Staten Island vs Manhattan Squad, Part 2

"That just leaves one more to go!" Grover shouts as he teleports over to Astra.

"So those two are still taking this pathetic display seriously, eh?" I sigh.

"I can take you three out all on my own!" Astra replies. "I can see everything!"

"Even if you can see me, it doesn't mean you can counter my speed!" Grover shouts back.

In the blink of an eye, Grover teleports behind Astra, who spins around to meet him. "Wormhole: Green Roundhouse!" Grover shouts as he reinforces his leg with bright green Cursed Power before launching it towards Astra, who brings her arms up in a cross and reinforces them with Cursed Power that is a shade of pink matching her hair and eyes, in order to block. Grover's leg smashes into Astra, causing a burst of Cursed Power and cloud of smoke to rush from the impact.

"That's in!" Grover smirks.

When the smoke clears, I can see that Astra hasn't even moved an inch.

"What?!" Grover cries.

"Heh heh…" Astra chuckles. "I'm a master at Cursed Power Barrier! When it comes to defense, at least!"

Astra then hooks her arms around Grover's legs, flipping Grover over her shoulders and slamming him down into the river. Luckily, Grover's face just barely misses slamming into a rock, so instead, Grover finds himself face-first in the water.

"Blub blub blub!" Grover cries.

"What's he saying?" I ask.

"That he can't swim," Ella answers, causing me to turn and face her.

"That was a rhetorical question," I reply. "How did you understand him?"

"We've been friends for a while," Ella answers.

"So you can't swim, eh?" Astra smirks. "Then…I'll do this!"

Astra then lets go of Grover's leg, causing the boy to begin sinking down into the water below.

"How can Grover not swim?!" I ask. "I thought everyone could swim?! I can't throw a damn ball to save my life, but hell, I can go to the ocean!"

"Grover never had a chance to learn how to swim!" Ella answers. "Grover was a shut-in until he awakened his Cursed Power, and then after that, he spent all his time training with his Wormholes and knives!"

"You should go help him," I suggest.

"Me?" Ella asks. "My social anxiety caused me to forfeit the match! You should go help him."

"Fine," I sigh. But then, I pause. "Wait…why do I have to do that?" I then cup my hands around my mouth. "Grover, just teleport, you idiot!"

"BLUB BLUB BLUB!" Grover replies.

"He can't use his Cursed Ability underwater!" Ella explains. "Think about it, if you're in neck-deep water and you can't swim, even if you can throw a ball, you won't be able to have a catch! You'll be too busy focusing on not drowning!"

"Are…are you making fun of me…?" I ask.

"The girl's already given up, so I just have one more to go!" Astra smirks as she turns to face me. Astra then crouches into a running position and reinforces her entire body with pink Cursed Power, before dashing towards me. As she runs, Astra picks up my katana when she passes by it.

"My katana?!" I cry.

Soon enough, Astra is standing before me. She raises my katana high into the air, before slashing it down towards me. I attempt to side-step in order to dodge, but that's when Astra swings my katana to the side, slashing me across the chest.

I wince and stumble backwards, while clutching onto my bloody gash wound.

"How are you able to wield a sword so well?" I wince.

"It's sort of like a byproduct of my Cursed Ability," Astra explains. "Since I can always see the future, it's made me good at reading and therefore copying others' actions. How ever many years you spent training with a sword…they're mine now."

"Try one!" I shout as I construct a sword out of wind and charge Astra. The two of us swing our swords towards one another, and our two attacks clash. Astra then retracts my katana and goes for another slash, but I'm able to dodge and counter with a slash of my own, which Astra is forced to block.

"Whatever happened to not hurting cute girls…?" Ella sighs.

"How…how are you doing that?!" Astra panics. "I can see your every move, how are you still able to keep up with me?!"

"Simple," I smirk. "I'm just that good with a sword!"

Of course, that's not really the answer. The truth is that I'm currently using my Air Control in order to read the air waves to help me determine Astra's movements before she makes them, so that I can counter her foresight.

Astra and I then retract her blades from one another, before unleashing a flurry of sword slashes upon each other. At first, Astra and I trade blow for blow, but then, I begin to slow down, and Astra is able to carve slash after slave upon me, while I'm unable to slash her.

"Damn…" I grunt. "My Air Control is too new…Astra has far more experience than me when it comes to reading other people's actions…"

I'm at a severe disadvantage.

Astra and I continue slashing one another, until Astra gets one good, clean slash in across my knuckles, forcing me to flinch in pain which causes me to open my hand up, and my wind sword dissipates.

"Perfect," Astra smirks as she brings my katana high above her head and reinforces it with pink Cursed Power, before slashing it downwards.

"Luis!" Ella cries.

"Crap!" I shout as I watch my own katana fly towards me.

But then, before I'm sliced in two, a voice shouts: "Wormhole: Green Roundhouse!" And then, a wormhole opens up in the air behind Astra, and Grover leaps out of it. Grover then swings his Cursed Power reinforced leg towards Astra, who swiftly ducks under it, but it's just barely not fast enough. Grover's roundhouse kick cracks Astra in the back of her skull, causing her to stumble forwards and drop my katana, which I quickly snatch up.

"Grover!" I cry.

"Miss me?" Grover smirks as he lands on a rock behind Astra.

"But how did you escape the water?" Ella asks. "You were…drowning."

"Simple," Grover answers as he peers over at Ella with a smirk. "I'm a Rule Breaker now."

Ella and I raise an eyebrow at Grover.

"No, really," Ella asks. "How?"

"Oh, nothing fancy," Grover chuckles as he rubs the back of his neck. "I was about to run out of oxygen when I realized that duh, I can just teleport out of the water.

"Took you a while to figure that out…" Ella sighs.

"HAH!" I spit as I spin around to face Ella and point at her. "I told you! Your analogy was stupid!"

"Enough talk!" Astra shouts as she spins around and launches a Cursed Power reinforced punch to Grover's gut, who teleports behind Astra to dodge.

"Don't be hasty!" Grover laughs. "I've got all night."

Astra growls. "Don't you dare…MAKE FUN OF ME!"

Astra then spins around to face Grover again and launches another punch his way, but Grover teleports into the air to dodge.

"I knew that you would do that!" Astra shouts as she shifts her attack into an uppercut which she launches up to Grover, cracking him in the jaw.

"Luis!" Grover shouts.

"On it!" I reply as I charge Astra, while swinging my katana towards her. Astra ducks under ym attack then sweeps me off the feet, before sending me stumbling backwards with a powerful Cursed Power reinforced kick.

"Dammit…" I grumble as I wipe my nose and pick myself off of the floor. "She's too fast.

"Then we'll just have to be faster," Grover replies as he does the same.

The two of us then turn to face each other and smirk.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"You bet I am!"

Dozens of wormholes spawn around Astra, while I bring my katana up, ready to strike.

"WORMHOLE: KNIFE STORM!"

Grover then begins flinging knife after knife into his wormholes, and pretty soon, Astra finds herself surrounded by dozens of knives.

"Do you seriously think…" Astra begins to say as she acrobatically dodges and weaves through the air, dodging most of Grover's knives. Some of Grover's knives still manage to slash Astra, but again, she dodges most of them. "-That just because you use such a large-scale attack…" Astra continues as she begins catching some of Grover's knives, flinging them back to Grover and I, and slashing us up. "-THAT YOU WOULD CATCH ME OFF GUARD?!"

I'm slashed up by Grover's knives, but I don't pay attention to them. Slowly…I raise my katana high into the air above my head as wind begins to gather around it. I then project my Cursed Power into the atmosphere around me, like a net. "Focus…" I softly say to myself as I close my eyes again. I take a deep breath in… then out. "Don't use my eyes or my ears…use my Cursed Power…" I continue. "Feel the wind…the air…and take it all in…feel how she dodges, when she dodges, where she dodges…the rhythm of her movements…the trajectory and speed of the knives… take it all in.

I then open my eyes again, and fix my gaze on Astra.

"AIR CONTROL: FOCUS SLASH!"

I swing my katana downwards with all of my might, sending a ranged air blade flying towards Astra.

"I can see that attack coming!" Astra shouts as she attempts to dodge. But what Astra doesn't realize is that I used my Air Control to find the perfect trajectory to attack from.

She has no hope to dodge.

Astra howls in pain as she's slashed by my Focus Slash.

"Now!"

Grover then ducks into a wormhole as I charge Astra. Grover unleashes a flurry of kicks upon Astra, while ducking in and out of wormholes, and Astra blocks while also countering with a few kicks and punches of his own.

"I've done this once before…" Grover begins to say as he lands a kick upon Astra. "-And I can do it again!" Grover finishes as Astra lands a punch to his gut. "Don't think…just act! That's how my wormholes unleash their true potential!"

While Astra is busy with Grover, I sneak up behind her and swing my katana her way, which Astra just narrowly dodges.

"What the Hell is up with these two?!" Astra pants as she looks back and forth between Grover and I like a wounded animal. "The green one has zero rhythm to his attacks, it's like he's not thinking. Even though I can see the future, it's hard to counter such an unredicatab;e opponent. And that blue one…it's like he trained for a hundred years with a sword in just one!"

Grover and I then charge Astra again. Grover overwhelmed Astra with his wormholes and his speed, trading blow for blow, while I use my Air Control to wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.

"Wormhole…" Grover begins to say as he teleports in front of Astra.

"Wind Control…" I begin to say as I creep up behind her.

"Dammit!" Astra cries. "I'm surrounded!"

"PINCER!"

With a roar, Grover launches his leg as I slash my katana towards Astra, who is struck by both of our attacks at once.

"I can't…" Astra grunts as she spits up a glob of blood. "Lose here!"

A burst of Cursed Power then explodes from Astra's body, sending both Grover and I flying backwards, and knocking my katana out of my hand.

"Grover!" I shout as I suck in air with all of my might. "Wind Control!" I then shout as I exhale, breathing out a mighty tornado towards my katana, which sends my sword flying into the air above Astra's head.

"Right!" Grover replies as he teleports above Astra, and snatches my katana out of the air. 

"Just don't throw it," I smirk. "And don't miss."

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Grover smirks back.

Grover reinforces the blade of my katana with his bright green Cursed Power. "Woah, this feels weird!" Grover remarks as he brings my katana high into the air above his head as he clutches it tightly between both of his hands. "Reinforcing an object, and not my own body.

"STAY AWAY!" Astra roars as she thrusts her hands towards Grover, firing off a powerful beam of Cursed Power, which teleports out of the way to dodge.

"Wind Control X Wormhole!" Grover and I shout in unison.

"GREEN KATANA!"

With a roar, Grover slashes Astra across the chest with my katana using all of his might. Astra howls in pain as blood explodes from her chest, before limply falling to the ground on her back, defeated. "With a three to zero KO victory, Slayer Hachi's squad is the winner!" The announcer booms, causing the entire audience to erupt in applause.

"Alright!" Ella, Grover, and I cheer.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I laugh as I fall to the ground in a pool of my own blood. "Grover…I love you, man!" I laugh. "Everytime we fight together, I feel like a kid again!"

"That was awesome!" Grover replies as he tosses me my katana. "I love this thing!"

"Damn, Ella, who knew you had that in you!" I say.

"I feel…I feel…SO PUMPED UP!" Ella exclaims.

But our celebration is interrupted when we hear some splashing come from behind us, and Ella, Grover, and I turn around to see Slayer Tabu still frantically splashing about in the water.

"Oh, right," I say. "We should probably help him out before they drown."

"Yeah…" Ella and Grover sigh.