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[Chapter 10]

After eating, we met up in the BSA. While everyone else watched from the stands, Neptune and I stood on the arena floor, facing Shiri.

Shiri's amber eyes locked onto us. "If you really want me to join your team, prove that you are worthy. If you cannot beat me in battle, I won't join. If you can, then I'll join your team. It's that simple."

Neptune formed a wide grin, pulling out her dual swords. "Alright! Bring it on!"

I drew my sword's handle and let the energy form into the blade. "We have to win."

Shiri nodded as she formed a smile. "Hopefully you two will provide me with an interesting battle..."

"Yeah, same here," a smile slowly formed on my face. "This should be fun..."

"Yeah." Letting out a laugh, Shiri took a deep breath, closing her eyes. As she did, the energy around began to travel to her and form an aura around her. It was the same aura that she had when she had fought the First Ruler.

"…!"

*Boom!*

Shiri's eyes shot open and the golden aura surrounding her exploded into a fiery aura; various elements danced and circled around the aura. Her eyes were glowing an ice blue once again.

"Defeat me, that's all you have to do," Shiri said.

Neptune and I prepared ourselves. "It's not every day you get to fight the Second Ruler's daughter..."

"It doesn't matter! This will make things interesting!" Neptune continued to grin. "Bring it!"

Shiri nodded, raising both hands. As she did, the metal of the arena's floor became contorted. "Then let us begin..."

*BOOM!*

[Third Person]

Shiri pulsed out energy, shooting a jagged rock from beneath Neptune and Sigi.

As they were knocked into the air, Shiri slammed her hands into the floor, pulsing out more energy. Instantly, several water and fire dragons formed and made their way to Shiri's two opponents.

At the same time, Shiri's two opponents recovered. Neptune quickly grabbed Sigi and tossed him towards Shiri. She then followed by warping to Shiri's location, just before the dragons collided and blew up.

"…!"

Sigi rolled to the floor. Quickly jumping back up, he sprinted towards Shiri and slashed at her.

Hopping back, Shiri was suddenly met by Neptune.

Neptune kicked Shiri to the floor and sliced at her.

However, Shiri rolled out of the way. Her arm then because coated in the metals of the earth as she swung at Neptune.

*Bang!*

Though Neptune raised her blades to block the strike, the force of the strike still managed to slam Neptune to the ground.

Shiri picked herself up, finding Sigi in front of her this time.

Sigi headbutted her, staggering her back. He then took the opening and slashed at her once again.

Reflexively, Shiri raised a rock barrier just before Sigi's blade could make contact with her. As Shiri hopped back and the rocky barrier was sliced in half, a cut of blood began trickling from her cheek.

Ignoring the cut, Shiri fired a blast of energy at Sigi.

*Boom!*

As he sliced it in half, the energy exploded and multiple elemental dragons slammed into Sigi, driving him into the floor.

Shiri raised a hand to finish him off. But she quickly jumped back, avoiding Neptune's sword.

Her attention switched to Neptune, who now only had one sword and a pistol.

*Bang!*

Neptune then began firing away at Shiri. Instead of dodging, Shiri stood her ground and began deflecting the bullets with her magic.

As Neptune ran out of bullets, Shiri fired several elemental bolts at Neptune while she tried reloading.

Like Shiri, Neptune also didn't dodge. She held her blade and knocked away the oncoming bolts of elements.

After swatting several away, Neptune knocked the last one away, only to be met by the sight of Shiri in front of her.

*Crash!*

Shiri grabbed Neptune and smashed her head into the floor. She then formed another blast of energy and fired it at Neptune from point-blank range. As the area around blew up, smoke and debris formed.

"Ha!" Sigi suddenly appeared from the created smoke and slashed at Shiri.

Sigi managed to land a cut on her just before Shiri stepped back. She then smashed her elbow into Sigi's jaw, crumpling him to the floor.

Before Sigi could grab his sword, Shiri blasted Sigi away, ricocheting him off of the glass.

Just as Shiri blasted a bolt of energy at him, Neptune suddenly warped in front of Shiri, kicking her to the floor.

As Shiri hit the floor, Neptune threw a punch at Shiri, jerking her face to one side. She then followed up by lifting Shiri back to her feet before headbutting her back down.

*Shk!*

Just before Neptune could kick Shiri, she was suddenly struck in the shoulder by an ice spike. While she staggered back, Shiri hopped to her feet and energy burst from her; a revolver appeared in her hand as well as several throwing knives.

*Bang!*

Shiri then took aim on Neptune and began firing at her.

Suddenly Sigi appeared jumped in front of Neptune and began knocking the bullets away with his energized longsword.

As the last bullet was deflected, Neptune followed Sigi and charged at Shiri.

Shiri threw the knives at them. Both of them dodged it before Sigi sliced them to pieces and lunged towards Shiri, slashing at her.

Shiri's arms became metal and she blocked the strike. Sigi then tossed his blade into the air.

Neptune, rolling over him, caught the blade and sliced at Shiri.

As deep gash appeared on Shiri's body, she knocked Neptune away.

Sigi then caught his blade and followed by kicking Shiri at her gut, knocking her to the floor.

*Shk!*

He pinned Shiri to the floor by driving his blade through her gut, making sure it didn't strike anywhere vital. The metal coating her arm disappeared.

"Haaa...haaa..." Sigi stumbled back to his feet, out of breath. "W-We win..."

"N-No..."

Shiri's aura flared and she rose back to her feet, pulling the blade from her gut. All of the wounds and cuts she once had were now gone.

"I-I..won't lose..."

Sigi let out a groan. "Oh... COME ON NOW! WHAT'S IT TAKE TO WIN!?"

"I'll end this now," Shiri raised a shaky hand and pulsed energy, blowing Sigi back.

*BOOM!*

"Agh!" His body smashed into the wall and fell to the ground.

"It's over," Shiri locked her aim on Sigi. As he struggled to get up, the various elements around her began moving faster, becoming a tornado of elements.

The tornado suddenly turned into a ball of energy that rested in Shiri's hands. "You lose, Sigi..."

"Gh...!" Sigi crumpled to the ground, too drained to force himself to stand. He stared at the ball in Shiri's hands. "D-Damn it!"

*Bang!*

As the blast escaped Shiri's hold and sped to Sigi, Neptune suddenly warped in front of Shiri, she now held her pistol. Neptune shot at Shiri's chest and followed up by stabbing her to the ground.

Taking her mind off of Shiri, she warped to Sigi before the blast hit him.

*BOOM!*

Debris and smoke exploded from the ball as it made contact.

"…" Shiri forced herself to her feet, watching the smoke.

"Gotcha!"

"…!"

*Shk!*

As Shiri heard the voice, Neptune suddenly appeared behind her, holding Sigi's energy sword.

Before Shiri could turn to her, Neptune drove the blade into Shiri's gut once again, twisting and turning it to let the pain burn.

As Neptune kicked Shiri to the floor, Sigi suddenly stepped up to her, holding Neptune's pistol.

*Bang!*

"A-Agh!" Shiri let out a cry of pain as Sigi used the last four bullets to hit her limbs.

Sigi threw the pistol back to Neptune and they stared at Shiri. "T-There! Do we win now!?"

Shiri's aura faded and she nodded, smiling. "Y-Yeah... You guys won..."

"Finally!" Neptune bumped her fist with Sigi's. "Still, you're really strong, Shiri! We barely managed to beat you! What's your power level? Is it over 9000?"

Shiri forced herself to laugh. "I dunno. Maybe..."

"I think you guys should head to the infirmary before you start chatting," Noire suggested as everyone followed her to the arena.

Sigi's body suddenly fell to the floor. Despite how tattered his clothes were and his condition, he still let out a laugh. "Y-Yeah..."

Before Sigi could do anymore, all of the energy left his body and he passed out.

[Sigi]

I woke up, my vision stirred as my eyes slowly opened; everything looked blurry. The blur cleared and my vision focused.

Looking around, I found myself in the infirmary. Rows of beds lined the room, curtains pulled over each patient's space, bright fluorescent lights lined the ceiling and many were occupying the beds.

I turned to my side, wincing from my injuries. On the table beside the bed was a fresh change of my uniform and my weapon.

I smiled. "There's no way I'd have been able to wear that other uniform. Those were basically rags..."

Biting down, I turned back to my body. I then forced my arm to pull off the blanket draped over me, revealing my body.

My body was wrapped tightly in bandages and a gown was the only thing covering me.

Honestly, if I looked in a mirror right now, I would probably just see a mummy who just took a trip to the hospital.

Even though my body was still incredibly beaten and sore from the fight with Shiri, I forced myself to my feet, making my way to the fresh set of clothes.

As I finished getting the uniform on, I heard Neptune's voice. "Yo! Sigi, you alive?"

"…" I smiled as I clipped my sword on. Though, I didn't say anything. As quietly as I could, I made my way to a spot where nobody would be able to see if they walked in.

I held my breath and waited for Neptune to pull the curtain open. For extra effect, I left my gown on the floor and the bed sheets were in a mess.

"Dude, you in here?" Neptune pulled the curtain open, instead of hoping to find me in bed, she found the empty bed. "Oh, shoot! Don't tell me he went back without me!"

"…" I continued to watch Neptune, remaining hidden.

But then she did something peculiar.

Making her nobody was around, Neptune crept her way to my bed. "I guess it's okay to do this... Nobody will see it..."

I watched as Neptune crawled onto the bed and shoved her face into the pillow, sniffing it. "It still smells like him..."

She pulled the blankets over her and began cuddling the pillow that I had rested my head on.

I couldn't comprehend what I was seeing, but I was also interested to see what she was up to.

Eventually Neptune kicked the blankets off of her and hopped off of the bed. "Alright, I guess I should get going no—"

As she got ready to leave the room, I crept behind her. "Boo!"

"Gah!"

*Thud*

Neptune had jumped several inches off the floor and fallen onto the bed. She stared at me in shock for a moment. That's when she began blushing. "S-Sigi!? W-What did you see?!"

I shrugged, deciding to play things safe. "Not much. I just noticed that you were exiting my room. That's about it."

Neptune got right up in my face. "You swear you didn't see anything else?!"

I nodded. "Positive."

Neptune let out a sigh. "That's good. Anyways, are you at least feeling better?"

I shrugged. "There's still some pain here and there, but I should be fine."

"Good!" Neptune smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Let's head on out! Shiri's waiting for you and she wants to talk to us about something."

I stared at her in wonder. "Do you know what it is?"

Neptune frowned, shaking her head. "Nope, not really! She said she wanted us all to be there when she said it."

"Alright, that's cool," I nodded my head to the exit. "What do you say about leaving this place?"

Neptune formed a grin. "Heck yeah! Let's get going!"

Following me out, Neptune and I made our way out of the infirmary room. Pushing open the door, we found Shiri and everyone else sitting in the waiting room. They smiled upon seeing us.

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up..." Brindle grinned. "You've been out for about a month now."

My eyes widened. "What!? There's no way!"

"Sigi, you're soooo lucky..." Plutia commented. "I wish I was allowed to sleep that long..."

Noire placed her hands on her hips, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry, she's exaggerating. It's only been about three days."

I leaned against the wall. "Still, that's a pretty long time..."

"If it makes you feel better, I was in there for two days," Shiri said.

I let out a groan. "It would if I hadn't recovered slower than a girl..."

Shiri let out a laugh. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring you down."

I let out a sigh, bowing my head. "You're fine... It's just that I was in there for longer than I would have liked..."

"Cheer up!" Neptune said. "I don't want to be sad when I hear Shiri's awesome announcement!"

"Announcement?" Angel turned to Shiri. "What is it?"

"Simple," Shiri smiled as she walked up to me. Like me, she was wrapped in tight bandages. She stuck out her hand. "I'll join your team, officially."

I formed a grin as I firmly shook Shiri's hand, Neptune doing the same. "Alright!"

"The tournament is at the end of the year," Shiri stated. "Though we have some time, we should try to spend as much time as we can learning how to work as a team and using that to our advantage."

I nodded. "We got until the end of the year. Let's do it!"