Blossoming Flower- Great Encounter Battle Arc

*Author's note - I wish everyone a very Happy New Year!!! :)*

Hiroshi had his eyes locked on the last fight of Round One. Ashima Tapia looked to be a very adaptive fighter, but Blossoming Flower had a very powerful stance prepared to take him on. Tapia seemed just as impressed as Hiroshi and smirked, revealing his rotting teeth.

“A very good stance, I must admit,” Tapia cackled to himself. “But it will be futile in the end. I will be too fast for you.”

Tapia rushed forward, his back arching upwards and lifting one hand above his head. His body was in the shape of a crane, and he swung down his clenched fist. The mysterious opponent dodged quickly. 

Tapia kept attacking relentlessly, trying to corner Blossoming Flower between the ropes of the ring. Blossoming Flower continued dodging Tapia’s quick blows and managed to find a small window where they jabbed forward, winding Tapia for a brief period of time, enough for them to escape.

Tapia continued his relentless attack. He swept his legs under Blossoming Flower, attempting to trip them up. When they jumped over his leg, he trusted his other leg up, kicking upwards into their jaw. Blossoming Flower grunted and fell to the ground.

“What an intense match to end Round One! Who will come out on top?” Alexander exploded into the microphone. Hiroshi was so focused on the match, he never realized that the smiling man with the neat brown hair and hazelnut brown eyes had come over and had stood beside him.

“Who is he even presenting to? The crowd isn’t even watching this part of the Tournament,” the man sighed. Hiroshi’s concentration was shattered, and he swiveled around to face the man.

“W-What? When did you…”

“Oh yes, I’m sorry, how very rude of me! My name is Tomokazu Onuki, but I don’t mind if you call me Tomo! Is that your real name, Shinigami?” Tomokazu held out his hand for a handshake. Hiroshi looked at the hand, tempted by it at first. He was in a new world. Maybe, he could finally make some friends. People that enjoyed him and his company.

Friend…

Hiroshi didn’t trust anyone yet. He could only just trust Kuro-Yami, and he wasn’t even sure if he trusted Wisteria fully. Why was she and Tomokazu so friendly to him?

 What did they want?

The self-doubt got to him, and he put his head up to the sky, rejecting the handshake. Tomokazu put his hand away, looking slightly disappointed, but never losing his smile. He laughed awkwardly.

“You seem a little shy, dude! That’s alright, I understand. I just noticed that you looked kind of lonely...”

“I don’t need your damn pity. Go away, Tomo-whatever your name is,” Hiroshi groaned, getting irritated quickly by Tomokazu way-too-kind-attitude. “Please? See? I’m acting nice.”

“It’s Tomokazu, and sure, I can leave you alone. I hope to see you soon, though! Who knows? Maybe we will be fighting in the later parts of the Tournament! Good luck!” Tomokazu waved back at Hiroshi, as he left to go talk to some other contenders.

“What a weirdo, Hiroshi, am I right?” Kuro-Yami chuckled to himself. Hiroshi didn’t answer him. He had never met this Tomokazu, nor did he have any intentions to be friends with him.

So, why did he feel so bad about rejecting his stupid handshake?

Blossoming Flower was constantly getting pushed by Tapia. His pressure was immense, and he wasn’t losing any stamina. They were tossed against the ring, slamming down against the concrete floor. More dust kicked up into the air. Just as Tapia slammed his foot down, attempting to squash Blossoming Flower’s head against the floor, they blocked his foot.

With a blade covered in ice.

They had unsheathed a blade from within the back of their shirt. They had hidden it from Tapia, using it at the right moment to strike. The blade was so cold, a chill ran down Hiroshi’s spine. He shivered.

He analyzed the match further. On a surface level, it seemed as if Blossoming Flower was losing badly. They were constantly dodging and weaving, getting very few opportunities to attack. After they were planted in the ground, face down, a normal spectator would assume the fight was as good as over.

But Hiroshi knew better. He knew that humanity was deceitful and played puppet master often to get where they wanted to be. 

He knew that Blossoming Flower was only draining Tapia’s stamina. They weren’t hurt at all. They pulled back their ice-cold blade and deflected a quick leg trust.

“Hey, they are using a sword! How is that fair?!” Tapia cried out. Hiroshi rolled his eyes.

“What a loser. I have a sword, and that Tomokazu guy also used a sword. Pathetic. The rules state you can win by any means necessary. He was just looking for any means of escape against being harmed,” Hiroshi told Kuro-Yami, who nodded his head in agreement and disdain. 

Hiroshi noticed that Blossoming Flower’s eyes were narrowed in determination, and their mask was tilting slightly upwards. Were they smiling to themselves?

“I-I give up! I surrender! Let me out of here!” Tapia cried out to Alexander the Presenter, clambering his way through the ropes and out of the arena. Alexander gulped. He was starting to think that the Government allowing weapons into the Tournament was a very bad idea.

Hiroshi was just as stunned as the presenter. Just exactly who was this masked contender? And what was that magic on their sword? It was clearly ice magic...but it came out of nowhere. Hiroshi thought they were going to be even tougher then he anticipated.

“Right! Well, the Second Round will begin momentarily. The first match up will be Number One, Shinigami, a certain contender for the strongest in the Tournament so far, versus Number Four, The Man with the Snake Tongue!”

Hiroshi’s eyes widened.

“The who now?”