New Rival

The group walked the path from the village going to Sensei Tai's. Soler took lead hence knowing the path, Mira and Erza chatting while the latter pulled the luggage, that was mainly hers, and all the while Alice was bouncing with excitement around Soler,

"I can't wait to meet your sensei!" she said with glee. Soler only chuckled as he watched her a moment,

"Gee I wouldn't have guessed. It's not like you haven't said it multiple times since we left out this morning." He joked. She strode next to him and looked at him with stars in her eyes,

"And who wouldn't be? If your as good as you are then your sensei is going to be on another level!" Soler only shook his head as Alice went back bouncing around,

"Sounds like someone has an admirer." Erza's voice teased from behind. Though it was meant as a joke an unsettling sensation crept on him as he eyed Alice,

"I see," he watched the young girl bounce around and though he did enjoy seeing her happy he couldn't help his worrying thoughts, "Hey Alice you do know there are greater mages? Like Master is a Ten Wizard Saint, thats leagues above me." he explained but from her expression, it went right over her head. He sighed which made the women behind him giggle. As they continued on, the trees were clearing as the fields were starting to come into view,

"Were almost there!" Alice's excitement was paramount as she couldn't help but run ahead. But in her enthusiasm she failed to see the man that appeared and ran straight into him, knocking herself to the ground. The others quickly caught up to her with Soler going to help her up,

"Hey you ok?" he asked. Alice was dazed for a moment but she nodded her head an embarrassed smile on her face,

"I guess I was too excited." she joked with only made him sigh,

"Ya think," knowing she was alright he turned his attention to the man, "Sorry about that. You know how young ones can be." he said,

"Soler Stratus," the way he said his name was more of a declaration that it was a question, which Soler picked up on in an instance. He eyed the man curiously now feeling the mood was slowly changing,

"Yeah thats me. Guessing you know me?" he asked as she stood up with Alice and by instinct slowly moved her behind him. The man's brown eyes watched only Soler as he was bluntly sizing him up,

"You're not what I expected, yet exactly what I expected. Strange," the way he spoke didn't sit well with any of the older members of the group as even Mira and Erza grew tenser,

"Is there something that you want?" the red asked her voice holding an edge. Though she spoke to him the man only kept his gaze on Soler, never looking away staring right into his eyes. The silence stretched between both parties as each took in the one before them.

The man stood about at Soler's height hence looking him eye to eye and speaking of his were as brown as his disheveled hair. He didn't tend to it much but a wild style did have its appeal. His attire was fairly basic, a simple gray hoodie with black form-fitting pants and a set of matching slip-on shoes to match. They looked to fit snugly on the wearer. Taking him all in he could easily be someone in the crowd, disappearing without a second thought and Soler had a sneaking thought that's exactly what he was going for with the look. But if there was something that did make him stand out was the choker around his neck. Its intricate designs of serpent-like creatures made it pop out on him. The designs were a sliver while the base itself was black,

"Have you gotten your fill?" His dry question only added to the thought that he came here for not a good reason. Soler's gaze hardened as he met the man's eyes once more,

"Listen I don't know what you want but it's something. So mind just telling me what it is? Kinda got somewhere to be today." he said. The man's expression stayed neutral as he turned to face the field,

"I only want one thing and that's a demonstration of your skills," the request took the group by surprise. It was something as simple as a fight. But with how serious he is didn't match the request,

"A demonstration? Pal I don't think-"

"Of course Soler will give you a demonstration!" all eyes went to Alice who was oblivious to the atmosphere as her determined glare pointed to the man, "Soler can run circles around you no problem." she declared with pride. Soler was ready to respond but the mystery man spoke before him,

"I highly doubt it but we'll see." he said before walking off. Alice's interruption practically confirmed the battle ahead and Soler couldn't hide the sigh,

"Don't worry," his gaze went back to Alice who was looking up to him, "I know you can beat this guy!" she said her smile as brilliant as the sky. He only smirked and patted her head,

"Yeah let's see if I can kiddo." he replied before moving out to meet the man with the others following behind. The two went a distance away from the others giving them plenty of room to cut loose. Soler did a few small stretches while the other seemed to be in deep focus,

"A little mental preping huh?" Soler asked as he finished up. The man said nothing for a moment until he opened his eyes to meet Solers. Then without a word, he got into a fighting stance that looked familiar, both fists closed, wide stable stance body pointed right at his opponent. Soler shook off the thought and got into his own stance.

The wind blew gently brushing the grass against their legs as they stared each other down. The onlookers watched with anticipation as they waited to see who'd make the first move. Soler and the man slowly inched towards each other and then with of their hands outreached on in a closed while the open did the tap the backside of their hands as if a silent cue was the battle on.

The man went at Soler with a set of fast jabs which Soler was able to deflect, which he followed with his own quick jab followed with a kick. The man blocked both blows putting his knee up to defend the kick which he quickly planted and moved forward with another jab. Soler sidestepped the attack and swiftly followed with a backhanded strike. The man anticipated the attack and blocked it with his forearm while in the same motion throwing another jab into Soler's side. Soler lurched with the attack and pushed off him to follow with a reverse kick that was strong to force the man to block with both arms sliding him back. With distance, Soler flexed his side a bit still feeling the attack while the man shook his arms at feeling the force of the kick,

"So all your power is in your legs then." he commented as prepared himself again. Soler smirked,

"Yeah all yours is in your arms. That one stings." he replied. With no words after the two charged back at each other entering another dance of blows. The man's form was rigid and left little openings while being able to give out quick blows perfect for guarding and counter-attacking. Yet Soler's more loose style kept him mobile able to create openings where there wasn't and get in his own strikes. Their styles were opposites yet from how they moved they looked to complement each other.

The man went in with another jab but instead of dodging completely, Soler threw his own punch to the side of his. Since Soler moved slightly his blow connected while the man's missed. Soler took that opportunity to do a sweep kick taking the man off his feet but he wasn't done as he twirled around a second time to do a launching kick connecting with the man's gut sending him into the air. But the man didn't take the attack sitting down as when the second hit connected he struck Soler's attacking leg with a quick jab. The man hit the ground with a tumble while Soler winced a bit as he felt his leg,

'Yesh he hit right on the bone.' he thought as he tried to shake off the pain. The man was taking a moment to catch his breath from the last attack,

'His strikes are devastating.' he thought as he stood back up. Soler looked to the man with a smirk,

"Can't lie your good. I haven't foughten someone else that could keep up with me like this." he said. The man however didn't share the same feelings,

"Your as good as I expected you to be. But I know I'll still defeat you." he declared as he took up his stance again. Soler lost his smirk and reentered his own stance and then the two went back into the fight.

To the side Mira, Erza, and Alice watched them battle with the older ladies holding serious expressions,

"Have you seen anyone keep up with Soler like this?" Mira asked Erza. She shook her head,

"No. There were a few that held their own but Soler's hand-to-hand combat skills are usually too much for them to handle. For this man to be holding his own but also trading blows with him makes him someone to be reasoned with mage or not." she said. Normally a strong opponent wouldn't concern Mira but as she watched the battle heat up as they traded blow more rapidly she couldn't help the feeling that something was wrong. Or that they all were missing something important. But she just couldn't figure out what.

"It's like their dancing." both women looked to Alice who was watching the fight in awe completely unaware of the tension. Both gave the girl a sad smile before returning to the battle, and sure enough, her comment wasn't far from the truth. It did look as if the two were dancing. Soler's free-flowing style complimented the man's stricter more ridged style as they clashed several times. Soler came in with a well-planned kick but the man as if done hundreds of times countered with a strike of his own and even when he went in for a counter Soler moved with the flow to throw out his own counter. Then if it couldn't get any more uncanny several times their strikes synchronized ending in brief clashes of mirrored moves and if neither got in a blow they would separate and restart the dance, like partners moving to the next shift of rhythm.

It was mesmerizing in a haunting sense that this mystery man was matching Soler to this extent. But even still there was something wrong and both women knew it as the unease was sitting in their stomachs. They watched as the two men separated from another clash and each took a moment to catch their breath.

Soler did his best to even his breathing as he stared at his opponent.

"Ok can't…lie this fight is probably my-" he stopped his talk as he felt something swell up in his throat forcing him to parity heave. He looked to the ground as his vision blurred for a moment as the wave passed and once his vision cleared he was met with the sight of red staining the grass and his eyes widen in shock.

"No," and wiping off his mouth he a look at his hand confirmed it was his own blood. He looked up at the man with a challenging glare, "Your just full of surprises." he said as he stood back up. The man even his breathing though it looked strained as Soler noticed he was shifting his weight to one side causing him to smirk,

"Looks like we're even huh." he taunted which proved to upset the man,

"This was by luck and luck alone. The fact you didn't notice the true damage of my attacks till now speaks for your inexperience," he said as he held his side for a moment. Soler chuckled which caused him to cough up a bit more of his blood again,

"Says the one with the bruised ribs," he responded which angered the man as he got back into his stance,

"It'll be the last time," he said. Soler rolled his eyes and got back into his stance, wincing a bit as he did, and without waiting the two went back into the fray of combat being pushed by their pride and adrenaline.

With the girls, the sense of foreboding finally came to ahead at the sight of Soler coughing up blood. Erza's handballed into a fist,

"Why didn't I notice it sooner. Since the beginning of the fight, he wasn't aiming to just strike Soler but his goal was to do internal damage to him instead. Their fighting styles are opposite to each other to that much of a degree?" she said in frustration. Mira felt similar having not been in many battles over the years her senses had dulled but to miss something like this even she felt the frustration. However, she may have felt her attention fell to Alice whose gaze switched from awe to genuine worry and a hint of something else she couldn't tell but she knew it wasn't good. She looked back at the battle and now focusing she could see it was getting worse.

While in the beginning, the two fought with a sense of grace as they danced now it seemed the need for politeness was over as their strikes got stronger and more direct. Soler was fighting less like himself and seems to just be losing himself in the battle much like the man was as well as they were countering less and less and were just trading blows. Heavy blows at that.

For every kick, Soler connected the man got in a strong jab which followed with Soler hitting him with his own punch as this back and forth continued. And more blood was being spilled from both sides. Both men attacked relentlessly as neither wanted to give an inch as the only thought of victory at any cost. Soler normally being the type to avoid blows accepted the hits in spades as they allowed him to get in his own strikes. It was a self-destructive style of fighting but he didn't care he wanted to beat this guy no matter the cost and his opponent felt similar.

The others watched this battle devolve into a slugfest and with each blow given Erza and Mira felt the urge to jump in and stop but they were hesitant. Alice looked to the two older mages and saw their expressions, eyes narrowed and focused, stances a bit loose in preparation to launch themselves forwards, and felt their magics rising to seal their approach. It was at this moment did Alice feel it. It goes without saying that Mira and Erza were S-Class wizards but how they usually acted around her it never dawned on the power distance between them.

She looked on at the raging fight and she could barely keep up with Soler's movements and the man. They hadn't even unleashed their magics yet she felt their power from here. And with sensing all of their power she felt her own and dread washed over as a memory came back clear as day. It makes sense as she felt the same way back then as she does now only tenfold. She could see Edolas Alice rushing in for an attack faster than she could even react, yet Soler met that attack stopping it cold. She was too weak to stop her others' attack or even dodge it, forcing Soler to come and save her yet again. And now in the present, he was losing himself in a senseless fight, battling an opponent of equal strength to a point even Erza and Mira were ready to stop it. While yet again she was stuck watching.

Her hand bundled the collar of her shirt as it trembled in frustration and anger,

'I'm useless.'

Soler and the man traded another set of blows, refusing to relent in their assault. Though neither said it, something about the other was spurging them to push forward to go well beyond themself to win, to beat the other. They didn't understand this pull but it felt like a fire that grew stronger with each hit that connected as it yearned to blaze more. Another punch led to another kick that was followed by a hook that transitioned into a knee. Both of them strung blows together without thought. Soler gritted his teeth as he pulled back for another punch putting as much force behind it as he could while the man did similar mimicking to movement and before either knew it both of their attacks connected hitting to the others face.

Whether it was by fate or chance that one blow caused both men to pause. A look of realization washed over both of them and they separated from each getting a bit of distance. In unison, they let out the breath they had been holding in and took the time to just breathe.

'What the hell was that? I've never lost myself in a battle like that before.' Soler looked over to the man whose hand was on his hips as he evened his breathing, 'This guy is something else.' a smirk found its way to his face as he continued to catch his breath.

The girls watching felt the air shift with that last blow. They didn't know how or why but everything felt calmer between them. It caused Mira and Erza to ease slightly. Even Alice felt the shift yet she wasn't going to ease until the fight was over.

Soler did a slight stretch as he felt his injuries were slowly catching up,

"I don't know about you but how about we end this 'spar' of ours. I know I'm going to be sore in the morning." he joked. The man looked like he wanted to glare but only an annoyed stare at Soler.

"You still haven't shown any of your power and you want to end it early? Honestly you're something else." he responded. That made Soler laugh which he instantly regretted as one of his injuries flared and he coughed.

"Hey it's not often I meet someone who can keep up with me in hand-to-hand combat ya know. Plus you haven't used any of your power either. Whatever it may be." he countered.

"That's because you haven't used yours. I prefer a fair fight, all things considered." he responded.

"This coming from the man who wants to kill me? Shocker." Soler said with a grin. A sigh left the man.

"You really are something else Stratus." Soler's grin only grew at that. He then followed by coating his hands with his energy, the green sparks coming to life.

"Don't be sorry if I go too fast for you to keep up," he said as he got into his stance. The man only smirked and entered his own stance. Soler didn't see anything active on him but he felt his magic rise. He smirked and without wasting a beat he blitzed at the man using his speed finally. The man looked shocked for Soler practically disappeared for a moment but using his instincts he put up his arm and blocked the power-up punch feeling Soler's energy at full force. While Soler thought the punch was going to go through instead it felt like he was attacking a wall and it was then being close to him he saw the slight sheen on the man's arms and he smirked as he moved away from him.

"Reinforcement magic I take it?" he said. The man only smirked and went back into his stance leaving Soler to keep his smirk as he went back in for the attack.

With the others, they watched Soler was rapidly batting the man going from side to side clashing with each pass. They watched him dive in and out with each strike looking more like a blur with each attempt while the man met the attacks refusing to back down. Erza let out a sigh while Mira couldn't help her giggle which confused Alice.

"Whats funny? Did something change?" she asked them. Erza looked on at the fight with a smile.

"Just that idot of ours is smiling like Natsu. He swears that he's not as battle crazy as him but I beg to differ." she said.

"Soler just hides it better in my opinion," Mira added in as she watched. Alice looked slightly confused but as she looked back to the fight she could feel that things felt friendlier in how they fought. The strikes were just as intense as before but now it felt more like they were just testing each other than actually trying to beat the other like before. Soler was doing more flashy, readable movements almost like he was showing off for the man while he was taking the strikes as an attempt to return the aggression. It felt similar to when Erza would spar with Soler. No malice meaning the two testings each other while working on their own moves. A true spar.

Soler went in with another fast strike meeting the man again who held his own against the powerful strike. Soler was prepared to go in for another but he took notice of something and with a smile he back off and powered down confusing the man.

"I win," he said as he held his hands in the sign of victory. The man continued his confused gaze in which Soler pointed downward. He followed and to his surprise, he saw that in the flurry of blows Soler had moved the man from his original spot but a few feet. He looked back to Soler's cheeky grin and he couldn't help the sigh that escaped him as he powered down himself.

"You know that's a childish victory." he said. Soler only chuckled and shrugged.

"A wins a win's in my books. Well played by the way." he aid to which he only got a 'hmph' back in return. Sensing the battle was over the girl walked over to Soler where he was greeted with a slap on the back of the head from Erza.

"Ow! What was that for?" he asked as he rubbed his head. She only gave him a glare which he instantly understood causing his nervous chuckle, "Yeah sorry." at his apology she smile and nodded leaving it there. Mira on the other hand was already giving him a look over.

"You don't seem too badly injured yet your breathing is hoarse. Must be mostly internal.' she stopped and at him with a pout, "Honestly it's like you wanted to take those hits." she said. He tried to chuckle but instead, he coughed.

"I don't know what you mean." he joked. Mira only poked his chest and he wince at the contact, "Ok, ok I understand." she sighed but a natural smile found its way to her face. He grinned and looked to Alice who had been quiet of them all. She stood a bit away from him and she was rigid as she looked at the mystery man. He was taken back by the intense stare,

'Is that anger? No, I think it's determination.' she was watching the man as he went through some stretching and assessing his own injuries. Soler looked over to the man with interest,

"Ya know it's rude that you never introduced yourself." Soler said. The man paused his tasked his back to them.

"Shay. My name is Shay." he said after a moment. Soler smirked,

"I see cool guys names start with S huh?" he joked which made Shay sigh and stand preparing to leave.

"Wait don't you want to get those injuries checked out?" Erza asked.

"I don't need help from you. I can handle this on my own." he responded. Soler stepped out of Mira's grasp standing next to Alice.

"Wait Shay how taught you your fighting style?" Shay stopped in exit and turned to him, "Come on man I know you felt it back there. I couldn't tell in the beginning but each time we clashed or traded blows it felt so similar to my style but just different." he said in earnest. Shay just stared at him for a while, his expression neutral giving nothing away of his thoughts. Then after a moment he merely turned away and started to walk away but not before leaving his final words,

"Find out on your own so next time we meet we can actually end things." with his words said he left the group in the fields just staring at the back of the disappearing man. They stood in silence for a moment letting events sink in and everything to settle. Alice stood watching till he vanished not wanting to forget anything about the man.

'Shay.' Soler placed a hand on her shoulder causing her to look to him and see his smile.

"Let get moving huh? Sensei's place ain't to far and I know Mira want's to finish her look over." he said before walking back to the others. She just watched him as Mira fretted over his injuries while he smiled as simply as ever. She didn't know how he could smile like that after the fight he had or how Mira and Erza could ease after witnessing such a fight. Even Shay relaxed as if nothing happened and just walked off.

'I wonder if this is another sign of the stong?' with the fire within her set ablaze she walked over to the group with a single thought in mind, 'I will become stronger. Strong enough to keep up with them and to smile just as brightly. And..' she gazed back to the path Shay exited, 'And so next time. I can defeat Shay.'

This is on the shorter end of chapters but I think till the next major stuff happens I'll keep them short. It helps me personally to keep track of everything. Anyway, Shay don't forget the name. This has been Solerwolf...later!

(P.S. Thanks for reviewing and those who have been waiting for the story to continue. I'm glad there are still some of you guys still with me in finishing this thing!)