For the next match up, Itsumi is facing off against Tsudori above ground and Nizomi and Kochizuki are both fighting below where Gentarō and I are. I can't help but put my entire focus on the screen instead of both battles. I know I should be watching both, but Itsumi's sure to make it far into this tournament, and knowing how she fights will ultimately be beneficial to Gentarō and I later down the road. That's the only reason why I'm entirely focused on Itsumi's battle and not the battle that'll be going on right in front of me. There's absolutely no other reason, at all.
The instant the announcer tells the four candidates to begin, Itsumi's hair and eyes are already glowing, as are her lyte's, and she blasts off with an intense speed with the help of a couple flames shooting out of her feet. She slams her palm into Tsudori's gut before she can even completely pull out her kendo sword, making her grunt. Itsumi clearly isn't finished though, her palm glowing a bright orange and red and a burst of intense flames fly out of her palm, sending Tsudori flying all the way into the cube barrier with a heavy crash. Tsudori falls to the ground, her eyes rolling back, and that's all it takes for her to be down for the count.
"A-Amazing! Itsumi had won with just a single movement!" The crowd cheers as that announcement is made.
"Holy cow! She's so strong!" Gentarō audibly gasps.
"That's the power of a student council President candidate for you..." I mutter in slight awe.
"No wonder you like her so much." Gentarō teases me, nudging me with his elbow.
"S-Shut up..!" I whisper yell, lightly shoving him away, making him laugh.
"Sheesh, always stealing the show isn't she?" Kochizuki asks with a giggle, looking over at Nizomi. "Shall we put on a show of our own then?" Nizomi doesn't say a word, her hair and eyes glowing as a glowing purple cat hops off her shoulder and suddenly becomes a massive panther, letting out a roar as it lunges at Kochizuki. Kochizuki let's out a laugh as a small, glowing yellow coyote hops out from her hair without messing it up even a little and slams right into the purple panther, using its force ability to knock the panther back toward Nizomi. Nizomi doesn't bat an eye, the purple silhouette of a bear catching the panther in its arms.
"If that was supposed to scare me, you're gonna have to try a little harder than that, little girl." Kochizuki smirks as she begins making her way over to Nizomi. Nizomi doesn't even seem the least bit afraid however, several purple silhouettes of various animals appear all around her. Dozens of birds fly at Kochizuki, leaving purple streaks in their paths, but Kochizuki doesn't even pay them any mind. Her hair and eyes start glowing yellow and the birds are all knocked away one after the other by her force power, and she doesn't even have to look.
Nizomi clicks her tongue and she points forward, the rest of the animals at her side charging at Kochizuki all at once, letting out their various animal cries. Kochizuki continues to smile nonetheless however, her lyte glowing entirely yellow and enveloping Kochizuki in a yellow aura. She smirks playfully and with a simple wave of her hand, all the animals are blown backwards by her yellow force wave, the wave so powerful it even makes Nizomi fall onto her butt with a yelp. All of her animals fall around her and fade away one after the other, all except for her purple panther, who lays at her side after having been slammed into the barrier. "Ah...Piko..." Nizomi mutters, crawling over to her lyte who turns back into its original form.
"You named it? How cute." Kochizuki says as she makes her way over to the two. "Lytes are just like boosters, just animals instead of humans, yet you place yours high enough to give it a name?" She sighs. "You really are just a kid huh?"
I notice Gentarō clench his fist beside me, so I turn my head to look at him. His eyes are narrowed in Kochizuki's direction and he's very clearly upset. I mean, it makes sense considering what she just said. In my opinion, a lyte is much more than just a source of extra power, they're physical representations of who we are or they symbolize what we want to become. "To consider them to be so low as to not even give them a name is just..." Gentarō mumbles, having the same thought as myself.
"So what if I named my lyte..?!" Nizomi suddenly shouts, grabbing both mine and Gentarō's attention. "He's not just a booster to me, he's my friend!" She picks up the small cat and hugs him close. "If Piko weren't here to fight at my side...there's no way I'd be brave enough to even stand up for myself..! It's because of Piko that I'm even here, so don't insult him!" Her voice is so sincere I think she might be close to tears at this point.
"I see...if that's the case..." Kochizuki mumbles.
"No... She's not gonna start torturing Nizomi is she..?!" I move to stand up, but Kochizuki's next action stops me before I even move.
Kochizuki wraps Nizomi and Piko in a warm embrace, making Nizomi's eyes widen. "I'm so sorry. I spat on your beliefs that you wholeheartedly put your faith in, and that is unacceptable. I hope you can bring yourself to forgive my rude comments." Now Nizomi does start to spill a couple tears, and she rests her head on Kochizuki's shoulder. I can't help but feel a bit envious at the warmth and happiness she must be feeling.
"I can't fight anymore so...I give up..." Nizomi mutters, crying softly.
"There there, don't cry..." Kochizuki gently rubs her head. "You're very strong. Don't you ever stop working on your ability, alright?" She smiles at Nizomi and wipes her tears.
"O-Okay..." Nizomi sniffles a little bit before hugging Kochizuki again, and Kochizuki tenderly rubs Nizomi's head.
"And with that, Kochizuki is the winner and will be moving onto the second round." The man in the suit says. There's a lot more "awwwww's" erupted from the stadium than cheers or applause, so much so that we can hear it from down here.
"You were about to jump in just now, weren't you Genta?" Gentarō asks.
I jump and look at him. "U-Um, w-well I..! I just um..!"
He laughs and ruffles my hair. "I understand. You're a good person Genta, for wanting to jump in and protect someone you don't even know. I respect you for that." He looks forward, his expression turning serious. "But...if there's ever a need to jump in in the future, I'll know, and I'll tell you. Just let me handle it, alright..?" I pause, just staring at him, a bit concerned, but I nod my head. "S-Sure...alright."
"Thanks Genta." He smiles again.
"Now, for the final match of the first round!" The announcer and man in the suit speak in unison.