"Any updates?" Shige-H asked after entering a ward in the most remote corner of the structure. It was almost as if the question wasn't immediately obvious with Endo patiently sitting in front of a still and serene body of a young woman with a fist-sized soul gem placed on her chest. Endo looked as if he had preserved himself in time with his arms wrapped, his eyes closed, and his chin tucked to his chest. When the swordsman opened his eyes, he rubbed his stiff neck, suggesting he'd been sitting like that for a long time.
"No, nothing's happening here," Endo sighed.
"Do you want to tag out? The fighting out there is pretty good. I figured it would be something you'd like to see," Shige-H pointed behind her with her thumb, carefully examining Endo's body language to best assess what her teammate was thinking since he was one of the least likely people to communicate that.
"Not a chance. Mana's safest under my watch," Endo grumbled.
"You know, you don't owe her anything. If you want to remain here and keep watch, that's okay, I just wanted you to do so for the right reasons. If this is some kind of misguided attempt to make up for…" Shige-H approached Endo from behind, placing her hand on his back while leaning in closer to his face. Almost close enough for their foreheads to touch.
"I'm the last person to be bothered by something like that. It's just that Mana's going to kick and claw her way back to us. Knowing her, she's going to get into trouble immediately and I'm not letting her have fun without me," Endo smirked while staring at Mana's calm and slumbering expression.
"You know, I'd have pegged you for exactly the type of person to feel needlessly indebted to someone. As someone whose pride wouldn't allow anyone to get one over them without some sort of clueless thoughts of life debts being involved. Of all people, I'd have pegged you as the last person to have nothing but blind faith in people," Shige-H smiled as she turned and stepped toward the door. "You've changed a lot since you started working with us. If it's for the better or worse, I think it's up to you to decide, but I can't say I dislike it."
"It's not just blind faith," Endo sneered back at Shige-H, frustrated that the squad leader who was in charge of Mana for all this time couldn't see it. "It's just experience. Ironically enough, for a childlike pacifist, no one fights harder than Mana."
"I guess so," Shige-H nodded and left.
"How are you holding up? Is the gear ready?" Damisan walked into the empty, cubical sandstone room lit only by lanterns hanging off the wall on hammered iron stakes. The place had a more modern array of lockers. Had this detail been absent, one could have used this room for absolutely anything.
"I think so. It's as ready as it will ever be," Ryoku Genshi checked on the prosthetic arm of Damisan's making that he's equipped. An arm that would have been a fitting weapon for any puppet Damisan would normally make, however, instead of taking other people's lives, Damisan tasked this one with saving that of the crippled athlete.
"More importantly, are you ready?" Damisan asked again.
"As ready as I will ever be," Ryoku Genshi repeated, pounding his puppet arm with his flesh, bone, and blood hand equipped with a thick glove that the pair found yesterday which could have substituted the squandered and ruined Fusion Ball gear. The seated athlete pressed buttons on each side of his temples, activating twin metallic gadgets equipped to both his eyes with protruding sections glistening with plastic lenses and brass linings.
"I've modeled these gadgets after the scopes used in Iwagakure. Obviously, I didn't have spare gemstones and gold to make accurate one-to-one recreations, but it's the best I could have done given the limitations. They won't substitute for your lost sight, but they'll help you navigate somewhat. Their function is telling you where the nearest life signature is and drawing you a rough outline that you can home in on or zoom out. The obvious drawback is that you won't be able to tell much of anything else, like where the arena's edge is, for example," Damisan sighed. Facing off against a samurai one-on-one was madness even in the most perfect conditions, when one could stack countless advantages on one's side. Facing off against one with this many disadvantages working against them, that felt like absolute madness. Then again, it was far less maddening than facing off against a samurai without said means.
"You've done more for me than I could have ever asked for. You've given me hope and I won't disappoint you," Ryoku Genshi clenched a tight fist with his prosthetic arm and pumped it out in front of him with a smile. "These scopes function similarly to the Fusion Ball helmet, I shouldn't have much trouble adapting to them."
"All I've done was give you a one percent chance as opposed to absolute certainty you would die. In any case, it's not like you lacked of pointless hope where there was no place for any. I've never met someone so hopeful at such a dire moment. Anyone in their right mind would have quit while they were behind, but not you. That's admirable, but it's also the one thing I hate the most about you," Damisan sighed, pressing his hands go his hips and wondering how he could still assist his protégé now when the battle hour had clocked in and he had to walk out and face the music. "Don't take any chances. This world can still use hopeful fools like you, so if your gear gets wrecked–give up. Don't compete against your opponent with speed or power, because you will lose."
"Sorry, Damisan-san, I haven't quit once in my whole life and I don't intend on picking up a habit that'll make me feel bad now. That's one thing I absolutely cannot promise you. In fact, I can only promise you the exact opposite–that I'll fight until the end," Ryoku Genshi shook his head with a serious look, even though it wasn't a simple matter to tell because the athlete had covered up his hazy, blinded stare with these scope lenses.
"I guess I knew you'd say that when I told it to you, but I felt like it was my duty to warn you before washing my hands off of the outcome," Damisan sighed. "I did my best to save your life, please keep that in mind, and don't make me regret not knocking you out and hiding you in a closet somewhere until you're disqualified. I'll be rooting for you, you know."
"It means a lot to me," Ryoku Genshi nodded. "You've offered me this excellent gear and I won't let it go to waste. I'll make you as proud of yourself for having built it as I am for wearing it."
Waving his hand off into the air in dismissal of the tear-jerking sentiment, Damisan walked off to mingle with the crowd before it poured back into the stands to prepare to spectate the second match.
"That was an impressive bout out there," Shige-H said, pressing her right shoulder to the doorway while looking at a scraped Kumogakure ninja surrounded by healers and nurses tending to his wounds and handing him various medications to down all the while pumping him up with liquid solutions that would restore him to the best condition possible as soon as possible so that he's ready for the next round when the time comes. The healers seemed peeved, but their unintelligible gibberish mutter proved advantageous in avoiding the full brunt of their fury.
"Hmm… Sorry, you seem familiar, but…" Yoibetsu-N scratched his head, staring back at Shige-H while leaning over the bustling healers bandaging his wounds and treating his busted bones with soaked bandages and ointments through a tiny gap in between the group of service staff.
"I guess it can't be helped. Ninja Academy was quite some time away. It's become apparent that both of us are different people now," Shige-H smiled and shook her head, restraining a chuckle. Yoibetsu-N's eyes cleared up when she narrowed it down for him.
"Oh… Yeah, Shige… Shige… What was it…" Yoibetsu-N became flustered since he had forgotten the additive which was integral to referring to someone who chose to don it to their name. Referring to one without the additive suggested a close, friendly, or intimate relationship, whereas the young man had completely forgotten about the fact this woman existed until she walked into his ward just now. The awkwardness of the social cue made the chuckle that Shige-H was containing within break out.
"Shige-H," Shige-H reminded Yoibetsu-N so that he didn't get himself worked up any more than it was acceptable for his current condition.
"Shige-H…" Yoibetsu-N committed it to memory. "That headband you wear, that insignia… I've heard that the village wanted to question you about something, but I guess I haven't been paying close enough attention and I don't recall how that whole situation ended. Have you gone rogue?"
"Not quite," Shige-H sighed in equal parts frustration and relief. The events in Land of the Moon weren't something that Shige-H was comfortable speaking about, but she felt strangely vexed about not getting the chance to explain herself to her peer. It wasn't like she'd bring it up to someone unaware of what had happened there out of nowhere for no reason. "This is the Allied Ninja insignia. I'm working with the Allied Ninja now."
"Oh, so the village got to you then. I'm glad. I'd have hated to have to report you or hunt you down as a rogue ninja. It makes sense that they would send you off to the Allied Ninja. Smashes multiple critters with one stone. The village gets rid of you without having to spoil their hands with your blood and they get to look good on the international scale as they keep their obligations to the Allied Ninja organization by supplying new ninja to their ranks. And here for a moment, I thought they sent you to check up on my progress here…" Yoibetsu-N joked, dragging the back of his hand across his bruised forehead as if he was wiping sweat off his face.
"That would have been counterproductive, from what I've seen in that arena, you seem capable enough and more than a match for my individual abilities. I'm glad that you have inherited the legacy technique of Lightning Armor. It's been a great honor getting to know you back in the day," Shige-H politely played the joke off. Just before she would turn around and walk off after having successfully fulfilled her want of having a brief talk with an old acquaintance of hers, Yoibetsu-N called out to Shige-H and stopped her.
"What are the Allied Ninja doing here, exactly? I thought the Allied Ninja don't take sides and served the broader ideals of worldwide justice and peace. It's not like you to play political games. My mission is to secure this patch of land for Kumogakure. It's no secret that if Kumogakure stations troops here, they would have easy access to Sunagakure–a key ally of Konohagakure's. With a pressure point like that pinched, Kumogakure would reclaim its status as the top military force in the world after the Coltan Conflict weakened it. Don't tell me that the Allied Ninja intend on standing in the way of that," Yoibetsu-N spoke after his playfulness, smirks, and teasing tone vanished without a trace.
"You needn't worry about that," Shige-H assured her old-time acquaintance with a warm smile and a polite response. "The Allied Ninja don't intend on getting in Kumogakure's way here. Our objective is to make sure that other, more chaotic, and anarchistic forces don't get hold of this land. And, if I were you, I wouldn't presume to be able to threaten the Allied Ninja again. While your individual strength may surpass mine, the collective strength of my newly discovered way of becoming useful would roll over you and leave you flat in no time at all. I suggest we better work together rather than accuse each other of wild things and put sticks in each other's wheels."
"Don't forget on whose turf the Allied Ninja work," Yoibetsu-N's stare became serious enough to send chills down Shige-H's spine.
"That's right, that of the Land of Lightning. The same as Kumogakure, am I wrong?" luckily enough, Shige-H maintained her composure and slapped back something hefty enough to shut Yoibetsu-N and his aspirations of the Kumogakure waging war on the Allied Ninja for some illusionary spites up and stuff them back down his throat.
Having been reminded that despite how powerful Kumogakure was, it was merely one of the loudest dogs barking in a much larger yard of much more imposing and terrifying animals, Yoibetsu-N didn't dare to stop Shige-H or question her or the Allied Ninja motives again.
"Ladies and gents, the time has finally come! The contestants are ready and the replenished and refreshed spectators are filling the seats back up!" the announcer yelled out while Shige-H returned to her seat where Asuka was sitting with snacks and Damisan seemed to have just recently returned as well.
"Any news on Mana?" Damisan looked up with a glint of hope in his eyes.
"Sadly, no. It might just be that without the assistance of a magician, we might not be able to force the Spirit Diffusion to happen," Shige-H sighed with a shake of her head. "How's your protégé?"
"Hopeful. That's what bothers me," Damisan grumbled. "It's like no matter how blatantly I tell him to pick up the toys I gave him and leave, he keeps on believing in himself."
"Sounds like a lovely lad, couldn't we all use more of that in these bleak days?" Asuka teased the pair, handing them some sherbets she'd picked up during the break.
"You know, you really could have found us a magician during the break rather than picking up ice cream," Damisan grumbled even if he dug into the straw and filled his cheeks with cold, molten, creamy, coffee-flavor goodness.
"And tell them what exactly?" Asuka rolled her eyes. "It's not like we have leverage to approach them with."
"Not everyone needs leverage to talk them into helping someone. Some people genuinely just want to help," Damisan reminded the cynical blonde, who only made a yapping gesture with her hand and waved her teammate off, signaling that she was shutting him out.
"It wouldn't hurt to at the very least try, Asuka," Shige-H joined Damisan's side. "Remember that these magicians are here to establish a nexus in our plane of reality they could use as a tether to help us with their incredible powers."
"That's what they say, what if they intend on tethering to our plane to invade us with force instead?" Asuka squinted with a conspiratorial stare. "No one with that much strength doesn't relish in using it on weaklings from time to time to show it off."
"Learned that living in Kirigakure, did you?" Damisan sighed in disappointment at his teammate's cynical attitude.
"As a matter of fact, I did," Asuka spat venom back in his direction before turning away from him. Despite his intentions, Damisan's remark had struck a sensitive chord. "Even if my mother was the Mizukage once, the moment she was ousted, I became no better than the beggars on the street, persecuted and stuffed into an orphanage to fend for myself "for my own protection", as they put it."
"Making his way into the ring, a peerless swordsman in his own right and a trusted right-arm man of the Iron Shogun himself! A cunning military strategist or a fierce one-eyed dragon warrior when the situation calls for it, a man who is as handsome and wise as he is deadly, justifying his reputation as the Sapphire Dragon of the Crescent Moon, Ichijiki Muramasa!" the announcer turned, gesturing toward an extending platform that built a bridge connecting the arena to the outside service facilities. When the sandstone platform fixed to the arena and expelled a puff of bright dust into the air as confirmation of the fact, Ichijiki Muramasa took the first step and began a patient and elegant strut to the arena.
The lean and tall samurai chose to leave his helmet donned with the sapphire crescent moon insignia behind, leaving his handsome and chiseled face topped with slick, black hair exposed to the elements. A black rubber band that covered up his missing right eye partly obstructed his face, however, the icy stare of his remaining blue eye could have chilled men to the bone and made women feel weak in the knees. Ichijiki Muramasa was clad in a tight, black suit of armor that seemed tight and decorated well enough to suit a woman warrior, however, because of his slender frame, it fit the last samurai perfectly as well.
"And now, introducing the sweetheart of the audience who won all our hearts because of their performance in the first round, where this contestant gave everything they had to claw, punch, dig, and kick their way to the second round, fending off serial killers, spies and even Cursed Warriors! The man of bottomless hope, endless faith that shines like a golden ray of sunshine, and infinite stamina! It's almost as if he draws strength to keep fighting on from the nuclear reactor in his ball! A man who lost his sight, hearing, an arm, and a leg in the last round with our healers only being able to restore his hearing, the rest is all in his hands–Ryoku Genshi!"
"Whoa, you found yourself a protégé like that?" Shige-H exclaimed. She surveyed with light shock on her face as the audience clamored, howled, and boomed with a standing ovation as the pro athlete with a bottomless heart and fighting spirit made his way into the ring and put up his dukes, including a prosthetic puppet arm that seemed like it was stitched together from spare parts from dozens of other fighting puppets.
"I'm surprised that you made your way out here," Ichijiki Muramasa sneered at the bruised and armored with spare parts professional athlete. "Though only in a way that one is surprised to see a beggar step in front of the carriage to beg for food, only to be squished under its wheels like the trash he is."
"Something tells me you're not an amiable person. That's fortunate for me because it'll make you easier to hit," Ryoku Genshi smirked despite his shortcomings. Because he couldn't see his opponent, only make out the distance between them and his vague shape from the readings in his scopes, it was much easier to imagine himself standing in front of a terrifying dragon with sapphire scales whose jowls could swallow a crescent moon yet laughing right up in his face, regardless.
"Let the second match of the Top 16 round BEGIN!" the announcer proclaimed only for a gong to announce the official start of the match.
