"Oh...I think I just walked passed here. But I'm not sure..." A young girl around the age of 16 found herself walking up and down the streets of the city. She had brown hair with teal tips and teal roots it looked as though she had dyed her hair brown to hide her natural color, but the tips had faded and the rest of her hair was growing out. She wore an odd outfit, something you wouldn't see everyday on the city streets of Japan. The most peculiar part of her outfit was the goggles she wore around her neck and the small star wand she had hooked on her belt. She stood outside of a small drug store, surrounded by taller more business looking buildings, with both arms on her hips. She blew the bangs from her face and looked up and down the streets.
"Dammit! Why is this city so hard to navigate through! This is so much different from Hokkaido." She stamped her foot in frustration and turned her head to the side. "Are you sure you saw him around here Pokuur?"
Floating next to her was a small, elderly looking Koropokkur holding in his hands a torn Lilly pad. He looked at her with lazy eyes and simply nodded his head.
"Well do you think you could be a little more specific? Like what building he was around or who he was with or what direction he was going in?"
The koropokkur simply shook his head. The girl sighed heavily and looked up into the light blue sky. "Oh Horo...it's been over three years..."
Over the next few days, Rose and Horohoro seemed to become inseparable. They trained together, ate together, complained together, everything but bathe and sleep together. It was good for Rose, she felt like she finally had someone she could rely on, someone who wouldn't betray her. She began to open up more and more with the time she spent with Horohoro.
It was now less than a week from Rose's fight and the two of them were in the middle of their daily torture provided by Anna; they were in the middle of their 5-mile jog across town. They ran even with each other, not on purpose either, the two of them were very close in speed, stamina, and endurance.
"You know," Rose began, "before Aquamarine became my guardian ghost, I envied you guys for being able to train every day for this fight. When I worked alongside Pirka doing chores, I would watch you guys train and wish that I could be along side you. But now that I am, I'm starting to wish I didn't have a guardian ghost!"
Horohoro laughed. "This routine is torture. And I had to endure it the first time around. And now that the fight has come back I have to deal with it again. Oh why Great Spirit! Why!"
Rose shook her head at Horohoro as he pretended to beg and pray to the Great Spirit.
"You know Horo; if this fight hadn't come back I wouldn't have met you guys. I wouldn't have anyone to talk to like this any more. Shoot I don't even know if I would still be alive or even sane for that matter. So...despite all this hard work Anna is making us do, I'm glad that this tournament has come around again. I'm glad..."
Horo looked at Rose a little embarrassed by what she had said. He was only joking around and he figured she knew that. He felt a little guilty and a little sad but decided to change the mood of the conversation; he was good at that.
"But why oh why must we run like this in the middle of winter!"
Rose laughed, "I thought you liked the cold?"
"Well yea but only when there's snow on the ground!"
She laughed again and the two of them continued on their way.
They ran for another two and a half miles before Rose started to slow down. Horo looked at her as he almost ran ahead of her and gave her an intimidating glace.
"You runnin' out of steam already? We've only got another mile and a half left to go."
She finally stopped and stood staring into the windows of a small caf. "D'you think Anna would find out if we made a quick pit stop and got a smoothie or something?"
"Er...I don't have any money really. I wouldn't mind it. If she did find out we'd just be stuck with an extra heap of training."
Rose walked into the door, pulling a few dollar bills from her pocket. "Don't worry, I've got some cash. I'll pay. We can run and drink at the same time, so we'll only lose a few minutes. What flavor do you want?"
Horo stayed outside while Rose went in to order a strawberry banana smoothie and a plain strawberry. He shuffled his feet a little, trying not to look like a stalker to the people walking passed. When he heard his name being called he turned to the door thinking it was Rose, only to find out it was coming from behind him.
"Horo? Is...is that really you?"
He looked down the street to see a girl around his age, wearing the clothes native to his hometown. He gave her an unusual look before it dawned on him.
"Leika?"
Her face lit up. "Oh Horo! I just knew you would remember me! It's been so long, I never thought I'd see you again! Oh Horo..." She shuffled her feet towards him, like she wanted to embrace him, but she held herself back.
Horohoro continued to look at her almost baffled. "Leika, what are you doing here? Why did you enter this fight? I thought you hated violence."
"I...I do." She stammered. "But our village isn't doing too well and we're in desperate need of help. So I volunteered to participate in this year's fight on behalf of our village. And I knew I would be okay because I knew you would be here. I knew that if I found you, you'd protect me like you used to."
Horohoro sighed. "Leika, we're not kids any more. This is a lot bigger than you seem to think. I can't protect you. This is something you have to do on your own. This fight...it's too much for you."
"But Horo! Tch how did you even know I was in this fight? I thought you'd be happy to see me!"
"Look that's not important. You just need to get out it with your life while you still can."
"Horo...you can't mean "
"Sorry Horohoro, they were out of strawberry so I got you raspberry instead I hope that's okay..." Rose walked out from the caf and accidentally interrupted Leika. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you two were talking. I didn't mean to interrupt..."
"It's okay Rose. It was nothing important." Horohoro stared down Leika; Rose could feel the tension thicken around them.
Leika shifted her glance from Horo to Rose. Her brow creased angrily as she tried to control her temper. "So that's how you knew. You're Rose eh." She quickly grabbed for the wand on her belt, then threw her arm back like she was holding a baseball bat and called out to her spirit all in one fluid motion. Her wand began to glow a cold blue as she prepared to swing at Rose who was unarmed and currently spiritless as part of Anna's training. Rose was taken completely off guard and could only stand there bracing herself. Horohoro threw himself in front of Rose, hoping to stop the attack; Leika wouldn't dare hurt him.
As he predicted, she halted her assault, her wand falling just short of Horohoro's right cheek. He could feel the cold air emanating from the wand and settling like dry ice on his face.
"Why did you protect her?" She asked him intensely.
"Because she's my friend. If she would have attacked you, I would have done the same."
"Somehow I doubt that." Leika withdrew her wand and started off down the street. "Four days from now, I'll annihilate you for real. Youd better be prepared Rose Hafwen." With that she was gone.
As soon as she was out of sight Rose and Horohoro continued on their run; neither of them said a word to each other.
Click
There was tension between Rose and Horo for the next few days. They didn't talk that much and almost avoided each other all together. Horohoro didn't know what to say to Rose or how to explain the situation, he could only assume that it would be a sore subject and so he didn't bother bringing it up. Rose on the other hand, didn't care all too much about what had taken place but decided to avoid bringing it up so as not to offend or upset Horohoro. It was a grueling cycle.
Finally the day of Rose's fight arrived. It was nearing 4 o'clock and she had decided to prepare what she needed. She gathered her key and keychains and tried to devise a plan of action with her spirits.
"My opponent knows Horohoro, they both lived in the same area of Hokkaido. And judging by her actions during her temper tantrum earlier this week, I'd say she uses ice based attacks. Because I use water based attacks, I have a feeling that this fight isn't going to be easy, she may even end up with the upper hand." Rose sighed and looked over to Mar. "Is there anyway for me to use attacks benefited from the other elements of the nature star?"
Aquamarine shook her head. "I'm afraid not. If you were a master of the star points then yes, but that takes intense training, years of study, and strong reserve. You've barely scratched the tip of iceberg in your studies. Sorry My Lady Rose, but you will have to fight with what you've got now."
"And there's nothing you can help me with Cascada?"
'Afraid not Master. What Mar said was all true.'
"Guess I'll just have to rely on brute strength. Lets just hope my mana can outlast hers."
"'Scuse me, Rose?"
Horohoro appeared outside of Rose's room, standing in the entrance a little uneasily. She gave him a reassuring smile, signaling it was okay for him to be there.
"Hey Horo. What is it?"
He walked in fidgeting his hands a little. "Listen...about Leika."
"I don't want to know." She said quickly.
"But "
"Look whatever happened is between you two. I don't want to get involved. I don't need to get involved. I'm sure you both have your reasons and I don't have the right to pry. So whatever it is just keep it to yourself. At least until after the fight, okay?"
He nodded slowly. He understood where she was coming from. "At least let me give you a tip on how to fight her."
Rose shook her head. "I don't want that either. I want this to be a fair fight. I don't want her getting angrier with me because you helped me. As both our friend, it's your job to stay neutral in this situation."
Rose was stubborn and it was getting to Horohoro. All he could do was nod and agree with her, because he knew she was right. "Well then let me give you this. It's a present that I bought for you and if you don't accept it then you're not a very good friend. Lets just call it payment for the smoothie the other day. Now you have to take it."
He handed her a small charm in the shape of a sun. It was another keychain that she could use in battle somehow everyone seemed to be able to guess her means of attack.
"Thanks Horo. I'll keep it with me at all times."
He smiled and walked out the door without another word.
Rose looked at the charm in her hand. This may come in handy later, but until I find time to mess around and see what it does, I'd better avoid using it...
She placed the charm in her pocket since it didn't have a ring around it to place on her necklace. She finished up her preparations and quickly changed into her battle outfit; she could only wear her pants because her shirt was torn to shreds in her last fight and would do little to protect her. She wore her plain white tank top in replacement of her battle shirt. She threw her hair up in a messy ponytail and was ready to walk out the door. Before leaving the house she made a quick pit stop into Horohoro's room.
"Are you coming to watch the fight today?"
He thought about it for a minute before responding. "Yea...I think so. I probably shouldn't but I want to see Leika."
Rose nodded. "Alright then. The fight is at the Starlit Gardens outside of town. It's about an hour's taxi drive away so I'm leaving now to get there early for my fight. It's not until 6:30 so by the time I get there it'll be 5:30-6ish. Well, if I see you there I will, if I dont I don't."
It took a little longer for Rose to get to the area of her fight because of traffic. She hadnt realized it was rush hour and she regretted leaving as late as she did. It was a little past six when she did arrive so she only had a little while longer to wait. She sat down in the grass and decided to just sit there until either Leika arrived or her fight began.
Leika was a little late showing up and had managed to make it moments before their fight.
"Rrf! The pager should come with directions to your fight or something!" She called out in frustration.
Rose calmly lifted herself from her seat on the grass and brushed the dust and blades of grass from her pants. She carefully removed the key from her necklace and as she addressed Leika, she placed Mar into oversoul form.
"I was beginning to think that you weren't going to show. I guess you proved me wrong."
Leika did the same as Rose, putting Pokuur in her staff. "Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this fight for the world. Any chance to put your sorry butt in place."
"I could say the same to you."
The two of them stood there with their weapons drawn, awaiting the countdown to the fight. After what seemed like hours, the pagers started beeping and the countdown began.
"You're going down Rose Hafwen."
"Hate to burst your bubble, but I'll be the one claiming victory in this fight, Leika Kimorei."
"Tch! That's exactly what I said, except you just used bigger words!"
Click
The two of them took no time at all charging at each other. Leika swung her wand towards Rose, shooting icicles at her as Rose had expected. She deflected them with ease and continued to make her way to Leika.
It looks like she can only launch her ice by swinging her wand. So if I can make my way closer to her and fight in close combat, then I should gain the upper hand. The only problem is making my way to her without getting knocked out in the process.
Rose swung her sword, releasing a slice of water in Leikas direction. But just as Rose had expected, Leika froze it before it could reach her. Leika shot another icicle at Rose. She thought she had cleared it, only to be struck in the ankle. Rose, who was in a steady stride, fell face first to the ground, hitting hard. She looked at her ankle and not to her surprise saw blood trickling down her foot.
Guess I won't be getting very far very fast...
Rose stood up and continued to make her way towards Leika, though it seemed to be in vain. Leika swung her wand once more, this time shooting ice out from every point on the star. Rose dove to the ground, tumbling, narrowly escaping the ice. She got up on one knee trying to recover, only to be attacked once more in the same fashion. Rose didn't have time to avoid this assault so she put her arms up over her face in an attempt to protect herself. Her arms and shoulders were torn up, spurting blood around her.
"Rose! Get up! Fight back! I know you can beat her!" It was Horohoro calling from the sidelines.
Rose was both surprised to see him and a little embarrassed. This was one of her more pitiful fights yet.
Leika saw him and heard him encourage Rose. She grew frustrated and began using more powerful attacks. "I'll show you who beats who!" She charged Rose swinging her wand like mad, sending ice flying everywhere. Rose stood up and back flipped to avoid the attack once again. To Rose's advantage, Leika made her way closer to Rose and the two of them ended up in close quarters, like Rose had wanted. Rose gripped her jian tightly and swung upwards at Leika striking her in the left arm. Leika stumbled backwards and gripped her arm momentarily in pain. Rose swung her sword again, but this time Leika retaliated. She swung her wand at Rose, narrowly swiping her across the face. Rose winced in pain as blood trickled down her right cheek. Quickly Rose slashed at Leika again, forcing the wand from her hands. Rose thought she had won, with Leikas staff a few feet away she thought it would be a piece of cake. She was wrong. Rose swung at Leika to deliver the finishing blow, however Leika froze ice around her hands and grabbed the blade of Rose's sword Rose's guess of Leika needing the wand to attack was proven wrong. She gripped it tightly and managed to rip it from Rose's hands. She took the sword and threw it in the opposite direction of her staff. Rose and Leika eyed each other. At the same instant, the two of them darted after their weapons, trying to make it before the other. Because of Rose's ankle injury, Leika reached her wand first and sent icicles flying at Rose. They fit her in the back causing her to fall forward, still a foot away from her sword. She winced in pain as she lay on the ground.
Dammit! I can't lose this! I'm so close! If only I could... Rose felt something jabbing her in the leg which distracted her from her original train of thought. She thought it was a twig until she remembered the charm Horohoro had given her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the small sun charm. She stared at it for a moment, glancing back and forth between it and her jian. Finally it dawned on her.
"If I can turn my key into a sword by writing the inscription on the back of it, maybe I can do the same for this."
She wiped the blood off of her cheek and flipped the charm so its backside was up. Quickly she scribbled something on the back of it.
"Finally giving up are you? Too weak to move from that spot? I told you you were no match for me. Why don't you just give up so that I don't have to hurt you any more?"
Rose scrambled to her feet as Leika made her way towards her.
"Sorry Leika. But I told you at the beginning of this fight that I was going to be the one claiming victory here. I can't afford to lose."
"How do you intend to fight without a weapon?"
"Who said I didn't have a weapon?" Rose smirked, causing Leika to give her a questioning look. "Mar, transfer from the key to the sun! Now!"
Rose didn't know what to expect when she placed Mar in the sun, so when a bracelet appeared around her wrist she was very surprised. The bracelet hovered around her wrist letting off a strong heat; each ray from the sun was a separate piece that could be removed from the link. Rose smirked; she had her trump card.
"Thank you Horo."
Rose stretched her right arm out, where the bracelet was, with her wrist down, and placed her left hand, palm up, just short of her wrist. She sent a surge of mana to her right hand and shot off one of the rays. It hit its mark. It knocked into Leika's left shoulder and exploded in a burst of flames on impact. Leika let out a cry of pain. Rose was a little stunned by what had happened but she knew this was an official fight and she was in no position to harbor sympathy. She released two more, one hitting Leika's opposite shoulder and the other hitting her right hip.
"Are you ready to give up yet Leika? I think we all know who's going to win this now."
Leika breathed heavily and wiped a trick of blood from her mouth. "Not...yet. I'm going to prove to you and Horo that I am not useless. And that I am worthy of being in this fight."
Leika lifted her wand and twirled it all around her. She began to gather the last of her mana to carry out her final attack.
"Let's put everything we've got into this last attack."
Rose smirked and began to gather all of her remaining mana. "May the strongest shaman remain."
Leika looked at Horohoro out of the corner of her eye. "I'll show you who's better worth your support."
Rose could feel the ground rumble beneath her as Leika prepared a heap of snow, an avalanche, to bury her. Rose both braced herself and gathered her power. The rays on her bracelet all came together to form one large orb of fire. The two of them stood silently, all outside noise was blocked out, it was just the two of them, ready to sacrifice everything.
Finally they launched their attacks. Rose launched her orb and it collided with Leika's wave of snow, it did nothing to slow down the attack, it merely shot straight through the avalanche unfazed. Leika was assaulted by the orb and Rose was buried in the snow.
Silence fell over the area once again. Horohoro could not believe the sight that lay in front of him. His knees shook with shock and his hands were clammy. He stumbled and stammered as he called out to both girls.
"Rose!! Leika!!"
The only sounds that could be heard were the echoes of Horohoros cry and the beeping of the oracle pagers announcing the results of the fight.
Pictures in Results
TADA!! YAY FOR CLIFFHANGER!! Doncha just love me? Anyways I'm working on the next one for real this time. I really like how its finally picking up. It's been so boring for the longest time and FINALLY ACTION! I love it!
Anyways this is a picture of Leika. She was originally based off of a friend of mine - I just threw her in here because my friend loved Horohoro, but I messed up Leika's personality and my friend hated her. ^^;; (I did too in all honesty) So I changed her around and hopefully my friend will approve this time around. >.>
You get a bonus picture too! Click the "See All Possible Results" button and you'll see what Rose's sun bracelet looks like.
Well stay tuned for the next chapter - The Elemental Shaman (part thirteen) The Prelims: Final Round!
See ya next time!
Okay please don't make fun of me. ^^;; I drew this in like 5 minutes on Photoshop after I finished writing this chapter. I wanted to get it up here so that you guys had an idea what it looked like. I know it's crappy but a bad referance is better than no referance. ^^;;
