Chapter 10

A Battle of Flames: Derek vs. Dia

Derek and Dia stared each other down as the referee flew into the air and called the start of the fight. A breeze flew through the air, which picked up a few leaves from the surrounding trees. As the leaves were about to hit Derek and Dia, they all burst into flames. Derek slowly withdrew his katana, and Dia did the same with his own.

"So, Maison…we finally get to finish our little bout." Dia said, smiling wickedly. His bandana, which was over his forehead, suddenly burned up, revealing a third eye, just like Hiei's. Derek frowned and readied his blade.

The Jagan eye is an extent of one's accuracy and ability. Dia inherited his from Hiei…which puts me at a bit of a disadvantage… Derek though to himself as he watched Dia carefully. The last time they fought, Dia had him beat in speed, and that's where this fight was going to come down to…agility.

Derek slowly walked towards Dia, who merely stood there smiling at him. With a slight pause, Derek suddenly charged at him with incredible speed. His blade was up and just as quickly countered by Dia's.

"Damn it!" Derek yelled as the steel crossed together and the two began to dual. Slash after slash, it seemed like the two were pretty much equal with power as the battle raged on.

******

"Come on, Derek! Show that cocky bastard whose boss!" Corey yelled from the stands.

From the camera point of view, it seemed like it was all just quick flashes of light, but Corey knew better. The speeds of the two fighters on screen now were close to the speed of sound. Even he was amazed that he was able to keep up so well. He glanced over at Jade and Yusuke, who were also able to follow. Jade seemed to be having a bit of trouble, and with Yusuke, well…the guy always wore a hood so it was hard to tell what he was looking at. Corey smirked and looked back at the fight.

You can do this, pal. Just concentrate.

******

"You think my father's training was good enough for you, Maison??" Dia shouted over the sounds of metal slamming into one another, "You are a fool! Allow me the pleasure of showing you the strength of a true fire apparition!" He then broke away from the sword match, and held up his right hand, which began to engulf in flames. Derek quickly recognized the attack.

"Fist…of the Mortal Flame!" Dia roared, as the fire seemed to replace his entire arm. Derek glared and switched his katana to his left hand, and began performing the Mortal Flame on his own right hand.

Fire blazed through the arena as the two battlers stared each other down once more, but this time with fire on each of their fists. It seemed like both knew what the other was thinking as they ran at each other once again. The cocked back their fists and swung at the other, both making contact with the other's face.

"Ugh!" Derek said as blood spurted out of his mouth once Dia's fist had made contact.

"Grr…" Dia growled, Derek's fist doing the same. Both jumped away from the other as they breathed deeply. The attacks seemed to do a lot of damage to both, but it seemed that it was more of a pride thing now then anything else.

"Well, Jaganshi…how did that feel?" Derek asked, grinning a little bit despite the blood on his teeth, "Still think I'm not worth fighting?"

"Heh…you are decent, Maison, but no match for me, cause you see…I will always have the advantage." Dia's third eye soon began to pulsate a dark blue color. Derek had no idea what this meant, but he wasn't going to let Dia get him off guard.

The three-eyed demon then threw off his robes, leaving him in pants and a shirt, all black, and a white bandage all the way up his left arm. He began to unravel the white bandage, and Derek gasped as he saw a black tattoo on his arm, looking a lot like the shape of a dragon.

******

"Dia is going to use the Dragon…" Hiei commented quietly. He glanced over at Mukuro, who was watching quietly next to him in their private booth.

"Yes, it would seem he is." Mukuro agreed.

"Derek and Dia are a lot alike, but Derek doesn't know how to use the Dragon of the Darkness Flame. Dia inherited it naturally from me. Derek might not be able to win this match." Hiei rubbed his chin, full of thought. Mukuro picked up on this and smiled at him,

"You'd rather your apprentice win than your son?" she asked putting her arms around him. Hiei smiled lightly,

"I'd rather my son know the feeling of defeat at the hands of his rival, then at one of a true enemy. Dia has never lost a match, except with me, and he needs to find out what it's really like." Hiei gave a light sigh, "If he doesn't…he will never become a true warrior…"

******

Derek took a step back as he felt Dia's demonic power become stronger. There was something…different about it then before.

What the hell is he doing? Derek thought quickly to himself. This new energy was actually frightening Derek. Shaking his head quickly, he held out both of his hands and the Mortal Flame engulfed both of his fists. Dia looked at him and laughed,

"Do you honestly think that the Fist of the Mortal Flame could ever beat…the Dragon of the Darkness Flame??" Dia yelled manically, his teeth showing in his grin.

"What?!" Derek asked in shock. The Dragon of the Darkness Flame? Hiei's special attack? No…way… Derek shook his head, trying to get the thought of his mind.

"That doesn't matter, you bastard! I'll still take you out!" Derek ran at Dia and jumped forward, then began an onslaught of punches with the Mortal Flame going at full force. Unfortunately, no attack seemed to do anything against the other demon. His energy that surrounded him soon turned into black flames, and the Jagan Eye opened fully.

"Now…prepare yourself, Maison, for the Dragon of the Darkness Flame!!"

******

"No! Derek, come on!!" Corey yelled, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, "You can beat some dumb ass dragon!"

"Corey…" Yusuke said quietly, and Corey turned to look at him, "He might not be able too…Derek is strong, yes, but the Black Dragon attack is stronger, especially at Dia's current power level. I…don't think Derek will make it out of this one…"

"You're wrong!" came the voice of Jade, who until this moment had been dead silent. She rose and stared at both Corey and Yusuke, tears rolling down her face, "Derek will win! I know it!"

"Thief…" Corey said quietly, and then looked back to the screen, "I hope you're right…"

******

Derek began to sweat from the immense heat of the flames that were immersing from Dia. The black fire was quickly growing, and giving Derek even less maneuverability in the ring. Dia began to laugh and extended his right arm.

"Here we go, Maison! Welcome to Hell! Dragon…of the Darkness Flame!!"

And then, all Hell truly broke loose.

Through the tattoo on Dia's arm came loose a black dragon, made entirely of black flames. Derek's eyes widened in horror as the dragon was unleashed. He quickly jumped upward, avoiding the first lash out of the dragon. The dragon did not give up so easily, as it turned back around and attacked once again. It even let out a large roar as it attacked. Derek once again dodged, rolling on the ground as he tried to escape.

Dammit!! What the hell?! Why didn't Hiei warn me about this?! Derek thought to himself as he kept trying to avoid the Black Dragon.

I can't keep this up! It's…too powerful!

******

"Derek!!!" Corey and Jade both yelled as they watched their friend barely dodging the fiery dragon. Corey dug his nails into his palm as he clenched his fist. He did it so tight that blood actually began to run down his hand. Jade could barely even watch. Yusuke was silent as he watched the attacks.

He's just like Hiei, that's for sure…but so is Derek. I wonder if he is going to do what I think he might do…

******

"Aaaahhhh!!" Derek cried as the dragon nicked his left arm. It immediately burst into flames as he fell to the ground in pain, clutching it with his right hand. His robes had already burned off, leaving him with his fighting pants and half of a shirt. He continued gripping his arm as he watched the dragon hover around Dia like a bodyguard.

"Well, Maison. How do you like my little friend?" Dia asked, erupting into laughter as Derek just stood there, gripping his arm.

What can I do? I don't have any attack that can pierce that flame…unless… His mind then suddenly sat on the tale of how Hiei had first acquired the dragon.

It was during the Dark Tournament, and Hiei was up against another fire demon. He had out matched him with his fire, leaving Hiei with no option but to summon the Dragon of the Darkness Flame. He had to offer his right arm, but the dragon took the bate and was unleashed upon the other demon. Unfortunately, it left his right arm nearly useless. He prevailed and later mastered the dragon, but not without extended training during tournament breaks.

I don't have the time after this to do that, but I'm pretty sure I have the power to do the first…even without the help of the Jagan Eye… Derek slowly rose to his feet and grinned up at Dia, who looked a little confused at the sudden confidence of his opponent.

"What are you smiling about?" Dia asked, glaring and keeping the dragon at bay for now. Derek smiled and held out his right arm and then began to concentrate.

A small black fire began to spark around his hand and arm.

******

"So…Derek is going to attempt it as well…" Hiei said, staring down at the match, "I hope he knows what he's doing."

"I'm sure he does. He's a smart kid." Mukuro said, watching as well.

******

"Whoa…what's he doing?" Asked Corey, bewildered.

"The Darkness Flame…" Yusuke said simply, just watching. Corey blinked and looked over at him.

"What? But…but Derek doesn't know the Dragon Flame attack, does he??" he asked, and Yusuke shook his head.

"No…he is starting from scratch, just like Hiei did 75 years ago…"

"So…what will happen?" asked Jade, staring up at Yusuke, but he didn't respond. Jade bit her lip and looked back at the screen. Corey stared at her for a moment and then also looked back.

"Derek…don't do anything stupid…"

******

"You're not honestly going to try and use the same technique that I am, are you Maison??" Dia yelled, still holding the dragon. Derek grit his teeth, and soon the flame in his hand grew to the extent of his arm.

"Of…course. If it's really…the only way to beat you…" Derek said, struggling to talk. It was taking all his energy to conjure up this power, and he needed just a little more time.

"I wont let you!!" Dia screamed, and sent the dragon to attack Derek. It roared and went, but as it was just about to hit, a black flame erupted around Derek, and the dragon seemed to be reflected against it.

"Now!! Dragon… of… the Darkness… Flame!!!" Derek roared, and thrust his arm forward, his own black dragon flying out of it with a loud roar.

The two dragons met and spiraled around one another in the air, black fire going everywhere. The referee had already retreated to a safe area, but at the moment it seemed no spot was safe from the two Black Dragons. The roared and literally battled another in the air.

"You can't beat me, Maison!! I…I've mastered the Dragon!!" Dia yelled, as it seemed that his dragon was losing.

"That doesn't matter, Jaganshi!! I…I will win!!" Derek gave the dragon one last boost of power, and it then proceeded to swallow the other dragon, and then blast down upon Dia. The flames of the dragon then spread to Derek, getting him too.

******

"Damn it! Derek!" Corey yelled, jumping up out of his seat and running somewhere.

"Corey!! Where're you going?" Yelled Jade, following him.

"To go help Derek!" The two then ran off, leaving Yusuke watching them go. He smiled to himself and then looked back to the screen.

******

Am…am I dead? Derek thought to himself, but soon found that he was being lifted up. He opened his eyes and saw that it was Corey who was doing it.

"C-corey?" Derek asked, confused on what was going on. Corey looked at him and grinned.

"What's up, Dragon Boy?" Corey asked, smiling at him. Jade was next to him, also helping get Derek to his right balance.

"Derek…I'm so glad you're okay…" she said, near tears. Derek smiled at her and then looked around.

"Where's Dia?" he asked, and they all looked over at where Dia lay, unconscious. Derek smirked and nodded, "Good…"

"Well, pal, it looks like you and me both got into the semi-finals." Corey stated, "So…you have until tomorrow to really get ready. Derek? Derek?" He looked down, seeing his friend passed out from the stress on his body.

"Aw, well. I'll take on the rest." Corey smiled, and then he and Jade helped carry their friend back to a place to rest.