"...Here." a tired voice said.

On the wall, a portal opened, and from it walked out Augur.

"Yo."

The Student Relations Officer was tasked with obtaining information regarding the tension between the different factions. It was a simple task, but took longer than it probably should have, simply because of Augur's laziness. With tired eyes he glanced around the Student Council meeting room, seeing the many faces of the Student Council - save for the President, who was still off somewhere. Whether or not the President actually told the council where he was going, Augur couldn't really remember. That was irrelevant now, though.

"Seems like...everyone's getting ready for a war. Nobody seems to be entirely ready for it, though." He said. The portal was still open, the boy reached inside of it, pulling out a ball. He bounced it idly as he continued to give the report.

"The Fighter's Guild is probably the most fired up about the conflict at the moment...as per usual. The Imperial Regiment's still being composed n' orderly, and the Coalition...doesn't actually seem to care."

In spite of what seemed to be an upcoming conflict, the Student Relations Officer didn't deliver the report with any urgency or particular emotion. Although, Augur was definitely bothered by the upcoming Rumble. It was something he had to participate in, and he wasn't very fond of putting effort into anything - especially an all-out brawl. Hopefully the students would just ignore him during the fight, but that had no chance of happening.

Kyousuke just finished his lessons, as he was walking through the halls.
"Today was boring... I expected more from a school based around fighting..."

As Kyousuke is walking through the halls, he looks at a mirror, disgusted at how he looks.
"I can understand nobody wants to talk to me... I look like a monster with this thing on..." He said to himself, as he was holding his gas mask with one hand. He sighs, as he leaves the school building, sitting down on a bench.

"What am I supposed to do now..." Kyousuke says to himself, realizing he didn't pay any attention during his classes.
Kyousuke looks around him, and he notices a tree.

Kyousuke smiles to himself, as he quickly draw his gun, shooting all 6 bullets into the tree, and reloading again all in only 3 seconds.
"Atleast I haven't become rusty..." He says to himself, as he sits back down on the bench, waiting to see if anything will happen.

The Captain sighed, and waved over a few of her Commanders. To people outside of the Imperial Regiment she was just a Captain, but inside the Ballistics Club she was more like a Rear Admiral than anything. During times of up coming war her sole purpose was to prepare the club in any way possible. As they approached they offered a slight nod.

"General Mattis, war time is coming up." Commander Gothel stated the obvious. "Shouldn't we be communicating with the rest of the Regiment's high ranking about this?

"The Kendo Club? Seems like they've gone incognito. And I'm pretty sure the Archery Club would rather break their bows than to work alongside us." Olle couldn't help but to state the plain truth. They'd need a savior to get the archers to even agree to talking with them. And the samurai's Captain was nowhere to be found.

If they didn't show up sooner or later, it'd just have to be the infantry on it's own. "Fuck them then. It shouldn't be too hard to blast the Fighters to hell. My Colt could probably take quite a few of 'em down." At times like this, Olle was quite happy that all of the sound masked their conversations. Because if it didn't a lot of people would be wondering why Salem hadn't been demoted yet.

Oleander snorted. "Ignorance. The Fighters have powers just like all of us. And even if we were able to take out all of the Fighters that easily... What about the Coalition? The Student Council? I recommend we start forming specialized fire teams and then separate them into squads. Possibly create a few elite squads as well."

Commander Abner nodded his approval. "She's right. We also need some type of supply chain. Probably get a few soldiers that are able enough to carry cache boxes. But the Coalition..."

"The most powerful soldiers aren't allowed to engage in any fighting, nor use their powers outside of training until the Rumble starts. Until we get to the more powerful clubs, they'll be recommended to use very little of it to not drain energy." Olle replied. "We'll go in overdrive during training. Everyone is going to be doing something. No leisure activities allowed. We try to make sure the Armory is heavily stocked and start loading things into boxes we might need. Abner and Gothel, I'm entrusting you to make sure people start being trained with secondaries as well. Handguns, knives... It doesn't matter. Everyone needs a backup and will also be learning tap code."

Some silence passed over them. "And of course we'll be training a special squad to protect you-"

"I'll be fighting amonst my comrades as always," She adjusted her goggles slightly. "However I won't be directly on the front lines. Somewhere in the midst. I haven't used Truth since the last incident-" All of them grimaced. The last incident had sent Olle to the infirmary with a few broken fingers when she caught a misfired shell. "Keep everything as orderly and aggressive as possible. To get more numbers we'll have to let people know that the Ballistics Club is where they belong, because for us... Recruitment is always open."

Meruis gave a quizzical look shared by most members. Usually the coalition left the brawling to the other clubs. His magic of course was rather helpful for combat so he would no doubt have to participate. It would be best if here were to learn some new tricks between now and the council. Of course he rarely participated in battles so it wasn't like anyone besides his clubmates knew what his powers were. Simple enough, he continued attempted to decipher the magic that lay within his book, he would need it if he wanted to be of any help in the battle. Though it occurred to him that perhaps he should try some field testing. Perhaps he should get into some fights simply for testing purposes.

Greengoat & Lucius Cypher
Eddie Rig vs Kagenuma Yuzuki

"Oh shit."

This was not what Eddie had intended. He was just trying to get to know Yuzuki, maybe play some mind games with her. Now he was visibly sweating seeing her flare up. A light laugh escaped his mouth, trying to help him keep calm. It was working. Sort of. "Ah... Well..." Taking a deep breath Eddie resigned himself to his fate. So he started clapping.

"Yeah, I guess I deserve that. This is more then just about the pudding now. This is a matter of honor. Alright! I promised not to hold back and now it's time to put my money where my mouth is. I don't have anything as flashy as you, but..."

Eddie cracked his neck and knuckles, getting low to the ground for what looks to be a sprinter's dash rather then a fighting stance.

"Let me show you my moves."

Focusing the power of Friction through the ground Eddie used it in two parts: To reduce the friction his own body was making to the ground, and to increase the amount Yuzuki was making to the ground. this way Eddie could zip across the battle field like an ice skater, while Yuzuki would lose much of her mobility, perhaps even be rooted to the spot. But seeing her fire powers in action, Eddie knew that he had to be quick. A prolonged battle against her was just going to fry him. He was going to take her down, quickly, before it's too late.

With his powers being channeled through the ground Eddie shot forward. He came like a bullet fired from a gun, going so fast that he created after images. His path was linear, and indeed Yuzuki would have no hard time figuring out which way he's coming from (Right in front of her). But now she would need to actively try to pull her feet off from the ground, and do so before Eddie collides into her.

He was quick, that was for sure. At least he was intelligent enough to try and attack before she could move. However, any true martial artist was dangerous even with minimal movement. The one inch punch came to mind, but for the Kagenuma clan's own martial arts?

Yuzuki closed her fist, the flames wreathing her disappearing into her grip.

It took but a moment; by then the man was already dangerously close.

She closed her eyes, and opened her hand. The compressed fire ball in her hand exploded with great force, though the shockwave it generated was short ranged.

"Guh!" Yuzuki herself was pushed back from the sheer force of it. She didn't have time to be stunned however, so she followed up with another move. Flames shot out her back as she inhaled deeply, crouching low before launching a palm strike straight towards his chin.

Eddie's eyes widen as he was about to eat a fireball to the face. He just managed to get his arms up to cover his face as he was blasted, nearly falling over. But he managed to keep himself stable long enough to rebalance himself. He saw Yuzuki getting ready to hit him in the face again, so he met her before she could get to him: Despite the pain he lunged out to grab around around the waist, deactivating the Friction between her feet to instead create a much stronger Friction between Yuzuki and Eddie.

"This is the end for you!"

With his arms tightly around Yuzuki's waists, Eddie relied on his sheer strength and Yuzuki's light weight to do an unassisted suplex: Just lift and fall back.

In the heat of battle, she haven't considered that anyone would even try to suplex her, or even grab her when she was releasing scorching hot flames by just breathing. Yuzuki missed her palm strike, as her vision suddenly turned upside down.

Eddie was going to claim victory. He was going to win! He looked over to the ref, get a glimpse of his prize. But before he fell back he noticed, to his horror, that this victory would be meaningless. He saw the ref. But he did not see the pudding. "The prize is gone!"

Eddie didn't finish the slam. Instead he purposely slipped, falling straight onto his back. He let go of Yuzuki as to not hurt her any more then necessary, but doing so Eddie fell onto his back, and Yuzuki sat on his face.

"Rainbow Dots? Fancy."

Confused by the lack of a slam onto the floor, she froze up for a moment, before realizing where she was.

"Eh?" Reflexively, she slammed her fist against the man's face, creating a shockwave strong enough to make a miniature crater. "Wait, the prize is gone?"

Ignoring the man, she stood up and interrogated the shopkeeper.

"So... some random guy with a gun stole the prize?"

What sort of dirty thieving honorless rat would even do that? Gunslingers apparently. She was still smiling, but her expression was notably strained from her anger. It was like participating in a tournament where you gave your all in the competition, but 1st place went to the richest man because he bought the judges.

"..he...hehe... AHAHAHA~" Her grin looked unnaturally wide as she struggled not to simply destroy the shop. "War... this means war..."

Eddie laid on the ground with a bloodied nose. Actually likely a broken one. Looking at his attire, he also noticed his pants have been burnt mostly to a crisp. That was embarrassing. Standing up he looked at Yuzuki, who seemed to be simmering with rage. Or so he thinks, what with her psychotic laughter and all. Eddie walked over to the shop keeper and glared at him.

"Oi. I already put money for that pudding. Then you go off and sell it to some random stranger? Have you no honor?"

Eddie's expression was stoic, but the his aura radiated fury. "I already paid for that pudding... So I'm going to get my money's worth."

"Whoooo, time for Al to win!" Al shouted, raising both fists into the air. The boy ran to the ring, climbing over the rope before his leg was tangled, tripping him onto the ground. Immediately, he picked himself up, and did a celebratory lap around the inside, doing a fist pump.

"Alright, where's Bayou Bob? I'm gonna strut my stuff, and show Captain and Roy I -CAN- do gimmicks." he grinned, bouncing on the balls of his toes. The swordsman hyped himself up, stretching his fingers and giving a wild, cheek splitting grin.

"Rrrright here, sssissssssy," said the guttural voice of Jubei Ichigo, the Bayou Baron. "I'm gonna sssmasssh your head in, and I'mma sssmasssh it in again at Boxermania!"

With a mighty leap, a massive, portly, scaled figure heaved himself into the arena and drew himself up to his full size. Standing at 6'4'' and covered in thick alligator scales, Jubei Ichigo was a perfect demonstration of muscle and sinew wrapped in the body of a bipedal crocodilian. With a terrifying growl, The Bayou Baron posed dramatically and slammed his massive tail against the ground.

Roy Bivvens nodded at Jubei's entrance with clear interest, and shouted out again. "Hwat an answer! You boys know the rules here: three minutes per round, no strikes at the face or below the belt, and no weapons!"

Jubei hissed enthusiastically, doing his damnedest to play to the crowd. He slammed his meaty fists together, and pointed menacingly at Al. With a big, toothy grin, Roy raised his left arm straight up, and lifted a small mallet with the other.

Roy swung the mallet into a small ringside bell, and called out triumphantly. The match began!
""Geet'eron!""

With clear practice behind his movement, The Bayou Baron immediately went in for a wicked right jab to the ribs. Could Alphonse Valkanos dodge the Baron's blows in time?

It was time for the first match. Alphonse was going to brawl against the Bayou Baron. The crowd was getting hyped, as was par for the course for whenever Roy Bivvens gave the opening announcements. The Captain made a mental note to speak to Roy and get a few of the boys. After all, there were other preparations that needed to be done. Mickey thought about the matter, and knew what was needed. But for now what he needed to do was prepare to watch the fight.

However, Kurosawa knew that the fight would not be merely watched. No, these two spirited contestants would deliver as much passion as possible in this match. The flurry of fists would be grand, and as the Captain, Kurosawa needed to keep things as grand as possible. And what that entailed for this match was simple.

Misaki needed to cheer on the sidelines, for the contestant that showed true skill. Or perhaps she'd cheer for whoever was the underdog at the moment. Whoever she would cheer for, she needed to make sure to keep the hype real. And so, Misaki grabbed her pom poms and headed into the crowd.

With an eager grin she moved her pom poms from side to side as she gazed upon the ring. "Woo! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" Once the match actually traded a few blows she could do the actual cheers. There was one thing she knew for sure, this match was going to be an entertaining show of individuals with their fiery passions on the line.

Kingsley started on his pot pie. Today he was using a combination of beef and bear meat, which normally took much longer than chicken as he liked using tough cuts in his meat-based pies and stews. After all, if one was going to use a tender cut of beef anyways, there were better recipes to make. As for the bear, well, it was important to use lean cuts from wild game to cut the 'gamey' flavor as most of that resided in fat tissue.

His secret to getting it done quickly was the pressure cooker. By cooking his meat under intense pressure, those tight muscles would loosen up well in no time and congregate with all the other flavors within an hour. He got his beef, bear, and mirepoix ready along with some beef bouillon he had made beforehand. He placed all these in the pressure cooker along with some water, and started on his crust. The crust still wasn't done by the time the meat was ready, but this was planned. He opened the pressure cooker, and the delicious smell of meat wafted out of the Home Economics class. Surely the delicious smells would reach nearby rooms soon, such as the place in which the boxing club took residence, but this did not concern Kingsley. Kingsley only cared about three things: Taste, presentation, and technical execution.

The giant sauteed some mushrooms and peas as the mixture cooled and the dough for the crust sat in the refrigerator. He added the sauteed items to the contents of the pressure cooker, which had gone down quite a bit in temperature thanks to his surrounding the container with ice. By now, the dough was ready and he covered the pie pan with the evenly-rolled crust. After shaping it, he used the remainder to cut strips out which would go on top of the meat mixture. He added the warm mixture to the pie pan, placed dough strips on top, and put the thing in the oven. In 25 more minutes it would be done, and as the pie baked the surrounding area became infused with even more delicious smells.

Souta tried his best to keep his composure as he sat in his chair, his arm holding up his head as it sat firmly and securely on the arm rest of the chair. He stared at Alphonse, trying his best not to break out into panic or into tears.

He was of the student council. The student council, a group of the most powerful students in the whole school.

Granted, Souta didn't exactly earn his spot on the student council, but neither did anyone else. His sister chose him for some odd reason because she believed in him -- for some odd reason. Because she knew that Souta could... well, do it in the words of that strange white man in that strange YouTube video that somehow seemed to reach popularity.

But that was beside the point!

Souta's sister had to fight for her seat with her power, a power that kept her safe and secure, that was considered to be "powerful," and Souta had that same exact power.

Granted, Souta's sister could summon out five guards at a time to do her bidding, but two was enough for Souta! This power, even though Souta had yet to master it, even though Souta had yet to bring out its full potential, even though Souta had yet to even use it in a real fight, this power would keep him safe.

"What are we going to do about this?"

"Geterwha-" All asked before a gator punch slammed into his ribs, releasing a soft wet crack.

He fell for my plan! The punch was perfectly blocked by my rib cage! he thought to himself, hooking and arm around the gator's arm. Twisting his body to the side, he lifted Bayou Baron's arm over his shoulder, and began to tug with all his might.

The Bayou Baron, definitely a man who knew when to sell a hit, gracefully leaned into Al's grip and was thrown, head over heels, onto the ground. With a mighty THUMP, Al had successfully taken Bayou Baron down a peg. The Bayou Baron had lost!

The crowd of boxers burst into applause, both at Al's demonstration of skill and the Baron's demonstration of good sportsmanship and acting prowess. Despite performing an illegal move and refusing to sell a blow, Al came out looking like a genuine hero!

"I don't believe it!" cried Roy, ringing the bell and triumphantly raising Al's arm. "The new boy beat our cham-peen monster heel! Bah gawd, I've never seen anything like this before! HHHHWATTA MATCH!"

Roy let Al's arm down gently, and clapped him on the shoulder. Roy turned to face the crowd, and pumped his fist enthusiastically.
"This is the kind of acting I want to see at Boxermania, boys! Remember: it's tomorrow, so we're gonna need at least three guys up before the crack of dawn to get things set up!"

The Bayou Baron, with Roy's help, lifted himself up and through the turnbuckle. Roy held the turnbuckle's ropes open long enough for Al to exit the stage, and addressed the crowd once again.

"If you want to volunteer for a stagehand position, just ask me or Captain. Remember, boys: showmanship gets us more points! Okay, we're going to take a little break, and we're going to get to the next match!"

Captain Kurosawa watched the match go on, examining the performance as the fight progressed. It was something. Al was able, against all odds, to maintain the favor of the crowd. Well this certainly showed off the prowess of the Bayou Baron in being skilled as a Heel. He was even able to help Al come out looking like the face. Misaki grinned, amused at the results garnered from the crowd.

"Woo!" Misaki flailed around her pom poms. She glanced around the crowd as she yelled out,"Keep up the good work! Use the break to practice some dialogue, keep practicing your delivery of strikes!" Misaki paused for a moment as she swore something wafted into the Boxing Club. Some delicious smell managed to enter the room. Perhaps someone was messing with the ovens in the Home Ec room?

Misaki moved the thought back in her mind. Right now, she had to worry about booking the matches and getting everything prepared so that it would be a fantastic show. "Any interested volunteers just say the word, cause we got plenty of stuff to do setting up!"

The Boxing Ring

"BEHOLD!" cried El Ruidoso de Marad, Mighty Lucha Wrestler from his place in the stands! He stood, showing the assembled crowd his wondrous biceps and truly magnificent pecs, all forged by the power of eating well, training hard, and FIERY PASSION! "I WILL ASSIST YOU WITH BOXERMANIA, ON TWO CONDITIONS!" he roared, promptly sending the assembled crowd deaf! So loud was El Ruidoso that eardrums burst in his presence!

He leapt from his place in the stands, sailing through the air with all the grace of a thrown brick! He struck a pose mid-air, his smile wide, before landing in front of the ring with a thump and a flourish! For some reason, a rose had appeared in his teeth! He removed it, and, holding it aloft in the air, he declared "¡OLE!"

With another mighty leap, he propelled himself over the ropes and into the ring itself. "UNO!" he bellowed. "I WISH TO FACE A MIGHTY GRAPPLER, SO THAT I MAY SHOW YOU ALL THE FIERY PASSION OF LUCHA!" he spoke thusly, the crowd bursting into cheering and applause when they heard they were going to get a fight. The bloodlust ran high, and El Ruidoso knew how to play a crowd!

"DOS!" was his second declaration, and to the surprise of absolutely everyone he spun on his heel and fell to one knee, facing the cheerleader Misaki on the sidelines. "It is rare that I see such beauty in such a horrendous school environment! Truly a rose such as yourself should be permitted to bloom in the sun!" he explained, pointing the rose at the cheerleader. "And such a skilled fighter, with a true understanding of FIERY PASSION! Truly you are, as they say, the complete package! El Ruidoso is a kind man, but a man who appreciates the true beauty that stands before him! So it is thus, that my second requirement, is a single date with YOU, KUROSAWA MISAKI!"

At last, the oven buzzed and Kingsley could retrieve his prize. He reached inside and grabbed the pie pan, not worrying about the heat due to his hand wraps. While it looked like these were for fighting, Kingsley really wrapped his hands thusly so that he could handle scalding hot implements at all times. Even great chefs could get burned in the kitchen every once in a while, after all.

Now, he just had to allow the pie to sit. His patience would be rewarded with perfectly done crusts, integrated flavorings, and thick, tasty gravy. His mouth already watered in anticipation as the delicious smell of meat and tender, flaky crust wafted about and inflicted the surrounding area. Good food took patience, but allowing a mostly done product to sit when he was so hungry never got easier.

As he waited, he heard a lot of shouting coming from the boxing club. Those guys were getting really excited about something, and Kingsley actually became a little curious. It would be a while longer on the pie, and Kingsley doubted anyone would steal it from him, so he decided to check it out. He exited the Home Economics room as surreptitiously as a burly, scarred, 7-foot-tall man in an apron could and slipped into the room the boxing club used. For once, all eyes were on someone other than him, so he leaned back against the wall and watched.

"It's a... masked wrestler? I think I've heard of them before! It's called 'Lucha', I believe. I don't know why someone like that is in the boxing club, but he seems really interesting. I wonder what all the excitement is about, though?"

The Boxing Ring

Well these turn of events were certainly unexpected. Really it wasn't too unexpected, considering the fact Boxermania was coming up. However the luchador had gone beyond the expected flash and flair of the ring. His passion gleamed like the Barcelona shores, and was fueled by the FIERY PASSION which was carefully molded from the finest potential, just like his physique. This man had attracted the attention of the crowd with his booming voice, and a natural charm. And he even was able to do impressive sleights of hands!

Kurosawa Misaki just watched on in awe, as her mouth was left agape. She had seen such stellar performances before, but the quick and on the spot dialogue was something else. Perhaps it was the masked guise, which managed to enshroud such passion. She was enthralled by the speech, that she hardly noticed how swift the man was. Nor did she notice the fact that Kingsley had entered the club's room.

The Masked Man knelt down in front of her. Once again the man spoke of conditions that he wished for his services in helping Boxermania. And beyond that, he spoke of her own passion and fighting prowess! Such words, delivered in such an emboldened and passionate manner, they caused the Captain's cheeks to flush pink. The Captain even felt a quiver in her legs, as they shook ever so slightly.

No. She couldn't show that! Quickly Misaki shook her head as she glanced towards at El Rudioso. "I-" She stammered, trying to regain a sense of composure from the startling improved performance. This man, he was definitely going to have a part in Boxermania.

"Right!" Kurosawa Misaki took in a quick breath and gave a slight smile. "I will find a grappler for you to face...Probably at Boxermania itself." She spoke, her smile growing. Oh, if he could deliver in the ring as if he did now, Rudioso would be a fantastic asset at the event. "As for the second requirement..." Kurosawa Misaki, lowered her pom poms and rested them upon her hips. "Let's see how Boxermania goes first and how well you set up, it is an important event. Then we can discuss further details on the date."

"Captain, captain! Did you see me?!" Al called, adjusting the strap on his sword sling. "I think your and Roy's training is paying off."

"And nice to meet you, Mister Ruidoso. You want to join the boxing club, huh? I'm pretty low ranked myself, so if you want an exhibition match to introduce yourself, I'm game for whatever." he smiled at the masked wrestler, extending his hand for a handshake.

The Boxing Ring

The crowd was silent, watching the interaction between the luchador and the cheerleader with interest. A pin drop could be heard! All breath was held! Some poor kid in the stands was going blue, and it was not the guy who had the power to turn into a blueberry muffin!

"Then it is, A DATE!" roared El Ruidoso de Marad, Mighty Lucha Wrestler, with his FIERY PASSION! The crowd immediately burst into cheers and applause! Camera flashes went off, women threw their underwear, and all around them was the chant of 'Lu! Cha! Lu! Cha! Lu! Cha!' Truly the audience appreciated the dramatic showmanship of El Ruidoso!

The chants continued as El Ruidoso through his arms wide, rose in his hand, basking in the glory and attention and showing of his magnificent oiled six pack! Then a thrown bra hit him in the face. THAT DID NOT DETER HIM! With grace, he removed the bra from his face and turned in the direction it came from. With a dramatic bow and a blown kiss, he acknowledged the bra before placing it neatly on the edge of the ring. One must treat the undergarmets of females with respect!

But a man had addressed him, and El Ruidoso was not the type of man to leave a comrade in the lurch! "Greetings Señor! It is truly an honour for I, El Ruidoso de Marad, to meet a man who defeated such a terrifying enemy so!" boomed El Ruidoso, paying no attention to any damage his loud voice might cause to the man's eardrums! He bowed deeply, one hand to chest and the other out behind him, the true form of respect for a martial combatant such as himself! The crowd cheered further, witnessing the beginning of the apocalypse to come.

Finally, he re-adopted the kneeling pose to face Misaki and handed her the rose. "My fairest lady, I am at your service! The strength of El Ruidoso de Marad is yours to command! My true power and FIERY PASSION will be invested into your cause! A noble cause..." and on that ominous note he stood again to behold the crowd once more... "AND IT'S NAME IS BOXERMANIA!"

The crowd achieved the impossible! They cheered as loud as El Ruidoso de Marad himself! This brought a tear to the lucha's eye! He felt true pride in his companeros here this fine day! They had honoured him with their presence and he shall honour them in kind! For it was his FIERY PASSION that would bring Boxermania to new heights! For the love of a lady and the fight of a lifetime, El Ruidoso de Marad knew no greater honour!

Just outside of the boxing gym stood Raymond, who desperately tried to ignore the commotion going inside by pressing his phone harder to his right ear, while he stuck his finger in his left. There was literally no spot around the school where one could have a decent phone conversation. There were either fights going on or there were the overzealous students who were thinking of enlisting in this famous tournament. Even in the dorms, which were supposed to be private shelters, you'd be waken up at 3 a.m by someone enthusiastically shouting his name or listing all his daily achievements. It was a place even Willy Wonka would brand as weird.

Following a succession of beeps, a voice was heard on the other end of the line. "Yo, Ray!", the man pronounced excitedly, hints of an Asian accent detected. While initially not vocal about it, Ray was seemingly pissed off by the man's buoyant attitude. He went silent for a while, before echoing the man's word back as loudly as possible "Yo Ray? YO RAY?!" His facial expression got ugly by the second, and his tone got so intense that a vein bulged out of his head. He then proceeded:

"You leave me in this god forsaken place and YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO BE ALL CHEERY WHEN I CALL YOU?!"

"What's wrong, son?", the man, now revealed to be Ray's father, Yosuke, replied after a brief intermission, his tone now showing concern instead of optimism. While he would never admit, Yosuke's happiest day was the day his son joined Kagetora. He was so committed to creating a decent human being out of his son that both he, and his wife, forgot to live their own lives. Even now, when they had the chance, their misfit son was going to keep bothering them. He was understandably concerned.

"I thought you'd like the place. I thought it would be like home to you", he continued.

"NOTHING in this place even slightly resembles home. People fight here for no reason, and most of them are way out of my league. Heck, there is one who is rumored to be a God of sorts. A God, Yosuke!", Raymond exclaimed, stepping a few feet away from the Boxing gym due to the noise becoming significantly louder.

"Good, right? You'll finally put your abilities to a test.", Yosuke said.

"Did you even hear a word I said?! This place isn't like any other High School! Besides, I thought you wanted me to stop fighting once and for all.", Raymond shot back, visibly annoyed by how lightly his father treated the entire situation.

"I-I've changed my mind", Yosuke stammered. "Turns out some people have made careers off your back. Besides, can you guarantee me that you'll stop punching people if I pull you out of there?"

His father's last sentence proved to be an armor-piercing question for Raymond. Surely, he would never cease fighting, not with his current mindset. To be clear, Raymond was not someone who would beat people indiscriminately. He just had a very short fuse and, much to his dismay, there were plenty of assholes who were willing to light that fuse. His parents made no mistakes either. His father was retired, so he spent a lot of time with him, while his mother had nothing to give him but love. They had enough money to fulfill all of his childhood wishes, and everything was dandy. That is, up until he reached seven years old. That's when something clicked on his head and he became the violence obsessed yellow haired monster he is now.

After a silence, which appeared to last for ages, when in reality it was merely seconds, Raymond spoke, his tone getting calmer. "No, I can't.", he lowered his head in desperation, almost as if submitting to his fate, when something in his head popped. "Wait, wait, hold on a minute! What do you mean with 'people made careers off your back?"

"Oh yeah, remember Timothy? The guy you beat up in Elementary because he gave you an origami rose, and you considered that to be an insult to your manhood? He actually became an anti-Bullying advocate, and is holding awareness tours throughout schools in England.", Yosuke recapped.

Raymond raised his head up, still holding his phone against his ears. "Timothy, Timothy..", he couldn't quite recall who the kid was. There were a lot of guys called Timothy who fell prey to his wrath, but only one flamboyant enough to give the guy with the worst impulse control an origami flower. Truthfully, even Ray was of the opinion that Tim didn't deserve the punishment he got, but he was still a kid back then. His anger wasn't as refined as now.

As soon as he visualized the kid's face, Ray nodded to no one in particular, glad that he could remember one of his victims. Well, as glad as a socipath can be. Then something dawned on him. "I'm certain I broke Timothy's jaw, though. How the hell can one speak in front of people with a broken jaw?"

Yosuke snickered, a snicker which then would evolve into a faint colorless laugh. "Y-yeah, you're not wrong. I've heard his sister does the speaking, and he writes the speeches.", the man stammered.

"Oh.", Ray replied, only now realizing that his Dad was trying to avoid the main topic. With that in mind, he decided to get them back on track. "So, what's it gonna be? You gonna pull me out of here, or leave me here to deal with these rejected Cirque du Soleil mascots?"

"Sorry buddy, but I can't. You left me with only two choices; a teenage correctional facility or this school. This seemed like the best option. Try and have fun while you're at it, join these clubs, kick somebody's ass and who knows, you might even make friends. And when the time comes that I'm sure you're past those violent outbursts, I'll come by myself and take you home. I promise.". Finishing his final pronouncement, Yosuke hung up the phone, leaving a distraught Ray with the typical beeping sound that the phone makes. He pulled the cellphone away from his ear and glared at it for a split second, before taking a deep breath and violently slamming it down the tiles, effectively shattering it to pieces.

"GODDAMMIT!", no longer withholding himself back, Ray shouted as much as his vocal chord would allow it. This had never happened before. He had this deep rooted feeling on his heart that he was unwanted by his parents, but he always convinced himself otherwise. Now though, it was painfully obvious.

Sliding with his back down the wall, on the verge of tears, he took a seated position on the ground and decided to assess his situation. He was a freshman, with no friends and a school where simply beating people to assert dominance wasn't an option - in other words, a fish out of water. There were clubs he could join, but most of the clubs didn't suit his style. He disliked guns, he hated boxing mainly for promoting fairness in a fight, his skills as an archer were lackluster and he considered cooking to be a waste of time. The only club that would fit him was the Fighting Club, but that one was too chaotic for his tastes. His only option left; The Kagetora Rumble. That was where he could prove his might.

TL;DR - Ray asks his Dad to get him out of the school via phone call, he refuses, Ray slams the phone down and decides to participate in the Kagetora Rumble

Maxwell looked up and sighed.

"Well, that puts us in a tight corner, doesn't it?" Maxwell said, pacing around the room. "Couldn't you ask them if they could use the facilities on a different day, or maybe we could get the rumble moved to a different day?" Max kept pacing around, throwing thoughts around, and just being in panicky state. He needed to calm down. Max took a deep breath, and sat back in his seat. "I mean, we don't want an old guy to have a heart attack because he saw a bunch of teenagers trying to kill each other for sport." Maxwell leaned back, looking at the ceiling. "Yea, we are going to need to get the rumble moved." Once he had stopped his ramblings, he looked back at the others in the room.

Maxwell didn't have much of a clue on what to due, since, until this year, he didn't know much about the student council. He felt like a fish out of water, gasping for breath in a world they don't understand. Anyone who knew what they were doing would have issued orders and had the problem solved by now.