The second day of Mahorafest dawned with the same exuberant energy as the first. Crowds filled the academy, buying festival food, playing games, enjoying the various shows and attractions, and generally having a good time. Sunset made her way leisurely through the crowds, munching on a piece of fruit she’d taken with her from the villa. She allowed herself to be distracted from the coming challenges and simply enjoyed the carnival atmosphere.
These people sure know how to throw a party, Sunset thought as she walked, smirking at a young man who was earnestly trying to win a shooting game while his girlfriend giggled behind him. Been a while since I’ve been to a huge celebration like this. When was the last time? One of the GGG’s? Or was it that harvest festival in Whinnyburgh I happened to pass through on my way back from Manehattan? She shook her head and tossed her apple core into a nearby trash can. Well, even those parties don’t hold a candle to this monstrous circus.
Sunset made her way to the northern end of Mahora Academy, her casual smile falling into a determined glare as the Tatsumiya Shrine came into view. Hoards of festival attendees were pouring in through the shrine’s main gates, with several students lining the streets shouting odds and taking bets for the upcoming matches. Sunset slipped quietly into the crowd, trying to avoid notice until she was inside.
The shrine sat across a river from the rest of the festival, a series of covered walkways perched on stilts connecting it to the academy propper. The walkways eventually split, forming a massive square of open water that the crowds navigated around. A large stage sat in the middle of the river, a lower walkway bordering it for the commentator to stand on and a smaller walkway connecting it to the land on the other side and the main shrine. Stadium seating had been built on the shrine side of the square, with the walkways relegated to standing-room. Sunset quickly made her way across and ducked out of the crowds, making her way to a makeshift building that had been erected behind the stadium seats.
She wasn’t the first to arrive. The two magical students stood against a wall, trying to look inconspicuous. The massive man who had made it through group A with her stood stoically off to the side while one of the normal martial artists from group H went through his forms. The mysterious hooded man from Negi’s group stood near the back as well.
Sunset eyed each of her potential opponents for a brief moment before making her way to the side of the room and sitting down, her hands folded in her lap. She took a deep breath, letting it out as she let her mind clear. She carefully put away her excitement for the festival. Her tutoring plans for the coming months. Her doubts about the gifts Evangeline had given her. Her ruminations on Chao’s attempts to reveal magic. Everything was put away in a box in her mind.
She then began opening other boxes. Her competitive drive. Her lessons in magic and ki. Her training in boxing and street fighting. All of the strategies and plans she’d concocted for this tournament. Everything she knew about her opponents. She allowed herself to be filled with the unique flavor of excitement that could only come from combat, and a smile slowly began to form on her face.
It wasn’t a full meditation, but it helped Sunset to focus on the here and now, and on how she planned to crush any and every opponent placed before her.
By the time she opened her eyes, most of her fellow competitors had arrived. Kaede and Ku Fei chatted amicably while Mana listened in. The other martial artist from group H was trying unsuccessfully to make conversation with group A’s other champion. Evangeline stood near the front, eyeing the hooded man suspiciously. And Takamichi stood right in front of Sunset, smiling down at her.
“You seem to be in good spirits,” he said amicably. “Especially considering how late you were up last night.”
Sunset returned his smile with a smirk. “And you seem unusually composed considering how you were barfing your brains out last night. I thought a veteran like you would be used to body horror.”
Takamichi paled slightly, but managed to keep his smile intact. “I can honestly say that you have redefined the genre. And your mannequins’ injuries were more gruesome than anything that actually happens in real life.”
Sunset shrugged, rising to her feet. “I did warn you. Besides, it’s a haunted house. Just because it’s impractical in real life for someone to be hung from their own burning intestines doesn’t mean I can’t do it. I’m surprised I was able to recreate the smell of burning flesh so accurately, too.”
Takamichi’s complexion tinted green. “I hesitate to ask how you are so familiar with that smell.”
The door opened before Sunset could reply and the remaining combatants - Negi, Kotarou, Setsuna, and Asuna - walked in. Takamachi walked over to talk to them, and Sunset could have sworn she saw a hint of relief on his face.
“Are you sure you should antagonize him?” Mana asked, walking over. “Odds are you’ll be facing off against him in the semi-finals.”
Sunset shrugged. “Hey, he’s the one who couldn’t keep his dinner down last night.” She raised an eyebrow. “And should I be flattered that you think I’ll make it through my first two opponents?”
“Sakurazaki-san might prove a challenge for you,” Mana admitted, “but I get the feeling that you have something worked out for your first match.”
Sunset grunted, confirming the point but saying nothing.
“GOOD MORNING, CONTESTANTS!”
Kazumi’s shout grabbed everyone’s attention. Sunset turned to the front of the hut where Kazumi and Chao stood. “Welcome and thanks for gathering!” Kazumi continued. “30 minutes from now, the first match will be starting! Let us explain the rules here!
“Taking place in a 15 meter by 15 meter arena, the matches will last 15 minutes each. A defeat is determined by being down for 10 seconds, out of the ring for 10 seconds, or being knocked unconscious. If the match goes longer than 15 minutes, the audience will vote to determine the winner. A reminder that bladed and projectile weapons are not allowed and neither are curses or incantations. Any questions?”
There were a few technical questions from the other contestants, but Sunset tuned them out, turning her eyes to Evangeline. The vampire was eyeing Chao with interest, barely paying attention to the rules. She caught Sunset’s eye and smirked. Sunset fought the urge to swallow nervously and returned the smirk. I guess today’s the day I find out how powerful you really are. And the day you get to see me in my full glory.
“That’s it, then!” Kazumi everyone’s attention again with a grin. “The first two contestants should proceed to the stage! Everyone else, we’ve set up a viewing platform for you on the edge of the river. Let’s go!”
*****
“TO EVERYONE IN THE AUDIENCE, THANK YOU FOR WAITING! WE WILL NOW BEGIN THE FIRST MATCH IN THE MAHORA MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT!!!”
The crowd cheered at Kazumi’s announcement, though the cheers developed a confused undercurrent as the audience saw the first two combatants.
“IN THIS CORNER, WE HAVE THE MYSTERIOUS SHOUNEN NINJA, CONTESTANT MURAKAMI KOTAROU! AND IN THE OTHER CORNER, THE MIDDLE-SCHOOL SECOND-YEAR GIRL, CONTESTANT SAKURA MEI!”
Sakura was a cute girl with shoulder-length hair tied back in two pigtails. She appeared nervous and reticent, but nevertheless faced Kotarou without much concern. Kotarou, for his part, simply eyed the girl with surprise.
Sunset sized up the match from the sidelines, but ultimately gave it up as pointless. Although Mei had been the first one to notice their voyeur at the World Tree Plaza, Sunset didn’t know much about the girl’s combat ability; her older companion had done most of the fighting in the qualifier the night before, and Sunset doubted staff-fighting was all the girl had up her sleeve.
And speaking of her companion…
“The reason I’m here… IS TO DISCIPLINE YOU, NEGI-SENSEI!!!”
Sunset sighed. Apparently, Negi had got caught up in some sort of drama. Again. Sunset half-listened to the other girl’s rants - something about an incident with the World Tree and how Mei was some sort of star student from America - but was far more interested in the upcoming match.
Kotarou and Mei took up their stances, staring each other down confidently as Kazumi riled up the crowds. Finally, it was time. “MATCH ONE, FIGHT!”
“Adeat!”
The crowd gasped and oo’d as a broom appeared in Mei’s hand. She twirled it expertly behind herself, holding up a guarding hand against Kotarou, who seemed to be having some sort of internal debate. An artifact, thought Sunset. Probably a focus tied to her specialization. Dog-boy’d better not underestimate her. Then again, he seems to be hesitating. Because she’s a girl. That idiot. When’s he gonna-
Kotarou vanished, appearing immediately in front of Mei. Sunset’s eyes went wide as she saw him winding up for an upward palm strike. So fast! Sunset thought. But, that wasn’t teleportation. I definitely saw him move through the intervening space. How did he do it so quickly?
Sunset didn’t have long to ponder this before Kotarou struck, his palm flying upwards. Sunset thought for a split-second that he had finally abandoned his “don’t hit girls” philosophy for good.
He hadn’t. Instead, he’d found a loophole.
Kotarou’s hand passed right in front of Mei’s face, the air pressure of his blow enough to send her flying. The poor girl screamed as she was thrown ten meters into the air before finally falling into the river with a massive splash.
Sunset burst out laughing as a countdown started and Kazumi started freaking out over the attack. “A-AMAZING! CONTESTANT KOTAROU ENDED THE MATCH IN AN INSTANT! IS THE MIDDLE-SCHOOL GIRL ALRIGHT?! SHE HAS TEN SECONDS TO RETURN TO THE RING BEFORE… EEH!? CONTESTANT MEI IS DROWNING!!!”
Sunset wiped a tear from her eye and smirked over at the other magical student. “Looks like your little star failed. You two don’t have any actual combat experience, do you? She was wide open from the very beginning.”
The girl grit her teeth as Kotarou dove into the river to rescue Mei. “A… minor setback. I will still have my revenge- er, that is, discipline Negi-sensei for his-”
“Yeah, don’t actually care,” Sunset said, blowing her off and turning back to the stage. Kotarou had managed to carry Mei to shore, and the next two contestants were up: the large martial artist Daigouin, and the mysterious, hooded Colonel Sanders.
The second match concluded almost as quickly as the first, with Sanders dodging a rapid string of attacks before countering with a single powerful right palm to the chest, bringing his opponent to the ground. The following match was just as rapid, with Kaede easily knocking out “Long Punch” contestant Tatsuya Nakamura.
Sunset sighed. “At least the quarter-finals in that bracket will be interesting,” she muttered. “But so far these matches have been one snoozefest after the other.”
“That’s about to change,” Evangeline muttered as the next two contestants walked onto the stage. “I’ve been looking forward to this one.”
Sunset frowned and leaned on the protective railing that separated them from the river. Ku Fei and Mana both strode with confidence out to the stage. Neither appeared to be armed. “Is Mana planning to fight bare-handed?” Sunset muttered. “She uses guns, doesn’t she?”
“Don’t underestimate her,” Evangeline replied. “Tatsumiya has considerable battlefield experience. I’ve never gotten the sense that she was unarmed, even when she didn’t have her guns on hand. Partly because she always seems to have one hidden nearby.”
“Of course, that won’t work here,” Sunset said. “Even if she’d been able to sneak a gun onto the stage, she wouldn’t be able to use it. And even if she has hand-to-hand experience, that’s Ku’s area of absolute expertise.” Kazumi called for the fight to begin. “So how-”
With a loud crack, Ku Fei was sent flying backwards from a blow to the head. She landed spread-eagled on the ground, not giving so much as a twitch. Mana didn’t appear to have even moved.
The audience went silent.
“WH-WHAT IS THIS?!” Kazumi demanded. “RIGHT FROM THE START, CONTESTANT KU FEI WAS SUDDENLY BLOWN AWAY!!!”
Sunset stared in shock. She’d seen… something fly out of Mana’s hand to strike Ku Fei, but it had been too small and too fast for her to make out. “What was…”
“Rakansen,” Evangeline explained as a color-commentator did the same for the audience. “Weaponized coin throwing. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s got stacks of 500-yen coins up her sleeves.”
Sunset stared from Evangeline to Ku Fei to Mana. “Damn. That coin was almost as fast as a bullet. Makes you wonder why she even bothers with guns.”
“Bullets still do more damage,” Evangeline offered. “And they have a longer range. But on a small stage like this, these sorts of attacks can still be deadly.”
Sunset nodded with a slight smirk. “Deadly to most, you mean.”
Evangeline snorted as Ku Fei suddenly leapt to her feet, apparently unharmed. She exchanged a few words with Mana before the fight started again.
Coins flew rapid-fire from Mana’s hand, tearing up the stage as Ku Fie barely managed to dodge the machine gun-like assault. Several coins flew beyond the stage, striking the water and sending up huge splashes which doused the audience on that side. After almost a full minute of dodging, Ku Fei managed to solidly plant her feet.
In an instant, she’d closed the distance between her and Mana and engaged her in close-combat. Mana managed to dodge the first few strikes before bringing up her hand to Ku’s chin.
“Idiot,” Sunset muttered as Ku Fei went flying. “Ranged weapons don’t get any less powerful just because you’re up close. And without a physical weapon to grab and turn away, it’s even harder to keep Mana from striking her.”
Evangeline nodded as Ku rapidly retreated, taking a couple of coins to the left arm before another struck her solidly in the forehead. “It’s a common mistake that martial artists make,” she elaborated. “Against both gunslingers and mages. ‘If I can just get in close,' they think, not realizing that that doesn’t take away their opponent’s options.”
Sunset nodded as Ku Fei suffered a barrage of strikes which sent her down for the count again. “But how did she get so close?” she asked. “I’ve been seeing that technique a lot today.”
“Instant movement,” Evangeline explained. “Or Ground Contraction as some call it. You focus mana into your feet and push off the ground, using a similar technique to ground yourself when you arrive. It’s basically a very long, very fast jump. Pretty staple for a close-combat user. I imagine Sakurazaki will be teaching it to you soon.”
Sunset hummed to herself as the crowd started cheering for Ku Fei to get up. “Not that it wouldn’t be good to have another tool in my arsenal, but I think I’ll stick with teleportation. Anyway, looks like this fight is over.”
Mana raised her hand readying the final strike. Ku tensed. Mana fired.
Ku moved.
She ripped the sash from her gi, blocking the half-dozen strikes that would have struck her down once more. Mana’s eyes widened in shock, and Ku capitalized on that hesitation, striking out with the sash for Mana’s neck. Mana quickly got her free hand up between the sash and her neck before it tightened, keeping Ku’s attack from choking her.
“Heh, so she was armed,” Sunset said, chuckling.
“A cloth spear,” Evangine said, nodding in approval. “A difficult weapon to master. I wouldn’t have expected it from the straightforward Ku Fei.”
“It’s not enough, though,” Sunset noted as Mana fired another coin, severing the spear near her neck and pulling it away. “And those last few blows took their toll on her while Mana hasn’t been hit at all. If Ku Fei doesn’t do something now…”
Mana once again began to fire her coins, but this time, Ku was fighting back. She blocked and deflected most of Mana’s coins and struck out with her cloth spear again and again, interrupting Mana’s rhythm and slowing her attacks. One strike finally managed to catch Mana by the arm, and Ku gave a powerful tug, forcing Mana to leap forward lest she lose her balance. Ku released the spear and Mana pulled out another stack of coins. They met. Ku struck. Mana fired.
Coins clattered to the ground as Ku dropped to her knees, one hand pressed against Mana’s stomach. The audience was silent. The tension thick. Mana and Ku exchanged a few words.
And a powerful burst of ki shredded the back of Mana’s shirt. The gunslinger fell on her face, instantly unconscious.
Ku had won.