'' I've had dreams like this constantly... It was this same kinda dream that told me I'd meet a boy my age at the edge of the road. ''
Sakura's thoughts was of course referencing the nature of her meeting with Seiya when he was passed out in front of the crater that took her home. She didn't need Hieki's explanation to know about the voice of the earth speaking to her.
She's been hearing its voice for sometime now but on some level at least she knew she wasn't crazy.
Even so, she was not fond of what she saw this time as she woke up with streams of tears rolling off her face.
She sat upright on her bed to see she was there alone, Seiya had left the hut without waking her.
'' Do I tell him not to go to the tournament? Are these dreams inevitable? ''
Sakura left the hut after ensuring she was all set to now go find Seiya.
It didn't take her long to find him training in a sparring match with Hieki, preparing for the tournament in the coming six days.
The white haired boy was throwing fists, deflecting blows and using his smaller stature to get out of the way of attacks.
Was the dream just being overly pessimistic? Or was the danger just too grand?
Sakura couldn't make heads or tails of her dream and it just worried her to no end.
The touch of a male's hand on her shoulder calmed her and it made her flinch as she looked at the person who touched her.
'' You look like you are deep in thought. Are you okay? ''
Hakai looked at Sakura who returned the gaze, her hesitant words came through as she spoke to him.
'' Seiya..... I had a dream about him.. I saw his death at the tournament. I don't know what caused it but I feel like I can't ignore it. I'm afraid what'll happen when the day comes. ''
The female's words were hard to hear as it sounded like she was about to cry but she'd cease doing so as Hakai hugged her.
'' You don't have to worry. I'll be there and Hieki will be there. We'll make sure that nothing bad happens. The tournament has never had a problem happen before but if something does, we'll make sure that the culprit will regret it. Now lets get you back to training, you must want to get your mind off this plus today is cultivation day for your training regimen. ''
The black haired male led Sakura to Seiya as his spar with the Teacher came to a close. The two bowed to one another as the training for the day would properly begin for Seiya and Sakura.
'' You two will come with me to the far back end of my backyard past the boulders from yesterday. There is a spot near the back of the mountain wall that flows with an essence that will help you both stimulate and absorb power from the ley lines of the world. ''
Hieki showed them the way while speaking, eventually stopping as he pointed as the wall he was referring to.
The rocky wall was filled with strange vegetation and vibrant mists that was a deep green, Sakura's green highlights glowed noticeably as she got closer to it.
Hieki instructed them to sit and meditate which felt a bit antithetical compared to the other strenuous activities but the elder would explain why this was necessary.
'' Your physical foundations have been pushed since yesterday so today you will use the power from the leylines to cultivate. Your spirit energy has to expand and grow so this will help you reach the first tier : Sprout. ''
This made Seiya think about the other day when he heard the assailant refer to the Iron Skin technique. Seiya's motivation skyrocketed as he saw this ability being a necessity for him. He was young and if he wished to stand on their ground, he needed to have this ability.
'' I have to become stronger, when he shows up again.... To save my Sister... To never doubt myself..''
The male focused on every part of his body as he thought about his desire for strength. He was consumed with this pursuit because if he wasn't, he'd make a mistake he can't come back from.
He couldn't become a burden, he needed to become someone reliable.
There was no Empire protecting this region anymore. Any second could pass and another nation may try to lay claim to this territory.
Sakura and Seiya's meditation continued on without any eventful occurrences as they were essentially statues for the majority of the day.
While they meditated, their stomachs saw no desire to consume food.
Almost as if the ley lines were nourishment enough.
After they finished meditating, they were told to get up by Hakai although there was a strange change between the two of them.
The clothes that were on Seiya and Sakura's body seemed like tight fits and their hair had appeared longer.
'' You both have had some abnormal developments compared to others. ''
Hakai spoke while looking at the both of them, they were around 10 years old but their meditative cultivation while siphoning from the ley lines caused their bodies to grow into the bodies of a 15 year old.
Their bodies still had a faint glow due to the ley lines, as if they were lightbulbs and Hieki clapped his hands as he followed after Hakai to give them their next instruction.
'' This is quite something, looks like they're around your age now Hakai. ''
The elder said while chuckling at the development of the two. He could only assume that Sakura had played a factor in this due to her aspect, although he didn't want to stare too much as Sakura's body was developing more extraordinarily and her assets were rounding out.
Sakura had stretched which didn't help the situation out as Hakai also had turned away. Seiya pulled off the top of his gi as he inspected both his arms, noticing their definition and size.
'' I don't know what happened but, I feel a bit more in shape. ''
The young prince spoke to himself as he stopped staring at his own body.
The silence that followed after was quickly cut off by Sakura who looked at Seiya after putting her arms down, having spoken to him with a concerning tone.
'' Can you promise me that you won't do anything stupid in the coming days? ''
The female spoke with a serious and concerning tone to him.
'' Uh, I can't be entirely certain I won't do something stupid but I'll try. ''
He quickly responded but Sakura's tone that followed after had come with a louder volume.
'' Promise me! ''
The female said to him, Hakai had been carefully watching as he knew why she was saying this and Seiya who had been oblivious of this fate could only give her some words that would remedy her concern.
'' I promise. ''
Elsewhere, in a cave near the tournament grounds that was being prepared several days in advance.
The Mad Bomber was screaming in pain as he was clutching his right arm in the dark cave.
The arm was mutated, becoming far bigger than the rest of his body and it was pulsating as if it was a separate organism altogether.
The right side of the Mad Bomber's face was changing greatly as a result of the power granted to him.
His right eye had turned black and red.
'' This power unravels my body and mind but worry not my right hand. Soon you will feast on his body. ''
The cave echoed with his manic laughter.
The power granted to him was far too much for him to grasp and it activated prematurely.
In a few days, the Mad Bomber would kill the stray Hiroshi and fulfill the fate engraved within Sakura's dream.