Chapter 53: The Fighting Tournament: The First of the Preliminary Rounds (Part 3)

Feli's POV

"Why does that bird piss me off so much…? Is it because of his high and mighty stance as a hero?" I wondered. "Oh trust me, Feli… I know this bird well. He's been an enabler of my rage at times. Tch. Hero? Yeah right, hero my ass..." Raffina told me, then scoffed. "He's not the kind of hero that he's described to be?" Ex turned to her. Raffina simply shook her head and didn't say anything else. "Just look at him, he's so full of himself... GOD! I can't stand looking at him smiling like that! … It makes me wonder, why haven't I heard of him before recently?" Schezo spoke angrily, then pondered to himself. "He… doesn't look like a hero." Sig made his observation. "Th-that's… putting it bluntly, Sig…" Lidelle turned to him. "I mean, it's true. Right?" Four-Eyes questioned. "Dunno. Maybe?" Lemres took Four-Eyes' side. "The way that he's been treating Dave? No, I can't say that he's a hero!" Amitie flailed her arms around. "Quiet kiddies, the fight is about to start." Accord silenced us.

Dave's POV

And there they go… Let's see how this unfolds; I doubt that Hohow Bird will just lose in the first round. Hohow Bird made the first move, launching himself towards Panotty. "Hoho Kick!" He ran and flew forward with absurd speed. "That agility…!" I was taken aback. Even with that crazy speed though, Panotty still managed to dodge the kick rather well. "Wh-what?!" Hohow Bird exclaimed before landing just outside of the ring. He seemed to be legitimately surprised that his kick was somehow dodged. "P-Panotty dodged it?!" My eyes widened. Arle and Jarne just stood there silently, taken even more aback than I was. How in the hell…? When Hohow Bird went to kick me yesterday, he only used seventy-five percent of his speed. With that, I just barely dodged his attack… so how did this Panotty guy dodge his Hoho Kick at full speed just fine?! "Heh. You're probably wondering how I was able to do that. Yeah, I can see that you're very fast… but when I've been using just this flute to get around, it pays to be very evasive. Now, you will grovel beneath me! Flute, reach this pink bird's ears!" Panotty started to play his flute. "Panotty is playing his flute, what will this do to our hero?" Oshare observed. "...! What's happening to me?" Hohow Bird grabbed one of his legs, then pulled on it. "AH-!" *snap* It sounded like he broke his own leg. "C-CAAAAAAAW!" He screeched in pain. "Hehehe… HAHAHAHAHA! There goes your kicking leg! Hehehehe!" The flutist laughed hysterically. "Ohohohohohoooh! This hurts so bad! I never thought that I would have my own strength go against me… Oh, this is so humiliating!" He cried while twisting and turning.

Ouch. "God, that must be so painful!" Arle exclaimed, closing her eyes shut for a moment. "Compared to what I went through in my match? No, that doesn't even begin to compare. You saw the blood that I was coughing out, yes?" I looked directly at her. "U-um… I think…? I-I dunno…" She opened her eyes up again. "Egads! Just look at what has happened to our hero! He broke his own leg because of Panotty's flute. How will he deal with the flute, especially if he only has one leg to stand on?!" Oshare flailed about. "*pant pant* So, kid… you think it's funny to make a hero break his own leg, do you? W-well… this… will not stand…!" The bird stood back up. "*gasp*" The crowd uttered in unison. "If you were a villain, I would've had more incentive to defeat you here… but, I'm saving that feeling for when I fight a certain someone later in this tournament. I know that he's watching this right now, hoping that I'll fall; however, I have too much commitment to lose in this round! I won't bite the dust until I face him at least! CAW!" Hohow Bird continued. "Huh? Who's he referring to?" A group of people within the crowd wondered. I know EXACTLY who he's talking about when he said that… me. "People, it will become clear if I do end up facing this person. In other words: I'll tell you who if it comes down to that. Meanwhile, you all just cheer for me as I create a comeback here before your eyes!" He finished.

The crowd did just that, they cheered for his tenacity. I'm shocked that he can stand like that… If my leg was broken, I would have to solely rely on my bulky armor's wings for me to get around. Even if Hohow Bird CAN stand up like that for a long time, it's not going to help him. He doesn't seem to be the type of bird that can fly. And, you can't exactly run if you have only one functioning leg… Wait, is he going to hop his way over to Panotty? But that's ludicrous, he'll never catch him by doing that! If Hohow Bird couldn't with his full speed, how does he even intend on landing a strike now? "You've gotta be kidding me! You still think you can win in that state?" Panotty rightfully pointed at Hohow Bird's broken leg. "Mm-hm… I see how you may doubt my ability to win this match. After all, I'm the one with the broken limb here… But, I don't need it for what I'm about to do next." He told him, with confidence. "How is he still THIS confident?!" I couldn't fathom it at the time. "You're bluffing!" Panotty lost his cool a little bit. "Well, if you're so sure of that… approach me." The bird continued to exude that disgusting confidence. "Fine. You're just asking for it, you foolish bird!" He walked over to him. "... Hoho Smash!" Hohow bird targeted the flute. I-Is he hoping to destroy the flute that Panotty carries? There's no way, he's too evasive… "...!" Panotty dodged the smash by pulling his flute away and jumping back a few feet. "...! Wooo-ah! Oof!" The bird fell to the ground. "Ha! Did you REALLY think that would work, you bird-brain?" The flutist turned his back on him. "Tch. You're quite crafty, I'll give you that… … Ho… Hooooh… Ho… Hooooh…" Hohow Bird looked like he was charging something up. "Wait, what is he doing?" I noticed. "Some kind of attack? I dunno." Jarne thought. "Hm?" Panotty got curious and looked behind him. Although, he was a second too late. "Hoho Beeeeam!" Hohow Bird moved his arms forward and fired a literal beam. "Wh-what the heck?! Gyaaaaaaah!" Panotty got hit by it. "Eeeh? Amitie didn't tell me that this guy has a beam attack of sorts…" One of my eyes twitched. I genuinely did not how to feel about the way that this was playing out.

Hohow Bird slowly got back up, while Panotty had trouble getting over the pain from that Hoho Beam. "Our hero is back up… but what about Panotty?" Oshare wondered. "Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. F-" The countdown started, then stopped. "I-I'm not through yet!" The flutist got up. "What…? No way… … My beam should have destroyed your accursed instrument… How?" The bird was genuinely puzzled. "Let's… just say that my flute… was made to last! Now, I will go ahead and have you break one of your wings. Let's see if you can recover from that!" The flutist blew into his instrument again. "*gasp* N-no, NOT MY WING!" He pleaded. Hohow Bird grabbed his right wing with his left unwillingly and snapped it. "CAAAAAAAW! Not again! Ohohohohohooo! Why must you subject me to this torture?!" He exclaimed and the crowd gasped upon seeing that. "You know, this will be much easier for you if you just give up here… You won't have to suffer like this ever again and you'll continue to live a life that you control." Panotty told him. "... Y-you don't seem… to understand… Agh-! ... I have a promise that… I must keep to the guy... that I mentioned earlier!" Hohow Bird stood up again. "How can you stand after all that pain? Seriously, you either must be the boldest bird that I've ever seen, or the stupidest." Panotty crossed his arms. "Heh… then I must be a mix of those… … HAVE AT YOU!" Hohow Bird hopped as quickly as he could to Panotty. "It's useless, I'm too fast for y-" He sidestepped, only to be caught off guard. "Got you! Hoho Head Smash!" The bird smashed his forehead into Panotty's very hard. The flutist tumbled backwards and landed on his back. Hohow bird tried his best to keep standing on his one leg and managed to do so. "... P-Panotty… Is he…? … He's knocked out...! This means… Hohow Bird is the winner of the match by default!" Oshare confirmed. *crowd cheers* "YEAH! THIS IS HOW MATCHES SHOULD UNFOLD! CAAAAW!" Hohow Bird screamed. His healer came to help him get back inside the behind-the-scenes area. Meanwhile, another healer carried Panotty away as well.

"I can't believe it… how did he manage to win with a broken leg AND wing?" I sighed. "He must have that hero's spirit, Dave… I dunno what else to tell you." Arle told me. "Bull-shit! He's not a hero in my book, Arle. No matter what anybody else says… I choose to believe that he's misguided as one. He has allowed that overwhelming ego to corrupt him. Until that ego is tiny, I will not rest before Hohow Bird sees how selfless I am. And to do that… I must win this, for Draco." I preached. "I understand that, but… don't you think you're being TOO selfless? Think about it for a moment: You chose to jump into this thing immediately so that you can save Draco, but you didn't consider your own well-being for even a second. Don't you think that's dangerous?" She argued. "I know full-well what the risks are, concerning myself. I could get injured in unrecoverable ways, but that's not gonna stop me." I sighed, then told her. "Then what about Rulue? Do YOU know what's happening to her? Do I know? No, neither of us do. ... What if you end up fighting her?! Both of the possible outcomes can end up bad for either one of you! We don't know why Rulue's like how she was today. You can't just expect everything to be fine by brute-forcing your way through things. I know that I'm not too smart at times… but even I know when to stop and think about my actions. And when I do, I ask myself this question: "Is this really the right way to go about doing things?". We can't afford to fight Rulue without knowing why SHE feels the need to fight here, Dave! Even if we do know why, she might end up defeating you easily after everyone else... ... C'mon, where's the smart and level-headed guy that I know inside?! *sob*" She broke down and cried. "A-Arle…" I looked at her, regretting what I had said before. … She's right, I am being too selfless… I can't just throw myself into danger like this anymore. Sure, Draco is held captive by Hohow Bird… but that doesn't mean that I had to be so damn reckless with my appearance at this tournament. Looking back just hours ago, I… wasn't really myself when fighting Owlbear. Aw, man… I feel very bad for making Arle cry like this. Dammit… I decided to hug her carefully with my arms. "*sniff* Dave…" She looked at me with tears flowing down her cheeks. "I am so sorry, Arle… Honestly, you're right about all of that. I shouldn't be this reckless, even with Draco's current state. You've made me realize that I'm the only one who can save Draco... and I can't exactly do that if I just jump into things without thinking first. If I end up kicking the bucket here, then who will do so instead? Ex? Maybe… but I'd rather not drag him needlessly into what's clearly my issue to resolve. Arle, do you trust my-? ... No. Can you trust my words at least? I… I… *sniff* ...admit it, I'm a dumbass at times too. I'm not gonna say that I stay smart 24/7, because I don't." I released some tears. "Dave, you sound genuine with your words… I… *sniff* ...I trust you." She wiped away her own tears. "Th-thanks…" I let her go. We looked and smiled at each other.

"Uh, I hate to be ruining this moment for you two… but the mic guy is talking again." Jarne showed us. "O-oh!" We both quickly turned our heads to the screen. "Alright everybody, round one is officially over and the fighters can go home. The ones who have won their matches today will return tomorrow around the same time, so don't miss round two! I'm sure that you'll be looking forward to more action from fighters such as Hohow Bird and Dave!" Oshare announced. "H-he gave me a shout-out…?" I rubbed the back of my neck. "In the crowd's eyes, it looked like you were fighting admirably. You coughed out blood, but still fought hard." Arle said. "I… guess." I shrugged. "Well, I'll be going now guys. See ya tomorrow!" Jarne waved. "Uh, bye." I waved back. Arle did so a second after me. "We should be going too, Arle. Resting up will be important to prioritize." I told her. "Yeah. Let's go." She nodded. We left the behind-the-scenes area and were stopped by Oshare Bones. I noticed that the crowd was also taking a leave. "Dave! You gave out a great show that these people won't forget. I admit, you had me worried when it came to coughing out blood. Other than that though, you showed this crowd what you were capable of." He praised me. "Th-thanks, Oshare Bones!" I bowed my head. " No prob- ... Ah! Excuse me, I have some somewhere that I must be. I'll be here tomorrow again for that lovely commentary I provide." He ran off. Me and Arle both shrugged, then encountered Ringo, Feli, Amitie, and the others. "You did great out there, Dave! It's rare to see a technique improve to the point where it changes into something else." Ex gestured for a high-five. "I guess so, Ex." I smiled and took the offer. "The way that you shot that new move of yours was crazy… What was it called…? Thunder Cannon?" Feli commented. "That was the name it was given…" Accord said. "It was indeed impressive for you to have pulled that off, Dave. It shows that even in the form that is not your strongest, base wise, is still improving." Satan complimented me. "Um… Ms. Accord…" Ringo leaned over to her. "Yes, I know, Ringo. … Ms. Rulue is not herself, something or someone is making her do this. Yes, she is rather strong... but not to this degree." She told everybody in our group. "I can attest to that." Schezo raised his hand. "Then that makes two of us." Raffina nodded to him. "Hm? That was awfully quick of you two to recognize how strong she should be… And the fact that you two left to see her yesterday… makes me think that you know something that we don't, no?" Accord looked at them. "Wh-what? What makes you think that, Ms. Accord? Ms. Rulue is my idol, of course I would know her strength... especially taking into account that I trained under her during a lot of our classes." Raffina said to her. "And me and Rulue have fought against each other quite a few times in the past… back in our world." Schezo followed up with. "Hm… what you two say is true, but I can't help but feel as though you two are hiding the truth." Accord told them. "Meeyep, I can tell that these kittens are hiding something." Popoi licked his paw. "Hey, who are you calling a "kitten", you furball?!" Schezo took offense to that. "... Tell us the truth." Satan made a serious face.

"..." Raffina and Schezo both remained silent. "Is there a specific reason why you won't tell us?" I guessed. "... There is, but we can't say." They both answered in unison. "I see… Something bad might be happen to Ms. Rulue, but we don't know what it could be." Accord came to the conclusion. "Should we go see her?" Amitie suggested. "No, whatever this bad thing might be… it could make Rulue's situation worse if we go and confront her. We don't know what's going on, and ANYTHING can happen. If Rulue is not feeling like herself while fighting in this, then something's clearly wrong." Satan denied the suggestion. "What would you suggest then, Satan?" Ex turned to him. "We should… pretend to be ignorant of this. If the thing forcing Rulue to do this is careless enough... it might slip up and give us the opportunity to secretly learn what's really going on here. And, if that happens: We'll be able to plan something out accordingly." He laid out for us. "That could work…" I went on board with this plan. "I suppose that it is the only way, no?" Accord agreed. "I'd say, it's a plan worth investin' in for now." Lemres nodded. "Comet Warlock…" Schezo looked at him. "C'mon, Dark Mage and Raffina, don't ya wanna help Ms. Rulue?" Lemres turned to then. "..." Schezo and Raffina whispered to each for a bit before they gave their answer. "If I must… I still want to know what's making her do this." Schezo joined. "Me too." Raffina said adamantly. "Okay. How about it guys? Are we in on this plan together?" I threw out my arm, gesturing to everybody in our group to make a circle, then pile their hands on top of mine. "Heh. Do ya really need to ask, Dave?" Lemres smiled and placed his hand.

The others decided to follow suit. "Of course." Ex's was next. "We're in this thing together." Feli said. "Mmhm." Ringo, Amitie, and Arle nodded. "I do care about Ms. Rulue's well-being, Popoi?" Accord turned to her cat. "Whatever you decide, I'll take your side, meow." Popoi told her. "We need to do this right… yeah?" Sig paused, then finished his sentence. "Absolutely." Klug directly replied to him. "If Father's on board with this plan, then I'll be part of it too." Yui stated. "And surely, I must be in this. After all, I came up with this plan in the first place." Satan pridefully joined in. "I-I want everyone to be saf- W-wooooah-!" Lidelle stuttered before she was lifted and carried by Tarutaru, with one arm. "And I'll help out with that, Lidelle." He swore. "Ms. Rulue, you will be safe yet…" Raffina took a deep breath before joining in herself. "Yeah, she'll not be yieldin' to anythin' like this anymore." Witch followed up. "..." We all looked over to Schezo, who had yet to do what we all did. "Schezo…" I finally said to him. "... ... *sigh* I'm doing this for myself and to make things right… not for your happiness." He thought about his choice before speaking. He was the last once to put his hand in before I did the next thing. "Alright everyone, let's throw our hands in the air." I looked at everybody. "Yeah!" They all uttered. "Now everybody, considering our current position with things… I think it's best if we all stay at one place for the next couple of nights. Fortunately, I know just the place. Kiddies, besides Yui of course, you should all contact your parents and guardians that you won't be back home for a couple of days. And, also get some clothes as well." Accord told us. I, Ringo, Amitie, Feli, Lidelle, Sig, Raffina, Klug, and Tarutaru all nodded to her. "Dave, I'll go back to Mom with Arle, I need someone to take me to Suzuran and back. You just prepare yourself for tomorrow." Ringo said, then kissed me on the cheek. "Okay." I nodded. "As for me… I'll contact my crew back at the Tetra. They need to know that I'll not be with them for these next couple of days." Ex reached for the phone in his pocket. "Everyone, meet me back at the tunnel when you are ready." Accord walked away.

A good chunk of my friends left to go talk to their parents and such. As for the rest of us who remained together, we decided to make our way to the tunnel. "Dave, the match you were in…" Lemres stopped for a moment. "Yeah, Lemres?" I turned to him as we continued to walk. "...how painful would ya say it was? We all heard ya scream like a banshee." He wondered. "Not as painful as other things that I've experienced…" My mind thought back to when Satan did that ritual for me. Nothing will EVER be as painful as that ritual… I couldn't even scream from that. I will always remember that being incomprehensibly painful. "Well… you okay now?" He asked me. "I'm fine now… thanks for your concern, Lemres." I said. "Heh. Naw, don't thank me… it only comes as natural for me to give ya my concerns." He smiled. "I-I was shocked that you of all people coughed out blood… but, I guess... uh… Owlbear was strong." Schezo struggled to say. "Oh yes, definitely. Not just anyone can crack my armor like that, Schezo." I nodded. "That's true, I can attest to that being a fact. Sparring with Dave has got me to know that." Ex noted. "I wonder what Accord has planned for us when we all meet up at the tunnel…" Satan thought out loud. "Speakin' of which... there she is, straight ahead." Lemres showed us. "It makes me wonder how she got there so quickly, considering her lack of haste." I pointed out. "Jeez, that's weird..." Yui didn't know how to feel about that. "Well, I'm sure that Ms. Accord has her ways. I know how powerful she can be…" Witch enlightened us a little. "Ah, there you are." Accord noticed us. "Mm… haaaaaangh. Now we must wait here for the others to arrive." I stretched.

An hour passed and the rest came to be with us. By the time this happened, dusk had arrived too. The sky became darker and the wind stirred into being colder. "Good, I assume that all of us are here now?" Accord asked every single one of us. "Yep." We all nodded. "Now, follow me to where we will be staying at." She gestured to us. We all followed closely behind her. Now, we were a big group of people, so I just kind of ended up walking with all the girls. I had a good talk with most of them along the way. Before long, we had reached our destination. I took one good look at it, and I freaked out in my mind. Holy crap, is this a mansion?! Man, this place is HUGE! The others didn't believe it either, just looking directly at it. "Even my place isn't as good as this." Raffina commented. "And my mansion pales in comparison to this one…" Feli's jaw dropped a little. Feli lives in a mansion? … Huh, never knew that… I guess it's my fault for not knowing what kind of roof she lived under before now. "This is my private estate. I only use it for occasions such as this." Accord explained. "Private estate, huh… you must have plenty of money to be able to maintain it." Ex said to her. "You could say that... *giggle* Are you impressed, Mr. Ex?" Accord smiled at him. "U-uh… yeah, of course I am." He awkwardly laughed. "Ms. Accord, is there enough room inside to house all of us?" I asked. "Yes, we may be a large group… but my estate can fit everyone inside, I assure you." She told me. "Cool. This oughta be interestin'..." Lemres tipped his hat. "Should we go inside then?" Ringo walked forward a little. "I suppose we should…" Feli followed suit.

Soon enough, the whole group walked inside to see what it had to offer. "Woah… it's even more impressive on the inside." Klug cleaned his glasses. "No kidding, Klug… just wow." I agreed and laughed a bit in shock. "Any food in here? I'm famished." Sig wondered. "Oh yes, I suppose that should be a priority… We all need to eat." Accord paced over to the dining hall and kitchen. "Yep, I'm pretty hungry right about now…" Arle noted. "Damn, this dining hall is big on it's own." Ex's voice echoed inside the hall. "You can say that again…" Amitie looked about curiously. "Everyone, sit down, so that I may deliver foods that you all like to the table." Accord threw out her voice just enough for us to hear. "Okay." We sat in the chairs. "Tch. How is SHE going to know what I like?" Schezo doubted. "Ms. Accord is someone who just knows many things you wouldn't think she does." Raffina told him. "What makes you so sure?" He asked her, doubting what she said. "I've been a student of hers for years, of course I would have knowledge on Ms. Accord." She answered. "You should be wise to listen to Raffina's answer, Dark Mage." Accord threw her voice out to him. "Tch." He scoffed.

The food came in magically, and I was shocked beyond belief. "No way… Pizza…? I haven't had any since I left my world. I MUST ask this question, Ms. Accord: How do you know that I desire pepperoni specifically?" I turned to her. "*giggle* It took me quite a while to do a semi-background check on you, Dave. Truth be told, I looked into your memories one time without your knowledge. And, it was revealed to me that one of your favorite dishes to eat was this pizza thing." She admitted. "I-I don't know how I should feel about you prying into some of my memories like that…" I said truthfully. "I am sorry for doing that, I mean no harm when doing so." She apologized. "Tch. So that's how she knows what I would want…" Schezo grew slightly irritated from that. "Dark Mage, your favorite dish seems to be… cooked fish of any kind." She confirmed it. "Goddammit, I hate my private thoughts being exposed like this…" He readied to eat while showing more of his irritation. Everyone else got what they would've wanted too. "Say Ringo, what's that?" I wondered. "Oh, this? It's a traditional Japanese meal." She told me. "Oh joy, there's the stuff that almost fucking killed me and my stomach." I noticed the sushi, then rolled my eyes. Eventually, we all said in unison: "Thank you for the food." Then, we began eating. It was a pleasure for me to be eating pizza again after such a long time of not having one. Everything about it was perfect, the cheese, the subtle spice of the pepperoni, the great and not overbearing sauce, and the decently crunchy crust. In my mind, I was crying with tears of joy. After we all concluded our eating session, Accord gathered our undivided attention. "This place has two separate bathhouses for us to clean ourselves: One for the guys, and one for the girls. I should also mention another thing to our boys here. If I catch you in the female bathhouse; let's just say that things won't end well for you…" She told us. I shook a little from that in fear and gulped. "I'll be outside for a bit, I need to get some of my clothes." Schezo said. "I should do so too." Arle walked away as well. "Whoever else who hasn't done so, I would suggest that you do…" Accord said. "I'll take up on that, not just for myself, but for Yui as well." Ex left. "I need my stuff too." Witch followed. "I guess me too." Lemres walked off. "It won't take me that long for me to get my things. I can just transport myself to and from the Puyo Underworld's castle at will." Satan disappeared in a portal.

Ringo came up to me soon after they left. "Dave, I packed your clothes with mine in there." She pointed to a small suitcase. "Thank you, Ringo." I said to her. When they all came back, we entered the separate bathhouses. As things stood in the male bathhouse: There was me, Ex, Satan, Lemres, Schezo, Klug, Sig, and Tarutaru. Yeah… there were naturally less males in the group compared to the amount of females. I could only imagine that it was a little packed for the girls, since there were more of them than us. "..." None of us really said a word for a while. "W-well, this is awkward…" I finally spoke. "Yeah, I never thought that I would be bathin' with other dudes like this..." Lemres agreed. "I… feel uncomfortable bathing around this guy…" Sig shifted his head to where Schezo was. "What? It's not like going alone would have been beneficial. You would've needed to wait for a while on us." The dark mage still continued to scoff. "... That's true…" The rest of us sighed. "Maybe we should talk about something to get our minds away from that feeling of awkwardness." Satan proposed. "Okay, but what DO we talk about?" Klug thought. "We could talk about some of the round one matches that unfolded in the tournament today." Ex suggested. "Yeah, that seems like a great idea. So, which matches outside of mine did you guys find interesting?" I accepted and asked. "That one involving the bird and flute boy. I want to know what makes that bird so full of himself." Schezo voted. "Didn't you see it? He said that he was the so-called "Hero of Primp", which I don't consider him to be after he hijacked Draco away and took her somewhere. When me and him face off, he's gonna see what it actually means to be a hero. You don't just flash yourself as a figure of justice. You actually have to prove yourself to be heroic and of good nature. So far, I have not seen anything like that." My fists shook in the bath water. "Then why do the people believe him to be one?" Ex wondered.

All of us shrugged after he asked that. "He... just seems like such a weirdo. What makes him look like a hero?" Sig pondered. "I don't want to call the citizens of Primp out as stupid individuals, but what do they see in him that we don't? I just don't get it." I became frustrated by this. "... Anything else interesting about the bird's match, aside from his toxic egotism?" Klug sighed. "He was… determined to win, similarly to you, Dave." Tarutaru noted. He's right… his tenacity looked legit, believe it or not. But… "But Tarutaru, that's just being fueled by his image of being a hero, which... need I remind you, his way of being a hero is not correct in my eyes and we all know it." I sighed. "He's strong though, that fact can't be overlooked." Lemres said. "That power, combined with his speed… it'll be half a miracle if I win against him with my armor. When I encountered him before the tournament, he used only like seventy-five percent of his full speed. Even under that, I barely dodged his Hoho Kick. If I am going to fight him... then I need to be prepared as much as possible. I cannot underestimate him, even if his ego is so damn high. What say you, guys?" I spoke. "..." They stayed silent for a few seconds. "You want to save Draco, right? Then you must prepare, no matter what… We and the girls will support you the whole way through, Dave." Ex said to me. "Thank you, Ex. This is why I consider you to be a best friend of mine. I can always count on you for something." I smiled. "Don't mention it." He smiled back. "Well, aren't we done here?" Sig asked. "Oh." We all looked at ourselves.

We were all clearly cleaned at this point, so we dried up, wore some clean clothes, and left the bathhouse with slippers. "You guys were in there for quite a while… your faces are totally red." Feli said to us. "We… were talking about some of the things that happened in the tournament." I told her. "Oh, well that explains it." She fixed her hair. "Everyone, here's how you will be arranged for an area of the mansion to sleep. Basically, there are two large bedrooms here. One rests on this floor, and the other one is on the second floor. Due to a limited surface area though, the second floor bedroom is not as spacious as the first floor's. So, I ask that the guys go and reside there for that reason. Plus, I don't want a repeat of naughty shenanigans happening... like what occurred in the Puyo Isles resort. Isn't that right, Dave?" Accord explained, then glared at me. "...!" I took notice of that. I could tell that Ringo and Feli knew my issue with this decision. Regardless, it's not like we could have gone against it if we tried. "Dave?" Accord approached and asked me again. "U-um… yes! I promise that nothing like that will happen on the premises, Ms. Accord!" I stuttered and spoke quickly. "Good boy. Now, I do believe that it's time for bed. We don't want to wake up late tomorrow, now do we?" Accord started leading all the females in our group to their room. "Welp, let's go upstairs." Satan began walking up the stairs. We followed him all the way to the room that Accord mentioned. "Let's see just what this bedroom has to offer…" Ex opened the door. We looked inside, and it looked pretty good. It wasn't anything too fancy, but it had a nice level of quality. Luckily for us guys, there were just enough beds for each of us to occupy by ourselves. "Well, that's convenient enough…" I chose a bed at random to rest on... AKA, the first one that I saw, which was closest to the door. I don't know why I exactly did, but I felt lazy. I checked my phone to see if Ringo sent a message to me for whatever reason. Of course, she didn't send anything to me. That made me suspect something, or rather, someone. Ms. Accord must be keeping a close watch on Ringo and Feli… With nothing left to do, us guys decided that it was time to sleep. I turned off the room's light, since I was the closest to the switch, and laid down to sleep.

Author's Notes: Round one of the tournament concluded with Hohow Bird overcoming the potency of Panotty's flute. We found the gang making a pact to play ignorant to see whatever's making Rulue fight... slip up and become careless. They then arrived at and made themselves enter Accord's supposed private estate, so that they could all stay together for the duration of this tournament. As for the males in the group, they went into their bathhouse and bathed together. They decided to talk about how round one went to get away from this awkward feeling they had. From that discussion, they reaffirmed to themselves that Hohow Bird is not the hero that Primp's citizens look up to, based on his actions. However, none of them knew the truth in the bird's past. They didn't know of the story that Hohow Bird told Draco. Speaking of Draco, you probably have this question in your mind: "How's Draco faring so far in her "prison" of sorts?". As the guys in the group exit the bathhouse, they are told of the separate bedrooms. They end up in the one on the second floor, then go to sleep. What will happen during round two of the tournament? How do Ringo and Feli feel about the gender segregation in the form of these separate bedrooms? Next chapter, Chapter 54: Nighttime Roaming.