Fight School [IC]

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Eight Weeks into the School Year​

3:00PM New Peaks Time, Saturday October 24th

The last two months had been a roller coaster for Vincento and the other first-year students. Studying, fighting, goofing around, and everything else one would expect from a bunch of high-school students. In fact, the young Italian had managed to net himself a win/loss total of 7-3, but with only one win outside his own Letter Ranking. Regardless, he was pretty proud of himself. Now he would head to the Okichitaw Athletic Complex to meet New Peaks' registered Hapkido instructor. His ego boosted by his recent wins , Vincento decided he was going to test for his 3rd-Dan Black Belt. Succeed or fail, this test was for Belt Ranking, not School Ranking... so Vincento had nothing but his pride to lose.

First, he was tested for his skill with the staff, which he passed with flying colors. Next was the unarmed sparring portion of the test. Against the instructor, a 7th-Dan Black Belt, Vincento did well enough for his current age and skill level. Lastly, he was to perform a nunchaku demonstration. Showing less than satisfactory skill in the weapon, he accidentally lost his grip on the weapon after a minute into the test. After the staff and unarmed tests, he was sweating a fair amount and his hands had become slick... causing the metal weapon to careen into the nearest wall and put a small hole in it.

A stupid mistake, not toweling himself dry after the previous tests... but a mistake that was born of his ego. His evaluation read as follows.

Vincento Sarconni

Staff Skill: Satisfactory
Unarmed Skill: Satisfactory
Nunchaku Skill: Unsatisfactory

Notes: While he is skilled enough to warrant promotion to 3rd Dan, Vincento shows a clear tendency to act before he thinks. While this is not unusual for a student of his age, it is not something that can be encouraged in a black belt practitioner. Recommend re-testing in one month.

A blow to the Italian's pride, for sure. Still, there was one good thing to come of it. The notes said he was skilled enough for promotion. It was better than being told otherwise, that was for sure. Oh well. There was always next time. Since he was already worked up and sweaty, he'd walk over to the student rec center and take a swim. What better way to cool off after a workout, right?

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Shotaro had spent the last two months digging up dirt on some students, kicking the asses of others, and doing whatever he could to try and achieve the hallowed ranking of S1. However it seemed like no matter how many fights he won and no matter how well he did on his tests, he couldn't advance. While he DID have the rest of the school year, he wanted to advance sooner rather than later. So much so that he tested TWICE for his 5th Dan black belt since the first day of the school year. Both times, he had failed to attain the milestone rank.

This afternoon, he was taking out his frustrations on the equipment of Imperius Hall once again. Kick after kick. Punch after punch. Sweat dripping from his face and down his chiseled torso. What would it take? Was he just not talented enough? That bitchy World History teacher was the first person at New Peaks to ever hit S1-Rank... how did SHE do it? And it was then that he knew he'd have to find out. But not now. For now he needed to blow off some steam. But where? Hmm... Ah, at one of the two cinemas. Snacks, SUPER-COLD air conditioning, and a bunch of movies that (while they had already been released worldwide some months ago) were always good to watch and pass the time with.

Cinema B, ten minutes later.

Shotaro decided to see the mindless explosion-fest that was "Transformers: Age of Extinction". What better way to distract himself from his frustrations than to drown them in enough special effects to give half of Japan a seizure? With a medium popcorn, medium soda, and a bag of skittles, his total came to $17. Good thing the tickets were cheap, because snack prices were as absurd as they were back home. And so he settled in for a long bout of brain-rotting entertainment. And heck, maybe when the movie was over, he'd go beat up on one of Imperius Gloria's newest members... to 'train them'.

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The rest of the campus was as busy as any other weekend. A few fights here and there, a friendly spar between two teachers, one of the athletic clubs playing a game of baseball at Emerson Field, and all different kinds of little meetings between old friends and new friends alike. It seemed like things were back in full swing at New Peaks Academy. But there was something on the horizon that the Academy Administration was keeping a close watch on. It was no immediate danger, but they determined that tonight was when they would make an official announcement.

Until then, it was life as usual for most students. Having fun, hanging out, studying for upcoming tests, and so on.
 
Bradley found that he was ejected from Imperius hall. There were protocols that had to be followed if one wanted to join. This eventually lead to confusion as Bradley had not wanted to join, merely to speak to Shotaro. He was informed Shotaro was too busy to speak with him, although, whether or not that actually came from Shotaro himself, Bradley never knew. The next few days passed, and bradley made some friends, and joined the local bartitsu association. As of his joining, they finally got their fifth member, thereby allowing them to file to become an actual club. As of yet, though, they are still informal, but, because of Bradley, they at least had a place to meet.

A few days later, he saw Shotaro again, in a fight. Three fights, to be exact. This time, Bradley brought a notebook and took notes. He found Shotaro to be quite interesting, and grew to become attached to him. Not like a friend or a crush, more like a hunter going after a tiger, elephant, or rhino through the dense jungles of India. He would be the one to bag Shotaro, to beat him. He just had to learn.

With help from his parents, he had cameras sent to him, the good ones that sports photographers and newscasters use, and with the aid of his new friends, began recording all of Shotaro's fights, then spending his free time watching them, studying him. He really was as dangerous as a tiger, and fought with a ferocity to match. He would be a fine prize. Though he could not kill him, if he did beat him, his father might allow him to join the ancestral Hunting Lodge a few years early, or without having to actually bag a tiger. But for now, he had to study his prey.

As they days turned to weeks, Bradley trained, he trained and trained and studied. He began to build up muscle, he began to move faster, to become stronger. He wasn't ready yet, he knew this, but he had to push himself to run that extra mile, to do ten more reps, to break through his limits if he wanted to be able to beat Shotaro before he left. He only had a few months, he had to be ready. Ready to win.

But for now, he would wait, he would watch. He followed Shotaro to the movie theater, and went to the same movie, although he too care to sit far away. It would be best not to spook your prey, is it not?
 
Once again, Siel was having this dream. Yet... could he call it a dream?

The beginning was always the same. It began with with rain slowly falling and the... person's, perspective that he was watching from was frozen around the corner of an alley where a conversation between two was going on. Ghastly words were continuing to whisper into his ears, simple repetitions of words the person had heard before. He looked down at his hands and saw regul - no, they slowly formed into claws of a beast filled with a single desire. The beast turned into the alley and dashed for the person that was farthest. The innocent person, older than the target of the beast tried to call out but his voice fell on deaf ears or... was it just not as loud as the cries of the beast's prey?

When the prey's crying had finally stopped, the beast stood in place, his claws clenched into bloody fists. His heart was beating fast and his thoughts being defeated by his desire for compensation of all the work he had done before this moment. With his mind being split apart by his desire and his morals, the instability was beginning to be released in a primal roar. The beast finally seemed to calm after this roar, deciding that what's done is done... and that he liked it. The beast was about to turn and walk away, done with the city and done with the person who had now become the beast's most hated being. It seemed as if the dream was ending once his vision became blurry...

But why did two more people have to show up? The beast's world suddenly shattered around him and his world turned red. He couldn't believe what was happening... why him... what made him so different... the beast mumbled to himself for seconds before the madness he had displayed before once again overtook him. The beast once again moved towards his prey... except this time... his clawed hand was aiming at the child's golden eyes.

That is when Siel woke up.
​
Siel blinked once then yawned as he began to recover from his nap. His eyes opening to the view of the swaying tree leaves at Calinda park, "Hm... must've fell asleep during my rest. I may need a break from training now. I can't believe I still have that dream... will it ever stop?" This wasn't the first time Siel had that dream. In fact, it was plagued by it since it actually happened long ago. Most of the details in the dream were exaggerated, of course, but it didn't excuse the truth of the meaning behind it. The desire for those actions to... It probably was not wise for him to be dwelling on it. He hoped it would disappear if he focused on something else. So he decided to review on what he had done since his first day at New Peaks.

Later on in the first day, Siel decided to visit the Okichitaw Center, the fields, and the gyms. It was convenient how they were all gathered together so Siel didn't have to go far for a workout. From then on in the first month, Siel had started a workout of enhancing his technique while working on his speed when there was free time after his technique training. To Siel, technique mattered above all else. If you could identify the weakness and strengths of your technique, come up with a counter for the weaknesses, and have it flow perfectly, no matter how fast or strong your opponent was, you could overcome them. Of course, technique couldn't always get you by, which is why Siel was enhancing his speed. Perfect technique and speed could cover for the weak strikes of taekkyeon. By the end of the month, Siel had achieved a streak of 3-0, mostly due to him taking on the hot bloods below his rank. Siel would've tried to reach his next belt, 1st Geup, but was anxious considering he never tested for a rank outside of his grandfather's jurisdiction. He decided to try out next month.

In the second month, Siel had tried out for his 1st Geup rank. The test consisted of two simple parts: demonstration and sparring. Demonstration was easy for Siel as it consisted of just showing off your technique. Although, when it came to sparring, Siel had managed what could be considered the "C" of belt test. The reason why he received that was because he ditched taekkyeon at random points in the fight; a switch for survival going on and off. He passed and was now considered a 1st Geup taekkyeon martial artist, personally showing off the defeat by using a black marker to create a black stripe at the end of his red scarf. At the end of the 2nd month, Siel's fighting record had finished at 6-2, his two defeats claimed by two C-Ranks.

Siel sighed as he reviewed his current school life and wiped his cheeks to remove the swe - "No.... this isn't sweat..." A shiver went down Siel's spine and that was a good enough signal for him to get up and go. "I need a walk..." Siel made sure his attire, which was simply the removal of his jacket and his scarf being tied around his waist like a belt, was set before getting up and walking off. "I should probably go start my technique workout... also should stop by the market on the way there. Grab a juice or something." ​
 
It was a day, a nice day actually. Jiro could only think about what'd happened and he could do in New Peaks. From the first day's scandal to the tests being taken by at the day. Jiro could only think, he'd heard about the diverse factions in the school, from the infamous Imperious Gloria to the now growing Mendicants. None of them made it to capture Jiro's interest, he isn't a people person so… Joining a faction? Thanks, no. He didn't even have a lot of friends, perhaps he didn't even have any friends, just a few names from his classes, but besides that… meh, maybe Siel, they met in day one but Jiro doesn't remember a lot of interaction with him.

If Jiro recalled correctly, the factions have control over the students, to which faction you join may determine your future as a whole in the school, but what could happen if Jiro didn't join any? He tried to avoid the question, but in the end it just got him intrigued. He slapped himself trying to come back to his senses, it was no time for asking nonsenses, the day was nice and quiet so there's no reason to kill that with absurd questions. A lot of students were already requesting tests to rank-up, even at this early in the schoolar period, it couldn't be that common. Are people really that hungry of fame and recognizement? It seemed so, Jiro hadn't even thought about it, but he knew that he would have to take that test sooner or later.

Reviewing everything, Jiro remembered some fights he had. A few students had gotten interested in this fighting style of his, so eventually, he got challenged. But little did they know about his skills, he finished two fights with his bare fists and other one with blocks and inertia. Nothing better than a good planning before and during the fight, this was the main reason of his succeed in battles, obviously, he lost again some more skilled opponents. He lost fights, but not experience, now he was aware of some students capabilities and skills, which more than enough for him to create a counter.

Whenever he tried to "run" in the campus, some teachers used to tell him to cut it out or even tried to stop him, but it usually went in from one ear and out from the other. His parkour skills are big part of his fighting he can't just stop doing it, besides that, parkour is what makes him feel free, when he is "running", there's nothing else, just him and environment. Such a beautiful feeling is, indeed, Jiro's main reason for living.

Jiro still remembers the letter his father sent him a couple weeks ago, every word of it, it rang in Jiro's head as that one buzzy and sticky song, that one song you hate but it repeats in head again and again and again. Although, Jiro didn't hate his father's letter, but it amused him. He didn't have a single clue of why his father wanted him to come to New Peaks instead of going back to Russia. It was a mess for Jiro, but in the end, he just thought "He has a reason" and that was more than enough for him to feel comfortable. "I want you to be yourself, son." This was the letter's last line, it was the main reason the letter rang in Jiro's head, then he realized, that was the reason.

During the last months, little was Jiro's activity in the school usual schedule, a couple of fights from people eager to gain a name, but a 80% of them just bit dust in a few minutes when Jiro decided to go "Rampage". Others realized how to avoid this technique of his, but still broke a sweat to beat him. Some good moments of parkour training around the school's environments, he did messed it up a couple times but hey, this is no time for talking about mere mistakes. His stamina increased greatly, allowing him more time in the run and the fights. His normal class grades were excellent, his fighting grades were a bit below average since he doesn't use to challenge others so he just accepts other's challenges.

Rampage is a technique Jiro developed which uses his blocks and parkour capabilities at its maximum, creating three blocks strategically placed around the opponent and using momentum to bounce on the blocks after each strike, this technique's power isn't in the hits force, but in the Jiro creates when moving, making the enemy confuse and lose balance sometimes, giving Jiro the opening for a finishing attack. Now, this consumes Kiro's stamina at incredible rates, making him able to use this for no more than ten seconds before falling unconscious.

Now it was time for Jiro to move on, he hadn't realized how much time he had been sitting on that tree's branch at Destreza Park. He jumped off, landed with a crouch. He stretched his extremities to avoid any kind of further problem with his muscles or bones, made a few quick jumps and he was ready for the run, then, progressively increasing his speed,Jiro ran. With a foot in front of the other, he leaped front to go over a bench, using both hands to push himself front he did a kong over it, the kept running. By the time he was close to the Plaza 1 he had already pissed out a couple persons that were on his path. The usual whine about getting too fast and too close to someone wasn't something Jiro really cared about, he had never hurted someone before by accident so he took it cool. His mind was focused on the way, not on the people, not on the buildings, not on the bird's singing, just the way, the obstacles at his front which allowed him to use his body as an effective machine which uses movement to overcome any kind of difficulty.

During his run, Jiro remembered again his father's letter, it was indeed something that could distract him and produce a horrible accident, but his mind just took focus on it. If his father wanted him to be himself, nothing more and nothing else, nothing restrained by society's chains and rules of morality and what we think it's correct, Jiro realized that this, from leaving Jiro in the buddhist temple with the Arhat to taking him to New Peaks, it was all because he loved his son and he wasn't going to let someone's opinion about what his son should do kill off his happiness. Jiro felt shocked, then happy when he realized this. Before he could realize, he fell, his feets tumbled out of control and Jiro fell off some stairs, that's what he gets for being distracted while running, he managed to do a fall roll, but still, there was a bit of damage, his back was now flooded with pain and his hands were itching a bit of shock. Jiro sat on a nearby bench, trying check his arms and legs to see if there was some major injure, a rasp on his knee was producing a bit of pain, but nothing he couldn't manage, so he took a small pot of medic alcohol and some bandages out of his bag and disinfected the injury before covering it with bandages. He had to learn how to take care of minor and some major injuries, persons that practice parkour get injured badly every now and often so he must know how to take care of some of those injuries.

Jiro flexed the semi-healed leg, proving that it was still fully functional and that the bandages didn't ban his movement that much, now taking it at a slower pace, he walked out to the market, nothing as accommodating as filling the belly after a fall.
 
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"Kick, duck, punch, back-step..." Diana was in the middle of training in Calinda park, her favorite place to train. The reason she liked to train there was because it was fairly close to the female dorms and it was just big enough for her to do some practice in. The fight between Shotaro and Junkiro had been running on and on in her head, and she kept trying to copy Shotaro's kicks and strength, along with his amazing agility and endurance. Though she could never get to be as fast as he was, and she knew she wouldn't, she would try to be the best that she could. She had always tried to make her teacher proud, even when he wasn't around. Quicker, quicker! I know I can be quicker than I am right now! Harder, push harder! She thought to herself quite often during her training. As she whipped her tail around at an imaginary foe, she followed up with a low sweep going to opposite direction. "No that's not it either..."

The past two months have been a little stressful for her, but she pulled through. She would focus more on avoiding anyone she didn't know, but ended up making a few parahuman friends anyways. One looked to be like a lizard, who was also a girl, while the other was like a pig, a boy. The three often sat together and told stories, jokes and would often spar with eachother and build up strategies as well as counter attacks to any possible moves someone else might take. The three also loved to pull small pranks on anyone who would try to mess with them and have a giggle afterwards, though Diana hardly ever participated in any of them.

Challenge wise, her streak came down to a solid 2-3. Not too awfully bad, but still enough to make her a little annoyed with herself. All five times, she was the one to get challenged. About three or four of those times were by people who often bullied her, and they were stronger than what they were made out to be. Every fight she would try to get down the pattern of the foes before making any real attacks, but three times that strategie went down the drain when she didn't react fast enough to the swift fighters. She had a bruise here and there and a bump on her cheek to remind Diana of the mistakes she made during those particular matches.

With a sigh, she sat down. Panting from the long training, she wondered if any of her friends were having a hard time with anything. She hardly got to see Brad, who always seemed to be busy with who knows what, and she kinda wished she could hang out with the friends she met on the first day of school more often. She began to plan things out in her mind after being destracted, seeming to space out. If they immidiately rush at me, I can dodge to either side and push them away from me if I get the chance. If I don't, and they expect it I can always count on the old tail whip to destract them while I go for a low-sweep to knock them down. That gives me enough time to figure out if I am to go counter mode or swift hit mode. If they continue to go full on attack, then I have no choice but to go counter, but if they wait for me to make a move then I'll have to add in some of the attacks that boy used as quickly as I possibly can. The amount of damage dealt doesn't matter as much as how quickly I can catch them off guard and confuse them.

Though if they're like Shotaro, they'll have high endurance and excpetionally high speeds, in which case I'll need to manouver more and more in order to dodge as many hits as possible. If I can survive until they're tired from using that, then I can go ahead and add in some hard attacks. Though the whole situation depends on if I don't tire first or at the same time they do. If I can somehow keep my energy up but also keep going at my quickest, then I'll be golden... But how would I be able to do that... Again, she sighed. Scratching her head, she wondered if it was even possible for her to do any of the things she just thought of. "I wonder what the other guys are up to..." She asked herself.
 
It was shortly after the fight that his two "friends" had found something to do while Zen was left in the bleachers. From that point he headed out towards his dorms, settled in and got his room set up the way he liked it rather then how the school initially set it up. Zen had a few posters on the wall, as well as a painting of two people making contact with kicks. Something to make the room feel like the school. Zen had decided to venture out and meet up with a few random people, even found a group of kids who just wanted to train and practice kicks and punches. He joined them for a few practices while keeping an eye on the original friends he made. Bradley seemed to be too obsessed with Shotaro to pay him any mine while Diana talked to him through out the week.

Other then working on a training purpose, Zen found himself picking fights with other students, in just over the two month skip he had gotten warned by a teacher in an unsanctioned fight. Then it was found that he lost two fights in the arenas. Zen trained his body to withstand more attacks as well as finding himself in the gym with Weiss working on lifting weights, his figure had been toned up a bit with this while his fighting was enhanced through training with yet another teacher Jacob. The man was a half breed which didn't make much of a difference but it helped Zen work on his attacks better. His special 'shadow boxing' skill had improved by only a mere second yet still improved.

It was now two months later and here he was again in the arena fighting a battle with another freshman. The fight proceeded over the time period of only five minutes and ended in Zen connecting a kick to the student's face and knocking him down for the count. Zen on the other hand had blood dripping from his nose as well as bruises down his arms. The small crowd grew with excitement from the finishing of a fight and Zen made his way to the infirmary to get checked up on. He was let off with a cloth wrap for his severely bruised arm and a small clean up with a dampened cloth. From here, Zen made his way towards his dorm to relax for an hour before setting off on another random task.

The hour passed and Zen exited the room, his destination was to find Diana and figure out what she was doing, hopefully he could figure something to do rather then sit around the room, he had grown bored of doing so and was partially recovered from the fight to where he wasn't as exhausted and could walk around freely with little pain. His right arm hurt when it was moved yet he tried to ignore it and made his way out to the training grounds where he'd seen Diana training countless times. Upon reaching the field, to no surprise here she was finishing up a self training session. "Hey Diana training again huh? Here we are working on getting better while Ashley is overly stalking Shotaro." Although he knew he'd be yelled at for calling Bradley by the female name once again he was just having fun and found himself doing it more and more anyways regardless of the yelling.
 
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That probably wouldn't work either... Diana was still thinking on strategies while her tail was whipping around in the air as if she were annoyed. While she was getting just a little bit impatient with herself and how she was already screwing up in her training. Even if I did manage to stay up after a kick like his, which would be very unlikely, I still wouldn't get out very many attacks before he knocked me down and ended the fight. Of course she wanted to fight Shotaro at one point, just once and try to actually win. She was so deep in thought, she almost didn't even notice that Zen had entered her 'training grounds' and spoke. Her ears perked and she turned most of her attention to him, rolling her eyes at the 'Ashley' name he was still calling Brad.

"Oh. Hey, Zen. What brings you here?" Being the little cat she is, she stood up and made her way over to her friend, her tail no longer flicking but simply just waving around. While she listened to what he had to say she stretched, an occasional purr escaping from her. Though she would occasionally space out and continue to develop her strategie for when she were to challenge Shotaro only to shake her head and come back to reality. Maybe I can try simply letting the boy fight himself... Dodge most attacks, if possible, and lead him into an obstical to run into. No... That's too risky of a tactic. He can just counter that and predict my movements too easily. Again her tail began to flick as she became frustrated in not being able to find a bullet-proof plan to beat Shotaro. She had been looking over her notes and still couldn't find anything that could possibly beat him at his own- "That's the answer... Just use his fighting against him..." Diana didn't even realize she had spoken out loud when she snapped back to reality and looked at Zen.
 
Despite his willingness to join the strange faction that advertised itself in such a bizzare way, Gerald ended up chickening out several days in a row until a particularly energetic Hijos literally dragged him into the premises, then forced him to sign up. Naturally, the poor boy went along with the energetic man, though of course, his strange luck had to act up right at that moment, forcing him to fill out the application form two times because the first occasion had the pen leak all over the page. It may or may not have been because he was too nervous about the whole thing, but fortunately, no one seemed to notice his face or comment on his attire, which made the place a little more welcoming to him than the others.

Over the course of several days, Gerald warmed up to the library, not to mention the Sagacious Center. It was always quiet at these places, not to mention that he could find a secluded corner to hide himself in from any prying eyes or from people who wanted to approach him with the intent of making friends. As such, it was no surprise that he made almost no acquaintances on campus and he only knew a few regular library attendees by their look. He was simply feeling too out of place at New Peaks academy to be able to connect with people, not to mention that the pressure he felt on himself was not making things easier. There was no way he could fail here; he had to study hard and then win a minimal number of fights, just enough so as not to drop out. That was the goal he focused on.

As such, while he continued his Aikido practice, he did not make any real advancements save for regaining some of his strength from before the kidnapping. It was an incredibly slow process, but he could execute the techniques just a little more fluidly and with greater care than before, which he considered to be acceptable progress. The rest of his time, he spent at the library, the Sagacious Center or other quiet spots that he had discovered during his often nervous explorations of the campus, something that resulted in him discovering several hiding places. Those would probably be really useful in the future. Though he was not bullied in his classes, it was clear that he belonged into a completely different world.

This fact was further evidenced by his astonishing challenge record: Seven challenges declined out of seven, most of them from students of equal or slightly lower rank than he was before they realised he was not going to accept any of them unless he absolutely needed to. No matter how shameful or humiliating it was, he decided that he would not accept or issue a challenge until he knew how much he had to fight to get through the year. Unless it was a matter of life and death, of course. But until then, he would suffer through the strange stares and the even stranger rumours. With such a strange aversion to fighting, a story started to circulate amongst the first-years about a mysterious, creepy student who would always run from fights, a phantom who was only noticable by his exceptional scores on tests.

Naturally, Gerald had not heard of these rumours as he was not really a part of the community.

But whether he liked it or not, he would eventually have to learn how to get by in New Peaks Academy, because as inconspicious as he tried to stay, his reluctance to fight attracted many eyes that he would rather not have on himself. One of these in particular was Elias Palamara, who saw a new, strange sort of target in Gerald, a personality that he had yet to play with. But first, he had to sniff around...

As for Gerald, he was completely unaware of the attention he had gathered and even now, he was busy hauling a couple of books so he could take a look at them later. He had checked them out of the library, so he made sure to take extra care of them: he put them into a bag and was holding the stack with both hands for maximum stability. He was so focused on keeping the books safe that he did not notice that he missed a turn, nor did he notice the small dent in the road before it had a chance to completely ruin his balance.

A panicked squeak rung in the air as Gerald scrambled to save the books as they were more important than his own life. If he got them even a little bit dirty, not to mention ruined, the librarians would do unspeakable things to him, then kill him! Fuelled by that thought, he did his best to regain his balance, but it was already too late. All he managed to accomplish was that he comically flailed around for a few seconds before he twisted his body to take the brunt of the impact with his back and hold the stack of books up. Naturally, when he hit the ground, his luggage came crashing down on his chest, knocking the air out of him.

But his embarrassment or terror did not end here. No, as he gasped for air, his eyes suddenly met the eyes of a girl dressed up as a maid, probably one of the staff members... And she was going to tell on him. He was not going to escape. He was screwed!
 
"Oh, my aching back..."

Junkiro escaped through the front door of Imperius Gloria and immediately set off to walking, exhausted. He wanted desperately to sit, to rest, but he wasn't far enough away yet; he had to keep moving, lest a member find him and rope him into more work. As his aching muscles continued onwards, the sticky boy thought back to that horrid day, the one where this whole nightmare began...

It had happened only a mere week after his wounds had healed that Junkiro had decided to visit Mr. LeBlanc to learn more about the pro wrestling he had been told of after his duel. While he hadn't ended up learning any new moves just yet, he was excited for the possible maneuvers he would learn in the future. Powerbombs, German Suplexes, Clotheslines...it all looked enticing, wildly different from what he was used to when instructed by his karate teacher back home.

It was in this excitement that Junkiro failed to see a person standing right in front of him, and he smacked right into his body, cauing him to topple to the floor, his two books slipping from his grip. Quickly scooping them up, he returned to his feet. "My most sincere apology, I had not been watching where I was..." It was then Jun noticed just who he had stumbled into.

"Oh, hello Shotaro...I am not quite prepared for another match, if that is why you seek me?"

Having dug up some juicy dirt on the freshman named Junkiro, Shotaro decided it was time to play the hand he had been dealt, regardless of how rigged it was. Another of the Imperius Gloria members saw Shotaro's target entering Mr. LeBlanc's office, and quickly texted the faction leader to let him know. Naturally, the senior headed over there to confront the freshman. Amusingly enough, Junkiro walked out and bumped right into him as soon as he arrived."You DO know what happened to the last freshman to bump into me, right?" said Shotaro with a smile on his face.

But that wasn't why he was here. Yeah, he COULD just floor the kid again... but there was no fun in that. Instead, he simply pulled his smartphone from his pocket. "Take a gander at this, freshman. I think you'll be interested." Pulling up a document sent to him by Elias, Shotaro handed the phone to the freshman. It stated information regarding the young man's family, their past, their beliefs and ideals, and more. There was no question what this was... this was blackmail. "I think we should be friends. Wouldn't want me to spill this to the teachers and investors, right?"

As Jun regained his bearings, he began to wonder what in the world Shotaro was talking about. As he glanced at Shotaro's phone (which he secretly envied), his eyes widened in surprise at the shockingly detailed-and accurate-information regarding his family's...unscrupulous beliefs. Was this senior...blackmailing him? Jun couldn't believe his eyes or ears, but he knew this could end badly if he didn't find a way out of this.

"My family's beliefs," Junkiro began slowly, "do not reflect my own, and unless they were to commit an act of terrorism, they have committed no crime... they are out of American jurisdiction." He closed his eyes, pushing the phone away from his face, not wishing to see the facts he had been trying to run away from his whole life. "Moreover... why are you showing me this information... I have nothing you could want, as I am certain you know already."

"Clearly you don't get how this works, Junie. I spill this to the headmaster or investors, you get sent home and your family gets investigated by your government." Immediately after swiping back his phone, Shotaro turned to walk away. "But since you're not interested, I'm gonna head over to administration. I'm sure turning in a student who has familial ties to extremists would net me some brownie points." ... and with that, he pocketed the phone and began to head down the hallway toward the door.

Jun gritted his teeth together in frustration; his farce may have been weak, but what was he supposed to do? This was outright blackmail. And with no other options, it seemed... "Wait." Junkiro took a step forward, his head hung in defeat. "Stop. What do you want, Shotaro... I might not always agree with the thinking of my family, but I can't condemn them... Name your price. I do not own much."

NOW he was getting it. This was Shotaro's school, and the uppity freshman bent his knee as he should have done when they met a week ago. "For now, consider yourself the newest member of Imperius Gloria. What happens from there-" he couldn't help but chuckle mid-sentence. "- frankly, I'll make it up as I go. We both know this is some Grade-A bad shit, so I'm sure I can think of some way for you to repay my kindness in not revealing this to the New Peaks Administration."

With that, Shotaro patted the freshman on the back fairly firmly and walked away. "See you later, freshman." was all that he said before exiting the building.

From there, it had all gone downhill. The very next day, he had been dragged to Imperius Hall by a gaggle of senior members, and given a rather violent grand tour. As soon as that unpleasant intro had finished, Shotaro and the other Imperius elites had immediately forced him to cater to their every whim, whether it be cook and serve their food, fix everything they broke during their random skirmishes, and, most often of all, act as their punching bag. All to keep my family safe, Junkiro kept thinking to himself as he took blow after blow.

And yet, it was not entirely bad. Shotaro may be a monster, but he wasn't an idiot; Jun was still able to visit Weiss in addition to his studies, and he began to pick up moves and techniques pro wrestlers used, adding to his already unique fighting style. In addition, the constant batterings Jun received, in addition to the new weight training Weiss had recommended, had done wonders for the boy; the fairly lanky boy that had entered New Peaks merely two months prior had bulked up somewhat in that time span, and more obvious musculature was beginning to show in his arms and legs. In addition, he was still allotted time to meet with his friend Vincento from time to time. But aside from these perks, he had had a miserable time.

As for his fight record...he easily had racked up the most fights of any freshman, mostly Imperius Gloria superiors who wished to beat the tar out of him, as well as the freshmen who wanted to make a name for themselves. Junkiro's record, therefore, stood at 6-14, a record that astounded and concerned many an instructor. However, an important note is that 11 of those losses were to Imperius members rank B and above; Of his 6 wins, 5 had been on low-C, D, and E-ranked students, but 1 win had come from a B-3 Imperius member. One thing being Imperius Gloria's bitch had taught him was to watch his superiors at all times; in doing so, he had learned many of their favored moves and strategies, while he himself remained largely in the dark to the arrogant superiors.

While he felt more than capable enough to test for a higher rank, Shotaro's harsh schedule and Mr. LeBlanc's training had left him too tired to make a serious attempt. Even through everything, Junkiro still managed to keep his head help high, day in and day out. How could he not? Even though he was suffering, every laborious task, every beating...every little thing made him stronger for it.

But even he had his limits, and this limit was reached as he reached the ever-elusive testing area. Though he had yet to be in this particular building, he longed for just a day to recuperate long enough to be at his best; then he was certain he could make it to C rank. But as he passed it, he felt his lungs on the verge of collapse from today's duties, and he sat heavily in a bench, catching his breath.

It appeared there was somebody else here as well; a boy had appeared to have just fallen, all his belongings strewn about him here and there. Jun, ever the chivalric one, rose again with a groan, proceeding to bend down and pick up a couple books. "It looks like you took quite the tumble...let me help you get your thi-" It was then he took a look to his left, where sat the maid he remembered seeing back in the locker room after his fight with Shotaro. It took all his effort not to let out a scream; why did she keep suddenly appearing like that? Thankfully, Jun managed to stay silent, but he still caught himself staring, which brought a blush of sheer embarrassment to his cheeks. "Ah! I bring apology, I did not mean to stare! I remembered you from the locker room...are you of the staff?"
 
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While others had practiced emensly training for their fighting exams and working on ranking up, Wish, out of her character, had taken her extra time to learn better English. Of course, her free time, when she wasn't working out on a punching bag or a person. She hadn't practiced for her exam, and therefore she hadn't ranked up. she wasn't happy. Sure, she felt she was stronger and knew more about the place in the eight weeks of being here, but communication was also important to her.

Wish walked down the hall with her shoulders back at her head high, her usual nervous and skittery translator behind her. She growled softly as a freshmen bumped into her shoulder, watching them quicky walk off. She knew better than to start a fight. Unfortunetly, despite trying to hide her disappointment in herself to avoid being a victim of being shoved around, Wish's eyes told a different story. The way they shifted around, uncertain of each studnet that past, flicking around as if someone was going to grab her and tell her to leave the school for good. Yes, unfortunetly for her, her eyes were windows to the soul.
 
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"That's it," Nurse Stritch exclaimed, "you've got it. Keep your focus, Ms. Volkov!"

Elena knelt down in front of the nursing bed, a shroud of blue aura covering her hands as they hovered over one of the hospital's inpatients, a young boy─fourteen years of age─whom had just been found curled up in an alley, his life fleeing from him. Eliot was his name. His body was riddled with various bruises and cuts, and no matter how much the medical staff tried to get him to tell them who was responsible for leaving him in such a state, the child refused to answer. Elena had a good idea though.

"It hurts, miss," the boy said through clenched teeth, tears flowing from his eyes as he winced from every little shock of pain, "Please, make it stop, I beg you!"
"It's okay to hurt," Elena said, speaking to him in a whisper in an attempt to keep him calm, "This will all be over soon, and you'll be stronger for it. Just a few more seconds, okay?"

With a nod from Eliot, Elena got back to focusing. The aura surrounding her hands suddenly began to glow brighter. It was then that Elena pressed her hands against the young man's body, touching his wounds. His eyes grew wide as his mouth flew open, almost as if to yell but nothing came out. He became docile within a mere fraction of a second, overcome with a feeling of complete euphoria. Layla, or Nurse Stritch as Elena came to know her, had the most satisfying look about her face. It had been a month since Elena had taken up the position of Nurse's Assistant, and only a few weeks since the head nurse had sensed potential in Elena. After only two weeks of training, that potential was finally unlocked. Elena had the touch, the ability to heal others.

Elena stood and stared down at the inpatient, her very first success. She watched him give her a feint smile before noticing his eyes growing heavy. He trailed off to sleep and began to snore like a baby. Both Elena and Layla smirked at the sight as Stritch gave Elena two good pats on the back. An alarm sounded off, to which Elena turned and looked at the rattling clock stationed on along a countertop.

"Your shift is over, Ms. Volkov," said Layla, "Best hurry if you don't want to miss your exa─"
"I'm not going..." Elena interrupted
"Hmph? But you've been training every single day for these exams. It's a crucial part of your grade."
"I know, it's just..." Elena paused and sighed before making her way over to a comfortable chair next to the sleeping boy "...I'd like to sit and wait here until he wakes. It's important."
"Plan on asking him about his attackers?"
"Would you believe me if I told you no?"
"Not a chance"
"Well, that's a lie I don't have to bother telling then"
"You are passionate about helping others, this I know. What you plan on doing though,... I can't get behind it. Violence only begets more violence."
"I'd like you to take another look at that kid and then try telling me that again."
"..."
"You can't do it, can you?"
"Ms. Volkov, I─"
"I need to stop this from happening again."
"And your exams?"
"I'll try to make them up next time."

"Well, then," Layla reached into her pocket, retrieved a roll of bandages and tossed them to Elena, "you're going to be needing those to dress his wounds after you're done cleaning him up. Also, when... I mean, if he tells you what you want to know, I'd like you to keep that bit of information to yourself. I don't want to know who you're going after. I ask this in exchange for my complete silence on the matter. Do we have a deal?"

Elena agreed to Nurse Stritch's terms, exchanging a nod with her before watching her exit the room. Now all Elena had to do was wait. She sat back in the chair and crossed her legs before realizing that she'd need something to keep her occupied and awake. Luckily, the hospital had plenty of imported literature lying about and she could read for hours. She selected a title by the name of Battle Royale, a book written by Koushun Takami. Christ, Elena thought, about thirty minutes into reading, the Japanese are really screwed up. ​

♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

​
The sun was beginning to set by the time Eliot began to come to. He woke with a whimper. Elena put down the book she'd been reading for the past two hours and sat straight up to greet her fellow student as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Back to the land of the living, I see?" Elena joked, to which Eliot gave a weak laugh. "You snore like a grizzly in the wintertime."
"Pardon the snoring, but I felt kinda beat. Pun intended of course."
"Whomever did that number on you, kid, they really made it look personal."
"I suppose it was. That's what happens when a scrawny guy like myself gets wise and tries to stand up for himself."
"Eliot?"
"..."
"Who were your attackers?"
"What makes you think that there were multiple attackers?"
"Your wounds vary in size. You had a number of different footprints covering your backside. So, I'll ask again: who were they?"
"I can't tell you that. They'd find out and kill me."
"I doubt they'll get that chance. Now... who?"
"I don't know their names, but... they were from Imperius Gloria."
"Can you describe them to me?"
"One of them was pretty chubby. Honestly, I couldn't tell whether it was three-hundred pounds of fat or just muscle. He was a fairly short guy. The other was a girl, a blonde. She was hanging on him... like they were, y'know,... together."
"Boyfriend and girlfriend you mean?"
"Yeah, like that. They were flirting a lot... excessively, so much that I couldn't help but notice. The big guy caught me staring at them and thought that I fancied the blonde. "Keep walking, mendicant. You're not even worthy of sharing the same air as us" he said."
"And what did you say back?"
"I told him that I personally didn't know how his lady friend could stomach kissing someone who looked and smelled like yesterday's bad lunch. That's when they both jumped me, dragged me into an alley and beat me senseless. I got a few hits off of him, but as for the girl... I don't hit girls."
"I see. Well, I'm going to go fish around a bit. You continue resting up. I'll pay you a visit tomorrow when I'm on my next shift."
"Wait, I─I never got your name."
"...It's Elena."
"Elena?"
"Yes?"
"How bad are you going to hurt them?"
"Me? Hurt them? Not at all. I'm just going to report them to the proper authorities is all"
"I see..."

Elena stood and made her way towards the exit. She opened the door and managed to get one foot outside of the room before she heard Eliot call out to her once again.

"Elena?"
"Yes?"
"You're a horrible liar... you know that?"
"Yeah,... I know."​
 
On his way to the rec center, Vincento was confronted outside of Gymnasium B by a powerfully built American teen. The teen was dressed in a heavily-decorated bomber jacket and khaki slacks. "Hold up there, man. You're that Vincento guy who can read people's moves, right?" said the teen as he blocked the Italian boy's path. "Si. I am Vince. But I think you have been misinformed. I cannot-" He was interrupted by the other teen, who slammed his open palm against the outer wall of the gym. "I'm Dan, and you've been challenged. Check the board and you'll see its legit. So you going to scrap or are you a giant wuss?"

Vince figured he'd accept the challenge regardless of if it was legitimate or not. He was itching to prove himself after his recent failure to advance in rank, after all. Ok, Dan. I'll play for a while with you. Which arena are we fighting at?" A huge smile crept onto Dan's face when he was asked where they'd fight. "Arena Four, the Octagon. See you there in a half hour." This would certainly be fun, but just who was this "Dan" guy? Well, he'd find out soon enough. Dan, on the other hand... was completely confident of his victory. In his mind, he was the top fighter in his class and no one could stop him.

The Arena #4 Octagon was an arena much like those you would find in Mixed Martial Arts venue, but somewhat larger. At 13.5m across, it was 50% larger than the ring used in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. This was necessary due to the fact that the teens fighting within it were not always grapplers, and stand-up fights needed more room for movement. On the various challenge boards across the campus, one of the several challenges would flash from red to yellow, signalling acceptance. A few moments later, it would go from yellow to green... signifying the match was to take place within five minutes.

Dan Williams versus Vincento Sarconni

With MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT​

Vincento climbed into the Octagon to confront Dan, who had already been waiting. Dan smiled confidently as Vincento took off his overshirt and tossed it over the top of the cage. "Let's get this show on the road, then!" yelled the muscular American teen. "Fine by me, you blowhard!" The ticker on the outer edge of the Octagon read "Dan Williams - C3 - American Kickboxing - vs. - Vincento Sarconni - C2 - Hapkido", and the Judge rang the bell to signal the start of the fight.

Dan was faster than he looked, closing the distance between himself and Vincento in just under two seconds and executing a flawless high kick that aimed to end the fight before it truly began. Ducking his head and putting his left arm up to block, Vincento stopped the strike. Immediately he moved to counterattack, pushing the leg to the side and swinging with a right kick toward Dan's ribcage. Unfortunately, Dan managed to step into the kick and catch the Italian boy's leg. He grunted in discomfort, as the kick did still connect... but he held tight to the caught leg, stepped in toward his foe, and delivered a powerful punch to Vincento's chest.

Already slightly off-balance, Vincento couldn't stay standing after the forceful blow. He flew backward a few feet and looked as though he would land on his head. The agile Italian would ensure that never happened by putting his hands out and pushing against the arena floor, executing a back handspring and landing on his feet. Dan didn't give him any rest, and closed the gap almost immediately. Another strong punch... but this time, Vincento saw it coming and was ready. Grabbing Dan's arm and turning with the direction of the strike, Vince merely needed to put a small amount of force against Dan's ankle to send him to the floor.

Dan's face slammed into the mat fairly hard, splitting his lip open and scraping into his eyebrow... but he was not beaten yet. Just before his foe could torque his arm and force a submission, Dan rolled over onto his back and tried once more to kick Vincento. Not expecting this move, Vince took a solid blow to his left shoulder. Far from debilitating, but enough to cause him to release the American's arm. Backing off to size up the Italian, Dan cracked his knuckles and neck in an attempt to intimidate Vincento... to no avail. "Nice moves for a calzone."

Did he just use a racial slur? Yep. Too bad he chose one that was more amusing than insulting, as Vincento chuckled before responding. "Whatever you say, Duke Nukem. Glad I could keep you entertained." Was it childish? Of course. But it DID make fun of how much of a stereotypical American Dan was. Annoyed, Dan rushed in for another attack. The two fighters traded blows a few more times in a manner similar to how the first two exchanges had gone, with Vincento beginning to gain the clear edge. While Dan was a good striker thanks to his Kickboxing training, Hapkido had forged Vincento into a capable defensive fighter in addition to being a strong stand-up fighter.

Dan came in for another high kick to Vincento's head... and sealed the match. Seeing eight or nine high kicks so far in the match, Vince knew how it would play out even before Dan finished the move. Stepping to the side, Vincento turned his upper body and delivered a powerful spinning heel kick to Dan's chin. The American was unprepared for this, and dropped like a stone. Vincento continued turning with his kick, bringing his leg around and slamming it into the mat beside his opponent's head. Dan's arms reached out in front of him as if he were trying to get back up, but the trained eyes of the judge knew what this meant... the American boy had just suffered a concussion.

With his foe unable to continue, Vincento was declared the victor of the fight... though he was hardly unscathed from the ordeal. A large bruise would soon form on his shoulder and chest, his lip and right eyebrow were both split open, and he even managed to crack a fingernail completely in half against the fencing of the octagonal arena. Nothing he would need hospitalized for, but he would be sore for a few days unless he went to see the nurse. The judge even suggested this, but was told: "He is worse off than I am. Better to not overload the infirmary when I can patch myself up." Though anyone around could tell he was in a fair amount of pain and just playing tough.

With his plans to go to the rec center ruined by Dan Williams, Vincento instead headed toward the Male Dorm Building #3 and hoped no one else would want to fight him today. If he ran into someone friendly, he might stop to chat... but otherwise he was done for the day.
 
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Zen shrugged stuffing his hands in his pocket. "No class right now so I figured I'd bug you about life and such. Seems like all you're doing is training, if you would like maybe we could train together or go grab a bite to eat. Hell maybe even we could find out where Brad is. Pretty sure he's creeping on his biggest fan again." Zen could tell there were multiple students trying to compete with Shotaro and his abilities yet he could never see what the big deal was. The guy was good at fighting and could destroy most of the students with a few kicks but even he knew there was someone better then him here. There were plenty of other fighters here who took on the same skills as the other students. He wondered why they never bothered to study those kids.

He was never good at starting a good conversation with others, yet here he was just going with random ideas. Although he didn't seem to notice Diana had been in her own little world in the end. She didn't even seem to know he was talking. Just before he could let out another word she seemed to perk with a way of beating someone. "Wait what? You mean Brad? I don't think he would be too hard to beat.... I mean he has just kinda been creeping on Shotaro." He frowned and looked towards the school. "Pretty sure he's watching him now somewhere in the school... Either that or he's actually relaxing for once or possibly even training." He looked back to Diana and the field behind her. "So what do you think we should do? Anything good in mind or?"
 
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Oh why oh why did he always have the worst of lucks? Though Gerald managed to save most of the books, he was fairly certain that they got damaged in his attempts to protect them. The librarian will have him killed! She was a nice lady, but nice ladies were known for being really, really scary when someone got on their nerves. Scared of the prospects that the future had for him, the poor boy chose to focus on the present, namely, at the student who was trying to help him, which was probably worse than all of the book damages combined. The old him would have smiled at Junkiro, then he would have thanked him, but the new Gerald could only glance at him briefly with fearful eyes before he carefully avoided his gaze and lifted the pile of books off his chest.

Slowly, he stood up without upsetting the delicate balance of the books before he put them on the nearby bench.
"U-umm... err... umm..." What a great start. He wanted to say something to the other student who helped him, yet all that came out of his mouth was garbage, so he kept his eyes fixated on the ground as he picked up the poor things scattered on the ground. He had not been carrying a lot, fortunately, though they got dirty all the same and he gave the covers a pitiful look as he tried to get the dust off them with his own clothes for a few moments before realising that it did not work at all. He would have to get back to his room, then get a rag or something to dust them off.

"I mean...." tried Gerald again in a quiet voice that Junkiro would probably hear only barely "Thank you," he said quietly as he organised his stack of books again. Though his thanks were sincere, the other student would likely get the sense that there was something wrong about him as Gerald did not look him in the eye even once, not to mention that he had been trying to keep his scarred face concealed from view as much as possible. Hoping dearly that he managed to hide himself from prying eyes, he tried collecting his luggage, only to find that he could not find proper grip on them, no matter how hard he tried.

"Umm... I... Can you please help?" he asked as he gestured at the stack of books. "I can no- I mean I already..." he said, going silent as he left the implication hang in the air. This was not a situation he excelled in; he had been hoping to avoid people's attention and now here he was, making a weirdo out of himself because he was nervous and feeling out of place. He was sure that Junkiro was going to either laugh at him or find him creepy, then just go away, leaving him stranded with his stack of books.
 
[BCOLOR=transparent]Co-op post consisting of the Dynamic Duo with Zackymas![/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Upon entering the market, Jiro wandered the market for a bit, not looking for anything particular… yet. Eventually, he could hear a nice green apple calling out his name when he had walked over to the fruits section. It was nearly a plea saying 'Eat me!' with Jiro's stomach eagerly trying to help answer the plea. The only problem was that he couldn't find the apple that was calling to him. Each one he saw at first seemed dull or imperfect.[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]"Where is it…"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Siel entered the market while stretching his arm and yawning, the nap before had gotten to him. As he walked to where the refreshments in the market, he recognized a known person he had met before, his partner in crime, Jiro. And even though, he was mainly thinking about his training and combat, he would always have spare time and mind for a friend. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Eyo, Jiro."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Siel said as he tapped Jiro's shoulder.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Jiro,indifferent of his presence, saluted him back with a swift hand wave before realizing. The apple next to him, that was, that was [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]the[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] apple. The one true apple, first of its name, lord of the seven kingdoms and protector of the earth. Jiro pushed Siel aside to satisfy his lust provoked by [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]the one true apple,[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] took the apple and took out change from his right pocket to pay for the item of his vanal wishes. As he paid for the apple, Siel looked at him with curiosity; it was someone who he had not seen for quite some time. He wanted to know how had his barely seen friend had been. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"How ya' been, man? It's been too long, y'know."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] He asked cheerfully to Jiro, who had finally turned to him.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I've been… fine… What about you?"[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Jiro spoke after giving a good bite to his apple. It was very tasty, indeed. It was the one true apple... Jiro wished it last forever, but it was going to end in a few minutes anyways. He thought a bit about Siel, who was looking over the drinks near the cashier. He was the first person Jiro spoke to on campus. He was close to being a friend for him, something Jiro hadn't experience in a while.[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]"Oh, y'know. Training, school, fighting. The usual."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Siel shrugged as he chose a simple juice from the assortment of drinks, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"You been parkouring everywhere, like usual?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Sorta'…" [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Jiro replied as they walked, a sudden and awkward silence took over the situation. Both individuals had nothing left to say as Siel payed for the drink of choice… though it was not a long lasting silence as someone came running over them. Jiro recognized the boy… and he wished he had not. Siel didn't recognize him at first, so he leaned over to Jiro, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Why'cha suddenly go silent…?"[/BCOLOR]J[BCOLOR=transparent]iro looked at Siel with a look of profound confusion,[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]"Really… He's the guy you kicked in the…"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Siel instantly smiled at the words "kicked in" and voiced a drawn out oh. Now the pair recalled the instance that happened on the first day.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Hehe, you remember me? Pair of sacks. Because I remember you two, running away like brats. Well, you better go to see the challenge board… [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]assholes.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] T[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]he youngster immediately ran out of the scene, leaving both Jiro and Siel, the latter had instantly jeered at the events he assumed were going to happen. Jiro looked at him with even more confusion as they were just threatened.[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]"What."[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Jiro was his only thought, confused by the act of the young male.[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]"You seem confused, friend. How about we check the board as he said?"[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Siel broke the silence as they moved. Jiro still hadn't finished his apple, but he knew that was going to lose importance sooner than later. Siel guided him out to the nearest board while drinking his juice. Jiro noted that Siel had an upbeat kick in his steps. Finally, at the Challenge Board, Siel reveals what he had assumed from the beginning.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]D1 James Perk, Boxing, & D3 Juanjo Mestral, Capoeira[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]VS [/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]D2 Jiro Faint, ???, & D2 Siel Jin, Taekkyeon [/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]"As you can see, he wants a chance at revenge. Against both of us. I'm willing to do it, but, are you?"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Jiro analyzed the situation for a second before giving his answer. The challengers were "James Perk" and "Juanjo Mestral"; D1 and D3 respectively. This was the first time Jiro had seen such names in the school, so he knew nothing about them. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"I've never heard of them… But guess it would be disrespectful to refuse their request."[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]Jiro briefly smiled. The challenge request marked Arena 11. Jiro accepted the challenge for both of them and immediately walked away from the Board, checking his watch just to notice it was almost the hour the challengers had asked for. Siel noticed Jiro walking away, and decided to lead the way as he walked front with his chest full of air... in an attempt to emulate a bigger[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] muscular form.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]In the Arena, Jiro and Siel silently staring at the challengers. But their challengers didn't act the same, they were smiling, almost as if they had waited for too long and it was already time. It was obvious they had some plan if they waited this long to challenge them while Jiro and Siel had not even worked together in a fight before. One of the school's teachers stood straight at the limits of the Arena, asides him, there was a table with a timer and a small screen which displayed the names of the fighters in the Arena. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Fighters! Salute."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] The teacher who participated as judge demanded of the four. The challengers simply sneered while Siel gave a two fingered salute with a smile and Jiro remained still, gazing at both enemies. The judge didn't try to force anything more out of them, this kind of stuff was starting to seem regular. The teacher shrugged and breathed out, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Begin!"[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=transparent]He exclaimed.[/BCOLOR]
 
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Bradley was not paying much attention to the movie, it was one of Michael Bay's atrocities. Made worse by the continued casting of Shia LeBouf and whatever her name was. No, he wasn't there for some poorly-done actiony drivel, he was there to watch Shotaro. True, he could not learn much simply by watching him watch a movie, but, something about his aura, how dark and powerful it was, drew Bradley to him like a magnet. it wasn't any sexual attraction, or emotional at all. In fact, in Bradley's opinion, Shotaro was not very attractive anyhow. Too many muscles, this was probably one reason why Shotaro doesn't have a girlfriend.

His attraction was as a hunter to his prey, a hero to a villain. He would defeat Shotaro, publicly. He would end his tyranny once and for all, and maybe teach him a lesson or two. He could see it now...

~Commence Daydream sequence~

It was in one of the arenas at Two Peaks, Shotaro was standing victoriously on top of a pile of moaning first years, cackling evilly whilst twirling a villain-y moustache. Bradley enters. "Shotaro! I have come to end your vile tyranny, you tyrant. I shall avenge those who's lived you have ruined with your bullying, you bully!" While saying this, he poses and makes gestures. "For I am Bradley Johnson, Hero of the downtrodden, Lord of Bartitsu, Second coming of Sherlock Holmes! I an the bringer of justice and light, and today, I hall end you!" Shotaro laughs at this, and they leap at each other. Bradley's fist is consumed in light, while Shotaro's is clad in darkness. They clash, their fists pounding into each other with a great shockwave. But look! Bradley's light is too powerful, and it overwhelms Shotaro's evil energy. He roars in defiance as he burns away and then explodes into fireworks. As Bradley touches down to the ground, he is surrounded by a bevy of beauties who massage the tiredness out of him, showing no fear to touch him, as even his own mother and father showed. In fact, everyone comes around to give him a hug or shake his hand, and he doesn't have to wear gloves. Even his parents show that they are finally proud of him, and his mother finally give him the hug he has wanted from her for so long.

~Daydream End~

Bradley snaps back into reality. Finally realizing he was daydreaming. The feeling it gave him was so good...but dreams are not reality, and some dreams can never be...
 
This boy, whose name he hadn't picked up yet, seemed quite awkward; it was almost endearing in a way, yet Jun could tell this boy was quaking in his boots. His books, now all picked up, had managed to get dirt and dust all over them somehow. Jun cocked his head; he was certainly a strange boy, worrying so much just about his books. He also had such an avoidance of eye contact; he really MUST be shy.

"You need a hand with the books? I can assist." Jun took each book in turn, activating his sticky power. In the past months, his stickiness had improved to become more selective; Jun could now act as a Sticky Buddy and wipe dirt and dust off things onto himself. This he did with each book, allowing the dirt to collect on his hand until each book was as clean as when the boy had first picked them out. He then shut his power off, and it fell in a small pile at his feet.

It was then Junkiro realized what the boy was trying to say. "Oh, you wish my assistance in to carry them? Of course, my apologies." Jun picked up half the books, grunting with tired exertion as he hefted them up. While he may not know the boy, a little kindness could go a long way, after all; even better, the longer he was occupied, the less time he would be forced to spend over at Imperius Hall. It was a win-win! "My name is Junkiro Iwazuma....what is your name, may I ask, and where might we be heading?"
 
The Following is a Collaborative post between myself and Beta
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Elena stood at the door of the Imperius Gloria hangout. She stared at its entrance for a good two minutes, a number of thoughts racing through her mind. She'd been contemplating exactly what she would do or say if someone actually answered. It was pretty late in the evening, so no doubt she'd ruffle a few feathers if someone inside were sleeping. Then again, she really didn't care. A healthy helping of proper revenge was in order.

The Brazilian teen balled her hand into a firm fist before slamming it against the doors of Imperius Hall. "Anyone home?" She'd knock a few more times before continuing on. "I have an urgent message to deliver." Elena would be greeted by a well-dressed young woman, seemingly in her later teens, who glared sternly at the dark-skinned girl who was making such a ruckus. "There's no need to be in such a rush. People don't just teleport to doors, you know. So what is it?"

"A young man was beaten nearly to death by two of your faction members, a pudgy fellow and his blonde girlfriend. I need to speak with them... now." The girl at the door smiled at the mention of the pair, but that smile vanished as soon as Elena made a demand. "Yeah, that's not going to happen. Unless you're an Imperius Officer, you don't get to make demands of any of us. You want to talk to them? Find them yourself." And with that said, the girl turned to shut the door, but not before Elena would shove her foot in the way of the opening, pressing a firm hand against the door's surface.
"Listen, gorgeous... I'm sure you have better things to do right now. So do I. But you really don't want me to have to go looking for them, so why not make this easier on them and myself, eh sweetheart? C'mon. How 'bout it?"

Was this freshman serious right now? Trying to grandstand in front of Imperius Hall like she was some white knight of justice? "Listen, tramp. Either you can leave and find them yourself... or me and the other officers here can put our feet so far up your ass that you'll be picking toe jam out of your teeth. That, or I can text Shotaro and he can have you eating through a straw for the next six weeks." The girl had yet to even turn around to face Elena, and made a hand motion to someone within the building. The loud clomping of feet hitting a tile floor was heard a second later, as if someone jumped from the second floor to the first.

By the time the girl would turn around, Elena would be gone─absolutely nowhere in sight.

"Now, let's see here..." Elena held the pickpocketed device, a rather expensive smartphone, at eye level as she scrolled through the list of the doorwoman's contacts. She'd turned the phone on silent to make sure that no one knew she had it. Its owner was bound to notice it missing eventually, but the skillful pickpocket would be very far away by then. Elena made her way to the Keysi Track and Field Complex while she searched through the phone. She couldn't manage to put a name to a face of anyone matching the description of Eliot's attackers in the phone's Contacts section, so she decided to look at its Gallery instead. That's when she struck gold. "Bingo!"

Elena held in her hands a picture of the Imperius Hall doorwoman huddled up with a group of several other students, the blonde and the pudgy fellow being two of them. Her mocha-colored lips curled into a upward to form a smirk. As she made her way back into the phone's Contacts section, Elena made a mental note of the other students in the photograph. She was able to match two of them to a phone number. Though they weren't the couple she was looking for, perhaps they would be a little easier to squeeze some information out of. Elena made another mental note of their names and numbers before turning the phone off. "Now to get rid of the evidence." The pickpocket looked around, trying to find a convenient place to dump the phone. Then she realized that the complex was right by the docks. Perfect. Elena chucked the phone as far as she could, throwing it into the water. "Problem solved" she chuckled before going on about her way.

Vincento had been convinced by one of the faculty to visit the Hospital, just as a precaution. As expected, he was fine aside from a couple scrapes. About two hours after his fight with Dan, he was released and headed back toward the dorms. Passing Imperius Hall, he noticed a darker-skinned girl in a bit of a standoff with another girl at the entrance to the building and decided to watch from a distance. One of the factions he was considering joining was in fact the Imperius Gloria, so seeing how they treat (what he thought was) a new applicant would tell him if he really wanted to be a part of the group or not.

Unexpectedly, the girls at the door seemed to nearly break into a fight... then the darker-skinned girl did something that blew the Italian's mind. She nabbed the Imperius Gloria girl's phone right from her pocket! This was turning out to be quite the eventful day, it seemed. As soon as the phone was swiped, the thief took off like a shot toward the gyms and athletics center. Curious, Vince followed suit and stayed on her heels. However, he lost track of her for a moment as she ran between the tennis courts and the Okichitaw Athletics Center. When he finally tracked the girl down, she had just hurled the phone into the sea.

"Bene, miss... I guess that's one way to make sure they can't prove it was you."

"Huh!? Who the hell are you!?" Elena froze in her tracks. She'd been followed? That was a first. The Brazilian put her dukes up, ready to fight if need be. In response, Vincento also stepped into a fighting stance. Though he did take a step back in hopes of showing he wasn't there to fight unless he was attacked. "I think the better question would be: Why are you stealing from people who can and WILL come after you if they find out what you did. I'm not with them, but I know what their leader can do... he is not someone you want to piss off, you crazy ragazza."

"Raga-what? Did you just insult me?" Elena was about to move in for an attack, something she almost never did, but then she realized that she'd seen the boy before. "Wait a second. Aren't you that one kid who got his insides shifted by that Shotaro idiot weeks back?" ... Of course she'd bring that up. It seemed that was what many people remembered best about him. Though it DID happen on the first day of school. Probably why it made such an impression. "Si. I am Vince Sarconni. And yes, he kneed me in the liver. But I suspect he'd do worse to you were that girl to inform him that you stole her phone." With that, he went back to a relaxed stance, figuring a fight wasn't what he or this girl wanted right now.

Elena fell out of her fighting stance, and then gave a cocky smile. "Well, it's probably a good thing then that she doesn't know I stole it. I'm pretty good at what I do. I kinda had to be growing up." She'd look Vincento up and down before continuing on. "So, you're not with Imperius Gloria then? I suppose I don't have to worry about you ratting me out, hm?"

Ah, that was the twenty-euro question, wasn't it? "Well, if I turned you in I am sure I'd get a lot of brownie points with them, as well as gain admittance to the faction itself." said the Italian boy as he paced back and forth slowly. "But then, I also owe them an inconvenience as payback for that incident on the first day of school. Plus, then YOU would owe me a favor, no?" In the end, keeping the girl's secret WAS more beneficial to him... so unless she did something silly, he'd probably agree to keep quiet. "Though I would like to have your name. You have mine, after all. Unless you'd prefer me to simply know you as thief."

"Are you blackmailing me?" Elena quirked a brow, her smile fading. "A favor for a favor? What exactly do you have in mind there, kid?" Shaking his head, Vince leaned against a nearby railing. "Blackmail is an ugly word. But yes, a favor for a favor. Nothing unsavory, I assure you. I was raised to be a gentleman, not an American. I'm thinking that we could both use a good training partner, as I'm sure you're not up to taking on I.G. by yourself and I'm looking to pass my ranking test as soon as possible." He shrugged his shoulders after he spoke, but quickly resumed his little speech. "Plus, you'd probably like someone to watch your back in case your little bout of thievery catches up to you. Unless of course you think you can solo all the upperclassmen they'd send after you."

Elena heard the "gentleman's" words. Honestly, he did seem like a decent enough person, but why the hell would any decent person even entertain the thought of gaining the favor of the Imperius Gloria faction? That set off an alarm. "You mentioned gaining brownie points with the same faction as the asshole that bullied you on your first day here. Why the hell would you want to do that?" A smart question deserved an equally intelligent answer, and Vincento was more than willing to deliver. "Because only an idiot makes a decision without considering all the options at their disposal. A kick in the liver from one person doesn't condemn a whole group of people, after all. Though it WOULD be more satisfying to mess with them. And so we're back to the 'blackmail', as you called it."

Elena hesitated at first before responding. She searched for a flaw in Vincento's words, anything that would give him away as being disingenuous but found nothing. The conversation would carry on as usual. "I'm Elena─a student here on the island and assistant to Nurse Stritch. Earlier today, a young man was found badly beaten on the streets. Without medical attention, he likely would have died. We were able to get him stabilized and, after I spoke with him privately, he identified his attackers as two members of the Imperius Gloria faction; some overweight kid and his pretty-in-pink blonde girlfriend. I nabbed that phone in order to look for clues that might lead me to them, and I just so happened to find some before I tossed that piece of overpriced tech out to sea." With that said, Elena crossed her arms about her chest. "Satisfied?"

"Sounds to me like you rushed in without considering your options, Elena. Not that I'm judging you... it's just that was kinda silly. But yes, I suppose that explains everything." Said the Italian boy as he scratched his head. "Though you've still not said why I should keep this to myself. I made an offer that you didn't seem to much care for, but I could always just call in a favor down the road if you'd prefer that instead."

"Give me a break, kid." Elena chuckled. "You don't come off as a rat. And you certainly don't come off as the kind of guy that would let the beating of a helpless student go unpunished. You want to see those two fools suffer just as much as I do, so there's no way you have the upper hand here." Elena looked Vincento over once more before sighing to herself and continuing. "But... I suppose I could help you spar if that's all you want. Doesn't seem like too much to ask. Now, if you'll excuse me," Elena said as she turned to leave, "I have two fish that need frying."

Before Elena could make her getaway, Vince chimed in with one more nugget of joy. "If they beat that kid as bad as you say... what makes you think they won't do the same to you? Your part-time job as a nurse's aid doesn't mean shit when it comes to your fighting grade... and they WILL hurt you. So unless you were planning something unsavory, you're just walking into an ass-beating and you know it."

"Perhaps. But not if I catch one of them without the other. I've enough skill to deal a considerable amount of damage to the two of them when caught off their guard, and I've no intentions of being formal about my approach. As they say, an eye for an eye. They mercilessly beat a kid within an inch of his life, and I don't plan on being nice in dishing out proper justice." ... another flaw in Elena's reasoning. Vigilante justice was not "proper" justice. "Why not simply turn in what you have to the faculty? The two would be heavily fined and spend the next couple months in the Detention Hall. From what I gather, its basically a jail. Not exactly the best place for the pampered and-"

Elena had to cut him off mid-sentence. "Detention?" She'd turned around and begin advancing toward Vincento. "If someone beat you senseless, would you want to let the authorities handle it or would you want to get even? These kids are rich. They have strings they can pull from the inside no doubt. I'm not aiming to settle this on proper grounds because chances─" Vince returned the favor by cutting Elena off. "If that happened to ME, my father would burn down their family's house. If I told him, that is. But you see, I'm not my dad. I prefer to stand on my own two feet. Maybe the victim should have a say in what is done about them, hmm?"

"There are several hundred bandages and wounds on the victim's body that speak for him. You may not be your father, but I'm not you either. Up until ten minutes ago, I do believe that I was flying solo on this, and you're not changing that. The original plan sticks. They get dealt with my way." A smirk graced Vincento's face as Elena refused to see reason. "Then I suppose I'll have to show you how your way of thinking is wrong." ... stepping back into his fighting stance, Vince watched Elena with the eyes of a hawk. He'd take in every subtle move she made, and readied himself for his second fight of the day.

"You're really going to make me do this?" The Brazilian girl asked in utter disbelief. "You already look pretty dinged up, and you're going to make me fight you over something that isn't any of your damn business?" And now to play on the girl's sensibilities. He hated to do it, because it was something his dad would do... but it needed done. "Si. And you can either fight me, and probably win... injuring me further in the process simply to get what you want. Like that couple did to your victim." He motioned in the direction of New Peaks Security before continuing. "Or you can do the right thing and they'll get penalized. Hell, challenge each of them to a solo match first, THEN expose them to the staff. Send them to the D.H. broken in both body AND spirit."

A look of surprise appeared on Elena's face. This Vince kid had a hell of a point. Going to the authorities and then exacting justice could do some damage on a huge scale. Perhaps there was space for opportunity here. This place was unlike Brazill─a place where justice had to be swift before it wasn't served at all. Elena had options here, and she could use them to her benefit. "Vince, was it?" she'd say before turning back around and nodding her head, signaling for her fellow student to follow her. "Alright then. Let's do this your way. I hope you have all your homework finished up, because we have some training to do. It's gonna be a long night."

Appeased, Vincento dropped out of his fighting stance once more. "There are a couple rings at the student rec center. Should we head there, then?"

"Ladies first..."

Before he began walking, Vincento fired off a snide response to Elena's clever jab. People must call you ramen... because you're way too salty." ... and then he took off running toward the Rec Center.

"Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch, Victoria!" Elena said as she took off running after him. This just might have been the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
 
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This post is a co-post with Kiro and me.
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"No, not Brad!" She exclaimed as a smile stretched its way onto her face. "I'm talking about Shotaro. You know, the guy who was in a fight with another kid at the beginning of school." Diana seemed a little hyper at the moment, probably because she had been training and the adrenaline was still pumping. "I've come up with a way to beat Shotaro in a fight- well... It isn't exactly full proof, but it's a start." Her tail began to wave a little faster as she went through the plan in her head again and again just to see if there was any way he could counter anything she threw at him. It was almost as if she were there and actually fighting him in an arena. She looked up at Zen and blinked. "I'm sorry did I interrupt anything you were saying..?"


Zen shrugged and nodded. "Of course i do. He beat the shit out of that freshman. Who doesn't remember that ass kicking?" He laughed to himself remembering the battle. It was surely entertainable to him but he knew others thought differently. While he found entertainment other saw sorrow and sadness. Then there were those who now were angered because it wasn't good enough.

Zen blinked as she said 'beat shotaro' "eh....... one does not simply beat that guy. He eats students for lunch." He was almost convinced now Diana had too much catnip before the conversation yet he ignored it. " nah, wasn't important I'm just bored off my ass. Anyways, what did you have in mind in beating that asshole?"

"Well if I told you, it wouldn't be such a great win since you would know what would happen." Once this was said, she giggled a little and grabbed her tail. It wasn't because she was uncomfortable, no that wasn't it. It was just simply because it was starting to move a little too much. Diana swears this fluffy thing has a mind of its own. "I would challenge him now, but... I don't think I'm quite there yet. I still have a lot to do before I can even think to start a fight with that monster of a student." She didn't exactly mean for it to come out like that. It kind of made it sound as if she absolutely despised the kid, but she hardly even knew him. Heck, not even a word to him, so she wouldn't exactly be able to say she hated him or even liked him.

Diana thought for a moment, looking at the grass that resided under her shoes when she looked back up to Zen. "Would you want to help me train? You would be getting in some practice as well, of course, but it just sounds like a little fun to practice on someone I've never seen in battled before."

Zen sighed softly and shook his head. "Yeah but it could be useful in a fight or two... Meh I guess that's fine." He could tell she was jittery yet couldnt figure out why. He was never the type to get all hyped up in such a fashion as her. "Did you get fed catnip or something?" His question came as he watched her tail swish about and seeing her clench onto it. As far as he could see she was a hyperactive kitty filled with energy. Not to mention she seemed to be acting stranger than normal. "Challenge him? He'd kill you and then bring you to life just to kill you again. Now you're just being crazy as hell."

Zen's attention averted to the sky, he of course wanted to fight the guy too but had no idea what he would do to his body in less than two minutes. "Think ill pass on fighting that guy until l'm at least close to his level." he could enjoy kicking the students ass but also knew he didnt even come close to to him and would die. His attention snapped back to diana and her question. "Help train? That sounds as if it would be fun. As long as we don't get in trouble then sure."


Diana gave off a friendly and warm smile as she backed up and seemed to get into a defense posture to start off with. She wasn't sure what he would do in a battle and needed to learn his style before she could dish out any real attacks. "I'm sure we won't get in trouble if it isn't serious. At least I've never gotten into any trouble with the staff." She let go of her tail and let it stand straight up, trying to keep it from waving everywhere and distracting her. The not-so-tall girl stood still and waited for him to make a move towards her.

Zen laughs softly and shook his head adjusting his stance to a defensive stance. "Well, you said spar so im sure it wont be trouble. Besides even if you haven't i still have. Remember with brad? I tried to kick his ass just for touching you." He waited for a moment and watched for her attack. He never figured out her fighting style so he was in the dark yet she was in the dark as well. His fighting style involved kicks and punches at the same time so he had some advantage. Zen crept closer and closer until he had been only there was three feet between them. It was then he waited a few moments before striking. If she would attack he would attempt a block then swing a quick punch from the right before countering with a swift kick. But that was if she made the first move.

He could see after a moment of waiting he was on his own with offense so Zen quickly brung his right Leg up leaning back with the kick performing a swift kick straight for her torso. He knew that would be a easy block yet his hopes were not to land a kick but to get her to start fighting and swinging. If that happened his ability would give him a easy process on fighting her.

Diana quickly took note of his kick and attempted to grab it, followed by a swift counter-flip, using his weight against him. If she actually managed to get this to work, she would appear to have the upper hand already. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Zen carefully, trying to guess his style of fighting already. Her's consisted of mostly counters and quick jabs, but if she was able to she would go for her strongest kick, which at this point wasn't as strong as it could be.

Zen was caught off guard by the flip and easily went over her shoulder and straight to the ground wincing at the feeling of his head smacking the ground. It had been only a few hours since his last fight so his body was already drained a bit from that fight and here he was in another fight. This one to him, would be more difficult than the last. Zen focused on the fight as he quickly regained used his ground to an advantage to bring his left leg straight up towards the back of her knee hoping to knock her off balance quickly and bring a quick left jab straight towards her right shoulder blade. He would only jab if she was taken down and if she did happen to counter the kick then he would only bring his right leg up for an attempt to knock her off balance with that leg.

Of course she didn't think about a kick to the back of the knee so she went tumbling down due to lack of balance. Diana looked at Zen only to notice the jab too late and was hit directly in the shoulder blade. She brought her tail up and started using her distraction technique and order to quickly turn around and attempt a weak low kick that would be slowed by friction from the soft grass. If this ended in success she would quickly roll back to her feet, but if it wasn't then she would just continue throwing weak jabs and sometimes a punch, though she was always a tad bit slower at full on punches rather than her usual attacks.

Zen smiled at the sight of the jab striking her shoulder blade. Then bone would stop it from being too effective yet if his strike was strong enough it would surely give pain to the shoulder when moved to much. When her tail came up Zen quickly snapped his attention towards it expecting it to grab his arm or something yet this entire idea was wiped away when the kick struck his rib cage. It was enough to shift his body over slightly yet he used the motion to roll over and quickly stand back up into a battle ready stance. This time he would wait for her to attack locking his eyes with hers focusing on her eyes more then anything else in battle.


Diana got into her offense stance and rush at him with a fist ready and attempted to, yet again, catch him off guard by doing a fake out and trying to do a roundhouse kick instead. Though if this were predicted, it would be easily blocked and possibly countered by him. However if Zen were to try and block the wrong move, it would result in a blow to the side of his torso.

Zen smiled when she went for the fake out activating his power when she had rushed at him. His motion was to copy the attack almost exactly as she did. Yet the downside was when he spun around his gaze leaving hers for a moment causing his kick to be a second later yet the two roundhouse kicks met each other Zen locking his eyes with her once more. Zen had chosen the next move by bringing his fist around with the kick aiming a punch directly for her cheek hoping to make contact and at least jar her long enough for him to perform a left knee directly towards her stomach and to knock the wind out of her. On the other hand if she dodged the punch he would let his body continue to move and spin again and bring the back of his leg towards her in an attempt to catch her with that move.


She stared at the connecting kicks in both surprise and confusion. How did someone with a complete different fighting style copy my move like that? She thought to herself as she quirked an eyebrow. Was he trained in my fighting style as well? Or had he simply gotten lucky and managed to counter with such precision... While this confused her it had also brought up many more questions of what Zen was capable of. Once she looked back up, Zen was performing a punch towards her and attempted to block it with her hands bringing both up in a crossed fashion to catch the punch. but didn't have a counter in mind, so this was just a simple block-and-hope situation. If the block was successful Diana would bring her tail around to grab his wrist to hold him close and in place. then bring a quick left jab straight for his right temple.

Zen's punch had landed directly in the palms of her hand. In his mind a mental 'yes! ' was shouted only to be ruined by the sight of her tail grabbing his own wrist and holding it still. Yet, it was strong but not strong enough to completely hold him still as he pulled to attempt to get out of it. It gave some leeway and brought his focus from the left jab that connected to his cheek rather than the temple. This had knocked his vision for a spin staggering his steps for a moment before looking back up hoping she wouldn't already be coming in for yet another attack. If she would have then he would have no choice but to block and think of a quick counter.


Instead of attacking, she went to try and help him. "Oh my- Are you alright? I'm sorry I didn't mean to go that hard!" She has just remembered that this was only for training and it wasn't an actual match with spectators and a judge. Her tail had begun to droop along with her ears as concern was written all over her face. "We can stop if you want..." She lifted a hand and grasped her charm that rested under her shirt.

Zen adjusted himself and went in for a strike yet stopped when she spoke. His adrenaline had gotten him there yet he stopped nearly half way. His breaths were quick and heavy as he stood up letting his guard down. He laughed it off and shook his head rubbing his cheek. "No don't worry about it. That's what it was meant for. For a test of our skills and to strengthen us." He could see the concern on her face and simply shook his head. "I'm fine just that one did hurt a little. I believe it's enough for today though. Want to head back to the school?"


With a sigh of relief followed by a warm smile, she nodded. "Sure. Would you like to get something to eat as well? I'll even pay. It's the least I can do to apologize." She put her hand down and put them both behind her back and motioned towards the school. "Only if you want though. If you don't then I guess we can do something else."

Zen simply shrugged and nodded. "Food after two ass kickings? Sounds pretty good to me actually." He rubbed his cheek where she struck him feeling the cheek swell slightly and winced at the pain. "Damn, my face is swelling actually that was a really good hit and very unsuspecting. That tail thing can catch people off guard if you do it right. If you don't it can end up doing bad too. Good idea is to grab the leg with your tail and sweep kick the person. Hopefully that'll catch them off guard and throw them to the ground and probably injure them greatly if you keep the combo going and from the kick just plant your foot on their throat. Should be as easy as one two three, so. Back to my room or shall we grab food?"

Diana was taking note of the fight that had just gone down in her head when Zen had mentioned how his cheek was starting to swell. A flash of guilt ran across her face but just went along with what he said. "Uh... Yeah I guess it could be used in a good way, but I always knew it could be bad if it were grabbed and I was left being thrown by it. I mean, it's already pretty easy for it to get stepped on because it's so long." With a sigh she nodded and finally answered the last question. "I could go for some food. You can choose the place if you want. I'm up for anything, really." With that said she stretched and readied to follow her friend to wherever he desired.

He nodded and frowned softly. "I would assume that being grabbed and slung across stage by that would gravely hurt you. But I think you could always use your abilities for the better if you tried hard enough. Maybe use those ears of yours to listen to differences in the sounds between a punch or a kick, that could probably help you out some. I'm not sure what else we could do off the top of my head." He nodded and pointed to a brick smoke stack near the rest of the food places. "Well, there's an american buffet over there so I'm sure that'd do good enough. American food sounds really good right now and could hit the spot with noodles-n-cheese or something. Oh and I heard they have this creme pie thing with chunks of chocolate cookies across it. Oreo creme pie I think is what they call it and such." He thought of the taste and let his mouth water slightly. "Sounds really amazing to me."
 
Collaborative post between Greased Smitening and I​

As Jun asked if he needed any help with his books, Gerald gave him a huge nod of his head, then he watched in confusion as the other teenager started to somehow make the dust stick to himself. Not that it was not greatly appreciated as Gerald figured that he would be killed if he returned the books like this, but it was definitely not something he expected to see in any place, nor was it something that he could explain away rationally. Did this person have glue on their hands or something? No, otherwise even the books would have stuck to them. Before he could immerse himself in the theories, though, Jun understood his request, not to mention that he introduced himself, which made Gerald scramble to get his mind back into the proper gears.

"A-ah. I'm Gerald Berry," said Gerald shyly as he finally managed to get a hold of half the stack. "I'm headed towards the male dorms..." Wait. This was not right. This was definitely not the shortest way between the male dorms and the library!

Well, if this student could look any more bewildered, he certainly seemed to be trying. Junkiro had never had to deal with 'socially awkward' types before; back home, they just didn't exist. They were always an enigma to him...why couldn't they interact normally? What was the big deal? In the end, Jun decided it really didn't matter, as he'd try to help them out either way. Gerald seemed no exception to the rule; in fact, he seemed to have gotten himself lost!

"Ah, do not have worry! We may not be too close, but I do not mind. The further, the better." Anything to get out of Imperius Hall for more than five minutes. Hopefully he wouldn't run into any of those dunderheads along the way-especially Shotaro-but if he remembered correctly, that lunk was at a movie anyways.

"Alright then, have following of me!"

"U-umm! I know the way," said Gerald. How the hell did he end up here when he had been sure that he took the right road so that he would follow the shortest route, he was not sure. He had even checked the map a dozen or so times! Maybe he got so immersed in carrying the books that despite all of his efforts, he got completely lost in the campus? Regardless, he had to hurry so as to get his legs moving at the pace of Jun and though the boy's statement about 'the further the better' perplexed him, he did not want to ask questions. He had already inconvenienced the boy enough.

They weren't too far from the boys' dorms; Jun took his time walking, both to make sure that Gerald caught up as well as waste as much time as possible so as to be away from his blackmailers. Wasn't a pretty strategy, but an effective one nonetheless. Still, even with the walk taking as much time as possible, he say the dorms draw into view far sooner than he would have wanted. "Well, here we are! Now which of the dorms would you be residing..."

Off in the grass by the rightmost dorm, two boys watched the unlikely pairing of Junkiro and Gerald with mock interest splayed on their faces. One was smaller than the other by a foot, and yet you could tell immediately that these two were brothers. Not just brothers, but twins. The smaller boy looked up at his brother.

"I smell free money."

The big brother nodded. "Aye. Let's do it."

The two rose as one, staying within a close radius of each other, moving to block the other pair's path. The burly one spoke first.

"What're a pair like you lot doing here? This is our turf, so you'll have to pay a toll to get in the dorms!"

"Yeah," the smaller one added. "Twenty bucks each! Or else you're not going anywhere but out!" Both sneered cockily; from the looks of it, the larger one might be a little threatening, but the other one looked pathetic; a two-on-one offsensive'd easily clean the first out, and then it was cake....unless they paid, of course.

"U-umm... you really don't have to help the rest of... of the way," said Gerald. "I mean... uhh... The dorms are close by. Y-you don't need to help me," he continued, trying to convince Jun that he did not need his help anymore. He would have hated to be an inconvenience to him, what was more, he did not want to look like even more of a fool than he had already did or attract the attention of people. Even though he just made himself look more suspicious in the process, especially when the two other boys approached them.

"Junkiro... uhh... could you hold my books while I get the money?" asked Gerald, trying to avoid a fight. He was definitely not short of money and even if he had to pay the twenty bucks right now, it was preferable to getting his ass handed to him on a silver plate or worse, getting hurt in a two-on-one fight. That would have certainly gotten ugly and then he would have had to explain injuries to the nurse, the thought of which gave him a shiver.

Who in the world were these guys, charging money to get into the dorms? It was nonsensical and downright stupid in Junkiro's mind. Not to mention, though he wouldn't admit it, he probably couldn't afford to pay these two off in the first place. These things combined, he saw the most logical choice-a fight.

But Gerald was asking him to hold his books while he surrendered! Jun was frankly a bit shocked at the boy's lack of confidence. These boys may seem intimidating, but he had a hunch they were pretty weak. They looked like freshmen anyways, and Jun had already dealt with more than one upstart cocky freshman wanting a piece of the kid who challenged Shotaro.

"No, Gerald, I will not. We're going to duel these sad excuses for a people and win!" Jun glanced them in the eye, then opened up his map a moment. "Alright...you want a fight, you're getting one...How about the Dojo Grounds arena in twenty minutes. Show up or be dishonored." Jun nodded quietly-his twenty-first fight, and he was already exhausted..was he an idiot? Probably.

The brothers looked at each other in slight surprise; the kids they had challenged had always panickedly paid the toll and avoided a fight. But then here comes this Jap, talking about honor and demanding fisticuffs! The smaller boy looked up, then at the young upstart. "Your funeral, you two. You're going to feel the pain! Hope you two are prepared for a bloody beatdown!" The larger brother simply chuckled threateningly, then strode off, both of them heading for the Dojo Grounds.

"H-hey! P-please stop! Uhh... I can pay for both of us!" Damn it! This was pretty much the worst case scenario in Gerald's mind as he did not want to fight either of these jocks, nor did he want someone else getting hurt on his account. There was no sense in fighting over something like this for the sake of everything! Why did Junkiro want to fight? They would get beaten, then they would have to serve these two for the rest of their lives and how would he explain that to his parents? It was just simply impossible!

"Err... please. We don't have to fight," pleaded Gerald as he looked up at Junkiro, then he averted his eyes immediately. "It would be an... a... a really stupid reason to fight." Yes! That was it! It was stupid to fight over twenty dollars, right? Who would want to fight over something as trivial as that, right? Hopefully, no one in their right mind and then this conflict would get resolved without injuries.

"No, Gerald, submitting to them is letting them win," he muttered quietly, gathering his confidence. "We have to stop them from bullying other students by showing them what happens when someone fights back. Have a little more confidence in your person, Gerald...surely someone who goes to New Peaks has some skill they can do, right? Tell me what you specialize in. Maybe we can do some teamwork."

"But that is not right. W-we don't have to fight them!" This was really quite the unfortunate situation. Oh why oh why did he have to ask the help of a stranger? Now he would have to spend the rest of his life apologising to those two or even worse, getting trampled upon. And he had dragged Junkiro along with himself too.
"I-I'll just pay them double. Y-you don't even have to come to the fighting grounds, I'll forfeit for both of us." Maybe that would finally get some sense into this Junkiro. Why was he so eager to fight anyways? Gerald did not want to get into any trouble and this certainly sounded like trouble.

"I don't think you understand. If you pay them now, that's giving them the power. What'll stop them from repeating this to you? They'll bleed you dry by the end of the week. Now tell me Gerald, and be totally honest in your speech...would you rather lose all your money and live in fear, or do you want to defeat your foes and maybe get some confidence?" Jun had left for the Dojo Grounds, and turned around to face Gerald. "I'm fighting either way, and you cannot stop me from being a participant. But you CAN assist me. I'd much prefer the latter, but the choice is yours."

"Err... It is always better to avoid a fight," said Gerald as he tried to somehow convince Junkiro to abandon this absolutely terrible idea. He would drag Gerald into it too, because the shy boy could not stand the thought of making another person lose and hurt, but if it was possible at all, he would have liked to avoid it. "A-and I can pay them with other things. There are more... uhhh... payments than just that. Please? I can pay you too! Just do not fight with them." By this point, Gerald was almost on his knees, pleading the other boy for mercy.

Junkiro was very quickly growing weary of this boy's increasingly desperate pleas not to fight. Was this kid allergic to it or something? Was nothing he said going to convince him it was alright? "Gerald...listen to me very closely. This is a fighting academy. Fighting WILL happen, whether you like it or not. If you shy away from it...what are you doing here? You have to fight eventually. And at least, if this IS your first bout, you have a partner willing to help you out. You cannot bribe me, so the least you can do is give me a hand. Otherwise, just go back to your dorm, alright?" To emphasize his point, Jun dropped the armload of books he was carrying, the top few of the stack toppling into the grass. "I will help you with these when we return, if you come with me."

Yes, of course it was a fighting academy, but that did not mean he had to fight unless it was absolutely necessary. Why could not Junkiro understand that simple thing? It was one thing to fight if the price was too high, but these boys were only asking for twenty dollars. Unfortunately, the situation seemed to be completely lost and Gerald would rather not have Junkiro lose because he abandoned him and stir the anthill up further. So reluctantly, Gerald hung his head.
"W-wait until I put these down," he said, his tone making it clear that he was only agreeing to this out of some sort of necessity, then he gathered all the books to himself with a distressed look on his face.

FINALLY, the kid was understanding that there was no changing Jun's mind. Backing out after making a challenge was an embarrassing feat best saved for twats with overconfidence in writing ability looking at someone with actual skill in the matter. Regardless, Jun was not that type, and he was glad Gerald, one way or another, was finally going to throw his hat into the ring as well. Turning on his heel, he waited patiently for Gerald to gather his books, but began to look around impatiently; he didn't want to be late, either.

So what was he going to do? Gerald knew that there was no way to back out of this and there was no way that they were going to win either. But even if they did, it would be at some horrible cost that he could not even imagine. Gathering his books as he thought, Gerald quickly ran up to his room and deposited them in his room while he was still trying to thik of a way to convince Jun to abandon this stupid idea. Unfortunately, there was only so much that he could do as a person to convince someone else and begging did not seem to work. What WOULD work? He did not know Jun well enough to come up with an answer, so he was down again within a few minutes.

"Err... you know we are going to lose... right?" asked Gerald.

"Only if you think we will. So stop thinking we will have losing!" Jun sighed, now getting exasperated with the kid and wondering if he would be an asset or burden in this fight after all. At least he had finished, at least. Without another word, Jun spun again and tromped off for the Dojo Grounds, expecting Gerald to follow-and probably complain. In the meantime, he went over what he had learned from Mr. LeBlanc in his head, readying his aching bones for one more battle. This was going to hurt, but he wouldn't lie down and beg forgiveness, that was for sure!

This was definitely going to be a disaster, a spectacular disaster that Gerald dreaded, but what could he do? Junkiro was more stubborn than a donkey and he would see no reason. Already, Gerald was imagining having to spend the rest of his days at this school apologising to the two bullies without end and his days turning into hell that he could have easily avoided just by submitting a little bit of cash and dignity. Why could Junkiro not understand that? This was simply ridiculous!
 
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