Chapter 268 Emma Versus Lydia Conclusion
Meanwhile, in the Nichijou Region (Ash Grey and Jean Grey's World)
"That was a great fight. Your Pheross was strong enough as it is, just don't hesitate on giving it a command next time. When it comes to a fight, the delay of a split second could mean a win or a loss." Jean Grey pointed out as he shook hands with his challenger. He was the renowned beast master of the Nichijou Region so receiving a couple of challenges here and there was a usual everyday routine for him.
"Thank you so much," The young man bowed down towards Jean Grey, taking all his words to heart before he headed out once again. It would be months before that young man challenges Jean Grey again but Jean Grey was already looking forward to it.
While he received dozens of challenges in a single day, it's not every day that someone challenges him with a Pheross. As mentioned before, Jean Grey's partner was a Pheross, a blue lightning tiger. "That kid's Pheross is strong, I was just lucky that he hesitated at such a crucial moment. Have I been lacking in training these past few days? Nah, it's probably just my imagination."
Putting his arms behind his back, Jean Grey casually walked towards the city, heading home. He decided to make a quick stop by a famous family restaurant to buy some burgers. That way, his wife wouldn't have to cook dinner and they'd get to spend more time together. "I wonder if Ash would welcome a younger sibling." He joked to himself as he started whistling.
Suddenly, his phone started ringing.
"Yes, Jean Grey here, how may I help you?" Jean Grey lightheartedly responded.
"We kidnapped your son. We're sending you the coordinates. Go there if you don't want us to kill him." The voice on the other end of the line threateningly said before he hung up. A split second later, Jean Grey received the coordinates. The coordinates specified that it's located in the Beast Dimension.
"A trap? But why would they kidnap my own son? And what do they get for targeting me? I'm just a lowly beast tamer, you know." Jean Grey said to himself. He made a mental note that he wouldn't stop by the family restaurant and instead head home.
While the call did say that they kidnapped his son, he was inclined not to believe the words of the caller. He concluded that he should at least confirm whether his son was at home or not. If he's not, then he won't have a choice but to go to the specified coordinates.
And on the off-chance that his son was at home, he'd try to tread the dangerous waters and still go to the coordinates. He won't get himself into unnecessary trouble though.
Without further ado, he summoned his partner, Pheross, and rode on his back. He made it home in record time and he was greeted by his wife. "Dear, where's our son?"
"He went to Professor Oakland to get something. Why?"
"Oh, all right." After saying his farewell to his wife a second time, he headed straight to Professor Oakland's research center.
But Ash was nowhere to be found.
"Wait... maybe the call was genuine. Did they really kidnap my son? But why? What's their motive? Am I their target?" Jean Grey said to himself as he mounted on his Pheross once again. This time, he headed towards the Dimensional Portal that leads to the Beast Dimension.
"I hope he's all right."
Before he got to the Dimensional Portal, he passed by Urass Forest. He was then reminded of his meeting with a kid named Midoriyama Satoshi and he remembered how he was a powerful beast tamer himself. "Should I ask for his help? I'm sure he'd help me out... right?" He asked himself, entertaining the ridiculous thought he had in his mind.
He didn't even think twice about his decision. Since time was of the essence, he decided to act on this notion and headed straight through the Urass Forest. No one has gone to the other side of the Dimensional Portal that leads to a planet called Earth. But right now, he was willing to try it before he headed to his kidnapped son.
Quite frankly, this was how Jean Grey's adventures usually go. He wouldn't go towards a specific mission. Instead, he would derail from it— just like what he's doing right now. But then again, it's not like what he thought was a bad idea. After all, the caller didn't specify that he shouldn't bring another person with him. All he said was that he had to show up to the coordinates specified.
Heck, the caller didn't even specify a time, that's why Jean Grey decided to rush with cautiousness.
The moment he entered Earth, he was met with a vast sea. He didn't even bother summoning one of his water-type beasts. He continued riding on his Pheross's back. Pheross easily ran through the water, arriving on the shore before he headed deeper into Japan. "Now, where can I find Satoshi..." he muttered to himself.
Since he was at a loss for what to do, he decided to approach his problem as simply as he could. How? By asking passers-by if they know someone named Midoriyama Satoshi and if they know where he lives. It was already almost nighttime so he wasn't sure whether he'd find someone who knows Satoshi before the sun completely sets.
"You mean the son of the Midoriyama Duo? I know him, but not personally." The first man that Jean Grey asked responded as if Satoshi's name was common knowledge to everyone.
"Uhm, do you know where he lives, by chance? I'm a friend, you see, and I just came here from another country. I wanted to surprise him." Jean Grey continued.
"If you're looking for the Midoriyama Agency, it's in Tokyo. You can just go here and here," The man started giving Jean Grey directions on how he'd be able to get to the Midoriyama Agency.
.....
A few hours later, back at the Midoriyama household.
The fight between Emma and Lydia was intensifying by the second and it reached a point where the two of them started darting all over the place. Emma, with her portal superpower, made it her forefront goal to hit Lydia with any of her attacks, and this prompted her to teleport as fast as she could while trying to catch Lydia off-guard. As for Lydia, she knew she had to attack Emma while dodging her attacks so she had to shift and revert to her water form as fast as she could. To those watching including Aira, the two of them were like dimensional beings fighting a fight of death when in reality, they were just having a friendly bout.
Once again, Emma' appeared right in front of Lydia, and Lydia reverted to her liquid form. She then appeared behind Emma and shifted some of her water into ice spikes before firing it at Emma. Without missing a beat, Emma put up a portal, redirecting Lydia's ice spikes towards her.
This caught Lydia by surprise but she managed to react by shifting the ice spikes into water once again.
At that moment, Emma appeared behind her and gave her a chop to the neck— one of the signature moves that Tatsuki taught her during their training. She only needed one moment to catch Lydia's physical form and by the time that opportunity came, she didn't waste any time going in for the offensive. Every move she made led up to that moment and she was proud of the outcome.
Emma hadn't been training under Tatsuki's wing for nothing. If any, she'd learn how to fight from the very best, and that gave her a chance to win against an almost unwinnable opponent like Lydia.
In a split second, Lydia was out like a light, falling forward as she slipped into unconsciousness. (She didn't even realize that she already lost, not until she woke up a couple of minutes later.)
"That's a splendid fight, Emma. I'm glad that you were able to apply everything you've learned from me." Tatsuki congratulated her, ruffling her hair as he did so. "You did miss a couple of openings but in the end, Lydia missed even more of your openings and that allowed you to win. You're getting there, but you still need a couple of training sessions with me and my wife."
With a cheerful nod, Emma thanked both Tatsuki and Ayumu for training her. She did feel bad for Lydia's loss though, but she concluded that it was normal. All's fair in love and war, or so the saying goes... and there could only be one winner.
As the group headed inside, a familiar figure suddenly showed up right at their doorstep. "Hello? Is anybody home?" The man called out. "Is this the Midoriyama Household?"
Tatsuki told everyone to head on inside since it was getting late. He then approached the gate to greet the man calling for them. "Yes it is, how may I help you?"
"Hello, sir Midoriyama, I'm Jean Grey... um, Midoriyama Satoshi's friend. Is he home? I need to talk to him." Jean Grey continued.