Chapter 1: Awaken

Haruto awoke from his deep sleep. His body laid still as a statue, aching and unwilling to move as if he had been from a long gruelling journey with someone. As his eyes vividly opened to view the bedroom ceiling. They picked up the daylight that rose from his bedroom window, its radiant glow unhurriedly touching his disarrayed bed. His ears slowly recognised the lulling whistles of birds tweeting on the apple tree that he could view just outside the small window, concurrently with drops of water that fell on the grass, it was as if nature greeted him with a waking song that gave him just the right motivation to rise from his stone-like state, another typical day perhaps, he thought.

It was dawn in Kananga, a tiny modern town of Arid City in the region of Rajahnate, Maharlika. A glamorous city crammed with buildings of different sizes and different decorations like a maze of expensive attractions. Almost like New York only it had plants growing everywhere as it was inhabited by a lot of agricultural workers. Despite the insufferable heat that the town experienced everyday and seldom days of cold rain, you’d still want to leave the comfort of your air conditioned homes just to glimpse the nature of the town with a fresh cup of water as the daylight touches your hat or umbrella.

The island, Rajahnate, which was located in the second of the 3 island groups of Maharlika, was surrounded by a crystal-clear sea under a clear azure sky. Filled to the shores with life of different sea creature of varying sizes, edible or not.

Haruto remembered every trip to the beach, every occupied hut would be filled with fried seafood and the smell of beer and cigarettes by people of different ethnicities. In other words, it was a great attraction for many tourists outside of Maharlika, sometimes even by Maharlikans from different regions.

Rajahnate was famous for being a perfect tropical escape. With its trademark lechon and various trekking, diving, and even island hopping activities, it’s no wonder Haruto felt proud being a Rajahnatan. A paradise with a booming economy which would later translate to better tax services and high-paying jobs was an advanced Christmas gift for anybody that worked in low-paying areas.

The city had a reputation for being called “Asian Las Vegas” because of the different things that happen throughout the day. At morning, it is an active place which often has people storming out of their houses to catch the nearest taxi or jeep just to get to work even with their unbuttoned uniforms and rumbling stomachs together with their bare faces and almost dry-wet hair. In the afternoon, normal things happen in and out, typical stuff that you’d usually see even you were a child, people going to malls, eating at restaurants, drinking beer, and even preaching gospels at synagogues like an emcee trying to “enlighten” the audience.

Haruto was an avid believer in Christianity, yet, he couldn’t help but hate the thought of going to church every Sunday, just like most young children would.

At night, however, it seemed like a completely different world. In contrary to the busy and smelly seat-mates you’d get at the local buses, night time was a total chill ride until morning again. Relaxing music and lights transformed the city, lighting up people's sadness, preparing them for the next day as if magic had been cast on them. People walk throughout the bridges and stare at the sea on the boardwalk as the cold breeze flows through their hair after which you’d get a whiff of the amazing scent of different cuisines from great shacks.

An amazingly normal world that has no big things that happen except for festivals and holidays to say the least. It was an amazingly normal place with amazingly normal people who go around their amazingly normal lives.

The amazingly normal hometown of Haruto Hikaru Amaterasu.

Haruto gradually stood up to stretch his stiff limbs a bit, his hair had dropped down to drape his entire forehead enough to cover the two to three pimples that resided there, and his blue buttoned shirt had a small wet stain of saliva that gave off an awful but somehow tolerable smell.

Cleaning alcohol was what came to mind first but it just made it worse, he could attest to it several times.

He walked towards the mirror and saw himself in his blue pajamas, slouching like a depressed teen that didn’t study for the final exams. The usual appearance of an early morning waker.

He clasped his hands and raised them high into the air, first part of stretching; done. Next, his back, which stood up as straight as a stick after his two hands gave them a satisfying crack. A stream of energy flowed into his body as the after-wake fatigue finally subsided and his 8-hour sleep had given him the energy for the day ahead.

He glanced at the silver clock on the table next to his bed and thought of what he could do for today, it’s ticktocks comforted him in a half-sunlit room full of silence. With the different closets, cabinets, and shelves full of toys and essentials, the clock’s sounds were what he wanted to experience first thing in the morning always.

After straightening his entire bed and departing his still room, he took a quiet step onto the cold ember wood, his toes rubbing against them as they bathed in light that was provided from a luminous light bulb just outside enormous window wall of the porch of an amiable pink garden.

The sun hadn’t risen enough to touch the garden just yet. But the skies showed a beautiful painting of blue and orange, which meant the sun was coming fast.

As he gazed at the magical view of the nature outside, he couldn’t help but feel at peace inside the gloomy hallway. The grass remained wet from the rain earlier and radiated a distinctive smell, a smell that Haruto didn't appreciate ever since he was a kid.

He took a few steps towards the thick clear glass and laid his two palms on the cold steamed viewing pane before he turned around and walked down the silent hallway until he came across his beloved pet, Cujo—a rottweiler that he found all abandoned as a puppy near a train station when he was still a child.

The dog barked at him excitedly, lying down on his back for his master to pet him.

"You're energetic aren't you today, boy?” Haruto laughed as he rubbed his dog's belly as the little rascal wagged his body in excitement. "Are you hungry? Let's get your breakfast, boy!"

Reaching from the tall cabinets, Haruto yanked the plastic box full of dog food and sprinkled a handful on his pet's bowl, petting him while the dog licked his oily face.

Cujo sat down after eating his entire meal and rested with his nose near his legs as he gave off a slight grunt before closing his eyes.

Haruto smiled, happy to see the usual greetings from his pet despite the number of times he had to clean the stains and poop.

He resumed to walk, passing beside some small paintings of various places, family photos, and a collection of different knick knacks. He stopped for a moment and looked at the rectangular picture frame between the two large ones, one of which was of him and someone else and the other was a self-portrait of when he graduated elementary school.

He took the picture into his hands and saw a beautiful woman together with the man and baby in her hands. He stared at it for a while like he was staring at dead space, his mouth had a slight opening before he snapped out of his trance-like state as the unexpected noise of oil sizzling caught his ears.

As he placed the picture frame down and resumed his walk, the sound was accompanied by a sublime scent of cooked eggs and freshly brewed chocolate drink.

Driven by the hypnotizing smell of the food that he could almost taste, he arrived at the kitchen to witness the man who was in the picture frame, he was cooking in a dimly lit kitchen.

Quiet and stiff but he could see his cooking skills shine.

His long brown-reddish hair was tied into a topknot haircut, his attire mainly consisted of a chef’s apron and a pair of black shorts that blended together with the stove which made him look he was missing two very important body parts, his butt and thighs, his lean and muscular back showed several scars but nonetheless everyone could say that he had a godlike physique.

Haruto knocked on the wooden entrance and spoke gently with a smile, "Good morning, dad." He greeted.

The man looked back at him with a dead look before quickly transforming into a gentle smile and naturally squinting eyes.

"Good morning, son!" The man greeted back.

Just outside the kitchen, the doorbell rang and the man twisted the knob to lower the flame as he hurried to the door, opening it to reveal another man who was carrying a basket of bread and a newspaper.

“Good morning, Mr. Amaterasu.” The man greeted non-chalantly.

“Please, call me Daisuke, Mark.” Daisuke replied.

Mark had inserted his hand into his pocket to take out what looked like a pack of unopened cigarettes which Daisuke sneakily placed into his pocket.

“Well, that’s all I can do for today Mr. Ama—, sorry, Daisuke. See you again tomorrow.” Said Mark as he waved Daisuke and Haruto goodbye.

Back in the kitchen, Haruto had already set-up the plates and utensils, sitting down on the wooden chair as he waited for the man to return.

“Well son, you just sit tight. I’m almost done making your breakfast. I’m sure you’re quite hungry so I whipped up something nice for you.”

Haruto looked at his dad and smiled, “You always whip something nice, dad.” He thought.

Daisuke effortlessly flipped the pan full of eggs and rice a few more times without getting a single piece of grain outside the pan before shutting the burner down and closing the gas container, despite the oil jumping into his veiny hands, the man showed no reaction whatsoever, merely continuing his business in creating something that made Haruto’s stomach rumble very loud as he smelled the entire process.

"Here Haruto, let's eat breakfast." Grabbing the plates from the silver container, Daisuke placed them on the round table. "Did you get a good sleep, son?" He asked his son as grabbed two pieces of bread from the basket and placed them onto their plates.

"I did dad, but I did have a very weird dream last night..." Haruto said with a confused face as if he saw something remarkable but forgot what it was all about. “Yeah... it was definitely something that made me tired.”

Daisuke saw this and thought of an attempt to cheer him up. "What sort of dream son? Were you dreaming of women?” He said in a mixture of sarcasm and perversion as his eyebrows moved up and down rapidly and his lazily shaved bearded lower face widened as he grinned.

Haruto's eyes opened whole as he choked on his water and slammed the table with his fist. "It wasn't like that old man!" He responded in an irritated manner as Daisuke's bellowing laughs filled the kitchen.

The smell of his breakfast came closer as his father moved the frying pan and placed the eggs on to his white plate together with some hotdog fried rice. The glistening look of the perfectly cooked eggs together with it’s pristine golden centre took over his mind, not even noticing the drooling that was occurring.

"So son, what was this dream all about?” Daisuke asked as he sat down and began to prepare his meal of defrosted vegetable soup and rice.

Haruto noticed this and asked his father. "Dad, we ate that last night, can't you cook something else for yourself?"

"We ran out of eggs and other canned goods, son. I used the last of the ingredients to whip up something delicious for you. Plus, it's not good to let food go to waste. I thought I already taught you that?" Daisuke replied as he poured the warm soup and soggy vegetables into his plate.

"Dad come on, that's not fair. Let's share my food." Haruto offered. Dividing his food equally with his fork and moving his plate close to his father.

Daisuke smiled. He pushed the plate back to his son's position. Placing his hand on his boy's face and caressing his rough hair. He spoke in a calm tone. "Don't worry son, if you eat well, I'll be well." His father's smile made him smile as well and they both gave thanks for their food.

They started to talk about a lot of things, from his sleep to education, and even about what Haruto wants to be in the future. But before his son could tell him what he wanted, Daisuke abruptly stopped him to say something.

No doubt something very important came to mind.

"Son, remember when I told you that one day, you would get to fight other people?" Daisuke sat closer to his son. "I've taught you everything I could, but now, I am letting you do things for yourself. So you better be fully prepared today, there's gonna be a sparring tournament in the complex and I want you to join it. It'll be a friendly match just like the ones we see from time to time and I'm sure you'll like it."

Haruto stared at his father intensely with a widened face. He could feel the seriousness exerting from the man's aura, it was almost as if a giant was towering over him. But the sight of rice crumbs under his chin made him let out a little chuckle, which turned to a father and son laughing out loud. Lightening up the mood.

"Go clean and ready your sword, son. It must be prepared for tonight." Daisuke said as he placed away all the dirty dishes for washing. "Your sensei is expecting you to do your best."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

A master and teacher of Kendo—the act of Nihonese swordsmanship. A unique fighting style that paved way for more advanced predecessors was given birth by a country lying off the east coast of Asia called Nihonazure.

Daisuke is the primary and only sensei of Haruto while his son has been his only pupil for as long as he could recall.

Utilizing his proficiency and background, he taught the young boy the basics of Kendo, instructing him to be both physically and mentally strong at such an early age, he would educate the boy on the distinct stances of the way of the sword, whilst attacking a wooden dummy using their wooden swords to further hone his abilities.

At the peak of their training, they would wear their special robes and spar on the fragrant and pinkish garden in the morning or even the wet-misty grass at night.

A few hours after lunch had already passed and Haruto looked over at the clock, it was already 5:00 PM. The pair were almost finished performing their daily chores which consisted of washing, cleaning, and sweeping among other things.

Haruto gazed at the sunshine that blanketed the sakura garden, the sight of the wet grass and pink trees reminisced him of all the times they sparred, to which he always lost.

Thinking it was absurd to participate in a large official duel without even winning against his only opponent once, he wanted to do something that made him think he earned the right to participate in it, holding his broom even tighter, he looked at his father with unfazed eyes and a racing heart.

"Dad, I want to spar with you today. And I'll make sure that I win this time." Haruto said with a forced stern face.

The tone of Haruto's words made a surprised look on his father's face, but Daisuke understood Haruto—a strong-headed child who stood up to the challenges.

He nodded.

Placing his hand on his son and hugging him, they decided to get ready, putting on their robes, and doing warm-up exercises. As they unlocked the glass door, a cool breeze that smelled like pink rushed into the house, Haruto inhaled deeply, the serene smell almost made him dizzy.

They stepped into the garden of light and fragrance. It was beautiful and soothing, the sakura petals dancing in the air like little fairies flying.

Both took their places on opposite sides, they were about to start.

As Haruto gripped the handle of his sword, he started at the figure in front of him and spoke in his own mind. 'This time, I will win against you!'

Performing a bow in front of his father, Haruto pulled out his wooden weapon, took a deep breath, and concentrated a stance.

Burning with determination to defeat his sensei today before he would join the tournament, he wanted to prove that he was strong and focused, that the tournament he would join was going to be a stepping stone for him to realizing his dream of becoming a famous martial artist.

Daisuke saw this and merely emitted an emotionless expression, he did the same but instead of using his wooden sword, he threw it aside.

At that moment, Haruto glimpsed the fire in his father's eyes, they were inviting him, taunting him to attack like the fingers of a villain flickering at a protagonist.

Haruto took a deep breath and ran towards his battle-stanced sensei. All he needed was to strike him once and make him fall, then he would win. That was the rule of Kendo.

In a moment, as his sword was being swung into his sensei's side, he was flung into the air.

Haruto gasped at the sudden deflect on his attack, he didn’t see what happened nor did he notice how was flung into the air, nonetheless, he used this chance to attack his opponent with a single-piercing strike.

As he was plummeting, his father's back was still facing him. He decided to use it to his advantage, adjusting his body to improve the speed of his fall, he came closer to his still enemy.

But Haruto began to hesitate, the mysterious aura of the man and the fear of his fighting prowess made him unconciously change the angle of his blade, at the very moment when the tip of the blade reached just an inch from the man's nape, he felt a sudden hit on the back of his neck and fell on the sakura petal-littered ground.

The wind blowing them away as Haruto tumbled and kneeled.

He became angry, hitting the ground with his fist as he stared at his father with a disgruntled look.

Daisuke walked around his opponent with an unfazed look, eyes looking down at the child as he corrected his son's mistake, "Emotions are but a hindrance in battle Haruto, if you do not control them, they will take away what you hold dear...”

Picking up his sword again, Haruto assumed a different stance, this time focusing more on stab attacks.

Taking a deep breath once more, he charged at his sensei with the intent to hit him in the gut.

His father once again deflected the strike but Haruto's momentum kept prevailing, he struck, again and again, all of which to no avail.

After failing to hit his father the second time, he was met with a strong kick to his side.

He gasped, flipping backwards before hitting the ground to maintain balance, the sakura petals flew ferociously in the air as he caught his breath, dancing towards the sky before falling with the setting sun.

"Focus, Haruto! Is this what you would've wanted your mother to see? Weak and pathetic without even any hopes of being competent?" Daisuke taunted his son even more.

Further angered by his father's words, Haruto punched the ground, and carelessly charged at him despite his sensei's warnings to control his emotions. He screamed his lungs out, his face showing his veins as rage overtook his mind.

With each erratic attack, Daisuke deflected, and with each failure, a kick or a punch was thrown at Haruto.

The battle went on until he was unable to get up because of the pain. His bruised stiff body twitched for a moment as he lied defeated on the pink ground.

Daisuke approached him, glaring at the boy's angry eyes and comforting him.

"Haruto... Do not give in to your emotions. Learn to be in control. Do this... and you can overcome the world." He said.

After the battle, Daisuke instructed Haruto to pick up his sword and be prepared for the tournament.

Taking off his robe and entering into the kitchen to continue his daily routine.

"Dammit!" The boy screamed at himself as he lied on the now dusty ground.

Haruto ruminated for a while. The thought of his father talking about his mother made his chest ache. His eyes had unwillingly let out drops of tears unto the sakura petals. Despite all his friends going together with their families, it wasn’t the case for him.

He wanted to see her but he couldn't, it was all he ever wanted, something impossible but something he still held on to. Despite never meeting her even once, he held on to the fact the she was his mother, and wherever she is right now, he hoped she’d one day meet her to fill the void in his heart.

His back landed on the pinkish-grass and tears fell from his face even more, the orange color of the sky somehow calmed him down. Before it became sightly darker than before. Somehow the lights from the nearby poles and the sounds of electricity buzzing made his tears stop. And so he stood up and wiped himself.

Spotting the sword at the nearby running fountain, his mind told him to pick it up. He walked towards the white structure and leaned to grab it before the fish inside moved quickly which made water enter into his eye.

Infuriated by the dumb animal, he dashed over to the pool of water before stopping, accidentally catching his reflection on the water, immediately transfixed by what he saw.

As he gazed at the crystal-clear, reflective surface, his eyes suddenly glowed bright sky-blue and a black painted pattern appeared on the left side of his face, like the markings of a warrior.

Mesmerised and afraid, his hand went to touch the radiance from his face. But before he was able to, the koi once again disturbed the calmness of the liquid and drenched his face in water.

When he looked at his reflection again, the light and markings were gone, an announcement about the tournament from the city center abruptly blew up from the nearby speakers, it always blew up in unexpected moments like this one.

The announcer urged everyone who wanted to participate to head for the complex immediately.

Curios and confused at the same time, he branded it as merely seeing things.

However, with no time to waste, he prepared to get ready for the tournament, determined to win to prove his strength.

After entering his room, the kitchen lights were finally turned on and Daisuke was preparing his son's dinner who was tying his shoes next to his jacket on the doorstep.

Haruto grabbed his backpack and sword and headed for the arching gate metal gate in the middle of the concrete path of a grassy yard and wall of bushes.

Upon hearing the door open behind him, Haruto turned around and saw Daisuke running up to him to give him his food.

"Hey hey wait!" Daisuke shouted behind him, giving him his prepared bento dinner before hugging his son. "Good luck son, do your best!" He said and smiled.

Haruto hugged his father back and waved him goodbye. "I'll do my best dad!" He replied.

As he watched his son walk off into the distance, Daisuke rested himself on the door step and patted himself on the back. Taking out the box of cigarettes he had earlier and lighting one. He inhaled the smoke deeply and let out a big puff which flew away and disappeared into nothingness. He smiled and laid his back on the door with his legs spread across the cold cement.

"Sarah... What do I do without you huh? The boy's growing up. I just hope I taught him well." Daisuke said to himself as he untied his pony-tail and stared at the horizon as the sunlight slowly left his face. “I can’t forget what I did, you know that, but I hope the boy doesn’t experience the same thing. It’s the old man’s responsibility as his father.”

The beautiful sight was refreshing to witness as the cold wind blew right past his dangling hair. He inhaled the cig a few more times before pressing it against the cement and tossing it aside.

As he stood up to enter back into his quiet home, the corners of his eye caught something in the distance, a green-dressed old man walking toward his house, lifting his umbrella before speaking to him.

"Oh sunny! How you doing?" The old geezer said happily.

"Ah! Mayor, what brings you by today?" He replied non-chalantly.

Back at the streets, Haruto stepped down the stairs of the green sky-bridge as he took out the earphones from his pocket and started listening to the playlist on his phone. As he casually walked next to the street accompanied by cars and bikes and people in different clothing, the buildings leisurely lit up with different colors, a cool breeze swam through the air, and the sun was almost gone, a view you'd want to see while you jogged or if you just wanted to go for a walk.

Uninterrupted in his stroll down the road, familiar faces—the local barangay cleaner, the bakers, a woman selling pancakes at a cheap price, and many more people who have been a part of his life for some time now, met and greeted Haruto as he passed them by. Waving at him and giving him compliments that you'd normally expect as the son of a famous individual.

Haruto continued to walk until he came across a peculiar but obvious sight. Standing alone at a lamp post both deep in thought was a beautiful and short Asian girl. Her hair was tied almost like a ponytail the rested on her shoulder. She stood casually but with a sense of poise and grace, back arched and hands behind her back, though her head was tilted down as if she wanted to be elegant without having to care about her surroundings.

Her bag was a rubbery one that had a keychain of a knife on it and her attire consisted of designer brands, something you don't see all the time in this town.

Bold in ignoring her surroundings and focusing on her thoughts as if her only companion was herself, it was dangerous to do that especially at a time where night was almost here.

"Man, Sayozane keeps doing that everytime we meet up for practice. I just hope she doesn't get into an accident as she keeps doing that." Haruto said to himself. "She's always so elegant and graceful when she doesn't think of the world. She should really think of a better place to rationalise about her future."

Haruto tucked away his earphones and started jogging towards her, "Oy Sayozane!" He called out, but out of nowhere, his body unexpectedly bumped against another person, his face landed on a chest that felt as hard as a rock.

The towering figure was huge and muscular, compared to Haruto's slimmer physique, the guy looked like he was about to stomp him.

"Oh boy..." Haruto thought to himself as the guy's shadow enveloped him whole. A big, handsome, and muscular guy. Around 6ft tall paired with a deep voice husky voice that girls would melt over.

But his overarching aura was the opposite for guys as they could feel his strength even just by looking at him. Every step he took was like a boulder coming at you. Even his presence alone exerted pressure among his peers. On his back was a plastic stick case filled with a pair of Eskrimas and he wore a long red headband. His attire consisted of a wrap around his stomach area and an open coat while his lower part were the traditional fighting shorts, his knees and ankles were wrapped in white cloth and his shoes were average black protector gear.

The figure towered over Haruto, his shadow covering Haruto's body together with an expressionless face as he spoke. "Where do you think you're going little man? You think you can just bump into me and get away with it?" He said as he stared intensely down at the boy.

Looking down at Haruto with his face near his, the seriousness transformed into a goofy smile and near disappearing eyes as he laughed.

"Yeah,yeah,Kenriki.You're the big guy here..."Haruto said,unfazed and annoyed by the person standing in front of him.

Grabbing him by the neck and rubbing his head, Kenriki apologized to his little bro. "Haha sorry man. Welcome back buddy! Hope you're ready for our tournament tonight. It's gonna be rad! We hoped uncle Daisuke would allow you to join and we’re glad he did!” He said excitedly.

They both walked towards Sayozane who was still staring down deep in her thoughts who unintentionally looked at them when she tried to grab her phone which made her startled. Like a timid child, she started panicking about how they immediately showed up like ghosts.

She became a little erratic, doing unnecesary things like fixing her hair and apologising too much for not noticing the pair who was standing near.

"Oh no, Haruto, Kenriki, I'm such a clutz! I couldn't see you guys because I was— well, I was... I'm sorry!" Sayozane stammered as she waved her hands erratically in the air.

Kenriki and Haruto laughed at her and told her that there was nothing wrong to which the conversation slowly developed into something more casual. A few mintues later they started to talk about what they would expect for the upcoming tournament.

"To think that I would finally be able to enter a tournament for the very first time, I'm glad it's with you guys!" Haruto said. His happy tone made his friends smile with him. "With everything that's been happening so far, I just hope we'll all have fun fighting."

"We're glad too Haruto. And it's great that it's the local one in our town, plus we don't even need to pay any registration fees." Kenriki explained. "Like every tournament we've witnessed, it'll only be a friendly match where if you pin the enemy to the ground, you'll win the battle. There's no need for too much violence in this event."

"No registration fees, huh? Are they sure about that?" Haruto asked, thinking that there had to be some catch to it. "This tournament is huge. Though I'm sure the rules are just the same as the tournaments dad and I saw back then, but would they even allow swords in this competition?" He asked.

"Normally for a tournament this big, you'd expect a really big fee, but it seems that they're hosting this tournament without any charges. At least that's what the locals and big-shots told us. And I heard that any type of martial arts was accepted in this event, so swords are probably a no-brainer to include." Kenriki said, looking at the various flyers that flew into the streets, littering them in the process as he grabbed one, and started reading the details. "Let's see... 1v1 fights... Oh, look at this, there's gonna be a clinic just in case... and... Yup, just good'ol professional sparring. Nothing too unusual."

"But, but... Isn't the tournament going to be dangerous? I mean, yeah, it's fighting. But like, are there any restrictions or something? Is this tournament going to be really violent or something?" Sayozane stammered anxiously as if a gun was being pointed at her. Kenriki and Haruto looked at her with confused faces. It was as if they questioned why their best friend was so such a blockhead. "Why would you ask a question like that?" They thought.

Haruto looked at her and patted her shoulder, "Well of course it's dangerous dummy, but you know you can continue to fight training dummies there too! Besides, no one's gonna kill you cause that's illegal, or..." He said sarcastically with an evil grin.

"Du-dummy?! I'm not a dummy, Haruto! A-also, who cares if it gets really violent?! I- I'm not afraid!" Sayozane stammered again as her eyes started to tear up in frustration. She raised her fist in the air and started hitting her friend on the shoulder like a child throwing an anger tantrum. But their small bickering was interrupted when an announcement from the local speakers abruptly declared openly that the tournament was almost starting.

Haruto looked back at Sayozane and placed his hand on her shoulder before speaking gently, "Don't worry Sayo, fighters are disciplined people who are taught to fight fairly. No one's gonna get too violent with you, besides I'd be furious... and I dont know what I'd do if that would happen. Nobody can bear to hurt you! You're too precious! Just look at you! Who wouldn't feel bad for hurting you, you big baby!"

Sayozane looked back at her friend's innocent eyes as she ignored her friend’s tease, the kind of eyes you see of a pure child, the kind of eyes you see before something terrible happens, as she placed her hand on top his, she smiled back at him as they hugged.

"We should go now, before we're late for the regustrations." Haruto said. Nodding towards one another, they all ran towards the enormous building at the distance.

A fight was about to take place.

One that exceed their expectations... no, it was not what they thought of at all.