"What the hell?!"
"He actually got a hit in!"
Aran's classmates were left shocked and bewildered as to what they were seeing.
Aran was able to slash Pincer's chest with his own spike that was used to attack Aran.
Though no one said anything about it, there was still a silent feeling within all of them that the tides of battle could change.
Their eyes don't deceive them.
"How'd you like them apples?"
Aran asked Pincer with an arrogant tone with the goal of provoking him.
"What did you say?!"
Safe to say, Aran's taunt worked as Pincer's temper was starting to get tested.
"Getting stabbed isn't a good feeling y'know?! Even if your powers here are just simulated holograms... Consider this my little payback for the pain you caused me, friend!"
Aran told Pincer, making him yell back in rebuttal.
"I'm not your friend! And you getting hurt isn't my problem, dipshit! Blame yourself for being weak, not me."
Hearing this, Aran's eyes squinted as his smile twisted into something that can only be described as bone chilling.
"Oh, I'll make it your problem. Don't you worry about that..."
"What...?"
*WHOOSH*
Before having any time to react, Aran threw a fistful of mud at Pincer's face, making him instinctively close his eyes.
But this turned out to be a mistake. The mud went through Pincer's head as it was only a hologram that affected their uniforms.
Pincer immediately opens his eyes again as he realizes his mistake, but the damage is already done.
Aran was already out of sight.
'Calm down, he couldn't have gotten far!'
Pincer thought as he closed his eyes and concentrated on all his other senses.
'Wait....'
'THERE!'
Feeling the wind on his hair, Pincer reacted quickly to the attack that was heading towards his way and caught another ball of mud in his hand.
This time, interacting with his gloves.
But as successful of a catch that was, it was only a distraction.
The moment the mud ball landed on Pincer's hand, Aran made a dash towards him and dropped down to set himself up for another slash with his weapon, but unexpectedly, he went for an uppercut that knocked the wind out Pincer.
'I figured it out.'
Aran said in his mind.
'Along with your ability to create spikes from your body, you also have enhanced senses, don't you? That's incredible.'
'But that doesn't mean anything when your mind can still be tricked.'
'Try to guess what attack I'll do next, numbnuts!'
Gritting his teeth, Pincer returns a swing of his own, trying to hit Aran with all his might, only to hit nothing but air.
"Too wide..."
Aran told Pincer, making him lose his cool, resulting in more wide swings that were easily dodged.
Like a professional bullfighter, Aran effortlessly dodged Pincer's attempted blows in a stylish manner.
In between the incoming wide swings, Aran was able to deliver perfectly timed counters and slashes, making Pincer stumble as his consciousness slowly drifted away after each hit.
No one besides a few individuals, could've predicted this outcome.
After that night in Vida Corp, Aran had experienced death so many times that his mind became numb.
But despite that, it was as if his reaction time, danger sense, and anticipation improved after every loop.
And now, all of those attributes have been sharpened and have reached the extreme limits of what an ordinary human could achieve.
He isn't the same guy anymore.
He has already walked through hell.
This match is nothing compared to that.
"Wait, I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing, right?"
"The little runt is actually fighting back...?!"
The entire class of students watched on in shock.
How could someone like Pincer lose to a powerless small fry?
Tightening his fist, Ed yells from the crowd.
"PINCER! DON'T YOU DARE LOSE TO HIM!!! YOU HEAR ME?! IF YOU DO, IT'LL JUST EMBARRASS US!!!"
Witnessing Ed's enthusiasm, Toto and the rest of the class began to cheer Pincer on as if to boost his confidence.
"Yeah! Bring that dishonest cheater down!"
"Protect the honor of this school!!!"
"PINCER PINCER PINCER PINCER!"
The class shouted in unison.
All but two people in the crowd stayed silent.
Kristina, who was watching this in confusion, and Professor Stein who kept his attention on the fight.
'Heh... As a teacher, I shouldn't be thinking about this, but I'm rooting for you, Aran.'
'If you're hearing their cheers, don't let it dishearten you.'
'Even if the entire world is against you, do your best and make them eat their words! Man, I love underdog stories!!!'
________________________________________
Shit, I can't let this be a one sided beat down! I have to get some distance between us!
I could use my multi directional pin burst again, but that'll tire me out and leave me vulnerable for a few moments...
Changing his approach, Pincer was forced to flee instead of continuing to fight at close range.
He quickly turned the other way and ran.
Unexpectedly, Aran didn't follow but instead disappeared into the thick foliage to hide his presence.
After a few moments, Pincer reached a clearing that gave no cover for Aran to hide.
"It's over. You won't be getting a drop on me this time."
He yelled out into the thick jungle. But there was no response.
Seeing this, Pincer clicked his tongue.
"If you won't say anything, then I'll make you!"
Pincer's forearms suddenly spiked up as he prepared to shoot spikes towards the surrounding bushes.
Closing his eyes, he once again focused his mind on all his other senses and felt some slight movement to his left.
Since the leaves of the jungle aren't technically real and are just holograms, he only sensed the real movement that was happening.
Aran's breathing.
"Found you..."
"!!!"
Aran, who was hiding behind a bush jumped back from surprise as Pincer's eyes were looking straight at him.
Without any hesitation, Pincer started swinging his arms, shooting out several small pin needles at Aran.
Reacting quickly, Aran rolled to hide behind a tree.
"Urgh!"
Though they were only small needles, Aran still felt the pain of getting pierced by them.
"Stop hiding and fight me, you coward. There's nowhere you can hide..."
Pincer told Aran.
"Kyaaaahhh!! Pincer is so cool! Right, Kris?!"
Kristina's friend asked her while shaking her shoulders wildly from excitement.
Feeling dizzy, Kristina just nodded in agreement to not excite her even further.
Back in the match, Aran slowly breathed to gain his strength back.
"Haah... Easy for you to say..."
He said out loud.
If I get out of my cover now, I'll just be an easy target. That's going to suck...
"What was that?!"
Pincer asked him in an aggressive manner.
"I said 'oH nOoOo... yOu goT mE...!' "
Aran replied in a sarcastic tone, annoying Pincer even further.
"Y'know, you act so high and mighty even though you're someone who's only here because he cheated his way in!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Aran asked, surprised.
"Don't try to play dumb! Admit it, you're nothing but a dirty cheat who got in because of bribes from his so-called parents! They should be ashamed for tarnishing this school's reputation!"
Though they weren't speaking face to face, Aran could still feel Pincer's words pierce right through his chest.
'Parents? Be ashamed?'
Who exactly is he talking about…?
Aran thought about it before someone's face flashed through his mind. The person who has always supported him no matter how many mistakes he's made.
It was none other than Brok's face.
The memory of when Brok reached out his hand to a crying child started to play out in his mind.
It was the day Brok changed his life for the better when Aran was drowning in despair.
He'll never forget it. And he's forever grateful to him.
But now, someone clueless is badmouthing the very same person that Aran respects and greatly admires.
With anger in his voice, Aran spoke.
"Shut up..."
Those two words brought a chill to the backs of everyone who was watching.
It was the first time they've heard him speak in such a way.
"From what source are you pulling all of this information out? Is it your ass?"
"Huh?! What'd you say—"
"Quiet!"
Aran interrupted with a loud and stern voice.
"I don't know why you hate me so much, but isn't there a better time for this? This is a class activity for goodness sake! Keep your personal feelings out of it! But oh well, I guess someone here can't control his temper... You want it to be personal? Okay let's make it personal!"
"Why you little—"
"I have plenty of time to listen to your self-righteous ramblings after this, so zip it! Oh and one more thing..."
Aran paused as he pushed through the pain of the needles, trying to stand up.
"Don't speak about Mr. Brok with your putrid breath."
"!!!"
Without any regard for his safety, Aran sprinted out of the cover of the tree and split apart the plants that were in his way.
He ran towards Pincer, subjecting himself into a rain of needles as Pincer reacted to his approach.
But despite the pain that he should be feeling, Aran did not flinch but only continued to run.
His mind was made up. He had one goal—He's going to punch this jerk in the face. No matter what it takes.
Fueled by nothing but that one goal, he covered the distance as fast as he could and reached Pincer.
His irises narrowing, Aran grabbed Pincer's collar and put all of his weight and anger into his fist to deliver one clean blow.
"!!!"
"Argh!"
But unexpectedly, his punch landed on something hard and metallic.
Recoiling from the pain, Aran clutched his hand as the surrounding jungle scenery slowly faded away, transforming back into a white void.
Pincer who was equally surprised, looked at the figure standing in front of him.
"What are you doing here...?"
"Ugh... Huh? Professor Stein?!"
Aran blurted out from surprise.
"I believe that's enough from you, boys. I'm all for rivalries, but if this sparring match turns personal, then it's just a brawl at this point..."
"But he started it—"
Aran tries to speak up before getting stopped.
"No ifs or buts, young man! And Pincer, you and I are going to have a long discussion after this class."
Not having the energy to argue anymore, the two boys just lowered their heads and sighed.
"Yes sir..."
They both said in unison.
"Good. Pincer, Aran. Go to the Nurse's office if you feel any lingering pain or are tired. Feel free to tell me any time."
Hearing the word 'tired' exit Stein's mouth, Aran nodded his head.
'Tired, huh? Yeah, I guess I am pretty tired... My limbs are numb too...'
Raising his hand, Aran asked for permission to leave.
"Um... Sir, I'd like to be excused. I'm a little exhausted."
"Very well. Do you need someone to walk with you?"
"No need. Thank you."
"Alright."
With that last exchange of words, Aran walked out of the gymnasium, with his classmates looking at his tired body in silence.
Clutching his hurt knuckles, Aran thought back to the moment where he threw his last punch.
Why did Professor Stein's hand feel so cold and solid? Like solid metal or something...
________________________________________
Looking at Pincer, Stein asked about his condition.
"How about you, Pincer? Why don't you go with Aran?"
"Hmph! Like those puny punches of his would ever hurt me..."
Pincer scoffed before walking away to leave the platform.
But Stein who was watching him wasn't so easily fooled.
I can see your legs shaking, y'know...
Well, no matter...
Clearing his throat, Stein caught the attention of the class.
"Now that that's over, let's get back on track. To the ones who got the paper with number 8, you're up!"
The day ended peacefully without any more drama happening.
Since there were no other classes for today, Aran just spent most of his time resting in the nurse's office before going home.
But he was still unaware of the surprise he'll recieve the next day...
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