After dinner, they strolled around to the main gate, glancing at the long list of combatants who remained after the initial preliminary rounds. Leonardo recognized few of the names, relying on Usagi to point out the strong or tricky fighters, but even Usagi didn't know many of them. As they read, two new names appeared as if written by an invisible hand on the bottom of the list.

"They must have just qualified," Usagi said.

"This waiting is worse than fighting." Leonardo sighed and looked over his shoulder at the empty town. Even at the far end of the street where the fire damage was slight, only a few windows glowed in the darkness. "I wouldn't have thought there were so many people here already."

"The Nexus is bigger than it looks," Usagi said. "It has to be to accommodate thousands of spectators--"

As the air crackled around them in a flash of light, both of them instinctively reached for their swords but he booming voice gave them no time to react.

"Miyamoto Usagi and Hamato Leonardo," the Gyoji said, staring at them as he floated just out of reach. "You fight as a team?"

"Yes, we--" Usagi answered.

They had no warning before they suddenly appeared in a grassy plain opposite two other fighters, a blue female with four arms and a sword in each hand and her companion, who stood twice as tall as Leonardo with eight arms and a different weapon in each one. Reminded of a Hindu god, Leonardo recognized a war hammer, an axe, a scimitar and a kama before he stopped trying to identify everything and exchanged a look with Usagi as they both shrugged off their cloaks.

"You want the big one or the small one?"

"I think the large one has already decided upon you," Usagi said.

"He's already decided he wants to beat me, too," Leonardo said. "Doesn't mean I'm gonna let him."

The war hammer crashed down towards them and ended their conversation, but it only struck the dirt, leaving a circular crater in the grass. Leonardo rolled and came back to his feet, only to be forced to duck low as the axe swept just over his head. Rolling again to give himself some space, he stayed close to the ground, away from his opponent's considerable reach.

He tried to get a glimpse of Usagi's fight, but the red fighter's body blocked his view. Fortunately each attack was slow, the spear thrusting towards his head first, then the kama swung for his shoulder, then the hammer again. Leonardo wondered if the fighter was tired from waiting up all night for the match, but he felt no sympathy. If his opponent was too tired to attack from the front, perhaps he wouldn't be able to defend as well if Leonardo attacked from behind.

Still, Leonardo was surprised by how fast the fight ended. One moment he had darted between the fighter's feet, swinging his sword as he turned, the next moment the tall fighter had disappeared and the last echoes of Usagi's fight were dying in the distance. Leonardo stood up and put his sword away, meeting Usagi's look.

"That was quick," he said, looking around to make sure they really alone. "What happened?"

"We won," Usagi said with a smile. "They looked fearsome, but in a real fight, they were rank amateurs."

"You mean...?" Leonardo blinked. "All those arms and he couldn't defend his rear? I didn't really think I'd connect."

"This was only a preliminary match," Usagi reminded him. "Has it been so long since you faced such novice opponents?"

Before he could answer, the Gyoji's familiar light flashed over them. When they could see again, they were alone on the nexus street in front of the gate. Their names appeared on the roster, Usagi's on top of Leonardo's.

"From the looks of it," Usagi said, putting a hand on the page as he read, "I think we'll have our next match tomorrow. Probably late tomorrow."

"How can you tell?"

"Remember, I've done this before. Usually the preliminaries only take a couple of days, but these names are twice the normal amount of competitors, and that's just some of tonight's first round. I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a week before we even begin fighting in the arena."

"A few extra days sounds fine," Leonardo said as he stretched, glancing over his shoulder down the street. "I hope the fights aren't all that easy, though."

"It was a bit unfair, wasn't it?"

Usagi turned to hide his smile as he led the way back to their hotel. He doubted that his friend realized how he looked, still on edge and fidgeting even worse than usual. The ninja had been expecting a real fight. Without it, he was hyper-aware and his hands flexed as if longing to hold a sword.

The walk did nothing to work off Leonardo's restless energy, and Usagi frowned at his mention that he would meditate a little before joining him in bed. Leonardo burned with an excitement that had nothing to do with sex, making Usagi wonder if he needed that meditation to control a well-hidden enjoyment of combat. After all, Leonardo's emotions seemed freer during a fight than not. Usagi understood that feeling well. True samurai and perhaps ninja were not merely trained but born to love the sword. And from past experience he knew that an unsatisfying fight often left him edgy the rest of the day. By the time they reached the Lit Flame, his mind was made up.

Taking Leonardo's hand, he steered him away from the main doors and further into the garden surrounding the inn. Four torches lit the corners of the garden, their light reflecting off the koi ponds into the tree branches. Usagi chose the darkest corner and tugged Leonardo closer, satisfied that his friend didn't ask questions even though he was obviously curious.

"The nexus doesn't have any hot springs," Usagi said as he sat by the pond, trailing his hand in the water. "But the Lit Flame's garden is one of the best."

Sitting beside him, Leonardo leaned against the maple tree. The night breeze rustled the branches, making the stars blink in and out of sight. Although he felt nervous sitting in the open, he didn't sense anyone nearby and the soft splashing of the startled koi only emphasized the garden's calm ambience.

Perhaps this was a better place to meditate and clear his head--his eyes widened as Usagi flopped down in his lap, wiggling down between his legs until he sat on the grass, leaning back against Leonardo's stomach. Startled at first, after a moment Leonardo put his arms around Usagi's waist, reassured when the samurai lay his head back on his shoulder. They lay like that watching the moon as it crept over the stars, occasionally hidden by passing clouds.

It was a view Usagi enjoyed often, living on the road so long, but he doubted that his friend saw this more than a few nights out of the year. Leonardo measured his life not in the phases of the moon but in flickering electric lights and candles keeping back the darkness.

"Forgive me for asking," Usagi murmured, "but...I remember your home. It's always dark. There's no wind or sky. It feels like..."

"Like a grave," Leonardo answered. "It's okay. I know."

"Do you ever wish you could leave?"

"Sometimes. Not because it's dark, but being outside is just so much more vivid. I rarely get to see the sky." He shrugged. "Anyway, my siblings feel it worse than I do."

"They don't like it either?"

"Not really. Raph sneaks out all the time, and Mike sometimes follows him. But it's the safest place for us."

"And it's hard to convince them of that," Usagi said. He didn't have siblings, but he'd been young once and remembered the intense longing to explore the world.

"They'll never believe me," Leonardo said. "Unless we lose it. Then they'll understand, maybe."

"They are still very young," Usagi agreed. His mouth quirked. "How old are you, by the way?"

"Old enough," Leonardo said firmly, refusing to elaborate.

Usagi chuckled but didn't tease him further, content to lie back and watch the koi sparkling in the torchlight. Escaping from that underground fortress must be a blessing for all of them, for Leonardo too, even if he wouldn't admit it. Usagi didn't want to think about how they felt each time they had to return.

But he did imagine what their final tournament match might be like, facing each other in the arena with the crowds cheering as they tested their skill. No doubt his added years of experience would make the difference between victory or defeat. And the thought of defeating Leonardo, standing over him with his blade at his throat...he couldn't deny that it sent shivers through his body.

When Leonardo held him closer, perhaps thinking that he shivered because of the cold, Usagi held silent and turned into his embrace.

TBC...