I sat on a bench plotting my moves. My armour was set, a simple military grand plastic vest and some cargo pants. I had a backpack with my last thirty discs. The changing room was rather cold. Unlike the rest of the building this area was run down but in a beautiful way, practically a ruin actually, maybe a few thousand years old, it's that amazing. The walls were a mossy stone and the floor was covered in fractured tiles. Some cat sized hole's in the ceiling and walls let a bit of natural light in. There were a few newer stones poker-dotted all over to keep the structure up, a small price to pay I guess and a large metal door at the entrance, it all looked so naturally beautiful. The door swung open and my mother walked in, "What a filthy area."
"I wouldn't say that particularly."
"Your standards are generously low, anyway I've arranged some things for your match. That mell blooded girl and her pompous father have no right to challenge us true bloods like that. So I've convinced Itsuki to work with you, humiliate her then win the competition."
"ME? WORK WITH ITSUKI, you're joking."
"Watch it boy, you will not be able to beat Itsuki, he is smarter than you. You may be the better fighter and in a one on one scenario he stands no chance. Itsuki knows this so he will try to team up with the mell blood..."
"Amber."
"What?"
"Her name, is Amber. Not mell blood, Amber."
"As you wish... Amber will team up with Itsuki and they will end you. The Mel... Amber, is quite the fighter I hear and with Itsuki supporting her they will kill you. Here, use this", she gave me a pair of arm guards.
"What's this for?"
"It's made from tungsten carbide and a lower layer of Kevlar, it'll protect you from Amber's heat and Itsuki's projectiles. I had a feeling that those two would be your opponents so I had them made a month ago." (Did...she actually do something motherly?)
"Why don't I just team up with Amber then?"
"And sully my name, no. Mell bloods shouldn't intermingle with us pures, Itsuki has no spine so he won't care if he joins her but I doubt he will shy away from our deal. Once the mell blood is finished, kill Itsuki and present his head to your grandfather."
"Mother I don't like this, can't I just..."
"NO, I have worked too hard for you to ruin this for me. Understand this son, if you fail me today..." Her eyes became cold "I will disown you, I'll have no further use for you."
"But there are two competitions."
"And this is the easiest one. Do what I say, or else." She turned around and walked out. Her shoes clanked as she walked further down the hallway.
"DAMN IT."
As I walked up to my entrance I crossed paths with Itsuki. He had on the Kara-no-goki uniform, it may not look it but that's real battle armour. The clothes are very stretchy and breathable, the blazer and pants are bullet proof while the shirt and inner pants are weather resistant, you could walk in the snow and not notice the difference. The tie is made from a material that hardens when a current is run through it basically turning it into a sword, it has a button that does the shock part of this trick. Since it doesn't lose shape when it hardens, it can double as an icepick or hook and don't get me started on all the hidden pockets.
"So, your mother came begging me to spare you." I gave no response.
"What...cat caught your tongue. Tsk, and here I thought you still had some fire in you... pathetic." He walked away.
"Hey Liam, It's been a while." It was amber.
"Hey Amber, ya it has. Last I saw you you had black hair, I see you've changed it to red. You've grown a lot of muscle too."
"Do you like it?"
"You look amazing." Amber is such a sweet girl. She's not in anyway directly related to me, her father is infertile so she was adopted, that plus the fact that her father is extended family gives her poor claim to the Kara-no-goki name let alone the fortune and yet here she is. I'd never met her father before today so I had no idea that she'd be participating. All I know is that I hate the man, he and so many in the extended family ridiculed her for her weight despite her skill in combat, (now she has a chance to prove her skills as a fighter, and I have to take that away from her, damn it)
"Thanks Liam, you've always been good to me, thank you for that. Let's both do our best alright."
"Ya." I said weakly. She enthusiastically waved me goodbye then ran to her entrance.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls I am proud to present to you the 125th annual Star Festival tournament. Today's battle is for..." It was Miss Saeko, she was standing on a balcony with my mother, her laptop and other head members. She walked up to a plate and grabbed two pieces of paper "Distribution rights, A phone company in Japan needs sponsors for distribution and has asked the Kara-no-goki family to facilitate the sponsorship and supervision of said company. Then next is..." She pulled another pace of paper "Management opportunity. The American space program or ASP is looking for support in building its first space station and needs our help managing it. Then one from the underworld." She pulled out a black peace of paper. " Drug management. One of the Japanese Yakuza has asked for our help in managing their miso drug operations and research teams. The winners will take these jobs to their representatives and distribute them as they see fit. On completion the group will keep 70% of all the spoils gained during these Jobs, 20% will go into the island community and the last 10% will go to the heads. Alright please welcome our combatants". The gate opened to the arena and I could hear shouting and cheering from outside the arena, what thought us Kara-no-goki's would cheer each other, not a chance. "From entrance 1 representing the extended family, she is the daughter of the hero Blood Burn, she is a wielder of the powerful fire forge miso it's Amber!" (Wait Pro hero...fire miso? Is her dad the guy who tried to kill Yato and Hida back at the jewelry store?)
"Next from entrance 2, representing the branch family, he's the wielder of the miso velocity, he is the cold calculating killer, the master of disaster, the beast but not really from the East iiiiiiit's Itsuki!" (She's have waaaay too much fun with this gag)
"And finally from entrance 3 representing the main family, he's the wielder of the teleportation miso body flick, the storm that approaches, converges, the black cloud of isolation. He's here to reclaim his name, it's Liam Kara-no-goki." I began walking to the stage to join the other two. The arena was very similar to the changing room, old mossy stone mixed in with a few newer ones, in design it was similar to the Roman coliseum, a large stone bowl with seats situated looking inward. In the centre was a large hundred metre square stage made of purely new stone, there were four jumbo TV's broadcasting our match. The spectators were a mix of, family members, world criminals, war lords, rich business men and journalists. Countless cameras were recording us, live to the world. This was no UA sports festival, but it sure was close enough. The Star Festival, the world's largest gathering of sinners.
We each took our positions getting ready for battle.
"We have changed the rules slightly but don't worry they are still really simple, the match will continue until the opponent is out of the ring. That means even upon death the match will continue until the corps touches the ground. Let's begin the count down!" Shouted Miss Saeko. "Three!"
(Alright if Itsuki and I were to tag team we could beat her in a matter of seconds, I'll knock her off the sage and get an instant win. At least that way she won't suffer....but still... she'd be humiliated.)
"Two!" I looked at my mother, she was smiling at me, (wow, I've never new she could do that...damn it... she'll hate me for this.)
"One!" I gave back a sad smile and mouthed the word, "sorry". She shook her head angrily but I ignored her, "Itsuki...the deals off, COME AT ME!"
"Hajime!"
I rushed Itsuki leaving behind a disc and drop kicked him in the face sending him flying. I caught myself then pivoted into a spinning kick aimed at Amber. She blocked it and jumped backwards. The look on her face was pure surprise.
"Hey, Amber. Let's give your old man a show."
"Pffffff hahahaha, you know Liam. You are something else."
Itsuki reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small steel ball. He hurled it at me at an inhuman speed, (that's his miso alright) I quickly teleported out of the way. (He can change the speed of any object that he is touching, he can't control it's direction however so I don't need to worry about ricochet's and curve shots but still, what he lacks in versatility he makes up for in accuracy and speed. His normal shot can move up to one hundred miles per hour.)
"I figured that you would be too stupid to take the deal. Once a loser always a loser. Hey Amber, J R H 7, you still owe me." A look of anger washed over her face, she looked at me and gave me a rather sad smile as she walked to block me from Itsuki, like a mother protecting her cub.
"Sorry Liam, I hope you understand."
"He's got you somehow huh? Do as you please, rebellion was my choice and I stand by it." She got into a ready stance and activated her miso. He eyes turned a bright red as lines of fire formed shapes at her right hand and left wrist. It was like watching an artist draw in air. In a matter of seconds a short sword appeared in her right hand and a buckler shield appeared in her left. (That's her miso, fire forge, she can give fire any hardened shape or form she wants. If it weren't for mom this fight would have been impossible.) I took out twelve disks and tossed them all in the air landing at specific spots then got into a ready stance. I glanced at my mother in the stands but.....she left. (Guess she gave up on me, it's fine... I'll be fine.) I smiled at them and egged them on to attack. Amber rushed at me with her shield up, I jumped onto the shield face to jump over her. Three steel balls were headed for my face. I ducked, grabbing her hair and pulling her to the ground. Itsuki ran towards me with his hand outstretched. (He's planning on pushing me out of the ring). I hit him with an uppercut and then a barrage of fist to the chest. Amber was getting up at my left while he was at my right.
"Pincer attack?" I said.
"You noticed huh." He said smugly
"Good luck with that." I got into a new stance.
"Wing Cheng style, this will be fun." Said Amber.
They both rushed me at the same time. It was hard to keep both of them at bay but I was somewhat managing. The gloves worked perfectly, I could block her sword without burning my hand and each of Itsuki's projectiles deflected off of them no problem, I may not be fast enough to actually block his hits but he targets very obvious areas. They kept forcing me to teleport over and over again, my muscles were getting weaker (so that's their plan Ey?). The crowed outside roared with excitement at what they were witnessing. I doubt many of them have ever actually seen real martial arts, in a world of misos most super powered individuals only work on their miso proficiency rather than hand to hand combat. This was a new breed of combat for them. Amber came in with a fist, I snapped my fingers but nothing happened, then suddenly her knuckles came barrelling down on my face. I flipped backwards to recover. "Damn it!" I yelled.
Itsuki smiled then he jumped back and prepared for long range assaults. (Amber is getting used to my moves and, soon I'll get over run. There is a lot of pain in my muscles and spine, I'm over doing it it seems. I need to beat her and fast.)
BOOM!
The sound of an object breaking the sound barrier. A steel ball burned through my arm casing me to fall. "Gyaaaa, damn it....Good thing I moved, otherwise I would have died there huh, Itsuki." I could see it on his face, that shot was almost too much for him, his nose was bleeding and his face was covered in sweat.
"Worth it, now you can't use your arm." He said smiling. A shield bashed into my face sending me flying to the edg of the ring. All of my saved up disks flew into the air scattering. I twisted and landed at the rings edge, I was burnt pretty badly leaving a stylish smoldering scar on my face but I didn't feel much. Amber prepared herself and ran at me at top speed with her shield raised. (She's going to push me out, I have to move quickly.)
"YOU'RE FINISHED!" She yelled.
"Oh NO!.....Syke!" At the last minute I teleported behind her and drop kicked her out of the ring. "I got you." Suddenly another BOOM went off. Three more steel balls burned through my hip, shoulder and left leg. I tumbled to the ground in a bloody heep.
"You left yourself wide open." Amber got up while smiling.
(Damn it did they plan this, I didn't expect him to shoot so many, I'm lucky that I chose to dodge the first one.) I looked at the wall, it was completely ruined, a large crater with a small deep hole about five meters in. I tried to get up but the pain was too much...I couldn't move. (Damn it damn it DAMN IIIIIIITTTT, I can't lose now...I was so close.)
"You seem to be out like a light huh little Liam. Paaatheeetic?" Sang mockingly. "Oh... you're still awake... let's fix that." He kicked my skull, suddenly everything went red, purple and black. My vision was practically gone. Muffed voices yelled around me from a distance. Itsuki was saying something but my hearing was gone. Slowly my sense came back to me, my sight focused again and I could see that Itsuki was holding my head up, making me look at someone, but who? It was Aiko, the ringing in my ears dissipated. Aiko was yelling at me, crying for me to get up, to do something. "... then why won't you get up and fight huh little Liam. I thought wanted to protect her from me, guess you've got nothing left in you." He let go of my head and I fell to the ground. (Damn it, mom was right AGAIN. I couldn't do it, what worth am I if I can't protect what matters to me. What if this was the dragons, they would've died and it's all my fault. I'm... nothing.) I struggle to hold back my tears as they built up, Itsuki was busy claiming victory as he walked towards Miss Saeko. "Clearly he's down for the count, that makes me the winner."
"Remember the rules Itsuki, you have to get ring out if you want to win."
"Aggg fine. I'll drag him out then." He began walking to me. (I guess it's over for me.)
"IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT YOU WORTHLESS TURD!" (The hell?) I opened my eyes and looked for the origins of that voice. It came from a fashion backward loser standing at a balcony, she had the intercoms microphone to her mouth. "Hiiidaaaa?"
"Oh this should be good." Itsuki said smugly.
"SO THAT'S IT, TAKE A FEW SHOTS THEN THAT'S GG, PATHETIC. MAYBE AIKO'S LIFE ISN'T WORTH THAT MUCH TO YOU. HELL IF THAT'S ALL IT TAKES TO TAKE DOWN ONE OF THE GREAT KARA-NO-GOKI'S THEN I MIGHT AS WELL GIVE IT A SHOT AND KICK ITSUKI'S ASS. THEN I CAN GET AIKO FOR MY SELF?"
"Shut up Hida!"
"Damn she's kinda brutal." Said Itsuki.
"Liam!" It was Hisashi. "you have already proven your dedication and skill, and now is the time to unleash your full potential. Push beyond your limits, challenge your own boundaries, and refuse to settle for anything less than your best. Fight with all your heart and believe in yourself, Liam. I have faith in your abilities, NOW...SHOW ME RESULTS!"
"Jez I got it already!" I said as I was slowly pushing myself up, my wounds were opening more and more as my muscles strained to lift me up, "You idiots really thought I was done, nah I was just taking a nap, that's all." (I won't be able to move much, not while my body is so damaged but...when I teleport my body turns into atoms, if I can hold my state without actually teleporting I should be able to do at least something. I've only ever tried this as a kid and it nearly turned my body into sludge, but I'm not a kid anymore. I just need to remember what my body's shape is supposed to be.) A burning heat washed through my spine as electricity surged through my body. (Good, break apart all of your atoms, space them all out. But hold your form) Suddenly the pain was gone, infact I couldn't feel anything, not even myself. (It's like my body weight is gone, it's almost like I'm underwater but...I feel no pressure...I feel nothing.) Itsuki looked at me with surprise, then rage.
"Itsuki," I smiled, "You're head will be mine."