Student 32: Sunset Shimmer

by Show Stopper


Arc 6.2 Chapter 53

Sunset followed Kaede into the infirmary as repairs were once again begun on the stage. Kotarou lay unconscious on one of the beds, his wounds being tended to by the doctor while Chizuru sat nearby. “How is he, Doc?” Sunset asked.

The doctor looked up briefly before returning his attention to Kotarou. “Nothing’s broken,” he said. “But he has heavy bruising all over his torso, and his muscles are overstrained. He’ll need to rest for a day and take it easy for a few more before he can do anything strenuous.

So with his mana-enhanced regeneration, he’ll be back on his feet any minute now, Sunset interpreted. The doctor finished wrapping the bandages around his chest before standing. “I’ve done all that needs doing. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be watching the next match.” At Sunset’s curious look, he shrugged. “It helps me to know what sorts of injuries to expect from my next patients.” With that, he left the infirmary.

Sunset sighed and sat down at Kotarou’s side, opposite Chizuru. “This is going to be hard on him.”

Kaede nodded. “It’s one thing to know in your head that Colonel Sanders-san is head and shoulders above us, but it is quite another to accept it in your heart de gozaru. And Kotarou-kun…”

Right as she spoke his name, the dog-eared boy began to stir. His eyes slowly fluttered open. “U… huh?”

Chizuru smiled at him, reaching down, perhaps to stroke his head. “Are you awake, Kotarou-kun?”

Kotarou’s eyes went wide and he sat up with a start. “T-THE MATCH!!!” His eyes darted from Sunset to Kaede. “D-did I… did I lose? I… I…” His face fell at Kaede’s affirming expression. He looked down, trembling.

“You did well, Kotarou-kun,” Chizuru said, supporting his back with one hand while she patted his leg with the other. “I didn’t expect you to be that good; I was really shocked. Come on, lie down for now and get some rest-”

Kotarou slapped her hand away, his gaze briefly meeting hers before he leapt out of bed, grabbed his shirt and darted for the door.

“Ah! Kotarou-ku-”

“INUGAMI!!!”

Kotarou froze in the doorway at Sunset’s shout. She stood, glaring at his back.

“Your opponent was beyond you. Beyond anyone here. Temper your grief and focus your mind; there are many battles still to come.”

Kotarou stood for a moment more before darting out of the infirmary and out of sight.

Sunset sighed and turned to Kaede. “Will you…”

She nodded and turned to Chizuru. “Chizuru-dono, leave this to me.”

“B-but is he okay?” Chizuru fretted. “That child, he’s injured!”

“No problem de gozaru.” Kaede gave a reassuring smile. “When we come back, please attend to him as usual.” With that, she too departed.

“It’s hard for non-wariors to understand,” Sunset said, shaking her head. “The frustration of losing while your rival seems to thrive. It’s an unfair comparison - Sanders was much more ruthless than Takamichi - but emotions are rarely swayed by logic. It’s no wonder he’s devastated.” She placed a hand on Chizuru’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. Kaede will set that boy straight. He’ll come to his senses when he sees Sanders crush her too.”

Chizuru glanced at Sunset before looking back out the way Kotarou had left with a sigh. “If you say so.”

Sunset nodded and removed her hand before making her way back to the contestants’ seating.

*****

“...okay, what the hell did I miss?”

Takane D Goodman ran crying off the stage, wrapped in Negi’s cloak and wearing nothing else. The crowds were going wild as Kazumi commentated on the last few moments of the match. Most of the remaining contestants were blushing and Negi looked absolutely mortified.

“Er, well...” Setsuna struggled to explain. “Basically, Goodman-san’s clothes - which acted as armor - were crafted out of her magic. Her technique involves the creation and manipulation of shadow dolls, which she performed with no thought for subtlety. Negi-sensei dispelled her magic doll but, in the process…”

Sunset chuckled and shook her head. “Right. I get it. I’d be more sympathetic if that weren’t so funny.” She grinned at Negi as he all but slinked off the stage. “Geeze, Wildfire. I had no idea you employed advanced psychological warfare in your fights. Well done.”

A blush consumed Negi’s face. “Th-th-that’s not it at all, Nichibotsu! I-I didn’t mean to- I didn’t know it would-”

Sunset laughed and ruffled his hair. “Wildfire, you have got to learn how to tell when someone’s messing with you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a certain swordswoman to crush beneath my heel.”

Setsuna glared at Sunset as Kazumi called them to the stage. “Your confidence borders on cockiness, Nichibotsu.”

“Borders?” Sunset gasped with fake indignation as they made their way across the river. “I’m insulted! I’m as legitimately cocky as they come!”

“Indeed.” Setsuna rolled her eyes. “What say you to a wager, then? Loser of this match faces a penalty?”

“Oh?” Sunset asked, intrigued. “Sounds interesting. Are you going to try to force me into a swimsuit like what happened with you and Mana? Or will we make things a little dangerous?”

“Dangerous how?”

“Loser has to do any one thing the winner commands.” As Setsuna’s suspicious glare, Sunset clarified, “within reason, of course.”

Setsuna considered the proposition while Kazumi announced their match. Eventually, she nodded. “Very well. If I win, you will become the Kendo Club’s dog for a month. Laundry. Cleaning masks. Equipment maintenance and repairs. Cleaning the dojo. The works.”

Sunset let out a low whistle. “High stakes. Fine, but when I win,” She grinned evilly, slipping a ring onto her finger, “you have to take Konoka out on a date by the end of the month.”

Setsuna’s face flushed. “W-w-w-what?!”

“And I’m not talking about a basic hang-out,” Sunset clarified. “I’m talking a proper lovey-dovey date. You formally ask her out. You do romantic couple things. And you give her a kiss by the end. On the lips. Tongue preferred, but unnecessary.”

Setsuna’s face was doing a remarkable impression of a tomato by this point and she leveled her repaired push-broom at Sunset with deadly intent. “Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-YOU CAN’T JUST MAKE ME-”

“MATCH TWELVE, FIGHT!!!”

Ianuae Magicae! Sunset vanished and appeared directly behind Setsuna, grabbing her upper arms.

“Wha-” Setsuna began to turn her head.

“Too slow!” Sunset poured ki into her forehead before slamming it into Setsuna’s skull. She released her grip on Setsuna’s right arm, grabbing her left in both hands before swinging her around once. Twice. Three times. She released her grip, sending Setsuna tumbling across the stage, skipping across the water, and slamming into the stands.

“INCREDIBLE!” Kazumi leapt into her commentary with a gusto. “ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE AMAZING ‘INSTANT MOVEMENTS’ WE’VE BEEN SEEING ALL DAY! IT SEEMS THAT CONTESTANT HIKARU HAS TAKEN THE UPPER HAND RIGHT OFF THE BAT WITH A POWERFUL HEADBUT FOLLOWED BY A SUPERB THROW! NICHIBOTSU, WHAT’S WITH THOSE MOVES? AREN’T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE A MEMBER OF THE BOXING CLUB?”

“I’ve been branching out!” Sunset shouted back, taking a small bow as the audience laughed and applauded.

An applause that was interrupted as Setsuna made a sudden appearance back onstage, fire in her eyes and her broom sweeping Sunset’s legs out from under her. Sunset muttered a quick curse as she caught herself on her hands, preparing to spring back up.

She was unprepared for Setsuna’s broom to come crashing down on her splayed hands.

“OH! THAT ONE LOOKED LIKE IT HURT!” Kazumi narrated as Sunset collapsed, rolling quickly away from Setsuna and shouting curses all the while as she cradled her bruised hands. “A LOW BLOW FROM CONTESTANT SAKURAZAKI, BUT AN EFFECTIVE ONE! CAN CONTESTANT HIKARU BOX WITH TWO BROKEN HANDS?”

“They aren’t broken yet, you freaking narrator!” Sunset managed to leap to her feet as she glared at Setsuna. “What the hell was that?! I mean, I’m perfectly willing to go for the low blow, but I thought you were- YIPE!”

Sunset ducked as Setsuna’s next blow came dangerously close to taking her head off. Setsuna pressed the attack, her face red as she aimed for every vulnerable, fleshy spot she could find. Sunset finally managed to start actually blocking the incoming blows, but they kept coming too quickly for her to counterattack.

What the hell is this? Sunset thought as she parried blow after blow. She’s not fighting like herself. Is she that embarrassed by what I said? I didn’t think… wait. Sunset studied Setsuna’s face as best she could through the barrage of blows. It wasn’t just red, it was twisted into a snarl. There was a hint of desperation behind the fire in her eyes. A hint of tears threatening to leak out.

Sunset fired off another teleport spell, sending herself as far from Setsuna as she could get while still being inside the arena. “Setsuna?” she asked. “Are you… really that angry?”

Setsuna turned to face Sunset, breathing heavily, her arms trembling even as her fists tightened on her broom. “I…” A couple of tears broke free. “I…” Setsuna took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “It… it would appear so. But… I don’t quite understand why.”

Sunset eyed the girl on the other side of the stage as they slowly began circling each other, decreasing the distance between them by inches at a time. Sunset’s mind was awhirl with questions and theories, each one discarded in rapid succession. Based on the timing alone, Setsuna’s anger had to have something to do with the penalty Sunset had proposed. “How…” Sunset risked a brief glance at Kazumi before lowering her voice. “How are things going between you and Konoka, anyway?”

Setsuna’s face turned - if possible - even redder, though her face relaxed a fair amount. “N-Nichibotsu, is this really the time?”

“Probably not,” Sunset admitted, “but I think we need to talk about it before you actually manage to impale me on that thing.”

Setsuna eyed her broom for a second, hesitating a moment longer before nodding. “Things have been going well.” The red in her face was now fully from embarrassment as most of the fire left her eyes. “R-really well, actually. I… I’ve actually been thinking about, well…” Her voice got so quiet that Sunset had to strain to hear it. “...asking her out on a date, maybe.”

Sunset, mindful of their audience, fought to keep the teasing glee off of her face. She kept her thoughts analytical as she and Setsuna circled closer to each other. “So, you were making plans to ask her out. And then I proposed that you do so if you lost… did you just want it to be on your terms?” Seeing Setsuna’s confusion, she tried again. “Let’s see if this phrasing does anything: ‘stop forcing my relationship to progress at your pace’.”

From the way Setsuna’s hands tightened on her broom again and the flare in her eyes, Sunset knew she’d hit the nail on the head. So, it seemed, did Setsuna. She once again forced herself to relax. “That’s probably it.”

“How about this, then?” Sunset shook her head. “Forget that stupid penalty. I went too far. I’ll just make you do the same for my club that you proposed I do for yours. Cleaning. Maintenance. The works.” She smirked. “One caveat: you have to wear an extremely skimpy maid outfit while you’re doing so.”

Setsuna’s blush was as intense as it had ever been, but both her face and body significantly relaxed. She even managed to return the smirk. “Very well. But in that case, I’m adding a bunny outfit to your penalty.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “That’s not nearly as bad a punishment for me.”

“For the whole month. Even outside of serving your penalty. Anytime you aren’t bathing or sleeping.”

Sunset couldn’t keep her cheeks from coloring a little at the thought. “...touche.”

Setsuna nodded, taking a proper stance for the first time since the match had begun. “And en garde.”

Both warriors vanished, appearing at different parts of the stage. Sunset tisked in annoyance and fired up another teleport while Setsuna did the same with her instant movement, each trying to guess where the other would end up. A series of misses saw the two of them zipping all over the stage before they suddenly found themselves face to face near the edge. Surprise bowed before reflex and fist met broom in an explosion of ki before Sunset and Setsuna had fully registered each others’ presences.

They recovered quickly, striking out at each other as they had so often done during practice. Setsuna’s strikes were slower than before, but far more controlled. Sunset found each blow more difficult to repel, and - though she was able to counter where she couldn’t before - her own strikes were being parried as well. A few glancing blows got through. A knee to Setsuna’s leg. A lunge that grazed Sunset’s cheek. But though their strikes continued to increase in speed, precision, and cleverness, neither was able to gain the upper hand.

“AMAZING! THIS IS MORE LIKE WHAT YOU’D EXPECT FROM A MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT! CONTESTANT SAKURAZAKI’S SWORD AND CONTESTANT HIKARU’S FISTS ARE PRACTICALLY A BLUR AS THEY STRIKE AT EACH OTHER FROM CLOSE-QUARTERS! FIVE MINUTES IN, AND IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE EITHER SIDE IS LETTING UP!”

This is going nowhere, Sunset thought as she blocked a strike aimed for her head and countered with a jab that Setsuna dodged. At this rate we’ll just tire ourselves out while we run out the clock. She met Setsuna’s eyes and saw her frustrations mirrored. At an unspoken signal, they both leapt back, putting some distance between them.

This was not, however, a pause in the fighting.

Setsuna swept her broom lengthwise, unleashing a blade of condensed ki that streaked towards Sunset. Sunset grinned, closing off the flow of ki to her right hand. Instead, she drew mana in through her ring, coating her right arm in magic. Her punch split the blade of ki in two with astonishing ease, leaving Setsuna staring in shock.

Sunset replied by gathering ki into her left hand. She saw Setsuna’s eyes go wide at what looked like the beginnings of the kanka technique. She rushed in, determined to interrupt Sunset before she had the chance to activate it.

Sunset allowed the ki in her left fist to grow and eclipse the magic in her right. Setsuna realized her mistake too late, barely bringing up her broom to block before Sunset’s fist connected, the blow sending Setsuna once again flying off the stage and into the river.

Gotta thank Takamichi and Asuna later, Sunset thought as she began pouring even more ki into her left arm. That bluff only worked because Setsuna’s already seen two people use kanka during this tournament.

Setsuna burst out of the water, running across the river towards the stage while Kazumi counted her down. Sunset rushed towards the edge herself, slashing her arm horizontally in a sloppy imitation of Setsuna’s earlier technique. It served its purpose, as Setsuna had to change direction to avoid it, running around the wave of ki and trying to curve back towards the stage.

Sunset kept up the assault, sending wave after wave of ki between Setsuna and the stage, holding her off as the count slowly worked up to ten. But Setsuna was wising up to Sunset’s strategy, and at Sunset’s next blow, she leapt fully over the wave and started rushing straight for the stage.

“Oh no you don’t!” Sunset rushed for the edge herself. She didn’t know how Takamichi, Kotarou, and Setsuna were able to walk on water, but she didn’t need to. She just needed to keep Setsuna off the stage for five more seconds.

As soon as she reached the edge, she poured a ridiculous amount of ki into her legs. She shot forward, a full tenth of the stage shattering behind her. Setsuna’s eyes barely had time to go wide before Sunset slammed into her, blowing them both back towards the river. Sunset took a deep breath.

Splashdown! Sunset and Setsuna sank beneath the water, the former holding tight to the latter as she started to kick, sending them further downwards. Setsuna immediately realized what Sunset was doing and began to struggle, trying to pry Sunset’s arms off of her. Sunset tightened her grip, letting magic go out of her right hand and flaring her ki, causing the water around her arms to steam a little. Setsuna found it impossible to break Sunset’s grip and started striking Sunset’s head directly. Unfortunately for the swordswoman, her fighting style relied on technique and speed more than raw strength, and the water swallowed up most of the strength she had to give.

By the time she realized that she was well and truly trapped, it was too late. Kazumi’s distant, muffled cry of Sunset’s victory prompted her to release her opponent. Both warriors swam for the stage, breaking the surface and climbing up with plenty of air still in their lungs.

“That was a dirty trick,” Setsuna grumbled as she started to wring out her clothes.

“All’s fair,” Sunset countered cockily, letting her wet clothes cling to her and appreciating the stares that she drew. “Besides, I’m full of dirty tricks. It’s not my fault if you’re too noble to stoop to my level.”

Setsuna sighed but conceded the point. She looked over with a small smile. “I suppose that’s your victory, then.” She held out her hand. “Congratulations, Hikaru Nichibotsu. You win.”

*****

“Congratulations, Nichi-chan!”

“Setchan! Are you okay?!”

After their little swim together, the tournament doctor had insisted on giving both Setsuna and Sunset a once-over despite their protests. No sooner had he proclaimed them both healthy than their classmates descended upon them. Nodoka and Yue had begun congratulating Sunset with Haruna standing right behind them, visibly restraining herself from nagging Sunset about magic. Konoka, meanwhile, had ignored Sunset completely in favor of fussing over Setsuna. Setsuna was doing a poor job of fending her off, though it seemed to Sunset that she wasn’t trying too hard. Asuna and Negi had joined them shortly after while repairs were made to the stage once again.

“That fight was amazing, Nichi-chan!” Nodoka gushed. “I had no idea you could do no-incantation spells, too!”

“I was surprised to see them in Negi-sensei’s match too,” Yue noted. “You said that was a pretty high-level technique.”

“It is,” Sunset groaned. “I spent most of my time in the vila this morning getting it down. I only managed to pull off Iunae Magicae and Sagita Magica with any reliability, though. I’m guessing Wildfire doesn’t have more than three or four spells he can silent-cast.” She turned her gaze to Negi, who nodded. “Of course, I also had to get used to this thing.” She held up her hand, showing off the ring she’d born during her fight with Setsuna.

It was a simple silver band, apparently unadorned. But when Sunset removed it, everyone could see etchings and engravings all along the inside. “A gift from Evangeline,” Sunset explained, “since it would look weird if I started waving a wand around during a martial arts tournament.” She snorted. “Not that there hasn’t already been a lot of shenaniganry today.”

“That’s right!” Negi suddenly ran up to Sunset’s side, face full of concern. “Nichibotsu! We forgot to tell you before your match started, but there’s big trouble! Pictures and videos of our matches are turning up on the internet!”

Sunset’s eyes went wide. “Seriously?” She looked off in the direction of the arena for a second. “So that’s what Takamichi meant.” She shook her head and looked back down at Negi. “And? How are people reacting?”

“Um, well,” Negi fidgeted nervously. “I didn’t really get everything that Chisame-san was saying, but it sounds like someone is purposefully trying to spread the word about magic. There are a lot of people saying that it’s just CG, and it looks like some of the magic teachers are trying to help that side control the conversation or something, but I really couldn’t follow the details.”

Sunset hummed to herself, rubbing her chin in thought. Chisame, huh? Well, if anyone would have a firm grip on what’s going on online, it would be the class shut-in. I’ll have to follow up there, see if she’s realized the truth about magic. Still, this is getting interesting. I knew this tournament couldn’t be entirely innocent with Chao behind it, but I didn’t think she’d be ready with a coordinated misinformation - or rather, information - internet campaign. Didn’t she only find out about magic recently?

“So what you’re saying is,” Sunset said at length, “we should try to keep our more flashy extraordinary abilities on the down-low?” She shook her head. “Sorry to break it to you, Wildfire, but I’m afraid it might be too late for that. Powerful blows and superhuman reflexes are one thing, and you could even explain away ‘long-hits’ and other ki attacks, but we’ve been instant-moving and teleporting all over the stage since the beginning, not to mention how we’ve been throwing each other across the water. There’s no way you can explain all that away as CGI.”

“You’d be surprised,” Yue commented. “Humans have an amazing ability to ignore or reject anything that doesn’t comply with how they think the world works. Even I was tempted to dismiss your and Nodoka’s conversation that one night as nothing but a dream so I wouldn’t have to accept the existence of magic.”

“That’s right!” Haruna chimed in. “In fact, just around Mahora, there are tons of things that don’t make sense without magic! Just look at Library Island! We’ve been spelunking around in there for years, but isn’t it really strange that a school library would be filled with rare and ancient books? And what’s with all the booby traps? Even the most famous libraries in the world don’t have those sorts of things! Now that I think about it, it’s really strange!”

Sunset facepalmed. “...you’re seriously only realizing this now? I come from a world that all of you would consider to be full of fantasy and wonder, and even I realized something was strange when I first saw Library Island. And in case you haven’t figured it out yet, Library Island was the first thing I saw in this world!”

“Actually, I wanted to ask you about tha-”

“Oh! Would you look at the time!” Sunset turned heel and started walking briskly towards the exit of the infirmary. “We’d better get going before Kaede and Sanders’ match starts!”

“Nichi-chan! Wai- Negi-sensei! Asuna-san! Setsuna-san! You two aren’t even in the tournament anymore! Guys!!!”

*****

“NOW THEN, THIS TOURNAMENT HAS PLAYED OUT WITH WHITE-HOT MATCHES SURPASSING COMMON SENSE! WE ARE FINALLY HEADING INTO THE SEMIFINALS!!! FOR OUR FIRST SEMIFINAL MATCH, WE HAVE CONTESTANT COLONEL SANDERS VERSUS CONTESTANT NAGASE KAEDE!!!”

The audience went wild as Kaede and Sanders strode confidently onto the stage. Sunset watched with mild interest, content to be a mere spectator for this match. She already knew that Sanders was out of everyone else’s league; the outcome of this match was clear before it even began. Which meant that she wouldn’t have to face any of Kaede’s techniques and she wouldn’t win against Sanders’ even if she did study them. Until her match with Negi began, she was going to just sit back and enjoy the show.

“CONTESTANT KAEDE HAS RISEN UP ALL THE WAY TO THE SEMIFINALS DUE TO THE FORFEIT OF CONTESTANT KU FEI! HER TRUE POWERS ARE UNKNOWN, BUT SHE SHOWED US SOME WONDERFUL MOVEMENTS IN THE FIRST BATTLE! COLONEL SANDERS, MEANWHILE, HAS SHOWN US SEEMINGLY UNLIMITED POWERS! THE HOOD THAT HIDES HIS FACE NOW LOOKS EERIE! NOW THEN, WHAT KIND OF MATCH WILL THIS BECOME?!

“NOW THEN, SEMIFINALS MATCH THIRTEEN, FIGHT!!!”

Sanders barely raised his hand, and the match seemed to be over. Kaede was pressed flat by some unseen force, a force which created a five-meter wide crater in the stage. Kaede lay in the crater, unmoving.

Well, one of Kaede, at any rate. Four copies of the ninja appeared around Sanders, casually observing the carnage that he’d wreaked. They launched themselves into the offensive, forcing Sanders to dodge and counter a rapid series of close-range strikes. Several of the Kaedes’ blows connected solidly, but Sanders seemed unphased throughout. He finally managed to gain the upper hand, knocking two of the shadow clones away entirely and fending the other two off with ease.

That’s when the fifth Kaede attacked from behind.

A powerful punch sent Sanders crashing to the stage, throwing up a cloud of dust and debris as Kaede’s clones dissipated.

“T-THIS IS INCREDIBLE! WE’RE NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT JUST HAPPENED, BUT, IN ANY CASE, CONTESTANT KAEDE HAS KNOCKED CONTESTANT COLONEL INTO THE GROUND! THIS IS THE FIRST SOLID BLOW THAT CONTESTANT COLONEL HAS TAKEN ALL TOURNAMENT!”

“Impressive,” Sunset muttered as Negi and the others cheared, “but nowhere near enough.”

Sure enough, Sanders emerged from the dust a few seconds later, uninjured. Even his clothes appeared untattered. While Kazumi freaked out over his amazing constitution, Sanders and Kaede seemed content to pause their match for some brief conversation. Sanders’ face was veiled in his hood, and Kaede’s expression almost always remained straight anyway, so it was impossible for the audience to tell what they were discussing.

Soon enough, though, their battle continued. Kaede took to the offensive again, summoning her four shadow-clones as she pursued her opponent. Sanders retreated unworriedly, even as he leapt off the stage and began dashing backwards across the water. The fight soon reached the stands, with both Kaede and Sanders leaping up to battle on the roofs of the walkways. Kaede and her clones hounded Sanders all around the arena, all as Kazumi wondered aloud if she should even be taking count for them being off the stage.

Sanders eventually broke away from Kaede, leaping high towards the center of the stage. He hovered there, almost a hundred meters up, and splayed his hands. Five large black orbs appeared, each almost as large as the stage itself and each above one of the Kaedes. The orbs came crashing down, bearing the Kaedes to the river below, the massive waves kicked up soaking the audience on all sides.

The spray soon subsided, revealing Kaede standing on one of the walkways’ roofs, having narrowly avoided the attack. Sanders hovered above the stage still, prompting absolute confusion from the commentators and a chuckle from Sunset. Say whatever you want, Wildfire, but I don’t think this guy cares about Chao’s antics.

Sanders pulled something from his sleeve. Sunset leaned forward, squinting as she tried to make out what it was. Wait, that looks like-

In a familiar flash of light, Sanders was suddenly surrounded by a swarm of hovering books, a lone bookmark in his hand. Sunset’s eyes widened at this and she regarded Sanders with renewed interest. An artifact? That means he’s contracted to someone. But who?

Sanders snatched one book out of the air, flipping it open and placing his bookmark inside. Kaede leapt from the rooftop. Sanders snapped his book shut. Sixteen clones joined Kaede in the air. Sanders ripped his bookmark from the book. The swarm of Kaedes gathered ki into their fists. The bookmark began to glow. It was a race to see who would finish their technique first.

Kaede lost.

Sanders’ transformation was obscured by his cloak, but was obvious in his movements. He struck back against each of the Kaede clones in rapid succession, dissipating them with an easy grace that he hadn’t previously possessed. He grabbed the last Kaede - the real one - by her throat. He turned down, rocketing suddenly towards the stage. They crashed down with a deafening crack of shattering wood as debris went flying in every direction, the audience screaming in panic as some of it almost struck the seating. Kazumi had ducked down to avoid the blast and was swept up in the wave of dust that soon enveloped the stage.

It took a full minute for the dust to clear enough to see the damage that had been wrought. Kaede was hunched over, resting her hands on her knees. A thin trail of blood trickled from her mouth, a more steady stream from a cut on her cheek. Sanders stood before her, unharmed and unruffled. The stage itself was a mess, the wood blown completely away, revealing a stone floor underneath. Even the stone was cracked around the impact site, leading many in the audience to cry out for Kaede’s well-being.

Sunset wasn’t concerned; Kaede was still standing and not too terribly wounded from what she could tell. Rather, Sunset was impressed. If that attack had connected perfectly, there would have been no way Kaede would still be standing; somehow, the ninja had managed to free herself at the last instant before impact. Sunset watched as Sanders and Kaede spoke briefly before Kaede smiled and nodded. She’d conceded her defeat.

Sanders had won.