A/N: after a truly monstrous break, we're back with more. more what? more pointless scene building, more of my including my favorite characters for seemingly no reason alongside the main cast, and a little bit of intrigue that may turn out to be actual plot in the future. enjoy!
"Wow...! Look at this view!"
Kiyomaro couldn't reel in his excitement. He felt like a kid let loose in a toy shop. He opened the huge glass doors leading out onto the balcony of his room and leaned against the railing.
The demon world stretched out below. The palace overlooked a city that seemed to be built on stone spires— some of the buildings even seemed to be built on rocks that were floating. Beyond the city, with its colourful buildings covered in celebratory flags and decorations, carefully marked farmland stretched out to the horizon like a checker board. The castle itself was raised so high that the people milling around below looked like ants crawling through burrowed channels.
"Isn't it great, Kiyomaro?" Zatch had wasted no time on formality; as soon as he and Kiyomaro were alone, Zeon having taken Dufaux to the room he'd be staying in, he'd started bouncing on his massive bed. Now he was sitting on the edge, still bouncing slightly with his hands folded in his lap.
"It sure is, Zatch," Kiyomaro laughed. He was sure he had never seen a bedroom so big or a view so beautiful. It seemed like being the king had a lot of perks— although he had already known it would. It was a position of royalty, after all. He was glad Zatch was the sort of person who could appreciate that sort of thing. He wasn't likely to become selfish and demanding when he got used to a life of luxury.
Although the view from the balcony was beautiful, Kiyomaro forced himself step away from it and wander back into the room. There was more than just a view to be enchanted by.
Zatch's bedroom was truly regal, decorated in shades of red and gold. There were bookshelves overflowing half with what seemed to be books related to Zatch's duties— things like history books and farming reports— and the rest were picture and story books that he had probably chosen himself. Kiyomaro picked a random book from the former shelves and skimmed through it. It was some kind of book on local politics, explaining the political history of the local noble families.
"Do you have to study all of this?" he asked as he replaced the book and picked another one at random. He started flipping through the pages as he wandered over to the other side of the room, staring idly at a map of the demon world. Not only were the major cities marked, but there were political borders like a map of Earth might have; instead of marking out different countries under independent rule, there was a convenient legend that marked the boundaries of the territory of each "clan".
"Unu," Zatch said with a sigh. He didn't seem enthused about his studies, but Kiyomaro couldn't blame him. It all seemed like heavy stuff. He couldn't even imagine how many responsibilities a king must have…
The young king in question jumped down from his bed and trotted over to Kiyomaro, taking his hand in his own. "But it's alright! Everyone is helping me! And my father says it will get easier with practice!"
Kiyomaro squeezed Zatch's hand and smiled at him. "I'm sure it will," he assured him. He had so many questions, but Zatch was so excited just by the fact that he was there that he didn't want to ask him anything complicated.
"Come on, Kiyomaro! I'll show you where your room is!" Suddenly he was being tugged out of the room and down the hall by Zatch, barely able to keep up with his youthful energy. It was such a familiar feeling that his heart swelled.
He stopped suddenly, nearly causing Zatch to knock him over while tugging him forward. Zatch stopped and looked up at Kiyomaro, blinking. Before he could ask what was wrong Diamant appeared from behind one of his false sliding walls. His pose was staunch and formal, but he twiddled his fingers nervously behind his back.
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid there's been a slight... mix-up," he admitted nervously. "The arrangements for tonight's festivities have a few unaccounted errors. I'm so terribly sorry to interrupt, but Prince Zeon insisted that you be consulted in the matter."
Kiyomaro watched Zatch's face fall, then assume a stern look that seemed almost foreign to his face. It made him look very official. Kiyomaro was caught between being glad that Zatch could handle all the weight on his shoulders and a touch sad that he had to assume that kind of responsibility in the first place. It had been Zatch's dream, but he wasn't sure the boy had known precisely what he was getting into— not that it would have mattered. The future of his world had depended on his becoming king and that was that.
Zatch looked up at Kiyomaro and gave him a small sad smile. "Sorry, Kiyomaro, I guess I can't play with you right now. But I'll come find you when I'm done, okay?"
"Don't worry about me, Zatch," he reassured him, ruffling his hair. "I'll go find Megumi and the others."
"Make sure you say hi to Tio! She was really excited to see you," Zatch said, gripping Kiyomaro's hand tightly. He seemed reluctant to let go but did so anyway, slipping into the concealed hallway that Diamant had appeared through. The manservant bowed his head apologetically.
"I'm so very sorry for interrupting, sir. Do you need an escort to your room, or those of your friends?" he asked. Kiyomaro waved his hand.
"I'll be fine," he assured him. It seemed like his Answer-Talker was at least responsive to some things; it couldn't tell him how the demon world's technology worked, but it could tell him that his bedroom was the third door on the left after turning the corner at the end of the hall and that his friends were in the west wing two floors below. At least basic directions could still be managed.
Diamant bowed again and followed Zatch into the servant's passage, the wall closing behind them. Once it shut completely there was no evidence that it had ever been anything except a plain, completely ordinary wall. Secret doors weren't exactly unusual, but he was still eager to know how they worked. If only the Answer-Talker would at least give him a hint... or better yet, if only he could talk to that inventor that Zatch had mentioned as the builder of the device that had brought them to the demon world in the first place. He was sure that would be an interesting conversation...
Megumi could easily see why they'd given out maps. She'd nearly gotten lost trying to find her room, and that was after the demons Spadia and Haro had given her clear written instructions. At least now she was settled. She had started unpacking while Tio sat on the bed, bouncing slightly and commenting on each outfit as it was pulled out of her suitcase.
"Did you wear that on a date with Kiyomaro?" Tio asked brightly, trying to feign innocence as Megumi put a bright orange sundress away in a closet that could have held her entire personal wardrobe as well as everything she wore for her shows.
"Tio!" Megumi coloured slightly, shoving the dress further into the back of the closet. "Kiyomaro and I don't go on dates. We barely see each other."
She could almost feel the young girl frowning at her from the bed. "Why not?" she asked, clearly frustrated by that answer. Megumi laughed awkwardly as she turned to her.
"We're not really a couple! And we're both always so busy," she replied. "I've got my job and Kiyomaro has school... we're almost never in the same place. None of us are. But we talk on the phone and send letters and email." She mechanically folded several shirts and tucked them away into a large, ornate dresser. "We don't have much of a reason to come together anymore, except to just pay a social visit, and we all live so far apart..." It was sad to say out loud, but it was also the truth. After the battle to become king, life just became a higher priority.
"I knew it! You've been working way too hard since I left!" Tio said, crossing her arms and pouting at Megumi. "Well, now you're officially on vacation. You have to relax and have some fun while you're here!"
Megumi was about to agree when a knock at the door distracted them both. Tio slid off the bed and trotted over to answer the door. When she saw who it was she smiled brightly.
"Kiyomaro! We were just talking about you! Come on— oh. Hi Kanchome, hi Folgore." Tio obviously tried not to sound disappointed. Neither of her other visitors seemed to notice. She glanced around as the three invited themselves inside. "Hey— where's Zatch?"
"Hey, Tio," Kiyomaro greeted, patting her on the head as he passed by. "Sorry, Zatch has work to do. I thought I'd visit while I waited for him."
"And he ran into us along the way," Folgore added, giving Megumi a thumbs-up.
"Figures," Tio grumbled, going back to her seat on the bed. "Zatch is always working."
"H-hey, at least I'm here now, right Tio?" Kanchome said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Aw, I can play with you any time, Kanchome," she replied, keeping her arms folded. Her expression was distinctly annoyed. "I wanted to hang out with Zatch and Kiyomaro."
Megumi couldn't help but feel sorry for Kanchome when she saw the crestfallen look on his face. "Aww, c'mon, Tio. Folgore and Kanchome are our friends, too. We'll meet up with Zatch later and then we can all hang out." Tio let out a small huff, then nodded, reaching out to pat Kanchome on the shoulder by way of apology. "Speaking of the others— where are Sunbeam, Elle, and Lien?"
She continued to unpack as Kanchome sat on the bed next to Tio. Folgore quickly made himself comfortable in a large cushioned chair by the window, with Kiyomaro sitting on the window ledge itself.
"Lien left with Wonrei to go meet his family. Sunbeam and Elle are still in their room, but I didn't want to bother them," Kiyomaro explained as though he had talked to them personally, even though Megumi was sure he hadn't seen any more of their other friends than she had. Sometimes she envied his Answer-Talker— although most of the time she just worried about him. Knowing everything sounded great in theory, but she knew it had its hitches. The two of them had on more than one occasion spent hours on the phone talking about how Kiyomaro never felt like he was doing enough with his miraculous ability.
"We'll meet up with them later," Folgore said, waving his hand dismissively. "It's just us crazy kids out on the town for now. So let's get out there and enjoy ourselves!"
He jumped up to his feet and Kanchome followed suit, both pumping their fists in the air excitedly. Megumi giggled at the feeling of familiarity. It reminded her very much of the "good old days", although there was so much about them that hadn't been good at all.
It felt... nice to be among friends again, especially when they were no longer in a situation that put their lives in danger every second of every day. She'd been so busy with work that she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a vacation, or even just some personal time to spend with her friends. She'd always told herself that she would take a vacation and fly out to see Kiyomaro next week, or she would make time to go out to dinner with Folgore the next time they were touring in the same general area, but something always held her back. Part of that something was the work itself— the life of a pop star was always a busy one, after all— but part of that something was the fact that things between all of them just felt... different. They were always going to be friends of course, nothing could change that, but...
Watching Kanchome and Folgore cheer together in an improvised song while Tio covered her ears and pretended to be in pain and Kiyomaro laughing at the antics finally made it click. Things couldn't be the same when their group was only half complete. Their demons had been what had brought them together in the first place; without the competition, they never would have had a chance to meet. There was a certain unspoken awkwardness to getting together without half of the group being around.
"Are you guys sure that's alright?" Kiyomaro asked, once Tio had silenced the singing by leaving Kanchome with a sizable lump on his head, breaking her concentration on her own thoughts. "I thought you two would be going to meet Kanchome and Tio's families."
"My house doesn't have much room, so Megumi is going to stay here, and we're going to go see my mom and dad after the feast tonight," Tio replied, sounding none too happy about it. "But I live nearby, so I guess it's not too bad."
"Yeah, and my mom and my dad are working so they won't be around right now. We'll go see them later," Kanchome added.
"For now, you're stuck with us," Megumi said, winking at Kiyomaro. "We should take some time to go exploring! I really want to see what the town is like."
She paused in unpacking to grab the town map she'd been given off the nightstand. It seemed like a small town, but that didn't make her any less excited to explore it. She had no idea what to expect from a world filled with people as diverse as the ones she'd seen during the God's Trial, and she was sure the others all felt the same way.
"We should wait for Zatch, though," Tio interjected. "I mean... he was excited to get time off to play with all of us, so it would be mean to go without him."
Her face got red even as she said it, and Megumi couldn't help but snicker softly to herself as she went back to hanging up the last of her clothes to hide it. Kanchome obviously wasn't quite as smart, because she had only just turned her back when she heard him teasing her about it and when she turned around again Tio's hands were around his neck, with Kanchome breathlessly wailing and Folgore trying to convince her to let go.
Yep, she thought with an inner sigh. Seems like everything is back to normal.
This castle was too extravagant for Chita's tastes, she decided. She was used to her plain little two-room house, and to the plain but orderly hospital where she worked. Even Faudo and the demon world buildings that had been built on top of it had been very simple. This place was beautiful, but it was all a little too much, in her opinion.
"Yo, Chita," said the voice that still sent a little thrill through her chest even an hour later, even once she was sure that this wasn't a dream or some kind of horrid trick. "Stop daydreaming already. You're getting in the way."
Some things never change. "I'm too small to be in the way. You're the one who's getting in the way," she returned effortlessly. To anyone else it might have seemed like they were fighting, but that was how things had always been between the two of them, and even the gruff Rodeaux couldn't keep a smile off his face. Chita couldn't stop smiling, either. She'd gotten used to smiling again, especially at work, but this kind of pure happy smile was enough to make her face hurt after so long.
Rodeaux huffed and folded his arms behind his head. The halls of the palace were busy, but it was nothing compared with the crowd when they had first arrived. For one, she didn't have any difficulty finding Rodeaux anymore. People just seemed to naturally move out of his way, and those that didn't were glared at with an intensity that made them reconsider quickly.
It was only because she was keeping a close eye on Rodeaux's back as she walked behind him that she didn't walk directly into him when he suddenly stopped. Automatically she reached out to hold onto the back of his shirt, a reflex she'd developed in case he needed to grab her and take off suddenly if they came across an enemy.
"Bari."
"Rodeaux."
Chita peered out from behind the back of her partner and saw a demon standing there. A familiar prickly feeling rose up the back of her neck. It was going to take some getting used to, seeing demon children and their partners as something other than enemies. It didn't help that the demon looked quite intimidating. Human enough, but covered in scars and with great horns rising from his head— or one horn, rather, since the other one looked like it had been broken off. The partner was an older man with a thick mustache who stood calmly beside him puffing on a cigarette.
"So that's your partner, huh?" Casual small talk sounded strained between the two of them, but Rodeaux had never been one for small talk, so that didn't surprise Chita.
"Gustav, this is Rodeaux," the other demon said, turning to his partner. "One of my classmates."
"Chita." She took that as her cue to step out from behind Rodeaux. Even though he was still human-sized, albeit tall, Rodeaux dwarfed her enough that it was hard to see her when she was behind him. "That's Bari."
"You told me about him," Chita said with a nod, appraising the demon and partner with a cool eye. She tried not to come off as confrontational, but it was hard when she was with Rodeaux, who lived and breathed confrontation. In fact, she could practically cut the growing tension in the air with a knife, and she could most definitely recognize the knife-slash grin on the faces of both demons.
Ah, well. Some things didn't ever change, it seemed.
"Don't take too long," she warned him like a patient but exasperated mother. "I'd like to look around and explore a little before dinner."
"Don't worry. It won't take long at all."
An assertion that devolved into passive-aggressive sniping between the two men, which made Chita smile and sigh at the same time. Well, life with Rodeaux certainly wasn't boring, at least.
It was Folgore's idea to explore the castle and castle grounds while they waited for Zatch to finish his business. That way he would be able to find them even if they wandered for a long time. Since they hadn't had much of a chance to look around between being shuffled from one grand ballroom to another and then being led to their rooms, Kiyomaro and Megumi agreed that it seemed like a good plan, and even Kanchome and Tio seemed excited.
Maybe, Kiyomaro thought, they're not usually allowed to explore the castle. It made sense. It seemed like a busy place, and having children wandering about, even children who were friends of the king, would probably be distracting.
"This place really is fit for a king! Especially with all of the beautiful women." Without pause, Folgore winked at a passing servant woman, who giggled and blushed and hid her face in the pile of linens she was carrying. Kiyomaro felt a vein in his head throb at the realization that even among all this amazing architecture and technology and this astounding reunion, Folgore's number one priority was still flirting with attractive women.
"According to the map, this place is even bigger than it looks," Megumi pointed out, moving in close next to him so they could both look at her map and ignore Folgore. "On top of this huge castle, there's a huge section deep underground that's off limits..."
"Zatch told us even he hasn't been down there much," Tio said, holding onto Megumi's hand on the opposite side.
The hallways of the palace were massive, no doubt to accommodate huge demons like the dragon clan. Walls and pillars depicted fantastic scenes in bas-relief, scenes that could have been history or could have been mythology— Kiyomaro couldn't tell, but he would be sure to ask if he got a chance. The place was large enough that although the huge dining hall had been packed tight with demons, the halls had plenty of room to move about— it also probably helped that some of the demons and partners had left as soon as Zatch's speech had finished and they'd been directed to their rooms, like Li-en and Wonrei.
"You guys must be on break from school, right?" Kiyomaro asked, still ignoring Folgore and Kanchome increasingly making a scene just behind him— easier to pretend they simply didn't know them. "Do you have a summer break, or..."
He trailed off when he realized Tio and Megumi weren't paying attention to him, but rather to the growing crowd near one of the giant windows. Demons and humans alike had gathered to watch whatever was going on outside, most of them whispering to each other.
They migrated over to the crowd, both Megumi and Folgore lifting their partners to sit on their shoulders so they could see over the heads of the crowd. When the crowd saw Kiyomaro, some of them moved out of the way without even being asked, particularly the servants.
The large windows opened into a huge courtyard nestled between the walls of the palace. The grass and dirt areas looked like the kind of place servant children might play, or the servants themselves might relax in between their various chores. But the most notable feature was the rough arena in the middle, circled by a rough metal fence and several equally rough bleachers. There was a crowd around the arena just like the one around the window, but they looked even more excited and anxious.
"Is that…?" Megumi peered over his shoulder to get a better look and Kiyomaro nodded.
"Someone's gotten into a fight," he confirmed. He peered closer, trying to see who had broken the peace of the reunion so quickly. Had he been so wrong to assume things would be peaceful after what he'd read in Zatch's letter so many times? Had their arrival brought up some bad memories and old grudges of the God's Battle?
"Wait a second— isn't that Bari?"
Kiyomaro almost fell over when Megumi tried to clamber over him so she could see better, although he couldn't imagine how climbing on his back was going to help her see what was going on in the courtyard anymore than just walking around him. Still, she was right—he didn't even need the Answer-Talker to tell him that. Bari's distinctive blue outfit and single horn were hard to miss. His opponent was just as recognizable. The long black hair and wings made him hard to mistake for anyone else, especially since the sight of him still made Kiyomaro's blood simmer.
Rodeaux and Bari faced off against each other on opposite sides of the dirt circle. Both were breathing heavily, so they had probably already been fighting even before they'd shown up, which explained the crow that had gathered to watch them.
Kiyomaro didn't even have time to wonder what was going on before Rodeaux launched himself across the arena towards Bari. His speed was just as intimidating as it had been when he and Zatch were facing off against him, but Bari didn't seem fazed; he held his ground in a firm fighting stance.
When Rodeaux was close, Bari surrounded his hand with a swirling vortex of energy, like his Doruzonis spell. His strike was planted firmly in Rodeaux's chest and sent the flying demon sailing backwards with force. He landed in the dirt and skidded back the entire length of the fighting arena, colliding with the barrier that divided the arena from the viewing stands.
"Why is everyone just standing around? Shouldn't someone be stopping this?" Megumi demanded, still leaning over Kiyomaro to watch the fight as it happened. While she fumed indignantly, Rodeaux got to his feet and seemed to brush himself off for another attempt. Heedless of the fact that he had just been blown clear across the arena, he launched himself at Bari again. This time instead of simply blindly throwing himself at his opponent like he did before, Rodeaux pulled up short so quickly that Bari didn't even seem to have time to react properly. His wings reformed into turrets and started firing on Bari as the horned demon tried to shield himself as best he could. From there, it was impossible to see what was going on from the dust the missed shots kicked up, but Kiyomaro could see the onlookers moving back from the edge of the arena.
"If no one else is going to put a stop to this, we'll have to do it ourselves," he declared finally. Megumi seemed to be in perfect agreement, because he hadn't even finished saying it before she dropped off his back and started marching back through the crowd like a woman on a mission. Sometimes it was hard to see similarities between Megumi and Tio, but not at times like this.
"Kiyomaro… don't you think you're being a bit rash?" Folgore chuckled nervously as he trailed after the two of them, trying to push through the crowd of demons that seemed to just keep getting bigger and bigger. "This looks like personal business… we shouldn't stick our noses in."
"Y-yeah… and knowing those guys, they'd probably squash us flat for trying," Kanchome added from where he was sitting on Folgore's shoulders.
"Come on, you two! After everything that happened, are you still really afraid of something like that?" Megumi faced the pair with her hands on her hips, giving them a disapproving frown. Kiyomaro was about to throw in his agreement when Tio reached up to tug on his sleeve to get his attention.
"Kiyomaro, I know it's gonna sound strange, but I agree with them," she said with a frown. "Not about getting squashed, but it seems like a personal thing. We shouldn't interfere."
"Tio, what are you saying? We can't just let them fight like this. Someone is going to get hurt, and it's going to turn into the battle all over again." Megumi crouched in front of Tio to be able to look her in the eye as she spoke to her, but Tio simply shook her head.
"It's not like that, Megumi. You don't get it," she insisted, but Kiyomaro began to push his way through the crowd again before she could finish. Even if they didn't understand, he wasn't going to let a fight disrupt what Zatch had been working so hard for, not if he had anything to say about it—
He stopped only a step short of walking right into Diamant, thanks to one of the vague premonitions the Answer-Talker often gave him. The masked demon had his massive hands up in front of him as if to catch Kiyomaro, but dropped them when he noticed he'd stopped of his own accord.
"Master Kiyomaro. Where are you off to in such a hurry?" He folded his hands together in front of him, leaning in Kiyomaro's direction with his head tilted towards him like he was going to whisper a secret in his ear.
"Don't you see the fight going on outside? Someone needs to break it up," he replied firmly, trying to shoulder his way around Diamant. The tall demon didn't move out of his way; in fact, he angled himself to block him even better, then put a hand on his shoulder and led him towards the window. Without even thinking about it, the servants crowding about parted to let them through.
"Ah, yes. I see. Well, I think of fighting as kind of a savage hobby, but to each their own. It's not my place to judge." He nodded almost as if he approved of the sight, leaning over Kiyomaro's shoulder.
"What…? Are you saying you're okay with them fighting like this?" Kiyomaro could hear the disbelief in his own voice. He was flabbergasted, really.
"Of course. It's not how I choose to relax, but again, to each their own. Were you not aware?" He tilted his head at Kiyomaro, looking very much like a confused animal. "Combat is a popular sport here. Many demons fight recreationally, or even make a living out of it. Children must be taught how to use their powers, and sport fighting is the easiest way. Much like your human martial arts, in a way, or so his highness tells me."
Kiyomaro stared blankly at Diamant for a moment, but Diamant had already lost interest and had turned to watch the fight— or at least that's what Kiyomaro guessed he was doing. It was hard to tell where he was looking when he was wearing that creepy mask.
"Are you telling me that the kind of fights we had during the battle— those happen every day here?"
"No, no, of course not! Usually nothing so violent." At that very moment, Rodeaux punched Bari in the face hard enough to send him sailing across the arena like he'd done to him not too long ago. Diamant tilted his head at the sight of it. "Then again, there are always exceptions. Some demons just have that sort of personality, I suppose."
The fight was clearly nothing special to Diamant, because he quickly turned away from the window and to the crowd made up primarily of castle servants.
"Alright, you've all had enough of a break. We've got a very busy night ahead of us," he said loudly, clapping his hands together to grab their attention. "Everyone back to work. If you don't have anything better to do, they're always in need of more hands down in the kitchens."
Some of the servants grumbled about being dismissed, but mostly they seemed embarrassed to have been caught out by one of their bosses. Diamant's dispersal sent them skittering down the halls and off to whatever they were meant to be doing. From there, Kiyomaro wasn't sure what to do; he still couldn't believe that people would just ignore two demons just beating each other up apparently for fun, but Diamant, Tio, and Kanchome (not to mention all the demons that had just scattered) seemed to think it was alright. At least the demons in question weren't kids—Bari and Rodeaux were the kind of demons who seemed like fighting would be something they enjoyed…
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of crashing and shrieks from outside, muffled by the distance and the thick glass of the window. He immediately jumped back to the window to see what was going on and saw Rodeaux laying in the shattered remains of one of the sets of bleachers at the end of a long furrow in the earth left by one of Bari's attacks. Demons had scattered from the bleachers across the rest of the courtyard, with the older demons trying to shield the younger ones, probably from the debris that seemed to have scattered on impact.
"Okay, this is way out of line. I don't care if fighting is a sport here, they're going to hurt someone—besides themselves!" Megumi crowded in next to him at the window, and they both turned to stare hard at Diamant.
Diamant returned to the window and peered around Kiyomaro casually, observing the destruction going on outside.
"Hm, yes. I can see where that might pose a problem." Kiyomaro could only tell he was looking away from the fight and towards something else based on the way he tilted his head. "Though I don't imagine that problem will persist for much longer."
He gestured for them to watch the scene unfolding in the courtyard below. Kiyomaro looked at him suspiciously from the corner of his eye as he followed Diamant's hand gesture. Zatch's servants were a strange bunch, certainly… and that was coming from someone who was friends with Parco Folgore.
Rodeaux coughed as he forced air back into his lungs and pushed himself back to his feet. There wasn't any pain; he was too involved in the fight. The pain would come later, once he had a chance to pause and think about it. That certainly wasn't going to help with the fact that his vision was starting to get blurry after his head had been used as a battering ram to knock down half the arena seating, though.
He staggered on his feet as he forced himself to focus on the blurry blue six-foot-something creature in his vision. If he could get in close enough to get one more good hit, he was confident he could get the upper hand—but Bari had been two steps ahead of him since the beginning. Rodeaux was faster and more agile than Bari, but it wasn't worth a damn if his classmate kept playing defensive and forcing him to approach from the same angle over and over.
Rodeaux had a vague sense of Chita watching him from the bleachers. She and Bari's human partner were the only two that hadn't turn tail and run when the fight had gotten rough. Chita hadn't even flinched, though the two of them had moved up a few rows to avoid any kind of debris from the fight.
Though he hated to admit it, they probably didn't have much to worry about, since Rodeaux figured the fight would be over sooner rather than later. They weren't exactly fighting for keeps, but one more good hit and he was pretty sure he wouldn't be swinging anymore punches in this fight.
Damnit… Chita had seen him lose more stupid fights than this one, but it was still embarrassing. He just had to challenge him to some kind of macho brawl to show off… having Chita around had made him cocky, but now it was just him and his own skill. He couldn't depend on her brains backing up his brawn anymore, and he was only slightly ashamed to admit that Bari was smarter than him.
"Getting cold feet?" Bari didn't have to yell at him; his booming voice carried clearly across the empty dirt arena. Rodeaux clenched his teeth and growled deep in the back of his throat, his wings flexing and hands clenching reflexively with anger. "You're the one who started this. You'd better hurry up and finish it."
That was the last straw. A moment ago Rodeaux had been hanging back, trying to be strategic, and suddenly that was all out the window. He launched himself at Bari, throwing everything he had into a burst of speed in hopes of catching his opponent off guard although in the back of his mind he knew it wasn't going to work. His wings extended almost subconsciously, preparing to fire on his opponent again. He didn't even have the presence of mind to notice that Bari was falling into a defensive stance, the whirl of energy from one of his moves surrounding his fist. They were going to meet in the middle, and it likely wasn't going to end well for anyone—
Rodeaux saw the sweeping of a long white robe out of the corner of his eye. He didn't have time to react to it, but that didn't matter. His entire body seized up and froze in midair. It felt like full-bodied paralysis, and he fully expected to fall out of the air, but instead he simply floated there like he was being held up by an outside force. Directly in front of him, Bari was frozen in mid-punch, a shocked expression that was he was sure was the mirror of his own on his face.
"Please, that's enough. We can't have you causing chaos and destruction on the day of the King's feast."
The only thing Rodeaux could move were his eyes, and he angled them to look towards the source of the voice. Standing in the dirt circle of the arena was a woman in a long white robe and matching mask, holding one oversized clawed hand out to them. Her hand glowed vaguely purple.
"We don't want to stifle your freedom, of course. But there is a great deal of work to be done without having to clean up after such battles." She lowered her hand, and Rodeaux felt himself being set down on the ground, his body starting to regain its feeling. "You're welcome to continue outside of the castle grounds if you so wish."
Rodeaux's legs collapsed under him as he was lowered to the ground, much to his embarrassment. It only helped slightly that Bari did the same. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and reflexively snarled, just in case it was someone else come to fuck with him.
"Rodeaux? Are you alright?" He relaxed when he heard Chita's familiar voice, at least as much as he could with the robed woman still standing over him.
"Yeah… fine," he grunted. Rodeaux normally wasn't one for small talk, but even that was brusque for him. At least it didn't sound like he was antsy and nervous, which he was. "Couldn't be better."
The robed woman turned to Chita, and to Bari's human partner who had joined her. She inclined her head to them in a polite bow.
"Terribly sorry to interfere with your day. I hope you understand…" Her voice had dropped to a nervous murmur and she kept her head bowed as she scurried off. Rodeaux pushed himself to his feet and snarled at her retreating back.
"Hmph… looks like we're going to have to call it a tie for now," Bari said, brushing his clothes off. It didn't do much good since they were both a mess, but it made him look cool and collected, not that Rodeaux cared.
"You really want to let some asshole decide that for us?" Rodeaux sniffed and sneered at Bari, like he wasn't at all bothered no matter how shaken up he'd been. It wasn't every day that someone could just paralyze you without a bit of effort.
"We'll settle this later." If Rodeaux didn't know better, he would say Bari was rolling his eyes at him. "You've got all week to embarrass yourself in front of your partner, after all."
Rodeaux growled in the back of his throat, but Bari had already turned his back to him and was walking away, his partner joining him and keeping pace at his side. Only when he felt Chita place her hand on his arm did the tension in his body start to ease.
"Let's go," she said softly, and didn't need to say anything more. That was all it took for Rodeaux to let himself be led out of what was left of the arena by his partner.
"I hope that resolution is to your satisfaction, Mr. Takamine."
Diamant bowed his head and stepped away from the window, but Kiyomaro couldn't do much but stare out at the courtyard and gawk. He didn't even have to look at Megumi, Folgore, Tio, and Kanchome to know they were doing the same. All of them no doubt remembered how strong both Rodeaux and Bari had been, and to see them stopped dead in their tracks like that…
"Are… all of the castle staff that powerful?" Folgore gulped so loudly it was audible. Kiyomaro would have thought it was funny if not for the fact that he was feeling the same way now.
"Most of the demons working here are simply everyday citizens," Diamant replied, not at all affected by the fact that Kiyomaro and Folgore seemed so concerned. "Haro, Spadia, and myself are exceptions. Our duties are to protect and serve the king directly, a duty we've been prepared for over the course of many years. Those duties require us to have… certain abilities. To be exercised only in the name of the crown, of course."
Somehow that wasn't very comforting to him, but he supposed he would just have to accept it for now. Zatch seemed to trust Diamant and his other strange helpers, and maybe that was enough. A king needed powerful helpers, especially when the king was so young.
"As the special guests of his majesty King Zatch, you're all of course entitled to ask us for anything within our power to give. Don't hesitate to ask us for anything." He bowed to them at the waist and turned to leave.
Kiyomaro was tempted to reach out and stop him, to question him and make sure it was safe for him to be Zatch's advisor, but he didn't have the time to say or do anything. A sudden weight threw itself at his legs with an excited noise, nearly knocking him over.
"Kiyomaro! I'm done my work! We can all go play now!" He looked down at Zatch's beaming face, and couldn't even bring himself to comment on the fact that he didn't exactly look royal clinging to his leg like in the old days. "Are you ready?"
He looked up from Zatch to see if he still had a chance to stop Diamant and ask him some questions before they left, but he had already disappeared.