Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Blood and Roses ❯ Friendly Fighters ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Author's Note: Hello again! Once again, sorry it took me so long to update. I've been working on several different stories. This chapter should be more interesting than the last one, but it'll be in the next two chapters that things really begin to pick up. Well, enjoy! ^^;

All characters and ideas in Blood and Roses belong to myself or Angel-kun.


“Sixteen.” Katy read out loud, staring at her paper. Curious, she looked back over her shoulder at Shizoku, who caught her gaze.

“Thirty-nine.” He answered her silent question, turning his paper around so that she could see it. As they got close, they could read the numbers on the mats nearest them. Big black numbers had been painted on the ground on either side of the mat, and it looked like there had been no system as to where they’d been placed. Teachers gathered the students around and began to recite the rules once again, and Katy took the opportunity to look around.

Just as the teacher had said, it was indeed easy to see which end was the winner’s end. This was of course because of two very large thrones sitting on a platform with a large entourage of guards around them at one end. The thrones had been placed high so that the kings could easily observe the fights. Looking around, they could see that they'd be fighting on the winner's side of the dividing line.

In the throne on the right was her father, leaning backward and looking bored. Katy's father didn’t seem to be paying much attention to the fighters, who despite giving it their all were nonetheless simply trying to bash each other’s skulls in. Next to his throne lay his favorite hellhound Rihani, a red and black beast with the three crescent symbol of the Nether Realm in his fur on his forehead. The bulk of Rihani's body was black, while his paws, tip of his tail and ears were crimson. He was huge, but skinny, standing at three feet tall with a mane of fur and a thick black collar around his neck. He was always by her father's side. Standing next to them on the left was Rasuo, arms crossed and looking somewhat tired.

Next to Rasuo stood another man, someone she’d seen around a few times but who she didn’t know. He had very long black hair and rather pale skin that contrasted very nicely, and dark eyes. There was something on the middle of his forehead above his eyes that she couldn't see clearly, but it looked like it could of been some sort of decoration; a tattoo perhaps, or a jewel. His expression was unreadable as he observed the fighting. Looking through the guards standing behind them, it was easy to spot both Aiden and Rience and it looked as though the former was sending scathing glares at the latter.

In the throne on the left was a man that Katy had never seen in her life. With his long silver hair flowing over his shoulders, his pale skin and his straight posture, he looked very regal. Looking at him closely, she could see that if he stood, he'd be tall. He was toned but slim, and even though he looked as though he wasn't that tough, the way he carried himself seemed to show otherwise. There was something...something about this man... This was the King of Hell. He seemed calm and composed, serious, and very confident. She couldn’t quite place a finger on it, but something about him fascinated her. Lying next to his throne was another hellhound. This one was completely pitch black and had thick fur, two tails, two large leather wings folded against it's sides, and bright green eyes. It was the same size as her father's hellhound, though it was bulkier.

Looking away after a few long moments, her eyes immediately caught on another interesting figure, standing on the King of Hell’s right. He had dark purple hair that seemed black in some places, though it could have been a trick of the light, and he had very tan skin. His face was long and angular, but it suited his body well. His ears were somewhat long and pointed, but they were close to his head and pointed up rather than being longer and thus pointing more horizontally, like an elf's. He looked young, couldn't of been much older than she. He was well dressed and looked haughty and impatient, as though he thought that there were much better uses for his valuable time.

This man was scanning the crowd when all of a sudden his eyes landed on Katy and stayed. His gaze was piercing and she felt a cold chill go down her spine as his sight lingered. Then, her heart nearly stopped as a domino effect began. The King of Hell was talking to this man, and when he did not reply the King looked toward him. Seeing his eyes fixed on the students, the King followed his line of sight and Katy felt a second shiver run through her as he, too, looked upon her.

Despite being in a crowd of students, Katy felt naked and exposed. And then, as though she were watching it in slow motion, the King of Hell calmly leaned over a bit towards the King of the Nether Realm, addressing him and lifting a finger in her direction. Katy knew that if she stepped backwards and turned around, he wouldn’t see her, but he’d still know that she was there. Her body felt heavy under the weight of their eyes.

It seemed to take her father a second to recognize what he was looking at. When he did, he slowly leaned forward and stared her down. His expression was hard to read, though his posture didn't seem angry. He looked...intrigued. Katy could see his lips moving but she couldn’t read what he was saying, nor could she see whom it was to.

It became immediately apparent however as Aiden stepped forward, and now Rasuo was interested as well. Aiden looked puzzled as the King spoke to him, and obediently he followed the finger to her location. Instantly he looked alarmed and began to speak very fast. Rasuo, on the other hand, merely raised an eyebrow in her direction and cocked his head to the side a bit. Upon looking at Aiden, Katy's heart sank a little, and she felt her chest tighten. It was hard not to see him with that girl again, but she was happy to have an excuse to force him them from her mind. She couldn't afford any distractions...

The ironic part of them seeing her was that none of them were paying attention to the last fight that was taking place in the middle of the arena anymore. Granted, it was only the final round of the first group, but even so. Katy couldn’t help but wonder if the fighters had noticed yet. Looking over to them, immersed in battle as they were, they were in their own little world.

Waving her hand by her head to get their attention, Katy placed a hand on her hip and pointed hard at the pair of fighters. She then shook her head and took a step backwards into the thick of her group in hopes of no longer distracting them. Peeking through the students, she could see a grin on her father’s face, and Aiden was still talking very fast and moving his hands animatedly.

Shizoku, standing close by, was carefully scrutinizing her. Having seen the affair play out, he had to wonder about the relationship between this girl and the higher-ups. Who exactly was she? With her stature, long raven hair and her blood-red eyes, she had the characteristics of a pure-blood. Looking back and forth, there was certainly a resemblance between her and the King of the Nether Realm. She'd also been pulled involuntarily into the academy, even if she did decide to participate; she'd been wandering around outside...

Katy was starting to get excited, and a little nervous. She knew that she needed to be confident, but she couldn't help but think what might happen if she were to lose. Rasuo would probably never let it go, and she really didn't want him to see her lose; Aiden would get in trouble with her father, as he was her teacher, and her father would be very angry for being humiliated in front of his important associates.

Looking towards the fighters, it appeared the fight would soon be over. The opponents looked exhausted, and their movements were slowing down. Finally one seemed to gather his strength and he heaved his wooden sword downward, cracking his opponent on the head and instantly knocking him out. The crowd erupted in cheers and jeers and a couple people dressed in the same uniform rushed into the arena to declare the winner and escort the fighters back out.

After that, everything happened very fast. More of those people in uniforms began to hustle them on to the field, pointing out the mats to match their numbers. Staring down their opponents, they had to wait a couple minutes for the signal to start. Looking around Katy saw that Shizoku was on the far side of the arena from her, near the thrones. Looking up, her opponent was watching her with a small smirk on his face.

The guy had short dark brown hair, and had one brown eye and one yellow eye. His ears were pointed, his skin was tan, and you could see his upper canines in his mouth as he smirked. He was tall, at least a foot taller than her, and his chest and arms were ripped. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and you could see the pale scars across his torso from his previous battles. He was holding two curved wooden swords, and was resting them against his shoulders.

"Hey sweetheart. Why don't you just save yourself the pain and forfeit? After I win, you and me can have some fun." The guy suggested while leering at her. Katy laughed but said nothing, and the smirk faded a little. "Fine by me. Either way, I get to hear you scream."

Deciding to ignore him until she heard the countdown signal, Katy glanced up towards the thrones and was creeped out to meet the gazes of most of those sitting and standing there. They were talking, that much she could see, but she couldn't quite make out the expressions on their faces. The two Kings were conversing, and Aiden and Rasuo seemed to be arguing... Rience had stepped forward to get a better view, and upon seeing her gaze he waved enthusiastically. Immediately he was punished by a swift punch in the back of the head by Aiden, who looked upset.

As she watched, one of the uniforms ran up to the platform and Rasuo went forward to talk to him. After a short bit of dialogue, the teacher turned around and flashed a thumbs up to another group of uniforms. Realizing that they were about to start, Katy turned towards her opponent, sizing him up for the first time. He was big, but bigger usually meant slower. He had two swords and probably packed quite a wallop, so she knew she'd have to stay away from them if she could. Her charming opponent, on the other hand, seemed more interested in ogling her than anything else. He was cocky, which would be his downfall. He was big, yes, but she was fast. 'No,' She thought to herself, 'this one won't be a problem.'

The countdown bell began to ring, echoing over the arena. Then came the signal to start, deep, like a gong that reverberated and lingered. Katy began to circle her opponent slowly, looking for a weakness or an opening. He grinned at her, lowered his weapons, and stuck his chest out.

"Come on, sweetheart. I'll let you have the first blow, to be nice." He invited, arms spread. She smirked, and her eyes flickered one last time to the platform. There they were, watching her. Taking a slow, deep breath, she cleared her thoughts and pushed them out of her mind. She could hear Aiden's voice in her head. 'Be calm. Focus. Concentrate on your battle. Confidence. Confidence is key.'

"I will win." Katy whispered forcefully as she shot off like a rocket and jumped, bringing her wooden sword down hard into the left side of his neck, smashing the collarbone before he'd even seen her move. He reeled in shock and in pain, and then he looked angry. While he was still in the process of looking angry, Katy swiftly spun around behind him and delivered another blow to his lower back. This time he cried out and stumbled, falling to his knees as he dropped one of his weapons to clutch at his back.

Taking advantage of his vulnerability, Katy raced forwards while holding her sword underhanded and swiped it up under his shoulder with all of her strength, knocking him off balance as he tried to stand. He flipped over and landed hard on his back, his head snapping backwards. He didn't move when he landed, and a uniform raced over to check his pulse. The uniform then stood, grabbed Katy's hand and thrust it upward, shouting "WINNER". Elation spread through her and she grinned happily as the uniform heaved the student over his shoulders and walked off of the field with him to a group of medics.

Glancing about, she realized that hers was the second match to finish. Shizoku stood on his mat alone, looking bored. The others were all still fighting. Shizoku looked over and Katy gave him a thumbs up with a big grin. He might of laughed, but she couldn't really tell because he was so far away.

All of a sudden a blood curdling scream came from her left and Katy nearly jumped out of her skin. Turning, Katy saw one of the fighters holding his wooden sword upside-down in both hands, repeatedly impaling his opponent who was on her back on the mat, screaming in agony and begging for mercy. She was about to run over when a shadow flashed in front of her and all of a sudden the fighter was being held in the air by his neck.

Katy was shocked when she realized that the man holding him was the same man whom she had encountered in the hallway in the palace earlier, the one whom Rasuo had said tried to poison her with his aura. He had called him an executioner... Looking at this man, he had the same messy brown hair and thin black collar. What had been his name? Service? No...Serkan. The fighter's eyes were rolling into the back of his head, and his hands were grasping at Serkan's. Serkan turned around to look at the platform, receiving a nod from Katy's father.

"Guilty." Serkan stated, and the fighter's body jolted violently before going completely limp. Serkan released him, letting his body crumble to the ground. His opponent had already been taken away and was being cared for by the medics. Serkan began to walk away but he stopped, and his head turned towards Katy. She froze, feeling a bit queasy when his eyes landed on her. He looked puzzled for a moment, then flashed a large grin that showed both of his fangs and shook a finger at her once before disappearing.

Recovering from her queasiness after he was gone, Katy looked around to see that most of the battles had concluded. A lot most likely by an opponent taking advantage of the distraction. There were losers being led over the line to the other half of the arena, and those who had been knocked unconscious but were largely uninjured were being awoken. Katy assumed that the injured ones were simply taken out of the running altogether. Turning around again, Katy gasped and jumped, startled upon seeing her next opponent standing at her side.

Putting a hand over her chest, Katy glared at her opponent while taking a couple steps backward. He looked young, much younger than herself; thirteen, maybe. He was a couple inches shorter than she and still had the round face of a child. His hair was short and a soft blue, and he had large silver eyes. He didn't look like much, but he'd managed to stand at her side without her even noticing his approach. Certainly, even though there'd been such a distraction, she had never let her guard down.

The boy smiled at Katy and tilted his head to the right, quietly observing her. At least, his lips were smiling, but his eyes were cold. There was something distinctly and disturbingly un-childlike about him. He was a demon of course, so it was to be expected, but Katy couldn't help but be unnerved. Even the tiny hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end just from looking at him.

Suddenly embarrassed at showing such fear and weakness however briefly, Katy ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath to steady herself. Swinging her sword in small circles at her side to loosen up her wrist, through the corner of her eye she searched for a weakness in her opponent. He was small, which most likely meant that he was fast. Also, he wasn't carrying a weapon. At least, none that she could see. He had next to no muscle tone, either, which ruled out hand to hand combat. This probably meant that he had powers that didn't require physical attacks.

"You're name is Katy, isn't it?" His quiet voice sounded just as young as he looked. "You're the princess, are you not?"

"I am." Katy answered calmly, keeping her face blank to mask her surprise.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, unmoving.

"Fighting. And you? Aren't you a little young to be here?" She asked with a raise of an eyebrow. His smile turned to a grin and he turned his head upright.

"I'm graduating. Some people aren't what they seem. You'd think they'd of taught that to you, of all people. I know I look young, but I'm actually eighteen. My name is Killua, and I'm a soul eater, so I age slower than normal demons." He answered as though it were the natural response, and inwardly Katy gawked at his openness.

She kept her face blank, but there were many thoughts going through her mind. A soul eater? Weren't they supposed to have been wiped out ages ago? They were one of the most feared and hated types of demons, because in order to survive they had to devour souls daily. Aiden had taught her that they were a particularly virulent breed that usually preferred devouring fresh souls rather than going to a supply house to devour previously extracted ones. One soul eater could devour as many as fifteen souls in a day - take into account a lifespan several centuries long, and it adds up to hundreds of thousands of deaths, just to feed one.

Most of all, Katy was surprised that he'd freely volunteered such information. She could see that he was strong, but he was still so young. Large rewards had been offered for the heads of any soul eaters, and if it was found out that he was one, he'd have the strongest assassins and bounty hunters in the realm out to kill him. Why would he freely volunteer such information, to a complete stranger no less? Caught off guard and overwhelmed by such a confession and the thoughts that followed, Katy didn't even hear the countdown bell begin.

The mat where she'd been standing cracked as it froze, and under the hot sun you could still see the cold vapor rise and dissipate. Having avoided the attack by milliseconds, Katy stood in a defensive pose and stared her opponent down. The only part of him that had moved was his right arm, which had outstretched to fire off his attack. If Katy had been any normal demon, she'd of been an icicle. Outraged at such a trick, she shut down all thoughts in order to focus upon her fight. Killua sneered at her.

"You must either be extremely untalented, or otherwise have had a very poor teacher. Are you sure you're the princess?" He teased. He was trying to get a rise out of her, to make her act without thinking and let her anger take control. He was underestimating her. She'd already made one obvious and dangerous mistake; she certainly wasn't about to make another one.

"Aw, what's the matter? Don't want to talk? Fine by me!" Killua yelled, and at the last word he threw out his arm again and unleashed a fast stream of pale blue cloud-like energy. This time, Katy dodged it easily, but the energy continued to stream out as the boy followed her with his arm. Running in a circle around him and careful not to step on any part of the frozen mat, she kept herself out of reach.

Very suddenly she stopped and in a split second did a backflip over the jet of energy and darted with lightning speed first to the right, then to the left, taking advantage of the boy's moment of surprise. She was at his side instantly, locking her right foot behind his left leg and pulling it right out from under him. Backwards he fell, but before his body ever touched the ground Katy had her sword up and with nearly all of her strength she brought the length of it down across his abdomen, knocking the wind out of him and rendering him unconscious even before he slammed into the mat.

Stepping back as a uniform ran over to inspect her beaten opponent, Katy wiped a bit of sweat off of her brow. Looking around, she noted that the only ones still watching her on the platform were Aiden and Rience. Rience caught her glance and gave her a grin and a thumbs up, while Aiden looked lost in thought. The others were all looking off in the same direction, the Kings talking amongst themselves. Following their eyes, she found herself looking at Shizoku. He looked bored, having already won his fight. He was standing in the middle of the mat with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Losing interest, all Katy could do was wait.

Unlike Shizoku, she kept her eyes open and her defense up. Katy was determined not to show such vulnerability again. Words from one of Aiden's speeches echoed through her head. "Always expect that which is unexpected." He'd told her. "Doesn't that make the unexpected expected? What good is expecting the unexpected if the unexpected is expected? Why not just expect everything?" She'd asked cheekily, earning a smack to her head in return.

When all of the fights were over, uniforms came onto the field. Katy watched as all the winners and losers on the losers side were ushered off of the mats and to the sidelines. Once they were settled, the uniforms came back on the field to relocate the fifteen remaining fighters, moving them to new mats and pairing up opponents. One came up beside Katy and gripped her arm with a strong hand. She let him silently guide her to a different spot.

Katy's next opponent was already standing there casually when she stepped on to the mat. He was pretty tall, maybe a foot and a half taller than she. He wasn't wiry, but he wasn't bulky either; he was lean. He had tattoos all over his body, which drew the onlooker's eye. They were tribal tattoos, like those worn in Caelan, a realm not on great relations with the Nether Realm. He also had yellow-blonde hair of different lengths - past his eyes in the front and to the nape at his neck in the back. He grinned to show two inch-long fangs quite unlike the canines of normal demons.

Leaning against his right shoulder was his choice in weapon. The wooden sword was the same size and shape as a wakizashi, which is a sword shorter than the katana. Looking her opponent over, the only clothes he was wearing were what looked to be the remains of pants. They were torn and tattered, and though they still hid his naughty bits, not much else was covered. 'Eye candy...it'll be a shame to cover it with bruises...' She thought despite herself. He laughed, waking her from her thoughts.

"Funny...I was just thinking the same thing about you." His voice was smooth as silk when he spoke, and he looked quite amused.

"A Vampire and a Reader, eh? You certainly are very interesting. This might actually be a worthwhile fight." Sounding confident, Katy decided to voice her thoughts since he could read them anyway. But how was she supposed to plan when he could see what she was planning?

"I'm flattered that you think so. Myself, I'd just about given up on there being any competition here at all. Bunch of weaklings." Contempt showed in his voice as he glanced towards the horde of students who had lost. He brought his wooden sword down from his shoulder and swung it once, twice through the air in front of him, as though testing it out.

"Are they a bunch of weaklings, or are we abnormally strong?" Katy asked with a grin.

"We'll see soon enough." He replied, grinning back. She was going to have to rely on her instincts. She knew that she couldn't stop herself completely from thinking about her attacks, so she'd have to act immediately as soon as the ideas came into her head, before he had the chance to read them and counterattack or guard.

"Oh. I'm Cat. What's your name?" Katy asked, curious and being sure to keep any thoughts about herself far from her mind.

"Hiraos." He answered. He didn't say anything else after that, no doubt just listening in as Katy rambled on in her head. They didn't have to wait very long before the countdown bells. The crowds were starting to get restless, and no one wants a crowd of bored demons. As the sound of the bell echoed through the arena and fighting began to commence around them, neither opponent moved.

"Waiting for me to attack first?" Katy questioned. He simply nodded with a smile, which irked her because he'd just sit back and read her attacks as she did all the work. Accepting it as unavoidable, Katy darted forward suddenly. She feinted a left, spun to the right and jumped into the air with her sword held back over her head.

Hiraos was already out of the way when she brought her sword down, having dodged her easily. Fast and silent he moved in behind her back before she'd noticed. He ran a finger down the length of her neck and to her shoulder, and his hot breath on her neck made her shiver. Face bright red, her mind immediately shut off and she flashed out, appearing on the other side of the mat.

"What's the matter, love? Are you cold? You've got goosebumps, and..." Hiraos smiled innocently as he nodded in her direction with his eyes on her chest. Katy flushed even redder but she didn't look down-- she could feel how hard her nipples were.

"That's cheating." She replied, sounding a little out of breath. He grinned.

"Come on, I just wanted a bite..." Hiraos looked at her wistfully. "You've got such a lovely neck..." Katy's goosebumps took a long time to settle. She had to force herself to calm down. He was trying to illicit some kind of reaction from her, something to make her lose her concentration. 'I'm on to you...' She thought deliberately. He acted as though he hadn't heard.

Maybe there was some way to jumble up her thoughts so that he couldn't understand them? Could he see images, or memories? Katy had to assume that he could. Perhaps she could assault his mind with so many things at once that /he/ would be unable to concentrate. Focusing on him, he wasn't smiling anymore, but he didn't look worried either.

"It's my turn, I suppose?" Hiraos asked delicately. He grinned wickedly and in a flash he was standing in front of her, face to face. Before she could register what had happened his fist sunk into her stomach. The wind went out of her and she doubled over, her mind racing despite the blinding pain. 'Did he teleport?!' Katy asked herself, but before she could finish her thought she was on the ground, her lower back in excruciating pain. She turned and looked up at him in time to see his foot coming down, but she was gone before it ever touched her.

'No, he didn't teleport...' Katy climbed painfully to her feet, appreciating more than ever the existence of oxygen. 'He's just really fast...' Her stomach ached so painfully, she was sure that if she had eaten anything that morning she would of spewed it everywhere. The searing pain in her back didn't lesson, but she could still move her legs, so she wasn't worried.

A large cloud passed by over both suns, casting them in shadow. Hiraos' eyes glittered in the darkness. Katy took a deep breath; she could feel the underlying tingle of her injuries already healing themselves. Then she grinned; it was her turn. At once she began to fill her mind with images and memories, some interesting and others purely random. Then she attacked.

It was hard to keep her concentration with her mind abuzz, but at least he couldn't either. //Featherball. A large canopied four-post bed. Both moons full in the sky. A tiny crimson asinith twirling in the hand of a child. A dark furnished chamber, lit only by a fireplace. A cold stone-and-steel room with a small steel table, complete with shackles.// Katy appeared behind his back, and saw him hesitate. Seizing her chance she swung her bokken sideways to hit him in the stomach as he had hit her. The sword shook wildly upon impact and she nearly dropped it.

Katy appeared on his other side as he swiped at where she'd been, keeping up the mental barrage. //Two hellhound pups fighting over a piece of meat. A feast laid out over several long tables. A view of the city at dawn from somewhere very high.// She adjusted her next swing for one of the few vulnerable spots on armor demons. //A child staring up into the mouth of a beast as it lunges toward her, followed by a spray of blood and the beast falling to the ground with a crash, a sword through it's head. A woman's foot stepping on it to pull the sword free.//

There was a loud crunch as her sword connected, and Hiraos' face turned purple and contorted in pain. An audible groan went through the crowd as he fell to his knees, dropping his sword to grab himself. His armor defense dropped and Katy acted quickly, making three swift strikes to his stomach, back, and collarbone, and he dropped like a rock. She even poked him with her sword, but he was out.

Stepping back when the uniforms came, Katy stood up tall. She grinned when they named her winner, and glanced over to the platform. Rasuo grinned back, clapping softly. Her father, too, had a small smile on his face. Her grin faded to a polite smile as her eyes met those of the King of Hell, who gave her a slight smile back. The sudden roar of the crowd stole their attention, and Katy looked around in time to see one of the fighter's flying backwards through the air to land sprawled on the ground. Looking back for his opponent, Shizoku was just lowering his sword to his side. She stared at him quizzically, her curiosity peaked.

Katy was distracted when a man walked into the middle of the arena holding something in his hand. This was the same man who had given them the first speech, whom she assumed was the headmaster of the academy. He walked into their midst and stared around at them, looking proud. Then he tapped what he was carrying, which looked like a short fat stick with a ball at one end, and a loud squeaking sound echoed from all around the stadium.

"Excuse me..." He called into it, his voice booming. The crowds, who'd all begun to murmur after the fights, didn't quiet. "Give me your attention you pitiful bunch of miscreants!!" The headmaster yelled into his stick, and Katy covered her ears and winced. That worked. He cleared his throat again. "Your Highnesses, Ladies and Gentlemen! These eight fighters are the best in the Academy, the top of their class! These are this year's finest fighters! And after they take a short break, you'll get to see them fighting each other, one at a time, for the chance to apply for the highest positions in our military! So get yourselves a bite to eat, take a walk, stretch out, and be back here in one hour!"

Finished, the headmaster motioned for them to follow him, and the eight of them walked behind him as a group. Katy fell in step beside Shizoku, who gave her a sidelong grin, which she returned. They followed the headmaster through a door in the stadium and down a long hallway. Katy was somewhat surprised for some reason; she hadn't imagined the stadium as a building you could enter. They were walking underneath the crowds of demons, steadily going downhill. They stopped at a large room flagged by uniforms who eyed them over. The headmaster motioned them on, and left.

Inside the room were long tables laden with food, an area for them to sit or lay down, a TV and a first aid station. The group spread without instruction, four going to the food, one to the first aid station, and three to sit/lay and play with the TV. Katy went for the food because she hadn't eaten since that morning. The spread was impressive, but not as good as home. Shizoku leaned back on a long black couch watching the TV as one of the others played with it and flipped through the channels.

Katy went to sit next to Shizoku with a plate in one hand and a cranat, a piece of fruit in the other. The cranat was bright orange on the outside and dark red on the inside, and was sweet like an apple with a pitt in the center. On the plate was a large roasted bahmut leg, a large four-legged grazing beast with two foot-long horns and thick woolly fur that tasted like fowl. Katy offered the cranat to Shizoku, who declined with an amused smile.

There was a muffled commotion in the hallway, and Katy looked over to see one of the men from the platform standing in the doorway. He entered the room and waved Katy over. She put her plate down and walked over to him, unsure of how to present herself. This was Ryuu, the General of Arms, whom she'd seen around the palace a few times but had never actually talked to. It wasn't completely out of place to see him there, he was after all in charge of all branches of the military, and that included the Academy. It was a bit out of place, however, for him to come and single out one of the students before they'd finished the tournament.

"Yes sir?" She asked softly as she looked up at him. The decoration high on his forehead was a thin tribal tattoo with a tiny black stone in the center.

"I've got a message from your father." His voice was low. "He says to tell you that you're doing well, and he doesn't regret having Aiden as your teacher. He also says if you win the tournament, he'll give you a surprise. But if you lose, he'll disown you." She snorted, it sounded just like her father.

"Anything else?"

"Rasuo says you should tear your clothes more. Ialu looks forward to meeting you, though that was more of a statement than a message." Katy chuckled.

"Okay, thank you sir." She beamed up at him, gave a short bow, and went back to sitting next to Shizoku and eating. Ryuu stared after her for a moment before leaving.

"What was that about?" Shizoku asked softly, taking her cranat from her when she offered it again and taking a bite.

"Just my father sending me a message." Katy replied, taking a big bite of the bahmut leg. She was completely oblivious to the two pairs of eyes watching her; one from Shizoku next to her, and the other from someone across the room.