And so it begun. Rose and Tiffany stared each other down on the field.

Julianne: (thinking: Now I finally get to see what makes this girl so special. To think... A mere human....)

They then bowed to one another.

Julianne: (thinking: Bowing...?)

In response to Ken's earlier statement....

Max: Yeah... but... Rose is a psychic. So, she can end the fight just by grabbing her, right?

Ken: Correct.

Max: Hmm?

Ken: However, that depends on "if" she can grab her.

Max: Huh?

Ken: You'll see it soon enough.

Back to the battle, the room was filled with a field of stones and small rocks.

Tiffany was holding on to a katana, and as for Rose, she remained there, suddenly overcome by her situation.

In reality, she had done this to prove herself, but at this very moment, albeit not very heavily, she was starting to have second thoughts.

The core of her fear being, what if she lost?

What would Tiffany think? And also, what would Max think?

She forced these fears down her throat.

No, she said to herself. I just have to win.

And back with those watching the battle...

Julianne and Max waited with earnest anticipation.

Ken and Luke were less taken by the battle, but were still paying attention.

And then, Ken lifted up his hand.

Ken: Alright, are you ready?

Tiffany and Rose: Hmph!

Tiffany's eyes had already caught wind of Rose's doubts. But she would not hesitate. That just wasn't her.

Ken: Begin!

He karate chopped in the air.

And at that very moment, before anyone with a human perception of time could think, a rock flew to Rose's position.

It flew so fast, in fact, that Rose was barely able to stop it from hitting her head with her psychic powers.

Rose: (thinking: A... already.)

But the assault didn't end there.

Several more rocks came flying at her at a terrific speed, with her having to stop all of them, one by one.

The culprit of this assault?

None other than Tiffany Chang.

Max: What the.....!?

Julianne: (thinking: Intriguing strategy...)

Max: Wait.... what... why can't Rose just stop her?

Ken: You see, Max...

Max: Hmm?

Ken: Have you ever heard of the quote, "my greatest strength is also my greatest weakness?"

Max: Errrr.... No. Never heard of it.

Ken: Simply put... Rose is a psychic.

He continued as Rose continued to dodge these flying rocks.

Ken: And being a psychic, means that her greatest strength is her mind.

Max: Yeah... so....

Ken: So, it goes without saying... that if someone were to disrupt said mind...

Max's head turned back to take a closer look at Rose.

She seemed somewhat distressed. Somewhat pressured.

Max: So... throwing those rocks is...

Ken: Throwing her off her game? Yes. And because shes so concerned with that...

As they all noticed, but Rose had a hard time noticing, Tiffany had slightly closed their distance and had changed her posture.

Ken: ... she can't retaliate properly.

Julianne: (thinking: That boy... he's a sharp one.)

The young man by the name of Kenneth Stone was indeed correct. However, he had not mentioned another crucial fact. That fact being, that Rose's own fear of losing was bothering her.

It wasn't like she was unaware of the fact that Tiffany was planning something.

But rather, that she was fully petrified because she didn't know exactly what to expect.

A fear that further increased her fear of losing. After all, what would Tiffany think? She was the one who'd asked for this.

Hence keeping her from focusing properly.

Leading to a vicious cycle.

Fear and anxiety, to more fear and anxiety, to even more fear and anxiety.

All that built up so much, combining itself with the constant blocking of rocks, seemingly artistically thrown as if to keep her from retaliating.

One rock after another in quick succession, in a random pattern.

Tiffany had clearly thought this through.

And Rose was so caught up, that she couldn't think of using her mind reading powers all that efficiently.

And as with all vicious cycles, it was only a matter of time before one of the rocks finally hit Rose, right in the cheek.

Rose: OoooOOOoooooouuuuuchhhh!

She held her cheek in pain, as it had become somewhat swollen.

"Ouch" was something of a foreign term in situations like these.

In situations in which combatants were fighting seriously, or even semiseriously, "Ouch" was like a plea to give up.

Max: Rose?

Ken simply sighed and Luke's gaze narrowed.

Julianne: (thinking: A simple yet effective strategy)