Next Up

Chapter 26

A man from Fuji's group stepped forward; he was younger, five or so years older than Colson, wearing black shades and dark grey clothes. "We ain't gonna play your little game!"

Chizo had a greedy smile on his face, "So whatcha gonna do? Team up on me?" He let out a hardy laugh. With much effort, he reached down, redirected his energy to his finger, and used it to draw a line on the hardwood floor. "If any of you cross this line without shaking my hand first...you die. Consider that."

The young man gritted his teeth and looked back towards the group, "Seeing as this is a contest of brawn, I'm probably most fit to fight him." Fuji opened his mouth to protest, but the man cut him off, "I know you're more experienced with energy than me, but you aren't a battle-type. Plus, I don't think Pai has been paying attention," he had a slight grin on his face. He looked back towards Chizo; took several deep breaths, flexing his muscles. He punched the air several times, pumping himself up. With every punch, a tiny bit of energy appeared around him, his aura becoming less translucent with every movement. Soon he was surrounded by a dark pink light.

"I wouldn't worry about the big guy," Ivy said, thinking out loud. Zoe turned to her, surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno. But I don't feel the same way as I did with Kurt-Adam and the other three. He just seems...normal."

"Hmm, maybe. But could you also say the same for the guy in grey? He seems less than impressive."

"Yeah," Colson said, "are we just gonna let him lose to these drunken idiots, though?"

"I don't think it'd be a good idea to break the rules," Zoe muttered nervously, "I don't know what the others would do."

The man walked forward. As he did so, a large floral pattern splashed onto the floor under Chizo and him; it looked as if it were tattooed right into the wood—fresh and shiny. Putting his hand out to shake Chizo's hand. Before they made contact, the man quickly lunged forward, trying to tackle Chizo, wrapping his arms around his torso as far as he could. The design below them both glowed the same color as his energy—dark pink.

The man felt himself being lifted into the air; before he could react, he was slammed to the ground. A cry escaped him as his back splintered the wood floor. Chizo planted a foot on his chest, slowly putting more weight on it until a loud crack resonated through the bar. The man's aura quickly dissipated with a poof. The pattern below slowly blurred, bleeding as if it were fresh paint introduced to water.

"Let me go," the man screamed out, "I give up! Please get off!" The man let out another cry as Chizo continued to shift more of his weight onto the man's chest; a sound like a cacophony of breaking twigs came from his torso, causing Chizo's grin to grow even wider. Ready to finish the job, he lifted his foot, ready to stomp down. Most of Fuji's group looked away; Ivy looked on with an odd curiosity. It was all Zoe could do to look away and put her hands over her ears—blocking the sound of what was to come.

A blur came from the corner of Chizo's eye, slamming into his temple. The whole bar shook as he fell backward, landing on his butt. Colson touched down on the ground, ensuring he wasn't behind the line.

"Why did you keep crushing him? He already lost!" Colson glared as Chizo slowly got to his feet, wiping the bloody bruise on the side of his head. "He surrendered."

"You can tell me you forfeit all you want; that doesn't mean it's over. Not in the rules. Plus, he didn't respect the handshake, so he gets no mercy from me. Come to think of it, you didn't either; you also interrupted as well...So you lose!"

"Wait, what?" His jaw dropped, totally stunned. "That's not fair! Redo! Let me try again!"

Chizo shook his head, "No can do. Once I kill all your lil' friends, we'll fight again. It won't be long, don't worry."