Chapter : Things are really… HEATING up!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Zatch Bell or anything relating to it. I just made Sorella, Rita, Lance, and so on, so please don't take them.
Author's note: (snickers at bad joke in chapter title) Anyways, I dunno if I mentioned, but this event takes place about… two weeks after Sorella left Brago and Sherry… I dunno if I mentioned that or not, but yeah, there it is. That means that she's learned some new spells, but how strong they are… (shifty eyes) You may be surprised… (laughs behind a fan) HO HO HO! ^_^
Also, thanks to my friend Mukai-sama for providing me with some written material regarding Kumara's fighting style, which I incorporated into my own writing! So it's kind of a co-written chapter, so props to her! (tosses confetti for collaboration)
"Kumara..." Tsunam said, sighing in exasperation as he watched said fire demon flip through the book. "I leave you alone for 10 minutes and you steal some poor girl's book!"
"You make that sound like that's the worst thing I've ever done," Kumara said, making his cousin roll his eyes.
"I hope she catches you. Getting a few smacks upside your head would probably help."
Kumara picked up a rock and threw it at Tsunam, hitting him square in the forehead.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"To shut you up. I don't want to get found this early. There's no fun in that," Kumara said, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
Tsunam mumbled a curse under his breath, as he rubbed his forehead. "So, how long are you going to keep her book?"
Kumara shrugged, answering with a, "Depends on how fast I get bored."
Tsunam sighed, "I'll be leaving then. I'm not gonna be used as a scapegoat in this."
With a swirl of golden colored flames, Tsunam was gone, leaving Kumara to snicker slightly to himself, looking over the book with the strange language he couldn't read within. After a moment of this, he seemed to get bored and also vanished, but in a swirl of red flames.
It seemed he had gotten bored with waiting around...
Meanwhile, a very angry half-breed mamodo was grumbling to herself, followed by an evil aura that made children she passed eep in terror and hide behind their mothers.
"Dude just shows up, makes ridiculous remarks, claiming he only wants to have a conversation, steals my spell book, and RUNS away like a coward! What kind of ill mannered bimbo wants a conversation, steals a girl's bag, and then runs away?" Sorella was cursing to herself, making a few people look at her worriedly, like she was some crazy person.
She probably was.
Sorella hissed angrily, hating to admit she was near enough useless presently without her spell book, not to mention vulnerable. The very idea of a FIRE demon holding her SPELL BOOK, which, if BURNT, would send her back to her world... argh, the thought made her insides crawl like worms!
"Y'know, stealing this book isn't as fun without you actually trying to find me," Kumara said, hanging upside down from a light pole. "Oh, and by the way, don't you think calling me a bimbo is going a little too far?"Kumara grinned, watching Sorella's expression turn from surprise to utter rage.
"YOOOOOUUUUUUU!" Sorella screamed as she launched herself bodily at Kumara, aiming a punch towards him.
"Uh oh!" Kumara laughed as he leapt away from her easily. Sorella's fist sent the pole crashing down to the sidewalk, cracking the cement. "Whoa, you might wanna be more careful there, girly! You could seriously injure someone."
"I WILL CRUSH YOU!" Sorella yelled as she ran at Kumara again.
However, she skidded to a halt, digging her heels into the pavement, when Kumara smirked and held her white book aloft, tossing her bag towards her.
"Now, whatever shall I do with this, hmm?" He jumped up to another light pole farther away from Sorella, bright red eyes dancing with mischief as he added, "For someone who wants her book back, you're sure not putting the effort in. I mean seriously, I thought you would figure out I have no interest in burning your book."
Said book was being tossed in the air, and the look in Kumara's eyes was daring Sorella to try to make a dash for it.
"Why the hell are you bothering me like this?" Sorella snapped, bright, golden eyes glaring at him like a demon from the underworld.
"I'm just doing this for kicks. Hell, most of the trouble I cause is for fun."The mischievous grin was back on Kumara's face."So make this interesting, girly. Otherwise I just might change my mind about burning your book."
Sorella scoffed but then an idea popped into her head. A wickedly devilish smirk stretched across her face as she crossed her arms and peered up at Kumara mockingly.
"So, you want things to be interesting, huh? Well then, why aren't you giving me my spell book?"
Kumara raised an eyebrow, "Why should I do that?"
"Well," Sorella said innocently. "What fun can it be to be chased by a girl with nothing more than average body strength? I mean," Sorella smiled almost sweetly up at him. "A demon with as strong a power as yours, I just wouldn't compare at all to you without being able to fight properly."
Kumara was silent, eyes slowly widening, and his longish red hair shimmering red in the sunlight, soft strands gleaming. Sorella could tell he was slightly intrigued.
"There's absolutely no possible way I could retrieve my book what with your amazing ability to vanish in swirling flames, so why should I bother at all?"
Sorella's voice was gradually getting smaller and less confident, yet her eyes twinkled with "admiration," or so she pretended. Sorella fought with every urge in her body to smirk mockingly at him right then, to not roll her eyes, and to not make a snide comment.
"Wouldn't it be a fairer fight if I could fight to the best of my abilities? Not that I would have any more of a chance at being on your level, but it would be more interesting... and I could get to see more of your powers, they are so cool!"
Kumara stared at Sorella, eyes surveying her every move. Hm...Well, I might 's well take the bait. Fighting her at full strength might actually be interesting.
"Here," Kumara said, tossing the book and jumping back a considerable distance. "But I should warn you that the flames I use aren't anchored to me."
Fireballs surrounded Kumara, slowly circling around him before flying over to Sorella.
"They move wherever I will them to. Keep that in mind as you fight me," he said, dispelling the flames with a snap of his fingers.
Sorella smirked as her fingers closed around the familiar shape of her square book, relaxing again now it was in her possession. She sighed and looked towards Kumara.
"Okay then..." she said with a glare. It abruptly shifted into a goofy grin. "Bye!" Sorella waved and made to run for it when Kumara yelled out, irked.
Flames flew past Sorella's side, stopping her dead in her tracks and Kumara growled, "You wanted to fight, so we're fighting."
Sorella glared at Kumara over her shoulder. She opened her spell book with a sharp flick and said in a hushed tone, "Very well then, you fiery fool. Just don't go regretting this."
Kumara smirked. "I could say the same to you!"
"Amu Ramare Shizaruk!" Sorella cried as her book flared with a white light.
Gleaming copper seemed to materialize out of nowhere, almost pouring from her elbows and all the way down her skin in intricate, elegant twists and designs, finally covering all of her fingers in lethal points. White light oozed from the claws in dense power.
"This certainly is interesting!" Kumara laughed.
The air around Kumara began heating up, flames forming a barrier around the two of them. A scythe appeared in Kumara's hand, blazing with blue fire instead of the red flames he himself created.
"I'll let you attack first," Kumara said, watching Sorella carefully.
Sorella wore a sneering grin of almost arrogance. "Then you really are as dumb as you look!"
And she vanished. Kumara's eyes narrowed as he looked around for her, but then a twinge in the back of his neck urged him to turn around.
Sorella was speeding towards him with great agility, copper claws gleaming gold from the blaze of his fire. Sorella lunged, but barely made a sliver of a cut on the cloth of his sleeve. Kumara smiled arrogantly as he swerved from her claws quickly.
"Damn," Sorella cursed as she flexed her copper claws, surprised by his evasion.
"Wow! You are fast!" Kumara laughed. "My turn!"
Sorella swore as she narrowly dodged Kumara's blue, blazing blade, a deadly and accurate weapon. She also cursed herself for underestimating him, thinking he wouldn't have enough brains to continuously attack her book.
Which he was now doing. Sorella was forced into the defensive and that pissed her off. GREATLY.
"GRAWR, you're annoying!" she cried as she called a new spell, abandoning her close range claws. "Soruzana!"
A long copper katana seemed to pour from Sorella's palm as she stowed her book safely into her book bag, the small opening in the back allowing her to transfer heart energy as well as keep her hands available for movement. The hilt curved downward like a fang and the guard slightly curved over her hands.
"Take this!" she yelled as thick white energy flowed along the center of the blade. Sorella leapt into the air and swung her sword down upon him, which Kumara easily blocked, but she smirked. The white energy was thrust away from the blade, smacking into him, but also sending Sorella backwards.
Her eyes narrowed, trying to see through the smoke and flames of the impact, waiting and listening for his next move, not even sure if the attack connected.
The smoke cleared, revealing Kumara in his demon form. He was six feet tall with thick, dark red fur. He resembled something of a werewolf fox, and had a long, bushy tail with matching hair. On his head were three sets of ears accompanied with piercings, and claws on his pawed hands and feet.
There was a deep cut on his shoulder, blood matting within his thick fur. With a swirl of flames, the scythe disappeared, and he lowered down onto his hands. He charged at her on all fours, fangs glistening evilly in the light cast by the flames surrounding.
Sorella stood there, very still, with quite an expressionless face as Kumara went after her in a form quite beastlike.
Silence...
"WHAT THE HELL?" she randomly exclaimed as she pulled her spell book out, ceasing the Soruzana spell, knowing it would have been futile to attack Kumara with it considering his size, and the thickness of his fur.
Kumara roared and made a snap at her with his massive fangs but she quickly darted away, kicking off from his shoulder to leap behind him. She twirled around, book glowing brightly.
"FINE, YOU CHEATER!" she yelled, furious that he had another, far more powerful form... that called for a another, far more powerful spell… one she recently acquired after five days of nonstop training to get it. "Shin Akela Inaridire!"
White light erupted like a geyser from her spell book and almost from her very core. Sorella swore to herself in anger, furious that this guy had made her use her recent, strongest attack spell, that little mischievous creep! Oh, but would he get it!
Wolves made of white light with gleaming copper fangs and claws surrounded her, all in large size, the smallest wolf's shoulder reaching Sorella's head, and the biggest being the size of a skyscraper... not that she knew what that was just yet.
"KILL THAT BASTARD!" she roared, lunging along with the wolves towards the beast-like Kumara who grinned a canine grin of malice. He flexed his claws and his eyes gleamed with anticipation for victory.
He swiped a gigantic clawed paw through one wolf, dissolving it, and spun around, slashing Sorella on her left arm, thankfully not the one holding her book, which she tucked securely under her arm. She cried out in pain as blood streamed from her arm and into the air like a red ribbon in the wind.
In response, her largest wolf snarled with a bone chilling ferocity, clamping down on Kumara's already wounded shoulder with luminescent copper canines. Crimson blood spurted from between the wolf's teeth and its lip curled monstrously in anger that Kumara had wounded Sorella.
Kumara snarled and Sorella swung her fist backwards and pushed it towards his muzzle, punching him in the face. Kumara hissed and a hand the size of her body slammed her down, palm pressing her into the ground as the rest of her light wolves bit viciously into Kumara's blazing red pelt.
"Take that, you bastard!" Sorella hissed through her pain as well as constricted breathing. Not that she was in a position to be making smart-allecky remarks... she was extremely low on heart energy, wounded greatly, and in a position she did not like one bit.
Kumara glared down at her, upper lip curling in defiance, as if to say, "You think I'm finished? Keep up the fight, little girl! I still have more to give!"
Sorella was really getting annoyed with this "little girl" crap.
He pushed Sorella down into the street, which cracked from the pressure. Sorella coughed and lifted one hand. In a sweeping motion, Sorella guided something towards Kumara's throat. A wolf she had deliberately held back lunged towards him, aiming for the vital area of Kumara's throat. With a last, withering, foreboding look of fury, Kumara leapt backwards from Sorella and the wolf out of necessity.
Any wolves already biting him released him and swarmed around Sorella defensively. One pressed its nose to her heart and it was as if she were swallowing its light. Sorella felt warmth run throughout her veins and thanked the wolf in her heart. Her wounds may not have been healed, but because her heart energy wolf went back to her, she had the strength to stand and counter Kumara's upcoming attacks.
Kumara growled and her wolves snarled fiercely in response, snapping their maws savagely, bushy tails swishing back and forth.
Kumara shook himself, causing blood to fly off in random directions. Where the blood landed, it sizzled and melted the places it landed on. He braced himself on the concrete before letting out a loud roar. Nothing happened at first, but then the temperature began to become drastically hotter.
Heat waves formed, and soon, plants were beginning to wither, nearby cars were showing signs of slight melting, and it was as if the ground became an oven. Kumara's body temperature had soared so much, that it affected the area around him.
The claws on his hands and feet glowed red-hot, as if fire burned inside them. Kumara could see Sorella and the wolves clearly despite the heat waves, but he was sure that she couldn't see him. He could use the shimmering areas to his advantage. He crouched low, and dashed forward to attack.
On the other hand, while Kumara was completely at ease with the temperature, Sorella flinched in fear from the heat, holding her white spell book close to her chest. The air around her scorched her skin and the warm blood from the wound on her arm steadily oozed down her arm.
Sorella cursed under her breath as she heard Kumara's massive paws pounding against the earth towards her, though she couldn't see him.
"Go!" she yelled at one of the wolves, who immediately leapt into the hot, vision blurring air to smell out Kumara. "YOU MAY BE ABLE TO HIDE YOURSELF FROM MY VISION!" Sorella called out, golden amber eyes blazing determinedly, shining almost red from the light of the fire. The caramel streaks in her long hair shined golden red from the flames swirling closer and closer.
She smirked satisfactorily when Kumara lunged at her out of nowhere, but with a luminescent wolf clawing and biting and clinging to the heavy fur on the back of Kumara's neck. Sorella flexed her fingers before curling them into a fist.
"But you can't hide that stink from me!" she snarled as she ran forward to punch Kumara in his stomach, wolves howling eerily. "WE CAN SMELL YOU!"
Kumara let a gasp of breath hiss from his clenched fangs as her mamodo strength forced him to skid backwards. One or two droplets of fell from the tips of his red fur and landed on the back of Sorella's fist.
Sorella screamed in pain as the blood burned like acid on her skin and quickly wiped it off on the ground where it sizzled into nonexistence. She winced in pain as the terrible burns on her skin bloomed like flowers in the spring.
"I should have known even your blood would be freakish..."
Kumara's following growl seemed like a chuckle, which caused Sorella to smirk in his direction.
"You're much stronger than I anticipated..." Sorella hissed as she flinched from the heat now warming her cheek like a fiery hand.
Kumara's wolfish head seemed to jerk in agreement, eyes gleaming of arrogance. This pissed Sorella off and she ran forward, hopefully distracting him.
"But not at all on my level!" she sneered as her largest wolf fell down upon Kumara from above, she having sent it on top of a close building.
Sorella thrust her palm out towards Kumara, yelling, "Jiusenuga!" a solid beam of white light charged forward like an arrow towards Kumara who was grappling with the white, copper fanged wolf now biting ferociously into Kumara's wounded shoulder once again.
Kumara's head swiveled in the direction of the beam of light and the curved hand blade once again appeared. The silvery blue metal was struck by the beam and a resonating sound like a bell pierced through the air before the beam was redirected into the open air, darting into nothingness.
Sorella snarled under her breath. So he could use that flame scythe in his demonic form as well, eh?
Sorella gasped when Kumara somehow managed to throw off the wolf and Sorella charged again as Kumara aimed to injure it. She darted in front of the wolf, crossing her arms over the other to take the slash from the claws rather than have her wolf injured. Simultaneously, she and the large white wolf bounced away from Kumara to join the others waiting in the back.
Sorella winced as she felt the fresh wound pulse out more blood and felt her heart energy growing weaker and weaker. But she also felt satisfaction when she saw the dripping wounds on Kumara, particularly his shoulder, left from her wolves and herself.
A bruise also accumulated on Kumara's stomach, despite the many layers of muscle. Sorella smirked.
"Well, well, well… look who got injured from the punch of a girl!" she hoped to rile him up into a rage where he wouldn't think as much through insults.
Kumara bared his teeth, pacing a bit as he planned out his next move. He limped a little bit, keeping as much pressure off of his left arm as possible. He straightened himself up suddenly, summoning his weapon with a flurry of flames. He launched an arc of flames that stretched out as it hurtled towards Sorella and the wolves. He then ran behind the arc, weapon held at the ready.
Only too late did she notice Kumara's eyes gleaming malevolently from behind, blue scythe raised in an attack. Sorella clenched her teeth as she flung her book into her bag, pressing it close to her thigh as Kumara swung the weapon downward, the blade etching a fine line into her leg as she rolled from the blade.
Sorella crouched in that position for a moment, panting, glaring at Kumara who's chest was heaving also, though not nearly as much as she would have liked... he wasn't as tired out as she wanted...
"Your appearance doesn't do you justice you know!" Sorella mocked. "I thought you were very stupid at first!"
Kumara growled low in his throat, tossing the weapon in the air before catching it again swiftly. Sorella looked around, considering... she was nearing the end of her heart power... she could stall for time, build some up… but that would only give her minutes at the most… she would need a space in which Kumara wouldn't be able to reach her... how could she be sheltered and attack at the same time?
Sorella suddenly smirked. She had an idea! Sorella took a deep breath and hoped she could stall Kumara enough while she built up heart energy. Either way, she thought. Kumara will attack...
Kumara noticed the smirk on Sorella's face. He knew she was up to something, so he decided to humor her. But he wasn't going to play along without scoring a hit. He dashed forward again, waiting to see what Sorella would do.
"Difisa Ramare!" Sorella said with a slight laugh as molten copper poured from her hands, a few wolves vanishing as she did so.
After all, it was unusual to have more than one spell activated. Rare, as a matter of fact... but since her wolves were basically heart energy turned solid (in a matter of speaking seeing as they were made of light), she could transfer that energy into another spell while keeping some wolves in the open.
The liquid copper, guided by Sorella's hand, seemed to wrap around Sorella's crouching form like a cloak. It encased her, hid her from view save for a miniscule slit from behind which her eyes could be seen.
Kumara lunged towards her, confident his claws would breach the flimsy looking shield.
"Got you," Sorella whispered quietly to herself as she weakened the metal on which Kumara had attacked.
Kumara's clawed hand was sunken into the thick layer of slightly weakened metal and remained there as Sorella hardened it once his hand was submerged. Sorella moved the copper behind her to encase Kumara's hand further as well as allowing her to step out of the spherical shield.
"Forrareusen Difisiacelare!" she yelled almost triumphantly as she slammed a palm down on the metal.
Instantaneously metal spikes shot upward and into Kumara's entrapped arm, piercing into his fur. He howled with rage while Sorella pressed on, white light from her book dimming. The spikes impaled past Kumara's thick, defensive fur and blood dribbled down the spikes, melting them away, causing it to burn Kumara's fur and melt the metal in the red strands.
"You... shouldn't be... so quick to attack, Kumara," Sorella panted with a smile as Kumara went down on one knee, growling in anger as the copper faded rapidly like her heart energy.
She was near depleted and had no more left to even call her weakest spell. But she would still attack, Sorella decided, as her last remaining wolf dissolved in the air, the copper containing Kumara somewhat weakening. She could still land a punch...
"Besides," she said in a manner that sounded as if she had been holding her breath for a while. "Both of us are severely injured. We're getting tired, and..." her golden eyes blazed. "I won't back down. I hate to lose, you see."
Kumara growled in response, trying to pry himself from the melting copper.
After a few seconds of useless prying, Kumara sighed and the temperature dropped to normal and the flames dispersed.
"I'll agree that we're both tired, but I see that little gleam in your eyes," he said, surprising Sorella.
"You can talk in that form too?" she screeched.
"Of course I can. All fire demons retain weapons and speech in this form. What made you think otherwise?" Kumara said in a smug, teasing manner. "Anyway, I digress...I'm willing to call it a draw if you are. But if you try sucker-punching me, I'll knock you halfway across the city."
Sorella's mouth hung open and then she rose very quickly, storming over to Kumara.
"What? I... I can still... fight you..." she sighed, shaking a fist, before she fell, face first, down on the ground from over exhaustion, at which time the spell ended abruptly, and Kumara shook his furry arm.
Kumara tapped Sorella on her shoulder and she half lifted her arm. "Just try to send... me... across the city... I will knock... your block off!" she said in a voice barely over a whisper. "I just... need a few... seconds..."
Kumara licked his bleeding arm. "Yeah, I'd like to see you try," he said."I'd fry up your book before you could even hit me."
"You're… annoying me…" was her tired sigh.
His tail slipped underneath Sorella, and lifted her up so that she was lying on it like a hammock. "You don't have to worry about me scorching you. I'm way too tired to raise up my body temperature that high."
Sorella's head twitched as if trying to get rid of an irksome fly at the thought of tying with Kumara at a battle. She hated losing. Sorella raised her hand and lightly thunked Kumara on the shoulder. Richard raised an eyebrow and Kumara just stared.
"Ha ha, final blow!" Sorella teased before she closed her eyes, somewhat resentfully, and her breathing turned slow.
Kumara rolled his eyes and lightly tapped Sorella's forehead.
"Did she just fall asleep in the arms..." Kumara asked himself before pausing. "Er, tail, of the enemy?"
After a moment of thinking to himself he gave up and just decided to go find a place to rest.
"Meh, she's exhausted. She must have spent a lot of heart energy fighting me," Kumara said, as he walked off.
His tail was held rigid to keep Sorella from falling. Kumara continued walking until he came to a park that was full of trees. He found a hill with a space big enough to him to fit. He carefully climbed into the space, making sure he didn't crush Sorella, and warmed up his body temperature to warm the both of them. Soon he fell asleep, the two of them resting in a peaceful manner despite the fiery battle that had transpired between them.