An Assassin's Respite

The Final Matches

With there only being two matches left, there was going to be a short break between the matches so that the winner of Kaguraa and Chad's fight could get a little rest before facing Kazuna. Kagura and Chad were facing one another, readying themselves for their match, their motives for wanting to win completely different. Kagura wanted to show Kazuna how much she had grown while Chad wanted to prove to everyone that he was better than Kazuna. With the two of them ready, Mr. Satouro starts the match.

The two were more passive at the start than in their previous matches. Kagura had a better understanding of how Chads power worked thanks to his fight with Kazuna but she wasn't sure if a close-quarters fight would be more advantageous for him or her. Chad knew that Kagura had learned more about his power and was hesitant to engage recklessly. Both knew that the fight could be decided by what the other's first move was.

After a brief stare-down, Kagura decides to make the first move. She creates a tailwind behind her and begins to make her way towards Chad. Her theory was that if she moved fast enough then Chad's power would be too slow to hit her since the area it could affect was less the farther away she was, the trick was how to get around the increased area of effect in close-quarters. She had covered a good distance and was ready to test a thought she had while watching Chad and Kazuna's fight so she suddenly stops, changes the direction of her wind, and jumps back. A few short seconds after she leaves the spot she was at, she notices that the ground had cracked with a diameter of about 20 feet.

"It seems my guess was correct. It was hard to tell from the stands, but it seems that his area of effect has a maximum range of 20 feet around. From here his range should only be 10 feet with me acting as the center. Although, that's still quite a wide area to deal with." She notes to herself as she begins to form a plan.

After a brief pause to gather her thoughts, she takes a deep breath before refocusing herself and bursting forward with even more speed than before. Chad, caught off guard by her increase in speed, just barely managed to activate his power with her still 25 feet away. As the gravity began to increase, Kagura pulls Chad forward into his own gravity field as she jumps back. Chad wasn't able to react quickly enough and was thrown to the ground. He hurries and deactivates his power and shakily gets up, but Kagura used the window she gave herself to get close. Chad was able to recover more quickly than she expected and he was able to use his power to stop her in her tracks, but of course, he was affected by his power as well. He slowly raises his arm, trying to touch Kagura so that he could only affect her with his gravity, but Kagura uses her power to increase the air pressure around Chad. The increased air pressure made it significantly more difficult for Chad to move due to the way gravity worked. Increased gravity meant more air pressure and more air meant more air pressure. So while Kagura felt a 3x increase in gravity, Chad felt a 4x increase.

"She surrounded me with air to increase the air pressure? Dammit, I never thought of that. It's getting hard to get air into my lungs, it's too dense. I can't... I can't lose again." Chad thinks as he struggles to move.

He started to get light-headed from a lack of air and the pressure made every inch of his body ache. He began to fall unconscious, but before he completely [assed out, one last thought passed his mind.

"Am I really this weak?" He thinks to himself as he finally passes out.

His power stopped working and Kagura was able to get up. Her body ached from feeling that gravity for so long and she began to stretch. She finishes and looks at Chad.

"I can't believe he was able to withstand that level of gravity and air pressure for so long. He's got a strong spirit." She says to herself as she leaves the field.

After a brief intermission, The final match of Kazuna vs. Kagura was set to begin. They were stood in the center of the field, glaring at one another. As Kazuna looked at her, he could practically feel her determination. He could see how much she had grown since they first met and he knew that she was going to do everything in her power to show just how much she had improved and he was looking forward to it.

"You better be prepared, because I'm going to come at you with everything I've got." She notes.

"I wouldn't want it any other way. But if you're going to go all out, I guess I'll return the favor." He replies as he draws his sword.

Kagura draws her sword in response, a nervous bead of sweat gliding down her face. Once Mr. Satouro starts the match, Kazuna wastes no time as he heads straight for her. He slashes downward and Kagura blocks his swing but is pushed back. After that one clash, her arms felt numb and were tingling.

"From just one attack? Is this what Kauznba's like when he's serious?" She thinks to herself as she looks back towards Kauzna.

He was laser-focused and his eyes were set on her. Between his glare and his stance, there was an aura of power practically overflowing from him. Kagura swallows nervously but tightens her grip on her sword as she tightens her resolve.

Kazuna continues to come at her with powerful attack after attack. He was using a style that she had never seen before. Each attack made her arms go numb for a brief moment and the was no chance to make a counter-attack. She could feel his years of diligent training with each attack, but she knew she couldn't kell over and let him win. He goes for another attack and instead of simply blocking, she parries and uses her wind to gain more power. She was able to knock Kazuna's arm out of position and aims an attack at his mid-section. He blocks her attack with his knee, grabs his sword with both hands, and swings downward. Kagura quickly holds her sword horizontally over her head and blocks the attack. The shock sent a shock throughout her body and she was stunned for a moment. Kazuna kicks her back but she uses her wind to land gently.

"You truly are an anomaly. No matter how many times I see you fight, no matter how many times you surprise me, you still manage to pull something else out and exceed my expectations. If we continue to fight like this, then my defeat is inevitable. Well, I knew that my defeat was inevitable from the beginning, but I'm not just going to let you win." She thinks to herself.

"Kazuna, you're much stronger than me. You're faster, stronger, you're better at hand-to-hand combat, and you're smarter. A one-on-one fight between us that you're taking seriously can only go one way but despite that, I won't just give up. I'm going to put everything I have into this next attack, prepare yourself." She states.

"Bring it." He says with a slight smile.

Kagura closes her eyes and breathes deeply.

"I don't exactly know what to call this, but let's go with 'frenzy'," She says.

There was sudden;y an explosion of wind that dwarfed what she used against Yua. Kazuna was instantly knocked back, but he stabs his sword onto the ground and holds on.

"Such power." He notes to himself as he covers his eyes.

The winds began to cut him and it became difficult to breathe as the wind would choke him every so often.

"You truly have grown, Kagura. Fine, in response to your declaration, I will respond in kind." He whispers.

Lightning burst from his body and i=his eyes glow yellow. He raises his arm in the air and lightning explodes from it. The lightning begins to take shape and forms a lightning bolt.

'Zeus's Lightning Bolt' He shouts as he held a 10-foot long lightning bolt.

He grips the bolt of lightning and launches it at her. Kagura focuses her attack on his and they clash. Lightning and wind burst outward nearly blowing everyone away and making their hair stand out. Kazuna's attack breaks through Kagura's and lands at her feet, exploding on the ground in front of her. She's blasted backward and crashes into the wall unconscious.

Kagura wakes up and sees that she was in the nurse's office. She groggily gets up and places a hand on her head.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch." She mutters as she looks around.

"How long was I out?" she wonders.

She looks at her hand and clutches her blanket as she suddenly remembers why she's there.

"I lost," She mumbles.

"Yeah, but you were still impressive." She hears someone say.

"She looks over and sees that Kazuna was in the doorway.

"How long have you been there?" she asks.

"I just got here. Glad to see that you're awake." He replies.

"How long was I out for?" She asks.

About an hour and a half.

"Then schools, been over a while now. Why are you still here?" She asks.

"Obviously I'm waiting for you to wake up." He answers as he sits in the chair next to her bed.

"Y-you didn't have to." She mumbles while blushing.

"I know, but I wanted to." He replies.

The response made her blush even more.

"Anyway, I must say, you've improved much more than I thought you did." He says.

"R-really." She asks.

"Yes. Those gale storm and frenzy attacks are very impressive. Your combat and strategic abilities have also gotten better." He adds.

Kagura pulls her blanket over her face a little from embarrassment.

"T-thanks. But it wasn't enough to beat you." She says.

"So? Not every fight is winnable. What matters is what you took away from the fight. Did you learn anything? Did you do better than you thought? What could you do differently next time? So what if you lost. Take what that experience and use it to improve, that's what's important." He states.

Kagura smiles at Kazuna her face red and her heart racing.

"Right." She says.

The school nurse comes in shortly after and once she inspects Kagura she allows her to go home. As they walked home together, Kagura looked at Kazuna with a soft expression.

"It becomes more and more obvious as to how you were able to steal my heart. I just hope that the day I finally gain the courage to tell you how I feel that you reciprocate those feelings. or at least allow me to remain by your side." She thinks to herself.

"Is something wrong?" Kazuna asks as he notices her looking at him.

"N-n-n-nothing at all." She stutters as she looks down at her feet, her face beet red.

"I can't believe that thought went through my mind." She thinks to herself as they walk the rest of the way in silence.