Disclaimer: None of the anime used in this story belong to the writer. This is a work of fiction done for fun, not money. Please do not sue. You won't get much anyway.

Chapter Three: The Valiant

The two stood before Tôkasa, dressed in outfits closer to arena battle costumes than their usual suits. Kain had insisted on wearing his white cloak—while it could be considered a giveaway to his identity in modern Japan, in a magical world, it was not uncommon…and offered him all kinds of advantages.

"You guys signed the contract, so no hard feelings, even if you die!" Tôkasa barked. "That's the law of us prize-fighters! We clear, rookies!?"

"Crystal clear!" Kenjirô answered, brandishing his sword.

"We won't be dying today!" Kain agreed.

"You bastards are the opening act! Make sure you give the spectators a good show!"

"Right!" they said, hurrying up the steps towards the arena floor.

"Now go beat the crap out of them!"

They entered the arena to the cheering of the crowd. Even the audience at the Festival didn't compare to this…Kain looked around, trying to hide his nervousness.

"And now, the season has opened. The dual-fighter league of the Granicus Summer Tournament Minerva Cup! This year, we have a special treat! The victors of both leagues, single- and dual-fighter tournaments, will be entered into the special Memorial Tournament, prize 1,000,000 juls, in the old capital of Orimus, in three months' time, during the Memorial Festival!

"To open this season, we present the two newest fighters of the number one local prize-fighting team, 'Granicus Fortes'!"

"Oh!" cried Mama, standing again behind the children-students. "Those kids have appeared?"

"Kain-sensei…" murmured Rei.

"J-just such a crowd…" Kain murmured.

"Around here, this is the number one form of entertainment," Kenjirô answered. "I hear my dad used to make his living around places like this…I guess I'm following in his footsteps, too…."

"And now, their opponents…the freelance fighter veterans of Hecates…. Alco's tiger beastman, Ray Blaze! And from Kalthules Forest, the fairy Lim Dies!"

"Rookies, huh?" muttered the leonine Ray Blaze. "Shall we crush 'em, Lim?"

"Yeah!" the tiny faerie cried cheerfully. "Let's go!"

"What's this?" Kain muttered. "That little thing is a prize-fighter, too?"

"A faerie-folk…don't underestimate her," Kenjirô warned. "Probably a good spellcaster…they're likely a perfect front/back fighter/support team."

"You all know the rules! The match is decided when one team gives up or is unable to continue fighting! There are no restrictions on weapons or magic!"

Miki, serving drinks and plates of food with the other three girls up on the VIP landing overlooking the stadium, glanced down and saw the figures squaring off down below. "Yukari!" she called. "They're starting!"

"Huh?" She hurried over and glanced down at the pair. "So they are…."

('Good afternoon…I'm Hirai Yukari, Mahora Academy (Middle School), Class 3-A, Student Number 21. Although I try to be cheerful and I'm full of energy, in this class, I really don't stand out too much…there's not a whole lot that's special about me, one way or another. Or at least…that's how it's supposed to be…but now….')

Kenjirô flourished his sword. "Let's go ahead and play their game…I'll fight him, so you get some spells started."

"Sure." Kain sprang backwards, towards the back of the arena.

"Begin!" shouted the official.

Ray Blaze came darting in at the smaller demon boy, with no weapons but sharp claws raised. He was large, but despite his size he was wiry and lean, not thin but with just the right amount of bulk to all his parts in order to look dangerous—combined with his claws, tiger-like face, tail, and shaggy body, he gave the definite appearance of being dangerous.

Kenjirô, however, was more impressed by his speed. He blocked the first attack and counter-slashed, but the experienced fighter jumped back nimbly and immediately began to circle around behind. ('He's quick!')

One of the tiger's fists had been closed, but as he darted around Kenjirô he suddenly opened it, scattering a collection of small objects to the ground. ('Seeds?')

"Bloom forth, O sprouts!" chanted the faerie. "Become like a chain and capture the enemy!"

The seeds sprouted instantly, producing vines that swarmed up and bound Kenjirô in very short order. Even as he admired the speed of the spell, Ray Blaze was on him, delivering a powerful punch to the boy's midsection.

"Kenjirô-kun!" Yukari cried.

Kain, calmly ignoring Kenjirô's plight, finished his own spell. A magic circle appeared overhead and began to lance a stream of magical bolts into the ground. Ray Blaze nimbly dodged backwards, somersaulting continuously until he landed next to his companion. Lim was chanting again, ignoring the missles, and Ray Blaze planted himself. "Tiger's Roar!" With this cry he produced a massive sound wave barrier that blocked Kain's magical attack. The redhead raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Come, O spirits of the earth, spirits of the flowers! Under the blue sky, where the dreams flowing lie, run through! Spring Tempest!"

The shockwave of nearly rainbow-colored energy blasted back and collided with Kain, obscuring him in dust, smoke and cloud. The crowd recoiled from the force of the blast.

"An incredible bout of sudden magic from the match! Has it already been decided?"

Ray Blaze put his hand to the back of his head and laughed heartily. "Was that too much for the rookies? That was surprisingly quick!"

"Ya~y! Ya~y!" trilled Lim as she swooped around her partner.

"Wow," Kenjirô murmured, "she really is strong. Potent magical power…."

"As expected from a faerie," Kain agreed. "I underestimated her."

The two were now standing next to the big beastman. He recoiled in shock. "Wha…!? You guys! How are you unharmed!?"

"No, not unharmed," Kenjirô denied. "I let my guard down and took a hit…."

"We still have a ways to go," Kain added. "Yet another lesson to learn…."

"Don't screw with us!" Ray Blaze roared, rearing back to throw a punch.

"Too slow." Kenjirô powered up his sword in preparation for a big swing. Simultaneously, Kain was charging his own energy in his fist. The three brought their powers together, Kain and Kenjirô's attacks combining against the big cat. There was a brief strain of powers, and then an explosion…and when the dust cleared, the Ray Blaze was lying on the ground, defeated, and Kain and Kenjirô stood there, unharmed.

"One down," Kenjirô said. "Now the shrimp…."

They turned and almost face-vaulted when they saw that the faerie was waving a tiny white flag.

Yukari gave out a sigh of relief as the announcer declared, "It's a complete upset! These two young men have treated a couple of seasoned veterans as if they were mere neophytes!"

"Hey!" a rough voice suddenly called, interrupting Yukari's brief celebration. "Stop slacking off, newbies!"

"Okay…!"

('…Well, in any case, I should be an average, ordinary middle schooler. But what kind of trouble have I gotten myself into? A place where magic exists…a place with animal-men and faeries…it's like a video game has come to life and sucked me inside of it! Now, having been made a 'slave' and having to work myself to the bone everyday…it's seriously tough. And, in order to save us, Kain-sensei and Kenjirô-kun used magic to transform into really cool guys and are fighting for our sakes.

('…Yeah, when you think about it, it should definitely be a dream. It just can't be reality, but…here we are. It's too strange and mysterious…. But, whether it's a dream or not, I guess…I should be happy to have those two giving their all for us.')

A scantily-clad 'lady' with bat wings and a microphone was hurrying over to the victors as they made their way off of the arena floor. "Excuse me!"

"Yes?" Kenjirô said politely, as he and Kain stopped to regard her.

"We need an interview with the winners."

Kain and Kenjirô shared a look and nodded in unison, then turned their attention back to the interviewer. "The Lim-Ray duo has always been at the top of the rankings!" she enthused. "Congratulations on such a splendid debut to your fighting career in taking them down!"

She focused on Kenjirô. "And by what names must we call our mysterious newcomers?" She turned to microphone his way.

"Tanabi Kôjirô," Kenjirô said. He had already decided to avoid using either his real name (either part of it) or his usual alias of Kôtarô, as that name had some weight around the area, and it wouldn't do to draw attention to him since he had used his real name on his 'immigration' papers (or, if you will, MagiPassport). "Make sure to remember it!" he insisted.

"Kôjirô?" Miki murmured.

"He needs to use an alias…for many reasons," Yukari explained. He had discussed the aforementioned reasons with her earlier.

"And your name would be?" the lovely woman pressed, turning the microphone on Kain.

Kain smiled slightly, then, to the woman's surprise, reached out and took the microphone from her. "Excuse me," he offered politely. Shocked by this unusual action (and, perhaps, dazzled even more than that by the intense smile he turned on her), she did not protest or resist.

Kain stepped back and glanced around at the crowd above, surveying all around the arena, taking in the mass of faces, steeling himself by staring directly at the entity that could stir senseless fear within him. Drawing in a deep breath, he boldly declared, "My name is…Kalan Lockeheart!"

Chisame burst out a panicked cry. Kenjirô did a double take. Nanami whistled under her breath. Vargas, Tôkasa, and the recovered Lim and Ray Blaze all gave out cries of shock.

Kenjirô stepped up to him, reached out and took him by the collar, and drew him in close to whisper at him while he cupped the microphone. "Oi, are you sane? What are you doing, using that name in this world!? What do you think is gonna happen!?"

Kain smiled back at him. "What do you think is going to happen?" he teased quietly.

"What are you talking about? I mean, Kain might have been fine, or Cael or Kalel or anything…."

Meanwhile, there was a huge, disbelieving ripple of sound passing through the audience. Miki glanced around, taking note of it.

The interviewer, recovering, managed to hurry forward and turn the microphone her way, although she could not pry it from Kain's hand. "D-did you just say 'Kalan Lockeheart'? As in, the name of the Grand Archmage, the greatest hero of Arcanus Myrror? Are you perhaps related to him? I must admit that I do see a resemblance…no, it's honestly safe to say that you're his spitting image!"

Kain laughed slightly, then took up the microphone again. Returning to his bold speech, he declared, "Despite the similarities in our names and our appearance, I am not the man so many of you remember. Both are…merely coincidences. I do not claim any kinship with this man, either."

"If that idiot lets it slip…" Chisame muttered.

"…As you can imagine, this coincidence has been a bit of a burden on me since my youth," Kain continued, milking the crowd for all it was worth as it answered his claims with cheers, jeers, cries and huzzahs.

"Everyone is so surprised, just because he claimed the name of his father," Miki murmured. "I wonder…."

"Yes, I was given this name and face by fate. However…I am here to tell you that I will not do injustice to the name of Kalan Lockeheart…it will once again become a name to be revered and feared in this generation! I will show a battle to you all worthy of the name and legacy of Kalan Lockeheart! As I bear the name of the strongest man, let the strongest fighters come to challenge it! I'll be waiting for all of you! Bring me the greatest warriors by the dozens, and I will face you—each and every one of you!"

Chisame had thought the Festival conversations were ludicrous, but the buzz sweeping through the arena was unearthly. Many insisted that the man was lying—some claiming that he was obviously a relation, despite his claim, while others were saying he was using magic to disguise his appearance and had taken the name as a publicity stunt. Many remarked upon how this turn of events would swing betting on the matches this season. Quite a few cheered this audacious young man and hoped to see him live up to his grandiose claims.

"This is quite a debut, isn't it?" Mama mentioned, still standing behind Chisame. The 'little' girl could make no reply but to sweat drop.

8-8-8

Kain and Nanami, restored to their usual ages, stood inside the magic circle, facing each other. "This is quite an honor, to be making a contract with the new generation's Kalan Lockeheart!" she enthused. "Maybe you should age yourself for this, so the atmosphere will be perfect…."

"E-even if I claim to be Kalan Lockeheart, the card will read 'Kain' anyway…" the young man objected.

"Oh, c'mon, Kain-sensei, have a sense of humor! I'm just trying to have some fun…."

"Could you get on with it?" Kenjirô growled. "Kain still has a lot of explaining to do…."

"Be quiet! A maiden's first kiss is an important thing. This is the 'emergency' I was waiting for, but the mood has to be right…."

"No way this is your first kiss," Chisame muttered, still child in form.

"Doesn't Nanami-san have a relationship with Mizuhara Makoto-san?" the normal-aged Rei inquired.

"W-we don't have a relationship!" Nanami insisted, strangely red-faced—a very unusual trait for her. "We haven't even talked about it yet!"

"Wh~at?" Chisame asked slowly, turning to Rei. "It seems we've found Jinnai's weakness. How did Ayanami find out…?"

"A-anyway," Nanami insisted, turning back to Kain and brushing at her hair self-consciously, "let's get this over with…."

"R-right," Kain agreed, glad that this portion of the drama was over, and once again consented to the kiss.

After the explosion of energy was over, Nanami caught her card and stepped back shyly, covering her mouth with the card. "Well…if that's what kisses are like, maybe I should talk to Mizuhara when we get back…."

"All right, your turn," Chisame sighed, shoving Rei forward.

Rei actually stepped with some hesitation towards the circle. "Is this…really all right…Kain-sensei?"

"O-of course," Kain said. "Right now…we need all the help we can get, and if Sendô Kaya-san objects…we can always nullify the contract in those circumstances…."

"No, Sensei…." She shook her head. "That's not…no. It's nothing." She stepped forward boldly. "Let us commence."

And so they shared their own kiss, one again bringing the wave of emotion and energy flowing through them. Rei basked in the glow that was so utterly alien to her. ('This…this feeling…it is….')

They withdrew, and the card appeared before Rei. She took it in her hand.

"Well, what have we got?" Kamo hopped onto Rei's shoulder, glanced at the card, then made his way over to Nanami's. "Hey…beautiful…not the kinds of things we can show off in here, but they're perfect for our plan."

He then ran over to the room's desk and hopped up on it so he had, as it were, a kind of podium to stand on. Rei, Kain, and Nanami seated themselves so they might join Chisame and Kenjirô in the audience.

"Okay…time to get all the details sorted out. I'll start. First of all—before we do anything more, it's important that you know what we're dealing with here. We were ambushed in the Gateport by the Obsidian Star—there were several guys there that I recognized. You guys already mostly know about Eminus—he's the fifth or sixth incarnation of the being, a kind of golem created by the Obsidian Star. However, much more troubling are the other guys, Dynamis, and Nagi. Both of them were involved in the war back in the day. Nagi is not much of a fighter, from what we've seen…I've never seen him involved in a regular fight, personally. He's more of a commander and…ambassador."

"Ambassador?" Kenjirô demanded, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah…he was the Obsidian Star's contact with Aizen Sôsuke, the traitor of the Soul Society. It's through him that we really found out about the Obsidian Star in the first place. He's got some weird personality quirks, and…he's far from human. He might be…something halfway between me and a mazoku. I think he's the essence of what the Obsidian Star is…but that's really not something we need to worry about right now. He summons creatures to do his fighting for him…and if he's moving again, the important thing is that the Obsidian Star is definitely back, and definitely involved in something.

"As for Dynamis…he's just a foot-soldier, but a powerful one. I never saw him too much, but he is one of the guys that took us on in the final battle. Jynx took him out, I think. Or was it Aiden? Anyway, it seems like he survived. But he looks to be about the only one."

"All well and good," Chisame said. "But I'm more interested in the other rodent that was there…."

"Yeah…Alvaris." Kamo sighed. "That's…the troublesome thing. It's just as you think…he's someone that's just like me, a magic spirit, a mana elemental. He's…well, he wasn't part of the Obsidian Star in the war. He must have…arrived recently….

"You see…let me start from the beginning. Mana, magic, is sentient…sentience with neither instincts nor morality. It exists on its own, and in its natural plane it doesn't have any needs or desires…it just is. However, mana…becomes attracted to beings and things that draw on it. When enough of it is gathered, it forms sapience, and learns from the situations around it…and from those who interact with it. Sometimes mana has unique ways of learning to interact with mortal realms. Usually, it condenses itself into beings…like me.

"I've developed this personality, this form, and this being from thousands of years of interaction with humans and other magic-using sapient races. And Alvaris…is another just like me. He is also mana that has arisen from the binding of contracts and seals. However…we…have differing viewpoints. As I said, we have neither instincts nor morality…so everything that arises in us is patchwork, influenced by the world we experience.

"I found myself attracted to human ideologies, to heroics, to some of the best parts of humanity…and, needless to say, to the female portion of your species. Alvaris, however…he never really connected with emotions, only with the intellectual portion of humanity. To his mind, nothing matters except…the existence of mana, I guess you could say. If an objective will strengthen his power, or the power of magic, he pursues that objective. He's not evil…even if you can consider me good, which I wouldn't require. But he certainly isn't good, either.

"I've met him before…and we have…a bit of a rivalry. I hate to say it, but he might have come here just because he found out that I was involved…."

He coughed. "Anyway, now Eminus has a bunch of his own little girls contracted to him. I can tell that he's the one their cards were bound to—part of my natural ability and all that. So that means this Eminus…has some traces of humanity in him….

"So, to sum up: our enemies consist of the Obsidian Star's new forces, which include (to our knowledge so far) one old guard warrior, one old guard summoner, one elemental golem, one magical spirit of contracts, and at least 10 contracted allies. All the other bounty hunters and whatever that might actually be after us don't mean anything compared to them—that's what we're facing as we struggle, so keep it in mind…we've just seen that these forces are at least as strong as we are at our best, so for now, we need to avoid conflict as much as possible. Kain, to you: give us our plan."

Kain smiled, rose, and took center stage. "We came here with the intention of finding my father…however, all our plans got cast to the wind before we even got started. Now, we have three objectives: we have to find the rest of our scattered companions; we have to find a way back to Earth; and, if we can, we have to discover what the Obsidian Star is planning and stop them, although this is much lower priority than the other two."

"The contracts are the first step to accomplishing the first objective," Kamo continued. "As we hoped, Nanami-chan got the artifact she needed at the right time. She can't demonstrate it here, but I still recognize it: the El-Hazard, a powerful airship. It's a stealth vessel, not built for war, but it's a pretty high-powered scouting ship." He cast a spell, and two images appeared in the air. One was of a kind of airship, one that, despite the limited experience of the audience with airships, they knew to be quite unique. The other was of the magical world, Arcanus Myrror. A signal flashed on the map. Then a line began to trace around the world. "I guessed, but didn't know, so let me do some fast calculations…right….

"Nanami-chan's mission will be to take the El-Hazard around the world, scanning for our missing badges. Rei-chan will accompany her, both for protection, and to use her magic to operate the badges and conduct the scan. By integrating the badge with the El-Hazard, she should be able to increase the scanning range by a factor of five to six. So, following this route, a full scan of the world should be doable over the next three months. We should be able to gather the rest of the White Wings by then."

"So…three months is when the tournament takes place in Orimus," Chisame said. "Good timing…but what about those without the badges? The elder Harada and Konoe are still lost in the world, and the badges won't help locate them…."

"And that's where the tournament will help," Kain said smoothly. "Really, it's going to solve the rest of our problems for us…or lead to their solutions. Now, you're all wondering why I was so insistent on using the name of Kalan Lockeheart. The reason is this: how famous do you think the name of Kalan Lockeheart is? Or, rather, how long do you think it will be before the name of Kalan Lockeheart spreads around the entire world?"

"Er…no time at all," Chisame admitted. "So…."

"Using the fame of the name Kalan Lockeheart, you will be able to discreetly send messages to our scattered comrades," Rei offered. "Not only Konoe-san and Harada-san, but all of our classmates may be reached this way."

"Yes…that's true," Kenjirô said slowly. "Still…isn't it dangerous to attract so much attention to yourself?"

"Perhaps," Kain said. "But we can't avoid danger…and there's going to be enough attention on us anyway, from those who care, if we make it into the memorial tournament. This way, I'm sending the message out early. And by attracting all this attention to myself…whoever has put the bounties on us can't act openly against us as long as I'm in the limelight like that. No one likes to have their fantasies interrupted, right?"

"Amen to that," Chisame muttered.

"We need to win the tournament to earn the money to free Hirai-san and the rest," Kain continued. "But more than that…this step I've taken has ensured us that we'll have strong fighters coming to compete with us. That'll be good training…and we've already seen that we have to get stronger still if we hope to face off against Eminus and the rest of them. That's a useful side effect of my strategy, and the tournament itself.

"And the tournament, leading us to the old capital of Orimus, will lead to our escape from the magical world. Go ahead, Kamo."

"Eminus and crew seem to have destroyed all the Gates, leaving us stranded here—the two worlds cut off. But that's not quite true," the ermine said. "There is one Gate left—one that isn't active. It's not broken—just inactive. Orimus, the capital of the kingdom of Kanev, was the site of the final battle against the Obsidian Star in the war, and became the ground zero for a kind of magical holocaust. The Gate had to be turned off for safety. But we can reactivate it—and use it to go back. All we need is all of our party safe and sound…."

The group considered this. "Okay, I'll have to concede that it's decent enough," Chisame said. "At least, it's the best we've got. What about me? Do I have a place in this? (Not that I mind if I don't have to worry about anything….)"

"You'll be our communicator, Chiucchi," Kamo said happily. "The El-Hazard has a strong computer system, and using your artifact, you can make contact with it."

"Is that all? Well, that should be enough. At least I'll be able to take it mostly easy…."

"Okay!" Nanami said brightly. "I'm excited to be able to finally do something useful here. So when do we get started?"

8-8-8

The next morning, they stood on a veranda above the arena, observing the El-Hazard. It was a large ship, about a hundred meters long, with over half that length taken up by a great fat ball of a main body, with two wings emerging from the body and the rest of its length being taken up by a long, thin tail. It floated almost eerily in the air above them. The bottom of the ship, a five-meter radius disc, actually separated from the body and descended down to allow its passengers to board, then floated back up to rejoin the ship seamlessly. It seemed to operate at Nanami's mental (or verbal) command.

The two girls presented themselves to the party before departing, and Yukari and Miki were also present, staring in awe. "This is…quite a ship," Miki said. "Where did you get it from?"

"My contract!" Nanami exulted, presenting Kain's version of the card. "Thanks to this, I am now a supergirl too!"

"Contract?" Yukari asked, narrowing her eyes. "What's that…?"

"That's my power, Ojô-chan!" Kamo explained. "I make contracts between mages and others, granting magical power and artifacts like this!"

"Oh, I see," Miki said, examining the card. "How suspiciously familiar…."

"Kamo…" Kain sighed, as usual, taking his card back.

"What are you talking about?" Yukari demanded of Miki.

"So," Miki said instead to Nanami, "you kissed Kain to get that…artifact?"

"Ooo, leave it to Miki-chan to figure it all out," Nanami laughed. "You obviously haven't forgotten Kyoto…."

"Wait…Kyoto…you mean Nodoka-san's card?" Yukari demanded in shock. "So…because she kissed Kain-sensei…?"

"That's right," Kamo agreed. "Nanami was the 10th girl to contract with Kain that way…."

"Oh?" Miki said, raising an eyebrow. "That many…?"

Yukari was staring in shock. "Ten…ten…ten girls…?"

"And Rei-san is the 11th," Nanami finished, gesturing to the other girl.

"K-Kain-sensei, you animal!" Yukari screeched, starting to run away.

"N-no, you've got it all wrong!" Kain protested.

Eventually they retrieved Yukari and calmed her down, and she apologized for her outburst. Then they prepared to set off.

"Wish us luck!" Nanami called cheerily. "We'll be back before you know it—don't have too much fun without us!"

"Kain-sensei. Chisame-san. Hirai-san. Hanabishi-san." Rei paused, and then nodded to the hanyô. "Kenjirô-san. Take care…all of you." She turned to Kain. "Kain-sensei…I will protect Nanami-san. Do not worry."

Kain smiled at her. "Of course. And make sure you take care of yourself, too, Rei."

Rei hesitated slightly, then nodded. Then she turned and strode purposefully onto the platform.

"I wonder how well this ship will work in the real world," Nanami murmured. "Well, we'll have to get back home so I can try it out, right?" She winked at them. "Ja ne!"

They waved as Nanami leapt aboard the platform and it slid up into the ship. The eerie vessel rose, turned, and took off into the sky.

"Well, that's them," Kenjirô said, cracking his knuckles. "Now, our match is waiting. Let's get back to our job."

"Ho, boy," Chisame muttered with a half-smile. "And so I'm left to baby-sit you boys…."

Yes, she was still in her child form….

8-8-8

"Now then, let's have an interview with the brilliantly accomplished Kalan Lockeheart, who has now won 13 consecutive matches since his debut!" the exotic and relentless interviewer called. Full of energy, it seemed the near-devil girl never tired of giving out her interviews after each and every match. "Good afternoon, Mr. Lockeheart. We're doing a world-wide broadcast today!"

Kain perked up. "A world-wide broadcast?" he asked.

"That's right! Is there anything you'd like to say to the magical world, Mr. Lockeheart?"

She was now used to him taking the microphone from her. He sought out and quickly found the cameraman hovering behind her and gave his brightest smile. "Harada Riku-san! Konoe Kaoru-san! Are you watching? It's me, Kalan! Your teacher is here with me, as are your other lost friends!

"There are many means of travel here, so, if you can, try to meet us in Orimus in two months' time! For now, don't worry about getting back to the academy. Just focus on meeting us at the old capital for the Memorial Festival and its tournament! We hope to see you there!"

"Oh?" the woman said coyly as she took the microphone back from him. "That sounded like a personal message. An invitation to your girlfriend?"

Kain laughed amiably. "Something like that…" he teased.

"Oh no, really? This is a big scoop!"

"He's getting pretty darn good at that," muttered Chisame to Kenjirô as Kain continued his banter with the lady reporter. Kenjirô had left Kain to gather the accolades, as he generally did, and met the 'little girl' in the fighter's lounge.

"Hard to believe he's the same little camera-shy kid," Kenjirô agreed with a smile. "Then again, he was always good at turning on the charm and showing a brave face when he has to…."

"Yeah…flirting shamelessly…as always, the lady-killer."

"Jealous?" Kenjirô teased.

"Knock it off, Kenjirô," Chisame snapped good-naturedly. "In any case, everything seems to be going according to plan. It seems that this tournament really was the only way to attract attention to us and get word out here in the middle of nowhere. I guess it says something that three victors from these leagues will be automatically entered into the 64-man main tournament…by the way, why did you choose to enter the two-man team league?"

"Isn't it obvious? There are only the three—one from the single man, two from the two-man. Getting two of us into that bracket doubles our chances of winning the big prize…we're confident in our power, but we're not delusional. We know it won't be smooth sailing all the way, so we need to stack the odds in our favor where we can."

"I suppose so. Well, all we can do is keep going…."

F I N

Author's Note: Tournaments and Airships

Well, this short chapter sets the stage for the overarching goal of the story from this point onward…until the magical world crisis is resolved. The tournament is still a good ways away, and we have lots of characters to gather…and lots of stories to tell.

Of course, things are not going to be smooth sailing all the way. Troubles are going to start popping up starting next chapter…but along with them will come new opportunities….

Not much more to say at the moment. Let's move onward!