Chapter LXIII: A stand to take

Act: 63

Shizu moved closer to her as he dodged all the incoming arrows while she tried to keep the distance between them. However, that appeared not to be working. It only got worse for her; he leaped up, grabbed her by the arm, and dropped his weight, spinning their body around and aiming straight for the ground. Without making it notable, he was still concerned about her safety. He held onto the back of her neck upon landing, but her and Takashi's emblems changed in color. She immediately moved her legs, crunching them and kicking him off her. She caught her balance when she landed and sprinted faster than before, going to Naru and standing by his side to protect him.

Taku summoned his wand and pointed it at Naru, trying to go for the open shot. Although he spun around, noticing Takashi's incoming punches, which went straight for his face.

"HEY! Shizu, I told you to keep them busy! Ice wall!"

He attempted to stall him from making contact, but it didn't work out as well as he'd imagined; Takashi broke through the ice walls effortlessly and the next wall, followed by another wall. As that wall broke, he went in for the landing punch but was swept off his feet and thrown by the leg from Daichi, whose body had been lit in flames from his Star; as he got flung, now airborne, Daichi fired another pyro-gale, point-blank toward his body. 

*SWOOSH*

Arrows intercepted to his left, yet Shizu stepped in and punched to stop and deflect each one. They all had the advantage as they were about to take him down. Yasu's arrows were stopped, Takashi was about to get hit directly, and Taku adjusted his wand back at Naru, ending the match.

Until...

A huge star covered the ground where they all stood, even under Naru.

"Arrow Domination!"

The emblem changed again.

Scared, Daichi created wings out of his flames and flew as high as he could away from the Star, forcing him to cling to the edges of the wall. Taku immediately made a pathway of ice, and he started to glide away from danger, which blocked Shizu as he attempted to run away with them. More arrows blocked his path, forcing Shizu to remain stationary. This left him vulnerable and hunched, blocking every incoming arrow from underneath, above, and in all other directions.

 Taku looked back and snickered at Shizu, getting caught in the barrage of arrows; when he stopped to get his last grasp of laughs, Takashi was right in his face. Defenseless, he was grabbed by the neck and kicked away near Daichi. The arrows did not hit Naru; instead, they seemed more like a barrier to protect him. Shizu held his ground. Once it was over, he dropped his arms in pain, only to see Takashi and Yasu's incoming punches. Acting fast, he swung his arms up, catching both of their punches and holding them back, somehow managing to overpower them and rotate, throwing them aside and back into Naru's vicinity.

Taku sounded muffled as he huffed out to Daichi.

"Now I'm pissed! That bitch grabbed me by the neck. Daichi, it's time."

Taku pointed his wand in their direction, creating a small igloo surrounding Shizu.

*SHIZU YOU STAY PUT!*

"Frozen prison! Black ice!"

Taku's original star color had a faint black swirl inside the middle, gradually spreading around. His wand projected in the direction he desired, causing the ice to instantly shoot forward, freezing everything in sight. It had been so fast, like a sneeze, that none of the three could react in time.

They were frozen in place along with the surrounding area. They tried to move and break out, but they struggled. Daichi soared up into the sky, and removing his wings, he dived down to where they were.

"Inferno Driver."

Falling towards the center of them, his entire body engulfed in flames began to expel out, creating a giant ball, blowing them and Shizu up with the fire. It was so bright that the flash caused the audience to turn away for a few seconds.

*The winner is team Consume! Please give it up to them!! *

The crowd began to cheer with joy. Although Han Chul-Moo looked around cautiously, worried about Shizu being caught in the crossfire.

'Damn, Taku! He knew what he was doing the entire time!'

The fire dissipated, and it appeared that the three were burnt. One had caved into the ground, and the other two were lodged in the wall, unconscious. However, Shizu remained safe on the far side. During the attack, he successfully broke out of the ice and sprinted as if his life depended on it—because it did. That was his only choice when he realized how hot and bright it began to get.

*Next up is Omega vs Alter. Are you guys excited? I know I am!! *

The crowd got wild, and all types of emotions bled through their shouts, shocked by the outcome, although overjoyed by their performance.

- - - -

Team Revenant was teleported to the aid station for treatment. While the three boys walked back into the locker rooms. Taku looked over at Shizu.

"You can thank me and Daichi for the carry."

Proudly pointing to himself.

"Sure. Thanks, I never asked for it."

"Heh, why don't you take a hike and go to the nurses for aid? Because you sure took a."

Taku soon realized that the only ones who had suffered damage were him and Daichi, who had scratches and bruises. Shizu stopped and glanced back at him, tapping on his cheek.

"You might want to get that healed; it reminds me of what I did to you."

Taku's eyes twitched, and he got closer to him, though Daichi interfered.

"Well done. Shizu. So, it seems you somehow... Managed. Congratulations, Daichi and Taku, for your win. I look forward to our fight."

Hano walked past and onto the arena with his teammates.

"Hano! Who said we're losing? I plan on winning this?"

"Hey, Ren... It's Hano we're talking about."

Her voice reassured them as she spoke.

"You two need to lighten up. We will give it our best! I know he's our council president, but we're the underlings, and it's our job to represent his strength. Do you understand that, Ren and Kyde?"

*Ok Amamoto*

The three of them followed behind onto the battlefield. Now that all the students get to watch an epic battle between the council members, the crowd gets rowdy once more. Each member prepares themselves by stretching and chatting about plans, setting the scene for a great show.

 Rock music started to fade in as the announcer began his speech for the fight. 

*Let's get the round started. Now that the arena is repaired, we shall begin with both teams on opposite ends. It's showtime! Ready! Set! Fight!*

Hano proudly stomped his foot forward and began talking.

"Amamoto, Kyde, Ren. Shall we finally get this over with? I know you guys have been waiting to fight me. Heh, here I am."

*Yeah, you are! Hano! SHOW US WHAT YOU'VE GOT! *

Ren summoned up his scythe, running straight to Hano.

"Girls, stay out of this."

Hano casually stared at him and walked backwards, avoiding each swing. Kyde brought out both pistols and shot at Aikawa. Her chains emerged from the ground to shield herself, smacking away each bullet. When she rotated around, Chisaka ran counter-clockwise, heading for Amamoto.

"Star activate."

She created a sword constructed of cherry blossoms and got ready to swing it at Amamoto, who only smiled.

"No."

Amamoto softly chanted and Chisaka's sword disappeared, and when Amamoto looked at Aikawa, she repeated herself. And her chains disappeared as well. Chisaka quickly averted herself to hand-to-hand combat, jerking her movement in a zigzag pattern, and Aikawa luckily avoided getting shot by dropping to the floor with the splits.

Their fight continued.

- - - -

Shizu left the locker rooms to replenish his star energy and check on any injuries that couldn't be noticed from the surface—in case his healing was all used, or so he thought. He wandered around until noticing a girl with features similar to Taku's. Running away with tears in her eyes.

'Is that Taku's sister? Goodness, what did that guy do now? I should probably check on her and ensure she gets back with her family. Because right now? She's going in the opposite direction.'

Shizu took one step forward, watching Taku wander away and not after her.

'What a great older brother you are right now. At least she should remember me from all the times Taku and I hung out.'

Shizu followed her trail; going around this place was like aimlessly walking through a maze. He went down some stairs to look around and ponder. The surrounding area seemed considerably dim, and some lights were blown out.

'I could've sworn she was over here?'

He glanced over at the left side of the hallway, where he stopped in place. The lighting completely faded at the end of the hallway. Frozen in fear. He couldn't force himself to move, although he tried. What he witnessed compelled his mouth to shut. His insides felt out of proportion, a gut-wrenching feeling.

Shizu's eyes were wide as he saw chunks inside the blood that had splattered all over the walls, along with missing limbs and guts smiling out, but he knew he couldn't wait until...

Breaking free from immobilization, he ran up to her dead body. Gently picking her up and catching what slowly fell out of her stomach, holding her together, trying to move them back inside, he was in pure panic, resisting the urge not to throw up. 

"Star... Activate... Resurrection..."

He stuttered his words, forcing them out. His vision shifted, and his hands that were covered in blood couldn't stop shaking. 

"Oh, come on... Fuck. Fuck. Please work now! Resurrection, resurrection, resurrection."

The light from his palm became much brighter. Her limbs started to grow back, and where the open wounds were on her body lit up the same color as his Star.

"Thank you. Thank you."

He pulled her closer to his chest, holding her as tightly as he could from the sheer relief he felt.

*Tap tap*

The subtle sound of footsteps approached him from ahead.

"Pitiful."

The person's hand rose as he was about to strike him. Shizu turned around, noticing it was one of those guys with the masks. Leaning his head down, he didn't care about what would happen to him. All he thought about was protecting Taku's sister.

*Slash*

"Heartless."

Blood poured on Shizu's head. He shook, slowly looking up to see that his Shishou had a massive line beginning from his shoulder to the center of his chest, a clean cut he could make out the masked man through his wound before more blood covered the view. Shizu's eyes widened even more, and his vision became blurry.

"As long as we collect stars. Turning one from a bright future to darkness. We can ensure our Master's destiny. Stars of hope and Stars of despair. The black Star. Shizu, where are you going to stand? It seems that even your friend has a black Star. It's only a matter of time. Will you wake up? Or continue a path that you wish was a dream? I feel you'll see much more and face much worse, the compelling bodies you hold, stripped of life."

"Shishou..."

He muttered. The body of his Shishou dropped onto the ground, plopping in his blood. Shizu crawled over to him.

"I can- save you- I know- I can... That's right, I- I- have the Star- to do so!"

Shizu reached out to grab his hand.

*Smack*

Shishou smacked his hand away from him, holding on to the little life he had left. He turned his head to stare at Shizu, a cold stare peering into his soul, on the verge of death.

"Don't save me. Allow me to die. I don't want to be in this world anymore with you. I will not forgive myself for being saved by a failure like you. I should've stopped your birth when I had the chance to, or I should've killed you. My death will atone for helping create what's to come. You disgust me, and I've always hated your face. My life was better when you were out of it for good, and don't you ever touch me with those disgusting hands."

*Ughh*

He threw up, and blood gushed out of his mouth. Shizu slowly backed up while holding her.

"Die, Shizu! Die Shizu! Why don't you just? Die!"

The masked man chimed in, chanting Shizu to die alongside; they began to chant, chant, chant in sync.

His breathing came to an end. The eyes staring into his soul were the last thing. Tears rolled down his face, and his body shook uncontrollably. This uneasy feeling in his stomach only got worse. Looking up, he saw the masked man. Inches away from his face.

"Win the next match, and the crystal is yours. Don't forget. We will meet again, and I hope to see how far you've come."

Taking steps back, they grabbed Shishou by the collar and walked into the darkness disappearing within a black portal that sucked up all the blood. Shizu gradually stood up; he spaced out, perplexed. At this point, he could only return to the nurses to have Taku's sister check up on. While holding her, Taku turned the corner, finding him where Shizu was watching over her. He ran up to him, grabbing him by the shirt, pulling him in his direction, and causing Shizu to drop her; clenching his fist, he punched his face repeatedly. That knocked Shizu back on the floor, accounting for each punch not retaliating in any way.

"What the fuck did you do to my sister! You fucking screw up! You Stupid fucking failure! Why the fuck is she injured! You!"

Shizu mumbled softly, so quiet it couldn't even be heard.

*I saved her... Why are you hitting me...?*

Taku continued punching him.

*No matter the amount of good... I do... I always get hurt... Why... It hurts a little...*

Shizu grabbed his fist tightly. The bruises on his face began to disappear. His tone dropped, becoming lifeless and monotone.

"Stop it. I saved her. Now leave me alone."

He stood up and twisted his hand, thus breaking Taku's wrist. His bone popped out, and Shizu walked past him.

"Now you can wait with her."

Taku shrieked in pain, alone, as Shizu headed back to the locker rooms. He had already changed his clothes while in the nurse's room. Keeping what happened to himself. Sticking with the story of her having a bad fall.

*The winner is team Omega*

The six of them walked back in.

"Damn, Hano. To think you'd draw your sword on me. Not nice."

Team Alter seemed pretty beaten up.

Hano walked in and glanced at Shizu.

"Looks like you're up next. Failure."

'Failure, Failure, Failure, Failure, Failure, Failure, Failure, Failure, Failure, Failure, Failure. I am. One.'