Grover, Tobu, and Haruku vs Nick, Part 3

Grover was given a single errand; a simple trip to the grocery store. And so, Grover left his house and began heading to the store, but then…less than five minutes later; Grover found himself cornered in a back alley, swarmed by demons on all sides.

The demons let out an intimidating roar as they pounced upon Grover.

Grover let out a scream of despair as he dropped to the ground and began sobbing. Grover shut his eyes tightly in suspense as he curled up into a fetal position.

But then, when all hope seemed lost and everything was grim, mere seconds before the demons could sink her fangs and claws deep into Grover's flesh; the buzz of electricity rang through the air, as the hairs across Grover's entire body began to stand up.

When Grover opened his eyes again, he found himself…alive, and uninjured.

Standing before him, was a man dressed in a black suit, with yellow lighting crackling around his entire body.

On the floor around the man…are the bloodied, mangled corpses of the demons attacking Grover.

"Who…who are you…?" Grover asks. "Are you a Pro Slayer…?"

The man slowly turns around to face Grover and flashes him a thumbs up and a smirk. "You can call me Slayer Hachi!" The man answers, causing Grover's eyes to widen.

The electricity crackling around the man's entire body then intensifies, before he zips away, as fast as lightning.

Ever since that day, two major things happened for Grover; One, Grover found that he was able to teleport by opening and closing spiraling green portal, an ability which Grover eventually dubbed; Wormhole, Grover's Cursed Ability.

Grover then began training to use his wormholes. Grover trained until he was able to teleport so quickly that he moved in the blink of an eye. Grover also discovered that he needs his hands to open and close his wormholes, so Grover developed powerful kicks and perfect accuracy with throwing knives to make up for this weakness. And eventually, by using his Wormhole; Grover passed the Pro Slayer Exams with flying colors and came to be known as "Slayer Midori," fitting for the green flash seen when Grover activates his wormholes.

And two, thanks to that man, which Grover eventually came to know as his Squad Captain; Nick Boras… Grover found the strength to live.

And the strength which came from his wormholes.

***

"Woah…" I marvel.

"You go, Grover!" Jamie cheers.

"That looks painful!" Ella whimpers.

"That couldn't have been done on purpose, right?" Austin asks.

***

"How do you feel, Grover?" Nick asks.

"Stronger than ever!" Grover answers. "I'll call this new power…Portal-Man!"

"So you're a Rule Breaker now?" Nick smiles.

Grover then punches his fists outwards, but rather than punching the air in front of him, Grover's arm disappears, before repapering directly before Nick, as if it had teleported, but without a wormhole.

"Wormhole: Eight-Bit Zoom-Punch!"

Grover then teleports behind Nick, without even having to activate a wormhole, and lands a roundhouse kick against Nick's back, sending him flying forwards. Grover then teleports behind Nick again, in the blink of an eye and a flash of green, sweeping him off of his feet before teleporting in front of Nick, kicking him into the air with a front-straight kick. Grover then teleports into the air, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks upon Nick as he teleports around him, bringing Nick higher and higher into the air, until Grover reaches the highest point. Grover then teleports above Nick, bringing his leg high into the air above his head. "Wormhole…" Grover begins to say.

"EIGHT-BIT WATERFALL-KICK!"

Grover then swings his leg downwards, slamming it into Nick, and seeding Nick flying to the ground. Nick falls to the ground in an explosion of dust and bright green Cursed Power. Grover teleports back down to the ground, his Portal-Man from having run out. Grover then drops to the ground on one knee, panting heavily, his entire body soaked with blood. When the explosion clears, Grover sees Nick still on his feet, soaked in blood and covered in wounds, but still, standing nonetheless.

"It still…wasn't enough…" Grover whimpers as he drops to his knees.

"Excellent, Grover," Nick begins to say as he starts walking over to Grover. "Though you may not have beaten me, if you train that new ability, soon, you may be able to." Nick stops before Grover, standing over him as Grover collapses to the ground, unconscious. "You truly are the strongest Junior here."

***

"And after an amazing battle of speed, Slayer Hachi takes the victory over Slayer Midori!" The announcer booms, causing the audience to roar.

"So, are you two next?" Nick smirks as he turns face to face Haruku and his teammate, who frantically shakes their heads no as they leap out from behind their cover, bringing their hands up in surrender.

"And with Slayer Midori's allies surrendering, this means that Slayer Hachi wins!" The announcer continues, causing the audience to go wild.

Although Grover can't hear the cheers of the audience, if he could, he'd be jumping for joy right about now.

"That boy is as fast as Slayer Hachi!"

"Who cares about Slayer Kaen, or August, when you have Slayer Midori?!"

"Slayer Midori almost beat The Bumblebee!"

"All I saw were flashes of green!"

"He's like the green bumblebee!

"The Green Hornet!"

And so, the audience begins chanting "Green Hornet" as I slump back into my seat with an awkward smirk.

"Oh well, Grver didn't win," I sigh.

"He came pretty damn close though," Jamie adds.

"Well…close enough without Nick using his Full Charge state," Austin clarifies.

"Grover did great! The audience loves him!" Ella exclaims.

And so, as a team of Medical Slayers rush onto the scene, escorting Haruku and the other guy out of the arena, assessing Nick's wounds, and carrying Grover off on a stretcher, the final fight of the second wave of the second round of the competition comes to a close.

The four of us (Mikey had stormed off in a fit of rage after seeing how strong Grover Had gotten and how he had almost beat Nick) met Grover in the infirmary, and when Grover finally woke up, we congratulated him like crazy, even Nick.

The six of us then each have our final matches of the second round of the competition, some wins, and some losses, and even some friends and rivalries made along the way. And so, the second round of the NYIC comes to a close. And for most of us, so does our time in the competition.

Asides from a select few chosen eight.

***

For the first few years of his life, Austin lived a very normal life as a very normal child. Both of Austin's parents were kind people. And although poor, and the Habicht family was struggling financially, Austin lived in a very loving family.

As a child, Austin didn't enjoy video games, go outside, study, play sports or anything of the sorts. Austin didn't do anything that his fellow kids were doing. Instead, Austin's hobby was to watch his dad. Austin's father was a wonderful inventor, constantly tinkering with all sorts of machines and devices, and even creating a pair of goggles for Austin (which Austin eventually tinkered with and created the high-tech goggles that he uses with his Gunsmith), which perfect his screwed-up vision, which Austin's father also suffered from.

Everything was all fine and dandy for Austin.

Except for the fake that his dad was terribly ill.

Austin's father had a horrible disease which ransacked his entire body. It first started with the eyes, which slowly deteriorated overtime, until Austin's dad couldn't see.

Austin felt horrible watching his father slowly losing a part of himself. Austin wanted to figure out how to save his dad…but how? Austin had no leads, that is, until he laid eyes on the goggles that his dad made for him.

Austin worked all day and night, inventing, tinkering, and struggling, until he was able to perfectly replicate the goggles that his dad once made for him. When Austin presented the goggles to his dad, his dad's decrypted eyes widened, for the inventions that Austin's dad spent years working on…a mere child was able to replicate in a couple of weeks.

Austin's dad thanked Austin for the present and congratulated his son on his accomplishment, and for that day onwards, Austin was an inventor as well. From a young age, Austin took up this hobby from his father and was quite the tinkerer. Austin would disassemble clocks, microwaves, and anything else he could get his little hands on. Austin's mother would scold the boy for doing this, but his father would always laugh it off saying: "That's my boy!"

Until Austin came down with the same disease that his dad had.

Much like his father, the unknown, yet deadly disease started with Austin's eyes. Fortunately, Austin didn't lose his sight, unlike how his father did shortly after, but without his glasses or goggles, Asuitn was physically incapable of seeing.

And then…the disease spread to Austin's right arm.

There was a way to save Austin's arm, just like there was a way to save his father's eyes, but with his dad out of work, the Habichy family was too poor to afford the surgery, and to stop the disease from spreading, Austin's arm and his father's eyes had to be amputated.

For the first time in his life, Austin felt pure and utter defeat. The goggles that he made for his dad to protect his eyesight…failed horribly.

But that didn't deter Austin.

Austin was determined to make enough money so that his family became rich, and they never would have to worry financially again.

It started with his arm.

After years of failed attempts, Austin eventually succeeded in creating and attached a fully functional mechanical arm to his right shoulder. But everyone laughed at and made fun of Austin for his "robot arm," and ashamed, Austin kept it wrapped up and hidden. The only one who didn't make fun of Austin for his arm, was his childhood best friend, Jamie.

One day, while at work, Austin first became friends with Jamie, and learned about the Profession Slayer Organization. The Slayer Organization was talked about as a noble organization helping those in need and fighting off evil. Of course, the Pro Slayer neglected to mention the sixty five percent mortality rate. But then, a few words resonated with young Austin. They were: "high paying job." A high paying job where Austin can make use of his invention skills while helping others? It seemed like a dream come true for the young boy. That day onwards, Austin vowed to do one thing:

To become a Pro Slayer and do whatever it takes to rise up the ranks of the Slayer Organization, and become the head of the Technologies Development Branch.