Friday ( Day of the regional qualifiers), Sanbuki Road, 8:33
The day was finally here!
Everyone was excited for the qualifiers taking place today, even the teachers, who took a day off to watch all the fights taking place. It was like the school just shut down for the day, but of course, no one was complaining about it. All the teams had signed up days before, and everyone else was just excited to watch what happened. Among those teams, was Team Stardust, comprised of Chain, Berith and Serena. They all spent the last week fine tuning their decks, making them the best they could be for this tournament. It was an annual thing, meaning that this was a once a year event. Anyone losing here would have to wait until next year to try again. Chain wasn't ready to lose, neither were his teammates. They spent all week getting their decks ready and weren't going to go down easily.
Chain, Berith and Serena were walking towards Sanbuki Academy together. Chain felt more than ready for the tournament. Berith was a little unnerved, being his first large scale tournament, same as Serena. They all agreed to meet up and walk to the tournament together, hoping to arrive and leave as a team. Berith thought the idea was a little childish, but went along with it anyway. Of course, It was Serena's idea. Serena was always the fun one out of the group, finding new and different ways to boost their morale, though they didn't always work out the way she'd hoped they would. She had to keep a cheerful smile for Fira and her sister, she needed to be the cheerful one after the incident. Chain shook his head, trying to divert his attention away from that day. "You ok Chain, you don't usually shake your head", Serena asked. Chain snapped out of his trance like head shake, and looked towards Serena. Both she and Berith had a concerned look on their faces, both worsened by their nervousness. Chain turned his head straight ahead of him again, staring direclty forward ad started to speed up. "I'm fine, let's just go!", he hurridly exclaimed. He took off, leaving Berith and Serena behind, not realising how fast he was going. He turned his head to see how far back they were. *THUD* Chain bumped into something, falling backwards.
Serena and Berith both caught up with him, and started to help him up. Chain looked in front to see what he hit, and was surprised to see 2 girls helping a boy up. It took Chain a second to realise who he bumped into, immediatly apologizing. "Oh, I'm sorry GX, that was my fault, not looking where I was going", Chain quickly stated, bowing in embarrassment. Allisia and Kagome were both helping him up. Allisia was doing most of the lifting as Axia stood behind her, giving her advice on how to lift GX. Kagome, on the other hand, seemed to be struggling. GX eventually picked himself off the ground and stood up proud, his arms folded over one another. "Don't worry about it Chain", GX said. Chain let out a large exhale, relieved that GX wasn't too bothered by it. Serena and Beirth both let go off Chain, Serena blushing slightly, but only just.
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Both teams walked to the school, after the incident left everyone a little flustered. The school gates were in sight now, and Chain could barely contain his excitement. He was looking forward to the idea of fighting all new players, fighters he'd never played against before. It was enough to make anyone feel giddy and ready. "Chain!", Allisia shouted. Chain snapped out of his daydream, realising multiple things. Firstly, that he was daydreaming a lot lately. Secondly, that he was once again, walking much further ahead than the group. And Thirdly, *THUNG*. He walked straight into the school gates. Everyone but Kagome ran towards Chain, while Kagome burst out into laughter. Serena was the only one to speak though, "Are you ok, Chain?!", sounding much more worried than she meant to let on. Chain rubbed his forehead, banging it pretty hard on the gate. But it didn't dampen his mood, nothing could. He shook his head and smiled, "I'm good guys, let's go. We've got a tournament to win!". Allisia, GX and Kagome both smiled and looked straight at Chain, all with the same thought, 'Not if we can help it'. Both teams said their byes and walked into the school separtely.
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Friday ( Day of the regional qualifiers), Sanbuki Academy, Main Hall, 9:02
Chain and his team had assembled in the main hall with the other teams. They were all assembled, along with the students to find out the brackets for the tournament. Chain could see a lot of people he had never seen before, including a masked figure. The mask looked quite similar to another card Chain had seen, Blood Knife Kimensai. Only the mask was coloured red, with blue lines all over it. It would be scary if Chain had thought it was an actual Buddy Monster. There were even more people around who Chain had never seen before, most likely from another town, come to watch the qualifiers. As of now, 8 teams had been registered and were being paired up on a large board in the main hall. Chain noticed Fira and Serena talking to each other. He remembered Serena talking about how their sister got accepted into another school in another town. He couldn't quite remember it's name, but he knew that they would be worried. Fira and Serena were always overprotective, especially with Ruby. He also remembered how panicked they were when their brother got accepted into another school in another town. He laughed a little at how large their family was, and how Serena and Fira were like the parents.
"Attention everyone!", the headmaster yelled. Everyone stopped their conversation and immedialty look at the headmaster. The headmaster slowly walked across the stage in the main hall, towards the large electronic board. He looked over all the students in a harsh manner, showing them all he was ready to speak, "The pairings are in, and I want to announce them all right here and now". The board lit up and with it, a large bracket list appeared on the screen. Chain could see his team right at the top, paired against Team Armoury. "So, the first match will be Team Stardust VS Team Armoury", The headmaster announced. Chain could see the other teams on the list, including Team Burst and Team Worlds Unite. They were all pitted in other matchs, so they wouldn't fight each other until the semi-finals at least. Chain took a photo of the brackets on his mobile phone, making sure to save them for later, and sent a copy to Serena and Berith.
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Shoreline, 9:46
Team Stardust were on their way to the official fight stadium, on the edge of the city, where they met Team World Unite. They felt a little nervous about being the first match, knowing nothing about the other team. As they walked towards the stadium, Berith was lost in thought. He was still trying to wonder about Kagomes change in personality since he met her the first time. When he met her at the club, she was very moody, not caring for her own safety, now she was hardly willing to get her hands dirty, not picking up GX very well after that morning. He also wondered about Allisia and Axia. He noticed how well they got on, much better than he had seen any Buddy Monster and Human. Serena, on the other hand, was worried about Ruby. Ruby was the younger sister of Fira and Serena, only aged 14. She had just been accepted into another school, along with her Buddy. Serena hadn't spent much time with Ruby this last week, and tohught to herself, 'Ok, when i get home tonight, I'll make sure we have as much fun as possible to make up for not being there last week'.
As Chain and the others walked up to the stadium, they spotted another team of fighters walking from the other direction, also towards the stadium. There were 3 boys in the group, and only 1 girl visible. The first boy had blonde hair with glasses, wearing a purple jacket with white pants, sporting white and purple sneakers. He looked somewhere in his mid-teens, smiling at his teammates. The second boy had brown hair, with black glasses. He was wearing a black sweatshirt and a white undershirt, with black jeans and sneakers. He was sort of keeping his gaze fixed ahead of him, not looking any other directions. The third boy had straight brown hair and was also wearing glasses. He was wearing black jeans with a green jacket on top of a neon blue shirt. He was also carrying a large duffel bag and being closely followed by a girl. The girl was wearing a metallic silver shirt with boy shorts and a medium sized blue skirt. She was also wearing white stockings with sneakers. They also noticed Chain, Beirth and Serena. They walked towards the team and the first boy started to speak.
"Heeeyyy!", he yelled at the top of his voice. Chain recoiled a little at the volume he reached. The boy walked over towards Team Stardust and held his hands out, grabbing Chain's han with both of his and proccedded to shake them, obviously trying to give him a handshake. "Good to meet you, are you here for the tournament too?", the boy asked. Before Chain could respond, the boy had stopped shaking Chain's hand and moved onto Serena, procedding to shake her hand similarly. "Uh, yeah we are", Chain replied. The boy moved over to Berith and shaked his hand as well, though he obviously didn't realise Berith's age, as he tumbled slightly from the force of the shake. The boy jumped back and placed his hand on his chest, before speaking, "My name is Arthur Mirai, and these are my teammates, Sora and Daichi", pointing at the second and third boys respectively. Before Chain could ask about the girl, Serena beat him to it, "And what about her?". Arthur turned around to look at the girl, then turned back and said, "Oh silly me, that's Pan, Daichi's girlfriend". Both Chain and Berith looked over towards the girl, who was slighlty hiding behind Daichi. Serena noticed this and pushed Chain back to his original position.
The two teams spoke for a little bit, revealing their team names to each other. Arthur, Sora and Daichi were all part of Team Heart, relieving Chain a little that they weren't their first opponents. As everyone chatted, they all suddnely realised the time. 9:55, Team Stardust's first match was starting in 5 minutes. Chain, Berith and Serena both ran towards the stadium, waving goodbye to Team Heart and Pan. Chain was starting to feel nervous again. They all ran through the stadium halls, until they came to a booth, labeled SIDE B. This was the deignated side that Team Stardust was fighting on, while Team Armoury stood on the other side. Team Stardust caught their breath from the run and stepped out of the booth and into the stadium. The large dome field was covered in grass, with marked areas for the monsters to be called, along with a fighters spot. The crowd stands were filled with students and adults, all coming from different towns to support different teams. As they looked around, Berith noticed the other team coming out of their booth, but what shocked him more was one particular player, who moved towards the fighters spot. The fighter stood in the fighters spot, signifying he was fighting first, but stood behind him was his Buddy, a small demon. The demon was covered in flames, Berith knew that monster. Armourknight Ifrit. Kagome's Buddy. Berith ran into the fighters spot, wasting no time speaking to Chain and Serena, who didn't have a chance to react to his decision. The match was decided, Berith was fighting first.
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The fighter spots lit up and slowly, started to rise. The platforms started to reveal themselves, light bursting out of the lines outlining the monster zones, along with the fighters spot. The spots became much more visable, turning into a real Buddyfighting arena. Chain and Serena both moved back into the booth, as not to get caught in the forming of the arena. The arena started to form as the platforms rose, standing a good story from the ground when done. Berith didn't realise how high he'd be going and felt a little dizzy under the sudden shift in altitude. He looked around to get familiar with the arena and saw the scoreboard to his left, showing Team Stardust and Team Armoury. Berith was currently highlighted, with his name and world showing. The opponent was also highlighted, showing his looks and name. He was named Peek, had black hair down to his neck, light blue eyes and straight hair. He was wearing a white plain T-Shirt and blue jeans with a pair of bright red sneakers. Berith was more concerned about his Buddy monster though.
He looked toward the demon, who wasnt even trying to hide and asked Peek, "So what's the deal with your Buddy?". Peek looked back at him in confusion, replying with, "What deal? My Buddy has no deal". Berith looked back at Ifrit, who looked towards the floor, looking rather upset. Berith knew something was wrong, and knew he needed to fight to get his answers. He clutched his core deck case, and released Abend, who shot into the sky and landed with a crash next to Berith. Berith was first to Luminize, "Run wild and show your strength, dragons of pure ancestry. Luminize, Primordial Intellect!". His Core Deck Case changed into his shoulder pad, and he drew his opening cards, as Peek procceded to Luminize. Peek pulled out his Core Deck Case and, like Berith, Luminized, "Crush my enemies with all your might, LUMENIZE, Crushing Spear!". Peeks Core Deck Case started to change, becoming more longer and sharper, eventually settling on the shape of a large spear.
The Announcer, who had been quiet this entire time, turned on his microphone and started to yell into it, "YOOOOOO!!! Welcome to the annual Hinagiku Buddy Challenge!! I am your host, Bass Forte!!!!!". Berith recoiled from the volume of the announcer, who was doing his absolute best to be heard. "Today, we have the first round. Team Stardust VS Team Armoury!!! And our first match is going to be Peek VS Berith!!!". Berith and Peek both got themselves into a battle ready stance, as Bass shouted out, "You all ready guys and gals? Then say it with me!!!". The crowd screamed with Bass, "BUUDDDDYYY-FIGHT!!!" Berith and Peek both shouted, "RAISE THE FLAG!!". Berith was the first to announce his world, "ANCIENT WORLD!". Peek followed Berith, "DANGER WORLD!". The cards were set, and Peek was going first.
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PEEK'S MOVE
Berith: Hand; 6. Gauge; 2. Life; 10.
Peek: Hand; 6. Gauge; 2. Life; 10.
Peek smiled at his hand. He knew how to fight Ancient World, and was prepared for it. "Charge and Draw". Peek wasted no time calling his monster, ready to fight. If there was one thing he knew about Ancient World, it was that they couldn't do anything without a Size 3 Monster on the field, so Berith was wide open. "I call Armorknight Gargoyle to the Center!". Peek threw a card into his Center, which sprouted into a large stone demon-like creature. The creature glared at Berith, and Peek yelled his command, "Gargoyle, Attack the fighter!". The demon slowly rose into the air and flew towards Berith, taking a swipe and a large chunk out of his Life and reducing it down to 7. END OF MOVE.
BERITH'S MOVE
Berith: Hand; 6. Gauge; 2. Life; 7.
Peek: Hand; 5. Gauge; 3. Life; 10.
Berith recoiled slightly from the impact, he wasn't able to defend himself due to his Worlds restrictions. But he couldn't back down. "Draw, Charge and Draw". Berith wasn't in a good spot, but he didn't let it get to him. "I cast Divine Dragon Creation!", Berith shouted, giving another 2 life to draw 2 cards. He still didn't have anything to help him, he needed something stronger than Vitesse, and he didn't want to call Vragos. He saw one more card in his hand with draw possibilities, and took the chance. "I cast Dragon Emporer Legend!", Berith gained 1 Gauge, 1 Life and Drew 1 Card. He put his hand to his Core Jewel, and drew the card. As he p;aced it into his hand, he smiled. "I Buddy Call Gold Dragon Abend to the Center!". Abend leapt onto the center platform as 2 Cards from Berith's Gauge flew into the Core Jewel, which then produced another Card that flew into Abend, triggering Soulguard. "Next, I use the skill of Vragos in my hand!", Berith announced, and a Card dissappeared from his hand, increasing his Life by 2. Berith exhaled, relieved at having options to fight back. "Now Abend, attack Gargoyle!". Abend widened his wings and leapt into the air, taking flight. He flew around the arena in a full circle, before swooping down and striking Gargoyle, destroying him. Then a shard of Gargoyle's rock body flew into Peek, inflicting Penetrate damage of 3 to his life points. END OF MOVE.
PEEK'S MOVE
Berith: Hand; 6. Gauge; 2. Life; 9.
Peek: Hand; 5. Gauge; 3. Life; 7.
Peek smiled as the dust from the shard cleared. He was happy his opponent was not a complete newbie, but was a little angry at the last move. He needed to keep his mind sharp. "Draw, Charge and Draw". He glanced over all his cards, and tried to think up a new strategy, while Berith looked over at Ifrit. Ifrit looked at the ground again, obviously avoiding eye contact with Berith. Something was wrong. "Call! Armorknight Cerberus and Armorknight Eagle!". A large 3 headed dog and a heavly armoured eagle appeared on the left and right respectively. "Now, I use Eagle as a cannonball!", Peek declared. Cerberus jumped onto and absorbed Eagle, giving Cerberus 1 Soul. "Now, Cerberus, FULL FIRE!", Peek yelled at the top of his voice. Cerberus took aim and fired his cannons at Abend, who exploded and then re-appeared, thanks to his Soulguard. "Don't think it's over yet!", Peek quickly said. "I call Armorknight Ogre to the Center, and use him as cannon fodder again, FULL FIRE!". Cerberus absorbed Ogre like before and fired him at Abend, this time though, Abend did not reappear. A fragment of Abends scales flew at Berith, dealing 3 damage from Lifelink and reducing him to 6. "Cerberus, Attack the Fighter!", Peek demanded. The dog took off towards Berith and bit into him, taking his down to 4. END OF MOVE.
BERITH'S MOVE
Berith: Hand; 6. Gauge; 2. Life; 4.
Peek: Hand; 3. Gauge; 4. Life; 7.
Berith was in a bad spot, he lost Abend and a lot of his Life. "Draw, then Charge and Draw". His hand was looking grim, his Life was dwindling, and he didn't have any plan. He needed to speak to Ifrit, he HAD to. "SNAP OUT OF IT, BERITH!!", Chain yelled. Berith raised his head and turned to Chain, still in the booth. Chain looked angry, and Berith knew why, "Your not even trying! I've seen you fight and your better than this!". Berith turned away a little, but he knew Chain was right. He WASN'T trying his best. He was too busy focusing on speaking with Ifrit to even realise how much he was letting this guy push him around. Berith looked up, towards Peek with a stern look on his face. "Right, let me show you Ancient Worlds power!!", Berith yelled. "WWOOOAAHH, Berith is allll fired up now, folks!!!", Bass announced to the crowd. Berith picked a card from his hand, and threw it into the Center, while 3 cards from his Gauge flew into the Center too, "I call to the Center, Dimensional Demonic Dragon, Ladis the Tyrant!!" A large crystal with 5 dragon heads appeared in the center, and slowly, each head started to become a limb, until the dragon was fully formed and it let off a mighty roar. "Ladis?", Peek questioned, "It's such a high matienence card, why would he call that?". "I cast Rise & Fall of Dragon!", Berith shouted, paying 2 life and allowing 4 cards into his Gauge. "Now, Ladis, Attack Cerberus!", Berith commanded, pointing at Cerberus. Ladis spawned a large ball of energy from his body and fired it at Cerberus, destroying him. "Now, Attack the Fighter!", announcing Double Attack. Once again, Ladis fired another energy burst form his body, reducing Peek's life to 5. END OF MOVE.
PEEK'S MOVE
Berith: Hand; 5. Gauge; 4. Life; 2.
Peek: Hand; 3. Gauge; 4. Life; 5.
Peek wasn't worried, he was sure that he could destroy Ladis this turn. "Draw, Charge and Draw". Peek quickly picked a card from his hand and immediatly threw it into the center. "Armorknight Cereberus "A", to the Center! Then I equip Hysteric Spear and Cast Lord Aura Meditation!". With that, another 3 headed dog appeared in the Center, Peek was holding another spear after stabbing his Core Spear into the ground, and his Gauge went up by 2, then down by 2. "I use Cerberus "A" skill to move him into my soul!". Cerberus suddenly roared out loud and its body became transparent, becoming spritual, and leapt into Hysteric Spear. Bass boomed loudly into the microphone again, "LOOOOOKK AT THAT!! Not only has Cerberus "A" increased the critical of that weapon, but with Penetrate, it's going to deal damage even if Ladis survives!!". Peek grinned at Berith, "Now I Buddy Call Armorknight Ifrit to the Left!". The small demon dissappeared in a ball of fire and appeared, in a much larger form on the Left spot, as 2 Gauge flew into the Core Jewel. "Now Me and Ifrit will Link Attack Ladis and end this game!", Peek declared as he and Ifrit charged for Berith. Berith picked a card in his hand and threw it at Peek, "I pay 1 Life to activate Freeze Shot, nullifying your attack!". Peek's Spear became covered in ice, and he retreated to his original spot, angered his attack failed. END OF MOVE.
BERITH'S MOVE
Berith: Hand; 4. Gauge; 4. Life; 1.
Peek: Hand; 1. Gauge; 4. Life; 6.
Peek wasn't worried, he had a Battle Aura Circle in his hand, and still had enough Life to spare. He knew he would win this. Berith started his turn, "Draw, Charge and Draw". Berith let out a small smile. "I cast Dragon Emporer Legend!", he said, increasing his Gauge, Life and hand by 1. "Now, Ladis Attack the Fighter!", Berith declared. The dragon shot another burst of energy at Peek, who was ready. "I cast Battle Aura Circle, nullifying your attack!". At this point the crowd was roaring with excitement, but Berith wasn't done, "I counter-cast!". Peek's eyes widened with disbelief. "I pay 2 Gauge and 1 Life to use Wicked Dragon of Fabrication, Demonica's in hand skill, nullifying your spell!". A large serpentine dragon shot from Berith's hand and into the aura circle, shattering it, and allowing Ladis's attack to go through, dealing 2 damage. "Now Ladis, Attack Ifrit!". Ladis fired one last energy shot at Ifrit, destroying him on the spot. Chain was feeling much better with how Berith was fighting, and knew what was coming next. "FINAL PHASE!!", Berith declared. 3 Gauge flew into Berith's hand and formed a large ball of energy, which Berith threw at Peek, "EVIL CRUSHER, STEEL DRAGON BARRAGE!". The impact knocked Peeks life down to 0, putting Team Stardust in the lead.
GAME OVER. WINNER: BERITH DORACO
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Berith's platform slowly lowered down from its current height, and he jumped onto the grass, and walked back into the booth. Chain and Serena were both over the moon, congragulating him, "You did great out there Berith", Said Chain. But Berith didn't stop walking, and left the booth. He still had to speak with Ifrit. "I guess he's got things on his mind", suggested Serena, "I'll go next, Chain". Chain was a little dissappointed at Serena jumping into the fight before he could have a chance, but gladly stepped aside for her. "Go get 'em, Serena", he smiled to her, and she ran out onto the field, ready to fight her opponent. She took her place on the stand, while her opponent took their placeas well. Slowly, the platforms started to rise, and the second match would start.
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Berith was still walking towards the other booth, where Team Armoury was sat for their match. Berith had only just pulled through his match but had more pressing matters to attend to. He knew he was missing the next round, but hoped that whoever fought next did well. He started to wonder what exactly Ifrit was doing. Maybe he left Kagome, or maybe he was stolen. Whichever it was, he needed an answer. He turned the corner to see the door to Side A's booth. He knew that the members of the other team were not likely to be happy to see him. He took a deep breath and opened the door.
Berith walked into the room, dreading what might happen. Peek and the final member of the team, Hikado, were sat on the cushions in the room and both turned to look at him. Hikado looked at Berith in confusion, while Peek was not happy. Peek stood up in a quick manner, "What do you want, come to gloat?". Berith shook his head as he spoke, "No, I need to speak with Armorknight Ifrit". Peek's mood slowly became more calm, while Hikado was still quite confused. A small sparkle came out of Peeks Core Deck Case, and landed in front of Berith. The sparkle started to take shape into Ifrits mini-form, before sprouting a few flames, which eventually settled into shape. Ifrit looked up at Berith, his face twisted with sadness. "I suppose you have questions", he said in a glum voice. Berith nodded, in doing so, he managed to see Serena's fight a little. She was currently in the lead by 4 points, her opponent sitting at 5. Berith looked back down at Ifrit, who procedded to walk out of the room, as Berith followed. Peek and Hikado both looked confused at this, but decided to let them be, and both turned back to watch the match.
Berith and Ifrit walked a little further down the corrider, just out of earshot from Team Armoury. Eventually Ifrit stopped walking, and so did Berith. "So, what gives?", Berith asked. Ifrit looked up at Berith, still a little sad and said, "Well, theres a few things you need to know. About Kagome". Berith raised his eyebrow a little, as Ifrit continued, "She....got different at night, you see, Kagome had a rough past which isn't my business to talk about. But something about her, something in her head snapped, and she becomes different at night". Berith was starting to understand, he had read about this. A split personality. "But a few nights ago, something was different", Ifrit added. He sort of shrunk out of sadness, before explaining further, "Someone challenged her in the night, I never saw his face but he had this.....strange card. It wasn't like anything I had ever seen". Berith was still unsure of what to make of all this, but listened to Ifrit anyway. "The strange defeated Kagome, and something happened. He threw a card at her, and she caught it. Then she sort of looked at me, with a huge grin on her face and told me to leave.......she didn't need me anymore". Ifrit looked as though he was going to cry, but held it in. "Afterwards, I wandered through the streets, and bumped into Peek, who took me in. We spoke with the Buddy Office and my contract was shifted to him. At the same time, her happier self has been unaware of my existence". Ifrit sunk to the ground and sat there. "I told her I would keep her safe, and I couldn't even save her from that man and his..........evil card". Berith almost shed a tear, but quickly wiped it away. He had more questions than answers, and he NEEDED to know the answers.
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"Dagger, Attack the Fighter and end this game!", Serena commanded. Dagger leapt from platform to platform, eventually landing in front of Ayden and swiping at her, reducing her life to 0, and ending the match, securing the win for Team Stardust. "IT'S ALLLLLLL OVER FOLKS!!! Team Stardust wins the first match!!!". Serena was overjoyed at being able to win, while Ayden was not so thrilled. Ayden was quite annoyed that they lost their first match, but simply smiled and went along with it. Serena leapt off the platform and ran back towards the booth, where Chain ran out halfway to meet her. They ran into each other, hugging with happiness over their victory. A few seconds later, Serena then pushed Chain away, her face blushing brightly. Berith walked into the booth, and had a look at the bored. His face lit up seeing the result and ran out to join his teammates, when an announcement came on from the loudspeaker. *DING* "All fighters and Buddies, please vacate the arena and allow the other teams to take their starting positions". Team Armoury started to leave their booth, as Ifrit turned around towards Berith, and smiled. Berith saw that, and smiled back. He remembered the promise he made to him as he and Team Stardust walked off the field, to find out what happened with Kagome, and try to make things right.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will look forward to the next one. I'll do better next time!!