It's been two days since I decided to help them, and they're already trying to kill me. They're 'testing' me against their three strongest men, but I'm not scared. I'll make this an experience they'll never forget. Besides, I love a good challenge, and that brings me here. Following some random person down long hallway to an arena. At this point I'm actually starting to get nervous. Even a little stage fright. I haven't actually battled anyone since I was a little kid, and to all the sudden fight a very strong foe while hundreds of people are cheering around me? Yeah, not what I call fun. With all those thoughts running through my mind, I wasn't paying attention, and didn't notice when the tiny little guy I had been following suddenly stopped. I bumped into him and snapped back to reality. I looked around and noticed that we were in a different hallway all together. The floor was checkered with tiles, and there was an big, arched door in the middle of the wall. Behind it I heard a dull, quiet rumble. Then a pang of anxiousness stung my heart, and that's probably what caused my heart to skip a beat. I knew where we were. I looked back down at the man, or at least where he should've been. He was gone. I didnt know what else to do, so I walked through the doors slowly and cautiously. Noise flooded the room I was in. Causing the butterflies in my stomach to wake up and flutter. The arena was big. It was built almost like a gladiator style. I was in the middle of a giant circle, surrounded by 30 feet high stone walls. They looked like they had been enhanced with magic. Behind the walls were thousands of people. That's right thousands not hundreds. A voice boomed overhead that made me jump. "Here he is folks. The second survivor of the infamous Shadow Clan. His clan only used taijutsu due to their lack of being unable to use magic, but they still have a couple tricks up there sleeves. Give it up for Suku!" and the crowd went wild. Hooting and hollering my name. Telling me that I could do it, and for a little bit I thought that I could too. At least until a huge man stepped out into the arena, and when I mean huge. I mean huge. He had several scars across his face and he was bald. He was shirtless, and had rippling muscles. He looked at me like I was just another vegetable in his salad. This dude needs to seriously lay of the steroids. The announcer said "Ready" I got into my fighting stance. The man punched the air. He was showing off. "Set." I got my muscles ready, and he got into a stance. "Go!" and I took off. The announcers voice yelled overhead "He's running so fast you can barely see him!" I ran behind the giant and put my palm in his back. I jerked my hand in a sideways motion, hitting him with Soul Wave. He stumbled a step forward. Then he whipped his head around to look at me. He swung his fist, and I put my arms up to defend me, but his punch was way to strong. It knocked me of my feet, and msde me fly a few feet back. I got back up and felt like puking. I let my body become orientated. Then I ran at him. This time not holding anything back. I was swinging, kicking, and everything in between. Using whatever part of my body was closest to my enemy, and attacking with it. But he kept blocking it. So I feigned a left hook, and hit him directly in the face with a quick jab from my right. My fist bounced off of his seemingly stone hard skin. I honestly felt like I had just shattered the bones in my hand. I held my injured fist, and he threw another punch. I ducked and attempted to sweep him, but when my leg reached his, it stopped instantly. I didn't even manage to make him budge. He swung another punch. Faster and stronger than the last, and it was coming straight down at me. It hit me square in the head. I could tell that I had a major concussion after that hit. He wound his foot back, and gave me a swift kick in the gut. Causing me to fly really far back. I was laying on the ground, too hurt to get up. I didn't know what I was supposed to accomplish. My clan was only taught taijutsu. I couldn't do any magic at all. What am I supposed to do to a guy like this?! He was walking towards me again. Ready to deliver the finishing blow. He was smiling. It's over. I lost. I'm gonna die here. That's when I heard a voice echo in my mind. 'Your done already?' It said. 'There's not much else I can do.' I told it. 'Yeah. Except maybe fight and possibly live, instead of give up and surely die.' The voice was right. I wasn't going to lose here. I'm not going to give up. I told my shadow to empower my soul, and help me fight. I stumbled up onto my feet. I wasn't willing to give up just yet. He smirked then swung a punch, but I saw it in slow motion. It was easy to dodge. I side-stepped, then swung my leg up, nailing him in the chin with a bone-shattering kick. It hurt, but I could tell it actually did some damage. The man stumbled backwards. When he regained balance he got angry and ran at me. He started swinging punches like crazy. Each one came at me slower than reality. I could swiftly dodge them. I saw every opening, and utilized it. He was obviously hurt by now. He was panting hard, and I knew I would win. But I also knew I shouldn't decide the battle before it's actually over. I stayed on my toes, and when I was finally out of the way of his barrage of punches I backed up from him. The crowd was silent. The fight was so intense that they were entranced. The announcer yelled "How did he do that?! That was amazing. He dodged every single attack! Wait. Is he using Shadow Dance?! Folks, you have just witnessed the famous move developed by the Shadow Clan called Shadow Dance! This is the first time anyone actually lived long enough to tell about it!" Wow. So my clan is known across the dimensions. They even know the name of our special techniques. I thought back to the tall, suited man and thought "So much for having sources." A smile cracked on my face. That smile was gone soon though. It didn't matter how cool Shadow Dance was. The truth was, I was running out of time. My body was in bad shape and it'll need medical attention soon. Especially because of all the added stress due to maintaining the Shadow Dance. I needed to formulate a plan. After a while of thinking, a lightbulb flicked on in my head. I had an idea. I was scared to try it out at first, but nothing ventured nothing gained. I sprinted at the man. He wound his fist back and swung forward. I leaned my head to the side. Letting his fist narrowly brush past my ear. I stopped, then set my fist in his stomach, holding it there. Shadow Clan, short-distance strike. I recited in my head. Shadow Force. Wnd when I said those words in my head, a burst of energy burst through my fist. He fell to his knees, and coughed up blood. He looked up at me and wiped his bloody lips. He smiled, then feel to the ground. Unmoving. It was over. I heaved a sigh of relief as the crowd went wild. I felt a little sad about what I did. "Two more left." I whispered quietly to the man lying before me. Knowing that more than likely, he didn't hear me.
