It was quiet.

The field was in the center of the school, green grass wide and extending as far as a single cargo ship. Outside...though, the area was surrounded by the school and enclosed by specialty concrete and brick.

The breeze hit Reia's neck quite nicely.

It was quiet for a tick on the clock, the scratch of trees against a building was all she could hear, the sky was turning a soft white-grey.

Reia was there and about 20 feet ahead of her, there stood her opponent, against the glare of the sun and standing with confidence that nobody could possibly be okay with.

When the word got out about the impending battle between Reia and Brick, a crowd showed up. Despite it being in the middle of the seventh period and most students having class, a swarm of them surrounded the rectangular field waiting for her and Brick to do battle.

They talked amongst themselves, they stood off politely at the edge of the field and quietly waited for the match: Reia Vs Brick.

The newspaper painted her as the bad guy, the crowd seemed to have that impression but perhaps deep within, everyone knew and was well aware that what Reia was doing was right.

Perhaps...

So, that's where she stood dead-center field with both Purah and Blanket by her side. Reia absorbed the area around, she absorbed what was going on and watched as random students of the Purple monkeys, with no worries in the world, jestered around laughing and not taking the upcoming battle any the bit serious.

And Reia took that personally...

Brick stood, while Kayo paced around him with his arms behind his back, giving the younger brother some sort of pep talk, grabbing him by the shirt with a finger, and doing everything in his power to hype him up.

On the other hand, Reia didn't have or need any of that, instead, she stretched and breathed. She felt herself, she remembered all her training, summoning the mana at her core and channeling it in preparation for magic use.

"Listen, Reia. Brick isn't someone to take lightly, he's really good at using that enchanted/summoned chain thingy. But, his physical ability is wack and he typically runs and lets it do all the fighting—so the simple solution is to wax Brick and wax him hard, hit him with a strong enough attack and you'll make his chain disappear. You won the first time, but know that this time, he'll bring all his stuff."

But Reia had fought Brick already, she already knew what to expect and silently had put together a plan.

"If it wraps you, you're going nowhere." Blanket commented, knowing from experience.

"Then I won't let it get me. No need for you guys to worry..."

"Except that they'll beat us senseless if you lose—pst, no pressure."

"And...and they'll break my ankles..."

"Yeah, but Blanket you honestly did it all to yourself, I don't feel bad. I mean I feel sorta a tiny bit bad, but no."

Blanket rolled his eyes, "Thanks, Purah..."

"I feel bad for bringing you guys into this," Reia muttered.

That didn't matter, Reia still needed to do this and without further dilly dally, the photomancer called over to Brick with her voice venom-filled "I'm ready when you are!"

"What? You're starting already? You can't tell me you're ready, already!" Blanket didn't seem too convinced she would win.

Kayo looked over, rolled his eyes, and then gave Brick a quick pat on the shoulder, she could tell that Kayo had a few inches in height over Brick and yet Brick still towered over Reia.

"Again, don't underestimate, Welsh. Slap her back for what she did to you—don't let her disturb the ladder!" Kayo nonchalantly looked her in the eye like he expected her to look away, but, see Reia did the opposite.

"Dude, she's as good as dead.", said Brick.

With nothing else that needed to be said, Kayo did an about-face, gesturing for the other Purple monkeys to follow him to the edge of the field, away from the upcoming battle.

"Purah, Blanket. It's time for you guys to go, let me do this. It'll be easy, trust me, I won't lose!"

She refused to lose.

"It won't be easy, Brick's ability to use an inanimate chain is strong, and him being a torture-happy asshole doesn't help! You saw what he did to me. I need you to get him back for that—I'm still sore." Blanket admitted rubbing the back of his head.

In the most innocent way, Purah declared very simply to her friends "She's going to win, she'd never lose to some bozo like that. Remember back on my farm the giant wendigo we took down...is Brick worse than a wendigo?"

But they didn't actually take it down, Reia Blinded it with a flash of light and then it tripped over a branch and both of them fled, before calling Purah's dad who never found it.

Still...

Reia got the point, she needed to flex on him, because Reia wouldn't accept anything else!

Without any more words of affirmation, Reia gestured them off to the edge of the field, breathing and concentrating on her opponent.

She could feel her mana and the magic swirling through her, with viper speed, Reia summoned light to her hand and molded a double-edged sword with it, pointing it.

"I'm ready when you are!"

"Facts? Then let's not wait anymore." With that said, a long golden chain spilled from Brick's tight uniform sleeve, it fell into the floor in a mound, before the chain slithered like a serpent "I'm going to embarrass you and after that–you'll be another assistant to the Purple Monkeys. We'll prance you around in a maid's skirt, the boys will love that!"

Nope, only in his freaking dreams.

Then there was a snap from Brick's finger.

Tired of hearing him speak, Reia took the first move, adjusting her sword she dashed at him like a grizzly bear in a relay race and before she could even so much as injure the boy with her weapon, the magical chain used itself to block, absorbing the hit as burning light met magical metal.

Clang! Her blade hit the chain over and over again, as Reia stayed light on her feet keeping herself on her toes, and danced around the chain, her blade meeting as they exchanged attacks. Sweat came down her forehead, the chain attempted to lunge itself at her, all the while trying to wrap its other end around her neck. Reia had to get distance, conjured another sphere of light, and shot it at Brick.

The chain simply intercepted the attack and hurled itself at Reia, causing her to grunt as she side jumped the heavy living metal which formed a small crater that quaked the school.

Murmurs and uneasy voices came from all around.

"That's it?" Reia was up and tall, her head raised high and she was on her feet, ready for the battle to resume again "You're not going to attack me, only that chain is the entire time?!

"You're doing great!" Purah called from the sidelines, as a jab from the serpent chain slit a cut right under Reia's eyelid. Then another under her cheek blood trailing down her face, before the long-chain swatted her in the chest, taking a breath and causing her chest to heave in pain.

But there was no reset, Tony came, wrapping itself around her arm and squeezing the literal juices out of it, but Reia was quick, in the arm that was being constricted, she summoned a ball of light, letting it swirl and spaz like electricity before she performed a little trick and released the energy. The concentrated energy was released, sending out a small explosion and forcing the chain to release her arm in a cloud of smoke.

Tony then shook itself like a dog, then wasted no time in jabbing its metal head at Reia making her dodge with a deep exhale.

Slice! That was close!

The metal ripped right through her flesh and a wound formed on her forehead.

"Atta boy, Tony, slice her, cut her down slowly! Show her her place, beat her ass! I know you remember what she said to you!" Brick laughed.

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Welp, she was definitely going to make him lose.

She needed to get Brick. The chain kept coming, she blocked, parried, and exchanged blows, but ultimately the chain would take little to no damage.

Block, and another block!

The other Purple monkeys were awestruck, perhaps they didn't expect Reia to be clubless and strong?

"All disrespectful low tier, clubless students need to learn their damn place. Learn your place, Reia Welsh, learn who the hell you're playing with!" Brick shouted, his confidence like that of an adult bull elephant.

Her breathing was getting heavy, her chest hurt and she was wounded.

But there couldn't be a loss on her part!

There was no way she'd lose to scrub like him, who didn't even fight him damn self!

She kicked it up a notch, observing the chain and catching the particular fighting pattern that it favored.

That's why Reia kept moving, dancing, and blocking about as she bobbed and weaved each hit from the chain. Brick was becoming increasingly frustrated, watching and controlling his chain as he used more and more mana to make it fight harder.

But Reia was getting used to it—actually she was blocking and evading every attack and she waited, patiently waited until finally there was a short lapse in time between Brick's attacks that Reia took full advantage of!

Like a leopard she lept past the chain, becoming airborne and with her photon Blade she came down driving it downwards at Brick like a drill.

Tony—the freaking long ass chain was on her tail diving for her when she went to attack the host, proving to catch everyone off guard as there was a single collective gasp among the crowd.

And only at the last moment, when his eyes went wide like a grizzly bear who'd just realized why a land orca was an apex predator.

One-shotted.

His face was twisted like he just couldn't believe it!

Could she have killed him?

Yes, that's not even a question. But a knight of their caliber wouldn't just let themselves be killed.

Brick moved, but still—he wasn't fast enough. He only moved enough to save the wound from being fatal.

The blade of light when it came down, dove directly into Brick's biceps, burning and cauterizing the wound instantly as Brick let out a sky-falling shriek, all followed by a sizzling sound from the burn of her weapon; he dropped with the attack.

Tony faded instantly.

But Reia held it there, before pulling her weapon out as Brick held his arm up, holding that part of his hand in pain.

She proudly got to her feet just as the click of a camera flash sounded off somewhere behind her.

The area was sleeping-tree quiet.

Well...except for Brick let out a cry that sounded a lot like an angry cat and a distressed pelican combined.

Yeah, it wasn't as funny as it sounded...really. It wasn't even close to the hardest battle she'd ever been through.

The students all around seemed to stare on with mouths that fell to the floor.

Though, two students who could easily be the tallest people in the school stood out the most. Their chests like that of wrestlers, and legs long like a basketball player's, Reia had to say at least 6'7. They were among that crowd of students, watching with unblinking eyes...

She knew them, they were in the fourth year like her—they were the Mac brothers. They held the symbols of the purple monkey on their arms and their feet were huge.

Now, Imagine this crowd of at least two hundred kids, no instructors, and maybe a few sentinels, all as silent as a lonesome boulder.

"There we go!" Purah's shout echoed throughout the school and everywhere "I knew you wouldn't lose, I knew that moron couldn't take you!"

"Wow...you actually won! You beat him—you've made everything multiple times worse!"

More camera flashes went off and she couldn't even figure out who or from where—the school erupted into confusion and awe.

Both Purah and Blanket were jumping up and down, holding one another in complete jubilation.

Reia couldn't help but smile.

And here she thought Purah didn't really like Blanket.

The entire congregation of the Purple monkeys surrounded him, some brushing Reia and completely disregarding her. Kayo barged through everyone as he went to grab his brother, calling for a medic for more emotion in his voice than normal, which immediately one of the sentinel guards came over, removed some healing gel in a vial from his pocket, and began massaging it into the wound.

He mouthed something along the lines of "You lost to that girl..."

The Mac brother's never ventured over to help, they just stood beside each other. Observing as Reia and her friends did the same for a few moments before her attention went elsewhere.

Hopefully, Reia did right by the nameless knight.

Hopefully, she would have made him proud.

The Purple monkeys stayed together in a cluster, many of them trembling, swallowing saliva, and biting their lips refusing to look over to Reia or her friends.

Must suck to lose to someone considered below them.

If this was out of fear or embarrassment was really anyone's guess...

When Reia brought her eyes to the edge of the field or even the windows that overlooked the middle field, all eyes laid heavily on her—like what she had grown a third arm or something.

There was still work to do...

Reia walked over to the Purple monkeys, and only when they heard the crunch of her feet in the grass did one Purple Monkey's, a girl with extremely short curled black hair glared right at Reia.

"I won, so all issues between Purah, I, Blanket, and the Purple monkeys will now be null and void, as per our agreement, am I right!?"

Seeing as Brick was out of commission, Reia directed her words to the dude in charge.

It would be dishonorable to go against their word, but Reia didn't push it past them.

With a hand falling to his forehead and this death glare that told Reia that Vice President Kayo didn't really appreciate how fast and relatively easy she had won.

As a matter of fact, he looked down at her like she wasn't even a human but politely responded "A knight's word, is a knight's word and my brother gave his word." he then snapped, as he watched a medic soothe the pain from his brother's injures, leaving Reia to also watch on feeling slightly bad about what she did.

Sure he deserved it, but that didn't mean she enjoyed inflicting pain and watching Brick jerked around with a burning arm and shoulder.

"Kayo, listen to what I'm about to say—"

But Kayo interrupted her instead, looking away from his brother with a quick aboutface.

"Welsh, listening to your chattery is nowhere in the agreement. You won, leave with your conditions and get the hell away from me."

Did he just make up that word?

"This fight didn't have to be this way—we didn't really have to fight now that I think about it; had you and your brother—and all of your friends, been following the knight code in the first place and not using your superior ability to infringe on the happiness of this school, this wouldn't have been necessary! I'm slamming my foot down, Mr. Vice President!" she stomped for emphasis "And I won't stand idle while you and your Purple monkeys continue to terrorize students who come here to perfect their art!"

And Kayo's response wasn't totally unexpected "You're talking way too much for some nobody Photonmancer and if you think you're telling my club how to run things, you're living in a gumdrop fantasy world! You think because you beat my baby brother that things are just going to go your way? No, Welsh, you're just another player in this game—a player who hasn't been checked properly."

The ringing of the first bell sent the crowd of students packing and the sentinels—clad in an all-black body plate armor, yelling at people to move on and get to class.

Brick was lifted off to hopefully the medical bay, by a sentinel and a few Purple Monkeys.

"If anyone wants to 'check me', tell them they're free to try." she sang all the while glaring at Kayo and praying she wouldn't tremble, but thankfully kept herself together. "One for the books, huh?" She repeated what Kayo had said earlier.

Now Kayo didn't seem to be bothered by what she said, he looked more curious and like he was calculating a thousand things in his head

For those moments he was quiet, and so was everyone else.

Like he held the entire area by the throat with his very own hand.

"...For today...there's not bad blood between you, your friends and us Purple monkeys."

But before Reia even had the chance to reply, he was already walking in the opposite direction.

Today...there's no bad blood between you, your friends, and us Purple monkeys.

His voice echoed in her head.

Today...

So, it wasn't safe to assume that everything would be peachy tomorrow?

She needed to clean her wounds...

What mess did she create!

"Reia! Oh my God, Reia!" Purah, with a slowly walking Blanket behind, came sprinting to Reia "You won, you freaking won without anyone else's intervention. Here I thought it was all over. I came to protect you and you didn't even need it! So next time, you hear me Reia? I'll do all the dirty work! So, next time you sit back and watch me be badass like you!"

"You're already badass!"

"But the rest of the school doesn't know that, they know you're badass! I'm just the badass' friend! But it'll change!"

And then came the embrace—the embrace that told Reia that Purah genuinely cared about Reia and her well-being.

But did Purah care as much as the other students as she did Reia?

"Well, hasn't today been a ridiculous storm of events." The white-haired knight shrugged but went directly up to Reia and held out a hand and blandly said "You have my thanks."

Reia gladly took that hand "You don't sound all that thankful."

"Hm, we're safe for now, but the Purple monkeys aren't known for their benevolence—so I am happy that you won—but I'm just thinking about what happens tomorrow..."

What?

"What happens tomorrow?" Reia probed, looking him in the eyes, Purah also joined in waiting for his reply.

"That, right there is the mystery. But the purple monkeys... not being petty? Not getting people back?" His head went from side to side, "That just isn't them."

"Then I'll keep fighting. The bullying doesn't happen with the Purple monkeys either, I'll put a stop to it all! We'll teach kids not to be scared of the clubs, not to be scared of them and all that!"

But Reia was thinking further, sure she could fight, sure she could take on any challengers, but she felt as if it were better to be a little more proactive—so Reia decided that she would actively start challenging bullies regardless of the club.

"Purple monkeys are stubborn, I do agree with you Blanket, they won't stop because Reia's hurt their pride." Smack, Purah's fist hit her own palm, just as the late bell rang, revealing to Reia, Blanket, and Purah that the majority of the field had been cleared while they talked and the trio was late for their next class. "Shit, I already missed my last class—we better get running. Stay safe."

Reia looked at Blanket and Purah, nodding "Right get to class and remember... safety. Anything happens or it feels like there's something up we meet up at our dorm."

"Uhh... me too?" Blanket asked.

"Yes, you too!" Reia affirmed.

"I can't go into the girl's dormitory—I already broke that rule. Do I have to keep doing it?"

"We'll sneak you in! Purah can teleport and I'm sure I can borrow a wig and put on some of Purah's makeup. We'll make you into a beauty." A small giggle escaped Reia's lips at the thought.

For some reason when she said this, Blanket's eyes went wide as if she'd just described his own personal hell or something.

"Do we have to use my makeup on him? Forreal?" But then, Purah rested her hand on her chin and reconsidered "Giga-slime foundation and blush—might look good on him?"

"That's what I'm saying, do I really have to wear makeup and a wig? I can just do what I did las—"

"You don't wanna wear a wig?" Reia asked, never dropping her serious expression, Before looking at Purah and gently elbowing her in the rib and Purah nodded in so much agreement.

"No, not particularly." Blanket scratched his head but gave a little laugh at the thought. "Why don't we just go to the library? It's in plain sight, but there's really nowhere to hide—and they won't fight in the library unless they want Mrs. Nowhere to start throwing bookshelves at them."

The wind blew and the grass on the field danced.

Finally, Reia was left to admit "...I just wanted to see you in a wig, won't lie... But, sure, the library sounds swell!"

"Will there be snacks?" Purah asked.

And thus that was the meetup spot they decided on.

TBC...

*>X<*