บท 101: Bring It
Noble did end up seeing the second battle of the semi-finals, but not with Fireshing. Instead, she was joined by her family in her living room while eating dinner on their couches.
The match was a battle for the ages, or so Dimi and Syclus said as the group all settled in to watch.
It was rather gruesome entertainment for a meal, at least in the professor's opinion.
However, Fort, the boys, and Honey did not seem bothered by the display, and she had to let the matter rest.
As the fight went on, the family became more and more engrossed in the action.
"Why can't Unorganized Laundry just cut down Thorai? He's got all the stealth!" Brock had his hands up punching at the air between bites.
"She has that weird Memory of hers," Honey answered her brother with a superior air.
"What does it do?" Blaze studied the naginata on the screen. "The librarians are going on the defensive every time Thorai uses it."
"It blinds any opponent who looks at it," Noble answered.
Fort shot her a glance. "Oh really?" His mouth twisted into a mischievous grin.
The professor gave a tight smile in response. "That is what I believe, yes."
"It is a good theory, Dad," Honey nodded. "It would explain why they keep having to look away."
Winking covertly at his wife, Fort clicked his tongue. "Your mother always knows more about these things than I do."
"Mom's pretty awesome," Brock sent his mother a fist-bump punch.
"Dad is too!" Blaze came to his father's defense.
"I agree," Noble chuckled. "And as fearsome as Thorai's blade! Look at that!"
The time-snatching Awakened stepped in to keep Unorganized Laundry from digging into Snowmobile's skull.
On the screen, it looked like the daring duelist was deflected by the lady's naginata, but Noble knew that some time alteration had occurred to make it happen.
'Nic would have never been so sloppy. Maybe I should have warned him…'
Noble had considered letting him know about Thorai's tricky Aspect.
The perceptive librarian had been the one to rope her into the competition in the first place. It would be a shame not to fight him at least once.
But Noble also felt like telling Nickel about Thorai's Aspect was sort of cheating. It wasn't against the rules, yet it didn't feel right to interfere. So the professor had remained silent.
Even without the information, Unorganized Laundry and Izayoi_Nii were holding their ground. They did not have it easy. Paradise and Thorai had gotten their timing down to an art. Too many of the Librarian's hits were avoiding their intended targets.
Tensions were running high.
That was good. Noble wanted to see what the two would do under pressure.
Izayoi_Nii's impeccable capacity for learning caused her to rarely make the same mistake twice. Which is why it was very strange to see her struggling with the same types of problems over and over during this duel.
Her elegant kimono sailed around her when she struck Sleepless across the jaw with her foot. Since it was not a critical hit, the bone-jarring smack landed, knocking the vengeful fighter backward.
The two-handed blade in her hand lengthened into a spear, poised to impale Sleepless without a second thought. As Noble expected, it missed.
The thoughtful librarian narrowed her gaze. Instead of making another calculated move, Izayoi_Nii began to strike wildly.
"She's lost her mind!" Blaze gasped.
"No, keep watching." Noble smiled broadly. 'I think Iza's figured it out!'
The sleeves of her kimono spun out like the petals of a violet flower as the learned fighter continued her assault. It was as violent as it was bewitching to watch.
The angry Awakened responded to her attack, barely holding his own.
At the same time, Nickel, who went by Unorganized Laundry, was fighting off Paradise in Red and Snowmobile.
The determined Librarian moved so silently that he was hard to track. That was part of what made him so deadly. One moment he would be attacking from the front, and then, noting the slightest change by his opponent, he would move in a blur to stab from the rear.
His versatility in weapons was also remarkable. Laundry always seemed to know just what weapon would get the job done. Although only one weapon type Memory could be called at a time, he had the skills and timing to seamlessly change between his arsenal without getting injured.
Just now, with four opponents, that was a nearly impossible feat. So Laundry selected a pair of kamas as his primary offense.
The two weapons held deadly daggers out of one side and curved blades on the other, allowing the duelist to flick his wrist and switch out his form of attack. The small handles sported knuckle bars, allowing Laundry to use one Kama as a shield while the other struck out like a viper's fang.
It was the versatility of the weapon that was helping him just now.
Keeping Snowmobile at close range, Unorganized Laundry was preventing his spell attacks and fending off Paradise's oddly accurate maneuvers.
But Nickel was clearly frustrated, livid even. More than one of his hits should have ended members of the other cohort, and the blinding effect of the naginata was only complicating things.
"You got this, Nic!" Noble muttered. She shook her fork in the air like a tiny sword.
The man seemed to miraculously hear her, for when Iza began her wild attempt to overcome Sleepless, Laundry suddenly mirrored his partner's technique. Like two hurricanes, they went after the other team working as much on intuition as wits.
"Now!" Iza screamed, mimicking Paradise's signal.
The two librarians struck at the same time at two different targets. Thorai took the signal in stride and rewound time. Both the two-handed spear and kamas missed.
However, the Librarians had anticipated this move and instantly changed their tactics. Izayoi_Nii shortened her spear back into a sword, and Laundry shifted his weight to bring his dominant hand upwards. He slashed to the side in a vicious circle.
"Sleepless has been eliminated."
"Snowmobile has been eliminated."
"Paradise in Red has been eliminated."
Sensing the end was near, both Noble and Fort had sprung to cover the twins' eyes. Crimson splattered all over the flotilla as blood and heads spilled onto the ground. Only Paradise had managed to keep his due to a new Memory in the form of a massive neck guard. Still, the hit by Unorganized Laundry's blade had been fatal.
"Die, die, die!" The boys chanted as they pushed their parents' hands away.
"I would like to point out that we don't condone murder in this house." Noble released Blaze to rub her forehead. Thankfully her plate of food hadn't fallen from her lap.
"Don't worry, Mom. They aren't really dying." Brock chirped, amused by his mother's disgust.
On the screen, the action was quickly coming to a close. With three of the members of Dawnbreak out of commission, Thorai was outnumbered once again.
'I wonder if she is having flashbacks,' Noble mused.
If she was, they didn't last long. Thorai got in a fatal wound on Iza only to receive the curved end of one of the kamas in her back. Desperate for victory, Laundry did not hesitate to cruelly twist the blade.
"Thorai has been eliminated. Dawnbreak has been defeated. The Librarian's have won!"
"Yes!" Noble cheered, surprising her family. "What? I cannot cheer for my friends?"
But there was a deeper motivation behind her excitement. Queen Bee and Unorganized Laundry at last would meet. A smile crept onto her face.
'Bring it.'
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