Student Statistics

[[???] - Bahamut]

[Refs]

   How muted the crowd was told him that his ploy had to happen. Gloating in his victory was likely to just make people hate him, after all, gloating over an underdog wasn't exactly a good look. As much as Damian wanted to, he swallowed his ego and then let out a long sigh before offering his hand to Zedd.

"Hell of a fight, Zedd. You're a lot stronger than I thought you were, feels good to work out the issues though, huh?" 

There was a surprisingly warm smile on his face as he said this to Zedd and whether he accepted his hand up or not, he'd continue.

"This isn't the victory I want and we both know that. So how about this... You proved you aren't a useless piece of garbage like I first thought, so I'll leave you alone. As my victory condition though, you need to keep your nose out of my business from now on. You don't interfere with me or what I do. I'm a busy man, Zedd and having to watch out for some vengeful kid isn't going to be on my agenda. So how about it, seem good to you?"

He started to unwrap his hands as he spoke and took off the cloth over his forearms wincing slightly even though it was just phantom pain. The aura had soaked up the damage so there wasn't any burns or the sort on his arms. He dropped the sweat soaked cloth on the floor and stretched out his arms and shoulders.

"I should thank you though, Zedd. You've given me a good chance to show I'm not the type of person everyone thinks I am. Reputation and face are important. After all, it's a real cutthroat world out there." 

He grinned at Zedd, his eyes sharp before shrugging and turning to walk away.

"You fought well and landed a hit on me. Not many others have done it. Next time will be an even bigger show, I know it." 

With that he snapped his fingers and gave a wave behind him, not bothering to look over his shoulder as he left the arena. He didn't need to do anything more, the circumstance would keep all this neat and tidy. Now he needed to go get neat and tidy himself... Bloody hells did he need a shower.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

   Zedd stared up at Damien, refusing the other's hand for a moment. He knew that it was just a ploy for the crowds, he could read the blond like an open book. However, his act would no doubt work on the crowd. Which meant, if Zedd didn't at least take the offered hand, it would only make him look like a sore loser. Zedd took Damien's hand, squeezed it tight to let the other young man know that the lightning mage knew, and stood up. 

    "Yeah. Good match." He stated, watching Damien wander off. He didn't say it out loud, but he knew Damien, and he knew he didn't have a choice in the matter whether or not he was forced to stay out of the blond's plans or not. As the other left, Zedd shambled out of the cave. Not to any sort of applause, but to a resumed, silent apathy as the crowd filtered out of the stands. Zedd looked for Isaah... but he was already gone. Instead Zedd looked for Yuki, disguised as Shion. With Damien gone, he allowed himself to show the bitter emotions that filled his heart. Defeated in more ways then one. 

    What else was there to say?

    The arena stands, now emptied, barely showed any sign that anything had even happened at all. With a heavy sigh, the young mage wondered what else he could have done better? What more he could have given? Where could he have gone? In the end, the only thought that came was a simple one, and one that made him infinitely bitter; Damien was simply better.

---

[Refs]

   Damien's ride out would not go uninterrupted. Up against the wall, someone else was waiting for him, and Isaah made a point of halting Damien's advance. With a flick of his wrist, bubbles of water appeared before the steel mage and sharpened into points, staring Damien down without Isaah having to move from his spot. The water mage and current number one position of the honor's class remembered exactly how he'd gotten his position, and he wanted to make sure that Damien never forgot it either.

    "I know what you're playing at, Damien." He stated. "All of us will be watching you." 

    Isaah broke free of the wall, brushing past Damien silently. The boy's wrist flicked again, and the water spikes coiled around Isaah's arm. The shape calmy shifted around his body like a snake. Green eyes shot back over the shoulder, glaring towards the cocky blond with a gaze as lethal as daggers themselves. "I'll be watching you."

    "I just hope your reputation will recover after a 'low born' shredded through your defenses like they were paper." With that, the young man walked off. Isaah was never one for making blatant threats. He made promises. He also very rarely put himself in the forefront, so seeing him come and start pressing Damien's buttons was extraordinarily unusual. If not completely out of the blue. But, as much as Isaah hated both Damien and Zedd, he wasn't one to stand idly by as people abused their power.

    Damien, of course, was one such individual.

    And of course, Isaah refused to let Damien get away with it.

[[God] - Yuki Shiotaro]

From the start of the match all the way down to the finish was nothing short of keeping one's attention. Aurora seemed to be logging faster than Zedd's lightning on new stats that appeared within every growing second of the fight. 

One explosion after another, Aurora watched as the students' bets were changing from a one-sided bet that everyone felt they could win to an uncertain split between the two parties. Yuki almost seemed like a statue, completely still save for a few blinks to ensure she wasn't a statue. 

The match was close, student noise was reduced to moments, a chorus of simple words that explained how everyone felt. Zedd took a beating, everyone knew this was going to happen. But Damien's armour breaking from a livewire spark like Zedd was a shock to a good majority of the student body. That was an accomplishment. 

The two went into the caves, unleashing the final moments of the spar with a bang. The sound from outside started with a zap, followed up with a pop of metal and a crackle of rock, and finally ended with an explosion that momentarily blinded those closer to the cavern section. If this was a real cave, it would have fully collapsed from the dual-effort explosion from the inside. Aurora let out a whistle, pulling out a hologram mapping of the cavern complex and reviewing the damage done to it. She separated the damage to see how much was Damien's and how much was Zedd's. 

The match was lost to Zedd. But it didn't leave with the worst ending. She looked around as students got up silently, save for murmurs amongst themselves. Many were now reconsidering Zedd's uselessness around here. He had power worth being wary of. He wasn't just some nobody that stumbled here with the Headmaster just shrugging it as a fluke for the standard of elite magic. Yuki sighed and got up, Aurora's eyes snapping off the screen and following the goddess. Aurora figured she can review things later and send a copy of her notes for Valiant if he wanted it. But..first she had to make sure that her notes made sense to someone that wasn't her. She'd do that after resetting the arena to its neutral state.

Yuki stepped to the edge, watching the image of the forested mountainside flicker and turn to light that receded back into the opalescent flooring. She saw Damien leave and then found Zedd on his lonesome. Even without other students here to linger and maybe even talk to Zedd, the air for him would definitely be different now. Zedd didn't seem too thrilled that he lost, and with Yuki's disguise, she definitely didn't give off a signal of anything regarding the match. For all anyone knew, she was objectively neutral about this.


[smear:#00fff7]"How are you feeling?"[/smear:#0066FF:0], she asked him.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

   Zedd was... not doing grand. When Shion-Yuki approached he simply shook his head. What could he say? He really didn't know, honestly. It felt like his world had been completely turned upside down. Zedd flipped up his goggles and used his shirt collar to dry his eyes. Of course, this was to be expected. He was always going to lose. That was just how things were, and he was a fool to think any differently. 
    
    "Damien's response was fake. Or, well, not fake. It was a threat. He doesn't actually have any intent on leaving me alone. I think he's only planning on how to make things harder for me." Zedd let out an almost pained sigh. "I did my best to follow your advice. I believed in myself, you know? I went in there without any doubts... but I still lost. I knew it was going to happen but I still... hoped it would be different. I hoped I would win. I wanted to win. It was a mistake to get involved. I should have shut up and dealt with it. All I've done now is put a bigger target on my back." 

    The young man hugged his arms to his chest, a dumb, sad smiled on his lips. "I thought I could actually do it there, for a moment. I thought I could actually win. All I've done now is damaged Damien's reputation and pissed him off even more. I could feel it coming off of him, his hatred for me. Before, he tolerated me. Now... I don't know."

    Zedd let out a shaky breath. It felt like his world had just caved in on itself and he didn't know what to do. If I'd just kept my head down and continued doing what I'd done, then none of this would have happened. Instead, now I've gone and mucked it up. His thoughts were bitter and resentful. Long gone was the cheery jokester. It was going to be weird, difficult even, to try and bounce back from this. 

    What a mess. 

    "I was a fool to buy into the idea that I, of all people, had a chance to beat an honor's student." He couldn't help himself now, as much as he fought it. His face contorted and the tears came heavy and fast. "I need to get better... but even if I did, he'd just crush me twice as hard. Then he'd really have something to gloat about."

    He desperately pawed at his face, trying to wipe away the stream. "I hate him so much. I hate how he treats me, I hate having to put on a fake smile and play peacekeeper out of fear that he'd ruin my life even more. He's so much stronger than me, I feel like I can't do anything. I can't even properly control my magic without these gauntlets and he's there turning an entire cave into a shrapnel blast!" 

    The boy sniffled and hiccuped, his shoulders sagging. "I tried so hard to get in here, just like everyone else! I earned my spot, but was that really just a fluke? Do I really even belong here?" 

    In the end, Damien didn't even have to gloat. He didn't have to say a damn thing. In the end, all Damien had to do... was win. Zedd's spirit was utterly crushed, and the only solace he had was that no one here was left to see it.

[[God] - Yuki Shiotaro]

Yuki gave the boy a kind smile, which was the softest expression her disguise had shown thus far. [smear:#00fff7]"Chin up Zedd. You far surpassed most everyone's expectations despite losing."[/smear:#0066FF:0], she said. [smear:#00fff7]"It looked like most thought you'd have exploded or get your face rammed into the ground much sooner than you did. The level of damage you put to not only make a cavern of magically charged crystal turn unstable and explode as well as breaking your opponent's armour, that's something." [/smear:#0066FF:0]

The smile faded on the topic of Damien himself. He had lost a bit of his public image in that fight and everyone saw it. There were definitely varying views that came from this that may stick. The boy might even begin to see what small tyranny he had backfire and crumble. At least, that was something she hoped would happen in the near future. She sighed and straightened herself, staring off at the exit Damien took. [smear:#00fff7]"If you being here was a fluke, the headmaster would have dismissed you much sooner. You've proven something about yourself. You managed to get past your opponent on several levels. You broke his defenses. You broke down his image to show his more truer self. You've managed to land attacks on him."[/smear:#0066FF:0] She placed a hand on Zedd's head, stroking his hair gently. [smear:#00fff7]"Anyone who knows my combat history knows I'm not the best compared to others. I'm near the opposite end of that. But with practice, either on your own or with others, you'll get better. I don't doubt you'll better yourself to be a formidable fighter against many others here. Including honours students."[/smear:#0066FF:0]

[Sparky]

[Refs]

   Zedd's face tightened, his lips quivering. He couldn't help himself, he threw his arms around the goddess, hugged her desperately as he began to sob. The boy's shoulders would jolt every so often with the mixture of hiccups and muttered whines and whimpers. There was no way this would inspire any sort of positive change in Damien, if anything the boy had given out his threat quite blatantly. It was soul crushing. "I feel so hopeless." 

    "What's even the point in trying if he's going to keep pushing me back into the dirt over and over again?" He wailed, chest heaving as he wept more intensely. "I hate it! I hate it so much! I hate him, I hate this situation, I hate being forced into this. I hate that I can't control my magic, I hate that I'm not as strong as him, I hate this school, I hate being alone, I hate all of it." 

    While he meant some of those things, he didn't mean all of it. Zedd was thankful to be at the school, it was the people there and the situations he was forced into that he really hated. But, when you're dealing with an emotional wreck of a young lightning mage, you were going to get a mess.  Zedd was frustrated. Crushed. Lonely. He felt hopeless and alone in a sea of people who couldn't care less about him. He didn't know where to go now or what to do. The bully had won. Again. Like always. "If he's going to walk all over me every time I try, what's even the point anymore?"

    Wails slowly died down into muffled sobs. The young mage whimpered against Yuki. He sniffled and squeaked, it took all his strength to form any further words. What he said next was a simple question.

    "What do I  do now...?"

[[God] - Yuki Shiotaro]

A slight look of surprise flashed across Yuki's face, unexpecting of Zedd's hug but not unwelcoming to it. She glanced at Aurora, who already seemed to be on it, arcane circles in green lighting up below the three of them and teleporting all of them to Zedd's dormatory room. Zedd needed some privacy right now. 

After they were in there, Yuki just kept stroking the boy's hair as he let out his emotions. Poor thing. Aurora was in a corner, hanging out and reviewing some fresh data from the spar, though she was only holding up an image of leaving the two alone. Yuki didn't really seem to mind that Zedd was bawling his heart out. It was understandable. He was the underdog. [smear:#00fff7]"I think this spar is a good first step. Better yourself. Train hard. Do everything you can to surpass Damian."[/smear:#0066FF:0], she said. [smear:#00fff7]"Progress comes with a few road blocks. Losing this spar wasn't a step backwards."[/smear:#0066FF:0]

Of course, she of all people knew that. She wasn't the strongest god in the pantheon. Most of her fights involved biding time, outlasting the opponent. Her attacks mainly deflected others, and when she did strike, she built up momentum to make the hit land itself much harder. That aside, she wasn't one to opt in for a fight like Zedd. But she knew even ones like these are necessary from time to time. In essence, she was also an underdog. She felt like she had some understanding of Zedd's situation. 

[smear:#00fff7]"Don't take this loss as a reason to quit. Because if you stop and back down now, you'll never forgive yourself. The effort so far to stand against Damian would be fruitless. And you would have taken what you proved of yourself to others away and leave it to rot."[/smear:#0066FF:0] Progress was progress. That was likely one of the first few things Zedd needed to learn. [smear:#00fff7]"A win is always good. But you can't get there without a few losses."[/smear:#0066FF:0], she said. [smear:#00fff7]"Think of this not as a step back but a window for improvement. Keep your mind on the good key points you learned. You got to break his armour. You managed to land hits on him. You managed to break his facade. Now it's a matter of doing that and winning against him. Proving yourself you're not the weak prey he thinks you are tenfold."[/smear:#0066FF:0]

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Slowly, but surely, Zedd finally calmed down and pulled away from Yuki. He pawed at his eyes, sniffling  quietly. His room was a mess, but not dirty. Different papers and pages were scattered about. Notes, books, concepts. Even a few blueprints of upgraded gauntlets could be seen pinned to a board. Alongside that, some other scattered tools were placed about tables. Glowing crystals like those on his shoulders and in his gauntlets, handles for swords, bits of iron. Aside from all that, the floor and everything else was tidy. Clothes neatly hung up, bed carefully made, and it all smelled like... well, the easiest way to describe it was like "Springtime." 

    Judging from the vast array of notes, even a joker like Zedd cared about his studies. 

    Zedd sniffled and let a hiccup escape. "I'm sorry." He muttered. The young man clumsily use his sleeve to wipe away the last of the tears. A smile was on his lips, now, though small tears still managed to escape and fall down his cheeks. "Thank you, Miss Yuki."

    "I know what I need to do now. I'm going to... I need to get better. I need to get stronger." Zedd really, really truly tried to keep his smile, but as he spoke the tears just wouldn't stop. "I have to. I have to beat Damien. I hate letting him walk all over me, and I need to put an end to it. Or else he'll just keep tormenting me more and more. Or worse, he'll start tormenting others." 

    In an attempt to finally get rid of those tears, Zedd pressed his palm against his face, wiping clumsily. With a sniffle, he looked at Yuki, his smile didn't wave even for a second. He had to prove to her that he was ok. 

    "Thank you, Miss Yuki. I promise I'll get stronger. By the time the school festival rolls by, I'll finally beat Damien."

[[God] - Yuki Shiotaro]

[smear:#00fff7]"That's the spirit!"[/smear:#0066FF:0], she said. [smear:#00fff7]"Now.. While you can't really constantly summon gods and champions to talk to, I'm more than happy to set aside some time if I'm around to catch up and see how things are going for you."[/smear:#0066FF:0] Well, all in all things seemed to turn out, or close to, the way Yuki wanted. Zedd's on a pathway to greatness, she could feel that. 

She looked back at Aurora, who seemed to be closing up some panels. [smear:#00fff7]"It should be about time for us to go. But."[/smear:#0066FF:0] She looked back at Zedd. [smear:#00fff7]"Keep fighting."[/smear:#0066FF:0] She gave him a slight nod to signify their leave and a rune of aquagreen light appeared below Yuki and Aurora, followed with a brilliant flash and they were gone, leaving Zedd to his lonesome.