There four of the figures stood. With it not being fully night out, every member could see clearly what the Barricades looked like. They all stood in tall robes of matte black that hung down to their legs. They all wore specially decorated pins on their chest area, each with specific ones that represented each member.

The one with the most pins out of the four was beginning to calmly walk away from the scene. This certain one did not seem very special to Miyuki and the rebellion members, but Sora knew exactly who that was.

"STRONZOOOO!!! HEY, YOU WANTED THIS! COME BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME, COWARD!" Sora triumphantly taunted from where he stood. Seeing that the decorated figure did not react to his taunt, he then turned to the rest of the group. "This is it. It came earlier than we expected, but I told you guys to always prepare for the unexpected when we meet!"

He then raised his hand and pointed at individual members. "You few, go chase after Stronzo. Be careful with him, he's about as strong as I am. If you guys coordinate like you've been practicing, it won't be an issue for you!" Sora then pointed to another few of the members. "You guys go search for the missing member. There are five barricades, not four!" While a good half went to chase down the one Sora claimed to be Stronzo, Miyuki was grouped in with the search party. This left only Sora to face all three of the remaining Barricades himself.

"I'll hold them off. Stronzo and the missing one are the most important ones!"

What Sora said always went, so the rebels split up under his command. Miyuki moved along with the other four. So many thoughts were running through her mind. A search party? Not only is she bad at looking for things, she is looking for someone who could very well kill her if she wasn't careful!

Within a few moments, the party meant to chase after Stronzo had disappeared down a separate alleyway. The search party did the same, moving to a smaller space that detoured around the three Barricades.

"W-wait, please slow down a bit!" Miyuki stumbled, trying to keep up with the pace that everyone was moving at. The team had their Ki up and ready, but Miyuki was the only one yet to charge her power. With that lack of strength in her strides comparatively, the search party was doomed to leave her.

Thankfully they didn't go far. Two of the members lined up against the wall of the alleyway and looked down the street. One of them looked across the street from behind a trash can. Miyuki on the other hand, was crouching down and had her back placed against the wall. Everyone seemed to be doing something. One had the front view, two had the side views, and one had the behind view. What was she to do? Miyuki anxiously looked around from her crouched position.

"D-does everything seem fine?" she would ask, feeling the need to at least contribute at least something to the group. Problem with her attempt at a question was that everyone else was clearly focused on their tasks, so they failed to be distracted by Miyuki's question. Inevitably, she was left in the quiet once more.

The person watching the front would give her thumbs up. When she gave her thumbs up, the two from the sides would give their thumbs up. No one, however, bothered to check on the two behind them. Instead, they went ahead and moved across the street.

"W-wait! Hey! You guys can't leave without us!" Miyuki shouted at the three. To check on the person behind her, she turned her head over her shoulders, only to shriek in shock.

"O-OH SHIT!"

Her group mate laid dead on the floor with a deep and bloody slash across his chest. What stood above his dead body was one of the three hooded figures from the alleyway.

Miyuki gulped, backing up slowly from this looming figure. All of her training could prepare her physically, but it couldn't prepare her mentally for a life or death situation like what stood before her now. A Barricade. One of those vile... cruel... vicious murderers that took the life of her friends and family in front of her eyes, and then proceeded to burn down her only place she could call 'home', was now standing in front of her... and she was next to go. Her heart was pounding, her eyes were wide, and her body had a sudden coating of goosebumps that chilled down her very spine. She felt the need to let off some of this fear, though truth be told, nothing could cause that sensation to leave her entirely. "H-heeeeeey!"

The being did not respond, only slowly walking towards Miyuki.

"Y-you don't wanna fight me! I-I'm strong now! I-iiii don't fuck around anymore!" Miyuki hesitantly bluffed, then quickly stood on her feet. This was her chance to run! She did just that, attempting to sprint away from this menace. To her surprise though... she ended up running right into them!

In shock, she quickly backed away, looking at the Barricade in confusion. "Wh-when did you get there? You were just behind me, weren't you?!" The idea of evading him was out of the picture. Miyuki then raised her fists in a very stereotypical boxer stance. She bounced left and right and was trying to mentally prepare for the inevitable fight ahead. Unfortunately for her though, that preparation would be in vain. Once again, he had appeared right in front of her!

"How do you do that?! No fair!" She'd say before taking a powerful uppercut to her chin, the single attack throwing her a few feet backwards and forcing her into somersaults across the floor.

She couldn't even see this guy move! He just appeared there! The only conclusion she could come to was teleportation. An ability that transfers someone else in space. It was such a simple ability, but one that was absolutely terrifying to her.

"What are you? I never thought teleportation was possible. Then again, there are a lot of things I don't know..." Miyuki muttered, then wiped some blood off the corner of her mouth. Her chin stung, but this wasn't the first time she was hit with an attack like that. The horrors of Sora's training prepared her for this kind of pain... five weeks of hell and she was able to climb out still living. Now it was finally the time where all of that training paid off. The fruits of her work were going to ripen... well, it had to if she wanted to live.

Miyuki then took a deep breath in and closed her eyes. Her hand then suddenly shot up, catching the fist of the hooded figure who tried to attack her while she had her eyes shut. Her body began to glow brighter... Miyuki picturing the analogy that Sora had taught her: ("Start as a seed, bloom into a flower. Steady increase... then overflow.") Then at last, Miyuki had revealed her own power. Her body lit up in a bright energy, then using this strength to push back on her attacker's fist. "I can't run for the sake of running. I couldn't escape Sora's training, so who am I to think I could escape you"

Her power gave her a fairly small amount of leverage on her attacker. That advantage would be cut short though when the attacker began to utilize more of his power too, Miyuki's grasp beginning to be overpowered by the Barricade, and quite easily too.

"Oh-CRAP!" Miyuki winced, continuing to try and push back her attacker's fist. While she was focused on their struggle, the attacker then swung his other free hand for the side of her face. To his surprise, Miyuki's free arm shot up and pushed the attack to the side. With the attacker's torso wide open, Miyuki then lunged a knee for his diaphragm.

"Wh-WHAT?!"

Her foot... it phased through! The attacker had pulled back his arms, standing calmly with his arms to his side. If one looked hard enough, they could see a cocky grin under his hood. "Is that what you call power? Hah... Sora really should have stepped up his game."

Miyuki pulled her leg back, returning to her boxing stance. She chose not to respond, just focusing on throwing two quick jabs at him. Those punches would be effortlessly evaded by the male with two swift dodges. "Oh look at me! Slippy the untouchable! I can out maneuver anyone! I'm the strongest and the fastest! Everyone loves me, but I hate it when people love me!" the person mocked.

His taunts only empowered Miyuki to keep throwing one punch after another towards him, shouting in anger "IYA! IYA!". It definitely seems he struck a nerve with that mockery, which only made the still untouchable person even more confident.

As more punches were attempted on the person, they would then vanish from sight, appearing behind Miyuki. "Iya? Did I make you mad? Just punch me already! I'm the one you're fighting, but you can't even touch me! I'm like fresh ivory off of a tusk, but left untouched!" Before Miyuki could react, she would feel a firm uppercut square in the middle of her back, that single attack helplessly causing her to be flung like a rag doll across the solid concrete ground.

The stinging in her back made Sekken hesitate to move. She tried holding her back, but it only made the burning sensation worse. Even with her Ki charged at its max power, this man was still overwhelmingly strong! If she wasn't a believer before, she knew now that these Barricades were no joke! "GAAGH! My fudging back! I'll be sure to give you payback for that one!"

The hooded figure would chuckle slowly, then lowering his hood and hanging his arms to his side, leaving himself fully exposed. "Hah hah. Sure, I doubt it with your level of power, but give me your best shot!"

He was so confident in fact, that he showed her his face by removing his hood, and then left himself wide open! Either he was out of his mind, or Miyuki truly was so outmatched that he wouldn't have to worry about sustaining damage. The thought of being outmatched made her tremble, but she tried to remain calm by taking another deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. With a clearer mind, she was able to think of an idea.

"Sure, I'll give you everything I have. I'll need it if I want to beat you..." Miyuki then clenched her fists and concentrated once more. Her body then jumped to its maximum power before sprinting straight for her attacker. "IYYAAAAAAAAAA!!!" she wildly shouted while throwing a rain of punches at the Barricade.

The punches Miyuki threw were so powerful that the debris in the alleyway would have cleared out; and the rapid wind gusts caused windows to crack, and the ground below them to vibrate! Despite that power, the attacker was unphased.

The moment those punches were about to land, the attacker would give off a calm chuckle. Then what was one became many! In Miyuki's eyes, the attacker was now four of the same person moving in sync.

"Hahahaha! You fell for it! I really thought you would try to flee again like you normally do. I guess busting a nerve is exactly what I needed to put you down!" All four of the same person then pulled a fist back in sync, then threw a full power attack coming at every angle around Miyuki.

Miyuki pulled her arms back and hung them to her side. Once more she would close her eyes, tuning out the boasting of the Barricade and focusing on herself. "Actually, you're the one that fell for it. I haven't shown you my ability yet, have I?"

"G-GUAH!"

The Barricade was now clenching his diaphragm, gasping for air. He had taken a few steps back, staring at Miyuki in shock. "H-How did you–?!"

"Haha, I touched the ivory! When my foot phased through you, I knew that you could become intangible to the world around you, which means you can move where ever you like at any speed. However, I knew from the start that you have to become tangible to attack me, which means you can only attack at what speed you are normally capable of. Luckily for me, I can see you move like you're in slow motion with my ability." Miyuki then sprinted after the winded Barricade, giving a mighty leap in the air and throwing an axe-kick down with one of her legs, and swiftly knocking her attacker out.

"I-I did it... I actually beat one of them! Hahahahaha! I did it!" Miyuki laughed, looking down on the male. What was this feeling? Her back was on fire, her hands were numb, her foot was tingling, and her heart was pounding. The rush of adrenaline and the release of stress, it was a sensation she couldn't describe! It was powerful... it was exciting... and it was scary. It was vengeance she was feeling. A successful victory. She couldn't celebrate yet though, there were four more her group had to defeat.

She couldn't forget what she was fighting for. This wasn't about vengeance, this wasn't about 'conquering the land' like Sora desired, and this wasn't about 'holding grudges'. This was only about Manaka Omo and herself. She was fighting to rid the world of I-35 so she can have a fair and 'normal' school year. She was fighting to save her future. She was fighting to save Manaka's future, and Megami's future.