Shizaki took one look at the crowd looking on, and as he did, he noticed a lone person in the crowd standing up.
From her point of view, she knew what she had to do. She was a usually quiet person, but just this once, she decided to shout.
Because, she had to take the advice given to her, the advice which would help her to stand by him.
{ "He'll be fine, but keep supporting him is what I would say. It's always better to have someone who has your back." }
And so...with a deep breath, she called out to him.
"Shizaki!!!!!"
His face remained focused on her as all attention was turned to the sound of her shrill voice, echoing through the air.
"Finish this!!!!!"
Alexandriya Aya shouted out her support, and taken completely aback by this, Shizaki froze in awe as she let out a rare, confident smile.
And immediately after, the rest of his entire group stood up in unison and joined in with their cries.
"Do your best!!!!"
Yukino exclaimed this, and King along with Kamazaki followed up:
"Beat his ass!!!!!"
Their bellows altogether made his eyes sparkle. He then sighed and smiled.
Goodness gracious…
Of course, they had his back.
The people who he had met just days ago, supported him as if they had known him for forever. He could not let their shouts go unheard.
Turning back to face Ari, Shizaki narrowed his eyes, his face reflecting confidence that seemed to overflow. The group proceeded to sit back down, and King's face was one of relief.
"Yeah....he's back."
"About damn time! This beatdown will be legendary!"
"Don't expect him to suddenly decimate his opponent, Kamazaki. He still needs to find a surefire way of getting a clean hit, and that won't be easy against a person of that calibre."
"Damn, I hate that you're right."
"Still, I have faith in him, we all do."
Hearing an assurance of trust being vocalised by King, Neo looked on intently at Shizaki and said nothing, but his thoughts were similar, to an extent.
…..Naturally.
Shizaki stooped and prepared to run at full speed.
He had one last plan, one that he only experimented with a few times while training alone. However, he had only one chance to pull it off.
Something faster than his reaction time...
His entire life, he had always tried to expand his power to its full capabilities within the limitations so that he could be accepted, and he had always tried to run towards big expectations. But now, he had to do both for the biggest mission of his life yet.
He had to save everyone he knew cared about.
He closed his eyes. Time seemed to stop. But this time, he felt nothing. He imagined nothing. All he tried to do was clear everything from his head, and focus.
{ "....What is your name?" }
His eyes opened, and they shone with a brilliant white.
His feet sprung off the ground. Every step was powered by his raw willpower.
I am Daizen Shizaki.
Dust particles floated and danced in the air as Shizaki blitzed forward with his physical strength alone. In a short time, the distance between the two figures became close to zero.
Ari had his hand outstretched since Shizaki had taken off, but to the latter, it did not matter. All he needed to do from the start was remember the distance that Ari usually activated his Skill, and now, just one more step forward would be his [Gravitational Wind] zone.
This was it.
( Years Ago…
"I have an idea, Shizaki."
"Hmm? What is it, Gariah?"
A slightly younger Shizaki turned to glance at his childhood friend. They sat together on a wooden bench just on a nearby hill that provided a first-class view of the Main Passageway down below.
"Go faster by using your wind on different parts of your body.."
"....Are you being serious right now? That's not possible."
Gariah shrugged off Shizaki's laughable "Really?" face and continued.
"I know that you can only emit your [Turbulence] through your arms and back...but maybe if you train enough, you might realize that the limits of its usage could be expanded or something."
)
He stepped into Ari's zone, and as his feet raised from the ground, he activated his skill from the soles as only his toes within his shoes remained firm on the ground before he took off.
[Turbulence: First Sector.....
A powerful push of wind pressure blasted Daizen Shizaki from his feet into a distance to his opponent where it was an absolute zero.
Ari had no time to react to the change in speed.
…Hurtle Step.]
He aimed for the stomach, and sent a punch with full force.
It slammed right into the stomach of Ari.
"Ghhkk!!"
Sent flying back but barely bracing most of the fall was the instructor.
Huh…?
He could hardly believe his eyes, and neither could the crowd.
Ari got up, dusted his clothes and after a few seconds of silence raised his right arm into the air.
"I....concede! Daizen Shizaki has landed a clean hit!!!"
A loud cheer emanated from the entire stage as Shizaki looked at Ari in disbelief.
I….did it..?
His group of friends were seemingly overjoyed, with Kamazaki once again being the main spokesperson of their thoughts.
"He....did it....that was incredible!!!"
Far from them, the blue haired young lady with a laid-back posture clapped with others without showing much emotion. However, she did not fail to express her opinion either.
"You were sweatin' for a bit back there, weren't ya....still, not bad."
Meanwhile, on the field itself, Xulpeca and Ari approached the still half-shaken Shizaki.
"That was a good display out there, Shizaki. Tomorrow, you shall know the result, but you should be mostly positive about it. I'm impressed."
Ari said this while extending his left arm towards him, and the young man accepted the handshake weakly.
"T-Thank you, Ari-sensei…"
The chairman flashed a wink with a chuckle and interjected.
"Not bad at all, Shizaki-kun. Your overall performance and other various things will be reviewed in the Ethereal Lights Room. Look forward to tomorrow.
"I will!"
After accepting a handshake with her, he returned to ascending the seats of the stands. He was greeted with smiles and cheers, even some applause by the crowd stationed there.
"Nice one!"
"Thank you!"
He was constantly congratulated as he kept moving to his assigned seat.
So this is what being the center of attention is like. Unreal.
Finally finding where the rest of his known acquaintances were, he sat down next to them, but was almost jumped on by the overjoyed woman with an eyepatch.
"Too cool, Babyface! Too cool!"
King quickly tugged her back by her collar before she could pin him onto the ground with her over-excitedness, though. Still, he shared the same sentiment, along with Satou Yukino.
"Great job out there, man! I think it's fair to say that you've passed that pretty easily."
"Yeah, congrats!"
"I can't get ahead of myself....but I think I did good."
"Let's just hope that they don't grade you too strictly, because in my opinion, you were just incredible."
"I really hope so. Seriously, though, all of you....thank you for encouraging me....I was cornered at one point and had no clue what to do, but I think that your shouts of determination helped me to stay calm and focus. I truly appreciate it. "
Glad that he was ablt to benefit from their support, Yukino, King, ad Aya were going to say something, but Kamazaki cut them off by a split-second.
"Heh...as expected of my charm."
"Charm, huh?"
Bella Kamazaki rubbed the bottom of her nose with her finger in self-praise, and Shizaki forced a smile.
She's so unserious at times, hah.
As Shizaki sat next to Aya, he finally faced her.
"Aya-san-"
"There's no need for thanks, Shizaki, it's natural that I would want to cheer you on."
She stared straight ahead, not making any eye contact with him, with her usual expressionless stare.
"I see..."
"But...."
She narrowed her eyes.
"I'll take your gratitude to heart for once. You're welcome."
-----------------------------------------
(Chapter 28: Hurtle Step.)