Right Where We Left Off

Blake's and Bai's clash kicked off the 2nd fight of their sparring match. "Raaah!" With Blake going for an overhead swing at Bai bringing Gram down as hard as he could.

"Mountain's Base!" Bai met the attack with his forearms as his body turned to stone, allowing him to stop Gram's blade from taking his limbs. "I can tell that your bond with this one is stronger than the last." He commented after turning back to normal before pushing Blake away. "But is it stronger than ours?" He rushed forward while pulling back both of his fists.

"Oh, he's more up close this time," Blake smirked as he flipped over Bai when the other Smith-Knight tried to hit him with a twin fist attack. "Hah!" In the middle of his flip, Blake took a swing at Bai. "Tch!" But before Gram made contact Bai turned to stone again barely leaving a scratch on Bai's shoulder armor. "Uh oh!?" Then he watched as Bai slowly returned to normal while turning around.

"AH!" With part of his left arm still stone Bai landed a powerful backhand to the side of Blake's head and sent him flying to the edge of the ring.

"Wolf Impact!" Blake swung at the ground under him, and the shockwave from Gram launched him high into the air. "That was close." He looked down at Bai holding a readied stance. "Alright, let's hit him fast and hard!" With Gram glowing brightly Blake swung at the air as he came down with a Wolf Impact, quickly shooting himself to one side then again and again until he was a blur of red in the air thanks to his tail. "Wolf Hunt!"

"Oh? He's copying doggie's dashes like that?" Baba mused, remembering the way Gram moved around in a fight from how Blake was moving.

"Hmm?" Caught in the middle of that was Bai darting his eyes around to try and keep up with Blake's speed. "There!" He swung to his left with a stone arm just as Blake appeared about to slash at him.

"Tch!" Blake's swing got blocked and he had to jump back when Bai tried to grab at him. "Whoa!" Next, he had to deal with a flurry of stone blows from the other Smith-Knight. "Haha!" At first, he blocked most of the Bai's punches and kicks with Gram. "Fuck!" Then made the mistake of trying to block an elbow strike with his forearm and felt like he just got hit with a stone pillar.

"There!" Bai took that chance to thrust his palms into Blake's chest intent on throwing Blake out of the ring with this attack.

"Ugh! No, you don't!" Despite feeling like he took a boulder to the chest Blake swung Gram down on Bai and while he was unable to dig into Bai thanks to the stone. "Got you now!" Blake was able to hook Gram behind Bai's shoulder and stop himself from getting tossed outside. "Rah!" Then He pulled himself forward and over Bai. "Wolf Impact!" To launch a powerful strike to the back of Bai's head.

"Ngh!" That sent Bai toppling downward. "HOO!" But with a loud shout, he did a front flip to land back on his feet and whipped around in time to cross his arms and block a kick from Blake. "Rah!" He pushed Blake back to get some distance between them after that. "Mountain's Throw!" He slammed a foot to the ground and once he did a few rocks shot out of the earth. "Hah!" They were shot at Blake after Bai hit them with a few strikes of his arms and legs.

"Wolf Impact!" Blake swung at the barrage of stones to blast them away with ease. "That the best you got!?" He went after Bai before another volley could come his way. "RAAH!" He roared when he jumped into the air and swung Gram around to use Wolf Hunt to quickly dart behind Bai with a downward swing.

"Not at all!" Bai wheeled around to catch Blake's swing between his palms then pulled Blake into a raising knee right to the face. "Kiya!" Followed by a flurry of flying kicks as he pushed Blake back and finished it off with a roundhouse.

"Whoa!" Blake was barely able to dodge it with a quick jump to the right. "Hah!" Followed by a Wolf Impact to Bai's side that sent the other Smith-Knight sliding across the ground with cracks left in his stone body. "How you'd like that on-ngh!" He groaned when the pain from those kicks came to him and slumped forward a little. "Okay, this time a straight fight isn't on my side."

"Don't go whimpering on me here, Alpha," Gram's voice came to Blake's mind as he shook off some of his pain. "Still not sure what's up with that one's smell so be on your toes."

"Got it..." Blake nodded and took a sniff of the air trying to get what Gram was saying. "...huh?" And suddenly got a whiff of something fruity and followed it to Bai currently having a drink from a gourd. "A bit early for a victory drink don't you think?" He asked, watching Bai bend backward to finish off his drink. "If he keeps going he might tip over and give me the win?"

"*Hic* I'm not much one for drink my *hic self but it is needed at times." Bai slurred over his words as he wobbled around Blake while nearly falling over a few times. "Oops hehe!" But caught himself with tipsy but effective twists of his body. "Now then..." He slapped his hands to his mouth as this sickly green haze escaped his lips and crept through his fingers. "...Mountain's Mist!" Then let it all out when he pulled his hands away from his mouth and this mist of vomit-green covered the fighting ring.

"Ugh! That's nasty!" Blake gagged as the vile stench attacked his now runny nose and blocked out his vision from his watering eyes. "Gotta get ou-ack!" He was about to leap out of the cloud when he felt an elbow to his side. "Of course, you're just fine in here!" He tried to wave some of it out of his eyes and nose. "Whoa!" Just in time to see a stone hand going for his arm. "Nope!" He quickly batted it away with Gram then dashed at where it came from.

"Not *hic* there." Bai's drunk voice came from behind Blake as he was given a kick to his back. "Here!" Next came a gut punch, followed by another elbow to Blake's head. "You're ba *hic* at th- ugh!" Bai's voice turned even more sloshed as the sound of him emptying his stomach was heard somewhere inside the cloud.

"Okay, that's where he is!" Blake took the chance and darted towards the sound. "There!" And found Bai with his hands on his knees and dry-heaving "Wolf Impact!" He slammed down on Bai with the resulting shockwave blowing the cloud away and left Bai flat on his face unmoving. "Hah! Got you!" He cheered, taking his 2nd and final win.

"Care to rethink *hic* that?" Bai's voice came to Blake's ears as the cloud cleared up fully and he was sitting inside the ring while Blake was outside of it for some reason. "Got you~ hehe!" He rolled onto his back while going into a laughing fit along with Ume.

"Wha?" Blake looked at the Bai he had knocked down and what was at his feet was a pile of stone with a leaf on top of it. "How? But? Huh!?" He threw his hands up in defeat, tossing Gram in the air as well to let the wolf change back and land next to him.

"That idiot!" Saffire groaned, doing the same as Blake after his loss. "What?" Then snapped at the others in Blake's group after they gave her some looks.

Answering for them was Baba, smiling smugly at Saffire. "Oh? We just didn't think you were paying much attention to the fight while eating, Hot-Head." She mused, seeing as the Dragon had stopped snacking to pay attention to Blake's fight.

"Shut it!" Saffire blew smoke at Baba and then went back to her food. "Him losing just makes me look bad as his item."

"Hmm? So you're okay with being called 'his' now? That's new..." The Ala teased Saffire further, getting more smoke and fire thrown her way as she floated on by.

Back with the two Smith-Knights, Blake and Gram were waiting for Bai's laughter to stop. "Wha?" Another surprise came to the two as Bai's horn disappeared now replaced with dark rings around his eyes and the Oni heads on his armor turned into weird-looking fox/dog heads that were a bit more fluffy and cubby. "Hey, you know what those are?" Blake asked looking at Gram for answers.

"Looks and smells like a raccoon, they're bone pickers," Gram answered, sniffing around Bai a bit until Ume transformed back but sitting on top of the Smith-Knight wasn't an Oni anymore but a large red raccoon with black fur around her legs, underbelly and eyes. A few more black rings were around her large red tail which was about as long as she was and finally on her head was a leaf that didn't seem to fall off no matter how much she moved. The only thing kept of her Oni self was that drinking gourd tied around her neck by some rope along with her translator necklace.

"We won!" Ume cheered, bouncing on top of Bai a few times until she rolled off him and right into Gram's face. "Hehe! We beat you! We beat you!" She rubbed her nose against the wolf's with the biggest of smiles on her face. "Heh- oh! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Then, she quickly rolled back to Bai's side when she realized what she was doing.

"Heh, cute," Gram smirked at her while he wiggled his nose around a bit. "Knew you were something else can't fool my nose for long."

"Could have done it a bit earlier, Gram," Blake muttered at his loss as the two got closer to Bai and Ume. "Alright, what is she and how did you pull that one on me?" He asked, wiggling a finger at Ume currently getting some ear rubs from Bai that she was melting into.

"Ah, yes, she is a Tanuki a bit of a trickster monster as you might have guessed," Bai answered, holding Ume by her arms where she came up to his chin while standing on her hind legs.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

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Trickster Monster, Tanuki: A race of raccoon dogs that have magical powers such as the ability to transform themselves into various things be it stone, water, other races, and objects. They often bring luck and fortune to those who treat them well and at the same time the opposite to those who wrong them but they generally act as pranksters who take joy in fooling others for fun.

They have somewhat of a rival with another Trickster Monster called Kitsune who are often looked at as messengers of the gods while Tanuki are merely common fools that only know of partying and drinking but in truth, they can be divine beings in their own right with temples being built in the names of powerful wise ones. A curious trait of the males is their overly large testicles that can be used through their transformation power to build homes for themselves.

Items made from the Ore of these monsters are commonly staves and charms that come with illusory powers.

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"I fool you, I fool him, I fool even myself, hehe!" Ume let out a little song as she and Bai did a little dance. "Ume, The Tanuki Armor!" She finished up when a random smoke cloud appeared behind her and Bai as they did a cool-looking pose.

"Ugh, neat." Blake gave her and Bai a little clap while Gram's tail was wagging non-stop, taking an odd interest in Ume's weird actions. "You get that win, Bai, so that's one all yeah? Let's settle this!" He stretched out a bit already wanting to end this little sparring match between him and Bai. "Ngh!" Only to hold his sides when he felt some pain hitting him from the earlier. "Okay, adrenaline has worn off maybe give me 5 minutes."

"Oh! Here drink this!" Ume came up to Blake and held out her gourd to him after giving it a good shake that caused it to glow green. "This will fix you right up!"

Blake stared at the glowing gourd then at Ume's cheery face then at Bai who gave him a nod. "Thanks..." He took the gourd and gave it another shake when the glow got weaker then sniffed it. "...hmm?" He got a sweet nutty smell out of it and finally took a sip. "Gah! Why is it so hot and tastes like wood!" He gagged for a few seconds as his wounds and pain started to disappear. "Oh?"

"Cause it's good for you!" Ume cheered, taking her gourd back and took a large gulp herself. "Ah! I won my fight so I get to drink all day, right Bai-dono?"

"Yes, yes, you earned your reward," Bai let her have her drink then waved over for Jiho to come up to him. "If you are feeling alright this should be the tiebreaker, Blake." He turned back to Blake after giving Jiho a light pat on the head as Ume ran off to the viewers' side of things.

"Heh, you got that right!" Blake smirked and sent Gram off with a rub of his ear and didn't have to wait long for Baba to come over to him. "Sorry, I'm making you work, Baba, I know you'd rather lazy around and enjoy more downtime." He apologized to the Ala as she floated around him until she came to rest her arms on his left shoulder while the rest of herself was like a flag in the breeze.

"Oh, no worries, Hubby, just means Mama needs to make sure you win and one up that pony over there." Baba winked at Blake and wrapped herself around his left arm before becoming a torrent of wind around him.

That petered out quickly with Blake now equipped with Baba as a buckler gaining that extra pinker on each hand. "I'm ready to kick up a storm!" He raised Baba high to gather some wind around her and himself and took his spot inside the ring.

Bai and Jiho took theirs with Bai holding his hand to the sky. "If you would Jiho?"

Jiho let out some steam from his nose before he leaped into the air and got higher and higher as he jumped on the air itself, leaving behind rings of lightning behind him. "!" Then with a loud neigh he turned into a bolt of blue that came down on Bai's hand.

After the rolling thunder cleared inside Bai's hand was a large spear that was a bit longer than he was tall, its rod was electric blue with a silver leaf-shaped spearhead with a tassel of green fur near the base of the spear where it connected to the rod and at the other end was a small orb of yellow. "Hah!" Which was slammed into the ground by Bai as lightning leaped off him until it turned into a pair of deer horns around his head. "Let's see how well you two go against us?"

Blake smirked at the Bai's words then nodded over to Pius. "Anytime big man!"

At that, Pius raised his arm high. "Then let final bout between the Smith-Knights Blake and Bai..." Held his pose for a while to make sure both of them were ready. "Begin!" Then he brought his arm down in a flash of holy light that scared Risabeel slightly.

"Gale Shield Bash!" And taking the first move was Blake with whirling winds around Baba as he took a swing at Bai.

"Lightning's Snarl!" Bai matched the attack with one of his own as he spun Jiho around to wrap the spearhead in blue lightning and took a stab at Baba. Their clash was a small storm of wind and lightning that pushed them apart. "Impressive to think a shield could be so strong on the offense." Bai mused, spinning Jiho around to gather more lightning around himself.

"Ohoho, well after taking my share of 'thrusts' in my time I know a thing about hitting back." Baba giggled as the gem in her glowed brightly. "Now get him for me, Hubby, and don't get jealous when Mama gives him a peck on that face of his."

"Don't worry I know you love me the most~" Blake shot off after Bai, wanting to keep up the attack before his opponent got a chance to do anything more. "Here's another!" And as before a Gale Shield Bash came flying at Bai. "Shit!" But instead of clashing again Bai spun to Blake's side while having Jiho held high.

"And here's mine!" Bai swung down at Blake, aiming for his shoulder. "Ngh!" But his attack was met with a wall of wind covering Blake.

"What? Shields are for blocking after all!" Blake turned around to land a hit to the side of Bai's face sending him flying away. "Don't lose too fast now!" He yelled as he watched Bai fly to the edge of the ring.

"I wouldn't think of it!" Bai stabbed Jiho into the ground to stop himself. "Thunder's Roar!" The moment he got to his feet he swung Bai around and let out this wave of pounding thunder that rocked its way toward Blake while rattling the ground under it.

"Gale Force Wall!" Blake braced himself for the storm to come with a barrier of green wind swirling around him. "Heh! That's the best you got!" The booming thunder was lessened once it met Blake's shield and sounded more like a low rumble than a raging blast. "Here have some real roaring! Gale Force Blast!" After Bai's Thunder's Roar passed Blake punched at his wind wall with Baba and sent the whole thing rushing at Bai.

Bai quickly dashed out of the way and watched it blast a part of the ring rope away. "Rah!" The next moment he kicked off after Blake and took a swing at him with a trail of lightning behind Jiho.

"Hah!" Which was blocked by Blake using Baba and threw Bai off balance. "AH!" Taking the chance Blake threw a straight kick at Bai trying to knock him down. "Whoa!" But was met with the yellow orb on Jiho's base after Bai spun the spear around and was sent off balance himself. "Agk!" And now it was Blake's turn to wobble around as he was tripped up by Bai using Jiho to raise Blake's foot high.

"Heh, that should do it!" Bai watched as Blake fell over with a smile on his face. "Hmm?" Then his eyes widened when the other Smith-Knight didn't immediately hit the ground but instead floated lightly down in time for Blake to flip over and land back on his feet. "Oh, that's how?" The cause of this was some wind blowing out of Baba that gave Blake enough lift to keep himself in the air a little.

"Now enough to fly or anything but a light fall is nice!" Blake smirked while letting out some more wind from Baba. "Alight, back to it!" He started with a blast of wind and then rushed up to Bai while the attack moved ahead of him.

"Lightning's Snarl!" Bai swung at the wind blast to cancel it out then held up Jiho to block the shield bash from Blake sending sparks of lightning and gusts of wind around them. "Ngh!" Until he was knocked back by Blake putting a bit more force behind his attack. "Ugh!" This was followed up by a high kick from his attacker. "Didn't you learn last time?" He blocked it and then tried to flip Black over again.

"I did!" Blake quickly kicked off the spear and went into the air. "Gale Force Blast!" And from up above he shot down a torrent of wind at Bai. "How's that spear man!?" He watched with a smirk as Bai was trapped in a mini-tornado and got covered in small cuts all over his body. "One more to wrap this one up!" Blake wound Baba up for another blast.

"Bai-dono!" Ling-Ling and Ume cried from the sidelines as their master was on the backfoot worse than any time they'd seen him in the fight so far.

"Yeah, Blake, wipe him out!" Mari and Bread on the other hand were all cheers for Blake with stars in their eyes.

"Gotta give the people what they want!" Blake pulled back then threw a wind-infused punch with Baba and shot another roaring blast of wind at Bai. This blast mixed with the one Bai was trapped in and now there was a small raging storm on the battlefield where Bai once was. "Gale Force Brust!" He raised Baba high as the whole thing erupted grandly as large gusts of wind whipped out in all directions. "Ugh, might have put a bit too much into that one." Blake winced when he noticed that the ground inside the ring had gashes in it.

"I don't think so look over there." Baba's voice came through and Blake looked over to where Bai was and found the Smith-Knight still standing with the support of Jiho despite slashes put in him by Blake's last attack. "He's about as tough as you, Hubby, best to put him down lightly before it gets any worse."

"Rig-" Blake was nodding along to Baba and was either about to wrap things or ask Bai if he wanted to give up but a surge of blue lightning cut him off as he held up Baba to block a stray bolt from hitting him. "Hah, still kicking?!" He smirked when he saw Bai stand up properly with a serious look on his face. "Alright, whatever you have left I'm ready for it!" Blake channeled a bit more wind around Baba as more and more lightning was leaping off Bai and mainly Jiho as the spear started to turn into a solid rob of blue.

"You may regret that invitation, Blake!" Bai raised Jiho as even more lightning was shooting off the spear then slammed it down, causing all of the sparking lightning to fall back to Bai.

"What is him up to?" Blake questioned, watching the lightning strike at Bai's own body every few seconds. "Wha?" And as he did he noticed changes in the other Smith-Knight's body with each bolt.

Bai's skin started to be covered by green scales, his hair grew longer and wilder turning into a red mane behind his head, the deer horns coming out of his head grew longer, and a snake-like tail came out of his lower back that ended in red fur, and finally his eyes had gotten slits in them similar to Jiho's. "Jiho, Strom Qulin Spear Full Equip!" Bai whirled Jiho around as the lightning flew off the spear to show that it also took on a few changes. The spearhead went from a leaf to a lightning bolt and the tassel was now a flowing veil of green, the spear's rod gotten scale along its left, and the yellow gem at the end was now glowing brightly. "Storm's..." Bai pulled Jiho back with blue lightning wrapping around the spearhead as he aimed with his other hand.

"Gale Force Wall!" Blake did not know what was coming but instantly put a wall of wind so strong that he wasn't seen under all of the green air. "Really not sure if I can dodge that one so better hold up!" He thought, bracing himself for this attack from Bai's new form then planned on countering it after blocking it.

"...Song!" But the last thing Blake saw was Bai thrusting Jiho forward to unleash a blinding beam of blue lightning and roaring thunder that completely covered Blake's barrier of wind along with not only Blake's side of the ring but most of the battlefield they were on.

Chapter End