Tomorrow

I invited Evos to my office, and I poured us both a drink, "I have no problem with putting you on the task force, but I need to know why." Evos sipped from his glass before answering, "Lives will be lost if the World Government gets this thing off the ground. You trained me in stealth and infiltration. I'm the best person for the job."

I had a moment of realization. I was no longer looking at a child but a man. Who was confident and ready to lay his life down for others, "I know you are, and I'll ask Dragon to make you a captain on the force."

Evos looked surprised for a moment, "Really, oh, I thought I would have to convince you or prove my worth through combat." Smiling, I looked down at my now empty glass. "Well, that last option is still on the table."

Before he could ask what I meant, I hurled my glass at him. Without hesitation, Evos turned into a fog letting the object pass harmlessly through him. When he reformed, I was already on him, tackling him through the closed door before throwing him at a tree.

Evos was only stunned for a second before he flipped around, sliding to a halt, "Why are we doing this? I thought you said I'm ready." I grinned as I stretched and loosened my body, "Because we haven't spared in a while, and I want to get one more in before you leave."

There was an explosion of air as I clashed with Evos my leg halted by his forearm, stopping me from taking his head. "Let's hurry this up. I want to say goodbye to Abby before I leave." Pushing my leg to the side, Evos moved forward, sliding his feet across the ground with a complexity that even I had trouble tracking.

As his arm moved to strike, I did a quick analysis. His hands weren't in a fist but a palm. His fingers clenched together to form a spear tip and a blunt blade. In a flash, Evos jabbed his fingers forward, aiming at my jugular.

Knocking his hand to the side, I advanced, trying to step on his toe to knock him off balance. But Evos was in sync with my efforts retreating with grace while attempting to get past my wall of guards, evades, and deflection.

I watched as Evos took another step hitting a tree root, shifting, disrupting his footing. Surging on the opportunity, I infused my fist and foot with haki extending with a heel kick and hammer fist.

But Evos was ready, shifting off of his back leg to block my fist and grab my leg, locking us together in both of us, relying on the other to stay standing. Then there was a moment where we stared at each other, trying to peer into each other's hearts and predicted their next move.

Then Evos' cheeks bulged, and he spewed out a cloud of grey mist that hit me full-on in the face, immediately my eyes burned, and my throat started to close, "What the hell!"

I grew a pair of wings and flapped, shooting me away from Evos and clearing the cloud, "How do you like my new poison Soren? I made it just for you?" The effects were quickly clearing up as my body fought to combat the irritant, "I'm going to have to figure out how you did that. It would be hell on the battlefield."

Evos grinned before ran at me, the ground cracking with each step he took. I readied myself to met him; however, it was just a decoy as his body broke apart into a mist. Then from behind, something grabbed me, trying to take me to the ground.

Reaching behind, I threw Evos off me, though it was only a clone that dispersed into mist. The real Evos erupted from the cloud hovering on the floor, his palm outstretched. That's when I saw the thin tube extending from his wrist.

Bringing my arms together, I created a bone shield and felt something pierce through the first layer but fail to make it through. For a brief moment, I slide across the ground before jumping to my feet.

I turned around and watched Evos rise from the mist, stepping onto solid ground, "You know your poisons can't do anything to me?" Smirking, Evos rubbed his hands together, "I know that's why I want to test everything on you!"

With that, Evos touched a nearby tree, and I watched as the entire plant started to decay in a matter of seconds, the bark withering and crumbling away. "I want to show you how much progress I've made."

The wither then spread, turning the entire ground into a pit of death, fumes started to rise, but Evos raised his hands and created a dome of mist to stop the contamination from spreading.

Single handily, Evos had changed the battlefield with only a few spots left untouched by the wither. Crouching, I touched the tainted ground and watched as my finger also started to crumble before I cut it off and regrow a new one.

"This isn't poison," I said less a question but more of a statement. I looked at Evos, "Maybe you're more ready than I thought." Evos smiled with a hint of melancholy, "It only seems like yesterday, doesn't it."

I nodded, "But know it's today, and there are lives on the line. So show me that you haven't wasted it." Evos grinned, and I smiled back as we clashed, again and again, trying to show each other that no matter what, we would still be a tomorrow.

---

The next day I sent in the application, to which Dragon readily agreed. When I relayed the news to Evos, he couldn't look happier. That night I was caught up in more planning and meetings something I would have dreaded but know I wanted nothing more than to end this battle so their might be peace in the future.