56 Comeback

Thoom!

Ayako let out a scream as her body shot backward from the impact of Chiaki's Liquid Strike over two dozen meters. When she hit the ground, she rolled around like a stray tire, kicking up dust in her trail, and her body obtained scratches and bruises all over. The ball of water surrounding Chiaki's fist's frequency lessened greatly and dissipated into nothing as he settled upright from the stance he happened to take whilst striking Ayako Kobe. As a byproduct of the sunset brat's previous action, the crowd made no noise as he turned his back to his fallen opponent, putting a hand on his hip and closing his eyes.

"Hmph." he scoffed. "There's only a difference of 5 levels between us. I thought you'd be able to handle my attacks a little better than that." He began to walk forward ever-so-slowly, heading towards the edge of the stage without the match even being called.

Just then, the announcer used a small set of stairs to get onto the stone ring and jogged his way over to Ayako Kobe's body which was as lifeless as a corpse. She was face-down on the ground and didn't make even the slightest movement. He nudged her shoulder with his hand then put two fingers to her neck to check for a pulse. The way she looked, it was completely possible that she had passed. After a few seconds, he waved his hand in the air and gave a slight smile before putting the microphone in front of his lips.

"Contestant 17 has done what many people might consider impossible! He has defied the Edgar Brauss System and overcome the difference of five levels between himself and his opponent! As a result, Ayako Kobe has been defeated! I hereby declare…

…Chiaki Sato of Class F the winner!!"

The crowd cheered in astonishment, many people standing up and clapping whilst yelling as loudly as possible. Right after, 3 medics came in through the entrance and 2 of them went right for the injured Ayako Kobe. She looked like an absolute mess, it was a wonder just how much raw force was packed into that last Liquid Strike of Chiaki's. He did happen to move exceptionally quickly after using Inferno Tsunami with his feet so that probably made for a devastating punch to the stomach.

"Not bad, Chiaki," Yasuko said with a smirk only visible through a microscope, a hand up to his cheek and peering down at the ring below. Kiyomi ran over to Koko and bear-hugged him as hard as humanly possible with a smile running from ear to ear, yelling with sheer joy. Koko couldn't help but giggle as Kiyomi grabbed ahold of him and rubbed his cheek against his. Tadashii stared down at Chiaki who was walking towards the edge of the ring, and effectively towards the medic who was there to treat him elsewhere. He leaned forward a little and smiled to himself genuinely like he was at incredible peace or surrounded by an abundance of happiness.

To Nakayama, Chiaki was most certainly someone who caused him frustration in many areas. After last night, he'd grown a bit weary of his needless torment and retaliated in a way that could've ended a bit more violently, but luckily it didn't turn out that way. They butted heads often, but he did not hate that sunset brat, regardless of all the needlessly violent actions he took in order to ensure that Tadashii didn't get too comfortable around Kiyomi and Koko, though it was mainly the shy one in specific. He was almost like some sort of aggressively overprotective parent defending their child from anything they deemed to be a potential threat to their safety or purity. Though, with how vulnerable Koko and Kiyomi left themselves, Nakayama could somewhat understand Chiaki's motives. It wasn't as if Nakayama thought Chiaki's behavior to be acceptable by any means, but after yesterday's conversation with Ms. Akayoru during lunchtime, his philosophy was finalized:

Who was he to criticize Chiaki on what he believed was the best way to go about "protecting" Kiyomi and Koko from the world?

Nakayama was able to put together bits and pieces of information scattered all around his interactions, so he was able to recall Chiaki mentioning protecting the other two. And then, on top of that, he learned just how unappreciated traps were in this city. Many here hated the tomgirls and used discriminatory actions as a way of enacting that disdain. Then, that disdain only bred further hatred within Chiaki, causing the brat to have a great sense of distrust in most, if not all, men and many women. As far as Nakayama knew, that hate was for the entire world considering that, although Nakayama was a foreigner, he was still distrusted and mistreated. By all definitions of what was natural, the level 1 should've furthered that cycle of hatred by becoming fed up with Chiaki's misdeeds and practically wishing death upon him. And, if Nakayama had obtained hostility towards Chiaki, then both Kiyomi and Koko may have found some sort of ill-will towards the level 1 for disrespecting their friend. However, that was where fate's cruel game of resentment obtained its first and final flaw.

Nakayama, ever since he was but a small boy, walked through life without hatred. That was what he was taught, it was in his blood at this point. Sure, it was perfectly natural to get frustrated with other people, but the very idea of holding deep-seated resentment towards someone didn't settle right with him for a reason he didn't quite understand, but that feeling was definitely fueled by his childhood teachings. That same unsettling feeling carried over when he thought about his relationship with Chiaki. That kid gave him a familiar vibe, a bittersweet one to say the least. It was almost as if Chiaki was a walking manifestation of Nakayama's own memories, both good and bad.

He put a hand on his cheek and sighed. Chiaki somewhat reminded him of someone he once knew.

Chiaki looked up at the general area in which his friends would be seated and searched the crowd for them with only his eyes. Once he found them, he saw how both Kiyomi and Koko were celebrating and smirked before turning his head to meet a medic who stood only a few feet from him.

"You must be Chiaki Sato." said the woman dressed up in some kind of emergency services attire. "Please follow me, we'll get you treated right away. Do you need me to support you on the way there?"

"No, I'll be--"

Chiaki's legs wobbled a bit, throwing his balance off. He managed to just barely catch himself and he grunted in surprise afterward. The medical woman put a hand on his shoulder just in case he needed some assistance.

"Damn it." he scoffed in frustration. "I guess that Aero-Blast of hers did more damage than I thought." He looked up at the medic. "Hey, can you get me fixed up before break? I want to eat with my friends."

"Well, there are many factors that go into that," she responded, pushing Chiaki forward a little to get him walking. "Looking at your wounds, and since you're able to stand right now, I think we should have you fixed up by then. We should go now."

Chiaki nodded and followed her. They walked off the ring, past the restrooms, and out of the stadium, the crowd still cheering in amazement at Chiaki's victory. As Nakayama's eyes traced the two as they walked out of the stadium, not to mention the two medics that carried Ayako Kobe out on a stretcher, he leaned back a little and pondered to himself for a moment.

He thought about just how far Chiaki pushed himself in order to stay with his friends while being at the absolute peak of his game. Of course, now that Chiaki was finally in high school and his class rank had already been distributed, he could really let loose and level himself up as much as he liked, never having to restrict himself again. But, one thing that still remained a mystery to him was just why he was so adamant about sticking with the other two, besides the fact that they were extremely vulnerable. At this point, there was not much evidence to suggest that all three of them went through something considering both Koko and Kiyomi didn't hold any sort of resentment or hatred of any kind. Chiaki was like the yin to their yang in a random sense.

Either way, he decided to hold off on those thoughts for a little while, though he was certainly not about to give up on the entire situation, as having someone who genuinely despised him for a reason that he was in the dark about really rubbed him the wrong way. He concluded that, at some point, he'd definitely become friends with Chiaki. Kind of like how bitter enemies could one day join forces. He wanted it, he desired it-no. It was like he needed it. He had a faint idea as to why, but he didn't want to bank on that feeling just yet.

If he'd done it once, he'd do it again. He would, somehow and at some point, save Chiaki from his abhorrence.

Many minutes passed them by. It was quite impressive just how much smaller the amount of time that had passed by was, compared to the last 16 matches of course. It took about 25 minutes for fighters 19 through 30 to complete their battles, the last match being Etsu Hanai (some random Class D fighter) and Stella Sharp (the girl with deep purple hair and glasses). Sharp had landed herself as the victor, leading to the final match before lunch.

It was now Yasuko's turn. Nakayama wondered just how long this next battle would last…

--

We are literally hanging on the edge of a major scene to come within the next couple of chapters.