Disclaimer: okay the clamp charactersare theirs. All of the fighters, except for 1 are OC.

AN: I borrowed One of the finalist from another series entirely. So he doesn't belong to me either. I can't give you the name or it would give it all away, but Damn it worked so well into the story. Years of Anime eating away at my brain I guess.

Chapter 22 – The Tournament

The four days before the Tournament were like a vacation for the elderly woman, her three, no make that four (five if you counted the little pipe fox) guests turned out to be excellent help. Even though the little shop was busting at the seams with business due to all the people here for the tournament the teenagers handled it like pros. Compared to the crazy demands of a certain Drunken Dimensional Witch this was a breeze. Watanuki cooked, Aya served the delicious meat pies, and Doumeki chopped wood for the fires and other physical chores while Mokona supervised it all and drank. When the shop closed, Watanuki would clean and the others would go out back and practice their skills. Doumeki shooting arrow after arrow, Aya flowing thru her sword forms.

At night, the small group would eat the dinner Watanuki had prepared, the elderly Woman making a different request each night enjoying the change from the meat Buns she baked daily. Then exhausted they would all curl up together in the back room and sleep. There was no time for serious romantic moments after that first afternoon, but they managed to steal a few kisses here and there, they were teenagers after all.

Soon enough the first morning of the Tournament was upon them, Hungo-sama went with them of course. They registered as 'Team Mokona'. The Champion of the Tournament would win the 'Grand Prize' there were prizes for the winners of each category as well as one for the team with the most wins and points by the end of the Tournament. The Black Manjuu was riding on the shoulder of the Elderly psychic, so he could watch the competition easily as well as stay out of trouble. Yeah like that was going to happen.

The first day were the elimination rounds and were fairly easy for the teenagers, each event was eventually narrowed down to eight competitors. The second day was more exciting as the eight vied to be the finalist in their chosen event. But it wasn't until the quarter finals the afternoon of the second day that things finally got really interesting….

Watanuki took 'his' Quarter finals with ease, really no one gave him any credit at all. He was hardly winded at all. How DID they think he'd managed to stay alive all these years before he had finally met Yuuko-san and she had forced that Dunce Doumeki on him? Oh sure he didn't have to run for it quite as often any more, but talent was talent. It was only very recently that he had accepted that Idiot's company willingly, so he'd often ditched the Silent Archer only to have to run for it afterwards. For the races Watanuki had adopted the short Yukata like garment the locals wore, it gave his legs excellent freedom of movement. His own garment, the one Yuuko had provided him had been too long and would have tangled in his legs. The others were dressed just as they had been when they arrived.

Archery was up next, Watanuki joined the others on the side lines to watch Doumeki's match, his opponent was one of the Lords personal guards. Watanuki did not like the look of this guy, he looked more like a brawler than an archer. But as the Match started it was obvious that the brute was good with a Bow. It wasn't until the second round though that he 'saw' the tendrils of tell tale black smoke circling the ugly archers bow and arrows. This guy could be trouble.

The first match had been a draw, but as the second match progressed it seemed that Doumeki would win by 1 arrow, as the ugly Archer slipped up and missed the bull's-eye with his last arrow of the Round. For some reason he seemed to think it was Doumeki's fault he had missed. He turned around and snarled at the stoic archer next to him, as the Targets were moved out 10 more yards. The Brute decided to taunt the taller but less bulky male he was competing against. Thinking that if he insulted him and rattled him enough it might throw him off, causing him to lose the last round. Typical Bully.

"Hey Pretty Boy, I seen you at that Meat Bun shop with that hot curvy little blonde number and the luscious little girly boy, which one you got the hots for? Hmmm, are you a Steer or a Queer?"

Doumeki almost laughed at the pathetic fool's attempt to insult him, Watanuki had been trying to get a rise out of him with insults him from the moment they'd met. This guy had nothing on the volatile Spirit Magnet. Besides the truth might actually work in his favor and rattle the ugly Jerk right back. Lifting a single eyebrow up over his amber gold eyes he replied.

"Both"

It worked like a dream, and Doumeki moved on to the Finals. Even if someone lost now Team Mokona would take the team competition, but they were here to win the Grand Prize. Oh, they weren't even sure what 'IT 'was yet, but they knew it was one of the magical items Yuuko had sent them to get. That much Mokona had been able to tell, the Item was warded and would not be taken out and shown until after the finals on the third day. Sword fighting was up next, and Watanuki wasn't exactly thrilled, Aya was the only female sword fighter to make it this far, even the archery contestants had been all male by the Quarter finals. Watanuki's final opponent was a female though, he'd seen her run earlier that day, she was good, very good. He'd heard she was one of the Shadow Messengers, those who took the most secret messages from place to place for a price. It would be interesting to run against someone as good as her for a change, instead of having to hold back like he usually did, especially during PE at school.

The sword quarter finals were about to begin, this was the part Watanuki liked the least about the competition both he and Doumeki's skills required no personal contact, no real possibility of either party getting hurt, (though Doumeki had once shown him a scar from when another lesser skilled archer's string had broken and he'd accidentally shot him in the leg back in middle school) not so with the sword fighting, it was full contact. That's why it was the last event held in each round as it had that promise of danger, blood and even accidental death. A half dozen of the combatants had been wounded so far, two of them seriously. And things would only get MORE dangerous as they got closer to the final fight.

The first match was between a short slender Samurai like warrior from Kyoto the other was a stockier gladiator type from the district of Edo. They had found that Doumeki had been right and like their own ancient Japan, this world Hokan, had very similar geography. The match began, the gladiator while very good could not keep up with the smaller more agile warrior. The match was over within minutes, the Gladiator conceding after the Samurai disarmed him.

Next up Aya, and the final match of the quarter rounds. The crowd was in a frenzy, she had become a quite the favorite among them, strong, beautiful and deadly what was there not to like. Except she could be killed, fretted the nervous Seer, Doumeki joined the group on the sidelines to watch the Mage's match.

Aya steeped upon the field to face her opponent. For the Tournament she had left her kodochi's at the Meat Bun Shop, she would not be allowed to use them here. Across from her stood a tall man with long black hair, dressed in a warrior's kimono a symbol upon his back.

"The scythes of death." A mercenary.

"I am Shizuki, Hirano, I will not hold back just because you are a woman."

"I certainly hope not Shizuki-san, shall we dance?" Drawing Ryu from his sheath she saluted the swordsman before her.

"Ah, a true Warrior, finally, I was beginning to worry that I had wasted my time." He withdrew his sword, and returned her salute. They dropped into their respective stances for but a moment before they ran to meet upon the field.

Swords flickered in the sun, attack, parry, defended, thrust, attack, parry again. Back and forth the fighters fought across the field. The skilled graceful fighters appearing as if they were 'Dancing' in truth. The crowd oohing and awing at each seemingly close call, each blocked attacked, the meeting swords ringing in the air over and over again.

Clash, clash, clash.

The combatants broke to opposite ends and then proceeded to circle one another looking for a weakness or an opening in the other's defenses. Swords catching the sun, or was it the sun? Watanuki concentrated and looked again at the swords, Ah, of course, Aya's was flickering with the same blue flames of spirit energy that had appeared when she had named the sword. The tall warrior's blade was flickering with white spirit energy, very similar to hers. A true warrior, holding a truly named blade, he had the spiritual energy to back it up. Watanuki began to chew on his knuckles Doumeki reached over and took the Seer's fingers out of his mouth.

"Stop that."

"Don't you see it, the aura, the spiritual energy that guy has?"

'Of course I do, don't be an Idiot and watch the fight." Watanuki wanted the kick the Archer except he was afraid he'd hurt his foot on the stone faced Jerk. Suddenly Aya moved, no flew, in a flurry of movement swords met again and again and again, but at last she managed to disarm the tall swordsman as he fell back upon the ground her sword pointed at his throat.

"I concede, you have beaten me fairly." Glancing to the sidelines, Aya looked to the stoic Archer then at the hyperventilating Seer, looking back to the warrior upon the ground she lowered her blade and extended her hand.

"I could not afford to lose. I have some Very Important People I need to Protect." Clasping the offered hand, the swordsman rose to his feet.

"Ah, then I was already beaten before we ever began, for I was only fighting for the prize. You should see to that cut on your shoulder." Aya looked at her right shoulder, suddenly feeling a slight sting. There was a shallow cut there where the swordsman had gotten thru her defenses just long enough to scratch her. A little blood seeped out of the wound but it wasn't nearly deep enough to need stitches, a bandage and she would be good as new.

"Hm? What, oh that, it's nothing." Aya thought for a moment, it was such a waste to have been cut and not use the blood. Wait, yes that was it.

"Shizuki-san, may I see your sword for a moment?" The curious warrior handed her his sword hilt first, she had proved herself to him. Taking a little of the blood from her shoulder onto the tip of her finger, she drew a glyph upon the blade. It was not the Wild Magic she used, Blades were forged in flame and so it was the element of fire that she called to add strength to the warrior's blade. The glyph blazed for a moment before disappearing.

"You have given me a gift far worthier than any prize for which I was fighting."

"Then we are even for today, you have shown me a true fighting spirit. Please, join us for dinner Shizuki-san."

"I would be honored. Ah look out..."

Watanuki who had been watching the sword fight from the sidelines had run out on to the field as soon as the fight appeared to be officially over. All the times the Mage had fought before she had been fighting either evil ayakashi or some other type of malevolent being, like that Demon Lord. That being the case Watanuki was usually gagging, trying to just breath or knocked out cold from the evil presence, this was the first time he had really 'seen' the Knight Mage fight. In the earlier matches, she had obviously been holding back and not using even a quarter of her skill, just enough to win. As he watched her this time, it was as if something he had been missing finally clicked into place, a piece of the Mage he hadn't been able to see clearly.

Cerowyn.

He now knew all that she 'was' the missing piece had fallen into place. He reached the Mage just as she invited her opponent to Dinner. Grabbing her uninjured arm, he spun her around to face him.

"Kimi, what..?" he took her face between his hands and mis-matched eyes gazed into the blue pair a moment before capturing her lips in a kiss. Breaking the kiss he pulled just far enough away to whisper.

"Cerowyn." Aya gasped as she heard her True Name finally upon the lips of the Seer whom she had sworn to protect with her life.

"Oh, My Kimihiro." With that the lithe blonde jumped into the raven haired teen's arms wrapping her legs about his waist and sealing the Bond with a passionate kiss. The crowd went wild at the sight of the two attractive teenagers kissing on the field, but to anyone with the 'sight' what they saw, was two elemental energies explode into life and envelope the pair, Earth and Fire. Earth supported fire and supplied the very fuel it needed to burn. Fire cleansed earth allowing for new life and growth.

Shizuka Doumeki stood on the sidelines and watched to two people he loved most in all the worlds as they bonded one to the other.

The finals of the Tournament are set to begin in the morning, the Prize waits for the Champion. Which of our travelers will be crowned the Champion of the Tournament?