Chapter 7: The Aftermath.

  The gentle breeze released loose leaves from their tight grasps on the half-bare branches. A thin yet warm golden shine lingered in the air, gently illuminating the faded oranges and dusty reds of the autumn-covered world.

  The sun dipped low and gently seeped through the closed blinds of the apartment, gently warming the bed and its surroundings to a comfortable temperature. Taiyo’s orange hair fell slowly out of his face as he sat up in his bed, a piercing headache swelling over him. Kicking his legs out of the bed, he slowly transitioned himself over to the bathroom, opening the door and slumping on top of the counter before breaking into a coughing fit.

  He could feel each individual bead of sweat running down his face as his body slightly shuttered. He felt unnaturally warm as if his body was experiencing the worst fever it had ever gone through. He swept the rust-orange colored bangs from out of his face and placed the back of his hand onto his forehead, feeling the heat radiating from off of it. He could feel how flushed his face was.

  “Damn it…” Taiyo said breathily.

  Taiyo looked up into the mirror and instead of meeting his own eyes, he saw Fiamma staring back at him, equally as disheveled and red in the face as him.

  “Fia…” he said, his eyes struggling to focus on her. “I didn’t know you could do that…”

  “Neither did I… But, they do say a mirror is like a gateway, allowing you to see another world or your true self…” she nodded.

  “Yeah right, that’s so stupid.”

  “True it is kinda dumb, huh?” The two shared a laugh for a second. “But hey this is saving me a lot of energy and not needing to materialize.”

  The two shared a laugh for a second. Despite their mysteriou sickness, they were in relatively good spirits. They exchanged conversation back and forth for what felt like hours to their delirious minds until Fiamma lowered her head a bit. “Hey, Master Tai… About last night…”

  “Our fight against the fox? What about it?” Taiyo played coy but he had a feeling he knew what she was going to say.

  “At the last second, when we landed that hit… You saw that right?”

  “...Yeah…” Taiyo sighed and leaned heavily against the counter even more. He ruffled his hair in frustration and groaned a bit.

  “She moved her sword into a position perfectly blocking our attack – even after the feint mind you – but then she moved it back out of the way at the last second… That fox, she even smiled at us before taking the blow.” At this point, Fiamma had a steady stream of tears flowing down her face. Her voice didn’t break and her expression didn’t falter but she leaned down on her side of the mirror’s sink counter and furiously grabbed at her head before punching the wall.

  Taiyo wasn’t surprised at her reaction. After all, he felt the exact same. He was just much better at not showing it.

  “We tried so hard and she was just toying with us… We’re… We’re…”

  Fiamma looked up at him, her eyes fully red now and her facial expression fully distraught at this point.

  “We’re so weak…” The two said in unison.

  ***

  "Wake up slacker, it's time to work out," Fiamma said as she shook Taiyo awake.

  "Fiamma…? Why are you up so early... My alarm would have rung and woken me up like it always does..." he responded drowsily, his hair messy in a state of chaos.

  "You think I want to wake up early? It did ring. We both slept through it because we're probably still exhausted from that fight with the moon woman."

  "How far are we off schedule?"

  "Thirty minutes. We better get started."

  Taiyo, half-awake, turned to the alarm and to his distaste, it was true. As the clock shined at 6:30 in that same fluorescent red that gave him a headache each morning, he could only groan as he leaned back in bed, covering his face with a pillow.

  He let out a muffled scream before sitting up and turning towards Fia.

  “Let’s get after it then.”

  ***

  After the fight, Fiamma insisted that she should stay out more and remain in her human form the majority of the time. Taiyo didn't protest because deep down, he knew he was happy he finally had got someone to share the house with him. He didn't have to be alone anymore, even if he did enjoy the privacy.

  Taiyo got up out of bed and walked out into the main room with Fiamma which was still a complete warzone from the fight. He started to perform his morning work-out routine before he took his shower. The start of the day was completely ordinary except this time, Fiamma would accompany him in his tasks like a shadow. They mostly focused on their core and their arms with lots of lifting, one-minute planks, and sit-ups. He let Fiamma take the first shower and threw in a t-shirt and shorts for her then he went in for his afterward. They brushed their teeth, ate eggs and toast for breakfast, and prepared to head out.

  "I don't have any smaller clothes. Those will have to do since your dress got destroyed in the fight," Taiyo said as he grabbed his school bag.

  "It's fine. I don't really care if they're too big. It would be a bother to go shopping anyway," she replied as she stretched her arms backwards. "Okay let's go. I want to check out the school for the first time."

  "Hold on before you do, can you do anything about your eyes?" Taiyo asked.

  "What's wrong with my eyes? I think they look cool."

  "Nothing's wrong with them, but cool isn't normal when you're going to school. Or anywhere in public in fact. No one has black eyes. They're always white around the outside."

  "That’s a lot of unnecessary work but whatever."

  Fire wrapped around her eyes and proceeded to envelop them in white light. Fiamma closed them and when she opened them again, her eye-color was a fiery red-orange hue instead of milky white with normal, human, whites.

  "There, that's good," Taiyo said as he opened the apartment door and walked into the elevator.

  ***

  "What are we gonna do now?" Fiamma asked as she walked beside Taiyo. "I have a vague understanding of how I want to move forward but you're the master so it's your choice."

  "Well, I have a feeling we're thinking the same thing anyway. Let's find people to help us out. Companions, you know? I want to understand myself, the world around me, and magic as much as I can," Taiyo replied, kicking a can on the side of the road as he walked.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  "I get the urge to understand magic and all that jazz. But what good would come from learning more about yourself? You already lived your life so it'd be dumb to recall stuff unnecessarily."

  "Yeah, I know. It's a pain but I have to do it eventually. I think I got a bit of my memories back. That fox might be someone important to me. I remember one night from eight years ago. A night where I watched a fight between two Chikarai. It’s still blurry but I think I’ll be able to confirm my suspicions if I see her again," he said.

  Fiamma sighed and looked up at the sky, watching the clouds slowly drift by as she lost herself in her own mind. "Do what you want. I won't stop you. But if we happen to look too deep and get into some business we shouldn't be in, just know I'm going to blame you for your incompetence as my master."

  "Wow, thanks for your kind words. You're such an angel."

  "Don't get sarcastic with me. I'll burn you," she smirked.

  "Yeah, yeah. Like you could, fire freak," Taiyo said with a hint of a smile.

  ***

  Taiyo and Fiamma had made it to school on time and had gone through their normal day as usual. Taiyo played it off by introducing Fiamma as a transfer student that was his distant relative from another state. She had managed to blend in easily and had quickly gained popularity amongst her peers, everyone wondering who the pretty mystery girl was and how she knew Taiyo. However, due to her terrible Tai-inspired personality, she managed to isolate herself off from everyone except him, ignoring anyone and everyone who came her way while being bombarded with questions.

  "You're letting Fiamma be out at school? Isn't that suspicious from someone who's known to... you know... not have a family?" Lyra said. The group had made it throughout half of the day and had gotten to lunchtime. “Also, I’m worried for you guys. You had to fight her right? It took all of your energy for you to just land one hit on her. Seeing Fiamma out and about may provoke her or something.”

  "Don't treat her like a pet," Taiyo responded. “Also, the fox won’t come back.”

  "First off, I didn't mean it like that. And secondly, I think you're the last person who should be lecturing me about being rude, edge-lord," Lyra countered.

  "I'm going to burn you if you call me some corny name one more time. I swear it's just some kinda running gag at this point. It isn't even funny."

  "Try it, emo."

  "That's it. I'm gonna incinerate her."

  "Woah Woah Woah there bro. Calm down. Let's all take a chill pill," Kendall laughed as he held back Taiyo and Fiamma at the same time.

  "Why is this nuisance so strong?" Fiamma struggled to get free of him.

  "This isn't the time for this. Tai said we should focus on finding people who understand the world of Chikarai. That's what you said you guys were called right?" Kendall said.

  Taiyo slowly stopped resisting and lifted his hands on top of his head. "Yeah, that's what moon freak called me so I guess people with magic have an actual name."

  "I could have told you that if you were so confused," Fiamma said as she also stopped struggling against Kendall stopping her incineration attempts.

  "Thank you, Kendall. Now that you've calmed down the twins, we can actually get serious now," Lyra laughed.

  Taiyo and Fiamma shot Lyra a dirty look as they simultaneously groaned at her words. Kendall laughed and unwrapped his arms from both of them. He sat down with his back against the roof railing and looked up at the sky with a smile.

  "So, how are you going to get people you can trust?" Kendall started. "I don't think a lot of people would believe you and go with you if you went up to them and said, 'hey, I can use magic, wanna be friends?’ I mean personally, I would totally go if someone said they could use magic."

  "You know believing stuff so easily makes you a perfect target for some really nasty people right? Are you dumb or something or do you just have a death wish?" Fiamma asked, rolling her eyes.

  Kendall laughed with a big grin. "Well, it's not too bad since there's a chance of it being real! I mean I already have enough proof since you're here right? Why not take the chance?"

  "God, so you're one of those guys huh?" Fiamma said. "Lyra warned me of the different types of humans and I can already tell that energetic, pushy, and naive guys like you are my least favorite."

  "Aww, thanks Fia! That means a lot to know I have a spot on your list!"

  "You're really getting on my nerves."

  "We're getting side-tracked again! Stay on topic, it isn't that hard!" Taiyo said.

  "Right. Anyway, we were talking about how Tai is going to find some allies. We can't just approach people about this and even if we could, we all know Tai wouldn't do it anyway," Lyra said.

  Taiyo crossed his arms and nodded in agreement. "You're right. I would never approach anyone."

  "That's not something you should be proud of. It's actually one of our bigger disadvantages since no one in our school knows how to interact with you. And that’s definitely not gonna work in your favor,” she continued.

  "Ooooh, I know what we should do! We should have Fiamma do it!" Kendall stood up excitedly.

  "What." Fiamma stared at him.

  "I mean think about it. People avoid Lyra too because she never talks to anyone in her classes. She still thinks everyone is boring and uninteresting to her except us right? So why would she do it? Even though Fiamma wouldn't want to approach anyone either because she's just like Tai, she still has this 'new girl vibe' around her and no one knows that much about her. If she can just pretend to be interested in someone, she can casually slip in Chikarai into the conversation and see how they react. If they just laugh about it she can play it off as a joke and pretend to be the funny girl in the school. But, if they actually have a serious reaction and are interested in how she knows this, then we know we've found our guy! (Or girl!)"

  "Why'd you whisper and add in that last part?" Lyra asked.

  "To be inclusive you know?" Kendall nodded with an all too serious look on his face.

  "That's not the point and it doesn't matter. I'm more surprised Kendall doesn't have a complete mush for brains and actually thought of a really thought out plan for once," Taiyo said. "That's surprisingly smart..."

  "I already hate that idea completely. It is the worst thing I've ever heard in my entire life," Fiamma frowned.

  "Stop whining. You haven't even existed for more than a week," Tai said.

  "Shut it, Tai. That's why it's the worst thing of my life. I don't even have that much of a life in the first place," she frowned. "You only aren't opposing it because you don't have to do it."

  "Technically I am doing it. It's just the male version of me doesn't have to," he shrugged.

  "Tch. What a compassionate master you are. I'm so lucky to be your magic servant," she smiled through gritted teeth. "I can't believe I have to do this..."

  "Please Fiamma... Do it for me. Girls helping each other out, you know?" Lyra pleaded.

  "Not you too..." she said in sad disbelief.

  Taiyo walked over to Fiamma and looked her in the eyes. They were both taciturn as they stared at each other emotionlessly. It didn't take much to sustain this kind of eye contact because both of them acted like they couldn't stand each other but they knew the other person in and out. It was their way of talking without actually communicating.

  "You know this is going to be a good thing for us," Taiyo said, breaking the silence between them. "I could finally learn about magic and the world of Chikarai. Don't be a baby and help me do it."

  Fiamma stared back at Taiyo, her eyes daggers. The dim sunlight on her face slowly faded away as dark clouds loomed over the city. Tiny droplets of rain slowly fell down onto the school and the students on the roof. Taiyo looked up at the sky as the rain got harder and harder. Fiamma's eyes fluttered as she stumbled.

  "Crap. I really can't stand the rain," she mumbled.

  Taiyo took off his school uniform jacket and draped it over her head, shielding her from the rain.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing? If you're trying to win my favor so I'll do what you guys want and make a fool of myself, then it's not working!" she pushed the jacket away. Her face was filled with anger. "Don't think I want to be pitied!"

  "Idiot. If you feel weak, I feel weak," Tai said, flicking her on her forehead. "Just shut up and stay dry. Fire shouldn't be near water, it's common sense."

  Taiyo held up his jacket over her again. This time, she didn't resist. “I know that flick hurt you too.”

  "You better not get any wrong ideas. I'm still not doing it. I am magic. I am fire incarnate. Why should I lower myself by going around explaining who I am to everyone and that I exist? That should be the master's job."

  "Like we actually act like a conventional master and servant," Taiyo said.

  “I call you Master Taiyo don’t I? Surely that’s good enough.”

  "You guys are ridiculous," Kendall sighed with a defeated smile. Lyra giggled in the background as she stood up.

  Suddenly, the speed of the wind picked up as lightning started to strike, sounds of thunder resonating throughout the darkened sky. A voice was heard from the door to the school roof as someone stood in it. Their figure darkened and blended in with the surrounding shadows.

  Yes, they are... I'd love to get closer to them...

  Chikarai user of fire. Taiyo Vitale. It's a pleasure to meet someone...

  ...Like me...

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