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Outside the stadium

"We'll have to stop them Elder Seiyo," Ozuma said as he turned to look at their clan's chief. "We will," the calmness in the Chief's voice was a reassurance to Ozuma. The two of them moved towards the stadium to meet the woman who managed to convince one of them, Mariam, to betray them. It was unforgivable. It was a sore mistake, the chief thought, Bringing the stone out of its sacred abode and experimenting upon it would only bring upon a disaster. "Let's wait until the end of the day. I want to see what kind of a man Mariam has chosen, see his potential," the Chief said aloud.

"But Elder..." Ozuma began to protest. "You have no need to instruct me Ozuma," the Chief cut him short. "I apologize," Ozuma said, as his fists balled in anger.

Bladebreakers vs. The Majestics

The crowd in the stadium burst out into an applause when the Bladebreakers entered the arena. The Majestics made an equally grand entry dressed in their armours, like the knights they were. The battle line up was displayed on the screen. Much to Kai's displeasure he was up against Miguel, the last in the line up. Akira, as per her wish was fighting Johnny. Rei vs. Enrique being the first, the two bladers proceeded towards the battle dish that was yet to be revealed.

Hillary sat down beside Kenny who was ready with Dizzy to do what he always does. "Kick some ass Rei!" Tyson was more hyper than ever considering that he had missed blading in the tournament the previous year. In fact, everyone on the team, excluding Kai and Akira, were pretty excited. Kai was just being his usual self.

Akira, the newbie of the group, stood distracted as the captain's previously said words reverberated in her mind. You are going to regret it, he had said. Somebody had said that to her once before and that somebody was standing with his team, probably considering her the same wannabe rookie that he had called her. The rookie that he had mocked upon her defeat had come a long way now. But somehow Kai's words left her unsettled. She wanted to prove the phoenix wrong as much as she wanted to prove a certain gladiator wrong.

The violent clashing of the blades in the beydish grabbed her attention. She moved towards the dish noting the progress of the battle. It looked as if Enrique's two headed beast had an upper hand over Drigger, but the white tiger's claws were sharp enough to end the battle. "We WON!" Hillary's scream made her wince.

Next up was Max vs. Oliver, whose result was an unfortunate tie. "Only if my blade landed at the right angle! Fuck!" Max swore in frustration. Oliver was equally displeased with result. "It's alright Maxie," Tyson put a hand on his shoulder. "It is not Tyson. I should've won that match!" A fifteen minute break was announced before the rest of the matches started.

"I bet she's still just a piece of cake," Johnny said, his hands folded and a smirk on his face. "You don't learn, do you?" he heard Robert say, "You made the same mistake that day Johnny, mocked her in front of the crowd. When will you learn to respect your opponents?" "What I told her that day was the truth!" Johnny retorted, "Her tie with Oliver was a lucky shot. He went easy on her."

"That is precisely what I did. And I paid the price. I assumed her to be a rookie and went easy on her. If she was so weak I should have won despite going easy. But I didn't. She was strong then and I bet she is even stronger now. So stop being so cocky and take this seriously!" Oliver didn't wait for Johnny's response and sat on the bench, his hands crossed and eyes closed. Johnny glared at him for a moment and headed towards the beydish.

"All the best, Akira. You can do it," Hillary patted Akira on her back startling her. "Oh...yeah... Thanks." She smiled at Hillary and turned around to look at the rest of the team. "You know what to do, right?" Tyson smiled at her. Akira nodded at them and walked towards the dish, giving a final glance in Kai's direction. He sat there on the bench, his eyes closed.

"I hope you give me some decent competition this time," Johnny said to her, as the beydish began to reveal itself. Akira said nothing but smirked. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. She focused on one thing, victory.

Meanwhile, Max's eyes wandered off into the stands. Elder Seiyo had his gaze fixed on him, his thoughts not reflecting in his face. However, he could see Ozuma's anger in his eyes. He stole the girl Ozuma loved, Mariam. That would be a valid reason. But, he also knew that Ozuma would never try to force Mariam against her will. So, what must be the reason behind stopping Mariam from leaving the village and their sudden presence here? He shifted his attention back to the match.

Akira pulled out her launcher and held it in the left hand while the rip cord was in her right. "She is using her left hand?" Kenny wondered out loud. Kai upon hearing it opened his eyes. Left hand, he wondered, what is she up to now? But, her left hand... It is hurt, will she be able to launch the blade properly?

The beydish turned out to be huge replica of the Colosseum(Coliseum), built right below their feet. The platforms that they stood on, extended into the dish at a height. She inserted the rip cord into the launcher and held it at a slightly different angle. The countdown began.

"3... 2... 1... Let it rip!"

Johnny launched his blade right away, but Akira delayed her launch by a second or two, instantaneously changing the angle of her launch. No sooner had Johnny's blade hit the ground(dish) than Akira's blade ripped through it with god like speed, hurling it into a pile of rocks, that vapourised into dust immediately.

"That launcher is no normal one," Kenny said, "It optimizes the blade speed like no other and Akira got even better results by letting Johnny launch first and then adjusting her launch angle in a split second. That is not normal blading, you know." "How did she manage to do it?" Hillary asked perplexed.

"By studying Johnny's battles. She asked me if I could give her any footage of Johnny's battles," Kenny explained, "Not just his, but all the opponents we might face."

"There are some characteristics of a blader that remain fairly the same," Kai spoke for the first time, "Like the blader's launching style and his special attacks. Considering that Johnny had a special way of launching his blade, it became even easier to analyse it. She used that to her advantage and modified her style, to give her optimum speed and attack force."

"We underestimated her quite a little bit, didn't we?" Rei said, impressed.

"I never doubted her skills as a blader," Tyson said, "She used to practice late into the night, alone, trying to master defense and improve her offense."

"Then I guess she has a few more tricks up her sleeve," Max added.

Johnny who was taken aback by her speed and power, took a step back, horror replacing his smirk. But he made a quick comeback. However, the damage had been done. His blade wobbled and seemed to lose speed. Johnny frowned at the girl standing in front of him unaffected by the upper hand she had just gained. Her face was devoid of any expression, which made it impossible for him to read her.

Johnny decided to speed up the process by calling his bit beast out. Salamalyon, upon receiving his master's orders took shape in front of Akira. The blade steadied too. He began attacking Akira's blade continuously without giving her time to even defend herself. She winced and tried to retreat. Fortunately she found an opening and utilized it to summon Serpa.

The sight of the vicious serpent in its full size, with its hood spread out and its echoing hissing, silenced the audience for a moment. Hillary suddenly felt nauseous. "I don't know about you guys but the sight of that serpent certainly disgusts me." The Bladebreakers were too preoccupied with the match to comment.

"Attack... Salamalyon!" Johnny commanded and the crowd began cheering again. The Salamander spit its vicious flames at Serpa when Akira took a defensive stance, "Serpa! Shield of Darkness!" The next instant a dark energy emanated from Serpa, her hood becoming a shield. The energy engulfed Serpa, thus destroying Salamalyon's flames, as soon as they came into contact with it.

"What the hell!" Johnny was shocked to see one of his most powerful attacks being defeated by a rookie... No, she was not! Oliver was right!

"She mastered the defense technique!" Max exclaimed. "No doubt she was so confident about this match," Rei said.

"Serpa! Paralyse!" Poisonous vapour shot out at the Salamander, in an attempt to paralyse it. "Not so easy," Johnny said and Salamalyon darted at Serpa and the two of them knocked into the wall under Akira's platform. The impact knocked her balance off and she fell to her side, slipping off the platform.

"Oh my God! She is going to fall..." Hillary gasped. Tyson and Max stepped forward, worried. But, Akira held onto the platform with her left hand, which by now, had started bleeding. She managed to climb back up, only to realize that Serpa was being held in a tight grip by Salamalyon, using its claws, much to her horror. "Serpa!" she screamed, and looked at Johnny with disgust. "Serpa, strangle!" The huge serpent wrapped its tail around the Salamander's torso and began to tighten the grip. Salamalyon's cry pierced Johnny's ears, "Salamalyon! Retreat!"

"Told you, we mustn't underestimate her," Oliver said. "Guys, do you think it's over for him? Or is it just me?" Enrique asked.

"Serpa! Finish him off! Viper Sting!" Poisonous needles stung the bit beast everywhere making it disappear back into its blade. "Salamalyon!" And it was over. Johnny fell to his knees and slammed his fist onto the platform, "How could I have lost?"

"Oh yeah! You showed him who's the boss!" Hillary cried in joy. Kai simply closed his eyes while a tiny smile appeared on his lips.

Johnny was expecting Akira to mock him now and avenge her insult, but she only retrieved her blade and walked back to her team. The crowd applauded her all along.

Hillary who couldn't contain her excitement, almost hugged Akira, when she was stopped by her. Hillary was startled as her excitement drained. Akira took her by surprise, when she showed her left palm soaked in blood and smiled, "I'm going to stain your dress. If that's not a problem then go ahead," and winked at her. Hillary smiled back at her and then took her left palm into hers. The smile on Akira's face cheered the others too. It was like she was slowly becoming a part of the team, a friend.

"How did this happen?" Rei asked, "You must have hurt yourself when you disappeared today. That certainly wasn't there in the morning."

"Yeah," Kenny said, "That is one nasty cut."

"Oh it wasn't when I got it," she said, as Kai wondered how she would explain that, "I hurt myself at they hotel while trying out the new launcher. It is more powerful than it appears, quite different from my old one."

"Of course it would be. It is a limited addition launcher and a very costly one too. Your dad definitely gave you one of the best launchers available in the market," Kenny explained, "He does know a little about about blading, I guess."

"A little?" Akira said, "Shiro was one of the best bladers during his time. It's time for your match Tyson," she said, "Go ahead."

The last two of The Majestics didn't go down without a tough fight. Tyson's blade was all battered after his fight with Robert and Kai had to accept that Miguel had become much, much stronger than ever.

The Bladebreakers thus won their first match of the tournament 4-0 and a tie, proving that the break they had taken did them no damage!

5:00 PM

As the Bladebreakers walked back to their locker room, a familiar voice stopped them, "Hillary!"

Hillary turned around to see Julia walking towards them, "Hey!"

"That was a good battle," she said to Akira, "We haven't met, have we? It's Julia."

Akira nodded, "Akira."

"Looks like you've found yourself a strong blader," she said to Tyson. "You bet, we did," he said.

"Hillary, I was planning on going out for dinner, so…" Julia asked.

"Sure! That'd be great!" Hillary said.

"Why don't you join us too?" Julia turned towards Akira.

"You are asking me?" Akira didn't expect an invite.

"Yes. Hillary says you don't go out much," Julia gave her a half smile, "You should come."

Akira shot Hillary a glare and Hillary smiled sheepishly in return.

"Sure."

"That's great!" Hillary said, "Let's celebrate your win!"

Julia smiled and then turned towards Max, "Umm.. Max? I saw Ozuma come this way with an older man. I thought I must tell you."

"To meet me…" Max said, "I knew he's going to come. Thanks."

"Fine. I guess that's it then. See you in the lobby at seven," Julia waved at them and left.

"Ozuma of the saint shields?" Akira inquired.

"Yes," Max answered, "Guys, you go ahead. I'll be back."

"You sure?" Tyson asked, a little worried for his friend.

Kai and Rei were worried too. Not about Max but about the possibility of Ozuma mentioning about the rock to Max. Rei looked at Kai and nodded. They'll have to inform Judy right away.

In this chapter I've concentrated on only Akira's match because I wanted demonstrate her skill level. In the coming up chapters wherever required I'll include bey battles of other bladers too!

Will Max know about the rock? What will happen then?

There is an important plot twist coming up in the next chapter! So stay tuned!

And most important of all! Please REVIEW!