Academy days (Book 2 of IA)

[28] Kuro vs Isa

"50 on the white hair chick! She's solid!" one guy burst out.

"70 on the black hair girl. She got moves!" another guy said.

As the crowd placed their bets, Kuro and Isa entered the ring.

"Alright, we are here at the semi-finals! On one hand we got the cold silent killer Kuro!" the announcer gestured.

"Go gettem girl!" one of the men cheered.

"On the other head, we got the mean lean Isa!"

"Yeah! Beat the crap out of her!" one of the men shouted.

"The countdown begins now!" the announcer said, as the countdown appeared on the monitor above them.

Kuro remained calm and composed. She stood opposite Isa, who exuded a tough, mean demeanor that was meant to intimidate her opponents. The tension in the air was palpable, as the crowd eagerly anticipated the clash of these two formidable fighters.

The countdown hit zero.

The beginning bell rang, and Kuro and Isa circled each other cautiously, gauging their opponent's movements and looking for an opening. Kuro, focused and calculating, made the first move, launching a quick jab towards Isa. Isa easily parried the attack, countering with a swift kick aimed at Kuro's side.

Kuro sidestepped the kick and attempted to sweep Isa off her feet, but Isa saw it coming and leaped over Kuro's outstretched leg. Isa landed and threw a powerful punch, but Kuro had already recovered and narrowly dodged the blow.

The two continued to exchange strikes, their speed and agility evenly matched. Each move was met with a counter, and it became clear that this fight would not be an easy victory for either of them.

Kuro is a sniper, I didn't expect her to be this strong in close combat...

Isa thought as she threw a punch at her.

Isa is...Strong!

Kuro thought as she did a cartwheel backwards, narrowly dodging Isa's attack.

As the match wore on, the two fighters began to show signs of fatigue. Their movements slowed, and their strikes became less precise. But neither Kuro nor Isa was willing to give up. They pushed through the exhaustion, their determination fueling them as they continued to battle.

Finally, Kuro found an opening, landing a solid punch on Isa's jaw, causing her to stumble.

Despite Kuro's impressive punch, Isa quickly regained her footing, using her close combat expertise to her advantage. Kuro, a skilled sniper, was not as proficient in hand-to-hand combat, and it began to show as Isa pressed the attack.

Isa closed the distance between them, forcing Kuro into a corner of the ring. Kuro attempted to create space between them, using her long legs to kick at Isa and push her back, but Isa expertly dodged each strike. She slipped under Kuro's high kick, grabbing Kuro's extended leg and twisting it to unbalance her opponent.

Kuro fell to the ground, and Isa wasted no time capitalizing on her advantage. She leaped on top of Kuro, pinning her to the ground and delivering a series of quick, powerful punches to Kuro's face and torso.

Kuro tried to defend herself, blocking some of the blows and attempting to push Isa off of her, but Isa's close combat skills were simply too much for the sniper to handle. With each punch, Kuro's strength waned, until she could no longer put up a fight.

Realizing that Kuro was defeated, Isa held back her final punch, ending the match. The crowd erupted in cheers as Isa was declared the winner of the round. Despite their intense battle, Isa reached down to help Kuro up from the ground, showing respect for her teammate's efforts.

"Not...Not bad." Isa panted, as she offered her hand.

"Same to you..." Kuro said, groaning in pain, as she took Isa's hand.

"Looks like Isa will be going into the finals!" the announcer said, the crowd cheered in unison.

Isa pulled Kuro to her feet, and helped her out of the ring.

"That was one hell of a fight. Well done girls." Kat grinned with both hands on her hips.

"Yeah! Kuro was like hee-yaa! With the kick!" Vic demonstrated by doing a high kick. "And Isa was like Ura! With the punch!" Vic did a demonstration again with a punch.

High above on the monitor it displayed the matchup for the next round of semi-finals:

Kat vs Vic

Q: Who do you think will win? Kat or Vic?