章 783: 126
Chapter 126:
Oscar collapsed back onto his mattress, his entire body sore, limbs feeling like they'd had multi-ton weights strapped onto them, his head feeling fuzzy.
"Takes some getting used to," commented Setsuna, settling onto his own bed, directly across from the younger boy.
"I feel like I got run over by a Goliath," grumbled Oscar.
"You'll feel right as rain, first thing in the morning," Setsuna assured him.
"Will we be training tomorrow?" asked Oscar.
"Nope," said Setsuna.
"Then what are we doing?"
"Taking it easy," Setsuna answered. "If we trained, we'd just wind up wearing ourselves out before the match. Sure, we could hold strategy meetings and stuff like that. But we can take care of that pretty much right before it, seeing as we have the distinct advantage of knowing exactly when we'll be going out there. If we tried to spend all day doing that, we'd just wear ourselves mentally, rather than physically. So...for the first part of our day, we're just going to enjoy ourselves."
"It just seems weird," mumbled Oscar.
"My teacher, Chinmei-sama, told me something once," said Setsuna.
"What?"
"The key to being an ideal warrior is readiness. But real readiness is a state that exists between tension and ease. You stand on the then line between alertness and relaxation, ready to take action, but restful enough that you don't drain yourself. It's an act of balance. Of course, when it comes to the martial arts, balance is everything."
"Right..." said Oscar. "How do you do that?"
"Darned if I know," admitted Setsuna. "It's one of those philosophical things I think you only really get when you reach the level of someone like my teacher, or Sasame-sama, or Kyo... The one thing I know is that at least part of that is not worrying about things that you can't do anything about, and focus on the things you can do something about. There's nothing we can do about when our match is. There's nothing we can do about who we face. If anything, we'll go into this fight with quite a few advantages."
"What advantages?" asked Oscar, sitting up.
"For starters, we'll know who we're up against earlier than the other teams fighting in this tournament," Setsuna pointed out. "Since we're going in the last match, our opponents will, logically, be the the last team remaining in the roster. So we'll know who they are as soon as the second-to-last match is announced.
"Secondly, we have the advantage of our opponents having a history. I'm not exactly up to speed on how all of it works, but Ruby-chan's been telling me we can look up the training matches of our opponents, and see them for ourselves, so that we can research their capability.
"Thirdly, our opponents don't have that same advantage with us. Seeing as we aren't from any of the Academies or Combat Schools, we're complete unknowns to them. There's nothing of our history for them to watch, no previous records for them to go over. We'll be able to get an idea of what they can do, but they won't be able to do the same with us. So...yeah...we've got quite a few things in our favor."
I guess that balances out the disadvantages, thought Oscar.
After all, when all was said and done, three members of their team were at least two years younger than anyone else (bar Ruby) who was participating in the tournament. If their opponents were one of the second-year or higher teams, then that gap in age and training would only be all the wider. And, of course, that gap was even wider in Oscar's case, thanks to him only being thirteen, with barely more than a year of training under his belt. Even with Miyu's technique supporting him, Oscar couldn't see himself being much of a help to his teammates.
"Don't worry about it," said Setsuna simply. "You can spend all night running the numbers, if you want. But that won't change anything. In the end, all we're going to do tomorrow is our best. Don't worry about age or training. When you face an enemy, whether it's a person or a Grimm, you go out there and do what you trained to do."
"I'll try," said Oscar.
"We're here with you," said Setsuna.
"This isn't even my fight," said Oscar. "I'm just here to fill out the roster."
"None of us feel that way," said Setsuna. "In fact, as far as I'm concerned, you have the most important job out of all of us."
"Huh?" Oscar looked at his teammate in confusion.
Setsuna leaned forward. He was normally had a stern and serious bearing, even when he was being casual. Yet there was something about the look that he gave Oscar that made Oscar tense.
"Miyu is the most important person in the world to me," said Setsuna. "And tomorrow, you are going to be her partner...her protector. I'm putting my trust in you to keep her safe. She generally lacks offensive abilities, so she'll be on our rear line. Natsu-chan and I are going to go out on the attack, which means leaving her behind. I don't care that it's a tournament, and no one is actually out to hurt anyone. The fact of the matter is that, tomorrow, you are going to be the one standing between Miyu and the people who are going to attack her. As far as I'm concerned, that makes your job the most important one of all."
"Oh..." said Oscar, unconsciously sitting up a little straighter.
"So, you're not filler," said Setsuna. "You're the keystone of this team, Oscar-kun. And I am counting on you to do your part." He smiled. "Having seen what you can do for the past three days, I can definitely say that I know you can do what you need to. You have the strength, the skill, and the resolve; even if you don't see it yourself. I know that Miyu will be in good hands."
"Thanks," said Oscar.
Setsuna yawned, then leaned back in his bed. "Let's get some sleep," he said. "We're going to have fun tomorrow. I know it."
The fourth day of the tournament dawned rather quietly, too quietly, if Oscar was being honest. Even though he knew exactly when his team's match would be, Oscar still couldn't shake the feeling that, if he let his guard down, time would magically speed up and spring the match on him and his team before they were ready.
Still, it was hard to keep that anxiety, when Natsuki towed him out to the dining hall for breakfast, before planning their day exploring the festival grounds. After spending the past three days training near-constantly, they'd had very little opportunity to see the festival itself. Honestly, Oscar couldn't help but be excited himself, finding Natsuki's enthusiasm contagious, as always.
It helped that he and his team met up with RASP and RYNB. Oscar had expected them to be offering words of encouragement, or expressing excitement to see how he performed in the tournament. However, they instead talked about just about anything else. They suggested things for him and his new friends to see around the festival, offering the sum of their own experiences, while Oscar's team had been stuck training.
Little did he know that Sasame had gently warned Ruby and her Beacon friends away from talking about the upcomingmatch, warning them that, even if they meant to express encouragement, their efforts would only put Oscar under a greater sense of pressure. As such, they followed Sasame's advice to act as though the match wasn't even happening.
As they continued to talk, more people joined at the table. Team SSSN dropped in, Sun cheerfully sidling up to Blake, who welcomed his presence, the four of them injecting a lively atmosphere into the setting. After them, it was a team of second-years from Beacon, Team CFVY, who joined them. Like SSSN, the four second-years added a considerable degree of friendliness. After them were Team ABRN and Team CPPR. Team CRDL arrived shortly after, Dove taking a seat next to a positively giddy Pyrrha. Before they knew it, the table had become crowded with students from all around the Kingdoms, all of them seeming to be friends of Ruby and her teammates. It shocked Oscar to see how friendly they all were with each other, even though Team ABRN had been knocked out of the tournament by Team RASP.
Of course, none of the new arrivals knew about Sasame's advice, but neither were they aware that Oscar and Ruby's three friends from the Mibu would actually be participating in the tournament. So any topics about the tournament itself were limited to the teams they did know about, teams that had yet to participate. They speculated who would get matched up with whom, and how far they would go. Such topics made Oscar a little nervous, but not as much as they would have, had he and his new friends been included in the speculation.
After breakfast, Natsuki happily towed Oscar out to see the festival grounds. They shopped around at booths, visited shows, and generally had a good time. Oscar couldn't help but feel good. His new friends were right, that it was a good idea not to worry too much about the match.
They continued their explorations, even after the first match of the day had begun. After the time of the second match, they helped themselves to a hearty lunch, before listening with baited breath for the announcement of the third match. With the announcement, they would know exactly who they would be up against in the fourth round.
Oscar brought up the tournament roster on his scroll, noting his own team, Team MNPS on the list. He couldn't help but sweat a little, when he saw no listed school next to their team's name, indicating that they were unaffiliated. He wondered what the rest of the people at the festival made of that.
When the two participating teams for the third match were announced, Oscar eliminated them from the list, leaving them with the name of their rival team.
"We're going up against Team Indigo, from Shade Academy," said Oscar.
"Who are they?" asked Natsuki.
Oscar tapped the team's name, opening the link to the page that contained their profiles. He found himself looking at the portraits of four exceptionally attractive-looking young women.
"Wow, they're pretty," said Natsuki.
"That's about all the info I'm gonna be able to get about them here," said Oscar. "But, when we meet up in the library, I can locate more detailed info about them on the network."
"We should get going," said Natsuki. "Maria-san said we're gonna have a strategy meeting."
Oscar nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. His gut stirred a little bit. That feeling of tension was returning as he realized this was it. This basically cemented the fact that he was really doing this. He, a barely-trained farm boy, of thirteen years of age, from Mistral was going up against actual Academy students...in the Vytal Festival Tournament. It was like a scene out of his fantasies (though the more embarrassing fantasies involved Ruby in the audience, swooning over his martial brilliance), but real. And that reality was so different from his fantasies. Whether that was for better or worse, Oscar couldn't tell yet.
"What do we know about our opponents?" asked Maria.
"They're from Shade," said Jaune, looking up from the library terminal, leaning to the side so that they could see a screenshot of the four ladies in question. "From the looks of things, they're pretty much at the top of their class. They're supposed to be better than Team Bronze."
"So we got a pretty tough set of adversaries," mused Miyu.
"Yeah," agreed Jaune.
The one issue with researching their opponents was that, as mere visitors to Beacon, and not even from one of the other Academies, Team MNPS didn't have the access to the details that they needed to really learn what Team NDGO was capable of. Fortunately, Jaune had come in to join them, taking a brief break from his healer training under Sasame, using his student ID to get them access to what they needed.
He brought up a set of videos, featuring recorded sparring matches from Shade. "From the looks of things, Dew Gayl is their powerhouse."
The recording he brought up featured the young woman in question. She sported long, dark-blonde hair, which was swept mainly to the left of her face, framing a pair of violet eyes and tanned skin. She wore a dark-green dress with an asymmetrical hem, underneath which, she appeared to wear gold-colored scaled armor, which appeared to cover her torso and left arm, while her right was mostly bare, save for the gold-colored pauldron decorating her shoulder.
She wielded a large, golden spear, its head shaped like an angled representation of a ship's anchor, a green crystal of wind-Dust set into it, and a ribbon-like tassel tied just behind the head. The video of the match showed her spinning and swinging the spear vigorously, demonstrating a tremendous amount of raw power and skill. Furthermore, they saw that her spear could be used to generate powerful tornadoes to throw her opponents or augment her thrusts.
"From what I can find, it looks like Dew is their strongest fighter," said Jaune.
"So she's likely to be at the front of their formation," noted Miyu, "the head of their spear, so to speak. How appropriate."
"Yeah," agreed Jaune. "Aside from her, their leader is Nebula Violette."
The image of Dew was replaced with that of a shorter girl. Her short, dark-purple hair was brushed over to the left side of her head, and she stared into the camera with a pair of olive-colored eyes. She was clad in a gray shirt, and a long, light-blue coat, along with gray pants. She appeared to carry herself with an air of confidence.
"From what I can get about her, she's primarily a ranged attacker," said Jaune, bringing up a video of one of her sparring matches. "She uses a crossbow."
From watching the video, it quickly became apparent that the crossbow was not solely for ranged combat. Natsuki squealed in excitement when she saw Nebula's opponent close with her, evading bolts, only for the blade of a sword to extend from the crossbow's frame, turning it into a melee weapon, which Nebula wielded with impressive skill.
"Yeah, she can fight at close range," said Jaune. "But she shines at a distance. Since the crossbow can equip Dust-tipped bolts, depending on her load-out, she can do any number of things."
"So she'll probably be in the back," mused Setsuna. "And she's their leader, so it's a good position for her. She'll be able to provide ranged support and keep an eye on the larger situation and make calls for her teammates."
"After that is Octavia Ember," continued Jaune.
The next girl to appear on the screen superficially resembled an older Miyu, possessing a head of long, red hair that ran down her back in a smooth wave. However, her hair was a darker shade of red, while her eyes were an olive-green. She was dressed in a blue waistcoat on top of a brown and cream skirt with an open front, a pair of silver pauldrons decorating her shoulders.
"Octavia uses a kris equipped with fire-Dust," explained Jaune.
He brought up a video of her using her wavy-bladed dagger, using it to unleash waves of fire in front of her.
"Ooh! I wanna fight her," said Natsuki excitedly.
"No need to get competitive," muttered Oscar wryly, smiling at her enthusiasm.
"And the last member of their team is Gwen Darcy," said Jaune, bringing up the profile of the last girl. She looked out from the screen with brown eyes, set into a face with olive skin. Her hair was pulled back over her head, curling into short ringlets behind her. She wore a black corset dress with a gray front and purple hems. The section that covered her shoulders and arms was light-gray, with a high collar. A belt of purple ribbon held up a set of armored tassets, which featured rows of metal plates with what appeared to be slots set into them.
"She's got the most...well...I'd guess I'd say unorthodox…style of them all," said Jaune. "Her weapons are throwing knives."
That got him looks of confusion from all four members of MNPS.
"Throwing knives...?" said Natsuki dubiously. "You mean she uses them as primary weapons?"
"She's not shown using anything else," said Jaune.
"That's...kinda crazy, isn't it?" asked Oscar. Despite his limited training, even he understood how odd it was.
"Yeah," agreed Natsuki. "What does she do if she runs out, or her enemy gets close to her?"
"Well..." Jaune brought up a video showing one of Gwen's matches. An opponent managed to slip past the knives she hurled at him (up to three at a time), only to get a swift kick to the jaw as Gwen dodged his attack with a balletic spin that enabled her to bring her leg around in the same move.
"Okay..." said Setsuna. "So she can handle herself at close range. Still, can throwing knives have all that much stopping power on their own?"
"They probably have Dust in them," observed Miyu.
Jaune nodded. "Gravity-Dust, from the looks of it. That would give the blades extra heft, which would add to their penetrating power."
"Still...it's such an unorthodox style," mused Natsuki.
"That might be the point of it," said Setsuna. "After all, something unorthodox is less likely to be expected, and you aren't as likely to be prepared for it. It's a good way to catch opponents off-guard."
"At the same time, orthodox styles are orthodox for a reason," observed Miyu. "An unorthodox style, whose effectiveness relies purely on novelty, will rapidly lose effectiveness in a prolonged battle, or if one's opponent has seen them fight before."
"I guess we'll have to figure out which hers is," said Setsuna, eying the replay of Gwen's match. "We've got a basic idea of their abilities then, so I guess we should be coming up with a strategy."
The others nodded. A minute later, they were crowded around a table, quietly talking out their plans for the match. Jaune watched them, eager to see what these people from a strange land (and Oscar) could do.
Given that it was just the final match of the first round of the tournament, there shouldn't have been that much excitement in the air, when said match rolled around. Despite that, Oscar couldn't quite help but get the sense that the air seemed more abuzz than it should have been, as he and his team awaited their cue to enter the arena.
Not that he would really know whether or not the excitement was higher than it was before. After all, while all the other matches had been going on, he and his team had been in a sparring ring inside Beacon, working to learn one another's abilities, and how they could put everything together for their match.
And now, Oscar couldn't help but tremble as he felt the reality of the situation descend on his shoulders yet again. He, Oscar Pine, a farm boy from Mistral, was entering and fighting in the Vytal Festival tournament at the age of thirteen. His mind reeled at the absurdity of it all. He'd come to Vale to meet and confess his feelings to the girl of his dreams, only to wind up on one crazily undulating trail that had brought him here. What will Auntie Em think, when she sees this? he wondered.
A pair of arms draped themselves over his shoulders, Natsuki hugging herself to him from behind. "Whatcha thinking about?" she asked.
"Just wondering how my aunt is gonna take this," said Oscar. "When she sent me and Ms. Maria off to the festival, she told me to keep out of trouble. Somehow...I think this would probably fall into the category of 'trouble', as far as she's concerned."
"Maybe," said Natsuki. "But, if this tournament's such a big deal, don't you think she'll be impressed?"
"Only if I don't make a fool of myself," said Oscar.
"You won't," said Natsuki. "You're really good. It's hard for me to believe you've only been at this for a year. I was at it for at least three, before I was pulling off the kinda moves you can do."
"Well, I have Dust," said Oscar. "That helps."
"Yeah, but that doesn't explain it all," said Natsuki. "You can do this. And it's just the first round. If we make it to the doubles, me and Setsuna will take care of the rest."
"Okay," said Oscar. Perhaps he should have been miffed that Natsuki had automatically assumed that Setsuna would be her partner in the next round. But it made perfect sense. Setsuna was more experienced than Oscar, and Miyu was obviously out as a contender. For his part, Oscar was simply glad that he would only have to put up with the immense pressure of this situation for a single match.
"I can hear them calling us out," said Natsuki, perking up slightly, letting go of Oscar.
Oscar strained his ears, and found that he could hear Port and Oobleck's voices coming in from the arena.
"The final match of the first round is just around the corner," Port was saying, in his typical, bombastic manner. "Our first team of contenders comes from the deserts of Vacuo, the lovely flowers of Shade Academy, Team Indigo!"
From the enthusiastic roar of the crowd, Oscar figured that the four girls from Shade must have been pretty popular.
"Team Indigo is certainly drawing a reaction," remarked Oobleck. "A crowd favorite, they stand at the top of the rankings in their year, and have won their place at the tournament over third and fourth-year teams, a sterling achievement."
"As for their opponents..." said Port, his voice striking a strangely ominous tone, to Oscar's mind. "Initially, due to the unexpected forfeiture of one of the participating teams, Team Indigo would have immediately advanced without a match. However, Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood have approved a last-minute entry, a special guest-team, not affiliated with any currently existing Academy."
The crowds had fallen strangely silent at that announcement, confusion and curiosity filling the air. Oscar gulped, straightening up nervously.
"As complete unknowns, it's not certain what we can expect from this team," said Oobleck. "However, I expect that they shall make this an interesting match indeed. With that, allow me to introduce our other team, Team Meconopsis!"
There was some cautious cheering and light applause as Oscar and his friends entered the ring. Understandably, hardly anyone knew what to make of this team that had come, literally, out of nowhere. The fact that they were clearly younger than their opponents had to be something that people had picked up on as well.
The four of them came to a stop inside the central ring. Just a short distance in front of them were the girls of NDGO, smiling confidently, weapons held casually to the side at the moment, but ready to be taken up when the match began.
"Nice to meet you guys," said Nebula pleasantly.
"Likewise," said Miyu, bowing her head in greeting.
"Where'd a cute bunch of kids like you come from?" asked Gwen, leaning forward slightly, the intense look on her smiling face making Oscar more nervous than ever.
"Leng," said Setsuna simply, unfazed by the look.
"Huh?" grunted all four girls in unison.
Oscar raised a nervous hand. "Actually...I'm from Mistral."
"So people actually live on that continent?" asked Gwen.
"We do," said Miyu, before a cough from Oscar drew his attention. "Well...three of us do, anyway. You could say that this match is our way of introducing ourselves to the world."
"Sounds pretty suspect to me," commented Octavia. "Is this even going to be a proper match? I'm not gonna feel very good if we advance, only because we knocked down a bunch of kids."
"Octavia!" exclaimed Nebula, giving her teammate a sidelong glare.
Miyu giggled. "I assure you, our skills are quite sufficient. I ask that you take us seriously...or you might find yourselves losing rather quickly."
"Ooooooh...Confident," observed Dew, grinning eagerly. "I like that."
While they had been bantering, Oobleck and Port had finished warming up the crowd. The screens above now displayed the Aura-levels of the two teams. Unlike the sparring rings in Beacon, which required that the users have scrolls to monitor their Auras, Amity sported its own independent systems, which ensured that Natsuki, Miyu, and Setsuna wouldn't have to worry about scrolls, in order to participate.
The biomes for the match had been selected. Rising up on NDGO's side of the field was a sandy desert with sandstone cliffs jutting upwards out of it. An artificial sun burned into being above, casting down a harsh, intense heat.
"Nice...Home field advantage," observed Nebula.
Behind MNPS emerged a field that consisted almost entirely of water, with sandy islands, a couple of which actually had palm trees growing out of them, while another hosted nothing less than an actual shipwreck.
"Wow...these are really elaborate," said Natsuki, staring at the different biomes in awe.
"Careful now," remarked Setsuna. "We're starting."
They drew their weapons. Oscar reached into his coat, pulling out his kama, which unfolded out to their full length with a series of clicks. Setsuna merely pulled his more mundane versions of the same weapon from behind him, the two boys settling into relatively orthodox stances. Natsuki drew her kodachi, holding the longer, right-handed blade at the ready in front, while the shorter one crossed her chest, ready to be used for defense. Miyu...stood at ease, her hands hanging down at her sides.
The countdown began. At the signal to start, all eight competitors burst into motion.
"I hope Oscar's gonna be okay," said Ruby nervously.
"I think he'll be fine," said Jaune confidently.
Beside them, their guest, Maria squirmed uneasily. "As entertaining as this is going to be, I can't help but feel nervous," she admitted. "I have to wonder what the boy's aunt is going to think."
She twitched as a ringing noise sounded. Reaching into one of her pouches, she pulled out a scroll. "Well, speak of the devil," she said. "I'm about to get an earful. Excuse me."
She held the scroll to her ear, and immediately winced away. "Hello to you too, Emalee...Yes, I can see that...I have a ringside seat, you know...Well, I've certainly never debated the classification..."
Jaune and Ruby winced. They couldn't make out exactly what was being said, but they could hear the outrage in the voice of the woman on the other end.
"I assure you that this is perfectly safe...well...as safe as anything Oscar will do as a student or a Huntsman. He's certainly not in any danger of dying, I can assure you...Yes, I do believe he can handle himself...He's only going to be in the first round anyway...They're his new friends. Can't you tell?...I figured you'd be proud that the boy was opening up his social circles...Speaking of that, perhaps there's someone else you'd like to speak to."
Ruby flinched as Maria turned to her with a mischievous grin, before handing over her scroll. "Ms. Emalee..."
"Oh my God! It really is you!" exclaimed a slightly familiar voice over the line. "Oscar really got to meet you again. I was so worried he wouldn't get the chance."
"He did," said Ruby. "It wasn't all good though."
"Why-? Oh..."
Ruby realized that Emalee must have rather quickly deduced what had happened. "Did he take it all right?"
"He did," said Ruby. "He's strong, so I wouldn't worry too much. I feel bad about it, though."
"You shouldn't," said Emalee. "We all knew it was a risk. You're under no obligation to return his feelings, especially if you're already attached."
"Thanks," said Ruby.
"Does this have anything to do with why my boy is fighting in the Vytal Festival tournament, four years before he should even be at an Academy?"
"Uh...well...it's a bit complicated," said Ruby. "You see, his teammates are actually friends of mine from back home."
"Back home..." Ruby could hear the slight confusion in the woman's voice.
Ruby decided to give Emalee a relatively brief and simplified rundown of what had happened. The woman listened with interest, before giving her own thoughts. "That's quite the unexpected situation. I still can't believe you tapped my Oscar to fight in the tournament."
"Well...I didn't," said Ruby bashfully. "But Maria vouched for him."
"I'll bet she did," said Emalee, a faint growl of frustration in her voice. "She's always throwing the poor boy in over his head."
It's probably the best way to help him get better, thought Ruby, reflecting on her own experiences.
Experienced though she was, the fact of the matter was that Maria was getting on in years. There was no way she could actually spar with Oscar. As out of the way as his hometown was, the only time experienced fighters would be present was when Huntsmen were called in to deal with Grimm in the area. And the willingness of those Huntsmen to serve as Oscar's sparring partners, even temporarily, would vary. Ruby supposed that Maria could send Oscar out to face down Grimm himself, as she and her team had with Jaune. But that was a risky strategy, one that could have gotten Oscar killed, if tried too early on in his training.
So, in that sense, participating in the tournament and fighting others training with the same goal was an excellent opportunity for Oscar, though it was a shame that such things couldn't be arranged with greater regularity.
"Do you think he'll do all right?"
"I think he'll do fine," said Ruby. "I've seen what he can do, and he's pretty good already. With my friends fighting alongside him, he'll be able to handle himself."
"I hope so," said Emalee.
Ruby thought of what else to say, before perking as an idea struck her. "Oh! Sasame-nee is here too. Would you like to speak to her?"
"I very much would," said Emalee.
Ruby passed Maria's scroll across to where her sister was sitting, who accepted it with a smile, before imitating what Ruby had done.
"Hello, Emalee-san," said Sasame politely. "Yes, it's good to hear your voice too. I imagine we have quite a bit to catch up on..."
Down below, Ruby watched the two teams burst into motion, now that Oobleck had given the signal to begin.
Well...one team burst into motion. Team NDGO went into action with all the speed and coordination of a well-oiled machine, showcasing the fruit of their training together. Dew and Octavia charged forward, brandishing their weapons, Gwen just a few steps behind them, while Nebula fell back, backpedaling all the way to the sand of the desert biome, leveling her crossbow and taking aim.
Meanwhile, Oscar and Miyu fell back, Oscar keeping in front of his partner, while Miyu gently rested her hand against his back, ready to channel her Aura into him. In front of them, Setsuna and Natsuki crouched slightly, readying their weapons, almost as though they were preparing to intercept NDGO's front-line attackers.
Then Setsuna smiled. From behind, Oscar watched as Setsuna's Aura became briefly visible as a white outline around his body, before washing black, then seeming to flicker outwards a few inches away from him.
"Chiyugi!"
Abruptly, Nebula shouted in surprise. A strange distortion in the air, giving the impression that she was covered by a transparent bowl, appeared around and above her. The sand around her feet caved in, like it was being pressed down by an invisible force. Her body lurched downwards, crossbow discharging its shot. But her aim had been off, so the bolt thudded into the ring just a couple meters behind the other girls.
"Nebula!" shouted Gwen, turning to regard the situation that had befallen the team's leader. Dew and Octavia paused, confused by the unexpected attack on someone who shouldn't have been immediately vulnerable. Had the attack come in the form of projectiles of some kind, they would have been able to react to it. However, there hadn't been anything like that, so they had no idea what to make of what happened.
That was when Setsuna and Natsuki went into action properly. They vanished from where they'd been standing, becoming flickering blurs that passed right by Dew and Octavia, then Gwen, heading right for Nebula.
"No!" shouted Gwen, pivoting all the way around, bringing up a handful of throwing knives.
"Dew!?" shouted Octavia, looking at her partner uneasily.
"Gwen!" shouted Dew, prompting the knife-throwing girl to freeze. "With me! Octavia, back up Nebula!"
"On it!" shouted Octavia, immediately sprinting after Setsuna and Natsuki, who were quickly closing in on Nebula. The strange field pinning her down had vanished, and Nebula fell back even more, quickly engaging her weapon's loading-system, trying to get a shot off before her opponents closed to within melee range.
Meanwhile, Dew and Gwen charged straight for Oscar and Miyu, Oscar gulping nervously, while readying his kama. They had retreated to one of the islands in the middle of the ocean biome. Now they waited for their adversaries to approach.
Seeing Dew set foot at the water's edge, Miyu gently pushed against Oscar's back, channeling her Aura into his body. Her dark-red Aura flowed into him, before turning to match his own Aura's green color. Oscar's knees bent, then he shot forward, the speed of his launch throwing out a spray of sand, and the wind of his passage parting the water beneath his feet as he flew across the sea, aiming right for Dew.
Seeing him coming, Dew immediately spun her spear, the weapon becoming a blur in her hands, before she swung it down to intercept the boy charging her. Seeing her attack, Oscar raised his own kama to counter. Knowing that Dew was incredibly powerful, and that adding the centrifugal force of her weapon's spin would only make her attack stronger still, he swung, while activating the gravity-Dust in his attacking kama, the weapon leaving a black and violet trail as he swung.
The two blades collided, the surface of the ring cracking beneath Dew's feet, while she was sent sliding back across the smooth surface. Her eyes widened in surprise at the power behind Oscar's swing. She hadn't expected for him to be able to face her head-on like this. However, while she'd been sent sliding back, the collision between them had also killed Oscar's forward momentum. But he quickly lunged forward again.
One of the things they'd learned about Dew's fighting style was that she could use the wind-Dust crystal set into her spear's head to generate tornadoes, which could be used the throw foes out of bounds. However, in order to generate those kinds of winds, she needed some time and distance, a few seconds at least. As long as Oscar kept the fight close, Dew wouldn't be able to rely on that tactic.
Of course, with Gwen around, that was easier said than done. When Oscar had closed with Dew, then charged her again, he'd wound up rushing right past Gwen. Gwen had immediately pivoted around to throw a trio of knives at Oscar's back.
Sensing them coming, Oscar dropped into a roll, letting the knives fly over his head. Rising up, he found himself facing the head of Dew's descending spear as she swung it at him again. Grimacing, Oscar swung his right-handed kama at the spear from the side, while shifting to that side as much as possible, engaging his gravity-Dust again. The kama intercepted her spear with a clang, deflecting its course slightly so that, combined with his dodge, Dew's swing missed him entirely. In the same movement, Oscar continued to step around, maneuvering to try and place Dew between himself and Gwen.
Gwen, meanwhile, decided to turn her attention to Miyu, who remained where she'd been standing before, alone on the island, hands raised, expression wary.
"I get the feeling you're not much of a fighter," said Gwen, readying two sets of knives as she perched on the edge of the inner ring, right where it met the waters of the ocean.
"You'd be right," said Miyu. "However, just because combat isn't my speciality, it doesn't mean that I am entirely helpless."
For some reason, Gwen felt a shiver run down her spine. The air around Miyu seemed to chill, and Gwen got a strange, sinister feeling from the other girl, something that made her unconsciously take a step back.
"Oh...and you might not want to completely disregard Oscar-kun yet," added Miyu.
Gwen had been too busy feeling unsettled, so she didn't notice the hissing sound of something whirling towards her. She spun with a dancer's grace, her body reacting automatically to the incoming threat, even though her mind hadn't completely finished processing it. However, she was a fraction of a second late, so she cried out as the edge of Oscar's thrown kama bit into the Aura along the side of her chest, forcing her to stumble back.
Gwen's stumble caused her to step off the edge of the inner ring, and into the waters of the ocean biome. The water was shallow, rising just up to the level of her shins. However, that resistance was still enough to hinder her movements. She was already trying to watch Oscar's kama, as its course bent back towards where he was still using his other kama to fend off the repeated swings of Dew's spear.
"Dew!" shouted Gwen, realizing what was happening.
When Oscar had thrown his kama, it had been at Dew. The throw had looked wild, and she'd easily sidestepped it. She hadn't thought to check its course afterwards, not realizing that he'd been aiming for Gwen all along. In the meantime, the clanging of their weapons had drowned out the sound of Gwen's shout at being hit. Now Dew was oblivious to the fact that the kama was now whirling right back to Oscar's hand, with her between him and it.
Gwen's shout prompted Dew to throw herself aside, Oscar's kama flying past her, its edge clipping her shoulder. It wasn't serious damage, but did disrupt Dew's offensive. Catching his kama, Oscar immediately closed in, darting inside the range of Dew's spear and attacking her directly. Dew was forced to spin her weapon, using the shaft to deflect Oscar's strikes. However, this close, she couldn't maneuver the head into play.
Gwen growled, ready to attack Oscar with her knives.
"Careless..." murmured Miyu's voice, sounding much closer than before.
Gasping Gwen turned about to see that Miyu was now within just a meter of her. She hadn't even noticed the other girl's approach. When did she-?
There wasn't anymore time for thought, as Miyu raised her right hand up. "Air Vampire!"
Gwen was suddenly surrounded with a vortex of black, which shot up from her body, before arching back down to meet Miyu's hand. Gwen felt her entire body sag, her limbs going weak, her breath feeling short. Dizziness moved in.
Then Miyu lowered her hand, ending the attack. Mustn't push it too far, she thought to herself intently, falling back to regard Gwen from a safer distance.
Gwen's head turned up to the screen to steal a quick glance at her Aura meter. Her jaw dropped as she found her worst suspicions confirmed.
All at once, three quarters of her Aura had vanished. Even more shockingly, Miyu's Aura-gauge was displaying her at being well over one-hundred percent Aura.
She wasn't the only one shocked, the audience was bursting into surprised babbling at the unusual (bordering on unnatural) occurrence.
"I-is that your Semblance?" asked Gwen, stumbling away from Miyu.
"Yes...it's probably best to put it that way," said Miyu pleasantly.
What does that mean? wondered Gwen.
"Also, you should watch out."
"Huh?" Gwen grunted, then staggered as Oscar's kama flew past her again, scoring her side and cutting off more of what little remained of her Aura. Gwen staggered even more dizzily, her body feeling weak. The spinning blade struck the surface of the ring, lodging itself at the edge, near where Miyu was stepping out of the water.
"Gwen!" shouted Dew, noticing her friend's plight. This time, Oscar hadn't been able to disguise his aiming for Gwen by pretending to throw his kama at Dew, so she'd realized his real target right away.
Immediately, Dew spun her spear rapidly between herself and Oscar. The wind-Dust jewel flared and a whirlwind erupted from her spear, driving Oscar back out into proper attack range for her longer weapon. She immediately followed through, transitioning to a straight thrust at Oscar's chest.
At that instant, Oscar activated the gravity-Dust in his kama again. However, rather than draw the one he'd thrown back, Oscar jumped off the floor, and the attraction between his weapons pulled the kama in his hand towards the one he'd thrown, taking Oscar along with it, pulling him handily out of the way of Dew's thrust. As he came flying towards Miyu and Gwen, Oscar lashed out with a kick. It was a bit clumsy, but his boot collided with Gwen's shoulder, knocking her away and sending her sprawling.
Landing by Miyu, Oscar pulled his anchored kama free, joining them together to produce a double-bladed scythe, which he spun, before holding up defensively, Miyu positioning herself at his back once again.
Dew held out her spear, sweeping the blade in a circular pattern. A few seconds later, a trio of pale-green whirlwinds appeared, spreading out from her spear, and moving to encircle Oscar and Miyu, the three of them converging together with the pair in their center.
Nebula managed to load another bolt into her crossbow, taking quick aim, she fired at Setsuna.
Rather than try to intercept the shot, Setsuna instead jumped into the air, his leap carrying him over the bolt. That was a wise choice, as he could see the head of the bolt spark yellow, indicating that it carried lightning-Dust, and would have given him an unpleasant shock, if he'd tried to block it.
Setsuna's leap carried him over Nebula's head, and she turned to follow him. As she did, the lath of her crossbow folded inward, while the blade of a sword extended outwards from the center, a handle emerging from the stock. She accompanied her turn with a sideways slash from her sword, aiming to catch Setsuna as he descended. But her sword instead passed through the space below Setsuna's legs, which he'd bent up out of the way, mainly because Setsuna's descent itself had stopped.
Before Nebula could grasp what had happened, Setsuna had somehow transitioned his downwards momentum into rotational momentum, extending his legs as his body flipped, slamming the wooden teeth of his geta-clad feet into her face. Nebula yelled in pain as she was thrown backwards...right to where Natsuki was closing in, kodachi readied.
That was when Octavia arrived at the edge of the desert biome. As soon as her feet touched down on the sand, Octavia suddenly transitioned from running to sliding, her body gliding over the sand without any need for her to use her legs for any form of propulsion. Seeing her leader about to be struck from behind, Octavia kicked off the sand, propelling herself into the air, and slashing with her kris. The weapon produced a crescent-shaped wave of flame that rushed down at Natsuki.
Sensing the threat from behind, Natsuki abandoned her attack and instead danced aside, the flame striking the sand where she'd been standing, throwing particles of hot grit everywhere. Nebula landed on her back, but was spared being caught in Natsuki and Setsuna's pincer-attack.
The sky above her darkened, the reason being Setsuna, whose shadow was now covering her face as he dropped towards her, the protruding teeth of his sandals leading. Nebula quickly rolled out of the way. Setsuna dropped down, the resulting explosion of sand reminiscent of a meteor impacting. Sand was blown in every direction, suggesting an almost incredible weight behind his drop.
Getting to her feet, Nebula locked her eyes on the shadow of Setsuna hidden within the sand, taking up her sword in both hands, she brought it down in a powerful slash from above. Setsuna abruptly rolled forward, kicking up his legs, and Nebula's sword was stopped with a loud clang, its edge impacting against the metal plates attached to the soles of Setsuna's geta. Setsuna kicked up, then out, turning his body and throwing out a sideways kick at Nebula. However, the movement was slow, and Nebula was easily able to leap aside.
Setsuna rolled forward, coming back to his feet, grimacing. Right...that kind of fighting is a lot harder to do on sand, he thought. He looked down at his feet, which had sunk down to their ankles in the sand. Huh...never thought to try that with sand...But is now a good time to experiment?
Nebula skipped back, opening up the distance to utilize her weapon in its crossbow-form again. She expected Setsuna to pursue her. But he instead remained where he was. While the blade of Nebula's weapon retracted, and the lath opened up again, Setuna instead seemed fixated at the ground at his feet.
Nebula's crossbow string pulled itself back, while she loaded a bolt. This time, she picked one tipped with fire-Dust, which would set off a powerful explosion when it struck, whether it hit Setsuna or the ground around him. It would also explode if he intercepted it with his kama.
Taking aim, Nebula paused when she saw the sand around Setsuna's feet begin to rise up into the air around him, forming into a cloud. The sand began to whirl in a clockwise direction around Setsuna's body. The whirling sand began to condense, forming a series of flat rings that hovered around Setsuna's body, their circumference the lowest around his head and legs, with the each ring layered towards the center of his body increasing in width. They all whirled through the air with a hissing noise.
"Chinseirin."
Cute trick, thought Nebula, but that's not gonna fool me.
With that, she fired her bolt.
The fire-Dust in the arrowhead ignited when it struck the widest ring of sand, which whirled fiercely at the level of his abdomen, like an oversized particulate buzzsaw. In that instant, the raging flames were swept up into the sand, superheating the grains, turning the ring of sand into a ring of fiery sand, all while Setsuna went on the attack, leaping up above the air above the desert floor, and descending on Nebula.
"Hold on-!" exclaimed Nebula, eyes wide with shock and horror. She threw herself aside as Setsuna touched down, the ground struck by the angling ring around him immediately exploding with superheated particles, which flew in all directions.
"Ow! Hot hot hot!" shouted Nebula, swiftly brushing away the hot grains of sand, grimacing with pain, forgetting almost completely about the fight, especially as the superheated grains worked their way under her clothes. She froze when she saw Setsuna rise up from the crater he'd created, looking bemused.
"So it had that kind of effect, huh?" he said, staring at the aftermath of his attack.
"Don't talk like you just used me for some kind of experiment!" protested Nebula.
"Right...sorry..." said Setsuna, turning and bowing his head to her in an apologetic manner.
The two of them froze, suddenly finding the atmosphere very awkward. This was the middle of a match, after all.
"Geez," grumbled Nebula, loading her crossbow.
"Yeah...let's just start over," said Setsuna, raising his kama.
In stark contrast to them, Natsuki was having the time of her life fighting with Octavia.
When Octavia swung her kris, it seemed to strike its target, but Natsuki's image wavered, and the blade of Octavia's own weapon seemed to bend sharply away from her. Nebula ducked as Natsuki's image suddenly solidified, the younger girl coming into focus at an unexpected angle, and stepping forward to slash with her kodachi. Octavia slid back across the sand, rising up and using her kris to fend off the rapid slashes of Natsuki's kodachi.
Trying to get some distance, Octavia activated the fire-Dust in her weapon, angling the direction of her attack downward, sending a crescent of flames rushing into the sand between her and her opponent. The result was a spray of superheated sand the flew right up into Natsuki's face.
Natsuki's response was to whip her left-handed kodachi; the one that had been granted to her by none other than the Mibu Blademaster, Sengo Murasame himself; across her body. A wave of flame spread out from the blade, producing a fiery curtain between her and Octavia's spray of sand, which scattered against the barrier as though it had hit something solid.
Octavia's eyes widened, and she came to a stop, only to be taunted by the sight of Natsuki's wavering figure flickering in and out of her sight. However, she abruptly smirked, stepping and then skating across the sand, turning to put the strength of her rotation behind a slash, which had Natsuki gasping as she suddenly came back into focus, having to use her left-handed kodachi to block the attack.
"Don't think you can trick a desert fighter with mirages," said Octavia.
Natsuki's expression of surprise was replaced by an exuberant grin. "Awesome!" she exclaimed before rushing forward, her body becoming a flickering blur.
Octavia was forced to skid backwards, working her kris defensively as Natsuki went on a furious offense. A forceful blow knocked Octavia backwards a little more, forcing her to stop her slide in order to find her footing again. In that instant, Natsuki flicked her hands, reversing her grip on both her kodachi, darting in again. As she came within striking distance, she seemed to spin in two separate directions simultaneously.
Octavia only had time for a gasp, before she was struck six times simultaneously, three slashes converging on her from the right and the left. This was no mirage. How did she do that?
She'd managed to fend off about half the slashes with her kris, but the other three had struck home, biting a substantial quantity from her Aura. She was sent sliding back, not because of her Semblance this time. With a pained grimace, she dug in, reversing her momentum, and forcing herself to lunge forward, trying to catch her opponent before she could recover from that last move. Her blade struck Natsuki's neck, cutting through it cleanly.
"What?!" But her Aura should have tanked that!
Octavia's distress at having potentially killed her opponent died an abrupt and surprising death when Natsuki's body and severed head suddenly dissolved into constructs of flame, before scattering, leaving Octavia completely stunned. How did she do that?
The sound of someone's foot digging into the sand behind her was all the warning Octavia needed. She spun about, activating the fire-Dust in her kris, and unleashing a wave of flame that washed out to meet Natsuki, whose grin hadn't wavered in the slightest.
"Shakuran Entei!"
Flames exploded from Natsuki's right-handed kodachi, matching, then exceeding those emitted by Octavia's dagger. Octavia screamed as she was blasted back, the heat scorching at her Aura. How much Dust did she use for that?
Grimacing, Octavia dug in her feet again, dropping down to one knee, before driving her kris into the sand. A thin, red line, extending through the shifting particles, was the only indicator. It reached Natsuki, and sand beneath her feat suddenly erupted upwards in a massive spray of molten particles.
Straightening up, Octavia tensed, waiting to see what had become of her opponent. She allowed herself to flick the tiniest glance up towards the screen, which showed their Aura-levels, noting that Natsuki's had dropped a little more than a quarter, compared to the fact that Octavia had lost more than half her own.
The smoke and ash swirling in front of her abruptly dispersed, revealing a swirling dome of fire that had apparently wrapped around Natsuki like an egg, protecting her from the explosion from below.
Octavia's jaw dropped. Can someone actually do that with Dust? she wondered. It didn't seem possible. Dust was amazing, but she'd never seen anyone use it in this fashion before. It was like she was watching something otherworldly at work.
The flames flowed out from around Natsuki, revealing her, looking a little scorched, but none the worse for wear, otherwise. As she rose up, the fire moved, congealing around the outstretched blade of her right-hand kodachi. The fire converged inward, intensifying, the blade itself seeming to glow white-hot, yet not showing any signs of straining and warping, almost as though it had become a component of the very flames that surrounded it. Then the flames vanished within the sword entirely.
This isn't like Dust at all, thought Octavia, staring in amazement.
Natsuki brought her right-handed blade around to her left side, drawing her left arm back, and planting the tip of her shorter kodachi against the pommel of the longer one, before stepping forward, releasing the right-handed kodachi and propelling it with the blade of the left handed one. The kodachi went flying right at Octavia's chest.
"Onmyo Enya!"
Desperately, Octavia slashed across her body with her kris, knocking the kodachi aside before it could reach her, only to find that, even as she'd used it to propel her right-handed kodachi, Natsuki had released the one in her left hand, throwing it as well, angled in such a way that it was perfectly hidden in the shadow of the first one. Being shorter, and lacking a guard like her right-handed one had, the left-handed kodachi had been virtually invisible to Octavia's eyes.
Then the blade of that kodachi glowed white hot, and Octavia realized the fires that had been concentrated into the first kodachi had somehow transferred to the second. It was too late for her to do anything about it though, as the blade struck her chest and exploded, the fire driving her backward into one of the sandstone outcroppings, smashing an indentation of her own body into the surface, as the rebounding kodachi found their way back into Natsuki's outstretched hands.
The buzzer sounded, announcing Octavia's defeat.
Nearby, Nebula heard the buzzer, her eyes widening. "Crap!"
She was forced to dive aside as dark crescents rippled through the space where she'd been. They flew on arcing paths past her, reaching another of the sandstone outcroppings, and slicing it cleanly into pieces. In front of her, Setsuna wound up, launching another swift series of swings, sending another barrage of the dark, flying blades at Nebula. She swiftly executed another diving roll, coming to a stop on her stomach, but aiming her crossbow at Setsuna's chest, firing from a prone position without delay.
Setsuna dodged the shot by jumping to the side. To Nebula's amazement, he seemed to glide through the air, his feet hanging just a few inches above the sand, drifting far longer than a simple jump with that little power behind it should have allowed. The next thing she knew, he had changed course, and was rushing right at her, with his feet never even touching the ground.
Nebula scrambled to her feet, the lath of her weapon collapsing and the blade extending out. She caught the slashing attack of Setsuna's kama, but he quickly hooked his blade around the back of her sword, pulling it down and out of position, opening her up as he slashed at her with the kama in his other hand. Nebula dodged by leaning back away from it, the kama's blade coming dangerously close to reaching her neck. She lowered her sword more, allowing to slip out of the hold of Setsuna's kama. The weapon transformed into a crossbow once more, already loaded, allowing Nebula to fire a bolt into the sand right at their feet.
There was flare of black and violet energy from the sand, before it exploded upward in a wave that engulfed Setsuna. Creating a smokescreen seemed like something of a waste for a gravity-Dust tipped bolt, but it certainly did the job. Now Nebula shifted back forward, transforming her weapon again and slashing sideways, her blade cutting a line through the airborne sand...revealing empty space.
Once again, the sky above her darkened, and Nebula looked up, her eyes widening when she saw Setsuna suspended above her, seeming to float in the air effortlessly. He looked down, his eyes narrowing.
"Chiyugi."
Suddenly, Nebula found her body pressed downward by an incredible force, her legs sinking into the sand, which itself was pressed downward. What the hell is this?
Her legs trembled, and she struggled to remain standing. Her arms, and the weapon that they held, suddenly felt as though they'd gained several-dozen pounds of weight, maybe even hundreds of pounds. Strain as she might, Nebula couldn't get her weapon to budge, the tip of her sword dipping down to lodge in the sand, her hands rapidly losing their battle to keep from having her weapon ripped from their grip.
Above, Setsuna had begun to drop. His fall brought him into the effect of his own technique, his descent suddenly accelerating rapidly, his body and weapons abruptly growing heavier. However, he'd already raised his kama so that, when the increased gravity of his Chiyugi took hold of them, that only added to the power of his downward swing, the blades descending in a pair of slashes that bit deeply into Nebula's Aura, prompting a scream of pain from her as she reeled back. Setsuna's blows continued down, striking into the sand along with his body, his Manifestation disappearing, the resulting impact throwing up a plume of sand into the air, concealing both fighters for a few seconds.
The buzzer sounded, announcing Nebula's defeat as her Aura dropped into the the critical zone. From the large depression in the sand where the two fighters were, resembling the impact crater of a meteor, Setsuna rose up, shaking his head vigorously to dislodge the sand that had gotten into his hair.
"Nice kaboom there," observed Natsuki wryly, coming to join her friend.
"Let's just get back to the others," said Setsuna.
Seeing the three whirlwinds circling himself and Miyu, Oscar tensed. They were quickly converging, threatening to join together, becoming a single powerful tornado that probably had the potential to throw him and Miyu out of the ring altogether.
Oscar's body trembled with nervous energy. The pressure was completely different from anything he'd ever experienced. From the moment the match had begun, the sense of unease, caused by the fact that this was the Vytal Festival Tournament he was fighting in, had been replaced by the intense pressure exuded by the opponents he'd found himself up against. Even with Miyu enhancing his abilities, Oscar found himself hovering at the edge of panic, feeling as though he was fighting someone whose strength was well beyond his own.
He could feel it in the young women he was up against, the weight of all their training and experience, the degree to which it dwarfed his own. Facing down Dew alone had left him feeling so very small and vulnerable, as though a single lucky hit from her could take him out. It was terrifying...and exhilarating.
Even now, facing down an attack that had the power to end this match for him and Miyu, Oscar couldn't help but revel in the feeling of excitement that welled up within him. He was beginning to understand why Natsuki was always smiling so brightly, even in the midst of a fight.
Miyu's hand came to rest between his shoulder blades, and Oscar felt his body warm as her Aura washed through him, the fatigue and strain fading away, and fresh strength washing through him, leaving him feeling stronger than before. Activating the gravity-Dust, Oscar rapidly spun his merged weapon over his head, the energy of the Dust spreading out, making it appear as though he had a whirling black disk hovering over his head. Then Oscar transitioned into a diagonal slash, channeled all the energy of his Dust and strength into the blow. The enhanced blade cleaved right through the tornado, scattering Dew's wind.
But Gwen was there, spinning her body to put the movement behind another handful of knives, which left violet streaks in their wake as they flew at Oscar's body. Oscar immediately spun his weapon, deflecting the knives with the shaft, wincing as their impacts rattled his hands. The deflected blades imbedded into the ring, cracking the surface with the force of their impact.
A shout from above caught Oscar's attention, and he looked up to see Dew in an arcing leap. When Oscar had cleaved through her tornado, she'd swung her spear downward, using a blast of wind to launch herself skyward. Spinning her weapon rapidly, she transitioned into a downwards slash to coincide with her descent, aiming straight for Oscar.
If he dodged, Oscar knew that he would be leaving Miyu open to Dew's attack. While he suspected that she would be able to take care of herself, he was also mindful of what Setsuna had told him. He had been entrusted with Miyu's safety, and willingly exposing her to danger would be a betrayal of that trust. So Oscar transitioned his own weapon's spin into a slash as well, swinging almost perpendicular to the course of Dew's spear, intercepting the descending weapon, and knocking it aside.
The spear struck the floor, releasing an explosive gust of wind that sent him and Miyu skidding backwards. With a shout, Oscar simply turned the weapon in his grip, lashing out with the head that was on the end opposite the one he'd intercepted Dew's attack with. Dew was forced to swiftly, and somewhat clumsily, raise her spear to block.
Gwen had swiftly relocated to a different position, moving to an offset angle, and launching another handful of knives at the pair. Oscar immediately shifted, deflecting them again. Dew followed through with a charging thrust from her spear, forcing Oscar to turn and deflect that as well. Following up Dew's attack, Gwen reversed direction, jumping upwards at the same time to throw another barrage of knives from a higher angle, forcing Oscar to deflect them again, before he had to shift his weapon to block a sideways slash from Dew's spear.
Back and forth the two girls went, trading off attacks in near-perfect synchronicity, their collective pressure forcing Oscar to remain on the defensive, always turning one way, then the other. They were leaving him with no opportunity to try and take back the offensive.
And the whole time, Miyu remained right behind him, attached to him as surely and completely as his own shadow, always shifting to keep in line with his back, allowing Oscar to stand between her and their opponents. In some ways, Oscar felt as though Miyu's presence alone was enough to encourage him to keep going. It was strange, the idea that having someone to protect was something, in and of itself, that could make him stronger.
Unfortunately, Dew and Gwen's coordinated attack was driving them back. Oscar flinched when he heard a splash behind him, realizing that it was the sound of Miyu stepping into the water of the ocean biome. Even if the water was shallow, it would still be enough to hinder his and Miyu's movements if they were driven all the way into it. He realized that their time for remaining on the defensive was coming to an end.
Deflecting the next set of knives, Oscar separated his weapons once more. Using his left-handed kama, he caught the head of Dew's thrusting spear, knocking it aside, wincing as he realized that the strength of one arm, and the reduced heft of his now-shorter weapon, meant that he didn't have as much defensive strength as before, the head of the spear scraping against the side of his torso as it flashed past him.
Still, Oscar didn't let that stop him, and he threw the kama in his right hand at Gwen, the weapon whirling end over end through the air. Gwen executed a move that could have been said to resemble a jumping pirouette, her spinning jump carrying her out of the blade's even as she used the spin to add to the speed and force of the next trio of knives she sent flying Oscar's way.
Oscar countered by swinging his left-handed kama around to strike the knives out of the air, the force behind them jarring his wrist, nearly knocking the weapon from his grasp. Fortunately, Oscar managed to maintain his hold, activating the gravity-Dust that linked the kama together, the thrown kama's course bending and coming around in an arc that brought it along a path that had it flying for Dew's back.
Gwen, seeing what was about to happen, growled, then threw another handful of knives to intercept the flying kama. They struck the weapon with a loud clang, knocking it off-course before it could strike Dew from behind. However, the sudden clang from behind her distracted Dew, prompting her to turn towards it, worried about a potential attack.
Taking advantage of her distraction, Oscar charged forward, not directly at Dew, but to her right, Miyu remaining glued to his back the whole way. He reached out to snatch the tumbling kama out of the air, reaching across his body with his right hand to do so. Dew gasped, turning to see that Oscar was suddenly much closer than he'd been before. She swiftly raised her spear to block as Oscar pulled both arms back across his body, his green Aura leaving streaks in an X-shape between him and Dew, the dual impacts of both kama sounding so close together that they practically struck simultaneously.
At the same time, he'd felt Miyu's Aura Flow into his body, his strength swelling and speed increasing, right at the instant of his attack. The result was Dew shouting in surprise as she was blown back across the ring, the angle of her flight sending her tumbling into the waters of the ocean biome, throwing up a spray of water when she landed, momentarily disappearing beneath the waves.
"Dew!" shouted Gwen, looking desperately for her teammate.
Oscar tensed his legs. Behind him, Miyu planted her right hand against his back, closing her left hand about her right wrist, channeling her Aura into Oscar again. When Oscar kicked off, it looked as though Miyu had launched him like a cannonball. It was a repeat of his explosive launch at the beginning of the match, Oscar becoming a flying blur across the space between him and Gwen. The distracted girl barely managed to notice him in time. She danced to the side, escaping a downward slash of his kama, before going into a spin that allowed her to lash out at Oscar's head with a hooking back-kick.
At the same time, as her right hand moved out of Oscar's field of view, Gwen drew six knives from her tassets, flicking them upwards into the air. Oscar managed to duck beneath the line of her kick. But his offense faltered from the lack of resistance against his attack, causing him to stumble...right into the arc of the knives that Gwen had thrown overhead.
All at once, the blades of the knives oriented downwards, their tips moving like compass needles. Then they accelerated with a burst of violet energy. Oscar was caught completely off-guard as they struck him from above. His Aura kept the blades from biting into his flesh, but the force behind those descending knives threatened to drive his body into the floor.
Gwen's foot had barely touched down after her kick, before she stepped forward, using the momentum leftover from her spin to add to her movement as she drove her knee upwards into Oscar's chest, knocking the air out of his lungs, and knocking him back upright, just in time for Gwen to follow through by bringing her right leg up in a roundhouse that caught Oscar in the jaw, knocking him back the way he'd come. While Oscar was still reeling, Gwen fished out another handful of knives, and hurled them at the poor boy, the blades flying straight at his chest.
A pair of hands gently came to rest against Oscar's back, Miyu's Aura flowing gently into him once again. The pain of the blows he had taken vanished, along with the dazed sensation of getting struck in the jaw. The world snapped back into focus for him, and Oscar saw the light glinting off the blades of the incoming knives. His arms moved almost as though they had a mind of their own, spinning the kama in his grip, using them to rapidly deflect the flying blades.
Gwen growled in frustration at her missed opportunity to knock Oscar out of the match. However, her ears picked up the sound of splashing and sputtering, Dew recovering from her earlier tumble into the water, planting the butt of her spear to push herself back up into a standing position, shaking her head to clear the water out of her eyes.
Neither of them was in the best shape, but they still held a considerable edge over their opponents after all.
Oscar frowned, preparing himself to have to fend off two attackers again, only for his eyes to widen slightly. Suddenly, he threw his kama, sending it flying straight for Gwen. Gwen easily dodged the telegraphed throw, barely even needing to look at the weapon as it went flipping past her. However, wary of another ploy to catch her from behind, or launch an indirect attack against Dew again, Gwen turned to follow the kama's course.
At that instant, the ring cracked, then buckled beneath her feet, and Gwen's body abruptly felt as though her weight had multiplied. The shock was so sudden that her knives tumbled out of her hands to strike the floor around her, the blades imbedding deeply amid the metal plates.
Meanwhile, the kama that Oscar had thrown found its way into the outstretched hand of Setsuna, who'd holstered the kama he'd held in his right hand, allowing him to catch the one that Oscar had thrown. As soon as his fingers closed around Oscar's weapon, Oscar activated the gravity-Dust that drew the two kama together. Setsuna utilized his own Manifestation to enhance the effect.
The result was that the gravity-field imprisoning Gwen evaporated. But before she could react, Oscar and Setsuna flashed past her from in front and behind, their attacking blades biting into Gwen's Aura from two different directions at once. A shout of pain exploded from Gwen, and she collapsed, the sound of the buzzer announcing her defeat ringing in her ears.
While that was happening, Dew managed to get to her feet, but found herself bathed in radiant warmth from above. Looking up, Dew's eyes widened as she saw a barrage of fireballs flying at her. She tried to defend and dodge. However, still rattled from her earlier tumble, and weighed down by the water on her body, her footwork hindered by the water rising up her shins, Dew's movements were hampered that she wound up simply taking the fireballs with her body, only managing to intercept one with a clumsy swing of her spear, which merely made it explode right in front of her face.
Staggered as she was, Dew was in no position to defend when Natsuki dropped down in the wake of her earlier attack, her flaming kodachi leaving bright-orange lines in the air around her as she struck with a series of attacks, those flashing lines condensing, then exploding, sending Dew flying through the air, landing on the sandy beach of one of the miniature islands dotting the ocean biome, the final buzzer sounding the end of the match.
Oobleck's shout rang through the stadium. "In a startling upset, Team Meconopsis wins!"
週次パワーステータス
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