The flames continued to crack and roar and blast sparks into the air even after Hanabikai had cancelled the attack. Everything was in drifting flames. The fire popped wildly, pooling the sky with wisps of black smoke.
I wonder… Hanabikai pondered in his thoughts, staring carefully into the red and yellow flames that cackled loudly, the bright light spilling to the bodies of trees and Hanabikai's face all around. Did he make it?
In the flaming depth, an eighteen year old boy was bending down on one knee, his back turned to the direction of where the fire came from, his chest heavily breathing and back and skin charred and burnt. That didn't turn out as well as I thought it would, he thought, taking deep breaths, in and out, in and out. Eric coughed out smoke as he resumed his heavy breathing, his heartbeat calming. The heat around him dissolved with hisses reluctantly.
"Looks like you beat it," Hanabikai announced, a bit proud, his powerful, confident brown eyes staring into the slow-dying fire.
"Compress and hold, right?" Eric stated, flashing a friendly smile as he continued to take deep breaths, his chest expanding and deflating over and over again in a continuous pattern.
Looks like he did learn in time after all and he learned it pretty quickly if I do say so myself. Look at him. He escaped one of my strongest attacks with only a burnt back and arms. This guy has some endurance and power if he could do that. He was actually beating me for a second there. "That's enough, let's get back," Hanabikai declared, turning his back on the flames and walking into the green, unharmed forest.
"Really?" Eric asked, standing back on his feet, his breaths small and steady now, his eyes shining with disbelief.
"Yeah, really," Hanabikai assured, turning his head back so Eric could see one side of his face, then turned back around to walk.
PoVS
As the wind began to pick up in the grassy plains and dirt roads, Shintenmaru panted slightly, almost losing his breath. He came into sight from a large area of flying dust on a patch of rock he had brought to life using the Life Element. This guy's good…for a beginner, he thought, pushing up his glasses to straighten them out, kneeling on one knee as the platform taken from the ground lifted him in the air higher at a slow, steady pace. Time to show him one of my moves then, Shintenmaru declared in the depth of his private thoughts.
He opened his mouth, and let a huge, snaking dragon made completely out of his own life energy come out. The dragon was brightly lit with a shade of white, outlined with a sort of holy yellow, the piercing eyes of it godly gold.
The dragon had two stick like arms that came from its sides and growled hungrily, as if ready for lunch. It linked to the inside of Shintenmaru's mouth and the depths of his soul, ready to return whenever in danger. "Go," Shintenmaru mumbled without closing his teeth, his voice coming out blunt.
The dragon followed directions obediently and crashed into the area of rising dust and smoke. It crashed into the ground and clattered stones everywhere, creating more implosion of dust everywhere.
"You're not the only one who can use dragons," Daniel, the Life Minor's voice rang in from a different direction.
Surprised, Shintenmaru looked up to find the read headed Minor standing on a thin tree branch among the dirty smoke. He had red hair styled to a down spiky version at the front, and rectangular glasses that glowed in the sunlight. Even with the similarities of his to mine, he'll never compare to my power, Shintenmaru thought, drawing back the dragon from the smoke as it began to clear.
"What're you talking about boy?" Shintenmaru mumbled out in the same blunt voice, as if he were a mentally challenged person speaking.
"This," Daniel said not as bluntly, placing what seemed to be one of his many cards that he carried around onto the body of the tree next to him. It glowed with bright white light, and tremendous energy poured from it. As the card continued to illuminate strongly, Daniel called out, "Japanese Devil Serpent!"
On cue, a long, purple snake-like serpent flew out of the card as if it were a portal from another world. It had narrow, darkness piercing eyes with a rigid snake skin and had short, stick like arms at its side too, just like Shintenmaru's Soul Dragon. It had deviant, dark purple wings and wore a small black cloak with the Japanese letter for "Death" inscribed in a circle on the back of it. It hissed wildly, as if threatening the Soul Dragon, its eyes pinning right through it, intimidating anyone with its petrifying stare.
By now, the smoke had cleared away, and both snaking animals traded hard stares. The serpent was the one to strike first, forcing the soul dragon to follow. Their bodies intertwined in a prison of hate, neither of them giving up one bit of mercy.
The dragon tried hard to win, but in the end the serpent's devilled strength shattered it into specks of light, the serpent's body now limp with nothing to lock onto.
"That's not going to stop my dragon," Shintenmaru declared, his voice still blunt. As proof to his words, the specks of white and yellow light grouped together again and formed the original dragon, ready to fight again any moment.
Then, Shintenmaru swallowed back the dragon, believing that he no longer needed it. The dragon waved like a whip as it followed direction, and sunk back into the Life Council's stomach. Afterwards, Shintenmaru gave a readied stare at the purple serpent threatening him, hissing and screeching at him in agony of the guilty.
"Go ahead," Daniel informed the serpent, knowing what it intended to do. The serpent hissed in reply and charged right after Shintenmaru, missing as he spun away on his patch of rock.
The snaking body of the Devil's Serpent passed by Shintenmaru, and began to circle him, trying to trap Shintenmaru in a lock of purple. Shintenmaru, not attempting to give up easily, placed his hand on the serpent's body as it continued to snake around like a chain.
As precious seconds passed by, the purple skin of the serpent began to thicken and harden, the evil purple turning into a statue's gray. "What?" Daniel cried out in disbelief. No way… what is he doing to it? Daniel thought.
As Daniel cried out more wondering thoughts in his private space he calls his mind, the purple snake-like reptile froze completely, its skin turning into nothing but cold gray and rocky stone. Now, the snake was a lifeless statue, remaining stationary, unable to move.
"You're going to have to try better than that," Shintenmaru declared, picking his hand up from the stone monument of what used to be an attempt of murder.
"Who said I was done?" Daniel shot back, at the same time Shintenmaru noticing something glowing brightly near him.
"What?" Shintenmaru cried out as he noticed the card on the back of the serpent, shining brightly in its glory, Shintenmaru realizing what it was for. Shit! Shintenmaru thought as his eyes widened in shock.
A nanosecond after Shintenmaru's thought, the card exploded, blowing up everything around it, the serpent statue, and the Life Council.
A cloud of dust formed around the scene as Daniel watched, still standing on that thin, supporting branch through his rectangular glasses. The clattering of stone echoed off the trees and pieces of it began falling from the cloud of dust and destruction. They clattered on the hard, dirt ground, different parts of the snake's body including its head.
Shintenmaru finally came into view after a matter of seconds on a new patch of rock, his body unsteady on the thing. "I'll give you one thing," Shintenmaru said as he floated away from the attack and farther away from Daniel. The Life Minor said nothing and just continued to stare at Shintenmaru. "It's a good idea to use cards and bring them to life using your element. But you've got to learn to be able to fight with out your cards as well."
Daniel took his words into consideration for a moment's notice, and then stared back, his lips not moving at all, as if they were frozen.
"Still wondering how I turned your serpent into stone, huh? Maybe if you experience it, you'll have a better idea of what it is," Shintenmaru said, his face showing a slight chuckle as he lifted his glasses again, the bright sunlight reflecting off the rectangular spectacles.
"What…?" Daniel muttered confusedly and a little angrily. He held onto the bark of the thick tree just in case and stared harder at Shintenmaru.
"Soul Cannon!" Shintenmaru declared as he sat in a frog position on the patch of rock. In seconds, a giant sphere of white light tinted with golden yellow seemed to pull out from Shintenmaru's back, and then zoom past him and towards Daniel at an amazing speed.
I can't dodge it! Daniel thought, backing away the only distance he could. The light of the attack spilled all over his face and soon, he was overtaken by the attacking sphere. Being that the tree he was standing on was one of the few in the grassy plains, the attack knocked Daniel down to the soft grass, making him land on his back and dust cover his clothes.
Daniel coughed as dirt began to pool around him, the hot sun above blazing upon his face. In a flash, Shintenmaru appeared right on top of Daniel, leaning over him, taking him by his neck, staring hard into his eyes with a cold, deathly stare.
He soon began to choke him, the grip on Daniel's neck becoming tighter and tighter, Daniel suddenly feeling weak and helpless, unable to move his arms. His neck began to feel like it was being solidified, and was becoming numb. The color of grayness pooled around Shintenmaru's fingers' places on his neck, the depressing gray soon taking over.
Daniel's breathing soon became short and weary, his body feeling as if it were hard to breathe at all. Daniel winced and stared up to Shintenmaru with one eye, who only had an expressionless look painted on his face. Crap… how can I get this guy off of me? Daniel thought as he felt his breath grow shorter and shorter by the second.
PoVS
Deep in the forest, Dylan, otherwise known as the Botanical Minor, dodged a ball of light and jumped to a tree branch. As he sensed another one come at him, he jumped to midair, right above the tree.
"Got you!" the sound of Kakori, the Botany Council cried out. Dylan looked up and found another sphere of illumination coming at him, and being unable to move in midair, the attack surely knocked him down, pummeling him into the ground.
The attack was a direct hit and got Dylan's breath heavy and tired. He got up, not giving up, staring hard at Kakori's place way above. Kakori was nestled on this huge, gigantic rose that stretched all the way before the clouds in the sky, so close it looked like he could touch the sun. The thick, long stem he was being supported with was almost indestructible, and Kakori looked down on the poor, tired Minor from his place on one of the many petals on the rose. His tied back, only a little longer than usual hair was as dark and envy green as ever. His eyes were pale and empty, while Dylan's were green and lively.
"What's the matter? Why do you seem like you're holding back?" Kakori interrogated from above, his voice echoing downward.
"It just doesn't seem right to hurt a Council Member," Dylan lied through open lips, his breath heavy and his skin tired and marked.
"Heh," Kakori scoffed. "If you're going to think like that, you know you're going to die, right?" Kakori's voice boomed. On cue, thick, raging vines came out in a flood at once, surfacing from the rich ground below. They came at Dylan like a crashing tsunami, and totally enveloped him in the attack. The thorny spines of the vines was sure to make deep cuts into his skin.
To Dylan, the spikes stung like poison on his skin, trapping him in a dark cage of despair, his body being sandwiched between the dirty, unclean ground and a layer of thick, branching, thorny vines.
Was this guy even worth picking for the botany half spirit? Kakori thought as his head was supported with his right hand. His eyes were a bit disappointed to see the low rate of the Minor. An old tree branch's stick lied between his lips, hanging low in boredom.
"Don't underestimate me!" Dylan's voice roared from below, his booming voice crashing against everything it could find. On cue, a huge blast of light ripped open a gigantic hole in the sea of vines, providing space for Dylan to stand. After the huge wave of light that blasted so high, it even went up to Kakori's height in the air, Dylan was standing there in the open space, his breath heavy and tired, his skin worn out and beaten, his back slouched from tiredness.
Well, I'll give him this, he's got spunk, Kakori thought in his mind as he stared down, almost interested. He sighed, not letting the branch in his mouth fall and closed his eyes. Will this ever get more exciting? The one time I'm outside in so long and this guy has to make it not worth my while. Kakori thought. His eyes remind me of mine, he realized. If so, then he can probably win.
Below, Dylan looked up, staring hard at the stalk of a flower, his arm wounds spilling blood down his limbs, his skin worn out. "Hey," Kakori challenged. "Let's see how much stamina you have left in you. Needle Vine!" Kakori's voice boomed. Right after his statement, a needle-like vine raced from the floor and stabbed Dylan right through the heart. The sudden attack caused his eyes to widen ten times over and cough out blood and wince.
Looks like the amount wasn't high at all, Kakori realized, becoming even more bored. He sighed again. Will I ever find something more fun than this boring job? He thought as he looked at the sun, having a plan for Dylan all set but deciding that he never had to use it at this point. "Hm?" he mumbled under his breath as he looked down to find something surprising.
The green vine that struck through his heart remained, but the color had drained from Dylan's face and skin, and it was nothing but a wooden sculpture of the real Minor. "A wooden copy?" Kakori noticed. "Maybe there's some hope for him after all," he mumbled.
The wooden copy fell over, splitting in half as the real Dylan was nowhere to be found.
Away from the scene and the sea of vines that still remained limp on the floor, Dylan sat, his back against the back of a tree, cooling shade resting upon him, trying to calm him. His heavy breathing echoed off the surrounding trees, and he had to figure out a plan – and fast.
To cure his tiredness, he brought up a plant from the floor that had a short stem and held a big leaf containing health water in it. Dylan broke off the leaf and drank from it. He threw the leaf onto the grassy ground beside him and stared back, trying to see what Kakori was doing. His heavy breathing had not been cured, but he wouldn't give up just yet. He was only inches away from a brilliant plan. Hopefully. I don't have much time, he realized. I need to think of something. And fast.
I looked up as I tried to ponder in my thoughts, and found the sun directly overhead, blasting at full power on my face, almost blinding to my eyes. Wait… the sun! The sun! Dylan realized, looking up in realization. It's not in the right place! And its way too intense than before. Only a half hour ago was it just rising, but now it's overhead? I haven't moved towards it. Not enough time has passed for it to move such a distance in the sky. Could it be…? Let's hope so. Aside from that, I don't have much power left. For now, I'll have to rely on this.
Dylan took a deep breath and waited. Then, he spit out a seed from his throat, the wet, sticky, bead-like seed glimmering in the faint yet wide sunlight. Then, he threw it towards Kakori's direction, the seed right away exploding after it made impact with solid ground. It exploded with fire, burning away vines and catching Kakori's attention.
Is he stupid? Kakori thought. Does he want me to catch him? The smoke from the explosion soon cleared after lighting the ocean of vines up in flames. Really, this kid…
When the smoke disappeared and died out, a large, whipping, Venus fly-trap looking plant raised high in the sky, almost as tall as Kakori's rose. "Eh? That's a new one," Kakori stared at the plant bluntly, just a bit excited. In any case, it's too easy. The plant came with an open mouth, wilted pieces of plant stem for teeth, revealing a large, hungry tongue underneath.
Kakori put out his hand, and called out, "Light Scatter," in the most bored way imaginable. Light flusters into the fist that was put out, and seemed to charge up as a sphere. Shining specks of multi colored light poured from the light sphere and began to fill the surrounding area around the plant. The light specks became stronger and stronger until the plan falls to the floor, weak and limp, it saliva pooling around its head like a puddle.
He gave the plan a seizure… Dylan realized in awe, his heavy panting picking up, now standing in clear sight, coming into view as soon as the dust around the plant cleared from its collision. I have one more shot at this left.
"There you are," Kakori yelled out, noticing Dylan standing right there, not even trying to hide his presence anymore. "I was beginning to wonder where you were," he said through boredom.
Dylan didn't reply to his echoing comments from sky high and took in a deep breath, stopping his continuous inhaling and exhaling. His deep breath filled his stomach, and caused his chest to rise three times over. "Stun Pollen!" Dylan cried out as he let out his breath in a stream, a golden orange cloud being released except carbon dioxide. The gas filled the whole air and glittered in the overly bright sunlight. It rose up towards the sky, clawing at Kakori.
"Nice try, but it's not going to work," Kakori told him. He closed his mouth and let a wooden mask that covered his mouth form out of nowhere, sticking to his skin like a suction cup, also covering partially his nose. The stun pollen rose up in the air and laid no effect on Kakori, just like he promised. "Time to end this fight," Kakori said through a muffled voice from beneath the wooden gas mask, Dylan barely able to hear him. Although, I do have to give him his props, Kakori thought, his inner voice echoing off the walls of his mind. He's so new to the Half Spirits thing, and he can all ready use spore breathing attacks, plant summoning moves, and regular vine and light shifting. It's something to remember, but it's too late now.
Kakori motioned for something to happen, and just like his motions promised, the "sun" from above seemed to grow bigger and bigger. In the enormous cloud of golden orange and sprinkling pollen, unharmed Dylan looked up to find the sun expanding.
It's not getting bigger! Dylan realized, staring hard at it. It's coming downwards! It was coming straight at him, and Dylan made no motion to move. Even if he wanted to, the attack range was just too large to escape. The best he could do was leave the scene half-fried. But it was all in his favor. And Dylan smirked as he prepared for the "sun's" impact on him.
