Here the next chapter, guys! I received quite a few OCs from you guys and some of them are already pretty interesting. I'll make sure to dedicate a story arc to them during the course of the story. OC submissions are still open for those who wish to submit a character. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter!
It was now Spiral's turn to spar with Xanders and the two seemed to be evenly matched, though that might be because Spiral couldn't get the moment that had just occurred in the bath a few hours earlier.
"What's up with Spiral?" Jason asked himself. "I know this isn't the best he can do." He then looked over to the girls, who were sitting next to him, and noticed that they weren't paying any attention to the sparring match. "You girls okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Hikari answered unconvincingly.
"Yeah, sure." Sakura answered in the same manner.
Jason simply raised his eyebrow. "Spiral, take a breather!"
"Huh?" Spiral asked as he and Xanders stopped sparring.
"You seem to be spacing out." Jason said. "I'll fill in for you and the others."
"I… I'm fine." Spiral said. "I can keep going."
"Physically yes, but not mentally." Jason said. "Go clear your head. I don't mind sparring with Xanders more than once today. Take all the time you need."
Jason gave Spiral a smile, but Spiral sighed, placed the odd sword he carried on his back in its original position. He then walked toward the stairway and left the underground arena.
*I still can't get over what I saw earlier…* Spiral thought as he made it to the first floor and walked around. *It's got me completely… I don't even know! Part of me feels shameful, even though it was an accident, but another part… feels happy. I can't believe I'm a pervert! Did I finally hit that 'puberty' thing?! Now Hikari's going to hate me!*
"Spiral?"
"WAH!" Spiral screamed upon hearing Hikari's voice. He turned around and looked at her with an incredibly nervous expression. "Listen, I'm sorry about what happened in the bath earlier! I didn't know you were the other person in there!"
"No, it's okay." Hikari said, motioning her hands to calm Spiral down. "It was an accident and you didn't know."
Spiral sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I'm just glad we can still be friends."
Hikari blushed upon hearing those words from Spiral's mouth. "Um…. Listen, Spiral?"
"Hm?"
Hikari blushed and twiddled her thumbs. "Did you… like what you saw?"
"I… I really don't want to answer that!" Spiral answered, turning away and blushing.
"You're blushing!" Hikari exclaimed with a smile and her eyes closed. "You totally liked it! That's so cute!"
"What so cute about being a pervert?!"
Later that night, everyone was asleep in their respective rooms and beds. Spiral had left the room holding onto his throat.
"… mm… thirsty…" Spiral grumbled as he made his way to the restroom.
Spiral walked down the hallway and at one point stopped in his tracks. He looked around as if he felt like someone was there, but there was no one else around.
*… I know someone is there…* He thought.
Since Spiral couldn't see anyone, he simply continued to make his way to the restroom. As soon as he moved his foot, an eye opened up on the marble floor and looked at him before vanishing.
September 4, X790
It was early in the morning and after days of training and sparring the Day of Rite had finally arrived. Xanders had woken up and gotten dressed for the event as it will take place in his mansion. This is because the rules are that the current head family hosts the rite.
"Wilson, please go wake up our guests." Xanders said. "I wish for them to see the fruits of our training. I'm sure it would mean much to them."
"As you wish, Master." Wilson said as he bowed and left to wake up the Phoenix Dawn wizards.
Sakura was sleeping very soundly in her bed as Hikari tried to wake her up.
"Sakura, wake up…" Hikari said to her in a quiet voice.
"… Just five more hours…" Sakura groaned in her sleep.
"That's way too long." Flora, who was wide awake, said. "I wish we had some sort of special alarm to wake her up without her getting ticked off."
BRCRASH!
The doorway had been blown open and out of the smoke appeared a girl with short blonde hair with her fists surrounded in flames. Her attire consisted of a karate gi colored red with an orange and yellow flame pattern emblazoned on it. The commotion caused Sakura to finally wake up.
"Huh?" Sakura shot up out of the bed. "What's going on?!"
"Fire Fist: Explosion Palm!" The girl slammed her fiery palm against Hikari's chest and caused a small fiery explosion which forced her through the open bedroom window.
"Photon Whip!" Hikari shot a stream of light out of her hand and used it to pull the strange girl out the window with her.
They fell down until they both hit a balcony on the first floor.
"Hikari!" Sakura shouted as she leaned out the window and looked down at the two girls.
"Non, non, non!"
Sakura heard a voice with a silly accent speak and turned around to see a strange-looking man.
"Who the hell are you?!" Sakura asked as she took a fighting stance.
"I am Monsieur Sol of the Great Earth." The man said. "And you, mademoiselle, are one of the cible of our client."
In the boys' room, Jason was sent hurdling through the ceiling by a blast of wind all the way to the mansion's roof. He quickly regained his footing upon reaching the roof and stood a few meters away from the hole.
"It's… so sad." A rather large man rose up from the hole and looked toward Jason, his bandaged eyes dripping with tears.
*What's with this guy?* Jason wondered. *He's really weird…*
"Do you not know who I am?" The man asked. "I am one of the Element 4, Aria of the Great Sky."
"Wait, the Element 4 were an elite group of wizards of the guild Phantom Lord, which dissolved almost seven years ago."
"Phantom Lord may be no more, and half of our members have moved on, but thanks to our new leader, Caspian of the Great Sea, the Element 4 lives on."
Back in the boys' room, Spiral was about to face off against Caspian Neptune (Age 29). Caspian was a rather muscular man with dark blue, indigo long hair and wore green arm-length gauntlets and green-scaled armored leggings. He also carried a golden trident in his right hand. Caspian pointed his trident right at Spiral.
"… Ocean's Wrath: Squall."
Caspian's trident shot a torrent of water right at Spiral and attempted to use his Sound Magic to block the attack.
"Sorry, but water attacks don't work on me!" Spiral shouted.
Caspian, with a flick of his fingers, redirected the torrent before Spiral could touch it and struck Spiral on his side before he could react in time. The torrent had sent Spiral crashing into the wall on the side of the bedroom.
"All water is under my command." Caspian said, without showing a hint of emotion. "It doesn't matter if it's solid, liquid or gas; my Water Subjugation Magic forces all water to kneel before me."
Spiral got up and cracked his neck. "That doesn't sound like anything special."
"Your arrogance will be your downfall, brat."
Back on the balcony, Hikari was facing off against the girl with the flaming fists.
"Behold!" The girl shouted. "I am Haru Hono (Age 16)! The Great Flame of the Element 4!"
*What's with this girl?* Hikari thought as a sweat drop appeared on the back of her head. *It's like subtlety isn't in her dictionary.*
"What is your name?" Haru asked, pointing her finger right at Hikari. "I must know the names of all who fall before me!"
"Uh, Hikari." Hikari answered, still confused by Haru's behavior.
"Hikari, prepare yourself!" Haru jumped up into the air and was about to strike Hikari from above with the heel of her foot. "Fire Fist: Blazing Crescent!"
"Photon Swords!" Two swords of light appeared in Hikari's hands and used them to block Haru's kick. "My turn!"
Hikari pushed Haru away and into the air and she jumped up after her with her light swords.
"Photon…" Hikari clapped her light swords and hands together and merged the light together. "Blast!"
A beam of light had shot Haru in the stomach and she was sent flying. As Haru was about to fall into the chasm, she had thought to herself.
*Is this the end?* Haru thought. *Am I going to die in such an anticlimactic way?*
She then felt her falling stop and the touch of another person's hand on her arm. She looked up to see that Hikari was hanging off the balcony and trying to keep Haru from falling.
"Why… why did you save me?" Haru asked. "I'm your enemy."
"You might be an enemy, but you're still a human being." Hikari said.
Haru just looked up at Hikari as she pulled her up and back onto the balcony.
"Anyway, why were you guys attacking us?" Hikari asked.
"My partners and I were tasked with taking out everyone in this mansion." Haru stated. "He said it had something to do with claiming something and ruling over a family… or something like that."
As Haru scratched her head, Hikari came to a realization.
Back in the girls' room, Sakura was fighting against Sol.
"Lucius?" Sakura asked.
"Our client wishes to gain control of the Nosferatu Clan by disposing of the concurrence. Though the only concurrence he sees is YOUR client-"
"Will you stop talking like that?!" Sakura shouted as she punched Sol straight in the face while he was in the middle of talking. "I'm taking you down before you really annoy me! Forest Dragon Roar!"
Sakura completely surrounded Sol in her cherry blossom petal breath and blew him out the window. He was hurdling through the sky until he practically became a star in the early morning sky. Sakura then looked down at the balcony below and saw Hikari and Haru.
"Hikari!" Sakura called out. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Hikari called back. "We should check up on the guys and Xanders!"
"Good call!" Sakura said. "I'll sniff out Xanders while you use that light whip of yours to get yourselves back up here and find the guys!"
Hikari nodded and Sakura left the bedroom. Just outside the door, she saw a beaten Wilson lying against the hallway wall.
"Wilson!" Sakura knelt down to him. "Don't worry! I'll go get some help!"
"N-no…" Wilson groaned. "All that matters… is that Master Xanders is safe…"
Wilson passed out and Sakura sniffed the air to track Xanders's scent.
On the roof, Jason had been fighting Aria and neither wizard seemed like they were going to give up so easily.
"Ha, you're more of a challenge than I thought." Aria said. "I guess I should stop holding back."
Aria removed the bandages covering his eyes to reveal strange purple pupils and he surged with incredible magical power.
"Airspace Zero!"
Suddenly it felt like there was an invisible vacuum right in front of Aria and Jason was trying not to get sucked in.
"So sad!" Aria cried. "Anything that enters my Airspace will get their life sucked out completely!"
Jason glared at Aria and surrounded his forearms in gusts of wind. "That tears it… I can't tolerate people who take lives without remorse! Zephyr Cross!"
Jason shot wind blades that formed a cross shape together and sent it flying toward Aria, cutting right through his Airspace.
"No way!" Aria shouted before being struck by Jason's attack.
The attack left large straight cuts across Aria's body as he was sent flying into the air just like Sol.
Jason sighed and looked down the hole he came out of. "I hope Spiral and the others are all right."
Spiral was struggling with his battle against Caspian.
*Damn!* Spiral thought as he panted. *I haven't been able to land a single blow against this guy!*
"Why aren't you using it?" Caspian asked. "Why aren't you using Never-Melt?"
Spiral's eyes widened upon hearing those exact words. "How the hell do you know about that?!"
"The other night, Sol scanned your memories when you stepped on him. He told me everything about your abilities and your memories. To be honest, I never thought I would ever be able to witness the most powerful form of ice magic in recorded history. Now I see the opportunity before me."
Caspian used his trident to stab Spiral in his shoulder, pulled it out and surrounded Spiral in a sphere of water.
"If you want to live, you'll have to use that magic to escape." Caspian said.
Spiral was drowning in the water sphere, struggling to keep his breath in. *I… I can't do it!* He thought. *Not after…*
(Flashback)
A village was on fire and around a very young Spiral were corpses of people either frozen in ice or impaled by ice spikes.
(End Flashback)
*I… I… I HAVE to do it!* Spiral opened his eyes and his pupils became an icy blue color.
A/N: I thought I'd bring back the Element 4 since we don't know what happened to half of them and thought 'maybe I could use them'. The other two are OCs of my creation. And that flashback at the end? More will be revealed on that front later on because I don't feel like I should divulge everything right now. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!