A fire was burning inside Kuon's chest. Literally, it felt like he was on fire. The power from his light magic was coursing through his whole body, reacting to his feelings and flooding him with might. It didn't hurt exactly, but it felt as if he stood directly under the blazing sun, the heat scorching his skin. He knew the burning was because of his curse. Before it had been a softer sensation, but this was still manageable. Especially since it had been so long since he'd felt light radiating from his essence. If he wasn't about to fight his cousin right now, he might have just stood there basking in the warmth the light magic brought him.

Kuon focused back to the duel at hand. Light sword battles weren't only about skill with a blade. They were about intuition, talent and the ability to counter the opponents strategies. Shin was a skilled swordsman and magician, and Kuon was going to have to pull out all the stops in this fight.

As per the rules of light sword duels, Each of them were allowed to use one enchanted gem. Kuon had selected a ruby with two spells enchanted into it, choosing to focus on power rather then technique. He couldn't be sure, but from where he was standing, it appeared that Shin had selected a sapphire. Those were usually fused with self enhancing enchantments.

Shin was sure to have more spells and enchantments in his gem then Kuon. The question was which ones had he chosen. Part of what made a match so interesting was trying to guess what spells your opponent would have and counter them accordingly. Depending on the stone, it could hold up to six different spells, but with each spell, it decreased the innate power of the previous one.

Even then you couldn't be too careful. Spells were easier to cast with the proper glyphs in place, but many people practiced so they could use tricks without them. Luckily for Kuon, him and Shin had been sparring buddies since they were kids, so he knew most of the spells Shin could cast without a glyph to help. But it went both ways. Shin also knew what Kuon was capable of.

Kuon raised his blade, feeling the flow of the light magic within him. The blade had a light orange glow surrounding it, intricate symbols etched into it's steel. No one knew why the symbols appeared on a person's light blade, but each one was different. He was keenly aware of Kyoko's presence in the room, her eyes watching him. The beating of his heart matched the hum of his magic, making the blade glow with a soft slow pulse. On the other side of the arena, Shin took a defensive stance.

Lets see what you've got cousin. Thought Kuon, unable to stop the thrill from a fight coursing through him. He'd missed this feeling.

The referee signaled for the match to start. The crowd melted away, becoming a blur to him as Shin dashed forward. Kuon recognizing the increased speed as a spell. The attack surprised him, not expecting his cousin to charge after taking the defensive stance, but he moved fluidly, activating the first glyph in his hilt, increasing the defensive and offensive power of his sword. Inwardly, he used pulse magic to increase his own body's speed and strength. They were the first basic spells any warrior learned to cast on themselves without a glyph. It was almost a reflex.

The sound of metal against metal rang through the room as their sword met in midair, Kuon on the defensive, Shin attacking aggressively while pushing forward. Kuon deftly deflected the blows.

He had to admit, his cousin had gotten much better at swordplay, but he still wasn't at the same level as Kuon technique wise.

He saw his opening, shifting from the defense to the offense. He deflected Shin's next attack, then aimed for Shin's exposed body. Right before his blow landed, his sword glanced off an invisible barrier. Kuon wasn't surprised, he'd expecting a shield, Shin would use the moment his sword glanced off to counter attack, but Koun had a barrier of his own. Sure enough, Shin swung at him.

A sudden burst of pressure sank into his left arm.

Kuon grimaced, backing off to put some distance between him and Shin.

"Hit." the referee called on the side. Kuon growled, rolling his shoulder to get rid of the ache. How had his cousin gotten past his barrier? It only took three hits to win the match, unless the hit was a vital point. At the moment, Shin was ahead.

Kuon channeled light magic into the second glyph installed into his hilt. He felt the magic seep into his eyes, giving him the ability to see enchantments. When he saw Shin's get up, he couldn't help but be impressed.

Shin, you truly have improved since I last saw you he thought.

At the tip of Shin's sword was a lengthened strip of magic, further extending the reach of the blade. It was made out of pulse magic, as opposed to light, which was why Kuon's barrier hadn't stopped the tip from hitting him. It was only programed to stop light attacks. There was also a cloaking spell on the extended tip, but that wasn't the only thing his new sight revealed.

Hovering beside Shin was a large golden shield. Made from a combination of pulse and light magic, the shield circled around Shin, ready to automatically protect him from assaults. It was leaking slightly, flecks of magic oozing from the crack his last hit had caused. That shield was very strong to have so little damage done to it from his hit.

Level three, arcane fused guard. Thought Kuon, tallying up the spells in his head. Extended tip, cloaking magic, increased strength and speed, though those two are probably from him not his gem. So far a total of at most three spells stored into his hilt.

Once Kuon knew the spells installed in an opponents sword, it became much easier to counter them. He wouldn't fall for the same trick twice now that he knew about Shin's extended sword tip.

Kuon channeled his pulse magic, increasing the complexity of his own arcane shield to include blocking pulse magic. It wasn't as strong as Shin's, as there wasn't any light magic fused into it, but it would hold. For now he needed to keep every bit of light magic focused into his sword. Pulse magic would have to take care of everything else.

Kuon started to move sideways, Shin tracking his movements. Then he rushed forward. Swords and magic met mid air, bursts of lights flashed between them, each fighting for dominance.

Adrenaline, and excitement rose in Kuon. Now he should show his cousin how he'd improved. He quickly channeled inwardly, forming some quick spells. Pulse shots formed around Kuon, the small blue lights swirling mid air before shooting towards Shin. His cousin managed to dodge most of them, his shield helping with the strays. Kuon continued to attack, sending small pulses towards Shin as he hammered on him with his sword, sending shocks up his arms. One of the shots connected with Shin's shoulder, making his cousin stagger and creating an opening for Kuon to strike. Before he could attack, his cousin shot away, pushing off the floor with magic.

Kuon vaguely heard the referee call hit, indicating the shot he had hit Shin with. Not wanting to give his cousin time to recuperate, he pushed off with his own magic.

Dozens of lights trailed Shin's path, swirling midair for a moment before shooting towards Kuon. Shin had created a few pulse shots of his own.

Kuon's shield blocked them, small flecks of it breaking off. Kuon recognizing that they were low quality and were mostly meant to distract. His cousin obviously hadn't expected Kuon to ignore them.

Kuon concentrated on Shin, pushing him back with his blows. Shin's expression was screwed up in concentration, desperately trying to block all of Kuon's attacks. Both were still sending pulse shots at each other, the balls of pure magic colliding mid air and going off with loud explosions that cracked through the air.

Kuon could tell he had the advantage. More then once Kuon's sword collided with Shin's arcane shield further increasing the crack in it's center. His pulse shots were dominating Shin's, giving Kuon more and more of an opening with which to attack. But despite all this, he couldn't land a clean hit. Rather then increasing in his advantage, he felt as if he was falling behind.

Something was wrong.

It was becoming harder and harder to keep the light sword active, like sand slowly being poured into his arms. The weight was making it hard to attack. A small smile crept across Shin's face, and Kuon knew he was in trouble. Slowly, Shin changed from defensive to offensive, forcing Kuon back. Another hit on Kuon's arm forced him to back away from Shin, his cousin allowing the distance to be made.

What is going on? Thought Kuon, breathing hard. His body was protesting his excretion, yelling at him to take a break. Kuon took a breath, ignoring the ache and shaking in his arms. Why was it becoming so hard to keep his light sword active? He could see Kyoko from the corner of his vision, hands clasped together in her characteristic sign of stress. The typical flutter of light shot through him at seeing her. If his problem wasn't the supply, then what was it?

Kuon quickly examined his sword, then felt his stomach drop.

"Did you finally notice?" said Shin from across the field. Kuon glanced back at his cousin, who had hefted his sword to rest it on his shoulder. He was grinning like a kid who had just gotten candy."I was wondering when you might. Bet I surprised you."

"I see you've learned some things while you were away." said Kuon evenly, "You've always been a handful. I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Kuon lowered his sword, not needing to examine it any further. This was bad. He knew what the problem was. A light purple aura surrounded the edge of his sword, so faint you had to be looking to see it. It was a disenchantment spell, the parasitic magic eating away at his sword. It had seeped in completely, coloring the sword with it's purple glow. The places where the spell had been the longest were starting to wear away, chips of his sword missing.

Despite the desperate situation, Kuon couldn't help but be impressed. He'd gotten him. Disenchantment spells didn't take well to sapphires, everyone knew that. To use one this powerful had probably taken up all the storage space in the gem. Shin had been using his own pulse magic for the entire fight without glyphs! He'd purposefully mislead Kuon by making some of his attacks weaker and others stronger, as if he was alternating between using the glyphs and pulse magic. The whole time, quietly adding more and more power to the spell on Kuon's blade with every exchange until it was impossible for Kuon to remove the spell without dismissing his blade.

Two to one Thought Kuon, One more hit and I lose the match, not that I'll have enough time to counter him.

The magic from the sword was leaking, wisps of light fluttering away. At this rate, even if they didn't cross swords again, Kuon wouldn't last another minute.

I can't lose Thought Kuon, gripping his sword harder. There was too much at stake. He didn't want to lose her trust.

"I can't believe you'd be satisfied winning by leaking away my magic." said Kuon, trying to goad Shin into attacking. "You've always preferred overwhelming victory with power." Both Kuon's body and light magic were at their limit. The match would be decided in this last exchange.

"I can compromise when I have to." said Shin, shifting his stance. He held up his sword in preparation to attack. "That being said, I'm not going to let you lose so easily."

Kuon prepared as well, muscles tight in anticipation. He had only one shot at this. He hoped it worked.

Shin charged.

Kuon held up his sword as if to deflect the attack. At the last second, he side stepped Shin's attack, pushing Shin's sword aside to keep his cousin's momentum going. Then he spun around, sword swinging towards Shin. It was blocked with Shin's own light sword, like Kuon knew it would be.

The floor beneath Shin shone, activated with pulse magic from the spell Kuon had placed there a second ago though his feet. Shin noticed it too late, unable to dodge as the magic pushed him into the air. It wasn't too powerful, only sending it's victim up a few feet, but it was enough.

Unable to dodge midair, Kuon swung his sword with all his might, blade trailing flecks of light. Every ounce of light magic Kuon had left was sent into this last desperate attack. He grunted with the effort, straining to keep his body moving. Shin managed to get his blade and shield up.

Light exploded, followed by the sound of steel meeting steel. Shin was sent flying back, shards of magic raining from the sky. He managed to right himself midair, skidding to a halt on the floor with both feet planted on the ground, crouched over to steady himself. The residual magic from Kuon's attack cracked around Shin, sparking out of existence. Shin's barrier lay broken in the wake of the attack, pieces of the shield scattered on the ground as they faded away. But it had done it's job.

Shin's blade was still intact.

Kuon wavered, breathing haggard, as the remnants of his now shattered blade vanished, along with his magic. In it's absence, he felt empty.

Kyoko blinked quickly in an attempt to disperse the spots in her vision. That attack from Kuon had been enormous, the light completely blinding her for a moment. Surely he had won from that. But no. when she could finally see what had happened, she felt her stomach drop.

Prince Kuon stood in the arena, the sword hilt in hand, but the blade had completely vanished. He looked ready to fall over any second.

He lost. Thought Kyoko, trying to grasp the reality of what had happened. I don't believe it.

Dimly she was aware of the cheering and hollering from the crowd that recognized the end of a great match, and it had been amazing. Kyoko had seen a few duels before from local tournaments, but nothing even close to that. They had both been incredible, but there was only room for one winner.

Shin was straightening himself, talking and joking with the members of the audience that he had almost been flung into. They were all patting him on the back, probably offering their congratulations, but Kyoko wasn't paying much attention to him. Her eyes were still on Kuon.

So when she saw Kuon sway again, she was on the field before she could even think. She grabbed hold of one of this arms, helping him sit down right there in the middle of the field rather then fall over. His whole body was drenched in sweat, his breathing labored.

"That was... incredible." said Kyoko softly.

Kuon glanced at her. She smiled at him, sitting on the ground with her legs tucked under her. She wasn't being patronizing. That had an been incredible. Even if he had lost, what he did was amazing considering the condition he was in. He should be proud.

He gave her a grateful nod, apparently too worn out to speak yet. Another physician came up to check Kuon's condition, but Kuon waved them away. Kyoko stayed by him as he caught his breath.

"You crazy son of the sun." said Shin, who had come over to where they were. He was all smiles, shaking his head at Kuon. "Since when did you have that amount of explosive light magic? I nearly died."

"You exaggerate." Kuon managed to say. He was already looking better.

"I flew like fifty feet in the air," said Shin "You're lucky I didn't hit any of the spectators."

"Everyone here is a skilled magician. Stop being dramatic." Kuon panted

"Still." said Shin, grimacing. "I can't believe you chose to win by forcing me out of the arena. You hate winning like that."

"I can compromise when I have to." said Kuon with a shrug.

What?

Kuon and Shin looked at Kyoko. Her face instantly turned red when she realized she'd spoken her exclamation.

"Sorry." she muttered. "I just... Prince Kuon won?"

"Yup." said Shin, holding up three fingers "There are three ways to win. Getting three hits on your opponent -or a vital shot-, making their light blade disappear or forcing them out of bounds."

Kyoko stared down at her hands clenched in her lap, her body trembling in excitement. He had won. Prince Kuon won!

"Yes!" cried Kyoko, unable to contain her excitement. She pumped her arms in glee, grinning like crazy at the Prince. "You did it! You won!"

It was taking every ounce of control in her body to not jump in the air and dance in excitement. Instead she settled for this small outburst.

A warm smile spread across Kuon's face, kind eyes on at her. He chucked at her outburst, his expression now reflecting the excitement she felt. He was happy, she could tell, and that made her happy as well.

"This why you are so frustrating." said Shin, breaking the moment with his exclamation. He pointed an accusatory finger at Kuon. His voice was colored in irritation, but his face held no true anger. "I've been out having life threatening battles everyday for the last few months, while you've been cooped up here collecting dust and concubines. Yet you still come out on top. Lory was right. All you needed was a little push and wham! You come out like a cannon."

"I've been having my own life threatening situations in case you haven't noticed." said Kuon smoothly, the happiness still in his expression.

"Ah well." said Shin. "I'll keep my end of the deal, you don't have to worry. I'm just glad you finally found a source of inspiration."

Kyoko felt Kuon tensed beside her, though his expression showed no change in emotion.

"Just keep a tight grip on it." continued Shin, keeping his voice down. There was a mischievous glint in his eye. "Wouldn't want your light to stop shining because you got careless now would we?"

Shin gave a meaningful nod towards Kyoko before walking away. Kyoko gave Kuon a quizzical look, wondering what Shin had meant. Did he realize that Kuon loved someone just from that fight?

"Now that this is over, would you mind telling me what it was all about?" said Lory, taking a seat by Kuon. The prince glanced at Lory, noting the man's irritation. They were sitting at the edge of the arena, most people continuing their training now that the 'show' was over. Kyoko was talking to Yukihito and Shin some yards away. Shin was showing her his normal sword, explaining about the gems stored inside the hilt. Kuon suppressed the flare of jealousy as he watched Kyoko exclaim at the spell she accidentally set off, then laughing along with his cousin.

Somehow, Shin had figured out that Kuon thought about Kyoko to supply his light magic. Which could only mean that he loved her. Looked like he had given Shin yet another piece of information to torment him with.

Kuon sighed, feeling the stress bleeding from him. That had been a total disaster.

"Just trying to prove a point to my cousin." said Kuon. "And does it matter? I beat him, which means I get to participate in the tournament."

"I can hardly call that a win." said Lory. "You're lucky that worked. He had you backed into a corner. You won through sheer willpower more then anything."

"A win is a win." said Kuon. "And if anything, it makes it more incredible to come back from being at a disadvantage."

Lory grumbled.

"Well, I'm glad that your light magic is back. Though I have to say, I'm surprised at who you chose to fall in love with."

Kuon turned to his godfather, shocked. Did Lory also know about his feelings for Kyoko?

"Don't give me that look." said Duke Takarada. "Anyone that knows you and is paying attention can see your feelings for the girl." Kuon didn't bother trying to deny it. Lory's eyes were on Kyoko, examining the girl from afar. "It's good that she's tough, but you do realize she's completely closed off to the feelings of love right?"

"You're talking as if I'm going to do something about it." said Kuon, looking down at his hands. She wasn't the only person that disliked the idea of being in love.

"Am I?" said Lory, amused. "Well, then tell me what this fight was all about. You can't deny she had something to do with it can you?"

Kuon felt a ripple of shock go through him. What was he doing? How could he have been so careless. Just yesterday he had promised himself not to anything about his feeling for Kyoko. He was suppose to be controlling these feelings, not letting them control him. In the end, his motivation for this duel wasn't linked to his desire to fight in the tournament. Oh sure that was part of it, but the thing that shone through was his desire to keep her close. He didn't want to lose her, and that had driven him to fight and win the way he had.

Kuon held back a desperate laugh, unable to believe himself. His reasoning had been completely swept away when it came to her. He had endangered his chances of representing his kingdom for the sake of keeping her close. Did that mean he held her on the same level of importance as the kingdom?

The thought should have been terrifying, and in a way it was, yet he couldn't make himself regret his choice.

"So," said Lory casually. "What are you going to do now?"

"Nothing" said Kuon, standing up. "As we are now, nothing can move forward. We'll just have to see how things play out."

Kyoko wasn't ready for romance, and in a lot of ways, neither was he. If this ended up going anywhere, it would take time.

Leaving Lory, Kuon went to talk to the group of his friends. As he approached her, almost unconsciously he started smiling. All the thoughts and feelings that had been weighting him down vanishing at the sight of her.

Damn He thought, as she turned to face him, a bright smile on her face. I really can't hold it back. My desire for her is growing.

Thanks for reading!

Hmm. Fight scenes are hard to write. Like... really hard! This was great practice. Most of the magic system in this story was made up by me for my original story. I decided to let this one borrow it to practice. You'll learn more about the magic later of course!

It is with a heavy heart I make this announcement:

Updates will now be once every other week

Too much is happening, I need to slow down. Life sent me several curve balls this last week. I'd like to dodge them, which means slowing down in parts of life that I can.

Based on the hint from last chapter, yes it would appear that Kuon's real name is Ren. Will learn more later. (I've also grown to prefer Ren then Kuon after reading Skip beat for a billion chapters) Thanks for the feedback on the genre. Fantasy it is!

Thanks for all the encouragement/thoughts/love. Love you all!

-Blushweaver

Kudos to Blushweaver, fighting is hard to make fluid.

"He was suppose to be controlling these feelings, not letting them control him." Lol I may not be a love expert, but I don't think that's how it goes my dear. Well, I'm sure Kuon will learn soon enough.

-Imouto