By Dyaoka
Disclaimer: I don’t own Prince of Tennis nor do I
own the Final Fantasy series.
Warnings/Notes: Buwahaha. I’m not very good at
writing action/fighting scenes. =P So…please excuse me if I did anything
wrong! >.< Oh yeah, the bolding/italics are rather…weird in this.
Including the spacing. Don’t ask me why because I did everything I could to
fix it, but it just won’t fix! Sorry!
Scroll Six, Part Two: Deadly Game
“Will he be alright?” Taka asked the doctor several hours later after Inui had collapsed at the stadium. The doctor, stained with blood, nodded meekly. She knew who her patient was, but the trust that Taka had placed in her had not allowed her to betray that trust. No, she wouldn’t. Aside from Taka, there were others that had put their trust into her for saving their companion’s life. Besides, a doctor should treat anyone that needed their help—after all, it’s what a doctor is, right? To help and save people.
“Luckily, any vital points were missed, but it will still take him time to heal. Really, what was he thinking…a hundred forty-six stitches total. The idiot” the doctor said. Taka released the breath that he had been holding, and smiled weakly at the doctor.
“Thank you, doctor” Taka said. “And please don’t say a word to anyone.”
“Of course not” the doctor said with a smirk as she got rid of her blood stained coat. “You don’t need to thank me, I’m just doing my job.” Taka'a smile became a bit larger and then left the room, most likely to tell the others the good news.
The doctor looked over at a sleeping Inui who seemed to be having a dream. Whatever dream it was, hopefully it was a good dream. After all, this boy was still young and had a long life ahead of him.
Two days later, Inui still had not woken up, but the doctor had insisted that it was exhaustion and also due to the blood loss. It was also explained to them that he needed his rest so they shouldn’t wake him up, but that didn’t stop the others from visiting him. When Ryoma was watching Inui’s fight on the screen, the moment he saw Inui go for the charge, he knew that Inui had forfeited his life. Tezuka was powerful and skillful, not one to be taken lightly. But Inui wasn’t one to take lightly either. Both were strong, but the difference was obvious. For a moment, when Inui had fell straight into the icicles, Ryoma had thought that Inui was dead. The blood was so much…It had just splattered everywhere and it actually scared him. The redness of the blood…
But when Inui stood up, the fear disappeared from Ryoma and a new one was replaced. The power that emitted from the bespectacled youth was not a thing to be laughed at. He felt it, the power that was gathering above him. It left him witless and made him feel inferior. Although the attack was directed at him, Tezuka didn’t even so much as flinch. He took it head on, but even he didn’t come out unscathed. Ryoma doubted that even he, the current champion, could have done much against that attack. But when Inui fell down for the second time, Fuji had shot out of the room like a bullet, heading towards the stadium. Taka wasn’t too long after Fuji. Ryoma would have gone, but Shinji had gotten a grip on his arm.
“No,” the blind youth had said. “You must not go.” At first, Ryoma thought that Shinji didn’t want to be left alone and was about to wrench his arm away from the other youth when he realized the seriousness behind his voice.
“It has something to do with that…Tezuka, doesn’t it?” Ryoma asked quietly. Shinji didn’t answer, but his silence was enough of an answer to Ryoma. Whatever Tezuka wanted, it had something to do with Ryoma.
Ever since this incident, Fuji had been looking at Tezuka with contempt. Oishi was always constantly worried now, about everyone’s safety added to the fact that Eiji was still missing. It was a surprise that he hadn’t gone into shock or something. Taka was doing his best to help everyone, although sometimes he just got into the way and made a mess of things—but they appreciated his effort. However, due to the fact he was almost all over the place, he lost and was eliminated from the competition at the final round. As for Momo, the ex-captain was constantly deep in thought—about what, they didn’t know. But whenever Tezuka was seen or mentioned, a strange gleam came into his eyes. No one asked what he was thinking about, as that they were usually preoccupied with their own thoughts. And Shinji…was Shinji, as cryptic as ever with his mutterings.
But as they say, the world goes on. The competition had dwindled down to thirty-six competitors and they were no longer put on teams; it was now one-on-one battles. In one day’s time, the thirty-six competitors became a smaller number of eighteen. And of the eighteen people that still remained they were no doubt the best there were. But when the day came for those eighteen to be cut in half, someone unexpectedly dropped out, making the ending number of eight. And then, at the last day of the competition, only eight remained.
Tezuka Kunimitsu, seven wins and zero losses, as formidable as always. He had yet to show the extent of his real power, which obviously was high above others. In the fights, he never used his full power; only a portion. His opponents always end up in the hospital or dead. He was cold, unapproachable, as proved by Tomoka when she tried to start a conversation with him after one of the battles. Girls swooned when he arrived at the stadium, yet he paid no attention to them. Tezuka was an enigma to many, since he was so mysterious and calm. He was currently the favorite of the crowd, despite the fact that the current champion was still in the competition.
Fuji Syusuke, four wins and three losses—and still quite a mysterious figure. He only won four times, but he managed to make it into the final rounds. There were many people and competitors that were outraged that someone with such a record would be in the finals. Of course, under the guise of Suke, Fuji didn’t feel like showing off his real powers…added to the fact that he wanted to surprise someone…or some people. Added to the fact that no one had ever seen him without the black cloak, the audience was still in doubt whether he was either male or female (…since his wasn’t all that tall…)
Shinji, seven wins and zero losses, a previous runner up champion from years before. Dark and mysterious, he came to Bevelle to study magic at a young age. However, he was blind and there wasn’t a teacher that would at least give him the chance to learn it. One day though, when Nanjirou dropped by the city with a toddler Ryoma, he decided to tutor them both. Shinji and Ryoma both excelled in the Arts and when Nanjirou had to leave, he left Shinji in the care of one of his closer friends in Bevelle, a teacher that had refused to teach him at first. Eventually, he gave in and Shinji came to where he was now—powerful and quite unrelenting to his opponents. To some people, he was representing Bevelle in the competition.
Ryoma, seven wins and zero losses, also the current
champion. Though he was quite young, he’d been holding the title as the
champion for several years already. An apprentice of Nanjirou, also a previous
champion, the young Ryoma also had quite some tricks up his sleeve. Quiet and
often sullen looking, Ryoma was still a child at heart though. And there were
some opponents he’d fought against that had gone and taken advantage of this
fact…
Fuji Yuuta, six wins and one loss, the younger brother of
Fuji Syusuke. He’d come to this place to become champion to finally step out
from his brother’s shadow. However, the youngest heir of the House of Fuji
was quite ignorant of the reputation he already carried. To outdo his brother,
he’d taken on many-a powerful magicians and mages, defeating all of those
whom he’d taken on, save for a few who had become his close friends. Yuuta
had shown his strong determination to prove that he was not ‘Fuji Syusuke’s
brother,’ but rather ‘Yuuta.’
The other three, though, were still a mystery to them. Of course, that’s why they were eventually going to find out…
~*~
“Welcome, everyone, to the final day of this glorious and exciting competition!” one excited Tomoka exclaimed. “And first up, we have our favorite, Tezuka Kunimitsu against…Fuji Yuuta! Younger brother of the genius-turned-fugitive, Fuji Syusuke!”
“Shut up!” Yuuta exclaimed from where he was at the center of the stadium. “I am not Fuji Syusuke’s brother! I am YUUTA! FUJI YUUTA!”
“Same difference!” the girl said crossly. “You are his younger brother, you know! You should at least be proud of the fact you have such a famous brother! Though I guess you can say it’s infamous now…”
“Shut up! I don’t care!”
“Stingy” Tomoka said, making a face. “Tezuka! Break a leg! Break his leg! Let the match…BEGIN!”
Before Yuuta could yell at the girl anymore, he had to immediately duck an incoming fist of Tezuka’s. But when Yuuta was about to retaliate, Tezuka had already moved several feet from him and was casting spells of magic. ‘He’s fast…’ Yuuta thought as he readied his defense. But what was unexpected was that Tezuka crouched onto the ground and placed both palms down onto the stadium’s dusty ground and suddenly giant spikes grew from the earth, trapping the younger youth.
“You’re young; inexperienced, but with some skill” Tezuka said. “You shouldn’t be here. This will be just like a massacre for you if you stay any longer.”
“Are you implying I’m weak?!” Yuuta exclaimed furiously. First that girl, now his opponent! How dare they! “Then if I’m weak, I’ll show you the strongest of the weak!” Lifting a hand upwards towards the heavens, a strong wind started to brew. Then, with his other hand, he held it out to his side with his palm open. Out of nowhere, the ground started to become dark and wet as water begun to come out of nowhere and start going in the direction Tezuka was, lapping at his shoes and as the water rose, it went to his knees, soaking his pants. “I’ll show you!” Yuuta cried out, enraged. “Double Black: Waterga and Thundaga!” Almost immediately, the water around Tezuka’s knees encased him and lightning lit up the sky despite the fact it was still in the morning. It was like a second sun had appeared for a second. The next second, however, the lightning had struck the ball of water that encased Yuuta’s opponent. “So, tell me, am I weak?” Yuuta nearly sneered at the limp body that was still encased by water. Waving a hand, the water disappeared just as mysteriously as it came, but the figure was still alive, to Yuuta’s amazement.
But Tezuka said nothing to him. With a flick of his wrist, the giant spikes collapsed on top of Yuuta, who had nowhere to run to.
Down in the room that was below the stadium sat the older Fuji who was watching the fight with scorn. Scorn for Tezuka, who dared to put both Inui and Yuuta into such dangerous situations and scorn for Yuuta, who should have known better.
“Relax” said a bored voice. It was Shinji, who was staring off into nothingness as usual. But then again he couldn’t see so he was always seeing nothingness. “Yuuta isn’t in any serious danger like Inui was…”
“Ah…”
“Look, they’re digging him out” Ryoma said. “Obviously, he’s ok. You should be ready for your match now; it’s against someone—”
“Who’s name you don’t remember” Shinji jutted in, his tone still bored. Ryoma glared at the blind youth, though he knew Shinji wasn’t able to see him.
“It’s alright,” Fuji said, ruffling Ryoma’s hair, something that he and Momo seemed to have gained a fondness for. “I’ll win.” Without another word, Fuji left, heading up the stairs to the stadium silently, tugging his black cloak closer around him.
“…and here is this mysterious person! Suke!” Tomoka was saying as Fuji was walking towards the center of the stadium. “Suke versus…our spear wielding contestant, Cid Highwind! Let the match…begin!”
“Bah…another kid” Cid said as he dumped the cigarette that he was smoking onto the ground, smothering the life out of the lit part of the cigarette with his foot. “What is the world comin’ to these days…” He swung his large metallic spear at Fuji, expecting the youth to dodge, but Fuji didn’t do it. He stayed as still as stone. “No fear, eh? Well, bring it on brat!” Cid exclaimed as he swung his spear downward. Fuji dodged it easily, but knew that Cid was holding back. Holding out a slender hand, he gripped onto the spear and whispered something that was inaudible to everyone. Suddenly, the metallic spear was much to hot to hold onto and both dropped their grips on it.
“Fuck!” Cid exclaimed as he tried to cool his burning hand down. “You’re going to get it, you shitty brat! Demi!”
Holding up both hands as if in a prayer, Fuji casted a shield around him just in time. There was no doubt that Cid liked to talk, but the older man was obviously skilled—after all, he wouldn’t be in the finals, now would he? The Demi spell wasn’t strong, not really putting a strain on the shield he was keeping up. What made Cid a dangerous opponent was that his physical combat skills, speed, and power far surpassed his. When Fuji lowered the shield to face his opponent, Cid had disappeared. ‘Where is he…’
A sudden instinct told Fuji to duck—and duck he did and in a nick of time, he avoided the blow Cid was delivering. “You’re pretty good” Cid muttered as he watched Fuji moved away from his range. “But I know yer not going to let this end just like this…” Fuji's only response was the smile he always wore.
“Ice” Fuji said as he lifted his hand into the air—and suddenly, the ground they stood on was covered in ice. The audience gasped in awe at the sight. The cold wet ice was slippery, but Fuji had no problem maneuvering upon it. After all, his sister had loved to skate and had often dragged him along. He could stand and move on the ice whether he had the correct kind of shoes or not.
“Looks like you do have some tricks up your sleeve” Cid smirked as he took one step forward and fell.
“You’re in my domain now” Fuji said as his black cloak billowed around him, making him more mysterious than ever.
“You’re domain? Don’t kid with me; it might get you hurt” Cid said as he tried to get up, but found that he couldn’t move his feet. When he looked to his feet, he saw that they were encased in ice. “What?! When did you…?!”
“Exactly. When did I freeze up your feet?” Fuji asked, a smile still upon his features. “One, when I froze up the ground. Two, when you fell—which was it?”
“When you froze up the ground of course!” Cid exclaimed, pointing his finger in Fuji’s direction. “And this should be cheating, damn it!”
“Tisk, tisk…” Fuji said, disapprovingly. “I would have thought you to be more perspective, but I guess I was wrong. It was three, when you were talking. I didn’t do anything to cause you to fall, you did that entirely on your own.”
“Whatever!” And suddenly with a burst of strength, Cid kicked upward, freeing his feet from the ice. Picking up several of the shards, he threw them at Fuji with an almost pinpoint accuracy. Too bad that Fuji was quick on the ice. In the instant that Fuji was busy dodging the shards, Cid took the opportunity to retrieve his spear—which conveniently hadn’t been frozen under ice. “Take this!” He swung wildly at Fuji, missing the youth by a lot, but the onslaught of attacks were more than enough to keep Fuji moving away from the older man.
However, when he came close to hurting the boy, Cid found a solid wall of ice in front of him. “Stop hiding, you wuss!” Cid exclaimed as he was flung backwards by a sudden invisible force.
“Silence!” commanded Fuji. Cid was about to retaliate with a statement when he suddenly found himself unable to speak. “It would be better for you to give up here.”
Of course, was Cid a person to listen to his opponent? No. With a soundless yell, he charged towards Fuji with his spear…only to be stopped midway by…dragons. Or just icicles that looked like dragons.
“I told you that this was my domain.”
~*~
Eiji was completely silent as he walked through the dark and gloomy halls. After a long moment of silence and walking, he stopped at a door painted ebony with a symbol of a dying chrysanthemum on it. It was his room. Without hesitating, he opened the door—which was so conveniently unlocked. But either way he would have gotten in; it was his room after all and no one’s allowed to keep him out of there.
“Looks like this place hasn’t change” Eiji said to himself as he entered the room and shut the door behind him. His room was decorated rather elaborately in black, red, and violet though there was the occasional green and white. There was a fireplace in his room, which was lit. The bookshelf that was in one corner of the room was completely devoid of dust as was his desk. There were new sheets on his canopy bed and his wardrobe had new additions to it. The windowpanes were cleaned of the dirt and grime that somehow got onto it and the curtains were replaced with a heavier sort of cloth to keep the warmth within the room, though the colors were just the same as the old one—black with one large dying chrysanthemum on there, the same symbol that was also on the outside of the door. The usual damp and coldness of the room was absent and wasn’t missed by the red head. ‘Someone must’ve came in and cleaned up…I remember I left this place in a mess three years ago…’
Indeed, as that the person who had cleaned up for the red head was asleep on the chair right in front of the fireplace where it was nice and warm. Eiji chuckled a bit as he saw one Jiroh Akutagawa curled up with his legs tucked under his chin, asleep. ‘Some things never change’ Eiji mused as he poked Jiroh on the cheek. When the curly haired boy didn’t respond, Eiji changed tactics to pinching his cheek. Jiroh woke immediately.
“OW! The hell was that for?!”
“You were sleeping…again” Eiji said.
“Oh. So what? I need my sleep” Jiroh said as he scratched at his head. “Welcome back, by the way. But I thought I fell asleep in my room…how did I get here?”
“When I came in, you were already here” Eiji said pointedly. “So, you cleaned this place up for me?”
“Yes. Quite a mess you left it in too” Jiroh commented with a yawn. “It took me two month to clean everything!”
“Well, I didn’t ask for you to clean it. But thanks anyway!” Eiji exclaimed with a happy grin. Jiroh watched in astonishment as Eiji smiled.
“You never smile” the curly haired boy remarked. “Oh, that’s right. I just remembered!”
“What?”
“Apparently, He knows you’re back already. So he wants you to deal with the ravine’s guard. Apparently, the guard’s been reported to be a lot more active than he’s suppose to be,” Jiroh said as he walked over to the window. He opened it to look outside, where the view was rather misty. The land was silent and dead, the village huts and buildings had long been empty, the people having gone to a different location—a location only Eiji knew. Rats and foul creatures roamed the place now, searching for food. Miles away there was a huge crack in the earth stretching for miles and miles long and wide, one could not see it from the window of the castle though. Deep was the ravine and high were the walls and should anyone fall in, it would be an incredibly…long climb to get back out, if they even survive the fall, that was. Living at the bottom of the ravine was a sort of plant that gave off strange fumes—one of the many reasons that there was mist all around the giant castle that Eiji was currently in.
“Why do I have to do this job? I just got baaaaaack…” Eiji whined as he flopped down onto his bed. “I don’t wanna!”
“Obviously you haven’t changed much” Jiroh muttered jokingly. “Well, anyways, would you rather have Gakuto do this job? He’ll just kill the guard, you know.”
“What about that Taichi Dan kid? He could do the job! He’s reliable and he won’t kill the guard!”
“Don’t you remember? Four years ago he was sent to do negotiations with three different rulers! He still hasn’t returned from that yet—from his last letter back, it said that negotiations with one of the rulers weren’t going too well and his trip back would probably be delayed” Jiroh informed as he closed the window. As he turned back to the red head, he saw a pair of impish azure eyes looking over to him. “No, I will not take on the task because I’m only the errand boy!” Jiroh said as he dashed out of the room before Eiji could force him to do the job.
“Che. Guess I gotta go and do it myself” Eiji said as he rolled over on his bed so he was lying on his back. “I’ll put it off for a week or so…it’s no harm in it, I guess…” Bouncing off of the bed in his usual exuberant manner, he walked over to the wardrobe. Swinging open the already half opened door, Eiji looked for an appropriate attire within it. Before he left, the closet had been filled—now it contained even more and some of the clothes were no longer hanging upon the racks, but rather crumpled onto the floor. After a short while of contemplation, Eiji fished out one of the numerous outfits in his closet.
Fifteen minutes later found Eiji out of the castle, but still officially on it’s grounds. He was crouched next to several grand headstones; each bearing the mark of the royal family that lived in the castle centuries ago. “Hey” he said casually. “It’s been a while. It won’t be long now…” Eiji gave a small smile as he brushed a hand against one of the headstones. “You know what, Mother? I met some really interesting people this time. And I bet you, Sister, would probably have fallen in love. I remember just like yesterday how you would say you’d never fall in love! It was really funny because I’d be there at your side saying the same things you would.” The red head patted his eldest sister’s headstone affectionately. All of the headstones were dirty and old, weatherworn as well. The words etched onto the headstones had been long worn away by the persistence of the wind and sand, but to Eiji, those words are always there as new as when it had been freshly carved.
“And you know what, Father? What you said came true” Eiji looked up to the largest of the headstones with tears in his eyes. “I did find a special someone, just as you predicted. I wish you were here…so you could meet him.”
~*~
“So…there’s only four of us left, is there?” Fuji asked as he stood next to Ryoma.
“Ah…”
The remaining four contestants had been staying at the top of the stadium, deciding the last several battles were better to watch up close. “Next fight!” Tomoka was exclaiming loudly. “Is…our very mysterious cloaked person, Suke! Against him…Tezuka Kunimitsu! Step to the center so we can see you! Yes, we see you now! Let the fight begin!”
Loud cheers erupted from the crowd that had gathered upon the stands. Usually, the last several fights were the best or the most bloody. Whatever it was, it was usually the climax point for many people who wanted to watch.
However, the two people down at the center of the stadium did not move. They were completely still, unmoving, not even a twitch…until finally, Fuji spoke. “Let’s get this started, shall we?” Without waiting for an answer, Fuji attacked. Tezuka met his attack head on without any protection with one of his own attacks.
“Fira!”
“Comet!”
Fuji moved quickly out of the comet’s way before attacking again. He slammed both hands onto the ground and suddenly the earth started to shake. “Double Black: Quake and Blizzaga!” The ground gave a shudder before it started to shake even more violently and the air changed from toasty warm to freezing cold. In two seconds flat, a blizzard was going on including a major earthquake. Several occupants from the stadium had already fled, not wanting to be in danger.
“Stop” Tezuka exclaimed, throwing the spell in the
direction Fuji was in. But it didn’t affect Fuji at all. The earthquake
stopped, but the blizzard didn’t let up.
“It won’t work on me” Fuji said. “You should surrender now. If I hurt you, I won’t be held responsible for it.”
“Pain!” Tezuka snarled, holding his hand out as if crushing something invisible with it. His fogged up glasses didn’t reveal the coldness within his eyes. Suddenly, Fuji doubled over and started coughing, spitting out blood. Opening his eyes, Fuji found that he couldn’t see anything. His vision had been taken away. Clenching his hands into fists, he knew he had to act fast.
“Meteor!”
Fuji heard screams from the crowd as there was suddenly crashes and movement around him. From the sky, it just started to rain boulders. There were heavy thuds around him and then when the crashes were no more, then did Fuji dared to move. But a steely voice next to his ear stopped him from moving.
“I wouldn’t move if I were you.”
But Fuji was a stubborn person and wouldn’t give up easily. He kicked wildly at where Tezuka was. His foot came into contact with a body and Fuji immediately moved from his own spot, clutching at his stomach. That spell…Pain, or whatever, was taking a toll on him. Fuji quickly wiped the blood that was at the corner of his mouth. “I may be blind now, Tezuka, but I will not take this lying down. You may have lived through Inui’s Doom of the Living, but you won’t live through this…” Raising his hands upwards towards the heavens, Fuji fell to his knees. He won’t last much longer if he didn’t cast it now…
“Triple: Meltdown, Drain…”
Fuji paused for breath as he felt his first two spells were taking effect. Tezuka’s small gasp of surprise was all it took for him to know this.
“Flare.”
And then, Fuji collapsed completely into the snow-covered ground.
~*~
“The sky is dark, Nanjirou. Doesn’t that mean something?”
“Yeah…it really is dark. But it’s not suppose to be this dark—it was still in the afternoon…”
“I wasn’t asking that.”
“I’m not answering you.”
“Be that way. Guards! Take him back down to the dungeons! This time, I don’t care what you do with him—just make sure he dies! You’ve made a mistake, Seer Nanjirou, for double crossing me…”
~*~
Ryoma had watched in what one would call horror as Fuji fell. He knew what the spell Pain did, though it was a spell that not many people know of. Pain caused one’s vision to go away and poison would be found in their blood stream. But then the third situation didn’t occur to Fuji, which was strange. It would have silenced him. But as Tezuka had tried to cast Stop on Fuji, it didn’t work. Maybe it was the same in this case. But that wasn’t what was worrying Ryoma the most. Being silenced and blind wasn’t what worried him. It was the poison. If it weren’t gone from the blood stream in a certain amount of time, the person would die.
“Fuji!” Ryoma exclaimed as he ran to the light haired youth’s side, not caring about what the others were yelling about. “Hey! Wake up! Wake up!” When Fuji didn’t budge, he even more worried. “Oi! Stop playing around! This isn’t funny!”
“It’s quite a wonder that he isn’t dead yet” said a steely voice. Ryoma looked up to see Tezuka. He looked quite battered, but otherwise he was still walking (though with a limp), and talking—which in Ryoma’s opinion, he was in good health. “He’s quite strong, I must admit.”
“Why did you use that spell?” Ryoma snarled. “Why?”
But Tezuka did not answer. All he did was throw down a small vial of clear liquid. “Here. An antidote for the poison.” That was all he said before walking out of the stadium. The score blinked and buzzed. Tezuka was declared the winner. Ryoma quickly turned Fuji over so he was lying on his back rather than on his stomach. He was careful to make sure the hood was still on though. He had no intention of letting anyone know who he really was.
“Damn it, at least wake up” Ryoma pleaded as tears started to well up in his eyes involuntarily. “Damn it! Wake up!”
“Ryoma, did anyone ever tell you how loud you are?” came a sarcastic voice.
“You’re awake! Hurry up and drink this, it’ll neutralize the poison” Ryoma said feeling very relieved and angry at the same time. When Fuji made no effort to grab at the vial Ryoma rolled his eyes. “Fine by me if you want to die.”
Fuji chuckled, but the chuckle turned into a cough as he spat out more blood. “Give me that.” Snatching the vial from the younger boy, he drank it all and then tossed it aside. “That tasted awful.”
“You idiot!” Ryoma exclaimed as he stood up and stomped away, but Shinji, seemingly appearing from nowhere dragged him back to the stadium by the back of his shirt. “What…?”
“It’s our fight now, you idiot. He can take care of himself and get out of the way” Shinji said carelessly as he let go of Ryoma’s shirt collar.
“OOOOH! THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE CURRENT CHAMPION AND SEVERAL TIMES PREVIOUS CHAMPION RUNNER UP! RYOMA VS. SHINJI! LET THE FIGHT BEGIIIIIIN!” Tomoka screamed with excitement.
“Tomoka…shut up” Sengoku said from the side. He
took off his earplugs and tossed them at Tomoka. “You’re way too loud!”
Half an hour later, a victor had already been decided.
Shinji had lost, undoubtedly. But it was a magnificent one, portraying both
their skills and knowledge of spells. However, they had caused each other much
bodily harm and their blood was splashed onto the snow-covered ground and
walls. Though it wasn’t much that they lost, it still took a toll on them.
“Ho! And the conclusion! Ryoma has won!” Tomoka exclaimed happily. “And now, everyone, a two hour break! Then come back and watch the final match of the year against the defending champion and runner up!”
“Well, first thing’s first” said a very cross voice. Both Shinji and Ryoma looked up to see a very angry/worried Taka. “Taking you two to the hospital.”
~*~
“Eiji, are you in here?” Jiroh said as he opened the door to the red head’s room tentatively. Indeed, the person he was looking for was there.
“Oh. Jiroh” Eiji said without looking up from his spot at the desk.
“What’s up with the clothes?” Jiroh pondered as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. After tending to the fireplace, where the fire had nearly died out, he then proceeded to flop down onto the other’s bed without asking and curl up, relishing the fact that the sheets were nice and soft.
“I found them in my closet. Looks strange, doesn’t it?” Eiji asked abashedly as he stood up and walked over to the mirror that was next to his bookshelf. The robes were practically sweeping the floor and were a bit too large for him. It was a magnificent dark ruby color that brought out the blood-colored hair of Eiji’s and contrasted the paleness of Eiji’s skin. There were gold linings on the end with white also sewn into it, making it a regal sort of clothing. Tentatively, Eiji raised a hand to touch the reflection. ‘I became paler…’ Eiji thought to himself.
“No. It looks good on you” Jiroh commented with a yawn. “Different from you’re usual street clothes…you should wear stuff like these more often, you look more your status…” With that, Jiroh was asleep, snoring lightly.
“Yesh…you’ll never change, will you?” Eiji asked as he tucked his friend in before going back to his desk where he was writing. He had refused to see him today, as Kajimoto had said to him earlier, which frustrated him to no end. Currently, he had decided to just write to him, knowing that the letter would be received and read. At least, this way, Eiji was sure that what he needed to say was heard. Quickly finishing the letter, Eiji read it and reread it to make sure that there were no mistakes. There were none. ‘Good’ Eiji thought. ‘I’ll get someone to deliver it tomorrow. For the meanwhile…’ Eiji looked behind him to where the sun was setting, which cast a mysterious red glow into the room. ‘I’d better get ready for a bath…’
After getting all his necessities, he went to the bathroom that adjoined to his room. To his surprise, he found that someone had filled the tub with nice clean, hot water. With almost a childish glee, Eiji undressed and nearly jumped into the tub. It was nice to be able to soak in hot water like this…very relaxing. The majority of the other times, the water would be cold…
Lifting his head to the tiled ceiling, he thought about his castle home. Nothing really changed in the castle. It’s like that when you’re in the castle, the time just…stops and the rest of the world goes on. Before it wasn’t like that though, Eiji mused. Before, when there was a King upon its throne, but now, there was no king; only an idiotic and ambitious person sat upon the throne, ordering those around him like dogs. That’s why the villagers ran—but they couldn’t go out to the rest of the world, so Eiji offered them a safe hiding place. It disgusted Eiji to see his home being destroyed by the man, but there was nothing he could do. He was completely and utterly powerless.
When Eiji finally got out of the tub, his skin was pruning, not something that he liked. Slipping on a bathrobe, Eiji stepped back into his room. He looked over to where Jiroh had ended up sprawled over his bed and knew that he wasn’t getting his bed back. Selecting a book from his bookshelf, Eiji planted himself in the chair in front of the fireplace. However, his attention wasn’t held onto the book. Rather, his attention had been whisked away by his thoughts; thoughts of the companions he’d been with for three years, and the new people he’d met and traveled with.
It was quite a surprise when Eiji met Ryoma, though. The boy was among the last generations…Of course Momo was too…
Before he knew it, though, Eiji had fallen asleep by the fire. The lull of the flames had been just too great.
~*~
“And welcome back! The final round now commences! Ryoma vs. Tezuka Kunimitsu! BEGIN!”
During the intermission, Ryoma went to the doctor’s, to get his wounds all fixed up. Shinji had been rather…ruthless. And that was how he intended to act against Tezuka. Ryoma didn’t hesitate to act, throwing a barrage of his most powerful spells at Tezuka before the older youth had a chance to react. However, after taking several hits, Tezuka countered with his own attacks, pulling them onto even ground. Bright light blinded everyone as Tezuka casted the Holy spell, a high-leveled spell. Ryoma barely had enough time to pull up a shield, but even he didn’t escape unscathed. The boy-champion was thrown several feet when the spell hit his shield, almost disappearing when it did happen.
“Blizzard!” Ryoma called out, clapping his hands together. “Bolt!” A bright streak of light appeared and crashed down on Tezuka, but he remained untouched. Slowly, the temperature in the area started to drop once again. Small flakes of snow started to fall and suddenly, it was a snowstorm, increased by another spell that Ryoma had cast—one that was called Tornado. A swirl of wind was at the center of the stadium, whirling the snow around and around, making it a huge white spiral that headed in Tezuka’s direction.
“Protect” Tezuka said as he summoned up his shield to guard him from any harm. “Osmose!”
Suddenly, Ryoma felt as if his energy was draining. But it didn’t matter to him—he wanted to win against this mysterious person that was Tezuka Kunimitsu. Like at earlier times when he seen the bespectacled young man, his head started to throb with pain that resembled what happened when he first met Momo. He didn’t know why, but he would like to find out why. Especially since the two were very…familiar to him, to say the least.
“Fira!” Ryoma exclaimed as flames suddenly surrounded Tezuka, powered by the strong wind that was still blowing.
However, when the spells disappeared, Tezuka still stood there. Though his clothes were a little torn, there didn’t seem to be any injuries upon him. “You’re good, you have potential, but not enough to defeat me” Tezuka said coldly. With a setting sun as the backdrop behind Tezuka, it seemed to intensify his bloodlust. “Death” he said. The spell was said and done; nothing prevented it from happening. A dark figure appeared suddenly from the shadows of the stadium, forming into a sort of cloaked figure. Ryoma slowly backed away from it, having seen it before. A scythe appeared in the cloaked figure’s hand and he swung it downward onto Ryoma. But it never hit. The scythe didn’t hit Ryoma, instead, the figure completely disappeared and in it’s place stood a giant serpent—Leviathan. The appearance of a forgotten Aeon completely and utterly stunned the audience into silence.
Without waiting for a word, Leviathan attacked, charging straight at a completely bewildered Tezuka, who did not expect Leviathan to come in the least. Entirely caught off guard, Tezuka was thrown halfway across the stadium by Leviathan. The serpent roared, though it did sound more like a hiss than a roar, in triumph.
“What are you doing?!” Ryoma exclaimed, furious that Leviathan had interrupted the fight and confused at why and how it came out. However, the serpent gave no reply as it attacked Tezuka again, ready to bite his head off. But Tezuka was strong, and wasn’t going down without a fight. The sky rumbled and the clouds started to swirl though Tezuka had not yet cast a spell. When thunder and lightning lit up the darkened sky, the silence afterwards was deafening. Then, from the sky, descended an old man dressed in golden robes together with a dark unicorn with a strangely shaped horn. These two were Aeons as well, but of the lightning/thunder element. The old man was Ramuh, the God of Lightning and Thunder. By his side was his loyal companion, Ixion the Dark Unicorn. He was the cloud, dark and dangerous while Ramuh was the thunder and lightning themselves.
‘So the old man still lives…’ Leviathan snarled viciously.
‘After all this time, this is how you greet me, cousin?’ The old man chuckled and waved his gnarled staff around and settled it onto the ground. ‘But we are not here to chat, are we?’
‘Cryptic and senile as ever,’ Leviathan snapped. ‘Master…’ Leviathan turned to Ryoma. ‘Give me an order! Any!’
Ryoma looked up at the giant serpent in surprise. However the Aeon was awaiting instructions. “Then…let’s defeat him!”
‘A good order.’
Without waiting for further instructions, Leviathan suddenly hoisted Ryoma onto his back and charged at Tezuka. “Ramuh! Ixion! Attack” Tezuka commanded, readjusting his glasses upon his face. Suddenly, bolts of lightning came down from the sky, looking like dancing dragons as they fixated upon the point of Ixion’s horn. With a neigh and a rear, Ixion let out a bolts and bolts of lightning. Ryoma instinctively shielded his face from it—he could practically feel the power radiating off of the Aeons. So powerful…and ancient.
‘Don’t look away from the face of battle!’
Leviathan shouted as he dodged the bolts of lightning to the best of its
abilities. However, the bolts of lightning still hit him and Ryoma felt the
tremors that ran up and down Leviathan as he was hit. Upon that statement,
Ryoma lowered his arms back down—and suddenly, Leviathan took for a dive,
scaring Ryoma undoubtedly. Lightning struck again, this time hitting Leviathan
on it’s back. But Leviathan wouldn’t back down—he kept going and tackled
the dark unicorn, knocking it over to the side and then continued to turn
around in a whole circle and it’s large tail sent Ramuh flying and Tezuka to
the side.
“Ice!” Tezuka exclaimed, casting the spell at Leviathan.
“Reflect!” Ryoma called out from Leviathan’s back. Though the shield was barely thrown up in time, the Ice spell was indeed reflected. Abruptly, lightning started to strike all over the place, tearing at the ground, striking at Leviathan, who was doing it’s best to avoid getting hit. The reflect spell that Ryoma had cast seemed to have weakened considerably after receiving hits by the God of Lightning and Thunder.
“Fool” Tezuka snapped, the lightning reflecting eerily off of his glasses, almost making them glow. “Your power cannot sustain it any longer.”
“Then let me show you what this fool can do!” Ryoma retorted as he raised his hands high above his head. Suddenly, all the bolts that have been traveling around at random places started to gather at the center between his hands. Tezuka raised an eyebrow in interest. How was the brat able to do that…? Oh, yes…that’s right. Magic. With a cry, Ryoma launched the ball of lightning at Tezuka, but Ramuh suddenly appeared from nowhere and gave a small ‘tut-tut’ under his breath before eliminating the ball of lightning. Then unexpectedly, a cyclone of wind and lightning appeared out of nowhere, spinning out of control behind Leviathan. Somewhere in his mind, Ryoma could just register the faint chuckling of Leviathan who seemed to be enjoying himself very much. The wind pressure was heavy and strong, as if able to crush his puny body into millions of pieces; but it didn’t.
“Is this all you can do?” Tezuka challenged. “Then let me tell you something, it is useless!”
More and more people were starting to flee from the stadium. Now, more than half the stands were empty. The people didn’t want to be caught in this monstrous battle. The people had fled to their homes.
Momo, Oishi and Taka watched in the stands—the horrific and remarkable fight. When the forgotten Aeons had first appeared, all three of them were shocked into silence, as was most of the audience. However, the fights between the two ancient forces were different—one can just feel it by the tension in the air. It was…strange, to say the least. Oishi probably would have passed out that moment, from the look on his face as he saw the reckless way Ryoma was acting. Not that Taka or Momo could blame him though; Ryoma was acting very reckless during this fight.
However, when suddenly the cyclone had came to move forward at Tezuka, Ixion was immediately in the way, guarding the bespectacled young man. It was definitely not an easy fight for Ryoma. The cyclone had been a conjuration of Leviathan’s, but how was he able to do that was a mystery. The best conjecture Momo was able to come up with was because of the sudden change in weather and air temperature and pressure. And those tackles and moving around the whole stadium was kicking up strong wind…that was probably how…
But to Momo’s horror was that Ryoma seemed at a huge disadvantage despite the fact he had Leviathan, Serpent Lord of Destruction and Terror, at his side. “That brat had better win this…” Momo muttered to himself as he watched the progressing fight.
‘It is time…’Leviathan suddenly said as he flew to the other side of the stadium, farthest away from Ramuh and Ixion. Tezuka walked out in front of the two Aeons, a cold expressionless mask upon his face.
“It has been fun, fighting another Aeon wielding person. Honestly, I did not expect you to have one, since only…certain people can even touch the Gems they lay nestled in. But this is good-bye” Tezuka said calmly, his glasses seeming to glow strangely.
‘Bring up all your shields, Master! Now!’
Leviathan
commanded. Ryoma didn’t need to be told twice. ‘And prepare to brace
yourself…’
“Ramuh…Judgment Bolt!” Tezuka commanded. There seemed to be no action taken though when he gave that command, but then suddenly, from where Ramuh was on the ground, he was quickly high into the sky, his robes billowing about him angrily. The old man threw his gnarled staff downward, landing near Leviathan and Ryoma, sparks flying off the top of the staff. When Ryoma thought that was all, an abrupt and powerful blast of lightning came flying at him. He nearly dropped all his shields due to his surprise. Faintly, somehow, he felt the pain of Leviathan as some of the lightning damage was absorbed by it. “Ixion, Thor’s Hammer!”
But Ixion never got the chance to attack. Leviathan beat him to it. The giant serpent had charged forward at an amazing speed…and bit down onto the neck of the Dark Unicorn. There was a satisfying snap as the neck was broken and the sound of flesh and blood was heard. Ryoma didn’t want to see the grisly scene, but was forced to because he could not bring himself to look away. “Wh-what are you doing?” Ryoma barely managed to utter.
In spite of this, Ixion gave a small kick, still moving and evidently still alive. Leviathan bit down harder and this time lifted the Dark Unicorn up into the sky along with his master, Ryoma. Without a care in the world, the serpent threw it to one side, not caring where it landed. The Dark Unicorn landed in a heap of blood and flesh to the side, still twitching. Then, it started to…dissolve, for a lack of a better term. It was gone in a matter of seconds. The way it just seemed to dissolve chilled Ryoma to the bone. It was disturbing, to say the least.
“There is a reason as to why Leviathan is dangerous” Tezuka said, completely unfazed by that. By now, only scattered crowds remained upon the stands, the majority having fled. “His title isn’t just there without any reason.”
“I-I know that!” Ryoma snapped, his insides still churning from the ruthlessness that Leviathan had slaughtered, for a lack of a better term, Ixion.
‘When will you stop being so cold-blooded, cousin?’ Ramuh asked with a tired sigh. The serpent didn’t answer, but he charged at Ramuh with the same speed he had before attacking Ixion. But it’s bloodied jaws only met a gnarled staff as Ramuh successfully blocked Leviathan. The old man let out a jolt of electricity through his staff, warding Leviathan away. The serpent growled angrily deeply in his throat.
“Shadow Flare!” Tezuka suddenly shouted. Ryoma looked around, the skin at the back of his neck prickling. This was one spell he’s never heard of before. However, before he knew what was going on, he knew he was hit. The pain coursed through his body and he distinctly felt himself falling from Leviathan’s back. He heard garbled shouting and yelling. He was aware of hitting the ground and he nearly blacked out except for the fact that something was screaming loudly in his head. Ryoma didn’t know what it was, nor did he have any curiosity about why, but he agreed with that screaming voice. It screamed at him to win.
Slowly, very slowly and carefully, the golden-eyed boy climbed to his feet, tired and hurt—on the verge of exhaustion. He knew that Tezuka wasn’t even tired yet. Whoever this Tezuka was…he was very powerful and skilled. “I won’t loose” Ryoma gritted through his teeth as he wiped the sweat from his eyes. The boy felt the amusement from Leviathan as he was once again lifted onto the giant serpent’s back.
‘That’s the spirit. Watch.’
There were no other words said when the world just suddenly seemed to distort and disappear into just millions of different colors. Ryoma was distinctly aware of just floating, but in a sense, he knew he was still on the giant serpent’s back.
Ryoma’s tiredness was abruptly washed away. His uneasiness disappeared and he could think coherently. The pain vanished. For some odd reason, Ryoma knew that this was probably the last spell he would be able to cast. He had to make this one count. He needed a strong spell, one that would be able to stop Tezuka from winning. Just one spell…which one was strong enough? There were three running circles in his mind at the moment, but he could only choose one. So he chose his favorite.
“Ultima!” Ryoma shouted, feeling a sudden boost in the magic he was casting.
Dark, dark, and darker yet was the Ultima spell. It was
darkness, it was black—it was evil. But it is Ultima, Ryoma’s key spell,
taught to him by Nanjirou through a whole year of practicing. It came as a
force strong and wild, nearly catching hold of the entire stadium. It
enveloped everything into darkness and in one second, it was all released
again, but Ultima is a spell that left serious repercussions. Tezuka looked
over to where Leviathan had left Ryoma on the ground before disappearing.
Ryoma looked at the verge of unconsciousness, yet he was still there, his eyes
were wide and wild with determination. Ryoma would not give up, he knew. The
boy-champion would yet again be champion this year.
Tezuka continued to eye the young boy, taking slow and steady steps towards Ryoma. The bespectacled young man had used Ramuh as a shield against Ultima, whilst he came out unscathed, Ramuh, like Ixion had earlier, dissolved into thin air. Tezuka did not want to kill the boy, nor did he want to hurt him. He only wished that the stubborn boy would just back down! But apparently, it wasn’t going to work, even with him trying to scare the boy off, showing the difference in their level. Giving a mental thanks and apologies to Shinji, he stopped in front of the golden eyed boy. “…I give up,” he said. “You win.”
Ryoma could hardly believe his ears. And the tiredness took hold of him once more and he just nearly passed out if it wasn’t for Tezuka dragging him to his feet. “You should stand proud; you’ve a determination to rival the dead.” With a small smirk, Tezuka walked away over to the side where he leaned on the wall, watching the young champion from the shadows. The only evidence of him being there was the strange glint off of his glasses. From the stands, jumped Momo who immediately clapped the boy on the back.
“That hurts!” Ryoma exclaimed, glaring daggers at Momo who was laughing.
“You little brat! Did you know how worried I was?!” Momo retorted, but his expression softened. “You did well.”
“Well? Well?! I think I did better than that!” Ryoma said.
“Stop you’re pouting already” Momo said as he ruffled Ryoma’s hair. The golden-eyed boy just glared up at the taller and older youth. Tomoka choose this moment to show up.
“THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!” she screamed and hugged the young champion. “I LOVE YOU!!!”
Ryoma only sighed and tried to brush Tomoka off, but she wouldn’t budge. “…get off.”
“That was a great performance you’ve put on!” the male announcer, Sengoku, said, appearing behind Ryoma. “And Tomoka, get off of him. He looks about to collapse!”
“Oh…pooh” Tomoka said as she was reluctantly pried off of the dark haired boy. “And as the champion, we present to you…the promised money!” And from the entrance of the stadium entered several people carrying three small locked chests. Sengoku fished a brass key from his pocket and opened one, showing Ryoma the money he’d won. The remaining crowd gasped at the amount of riches in there—somehow, the money was tripled. Momo was immediately at that box, reaching out to grab at some of the coins when Sengoku, who was glaring at him, closed the chest.
“Not for you” Sengoku said pointedly. Momo decided to go with his childish instinct to make a face at the orange haired announcer.
“A helpful weapon” Tomoka continued as Sengoku opened the other chest. In it, lying on top of a velvet cushion was a small dagger resting in its sheath. Embedded into its hilt were some strange runes. “They say that it was made by the Fae” Tomoka whispered to Ryoma. When Ryoma looked over to her questioningly, she only smiled. Wordlessly, Ryoma took the dagger from the chest and hooked it onto his belt. “And for the last prize, this was a very rare acquisition by the committee, I must say! The Wishbringer—granting its owner whatever it wishes!” Sengoku unlocked and opened the last box and handed Ryoma the Wishbringer.
The Wishbringer was a simple little ball—it looked kind of like a pearl. It was milky white, and it gleamed rainbow at certain angles, despite the fact it was dark. However, Ryoma could fell a faint source of power radiating off of the ball. It was warm to the touch and seemed to hum…
However, a sudden strong gust of wind started up, blowing up dust and such, blinding them all for the moment. When Ryoma looked back at his hand where the Wishbringer was suppose to be, it wasn’t there anymore! Momo was probably the first to notice who it was that took it. “Hey, you! Give that back!”
The person, standing in nearly-empty stands, chuckled as he held up the Wishbringer. “This? I don’t think so.”
“What do you think you’re doing? Oshitari!” a commanding voice echoed throughout the stadium. It was Tezuka, who had come out of the shadows. He seemed furious.
“I don’t have to explain myself to you, Tezuka” Oshitari sneered as he fixed his glasses. “You see, He is currently not very happy with you. In fact, he’s not very happy at all, since Eiji has returned. So he sent me here to take over your mission. Be glad he didn’t order me to kill you…”
A bloodthirsty smile.
“Oshitari! You do not speak that way to your superior!”
“No, you do not speak that way to your superior. But enough with the chitchat, I must be going” Oshitari said with a smirk, and in another gust of wind, he disappeared.
--To Be Continued…