I'm sure you're all excited for this fight… Okay, that's a lie. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

July 2, X791

Domus Flau was filled with excited for the upcoming match between the strongest wizards in Phoenix Dawn and Mermaid Heel. Kagura was already waiting in the arena, waiting patiently for her opponent to show up. In the stands, Aqua was tapping her foot against the ground with impatience and frustration.

"What the hell is taking Jay so long?" She grunted under her breath.

"He had to drink God knows how much water." Spiral replied. "What do you think?"

"Dammit, I really hate those Raven Tail jerks!" Aqua muttered.

"I imagine a lot of do, but my guess is you have a different reason." Spiral commented.

"Sorry I'm a little late!"

They looked out at the arena to see Jayden finally arriving, taking his position opposite of Kagura. The entire audience was somewhat confused upon seeing him.

"Wait, isn't that Jason?"

"Yeah, did they get his name wrong or something?"

In the stands where Sabertooth's guild members were, Kyo and Kyrin were watching the games.

"Hey, wait a minute…" Kyo said as he leaned in closer to get a better look at Jayden. "That's the guy from Rose Lake…"

"What guy from Rose Lake?" Kyrin asked.

"Ah, just some dickhole from Phoenix Dawn that caused us some trouble." Kyo replied. "There's something off about him, though."

"Not like you to remember someone so insignificant."

Kyo just stared. "… Yeah…"

Jayden's Dragon Slayer ears picked up on the audience's gossiping and looked up at the stands.

"I know why you're all confused." Jayden said loud enough to everyone in the stadium. "I look a lot like Jason Lexus, but… I am not him. As you may have heard, Alexander Lexus dishonored his entire family by conducting horrible magical experiments. I was one of his test subjects… and Jason was a clone of me. 'Jayden' is who I really am, but 'Jason' is also a part of me as well."

"That's COOOL!" Jason shouted from the commentator booth.

"He wasn't referring to you." Yajima said.

"Jason is gone, but I'm not." Jayden continued. "His family wanted me to keep the name I was born with so I wouldn't live with the shame that the Lexus's now face because of Alexander's crimes. Honestly, that doesn't matter to me. I took my last name in honor of my mother. So yes, I am technically Jason, but I'm also my own person."

The crowd was lost in thought, trying to process the information given to them.

"… But enough of that. Let's get on with the fight." Jayden said casually.

"He just shrugged it off like it was nothing?!" Lucy exclaimed from the stands.

Jayden walked over to Kagura and whispered to her.

"You know, the earlier fights all made bets." Jayden said.

"I don't take bets lightly." Kagura stated.

"It's just… If I win…" Jayden blushed and moved his face closer to Kagura's ear. "Will… will you go on a date with me?"

Kagura started to feel flustered on the inside and a very light blush appeared on her face, just enough so that nobody in the audience could notice it.

"I know it's sudden, but… You don't have to accept it…" Jayden continued to whisper.

"… If I win…" Kagura spoke up in a hushed tone. "I get to pet Wilbur… without any complaints."

"Deal!" Jayden exclaimed happily with a big grin on his face before leaping back and taking up a fighting stance.

"What are they saying, Spiral?" Hikari asked.

"… I don't think either of them would like it if I told you." Spiral replied.

Once the gong had rung, Jayden surrounded himself in a coat of water.

"Water Dragon…"

There was a collective gasp from the audience.

"Aqua Jet!"

Jayden charged at Kagura at high speed and she managed to block it with her sheathed sword. Her defense was flawless, but his attack was still putting a great deal of pressure on her. With a surge of strength, she managed to push him back, dashed right past him and slashed him with her sheathed sword without cutting his skin or clothes, but he could still feel the pain.

"Water Dragon Roar!"

Jayden turned around and blasted a torrent of water from his mouth at Kagura, forcing her against the wall. She struggled a bit to move her arm, eventually swinging her sword and cut the water away like it was butter. This was followed up by another dash-and-slash attack.

"Water Dragon Riptide Slash!"

Jayden crossed his arms, forming water claws and an X-shaped stream of water blocked Kagura's attack. With their brief clash over, Jayden jumped backwards to gain some distance from her.

"Did you really think this battle would be easy?" Kagura asked.

"Not at all." Jayden answered with a smile. "I was expecting the hardest fight of the games, but I'm actually having a lot of fun."

"This is a tournament!" Aqua yelled from the sidelines. "You're not supposed to have fun!"

"Oh, for God's sake-Stop being a bitch, Aqua!" Jayden shouted at his teammate.

*He lost most of his magic power yesterday, yet he's able to hold his own against me without a hint of exhaustion.* Kagura thought. *And the magic 'high' from drinking all that water must've worn off well before our fight began. Is he really this strong?*

"Water Dragon Geyser!"

Underneath Kagura appeared a blue magic circle and a geyser of water shot out of it, which she side-stepped out of the way before it caught her. Jayden then came from underneath her and surrounded his fist in water.

"Water Dragon Wave Fist!"

Jayden threw out his fist, shot the water at Kagura and struck her in the back. She landed on her feet as Jayden took a quick, deep breath.

"It's been a while since we last fought, huh?" Jayden asked. "We first met the night before. We both've gotten a hell of a lot stronger since then."

"Why are you so happy right now?" Kagura asked.

"I've been in a cage for most of my life." Jayden answered. "Simply living is enough to make me happy. On top of that, I'm sparring with the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

"Don't just say things like that."

"I'm just saying what's on my mind."

"Well, it's embarrassing."

"What's so embarrassing about a compliment?"

*He's so much more carefree than Jason.* She thought. *It's…*

"You seem a little unfocused."

"Huh?!"

"I want to fight you without any hindrances, distractions or restrictions. Our last fight ended in a draw and I want to see which of us is truly stronger."

Two seconds had passed and she smiled. "Yes, I would really enjoy that."

"Then let's give this all we've got!"

Kagura began releasing strong magic power and the gravity around Jayden started to push down on him. While Jayden was immobilized, Kagura took the opportunity to deliver another strike down upon him and was successful in her strike. At that moment, Jayden's eyes became more reptilian and the pressure of his magic power could even be felt in the stands.

"What is this power?" Kagura wondered.

In the stands where White Valkyrie was watching, Momo, Leah, Bryant and Sora were feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the intense magical power emanating from Jayden.

"Holy crap!" Bryant shouted. "That guy must be super strong! Should make for a fun opponent!"

Meanwhile, Kara, who was unfazed by the pressure, was looking at Jayden as if she was examining him.

"… Yes…" Kara muttered. "He's certainly… Interesting…"

"Water Dragon Roar!"

Jayden shot another torrent of water from his mouth, more powerful than the previous one, and sent Kagura skidding her feet clear across the arena and nearly making her crash into the wall again.

*Where did that surge of power come from?* Kagura thought. *He shouldn't be able to do anything under the force of my Gravity Magic!*

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Raging Storm Rapids!"

Jayden sent two massive torrents of water at Kagura and completely engulfed her in the attack. Even though the attack dealt a lot of damage, Kagura was still standing with several injuries on her body.

"Neither of these wizards are letting up their assaults!" Chapati exclaimed into the microphone. "Considering they're both the top wizards of their respective guilds, none of us should be surprised yet we're all incredibly amazed!"

"They're both so COOOOL!" Jason shouted.

Jayden's teammates were all watching the fight intensely.

"This really is a great fight." Spiral said.

"Yeah, no kidding." Azusa said while standing on top of a block of ice that Spiral made since she was too short to look over it on her own. "I'm so glad you made this stool for me, Spiral."

"Why isn't Jayden using his Water Drive?" Aqua questioned angrily.

"Huh?" Hikari raised her eyebrow.

"He's not taking this seriously, is he?" Aqua replied.

"Maybe he wants to keep it hidden from the competition." Spiral guessed. "Showing off everything he can do this early in the games would mean we'd lose the element of surprise."

"Who cares about that?" Aqua asked.

"Will you stop being so moody?!" Hikari yelled at her. "Ever since we came to Crocus, you've been acting like a c-!"

Spiral quickly covered Azusa's ears so she wouldn't hear the incredibly offensive word Hikari was calling Aqua. He kept them there as Hikari continued to shout at Aqua, without any noise reaching her eardrums. When Hikari finished her rant, Aqua just stared at her in surprise.

"… I didn't realize you had such a colorful vocabulary." Aqua said.

"Oh, things are really heating up!" Chapati's voice reverberated through the stadium.

"Crap! What'd we miss?!" Spiral exclaimed as their attention returned to the fight.

He looked at the timer to see that 20 minutes had already passed.

"That rant lasted at least 10 minutes!" Spiral said. "And we missed a good portion of the fight because of it."

Jayden and Kagura were both panting heavily after twenty minutes of intense fighting. They charged at each other and clashed, with Jayden swiping his water claws and Kagura swinging her sheathed sword. They continued their assault on each other, without letting up either their offense or defense.

*I'm almost out of time.* Jayden thought. *If I'm going to win this, I'm going to have to take a gamble at some point and go for the finishing blow.*

Nine minutes had passed and neither fighter was letting the other through their defenses.

*There's only one minute left.* Kagura thought. *Why hasn't he tried to deal a final attack? Should I take this gamble?*

Kagura didn't have time to think about it and just tried to give the last of her strength into one more sword swing.

*There's my chance!* Jayden thought.

Jayden leaned far backwards, barely missing Kagura's swing and following up with a sweep that knocked her to the ground.

"Water Dragon Roar!"

He let out one more breath attack and just as the attack hit its target, the timer ran out. The dust settled to reveal Kagura lying on the ground, covered in bruises and struggling to get up.

"Jayden hasn't earned those ten points yet!" Chapati said. "If Kagura manages to get up, the fight officially ends in a draw!"

Jayden fell to his knees from exhaustion and just stared at Kagura and she stared back at him. The two looked intensely at each other for what felt like an eternity until a smile appeared on her face and she collapsed onto the ground.

"And the winner is Jayden Oceari of Phoenix Dawn Team A!"

Domus Flau was filled with an uproarious applause for the incredible fight they had just witnessed as Jayden limped over to Kagura and her friends in Mermaid Heel.

"That was a really close fight." Jayden said. "If I had decided to rush and try to end the fight quickly, you would've been the victor instead. But it was a really fun fight."

Kagura looked up at Jayden and chuckled lightly. "You've truly gotten stronger, Jayden."

"It's all thanks to you, Kagura." Jayden said. "You told me how to regain the power I lost and I trained specifically so I could get the chance to fight you again."

"By the way…" Kagura then whispered loud enough for him to hear with his Dragon Slayer ears. "I'm… actually looking forward to our date."

Jayden blushed and stammered. "W-well, I'm glad you're taking the idea of that real well."

"Let's clear the arena for the final fight!" Chapati announced. "Yukino Aguria of Sabertooth vs Kara Krieg of White Valkyrie!"

Kara looked over at the Sabertooth members and glared at them.

*Revenge… will be ours.* She thought.

A/N: I might not be able to put out the next two chapters as quickly as you may want because of three things: finals week, Mother's Day and I'm going to team up with my friend for the next couple of chapters. Also, sorry about cutting out parts of the fight between Jayden and Kagura, but I just felt like adding more than what I put would have felt like filler; unneeded fat that wouldn't be fun to write. But they did spend more than half of the chapter fighting, so I hope that counts for something. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for next time!