'Die!' cried a woman as she fell onto Jun. The big man simply battered her away with the flat of his blade.
'Like sports,' Jun said with a cackle. He reached for the chain that had wrapped around his weapon, but his small lack of judgement meant exactly the slightest falter in grip that the woman needed. As she flew, she yanked on her chain-sickle and pulled the sword with her. It was the first time Leo had seen Jun without his weapon, and that was scary.
'Eyes on me!' A man cried. He fell toward Leo with a silvery shield that reflected the light of the crystals into Leo's gaze. Leo rolled away and drew Bellestar to fire, but the dark spots in his eyes grew in number. It made it impossible to get a clear view. He fired for the sake of it, then stumbled for Jun.
'This is already dicey.' Leo rubbed his eye–like that would work. Slowly, he managed to perceive the pair as they regrouped and decided what to do with Jun's heavy blade. The woman had curly pink hair and wore a sparkling velvet jumpsuit. She couldn't have picked that as her regular outfit. It was way too suited to this particular fight, as it occasionally reflected tiny blips of light. The man looked the complete opposite, however. With a dishevelled button up shirt and glasses that didn't sit quite right, he might as well have just been fired from his nine to five. Leo remembered that everyone generally chooses their clothing to make a trademark, so these two had very interesting taste in motif.
'I see their strategy.' Jun raised his fists, apparently keeping no other weapons in his Key.
'Yeah, he messes with us while she attacks out of range.' Leo raised his shotgun and aimed for the woman. His shot aimed true–it looked like she would take it straight through her chest.
'Guard,' stated the man. Immediately, his shield clanged loudly and the bullet fell at his feet. It was like the shot magnetised to his shield for easy blocking.
'Tank.' Leo turned Bellestar on the man.
'What?' A snarl crossed Jun's lips like a disgruntled bear. And honestly, a bear was going to be Jun's spirit animal from now on, in Leo's mind.
'It's a term made up in video games. A tank is someone who tends to take all the damage in a fight, and handles it well. It's like a real war tank.' Leo watched the bear turn from disgruntled to frustrated.
'I've heard that this term–video games–was a waste of time.'
Leo froze for a moment, like his brain was sparking with the inability to process those words. 'Actually, no.' He struggled to find the words to turn Jun around whilst that businessman was flashing lights into his eyes. 'I used to design them, and I think they're way more like art.'
Jun still gave him a deadpan look, like this conversation wasn't even worth his breath. Then, it hit Leo that the man mustn't have died near the same time as Leo.
'Jun, who was your leader when you were on Earth?' Leo braced to hear a name that would mean choosing his future words carefully when it came to this afterlife they lived in.
'Why, Muhammad, of course! What man would I possibly follow besides Mubashshir himself?'
'Of course,' Leo said, intending a double meaning. He feigned agreement with Jun, but of course it made way more sense, now. Between Jun and Tiam, who both seemed to be from similar parts of the world, Tiam was the only one who kept up with Leo's talk of the last technologies. Jun on the other hand believed that the mobile phone was designed for demons to listen into human conversations. Nobody told him that–he came up with it himself.
A sickle flew at Jun and it scraped his side before lodging into the ground. The shot was obviously aimed for the man's heart, but Jun's instincts kicked in with perfect timing.
'Oi, oi!' The woman stomped about. 'Pay attention, because you're about to get ended in a mo.' For such a stylish person, she really had trouble using her words properly. Even Leo who couldn't write an essay to save his life knew better.
Light flashed from above, and Leo realised the fired businessman had moved to the top of one of the larger crystals. His shield acted like the beam of a lighthouse, flashing them as Leo tried to come up with a strategy. His eyes filled with dark spots before he could block it out.
'Crap.' Something cold and hard wrapped around his ankles. Chains clattered and he was on his face in a second. The woman was reeling him in like a fish. Dragging through the dirt, he desperately flailed to find something to hold with his one free hand.
'What are you doing, lightning boy?' Jun threw his hands up. 'Fire at her now. They are separate.' Jun turned to make for the businessman, and Leo mentally slapped his own face. He swivelled onto his back and aimed the shotgun in the direction of the chain. Even without his perfect vision, he knew he was on target. The woman gasped as the shot fired.
'Guard.' Clang! Once again, the man managed to take the shot. Leo groaned right before a six-inch boot sole cracked over his chin. He tumbled until he struck a mound of crystal, losing his grip on Bellestar. If he kept taking hits like that, he wasn't going to survive this tournament. The chain slackened and drew away, right before a loud thud struck beside him. Jun crumpled against the crystal and groaned like a… well, a bear.
'He is stronger than he looks. The baggy shirt is hiding some tone.' Jun pulled himself and Leo to their feet at once.
'We're done if we keep this up.' Leo wound his shoulder, feeling it click back into the right spot.
'They are good when separate and we are not,' Jun agreed.
'We have to start working as one.'
'What do you suggest?'
'A simple show of strength.' Leo tapped the crystal with his heel.
As their opponents readied for another assault of lights and blades, Leo and Jun turned to the crystal behind them. Leo touched a hand to it, and multicoloured crystal like an oil slick dug beneath it, lifting it a little. With that, Jun wrapped his hands underneath it and drew it over his head like one spectacular boulder.
Leo focused on maintaining his new power, but managed to say, 'alright, who wants to play catch?'