Complying with its daily norm, the sun eventually started to hang low, settling below the visible horizon of the Earth, dimming the sky momentarily. As an innumerable number of stars seeped into view, the night had finally encompassed the land. It was peaceful. The village of Furusato was a beautiful sight once the sun dipped down for its periodic few-hour break, with the man-made illuminations crafted by villagers shining brilliantly within the huge village and even beyond.
This parallel universe truly was different from the one Tanjo originated from, even if the boy had not ventured across the world entirely yet—but for a previously razed village that was lined with corpses and full of deadly rogues to now be a safe-haven, enveloped in the arms of Regashi Ketsueki—it was still astounding, whether it was good or bad no longer mattering.
Kronos was still attending to his own matters, leaving Tanjo to fend for himself until new orders were given from the God of Time. And as for the royal family of Furusato, they were currently dealing with their own problems, namely Regashi. A lord, whom the prince has rivaled for a vexing amount of time, was aiming to promptly return and fight Regashi once more.
And on that lord's name, he would win…
In the present, positioned outside Furusato's walls, a foot stomped down onto a grassy hill, the owner of the foot being entirely garbed in black attire. In front of the strange individual, a statue of Tsubasa Mibojin, Furusato's first ruler and queen, stood tall and gloriously, as if to mock the man before her inanimate self.
"This game has gone on for far too long…" The individual's voice rasped, suppressed by the apparent mask concealing his face, greatly resembling a fox.
With a raging fist, the masked individual tore his gaze away from the proud statue, shifting his body to face the village of Furusato.
"The name Lord Phoenix will not perish without a trade," the voice muttered once more, his eyes glowering behind the fox mask. "Regashi Ketsueki shall be no more, along with his putrid village!"
XXX
Taking a calm stroll through the village, the brown-haired prince of Furusato had a gentle smile on his face as he walked by several of his fellow villagers, waving at them jovially.
Regashi enjoyed admiring his home village every now and again, greeting new people at each visit. In his perspective, being able to live in such a vibrant environment and allowing others to thrive with family in their hearts and minds was a gift. Regashi has never regretted putting his health at risk for the sake of Furusato.
"Mister Regashi! Mister Regashi!" A clique of kids rushed to the prince's legs, glancing up to see his face. "Can you please teach us how to fight!?"
With a hearty huff, Regashi kneeled and slid his fingers through the questioning kid's hair, shaking his little head gingerly. "Now, why do you all want to fight? You all have a family to spend time with."
"But you're, like, a hero! My family would be proud if I were you!" The little kid stomped, pumping his fists.
The kid could only recoil as Regashi flicked him on the forehead.
"Your parents are proud of you. You don't need to risk everything to have anything. I only like doing what I do so you can all even think of having your own future." Regashi said, fixing his posture and standing straight.
All of the kids pouted.
"Hey, mister!" Another kid of the clique called out, "I got a new kitty! Do you want to see him sometimes?"
Without warning, Regashi's eyes widened as a smile was etched onto his face. "Why didn't you tell me sooner!?"
With mirth, Regashi wrapped his arms around the other kid and ruffled his hair, playfully shaking him and eliciting multiple giddy laughs from the entire clique of kids.
From afar, a certain jet-black-haired teenager observed the scene with mixed inner turmoil. Tanjo gradually accepted Regashi's presence, realizing that the prince would not willingly harm a single innocent soul, but seeing Regashi be so liked among kids, making them laugh and smile merrily—it immediately purged the rest of Tanjo's doubts.
What this universe's Regashi had accomplished was all Tanjo ever wanted in his home: smiling kids, thriving villagers, and overall peace. This prince had managed the jet-black-haired boy's number one goal, and he was doing it quite well.
"I'm still too… close-minded." Tanjo mumbled, sighing. "If I want to grow, I need to think more clearly. Think beyond what the eyes see…"
As Regashi was entertaining the kids, his senses spiraled out of control, alerting the prince in less than a second. Instantly, Regashi distanced himself from the clique of kids, looking out in a seemingly random direction.
Tanjo could see that his heart was thumping ferociously. Fear was pinning Regashi down, and the jet-black-haired boy could not decipher the reasoning behind it.
*BOOM!*
A giant, volatile ball made purely of a red Aura Sense soared through the air, rushing down onto the area. With utmost haste, Regashi dashed forward and leaped into the air, creating a red shield of magic that stretched beyond the entire area of the village, halting the incoming lethal attack.
*CRRRSHH!*
Unfortunately, the ball of potent magic shattered the shield that Regashi had erected. The explosion that rumbled the ground caused a building to collapse, with the clique of kids standing directly before the falling structure.
Being too busy pushing back the ball of energy with a new shield, Regashi did not notice the little kids' perilous situation.
"WUAHH!" The kids screamed, tripping over each other as they attempted to flee from their impending doom.
*SWOOSH!*
Before the building could crush the kids, a blur of light appeared and swept the little clique up, saving them.
"Are you kids okay?" Tanjo queried, being revealed as the kids' savior.
Hastily, the kids nodded, tears escaping their eyes. Tanjo exhaled, his shoulders dropping slightly, ease filling his heart.
"Well," Regashi's voice rang, "good thing you were here, huh?"
Tanjo froze, standing up slowly as he turned to see the prince grinning happily at him.
"You never did tell me if you really were a student-warrior," Regashi chuckled, glancing down at the shivering kids. "But now I can see that you are. Good job."
With a hum, Tanjo swallowed any anxiety and proceeded with a question: "How did an attack breach the village's walls?"
Regashi's face morphed into a stolid countenance. "I have a vague idea, but I need to leave. Now. Go hide somewhere with the others, I'll have it under control."
"I may not be an official warrior, much less one that belongs in this village, but I can help." Tanjo replied, his blue eyes locking with the prince's.
"No." Regashi shut Tanjo down tersely.
With that, Regashi vanished into the wind and chaos, off to battle whoever dared to threaten the lives of the village's people.
Tanjo peered into the direction the brown-haired male departed in, no longer able to see him. It was clear why Regashi would not want to be accompanied by someone who appeared to be a still-aspiring warrior, and persuading Regashi proved to be verbally challenging, if not impossible.
So, the teenage boy would just have to prove himself as a sufficient warrior another way.
XXX
Regashi sprinted through the entire village at speeds faster than the human eye, eventually reaching the southern wall of the village, where the giant attack was launched.
Nothing was here. Not a single enemy with their weapons poised for bloodshed, and no sight of his number one rival, either.
Something was not right. A lethal attack that somehow managed to challenge the prince of Furusato himself, and nobody was presenting themselves? Regashi's eyes darted around, his senses reaching out in all directions to hopefully cling to something out of the ordinary.
"Where… are they at?" Regashi questioned rhetorically, squinting his eyes.
Suddenly, a deep voice ripped through the tension in the air.
"Our last fight must've knocked you senseless if I can simply be this close."
*BRRRM!*
Regashi was flung through the air at rapid speeds, and a red beam dispelled from him, who can now be seen as Lord Phoenix. The prince tumbled into the earth, forming ruts along the ground as his body rolled violently. After a few moments, Regashi palmed the dirt, ceasing his involuntary movement immediately.
Just then, the two made eye contact. Regashi and Lord Phoenix.
The Lord jumped down onto the ground below, being level with the prince of Furusato.
"I never pegged you as a sore loser, Lord Phoenix!" Regashi initiated the heated yelling between them.
Lord Phoenix emitted a low hum and spoke, "You don't know anything about me, Regashi. Though we fight countlessly, you learn nothing!"
"I know you're obsessed with anything that has to do with harming me!" Regashi barked, fueling his entire body with his red Aura Sense, similar to the Lord before him.
Lord Phoenix felt extremely disgusted to share an Aura Sense with the prince he swore to end, but that disgust only propelled the fox-masked lord even further into exacting his revenge on Regashi.
*SWISH!*
Swiftly, Regashi lunged forward and launched a kick at the Lord, only for it to be dodged. The lord then clutched the brown-haired prince's leg and pummeled him into the ground—*BOOM!*—creating a red Genso-Kyu as he discharged a blast to burn his opponent at his feet.
Just as Lord Phoenix was incinerating the ground below him, where he assumed Regashi was, the brown-haired prince miraculously emerged from underneath the dirt from behind, unleashing a punch that sent the Lord flying.
"You're still full of yourself, Lord Phoenix! That's why you always lose!" Regashi admonished, glaring in the direction he punched the Lord toward.
The Lord pushed himself up, grumbling, "Says the naive prince!"
With hate brimming within him, Lord Phoenix dashed toward Regashi with a red Genso-Kyu forming in his palm, dispelling a potent beam in a matter of seconds.
*BOOM!*
In response, the prince erected a barrier of red magic, taking the brunt of the beam without much consequence.
"You'll have to try harder than that, Lord Phoenix—!"
*VRRMM!*
Before Regashi could realize what had happened, a beam had shot a hole straight through his waist, widening the prince's green eyes. The barrier then dissipated as Regashi lost his grasp on it, enabling Lord Phoenix to deliver a devastating punch into the male's stomach, knocking both blood and air out of his mouth.
"GRAH!" Regashi howled, intense pain shooting up his body.
Because of the punch Lord Phoenix had lodged into Regashi's stomach, the prince was sent flying into the sky above, losing his balance completely.
"I'm not done with you, boy!"
Unfortunately for Regashi, Lord Phoenix had also leaped into the sky, materializing dozens of red Genso-Kyu that filled the night sky. Each of the Genso-Kyu was directly poised to unleash several perpetual beams to hopefully blow the prince away.
"I win!" The Lord proclaimed, screaming.
With the flick of his head, Regashi's eyes dilated as he witnessed the red Genso-Kyu's charge.
Charging himself with his own magic, Regashi clapped his hands together mightily, releasing winds strong enough to destroy the rows of Genso-Kyu as well as pushing Lord Phoenix away.
"No!" Lord Phoenix hollered, rage filling his eyes. "Not this time!"
Utilizing his Aura Sense and filling his legs with more magic, Lord Phoenix successfully pushed himself through the skies, thrusting toward Regashi. As the Lord soared, he conjured two more red Genso-Kyu, lobbing them at the prince and clenching his fists once they grew close enough to his opponent—*KABOOM!*—lighting up the entire sky, creating a second sun, and annihilating anything in the sky, like clouds or birds—and, perhaps, Regashi.
Falling back to the ground, Lord Phoenix appeared pleased as the light in the sky dimmed, no longer seeing Regashi.
"Through our many battles, I manage to end up victorious in the end!" The fox-masked lord cheered.
"Not while I'm still alive!" Regashi's voice abruptly boomed.
With an angry grunt, Lord Phoenix could feel as his body was punted downward with a grandiose amount of force. The impact his body made once colliding with the ground expelled harsh winds and created a massive crater in the earth around the area.
With a hole still in his waist, Regashi landed back on the ground safely, his magically-fueled legs breaking his fall.
After a few moments, Lord Phoenix crawled out from the crater, coughing.
"You should know that it will take more than that, Regashi…"
Regashi inhaled and exhaled intensely, staring Lord Phoenix down. This fight was far from over.
XXX
Hey! I hope you enjoyed this! I kinda just flung us into a fight, but a necessary one that will take up most of Tanjo and Kronos' time in the alternate universe! What happens next? Stay tuned and find out!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_