A red flame flared from the dragon's mouth. The air around Dan's face boiled. He raised his sword aloft and the fire joined it instantly, crackling cheerfully.
A pleasant heat spread along the blade up to the handle. Dan felt his blood throb more vigorously. It was like holding a hot drink in numb hands.
On the other side of the arena, four scarecrows stared at him with a ridiculously gracious smile plasted on their faces.
Thirty, forty steps approximately. Nothing challenging.
He took a side step and shifted the center of gravity. He held the sword beside his head. Sparks of fire crackled in the middle of his chestnut wisps.
He closed his eyes. He imagined the energy of the element as a small incandescent globe, pulsing in the center of his chest. He tightened his grip on the sword and summoned part of the energy to his arms.
A small orange-red river started from the nucleus. The blood in the capillaries became liquid lava.
Dan opened his eyes and smiled. It burned a little, but it was a good, pleasant pain. One of those that made you feel alive.
He gave a side blow. A whip of fire shot from the sword, arcing parallel to the ground.
The heads of the three scarecrows fell to the ground. The bodies remained burning like torches.
"Yay!" Dan exulted "This time the tournament is ours!"
He planted the sword in the sand of the arena. In his arms he still felt the residual heat of the energy that was dissipating.
"Look what a perfect arch the ash made!" continuous.
Draco grunted. "A smaller blaze was enough. You just wasted energy. "
"Always the same curmudgeon." He pointed to the stone steps around them. "It was just a little stage for the audience."
"In this way, we won't even get to the round of 16."
Dan lowered the tone of his voice, mimicking that of a dragon: "Right, better just throw some targeted shots after carefully evaluating your opponent so that you know his weaknesses and blah blah blah. The public gets bogged down without a bit of entertainment! "
The dragon grinned, baring its fangs. "The show will be you who end up dead tired with your legs in the air."
Dan opened his mouth to argue. But something hit him in the legs and the next moment he was on the ground. A dull pain spread throughout the pelvis.
Draco's satisfaction tickled his nerves, but his face still had the same hieratic expression.
He snorted. "Okay, you're right. We'll do it your way. "
He reached out a hand to him. Draco pulled his muzzle closer, letting him grab his horn to pull himself up.
"This year Keith and Elios will have to settle for second place," said the boy.
"Mmh-mhm," Draco said.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I was thinking only of yesterday's dragon ... "
Dan chuckled. "Ah so you are really lovestruck!"
The dragon shot a glare at him. A flash of embarrassment, however, crossed the link between the two. "You could also vary the repertoire ... after the hundredth time."
"Nah, as long as it works ... Anyway, what's the problem?"
"There was something strange about her. I don't know how to explain it ... She didn't even look like a bakugan. "
"In fact ... Today I wanted to talk about it with Runo."
He turned to look at the other end of the arena. He had made an appointment for her around noon.
Just like he called her, the girl's long turquoise hair appeared at the entrance to the field, standing out in the middle of the gray and dull sand.
He raised a hand to greet her, to which she replied with a composed shake of her wrist.
Dan smiled. Her city lady manners made him tenderness.
The white of his tunic, bordered with gold, seemed to shine with its own light. On the chest were sewn the golden squiggles representing Luxa's coat of arms. A white belt encircled her thin waist, letting two pairs of daggers hang down her hips.
She turned for a moment towards the entrance, as if waiting for someone. A huge tiger joined her, high at the withers like a draft horse. His coat was dazzling white and his body was full of bony plates and golden spikes, which formed a kind of helmet around his muzzle.
"The famous Tigrerra" Draco said and Dan didn't hold back a whistle of amazement. He had never seen her live: it was more or less half the size of its bakugan, but from the muzzle hung two huge saber teeth as long as his arm.
On its back, between two large thorns, sat a frail-looking boy with straw hair.
Joe. Was he out of the hospital so early?
As the group approached, Daniel noticed his discolored skin and slightly sunken cheeks.
He bit his lip. He was always anxious to be near Joe, as if he were a glass object that was always in danger of breaking.
Draco's calm cloaked him, warm as a blanket. The dragon's hieratic expression had softened. They had to at least pretend to be relaxed.
Daniel took a deep breath and greeted, "Hey, Joe! What a pleasure, I wasn't expecting you so soon! "
The boy gave him a tired smile. "I had to insist a lot with the healers… and with my mother. But I wanted to say hello and I certainly can't miss this tournament too! "
Tigrerra crouched on the ground, letting him slide down her side. Runo was already there ready to support him. "Don't try too hard! How did you come up with the idea of doing the whole staircase by yourself? "
Joe looked down and scratched the back of his neck. "Well ... I wanted to at least try to do some calisthenics."
"First you should eat a little more, in my opinion" said Tigrerra "You are small even for a human."
The joke made him smile. "My mother always says so too."
"Anyway, Dan, how's the preparation for the tournament going?" Runo intervened.
"Great! We could beat that bleached blond even now if we wanted to. "
The girl folded her hands under her chest and spoke directly to Draco. "Is he always such a braggart?"
"You don't have the faintest idea," he muttered.
"Well, he's not entirely wrong," Joe said. "When I bond with a bakugan I would like to learn from him how to master fire and how to use the sword."
Daniel felt a bitter taste on his tongue. With his heart problem, Joe would never have managed the energy of fire ... He forced himself to smile. "Thanks, Joe. At least there is someone on my side!".
"Bah, boys ... Was that just what you wanted to talk to us about?" They told her about the patrol and the intruder, without hiding their suspicions.
"It looked like she belonged to the Land of Luxa, but we're not sure and it didn't throw a single shot at us," Daniel said.
Runo ran a finger under his lips. "I don't know… I've never seen bakugan with pink feathers. I would remember. "
"You said the scales didn't shine. If he had had light as an element it would have been easy to dazzle you and then escape "Tigrerra explained." I don't think he was able to. "
Draco frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I think you found a white bakugan. One without an element. "
Author note: hello to all guys! Sorry for the delay with the publication but my computer hates me and had deleted the chapter, so I had to rewrite it from scratch. Then don't say I don't love you!
If you like the story, leave a review and save it as a favorite.
Maybe at the next update (Friday of next week) we will finally see this white bakugan up close!
