Victor gives Leo a puzzled look, “Did you just say blue?”
“He did. It happened when you were concentrating on freezing the water in your hand,” Chiyo answers.
Victor puckers his lips as he thinks out loud, “Maybe the color of the glow represents the magic I’m trying to focus on.”
Leo and Chiyo look lost.
Victor notices and sits upright. “I can see you two have no idea what I’m saying. Let me try to explain. What if each specialtyhas a color associated with it? My eyes were white when I was working on Air Magic. And just now, you say my eyes were blue, and I was working on Water Magic. It might mean my eyes glow green or brown when I focus on Earth. And with Fire, my eyes will glow red, orange, or yellow.”
Leo scratches at his stubble, thinking about Victor’s explanation. “It sounds plausible. We can ask Superior Charles about that. He did mention he saw your grandmother’s eyes glowing once before. Maybe he can confirm your theory.”
Chiyo claps her hands twice, signaling her geisha to clear the table and take everything away. “Okay, break time is over. Victor, get ready.”
Victor gives Chiyo a cheesy smile. “Awww, that was the first time in three days you didn’t call me ‘young empath warlock.’”
Chiyo stands up and smooths out her kimono. “And if you want to continue that respect, you better win the fight.”
Victor cocks an eyebrow. “Challenge accepted.”
Leo helps Victor up from the ground and then assists him in putting on his jacket. Leo brushes Victor’s shoulders with his hands as he whispers in Victor’s ear, “Be careful with the geisha in the dark green. She’s a clever little witch.” Victor looks over at the two geishas who are joining Chiyo. He spots the one wearing a dark green kimono, and the other is wearing a deep pink kimono.
He turns Victor around to help straighten his tie and smooth down the jacket’s lapels. “Try not to use Water Magic all the time. Do your best to combine both Air and Water in your attacks. You’ll see why people of magic always make sure they have more than one specialty in their arsenal.”
Victor nods.
As Victor heads to the center of the courtyard, the two geishas build a dome of water. The waves in the water sparkle like koi swimming around as the sunlight hits the ripples. Victor andChiyo, with her geisha, take their positions on opposite sides of the dome. The geisha turn their backs toward Victor. A few seconds later, they turn back around. Their faces are no longer covered in white paint. Their faces are painted askabuki.
Their delicate, feminine features have transformed into bold, exaggerated lines of red, blue, and black. The first geisha in dark green has a fierce, stern glare, outlining her face with thick, angry blue streaks to embody a vengeful spirit. Meanwhile, the face of the geisha adorned in deep pink is painted with vivid red lines on her cheeks and eyes, transforming her serene expression into the passionate, powerful visage of a hero.
“Okay, you have to show me how to do that trick when this is over,” Victor comments.
Chiyo lifts her arm and hides her face behind her kimono sleeve. A second later, her face is also painted in akabukistyle. Crimson lines fracture across Chiyo’s face, transforming her delicate features into thekumadorimakeup of akabukihero. The delicate red of her lips is overtaken by thick, dramatic strokes that accentuate her musculature, creating an illusion of intense strength and powerful emotion. A striking gesture, a look of bold courage replaces her once placid expression; her eyes now burn with the theatrical intensity of a warrior ready for battle.
Chiyo responds to him in Japanese, “If you win this fight, I might think about it.”
Just as the dome closes at the top, Leo flings a small blue fireball over and through the closing hole. Before it hits the ground, it explodes, signaling to fight—the two geisha charge while shouting a battle cry. Chiyo does not move from where she is standing. Victor looks between the two of them as they head right for him. When they are close enough, he lifts his hands over his head, using the air beneath their feet to hurl them backward.
Chiyo remains in her spot as the geisha quickly recover. The geisha in dark green jumps and throws what looks like a spear made of ice at Victor. Victor uses Air to repel the spear, only to be hit from behind by a blunt object.
As Victor picks himself up, he notices Chiyo’s palm is facing out. He looks behind him and sees the dome’s wall finish retracting back into itself. “She is using the wall of the dome too? How is that even fair?”
Leo stands at the edge, eating a peach. “I told you to keep an eye on your surroundings.” He takes another bite of the peach. “Chiyo, I love how sweet these peaches are. You need to give me some to take back with me.”
Victor gives Leo a dissatisfied look. “Whose side are you on?” Victor doesn’t pay attention as he’s plummeted with a ball of water. Leo shakes his head as he takes another bite of his peach. Victor recovers and is standing too close to the edge of the dome. Suddenly, a sharp icicle pokes him in the shoulder. He turns around, and over half the dome’s wall is covered in icicle spikes.
He turns his attention back to Chiyo and the geishas. They have turned the entire dome with icicle spikes facing inward. “Well, this just got more interesting,” Victor remarks, wide-eyed.
The geisha start their attacks again, but Chiyo never moves from her spot. Victor has to fight off two feisty Japanese women who are smaller in stature than he is. “How the hell are you so strong for being so small?” Victor remarks, defending himself.
They keep throwing punches and kicks, as well as Water Magic attacks, and Victor does his best to defend and dodge their attacks. He finds an opening to counterattack. Using Water and Air combined, he knocks out the geisha in deep pink. The dome extends to cover the geisha, enveloping her with water, and pulls her outside the dome. As soon as she’s outside, she slowly sits up.
Leo walks up to the geisha and looks down at her. But instead of helping her, he hands her something else. “Peach?”
She gives Leo a disgusted look and begrudgingly takes the peach. Leo sits on the ground next to her as they eat peaches while watching the rest of the fight.
The geisha in dark green decides to heat things up . . . sort of. She creates akatanasword out of ice. Victor’s eyes grow wide. As instinct kicks in, he makes two icebostaffs in his hands. As the geisha wails towards him, Victor does his best to defend himself as he sees ice shards being chipped away from his staffs. He notices her sword is not damaged, which causes him more alarm. The geisha eventually shatters one of the staffs.
Victor starts worrying like he’s about to get sliced in half with an ice sword. He swings his staff like a bat, and it connects to the geisha’s katana. His eyes widen when he notices he has transformed hisbointo akatana.
