Chapter 14

Katachi had some time to himself again until the next match. He chanced the opportunity and decided to understand more about the tournament's structure.

In a normal scenario he could openly walk towards the tournament board, but from the past experience of being hounded by students wanting his autograph, Katachi considered a more subtle route. He walked past the teacher's lounge, down the stairs to the neglected toilets before going a huge loop around the academy.

K: (It looks clear enough.)

Katachi carefully studied the chart before marking out the eliminated students. Sure enough, he slowly got a rough idea of the opponents he would face.

K: (I just beat that girl... What was her name, Chopstick Nea? I can cancel her out. So that leaves me with a bunch of potential challengers for the divisional best of two. Pitin, Djinnje, Iven, Vikarr or Deku- !)

Deku. He made his stand clear as a powerful magus that plucked out a chunk of land and threw it at Zul. He showcased one of the more severe and violent aspects of magic and his charisma was incredible. The name that was so far away in the chart on the preliminaries suddenly became so close to him. That was truly frightening to have all sense of security evaporate away in that mere realization.

K: (If given a choice I would personally prefer Vikarr over Deku since that guy uses Sha'koth based spells, but the chances of him winning seems grim against a counter magus. Also, I might eventually face Deku since he will likely crush whoever he fights.)

But ruling him out immediately was unwise.

K: (I'll note him down just in case, though... I've seen his technique, after all, so every little bit helps if he has some sort of reversal or trick up his sleeves. I can't say much for the others since I have yet to witness them, but I should work with what I have.)

As he eyed through the foreign names, Katachi finally stopped his eyes at something familiar.

K: (… He's in the tournament as well? How did I not notice him before?)

*** ***

C: "Loar."

Loar snapped back at her with a pissed tone.

L: "... What do you want from me, Cestia?"

C: "I'm, ah... I'm sorry. I-... Your parents, friends and your whole village... I know how important they are to you. And yet, I... I selfishly entered the tournament to get the school-sponsored medicine for my sister."

That was certainly not the time for him to be unreasonable. The child felt ashamed that a stubborn girl like herself would take the initiative to apologize first.

L: "! Oh, that, uhm... It's okay, Cestia. Your sister is way more important to you than my village is to me – You're blood-related, after all. I have my faults for attacking you seriously as well."

C: "Aren't your parents blood-related too? I know you want to make me feel better, but at least make your argument sound first, you idiot!"

Loar's face blushed into a blooming peach.

L: "..."

C: "..."

Since that match, the atmosphere between them became awkward. They were both wrong in their own ways and they simply wished to forget and move on. But the damage had already been done. They were inches away from maiming each other for their own ideals back at the preliminaries.

L: "... I hope we can still be friends."

C: "J-... Just friends, huh."

L: "Uh... Hey, did you hear about that bald guy at the preliminaries?"

With any amount of luck changing the topic would alleviate the discomfiture.

C: "The guy with the blade staff?"

L: "Yeah. Apparently, Minister Lein visited that baldie personally to recruit him."

C: "Wow, really?"

L: "Yeah. 'I was chosen because my leadership skills and situational assessment during the preliminaries was something they were looking for', or so he says. He sure is lucky – He went straight to the Findel Magus Association even though he didn't pass the preliminaries."

C: "The FMA? That's amazing!- Wait, does that mean he would be getting full payment since he's officially working for Findel now?"

L: "Yeah, he did say that."

Unbeknownst to the young boy, that revelation was punishing for the young girl.

C: "..."

L: "W- what's wrong, Cestia?"

C: "I wanted a job to earn enough money for my sister to get better..."

Cestia's voice croaked and her eyes grew red hot with regret.

C: "... But I ended up becoming a stepping stone for someone else."

It could have been her. It could have been a blessing in disguise, but her inelegant performance broke down the stray chance of immediately landing a job that would generate the income necessary for her sister's medicine. And of all the people she lost it to, it had to be that one student with a shine on his scalp that was undoubtedly bad for his health. Cestia's head hung downwards in melancholy.

L: "Ah- ..."

C: "..."

There was little Loar could do except change the topic once more and divert her attention.

L: "... Let's not focus on that any longer – Look, Deku and Vikarr's fight is about to begin! Maybe we can learn a bit from those two. We still have next years' tournaments to come, and we might even beat him next time!"

C: "How could you stay so carefree, Loar!? I'm not in the mood to watch them!!"

His positivism was baffling to her. It made her wonder how he could afford to be so enthusiastic. Did her dilemma not matter to him? Was her problem so trivial that a match between two seniors was more important than her?

L: "Why not?"

C: (Am I just a bother to him? Mother did say that my indelicacy would cost me, but for the one guy I really like to find me displeasing?) "How could you just look away from the problem?! Can't you consider my troubles seriously for once?"

She began to question the boy before her. Perhaps he regarded her presence as though she was some kind of furniture in his room, and her problems trivial. Or perhaps he was secretly cursing her sister and hoping for her death, to treat the talk of helping her with neglect.

L: "It's not like I don't want to talk about your problems, but there's really nothing we can do at this point, is there? I mean, no matter what happens I'll always be there for you! It doesn't matter if you succeed or fail. Your family is my own, and I promise to take care of you, your parents and your sister even when you lose all power to move, speak or see. I might be unconvincing saying this without any immediate action, but I want you to rely on me!"

His words surprised her in unexpected ways. She could feel the conviction in his voice, the presence of an oath established without her knowledge of it. For the first time since they took to liking each other Cestia felt the security and certainty that went beyond mere companionship.

L: "So, it's just that, well... It just can't be helped. It happens, so we only need to move along and not dwell on what we could have done, but rather what we can still do. I... I just don't want to see you sad 'cuz I... Because I love you so much. Can we not talk about something this depressing? Let's just watch the- !?"

Without any warning at all, Cestia rested her head on Loar's shoulder. Her blissful face and swoon said it all – She had fallen in love with the boy named Loar all over again.

C: "I'll abuse you, you know."

He recognized that gentle and tired voice, the adorable pout and the soft warmth on his left he loved. Loar slowly rested his head on Cestia's and wrapped his arm around her shoulders in consolation. The two were closer than ever before.

L: "I wouldn't have it any other way."

*** ***

D: "For those of you who recognize this catchphrase, here's something for you. 'I told you to keep the classroom clean!!' He-hey, how did you like my impersonation of Mister Lamale?"

Deku's extravagant entrance received just as much fanfare as before, if not more.

V: "Hey, Deku. I've improved from last time-"

D: "Let's add on to the previous bet, guys! If I lose this match, I'll drink the healing syrup for two weeks straight!"

Once again Deku seemed to hold no regard for his opponent. This tensed a temple muscle of Vikarr's as he tried his best to receive the respect he deserved.

V: "Looks like you really are going to drink that syrup for two weeks straight after all. Unless, of course, you're not man enough to take it."

It was only with attempted provocation did Deku spin around and actually address poor Vikarr properly.

D: "You'd make me eat my words? You're pretty confident to answer me this boldly! Let's go, little man!"

V: "You don't look so tough. All you did last year was fling sand about!"

Vikarr took his cards out and stood in a battle stance that made him look like a professional killer – Left leg out, right leg in, cards in his hand, and a glare at the champion which signaled that he was ready. One could only wonder how nervous he actually was to dissuade his fear with confident postures.

*** ***

Vikarr expended everything he had. A flutter of wooden cards flocked and circled around him like a hurricane, ready to attack anything close-range like a barrier with many gaps. He was more than prepared to take on the mound of sand Deku hurled at Zul in the previous match. As expected, Deku's left fist glowed yellow and he smashed the ground with it.

The chunk of land converted beneath him was much larger than the chunk before in his first match. He absorbed the 'thing' into his left hand and the yellow liquid-like substance crept onto his torso from his left hand. It coated his entire body spare the head and his size grew significantly. When the yellow substance faded, in its place was a sort of beige, sand-colored armor.

V: (What the- He's not going to throw the sand?!)

More accurately it was sand reconstructed into a form of armor.

D: "Vikarr. I'm going to go all out. Don't hold back, all right?"

Deku's stern voice echoed through the entire coliseum. The students were excited to see Deku fighting seriously, and Vikarr too was taken aback by Deku's declaration. The sand gauntlet on his hand glowed yellow and he punched the sand on the floor once more. This time the chunk of land taken was on a colossal scale, leaving a crater about one-third the field.

The chunk of land was simply absorbed into his body, and he expanded into a humongous golem made completely out of sand towering at twenty-five meters. Vikarr's eyes were wide open and his gaze failed to avert from the giant before him.

V: "Wait, isn't this-... The Gatherer's Golem?!"

He looked like he was recovering from a practical joke. From the looks of it, Vikarr was probably expecting the same handicap Zul received, so it was a shocker to have things go amiss.

With a change in his hand gesture, the cards flew towards the huge golem. It clashed and clattered noisily against the sturdy exterior of the golem to little effect. Some sand came out when the cards struck hard enough but the sand spewing out merely glowed yellow into tiny orbs and flowed back, or more appropriately 'reabsorbed' back into the golem. It was a good effort, but the result was already obvious.

The magic was on a scale that Vikarr couldn't defeat. He did not plan for the fact that Deku could simply choose to protect himself with the sand instead of throwing the bulk at him, which he planned to unleash his trick as some kind of dramatic reveal that would make his juniors admire him. Deku had already won. The golem's right fist was raised and it punched the sand with a powerful blow.

It caused a huge quake that made most students cry out in appall and awe at the Eye of Jedivh conveying the sand projection of the battlefield distorting with its impact. The sand beneath Vikarr flew at his face, obstructing his nose, eyes and ears and most of his other senses. Vikarr couldn't even keep his balance from its sheer magnitude and landed on his posterior.

D: "I could punch you instead of the earth, but that would be unnecessary murder. Wouldn't it?"

With both his face and butt hurt, Vikarr clutched his posterior in agony as he struggled to stand up, rubbing his eyes and blowing sandy air from his nose strongly.

V: "You win. Okay? You win."

Deku smiled briefly at the surrender and the crowd cheered at the amazing display of magic. With the entire golem glowing yellow, he alighted from it and slammed the liquid at the floor, covering the crater perfectly. It was as if nothing happened, though the sole eyewitness was bound to rebuke otherwise. The second match of the second round ended with Vikarr feeling a complicated sense of defeat.