Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story.
AN: This is my second entry in the A Winner Is Two! tournament. I feel I did Pekonyan's much better, but I think this came out well.
Prologue: Anwar's Arrival
Darkness covered Anwar like a cloud seemingly trying to suffocate him. It was like he was having an all too familiar dream. It couldn't be the voices of the sword, could it? Nanai used her power on the broadsword, making it so the power within it would no longer close his heart.
He did hear a voice, but not a voice he recognized. Yet, despite the hovering blackness, the words were crystal clear. He had been selected for a survival tournament, and he was going whether he wanted to or not. Now that he thought about it, something did happen in town before he blacked out.
He had been in the town of Rhoan, waiting for Tia to show like she usually did. He waited in the usual spot, but started tapping his foot impatiently because it was taking the orange haired girl too long to show up. The visitor he had gotten was not the girl, but rather a mysterious man dressed in a way that Anwar had never seen before.
According to the man, the girl he was waiting for would not be arriving any time soon. Anwar's golden eyes narrowed when he heard the strange man words.
"What have you done to Tia?" Anwar demanded as he took his broadsword out of its sheath.
The man chuckled when he saw the look in the young man's eyes. "You needn't worry about this Tia," he remarked. "We just wanted to make sure that she wouldn't get in the way. You see, I've come for you, and I'm not leaving until you come along."
Anwar could care less about his reasons for harming Tia, or why he wanted him. All he knew was he was not going to make it easy. The purple haired boy made a promise to protect the girl with the blade he carried in his hands. And though she wasn't here exactly, he was going to do that now.
He leapt into battle, using the skills that had helped him out many times before. Fighting was something he was really good at, and he had learned to take on multiple opponents at once. But this new guy had a trick up his sleeve as he removed a gun, but not the type that Anwar had ever seen.
The purple haired man moved to the side to avoid being hit and used a horizontal slash. This battle was for Tia, he decided. He had to avenge her for what this guy did to her!
Little did he know was that someone was hiding by a nearby building. There was a whistling sound and Anwar felt something prick his neck. The next thing he knew, he was out like a light.
That's right… that strange man who kidnapped him did something to Tia! His golden eyes popped open and he found himself on board of a ship. Through the porthole, he could feel the ocean's breeze and it ruffled his hair. Now he was used to the winds of the desert, so this didn't feel quite right to him.
He slowly got to his feet and looked around the little room he was left in. It wasn't much to look at, but at least he had a bed, even if said bed was actually lumpy and not soft. But Anwar didn't really mind so much.
Anwar clenched his fists, trying to figure out what was going on. In his dreams, he heard briefly about a tournament. Or was he told when he was drifting off and he happened to hear it in his sleep? Well, either way, it didn't matter. What bothered him was that he was being forced to join this tournament and he didn't have a say in the matter.
Hoping that Tia was alright, Anwar figured he had to make the best out of the situation. Truthfully, he didn't like big crowds and he wasn't used to them. But he had no choice in this. In a way, it reminded of him of Olly, even if he was only doing a job when he was obeying the orders of the old witch.
The door to his room opened suddenly and he recognized the man that had attacked him back in Rhoan. Before he could reach for his broadsword, the man said, "We have finally arrived."
The next thing the desert boy knew he was being forced onto the beach. The sandy shore reminded Anwar of the desert, but only by a little bit. The beach wasn't so hot, and there was the ocean rolling in and out. The foam covered his feet as he took a good look around.
To Anwar's surprise, there wasn't a big crowd, or very many buildings. In fact, he would feel a little more comfortable. He did better when there wasn't so many people around anyway. As he walked along a little ways to get his bearings, he didn't see many buildings either.
Surviving in this place wouldn't be so hard for him. However, could the desert swordsman stand up to the likes of the people in this tournament? Only time would tell.
