PA100 Arc: All Points Diverge

Junko was running through a narrow forest area. The grass was moist and the trees seemed as thick and as tall as could be. But he suddenly came to a halt when his head bumped into something hard, causing the young boy to fall backwards. "Ow," Junko moaned while rubbing his forehead. "What was that?"

"That'd be me, Harold. Your worst nightmare," A tall lean man with spiky orange hair stood above Junko with a relaxed look. "Ready to see the stars, kid?"

Harold's knee slamming into Junko's chin sent the boy flying. Harold appeared above Junko in a flash and elbowed him in the gut as they collided with the ground. Harold backflipped away to regain some distance.

Junko now on his knees, planted his hands on the moist grass as he panted. This man…this man was remarkably fast. Knowing that, he wouldn't get much time to recover his energy like he needed-

A swift uppercut knocked Junko into the sky once more. Grabbing him by his leg, Harold changed Junko's direction by swinging him around and around then chucking the child down.

"Darn it," Junko grunted. "I don't even have enough time to counterattack." Before he knew it, Junko was suddenly pinned to a tree by four kunai knives.

"Aw, what's the matter, kiddy?" Harold asked as suddenly appeared on the other side of the tree. "I too fast for ya? Here let me give you another shot," Harold punched the back of tree causing the large plant to shatter into pieces.

Junko fell to the ground as the kunai dispersed around him. The Shadow User breather heavily as he slowly returned to his feet. "I have to fight back," Junko said as he wobbled from side to side. "Even if it does nothing, I have to get a hit in." Junko quickly picked up one of the kunai lying on the ground.

In a split second after that, Harold was clutching onto the boy's head, "Miss me?"

Junko thrusted the knife forward but it was diverted away to a tree in an instant. "Now, Shadow Punch!" Junko swung his fist enveloped in shadow forward, managing to knock the man back a little. "It worked!" So then…he just had to make one diversion attack and then quickly follow up with another attack. That was his strategy to victory. Junko reached into his weapon pouch and glared at Harold, "I can do this."

***

Riley was stopped by a heavily built gray haired man whose muscle defined his very body. Gu was writing on the nametag on his chest. "I'm afraid I cannot let you go any further until the PA100 is returned to King Aadolf."

"Look Go," Riley started.

"Gu…"

"Whatever! Let's just skip the small talk and get right to the part where I kick your butt, cucumber seed!"

Gu blinked, "Cucumber seed…?"

"That's right!" Riley charged towards the man and shouted, "Fire Punch!" He threw his flaming fist forward at the man's face. The flames suddenly dispensed much to Riley's dismay. "Hey, what happened?!"

"Water Cloak," Gu stated with a satisfied smile. "It's a technique I made up myself, specifically for dealing with Fire Users."

Specifically for Fire Users, huh?" Riley smirked, "Guess that'll make it all the more epic when I beat you!"

"Big talk for someone who hasn't landed a single hit in, yet has been hit by their opponent exactly 50 times."

"What are you talking about?! You haven't landed a hit on me yet either!" Riley retorted dramatically pointing his finger at his enemy.

"Look around you," Gu simply said.

Riley did such and gasped at the sight. Exactly fifty kunai knives with paper bombs attached to them were surrounding him. "No way, how did those get there?!"

"Another original technique of mine," Gu explained. "Moisture Transportation."

And at those words, the bombs around Riley exploded. Smoke formed around the area hindering the Fire User's vision. "Crap, I can't see anything," Riley took out a kunai of his own and held it firmly in his hand. "Fine then, I'll just swing and hope I get a lucky shot! Take this!"

Riley ran through the smoke, wildly swinging his kunai around. The smoke soon cleared and the boy's vision was restored. His eyes shot open in surprise when he realized that Gu was nowhere to be found, "Where'd he go?!"

"Looking for someone?" Gu's voice echoed but was still nowhere to be seen. A swift kick to Riley's jaw sent him crashing into the floor.

"What?!" Riley got up and wiped his mouth, "You can turn invisible now too?"

"Just another original technique of mine," Gu stated with pride. "Aquatic Presence."

Riley grunted, "Man...how many of those does this dude have?"

***

A little while away from the caste, Ashley was still running, with the envelope in hand. "Darn it, I wish I was faster." She shook her head, "No, I can't worry about stuff like that right now. I just have to hurry up and get as far away from this place as possible. Then I can catch up with the others and yell at them for being faster than me all I want."

Before she knew it, Ashley was on the ground clutching her side in pain. "Sorry, but that will not be happening," King Aadolf said as he walked up from behind her.

"Attacking me from behind," Ashley scowled. "That's low even for you."

"You already know how determined I am to complete the PA100 project." The King glared at the girl, "So then you should also know, I don't care how low I have to stoop if it helps me do as such." The man kicked Ashley's vulnerable side knocking her even further back.

The blonde girl held onto her weakened spot and reached into her weapon pouch. "You really haven't changed a bit," She snarled at the King before chucking a kunai at him.

Strands of the King's hair fell to the floor. "That was a close one," he laughed. "Accuracy was never an issue with you after all."

"Save it," Ashley growled. She pulled her hands back, a ball of water forming in between them. "Water Ball," Ashley yelled as she released the attack. She quickly pulled out another kunai ready to throw it. A sudden tight grip on her hand stopped the girl from doing so.

Aadolf smirked, "Too bad that accuracy doesn't compensate for all of your numerous faults." He brought Ashley's hand to her shoulder in an instant, stabbing the girl with her own kunai in an instant.

The King struck her shoulder again, this time with more ferocity, and again, and again. With each stab, the strike grew ever more fierce. Until finally, he stopped and let the kunai rest in the girl's shoulder.

Ashley winced as the weapon continued to dig deeper and deeper into her flesh, "Darn you..."

"Hate me all you want," The King whispered maliciously in Ashley's ear. "It won't change your fate. Just hand me the envelope and we can do this the easy way."

Ashley glowered at the King, "In your dreams." She sunk her teeth into the man's arm.

"What exactly did you think that would accomplish?" Aadolf asked, his voice full of irritation. "Such a simple attack on me, the King of Guarano Kingdom?!" He smacked Ashley to the ground with the back of his hand. The kunai rolled around around until it came to a stop. "I was trying to be hold myself back. But now that you have insulted me like that, you are in a whole world of trouble."