Blackfire opens and closes her eyes a few times
her blurred vision tries to adjust to the strong light in a closed place
"...Uh... where am I?..." she asks while trying to get up
someone holds her hand "Hey, wait. You still can't get up yet"
"Clark?..."
he holds her and gently lays her back down on the bed "You're in the infirmary, you passed out after the fight"
"H-how did I end up here?" asks Blackfire confused
"The nurses brought you, are you feeling better already?"
"Y-yes... but, what happened to Bara?"
"Relax relax, she's fine, you don't need to worry" says Clark while getting up from the chair he was sitting on
"Where is Judha?" asks Blackfire quickly after noticing Clark moving as if he was about to leave
"She is checking the new list for the second day of training, the fifth fight was delayed because of the destruction from your fight. So we will have six fights on the next day"
"Wow..." replies Blackfire surprised "I think a big part of that was because of Bara"
"Hehe don't worry about that, you should rest now" says Clark while leaving
"Wait! W-where are you going?..."
"I'm going to get something for you to drink and eat"
"A-ah... alright..." says Blackfire embarrassed because she thought Clark was leaving her alone in the room
Clark turns around and starts walking towards the door. He stops, looks at Blackfire over his shoulder and says with a smile on his face "Don't talk to anyone other than me. Okay?"
Blackfire freezes, blushes from head to toe and hides under the blanket
Before Clark leaves, Judha appears running through the hallway
"Guys, the list for the second day is out!!!" says Judha completely euphoric
"Wow, did you already see it?" asks Clark
"No no, I haven't seen the names yet, I waited for you so we could see it together" Judha looks through the door and asks "Is Blackfire feeling better already?"
"OF COURSE I AM JUDHA, AND I WANT TO ASK YOU SOMETHING!!" shouts Blackfire almost exploding with anger
Judha in shock runs through the hallway, but Blackfire runs faster and lands a punch on her head
Judha now has a bump on her head
At the school board, the three look closely at the written names
"Oh come on... my name didn't show up again?..." complains Judha
"Neither did mine..." says Clark with low hopes
Judha crosses her arms and grumbles "I don't know why they put so many names on the list when there are only five fights per day"
"That really doesn't make sense, if they were going to put the candidates' names they should at least put them in groups, not in pairs" says Clark
While Judha and Clark complained, Blackfire looks closely and points to a name
"Judha!! here! here! your name showed up!!" says Blackfire
"WHAT??? LET ME SEE!!!" Judha looks at her name on the list and reacts like she found a treasure chest "AHHH MY GOD!!! I WAS SELECTED FOR DAY 2!!!"
Judha freaks out with happiness and starts jumping with joy
"Wow! how lucky!! who is she going to fight Blackfire?" asks Clark without much reaction
"Oh, right. let me see..." Blackfire runs her finger following the dotted lines to the opponent
And when she sees the opponent's name, Blackfire shouts completely shocked "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!..."
"What is it?" ask Judha and Clark at the same time
"Judha is going to fight... F-FIGHT CLARK!!!"
Silence falls like a dead weight between the three
For a second, no one reacts
Judha stops jumping
Clark doesn't move
Blackfire is still pointing at the name
"...this isn't funny..." says Judha, laughing weakly, almost begging to be wrong
Blackfire swallows hard "...I... I didn't read it wrong..."
Clark takes a step closer to the board, his eyes focused, cold, analyzing every letter
He runs his finger over his own name. Then over Judha's "...it's real"
Judha's smile completely disappears
"No..." she shakes her head "...no no no, this is wrong. It must be another Clark. There are a lot of people with that name"
Clark lets out a short sigh
"There is no other Clark in the school, our names are almost unique in the world"
Blackfire slowly lowers her arm
"...you are going to fight..." she says, quieter this time
Judha looks straight at Clark
There is no more excitement on her face. Only confusion. And a bit of fear
"...you're going to... go easy, right?" she asks, trying to force a smile
Clark doesn't answer right away
He just looks back at Judha and that is already enough of an answer
Judha looks away
"...oh" she murmurs
She takes a step forward
"Hey, calm down! you don't need to fight seriously, like-"
Clark interrupts "we do"
Blackfire freezes
Clark continues, now looking at the board
"This is not a game. If we start holding back, the ones watching will notice"
Judha clenches her fists "...so you're going to fight seriously against me?"
Clark finally looks at her for real "Do you want me to lie?"
Judha forces a laugh
"Damn... what kind of friend are you, huh..."
Blackfire looks from one to the other, clearly uncomfortable
"...this is ridiculous..."
"Blackfire" Clark says, calmer "You yourself were almost defeated today"
She goes silent
"...if you had hesitated, you would have lost"
The memory of the fight with Bara comes back instantly, the impact, the exhaustion, the final punch
She lightly squeezes her own arm "...I know"
Judha takes a deep breath
"...alright" she says, lifting her head again "If that's how it works... then I'm going to fight seriously too"
Blackfire widens her eyes
"Judha-"
"No" Judha raises her hand
"I'm not going in there to lose. Or to be spared"
She looks at Clark "If you come at me with everything... I will too"
Clark keeps his gaze fixed and for a second a small smile appears at the corner of his mouth "Great"
Blackfire feels a chill down her spine
Judha crosses her arms, trying to look confident
"...but hey, if I win, you'll have to admit that I'm better than you"
Clark answers right away "If you win, I'll even say you're a genius"
"Then it's a promise"
Blackfire watches the two staring at each other, now the two friends would face each other. Two with the same goal...
Defeat the opponent and enter the Elite Class