With a sudden clang of weaponry echoing through the Patch Tribe's arena, Radim stood in shock as the victors of the match began to leave. With a sudden rush of enthusiasm, he raised his microphone high in the air as he took the centre stage. "AMAZING! That was a spectacular victory on the part of team Hope! They progress to the next round of the Shaman fight!" He shouted as the crowd cheered wildly for this victorious team. "Hmm... That boy's spirit was a very intruiging one indeed. I may have to call upon his skills to help me become Shaman King." Hao said softly, with a warm smile that was typical of his nature. "H, Hao-sama..." Luchist said, almost shocked that Hao would say something like that after the battle they had just witnessed. On the other side of the arena, Yoh, Anna, Manta, Ryu... The whole bloody gang, were also somewhat in awe about the fight. "Wow... A, amazing. That spirit was amazing..." Manta said, a quiver in his voice. "Ahhh, it really is something. I can't wait to see how he fights when our match comes up." Yoh replied. Manta agreed at first, before sharply turning around and pointing at you with a panicked look on his face. "What do you mean you can't wait?! Aren't you ever afraid of any potentially dangeorus advisary, Yoh-kun?!" He shouted. "Hey, hey, take it easy Manta. It'll work out." Yoh replied waving his hand up and down at Manta. "You still shouldn't underestimate him, Yoh-dono. His spirit is very powerful..." Amidimaru added as he appeared out of no where as he usually did. "It really isn't anything to worry about." Anna replied. "A, Anna-san..." Manta added. "He revealed too many of his techniques in the fight. Obviously he has no tact as a Shaman, and his weakness will be found in his next match." Anna said, remaining calm and confident. She looked at Yoh. "Remember what happened in this battle, Yoh. You will need it for the next fight." She added.
At that moment, the screen in the arena had switched to an image of the Patch Tribe's leader, Goldva. "Congratulations to team Hope on their victory." Goldva began to say. "G, Goldva-sama!" Radim eeked out in surprise. "However, this message is to inform most of the Shamans that the next fight will be delayed." Goldva added. "Delayed?!" Horo Horo exclaimed in confusion. "What the hell is going on?!" Chocolove shouted. "You're both too noisy." Ren replied. "Eh?" Both Chocolove and Horo Horo said as they turned to face Ren. Ren opened his eyes and focused on the screen. "Let him finish what he has to say." He added. "The reason the Shaman fight is postponed is to commemorate the beautiful weather the Great Spirit has blessed us with!" Goldva said, as Ren, Horo Horo, Chocolove, and Manta looked on with shocked expressions. "What a pointless reason..." Ryu said, twitching an eyebrow as a sweat drop rolled down the side of his face. "Whew! I like the sound of that. It'll be nice to relax..." Yoh said, stretching out and putting his arms behind his head. "Why are you acting so comfortable? We're going to be training and take advatage of this oppurtunity." Anna replied. Yoh immediately felt uncomfortable at the thought of Anna's hellish training. "With this great weather, we have decided to host a beach competition on the west side of the island. There will be several events, and each team is encouraged to come. For the victors, a great prize of unspeakable glory shall be rewarded. It is very useful for those who wish to become Shaman King. We will meet you there today at noon, for those who are interested." Everyone looked serious when hearing the potential advantage that could be gained from attending such an event. Goldva had finished, and the screen switched off. "... O, ooooooooooooooooooo woahaooooooooooooo!!!!! Did you hear that everyone?! An exciting turn of events is taking place at the beach at noon today! What is this mysterious prize?! Attend and find out--" Before Radim could finish, people had already began to leave the arena, leaving him alone in the center with the wind blowing behind him. "T, that's just too cruel..." He said to himself.
"Are they serious? It seems weird that the Patch would randomly throw a beach party." Manta said, still lost in the sheer randomness of it all. "Yeah, it does seem weird... But you heard what the old man said right?" Horo Horo added. "Mmm. A prize that's helpful for those wanting to become Shaman King. It could be useful for the fight against Hao." Yoh replied, eager to find out about this prize. Ren, Ryu, Chocolove, Horo Horo, they were all starting to get excited over what it could be. "Yoh-kun, it will be hard for me to participate in this event. Unless I used Frankie so that I wouldn't be bound to this chair." Faust said, as he wheeled along side everyone. "No need to worry. It'll work out." Yoh optimistcally replied. "Who said you were going to it, Yoh?" Anna sharply intergected. Yoh, Ryu and Faust immediately stopped dead in their tracks. Yoh slowly turned around to face Anna. "W, well... Goldva said something about...", "Don't be so naive Yoh. Many of the Shamans have seen this as a trap to get contestants in confrontation with one another to speed up the Shaman fights. One of those contestants could be Hao." Anna explained. "H, Hao... Master, she's right. It could be dangerous..." Ryu said in compliance. "That may be so. However, I will not refuse such an oppurtunity." Ren replied, as he looked at Anna with his Sharp eyes. "I will become Shaman King no matter what. Even if it means walking into a trap, all we will have to do is defeat everyone. If it is true... Then I will inherit this grand prize the Patch so boldly spoke of." He added. Horo Horo nodded and looked back at Yoh. "Heh, if you're worried then leave it to us." He cockily smiled. "As you've said before, when Anna wants you to train, you don't have much of a choice in the matter. So just go with it." Chocolove added before the three of them left for the beach. "Heh, those guys. They'll face anything head on it looks like." Yoh said, smiling and putting his arms behind his head. "Well, let's get to the training then." He said to Ryu, Faust, Manta and Anna. "Mmm. The sooner it's out of the way the better." Faust agreed. "I'm with you, Master!" Ryu replied. "Good. Follow me. There's something new I want to impliment in your training today." Anna said, leading the way as the others looked on in fear as to what it could possibly be.
"A, Anna-san... Th, these..." Yoh muttered as he looked at the pair of swimshorts styled after his battle outfit. "Chocolove had caught wind of this before it had been announced. He refused to say anything, however, so I've decided to keep it from team "The Ren" that I want you to participate in the beach competition." Anna replied. Yoh was a little surprised, but then smiled. "Thank you, Anna-san." Yoh said. "Also, I want each of you to wear these. I made them myself." She added, as she handed Ryu and Faust their own pair of shorts like Yoh's and gave all three of them t-shirts that had "Funbari Onsen" printed on them. "Ahhh, Okami, these aren't really my style..." Ryu nervously said. "I don't really wear clothes like these either." Faust also added. "Oh? Is there something, "wrong", with these uniforms?" Anna asked, a cold stare of death gazing upon the two. "Nothing wrong. We'll put these on immediately." Ryu quickly replied. Faust nodded in agreement with Ryu. Meanwhile, at the beach itself, the tide strolled in loudly, as some of the Patch Tribe officials waited with Goldva for others to show up for the events they had prepared for the participants. "As I thought..." Namari said. "No one is showing up..." Bron added, both of them shedding sweat drops. Goldva took another puff of his pipe and sighed as he sat on a beach towel. "It appears so... But the alure of that prize will be too irresistable to those who have a strong desire to become Shaman King." He replied as he waited paitently. Running a small stand for ice cream and shaved ice, Talim boredly sighed, hoping he would have at least one customer. To the stand next to him, Silva and Kalim had their own stands side by side as they also boredly waited. "You'd think more people would come to an event like this..." Silva groaned. "Mmm. Perhaps people are too pre-occupied with the Shaman fight." Kalim added. Suddenly, three sillouetes appeared over the horizon. The officials all looked on in hope that someone had finally arrived. When they arrived, the young short brown haired, green eyed man from the previous Shaman fight arrived with his team mates. He was wearing red shorts and a grey hoodie. His two team mates, a taller man who had short blonde hair and blue eyes came dressed in a pair of camo shorts and a t-shirt, and a medium lengthed light brunette haired girl with deep blue eyes who came wearing a purple one piece swimsuit with a pink flower patterned cover tied around her waist. The one in the red shorts was carrying a fishing rod and looked around the beach to see no one other than Goldva and the other officials. "Ummm... Are we too late?" He asked. "I knew we should've just stayed inside. All this sunlight is bothering me..." The taller one replied. "It looks like it..." The girl added. Goldva smiled and sighed with relief. 'Someone actually showed up. I'm glad...' He thought.
"Man, what a ghost town." Horo Horo said, as team "The Ren" had also arrived on the scene. "It's gonna be hard to have fun with so little competition." He added, sighing over the lack of challenge. "Tsch. It's merely an advantage in our favor. We will win that prize." Ren said, completely focused on his objective. "Don't be so certain about that." A deep voice said. At that moment, they turned around to see X-I of the X-Laws had arrived, with Iron Maiden Jeanne in tow with Lyserg. "That prize will most certainly be attained by the X-Laws to stop Hao!" Marco said, fixing his glasses. "Marco-sama, are you sure we should be here? What if sand gets stuck in Maiden-sama's Iron Maiden?" Lyserg asked nervously. "Gaaahhh! You're right! Maiden-sama!!" Marco shouted, seeming to forget of that possibility. "It is alright. I rather enjoy the beach. It is no trouble for me at all." Jeanne replied from inside the Iron Maiden. "Maiden-sama..." Marco continued on, with mini waterfalls of tears rolling down his face. "It doesn't matter to me. It's just nice to have an oppurtunity to enjoy the weather." Yoh said, as he and the rest of Funbari Onsen arrived wearing the shorts and t-shirts Anna had given them. "A, ah! You guys too?!" Horo Horo exclaimed pointing at them. "They're shameless with advertising..." , "Ah." Chocolove and Ren added. "Okami decided that we should participate after all." Ryu said with a grin. "It's nice to be able to come to the Beach with Eliza, so I don't mind being here." Faust said with a smile on his face. "Remember, Yoh, defeat all of your opponents and win that prize. Otherwise you will sacrifice your dinner for intense training." Anna sternly stated, causing Yoh to have his own twin waterfall moment. "Anna-san..." He cried agonizingly. "Do your best Yoh-kun!" Manta said to Yoh, waving to him encouraginly. Yoh then looked back at Manta and nodded with a smile. "It doesn't matter who is here! Hao-sama is going to be the victor here!" A young voice said, as team Hana-gumi and Hoshi-gumi arrived. Hao as usual sitting in the palm of the Spirit of Fire's hand. He gave that casual smile as he looked at Goldva and the other officials. "Is this all there will be for this event?" Hao asked. Goldva nodded. "It seems everyone who is participating is already here. Therefore it is mandatory for the participants of this event to change into their swimwear." He said, taking another puff of his pipe. "Eh?! What the hell do you mean "mandatory" you perverted old man!" Matilda screamed at Goldva. "It's alright. The rules are the rules, Matilda." Hao replied. Matilda looked up at him, slightly blushing. "You and the others change. It makes no difference as the victor has already been decided." He added, smiling. "Opacho doesn't wanna change." Opacho frowned. "Haha, you don't have to Opacho. Besides, I'm fine the way I am also." Hao added. "Very well. Let the Beach Competition begin!" Goldva announced.
As people were changing, Ryu looked over at team Hope not too far from them. "M, master. The team from the last fight is here..." He said, a bit nervous by their presence. "Ah, it seems so. Let's go meet them." Yoh happily said as he began to casually walk towards them. "Gah! Are you sure master?!" Ryu cried out as he reached out to him. "Don't worry, it'll be ok. They can't be that bad if they see spirits." Yoh replied, just simply raising his hand in the air in response. "Heheh, it seems Yoh-dono is already making some new friends." Amidimaru said, floating after Yoh. "Looks like it." Faust agreed. As Yoh walked towards the young man with the short brown hair, the young man looked back and saw Yoh approaching and decided to put down his fishing rod. He and his team mates stood up to face Yoh. "Hey. It's nice to meet you, my name is Asakura Yoh." He said, smiling and extending his hand in a handshake. "Eh?" The young man arched an eyebrow. He hadn't seen such friendliness thus far in the competetion. He hesitated before returning Yoh a smile and grabbing his hand, completing the handshake. "Nice to meet you Asakura Yoh! About damn time we had friendly competitors!" He said as the both of them chuckled. "They seem so casual...", "Mmm." Ryu and Faust conversed, sweat drops forming behind their heads. "I'm Gavin Lav, leader of team Hope. The tall guy behind me is Rael Mason, and the cute girl there is my girlfriend Karen Ames." Gavin said, introducing everyone to Yoh. "... Yo..." Rael replied. "N, nice to meet you." Karen also replied. "Mah, don't worry about them, they're just a little nervous. Being competition and all." Gavin said with a warm smile. "Ah, its the same with my friends over there, Bokuto no Ryu and Faust VIII." Yoh said, pointing his thumb back to Ryu and Faust. "Ah, and this is my spirit, Amidamaru." He added, as Amidamaru appeared behind Yoh. "Heh, cool spirit. This here his my spirit, Sentina. She's been my Guardian Angel since I was born." Gavin said, as the image of a long blonde haired, green eyed beauty appeared behind him. She wore a lot of armor, and somekind of royal blue robe. The most intruiging feature were the shimmering white wings spread from her back. Ryu immediately noticed her, and his eyes sprouted into hearts along with his hair. "S, sexy spirit!" He exclaimed as he darted over, striking a cool pose. "Of all the Angels I've seen, you truly are the most beautiful! I know I'm a lowly Shaman, but go out with me!" He continued to spout off as he extended his arm out and winked at Sentina. She stared at him coldly for a moment. "... Please do not speak to me." She replied. Ryu's heart instantly broke and twin waterfalls began to roll down his face now. "Why... Even Heaven isn't my Best Place...?" He asked him self as he sat sulking to the side. "She's just like Anna..." Yoh added, sympathizing for Ryu.
"It's curious that you would call your spirit an Angel." Faust said, as he wheeled closer to gather with his other team mates. "She doesn't look anything like the Angels the X-Laws are in possesion of." He added. "That's very true, Yoh-dono. Why is she so different?" Amidimaru asked. "It is because I am a true Angel." She replied. "It's true. When I first encountered the X-Laws, I was a bit baffled as to why their Angels were different from my own. It didn't seem to make any sense until Rael figured it out." Gavin said, looking to Rael. "The X-Laws are using a comination of Spirit and machine to create their, "Angels", in a similar sense to that of a Golem except they are using a high level of Alchemy to seal their form until they're called forth from their medium. Sentina is the true definition of an Angel." Rael explained. "Ahhh... That explains why she's so strong." Yoh acknowledged. "But, it might not be enough to defeat Hao... His Furyouku is through the roof..." Karen shyly said, pointing over to Hao, who was laying in the beach sand with Opacho, who seemed to be building a Sand Castle of some sort. "Yoh, we can't let Hao win this competition, no matter what." Gavin said. Yoh nodded in agreement with him. "S, so does this mean an alliance?" Ryu asked. "At least until Hao is defeated. Then, it's every man for himself. Besides, can he really overcome these next challenges?" Rael asked himself. "That's true, this is a Beach Competition not a Shaman fight. It will test his physical ability, not his Shamanistic ability." Faust added. "What do you say Yoh? Help make sure Hao doesn't win that prize?" Gavin asked, lending out his hand once more for a handshake. Yoh looked down and smiled. "Sure, but I'd like to do it in my own way if that's alright." He replied. Gavin was puzzled at first and then nodded. "See you in the competition, Gavin-san." Yoh said, waving to him as he, Ryu and Faust moved along. "Gavin... Are you sure we can trust him? He has the same last name as Hao..." Sentina said. "Mmm. That's true, but he seems like a nice enough guy right now. I think its safe to trust him, even if it's just this once." Gavin replied. "How can you tell?" Rael asked. "He has good vibes about him." Gavin smiled in response. Rale let out a sigh and scratched the side of his head. "I hope your right..." He replied. "Ehhh?! What the hell is with Hao-Sama making us wear such skimpy swimsuits?!" Matilda shouted, as she came out of the change room in a somewhat revealing one piece swimsuit that was bare in the back and around the belly button. A pumpkin clip in between the chest area could also be seen. "Geez, you complain too much Matilda. This is for Hao-sama, so endure it." Kanna replied, as she took a hit of her cigarette and wore what essentially looked the same outfid she wore before. "How come you don't have to wear a suit like this?!" Matilda exclaimed. "This is a swimsuit. Underneath shorter shorts." Kanna replied, pointing to the shorter legged shorts she was wearing now. Matilda grumbled and tossed aside her broom as she pantsed Kanna, revealing her black bikini bottom which caused her to scream and blushed out of embarassment. She then retaliated and punched Matilda upside the head. "Bitch! Who said you could do that?!" She screamed. "It is within the rules. No shorts on the beach young lady." Goldva interjected. "Shut up you perverted Patch Chief!" Matilda and Kanna screamed at him. He turned around and wiped a small trickle of blood coming out of his nose. "That is not true. Rules are rules." Goldva said under his breath.
Silva and Kalim watched from afar in embarassment. "I never knew that Goldva-sama..." , "Was a pervert..." They said one after another, before they both sighed. "Typical old man." Kalim said. "With out a doubt." Silva agreed. "I don't feel comfortable wearing this." Mari said as she came out in her black one piece with a white towel wrapped around her waist. She was blushing a lot and held Kirisaki close to her. "You're the most covered of all of us!" Matilda screamed at her. "I don't see what the fuss is about ladies. It feels good to change into these once in a while." Luchist said, as he stood there smiling wearing a tight leather speedo. A sparkle hit his tooth as he gave the three girls a thumbs up, trying to look cool. "Too revealing..." Matilda muttered. "What a loser..." Kanna added. "Disgusting." Mari said as she hid her face behind Kirisaki, ultimately shooting down the last bit of confidence Luchist had. "Don't worry about it Luchist. It doesn't matter how you look today." Hao said, as he stood up and took off his cloak. "I know that I will become Shaman King... So for today, I suppose it's alright to have a little fun." Hao said, looking up into the sky smiling. "Hao-sama..." Luchist said, admiring him from afar. Not far away, Marco bolts out of his respective change room proudly wearing a pair of tight leather shorts. "I, Marco of the X-Laws have changed into this in the name of justice!" He announced proudly, the sun reflecting from his glasses. "Eh, don't you think its a bit revealing, Marco-san?" Lyserg said, wearing white shorts and a green hoodie. "Nothing is too revealing for the sake of justice... Right, Maiden-sama?!" He shouted, striking a dynamic pose. "I, it's fine Marco-san..." Jeanne nervously replied from within the maiden. Finally Ren came out in his black shorts that hugged to him tightly like a scuba suit, and Horo Horo came out wearing the shorts he normally wears. "Don't you have any legitimate swim wear?" Ren asked. "Hey, it's either this or I go in naked. Sheesh, whats taking Chocolove so damn long in there?" Horo Horo wondered, crossing his arms impaitently. "I just wanted everyone to see..." Chocolove said, before opening his door to reveal a black thong speedo. "Beach thong..." He said, his butt facing Ren and Horo Horo. he then turned to face them front wise and pointed down. "... For the beach dong." He said, smiling. Ren and Horo Horo sat there, disturbed and annoyed. "That, really wasn't funny..." Ren said. "Contestants, gather!" Goldva said as everyone gathered around him. The tension was high, and everyone was ready to compete. "This competition... has officially begun!" He said with a puff of smoke from his pipe.
To Be Continued