White slowly stepped forward and swung his sword to the side. The smirk on his face grew with each step, and I stood ready to meet him. He leaned forward and began to charge. As he took his second step, everything stopped, and I put my hand on the side of my head.

  I'm not using concentration to make it happen any more. Are the headaches consequential no matter how I activate my ability?

  I stumbled for a second as each wave of pain crashed into my head. I looked around at the sight that nearly cost me my life a few seconds prior. Denki was in the middle of an uppercut that met Sato's jaw. Onodera dodged another spear of hair aimed at her throat Black continued to barrage her. Natsu and Yamato continued to support their partners as best as they could, and Nina was nowhere to be seen on the field. I turned back to White and walked up to him.

  One of the things that we were taught in hand-to-hand combat was disabling an opponent through either targeted breaks or quick knockouts. Even though it hardly applied to me at the time, I was thankful that I paid some attention. I took his hand and released the hold on his sword. I was able to handle the sword after being separated from his body since time was frozen. It was light, but with each swing, it deteriorated. I turned my attention back to his hand; each finger broke as easily as snapping a carrot.

  Once I was finished with his hand, I moved around to his back. A quick strike to the back of his neck, and I was done. I moved back to where I had stood before and let go of my hold. All at once, he winced, writhed, and stumbled. He hit the ground and was motionless. I backed away slowly in case he had any other tricks up his sleeve, but he remained in place.

  I turned back to see the fights continue between Kawasaki's remnant crew and my friends. The Geo looked tired, but so did Denki and Natsu. The three of them had clearly exchanged solid blows. The Needle Hair had pierced and sliced both Onodera and Yamato a number of times, but the two of them continued to fight. In a gust of wind, Nina returned with a chain that Onodera had asked for before taking off again. As Onodera dropped one end of the chain, an unmistakable smile creeped onto her face closely resembling that worn by my best friend when he gets fired up.

  Her eyes glowed a pinkish hue, and the chain resonated with the same glow. Despite its weight, she began swinging it around as if it was a rope or cord. Black took the bait and thrusted her spears at her, but they were met with swings so fast and powerful that they cleaved the steel hair.

  "What the hell?!" she shrieked.

  Yamato stood in awe as Onodera simply smiled and continued her dance. Each movement of the chain was hypnotic. She would wind it up around her and release it like a coiled snake striking out. With each strike, Black was forced to draw her hair in to block and lose more of it. Even as the steel surrounded her, she was pushed back as the flurry of blows rained down.

  As the barrage seemed to let up, a blur crossed the field as Nina returned to deal another strike with her sledge. The tremendous sound filled the stadium, and Black soared through the air before crashing into the wall. Without a single word, Nina ran off again leaving the shattered sledgehammer. In the crater created by her impact, Black remained motionless.

  Two down, hopefully. Now for the biggest problem.

  The third fight had seemed to wind down. Denki continued to dodge and parry most of Sato's blows, and Natsu gave him a hand hitting blind and unguarded spots. I caught a glimpse of Denki's hands between the waves of my headaches. They were bloodied, and the bars that he had made into knuckles were bent to the point that they were cutting off circulation to his fingers. Still, he fought like a cornered animal.

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  With Black and White down for the count, the two-against-one match became a deeply one-sided fight. The word "fight" probably should not have even been used: it implies a struggle from both sides. Denki and Onodera pummeled Sato into the ground through quick and solid fists and flashy yet direct chain strikes. Yamato provided a constant barrage of sound ensuring that the geo could do nothing but take the beating.

  "I almost feel bad for him," Natsu said as he walked up holding his arm. "Then again, not really."

  "Where's your sister?" I winced. "I haven't seen her since she launched Black into the wall."

  "Good question," he said looking around. "What's the matter with you?"

  "Headache. I'll be fine."

  As he and I watched the beat down unfold, I got a sickening feeling. I quickly looked back to White who had woken up, manifested his pistol, and was pointing it at us. I managed to freeze time before he pulled the trigger and broke his other wrist after pointing the pistol into the air. As a precaution, I broke his nose as well before releasing my hold on time. As it resumed, the pistol fired, and White recoiled and fell to a knee. Blood trickled from his nose as he looked up at me.

  "That's some neat trick," his venomous voice filled the air. "That ability of yours. How about you try this one on for size? Hey, sweetheart!" He called out to Onodera who foolishly looked back. "Gotcha," he smirked.

  I whipped my head around to see her demeanor change as she halfway slumped over. She slowly rose back up and turned back towards Yamato. Her eyes around her violet pupils had turned black, and her smile had completely faded. Without a word, she began swinging the chain directing it at him. He dodged to the best of his ability, but even without the energy coursing through it, the chain was only slightly less dangerous in her hands.

  Shit.

  "What did you do?!" I exclaimed, turning back.

  On his arm, he bore a rose that was glowing softly. He kept smirking without giving me an answer. I pulled back to punch him again, but my hand was caught by the chain. I was pulled away from him and thrown to the ground alongside Yamato. Onodera walked over to White and pulled him to his feet. Black had pulled herself out of the crater and walked up to join them. As she joined, she formed a spear of hair and pointed it to Onodera's throat.

  "Cool it," White said in a threatening tone. "She's with us now.

  "Doesn't change the fact that she cut my hair," Black glared at him. "Why not get the other one?"

  "What's it matter?" He gave a wicked grin. "They all have to die no matter how we look at it, so why bother making it harder than it has to be?"

  Sato's beat down had turned back into a disadvantaged battle, and he was slowly turning that over. Denki was getting worn down, and Natsu was facing his own limitations. With no sign of Nina still, at best, this fight had become four against four. In reality, it was one or two against three. As Sato stood over Denki, he clasped his hands together and brought them down. When the dust from the impact cleared, his target was nowhere to be seen.

  Less than two meters away, Natsu and Denki lay on the ground having narrowly escaped death again. Sato turned to the two of them and started walking over as the wind picked up. The gale grew and grew until the cause crashed into his chest in the form of a sledgehammer carried by a certain speedster. He recoiled back as Nina sped off, but before he could step again, he was brought to his knees and stomach. A whizzing sound filled the air, and a frayed arrow struck deep into the chains, pinning it to the ground.

  "What the hell now?!" White called out as he looked around.

  I turned back to the entrance of the field to see two figures almost towering inside. A third joined them seemingly out of nowhere, and the light shining from behind them faded. One sported a bow, another a sledge, the third merely held his hands out flat as they walked. Nina had brought Rito and Hiro into the fray.