"Let's show the power I gained from games!"
"…A red headband?"
"That stance… I've seen it somewhere…"
Mash tied the red headband around his forehead, striking a pose—right hand near his face, left hand low.
(Sensei's vibe changed…)
"That stance…!"
"Yuzu, it's that one, right?"
"Definitely. We've played enough to know!"
"Alice gets it! No mistake!"
"No clue… but Game Dev's hyped, so it's a game stance?"
"Mimicking game moves… in reality?"
"Impossible… but with Sensei, maybe?"
Mash bobbed his heels—tap, tap, tap. Neru, confused but alert, braced herself.
Mash muttered:
"Full-Muscles Magic: Gaming Power Mode."
"Character: Ryo."
"Gaming… power? A headband can't—" Dash!
Neru fired, forcing Mash low, then unleashed a powerful kick—the kind that sent Alice's railgun flying.
"Take this!"
"Hmph!" Block!
(Blocked perfectly—spot-on timing!)
As Neru registered the block, Mash countered.
"Low!"
Crouching, Mash launched a low kick.
"Dangerous!"
"Mid!"
Neru jumped, dodging, but Mash's right punch connected.
"Tch!"
"Mid, mid!"
(A combo—dodge low!)
"Mid—low!"
"Whoa!"
Neru dodged mid-level attacks but got caught by a low kick, forced back.
"He's… mimicking a fighting game character!"
"It's Ryo! Seeing game moves in real life!"
"Go, Sensei!"
Mash chained low-to-mid combos, jump-mid-to-low sequences, overwhelming Neru.
(Fixed moves, yet I can't dodge… Gotta fight back!)
"Neru-senpai's attacking! Physically!?"
"Bullets got blocked or dodged, so she's going physical."
"She's never lost at that range. Even mimicking game moves, Sensei can't win… right?"
"Keep up, or I'll match you!"
Neru rushed in, mirroring Mash's flying kick with devastating force. But—
"Just guard!" Block!
"Stomach!"
"Just guard!" Block!
"Sweep!"
"Just guard!" Block!
"How's this!?" Rapid kicks.
"Just guard, just guard, just guard!" Block, block, block!
"What!?"
Mash perfectly blocked every attack, unfazed by Neru's feints, guarding only what would hit.
"You read my timing!?"
"Trained in games."
"Games train you that well!?"
"They did. My turn."
Mash pulled both hands back, charging power.
"Big sis! That stance… Hadoken! It's coming!"
"Record it! A real Hadoken's once-in-a-lifetime!"
"Alice is recording!"
"So exciting!"
Game Dev aimed cameras, thrilled to see game moves live.
"Hadou…"
"Ooh!"
"…ken!"
Whoosh!
Mash thrust his arms forward, unleashing… a gust of wind.
"Just wind!?" Oof!
(Got hit by air pressure!?)
"Just wind!?"
"No magic here."
"Still, wind's crazy!"
"Wind hurting this bad!?"
"More coming!" Dash!
Mash closed in, spinning midair like a tornado, unleashing continuous roundhouse kicks.
"Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!"
"Whoa!?"
"Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!"
"Perfect mimicry!"
"How's he airborne so long?"
"It's Ryo!"
"Exactly!"
"Games… I don't get it."
Neru dodged, aiming a heel drop at Mash's recovery. Mash shifted, crouching, hands forward.
"Character change: Kyle."
(Character switch!)
Mash sprang up, somersaulting, kicking Neru's heel drop midair.
"Somersault Kick!"
"He's using Ryo, Gen, and others!"
Neru landed, reloading her SMGs, keeping distance.
(Somersault Kick users are rare… He's not joking, which is the problem!)
"Character change: Chunrei."
(Another switch!? It's a fighting game… I'll attack from range. Games block projectiles, but this is reality—one hit, and he's done!)
Neru fired, thinking real bullets would end it.
"Hundred Retsu Kyaku!" Rapid kicks!
Mash balanced on one leg, deflecting every bullet with rapid thrust kicks.
"His leg… multiplied!?"
"That speed! Like afterimages! Amazing!"
"And now…"
Mash flipped upside down, spreading his legs 180 degrees, spinning like a helicopter propeller toward Neru.
"Spinning Bird Kick!"
"Ignore physics much!?"
"It's a game character." Spin, spin, spin.
"Don't talk while spinning! Stay back!"
Neru, cornered against the wall, refused to give up.
"Don't underestimate me!"
"Whoa!"
"She kicked off the wall, getting behind Sensei!"
"Distance again, Sensei! Can that character close it? Or switch again? Who can match me in a fighting game!?"
"Character change: Edmond Matsuda."
"There's one!?"
Mash shot forward, perfectly horizontal, headfirst toward Neru.
"Here it is! Edmond Matsuda's signature move! Super Headbutt, aka… Dosukoi!"
"Can humans charge that straight!?"
"Normally, no."
Mash's head rammed Neru's stomach.
(Heavy!)
"Head… hurts…"
"Crashing into a Kivotos body does that!"
Neru nearly kicked Mash's head but missed as he dodged, then unleashed rapid slaps.
(Slaps block my view! Can't dodge… Fun… but—)
"I won't lose!"
Dodging slaps, Neru reloaded, fired, and closed in as Mash backed off.
"Character change: Ryo."
"Too late, Sensei! Not at this range!"
Bang!
Neru shot Mash's arm, but he didn't flinch, launching a move.
"Shoryuken!"
"Guh!" (Shot and still unfazed!)
Mash twisted midair, landing an uppercut that lifted Neru slightly.
He wasn't done. Another twist—
"Shin…!"
(Games… just entertainment… got him this far? Damn, I don't wanna lose… but this fight… wasn't bad.)
"Shoryuken!"
Mash's Shin Shoryuken struck Neru's jaw clean, sending her crashing through the ceiling into the sky. Landing, Mash struck a victory pose.
"I'll keep fighting, believing the answer lies ahead."
Quoting a game character, Mash won.
"Neru-senpai… lost? That's the power of games?"
"What now?"
"Find Neru-senpai and retreat."
"See ya, everyone! Sensei, later!"
C&C fled. Other Millennium students, seeing Neru soar, thought, "No chance," and ran.
"We won!?"
"Sensei's total victory!"
"Your arm… okay?"
"Fine. Cream puffs will fix it."
"No way!"
"Trying this mode on the fly was tough… So tired…"
Thud.
"Sensei!?"
"Overused moves… Sorry, carry me."
"FP depleted? Alice'll carry!"
"Saved by Sensei again."
"No, I won because you guys taught me fighting games. Thanks… Yuzu, Alice-chan too."
Mash fake-fainted, face paling. Game Dev rushed him to the clubroom.
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