CHAPTER 163: DRAW

Tasha smiled knowingly, her eyes glinting with amusement. "Megan told me herself when we spoke over the phone about a month ago." she admitted. "And I’ve been trying to talk to you ever since. I just... didn’t know how."

Cassandra scoffed "So you picked an arena? Wow! How very convenient, your excellency." she teased.

Tasha burst out laughing. "Well, it worked, didn’t it?"

Cassandra rolled her eyes, but her smile was genuine. "I guess it did."

Then a comfortable silence settled between them... lighter now, the weight of their anger finally lifted.

Then, at the same time, they opened their mouths to speak.

"Look, Tasha, I’m sorry for—"

"Cassie, I’m really sorry—"

They paused, then laughed.

Tasha nudged her. "You go first."

Cassandra took a deep breath. "I’m sorry, Tasha. For not trusting you. For not believing in you. For being the one to end our friendship. And... I’m sorry I hit you." Her voice wavered. "I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself, but... please forgive me."

Tasha’s smile was warm. "Oh, Cassie. I forgive you. And I’m sorry too."

And then—she pulled her into a hug.

Cassandra stiffened for only a second before melting into it, her arms wrapping tightly around Tasha as if afraid she’d vanish.

The other students were confused. They were expecting an epic brawl between two powerhouses, not some moral lesson about the power of friendship. But they couldn’t complain, the whole scene was too touching not to adore.

Jessica wiped her eyes, grinning. "About time."

Jayden chuckled. "Guess I don’t have to intervene after all." he sighed in relief.

Penelope sighed in relief. "Finally."

When they finally pulled apart, Cassandra smirked. "So... friends?"

Tasha grinned. "Always."

As they stood together, the arena lights bright above them, the past months of anger and hurt seemed to fade away.

Then they realised they still had a fight to finish. But what they did was unexpected.

Cassandra turned to Tasha with a grin. "Truce?"

Tasha nodded, wiping sweat from her brow. "Truce." she chuckled.

They turned to Mrs. Valerie in unison.

"We forfeit."

Mrs. Valerie was stunned for a second, but then she composed herself, facing the two girls. "Which one of you forfeits for the other." she asked

Tasha and Cassandra stared at one another for a while, before...

"I forfeit."

"I forfeit."

They said in an unexpected unison.

Cassandra turned to Tasha. "What are you doing? I want to be the one to forfeit."

Tasha shook her head. "No, it should be me. You deserve the win, Cassie. I saw how much you took it serious from the very start. You even said it yourself that you wanted to win. And it’s really nice to finally see you interested in something for once." she chuckled.

Cassandra smiled genuinely. "Wow, guess you really do know me afterall." she said. "But you don’t have to do this. I really don’t care about..."

"Please, Cassie." Tasha cut in. "Let me do this for you."

But Cassandra was adamant. She didn’t reply Tasha. Instead, she turned to Mrs. Valerie. "Um, actually... since we forfeited the fight, that makes both of us winners... and losers. Which means this match should be considered even."

Mrs. Valerie raised a brow. "You mean a tie?"

Cassandra nodded.

Tasha stepped forward. "Yes. And according to the rules of the tournament, a tie is permitted if both combai agree to it or the result of a match is undecided."

Mrs. Valerie sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Fine. You girls can both have the win." she muttered, then turned to the other spectators.

"This match has been declared a draw." she announced.

The crowd instantly erupted into protests.

"What?! No way!"

"We need a winner."

"So does this mean Cassandra is just as powerful as Tasha?"

"Well, after witnessing her fights today, I think it’s safe to say that she is."

Murmurs spread throughout the hall, among both students and parents. Since the beginning of the tournament, this was the first time a match would be concluded as a draw.

But Cassandra and Tasha didn’t even care about all that. They were just happy to be friends once again. They simply shrugged, walking off the arena together, their rivalry set aside for good.

They arrived at their seats to meet Jessica, who was smiling widely.

"So you two friends again?" she asked.

"Yes." they replied in unison.

Jessica sighed. "Good. Cause I didn’t know how much more of your drama I could take. I even thought you were both gonna make out or something." she teased with a devilish grin.

Cassandra smiled wrly. "That’s gross, Jessica. Even for you." she chuckled, taking her seat beside Jayden.

Tasha nodded in agreement, spanking Jessica’s head. "Yeah, this is why I told you not to watch too many movies."

Jessica rubbed the back of her head with a look of discomfort. "Ouch! I was merely stating the obvious, geez." she pouted.

As Tasha and Jessica continued bickering, Jayden turned to Cassandra.

"You did good." he said with a smile.

Cassandra scoffed. "How? I didn’t even get to showcase my powers. I got distracted by the emotions in the air." she chuckled.

Jayden smiled knowingly. "I wasn’t talking about the fight."

Cassandra’s lips parted. She understood what he meant, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned away from him with a smile. "Goodluck with yours though." she muttered.

Jayden chuckled. "Thanks. Hopefully, it’s as emotional as yours."

Cassandra snorted. "Yeah, I doubt that. Your opponent doesn’t seem like the type that cares about emotions."

Jayden smirked. "Good. Neither do I when it comes to a fight." he muttered, low and cold as his eyes landed on the large screen in front.

The holographic screen flickered, reshuffling the brackets, displaying the only two names that remained:

[Jayden Starrk vs. Carl Danvers]

[Modifier: Ability]

The crowd roared

Finally.

The fight they’d all been waiting for was going to happen. And it would undoubtedly be epic... they could feel it in their bones.

This would be the fight of the decade.