Rebecca rolled aside to dodge another sludge ball from Tabitha. The two were on their third day of training now, with the match coming up tomorrow. By now the other pair of students set to have their match would be getting ready for it later tonight, so they had to wrap up soon. Britt and Chester sat on the sidelines, watching as Rebecca used her agility to make her way through Tabitha's projectiles. Putting her hands at an equal distance from each other, Rebecca's frills spread out and she formed a triangle shape with her electricity. It started to let off a glow, and to Tabitha's surprise, a blinding flash. She covered her eyes with her hand, but doing so left her open - Rebecca came crashing down with a kick, using some non-specific melee for once. Tabitha tumbled back, raising a hand to signal the referees. With a blow of the whistle, Chester stood up. "That's it, then. Good job." He said plainly. "That was pretty cool, nice job you two." Britt complimented while she brought her medical kit to Tabitha. "Y'know, I'm getting the hang of this... training thing." Rebecca stretched her arms idly. "I just kinda wing it. Maybe spar once a week with whoever's around." Tabitha looked back while sitting up, Britt applying spray to her face. "That's the bare minimum you could do... I like doing this, too." "Maybe you should consider someone with an advantage next time." Britt told Tabitha. "Let's see, who do I know that's Fairy or Dragon..." "How 'bout whoever I'm fighting tomorrow?" Rebecca walked over. "I'll put in a good word for ya!" "That's not--necessary." Tabitha winced from the medicine being applied. "It's Natsumi Machiko, right?" Chester asked Rebecca, giving a thumbs up. "Best of luck." "Is she really good?" Rebecca asked curiously. "She's naturally blind and made her way to Sophomore year with a solid fight record. What do you think?" Chester asked in his usual droning tone. "Part of that also might be because of the Hustle ability Deinos are born with." Britt added. "Extra strong, but... obviously she won't always hit her target." "You probably shouldn't say whatever you're about to say." Tabitha saw Rebecca about to make a joke. "It's about time to start preparing for tonight's match." Chester told Britt, checking his watch. "You should probably leave." "In that case... one last slice before tomorrow's big match?" Rebecca asked her friends. "Sure!" Britt stood up now that Tabitha was ready. "But only if we jog there." "Aww what?" Rebecca pouted. "On an empty stomach?" "And no skating." Tabitha put on her glasses slyly. . . . On Friday, classes were carried out like always. Rebecca seemed her usual self, while Tabitha had gradually calmed down over the past few days - though the thought had hardly left her mind. That evening, preparations were made in the gym's arena for the special match. Once students were let in, they found themselves seats and the social experience began until the combatants appeared. "She should be suiting up now, right?" Tabitha looked around. "I hope she remembered to show up tonight." "There's literally no way she wouldn't." Britt assured her. "Just relax, girl." After putting on her suit, Rebecca had been in the process of taking her two long ponytails and tying them into a thicker unintrusive braid. It was the longest step in her costume prep. Glee was helping Natsumi into her new costume in the room opposite to Rebecca's side of the arena, since this was a new costume and Glee knew it better for now. "They got the fluff just right, awesome." Glee said. "Just gotta button up the top and..." Glee stepped back, seeing Natsumi in all her glory. She had worn a stylish costume reminiscent of something Glee had a particular love for: Wizards. With Natsumi choosing not to evolve, she saw it fitting that the costume resemble a Hydreigon, to give the illusion of a much stronger form and intimidate her opponents. It made perfect sense in her mind. "How do I look?" "Like the winner." Glee grinned. "Give 'em all you've got, Nats!" As their time limit had been up, a slight sound of microphone crackle could be heard coming from the booth overseeing the arena. "--re things will be okay?" Ruben asked. "I've never done this before." "It's fine, I'll be here to--" Ms. Hollingfield paused. "Oh, we're live. Go." She whispered. "Oh! Uhh, w-welcome to today's special match! Freshman Rebecca Gibberts, please come to the arena now if you'd please. It's, y-y'know, it's time to start." "And Sophomore Natsumi Michiko, step up." Ms. Hollingfield took the mic briefly to hurry things along. The lights dimmed down. Rebecca adjusted her jacket and walked out there to the arena, having her violet body suit and green jacket to give a simple but professional appearance. Natsumi was pushed along by Glee to walk towards the arena as well, making sure to remember the subtle indent that outlined the arena and take a certain number of steps past that point. Two spotlights shined over them to bring them to the crowd's attention - as they cheered for the costumes on display, Natsumi had no reason to look around, but Rebecca looked for her friends in the crowd and waved happily. Tabitha waved timidly, not wanting the attention. Steam hissed around the outline of the arena. The platform raised up now, only a couple of feet off the ground. Then, the outline of the arena raised up as well, revealing ropes that one might see in a boxing ring. Once the lights had returned to normal, a countdown of three beeps ended with a final confirmation sound. "Start!" Ruben shouted. Rebecca rushed forward at a quick pace. "Let's see you catch this~!" As she got close, she started to turn around and use her braided hair long big club - however, Natsumi caught it. Various people in the crowd gasped, and Rebecca's eyes widened as Natsumi showed immediate promise. Sneering, Natsumi turned and flung Rebecca by her hair. As Rebecca tumbled, a bright light escaped Natsumi's mouth and she blurted out a fiery ball. "And Natsumi's immediately let off some Dragon Rage! Whoa!" Ruben exclaimed. Spiraling, the ball made explosive contact with Rebecca, knocking her into the ropes. She saw Natsumi charging towards her, ready to tackle, and rolled out of the way. Realizing that Natsumi must've caught her attack due to sound, she made sure to zap the floor, allowing some sparks to bounce their way to the spot opposite of her. Recognizing the movement, the Deino slid to a halt and looked in the direction the sparks were going. Natsumi was kicked aside by a quick attack, then Rebecca bolted. She was practically running on all fours trying to run, until she saw Natsumi hot on her trail. Jumping, Rebecca flipped back to get away from Natsumi, making one mistake: Her braid brushed across the Deino's head. Turning around, Natsumi let natural instincts take over next. Rebecca shrieked. "Ooh, a bite on the tail! Geez, that's gotta hurt." Ruben winced. With the teeth pulled out, Rebecca turned and glared at her. "Stop jumping around." Natsumi said coldly. "Nope~" Rebecca grinned. Jumping up into the air, Rebecca put a hand to her shoes, which gave off electrical sparks. She came down, putting force into her feet as she landed, wincing. She let off a wave that shook the arena very slightly, and let off an electrical shockwave. Natsumi stumbled slightly, distracted by the tingling. Now she couldn't sense Rebecca. "Rebecca's Bulldozed the arena, a-and it looks like it's also a bit electrified - creative!" Natsumi let off a sudden wave of energy from her mouth, a Dragon Pulse beam that she moved around her to try and hit the opponent. Rebecca couldn't easily avoid the sporadic pattern, getting sent back against the ropes again. Shaking off the effects of Bulldoze, Natsumi went in the direction where she heard Rebecca hit the floor. "What's she doing?" Tabitha questioned, "She's just standing there!" "She might be catching her breath." Britt suggested. As Rebecca rose up, Natsumi came towards her with a punch. Rebecca was lucky to see where it was coming from and had a grin on her face as she held Natsumi's hand. "Gotcha." Although she was at a disadvantage, unable to use her best Electric type moves on a Dragon type with much effectiveness, a paralyzing wave washed over Natsumi and she winced at the sensation it gave her. "Uhh, looks like Natsumi got dealt a Thunder Wave!" Ruben announced, checking the list of moves the two had. "Whoa, Rebecca had a sneaky ace in the hole!" Britt said, "You taught her well." "I didn't teach her that." Tabitha corrected her, not realizing such a move was an option. She was impressed. Natsumi let off a scream of anger as she knocked Rebecca's waist with the back of her fist, sending her flying off to the side with a powerful Slam attack. Rebecca struggled to get up after that, holding the right side of her waist due to the impact. Natsumi held a fist up, and her body started to glow orange. "Yeah, make that tutor proud!" Glee shouted from the crowd. "Looks like Natsumi is debuting her newest move right here, how exciting!" Ruben announced. "What's happening?" Tabitha covered her eyes. "I can't look..." "I dunno, but I don't think Rebecca's faking this one..." Britt saw as Rebecca hunched over, eyeing her opponent with a look of concern. Rebecca stepped back as she saw Natsumi jolt forward, but she was too late. Natsumi, covered in an orange colored energy, rushed at her at a blinding speed and elbowed her in the stomach. As she was off guard, Natsumi kicked her upwards, then jumped and put her fists together to knock Rebecca down to the arena, landing shortly after. Rebecca slid on the arena floor, leaving a thin blood trail from her mouth. "Looks like she has Superpower now." Britt commented idly. "Wait." Tabitha peeked from behind her glasses, realizing something. "This might give her a chance... if she keeps being clever." Natsumi looked around, having not noticed if Rebecca had gotten up or even started moving. She weakly got herself up, wiping the blood off with a thumb. She looked back, wincing and giving a thumbs up. "Nice... one." Rebecca panted. With that, Tabitha rose from her seat and tried standing on it as far as she could to be noticed. "Rebeccaaa! You can do it, you're really good at bouncing back! I believe in you!" The crowd near her started to cheer, getting into it after seeing what she was capable of. Rebecca put one foot on the floor, then struggled to stand. Despite that, she smiled to the crowd, then looked back at Natsumi, who was waiting for a sound. "Are you giving up?" Natsumi asked. "Not a chance." Natsumi ran towards the source of the sound. Rebecca was aware that her fighting style up to this point was pretty easy to guess - Natsumi even demanded that she stop what she was known for. This time, she would oblige. Rebecca made a sound, a small sound she made whenever she jumped, and whipped her hair forward to make an accompanying sound as she moved towards Natsumi. Taking her cue, Natsumi lunged toward to Tackle her in midair, to catch her after all her jumping antics. The crowd ooh'd at Rebecca once they saw her plan come to fruition. Rebecca bent back as far as she could, sliding on her knees and going under Natsumi. She managed to throw her off yet again, causing her to fall forward and hit the ground. Turning as soon as she stopped, Rebecca slammed her hands onto the arena, sending a Thunder Shock towards her while she was laying there. With sparks passing over her, Natsumi winced, but was more annoyed than hurt. "Wait, why is she--" Tabitha gasped. Natsumi turned to face Rebecca, and looked off to her side once she heard her running. But, suddenly she was off to the other side - or maybe the front? Rebecca was now moving so fast it seemed like she was everywhere at once... which gave her an advantage. "What's Rebecca up to, I wonder?" Ruben asked, genuinely. "Yeah, what was with that electricity?" Britt asked Tabitha, who seemed to know. "She must've seen that the Thunder Wave was proving ineffective and used that jolt to power it up." Tabitha theorized. "That's smart!" A Quick Attack was sent to Natsumi's back, making her stumble forward. She was then hit to the side. By this point, it became apparent from the visible sparks running down her body that she was becoming too paralyzed to fight. The copies of Rebecca running around her faded as Rebecca jumped in from her front, whipping her long brain at Natsumi's face. The Deino was sent flying back, barely able to get up. "I... I give." Natsumi said weakly as she raised a hand. "That's it? That's it!" Ruben exclaimed. "Rebecca Gibberts wins the match!" Rebecca was hunched once more, holding the right side of her waist once more. She smiled as she looked to the cheering crowd from both sides. The arena was lowered back down to its original position, with Ms. Hollingfield coming down from the announcer's booth to pick up Natsumi. "Good job, you two." Ms. Hollingfield said. She looked to Rebecca, "If you can still walk, let's get to the nurse's office now." . . . After about ten minutes, the door to the nurse's opened and Tabitha peeked inside. She opened it up to find Rebecca sitting nearby in a chair, kicking her feet idly as if waiting for someone. "Hey, Rebecca...?" "Check it out!" Rebecca pulled up the side of her shirt, revealing that the side of her waist now had a pretty large bruised area that was now patched up. "I'mma be feeling this for at LEAST a week." Tabitha walked over sheepishly. "I just wanted to, uhm, say that I'm sorry about how I underestimated your ability to take on someone at a higher grade--" "We already had this talk, silly." Rebecca smiled. "I know, I just wanted to reiterate how wrong I was." Tabitha smiled nervously. "I mean, I knew that you had potential, but your finesse was stunning, to say the least." "Thanks for believing in me." Rebecca smiled earnestly now. "That was what really sealed it for me." "Just don't exert yourself and you should be feeling better by tomorrow." The nurse told Natsumi as she pushed her out to the main room where they were. "Natsumi!" Rebecca greeted. "I wanted to see what the damage was. No hard feelings, huh?" "I'll be okay." Natsumi said simply. "... You were really cool out there." "Don't sell yourself short, shorty." Rebecca leaned forward in her chair. Tabitha winced - Rebecca was capable of being tactical, but not tactful. "I figured I'd be in for a challenge and you delivered. We should hang out some time." "Sure." With that, a new friend was made, and life goes on.