Knock, knock. Shoku awakened from his nap. He looked at the alarm clock. It was 5:36 in the evening. Knock, knock. Shoku got up and checked to see who was at the door. He opened the door, and a very angry Shin'ya rushed in and pushed him to the ground. Umi walked in and closed the door behind him. He leaned up against the wall, spectating what was happening in front of him.

"What were you thinking?!" Shin'ya screamed at Shoku. She was furious. "Why did you enter the tournament without us?!" Shoku teleported out from under her to on his bed. Unfortunately, anyone or anything touching the teleporter would be teleported with him/her. Shin'ya was still over him, still angry.

"They changed it last minute to a solo tournament," Shoku explained frantically. "The team tournament will be held in a couple of days." Shin'ya got off of Shoku. The room was silent. Shoku looked at Umi pleadingly, asking him to break the silence.

"I'm hungry, let's go eat," Umi said. The other two nodded and left the room, heading towards the dining hall.

After eating, Shoku, Shin'ya, and Umi returned to the room. It was around 8:30 in the evening. The arena's inner wall was like a maze, due to the fights earlier in the day. The wall was broken in several places. Shoku found a couple of sleeping bags and pillows and gave them to Shin'ya and Umi. Shoku fell asleep very quickly.

Shoku heard small children laughing. He opened his eyes and saw himself as a small child, playing with a person who looked exactly like him, but had white hair and orange eyes. Heriosu! Shoku thought in agony. He tried calling out to him, but his voice wouldn't work. All he could do was watch. They were fighting each other with wooden swords. Young Shoku almost caught young Heriosu off guard, but Heriosu barely dodged the attack. Shoku's eyes widened as Heriosu's eyes glowed a deep orange. Heriosu jumped high into the air. Shoku watched as Heriosu's wooden sword glowed a bright white, and he slashed down at young Shoku. His younger self raised his sword to block the attack, but Heriosu was stronger. His wooden sword cut clean through younger Shoku's, and the sword went straight through his heart. Young Shoku screamed, and Heriosu collapsed in exhaustion and horror. Shoku's father and mother rushed in, and saw the dying child on the floor, sword still impaled through his body. His father pulled the sword out, his mother immediately healing his wounds. After he was healed, young Shoku fell unconscious. A tall figure appeared at the doorway, and walked towards Shoku. He waved his hand over young Shoku's forehead, and balls of light came out of his hand. The man held out his hand and a sword appeared. The balls of light rushed into the sword. Shoku recognized the sword. It was the one he had been using since he came to this world. As Heriosu regained consciousness, Shoku faded to black.

Shoku woke up in a cold sweat. It was daylight, and Shin'ya and Umi were getting dressed. They both turned towards Shoku, looks of concern on their faces. "Are you alright?" Shin'ya asked Shoku. Shoku nodded slowly, and got out of bed.

"Attention all participants and spectators! The first round will start in an hour! The matchup for the first battle is... Shoku versus Sakura!" the announcer spoke through the loudspeaker. Shin'ya and Umi looked at Shoku. "We will be watching," Umi said. With that, the two left for the stands.

Shoku walked out into the arena. The area had been changed drastically. There were now mountains and houses in the once open arena. There was a single straight path. At the opposite end was Sakura, katana in hand, an icy aura surrounding him. Shoku looked at the houses, and spotted a large house with a flat roof. He planned to jump there.

"Both contestants are on the field. Three! Two! One! Fight!" the announcer said through the loudspeaker. Sakura immediately dashed towards Shoku, katana at his side, aiming for a clean cut through his waist. Shoku jumped onto the roof just before Sakura hit him. Sakura slammed into the wall, and the air immediately became freezing. There was an icy mist surrounding the entire arena. Shoku looked around wildly, looking for his opponent. He heard footsteps behind him, and he whipped around. Shoku could make out the figure of Sakura walking towards him, katana held to the side. The katana started glowing a very light blue. Shoku drew his sword. His sword glowed a very light blue as well. Out of the blue, Sakura seemingly teleported right in front of Shoku, katana held above his head. Shoku jumped back to avoid the attack, and dashed forwards, straight at Sakura. Sakura raised his katana to defend himself, and the two weapons collided. There was a massive explosion that sent sharp shards of ice flying everywhere. Sakura's katana shattered, and he was thrown back against the wall of a taller house. As the icy mist cleared, Shoku could see the figure of Sakura getting up, holding a completely different weapon. His eyes glowed a deep pink. He was holding a staff.

"You're good, but this is the end of the line!!" Sakura yelled. The staff seemingly disintegrated into thin air. Shoku noticed a wind of pink shards coming at him from all sides. He teleported out of the fatal position and ended up right behind Sakura. The wind of pink shards returned to Sakura, and reformed the staff. Shoku summoned a large ball of fire in his palm.

"I'm sorry to say, but this is the end of the line for you," Shoku said. Sakura's eyes widened as he turned to see Shoku holding a ball of fire as big as a small house. Shoku cast the ball of fire downwards into the house, and the ground beneath them exploded. Shoku teleported to safety, but Sakura was trapped in the explosion of flames. The cold temperature turned to sweltering heat, and the icy mist was replaced by smoke. It took a few minutes for the smoke to clear. Sakura was unconscious, lying on his stomach in the middle of the destroyed house.

"The winner of the first semi-finals battle is... Shoku!" the announcer yelled through the loudspeaker. Thunderous applause came from the audience. Shoku walked back to his room, carrying the unconscious Sakura with him. He put Sakura on his bed and healed him. Shin'ya and Umi burst into the room.

"What. In. The name of..." Shin'ya exclaimed, a look of disbelief on her face. Umi was speechless, which was not normal for him. 

"Ughh..." Sakura moaned. Shoku turned his direction. He was slowly waking up. "Why is he here?" Shin'ya and Umi asked in unison. "I think I went too hard on him," Shoku replied, "So I decided to heal him." Shin'ya nodded and sat down at the table. Umi followed.

"The next participants will be... X and Arashi!" the announcer said over the loudspeaker. The four looked out the window to watch the next battle unfold.