Chapter 18: Enter the Selection: Kira vs. Hone (Part 1)

The previous silver haired man was the new arrival in Lady Kiyo's office. Now named Hiroshima, the more carefree man seemed to almost find himself in tears at the sight of his old friend reuniting with him once more.

"N-N-National Guard Arakawa-sama?!" Aki exclaimed, absolutely flabbergasted about seeing the most famous war veteran in the entire Five Great Nations.

"Isn't he amazing?" hyped Hiroshima's friend while laughing happily "I wasn't expecting to see him here either! And yet here you are!"

"Are you done?" Hiroshima barked loudly, his booming voice immediately causing the other man to quickly shut his mouth. "I didn't travel all this way just to hear you squawk."

'Ehhhh? I've only just seen you for the first time in years and this is how you greet me?' the second man thought sadly, deflated that his long time friend would just tell him to keep quiet.

"Ah yes! Why did you summon us here, Mi'lady?" he asked, clearly not willing to pay attention to the order his friend had given him only seconds before.

"This year's disciples have made the Five Great Nations quite eager to see what the potential candidates could be for the next future generation of the National Guardians. But I've decided to do something a little different this year." Priestess Kiyo spoke kindly, her voice ringing clearly to the two older men who stood in front of her. "And so, as commemoration for the five year anniversary of the Peace Treaty Efforts, I'd like for you two to participate in this year's National Guardian trainee group selections."

"Seriously?" Hiroshima asked simply, as he thought carefully about his words, but was interrupted by his friend.

"What an honor this would be! Surely, this year's disciples will be all the more spectacular! Don't you think, Hiroshima?"

"Indeed it will be. However, there is a matter I'd like to discuss with you first."

The once merry atmosphere immediately turned tense, as Hiroshima took his time to explain the sudden appearance of two airships that were engaging in a sky battle not too far from the Watergate Bridge. Priestess Kiyo hummed quietly, as she thought about the possible solution for the strange attack.

"It would seem the Nobles are wanting to expand their research grounds and tensions among them have started to leak towards the surface."

"Send me to defend the Watergate Bridge, Mi'lady." Aki volunteered willingly, gripping his spear quite tightly. "My men and I will create a checkpoint there and do a thorough investigation."

"Which is exactly why I'm sending you. I'll leave this to you and your men."

"Yes Ma'am!"

Aki immediately bowed to the three high ranking individuals, before departing from the office to rally his Troops to conduct an investigation on the airship battle and hopefully come up with a possible solution for the situation. With the assistant gone, Hiroshima felt a sudden surge of underlying power swell from the very depths of his spiritual energy. Walking to the wide window, located just behind Priestess Kiyo, the stern looking veteran looked out among the high vantage point of the office and seemingly basked in the memories of his time being within the walls of the Jùzàiyīqi City. But when he looked down below on the city streets, he saw Tazuna engaging in a casual conversation with Yoshiko and Alfaiz, who managed to bump into the rich disciple during their leisurely walk around town. Meanwhile Riku was comically thrashing wildly, eagerly wanting to tear the Western Regional disciple apart. Meanwhile Ace and Kira could do nothing but laugh in return. Although Hiroshima couldn't hear what was said, he just couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Tazuna.

So he activated his Mind's Eye as he peered straight through Tazuna's qi system. But what he found surprised himself. Typically those with the ability to use Mind's Eye or any of its various forms, one could easily see the qi circulatory system with such great detail and depending on the color of the qi, those with the ability could also figure out what Nature Element the target uses, see an influx of qi, detect Qi Turbulence, and mentally hijack any qi circulatory point, a move that was to only be used in extreme situations. However, Tazuna's qi system was completely covered with a thick translucent film, blocking the Mind's Eye access it needed to read the qi system.

'This kid's qi is almost unreadable! Is he what I felt a few moments ago?'

"Oh ho! Are those a few of the disciples this year?" asked the cheery man, who walked over to check out the students. "Well, they definitely look very promising!"

"Looks alone won't get you the National Guardian title."

"Even so, I still can't imagine the amount of potential these students will have."

"Which is why I invited you to oversee the Selection Exam this week." Priestess Kiyo spoke with assurance, as she smiled at the two men.

Hiroshi hummed to himself as he just couldn't shake the feeling of Tazuna's dormant energy rapidly flowing within his qi system. He needed confirmation, to prove his suspensions and he knew just how to do so.

Tazuna had managed to get some time for himself, while Riku and Kira went out for a hunting spree. As he sat on a bench, he found himself mentally spent in the past and seeing his past experiences run back through his video surveillance feed on his computerized eyes. As he did so, he felt his heart tighten like a pressed coil as he had to visually witness I'mit and E'mael getting massacred by his own fangs. Oil soaked chemical fluids leaked from his eyes, as he immediately squeezed his eyes shut to rid of the horrific memory. But he still heard their screams. He never stopped hearing them. Their sputtering voices begging for mercy as he viciously ripped their throats apart. Their lifeless, cold eyes. The foul stench of their blood was still fresh in his nose. His eyes wildly and frantically moved as Tazuna involuntarily reached for the empty air, only to become absolutely terrified beyond belief, when he heard a soft female voice grab his attention.

'Tazuna!'

…

'Tazuna!'

…

"Tazuna? Are you alright?!"

The gorgeously radiant looking young adult female had her hair braided and coiled into two buns near the top of her head and pinned together with various sized hair sticks, ranging from lacquered wood to jade. The rest of her hair flowed freely and was accompanied by two peach colored silk ribbons that also secured her buns into place. The woman's dashingly green eyes seemed to resemble shiny jade crystals underneath the intense sun. Her fairy maiden hanfu was bust high and was a delicate peach in color with her inner robes a mellow yellow color with white trimming. The peach silk robes also had beautiful black crane outlines stitched onto the sleeves. Wrapped around her arms and back was a lightweight silk sash, beautifully orange in color.

"Sakura." Tazuna spoke, acknowledging the woman's existence immediately, as he had been completely left unguarded.

"I see. So that's what's going on." Sakura sighed with concern, as she sat next to the distracted Wolf on the bench. "Are you going to be able to participate in the Selection Exam this week? I can ask Priestess Kiyo to postpone the matches for you."

"That isn't necessary. I can still participate." Tazuna dismissed immediately, as he took a bite from his red bean bun, which Sakura supplied for him as a snack.

"Tazuna."

Sakura reached over with a delicate hand and placed it on top of Tazuna's, a warmth wave gently traveling from her fingertips to his own hand. He didn't pull away. Why would he? He didn't have any reason to. He'd only met the young woman only once during the Class Selection and only had one very brief conversation with her. Yet, despite all that he'd been through, Tazuna found out that he could find comfort among those outside of his pack. A move or motive that had never once crossed his mind until recently. Tazuna had always been strong. Anyone who sees how well he manages himself and his friends could see that as well. But, his own personal and inner turmoil had greatly started to affect him emotionally. But only those who've been around the Wolf long enough to notice the change, would notice how standoffish he actually was.

"Suffering from PTSD isn't a condition that you can seal in a box and put on a shelf to collect dust." Sakura informed truthfully, as she showed genuine concern for her new acquaintance. "You need someone valuable and meaningful in your life to talk about these things with. Suffering alone and keeping them bottled up, will only make your situation that much worse."

"You don't have to sacrifice the matches for my sake. I've been through these things before."

"Is that…how you lost your eyes?"

Tazuna looked at Sakura, giving her his usual expression of aloofness, which typically would make one feel like they needed to correct themselves or excuse themselves for saying the wrong words. Sakura immediately stiffened up naturally, before a gentle smile grazed across her youthful and beautiful face. He managed to examine her stats and realized even from their respective distance, he noticed she had an extremely faint trace of freckles, a beauty mark just under her right eye, and a small, faint scar right above her left eyebrow. Sakura thought she needed to change the subject but was taken aback by Tazuna's answer.

"I was barely a year old when I got them removed." Tazuna answered, his voice sounding rather monotonous about the question.

"You did?! That must've been such a horrific experience!"

"It was. But it was worth it in the end."

'Worth it? How?!'

"I'm afraid I'm not understanding what you're getting at, Tazuna-sama."

"I'm still able to see things. But my perspective on the world is different from what it used to be."

'Tazuna…'

However you feel about the situation." -Sakura takes Tazuna's hands in her own with a tender touch- "I'd like to help you as much as I can! I've been wanting to be the one to defend you ever since your arrival at the Academy. But there was no way I could approach you like that."

"Why is that?"

"Because you didn't seem like the type of guy that was approachable. From our conversation, I wanted to get as close to you as I could, but I always felt a wall between us. But seeing you suffer like this, I just couldn't stand to see you in so much pain! I want to help you!"

Tazuna was completely taken aback by Sakura's desperate plea to help him. Such a motive surged a brief memory of seeing I'mit desperately plea of urgency for him to stop his brutal massacre. He was brought back to the sense of reality as soon as he was removed from it. While it was always a constant internal struggle to openly accept help from any Human, regardless of who or what their main objective was, somehow Tazuna was slowly being pressed to trust the woman, who was so close to tears.

"How?" Tazuna asked simply, his bionic eyes scanning Sakura's face.

"How…what?"

"How are you going to help me? My answer will depend on how you explain your motive."

"My family works in medicine and neurology studies and research. I can use neurology therapy to help you. However, doing so will come with a risk."

"What risk is that?"

"You must lose your upcoming match this week."

'What?!'

"How is losing the upcoming Selection Exam match supposed to help?"

"I can't exactly promise anything. But there's nothing wrong with trying, right?"

'What is she planning?' Tazuna thought, wondering if what he was blindly agreeing to would be worth it.

So, as a result, he nodded once, which made Sakura smile happily and pleasantly. Clasping her hands together, her cheeks were tinted pink, as she felt reassured that he'd feel better she helped him. The disguised Wolf stood up and turned to Sakura, before holding out his hand to her in a friendly gesture. He would usually and greatly destine from actively engaging in any physical contact of any kind with Humans. But after spending nearly a year with the other disciples, he'd grown to accumulate a general acquaintanceship with them. But still only to a certain extent. As Sakura took his hand, her words of encouragement echoed in his head, but as he watched the woman walk away from him to attend to unknown matters, he felt the sudden sickening feeling in his stomach.

'I can't afford to lose this battle. But, is it really the only way?'

Thousands of miles away, located within an unknown mountain range, was a relatively decent sized village formed and fully established and functioning directly in the southern end of the mountains. Sitting at the altitude of exactly 7,950 feet above sea level and conditions of the mountainous village made the environment nearly impossible for anyone outside the village to withstand the intense climate. A steep vertical drop off faced the northern side of the village, which dropped into the river below. With steep bridges, high altitude structured buildings, vertical cliff sides with jagged edges, dense clouds, and extremely thin air, the residents of the village were specifically equipped with the genes necessary to survive in such a hostile environment.

However, the surface of the otherwise peaceful and quietness of the village was covering the unspoken and unseen evil that lay in the darkest reaches of the village's inner workings. If one were to cross through the carved pathways that weaved in, out, around, and through the dense rock and limestone of the mountains, the person would walk right past the secret entrance without bothering to follow someone who was headed in that direction. Located in a hidden entrance was a hollowed out staircase that led straight into the very depths of the mountains, its halls lined with candles and the air thick and heavy with the scent of natural rock and sediment. After taking nearly an hour of traversing through the maze-like passageways and corridors, was an entire research facility supporting the most advanced alchemy and science research equipment known to man.

"Is it ready?" asked Cher, who was accompanying her fellow researchers, as she tapped her fingers against the holographic keyboard in front of her.

"It is." one of her colleagues announced beside her, as he looked at the rebooting system begin to operate properly.

"Begin the transferring process."

With the press of a single button and the turn of the dial, the man screamed in pain, as his entire body wretched and writhed in agonizing suffering, as his veins began to bulge and start to appear visible through his pale skin. As Cher and her assistants watched the cell transfer commence, Shoji was also there to witness the process, as he'd been thoroughly invested in seeing the project through to the end. Their main goal within this facility is to duplicate as many cells as possible that could be used to enhance a person's genetic compounds down to the cellular level. However, it wasn't until the monitor began to flatline did Cher immediately begin to bark orders to her frantic partners.

"Get him out of there!"

As the researchers immediately scrambled to undo the damage that had rapidly gotten out of control, the lights to the facility had been cut faster than the human eye could blink. Shoji immediately went to defense mode, arming himself with razor sharp coils of strings, one squared away between each finger, which could be activated with a mere flick of the wrist. Cher readied her gun, along with her colleagues, who followed suit all the same. With the darkened interior of the research lab still echoing the sounds of the deafening flatlining machine, an enormous rumble shook the foundation of the lab to its very core, causing large quantities of dust to fall from the ceiling. As a few of the unsuspecting researchers gathered themselves, another violent tremble caused one of the light fixtures to snap free from its cables! Shoji immediately threw several strings at the fixture.

"Duck!" Shoji shouted, once he managed to get a tight enough grip on the light.

With the strings tightening around it like ropes, the skillful teenager hurled it over the group of terrified men and women, who ducked at the right opportunity. With the threat now gone, the researchers could do nothing but wonder what was causing such a destructive force to disturb the facility and cause the entire operation into a full-on blackout. Cher gave a nod to the teenager, who said nothing in response, as the two of them hurried through the series of corridors and hallways, only to be met with a strange man standing directly in their path. He wore a deer mask to hide his identity. But judging from his stature, he couldn't have been no more than six feet five inches tall. The stranger's white hair danced with the orange glow that emitted from the candles on the walls. Judging from the individual's clothing, one could speculate that this strange intruder didn't originate from the mainland and was a foreigner from another area outside of the Five Great Nations.

"Hey! I've got some questions to ask you!" Shoji barked loudly, asserting his own leadership in the conversation, only to realize the intruder was gone, the moment he blinked.

'He's gone!'

"Shoji! Get back!" Cher yelled, forcing the teenager to snap out of his confusion, before reading her pistol to fire a shot.

But it was something completely unexpected and completely resembling an act out of a horror film, when the interior of the rocky and sediment walls slowly started to solidify into crumbling sand. At this moment, neither Shoji and Cher saw the person in question, yet the overpowering aura the foreigner left behind was still very much active and strong. Shoji stood back and surveyed his surroundings, his vision partially obscured by the dim lit candles. The confusion turned to pure and terrorizing fear when from the solidified sand popped the intruder, slowly reemerging into view! Cher immediately fired a bullet at the man, who with two fingers managed to catch the bullet mid-air and crushed it, nullifying the gun powder contained within. He dropped the flattened piece of brass and copper onto the ground.

'He stopped the bullet! How- ugh!' Cher questioned, as the oddities of which both the intruder and Shoji had genuinely confused her.

Her efforts, although intended for good purpose, went unnoticed from the moment she found herself frozen in fear. Her crystal blue eyes had quickly made contact with the strange man's own eyes, which could now be seen clearly through the deer mask he was wearing. She only managed to emit a gasp from her throat before collapsing onto the ground. Shoji, on the other hand, was immune to the blinded attack as he leaped clearly out of the way, just as the man stepped out of the wall, silently staring the child down.

"Who ARE you?! How do you know about this place?!" Shoji asked the strange man, who remained silent, which only angered the child.

Shoji sprinted at the man, who stood perfectly still as if he was expecting it to happen. With a powerful series of strikes and kicks, his fists now a flurry of hits, the stranger matched the child prodigy's attacks with dodges. The stranger managed to directly and indirectly avoid being touched by Shoji all while keeping himself calm and focused on his own attack. Which happened at the first opportunity to seek an opening. The stranger reached out and violently grabbed the child's wrist, Shoji's movements were stuttered and strained under the physical contact. As the man's fingers gripped the child's wrist, he performed a forbidden cultivation technique, called Iron Gate Lock. The ability allowed the stranger to inwardly target anyone's pressure points and shut them down directly. This made the individual under the technique near or completely immobilized and could only be released from the ability by either self infliction or to allow the technique to pass naturally.

"You've shown great promise, Shoji." the strange man spoke slowly and intelligently, his voice rumbling like low crashing thunder.

Shoji immediately looked up and through the eye holes of the deer mask were the recognizable eyes of the only person capable of such a speech dialect and mannerisms.

'Lord Masahiro!'

The man returning as Lord Masahiro spoke not another word, before setting the disabled child back on the ground, far enough as to not let Shoji be in the way as he dealt with Cher, who was still unconscious during the incredibly short spar. His gaze was tense and horrifyingly calm, as he kneeled down beside her. Despite her being knocked unconscious, the female researcher just merely appeared to be sleeping peacefully. As he silently studied the woman's face, Shoji cautiously walked up behind Lord Masahiro, his quiet cries of sympathy calmly echoing around them. The sounds made Lord Masahiro straighten up and turn to Shoji, giving the child his full attention, before nearly falling back when Shoji threw himself at him, hugging him tightly and refusing to let go.

"I told you I'd be back soon." Lord Masahiro spoke with a rumbling gentleness to his voice, as his gloved hand rested on the crying child's head.

"You should've come back sooner!" Shoji criticized, as he buried his face into the man's cloak. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Is that so?"

Cher had chosen that moment to stir from her peaceful slumber, moaning groggily from the short painful spasms she felt in her head. Sensing she was being watched, her eyes and head slid upwards, finding a pair of extremely dark red eyes gazing directly back at her. Those eyes she stared into were empty, completely void of brightness or valid emotion during the sudden reunion. Cher couldn't feel anything but coldness and hollow emptiness, despite how shiny the man's eyes were. Those dark, almost unrecognizable eyes, were now tainted with such extreme hatred, rivaling those of war criminals and foreign terrorists she interrogated during her line of work as a nurse's assistant for the front lines.

'Those eyes…!' Cher gasped, before her gaze was ripped away from the strange man, who paid attention elsewhere.

"Dr. Harrison! Are you alright?" called out her colleagues, who managed to find their overseer, before noticing the strange man standing just a few feet behind her.

"It would seem my research has gone exceptionally well?" Lord Masahiro asked, his eyes never leaving the faces of the terrified researchers.

"Lord Masahiro?! When did you-" asked a researcher, before sensing a ghostly presence wash over him.

"!"

Those witnessing the strange phenomenon, only managed to blink, and within a fraction of that second it took to blink, Lord Masahiro was reemerging from the other side of the researcher! He managed to teleport his entire body past space time, in an almost ghostly fashion, and pass straight through the researcher, much to everyone's absolute horror. As Lord Masahiro stepped back onto the solid ground, Cher immediately went to Shoji, who hadn't moved from his spot. The body of the researcher fell to the ground.

Dead.

As dead as anyone could be.

"Iki!" shouted a female researcher, who was rightfully horrified by the blatant act of murder.

Lord Masahiro spoke not a word, as he walked straight through to the research facility, and without paying any regard to the still wailing flatline, stalked towards the man that was strapped down to the operating table, that sat behind an impenetrable bubble of bulletproof glass. He raised his hand and placed it on the cold surface of the glass, revealing a hexagon shaped barrier that appeared from the slight touch of Lord Masahiro's fingertips. The man within the sterilized barrier was in actuality, a typical villager from within the Five Great Nations. The one of many, many villagers, who were kidnapped and were put through horrendous experiments of cell transfers and cell extractions. What those couldn't see, was the widely cracked and widespread grin that was plastered on his face. He'd watched various victims actively suffer from the experiments as they were forcefully injected and infused with cells of his superior, to see if they could be used as lethal weapons. From men to women, and an endless supply of children were among the most used test subjects, all ending in failures or inconclusive results. Much like the man he was silently watching through the glass, he too was just another notch in the failure belt.

"It is time to take matters into my own hands." spoke Lord Masahiro, as he gave himself a stroke of genius, peering through the glass to see Shoji standing behind him.

"Lord Masahiro. He ended up dying." Shoji evaluated, as he walked to the adult, his eyes focused on the man's lifeless body.

"His body was too weak to graph onto the cells that were administered to him. It's only fair."

"Use me."

Lord Masahiro motioned his head towards the fourteen year old boy, who he'd managed to secure a surprisingly close bond with him, despite the boy knowing of the dark work he'd been involved in over the many years of his life. It'd only seemed like yesterday when he rescued the boy from dying, due to a fight he'd been subjected to with an unknown young adult, who had his entire appearance obscured from view. After a successful amputation and physical therapy to get the boy readjusted, the two individuals managed to construct a friendship and later an apprenticeship.

"You're blindly casting your body to the wolves. Are you that desperate to see our dream come to fruition?"

"I am. My usefulness won't ever wager, no matter how far you go to achieve our goal!" Shoji affirmed, solidifying his determination immediately.

"Your sacrifice will not be in vain."

Cher breathed heavily as she ran into the facility, only to see Shoji standing next to Lord Masahiro, who seemed much calmer than he was before. Yet despite how she felt, she realized the world she was living in and the world she was thrust into on a whim was so full of bloodshed and incredibly dark motives. Something she didn't realize would come with her main goal of being reunited with her Arctic Wolf. As the two adults stared each other down, Cher raised her gun towards Lord Masahiro's heart, her ambitions overriding the need to reconstruct and genetically modify cells that once belonged to someone she only knew by name.

"Shoji! Get away from him!" she shouted, her request not getting through.

"What a waste of potential you've shown." Lord Masahiro spoke, both indirectly and directly criticizing the woman's research affairs. "Your existence remains elsewhere. The task that you abandoned is waiting for you to seek him out."

"I don't know what you intend on doing! But if you plan on using this kid as your pawn, I'll directly stop you myself!"

"Do you not remember the promise you made to me in the desert?"

"!"

The dark voice of Lord Masahiro resonated within Cher's ear, as she was completely blindsided by his quick movements and blinding use of teleportation. He stood dangerously close to the woman, the scent of copper stinging her nose, as she could feel the barrel of her gun practically stabbing the tall man in his abdomen. His voice was low and wicked, a spit of pure venom spewing from every word he spoke in her unprotected ear.

"I will not hesitate to break the will of a mind so fragile with precious memories. Your ambitions do not reflect my ideals on this world."

"You won't get away with this!"

"Such an insolent woman."

Cher crumbled to the ground, her gun clattering to the tiled floor. For as long as it took to establish a relationship with the Noble, that once again the whereabouts of Lord Masahiro and Shoji, were now untraceable. Cher knew all too well how diabolical Lord Masahiro was, as she was present near the end of the massive research attempt on the fifty kidnapped, screaming, and wailing children that were in his possession to achieve his cellular regeneration goals. His ambitious integrity was made possible through threats of massacres and blindly betraying those who managed to win his trust. All of them ending in failure after successful failure.

But this time, however, was a much darker version of Lord Masahiro.

It was right at the peak of dusk, when all of the disciples were waiting in an enclosed concrete sealed room. On the northern side of the room was a pair of double doors, which led straight to the infirmary during emergency situations. To the west, was another set of doors that led out of the arena and into the holding room, where the disciples were made to draw lots to determine which group they will be in to participate in the Selection Exam, based on numbers 1-3. Surrounding the entirety of the room, was a three sided, wrap-around balcony, where those who weren't actively participating were welcome to speculate and observe. As the thirteen disciples stood in the center of the arena, Ibuki and Negi appeared at the top of the balcony on the southern end of the arena.

"Seeing you thirteen disciples standing in this arena, this will be your final exam to see which of you will be chosen by one of the Nation's well received mentors to conduct your official training to become National Guardians." Ibuki introduced, before Negi spoke up right after.

"While we know, there are quite a few of you, who have become acquainted with a couple of these mentors, we will do a quick yet formal introduction, so everyone will be on the same page.

The same woman from the written exam walked up and stood next to Negi. The Wolves quickly recognized her and tensed up immediately, as Tazuna and her locked eyes for a brief moment.

'So they actually managed to make it to the Selection Exam?! I've got to hand it to them, I'm impressed.'

She looked at the other disciples before making her introduction.

"My name is Asura Kaguya, the head leader of the Asura Clan. Surely, I won't be disappointed this evening, right?"

"You bet you won't!" shouted a rather distinguishable voice, which echoed from the group of disciplines.

The voice belonged to Ace, who had shouted his declaration of eagerness to Kaguya, before receiving a violent punch by Yoshiko, who was fuming with annoyance, for she had the unfortunate opportunity of being in the same group as him. Ace wailed loudly, rubbing his head, as the mentors just merely watched with slight awkwardness, aside from Hiroshima, who looked more pissed than ever.

Next, was an attractive looking older man with charcoal grey hair that was slicked back into a low hanging ponytail, and very dark brown eyes. His chin neatly supported a nicely trimmed beard as he silently removed a cigarette from his mouth. His robes resembled that of Alfaiz's golden ginko leaf, brown trimmed robes. His voice boomed loudly as his overall appearance seemed to force the disciples into listening to him.

"My name is Kotetsu Namikaze."

Next was the beautiful, Sona Raanee.

"Welcome to the Selection Exam. I, Sona Raanee, will be greatly anticipating the results of you all."

"She's so beautiful." murmured a few of the disciples.

However, it wasn't until Hiroshima and Senju walked forward, did the atmosphere in the room turn from tense to admiration. The disciples immediately began to whisper and chatter amongst each other, as their words of astonishment and questions reached the sensitive ears of the Wolves, who were curious and confused about all the buzz was about when it came to the two men. From the Wolves' perspective, they just appeared to two regularly looking men, who seemed like they could rip an entire city apart with their stares alone.

"I can't believe it! It's actually Hiroshima Arakawa." Ace whispered with astonishment, as he stared at the white haired man, who said nothing to the disciples at first. "And Senju Ito is here too!"

"H-How did THEY get here?!" Yoshiko asked quietly with equal excitement, as she only heard of the two men through classes and rumors told from the adults around her.

'So they really went this far, huh?' Shun asked mentally, more interested in the process of choosing the two men as mentors. 'They don't plan on making this easy.'

'How delightful.' Sakura thought to herself with a smile, before glancing at Tazuna, who sensed her staring and looked back. 'Heh. I doubt he knows anything about these two.'

'Who the hell are these two clowns?' Riku asked, the emotion of being unimpressed clear on his face.

'Hiroshima Arakawa and Senju Ito, huh?' Tazuna asked in his thoughts, as he focused his eyes on Hiroshima focusing his attention back on him, something the Arctic Wolf noticed from the moment he walked into the arena.

"They look so cool…" Kira gasped in wonder, his innocence and being starstruck being noticed by Ace.

"Damn right! I can't believe the Priestess chose them to be our mentors!"

"Listen up!" the man named Hiroshima Arakawa barked clearly, his aggressively stern attitude causing the hushed voices to cease immediately. "I don't intend to go easy on any of those who don't have a resolve to be determined! So don't think of this as a fight among comrades. Fight as if your life depends on this moment!"

"But don't fight to the death!" Senju spoke right away, giving the disciples a thumbs up. "We'll be looking at you! So do your absolute best out there! Think of this as a bet among gamblers!"

"Be quiet! I'm talking to the disciples right now! Not everything is judged based on gambling!"

Senju's attitude went from loud and boisterous to sulking, after being immediately shut down by his closest friend, before immediately bouncing right back to his cheerful attitude, before bursting out into a proud laughter.

"It's moments like this that gets me so fired up!"

Hiroshima merely stared at Senju with an incredibly annoyed look, before turning away, clearly embarrassed by the sudden switch of attitude that Senju was known for. Even the disciples and the other chosen mentors were exasperated with Senju's personality, but despite that they greatly appreciated the man with the highest respect. It was then Ibuki and Negi took over the situation, redirecting the attention back to the task at hand.

"All of the opponents will be randomly selected based on the lots you drew earlier." Negi announced, gesturing to the board on the wall just underneath the window panel on the eastern side of the arena.

"And with that said, we will select our first two disciples." Ibuki announced.

As the disciples exited the arena to walk up the staircase in the northwest corner of the room, the board immediately began to quickly cypher through the various names. The arena was tense with anticipation as the disciples were all incredibly eager to become the first ones to display their talents and hopefully become selected by two of the most powerful and influential mentors in the entire Five Great Nations. All eyes were on the board as it slowed down and stopped on a dime to reveal the first two disciples.

Kira.

Hone Shizuka.

"Huh?" Kira asked openly, stunned that he was picked first, other than the other more talented disciples. "I'm first?"

"Can the two disciples meet in the middle of the arena?" Ibuki asked, as he stood in the middle of the floor, awaiting the two to join him.

"Knock em' dead, Kira!" Yoshiko cheered, slapping the boy's back hard enough to make him stumble forward.

"I can't believe he gets chosen first!" Ace whined, sulking in the corner comedically. "I really wanted to go first this time!"

"There. There." Shun spoke with indifference, patting his sulking friend on his head.

"Oh, quit being a baby!" Yoshiko shouted.

Kira walked towards the center of the arena, his heart began pounding profusely, as his gaze lingered on the panel of mentors who were watching with high and low anticipation. He felt extremely small when compared to them, as he suddenly began to feel the weight of the exam begin to take a toll on him mentally. He was still clutching onto the unopened box that he received from Meng Yao. But as he looked around, he realized the other unseen disciple named Hone, had yet to appear.

"Huh? Who's the kid?" Senju asked, clearly more confused on why a child as young as Kira would participate in such a grueling exam. "Isn't he a bit too young to be in the Selection Exam?"

"I heard he was trained under the tutelage of Master Meng Yao." Soma answered ambiguously, with a grin on her face.

"I'm surprised he managed to make it this far myself." added Kaguya, who stared with an interesting expression. "He was extremely nervous during the Entrance Exam."

"It's too early to pass judgement." Kotetsu immediately interjected. "Let's just observe how he does."

'So he's the Five Gated disciple of Meng Yao.' Hiroshima thought internally, as he focused on the child.

Through the main doors of the arena, stepped an extremely attractive looking older teenager, who appeared to be both calm and polite. His sudden appearance struck the entire arena with shock as he quietly walked towards Kira, who widened his eyes at the teenager. The new arrival was five feet six inches tall with pale moonlight colored skin and snow white hair. While he wore said hair in a low hanging ponytail down to the middle of his back, his bangs framed the sides of his youthful face and were fastened with red tube-like fasteners. His eyes were a electric purple color, with speckles of yellow and sky blue. The corners of his eyes were adorned with a light dusting of red eyeliner, while his eyebrows were more resemblant of two white dots. This particular style of eyebrow fashion was popular in the Tang Dynasty of ancient China and was more popular among women to further enhance their beauty to win the favor of the emperor. His outfit was similar to that of the traditional male modernized hanfu, albeit less on the looser side, with widened sleeves and a surprisingly thin looking sword strapped to his right hip, making him left handed by nature.

"You're…Hone." Kira spoke suddenly, surprise clearly present in his voice.

"I wish you well on your exams, Kira." the boy named Hone wished, making Kira smile with relaxation.

"Thanks!"

"That boy." Ace observed closely, his voice suddenly becoming suspicious on Hone's sudden appearance. "Has anyone seen him before?"

"Not at all." Yoshiko answered cluelessly.

"He doesn't appear to be much of a challenge." Shun harshly criticized, as he stood beside Ace with an indifferent expression.

"Looks can be deceiving." Sakura recalled casually, before looking over at Tazuna. "What do you think, Tazuna?"

"They're both equally matched." Tazuna replied without bothering to look over at her.

As the two boys faced each other at a respectable distance, Ibuki explained the rules rather simply. Both opponents will fight until his or her opponent is knocked out after the three second countdown. The winner of the match will then be eligible for being selected by one of the previously introduced mentors. As the man wished the two disciples good luck, he raised his arm.

"Begin!"

Before Kira could have a chance to either blink or further comprehend what had happened within such a short time frame, the disguised Red Wolf felt the ice cold rush of wind shoot past his hair, as a sharpened end of a sword slice of a few strands of the child's hair! If Kira hadn't managed to dodge the tachi sword by a mere mili inch, Kira wouldn't no doubt be pierced straight through his right eye. The sudden attack sent shockwaves of astonishment through the observants, who were just as blindly unaware as Kira was.

'That movement!' Sona gasped, her eyes widened in surprise. 'He moved so fast!'

"No way!" Yoshiko observed, as she instinctively clutched her chest, which thumped quicker than she expected. "I couldn't track him!"

'Be alert Kira!' Riku growled subconsciously, his hands tightly gripping the iron railing of the balcony, his instincts screaming at him to actively wanting to protect the young Wolf.

Kira leapt out of the way, nearly dropping the box he was still holding onto, as he avoided the blade. Sliding back, the Red Wolf chose to open the box and inside was revealed to be a tanto sword. This version was much shorter in length and was typically used for close combat fights and self defense. Kira gripped the handle of the sword, as he visualized Master Meng Yao within his own head. Standing up, he managed to use his hanfu as a diversion, when Hone rushed at him again, tachi sword at the ready. Using the short window of time, Kira dodged the attack and realizing just how close he was to Hone, thrusted his tanto into Hone, hoping it was enough to draw blood. Only to his, and everyone else's, surprise, Hone held up his hand and allowed the tanto to pierce straight through his unguarded body part!

'He- He blocked my attack?!' Kira gasped breathlessly, realizing he'd been locked in a stalemate with Hone.

"Sorry." Hone apologized, before rearing back his sword, to deliver the killer blow. "But I don't lose."

"!"

Kira managed to see the attack coming as quick as lightning. But mentally slowing down the strike in his own mind, Kira twisted his hand that was still holding onto his tanto, and used his right foot to violently kick the tachi sword out of Hone's hand, sending it flying straight past Senju's head and clattering on the floor! As everyone's gasps filled the arena, Kira focused on his next move, as he somehow managed to read his opponent's steps. Seeing another opening right after his kick, the Red Wolf utilized his natural nimbleness and twisted his body over Hone's arm and with a swift downward kick of his left foot, managed to separate Hone from his tanto! Kira leapt back and breathed heavily, as such a complex series of moves was physically exhausting.

"How the hell is he able to move so quickly?!" Senju asked, who had already made gambling bets on the kid. "Haha! Nice kid! My bets on you, for sure!"

"Didn't I tell you NOT to gamble during this competition?!" Hiroshima yelled, already fed up with his close friend's compulsive gambling habit.

'Just what the hell did Master Meng Yao teach that kid?' Kaguya questioned herself, thoroughly impressed with his speed.

"Hell yeah!" Ace shouted, cheering for Kira, as he punched the air. "Kick his ass!"

"You got this Kira!" Yoshiko joined in, boosting the child's confidence.

'How is this kid so fast? And for him to be so young!' Hone breathed breathlessly, as he glanced at his bleeding hand.

Hone prepared to rush at Kira immediately after the kid landed, realizing the child wasn't going to be as simple to defeat as he originally thought. He bomb rushed the disguised Wolf, who somehow managed to plan his next few steps, which he did silently. When he calculated Hone's punch with his intelligent brain, he leaned back to avoid the attack, but he wasn't done. While leaning back, Kira supported his own body weight and while flipping back upright, aggressively kicked Hone's chin. The force of the kick drew blood from Hone's mouth, leaving him open to yet another quick thinking assault. But Kira wasn't going to let a moment's opportunity go by for Hone to get a hit in, as rushed at the teenager. Performing an urban styled hand spin, he swiped his legs underneath Hone's ankles, knocking him off balance, before Kira waited a near fraction of a second and accumulated an intense amount of friction between his body and the surrounding air around him, creating a fiery kick with his heel. His heel connected with Hone's jaw once again, knocking the teenager cleanly into the air!

'That move!' Hiroshima gasped, his attention now completely taken to Kira, who despite his size, was showcasing incredible speed.

Kira prepared himself and rocketed himself towards Hone, but just like before in the Azure Valley, the Red Wolf created invisible steps using the friction of the air and his feet, propelling himself higher than Hone was. Realizing he was at his highest level, Kira flipped back and twisted his body like a cat, immediately striking his opponent with his right foot, the force of the attack shooting Hone straight back to the ground. Rubble and dust kicked up as the teenager smashed into the concrete floor, his body creating a huge dent. Kira landed at a fair distance, as he breathed breathlessly, as he held his tanto in his hand.

'There's no way he couldn't survive that!' Sakura thought, as she covered her mouth in shock.

"Kira!" Riku shouted, as the dust had accumulated to the point where it was obscuring the observants' vision.

"What the hell is going on?" Ace asked, as he was covering his face to avoid getting dust and debris in his face.

"Wait a second…" Yoshiko spoke, as she managed to see something white emerging from the crater.

As the dust began to settle, everyone's shocked faces fell onto Hone, who actually managed to survive the non-stop onslaught of attacks from the kid. Kira felt a surge of power coming from Hone, who remained in the crater. But it was no longer Hone, who had his attention. Staring in his general direction was an interlocking rib cage like structure surrounding the teenager! The structure began to retract itself with loud snaps and cracks, resemblant of repositioning human bones, as Hone emerged from the crater. His entire appearance was absolutely gruesome and terrifying, as he no longer appeared as the clean looking disciple Kira met only moments before. Now, he appeared to be more of a monster as hardened protrusions broke through his arms, head, and back. He still wore the same calming expression, much to everyone's absolute horror!

"W-W-What the hell?!" Ace shrieked when he saw Hone's transformation. "Are those bones?!"

"That's disgusting!" Yoshiko shouted, "Who the hell uses their bones as weapons?!"

"You two stop shouting." Shadow commanded, as he finally spoke since his arrival for the exam.

"What the hell is this kid?" Kaguya asked no one in particular.

"Whatever he is, there's no way an ordinary human can do this." Kotetsu acknowledged, as he too was suspicious of the teen's powers.

"This isn't cultivation." Hiroshima added, causing his fellow mentors to look at him. "This is something otherworldly."

"Like an experiment?" Senju asked, before looking back at Hone.

"An experiment? There's no way." Sona criticized, as the sudden accusation was much too ridiculous to accept.

Kira took a step back as all former strength and determination was evaporated from his body, as his eyes roamed over the demonic form that Hone had taken on. The tanto slipped from his hands, its clattering echoing around the arena as it hit the floor. Gravity eventually took over the child's body, as he dropped to the floor, his nerves and muscles frozen in pure terror. He instinctively shook and trembled, along with his lips, as his eyes shrank. The Red Wolf was too petrified with fear to move.

'How?' Kira asked himself, as he stared at Hone. 'There's no way! I- I can't beat him! I'm going to get killed!'

Kira was immediately pulled from his thoughts, as he saw Hone rushing at him, before being caught by his neck, by a pair of bone in the shape of a narrowed wishbone! The Red Wolf felt his body being thrown violently, as he crashed to the floor, bouncing several more feet, before finally settling in a heap of torn and ripped clothing. The defenseless child dared not move, as he coughed up blood. His ears rang. His head spun and pounded with such pressure, he felt like he could pass out at any moment! By this time, Ibuki had given the signal to grab the medical team, who immediately rushed into the arena. The entire room fell silent, as the medical staff rushed to Kira's side, knowing his small body had no doubt received external and internal damage from just that one hit alone.

"KIRA!!!" Riku and Tazuna wailed, their voices collected, as they were about to leap over the balcony, only to be stopped by Negi, who was there to stop them in their tracks.

"Do not interfere." Negi ordered immediately, ignoring the two older disciples' rage.

"What the fuck do you mean?! Kira is about to DIE! AND YOU'RE TELLING US NOT TO-" Riku screamed, his teeth now morphed into incredibly sharpened fangs, as his hair bristled.

"Kira didn't give the signal of forfeit. As long as a competitor doesn't signal the end of the match, then it will continue."

"FUCK YOUR DAMN RULES!!! ARE YOU GOING TO SAY THAT WHEN HE DIES HERE?!?"

"Wait a second." Ace noticed, as he narrowed his eyes, before gasping. "He's denying medical assistance!"

"What?!" Tazuna gasped quietly, turning his attention back to the arena below.

"Come on Kira…" a young girl spoke softly, as she'd been watching silently the entire time.

Sure enough, Kira had indeed denied medical services from the medical team. He staggered to his feet, as he held his head up, a fire ablaze in his sunset colored eyes. The medical staff felt an underlying power threatening to burst through the surface coming from the small body of the child. As the medical staff quickly exited the arena, the match continued, despite Sona and Kaguya being the ones that gave the order in the first place.

"He's- really going to continue like this?!" Sona asked, as tears collected him her eyes.

"That kid isn't going to survive much longer!" Kaguya added, turning to Senju, who was no longer joking around. "Why did you call off the staff?!"

"You can't take pity on a child who chose to fight someone so powerful in the beginning." Senju answered, as he remained focused on the match. "They won't be able to improve themselves if we shelter them."

"So you're still standing?" Hone asked, being remotely surprised by Kira's determination. "You're quite resistant, aren't you?"

"I…can say the same..to you." Kira answered, before setting up a simple guard in front of himself.

The kid managed to set up a guard just in time, as he was nearly blindsighted by Hone, who rammed his body against Kira. The force of the contact made Kira get pushed back with such force, he had to physically put distance between him and Hone. But he also managed to set up a series of attacks of his own. So, taking into account of Hone's bone armor, Kira sprinted at his opponent and allowed him to attack first, leaping over an incredibly large spike looking bone striking exactly where Kira once stood. The Red Wolf leaped through the rib caged armor on Hone's back and turned to him. Noticing his chance, Kira whipped out his sword and with a couple of quick slashes, he thrusted his sword through the visible X-shape and sent it flying straight towards his opponent!

"X Signal!"

"Calcium Growth."

The fire attack made contact with the armor, which quickly closed to shield Hone and nullified the attack. As a result, the Calcium Growth was a defense against attacks, as the compounds that his bones were created from, seemed to be neutral against the Fire Element. But this didn't stop Kira, who fired numerous fireballs at the shield, using the same move he performed on the stranger in Diamondback Valley. As the orange and yellow orbs lit up in a vertical circle around Kira, who swiped his hands downwards, sending the fireballs downward, the action resembled an explosive meteor shower! The intense force of the attack shook the arena to its very foundation, making the other participants gripping onto the railing for stability.

However, this worked against Kira's favor, as the large accumulation of smoke and dust clouded his vision, leaving him wide open to a surprise attack. Suddenly, he heard a clattering above him and before the disguised Red Wolf could think about what happened, he was violently smacked back down to earth by an enormous spinal cord shaped tail! Kira managed to survive, thanks to his qi system circulating and applying heat to his wounds, as if safeguarding them from internal damage. He widened his eyes, as before him, was an incredibly large skeleton shell armor in the shape of a scorpion!

'No way!' Sakura gasped, as she couldn't believe what she was seeing, much like everyone else.

The amount of shock and fear that had accumulated throughout the room was enough for everyone to conclude the two opponents were indeed equally matched, just as Tazuna suspected. However, he felt an unfamiliar presence beginning to overflow from Kira, as he leaned in slightly. Much like everyone around him, they too managed to sense the near bloodlust of power.

'What is that I'm feeling?' Kotetsu asked, as he felt himself involuntarily tremble.

"It's bloodlust." Hiroshima answered, narrowing his eyes, as he gripped his clothing as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Is that…coming from the kid?" Senju asked, casting his eyes at Kira, before gasping. 'It can't be!'

Hone immediately rushed at Kira again, delivering a barrage of kicks and punches, all hitting Kira's main qi circulatory points, cutting off his access to his abilities, practically paralyzing him to the point where he could barely move his head to see Hone walking towards him. Kira's vision began to double. The external amount of damage he was receiving had finally begun to take its toll on the kid's body. What he didn't realize at that moment, was the immediate energy reserve that seemed to burst out of nowhere, its effects blasting Hone back. Flames of condensed energy swirled around Kira in an almost spiral shape, the intensity of such an energy charge made those around it immediately take cover.

"What's going on now?!" Riku asked, already feeling his heart racing abnormally.

"I can't see anything!" Yoshiko yelled above the roar of the blazing energy.

"There's so much energy…" Sona acknowledged, as she managed to catch a glimpse of Kira, gasping. "That's no ordinary energy!"

"That's the energy of the Vermilion Bird!" Kaguya spoke, as she too could immediately sense the almost calming sensation that hid within the bloodlust energy.

Kira slowly got to his feet and instinctively clutched his shoulder, as he narrowed his eyes, which were now flame red in color. His visible energy morphed into the Vermilion Bird, the same legendary flame bird that he summoned during his last battle. Only this one was completely different. As the bird roared loudly, the pure energy alone managed to burst the bulletproof and Nature repellent glass on the windows, shattering them on impact. The wings of the bird enclosed Kira and from this simple movement, Kira's entire appearance changed!