High School Rumble! Part 1 – Gate Crash

---

Silence settled like a heavy blanket in the club room of the Going Home Club. The lights were switched on and the curtains were drawn fully, despite it not even being sunset yet. The reason for this was the person who sat at the head of the table, the club's captain, Gabriel. His Porphyria forced him to avoid direct sunlight at all costs, and he’d had to spend some of his hard-earned Points for that.

He could alleviate the effects by drinking some healthy blood, but that's not something anyone would usually have on hand.

"As you all know," He started slowly, "There are rumours that the only reason we're a part of the Coalition of Ichor is because they took pity on us. Are we... fine with that?"

Many of the members around the table cringed at that, clearly they thought it was true.

"Well, uhh... Maybe it's good that they think that?" Someone spoke up. All eyes turned to him and he clearly regretted his decision to speak up.

"I suppose that might be the case," Gabriel said, shifting the attention away from the poor boy. "If they consider us to be weak, they might think it's not worth attacking us."

Some of them exhaled sighs of relief.

"But on the flip side they might just consider us to be the weakest link and attack us first." He said.

The mood plummeted right down again.

This was probably the main problem of running the Going Home Club, all of their members were closet introverts who wanted no part in fighting. They lacked confidence in themselves and their skills, even though they were most probably adequate enough. Gabriel himself was one of the least powerful in terms of direct combat, in fact. His power was almost useless in a fight and he had a weak constitution because he couldn't go out very much. The only reason he was captain was because he was the only one not afraid to speak up.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the club room door and a head poked in from outside.

"Akiko-senpai told me to tell you to find Rachel," The girl said, Reiko was her name. "She didn't show up for club, and you usually know where she is."

”That girl…” Gabriel sighed, as he stood up. He knew where she probably was that day, it was rather sunny after all. ”Kurosaki, take care of this while I’m gone.”

As he walked over to Reiko, he pulled out his umbrella and opened it. He wasn’t even out of the club room yet but he had to be careful.

“Akiko-senpai told me about your condition,” Reiko said, walking besides him, “I can use my power to help you if you want.”

Yes, one wasn’t part of the occult research club unless they had a power that was similar to magic. Reiko had been taught black-magic before coming to Kagetora, although she hadn’t had that much success. She did however excel at weather magic but reportedly she didn’t have very much control of it yet.

”That won’t be necessary,” Gabriel said, ”I imagine she’d get cold, anyway.”

They exited the main school building and turned left. Their destination was the school’s garden, it was actually too large to just be a ‘garden’ but it had started small. Over time, those with plant based powers had added to it and made it what it was now. Rachel was no exception, the last person who had worked on the garden had accidentally overgrown the plants making the garden most unwelcoming, until Rachel had come along.

She basically tamed the plants and calmed their growth for a while, enough to beat them back. Later she had even made benches out of some spare tree stumps so visitors could sit if they were tired. Right now, they were looking at one of those benches, the one that Rachel was sleeping on.

The bench was in a small clearing amongst all the plants of the garden. She’d made this area specifically for herself and it was very hard to see from outside. On it, Rachel slept soundly, the sunlight giving her hair a warm glow.

”Akiko gave you the hairbrush, right?” He said.

“Yup, here you go.” She replied, pressing it into his hand.

He gave her the umbrella to hold as he leant over Rachel’s sleeping form. He propped her upright and used on arm to keep her steady. Even now she was still asleep, she had a reputation for being able to sleep just about anywhere, and stay asleep even in thunderstorms. Akiko however, had a way around that.

With his other arm, he started to brush her unruly hair. As soon he made contact, she started to stir. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times, as if trying to get rid of her sleepiness. She stifled a yawn as Gabriel finished brushing out whatever he could handed the brush back to Reiko.

”Akiko says you need to head to the club.” Gabriel said.

Rachel blinked some more, as if confused.

”Oh, you’re not Akiko.” She said, as if she were only realizing now.

”Akiko’s waiting, let’s go.” He said gently.

”Okay.” She got up, a little unsteadily. She grabbed Gabriel’s already outstretched hand for support as he took back his umbrella.

“Is she always like that?” Reiko asked.

”Yes, she always is.” He said, leading Rachel back towards the main path.

He heard a sigh from Reiko but he didn’t really care. He had to keep an eye on Rachel, which was one of the only instructions left behind by the Science Club captain before he had disappeared. A girl called Richelle would appear soon after he had gone, and they had to take care of her. So far it had proven somewhat troublesome, as all the measures they had taken seemed only to attract unwelcome attention.

But if he was honest, moving her up to A-tier really was a bit much.

---

”My name is Alphonse,” he said, shaking the man’s hand firmly, ”Alphonse Alloré.”

He was an old man, he wore a pristine suit which said a lot about his status.

“Thank you, Alphonse.” He said, “We will remember you for next time.”

The man turned to leave, and Alphonse headed in the opposite direction. He walked briskly as he was most definitely late for the Student Council meeting. He hadn’t had much of a choice in the matter, the principal had called for him and it turned out that they’d gotten important guests.

It was an investor looking to use the auditorium and guest hall for a function, more specifically their CEO was celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary. Normally it might not have been a problem, rules could be enforced and fights temporarily restricted. But he knew that frictions had been running high recently between the major Factions.

It seemed like any time now they would be ready to make an assault on the student council, but knowing the other factions might make an attempt at the same time caused them to stay their hands unless they found themselves fighting two enemies at once. Technically the Coalition of Ichor was leading the student council, but the President had disappeared meaning it was possible he would return to a council full of enemies.

Although he was able to defeat a club captain without giving him a chance to retaliate, the Science Club captain wasn’t exactly very strong. But there was no point in worrying about the President now, if a battle broke out when the event rolled around, it would give the school a bad reputation.

He strode into the Student Council room at last.

”We have a problem.” He said solemnly.

She stretched out on her chair, giving a long yawn as she did so.

"Guh... This is more tiring than actually training."

To tell the truth, Kagenuma Yuzuki had a very different image of the school from the description she was given. She had thought this would be some sort of a huge martial arts center, with people honing their moves against other opponents. But instead of muscly sweaty men and muscly sweaty women running around beating each other to pulp, she got this... place with books, with some sort of training regiment that was somehow more tiring than her training sessions with her father. There was a part of her that was happy she didn't have to fight and train everyday, and another part that was a bit disappointed that she didn't get what she imagined.

Sighing, she picked up her things, and walked out the classroom.

As of now, she wasn't in any clubs at all, not that Yuzuki would join any of those clubs around. None of them seemed attractive enough. Then again, if she did join a club, she'd be able to spar against them anytime she wanted. But then she had to go through the whole rigmarole of registering and the likes.

Decisions, decisions...

For now, I think I'll get some of that pudding from that shop, punch a few boulders in half and call it a day, she thought.

"WHAT A DAY! WHAT A LOVEY DAY!"

Eddie yelled out as class was over. All things considered, the first day of school was quite exciting for him. At first he was rather scared, for many reasons: For one he feared that he wasn't as strong as he thinks he is once he showed up to school. He knows a bunch of petite people smaller then him capable of greater feats of strength, and he'd hate the idea that he'd have to go against them and loose at the only thing he had going on. That and he feared education in general. While he's not exactly "Stupid" in terms of education, he is not a studious person. He prefers practical application. He sucks at dealing things like COS, SIN, and TAN, but things like geometry and graphs are right up his alley. He did work on a construction yard for about three years, and that was more then just hauling wood and hammering nails. Math was one of his stronger subjects when they weren't dealing with witchcraft. Followed up by, surprisingly, Spanish. Which still sucked in the sense that he had horrible pronunciation and grammar, but he has spent a few years around the Spanish construction workers, learning their lingo and language by second-hand hearing.

So the general education wasn't too bad. He still hesitated on other subjects, but maybe if he made some smart friends they could help him study. And to make friends, he figured he'd join a club. "But which one..." Judo Club was right up his alley. He already knew a few moves and figured that joining that club would do him some good to prefect his technique. However the Boxing Club was equally as interesting, and Eddie felt it might have been more practical. But another part of him really wants to join the archery club. He watched a documentary on it once: it's not dexterity and agility you need, but a lot of strength. Some of the strongest bow needs some hellish strong back muscles to pull their 200+ pound draw, and Eddie felt that was his calling. Plus he fantasized about how cool it'd be for him to be one of those cool, aloof bow snipers, and when some clever git tries to get the drop on him they get a Flicker Jab in the face before being thrown off a roof (Eddie also imagined that he's sniping on a roof). All in all, many options for him, but he could only choose.

The grumble in his stomach told Eddie that right now he should go get something to eat first. Checking his wallet he noted that he had a bit of cash for something nice. He already ate his lunch, but he was still peckish. "Well, just a snack. A snack and I'll go look for clubs to join." Pocketing his wallet Eddie went off to find a shop that sells sweets. Nothing like a bit of pie to give a big boy energy for the day.

The day had begun the same way Trinh had always begun his days. The sunlight shined from his window through the blinds and hitting him right where his eyes happened to be. This was Trinh's wake up call before days started getting shorter and he had to set an alarm- of course, that wouldn't have to happen until later. He tossed himself out of bed and was quick to get changed. He haphazardly made his bed, just well enough so that it looked alright. He never fully made his bed- it was more comfortable sleeping in an unmade bed anyways. Trinh also had the habit of not showering in the morning. After all, he already showered at night.

Quickly, Trinh made his way to the cafeteria where he began his day with a meal. As his peers attempted to kill himself, Trinh knew he would have none of that. If he did, he could easily reach to his back where his rifle was slung. A peculiar thing about Trinh was that he only ever slung his weapon when it was time to eat or if it were time for class. For sake of comfort as well as convenience, Trinh walked through the halls with his rifle in the low port carry. Occasionally, he would move tactically from hall to hall. Naturally, others noticed him due to the hallways being so crowded, along with the fact that he was the only one moving in such a way. Trinh never stopped to explain himself. He lacked the proper social skills to do so anyways.

Compared to the long, drawn-out classes Trinh was used to back in his home country, class time was a cake walk. He fell asleep in just about every class, staying awake just long enough to catch what the homework assignments were for the week. Trinh never bothered writing his homework down- it was easy enough for him to remember anyways.

As the school day came to a halt, Trinh waltzed over to concessions for a quick snack. He didn't have very many points to spend. While he didn't have to spend any money, Trinh reasoned, he decided he would treat himself every now and again anyways. Unfortunately for him, there were people already there.

And so the time had come once more, for today's classes were now finished. Now, something far more paramount could take place. It was the time again, to celebrate and cherish the fine sport of Boxing. Although the events certainly weren't as grandiose as they once were. After all, many peers in this hallowed institution transferred to better schools and snagged actual starting careers in the sport. While they were not at the school, they were celebrated accomplishments to the Boxing Club. After all, the success of their members was success for them, even if they didn't play roles on the campus anymore. And Kurosawa Misaki was quite fond of discussing the accomplishments of those esteemed peers.

And they would be discussed, as per tradition. Before pummeling each other in a prime example of the endeavor of the human spirit, it was customary for a quick discussion. Sometimes it was held during the warm-ups, and other times the warm-up exercises came after the meeting. The points that were talked about varied day by day, but it always held these essential parts.

• 1.) Kurosawa Misaki would continue to clear up the issue that yes, she was both Miki and Misaki. What with the body morphing, Kurosawa felt it was necessary to continue to present that fact, as there was always someone who thought that it was only one or the other.
• 2.) The Club would have a brief discussion of news coming from the World of Boxing. After all, it was important to know how things are progressing on the various circuits, especially as they had their own in them.
• 3.) Go over the Rules of Boxing.

The rules were always saved for last, because it did serve as a healthy reminder to the members on how to go about punching each other in a professional manner. If there was one thing Kurosawa wanted, besides while wanting more time to practice cheer routines as Misaki, it was to further the progression of the Club's athletes and hopefully get more of them careers on the various circuits.

At the moment, Misaki was dressed in her cheerleading uniform, and carried her pom poms in her hands. Today she was pondering on whether or not to cut the meeting a bit short, so she could go out and practice with the others. However, that was probably not going to happen as Mickey felt he had much to cover during this day of club activities. And more importantly, he wanted to instead practice on the sandbag. Such was the difficulties of being a bodymorpher, you never had enough time to do what you want as all your forms. Oh well, it would not be of concern, unless Misaki started arguing with herself again on that. As the classes were finished, and the time for a meeting was at hand, Kurosawa Misaki promptly entered the sparring room of the Boxing Club with a eager pep to her step.

It was a rather spacious room with a rather glossy finish on its hardwood floor. Off on the sides there were rows upon rows of heavy-bags attached to fairly used stands. On the back of the stands, there were speed-bags attached. After all, one needed to practice both the heavy-hitting and the fast paced jabs.

At the far back of the room, there was a collection of cheap metal fold-out chairs gathered in a circle around a mini-fridge and large chest which itself held many jump-ropes. Some were as pristine as if they were never used, others had handles that were on the verge of breaking. As for the mini-fridge, it's cable was pretty torn up and was attached into a surge-strip, which was attached into an outlet. The fridge usually held a decent amount of Cosmic Protein-shakes, most often they were in Brownie Flavor. All of this was was just a few short paces in front of the locker room.

It was here, where all the gloves and much of the work-out clothes were kept, the announcing equipment for those really spectacular and booked matches, spare bells, ring-cards, and even a fairly old model television-if it wasn't laying near the chest due to someone not putting it back. And it was where many of the meetings would take place, if they were not being done with warm-ups, or if there wasn't a really interesting match to watch.

But the cynosure of the Boxing Club was in the very center of the room. It was the Boxing Ring. Each side was 5 meters of glory, a standard-if on the smaller size-for a ring. The ropes made the simple pattern of red, blue, red, blue and held the sacred rite of keeping people in the ring. These durable ropes continued to remain elastic and served the boxing club quite well. The floor itself was just plain white, with a green boxing glove logo decorating the center of the ring. This was where the magic took place. Valiant bouts would take place at the sound of the bell, and the fighters duked it out while following the traditions of boxing. No matter if it was a simple spar, or bout for more than just practicing, they all held the same majesty.

As Kurosawa Misaki entered the room, she gave friendly waves to the club members who were already there and getting ready for the meeting, in the assumption that it would be held in the main room. Well she waved to those who weren't busy practicing. Yes, practically all of the bags were taken up, heavy and speed-bags. There was a myriad amount of men and an occasional woman, with sweat beating down their glistening chests. They were prepared, they were all decked out in their boxing shorts, shoes and gloves. The room vibrated with the pounding of fist clashing against weighted bags, and the rhythmic bouncing of the speed-bag clashing against the its platform. These men didn't take the time to wipe the sweat from their brow as they continued practicing punches and counter crosses in attempts to move the weighted bags further than they did before. It was a symphony of precision, as each boxer continued bobbing up and down and left to right, while swinging their fists in a mighty show of strength against the bag. It mattered not that their opponent was in fact, an inanimate sand-bag or fast bag, what mattered was that they were locked in a battle which would determine their fates. After all training was serious business.

"YO!" Misaki declared, before stopping in a bit of silence. And so, began the morphing of the vocal chords so 'Mickey' could get a response in. "It's time for the quick speech! After that WE FUCKING SPAR! AND KEEP BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF THE BAGS!" With another moment of silence, from her, came the morphing of it that feature once again. However, while she remained silent, the members of the boxer club did not. They roared with excitement as many were finishing up their last set of punches before they had to listen to the speech. Of course, it was not the speech they were excited for. Misaki knew that, no what they were excited for was for the sparring. It was tradition to only spar after the speech was concluded, and as such, the speech was usually quite short, so that the sparring could commence quickly.

And so with that Kurosawa Misaki performed a head count of those who were in the main room and then headed into the locker room to count anyone who was in there. She was slowly, but surely being followed by the various boxers who finished up or were finishing their brief set.

After all, she needed to be sure that the numbers were right. She didn't want any club members missing for the opening meeting speech, and more importantly the sparring to come shortly after it.

Meruis walked out of his last class happily, it was finally time for club activities. School was enjoyable at times but for the most part it was rather simple, far more boring then studying his book and spending time experimenting with other members of the collation, He opened his book and began making his way down the halls his eyes split evenly between examining the new page that he could now access and avoiding other students.

Most of them of course moved out of the way, except for a few idiots from the various fighting clubs who thought sticking a foot out would cause him to trip. He merely stepped over them because he had these amazing things called peripherals that some people didn't seem to realize existed. Meruis arrived at the club door and closed his book stepping in cautiously and looking for a seat to begin reading.

"Ah geez, I'm late!" Al said aloud as he entered the club's training room, shutting the door quietly. He'd only hoped nobody would notice him or the jangling of the multitude of blades on his back.

Fortunately for him, his training and fighting uniform was exactly the same as his day clothes. It was too much of a hassle to change every time he had to visit club. The next thing he knew, people would start asking him to get clothes specifically for a job or a wedding or something.

Still, he could probably make up for his lack of timeliness with extra enthusiasm.
"Captain! CAPTAIN I'M READY FOR BOXING!" he shouted, waving both his arms in the air as he walked over to the girl, who was dressed for team spirit, as was typical. It was probably like tribal war paint. Al made a mental note to pick up war paint before next practice.
"I know I haven't been doing so hot with the last few practice matches, but I think I'm picking up a pretty good technique here." he grinned, bouncing on his toes and doing a little shadowboxing to show off his moves.

Olle stood away from the group and admired her comrades. The room was always filled with noise. A voice drifted from a TV situated in one of the corners that they called 'The Blind' since it was a place to go and catch downtime or to wait on a stand to become available. In front of it was a digital camo rug and small table with hunting, gun, survivalist, nature magazines, and also military manuals stacked on top neatly. And around it blind chairs filled with teens of various ranks watching some shooting competition.

One of the walls housed the shooting range. It was rather small with only five stands but it's variety of targets insured no boredom. Steel gongs, reactives, spinners, gel, self-healing and dueling trees were just a few. The only one Olle could think of that wasn't available was any exploding ones. But come on. That was a rather large safety hazard. The only one that didn't have targets was the fifth stand which was dedicated solely to apple shooting and the usage of humans. A large bang erupted as someone shot a Ruger American at a gel human with a bow slung over them - only to be replaced with a pale clink as the discarded round hit the floor.

The corner opposite of The Blind was were the club had meetings or instructors (Which were just high ranked club members) that gave 'classes' about things thought useful for the Ballistic Club as a whole. A podium and a small stage was at the very front whilst chairs in rows of ten were in front of it. It seemed as if Sergeant Hildr was giving a course about fast disarming techniques.

And dividing The Blind and meeting space? A heavy-duty steel barred door with the word 'ARMORY' painted crudely above it. Most of the weapons and gear behind the doors were used strictly for milsim activities.

After a while Olle couldn't help but to frown behind her respirator, lucky that no one was able to see. The Ballistics Club required tons of points to run. Targets always needed to be replaced, the armory always stocked, and improved gear always offered. Losing her train of though she looked over the numerous posters plastered on the wall of gun safety and patents, military posters, and also posters with the classic question:

"Why does the Archery Club hate us?"

The Cafeteria

"TRULY A REMARKABLE DISH!" bellowed El Ruidoso, shocking everybody in the cafeteria and causing some of the younger students to duck for cover. Once again, he was eating! Loudly! For El Ruidoso de Marad, Mighty Lucha Wrestler had a profound appetite and worthy food to consume!

As the leader and sole member of the ¡LUCHA! club, he needed to add additional aspiring lucha wrestlers to the ranks! Though his mighty lucha skills had enabled him to boost his score past one hundred thousand, no other member of this ill-fated school had seen fit to join him in the manliest form of combat known to mankind, where one disguises their identity, wears extremely tight spandex and oils themselves up for a bout of grappling! So it was for this reason that he did not attend club activity, for there was no one to attend with him! So he went to the cafeteria, to recruit, with his FIERY PASSION!

Setting aside his plate which had previously contained two burgers, three steaks, enough vegetables to feed a small nation and one small glass of diet coke, he stood up with the pace of an alerted meerkat. Then, his voice boomed once more.

"GREETINGS, MUY MUCHACHOS! WHO HERE WISHES TO ENGAGE IN THE MANLY ART OF LUCHA WRESTLING?! IT IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART, FOR IT IS A TRUE TEST OF YOUR ABILITIES!"

Boxing Club

With a spring in his step and a head full of stuff he damn well already knew, Roy Gerald Bivvens passed through the threshold of the Advanced Thugonomics classroom. Roy worked his way through the vaunted halls of Kagetora High School, pointedly ignoring the wide variety of morons, scumbags, and abused children lining the halls. Those who couldn't petition their parents to transfer them to a better school were forced to stay-- so it goes.

Roy had managed to find the entrance of the realm of the Boxing Club, a group of many strong men awaiting his ministrations. Roy gingerly opened the door--so as to not spook the boxers--and silently passed through the training area to the lockers.

Inside the locker room, Roy found his locker-- all the way at the edge of the room, an unassuming green locker, heavily contrasted with the dull reds of the other members. With a practiced air, Roy changed out of his school uniform, and into... a dark grey three-piece suit with a white undershirt and navy-blue tie. Fully entrenched in his announcer/referee/manager uniform, Roy made his way back to the main floor.

Roy Gerald Bivvens scanned the assorted boxers with equal parts awe and respect. There were the men and women he had sculpted with his own encouragement and their own hands. There was Slammer Kelda, the war-painted witch of the ring. There was Cinder Sluggan, the brick-skinned brick-shithouse. There was Mickey, the clay-faced vicissitudor and Captain Of The Club. And there was... Al.

Al was not special, in Roy's mind. He was strong, light, and refused to stop using foreign objects. By all accounts, he was a generic heel, designed to job for pennies and fill out lumberjack rosters. However, Al had potential. If Al could be given something to make him unique, if he could be given a gimmick, he'd be one of the best fighters in the school, and he'd be the star of Boxermania.

As Al tried to catch Mickey's attention, Roy urgently intercepted him. He flashed a foxy smile at Al, and stared him right in the eye.

"Hey, Alphonse, baby... we gotta talk. You're a damn good meathook, Alphonse, you've got the fists and the balls to mash with the best of them. Only problem is... you aren't unique!"

Roy motioned to the other boxers present. All of them were almost absurd caricatures of themselves. Some wore ludicrous costumes, some were actively demonstrating their powers. Each of them was designed from the ground up not to fight, but to demonstrate. Hearts of gold and bodies of finest alabaster, these boxers attracted as much attention as possible, good-- or bad.

"We gotta get you a gimmick, Alphonse! Something for people to call you by, something for us to weld into people's minds! Everyone'll be chanting 'Alphonse! Alphonse!'-- but only if they can see you! Know what I mean?"

Boxing Club

All right! Everyone was prepared for the incoming oration that was going to be swiftly delivered. Mickey, wanted to get through the speech quickly. After all, he needed to prepare the boxers for upcoming events, such as Boxermania. And more importantly, Mickey desperately wanted to change out of the cheerleading uniform. After all, he was prepared for boxing and having a fun time, that wouldn't involve doing cheers from the sideline. That was Misaki's thing, not one of the things Mickey liked doing. Being a body-morpher truly had its downsides, such as this. It always seemed that one or the other was set up for what the other one wanted to do, but what they themselves did not. It could've be worse, as Misaki and Mickey could've been arguing out loud with each other. However, fortunately that was not the case, as Mickey needed to do the speech and engage in club related activity. As long as there was no reason for Misaki to be needed all would be well.

He gazed upon the crowd, when he swore he heard the jangling of swords entering the room followed by some decree or another. However, the situation seemed to be solved or at least placated, due to Roy's intervention. Whatever it may have been it could be dealt with later, as soon as the change of attire was completed. Quickly dropping the pom poms onto the ground, Mickey returned his gaze to them as he cleared his throat. It was time to go through the quick speech. After all, there was practicing that needed to be done.

"AIGHT! I'mma make this real quick like. CAUSE WE ALL KNOW WHAT WE ARE HERE FOR! Also I need to change..." Mickey's comments on the attire were drowned out by the eagerness of the participants. The throes of roaring began, they were ready. They were ready to take their place in the ring. Misaki smirked at them as she held out a hand. Yes, seeing the cavalcade of gimmicks and colorful outfits always brought a sense of joy. How could it not?

These men and women were trying to become something bigger than themselves, and certainly more than a simple fighter. Calling upon all the flash and pizzazz they could muster, they knew they had become noticeable to the crowd. If they didn't they knew they would fade away into obscurity, as they didn't have much time to make themselves as noticeable as they'd like. No, they had to be quick to the draw in scoring attention from the masses, and distinguish themselves from their even flashier brethren in order to truly become special. And how could Misaki not support that? She would cheer on their accomplishments, especially those who attracted the adoration of the crowds. Well, unless a different role was needed to be cheered on of course.

"Point one, well we all know that, moving on. Gonna cover the news, next time after that new match-you know the one we're talking about some time ago." Mickey took in a quick breath, "And the rules that are gonna be mentioned at this particular meeting are the Queensbury Classics."

Mickey took in a quick breath as he began quickly reciting the Queensbury Rules. "To be a fair stand-up boxing match in a 24-foot ring, or as near that size as practicable. No wrestling or hugging or foreign objects allowed in a match. The rounds are to be of three minutes' duration, and one minute's time between rounds. If either man falls through weakness or otherwise, he must get up unassisted, 10 seconds to be allowed him to do so, the other man meanwhile to return to his corner, and when the fallen man is on his legs the round is to be resumed and continued until the three minutes have expired. If one man fails to come to the scratch in the 10 seconds allowed, it shall be in the power of the referee to give his award in favour of the other man. A man hanging on the ropes in a helpless state, with his toes off the ground, shall be considered down."

The Captain paused as another breath was taken. The speedy dialogue was continued once more. "No seconds or any other person to be allowed in the ring during the rounds. Should the contest be stopped by any unavoidable interference, the referee to name the time and place as soon as possible for finishing the contest; so that the match must be won and lost, unless the backers of both men agree to draw the stakes. The gloves to be fair-sized boxing gloves of the best quality and new. Should a glove burst, or come off, it must be replaced to the referee's satisfaction. A man on one knee is considered down and if struck is entitled to the stakes. That no shoes or boots with spikes or sprigs be allowed. The contest in all other respects to be governed by revised London Prize Ring Rules." Leaning forward, Kurosawa released a quick exhale.

"Whooo." Mickey took in a quick inhale, before continuing on with the speech. "Okay. And as for sparring, wait for when you are called out by ROY, OUR BOY, and then start sparring. 'Til then, go fetch a rope or bag and keep practicing, and also importantly practice your speech-craft! LET'S GET READY TO FUCKING RUMBLE!" Kurosawa declared with an eager leap upwards. The assorted cast gave another hooray, as they began rushing out of the locker rooms, so they could get their turn to face each other in the ring.

And now, Kurosawa Mickey had a chance to change. "They better not need me as Misaki...Ring-girl better not be sick." was quickly grumbled out as shoes were being pulled off. Soon Kurosawa would be able to continue to check up on various important matters at hand, along with needed choreographing, especially with those who were not that talented with coming up with dialogue on the fly. After all, the pre-match interview was a sacred rite, and Mickey didn't want it sullied by not having members prepared to giving outstanding responses and quips against their opponent. Mickey knew there was be much to done; and he was prepared to keep things run smoothly.

Maxwell sighed as his last class of the day came to an end. He hated this part of the day, just because of Student Council meetings. He had been left in charge of the student council, which was terrible for multiple reasons, just one of which was that he was hated by a large portion of students. On his way to the student council room, a number of people glared at him, as if he did something horrible. Max couldn't stand the stares, but he dealt with it, somehow.

Now that he thought about it, it was surprising that he was still on the student council, and as vice president of it, no less. Of course, a few people had challenged him for the position, but there had yet to be a big attack against him, as he assumed there would be. The door to the student council room was closed, the room inside dark, a clear indicator that no one had arrived yet. He opened the door, and walked inside the room, closing the door behind him. The room was rather nice, but it was nothing to shake a stick at, just a room. Maxwell took his seat, and stared at the door, waiting for the others.

A few minutes into the utter silence, the door opened, and Alphonse Alloré walked into the room.

”We have a problem.” Alphonse said, almost instantly.

"A problem? Care to elaborate, Alphonse?" Max said, as he stood up from his seat and looked at Alphonse.

"A gimmick?" Al thought hard about what Roy was telling him. Good old Roy, he had bright ideas.
"But... that has a bad ring to it. Wouldn't it be better to have substance? Like a new signature move!" he exclaimed, drawing a sword.

"In shows, heroes always get flashy finishing moves. So if I shouted its name and did it, people would shout it too, and look forward to it at the end of every episode. Match. Until it gets defeated, and then I pull out a better one as a trump card." he smiled, spinning the blade onto his shoulder.

"Then they'd call me... Sword Guy. Or Al. Sword Al, even. My signature technique could be drop kicking the pommel, and then it shoots like a rocket."

Greengoat & Lucius Cypher Collab

Eddie Rig vs Kagenuma Yuzuki

"Ah! The last one! Lucky~!" she said, skipping over to the sole pudding left on display.

Having just arrived at the aforementioned shop, Yuzuki browsed but for a moment before discovering one of her favourite treats on sale. Not just any old pudding too; it was the one people usually lined up for half an hour at least just to get some. To have one unsold with no one claiming it was akin to a miracle. The rest of the food on the shelves pale in comparison to this soft golden treat.

It was enough to make her perk up again.

"Hey hey hey~ Shopkeeper, gimme that one!"

"Yes! It's still here!" Eddie exclaimed when he arrived to the shop. He's had his eye on this little treat that she's been saving money for. A luxurios little thing, he could buy two good lunches for the price of this snack, but that's why he saved up money for it. This was to spoil himself. And after all the work he's been doing, he felt like he deserve a bit of a treat.

"Scusi, I'd like that snack please!"

Then he noticed another girl there. She was eying his snack.

In her jubilation, she just only noticed the man who seemed to have his eye on the pudding as well.

With a brilliant but slightly dangerous smile, she said. "Too late, its mine now."

Eddie shot a look at the girl who laid claim to the snack. Wordlessly he slammed down a wad of cash, a bit more then what he needed to pay for the snack, but regardless he made his intentions clear. "I beg to differ. I am paying for my snack. Right now." Eddie returned her smile with a trollish grin, like he was picking on a little kid. And considering the girl was a good bit shorter then he was, she really was little to him.

The temperature around her started rising, her clothes billowing slightly due to the heat. Her smile lost all trace of its brilliance, a dark expression instead replacing it. Money didn't exactly come easy to her, and to have this guy suddenly show up out of nowhere.
With a swift move of her hand, she pointed straight at the man. He was obviously from the same school she went to, so there was really only one way to solve this without her using up her pocket money.

"School rules! I'm declaring this mine, and I'm not giving it up without a fight."

"Challange accepted!"

Eddie's words moved faster then his mind. What was he thinking? Was he really going to fight this little girl over pudding?! But regardless of the circumstances, he was a man of honor. And he would honor this challenge. The shop keeper, seemingly familiar with something like this happening, told the two students to take their fight outside. He will hold the prize and serve as the referee.
Once outside Eddie carefully removed his school's jacket and shirt. He didn't want to get them dirt. He would have taken off his pants too, but even he had some shame. But he had no shame about his well toned and muscular body, crafted from yeahs of hard labor and practice. The tattoo's on his body were not simply brands from his time at the fight pits; they contained mathematical formulas and scientific theories that helped him during work. Plus they seemed cooler then fake scars or thorny briars.

"My name is Eddie Rig! And this is your final chance to surrender. You may be a girl, but I'm not going to go easy on you!"

Man or not, she wasn't about to give up anything, especially when this person simply accepted the challenge with barely a second thought. Hopefully he could give a good fight, enough to justify him challenging her pudding. But she was excited enough to have someone fight her that she wouldn't really mind losing.

With a flick of her hands to the side, she readied herself for the coming fight, right palm open and outwards towards her opponent, and the left behind her back.

"Kagenuma Yuzuki." she simply said.

"Kagenuma Yuzuki? Must be Japanese. Yuzuki... That's a cute name." Seeing that Yuzuki wasn't going to surrender Eddie limbered up and got into something akin to a fighting stance. His elbows were close to his body, good for intercepting kicks with elbow strikes, and his hands lightly cupped so they could reach out and grab, or ball into a fist before impact. Still his stance looked ramshackled, borrowed from someone else. Get past the somewhat intimdiating vistage of a six-foot man bound with muscles, and it was fairly obvious that Eddie was more of a brawler then a martial artist. His training came from experince, and he has much to learn.

With both fighters dedicated to the fight the referee looked at the two and picked up a flag, raising it into the air. "This is a dispute match! The challenger is Kagenuma Yuzuki against the challenger Eddie Rig. This is not a title ranked fight, but who ever shall win will be allowed to buy this delicious pastry. This is not a battle to the death nor to submission! The first to fall onto their backs or chest by the efforts of your opponent loses! Fighters ready? THEN BATTLE!"

Eddie charged straight towards Yuzuki with a battle cry. He moved fast, but moved under his own power. He wasn't using his ability just yet, saving that for later. His opening move looked to be a Flicker Jab straight to Yuzuki's face, but in truth that was actually a feint. He was actually setting himself up to do a low leg sweep to knock Yuzuki off her feet and onto her back.

With a deep breath, she let out a kiai, exploding the air behind her, launching her at frightening speed towards him. There wasn't a moment wasted in thinking, her actions was merely by feeling what was right. Yuzuki wasn't aiming for a throw, but a palm strike straight for his solar plexus, using her size to get under his blow.

Eddie's feint missed Yuzuki, but that was intended. What wasn't intended was for her to close the distance so much and get him right in the gut. He torqued his body the last second so that it wasn't a clean strike right into his abdominals, but he could still feel the force of her blow bounce off his chest. It was like running into a fence post. But this wasn't enough to take out Eddie, not on the first blow!

Now with him and Yuzuki so close to one another Eddie tried to cover her field of vision by slamming his elbow towards her face, however at the same time he was also moving his foot to trip Yuzuki. If this doesn't work he could still shoot for a lunge and follow up with a take down, but if it does work he'll need to crush Yuzuki on the spot before she can recover.

With barely enough time to recover from her own speedy launch, the elbow connected with her face, sending her reeling before he tried to trip her. Reflexes however, saved her from the fall, as she simply somersaulted a distance away. Yuzuki wiped off the blood from her nose. Did he break her nose?

"AHAHAA~ Good! That's good... Its no fun beating up a weakling.."

Once again, she took up the ready stance, though now plumes of fire had started to circle her. Instead of simply launching herself this time however, she started taking small circular steps towards him.

With Yuzuki giving them space Eddie allowed himself a moment to check his wound. It wasn't serious, but he was starting to feel the bruise form. "Damn. That was just a graze. I'd hate to see what'll happen if that was a clean hit." Resuming his fighting stance he looked at Yuzuki. Small bits of fire began to circle around her, causing Eddie to feel uneasy. He knew the school had some super powered freaks, but he was now literally playing with fire...

"That's hot."

Eddie smirked and looked around. They had a fairly open area to fight, so he didn't have to worry about obstacles in his way. But that also meant he didn't have anything to chuck at Yuzuki, since he doubt his body could handle getting pelted by fireballs. Or at least he didn't want to test if it could. He needed to play defensive. He needed to use mind games. He wanted to know more about Yuzuki.

"So tell me, uh... Kagenuma-san?" Eddie only knew a bit about Japanese honorifics from mangas. "How long have you been fighting?

Was he not taking this seriously? Perhaps he didn't realize she could put him in a hospital for a long time. Her stride changed, taking large spinning steps straight to his back. With the momentum from her movement, Yuzuki swung her hand towards his ribs.

"Stop talking and fight me!"

Watching Yuzuki carefully, Eddie had to be evasive. Fortunately for him, he was no stranger to dodging, so he remained quick on his feet. It was much easier since he was trying to be defensive too. But Yuzuki proved to be much faster, even when Eddie was trying to keep up. He knew she was trying to attack him from behind, but he also knew that there was very little he could do to try to stop her. So he let her get behind him, and when she charged he activated his ability for a few seconds.

Channeling his power of Friction through the ground, when Yuzuki got near Eddie actually made it less stable for her; like walking on slick ice or an oiled up floor, Yuzuki would be unbalanced, potentially slipping and falling. Even if she tried to land on her butt or hand, they too would have difficulty maintaining any grip. All the while Eddie was evasive and continued to try to talk to her, though he still felt the force of her blow hit him in the back. He rode the force to put distance between them, turning to face her properly. His back ached a bit, but he was still standing.

"Hey, a good relationship needs communication! I'm just trying to get to know you a bit more. Or maybe you'd like to ask me questions first?" Letting out a soft chuckle to mask the light groan as he felt his rib pop back into place.

While she did manage to hit the guy, all of a sudden the ground was strangely slippery, as if she was standing on ice. So thus, her spinning motion from before spun her about the place until she stopped some distance away.

"Eh? EH!?" Yuzuki had no idea what the guy did, but whatever it was, it was related to the ground.

Wordlessly she listened to him speak, before it finally dawned on her. "I see... I'm sorry for not understanding you." It was so simple that she didn't notice it. The pudding didn't matter now, not when she finally get what he was saying.

Taking in a deep breath, she started regulating her breathing, the temperature around her rising quickly, as wreaths of flames covered her body.

"So let us fight at full power!"

As the two were fighting, Trinh had just barely walked to concessions. Before they could notice, Trinh nonchalantly made his way to the shopkeeper and asked if he could have the last pudding. When asked about the fight, Trinh feigned ignorance, playing himself off as a confused foreigner. Trinh insisted that the pudding was his, and after parting with a few points, it was. Dropping the cup in his bag, Trinh did not even bat an eye at the fight before leaving. Most students were at the club rooms, so Trinh reasoned that his bedroom must have been empty. It was time to nap.

Trinh walked with a bit of bounce in his step. It was a good day. Classes were easy, nobody bothered him, and he made off with the last pudding cup. When he finally got to his room, he knocked first to see if anyone was there. Before a response could be given, he walked into the room, dropped his bag, and slung his rifle. Trinh then unzipped his bag, pulled out his pudding cup and realized he had forgotten to get a spoon.

Kingsley sat and waited for class to be over so that he could get to his cooking. Under his massive body, the desk and chair set that was provided him seemed like a doll's furnishings. His knees were more than half a foot above the seat, and his desk sat on his lap rather than the floor. Well, when one was as big and buff as Kingsley, some concessions had to be made. The giant crossed his arms and closed his eyes, hoping that he could concentrate better on the words being said if he wasn't looking around.

"It's no good," thought Kingsley, "I don't understand a single word that's been said the whole class period. What do letters have to do with math? This crap was tough enough when it was just numbers, but now they've thrown every other damn subject in there. Parenthesis, shapes, letters... none of this looks like math any more. Why are there triangles? Where the hell do TRIANGLES fit in to all this?"

Kingsley already gave off a fearsome aura. That's why any other desk was at least five feet away from him. But now the man was gritting his teeth and growling in anger under his breath. Almost as if they had lives of their own to fear for, the desks moved even farther away.

"When am I gonna need this? How is this relevant to me? It's almost as if this subject was specifically catered to piss me off. Dammit, it's only the first week and already I don't get anything! Dammit!"

Suddenly, Kingsley stomped his foot down on the floor and the whole classroom seemed to shake. His menacing presence magnified by 10,000, and the entire class went silent and began to cower.

"Oh, oh no! No, there's really no need to be afraid! I'm really not gonna hurt anyone! Why does this always happen? No, I'm just frustrated at myself! You're all fine! Please, go back to learning."

Kingsley slowly opened his eyes, and saw the teacher kneeling in front of him and holding his wallet out in offering.

"No! Is this really the example you want to set? Go back to teaching, and I'll try to catch up! Put the wallet away! I don't want your money! Damn, this really sucks! How do I tell them all these things? Whenever I try to say anything, it ends up going like this anyways! No, it's fine. I'll just push his arm down a little to show I'm declining the-"

Kingsley's elbow hit his oddly-tilted desk as he reached out, and accidentally smacked the wallet out of the teacher's hand. That's when the whole class began screaming and ran out the door as fast as they could saying:
'It's not enough for him! The Shadow King can no longer be appeased!'
'Good Lord he'll kill us all!'
'Women and children first! Dear God you're trampling each other!'
'Every man for himself! Leave the dregs for the Shadow King's dark feast!'
'There is no God!'

Soon, Kingsley was alone in his little doll chair. He massaged his temple.

"Not again," he muttered as he stood up and stretched, "Damn. Well, I guess class is over now. Maybe cooking will get my mind off things."

Kingsley left the classroom and walked out into a deserted hallway. Not too strange considering that every hallway was a deserted hallway when Kingsley was around, but he'd gotten somewhat used to it. Passing by one of the arenas, he overheard something about kids fighting over pudding of all things. This made him feel strangely good. It was the sort of thing one could look in on and say 'I may be a moron, but at least I'm not that stupid'.

Smiling slightly, Kingsley made his way to the Home Economics classroom where he ran the cooking club. He wasn't expecting anyone to drop by today either, but at least he could do some baking in peace.

"Heh. Dumb kids. If they had even a taste of my own pudding, THEN maybe they'd have something to fight about. School food, even the highest quality of it, simply can't stand up to my cooking!"

Kingsley tied on an apron, and got to work on a delicious pot pie. Today, he vowed, it would be perfect.

Roy Bivvens gave Al a concerned look.
"Al, baby... heroes don't use swords! If you wanna be the face of the KBC, you're gonna have to play it straight and fair! No foreign objects, no dirty tricks, just good old fighting, know what I mean? When we get to the No-DQ matches, we're gonna let you use whatever you damn well please. For the regular shit, you gotta play fair."

Roy jabbed Al in the ribs conspiratorially. A foxy grin crossed his face, and he whispered in Al's ear.
"But that doesn't mean you can't get a cheap hit in every once in a while, yeah? Look sharp, kid-- you and the Bayou Baron are up first!"

Roy adjusted his tie in a way he thought was professional, and stepped into the ring. Though the ring didn't have a microphone, it did have Roy Bivvens, who was an exceptional shouter. Roy shouted to the boxers present, his tone filled with the essence of hype.

"Good evening, ladies and gents! We've got ourselves a lllovely day for blood and boxing, and we've got a room fulla miracles, all waiting for their time to shine! First up for today--"



Roy pointed to Al and the Bayou Baron, and a bright spotlight appeared under both of them.
"C'mon up here, boys!"

The Cafeteria

El Ruidoso was met with laughter. Just like the first two hundred and ninety nine times he had attempted to recruit in the cafeteria. But it would not deter him! For today, his FIERY PASSION would surely summon converts to the lucha way, even if it had failed two hundred and ninety nine times before!

"JOIN ME!" he boomed, sending students scattering and fleeing from the cafeteria. El Ruidoso was shouting again! Could they not see the glory that El Ruidoso could bequeath upon them? Clearly not! For El Ruidoso de Marad, Mighty Lucha Wrestler, was left alone in the cafeteria, standing on a table and addressing an empty room! This would not do!

"They do not wish to embrace the FIERY PASSION of lucha! It is but a shame!" the lucha declared, forlorn. Where would he go now? Perhaps the boxing ring? There was always entertainment at the boxing ring! And it was for that reason that El Ruidoso LEAPED from the table and LANDED on the floor with a powerful thud! The room shook, for El Ruidoso is a strong boy despite his size! And with that profound declaration of power, he made his way to the ring, to witness glorious, honourable combat!

The Boxing Ring

El Ruidoso de Marad, Mighty Lucha Wrestler arrived at the ring to catch the tail end of the fancy man with the rainbow light powers announce the fantastic bout of bloodsport to befall the boxing ring! It was truly a wondrous display of manliness, and El Ruidoso shed a single tear for the warriors! He was proud of the men who were soon to show their FIERY PASSION within the ring!

"FIGHT, MY BROTHERS!" El Ruidoso declared, cupping his hands to his mouth and promptly deafening everyone in the room. "FIGHT FOR HONOUR! FIGHT FOR GLORY! EMBRACE YOUR FIERY PASSION AND BATTLE AS THE HEROES YOU ARE!"

"Big sister is a big meanie..." Matsuomoto Souta mumbled under his breath as he walked down the hallway towards the student council room with his arms crossed. He was slightly nervous as his eyes darted around the hallway, being more scared than ever in his life. Even though he had been... somewhat comfortably introduced to every one in the student council by his sister before she left, and could probably recite everyone's names in the student council -- a incredible feat until you realize that the student council wasn't very big -- he was afraid.

He didn't ask for this. He never wanted this. He didn't have any choice. Without any warning whatsoever, right before Souta's sister took off for college, she had dropped a bombshell on the boy. Souta can remember her words clearly without any sort of difficulty.

"You're going to be taking over my spot as treasurer, by the way,"

And with those words uttered, she ran off, leaving Souta behind to stare at her as she quickly jumped into the cab, leaving the young boy to himself in the land of the unknown -- in the land where there existed only predators and prey.

Souta was afraid.

He didn't exactly know it, but he had a feeling that being on the student council -- whether it be a measly spot such as treasurer or a highly prestigious spot such as vice president -- was a spot that everyone wanted, and if they wanted it, they would have to fight one of the current members for it. So here he was, a young boy who had no experience in fighting and was only a mere first year, ripe for the taking.

Needless to say, Souta was scared.

Of course, his power... well, quote-on-quote power gave him hope. His power, which his sister had both told him about and trained him to use, could keep him safe. Having two spirits on hand, watching over him from the spirit world, ready to intervene whether they be called on or do so on their own accord allowed him to sit in the chair with a sense of security -- even though that sense of security was overwhelmed by the urge to get out of this school and run home.

As Souta was right by the door of the student council room, his eyes widened as he heard Alphonse speak.

"We have a problem."

And with that, Souta opened the door, rushing in to take his seat.

"Finally, we can begin." Akiko said. Rachel was finally here, and they could start the meeting. Truthfully she hadn't really needed her as she wasn't likely to pay much attention to what she was saying, but it was important nonetheless. Actually, she probably would've been asleep now if Akiko hadn't put her in her lap and started brushing her hair.

"I am aware that you were already talking about the main issue of today's meeting with your club," She said to Gabriel who sat off to her side, "But there are other details which you haven't been told."

Gabriel nodded at her. She knew he wouldn't have minded anyway but she said that mostly for his sake. The Going Home Club was basically all die-hard introverts and timid pacifists so none of them were going to try harder willingly. Whatever Gabriel would've said could've been said by anyone else without any noticeable difference.

She sighed inwardly. The Going Home Club had members with strong powers, but getting them to use it was going to be difficult. It didn't really matter now though, she had to address her club and the Science Club representatives in the meeting with them.

"As you all know, the Science Club captain left behind instructions for me which I never revealed to you." She said, "But now the time has come, and we need to become stronger."

That drew some confused looks from the club, all warranted. The Coalition never usually involved themselves in combat, they probably had the least amount of score gained through fights considering not many of them were specialized in combat.

"I can't reveal why right now, but it is essential that the current form of the Student Council is preserved. We are equal to the other factions in terms of power, even if they have more raw power or experience, but we need more. Simply being their equals will not be enough, we need to be able to pacify them or defeat them utterly. Keep in mind, though we are helping the student council they are not our allies, they cannot give us any assistance."

She leaned forward as Rachel slid off her lap.

"Our target is the Kagetora Rumble," she said gravely, "We must prepare."

---

"We have an investor who needs to use our facilities." He said. He noticed the only one missing besides him was their Student Relations. "But they need them on the Kagetora Rumble."

The Rumble was a Kagetora tradition spanning since the very beginning of the school. During several days of the year, at an unspecified time during the day, the bell would be rung in a different way and the Kagetora Rumble would begin. Simply put, it was an all out battle royale in which the usual score increase would be multiplied lasting from when the bell rang until the end of the day. As students were eliminated the score multiplier increased, starting with double the score with no one eliminated, tripled when 50% were gone, quadrupled when 25% are left and for the final 5%, score would be multiplied by 10.

Of course there were those that chose not to participate, they got to stay in their dorms for the day. But for the Student Council that wasn't a route they could take. They had to participate and if one of them lost they'd have to give their position to the victor no matter what. A notice was given out for the Rumble a week in advance, and they were in fact a week and a half away from the Rumble but there was no doubt that the clubs were already preparing their offensives.

"The investor is brining his father; 90 years old, senile and has a heart condition. If this escalates, this would be bad for us. Where is Augur?"
@Ostarion