Inside the arena…
"DACHII! DACHII! DACHII! DACHII!"
All around him, Dachii could hear the cheers and applause of the crowd. He observed his surroundings, seeing glowing yellow lights and a dark and cloudy sky, thunder sounding in the air.
The girl at the end of the arena drew her blade, slowly standing up. "So, it's you. You're the one."
"What's going on? I've SEEN that girl before, I know it!"
He took a good look at the girl in front of him, noticing the S-1 uniform she wore.
"Hey, you! Who are you? Have you seen my brother—-?"
Before he could continue, a female's voice sounded over the speakers.
"Now that our special guest is here, let's begin our final match of the qualifiers: DACHII VS. AOKI!"
"Aoki?" Dachii wondered. "That name, I've heard it!"
The crowd cheered as Aoki held her blade out, eyes glowing. The woman on the speaker cleared her throat.
"Now, if you're all settled in and ready for an explosive outcome…BEGIN!"
"Hey!" Dachii called out. "What is this place?"
She took one step forward, and Dachii immediately realized the situation. "Oh no…"
In a blur, she appeared next to him, blade aiming for his head. Dachii barely managed to get out of the way, rolling to the side.
"Woman, I don't have time for this! My brother is captured and my friend is missing, so if you would, I need to GO!"
Without warning, she charged at him again, and as he ducked, she nearly sliced off his hair.
"Watch it!"
She spun around and kicked him in the side, sending him flying into the middle of the arena as the crowd cheered.
"Detestable."
Dachii got up only to find a blade coming for his neck, and he used his powers and jumped back, landing close to the wall.
"What do I do? She's crazy!"
He remembered Toru's advice. "Don't fight defensive, push her to the brink, simple! She won't listen, I'll MAKE HER!"
But as he prepared himself, she kicked him from behind, sending him flying again. "Inefficient!"
As Dachii landed on the ground, he kicked himself up, hearing the roar of the crowd and the voice on the speakers.
"Aoki's got Dachii on the ropes! LET'S SEE WHO PASSES THE QUALIFIERS!"
Aoki raised her blade, coming for another attack, this time for Dachii's legs.
"There, now!"
He summoned his gauntlets and jumped in the air as soon as she swung, and once she looked up, he slammed the ground, sending her crashing into a wall and getting a round of cheers.
"HAS DACHII TURNED THE TABLES?"
He straightened up, breathing heavily. "Is she done?"
But as the dust cleared, he noticed her getting up, bleeding from her eye to her chin. She touched the blood with a confused look. "Did you just…?"
Dachii scratched his head. "Look, sorry about the punch, but maybe if you calm down a little bit, you can tell me what's going on!"
His eyes widened when he saw her begin to laugh, and her eyes began to change from white to red.
"That's what I like to SEE!"
The laughter that came out of her began to unnerve Dachii, and she gripped her sword, wearing a creepy smile. Dachii just stared at her.
"I'm dead…"
She held up her hand, snapping her fingers. "Play my cards for me."
In an instant, three cards: red, yellow, and blue, appeared in her hand. She tossed the red one at Dachii, and as soon as it got close, it blew up.
"Looks like Aoki is using her magic! How will Dachii respond?"
Dachii managed to get out of the way, but Aoki threw her blue card at him, which began to fill the arena with a blue mist.
"Okay, this is like Morino's training, use my senses, use my senses!"
Dachii began to concentrate, ignoring the sounds of the crowd and announcer. He heard someone running at him from the left and blocked the blade as it came at his head.
"Your plan didn't work! Now stop, you psychotic lady!" Dachii ordered.
Aoki laughed and jumped back, throwing the yellow card at the ground next to Dachii.
"PULSE!"
The card hit the ground and emitted a powerful electromagnetic blast that blasted away all the mist, temporarily turned off the lights, and dropped Dachii to the ground.
"That is…powerful," he thought.
Aoki landed on the ground, summoning more cards: white, purple, and black.
Dachii got to his feet and braced himself as Aoki examined the white card, preparing to throw it.
"BLINK!"
The card flew past Dachii, embedding itself in the wall. It began to glow, and soon after, a massive blast of light erupted out, blinding the entire arena.
"DAMN, SHE GOT US ALL!" the announcer yelled. "What was that?"
Dachii blinked a few times before his eyes began to turn black. "That's enough."
As Aoki prepared to throw the black card, Dachii jumped at her and grabbed her arm, slamming her into the ground.
"OOH, SLAM!"
Aoki's eyes began to glow and she grabbed onto his arm and flipped over him, throwing her black card.
"Handle this!"
The card shot toward Dachii, but he grabbed it and threw it back. "Not this time!"
Before it could reach her, Aoki split it in half with her blade, landing on the ground. As soon as she did, Dachii began rapidly attacking her, but she sidestepped and severed his arm.
"Why does she fight like that?" Dachii wondered. "She's like Fujii! Or Akari! Or a mix!"
He tried to sweep her legs, but she backflipped and kicked him in the face. He pulled her down with him, and she threw the purple card at him.
"Elevate."
Dachii began to rise into the air, and the ground started to appear farther and farther away. After a few more seconds, the floating stopped, and he was miles in the sky.
"I'm ending this…"
He made a fist, beginning to fall toward the ground. As he fell, he used his powers to make himself heavier, speeding up in the process.
"Destroy her…destroy THEM…"
As the crowd watched in awe, Dachii pulled his fist back, spiraling toward the ground. Aoki watched for a moment, before gripping her blade.
"Come at me."
And as soon as Dachii got close enough to her, he struck, just as she swung her blade at him. Both of their weapons collided at the same time, causing a powerful explosion that knocked everyone over.
BOOM.
Once everyone had gotten up, the announcer scanned the scene. "Do we have a winner? Let's see!"
Everyone looked down and saw Dachii and Aoki facing away from each other. Dachii was kneeling on the ground and Aoki was standing up.
"It seems to be…a TIE?"
Aoki sheathed her blade. "Look again."
Immediately, Dachii's arms and legs fell off, and he fell to the ground face-first.
"Never mind! Aoki is left standing! AOKI WINS, and remains UNDEFEATED!"
The crowd began to cheer uncontrollably, and Dachii's limbs regenerated.
"That's not fair!" he exclaimed, getting up. "As you can SEE, I can still fight her!"
Everyone quieted down for a moment, and Dachii heard footsteps approaching him from behind. A green-haired woman with olive skin and green eyes came from one of the tunnels below the seats, a microphone in her hands.
"You're the announcer?" Dachii asked.
She nodded, a sly smile spreading across her face. "That's right! I'm Venus, I sort of…manage these events. But don't worry, you're not out of the Raijin Tournament just yet! We have a special event for you, newcomer!"
Dachii slapped his forehead. "Great."
She walked over to Aoki, grabbing her arm and holding it up. "Our Raijin champion remains undefeated! Can anyone give her a challenge?"
Aoki sized Venus up before turning away, glaring. Venus winked at her. "You should put some ice on that forehead, sweetheart."
She turned her attention back to Dachii, whose eyes were returning to normal. "Well, this concludes our final qualifying round! Check back soon for the Games!"
Dachii grabbed her by the shoulder. "Excuse me? What are these games? I came here to find my brother, not play some stupid games—-!"
"Glad you asked, Dachii!" she interrupted. "The Raijin Games are only the most dangerous, deadly, entertaining games on the planet. If you win, you just might get the key to finding your sibling, but if you lose, oh boy…"
She stuck out her tongue in mock disgust. "Don't lose, okay? It would be a bad look for someone with an Element."
The crowd laughed, and she pointed toward a tunnel. "Everyone can begin filing towards the town now, and I'll show Dachii where he is to reside during his time here."
"Wait, what do you mean reside?" Dachii asked.
She grabbed him by his arm and pulled him towards a tunnel. "Come on, newcomer!"
As he was reluctantly pulled along, he caught Aoki staring at him one more time before she turned away and walked into another tunnel.
Inside the tunnel, Dachii saw various locker rooms, bathrooms, and weapon rooms.
"When you officially join the Games, you and any teammates you have will have a designated locker room you can use," Venus explained. "And the weapons, we all love the weapons!"
Dachii sighed, taking it all in. "Yep, pretty cool."
She continued down the tunnel, walking past various doors. "Don't worry about those yet. As we progress down the games, you'll know what's inside."
Dachii could see a faint light at the end of the tunnel, and once Venus led him to it, he saw a cloudy gray sky overlooking a small gated town of houses and stores nearby.
"That's Raijin City. Named after the god himself," Venus said.
Dachii looked around, but he couldn't find any trace of Marachii or Hikari.
Venus stepped out of the tunnel, walking down the stone path that led to the town. "Come, Dachii! I'll show you your room!"
"My room?" he wondered. "How long have they been planning for me to visit?"
He followed her into the town, and as he made his way inside the gates, he saw various beings conversing and walking around. A pair of dwarves were talking to each other by a small fountain, a two-headed lion monster was busy doing pushups in an alley, and Dachii even saw a few humans practicing with wooden swords.
"Are those…?"
Venus nodded. "They're our lovely humans, Ayana and Haruto!"
Ayana had brown skin, dark black hair, and black eyes, and she wore a chainmail chestplate and leggings. Haruto had light tan skin, brown hair, and hazel eyes, wearing a jacket and pants. When Dachii walked past them, they turned to him.
"Another human?" Haruto blurted out, confused.
Ayana brushed her hair back. "Wow, I can't believe it! With these other creatures around you'd think a human would be crazy to show up here!"
Dachii examined them. "Hi…nice to meet you guys."
Ayana held out her hand. "Ayana. Nice to meet you too, Mr….?"
"Dachii," he replied.
Haruto smiled and shook his hand. "Nice name! My mom picked Haruto. Like 17 dudes in my neighborhood have it."
Ayana rolled her eyes, and Dachii looked around again before turning back to them. "Have you guys seen a teenage boy? Looks like me, but younger, has braids, kind of a nerd?"
They both shook their heads.
"You're the only human-like person I've seen," Ayana remarked. "Venus is…Venus."
They all looked at her, and she was watching them from a few feet away with a curious look.
"Well," Dachii stated. "I have to go."
"Peace, man!" Haruto said. "See ya round!"
As Venus led Dachii down the street, Haruto and Ayana continued to clash blades.
"Interesting kid," Ayana noted. "I wonder how he'll do in this competition."
Haruto knocked her sword out of her hands. "Ha! Got you!"
She groaned, watching as Venus led Dachii into a small building. Dachii stepped inside and saw a room with four beds, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a small living room.
"This is your house. Isn't it nice?" Venus asked.
Dachii smelt the room, and he noticed it smelt like alcohol and mildew. "It's SOMETHING, alright. Why are there FOUR beds?"
"It's for you and your team!" Venus answered. "Each team in these games has four players. The qualifiers show talent level, since we want fair teams. Since you lost, you'll need a stronger team."
Dachii sighed. "As long as I win, get my brother, and go home."
Venus clapped. "Great mindset! Speaking of which, let's formally introduce you to your first teammate! She's been waiting!"
Venus stepped aside, and Dachii noticed Aoki was standing behind her.
"SHE'S MY TEAMMATE?"
Aoki looked directly into his eyes. "I am, and you better get used to it. I don't think we've really gotten to know each other."
She took a step forward, standing right in front of him.
"I'm Aoki Amasani, and I'm the Vice-General of Squad S-1."
—-