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kachikirby · 4 months

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GranEssex Chronicles: Chapter 16 - The Rookie Tournament (Part 1)

The GranEssex crew members that were attending the tournament safely landed and arrives at their destination. It was a huge stadium that doubled as a hotel. Currently it was completely rented out for the use of the Organization, meaning no civilians were around to potentially cause issues. At that moment, Meta was laying on the bed that was prepared for him, thinking about the fights to come.

"The opening ceremony hasn't started yet, so I can't go look for Fettuccine..." He thought.

"Sensei, when is the ceremony? You never gave us a time."

"Tomorrow at 6 in the morning, the actual tournament starts at 9."

"Why is there three hours in between the ceremony and the tournament?"

"You say three but there's actually only one. My father can and will take forever with his speech."

"And we have to sit through all of it?"

"Yes. I'll let you in on a secret Meta, it's a endurance test. Father deliberately takes a long time in order to gauge just how much patience you all have."

The youth let out a sigh. While he understood the sentiment, that didn't mean he didn't dread it.

"Look at it this way, Meta. This will be a good opportunity to study the competition. You can learn a lot about someone based on how they react to a situation."

He only stared, but then he just turned over in bed. "I'll just go to sleep."

"Good, conserve as much energy as possible. You will definitely need it."

"Ok, sensei. Good night."

"Good night, Meta."

"...Could you use a sleep spell, please? I'm too awake to sleep."

She let out a giggle. "Very well then."

Kurabe stood up and walked over to her student, tucking him into bed. Then, she traced a rune on her lips and kissed him on the cheek.

"Sweet dreams, my little knight."

Meta didn't respond as the spell instantly took effect on him. His mentor gave a smile.

---------

The next morning, everyone was gathered to the main arena, where various key members of the Organization were standing in the middle. Chief among them was General Z himself. Each of the four divisions were places in four different corners of the room, with the Combat Division in the top left corner. This gave Meta the chance to look around at the other divisions, stationed in other corners of the room. In the top right corner was the Intelligence Division which only had four competitors: Fettuccine and three others he didn't recognize.

"Sensei, do you recognize those other three?" He whispered.

"Nope." Was her simple reply. "I don't know any of the competitors except for that Fettuccine girl. They aren't my students."

He gave a slight sigh, understanding her words. However, he still saw Fettuccine waving at him out of the corner of his eye. He waved back and continued to look around while waiting for Z to speak. Then his gaze turn towards the Stealth Division. There were eight competitors, all of which were wearing similar shinobi-styled garb. He would ask if Kurabe knew them, but he knew the answer would be "no". Then he turned to the Magic Division's corner. To his surprise, there were twelve competitors, meaning that the magic divide had the most. In total, there was am even 32 competitors.

"Sensei, is it this common for the Magic Division to have so many competitors?"

"Yes. Now get ready, father is about to speak."

Meta wanted to question why she called Z "father" in a situation that she would usually call him "the general", but the slight glare made him fall silent as he looked up to see Z stepping up to the podium.

"It's good to see you have all arrived here safely. This tournament is immensely important to the Organization as all of you here will be important faces in the future of our Organization. Each of you have boundless amounts of potential and it's our duty to see that potential fulfilled. There are no lovers here, all of you will leave this tournament as stronger and wiser individuals, and will be counted upon to rise up to fight against any evil our galaxy faces. Now, allow me to cover the history of why the tournament exists. You see, when I was just a young lad at the age of 47-..."

As the General kept talking, Meta noticed a few people were either falling asleep or starting to lose their patience.

"That's probably what sensei was talking about..."

Not everyone was, though. Fettuccine was seemingly unbothered and one of the Stealth Division members was as still as boulder. The youth squinted at the member, trying to see if there was a reason for it, like they had fallen asleep or something like that. However, they were wide awake and stared back at Meta, as if sizing him up. However, the puff continued to stay strong. The competitor was a definitely a member of the Bio Clan, going off by how they looked. They were wearing the standard Bio clan outfit, the colors of which were black and yellow.

"...they look quite similar to Bio Raiden, actually..." He thought.

"Ah yes, that one I do recognize. That is Bio Sting, Raiden's grand niece." Kurabe said, noticing the stare down.

Meta nodded. "She's strong, I can tell just by looking at her." He said.

"I can tell that, too." Kurabe said.

---------

Unbeknownst to Meta, Sting was having similar thoughts.

"Honorable uncle, that Star Warrior. He will be my biggest challenge."

"The student of the Lady of Shadows? Indeed so."

"Her disciple. I see, that explains that powerful aura of his. I hope he will be one of my opponents, I must test myself against him."

"Perhaps he may. You will have to wait and see until then."

"Yes, grand uncle." She replied, looking away from Meta.

---------

The boy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He then looked at the last corner, the Magic Division. Honestly, he wasn't too impressed by what he saw. Half of them had this cocky aura around them, while the other half looked either bored or scared out of their minds. As the speech went on it was apparent to Meta that the general was deliberately taking as long as possible. Just when he was about to lose his patience, Z cleared his throat.

"Without any further delay, I declare that this tournament has officially started. Meet back here in exactly one hour."

Almost everyone seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

"You heard him, all of you are free to roam around and release pent up aggression and what not." Kurabe explained to her students.

Admittedly, Meta partially just wanted to stay with his mentor, but he had the feeling there was someone who wouldn't allow that. Stepping to his left, Meta dodged an oncoming silver and blue blur.

"Mettyyyyy! You weren't supposed to dodge!" This was of course Fettuccine.

"Natural reflexes. Anyway, it's good to see you in person again, Fetty."

"Great to see you too, Metty!"

"I take it you want to explore the place and have me come with you?" Meta asked, cutting straight to the point.

"Yup!"

"Then let's go." Meta said, walking off with Fettuccine close behind.

---------

As the duo walked around the arena, they began to talk to each other.

"I'm glad you're completely back on your feet. I'm so pumped to see you fight and win!"

The youth chuckled. "While I don't doubt that I'll win, remember that we're doing this for training."

"Oh, I know. That's why I'm participating in the first place. While my job doesn't require me to fight often, I need to make sure my throwing skills are good enough or not." Fetticcuine exclaimed while punching at the air.

"Throwing skills?"

"Yeah, my style CQC. No one would expect such a dainty little lady to be able to grapple right?"

"Well, more of someone whose specialty is interrogation." He replied.

"Plus, I just want to see how mentally strong our comrades are. I'm sure you know this, but if a fighter loses their cool in a fight... well, then, they are easy pickings. And I'm quite good at doing just that."

"They are..."

"And speaking honestly, that's probably how I'm going to win most of my fights. I know my strengths and weaknesses, I just need to see my limits for each."

He only nodded silently in response. "...If we end up fighting Fetty, then-"

"Then I expect you to not hold back."

"I won't." He said, completely serious.

"Good! If I'm going to lose then I want to lose with dignity."

The puff nodded.

"Now come on, I want to check out the medical facility~!" She said, grabbing Meta's hand as he gave a confused expression.

"What for?"

"Well, it's important to know where it is, right?"

"...That's a fair point I suppose, but I get the feeling there's something else going on." He stated.

"Wellllll, I did hear a rumor of an interesting doctor being here."

The youth stared. "...I don't see why I would care so much for a doctor..."

"The doctor part isn't the important part, it's the interesting part that I care about. If the rumors are to be believed, he's a criminal."

That in particular also piqued Meta's interest. "A criminal? Why would the Organization bring a doctor criminal into this?"

"I don't know and what I don't know I want to learn."

The youth let out a sigh. "Well... I guess we can go investigate it."

"You don't need to act disinterested, Metty, I know this sounds exciting to you."

"Let's just go see what this is about. Lead the way, Fetty."

"Ok! Let's go find the place that I don't know the location to!"

"Why did you sound like you knew where it was then?" The puff asked with an internal sigh as he was dragged.

"I simply said I wanted to see it, I never implied knowing where it was."

Meta just sighed once more. "Just go."

"Down the hall to the left." A voice said from behind them. Turning around Meta saw a glimpse of a ninja like figure leaving the area.

"Bio Sting, right? You can come out."

After a brief moment, the ninja stepped out of the shadows. "You're as perceptive as the rumors say you are."

"By your wording, I assume you're interested in me?"

"Perhaps."

"That means yes." Meta said, used to Kurabe using "perhaps" as a substitute for "yes".

The ninja seemed to glare at him. "As you have surmised, I am indeed Bio Sting, grandniece of the honorable Bio Raiden. Meta, student of the Lady of Shadows, I declare you my rival."

The youth only blinked silently. "...excuse me?"

"I've already analyzed the rest of the competition and I have deemed you to be my greatest obstacle here. Therefore, you are my rival."

"Um... I appreciate you saying that I'm so strong, but I don't think I need a rival."

"Who said you had a decision in this?"

"Seeing as it involves me, I should have a say in the matter. Besides, instead of this vocal grandstanding we should just let our skills do the talking."

"Very well. I will look forward to defeating you in the finals."

"We'll see." Meta replied, teleporting behind the ninja, surprising her slightly.

"I-impressive, aren't you?" Sting uttered, clearly trying her best to hide her sudden surprise.

"I don't like to brag. Thank you for the directions. Now, let's go, Fetty."

With a giggle, the Limet woman quickly followed after him, leaving the ninja to continue watching them.

"He's faster than I expected. A mere miscalculation on my part. Watch out, Prince of Shadows, next time, I'll be ready."

"Sting, who are you talking to?" Another of her teammates asked.

"Nobody. Just a shadow." She replied in a cryptic fashion.

"...you're a lot weirder than I thought."

"It's called being dramatic. My father and grand uncle do it as well."

The teammate only stared blankly. "Ok."

"Never mind. I have a rival to observe." She said as she disappeared from sight in an instant.

---------

In a few minutes, Meta and Fettuccine arrived at the medical facility for the tournament.

"Alright, what exactly are we looking for?"

The woman looked around intently before her eyes fell on a certain door. "There we are!" She hummed as she began to walk towards it.

"I assume he's in there?"

"Yup. You see, behind this door is actually a massive fridge."

"A fridge?"

"Yup! It'll be a bit cold, but I can handle it."

"I know you can but, why would this doctor be in a fridge?"

"Because it supposedly slows the growth rate of bacteria... and it's because he's a Limet."

"I see. I assume that's a reason why you're so interested in seeing him?"

"Yeah. I'm curious about him."

"Well, after you."

Fettuccine nodded and opened the door with Meta following in after her. Almost immediately, they felt a blast of chilly air fall over them. The inside of the room looked like a prison cell and in front of them were bars, protecting them from the humanoid figure that sat in the room silently. Almost immediately, the man raised his head, covered by some kind of metallic helmet and stared at them with eyes that glowed with a greenish light. There was a faint tinkling of handcuff chains as he processed what was going on.

"...do you need me to operate?" A calm, masculine voice uttered after a moment.

"Um... no, we're not."

Almost immediately, Meta felt an aura of disappointment come from the man. "Then what do you want?"

"My name is Fettuccine, head interrogator of the VictoriousArc. I'm here to speak with you about why you're here."

"I'm here in case someone needs to be operated on. That's all there is to it."

"You know that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking why you are here as a prisoner. Erhard."

"Fettuccine, do you know him?"

"Oi, if you need to call him anything, call him by his prisoner number, SCR51." One of the guards suddenly said.

"Know him? No, I just did my research." She replied, ignoring the guard completely.

"Well, if you did your research, you would already know that, wouldn't you?" Meta asked.

"No. I know his true name but anything else, his history, why he's a prisoner, it's all unknown to me. The only record I could find was a name."

The guard walked up to her now. "He was imprisoned for a massacre that occurred at Seton University on the planet of Currumpaw. About 300 people were killed through unknown circumstances and this guy was found at the scene of the crime. We believe it to be some kind of deadly virus that he was immune to, since the subject was unaffected by it. He had no memory of what happened there and was charged with 6000 years in solitary confinement."

Meta raised an eyebrow. Something didn't seem to add up. While there was a chance he was guilty of such a heinous crime, locking him up for 6000 years seemed excessive. Especially if there was no actual proof he was behind it.

"But did you actually do it?" Fettuccine asked the prisoner.

"...I don't remember."

"Of course he did!" One of the guards said.

"And do you have any actual proof?"

"He was an assistant to one of the main medical researchers there, who vanished shortly before the massacre!"

"And? That's not proof that's coincidence. Let's say all of the guards in your squad except for you two died. Would one of you be the killer?"

Both guards looked at each other nervously.

"Of course we wouldn't be!"

"Then why is he the culprit if you have no actual proof?"

"Why do you even care!"

"As an interrogator it's my job to find the truth. So, an innocent man being held in prison for a crime he may not have even committed makes my blood boil." She said, one of the few times she was scarily serious.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"...do you really think that?" The man in the iron mask asked.

"Of course!"

After another moment of silence, he let out a chuckle. "That's the first time I've heard something like that in about 100 years..."

"...Has anyone tried reading your mind to view the memories you lost?" Meta asked.

"Is such a thing even possible?"

"Yeah, did mind reading not exist back when this happened?"

"Mind reading was never used to solve a crime before... and I imagine they wanted to close this case as soon as possible." The prisioner uttered.

"Or someone was covering their tracks." Fettuccine added.

"Wait a minute, you said you don't know anything outside of his name... how can you be so sure?"

"I'm not sure about if he's guilty or not. All I know is that he was imprisoned without being given a chance to prove his innocence. I want to expose the truth and if the truth is that he's innocent, then I want to help him."

Meta couldn't help but stare at his friend in admiration. "Is this the true reason you wanted to participate? To meet this guy?"

Fettuccine shook her head. "No, that's just one of three reasons. The second reason is to actually test myself. I am serious about that."

"And the first reason?"

"To see you silly!"

Meta gave a small smile.

"You two should get going." The prisoner said. "I'm sure the tournament will begin soon will it not?"

"Oh, that's right!"

But just before Fettuccine left, Meta asked a question. "Wait, if you're a prisoner, why are you working here?"

"It's because I'm a doctor. I get 45 years off my life sentence by performing high-profile surgeries. But I honestly don't care about that..."

The youth raised an eyebrow. "If you don't care, then why do it?"

"I like helping others. Nothing else to it."

Something within that straightforward sentence resonated with the young puff. "Right. Let's go, Fetty. We can help him later."

"Ok!" She smiled before leaving the room with him.

---------

Upon exiting the room, Fettuccine spoke up. "Let me guess, you're gonna ask Kurabe to read his mind?"

"Yes. I don't see any better options."

"You're right. No amount of interrogation can make him recall something he can remember. Mind reading is our only real option."

"And if there's anyone I know who's good at mind reading, it's sensei."

Plus, Meta had a feeling he was innocent. A loss of memories is one thing, but his gentle personality was the real deal.

"...how could someone like him really be arrested for a crime like that...?"

"Unfortunately, he's probably a scapegoat. Someone needed to be blamed and he was perfect for that. As someone who values the truth, it makes me sick."

The youth stared at his friend's furious expression, one that seemed almost foreign for someone as cheerful as her. "Do you think proving his innocence might improve the system?"

"That's my hope at least." She replied, reverting back to the same happy expression she had before.

"Then I say we should go for it."

"Oh, I was going for it no matter what. But it does mean a lot to have your support, Metty."

"It's not a problem. I feel the same way about him."

Fettuccine gave a giggle. "Excellent~! Soooooo, what do you think of that Bio Sting?"

"She seems skilled. However, she's allow going to be irritating if her stalking me has any indication."

"I am not stalking you. I'm merely observing your every move." They could hear the person in question say from the shadows.

"Yes, that is stalking." He replied back.

"Yeah, I see what you mean by irritating." Fettuccine said, secretly relieved that Meta had no real interest in the ninja out of fighting her.

"...Fetty, are you hiding something from me?" He suddenly asked.

"Hmm? Not really, why do you ask?"

"You seemed to be relieved about something for a moment."

"It's probably just your imagination. I'm just in a good mood is all."

That was what she said, but Meta felt there was something more to it. But before he could question her any further, he heard a voice from the loud speaker.

"Attention all fighters. Make your way to the arena now. The bracket and fighters' placements will be revealed in five minutes."

The woman gave a smile. "You hear the speaker, let's go, Metty!" She exclaimed while dragging him.

Meta smiled at his friend's antics. "Maybe it was my imagination."

---------

Once everyone had arrived General Z step forward, making everyone fear that here would be another speech.

"Behind me is the finalized bracket. Every match was picked completely at random and by a citizen of this planet with no affiliation to us. Walk up and look to see where you are in the placements. Farthest left will be the first match of round 1, farthest right will be the last."

Almost immediately, Meta began to scan through the bracket to find where his placement was. His eyes widened when he saw not only his placement, but his first opponent.

"I'm the first match and I'm fighting..." He said, turning to look at his newest comrade, Carter.

"Well, looks like I'll be getting that fight after all." The warrior said with a chuckle. "Just didn't think it'd be this soon, huh, Meta?"

"Yeah." He replied with a nod.

"Well, hey, I'm glad my first match is against another swordy. You better not hold back just because we're on the same crew."

"I don't plan on it."

A sound of a cane could be heard hitting the floor.

"Now that you all know your placements, fighters 1 and 2 make your way to center of the arena. Everyone else makes your way to the stands." Z commanded.

The remaining fighters nodded and made their way to the stands as Carter and Meta took to the center.

"Now to decide the arena you'll be fighting in." Z said as he spun a wheel. The wheel stopped after a minute of spinning and landed on the words "Ballroom". "The course you will be fighting on is ballroom."

Meta was relieved that his first match would take place in a mostly normal location. He was honestly worried of getting stuck with something like an hourglass or lava floor.

"Momo, if you would be so kind to get the arena ready?" Z asked the head mage.

"As you wish, General." She replied before casting a spell.

Before he knew it the entire landscape changed. The arena was exactly that of a ballroom, down to having walls that prevented ring outs. Unknown to him, Momo casted another spell that allowed all the spectators to keep watching despite of the walls. As for the ballroom itself it was quite standard. Ten large, round tables and a sizeable chandelier.

"Ready? Begin!" Z's voice yelled.

The one to make the first move was Carter pointed his sword at Meta and shot a blast of electricity. "VOLT!"

The puff smirked and pointed his sword at the oncoming blast and easily absorbed it.

"Rats, I was hoping to catch you off guard with that!" Carter said as he started to run straight at the youth, his only hope of winning being actually getting close.

Still smirking, Meta let out whips of electricity and grabbed five of the tables with then and threw them at Carter. The Blade stood his ground and cut all of them in half but after dealing with the last table, he got kicked in the face by the youth. The force of the kick sent him flying and landed underneath the chandelier. Meta flew up and cut the chain holding the chandelier in half, causing it to fall. In a panic, Carter quickly rolled out of the way before he could get crushed. He got back to his feet and looked around, only to not see Meta.

"Where did he go?" He wondered.

He then noticed that his shadow was getting bigger and instantly knew what thar meant. He looked up to see Meta dive bombing at him. The Blade raised his sword to block, only for Meta to cut it in half. Carter was now disarmed.

"Want to keep going, or do you want to forfeit?" Meta asked, pointing his sword at his opponent.

"No, I think it's clear who the victor is."

In a flash of light, the ballroom disappeared and the two found themselves back in the normal arena. Almost immediately, they heard the roar of applause.

"Dang man, I knew you were good, but you straight up outclassed me. I didn't even think of using electricity to grab and throw objects."

"It's not something I do often, but it's useful for catching people off guard."

"You're telling me. I'm gonna be feeling that kick of yours for a while." He then looked down at the floor. "And I guess I'm going to need to make a new sword."

"...I can help you make one later." Meta offered.

"Deal."

While he couldn't make out what people were saying in the stands, Meta knew that pretty much everyone was impressed by the match.

"I think you painted a target on your back with that performance, man." His comrade then whispered.

"Trust me, I know." He replied, noticing a ninja staring daggers at him.

"Well come on, I'm sure sensei wants to congratulate you." Carter said while pointing to the stands.

Meta was honestly surprised by how upbeat the Blade was despite losing.

"Alright, I guess I'll go see her then." He replied with a smile.

The two left the stage and saw the next two competitors make their way to it. It was an Intelligence Division member vs a Magic Division member. Meta was only somewhat interested because he was going to fight whichever one won. The youth then began to make his way up to where his mentor was.

---------

Upon reaching the highest section of stands where Kurabe was, she was the first to speak up.

"Good job, you two. That was quite the exciting fight."

"Thanks, sensei, though I never actual got a hit in." Carter said, not really bummed out about it.

"You tried your best and that's all that matters."

She then looked at Meta. While her first instinct was to hug him, she decided to do that later when they were in private. "Congrats on your first victory, Meta. I suppose I was wrong about you being on edge after all. You were more relaxed during that than you have been when trying to actually relax."

As much as the youth wanted to object, he honestly couldn't.

"...It seemed effortless for you." Carter added.

"I wouldn't go that far. Controlling those electric whips I made use more energy than you may think." Meta said.

"Well, I guess you should go take a rest and prepare for your next match." His mentor said with a smile.

"I'm fine. Seeing as I was the first to fight, I'm going to be waiting awhile until the next round starts anyway."

"Good point. These fights can go on for a while. This event usually lasts at least one week."

"So, there's a chance I might not even fight again today. That's fine, it gives me a chance to observe my future opponents. I suppose it was good luck to go first, wasn't it?"

"It was indeed, Meta." She replied with a smile.

He nodded and turned to watch the fight, which was now taking place in an hourglass.

"...Good luck indeed." He said with a sigh, hoping that this fight didn't take too long for the competitor's sake.

"Well, come on and sit down next to me."

"Fine." Meta said, knowing that any kind of argument was pointless.

"...it's either that or I hug you." She said telepathically.

"I'm already sitting down, sensei. Please, try to remember that we're in public... you can do it when we're back home, I guess..."

"You say that as if I don't plan to already."

"Kurabe, he's right. You're here a commander first and foremost." Mercury said.

"I know. There're no rules saying commanders can't give hugs though, nor do I care if anyone has a problem with it. Not even my father."

"Sensei..." Meta uttered.

"Don't worry, just a little light teasing. Just sit down and focus on the match."

"I already am sitting..."

"Then sit some more. What's wrong with sitting between me and Mercury anyway?"

"Nothing. I'd just rather actually choose to sit here then be ordered to. I was going to sit next to you regardless."

His mentor only pouted in response. "Oh no, is he already in his rebellious phase? I know he's a teenager but it's still too soon!" She thought.

---------

While Kurabe was having nonsensical thoughts, Meta kept watching the fight. As if knowing what her friend was thinking, Mercury rolled her eyes.

"I didn't hear the names of the two fighting. Who are they, sensei?" He asked, snapping Kurabe out of her delusions.

"That one wearing a backwards cap is Lucla. He's a member of a race of psychics. The one wearing a cowboy hat is Ilo. He's a unique type of mage that uses gun magic." She explained, happy to still be relied upon.

"...sensei, are you ok?" The youth suddenly asked.

"Not that I'm not touched that you're concerned, but shouldn't you rather be asking questions about the fighters? You will be fighting one of them." She said, fully back in her serious mode.

"...ok, I'll trust your words."

"Then start asking questions. You have to be ready for anything."

"Alright, what's gun magic? I've never heard of that type before."

"It's easy to explain. Much like regular guns, they fight by shooting bullets, but these bullets have magic infused with them. Depending on what type of magic is used, the bullet will have different effects. For example, notice how his bullets are moving in slow motion?"

Meta took a closer look, and he was able to see the bullets moving, to his surprise. "How?"

"Time magic. Those bullets can either go as fast or as slow as he possibly wants. Right now, they are slow, but..."

The gunslinger snapped his fingers, causing the bullets to fire off at blinding speeds, piercing through the body of Lucla and making him unconscious.

"Well, you can see for yourself."

"And he did that all with magic? Amazing..." The youth stared. He already knew he had to start thinking of a way to counter it.

"I suppose. There is a major weakness to it, but I'm sure you'd rather figure that out on your own."

He did. He honestly did.

"Will he be ok?" Crate asked, noticing blood coming out of the loser's wounds.

"Don't worry, there's an expert doctor on the premises." Kurabe explained.

For some reason Mercury fidgeted, but Meta decided to ask about that later.

"So, are they going to take him down there, or will the doctor be brought up here?"

"Both. The doctor comes here and decides if the damage is serious enough for them to be taken to an operating room. If not, then he'll just operate here."

"I see..."

In Meta's mind, that meant he would see Erhard again, if only for a brief moment. He also glared at the winner of the fight, who didn't at all seemed concerned for the man he just shot. In fact, he was gloating. He couldn't stand people like that. But he didn't have time to ruminate on that, as the two guards he had met earlier practically shooed him off the stage while guiding a silver humanoid figure wearing handcuffs onto it.

"Is that... Erhard...?" He wondered.

While everything else about him looked like the Limet he had met earlier, there was one particular detail missing: he was no longer wearing the metal helmet, now showing his true appearance as a surprisingly young-looking adult.

"I take it you met him earlier?" Kurabe asked in a calm tone. The fact that she seemingly held no animosity towards the supposed murderer made Meta feel comfortable about talking about it.

"I did with Fettuccine, and I just don't understand why someone like him was locked up."

"Because sometimes the innocent are named guilty to please the masses. A concept I loathe in its entirety."

"Then why don't you read his memories? Surely, you'd be able to find the real culprit if you did that."

"Unfortunately, I legally can't. The case has been dropped for centuries. The only way I can is if someone manages to get the case back open." She explained.

Meta had a feeling he knew who she meant by someone. "...Fettuccine."

"If she can convince the leader of the legal division to open the case back up then I'll gladly offer my services."

"Who's the leader of the Legal Division?"

Honestly, Meta didn't know there were more divisions than the ones commanded by the Big Four.

"The legal division isn't like the four main ones. They don't do any fighting and honestly calling them a "division" is a tad misleading. Legal group is more accurate as there are only six active members. The leader is named Wolfried. He's a gruff and quiet man but is willing to let people make their cases. Stern but fair is the best way to describe him."

"I see... so if Fettuccine can show him solid proof that Erhard isn't the culprit, he'll be let go?"

"Essentially. But be warned, she'll also be tasked with trying to find the actual culprit too. I'm sure she's already quite aware of that herself."

"I'm sure she can handle it, especially if you can find the truth buried in his head."

His mentor nodded in silently in response. Then he once more took a look at the doctor, who was examining the patient closely.

"...sensei, there's something I don't understand. Isn't he able to shapeshift or absorb metal if he's a Limet?"

"The handcuffs and metal are all coated with crystal tree resin, a natural substance that makes whatever it's covered with immune to being absorbed by a Limet. As for the shapeshifting... take a look at his back."

Meta squinted and saw a red magic seal.

"It's one of Momo's magic seals. It's a special type of magic that can cancel out any kind of transformation ability. It's the reason Momo is one of the Big Four in the first place."

The youth looked confused. "What are you talking about, sensei?"

"Oh, I guess you don't know about that." She uttered before sighing. "The primary requirement to become one of the Big Four is that you must have done something that has positively impacted not just the Organization, but also the entire universe."

"I suppose that makes sense. What did you and the others do?"

"For my contribution, I reinvented the entire education system for the Organization. My philosophy of never giving up on a student has led to the birth of many heroes and warriors that protected the universe. For Reedy, he created the test used to identify Hivemind Limets, the exam named after him, and has contributed much to the research on them. For Bio Raiden, he created multiple commonly used espionage techniques. Some people love to joke that he created the very act of espionage. As for Momo, she created that sealing magic."

Meta was equal parts impressed and not surprised. "Considering how excellent of a teacher you, I suppose I should of expected that."

"Why, thank you, Meta."

"But back to him, doesn't all of that seem unnecessary for someone who isn't dangerous?"

"Because they think he's guilty, they believe it is necessary. Besides, they justify it by saying the only time he'll be out of cuffs is during surgery."

"...How can Grandfather allow that?" The heartbreaking way her student uttered that made Kurabe want to say something, but she couldn't.

"Excuse me, but did you ask if the doc is alright with those restrictions on him?" Vul who had been listening in asked.

The youth blinked silently.

His ally shook his head. "Yes, keeping someone who might be innocent imprisoned is awful, but did you ask him what he thought? Look at that face, does he really seem that bothered by those cuffs or that seal?"

Meta took a look at the man and indeed, he didn't seem bothered at all. In fact, it seemed like he couldn't care less about it.

"Look man I get you think it's unfair because you believe he's innocent, but this is just how prisoners are treated. Your old man's hands are tied. It sucks but that's why you're going to help that cotton candy friend of yours prove his innocence right?"

"Yeah, but I can still say it's not fair, can't I?"

"You can and you may be right. But to the families of the people he supposedly killed, they might think he's getting it easy. From what I understand it's not like he's been tortured or anything of the sort. The fact they trust him to operate on people at all proves that your old man has done all he can to make his prison life comfy."

"I see..."

Meta had to admit, the bird was right. Erhard seemed perfectly happy. The way he was treated was less of a prisoner and more so an employee with restrictions. Restrictions he didn't even seemed bothered with. In fact, he looked happy as he was closing the wounds of the fight's loser.

"Sensei, Grandfather tried his best right?"

"He did, Meta. So don't worry about it."

"Thank you..."

To be honest while he felt happy that Z did all he could for Erhard, the fact someone in the Organization imprisoned an innocent man just to close a case sickened him.

"...Just focus on the tournament. You can worry about it later." He told himself, using breathing exercises to calm down. As if noticing his behavior, Kurabe began to rub his back.

"Would you like a hint on how to deal with that mage?" Kurabe asked to hopefully get his mind back on track.

"No, I want to figure it out myself. I can't rely on you all the time." He replied with a smile.

"That's very true, and I trust you can do it."

Meta nodded and closed his eyes to think. "So, his bullets are what's magical. His guns seem to be perfectly ordinary and from what I can tell he has no other methods of fighting. I get it, that's such a glaring obvious weakness but it's also one hard to capitalize on. I just have to take away his guns or his ability to use guns while making sure not to get shot."

Kurabe only smiled.

"So pretty much, if I take away his guns victory is mine. For that, I hope I get the forest arena. The trees will help me move around undetected."

"And if you don't?" His mentor asked.

"I'll manage regardless of what arena I get. The forest would simply be my preferred stage."

She chuckled. "Indeed. I taught you well."

"Of course. Now if I had to pick the arena I wouldn't want, it would be the fog."

"Indeed. It would make it quite difficult for you."

"Why? Wouldn't the fog keep you covered like with the forest?" Carter asked.

"Yes, but it would give him just as much if not more cover. His bullets would be near invisible in that case."

"I see. So it would be the worst kind of stage."

"For me anyway. The worst in general would be the lava."

"Tell me about it..."

"You should consider yourself lucky that you lost so early then. Now you won't have to deal with it." Meta joked.

"Yeah, I have you to thank for that."

The youth smiled and decided to keep the rest of his thoughts to himself, just in case he was being spied on by anyone from the magic division.

"Alright, so I have a few options. Use lightning to shoot the guns out of his hands. Cut the guns in half. Or knock him out before he can even react. My teleportation is the perfect tool for all three options..." He continued this train of thought for quite a while.

---------

Meta spent the entirety of the third fight thinking, not even paying attention to who was fighting. This changed when it became time for the fourth match when Kurabe gently nudged him and pointed at the arena. One of the fighters was Fettuccine.

"Ah, Fettuccine!" He called out.

"You know she can't hear you right?" Vul asked until he saw her wave back. "...Well, what do I know right?"

Meta gave a smile. "That's just how Fettuccine is."

He then noticed her opponent, another mage from the looks of it. The opponent was holding what appeared to be a paintbrush, something that confused Meta until he realized what was going on.

"She's a summoner."

"A summoner, huh? Now how'll your girlfriend get out of this?" Vul uttered with a smirk towards the youth.

"I give her under five minutes." Was all he said.

"To win or lose?"

"To win obviously."

"...an interrogator?"

"You'll see."

With a questioning look, Vul turned back to the arena and waited for the fight to begin. The fight was taking place in the standard arena, no gimmicks, only the two fighters. The mage summoned skeletons by painting with her brush. Fettuccine was surrounded by ten undead creatures, but she was the complete opposite of scared.

"That's it? You can make anything you want and you for cartoon skeletons? I mean I could tell that you're a goth chick but really? Look at these guys, they are as threatening as a balloon in a needle factory." She taunted.

Her opponent seemed to look confused by that statement, as if she was wondering why she was being taunted.

"I mean seriously, look." The woman commented as she effortlessly ripped off one of the skeletons head. "Come on, can't you like make something more threatening? This is a fight, not a Halloween contest."

The mage gritted her teeth and summoned a new creature. A large dragon. Again, Fettuccine acted unimpressed.

"A dragon? Really? What's it gonna do, breath fire on me? Please, as if becoming barbecue is anything to be worried about."

As if annoyed by that statement, the mage then summoned yet another beast, this time an ice dragon.

"Ooooh getting frosty, aren't we? Though you do know I would die if that thing actually attacked me right? Seeing as I am a Limet. And what's against the rules again? Oh yeah, killing."

In a panic the mage got rid of the ice dragon and summoned a new dragon to take its place, not realizing she was just doing exactly what Fettuccine wanted. The mage panted, running out of breath and looked up, realizing that all of her summons were slowly disappearing.

"What?" She said in response before realizing what happened. She used up all of her mana already.

"And that's what I was waiting for."

"Y-you tricked me!"

"Duh."

It was now as the woman had said: the mage had no other ways to defend herself.

"It's unfortunate, you know? My older brother is a summoner and he told me all about a shared weakness most summoners have. Insult their summons and they'll just make more summons to prove the insulter wrong. Sorry, but I'm your worst possible match up." Fettuccine explained before picking up the mage and tossing her out of the ring.

"What did I tell you?" Meta said, gazing towards Vul.

"How did you know that's how the fight was going to end?"

"Fettuccine's an interrogator. Her specialty is getting people to break."

"I knew that much, but how did you know that mage was going to crack that fast?"

"From what I can tell, a lot of mages in that division are either scared stiff or extremely confident in their abilities."

"And as a result, easy to make squirm." Vul surmised.

"Exactly." Meta watched on as Fettuccine left the stage and was greeted by her brother and sister. "I suppose I'll have a chance to speak to them later." He thought.

"Oh yes, you'll have plenty of time later, Meta." He heard his mentor's voice in his head.

"Sensei, would you please stop?" He said, causing her to laugh.

He then heard his voice in his head once more. "Fine, but I get to snuggle with you as much as I want when we return to the room."

"Sensei, that has nothing to do with any of this. Please, just drop the hug talk until we go home."

His mentor let out a slight sigh as she wrapped herself in her cape, as if she was ashamed of herself.

"Sensei, stop. You have nothing to be ashamed of, just please respect my privacy. I still love your hugs but that doesn't mean I want them all the time... but I suppose I wouldn't mind hugging later in our room."

Kurabe didn't respond, but continued watching the tournament as if she had quickly reverted back into her serious mode. Internally she was debating something inside her head.

"He's right. I need to slow down, if I don't, I'll just accidentally upset him. But..."

She looked at him.

"Are you sure you won't mind?" She asked in reference to hugging.

"Of course, just please stop speaking in my head without permission. That's all I ask."

"Thank you, Meta. So, you do realize that there's a good chance you'll end up fighting her in the 3rd round."

"I understand that. And I don't plan on holding back."

"So, you already talked with her about it. Good, you know her better than I do so you know what to look for. Do you think she can get under your skin?"

The youth took a moment to think. "Perhaps, but at the same time, I think I can get under hers as well."

"Oh really? And how do plan on doing that?" She asked, genuinely curious because she knew Meta wasn't the type to normally do something like that.

"I just have to say the right things."

"I get it, you're gonna get her flustered with compliments. But can you get to her before she gets to you? That's the true question."

"I feel like you've prepared me for anything she can say."

"Really? I haven't seen our mentor insult you." Vul said.

"You're right, she hasn't."

"Then what exactly has she prepared you for?"

"Teasing."

Vul started laughing but stopped after looking at his face. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"I am. Fettuccine knows that I'm used to being insulted by some of my fellow students and the best way for her to get inside my head would be to tease... or even flirt with me."

"That's certainly, a different way of fighting I guess."

"Yes, but you've already seen that. She gets into people's heads to make them let their guard down before she springs forth."

"I meant the flirting part."

"Just another part of her strategy." Then he turned to his mentor, who was unusually silent. "What's wrong, sensei?"

"Nothing for you to be worried about, Meta." She said. Internally she was wondering just how often she actually did tease him.

"If it's about my comment, don't worry about it. You can consider it part of my training for my fight with Fettuccine."

"...You're becoming very mature, Meta."

"I am?"

"Yes, you are. Much faster than I expected too."

"...are you ok, sensei?"

"I'm perfectly fine."

"Why do you look like you're about to cry then?"

"I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion, considering my visor is still on. Nor am I feeling sad."

"...then is it tears of joy?"

"If you wish to believe so, despite there not being any tears to begin with."

The puff stared for a moment before raising his mentor's eye visor. "Oh, you really weren't crying." He said as he put the visor down.

"Of course." She said. In truth, she actually was, but was using magic to hide them. "Now let's focus on watching, shall we? Crate, I know that your match is after this one, so get ready."

Meta looked over to the Boxer who had been quiet up till now. Though judging by his first meeting with her, that didn't come off as surprise. She seemed to be the quiet type. Not only that, but she seemed extremely nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried about losing. I know that this is just a training experience, but I can help but feel I'll be a failure if I lose..."

The youth didn't know what to say. He could relate to that, the aftermath of the Myovam flashing through his mind. He hated defeat, but even so.

"...You'll only be a failure if you give up. Failing is horrible, but that's why you stand back up and keep trying, to become strong enough to prevent it from happening again. Also, if you go in expecting to lose, you will. You said you were the strongest of your village, right? Then you have people you're fighting for, right? So, get up and fight for them."

His friend looked at him and silently nodded.

"Sorry, sensei. I'm sure you wanted to be the one to give her a pep talk."

"Don't be. Looking out for and building up your allies is a good trait a leader should have."

Meta smiled. "Thank you." He then blinked. "...You think I can be a leader?"

"Of course I do. From what I was told, you were quite the leader back on that day you served as captain. Not only that, but you defeated a Myovam on your own. Don't you think that you have a certain level of charisma within you?"

"...I never really thought about it before, but when you put it like that."

His mentor smiled. "Someday you will be a full-time leader, and you'll be an excellent one. I guarantee it."

Meta wanted to ask if she really meant that, but he already knew quite well that his mentor wasn't the type to sugar coat things.

"Contestants of the next match make your way to the arena please." A voice could be heard saying.

"Well, Crate, you're up. Good luck." Kurabe said.

"Ok. Who knows, maybe my performance might blow you all away?"

"Then show us you can."

As the large dog left, Meta noticed how happy she now was. "I guess my speech was effective after all." He thought to himself.

---------

The fight itself wasn't much to talk about. Not that it was bad, but rather too short as Crate knocked her opponent out in one punch. The rest of the round one matches went swimmingly. Vul defeated a member of the magic division, the two Bukisets defeated the remaining intelligence division members, meaning Fettuccine was the only intelligence member to make it past round one. And finally, the two bullies lost their flights. Sheba especially got it the worst as his opponent was none other than Bio Sting. That fight in particular kept playing on repeat in Meta's head. The reason for this was because Sting took out Sheba in two blows. While Sheba wasn't the strongest guy around, Meta had to admit his defense was impressive. So, for his defense to be cracked instantly... well, it made Meta look forward to his eventual fight with Sting even more. This even continued to follow him when he returned to his room with his mentor.

"You're worried about your fight with her?" Kurabe asked.

However, Meta seemed to not have heard what she said, as he didn't react as he laid on his bed.

"Meta." She repeated, getting his attention. He noticed she wasn't speaking as his caretaker, no, she was in full teacher mode.

"Sorry, sensei. Could you repeat the question please?"

"Are you worried about your fight with Bio Sting?"

"A little."

"Stop it."

Meta looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Let me answer you with a question of my own. Is Sting your very next opponent?"

"...she isn't. But sensei-"

"No "but"s." She removed her visor and looked at him, straight in the eye. "Why are you worried about a fight that's not happening yet?"

"Huh?"

"You aren't scheduled to fight her anytime soon. She's on the exact opposite end of the bracket. The only way you'll fight her is if you both get to the finals. Don't focus on the fight that doesn't exist, focus on the one that does. The gunner is your current priority, not her or anything else. You can worry about her when the time comes but until then, quit worrying about it. You'll never reach the finals if you don't keep your head in the game." She explained is a commanding but still comforting voice. After a moment of silence, she continued. "You already know the strategy you'll be employing against the gunner, correct? Well, let's go over it, shall we?"

Meta scratched his head. "W-well, he can't fight without his guns, so I'm going to remove them from him as fast as possible."

"And how will you do that?"

"I'll use the trees and-"

"What trees? Don't assume you'll get the arena you personally want."

"...If I end up in an arena with something I can use as coverage, I'll teleport around to confuse him and strike from behind."

"And if you don't have an area with something you can use as coverage?"

"I'll use my lightning to either knock his guns away or at least disorient him."

"What if you are unable to use magic?"

"What? Why?"

"Remember what I taught you. Be prepared for any situation. You don't have any magic, what do you do?"

The youth became silent as he thought. Suddenly, he heard his mentor unsheathe one of her swords and tapped the floor with it as she glared at him.

"What. Do. You. Do?"

"...He wasn't that fast from what I remembered, in fact he seemed quite cowardly until he got the upper hand. So... I'll run towards him as fast as I can. I'm still the fastest of us even without my teleports, so if I can close the distance between us fast enough, he'll be helpless."

"Assume he gets the first shot off on you and gains the advantage. What do you do?"

"Assuming I have my magic back, I'd use my lightning to blind him and fly out of his field of vision. If I don't have my magic... I'll use someone else's." Meta said, remembering the seals received from Tam.

"Someone else's?"

"Tam gave me some magic seals just in case. One in particular might just be the ace up my sleeve. It will let me move three times faster than normal, but it only lasts for five seconds."

"Do you have any other scenarios?"

"I'll throw my sword at him. I'm sure I can throw faster than he can shoot."

"And what if you can't?"

"Then I'll make it so I can. You taught me that if I can't find an opening, then I'll have to make one myself."

"Excellent."

"...Is that what you were trying to get me to say?"

"No, I was merely reviewing battle plans with you."

"Oh. Do you-"

"If you're going to ask if I believe that you'll win the answer is yes. But that's not what you should be asking. You should be asking if you believe in yourself."

Meta became silent.

"Well, Meta, do you believe in yourself?"

"...Yes. I know I'll win."

Kurabe gave a smile as she lowered her visor back over her eyes. "Very good."

"Sorry to make you worry, sensei."

"Oh, please, Meta. I'll always worry about you."

"Thank you... and I'm sorry for losing my patience earlier." He slightly fidgeted. "...if you want to snuggle or whatever now I suppose I wouldn't mind..."

"...is that your way of saying you want me to?"

"...I guess, yeah."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"...yes."

As if a switch was flipped, he felt himself be practically tackled by his mentor in a tight hug.

"You did it, Meta! You won your first match! I'm so happy!" She practically squealed as she hugged him tightly, nuzzling the top of his head.

"Thank you, sensei. Please don't squeeze too hard."

"No promises..." She giggled.

"Fair enough..."

Despite this, she seemed to loosen her grip a bit.

"Alright, I suppose you should sleep now. You're fighting first thing in the morning, you need all the rest you can get."

"Alright then. Thank you, sensei."

"Then I guess I'll just have to resume hugging you another time-"

"Stay... please..."

Kurabe looked at him in concern. "...is something wrong, Meta?"

"No. I just want you to get as much snuggling time as you call it."

"That's just your way of saying you still want to be hugged, isn't it?"

"It's both."

She then let out a huff. "Well, if that's what you want, then I have no choice. Good night, my little knight."

"Good night, sensei."

---------

In the morning Meta was ready to fight, ready to win. He wasn't going to allow himself to lose. Now he stood in the arena, ready for the next match.

"Ready to become Swiss cheese?" The gunman taunted.

Meta simply stared at him, not caring enough to engage in pointless smack talk. General Z spun the wheel, which landed on the lava arena. With a flash, the fighters were now standing on a rock floating in a sea of lava. Looking around they saw there were ten rocks in total, meaning only ten places to fight on without getting burned.

"Well, this is probably second worst to the fog area..." Meta uttered.

"What's the matter? Afraid of a little heat?" The gunman mocked.

"Says the one whose legs are shaking in fear."

"Nah, man, you're just imagining things."

"Ready, begin!" Z's voice roared signaling the start of the fight.

Before his opponent could respond Meta teleported in front of him and threw out a punch. Meta's intended target was the stomach, simply knock the air out of him and leave him vulnerable. However, the gunman blocked the punch with his arm, a move he would regret. A loud snapping sound could be heard, a clear sign that his arm was now broken, and he was screaming in pain. Meta, startled by what just happened began to panic.

"Quick, forfeit now so that we can get you to the medic!"

With a pained expression, his opponent only turned the gun on the youth, but his hand was clearly shaking in pain. With a sigh, Meta knocked the gun out of his hands and into the lava.

"You have no weapon and a broken arm. Give up before it gets worse."

Then he attempted to punch the youth, who quickly just grabbed his hand.

"Why are you so desperate? You clearly are unable to fight right now."

"We're soldiers, I might be a coward but I'm no quitter!"

"Fine." Meta grumbled in annoyance as he karate chopped the back of his neck, knocking him out.

With his victory secured, the arena returned to normal as Erhard was once more escorted to the losing participant.

"Meta, was it? Thank you for knocking him out, it'll make checking on him easier."

"No problem, Erhard. I'm glad to be of help." He then looked down. "Will he be fine?" Meta asked, concerned about potentially ruining his opponent's career.

Erhard pulled out a device in response. "Portable x-ray. Let's see here... looks like his arm can be repaired without much effort. He'll be fine by the end of the week."

The youth let out a sigh of relief. "That's good..."

"Don't beat yourself up. Of all the injuries caused so far during this tournament, this is one of the tame ones."

Admittedly, Meta was slightly surprised to hear that Erhard practically knew what he was thinking, but he didn't show it. "I won't."

"Good. Now you best be going, the next match will be soon. That Fettuccine girl will be fighting, won't she? Go cheer her on."

"Yeah, I will. And I'm sure you will be, too, won't you?"

"Me? Normally I don't take sides in these fights, but yes. I think will be."

The puff gave a smile towards him before returning to the stands.

---------

"Sensei, are you disappointed in me?" He asked once he reached his seat.

"Why would I be?" Kurabe asked, blinking in confusion.

"I used too much force and hurt someone."

"Did you intend to break his arm?"

"No, I intended to kick him in the stomach and leave him open to attack."

"Then there's nothing to be disappointed about. Yes, you hurt him, but this is a tournament. Injuries like this will happen, be they accidental or intentional. Besides, I'm proud of how you handled yourself. Yes, you used more force than necessary, a problem we'll need to work on, but as soon as you noticed you broke his arm you tried to finish the fight peacefully and quickly. If you dunked his remaining arm in the lava, then I'd be disappointed."

"Even though you would have probably done it if you were pissed off enough?" Mercury asked.

"Oh, I would, but I want Meta to become better than me. Anyway, Meta, don't beat yourself up over this, it was an accident and an accident you tried to fix quickly. Just try to reign in yourself against weaker opponents. Objectively speaking you are one of the physically strongest competitors here."

"I understand. I'll try to hold back a bit."

"Good. And now that's over, your original strategy of stunning him was perfect. And look at that, another fight with no injuries on you. You make me a proud teacher, Meta.

The youth felt his cheeks become redder at that praise. "Th-thank you, sensei..."

"You're welcome." She said. In truth, she was initially worried about Meta when he broke that arm, but seeing as it was accidental it put most of her worries to rest.

"That's definitely the first thing we're doing when we go home, training him to control himself." She thought.

"...thank you, sensei."

"Again, you're welcome. Now look alive, the little lady is about to start her fight."

Almost immediately, Meta turned to the arena to see Fettuccine waiting down there. "Who is she fighting? Oh, it's Buru."

He sat down, curious to see how Fetty could handle a Bukiset. "Hm... what I'm more interested in is what field will be chosen for her."

The wheel turned around and around, landing on the ice arena.

"Interesting, I believe that'll hinder Buri more than Fettuccine." Kurabe commented.

However, Meta looked slightly concerned.

"Don't worry, Meta. If the match somehow approaches the hour mark, the match will be suspended." Mercury said.

"Thank you, Mercury. Though that's not entirely what I'm worried about. I don't know who to root for. Fetty is my friend, but Buru is a fellow student. Should I root for both or for neither?"

"...you say that, but I know you want to root for Fetty." The woman said with a smile.

"...I do. But that just leads into another problem. If she wins, I'll have to fight her, and I already promised not to go easy on her." He said.

"...you're worried about breaking her arm, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"You do know us Limets don't have bones, right?" She asked with a chuckle.

Meta only blinked.

"Kurabe, can I borrow Rubis or Grenat for a moment?"

"That's an odd request but alright. Just return them when you're done."

"Thank you."

Mercury took one of the swords, Rubis, in her hand and, without hesitation, chopped off her own head. Meta looked in shock, while Kurabe wasn't bothered in the slightest. Mercury's body then picked her head back up and reattached itself.

"See? Perfectly fine." The woman then returned the swords to Kurabe. "Nothing to worry about as long as you don't aim for her core."

"...Thank you, Mercury."

"No problem, Meta!"

While that conversation was going on, the fight was already underway. Buru was immune to Fettuccine's taunting. In fact, it was pointless trying to even make them say anything as Buru was mute. So, Fettuccine had to rely on her other skills to win. The Bukiset was attacking with throwing spears, meaning that they didn't need to worry about slipping on the ice. The woman, however, had to keep moving. In a surprising twist, Fettuccine ripped off her own arm and threw it at Buru. The arm connected and began to choke Buru. Quickly, Buru held up a white flag, indicating their surrender. Almost immediately, she let go and walked over to pick up her arm.

"Sorry about that, but it's not like I had much other choice."

Buru only gave a thumbs-up, as if understanding what she said.

"Well, Meta, looks like you will be fighting her." Mercury said.

"Yeah. I know I can't hold back now..."

"Remember there's more ways to win than physical strength. You know what you need to do, use her strategies against her."

"I know. That's why I can't hold back."

"...Can't hold back with flirting?" Vul asked.

"If I want to win, I can't."

"You're an interesting person. Meta." Vul said with a laugh.

"Oh, I don't think I'm that interesting." He uttered shyly.

"Most interesting people don't. Now go talk to her, it's obvious that you want to."

"Alright..." He nodded and headed down.

---------

Upon reaching where his friend was, Meta was immediately noticed by his friend.

"Hey Fetty, congrats on your victory." He said awkwardly.

The woman giggled. "Thanks, Metty! It took you a lot to say that, didn't you?"

"Not really...you know we are fighting next round, right?"

"Yup! So, you better not hold back! Because I won't!"

At first, Meta was confused as to why she was so enthusiastic about fighting him, but it quickly dawned on him.

"She trusts me to not do anything unnecessary." He thought to himself. With a grin Meta held out his hand. "May the best one win."

"Yeah!" She took the outstretched hand and shook it. "So, shall we go somewhere else? I don't know about you, but the cafeteria sounds great right now."

"Yeah. I'm feeling hungry, too."

"Alright let's go!" She said as she dragged him with her.

"Wait, I should tell sensei first!"

"Why? You don't see me telling Reedy anything."

"That's because he's Reedy!"

"Well, yes, but there's no reason to tell mommy you're getting food. Come on!"

"But what if she asks where I am!?"

Before he could get a response, he was further dragged.

"You can tell her you got lunch with the cutest girl you know later. Right now, let's actually get lunch first."

"O... ok..." He uttered, blushing a bit.

"Great... at this rate I'm going to lose before the fight even begins. Keep your cool, Meta, don't let her get to you." He thought to himself.

Fettuccine seemed to smile at this. "What's wrong? Can't handle being around someone as cute as me?"

Meta bit down on his tongue, trying to think of a clever response. "I'm... um... uh... I bet you like being with a handsome person." He said, mentally slapping himself for saying something so dumb and awkward as that.

The woman only giggled. "Why yes, I do love being with someone as handsome as you are~!"

Meta sighed, fully knowing that beating her in a verbal contest was a uphill battle. But even so, he wasn't going to admit defeat. "...Thanks." He responded bashfully.

Fettuccine laughed and dragged him off to the cafeteria.

"...So, Fetty, what did you think of my fight?"

"I thought it was good. It was quite mature of you to try to settle it peacefully."

"So, you don't think less of me for breaking his arm?"

She turned back to him with a pout. "Why would I think less of you for an accident, you dummy?"

He smiled at her bluntness. "As you said. I am a dummy."

Now the woman turned fully towards him, still pouting. She then knelt down and began to squish his cheeks. "You're not dumb! Just over thinking!"

"...But you called me a dummy in the first place."

"That doesn't mean to take it seriously, you dummy!" She squished him harder.

"I wasn't. I was jokingly calling myself a dummy because I was over thinking. I'm smiling right now, aren't I?"

"You better be joking!"

"I just said I was. Or are you just using this an excuse to touch me?"

The young lady blushed and stopped, an action Meta took note of.

"It seems I've discovered a chink in her armor..." He thought. "...Seriously, Fetty, thank you. I was worried that you and others would look down on me for what I did. Cleary I was just over thinking it."

"No problem, Metty! I'm just glad you're feeling better now!"

"I am. I'm ready to take on any challenge. So, apologies in advance if I hit too hard during our fight."

"Oh, I don't mind it at all! I'll at least know that you're not holding back!"

"Of course. Plus, I'm sure you can handle a rough time." Meta said innocently, not at all aware of what combination of words could mean.

Fettuccine blushed. "O-oh, is that how you're feeling, huh? W-w-well I think you'll have to wait a few more years for that..."

Meta looked at bit confused but felt it was best to ignore what she said. He could always ask Kurabe about it later anyway. "So how have you been Fetty? Working hard I imagine."

"Oh yes, I've been working and training hard."

"That's good to know. I know you weren't apart of that mission, but have you been sleeping well? No nightmares or anything?"

"I've been sleeping perfectly fine! What about you? Have you been sleeping well?"

"Perfectly. I haven't had any nightmares recently."

Fettuccine smiled. "I'm so glad to hear that."

"Yeah. Anyway, let's have fun during our match. No hard feelings no matter what."

"Yeah!"

"Fraternizing with your opponent? How odd." A ninja-like voice said.

Meta already knew who it was. "I thought I said to quit stalking me, Sting."

The ninja walked out from behind the shadows of the cafeteria garbage can. "Not stalking, monitoring."

"What do you want? Shouldn't you be waiting for your match?"

"My match is the last of this round. I have plenty of time before I fight."

The puff let out a sigh. "Again, what do you want?"

"I would think that be obvious. I'm observing my rival."

"So, you're stalking me."

"No, I'm observing-"

"Are you interested in Metty or something?" Fettuccine asked.

"Interested in him? Please, all I'm interested in is fighting him. I already have a special someone in my life anyway."

"...I can't help but pity them."

"Low level insults mean nothing to me."

"Look, I don't care if you consider me a rival. But if you don't have anything you want to discuss with me, kindly leave."

"As a matter of fact, I do wish to speak with you."

Meta raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"You two wish prove the good doctor's innocence and find the true culprit, correct?"

"Yes, why?"

"I wish to help." She said, any hostility in her voice now gone.

"You want to help? Why?"

"While on a mission a few months back, my legs were badly damaged. My career as a ninja would have been over, if not for him. He brought back my ability to walk, so I wish to return his kindness by bringing back his freedom."

"I see. So that's why you want to help us prove his innocence?"

"Precisely. That...and you two are very interesting to me and I'd like to learn more."

"You know you can just talk to us instead of just stalking us, right?"

The ninja didn't respond, and Meta could tell she was embarrassed. "...You're shy, aren't you?"

"I am not!"

"No, you are. That's exactly how I respond when someone calls me shy."

"You're just imagining things!"

"Fetty, you're the living lie detector. What do you think?"

"Guilty as charged."

Sting seemed to let out an embarrassed groan, as if accepting defeat at those words. "...I might be a little. Outside of my grand uncle, my parents, my siblings and my girlfriend, I don't exactly speak to many people. I do apologize if I made you uncomfortable with my behavior."

"Well, then you'll just have to learn how to speak to other people, won't you?"

"Does that mean you'd be willing to help me?"

"Of course!"

"I don't see why not."

"...Thank you, my new friend, and frival."

Meta tilted his head in questioning. "Frival?"

"Yes, friend and rival. A frival."

"Sounds good to me, Stingy." Fettuccine said.

"Stingy? Ah, this must be what's known as a nickname."

"Yeah, she gives those to all of her friends."

"So that's why she calls you... "Metty". Interesting, I suppose I should think of nicknames to give to you both." Sting uttered.

Meta smiled, glad that his "rival" wasn't as crazy as he thought she was. "Only if you want to. Don't strain yourself trying to think of one."

"It's nothing I can't handle, Steel."

"Steel?" Meta repeated.

"Yes, Steel. Your name is short for "metal", is it not?"

"Yeah, steel works for me, Wasp."

"I see. So that is what you have chosen for me."

"Yeah. If you don't like it, I can give you a different one."

"No, I do not mind it at all."

"Now give me a nickname!" Fettuccine exclaimed, making Meta chuckle at her antics.

"I see. I will have to think about that."

"Well, don't think too hard. Anyway, back to business, how exactly can you help us with our doctor problem?"

"I'm glad that you asked." She then paused. "...you have no idea, don't you?"

"No, I do. While I have no concrete proof, I believe it might have been an inside job from the legal division. I can search around for any kind of evidence."

"If you can find any solid evidence, it would be a lot of help."

After Fettuccine said that, Meta spoke up. "Don't we already know it was an inside job? They made him a scapegoat just so they can close the case, didn't they?"

"No, that's just a theory and unless we can find any proof it'll remain a theory."

"...this is why I don't care to learn about this stuff. This is giving me a headache and we haven't even gotten started yet. So, Wasp, how do you plan of getting info? I'm sure the legal division has plenty of guards and locks."

Sting gave a chuckle. "Lucky for you, I'm one of my great uncle's best students."

"I figured that much out." He replied with a grin.

Fettuccine looked on in curiosity. "They were at each other's throats not too long ago and now they are buddy-buddy. Life sure is strange." She then gave a smile. "Though, it might just be an example of that special talent Metty has."

She then took on a more serious expression. "Stingy, I'm sure you're aware of this but if you get caught..."

"Trust me Candy, I know what I'm getting myself into."

"...Candy?"

"Yes, your blue hair reminds me of blue cotton candy."

"Come to think of it, Vul said the same thing..." Meta thought.

"That's one I haven't heard yet, I like it! Anyway, just be careful to not get caught. I'd hate for you to be kicked out of the organization or worse because of my goal."

"Don't worry. I can handle it."

"Handle what exactly?" An elderly voice said. Turning around they saw Bio Raiden.

"The next match." Meta quickly responded.

"Meta, I would appreciate it if you didn't answer for my niece. Sting?"

"It is as he said, uncle."

"You've always been a terrible liar. The truth, now."

The entire group seemed to become nervous.

"...I plan on infiltrating the legal division to help find evidence to prove the innocence of the doctor that saved my life." She said.

Raiden stared at her for a solid minute before nodding. "Very well. You have my blessings."

"Thank you, great uncle."

"Of course. Just remember the number one rule of infiltration."

"Remain unseen no matter what."

"Exactly. I will not bail you out if you get caught."

"Understood."

The old ninja nodded in response. "This goes for you two as well. I will keep quiet about this, but will not bail you out if you get discovered. The punishments will be severe and will bring great dishonor onto your according divisions."

Meta and Fettuccine nodded, both slightly terrified by his tone.

"It's not just me, you should be concerned for. I'm sure the Lady of Shadows and the Silver Tactician would be furious about it as well."

They nodded, though Meta decided to keep the fact that Kurabe was assisting them a secret. Fettuccine, on the other hand, shuddered.

"Good, then I'll pretend I didn't hear anything. Word of advice, hold your secret meetings in a more private location."

"Understood, great uncle."

"I'll be on my way then."

"Wait sir, why exactly aren't you reporting us?" Fettuccine asked.

"It's quite simple. He saved Sting's life. A Bio always repays our debts."

"Well... thank you anyway." She uttered.

Meta looked at his Limet friend and knew exactly why she seemed to be on edge. Reedy would be absolutely furious if he found out about this.

"Sting, once you're done talking with your new friends, return to the stands at once. Your match will be soon."

"Yes, grand uncle."

Raiden nodded and left. All three of the young soldiers relaxed now that he was gone.

"Fetty, do you know why Reedy would be so against this? We're doing this prove a Limet's innocence. Wouldn't he want to be a part of this?" Meta suddenly asked.

"That's not the part he minds. In fact, he would advocate for it. It's the fact that we'd be using such shady methods that's a problem for him."

"I guess I understand, I prefer settling fights honorably. But, as a strategist he should know that sometimes shady methods are necessary."

"You want to be the one to tell him that?"

"No, cause he's a stone wall. Nothing I'll say will get through. It's not that I don't understand that he wants to follow the rules. But if these rules are keeping an innocent man imprisoned, then maybe those rules should be discarded."

"That's true."

Meta thought for a moment before speaking up. "Did you mention it to Raita? She's probably the only person who can get through his thick skull."

"I have considered it, but I'd rather not involve anyone else, especially not someone who isn't even a proper member of the Organization. We'll just have to make do without him."

"I agree. Now, if you excuse me, I must return to the stadium for my match." Sting said before vanishing.

It was at that point that Meta spoke up. "...Fetty, I don't know myself why I am asking this, but are you afraid of Reedy?"

"No, I'm not afraid of him. I'm afraid of making things harder on him." She immediately replied and tilted her head. "Why did you ask?"

"You just seemed really afraid when he mentioned that Reedy would be furious."

"Well, yeah, but that's less because of Reedy himself and more so my actions causing him to be furious."

"Is he really that threatening when he's angry?"

"Yeah, but that's not what I'm afraid of. I'm... I'm afraid of failing. Reedy being angry doesn't matter, it's the why. Which is why we absolutely can't mess this up." She uttered as she began to tremble.

Suddenly, Meta hugged her. "We won't fail, Fetty. I promise."

Without warning, Fettuccine's entire body became a shade of pink, much to his shock.

"Fetty, are you ok? Are you feeling well?"

Then, to his further shock, he felt her taller body suddenly shrink and looked in his hands to see a pink-colored blob in his hands.

"Fetty!?"

The blob didn't respond, but Meta could see literal hearts in her eyes.

"Let's just take you the room I'm staying in, hopefully you'll get back to normal soon."