Hiryu vs. Meihui [Part 1]

We left the dorm and went into a convenience store nearby. I needed to eat something light before the battle ensued, so I bought a protein bar for 200P and ate on the go.

"Meihui's Pulse is Yin and Yang. She switches between Yin and Yang periodically to charge up the energy. Once one of the energy reaches the maximum, she can unleash a technique," Hiyori was reading the information on her phone.

"It seems easy to understand, but to perfectly control these two clashing energies, one needs high proficiency and constant training," I concluded.

'If she can seamlessly control them in just a year of training, then she's not a human being.'

As we arrived at the Virtual Battle Center, we saw a bunch of students gathering at the front gate. 

"What's going on? Why are there so many students in the center at this time?"

Just as Ichinose brought up those questions, the students noticed us and pointed at our group. Their hands covered their mouths as if they saw a celebrity in the flesh.

"Wow! Isn't that The Four Horsemen of class 1-B!?" a female student shouted.

"The Four Horsemen? What kind of nickname is that?" I turned my head to speak.

"It seems we're quite popular now," Azuma spoke as she scanned the surroundings.

"W-Wait. That's Hinode Hiryu in person! So handsome!!" another girl cried out.

"Look at the beautiful girls he's surrounded with. How did he do that...?" a big-looking guy with red hair spoke.

"It's because he has both the looks and skills, idiot. That guy has God's blessings, while we're just side characters," a scrawny guy smacked his tongue as he stared at me.

"What are they talking about?" I was confused by the attention we were getting.

"You didn't know? You're like the most popular person right now! My handsome Hiryu-kun is bound to get attention sooner or later," Saki smiled as she pulled on my right cheek lightly.

As we entered through the front gate of the center, some girls surrounded me and blocked my way in. "H-Hey. Can we get one picture with you?"

Was this the reason why I was homeschooled for the whole 14 years of my life? I couldn't control my expression and blushed a bit. "U-Uh... Sure?"

Around ten girls started rushing towards the frame and struck a pose. Everyone was gathered behind me and I was in the middle being quite fidgety. A boy was asked to take the picture, but it seemed he didn't like this as his irritation showed clearly on his face.

After this whole ordeal was finished, I started to walk back to where my group was waiting.

"Thank you!" some of the girls blushed as they harmoniously spoke. "Hey! Send me the pictures!"

"Tch. I know you'd be popular at school with that face, but I didn't expect this much attention," Saki pouted.

Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like this a bit, but it could be a hassle in the future. While I could make friends more easily, I also wanted a peaceful life in the academy with my closest friends. 

I placed my hand on Saki's head and spoke lightly, "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"I-I know you would." Saki stared at the ground for a bit before punching me in the arm.

"L-Let's go, guys! Good luck, Hiryu-kun!" she dragged Hiyori and Yui along with her, and I was left alone. 

I turned around and went the other way. The corridor seemed endless because of how many battle rooms the center had. I heard one room could be split up to accommodate at most four people.

I entered room 034 as Meihui-senpai told me. "Hiryu. You're late."

"Sorry, Meihui-senpai. There was a crowd that I needed to attend to." I picked up the virtual glass and additional equipment to my liking. 

"Those fangirls? You seem to like the attention." Meihui-senpai was putting on what seemed to be her personal battle gloves.

"Attending this academy is my first time experiencing what school is like, after all. I couldn't help but be surprised and happy."

Meihui-senpai suddenly approached me and placed her hand on my left shoulder. "You rarely show a real smile. You should smile more."

"The same goes for you, Meihui-senpai," I turned my head to the left to face her. She was exceptionally beautiful. Her ethereal eyes were like the vast ocean, but instead of the soft waves and beautiful coral reefs, it was a typhoon drowning and suffocating you. The eyes had stories to tell.

She looked into my eyes briefly before sighing, "Just call me Meihui. I prefer it casual."

"Sure." 

Meihui then started walking to the battle room and said, "Now, let's get this over with. I will avoid using Pulse as a basic way to respect the fairness of the spar. But I'm allowed to use Repulsive Force however I desire. Will that be fine with you?"

"No problem."

"Good. See you in the virtual space."

I nodded my head in response. My hands couldn't stop shaking. It wasn't nervousness but excitement. I hadn't seen a person exuded that intensifying of an aura other than Nakano-sensei. 

I put on the virtual glass and entered the cubical room. Meihui was standing ominously across from me. Our eyes locked with barely any emotion, but we could feel our energy clashing from afar. 

"START!" the robotic voice declared.

In contrast to my previous fight with Otogi, I charged in without thinking. Meihui was a few tiers above Otogi in terms of strength and quickness, so I needed momentum to properly defend myself.

As expected, Meihui charged at me as well, but I was confident that with this momentum, I could push her back or at least block the attack. However, her heavy punch sent me back instead.

"Damn."

Seeing that I lost my footing, Meihui dashed towards me to take the kill. If I decided to block it with my sword then I'd be dead. The most important aspect of defense is to have a stable stance. Your legs, your hips, and your head need to be in perfect placement.

I, however, had my hands touching the ground. I quickly swiped my leg under to either make her lose her balance or get her to jump. "Hiya."

Meihui decided to take the hit and threw a punch, but her balance was lost, so I slipped through the attack effortlessly.

I rolled to the side to escape and restarted the battle. I knew that this was a losing battle, but there was much to learn from her.

Meihui rushed towards me again, but I planted my foot strongly and blocked the attack. I used all my strength to push her away and immediately counterattacked her by going in for a horizontal slash.

BOOM!

The impact caused the wind to brush up dirt and smoke from the ground. Through the dirty smoke, Meihui was unscathed. She used Force to cover her whole arm, so my hit would always be shallow.

"That's a bit overpowered, don't you think?" I let out a chuckle out of disbelief.

"I don't possess a weapon, so this is the least I can do, Hiryu." 

With Force, I couldn't touch her. Her attacks were precise and calculative, and her defense was impenetrable. 

'Still, I can't deny what she said.' I was fairly on par with Meihui even when she used Force. I believed I had a slightly better chance of not losing if it was only a normal battle without powers. 

Besides that, her expression was the scariest factor. Meihui wore an emotionless face throughout the battle. She didn't even let out a sound. I was startled by how she was like a battle machine.

"Fine. You leave me no choice."

Sensing that this fight would end soon, I remembered the memories of my house. The memories of slashing 3000 times every day without fail. Memories of the birds chirping during a beautiful morning. The memories that flowed in me were released in the form of a beautiful white flame.