SHIFT 2 - Purgatory

Ready! Strike!

Nagisa came out to see most of the class huddled around the center mats. Yet, they were all just standing gawking up at the ring. In the center, Mori stood facing their brother. Marcus was something. He glared at Mori, who until now had never defied the eldest in any way.

“Why do you get him?” he growled.

“I taught him everything he knows. You want my help, I get Nagisa.” Mori demanded in his usual calm aloof manner.

“What if I need him? He is the best here!” Marcus snarled back.

“KNOCK IT OFF!” Nagisa flinched at the booming voice. For half a heartbeat, he worried his father had appeared.

Instead, it was worse. Ryu! The large dragon shifter stormed the stage. Stepping easily over the top rope, he marched up to the brothers. Both of which swung into battle positions side by side.

“I’m not going to fight you, but your idiots!” Ryu insisted.

“You get Nagisa and me. But we aren’t the best.” Ryu told Mori, who just took the news with a nod of his head.

“You get Coldar and Collin, Coldar's the best with weapons. He is the son of the weapons master! Didn’t you think of that?” he huffed.

Spinning around, Ryu faced the crowd looking up at him. “Alright half of you go over there. The other half stay here. Coldar, Collin, stay!” Ryu demanded before stepping over the rope once more.

“Uh, yeah, do what he said.” Marcus couldn’t hide the amusement in his tone. He was smirking as Nagisa glanced back.

“Did you do that to gain their respect for you?” he asked as he fell to the dragon shifter’s side.

“The class? Pft, who wants their respect. Most of them already know…”

“No, my siblings.” Nagisa interrupted. Ryu paused.

He looked down at Nagisa. “No.” he stated. “I did it so they would stop looking like squabbling children in front of the whole damn class.” He huffed out. Nagisa nodded.

“OK, I can get behind that. Because that didn’t earn you any respect points.” He patted the teens' upper arm. Ryu snorted, dropping his arm around the short boy’s shoulders.

They walked up to where Mori was swinging a mace around. His movements were smooth. The mace was in full circular motion. Unless you had supernatural sight, no one could see where the spiked head was. It swung so fast that it created a cold breeze in the warm room. Ryu whistled.

“Impressive.” He muttered.

“Not yet.” Nagisa grinned as he folded his arms over his chest. He didn’t watch the arc of the mace. Instead, his eyes went to the shifting movements of the man holding it.

Mori looked as if he were dancing with the weapon. It twirled around his body as he stepped through it, flipped it over his head, or simply let it swirl at his side. Nagisa waited. Soon! He watched. Mori’s eye flick out. The dragon vampire didn’t scan the crowd. He didn’t look at anyone else. He knew exactly where his target was.

Nagisa held his closed first out in front of his stomach. His other hand was still protecting his meaty parts. He knew the mace wouldn’t touch them, but it was still something he did. Shifting his feet apart, he solidified his stance. The weapon sang out over the heads of the students. Many screamed, dropping to the ground as they ducked away from the weapon.

Ryu even shifted slightly. “Don’t move.” Nagisa smirked. His eyes were on his own hand.

Sure enough, with perfect precision, the weapon coiled around his wrist. The handle flipping up. Nagisa caught it in his free hand. He grinned. Mori never showed off. What they could do they took for granted. It was easy for them once they learned a skill. To them, it wasn’t something to show off or use to impress people. They did this simply to get the reaction of Nagisa’s attention.