Chapter 17: Preparation
"You don't guard your left side that well, Kairi," Sora pointed out as he swung his keyblade. Kairi brought hers up to deflect the attack and launched a strike of her own. Instead of trying to block it, Sora dodged and swung his keyblade at Kairi's left shoulder. Kairi used the Promise Keeper to try and thwart the attack again but she moved too awkwardly and the flat of Sora's keyblade slammed into her. She dropped her own weapon from the force of the blow and rubbed her shoulder.
"You didn't have to hit me so hard, you brute," she teased. "Do you like to beat up girls now?"
Sora picked up her keyblade and handed it to her. "You could be as strong as me, or stronger, if you just practice more," he said seriously. "The Heartless are exactly what their name implies. They won't take it easy on you. They'll press any advantage they find, no matter how cowardly or evil."
Kairi gaped at the brunet. "Wow, Sora. For a second there you sounded smart."
Sora sighed and held his keyblade ready again. "Alright come at me like you mean it this time," he grinned. "I'm sure some girls have muscles."
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Riku and Fayne were both resting and panting lightly after a grueling workout. They were drinking a good deal of water so that they wouldn't be dehydrated. Riku stole a glance at Fayne while she was drinking her water and something in his chest loosened. What was it about her that made him feel that way? Sure she was beautiful, but he had met his share of beautiful girls and they had never had this kind of effect on him. He shook his head and closed his eyes to rest.
Fayne looked at him openly while he dozed. For some reason, she felt short of breath again even though they had been resting for a while. She had never felt this way about a guy before and she wondered what she would do about it. I'll ask Kairi, she thought, immediately dismissing the idea. Whatever had happened between the trio, she didn't want to get involved. She didn't like complications in her life. She was content with everything being simple and clean, but she wondered what would happen if she and Riku ever-"
"Hey, you ready to start again?" Riku asked sitting up. Fayne started and looked away, a light blush rising to her cheeks. She didn't want to be caught looking as if she were in a trance or something.
"Yeah sure. Maybe this time you can kick my butt." Fayne got up and stretched. "Besides, I think we're ready to enter this little tournament."
Riku shook his head, smiling. "I think our hardest battle will be Yuyami and Cloud. They're both seasoned veterans."
"Yeah, Kairi and Zero won't be too much of a problem," Fayne agreed. "Excluding our group, who else is going to be any trouble?"
"Sora."
"Whatever."
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Heyral would never admit it, but the silver-headed warrior made him nervous. Who the hell needs a sword that long anyway, he thought as blue eyes strayed to the Masamune. It's taller than he is. He caught himself patting the sword strapped to his side, three feet wide and five feet long, and laughed inwardly. You're one to talk with your humongous sword of doom but still… Heyral couldn't help but look at the angle-like wing jutting out of Sephiroth's right shoulder. It was coal-black and was as beautiful as a moonless, starry night. Why does he have a wing too, he wondered with a shiver. Who is this guy? He turned his attention back to signing up for the tournament.
"Hey, the tournament consists of teams of two," Dariel remarked looking at a form that advertised the Mythril Cup. "We only have five people here."
"It doesn't matter," Sephiroth said, speaking for the first time. "I can go in alone."
"Oh yeah I remember you," Phil stated, walking over to the group and looking over him. "You would come to games and just crush people."
Sephiroth smirked but it was quickly wiped off his face when Phil added, "Except when Sora beat you…"
"You got beat by a kid?" Jessed asked, loudly. Everyone in the area turned and looked at Sephiroth who shrugged.
"A mere fluke," he stated. "The boy simply had the luck of Zeus."
"Well what will the teams be?" Orlandu asked, taking the attention off of the ex-soldier. Sephiroth shot him a somewhat grateful look and signed up as a solo participant.
"Well its me and Dariel, obviously," Heyral quickly added. "We work so well together."
Dariel smiled and threw her hands up. "Alright, if I have to fight with a second-rate ex-soldier, I guess I have no choice."
Sephiroth's head snapped up from the form he was completing and his luminous, green eyes gleamed. "You were in soldier?" he asked.
Heyral nodded, suspicious. "Yeah, why?"
Sephiroth shook his head. "It's just…I was also in soldier."
Heyral relaxed and smiled. "Really? What class were you?"
"I was…S-class," Sephiroth answered.
"Jeez, you were really high up…" Heyral ran his fingers through his hair. "I was only 1st class."
"1st class…?" Sephiroth closed his eyes and thought of the past. This man's past seems so familiar… Cloud… I haven't heard or thought of that name in years… This Heyral guy is not who he claims to be. But I thought he was killed by Shinra soldiers for trying to escape the Jenova project with Cloud. Then again they said they killed Cloud too. This "Heyral" must not remember much. "1st class is nothing to scoff at."
Heyral grinned, a little bashfully, and said, "Yeah, well anyway, that leaves Orlandu and Jessed."
Jessed stepped forward. "Um, actually, I wanna be the one going in alone instead of Seph."
The ex-soldier looked up and he appeared startled. Everyone thought he was surprised by Jessed's courage, or stupidity. They didn't know he was actually touched that the boy had called him "Seph". No one had ever called him by a nickname and few even called him Sephiroth. It was always "sir", "Mr. Sephiroth", or, the ever popular, "legendary warrior". It just felt…good to be referred to as a regular human and not some god-like warrior. Even though I did think I was when I was being controlled by that Jenova creature, he mused.
Dariel sighed and grabbed Jessed. "Why the hell would you want to do that?" she asked. Ever since Heyral had found the boy, when he was about eight, Dariel had taken on the role of friend/mother. She still remembered seeing him in Heyral's arms, faint from hunger and exhaustion. He was clothed in dirty rags and his brownish-red hair was black with dirt and filth. His face was likewise dirty except on his cheeks where his tears had left trails showing the tanned skin underneath. "What are you trying to prove this time?"
"I'm not trying to prove anything," he replied calmly. "I just want to see how much my skills have improved. I do want your consent though."
Heyral touched Dariel's shoulder. "Honey, if he wants to participate alone, then we should let him," he suggested. "Its not like we get killed in there anyway, things never go that far."
"Yeah, but what if he wins?" she asked. "He'll think he can take on armies by himself and out there," she pointed to the gates of the Coliseum and beyond, "he won't be protected by spells or sportsmanship."
"Come on Dare," Heyral smiled. "He's not that cocky."
Dariel returned a small smile. "Yeah, besides, what does he have to be cocky about?" They all laughed except Jessed and Sephiroth. The young mage looked at Sephiroth and rolled his amber eyes, to which the ex-soldier responded with a shrug of indifference.
"If the boy wants to test his abilities, I don't see what the harm is," Sephiroth supplied. "He can only get stronger."
Dariel sighed again and waved a finger in Jessed's face. "Don't come crying to me, wanting to be healed after getting your butt kicked."
"Wow, your confidence in me is almost moving me to tears," the boy replied, sarcastically. He then signed up as a solo participant in the Mythril Cup. Orlandu took the form that Sephiroth had been filling out and added his name to it.
"Guess we're gonna win the tournament, huh?" Orlandu asked.
Sephiroth nodded and gave a rare smile. "Somehow, I believe we'll do quite well."
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"Ah, so its teams of two, is it?" Seryl eyed a flyer with "Mythril Cup!!" emblazoned on it. He turned to his partner and smirked. "I guess that means that it's you and me, huh?"
"Yes, it is," the man replied. His skin was so pale, it looked like he had been drained of all his blood. His hair was a premature gray and it fell straight down with no definition or beauty. His thin lips were turned in a permanent sneer that seemed to accuse everyone and everything as he looked around. The only things he had going for him were his eyes. They were a deep, flawless red, the color of wine. Many people, who looked at him, never saw him. They only saw his eyes and were lost in their beauty.
"Come now," Seryl coaxed, cheerfully. "No need to be down. We're here to mix business with pleasure. Killing an innocent or two will cheer you right up."
The man's lips curled into a smirk as he agreed, "Yes, that probably will put me out of my current mood. Right now I don't feel like doing anything except killing, but the games are fixed to where killing is impossible."
Seryl laughed, and the sound sent shivers down the man's spine. It sounded like a cold walk, down a dark hallway to execution. "We'll kill people after the games, silly. We're just entering the tournament to beat up on those keyblade masters and those Ansem-followers without having to worry if they die."
"That will be fun in its own way," the man mused. "As long as they still die."
"Of course, they have to die," Seryl assured him. "But what about you, are you sure you're still the same guy that would slit his own mother's throat for a quarter? Or did you lose your nerve when you lost your mask?"
The man chuckled without mirth. "Do not worry, Seryl. I'd kill my best friend if it was in my best interest."
Seryl looked momentarily startled. "You have friends?"
"I used to…" he replied, thinking of a demon in disguise. "But they weren't going in the direction I wanted to go."
"And what direction was that?" Seryl asked, amused.
"Down," was the answer from the man. "Into the deepest depths of hell."
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Cloud grunted as his Buster sword clashed against Yuyami's crossed keyblades. The kid isn't that bad, he decided as he put more strength into his attacks. To his surprise, Yuyami not only blocked the attacks, but he had enough strength to counter with his own. Cloud's role switched to the defensive as he began blocking both of the keyblades and dodging when the need arose. Both of them were dead tired, but neither wanted to be the first to quit. That would be like admitting defeat, so they would spar until one of them fell out from exhaustion.
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Sora touched Kairi's cheek as she rested, causing her to open her eyes. "Come on, the tournament will be starting soon."
Kairi got up stretched. The workout they had had was tiring, but they felt rested enough to give anyone trouble in the tournament. Sora also got up and grasped Kairi's hand in his, causing her to smile. "We're gonna win this tournament, I just know it," the brunet grinned. They began their walk to the Coliseum.
"Yeah with me on the team, you can't lose," Kairi agreed. "What about Yuyami and Cloud though? They're both really strong."
Sora shrugged. "Cloud is pretty strong, but I can take him. I don't know about Yuyami, but I'm sure you can handle him, with help from me of course."
"I guess…" Kairi said, doubtfully. She still remembered Yuyami's confession that he was so powerful, he knew Ultima. He had every spell mastered, and his fighting skills were second to none. "We'd better buy some potions and stuff to use, just in case."
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"Are you ready?" Fayne asked. They were on their way to the Coliseum and she decided to try and strike up conversation.
Riku smirked and brushed his hair back. "Are you kidding? Of course I'm ready, and so are you."
"From what Kairi told me, that Yuyami guy is one tough customer. He even knows Ultima."
"Ultima, huh?" The effect wasn't lost on Riku. He knew the power of Ultima and how only a chosen few could use it. "Don't worry, it's too powerful. He wouldn't use it in the Coliseum where innocents are, because it's so unpredictable."
Fayne nodded. "Yeah, that's true…"
"Come on, let's hurry," Riku said. "I'll even give you a head-start."
Fayne smiled and took off, faster than Riku expected. Smiling, he began running after her.
