Night Two Hundred And Fifty Five
Age 1991
Dianthus City...
The Castle...
"Man it has been a hot minuet since I've been the focus of a chapter hasn't it..." Hero Otoko mused his back against the stone wall.
"Uh Mr. Hero?" Rio asked. "Are we gonna die in here?"
"No. At least... I don't think so?"
Both Hero Otoko, and Rio Livon found themselves in a dirty old cell in that damn counts castle. They had lost the battle to Vlad in the end. Both of them were spared for reasons Hero didn't really know yet. They were chucked in a cell and had been mostly left alone. Sometimes a woman in a maid uniform would bring them food.
"That damn vampire was tough." Hero Otoko said slowly. He reached down touching his stomach before slowly moving to his heart. "If I didn't have that Crest... Would I have died for good to him... I figured my own power would have been unmatched. Only Master Storm being able to beat me. And yet... I was... Hmm. Perhaps if I had used that form I would have won."
"Form?"
"I have a power I've been saving for a certain idiotic superhero. I swore that I wouldn't use it until I met him in combat once again." Otoko stood up and stretched. "Still. It's strange."
"What is?" Rio asked.
"The entire situation... I can understand them throwing me in here as he likely thinks he can't kill me but why on Earth would he throw you in as well? Unlike me you don't have other lives..."
"Maybe he thinks I do?"
"Maybe... But... That doesn't explain the women..."
"What do you mean Sir?"
"I was informed those girls were being sent here as sacrifices... The Villagers were rounding up all girls under the age of 18 and bringing them here... And yet... I don't feel anyone has died here in a long time... Also... All the Maids that have brought us food have all been under 18... They aren't being sacrificed to him. They're working for him... It makes me wonder?"
"All the maids are under 18? What about that one?"
"Huh?" Hero turned around finding a new maid standing behind the closed cell door. She was one they hadn't seen yet. She had long black hair, her left eye was a light shade of blue, while her right eye was a deep blood red color. Much like the other girls she was in a maids uniform however unlike the others she was far older being nineteen or twenty at the most. Her uniform was also a little more open and more reviling making Rio's face turn a dark shade of red as Otoko stared at her blankly. "Another Maid... This one seems off though..."
"Hello." The woman smiled giving a bow.
"Hi..." Hero frowned. He looked her up and down. She didn't have a food tray. In fact she didn't have anything in her arms. So then why was she here?
The woman crouched down giving a smile at Rio. "And who might you be? I had no idea you had a son Hero?"
"He's not my son he's- How do you know my name?" Hero stared at the woman for a moment as he slowly moved in front of Rio.
"The other Hero has a Daughter now. Did you know that? He somehow made her. I figured you had one of your own."
"He has a kid?" Hero asked with wide eyes. "I didn't know that." He shook his head for a moment as he stared at the woman. Then slowly he crouched down and placed his hand on the ground. There was a faint spark and his eyes went wide as he stared at the woman. "This aura? Wait? Kitsune-"
Kitsune raised her hand up as nine flaming fox tails and two flaming fox ears appeared on her body. She gave a large smirk as a wave of flame exploded out of her palm slamming into Otoko who threw himself in front of Rio tanking the attack as the entire cell they were in exploded and the wall behind them was blasted outwards.
"You know. That Hero is pretty deadset on taking you out. He's even began to train. I'd get back to it if I were you. Least he catches up to you traitor-" Hero jumped out of the smoke not even hurt as he pulled his left arm back a large black spike growing out of it. He went to stab out with it but before he could a massive block of ice, and a wave of mist, slammed into him throwing him back through the wall and sending him tumbling down below. As he looked up he saw two more people next to the female Kitsune...
"C... Cloud? Irene?" Hero felt his back hit the snow as he crashed down next to Rio.
Inside the room Kitsune turned. "And thats my proof to the both of you that he is in fact alive. We can't do it now but soon... Soon we will have our revenge." She said calmly clicking a button on a small cube she held as a wave of black energy covered them and they vanished.
***
Oleander City...
"How is meditation supposed to actually help me though?" Hero asked raising an eyebrow.
Him and Athena were currently both on his hospital bed. He was still in hospital clothing and had several bandages wrapped around his body still looking mostly like a mummy. Athena was now in a tank top and sweat pants as she was 'training' Hero, though it was just the covering him up with weighted goo, and then mediation, she had told him about. They just finished the first four hours of the sludge training and were now onto the second part.
"Meditation allows one to manage their emotions something you're bad at. You hide away things that should be seen, and show off things that shouldn't. You need to find balance. Balance in goals. Balance in dreams. The path of the mind can lead to a lot and also very little if the user knows what it is they want and what they try to do."
"Sound fake but okay."
Athena sighed. "The best battles are the ones that are won without throwing even a single punch. Imagine being so strong you don't ever have to throw a punch to win a fight."
"That... Sounds kind of boring."
Athena's eye twitched yet again. "Well. Whatever the case. I believe it will help you find a focus and a peace. One that can lead to many things. I wonder if those things will be good or not."
"So what do I do? Close my eyes and just kind of focus on my breathing?"
"No." Athena shook her head. "It's true that is one part but we won't be doing that today. I'm going to distract you and I want you to focus on only one thing. That thing being your goal. No matter what you are to not stop thinking about that goal. Do you understand."
"Got it." Hero nodded.
"Good. Are you thinking about that goal?"
Hero closed his eyes for a moment but then opened them. "Yep. I got it. World famous Superhero."
"Good. Now don't lose focus of that goal." Athena said reaching to her tank top as she began to pull it off.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Hero said with wide eyes throwing her hands out as he tumbled back and fell off the side of the bed landing down on the floor.
Athena poked her head over the side of the bed a smirk on her face. "You failed."
"I... Feel as if I have been tricked..."
***
Gladiolus City...
The Arena...
"Will Father be okay?" Daughter asked meekly.
"Of course he will." Shelly smiled running her hand through Daughters hair and petting it.
Kitsune didn't say anything his arms crossed as he stared up at the planet arena which had been rebuilt after Hero had slashed it in half. He replayed that fight over and over again in his head. Then-
The stone wall next to Kitsune exploded as he slammed his fist into it. "It's totally bs..." He growled. "That heroic bastard went and jumped ahead of me with a new power, and a new form, and yet it didn't even f##king matter. Hell the match wasn't even close. He was on Deaths Door and Ava was more pissed at the fact he couldn't fight her any longer. If thats the state Hero ended up in then what the hell is even the point of this. I mean he had to have been stronger then Ken right. So why the hell are we even still here if our best man lost casually."
"Are you actually considering giving up?" Ken asked rolling her eyes and throwing her arms behind her head. "Geez. No wonder Hero calls Max his rival and not you."
"I'm just... Being reasonable... Hero lost to Ava... Ava is weaker than Davi. Davi has a power up form... Why the hell... Are we even debating on if we can win."
"That should be obvious." Ken sighed rolling her eyes. "Hero would keep going if he could. If it had been you he'd keep pushing forward. You want to quit be my guess. But Hero showed his limits. We haven't yet. If Hero did get stronger than me with that power then I'll just have to make a new form or power to surpass him. I mean he got the idea from you since you did just that. Your sword couldn't keep up with him so you powered up and changed how your powers work. Besides... Hero gave me a good idea... He can't use level 2 so he made something as close to it as possible... I can't use that Seraphin power so..."
"Kitsune... If you want to drop out you can." Shelly stated. "But me and Ken will be seeing it through to the end. Even if we don't win. I think it's still good to see how far we can get. It will help us improve later. Besides... I'm a bit annoyed and would like a crack at Ava for what she did."
"Welcome back to the next day and our next matches." Olf announced loudly. "Todays first match is a special one! Mizu Blue Of Squad Eleven will be facing off Shelly Kaen of Squad Six!"
Shelly let out a small sigh handing Daughter off to Ken. "You hold onto her."
"What don't give her to me!" Ken said with wide eyes but was forced to hold onto Daughter as Shelly stepped over the wall.
Shelly held her hands out as a wave of pink flames blasted out and she was thrown high into the air landing on the surface of the planet with cat like grace rolling across it and getting used to the enhanced gravity of the planet in mere moments. Across from her she saw a wave of water flood up as Mizu stepped onto the planet. Mizu was a young woman. Maybe sixteen or seventeen. She had long water blue hair and light ocean blue eyes. She seemed to be a caster of some kind controlling the water and forming shapes out of it.
"A Water user huh..." Shelly sighed. "How lame."
"Oh?" Mizu asked giving a smirk. "Scared that my ocean of water will put out your flames?"
"No. It's not that. You guys are just totally to weak."
"..." Mizu stared at Shelly giving the pink haired girl a large glare now. "Oh... So that's what you think." She said letting out a chuckle. She glared at Shelly now. "You know. I was pretty excited seeing that last match with that handsome boy Hero. He's a member of your Squad right? How about we make things a little more interesting naive brat. If I win you have to tell him about me." She stated flipping her hair. "I'd love to go on a date with him and get to 'know' him a little bit better."
"What do I get 'when' I win?" Shelly asked.
"Hmm. Arrogant girl."
"Nah. I really don't care." Shelly shrugged. "All that really matters is beating you down." She stated. "You're in my way to the people I actually want to fight. So just give up now and get it over with."
"I really don't like you." Mizu hissed out. She slammed her arms together and smashed them down into the ground as a wave of water ripped up and began to swirl around her forming a large water squid shocking everyone but Shelly who remained determined as she stared at it. "Everyone was so impressed when that boy could do this but so what. Shaping something into a Squid is childs play. He shaped energy and he's not even that talented at it. Meanwhile I have water, something designed to be shaped, and I'm a master of it. Compared to him this attack will have some serious power behind it! I'd recommend dodging unless you want to be drowned in an instant! In one attack your lungs will be filled with water and will explode on impact bursting with blood as the water fills you up until you pop-"
"Pink Ice."
A spiraling flame pillar blasted out of Shelly's right arm washing over the squid and in a single instant all the water froze over trapping Mizu, who was inside of it, the ice freezing her body as well as she stopped moving and everyone stared with wide.
"Don't look so dumb founded." Shelly sighed flipping her hair as she gave a smirk. "I thought you all saw it in my last match. I'm not fire user. My power looks like flames but I can do so much more just like when I shaped the earth. Freezing water is childs play. Even Irene could do it and she's the weakest member of our team."
"Hey!"
"Now. Could you begin counting dog man."
"R... Right." Olf nodded. "One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. And Ten. Mizu is unable to battle. Shelly Kaen of Squad Six is the winner!"