So here's the final part of the tournament here. It's Paul vs Itsuki but who will win the right to marry Dawn? What does Paul have up his sleeve? What does Itsuki have planned? Who knows but you're about to find out.

Thanks to ninetalesgirl94, rin916, DevilAngel8P, lonewolfgirl-sademo588, Miyuku-chan, sjir-sama and splitheart1120 for reviewing!

Chapter Fourteen

The stadium was now empty. No one was allowed to watch the final match apart from the people in the royal box. Dawn had been taken out of the box by Kiboji since she said she didn't want to watch the final fight. Kiboji was more than happy to look after her. He had seemingly taken an interest to her in the most brotherly way possible.

Paul looked at his opponent. Itsuki was currently talking to his teacher about something. What were they planning? Paul couldn't tell. Paul let out a sigh, thinking about how he was going to fight Itsuki in this final round. It wasn't going to be easy. Itsuki was a good apprentice on the verge of becoming a warrior in his own name. Paul, as much as he hated to admit it, was still a little rusty. There was a chance that Itsuki could win. Everyone was expecting Paul to win.

Paul flinched as a hand settled on his shoulder. He glanced round to see Isamu was stood behind him.

"Easy," Isamu said, "Your father sent me down to wish you luck."

"And to find Akiko?" Paul asked, smirking. Isamu nodded as he glanced round to find his wife. He eventually caught sight of her as she walked towards Kane. Kane and Akiko exchanged a few words before she walked to Paul and Isamu.

"Hello, Darling," Isamu greeted his wife with a slight sarcastic edge in his voice. Akiko glanced at Isamu, blinking a few times at him.

"Oh, it's you," she said finally, turning her attention onto Paul, "Win this or I'll make you wish you weren't born."

She put her hand on Isamu's shoulder and they both disappeared in a puff of smoke. Paul smirked slightly. Well, he had had his pep talk from his teacher, now all he had to do was fight and win.

Etsuo called both competitors towards him. Paul took a deep breath as he faced Itsuki. Itsuki smirked across at Paul. He was glowering at Paul.

"I want a nice clean fight. It will be three points to win," Etsuo said, "No aura attacks and only one choice of weapon."

"I'll take my katana," Itsuki replied. Paul nodded. Etsuo walked away from them, returning a few minutes later with two swords in his hands. He handed the competitors a sword each before stepping backwards. Paul unsheathed his katana and took up a battle stance. Opposite him, Itsuki did the same thing.

"Begin," Etsuo barked. His voice now echoed round the empty stadium. Paul and Itsuki didn't move. They were staking each other out, daring each other to move first. Paul was best fighting with a sword, he felt more confident with the long, pointy piece of metal in his hands but he couldn't strike first. Many people thought he was most comfortable with hand to hand combat. He could use this to his advantage but he had to seem like he didn't want to use his sword, for now anyway.

Itsuki smirked and took the bait. Paul blocked a few jabs, the two swords clicking together each time they hit each other. Paul stepped backwards as Itsuki pushed forwards with blow after blow. Each time the metal swords collided, Paul allowed himself to flinch. Itsuki smirked again. He pushed forwards one last time. Paul dodged by moving his body to the side. As Itsuki stumbled forwards, Paul trapped his arm between his own arm and his body.

"My turn," Paul muttered. Paul dragged Itsuki round in a semi circle before he let go of him. As Itsuki lost his balance, he stumbled over. Paul calmly swung his sword across, catching Itsuki on the chin with the lightest of touches. Blood sprayed Itsuki's clothes but the wound wasn't deep. Itsuki wouldn't even feel it until he had a shower.

"Point to Shinji," Etsuo said.

Itsuki caught himself as soon as Etsuo spoke. He turned and charged at Paul. Paul jumped out of the way.

"Point to Shinji," Etsuo said again. Itsuki looked down to find a long gash in his clothes. He hadn't seen Paul move his hands, let alone seen him attack. Itsuki slumped to the floor. His win was slipping away from him. Paul was the warrior everyone seemed to think he was.

Itsuki glared across at Paul. Something seemed to be wrong with him. Paul rubbed his cheek in irritation while swaying slightly on the spot. Rikaya had caught him across the cheek with a poisoned dagger earlier on in the fighting. The poison must have been taking affect now. This was Itsuki's chance to break even. Itsuki raised his sword and charged once more. Paul reacted quicker than Itsuki expected. Paul skidded to the left of Itsuki, shaking his head like he was trying to shake water from his hair. Itsuki turned to face Paul.

"You'll never win, Shinji," Itsuki yelled, "You're nothing but a little boy."

Paul rolled his eyes as Itsuki ran towards him. Paul dropped his arms to the side, waiting for the right minute to strike. As soon as Itsuki was in range, Paul kicked. It was a simple round kick from the knee. Itsuki wasn't expecting it. Paul knocked Itsuki's sword from his grasp, sending the katana across the stadium with a quick flick. Itsuki jumped back immediately before Paul could counter attack.

As Itsuki landed, he brought his hands up to his chest in a cup shape. Something was forming in his hands. It was a small black orb of some kind. Paul's eyes widened as he realised that Itsuki was using an aura attack. Paul raised his sword in preparation of the attack but it was too late.

Paul was blown back by the small glowing sphere. He landed on the floor a few feet away. His hand instantly flew to the gaping wound on his left side. Itsuki looked on with an expression of shock on his face. It was like Itsuki didn't realise he could do that. Paul stumbled to get to his feet. If he stayed down then he had lost. If he lost then Dawn would be handed to Itsuki like a trophy. He used his sword to balance him for a few seconds while the feeling in his legs returned. Whatever Itsuki had hit him with had knocked him back a lot.

"I'll finish this," Itsuki said, raising his sword once more. As Itsuki ran forwards, Paul merely watched. This was it. He'd lost Dawn. Itsuki would attack him and in all probability kill him before Etsuo could stop him. He couldn't lose. If he did then Dawn would be… She'd be dead…

No he couldn't let that happen to her. He had to fight for her even if it killed him… More so than it was now. He was far too stubborn to die by Itsuki's hand. If he died here then he was sure Akiko would find some way into the spirit world and never let him hear the end of it. He had to get up now. He had to win.

Slowly, his legs responded. He stood up straight and raised his sword too. He was going to win this. Suddenly, Paul was aware that his body was doing something he didn't want it to. His sword became raised in an offensive stance rather than defensive. What was going on? He tried to correct himself but his body refused to listen to him. It was a weird feeling, like energy was coursing through his body. It felt like a hypnotic warmth. Then his body seemed to move of its own accord.

Paul dodged Itsuki's attack and retaliated with a slice across his legs. Itsuki cried out in pain, freezing where he stood. Paul brought his sword round and then through Itsuki's stomach. Itsuki fell to his knees screaming in pain as Paul pulled the sword out of him. He swung the sword at Itsuki's neck level, no matter how hard he tried to resist doing so.

There was a clink as another sword came into contact with his. Paul's head turned to whoever interrupted him. He knew the face, the black hair and calming eyes but he didn't bring himself to admit who it was. There was a sword fight for a short while, each stroke in a sort of slow motion. Paul couldn't control his body at all now but the warmth had left him so he wasn't panicking. He was sprayed with blood as he caught his new opponent a few times in the arms but they didn't seem to care. Their moves were purely defensive not offensive.

Paul swung his sword round for a strong attack causing his opponent to drop their sword. They jumped backwards doing a summersault before landing gracefully on the floor. Paul ran after them, charging wildly. The person talked to him.

"Stop it Shinji," they said. He knew the voice but who was it? The person repeated this a few times before they dodged his attacks. They disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing on the other side of the field. Paul turned and went to charge that way instead. He wanted to stop but his feet weren't listening to him.

The person raised their hands and moved them in several complicated movements.

"Aki, stop!" roared another voice.

The person had a lot of aura around them. It was purple, violet to be more precise. Paul remembered that colour from somewhere. The only person who used purple aura attacks was… It was… He didn't have time to think. The aura attack hit him square on. He flew into the air before landing on the field. His sword dropped from his hand as a hand gripped his neck tightly, pushing him forcefully into the ground. A knee was on his stomach, holding him perfectly in place on the ground.

Akiko was panting above him. He let out a breath and panted too. She nodded a few times before her grip loosened. She fell forwards, hugging him gently. Her head rested beside his for a few seconds before she pulled away. She sat back on her knees and turned around. Isamu was the first to appear, calming the situation down with soothing words and a steady face. While Isamu helped his nephew, Akiko got to her feet and walked towards Arashi. The two exchanged words in Japanese for a few seconds although none of it registered in Paul's head. His body seemed to have woken up in a blaze of agony. He had cuts he didn't remember getting and there was something wrong with his breathing.

"Gallade," Isamu snapped, "Hospital now."

Gallade ran up to them and transported them safely to the hospital. Akiko stood wobbling on the spot while Kane and Etsuo helped to get Itsuki to his feet. Sayuri followed them since they were having to drag him themselves.

"He flipped," Arashi stated. Akiko nodded.

"He flipped," she agreed.

"For what reason, I wonder?" Arashi asked. Akiko looked up at her chief and offered him a weak smile. She leant on him like she would a comrade. Arashi was more than happy to help her as they started to walk towards the exit of the hall.

"With the poison from Rikaya and then the blow from Itsuki's aura attack, his mind slipped into a defensive state which the Churitsu call the Heiwana Kokoro, or the Peaceful Mind," Akiko explained, "It's the top level of defence for a Churitsu warrior."

Arashi stopped dead in his tracks as he looked at Akiko. She was watching him too. The shock on his face was evident that he was not expecting this. Slowly the Akari leader glanced forwards and began to walk.

"You shouldn't have stepped in," he told her, "Thankfully no one needs to know about this."

"No one will remember it," Akiko replied, "Gardevoir will wipe everyone's memories."

"Even Shinji's?" Arashi asked. Akiko thought about this for a few seconds before she pulled away from Arashi. They turned to face each other a few steps apart. "You don't want to mess with his head."

"If he forgets about this then it will happen again," Akiko told Arashi. Arashi nodded.

"Train him," Arashi ordered. Akiko bowed her head. She disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving Arashi to his thoughts. He looked round the hall. There was blood all over the floor where Paul had fought Itsuki and Akiko. He was a force to be reckoned with while being in that state.

"His powers are suddenly starting to show through," Arashi mumbled to himself, "But I can't think of the reason why."

He thought for a few minutes until he thought about Dawn. Arashi bit his lip and cast his eyes downwards.

"My son is in love," he stated to himself, knowing full well that Kiboji was a few paces behind him. His eldest son had taken Dawn out of the room at the beginning of the final match so that she didn't have to watch. Now Kiboji waited for an explanation to what happened so he could tell Dawn the outcome of the fight. Arashi turned to Kiboji.

"What happened here?" Kiboji asked. He wasn't stood at attention at all. He was looking round in horror at all the blood on the floor.

"Shinji lost it," Arashi replied.

"He didn't kill Itsuki, did he?" Kiboji asked, appalled yet happy at the news.

"No," Arashi replied, "He would have if it wasn't for Akiko."

"Oh," Kiboji said, "So who won?"

"Kiboji," Arashi said, addressing his son with a soft and fatherly tone. Kiboji looked at his father as the older man walked towards him. Arashi placed his hands on Kiboji's shoulders. "Promise me that you'll always look after your younger brother."

"I will," Kiboji promised, "I always have, even when he beat me up."

"You would never leave him?" Arashi queried.

"Never, no matter what happened," Kiboji replied. Arashi smiled.

"Then go and tell your beautiful sister-in-law the result of this match," Arashi replied, "Along with my blessing."

"I will," Kiboji said. He paused for a few seconds, his eyes bulging out of his sockets. "Oh my Arceus. My little bro is getting married."

"It seems to be a rule in this family," Arashi chuckled as he pulled away from Kiboji, "See him in the hospital after you tell Dawn."

Arashi turned and walked towards the exit of the room, leaving Kiboji in happy shock over the news.

"I'm going to be a bother-in-law… Well, it's one step away from being an uncle which sounds so much cooler than brother-in-law," Kiboji said to himself as he turned and walked in the opposite direction to his father to the back entrance of the hall, "This means cake… and alcohol… Lots of them. Just wait 'til I see Shinji. I'm gunna harass him so much. I can't wait."

So Paul won! Yay! But how will he do with all his injuries? And what will Dawn think about her marriage to Paul? Also why has Paul got Churitsu powers? Hmmm? Well, the next bit of the story goes on in the next chapter.

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RSx