**FAMILY GROUNDS**

**COLOSSEUM, 11:35AM**

“No way…”

“No way…”

“No way…”

Still a short time after Jamal’s victory, Kinshi remained in his position at the edge of the

fighting ring. He was baffled. He struggled to comprehend how a loss could have even

been possible…against Jamal.

“Of all people...out of everyone else...I lost to one of the two weakest guys? What is this

crap?...”

The words that Ilmar had said from the very start of the tournament then began ringing

in his ears:

“He’ll be fighting me in the Semi-Finals. No ifs or buts about it.”

“...”

“So that’s how it is, huh...”

Jamal had been approaching him with regret. He more or less had an idea of Kinshi’s

thoughts, especially considering his prideful personality, but he didn’t have the coldness

to simply walk out of the ring without batting an eye. As he approached him, he

stretched out his hand to help him up.

“I’m sorry…Kinshi.”

Glaring at him, Kinshi smacked away his hand and sprang to his feet, grabbing Jamal’s

shirt collar and reeling him in:

“Don’t screw with me.”

“Kinshi Yamaguchi…calm yourself.” – Katashi quickly approached them and quelled the

tension that rose up. Kinshi looked off the side bitterly, then looked back at Jamal:

“…tch. Who the hell apologises for winning?” – he let go of Jamal’s shirt as he said this,

and slowly walked out of the ring.

Jamal watched him walk away. He didn’t show much emotion, but Katashi could tell that

he was feeling a bit uneasy. Putting his hand on his shoulder, he said to him:

“Just leave him be for a bit, he’ll be over it,” he assured him with a small smile. Jamal

nodded, and made his way back to the Waiting Area.

“A feisty one, eh?” Gadō remarked.

“I’ve met him before,” Tenchi responded. “I could tell he has a proud spirit within him.

I figured if he were to lose this match, he wouldn’t take it nicely.”

“Still…I didn’t imagine Jamal would overcome that ability. Pure fighting instinct, huh?...”

“You really are one of a kind, Fūdo.” – Tenchi looked over at Fūdo, praising him. He was

the one who’d taught Ilmar Martial Arts, and he in turn trained with his brother Jamal.

“Well, it’s not just my talent…when seasoned through fighting, the body of a Sanjuro

acquires a kind of intelligence of its own, giving suggestions to the individual on what

actions to take, even when they themselves have no idea what’s going on. It’s our personal

6th Sense. Of course, it doesn’t come easy,” Fūdo elaborated.

“Spot on, son,” Gadō responded to him. “And for someone like that kid, it’s near

inconceivable that he’s acquired that instinct. He truly is…special.”

As Gadō stared down at his youngest son, who departed back to the Waiting Area, the

rest of trainees were still amazed by Jamal’s victory. Even Satoru was surprised at him

winning, and actually praised him:

“Kinshi was too careless, and his opponent took perfect advantage. Not bad at all, Jamal. I

hate to admit it...but, their motivation really is something.”

He glanced over at his brother, who was readying himself for his next match.

“Still...this is as far as you’ll go. Nice job up until now.”

Knowing that Jamal would be fighting Ilmar next, Satoru was sure that Ilmar would

prevent him from winning, so that the two of them would have their glorious battle in

the Finals. There was no way Satoru would lose to Saki, and if it really came to it…

“...I hope I won’t have to prevent you from winning, stupid brother.”

Over in the opposite Waiting Area, Kinshi had arrived, and nobody wanted to say

anything to him…except the one and only Ilmar:

“Should I say ‘I told you so’ ?” Ilmar asked him, shrugging his shoulders and smiling.

“Shut up.”

Without saying another word, Kinshi started walking toward the exit.

“Oi, where are you going?” Ilmar asked him.

“Don’t bother me, Ilmar.”

“Are you that upset because you lost? What are you, twelve?” he asked him.

“well, I mean, we all are-” Akiro remarked.

“I lost. I don’t have any reason to stay, do I? I’m not interested in seeing the remaining

matches,” Kinshi responded once more. Unhindered, he left the Colosseum to wander

around the Grounds for a bit, trying to cool his head.

“Ilmar…you know Kinshi’s pride. Teasing him like that isn’t a good thing,” Akiro advised.

“Yeah, I know…I’ll apologize to him later, we’ll eat together.”

“typical.”

Shortly after, Jamal came in, and they all cheered for him:

“Hehe, that’s my brother!” Ilmar said as he went up to him.

“Great victory, Jamal,” Akiro added.

“You were awesome out there!” Zeke exclaimed.

“I’m proud of you, little brother!” Gina said with a bright smile.

As he looked at everyone congratulating him, his heart felt as if it melted within him. He

couldn’t fight the smile that gradually formed on his face, as well as the small teardrop

that ran down his cheek.

“Is this...what Hayami-nee wanted for me?” he asked himself as he recalled what Hayami

said to him and Tarik on that day; those words that changed their lives:

“Become the strongest of the strongest!”

As Ilmar put his arm around his brother, he couldn’t help but notice him wiping away

tears…followed by his question:

“Brother…I’m strong now…right?”

They all paused after hearing him asked this…but Ilmar put his hand in his brother’s

hair and said to him:

“Don’t be silly, you goof…you’ve still got a long road ahead of you.”

“But…you’ve definitely come a far way.”

“You can say that again,” Akiro added. “You might not be as physically strong as you

should, but there’s always room for skills to improve.”

“Yeah. At times, your lack of interest gets on my nerves, but it’s been non-existent

lately,” Ilmar pointed out. “Just try to keep that up.”

“Anyway, let’s have a crazy match next game!”

“Haha…can I just forfeit?” Jamal asked, laughing nervously.

At this time, Katashi’s microphone chipped in once more, and he announced:

“Now, for the final match of the Quarter-Finals:”

“Saki Kirishima, Tarik Yamaguchi!”

Finally, it was Tarik’s moment again. For majority of the time since the Quarter-Finals

began, he’d been sitting down in meditation. He was completely immersed in his own

domain. Meanwhile, Saki was sitting next to her sister Maki, who’d been running her

through some mental drills.

“Well, you’re up now. Just do what I told you, and get this fight over with,” Maki

reinstructed.

Saki stood up, ready to make her way to the ring, but something was still bothering her:

“Maki…why did you forfeit?” she asked.

“Huh?”

“I thought you would’ve wanted Tarik to repay you from back then…when you saved

him from being disqualified.” – she reminded her sister of that day just a few years back,

on their Orientation Day.

“Oh. It’s fine, I don’t intend on embarrassing him in front of the country.”

“so why do you want me to do it?”

“I don’t get it…you’re stronger and better than me in every aspect. Why do you-”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop saying stuff like that, Saki?”

“Good grief…stop being so damn modest, we literally have the same grades for this year.

Why are you so uneasy about having to fight Ta-“

Maki was cut off in the middle of her lecture, as she looked up at her sister, who was

staring off into space at Tarik, still in his meditation.

Her face…was slightly red.

“…You like him?...”

Saki immediately snapped back to reality:

“H-HUH? N-NO I- W-WHY DO YOU ASK THAT??” she exclaimed, completely flustered.

This sudden shouting, followed by Satoru tapping his forehead, snapped Tarik out of his

trance.

“Oh! Is it time for the match?” he asked.

“Just got announced, head on out there,” Satoru responded, walking back to his seat.

“Also, try to be more aware of your surroundings when you meditate.”

“Tch, I’ll learn it when I learn it,” he responded in his mind, as he sprang up and ran to the

entrance gate.

“Oh, were you waiting for me, Saki-chan?” he stopped and asked her nervously.

“N-No! I was just ready too, it’s ok!” she responded, still slightly flustered, and walked

up to the entrance.

“Hm? Is she nervous?...no, it’s probably nothing,” he thought to himself.

“I just hope this amount will be enough...”

As they walked to the ring, their classmates debated on the match that was to take

place:

“If Kinshi were here, I think we know what he’d probably say,” Zeke pointed out.

Everyone agreed.

“Although, I really don’t think Tarik’s in a good spot here,” Akiro added.

“You’re right. Her Magic aside, she’s got the physical advantage between them,” Kento

expounded. “She also has her Clan’s genes coursing through her.”

“Do you know more about the Kirishima, Kento?” Gina asked him. Actually, they were all

interested to know as well.

“Sadly, I don’t…all I really know is what Tenchi-sama explained earlier; they were

connected to the Dragons in the past.”

“I see…well, I feel like we’ll come to learn about them, as we grow older,” Akiro

responded.

“More importantly, does Tarik have any victory chances?” Namiyo asked them. “I think

I’ve learned not to underestimate those two, but I have to ask.”

“Honestly…” Ilmar started off.

“...Nah, I think he’s gonna win.”

They all stared when he said that.

“…Seriously?” Amira asked.

“I mean…I won’t doubt you, Ilmar, since you pretty much predicted the future just a

match ago, but…” Akiro trailed off.

“Have a little confidence in him…his Sensei is Rakulli-san, after all,” Ilmar asserted.

At that time, Steffan who was still among the Heads, was wondering himself about what

Tarik would do in this situation.

“Seems your pupil is up again,” Gadō signaled to Steffan, who hadn’t been saying much.

“I’m honestly lost as to what he’ll do here,” he responded with a chuckle. “I wasn’t aware

that the play format would change.”

“Eh?” Gadō asked in bewilderment. “Aren’t you confident in what you’ve taught him?”

That question struck something within Steffan. He immediately recalled his own words

that he left with Tarik before the round started:

”I trust you, so trust yourself.”

As he remembered this, he closed his eyes with a smile, and sat down comfortably.

“You’re right, Gadō-sama. I do trust my pupil.”

The rest of them noticed the change in his attitude, and they couldn’t help but smile.

By this time, the two competitors arrived on the ring, and listened to Katashi retell

the rules. Saki was lost in thought for the most part:

“Tarik-kun...I’m still glad he actually made it past the first round...he and Jamal, they’re

really catching up to us. I’m glad.”

“Still...how can I say that when I’m about to defeat him? Won't he see me as such a mean

person after this?...” she was so deep in thought that her emotions even showed on her

face for a bit, but she quickly regained herself once Katashi asked them:

“Competitors, are you ready?”

They assumed stances as they prepared themselves to run…

“GO!!”

They both sprinted off quickly - Saki slowly but surely managed to gain the lead, while

Tarik maintained close pursuit. Due to his constant training with the Mana Replacement

Technique, Tarik had become quite capable of converting a portion of his energy into

Physical Energy, which he used to facilitate a very mild usage of the Body Reinforcement

Technique. His main purpose for doing this was during the first year of training, where

he had to do daily runs across the Family Grounds. Through this method, he found a

way to circumvent the extreme fatigue he'd normally suffer during those runs, as well

as acquired a slight boost to his physical attributes, notably speed.

The reason he was in meditation earlier, was that he'd been performing Mana

Replacement, trying to store some energy for this match.

However, this wouldn't be enough for him. Saki was still faster, and she could use a

Magic Technique on him at any moment. However, so far, she wasn't attacking him at all.

“Thank goodness, because of the play style, it looks like I won't have to fight Tarik...if all

goes well, I can win without having to hurt him, at least!” Saki thought to herself.

“I wonder if I could try stopping her...can I?”

With but a single moment of thought, Tarik lifted his palm to Saki who was a few feet

away, and shouted:

Inverse-Flow! · 逆運動 (Gya-kuun Dō)

Immediately, Saki picked up on this, and responded with her own technique; glancing

behind and extending her right hand’s middle and index fingers:

Purification. · 浄化 (Jou-ka)

To Tarik’s surprise, there was no effect! Saki had activated a technique that completely

negates the effects of all Spells casted externally. This Spell operated through similar

functioning to that of White Blood Cells: the caster’s energy would begin to circulate

rapidly within their body, with the purpose of correcting any and all disturbances or

misfunctions brought about through external influences.

“Oh?” Steffan remarked in amazement. “She's a Kirishima alright.”

“Right? Even I couldn't use that kind of Magic around that age,” Emir commented.

“But, it seems Tarik is in a real fix here,” Gado pointed out. “That Inverse-Flow is the

best ability he can currently manage it, isn't it, Rakulli?”

Steffan didn't respond with much sound. He simply sat up in his seat, and gazed down

on the ring intently. He had hopes in his student, but he had no idea what his next move

would be.

“Sheesh...I knew that wouldn't do much, but to think it didn't work at all! Saki-chan really is

amazing,” Tarik thought.

“But, it's now or never! If this doesn't work, I'm done for!”

Tarik was now prepared to make the decisive move: he tucked his connector under his

arm and placed his hands against each other; the right having his thumb, index, and

middle fingers extended upward, and the left in the same manner, but slightly elevated

above the other. He then began manipulating his energy.

Saki was able to sense this, and glanced behind at him, waiting to see what he was about

to do.

Looking straight ahead, Tarik’s eyes lit up, along with those of his classmates, the

audience, and the Heads, and particularly Steffan:

“It...WORKED!!!”

Tarik tried his hardest to hide the excitement from his face; Saki was still focused on

him, unaware of what had happened.

“Is he...trying to do something?” she thought to herself.

“Saki, you idiot!!” her sister Maki exclaimed from the Waiting Area. “Turn around!!”

“He actually…!” Akiro and the others left off in shock.

“He really went and did it…” Steffan wondered in astonishment.

Quickly, Tarik grabbed his connector, his body still enhanced by the mild usage of Body

Reinforcement, and he threw it hard past Saki.

“Huh? He threw his-”

?!!

Saki almost had the shock of her lifetime when she finally looked in front of her. She

saw…another Tarik! As it was running, he threw the connector toward it!

“A clone?? That's what he was doing?!”

The clone was at least 10 meters in front of her, and it wasn't moving any slower than

Tarik’s real body. As they were only but a few meters away from the wall, things were

not looking the best for Saki.

“I was too careless...I completely disregarded the use of Clones, plus I didn't assume Tarik

could make them!” she lamented internally.

“But, I still have a chance! I didn't want to, but I'll have to be a little rough with-”

As she was in the middle of thought, Tarik stretched out his hand again:

"Inverse-Flow!"

Saki had no choice but to respond once more with her Purification Technique. However,

Tarik’s intentions created a problem:

Because of the nature of Purification, the flow of the user’s energy would be unsettled

for the technique’s duration, and because of this, the user would be unable to use Magic

Techniques until the Purification finished its neutral cycle, which was roughly 15

seconds. Saki was now under the cooldown time, which was about the length of time it

would take for them to reach the wall. There was nothing she could do anymore.

“I don't know much about that technique she uses, but it's common sense that if I distract

you, you'll have to deal with the distraction first!” Tarik assessed in his mind.

“This is bad...he's not just stronger now. His mind is sharper,” Saki thought.

“Am I...really about to lose?”

“Tarik…you truly are amazing,” Steffan admired.

“Oi, Steffan, isn't it basically impossible for him to do that?” Fūdo asked. "Making clones, I

mean."

“Well…not exactly. I did teach him Mana Replacement after all,” he explained.

“But, it's just that it would be very impractical for him to do this in battle, which is why I

specifically advised him not to try this. In battle, he won't have the time to prepare

energy, and if he does, it would ultimately just be a waste.”

“However, in a match like this…I guess there wouldn't be any problems if he prepared

ahead of time…”

“But still, any moment now…”

By the time Steffan said this, Tarik felt a shock of numbness in his entire body; the

energy he had stored up using Mana Replacement was being burned at an alarming rate.

He was running out of energy to support his stamina, as well as to maintain the clone.

“…He’s gonna be feeling it,” Steffan continued.

“Oh no!...My energy’s running out! I can feel the fatigue creeping up already! Is this why

Sensei told me not to use this?” Tarik thought to himself.

“But, I can’t stop. I have to hold out! Just a few more seconds...!”

Tarik then deactivated the Body Reinforcement, which meant the clone lost the

amplification as well. They both ran slower, and Saki was catching up to the clone.

“Fatigue?...This is my chance then! I have to catch up!” Saki thought as she ran faster.

Running slower and slower, Tarik was running out of options, and on the verge of

losing. Left with no other options, Tarik gritted his teeth, and placed his hands together

once more:

"BODY REINFORCEMENT!"

Using a slightly more amplified version this time, Tarik wrestled with the discomfort,

and taking control of his Clone, he threw the connector which snapped right into place

in its correct slot! Had he taken a second longer, he would have utterly lost, since the

Clone had barely finished throwing the connector before disappearing.

“HE-!!”

“NO WAY!!”

“Winner: TARIK YAMAGUCHI!!”

The crowd erupted, vibrating the entire space within the Colosseum. No soon after this

victory however, Tarik sunk to his knee, exhausted.

“Man...I sure overdid it...”

“Haha...I won...sensei...”

As he was about to fall over, he was caught by Saki, who'd quickly turned back to him,

suspecting his fatigue would overcome him.

“It's ok…” she reassured him, “I'm not angry that I lost.”

“Ah…sorry, Saki-chan,” he responded.

“He's really...gotten strong.”

**TO BE CONTINUED**