Chapter 4

The Battle

The next day… the challenge started. King Ruka said "Ohayo, minna-san! The 2 weeks of your adventure begins here. Ok that's all. Good luck to all of you!"

Then the challenge started. "Ok. This trial is part of the battle. You'll be in a 2 day trial then 1 day break. After the break, there will be another 2 day trial and another break. Then on the remaining days, you'll prepare for the real battle. This portion is just very easy. But you have to give the best you can. Ok, this is an enormous club fist. You just have to punch it with all your strength. It measures your spirit energy. If you don't get at least 250 and up, you'll never get into the next round. You got two trials." She said.

Then, Natsume was nervous. Then, he punched it. And he got 199.

"Hey don't be a girl! Now, punch it with all your strength! I told you don't get too preoccupied by your thoughts." she shouted.

"Jeez, she's so loud. This girl is unpredictable! Last night she's so moody then now…She's so loud." he thought.

And this time he got…252! "I think you should practice more to concentrate your power." she said, slapping her forehead.

"Phew! That was close." He said.

"Be ready for the next challenge tomorrow. It will be tougher than you think. It requires you your strong senses. So better prepare. And don't get too preoccupied by your thoughts. It will be harder for you to concentrate your power. Understand?" She asked.

"Yeah, I guess so." He answered.

The next day… "This is what we call, Find the Different. You will enter a room. Ok, ready, get set, go!" she ordered.

At Natsume's room…he saw some strange holes. "Wow pretty creepy!!!" He said.

"Yes it is, and the worst is you will find yourself being attacked by the spears in all of the holes there. But your goal is to only find the different. It is a worm but it disguised itself like a spear so it might be hard for you to identify. You must kill it or else the raining of spears to you won't stop. It would only stop if you killed it ok?" She added.

"Ah! Piece of cake!" he said.

"Ok, here is your trial. Use this sword to slice off the odd one. Goodluck! Oh and one more thing, when the real spear hits you, it really hurts you know. So, better be careful! Ok let's start your trial." She ended.

Two spears were shot down.

"Can you guess where the worm is?" she asked.

Then, he saw the odd. As the worm goes near, he sliced it off. And that was his trial.

"Wow! You sure are fast! How did you find the worm?" she asked.

"It's really easy. I saw its eyes." He replied. (unbelievable!)

"How come you saw its eyes when it is traveling at 80 miles per second?" she asked.

"I don't know but I saw its eyes." He replied.

"Hmm…I think he can manipulate and concentrate his power now. Good job, Natsume." She thought. "Wow! You passed the trial. Ok here is the real game. You only have 2 hours to finish it. Ok, goodluck!!!" she said.

And there are non-stop rains of spears. Almost two hours had passed…

She said to herself, "It's almost time already and he hadn't found the worm. I guess I was wrong thinking that he learned how to concentrate his powers." She thought. "Ok, 30 seconds left." She called out. "

What the heck?! Only 30 seconds to go?! Ouch! I think a spear hit my left shoulder." He thought.

Then, later on…

"How can I find the worm? There are so many spears!" He asked himself.

Then after few seconds of thinking…

"Darn it! If these eyes can't see that worm, then how could I kill it? It's not like that I have a 20-20 vision or something. It's just that…" He thought.

Then he heard a heart beat.

"Of course, even though it looks like a spear, it's still a worm. No matter where it hides, it can never hide its heart beat! All I have to do is concentration. If my eyes can't see that worm, then I better listen to it." He thought.

It's not so long before he heard the heart beat of the worm. Then it's coming towards him.

"Gotcha!" He shouted. He sliced it through and it was dead. "Alright! I did it! At last!" he exclaimed.

"Wow! That's great news." She said.

"If you only rely on your sense of sight, your vision wavers and plays tricks on you. So, it's still best to use your primary intuitions." he said.

When they got to their room…

"You should be careful next time. It's not like I'm you're personal assistant that takes care of you all the time." She told him.

"I'm sorry Miss Mikan. I'm just so careless you see." He explained. "Oh, did I forget to mention that you call me Mikan? 'Miss Mikan' really sucks you know. Yeah, it sucks.

"I see." He replied.

"Ok get some sleep. You should be ready for tomorrow." She said.