Three days after the wedding, the king called for another tournament to be held. Hikari had tapped her foot anxiously when she heard that announcement. This was her chance to prove to herself as a 'warrior angel' to her new people. A chance to prove she had been a good match for Takashi and would be a good queen next to him one day.

When the tournament was decided, it was ruled the king and Takashi would be the first pair to fight, but Hikari and Mother were locked in as the second pair to fight each other. Everyone was who chose to enter the tournament would get a say in choosing their opponent in the same manner they did the tournament back in Gandara years ago a la trading tokens to fight style. It pained Hikari to think about that because that was back when she and Izo fought together in front of the crowd.

Hikari stood near Mother near the arena where the king and prince were about to fight. She watched their fight eagerly, wanting Takashi to win. They had enjoyed each other's company early last night, hoping for the both of them to get a good night's sleep on top of it. She thought about last night, how she finally realized how enjoyable being married could be. She felt her blood was up watching him getting ready to fight.

Takashi stood in the arena with the king, a bit stiff from what she could tell. He had been trained by Father along side her, so he had to be a better fighter than he had been all those years ago in Gandara where his father defeated him easily. The king flicked his wrist, summoning up a bow almost as big as he was. Takashi summoned up his own, albeit smaller bow as well. When the queen stood up from her box in the stands and clapped, the fighting began. Both Takashi and the king took aim and shot at each other on one hand, and dodged each other on the other. Arrows flew so fast around the arena Hikari could hardly keep track of where each one landed. She and Mother backed up a bit on the grounds to avoid being hit. So did other fighters waiting their turn to fight around them.

It seemed like the volleying of arrows would never end, until the king finally caught the Takashi in his left hand with an arrow, making him lose his conjured up bow. Takashi brought his hand to his chest, scowling. He wrapped his right hand around his left hand. The king stood and looked over at him, smirking. He shook his own bow away. The arena around them was peppered with tiny holes from the arrows. Takashi looked flustered, but determined. He took a few deep, steadying breaths. He drew his sword, an intricately carved, leaf like blade. The king looked him over, cracked his neck, and drew his own sword. A blade just as large and formidable as he was. Takashi was going to have to be careful facing off with a blade like that. She hoped all his training with Father with a sword would pay off. She wanted him to win.

The king charged towards Takashi this time, large sword held up high. Takashi took a defensive, one Hikari saw Father had taught him. He brought his sword up just in time when the king's sword swung down at him. The two elvish blades meet each other in the air with a roaring clang. Both of them pushed against the other. Hikari saw Takashi's arms were shaking. She frowned, internally willing him to push back harder.

He did not. Instead, the king pushed down, shoving both swords off to Takashi's right side. Takashi jumped back, pausing turned hesitating. The king came at him again, but this time Takashi was able to get himself to move faster. The two of them engaged in swordplay. The king had the upper hand, but Takashi was not as slow as the king seemed to expect. Father's training had come in handy after all.

Takashi held his own, but even as the minutes passed, he was dripping with sweat. He met each swung and arc the king dealt him, but also dealt his own swings and arcs in turn. Hikari smirked to herself when she saw him duck around the king's latest swing, bring his own blade up, and swing the blade down towards the king's neck and chest. If it was allowed to be, it could be a killing blow. At the last possible second though, the king caught the sword in his left hand. He flinched when the blade bit into his palm, but he held Takashi's sword anyway. The king wrapped his hand around the blade, yanking it from Takashi's grip. He tossed it away, seeming unperturbed by his bleeding hand. He rounded on Takashi, bringing his foot up and kicked him hard in the chest. Takashi was knocked down to the ground, fuming. Hikari frowned when the king planted his foot on Takashi's chest and rested his own blade against Takashi's neck.

"Dead," the king announced boldly. He sheathed his sword, stepped off of Takashi, reached down, and hauled him back up on his feet. He gave a hardly laugh, ruffling his hand through Takashi's hair.

"He should have won," Hikari muttered, disappointed.