Chapter 13

"Oh God, I'm not ready for this!" she said.

"But you have to. Everyone else did," Tsukiko said, not even helping.

"Right. Well, I'm going to win this!"

Aika walked confidently out to the arena, Juro down the other. Juro had shoulder length black hair.

Aika gave him a nasty face when he gave her a kissy face, and the proctor started the match.

Juro dropped his head, and stood there. Aika tilted her head, confused, and waited.

He lifted his head, and a gasp echoed through the spectators.

Juro's sea colored eyes had turned maroon, matching Aika's skirt.

"Aika! Run!" I screamed, when I realized that Aika hadn't moved at all.

Juro raised his hand. It was glowing with the same shade of maroon as his thoroughly creepy eyes.. He made a fist, and ran at Aika, bringing it up onto her chin.

She emitted a soft cry, and fell into a heap.

"Aika!" I screamed, reaching my hand out to her.

I jumped over the landing, and ran to her.

"Miss, please leave the floor, we still have one more pair," said the proctor.

I ignored him, and crouched down to my fallen partner.

"Aika, Aika are you alright?" I asked, shaking her limp body.

She groaned, and looked at me, "His, his eyes!" she said, "They're, so horrible! I saw terrible things; it was horrifying! Everything bad, everything sad in my life flashed before my eyes. I couldn't move. Wha-what did you do?"

She directed the last part at Juro, who answered, ""Niiro Manako, baby. Too bad you couldn't see it at its full power."

"Niiro Manako," I said, turning it over in my head, "Red eye? Is it a Kekkei Genkai?"

"That's right."

"Everyone, I must ask you to leave to leave the floor. We have one more match."

I didn't want to, but I et the doctors take Aika away on a stretcher, and walked back up the stairs.

"Will the last two please come down."

MOIEV TSUKIKO VS. HISAO JANDID

Heh, good luck winning that one, Jandid.

Once again, the opponent ran at her, but she calmly raised her palms to him, and shut her eyes tightly.

A sudden drench of rain appeared, and everyone who had gotten dirty from Katsu's fight (and that was everybody) immediately got muddy.

I felt a little weaker after it was over, but I didn't pay any attention.

"Oh, no!" he teased, "What will you do next? Snow on me? You are so weak."

Then he tried to run at her again.

"Wait, huh? I'm stuck!"

"Yeah," Tsukiko said, smirking, "During that crappy little monologue of yours, I took the time to dry the lovely soil that Katsu made. And we all know, that dirt plus water equals?"

There was an embarrassing silence. I thought it was a rhetorical question, so I didn't answer, but Katsu apparently didn't care.

"Mud!" he called out.

A few people laughed, but Tsukiko stayed serious.

"Right, mud. Now, oh wise one who doesn't know what dirt and water makes, you are stuck. Thus, making you totally vulnerable and wide open."

She shot a bolt of blue lightning at him, and Jandid fell to the ground, fainted.

I thought she was done, but she brought her palm forcefully to the ground, and brought the floor back out again. Jandid fell into it, and she smoothed it back out, so no one could tell that anyone was beneath it.

"He's still alive," she said, "But unless you can dig up 6 feet of earth in, oh, abut five minutes, he's a good as gone." And she walked up the stairs with a look of triumph on her face.