"Alright, we did it! All three of us made it to the semis!" Exclaimed Sakura with a grin.

"It's not a big deal," Responded Katie, her voice as blank as ever.

​​

"What? Of course it's a big deal, I mean, we just made history!" Argued Sakura indignantly.

We were currently in the middle of an hour long break before the start of the the semi-final round, I was staying relaxed and calm to make sure both my stamina and XFE are fully replenished by the start of the next round. Technically speaking, I guess you could say I'm meditating, in the literal definition of the word.

After Sakura's match ended, I decided to go to the infirmary and hop into a Healing Pod for a bit, since I had taken some damage during my last match. I healed for about half an hour and then returned to the waiting room after that. I wasn't fully healed, there was still some soreness left, but the fractures and actual damage had been healed.

I could have stayed a while longer and healed up all the way, but I might have been too tired afterwards, so I decided against it. Healing Pods use a person's stamina to heal them, and the greater the injuries, the greater the amount of stamina used.

I think I made the right call, because even without healing all the way, it still feels like I lost a bit more stamina that I'd have liked. And since I train so intensively, I'm used to moving around while sore and fatigued, so I shouldn't be too far from my best.

I'm sore, but I'm not in pain, my stamina's not at full capacity, but I'm far from tired. And hey, maybe it's not so bad...after all, in real fights, your opponent isn't going to care about whether or not you're at a hundred percent or if you're having an off day or whatever. So-.

"Hey, what do you think, Kilzachs?" Inquired Sakura, interrupting my meditation.

"I think you should shut up and stop bothering m-."

"It's cool that we just made history by all making it to the semi-final round, right?" She cut me off again, ignoring me.

"Who cares?" I grumbled in reply.

"Wow, you're both such wet blankets," She sighed in exasperation.

Shut up and leave me alone, I need to regain as much of my stamina as possible so that I can crush you in the second semi-final.

"You're too cheerful," Countered Katie, sounding disinterested-...oh, wait, that's how she always sounds.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Remarked Sakura with a laugh.

"It is."

"No, it's not! I'll have you know that thanks to my personality, I'm super popular!" Sakura argued indignantly.

"That's boastful and narcissistic."

"I wasn't-!"

"Jesus fucking Christ, I can't believe you're letting this rile you up," I spoke up with a frown.

"...huh, you're right, why am I getting so worked up?" Wondered Sakura, calming down a bit.

"Because you think you're going to lose your next match and you're nervous?" Answered Katie...okay, she's definitely messing with Sakura deliberately.

"We'll see about that. I don't doubt that Kilzachs is seriously formidable, but then, so am I," She responded with a huff.

"Your copied manifestations won't work on another Anomaly though," Pointed out Katie objectively.

"You don't think I know that already? In case you forget, his Anomaly powers aren't gonna work on me either," Countered Sakura objectively.

"You know, I've been wondering what exactly would happen if you tried to hit me with one of your copied manifestations...try taking a swipe at me with one of those big-ass arm manifestations," I chimed in.

"Now that you mention it, I'm kinda curious too. And knowing would benefit me, so...," She remarked in agreement, standing up and walking towards me.

She then activated the manifestation and moved the fist of it towards my chest...the instant right before it could come into contact with me, it dissipated in the blink of an eye.

Good, I'd been afraid that it might only dissipate after making contact, but it looks like I really don't have to worry about taking any direct hits from her during our fight.

Another concern I'd had was that maybe attacks from her copied manifestations wouldn't count as direct Anomaly powers, just like how my X-Blasters and X-Blades work perfectly fine against other Anomalies.

But it looks like I won't have to worry about that either...

"Thanks...I now have a clearer picture of what to expect in the next match," I remarked, satisfied.

"Sure, you're welc-...oh, crap, I shouldn't have done that," She realized with a grimace.

"Yeah, you really shouldn't have," I replied with a smirk.

———————————————————————————

Point-of-View: Katie Cummins

———————————————————————————

Looks like it's almost time for my next match...and so far, my opponent has effortlessly won each and every one of his matches, without so much as taking a scratch or even breaking a sweat.

"Hey, do you know anything about the powers of my next opponent?" I reluctantly asked Kilzachs...I would have preferred to win without any help or advice, but I'd rather not lose without even knowing what happened.

"Hm? Oh...well, yeah, I think it's pretty obvious that his powers probably have something to do with illusions," He replied, after mulling it over for a second.

"Yes, I thought so...how can I avoid it?"

"Honestly, you probably can't," He said after mulling it over for a moment, before adding, "If he can activate it on his target from a distance, then you're screwed. You're not allowed to move from your starting point during the countdown, and I'm guessing he'll probably activate it then."

"Yeah, that sounds about right, from what we've seen of him in the tournament till now," Agreed Sakura, chiming in.

If they're right about that, I have cause for concern...

"Isn't there a way to defend myself from being inflicted by his ability?" I asked.

"Let's see...well, in my case, if I lock onto someone with the intention of activating one of my powers, they can't escape it unless they manage to literally escape my sight before I finish the activation chant...and like I just mentioned, since you can't move during the countdown before the start of the match, you'll basically be a sitting duck," Explained Kilzachs.

"Yeah, that's how it works for me when I try to copy someone's manifestation, if they leave my sight before I finish the activation chant, I fail to copy their power," Added Sakura.

"And there's really no other way to avoid it?" I asked, disheartened as I felt a sinking feeling in me.

"Not as far as I know, sorry," Replied Sakura apologetically.

"I don't know either...though even if I did, I'm not sure I'd tell you," Said Kilzachs with a shrug.

Blunt, but I suppose I appreciate the honesty. Not that it helps me right now, I need some kind of strategy before the fight...do I just blast him with lightning the moment the fight begins? That does seem to be my only option...

...

A few minutes later, it was time for the semi-final round to begin, and I still hadn't come up with any decent plans to counter my opponent's powers...which only left me with one option.

"Good luck out there," Said Sakura, as I stood up and headed for the door.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind duking it out with you in the final," Added Kilzachs.

"Hey, you gotta beat me first!" Exclaimed Sakura, sounding annoyed.

I didn't quite hear his reply as I headed out the waiting room and shut the door behind me, before heading for the arena with a deep breath and letting out a slow exhale.

My opponent arrived as I did, a slight smirk on his face. He had longish black hair that had purple streaks dyed across it, which framed his face and fell over his forehead, covering his eyebrows, the back of his hair going down to his shoulders. He had orange eyes, was tall and slender, and looked irritatingly confident.

He seems absolutely certain that he'll win...and maybe he will, but I refuse to make it easy for him. The moment the countdown ends, I'll blast him with my Manifestation Overdrive, let's see if he can dodge it.

As the announcer declared the start of the countdown, he didn't so much as budge, standing nonchantly with a carefree expression, his eyes looking down on me condescendingly...he's mocking me.

"," I chanted, as my XFE enveloped and formed around me, streaks of lightning crackling around it as it formed, "."

I began charging up lightning inside the jaws of my manifestation, putting a full forty percent of my XFE into it, as the countdown continued to tick...

Should be five seconds left, so-...my eyes widened in surprise, as I glanced at the countdown to see that it was already at two seconds...what? Am I so nervous that I'm losing track of time this easily!?

No matter, I'll still fire this the instant that the countdown hits zero, which is...right now!

I swiftly opened the jaws of my manifestation and fired out the lightning straight at my opponent, in a massive, blinding blast towards my opponent...sure enough, he can't dodge this.

He didn't even budge as the blast closed in on him, getting teleported out in the blink of an eye as my lightning struck the wall of the Duel Field, the impact traveling throughout the barrier in a bright, electric glow of an explosion.

I did it...I won the first round, and I've got enough XFE to repeat the dosag-.

"Due to his opponent attacking three full seconds before the countdown was complete, round one goes to Yugi Suzuki by default!"

Huh?

_____________________________________________

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