Desert Rain (Preview)

Excerpt of Chapter 5

Kenta eventually made his way down to the entry gate where a man was allowing others to pass; five warriors were in line, waiting for their match to come up. The man who seemed to keep the line looked at Kenta. He had long hair and had an air of levity about him.

"Hey, you here for a match, kid?" he asked looking Kenta over.

"Yeah, against Lazarus, though. I'm not much interested in the others."

"Yeah, sorry. His next match isn't slated until three fights from now. You can fight him then, but if you want that you need to get signed up to fight now. One of these guys needs a match up anyway, so I'll put you down for the first one since you're new here and then you can have the one against Lazarus."

"Thank you."

The wait only lasted a few more minutes before the man called Kenta and another person up. The fighter was young, probably a little older than Kenta. He was one of the cacti type Flor that Kenta had seen earlier, dressed in slightly tattered and loose robes. His light green eyes met Kenta's as he offered him a hand.

"I suppose we'll be fighting soon. I look forward to the exercise."

"Likewise," Kenta said as he took his hand and shook it. "I am Kenta, and you are?"

"Call me Iseant. I promise to end this quickly."

"As will I." Kenta grinned cockily.

With their greetings exchanged, Kenta and Iseant both went to the field. Looking around, Kenta found Kei, Tula, and Ana in the crowd all watching intently. He gave them a brief wave before the announcer said it would be an unarmed match, like the previous one.

"Both combatants may begin!" he shouted suddenly. With that Kenta and Iseant both took their combat poses. A moment passed before Iseant came in to attack. His moves were graceful and deliberate, but Kenta could read them well. Coming in for a punch from the side, Kenta blocked it with his arm, only to feel sharp pain.

"Gah!" he cried. He was bleeding in several spots where needles were sticking out. He plucked them out before realizing what was his opponent was doing. "You can grow needles like a cactus."

"Among other things." Iseant said, "It is a natural talent of mine, not a weapon. If you like, you can surrender; otherwise you might be in for a prickly situation."

"I won't give up," Kenta said still as he tossed the needles aside. "I've got someone I need to meet in my next fight."

"Then I hope you can meet them in another way, because I won't lose." Iseant replied before growing one extremely large needle from his forearms, almost like a spike. Kenta realized he was at a disadvantage. If he was to try any direct attacks he'd be stabbed either by the enemy's defense or offenses. If he had Solan, he was sure he'd win, but like this he had no definite way out. Looking at the ground he thought about the glochids, cacti thorns, he had discarded. Throwing them at Iseant might cause him to do some damage, but aside from not knowing if they were even aerodynamic, he also figured Iseant could evade them. For a time, Kenta continued to ponder his situation while he evaded Iseant's attacks.

He came at the cat-eared Ellon, now stabbing even more rapidly him. As usual Kenta's reflexes were sharp enough to enable him to dodge them, albeit narrowly. Without a steady way to counterattack, he was at a loss. He continued to jump, duck, and sidestep he felt the water in his canteen slosh about. That was when he had an idea.

Once Iseant had tried a downward stab, Kenta leapt back and spun the lid open. Once it was he drew the water out, surprising both his foe and the watchers as they saw the liquid float in the air, he took a few stray droplets and shot them directly at his foe, the projectiles stinging on contact. Smirking, Kenta realized he had found his answer.