Dragon's Blessing

In the early morning, a hooded figure stood in the arena where Makoto and Shiro would fight later that day. They were holding a gold pendant in their hand, just like the one Makoto found. However, it had a rhombus-shaped gemstone on it. "Bene, bene, it seems like one will be crossing blades with the Dragon's Chosen today..." the person said with a chuckle. "Well, he will have to harness the power of the Dragon's Blessing before he can even dream of defeating me... heh-heh..." Then, they looked towards the arena and whispered...
"The Son of the Warrior, he shall smite thee."

"What should I do? How should I prepare?" Makoto thought aloud. He was about to fight Shiro, and he had absolutely no experience in fighting AT ALL, and no idea how to use the Dragon's Blessing, either. "Don't worry, Makoto!" Chihiro said encouragingly. "You have the Dragon's Blessing! Even Shiro won't stand a chance!"
"I see why he is worried, Chihiro." Ryu said. "Even I couldn't defeat him, and if Makoto is telling the truth, then he has had no prior battle experience." "Well then," Chihiro looked at Ryu, "we should teach him how to fight! Show him how to wield a sword!" but Ryu interrupted him with a solemn look. "Master said that the only weapons he is allowed to use are his fists and the pendant," he said. "Because if he really is the Chosen One, he should master it's power." Makoto looked at the pendant for a second. 'Why does everyone expect so much of me? I'm just a normal high school kid!' Then, he looked out the window, and near the Tower, there was a town that looked to be in quite a dire state. 'Just what's happened here?' Makoto thought. 'Is this pendant the only hope the Paladins have left? And am I the only person who can use it?' Then, Makoto thought of something.

At noon...

"Paladins!" the old man, known as the Master, announced to the crowd. "The day of the prophecy is upon us! The Dragon's Chosen One walks among us!" The crowd cheered excitedly until the Master raised his hand for silence. "Kamiyama Shiro, the Son of the Warrior, shall battle with the Chosen One!" With these words, Shiro entered the arena and was greeted by the crowd's excited applause. But, standing behind the door to the arena, was Makoto, visibly shaking in fear, muttered "I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this!!" "You must," Ryu said sternly, "or Master might mistake you for an Abyss Warrior and send you to the dungeons." Chihiro then took Makoto's hand and said "I believe in you, Dragon's Chosen One," smiling encouragingly at him. He tried his best to smile back, but was still very nervous. "Chihiro," Ryu said, breaking the silence. Chihiro nodded at Ryu, and the two led Makoto to the large door that led to the arena. "Remember," Ryu said, "Chihiro and I will be in the crowd watching you." Chihiro added "and we'll both be right there, cheering you on." Ryu started to give Chihiro a disapproving look, but then he softened and smiled instead. "I... I'll do my best," Makoto stammered, trying his best to gather up his courage. And with those words echoing in his mind, Makoto opened the doors to the arena, ready to face Shiro. Before he left, even though he was still slightly unsteady, he said "don't worry, you two. I'll be fine. I'm as ready as I'll ever be," and with this, he walked out into the arena.

The Master rose from his chair in the arena, saying "Paladins! The time for the battle has come!" The crowd erupted in applause as Shiro bowed to the crowd. "Mea, Mea, Chosen," Shiro said as he inched closer towards Makoto. "Either my eyes lie to me, or you're shaking," he said with a taunting tone. "Shaking with fear, I take it?" he taunted once more, crossing his arms over his chest so the daggers in his hands were pointing downwards, with a menacing look in his eyes, completely different from the day before. "I-I won't lose to you, Shiro- er, Son of the Warrior!" Makoto stammered, shaking even more than before. "Oh, really?" Shiro said, laughing menacingly. "You'll win, then? Ha! An impossible feat!" He said, staring as if he could see into Makoto's very soul. He was starting to worry when, he remembered that he had the Dragon's Blessing! He took a deep breath, and with all his courage, he said this:
"I'm going to win, Shiro. Just you wait! "
Shiro smirked at him. He then said, as if it were a chant, this:

                                              "Filius pugnatoris, ille te percutiet.
                                                 Ut fulmen, celeritate fulgere!"

With this, Shiro darted towards him. In that moment, everything seemed to be going in slow motion. In that instant, Makoto took the Dragon's Blessing and put it around his neck. And then, everything seemed to move at two times the normal speed. "W-What's happened?" Ryu said in shock of the side of Makoto that he was seeing at that moment. 'Could it be...! The power of the Dragon's Blessing?!' he thought in shock. Chihiro was so shocked all he could do was watch. With a powerful gust of wind, Makoto thrust Shiro back. As he stumbled back up, he said, "I see, it's true. It isn't over til it's over." Then, he used a teleportation spell to try to attack Makoto from behind. But Makoto noticed and he used the same attack from before, pushing Shiro back even further.

Only a few minutes later, the Master said "Alright, that's enough!" and somehow, Makoto snapped back to reality. However, when he saw Shiro, he was just as scared as he had been before entering the arena. "What... what did I do just now...?" Makoto managed to say. After he caught his breath, Shiro stood and said, "Well, you really are the Dragon's Chosen, aren't you?" Makoto was speechless for a few seconds, until he managed to say "A-Are you OK?" Shiro laughed as he walked over to him and said as he put his hand on Makoto's shoulder "I've been worse." Then, seeing his reaction, Shiro chuckled again. "I'll be fine, puer. No need to worry about me," he said with a smile. Makoto did his best to smile back at him, though if he was honest, he was kind of worried about him. "Paladins!" The Master exclaimed. "The Dragon's Chosen One is truly here, in our Tower!" The crowd erupted in applause as Makoto bowed to them all. Then, he noticed someone waving at him.
It was Chihiro, with Ryu smiling at him as if he was saying "thank you". Makoto waved back, and for the first time in a very long time, he felt like he was needed by someone other than his family. Like he had real, true friends.