Chapter 3: The Dragon X and X Kit

When Akira and Yuko had arrived they seemed to be the first ones on their side, Ryujin of the God Dragons stood waiting on the other side of the gym, he sat waiting, and then they arrived. Suzuki and a couple other members, followed by Taro, ben, Yukio and a few others on our side. Yukio would be the ref, the first match was mine. They both set aside their jackets as they stand opposite to the other, they awaited the start order.

“ Ready…GO!” Yukio yells out, leaping back. Akira was the first to move, she rushes in and throws a punch right away, the hastily thrown fist was dodged easily by Suzuki as she back stepped out of it, taking a quick jab of her own at Akira, which she too evaded. The fight was playing out like their first one, only this time Akira seemed to be losing. Badly.

“ What the hell is wrong with me? Whats different now than before?” she wonders to herself, trying to evade the attacks, she finds herself backed further than she thought, in order to evade a punch she back steps but ends up tripping, she stops before she hits the ground, Taro had caught her, she looks up at him, he was smiling.

“ Don’t take this so seriously, theirs nothing at stake here, just have fun,” he advises her. Right, thats what was different. She had come here today to fight under a more serious emotion, as compared to last week, when she just wanted to do it for the thrill of it, she looks at Suzuki, whom had been smiling the entire time, was she thinking that as well? Was she here simply to settle what happened then or to fulfil her own desire of wanting to fight? She pushed those thoughts aside for now, they weren’t going to be answered now. The only thing she could do is give Suzuki what she wants, what they both want, a good match. Akira gets up and steps toward Suzuki, they were both smiling now, both filled with the determination to use all the strength the have to overcome their respective opponent. Akira’s first attack was a kick, she aimed low, at Suzukis mid section which she would block with her arm, in the same attack she would withdraw her leg inward and kick as hard as she could, striking her square in the chest, pushing her back. They both charge in, the sound of shoes scuffling echo through the broken roof, this time Suzuki was able to land a series of hits on Akira, the last one being an uppercut to her ribs. Her breathing became more ragged, pain flared through her entire being, yet she was thrilled, her smile only becoming more potent. The fight continued. Both sides watched in awe as the two went at it. The Dragon of Wrath and a newbie from the foxes, a kit, if you will. They both began landing hits on the other until they were evenly matched in breathing, both seemed to be worn. Akira decided she wont hold out any longer, she takes stance. “ Ah shes going to do the thing!” Yukio whispers to Wren as he violently shakes him. The light in Akiras eyes die out again, she holds her guard up steady. This time Suzuki was the one to lunge in, it seems she had picked up on what was happening, having witnessed it only once she knew something was off. When Suzuki as within distance she threw a punch, one that Akira was able to swat away, allowing her to take a series of jabs at Suzuki, light would find its way back into Akiras eyes. She had come out of the trance, the fatigue accumulated over the battle forced her to wake, throwing her entire flow off, but even if she hadn’t it wouldn’t have been enough. She simply wasn’t strong enough, Suzuki ended the match with a final hit to the face. She steadied her breathing as she stare up at the ceiling, she wipes her nose, smearing blood just above her lip, cheering could be heard from the otherside, celebrating their teams victory, she had lost, and yet she remained smiling. Yuko helps her to the side, wiping her nose with a tissue. “ Sorry, I lost.” Akira apologies to everyone, who looked fine with her loss,

“ You did great,” Taro says patting her head again, if not for the pain flaring through her arms she would’ve swatted him away again, now was his match, his confidence remained the same since when she met him. Ryujin and Taro step forward. And much like Suzuki, Ryujin was the one to throw the first hit, not waiting for the start from the ref, who seemed to have forgotten he was the ref as he was sitting on the side watching the fight intently. They both went at it, Akira stare in amazement at the two, both of them grinning as they strike each other. Taros hits seemed like they had more weight behind them, while Ryujin was slightly faster. Ryujin was able to grapple Taro and throw him over his shoulder, Taro was able to recover from it quickly but not quick enough, Ryujin was able to land a kick right to the face, blood dripped down from his nose and yet he kept going. The evening shine from the sun began peering through the holes in the roof, they had been going at it for hours now. There faces were battered from the amount of times they hit each other, as if brining this fight to a conclusion the two throw a few more hits, then both land a punch on the others face, they stood like that for a bit. Then the both collapse at the same time, all eyes shift to Yukio, the ref, to make the call. He stammers to find the words as he too was shocked at the turn of events,

“ Their is no winner here, The fight between Taro of the foxes and Ryujin of the dragons is a draw!” The crowd received that with mix cheers, both sides regardless went to help up their respective leader. Despite the beating they gave each other they were able to stand, Taro shakes his hand, “ So, how about it?” Taro asks Ryujin, though nobody was sure what he had meant.

“ The merging of the God Dragons and the Children of the Fox,” Ryujin speaks plainly, as if what he said wasn’t something huge, it caught everyone by surprise, shouting erupted from all around them, “ What the hell does that mean! When did you even talk about merging!?” Ben had managed through the others and grabbed Taro by the shoulder, turning him to face him. Taro remained composed, his smiled unwavering. Akira noticed that he was almost always smiling, it was the one thing of his that never changed over the many times she’s seen him.

“ The Emperors rule,” Taro says. The yelling died down as to here what he has to say.

“ There pushing their boundaries, as things stand our two groups alone stand no chance against them, which is why two weeks ago I proposed to Ryu that we merge.” Taro explains, Ryujin nodding along to his explanation. Taro turns back to Ryujin, it seems that they had both come to the agreement of an alliance, not really an alliance. The two groups merged, they would have two leaders, but what would they be named? They had decided to deal with that later,

“ As to celebrate this momentous occasion, I invite everyone here to dinner at Cafe Miya!” Taro throws his hands up as his side erupts into cheering, Ryujin mimics what he did and gets his side hyped. They make their way to the Cafe. By the time they had made it night had fallen, It seemed Taro had planned this out ahead of time as well as Ms. Tsumiya was finishing setting the plates, everyone gets settled in somehow. The only ones left standing were the ones who fought, the sound of someone clearing their throat came from behind them. Ryujin, Suzuki, and Akira were unfamiliar with this, but Taro knew all to well what it meant. Ms. Yako was also waiting for them,

“ It seems you already followed after my son,” She says speaking to Akira, who can do nothing but laugh sheepishly. She tends to their wounds.