"OK, everyone, we'll be continuing these events tomorrow! Please enjoy the food and atmosphere until then!" Hajime announced to the crowd.
"Awww!" the crowd responded with disappointment.
"When's the tournament?!" a frustrated spectator called out.
As the arena began to empty, the Seishin South team gathered near the concession area, exhaustion evident in their postures despite their successful day.
"I think we all should get some sleep after today," Kamira said, stretching her arms above her head.
"Yeah, I agree with Kam. I'm so tired," Yoku added, his earlier enthusiasm dampened by the unexpected loss in the race.
"Alright, let's get some food and all go back to our dorms," Mashū suggested, taking charge with his usual confidence.
"I don't know what I want to eat," Anjero mused, scanning the various food stalls. "Shinkei? Shinkei?"
"Yo, isn't that Jeremi?" Shinkei asked, pointing across the festival area.
"Oh snap, it is! Yo, Jeremi, I see you showed up for these games. Good for you," Anjero called out as they approached their former mission partner.
"Oh, hello, Anjero and crew. Don't mind me—just got lost heading to the guest dorm," Jeremi replied with his characteristic monotone, though something in his eyes seemed more alert than usual.
"I have no idea where that is, to be fair," Anjero admitted.
"I'll show you after I get something to eat. Romaji, tag along," Mashū offered.
"Why me?" Romaji protested.
"Gotta talk to you about something privately," Mashū said with a meaningful look.
"Thank you," Jeremi said simply.
After everyone had gotten food, Mashū and Romaji accompanied Jeremi through the campus toward the guest dormitories.
"The dorms are over here, Jeremi. Have a good night," Mashū said as they reached the appropriate building.
"Thanks," Jeremi replied quietly before disappearing into the building.
As they walked back, Romaji voiced what had been bothering him. "Weird—he was just cheery when he saw Anjero. You don't think he's...?"
"No, I think he just tolerates Anjero because they fought together during that mission," Mashū replied.
"Oh, OK. Still pissed he got selected for that mission. I did as much as him and got stuck cleaning bathrooms while he was rewarded," Romaji grumbled.
"I mean, we technically weren't supposed to be there in the first place," Mashū pointed out.
"True, but I was the MVP of that mission," Romaji insisted.
"What did you do besides be the carpool?" Mashū asked with amusement.
"Watch it! For your information, I beat two big armored soldiers by myself," Romaji replied defensively.
"Oh, nice, man. Daps for that, but Anjero beat the top minion and Tenki," Mashū countered.
"With everyone's help," Romaji muttered. "Anyways, why did you want to talk to me?"
"Well, since you brought up the whole war thing, I thought I'd tell you first," Mashū said, his voice growing serious.
"And that is?"
"Have you felt anything off during this whole festival?"
"Off like how?"
"Well, like—WOAH!"
The ground beneath their feet suddenly gave way as a massive landslide erupted from seemingly nowhere. Rocks and earth cascaded down the hillside, carrying both boys toward what would have been a devastating fall.
"You two, grab our hands!" Anjero's voice cut through the chaos.
"Anjero?!" Mashū exclaimed as he saw his teammates lined up at the edge of the slide, forming a human chain to rescue them.
Romaji and Mashū managed to grab onto their friends' outstretched hands, stopping their descent just before they would have fallen into serious danger.
"Wooh! That was close, and I didn't have any time to respond," Romaji gasped as they were pulled to safety.
"You guys alright?" Kamira asked with concern.
"Were you all tailing us?" Mashū asked suspiciously.
"Not important. Yoku, do you see anyone?" Anjero asked, scanning the area above where the landslide had originated.
"No, not at all," Yoku replied after a thorough search.
"Damn!" Anjero muttered under his breath.
"Back to my question," Mashū said, dusting himself off.
"Oh yeah, we were," Anjero admitted.
"We were just curious," Shinkei added sheepishly.
"Well, besides that, I'm glad you all were here because that would've been bad for us," Mashū said gratefully.
"Dang, the story would've been over if I died here," Romaji said with characteristic dramatic flair.
"A random mudslide out of nowhere," Mashū mused. "Wait, didn't you tell me Devanga is here?"
"Yeah, but he's chained up, so I doubt he's just free-roaming around here unless... they let him go," Anjero replied, worry creeping into his voice.
"Well, let's just worry about this tomorrow, everyone. I'm super tired," Yoku said, exhaustion overriding his concern.
"Yeah, the events continue tomorrow. Let's just tell Mr. Aado in the morning," Shinkei agreed.
As they walked back to the dorms, none of them noticed the two figures watching from the shadows above.
"Did you get them?" one shadow asked.
"No, I missed. Damn it!" the other replied with frustration.
"Don't worry about it. Our target wasn't them anyway," the first figure said calmly.
"Got it."
**The Next Day**
"That was a lot yesterday. Man, my neck hurts," Anjero said as he stretched in his dorm room, working out the kinks from sleeping uncomfortably.
"Hey, Anjero, how are you feeling today?" Shinkei asked as he entered the room.
"I'm OK. You?"
"I'm nervous, but I'm ready for this ultimate tag," Shinkei replied with determination.
"Same, bro."
"Where's everyone else?"
"You didn't get the text? They all left early to tell Mr. Aado what happened," Anjero explained.
"We might as well head over to the arena now to warm up," Shinkei suggested.
"Good idea. Shinkei, watch out!" Anjero suddenly shouted.
"AHHHH!" Anjero cried out as something struck his arm with tremendous force.
"Anjero, are you OK?" Shinkei asked frantically as his brother collapsed to one knee.
"I don't know. My arm hurts a lot," Anjero gasped, looking at his arm in horror as the flesh began to discolor and bubble.
"We gotta get you to the nurse's office ASAP—your arm is corroding!" Shinkei said, supporting his brother as they rushed toward the medical facility.
**The Nurse's Office**
"Hm, it's not the worst. Just seems like you've been shot by some type of numbing agent. With your powers, it should subside in no time," the nurse said after examining Anjero's wound.
"How?" Anjero asked through gritted teeth.
"Just take out the poison with your water," she instructed matter-of-factly.
"Oh yeah, forgot about that. Ouch, this stuff hurts like hell," Anjero said as he used his water manipulation to extract the foreign substance from his bloodstream.
"OK, good. You should feel numb for no more than an hour," the nurse confirmed.
"Thanks, Doc," Shinkei said gratefully.
"Not a doctor, but no problem nonetheless. Just leave him here, and I'll study this substance to find out its origin and where it came from," she replied.
"OK, I'll leave you to it!" Shinkei said, preparing to rush out.
"You have a great younger brother," the nurse observed as Shinkei departed.
"He doesn't like showing it, but I know he cares," Anjero replied with a weak smile.
"I see. Well, I'll get to breaking this down, so you just rest till you get your strength back."
"OK," Anjero said, settling back to recover.
**Back at the Arena**
"I wonder what's taking Anjero and Shinkei so long?" Yoku asked, checking his watch for the third time.
"Probably punked out on the event," Romaji suggested dismissively.
"You know you're really an asshole sometimes," Kamira said with irritation.
"But he started it," Romaji protested.
"How?" Kamira demanded.
"Hey, guys, sorry I'm late," Shinkei said as he arrived at their usual meeting spot.
"Where's Anjero?" Mashū asked immediately.
"Oh, he's in the nurse's office," Shinkei replied.
"For what?!" Mashū asked with alarm.
"What happened?" Kamira added, concern evident in her voice.
"Someone or something shot at me and Anjero blocked it. But don't worry—he's OK. He'll just be out of commission for some time," Shinkei explained.
"Well, as long as he wasn't dying from it," Kamira said with relief.
"Hello, young guardians. Where's Anjero?" Hajime asked as he approached the group.
Shinkei quickly explained the morning's events, watching as Hajime's expression grew increasingly troubled.
"Wow, why is this happening?" Hajime asked, more to himself than to the students.
"No idea, sir," Kamira replied.
"Hm," Hajime said thoughtfully. "Did you need something, Mr. Aado?"
"Oh yeah, we're canceling the Ultimate Tag event and heading straight into the tournament today," Hajime announced.
"What? Why?" Kamira asked with disappointment.
"The other schools voted on it. Plus, we weren't getting enough views, so they wanted to skip to the exciting part," Hajime explained.
"Why do you look so excited for this?" Romaji observed, noting their instructor's unusually animated demeanor.
"Anyways, good luck. I have to unfortunately stay neutral through this since I'm the announcer. I got a better idea," Hajime said before departing quickly.
"OK then," Yoku said, watching their instructor leave with obvious confusion.
"Well, apparently the tournament is randomized with a rule that people from the same school don't fight against each other till the finals," Kamira explained, having overheard the announcement details.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so ready for this!" Mashū exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"Finally, I get to show my real skills to everyone," Romaji added with satisfaction.
"Well, let's sound it off and get in there! Shinkei, you can have the honor," Kamira said, extending her hand toward the center of their circle.
"Me? OK, I guess. South Guardians on three! One... two... three!"
"SOUTH GUARDIANS!" they all shouted together.
The arena had been reconfigured overnight for tournament-style combat. The track and throwing areas had been replaced by a single, large fighting ring surrounded by energy barriers designed to contain even the most powerful spirit abilities. The crowd seemed larger than the day before, with anticipation crackling through the air like electricity.
"Welcome back, everyone! We will be skipping to the tournament today since you all asked for it. Let's get this started!" Migan announced from the center of the ring, her voice carrying perfectly throughout the arena.
"WOOH! YEAH! LET'S GO! SHE IS SO HOT!" the crowd responded with enthusiasm that seemed to encompass both the competition and the announcer.
"And the first match will be..." Migan paused dramatically as the tournament bracket appeared on the massive screens around the arena.
"Yokudan Baka versus Osore Akumu!" S.E.I.D. announced through the sound system.
"My revenge off the bat. Interesting," Yoku muttered with grim satisfaction as he stood up from the South section.
"Will both guardians enter the ring?" Migan called out.
As Yoku made his way to the ring, he couldn't resist one last attempt at flirtation. "Dang, Ms. Flare, you lookin' good in that costume."
"Don't make me beat you into submission," Migan warned with amusement.
"Shoot, yes please!" Yoku replied with characteristic inappropriate enthusiasm.
"Huh... anyways, the rules apply to the first match that happened yesterday. No killing, and ring-outs count," Migan announced, trying to maintain professional composure.
Yoku stepped into the ring with determination written across his features. Across from him, Osore entered with the same unremarkable appearance that had fooled everyone during the race—average height, plain features, the kind of person who could disappear in a crowd.
But Yoku remembered the feeling of being trapped in that illusion, the helplessness of believing he had won while actually losing. This time, he would be ready.
"Guardians, ready?" Migan asked, raising her hand to signal the start.
"As I'll ever be!" Yoku confirmed, his hands already moving toward his weapons.
"Let's make this quick," Osore said quietly, his voice carrying no emotion whatsoever.
"Ready... set... FIGHT!" S.E.I.D. announced.
The tournament had begun, and with it, the real test of everything the young guardians had learned. Personal vendettas, school pride, and individual growth would all be put to the ultimate test.
But somewhere in the shadows, other forces were moving, and the attacks on Anjero suggested that the competition was just a cover for something far more dangerous.
The question was: would any of them be ready for what was really coming?