Chapter 20
"AND WELCOME TO THE 145TH ANNUAL, PRIVATE EDUCATION FEDERAL COMPETITION!" A man in a bright gold suit shouted into the microphone in the middle of the large coliseum field. The filled bleachers screamed in delight. The man chuckled over the microphone and scanned through the large stadium.
"Taking place in the beautiful kingdom of Saillune, this 3-day competition will finally answer that difficult question. WHO WILL BE NAMED THE BEST OF THE BEST?" Another roar of cheers. The man pointed to large double doors of the coliseum. "AND NOW, PLEASE WELCOME THE SCHOOLS! First up, from the kingdom of Zephilia, PRIVATE ZEPHILIA HIGH!" As the teams walked into the field one-by-one, the last team in the line-up began to argue loudly.
"HE WHAT?" Zelgadiss snapped at Filia, Gourry held him back. "HE'S TAKING A BREAK?"
"It is not my fault." She crossed her arms.
"YES, FILIA, IT IS YOUR FAULT!" Lina waved her arms, Gourry held her back by the end of her long hair too.
"I didn't DO ANYTHING." Filia stomped her feel to the floor. "It was his OWN decision. I didn't TELL HIM to take a BREAK." As the three argued, Martina stood near the group, holding a mirror to her face.
"Alright, it looks like he drank the potion." Martina snickered. Reflection Martina raised an eyebrow, she looked over to the tall blonde man.
"Are you sure? How can you tell?"
"YES, I'M SURE." Martina rolled her eyes at her reflection. "He said I looked beautiful this morning!"
"Actually," Reflection Martina sweat dropped. "I was there and he said that you don't look crazy."
"Oh, Zoamelgustar-Sama, he's falling in love with me!" She sighed with large hearts floating out of her head.
"And when is the potion going to run out?"
"It'll NEVER run out." The crazy Princess grinned. "I made it as a permanent batch. He'll NEVER fall out of love with me."
"Wow, that's really... Um... not crazy of you." The so-called Zoamelgustar chuckled nervously.
"I KNOW." Martina snickered. "Now, all I need to do to make the potion activate," She reached into her inside pocket and took out a piece of paper. "During my event of the competition, all I need to do is read this instead of my poem and he WILL fall in love with me."
"You're not going to read your poem? You stayed up all night writing it!"
"Yes but," She glanced at Gourry. "For him, it's worth being defeated." As Martina stared lovingly at him, Amelia finally arrived.
"Morning." She smiled at her group of friends, they stopped arguing and stared at the smiling Princess.
"Amelia." Filia broke the silence. "I heard about-"
"It's such a beautiful morning." Amelia walked past her and went to Zelgadiss's side. "Let's beat the other schools and win this competition!" She cheered loudly, she looked up at Zelgadiss and grinned. He smiled and nodded with her, he grabbed her hand tightly in his.
"HELL YEAH!" Lina jumped into the middle of the group. "AND USING THAT 10 MILLION, LET'S HAVE A MILLION DOLLAR DINNER!"
"YEAH!" Gourry bounced. "AND LET'S HAVE LOBSTERS!"
"AND LIONS!"
"AND BEARS!"
"AND TIGERS!"
"OH MY!" Lina and Gourry both screamed in unison. "LET'S GO!" With such amped up energy, the two idiots ran out of the tunnel and into the open field, they pushed the other groups out of the way as they bounced and cheered aloud.
"PRIVATE ROYAL HIGH IN THE FUCKING HOUSE!" Lina pumped her fists in the air.
"ROYAL HIGH! ROYAL HIGH!" Gourry grabbed Lina and sat her on his shoulder, he ran around the open field as Lina waved her arms.
"PRIVATE ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL! WE'RE GOING TO WIN THIS MOTHERFUCKER!" She screamed. The host sweat dropped, he scratched the back of his head.
"Um... I guess Private Royal High School decided to jump ahead and cut in the line-up."
Lina and Gourry smiled innocently, they stood in front of their fuming team captain on the coliseum floor.
"Oh, come on, don't look so fucking mad." Lina rolled her eyes when Zelgadiss let out a loud snort. "It's just a few points-"
"WE DIDN'T EVEN START THE EVENTS AND WE'RE ALREADY BEHIND, YOU IDIOT!" He grinded his fist into Lina's skull as he pointed to the scoreboard, out of 50 teams, their group was in last place. "YOU GOT US NEGATIVE 50 POINTS!"
"Calm down, Zelgadiss-San." Amelia drew him away from her. "I'm sure they learned their lesson."
"Of course we did." Gourry chuckled. "We can't eat lions, bears, and tigers at the dinner. Their meat is too tough."
"Not only that." Lina met Gourry's eyes. "I don't think we'll get full with just 1 million dollars. We better make it a TWO million dollar buffet-"
"THAT'S NOT THE LESSON!" Filia and Amelia shouted.
"I expected more from you, Lina Inverse." Martina turned up her nose at Lina. She gave a cat-like grin and snickered. "But then again, it's not surprising that it was you who got us at last place."
"Why, you little-" Lina snarled and lunged at her, she was stopped by Filia, whom grabbed a hold of her shirt. "YOU LITTLE POMPOUS, BRAT, SPOILED, EVIL CARNATION OF THE DEVIL!"
"Gourry!" Martina fled to Gourry's side and grabbed hold of his arm. "Save me from Lina!"
"GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU CLUELESS DIMWIT!" Lina managed to slip out of Filia's hold and chase after her. Amelia, Gourry, and Filia watched with sweat droplets while Lina tried to catch Martina by her hair, her arms swinging at her. Zelgadiss groaned, he rubbed his irritating temples and crouched to the ground.
"Please, L-Sama, please strike me down with lightening."
So, the first event was Archery. Filia watched as archers from the other groups walked to the middle of the coliseum where the competition staff was putting up the targets.
"Oh no." Filia gulped. All the other archers looked tough and mean, she looked back at her friends. "I don't know about this."
"Calm down, Filia." Gourry wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "You can DO this."
"But look, they look like pros."
"They are all high school students, Filia." Lina nudged her toward the group. "You are a 31 year old woman with a bitch streak. You're better than them."
"But-But I can't." She yelped when one of the kids hit one of the set targets from 50 yards away. It was a bulls eyes. "I CAN'T DO THIS. I'VE ONLY BEEN PRACTICING FOR A MONTH! I CAN'T DO THIS!"
"Stop panicking and DO IT." The team captain snapped his jaws at her. "YOU ARE GOING TO RECOVER THE 50 POINTS THAT THE RETARD AND HER PET CAUSED."
"HEY!" Gourry pouted. "I'm the retard. Not the pet."
"SHUT UP!" Zelgadiss kicked him away. "GO AND WIN!"
"Fine!" Filia nervously walked away with a pout. As she met with the other archers in the competition, she stood fearfully in their eyes. "Um... hello?"
"What is an old lady doing here?" One of the archers asked the other kids. An angry vein popped out of her forehead.
"Excuse me?"
"What the hell is that entire group doing here? Aren't they a little OLD to be in this competition?" The kids began to discuss. "I thought only high school kids were allowed."
"Well, we're an exception." Filia annoyingly glared. They all turned their heads when the host arrived and pushed them behind a line on the ground.
"The archery event is very simple." The host talked into the microphone so everyone in the coliseum can hear. "Each competitor must hit each target close to the bull's eye. The targets are placed at the 25 yards, 50 yards, 75 yards, and the last will be in 100 yards. The competitors who hits all the targets will advance to the next event, whilst the competitors who don't, will not stay."
"Basically, we have to hit all the targets or we're out the competition?" Filia simplified.
"Leave it to the old lady to simplify the rules for us." An archer chuckled next to her.
"Also, the competitor who hits closest to the bull's eye will win 100 points to their team and 75 points to the next closest. The remaining will get a pathetic 25 points."
"So I've just got to hit the bulls eye." Filia sighed. Her eyebrow twitched when a few kids behind her laughed at her comment, she turned her glare at the kids.
"Now, let's get this event started!" The host announced. 10 kids out of the 50 stepped to the line, they lifted their bow and set their arrows. Filia watched from the side as all 10 kids hit the 25, 50, and 75 yards. Only 3 out of the 10 managed to hit the 100 yard target. The 3 kids bounced in their place and joined the host while the 7 returned to their groups and left the stage. Filia gulped, she looked back at her team. Zelgadiss was glaring at her with death while Amelia lifted her thumbs in the air. Besides them, Lina was holding Gourry in a headlock.
"YOU BETTER WIN." Lina pointed at Filia than at Gourry. "OR THIS IS YOU." Filia sweat dropped. All she needed was to get all the targets and hopefully, get the bull's eye.
"You're with Royal High?" Filia turned her head to the young woman standing next to her.
"Yes, I am." She looked over the tiny woman. "And you are?"
"I am representing the Board of Education." The woman tilted her head to the side. "My name is Huraker."
"The Board... But you are in the competition." Filia pointed at the bow in her hand.
"The Board always participates in the Private Education Federal Competition." Huraker smiled. "We almost won 4 years ago but we choose forfeit."
"Oh." Filia stared at Huraker nervously. "So you're good?"
"I'm the best." She chuckled; another 10 kids stepped to the line and shot their places in the competition.
"Huh." Filia sucked the back of her teeth. The woman with long blue hair was about to leave when Filia caught her by the shoulder. "Wait! Can you, um... give me some pointers?"
"Pointers?" Huraker tilted her head.
"Y-Yeah, I'm actually REALLY new at this and I don't think I will be able to hit the 25 yard target."
"Why are you even doing this event?"
"I'm better than the rest of my team."
"WOW. Royal High must REALLY suck." Filia sweat dropped.
"So, do you have any pointers?" She asked again. The woman in the simple white dress looked at Filia's face. She suddenly broke a smile and nodded.
"Why not?"
Filia was a part of the last pact of kids going against the targets. She had managed to pin her arrow deep into the 25, 50, and 75 yard target, all three struck into the middle of the eye. Filia sucked her bottom lip, she could hear the loud cheers coming from her team. Everyone was counting on her. As long as she hit the target at 100 yards, her team will remain in the competition. If she doesn't, Filia sweat dropped slightly, Zel and Lina will be so up her ass.
"Okay." She ignored the kids next to her and kept her eyes onto the target. Lifting the bow and setting the arrow, she pulled back the string with the arrow in hand. What did Huraker say? She said to visualize anything that will make her angry. Make her so angry that she is driven to drive the arrow straight into the bull's eye. Filia's eyebrow twitched, she kept her posture still. What makes her angry?
"Namagomi." Filia muttered softly. She glared at the 100-yard target. In place of the round target, Xellos's cheery face appeared. He was smiling at her with his big tongue sticking out.
"You'll never make it!" The face teased. "You won't be able to hit me!"
"Namagomi." Her hands shook in anger. The face snickered and began waving his tongue at her.
"You are a bad mother and have a bitchy attitude!"
"NAMAGOMI." Her voice grew dark and low. An evil black aura developed around the woman. Then it got serious.
"YOU HAVE A BIG HUGE SHINY FOREHEAD!"
"NAMAGOMI DIE!" Filia screeched and released her fast arrow. Xellos's face let out a soft squeak when the arrow struck him in the middle of his eyes and slowly drifted away. Filia panted heavily, she dropped her bow to her side and looked at the target. Her arrow was deep into the round target, pinned in the center of the bull's eye.
"I got it?" Filia gasped, she looked at the startled kids around her and laughed aloud. "BULL'S EYE!"
"H-Hurrah?" They took a few steps away from the crazy old lady. Filia screamed in delight and waved her arms to her team.
"WE'RE IN!" She announced and joined the other 14 kids who were able to hit the 100-yard target. From 50 groups, 14 were in the competition while the others left the stadium. Filia turned to the young woman standing next to her and grinned.
"Thank you so much, Huraker."
"It's not a problem." The woman representing the Board giggled. "Oh, and look, you came in first!" She pointed to the scoreboard. Filia stared as her team was lifted from the bottom and was placed on top of all the teams, she blinked when another name was placed just under hers.
"BoE." Filia read it aloud.
"Board of Education." Huraker winked. Filia turned her attention to the woman. "I told you I am the best."
"If you were the best," Filia gave her a sneaky smile. "Why did you come in second?" The short woman smirked. She lifted the bow and placed it over her shoulders.
"I'll see you in the other matches."
"You're participating in the other events?"
"It is only me and another person representing the Board." Huraker said, she turned when she heard her name being called from across the field. "Anyways, I must be on my way." The thin woman walked past the tall blonde with a bounce in her step.
"Thanks again, Huraker." Filia waved. Huraker looked over her shoulder and stared at Filia's big smile, she smirked and nodded to her.
"My pleasure."
"I don't see why we have to have an hour intermission. It doesn't take an hour to set up the next event." Lina grumbled as she leaned against the gold wall in the coliseum. She sucked air when Amelia gently bent her right wrist back. "Ow…"
"I don't know, Lina-San." Amelia sighed. "It's getting really swollen, more than usual. You've been using this hand too often, you need to-"
"It's fine." Lina swiped her wrist away and wrapped it around with the wrap. They blinked when Zelgadiss came to their side with an irritated expression. "What's the matter with you? You look like you just saw L-Sama."
"I just talked to the host." Zelgadiss's eyebrow was still twitching. "After the chess event, finishing the competition for today would be kendo."
"They moved kendo for today?" Filia walked over.
"Apparently." He sighed. "And the kendo guy is not here."
"One of us can do two events." Amelia shrugged her shoulders. "It's not against the rules."
"I got history in sword fencing." Zelgadiss mentioned. "I'll do both."
"See, that's against the rules." Filia pointed out. "A competitor cannot do an event after another, whilst it's not against the rules how many events they can participate in."
"Fine." Lina snorted. "Leave it to Gourry."
"Gourry?"
"Yeah, Gourry. He's not a fighter but he's hella better than Zangulas's ass for sure." She pointed at the big oaf hugging his violin behind her. They stared as Gourry rub his face against the violin and give it kisses, Zelgadiss groaned loudly, he pressed his hand over his twitching eyes.
"What CHOICE do I have?"
Gourry looked at the large scoreboard. So, he tilted his head, Royal high is in second place with 50 points, the rest of the schools were tied with 25 points, while BoE were in the competition with 75 points, placing them in first place.
"So, no more losing." Gourry heard Lina calling him and rushed over. He joined Lina and Amelia at the sidelines of the stage. All 14 competitors were on the floor including Zelgadiss, their team captain.
"Rules of the chess event is simple." The host smiled. "Since we have 14 competitors, we'll have 7 matches. The competitor who loses will be automatically out of the competition and the winner will continue on. Points are divided from 100 points to the fastest, 75 to the closet, and the rest with 25."
"Fuck." Zelgadiss said aloud, the kids next to him looked at him fearfully. He sighed heavily and turned his attention to the little boy standing next to him. "What the fuck are you looking at?"
"N-Nothing!" The boy squeaked. Zelgadiss snorted and looked back at the sweat-dropping host.
"Anyways," The man chuckled softly. "We have already picked the matches in random so when you hear your name, please sit in your registered chess table." As the host began calling names, Zelgadiss looked to the sidelines.
"Win, win, Zelgadiss-San!" Amelia cheered aloud, her arms waving high in the air. He smiled at her overly confident dance with a slight blush and looked at the rest of the cheering squad.
"YOU BETTER WIN, ZELGADISS-SAN, BECAUSE I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS IF YOU LOSE!" Lina screamed next to her. "I WANT MY 10 MILLION!"
"AND I WANT MY 2 MILLION BUFFET DINNER!" Gourry shouted too. Zelgadiss sweat dropped. He heard the host call his name and walked to his chess table. He raised an eyebrow to see a very weak little boy already sitting behind the table, he drew his seat and sat down across from him. The boy gulped, he pushed his large glasses up his face and looked over Zelgadiss's angry face.
"Um... Hi, my name-"
"Let's cut the crap and get this shit started." Zelgadiss reached into his pocket and slapped his full pack of cigarettes next to the board. The boy squeaked in his chair and nodded.
The 6th loser left the stadium, bawling his eyes out as he rushed past Lina and Gourry.
"WOW." Lina raised her eyebrows. "Overly dramatic or just overly confident from the start?"
"Maybe both." Gourry muttered, the two turned their heads to the last two competitors on the floor. Zelgadiss placed his cigarette between his lips, he lit the end of it and began smoking. He had removed his leather jacket and was pacing around the chessboard while the boy sat calmly with a big sweat drop. Zelgadiss sat down heavily in his seat; he scanned the board with curled eyebrows.
"What the fuck?" He slicked his bangs away from his eyes. Forget about speed, as long as he can beat this fuck, they will remain in the competition. The boy looked around the stage, he and Zelgadiss were the only ones still battling with each other.
"Um... Mister-"
"WHAT?" Zelgadiss snapped. The little boy jumped in his seat and shook his head.
"N-N-N-N-Nothing!" He sank into the chair and tried to hide behind the table. Zelgadiss snorted, he picked his cigarette from his mouth and held it in his hand. He sighed loudly as he stared at the chessboard.
"Go, go, Zelgadiss-San!" Amelia cheered at the sidelines. Next to her, Filia was waving a large banner that had Zelgadiss's angry face.
"GO, GO, ZELGADISS!"
"KICK THAT LITTLE RAT'S ASS!" Lina screamed into a paper-made megaphone. "MURDER HIM!"
"GO, ZEL!" Gourry held another banner with a picture of the 'Rat' and a large red cross over his face.
"GO, GO, ZEL-"
"SHUT UP!" Zelgadiss snarled at his fan club, he finally silenced them and return to the game with a snort. The little boy sat up in his seat carefully, he noticed Zelgadiss's aggravation and leaned slightly forward.
"Mister?" Zelgadiss lifted his stern eyes. "Um, can I... say something?" Zelgadiss just stared at him. The little boy gulped and bit his lower lip. "If you have something to fight for, than... than maybe, you should... should use that determination... to win."
"Don't you think I'm already doing that?" Zelgadiss snarled, the boy yelped and shook in fear.
"Y-Y-Yes but um, what I mean is," The boy carefully looked at Zelgadiss. "Maybe instead of STRESSING about it, you should... um..." His entire body shook as Zelgadiss's eyes stared deathly at him. "U-Um... you should... NOT stress... about it?" He ended with a question. Zelgadiss kept his gaze at the little boy, until finally he lowered his eyes and stared at the chessboard. Huh. Zelgadiss sank back his shoulders. He did have a lot of stress. Zelgadiss took his cigarette from his lips, he burned the end of it on the table and grabbed his black horse. He moved it across the board and waited for his competitor's turn. He's stressed because it was up to him to win this competition for his Princess and for Royal High. His eyes slightly twitched when his rook was taken. He didn't want to lose either of them, especially Amelia. But, Zelgadiss looked at the little boy, he's not smart enough to even go against a little boy. What the fuck is he going to do? Zelgadiss breathed heavily and lowered his head. He doesn't want to lose this. He wants to win but how is he going to win if he's a freaking idiot? He can't forfeit, he can't lose, and he can't win either. Zelgadiss held the sides of his head, he tried to ignore the noise around him and think of anything to get out of this situation and still be in the competition. Just anything! Maybe he can fake a heart attack or maybe-
"Yo." A voice came from behind. Zelgadiss blinked, he looked behind him.
"What the..." His eyes widen. Standing behind him, the missing Biology teacher was there. Zangulas had on a thick dirty training outfit, his hat was slightly crooked to the side and his face, more confident than usual. He walked over to Zelgadiss's side and picked him off the seat by the back of his collar.
"I got this." Zangulas replaced Zelgadiss in battle.
"Wait, what?" Zelgadiss blinked a few times before realizing what just happened. "WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?"
"Just now." Zangulas looked over the chessboard.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU ANSWER YOUR PHONE?"
"I was busy with my training." The biology teacher took the black queen and moved it, he slapped the boy's white rook off the board.
"IS THIS EVEN ALLOWED?" Zelgadiss looked at the host.
"A competitor is allowed to be replaced by his/her teammate ONLY ONCE in the competition-"
"YOU IDIOT!" He grabbed Zangulas by his collar and shook him. "WE COULD'VE USED IT FOR SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT-"
"Zelgadiss, we both know that you're an idiot in chess. You're so dead in this chess battle that it will be impossible for you to win this." Zangulas suddenly blurted making his team captain flinch. "You can already kiss your true love goodbye." The little boy glanced between the serious male figures in front of him and pushed his big glasses up. Zangulas grabbed Zelgadiss's hands and slipped it off his shirt.
"Now, do you want to lose the competition for all of us or do you want to lose your pride instead?" Zangulas questioned. The two men continued to glare at each other. It was Zelgadiss who finally looked away, he crossed his arms and snorted.
"You better win."
"I already did." Zangulas grabbed the black queen and moved it just 3 spaces to the left without looking at the board. "Checkmate." He announced. The little boy gasped aloud, his mouth dropped to the floor. Zelgadiss turned his head to the chessboard and gawked.
"BUT YOU SAID IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO WIN!"
"I said it will be impossible for YOU to win." Zangulas reached into his inner jacket pocket and took out a fresh cigar, he set it between his lips and grinned. "But not for Saillune's own Champion Chess King."
Everyone crowded around the Biology teacher, praising him for the win.
"That was awesome, Zangy!" Lina patted his back. "You just took over and won this for us!"
"Thanks to you, we're still in the competition!" Gourry praised him, he had his arm wrapped around Zangulas's shoulder.
"Um... Thanks?" Zangulas was VERY uncomfortable from the sudden attention, he nodded when Filia had reached over and lit the end of his cigar with a match. Just a few feet away, Zelgadiss was hunched in the corner, a cloud of despair over his figure.
"You are so smart. Smarter than Zel!" Zelgadiss gripped his heart when the words struck him.
"Who knew that Zel was dumber than an infant?" Zelgadiss groaned, Lina's question echoed in his head.
"Well, we should have seen this coming when Gourry beat him." Filia mentioned. Zelgadiss began hitting his head against the wall.
"Oh, Zangulas-San!" Amelia rushed over to his side, she grabbed his hands and smiled wide. "Thank you so much for making it to the competition! I'm so glad you got my letter."
"Letter?" Gourry and Filia blinked.
"Lina-San and I had a fantastic idea of writing a letter to Zangulas-San since Zelgadiss-San was having a difficult time getting in contact with him." Amelia smiled, Lina nodded with her arms crossed.
"With my harsh words and Amelia's speedy messenger, we did Zel's job for him." Lina exclaimed. As everyone continued to praise Zangulas, Zelgadiss had managed to break the outer wall. He lifted his head from the rubble while a leak of blood trailed down his face.
"Please, L-Sama, a strike of lightening would be nice."
Lina and Filia stared at the large scoreboard. Because of Zangulas, they were able to stay in the competition with just a measly 75 points in third place. Coming in second was the Sairaag Education for Girls at 100 points. And first, was BoE with 175 points, they were able to finish first in the chess match with a quick minute and a half. Filia sighed.
"So, we need to beat those two."
"The Board especially." The two turned their heads when they heard a loud commotion behind them.
"But, Lina said-"
"IF THAT WENCH SAID TO JUMP OFF THE BRIDGE, WILL YOU?" Zangulas waved his arms in anger. Gourry blinked a few times, he sighed and touched the end of his chin.
"I guess so-"
"I'M DOING THE KENDO EVENT!" Zangulas swiped the wooden shinai from Gourry's hand and began marching onto the floor.
"EASY THERE, THICK-HEAD." Lina grabbed him just before he walked past her. "Did you read the rules of this competition?"
"I know you didn't." Zangulas snorted.
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT." She pushed him back next to Gourry and looked at Filia. "Tell him, Filia."
"A competitor cannot do an event after another."
"AFTER ANOTHER!" Lina repeated as she stabbed her pointer finger at Zangulas's chest. "You got that, kid? Because you took over the DUMMY'S seat in the last event, you can't participate in the next one. So stop being as Asshole and start cooperating with us!"
"D-Dummy." Zelgadiss shed waterfall tears down his face. He had Amelia patching a large bandage over his bleeding forehead off to the side. He sighed heavily in the background. Zangulas glared at Lina, he dropped the sword and walked away.
"He didn't even fight back! What a wuss!" Lina scoffed.
"Well, you were kind of mean to him, Lina." Gourry picked the shinai off the floor and set it against his shoulder.
"I don't care." She crossed her arms. "He could be the best in our team." She grumbled. "But Gourry is the best in the world."
"Thanks, Lina." Gourry smiled wide.
"Huh? Oh, um..." Lina suddenly blushed red, she cleared her throat softly and pouted. "Well, it's the truth- ANYWAYS, GET OUT THERE AND WIN, GOURRY!" She grabbed Gourry and shoved him out to the open floor, Gourry just chuckled to himself and walked to the gathered competitors in the middle of the coliseum. Lina noticed Filia and Amelia giggling to the side and snarled at them.
"WHATEVER! HE'S MY BOYFRIEND! I CAN SAY WHATEVER I WANT! SHUT UP! GET OVER IT!"
Gourry stared at the collected competition in front of him, 5 little boys stood in front of him in different colored kendo armor and their own sticks. Gourry pouted, he looked down at what he was wearing. Just regular long jeans, a white tank top under an open long-sleeve blue collar shirt. He didn't bring anything else because, well, he's not suppose to be doing this event.
"Ahhhh." He tilted his head towards his team, he slightly sweat drop to find that Zangulas was out of hiding and he had tried to rush onto the floor but Lina had caught him by the neck and was strangling him of his air.
"So, you are Gourry Gabriev." Gourry turned around. Standing there was a stocky curvy woman with green shoulder-length hair, Gourry raised an eyebrow, he stared at the large scar that covered her right eye. The woman moved her long green bangs away from her face, a big grin on her face as she looked over Gourry. "I heard rumors about you but, eh, I've seen better."
"Thanks." Gourry smiled.
"That wasn't a compliment." She chuckled and stuck out her hand to him. "It's Riksfalto." Gourry took her hand, he winced at the suddenly strong grip.
"What is?"
"What is what?"
"Riksfalto? What is Riksfal-"
"MY NAME, YOU NUMBSKULL." She snarled, Gourry shed droplets of sweat, her grip got tighter.
"S-Sorry?" He apologized. The strong muscular woman let out a loud snort and threw his hand off hers.
"You better be." She crossed her arms. Gourry chuckled nervously, he held his stinging hand gently. Riksfalto blinked when three men in black suits ran to her side, they were struggling to carry a long case between them.
"R-Riksfalto-Sama!" One of the men whined. "Y-Your weapon of choice."
"So, that's where I put it." She turned toward the case and unlatched the openings, the three men cringed as she opened the long case. Riksfalto reached in and took out a wooden slick katana. The three men suddenly sighed in relief and easily carried the case. She waved them away and walked back to Gourry.
"Wow, that thing was making the case heavy?" Gourry pointed at the slick katana in her hand. Riksfalto smirked and threw it at him, she raised an eyebrow when Gourry easily caught it and examined it. "It's heavier than the usual wooden katana."
"Huh." Riksfalto looked over the man. Her weapon was over 150lbs and he caught it like it was nothing. She smiled slightly and took back her weapon, she place it gently on her shoulder. He's going to be fun.
"Welcome to the last event of the day! The kendo match!" The host announced when he walked onto the floor. "We have already randomly picked names from out of the box and have made the set-up. Points are divided as such, 100 points for the fastest contender, 75 points to the second, and 25 points for the rest. Loser will be declared once the weapon leaves the hand or when the competitor stays on the ground for 10 seconds."
"I hope we don't lose." Gourry smiled at Riksfalto, the woman snorted as she picked her nose.
"Whatever, let's just get this over with." She rudely grumbled. Gourry chuckled and looked back at the host.
"Private Zephilia High will go against the Supreme Dils School." As the host called each match, Gourry looked when he called his school. "And for the last match would be against Royal High School and the Sairaag Education for Girls. Since we have an odd number of competitors, the last competitor, BoE, will go against the fastest victor in the 3 matches, thus the winner of that match WILL get an extra 50 points."
"GREAT." Riksfalto snorted. "I'm LAST. AGAIN." Gourry stared at the muscular woman as she complained. This lady is in the Board. Lina said he needed to watch out for people in the Board, they weren't trustworthy. But she seemed nice. He sweat dropped when Riksfalto snarled at the other competitors with her evil sharp jaws. Well, she seemed nice enough.
Gourry stood just a few feet from his opponent, he smiled and stuck his hand out.
"My name is Gourry!" His opponent just nodded, he wore a mask that covered his entire head. He did not take his hand. Gourry shrugged and pulled away.
"Our 3rd match for this event, Private Royal High School versus Sairaag Education for Girls." The male host stepped between the two. "The fastest time to beat is 3 minutes and 39 seconds. Now," The host glanced at the covered opponent and Gourry. "FIGHT!"
"YAHHHH!" Gourry's opponent yelled out and rushed at him with his shinai over his helmet. Gourry smirked, he set his shinai in front of him. Then suddenly, his opponent stepped on his trailing kimono and fell forward, slamming his body against the hardwood floor. Gourry blinked, he watched the boy lifted himself carefully to his knees.
"O-Ow."
"Are you alright?" His opponent gasped, Gourry was standing over him with his shinai to the side. Gourry lifted his eyebrow when the masked fighter said nothing and just kept staring at him. "I said, are you alright?" He repeated. The fighter finally came to its senses and lifted his weapon, he jumped when Gourry's shinai suddenly pressed against his mask.
"Not so fast." The masked foe gulped. Gourry smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry." And swung his sword at him, his foe screeched when his shinai hit against his armor and fell back. The foe's shinai flung from his hand.
"Winner, Royal High!" The host announced. "And since he is the fastest contender, Gourry will go against BoE in the last match!"
"Cool." Gourry grinned, he noticed the medic picking up his beaten opponent and rushed to his side. "Hey." The masked fighter gasped and lifted himself off the ground. Gourry chuckled, he placed his hand on the fighter's shoulder making him flinch.
"Armor is good for protection but if you can't move in it, it's really troublesome." Gourry patted his shoulder. "Good job though."
"O-Oh," The masked fighter gulped. Behind the mask, a wild blush appeared. "Thank you... G-Gourry."
"You're welcome!" Gourry gave the fighter a smack on the shoulder and winked. As he left his side, the teammates of the masked fighter ran onto the floor. The fighter kept his eyes at Gourry.
"Are you alright?" The women teammates grabbed the stunned masked fighter and pulled him off the floor.
"I'm fine." A womanly voice came under the mask. Once off the floor, the fighter grabbed the end of the mask and removed it, revealing her face. Sylphiel smiled wearily at her teammates and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry we lost the event."
"Oh, Sylphiel-San." One of her teammates sighed. "We're still in the running, we'll catch up." Sylphiel smirked and nodded.
"Of course." She turned her head slightly to the stage. She stared at Gourry's vibrant smile and sighed softly. "Come on, ladies. I need to practice for the last event." And left the coliseum. Gourry stood confidently in front of Riksfalto, he set his sword in front of him and held it with both hands. The woman representing the Board smirked, she removed her heavy sword from her shoulder and pointed it to Gourry.
"This." Riksfalto snickered. "Will be fun."
"And FIGHT!"
Lina watched with wide eyes as Gourry was battered with hits from the wooden katana. Gourry dropped to a knee, he held himself up with his broken shinai and panted. Shit. Gourry bit his lower lip. He didn't even touch her. Gourry watched as Riksfalto walked over to him, her katana on her shoulder.
"What's wrong? Hurt already?" She gave him an evil grin. Gourry winced when she moved her sword and slammed it against his shoulder. "Come on, get up. You don't want to look pathetic and weak in front of your girlfriend, do you?"
"Gourry!" Lina cheered. "Come on, Gourry!" Gourry breathed heavily, he pushed the heavy katana off his shoulder and struggled to lift himself up. "That's it, Gourry!" Lina jumped. "You got this!"
"Awww, isn't that cute?" Riksfalto stuck her tongue out. "Annoying is what she is."
"Lina is NOT annoying." Gourry growled, he charged at her suddenly when her head was turned away. Riksfalto smirked and in a blink of an eye, she dodged his quick attack and slammed her elbow into the back of his neck. Lina gasped when Gourry's body was tossed around on the ground but he held onto his weapon, he picked his shaking body up from the floor and glared at Riksfalto. He ignored the leaking blood dripping from the edge of his mouth and charged at her again, Riksfalto sighed and waited for him to get close.
"When will you learn?" She snorted, Gourry swung his shinai to her face. His eyes widen when her arm suddenly blocked his attack, not even flinching from the powerful hit. Riksfalto leaned her face forward and grinned. "That move won't work on me." And slammed her wooden katana against his left arm.
"GOURRY!" Lina screamed. Gourry was flung to the hardwood floor, his thrashed body lay flat on the floor. Riksfalto scoffed, she walked to him and stood over his body. Gourry opened his eyes carefully. She looked over his wounded face and smirked. The host began counting.
"At least your girlfriend will understand, you're as weak as she is, now." She walked away.
"GOURRY!" Lina continued to scream his name, she lunged forward at the floor but Zangulas caught her. "LET ME GO!" She struggled in his hold. "LET ME GO! GOURRY! GOURRY, GET UP!" Gourry breathed heavily, he turned his head towards the sidelines, he watched Lina reaching out for him with worried eyes. He took a deep breath and tried to move.
"GOURRY!" Lina pushed Zangulas away but he managed to grab her again.
"Lina!" Zangulas flipped her over and shook her shoulders. "If you go to him, we're disqualified from the competition."
"BUT, GOURRY-"
"Gourry-San is up!" Amelia announced next to them, the two looked back on the floor. With just 2 counts left, Gourry managed to get on his feet, he was panting and holding his busted sword against his body. "Gourry-San." Amelia gasped, nobody needed medical experience to see that his left arm was unusable.
"G-Gourry." Lina's lower lip trembled. Gourry smiled wearily at Lina and winked.
"Don't worry." He muttered and turned to Riksfalto, she was close to leaving the stage. "Hey, Riksfalto!" She froze. The woman looked over her shoulders and stared at Gourry, he was standing and lifted his shinai to her. "I'm still up."
"Well, then." Riksfalto smirked and started walking to Gourry. That's more like it, she licked her lips generously. Gourry gulped when she got into a fast sprint and rushed at him, she swung her katana at his head. Gourry saw the attack and easily dodged it, he spun around her body and jumped to the side when her sword came at his chest.
"Lina is not weak." Gourry continued to dodge her fast attacks. "She's amazing." He jumped over her head and landed behind her, Riksfalto grinded her teeth. When did he get all this energy? She turned to him but froze from the broken shinai pointed at the tip of her nose, Gourry panted loudly in front of her.
"Lina Inverse is the greatest person in the world and I'm just a lucky fool to have her." He told her. Riksfalto smirked. She was about to lift her katana when she saw Huraker, her only teammate stepping to the sidelines of the stage. Huraker gave her a wide stare and shook her head, Riksfalto squinted her angry eyes at her and pouted. Great. Her grip on her katana shook. Just fucking great.
"And it was getting good too." The woman muttered and released her sword, it dropped quickly to the ground and made a slight dent into the wood.
"WINNER! ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL!" Gourry raised his eyebrow. Why did she…? She could've easily slapped his sword away and beat him into a pulp. So... He kept his stare at Riksfalto as she walked off the stage, why did she forfeit? He glared when Riksfalto met his eyes and smiled, she puckered her lips at him and joined Huraker on the sidelines.
"Wait." Gourry took a few steps only to he stumble forward from the growing pain and dropped to his knees. Riksfalto snickered.
"Maybe next time, big boy." She and Huraker left the coliseum. Gourry was going to chase after her until Lina came from behind and pulled him into a tight hug. He looked down at her, her face buried in his shirt.
"You idiot." Lina muttered. "Why do you always have to keep being a bothersome?" Gourry smiled and lifted her face to him, he chuckled slightly to see Lina's red eyes.
"Were you crying-"
"NO! SOMETHING JUST GOT INTO MY EYES!" Lina rubbed her eyes against his shirt. Gourry laughed and wrapped his good arm around her body.
"Whatever you say, Lina."