Ethereal Stones [Ethereal Saga Book 1]

Chapter 2: Zi Amethyst

"The matches are going to begin soon, so gather around. Face your opponents," the referee of our match told both teams.

"Good luck with the match," Rika said as she came up to me and patted my shoulder.

Calm down, Hong. Everything will be fine.

I simply grinned, trying to act relaxed. "Thanks, I hope that I can win this match even though my opponent is one of the strongest in the state," I said as I tied up my medium length black hair with a leather string. I tied the leather straps together and turned around to look at my opponent.

"I'm sure you can do it, just give it your all," Rika encouraged. She reached into her blazer and handed me a small white and blue cloth. "Here, this is a special charm. Keep it close to you. It'll bring you luck."

I took the item and placed it within my Do. "Thanks, Rika," I said, turning around. I smile genuinely as I walked away from her and towards my opponent. My smile didn't last for long, but I tried not to show fear. I didn't want to show my pessimism to Rika.

How can I possibly defeat someone who's undefeated?

"Have faith," Rika yelled, running back to her seat. Her confidence in my skills managed to give me back my smile. She was always there for me. She even rushed back from a trip she had taken to be with me when my older brother disappeared.

The matches passed by in the blink of an eye, much to my dismay. We had managed to win half of the six matches, though all of them were narrow wins.

"Step forth captains of Setsua and Xing high schools," the referee said.

"Sorry, captain. I was unable to defeat Setsua's vice-captain and end this meeting," Takumi said. He was a young man with short brown hair and lacked the appearance of someone who could knock you to the floor if you weren't careful. He was my vice-captain despite being a senior while I was a mere junior.

I tried my best to smile confidently.

"It's fine. I'll put this to an end," I said, standing up. I put on my Men and walked to the center of the tatami mat where Zi Amethyst awaited me. "Nice to meet you. My name is Hong Garnet. What's yours?" Zi didn't respond. "Oh, it seems like you're not a talkative one. Very well then, we will let our swords do the talking." I tuned out the sound of the crowd until they were but faint static.

I went charging at him at full force, pushing him as far back as a meter. He then retaliated with the Harai Waza, a technique in which the user strikes the middle of the shinai (the wooden sword used in kendo).

I blocked his shinai by using Suriage, a thrust like movement, to push him back. He began to lose his balance, allowing me to gain an advantage over him. He managed to regain his balance before I could hit him. Instead, he was the one to hit me with a swift blow to the forearm. I managed to barely stop his shinai from landing a second hit by swinging mine in front of my chest.