"I didn't cheat!" Damion gasped out, stars dancing before him as he tried to cling to consciousness. Chieko ignored his cry and shook him. He closed his eyes, trying to think of something to do. He couldn't overpower her; he was exhausted after the fight. It was getting harder to think as he continued to gasp for air, wishing she would let go.

At last, just as the darkness was about to consume him, her powerful grasp was released from his neck. He coughed and gasped for air, lying on the ground as he caught his breath. He lifted his head slowly, finding Chieko struggling under a bright red fox with furious green eyes. She grinned at him from her perch on Cheiko’s back as she reached down and grabbed Chieko’s scruff.

Immediately Chieko ceased struggling and could only glare indignantly at Damion and Miyuki. A bigger fox came and grunted at Miyuki who quickly leaped off Chieko, allowing the big fox to grasp Cheiko’s scruff and drag her away. Once she was gone and the crowd was murmuring among itself Damion sat down beside Miyuki. "What just happened?"

 "Honestly; I don't know. I've never seen Chieko fight before but I've heard from others that this is her typical behavior whenever she loses. Let's hope they can't find anything that will get you disqualified." Miyuki said as she pointed to the announcer. He was arguing with several other Kitsune, who waved clipboards in his face whenever he suggested something.

"I don't think the Announcer is vouching for me," Damion said sullenly as the Announcer pointed a finger at him and started ranting about something. Damion glanced up at Miyuki as she let out a snort and looked at him. 

"Well, Chieko is his daughter." Miyuki pointed out and Damion groaned. No wonder he had been giving him the stink eye.

"Why is he allowed to be the announcer if he always objects to Chieko losing?" Damion asked, narrowing his eyes at the announcer who was growing hysterical as he continued arguing.

"He's pretty high up on the hierarchy, but if Chieko was going against me then it would be a totally different story," Miyuki explained, a dangerous gleam in her eye. Damion was about to ask her why when the announcer cleared his throat. The room fell silent as he spoke, his voice thick with defeat.

"The winner of round eight is: Damion Hawke." The crowd's excited and happy cheer bounced around the cavern, making Damion feel relieved. He felt something nudge his shoulder and saw Miyuki grinning at him. He grinned back at her, feeling his face grow warm as everyone chanted his name.

Together they padded back to the competitor's room and pushed through the curtain. As soon as they were inside all the competitors cheered, gathering around Damion and patting him on the back or the head. Damion laughed and thanked them, so stunned by all the attention. 

When the disgruntled Announcer came in the crowd dispersed, allowing Damion to take a breath and go get changed back into his Yukata. Damion pushed through the curtains to the competitor room and looked around for Miyuki. He clutched his stomach as it clenched, trying to ignore it as he looked for his friends. He stopped as he saw Alvar heading toward him, a pit of dread opening up inside him. He braced himself for the critical judgment he would receive for the way he battled, just as he had pointed out every wrong thing Miyuki had done in her fight. 

"Well done Damion." Alvar rumbled with a dip of his head. Damion stared at him, waiting for him to start listing which stances had been off, how sloppily he had done his moves, but he merely stared back, his lips sealed.

"Thank you, but aren't you going to tell me all the things I did wrong? Like Miyuki when she had finished her match." Damion asked after a moment of awkward silence. He noticed Alvar's eyes darken and his shoulders tense up. 

"Miyuki has been training for years so I expect more from her. You, on the other hand, just learned most of the basics last night. The way you handled Chieko was exceptional." Alvar explained, causing Damion to grin with all his praise. "Although if you want me to tell you all the things you did wrong I can certainly do that." He added, his eyes gleaming.

"No no; I'm good with what you said." Damion quickly replied, not wanting that to ruin his joyous mood. Suddenly someone started squeezing him from behind, causing him to panic but he relaxed when he heard the familiar voice. 

"You did great Damion!" Kiki crowed, releasing him from the backward hug. "You made history here tonight! No one really knew how well the Endurance Pill could hold up to Elemental powers like fire but you proved that it can protect your fur from being singed off no matter how hard they try." Kiki told him excitedly, her eyes shining.

"Thanks! I had no idea it would work out so well." Damion answered honestly, trying to get used to all the attention. He turned his head as he caught sight of Miyuki heading towards them.

"I knew you had it in you," Miyuki said with a smirk as she stopped in front of him, her eyes glowing. Damion grinned at her, feeling that familiar flutter in his chest whenever she smiled at him. 

"Kiki's round is about to start. We should find a spot to watch her." Alvar said quietly, striding over to one of the rectangular windows and resting his hands on the edge of it. Damion glanced over and sure enough, the board was flashing the name of the winner of round sixteen. Before he could read the name Miyuki dragged him by the arm and brought him over to the window beside Alvar.

"You have to see Kiki fight. You'll see why she was champion two years in a row." Miyuki whispered excitedly, her breath warm on his ear. Damion nodded, noticing how everyone else in the room was crowding around the windows as well, eyes wide and tails waving in eager anticipation behind them. 

The elderly announcer, his shoulders slightly drooping, raised his hands for silence as he stood in the center of the ring. The cavern was silent once more and Damion felt his heart thundering in his chest as the anticipation in the room grew.

 "On this side of the ring, we have Wakumi Amai!" He announced as a beautiful mottled silver fox burst from the opposite curtain, her green eyes gleaming as she leaped into the ring. The crowd died down and the Announcer continued. "And on this side of the ring, we have a two-time champion! Let's give it up for Kiki Jikan!" The crowd went wild as the small sandy-colored fox made her entrance. Damion's eyes went wide as a few of the male Kitsune let out loud whistles, their eyes glued to her.

Looks like Kiki has quite a few admirers. Damion thought as he watched her climb up onto the ring and face Wakumi, who was at least two times the size of Kiki. He was eager to see how Kiki fought, especially when she was so small in her fox form. It took a while for the clamor of the crowd to die down but when it did the silence was deafening. 

"Now the competitors will exchange a few words before the match begins." The announcer said as he stepped back, allowing the two to face each other. They took a few steps toward each other until they were less than a foot apart. Kiki craned her neck to look up at the silver fox, her large ears pinned down so she looked even smaller. They stared at each other for a while before Kiki finally spoke up. 

"I wish you the best of luck Wakumi." Kiki said sincerely, then added with a gleam in her brown eyes, "But I won't go easy on you."

"I would never want anyone to go easy on me. I'm ready to take you on; win or lose." Wakumi replied with a sunny smile. Kiki grinned toothily back at her and they both turned to the announcer and nodded their consent. 

"Right then; let round seventeen BEGIN!" The announcer shouted as he leaped nimbly out of the ring. Immediately the two Kitsune were circling each other, their eyes locked. Damion was watching them so intently he jumped when he felt Miyuki touch his ear. He twitched it in annoyance as she whispered to him.

"Try and keep your eyes locked on Kiki but I'll tell you right now that it's nearly impossible to see her the whole time." Damion gazed at her, confused as he tried to work out what she said. 

Why will it be hard to watch Kiki? Does her element cause momentary blindness? Damion thought with a shiver as he turned his attention back on the match. They were still circling each other, Wakumi occasionally feinting an attack and causing Kiki to flinch. Damion was surprised to see Kiki shaking as she tread a circle, all the while facing Wakumi. He was starting to wonder if they were just going to circle each other the whole time when Wakumi darted out and head-butted Kiki in the side. Or so she thought.

Damion blinked rapidly as Kiki flashed in and out of sight as she moved astoundingly fast around the ring, dashing in and nipping at Wakumi’s paws. Wakumi growled in frustration as she tried to get Kiki but missed her each time. Damion kept trying to watch Kiki as she moved with incredible speed but he'd still lose her whenever he had to blink and then it'd take him a minute to find her little form again.

The crowd rumbled with amusement as Wakumi tried to pounce on Kiki on several occasions but instead wound up with the little fox batting her nose as she took off at her super-speed again. Finally, Wakumi tripped over Kiki and flopped to the ground. Before she had taken a breath Kiki was on her back, gripping her scruff firmly in her little jaws. 

"Kiki Jikan is the winner of round seventeen!" The announcer yelled, his voice barely heard over the din of the crowd.

Everyone roared with applause as Kiki got off Wakumi and looked around the cavern with glimmering eyes. Wakumi got to her paws soon afterward, still panting heavily from trying to catch Kiki. Kiki faced her with a grin and dipped her head as she spoke.

"Thank you for the fight." Wakumi looked shocked but shook it off and smiled at Kiki.

"Thank you. It was an honor. I would be very grateful to face you again in the future but the results will be different." Wakumi said, her green eyes gleaming.

"Sounds like a plan," Kiki replied, turning to the curtain and sauntering in. The crowd died down and the next round was about to begin but Damion turned away and found Alvar and Miyuki had left the window as well and were waiting by the boards for Kiki. He was still trying to figure out how Kiki could move so fast when Kiki came out of the changing room, her Yukata just as crisp as when she had bought it.

"How'd you do that?" Damion asked her once she had reached them. She shot him a smug grin before replying.

"I'm a master in my element which is Time Manipulation." She told him, giving Miyuki a high five as she did so.

"But what does that have to do with your super speed?" He asked, trying to figure it out.

"I've trained for many years and I finally figured out how to manipulate time around me. With this, I can make time around me double or even triple if I want and everyone else will still be the same." Kiki explained, trying to show it with her hands as she talked.

"That's amazing!" Damion exclaimed, feeling newfound respect for Kiki. A cough from behind him startled him into turning around. It was Alvar.

"My round won't start for a couple of hours so I suggest we go get something to eat while we still can." Alvar murmured, glancing at the elevator that had brought them down here. Damion felt his stomach rumble and clench and he agreed it was time to eat.

"But how will you know when your match will start?" Damion asked, glancing at the board as round twenty flashed across the screens. 

"The telepath will send out a telepathic message if I'm not in the changing room during the round right before mine," Alvar replied smoothly, opening the door to the dark little room they had entered through. They piled in, waited a moment as Alvar climbed in and pushed the nearly hidden button. The other door opened just like last time, letting the lights of the thousands of lanterns in the cavern flood back in. 

"So is that little room like an elevator?" Damion asked, glancing back at it as they started walking to the food center. 

"Not quite. The button is hidden until you are identified; that way not just anyone can enter the competitor's rooms." Alvar explained with a roll of his hand. Damion nodded, not quite sure how he felt about being identified. Damion fell silent after that, falling back so he was walking beside Miyuki. The heavenly smells of meat roasting, onion rings frying, and small vanilla cakes coming fresh out of ovens filled the air. Damion could feel himself salivating over all the food that awaited ahead. He was definitely going back to the buffet.

Finally they arrived at the semi-circle where the buffet stood in the center with the tantalizing food stalls surrounding it. Kiki handed him some money and headed back to her favorite stall, the one she had ordered at when Miyuki disappeared. Alvar waved as he headed in a different direction to a small stall all by itself.

"Where are you going to go?" Damion asked, glancing around at all the stalls and the varieties of food each one sold.

"The buffet. It has the best food ever!" Miyuki exclaimed, her eyes shining. Damion smiled at her, wondering if that was how he looked every time he spoke about food.

"Then we can go together," Damion replied and they took off to the long tables, each taking two large plates. Damion rushed through the line, taking a scoop of everything. With toppling towers of food, he made his way to a table, hoping everyone would find it. He said a quick prayer before diving in, devouring one whole plate in a matter of minutes. 

"You are just like Miyuki." Damion nearly choked on his bite of Sweet Roll, (probably dipped in Honey Root), as he looked up to see Alvar sitting beside him with a steaming bowl of a savory-smelling Stir-Fry. Damion was about to ask him why when Miyuki set two plates, piled even higher than Damion's, on the table and sat in the chair across from Damion. 

"Finally time to dig in!" Miyuki exclaimed excitedly, her face hidden from view because of all the food in front of her. He looked questioningly at Alvar who flicked his fox ears at Miyuki, signaling for Damion to watch.

Within five minutes Miyuki had nearly polished off one of her plates and was almost ready to start on the next one when Kiki came to the table with her Roasted Duck. She glanced once at Miyuki's plates, then at Damion's plate and sighed. 

"I honestly have no idea how you guys can stomach that food," Kiki muttered as she started in on her duck, her face dreamy as she took her first bite. Miyuki seemed to not hear Kiki's comment or ignored it as she took a big bite of the food on her second plate. Damion shrugged and finished his second plate of food, feeling content. He closed his eyes a moment to drink in the constantly changing scents of the food stalls when Alvar stood up abruptly. 

"What's going on?" Damion asked, getting to his feet as Alvar tossed the remnants of his meal away into a garbage can. 

"It's time for my match."