“Master Zorya! Master Zorya!” one of the Unagi school’s disciples shouted as she came running across the pebble beach. “There’s a problem at the school!”

“What’s wrong Mei Mei?” Zorya asked, softly placing her hands on the girl’s sweaty uniform. She seemed surprised by her disciple’s obvious distress but made it a point to keep her tone calm and friendly.

“There’s a challenger.”

“Just a challenger? That’s it?” the Unagi School’s master let out a surprised chuckle. “That’s hardly a problem at all. I’ve got one right here too. Just tell them to wait, Mei Mei. I will be back at the school sooner than later.”

“Well master,” the disciple continued. She quickly glanced at Elem before continuing. “He is not here for you. He’s here for your father.”

“I see…” Zorya replied quietly. The mention of her father instantly darkened her demeanor. She stared at the ocean for a brief moment before regaining herself.

“My apologies,” she told Elem. “I would love to chat some more but it seems there’s something I have to take care of first.”

The master grabbed her clothes and hastily got dressed without even properly drying herself. She then kicked on her flip flops and scurried off towards the school.

Without thinking about it much, Elem and Aja followed the master and her entourage back to the village. For a moment, Elem worried they were being rude. He usually knew better than to stick his nose where it did not belong but in this particular instance there was no way he could subdue his curiosity and keep his distance.

“Did you see that cold look on her face? She looks pissed.” Aja whispered “What’s going on?”

Elem raised his shoulders. “I didn’t even know Zorya had a father. I thought she was the school’s only master.”

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They found the challenger just outside the gate of the Unagi School complex, impatiently leaning over his umbrella as if he was waiting for a bus. The man barely reacted when Zorya and her pack of disciples approached. In fact, he looked bored to see them and began casually inspecting the fingernails of his left hand.

“Ah, that must be the esteemed Master of this little community!” he remarked without looking up. “So tell me. Does everything in this shithole reek like weeks old fish?”

“What do you want?” Zorya asked as her wet hair danced in the wind like a blonde windsock.

“Nothing the likes of you can give me,” the challenger answered bluntly. He shifted his weight off the umbrella and playfully hooked its curved handle around his wrist. “My name is Hotto, I am here to challenge the legendary Zorahn, the real Master of the great Unagi Summoning School. He’s supposed to be a seventy-or-so year old veteran, have you seen him around?”

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“My father has retired, so I am afraid he won’t be able to accept your challenge,” Zorya explained. She kept her eyes locked on the challenger. “If you insist on dueling the master of this school; I am right here.”

Hotto walked up to the master and inspected her like she was some sort of museum piece. “Hmm. So you are the daughter? That’s cute, but I am not interested in you darling. I want to fight the best summoners in this world and dueling random surfer girls simply won’t scratch my itch. You are not worth the effort.”

The challenger himself was well-dressed, donning a white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves, pin striped pants and bright red suspenders to keep it all together. However, something about the man looked peculiar. His skin was pale and without blemishes, possible due to some sort of concealing makeup. His hair- while neatly combed backward- was as brightly colored and reminiscent of a flamingo bird’s feathers.

“He kind of looks like a jester,” Aja noted quietly. “But in a very, very handsome way.”

Elem rolled his eyes. He couldn’t see how his friend could think the man was attractive. If anything, he just came across as an arrogant bastard whose ego had to be kicked down a notch or now.

“It's the confidence,” Aja explained.

The challenger patted the master’s shoulder and turned around, walking through the Unagi School’s open gate. “Like I said. I am going to fight Zorhan, I assume he’s home?”

“You are trespassing now,” Zorya shouted. “One more step and I’ll call my Summon. And I promise that it will take you out.”

The challenger froze in place but didn’t turn around either.

“Oh foolish, foolish girl,” he said, his voice laced with ridicule. “This is not a path you want to go down.”

A few tense seconds passed until Hotto slowly shifted his body towards the people outside the school. An unseeable but dark and malicious field of Essence rippled through the air.

“You are making a terrible mistake speaking to me like that,” the challenger said. His eyes were glowing like two terracotta-colored suns. “You are courting your own demise.”

Elem watched in awe as Zorya dropped into an athletic Summoning stance. She leaned deep on hind leg, stretching the other low to the ground as she aimed her opened palms in Hotto’s direction. The laid-back, charming woman he had met only moments ago had transformed into an intense warrior; a fierce lioness protecting her pride.

“Stop this nonsense!” interrupted a sudden, shrill voice.

Everyone turned to see how a man seated in a wheelchair had appeared in the opening of the Unagi School’s main hall. The man had a frail and sickly appearance. His skin was sallow and pitted while his thin frame looked like a bony shell of what he must have once looked like.

“It sounds like you are here to fight me,” he continued slowly as his wrinkled hands clenched the handrests of his wheelchair. “I agree to duel you but only under one condition. First you must defeat my daughter who you have so gravely disrespected. If you can defeat her in a fair match, then I accept your challenge.”

“Father!” Zorya protested. “You should be resting now. Please don’t get involved in this!”

Hotto laughed, glancing at Zorya. “Is that all? I just have to defeat your little girl? Of course, I accept!”