#duuuudeeeeeee

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The Skunpoo sat alone at the park not too far from her home, it was getting late but she needed some time to herself. She had already gathered her stuff and her parents were finishing with all the packing up. Tomorrow they would be leaving this place, her home. Well, at least they would be staying in the same region, it could be worse.

She let out a sigh and bit back tears, the same couldn’t be said about her friends. Graduations always hurt because people leave and go separate ways, but never like this…

She stared down with somewhat empty eyes at the shiny object on her hands, it was a pin of some sort. Round, red and gold with symbols engraved on it.

Of course they could keep in contact but it just… wasn’t the same.

“You… are you Romy Gachet?”

She blinked with renewed life at the voice and raised her eyes to meet a Mokoko boy, his black wool was shaped in small wisps around his neck similar to his messy hair, and his clothes weren’t so casual-looking, though he did wear the DZA emblem.

“Yeah? And you?” She asked curiously yet calmly, there was something about him that seemed familiar, plus he knew her whole name it seems. But she wouldn’t find that a specialty.

The boy sighed closing his eyes and she couldn’t identify if it was disappointment or relief “it’s ok, that doesn’t matter” He looked up at her once more “you’re the current leader of The Elementario though, aren’t you?”

She wanted to tell him The Elementario was no more, the entire academy wasn’t, pretty much. But she remembered Shira’s words and the feelings of her whole team. Hers included. She… had been indeed entrusted with this legacy, a responsibility still strong in her heart.

She clutched the pin in her palm and stood up, showing the item to the boy “I am, you need something?”

Romy couldn’t have ever anticipated his next words though.

“I want to battle you for that”

Her tail bristled slightly and her expression changed to a seemingly insulted and confused one. What did this boy mean? There was a whole process and protocol to becoming leader. You were handpicked, you trained, there were certain goals to meet, there was a ceremony to pass down leadership… did this kid have any idea of what he was saying? Or did he imply he wanted to toss away years of tradition?

“That is not a possibility” She started, shaking her head “That’s not at all how things work, I mean… the DZA is now in crumbles but we still respect the rules and first you’d have to be-”

The boy interrupted raising a hand “Ah sorry, I didn’t mean to say I want the title or something. I want to battle you because you are the current leader, I want to test you” He explained.

She looked less confused and more insulted now “And who the hell are you to think you have any right to test me?”

He shrugged “Someone who knows damn well how The Elementario works”

This kid…  

The girl breathed in and placed the pin on her wine-colored crop top, her tail swayed behind her and her boots scrapped on the ground as she got ready to battle. If he wanted a taste of a team leader, he could have it “Very well then”

He nodded and flexed his knees a little before rising one of his hands showing some sparks jolting from it, they stood silent for a few second and then he dashed in her direction.

She held her ground and her eyes analyzed the surroudings in a flash, as she had been trained to do so for years. Though open, the space was reduced, a couple pinic tables at her right, swings and and a seesaw nort-west ahead and a decently-sized ledge (a fissure result of the earthquake…?) far behind her.

She deftly avoided the incoming thunderpunch twirling around and tried to land a slash herself, he jumped back but she followed and keep the assault with brilliant enlongated claw-like nails. They locked in close combat exchanging thunderpunches and slash attacks, the kid was skilled enough to avoid or block all her offensives but she was effectively making him back off at a quick pace and she smirked when he noticed his back bump into one of the picnic tables.

A slash ripped slightly through the fabric of his hoodie but a second one scrapped on hard wood when he ducked and dashed to avoid, Romy huffed and gave chase.

He headed back to where she had been before, trying to put some distance between them but her speed was superior, and when she thought she’d got him cornered thanks to the ledge he actually jumped towards it and climbed up a few meters by stepping just on the right places.    

She widened her eyes and stopped for a second, looking up at him *How did he climb up that easily?!* She thought shocked, just then he used the same rocky wall to impulse himself and jump over her.

He was trying to get her cornered, she growled.

Not having even touched ground yet he created a luminous sphere in his hand and tossed it at her like a projectile. Knowing she had no chance to avoid, she quickly extended her arms and conjured up a green-ish bubble-like shield in front of her, the electroball exploded against it without making a single scratch.

As the barrier disappeared she saw him come straight towards her with another thunderpunch, however just when he was about to hit her she disappeared from his sight, causing him to widen his eyes in shock and falter, and then he felt a powerful blow hit him on one side making him gasp out rather violently and fall.

She panted lightly after the running and sudden rush from the sucker punch, the younger coughed as he tried to get himself together on the ground “I think that’s enough, you should give up already” She stated, wiping off some sweat from her forehead.

“N-No, not yet” The Mokoko murmured getting up and shaking his head a bit, he stared at her with eyes that reflected some annoyance “Not until you stop holding back with me…”

She stared at him in disbelief, he was already on the ground without having landed a hit on her yet and still wanted her to go all out? Just what was he trying to accomplish with all of this?

“I can’t do that, I don’t want to risk poisoning you” She replied with a serious voice.

“I’ll be fine” He panted, and pulled out something that looked like a small bottle from his right hoodie pocket “I have some antidote on myself” He smirked slightly.

So he had come prepared specifically to battle her. To say Romy was now weirded out was an understatement. Had they met before at the academia? Did he want revenge or something? Was he targeting her or The Elementario members?

“Alright, but I didn’t want to do this” Her large bushy tail ruffled behind her and suddenly multiple purple needles shot towards him about to fall down like rain, he darted to avoid them and the little projectiles fell all over around him but none directly landing on him much to his luck. He changed his course back to her and she made a gesture with her hands as if charging another attack or… pulling something?

Then with terror he found out he couldn’t move his body at all, as if trapped by invisible strings.

“W-wha?!”

No, they weren’t invisible, just very thin and hardly visible in the night. Surely enough, a bunch of purple strings were tangled around his arms and feet effectively preventing him from moving.

He was about to try using Iron tail to release himself when Romy walked up to him, clearly still holding the strings by the position of her hands “So you didn’t know my special technique after all. Those weren’t poison stings but toxic threads” She explained “What now? If I use poison gas or even if these make contact with your skin you’ll surely be in trouble when I decide to finish the battle with venoshock”

He sighed “Ok ok, I give up, you win”

Romy felt relieved as she cut the treads loose and they fell limply on the grass. The boy tested his wrists around.

“So why did you do all of this? Who are you?” She asked skeptically, crossing her arms. She still wanted answers of course.

“Well like I said, I just wanted to see how cool the new leader was” He said not turning to look at her yet “You’re very strong… my sister chose well” He closed his eyes and nodded slightly to himself.

“Sister…?” Romy frowned, and just a couple seconds later her eyes widened in surprise “Y-You are…?!”

He smiled amusedly like he had just pulled the best prank ever “Randeth Hanaki. I knew that if I told you, you probably wouldn’t have battled me seriously. It was great to battle you, even if I got my ass handed to me” He clicked his tongue and put his hands on his hoodie pockets, the left one a bit torn from her initial slash “Listen, she doesn’t know I’m doing this, just… just take care of that symbol” He gestured to the team emblem pin, still emblazond in her top “And take care of yourself, my sister will really miss you and I hope all of you guys keep in contact”

“Always” She nodded “And thanks, you take care too, it’s a shame that… well” She looked away a moment “You could have been a great addition to The Elementario”

“Thanks, but that’s not really my thing” He smiled and put out his right hand in a fist. She glanced at it and then bumped it with her own. Afterwards he turned and headed back to his own home.

She sighed again and looked up at the sky blinking once, twice…

“Hey Randeth!”

He stopped and turned.

“Please take care of her, keep her happy and safe!”