Team Mikey vs Bronx Squad, Part 1

"With a three to zero…sort of…lead and without a single squadmate being knocked out, Slayer Hachis Squad, Team Grover wins!" The announcer booms.

The crowd goes wild. Most cheering, some booing.

"Oh, I thought they had it," Slayer Renzu sighs to herself with a small smile.

"What else can you expect, they have Hachi training them after all!" Her sister -Slayer Supurasshu- chuckles.

Jamie claps furiously. "They did it! They did it!" She excitedly cries.

"And with all three members still standing, no less!" Austin remarks.

"Well…I don't know if I'd count Grover as "standing"," Jamie awkwardly chuckles.

"Either way, it doesn't matter. We'll win with all three left standing no matter what," Austin says as he does the anime glasses guy thing.

Jamie smirks at Austin and nods, before turning to Mikey, who's still wide-eyed staring at Luis, gripping the seat in front of him tightly.

"Earth to Mikey, you there?" Jamie chuckles as she waves her hand in front of Mikey's eyes.

"What the Hell kind of demon power was that…?" Mikey softly asks himself under his breath.

"I wonder how Mikey is gonna take Luis' development? I haven't really seen either of them at full power since King," Nick then mutters under his breath, from his place watching from the side of the bleachers in the arena. "And Luis…he's not using his demon power too much…good."

"I can't go through that again. Not after Violet."

*** 

"That was fun!" Grover exclaims as the three of us settle down in the infirmary.

After our match ended, Medical Slayers were dispatched into the arena. They carried Ralph, Ivy, and the now back to human Lycan off of the field in stretchers. Grover was carried off as well. Ella and I were simply led out of the arena. Well…I had to hobble. Grover and I looked pretty damn messed up, Ella wasn't hurt badly at all, she played support. She did crack a finger or two punching Ivy with so much Cursed Power though.

Reminds me of the day I met Ella and Grover. At the Slayer Exams.

"I…can't believe we won…" I softly say.

"How are you with Ralph?" Ella chuckles.

 "Well I beat 'em up, so now that I know he's not a threat to my goals, we're cool now!" Grover chipperly answers.

"You look pretty beat up yourself," I snort.

"You originally thought Ralph was a threat to you becoming the Chairman over him?" Ella teases.

"What? I must have misspoken!" Grover still chipperly answers. He's sure in a good mood after our victory.

"Well luckily we don't have to fight until tomorrow, so we get a chance to rest up for now," I sigh as I stretch out in bed.

I still can't believe we won. Well…I'm not surprised that Grover beat Ralph, but I am surprised that Ella came in and clutched the win against Ivy, and that I was able to take out both Lycan and Ivy's animals with my Sky God's Katanas. I mean…I don't feel strong, I still just feel like the weak old me. But maybe, just maybe, slowly…

I am changing after all.

Or is it all because of my demon half?

That's the only reason Nick wanted anything to do with me, afterall.

"So how do we watch Jamie and the other guys' match?" Grover asks.

I don't want to admit it, but I really do want to watch Mikey fight.

"Well there's a TV in here so that we can watch the-" Ella begins to explain, but Grover cuts her off.

"Naw, let's go watch 'em in person!" Grover interrupts as he hops out of bed.

"But Grover, you're hurt!" Ella stammars.

"Eh, so what? If I start hurting I can just ask you to-" Grover begins to reply, but Grover's interrupted as he yelps in pain and drops back to his bed. "Ow, wave of pain!" He cries, causing Ella and I to laugh.

"Alright, let's go!" I say as Ella and I get out of bed as well, helping Grover to exit the infirmary.

After exiting the infirmary, Ella, Grover, and I head to the arena that Mikey, Jamie, and Austin are fighting on, the jungle terrain and take our seats in the bleachers, seeing that the match has just barely begun.

***

"Our opponents are Bronx's Squad. Slayer Haruku, Cursed Ability: Swole Growth. Slayer Rokku, Cursed Ability: Lock-On. Slayer Ronbun, Cursed Ability: Papercut," Austin begins to explain. "An Attacker, Supporter, and Shooter. Their team is far more balanced than us."

"Well if someone came with us to strategize, that wouldn't matter," Jamie spits as she leers at Mikey, who shrugs and rolls his eyes in response.

As long as we stick to the plan that Jamie and I came up with, we'll be fine," Austin says as he leers at Mikey as well. "Jamie will take Haruku head on by using her Iron Cloak, while Mikey and I-MIKEY!" Austin snaps, seeing that Mikey is already wandering away from Jamie and himself. "What are you doing?!"

Mikey pauses, then turns over his shoulder and peers back at Austin. "In an environment such as this one, whoever gets the drop on the other team wins. We don't have any trackers on our team, so we need to get moving," Mikey says, before turning around and continuing his trek.

"I truly despise how Mikey is not as moronic as his personality type makes him out to be," Austin growls, causing Jamie to sigh. And so, the two follow after Mikey.

Mikey, Jamie, and Austin wander around the arena, searching for Slayer landam's Squad. The jungle is hot and humid, with thick, towering trees blocking out the majority of the sunlight. There is plenty of undergrowth in the jungle, with the occasional river or even jungle cave.

After a bit of walking, Mikey hears some foliage besides him rustling, and pauses.

"Do you hear that?" he grunts.

"Hear what?" Jamie asks as she and Austin pause as well.

As if on cue, three paper airplanes come soaring in towards Team Mikey.

"That must be Ronbun's Papercut ability!" Jamie shouts.

In response, Austin constructs a glowing orange shotgun out of Cursed Power and aims it at the three paper airplanes. But before Austin can even pull the trigger, he's interrupted when Mikey pulls out his own dual pistols and shoots the paper airplanes down.

"Was that…necessary?" Austin grumbles.

"He will acknowledge me…" Mikey mutters to himself, not even acknowledging Austin in the slightest.

"Come again?" Austin asks.

"Hachi…he will acknowledge me…" Mikey repeats, mostly talking to himself.

"It must be Mikey's inferiority complex acting up, making him feel the need to get noticed by Nick for the sake of his revenge?" Jamie suggests. Austin shrugs.

"This doesn't concern you…" Mikey growls. "I'LL WIN THIS COMPETITION, ALL ON MY OWN!"

"Like I said, impossible to work with," Austin sighs.

Three more paper airplanes come flying towards Team Mikey. Like before, Mikey aims his dual pistols and fires a few bullets in hopes of taking down the paper planes. But the paper planes effortlessly swerve around the attack, evading Mikey's bullets.

"That's Rokku's Lock-On!" Austin shouts. "She must have touched Ronbun, and now their next few paper attacks are sure to land!"

Sure enough, the paper airplanes keep flying towards Team Mikey.

"It's just paper. What the hell is it gonna do? Cut me?" Mikey spits. Annoyed by the paper planes, as if they are but a minor inconvenience, once one of the paper airplanes is close enough, Mikey raises an eyebrow at them then pokes one with the top of his finger. Upon contact, the plan explodes in a rush of flames and a cloud of dust.

When the explosion clears, Jamie and Austin see Mikey coughing and waving away the smoke. His face, hand, and clothes are charred black, only slightly.

"That…was a little more than a papercut," Mikey coughs as he contours to wave away the smoke from his mouth.

"You imbecile, that's why we follow the plan!" Austin snaps.

Another round of paper airplanes come flying from out of the shrubbery, this time, towards Jamie and Austin.

"Gunsmith: Shotgun!" Austin shouts as he raises the barrel of his shotgun at the paper airplanes, firing a couple of bullets at them. But surely enough, the paper airplanes effortlessly weave out of the way of Austin's bullets, continuing on with their flight towards Austin.

"Hmm…" Jamie mutters as she watches the paper airplanes dodge Austin's bullets. "Austin, how does Rokku's Lock-On work?"

"If Rokku makes contact with her allies, specifically while channeling Cursed Power into whatever she's using to touch them with, then their attacks -unless destroyed- will keep seeking out their target until they hit them, no matter what," Austin explains.

"Got it!" Jamie replies before turning back to the paper airplanes. "Adaptability: Iron Cloak!" Jamie shouts as she punches her fists together, the skin of her chest and stomach turning into iron. The paper airplanes then fly into Jamiue's iron chest, exploding upon contact, just as before. But also, hardly leaving a scratch.

"Ah, smart, Jamie!" Austin exclaims as he attempts to shoot down the paper airplanes flying his way, but to no avail.

Jamie attempts to leap in front of Austin to shield him from the blast, but the paper airplanes simply weave around Jamie, headed to their target destination: Austin. The paper airplanes then explode upon contact in a rush of flames and smoke, shattering Austin's glasses and sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Austin!" Jamie cries.

"Weak," Mikey grumbles.