The announcer hopped on stage again.
"THAT LAST FIGHT WAS COOL! BUT GET READY FOR THE NEXT ONE. MONDO FUKUDA VERSUS REI ARAKAWA!!"
Mondo roared like he was entering a colosseum instead of a teen tournament.
"C'mon, Princess Popsicle! I'll snap you in half!"
Rei yawned.
"Let's get this over with."
BZZZT! FIGHT!
Mondo charged. Every step thundered. He lunged with a haymaker meant to decapitate a small rhino.Rei sidestepped lazily, dragging a finger through the air. A thin wall of ice shimmered into existence—crack!—absorbing the punch but shattering on impact.
"This is such a drag... I wanna wrap this up and get some sleep"
She dodged another strike—barely. Mondo grinned.
"You're quick. Let's see how long that lasts!"
He slammed both fists into the ground—sending a shockwave that tossed debris and cracked the arena floor.
Rei jumped back and threw out a mist of ice fog, instantly freezing the moisture in the air. Visibility dropped.
Mondo laughed.
"You think fog's gonna help you?! I don't need to see to squash you!"
He charged into the mist.
WHAM!He hit something hard—and cold. A block of reinforced ice.
Rei had used the fog as a smokescreen to build a maze of jagged, ice slabs. She stood above on a pillar, arms crossed, hair lazily flowing in the breeze.
"You're making so much noise, I could find you in my sleep. Literally."
Mondo slammed through the walls, absorbing the cold damage, his body growing more muscular by the second.
The more I get hit, the tougher I get. She's giving me free protein.
Rei exhaled slowly, a bit annoyed.
"Okay... no more free gains for you."
She slid down the pillar, hitting the ground just as Mondo burst through an ice wall beside her.
He swung—
She crouched, palm flat on the floor.
CRYSTALLIZE.
A wave of frost shot across the ground, instantly freezing Mondo's legs up to the thigh. He roared, punching downward—breaking the ice and freeing himself—but Rei had vanished.
He spun.
Too late.
She was behind him, touching the floor again.
ICE SPIKES.A ring of jagged frozen pillars exploded upward around Mondo.
He tried flexing through it.And failed.He was pinned, arms trapped, body half-frozen. His muscles bulked again, straining against the ice—but he couldn't move.
Rei stretched.
"Sleep time."
She flicked her finger.
A tiny shard of ice zipped forward, tapping him on the forehead.
He passed out—not from damage, but from sheer exhaustion and cold shock.
''WELL THAT WAS SOMETHING. WINNER: REI ARAKAWA!!!
Ikazuchi blinked.
"She… barely moved."
Yuna smiled slightly.
"You'd never tell based on how she acts."
Rei walked off the field, yawning mid-stretch.
"Tell me when the next match is on, okay? I'll be napping in the meantime…"