Equal Grounds

Tetsu looked at Nina and noticed how calm she was. He smirked and polished his pauldron then the Emerald on his pauldron shined brightly. Nina crossed her arms and looked at Tetsu then looked up at the stands, staring at Archer.

"I may be a high tier student at this academy, but I've always hated how people treated the lower tiers like trash." Nina said then looked at Tetsu then smirked. "But now I don't have to be scared to join their side."

Archer looked at Nina then his eyes shined. "Joining the weaker side just to prove a worthless point."

"You seemed bothered by Nina and Lily staying on August's side." Ken said.

"I am...because back then they weren't even focused on August nor April, now they are all buddy buddy and even partnered up with Dr. Noxius, literally the strongest professor in our academy somehow." Archer said.

Tetsu looked at Nina then looked over at me, April, and Lily. He smiled and chuckled softly. "The Pride has certainly made a name for themselves, so much that even I have to applaud you all. Taking down members of The Fallen and saving Zodiac Square from stragglers and lower goons, but compared to us...your feats mean nothing!"

Nina looked at Tetsu then chuckled softly. She took her gloves from her back pocket then put them on. "Is that so..? Now that you've said that what we've done over these last few days mean nothing, I feel obligated to show you what I'm truly capable of."

Ms. Ray looked at the two then nodded. "Begin!"

Nina dashed toward Tetsu and went for an attack, but Tetsu dodged her attack then jumped back to create more distance.

"Burst Skill!" Tetsu bellowed.

"His Burst Skill already?!" Freya asked in shock.

"He's not playing around." Vail chuckled. "What do you think Opal?~"

Opal watched Tetsu and Nina, studying them closely. "It's a gamble, but if he hits this..."

Tetsu surrounded his blade in his Earth Energy then bellowed. "Ground Ripper!"

Tetsu stuck his blade into the ground then slashed upwards, sending spikes of rocks toward Nina. Nina jumped over the next spike that protruded from the ground then placed her feet on the side of the spike then propelled herself toward Tetsu. An afterimage phased through Tetsu then Nina appeared behind him and landed a powerful kick on his back.

Tetsu groaned as he was launched through multiple spikes and landed on the ground. He stood up then noticed Nina already in front of him. She landed a swift jab at his face then knocked him upwards.

"My turn...Wind Arts!" Nina called out then clapped her hands together. She parted her hands then an orb of wind formed between her hands. "Gale Blast!"

Nina slammed the orb of wind against Tetsu's stomach, blowing him away with the orb of wind. The orb shined brightly and exploded, causing a burst of wind to blow him away to the wall.

"So this is why Nina doesn't use her hands..." Vail said in awe.

Nagini smirked as she looked at the data she was collecting. "She's not getting any stronger, but her usage of her abilities are top notch. Maximum output with little energy usage."

"She's really strong...I mean Nina has mastered Martial Arts and has really good Chi Control." Mina said.

"Chi you say..? Hmm this makes things way more interesting~" Nagini said then chuckled.

Tetsu stood up and walked forward. He dusted himself off and grumbled softly. "Well, you seemed to have done quite some damage to me, but not enough to make you worthy of seeing my Gaia Lord Form."

Nina looked at Tetsu and crossed her arms. 'He's got a lot of endurance on him...I didn't even hold back on that Gale Blast and he just took it. Seems like I'll actually have to use it...'

Tetsu readied his sword then noticed Nina take off her gloves then put them in her back pocket. He braced himself for whatever Nina planned to do.

Nina bellowed and awakened her Chi Energy then grunted as the amount of surrounding her body was outstanding. She looked at Tetsu then chuckled. "I hope you're ready!"

"Nina..." Lily said softly as she watched her. "Even during our fight at the mall, she's never produced this much energy."

"Tetsu is a defensive opponent. She needs to boost her power even further to break through his defenses and since the Wind, Light, or Dark Elements has no advantages over Earth, she's gonna have to work harder to break through.." I said.

Tetsu laughed and his aura surged around his body as well. "This power you're exerting, I've never felt anything like yours in a while!"

Nina smirked and got into her stance. "I'm glad you think so. Now you'll get to see what I can really do..."

"Come at me then, Nina!" Tetsu shouted.

Nina bellowed and propelled herself toward Tetsu at high speeds then landed a swift kick, knocking him back. Tetsu regained his footing then ran forward and slashed, but ended up hitting an afterimage. Tetsu looked around then grunted as he was hit at invisible speeds.

'I can't even hear her footsteps..! Her sound is inaudible, how is she doing that..?' Tetsu thought to himself as he looked around.

Nina dashed toward Tetsu and landed another swift strike then kicked him away. Nina held her hand out then bellowed. "Wind Arts!"

Tetsu grunted as powerful winds blew and noticed the air around Nina began caving in to a singular point at the top of her fingertip. He watched as Nina aimed the small gray orb of energy at him then grunted.

Nina concentrated heavily to pull this attack off. "Vacuum Burst!"

She fired the small orb of energy at Tetsu, but he managed to dodge the orb. He looked at Nina then noticed she was gone. He looked back and noticed Nina behind him. He grunted in shock as she fired the orb of energy at him once again, this time connecting.

The orb of energy expanded then exploded, causing a tornado to form in the middle of the arena. Nina smirked as she watched the tornado then noticed a green light shine.

"That was a nice attack, caught me by surprise...but no matter what you try...You won't defeat me!" Tetsu bellowed and his aura surged powerfully then he transformed into his Gaia Lord Form.

Tetsu generated six floating rocks behind him, all surrounded by his energy. He smirked and readied his blade. Nina looked at Tetsu and looked at her hands. She noticed they were shaking a bit as she was running short on stamina.

'Even after one of my strongest attacks, he still had enough energy and stamina to transform. This guy's endurance is insane...' Nina thought to herself then looked at Tetsu and got serious.

"Oh she's serious now, there's the face I like to see~" Ken chuckled then grunted as Archer elbowed his side.

"You'll never have a chance with her as long as August is still around...but I don't think Nina has the power to break through Tetsu's defenses. The Emerald grants people unrivalled defense unless their opponent has an advantage or has the means to lower their defenses." Archer said.

"Doctor, does Nina still have a chance? She looks noticably fatigued. She went through two full power Arts and he's still standing." Heifer wondered and looked at Nagini.

"Yeah, she's still got something left in the can. I can tell she's not the one to give in until the actual end." Nagini said.

Nina took a deep breath then exhaled. 'Harmony, if you can hear me please listen. Although this is a Mock Battle, a lot rides on this. I have to move forward...I have to win this not for my team but for the people who believe in us. Let me use your power!'

Tetsu watched Nina and noticed her eyes were closed. He took a step closer and noticed she didn't react. "If she won't move, then I'll just take the win..!"

Tetsu dashed toward Nina then slashed and noticed she dodged the attack. He went for another attack, but Nina dodged the attack once again then landed a powerful counter attack. Tetsu grunted and stumbled back.

"Your request has been accepted." A voice said to Nina.

Nina opened her eyes then the Libra Symbol shined on her forehead. Nina took another deep breath then exhaled and awakened her Zodiac Power. The crowd erupted with cheers and excitement as Nina had acquired Zodiac Power.

"What the hell..?! How did she acquire that power?!" Archer asked in shock.

Nagini laughed and clapped her hands then closed her laptop. "That's it. That's all the data I need from her. She's finally been accepted by The Lady of Justice~"

"Nina! You did it! You have Zodiac Power!" Lily said happily and her eyes shimmered with excitement.

Nina looked at her hands and noticed they weren't shaking anymore. 'My stamina... everything has been replenished. Harmony really responded to me...This must be how August feels when wielding this power...'

Tetsu smirked and rested his blade against his shoulder. "Heh...You unlocked Zodiac Power huh..? Well, let's see how much better you are now!"

Nina looked at Tetsu then smirked. "With this power...I can finally do this! Zodiac Arts: Equalization!"

A field of energy formed around the battlefield then both Nina's and Tetsu's Condition and Power Level became equal. It was now equal grounds for both combatants. The best qualities of both of them became meaningless in Nina's effect field.

"Equalization. The Libra's signature move and possibly the best Support and Technical Zodiac Skill when it comes down to all forms of competition. Nina might now have a chance at beating Tetsu.." Leona said.

Tetsu chuckled softly then closed his eyes. "So you think equalizing our levels and condition will raise your probability of winning?"

"No...I just set the probability of either one of us winning to 50%, but at the same time either one of us has a 50% chance of losing. I don't gain any upper hand using this technique, I just evened the odds." Nina said then got into her stance.

Tetsu opened his eyes then looked serious. "Even with this, you can't win!"

Tetsu dashed toward Nina then slashed at her, but she dodged then landed a knee strike to Tetsu's stomach. He groaned as he was knocked back then grunted as Nina knocked him upwards with a kick. She knocked Tetsu away once again with a roundhouse kick then stomped her foot on the ground.

"Light Chi Arts: Benevolent Barrage!" Nina bellowed then dashed forward and landed a staggering blow to Tetsu.

Nina bellowed as she began to rush him with a barrage of light chi strikes then palmed his chest, launching him away. Nina took a deep breath then blew out a powerful force of wind at Tetsu, but he slashed upwards, slicing the winds in half.

"Burst Skill!" Tetsu bellowed then fired his six rocks at Nina at high speeds to distract her while he charged up his Burst Skill.

Nina held her hands out then used her hands to make finger guns then began firing wind bullets from her finger tips then noticed a bright green light. She looked at Tetsu then readied herself. "Wind Arts..."

"Emerald Quake!" He bellowed then stabbed his sword into the ground then spikes made from emeralds protruded from the ground quickly toward Nina.

Nina propelled herself to the sky then held her hand up then her eyes shined brightly. "Storm Breaker!"

Nina bellowed as she launched the large orb of wind at Tetsu. Tetsu took his sword out of the ground then slashed horizontally at the sphere of wind. He grunted as he noticed the pressure of the wind stopped his slash then repelled him backwards. He groaned as he was hit by the attack then the sphere of wind began to compress in size. The sphere of wind released an explosion and powerful winds blew around the stadium.

Everyone groaned as they shielded themselves from the powerful winds of Nina's Storm Breaker. Once the winds had calmed and everyone was able to look again, they all noticed Tetsu on the ground. Nina landed on the ground then closed her eyes and fell to her knees, passing out from exhaustion.

Ms. Ray didn't know what to make of this as both had now fallen in battle. "Uh—Both combatants are unable to continue nor stand to claim victory! This match is considered a draw! One point to both teams!"

"He managed to take Nina out with him somehow..." Freya said in awe.

"He turned it into a battle of stamina, even when the grounds were even...That's three to one. Opal, do you think you can manage Lily?" Vail asked and looked at Opal.

Opal looked at Lily who hurried to check on Nina and Tetsu. "I could, but I hear she's not as weak as she appears. She's a dangerous unit from what the other low tiers say..."

"But will you lose to her?" Freya asked then looked at Opal.

Opal stood up and smiled. "Nah, I'd win against Lily. I am the daughter of the Lightning Hero back home. I heard of her special technique. The Mark of Light is dangerous, but I know how to counter it."

Vail smiled at Opal then chuckled. "Go show them what you're made of then. You do have a long road ahead of you if you manage to beat Lily."

"I know...but August is fully recovered so he might give me some trouble if I make it past Lily and April. I guess we won't know unless I go out there." Opal said then walked forward.

"Good luck.." Freya said.