Chapter 6 family rival duel: Stella vs Joshua
-fourth training field-
An hour was almost up as some students came to see the duel between Vermillion and Gekkage. Two ace students from two different rival families, Now combated against each other on the first day.
-girls locker room-
Stella was getting prepared for her duel against Joshua. She had already brought an extra pair of stockings to wear as she put them over her legs.
"Seriously..." She said to herself as she then adjusted her hair "Why do I have to do this?". She finished as she looked at herself in the mirror.
"I'm trying my best to control what's trying to destroy me from within...what kind of logic is that? He doesn't make sense". Stella then had a small flashback to her childhood.
-flashback-
Stella was in her room with a bandage on her head as her mother was caring for her.
"Stella, Stop now. You don't have to become a knight, If you have to go through this" her mother said.
"No, Mother" Stella said "A little nation like ours needs a strong magical knight. I promise I'll be able to control this power and best the Gekkage royal family's future heir. To get there...".
-flashback end-
"To get there, I don't care how hard I have to work..." Stella said as she looked at herself in the mirror again.
"I'll crush you, Joshua Gekkage".
She then walked out of the locker as she went to go and face her rival. As she walked out into the open, Other students were talking:
"Look. It's the Crimson Princess".
"A princess and a genius".
"It must be nice having an easy life".
"But why is someone like her...?".
"Yeah, The mock battle?".
"With the Legendary one of all people, Their rivalry between the two families is something".
Stella sighed in her head as she made her way to the stage.
'I'll show them who the real Legendary one is'.
-meanwhile on the stage-
Everyone was taking their seats, Joshua and Kurono were on stage as Kurono was getting things ready for the mock battle with her iPad. She was informed on the true reason why her nephew holds his collar in high regard. Needless to say, She was happy that he was in control.
"Heh, So they made you that after the incident?" Kurono said, Joshua had his arms crossed as he nodded at his aunt.
"Yeah" Joshua said "It took some time, But after it was complete. They gave it to me to try out, And it was a success! I could control my darkness magic at will without having to worry about being corrupted by it".
Kurono then rubbed his head as she was still working with the adjustments. "That's my little nephew" she said. Joshua smirked "Hey, You would have found out about it sooner or latter. You are a close friend to the family after all, You've been with me since I was still a toddler".
"And you're still the same toddler that I remember" Kurono said "To accept the duel from your families rival, That's quite the feet".
Joshua snorted.
"She's someone I have to beat eventually anyway" he said "But I won't allow her to force me to remove what's basically keeping me alive from myself".
"Beat her, Huh? You both are strong, You know? Tell me, Are you going to participate in the Seven Star Fight Festival like the other members of your family before you?".
Joshua then began to remove his old trench coat as he cracked his fingers. "If I win, I graduate. And carry the family name once more for the Gekkage family estates winning streak" he said "I'll have to think about it until then, But for now. The answer is no".
Joshua then placed his hand on his collar.
"Right now, My main goal is to control the unstable darkness magic within myself...without the need of my collar".
Kurono glanced at him "Joshua...you know that I've been with your family as their friend for years. But that is one feet that I think that the Gekkage can't beat" she said "I mean, Look what it did to you".
Joshua then took off his aviators as he looked at the lights above him, He placed his sunglasses in his pocket as he sighed. "That won't stop me from trying".
"I see..." Kurono said "For now, Try to go out in public without your shades. For me, Please?". Joshua sighed, He hated his eyes. He wished he had his orange ones again. Or his old brown hair color.
But those two things were gone forever.
"Fine..." Joshua said bitterly. Kurono rubbed his head to make him feel better.
"One step at a time. Oh! That reminds me, Since you're able to channel the darkness magic with the help of your collar. Have you created any magical abilities with it?" Kurono asked him. Joshua only shook his head.
"No..." he said. As Joshua was getting set, A girl with bright yellow hair came out. "I made it!" She said as she aimed her camera on Joshua "I came to turn in an application, And I get to see this. I must be lucky!".
As Joshua waited for Stella, One student saw her.
"She's here!".
Joshua looked at the east entrance as he saw Stella proudly walk to the stage. Joshua placed his hand on his collar.
"My answer is still no" he said "The collar stays". Stella crossed her arms and smirked.
"Just what's so special about a hunk of useless metal?" She said with a smug attitude "If you keep worrying about useless trinkets like that, You'll never advance".
"Maybe if you were in my shoes you'd understand how important this thing means to me" Joshua said "You could never understand what I'm going through...".
"I highly doubt someone like you is going through anything serious. Tell me, Gekkage. Are you the type of people who believes hard work can beat even the talented?" Stella asked him. Joshua placed his hands behind his head.
"I don't know really" he said "I guess that never really occurred in my head. But I guess so...".
Stella then Closed her eyes as she thought about her childhood again.
-flashback-
"Damn it!" A warrior said "Even though I Worked so hard, I can't beat the one with the talent".
-flashback end-
"As if I don't work hard..." Stella said to herself. Joshua actually heard her. "Huh? Work hard for what?" He asked her.
Stella got out of her thoughts as she looked at him. "It's nothing, Shall we begin the mock battle, Director".
Kurono nodded "We shall begin the mock battle. As you know, A mock battle is a fight where you don't give physical damage, But drain the others physical strength. Your device should be deployed in phantom form" she said as she started the match.
The lights then turned green around them, Stella then began to summon for her device.
"Serve me, Laevatein!".
A fire tornado then emerged from the ground as Stella then grabbed a rock like sword and slammed it into the ground as it showed to be a golden broadsword. Stella smirked as she waited for Joshua to summon his device.
Joshua sighed as he placed his hand over the center of his chest.
"Your life ends here, Vexanora!".
Joshua then felt a crystal spear come from out of his chest as he pulled it out and spun it in his hand as it transformed into a curved sword that was identical to the Eleum Loyce sword from dark souls 2. The swords long blade was bright orange, As it's short blade was pitch black. He then slammed his sword into the ground as seven Crystal pillars rose up and shattered.
Stella was a bit surprised in her head 'That's how he summons his device? That's...pretty impressive'.
LET'S GO AHEAD
Stella's Laevatein was coated in flames as she then ran at Joshua, Joshua began to focus as he then dodged her attack. "Good judgment. My Dragon breath fire is 3,000 degrees Celsius! If you take it straight on, You'll be in big trouble!" Stella said as she then swung her sword at him in a horizontal attack.
Joshua then held up his right arm as her device collided with his arm, Now coated in full Crystal like before. Stella was in shock.
"What!? But...".
"Don't you get it?!" Joshua said "The element I wield is crystal. With it, I can harden my crystal skins durability to handle any situation that's thrown at me!" Joshua then deflected her sword as he then enchanted his Vexanora with small and large crystal spikes as it glowed sky blue. He then ran at Stella who was now on the defensive.
Everyone just watched with awe.
"Did you see that!?".
"He took that like a pro!".
"He truly is legendary...".
Kurono was watching the fight as someone called out to her.
"You're so mean, Kurono. You need to tell me these things". Kurono sighed "Either way, You'll detect and manage to get in here" Kurono said. The girl smirked.
"That's true" she said "But you didn't see this coming, Did you? To see the talented knight Stella Vermillion and the legendary Joshua Gekkage would do this...".
Kurono just kept her eye on her nephew.
'Joshua, If you can truly use Darkness to your will. Prove it to me...' She thought.
Joshua was still getting the upper hand on Stella who was still blocking his attacks from his weapon, 'How can this be?' Stella thought 'To be on the defensive instead of the offensive...'.
That's when Joshua raised his curved sword in the air and slammed it over Stella's head, Stella was able to block it, But the impact made her get knocked back.
Joshua spun his sword in his left hand.
"You're pretty good at running away, Vermillion" Joshua mocked. Stella gritted her teeth at him as he spoke again "But the sword technique you've been toning up...even during your defense...I feel it, Your not just talented. You've worked extremely hard".
Stella just looked at her rival as she prepared herself.
"You have a very sharp eye. But my sword technique isn't so easy to see through!" She said to him as she ran at him, Joshua breathed as he then opened his right hand and started to create a tiny black fire ball in his hand. He then glanced at Stella who then raised up her sword, As Joshua then moved his right hand, Hitting Stella in the abdomen as he used his crystal skin to coat his whole body.
Everyone was at the edge of their seats.
"Did S-Rank win? Is it over?" One student said.
"Wait look!" Another student said.
Joshua glanced at Stella, Who's body was covered in a red aura.
"This doesn't look good. To win like this" Stella said. Joshua backed away from her a bit.
"Good, I didn't have to use a huge amount of my darkness magic...but that's it, I won't use it again..to be corrupted by it once again..." Joshua whispered to himself as he looked at Stella "Well, This has been fun, Huh Vermillion?".
"Silence!" Stella said "This has gone on long enough. I thought that this would be easy, So that I could beat you with my sword skill, And let everyone know that I'm not just a gifted person. But I'll admit, This battle...".
That's when her red magic aura shattered. Stella was in shock.
"Ah! But...but how did he...? That's Impossible! Joshua..." Stella then fell to her knees and passed out. Joshua cracked his neck as he made his device shatter into pieces as he crossed his arms.
'The truth is, Stella...you couldn't beat me from the start. Because I was born..with the dark..' Joshua thought. Everyone was just in awe as Kurono raised her arm.
"That's it! The winner! Is Joshua Gekkage!".
Everyone just stood up from their seats as they had their mouths dropped. The girl that Kurono had been speaking with got up from her seat.
"Wow. It's gonna be so exciting to see the selection match this year" she said as she left.
Joshua then walked over to Stella as he picked her up bridal style and carried her away.
"This family rivalry...is over".
-emergency room-
Stella was in the emergency room for a bit, Joshua had left her there as he left to his room. She had woken up from her rest as she looked out the window. That's when her door opened as Kurono came inside.
"Vermillion. How are you feeling?" Kurono asked her. Stella sighed as she smiled.
"I had forgotten it for a long time...this is what it feels like to lose" Stella said as she looked at the director "What about him?".
"My nephew is in his room probably sleeping. He's still got a lot of energy" Kurono said.
"Director, What is this about?".
Kurono just looked at her a bit confused "Huh? What do you mean?".
"Don't play dumb!" Stella said "It doesn't make any sense that Gekkage beat me like that with a simple jab to the abdomen. To shatter my magic aura...".
"Joshua is a special kind of kid" Kurono said. Stella looked at Kurono and blinked.
"But...to fight me...just over his collar...".
"It's what's keeping him alive...".
Stella was surprised by what she just said. "Eh? Keeping him alive?" Stella said. Kurono sighed as she rubbed the back of her head, "The media and public only knows of Joshua's Crystal magic. But what they don't know, Is that Joshua was actually born with two magic superpowers. Crystal...and darkness".
Stella had her eyes widen.
"Darkness..." Stella said "But...how? How can he still be standing if he has darkness magic? No person in the world can control it, And here he is...".
"His family made him that collar after the incident that happened involving his darkness magic. After the incident, Joshua was never the same. He became afraid of his darkness magic and in tern the deformities that it did to his hair, Eyes, And teeth. It also gave him many scars over his body. He sees himself as a miserable reck. It messed up his sanity a bit as he states, Joshua hates that collar, And wants to find a way to control his darkness without it corrupting him completely".
Stella now finally understood why Joshua was so defensive of his collar. She now felt extremely bad for how she treated him, Letting her family's rivalry get in the way of everything. Stella then pondered something until Kurono spoke.
"And in case your wondering, That collar is also able to let Joshua channel the darkness to his control at will. He is the first and only blazer to control one of the most hardest magic properties in the world, Let alone one of the most dangerous. But he must never by any means remove the collar from his neck, If that collar were to be removed...".
"Then the dark would corrupt it's owner and turn them into a beast...somthing that's not human anymore..." Stella said in fear, She had known many Blazers of the past to lose themselves to darkness magic, Not a single one could control it. And those who were born with it, Were considered cursed ones, Doomed to die by their own power in the end.
Kurono crossed her arms as she looked out of the window.
"My nephew refuses to give up, He wants to be the first to control his darkness magic. But he's afraid to tap into it fully even though he has the collar to help him, I saw when he used a tiny bit of it against you; No one else could see it but me. But I'm not sure if he'll use it again".
Kurono then looked at Stella "You can try your hardest to follow Gekkage's path. I'm sure it won't be a waste of your time. But he's fighting his own battle alone. To survive...he wants to surpass the ones that feel before him".
Stella just looked at her bed as she remembered what Joshua said to her:
"Maybe if you were in my shoes you'd understand how important this thing means to me. You could never understand what I'm going through...".
Stella just looked upset as she gripped Her bedsheets.
"Joshua..." She said.
-Joshua and Stella's room-
Stella was able to leave the emergency room as she opened the door to her dorm. She walked inside as she glanced at Joshua, Who was on the top bunk bed sleeping. She walked over to him as she stood on her tip toes. She looked at Joshua as he was sleeping, She then moved her hand to touch him, But he turned to his side.
Stella moved her hand back a bit as she saw his bare skin exposed a bit. She then poked his back as she felt his soft skin. She started to blush as she then put her hand on his back.
"So this is the back of a survivor..." She said. Joshua then rolled to his back, Trapping her hand under his arm. Stella freaked a bit as she tried to get it free.
"Ah?! N-not good! W-well, Right, If I do this...oops?".
Stella was now on top of Joshua as she then moved her hand out from his arm. She covered her mouth as she didn't want to wake him. She then glanced at his shirt as she saw a bit of it exposed his bare abdomen. Stella moved her hand to touch his body, But pulled back.
"N-no! I'm unmarried, And also a princess. And he's my families rival, And a prince" she said "It's taboo...".
She then looked at Joshua still as she began to think about it more. "But he saw me in my underwear. So it's just even, Right?" She said as she lifted up his shirt to see his tone body. She glanced at all of the scars that covered his body as if he had been in a war, Stella then glanced up at the huge scar across his heart and began to reach for it.
"So this is the body of a survivor...?" She said as she touched his scar on his heart. She then felt a huge amount of high magical energy surge through her body.
"Wow! Such immense power!" She said as she began to breathe heavily "Wh-what's happening to me?" She said. She then heard a voice.
"Umm, What are you trying to do, Vermillion?" Joshua said.
Stella looked at him before she freaked and hit her head hard on the celling, Joshua couldn't help but snicker at her.
-one second latter-
Joshua got Stella a bandaid as he put it on her forehead, He sighed as he backed up.
"There" he said.
"Th-thanks" Stella said.
Joshua then walked over to his bags "No problem, It's nothing too serious" he said as he was looking for his iPod. Stella looked at his collar as she spoke up to get his attention.
"I'm sorry".
"Huh? For?".
"I let my pride of our rival families get the better of me, And Let it control my emotions. I'm sorry for what I said to you, Your family name. And...your collar" she said "I never tried to look at who you really are. If I did, I wouldn't have lost it like that".
"Despite me being a Gekkage?" Joshua said. Stella looked away from him and nodded. "Yes...even though your a Gekkage. I still should have gotten to known you. I completely lost it, Joshua" she said to him with a smile on her face.
Joshua just stared at her, He was a bit surprised to see her act like this. He smirked 'Perhaps, She's not a fire cunt after all...' He thought as he then snapped his finger and smirked.
"Oh yes! That's right! Now it's my turn to get revenge on you!".
"Eh? W-what do you mean, Get revenge on me!?".
Joshua smiled "You're my servant, Correct?" He asked her. Stella just looked at him as he continued "The loser will obey the winner for the rest of their life, Right?".
"Well, Th-that was, Um...a figure of speech..." Stella said frantically. Joshua just wagged his finger at her "No no no, You can't back out. After all, You said it. So you'll do whatever I want, About anything" he said.
Stella just looked at him as she crossed her arms "A-a-anything?! Not anything! No!" She said. Joshua smirked.
"I see. The Royal Vermillion family can't even keep the promise they made" he mocked "guess you guys ain't shit".
Stella quickly stood up from her bed as she marched over to him. "Who said they don't?!" Stella said "Okay! I'll be your servant or dog or whatever you want! Make me do whatever! Make me fulfill your sexual orders! Pervert! Fool! I hate you!" She finished as she puffed up her cheeks.
Joshua facepalmed.
"I take it back in my head, You're still a cunt..." He said as she glared at him "What!?". Joshua stood up as he then smiled at her. "My order is this, Be my roommate. Okay?".
"Huh?".
"I want to be closer to you".
"C-close...how dare you say such a thing to an unmarried princess? Really, For a prince; You're so insensitive" Stella said. Joshua just rolled his eyes at her, "Wow...you're an idiot for a princess...or I guess you don't want to be roommates with a man" he said "In that case, Maybe we should go talk to my auntie once again...".
"No...I don't..." Stella said, Joshua raised his eyebrow at her.
"Oh?" He said. Stella then glanced away from him "But let me be clear, But only because this is an order! I have no desire at all to be close to you! It's taboo for members of our family to date or marry anyone outside of the family heritage. Or worse, Anyone who is a member of our family rival" she said.
Joshua shrugged at her "Fine by me, Then let's get to it! Vermillion..." He said as he held out his hand to her. Stella glanced at his hand.
"Stella".
"What's that, Vermillion?".
Stella glanced at Joshua "If you don't call me that, I won't try to make this work" she said, Joshua smiled at her "Very well, Stella. Let's be roommate buddies".
"If you insist on it" Stella said with a smile as she held out her fist in front of him, Joshua then gently fisted bumped with her.
'Well now, I'm roommates with my families rival' Joshua and Stella thought 'I guess the world is doomed'.
A/n: well this was okay in my opinion. I know that some of you are asking what the hell is this incident that occurred. But trust me, I'll get to that. So for now, Hope you enjoy it. All reviews and comments are welcome.