Yume o Dakishimete

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Many of the characters in this story were made up by yours truly or by my friends; any resemblance to other characters is strictly coincidence unless stated otherwise. Basis of the storyline is influenced by Magic Knight Rayearth, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, and Soul Calibur II (cool game.) Contains characters from Naruto, Soul Calibur II, Magic Knight Rayearth, DN Angel and InuYasha. All of which I do not own!

As the man came more into view, the Sun, Aley, Hiroshi and Kagen were forced to hold in their laughter at the height of the man. Sun and Hiroshi placed an arm around each other as their eyes filled with tears from the short stature of the man.

"Very funny..." The man said as he glared over at the two boys.

"You're Master Mage Clef." Yume said as she stepped forward toward the short man.

"Good observation. You can be team leader." He said with a smile, taking her hand and patting it. Hiroshi immediately stopped laughing and took Yume's other hand and dragged her behind him.

"Hey! Hands off! Watch it, little man!"

"Oh, I see."

"That's right!"

"You want to be team leader? Well, I guess you can be the co-leader..."

"Gah! No, that's not what I mean at all! Yume's MINE. M-I-N-E! SO DON'T TOUCH!"

"Sorry, Master Mage. He's like this all the time." She then shoved him out the way and crouched down some to the mage's height. "Umi said you'd help us, what can you do?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked-- Yume, was it? The competition will start shortly. I'll help you guys out with a few things, but that's all I can do to. I'm not supposed to help with you all winning the tournament. Think of me more as... trainer. First off, here are the rules for the first round. You must form a team of up to six people. Though you are a team, the ones who lose their battles are sent home. In your case, you're sent back to your world. However, this only applies to the first few rounds. The very first round is a one-on-one battle with an opposing team."

"So... Ya lose, ya go home?" Asked Sun, uninterested. "I'd rather be home right now."

"In addition, you're permitted substitutes, which is the purpose of elimination. You may also recruit those who have been eliminated, but you're team can't exceed ten members. By the final round, your group should be down to three."

"A competition, eh? Sounds like fun. I'm in." Yume agreed.

"Us too!" Aley and Kagen replied in unison.

"I can't leave you alone! ... Just think of all the evil people who'll be touching you! THEY'LL PAY!" Hiroshi drifted off in thought with his fist vibrating violently in the air.

"If Yume's going, I'm going toooooo...!" Riya said happily.

"Fine, but if we're doing this, we're going to win." Sun finally agreed.

"I knew you'd all agree to the terms. Now, for that attire of yours. Hope you're all better at fighting. Well, here goes. Bestow magic!" The mage cried as a large white beam of light surrounded the six teens.

This seemed to be a usual occurrence, for none of the other fighters seemed to really notice or care. The spectators; however, became ecstatic and roared with cheer. They all knew what it meant, apparently, and were excited at the sight of magic being used in the tournament once again. The first to be addressed was Riya, the white light surrounding her suddenly turned orangey-brown and the ground began to rise. She was stripped of her clothing and suddenly dressed in a yellow sari with a novice staff as gravity began to take its toll and force the ground back... well... down to the ground. Next was Kagen. The orangey-brown light then suddenly turned green as large gusts of wind surrounded her. She, too, was stripped from her clothes and dressed in a green and gold designed Asian outfit with a naginata firmly in hand and black heels. The two glanced at what they were wearing and looked at each other confusingly. They then turned to onlook the other's transformations.

Aley and Hiroshi were engulfed in flames just as the light turned red. Aley was then also dressed in an Asian outfit, but red and gold in design with black heels. A stave was her chosen weapon which she held in her hands. While Hiroshi was dressed in a pair of black dress pants, a red long sleeved button down shirt and a black trenchcoat with a masamune katana at his side. Aley's light brown hair was placed up in a pony tail just as her sister's had been. She went over to her sister and showed off her new outfit which matched her sister also. Hiroshi walked over to Riya with a huge grin, the look in his eyes saying 'I love this coat!'

As the embers died down, bolts of lightning began to shoot down from the sky as the beam of light turned a golden yellow color and it seemed as though both Sun and Yume were struck by lightning. Simultaneously, the two opened their eyes and glanced over to their friends, then the crowd. The crowd roared with cheer at the sight of their golden eyes just before being hidden among the bolts of lightning. The two went out with a bang, literally, as thunder clapped while the lightning and beam of light faded into nothingness. Sun stood with his hands in the pockets of black dress pants, shirtless, with nunchaku around his neck. Yume stood beside him with a confused look on her face. She had been dressed in a black pleated skirt with a fitted black tank top, with black tights that stopped a bit past her knees and black heeled boots. To her back were twin ninja-to swords and on the right corner of her shirt and going down her left leg was an usual design in golden yellow. The same design went down Sun's right pant leg.

"I somehow feel violated..." Yume began.

"Does this outfit make me look fat?" Sun looked himself over.

"Sexy, sexy!" Hiroshi complimented with a smile.

"Why, thank you." Sun nodded.

"Huh?"

"Not you, smart guy." Yume sighed, then suddenly grabbed and tugged on Hiroshi's cheeks. "And if you ever utter those words again I'll beat you close to death."

"She's such a cute firecracker, isn't she!" Hiroshi smiled after she let go, his cheeks red from abuse. He placed an arm around her as she crossed hers.

"Don't you two look cute!" Yume complimented the two sisters and applauded. "And Riya! I'm speechless!"

"Haaaai...!" Riya placed a had on her cheek and blushed in embarrassment.

"I suggest you all spend the short time you have left training. You have a little over an hour before your first match. Use your time wisely. I'll be here if you need help." The mage then left to watch from a distance of their progress.

"Training? A waste of time." Sun sat down Indian style on the ground, crossing his arms.

"That's why you're going to lose!" Aley said while whacking him on the head with her weapon.

"You're lucky we're on the same team, otherwise I'd beat you with this!" He waved his nunchaku at her.

Riya and Kagen were busy sparring each other, while Sun and Aley continued to argue. Hiroshi was trying to figure out this whole magic thing by setting one hand on fire at a time. He was glad that he wasn't getting burned but was having a bit of trouble controlling it. Yume sat quietly on the ground with her eyes closed and her arms crossed in silence, almost as though she were meditating. The first battle was soon to start and only time will tell how they will fair on their first trial.