Chapter 18 : Morning Game

Kazuma, Ren-Ren, and Jiyu stopped near Duri.

Kazuma looked at Marshy, and said, "Hi Marshy!"

Marshy replied, "Wassup."

"Oooo so cool!"

Jiyu showed Marshy the back of her hand, and asked, "M-Marshy, c-could you sign the b-back of my hand? Please? I'm a b-big fan."

Marshy answered, "Sure. Gotta marker?"

"Yes! I-I do.."

Jiyu pulls out a sharpie, and hands it to Marshy. Marshy took the marker, and started signing her name on the back of Jiyu's hand.

Duri was staring at Marshy the whole time, shaking his head.

Kazuma turned his attention to Duri, and said, "Duri! We saw the news!"

"Newsflash nerd…everyone did."

"It was so cool! You were insane! The way you beat the crap out of that guy and sent him to hell!"

"I can't believe they even SHOWED the part where he had died. He wanted me to kill him, and since he was already killing unworthy opponents, someone needed to stop his ass."

Ren-Ren said to Duri, "Hmph! I will applaud you just this once! But I now consider you a rival of mine! I tell you this, I shall be the greatest villain to ever live! Haha!"

Marshy asked Ren-Ren, "Do you know what me and Duri DO to villains?"

Ren-Ren backed up, saying, "Tsk. Duri said the same thing before! I am not a full time villain yet, but wait on it."

"Hoh? Tell me, once you become a villain, what would be your goals?"

"To make all the money in the world by all means. Haha, evil right? Very VILLAIN-LIKE. Mhm mhm."

"You gotta be way more intimidating than that if you're going to be a villain, kid."

"Preposterous! I-I am intimidating."

"But I'm not intimidated though."

"Tsk. You'll see one day."

Marshy looked at Duri, and asked, "So are you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Duri looked at Marshy, "Friends?! Yeah, they're not my friends. I'm a loner. But this is Kazuma, this is Ren-Ren, and this is Jiyu."

Kazuma said, "We consider you a friend, Duri!"

There was a loud bang behind Kazuma, Ren-Ren, and Jiyu.

Duri gasped, and he jumped in front of the three of them like he was guarding them.

There was nothing there, and Duri scoffed, "Marshy…"

Marshy was laughing, leaning against the gates of her house.

"HA! Not friends huh?"

Duri shook his head, and said, "I'm going to school now. Goodbye."

"See ya, love you!"

Duri gasped under his breath silently when he heard that, and he kept walking with Kazuma, Ren-Ren, and Jiyu.

Kazuma and Jiyu said to Marshy, "Bye! Bye!"

Marshy said to them, "See you kids."

Ren-Ren said to Marshy, "See ya. And be on the lookout for the next ultimate villain, ME!"

"I'll be sure to do that. Send me your evil villain business card when you're in the game."

"Haha! Yes!"

Minutes later, they were still walking on the sidewalk.

Duri, gripping his black school bag around one of his shoulders, thought, 'She's said this before. At least 4 times in total. When I was younger…when I went to sleep..she tucked me in and whispered that she loved me. I never ever even said it back. She calls me son, but I've never called her mom. Why can't I do it? Why does she actually love me when I'm not even her real son?'

Jiyu stepped up beside Duri, and asked, "Hey...Duri?"

"What is it?"

"Wha-what it's like? Being Marshy's son?"

"You a fan or something?"

"A b-big one. I've looked up to-to her for so long..I want to be a Host one day b-because of her.."

"Cool, I guess. I mean, being her son…I feel somewhat safe. She's not overprotective, but she mentions a lot that if anything ever happened to me she would split this world in half."

"So awesome.."

"You want to be a Host?"

"Yes! Er, I-I mean..yeah. I love to help people, and I know I'm not strong enough to be one yet. I wasn't born with a lot of power, but if I win a couple of to-tournaments, then I could get a satisfactory amount of abilities. It will even raise my power level a little.."

"What's your power level?"

"P-Please don't laugh at me.."

"What's your power level?"

"...20,000.."

"That ain't bad."

Ren-Ren laughed, "20,000?! Ha! That was my power level when I was 5!"

Duri asked Ren-Ren, "What's your power level then?"

"75,000. Please, no autographs."

"I've fought people with almost an a million power level, just to let you know."

"Tsk. Show off."

Kazuma asked Duri, "That guy you fought yesterday, did you know his power level?"

"No."

"Oh, I thought you would know everyone's power level since you are strong."

"Then I'm not strong enough. What time do we have to be in class again?"

Kazuma checked the watch on his wrist, "In about 45-50 minutes."

Jiyu added in a soft tone, "We're pretty early.."

Kazuma exclaimed, "Oo! I know! Let's go into the city!"

Duri answered, "With you guys? No."

"Aw, come on! I know a game center down there that the majority of our school's students go to!"

"No."

"Pleaseeee?"

"No."

"I'll buy as all food!"

"Okay I'll go."

"Yes!"

Jiyu leaned to Ren-Ren, and whispered, "M-maybe Kazuma is a little too excited today?"

Ren-Ren responded, "Of course. Since he got us tickets to watch the power tournament after school, he's just…UP."

*(Power and Power Levels explained: You already know that powers in this world come from a modified sun, with its radiation and heat filled with dark magic, performed in a ritual by the world's ancestors. The ancestors were influenced by spirits who knew and oozed out great power since they were made from the energy of power, and created a book of rituals, granting them to the ancestors to perform so they could have power for reasons unknown. 

Power Levels are exactly like how hot someone's body is, with a thermometer to test their body heat with a number to determine their actual temperature. The intensity of someone's powers, the more power moves and abilities someone has, the higher their power levels are. Just like how hot someone's body is or how hot the sun is in degrees, the number will determine that factor, detecting how hot they are with a scale.

Power Levels can be increased by getting stronger or training, there is no number limit on how high a person's power level can be. 

It's like saying how intense someone's power is, that's like heat measured in degrees.)*

[In the city..]

Duri, Kazuma, Ren-Ren, and Jiyu were walking on the sidewalk of the enormous city of Saitama. The buildings were lit up and tall, there were cars moving on the road, and tons of civilians hanging out around there.

There were multiple billboards that showed highlights of the fighting power tournaments before. It showed the punches, the kicks, the intense powers, fighters getting knocked into the air and around the area, and the crowd cheering wildly.

It also showed a fighter's picture and stats, fighting record, and power level on the billboards.

There was also a woman's voice on an intercom around the city, saying, "Extra! Extra! Gohen has won his 54th tournament match in a row! Get your '54 and bored'  Gohen merchandise today at your local store!" 

Duri stated, "Damn."

Kazuma asked Duri, "What is it?"

"I forgot how the tournaments get even more popular every year. They've even invaded the commercials. Imagine."

"Pretty cool, right?!"

Ren-Ren added, "I look at it like this: the more popular the tournaments get, the more followers I can have for my villain campaign. I will INFLUENCE the people."

Jiyu said nervously, "S-sometimes I get n-nervous when a lot of people w-watch me."

Ren-Ren playfully punched Jiyu in the arm, "HAHA! Gotta learn to get over it, peasant."

"P-peasant?"

Duri said to Ren-Ren, "The laws of this world will be an obstacle. Will that be a problem, future villain?"

Ren-Ren laughed, "Haha! No way, and no problem. I know the basic laws of this world: 'No attacking random people, no fighting in a crowded area where civilians are, no killing unless provoked or attacked, and no using powers to manipulate the laws of the world and the business side of it.' Simple shit, right? But get this, there's a way and solution around everything, every little-."

Duri, Kazuma, and Jiyu were near a food stand ordering food, and Ren-Ren got upset.

"Ummm, I WAS TALKING!"

Duri, Kazuma, and Jiyu looked back at Ren-Ren and responded together, "Oh. You were talking?"

"OF COURSE I WAS."

Two minutes later, they continued to walk down the sidewalk, all of them eating crepes.

Kazuma pointed forward, "There it is!"

Duri looked up, and saw the 90 foot tall arcade that they had just recently built. Tearing down the old one to make the new one with updated features.

Duri asked, "This is a new one.."

Kazuma exclaimed, "I know! This is the more updated version! The building has 50 floors, and each floor has over 70 arcade games to play!"

"You bought me a crepe. Now I'm leaving."

"Come onnn!"

"...Fine. Got nothing else to do anyway."

Ren-Ren clenched his fists with a  grin, "Haha! It is time…time to show everyone I'm the best at everything! In the ARCADE REALM!"

Duri stopped chewing when he heard Ren-Ren say that. Arcade realm sounded too much like the Arcane realm. He knew Ren-Ren was only talking about the building, but it almost flipped Duri's switch in almost an instant.

Jiyu asked Duri, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Let's just go in."

"Oh..o-okay."

Kazuma grinned, "Yes! Let's go!"

Seconds later, they all walked into the doors of the arcade, and the room was pretty dim, but the colorful games all over the place made up for it. There were over 60 people on the first floor, either running around with a bucket of tokens, prizes, or with their friends having a good time.

Kazuma said, "Hmm, it's more lively than usual. Oh well!"

Jiyu said, "So n-noisy. I hope no one s-stares at us."

Instantly, everyone stopped playing their games and looked over at Duri and his group.

It was a good 10 second stare, everyone was quiet, but the machines were still making the regular arcade machine noises.

Duri asked, "Can I fucking help you? Why are you all staring at me like you wanna fight or something?"

Someone in the crowd replied, "It's him! It's really him! He's here!"

Other people in there exclaimed:

"That's Duri! That's the boy from the TV!"

"He defeated a level 7 threat!"

"Duri! Duri! Let's be friends!"

Duri stepped back, and said, "I wanted to be cool, but I didn't think they'd be this annoying."

Ren-Ren explained to Duri, "EVERYONE saw that fight, Duri. And I mean…half of the school was posting it on their Bloggerz accounts and getting thousands of likes. I should've jumped on the bandwagon to promote my villain league.."

"No shit everyone saw it. Crap. Ren-Ren, kill them all for me."

"What?!"

Jiyu covered her face, "Ohhhh, the-they're looking over here. I st-stutter when I'm nervous."

Duri answered Jiyu, "Which is all the time it seems."

The crowd of students and random people began to crowd Duri, and ask him tons of questions.

They also said:

"Duri! Will you take a picture with me?!"

"Duri! Do you wanna date?!"

"BABE! I THOUGHT ME AND YOU WERE DATING?!"

"NOT ANYMORE! SCRAM ASSHOLE!"

"I'M TELLING MY MOM!"

"DON'T CARE!"

"DURI! I HEARD YOU'RE A SHADOW HYBRID! IS THAT TRUE?!"

"WHAT'S YOUR TRAINING REGIMEN LIKE?!"

"DURI! WE GO TO THE SAME SCHOOL! WANNA SIT WITH ME AT LUNCH?!"

There were some gloomy looking boys in the corner, watching their girlfriends fawn over Duri like fangirls.

The boys said to one another with tears in their eyes:

"I guess…this is how it's supposed to be."

"Fuck Duri!"

"I NEED A SHOULDER TO LEAN ON IN MY TIME OF NEED!"

"I'M LITERALLY CRYING RIGHT NOW!"

"But he's awesome…"

"I gotta bone to pick with him. No one steals ma' girl.."

Three of the boys got up, and started walking to the crowd.

They pushed people out of the way, and said, "Duri! I challenge you to a fight!"

Duri grinned, and was about to take off his school shirt, saying, "Haha! Let's go then, ya damn nerd! Don't disappoint me!"

Kazuma stepped in between them, saying, "You know we can't duel where it is populated."

The jealous boy responded, "To hell with that!"

Kazuma sighed, and looked down at the floor, "It's been awhile since I've disconnected from reality.."

"Huh?"

Kazuma was standing still, and then, an orange, white, red, and black aura surrounded his body.

Duri thought, 'This aura…I can feel the bloodlust in him rising! What the hell is with him?!'

Kazuma looked up at the jealous boy, and Kazuma's eyes were pitch black.

"Still wanna fight?"

Then, Ren-Ren had a white aura surrounding his body, and Jiyu had a pink aura surrounding her body, looking ready to fight with serious faces. Their aura and pressure was immense, Duri and everyone else could feel it.

The boy sucked his teeth in, and walked away, saying, "Whatever. We're outta here."

Kazuma went back to normal, exclaiming, "Yay! Shall we play?!"

Everyone besides Duri screamed, "Yeah!!"

Ren-Ren chuckled, "Phew. I thought we were gonna have to beat these guys to a pulp! I sure wish we did! They'll know my strength, haha!"

Jiyu replied, "W-we were about to break the rules…"

Duri looked at Jiyu, Kazuma, and Ren-Ren, thinking, 'They had me fooled. I just thought they were a bunch of idiots…but it looks like they can actually hold their own…even scaring people off. Interesting.'

(5 minutes later)

Duri and the others were playing every game on the first floor, and the crowd of people followed right behind them.

They played alien shooting games, fighting games, animal hunting games, spin the wheel games, horseshoe games, basketball games, and much more.

[4th floor]

Duri, Kazuma, Ren-Ren, and Jiyu walked through the 4th floor double doors, and they saw another crowd of students surrounding a dancing arcade game.

Duri still had the group of people behind him, and he said, "Hoh? Seems like something's going down over there."

Kazuma smiled, "We're definitely checking it out! Let's go!"

"Calm the hell down nerd."

They began to walk over there, walking past all the unoccupied games, since the other 50 people on that floor were near the dancing game.

At the dancing game…stood Seven.

Pop music was playing, and Seven and her opponent were standing on a light up platform with arrows on it, and they were matching the dance moves on the screen, moving their feet to the arrows on the  dance platform.

Everyone in the crowd recording them, posting it everywhere, or going live on the Bloggerz app.

"Go, Seven!"

"She's so pretty when she dances.."

"I want her to step on me…"

"Bro, what?"

"They both can really dance!"

"Seven's undefeated! She's already beaten five people!"

"She's the most loved and respected girl at our school for a reason."

On the side, Seven's best friend, Nine, was collecting money from students who were betting on winners and losers in the dance game.

Nine smiled, "Yep. Yep. Uh huh. Pass me your money. Seven already won. No, don't try to hide that shit, hand it over before I crush your head open. Thank youuu!"

Duri saw them, saying, "Seven..? Nine..?"

The game was over, and Seven's opponent was walking off the platform with a sad face.

Seven said to him, "You don't suck at dancing. I'm just better than you. And taking your money. Tee hee. Who's next? I can do one more round of ass kicking. Anyone?"

Someone in the crowd turned around, and exclaimed, "Look, Duri's here!"

Another person said, "It's Duri! Duri's here!"

"Let him beat Seven! He probably can!"

Duri had his arms folded, "I don't dance, imbeciles."

Nine saw Duri, smiling, "Oooo, Oi, Duri!'

Duri looked at Nine, and Nine waved, "Hey!"

Duri replied, "Sup."

"Damn you, nerd!"

"Heh? Damn you too."

Seven and Duri locked eyes.

Seven reached her hand out to Duri, and said, "Oi. You. Face me."

"No."

"Hoh? You scared? Scared to get beat by a girl?"

Nine added, "Or maybe he can't even dance."

Duri responded, "Nope I can't."

'I don't dance. But..'

[FLASHBACK]

[SHADOW REALM]

[10 YEARS AGO]

In a large room with red carpet and black walls, 5 year old Duri, his friend Jae, and 14 other kids his age were standing in a line, all of them wearing tight black jumpsuits.

You guessed right. They were doing something similar to ballet.

They stretched their arms out, and their legs, all of them having straight faces. They only did the stretching parts, and they were practicing their flexibility. And they were doing hundreds of fighting stances and dancing poses. And while they did those poses, they all were holding black and grey swords.

Jae said to Duri, "Haha! Oi, Duri! We look like girls! Haha!"

Duri replied with a laugh, "I know right! Haha!"

Band was walking around everyone, and said to Duri and Jae, "Be quiet, destroyers...others are trying to focus. Practicing Ballet and holding stances and poses increases your flexibility, durability, metal strength and focus, confidence, and balance. All of which is required to achieve great things for us and the race of the Shadows.."

[FLASHBACK END]

[PRESENT DAY]

[ARCADE]

Seven continued to say, "Come up, Duri. I know I beat you in that dodgeball game yesterday, now it's time to reclaim your honor."

Duri, still having his arms folded, responded, "Hmph. I'd rather fight."

"Of course you would, birthmark boy."

"Don't call me that."

"Hmm? Or what? You're gonna get mad and get in trouble? Or are you gonna come up here and face me in this game..and hope to win."

The student crowd around Duri exclaimed, "Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!"

Duri wanted to walk away, but Kazuma said to him, "Think about it. People are recording…if they post you backing out of a simple challenge, they would ridicule you, and then bully you. People in school don't really care what they say to you, as long as it hurts your feelings."

Ren-Ren said to Duri, "Do it..peasant…"

Jiyu says to Duri, "Everyone is being l-loud. Can you do it so they can to-tone it down just a bit? P-please?"

Duri listened to them, and everyone else. Seven was posing for the pictures being taken of her, and Nine was taking money for the bets.

Duri thinks, 'Okay. I won't fully dance like a damn sissy. But I'll just hit the arrows with my feet very fast. That'll get everyone to shut up.'

Duri sighed, and started walking onto the platform, and the crowd of students went crazy.

"He's actually doing it!"

"I don't know who to bet on!"

"Let's go!!!"

"Great way to start off a school morning!"

Duri started stretching, and then he stopped himself, thinking, 'WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING? I can't act like I'm used to this around these idiots. My adrenaline is pumping..no..no..'

Seven pressed a button on the game to start it, and it slowly began.

Seven chuckled, "So glad you can join me."

Duri looked at her, "Seven."

"Hm?"

"These people love and respect you…they say your name all day in school, they go crazy over you and Nine."

"Yeah, so?"

"I'm not a damn fool like them. You're going down."

Seven smiled brighter, "That's what I like to hear! Finally, competition!"

Everyone was still recording and cheering, and the music was starting up.

The first beat went off, and Duri and Seven took one step forward at the same time, hitting the arrow on the platform.