the process, good. If I don't, good. That will allow me to be childish about my strength and curious about everything, without feeling remorse or feeling like I'm wasting energy doing something wrong. I guess it's settled then. So for now, I'll just try my best to punch the examining device.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#91: 83 Rating: F
#35: 334 Rating: E+
#3: 104 Rating: E-
#47: 95 Rating: F
#89: 72 Rating: F
#98: 69 Rating: F
#48: 41 Rating: F
#26: 37 Rating: F
#13: 90 Rating: F
#101
… Will they ever stop? I didn't care until now; I got used to it with time. But right now, it's hard to ignore them. I'm the center of attention after all. I'm just standing in front of the device. They are all staring at me. As they always did. I guess that bracelet really is something. What is it? Honestly, it would be better if I didn't have it. People would leave me alone. I don't know much, but it seems shady as hell. I feel like that old man is always scheming something.
Well, it doesn't matter right now. Let them stare all they want, it's not like you care anyway. All you have to do is hit the thing as hard as you can. Hmm.. Am I strong? Like, can I punch hard? All I've seen so far is that I'm resistant. To anything. Really. I'm somewhat in good shape so I assumed I was pretty strong. Maybe I'm just resistant. What if that's all I have There's no point in thinking about that right now. I've been standing here for a bit. They must think I'm insane. Well, not that I'm totally sane. Let's just do this already.
#101: 218 Rating: E
I still can't deduce if I did great or not. There's literally no way for us to know the results of our tests. I gave it my best, so I can't do anything about it anymore.
#51: 115 Rating: E
#43: 289 Rating: E
#84: 76 Rating: F
#9: 201 Rating: E
#31: 24 Rating: F
#21: 18 Rating: F
#2: 47 Rating: F
#16: 35 Rating: F
#67: 6 Rating: F
#42: 19 Rating: F
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#56: 1827 Rating: A-
Everyone present inside the evaluation site took a step back. They were all drawn to create some distance between themselves and the sudden phenomena. The punching machine was now embedded in the wall behind, its engines fuming out dark and thick smoke. At the formal device's placement, a mutilated young man was standing. His single arm stretched, his fist clenched, his knuckles smouldering, covered in white fumes. The drunk soldier slowly stood up straight from his dynamic offensive pose. He brought his fist closer to his eye, staring at his exclusive palm.
I- Wha- How is it even possible? That's insane! Such power.. and it's… mine? With that much strength, I might actually be able to protect everyone. … And end that bastard…
He once again clenched his fist and brought it firmly against his chest, before staring at the old man. The scientist silently left his seat and walked proudly out of the Coliseum. He was walking down the stairs, hidden behind walls, then he grinned his teeth and violently punched the wall with the side of his fist.
"You damn brat! Avail from your futile and ephemeral rejoice of confidence. Until I utterly destroy you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Punching Machine Test Overall Ranking
#56: 1827 - Rating: A-
#35: 334 - Rating: E+
#43: 289 - Rating: E
#101: 218 - Rating: E
#9: 201 - Rating: E
#51: 115 - Rating: E
#3: 104 - Rating: E-
#47: 95 - Rating: F
#13: 90 - Rating: F
#91: 83 - Rating: F
#84: 76 - Rating: F
#89: 72 - Rating: F
#98: 69 - Rating: F
#2: 47 - Rating: F
#48: 41 - Rating: F
#26: 37 - Rating: F
#16: 35 - Rating: F
#31: 24 - Rating: F
#42: 19 - Rating: F
#21: 18 - Rating: F
#67: 6 - Rating: F
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ha Ha Ha! I've never seen someone like this energetic kid before. He totally sent that thing flying! Maybe he's cooler than I thought Ha Ha Ha!"
The Shogun spoke loudly between two laughs, hands on his hips.
"Hmm… Yes, I must admit I agree with you on that, Slash. This young soldier has potential. However, he still has a long way to go. It'll be interesting to see if he'll bring himself to become powerful or to be a total failure. As much help as he can receive, only his own self will determine the path he takes."
Bowie analyzed calmly, speaking his thoughts out loud for his comrades to hear.
"Hm…"
The introvert silently let out. It had a slightly concerned feeling to it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ughh at last. We've finally hit the final part of these exams. We've made it that far without any major fuck ups, let's keep it that way shall we? You did the speed and the strength evaluations. We will now dive into the defence evaluation. Lucky for you, and me, after this test, we'll be completely done. Unlucky for you, and still lucky for me, this test is just about you getting beat up. We want to see how resistant you are against attacks. And of course, we need someone to beat you guys up so, let's welcome the person who will do the honor of completing that task."
Adam shouted to the crowd, exhausted from his day that was still not finished. He brought his wrist to his mouth and spoke quietly to the bracelet resting on it.
"Bring her in."
The suited man then turned his focus back to the examinees.
"So yeah, I mean, there's not a lot to say. You're all gonna take turns getting beat up, and we're all gonna watch. Defend yourself the best you can, but you aren't allowed to fight back. Hmm.. yeah that's pretty much it, I guess. Form a line. Keep the same order, it'll be easier for everyone. Let's get the show running."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the back of the examination ground, a door opened. From the distance, the examinees could perceive a silhouette coming through the frame. The figure is now walking towards the crowd of young soldiers, who are now all looking at the new entry walking in their direction. Her appearance was flashing out of the flood of Foundation's uniforms. The vibrant blue of her hair, shoes and sports top was shining into people's irises. As she was steadily shortening the distance between her and her future victims, she was wrapping athletic bandages on her hands, her biceps contracting as she was covering her knuckles with the thick fabric.
The line of examinees was now formed. She stopped in front of the first one in line. She finished her preparations, testing the bandages by hitting her fists together in front of her ripped stomach, past training sweat pearling down her abs. She leaned her body to the left, bringing her right hand to her headset resting on her cap, and pressing a button.
"So you're the unlucky kids? I could feel bad for you if I didn't enjoy beating up spineless ragdolls like you that much."
After her first intervention, the line of soldiers began to speak loudly in a roar.
"And who do you think you are, hun?!"
"Don't go and underestimate us, girly!"
"Hey watch your mouth dumbass! That's her! The Normie!"
"Hold up here, you're saying she's a Commander?!"
"A Commander? What is that?"
"You would know if you were listening during our lessons."
"No way! She can't be! If she actually is, we're fucked!"
"Oh shut up pussy! She's ranked last, she's not that strong!"
It's hard to tell what their objective was in saying all those things like that. Speaking up for themselves, provoking her, not that it mattered. With her headphones on and the music playing, she couldn't hear a thing. With drum solos and guitar riffs blasting in her ears, she's getting herself hyped up.
"Let's get started, shall we?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 3
Test 1: Blue's Evaluation
In the elevated spectating area, three men were leaning on the fence, looking down on the incoming show.
"Ha Ha Ha! If you guys were bored, you won't have to worry anymore! Blue is here to save you!"
The Shogun laughed.
"All she does is training. She spends all her time in the Training Grounds. It's legit insane. She probably improved drastically. Again."
Whiff spoke into his collar.
"Hmm. Doc uses her to test his new Soldiers. But in reality, the one who will earn the most from this test is Blue herself. It's a way for her to monitor her growth. Hmm. I bet you she's about to arrive."
The General methodically said. As he did, the three Commanders could hear steps coming their way.
"Speaking of which."
The high heels colliding against the floor were creating sharp noises that were sliding into the men's ears. Just from the sound, he was able to distinguish her seductive and provocative walk, confirming his speculations. Her slender silhouette and her curves were trapped under her black latex jumpsuit. Her long dark hair was running down her shoulder, resting on her chest.
"Hi, boys~"
None of them answered.
"Aw come on now guys, don't ignore me like that."
She walked up next to the introvert and leaned on him. She made sure to run her finger on her thorax, then down her cleavage to remove the hair that was blocking her soft skin.
"But you it's okay Whiff, I like it when you play difficult like that."
Whispered the woman into the Commander's ear, teasing him.
"Leave me alone, Swift."
Whiff said sharply.
"Other men would kill to have me cling to them you know, sweetie~"
The Contortionist whistled to the young man. After realizing her teasing was once again useless, she let go of the Keeper's arm, to lean her body against the metal fence, pouting.
"Hmpf! You're no fun, Whiff. I guess I'll stick to my original plan to try and find some good young boys and girls~"
The young woman spoke, irritated at first, then newly excited.
"You don't have to force yourself to make up lies like that Swift. You and I both know why you're here. We all do actually."
Bowie directed at the female Commander.
"My my~ Am I really that easy to see through?"
Swift said with an amused smile on her face, having no real intention to hide her motives. Her eyes were set on the female fighter down in the Coliseum. She was watching every single one of her movements with the very utmost concentration as Blue was pulverizing the rookies one by one. The results are based on how many rounds a soldier can go before being knocked out. Blue increases the aggressivity and the force behind her attacks at every round, from one to sixteen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#91: 4 Rating: E+
#35: 1 Rating: F
#3: 2 Rating: E-
#56
Why did she switch places with me? That prick in the clean suit clearly asked to keep the same order. What was up with her? I couldn't see her face under her stupid hoodie thingy, but just from her voice, I could tell something was up with her. I never saw her like that. Well right now, all I want to do is prove to that Blue and the rest of them here that I'm stronger than all of them.
"Bring it on bitc-"
#56: 1 - Rating: F
He was knocked out cold after one punch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#89: 3 Rating: E
#98: 4 Rating: E+
#48: 4 Rating: E+
#26: 1 Rating: F
#13: 1 Rating: F
#101
The old scientist was sitting at his desk in his office. Pale blue lights reflected in his glasses. A hologram was projecting a live recording of the Coliseum in front of him; Akuma and Blue were facing each other. Two rounds had passed already. The young man is already badly damaged.
"It is time now, young man. You have betrayed my trust in your potential since now. Let your power sleeping within rise. Let it flow, Akuma."
After Doc spoke these words to himself, the projection let out a whistling noise. The scientist is smirking. Swift has her eyes wide open on the incoming fight. Akuma's Round 3 has begun.
Blue blitzed the young soldier immediately. Her fists high and her waist low, she quickly released a ferocious series of jabs. Akuma brought his defence up to his face, blocking the rapid hits. Out of nowhere, the woman grabbed both his wrists and pulled his arms out of the way. All he could see was a mass of sweaty muscles. All she saw was an opening.
Blue quickly brought her head back, before bringing it forward in a flash, violently smashing her forehead into the young man's exposed nose, breaking it on the spot. Akuma's vision became blurry for a second and he lost balance. Expecting that to happen, the Commander had already prepared her next move. She rapidly circled her victim. Just a silhouette and a spiral of dust were perceivable to the spectators. She was too fast for the human eye.
As Akuma was about to land his heel to get his footing back, Blue was already in the air behind him. Her leg was bent all the way back. In the blink of an eye, she landed a frightening kick at the living ragdoll's temple.
Having not been able to center himself and get his two feet on the ground, Akuma was sent flying. He rotated on himself, spraying blood everywhere, before violently hitting the ground, skipping on it from the velocity of the hit. The crowd could hear the young man's lungs emptying themselves at the first impact, the smell of freshly lifted-up dust and blood in the atmosphere.
The whistle blew again. Round 4. Sadly for the young soldier, it didn't mean he got a break before the next round. The whistle was a signal for the Commander to step up her game. Even though the test restricts the examinee from fighting back, he wouldn't have been able to land a hit on the Normie. It would be a one-way massacre anyway. As it is right now. Akuma was on his four wheels, coughing blood on the ground, trying to catch his breath. His ear was still ringing from the kick he received. The crowd is silent. It's as though they could feel every hit. Including the one that was coming.
Before Akuma could even fill his lungs, Blue ran in his direction. As she was sprinting towards him, she used her fast stride to convert it into a heavy kick to his upper stomach, crunching his diaphragm, and immediately stopping his breathing capability. Akuma choked on the inner fluids coming out of his throat, his body was projected up in the air. The sound of his cage bones breaking echoed into the public's ears. At this exact moment, Akuma snapped.
His brain switched to his survival mode, where his body and natural instinct take over. He no longer controls himself. This phenomenon happens whenever his body feels lethally threatened. This happened once back in the bar. He didn't enter this zone when he tried to kill himself with the scalpel or any other suicidal technique he tried. That's because his body knew he wouldn't have died in those assaults; in contrast to the situation he is in right now. Blue has the power to kill him. If this goes on, he might very well die.
His eyes turned vibrant red. Akuma was unaware of this, but everyone could now witness the two rubies glowing. The Normie didn't give it any attention. She brought her hands together and lifted them above her head. She used her strong deltoids and forearms to bring down her combined big fist, aiming at Akuma's open back that was going up toward the ceiling. Before the hit could land, the new Akuma rotated his body 180⁰ in mid-air, creating a faint whirlpool of blood, dust, air and sweat around him, following his rotation. He quickly brought his arms together to guard the heavy blow that would have shattered his chest.
Blue raised her eyebrow from the surprise. The hit landed on Akuma's forearms, crushing them, and launching him back towards the ground. The young soldier's body bounced on the floor, cracking the floor on impact. Blue jumped back from the sudden change in comportments of her punching bag. The young man was surprisingly able to get back up efficiently, immediately taking a defensive stance.
The Normie was looking at the glowing red eyes set on her. She closed hers for an instant. Breathed out slowly. The Commander then started to jump on her feet, doing small stepping steps from side to side. She was getting her momentum back. The whistle blew. Round 5 started, and a level 5 Blue has now awakened too.
She completely disappeared from everyone's vision, only leaving a trail of dust and a barely noticeable echo of herself. The red-eyed animal didn't flinch. He kept his ground, knowing a blow was coming soon.
The moment he could sense it, he turned his head to the left, glowing red trails following behind his scarlet eyeballs. Akuma's left shoulder instinctively went up, protecting his head that was now sinking deeper into his body, bracing for impact. Even though Akuma's pattern drastically and abruptly changed when his eyes turned red, Blue had completely adapted already. The Superman punch she was going to land was but an afterimage of her feint. She baited him into trying to block that hit.
The Commander was already at his right side. She was perfectly in line at his side, facing the opposite way he was. Her core was really low, bringing down her center of gravity with it. Her right foot slid on the ground, her shoe squeaking, stretching her leg far behind her. Her left one was grounded ahead of her, far behind Akuma. The Normie's voluptuous quadriceps were trying to break out of her leggings. She was transferring all her weight forward. Her deltoid and side abs were fully tensed. Before the young man's body could react completely, her fist connected. All his body had time to do was harden his core to lower the damage.
With the momentum of the punch, the Commander's fist was sinking into Akuma's stomach, lifting his footing from the ground, and pushing him back. Akuma could feel the pressure trying to pop his eyes out of their sockets. Blood spewed out of his gasping mouth. A cyclone of air pressure was produced at the impact, circling around her fist. As she dragged his inwardly curved body with her punch, Akuma was brutally blown back.
The ragdoll was propelled through the Coliseum. The spectators were watching the human body fly by and violently smack into the wall. A loud, deep and short noise resonated. The flesh structure was now carved deep into the crater it created into the Coliseum wall. A cloud of volatile residuals was floating at the impact zone, crumbles rolling out. Only two red dots could be seen, glowing out of the fresh pit. The Commander was already rushing towards her victim.
Akuma's body had time to force its way out of its carving. As soon as he stood up, the Normie grabbed him. With a hand on his collar and one on his belt loop, she used all her might to throw the beat-up soldier back at the center. He rapidly positioned himself on his two feet and two hands to slide and try to stop his course. Before he had time to stand up straight, a solid knee crashed against his chin. The Soldiers around could hear his teeth ram into one another. Akuma lost balance and took a few steps back. He shook his head and turned to a defensive stance once again, wheezing. He tried to prepare for the next hit. Unfortunately, it was one he would not be able to see.
Round 6 was signaled. That was all she needed. The whistle was the last thing Akuma heard before a heavy elbow crashed into his head.
#101: 6 Rating: E+
#51: 1 Rating: F
#43: 2 Rating: E-
#84: 2 Rating: E-
#9: 3 Rating: E
#31: 1 Rating: F
#21: 1 Rating: F
#2: 1 Rating: F
#16: 1 Rating: F
#67: 1 Rating: F
#42: 1 Rating: F
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#47
What should I do? It's her. I know it's her. Those headphones. It's her. I'm certain. What should I do? What should I say? Will she know it's me? Probably not. Maybe she would not remember me, even if I looked the same. But I want her to remember me. Remember us. Remember everything. But how? It's impossible. How can I do tha-
"Hey, you. Do you mind taking off that cloak of yours? It'll be easier for both of us."
What should I do? Should I listen to her? But.. but... She will see me if I do. She can't see me like that. I want her to remember me. She can't remember me the way I look now. What should I do? Think. Think!
"Did you answer? I didn't hear you with the music. Let me take them off."
Music?
Blue was waiting for a formal answer to her question. She would have never expected such an event. A melodious voice started singing. The lyrics were beautifully coming out of the hoodie; softly entering the Commander's ears. As soon as Blue heard the singing voice, she dropped the headphones she was taking off. She froze in place, getting rocked by the soothing melody.
One only she would recognize.
Every Soldier was listening. None of them had ever heard music before. They are new to this hypnotizing phenomenon. As the young girl under the cloak was singing, tears were flowing down Blue's face, mixing up with her sweat. She not only recognized the song, but she remembered all the memories that the song alone holds. She was shocked. Only one person knew that song. Blue stuttered
"It's you."