The Dream Shifter

Chapter 275

Yuki walked out to meet Vangelis, staring him down away from the rest of his friends. Only centimeters stood between the two of them. The proximity did nothing to affect either of them. "I don't care what sort of plan you have set up anymore. The two of us are fighting."

Spinning around violently at their feet, Yuki's field clashed with Vangelis' field. It seemed to mirror the resolve of them in their unwillingness to back down or show a sign of weakness.

Vangelis gave him a smirk, pleased with the situation. "I'll be looking forward to it." He motioned over to his team to bring them forward. 'Plans change…the only one we have nothing on is the bulky kid that's said nothing.' His eyes scanned the three others in Yuki's group quickly making judgments from his information. "Chariton, you'll fight Ismene. Kallias, you take the little miss. Ligeia, you've got the last one, the silent one back there."

"Right," confirmed Ligeia. She took a step out and strolled over to Haruo. His size did little to impress or intimidate her. She actually came out marginally taller than him, by a few centimeters.

Kallias strode out taking wide steps with each pace as though stretching himself. "Yeah, this should keep me from getting bored." He had the confidence built up from Vangelis display of shutting Saki down. So he made full use of his height different to create an imposing figure. Unfortunately, Saki seemed only more angered by him.

Cracking his neck a little, Chariton bounced out on his feet. A little bit of sweat dripped down his face as he approached Eudokia. "Hello, it's been a while, Eudokia Ismene." He worked up a nervous grin to mask his unsettledness.

She easily picked up his fear. "Chariton, surprised you're still at the South Gate, with how much you bounce around postings. You'll regret not transferring yet." A wicked smile painted over her lips with a darkened shadow cast over her eyes.

Saki was not willing to let the fighting devolve into something as simple as breaking off to fight, while they all pretended there was something noble or honorable. She immediately struck out at Kallias to end the fight, but found a jet of water pressing against her fist rather than his face. A moment later, the water sprayed around her hand drenching her utterly. The cold water did little for her emotions. She charged through the water expecting to find Kallias on the other side, but only found it empty. 'Where the hell did he go?' Her eyes darted around trying to see through the blurred vision of water dripping off her eyebrows.

Working down his laughter, Kallias' voice wormed through the area. "I figured you'd probably act first. This is the first chance I've had in a very long time for something interesting. I'm not about to let you spoil it by trying to end things quickly." Water collapsed back into the ground revealing Kallias to Saki. His appearance changed with a skintight black suit covering him leaving only his hands, feet and head exposed.

Foiled twice annoyed Saki. It was the first time since she had her powers granted to her that she did not end the conflict with a single strike. She hated it. Everything she was given was supposed to allow her to create the path she desired. 'Water won't be enough to stop me. I'll put an end to this pointless fighting myself!'

Saki first step splashed water under her foot before she disappeared from sight. Water divided from her path and then exploded as a wall water came in front of her. 'So thick…can't…' Taken by surprise, she tripped unable to keep her balance at the speeds. Saki appeared sliding over the thin layer of water before falling out of the field and kicking up dirt from her speeding body.

A dirt cloud covered up Saki's path, but Kallias did not remain in wait for long. The cloud ripped apart from a powerful force passing through leaving only trails as the sign of what left. However, he already had things setup for Saki's return. Water rose from the ground to enough of a height to trip her. It broke her out of her speed and dropped her down into the wide puddle of water. For Saki, the water did not allow her to slide away again. A bubble of water scooped her up imprisoning her within it.

Kallias motioned to the others with the situation secured. "I'll be departing now." He walked away from the group keeping the ball with Saki inside floating in the air nearby him. Her futile efforts to punch at the water did little more than make holes that immediately sealed back up before she could act.

With things calmed down, everyone stared off at their respective partners for the coming fight. Haruo made no words. He simply walked away from the area as though leaving the fight. Ligeia felt a little slighted by his lack of a reaction, but followed him anyway. Chariton motioned at Ayumi and they walked off to get out of range of Yuki.

Yuki glanced around at his friends keeping their positions in his mind. He held off on activating his power until he was certain that they were beyond his range, which meant a long wait. His eyes stared back at Vangelis, the image of Saki in his mind ignited fire in his muscles. Both of his hands tightened into fists.

"Stay wake, kid!" called Vangelis already appearing on his left. He only granted Yuki enough time to see him before a blast suddenly enveloped him.

In their part of the field, Chariton and Eudokia squared off. Eudokia revealed her field first, with the snow field and her simple sword and chain-attached chakram. Stretching again, Chariton did not appear to be taking things too seriously and the hints of fear disappeared from him. After he finished, he fixed his sights on her. An eyebrow rose for him as he caught sight of her. "I don't remember you using a snow field or wearing something so foreign before."

Eudokia narrowed her eyes at Chariton. Her hand tightened around the hilt of the sword. "I don't remember anything about you. And I don't expect to after this fight." She threw out the chakram as he activated his power.

The ripple through the earth revealed massive mushrooms, floating trees and upside down flowers with their roots exposed, as though reverse planted. Chariton stepped out from around the large trunk of a mushroom with the chakram caught on a wooden pole. As he stepped out more, it was revealed to be an ordinary broom in his hands. "Hopefully, I leave a little more of a lasting impression on you."

Ligeia stood opposite of the silent wall, Haruo. She still waited for him to actually do anything besides stand around. An annoyed vein popped on her forehead. "Are you going to do anything?!" Silence persisted for him. Ripples burst from her feet as her response to his inaction. "Fine then! Just die where you stand!" Metallic pieces gathered in a pyramid emitting a bright light moments before a wide beam erupted from them. Light washed over Haruo completely engulfing him.

Yuki glanced around at his friends keeping their positions in his mind. He held off on activating his power until he was certain that they were beyond his range, which meant a long wait. His eyes stared back at Vangelis, the image of Saki in his mind ignited fire in his muscles. Both of his hands tightened into fists.

"Stay wake, kid!" called Vangelis already appearing on his left. He only granted Yuki enough time to see him before a blast suddenly enveloped him.

Smoke clouded the area around Yuki masking him out completely, leaving his fate unknown. Vangelis kept an eye on smoke, while continuing to put together schemes in his mind. He knew he would need a countless array of plans to deal with Yuki.

Once the wind started to pull away from mask, Yuki's darkened figured surfaced. "You're going to have to do better than that if you expect to actually hurt me," commented Yuki. The last trails of the smoke faded away into the air. Yuki stood completely unmoved and unfazed by the blast. He did not even wear his usual gi. The tunic he used for a disguise remained on him, a clear sign to Vangelis that Yuki was not even taking him seriously.

Vangelis' eyes narrowed while his lips curled. Excitement made his arms shake. Thoughts of fighting Yuki ran through his mind. 'He completely negated it with only the power of his field. Impressive kid…'

Walking out to a safe distance away from Yuki meant a long wait. However, Saki was unwilling to accept the wait. She continued to punch and claw at the water orb in a desperate attempt to free herself. Unfortunately, nothing succeeded for her. The water sealed up too fast for her to make any escape and too small for her to fit. Anything larger than her hand or foot could not even breach the water. It was perfectly designed to cage her.

Just when it might have seemed like Saki would stop Kallias came to a halt. The sphere containing Saki moved around in front of him. Small drops fell from the bottom creating ripples in the thin water covering the ground. Water stretched in all directions from him for meters.

Kallias approached Saki carefully, keeping out of her reach. The young man stared at her for a short time in silence. Changes in his face made it look like he was thinking or considering something. He preferred to keep it mysterious. "I'm Kallias, as you likely over heard," he introduced. The movements in his body remained limited. It presented everything in a rather formal manner.

A punch from Saki only made him raise his eyebrow a little. It came as something he expected from his previous interaction with her, but he hoped for something more from her. He was her partner in their duel. So he wished for something more useful. "You should stop struggling like that. You'll only waste your energy before we even get started." His hand rubbed at his short, but not quite shaved, dark brown hair. It seemed an act of annoyance.

Reshaping the water holding Saki, it forced her head through and constricted around her body. It left her with little room to maneuver. However, Saki's expression on her face never changed. She only marginally contained her anger with the situation. "The only energy I'll waste is knocking you out!"

"Afraid that's a little difficult to do stuck in there."

"You wanted to fight me. But you have me tied up. Let me go and I'll show you a fight!" She managed a bit of clarity in her condition. Her desire to escape and end the fight solely fueled her. Saki had no intention of giving Kallias any chance to enjoy a fight.

Kallias lowered his hand from his head and crossed his arms. "Yes, you're correct. However, I introduced myself and you have yet to do the same. We can't start without knowing who we are fighting."

Clicking her tongue a little at the response, Saki tried to worm out of the water. However, the water seemed to have increased in strength. She could not even move her arm a centimeter to muster a punch. "I've no intention of telling you my name. Unlike Yuki, I don't treat fights as something of mutual agreement or respect. Just let me go!" Even with her cornered position, she refused to accept them. She saw he only treated the entire thing as something interesting enough to relieve his boredom.

A frown appeared on his face. The bright green in his eyes lit up to pierce Saki and confront her streak of stubbornness. "We seem at an impasse then. I won't release you until you tell me your name, which will be very boring." His eyes glowed a little as he continued to speak. "I do hope this is not boring. If this continues any longer, I'll just drown you. It'll at least be more interesting than a stalemate."

Saki caught and shoved her gasp down into her stomach, as painful as it was do. She did not want to give him the pleasure of her reaction. 'You can't be serious! He'll kill me over my refusal?!' The deep unflinching look in Kallias' eyes already told her how serious he was when he spoke. It unnerved her in a penetrating and sickening way. She never felt such a presence from someone. 'He truly doesn't care about me. Only something to relieve his boredom! What sort of person is he!?'

The sight of Kallias made Saki realize something. She always dealt with bullies or delinquent punks after Yuki. It was always someone after Yuki with only the childish desire to control or revenge. They were empty, devoid of any meaningful purpose. Many of them were just looking for a fight, mostly just wanted to beat something into the ground. Yet she saw a different reality with Kallias.