"Wooh, I'm full! Can't wait to work this all off," Anjero said, patting his satisfied stomach as he spotted his teammates. "Oh hey, Kam!"
"Huh? Oh hey, Anjero and Shinkei," Kamira replied, though her usual enthusiasm seemed dampened by something.
"Why do you seem so down in the dumps, Kam?" Shinkei asked with the directness that only younger siblings could manage.
"Oh no, I'm not down, just... focused," Kamira replied, though the way her hands clenched and unclenched suggested her focus involved potential violence.
"Finally, I caught up to y'all! You guys ready?" Mashū called out, slightly out of breath from jogging across the festival grounds.
"Of course we are ready, Mashū," Yokudan confirmed with his characteristic confidence.
"I'll win this competition and buy all that bread. This I swear!" Romaji declared with the fervor of someone making a sacred vow.
"Well, guys, let's all head in," Anjero said, gesturing toward the massive arena structure that dominated the festival grounds.
"Yeah!" they chorused, their collective enthusiasm temporarily overriding individual concerns.
---
As they approached Arena #1, its sheer scale became apparent. The structure could easily accommodate ten thousand spectators, with multiple tiers of seating that offered perfect views of the competition floor below. Banners representing all four guardian schools hung from the rafters, creating a colorful canopy overhead.
"Hello, Guardians!" a familiar voice greeted them at the entrance.
"S.E.I.D.?" Anjero asked, looking at what appeared to be a modified version of their usual AI companion.
"Yes, it is I, as a Seat Guide," the device confirmed. "Now, what region are you all from?"
"We're from South," Kamira replied.
"OK, please follow me to your seats."
As they followed the mechanical guide through the arena's corridors, Mashū caught up to it. "Thanks, S.E.I.D.!"
"*don't think I don't remember what you did to me a few months ago,*" the Seat Guide S.E.I.D. whispered conspiratorially.
"*Gulp* Yeah... sorry about that," Mashū replied, clearly remembering some incident involving unauthorized hacking.
"Please enjoy the show and continue to keep this world safe," the guide said more formally before departing.
"Thanks," they replied as they settled into their designated seats in the South section.
The arena floor stretched out below them like a gladiatorial colosseum, its surface marked with various lines and boundaries for different types of competition. Massive screens displayed close-up views for spectators in the upper tiers, while sophisticated sound systems ensured every word would be heard clearly.
The intercom crackled to life, and Hajime's voice filled the arena with official ceremony.
"Guardians and other spectators, welcome to the first annual Guardian School Festival! We have a great day planned for you all. We'll have the five-mile relay race, ultimate tag, and the obstacle throw. Of course, at the end, we'll be having the tournament. But first, let's get this started with an exhibition match between two experienced guardians!"
The crowd's response was deafening—thousands of voices raised in anticipation and excitement.
"In this corner, we have the one-winged master of steel himself—RAFAERU!"
"Yeah, let's go!" Rafaeru called out, raising his arms to acknowledge the crowd's enthusiasm. He looked completely different from his usual casual demeanor—focused, professional, and radiating the confidence of someone who had never lost a fight he cared about winning.
"Settle down, settle down," Hajime called out, gesturing for quiet.
The arena gradually returned to a manageable noise level, though the energy remained electric.
"And in this corner, we have the always beautiful, angelic-sounding woman—the Soundwave herself, MIGAN!"
"What's going on, everybody?" Migan called out, her voice carrying perfectly throughout the arena without amplification, demonstrating her sound manipulation abilities even in her greeting.
"Alright, the rules are: No killing. Get the opponent out of the ring and the match is over. No serious wounds—meaning no cutting off body parts. OK, is everyone ready?"
"Ready!" Rafaeru confirmed, already falling into a combat stance.
"Ready!" Migan replied, her posture suggesting coiled energy waiting to be released.
"OK, begin!"
---
**The Exhibition Match**
The two combatants began circling each other with the practiced grace of masters who had done this countless times before. Despite the casual banter they'd exchanged earlier, both carried themselves with the deadly seriousness of professionals.
"Sorry, Migan, I don't hit women, but money is involved. HAAA!" Rafaeru announced before launching himself into a jumping kick aimed at her chest.
The impact connected solidly, sending Migan sliding backward several feet, though she maintained her balance with impressive grace.
"Ouch! That's OK—it wouldn't be fun otherwise. I finally get to let loose for once," she replied, rotating her shoulders as if warming up for something significant.
"Oh, OK, let's go then!" Rafaeru said, advancing with renewed aggression.
"Have you ever been punched by sound?" Migan asked conversationally.
"No, and I don't pla—" Rafaeru's response was cut short as an invisible force struck him in the face, sending him staggering backward.
"What was that?" he demanded, touching his cheek where a red mark was already forming.
"Nothing special, just my Sound Bullet," Migan replied with casual satisfaction.
"But I didn't hear you say anything," Rafaeru protested, confusion evident in his voice.
"That's because I put up a sound barrier so you can't hear when I use my spirit," she explained, as if discussing the weather.
"Isn't that cheating, Aado?" Rafaeru called out to the referee.
"Hm... no, she's using her abilities to her advantage," Hajime replied with the neutral tone of an experienced official.
"Didn't want to do this, but you forced my hand. STEEL ARMOR!"
Rafaeru's skin took on a metallic sheen as his spirit manifested, transforming him into a living weapon. The transformation was both beautiful and terrifying—his human form enhanced rather than replaced by the steel spirit's power.
"Did you really think that would help you?" Migan asked with genuine curiosity.
"Yeah, sound bounces off certain metals, right?" Rafaeru replied with confidence.
Migan began launching a barrage of sound-based attacks, each one invisible but clearly impactful as they struck Rafaeru's armored form.
"It does, but my sound is a little special," she said as her attacks continued to affect him despite his protection.
"What do you mean... AHHHH!" Rafaeru's scream echoed through the arena as his own armor seemed to turn against him. "STEEL ARMOR STOP!" he gasped, the transformation ending abruptly. "You're playing dirty, huh? OK, that's fine."
"Hey, I just wanna win, is all," Migan replied with unapologetic determination.
They engaged in close-quarters hand-to-hand combat, their movements a blur of professional martial arts enhanced by years of spirit-guardian training. Each strike was calculated, each defense precisely timed.
"This isn't going anywhere," Migan observed after several minutes of evenly matched combat.
She leaped backward, creating distance between them. "VICE SHOUT!"
A visible beam of concentrated sound energy erupted from her mouth, striking Rafaeru directly in the head.
"Haha, sorry, princess! I got earplugs, so your voice won't work on me," Rafaeru taunted, pulling small protective devices from his ears.
"Shit, sorry. I didn't want to use this, but I want to win this. BASS BOOST and HYPER SHOUT!"
The attack that followed was unlike anything the spectators had ever witnessed. The very air seemed to vibrate with lethal intensity, and Rafaeru dropped to one knee despite his protection.
"What is happening to my body? It feels like my heart is about to burst out of my chest, and these scratching noises are making my ears bleed," he gasped, actual blood trickling from beneath his protective gear.
"Sorry, man, just give up," Migan said, though there was genuine concern in her voice.
"I'll never give up on money! STEEL ARMOR and STEEL SELECTION: ALL!"
What happened next defied everyone's expectations. Instead of the partial transformation they'd seen before, Rafaeru's entire body became living steel—not just armored, but fundamentally transformed into something that was no longer entirely human.
"What's going on? He's getting up," Migan said with growing alarm.
"Oh, I guess he was learning something from that lesson," Hajime observed, his voice carrying a note of pride mixed with concern.
"You're done," Rafaeru said in a voice that no longer sounded entirely his own as he began walking toward Migan with mechanical precision.
"Nothing's working! TREBLE BOOSTED!" Migan unleashed her most powerful attack, but it seemed to have no effect on Rafaeru's transformed state.
"STOP THE MATCH!" Hajime called out with authority that brooked no argument.
"Wait, why?" Migan asked, confusion replacing her combat focus.
"You don't see it... he's clearly unconscious," Hajime explained, pointing to Rafaeru's vacant expression.
Indeed, despite standing and moving, Rafaeru's eyes showed no awareness, no consciousness—just the mechanical continuation of his last command.
"Someone get him to the infirmary. You did good, man," Hajime said gently.
Nurses rushed onto the arena floor, carefully loading the unconscious Rafaeru onto a stretcher as his steel transformation gradually faded back to normal human appearance. The crowd erupted in appreciation for both combatants, their cheers acknowledging the incredible display they'd just witnessed.
---
**In the Stands**
"Wow, that was an amazing fight! They were both so strong," Anjero said, his voice filled with genuine awe.
"Hopefully I can live up to that," Kamira murmured, her earlier mood now making more sense—she was comparing herself to masters of the craft.
"Just wow, I want to fight them both," Mashū said with the enthusiasm of someone who had just seen his future goals defined.
"That's what you got out of this, Mashū?" Yokudan asked with exasperation.
"I don't get it—just a bunch of violence," Aria observed with the practical dismissal of someone who didn't share her brothers' calling.
---
*Back on the Arena Floor**
"Aado, what was that? He seemed to be on a completely different level than me," Migan asked as medical personnel checked her for injuries.
"Come with me to heal those wounds. I'll tell you," Hajime replied, his voice carrying the weight of knowledge that would reshape her understanding of what was possible.
Turning back to the crowd, he raised his voice: "OK, everyone, did you enjoy that?"
"YEAH!" the crowd roared back, their enthusiasm undiminished by the match's dramatic ending.
The exhibition had served its purpose—it had shown every student present exactly what level of mastery they were striving to achieve, and exactly how much further they had to go.
But for the students of Seishin South, it had also demonstrated something else: their instructors were far more powerful than they had ever imagined, and the world of spirit guardians held depths of ability they were only beginning to understand.
The competition was about to begin, but the real education had already started.
And none of them would ever look at their teachers—or their own potential—the same way again.