Soulstone Academy

Chapter Four: Match

Itinali ko ang buhok habang hinihintay na makuha ang mabigat na katawan ni Matteo mula sa stage. Small strands of my hair that couldn't be tied up hang loosely on the sides of my face.

Lumabas ang lalaki na sunod sa'kin. May mga babaeng kinilig dahil sa gwapo at nakangisi niyang mukha na mas dine-depina ng kaniyang magulong buhok. Hinubad niya ang jacket na suot, showing his strong and muscled arms. He's fit, although hindi siya gano'n kalaki at muscled. Tama lang ang proportion ng katawan sa kaniyang mukha.

He jumped up swiftly in the ring, throwing me a cool wink. "Hindi ko inasahan na magiging magkalaban tayo. I thought I'll take revenge for your loss, but this meeting is okay too."

"Anong meeting?"

Hindi pa rin nawawala ang ngisi niya. "How I met your mother na story sa anak natin."

Ilang segundo ko siyang tinitigan bago nauwi sa tawa. He looked surprised so I waved my hand dismissively. "That's cool. But I don't think it's realistic."

He shrugged, diverting his attention to the bleachers. Tumikhim ang announcer bago nagsalita, "Raven Tempest on the left facing Griffin Devon Solis on the right with seven years of training. Begin the match!"

Hindi na naghintay pa si Griffin at sumugod na sa'kin. Pinaulanan niya ako ng mga suntok na agad ko namang iniwasan. A particular straight to the stomach made me step to the side to avoid it, raising my right arm to elbow him on his back. Napasinghap siya dahil sa lakas ng ginawa kong atake.

Ngunit agad din siyang nakabawi. Hinawakan niya ang braso ko at balak na paikotin ito, but I scratched my long, manicured nails in his arm. Inalis niya agad ang kamay na parang nasunog at sinamaan ako ng tingin.

"Madaya." akusa niya.

I smiled. "Not my problem you don't have long nails."

Griffin threw another punch which made me crouch down and land a left knee on his stomach. Bago niya pa ako mahawakan ay umikot ako sa likod niya. I sliced my hand on the back of his neck, hitting a nerve and freezing him. Shifting my weight, hinawakan ko ang likod ng shirt niya at ibinalibag. He dropped on the ground with a loud thud and I gave his head a final kick to ensure that he's out of commission.

"G-Griffin is down! Raven wins her second match!"

Nagsigawan naman ang mga estudyanteng walang ginawa kung hindi manood. Isa sa mga pinakalakas na hiyaw ang mga lalaki. Mabuti na lang at may mahabang cycling short ako underneath the dress dahil baka sila pa ang mabugbog ko imbes na kalaban. Tiningnan ko ang sarili at pinagpagan ang damit na nagkaroon ng kaunting dust. I prioritized my dodging earlier and gave critical hits because I didn't want my dress to be dirtied. Ayokong lumabas dito na parang pulubi, ano.

My next opponent was a man with light brown hair. Unlike Griffin who looked like the typical bad boy and Matteo the musclehead, he was decent-looking. His sleeves were rolled to his elbow and he had a sharp look in his eyes. Mukhang kagaya niya si Andreas na matalinong makisig kung titingnan.

"Raven Tempest on the left facing Kaizen Nakamura on the right with seven years and two months of training. Begin the match!"

I knew that he wasn't the type to attack first. Lalo na't tinitigan niya lang ako na parang inaaral. So since I was bored enough, I took the bait and attacked him.