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[came from Zero's Dorm Room]

Zero ran off into the middle of the ring, panting and wheezing for he had ran halfway across Mahora and back just to get his weapon before entering the ring. He sat in the middle of the wooden ring and waited for his opponent to arrive.

"Well, hello there Mizumaru-san. Aren't you the eager beaver today." Zero said as he stood up and patted off the dirt from his pants. Zero stared at Mizumaru-san, he looked like he was ready for a fight and he probably had created some new moves for the sole purpose of this Budokai.

"I've been waiting for this day as well. Mizumaru-san, just for today, you are my enemy. Show no mercy, for you shall recieve none from me." Zero murmured in a soft voice, grinned, and went into his newly developed 'Shadow Fiend' attack stance. The 'Bloodseeker' began pulsating with purple energy as Zero prepared to make the first strike.

"Mizumaru-san, prepare yourself. I'm coming for you! Kyaah!" Zero shouted and lunged at Mizumaru at top speed.

Zero tried to dodge Mizumaru-san's flurry of open-handed strikes. He managed to avoid some but the last batch hit some pressure points in Zero's body. Zero, trying to escape another flurry, jumped high up into the air and somersaulted back near the edge of the ring, almost slipping out. He knelt down, out of sheer pain, and began coughing up blood as one of the strikes apparently hit a pressure point near his heart. After a few minutes, he regained his composure and stood up, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"Heh, you got me..." Zero muttered as he massaged the places where Mizumaru-san hit him, then returned to his fighting stance and prepared another attack.

Zero shundo'd away from where he was standing near the end of the ring, right in front of Mizumaru-san, and struck him in the stomach with his scabbard. The strike, along with the sheer momentum that Zero gained from his shundo, thus adding to the strike's power, sent Mizumaru-san flying into the air. While Mizumaru-san was still vulnerable in his airborne state, Zero took the opportunity to deal another devastating blow. He jumped into the air and began dealing fast, numerous sword strikes, so fast, in fact, that all of his attacks all seem like just a blur to the numerous spectators watching from the sidelines. After a few hundred or so sword strikes, Zero used Mizumaru-san's body as a platform and leapt higher into the air.

"The fierce judgement that falls from the azure sky! Descending Sword!"

Zero struck Mizumaru-san's airborne body which sent him crashing down onto the wooden ring, damaging a few wooden boards upon impact. Zero landed down a fair distance away from the impact zone and immediately returned to his fighting stance, waiting for any sign of movement from the opponent that lay motionless before him.

((Here is the "Mizumaru vs. Zero" Battle Arc image song...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_BioioaDMU
Name: Song of Storm and Fire
By: Yuki Kajikura
From: Tsubasa Chronicles

> I thought this song was perfect for a "Yamaji vs. Mizumaru" Battle Arc or a "Yamaji and Mizumaru" Double Team/ Pair Image song since Yamaji is fire and Mizumaru is storm, and as we all know, storms entail large amounts of water. But since Yamaji-san isn't a participant, I'll just use this for the sake of Mizumaru-san since it may be the one of the only times I get to fight with him.))
blaugh

The knife-like water barrage went straight at Zero. Being it a scatter-shot barrage, it proved incredibly difficult to dodge, and even if one does manage to dodge some, one would still be hit by others. It was like dodging rain drops wherein one musn't let even a drop hit on any part of the body. Knowing that dodging it was out of the question, he did the next best thing -- deflecting the projectiles. Zero drawed out his katana from its scabbard and began deflecting the numerous projectiles with its blunt edge in a circular pattern, much like the one that Vergil used to deflect Dante's bullets during their fight on the peak of the Temen-ni-gru Tower in Devil May Cry 3.

Zero managed to deflect almost all Mizumaru-san's projectiles and after he was sure that he was in the safe zone, he put his katana back in its scabbard, but he didn't notice the last one, flying towards him at incredible speed. It was already too late when Zero noticed the projectile rocketing towards him. The knife-like water pierced Zero's left shoulder, but not deep enough to cause immense bleeding, as Zero managed to catch it by its end right before it wound up deep inside him. Zero gave out a shout of pain as he removed it from his left shoulder. Zero was panting for it took a lot of stamina to sustain that circular pattern at that speed, and after a few minutes, he was ready to fight again.

He threw the projectile that he had caught at Mizumaru-san. He easilly dodged the water-knife and smirked, thinking that this was a sure sign of Zero's desperation, but it was only a rouse, for Zero disappeared from where he was, and right next to Mizumaru-san, who was surprised to see Zero in mid-air beside him. Zero took Mizumaru-san's surprise as an opening to sneak in an attack and kicked him in the face, sending him flying across ring and stopped right before falling off the edge.

The water enties lunged at him and Zero prepared himself for the worst. One of the entities tried to punch him but Zero dodged it and struck the entity with his sword which made the entity return to its liquid form. Seeing this as a slight weakness in Mizumaru-san's technique, he continued to do this pattern of dodge and attack, slowly whittling away at the numerous water-based beings before him. For a few moments, everything was working like clockwork, until one crucial mistake tore it all apart.

As Zero was doing away with his 250th target, he lost his footing for the ring had now been entirely soaked with water. Seeing this as an opportunity, the entities spared no time in ganging up on Zero and beating him up to a bloody pulp. They were acting like ants in a picnic, ravaging the food that lay before them. After a while, a short burst of red light shot out from within the chaos of Mizumaru-san copies, and in a flash, all the water entities shattered and returned back to their original forms and with Zero in the middle.

He looked pathetic after the hellish beating he had just recieved from the Mizumaru-san copies. His face is now bloodied and his left eye closed, his clothes were torn up, revealing numerous cuts bruises, and he was supporting himself with his katana, after a while, he once again began to cough out blood. After a few minutes, he gathered up all his remaining strength, wiped his mouth with shaking hands, and returned to his battle stance.

"...Mizu...maru...-san. H-how...fearsome is...y-your...power..."

Zero murmured to himself as he gripped his katana tighter which made it radiate brighter with purple energy. As he was getting ready for another attack, possibly his last since he may be too weak to do another one, he again muttered something.

"Thank you for supporting me Nyuu-san. You helped me get up when I didn't have enough stamina left. I owe you dinner next time..."

As soon as he said those very words, as in response, 'Bloodseeker' radiated brighter with purple energy. Seeing this, Zero thought that Nyuu herself was fighting alongside him. He smiled at his sword and turned his attention once again to Mizumaru-san.

"Mizumaru-san...before I deal out my possibly final attack, I have one thing to say...you are a powerful mage...and a heir to your clan as well...but there is one thing that you still lack..." Zero's speech was interrupted when he suddenly began to cough up blood again. Even after this, he still tried to finish what he was saying.

"It's that you don't treat your weapon as a part of you! Many warriors, including mages, only look at their artifacts as weapons. That is the reason why weapon spirits don't show themselves, for warriors only tend to look at them as weapons, and nothing else. But I hope that I can change that way of thinking."

Zero exited his battle stance and just stood there. He then raised 'Bloodseeker' with his left hand before him, while looking at Mizumaru.

"The reason why I entered this tournament is because I made a promise with my weapon, no, my friend, Nyuu-san, that I will fight all my battles without using my magic. I made this promise in order to prove to Nyuu-san that I have faith in her abilities and thus, I entrust her with my life. If only warriors like you could understand this, then maybe, we could all gain not only immense power, but a faithful companion as well."

Zero returned to his battle stance and prepared for his final attack, gripping the hilt tightly than ever before. 'Bloodseeker' once again began to glow in purple light, brighter than any of the other lights it emitted earlier.

"We will show you the true extent of our bond!"

"Nyuu-san, let's give this our best shot! Wether we win or lose, I'm happy to know that you're here fighting with me."

Zero began to charge head-on at Mizumaru-san, ignoring the hail of needles that are about to fall on him. He plowed through the thick barrage of ice needles, not even considering to try and dodge them for he had faith. Faith in his bond with Nyuu and faith in his own abilities. As he was running through the deadly rain, 'Bloodseeker's aura was able to desintigrate most of the ice needles in Zero's path, thus reducing the damage done, but it doesn't mean that he wasn't damaged in any way. Some needles found their way thorugh the aura and hit him in the leg, which made Zero run with a limp, out of intense pain, for a while, but then returned to normal running when he ignored the pain. After a few moments, Zero burst out of the rain of ice needles and right in front of him stood Mizumaru-san, staff in hand and ready for close combat.

"Mizumaru-san, don't rely to much on your magic! Can't you hear your weapon's silent cries!? It desperately wants to help you as well, just as Nyuu-san is with me. Maybe you should work on it after the tournament."

Zero shundo'd in front of Mizumaru-san who was ready to retaliate. There was a bright flash of light as the two's weapons made contact. After the light had dissapated, in the middle of the ring stood the two figures, smiling at each other as a gentle wind passed by their faces.

"Mizumaru-san, could you still get up?" Zero said with a slight concerned tone in his voice. At once after Zero expressed his concern, numerous strikes began to explode all over Mizumaru-san's body.

Zero smiled and opened his arms, without even trying to evade the air that could easilly turn him into an ice cube. Maybe he was too weak to move or maybe he didn't want to move at all, but the fact remains, he just stood there. He looked at 'Bloodseeker', and then looked straight at Mizumaru-san, and then murmured something softly.

"Nyuu-san, I think we've already lost..."

'Bloodseeker's glow began to fade, as if saddened by the harsh reality that began to dawn up on the two. Zero's grip on his katana's hilt tightened, closed his eyes out of nervousness, but still retained his smile.

The cold air began to pass by Zero, slowly freezing his legs, then crawled up to his waist, until he was frozen from the waist up. The ice was slowly, but surely, began to reach up to his face, but just as the ice was about to completely freeze him, he murmured one last thing.

"Nyuu-san...I'm glad...that I kept my promise...I hope that...you know that...I trust you with my life..."

The ice was about to reach his lips making him unable to speak, but with his last breath, he finished what he was trying to say. "...my friend...I thank you..." And then the ice had completely frozen Zero solid.

After a few seconds, the roaring of the crowd permeated the whole arena, and thunderous clapping could be heard. Mizumaru-san sighed in relief for after a long, intense battle, it was finally over. The announcer was about to declare Mizumaru-san as the winner when suddenly, the whole ring shook. A purple light began to emanate from the giant human popsicle which was supposed to be Zero, and in a flash, the ice shattered, with Zero, still holding 'Bloodseeker', levitating in the air. Under him, purple flames began to form and began to spread to the whole arena, drying up even the least trace of water found on it. After all of the water was dried up, the flames dissapated and Zero gently floated back down on the ring.

"Well Mizumaru-san, I guess Nyuu-san doesn't want to lose this fight either..."

As soon as Zero began walking towards Mizumaru-san, his hands began to glow in a gray-blue light. As the light was glowing, he also felt his stamina and strength slowly being replenished and his wounds all began to heal. He looked his hands, smiled, and then turned his attention back to Mizumaru-san.

"...heh, even Gray Wolf doesn't want to lose either..."

Zero once again entered his battle stance, waiting for Mizumaru-san to make another move.

"Hey Mizumaru-san, you could make tons of money selling shaved ice with your power. How about we make some after this fight is over? I bet Nyuu-san and everyone else would like it as well."