ALL NOVEL Chapter 90: A Surprise
Alex looked surprised by Midnight's words, 'Midnight saying that her combat abilities being only at B rank must be her being humble. After seeing her movements, I can say for sure that she is well above B rank in terms of combat as well… Maybe not at Buster's level but she is still very powerful… Which is amazing to think about when she is taken to be more of a support in battle with her abilities.' Alex looked at Midnight as the two walked down the hallway to the main observation room.
Imani was sitting on the chair, watching the security feed when the two entered the room. She turned back and smiled, "That was a pretty well fought out battle. You took on someone stronger than you and held your ground. If you had used that dagger from the beginning, you might have had a higher chance of winning so I commend you for that. Plus, most of the attacks, except for the last one was from what you had learned this morning so you're doing well. Now, The more you learn, the more ways of battling will open up. More plans and ideas will come up so that's what I will help you with." She then turned her attention to Midnight and spoke, "At least, for now, you don't need to stress about anything. All you need to do is rest." A small smile formed on her face.
Midnight looked at Imani and smiled back, "He did learn really quickly. I also got warmed up a lot from training him so I'm ready to have a few practice rounds as well. What do you say about that, Imani?"
Imani smiled back and nodded, "I've been waiting for this for some time. Training with a bot everyday was boring so now, my first actual combat session with someone more powerful than me, at least in rank."
Midnight laughed when she heard Imani, "Don't worry, I won't be using my abilities for this match, It will only be a physical battle. So we'll be around the same level in terms of physical abilities. That makes the match up more than fair." Imani looked at Midnight and nodded, " That's why I'm excited about this as well. I'm no match for you when it comes to an actual battle but no abilities, just physical strength battle is what I'm looking forward to."
Imani then looked at Alex and smiled, "Well, Why don't we rest for a while then get into this battle. I'm sure that you'll have some fun watching this match but also keep in mind to observe what we do in battle as well. You'll learn something as well. Well, That's what I hope."Imani said as she pointed Alex to a chair. Midnight also walked to a chair and relaxed.
Imani spoke, "I'll be doing something so I'll be back in a while. Until then, I hope you show Alex the videos and talk about his mistakes and what he did right." She smiled at midnight and walked out of the room. Midnight nodded and showed Alex the videos while waiting for Imani to return. Until then, The two watched the videos taken by the cameras. Midnight pointed out the many mistakes Alex had made during his practice match. She also laughed at him being thrown around by her when he was trying out attacks on her.
After some time, Alex seemed to get a better understanding of everything. Imani returned into the room and smiled, "Now that sometimes has passed. I'm sure we can get into the battle, right?" Midnight and Alex nodded and followed Imani to the arena.
The two stood in the circle, facing each other. Both had a confident smile on their faces while they waited. Alex didn't know what the two were waiting for but he soon understood. At the top of the arena, a hologram clock showed up.
"Time- 20 Minutes"
Alex understood that the two were waiting for that hologram to appear. "3…2…1, Begin!" A voice exclaimed. As the two heard the voices, they both circled one another. They were observing each other. Imani smiled and ran to Midnight as quickly as she could. Midnight, a bit surprised by the attack, jumped back to dodge. However, Imani once again jumped to Midnight, she persisted until Midnight had no other option but to defend.
Imani ran close to Midnight and threw a straight punch to her gut. Midnight tried to block the attack but was too slow and was hit, "Ahh!" She groaned a bit before kicking back. Imani, a bit surprised by the quick defensive kick jumped backward.
However, She didn't expect Midnight to sprint towards her before she could even land properly. Midnight threw a quick punch to the gut, which also hit. The two were equal in terms of damage. They jumped backward and observed each other again.
Alex watched as the two were in a halt, "They really don't know each other's moves properly so I think they are trying to just observe what the other one has or what they do at first so that they can make a plan after they have a grasp of each other's techniques." Alex thought out loud.
A soft voice suddenly entered Alex's ears, "They are indeed observing each other, sizing their attacks and power up. Once they feel more comfortable, this match will be a fast one. It looks like a B rank versus an A rank… Knowing Midnight, she probably decided not to use abilities for such a match... But such confidence on the B rank girl must mean that she is fresh out of training under an S ranked awakened…"
Alex looked behind him to see Hana. She was in tight jeans and a black jacket. She looked at Alex and then turned her attention to Imani, "is that the girl who is supposed to keep you safe? I head a few things but I really don't remember… My mind was on something else the entire time…" She said as she sat down next to Alex.
Alex didn't answer for a bit. He didn't know that Hana would be here in the arena. She looked at Alex and spoke, "I just wanted to check up on the guy who hasn't been able to catch a break in his life. But leave that for now, answer my question."
Alex smiled, He looked at Imani and spoke, "Her name is Imani. Apparently, Ryan was training her for things like this. Her ability is enhanced senses… That's what she said so I assume she can hear a lot clearer and further away, same with smell… But what Ryan seemed to talk about the most was that Imani was a closed ranged fighter… And apparently, she has the physical ability to battle an A-ranked awakened but her abilities aren't as strong so she will have to be in B rank for a bit longer. But I'm pretty sure, looking at her fight that she is already an A rank and is just like me, waiting to get the higher rank…" He explained slowly.
Hana looked at Alex with furrowed eyebrows, "Like you?" She then smiled, "It seems like being in all those shitty predicaments helped you get stronger. A win I guess." Alex laughed and scratched his head, "I don't know. But as long as I can be of help to everyone, I'm happy with getting stronger."
Hana nodded when she heard Alex's words, she spoke, "I was here to talk about two things but let's leave that for later, the two finally seem to be more comfortable with each other so it's a matter of who can get a clean hit on whom. This will be an interesting fight, Midnight isn't the best close-range fighter in terms of power but in terms of techniques, she is among the top. So I'm curious about what will happen now."
Hana then looked at Imani, "Hands a bit lower and legs a bit more spread apart… She seems to be someone who runs around more…" Hana continued observing the two. Alex heard Hana's points and noted them, 'If it weren't for her, I would have had a bit more of a difficult time understanding their stances and moves. But it does seem true, From what I've seen till now, 5 minutes in… Imani seems to run around a lot and attacks people after a sprint towards them or a jump. And Midnight seems to be more stationary compared to Imani and seems to focus more on counter-attacks…'
Imani and Midnight both jumped towards each other, they both aimed to punch each other's stomachs. *boom* Both of them clouded with each other and were pushed back. Midnight smiled and threw another kick, to Imani's head which was quickly dodged. But before Imani could attack Midnight, her eyes opened wide. She looked at the ground to see Midnight slowly dock down and sweep her legs.
Imani fell flat on the floor. She looked at Midnight who tried to jump above her. Imani quickly jumped back up and dodged backward. "That was good." She smiled while watching Midnight's every move. Midnight smiled "Your initial punch on me was also very good." She complimented back.
Hana looked at the two and sighed, "This really isn't as fun as I thought it would be… By the looks of the timer, they spent 5 minutes just tapping each other to test the waters. Now they seem to have gotten serious but only to this extent… But one man's trash is another man's treasure. It might be boring for me, but Alex you watch how they plan their attacks, it could help you even more in future battles."