𝙾𝚞𝚛 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚋𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 [ C̶y̶n̶t̶h̶i̶a̶ X̶ A̶s̶h̶ X Astrid ]

ACT 48 | WARMTH

"He loves her.. That is the beginning and end of everything..." Now the question was who she was? Cynthia or Astrid..
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The small sound of creak of metal scaraping against each other was the only sound in the middle of the dead night.. Three figures were visible under the cloudy night swinging on the swings in the garden of the hotel they were allotted... Two of them looked to the rightmost person to them making patterns on the ground with her feet...

"So, why betray your own academy?" Marnie's green eyes studied the girl who ordered the attack during the battle.. She lightly pushed the swing back and forth gaining momentum and wondered about it... Money was a part of it... Astrid's fingers twirled around her blonde lock of hair, a questioning look on her face...

"It wasn't difficult to see that which one of us were to emerge victorious and tides were favouring Ash in every sense so I thought why not change the side and keep my name clear.. Didn't you saw how they were assessing last day's battle to see any similar cheating thing... That Oak tree? Gary boy offered me a chance to keep my name clear alongside money.. Why should I deny it..." She said in one breath making them wonder how big her lungs were... Astrid merely nodded her head.. It was kind of expected...

"So did your school cheated in the first three battles against Hugh and Nate and me too?" Marnie asked.. A hint of anger? betrayal was audible in her high pitched voice... Vinona looked at her shooking her head in denial... "Ash was supposed to be first one they would use this trick on, Paul Shinji next and Red at last.. Calem if he was part of it... The people who could change the tides.. Ash was supposed to face the most cheating.. He hasn't battled any one of us and was unpredictability the biggest fucking problem... But he- no his charizard saw through everything... That damn monster.." Vinona bitterly chuckled... Maybe it was right.. Astrid believed so..

Ash was the most unpredictable and strongest in term of raw power for any one of them... Dealing with him came first.. Before battle, during the confrontation to break him mentally and during the battle.. They wasted no chance to destroy him but they ended up waking something they shouldn't have...

"I see... How much did he payed?" Astrid asked... Money, the essential to everything.. Clearing her name was her priority but the money was a bonus she couldn't refuse at any rate... No one does, the more money, the better it is...

"1 percent of how much they earned from ticket distribution..." A mere one percent it might sound but seeing how much the battle earned, it was too much.. Enough for one lifetime if used perfectly.. Ash's battle generated 8 times the money the first three battles combined had and broke the record Gary believed.. That guy hasn't been able to get off the screen for hours all thanks to shit Ash did... Donations of thousands, ticket of millions, online fees, food and beverages, the bet placed by the sponsors.. This was a money bath for Jubilife high...