Tanjo was truly intimidated. The sight of Old Man Nozomu's intense glare struck fear into his body; each sporadic pump of his heart nearly disoriented him. The old man's Aura Sense alone was noxious enough to make Tanjo falter.
"I didn't feel like this a second ago…" Tanjo noted, his blue eyes locking with Nozomu's electric gaze. "Yet again, I've never seen him use his affinity with lightning to such levels."
However, in the back of his jumbled mind, Tanjo omitted the fact that this was the first time he had dared to oppose Old Man Nozomu; throughout the teenager's entire life, the old man had been a beacon of safety—a figure to look up to. Not once has Nozomu neglected Tanjo for his own sake.
But standing here now, Tanjo woefully assumes a stance before Old Man Nozomu, his Aura Sense flaring.
"I won't underestimate him for a second—but I also can't hammer out too much power. I don't know how much he could handle…" Tanjo mumbled, surveying the situation subtly.
Nozomu clicked his tongue indignantly. "Come on, Tanjo, you're only making this harder for the both of us."
'Well… wouldn't hurt to gauge his abilities, right?'
Taking the initiative, Tanjo slid his foot in the dirt and swiftly dashed to the right at top speed. Everything around the boy grew much slower, and eventually his surroundings came to a halt—leaves stopped in the middle of their fall, hovering in the air; blades of grass ceased their mindless swaying; and the clouds did not move an inch.
'Let's see if he can react to this!'
With one hand, Tanjo conjured a blue Genso-Kyu—*BOOM!*—discharging a ferocious beam of light from the luminous orb, flying directly toward Nozomu.
Surprisingly, Nozomu lifted his right arm and swatted the blue beam of light with the back of his hand, dissipating the incoming attack instantly. Tanjo's eyes broadened as he realized that his Genso-Kyu could not even burn Old Man Nozomu's hand, much less injure him.
Although Tanjo was faced with that realization, another appeared just as quickly.
'He reacted to my attack without a care in the world!' Tanjo shouted internally, his muscles tensing.
Nozomu inclined his head toward Tanjo, his expression retaining its typical stoicism. "At this level, you're nothing but fodder to higher-ranked warriors."
The boy flinched at the harsh words, but immediately recovered. 'It's true. If I didn't have my Aura Amalgamation saving me from rogues, I'd be long gone by now.'
Suddenly, a pang of fear rushed through Tanjo's body as Nozomu took one step forward, his lightning charging every motion. "Maybe I lacked in teaching you how to think rationally."
"You definitely have." Tanjo concurred, bending his knees and slamming his fists into the earth.
The ground shattered, and mounds of dirt were lifted upward, followed by the clouding debris polluting the air. Now that Tanjo had temporarily blinded Old Man Nozomu, he could act quickly before…
*CRACK!*
Without warning, a tendril of lightning blasted through the dirt and debris, launching Tanjo through the woodlands for several meters. Before the strike, Tanjo had managed to block, albeit poorly; he used his exposed arm to take the brunt of the electric assault, hoping to prevent his mask or cloak from being torn.
"That stings so much more than anticipated…" Tanjo groaned, glancing at his exposed arm, eyeing the red mark forming on his skin. "He could have definitely sliced my arm off if he added a bit more force."
Shortly after Tanjo analyzed his wound, he noticed that the sun had been blocked out, prompting the boy to shoot his head up sharply. His instincts took control as he hastily dodged an incoming tree tossed from the sky.
*CRASH!*
"Whatever he's planning on doing, I can for sure tell that he's gauging my abilities, too!" Tanjo said as he landed back on the ground.
Unknown to Tanjo, the tree was not all that fell from the sky. A loud—*THUD!*—could be heard. Tanjo briskly spun around, only to spot Nozomu towering over him, his brawny body dwarfing him completely. With one powerful punch, Old Man Nozomu slammed his fist down into the masked boy's chest, forcing Tanjo into the dirt and creating a massive crater afterward.
"GRAAGH!" A guttural howl emitting from Tanjo's throat.
Nozomu stared down at Tanjo from above, his electrical fist pinning the boy into the concave ground. "If you expect me to assume that you're safe on your own, or even with anybody else, I want to see your strength—the power that you believe can carry you."
Tanjo wrapped his hands around Nozomu's forearm, fruitlessly attempting to push the old man off of him. Like a rat caught in a trap, the masked boy strained his muscles to the point that they bulged from his flesh.
'I…need…'
Slowly, Tanjo's body was being fueled with potent magic, empowering the pinned boy.
'More… power!'
With utmost ferocity, Tanjo released a shockwave from his body, blowing anything around the two of them away instantly. Each tree, each flower, each blade of grass—everything, gone.
Nozomu, on the other hand, still held firm, his face scrunched from the immense winds barraging his face. With brevity, the old man could admit that Tanjo was relinquishing impressive power. Unfortunately, it was not enough to make Nozomu's impression of the boy's abilities wane.
"Is that all, boy?" Nozomu asked curiously, his tone becoming ominous.
Relentlessly, Tanjo tried to force himself up from the dirt, his throat rumbling with intense groans.
'I'm using so much strength… and all I'm doing is trying to move his damn arm!' Tanjo mentally admitted, his hands tightly clenching Nozomu's arm. 'Hell, I'm nearly using the same amount of strength I needed to use just to keep that planet-like object from falling! How is he this strong!?'
True to the boy's words, his magic became potent enough to rival the power that radiated off of him the moment he lifted the spherical object that weighed just as much as the Earth itself. Old Man Nozom's strength was no joke, and all Tanjo could do was struggle beneath his grasp.
'Wait… what are those markings?'
Outlining Nozomu's arm, hidden underneath his white sleeve, there were black markings embedded in his skin, traversing up to the rest of his body.
'Those haven't always been there.'
"I'm waiting, Tanjo! Show me your power!" Nozomu demanded, glowering at the teenager.
Tanjo clenched his teeth. "Fine!"
Audaciously, the boy released one of his hands from Nozomu's forearm and clenched it into a fist, proceeding to launch an immensely powerful punch to the old man's cheekbone—*PWWOOOSH!*—adding to the shockwaves expelling outwards.
Underneath their bodies, a fissure split the earth, widening by the second. Fortunately, the two were miles from Buraun. Though it was impossible that a battle of this magnitude would go unnoticed in Buraun or any neighboring villages.
From the punch, Nozomu's hand slipped an inch upward, enabling Tanjo to fall into the deep ravine forming underneath them. The masked boy could not even see the bottom of the gorge they created, indicating that if he were to fall, he'd be closer to the center of the planet than ever before.
'Doesn't matter,' Tanjo brushed those thoughts aside. 'Now that I'm free, we can give this another go. I can't outrun him, but hopefully my growth in power can assist me.'
"Am I still High-Class fodder now, old man!?" Tanjo yelled unexpectedly.
Nozomu grunted, standing on the opposite side of the ravine, meeting Tanjo's stare. "You have know idea what type of foes I've torn down out there… you aren't ready!"
For a split second, a memory was unlocked in Tanjo's mind.
XXX
{Flashback: Ten Years Prior}
A six-year-old Tanjo could be seen racing to the door in their old home, leaping upward to reach the doorknob and twisting the door open frantically, an energetic smile etched on his face.
"The new restaurant down the block smells so good! I can't wait to—!"
"What do you think you're doing, Tanjo?" A monotonous voice overlapped Tanjo's thoughts, halting the child.
The young Tanjo slowly shifted his body, inclining his head toward the voice. "Uhhm… going to go clean the yard?"
"You're not old enough to try lying to me, Tanjo—speak the truth." The voice was revealed to be the white-haired Kaminari Nozomu, peering down at the child.
Hesitantly, Tanjo relinquished his grasp on the doorknob, standing flat on his feet. Nervously, the child smiled with closed eyes, afraid to look Nozomu in the eyes.
Quietly Tanjo muttered, "...I was going to the new restaurant down the block…"
"Speak with your chest to me, Tanjo. I may be able to hear you, but I want to see you, too." Nozomu chastised, folding his arms across his chest.
Fearfully, the jet-black-haired child straightened his posture and pumped his chest outwards, standing tall. "I was going to the new restaurant down the block!"
"May I ask why, then?" Nozomu continued.
Throughout the few years of being a guardian, Nozomu followed one set of rules for himself: be authoritative, not invasive. It has worked so far, and Tanjo has not rebelled once—so it is a win in the man's book. He was not, however, ready for the teen years to arrive.
Tanjo fiddled with his fingers childishly, averting his gaze. "I just wanted to bring home some food."
Nozomu remained silent for a short stretch of time, contemplating a response.
"That's it?" Nozomu finally asked, arching an eyebrow.
The small child nodded. Nozomu then sighed heavily, kneeling before Tanjo and placing a gentle hand on the child's shoulder. "That's very nice of you, but… you aren't ready."
"I know," Young Tanjo conceded, bowing his head. "The world isn't as nice as it seems…"
Nozomu nodded. "No… it isn't."
XXX
Breathing heavily, Tanjo never turned his gaze away from Nozomu, his eyelids half-lidded. Despite the violent clash between him and Nozomu, he never stopped wanting to end this fight; it did not matter if he had to concede to end it—but there was no possible way the old man would let him pass. Not now.
"Please, old man… let's stop fighting." Tanjo pleaded, controlling his breath.
He did not feel exhaustion, but the heavy breathing spawned from the sheer amount of fear and adrenaline—his magic pushing his body to the limits. So far, his strength has peaked at planetary capabilities, and he has used them during this fight.
Nozomu shook his head silently. "Not until you confess to what you have been doing."
That was an unfortunate answer for Tanjo. He paled in comparison to Old Man Nozomu, which turned out to be a huge surprise for the teen. But the truth is that he can neither win nor escape.
"Then I'll have to keep fighting, too." Tanjo responded with determination, clenching his fists.
The old man's eyes softened at those words, his eyes losing color. "All right."
Standing on the opposite sides of the ravine, facing each other, the two grounded their feet and lunged at each other. By now, neither of them could go back, and neither of them wished to.
Suddenly, as the two were about to clash, reality distorted, absorbing Tanjo entirely, instilling bewilderment and shock into his mind. Nozomu's soaring body reached Tanjo, reaching out to grab him, but his hand phased right through the boy's hand, prompting the old man to land on the ground and fail to retrieve Tanjo.
"Damnit!"
Now, Nozomu stood alone, Tanjo seemingly abducted by the air itself.
XXX
After a few seconds, Tanjo quickly opened his eyes, surprised at where he stood. Everything was black—it was very similar. The abyss that once encompassed him not too long ago, cast by a particular resident of Buraun.
The boy's suspicions were confirmed a few seconds later, a feminine voice reaching his ears.
"Nice to see you in the flesh, Tanjo."
Tanjo's eyes narrowed. "Ms. Tassei…"
XXX
Whelp, that concludes this chapter. I sincerely hope that this fight between Tanjo and Nozomu was not too short or anti-climactic—I really put some thought into this and how it should really go, especially when it pertains to the duo's dynamic and where it currently stands. I also have not included a flashback in some time, so I wanted to jog my mind again by implementing a hopefully well-placed one toward the end, if you guys don't mind! Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_