User blog:Carol of the bells/Days of Ruin --- Foregoing Affairs, part 3

Days of Ruin --- Foregoing Affairs, part 3
My name is Ritz. I am the third oldest child in the Samui family--after my faternal twin, who was born a minute and thirty seconds before me. I don't suppose I really stand out that much among my five siblings. I'm probably the most normal kid in our family. It's pretty messed up. We don't have any friends, and we didn't really make a good name for ourselves. Some people are afraid of us. But, that's besides the point. This is my story--well a part of it.

"Finish him off, Kaine!" Riku cheered as his younger brother rushed towards his enemy down below in the arena. Being the only non-summoner in the family, Kaine had worked hard to make a name for himself in the arena, and it had payed off as the crowed chanted his name. They roared in approval as he struck down his competitor, winning the match.

"He's gotten really good," Haku mused in appreciation, smiling a little as he laned over the balcony where he and his siblings were spectating.

Ritz nodded in agreement. "Heh, yeah. He'd probably be able to beat you one-on-one, Haku."

Before his twin could retort, a giant virtual screen manifested itself in the center of the arena, displaying the results of Kaine's match before two names flickered on display.

Ritz Samui  VS  Calisto Blane

The crowd became lively as the Samui surname appeared.

"Next," the Announcer shouted over the din, "The Samui name against an up-and-coming champion, Calisto Blane!"

Ritz blinked as he saw his name by itself. "Hey," He turned to Haku, "Weren't we supposed to do a tag-team match?"

"Y-yeah...At least, I thought so."

He scratched his head in annoyance. "They must have confused our match," He turned to leave, "I'm gonna go tell the manager."

He walked down the stairs until he reached the ground level, which was a circular hallway that outlined he arena, beneath the stadium. He soon came upon the manager who was standing by one of the gates that led into the arena.

"Hey, Manger," He called out.

The well-dressed man turned when he heard his name called. His eyes brightened as he saw the approaching contender. "Ah, good, you're here. Now, hurry in so--"

"Sorry," Ritz held up his hand to stop the manager as he tried to usher him in. "There's been a mistake. My brother and I signed up for the tag-team battle."

The little man waved his hand dismissively. "There's no time to explain, just--"

"Well make time," He hissed.

He paused before sighing in resignation, dabbing his balding forehead with a hankercheif. "Look, I'm sorry about the mix-up, but you'll just have to fight by yourself. E-each month, we give our audeience a survey, and they tell us which types of fights they like the best. Unit battles, one-on-one, tag team....for some reason, nobody's voted for the tag team battle for a long time." He shrugged. "They make demands, and we meet them."

"That's--"

"But I've wasted enough time explaining!" Ignoring his protests, the man opened the gate and shoved Ritz in as hard as he could. "You'll be fine!"

The brunette stumbled in and the crowd cheered. Across the arena, the other gate opened, and he looked up to see his opponant, this, Calisto Blane.

His eye twitched.

She was a fire attribute.

His weakness.

"Hah!" Calisto smirked. "Are you ready to brawl, boy?! Huh?!"

Ritz straightened himself scratching his head in annoyance. He hadn't had much experience fighting without Ritz--He was slow but powerful while Haku lacked power but possesed speed. He wasn't used to fighting without someone covering for his weaknesses.

But it looked like he had no choice. According to the rules, he couldn't summon any of his units. He was on his own.

He'd have to play it smart.

"Huh?" He groaned, feigning surprise. "A woman? I can't fight a woman, it's against my religion."

Calisto's eye twitched in annoyance. "What do you mean, fool? Just hurry up and--"

"I can't. My priest wouldn't be happy."

The red-headed woman grit her teeth in annoyance. "You're stalling. If you won't fight me..."

His attention was on his fingernails as the woman lowered herself into a fighting stance. "Now I have to go to confessional this week...what a pain..."

"Then I'll strike you down!" She dashed forward, almost too fast for his eyes to follow. Her fist struck out and connected to the underside of his jaw. With a grunt, he was knocked into the air.

"Eh?!" Haku yelled from the balcony. "Ritz you idiot!"

Ritz landed hard, kicking up dust. He rolled out of the line of several orbs of fire before jumping back up to his feet.

"Looks like Calisto has the upper hand," The announcer commentated, "Ritz is on the run!"

He was indeed, dodging and ducking, not bothering to counter, as he ran every where but towards the enemy.

"What is he doing?" Riku asked. "Why doesn't he fight her?"

"Probably because they're opposite attribute," Haku answered, "It'd be suicide for him to fight her head-on. I just hope he has a strategy."

Ritz did not have a strategy. He had made his comment about women to Calisto so that she would strike first and give him time to think--he was stalling.

Calisto shouted angrily and let loose a torrent of flames. Ritz only managed to doge once before he was knocked down again. "What's wrong with you?!" She demanded, "Why aren't you fighting?"

From where he lay on the ground, Ritz dissmissed her with a wave of his hand. "It's pointless, see? You've got the upper hand, so I'll lose anyway. Besides, I didn't sign up for this battle."

The flames around the red-head died down slightly. "Oh? You're of the opposite element, aren't you?" He grin returned as her eyes sparked with mischief. "Then we'll fight with hand to hand combat."

The crowd murmured as they heard her proposition, and Ritz raised his head to look at her. "Are you sure about that?"

She nodded confidently.

He chuckled, getting to his feet. "Have it your way. Don't say I didn't warn yo--" He didn't have time to finish as she had already moved forward as her fist once again made contact with his jaw. He stumbled back but managed to stay upright, blocking her left-hook. He parried with a kick to her gut, knocking her back and following with a punch. She dodged, ducking his fist and striking up. He took the blow, and struck back.

The crowed watched in anticipation as the two battled it out with their fists. It was a strange development from the fight they were expecting, but they were eager to see the results.

The continued to exchange blows. even though Calisto was a formiddible opponent, Ritz's strength quickly gained the upper hand. She was forced back as he pressed his attack, finally knocking her down with a round-house kick. She quickly struck out at his shins, also knocking him down. The both jumped back up, but Ritz was promptly knocked back down as she landed a blow to his face.

She was breathing heavily, waiting for him to move. When he didn't, she smirked, turning to the crowd and raising her fists in victory. The cheered as she laughed.

Suddenly, a fist made contact with her head, wacking across the back of her skull. She fell forward, unconcious. Standing behind her was Ritz.

The crowd went silent, unsure how to respond. Then a single shout was joined by another, until the whole arena was filled with the roar of approval.

Ritz sighed, running his hand through his hair. The large hologram flickered in the center of the arena, displaying his name as the victor.

When he reached the top of the balcony to join his brothers, Haku slapped him on the back, laughing. "Heh, for a moment, I didn't think you had a plan!"

"I didn't," He replied simply, shrugging once. "It doesn't really matter, though. That stupid manager forced me into this--I didn't want to fight her anyway." He motioned for them to follow him as he turned to leave. "Anyway, let's go home."

The brothers shrugged at each other before following behind. "Hey," Riku wondered out loud, "Does Ritz really go to confessionals?"

"Yeah," Haku added, peering at his twin. "I didn't know you had a religion..."

"Shut up," He called back to them, "Or I'll break my vow of non-violence."



-Carol did not know how to end this and asks for your forgiveness-

Thanks for reading~!



