67: [Raiden]

"How are you feeling, Alcott-san?" - Maya asked as she regained the natural color of her face while looking closely at the prospective representative of England.

"As ever, I just wish to get started with this battle, so I can prove that it's impossible to defeat an [IS]" - Cecilia snorted as she narrowed her eyes - "Besides, I just want to beat that rude man."

Maya let out a sigh before shaking her head - "I understand that you're frustrated, but you don't have to act violently."

Cecilia simply gave the teacher a blank look before ignoring her and summoning her [IS], a beautiful blue mechanized armor - "I'm going to make one concession, Yamada sensei, and that is that I'm not going to hurt him too much..."

"Thank you very much for your understanding" - Maya said with a small smile.

* * * * *

[The fight is about to start, please don't approach the barrier to prevent accidents...]

The girls looked towards the two entrances of the arena, only to see a blue flash burst out from one of them, showing Cecilia's silhouette in her [IS], [Blue Tears] in all its glory.

The girls were impressed by the graceful landing of the golden-haired girl, who simply looked neutrally in the direction of her rival's entrance, though her expression changed when she heard the sound of music playing.

"This has to be a joke, or the most disrespectful thing anyone has ever done to me" - Cecilia said while gritting her teeth as she listened to the music echoing across the battlefield.

Slowly, Cloud's footsteps echoed in place as he revealed with his black suit covering his body.

[Sorry for the inconvenience, but my master asked me to access the system's speakers, I promise that when the battle is over I will return control to the command room...]

The girls were shocked at the strange voice of Cloud's [AI], who had not only managed to infiltrate the academy's system, but also seemed to have a "consciousness" of its own.

The music continued to play as Cecilia's expression grew darker.

"Sorry for the delay" - Cloud murmured as he gave her a small bow - "I was just finishing up with my preparations."

"Am I a joke to you?" - Cecilia asked with hostility, after all, this kind of entrance proved to her that she didn't seem to be important to the blond, after all, he seemed to think that this battle was a show.

"Oh, not at all" - Cloud replied while giving her a smile - "It's just that I had to change my plans"

"From my perspective this is nothing but an insult" - said Cecilia while listening to the song.

"Well, I'll be honest, I plan on ending the battle when the song ends" - Cloud answered honestly.

"How long do you plan to insult me!" - Cecilia roared angrily, this was no longer an assumption, but a confirmation that the young blond was insulting her.

[Standing here... I realieze... You are just like me trying to make history...]

[But who's to judge... the right from wrong... When our guard is down I think we'll both agree that violence breeds violence but in the end it has to be this way!]

"Honestly, I'm not trying to insult you, I'm just giving excitement to the battle" - Cloud replied as he dodged the bullets and quickly approached his opponent - "The lyrics have a good meaning if you listen carefully."

Cecilia frowned slightly as she tried to calm down.

"LET'S DANCE!" - Cloud exclaimed as he appeared in front of the girl and punched her in the stomach.

"Ugh..." - Cecilia let out a bloody spit as her eyes widened, surprised that that attack not only lowered her shield, but also managed to physically hurt her - "Impossible..."

The pain had been so great, that she had unconsciously deactivated her weapon, leaving her completely vulnerable, although this made something inside her start to ignite.

"Come on princess" - Cloud said as his blue eyes changed to a blood-red one.

Cecilia gritted her teeth as she took a firm punch at the blond, who stayed in place.

"That's all?" - Cloud asked as he raised an eyebrow, only to watch as the girl began to punch him as fast as she could, though no matter how long it took, the result was still close to zero - "Oh, I guess it's my turn."

Cloud raised his fist and delivered another punch to her stomach that sent her flying.

Cecilia quickly regained her balance and reequipped her weapon.

Cloud continued to smile as he let the girl hit her rounds, though the bullets dissolved before even touching his skin.

"Impossible..." - Cecilia said as her pupils constricted as she heard the musically again begin to liven up.

[I've carved my own path, you followed your wrath, but maybe we're both the same]

[The world has turned, and so many have burned, but nobody is to blame]

Cecilia was silent as she felt a little strange.

Yes, she was taking a beating, but the more the lyrics of the song echoed in her head, the more elation she felt. It was strange, but she felt as if Cloud was trying to send her a message.

If Cloud knew what the golden-haired girl was thinking, he would immediately tell her that she was overthinking, though at the same time this song fit her current situation, not at the level of the battle in the game.

[Yet staring across this barren wasted land, I feel new life will be born beneath the blood stained sand!]

[Beneath the blood stained sand!]

Cecilia froze when she heard these last stanzas, as she felt her face flush.

Cloud was confused by this action of the girl, after all, he was about to attack when he noticed how she started babbling something unintelligible.

"Wait, wait, wait" - thought Cecilia with a red face as she tried to analyze the song carefully - "The first verses means that the two of us despite our differences, we have similar goals, and we are even more alike than we thought, this is easily proven by our physical qualities, especially our hair color, but..."

Cecilia started to hyperventilate as she thought of the following verses - "What follows, is a comparison between the two of us, from the information they released, Cloud-san was locked in a lab all his childhood training and fighting people, so he did create his own path, while I let my rage blind my sight"

Cecilia maintained her silence as she looked carefully at the young girl.

"Shall we go on?" - Cloud asked simply, though inwardly he was still defensive because perhaps this was a strategy of the girl's, though if he had noticed more carefully, he would have noticed that she was again beginning to blush.

"The problem is the last verse" - thought Cecilia as she tried to keep the blush away from her cheeks - "That he mentions the phrase about feeling new life... M-Maybe he's trying to say that he finds me a-a-a-a-a-attractive and wants to start a family with me? As for the blood-in-the-sand phrase, is he referring to my..."

Cecilia let out a cry of embarrassment as she felt her cheeks grow hot - "P-Pervert!"

"What are you talking about?" - Cloud asked, confused by the young blonde's words - "Whatever, we better get this over with, I don't see you in any condition to keep fighting."

Cecilia quickly let out a cry of surprise as she saw how the handsome young blond appeared in front of her in a single blink of an eye, although far from being able to react, she felt herself getting lost in his blue eyes.

[Combat over, winner, Cloud Strife.]

"Huh?" - Cecilia looked around, confused because she wasn't expecting these words right after it ended, though she quickly figured out why when she felt something touching her forehead - "Are?"

"With this, your shield is at the minimum range" - Cloud said while shaking his head - "Honestly, I don't know what happened to you to make you lose your concentration at the end of the battle."

Cecilia opened her mouth not knowing what to say, though she quickly felt her face again turn as red as a tomato, after all, the handsome young blond's face was just inches away from hers - "Kya!"

Cloud raised an eyebrow before turning around and walking back to his dressing room.

Cecilia watched him silently as she felt a little empty.

The battle had ended as quickly as Cloud had said, just one song, and she had only seen small flashes during the short duration.

Cloud was fast, much faster than she thought, and that's not counting the enormous offensive power his fists had as they penetrated her shield with extreme ease. Cecilia didn't understand why, but she could swear it was due to the strange energy the handsome blond young man had inside him, the same energy he used to power his suit's functions.

"Ugh..." - Cecilia let out a groan of pain in her stomach after removing her [IS] - "I think I'd better go to the infirmary first, and then worry about that boy..."