Volume 7's POV: Third Person POV

The only thing that faced Manaka Omo now was the looming power of I-35. She was lucky enough to get this power, but now she had signed herself up to join a fight she wasn't prepared for. Manaka did not think hard about her choice, she just took on the pressing task of finishing this war without question. What was waiting for her now? Would these people be as strong as she is? Her new found strength was unreal, but who is to say they don't have someone even stronger? She had no choice but to face these foes regardless of their strength, even if she knew deep down that she was not ready to hurt people, even if they are nothing but the worst evil to walk inside this school's walls. With a clenched fist, Manaka looked forward, then walked deeper into the hallway.

What was waiting for her? That anxiety built up in the teen's mind. The only sign of relief in her heart was what Miyuki managed to pull off. If someone without this power could win, then that should mean she could too. Omo felt like she had already signed up for this, so she needed to stay strong and keep her hopes up. ("I know that they function with money. One of their leaders is already out. If I can defeat the remaining ones, then that means their trades won't be regulated. It'll fall apart. Better yet, I could just stop the trade altogether!") Manaka pondered while she traveled the halls. With that last thought, Omo came up with an idea that could potentially stall a good portion of this gang's members while also seeking out their leaders.

After a minute of walking, Manaka would reach the cafeteria. It was here where she could gauge an idea for how absolutely populated the place is. Rows and rows of tables filled with students. Looking at the far back of the cafeteria, Manaka could catch the sight of students who brought plastic bags with them; and those students would casually take out shirts, pants, even candy bars slapped in there. One of them brought the items to the table while the other pulled out their wallet and searched all of their pockets for yen to offer. There was a third person standing there who watched the events unfold, probably a supervisor. ("For a gang, they are extremely organized. This place really runs like a small economy... but, I need to stop this trade one way or another, because these people are why all of my friends are missing!") Manaka would exclaim to herself, though there was a small admiration for the very clean and well organized hideout, being quite the 'neat-freak' herself.

After getting a final look at the cafeteria, it was time for her to put a stop to I-35's trade. Manaka did so by abruptly grabbing the metal doors, and then pulling them shut with a loud screeching from the unoiled doors. Students closest by the doors shot up from their seats and darted for the door, some even shouting "Hey! Someone's locking us out!". With the first set of doors closing, members of the gang made a race for the last set of doors. Though they were quick, Manaka was far quicker. The last set of doors would have been shut in their faces, then being locked shut without a chance to escape. The gang members' only chances at escaping were unless one of them had the strength to break down the doors. Omo came to the conclusion that someone who could break doors down of that strength and size would obviously be a ki wielding captain that she needed to face. Manaka waited at the corner of the hallway patiently so she could watch the doors carefully.

One minute, two minutes, three... Omo waited patiently for the banging on the doors to grow to such an intensity that it would be broken off of its hinges. While she waited an idea came across the second year that would make her fighting chances easier: ("They all should have control of their power, but I don't. If I want to have any chance of beating them and saving this district, I should do everything I can to get to their level of control over their power") Manaka would think. There was no one she could meet who could teach her how to control it to a perfect one-hundred percent. Manaka had to become her own teacher. Now was the time she asked the question that every first-time student learning a subject asks: ("Where do I begin?") That question was easy to ask, but it was, in reality, a massive mountain for Omo to climb.

There was only one idea that came to the second year's mind when trying to gain some control over this 'Ki': Get the strength to work on demand. With that idea in mind, Manaka straight away went to try and generate more of this power. ("It only makes sense that getting this power to flow through the rest of my body would be to concentrate the strength into my muscles. Focus... think of it like an overflowing dam. The more power I add, the more I get out.") Manaka closes her eyes, repeating the analogy in her mind over and over again until it was all she could think about. Then, the teen clenched her fist, tensed up her muscles, and continued to focus. Whether it was a work of a miracle or Manaka was an absolute genius, the small glow on her body had begun to grow. What started as a light so minuscule it couldn't be much stronger than a candle light, turned into something so bright, it was like staring straight into an LED lamp. Though she had achieved her desired power, it could only be held for a moment, so she needed to keep trying harder to get that on demand.

Meanwhile, the banging on the doors to the cafeteria were continuing. There was nothing the students could do but continue to try and break down the doors or stay trapped as prisoners of Omo's. To Omo's surprise, the latter ended up being the case. After minutes upon minutes of countless banging and yelling, the doors would cease to make noise. Had they accepted their fate? Was Manaka's simple bout of sabotage enough to keep this gang at bay? Omo doubted that would be the case, so she walked forward towards the doors again to check on what was happening there. No noise was to be heard from inside... not even the squeak of a mouse or the crunching of a chip bag... it was empty.

As Manaka continued to walk to the door, there was a feeling of resistance to her feet's movements. It felt like something was weighing her... up? Something was pulling her upwards. Before she even knew what was happening, Omo was hovering in the air. "-Wh-what the?!" Manaka called out. Her feet were the first thing to hit the ceiling, Manaka now hanging upside-down at the top of the hallways. "Can Ki do that? Am I doing this?!" she thought in a little bit of panic until she noticed what was causing her suspension: Balloons. ("Balloons?! How is that even possible? I thought it was a myth that balloons could lift a person!") Manaka then grabbed at the ropes that tied the balloons to her.

The second year tugged, pulled, and tore with all of her new strength at the ropes, but it just wasn't budging! There was nothing she could do! ("Oh, come on! How can I not tear a simple rope?! I know I'm not this weak! I can't be!") she now was in a panic from the dilemma she found herself in. If she couldn't tear the ropes, what about the balloons?! Manaka would try that, bending her body upwards and throwing a punch at the balloons. Her silly attempt was returned back to her though, the balloon she punched bouncing off of the ceiling and smacking her into the face.

Despite being a balloon, the force it applied to her face felt nothing like one. It was like she was hit by an extremely rough yet bouncy volleyball. There was only one conclusion that could be made: these were no ordinary balloons nor ropes.

("If these balloons don't stop pulling me up, all of the blood is going rush to my head!") Manaka, wishing to save herself, looks around for something to grab on to. The door handles to the cafeteria were too low for her to grab and the hallway cork boards were too thin and empty to grip to. She was in the worst hallway possible to be hung upside-down by balloons of all things. Omo wanted to call out for help, but the thought came to her that if she couldn't fight these balloons, no one could. ("I need to grip onto something! If there is nothing in here, I'll need to find something in the next floor!") Manaka then curls her fist, throwing a punch at the ceiling. With the very small amount of Ki she could generate, she still managed to do considerable damage to the ceiling. The tile was easily broken and the area where she punched had broken in, but not enough to where the second floor was visible. ("Come on, Omo, concentrate! Open the dam. Overflow it. Get all of that power to your fist. Break the ceiling!") Manaka then curled her fist again, closing her eyes while repeating that same analogy to her again and again. Her body was confused, glowing dimmer and brighter repeatedly like if it were an alternating current on a lightbulb. The teen's focus began to waiver from the slow fatigue that was befalling her. Since her body couldn't maintain her full power for anything longer than a few seconds, she had to time its fluctuations correctly.

"POWWWEEEEERRR!" Suddenly she would yell, throwing a punch right at the time Manaka felt that short surge of power through her body. Driving her fist like a hammer to a nail, Omo bursted through the rest of that hole in the ceiling and forced her way through the second floor. The moment her head entered the second floor, she could see what classroom she entered: Mr. Taro's room. It was empty of people but full of objects to grab on to.

"What to grab, what to grab?" Manaka quickly thought while she scanned the room from where she floated. The first thing that came to her mind were the desks, which were considerably heavy. They should add some weight to counteract the balloons' pulling strength, so the second year's hand grasped tightly to the leg of the desk, pulling herself towards the ground as hard as she could. "Please stay! Please stay! Just because I wanted to go to space as a kid doesn't mean I want to now!"

While the teen looked around the room for better solutions, but would be distracted by the sound of footsteps that could be heard from the floor below. "Thank 'ya for takin' care of Miyuki for meeee!" a voice would soon follow.

"H-huh?! Who is there?! Are you the balloon guy!?" Manaka exclaims, her attention turned back towards the hole she came from. In the hole, the source of the voice and footsteps were revealed. It was another peer undoubtedly from I-35. "G-Get me down from here!" she pleaded.

Only to make her problem worse, the desk Manaka was gripping onto began to lift off of the ground, the strength of the balloons overpowering the desk's weight at last. Omo had taken flight once more albeit she was moving upwards at a much slower rate than she used to. The peer was watching as Omo had failed to keep herself on the ground, then gave a sinister giggle that could easily mistake him for a child rather than someone who is probably old enough to graduate. "Let yourself be free! Fly awaaay, Manaka!" the peer sarcastically taunted with another giggle.

"H-how do you know me?!"

"Everyon' knows you, Manaka! You're The Boss' 'special someone'!" he would excitedly exclaim. The peer then clenched his fists before glowing into a bright light. "Because 'a The Boss' necklace, I'm already gonna' end up like Erin Seijo, so I'm just gonna kill you cuz' it ain't matter anymore!" Then the peer would swiftly jump, that one leap clearing the entire floor and sending him into the same room that Manaka was in.

("That power! I was expecting them to be powerful, but seeing it in person is a lot different than what I pictured in my mind!") Omo, now having her confidence tested, hugged the desk she was floating with. "J-just try me! I-I'm here! I'm ready! B-b-bring it, loser!" her experience with making insults was just as small as her ability to fight. Just like Light Guy, Manaka has never fought a day in her life, and often seen as quite the pacifist. Though she knew she had the power to beat this balloon guy, there was an underlying guilt in her heart that told her she shouldn't have taken the necklace at all. Whether she likes it or not however, Omo found herself in this pressing situation, and is forced to fight if she wants to live... and not only live, but avenge the people this gang had mercilessly killed!

"L-loser? I ain' a loser! I'm a winner! I 'ave you in the air!" the peer shouted, clearly offended by the silly insult. "Jus' cuz you are stronger than me doesn' mean I need 'ta worry! I am way! way! way! WAAAYYY smarter! Like- a million IQ smart! I'm cappin' of the baggers for a reason!" the peer boasted with another giggle.

"O-oh yeah!? P-prove it!" Manaka shouted from the top of the room, continuing to hug the desk. Anymore it was futile keeping hold of the desk when it couldn't keep her down on the ground anymore, so Omo just dropped the desk on top of the peer to see how he would react. Not to her surprise, the captain of the baggers jumped to the side, the desk missing and hitting another desk.

The peer would laugh, continuing to taunt her for her missed attempt at an attack, singing: "Ha ha haha haaa! Missed me! Missed me! Now you gotta kiss me!" This only annoyed her more, and made Manaka Omo feel helpless to this guy's power. The balloons couldn't be popped, the ropes couldn't be torn, there was nothing for her to grab on to, and the culprit was literally standing right below her, but way out of her reach!

("This is baaad! This was such a bad idea! How can I even hope to hurt this guy? I have no clue what to do, I need more weight! Someone, something, pleaaaase get me down!")

"Honestly though, I think you're pretty impressive. You're stronger than I thought you would be... that necklace must'a done something good for you! I wonder what'd happen if I used it..." The peer thought, crossing his arms gently while he waited. He was waiting, but for what?

"Wh-who are you? Y-you never gave me your name!" Manaka asked while she hung upside-down from the top of the ceiling. Her arms dangled, her face burned, and her breathing was beginning to slow. It was starting to feel like the world was closing in on her while she hung by not just a thread, but two ropes and balloons. The last thing she could hope to do was talk.

"You don't know me, silly?! I'm Billy! Crazy Billy! Ain' no one' tougher than me! I'm Captain of the Baggers, the main dogs of the place!" Billy boasted, then proceeded to beat his chest like a gorilla does in the wild. "LOOOOOOOSEEEEEERRRRR! I'm gonna fuck you up with my invincible balloons and there's nothing you can do about it!" he cockily laughed and danced in place while the air began to get tighter and tighter. It was beginning to feel like Manaka was slowly drowning in shallow waters on a beach but was pinned down by a large boulder on her back. The easiest scenario to prevent casualty was now turned into the most dangerous situation in her life.

"I-I doubt it!... I.. would love to talk more... but I can't... breathe" Manaka wheezed, holding onto her throat, gasping for as much air as she could. Once she went for an exhale, her problem had revealed itself at last. Her voice changed! It got higher! "Wh-what is this? I-is this Helium?"

"Bingoooooooo!" Crazy Billy giggled, continuing to dance in place. "Come ooon, I thought you'd know that when you started flying! You're so slooooow Manakaaaa!"

("Helium? He makes Helium? But where? There's nothing in here that could make or ventilate it. Wait...") Manaka came up with an idea! It all made sense. He hasn't attacked her once but he said that he was going to kill her. He's just been standing there and talking for the last few minutes. There was no mistaking it, he was exhaling Helium instead of Carbon Dioxide... is that even possible? Can Ki grant that? There was a lot more for her to learn...

"Though you figured it out, it's too laaaate for you!" Crazy Billy cackled. His triumphant dancing would cease, now focusing his attention entirely on his opponent who was hung high into the air.

"It's... it's not!" Omo wheezed once more. Though she said that to keep her hopes up, it truly felt like it would be too late for her to fight against this power. She needed to weigh herself down, that was the only chance she had at victory. How does she do that when she has no object to hold on to? There has to be something out there she can do to save herself! Manaka's accelerated beating heart made it hard to think straight. Being able to think is what she needed to do to save herself, so she had to find a way to calm herself down.

Omo closed her eyes and began a picture in her head once again. ("Picture the dam. Go back to the dam. Burst the dam and bring it down! Let its rush of water flow through me and give me strength. Channel that water into my fists and let the weight of its strength bring me to safe ground!") Manaka quietly meditated. Instead of getting her body calm like she needed to, her body did the opposite: It got tenser. It got more powerful. Through Manaka's repeated focus, the glow on the second year's body began to grow. Every second she continued to focus, her body's power fluctuated less and less until it was able to maintain that overwhelming glow that was once expressed before. This was her last attempt to save herself. If this failed, she was as good as dead. If that were the case, she would never be able to forgive herself in the afterlife. With one fist curled, the teen's eyes bursted open, the fist triumphantly being thrown towards the ground at her full strength. "POOOOWWWEEEEEEERRRRR!!!!" she yelled, throwing that punch with every remaining bit of might she could muster.

"That's so dumb! You can't do that! You're stuck there forever–" Billy would boast, though that boasting ended up being short lived as Manaka would suddenly drop to the ground with such incredible force that the desks she landed on would be reduced to small pieces, and then the floor caving in below them. "-or maybe you can! I can do that too, you ain' special!" Billy exclaimed, looking down the newly formed hole that Manaka formed. Though he claimed he could do the same, he was clearly lying and his face read nothing but jealousy. "You- you can't do that! That's impossible!" he then shouted from the hole, looking down at Omo who was lying still on the floor below.

Unknown to Billy, Manaka was in another dilemma: She couldn't move! Now she really felt like she had a large boulder placed on her back! Just as she got herself out of one situation, she is stuck in another. ("Oh, curse me and my luck. This can't get any worse, can it?")

Crazy Billy dropped from the classroom and back into the hallway they first started their battle at. While she was stuck hugging the floor, the Captain of the Baggers was free to roam without a problem. ("Crap! Crap! Okay so picturing that dam was what got me into this mess, I need to picture something else! What should I do? What should I do?! I don't know! A dam was the first thing that came to my mind because I had no better ideas to picture! Curse me and my uncreative mind! I should've taken art instead of orchestraaaa!") she went into another panic while her attacker continued to approach her motionless body.

"You're really out, huh? I was scared there for a second but I ain' got nothin' to worry about. I think you just beat yourself up FOR me!" Billy giggled, then clenching his fists and reeling it back. His body then began to glow in the same way that Omo could, signifying that he was about to throw this punch with his full strength. "I'm gonna make sure you're REALLY out though!" Crazy Billy gave a malignant smirk, then threw the punch straight for the skull of Manaka Omo. "Goodbyeeee!"

Manaka closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, bracing for the dreadful impact that was about to come. To her surprise though, it felt like it never came...

"Ooowwww! What the heck, man!? My hand hurts! It feels like I punched a brick wall!" Billy shook his hand out to the side. He whimpered in agony as he pulled back his bloody and fractured fist.

Brick wall? Extreme weight? Manaka wondered what that could mean. The balloons were still tied on her feet still, but those balloons couldn't even dream of lifting her off of the ground. This definitely wasn't his doing, he had no knowledge of Manaka being extremely heavy. That was when a potential idea came to her: ("Miyuki mentioned the one she fought was physically strong too, but also had electric powers. Billy doesn't use electric powers, he uses helium powers. Ki doesn't only make you strong! It really DOES give you superpowers! Does this mean that this heaviness is my doing? Is that my power?!") It all made sense! It gave a boost in strength AND a special ability. She needed to be weighed down, and so she was given this weight power! But if she could weigh herself down, then that means...

"I can't stand this! It's not fair! I have you where I wanna but I can't hurt you!" Billy exclaimed, expressing his frustration by curling his fist and throwing another punch at the same spot. "Just DIE already!" Before the final punch made contact for Manaka's head, he would feel a sudden force bring him towards the ground. "Wh-what the?! I-I can't move!"

Phew! The weight was lifted off of her, she could be free again!... or so she temporarily thought until she remembered that the balloons were still on her, which was a good thing. Manaka's body lights up as more of her power is used. With her full strength, Omo kicked herself off of the ground and traveled straight to the top of the second floor. ("Here we go! I think I understand what my power is, so let's test it here!") Manaka would begin to say, folding her arms behind her back and then lining her feet next to each other. Manaka's body began to glow as bright as it could to channel every ounce of her strength into this finishing attack. Once the power was channeled, she closed her eyes and focused hard, attempting to get the new power she discovered to apply back onto her. Before she knew it, excessive weight would be added back onto her body, forcing her to drop to the ground at such a rapid rate that Billy couldn't even see her coming, the teen knocking him out with a single powerful drop-kick to his stomach. The tile floor below them was reduced into a fine powder that kicked up loads of dust into the air.

The fight was over and Manaka had emerged victorious. Though she had won, it was a victory she didn't feel like she had wanted. Omo stood over the knocked out Billy, the sight of the state they left this school and her own peer in was nothing but a soured victory. "I'm sorry, Billy. For what you represent, I feel like I shouldn't be, but I'm sorry. Please, rest well." Manaka would mutter. Because of Billy being knocked out, once her weight was removed, the feeling of the balloons were no longer there. Omo was victorious...

That victory would be short-lived however. She defeated Billy, which meant the balloons were gone. However, to her rude discovery, the ropes that were tied to her feet weren't. "I thought I defeated Billy, how can these ropes still be here?!"

Manaka's victory was shortly celebrated, those remaining ropes beginning to get an ominous glow to them before wrapping around her hands and binding them together! "Huh?! But how?! Did someone else make these ropes?!" Omo panicked, continuing to try and fight these constraints, but it was useless. From the top of the second floor, more ropes could be seen emerging from the large holes. Manaka was left helpless to these constraints, then would be helplessly tied and then pulled up into the second floor. "OH NO! HELP! SOMEONE!" Manaka pleaded. If her full strength couldn't break through these ropes, then she was done for! "MIYUKIIIII!!!!" That was all Manaka could shout before being pulled into the second class, then dragged away from the rest of the hangout.