The pair stood face to face on the field. Tensions were high as the stranger was stared down by his opponent. Yurie looked at the hooded figure with an uncertain look in his eye. I was certain that Yurie even began to feel sorry for him, but that couldn't stop his path of destruction.
"Father, do you feel that?" Summer asked her father with a look of wonder in her eyes.
"Indeed," he agreed, "there is a great deal of power coming from that person."
The announcer stood between the two. He seemed to be radiating a certain excitement as he watched the two stared each other down. He seemed to feed off of the reaction from the crowd, and the anger of the fighters.
"Ok, this time, we're fighting for twenty pounds in gold. The rules remain the same except this time, the use of excessive magic and killing your opponent is prohibited," the announcer said.
The hovering piece of earth was quiet as the fight was about to begin, "Fight!" The announcer commanded sinking back into the soil.
That time, the fight didn't begin immediately after the announcer left. For the first time, nobody made a move. The hooded figure remained the way he was throughout his time there, and Yurie just stared him down.
"What are you?" Yurie boomed throughout the stadium saying his first words since arrival. The hooded figure didn't budge. Their cape reached the floor, but from what I could tell they were very tall.
"I'm sorry, but I have to hurt you now. You understand, right?" Yurie said before stomping against the ground causing the earth to shake.
Yurie reached into the back of his kilt that resembled a metal skirt and pulled out a tube. He placed it up to his mouth and blew heavily into it.
The surprising thing was that the hooded stranger didn't even flinch at the ground shaking beneath him. They only moved when the tube began throwing small balls at them. Even then, their moves were concise and agile.
Their bodies swayed as they simply continued moved to the left as the balls were being projected in their direction. The agility of their steps and the way their body moved was almost too smooth. The balls exploded the minute they mad contact with the ground, and the figure stopped moving the second the balls ran out. They simply stopped in their tracks and looked down as though nothing had just happened.
"Beautiful," I muttered as Yurie looked at the figure in anger.
"I guess I'll have to do this the hard way," Yurie said charging at the hooded figure like a mad bull.
The figure didn't react until Yurie came within an inch of him. Even then, the hooded figure simply swayed to the left allowing Yurie to fall to the ground as the crowd winced.
At that point, Yurie stood back up charging at him again. That time going low, attempting to sweep him off of his feet. Yet again, the second Yurie got within an inch of them, they moved. The only difference was, that time, the figure ascended into the air. This not only caused Yurie to crash but to almost fall off of the stage.
The crowd cheered as the almost unbeatable challenger was so easily destroyed by a masked stranger. It was almost ridiculous to watch him lying helplessly on the ground.
It raised the question as to how powerful he really was. I knew that he was strong. No weakling could simply cause an earthquake, but was strength enough? Obviously not.
The announcer reappeared from beneath the ground. He dawned a confused look at the figure as the guards took away Yurie's body. The cheering of the crowd seemed to be enough to grasp his attention.
"Folks, we have a winner!" The man yelled. The crowd erupted in screams.
The protective glass lowered from us allowing Sir Itachi to walk out. As he stepped out, the ground created steps for him onto the field. I noticed that it wasn't him performing the magic, but a guard.
The crowd grew silent as Sir Itachi walked over to the men, "Well done," he applauded until he finally stood before the hooded person, "you really are a worthy opponent."
The hooded stranger just stood there, listening to Sir Itachi speak. I began to wonder whether or not the person could hear at all. They never respond, and only react when they were about to be hurt.
"Now if only I could see who was really under there," Sir Itachi said reaching for the hood.
Sir Itachi laughed as the hooded stranger grabbed his wrist before his hand could get too close to their garment. The nobleman dropped his hand and smiled boldly. I myself was getting increasingly annoyed by the man.
"I understand you're a man of mystery," he chuckled pulling a large pouch from his pocket, "I would like to propose a deal. On the day before the king's ball, I propose a duel. If you win, I double your weight in gold, but if I win, you must come and serve me. You can even hold this as an investment."
Itachi threw the pouch, and the hooded man caught it with their usual cat-like reflex. I could tell by their hands that it was a man. He pulled his hand back behind his cloak. He was still yet to speak.
The men began to lower the earth when Itachi held out his hand to the hooded man, "Agreed?"
The man in the cloak paused for a bit. The crowd hushed as we looked on at him, he seemed to think for a moment but nodded his head. It wasn't long before he disappeared the way he came.