• Chapter One: Beyond The Dragon




    “Oh, I’m so excited to see you in the new Academy!!!” A woman said.
    “Mom…I’m fine to go alone. Please let me be!! I’m old enough to take care of myself, so stop treating me like a little child!!!”
    Willis is one of the chosen people to possess a creature inside of him when he was little. He’s only sixteen years old, and old enough to head out to the newest academy: Zodiac Academy.
    “Goodbye mom. I’m out on my own now!!!” Willis went out of his house with all of his stuff that he needed. “Finally, just a way to get out of that ‘jail cell’!!!” He thought, with a sigh. He was waiting for the right moment to get out of his house because of too much chores, arguing, and complaining from his brother, Robert.
    Willis started to walk through the forest that separates from his house and the new academy. But he notices a strange feeling in him, like he just got out of a coma. But the feeling in him vanished.
    “Huh???” Willis looked at the very tall building that is standing in front of him.
    “So this is Zodiac Academy.” He observed the academy for a short while. “Well, here goes.” He walked to the academy.
    Once he got into the inside of it, he saw a lot of newcomers, waiting to go into which dorm the person should go and stay. He also saw people in a three-man cell, with different kinds of bands to wear.
    “Hmm, this is starting to become interesting.” Willis said to himself.
    “You’re telling me!!!” Someone called out right beside Willis. Willis looked beside him and saw someone about his age.
    “Oops, sorry to disturb you. My name is Jon. Please to meet you!” He held out his hand.
    “The names Willis.” Willis shook his hand. “I guess you’re a newcomer like me, right?”
    “Sure am. I came here cause of my unique creature in me. Mines is the Snake.” Jon said.
    “Same here, but my creature is the Dragon.” Willis said, with a small smile.
    “OUTTA MY WAY!!!!” Some one warned in a loud voice. The guy, about fourteen years, went through Willis and Jon at lightning speed.
    “Huh???” Willis looked at him, confusingly.
    “Oh, that’s Allen, but he prefers to anyone around him to call him ‘Shredder King’, cause of his ability to shred anything in his path. But his creature is the Lynx.” Jon explained.
    “Ah. How about that girl and guy?” He pointed the black-haired guy and the blonde-haired girl.
    “Oh, the black-haired is George. He has the Fox. Lee, the blonde-haired, has the Rooster. But make sure you beware of the Superior team called the ‘Black Phoenix’.” Jon informed.
    “The ‘Black Phoenix’???” Willis questioned.
    “Yes. It’s a very strong three-man cell. Consist of the three men: Temunji, Sai, and Hokuji. They are ranked Superior, the highest rank in this Academy.” Jon said.
    “Hmm, challenging!!!” Willis said with a grin. Then, he observed a brown-haired girl, doing martial arts with incredible agility and grace. He watched her with such loving eyes. “Who is that girl??” Willis pointed to the girl doing martial arts.
    “Oh, that’s Marie. Most of the guys around this academy has eyes on her cause of her martial arts ability, and the way she is looking. No reading on what creature she has, but it’s white though.” Jon answered.
    “Hmm, white…and black. Wow, opposite colors, Light and Dark.” Willis smiled a big smile and looked at her.
    But a high-pitched sounded through the intercom, causing everyone to cover their ears. “Everyone who came here is new must report to the Tournament Arena in one minute. Thank you!”
    “Well, nice meeting you Willis, but I must head to the Arena. See ya there!” Jon ran towards the Tournament Arena. Willis just looked at him and nodded.
    “Yep, guess I’ll be going to the Arena as well.” Willis started to walk to the Arena.
    But he bumped into someone.
    “Oof!!!” Someone said.
    “Oops!! Sorry, I didn’t mean to-” He was dumbfounded when he saw the brown-haired girl he was looking at.
    “I-it’s OK, I’m just a bit clumsy ya know.” She blushed.
    Willis looked at her with a smile. “Oh, my names Willis, I’m new here.” He hold out a hand.
    “Marie is my name, and I‘m new here as well. Glad to meet you Willis.” Marie smiled and shook his hand.
    They looked at each other’s eyes, and blushed a little. But Marie blushed the most.
    “Hey newcomer!!! Paws off of her!!!” A mysterious guy came to the two. Willis turned around and saw a black-haired guy, probably a little older than Willis.
    “Who the hell are you?!” Willis said, with a disgusted face.
    “Hmph, only Novices like you don’t know the Superior Ranked team leader of the Black Phoenix: Temunji.” He said in a snotty tone.
    “Hmph, I’ve heard a few minutes ago. The names Willis.” He hold out a hand for Temunji to shake.
    “Hah,” Temunji swatted Willis’s hand away. “Only Novices like you can make other people shake hands. But when you’re with a person ranked ‘Superior’, you must bow down!”
    Willis just looked at him, disgusted.
    “Guys, guys, guys, enough!!! No fighting here except the Arena.” Marie tried to separate the two.
    “Hmm, I believe she’s right, Mr. Willis. Shall we both head to the Arena before we are late, Ms. Marie?” Temunji put his arm around Marie.
    “Sorry, I’ve got other plans in my schedule. Willis, are you going to head for the Arena?” Marie looked at Willis, with a smile on her face.
    “Yep, I‘m heading there right now. See ya!!!” Willis ran to the Arena.
    As Willis got into the Arena, he started to look for a seat to sit and watch.
    “Willis!!! Over here!!!” A familiar voice called him. It is Jon.
    “Hey Jon!!” Willis sat next to Jon.
    “Lee, Shredder King, George, this is Willis. He’s a newcomer as well.” Jon said.
    “Hello.” They said.
    “Hey, guys. So what do we do in this Arena?” Willis asked.
    “We battled against a Journeyman ranked person, and try to win. Then the person shall see your progress and stats to see what rank and what team you should stand up to. But most newcomers start as a Novice. But if you lose, you are expelled and won’t come back until next year.” Lee said.
    “Hmm, that’s a challenge. But I hope I get to be rank ‘Superior’.” Willis said with courage.
    “Well, sadly, you can’t be rank ‘Superior’ too quickly.” George intended.
    “You have to work your way up with a lot of battles in order to battle a ‘Superior’ rank person and you and your team will be ranked ‘Superior’.” Shredder King alleged.
    “Oh…Well, I have a lot of battles to go forth.” Willis suggested.
    “Jon, report to the Arena for your ranking.” Someone in the intercom called.
    “Oh, my turn already? Howdy-do, this is cool!!!” Jon got up and went to the arena.
    Willis just sighed, bored. “When will my turn come?” He thought.
    “Oh, it’s you!” A sweet voice called.
    “Huh???” Willis lifted his head up. He saw Marie, looking at him.
    “Nice to see you again.” Marie said with a grin, and sat down beside him.
    “Nice to see you too. So how are you today?” Willis asked.
    “Doing a lot of stuff in my schedule. I’ve got a lot in my mind.” She said with a laugh.
    “Hmm, you probably do. I bet it’s tough to do all of them at once.” Willis said, laughing as well.
    “Yeah, it is.” She just smiled.
    “Jon is rank ‘Warrior’, congratulations!” The person in the intercom sounded.
    “Rank ‘Warrior’??” Willis queried.
    “Warrior is a rank that is above Novice. Novice is the lowest rank in this academy. But it’s fun to be in battles. You get to be entertained and never get bored.” Marie said.
    Willis emphatically looked at her, and smiled. Marie blushed when she looked at his eyes, ruby red.
    “Marie, report to the Arena for your ranking.” Someone in the intercom called.
    “My turn. Watch me battle and cheer me on!” Marie winked at him.
    “OK, I’ll do that.” Willis agreed.
    “Hey Jon.” Marie said and went to the Arena.
    “Alright!!! I’m on Team Serpent.” Jon said. “Now I’ll be able to work my way up with my team to become ‘Superior’ rank!!”
    Willis looked at him, smiled hypothetically, and shook his head.
    “Like you said, ‘You have to win a lot of battles in order to become rank ‘Superior’’.” Willis said.
    “Shh, watch Marie.” Jon sat down and watch.
    “Ooh!!! That’s going to hurt on Marie!!! Looks like Zachary has a bigger advantage than Marie. What will she do???” Someone said in the intercom.
    “C’mon Marie, you sure are a hot stuff in my eyes!!!” Zachary said in a sweet voice.
    Marie struggles to stand up. “Shut up!!!” Marie tried to think of something to defeat Zachary.
    “Marie!!! Use your move!!!” A voice called onto her head.
    “Will do!!!” Marie said in your head. So, Marie stood up and some unique white aura appeared on her. Then a blast of power emerges and Marie created a cry of rage. Everyone stood amazed at Marie, but they were also amazed at the creature that appeared behind Marie.
    Marie put both hands in front of her and a white orb appeared.
    “Whoa…” Willis stared at her amazed.
    “Tiger Creature of White!!!” Marie shouted as the orb grew bigger as the aura form in the orb. Then, she after all have enough energy to strike.
    “Huh??” Zachary said as Marie started to run after him.
    “Finishing Move!!!! WHITE TIGER STRIKE!!!!” Marie thrusted the orb onto Zachary and created a blast, powerful enough for Zachary to hit on the wall. But it did, Zachary slam onto the wall with great force. Everyone stood amazed and applauded Marie. Willis did as well.
    “Marie is rank ‘Novice’. Keep on trying, but good job. You’re in Team White.” Someone in the intercom said.
    “Oh well, at least I had some fun.” Marie smiled and walked back to her seat. She got her Team While band and put it on her forehead.
    “Congrats, even though you’re rank ‘Novice’.” Willis said with a smile.
    “Yeah, but I did my best.” Marie said, smiling and looking at Willis for a minute, while Willis looked at her, smiling.
    “Man, you sure are-”
    “Willis, report to the Arena for your ranking.” Someone in the intercom interrupted him.
    “Well, it’s your turn. Good luck out there.” Marie smiled.
    “Thanks.” Willis got up and walked to the Arena.
    Willis got into the arena and saw a well-built guy, about twenty years old.
    “C’mon you scrawny human!!! You should forfeit before the mighty Arcana!!!!” The guy said in his muscular voice.
    “Shut up, and I’m not that scrawny!!!” Willis yelled. He watched Arcana running after him.
    “GRAAAAHHHH!!!! Arcane jumped and was about to squash Willis.
    “Uh-oh!!!” Willis jumped backwards really fast and with a large ‘BOOM’, Arcana slammed onto the ground.
    “What happen you scrawny human, I thought you want to battle me!!!” Arcana said, with a hearty laugh.
    “Heh, I was just warming up!!!” Willis said with enthusiasm He ran with excessive force and jumped.
    “Huh?” Arcane said.
    “Leg drop!!!” Willis kicked Arcana’s head with all of his strength. But Arcana grabbed his leg and whipped him away from him.
    “GAH!!!” Willis landed on the ground. But he stood up fast an ran towards him. Then he twisted himself and used his kick to injure him, but whenever Willis tries to injure him, Arcana blocks himself, making a disadvantage to Willis’s kicks.
    “Take this!!!!!” Arcana thrusted a punch and Willis tumbled down, wounded.
    Everyone stand astounded at Willis.
    “Hardy har har!!! You think you can defeat me?? HAH!!! Think again you scrawny human. No one shall defeat the one and only Great Arcana!!!” Arcana gave himself a half-hearted laugh.
    “WILLIS!!!!!” A sudden yell sounded.
    “Huh???” Willis said in his head, since he’s wounded to talk.
    “WILLIS!!!! DON’T GIVE UP!!! YOU CAN DEFEAT HIM WITH YOUR HEART!!! DON’T USE YOUR WITS!!!! USE YOUR HEART AND DO YOUR BEST!!!!” It was Marie that is yelling at Willis.
    “I’m ready master!!!” A voice sounded in his head.
    Willis started to get up, since he is still wounded.
    “Well, are you still wanting more bruises????” Arcana smirked.
    “Not…just yet!!! I still got one last attack……to push me forward!!!” Willis smiled and hold out both of his hands.
    “What are you going to do, you scrawny human??” Arcana laughed.
    “I’m going to unleash my Black Dragon!!!” A swarm of black aura appeared on him. The a gust of wind blown in the arena.
    Before their very eyes, they saw the Black Dragon in person.
    “Oh my Dratits!!!!” Marie is astounded to see the Black Dragon, a counter part to her White Tiger.
    “It’s true!!! The legend of the Black Dragon is real????” Arcana stood amazed.
    The black aura came in front of Willis and formed a black orb. At that time, all of the aura from the Black Dragon formed into the orb.
    “GRRRRRAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!! Willis charged after Arcana. “THIS IS FOR YOU MARIE!!!!” Willis yelled.
    Marie stood with a wide smile in her face.
    “FINISHING MOVE!!!! BLACK DRAGON STRIKE!!!!!” Willis thrusted his black orb onto Arcana’s heart and pummeled onto the wall where Marie made Zachary slam onto the wall.
    “Whoa…” Marie looked at Willis with her eyes wide opened.
    “Hmm, very competitive to the naked eye. But I hope he will be in a lower rank than I.” Temunji said to his teammates, Sai and Hokuji.
    Everyone applauded to Willis for an astounding performance.
    “Willis is rank ‘Novice’. Good job but you need a little work of your less injury tactic. You‘re in Team Black.” The person in the intercom said.
    “WHAT?! WHAT A RIP OFF!!” Willis yelled. “Oh well. Better than being expelled” He walked away from the arena and went to sat down.
    “Stunning performance, Willis.” Marie complimented.
    “Oh, thank you.” Willis said softly.
    “Hey Marie!!!” Someone said.
    “Oh, that’s my team and I’m the leader of the team. It’s cool the newcomers can be the leader of the team if you chose to be one. Well,” Marie kissed him on the cheek. “See ya!!” Marie went to her team of White.
    Willis putted his hand where Marie kissed him. He smiled, with love in him.
    “Hey, are you Willis???” Someone called him.
    “Yes.” Willis looked at two guys, about his age.
    “Hello, my name is Takashi.” One said.
    “And the names Eric.” The other one said.
    “Nice to meet you. So where is our room?” Willis asked.
    “Follow us!!! We know where it is.” They both said in unison. Willis looked at them with confusion But the two ran, while Willis just walked.
    As they got into the hallway of rooms, one door is opening up.
    “-And I’ll make sure y-” Someone bumped onto Willis and fell.
    “Oh, you OK?” Willis helped her, but when she lifted her face, both of their eyes grew wide.
    “Oh, h-hey Willis!!!” Marie stuttered.
    “Hey Marie, so you go to this room?” Willis asked.
    “Yep, and it’s white inside. Pure white.” Marie laughed, then she closed her door.
    “Yeah, I’m in the Black Team. But it’s weird that you have a White Tiger and I have the Black Dragon. Yin and Yang.” Willis smiled.
    “Yeah, it is weird. The good and the evil. Your eyes are red and my eyes are blue. The Light and the Dark.” Marie smiled as well.
    They both laughed at the differences of them.
    “I was about to tell you something since the ranking.” Willis came closer to her.
    Marie leaned against the door. “Well, what is it?” Marie said softly.
    “You’re really cute. You truly are.” Willis said in his gentle voice, the put his hand on her side of her face..
    Marie blushed, but smiled. “Thanks.”
    “No, thank you…” Willis leaned on her and kissed her lips. “I better find my teammates. See ya.” He winked and went to find Takashi and Eric.
    Marie blushed bright and went out.
    “TAKASHI!!! ERIC!!!” Willis yelled.
    “Over here!” Eric’s voice sounded.
    Willis looked at his room and notices that his room is next to Marie’s.
    “Heh, this will be one great time in this academy!!!” Willis said to himself before he went in his room.