Ascension of the elder

"No these are crepes *humph*."

It looked as though Elena was unhappy with him at the moment as he had forgotten to make her pancakes again and none of the people he had asked to remind him had. He would have to make it up to her somehow but for now he needed to get ready for the tournament.

Landon and Maria weren't there for breakfast today as they and the rest of the upper echelon of the family had already headed over to the tournament grounds to mingle with the rest of the leadership within New Grange City.

Kyle looked over those who were still here and noted that the numbers were far fewer than usual as most of his people were out doing various jobs in preparation for the incoming chaos. Looking to his left he saw Miranda and Clara talking with each other and looking in his direction occasionally.

"Okay what's wrong you two, you've barely said anything to us since we sat down?"

Kyle asked as it didn't look as though they would voluntarily speak about what was on their minds.

"Well I was talking to my father last night and he said that I should stay here and guard the mansion."

Clara said with a dissatisfied expression on her face which was mirrored by Miranda.

"Yes my father said the same thing but we've trained just as hard as anyone else so we want to stand beside you all."

Kyle could see the fire in their eyes and the desire to help their family, blood and extended. Thinking about it for a minute he realised that if these girls chose to enter the fray separately from anyone else it could lead to a greater hazard than if they stayed with him and his team.

This could be difficult as he knew that if he took them along without their father's permission it could cause a wedge between him and Ash and Liam. Shifting his focus he was looking for inspiration when his eyes fell on Lauren and Iris.

If you can't get permission from daddy you could always try mommy Kyle thought. So with a devious look on his face which wouldn't be out of place on a politician Kyle looked at Miranda and Clara.

"Was it just your fathers who banned you from going out or were your mothers involved in that decision?"

Clara and Miranda froze for a second before looking at each other and rushed over to their mothers. Both Liam and Ash were already out and about, Ash was organising the 'death watch' and situating them in some homes near to the tournament grounds in the middle of the city. Liam was helping One and 'shadow hand' as he didn't have a specific force to aid.

Kyle was situating the 'death watch' within the city so they were ready to respond as soon as the fighting broke out and with the money they had made lately they had purchased houses in various areas of the city to operate as safe houses and kicking off zones.

Their equipment had already been smuggled into their relevant staging areas by 'shadow hand' previously so the men only had to dress in commoner clothing when they headed to their relevant staging areas.

This wasn't a problem for 'shadow hand' as they were already operating within the city and had multiple stashes and safe houses they could spill from and as they were more lightly armoured they could move much faster than the 'death watch'.

'Steel lotus' was even less of a worry as they were a spy and assassination team their speed was the fastest and they were spread out in squads of five at various locations to hit specific targets. These included leaders of gangs and ranking members of the Miles family who wouldn't be present at the "festivities" with the others.

These squads would have at least 2 members who had been fully trained and had reached an acceptable level in Faye's eyes while the rest could be considered interns as they weren't as strong or as well trained but could still help.

There was a similar operational layout with 'shadow hand' and the 'death watch' as with the influx of new members they hadn't been able to fully train everyone as well as the longer serving members. Anyone who didn't make the cut was stationed within the bastions and was on standby and would only be called if the situation became FUBAR.

Kyle couldn't wait for everything to start as with the years of preparation and the little gimmicks he had prepared he wanted the fight done and over so they could begin moving openly. Elena seemed to sense Kyle's agitation and impatience so she placed a hand on his shoulder before speaking to him.

"It's okay Kyle I forgive you, just make me pancakes later."

Turning to her Kyle was blinded by a winning smile and in any other situation he would be captivated by it, however he could only shake his head due to Elena once again misunderstanding the situation but hey at least she managed to calm him down.

Alena and Bruno were talking quietly on their own and after a little while Alena kissed Bruno which made both of them go bright red. Everyone who saw this could only go aww increasing their embarrassment so Bruno decided to run.

"Are you ready to go Kyle, we don't want to be late do we?"

"Almost bro what was the kiss for by the way?"

Kyle wanted to tease Bruno a little as he found this puppy love/romance between him and Alena really cute.

"It was for luck okay?"

Bruno was hoping Kyle would help him out but it looked like he wouldn't get any help from his bud in this matter. Elena who heard this put a finger on her chin and pondered for a moment before she suddenly grabbed Kyle and full on French kissed him in front of everyone.

"Good luck."

She said once they separated, with a shocked Bruno and a scandalised Alena watching. Kyle was a little concussed himself but quickly shook it off, if only Elena understood the things she did he might be happy but he wouldn't worry about it for now.

Clara and Miranda came back at this point but could sense the awkward atmosphere they had just walked into.

"What happened?"

"Yeah why are Bruno and Alena red in the face?"

Miranda and Clara were looking between their friends and Elena was the one who responded.

"Alena gave Bruno a kiss for luck so I did the same for Kyle."

Hearing this Miranda and Clara looked at Kyle for a second but with everyone now watching them they couldn't bring themselves to do it. Kyle decided to move this along so he asked them what their mother's had said.

"So what's the word do you stay or do you go?"

"Our dad's hadn't even spoken to our mother's so they said it is okay as long as we stay with the protection team." Clara declared with a proud look on her face while Miranda nodded while she was softly touching her lips apparently still thinking about kissing Kyle again.

"Alright then let's get moving, everyone you know what to do so let's get to it."

Kyle spoke to his friends first before directing his words to the surrounding people. These guys would be staying within this bastion but they all had jobs to do. The kids would all be in the library along with Lauren and Iris under the pretence that they needed to monitor the other bastions through the display there.

Kyle's group headed to the stable and in passing Kyle caressed his steed to calm it down. Their falcons were currently spread out amongst the different bastions and would be ready to support them when needed.

Kyle and crew mounted up and headed to the tournament area which was in the park within the grounds of the imperial overseer. This was a very simple layout with a large arena made of a semi soft substance like the rings in a sumo arena, this meant that throws and the like wouldn't damage the participants but they would still feel the hit.

When Kyle and his crew arrived they were greeted by Captain Tobias and a team made up of members of the 'death watch' who would be working as their guards during this time. Ash and Dylan were already with their teams watching the arena's just waiting for the go signal.

Kyle could feel a heated gaze on his back and just knew Ash was itching to give him a beating when all this was over for bringing his little girl into this dangerous area but Kyle wasn't scared as he would just draw the Lauren card if it came to it.

They headed into the venue and moved over to Landon and Maria who were sitting on a higher platform overlooking the stage with the other family heads beside them and the imperial overseer being in the centre with the Miles family head sitting to his left and the Tor family head next to them.

Leonard Black was seated to the right of the imperial overseer with his wife next to him and finally Landon and Maria were next to them. Everyone could see that the Black family and the Powells were close as they were happily chatting and even some of the elders were talking with each other.

"Father, Mother we have arrived were should we go to get ready?"

Kyle asked his parents to let them know that he had arrived. They pulled themselves away from their conversation with the Blacks and turned their attention to Kyle and Bruno.

"Good morning Kyle, if you head over to the ring you'll see Neil and Clyde with the other participants on the bench you can just join them."

Kyle and Bruno nodded before they headed over to the participants bench with Clyde and Neil. Archie was also sat next to them so they all began discussing what the plan was.

Each year the rule may change if the participants agreed and Kyle was curious if the enemy would try to use this little rule to their advantage but he didn't know how they could twist something like that to their favour.

While they were in discussion a shrill and disagreeable voice sounded out near to them.

"Oh look the Powells and the Blacks are getting on well, scum goes to scum I suppose."

This was Raith Miles the eldest son of the Milles family and following him was none other than Willem Miles his little brother and the brat Kyle had "educated" in Bruno's family store. Everyone noticed the Miles family looking for trouble with the Powell and Black families, recently whenever Kyle and Willem had encountered each other there would always be sparks and it looked like today would be no different.

"Oh look it rat weasel and mini rat weasel I thought I could smell dung but it was just you speaking."

Kyle shot back at Raith while Willem was staring daggers at him.

"How dare you talk to my brother like that you scum."

Willem returned with this statement which just showed a lack of imagination.

"Wow scum this scum that you really need to get a better vocabulary, well rat weasels I've got places to be."

Kyle decided to look around the venue but as he was passing Willem he slowed down and placed his hand on his shoulder before whispering something in his ear. Everyone saw Willem's face change as Kyle spoke before he turned and tried to punch him. Kyle easily moved around Willem's fist and caught his wrist holding him in place.

"Aww little Willem got a problem?"