Ch. 13- Prey But Predator

Reversing back to her body, Pika was met with a powerful punch aimed at her face. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock. It was unexpected for her, but wasn’t to anyone since Alex beat her in the race and was faster. So he appeared before she did and was already charging his fist at her. She had no time to escape like her brother did when she fought him.

The punch made its impact on her cheek as she turned her face away, trying to dodge it, and sent her flying away in a rapid whirl.

Her back brushed the ground, and she wriggled from the impact like a lifeless body, staring at the clear sky with wide eyes, wondering in her surprise, So he’s faster, but probably not stronger than me.

After realizing that she can be beaten by him, she sat up with struggle, blinking in pain and resting her arm on her knee, feeling a bit more humble than she usually did.

Alex was always an inspiration for her to become stronger and the sole motivator to push her limits, and even though they didn’t talk much, she was fond of him. However, her affection was clouded by wanting to surpass him and be stronger than him. She worked hard and achieved that. That’s what she thought, but she was wrong.

She wiped the small stream of blood trickling from her lips, and gave him a serious look, that she wasn’t joking around, that she wanted to prove her worth for him.

“Show me what you got, gal,” he smirked, folding his arms.

As sparks emitted from her body, she rose to her feet and screamed to awaken her super saiyan instincts. Her tracksuit waved, her hair spiked again and her eyes sparked in yellow. Clenching her fists, she darted to him, aiming at his chest. He crossed his arms to block her punch, sending him jumping a few feet to the back.

Nice. She has a lot of vigor. Heh, I like her. thought Alex with another smirk.

Why did he not just dodge by disappearing? thought Pika, puffing in her rage. Could he be...Testing my strength? she noticed his smirk for a moment with a surprised gape. She then gave him back a determined look. Fine then. I’ll show him what I’ve really got hiding for him.

She lowered her face, her eyes shadowed.

“Huh?” Alex lifted his brow, weirded by how her cheeks and hands were visibly pulsating every second.

Adrenaline rushed through her veins, as she collected her raging aura.

Narrowing his eyes, Alex slowly began seeing a number of her in the same position, as if he was dizzy. Holding his face, he tried to figure out what’s going on with her. He was feeling the intense power emanating from her, even from where he stood. I gotta do something before she attacks. This doesn’t look good. He thought.

There was a pause for ten seconds or so as the wind carried the dust away in between them. More than enough to plan something.

Immediately, she ran in a bolt and appeared behind him, slashing nothing with her claws but a pile of smoke dissipating into the air.

So she seems to have gotten the clawmaster Kronix, he thought as he appeared high above her head, in mid air.

He used the smoke cluster Kronix that belonged to the Nebula (NBL67) hand-cannon, originally firing smoke grenades that can be manipulated to shape any form after they explode using the weapon’s special magic ability known as smoke cluster. Another instance of attack/ability projection that he learned while watching her fight Pico. But instead of projecting an attack or ability, he simply recreated the weapon’s ammo and used its magical property, borrowed from the weapon itself, to create a clone of him.

Pika’s nails grew temporarily a bit taller and sharper, almost like claws. She shaped the clawmaster technique of the LionessRoar (LSR56) gauntlets used by her cousin when she visited her back on planet Demi.

She crouched and blasted with her sparks to the sky, with wide furious eyes, almost reddened with lines, and taller canines with spit trickling to her chin. She was wildefire, a fox more like a wolf, who lost her mind completely to her instincts.

Pulling her arm to the back, she aimed her muscled hand to his neck.

He quickly dropped to the ground in a spark before she reached him. “Kronix weapon form, Nebula,” he shouted as he did.

A hand-cannon appeared in a blue glow and Alex gripped its handle as he landed.

In the beginning, Alex used a smoke grenade that he formed and threw it from his back to shape him hastily as he disappeared in a fraction of a second before she attacked him.

Now, he formed a replica of the whole weapon.

He shot a plethora of smoke grenades on the ground, rotating as he did. “Smoke cluster, activate!” he shouted right after that.

She quickly charged at him from above before a smokescreen clouded her vision. She landed in the middle of it, turning left and right, unable to detect anything.

A bunch of his clones materialized out of the smoke a moment after and surrounded him. He blended in between them before she could find him.

Instead, she started running in a circle, forming a storm like her brother did before in order to clear the residual mist.

She then paused a second after, and with an annoyed expression, glared at the collection of Alexs from a short distance. She quickly slashed through each one of them till the real one burst out in speed. She followed him in haste, before he paused and crouched, jumping to the skies with a burst. He turned around to face her as she blasted straight to him with her claws, once again aiming at his chest.

He immediately formed a sword in blue light in front of his upper body and blocked her attack with its blade. She scuffed the blade, and the grating sound it emitted almost deafened Alex’s ears.

Her eyes widened in shock at the dark blade, and she knew what was going to happen next.

The sword was the infamous Night Blade (NB11), a sleek and sharp katana said to have belonged once to the elite guardian known as Silver Night. Python, the twins' ancestor, was said to be one of her grandchildren. Though her sword was rare-ranked, it had formidable power if used correctly.

Blinking in pain as the sharp noise still lingered in his ears, Alex swung the sword to the back from above his shoulder and began giving her consecutive slashes.

In a microsecond, she quickly flew back a few meters, barely managing to escape his attack, and it screwed her sleeve as she tried to defend with her arms crossed.

“Kronix weapon form, Lioness Roar!” she blurted, and her fists shone in yellow, forming the golden gauntlets.

She charged at him with a straight fist, and he placed the blade once again by his chest. With a clang, the metallic gauntlet hit the sword, slightly bending it and giving him a little push to the back.

Before he tried retaliating, she went behind him in a flash, pulling her arm and giving him another, mightier jab to his back. Immediately, he focused his aura on his spine, making it hard to crack. He used the ‘Kronix defense form’ skill. An invisible shield hardened his back, making her fist deal half damage as it would’ve had he not done it.

However, the glowing gauntlet’s punch was very intoxicating, it rocketed him straight to the ground. He plummeted on his face, wiping the dirt clean. She landed slowly in front of him as his body wriggled from the impact, furiously pumping more and more of her deadly aura.

Ten seconds later, he stood on his knee, shaking in struggle and coughing dust, “You nearly broke my spine, you know that?” he said.

Not heeding what he said, she briskly shot another fist to his face and he responded yet again with his blade, but this time around she gave it her all. Her gauntlet was brimming with energy, and his sword couldn’t withstand it anymore, cracking slowly in front of his eyes. He tightened his teeth and brows, anticipating a deadly blow from her gauntlet. His sneakers were nearly buried in the ground and the force was powerful, he couldn’t hold it any longer.

This is bad. He thought. She’s not giving me any chance to speak or even take a single breath. She looks like an emotionless machine at this point...Or maybe a brainless animal.

“Get him, sis!” screamed Pico from his seat, hovering his hands by his mouth.

“Yeah. Show him your strength, our fox queen!” bellowed another boy.

Pika broke the dark blade into pieces and her fist flew straight to Alex’s nostrils, smashing it and his face. The skin on his face twisted and contracted and he instantly soared away with a burst emitting from her gauntlet and landed ten feet away on his back, shaking as he collected dirt. The bits of black metal dematerialized into the air in blue sparkles.

“Wow. I’m quite surprised. Never thought she had this much robustness,” said Luna in astonishment.

“Indeed. That’s what happens when you anger her way too much,” said John.

“Didn’t ask for your opinion, idiot.” She said with a dull face.

“You're still annoyed at me, huh? Well, I don’t mind. I love that face you make,” he gave her an alluring glance.

Holding herself together, she blushed and her heart once again began thumping. She gripped her hands and didn’t turn for him at all--even though she could admit that they were similar...Too similar in fact they can’t fall in love. Her head boiled in rage and she felt like smacking off a few of his nerdy teeth.

All the boys cheered for Pika, while the girls sat with annoyance at their ‘perverted’ comments. It could’ve been out of jealousy too. Among them, Luna was the only one who didn’t care much about the boys. While most girls cheered for Alex, she was one of few if not the only one cheering for her best friend, Pika.

“Huh. She’s not listening to you,” said John with a smug face, folding his arms.

“Oh really? And what makes you think that?” asked one of the boys.

“She can lose control of herself when she’s angry. I call it berserk mode. Any wild animal has it,”

“That’s bullshit,”

Pico agreed, “He’s right. We do have it since we’re half animals,”

Heaving in fury, Pika advanced to him. She stretched an arm to the bruised boy lying on the ground, trying to clutch his hair, raise him up and deal him more agony.

Alex flinched at the mere sensation of her aura and opened his eyes wide. It wasn’t out of fear, but anger. He snapped out of his dormant state, not giving up yet. I can’t fight her like this, he thought, she’s unpredictable, and monstrous, and I guess… I like her that way. He gave her an impressed gaze, almost as if he wouldn’t mind her beating him to death. “You like me, don’t you,” he uttered under his breath.

Feeling the charm behind that gaze, she paused abruptly and looked at him with wide, tearful eyes, her fox ears twitching a little and her pupils expanding. Her sudden frown turned into a glad smile and her face flared in nervousness.

The golden gauntlets also gleamed in yellow and disappeared into the air.

He slowly rose to his feet, and without a word, summoned the sword again with what little energy was left in him. The sword formed in his hands in a few seconds and he drew it in front of her like a knight wanting to spar with her one more time.

She couldn’t comprehend his sudden change of heart, thinking that he wanted her finally after she defeated him, but it seemed like he didn't give up yet and was willing to give it another try. He still had energy in him after that powerful blow, which she didn’t expect.

Her face turned a bit shocked and confused.

Taking advantage of her immobile state, he gave her a smirk as if bidding her farewell before he started glowing in blue and disappearing into the air as a bolt that whipped past her hair and wide eyes.

Grabbing the hilt with a single hand, he reappeared behind her and swiftly swung his katana from side to another, so as to slash right through her body.

Her ears moved again in signal and in the blink of an eye, she turned around at the slight sound of the wind blowing from his sword.

She used mind acceleration to increase her reaction speed and slow time which helped her physical agility—since she was less agile and more strong just like Alex, yet still a bit faster than him—and allowed her to dodge more easily.

While turning, her long messy hair got caught up in his move and the blade slashed right through in a smooth, slightly inclined manner. Once she was facing him, she hastily leaned back so she won’t get sliced. But the blade stopped right after that when it reached the end of the semi-circle swing.

She gave him a maniacal yet shocked gaze, then lowered her face, grinding her teeth in aggravation. It was evident that she was planning for a doomsday attack. From the way she looked at her fallen hair, Alex knew he made a grave mistake.

He was in for a world of hurt.

In an instant, she lifted her face and her death stare was even more frightening and ominous that Alex couldn’t dare move. He was flinching and sweating so much for the first time against a person, that he wished he had died on the spot from the shame he was enduring.

Some of the spectators took notice and ridiculed him, especially the boys. However, some girls still cheered him on in hope that he would pick one of them as his next date.

Furrowing his brows, Mr.Lee sensed the wild aura that escalated around Pika’s body from a distance. He anticipated a fearless, one-sided battle to take place next.

As sweat trickled from his forehead under the noon sun, Alex knew he would be failing unless he found a way to defeat her quickly. He moved his eyes left and right as she stared at him and advanced to where he stood.

Unfortunately though, there wasn’t any time to think or act. She was faster and unpredictable. More like a berserker.

She called the golden gauntlets again in a stoic voice as she walked slowly like a beast to its prey. They formed on her hands once more in a bright glow.

Without giving it a second thought, she grabbed his wrist that held the sword firmly and gave him a knee kick to his gut, followed by a powerful punch to the same place, oozing a huge burst that sent him flying to the skies just under the blaze of the sun.

Looking down in shock, he couldn’t believe his eyes. For she did the impossible. Not even years of training could establish such caliber. He coughed blood as he felt the pain surging all over his body. The winds went past him and his silky hair flowed freely behind, illuminating under the sun rays. His body went numb and immobilized, waving along with his hair like a lifeless doll.

For her final blow, Pika crouched a moment after and hopped to the air in a thunderous discharge. Soaring high above the clouds, she reached him from the side and immediately clutched his nylon, zipped jacket, pulling him up and turning him around to face her.

After exchanging a few glares, she curled up her sleeve and raised her muscled arm, elbowing his chest and pushing him straight down at sound speed. They broke through the clouds and headed straight to the crust, cracking and perforating it with a blast of energy.

Alex was better off dead at this point. The impact on his back was that of which he had never experienced before. It was the highest level of agony, crushing every bone in his body.

The onlookers stood up and seeped through their seats in curiosity, rushing to the hole made through the ground in the middle of the field.

Standing in his place and staring at the scattered rubble from a distance, Mr. Lee played with his gray beard a little and smiled as the students bolted beside him, before recording the events on his clipboard as a remark.

Everyone crowded around the place of impact and stared down at the two opponents.

Apparently, Pika returned to her senses and was crying in front of Alex’s unconscious body.

“Oh no. Please wake up!” she said in worry, holding his face as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

He slowly opened his eyes, staring at her and smiling. “You really are something,” he said in a debilitated voice, feeling her warm hands on his cheeks.

“Huh!” she immediately left his cheeks and jumped in surprise, her face flaring up from shyness considering she was too close to him. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me,” she sniffed, lowering her eyes in modesty. She connected her fingers together and sat like a japanese maiden—like her mother—, tail flailing and ears down.

Her cuteness shined brighter than the sun, as if she turned from a demon to a guardian all of a sudden.

“I-It’s...Fine,” he said in struggle.

He couldn’t move an inch, and was lying flat on the ground.

Astonished that he could still speak, she asked, “H-How did you survive my ragin’ self?”

He closed his eyes and smirked, “Heh. I wouldn’t be strong if I didn’t,”

Luna pushed students aside along with John until she reached the edge of the pit. Staring at the two, she slid down and hurried to her best friend. She knelt beside her, “Hey, you alright?” she asked.

“Obviously,” she looked at her with a dull face, then turned dismal and said, “But not him,”

“Yeah, well...He kinda deserves it,” said Luna carefully, afraid of making her angry.

Pika narrowed her eyes, giving her the ‘murderous lover’ look, and Luna bit her lip, swallowing back what she said.

With a worried face, Luna gasped and covered her mouth, “H-Have you noticed that your hair has been cut?” she said, and pointed at Pika’s back hair, trying to change the subject.

Pika twirled her face to the back, trying to take a peek and gasped, “Oh no. My precious hair is gone. Are you kidding me?” she tried reaching out to it with her hands, but couldn’t.

“I-I’m impressed...You really did a number on me,” uttered Alex.

Pika quickly turned her surprised face to him, “N-No please...You’re much better. What I did was kinda like cheating...So I’m sorry,”

“You’re truly worthy of my respect...And I think you’re a great fighter,”

Pika flushed almost immediately and couldn’t handle her fast heart beat. After being nearly cooked, she clutched her jacket on her chest area pulling it a bit away to let the hot air escape her body from the sheer heat that she experienced and exchange it with cold. Her lips trembled from the unsettling emotions that she was feeling. Closing her eyes, she said with a more high-pitched voice, “I-I...Really don’t deserve such praise,”

Meanwhile, John stood along with the worried students, and others who chattered, asking Pico, “Don’t you think your sis is acting a bit strange in front of my brother?”

“We know that already,” said Pico.

“Know what?”

“That she’s in love with him, duh,”

“Yeah so she acts so cute and girly in front of him and then turns all boyish and strong in front of us. Isn’t that a bit too much? We’re treated like shit compared to him,”

“I don’t care to be honest. Besides, she started to change towards me. She said that she supports me towards being strong, which means she roots for me to be with Luna!”

“Pfft..That’s not what she meant, idiot. She probably still doesn’t care about you. I mean you saw what she did to you? She was nearly gonna kill you with no concern for safety whatsoever,”

“I can say the same about your brother,”

“What do you mean? She beat the shit out of him. What else do you want?”

“That’s not what I meant,” said Pico, implying the time in the match when Alex was about to slice Pika into two halves had she been less perceptive. But thankfully, his sword only managed to reach her hair.

“Yeah, whatever. I’mma go check on my dear bro,”

John went down the pit as well and headed to Alex.

“Alex!” he knelt once he reached his side, “You fine, bro? Don’t worry, help is coming. I told Mr. Lee that we probably should bring someone to take you to the infirmary considering that huge blow we witnessed.”

“Yeah, as if you’re the savior of the day,” coughed Alex, his eyes still locked. He didn’t have the energy to even open them.

“Hey! C’mon. Why do you have to be so mean?”

Alex didn’t respond for a moment. His expression turned from smug to annoyed. “Don’t get cocky,” he muttered before some footsteps echoed from a distance. “I’ll get you soon, after this is over. Just you wait,”

“I’ll be waiting...I guess,”

After a long argument on who would care much for Alex, two medics among the students--who also happened to be strong enough to carry even a heavy person--came down the pit, one of them carried Alex from the arms and the other from the legs, flying off to the entrance of the building. They couldn’t heal him instead due to how fatal his injuries were, and he was already too exhausted to heal himself. Oh, and they were also girls who had the hots for him, yet Pika didn't seem to be bothered or jealous.

Girls were usually on par in strength and speed with boys, yet the patriarch government didn't give them rights to fight outside of athletic purposes, which was why they weren't allowed into military or police academies, and mostly settled as healers or medics. Also they were less likely to wield weapons and more so to use magic.

“Aren’t you the one supposed to carry him?” John asked Pika.

“And what makes you think that?” Pika asked back.

“Since you’re the winner, I assumed you would take the responsibility,”

“Oh I would love to, but…,” she reddened, her lips trembling.

“Is it because you’re shy or that he’s heavy. Which one?” asked Luna with a smirk.

“Alright. Forget I asked,” He stood up, wiping the dirt off his pants, and went back to Pico. Luna and Pika did the same and followed him.

After ten seconds or so, the bell rang and everyone headed back to the school building. They entered the hallway, went to the locker rooms and got changed. Then they walked back to the classroom for the Magic class.