A new type of rival
A/n: Sage: (looking down at her feet) Ah yes um, hello everyone…
Kaley: (has fainted at Sage's feet)
Bakura: Uh, what's with her?
Elk: You didn't hear? This is her first fanfiction to reach 100 reviews!
Bakura: O_O We made it to 100?!
Sage: Not only that but past 100!!! However, I can't quite remember who was the 100th reviewer but, according to my calculations it's nani. Thank you very much for making our dream come true (bows)
Kaley: (suddenly jumps up) Oh yes indeed and also thanks to Dclick for being the first new reviewer of 2004! Whoo-hoo!!! I hit a 100 I hit 100!!! (jumps up and down screaming, then faints again)
Elk: (coughs nervously) Next on the list, as usual we answer some of your comments and questions. Firstly, Tsukasa is a, well, the hints have been dropped but we'll just say that he's either a boy or a girl.
Sage:…Elk, did you just try a joke?
Bakura: Alright next is Orca. We recently saw that the manga is now using her original Japanese name of Ouka. Before the werewolf girl shared the same name as the creepy blademaster from the game. So if the girl makes another appearance here her name will be Ouka. Sorry about any confusion. If anyone wants to go back and change the last chapters, please do.
Sage: Also we are always glad that everyone enjoys the story though I am a bit surprised that everyone likes Tsukasa/Elk so much, no love for Balmung huh?
Kaley: All da Subaru haters in the house!! (does a make-shift ghetto sign)
Bakura: Don't try that ever again…
Elk: Well that's everything…oh and since Kaley got a bunch of 'manga making' supplies for Christmas, she's thinking of making a doujinshi. Any thoughts on what she should do one on?
Sage: Anyway, on with the fic please.
Elk looked back and forth between the two players. The girl named Subaru was smiling nervously, her fingers running along her axe. Tsukasa, on the other hand, merely leaned against his staff and looked over her thoughtfully. The younger wavemaster felt a bit foolish to simply stand there.
"So um…" Elk cleared his throat. Tsukasa glanced over at him and nodded.
"Subaru, this is my friend Elk. We've been hanging out lately." The tan mage said. "Elk, this is Subaru. We go back a ways, she's a friend of mine."
"It's nice to meet you Elk." Subaru said with a polite bow.
"Um, nice to meet you too Subaru…" Elk gave her a small wave and she giggled. "So uh, you and him have been friends for awhile huh?" Elk asked. Subaru stared at him, then gave Tsukasa a questioning look. He shrugged and grinned mysteriously.
"Uh, yes, yes we go back…" She too smiled strangely. "So then what have you been up to?" She turned her attention back to her old friend.
"Oh you know this and that…I just won the Tanabata Festival." Tsukasa nodded. "I had to climb a mountain, save Elk here and then battle a dragon. It was pretty interesting."
"Oh I see! Are you hurt?" Subaru asked, touching his arm lightly.
"No, I'm fine but Balmung was the one who ended up getting hurt." Tsukasa laughed quietly. "Stupid Balmung. He was determined to save Elk too, pity."
"Balmung wanted to save Elk? Why?" Subaru frowned. "He doesn't seem like the type to just go and save someone unless it's important."
"Well, he has crush on the little kid." Tsukasa pointed at him.
"Oh really?" Subaru raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Elk turned to Tsukasa. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, you didn't know?" Tsukasa smiled. "It's pretty obvious. He's always hugging you and shouting about how he must save you and such."
"That's what friends do though." Elk said quickly. "He wants to save me because we're friends…"
"Ahem, you know maybe this isn't the best topic…" Subaru grabbed Tsukasa's hand and lead him off. "Let's go somewhere where we can talk…in private you know…"
"Oh, right…" Tsukasa grinned. "I'll see you later Elk."
"Oh umm…right, bye then…" Elk looked down sadly. "I'll see you around…" He watched as the two walked off, talking quietly with each other. Their hands intertwined as they strolled and they both looked extremely happy. Elk looked up at the twilight sky above and sighed heavily.
"I hope you two have a goodtime…" He muttered before falling back against the wall with a soft thud. The mage drew small circles with the end of his staff and shut his eyes. In the real world, a young boy lifted his gaming visor enough to wipe away a few tears. "Why I am crying…" Elk sniffled and swallowed, though his mouth was dry. "I should be happy shouldn't I…I have no reason to cry…right…"
Balmung gave a depressed sigh as he sat down against a dirty brick wall. Nothing seemed right anymore, his mind was constantly buzzing now with thoughts that he'd never had before. Memories that had once seemed unimportant now fought each other for a place in his thoughts. He bowed his head, locks of his snowy hair falling in his face as he shut his eyes.
"Eyelid Theater." The blademaster mumbled. He had heard Mistral say it long ago, when referring to a nap she was going to take. Though he wasn't planning on sleeping, not with all these memories in his mind. "They aren't even significant ones…"
"Mei Rue!" Elk cried, throwing his arms forward. Balmung watched as the spell hit the beast, then ran forward and gave one last slash as the enemy's hit points dropped to zero. He groaned and noticed Kite was still fighting another monster.
"Hang on Kite!" Balmung called and raced towards the battle. Elk ran up next to him.
"Balmung, your hp is really low! I'll heal you ok?" He held his staff up and a soothing light enveloped the warrior. He smiled and nodded.
"Thank you Elk, now go over there and cast your spells from a distance! Be careful!" Balmung ordered, waving Elk towards a tree far from the battle. The boy nodded and hesitated a bit.
"Please don't get hurt too badly. But I'll heal you if you do…" Elk said quickly, briefly locking eyes before running off. Balmung looked after him then ran to help Kite.
"What a stupid memory…" Balmung titled his head up against the bricks. "Not important at all…but his eyes…" With his own pair shut, he could still see Elk's crimson eyes, full of fear and concern for his fellow party members. "What beautiful eyes…"
"Why, is that you Balmung? Balmung of the Azure Sky?" A female voice interrupted his concentration and Elk's eyes faded into the recesses of his mind. He opened his eyes and saw the familiar Subaru standing in front of him, with Tsukasa by her side. He grunted and stood slowly, smiling at her.
"Good day Lady Subaru." He said pleasantly, then turned and gave a small nod at the wavemaster. "Hello Tsukasa…"
"Hey." Tsukasa smirked slightly, as though trying to hide it from his friend. "Busy with your thoughts?"
"Not at all, merely resting." Balmung said, keeping his voice level. "Though I was thinking of visiting Elk later."
"Elk?" Subaru said in surprise. "We just saw him…Balmung, if I may ask, do you have a crush on him?"
"A crush?" Balmung's eyes rose in surprise then he saw the smile on Tsukasa's face. The knight straightened himself and tried his best to find words that could explain it. Though, he thought to himself, it's hard to say what Tsukasa has said. "Well, I wouldn't call it a crush…"
"An obsession then? I'm sure I could think of a couple more words for it." Tsukasa let a sneer play his lips. "Because you know, I don't know much about your 'real' self but I'm pretty sure Elk is out of your age range."
"And he's in yours?" Balmung frowned. "What makes you think you could have the boy anymore than I could?"
"Tsukasa?" Subaru looked between them, feeling left out again. "Tsukasa, do you like Elk too?"
"Heh, don't be silly." Tsukasa locked eyes with Balmung. "So if I did like Elk, it wouldn't be any of your business anyway."
"And that makes what Elk is to me none of your business either." Balmung replied. The little heavy axe watched the two men then turned to Balmung.
"Um, Balmung, if I could ask…what is Elk to you?" Subaru said quietly, hoping not to angry him. The blademaster sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Well, I can't explain it in words…maybe I do like him…or maybe I just respect him a great deal…whatever it is, it does not concern Tsukasa's opinions." Balmung looked right at him when he said this.
"Tsukasa…you didn't answer me earlier…" Subaru hesitated, "Do you like Elk?"
"Maybe I do and maybe I don't." The sorcerer answered in his cocky voice.
"You two…" Subaru frowned with slight amusement. "You both seem to like him but have you asked him how he feels?"
"Huh?" Both men turned to her with a surprised look on their faces. She sighed and shook her head.
"Ah, where do I begin…?" Subaru muttered. "You guys…should before decide how you feel then ask Elk what he feels. That way you won't have a bias answer to where your own heart lies."
"Right, so until then I shall try not to be so abrupt with him." Balmung nodded and bowed gracefully. "Thank you Lady Subaru for your words."
"You're welcome Balmung…you can call me Subaru though…" She smiled at him gently and shook his shoulder.
"Of course Subaru." He nodded and spun around quickly, his feathers flying in his companion's faces. Balmung walked swiftly off, stopping when Subaru called his name.
"Where are you going?" Subaru asked. Balmung grinned at her.
"I'm going to go find my friend."
"So then she told me to go to the office. Like I'd done something bad. That teacher really doesn't like me." Sora pouted, kneeling on the dusty ground. Elk blinked a few times, staring at the twin blade.
"So um, did you get in trouble?"
"Ha, of course not!" Sora laughed, waving his hand. "The Principal, unlike some people, has a wonderful sense of humor. She found my joke funny and told my parents I'm acting out because the rest of the class is too stupid."
"Oh wow, are you going to advance a grade?" Elk asked, leaning forward, deeper into Sora's tale.
"Oh well, I could do that…" Sora nodded thoughtfully. "But if I did that, then I'd have to do work and I'd have no time for games."
"But you could get out of school quicker…" The blue haired boy looked down. "I'm not smart enough to go up a grade. I just got to eighth grade and I'm not doing well…"
"Oh? You're older than me?" Sora sounded surprised. "Somehow I figured you were my age or younger. I guess you're just not very mature."
"Huh? I'm not?" Elk's eyes widened. "Is that bad?"
"Oh yes very bad." Sora said in a false serious tone. "Why, if you aren't mature then you'll never have many friends. Take me for example, I have tons of people always looking for me and I'm very mature."
"I thought people looked for you because you're a player killer?"
"Ah, a minor detail Elk!" The green haired man smiled. "So you're in eighth grade? My, you're much older than I thought you were…but that's good for you. With all the older people all over you it'd be a little odd if you were young."
"How old are you?" Elk asked.
"That's a secret."
"Hey, what are you two doing?" Both boys looked up and saw Kite standing over them, putting his blades into his backpack. He eased himself onto the ground between Sora and Elk, making a messy triangle.
"We're talking about what Sora did yesterday at school." Elk answered. "He put glue all over the teacher's seat and the principal said it was because he's smarter than everyone else."
"Oh, using intelligence as an excuse to act out in class? Let me guess, you do grade A work but you say you're bored to your teacher?" Kite smiled, he knew kids like Sora.
"Who are you to judge me?" The latter cried in a mock 'how-dare-you?' tone. "But…yeah you're right." He said brightly. "But I am fairly intelligent you know, I'm ranked highest in my class and I do have a boredom problem. So mock me all you want Kite, you're just jealous."
"Jealous? Why would I be jealous?" Kite asked.
"Well, I'm so~o much better than everyone else, isn't that right Elk?" Sora nudged the wavemaster, who started in surprise.
"Um, well, I think you're really nice Sora…" Elk looked over at Kite. "And Kite's one of my best friends so…I um, I um…really can't say…"
"Oh, fine then." The green twin blade pouted. "I guess you're saying I'm not your best friend then? Oh Elk you're so cruel!"
"Huh, oh no! Sora, no I didn't say that!" Elk cried apologetically. "Sora, you're one of my friends too! Kite's just been my friend for longer and besides Mia he was the only one who was nice to me and um…"
"Elk, he was joking, don't worry about it." Kite smiled, shaking his friend's shoulder. "Sora and I both know you're our friend."
"Hmph, now you're just putting words in my mouth." Sora crossed his arms. "But I must agree with you yet again. Ha, admitting defeat is such a nuisance. So, speaking of nuisances, how are your other friends Elk?"
"My…other friends?" Elk stared at him. "You mean…Balmung and Tsukasa?"
"I did say nuisances didn't I?"
"Um well…I haven't seen Balmung today but um…Tsukasa and his friend went off to be um, alone…" Elk fidgeted with the hem of his robes.
"Oh?" Sora's head perked up. "A friend? Alone? Was it a lady friend perhaps?"
"Yeah…her name was Subaru…"
"Oh my, Subaru's back online!" The dual blade jumped up with delight. "Ah, such fun I can have if those two are together! Bye Elk, bye Kite, I'm off to a reunion!" He giggled then leapt off with a grin. Kite sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
"We may both be twin blades but I really don't understand him." Kite smiled and stood. "So, want to go see how Blackrose is doing?"
"Um, Blackrose?" Elk paused. "What's she doing?"
"She's in a special Heavy Blade event in some secret area. She invited me to come watch her though." He held his hand out to Elk. "I mean, unless you have plans…"
"Um, no I don't have…" Elk stared at his hand, then accepted it smiling. "Alright, I'll go with you…" As they walked to the chaos gate, a sudden thought occurred to him. "Oh I hope Tsukasa's weird friend isn't there…"
"Grrr, I'll show you how to throw a snowball!!" A brown haired girl roared. She scooped up some snow and launched it at a near identical girl with light pink hair. The girl ducked and laughed as it flew by.
"Ha, is that what you call a throw?" Blackrose grinned and put her hands on her hips. "I mean, if I was in a coma I could have dodged that!"
"You wanna go?!" Mimiru shouted.
"Pick the place!" Blackrose cried back. Other heavy blades had given up on the two girls and had gone back to destroying each other. Kite and Elk watched from the stands surrounding the four seasons arena. Kite cupped his hands around his mouth.
"GO BLACKROSE!! YOU CAN BEAT HER!!" He hollered. Elk looked nervously at the two girls.
"Um, that girl…Mimiru…she umm…" Elk mumbled, his voice trailing off and drowning in the sound of the other fans screaming.
"Hm, did you say something Elk?" Kite turned to him but Elk shook his head.
"Um, nothing…" His friend said, watching as Mimiru and Blackrose tackled each other. The two rolled around, screaming insults as they tugged on each other's hair. The pair rolled all the way into the spring section, rolling through the flowers and mud. Many of the men cheered wildly, rooting for their favorite woman. Kite shook his head and stood up.
"C'MON BLACKROSE!!!" He cried. Elk bit his lower lip then he too jumped up.
"I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT BLACKROSE!! YOU CAN BEAT HER!!" The timid boy shouted. Kite grinned and nodded as the two continued rooting her on. Finally, at the same time to girls drew their swords and clashed them together.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we've come to a standstill!" The announcer shouted. "The last two competitors, Mimiru and Blackrose, have become locked in battle. Neither giving an inch!"
"Whore!" Mimiru screeched.
"Bitch!" Blackrose shrieked. Elk winced and looked away as the girls went in for the deathblow.
"This is it!" Kite said excitedly.
"My this could be…wait! This is incredible!! Judges, can we confirm what we just saw?!" The announcer asked. Elk turned his head slowly back and saw Mimiru and Blackrose, their swords pinning to each other's throat. "Why, yes, for the first time the Blade Goddess Event has two winners! Both Blackrose and Mimiru are locked in such a way that neither can win nor lose! How amazing!" The crowd leapt to its feet and screamed insanely as the women lowered their swords with bright smiles on their faces. "LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE GODDESS' BLACKROSE AND MIMIRU!!!" People threw them flowers and other items like potions as the judges handed over two beautiful crystal swords with amethyst hilts. Both girls cried as they accepted their prize and slipped tiaras on their heads.
"Wow, didn't see that coming!" Kite grinned and grabbed Elk's hand. "Let's go down there!"
"Umm…" Elk glanced at Mimiru. "Umm…uh, alright…"
"Great job!" Kite and Blackrose embraced and she even hugged Elk. Most of the fans had already left the stadium. As Kite and Blackrose talked, Elk's eyes wandered over the field. It had gotten very messy but was otherwise just as beautiful as when he saw it with Tsukasa. The tree they had sat under was covered in sword marks now but the blossoms on it still glowed.
"Thanks, both of you for coming!" The heavy blade still had a tear in her eye. "I'm so happy, I knew I could do it! Sure I have to share my title but a Blade Goddess needs to make sacrifices sometimes." She grinned and put a flower in each of the boy's hair, after of course forcing them to remove their hats. "Hee, you guys have hat head."
"Aw, I look like I have a plant growing on my skull…" Kite muttered. Elk snorted and then covered his mouth in surprise. His friends laughed at him and the sound called Mimiru over to them.
"Hey, good match, course under different circumstances I would have won…" Mimiru bragged as she stood behind the group. Blackrose growled softly and pushed past Elk and Kite.
"Yeah well, we all know that I went easy on you." The pink haired goddess said.
"Heh, you were trying your best and you know it." Mimiru grinned. "I was the one who didn't break a sweat."
"What? What battle were you watching?" Blackrose frowned. "You were sweating more than it was snowing."
"What? Listen I-" Mimiru stopped and her eyes locked on Elk. "Oh hey!! Tsukasa's boyfriend…er, friend! How are you? Did you come to cheer me on?" She jumped forward and grabbed his hands. "Listen, I'm really sorry about all those names I called you, I didn't mean it really."
"Oh no, that's alright…" Elk smiled, "You fought really well though."
"Hee, thanks!" Mimiru grinned. "Oh hey, my friends are waiting ok?" She pointed over at a man who deeply reminded Kite of Orca, a wavemaster with long blonde hair and a long arm with spiky blue hair and a red vest. "See ya later guys!" She ran off and three went back to talking about the event.
"Finally…" Elk yawned and stretched his arms over his head. "I'm so tired…" The three had returned to the root town and were still a bit pumped from the mini war.
"Oh really? That's too bad, me and Blackrose are going to a dungeon." Kite smiled. "You should come but if you're too tired then it's alright."
"I'll come next time ok?" Elk said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Yep, bye!" They said, disappearing into the glowing gate. Elk stood there a moment and logged out just as Balmung ran up to him. He sat in his chair, hands on his headset. He could just see Balmung tomorrow and get some rest but…
"It might be important…" Elk sighed and booted the World back up.
A/N: Sage: Sorry to cut it short, hope you don't mind.
Kaley: Next time, prepare for a small surprise or two!
Bakura: And death!
Elk: Death?!
Kaley: Don't listen to him, he doesn't know anything.
Elk: Um…ok…
Sage: See ya and review as always.