Cross Worlds

Chapter 26-3

In the midst of this fight, Yujita began remembering something Riku had said to him when they first started training together. "Yujita, you're way too...what's the word I'm looking for..?" Riku closed his eyes and thought to himself for a moment. "Sporadic..? Scattered..? It's like you're thinking way too much when you fight."

"W-What is that supposed to mean? Aren't you supposed to be considering all the possibilities when you fight? Trying to predict what your opponent will do while also trying to think of what you might do if that possibility comes to fruition? Especially with someone with magic like yours. While you might primarily use light against me, there's always a chance you could use another element against me. Or you might be trying to make me think that's what you're doing when in reality you're only focusing on using light! But you would never-" And on and on he started to go, before Riku quickly shut him down with a karate chop to the top of the head. "Ow!" Yujita whined, holding the top of his head.

"You see what I mean? You could've seen that coming from a mile away if you'd focus more on the opponent right in front of you rather than a future you cannot see." Riku took a seat next to a tree, Yujita eyeing him curiously. "Just focus on what's going on right in front of you. Keep your eyes and your mind focus on your opponent and what moves they're trying to do may not jump out at you, but you'll be able to react that much quicker."

Yujita quickly lunged at Riku with his blade, aiming to stab his head, to which Riku simply patted the tree at his side, a thick branch sticking out to protect him. "Woah..."

"You see now? Just stay focused and you'll be able to keep up with any opponent who's at your level." Riku fixed the tree to its proper state.

"And what if I'm fighting an enemy I can't see? What do I focus on then?" Yujita tilted his head to the side.

"Making sure that the enemy can't predict what you're going to do, of course. Make sure that they can't see you either."

In the present, Kenji is taken aback by Yujita's sudden sword strike, quickly jumping back and staring at the large cut across his chest. Yujita holds his katana over his shoulder, staring Kenji down. "You sure you don't wanna switch chess pieces yet? You might get dizzy from losing so much blood here soon. I suggest you start taking me more seriously, or I might just accidentally kill you."

Kenji grits his teeth and clenches his fists tightly, his body sparking as he calls off all the pawn pieces he's currently using, the rest of his chess pieces forming around him at the same time. "Alright Yujita, I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised. Honestly, I've been holding back just because I honestly didn't want to hurt you that bad." Kenji takes a deep breath and sighs, giving Yujita a coy grin. "I guess you leave me no choice anymore though..." After stating that, Kenji grabs a white bishop and a black rook, his body sparking much more powerfully than before.

"You're still looking down on me. Why don't you use your queen or king piece?" Yujita glares, clenching his katana a bit tighter. As tough as he may be trying to appear, he knows he probably wouldn't stand much of a chance if he used either of those pieces.

"Those are my last stand chess pieces Yujita. You've yet to make me go all out." The sparks around Kenji suddenly turn red, as does his aura, and the cut on his chest already starts to stop bleeding. "But by all means, if you can make me take a knee while I'm using some of my actual power, I'll give you the honor of dying by my best pieces."

Yujita frowns as he takes a stance with his blade once more. "The white bishop: grants both regeneration and the ability to teleport. The black rook: grants the power to control ki in a way that he can increase his strength and speed significantly, to the point he can break through magic itself. This just got a lot trickier... I'll have to start giving it all I've got if I wanna win."