A hand set upon his shoulder, and Zack shuddered in shock; he hadn't realized how far gone his head had been, and he all but forgotten that Drokka, Julia, and Jacob were there with him. 

[color=f26522]"Oh."[/color] He cocked his his head around to see Jacob standing at his side. [color=f26522]"Yeah."[/color] he continued hesitantly. [color=f26522]"Just..."[/color] he gestured towards the shadows in the alleyway. [color=f26522]"Probably just the light playing tricks on me. That match... wasn't expecting it to end so soon, less the way it da- I mean did."[/color] He stood up, giving one last glance towards the alleyway. He shook his head, and turned to look at his friends. [color=f26522]"Seifer wasn't at his best,"[/color] he said with a sigh. "He won't take this lying down either. I need to up my training if I want to have a chance at the Tournament." 

He looked around the Sandlot; other Strugglers, most of whom were eliminated and getting the jump on next year, were starting to fill into the area. [color=f26522]"Looks like there won't be much of a shortage of sparing partners,"[/color] he added hopefully. [color=f26522]"What do you say we get a few matches in?"[/color]

[center][@Spectral], [@Double], [@Stylobilly], [@Bright_Ops][/center]