(Discontinued) CORHEIM Year One Volume 1: The New Heart in Town

Chapter Dvadeset i Pet

Chapter 25———into the fire.
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———Outer Field of the Forest———

There was no entrance to be exploit, even the superacid of Kadoku Haritoka proved to take much time against the massive walls of ice, and time was thinning out for Team F. Takeo Fukuazan was standing on top of his wall, mocking Kadoku on the top of it and blew raspberries at him.
Beneath the mocking and insulting someone who could easily fly up and take the demon weasel-fox boy down, Takeo knew that his opponent would never try to fly up; as Kadoku was too narrow-minded for that——He has a one-track mind.
In the epicenter of the forest, a battle between two forces of fire and explosions was taking place.

———Center of the Forest———
There were four people in the center of the forest:
Ryoji, whose exasperation was reaching to a new level, seeing how every attack was draining his Aether away.
Funka, on the other hand, was loving every minute of it by pummeling her enemy. Ryoji had seen that animosity before in the lines of war, actual war when he was nine years old. Thinking about it gave him stress.
Unneeded stress.
Akina, standing there and barely moving a muscle, useless as her teammate Su-Jin, who was protecting Akina and her by controlling the flora around them to shield them. She was doing everything she can to protect Akina had the device in her hand.
It was personal from what Su-Jin perceived through her own pupiless eyes, forming brambles that traveled around them as she avoided their fight.
Whatever they have against each other is serious. Their emotions, or on Funka's behalf, is incredible to witness. The overflow of it——it's so personal and they have known each other not even a year! Su-Jin analyzed mentally.
"Enough of this!" Ryoji said in one voice as he quickly slapped her right in the side of her stomach, making his opponent go through another tree.
She will be feeling that on her back tonight as she will lie down in her bed.
Funka got back up on her feet as Ryoji was in a fighting position. She gasped at how strong that slap was despite he taking no effort. Wiping the blood off her mouth, surprised that she was bleeding from that little slap to the side: She was beginning to think she was becoming fragile. One little slap and I'm bleeding? She thought as she tasted it. I am bleeding. Okay, merc: Now I'm pumped.
She was now getting serious as her eyes changed and she's focusing only on Ryoji; not Takeo, Su-Jin or Akina: Just Ryoji Dragomir Kazama.
She had Ryoji in her trap: she had a device in her belt that captures the unfortunates in a pitfall, which the Heart-Bond fell in with one foot.
"Are you serious?! Ryo: How did we get caught like this?!" Igneus fretted inside Ryoji's mind, his Bonder answered back dryly. The device must've been in her utility belt...Which pocket? I do not know but I have to get out!
First, the daughter of Captain Molotov had started to pummel Ryoji to a messy pulp with one punch that broke his tusk, then another one before her fists grew into a flurry of fists. Each punch felt to him as his organs were erupting underneath the armor.
Finally, a squeeze on his stomach and a pink explosion broke a section of his armor.
She threw another punch quickly, as he anticipated when she tried to punch him but he dodged it swiftly while breaking . He did two front flips before landing, Funka applauded him in a insulting manner.
The people in the monitor gawked at Ryoji for his acrobatic abilities and also that Funka was now becoming quite dishonorable when fighting with Ryoji: she was a true delinquent.
She was a hellion to him. There was no class, no elegance when she struck him, no finesse when she was fighting him. She fights like one of those actors they call themselves "wrestlers". Ryoji criticized her mentally.
She stopped after twenty-seconds of it, looking at how much she can take the pain on her gauntlet while Ryoji backed down, planning his next move. Those punches he had received were stronger than his. His stomach quivered in agony.
Although Ryoji lived much longer than his brethren, her strength showed that he was not the strongest in his class.
"Bravo. Just bravo. I didn't think you'd last against my blasts——I thought it would take four explosions to take down a portion of your shell, not sixteen point-blank shots." Funka congratulated her foe, cracking her hands. "But even Heart-Bonds have a limit to how much damage they can take." She went on further with her analyzation. "The form that you take—I wanted to make sure it was only one layer of skin——That hole beneath it——the stomach area is the weak spot of yours..Ain't it——R.D.K?"
Incorrect——My weak spot is— Ryoji was confused on what she meant about weak spot, the only  physical weakness he had was only exploited once. That was before he was interrupted by Igneus.
"No, she kinda got a point there, Ryo. We're kinda screwed."
Fix that spot, then! Ryoji commanded Igneus.
"Uhhhh———I can't." His Heart said with a whimper.
What do you mean you can't?
Igneus explained to him as Ryoji stayed in his tracks. "As in: I can't without draining our Aether away and we only have twenty-eight percent. Left. That's our Aether since we haven't exactly charge our Aether up since the first synchronization."
Jebi ga! She hit us with everything she got.......Let's go then!
"Wait! If we go full power, we can seriously hurt her! We would take her head off from her neck——even without our full strength. Your strength."
Ryoji was silent in the head for a second, realizing that his physiology could never change. He had the strength of twenty grown men——Ryoji had taken off a man's head off when he was nine years old, and was easy in doing so.
In the real world meant dealing with real pain, and the feeling of something eating his back woke him up. "Arghh!!!!!" Ryoji screamed in agony, his face in the mud, his pride down and could not even walk currently.
He was ambushed by Kadoku Haritoka, who managed to melt the ice wall through an alternate path. Takeo did not even notice how he
Not good! My back is burning away from that acid attack from Kadoku's superacid! Not good! He was beginning to let fear overtake his mind, a rookie mistake.
Kadoku simply cackled wickedly, towering over the Heart-Bond; wanting to do that since he heard of Ryoji when he first came to Surwick. Despite his crude behavior, he was well-informed in what happened around the hallways. "Hey, buddy!" He placed hi feet and applied pressure to the horns. "I'm sorry for spraying acid on your back, but there's a lot of people that piss and I had to take it out on a Heart-Bond!" His mechanical foot was off, letting Ryoji to breathe again, choosing the better option later on.
Kadoku smirked at Funka and gave her a simple compliment. "Thanks for baiting him in, you actually helped me." He let out his hand, hoping that it can connect to her, yet; one look and he knew: She didn't reciprocate the feeling. He stopped trying to make things better.
Both of their ears were stinging from the device that were given to them and they knew why. "You pull another stunt again and your team will be immediately disqualified. Do you understand me, Team F?" The voice of the American Sweetheart, New Glory boomed through their ears and felt the vibration touching their brains. ".......Sorry." Kadoku apologized, pressing on the earphone to activate the mic function. "Won't happen again, Mister Glory."
"You called him Sir so many times: I said Mister once. I wasn't trying to be a kissass like ya." Kadoku didn't mince his words with his comrade in a cruder tone.
Funka still said nothing to him.  She kept on looking at Ryoji, who still didn't move an inch. She checked on how much pain she can tolerate by scanning on her gauntlet, which showed yellow instead of green. Great......Just a few more blasts before I can't take any it anymore......At least he's down for the count.... Funka sighed in relief as she was wishing she would not need to fight him anymore.
What she did not know was that he was still conscious, his breathing was a bit off.
Those two are doing nothing: They have their guard down——Now is- Ryoji planned his next move while standing down.
"This is my time!" Igneus finished the though, readying himself to perform a technique known as "Heart Eject", or the Heart bursting out of the Bonder's body to fight along their steed.
"HEART EJECT!" Ryoji yelled out with the last desynchronizing, becoming a ordinary-yet-extraordinary human once again and a red cloud followed Igneus.
Two words made Kadoku jump back, pushing back Funka away from him to protect her, making sure that she would not be captured. The clouds were pugnant: He had slept in his own drool and haven't exactly been keeping up with his dental hygiene for a week, while Ryoji brushed after every meal. "Hold up a second—Lemme get some clothes to manifest so I won't flash you: Oh, is this the Kardashian pants that I accidentally summoned or the Jack&Jones pants? I forgot......How do I know if these're the ones are me......" He bumbled on, creating confusion for his enemies.
Oh no: Not him.......
Did this lizard say "Kardashian" pants????????? I thought those were rare.......
"So, Funka Bure-Bure!" He yelled, fixing his
"Wait. Bure?" She was perplexed at one he though her last name was Bure-Bure,
"Yeah: Funka Bure-Bure!" He was defiant in knowing her name, even if he was incredibly wrong.
She snapped out of her confusion. "That's not my last name.......It's Burenji."
He looked back, ashamed of how he did not know his enemy's name, yet it he became more annoying by moving like a tornado around her in the epicenter. Even as a metaphysical being taking a physical shape, his attacks shocked even Kadoku, who stared at the tornado.
His winds were somewhat pushing her around, and his hits felt like mosquito biting him.
"BTW, Funka, I'm moving faster than the maximum speed of a Bugatti Chiron! You can't comprehend how fast I'm going!!" He gloated, his voice became one with the wind as Funka was becoming 
I can't comprehend how annoying you are.......I thought Ryoji was annoying because of edgy he tries to be.........But I guess I was wrong..... Funka thought, pulling out a battery from her utility belt quickly. Still, I got a two batteries left......These things are actually pricy and I have to use it the best I can...... She analyzed, emptying the used battery and replaced it with the new one.
A large blast made the tornado go because of her gauntlet being fully charged
The other two members of Team B were ready to fight
All of his distractions made him slower before lunging at his opponent, his tail curled around her stomach; akin to a boa constrictor.
"Hahaha, Funka Berunji, you should see the look on your face, you thought I was stupid, didn't ya? Thought that I'm a big whol' dummy, didn't ya?" He taunted her as pinned her in the ground as his tail was much stronger than before. "Where's what you need to improve: Don't let your guard down."
His two allies were fighting their enemy behind him, the acid began to eat the ice and plants
With Takeo handling Kadoku as best as possible,
Su-Jin rushed to aid her fallen partner: Ryoji Kazama. "Are you alright, Kazama?" She asked kindly, reaching for an ailment.
"I'm fine." He said while on his back, unable to move an inch.
"That's no superacid.........I'll apply some special Aloe Vera on the wound and it will sting." Su-Jin analyzed  out loud about his wound, getting closer to it.
"I can handle it." Ryoji simply brushed it off and turned to her side as how his pride was wounded.
Beaten by an ambush, he believed it to be "foolish" on his end; how he became so enraged by being called a mercenary, he never took pleasure in killing.
What he had to do to survive bearer too much for his conscience.
You're on your stomach and barely holding on.........I wouldn't say you're okay...... Su-Jin doubted him as she carefully applied her special lotion onto the acid burn
Takeo yelled as he pushed back Kadoku with a massive column of ice. "AKINA!!!!" He had gained her attention quickly. "Run back to the entrance with Iggy!" He pushed her with a block of ice sliding her.
No! When can I stop running and actually fight?! Akina thought as she refused to
Is she deaf?! I told her to run——
He was stopped in his thoughts as Kadoku slugged him as hard as he could.
Once sisters before the training procedure, they are now enemies; one was beginning to become irate of her "uselessness" and another had no wish to fight her best friend.
"Even you think-k of me as weak?" Akina questioned her friend, her breath quivered with sudden anger.
Funka ignored her, having her hand ready for Akina to hand over the device. To call it quits.
Funka demanded her friend. "Akina...... I don't want to hurt you....Just gimme the device..."
"ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!!!.......What the......" She exploded on her abruptly, astonished by how her voice deepened.
How she spoke perfectly, there was no stutter. Only filled with frustration.
Even Funka looked at her, aghast of how her friend just yelled out at her.
"......Did you just....Yell?" Funka never heard Akina yell before, much even even speaking a decibel higher. Shocked of the words that came out of Akina's mouth, Funka was frozen from the chills that rattled her spine.
"IGNEUS:NOW!" Ryoji commanded his Heart, who then rushed in to save Akina
Damn! Kadoku cursed mentally. I'm stuck fighting this weasel and poison ivy while porcupine hair froze up against Willoby!!!!!

———Almost to The Entrance———

Look at us: Two different people from different races who are together......
When did I yell like that? Where I can speak so clearly without a stutter? What is going on? First the thunderbolt in my room and now this? I just want answers........
Her thoughts were becoming jarring for her. "I need-d to go back......" Akina muttered sluggishly.
Her eyes became heavy, her legs weighed about four tons and thus......She went to sleep.
"Oh no!" Igneus yelled out, screaming out for the first time in his life as his comrade fell down, unconscious. Come on, Akina! Come on, you need to get up!
"Is Akina down?!" Ryoji asked his Heart.
Yeah, I dunno what to do!!!!!! Igneus felt uneasy to his stomach, unsure of what to do.
"Take her to the monitor room and Chief Apex'll know what to do!!!"
Hold up a second, Ryoji........He stopped, her hand started to glow a bit. Does she have any superpowers to begin with?
"None that she exhibited like me or the others. Why?"
Uhhhhh.........Does glowing a bit pink exhibit powers? If so, I guess she's got superpowers....

———Meanwhile———
———The Monitor Room———
"Uhhh......." A short kid pointed at the monitor screen, a Legacy Kid, or a child whose parent was at one point enrolled at Surwick and finish three or more years. "Why is Willoby glowing?"
Wait......Did he just say.........Glowing? Chief Apex thought curiously as he was surrounded by the students of Class C-1, all of them staring at the monitor.
Cecilia folded her wings, enticed of what was to come.
"I told you, Marcus: I had a feeling that—-that this fight has been dialed to an 11. And your sister is much stronger than she looks." She told Marcus arrogantly.
Oh my........Why is that pink haired girl glowing all of a sudden?  New Glory asked himself. Even though her personal information didn't say anything about glowing powers, here she is: Glowing.
Was she lying the whole time?
This training match just got very interesting......

———Track 25 Ended———

EQUIPMENT INFO: Sometimes, if the equipment sounds good, it's good to know what functions they have.

Funka's Gauntlets And Boots: Able to propel her in the air, fight in the skies and make her explosion in a single line rather than in a wider radius.
Funka's Belt: Holds customized batteries that will refill the pain resistance for her powers.
Funka's Mask: Despite being a simple black mask, it contains a electronic device used to communicate on a signal.

Kadoku's Wing Adornments: Stored with acid that can dissolve many things but heavily diluted, this was used to incapacitate Ryoji. He would never used his actual superacid on a person.
Kadoku's Visors: Able to see an ant carrying a breadcrumb four miles away.
Kadoku's War Legs: These legs are made for stabbing......

Akina's Pouch: Carries First Aid and everything a Support Kunoichi needs.
Akina's Shoes: Lightweight and Comfy, enables her to fun quickly.

Takeo's Tracksuit: Toasty.
Takeo's Necklace: The last time someone touched his necklace got curbstomped.