After the introductions, all the participants in the quarters were gathered at the center of the battleground. The commentator Pristille floated around them in her platform.

-Well, well, well, it seems like everybody is here, so let’s not waste more time because we have some things to explain!- exclaimed Pristille. -In the quarters, rules change a teensy tiny bit, so don’t expect that battles will be exactly like in previous rounds. Instead, we are introducing a new mode in this edition of the tournament. Let me show you… “Guardians and thieves”!

After revealing that name, a giant display appeared in the air, showing a map of a forest area.

-In this battle mode, you will compete 1 on 1, that doesn’t change, but you are assigned roles: one participant will be the “guardian” and the other one will be the “thief”- explained Pristille-, and each one has different goals. Both of you will be transported into one delimited area of the forest from which you can’t leave. Relax, there won’t be traps or dangerous things. And somewhere within that area lies a cave with a treasure. The thief must find the cave and get the treasure within the time limit, while the guardian must stop the thief from getting inside the cave. If the thief finds the cave, the guardian can’t step in, but the treasure is protected, so the thief must think as much as the guardian to win. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time: when the sky turns orange, the battle will be over no matter the result. So even if the thief finds the cave, the guardian may win. Everything good so far?

All the participants agreed without saying any word.

-OK, you all may be thinking “What happened to Guardian Clash?”. Don’t worry- said Pristille calming down the audience. -If both participants find each other, a standard battle will automatically start with the usual time limit. Whoever wins gets a hint to the treasure. Now, would you rather spend your energy fighting your rival over and over to get more hints? Or would you rather run around trying to find the cave in such a big area? It’s up to you all. And now, without further ado, let me introduce you… the pairings of the quarters!

The commentator’s words made another display appear new to the map, showing pictures and names of the different participants, their roles and how they were paired. Natsume appeared as “thief” and her rival in this round would be…

-White Fur…- murmured Natsume.

Natsume looked at the masked creature, who looked back at her. However, because of the mask, the girl couldn’t see their eyes, and still, she felt something strange coming out of the creature. It felt like an aura surrounding them that the girl found intriguing.

-OK, that’s enough talking!- exclaimed Pristille. -You are ready, the audience is ready… I am ready too! Everybody is impatient, so let’s wait no more and begin! Everybody say it with me! Ready… CLAAAAAAAASH!

That last shout resounded in her ears like an echo from far away as Natsume suddenly found herself in the middle of a forest. Compared to the cheer and voices from the kingdom, that place in the middle of nature was the materialization of calmness. Trees spread as far as the girl could see, and they were all covered with bushes and vines. In the distance, the only sound came from the birds chirping in the sky.

-OK…- murmured Natsume. Then, she took a deep breath of fresh air and said: -Let’s go.

The girl began running through the trees, hoping to find the cave as soon as possible. It was morning and the day could be long, but she didn’t want to risk her chances of victory. When she thought of that, Elima and Life Eater came back to her mind, but she shook her head.

-No, not now!- thought Natsume to herself. -I need to focus on this.

Suddenly, some bushes shook and Natsume froze in place, her attention focused on the bushes. If it was White Fur, she needed to get ready to fight. One second later, a strange mole with long claws jumped out. It acted like a rabbit, but its face was clearly that of a mole. Natsume and the creature looked at each other for a few seconds, only for the mole-rabbit to leave through the same path. 

The girl sighed in relief and continued running for a while, but there were no signs of any cave. At one point, she stumped onto an invisible wall. Natsume understood that was the limit of the area, so she turned around. She couldn’t know how much time she was wasting and she was getting scared. A few minutes later, the girl found an open area.

-This is harder than I expected- said Natsume while recovering her breath. -Where do I go now?

But she stopped thinking about her next steps. Natsume heard a new noise, and when she turned her face, there they were: White Fur appeared at the other side of the area. Both of them looked at each other, but nobody said a word or moved an inch. Suddenly, a sphere appeared between them and a display popped up in the sky. That was their signal.

Natsume and White Fur rushed towards the sphere as fast as they could. They kicked it at the same time, pushing each other back. As they stepped back, White Fur made strange blue claws appear on their hands and feet. Natsume focused for a moment and her dark-and-yellow clouds appeared on her extremities as well. She sighed in relief.

-Good… It’s the clouds… not the goo…-muttered Natsume.

Natsume ran again to take the ball, but her rival swung their leg in the air. By doing so, a strange blade was shot in Natsume's direction. The girl jumped in time and the blade hit the ground, causing the ball to fly in the air for a few seconds. White Fur jumped to take it, but Natsume did as well, swinging her leg this time to hit her rival. White Fur stopped the kick, but the ball fell on the ground again. The masked creature prepared themselves for a new kick.

-At… instant- murmured White Fur.

The creature released a new blade, but Natsume came up with an idea.

-OK, gotta try this!- thought Natsume.

When the blade was close to her, Natsume punched it with her cloudy arms, making it vanish in a second.

-Yeah, it’s magic…- murmured Natsume.

As if knowing that skill wouldn’t work anymore, White Fur jumped towards the sphere and tried to take it, but Natsume approached them as well. Contrary to her previous fights with punks in her town, it was the first time Natsume took part in a close fight. Her rival threw punches and kicks as they tried to take the ball, but the girl paid close attention and guarded herself. As time passed by, the two fighters exchanged different kinds of attacks while moving the ball between their feet. At one point, Natsume focused more on the ball itself and she tried to take it, but her rival moved their feet with dexterity. It was then that the girl noticed how swiftly the ball moved between their legs, as if she had experienced that before.

-Wait… no, it can’t be but… it feels we’re playing… soccer…- thought Natsume to herself. -But it’s impossible… right?

However, that sensation didn’t abandon her. Her body moved instinctively, following the pace of her rival as both interacted with the ball. There were punches and kicks, for sure, but the way they stole the ball from each other… For Natsume, it felt so familiar. Memories came back to her mind, seeing herself playing soccer with her teammates… but then, the memories of that day showed in front of her. That pain made her remember why she was do it, how she needed to win…

Natsume stepped back as she noticed something strange on her right hand. The clouds were dropping some goo and they slowly turned darker. The girl panicked.

-No! I’m not allowing this! I won’t let it control me again! I promised!- exclaimed Natsume. -This time… this time… I don’t want to make the same mistake again!

The girl kicked the ground with frustration, causing a small tremor. When she looked again at her hand, the goo was not there anymore, but she noticed the clouds looked smaller, but denser. It was no different than wearing gloves and heavy boats in winter. Relieved, Natsume looked at White Fur, who waited all that time without taking the ball for themselves.

-I don’t know why you did that but… I’m ready again- said Natsume with confidence. -I’m sorry, but I can’t lose here.

The two fighters resumed their fight. The score was really balanced as they exchanged the possession of the ball. White Fur was strong, but Natsume wasn’t giving up either. The struggle continued for a while with no certain winner until they both kicked the ball at the same time. As they bounced back, the ball jumped again in the air. White Fur went towards the ball like expected, but Natsume saw a clear chance and prepared herself to kick it.

-I’m sorry, but I win!- exclaimed Natsume.

White Fur didn’t have time to react. Natsume kicked the ball and hit her rival’s stomach. The impact shot White Fur away through the bushes and they went out of sight. The girl wasn’t sure of what happened, but the ball disappeared and a small sparkling item floated in the sky. Natsume picked it up, seeing it was a compass pointing towards her back. She understood that was the hint she needed and began walking away… but she stopped and looked back to where White Fur disappeared.

-What if… what if I hit them too hard?- asked Natsume worried. -What if I harmed them? Maybe… maybe I should check on them…

Natsume put the compass on her pocket and walked through the bushes, seeing some traces of her rival’s trajectory. After walking a bit, she found another open area with dust around. And within the dust, there was a shadow on the ground.

-Oh, no… Hey, are you okay?- asked Natsume worried.

-Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. What are you doing here? You won, you should run.

Who said that was the voice of a girl. Natsume wanted to answer, but that voice was familiar. She then stepped on something: the white fox mask and a blue cloth. The girl grabbed them and understood they belonged to White Fur.

-I’m sorry, you dropped… this…

Natsume stopped talking. The dust was dissipating, and slowly, the figure was clearly visible. A girl stood up with some effort. A girl around her age, with black hair and two pigtails. Feeling pain in her stomach, the girl looked back at Natsume and their eyes met. Natsume recognized that girl and those eyes immediately. How could she not? She had been seeing those eyes in her nightmares for the past month. All Natsume could say, with trembling voice, was:

-Sa… Sacchan…