Chapter 8: Crashing Waves.

  "Hello~" the boy sang out as he stepped out of the shadows with a smile. His dark, black hair was ruffled and messy just like Taiyo's, or maybe even messier. The wild bed head had a dark teal color at the tips of each strand like it was dyed in the classic fox-hair style. His eyes were snake-like with their pointed features and the constant dark circles and bags that surrounded them made him look like he was always exhausted.A scar went horizontally across the bridge of his nose while his smile was twisted in constant humorous motion. He was a fairly tall and lean guy, his height only a little bit taller than Taiyo. The outfit he wore was the usual black school uniform. But, Tai could've sworn every time the lightning struck and the light was cast upon him, it illuminated the ghostly figure of a greek chiton and himation as if he were some kind of god. He wore two long silver earrings, the accessories taking the shape of a cross.

  "Taiyo Vitale... Who would've thought you’d awaken like that?" he grinned. "Oh sorry about your magic by the way. I guess fire should really back off from water right?"

  "Damn. He overheard us," Taiyo frowned. "Well, I guess that makes the job easier..."

  The boy walked over to Fiamma and put his hand under her chin and lifted her face up to his.

  "Wow so she's actually real, right? I had no idea magic could take form like this," he said with a smile, leaning in closer, their faces mere inches away from each other.

  "Fiamma get away from him, he's dangerous!" Lyra yelled.

  "I-I can't move for some reason..." she struggled trying to move her face away from him.

  He grinned and looked over to Lyra. "So that's her name huh? Well it's nice to meet you Taiyo's magic. I'm sorry but it's too late for that now."

  A slow and steady stream of water flowed from his hand. It slowly wrapped itself around Fiamma's body like the tentacles of a live octopus or viscous sea snakes. For some reason, it sparkled and glistened around her even though all of the light had been cut off by the looming clouds towering above the city. The water felt cool to the touch as the smell and taste of salt flooded Fiamma's senses. The boy started to laugh hysterically as his hand burst into water. He grabbed Fiamma's face and swept her off her feet with a low kick, slamming her into the concrete. A dangerous gleam shone in his eyes. A flash of lightning struck, illuminating his invisible robes once more as he prepared to deliver a swift blow to her face.

  "I hate fire. Die."

  Taiyo dashed towards him, kicking up water in the rain as his face was illuminated with a crazed and focused look. He threw a punch at his stomach, throwing the mystery boy off his balance. He lurched forward and started coughing, his face breaking out in a cold sweat. The boy was panting heavily, leaning down in pain as he clutched his newly bruised torso.

  "You little-"

  Taiyo didn’t waste a second. He shoved him to the floor and pinned him down to the ground, holding him in place with a forearm on his neck. The mysterious attacker let out a strained cough as he raised his arm to resist before Taiyo slammed his wrist to the ground, completely pinning him. They struggled for a few moments - tossing and turning on the wet concrete as the falling rain danced and displaced around them.

  The attacker broke from Taiyo’s grip, a crazed look in his eyes. He smiled and lunged at Taiyo, taking his arm and pushing it in behind his back as he delivered a heavy knee to his spine.

  The attacker reeled an arm back and delivered a devastating blow to the back of Taiyo’s head. A searing hot wave of pain spiraled through his body as he let out a scream. Gritting his teeth, Taiyo pushed off the ground in a push-up motion. His muscles screamed in pain as he lifted the boy off his back. Quickly displacing his opponent he pushed off the ground harder and with that same momentum, he quickly pivoted and spun around like a tornado, delivering a right hook to his attacker's throat, sending him reeling back with a splash into the roof’s muddied water.

  Both boys gasped for air as the heavy rain was effectively waterboarding them, turning the air itself scarce. They sat there for just a second - long enough, however, for Kendall to come in and carry the injured Fiamma away from the brawl.. Kendall leaned her against the railing, her breathing was short and staggered. Her face was a ghostly pale while beads of sweat formed all over her. Blood streamed down her body as she coughed and uncontrollably shook in the cold rain.

  "How did he mess you up so bad?" Kendall asked her as he kneeled down beside her. "You would think she would have a higher resistance than that since she's magic right?" he turned his attention to the terrified Lyra whose legs had seemingly just given out.

  "M-Maybe it's because she got pummeled by a fellow magic-user... And the element happened to be the opposite of her..." Lyra said. Her voice was shaking but not nearly half as much as her body that trembled violently.

  “I’m not sure… The logistics of these things are surprisingly insane…” Kendall’s eyes were wide.

  The two looked down at Fiamma and didn’t know what to do before turning their attention back to the brawl where they saw Taiyo once again on top of the attacker.

  "Get off of me! I know you can't use your magic without her! It's only a matter of time until I drown you!" the boy shouted at Taiyo as he tried to forcefully free himself from Tai's grasp, violently grappling at him to break the restraint.

  "Can you shut it? You talk too much. It's annoying," Taiyo rolled his eyes and delivered a solid blow to his jaw. Before he could recover from the sudden shock, Tai elbowed him directly in the gut.

  "Damnit! Dirty play man! Don't be like that." he coughed in pain.

  Taiyo stepped forward and reeled back for another blow and swung. The attacker weaved the attack.

  “Don’t get cocky.”

  Pushing off his left leg he leapt high into the air. Taiyo’s eyes widened looking at this inhuman feat. It was as if he was staring at himself back when he broke the rim. The boy spun in the air all too many times to count before delivering a fantastical axe kick to the top of Taiyo’s head.

  Taiyo could feel the blood seemingly spew from his mouth and nose as his head plummeted towards the freezing ground. His face collided with the roof and his vision immediately went to stars and shapes of all different sizes - the light itself seeming to bend in his disorientation.

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  He heaved violently as he clutched the back of his head. He would have laid there for hours yet something compelled him to stand. With a spark in his soul she slowly pushed up onto his shaking knees, his body damp from rain and sweat and his breathing ragged. He looked up at his opponent with a newfound fire in his eyes. Even as his body trembled he took one slow step towards his opponent once more.

  “Round two, you lunatic.”

  The boy’s face lit up for a second with something that looked like actual happiness, like he was genuinely enjoying their all-out brawl.

  "Why are you enjoying this? You're a twisted guy aren't you?" Taiyo grinned. He staggered yet caught himself, slowly regaining his composure..

  "I don't know man. I just live for thrills like this! It all just seems like so much fun!!" he yelled, his body contorted into an unrecognizable shape until it burst into water.

  The droplets spread through the dark sky, their color was just a bit lighter and sparkled just a bit more than the falling rain but even with this, Taiyo still lost them in the sea of falling water. The scattered droplets reformed in the shape of the boy above Taiyo's head, this time, he wore two sheathed blades that were at his side. They were both Nodachis, great sword blades that were much longer and heavier than the average katana.

  "Don't tell me he can dual-wield those giant katanas on steroids. What an obnoxious dude. That's so much extra work to deal with him," Taiyo mumbled to himself.

  The boy's face contorted into a twisted, psychotic grin. His yellow eyes stood out in contrast against the background of monotone and depressing gray. Lightning struck behind him, the luminescent light revealing the ghostly chiton and himation again.

  "You're a real demon, you know that? It isn't normal for a high school student to have this much strength," Taiyo said.

  “Demon? Sure, maybe. But right now you’re looking at the visage of a god!”

  "Hey Fiamma! Lend me your power or we're all going to die! I know you're hurt but just leave the fighting to me. Go to sleep for the rest of it inside of me and when you wake up we'll be home and I'll take care of you there!"

  "W-Wow... that's outta... character... for y-you," she smiled as she talked. She coughed in between each word in pain, feeling a sharp stab in her chest every time she talked. "What's... the catch? I... know you. Sentimental... stuff like this... isn't programmed into you..."

  "How annoying. Just shut up and let me use my... our power! I'll take care of you later so just go to sleep and let me fight back!"

  Her smile widened as she closed her eyes. "That's more like it, idiot."

  Fiamma's blood slowly started to evaporate into the air as her injured body burst into a beautiful mass of sparkling white flames. Kendall and Lyra were taken aback in utter surprise but remembered that Fiamma's fire wouldn't hurt them as it slowly passed around them.

  The fire went into Taiyo. The moment was electric. His eyes shone, glowing with a radiant, supernatural light as they changed to match Fiamma's as his sclera darkened to the light-absorbing void black color they usually go to. His eye color shone to white, illuminating the area around him. Every muscle in his body seemed to pulse with energy, outlined by a vibrant aura that flared and cracked with kinetic force akin to the storms on the surface of the sun. Around him, the very air seemed to waver in the intense heat as his fire crept upwards, catching dust and debris swirling into the air as if they were drawn in by the gravitational pull of the surging flames, their wild nature showing as they flickered ferociously and fiercely.

  "Now tell me, freak. How should I burn you... You're a violent nuisance who's wild and unpredictable. You act all happy at first but then can easily turn cold and focused in an instant. Your type of people are actually pretty favorable to me. The happy side of you is obnoxious but I like the smug and harsh version of you. We could be good friends if you would stop being a lunatic," Taiyo said.

  "Aww, I thought you said you like the lunatic part of me? You're pretty cold yourself for an arsonist," he smiled."Twin-Sword Technique: Demon's Sea," The guy's voice resonated throughout the air. Crashing waves of water erupted from the hilt of the twin blades and completely enveloped them in sparkling ocean seawater. He swiftly spun midair and used his momentum to slice his blades into Taiyo's flesh.

  "He's really skilled with a sword... I wonder if I could beat him..." Kendall said to himself, his face lighting up with excitement of the chance of finding someone to fight against. "The famous two-sworded style... It's really as amazing as it sounds..."

  "Are you serious?! This guy literally beat Fiamma in a second and is slicing through Taiyo as we speak! How are you not concerned for him and how can you think about having a sword fight with this maniac?!" Lyra yelled. Her voice shook as she looked at Taiyo. She couldn't stop her mind from wandering back to how Fiamma looked and what had happened to her. Her mind itself was in tatters, she had no idea what to think or latch onto in the situation.

  Kendall placed his hand on her shoulder and laughed. "Calm down, princess. Taiyo wouldn't lose and he gave his word that he would take care of Fiamma. He may be a rude jerk but I trust that the jerk would keep his word. Plus, he's strong! Really, really strong!"

  "I guess you're right... Taiyo can handle him," Lyra said, slowly calming down.

  "I really want to see this... I've only ever tried to use one-sworded styles and never would have dreamed of using two swords. He's really amazing. Even if he's insane."

  Taiyo grabbed the blades that were in his shoulder and squeezed them tight, drawing blood from his hand while maintaining a solid grip and handle on them. He surrounded his hands in the fire, causing the white flames to clash with the water allowing steam to arise from where they made contact.

  "You know it's rude to leave these lying around. You should take them back!" Taiyo shouted. It seemed that his competitive side had resurfaced in the heat of the moment. His desire to win burned as bright as the very magic flames he controlled.

  Taiyo threw the steaming blades back at his attacker, ripping them straight out of his shoulders. The wounds immediately started to heal as his fire started to make a stitch-like pattern over the gashes and regenerated the missing and torn out muscles.

  "Hey isn't that healing power the same as when he shot himself to draw out his magic?" Kendall said.

  "Yeah, it is... This is really interesting..." Lyra replied, a bit distantly yet still intrigued.

  "Hey princess. What are you thinking of? You have a weird look again," Kendall laughed.

  "Entertain me some more Tai! Don't disappoint!" Lyra shouted out, ignoring Kendall.

  "You’re both too loud. This fight is already over," Taiyo muttered.

  Taiyo dropped into a low stance, imitating that of the ice Chikarai.

  "If she said I could copy spells then I hope she doesn't mind if I take this one. It seemed to be the most effective..." Taiyo said.

  "Martial Arts Stance Six: Weeping Solar Eclipse," Taiyo called out.

  Clear orange flames erupted from Taiyo's fist, wrapping itself with his white fire in an intense spiral of heat.

  “What?! What is this?”

  “I have no idea.” Taiyo shrugged. “Kinda confused on where the name came from too but who cares.”

  “Well it won’t make a difference either way!” the attacker shouted.

  "Normal color fire now huh? Thanks, moon freak I'm going to borrow your spell for a sec," He laughed as the fire swirled around him in a torrent and tornado of blazing hot flames. The air around him super-heated to the point where it looked like molten gas floated around him.

  "I'll end this quickly, okay? Just don't resist and I'll have your head cut off in a second," the boy said.

  What ensued was a battle of pure devastation. Not just a normal fight but a fight between magic-users. It was also more than that. It was a fight between the rival elements since the dawn of time. Fire and water. The complete opposites of nature, but equally deadly in force. In history, science, mythology, nature, and every other source you can find, you will always get the same answer: water will always put out a fire. However, a victory is never set in stone when it comes to the supernatural. Can the same, scientific answer be given when it comes to magic? Taiyo's flames would not be put out easily. Yet, his opponent was no pushover. Will the ocean, the embodiment of water, be able to put out its biggest fire yet, the sun?