The day had arrived. The representation matches.
People waltzed through Irio High's gates and poured inside the stadium, eagerly anticipating the long-awaited showdown between the two rival teams.
Bang, bang, bang!
Loud stomping echoed from the stadium. The fervent-sounding crowd chanted Irio High's name as loud as they could.
This year's representation matches were held at Irio High. Last year, it was at Karuza High. Thus, Irio High had a homefield advantage this year around.
The seats were getting filled with insane speed. A sea of people were cheering for their teams from the stands, with different banners waving in the air.
In Irio, there were four high schools. They were all participating today.
Karuza High and Irio High had always been the strongest competitors, but this year, Kaito High and Sumino High were determined to change that.
Kaito High and Sumino High were quite new, but they had some good talents coming in the following years. They could be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
In the stands, students from Karuza High arrived and took their seats in front. They brought their cheering squad with them, who were dressed in school colors and waved their banner enthusiastically.
Still, no one could beat Irio High's cheering squad. They filled almost all the seats in the southern section, and their chants were loud and synchronized, echoing throughout the entire stadium.
Further back, Karma and a couple of his friends took their seats. While his friends drank beer and chatted, Karma sat quietly with a serious look on his face.
He wasn't in a mood to relax and have a good time like his friends; he was focused on his son's match.
On the top floor of the stadium, behind a large window, two men shook hands and exchanged not-so-friendly gazes.
"So, the day has finally arrived," Bernard said with a chuckle.
"It seems so." Azer replied with a stoic tone.
Bernard let go of his hand and said with a smirk. "I saw that you put Kiernan on the team. That's a bold move. Did you do that to appease him?"
"What do you mean?" Azer asked with a frown and turned to look out of the window towards the stadium below.
"Y'know, he said about his desires to compete in the national." Bernard rubbed his chin. "You put him in a team so he wouldn't be dissatisfied, didn't you?"
"Heh," Azer shook his head with a smile. "No, I truly believe he deserves his spot."
"Oh, is that so?" Bernard scoffed. "Well, I have already told my students all they have to know about him. Unfortunately, his defense won't work against us."
"…" Azer stayed quiet and focused his attention on the stadium. The first match was about to start.
It was between Irio High and Sumino High—the second match was between Karuza High and Kaito High.
The winners of both matches would meet in the finals.
…
In Karuza High's locker room.
"As expected," Jin said while looking at the mounted television on the wall. "They also didn't put their main fighters."
On the screen, Irio High was currently fighting Sumino High. However, strangely enough, Irio High wasn't using any of their main fighters, and still they were winning easily.
Currently, Jonathan Ackers was fighting for Irio High, and his opponent from Sumino High was struggling to keep up.
"We expected that to happen." Nath said with a chuckle. "That's why, we'll also send our reserves."
Klaus and Timothy looked calm and collected. This was perhaps the only match of their third year, as they, as reserve fighters, weren't needed in the following matches.
They were prepared to go all-in.
They would go in this order—Timothy, Klaus, and then Nath.
Neither Timothy nor Klaus wanted it to go all the way to Nath. They wanted to try to reserve the strength of the main fighters for the final battles as much as possible.
Also, Kiernan wasn't chosen as a third fighter because he was still Karuza High's wildcard. They didn't want to expose him too soon.
At that moment, loud cheers filled the arena. It was so loud that even the thick walls couldn't muffle the sound.
"Ah, they won." Nath said and then stood up with an excited look. "I guess it is our turn."
"Good luck," Ryan said.
Klaus, Timothy, Nath, and Jin walked out of the locker room. It was like they were marching to war.
Only Ryan and Kiernan were left in the locker room. They turned their attention to the television screen.
"Nervous?" Ryan asked casually.
"A little bit." Kiernan replied, but once again, a lie left his lips. He was very nervous.
It was mostly going to be up to him whether they would win or lose—their order in the final would be Nath, Ryan, and then him.
He was the last fighter.
A single mistake could cost them the whole match.
The rules were—if the opponent fell off the stage, got knocked out, was down on the ground for ten seconds, or surrendered, the match was over.
"It'll be alright; you'll know what the opponent's abilities are." Ryan reassured him.
Kiernan nodded. He had studied Irio High's fighters for the past week.
Irio High never really strategized with their fight order. They would always go with the weakest first and the strongest last.
Thus, they believed Leon Silvers was going to be their first fighter. He used slap-boxing as his fighting style. It was an odd choice, but it had proven effective for him.
Nath would be his opponent.
The next fighter for them would be Shura Young. She was a dangerous opponent. She used a martial art called Tri-Mor-Art. It focused on striking the pressure points of her opponents to incapacitate them quickly.
With a single touch, she could completely render one arm useless. It was extremely important to avoid her fingers at all costs. They were her strongest weapon.
Then, the last fighter for them would be Kang Moon—the strongest high schooler in Irio.
He had lived in the streets since he was very young and mastered his martial arts in the dark alleyways of Irio. When he was fourteen years old, he had already participated in illegal fighting tournaments.
His martial art was street fighting. It would include kickboxing, amateur wrestling, and boxing. However, the most dangerous aspect was his mastery of improvised weapons and dirty fighting techniques.
In the arena, he couldn't use any weapons, but Kang Moon was definitely going to do everything to win. He didn't care whether he had to fight dirty; victory was all that mattered to him.
At that moment, more cheers filtered through the thick walls. However, it also included booing from Irio High's fans.
Ryan and Kiernan saw on television that Karuza High was victorious over Kaito High.
Timothy handled the first two matches, but then he was starting to feel winded up and decided to surrender, and then Klaus easily won the final match to secure the victory for Karuza High.
"Its time." Ryan stood up and stretched his arms behind his back.
Kiernan looked at him briefly and noticed something strange. Ryan's feet were impatiently tapping against the floor. It was clear that he was also nervous.
'Of course he would be nervous.' Kiernan sighed. 'We're carrying Karuza High's hopes on our shoulders, after all. This is also the final chance for the third-years to participate in the nationals.
'Ever since Ryan, Nath, Klaus, and Timothy entered high school, Karuza High hadn't reached the national stage. It must be frustrating. This is the final chance for them.'