Chapter 21

"Uh, hey," I said, a little shocked.

"HIIIIII SABRINA HOW ARE YOU!" shouted Komi, running toward Sabrina.

"I'm great! It's been so long since we last saw each other!" she said, hugging Komi.

"Hey, it's been quite a while, huh?" said Juan, a little awkward.

"Not long enough, if you ask me," Sabrina replied coldly.

The atmosphere turned sour to the point that even Komi pulled back from Sabrina's embrace. I already suspected they knew each other, since they live in the same building, but I never thought there was bad blood between them.

Seth broke the silence by introducing himself.

"Hi, my name is Seth. I think it's the first time we've met, right?" he said.

"Uh, yeah yeah, that's right, first time. I'm Sabrina, nice to see you again—I mean, meet you!" she stammered. Her face turned so red you could mistake her for a tomato.

"I'm Katia, you probably saw me during my introduction. Happy to be on the same team, Sabrina!" she said with a smile.

"I can't wait to see your fighting style, Katia," replied Sabrina.

"By the way, I didn't expect you to join our team!" I told her.

"Oh yeah? And why's that?" she asked.

"Well, you didn't train with us, and if I recall, you weren't really—"

"No worries! I've been training. Now light has no secrets for me!" she said, cutting me off.

"Light?" I asked.

"Yeah! Didn't I tell you? My power is light. I can create any kind of object for a short period of time, as long as there's a light source nearby."

"Wow, that's really cool! Did you train with someone?" I asked her.

"No, all alone. But don't worry—if I was selected, it's because I'm competent!" she said, giving me a wink.

She wasn't wrong. Still, I couldn't quite understand how someone could get better all on their own. After all, she's been a Demi-Spirit longer than I have.

"EVERYONE TO THE BUSES, I REPEAT, EVERYONE TO THE BUSES. DEPARTURE IN FIVE MINUTES!" yelled a man standing in front of the three buses.

"Alright, let's go!" said Sabrina, running toward them.

"Wait for me!" shouted Komi, running after her.

Seth and Juan walked over while chatting a bit. I was glad to see them talking without getting into it.

"Shall we go?" Katia asked me, smiling with excitement.

"Let's go!"

…

We arrived at the tournament venue. There were buses parked all over the place. From the outside, it looked like a gladiator-style stadium. It was built like something straight out of Roman times, giving it an old-school vibe. It was black and white, with several flags from different countries at the top.

"ALRIGHT, EVERYBODY OFF!" yelled the bus driver.

"WOAH, THIS PLACE IS GORGEOUS!" shouted Sabrina as she got up from her seat.

Komi seemed amazed too, although she only showed it through her glowing eyes and a faint smile.

"GET UP, SETH!" yelled Juan.

"Yeah yeah, don't worry… five more minutes," mumbled Seth, eyes closed, leaning against the window.

"You leave me no choice. Komi!" said Juan.

"Got it!" she replied, sending out a small electric shock from her finger.

Juan quickly copied her ability to make it a bit stronger.

"You've got three seconds, Seth!" he said with a psycho smile, staring at Seth sleeping.

Seth opened his eyes slowly and saw Juan's psycho face surrounded by electricity.

"OKAY, I'M UP!" he said, jumping out of his seat.

We all got off the bus and headed to the entrance.

"ONCE INSIDE, YOU'LL TAKE A PARTICIPANT WRISTBAND, THEN GO TO THE RIGHT TOWARD THE LOCKER ROOMS. AFTER THAT, HEAD THROUGH THE DOOR AT THE END OF THE HALL AND WAIT FOR YOUR TURN INSIDE. DON'T WORRY, THERE'S A WINDOW SO YOU CAN WATCH THE OTHER MATCHES," shouted a woman standing in front of the building.

"UNDERSTOOD!" we all responded.

We went inside and picked up our wristbands.

"Alright, locker room time!" said Komi, full of energy.

It was the first time I'd seen her like that. Then again, it was also the first time I'd seen her outside academy grounds, so it made sense.

We walked toward the locker rooms. The boys' room was on the right wall, the girls' on the left.

"Okay, let's change and meet in the other room," I told them.

"Alright," they all replied.

Sabrina, Komi, and Katia headed into their changing room. That left just me, Juan, and Seth.

"Woah, check out these uniforms!" shouted Juan, amazed.

"Where'd you find that?" asked Seth.

"In my locker. Yours are right next to mine—come on!" said Juan.

Seth and I stepped forward and opened our lockers to check out the uniform.

"WOAH, THIS IS SO COOL!" I yelled.

It fit snugly without being tight, and was super comfortable. Navy blue, with light blue broken lines and our names on the back.

"I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WERE EXAGGERATING, BUT THIS IS ACTUALLY SICK!" shouted Seth too.

We were all blown away by it. We got dressed and headed to the other room. It was big, with a large window on the side so we could see the matches, plus lots of tables and a small cafeteria where we could grab an apple, a juice, water, or a granola bar.

Komi, Katia, and Sabrina were already at a table near the window, chatting.

"Hey! Your uniforms look awesome!" said Seth.

"Ah thanks, yours too," replied Sabrina.

Of course, Katia didn't have one since she's a Spirit and can't wear anything other than her original outfit.

The girls' uniforms looked like ours, but instead of blue tones, theirs were purple, and a little looser-fitting.

"GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE! THE TOURNAMENT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS—I'M ABOUT TO CALL THE FIRST FIGHTERS TO THE STADIUM. PLACE YOUR BETS!" said a man through the microphone.

"SO, I'D LIKE TO CALL RAMI FROM THE PROVINCIAL ACADEMY AND JUAN FROM THE NEW ACADEMY TO COME TO THE STADIUM, PLEASE," the man continued.

"What, I'm starting?!" said Juan.

"Don't worry, you'll do great. You trained hard—no reason you should lose!" said Komi, trying to reassure him.

"She's right. Even if you whine all the time, you never give up!" said Seth teasingly.

"I believe in you too!" I said.

"Me too!" added Katia.

"I guess you'll win," said Sabrina, in the same cold tone she used last time.

"Thanks, guys. I'm off!"

Juan ran toward the stadium.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, JUAN HAS ENTERED THE ARENA, MAKE SOME NOISE!"

The crowd in the stands cheered.

I wondered where all those people came from. Were they all Demi-Spirits? Unfortunately, I couldn't tell from the window.

"AND NOW, RAMI HAS ENTERED TOO. MAKE EVEN MORE NOISE!"

The crowd went louder than before.

Rami was pretty tall and buff, with a square jaw. He had short hair and brown eyes. He looked Moroccan, to me.

But that's not what mattered. The real question was… could Juan beat him?

They walked toward each other, locked eyes, and shook hands. They looked ready.

"ALRIGHT, YOU MAY NOW… BEGIN!"