Kayoko Vs. Kaoru

George finishes writing something on the black-board with a precision that only a teacher could possibly have. “Higashi Kaoru.” As he turns around, the teenagers are able to fully see his perfect calligraphy, alongside an almost perfect drawing of said person. “Out of the three, he is undeniably the weakest, and we should take advantage of that fact.”

“How so?” Asks the black-haired delinquent while taking a cookie that Laura offered him and taking a bite.

“Well, from what we watched in his previous televised battles, Higashi just isn’t on the same level as the other two in question of actual battle prowess.” Explains Umiko while staring at the black-board and feeling a tinge of jealousy. “His Megumu-type ability is pretty versatile, but he seems to only really use two different strategies with it.”

“If we consider how through Kurohane probably is with their duelist’s training, I’d wager that this is a result of his own ego than a failure on their part.” The blond man comments, before pointing to a part of the board with the word ‘Ayatsuru’ written on it. “His ability is to completely control his hair.”

Taking a bite of a cookie, the blue-haired manager adds. “He can, like, extend his hair, make it more durable and even turn it into weapons.” She gulps the delicious, but small treat down and continues. “His defense is very lacking in many parts, but the offensive can be a problem, seeing that, with his stretchy hair, he can fight pretty well at mid-to-close range.”

“I see, that could be very detrimental to some of us.” Hiroto says while resting a finger on his chin. “I can think of a couple ways to counter him.” Looking at the advisor, the boy asks. “Seeing that he is a mid-to-close range fighter, I’d assume that he has a limit to how much he can expand his hair?”

“Yes, there is a limit, but I’d still say that it might just be better to engage on hand-to-hand with him. Especially if you can match his speed.” George scratches the back of his head. “While I said that he is the weakest, do not underestimate him. The boy can have a pretty big ego, but in the heat of battle he has shown to be able to adapt exceptionally well.” Warns the teacher, to which his students nod.

“We should come up with some more specialized strategies for each of us.” The fashionista suggests and Umiko nods.

“You bet!”

The rest of the meeting was all about the group thinking of their strategies for this specific match-up.

***

Kayoko’s first course of action was to quickly make distance between herself and the green-haired boy, enough to be out of his mid-range offensive zone.

“Running away so soon? But we barely started!” With a mocking laugh, the boy lifts both of his arms and shouts. “That’s fine by me! I love the thrill of the hunt!” His eyes start to glow menacingly. “Ayatsurugan!” The teenager’s green-hair suddenly gains a ghostly glow and start flailing around, showing that it had ‘come alive’. “Let’s go!” Not wasting any more time, he dashes forward at a respectable speed, while his hairs move towards her like tentacles ready to immobilize Kayoko. “Hairstyle: Restraint!”

While still keeping her calm, the fashionista grasps her suitcase tightly and swings it with enough force to swat them away. Wasting no time, she also rushes forth before leaping off the ground and going for a kick to the boy’s face.

While her strike was fast, it wasn’t enough to hit his face as a cluster of hair came in and defended Kaoru’s face. “You’re not fast enough, I’m afraid!”

‘Guh! It really is more durable than normal hair! But-‘ By putting her other foot on the cluster, she was able to use it as platform to propel herself back. ‘-I can use that to my advantage too!’ While in the air, she brings her free hand towards her scarf. “Ataerugan!” As she lands, a reddish sparkle hits the piece of cloth, and it comes to life. “Well then darling-“ Locking eyes with Kaoru, she smirks while pointing at him. “Allez, dansons!”

***

“Urgh, that’s the worst match-up we could possibly have!” Umiko says while deflating in her seat.

“She’s a good match to Higashi, but-“ The club advisor sighs. “-She was also our best bet against Nakai.”

While getting desperate now would be an overreaction, their odds had significantly declined. Ken would have been the perfect one to battle against Kaoru.

“Well, it’s not like we can do anything about it now.” The delinquent stands up and slams his foot against the little wall separating their seats from the arena. “You can do it Izumi-san! Beat him up!” Cheers, the tall boy.

Jumping out of her seat, the manager repeats the same action her club mate did. “He’s right! No point in crying over spilled milk!” Taking a deep breath, she shouts. “C’MON IZUMI! YOU CAN DO IT! BEAT THAT GUY UP!” Turning to face the brunet, Umiko quickly pulls him up and forces the boy to do the same as her and Ken. “You too!”

“S-Sure.” With a blush, the shorter boy also starts to cheer.

George sighs, then smiles.

They were right, while the situation might be bad right now, it isn’t the end of the world.

***

Kayoko ran off towards the green-haired boy while her scarf slithered down her neck and wrapped itself around her left arm. With her right arm, she threw the suitcase towards her opponent.

He easily dodged the baggage and went on to counterattack, but at the last second, the silver-haired girl leaped into the air and went on for a kick.

Once again his hair moved and positioned itself to protect the boy. “Hairstyle: Curtain!” Shouts the green-haired teen as the clusters grow longer enough to fully cover his front portion.

The fashionista hits her strike, but thanks to his shielding, the boy takes no damage from it. “Guh!” Before she can back away like before, some strands of hair quickly move up and wrap around her foot, keeping the girl in place.

“Got you!” Kaoru announces with a mocking voice. “Huh? What are you smiling for!?” His tone changes as his silver-haired opponent smirks.

“Non!” Retorts the fashionista. “I got you!” She throws the scarf on her left arm past the boy’s head. It wraps around the suitcase before she pulls it back towards herself.

“Huh- Gah!?” The baggage hits the green-haired teen in the back of his head, making him lose focus and let go of Kayoko’s foot.

“We are not done yet!”

Grasping the suitcase in her hands, the silver-haired girl swings it down and hits Kaoru’s head once again, sending the boy straight to the floor.

Loud gasps could be heard in the crowd.

“She’s actually doing it!?”

“N-No way, that was a fluke!”

“Y-Yeah! That’s just beginner’s luck!”

Both schools seem in shock at how close this entire battle seems to be and for the first time, the students from Yumehara start to actually believe that they might have a chance at winning this.

“Huh?” Kayoko is not even able to take a little breather, as small hair in the form of closed fists breaks out of the ground and hits the girl, sending her flying back.

As she hits the ground, the fashionista is quick to roll away to a safer distance, although thanks to not being able to properly plant her foot on the ground, she has some trouble standing up right away.

“That was good, I wasn’t expecting you to actually hit me.” Says the green-haired boy after getting up, his hair retracting back to its original size. “Guess I’ll have to actually take this seriously!” He takes off towards the silver-haired teen. “Take this!” Leaping into the air, he extends his hand towards her. “Hairstyle: Drill!” His hair expands and moves towards his arm, wrapping around it and forming a pointy drill. “Haaaah!” It starts to spin as he rapidly approaches.

Thanks to her poor recovery, Kayoko wasn’t able to dodge this next attack, so instead she uses the suitcase to block the drill. “Guh!” After a couple of seconds clashing, the baggage explodes and its contents spill everywhere.

“Huh!?” Something hits Kaoru in the face, giving the fashionista the opportunity to move away from him. Burying the tip of his hair weapon in the ground, the boy pulls whatever hit him off his face. “The heck is this!?” He shouts while analyzing the item.

It was… pants?

Yes, in fact, many articles of clothing were now scattered all over the arena.

“Well, if you’re gonna start taking things seriously-” Kayoko, who was now surrounded by many clothes smiles. “-then I guess so should I!” She touches two pieces that were on the floor and a reddish spark flies off her hands, hitting a hoodie and another scarf and bringing them to life.

“This battle is just getting started!”