Elsewhere in the Academy, the sound of someone getting struck across the face is heard. Dante stumbles back before Marionette appears beside him and slams a kick into his face, sending him flying back and slamming into a stone pillar. Dante grunts as lifts himself off the ground.
"Right, right, forgot. Not unstoppable force of nature here." He says, looking up. Marionette looks at him with a conflicted and concerned look.
"Please. Just stay down. We'll gather your friends and you can all leave together." Marionette says. Dante stands and looks at her with a smile.
"Not gonna happen. I won't let you or the other Reps stop them from chasing their dreams." Dante says. Marionette looks a bit upset by his words.
"It's not that. I don't want to crush their dreams, I just-"
Before she can finish, Dante flashes his cancellation powers at her. She puts her hands up as the wave hits her then Dante appears right above her with his arm back to strike. He swings down as she quickly leans back, avoiding the attack.
Marionette then swings the back of her hand up and backhands Dante across the face. She then slams her open palm against his stomach, sending him flying back. Dante catches himself as he slides across the ground, obviously in pain.
Marionette then flashes next to him as she slams him across the face with extreme strength, much more than she seemed capable of. In an instant, she kicks out one of his legs from behind and wraps her arm around his neck, holding him tightly.
"Just stop fighting. There's no point. The Reps have already decided." She says when Dante suddenly disappears with a green flash then kicking her across the face. She stumbles back as Dante charges her but again, she disappears with a dash past him, putting some distance between them.
Marionette looks back at Dante with a slight glare as her cheek is bruised from his attack. Dante breathes heavily as he catches his breath before standing up with his back still facing her.
"Let me ask you something." Dante says, turning around. "You just said the Reps already decided. You don't strike me as someone who'd refer to herself in third person. Does that mean the other Reps decided but you haven't?" Dante asks. Marionette gets an upset look before disappearing.
In an instant, Dante is struck across the face then downwards and again back up, Marionette only appearing for flashes between each strike. She then slams her palm into his stomach but before he can go flying back, she grabs his collar and yanks him close before slamming her palm into his face, sending him flipping behind her.
Dante, mid air, then disappears with a green flash but Marionette's eyes dart over and in an instant, she's caught back up with him and grabs his face, slamming him into the ground. Dante grunts from the attack and looks to be in a lot of pain as Marionette stands over him.
"Please. Don't make me do this." She says with a soft voice. Dante disappears once again, leaving her behind. A decent distance away, Dante hides behind a wall, catching his breath.
"Well, she doesn't seem so thrilled about this. Maybe if I just leave her to her own devices, she'll be alright. Besides, I don't recall ever fighting her so I'm not sure how to-"
As he speaks to himself, a hand phases through the wall behind him rapidly. It grabs onto his shoulder and yanks him through the wall with great strength. He's tossed across the ground as Marionette stands there staring at him. Dante groans as he sits up before she speaks.
"I am Representative 4, Marionette Fontaine, the fastest student. It is my duty to protect this academy, its students, and their dreams when all else fails. I will not let you go." She says more firmly than before yet her eyes express a hint of regret. Dante looks at her with slight concern.
"Okay. Escape is not an option."
Dante says subtly before blipping away and into the air with a basketball in hand from the sports rack. Marionette notices and looks around, realizing they're in the gymnasium.
"Hey! Catch!" Dante shouts as launches the ball at her at full speed. Marionette just stares at it as it totally phases through her. Trying to capitalize on the distraction, Dante blips behind her and swings his leg around to kick her on the side of her head but it just goes right through her.
He looks shocked before she quickly grabs him by the collar and slams him onto the ground over her shoulder. She instantly pulls her arm back and slams her open palm across his face before following up with a total barrage of strikes to his face.
After a moment, Dante blips away, struggling to get his feet under him, when Marionette already is standing before him with her hand ready to strike. She slams her palm into his face and sends him flying into the back wall.
He slams against it when Marionette instantly drives her palm into his stomach then into his face again. Over and over, she strikes him until she stops with a forceful slam against the wall, pinning Dante against it with her forearm against his throat.
"Just submit." Marionette says with conflicted eyes. Dante stares back as his eyes glow a bright green.
"Never."
Marionette's eyes grow wide for a moment before she grabs Dante and throws him across the room which he quickly catches himself and slides on the floor. Marionette stares at him as she stands tall.
"Prove it." She says firmly, her eyes sharp at intentful. Dante smirks back as he lifts his arms across in front of him.
"Fine. I guess I will!" He shouts as he throws his arms to the side and igniting the green energy ball attack in both palms, preparing for the fight to come.
Somewhere else in the academy, Cole goes flying through a couple doors and onto his back before flipping to his feet. Giving him no time to catch up, Samuel slams his Spirit Shield coated fists across his face twice before slamming a palm against Cole's chest, sending him flying back.
Right before Cole is about to slam into the teacher's desk of this classroom, something catches him. Samuel's Soul Shell grabs onto Cole's waist and holds him, stopping from him smashing the desk.
Cole looks confused for a moment when he's suddenly yanked back and punched heavily across the face causing him to hit the ground hard as Samuel takes a couple steps forward and adjusts himself. Cole props himself up with a grunt as he focuses on healing his wounds.
"I find your utter disregard for academy property appalling." Samuel says. Cole looks at him with sharp eyes.
"It is rather difficult to focus on protecting property when I'm trying to protect myself."
"Excuses."
Samuel then Splitsteps behind Cole faster than he can react and backhands him. He goes flying towards the seats but Samuel quickly grabs him again and slams him into the wall. Cole grunts as Samuel goes to punch him again but quickly stops and backhands him again into the doorway only to then punch Cole in the face and back out into the hallway.
Cole gets to his feet and quickly puts his Soul Shell up to defends the assault from Samuel's Soul Shell. He strikes from all directions as Cole holds his guard strong before the strikes stop. Samuel's Soul Shell puts back a bit as Cole pants.
"You claim to want to be a hero. Heroes need to do more than punch big and scream loud. It's about protecting people." Samuel says firmly.
As he speaks, Samuel's eyes glow a powder blue like his Soul Shell as he narrowly dodges two thrusting tentacles from Cole. Instantly, Samuel front kicks Cole into the wall behind him as Cole's Soul Shell attack almost destroys the classroom wall behind Samuel.
"And I don't mean just bodies. I mean their livelihoods. What is a person supposed to do if they get home after a war only to find nothing? You failed as a hero if all you did was beat some people up and left the civilians in the dust."
Samuel lectures as Cole glares at him. He slowly, cautiously, gets up as Samuel stares at him intently. Neither one says anything as other students watch around them in shock and confusion.
"A hero is supposed to help others." Cole says as his Soul Shell retracts a little too. Samuel's eyes stay narrow as if getting a point across without speaking. "Who are you to help me?" Cole asks sharply. Samuel stares at him before speaking.
"I am Representative 3, Samuel Tsukishima, the strongest soul. It is my duty to make sure every student thinks before they act." Samuel says before looking down just a bit, adjusting himself again.
"Although I find that epithet rather disingenuous considering other souls in the ASA are far stronger than mine." Samuel looks back up sharply at Cole. "I have mastered my own soul. Now show me yours." Samuel says as the two of them stand before each other.
Suddenly, Cole thrusts one of his tentacles at Samuel who does the same to match. They both split their tentacles into many smaller one and slam them together, intertwining them. After a moment of tugging, they slam two more together in the same way. They both pull each other back in a sort of tug of war.
"It appears.. our Soul Shells are the same.." Cole says, struggling.
"Yes.. that's what happens with flexible Souls.. Instead of a specific construct.. you get versatility.."
Samuel says before instantly deactivating his Soul Shell causing Cole to slam against the wall behind him. Samuel Splitsteps right up to Cole and drives a straight punch at his face but Cole quickly dodges to the side. As Samuel's fist goes, he stops it right before hitting the wall.
Cole quickly attacks but Samuel blocks swiftly and effectively as Cole slams against his block a couple times. Samuel then jumps into the air, pushing Cole back a bit, and looks down at him. He puts his hand in front of his face with his index and thumb making a circle and his other fingers extended.
"Kozen" Samuel says as he looks through the hole of his fingers and as powder blue energy begins to build in it. Cole's eyes widen as he puts his Soul Shell guard up, expecting a devastating attack like the Kozen Crystal fired before. But nothing comes. Instead, Samuel speaks more. "Echo."
Samuel says as the Kozen Echo shoots a small beam of energy directly at Cole. It hits his guard but seemingly fuses with it before a small burst exerts from within, doing internal damage to Cole. A couple more beams are fired as they hit Cole directly, each bursting after the other.
Cole stumbles back as he bleeds from his mouth and nose, holding his chest. Samuel stays in the air as his Soul Shell holds him up to the ceiling.
"If you intend to fight. You'll have to think faster than that, Cole Jigoku." Samuel says as Cole grits his teeth in pain and frustration. They both stare each other down intensely, waiting for the next step in this fight unfolding.