*Swish*

Kaileen rushes towards Izumi, “Strike Hermes!”

For Izumi, Kaileen’s appearance was sudden so she couldn’t make a move when Kaileen’s right foot was high in the air ready to fall onto her.

*Smack*

Izumi blocks the kick with both her hands. It sends her aback a little bit.

XXXXX

“Look at Izumi everyone!”

Carly says.

Everyone looks at Izumi.

“She’s having a hard time against The Princess.”

Shirogane says.

“Yeah, it does seem that the speed at which The Princess runs at is too much to handle.”

Mister Inach says.

“Wait! If Izumi is training under that Tarand then why in the hell is she using The Tree of Hermes?!”

Jack asks.

“According to what Sir Tarand said, Princess Kaileen had already mastered too much in that Tree so she had to continue using it.”

Valarie says.

“I see...”

XXXXX

*Swish*

Izumi was trying to use her eyes to look at Kaileen’s speed.

“Tell me something, did John also use the same tree as you?”

Izumi asks Kaileen.

Kaileen suddenly appears in front of Izumi.

Izumi’s eyes widen from surprise.

*Smack*

Izumi is sent a little more back but any more and she goes out of bounds.

Kaileen kept on running in the arena.

“To answer your question, no and I hate to say it but John was a lot stronger than me. I am surprised that Luke took him out. To be honest, I am happy that Luke was fighting John and not me or else, with his crazy abilities. Even I couldn’t have stood a chance against him!”

Kaileen again does the same thing and suddenly appears in front of Izumi to throw a punch.

XXXXX

“John was your strongest guy in the students, huh?”

Elena asks.

“Yeah, but it seems that Princess Kaileen is just too overwhelming for Princess Izumi.”

Sasha says as she holds her stomach.

“Sorry about that gut-punch earlier.”

Elena apologizes.

“No problems.”

Sasha says.

“But you are wrong on the part that Izumi is getting overwhelmed by Princess Kaileen.”

Elena says.

“What do you mean?”

Sasha asks Elena.

“Even I won’t want to fight Princess Izumi if she is serious.”

Elena says.

“That’s no-“

XXXXX

“From The Tree of Amaterasu: Firing Protection!”

A whirlwind of fire begins to surround Izumi.

“What the-“

Just before Kaileen tried to hit Izumi she backs off. A little fire grazes Kaileen.

Izumi takes a stance familiar to Dan’s Kokustu Daichi.

“That’s Kokustu Daichi!”

Carly says.

“Yeah, it’s a style used mostly in the Eastern Kingdom of Nippon. It helps in covering one’s vitals.”

Jake analyzes the stance that Izumi takes.

“I see...”

“You have a lot of knowledge about different Kingdoms old man. Just who the hell are you?”

Pears asks Jake.

“Of course I do, I am a martial artist myself and I have friends who are fellow martial artists all around the world.”

Jake says.

“I see...”

Pears says.

XXXXX

The fire is still protecting Izumi. Izumi takes a deep breath as she looks at Kaileen.

“I am well protected, now come at me.”

Izumi says.

“You know, you can’t see my movements.”

*Swish*

Kaileen begins to move around at high speed again.

Izumi leaves out the deep breath she had.

“If I have to take you down past that fire, I will just have to generate wind while moving at high speed.”

Kaileen says as she begins to trap Izumi in a tornado which she created by moving at high speed.

Izumi looks calmer than ever. She is so calm that she has closed even her eyes.

“Izumi has won.”

Carly says with a smile and even Jake who is sitting near Carly smiles.

“What?! WHAT?! WHAT?!”

Shirogane looks confused and so do others.

XXXXX

“Sorry to disappoint ya but the Princess was never a match for our team leader.”

Jack smiles as he looks at Valarie.

“What do you mean?”

Valarie asks Jack.

“Do you know that the human body has 5 senses?”

Jack asks.

XXXXX

In the stand,

Carly asks the same question as Jack.

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?”

Taani asks.

“Well, Izumi has shut off all her senses except for the sense of sound. It’s pretty tough to pull off but if you shut off all your senses and only focus on the sense of sound, you will always find your opponent no matter how fast they are. You will always predict where they are coming from.”

Jake explains.

“What the hell?! I never knew that the Princess of Nippon had this kinda crazy ability.”

Pears says.

“It’s not an ability, in fact, it’s a temporary disability. You basically can’t speak, you can’t feel anything, you can’t look. The only thing that you are able to do is to listen to the sound of birds, leaves, wind and of course, your opponents' footsteps too. It’s not the best thing to do but, it works in this situation.”

Carly explains.

“Woh...”

XXXXX

“Let’s finish this Izumi!!!!”

I can hear Kaileen. I can hear her just like the first time. The first time we battled. The first time I held back and the first time I lost to someone.

That’s right I had lost to someone even though I was very powerful. It wasn’t because I couldn’t win but because I held back and I don’t regret doing that. I didn’t want anyone to call me the Murderous Princess, so I held back.

I held back so that I can be friends with her. I wanted a friend. I wanted a friend desperately. I want to get out of my mad self. I wanted to be free from whom I was. For the last 2 years, I have desperately tried to keep on smiling. I didn’t want to hurt anyone so I always held back and even if I hurt anyone, you were always there to back me up.

“That’s just because you are weak that you got beaten up by her. Get stronger.”

That’s what Kaileen said when I once used a little too much power on someone. She wasn’t angry with me or jealous but rather she was happy that I was that strong. She was happy to have me as her friend and yet there was this sadness in her voice. It was almost as if the voice said that she needed saving the most.

Than Tarand appeared, he didn’t notice me whatsoever but I did notice that he was really close to Kaileen. I felt like my friend which I had made over a year was going away from me and when Tarand disappeared, it felt as though the friend I knew had almost gone. I was all alone again...Until that day, the day when I was attacked.

Sir Dan’s brother Sam, saved me from those pursuers but more importantly, Sir Dan saved me from my terrors, my nightmares. He taught me to control my powers and he has since then taught me many things. More importantly, I can make friends without worries. I don’t need to worry about my powers going berserk and killing others. He is the best mentor anyone would have asked for. He also is the man I care about and I will go to any lengths to protect him! That is the reason why I fight, what is the reason you fight for, Princess Kaileen?

XXXXX

Izumi’s fist connects with Kaileen’s guts.

“Guh!”

The fists send her flying out of the bounds and Kaileen crashes right into the wall behind Jack and Valarie.

“The Princess, Kaileen is out of the arena.”

Ulric says.

XXXXX

They really say the right thing don’t they?

XXXXX

“I think so Sir Dan is about to-“

Izumi turns to Dan to see something she never expected.

XXXXX

‘Just when everything goes right, that’s when the shit hits the fan.’

XXXXX

Everyone cheering for Dan had their eyes widened.

XXXXX

Even I, Ulric Darlion, didn’t expect this to happen today. By the look of things, Dan ThunderField has been defeated by Tarand Rover.

TARAND HOLDS DAN BY HIS NECK, IS THIS THE END?