Chapter 46: Making Mistakes

Roy looks over to where Alvin is talking about. A crowd is forming around it. Roy sees a familiar-looking person on it. Roy looks down and sighs at the sight of the person.

"Yay! A new high score!", Okutou exclaimed.

The crowd surrounding Okutou claps, happy to see such a feat.

"Impressive. I haven't seen a fresh face that manages to do a feat like that.", Alvin commented.

Okutou then starts smelling someone, closing his eyes, and starts sniffing around. After doing that, Okutou looks over his shoulder to see Roy. Roy smiles and waves at Okutou

"Hey, Roy! It's nice to see ya here.", Okutou said as he runs towards them.

"Same here, Okutou.", Roy replied.

Alvin is caught off guard by this, surprised to see that Roy knows this person. Roy then notices this, remembering that these 2 doesn't meet each other before.

"Roy, who's this?", Alvin asked.

"Oh, him? He's a childhood friend of mine.", Roy answered.

"Hello there. My name is Kitsune Okutou. But please, call me Okutou. My last name is...yeah...", Okutou introduced himself as he extended his hand towards Alvin.

"Alvin. Alvin Johnson. I wouldn't mind if you call me by my first by the way. You also got some nice skills in DDE. I'm impressed.", Alvin shook Okutou's hand.

"Haha, Thanks! I just started playing that game a few days ago.", Okutou said in response.

"Oh, a newbie I see. Ok ok. How about you Roy, did you play DDE?", Alvin turned to Roy and asked.

"I...haven't played DDE before...", Roy bashfully admitted it.

Both Alvin and Okutou are surprised by this. Then both of them wrap their arms around Roy. After that, they start dragging Roy near the arcade, near Dance Dance Evolution.

"How about we teach you how to play DDE, Roy?", Alvin rhetorically asked.

"Yeah, it will be an experience.", Okutou added.

"That sounds...fun.", Roy commented.

Soon enough, Roy, Okutou, and Alvin are already inches away from the game. Roy sighs and gives the paper bag that has the headphones in it to Alvin. After that, Roy steps onto the right side of Dance Dance Evolution while Okutou went on the left.

Roy looks at the machine before him. A giant screen in front of them. A handlebar behind them. Finally, colored arrows below their feet.

"Ok, Roy. Remember this, time the arrows on your side of the screen and step on the correct arrow at the perfect time. You can hold the handlebar behind you to help you step even faster.", Okutou taught Roy.

"Ok... Alright. Got it.", Roy understood and nodded.

"Start with an easy song for Roy, Okutou.", Alvin said from behind.

"Alright, let's start with Father Fight. Hard mode.", Okutou picked a song.

"Wait? Is that the new stuff?", Alvin asked.

"Yep! They finally patched it in.", Okutou answered.

"Wait? What did they finally patch it in?", Roy questioned.

"There's been this new rhythm game that exploded right away after it got released. It's called Saturday Night Singing!", Alvin explained.

The game then stops loading. It shows a video of the game. Showing 3 characters on it. 1 seems to be a monster due to its red eyes, a woman sitting on a speaker, and a midget holding a mic. There are also 2 sets of arrows on the left side and the right.

"3, 2, 1, Dance!", the game declared.

The game started emitting catchy music. Roy looks over to Okutou. The fox boy has his hands gripped on the handlebar behind him. Roy copies this and looks at the giant screen in front of him.

"Remember, timed the arrows. Like this.", Okutou gave his advice.

Arrows start appearing on Okutou's side, slowly approaching the arrows on the top. Okutou then begins stepping in the arrows. Up, left, down, up, left, right, up, right, left, down, and up. Okutou manages to perfectly hit all those arrows as well as doing it with style by doing various poses with each move he makes.

"Why do you pose like that every time you hit an arrow?", Roy asked confusingly.

"Well, duh. It looks awesome.", Okutou answered smugly.

"I agree with that statement... Even though it isn't that helpful in terms of gameplay.", Alvin commented in the background.

The same set of arrows begins to arise from Roy's side. Roy breaths in and out quickly and copies Okutou's moves, doing it at the same pace with the rhythm of the music. Unfortunately, Roy misses most of them.

"Dammit...", Roy muttered to himself.

Frustrated, Roy aims to do better next time, which is after Okutou's turn again.

"Ha! Yeah! Booyah!", Okutou exclaimed.

Okutou aces it again, perfectly stepping on the arrows at the right time while doing many poses again. Even though posing won't help you play great at DDE. Roy looks over to his side and sees another set of arrows.

Like what happened last time, Roy misses all of them.

"What?!", Roy exclaimed.

Roy is even angrier at himself. Seeing himself lose this much frustrates him into trying to do better, forcing himself to hit the arrows perfectly like what Okutou is doing. This only causes Roy to miss even more, and it's making him lose his focus even more. Roy's anger is clouding his mind, causing him to concentrate less as the battle goes on. Only hitting a quarter of the arrows in the music.

"Player 1, wins!", the game declared.

In the end, Okutou wins by a landslide. Roy doesn't even have a chance to defeat Okutou. Not even the slightest. Roy is furious at this fact.

'Dammit, all! I lost.', Roy angrily thought.

Roy isn't mad that he lost to Okutou. Roy is mad that he lost, hating himself for losing. Roy hates losing. He hates it so much. Roy can never let this down. Until Alvin suddenly grabs Roy's shoulder, getting Roy's attention. Roy looks at Alvin. Alvin flashes a smile to him.

"Hey, that wasn't bad. You were doing much better than me when I was a kid. I still remembered playing DDE for the first time... I sucked real bad...but hey, that didn't stop me. I kept on practicing throughout the years and now I can confidently say that I mastered every song and music there is in DDE. ", Alvin explained.

Okutou's expression then lit up, hearing that Alvin is a master at DDE. This makes Okutou excited and battle-ready.

"Alvin, I challenge you into a battle!", Okutou shouted as he pointed at Alvin.

Alvin smirks, loving the challenge. After that, Alvin gives the paper bag to Roy. Roy grabs the paper bag containing his headphones and wraps it around his arms. Alvin then cracks his fingers and stretched his whole body.

"Challenged accepted.", Alvin arrogantly said.

Alvin then steps into the same place where Roy is. About to battle Okutou. Okutou then selects the song they're going to play.

"I'll pick the hardest song there is, Megalomania!", Okutou exclaimed as he picked the song.

"Megalomania, huh? It's been a long time since I played this. Time to shake the rusts off.", Alvin replied as he jumps multiple times.

The game starts loading. Alvin confidently grabs the handlebar behind him. After that, Alvin looks behind at Roy.

"This win is for you, bud.", Alvin pointed to Roy.

Roy smiles and nods, giving Alvin a thumbs up as well. Alvin then faces the screen and gives Okutou an intimidating smile. Okutou is intimidated but soon smiles as well.

"3, 2, 1, Dance!", the game declared once more.

After the countdown, arrows that are in a pattern appear quickly on the tv, making both Alvin and Okutou quick on their feet. Literally. Both Alvin and Okutou are hitting every single arrow they come across. Not even missing a single one.

'How in the hell can they see that and at the same time press the right arrows? That's amazing.', Roy shockingly thought.

Roy is shocked to see this. The utter speed of button mashing these 2 is presented. As well as the accuracy they're showing. Roy finds this all shocking.

"So this is the power of a Gamer. Incredible. Truly incredible.", Roy muttered to himself.

"You're going down, Alvin!", Okutou shouted at Alvin.

"Heh! Back at ya!", Alvin replied arrogantly.

The 2 seem to be at a standstill. They seem to have the same scores. Like they're equals, but...

"Oh, here comes my favorite part!", Alvin shouted.

The patterned in the arrows suddenly changes differently according to Alvin. Suddenly, Alvin scores higher at a faster rate. Okutou is lagging behind due to inexperience. This is the first time Okutou is playing this song. Roy can finally see the sheer gap between the both of them. The gap of gamer skill.

"Argh! What is this?", Okutou asked himself.

"Is this your first time playing this song?", Alvin asked.

"Well yeah, I heard this was the hardest song there is and now I can see why...", Okutou answered while struggling.

"You're doing great for your first time, but not enough to beat me!", Alvin commented.

After saying that, Alvin starts mashing like crazy. Roy sees this and is surprised.

'Those aren't random mashes. They're targeted. And every single one of it...... perfectly hits the arrows!', Roy observes in his mind.

Alvin continues to rise up while Okutou couldn't even keep up. Alvin is beating Okutou in Dance Dance Evolution. Soon, the song comes to a close.

"Player 2, wins!", the game declared.

Suffice to say, Alvin wins in the end. Okutou crashes onto the ground out of tiredness. Alvin is breathing heavily but he raises his fist in victory. Alvin then turns to Roy and gives him a peace sign.

"See, Roy! If you keep on trying, you'll get good in no time.", Alvin confidently said.

Roy is amazed by this. Roy isn't expecting Alvin would win against Okutou, he thought of the opposite. Roy has doubts but now he doesn't. Hearing those words, the one that Alvin said, makes him reminisce about something in the past. Remembering something important...

________________________________________________________________

Little Roy is sparring with Bakin, using wooden swords and battling in the same forest they are training before Beni interferes.

Bakin strikes Roy but the boy parries it. This causes Bakin to jump back before Roy can do anything. However, Roy quickly charges in. Bakin swings his wooden sword and locks it with Roy's. They're at a standstill. Bakin smiles, proud of Roy, and pushes him back using his sheer strength. Roy flies off but manages to land on his feet.

Roy then takes a second to breathe, trying to calm down and steady his sword. Roy then tightens his grip on the handle of the wooden sword. Roy then smirks at Bakin. Roy is enjoying the battle he's having. Suddenly, fire engulfs the wooden sword but it doesn't burn.

"Flame Style: Fiery Slash!!", Little Roy shouted.

Roy then releases a small arc fire and it heads towards Bakin. Bakin blocks it with his wooden sword. However, Roy keeps firing at him. Multiple Fiery Slashes charges at Bakin. Bakin stomps on the ground and an earth wall protected him from the barrage of attacks that Roy made. Bit by bit, the earth wall starts falling but it stands still and withstood the attack. Suddenly, Roy appears on the left side of Bakin. Roy's sword is still in flames.

"Flame Style: Burning Strikes!!", Roy yelled.

Roy then charges at Bakin, striking his master multiple times. Bakin manages to handle every single one of Roy's attacks. Roy isn't done though. The boy then shoves his sword in front of Bakin.

"Wind Style: Repel!!", Roy yelled once again.

The flame of the wooden disappears. Then the sword...does nothing. Nothing happened. No wind blows Bakin away. They both just stand there for a good second and stop fighting.

"Do you need some help or?", Bakin asked.

"No no, wait. Give me a second.", Roy refused the offer.

Little Roy then looks at his sword and concentrates. The wind suddenly surrounds the wooden sword. The boy then shoves it in front of Bakin.

"Wind Style: Repel!!", Roy shouted once more.

A strong gust of wind blows Bakin back but Bakin decides to stop with the sparring. Seeing how slow Roy is with switching elements to elements.

"Ok, stop. We need to work on your problem. An enemy won't wait for you to switch elements.", Bakin halted the fight.

"I know...but it's hard, master. Switching from element to element is difficult.", Roy replied while looking down on the ground.

Bakin then kneels on the ground, placing his hand on the boy's head and giving him a flash of sympathy.

"I know it's hard but you need to master this if you wanna become the Ultimate Ninja. Though you're probably afraid of making mistakes, that's ok! It's human nature to make mistakes. But it is also human nature of trying not to repeat those mistakes.", Bakin softly said to Roy.

After saying that, Bakin puts his hands on Roy's shoulders. Little Roy looks up to his master, seeing a smile on his uncle's face. This calms the boy down a bit.

"So while you make mistakes, try to learn and be better than before. Understand?", Bakin asked.

Roy smiles and nods, understanding what his uncle said to him.

________________________________________________________________

"Wait, a fight happened in school?!", Sara was shocked to hear that.

"Yeah, the Freedom Fangs attacked us where we least expected.", Varari added.

Varari and Sara are in the principal's office. The principal's broken office there is. The wall is still smashed into pieces thanks to the Fire Ball that destroyed it. They look over in that direction to see the principal talking to a bunch of people with hard hats on. Principal Daichi is telling to the construction workers what part of the school they need to fix the most.

Sara looks down in shame, holding her necklace to calm herself down while clenching somewhere in her clothing.

"This all happened while I was sleeping. I should have been here and help.", Sara muttered to herself.

Varari hears what Sara tells herself. Varari then walks towards her and holds Sara's hand. Sara looks up to see Varari's warm eyes.

"It isn't your fault, Sara. Besides this isn't your battle to fight in.", Varari tries to calm her down.

"I know it's isn't my fault but I'm the president here. It's my responsibility to protect and maintain order in this school.", Sara refused to back down.

Varari then remembers Sara's role in this. As well as her position in her clan. Being the president of this school may help her leadership skills when Sara is finally the new chief of the Marvelous Magic Clan. Varari doesn't say anything else to put Sara then. Instead, Varari smiles.

"Well, if you put it that way, I won't stop you, honey. However, you need to remember that we got your back as well.", Varari reminded her.

"Of course, I won't forget.", Sara reassured her.

Suddenly, the door flies open. Both Varari and Sara are shocked to see this and look at the person who opens it.

"Ladies, where's Roy?", Prince Graysen asked.

It's Prince Graysen who opened the door in such a hurry, holding his phone as well. Varari looks at the prince with confused eyes.

"Why? Did something happen to him?", Varari worryingly asked.

"I got a text from a random number. Here.", the prince gave them his phone.

Sara grabs the phone and the both of them look at it, reading the text message.

"Surrender yourself or else we'll plan to kill the Ultimate Ninja.", Varari read it aloud.

"They're planning to kill Roy? That's crazy talk. Roy can handle himself...right?", Sara asked with less confidence.

Varari suddenly remembers that night. That night where Varari gets shot and isn't able to help Roy. Varari then sees Roy struggling against Big Fur. Seeing how futile Roy's moves are against the monster. Varari suddenly transforms into her ninja outfit.

"We need to find Roy before anything happens to him!", Varari yelled in fear.

"Alright! If Roy still has the pen that I gave him, we need to call him and tell him to click it twice.", Prince Graysen quickly suggested a plan.

Varari quickly grabs her phone and dials Roy's number, putting it in her ears and hearing the ringing sound.

"Come on, Roy. Pick it up, please...", Varari muttered to herself.

________________________________________________________________

Roy and Alvin start walking home, playing all day long at the arcade with Okutou. It's already night. The sun is already sunken and the moon has risen. Roy is hugging his paper bag that has his headphones in it, excited to use it. Alvin is happy to see Roy happy.

"You seem happy to use those headphones of yours.", Alvin commented.

"I've been waiting this long to use them. You can say that the anticipation sort of made me happy.", Roy said in response.

"Just wait for a little and you can use them for the rest of your life.", Alvin replied.

Suddenly, Roy's phone starts vibrating. The phone is in Roy's pocket. Roy then grabs it with his right hand and holds the package using his left. After that, Roy pulls it out and checks whoever is calling him. Roy then answers it.

"Hello, Varari?", Roy responded.

"Roy! You need to click the pen twice now!", Varari immediately screamed.

Roy puts his phone away from his ears while Varari is screaming. Then Roy puts it back on his ear as soon as Varari quiets down.

"Why?", Roy asked.

"It's because the Freedom Fangs are coming to get you!", Varari yelled again.

Roy's eyes widen, shocked and disturbed by the fact that the Freedom Fangs is out to get him. Roy then swallows and nods.

"Alright, I'll do that now.", Roy agreed.

"Be careful.", Varari worryingly said.

"I'll try.", Roy said before hanging up.

Roy then puts his phone back in his jean pocket and grabs the pen that the prince gave him in his jacket pocket, holding it tightly and clicking it twice at a fast pace. Alvin sees Roy's worried expression. As well as Roy's response to the call.

"What's going on, Roy?", Alvin asked.

Roy looks at Alvin with serious eyes. This makes Alvin nervous.

"You need to hide, now.", Roy ordered.

"Wh-wh-why?", Alvin stuttered in fear.

"Because it's about to get messy...fast.", Roy answered Alvin's question.

Suddenly, somebody lands in front of behind them. They both look at them. It's a wolf, holding a shotgun with a suppressor on it. Another one appears, standing on the roof. A bunch appears out of the shadows of the alleyways. One by one they show up, equipped with guns that have suppressors.

Suddenly, Roy feels a massive power coming from one of the wolves. The odd one out from the pack. However, Roy senses that this person isn't like the rest of them. One of them jumps out of the crowd and land in front of them. Roy instantly knows it's that wolf who is the odd one out. They slowly stand up, showing that they too wear a wolf mask, as well as revealing that they're holding 2 battle axes on both hands.

"Greetings, Ultimate Ninja. I am BattleHowler and it is an honor to meet you.", BattleHowler introduced himself.

Roy crosses his arms and looks at BattleHowler with intimidating eyes. Roy then looks around him, surrounded by BattleHowler's wolves.

"So what are you planning to do with me?", Roy asked scarily.

"I have my orders, and my orders are to capture you. If you resist by doing the hard way, well... I would have to force you to come with us." BattleHowler threatened Roy.

"Heh...guess I would have to choose the hard way then.", Roy refused to go down without a fight.

"So be it.", BattleHowler snapped their fingers.

The wolves then cock their guns and aim at Roy. Roy then stomps on the ground, making a thick earth dome protecting both Roy and Alvin. The wolves then fire at the earth dome, doing no effect to it. After a few more seconds of shooting, BattleHowler raises his hand, signaling the wolves to ceasefire on the earth dome.

A few moments of silence happened. Then the dome broke into pieces. Revealing Roy wearing his Ninja Outfit. Roy then looks at BattleHowler.

"How about we do this fairly? You, me, fight alone with no one to help. Unless...you're afraid to battle me alone and will order your wolves to fight for you.", Roy taunted.

"Everyone, stop!", BattleHowler yelled.

After hearing BattleHowler's order, the wolves then stop and lower their guns like bots, not moving an inch afterward. BattleHowler then flips his axes, excited at the idea of fighting the Ultimate Ninja all on his own.

"I was planning to do that all along but you seemed the kind of man that isn't too fond with the idea of dueling.

However, if it's a challenge I hear, it is a challenge that I will accept. It would be an honor to battle the Ultimate Ninja.", BattleHowler accepted it.

"All of you, stand on the sideline. I would like to fight the Ultimate Ninja by myself.", BattleHowler ordered again.

The wolves hear this and jump away from both BattleHowler and Roy. BattleHowler then gets into position and holds both of his battle axes tightly. Roy looks at Alvin, signaling him to run away. Alvin nods and does so. Another wolf suddenly lands in front of Alvin, moving out of their free will and making sure he won't go anywhere. . They aren't controlled.

"Keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't call for help.", BattleHowler ordered.

"Certainly.", the wolf followed.

Roy then turns to that wolf, giving him a death glare. That wolf shakes a bit in fear.

"Hurt him and death will be your only pleasure in life.", Roy threatens.

"I... I won't...", the wolf replied.

After that, Roy looks at BattleHowler. Seeing how ready he is to fight, Roy sighs then grabs the handle of the Demonic Saber and unsheath it. Readying himself to battle BattleHowler.