Ren had barely filled his belly with food when somebody knocked on the door to his waiting room. Satoru reacted first and went to open, revealing one of the guards.

"The participants should now move to the designated waiting area. Friends and family may stay here if they want, or retire to their homes. This area will remain prepared for them," the man announced, looking expectantly at Ren.

The young warrior stood up and then left the room, following the guard who led him to a different part of the stadium, just like other guards did with different participants. Scanning the group, he noticed twenty people, including himself, which matched what he had been told by Satoru and Hiroshi. Some looked quite interesting, while others not so much.

His eyes soon landed on a tall, imposing man with a lean, chiseled physique. His long, jet-black hair cascaded down his back. He was wearing a unique white kimono, which distinguished him from others. It wasn't even properly tied up, leaving his chest exposed. Beneath this, his stomach was covered in bandages, but even through them, his perfect abs were visible. He carried two swords by his side.

There was a man riding atop a full-grown bear. He appeared sturdy, with a calm demeanor. His attire was also very different. He had leather pants and a nice leather jacket on top. He also carried a club by his belt.

The next person that Ren couldn't help but notice was this short, bald, but ridiculously bulky man. He almost appeared like a walking ball, although his physique was obscured by his long, heavy white cloak, which also made it hard to distinguish to which clan he belonged.

A bit further away was also a peculiar human being. He had a massive hump on his back and was walking hunched over. He had messy black hair and deeply sunken eyes. His brown clothing suggested the Isogai clan, but Ren wasn't entirely sure, as he could only see the cloak, which matched the usual clan colors.

There were women among them as well, but he refused to look at any of them, afraid he could lose his composure to lust. 'Focus on your wife!' he kept telling himself.

They soon reached the main hall, from where they went to one of many tunnels, eventually arriving at the top of a long staircase leading them to a massive underground chamber. It had hundreds of lamps hanging under a very tall ceiling, illuminating a park of sorts with living, growing plants such as trees, bushes, grass, and even flowers. It was all surrounded by buildings, small houses that could maybe fit up to three rooms.

As they reached the park, most of them looked around astonished. The guards stopped and turned. "This is the waiting area," explained one of them. "Each of you has your own place to rest, but you may also gather in this park and get to know each other better. No fights are allowed. If you have any quarrels, you might get a chance to settle them tomorrow. If you don't obey this rule, you will be disqualified," he warned. "Now, go check your quarters."

Following his words, Ren first went to look for his new temporary lodging, just like everybody else. Soon, he found a building with his name on the door and entered it without hesitation. Inside was a single large room with a bed, a table for eating, and even a wardrobe with fresh clothes in the colors of his clan. There was also a bathroom adjacent, with running water if he wished to wash.

He didn't stay there too long. After a brief look around, he left, only to find that almost everybody else was already in the park. A few people hung around talking, but his eyes immediately wandered to the tall man in a white kimono who was speaking with a much shorter girl with long black hair. Upon closer inspection, he recognized that she had dark green highlights within, barely visible. She was wearing brown shorts and a leather jacket atop a simple white shirt. She had a short cutlass by her side, as well as a bamboo flute. The two were clearly in conversation, and many observed them at least with one eye.

"Maybe," she shrugged her shoulders. "But who knows what is going to happen?"

"The fate will bring me my revenge!" the tall man assured.

This prompted the girl to chuckle. "What revenge? We fought, and you lost. If we will fight again, and you will lose again," she shrugged her shoulders once more before turning on her heel and leaving.

The man didn't answer her, only grunted before leaving as well. 'Could they be Ryoma Tachinaba and Sakura Kamishima?' Ren wondered before looking around some more. He noticed the strange man with the hump on his back leaning against a tree with his shoulder and observing others. 'Outsider,' he concluded immediately. 'Maybe we could talk.'

With this idea, he decided to approach, but his path all of a sudden was blocked. It was a tall young man with a huge frame, and the mace resting on his shoulders was even bigger. He appeared to be holding it effortlessly. He had dark hair, cut very short and shaped into a flat top. The dark blue kimono pointed him out as another member of the Tachibana clan.

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"You. I know you," he said, prompting Ren to raise an eyebrow.

"I don't want any trouble," he responded, taking a step back. It was not out of fear of confrontation, but rather out of fear of getting disqualified, which would cost him and his future wife dearly.

The warrior smiled. "It's too late for that. You humiliated the whole Tachibana clan… We will get our revenge."

"But in the arena, not in here," a female voice joined the conversation.

Ren looked for the source and spotted a woman sitting on a nearby bench. She had black hair tied into a bun and a very slender frame. Despite her traditional dark blue clothing, her weapon was quite extraordinary. A slim rapier dangled by her belt.

The massive warrior responded to her with a growl but backed down, walking away.

"Thank you," Ren said to her.

She only snorted in response.

A clear signal that she didn’t want anything to do with him, so he decided to leave her alone. His gaze returned to the spot where he saw the outsider, but he was no longer there. It took him a moment to spot the guy, who had chosen a different spot for himself. This new location was a bench on the very outskirts of the park, quite secluded from everybody.

Ren decided to approach him after glancing once more behind his shoulder at the rest of the participants.

"Hi," upon approaching he greeted while raising his hand and smiling.

The young man with deeply sunken eyes and dark, messy hair raised his head, which seemed to be a bit problematic because of the hump on his back. He didn’t reply immediately but for a moment only stared at Ren, as if he was surprised by the encounter.

"H-hi," he eventually squeezed out, trying to return the smile, but it came out more as a grimace.

"I’m Ren. Ren Noroi… I saw you were keeping your distance from the rest," he pointed with his thumb right behind his back at the group in the center of the park. "I’m not much of a people person myself, and… The Tachibana clan hates me, so I thought that maybe the two of us could talk to kill some time," he shrugged his shoulders.

The eyes of the outsider went slightly wider, and there was this glow in them, suggesting he was very much looking forward to it. "Uhm… I’m Kazuki. Kazuki Isogai. It’s nice to meet you, Ren," he even bowed slightly.

Feeling invited, Ren sat by his side but didn’t say much, only stared at the other participants. Kazuki clearly found it awkward, as he kept stealing glances at his new companion but also didn’t say a thing.

"I’m tired," Ren finally said, sighing heavily. "It has been a long day today… And I messed up my fight. How did it go for you?"

"You messed up your fight? How?" Kazuki asked, ignoring the question.

"I was fighting with one of the Tachibana clan members, and he tried to mock me, and humiliate me during the duel. I got a bit angry, so I might have struck him too hard. They took him out on a stretcher. It’s not like he didn’t deserve a punishment, but… That was a bit too much," he sighed heavily again. "How about your fight?"

"My fight? It was easy… I ended it fast."

"So you are one of the strong ones?" Ren asked.

"I think so," Kazuki admitted.

"You think you can win?"

"I think so… It’s hard to say. I think people here are much stronger than the warrior I fought in the arena, so it’s hard to say..." he shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah… I think so too. Everybody had this different aura around them, but I have to beat them even if they are all good," Ren acknowledged, nodding to himself.

"Why? Why do you want to become a candidate so badly?" Kazuki asked, and his full focus moved to his new friend.

"There is a girl… She is so pretty that I fell for her the moment I saw her. She promised to marry a candidate, so I have to become one," Ren said, and then a chuckle left his mouth as he realized how silly it was. "What about you?"

"Me? I just wanted to meet new people. I wanted to find some friends," Kazuki revealed.

"Friends? Here? It’s not the best place to find friends… Why haven't you tried a more natural environment to find friends?"

"I… I didn’t know where to look. In my clan, they told me that everybody likes the candidates because they are so great… So I decided to become one."

"Well, Kazuki," Ren’s attention fully switched to the strange youngster. "This might not be the place for it, so I’m not going to say it right now, but after the tournament is done, how about the two of us become friends?" He even extended a hand to further underline his words.

At first, Kazuki was shocked by his words, but then they sunk in, and a smile emerged on his face. He happily shook Ren’s hand. "Yes. Let’s do that."

"For now, we are rivals, though. Who knows, we might end up fighting each other…"

"Yes, we might, but I hope we won’t. I don’t want to take your dream from you."

Ren chuckled. "Those are the words of a true friend."

With his response, he made Kazuki laugh.

While these two had a friendly conversation, the other participants exchanged threatening glances. The atmosphere among them was far from friendly. It seemed as if conflict could erupt at any given moment, but despite the tension, people held back. It didn’t go unnoticed by Ren.

"Do you think somebody will fight?" He asked Kazuki, changing the topic.

"Maybe… They all want to show that they are strong, and nobody seems to be willing to forfeit. Look at how they are watching each other."

"Do you think they will keep doing that until morning?"

"It’s possible," Kazuki laughed.

"Well… I’m not going to do that. I already said it, I’m tired, so I’ll be the first one to retire. Have a good night, Kazuki, and I hope we won’t have to fight one another," Ren grinned at his new friend as he stood up. Then he left.

"Good night," the young warrior called after him.

This was a very much-needed first step for everybody else. As they saw that one of them decided to retreat for the night, it suddenly didn’t feel as bad to do the same. Eventually, one by one, the first people decided to leave the park and get some rest.

Kazuki was actually the last one to retire for the night.