"S.E.I.D., if you'd please," Migan called, his voice cutting through the residual tension from Shinkei's match.
The ethereal figure of S.E.I.D. materialized above the arena, its voice echoing with otherworldly resonance. "The first match: Suna Kessho versus Diane Gale."
I watched as the two fighters took their positions on the arena floor. Suna moved with that liquid grace I'd noticed at breakfast, her water-based abilities already causing moisture to gather in the air around her. Across from her, Diane stood with feet planted wide, wind currents beginning to swirl around her athletic frame.
What followed was five minutes of pure spectacle. Suna's water techniques flowed like a choreographed dance, each attack seamlessly blending into the next. She formed whips of pressurized water that cracked like thunder, created shields that moved like living things, and even managed to trap Diane in a sphere of spinning liquid that should have ended the match.
But Diane was relentless. Her wind abilities allowed her to break free from every water-based restraint, and she retaliated with tornado-force gusts that sent Suna skidding across the arena floor. For a moment, it looked like the underdog might actually pull off an upset.
Then Suna made a critical error.
"Tempest Spiral!" he called out, generating a massive tornado of water and debris that roared toward Diane with devastating force.
Diane's response was immediate and confident. "Wind Mastery: Absorption!"
The tornado slowed, then stopped, then incredibly began flowing in the opposite direction. Diane was literally stealing Suna's attack, turning his own technique against him. Within seconds, Suna found himself caught in his own water tornado, helpless as Diane redirected it to slam him into the arena wall.
"Wow, what an amazing start to the second round!" the second announcer exclaimed. "Both contestants were incredible!"
"But the winner of this round is Diane Gale!" the first announcer declared as the crowd erupted.
Migan helped Suna to his feet, the young man looking dazed but uninjured. "Good job, you both. S.E.I.D., next round if you'd please."
"The next round is Ichiji and Tekai Jikan versus..."
I could practically feel Kamira vibrating with anticipation beside me. "Please be me..." she whispered.
"Romaji Jon-zu and..."
"Come on..." Kamira's hands were clenched into fists.
"And Kamira Yusei."
"Let's freaking go!" Kamira's shout could probably be heard in the next city. Without waiting for the stairs, she vaulted over the arena barrier and dropped fifteen feet to the floor below, landing in a perfect crouch.
Migan shook his head with amusement. "Geez, someone's ready and raring to go."
"You bet I am!" Kamira bounced on her toes, excess energy radiating from every pore.
From the crowd, her sister's voice rang out clear and strong. "Let's go, Kam! Kick their butts!"
"Oh, I will, Kalira!" Kamira called back, grinning fiercely.
The twins descended to the arena floor with considerably more dignity, their matching uniforms and synchronized movements making them look like mirror images. Even their expressions of disdain were identical.
"Why are you so happy to lose, pig?" Tekai sneered.
"Yeah, I don't know why you are so confident all of a sudden," Ichiji added, their voices harmonizing in perfect contempt.
Kamira's grin only widened. "Romaji!"
"Yeah, Kam, I know," Romaji replied, taking his position with resigned acceptance. He'd clearly been through this routine before.
Migan looked around the arena, ensuring all four fighters were ready. "Everyone ready?"
"Yup!" Kamira's enthusiasm was infectious—even some of the opposing school sections seemed caught up in her energy.
"Ready... Set... Fight!"
"HULKEN RAGE!"
Kamira's transformation was instantaneous and violent. Her muscles swelled, her eyes turned red, and an aura of barely contained fury surrounded her like visible heat waves. She launched herself at the twins with such speed that she seemed to teleport across the arena floor.
"And Kamira is straight out of the gate while Romaji is..." the first announcer paused, confusion evident in his voice.
"What's he doing?" the second announcer wondered aloud.
Romaji had positioned himself at the edge of the ring, arms crossed, making no move to join the battle. "I'm staying back. This isn't my fight."
Up in the stands, I noticed Headmaster Aado approaching Kalira's section. "Mind if I sit here, Ms. Kalira?"
Kalira looked up from her wheelchair, surprise flickering across her features. "Oh, Aado. Long time no see."
I couldn't help but notice how Aado's eyes lingered on the wheelchair, his expression heavy with old guilt.
"I never got to apologize for what happened back then," he said quietly.
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault."
"It was. I was the leader of that mission. If I had just chosen to take a different route, you wouldn't have lost your legs that day."
Kalira's response surprised me with its warmth. "Hey, I don't see it that way. I'm grateful for you. Not only did you take the lead when no one else wanted to, but you also molded my little sister into what she is today. So thank you."
"No, thank you," Aado replied, his voice thick with emotion.
Down in the arena, Kamira had engaged the twins in close combat. "Rage Combo!"
Her fists moved like pistons, each punch backed by supernatural strength and speed. The twins seemed to be taking a beating, unable to match her enhanced abilities. Blow after blow landed with bone-crushing force.
"You two had enough?" Kamira panted, sweat beading on her forehead from the exertion.
The twins' response sent ice through my veins. "Sorry, Kammy, but you were fighting our afterimages."
"What?"
The real twins materialized behind her, their technique having created perfect duplicates to absorb her attacks. "Temporal Strike!"
Moving with inhuman coordination, they launched Kamira through the air like she weighed nothing. She would have sailed clean out of the ring if not for Romaji's intervention.
"BEAST TRANSFORMATION: GORILLA!"
Romaji's body expanded dramatically, his arms becoming tree-trunk thick as he caught Kamira just before she hit the boundary line. "Geez, can you be more careful? I can't keep catching you."
"Yeah, thanks! FURY FEET!" Kamira's legs erupted in the same red aura as her fists, granting her enhanced speed to match her strength. "Now I should be able to keep up..."
"Nope! Not fast enough!" The twins vanished again, their time-manipulation abilities making them nearly impossible to track.
"Ahhh! Stop doing that!" Kamira swung wildly at empty air, frustration mounting as her opponents danced around her enhanced attacks.
"What is this?"
The twins appeared above her, striking in perfect synchronization to launch her high into the air. For a moment, she hung suspended against the arena lights like a falling star, then gravity reasserted itself with brutal efficiency.
The impact sent shockwaves through the arena floor. Even from our seats, I could hear the sickening sound of the collision.
"Kam!" Romaji rushed toward where she'd landed.
But Kamira was already pushing herself to her feet, though I could see the tremor in her hands. "No, I got this. Huh..."
"Why are you powering down?" Romaji asked, concern evident in his voice.
The red aura around Kamira was flickering, her enhanced form beginning to revert. "Shut up. I'm okay."
Up in the stands, Kalira had gone pale. "Wait, she's not gonna... No, Kam, your body isn't ready for that."
But Kamira wasn't listening. With a look of grim determination, she called out, "Anger Shroud!"
*Well, this is new,* I thought, leaning forward in my seat. I'd never seen this technique before, and judging by the expressions around me, neither had most of the other spectators.
A piece of ethereal cloth materialized around Kamira, dark and shimmering with malevolent energy. "Combine with my body!"
The shroud began wrapping around her like living fabric, conforming to her shape until it resembled an elegant but sinister dress. The transformation was both beautiful and terrifying.
"Wow, it looks kind of like a dress, almost," Mashù observed.
"Yo, what did I miss?" Yoku had returned from the medical ward, looking confused at the scene before him. "Woah, why is Kam in a dress?"
Tekai's mocking voice carried across the arena. "What's a dress supposed to do?"
Kamira's response was a smile that promised violence. "Oh, you'll see. Ready for round two?"
"Bring it on, you pig!" Ichiji snarled.
What happened next defied belief. Kamira moved faster than human eyes could follow, appearing in front of Ichiji in what seemed like a single step. The twin barely had time to register surprise before Kamira's finger flicked against her forehead.
The casual gesture sent Ichiji flying like she'd been hit by a freight train, her body carving a trench in the arena floor before slamming into the far wall.
"Ichiji!" Tekai's composure cracked for the first time. "You'll pay for this!"
Kamira's voice came from directly behind her. "You can go with her."
Before Tekai could turn around, Kamira's kick connected, launching the second twin in a perfect arc toward her sister's impact site.
"Romaji, thanks," Kamira called out as she used her teammate's gorilla form as a springboard, launching herself high into the air above the stunned twins.
"No problem," Romaji replied automatically, though he looked as shocked as everyone else at the sudden reversal.
Tekai managed to grab Ichiji's hand as they both struggled to their feet. "You still won't win!"
But nothing happened. No time manipulation, no synchronized attacks, nothing.
"Looks like she has to be awake to activate your little spirit," Kamira observed from above, her voice carrying clearly across the suddenly silent arena. "Oh well."
"Damn it!" Tekai's curse was cut short as Kamira descended like an avenging angel.
"HISTERI SPITEFUL SLAM!"
The impact was cataclysmic. Kamira drove both twins into the arena floor with such force that the reinforced stone cracked in a spider web pattern radiating out from the point of impact. The shockwave knocked spectators from their seats and sent a cloud of dust billowing across the arena.
"Damn you, Kam!" Tekai's voice was barely audible through the settling debris.
When the dust cleared, a smoking crater marked where the twins had landed, well outside the ring boundaries. Somehow, they were still conscious, though clearly battered.
"Are they okay?" one of the announcers asked, concern replacing excitement in his voice.
"Ow, ow, ow! Kam, what the hell?" Romaji complained, shaking his head to clear the ringing in his ears. "Even with my strength as the main character, you still hit them too hard."
Migan's voice cut through the aftermath. "Romaji and the twins are out, so the winner of this bout is Team Kamira!"
"And South strikes again! Can they be stopped?" the announcers called out, though their enthusiasm seemed forced after the display of raw violence they'd just witnessed.
Kamira stood at the edge of the crater, looking down at her defeated opponents. "I'd like that apology now. From both of you."
"Ow... but..." Tekai started to protest.
"Just do it. She earned it," Ichiji interrupted, her voice weak but clear.
"But Ichiji..."
"No buts!"
The twins' voices harmonized one final time, though in defeat rather than attack. "We're sorry for everything, Kamira!"
"Thank you." Kamira's smile was genuinely warm for the first time in the match. "Already, huh?"
Then the screaming started.
Blood erupted from Kamira's eyes and nose as she collapsed to her knees, her body convulsing in apparent agony. The Anger Shroud began to dissolve around her like smoke, leaving her writhing on the arena floor.
"Kam! Kam!" Romaji rushed to her side, his gorilla transformation forgotten in his panic.
"Get paramedics now!" Migan shouted, his referee's composure finally cracking.
Up in the stands, Kalira was already in motion, wheeling herself toward the arena access tunnel. "Oh no, I saw this happening."
Aado appeared beside her in an instant. "What's happening?"
"Anger Shroud is a technique that gives you a temporary boost in speed and strength, making you almost invincible," Kalira explained as they moved.
"But why is she dying out there?"
"The longer you use it, the more your body starts to break. That's why I'm in this chair today." Kalira's voice was tight with old pain and fresh fear. "No more explaining. Here, give her this."
She pressed a small pill into Aado's hand. Without hesitation, the headmaster activated his flight ability and descended to the arena floor.
"Kam, here, take this..."
Kamira's convulsions stopped as soon as the pill touched her lips. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed into unconsciousness.
"Romaji, get her to the nurse!" Aado commanded.
"At once!"
As Romaji gathered Kamira's limp form, Kalira's voice reached us from the arena entrance. "Anjero, take me to where they're taking Kam. I know how to deal with this."
Without hesitation, I vaulted over the barrier and rushed to help. "Yes, ma'am."
"Thank you."
---
## Chapter 11: The Price of Power
The medical ward had never felt so small. Romaji burst through the doors carrying Kamira's unconscious form, with Kalira, myself, and half the arena apparently following behind.
"Nurse Mari!" Romaji's voice cracked with panic.
Dr. Mari looked up from her charts, instantly shifting into crisis mode. "Woah, what happened?"
"Put her in the cold pod," Kalira ordered with the authority of someone who'd been through this before. "We have to shock her body."
"S.E.I.D., turn on vitals and set the chamber for 40°F," Mari commanded, the room immediately responding to her voice. Medical equipment hummed to life around us as an advanced cryo-chamber emerged from the floor.
As the machines worked, Mari turned to Kalira with recognition in her eyes. "Oh, Kalira, how long has it been?"
"Hello, Mari. How've you been?" Kalira's voice was strained as she watched the medical team transfer her sister into the chamber.
"I'm okay, but Kam... I can't really say the same."
"What happened?" Mari asked, though her tone suggested she already suspected the answer.
Kalira's composure finally cracked, tears streaming down her face. "She used it..."
"Oh no. The Anger Shroud?" Mari's face went pale.
"Yeah. I don't even know how she learned it."
I couldn't stay silent any longer. "If I can interject... Kamira talks to her spirit every day, and she's obviously been trying to learn everything she can from Histeri."
Kalira stared at me in shock. "She talks to him? I only ever got to talk to him once before."
"Maybe he likes her more," Romaji suggested with uncharacteristic seriousness.
"I wouldn't doubt it," I agreed.
"Maybe so. I wish I knew this sooner." Kalira's voice was heavy with regret.
"I'm surprised she didn't tell you," I said gently.
"I'm not."
"Why is that?"
Kalira took a shaky breath, her eyes never leaving the cryo-chamber where her sister lay motionless. "Kam was kind of forced to take Histeri from me."
The admission hung in the air like a physical weight. "Wow, I never knew."
"Yeah. As you probably know, spirits can't live without a host. They're naturally very weak."
"Tell us more, please," I said, settling into a chair beside her wheelchair.
"Well, when the host dies, the spirit has to find another suitable host. Otherwise, they end up dying also, and the power is lost forever."
Romaji looked confused. "But you aren't dead, though... unless we're all stuck in purgatory!"
"Romaji, shut up," I snapped. "Continue, please."
"Thank you." Kalira managed a weak smile. "Like I was saying, I almost was dead, but Histeri used all his power to make sure I wouldn't die. So he reverted back to a wisp and was forced out of my body."
"But why did he go to Kam?" I asked.
"That's a long story."
"We have some time. So please, if you don't mind telling us."
Kalira nodded slowly. "Well, it was during a mission. Seven years ago."
"Oh, that mission," Mari said quietly, her expression darkening.
"You were here also, Ms. Mari?" Romaji asked.
"Yeah, I went to school here some years ago."
"Wow, if it were me, I definitely wouldn't come back here."
"I'll ignore that this one time," Mari replied dryly.
Kalira continued, her voice growing distant with memory. "It was a simple in-and-out group mission, and I figured since Kam was always sad, I'd show her something cool for a change."
"Okay, what happened next?"
"Well, me and the older students from back then got in there, but we were betrayed by one of our own." Her hands clenched the armrests of her wheelchair. "I used the Anger Shroud to get Kam out of there as quickly as possible, but someone shot me in the spine, paralyzing me from the waist down."
The pieces clicked into place with horrible clarity. "And since you were too weak at that moment, Histeri left you after healing all he could and chose Kam next, so he could survive?"
"It all makes sense now," Romaji said quietly.
"Yes, he ran out of power before he could fully heal my spine, so I've been stuck in this chair ever since." Kalira's voice was matter-of-fact, but I could hear the pain underneath.
"I'm sorry it went down like that."
"Don't be. It was my fault anyway."
"Thank you for telling us that story," Romaji said, his usual humor completely absent.
"No problem. Now go back to the arena. Me and Mari will watch over Kamira."
"You heard her, go!" Mari added, already checking the readings on Kamira's monitoring equipment.
As we left the medical ward, I couldn't shake the image of Kalira watching over her sister through the glass of the cryo-chamber. The weight of their shared history, the sacrifice that had been made, and the terrible price of the power they both carried settled on my shoulders like lead.
"Mari..." I heard Kalira's voice as the door closed behind us.
"Hm?"
"Will Kamira really be okay?"
"She might sustain some permanent damage, but she'll be fine. She's stronger than I ever was."
*Stronger than I ever was.* The words followed us down the hallway, a reminder that strength came in many forms, and that sometimes the greatest courage was found not in fighting, but in the sacrifices we made for those we loved.