School Rumble (Broom and I)

"I'll be fine," Jana murmured, watching it all the same as she gave Mei a smile. "Go find your idiot boyfriend, okay?" Eva'd be fine, because if this got too much longer, she'd be in there in a heartbeat. She just had a feeling she'd have to, and that feeling was...not a pleasant one.
--
Manzen turned, his eyes narrowing sharply as he rose up.

"Down boy," Satsu said easily, hands up. "I'm here to talk to Megumi, that's all," she smirked. "You look good, Manzen...finding another set of women to bury yourself in?"

"Hmph," Manzen growled. "What is your purpose here, woman? Be quick." Satsu was here! Now he knew something bad was going on!

"Alright.." Mei said in an unsure manner with a faint grimace before she left with Masami. She didn't know how to feel about any of this...Eva was technically her enemy but now she was worried because Jana seemed worried.
***

"You know her, Manzen?" Megumi asked before glancing at the woman closely. She saw the resemblance to Masami, so she could only assume that she was Komoku's mother. "What exactly would you want to talk to me about?" She asked carefully. Something about this didn't feel right...none of this felt right.

***

Eva did not expect Yoko to lunge at her like a rocket. She didn't run, she leapt with a force strong enough to make a small crater underneath her feet. Eva threw up her arms in defense to block, but also used her her fire to create a wall between her and Yoko. It dispersed as soon as the woman hit it, and she carefully watched it roll away from her body...as if being repelled by some invisible force.

She grunted when Yoko's fist hit her forearm. It hurt, but not any where near as bad as the blow she had gotten to the side of her head. She once again attempted to drive the girl back with her flames, but it happened again. The fire just licked at everything but her skin as if being forced away. There was no wind, but up close Eva could sense her energy.

"You're still doing that? Learn a new trick." Yoko muttered as Eva went on the offensive, sending a flurry of punches in her direction which Yoko blocked effortlessly and traded back. Eva was quick enough to deflect her punches as well, and for a few minutes they were locked in heated combat, neither one of them letting up. For a second, they seemed even in strength and Eva's flames started subsiding. There was no point in using them as they seemed to be ineffective against her opponent and it was just tiring her out more.

That was when Yoko caught one of her fists and held it, yanking her forward in such a fast motion that Eva couldn't defend herself. Before she realized it, she felt a deep pain in her stomach from a punch to the gut. All the breath left her body and she coughed up blood. It was enough to make her lose the feeling in her legs, and she collapsed. Yoko was still holding her fist. "Is that all you have?" She asked with a grin, lifting her back to her feet forcibly. "No...I'm not satisfied, Eva Kishi."

Jana slid off her wall with a determined frown and started to walk forward. This bullshit was over, this wasn't a fight anymore. This was like beating down a dog who just started barking too much, she wasn't going to stand and watch this continue, she didn't give a shit about the tournament if it meant people like this had free reign over it. She'd probably get an earful from Eva later, but she couldn't stand watching this.
--
"Yes," Manzen muttered warily. "She is a snake with the face of an angel, her words are venom, do not trust anything she says." Some people just never let go, did they? Satsu only smirked, head tilted a moment. Well, she supposed it'd be up to her, wouldn't it?

"Tell me, Mrs. Wolfe...where has your husband been lately?" she asked innocently enough. "Have you seen the woman that he has been spending time with? She's quite pretty...and if rumors are true, quite the little ride in bed."

Megumi narrowed her eyes at Satsuki. Where had Alaric been? Truthfully, she didn't know. They hadn't really talked much since their separation, but he did occasionally call. She never picked up, but all his voicemails were apologies. She had told him recently that she just needed time to think it over, but was he really with some other woman? "I don't see what business this is of yours. What do you care?" She asked as she crossed her arms. Who had he been with? She was curious, yet she wasn't exactly ready to trust this woman whom she had never spoken with before.

***
Eva was too busy gasping for air, trying to get her legs to move. She could...she could just release the rest of what she had while they were this close. What good would it do though? It would be over if it didn't work. She still couldn't understand her opponent. How was she doing this? How was she impervious to her flames and her blade?

"I would have expected another attack by now, perhaps you have realized just how little it would do?" Yoko asked as she leaned down to look Eva in the eyes. "Or perhaps...you're waiting for your bitch girlfriend to come save you?" Eva's eyes went wide. Jana...Jana wasn't actually going to interfere was she? She looked around and sure enough, she was approaching the ring. Ugh! This was no longer a matter of win or lose, this was a matter of her pride.

She had to think of something quick. No one was without weakness, no one. She had seen her cut herself on her blade when she snapped it in half. She had only stood in the way of her attack once and came out with no damage. Her attack earlier had managed to penetrate that invisible armor around her once...when she moved out of the way. There was something there...she had crazy strength and inhuman defense. Perhaps she could not use both at the same time? Well, it was worth a shot...if only to give the next person who faced her a chance to win.

"The only bitch I see here is you." Eva answered with a grin as she looked Yoko directly in the eyes. "You keep going on and on about how I'm weak and powerless, yet I'm not the one using cheap tricks to win."

"Sounds like a sore loser to me," Yoko purred. "I suppose you have given up then. Such a shame. I'll end this then, right in front of that bitch who humiliated Ren." Eva laughed in her face, her hand slowly moving towards her sheathed short sword. Yoko furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance. "What exactly is so funny?"

"That friend of yours you were talking about? I don't know who she is, but if she lost against Jana than she's a weakling too." She could see something in Yoko's eyes...a bone chilling glare that came across her face. She was about to attack, so she'd attack too. She was fast enough to draw her short sword, but she felt Yoko's hand suddenly tighten so hard around hers that she cried out in agony. It didn't slow down her attack, she drove her sword as hard into her side as she could, and Yoko couldn't move in time to completely dodge it. It sliced into her side, just when she her heard her own bones snapping on her right hand. It hurt so much, but despite the pain she started laughing hysterically.

"You fucking cunt!" Yoko cursed before grabbing her by the wrist violently and lifting her up clear off her feet before slamming her back into the arena hard enough to shatter the surface. Eva knew that her wrist snapped too..it hurt so bad she felt like she was going to pass out from the pain. She didn't though...she only kept laughing weakly. She couldn't move...her hand, her fingers. Fuck, she couldn't move anything...

Mina Kishi, Satsu purred. You haven't seen her lately, have you? Mel's eyes narrowed as Manzen glanced to the two of them, brow furrowed in concern. An unfaithful husband? He supposed this was why he never got married...
--

"Eva!" Jana hissed, darting out in full speed as she leapt up to the arena in record time. She knew it, she fucking knew that the stupid girl would do something like this! Ugh! Unsurprisingly, Aiden was nearby, watching. They had a strange relationship that Jana could never figure out, but the way he was staring at Yoko was immensely unnerving. Watching like a wolf trying to kill a wounded buffalo. None of that mattered, right now. She was quick to go to her girlfriend sprawled out on the broken surface.

Megumi heard a blood curdling scream from the arena, yet she could not pull her eyes away from Satsu. Mina Kishi, the woman that had her daughter kidnapped? Alaric was...allegedly seeing her? Should she believe this woman? What would she stand to gain to lie about something like this? She tried her best to remain level headed about the situation, but her heart was aching at the mere thought of her own husband sleeping with the woman who almost ruined her daughters life. "You're implying that Mina Kishi and my husband are seeing each other. I assume you have seen them together?"

***

Eva took a deep breath when she heard Jana call her name and forced herself to lift her head. "Don't touch her...the fight is over. You won." She admitted bitterly, as she glared up at her. She didn't need to look at her hand and wrist to know her bones were completely crushed. She would probably vomit if she looked down at her mangled fingers, so she just ignored it. She was far more concerned about this psycho hurting Jana.

"Of course I did. In more ways than one." Yoko said smugly as she ignored Jana. "Good luck ever trying to hold a sword again with that fucked up hand of yours."

"If you're so curious, why don't you find out for yourself?" Satsu purred. "Do you think I would come here on a bluff?"

"...She may be telling the truth," Manzen growled out. "For whatever this information is of importance to you."

Mel glanced down at the Arena, her brows furrowed a moment. Nothing was ever easy anymore, was it?
--

Jana glanced at Yoko, eyes narrowed faintly a moment before scooping Eva up. "Round two isn't going to be in your favor, bitch," Jana muttered, if that was the kind of game she was playing, then game on. She woudn't stand by and allow this girl to act like she ruled anything. Payback would come and she wouldn't even see it coming.

"For her sake," Megumi began as her expression darkened. "I hope she is telling the truth. I don't like being manipulated." Megumi's voice was soft, but there was an edge in her voice that indicated she was being very serious. With that, she moved passed Manzen and decided she needed to be alone to figure out how she was going to handle this.

***
"I disagree, but I'll look forward to it." Yoko simply said with a smirk before turning her back on them both.

"Don't be so sure of yourself..." Eva said through gritted teeth as she glared at the back of the woman's skull. "You're not as strong as you make yourself out to be. I know what your weakness is, and I promise you that your next opponent will too." She warned weakly before finally losing consciousness.

Yoko only laughed in response before she left the arena. Perhaps she had made some enemies with how overboard she had gone, but that only made things interesting..

"Meg," Mel said, moving to follow her. "Hey, Meg! Hang on!" Oh boy...this was going to get ugly real, real fast.
--
Jana watched her leave before glancing at Eva with a heavy sigh, forehead resting against hers. "You're a stupid idiot, you know that?" she grumbled. "What the hell got into you, Eva? Who does that, seriously!?" she said, already heading towards the increasingly haggard medical team. Her hand was a fucking mess...why would she be so stupid!?

"Mel...give me five minutes. I need to get my head together before I see Mina Kishi personally..." Megumi could not see someone like Mina lying about a dirty deed. Alaric would definitely try to weasel his way out of telling the truth as he often did, but Mina? She seemed like the type to take pride in stealing another woman's husband just for the fun of it and destroying a family.

***
Masami and Mei had found Komoku right when the match had ended, and Mei had an increasingly bad feeling about all of this. She couldn't help but feel like something terrible was about to happen, like this was only a sign of worse things to come. Yoko...who was she? Eva Kishi was not a pushover by any means. Even though the worst part was over, even though she didn't have to worry about Mina Kishi anymore theoretically, now she had a bigger threat to face.

There wasn't much to be done about that, but Mel simply nodded. If she thought that it would be the end of it, she was dead wrong. If Meg wanted to handle this on her own, she'd let her do it...as Mel made sure things went fine. Manzen furrowed his brow at his...ex-wife, but said little. For her part, she seemed passively amused...but he knew better.
--
Komoku was probably the worst person on Earth when he was sulking. Masami knew that more than anyone, here he was...up on the highest level of the stadium, looking like some giant, broody statue as he stared off into the distance. She had a lot of guesses as to why or what he was mulling over so sourly about. It wasn't like Komoku was a deeply layered guy in some respects, something happened and he reacted.

"Do you really have to find the most irritating places to hide?" Masami huffed, hands on her legs. "Honestly, Komoku!"

"I go up here to get away, y'know," Komoku grumbled in irritation. "Whattdya want? I'm going to be on time, so what's the big deal?"

"Get away? Seems like your hiding more than anything..." Mei mumbled as her expression settled into a deeper frown. She glanced back in the ring as the crew did their best to clean it up and get ready for the next fight. Eva was already carted off to the infirmary, Jana probably went with her. "Masami was looking everywhere for you, you know. You could have at least texted me or her to tell us where you were going to be."

"I sure could have," Komoku said flatly, hands behind his head. "But I'm right here, so what's it matter?"

"Ugh," Masami grumbled. "Komoku, don't you even start!"

"Then don't talk to me if you don't want anything started," Komoku groused, which didn't do anything more than make Masami furious enough to have sparks trailing off her knuckles. That...that stubborn, bull-headed...

"You suck at hiding your feelings, Komoku," Masami muttered. "Excuse me if I want to think I had a normal Mom and Dad like everyone else."

"Well, we don't," Komoku said. "My parents are dead as far as I care."

As understanding and sympathetic Mei tried to be towards Komoku, his brooding over the course of the week was beginning to become agitating. It wasn't that he didn't have a right to feel the way that he did, it was how he was going about it. "Komoku, you're treating Masami and everyone else like they're also dead to you, you know that? What's the real reason why you're hiding from everyone?" Mei decided that it was best to be blunt, otherwise she would never get him to talk at all about his feelings...

"Because everyone else seems so goddamn happy about our parents being around," Komoku muttered. "They abandoned us, they gave us away to someone else and everyone's just ignoring that. Well, fuck all of you people, if you want to be friends with them, be my guest, but I'm not so much as looking at them if I can't help it." he grumbled. "And I'll be all the happier when they finally leave and I can pretend that my parents are dead still." Masami wasn't old enough to remember, but he did. He remembered asking questions, growing up and wondering, he knew. Everyone thought he was just some stupid kid who knew how to throw a punch, but he knew that his parents didn't want him.

Probably because he was a violent animal.

Mei glanced at Masami, before her eyes settled back on Komoku. She didn't really know what to tell him, because she didn't know what he was going through. Masami would be the only one who could even comprehend how he felt, but she wanted to forgive their parents. "No one is ignoring that they abandoned you, Komoku. Still, Manzen is trying to make an effort now and Masami wants to be apart of his life. We are just supporting her choice, but we're not forcing him on you."

"Yeah, what's going on?" Masami huffed. "Why are you being such an ass, Komoku?"

"Because I can be, now leave me alone," Komoku grumbled. "I wasn't buggin' anyone until you two decided to slither up here," he snorted, hands behind his head.

"Ugh!" Masami snapped, sparks rippling from her fingers. "God, it's a small mercy that you two DON'T want to meet each other! Both of you are so stubborn and sour!"

Komoku's posture sunk at that, but he said nothing, waving of them off.

"Leave me alone," he muttered. The last thing he wanted, or needed was being compared to him of all people.

"You know, all I've been doing is worrying about you today." Mei started quietly as her eyes narrowed slightly. This time she didn't even bother to hide her annoyance, it dripped off her voice. She couldn't stop herself from folding her arms, she was just tired of seeing him this way. "All you can do is tell me to leave you alone, and blame me and everyone else who cares about you for your bad attitude. Grow up, be a man and face your problems instead of hiding from them. I'm done babying you." After all, it was obvious that her being sympathetic to his feelings wasn't working. He needed some tough love, and she didn't care if he got mad at her.

Komoku slid out of his broody posture and came up to Mei with his sharp eyes narrowed. It was then that Masami was aware just how tall Komoku was compared to Mei, and just how indifferent Mei was to Komoku's height, and general...intimidation. He looked like a dog off the leash, glaring at her.

"And who said I wanted you to baby me?" Komoku muttered. "You're the one coming up here, bothering me! What the hell do you want me to do when my scumbag of a father is trying to act like he wants to give a shit now!? When all I know is that the stupid son of a bitch dumped us off? I'll act however the fuck I want, maybe you need to sort your fucked up family out before you start telling me how I need to act about mine!"

Mei didn't care that he was talking back, in fact, she expected it. It was the last thing he said that bothered her. Her annoyance quickly turned into anger and she was already in his face. "Don't you dare talk about my family like you know anything about them," Mei snapped as she put her hand on her hips. "If you bothered to ask me how I was feeling and what is going on in my life, you'd know that I am working things out with them! In fact, I'm going to see my father today and confront him about my feelings! I'm not just going to sit around and run away from my feelings, like you. I'm brave enough to face them and to confront people who are pissing me off! Maybe you should do the same. Instead, you lash out at the people who have been there for you and push them away! You want to be alone? Fine! If you need me or Masami, we'll be somewhere actually giving a shit about the future instead of brooding in the past! Let's go," Mei quickly told Masami before turning her back on Komoku.

She was done with this. She wouldn't stand here and be around someone who clearly didn't want her to be. She'd be damned if she would sit there and have him treat her like shit, just because he was feeling like shit!

Masami glanced at both of them a moment before frowning and following after Mei, Komoku growled in irritation. Masami had rarely seen anyone do that, save for Sejae and Dujae.

"Fine, go, whatever," he muttered in irritation. Being pissed was fine, he had a fight coming up anyway, being angry would just make it easier to work. God, what the fuck was with everyone? Didn't they see that his parents were fucking snakes? Whatever. If his sister wanted to just piss all over everything he taught her, then who needed a girlfriend and family!? He should have known, fine. Whatever.

He'd beat the shit out of that stupid bitch he was dealing with, and then he'd feel better. It was his turn up anyway.
-

He was every bit of a growling, snarling dog by the time he arrived at the arena, where his opponent already waited, hands in her pockets as she watched Komoku. At first glance, Komoku wasn't quite sure what made her so good. She was...unassuming, really, her expression was focused, but her posture was lazy and everything was hidden in her boys uniform. If he didn't know the curves of a lady so intimately, he'd say it was a boy with long hair.

"Bout time," Luce grunted, cracking her knuckles. "Let's get this over with, alright?" Finally, all she had to do was win and that would be it. Troubles over, problems solved. She wouldn't even be doing this stupid tournament if it wasn't for Reyna. Komoku narrowed his eyes at her, rolling his shoulders. Fine, if she wanted to end this quick, suited him just fine.

"Whatever," Komoku said with a snarl, lips curled back.

"Ooh, someone's in a bad mood," she smirked. "What's wrong, someone fuck your girlfriend without asking you first?"

And that was what sent Komoku rushing towards her like a bullet train, Luce was immediately in a defensive position when Komoku's fist slammed into her forearms in a furious, thunderous explosion as she skidded back on her heels, the sleeves tearing open as she rolled her wrists and slid out of her posture. When the smoke cleared, she whistled, her smirk slow and exposing her teeth.

"Not bad," she purred. "I was expecting that kind of boom, Komoku." she said, her pupils dilating.

He hesitated a fraction, flexing his hand. That...felt weird. But he couldn't quite place why. His knuckles hurt, but not in a way he was familiar with.

Mei didn't speak a word to Masami when she led her back to where her father was sitting, because she was absolutely seething. How could he treat her like that when she was carrying his child? Everything that they had done for each other and he was ready to just push her away because of his grudge with his father? Then again, if he was pushing away his only real family in his eyes, of course he would do that to her. She needed to make things right with her father, just to make a point whenever he decided to come back.

When they found Manzen, Mei didn't see her mother. What was that about? It wasn't like her mother to just up in leave, especially now that her jerk of a boyfriend was fighting in the ring. She wasn't worried anymore about him. He would just get beaten up really badly like he always did, so why should she care?

Manzen, meanwhile...was focused entirely on the fight, his brows furrowed in concern as Komoku began to attack again. Luce was an exceptionally talented girl, it seemed...but the way she was fighting was entirely strange. Every blow that Komoku piled on, she took it, and without so much as a scratch. So much so, that it was only making Komoku angrier, which only made him strike harder. Masami wanted to say something to Mei, but she was wondering why her father was so intently interested at what was going on, until she saw it too.

What the fuck was going on!?

"What the fuck is so funny?" Komoku snarled, his fist connecting with her smirking face in a resounding, roar of his explosive power. Luce jerked back, smoke and fire billowing from her face as he advanced, not a fucking scratch!

"You," Luce smirked, twisting and spinning to a proper stance as her fist tightened and Manzen rose up.

"Komoku!" he shot out in warning. Too late, too, too late. Komoku barely saw her move in, ducking in low as her elbow slammed against his stomach so hard that the impact billowed out behind him in a scatter of wind and dirt. His eyes widened in horrible pain as an ominous crack rippled out into the stadium. Luce's smirk only widened.

Now it was her turn.

As much as she wanted to stay mad at Komoku, Mei couldn't ignore that sound. It was sickening, it made her stomach turn and for a moment she thought she was going to vomit right there. This girl...she was different than everyone else. It was the first time she had ever actually witness her actually fighting. She had just been playing around with everyone else, but she was being serious with Komoku!

She was frozen standing up, her eyes glued to Komoku. This was a joke, right? There was no way someone could do that to Komoku so casually. She didn't even look like she hurt at all from his hits!

This wasn't happening. Her bad feelings about this girl, her constant worrying, was this the reason why? Had she subconsciously picked up on how dangerous this unknown girl was?

Komoku barely had time to recoil before Luce was on him like a rabid dog. Her fist slammed across his jaw, spraying blood and spit across the arena. Fucking woman wasn't joking, kid had a jaw like iron. That actually hurt her fist a little, even more amazing was the fact that he actually could retaliate. He swung at her, he actually had the energy left to swing at her? It was a hard swing, loose, but still strong as she caught it and effortlessly twisted, the joint popped out before she slammed her forehead against his, jerking him back with a furious snarl of pain, his arm now limp, pain radiating through him like a heartbeat...what...what the fuck is happening? How was she hitting him so hard?

Masami was already over the bleachers before she knew it.

He slumped down with a wheeze, his arm useless and hanging, his back hurt, his legs were numb...he was fairly certain his jaw was broke.

"Poor little Komoku," Luce said, walking forward. "Wish we had more time...but I'm not here to have fun," she replied dryly. "Nothing personal."

His reply was spitting on her pants leg, and she narrowed her eyes at him viciously before she she surged forward and slammed her knee into his ribcage. The sound was horrifying, her knee shifting his chest back an inch as Komoku let out a pained gurgle as he fell off the edge of the stage like a limp body, blood pooling out of his mouth. Just like that, it was over as fast as it happened and the exhausted Medical Team was already halfway there as Luce hopped out of the arena, effectively disqualifying herself.

And the toughest guy in Turuga was now a bloody, broken heap.