"The Worst Match-up I Could've Imagined"

When we got home that night, Gentarō didn't do any sort of training or anything that would tire him out, and asked me to do the same. When I asked him why, he said, "Because I want us to be in tip top condition if we have to fight that four eyes tomorrow, so don't do anything that'll tire you out and just relax and rest! Got it?!" So I did as he said and just relaxed for the rest of the day. Although, I'm still feeling nervous as usual as we're walking up to the stadium.

Since there aren't very many of us left, we'll all be using the actual stadium instead of the underground ones today. Itsumi won against Kochizuki almost instantly, with Kochizuki forfeiting, and that happened during Gentarō and I's match against Usana, while Natsuri defeated Hiri by using his own hover circles against him. Although I didn't see much because of Sana's fight against Nakawara, I did catch a few glimpses of Natsuri bouncing off of Hiri's hover circles to make herself faster, too fast for Hiri to react in time to stop her from doing so I'm guessing.

"No matter who we end up facing today...it's going to be an extremely tough battle." Sana, Natsuri, and Itsumi all flash through my mind, and I feel a little bit down at the thought we might have to fight Itsumi. On one end, I want her to do well and make it to the finals, if not become the student council president, but on the other hand, I have no idea how she feels about us boosters, and there may be a chance that having her as our student council president wouldn't make things any better for boosters.

Today most certainly isn't going to be an easy day, so I slap my cheeks a bit and silently pump myself up beside Gentarō as we step into the stadium. "I have to stay as focused as possible! I can't let anything deter me if I want Gentarō to win! We can do this!" I hear Gentarō chuckle beside me, but decide not to acknowledge his teasing and just focus on whoever we'll be fighting today.

Once the tournament bracket is revealed however, I instantly lose a big chunk of my motivation. Sana is up against Natsuri in the first round of the semi-finals, which leaves me and Gentarō against Itsumi. "Damn..." I hear Gentarō mutter under his breath beside me. I don't know if it's because we're not fighting Sana or he's worried I'll falter because we're fighting Itsumi.

"...I promised myself I wouldn't falter no matter what... You and Itsumi have never even spoken Genta..! Get a grip! We have to win for all boosters!" Even though I give myself that motivational speech internally, I can't focus at all on Sana and Natsuri's match. All I can get from the fight that I see is that Natsuri can't break through the cubes Sana has placed around himself and Sana quickly overwhelms Natsuri with a barrage of cubes. Thankfully, he knocks her out respectfully and doesn't continuously attack her unconscious form like he did with Nakawara.

However, by the time it's over, I haven't even had time to mentally prepare myself for the fact that Gentarō and I are about to fight Itsumi, and I'm still not mentally prepared even as we enter the arena. I stick to the edge of the arena like always, sweating bullets as I watch Itsumi walk into the ring and stop a few feet away from Gentarō. My heart's beating erratically and I'm not even standing close to Itsumi. There's a tense silence between the three of us, but despite that, Gentarō is smiling like always. On the contrary, Itsumi's expression is blank, though her eyes are serious.

I gulp quietly as I prepare to boost Gentarō, and then, Itsumi speaks as the announcer is getting ready to tell them to start. "I really am sorry that you boosters have had to go through so much trouble at this school. Really, I am. But I'm not going to hold back because of that, nor am I going to convince you to let me win or anything of the sort. I want nothing but your all in this fight, so when I win with my power, those who see me in the student council president seat will treat me with dignity and respect."

"Oh? But we're just a couple of lowly boosters. How would beating us make people see you that way?" Gentarō asks with a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Because even if they don't see you in the best light, no one can deny your power now. You've beaten not one, but three candidates, one of them being my own brother and another being one of the four student council president candidates. For that, you have my respect." Itsumi begins to take a stance, making mine and Gentarō's eyes go wide momentarily. "As I stated before however, I am not going to lose."

With her stance matching Gentarō's, and the announcer telling us to start, all that can be heard is the boom of Itsumi's power activating as she fires a burst of flames out of the soles of her feet, launching her at Gentarō at an intense speed. Luckily, Gentarō and I get a grip and activate our own powers and Gentarō narrowly side steps away from Itsumi's palm that also shoots a burst of flames where Gentarō once stood.

However, as soon as Gentarō does, the lion on Itsumi's shoulder growls, already charging up a flame in its mouth, and though he sweats nervously, Gentarō also smirks. "Hot damn..!" He thrusts his palm forward just as the lyte fires its flame, the force of Gentarō's thrust colliding with the flame and causing a light burst that blows Itsumi and Gentarō away from one another. Itsumi quickly catches herself and shoots more flames out of her feet, flying at Gentarō with even greater speed than before and she swipes her leg at him. Gentarō quickly reacts and blocks her leg with his arm, smirking and sweating still even as the lion shoots another charged flame at him. He narrowly ducks back and grabs Itsumi by her ankle, quickly tossing her to the side, but she just as narrowly catches herself and flies right back, not giving Gentarō even a second to breathe.

Gentarō quickly palms at Itsumi several times, sending several gusts of air her way, but with her flames and reaction speed, she easily avoids each one without batting an eye, throwing a straight kick right at Gentarō's face. Gentarō ducks his head to the side to avoid it while thrusting his palm at Itsumi's head, to which she also ducks her head to the side to avoid it. Just as both of them dodge, flames burst out of Itsumi's foot and the force of Gentarō's thrust makes the air around them shake. Despite that, neither of them flinch or look away, Gentarō grinning excitedly and Itsumi holding her serious gaze.

I watch the fight intently, amazed at the sight before me, and I think to myself, "Wow... I knew Itsumi was strong but...to think she can keep up with Gentarō..!" In an instant, Gentarō and Itsumi move in sync, Itsumi shooting flames out of her other foot and twisting her body to swipe her leg at Gentarō once more, and Gentarō turning to catch her leg in his hands before throwing her away once more. This time, Gentarō lunges after her as she's airborne, but her lion lyte lets out a roar as it shoots more flames out of its mouth in the opposite direction Itsumi is flying in, quickly allowing her to catch herself mid air and blast herself back to Gentarō. Both of them thrust their palms at once another in sync, Itsumi blasting her flames and Gentarō relying on the force of his thrust, a burst of flames exploding in between them as their palms make contact.

"You're strong, I'll give you that..." Gentarō mutters as they both try to push one another back with their palms. "But not as strong as me!" He says with a confident grin as he pulls his finger back and flicks it forward, a tiny gust of air smacking Itsumi in the forehead and making her yelp. With zero hesitation, Gentarō thrusts his other arm forward and stops just shy of making contact with Itsumi's body, but even though he doesn't make contact, the force of his thrust still knocks Itsumi back a few feet. I can feel a bit of a sting in my chest watching that, but I don't let myself falter, even as Gentarō instantly chases after Itsumi again.

Itsumi is quick to flip mid air and catch herself on the ground, about to blast herself back to Gentarō I'm sure, but her eyes widen a bit as she notices Gentarō is practically right in front of her. Still reeling from the hit she received and a little bit slow due to the shock, Itsumi thrusts her palm forward awkwardly and an awkward burst of flames shoots out of it, Gentarō ducking out of the way, but he still thrusts his own palm forward perfectly fine. Itsumi manages to dodge, but she winces as the force Gentarō exerts scrapes her cheek a little bit.

Not letting up, Gentarō is about to thrust his other palm at Itsumi, but she reacts on point this time, firing another burst out of her foot and slamming her knee into Gentarō's gut. Gentarō winces a bit, but grins nonetheless, holding her knee in one hand, having tried to catch her knee, but with the back of his hand pressed against his stomach, it's clear he couldn't fully. "Even with a full boost, a physical attack still hurts even when I block it. Not bad, Itsumi Nagako. Not bad at all. But not good enough..!" Gentarō pushes Itsumi's knee back, making her skid back on the floor somewhat, and he quickly thrusts his palm at her, the force blowing Itsumi back even more and her back slams against the barrier, making her yell out a bit in pain.

Gentarō seems as if he's about to follow up the attack, but merely holds out his palm in front of Itsumi, who quickly holds up her arms in defense. "...Give up. You're strong, Itsumi Nagako, but as you are right now, you can't beat me." Gentarō states bluntly, and I can't help but frown.

Itsumi just sits there for a moment, still holding her hands up as she speaks. "...Give...up..? No... No..! Of course I won't give up..!" Itsumi's arms and legs tremble as she rises up from her place on the ground, though Gentarō doesn't budge an inch. "I've worked too hard for this... I've come so far... I didn't go through everything I've gone through just to give up in the first few minutes in the semifinal match! I refuse!" Itsumi's entire body lights up in flames.

I don't know why, but even with the flames that cover her body, I can't help but feel as if a couple tears just fell from her eyes. She looks up at Gentarō with a passionate, determined glare in her eyes as the flames around her burst powerfully. "I refuse to give up! Not now, not ever! If I go down, it'll be while I'm fighting!"

For the first time, my arms slowly start to tremble, and my focus wavers, several thoughts racing through my mind. "I... Can I really keep boosting Gentarō...after she gave a speech like that..? How...How is what we're doing...any different from the way the rest of the acolytes treat us boosters..?!" I take a few deep breaths to calm myself, but that only makes me tremble more, and I start to sweat.

"...Genta!" Gentarō suddenly calls out to me, making both Itsumi and I flinch. "Stop boosting me, alright?!"