Third Round! Shoji vs. Koji

Author's Note: Every character and technique within this series belongs to me, the writer/creator. If you want to create content based off this series, go to Webnovel when this chapter is published and comment/ask for permission. This series is inspired by animes like Dragon Ball and Naruto.

Senshi - A 12 year old boy and Shoji's best friend and rival. He's the son of a valiant hero who is currently deceased.

Shoji - A 13 year old boy and Senshi's best friend and rival. He used to live on the streets when he was found by Shujin and Senshi.

Shujin - A 35 year old man who is Senshi and Shoji's master. He adopted Senshi and Shoji and wants to protect them at all costs. He wears a solid mask over his left eye.

New Characters:

Nashi - An amputee with no arms that fights with only his legs/feet.

Maku-sa - A fighter who has a circle-shaped mark on their forehead.

Koji - A fighter that manipulates smoke from the gauntlets on his wrists.

Toryu - A warrior with a metal mask that wields dual broadswords.

"For the third round, it's Shoji vs. Koji!" said the announcer.

In the waiting room, Shoji and Koji are about to enter the arena. Koji already left the room, while Shoji was hesitant. "Do good, Sho. Let's win this tournament," Senshi encouraged. Shoji responds, "Thanks, Sen. I'll make sure to do as good as you did." Throughout their childhood, Senshi and Shoji looked up to their master and adopted father, Shujin. However, they both wanted to catch up with each other. They did this by proving themselves to each other. Senshi did his part. Now it's Shoji's turn.

Shoji entered the arena a few seconds after Koji. "3, 2, 1, fight!" said the announcer.

Shoji runs up to Koji and attempts to punch him, but Koji catches his fist. "Release!" shouted Koji as smoke sprays in Shoji's face. Shoji then starts to cough as he backs up from the smoke. Koji said, "I gotta thank ColeTech for this one." Koji then kicked Shoji in the stomach and Shoji stumbled back until he was on one knee.

"Ok…not how I thought this would go," thought Shoji. Koji runs up to Shoji to kick him straight to the neck, but Shoji ducks backwards, grabs his leg with his left hand, pulls it, and jabs at his side with his right hand. This leaves Koji falling backwards as he falls to the floor.

However, this doesn't keep him down for long. Kojj jumps up from the floor and says, "Good, very good. Your name is Shoji, right?" "Yeah, it is," Shoji responds. "Well lucky you. You get to experience 10% of my gauntlet's smoke. I haven't tested this out yet. Release, 10%!" said Koji. Smoke released from his gauntlets, surrounding Koji until he's unseen.

"Let's go. Remember Sho, strategize…" thought Shoji. Shoji got into a stance with slight confidence. He squinted his eyes until he saw a silhouette through the smoke. "He's coming…" thought Shoji. "He'll never see me coming…" thought Koji as he tiptoed through the smoke. Koji then runs through the smoke, confronting Shoji on the spot.

"Now!" Shoji thought in exclamation as Koji swung a right hook towards Shoji's face, but Shoji dodges and gut punches him, making him spit out to the floor. Shoji uses his fist to push him away, making Koji fall to the floor grasping his stomach in pain.

"5, 4, 3…" said the announcer. Before the announcer could reach 2, Koji shouts, "Release 25%, both gauntlets!" Even more smoke released from his gauntlets. However, to everyone's surprise, even Shoji, the gauntlets began to spark and malfunction until more smoke than expected sprayed out, covering the entire arena except for the stands.

Meanwhile, in the stands, Shujin worriedly thought, "Hang on, Shoji. Make it on to the semi-finals with Senshi." Senshi is in the waiting room, watching the match on the screen. He thought, "Come on, Sho! I know that smoke won't keep you down! We trained all night that day for this."

"What the…where are you?" said Shoji in confusion. Koji responded, "Come find me! Makes it all the more challenging with all this smoke, huh?"

Shoji looked around at the smoke, as a hint of fear instilled in his mind. He went into this match with confidence and support on his side, but this was something else. Matter of fact, this seemed…familiar.

Flashback to 7 years ago:

Shoji was on the streets, rags covering his body. He always moved from street to street, sidewalk to sidewalk. This time, he happened to stumble upon a place near a factory. Shoji was sleeping, curled up under what could be perceived as a blanket, when a sudden explosion occurred at the factory. "BOOOM!" was what reached his ears as he was woken up from his slumber.

Shoji rubbed his eyes and saw lots of smoke coming from that nearby factory. To the minds of everyone else, it would be dangerous to rush over to the smoke. However, Shoji's mind overflowed with curiosity, tempting him to see what's going on. Shoji let that temptation lead the way to the factory.

There was a gate that blocked the entrance to the factory. Shoji climbed and hopped over the fence and took a look around. 8 feet away from him was the smoke surrounding the factory buildings. Shoji ran into the smoke, but once he was there, fear rushed up and down his body. It felt as if there was no way out. He froze, not looking back, but not going any further. "Hey!" shouted Shoji. "Is there anyone here? Help!" Before he knew it, another "BOOM!" sounded to his ears.

Many men and women ran out of the factory. He saw them run around him, but someone ran towards him. Was it a savior? Was it a kidnapper? Shoji's mind rushed with thoughts as one of the factory's female workers picked him up and carried him away from the factory.

Back to the present:

Shoji looked in one direction and just stood there. A silhouette formed in the smoke. It came closer and closer, looking like it was running towards him. That silhouette emerged from the smoke, revealing Koji, ready to swing straight towards Shoji's face.

"No!" shouted Shoji, echoing throughout the stadium. Before Koji knew it, he was on the ground, face being grasped by Shoji, with his arm in the hold of Shoji as well. To the ears of everyone in the stands, hitting sounds were heard. The clashing of fists and kicks were heard. Four people came from different sides of the stands, wearing black-and-white shirts, looking like referees. These people pulled out huge machines that function similarly to a vacuum. The people turned them on and the machines proceeded to suck all the smoke from the arena.

When all the smoke was clear, everyone in the stands, all the contestants in the waiting room, saw the same thing: Shoji had his foot placed on Koji's chest, panting constantly, while Koji looked near-unconscious.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Shoji wins!" the announcer exclaimed. Both Senshi and Shujin took a sigh of relief. Everyone in the stands clapped and applauded.

"Before we go to the semi-finals, let's take a quick intermission so our contestants can recover," said the announcer.

Shoji picked a near-unconscious Koji up, put him on his back, and carried him out of the arena, into the waiting room.

End of Chapter 7…

Ending Note: How did you all like this chapter? I took the advice of a certain someone and included a little bit of backstory for Shoji. I hope everyone is ready for the semi-finals!