A tournament? Could this young man have already fallen for her womanly charms? No. Just from their conversation alone, you can tell that things don’t appear to be going smoothly. Regardless, Shiryu stands firm, showing zero weakness.

  “Um, a tournament? Are you fighting or did you want me to accompany you?”

  I’m fighting. I want you to come watch me. I feel like I would get a boost in confidence if you’re there.

  “When is it?”

  After lunch. It will last until the end of the day.

  After giving it some thought, Sumiko agrees to go watch the tournament. Maybe it’s because she would feel bad to turn him down. Or perhaps, she is the one who fell for his charms. There are a million thoughts running through her mind at this moment. Like “Why?” No matter how you look at it, this is still random to invite her upon first meeting. But one thing’s for certain, and that is the fact that she will be attending the tournament later on. “Alright. I don’t see a problem with that.”

  Upon hearing this, Shiryu’s face lights up a little despite trying to hide it. Maybe he actually did fall for her? Somehow, this grabs the attention of students passing by and in the distance.

  Hey, isn’t that Shiryu? I never knew he had a girlfriend.

  Look! It’s Masamune! He’s totally asking that girl out!

  These words mysteriously were only heard by Shiryu and not Sumiko. In order to save himself from embarrassment, Shiryu quickly turns around and leaves. “I’ll see you later then!”.

  Hours have passed since that strange encounter between the two. Sumiko now sits in class, attentive. Like nothing can break her focus. The same can be said about the teacher. Even if a student starts talking, or if someone walks into the classroom, this instructor will not break character.

  “Ok class, I would like you to turn to page 28, we will be going over the lesson about this cult that has appeared throughout history. Although there were some records of them way back in the B.C. era, their most notable and recent appearance was in the 18th century. They were known as the-”

  *Beep* *Beep* A text message appears on Sumiko’s phone. It’s from her sister, Sumihara. “Sinemon is spelled with an “S” right?” (Did she really text me just for that?). That message distracts Sumiko enough that she missed the ending of the lecture. Unbothered, she makes her way to the arena where the tournament was supposed to take place.

  After 10 minutes, all contestants have now made their way onto the stage for introduction. All but one student, Shiryu.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  (Did he get cold feet?)

  She didn’t have enough time to process her thoughts properly because the announcer got on stage and the crowd’s cheering was way too loud.

  ALL RIGHT EVERYBODY!! NOW IT IS TIME TO INTRODUCE, THE THREE YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!! THE THREEEE EMPERORS!!

  One by one, the three get on stage in accordance with their introductions.

  FIRST, THIS EMPEROR SPECIALIZES MAINLY IN SPEED AND SWIFT STRIKES, IT’S THE FEROCIOUS TWIG!! NEXT, THIS EMPEROR SPECIALIZES IN HEAVY BLOWS, ENDURANCE, AND FINALLY CAN HEAL ANY WOUNDS AT A TREMENDOUS RATE , I WELCOME YOU LORD HEAVYWEIGHT!! AND FINALLY THE MAN YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR, THE MAN WHO EXCELS AT BOTH OF THE OTHER TWO’S ABILITIES ALONG WITH HIS OWN, IT’S THE CLOAKED DEMON!!

  Now standing on the stage, Sumiko gets a clear look at these emperors. The first one, Ashio Soriyuuki, also known as the “Ferocious Twig”. Tall, brown hair, and relatively thin, but not in an unhealthy way. It is said that he holds the record of the fastest clear time in track out of the entire school’s history. Like mentioned earlier, he’s thin. This is where his nickname “Twig” comes from. This only helps with his swift and fluent movements.

  Next up, there’s Todo Ayashi, “Heavy Weight”. Muscular. Tied up hair, black. He looks like someone who you could depend on whenever things go sideways. He’s incredibly durable, and has arguably the highest stats in one of the four key traits in a fighter, which is his endurance. His ability to harden his muscles is strong enough to completely withstand an equal force to that of a military grade sniper rifle at max range. Top that off with the power to recover from any injury, it’s clear to see why this man is among the top three students in the school.

  Finally, we have the “Cloaked Demon”. Said to be the apex of strength. He outmatches any opponent that comes his way, including the other two emperors. Most of his abilities are unknown. But his stats are off the charts. If Twig and Heavyweight are at an 8/10 on a scale of their respective traits, then the Cloaked Demon is at a 15. Not to mention the aura he gives off when fighting. It’s strong enough to be able to physically see it. With that being said, he hardly fights. Not unless it's a sparring match against other strong opponents. His monstrous strength/presence is the exact reason why he earned the name “Demon”.

  But wait. This Demon guy appears familiar. Upon realization, Sumiko’s face fills with dread as she finds out that the Cloaked Demon is actually Shiryu. “Why did he approach me?” “This whole time, he was one of them?” These thoughts filled Sumiko’s head. “No. That announcer said that he was the strongest one. But I didn’t feel scared around him. Even when I belittled them.” Deciding that she would just apologize to him at the end, she tries to calm herself down and watch the upcoming matches.

  NOW ALLOW ME TO DISCUSS THE RULES. BECAUSE THESE THREE ARE THE STRONGEST, THEY’LL ONLY PARTICIPATE AGAINST THE FINALIST AND THEN AGAINST EACH OTHER. MEANING, WHOEVER WINS THE TOURNAMENT HAS TO FIGHT LORD TWIG, THEN WHOEVER WINS THAT FIGHTS LORD HEAVYWEIGHT, AND FINALLY WHOEVER WINS THAT MATCH HAS TO FACE LORD CLOAK IN THE ULTIMATE MATCH OF POWER!! LET THE TOURNAMENT BEGIN!!

  As one would expect, the matches went by in a flash. It was very clear that some people can use more than weaponry when they fight. This is what creates the hierarchical gap between each student. As a non combatant, Sumiko would fall at the bottom of the chain.

  During a short break, there are whispers about whether this tournament has a purpose or not. “Don’t you feel bad for whoever wins the tournament? They’ll still end up losing won’t they?”

  “You never know right? Maybe there will be success in one of their fights. I mean this tournament was made so that Lord Cloak can find a successor.”

  Shiryu warmly approaches Sumiko, who was listening in on the gossip in the area. “So what do you think? Are these fights interesting?”

  “Listen, about earlier.”

  He didn’t even give her a chance to apologize. “It’s ok. I know what you’re about to say. It’s on me for never introducing myself.” After a brief moment of silence between them, a notice went out that the final match would begin shortly. “That’s my cue. Come find me once this tournament is over.” Shiryu heads off to his spectator seat as the final match between a student named Kazumine Ichinose, and the emperor, Ashio Shoriyuuki, begins.