Chapter 22 - To Sharpen a Blade

The next day, Jonah was once again almost late for class. "Phew, just made it in time!" he gasped as he collapsed into his seat."Cutting it a little close there. You alright?" I asked. I noticed eyebags under his eyes."Yeah, no biggie. I just slept a little later than normal," he blurted."Were you up practising or something?""N-No! What makes you think that? Hey look, Ms Reina's here." He pulled out his textbook and frantically began flipping through the pages, clearly trying to change the subject.His flustered response only confirmed my suspicions. "Looks like someone's hard at work," I muttered under my breath. I caught Scarlette giving Jonah a little side eye as well. Seems like he wasn't fooling anyone."We go right after school?" I turned to Scarlette. We would finally be having our practice session today.She nodded. "Let's do it before dinner so we don't have to fight on a full stomach."The Colosso Dome would be packed with students at that time, and I was a bit apprehensive about being seen together with a hotshot like Scarlette. Fortunately, quite a number of my classmates knew that she was in my group for the camp. They would just assume it was nothing more than a training session, and they would be right.I noticed Kaede watching us from the side, her elbow propped on the table and her chin resting on her palm, looking thoroughly bored."You look like you want to say something," I noted."You should start charging people for combat tutorials with you," she deadpanned.I straightened up. Wait. Why didn't I think of that before? This would be an insan—"Don't even think about charging me," Scarlette snapped.Kaede giggled. "I'm just kidding. Hey, if Cadel gets sidetracked during your training, just tell me. I'll teach him a lesson."It appears that I wasn't spared from her teasing. She was in a particularly cheeky mood today, which I appreciated. Snarky Kaede was always entertaining."Erm, excuse me. Scarlette and friends, do you have something you like to share with the class?"I looked up to see Ms Reina—along with the rest of my classmates—staring at us. I forgot that the lesson had already started.***The evening sun cast a warm, ambient glow over the compound as Scarlette and I ascended the steps to the Colosso Dome. With how much I was visiting this place, it felt like my second home within the school. I wondered if repeat visitors could apply for special bonuses.As expected, this place was crawling with people hoping to get some training done as the school day ended. There were even a couple of students relaxing on the grassy areas outside the Dome."Let's head to the basement," Scarlette suggested.I nodded. We would be heading to the private arenas, the same places where I had fought Daxston, Kazen and most importantly, Scarlette, previously. We wouldn't be needing a Boobot today. Scarlette's opponent would once again be me.I had already noticed a couple of glances in our direction as we searched for an empty room. I could already imagine the gossip."Did you see Scarlette with that new guy?""Who does he think he is, training with a 5-Star?""I wish I was him right now."Scarlette seemed like she was feigning oblivion to all the attention we were getting. Was she doing it for my sake? I knew how hard it must have been for her.We finally found an empty room near the corner and stepped in."I mean, we already know what would happen if we actually sparred for real…" Scarlette looked a little embarrassed. "You can absorb my fire, right? Maybe I'll just let everything I have out at you."I held up a finger, speaking in a nerdy voice. "Erm actually, I can absorb your energy, not the fire itself. More specifically, the heat from it."Scarlette rolled her eyes. "Okay whatever, smartass. Just don't let yourself get hurt. Ready?""Yeah, come at me."Scarlette rose into the air, flames engulfing her being. As she flew around the room, she started hurling balls of fire at me, which I greedily absorbed.I then converted it into electrical energy, and blasted shots of lightning at her. I made sure not to hit her, but made it so that she had to take precautionary dodges. "Got anything else?" I asked.I could see Scarlette smirking through the flames. "Don't let your guard down now."As she ascended towards the ceiling, she conjured a bow wreathed in flames, its height matching hers, and nocked an arrow of pure fire. The arrow steadily grew in size as she charged it, before she finally released it with a shockwave that rippled the air.The sight of a giant flaming arrow tearing towards me made even me tense up. Rather than taking it head-on, I decided to use the excess energy I had saved from her previous attacks to propel myself backwards. I figured it was something Kazen was more likely to do if he were in this scenario.With a single jump, I leapt a few meters backwards, watching as the arrow struck the ground where I had been. An explosion erupted, flames swirling out in all directions. I absorbed any of the fire that came my way."Is that your final move?" I called."Hardly. Remember, I'm a 5-Star. I'm not like the other Fire-Ability users.""You know, I haven't actually seen another fi—" I began, but I was cut off as she unleashed a barrage of fiery missiles toward me. I summoned a deflective shield, redirecting the arrows as they bounced off, their kinetic energy redirected.I could tell she was locked in the zone now. The flames around her morphed into wings, and she dived right at me. A sword made of pure flames had also materialised in her hands, its blade slicing the air.On instinct, I held up my hand, intending to absorb all of her kinetic energy and freeze her in place, but I stopped myself immediately. If I did that, it would kill her flow and disrupt the entire practice session. More importantly, I had promised not to use my immobilising powers on my friends outside of an emergency situation.However, this moment of hesitation would prove costly. Scarlette's eyes widened as she realised I was unprepared for her attack."Uh, HEY?!" she gasped as she twisted her body mid-air to avoid me, her sword barely missing my head. Her momentum carried her forward and she crashed into the wall behind me. "Ouch…" she sat in a heap, rubbing her head.Shit, I messed up. She won't be happy about this."Umm, sorry. I miscalculated the speed of your approach," I said, trying to sound apologetic.To my surprise, she shook her head, gingerly picking herself up."It's fine, don't worry about it. I'm just grateful you're even here in the first place. If anything, it shows that my attacks are a force to reckon with, huh?"I chuckled. "That's certainly true."We picked up where we left off, and I made sure to fully concentrate this time. It wasn't easy holding back against Scarlette. One minor slip-up and either one of us could get hurt.As she released everything she had against me, I marvelled at the sheer amount of raw firepower she possessed. My senses tingled from the intense heat, and the majestic flames danced with a fierce brilliance, threatening to overwhelm me with their intensity.Her offence was amazing, but what about her defence?"Hey Scarlette, do you have any defensive moves? Kazen's got his plasma barrier, so ideally you should have something to protect yourself as well," I called.As she landed expertly next to me, I noticed she was sweating profusely. "Oh, another thing," I continued. "Are you like completely immune to your own fire?""One question… at a time, please…" she panted. "I can avoid burning myself with my flames, but I still feel a bit of heat. It's enough to keep me warm on a cold day. As for defence, er… I can create a sort of fire shield, but I'm not sure if it can stand up to Kazen's attacks. My game plan was simply to overwhelm him with my own attacks. Offence is the best defence, as they say" she admitted.It was a risky plan, but it was very Scarlette-like."I guess your agility could be used as a defensive measure," I reasoned. "You have immense aerial mobility. If he can't hit you, then you don't really need a shield.""Right? My flames can protect me as well to a certain extent, but I wouldn't try risking being hit by his attacks," she replied.I paused for a moment. "I think I remember reading an article… something about special suits made of synthetic Abizium fibre that combatants wore for official fights. Have you heard of it?" I asked.This was something I came across on the Net the other day as I was researching on the inter-school tournament. I had seen people wear suits in past videos, but I had assumed that they were just standard tournament attire.Scarlette looked surprised. "You didn't know about this? It's how the school reduces the number of injuries during combat tournaments. Anyway, my fight with Kazen isn't organised by the school, so it's unofficial. We could wear it for protection, but in unofficial fights, wearing one is seen as a cowardly move. Why would participants start a public fight if they were afraid of getting hurt? We've got professional medics in the school anyway."That made sense. I recalled the fight with Zoey and Kazen. They had recklessly fought without the Abizium suits as well. Admittedly, not wearing those was befitting of their prideful personalities."So I guess you won't be wearing one in your fight, huh?" I spoke."RIghto! Anyway, enough talking! Let's continue," she said, stretching as she reignited her flames.I sighed but understood her resolve. She had to give everything if she wanted to beat Kazen.***A couple hours and a quick dinner later, I could finally lounge in my bed. I would consider myself fit, but my joints were aching. That was the hardest workout session I had the pleasure of experiencing so far, and it felt quite satisfying. Scarlette had shown me what she was capable of, and frankly, I was impressed. I was starting to believe that she had the potential to beat Kazen.Suddenly my phone vibrated."Hey dude, you there?" It was a message from Jonah."What's up?" I replied."Look out your window."I smirked. Was he employing my own trick against me?As I gazed out into the darkness, the air started shimmering."H… E… L… L… O"Five letters danced in faint white light in front of me, each of them about a meter in height. They were faintly glowing, the moonlight filtering through them."See it?" Jonah texted.I was humbly amazed. Was this what he had been practising? To other people, it may not seem very impressive, but I knew how much this progress meant to Jonah."I do. You're amazing," I hit the reply button.The letters in the air exploded into mini fireworks. I couldn't help but smile at the display, feeling a quiet sense of contentment for him.

"Right? Anyway, how was the training with Scarlette? Can she beat Kazen?" he asked.