Chapter 33: New Wind

                        Back to the present, Lloyd and Kirisu are paying close attention to John Smith’s words.

            “You see Kirisu, even though Razphel lost everything, he never gave up, at the end, he died for what he believed in his heart. Shiro also didn’t stray from what he felt as well.” John Smith explains.

            “…… I’m an idiot, I get all depressed and think I’m the only one with problems, but now I know there are a lot people that are worse than I am. I should be happy, I haven’t lost everything yet, I can make things better, thanks master, your story has really made me have a change of heart.” Kirisu says.

            “Great.” John Smith says patting Kirisu’s back.

            “Question, is master Yusuke’s name really Shiro?” Lloyd asks curiously.

            “Yes it is.” John Smith nods.

            “Why didn’t he tell me? Why is he using another name?” Lloyd asks.

            “I bet he’ll tell you that himself if you ask him.” John Smith says.

            “So you won’t tell me?” Lloyd asks with one eyebrow raised.

            “It has nothing to do with me.” John Smith says.

            “He has a point Lloyd.” Kirisu comments.

            “Yeah, I’ll ask him myself when I get the chance.” Lloyd says.

            “You should go to sleep, tomorrow is another day.” John Smith says as he stands up.

            “Yeah, good night.” Kirisu says also standing up.

            “Same.” Lloyd says while Kirisu helps him up.

                        They both go to the house and to sleep along with the others, Lloyd is having some trouble to sleep, Yumi, who is sleeping in the same room, is still awake as well and notices Lloyd’s unease.

            “Something the matter?” Yumi asks.

            “Just a little trouble sleeping.” Lloyd replies.

                        Yumi stands up from her bed and gets on Lloyd’s bed.

            “Whoa!” Lloyd says surprised.

            “Something on your mind?” Yumi asks.

            “Definitely!” Lloyd says excited.

            “Uggh, I didn’t mean that you fucktard.” Yumi says rolling her eyes.

            “Well yeah, you could say I have something on my mind.” Lloyd answers.

            “I hope it’s not another sick joke of yours.” Yumi sighs.

            “Nah, just wondering why master Yusuke never told me his real name is Shiro, is he hiding something from me or someone else?” Lloyd wonders.

            “Don’t beat yourself up like that, I bet he has a good reason.” Yumi comments.

            “Yeah…” Lloyd nods.

            “So yeah…” Yumi says looking away.

            “Yep…” Lloyd says looking at Yumi.

                        Lloyd and Yumi stare at each other for a few moments, she gets close and kisses him, he puts his left hand behind her head and keeps making out with her. She places her hand on his chest, but she then backs away from him looking away.

            “What’s wrong?” Lloyd asks.

            “……” She doesn’t reply and sighs.

            “What?” He asks.

            “I don’t trust you.” She answers.

            “Ehh? What do you mean by that?” He asks surprised.

            “I know you’re not an idiot, you know I like you.” She remarks.

            “Pretty bold as always.” He comments.

            “I just can’t bring myself to give you a chance.” She explains.

            “You think I would cheat on you, right?” He asks/

            “I know so.” She says still looking away.

            “I am a pervert to some extent, I know, but not a cheater or a traitor, that’s for sure.” He states.

            “…… I won’t give you that chance anyways.” She says and looks at him.

            “It’s alright, I get it.”  He shakes his head.

            “I like this mature side of you; it makes you all the more irresistible.” She smirks.

            “Bold again.” He chuckles.

                        Yumi closes up on Lloyd again and kisses him once more on his mouth, only this time she rapidly backs off and goes back to her bed    and says. “Night.”

                        Lloyd then looks under his sheets and says to himself. “Damn, now I have to do something about this boner… to be continued.”

                        They both go to sleep, he falls asleep and wakes up in some kind of desert, there is no end to the desert, a strong wind blows, it isn’t too sunny, the sky is pale and full of clouds, there is no sign of life anywhere whatsoever. There is a dark feeling to this place, completely lifeless.

            “What the crap? Where am I? Am I dreaming?” Lloyd asks himself as he looks around him.

            “Kind of.” A male voice says.

            “Huh? Who’s there?” Lloyd asks looking for the source.

                        Unexpectedly Harayoshi, the man with the weird porcelain mask appears behind Lloyd saying. “Behind you.”

                        Lloyd turns around swiftly and tries to reach for his sword, but is surprised to not have it with him.

            “No need for weapons here, it seems that my Spirit Force doesn’t have any effect on you here either.” Harayoshi comments.

            “You’re that guy from before.” Lloyd says backing off slightly.

            “I’m curious about you, what’s your name?” Harayoshi asks.

            “My name is Shinsuke, but my friends call me Lloyd.” Lloyd responds.

            “I am Harayoshi.” Harayoshi says.

            “What do you want from me?” Lloyd asks directly.

            “I’m not really sure myself.” Harayoshi says as he begins to walk around.

            “Why would you invade my dreams?” Lloyd asks.

            “You see, I’m also dreaming, seems like we’re linked, somehow.” Harayoshi says looking at Lloyd as he walks.

            “I’d hate to share my awesome dreams with you; right now I’m supposed to be in my harem.” Lloyd remarks.

            “I’m curious about that big shadow that’s standing right behind you.” Harayoshi says.

            “Huh? Shadow?” Lloyd raises his eyebrow.

                        Lloyd looks behind him and sees the big shadow Harayoshi is talking about, Lloyd falls down to this sight; the shadow has bright blood red eyes. Lloyd then looks to where Harayoshi is standing only to see yet another shadow standing behind Harayoshi, only this one has fluorescent dark green eyes.

            “There’s a shadow behind you too.” Lloyd points out.

            “I was aware of that, but now you are too.” Harayoshi says.

            “What are they?” Lloyd asks.

            “If you look for me, I’ll tell you.” Harayoshi says.

            “Where are you?” Lloyd questions.

            “You’ll know, and don’t forget to bring our friends.” Harayoshi says.

            “Our friends?” Lloyd asks puzzled.

                        Harayoshi disappears; Lloyd then hears Yumi’s voice calling out to him. “Wake up!”

                        Lloyd wakes up and sees Yumi next to his bed. “Huh? Another dream.”

            “You had that dream again with the angels and demons?” Yumi asks.

            “Nah, it was completely different.” Lloyd replies rubbing his eyes.

            “How so?” Yumi asks.

            “Don’t worry about it, it’s just a dream right?” Lloyd yawns and stretches his arms.

            “Yeah, whatever.” Yumi says sitting down on her bed.

                        Hisana opens the door and says. “Breakfast time.”

            “No good morning or anything?” Lloyd asks.

            “I can’t think straight, I’m hungry.” Hisana says closing the door afterwards.

            “Let’s hurry up then.” Yumi stands up again.

                        They walk to the dining room, there is a very long table with about thirty chairs, there is a lot food on the table, and everyone is already eating.

            “I better hurry up before they finish everything!” Lloyd says hastily sitting down and starts eating like crazy.

            “Take it easy Lloyd.” Seshiro says.

            “The food won’t disappear you know.” Kazumi comments.

            “You’re going to choke to death if you eat that fast.” Kyoshi states.

            “I don’t give a s**t; I’m hungry like a bear, right Kirisu?” Lloyd says with his mouth full.

            “Hell yeah dude!” Kirisu says also with his mouth full.

            “So Kirisu, any babes around the city?” Lloyd asks taking a bite on a sandwich.

            “Some here and there, not as much as in high school, but you get what I mean.” Kirisu replies drinking some iced tea.

            “Yeah.” Lloyd nods.

                        Lloyd then looks at Yumi and she’s staring at him sharply with a dead serious look.

            “Uh oh.” Lloyd says.

            “We’ll go our own ways once we get out of the city.” Zero says.

            “Hey, where is J.S.?” Luna asks looking around.

            “He’s probably meditating again in front of his tree; he calls it the star tree.” Kirisu comments.

            “Star tree?” Kazumi asks confused.

            “You know, the one with star shaped leaves that gets you dizzy and dreamy.” Kirisu says.

            “Seriously?” Seshiro asks with a raised eyebrow.

            “I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but I think he’s smoking weed.” Hisana remarks.

            “No wonder he told me to go buy him some blunts at the pharmacy! He told me it’s for fragrance issues in his house.” Kirisu says.

            “Son of a gun, he didn’t invite us either!” Lloyd says annoyed.

            “Invite where?” John Smith asks appearing out of the blue.

            “You’ve been smoking weed haven’t you?!” Kirisu asks.

            “Okay… you got me, but I swear, it’s for medical use only.” John Smith says.

            “Suuuuure.” Kirisu and Lloyd say sarcastically.

            “What’s your plans?” John Smith asks as he sits down in a chair accompanying everyone in the table.

            “We’re leaving right now; we’ll part ways in the crossed path you told me.” Zero says.

            “Before you leave, did you know there’s a tournament today in the city? I think all of you should come with me to watch it.” John Smith suggests.

            “A tournament? Awesome!” Lloyd says excited.

            “Hmm…” Zero crosses his arms.

            “We do need a break, so alright.” Luna shrugs her shoulders.

            “Cool.” Kirisu says with his mouth full.

            “Let’s go.” Yumi says.

                        They all accompany John Smith to the tournament in the city, there are many fighters lining up in the entrance. As the party waits to go in, a woman with long hair dressed in dark gray clothes and a trench coat is sitting on one of the benches; she seems to be one of the competitors.

            “It’s been a while since they make a tournament in Quadimor, I hope they haven’t noticed by absence, it’s just for a few hours anyway.” She thinks to herself.

                        The woman looks at two men that seem to wield the same swords. One is an Elf with dark purple hair and pitch black eyes; he has no eyebrows it seems, with an amulet shining on his neck. He is a little bent down giving the impression to be some sort of insane man, he’s dressed in plain dark blue pants, a black jacket with the left sleeve ripped off with two small metal plates on his left arm and is also shirtless. The other seems like a human with red hair and brown piercing eyes with a dead look, he is dressed with a long weird trench coat and has a short tie that doesn’t really seem to combine with his clothing along with a tribal tattoo covering his whole left arm.

            “Those two have high Spirit Forces.” The woman thinks to herself.

                        Meanwhile, Lloyd is arguing in the entrance.

            “I said I want to join the tournament!” Lloyd says annoyed.

            “We should just sit back and watch.” Yumi suggests.

            “Is there going to be a prize for the winner?” Shizuru asks.

            “Naturally.” John Smith replies.

            “How much are we talking about?” Shizuru asks.

            “It’s not really much, about five hundred dollars.” John Smith answers.

            “True, it really doesn’t seem like much compared to other tournaments around.” Shizuru comments.

            “This is more for fun than anything else.” John Smith states.

            “If there’s no demons involved I won’t-” Zero cuts himself off as he sniffs and looks inside the tournament.

            “Something wrong Zero?” Luna asks worried.

            “There’s a familiar scent here, smells like Lloyd.” Zero replies.

            “Huh? What are you talking about man?” Lloyd asks annoyed.

            “Nothing, let’s just head inside, I want to see for myself.” Zero says as he walks inside.

            “Hey Lloyd, you going to join the tournament?” Kirisu asks.

            “Hell yeah! What about you?” Lloyd asks back.

                        Kirisu looks at Kazumi, she smiles at him.

            “Yeah, I’ll fight too.” Kirisu nods.

            “I won’t.” Kyoshi says quickly standing next to the rest of the party.

            “Why doesn’t it surprise me?” Lloyd asks himself rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

            “What about you Seshiro?” Hisana asks.

            “Not really, I’m not really a fan of tournaments.” Seshiro remarks.

            “Alright, go sign up then.” John Smith says.

                        Lloyd goes with Kirisu and signs up, Yumi appears behind them and says. “I’ll sign in as well.”

            “Cool.” Lloyd says.

                        Yumi signs up, they all go to where all the competitors are, Lloyd looks at the purple haired man and the red haired man, they look back at him, they both smirk at the same time, Lloyd stares at them seriously.

            “What’s wrong dude?” Kirisu standing next to Lloyd.

            “Nothing.” Lloyd shakes his head.

                        The party sits down in the bleachers from the sides. The first match is about to begin in a few minutes, after all the preparations are at hand the announcer steps up to the platform with a microphone and begins to speak. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this year’s tournament, we hope you all enjoy this fantastic competition between the strongest around the world. Now, without any further delay, let the first match begin, Zieg in the right corner and Albert in the left corner!”

                        The announcer jumps off the platform, the purple haired man, Zieg and Albert step in the platform, Zero from the bleachers stares at Zieg.

            “This guy has a very similar scent like Lloyd’s; I wonder what the deal is?” Zero ponders.

                        Albert readies his lance and charges at Zieg, Zieg easily evades sidestepping and with just one punch sends him flying out of the platform. There is silence amongst the crowd, all of a sudden the crowd cheers. Zieg jumps down the platform, the announcer steps in again and says. “Well… that was awfully quick… anyways, on to the next contestants, Diego versus Akira!”

                        Diego and Akira steps in the platform, Akira is wielding a Lemurian katana, and Diego had a machete, they both charge at each other, Diego attacks like crazy, Akira calmly blocks then quickly countering Diego’s attacks and knocks him out with the handle of his blade.

            “And Akira wins! What a great swift battle! Now! For the third match! Yumi versus Freddy!” The announcer says excited.

            “Good luck.” Kirisu says.

            “Kick some a*s.” Lloyd says with a grin.

            “Yeah.” Yumi nods looking at the platform coldly, then stepping in as well as Freddy, they stare at each other, John Smith is observing them, he comments. “That Freddy guy doesn’t stand a chance.”

            “Is he that weak?” Kyoshi asks.

            “With Yumi’s strange Spirit Force leaking that way, he won’t be able to scratch her even if his life depended on it.” John Smith explains.

                        Yumi and Freddy charge at each other, Freddy takes out a rapier and points at Yumi’s stomach, but as the attack connects, it surprisingly doesn’t pierce her.

            “What the?” Freddy widens his eyes in disbelief.

            “What the crap happened?” Kyoshi asks amazed.

            “That girl surprises me; she concentrated her Spirit Force and used it as a shield.” John Smith explains.

            “Nice!” Kyoshi says excited.

                        Yumi puts her whip-sword away and kicks Freddy out of the platform, she jumps out of the platform and the announcer steps in again with microphone in hand. “Again, another ring out, let’s hope all the matches don’t end this way folks.”

            “Nice going Yumi.” Lloyd compliments.

            “Not bad.” Kirisu says with a smile.

            “He was a wimp anyways; he didn’t have even a seed of Spirit Force in him.” Yumi comments.

            “Yeah, we noticed.” Kirisu says.

            “He had no chance.” Lloyd says with a scoff.

            “Now, for the fourth battle! Jim versus Donald!” The announcer says.

                        Both Jim and Donald get on the platform, both unarmed.

            “So you’re a martial artist too?” Jim asks.

            “Yeah.” Donald answers.

                        They both get ready to battle, they charge at each other and throw a series of punches and kicks, they seem to be evenly matched, and they keep countering their attacks one after the other. They keep fighting for a few minutes, Donald grapples Jim and throws him to the ledge of the platform, Jim gets up and waits for Donald to charge, Donald gets close and throws a few kicks to throw Jim off the platform, but Jim blocks his leg and hit Donald very hard in the face with a punch.

            “Now you got me angry!” Donald shouts.

                        Jim calmly dodges Donald’s strong attacks, Donald is able to kick Jim on the ribs, but Jim catches Donald’s leg, then throwing him out of the platform using his leg.

            “Damn it!” Donald yells punching the ground angrily.

            “Jim is the winner! Now, for out fifth match! Lloyd versus Darryl!” The announcer says.

            “My turn to kick some a*s.” Lloyd says getting close to the platform, the woman competitor from before stares at Lloyd with widened eyes then thinking to herself. “What!? Is it-? No… this must be a coincidence… He-”

                        As the woman ponders, Lloyd jumps on the platform, Darryl is already waiting.

            “You show off.” Darryl says annoyed.

            “What gives?” Lloyd asks.

            “I hate how arrogant people like you even dare show your faces here.” Darryl says angry.

            “Damn dude, you seem to be in a mood today.” Lloyd remarks.

            “Shut up! Let’s fight.” Darryl says staring at Lloyd seriously.

                        Darryl is wielding an ax, he charges at Lloyd furiously, Lloyd is still standing on the corner, as Darryl gets very close, Lloyd jumps over him and taps him lightly on his head, and Darryl falls ridiculously on the ground outside the ring.

            “You cheater!” Darryl yells.

            “Nope, I didn’t cheat; you fell on your own.” Lloyd says smugly.

            “Rrrrrr.” Darryl stares at Lloyd irritated.

            “Hahaha! He’s just like his master.” John Smith laughs.

            “Heh.” Zieg grins.

            “Hm…” Jiro remains calm.

            “Now, the sixth encounter, Bridget versus Sam!” The announcer says.

                        Hisana widens her eyes and thinks to herself. “Bridget? What are you doing here?”

            “Something wrong Hisana?” Seshiro asks noticing Hisana’s sudden surprise.

            “No, I’m just a little dizzy.” Hisana replies.

            “Okay…?” Seshiro says confused.

                        Bridget and Sam enter the platform; Bridget is wielding a staff with a spear edge, Sam has a chain ball.

            “Damn!” Kirisu says looking at Bridget.

            “Daaaamn! She’s freaking hot!” Lloyd says aloud.

            “That girl… She’s an Elf.” John Smith comments.

            “Yeah, I noticed too, she’s hiding behind those human looks.” Luna says.

            “How do you know she’s an Elf?” Seshiro asks curiously.

            “You see Elves don’t actually have Spirit Force; they have what’s called Mana Force or Magic Force as some call it.” Luna explains.

            “No wonder I feel something weird from her.” Seshiro says.

            “You may begin!” The announcer says.

                        Sam rotates his chain ball rapidly, and then throwing it towards Bridget, Bridget disappears and appears behind Sam. Sam swiftly turns around, after pulling his chain ball back, Bridget just punches through the chain ball thus shattering it in pieces and knocking Sam out cold.

            “Whoa!” Lloyd says almost breathless.

            “She’s pretty strong.” John Smith says nodding his head.

            “Unbelievable people, we have never seen such strength in the ring!” The announcer says.

                        The crowd cheers very amazed.

            “Now, without any further delay, the seventh match will begin! Jiro versus Kelly!” The announcer says.

            “This is the other guy that has a similar scent as Lloyd… I’m beginning to think there’s a new scent to humans.” Zero thinks to himself.

                        The red haired man, Jiro and Kelly step in, Jiro was very calm, Kelly gets ready with her spear and rushes without losing any time, Jiro walks towards her calmly; as she gets closer, she makes a thrust attack. Jiro catches her spear by the edge without cutting himself, then pulls the spear from her hand and throws it out of the platform, she stands there motionless for a moment, she then throws a punch, but he simply does a hand chop with the side of the palm of his hand on her neck, she falls down unconscious.

            “The match was over in seconds! Now, for the final match of the preliminaries, Kirisu versus Grady!” The announcer says thrilled.

            “I’m up.” Kirisu says standing up.

            “Try not to show off that much.” Lloyd says.

            “Haha.” Kirisu chuckles and gets up the platform as well as Grady.

            “I would quit if I were you, you don’t stand a chance man.” Kirisu says.

            “Thank you for your concern, but I came here to test my skills.” Grady says respectfully.

            “Alright then.” Kirisu nods.

                        Grady is wielding twin swords, he charges at Kirisu, Kirisu waits for him to connect his strike, Grady unsheathes his swords about four feet from Kirisu and makes a diagonal slash at the same time with both swords. Kirisu in almost an instant draws his sword and swiftly appears behind Grady, both his swords are sliced in half; Grady looks back for a moment in amazement and falls to the ground.

            “Kirisu wins! Now on to the semifinals! This is going to be very interesting from now on! For the first match of the semifinals, Zieg versus Akira!” The announcer shouts.

                        The crowd cheers, Zieg and Akira step up the platform, Akira says. “I’ve seen what you can do, but your tricks won’t work on me.”

            “Hahaha, don’t bet on it.” Zieg shakes his head.

            “Why are you all bent down for?” Akira asks.

            “Because I have patellofemoral pain syndrome.” Zieg replies.

            “Knee pains and you still fight.” Akira says.

                        Zieg is biting his nails and looking to the sides ignoring Akira.

            “Are you listening?” Akira asks annoyed.

            “Are you going to fight?” Zieg asks boldly.

            “It’s not just the petellofemoral pain syndrome he has, he also has aspeger syndrome.” John Smith states.

            “How do you know that? You’re not a psychologist or doctor of any kind that I’m aware of. Besides, wouldn’t that take some study into the person to know with certitude?” Luna asks with narrow eyes and a raised eyebrow.

            “I’ve been studying from afar how he moves and acts, everything he does indicates this.” John Smith replies.

            “Okay… whatever.” Luna says.

                        Akira charges at Zieg very angrily unsheathing his katana, Zieg rolls back on the floor and jumps high above over Akira; he lands behind Akira and grabs his foot making Akira trip and fall on the floor. Zieg rapidly gets closer to him and punches his face knocking him out.

            “Yet another swift battle!” The announcer yelled excited.

                        The crowd cheers even more.

            “Now, for the second battle! Yumi versus Jim!” The announcer says.

            “Here I go again.” Yumi says standing up.

            “Piece of cake for you.” Lloyd states.

            “Yeah.” Yumi nods.

            “Go easy on him, hehe.” Kirisu smiles.

                        Yumi and Jim gets on the platform, Jim readies himself, Yumi doesn’t take out her whip-sword.

            “Aren’t you going to use your snake-like sword?” Jim asks.

            “Not really…” Yumi answers.

            “Zieg, you should pay attention, you’ll be fighting her next, she has an unusual Spirit Force, and it’s very strong.” Jiro says.

                        Jiro looks to where Zieg is; Zieg is touching some flowers and observing them very closely.

            “Zieg! Did you just hear what I said?” Jiro asks.

            “Hmm?” Zieg keeps observing the flowers.

                        Jiro slaps Zieg’s head from behind.

            “Hey!” Zieg says rubbing behind his head.

            “There’s no talking with you is there?” Jiro asks annoyed.

                        Jim without thinking attacks Yumi throwing a simple punch, she evads while grabbing his arm and twists his hand, Jim is now in a joint lock and suffering the pain.

            “Hey, that’s-” Lloyd cuts himself off.

            “I learned this from a friend, are you going to give up? Or should I twist it even harder?” Yumi asks.

            “No! I give up!” Jim replies almost on his knees.

            “Whoa! Now that’s a first! I’ve never seen anyone give up before! Yumi wins!” The announcer shouts.

                        Yumi jumps off the platform.

            “For the third match of the semifinals! Bridget versus Lloyd!” The announcer says.

                        Hisana thinks as Lloyd and Bridget enter the platform. “Hmm… Bridget is no pushover…”

            “Damn, Lloyd’s lucky.” Kirisu says snapping his finger.

            “Hey, wanna go out and grab a cup of coffee sometime sweetie?” Lloyd asks flirting.

            “Cut it out Lloyd! Just concentrate on the fight!” Yumi shouts covering her mouth’s sides with either hands.

            “I don’t get invitations too often, but I’ll have to decline this one gorgeous.” Bridget responds.

            “Haha, oh well, can’t say I didn’t try, but you know who to call if you change your mind babe.” Lloyd winks at her.

            “I’ll keep that in mind sugar.” Bridget says and winks back.

            “Fight!” The announcer says.

                        Lloyd disappears from Bridget’s view and appears next to her smacking her a*s.

            “Hey!” Bridget says surprised.

                        Yumi rolls her eyes pissed off.

            “Damn girl, you sure have a tight a*s.” Lloyd says with a lot of enthusiasm.

            “Hahaha! You dog you!” Kirisu yells.

                        Bridget thinks to herself. “If he wanted he could have attacked me with that sword, but all he did was smack by butt? Is he crazy or what?”

                        Bridget rapidly rotates her spear and attacks Lloyd, he instantly blocks with his sword, she then backs off and charges, but Lloyd evades and passes by her smelling her hair.

            “Your hair smells so nice.” Lloyd says with a smirk.

            “I can’t believe a goof like you can be so quick.” Bridget shakes her head.

            “Ha! And you haven’t seen how quick I can really be…” Lloyd winks at her.

            “Do you think I’m going to fall for you with your comments?” Bridget asks.

            “You may fall… on my bed.” Lloyd says still flirting with her.

            “Why do I always gotta fight the sick perverts.” Bridget sighs.

            “Why is he wasting time?” Kyoshi asks.

            “Because he’s a human, that’s why.” Shizuru answers.

            “Bridget still hasn’t shown her powers yet.” Hisana thinks to herself.

            “Forget Lloyd and his stupid jokes, I’m really concerned about those two.” Zero says.

            “U just came here to enjoy the tournament, that’s it.” John Smith remarks.

                        Bridget charges once again, only this time she rotates her spear from left to right and vice versa, Lloyd isn’t able to evade from the sides so he just backs up at the ledge of the platform, Bridget then thinks to herself. “I don’t think this guy is going to lose so easily, so if I just go along with him he’ll fall on his own, using his own perverted nature.”

                        Bridget gets closer and closer, Lloyd is just staring at her breasts when suddenly Lloyd’s face ends between her b***s and he falls off the platform.

            “Dude!” Kirisu runs towards Lloyd.

            “Those were the softest and biggest b***s I’ve ever felt…” Lloyd says lying on the ground.

            “But you lost idiot.” Yumi says shaking her head.

            “It was totally worth it.” Lloyd says touching his face.

            “Like I said before, he’s just like his old ma-” John Smith is cut off by Seshiro. “Huh? Old man?”

            “I meant old master; you just didn’t let me finish.” John Smith says.

            “Oh okay.” Seshiro says.

            “That was much unexpected! Now! For the fourth match! Jiro versus Kirisu!” The announcer says.

            “Kirisu, be careful, you saw how he took down that girl quick.” Yumi says.

            “It’ll be fine; he won’t be able to touch me.” Kirisu says.

            “Yeah…” Yumi says.

                        Jiro and Kirisu walk inside the platform calmly, Kirisu looks at him and says straight-out. “Like I told the other guy, quit now while you have the chance, you saw what I can do.”

            “Save your comments to yourself.” Jiro says with his hands inside his pockets.

            “I warned you.” Kirisu says.

            “Don’t try to act all powerful in front of me.” Jiro says.

            “I’m sorry to say you won’t even touch me.” Kirisu comments.

            “Right…” Jiro says sarcastically.

                        Both of them stand still, none moving a muscle.

            “Well?” Kirisu asks.

            “Ladies first.” Jiro says.

                        Kirisu charges at Jiro at a great speed and unsheathing his sword, as he gets close he makes a vertical slash. Jiro simply moves back slightly dodging Kirisu’s sword by a paper-thin margin. Kirisu then disappears from Jiro’s view, Jiro doesn’t move, Kirisu appears on Jiro’s right side making a diagonal slash, but Jiro blocks with his arm without looking, Kirisu’s slash not hurting him in the slightest.

            “What the?” Kirisu asks shocked.

            “That’s it?” Jiro asks.

                        Kirisu thinks to himself. “He’s supposed to be cut! He blocked my sword with his freaking arm!”

            “Why are you so surprised?” Jiro asks.

            “No matter, I’ll defeat you anyways!” Kirisu says rapidly jumping up and throws his sword at Jiro from above; Jiro looks up and accompanied with Kirisu’s sword are more than ten thin swords made of Kirisu’s black matter.

            “Hmm?” Jiro sighs.

            “I got you now! My sword won’t cut you, but my power will!” Kirisu shouts.

                        When all the black matter connects against Jiro, they shatter in pieces, except for Kirisu’s sword.

            “What!?” Kirisu widens his eyes in disbelief.

            “Kirisu’s barrier power shattered?” Yumi asks surprised.

            “Jiro is no ordinary opponent it seems.” John Smith comments.

                        Kirisu lands on the platform floor and grabs his sword again; Jiro instantly appears in front of Kirisu. Kirisu panics and makes a thick black barrier in front of him, but shatters as well by Jiro’s bare hand. Jiro grabs Kirisu by the throat, and as he strangles him, he says. “Let this be a lesson, getting cocky in a battle with an opponent you don’t know is not cool.”

                        Jiro throws Kirisu out of the platform, but Kirisu levitates before hitting the ground and jumps right back up.

            “Incredible! I’ve never seen such special effects!” The announcer says excited.

            “Your persistence is annoying.” Jiro remarks.

            “I’ll beat you no matter what!” Kirisu says annoyed.

            “……” Jiro cleans off some dust off his arm.

            “F**k it!” Kirisu makes a few dark spears and throws them at Jiro, Jiro catches one of the dark spears, he disappears and appears in front of Kirisu once again and thrusts the floor next to Kirisu with the dark spear.

            “Careful with these, anyone can use them against you easily; if I wanted you would’ve been dead by now.” Jiro says shattering the dark spear with his bare hand.

            “You wish!” Kirisu says.

                        As Kirisu is about to unsheathe his sword, Jiro hit Kirisu’s chest with his elbow very hard making Kirisu fall out of platform unable to levitate from the pain. The crowd cheers to this.

            “He wasn’t going to be able to touch you huh? Yeah right.” Yumi scoffs.

            “Shut up!” Kirisu says annoyed.

            “Did you guys notice?” Zero asks.

            “What?” Luna asks.

            “He never unsheathed his sword…” Zero answers.

                        Everyone widens their eyes in shock.

            “Just how strong is this guy?” Seshiro asks.

            “That match was spectacular! Now, for the fifth match, Zieg versus Yumi!” The announcer says.

            “Okay then…” Yumi says.

                        Yumi and Zieg get on the platform, Yumi takes out her whip-sword. Zieg is oblivious to Yumi looking around at the crowd.

            “I’m over here.” Yumi points at herself.

            “I know.” Zieg says still looking at the crowd.

            “We going to start?” Yumi asks.

            “Whenever you want.” Zieg says.

            “Then I’ll start if you don’t mind.” Yumi states.

            “Sure.” Zieg shrugs his shoulders.

                        Yumi walks around Zieg, he looks very defenseless looking around, Yumi extends her whip-sword and attacks Zieg, but Zieg only rolled a little to the side evading her attack, he then stands up and starts walking towards Yumi with his hands in his pockets.

            “Is this guy nuts?” Yumi thinks to herself.

                        Yumi reattaches her sword waiting for Zieg, as soon as he gets close Yumi steps back once.

            “Do you like wieners?” Zieg asks.

            “What are you implying?” Yumi asks staring at him with narrow eyes.

            “Nothing, I just like those canned things.” Zieg replies.

            “Okay…?” Yumi says confused.

                        Zieg gets closer.

            “I don’t mean to imply anything, but you’re pretty.” Zieg says.

            “Uhh… thanks?” Yumi says unsure.

            “Hehehe, ketchup.” Zieg says with a smile.

            “What?” Yumi asks puzzled.

                        Yumi readies herself, Zieg disappears and appears next to her, and he swiftly puts his foot behind Yumi’s foot and pushes her out of the platform. Yumi lands on the ground and says amazed. “What? He took me by surprise!”

            “Haha.” Kirisu laughs.

            “Shut up loser.” Yumi says annoyed.

            “You lost too, and fast!” Lloyd says.

            “And you were the first one of us to lose.” Yumi says staring at Lloyd coldly.

            “Good point.” Lloyd nods.

            “This end was very quick! Now! For the last battle before the finals! Bridget versus Jiro!” The announcer says.

                        Jiro and Bridget steps up.

            “I guess I don’t have to hold back with you.” Bridget comments.

            “Nope.” Jiro shakes his head.

                        Bridget raises her right hand, fire, ice and lightning elements surrounded her.

            “……” Jiro observes her.

                        Bridget unleashes all these elements at the same time, Jiro side steps evading all the attacks one after the other, a lightning bolt is about to strike Jiro from above, Jiro unsheathes his long sword and as the lightning bolt strikes down, Jiro blocks with his sword. His sword is suddenly enchanted in electricity.

            “Lightning blade.” Jiro says holding his sword close to his face.

            “Whoa!” Kirisu says astounded.

            “How’d he do that?” Yumi asks surprised.

            “His sword, it’s special.” John Smith comments.

            “How so?” Hisana asks.

            “It seems to be able to absorb any element and use it against the user.” John Smith explains.

            “Sounds convenient.” Seshiro says.

            “To some extent, yes, but the effect that the sword borrows doesn’t last much.” John Smith adds.

            “How do you know that?” Luna asks looking at him with narrow eyes.

            “I have knowledge in magical smith techniques.” John Smith answers.

                        Bridget is somewhat surprised; she makes the water element appear as well, she then attacks with fire, ice and water at the same time.

            “Try and absorb this!” Bridget says unleashing her attacks.

                        Jiro blocks once again, but his blade also absorbs all these elements, it is now infused with four elements.

            “Tetra blade.” Jiro says preparing to attack.

            “What?” Bridget asks in disbelief.

            “It was a mistake to throw at me more elements, now this blade will smite you.” Jiro says as he charges at Bridget, she then mixes all the elements like Jiro’s blade is and throws it at him.

            “How about tetra wave!” Bridget says.

            “A bigger mistake!” Jiro says blocking the tetra attack once again; the sword absorbs it as well. “Tetra blade, double fold!”

                        Jiro goes in and attacks with a diagonal slash, a big burst of elements can be seen, it is almost a rainbow, Bridget blocks, but she falls out of the platform.

            “That sure kept me on the edge of my seat.” Luna says.

            “No kidding.” Hisana says.

            “Even more special effects!” The announcer yells very excited.

                        Everyone stands up from their seats and cheer very loudly.

            “Calm down people! Sit down, the final battle is about to begin!” The announcer says.

            “No need, I forfeit the match, give Zieg the money.” Jiro says as he sheathes his blade.

            “What!?” The announcer asks unable to believe his ears.

            “You heard, I’m not going to fight Zieg, it’s just pointless, we’re tied, actually… he might even win.” Jiro comments.

            “I guess I can’t say anything then, you heard that folks? Jiro has forfeited the match, Zieg won the tournament!” The announcer says shrugging his shoulders.

            “Figures.” Zero says annoyed.

                        Everyone leaves the tournament disappointed; the party is at the entrance of the city.

            “Hmm… I’ve been thinking for a while, but I can swear I’ve heard those two guys’ names before…” Kazumi says trying to remember.

            “You might be thinking too much.” Kirisu says.

            “Yeah, maybe.” Kazumi says.

            “We better get going now, the tournament was fun enough.” Zero says.

            “Okay, be careful, now it’s time to kiss the sky.” John Smith says while lighting up a strange cigarette. “You sure you guys don’t wanna get high and explore space?”

            “I think we’ll pass.” Hisana says with a raised eyebrow.

            “Alright then, time to get stoned with the woodland fairies.” John Smith says leaving.

            “Bye.” The some of the party say in unison.

                        The party leaves the city, as the party makes their way through a mountain road they unexpectedly hear a familiar voice say. “How long were you gonna keep us waiting?”

            “What the heck?” Kyoshi looks around.

            “……!” Lloyd widens his eyes in surprise.

                        Unexpectedly, Zieg and Jiro jump from both sides of the high cliffs down and are now visible facing the party.

            “The guys from the tournament!” Zero says stepping back.

            “What!?” Yumi looks at them shocked.

            “Let’s fight.” Jiro says.

            “It doesn’t matter; we’ll take them out, right Lloyd?” Kirisu says with a grin.

            “…… yeah.” Lloyd responds with a low voice while frowning.

                        Seshiro looks at Lloyd with a confused look.

            “Who should we pick to fight first?” Zieg asks scratching his head.

            “How about that Kaizer?” Jiro points at Zero.

            “Not enough… how about the Kaizer and the Satsume?” Zieg says.

            “… Wait, which Satsume?” Jiro asks.

            “The girl obviously.” Zieg replies with a smile.

            “I hate my bad luck.” Jiro shakes his head.

            “I got shotgun on that!” Zieg says staring at the party with alert eyes.

            “Oh well, I guess I’ll take the rest.” Jiro shrugs his shoulders and sighs.

            “It’s settled then.” Zieg nods.

            “Let’s get them Seshi!” Kyoshi says.

            “Right, you guys watch, we’ll take them out quick.” Seshiro says nodding.

            “They’re underestimating us.” Zieg remarks.

                        Seshiro and Kyoshi swiftly charge towards them, as they jump they unsheathing their weapons, but Zieg and Jiro jump on the mountains walls and jump once again towards Seshiro and Kyoshi still in the air and make a downward side kick at the same time thus making them fall hard on the ground. As Kyoshi and Seshiro stands up they say.

            “S**t, lucky kick!” Kyoshi rubbing his neck.

            “Lucky indeed.” Seshiro says rubbing the opposite side of his neck.

                        Seshiro then charges towards Zieg and attacks him, but he is able to evade, dodge and block all of Seshiro’s attacks by making capoeira moves.

            “Wait, I’ve seen this before……” Seshiro thinks to himself backing up and decides to use his ice techniques; he covers his sword in ice making a twenty foot tall ice sword hastily making a horizontal slash slicing part of the mountains, Zieg and Jiro jump a second before Seshiro completes his attack.

            “What!?” Seshiro widens his eyes.

                        Kyoshi abruptly jumps on Seshiro’s ice covered sword, Seshiro then expels Kyoshi high up in the air, Kyoshi then throws his sword to the ground and as it lands thrusting the ground, it explodes right in front of Zieg and Jiro. While Kyoshi is descending he takes out a shotgun guitar out of the blue and begins to fire towards the explosion as Seshiro makes another horizontal slash with his sword. As Kyoshi lands on the ground he receives a severe tackle by Jiro sending him flying and hitting his back against Seshiro also sending him flying.

            “That was a waste of time, don’t you think?” Zieg asks.

            “Alright, times up, you’re finished guys!” Zero says walking towards them.

            “I’ll rape you guys with my power!” Kirisu shouts.

                        Zero rapidly charges towards them unsheathing his sword as Kirisu makes many dark spears and then throwing them towards Zieg and Jiro. Zero swiftly jumps on them while making a vertical slash, but they sidestep and as they sidestep the dark spears are about to hit them. They unexpectedly catch the dark spears and assaults Zero, Zero evades most of the attacks, but he is already tired of blocking so he strikes his sword in the ground and a huge wave of electricity covers the whole ground. Zieg and Jiro avoid the electricity the split second Zero does this attack by thrusting the dark spears in the ground and jumping on the tip of them at the same time. Zero then cuts the spears in half while making a three-sixty degree turn doing a horizontal slash. Zieg and Jiro jumps up in the air, but all of a sudden many dark spears are about to hit them. They abruptly expel themselves to the sides using their legs with each other, then making a wall jump higher up in the air, Zieg nods to Jiro as Jiro suddenly makes a roundhouse kick in the air thus propelling Zieg by kicking him towards Kirisu. Zieg then air recovers and kicks Kirisu on the chest therefore sending him flying towards a wall of rocks.

            “That’ll teach you to attack like a sissy from afar.” Zieg comments.

                        Hisana swiftly steps in and unsheathes her Altergun quickly making a diagonal slash, Zieg unsheathes his long sword and blocks.

            “Not bad for a human, the first one here to make me draw my sword.” Zieg says with a smile.

            “Why are you attacking us?” Hisana asks.

            “No need for a reason right?” Zieg asks.

                        Hisana keeps attacking him with her Altergun, but he keeps blocking every strike, she then covers her Altergun in ice and is about to strike the ground, but he abruptly kicks her Altergun from her hands, she then back flips and catches it in midair. Kazumi draws both her guns and starts firing at Zieg, but he begins to appear and disappear many times while rushing towards her evading all of her shots. When he finally reaches her she tries to kick him, but he blocks her kicks with his own kicks, Yumi then extends her whip-sword and attacks Zieg, Zieg speedily jumps back and begins evading all of Yumi’s attacks with capoeira. Shizuru unsheathes her twin daggers and starts attacking him using capoeira as well while also dodging some of Yumi’s attacks.

            “Whoa, girls, take it easy!” Zieg says comically, then throwing wind blades while swinging his sword towards Yumi as he evades Shizuru’s attacks.

            “Huh? He has wind powers? But they’re different; they have high temperature compared to Lloyd’s.” Yumi thinks to herself, then evading some of the wind blades, but the rest scratches Yumi’s arms slightly.

            “Wind blades?” Seshiro notices.

                        Zero and Jiro keep fighting, Jiro is barely evading all of Zero’s attacks, Jiro then unsheathes his sword and blocks before Zero is able to hit.

            “You finally unsheathe your sword.” Zero says with a smirk.

            “You’re not too shabby Kaizer.” Jiro says pushing his sword against Zero’s.

            “I’m curious; tell me, what kind of demon are you?” Zero asks.

            “How’d you guess that?” Jiro asks.

            “No regular people fight like you guys, plus, since you’re fighting us, your Demon Force is leaking unconsciously. So answer me, what kind of demons are you?” Zero demands.

            “Trust me, not one you would know.” Jiro replies.

            “Try me.” Zero says looking into Jiro’s eyes.

            “What if I don’t want to answer?” Jiro asks.

            “Humph… Your scent is somewhat similar to a friend, but at least I can tell you’re a demon unlike him.” Zero says.

            “……” Jiro backs off and keeps blocking all of Zero’s attacks, he then extends his right arm back and makes an upward slash, but trips on a small stone making the slash barely avoid Zero and slicing a big hill in half behind him.

            “Why me…?” Jiro thinks.

            “Damn you have bad luck.” Zero says looking back at the hill and back to Jiro.

            “I guess…” Jiro shrugs his shoulders and sighs.

            “How come you have wind powers?” Zero asks.

            “……” Jiro shrugs his shoulders.

            “First the familiar scent, now wind powers… Does this mean…” Zero thinks to himself.

                        Luna unexpectedly unleashes a very powerful Mana Force arrow, Jiro jumps back barely evading the massive attack.

            “Back up? I didn’t notice her until now, she was hiding this whole time to give us a little surprise, she almost got me, that would’ve really hurt if I didn’t dodge on time.” Jiro thinks to himself very surprised.

            “Leave this one to me Luna.” Zero shouts.

            “Okay.” Luna nods.

                        Zieg keeps fighting against Shizuru; Zieg throws wind blades at her, but Shizuru bursts in flames, the wind blades make her fire even fiercer once they hit.

            “Clever.” Zieg says.

            “I have the upper hand.” Shizuru says.

            “Only in our elemental affinity, but I can do this.” Zieg says unleashing a red wind blade, which Shizuru evades, the wind blade hits the ground and burns it.

                        Shizuru makes a shocked expression, but covered in flames she charges at Zieg, as she is about to hit a vast amount of very powerful wind comes from behind her and blows her away from him; he looks at Lloyd and hastily charges at him.

            “I guess it’s my turn.” Lloyd says with a smile.

            “Hahaha, why are you making such a depressed looking face Shin?” Zieg asks.

            “Hehe, I’m just excited that I can finally have fun again.” Lloyd replies.

            “That’s the spirit!” Zieg says, then throwing his long sword at Lloyd, Lloyd catches it, Zieg then concentrates Mana Force in his right hand and makes a replica of his long sword in energy. Lloyd begins to fight Zieg in the same fashion as Zieg fought. Zieg and Lloyd are clashing swords as well as many wind blades at the same time, they seem to be accustomed to fight each other for some reason. Zieg rapidly attacks Lloyd repeatedly with his Mana sword; Lloyd is having some trouble blocking all of Zieg’s strikes.

            “You seem to be pretty strong as always.” Zieg says smiling.

                        Zero still fighting with Jiro is observing Lloyd from afar until he and Seshiro heard what Zieg had told Lloyd and all of a sudden yelled out at the same time. “You traitor!”

            “Huh, ah, they finally caught me!” Lloyd backs away and stops fighting.

                        Zero and Jiro suddenly stop fighting as well.

            “I have no excuses and I don’t care about any of your vendettas or defending the innocent.” Lloyd says out of the blue.

            “I see, so Shin, you decided to come with us… I’m relieved, I though you didn’t believe us about that thing we told you… oh well… here’s what I told you about.” Zieg says taking off his amulet and throwing it to Lloyd.

            “Lloyd?” Yumi says looking at Lloyd with a confused expression.

            “My half sealed power huh? Okay… here I go!” Lloyd says suddenly breaking the amulet with his bare hand, the party can feel a lot of Demon Force, the ground begins to shake a lot, when all of a sudden some kind of dark demon-like spirit in form of a lion comes out of the amulet and flies up in the air. It stops and abruptly charges towards Lloyd and opens its huge mouth as if it’s going to swallow Lloyd. When the spirit is about to swallow Lloyd it fades around Lloyd’s body.

            “I… can’t believe this is my true power!” Lloyd says staring at his hands.

            “What! His scent, it was indeed strange, but now his scent is completely of a demon, not to mention that his power has doubled! What kind of demon is he? Right know he’s too strong for us to handle!” Zero says surprised.

            “Ah, I can’t believe it, so you were a demon too!” Kirisu says shocked.

            “I didn’t know myself until recently, but it doesn’t really matter now.” Lloyd comments.

            “Lloyd? It can’t be! You told me you weren’t a traitor!” Yumi falls on her knees staring at Lloyd in disbelief. “Tell me this is one of your stupid jokes.”

            “Nope.” Lloyd replies.

            “I’ve known you for a long time and I’ve never seen this side of you!” Seshiro shouts angrily.

            “That’s because I’ve been faking to be the hero that wants to save everyone.” Lloyd says mockingly.

            “Why the heck for?” Kyoshi asks.

            “No comment there.” Lloyd says smiling.

            “So you’ve been acting like you really wanted to save people just to impress your friends, you’re not the Lloyd I know.” Kirisu says seriously.

            “Actually, you never knew me.” Lloyd says grinning.

            “That’s because you’re just another demon, I should’ve killed you while I had the chance.” Zero remarks.

            “What about Yumi, did you lie to her as well?” Kazumi asks.

            “…… heh.” Lloyd chuckles.

            “Enough with the sentimental crap, we have to leave before we lose him.” Zieg says.

                        As they are leaving Seshiro and Kirisu charges towards them with swords in hand, but Zieg and Jiro instantly turn around and kicks them on the stomach at the same time. They then grab their right and left arms and make a three-sixty degree turn in opposite directions thus making Seshiro and Kirisu crash with each other at the same time. While Seshiro and Kirisu are stunned they kick them at the same time towards Zero and Kyoshi. As Kirisu and Seshiro are about to crash against Zero and Kyoshi, Zero and Kyoshi sidestep and catches them in the air by grabbing their shirts at the same time.

            “The girls gave a better fight than you losers did.” Jiro comments.

            “You guys suck.” Zieg says.

                        They leave; the party does nothing to stop them.

            “…. Heh, I never thought you guys could handle them though, especially Zero.” Lloyd says.

            “Humph.” Jiro keeps walking.

            “We didn’t actually get to fight them with our full power, but we obviously had the upper hand.” Zieg remarks as he kicks a stone.

            “We should leave; we have to look for him before it’s too late.” Jiro says.

                        All three walking away through the rocky path until they disappear in the distance, the sky ever so blue.

Reviews

[Felipe]

O_O i am honestly suprised Lloyd betrayed the party, i bet he must have a reason, is jsut too weird, poor yumi is suferring, this was an awesome emotional chapter, story get's better and better, keep it up man!