The League of Blades
Chapter Two: The Asian Bracket
Once the cloaked traveler and I were at the entrance to the plane, she took off her cloak to reveal stunning chestnut hair and matching eyes, accompanied by a beautiful figure.
Beautiful.
"It's not nice to stare, you know. My name's Asuna. It's nice to meet you, Yami No Keshin," the beauty now known to me as Asuna said.
And with that, we walked up the stairs and onto the plane.
This is it! My life as a tournament fighter begins!
We had been sitting for hours, but neither of us said anything. I was getting seriously annoyed.
Why the hell would she invite me to sit with her if she doesn't even want to talk with me?!
"Sooo… where in China are you headed for once we land?"
"I'm going to watch the first world match," Asuna whispered.
"B-but… all the tickets for the Asian segment of the tournament sold out weeks ago…"
"I'm a VIP guest," she replied simply.
"Really? How'd you manage that?"
"I have no need to tell you."
Well...
I found myself at a dead end in the conversation, so I turned to stare out the window. Thirty minutes later, I grew tired of the silence, so I tried again.
"You don't look Chinese or Japanese. Where are you from?"
"I think I was born in England, but I've been traveling all my life, so I'm not sure," she said, turning to face me with a smile. "What part of Japan do you come from, Yami No Keshin?"
"I have a name. Just call me Kazuto. I… I don't know which part I'm from, actually. My parents died when I was an infant, and all I know is that I was raised by another family that had ties to mine."
"Oh… I'm sorry I brought up bad memories for you. Wait… is your younger sister related by blood?"
"No, but I don't think she knows that, so I make sure I don't tell her. I don't want her to alienate herself from me any more than she already has," I said, looking down at the ground.
"I'm sorry, I seem to ask the worst questions, don't I?"
"Don't worry about it, it's fine."
Silence ensued. This time, she tried to break the tension. "So, why do you want to compete in the world championship?"
I tried to explain. "I've… I've always just felt something within myself. It's like something inside of me wants, no, needs to fight. I felt that this something had a purpose for wanting me to fight so much, so I took up the sword… well… swords, in my case. Then, I discovered that I had a natural talent for it. When that happened, my sister got really mad, as she had been training her whole life to reach the level that I started at. So she worked harder, which in turn made me work harder. We developed a rivalry, and eventually she ended up distancing herself from me.
"I guess that I want to win the tournament for the people I care about. You know, to show them I did it. Hopefully… if I win, my sister will stop distancing herself from me… and love me again. And of course, now that I've left them all, I can't come back without that trophy, can I?" I finished with a wide smile.
Though that's not the full reason…
"Kazuto, you've got a good heart, but a bad head," Asuna said, her grin doing nothing to reinforce her insult.
"Hehe, I get that a lot."
At this, we started giggling… but then it escalated to full-on laughter. When one of the flight attendants came and told us to quiet down, we stopped and looked at each other in amazement.
"It almost seems like we're already good friends," Asuna said happily, but with a sad smile.
"What, we're not? I considered you a friend a while back, Asuna!" I said, smiling happily.
We burst out laughing again, forcing the same flight attendant to stop us.
"Did you mean that?" Asuna asked, sounding uncharacteristically timid.
"Of course!"
"Thanks for that. You're my first Japanese friend."
"And you're my first British one. Let's stay together, at least until the Asian Bracket ends."
"Yeah."
When we got off the plane, we were bombarded with the festivities of a marketing district getting ready for a large event.
Paper lanterns with Chinese kanji saying, "Good luck!" lined the streets. People were bustling about in bliss, preparing their shops for the Asian Bracket matches that were scheduled to begin tomorrow at dawn.
"Hey there! You two don't seem like you're from around here, so allow me to show you around!" someone from behind me said in perfect Japanese.
Turning around, I noticed that the man speaking looked in no way even remotely Chinese. He had short red hair, red stubble on his chin, and was noticeably taller than most people in the area. He smiled at me, and, as if knowing what I was thinking, said, "I'm not one hundred percent Chinese, as you might be able to tell. My name is Klein, my mother was from another country, and my father is half Dutch, so people usually mistake me for another foreigner. Anyway, let's get going!"
We followed him around, marveling at the things we saw.
"And that was a whirlwind tour of Beijing, my friends!"
"Thanks for showing us around, Klein. Now, I have to find my hotel, and… well, I don't know where she's staying."
"Which hotel are you looking for, exactly?" Klein asked me. I heard a huff come from Asuna's direction.
"Let's see…" I said, pulling a piece of paper out of my pocket. "The Royal Firebird Inn."
Klein's eyes widened. "That's the most luxurious hotel in the city!"
"Yeah, I'm a participant in the Asian Bracket," is what I wanted to say, but I didn't want to drive him away. So instead I said, "Well, let's just say that my family has connections."
"Cool!"
"Hey, that's where I'm going to be staying!" Asuna stated in shock.
"Cool, that means I only have to make one more trip!" Klein said, quite pleased.
"If it's really a bother, then you can just—"
"No, it's not a bother at all! It's just that I promised my girlfriend that I'd come over in an hour or so, and it's sort of a long trip. But don't worry, I still have time to take you two lovebirds to your hotel."
I stood there, my eyebrow twitching. Note to self: This guy gets really annoying when you're around him for too long.
Still, I put up with the annoyance as he led us to the Royal Firebird Inn, by foot I might add.
Why can't we just use a car?
Once we got there, he pointed it out to us.
"All right, this is where I leave you guys! See ya!"
As he walked away, he seemed to remember something. "Oh, and good luck in the Asian Bracket, Yami No Keshin!"
How in the—
"Hey, why don't we go inside to see where our rooms are?" Asuna suggested, snapping me out of my confusion.
"Sure."
When we walked in I was shocked speechless by the sheer beauty of the place. Red chandeliers hung in various places from the ceiling, giving off a crimson light to everything below them. The hotel had five floors, and every one of them appeared more luxurious than the last. The ground floor consisted of the lobby, a large indoor pool, and a five-star restaurant - at least based on the expressions I saw on the customers' faces when they ate the delicious-looking food they were being served.
Asuna, however, did not look impressed, but instead looked like she had seen this all before. Her family must be really rich.
As we walked up to the front desk, I was still looking around in awe.
"您好, 请问我可以帮助您的吗?" the lady at the desk said… or asked… I really couldn't tell.
I looked on, feeling extremely stupid. Crap, I forgot! I don't know Chinese!
"Leave this to me, Kazuto," Asuna whispered.
"他是一个竞争对手联盟在世界游泳锦标赛的刀片式服务器。 他的名字是Kazuto Kirigaya, 和我是他guest虚拟机。"
"啊, 你必须是他的女朋友! 好了, 你有房0在第五层。 很开心,两个伤心!" the woman said cheerily.
"我不是他的女朋友!" Asuna huffed.
"Well, let's go, Kazuto. We've got a long day ahead of us, and it's already one in the morning. We need to get some rest," Asuna said, pouting for some reason.
"Okay… wait, do we have rooms next to each other, or what? You're leading us in the same direction."
"Nope! We're sharing a room!" she said cheerily.
My brain decided to be uncooperative and briefly shut down.
"Wha—why?!" I shouted, earning looks from the people around us. "Wait… you never had a place to stay at all, did you?"
"Nope! But since you're a nice guy, I figured you'd let me stay with you," Asuna said with a grin.
"You could've asked first…"
"But then I wouldn't have seen your reaction!"
I gaped wordlessly, my finger limply pointing somewhat in her direction. She looked most amused by this.
This girl…
"Plus, you apparently can't speak Chinese, so I would've had to speak anyway," she said matter-of-factly.
She has a point… still… a girl in my hotel room?!
"So, we're in room twenty-seven on the fifth floor. Come on, let's go!" Asuna said, taking my hand and dragging me to the elevator.
"Wait up!" I yelled as she pulled me along.
"You're supposed to be extremely fast, so I shouldn't have to wait for you!"
Annoying girl!
When we finally got to the elevator, I realized something. Every wall of the elevator is made of glass! I can see through to the other side!
Indeed I could. On the other side of the elevator was a room filled with hot tubs in which various important-looking old people were resting their bones.
Shriveled up old guys. Gross.
Once we got inside the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor, I decided to find out some information. "I have a few questions, Asuna. Why did you come to this nation if you didn't find a place to stay beforehand? Why were you watching me at the Nationals? Why did you lie to me and Klein about your having a place to stay here?"
"I have a few answers, Kazuto," Asuna said with gentle sarcasm, then, "One: I did have a place to stay, but I figured it'd be much more fun to stay with you. Two: you're literally the sole person that made the Black Cats rise to fame. Three: I figured it would be much more fun to stay with you."
I resisted the urge to face palm and mumbled, "And… just out of curiosity, where did you make plans to stay?"
"The cheapest inn in the entire city."
Damn it! I give up."Whatever, let's just go. We're at our floor now, so show me the way."
Asuna looked at me sheepishly. "Yeah… about that… all I know is the room number, so I don't know how to get to our room."
"You cannot be serious!"
"Hehe…"
And with that, we set out to look for our room. On the way, we noticed that the fifth floor had pretty much everything. We saw a video game room big enough to fit at least fifty people, another indoor pool, another restaurant, and a bar that seemed to have every alcoholic beverage I had ever heard of and more.
And that was just the west wing.
Once we finally got to our room, I rushed in and leaped face-first onto the one bed in the room.
Wait… one bed…?
I frantically got up and started looking for another bed, to no avail. Then, I saw my salvation. A sofa! Yes! Let's see if it can unfold into a sofa sleeper.
Once I confirmed that the sofa could indeed unfold into a bed, I started taking off the cushions one by one.
"What are you doing?" Asuna asked as she watched me putting the cushions on the floor.
"I'm unfolding the mattress, what does it look like?"
"Weird."
"Whatever. I just don't like to sleep with a girl in the same bed."
"Oh, okay," Asuna said. "That's all right."
Did I just hear a… disappointed tone?
I lay down on the sofa sleeper, closing my eyes and yawning. "Well, we'd better get to sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us."
"Correction: you have a long day ahead of you. I just get to sit back and watch the fireworks."
That was the last thing I heard before succumbing to a deep sleep.
"Kazuto… Kazuto…"
"Ugh… Sachi? What's going on? Are you okay?" I got up, seeing Sachi standing before me.
"KAZUTO! HELP!"
Sachi stretched out her hand in my direction while a wormhole of sorts appeared behind her, sucking her in.
"SACHI!" I tried to grab her hand, but I was too late. She completely disappeared into the wormhole.
"If you wish to get your friend back, you must win," a man in red armor said impassively.
"I have to win the world tournament?"
"No." With that, he walked into the wormhole and joined Sachi.
"NOOO! SACHI!" I screamed, falling off the sofa sleeper with a thud.
"Hey, Kazuto, are you…" *Yawn* "okay?" Asuna asked groggily.
"I'm sorry I woke you…" I said sadly, remembering my dream.
"It's okay, I've been awake for a few minutes. I was just too lazy to get up."
"What time is it?" I asked, yawning again.
"Nearing five-thirty in the morning. We should get ready to go, seeing as the tournament is in about two hours."
"All right, but which way do we go?"
"I think the stadium is in the south part of Beijing and it's bound to be huge, so I think we won't miss it if we keep going south," Asuna said, sounding like the expert she was not.
This girl… this girl is either brilliant or just really stupid.
"Well… let's go," I said.
As we walked through the streets, I couldn't help but notice all the banners and other decorations touting various forms of, "We are invincible!" and, "Crush all competition!"
I shivered.
It didn't help that Asuna had to stop at every jewelry shop we found, where all I noticed were trinkets saying the same things that were on the banners that lined the streets.
"Well, we're obviously lost now… what do we do now, o mighty Asuna?"
Just then, I saw what we had been looking for. Directly in front of us was a stadium so large that it put to shame the stadium that hosted the Japanese Nationals.
"Whoa…"
The stadium was shaped like a giant dome, its color a deep crimson. The Japanese kanji saying of "Fuurinkazan versus the World!" was emblazoned in a lighter red and white above the entrance.
Triumphant, Asuna said, "See? I told you we weren't lost."
"You never told me that."
"Whatever. Let's just go inside and get ready."
"All right, let's go!"
After we got inside, I was immediately bombarded with fans of all kinds going to the stands to watch the first round. It was the only round hosted today due to the eight-match schedule.
"Hey, Yami No Keshin! How's it going?"
I turned around to find Klein in front of me, smiling a wide smile. "Klein? What are you doing here?"
"Oh, that's right! I never told you! I'm the representative for China!"
I was speechless. I'm going to fight this guy?!
"C'mon, let's go see the tournament bracket!" Klein said, grabbing our arms and leading us to the place that showed the tournament lineup.
I looked on in shock. Klein and I were on opposite sides of the lineup, which meant I might have to face him in the finals. That wasn't what truly shocked me, though. No, the true shock was that I had to fight Eugeo, my childhood friend who had moved to Russia when I was young. Not only that, but I had to fight him in the first round.
No…
"Whoa, you have the worst luck! He's the Russian representative! He's tied with me in strength, if not stronger!" said Klein, looking at the bracket with contempt.
"Well then…" I said. "I guess I'll just have to give it everything I've got!"
"That's the spirit, Yami No Keshin!"
"Okay, enough," I said sternly, turning away from the bracket to give him a hard look. "My name is Kazuto Kirigaya, so stop calling me by my title and call me by my name."
"All right, cool! I wasn't sure if you wanted me to do that, and… better safe than sorry, you know?"
He can be pretty considerate, even to his rivals! I wish I could do the same.
"Well, I'd better get going! I'll see ya later, Kirito!" Klein said, turning around and walking away.
"All right… bye."
I looked around to find the training rooms, spotting them in the direction opposite where Klein was headed. As we walked over to the man guarding the rooms, I remembered my lack of knowledge of the Chinese spoken language.
"I'll take care of this, you just wait for me to finish talking to him," Asuna whispered in my ears. We walked up to the man, and Asuna did her thing. Once we were done, she turned to me and said, "Let's go."
Once we were halfway to the training rooms, I stopped and asked, "Wait, wouldn't you just go to the room where the VIPs wait for the matches to start?"
"Nope! I got permission to watch you train!"
Great.
Incredulous, I asked, "And just how in the heck did you manage that?"
"That's classified."
I sighed, giving up. "Whatever."
We walked into the training room labeled, "Tournament Participants," and I was surprised to find every single participant there, training in their various weapon styles.
"Well, it's been a while, hasn't it?" said a deep voice from behind me.
I turned around to find a boy about my age with medium-length flaxen hair and a build similar to mine. He wore denim shorts and a T-shirt that matched his green eyes.
"Eugeo? Yeah, it really has been a while. Seven years, I think."
"Sounds about right. I never thought you'd pick up a single sword again, let alone two. Congrats on making it to the LoB world tournament! Too bad we have to battle each other in the first round."
"Don't remind me," I said glumly.
"Ahem."
"Oh, right. Anyway, this is my new friend, Asuna. We met at the Japanese nationals, and she just happened to be coming here, so we agreed to stick together until the Asian Bracket is over."
"Really? She doesn't look Asian," Eugeo said curiously.
"That's what I thought too when I first met her!"
At this, we shared a laugh.
"Well, you two seem to have a lot of catching up to do, so I'll just go sit over there," Asuna said, walking away briskly.
"What's her deal?" I pondered.
"Hey, Kazuto. Wanna go train while we catch up with each other?" Eugeo suggested.
"Yeah!"
"Hahaha! And then I said—" Eugeo was cut off when an announcement blared out to us. I didn't know what it said, but I had a general idea.
"Let's go, man! We've got the first match, so we can't be late!" Eugeo said, packing up his weapons while I did the same.
The tournament mat was huge. Ungodly huge.
Good, this means I have a lot of running room.
When the announcer came to the podium, I realized that I would have no idea when to start.
Then, right as the announcer started speaking, the board behind him started to show Japanese and Russian characters scrolling across it, translating what the announcer was saying.
I read, "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first round of the Asian Bracket of the League of Blades World Freestyle Tournament! As I'm sure you're aware, the first match is going to be Japan versus Russia! Give a round of applause for these two amazing teen competitors!"
Wild cheering and clapping could be heard throughout the entire dome, making my ears hurt.
As the announcer continued talking, we walked toward each other from opposite sides of the mat, drawing our weapons.
He wielded a sword in his left hand, which was covered by a glove… with a blade protruding from the middle of its back pad.
"May the best man win!" Eugeo said cheerily.
"All right… just promise me something, Eugeo."
"Sure, what's up?" he asked.
"No matter who wins, just promise me that we'll still be friends," I said sincerely.
"Forever and always, Kazuto! Now, let's make this one hell of a battle! Don't hold back!"
"You got it!" I said, smirking deviously.
The board showed the count down.
Three… two… one… GO!
And we charged.
We ran at each other, far surpassing normal human speeds.
Left, right, block, jab, dodge—
Still, I knew I could go faster. Faster, faster! EVEN FASTER!
As I slashed, I saw the winds pick up, getting more and more vicious. Still, we kept on clashing, disregarding that we were childhood friends, disregarding everything around us. We were in the zone.
All we cared about was winning. Nothing else mattered. All we could imagine was that trophy sitting on that desk in our rooms. All we could see were each other's bodies… and movements… and blades.
FASTER!
As if responding to my plea, my body took on an all-new level of speed, leaving my previous top speed in the dust. Everything became a blur. All I could see were his blades and my own.
The wind became more vicious, but somehow my swords were able to cut through the gale as if it were butter. Soon, the wind subsided, and I kept on slashing as if nothing had happened.
It was evident that Eugeo was having a hard time keeping up with my wild strikes by the way he grunted every time I hit his sword.
In fact, all I hit was his sword.
Left, right, down, spin, CLEAVE—
I cleaved his sword in two, slashing it from both sides simultaneously.
All that's left is his dagger-glove.
"KURAAAAAGH!" I screamed, spinning and breaking his dagger-glove with my left sword… and putting my right sword to his neck.
We stood there in silence, his shocked face staring into my wild one. Eventually, I calmed back down.
Before I could say anything, the announcer yelled out what I assumed to be, "The winner is: KAZUTO KIRIGAYA!"
"Whew… that was one hell of a battle! Congrats, man! You're moving on to the next round!" Eugeo said with a smile, and somehow I could tell he was being sincere.
"Thanks, man. No hard feelings, right?"
"Man, there is no way in hell I could hold a grudge against anyone, and you know it! Anyway, I'm gonna go train. You should probably meet up with Asuna, seeing as she looked kinda lonely when she was just sitting there all by herself. I bet you she's itchin' to see you right now!" Eugeo said, turning around to leave.
"Oh, wait!" he said. "I forgot something." He turned around and walked back to me. "You'd better win this tournament."
He put out his fist, which I met with my own. "You expect anything less?"
"True enough. All right, I gotta go, that training robot's a callin'. See ya, Kazuto!" he yelled, running off the mat and out of the arena.
I turned around and exited the arena, going back to the front to meet up with Asuna. She'll probably be around the front door… well, if she waited for me.
Sure enough, at the stadium's exit was Asuna, talking to someone on her cell phone. When she noticed me, she hurriedly put it away and rushed over to me.
"I saw everything! That was an awesome victory! Congratulations on making it to the second round."
"Talking with your boyfriend?" I asked snidely.
"Why, you jealous?" she asked in the same tone.
"Nope."
"Oh, that's right! You have that Sachi chick."
"Yeah, exac— Wait! No! Sachi's been kidnapped! I just know it!" I shouted.
"What?"
"Yeah, this guy with silver hair and red armor took her," I said, trying desperately to calm my nerves.
"And you know this how…?"
"I saw it in a dream."
"Uh…is that so…?" she said, her tone and raised eyebrow conveying a hefty amount of doubt.
"You don't believe me, do you?"
"No, I do! It's just… you know what, never mind," she said, flicking her eyes away.
"Okay… well, we should probably go back to the hotel," I said.This is getting really awkward.
"Don't you want to see the rest of the matches?" Asuna queried.
"Don't you? You were waiting by the front door for me," I shot back.
"Touché. Well then, let's go!" she said, running out the door.
There's no way to get to Sachi right now. There just aren't any leads! I guess I'll have to put that aside for now.
Remarkably, we didn't veer even remotely off track, unlike last time when Asuna just had to stop at every jewelry shop we found along the way.
When we got back to the hotel, I found Eugeo waiting for us.
"Weren't you going to train?" I asked him.
"I was. There are training rooms set up here, just for the Asian bracket," he said.
"Really? Where?"
"On the fifth floor, right next to the bar and grill. Strange place to put a training room, huh?"
"I'll say! Well then, let's go. Asuna, I'll meet you at our room in an hour, okay?"
"Fine," she huffed, stomping away instead of walking.
"Wow, she's mad. You should probably talk to her after we're finished training," Eugeo said, looking shocked.
"Yeah, you're right. Hey, want to spar against each other instead of against the training robots?" I suggested.
"No way, man. You're so strong it's scary. I really just want to watch you, you know, to see if you can pull off that wild ability again. You definitely didn't show that level of speed and strength when we were training together, so I want to see it again without being on the receiving end."
"You think it's an ability? Well, maybe it is. I felt my drive to win grow stronger than it's ever been before, and then I felt my body… respond to that drive."
"Well, whatever it is, I want to see it again! Come on, let's go train!"
After an hour of training, we still hadn't been able to see that same level of force that I had used in the match.
"Well, I'm going to go meet up with Asuna, so see you later, okay?" I said to Eugeo, beginning to pack my things.
"All right, cool. I'm going to be training for a couple of hours, so come back if Asuna gets mad at you again."
"All right. See ya," I said, leaving the room.
I found my way back to our room with no trouble, and found Asuna asleep on the bed.
She looks so cute when she sleeps.
Walking over to her, I put my hand on her shoulder. "Asuna, wake up. I want to talk with you."
*Yawn* "What is it?"
"I just wanted to say… I'm sorry for ignoring you while Eugeo was around. I shouldn't have done that, so can you forgive me?"
"Stupid… I can't hold a grudge, especially with someone like you. You're forgiven."
"Whew… anyway, to make it up to you, would you like to go and have a meal with me downstairs?"
"Sure, let's go!" Asuna said happily, grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door.
"Um, Asuna?"
"What is it?"
"Never mind. So, which restaurant do you want to eat at?" I asked, not wanting to burst her bubble.
"Let's see… how about that one?" she said, pointing to an exorbitant-looking Italian restaurant to our left.
I'm really glad that the hotel pays for our meals."Sure."
"This is so good!" Asuna praised, gobbling down her garlic rolls with no regard for even basic table manners.
"You do know that those are just the appetizers, right? Just try to save room for the main course," I said, trying to overlook the fact that her… whatever. "What did you order, anyway?" I asked.
"I ordered the garlic pizza, obviously," she said, like it was—as she had said—obvious.
"Huh. Same as me," I said, uninterested. "Wait… did you get a slice… or a whole pizza…?"
"A whole pizza, of course!"
Oh… my… god…
"And you think you can eat it all?"
"Yup!"
This girl is crazy…!
"Okay then, whatever."
"You don't believe me, do you?"
"No, I do! It's just… you know what, never mind."
"Touché."
Once our orders arrived, I built up my courage and said, "By the way, there's something you should—" but I was cut off with a glare that said, 'Don't screw with me while I'm eating!'
Once we finished our meals and were on our way back to our room, I decided I should tell her. "You know, you never fixed your bedhead."
"WHAT?! Why didn't you tell me?!"
"I tried several times, but you always gave me a glare that said, 'Don't screw with me when I'm doing this!'"
"Ugh… I guess I can't blame you, can I?"
"From the sound of your voice, it seems like you still do," I said, annoyed.
"Whatever, let's just go back to our hotel room. You need your rest for the second round tomorrow…"
She can be really considerate sometimes, can't she?
"… and I need my rest from you."
What?
"Excuse me, what did you just say?" I asked, irritated.
"Nothing, nothing…"
"That's what I thought."
When we arrived in the hotel room, I immediately dove onto the sofa sleeper, which had been left unfolded due to our rush to get out the door that morning.
Soon, everything faded to black.
I saw Sachi just sitting there, at our usual spot.
Looking at me, she asked, "Is it okay if I come back here again?"
"W-what?"
Suddenly, she shrunk back to the size of a little kid, asking me, "My name is Sachi, what's yours?"
"What?! Don't you remember, Sachi?! It's me, Kazuto!"
The young Sachi disappeared. Then, behind me, someone shouted, "KAZUTO, HELP!"
I turned around to face the present-time Sachi, her body being sucked into a wormhole, just like the previous night's dream.
Instead of that man appearing again, my vision shifted to a floating temple of sorts, with my grandfather at the altar.
Looking down through the transparent floor, I noticed a mountain range that looked like no other. My attention immediately turned back to my grandfather when he shouted, "So after seven hundred years, the myth is beginning once again?! The Seven Blades must be found at once, before their arrival! The Chains of Armageddon must be stopped once more!"
My vision shifted once again, this time to the ghetto of my home town.
"You're a legendary swordsman… I must kill you before you grow too powerful!" hissed a voice from behind me.
"What?!"
I saw a man with long blonde hair and long pointed ears standing in front of me with a deranged expression on his face.
"I will come for you soon… wait for me until then, First Bladist! Ahaha… AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"AAAAAGH!" I screamed, falling off of the sofa sleeper yet again.
"What the hell was up with that dream…?" I asked myself, though I knew I would get no answer.
*Yawn* "Good morning, Kazuto," Asuna said groggily, getting up from the bed.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
"This time, you did. Don't worry about it, I needed to get up anyway. After all, I can't watch you fight if I'm asleep, can I?"
"True enough. Well, let's get ready. I've got two rounds to fight today, so I need to get there early to train," I said, already packing.
After I was done packing and finished with my morning needs, Asuna said, "I'm going to take a shower, okay? No objections. I haven't taken a shower since we got here, so it's about time."
Weird. We've only been here a day.
"Okay, please be quick."
"Right, I can wash this super long hair in thirty seconds!"
"Really?"
"No, you moron! It takes a good five minutes just to get my hair washed, let alone the rest of my body! Then I have to dryit! And brush it so it doesn't get tangled!"
"All right, all right, I get it. Just make it as quick as you can, okay?"
"Sure, whatever," she said, closing the bathroom door.
When she came out of the bathroom, looking as good as new, I said, "Okay, let's go."
"Don't rush me, Kazuto! I still have to put on makeup!"
"Oh, come on. You look beautiful without it anyway!"
"Thanks for the compliment!" Asuna said gleefully.
"So we can go?"
"Nope! I'm still putting on makeup!"
Damn!
Less than ten minutes later, we were out the front door and on the way to the stadium, where the second and third rounds would take place.
"We can't go window shopping at every store we see on the way, okay?" I told her.
"Yeah, yeah. I already checked them all out yesterday, so we can just go straight to the stadium anyway."
Once we arrived, we went straight to the training rooms. The guard knew who I was now, so he didn't give us any trouble.
When we got to the participant training room, I noticed that there was only one other person in there so far: Xerxes, the Indian Rep.
Xerxes had spiked jet-black hair that stood up a good five inches, with a strand of hair hanging in front of his face. His eyes were violet and his build muscular. He wielded a longsword in his left hand and a giant Spartan-style shield in his right.
"Well, it's good to meet you, Yami No Keshin. You certainly put on a show, beating the third strongest representative in the Asian Bracket," Xerxes said impassively.
"Third…?"
"Yes. Klein and I are far superior to that child. Likewise, he is far inferior to us, and seemingly you. However, Klein… is slightly better than I am. He beat me at the last Asian Bracket… and then promptly lost at the African Bracket."
"So Klein was lying to me when he said that he was even with Eugeo, huh…"
"Yes, he was."
"Well, I'm going to train, okay?" I said, hoping that he would take the hint.
He did. "Yes, please do. Just remember that you face me once you inevitably get past the quarter-finals. Make sure to give me a good challenge."
And with that, he left the room.
That asshole… he's gonna get it, come the semi-finals!
When I walked onto the mat, I found myself face to face with the Malaysian Representative. She wielded a dagger in her right hand, and claws in her left.
I watched as the board counted down.
Three… two… one… GO!
I immediately rushed at her, catching her off guard.
Left, up, diagonal down, up, right—
FASTER! EVEN FASTER!
I felt it again. My body responded to my plea, increasing my speed even more than in my battle with Eugeo.
Left, right, double diagonal down, double jab, block, dodge—
(Asuna)
Watching Kirito fight was like watching a tornado wreck a city. He always went for a weapon break, and he had so far always succeeded.
"It seems like you noticed it too."
I turned to my left to find Eugeo standing at the edge of the line of seats I was currently enjoying by myself. This area was reserved for the participants, but all of them were either training or just decided not to come watch. Since I was a VIP guest, I got it to myself.
"Mind if I sit here?" Eugeo asked politely.
"Sure, go ahead."
He sat down. "So, as I was saying… you must have noticed it too. The way he attacks so wildly, always aiming for the opponents' weapons. I didn't get it at first. I thought it was a stupid move. If he always aims for the weapon, then how will he win by making a vital blow? How will he defend himself against the opponents' attacks?
"Then… it hit me. When he aims for the weapons, not only is he trying to break them, he's also defending himself. If he always hits the opponents' weapon with his unbeatable speed, then how will they recover from the recoil and still be fast enough to retaliate? That, and something else. Have you ever noticed that his weapons always seem brand-new every time he draws them from his sheaths? I think there's some kind of technology in those sheaths that fixes any problems with the already durable blades while they're in there. That way, he can always go for a weapon break without worrying about his own weapons breaking."
"Isn't that against the rules?" I pondered.
"I wondered that too, so I did some research. Apparently there are no rules of any kind against that sort of thing. There's only one flaw in his strategy."
I looked back at Kazuto and his opponent, noticing that her weapons were already starting to crack.
"What's that?" I asked, wondering what kind of flaw a strong strategy like that could have.
"It relies entirely on his speed and endurance. If someone is even a little bit faster than he is, than that entire strategy is rendered useless. I think he knows that already, and he's been trying to come up with various other ones just in case.
"Still, I think that there's no one on this earth faster than he is. So his plan is at least good enough to beat all of the people in the Asian Bracket. However, I think that there is one person who poses a threat—Xerxes. His insane speed combined with his sword-and-shield style make him nearly impossible to beat, even if he is slower than Kazuto by a fraction. It's a wonder that Klein was able to beat him at the last Asian Bracket."
"Wow, Xerxes is that strong?"
"Yeah."
(Kazuto)
That was too easy. I thought as I put my right sword to the Malaysian Representative's neck.
As the announcer told the crowd of my victory, I sheathed my swords, shook the girl's hand, and walked away. I paid the wildly cheering crowd no mind as I walked out of the arena. I could only think about one thing.
I'm coming for you next, Xerxes! I'll make you pay for insulting my friend!
When I met up with Asuna, Eugeo was there too. For a split second I questioned the reason for this, before putting that thought aside and saying, "Hey, guys. How's it going?"
"It's going fine. Man, you look even stronger from a distance! Wait, what's wrong?" Eugeo asked me, looking worried.
"Xerxes called you weak. He acts so downright condescending! I can't get his arrogant parting words out of my head! 'Make sure to give me a good challenge.' That arrogant prick! He's gonna get it!" I ranted.
"Calm down. I don't care if he called me weak. It doesn't bother me."
"It's not just that. I just can't take his overall condescending nature. He's gonna go down. Hard."
"Well, we have about three hours before the semi-finals begin, so I'd say you'd better get some intensive training in before your match with the ultimate asshole. Let's go!"
I walked up to the tournament mat, the glint of determination in my eyes. As Xerxes walked up to meet me, we exchanged a look that said all we needed to know. I'll never hold back.
Three… two… one… GO!
We charged at each other at inhuman velocities, his giant shield not hindering his speed in the slightest.
Double left, up, right, diagonal spin—
All blocked in showers of sparks.
Diagonal down, up, right, double diagonal down—
Blocked again.
FASTER! I NEED TO GO FASTER!
There it was again. My body responded to my will to go faster, increasing my speed to new levels. Levels that had never been reached before by any human.
Left, up, down, diagonal down, upward V, cleave, downward X—
I wasn't making any headway. His shield wasn't even cracking, so I switched to my next target: his sword.
I had been beating on it so much that in three strikes… it shattered. However, Xerxes did not falter.
Instead, he bashed me back several meters with his shield.
This guy is strong! I thought, wiping some blood from my mouth.
I realized something. The only way he can win now is to knock me out, and the only way I can win is to get around his seemingly indestructible shield. It's a battle of pure strategy now.
I could still feel the power surging from the depths of my body, so I used it to my advantage, charging at Xerxes with inhuman speed.
CLASH, CLASH!
Still, he managed to just barely block every single one of my strikes.
Damn it! At this rate, I'll pass out from exhaustion!
Left, right, spin, up, down, diagonal up—
And then it happened. His shield cracked.
I kept at it, though I was growing more and more exhausted. Even so, my speed wasn't negatively affected like it should be.
Right, left, double up, double down, upward V, downward X—
His shield broke in two. Still, he did not falter. He just barely evaded every swing, as if toying with me.
He knows I'm about to pass out!
"Hah… hah… THAT'S ENOUGH!" I screamed, my speed increasing even further.
I was a blur. Xerxes never saw it coming when I suddenly appeared behind him and put both of my swords to his neck, saying, "You lose, Xerxes."
"Well, I suppose I did."
Yet again, the announcer stated my victory to the crowds, and the loudest cheering I had heard erupted from all corners of the stadium. I retracted my swords from his neck, stumbling backwards in exhaustion.
This is too loud…
"Well, I concede defeat. Good luck defeating Klein. You're going to need it."
That was the last thing I heard before I passed out from fatigue.
I opened my eyes to see the man with pointed ears standing before me, a strange type of sword in his right hand. "I need to kill you before you become too much of a nuisance… too bad I can't kill you right now." After a pause, he continued, "Just know that I'm always watching you, waiting for the perfect time to strike. Ahaha… AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
I gasped, waking up and noticing where I was.
The white walls. The wide array of medical equipment. The smell of disinfectant that lingered in the air.
I was in one of my most feared places. I was in the hospital.
I started to hyperventilate, looking around the room for… them.
"Ugh… Kazuto, you're awake?" I heard a female voice say groggily from beside me.
"Asuna…?" I looked at her to notice that she had been sleeping at my bedside, her head resting on the edge.
I looked past her to find Xerxes, sitting in a chair with a book in his hand. "What are you doing here?" I hissed.
"Don't be so mad, Kazuto. He carried you all the way here," Asuna scolded.
"That's one of the reasons why I'm so mad. Do you know where we are?"
"Um, a hospital?"
"Exactly. Bad things happen to me every time I go to a hospital, no matter what for. I can't explain it to you people, you wouldn't understand."
"Try me," Xerxes said, a tiny hint of… concern in his voice.
"Well, first off… the doctors. They always try to hurt me. They use these strange spring knives, and when the blades come out, they glow. When I defend myself by pushing them back, well… I get kicked out for causing the trouble that the doctors started. At first I was pissed off when this happened, but after a while, when the doctors still tried to hurt me, I relished in the fact that if I fought back, I would get kicked out. For some odd reason, they never tried to chase me."
"Well, it looks like they are after you," Xerxes said in a dark tone.
"Who are 'they'?" Asuna asked curiously.
"They are… shifters of sorts. They can take on many forms, but the form they like to take most is that of a human that people would have reason to trust, like a doctor. They cannot leave the place where they shifted into their human form until they shift back," Xerxes said in a low tone, careful not to be overheard.
"But who are they, exactly?"
"I cannot tell you. All I can tell you is… be wary, Kazuto Kirigaya. They aren't always in the form of a doctor." And with those parting words, Xerxes left.
(Xerxes)
You will understand everything in due time, child. You must survive until then.
(Kazuto)
"What's up with that guy?" I asked, knowing I would get no answer.
"Beats me. Let's just go to our hotel room so we can rest for tomorrow's final round."
Once we got back to our hotel room, I was finally able to calm down.
Okay… I'm safe for now, so I should just focus on getting some rest for the final round tomorrow.
"G'night, Asuna."
"What? But it's only seven at night! You can't sleep yet!"
I didn't care. I just saw my vision grow cloudy, and then… everything went black.
I saw the man again. That same pointy-eared, blond-haired man with the glowing sword. "I'm coming…"
"Kazuto! Get your butt up! We're gonna be late to the final round!" Asuna shouted.
Thank god! I feel like something terrible would have happened if I had stayed asleep.
Then I saw it—a shadow in the doorway in the shape of a person. As soon as I got up and moved toward the door, whoever it was disappeared as if it was never there to begin with.
Who was that?
"What are you doing? You still need to pack," Asuna said irritably, throwing me my backpack.
After I snapped out of my trance, I responded with a, "Thanks, mom," and began to pack.
When we arrived at the stadium, Klein ran up to us, saying, "Congrats on making it to the finals! Come with me so we can get to the arena."
I looked at his weapon choice, marveling at the quality. His katana seemed to have been crafted by a master, making it pointless to try for a weapon break. On his left arm, he had a gauntlet that had a disk on it, which struck me as very odd. Why doesn't he have one of those on both arms?
He grabbed our arms again, dragging us to a back entrance. "But I already know where it is…"
"No, the final round is being held in a different arena," Klein said as he opened the back entrance to reveal a stairway.
Don't tell me…
"The arena that the finals take place in is at the top of the dome, so I hope you're not afraid of heights!"
Damn!
"Well, we'd better start climbing!"
Asuna started to move towards the ladder, but Klein stopped her, saying, "Participants only! Sorry."
Three minutes later, we still hadn't reached the top yet. I looked down, seeing that we were at least one hundred meters above the ground. My legs became weak and I just stood there on the rungs, frozen in place.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Look down, that is. The first time I went up here, I was scared so bad that I almost lost my grip and fell to my death," Klein said from above me, doing nothing to ease my nerves.
Damn it, Klein! You've made it worse!
"Thanks for reminding me of one of the several ways I could die while climbing this thing."
"Sorry."
Once we got to the top, I was surprised to find a mat surrounded by a cage, preventing us from falling off.
"Oh, thank god for that cage."
"Yeah, I know! Not only does it protect us from falling off, it also nullifies the 'Step out of bounds and you're disqualified rule!' Cool, right?"
"Is that so?" I asked, a devious smirk appearing on my face. Sweet, I can go all out!
"We have about three minutes before the match starts, so why don't we just hang out until then?" Klein suggested.
"Sure, I guess."
After about two and a half minutes, we stopped talking and went into the cage, going to opposite sides.
We drew our swords. Then the unexpected happened. The disc on the gauntlet covering his left arm enlarged to form a shield of sorts. What a truly strange combination.
"All right, Kazuto. Are you ready?" Klein asked me.
"Forever and always, Klein," I said with conviction. We shared that look, the one that says everything any opponent wants to know.
I'm not gonna hold back!
I watched as the board counted down.
Three… two… one… GO!
We rushed at each other, and yet again I was even faster than I was in my last battle.
However, Klein was just as fast.
Left, up, double diagonal down, right, spin—
He was still just as fast as I was, no matter how hard I pushed myself. However, I did notice one thing. Whenever his weapon or shield gets hit, he moves back a bit! I can back him into a corner, and then he'll be easy to take down!
Upward flip-spin, jab, jab, upward V, downward X, diagonal spin—
I had done it. I had backed him into the southwest corner of the cage. When I slashed sideways, he… jumped onto my blade, and used it to jump over and behind me. He hightailed it to the center of the cage, my swords hot on his trail.
Why didn't he hit me from behind? Is he toying with me?!
Diagonal up, downward X, jab, jab, spin—
And then… it happened. He made a cut on my left arm. "RAAAAGH!" I screamed.
FASTER! FASTER! I NEED TO GO FASTER!
Yet again, my body responded, but something was different. Darker. More violent. I knew something was wrong on the first slash, when his shield shattered in all directions and a piece of shrapnel hit Klein in the arm in the exact same spot where I had been hit.
My moves were sloppy. However, every time Klein made a hit, my skills and speed improved just enough to hit him in the same spot.
This continued until we were both out of breath, scratches all over our bodies.
"You ready to call it quits? You look really tired, and I know I'm exhausted." Klein asked between pants.
"Never!" I hissed with vehemence.
"All right then… let's go!"
(Asuna)
"Kazuto…"
As I watched the fight, I noticed that they were both slowing down.
"I think he's gonna be okay," Eugeo said, sitting down beside me.
"It is a very close match. At this point, there's no way of telling who will win," Xerxes said, coming from the elevator up to the VIP and competitors' front row seats.
"Who invited you here?" Eugeo asked angrily.
"No need to get so angry, boy. The match may be even right now, but everything is subject to change," Xerxes said impassively, pulling a book out of his pocket and beginning to read.
"Anger aside, who are you rooting for, Xerxes?" I asked.
"I believe that only fate will decide the outcome of this match, and therefore I think that cheering a person on is meaningless. Of course, I will always have my personal preferences," Xerxes said cryptically.
"And those personal preferences are…?" I prodded.
"I want Kazuto to win, of course. He defeated me, so I would obviously be mad if he lost to anyone, especially Klein."
We all looked back to the field to see that Klein was slowly gaining the upper hand.
"Kazuto… no…"
(Kazuto)
Left, up, double diagonal down—
I was losing, and I knew it.
Damn it, pull yourself together!
Klein wore down a lot slower than I did, which meant only one thing: huge trouble.
Still, I kept on fighting, never giving up.
Left, up, double diagonal down, double up, diagonal spin—
FASTER!
My body responded yet again, this time in the way it usually did.
Everything was a blur. This time, however, my movements weren't sloppy.
I hit Klein's right hand with the flat of my left blade, forcing him to let go of his katana. I put my right sword to his neck.
I had done it. I had won.
Then I realized something. I just beat the representative of the country I'm staying in! The entire nation will hate me!
The crowd was silent. Suddenly, Klein grabbed my hand and raised it into the air, saying something that sounded like, "Let's give him a hand for beating me! He deserves a round of applause!"
Suddenly, the crowd burst into wild cheers, their clapping becoming a deafening roar.
"Well, that was an awesome match! You're gonna win the world tournament, I just know it!" Klein said enthusiastically.
"Thanks for not being mad, man," I said happily, a small smile forming on my lips.
"Dude, I can never hold a grudge." Klein said, giving me a look.
"Klein…" I said softly.
A day later, Klein and Eugeo were seeing us off at the airport. Xerxes, however, had business in Africa to take care of, so he was going to be on the plane with us.
"You'd better not lose, man!" Eugeo shouted up to us as we climbed up the ramp to the plane.
"Hey, that's my line!" Klein yelled at Eugeo.
"Like hell! I lost to him first, remember?" Eugeo shot back.
That's not something to be proud of.
"Guys, you both have the right to use that line, so don't fight with each other!" I shouted from the top of the ramp.
"Got it!" they shouted back in unison.
"Well, we're going in! See you guys later!"
"Right… see you later!"
As we walked onto the plane, Xerxes said, "Well, I've got a seat in economy waiting for me, so I'd better be going."
"But can't you sit with us? You were a competitor, weren't you?" I asked.
"The key word is were. I lost, therefore I have to deal with a bad seat."
"You don't sound very sad," Asuna said.
She sounds… almost happy.
"That sucks, I had some questions for you. Oh well, I can ask you when we get off the plane. Until then, Xerxes."
And with that, Xerxes and I parted ways, Asuna following behind me.
The Asian Bracket is over, but that's only the beginning. Ready or not, Africa, here I come!
A/N:
This. Was. Freaking. AWESOME!
I had no clue I could ever pull off a NINE THOUSAND WORD CHAPTER! I should probably say that after this, I can't promise when I will update this story, seeing as most of the chapters will be exceedingly long.
So, the sinister things have already started, huh? I wonder what it all means…? Just kidding! I'm the writer, so of course I know what it means. You guys, however, are stuck in the dark for a while.
You may wonder how Asuna keeps getting all the good seats, so I'll just tell you that… not all is as it seems with this chestnut-haired beauty.
Anyway, how'd you like the Asian Bracket? I plan on doing one bracket per chapter, so this story won't have many chapters, but each chapter will be INSANELY long. Since every chapter will have one bracket, they will all be at least seven thousand words, depending on how many characters from the anime and LNs I can fit into each bracket.
Now I'll take the time to explain the mechanics of each bracket.
The first bracket, the Asian Bracket, consisted of the representatives of the sixteen countries in which the LoB hosts tournaments. This means that there will be four rounds if you include the final round. The winner, who is Kazuto, becomes the representative of the ENTIRETY OF ASIA, as well as Japan.
The second bracket, the African Bracket, will have fourteen reps participating, but the two missing spots will be filled with the Asian Rep and the Australian Rep. (The Australian Rep has no competition, as Australia is the only country in its continent, so there wouldn't be any other representative to compete for the continental title.)
Whoever wins that bracket will become the representative of Africa, in addition to being the representative of the other country and/or continent they already represent.
The North American and South American Brackets (in that order) will each have fifteen representatives, the last spot filled by the winner of the previous bracket.
Finally, the European Bracket (there is no Antarctic Bracket) will have THIRTY ONE representatives, with the last spot once again filled with the previous bracket's winner.
All right… I think that's about it! Disclaimer time!
I don't own Sword Art Online, Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment, or any of the characters in them!
See ya!