Author’s Note: Chapter 3, at long last. This story is slow going. I have it all planned out in my head as to what’s going to happen (well, most of it anyway). This chapter is the test for Nataku! *dramatic music plays in background* Hope for those of you who read this that you enjoy it.

~Lordess

The ball went up into the air, almost touching the ceiling. It seemed to slow as it reached the top of it’s arch before tumbling back down to land into my awaiting open hand. My wrist flexed to support the catch of the ball before my entire arm flicked itself forward, as it had done countless times this morning, sending the ball upwards again.

It was the next morning, Saturday, and the clock on my dresser read 10 am. Miginis said he would be here by now to retrieve me for the test I was to have with Habadaku. Test meant fight. Zen-ni had said Habadaku was very strong. That made me dread Miginis’ arrival, but still, I was a bit impatient to get it over with.

I had asked Miginis last night about what would happen today. He told me that fighting Habadaku wasn’t as big a deal as Zen-ni had made it sound. It wasn’t a battle to the death. It wasn’t even a test really. It was just a way to see where my strengths lie and where I could be of help to the Dreamstalkers.

Immediately after he told me this, I had asked, “When did I agree to be on your team?” He looked at me darkly, but I continued anyway. “I never said anything about joining you people. What if I don’t want to be a part of it?”

“You want to try joining the other team?” Miginis asked. “I think they’d kill you before you had the chance to utter a word.”

“What if I don’t want to be a guardian at all?”

A dark smirk came onto his lips after that. “You do want to. I know you do.”

The scary part was he was right. I don’t know exactly what it was that made me want to be a Guardian of Illotica, but that was all I could think of last night when I tried to sleep. Even after spending two days in Habadaku’s time altered room, sleeping with such pain filtering through me, I still wanted more. Not the pain, of course, but of the fighting.

The feel of having the power flowing through me. The feel of being in that uniform, the mask of the power. The feel of holding that same power in my hand. The feel of using that power. It was all like an addictive memory that I couldn’t shake from my brain. I wanted to fight the other guardians again. I wanted to be a Guardian of Illotica again.

So I would suffer through the test of Habadaku and get sorted into my category. Whatever would give me the excuse to transform.

The ball went up into the air and fell back down into my hand. I made the motion to throw it again, but stopped. I pushed myself into a sitting position on my bed and looked down at the ball, my fingers running over it as if it were the glass sphere that had come out of my body last night. As it if were my Illotica.

What exactly is Illotica?

The keeper of dreams, from what Miginis had described. It was your drive. It was the creator of hope and inspiration. Was it your soul? Was it not only the holder of your dreams, but the dreams itself? Was it the pure essence of a person?

These questions, and others filtered through my head. My mind became an endlessly repeating train of such thoughts. I wanted them answered. No, needed them answered. I would have to ask Miginis when he came.

If he came.

Chapter 3: Testing via the Gauntlet

I almost didn’t hear the ring of the doorbell, but froze when I realized what it was and what it meant. I jumped from the bed, dropping the ball on the mattress in my hurry. I used the railing to swing myself around and vault down the stairs. My mother beat me to the door, however, and I was still halfway up the stairs. I forced myself to slow down.

“Konninchiwa. I’m looking for Nataku-chan. Is she here?”

That didn’t sound like Miginis’ voice.

“Hai,” my mother said, turning to glance at me as I jumped the last few steps, landing on the ground floor. She moved aside to let me see who was at the door. I gawked.

“Mori-kun? What are you doing here?”

Zen-ni blinked at this a moment before making an awkward face. “Is it that much of a surprise that I’d come and see you?” he asked, forcing a smile through the estranged look. “I mean, after what happened yesterday, you think I’d be so negligent as to not visit you?”

It almost sounded strange hearing such high language from him. My mother made her retreat to the living room. I, not wanting to take any chances, ushered Zen-ni back and joined him outside, closing the door behind me. “How did you find my house?” I asked.

Zen-ni flashed me a teasing smile. “Love can direct a man anywhere!” he said, making sure I could see the jesting fun in his eyes. I made a face and hit him lightly on the arm. “I came to get you for the test today.”

I blinked with slight confusion. “I thought Miginis-san was supposed to come get me,” I muttered. Zen-ni made another comical face and disgust. He rolled his eyes and shook his head to accompany the look.

“You would rather Grouchy-chan to come and pick you up than me?” he asked. “I misjudged your good taste.”

“No, it’s not that. I was just under the assumption that he was going to come and get me.” I added, “Two hours ago.”

At this, Zen-ni’s joking mood failed him. His face became solemn for a moment before he forced a smile to over take it. I could still see the slight strain in his eyes to keep that smile in place. “Miginis-kun is a bit... unavailable at the moment,” he replied. The wide eyed look I gave him forced him to continue. “He had a rather unpleasant encounter last night after he dropped you off.”

My voice lowered to a whisper. “The other team?” I asked, finding it the only plausible explanation.

Zen-ni shook his head. “Oh no, they gave up for the night,” he answered. I gave a bewildered look and he strained to keep a straight face. “I’ll tell you later, alright? We’re already behind schedule and Habadaku will have my head if I don’t get you there soon.”

“Hai,” I mumbled under my breath. I opened the door to my household again and stuck my head inside. “Oka-san! I’m going to go work on the project now!” I shouted to her. That had been the excuse I made up, a project. I really didn’t like the idea of lying, but I could see no other way around it.

My mother stuck her own head out from the kitchen, one of her ‘worried mother’ looks etched on her face. “Do you really think it’s wise for you to be going out after yesterday?” she asked. I gave an exasperated sigh and a roll of the eyes.

“Gomen, Oka-san! Demo! I explained to you that most of yesterday was me loosing track of the time!”

Oka-san still looked skeptical. “I’m just worried about you, Nataku,” she replied. Her puppy-dog face was surfacing. The one that all mother’s had when trying to work up a bit of sympathy from their child. It was quickly changed however to a more curious expression soon after I felt a presence behind me.

“Shinpai shinaide, Oka-san!” Zen-ni said as he peered over me, his chin pushing mine down so he could peek into the household as well. “She’s in good hands! If anything happens, I’ll be sure to rush her straight home! On my own back if I must!”

I think my mother, if not weirded out, was amused at this, for she laughed, all traces of her guilt trip for me gone. Silently I was thanking Zen-ni, but I was making an obvious effort to push him off of me. Oka-san bid us goodbye and I shut the door behind me, ushering Zen-ni to lead the way.

Zen-ni talked his head off while we walked to Habadaku’s mansion. I could scarcely get a word in between his jabbering. I had the feeling it was to ease the slight tension that hung in the air around me, but I said not a word against it. I was thankful, actually. His light tone and playful nature did help alleviate some worry from my mind.

“Oh! I forgot to tell you! I ran into one of your friends the other day!” he mentioned, folding his hands behind his head as he walked.

I turned my head up towards him curiously. “You did?”

“Yes! It was- oh what was her name...?” He absentmindedly put a finger to his bottom lip in thought, tapping it lightly. “Haruka? No that’s the girl that sits next to me. Makoto? No. Rei? Minako?”

I was barely able to force back a laugh, instead placing a smirk on my lips. “You certainly are popular with the ladies,” I mused aloud. “To bad you can’t keep them all straight and remember their names.”

A smirk of his own flittered into place with amazing quickness. He slowed his pace, swinging in front of me and catching my chin with his forefinger. I stopped quickly in surprise at this, my eyes growing wide as he leaned his face in closer to mine. “I only remember the important ones, Nataku.” His voice was low, almost inaudible, but came out with such smoothness, it was if it had been rehearsed to perfection.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, feeling my cheeks grow red. I tried to find voice enough to tell him to move away, or even strength enough to step back or push his hand away. Neither could be found. I was completely flustered by this sudden change of character.

His brown eyes blinked, the serious look fading instantly to a more curious one as they flickered away, moving over my shoulder. “Mutashi,” he said flatly. I blinked.

“Hands off, ecchi!” said the voice from behind me. Before I could turn around, Mutashi’s hand reached over my shoulder to push Zen-ni away. “She’s mine!” She promptly wrapped her arms about my shoulders to ensure the claim. I blinked again.

Zen-ni’s hands were thrown up in defense. “Sumimasen, Mutashi-chan! Hands are off!” he replied, laughing in delight. “I meant no disrespect to you or your friend!”

I blinked a third time. “Wait,” I muttered. “How do you two know each other?”

Mutashi relinquished her grip on me with a look of slight skepticism. “You think you’re my only friend?” she asked. “Have you so little faith in my social skills?”

I gave a jesting grin. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

I was rewarded with a punch to the arm.

“This is the friend of yours I ran into,” Zen-ni clarified for me. “I met up with her in the coach’s office at school.”

“Coach’s office?” I repeated, confused at first. Memory soon returned however and I recalled Mutashi’s reasoning for visiting the coach. “To talk about Mutashi-san joining the basketball team?”

“That’s right!” the blonde haired girl replied, tossing her long hair behind her shoulder, more to look dramatic than getting rid of a nuisance. “You’re looking at the first female to make it on the basketball team at our high school!”

My eyes lit up at this and I felt my heart lift of everything that had previously been weighing it down. “You made the team?!” I asked, filled with excitement.

Mutashi smirked. “Well-”

“No.”

My gaze turned to Zen-ni curiously. “Eto...? Nani?” I tilted my head back to Mutashi. “Did you make it or not?” Her confident look was a little less than confident.

“Well, I-”

“She still has to try out,” Zen-ni interjected, cutting off Mutashi a second time. She let it go with no more than a glare.

“I’ll make it on the team,” Mutashi told him, crossing her arms. “I’m better at basketball than some of the members on the team now.”

Zen-ni faked a disdainful sigh, putting a hand to his heart in mockery. “To think that our high school has to have girls win our battles for us! What is the world coming to?”

I passed along the punch Mutashi had given me earlier to Zen-ni. “Chauvinistic bastard.” He only smiled in reply.

“The only reason I tried out for the boy’s team was because our high school is too cheap to support a girls basketball team,” the blonde defended.

“I’m not disputing it,” Zen-ni replied. “You’d make a fine addition.”

“So where are you headed?” Mutashi asked, the question directed to both of us. I darted a glance at Zen-ni to see if he was going to answer, but he didn’t make any indication of saying anything. Something had caught his wit in that moment, leaving me to make up a lie.

“He’s going to help me study for the test next week,” I replied, smiling pleasantly. “There are some things about the material that I don’t understand fully, but Zen-ni offered to help me figure them out.”

“What was the test in again?”

“Trigonometry.”

Mutashi made a face. “That’s right. I have to study for that too... tomorrow, anyway,” she mused. Her face scrunched up a moment in thought as her purple eyes fell upon the brown haired boy. “I thought you flunked Trigonometry.”

Crap.

Thankfully, Zen-ni’s wit and cunning made a miraculous return. “Alright, you caught me,” he told her. “I admit it. I was tricking Nataku-chan into coming to my house so I could seduce her and make her bear my child.” A playful smirk appeared on his lips.

“I wouldn’t put it past you,” Mutashi countered.

Zen-ni stuck out his tongue in retort. “I was going to introduce her to my sister, if that’s not a problem with you. She passed trigonometry with extremely high scores.”

“That’s right, your sister. You’re family line does have a bit of hope, doesn’t it?”

“Urasai, ne?”

Something started nagging me about then concerning the two people before me. I couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but something was a bit off, something not quite right.

Mutashi bid us farewell and continued on her way, and Zen-ni and I continued on our own towards Habadaku’s mansion. I turned my head towards Zen-ni once I was sure that Mutashi was out of earshot. “So when did you meet Mutashi-san?”

“Mutashi-san? Oh just yesterday in the coach’s office, after school,” he replied calmly. “I’m on the basketball team and I got to hear her talk with the coach about letting her join the team.”

“So you just met her?”

“Hai. I walked her home afterwards because you were in detention. And if she gets on the team, I’ll be able to see a lot more of her. And you know what that means?”

“You’ll actually remember her name when you first think about her?”

Zen-ni laughed. “Perhaps,” he replied. “But the more I see if her, the more I see of you.” He winked at me and gave a jesting smile. I wasn’t quite sure what to make if it. Was he flirting or just attempting to get under my skin?

But there was the problem between him and Mutashi. They had only met yesterday, but by their manner and attitude with each other, it seemed like they had know each other for years. Yes, yes. Mutashi knew little of modesty when it came to most situations, but she did have some ounce of shyness in her veins and she wouldn’t be so open with another person on their second meeting. And yes, Zen-ni seemed like a really open person, but I had met him the day before as well, under much more serious circumstances, and I wasn’t that personable with him.

Perhaps it was just the combination of two very open people that sparked a connection between them. But that didn’t seem right, as plausible as it was.

...How did Mutashi know so much about Zen-ni...?

My question was left unanswered as we arrived at the white mansion that should have been black.

I tapped my foot impatiently, arms crossed as my eyes darted around the room where Zen-ni had left me in. It was small, the only thing bringing any notice was the staircase before me. I had been told not to climb it yet, however, and to wait for word from Zen-ni before leaving. I had been waiting quite a few minutes now.

I glanced at my watch and gave a sigh, switching weight to my other foot and looked about the room again.

Nataku-chan? I heard Zen-ni’s voice say. I’m using the intercom system. Can you hear me?

I looked about, trying to find where the intercom was, seeing only a camera in one of the corners of the room pointed at me. It’s red light was blinking, obviously indicating it was turned no. “Yes,” I replied, wondering if he could hear me in return.

Good, he replied, answering my question. Just wait a few more moments for us to get everything set up.

“Us?” I repeated out loud. I didn’t get an answer for that one. “Where are you?”

The control room. It’s actually not to far from where you are now, but chances are you’d never find it unless you knew where it was.

“Where am I?”

Starting point of the gauntlet.

“You make it sound so pleasant,” I muttered sarcastically. “I thought I was supposed to fight Habadaku.”

You will fight Habadaku, Zen-ni replied. But first you have to get to him.

I forced a smile in view of the camera. “Funny how you and Miginis-kun neglected to mention that.”

Are you backing out?

“No.”

I didn’t think you would.

I dimly wondered how I should take that.

“Alright,” Zen-ni said into the microphone. “Everything’s set up. I’d do some stretches before you start, otherwise you might be out of commission before you get to the hard part. As for your Illotica, only use it when you find it completely necessary.” He reached over the control board and flipped a switch to turn off the microphone before leaning back in his chair. “Let the show begin.”

Kitalani frowned from her position next to him. “This isn’t a game, Zen-ni,” she muttered crossly.

“Never said it was,” he replied. “But there’s no harm in finding a little enjoyment in an otherwise serious profession of guardianship.”

“Just don’t make the mistake of finding too much enjoyment,” the raven haired youth replied. “Otherwise Habadaku-sama will have a few words to say against you.”

“A few words from him is a few words to many,” he muttered crossly, resting his chin on the back of his hand. He paused before frowning and asking in a more serious tone, “What’s the condition on Miginis-san?”

Kitalani’s eyes softened a bit, though it was hardly noticble in the room that was only lit by the video camera monitors. “He-”

She was cut off by the door opening. Both she and Zen-ni had to shield their eyes from the intense outside light, wincing slightly in discomfort. The door closed and darkness returned. Zen-ni turned in his chair to look at the newcomer. “Speak of the devil,” he muttered. “Shouldn’t you be lying down?”

“I’m fine,” Miginis snapped to dismiss the matter, taking a free chair and pulling it in view of the monitors. The tone in his voice seemed far from fine to Zen-ni and Kitalani, but both decided it best not to push the matter further.

The other figure who had entered with Miginis leaned over the control panel to get a better look at the monitor. “So that’s our new member?” she asked, her short blonde hair falling into her eyes a bit as she turned her head down to Zen-ni.

Zen-ni nodded in reply. “Her name is Mugen Nataku. She’s a storm elemental, according to Miginis-san.”

“And how well does she fight?”

“The first battle is no way to judge, Kizui,” Kitalani mused. “When a guardian first transforms, the power completely over takes them and it’s the power that fights, not the person. You know that.”

Kizui sneered to the other girl. “Well then, how does her power fight?”

Kitalani could barely control herself from letting the mockery in Kizui’s voice anger her.

“Stop it you two,” Miginis said in a stern voice to quiet the prides of the two females. “She’s going to start.” All eyes turned to the monitor. Miginis’ elbows came to rest on the edge of the control panel, his chin resting on top of his hands. “And to answer your question, Kizui, her power fought surprisingly well.”

I had taken Zen-ni’s advice to stretch, even if I didn’t know what for. Was I going to over exert myself climbing stairs or something? Even if I was very skeptical, I wasn’t about to make a mistake by questioning someone who had been through it before. So I stretched till my joints popped and my body felt loose. I then started climbing the stairs into the next room.

My heart was pounding, waiting for something to pop out like a horror movie. That didn’t happen. Instead, what did happen was that when I was halfway up the stairs, the footing below my feet disappeared and I fell.

The next thing I remember, I was back where I started at the bottom of the stairs, only sitting with a strong pain in my rear. “Itai!” I whined, pulling myself to my feet. I looked at the stairs and saw my problem. The tops hand tilted and created a slide which I had fallen backwards down.

The tops of the stairs slid back to their horizontal state. “So that’s how it’s going to be?” I asked in a grumbling voice. I pulled myself to my feet again, ignoring the slight throbbing. I drew one foot back, deciding to try a different approach to the stairs. I pushed myself off the ground and sprung forward, vaulting up the steps as fast as I could, skipping every other one. Regardless of how ingenious this sounded, when I had reached the midway point, the stairs fell from beneath me again and I fell, face first, on the smooth surface before sliding all the way back down.

I sat back and crossed my legs before me, glaring up at the stairs as they shifted back to normal. My jaw flexed a bit, sore from hitting it on the ground. I turned my gaze to the camera and let my glare darken. “Laugh it up, Mori-kun,” I said loudly. “Just remember that I’m going to kill you when I finish this damned test.”

I’m just doing my job, Zen-ni’s voice replied, sounding offended. I could still hear the laughter in his voice, however.

I gave a sinister smirk and arched an eyebrow. “I kill messengers.”

Duly noted.

I again got to my feet and studied the staircase. I thought about extracting my Illotica again to become guardian, but I wondered where that would get me. The power of storm wouldn’t do me any good, aside from maybe electrocuting the circuit systems and the hand that controlled it. Nope. I would have to figure this one out on my own.

My gaze lifted to the railing and I tilted my head in consideration. I drew one foot back again, preparing to run again. I pushed off and jolted up the first few steps. Once I came close to the middle I jumped as high as I could to one side, grabbing a firm hold of the railing. My feet were barely able to land on the smooth, tilted surface, but the managed to stay. The stairs had shifted to the slide the moment my feet had left the steps and landed on the rail.

I smiled, pleased with myself. “Eat that,” I murmured under my breath. I reached a hand up, then another, making my slow ascension to the top. My feet threatened to slip off several times, for the surface was very narrow and rounded, but I dug the arches over it as best I could to prevent it. Once at the end of the railing, I swung my feet around to the ground, relinquishing my hold on the rail and turning to look at my new surroundings.

Congradulations, Zen-ni said over the speaker. Third try is pretty good.

“I’m glad you think so,” I replied, looking around for another camera to direct my gaze towards. I didn’t see one, but something told me he could see me regardless. “I’m proud.”

You should be. You beat me by one try.

“So where am I now?”

Next stage. This time you get a hint.

I looked to what lay before me before. A long hallway lit by candles awaited, and at the far end, I could see doors. That would be where I’d have to go. However, there was a small problem. Only a foot in front of me, the floor dropped. I scooted closer, till my feet were at the edge. I looked down, eyes growing wide. Beneath was pitch black with no end in sight. I gave a worried groan.

Your hint is this: “I soar without wings, I see without eyes. I've traveled the universe to and fro.
I've conquered the world, yet I've never been anywhere but home. Who am I?”

I looked up to the ceiling, with a glare. “A riddle?” I asked. “What the hell am I supposed to do with a riddle?”

A glint of light caught the my attention and I looked back down to the hole. I gasped as a ray of light shot in front of my feet, the shock causing me to stumble back a few steps. The light shot forward, covering the hole where the floor was supposed to be. I watched, amazed, as the light became more concentrated, making it look as if it were solid tiles.

I eased forward again and gazed down at the tiles. Some of them had letters inscribed on them. The riddle would have to be solved and answered with the tiles. Only by stepping on the right tiles would I be able to get across the gap. Stepping on the wrong tiles and...

I gulped and groaned again, not wanting to think about what would happen.

Zen-ni and Miginis had slid out a narrow, rectangular piece of the control panel and had each taken a place on one side of it. Each had their fingertips resting on the edge, feeding their powers into it. This board was a replica of the hallway Nataku stood in now, with the rows of lettered tiles. The power of light and fantasy which the two gave was being sent from the board to the hall, creating the next test.

“I’m glad you’re hear to help out,” Zen-ni said slowly, so he wouldn’t break his concentration. At Miginis’ edge of the board, he watched as an small human image of light walked up to the edge of the tiles. “This would have been a lot harder to do without you.”

Miginis said nothing in reply, barely even hearing the words the guardian of light had said. He was too busy staring intently on the image before him. Part of him wanted to succeed, because he knew deep down that she would make an excellent guardian. Another part of him wanted her to lose, because he didn’t want to let her fall into the hands of Kado. She was strong, he knew, but not strong enough to withstand Kado. No one was strong enough to withstand him.

“Think she’ll make it across?” Kitalani asked, staring at the video screen instead of at the board. Kuzui gave a sneer, following Kitalani’s gaze.

“Of course not,” she muttered. “She’ll get it wrong, fall, and have to go the long way. That’s the way it’s always happened.” She flipped her head a bit to move her bangs from her eyes.

Zen-ni gave a snort of disagreement. “Just because it happened to you, doesn’t mean it happens to everybody,” he muttered, not taking his eyes off the board before him. Kizui send him a glare, crossing her arms across her chest.

“You didn’t make it across either, Zen-chan,” she snipped. Zen-ni made a face at the nickname and the mocking tone behind it. Kizui gave one last look up to the screen where Nataku still stood, thinking of her answer. “She’ll screw up. Trust me. And when she does you can come say your sorry for doubting me.”

The blonde turned on her heels and left the room.

Kitalali and Zen-ni both shared an exasperated and annoyed look. “As much as I’d hate to say it, I think she’s right,” Kitalani mused, looking back to the monitor. “Mugen-san won’t make it.”

“I wouldn’t be to sure,” Zen-ni murmured, glancing at the monitor, then to the board before him. “I’ve heard she’s quite the clever person.”

Miginis remained silent with his opinion.

I frowned as I stared at the pathway before me, arms crossed. The riddle repeated itself over and over in my head, breaking it apart, trying to deduce what it could possibly be. “I soar without wings, I see without eyes. I've traveled the universe to and fro,” I murmured aloud during the twentieth repetition in my head. Somehow, I thought saying it aloud would help me. “I've conquered the world, yet I've never been anywhere but home.”

It didn’t really help.

I gave a sigh, feeling that I should just give up now. I’d never been good with riddles. Some riddles, are so hard that they’re better left of unsolved. I was about to open my mouth to call off this test and go home in defeat, but my pride stopped my voice from coming.

I couldn’t let a riddle defeat me. What kind of guardian would I be if I gave up so easily?

“I soar without wings, I see without eyes.”

Probably something physical. I didn’t know of anything that was both wingless and blind, yet could see and fly.

“I’ve traveled the universe to and fro, I’ve conquered the world, yet I’ve never been anywhere but home.”

What did this riddle have to do with being a guardian of Illotica? Sure you probably had to be strong of mind, but this was ridiculous. When the idea of guardian comes to mind, I had always thought of strong fighters, not strong thinkers. So why did the guardians of Illotica have to be different? What’s so different about guarding dreams?

My thought train stopped short, heart giving a jump in it’s beating.

Dreams.

The answer was ‘dreams’. Duh.

I smacked my forehead with the heel of my hand for my stupidity. I looked at the lettered tiles and smiled as I saw that there was a ‘D’ right next to the normal floor I stood on. I picked up my left foot and eased it onto the tile of light.

I gave a surprised, panicked gasp as the light faded and my foot slipped right through the hole. I violently swung my arms and threw my weight backwards, landing harshly on my bottom, my left leg still hanging in the hole. Obviously ‘dreams’ wasn’t the answer I was looking for. I pulled my foot back and stood up again, reviewing my options.

Of course ‘dreams’ wasn’t the answer. That was only too obvious. There was always ‘Illotica’, but that seemed too obvious as well. So what was it?

Something close to dreams, I was sure. Something I might need in future battles, perhaps. Something powerful. Something simple. Something...

An idea of the answer flickered into my mind. It sounded correct. It seemed to be important enough to be apart of the tests. It could be right. However, the first letter was a good leap away. If I went for it, I wouldn’t have any chance to save myself by falling back. I’d be falling straight down into the pit.

My eyes stared at the tile for a good long time. I could take the chance or stand here until I thought of another answer. I didn’t think that my chances of thinking of another answer were too good, and I figured if I was wrong, I’d still be okay.

I mean, these tests weren’t meant to kill you, right?

Even if I wasn’t too convinced of my safety, I decided to make a jump for it anyway. I took a deep breath, braced for a moment, then sprang, aiming for the first letter.

‘I’

I didn’t fall. I was safe. I had chosen the right letter. I looked around for the second letter, and upon spotting it, jumped again.

‘M’

Another safe letter. I smiled, feeling much safer and confident than I had when I had first jumped. This wasn’t so hard! I jumped again.

‘A’

‘G’

‘I’

‘N’

‘A’

‘T’

I had only three more letters to go, and the ‘I’ was next. This is where I made the mistake of being too confident in my abilities. I had lost my concentration in my happiness and when I jumped, the back half of my feet landed on the ‘S’ behind the ‘I’. The tile disappeared and the base of my support gave way. Being that both feet had lost their hold, I had nothing to jump back to. My breath caught in my throat as I felt myself begin to fall backwards.

And then I suddenly stopped. I’m not sure how I had managed to get back to standing upright on the ‘I’, but I had. There was a strange, cold feeling skittering across my body, however. I didn’t move for a moment, wondering what had saved me.

Kitalani and Zen-ni both stared wide-eyed at Miginis. The black haired boy seemed just as surprised and was staring down at his hand that had seemingly moved on it’s own.

When Nataku had slipped, Miginis’ body had completely tensed. One of his hands had let go of the board and had reached out for the holographic light figure on the board, stopping her fall. He had saved her from falling, and he couldn’t understand why he had done it.

Kitalani and Zen-ni couldn’t understand either. Their eyes darted to each other to exchange a shocked glance. It was Kitalani who spoke first.

“You weren’t supposed to do that, Miginis-kun,” she said, barely above a whisper. “That’s against the rules. You aren’t supposed to help them get through the gauntlet. Habadaku will be angry.”

The green-eyed boy regained his composure, his fingertips coming to rest on the edge of the board once more, his expression returning to it’s blank state. He took a deep breath, knowing fully-well how angry Habadaku would be. He inwardly shuddered and what could happen to him if Habadaku found out. “He won’t be if no one tells him,” Miginis murmured after a long pause. The two before him couldn’t believe that he had said something like that. He could barely believe it himself.

What was happening to him?

Zen-ni took a moment to watch as Nataku finished crossing the board, jumping off ‘I’ to ‘O’, then from ‘N’ to the stable floor beyond the gap. The puzzle had been solved; ‘IMAGINATION’. Both he and Miginis lifted their hands from the board, the holographic light fading as the board de-activated.

“My lips are sealed,” Zen-ni muttered quietly, still staring at the board. Miginis nodded to him before looking up to Kitalani. The girl had moved her gaze to the screen, watching as Nataku walked to the final stage of the gauntlet, the room where Habadaku waited. Once she entered that room, there would be no cameras to allow the trio to watch any longer. They would have to wait till the battle was over.

Kitalani chewed in her lip in consideration. “Well,” she mused, standing upright and crossing her arms over her chest. On the screen, Nataku opened the door at the end of the hallway and the camera was automatically turned off, leaving nothing but a snowy screen. “At least Kuzui won’t have another thing to brag about.

Zen-ni smiled at this, glad that the secret pact of silence had been made. Miginis’ face remained expressionless, but inside, he couldn’t have been happier.

When I stepped through the doors and they closed behind me, I was greeted by an old man.

At least, he looked old from the back. His long white hair that fell all the way down to his thighs and was kept together by a black ribbon at the nape of the neck. When the man turned around, however, his face showed that he was actually quite young, with pale, smooth skin.

His thin lips curled into an eerie smirk. Without a word, I saw him flick a hand upwards and a pitch black sphere lift out of his palm and come to rest on his fingertips. I watched as the black orb glowed like the night and spread it’s power over the man’s body. His white hair turned black. His white shirt and tie melded into a sleeveless ebony uniform, lined with silver trim. Long purple gloves stretched up his arms to his biceps. Black pants and purple boots covered his legs. A pair of long, silver earrings hung, almost touching his shoulders.

And the diamond shaped symbol etched itself on his cheek to finish the transformation.

My eyes widened in complete shock. I knew this man. I had seen him before. He was the one I had been running from in my dream. He was the one who caught me. The one Mutashi warned me away from. The one who kissed me. The one who bit me.

Complete and utter fear over took my body as I stared into those familiar green eyes.

His lips curled downward a moment and I watched as his eyes narrowed as if he were searching through my mind. He seemed satisfied with whatever he found there, for the dark smirk quickly returned. The man jerked his hand down and a loud snap echoed through the large room as his Illotica shifted into a ebony bladed long sword.

The man charged towards me, quickly closing the distance. My mind was screaming for me to run, but my legs wouldn’t heed the command. My breath stopped but my heart kept pounding, panic filtering through ever muscle.

‘This is Habadaku!’ my mind screamed at me. ‘FIGHT HIM!’

The black haired warrior swung his sword and at the last moment, I ducked. I could feel the wind as the blade sliced the air where my head had been. I jolted to the side, running at top speed to create another distance between us.

When I was certain I was at a good distance, I skid to a stop, turning to face him. He was charging me again. I called to the power of the Illotica within me and felt it swell up. I lifted my hand and the green and gold orb pulled itself from the skin, sending an electric tingle through my veins. My body changed and was covered with the green outfit I had worn during my first battle. The Illotica gave a large snap at my command and became the swallow.

Habadaku’s sword was deflected by a strong swing of mine and he quickly turned to retaliate with another swing of his own. I slammed my sword against his to prevent it from slicing me. The green eyed man gave a satisfied smirk before thrusting his sword forward. I stepped to the side and used one of the blades to push the ebony sword away from my body.

I took the opportunity to twist my body around and give my own offensive strike. He blocked, but with some difficulty. His sword was not one for close combat fighting. Mine was, so I made sure to exploit that weakness, keeping as close to him as I could, but making sure that I was far enough away that I would not get caught unexpectedly by his blade.

This was only successful for what seemed like a mere few moments before he was using wide swings to drive me back. I jumped back after a particularly strong swing and gasped as I felt my back hit the wall. I hadn’t realized how close I was to it. Habadaku, unfortunately, had.

I pulled my swallow up quickly to fend off a downward strike. He held his blade there, pushing it against mine. Part of the blade was a mere inch away from my cheek. I stared straight at the man who was now very close.

Memories of the dream filtered back and in inwardly shuddered. It definitely was the same person, there was no mistaking that. Anger started to build at this, mixed with the shame that I had so easily fallen into his trap in my dreams. And here in real life I was trapped by him again.

I refused to stand for it.

The orb in the center of the swallow gave a small pulse before splitting in half. The wiring around it separated momentarily before twisting back over the orb halves. My swallow had split to become two swords.

I used the free sword to attack the man. He immediately jumped back, easing his strain on the other sword, allowing me to move from the wall. He gave a pleased smirk and the assault began again.

It didn’t last long.

Before I knew it, but of my swords had been knocked clear out of my hands and I was left with the tip of the black blade at my chin, completely defenseless.

The man stood there, holding me at sword point for a few moments before his lips curled upwards. “You lost,” he said in a silky voice that rolled easily off his tongue. I didn’t know what he planned to do or how to reply, so I had only to agree with him.

“Yes, I have,” I murmured.

The smirk widened and the sword shifted back into it’s Illotica form before sliding back into the man’s hand, his body changing back to what it had been before he transformed. I stood still as he turned and walked towards an alter on the far side of the room.

“You didn’t transform until I did,” he mused aloud. Again I didn’t know how to reply, so this time I remained silent. He paused to look at me over his shoulder. “That was a wise move. Never be the first to transform in front of someone who could possibly be your enemy. Let them reveal themselves first.”

I could only nod in reply.

The man continued walking up to the pedestal and continued talking. “You have pretty good defense and mediocre offense. Your speed is your strong point. It would be wise to focus on using your speed in every move you make, during training and in real battle.”

When the man had reached the pedestal, he traced his fingers over it lightly, smiling to himself. He turned back to me and gave a smile that came off as strangely warm. It threw me off guard, for before that moment, there had been a feeling of apprehension. That light, amused smile broke that apprehension completely.

“You can change back now,” he mused, a hint of laughter in his voice. “The test is over.”

I gave a slow nod before taking a step towards the two abandoned swords. His voice stopped me. “Wait. Don’t go to them. Call them to you.”

I looked at the man, befuddled. “And what should I call them?” I asked in a sassy tone before I could catch myself. My heart dipped in fear and my mind cursed to itself. This wasn’t a man to offend. He could have easily killed me.

My fears vanished as the man gave a warm laugh in reply. “You are an impish one,” he mused. “I figured you would be, otherwise Miginis wouldn’t have been so intrigued by you.”

I blinked. ‘Intrigued?’ my mind repeated. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

“What I meant is call your Illotica back to you,” he told me, changing the subject back to the swords. I looked at them with a confused look. Awkwardly, I raised my hand towards the two blades, attempting to concentrate my power to lifting them back to me.

Only continued silence followed.

The man gave a low chuckle. “You’re calling the swords, not the Illotica,” he murmured. “Try doing it the other way.” I gave him a glance, then turned back to the swords and tried again. Instead of focusing on the swords, I closed my eyes and focused on the orb of storm. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the swords and shifted back into the green and gold orb. I had opened my eyes just in time to see the orb slip back into my hand and have my body shift back to normal.

I blinked, shocked that I had been able to do something such as that. I turned to the man and saw that he, too, was surprised.

He quickly hid it, however, behind a seemingly knowing smile. “You are quite talented for being so new to this,” he mused. He folded his arms across his chest. “I am Habadaku Kado, owner of this residence and leader of the Dreamstalkers. And you, Mugen Nataku, are my new collector.”