Chapter-102<* Tournament - I *>

"Let's better change the subject" - said Utsuho noticing that the conversation was deviating too much from the central topic - "The battles are about to begin"

"Did they say the order yet?" Cloud asked as he looked curiously at the Arena.

"Yes" - agreed Utsuho - "The battles will be like this... 1-A vs 1-C, 1-D vs 1-G, 1-B vs 1-E and 1-F vs 1-G"

"That means Ichika will have to fight Rin if they both make it to the finals" - Houki said as she looked at the Arena.

"At least this will give me an objective opinion of the level of the representatives" -said Laura while she observed the battlefield-"Although if I'm honest, I don't expect much"

"I don't expect much anymore" - Tatenashi said as she shrugged her shoulders when she felt the gaze of the others - "What? I'm 100% sure of the level of the participants and that's why I know they won't be very interesting battles.. .in fact, the only one that will be worth it will be Orimura-kun and Huang-san because the other contestants are pretty much beginners or just don't have a lot of experience in piloting."

"Let's just watch the fights..." - Cecilia sighed - "Who knows? We might be in for a surprise.

* * * * *

But unfortunately for the girl, Tatenashi's prediction was correct.

The vast majority of the participants were people who had made huge mistakes during their matches.

There was a girl who used a large amount of her shield to dodge an attack that wasn't even coming at her, only to receive it for a wrong move.

There was another one that used up all the ammo in her weaponry, only to be defeated while she was reloading.

The other girls, had mistakes but not as pronounced as that, although it was still a pain in the eyes of the 'professionals' to see them fight.

"At least Orimura is stable"-Laura said as she shook her head. She had to admit that she was upset to see the battles, it was like they were insulting everything she trained for.

". . ." - even Cecilia and Charlotte, who were the nicest in the place, just shook their heads.

"At least we can finally see a good battle"-Cloud said as he shook his head.

[Winner, Huang Ling Yin! Now we will give a few minutes for the participants to recover]

"How likely do you think Orimura-kun's victory is?" Tatenashi asked as she looked at the blonde.

"I'd say 75%" - Cloud said calmly.

"Ho~? 75%?" -the blue-haired girl smiled- "I see that someone has great confidence in his friend... if so.... how about a small bet?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow in surprise as he looked at the woman but still he nodded-"Tell me first what I win and what I lose"

"Ok... we will both have the same profit, if one of us wins, he or she will be able to order something to the loser that cannot be denied" - Tatenashi smiled as the girls widened their eyes in surprise - "Of course these will have restrictions such as killing, suicide among other things of dubious morality, marriage is also out, as well as revealing very personal secrets... what do you think?"

"I don't have a problem with that..." - nodded the blond boy, then looked at the other girls - "Do you want to participate too?"

"!" - The girls looked at each other in surprise as they nodded firmly.

"Hmm... I guess we'll have to change some things" - Tatenashi said with a frown - "The winner will be able to order one thing from the losers, as well as one thing from one of the winners in case there are more than a victorious"

"Why don't we just have him or the winners order one thing from any of the contestants," Cloud said calmly.

"Fine..."- Tatenashi nodded as she frowned-"I agree"

"I'm in" - Laura said as the others joined the party.

"Me too~!" Honne exclaimed with a big smile.

"Honne-chan?!" her older sister exclaimed.

"Come on, Onee-chan! It'll be fun~!" - exclaimed the girl with fox brooches that seemed to have a life of their own.

"O-Ok…" Utsuho muttered sadly as she looked around.

"Okay...who goes first"-said Tatenashi as she looked around.

"I say Rin wins" - Laura said neutrally.

"I also think the same" - said Tatenashi with a big smile.

"I say Ichika-san wins"-said Cecilia-"If he could defeat me, I don't think he can't repeat such an action with another Representative cadet"

"Although it was mostly luck from what I heard" - said Charlotte - "But I find that you are right, Cecilia-san"

"I say Orimura wins~!" Honne exclaimed.

"I... I say he's going to win Huang-san..." Utsuho said sadly.

"What do you think, Shinonono-san?" Tatenashi asked as she looked at the girl from Japan.

"I think that the battle will not end with either of those two options" - Houki said seriously - "I know Ichika well enough to say that he is a magnet for problems and strange situations"

"Then how do you say the battle will end?" Tatenashi asked with a frown.

"Unfinished" - answered Houki.

"I agree with Houki" - said Cloud - "I'll even go much further... an enemy will appear and start attacking that idiot"

"That's pretty specific" - Charlotte said - "How are you so sure?"

"Because that idiot is not only a stone head, but also a troublemaker" - Cloud and Houki said as a small smile appeared on their faces.

The girls just looked at each other in annoyance as they turned their eyes towards the Arena because the battle between the two finalists was about to begin.

* * * * *

[The battle between Class Representative 1-A, Orimura Ichika against Class Representative 1-B, Huang Ling Yin... is about to begin... participants please enter the Arena]

The two ISs, one red and one white, entered the Arena and flew towards the center.

"I've been waiting for this moment during the whole competition"- Rin said seriously as she looked at her childhood friend / her fiancé.

"Even if it's you Rin, I won't show mercy" - Ichika said seriously.

"You'd offend me if you did"- Rin said as she looked at the boy she liked- "Fight with everything you have Ichika, because I'm going to kick your ass to the point that it will have my name on it"

". . ." Ichika rolled his eyes at his friend as she gave him a bored look.

[Starting the battle in 3... 2... 1... Begin!]

The two ISs quickly backed away as they took flight to give themselves more room to manoeuvre.

Rin was piloting a prominent red and black IS called [Shenglong], the latest custom IS created so far by China, capable of firing a large number of bullets at high speed from its shoulder cannons.

"It's time, Ichika!" Rin exclaimed as a large Double Naginata appeared in her hands, "Let's see how long you last..."

"Yukihira MK2!" -Ichika exclaimed as his sword shone fiercely- "I say the same"

Rin just gave her a smile as she flew at full speed towards Ichika, only to notice that Ichika had disappeared from her location and appeared a few meters from her-"!"

* * * * *

"I have to admit that he has improved impressively"-Cloud said as he nodded-"Although it's obvious that that speed consumes a lot of his Shield energy"

"From what I was able to analyze during his fights, he uses his shield too much..."-Tatenashi said seriously-"His [Unique Ability] is impressive, as well as the damage he can cause...but consumption is too much..."

"There are only two possible solutions left, to modify it... although that is unlikely because it is Tabane's invention and the only one who could do it is her" - Cloud said calmly - " And the second is that he has a partner who can use transfer Power and has a rechargeable power source"

"The second option seems too specific... but it's possible..." Tatenashi said while stroking her chin.

"Hmm... it's not as bad as I thought"-said Laura as she nodded-"At least knowing that he hasn't been an IS user for long"

"Rin-san isn't doing too bad either," Charlotte said seriously, "His movements are fluid even though his SI doesn't have very good close range mobility..."

"This battle will be one of attrition"-said Cecilia as she watched the battle even more closely. She had lost her fear a few days ago and had finally gotten back on an IS, though she was now much more careful around her, which she wasn't that bad of knowing she was a ranged combatant.

"Haven't you noticed anything strange about Ichika's movements?" Houki asked with a frown.

"Now that you mention it…it seems like he's holding back" Charlotte said with a frown "His attacks are too open"

"Weird...it seems like he really doesn't want to attack her"-said Tatenashi with a frown.

"I guess what happened with Cecilia-san... still haunts him"-Cloud said as he looked at his friend.

"!" - The girls were surprised when they heard this because it really made sense if it really was that.

"Are you saying he still blames himself for hurting me?" - Cecilia asked with surprise.

". . ." - Cloud didn't answer him, he just continued watching the battle in silence.

---

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