The Moonlight Hero

Chapter Four: Aishido

The party went smoothly. We stayed up until four in the morning playing games and hanging out. Tenya and the others ended up spending the night. Tenya slept with Hakone, while Kei and Niko slept in the beanbag chairs on my half of the room.

It wasn't until around seven that we were woken by a loud noise coming from right outside Hakone's window. I groggily got up and put a hoodie on. I went over to the window and looked out. In the small abandoned town, I could see columns of ice and fire being spewed about. I turned towards Hakone, who was rubbing her eyes.

"Uh, are there supposed to be battles out there?" I asked. Hakone nodded. "That's the underground training grounds. There is a reason why it's so much larger than the apartment complex," she said, yawning. I looked back out. I could barely make out one figure. They were the source of the ice.

"Who's that?" I asked, pointing at the small figure. Kei yawned. "That would be Aishido. He is currently in the top fifty strongest people here," Kei said. I looked back out. "Speaking of the training grounds, do you know what the Hero's Tournament is, Artemis?" Tanya asked. I shook my head. She threw a letter at me. I opened it.

You are invited to join us in the Hero's Tournament! This is an opportunity to build your skills and fight others with them. Upon entering, you will receive a list of the rules in your inbox. In order to enter, you must have submitted and received your outfit, as that will be what you wear during the tournament. The deadline for entering is the eighteenth of May. Best wishes, Subaru.

I handed the letter back to Tenya. "It sounds pretty interesting. I have to design an outfit, huh?" I said. Tenya nodded. "I placed fourth last year," Niko said, "As anticipated, James took first, and Aishido took second." I summoned a piece of paper from my digital inventory, thinking about how to design my outfit. Tenya stood up.

"I'm going to get some bubble tea, want to come with?" Kei said, standing up. Everyone else stood and picked up their stuff. I was sitting at my desk, ideas swimming around my head.

"Are you coming with?" Hakone asked, putting her shoes on. I shook my head, and she left.

About an hour later, I took a break from trying out designs. I went over to Hakone's window and looked out upon the training grounds. Only a little while ago, the small city was being torn to shreds by waves of fire and ice, but now it looked brand new. There was no sign of the previous battle. I decided to go down and check the city out.

When I got the the top of the stairs, at the entrance to the training grounds, there was not a single person in sight. I walked into the city. The main street lay right in front of the entrance. I began walking down it, and I started to feel as if someone was watching me. I subconsciously tap the side of my right thigh. A small screen popped up.

"No battles in progress." it said. I tapped my thigh again and it disappears. At this point, I'm halfway down the street. I still feel like someone's watching me, so I turn onto a side street. About a half hour later, the room gets increasingly cold. I can see frost dwindling in the air. I whipped around. A heavy fog had fallen onto the city. I stopped walking, and sunk into a defensive stance. I could hear footsteps echoing off of the stone walls of the training grounds. All of a sudden, I see a bit of movement in the corner of my eye. A small warning sign appeared at the top right corner of my sight. I shoot a bolt of electricity in the direction of the movement. A flower pot shatters. My shot missed it's mark. 

"Hello, newcomer," A voice behind me says monotonously. I whip around and send an electric punch to where I heard the voice. A wall of ice spiked up from the ground, my punch shattering the wall into thousands of tiny splinters. I jump backwards. I focus on my hands. The ice wall did not count as an attack. I couldn't replicate it. The figure I saw earlier suddenly appears before me. In the haze of the fog, I could see his eyes glowing an icy blue. He grabbed my leg as I landed. I shoved him off of me, but it was too late. My leg was frozen in ice, cemented to the pavement below me. I focus to my leg and break out of the bind with and electric kick. My attacker was quick, however. His punch to the back of my head felt like an icy brick. I started to fade from consciousness. I struggled to get to my knees, and a foot came flying at my face. It made contact. I flew backwards. I reached out my hands, and an overwhelming cold burst of energy came out from my palms. I landed on my feet and opened my eyes. An enormous mountain of ice was in front of me, a slightly transparent shade of black. A large spike of blue ice was intermingled with it, but on a much smaller scale. I heard a snap from the other side of the ice, and a hurricane of small, razor sharp spikes of ice came hurling at me. I jumped and pushed down, and a column of ice sprung from my palms. I jumped across the spikes of ice and landed a solid punch to the side of my attackers face. He flew backward, and I lunged forward and hooked the back of his neck with my foot, my leg sparking with black electricity. I finished the kick, and my attacker shot into the walls of ice. He gets back up quickly, and lunges at me. My entire body filled with electricity, I intercepted his attack with a straight punch. A huge wave of energy flew in every direction, cutting every last building in half. The fog lifted. I fell to my knees. I'd never felt this kind of pain before. It felt like my entire body was splitting apart. I opened my eyes. My attacker was on the ground, his leg visibly broken. I passed out.

"Artemis, are you awake?" a girl's voice asked. I opened my eyes. Hakone was standing above me, a worried look in her eyes. I looked around. My attacker was now completely visible. He looked about three years older than me, and slightly taller too. He had a semi-pale complexion, with blue eyes and snow-white mid-length hair. He was wearing a navy blue jacket, paired with a brown pair of pants and black shoes. He was standing in the doorway on crutches. I looked down at my arm. It was in a thick cast.

"What happened?" I asked groggily. Hakone handed me a matcha smoothie and looked to the white haired man. He sighed and stepped over to my side.

"You destroyed my leg, your arm, and an entire twenty square mile city. With a single punch. You beat me," he said monotonously, trying to hide his true emotions. It was clear that he was angry. I stare at him. "You're Aishido?" I asked. He nodded and left the room. I look around at my surroundings.

"Where am I?" I asked, sipping on my drink. Hakone sat in a chair adjacent to my bed. "You're in a hospital, idiot. And why'd you go after Aishido after being told that he was in the top fifty strongest people in our community?" Hakone asked sternly. I shook my head. "I didn't think anyone was in there. I went down there to train. He was still in there, apparently," I said, laying back down in the hospital bed. Hakone shook her head. "Preying on unsuspecting people is one of his favorite past times," she said. Hakone stood up. "One more treatment and your arm should be healed. It was shattered completely by the punch. You're lucky that someone with a healing power works here, otherwise you wouldn't ever be able to use that arm ever again." 

I look out the window. It showed out to the shopping district. "How long have I been out?" I asked. Hakone opened the door to leave. "Three days," she said. She left the room without another word. I set the smoothie on the bedside table. A short woman walked into the room and held one hand over my arm. My arm no longer hurt, but I was falling back asleep.

Unbeknownst to me, James was leaning up against the other side of the wall. He grinned to himself, his eyes glistening with mischief. He pivoted around and walked away.