Rei was surprised upon hearing their last name as he went to the stadium. He was surprised to hear another Sasaki in the match ever since he had seen Haru's name on the leaderboard prior to the 'Survival of the fittest' event. He wondered to himself what kind of strategy he had to do against him since he had no knowledge of their prowess in which he regretted not paying attention to the matches before all this. Once he arrived on the opposite side of the stadium, a countless amount of cheer went on from the side lines. Probably excited for how the match will conclude though the Sasaki Clan appeared to be only cheering for Keitaro in a rude and ill behaviour manner.
"Begin!"
The first immediately went in unison as both Rei and Keitaro dashed in, their right arms hitting against each other which flared up their mana wave as both of their prowess activated to boost their own strength and durability. A hue of crimson red and light blue emitted from themselves as the two started hand to hand combat which highlights their movement. Rei parried and blocked each move from Keitaro as the latter did the same. Both performed a high level of combat skill as the spectators could only awed at the performance. Punch, kicks and spins perfectly performed without them being able to land a hit to one another.
"Holy shit! What the hell is this?!" Erika was shocked as she watched Rei and Keitaro move in perfect harmony, as if their fight was a choreography to an action movie. "I never knew he was this good at hand to hand combat!" Hinata stated since she had talked with Rei about his preferences in combat as he had once stated that physical combat matters the most since no one would know if their prowess will be one day neutralised in important situations.
Rei tried to get a reading of Keitaro as he searched a weak spot through his defence and stances which ultimately failed as he got himself caught off guard when Keitaro performed a hand seal by using his right hand by interlocking their fingers together with Rei's left hand. The mana flow Rei felt as he tried to read his intention but got caught off guard when Keitaro slammed his elbow onto Rei's guts before executing another hand seal with their thumbs and pinky finger straightened out against each other while the rest intertwined with each other.
Keitaro immediately went in to throw himself into the air by kicking himself from Rei's shoulders once he reached above him. He inhaled before spitting out what seemed to be a giant blue flame with black markings. "Fox-fire Release: Meteor Vortex." The flames almost reached Rei if he didn't execute his technique at the last moment as a wall of ice manifested from the ground. The impact was devastating as not only did the wall shattered along with the flames being putted out which made a large steam that covered Rei's vision as he immediately tried to search Keitaro's mana signature before being surprised upon sensing his location behind him.
"When did he-" Rei didn't get a chance to finish his thoughts as Keitaro slammed what seemed to be his hand covered in blue flames with black markings that resembled a claw onto his head which sent him flying before landing on the opposite which made a huge dust of wind covering around him.
Rinka was amazed as she felt her blood rushing through her body while Eunji remained calm and relaxed although intrigued at both parties' performance as she smirked upon her passive technique being able to pick up on what was happening. "That's impressive for him." She muttered as she watched Rei stand up while manifesting what seemed to be a tendril made out of red flames similar to her own as it formed what seemed to be a claw at the end similar to a fox.
Keitaro was surprised at the mana that was imbued into the red flames as he dodged one after another. "I know he's the vessel of the 'fallen' but how is he this good?!" He exclaimed internally as dodged another claw. "So much mana…." He grunted upon barely blocking Rei's punch before he retaliated by pushing him away by putting everything in his punch which sent him back away although Rei seemed to be tanking the hits before manifesting both flames on each hand before slamming them together which sparked a huge explosion which bursted into Keitaro's direction.
"Flame Control: Combustion." Rei chanted internally as he let the flames execute the technique as he immediately dashed in another direction to catch Keitaro off guard which worked since he was busy trying to block the flames with his own technique.
A loud solid punch emitted which put every participant silent as they all thought to themselves. "Holy shit!" Keitaro was sent flying as he could feel the stinging sensation from it. "Damn. That fucker hits well…" he thought as he now realised that if he had not blocked him moments ago, he would've been down for the count earlier in the match. "Fuck it." He smiled before dashing in as he executed his technique which created a sea of blue flames with black markings. "Fox-fire Art: Hazy Rolling Flames" he muttered under his breath as he saw Rei countering it with his own variation of Hinata's technique.
"Flame Control: Flame Sphere Vortex." He manifested a giant sphere of flames which created a vortex upon impact when slamming it against the sea of blue flames. The red hue sparkled as Rei immediately smirked when the sparks surrounded Keitaro who was unaware of his intention. "Lightning style: Electromagnetic waves." He smiled to himself as red electric emitted waves all over Keitaro's surroundings as it shocked him which surprised everyone's thought process.
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Tengen looked in total disbelief as he laughed at such a sight before his eyes. "Damn… He has good control of his mana." He said to himself as he watched in amazement a Rei immediately dashed with his fist closed which Tengen deduced that he was about to put a lot of strength into the punch. He was surprised when Rei opened his palms which showed a compressed orb made out of pure red mana while a ring of red electricity surrounded it.
"Electromagnetic Sphere!" Rei shouted upon slamming it on Keitaro's chest which resulted with him flying while the orb exploded which triggered the electricity to shock him once again. The never ending shock made Tengen laugh as he wondered how long the match would last. "Poor guy never got to get his bearings straight."
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Keitaro tried to suppress the pain as he channeled his mana to retaliate back upon getting himself back on the track for once. "Fox-fire Art: Four tailed fox spirit." He chanted as he summoned a fox with four tails, it roared before engaging itself to Rei. The spirit reached with its paw as it tried to land a bit on him which Rei just dodged effortlessly except was caught against one of its tails as he was slapped away. "Fuck! A summon?" Rei grunted before switching his style.
"Freeze." Rei muttered internally before he was able to use Sylvie's time manipulation prowess to put Keitaro and the summon in a freeze state as their surroundings grew a shade of crimson red along with the greyscale which is all over them with clocks indicating time is stopped. "I'll finish this!" Rei thought to himself as he used every ounce of his mana to enhance both his speed and strength while maintaining Sylvie's overpowered prowess as he could feel his control of time slipping slowly. Once he had reached Keitaro, he dropped the technique as he cocked his hand back down.
"Motherfucker!" Rei shouted as he punched his guts with all of his might, the summon immediately dissipated as Keitaro's eyes went white. The ground created a small crater before finally sending the poor guy flying onto the opposite side of the stadium which went through, making everyone shocked at his devastating punch. The proctor and nurse immediately went to Keitaro to check his condition, while the nurse ruled out that the injuries are manageable, his condition to fight was not the best to continue which the proctor immediately ruled it out as submission to the match.
"Rei Nishimura proceeds to the final match!"
A large number of spectators cheered on the results, completely turning a 180 on his status and identity. It gave Rei a slight confidence and pride in himself to finally show them that he is Rei Nishimura and not the ancient being that is residing within him. "Let's fucking go!" Haruki shouted across the spectator's side while Erika and Hinata clapped their hands for him.
"That was a nice show." Rinka said as she looked pitifully at Keitaro's unconscious form being carried by the staff. "He did his best but I'm sure he'll recover for another chance." Eunji nodded at her statement.
The two female seniors understood each other since they've witnessed Keitaro's growth from last year to now. After all, the devastating sight and pitiful outcome of last year's event increased their guards up for future purposes as Haru had once beaten Keitaro into a pitiful state which left a scar and reminder to everyone. That not every member of a noble and strong clan is blessed like everyone else. The image of Keitaro's gruesome defeat still sent a shiver to their spine.
"Rei… Would you be able to defeat Haru in a fair match?" Eunji thought to herself as she watched him interact with his friends. His smile had once reminded her of Keitaro's naive nature before becoming the state he is now. Would Rei's perseverance light up Keitaro's will? Was what Eunji had thought to herself before giving Rei a head pat as she excused herself away from them.
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Keitaro woke up as he groaned upon seeing the bright lights of the infirmary once again. "Fuck… what happened?" He muttered to himself as he tried to recall anything that could explain his state. Flashes of how he was about to gain the upper hand upon summoning the four tailed fox before suddenly Rei appeared in front of him out of nowhere. "Goddamn…" he sighed as he recalled how hard Rei had punched him. Keitaro couldn't help but tighten his fists, his frustration for losing in such a pathetic way.
His thoughts were disturbed upon hearing someone's voice. "You did well." He looked up and saw Eunji, her eyes seemed to show a hint of care and worry. "I really didn't." Keitaro responded humbly as he tried to distract his self depreciation thoughts although Eunji had beaten him to it. "You were just unlucky. You have to fight against people who are stronger than you." She said as she reached out to pat his back. "While you have reached a high A rank status, you have to fight Rei who's already a low to mid level S Rank while Haru has a high level S Rank status. So, don't put yourself down as you have managed to fend yourself that long while standing on the same ground as them." She said in a comforting manner which got him to start tearing up.
Keitaro had seen himself in Rei during their match, the face Rei had expressed when tanking the strong hit reminded him of how he had struggled once during his own self training. The constant failures and limits he had to push despite the odds before giving up when losing harshly to Haru. "Thank you." He muttered as he cried out his heart while Eunji comforted him by patting his back. "It's alright. You did your best."
Keitaro felt like shit upon letting himself be vulnerable in front of her but seemed to let himself go as the passion he had once abandoned lit up once again. He had seen Rei training before the event even happened, he was also the one who told Eunji and Rinka about his training when they discovered his so-called secret of a new technique. Keitaro saw how Rei had struggled like him before, the constant frustration yet continued to pour everything they had into the training to achieve the results that they desired.
Once again, Eunji finally saw the embers of Keitaro's will, the passion igniting itself to find a greater purpose. "Seems like I gotta try hard again next time." He smiled, a genuine smile which Eunji took notice of as she sighed in relief. "Seems like I have to thank Rei for giving hope to this guy." She thought to herself before leaving Keitaro alone, giving him some space as she was now relieved that she didn't need to see him in a pathetic and depressive state from before.
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"Damn. What a way to go out." Tengen muttered before looking at the headmaster, "The Sasaki Clan are gonna chew him off aren't they?" He asked which gave a hint of something cruel from his statement. "Eventually, they will but I don't think that will extinguish young Keitaro's will." Tengen looked confused at him as Sho explained himself. "Being imperfect is an advantage as you can find improvements to yourself while being able to discover things that you never knew existed before." His statement made Tengen sighed as he shook his head. "Man… Such wise words you have to say." He scoffed to himself before looking back at the projectile of the event.
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The outcome sent the Sasaki Clan into an emotional turmoil as they expressed their rage in such childish manners. "That brat! How dare he bring shame upon our name!" An old man stayed before another female joined in. "Of course, that damned deadbeat had to put our identity to shame."
"What an embarrassment compared to our dear Haru."
"Exactly, he should've tried to be like him!"
"Losing to an outsider is such an embarrassment to our will."
Their cries and enraged statements gave Rinka an annoyance due to how she hated the way Keitaro's image was being put down. "Of course, they just have to use his entire identity to save their own image… what a fucking-" her thoughts were cut off when Rei went down to the stadium as he grabbed the microphone from the proctor.
"Shut the fuck up you goddamn old bastards!" Rei's sudden declaration put everyone on hold as the Sasaki Clan felt enraged toward his actions.
"You dare to shut us-" they didn't get the chance to respond when Rei continued his actions. "You dare to fucking dishonor his performance despite our skill difference when he proved himself to be worthy?!" His voice was filled with such anger and disappointment which Rinka was surprised since Rei didn't know Keitaro closely nor any ideas about him.
"He had fought to the best of his abilities despite not knowing what I'm capable of!" He exclaimed as every participant, student, staff and spectators were now intrigued with his statement.
"He had to use what he had in his arsenal while I had so much to use with my own." His eyes glared at the Sasaki Clan, his eyes glowed a crimson red hue which indicated that he was challenging them.
"You proudly call yourself the strongest clan and yet you can't even support one person who had so much potential to their own prowess as you only have everything you had to that golden child? What a pathetic fucking joke you are!" He mocked them as he laughed which sent them into a state of rage.
"Look at your golden child! You dare say he's the best when there are others who are better than him." His statement proved to be right as the headmaster decided to sneak in a large projectile of Eunji and Rinka's individual spar with Haru that ended in his devastating loss.
Eunji, who arrived before the whole ordeal, smirked at his bold move. "What a crazy fucker." She muttered to herself as she let out a genuine laugh upon seeing Haru and the Sasaki Clan's reaction.
"You know what's even more funny? The fact that your so-called golden child can't even get themselves calm and composed after not getting what they want!" His mocking tone sent Haru an intense feeling of humiliation.
"Like a goddamn child that can't even live without any attention from anyone!" His statement immediately sent Rinka laughing out loud which surprised some of them before those who were trying to hold their reaction back started to giggle especially with the noble ladies who were just trying to entertain themselves by watching the event.
The headmaster eventually let him continue as he smiled at such bold bravery while Eri mentally thanked Rei for pointing it out in the open. Tengen, however looked amused at the situation but let it all play out as he started to enjoy the ranting Rei was doing.
"You dare to use him as an escape to restore your clan's pride while putting that golden child to put you back on the spot when it's unnecessary." Haru felt a part of his pride and image being torn apart by his statement.
"If you are that prideful then it's a shame that you're putting everything you have in that golden child of yours when you could've just helped them improve to the best of their ability to prove your clan's worth instead of showing off your golden child of a prodigy!" Rei stated as he mocked them at the same time before throwing the microphone to the proctor before leaving.
His statement and action stood tall as it left a mark at everyone's sight. Each part of his statement gave every mid-tier and low-tier prowess users a slight view of hope. The desire to grow stronger and to perform their best despite the odds. His bold action against the Sasaki Clan that almost everyone didn't dare to challenge them due to their status solidified his position as someone who was willing to cut the hierarchy down to stand at equal footing. This was a turning point to everyone's perspective to the hierarchy as they felt a sense of change. A chance to put everyone on the equal footing to prove their own worth away from the status that's pinning them on edge.
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Rei was about to go back to his friends before he suddenly encountered Keitaro on his way. It appeared that he had heard everything. He was about to apologise as he assumed that he had dishonoured him but to his surprise was the opposite. "Thank you." Keitaro, his expression of joy and pride as Rei sighed before responding back. "No need to… You fought well." The two seemed to understand each other's struggles and hardwork.
Keitaro, not wanting to waste the opportunity as he reached out to him. "Can you help me improve?" His question surprised Rei but he chuckled before scratching the back of his head. "I guess? I don't know if it's the best but I can help you to the best of my ability." The two smiled before they both reached out as they shook each other's hand.
From one another to another.
One who was a scapegoat of the Clan after failures of hard work and struggles.
One who struggled and proved themselves from the lowest with hardwork and determination.
The two are equal to each other despite their environment and differences in progress.