Author's Note

Admittedly, the plot for this fiction is not coming to me as easily as the plot for Bells did. I can see the general direction of where I want the story to go, and I have a couple of ideas for things that could happen within the storyline, but all the little details and how to get from point A to point B evade me. I've been putting off writing in the hopes that inspiration will strike, because I don't want to rush the story and end up ruining it, but I do realize that I have to update at some point in time, haha. It's a delicate balance.

But here's the next chapter :) Reads and reviews so very appreciated, thank you for keeping me going.


Chapter 10

Fuji approached his brother in the competitor's lounge. "It's finally your turn, ne, Yuuta?"

Yuuta looked up from where he was polishing the handle of an ax. "Ah, aniki," he said. "Congratulations on your win earlier."

"Thanks, Yuuta," Fuji smiled. It had been a while since he had last spent time with his younger brother. "Hopefully, I'll see you in the next round?"

Yuuta shrugged. "I don't know. The Emperor of Rikkai is going to be in this match as well. From what I hear, he's a pretty powerful guy."

Fuji patted his brother on the shoulder. "Just do your best, Yuuta. Keep a sharp mind and be on alert."

"Aa. Domo, aniki."

"Yuuta-kun?" An annoying voice sang out. Fuji looked up to see Mizuki striding towards them. He scowled slightly and turned away, but not before catching Mizuki's next words. "Yuuta, I have a new technique for you to use…"


"In the North corner, we have Sanada Genichirou, Emperor of Rikkai," Hiyoshi announced to the audience. The stoic emperor, dressed in the royal green robes of a swordsman, nodded at Hiyoshi. A katana was strapped across his back.

"In the East corner, Fuji Yuuta, from St. Rudolph!" Gakuto shouted. "Eh? Fuji? You're Fuji Syuusuke's little brother, aren't you?"

"Oi, shut it!" Yuuta said, scowling. His broadsword hung at his hip, and he had a pair of small axes strapped across his back.

"In the South corner, we have Kirihara Akaya, also from Rikkai," Hiyoshi announced. A boy with scraggly black hair and red eyes grinned wickedly at the crowd. He wore a tight, sleeveless black top with a bright orange vest on top of it, loose-fitting black pants hanging off of his hips. A flame pattern decorated the hems of his pants, making it seem as though live flames were creeping up his legs. In his hand, he grasped a plain wooden staff.

"And finally, in the West corner, we have a mysterious competitor only known as 'Masquerade!'" Gakuto announced, pointing towards the final corner. The light illuminated a small figure, dressed in a black hooded cloak with a silver mask covering his eyes. The little fighter did not seem to be wearing any weapons.

"Hah!" Kirihara shouted from his corner. "You think you can handle both me and the Emperor of Rikkai, you puny brat? You've got a lot of nerve!" He burst out laughing again.

Had Kirihara looked closer, he would have noticed the corners of Masquerade's lips curl up into a smirk.

"Let the final fight begin!"

Kirihara leapt forward. "First, we'll start with the tensai's little brother!" He sang. He whirled his staff above his head, flames spewing forth. "Let's see if you can even hold a candle to him!"

Yuuta's eyebrows furrowed in anger. He reached back and withdrew his twin hatchets. "Meet Castor and Pollux, the Gemini blades!" He whipped the hatchets down in a cross-motion, and the earth before him split into pieces. Rocks flew up, knocking Kirihara backwards.

Kirihara lay motionless on the ground for a minute before rising again. "That hurt, Fuji Yuuta…" He said slowly, holding his head with one hand. Blood streamed from a gash on his forehead. "Now you've gone and done it!"

Kirihara's hair turned white and his skin burned red as the fire-boy seemed to transform. Two small horns grew atop his head, and his teeth and nails elongated into fangs and claws. He leapt at Yuuta, eyes bloodshot, laughing dangerously. His speed had increased dramatically, and before Yuuta could react, Kirihara was in front of him.

"Take this!" He shouted, thrusting his clawed hands into Yuuta's stomach. The younger Fuji brother spat blood while Kirihara continued to cackle maniacally.

"Kirihara, that's enough!" Sanada commanded. He withdrew his katana, lightning crackling as the blade swept across the hilt. With a shout, he hurtled towards the devilish boy.

Kirihara turned, laughing, and pushed the injured Yuuta into Sanada's arms, who only just managed to move his katana out of the way before he caught him. "Now I can finish you both at once!" He laughed.

Yuuta stirred in Sanada's arms. "Oh no you don't," he rasped out. He picked up the Gemini blades once again and positioned them across his body diagonally. 'Here goes nothing, Mizuki,' he thought, before twisting his arms and torso rapidly. A pain shot through his shoulders, but he felt the immense power he unleashed through the earth. The ground beneath him shook and crackled, sending rocks spiraling towards Kirihara.

Kirihara was struck again by the rocks, but was only pushed back slightly. "That didn't hurt a bit!" he taunted. "Why don't you try that again, little boy?"

Yuuta grit his teeth. "I will defeat you!" he yelled, positioning himself to attack again. But before he could launch himself into motion, he felt all of the muscles in his body freeze, and suddenly he was surrounded by darkness.

"Ne," a voice called from near his ear. "You shouldn't use that move anymore." Yuuta glanced to the side to see the mysterious Masquerade standing beside him. The masked man reached up with one slender hand and squeezed Yuuta's shoulder. Yuuta winced, and dropped the hatchet he held in that hand. "Don't use it anymore," Masquerade repeated, as the world reappeared.

"What did you do to him?" Sanada demanded. "Why did you stop his attack? No one can stop Kirihara once he's like this!"

Kirihara cackled, and sent forth a torrent of flames that spiraled around him. "This match will be mine!"

Fuji watched from behind the scenes, enraged that someone had interfered with his brother's attack and had placed him in danger of Kirihara's fiery tornado. He felt his anger rise even higher as the masked competitor pushed Yuuta firmly by the chest, out of the arena.

"Fuji Yuuta, eliminated!" Gakuto cried from where he was taking shelter from the fire. Fuji clenched his teeth.

'Just who does this stranger think he is?' he thought murderously. 'When I get my hands on him…'

Yuuta blinked from the sidelines, sitting where he had landed after the rough push. The stranger had whispered to him before he had been eliminated.

"Sorry," the husky voice had said softly. "This is for your own protection."

The flames from Kirihara's tornado spun wildly, engulfing the entire arena in fiery madness. "He… saved me," Yuuta said to himself. He tried to put weight on his arms to stand, but pain shot through his shoulders. He grunted. "He also warned me against using that move Mizuki taught me… Who is he?"

"Yuuta-kun?" Yuuta spun around to meet the soothing green eyes of Oishi. "Let's get your shoulders healed up, okay? As well as that gash in your stomach."

"Ah…" Yuuta said as Oishi helped him to his feet. "How did you know I was hurt?"

Oishi laughed. "Well, the stomach injury was kind of obvious," he admitted. "As for your shoulders… Let's just say that a little someone gave us a mental, telepathic hint."

Yuuta frowned in confusion, but followed Oishi to the infirmary. He would find out the results of the match later.

Sanada stared at Kirihara, who was bouncing around, out of control. At first, it had been all that the Emperor could do to keep up with his motions and parry his erratic attacks, but now Kirihara seemed to be moving more slowly, landing softer blows with less accuracy. The devilish boy finally stopped moving.

"Emperor… Sanada…?" Kirihara gasped. His hair turned black and his skin lightened as he transformed back into a regular boy once more. He stumbled towards his emperor, swaying unsteadily.

Sanada rushed forward and caught the boy before he fell. "Kirihara? What's wrong?"

"I can't control it anymore…" Kirihara's words were whispered as he collapsed in Sanada's arms. A flare of heat burned beside Sanada. The fiery tornado was out of control.

"Oi!" Sanada shouted to the other competitor remaining. "We need to work together to get this blaze under control so that we can get Kirihara out of here!"

The figure cocked his head to the side, as though considering Sanada's words. He then looked out at the fire that surrounded them, separating them from the audience, the judges, and anyone else who was watching the event. The boy in the mask smirked.

"Mada mada dane."

Spreading his arms wide and sending forth a powerful gust of wind, the fiery tornado burst open, flames flickering harmlessly into the open air. Water gushed forth from beneath Masquerade's feet, dousing any remaining flames.

"Ki-kirihara is eliminated!" Hiyoshi stammered. "Just what happened in there anyway?"

Sanada lay Kirihara down on the sidelines and walked back to the masked fighter. "Just you and me now, little boy."

The figure frowned, as though upset about being called little, but did not speak a word. After all, he did not want to be recognized by anyone in the audience.

Sanada raised his katana above his head and swung down, splitting the earth below him. "Fuurinkainzanrai!" he cried. Lightning crackled through the air, the fiery tendrils striking out towards Masquerade. The deadly light danced around the small boy, casting eerie shadows in every which direction.

The boy raised one hand, and the audience watched as the lightning bolts froze where they crackled through the air. The boy opened his mouth and blew gently. Sanada watched in horror as his lightning bolts froze over, and then crumbled into harmless snowflakes. Gritting his teeth, he tried a new attack.

Raising the katana again, Sanada drove it deep into the earth. "I summon my animal familiar," he shouted, "Raiju!"

The ground opened up, and a burst of lightning spewed forth. A large creature, standing nearly as tall as Sanada itself, leapt from the crevice, growling at Masquerade. Its appearance was similar to that of a wolf, its black fur crackling with static. It gave a gravelly howl, the sound somehow full of the clapping of lightning. "Raiju, attack!"

The beast sprang forth, fangs bared at the smaller warrior. Several members of the audience screamed, while others cheered the beast on. The mysterious boy leapt just in time, avoiding Raiju's initial attack. Cursing under his breath, he reached beneath his black cloak. Sanada tensed as the figure withdrew his weapon…

Only to laugh when he saw that the stranger brandished a little silver bell, a red ribbon tied around the handle. "What are you going to do with that, boy?" Sanada jeered. "Annoy me to death?"

The stranger's only response was the ring the tiny bell. The audience held its collective breath, waiting for something great to happen.

The roof of the stadium was wrenched open with a deafening metallic groan. Sanada turned his gaze up slowly, as horror struck him. A giant black dragon writhed above the arena, black flames spewing from its mouth. The dragon hissed, showing off fangs the length of a grown man's arm. It reached for Raiju with one deadly claw, before taking off high into the sky with a flap of its mighty wings.

"Raiju!" Sanada cried. "Fight back!" He swung his katana again, summoning a bolt of lightning. The lightning merely bounced off of the great dragon's back.

The dragon paused for a moment mid-air, and then plummeted back down towards the earth. With an unearthly screech, it threw the lightning beast down into the middle of the arena, where it lay, defeated.

Sanada sank to his knees, his energy spent. The dragon roosted atop the building, behind the still-covered figure. He cowered at the sheer power emanating from a boy who was able to control such a great beast. "Who… are you?"

"Emperor Sanada is unable to continue!" Hiyoshi announced. "We have our last member of the next round!"


Ryoma sighed as he walked out of the arena. He had chosen to enter under an alias and wearing a disguise so that he would not gain any favour from his kingdom. He also wanted to surprise the rulers of the neighbouring kingdoms when he came out as the winner. And Ryoma was definitely convinced he would win.

A pair of arms shot out and grabbed the collar of his cloak. "Who are you?" Fuji Syuusuke hissed, his face inches away from Ryoma's mask. "How dare you hurt my brother like that?"

Ryoma remained silent, knowing that Fuji would recognize his voice immediately. "Answer me!" Fuji demanded, shaking Ryoma now. The tensai angrily slammed the smaller boy against a wall and slapped him roughly. Still, Ryoma remained silent. "Why won't you answer me?"

When the masked figure remained silent, Fuji slid one hand into his belt and withdrew one of his daggers. He pressed it against the stranger's thin neck. "You have one more chance to speak," he said threateningly, his eyes opening. He drew the blade of the dagger against skin, drawing blood that flowed easily. Ryoma winced, but still refused to speak. He trembled beneath Fuji, shocked that the tensai would do such a thing.

"Aniki?" Yuuta came around the corner, accompanied by Oishi and Kikumaru. His shirt had been abandoned, and bandages covered his shoulders and torso.

"Fuji!" Oishi cried, running to disentangle Fuji from the mysterious competitor. He pressed his hand against the wounded neck. "What do you think you're doing?"

"That bastard!" Fuji spat. Kikumaru rushed to hold him back as Oishi tended to Masquerade's wounds. "He dared to even touch Yuuta-"

"No, you have it all wrong, aniki!" Yuuta interrupted. "He pushed me out of the way of the flames! He saved me!"

"Don't lie to protect him, Yuuta, you're covered in injuries," Fuji bit out. "Why else would you be wrapped up in bandages?!"

"That's what I was explaining, Syuusuke-aniki!" Yuuta shouted desperately. But Fuji would hear none of it.

The tensai shook himself out of Kikumaru's grasp and turned away from the group. "You don't have to be scared of him, Yuuta, I won't let him even look at you again," he said, his voice dangerously smooth. He began walking away. "I hope you make it to the finals, Masquerade. Just so that I can have the opportunity to kill you myself."