NOVEL NEXT Episode XCII: Kori’s Death Games Pt. I
"I can't believe we didn't finish them when we had the chance," Kazuhiro said. "We will. It is all part of the plan that I have set up," Sensei Yuriko replied with an evil laugh.
"Where did you come from?" Yoji asked, confused.
"Yeah, no one let you in at all," Takuji added.
"I thought maybe, I just let myself in," Sensei Yuriko responded nonchalantly.
"Well, you are uninvited; we've done your dirty work in the tournament, now we want to do things our way," Kazuhiro retorted.
"Yes, our way!" Yoji echoed.
"But I got dirt on that whole group," Sensei Yuriko countered.
"What's in it for us?" Takuji questioned.
"This island and the whole world are yours, endless coins," Sensei Yuriko promised. Yasushi finally spoke after a long silence, "Your last team faded away because of your spell; I don’t think it would be ethical for us to work under you."
"Now that you mention it, Yasushi is right," Takuji agreed.
"Well, suit yourself when you end up like the other fighters on this island - gone," Sensei Yuriko threatened as she left their hideout.
"Who was that anyway?" Takuji asked once she was gone.
"A bad scam; if she gets in-between our plans, we'll destroy her too,” Yoji answered determinedly. “Let’s put our plans into motion."
Sensei Yuriko returned to Chancellor Tom's office. "How did it go? Are they going comply with us?" The Chancellor asked eagerly.
"Nope, they decided to do their own thing,” Sensei Yuriko reported.
"It seems like we have to kill everything on the island so revenge is bittersweet," the Chancellor mused.
"Why did you create this island anyway?" Sensei Yuriko asked.
"To sacrifice the power of all these fighters to gain a lot of strength. This island is a power trap; every fight drains any fighters in the match of their power to fuel up the Golden Dragon. The beach classic tournament wasn’t enough power to summon it; we need more power fights,” Chancellor Tom explained.
"Did that already happen last year?" Sensei Yuriko questioned.
"Yes, but that was a different Gold Legendary Dragon; this one is more powerful than the last,” Chancellor Tom clarified.
"Oh boy, this is going to be just like last year; I can’t wait for the failure," Sensei Yuriko muttered to herself sarcastically.
Meanwhile, Kiyoshi was outside alone, hitting a stone stiff punching bag. Every time he hit it, the bag barely moved. "Kiyoshi, let out some spirit energy and hit the bag again; it barely moves correctly," Lionel suggested as he watched Kiyoshi struggle with his training.
"It's not that easy to hit it," Kiyoshi retorted angrily.
Lionel dropped down and hit the bag with ease causing it to almost shatter. "Wait, how is it possible for you to hit the bag without any effort?" Kiyoshi asked in disbelief.
"It's really that easy for me, to be honest," Lionel shrugged off nonchalantly. Ignoring Lionel’s advice, Kiyoshi began attacking the bag with even more force and anger than before.
"Don't overdo it; you might regret it," Lionel warned as he walked away.
"He doesn't know what he's talking about," Kiyoshi muttered under his breath. Despite his dismissal of Lionel’s advice, Kitaro pointed out that “He has a point, you know.”
Ignoring him too, Kiyoshi continued to punch the bag with all his might. About fifteen minutes later, Kiyoshi ran out of stamina and breath from beating the bag with full force. "Maybe, I did use too much power," he admitted to himself as he noticed that the stone punching bag didn't have any more cracks than what Lionel had done to it beforehand.
"The weak Tiger fighter is still struggling with his power," FJ taunted.
"What do you want?" Kiyoshi asked, clearly annoyed.
"I'm trying to tell you that your spirit guardian doesn’t fit you at all," FJ explained.
"What does that supposed to mean?" Kiyoshi asked defensively.
"Well, by now, your spirit energy should be near our spirit energy level," FJ pointed out. This comment left Kiyoshi feeling sad and embarrassed.
"You are literally the weakest link here," FJ added with a concerned look on his face.
"That's enough, Fint; you've made your point," Oga interjected.
"No, he needs to hear the reality of it," FJ insisted. “I mean, if you go up against anyone in the Kori family, you will literally die; their spirit energy is equal to or higher than Tokido’s power."
Kiyoshi almost showed tears in his eyes and scurried away from the camp. "Hey man, where are you going?" FJ called after him but was met only with silence.
"Nice job, Dick!" Oga barked at him sarcastically.
"How is it my fault? He came to this island knowing that if we weren't strong enough we would die by their hands,” FJ defended himself.
Lionel felt a Tiger spirit moving away from him. "Oh great, now what?" He asked himself rhetorically.
"I believe the toxic dragon-man pissed off Kiyo,” Zebeon observed dryly.
Tokido woke up with a note next to him. He picked it up and read, “Dear Mitsuko and Friends, I will give you guys two days to prepare for the Death Games, and all of you must participate; this island will blow up, including the other fighters in it. It will be us four vs. everyone in your group, so be ready or face the deadly consequences; well, it really doesn’t matter because you are going to die either way, and my brothers will blow it up. IF you or someone on your team makes it out alive, we will vanish forever because we died by your hands. Let’s have some fun. Your cousins Kori Boys.”
"What a psychopath," Tokido muttered as he crumpled up the paper and burnt it with his power.
"Everyone, I have an important announcement to make," Tokido called out as everyone gathered around him.
"Where's the purple tiger?" Tokido inquired. "He sort of dashed off, in some direction, and I've lost track of him," FJ admitted. Jax, Lionel, and Felix shot FJ a reproachful look. "What? It's not my fault he can't handle criticism," retorted FJ defensively. "Ignore him; our tiger has heart. He'll show up when it matters most. We could really use his help in this situation," reassured Tokido.
Tokido proceeded to relay the contents of the note from the Kori Brothers. "Wait, so if we don't defeat them in these so-called Death Games, they're going to kill us?" Felix asked incredulously.
"Yes, it seems like a no-win situation. However, after sparring with you all, I'm convinced that you guys have potential as fighters. You might even stand a chance at winning the Kung-Fu League," stated Tokido confidently.
"How much time do we have to prepare for this match?" Juro queried.
"I'm glad you asked - just two days," replied Tokido with a chuckle.
"What!" The room erupted in disbelief, except for Tokido.
"How is that possible?" Felix questioned in shock.
"You'll need to push your training into overdrive starting right now until it's time," explained Tokido calmly.
Everyone was left with an ominous choice: face death or train relentlessly for a slim chance at victory.
Suddenly, a loud boom echoed through the air and shook the island violently. "First earthquake on this island in years," commented Tokido as he tried to steady himself against something solid. However, it wasn't an earthquake; it was the chancellor's powers splitting the island in two.
Kiyoshi felt an odd sensation underfoot and looked down to see he was standing right where the island was fracturing apart. "What the hell is happening?" Kiyoshi exclaimed, nearly falling into the widening crevice. The rest of the fighters scattered in panic across the island.
"Yeah, this island won't be habitable for at least a year," Kiyoshi muttered as he moved away from the dangerous fissure.
For the next two days, everyone began training intensely to increase their spirit energy and devise new battle strategies (cue training montage).
Kiyoshi stumbled upon a place that had been engulfed in dust for what seemed like years. He blew on the door, causing a cloud of magical dust to disperse. Some of it found its way into Kiyoshi's eyes as the door creaked open. Once inside, the ambiance resembled an underground cave; pitch black with a gaping hole greeting anyone who dared to enter.
Kiyoshi tripped over this hole but managed to latch onto something before hitting the ground. When he finally opened his eyes, it was still dark. He felt as though he was blinded by the lingering dust. Before taking a leap of faith, Kiyoshi threw down a rock to ensure safety. The rock hit the ground almost instantly, giving him enough assurance to jump off the ledge.
He landed awkwardly, jarring his bones. "What on earth is this?" Kiyoshi exclaimed, panic creeping into his voice.
"Well done, you've passed your first training test," an old man's voice echoed.
"Um...hello?" responded Kiyoshi nervously.
"I sensed a Shadow Tiger Spirit Guardian," replied the Old Man's Voice.
"But how do you know my spirit guardian if you haven't seen me or know who I am?" questioned Kiyoshi.
Suddenly, flame torches lit up the cave.
"This doesn't look good at all," muttered Kiyoshi nervously.
"Seems safe to me," retorted Kitaro casually.
"That's easy for you to say!" snapped back Kiyoshi.
"I scanned around; it's only us and that old man's voice here," reassured Kitaro calmly.
Following the path towards the old man's voice led them to a room where they found him sitting alone. "I knew I would find the hero who would save this world and my island," said Master Okamoto confidently.
"Wait! Who are you exactly?" asked Kiyoshi, puzzled.
"I am the real owner of this island and school, Master Okamoto. The history books may tell you I vanished years ago and gave the island to Chancellor Tom, but not everything in them is true. I was defeated by the current owner of this island and his brother Sekel many years ago. They ousted me from my throne and since then, the island has been in decay," explained Master Okamoto.
"Wait! You're saying that I'm chosen to save this island? But I'm not even strong enough to defeat any of my friends! How can I be the chosen one?" questioned Kiyoshi incredulously.
"You possess a rare spirit guardian within you that you must awaken fully. I will guide you on this path. You have only two days for training but fear not; by the time two days are over with, it will feel like you have trained for thousands of years." Master Okamoto assured him.
Two days passed and Kiyoshi emerged transformed; more muscular, older-looking with longer hair and a deeper voice. He bowed to Master Okamoto in gratitude.
"I am glad that I found this place; it feels like someone out there is trying to help me succeed in my Kung-Fu journey." Kiyoshi said gratefully.
"Just stay tough and fight whoever comes your way," advised Kitaro.
Before Kiyoshi could leave, Master Okamoto handed him a bamboo hat and an old cloak he used to wear. "Will I ever see you again?" asked Kiyoshi hopefully.
"Yes, here and here," replied Master Okamoto as he combined his power with Kiyoshi's causing him to faint.
When he woke up, all eight of them were heading towards the Kori family. "You finally made it here...late!" taunted Yoji.
"We delayed so we could give your ass a proper whooping!" retorted FJ.
"Enough talk, we want action!" demanded Tokido.
"Now, now, I count eight; where's the ninth?" asked Takuji.
"He's running late," replied Tokido dismissively.
"We agreed on the whole team, not a partial one," reminded Yoji.
"We don't need him; the eight of us can easily beat you," boasted Tokido confidently.
"Well then, bring up the ring, Yasushi!" ordered Yoji.
A large black tile platform sprung up from the ground at Yoji's command. "This is where we will be fighting." declared Yoji. "Now who wants to die first?" he yelled with a laugh.
"I will!" volunteered Yosuke defiantly.
"Ohhh! One of the twins trying to die first!" taunted Yoji.
"I got that one," said Kazuhiro confidently as they both walked towards the ring. Before stepping into it, Juro fist-bumped his twin brother and wished him luck along with FJ and Rin-Rin who gave Yosuke an encouraging hug.