*Sighing....

...Ced looked at his opponent dead in his eye.

Never wavering, not showing any fear.

And he was greeted with the same response.

No, not just any old, foolish opponent.

But his friend, one he has known seen he has begun to remember things.

Gray.

Yet, today, they stand at opposite sides of the battlefield, each with an opjective to fullfill.

To obtain the hand of Princess Rena. (^^ at Yeow's new daughter)

The crowd cheering in the stadium which surrounds him was nothing but a mere buzzing, as though it is a mere annoyance which he has to ignore.

It seemed as though just seconds ago, he was shooting an arrow, hitting the bulls-eye easily. Moments ago, he was riding a horse, knocking his opponent down with ease by using a lance.

And the competition goes on.

But of course, anything Ced could do, Gray will be able to mirror it, if not perform it better.

And here they are, the finals, after an exhausting competition.

Yet, both knows, that everything is stacked up against them. Both are playing poker, both have tossed in all their chips.

There is no room for error, for the loser will pay the price of failure with his death.

And hence, as tradition says it will go, the final fight will always be bloody, messy.

A fight to death.

The crowd's chanting grew louder, as they grow impatient. A knight explains the rules, which is basically nothing.

After all, this is a no-holds-barred match.

Ced spared a glance at Rena, the price of this competition. As though she's a mere object, a mere trophy which either man will obtain, toss into their cupboard and polish day in, day out.

Ced had sworn that if he won, he would never treat her like a prize.

She would, be his wife.

And she has willingly agreed so. In those dark corners of the palace, those short moments both have been able to salvage from their busy schedules.

Love under the moonlight....

Ced forced himself to concentrate on Gray, and away from those erotic thoughts.

His opponent was one which he knew well. Both had fought before, although that was for fun. Both had the same master, but had specialised in different stances. The master will only teach each of his 9 students one stance. If the students want to learn about the rest of the stances, they will have to approach the students themselves.

Of course, Ced and Gray had exchanged knowledge, but both knew, they had withdrew something. A certain trump card that had been concealed, just as everyone had.

Once the word has been given by the king, both fighters bowed respectfully, before unshealthing their swords from their leather shafts.

Ced's MoonBlade was one which had seen plenty of bloodshed. As the name implies, it had managed to capture the beauty of the moonlight with it. Gray's Raven sword, on the other hand, was as black as the feathers of a raven. Both were made from different type of steel, Ced's from sky steel, while Gray's was from Ignor's Steel. Both were, of course, top quality steel. However, the main difference, other then in colour, was the shape of the sword. Ced's was a Katana as his maker was a traveller from Japan, while Gray's was a Long Sword.

Once the swords were fully out of their bed, and shining under the fading sunlight, the battle, has begun.

Ced went for his favourite Mukitsu stance, a defensive one which allows parrying blows easily, while Gray chose to begin with the Kitashi stance, one which moderates between attack and defense.

Ced almost groaned.

This is going to be a long fight.

Circling each other as though they are animals waiting for the smallest of chances, Ced waited for Gray to make his first move. After all, the Mukitsu does not provide a lot of attacking options.

Ced was right.

Within seconds, Gray lunged forward with a testing stab, one which was parried easily and quickly. The follow up tried to go for Ced's blind spot between his armpits, but Ced was ready for it, knocking it aside before slashing upwards, hoping to catch Gray's momentum.

As expected, Gray managed to move out of it just in time, sidestepping to avoid the tip of Moonblade. Immediately, Ced followed up with a wide slash to where Gray was, preventing Gray from darting forward after Ced's side was exposed.

But still, even though both are quite familar with Mukitsu, Gray unexpectedly threw himself at Ced. The MoonBlade's duller edge caught Gray's side, but since it was the duller edge, the blade did not penetrate as deeply as it would have with other swords. Gray, as though he's made of steel, ignored the slash, kicking Ced in the ribs.

Atashisu..? Ced thought frantically, as his body went onto the ground from the kick. Gray, instead used the power from the kick to flip skywards, his sword held downwards in front of him, ready to deal the killing blow of "Death from Above".

Ced immediately rolled away, missing the point by a mere inch of so. His legs immediately brought up to kick Gray's neck, forcing him down as well. Quickly, Ced kick-flipped himself back to his feet.

However, when Gray tried to do the same, he felt a boot in his midsection. Ced, who had changed to the Fujiwa stance, which allows combat against an opponent laying on the ground, made sure Gray stayed on the floor. A quick sweep from the MoonBlade was barely blocked by the Raven.

However, instead of a follow up thrust, Ced forced the blades to meet, pushing against the strength of Gray. However, since Ced was on top of Gray, it gave him an advantage over him, as gravity was on his side.

However, it also means that Gray's legs are more useful.

Gray, who would have noticed that he would lose this sword lock, immediately brought his legs up to kick Ced's stomach, sending Ced reeling away. Gray picked himelf up quickly, before switching to the Mukitsu stance to catch his breath.

Ced, who knew that this is going to happen, knew also that he could not allow Gray to catch his breath.

Mukitsu had only one weakness, and that is from the back.

Gritting his teeth, Ced switched his sword grip to the jukansu stance, one which allows plenty of movement.

And also one which allows easy flipping.

A fake stab was all that is needed to get the Raven out of position, allowing Ced to front-flip over Gray's head. Even in midair, Ced switched to the stance which was thought by the master.

Soresu

It is one which also deals best against fighting against an opponent which has his back turned against you, and even better against one who is trying to turn to face you.

A quick sweep from Gray's right was stopped in mid swing, as Ced immediately moved Moonblade diagonally upwards, hoping to catch Gray turning.

It was parried away.

Ced almost dropped his sword in surprise, before remembering Gray's own speciality stance.

Ataru

One which allows defense against an opponent attacking from the back, and also attacks while your back is turned.

Ced had remembered how they had laughed about their speciality, and had said that if both of them had fought using their speciality stances, the duel will last forever.

Yet, both knew, they had something up their sleeve.

Suddenly, Gray jumped, catching Ced by surprise, before a sword appeared almost in front of his face. Ced was only able to parry it halfway, before the tip of Raven cut his arms. Ignoring the pain, Ced slid on the floor, hoping to catch the place where Gray will be landing. After all, only birds can change their direction once they are in the air.

Then, the impossible happened.

Perhaps it was because Ced went sliding, or because it was because the nature of the attack which surprised Ced, or a trick of the light, or perhaps the soft hiss of steel cutting te air, Ced immediately darted sideways.

And he was right to do so, for Raven went screaming past him, after performing an impossible loopback.

Immediately, Gray's feet touched earth.

But not for long, for Ced was behind Grey.

Kicking Gray from behind, Ced immediately slid foward, and between Grey's legs, with MoonBlade held in front of it, allowing Grey to fall onto it. Another kick was all that was needed to send Gray away from Ced, forcing Grey to feel the MoonBlade twice.

Then, with near superhuman speed, Ced rushed foward, to send to final blow of Soresu into Ced, by placing the sword onto where Grey will fall, tip first, allowing his opponent to fall right into it.

The finisher of Soresu was beautiful, as it was messy. It requires the opponent to almost willing kill himself with the help of gravity. Not a single sword stab was needed.

Yet, Ced suddenly reversed the blade, allowing Gray to fall flat onto the harmless ground.

With his sword on Gray's neck, Ced knew that, in order to gain the hand of Rena, he has to remove Gray's head.

Yet, Ced just could not, cannot, kill his friend of these many years. Emotions took over as a few tears found their way out of his eyes, as the memories flooded him.

Gray's eyes were closed, accepting his fate as the loser.

No...

Ced removed MoonBlade from Gray's neck.

Kneeling in front of the King, Ced requested for him to be declared the winner, without the need for further bloodshed.

Surprisingly, the king agreed. After all, the King was a wise one, who knew that if he had lost one of his two best fighters, the country will suffer. In fact, the king was dreading this contest, as in the end, it was the country, who will lose.

Looking up to where Princess Rena was sitted, Ced saw that she was smiling, approving of what he had just did. The crowd too, showed their appriciation at Ced's quick thinking by cheering loudly. Slowly, Ced walked up the stairs towards the King.

Once on top, Ced knelt, requesting to marry Rena, the king's daughter.

The king, of course, agreed.

Smiling, Ced stood, before being hugged tightly by Rena. All these action, and the chance of never seeing Ced every again was too much for her to handle, as ehs collasped into an emotional wreck, sobbing quietly onto his shoulder.

Gray, by this time, had been placed nearby, to be treated by the doctors with all their strange herbs. Before being led off, Ced could see the happiness in his eyes. Yes, he had lost, but he was not humilated. Everyone knew that he had fought well, thrown in his best, but was still defeated fairly. He mouthed the words "Thank You" towards Ced.

Once Rena has composed herself, Ced turned towards the crowd, who has been cheering non-stop for a while. With Rena's hand in one of his, and MoonBlade in the other, Ced raised his sword in victory, showing his appriciation to the crowd.

The cheer of the crowd was one which Ced will remember for a long time, as the sun slowly disappeared behind the hills, it's final rays bathing the new royal couple in it's light, as though even the sun, was happy for the couple.

It probably was.