Miracles in a Lifetime

XIII • PHASE FIVE ☓ BATTLES

     I stare emotionlessly at one part of the board that contains all the battles for the final phase. In my head, however, I'm yelling in anger, the screams echoing inside.

     Terror. This is the first time I've felt terror in a long while. All my feelings jumble inside me, and my throat feels dry. I try to calm down with deep breaths, but every glance at the board makes my blood boil. I feel like I'm going to go crazy. My thoughts swarming around in my head make me feel dizzy, but I have enough strength to pull myself together.

     Why am I like this, you ask?

     Gon will be against the bald ninja, Hanzo. He's not that big of a threat to me, but he's definitely on a higher level than Gon. To distract myself, I scan the rest of the board, and I feel something inside me snap when I see that Kurapika will be battling Hisoka. The thought of their battle chills me to the bone.

     "Huh? I don't see Tenshi-san's name," Gon frowns. Hearing his voice calms me down, but his statement confuses me. I'm not on the board? How come I haven't noticed? I guess it's my habit to forget about myself and well-being, no thanks to Ryouko.

     "That is because I have something special for your friend. It will be a private fight between her and someone I hired for this particular phase," Chairman says while motioning me over to his side. I follow and stand next to him, my muscles lax. "I'll be taking your friend now."

     We walk side by side in the big building and stop in front of a large steel door. Splotches of blood are scattered on the door with scratch-like engravings, and a foul smell makes me reel my head back. The door reminds me of something from a horror story. It does not scare me, but instead excites me. Just thinking about having a strong opponent makes my skin tingle, my fingers twitching to grab a hold of my katanas.

     Chairman Netero opens the door wide, displaying a dark room. My senses identify a strong individual, and just thinking about how entertaining the fight will be makes me shiver with exhilaration.

     With a single clap from my father, the candles light up one by one, finally showing a man chained up on the wall. He hangs helplessly with his head down. His hair is as black as a raven's feather and his biceps bulge out of his t-shirt. Though his physical attributes are impressive, I do not marvel. I feel no attraction whatsoever.

     "This," Chairman gestures as he walks towards to the man, "is Calib. He is a prisoner that was transferred here because of his countless attempts at escaping Trick Tower. He broke many things, took many lives, and as a result, I am personally watching over him."

     I watch as Chairman Netero unclasps Calib's chains. As the last bolt comes undone, he starts falling from his height on the wall. I keep my gaze on him, waiting to see what he's going to do now that he's free. I become uninterested, seeing as he's just falling, but the moment before he crashes, he catches himself and lands with one hand. My eyebrows raise slightly in surprise, and he pushes himself up and stands straight.

     His face is finally shown, and seeing all the scars makes me cringe. Even though he seems to be only a few years older than me, he has no life in his eyes. They're voids of dark brown pits, bare of any emotion. My breath hitches as I'm reminded of myself from several years ago, when I was tortured relentlessly by Ryouko, when I felt pain.

     "Calib, you are to have a small fight with my daughter. It is not to the death, so don't overdo it," my father says. Although his voice contains no hostility, the stern look he sends to Calib dares him to disobey. Calib nods, Netero's glare not affecting him at all.

     He walks toward me calmly, and once he's about a foot away from me, he punches me square in the face. The impact doesn't make me move an inch, but I bow my head and touch my face to check for any scratches or cuts. There are none.

     "Ow, that kind of hurt," I mutter, raising my head and rubbing my nose. My hood falls off my head, and his eyes widen when he sees my face. "That's quite a punch you have there, sir!"

     "Wha– how do you not have any injury from my attack?" He takes a leap backwards, now a little wary of me. "My normal strength should've crushed your skull."

     I shrug at his monotonous voice and tie my hair into a high ponytail as I walk towards him. In a matter of a millisecond, I effortlessly roundhouse kick him at his neck, making him take several steps back. He hunches over and groans while holding his neck in hopes to calm his aching pain. After a couple moments, he finally stands up straight, blood dribbling down his mouth. He must've bit his tongue.

     There is also a deep scratch next to his jawline, and a large lump starts to bulge a purple hue from the side of his neck. I yawn from my lack of rest, but he scowls, taking my yawn as a form of mockery.

     "You cocky little brat!" He lunges at me with what seems to be his full speed and attempts to punch me once more, but I grab his fist and hold it in place without much exertion. Calib's face reddens with anger as he applies more pressure, but to no avail. My firm grip holds his humongous fist back.

     His pitiful attempt at an attack makes me exhausted, and our hands get clammy. Using a fraction of my full strength, I push him away as softly as I can, but it still makes him take a few more steps back.

     "Just give up! I do not wish to harm you," I say exasperatedly. I start to walk away, but turn my head in incredulousness when I see Calib go down on one knee and bow his head. I stare at him with confusion. What the hell is he doing?

     "Yes, my Goddess. I shall give up," he states sincerely. I sigh in frustration. This is why I didn't want to speak.

     "Stand," I command him. He gets up almost immediately after I uttered the word. "Do what you want."

     He snaps out of the entrancement with a confused look on his face. I guess he was put into a subconscious state in the short duration of being controlled by my voice. This ability of mine has gotten stronger.

     "Okay, Tenshi-chan wins due to Calib's surrender. Tenshi-chan has passed the Exam," Chairman announces, startling me and making me jump a little bit. I forgot he was here.

     "What?!" Calib exclaims, and I turn around to see steam coming out of his ears, his face adorned with looks of confusion and fury. I open my mouth to say something, but immediately close it, remembering my voice's effect on him. The Chairman gently nudges me out of the room, leaving Calib in his confused state, wondering what just happened.

     The two of us walk in silence through the halls, and we head to what seems like a room for those who passed the Hunter Exam. I think.

     "We're going to the room in which the contestants will be held in. They're still battling one another," he explains, proving my prediction right. I nod in response as he opens a door to a large auditorium. I enter and sit at the front, expecting Netero-san to sit next to me, but he doesn't. Instead, he stays in the doorway.

     "I'm sorry, Tenshi-chan, but I need to be there to watch the rest of the fights. You will have to wait here until they're done," he says and closes the door without letting me respond. I hear the door lock click, meaning that I'm stuck here unless I break through the wall and disobey the Chairman's orders.

     But I won't.

     I finally have someone who's willing to be my father, and I don't want to lose him. With a loud groan of frustration, I comb my fingers through my hair and slouch on the chair, waiting for the rest.

EDITED ON: Sunday, December 8th, 2019