Inner Fires Ch. 02

"Nope! I'll referee, and the match starts when I say it does!" the old dojo master bellows out as the air about him changes in an instant, now firmly in the mindset of a seasoned fighter, and taking his position on the far side of the ring, "And I say it starts...now!"

Taken by surprise, Cinder fails to make the first move, Madakawa quickly stepping forwards and throwing a kick towards her shoulder. Grunting as his leg impacts her arm, she grabs his ankle before punching Madakawa twice in the face, earning a bloody nose for his troubles, "Cheap shot! At least wait until I'm ready, you dick!"

"Ergh...a decisive blow can be the difference between victory," he says before grabbing her wrist and yanking forwards, unbalancing her enough to hook his grasped leg over the back of her neck and pulling her down, her grip on him slipping in the process, "And defeat from a similar blow inflicted by your enemy."

Bringing his elbow down on the back of Cinder's head, the fire-haired teen falls to the mat below her and groans in pain, her opponent taking several rapid steps away from her. She sits up before shaking her head and hopping to her feet, the look in Cinder's eyes promising pain in return, "You held back, you jerk...don't think I can take the hit?"

"Simply trying not to kill you," he responds, giving a shrug before readying himself for Cinder's charge towards him, her fists growing faster as her frustration grows, though she still manages to parry a few of the counter-attacks that Madakawa sends her way in response to her aggressive assault, "Why are you so upset? This is a spar, we are going to strike each other regardless."

"Stop holding back, and I won't be so pissed off!" Cinder shouts in return, striking his shoulder and his ribs before shoving him away from her, flames licking at her fists and growing in her hair, "You disrespect me by not giving this your all!"

His eyes narrow in annoyance, smirking a moment later and letting his stance change, a sinister aura now detectable, "Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you, though," Madakawa says while lifting a single hand and gesturing for her to approach, "You won't like the results, but I'll go all out."

Stamping a foot onto the floor, Madakawa uses the force from the landing to push himself forwards at surprising speeds, clearing the distance between them in a moment and landing a kick to Cinder's jaw, sending her sailing across the fighting ring. Rolling a few times before managing to launch herself back to her feet, she grins at the man across from her, taking a stance and ignoring the blood dripping from her split lip.

"Okay, that's a bit more impressive. Let's get this started!" she shouts, slamming her flaming fists together in a shower of sparks, the cloth wraps around her hands burning away to nothing, "I'm gonna make you eat that mat!"

Madakawa smirks in response, glancing over at the spectators for a moment before looking back at Cinder with a raised brow, "Seems like you were holding back too, you hypocrite. Good thing I also have something you haven't seen yet. Now I can fight you without holding back at all."

A soft breeze seems to flow through the room, quickly turning into notable gusts of wind, their clothes fluttering in the wind. Cinder dashes towards Madakawa, fists raised to guard against any possible attacks he may try to counter her with, though this prevents her from seeing the cones of wind forming around her opponent's arms.

Throwing his hands forwards, Cinder gasps as a strong wind engulfs her body and halts her charge for a moment, extinguishing the flames coating her arms and leaving her open to the hook that Madakawa delivers to her cheek. Grunting in pain, Cinder manages to keep her balance long enough to grab her opponent's collar, driving her fist into his cheek in return.

"Your power feels like a spring breeze, jerk!" she yells as she punches him in the chest, then grasps his shoulder and turns around to flip him onto his back, Madakawa hitting the mat with a groan. Raising her fist, she coats it in flames once again, bringing it down only to slam into the mat, his head tilting to avoid the strike before lifting his legs and kicking her off of him by driving his heels into her stomach, "G-guh! That hurt! Good thing I'm gonna return the favor!"

"You talk too much," Madakawa replies with a deadpan, leaping to his feet and sweeping his arm forwards to drive Cinder back from him with his wind magic, "You should focus more on your opponent and less on getting upset."

"Who's upset?" she asks with another raised brow, giving a wide grin as she skids back along the straw floor below her feet, fists raised and lighting aflame again, "This is fun! I'm having a blast!"

Rolling his eyes, Madakawa braces himself as she once again runs towards him, cones of wind forming around his arms once again, "You already know that won't work!"

Laughing in response, she lets herself drop backward and slides across the mat between his legs, completely avoiding the tunnel of wind and grabbing the back of his gi on her way by. Unbalanced, Madakawa falls to the ground with a yelp, unable to stop Cinder from mounting him and punching him square in the cheek.

"Are you trying to flirt with me, or fight me?" he asks, catching one of her fists and glaring at her as he lifts his legs in an attempt to grab her head and throw her off of him. Grunting as she leans down and out of his legs' reach, punching him in the face again in response, "I take it that means you're fighting."

"No shit! I'm not into guys, thanks!" Cinder declares as she grasps his collar and gives him a few shakes before punching his shoulder, "Sorry, not sorry!"

Grunting and spitting some blood out to the side, Madakawa lets his magic flow around his arms again, catching her other hand and looking her dead in the eye before letting his spell loose, "Got it. I'll still buy you something to eat."

Yelping in surprise as she feels the immense gust of wind launch her up into the air, Cinder's eyes widen as her grip on Madakawa slips, and she flies into the air, the back of her head striking against a ceiling beam before she falls to the ground below. Groaning, Madakawa waits for several moments before hopping to his feet and slowly approaching his downed opponent.

"...Cinder?" he hesitantly asks as he nudges her side with a foot, earning a soft groan of pain in response. Sighing in relief at her responding to him at all, he gently grasps her shoulder before rolling her onto her back, surprise taking over his features as he notices Cinder's unfocused eyes, "Cinder? Are you alright?"

"N-no, I don't want a-any cheese with m-my custard..." she groans out with a frown, which quickly turns into an exaggerated smile, "I'll take it w-with the fish i-ice cream, though!"

"Oh gods, I broke her," Madakawa mutters with clear fear in his voice, looking towards his mentor for guidance, only to see both him and his new rival's Sensei struggling to contain their laughter, soon openly guffawing and holding their stomachs, "S-sensei? Are you alright? Please don't be broken too!"

"Ahhhahahaha! Y-you hear that, Paul?" Yamatetsu jovially asks his old friend as he slaps him on the back, tears forming in his eyes and a wide smile of amusement splitting his aged features, "She wants some fish ice cream! I know a place that sells some!"

"Calm down, Madakawa," Paul sputters out, approaching the two younger students while chuckling, eyeing his apprentice with clear amusement, "She's perfectly fine, and has asked for much stranger during sparring after getting knocked around."

"O-oh, thank goodness," Madakawa sighs with relief, stepping to the side and letting Paul lift her onto his back, "I was scared that I had killed her for a moment...that was not pleasant. I enjoyed the fight, however."

"Yes, well...she's been through worse, boy," the fire-haired girl's Sensei says, his laughter coming to an end. Sighing a moment later, he pats Cinder on the head and begins to head for the dojo entrance, chuckling again as he notices Madakawa's concern, "She's also the strongest woman I've ever met. Rather well put together for someone who has had such a hard life."

"Will we see you both again soon?" the gi-robed teen asks, his somewhat swollen hands held together in front of him, and a drop of blood from his injured cheek falls to the mat, "I would...still like to show her around. She is a worthy rival. Uh, please don't tell her I said that."

Giving a short laugh, Paul waves back at the two of them before collecting his and Cinder's shoes, then leaves out of the door to the building, carrying the still unconscious Cinder on his back, "We will see you again tomorrow, Madakawa. We will be here for several more days, so there is plenty of time to spend with your crush."

"H-hey!"

=====

Groaning as she blinks her eyes open, Cinder rubs her head with a hand and sits up in her bed, looking around with squinted eyes and a grimace, "What the...? Wasn't I fighting Madakawa? Oh geez, my head is killing me..."

Getting to her feet with another pained groan, Cinder looks out of the window, noticing that the sun did not rise that long ago and sighing as she comes to the logical conclusion, "I lost...well, shit."

Shrugging to herself a moment later, she heads off to get changed for the day, sighing as she finishes putting on her casual clothing. Her red kimono patterned with swirling foxes and golden leaves scattered around them, appropriate for the autumn weather.

"I just hope that I can fight Madakawa again one day when I'm stronger. That was fun, but I'll knock him out next time," Cinder says with a grin, tying her hair up into a ponytail and looking around the room for a moment before grabbing her coin pouch and sliding it down her sleeve, "Can't forget this. The food here is to die for, and I don't want to die of embarrassment because I left my pouch at the inn."

Heading out of the inn room and down the stairs once again, she lets out a yawn as she approaches her Sensei, once again sipping at his tea and reading the morning paper. He lowers the paper as she sits across from him, a soft smile on his face as he looks into her eyes with amusement in his, "Sleep well, my student?"

"Alright, what did I say this time? You only have that look in your eye when I have a sleep-talking episode," she demands, rolling her eyes before looking over the menu in front of her, "I hope it wasn't anything too bad, jokes aside."

"Nothing besides a desire for cheese and fish-based treats," Paul replies with a chuckle, shaking his head and taking another sip of his tea, "You have most certainly said worse. Like the time you talked about bathing in cream chee-"

"Okay, okay! I get it, you don't need to bring that up, Sensei," Cinder almost whines to her teacher as she blushes in embarrassment and hides her face behind the menu and scowling softly, "It's not my fault, so you don't need to keep making fun of me for it."

"I know, I don't mean to poke fun," her Sensei claims with another chuckle, poking her in the side with a finger and sipping at his tea again, "It is amusing to see what the subconscious mind can create. Dreams are much the same thing, and they are even more unusual."

"I guess... It doesn't make me feel any better about being laughed at," Cinder grumbles with a huff, deciding to go for the breakfast of eggs, ham, and bacon, "Besides, It's not like you don't say weird things in your sleep too."

"Oh, I know."

Glancing up at her Sensei, she raises a brow at his nonchalant attitude, a serene smile on his face as he continues to drink from his tea, returning his attention to the paper before him.

"So...where's Flint?" Cinder asks, glancing around the dining area with mild concern, "I didn't see him on my way down, and I don't see him in here."

"He went to fetch a few things for me, Cinder," he calmly replies, eyes skimming over the words printed onto the paper in his hand, "We will need supplies for the road, and I imagine you wanted to explore Tengoku by yourself."

Taken by surprise, Cinder lowers her menu and looks her Sensei in the eyes, exaggerated concern etched into her features, "Who are you, and what have you done with Sensei?"

"You're old enough to wander around for a while, and I'm more concerned about an attacker's safety if someone is unfortunate enough to target you," Paul says with a chuckle, smoothing out with the paper with a hand before placing his teacup on the table, "Don't think I didn't notice that pouch on you, my apprentice. Have fun, look around. You could go with Madakawa, since we're all going to meet at Yamatetsu's dojo later in the day."

"Nooooo, I want to go alone for this," she reassures with raised hands, glancing around with a grimace, "I don't think I want to spend the entire day with him. I'll be fine on my own."

"If you are sure," Paul simply replies, the two of them falling into silence until Cinder's order is taken shortly afterward.

Once her food arrives, Cinder wolfs it down with a smile, then hurries towards the door, waving at her Sensei as she runs, "See you later, and thanks for letting me do this!"

Watching Cinder leave, Paul can only smile and take another sip of his tea, his smile growing into one that a father would have watching his child growing up before his eyes.

=====

"Holy shit, I'm actually in Tengoku by myself!" Cinder cheers with a grin, eyes wandering everywhere within sight as she takes in the view of the large city, its many citizens wandering the streets on their way to their lives, "It's huge! I can't believe this place used to be a small trade city a thousand years ago."

Making her way to the markets, Cinder remains smiling the entire trip there, staring in awe at the throngs of people within the massive marketplace, stalls and vendors of all kinds set up inside. The smell of food permeates the air, leading one to rightly assume that a good portion of the merchants also sell pre-made food, and she decides to stop for a snack at a particular stall that happens to be less busy than the others.

"Hello, sir! What are you selling?" she asks with a polite smile, looking over the colorful, animal-shaped confections, "They certainly smell good!"

"You have excellent taste, young lady! I sell what is my own homemade recipe, a Rainbow Pet! They're tasty, filled with delicious chocolate, and sometimes even have fruit jelly inside!" he claims, returning the smile and even holding one shaped like a sea lion towards her, "Try one! If you like it, you can buy another one. If not, then I guess I need to work on the recipe again."

Chuckling at the man's joke, Cinder takes the treat with a thank you before taking a bite of it, humming in delight as the warm chocolate center floods into her mouth. The man's smile grows as he sees her obviously pleased reaction, Cinder reaching for her bag with an excited grin, "Three coppers, you said? Sir, you are underselling yourself! These should be at least five apiece!"

"Well, if you want to pay that much for them, who am I to say no? I trust that the increased cost won't hurt the young lady's coffers too heavily?" he jokingly asks, trusting that she would not have made the offer if she could not afford it.

"Absolutely not! I insist, and I want three of them!" she declares with a pleased smile, taking fifteen copper Crowns out of her pouch and handing them over to him, finishing off the rest of her first snack, "Oh my gosh, how it is this tasty?"

"Trade secret, I'm afraid. Tell you what, you can have a fourth one for being such a good sport and for being the nicest customer I've had today," he declares, placing the four treats into separate bags and then into a larger bag, giving her the bag of delicious food and wishing her well before she leaves to continue exploring.

Soon enough, while snacking on a jelly-filled Rainbow Pet, Cinder stumbles across a merchant selling living essentials, soaps, candles, and other daily goods on display before her. Stopping to look over the young merchant's inventory, Cinder lets her eyes wander until she spots a pure white comb, carved in intricate patterns and featuring a fox face on the handle.

"How much is this comb?" she asks, gently picking up the comb before holding it towards the merchant for her to see, "It's gorgeous! I would love to bring this on the road with me, and I would love to know who made it!"

"Aww, thank you very much. I'm glad you like my work," the merchant says, revealing herself as an artist rather than a merchant, "That one will cost you twenty silvers, kid. You have an eye for quality, I'll say that much."

"O-oh, I...think I only have thirteen silver Crowns and some change," Cinder admits softly, moving to put the comb back on the display before stopping as she feels someone put a hand on her shoulder.

"Please, my dear. Allow me," the cloaked figure behind her says with a smile, his lupine muzzle poking out to reveal a friendly smile, and readily handing the money to the artist with a furred arm, "I can afford to part with a few pieces of silver to give a stranger a gift out of kindness."

Narrowing her eyes at the hooded figure, Cinder takes a step away and raises a brow, clearly suspicious of him, "Why? Like you said, I'm a stranger to you. I mean...thank you, but that's a lot of money. It's hard to believe that you just felt like buying that for me without wanting something in return."

"Well, you have good taste," he says with a chuckle, gesturing to the comb and slipping his hood down to reveal a fox-like face, his entire head covered in a layer of fine, red fur, "Perhaps that is the selfish part of my motivations, miss. I assure you, I can afford it. Unfortunately, I must be off for a meeting with an old friend, so I do hope you take care."

Furrowing her brows, the fire-haired girl shrugs before looking at the artist and holding the comb towards her, "So, uh...did he actually give you twenty silver Crowns? Cause if he did, I really want this comb."

"Yeah, that's twenty silvers," the artist says with a raised brow of her own, looking over the coins with a smile, "Newer ones too, so they're in really good condition. That guy might have been a noble, or something. Maybe one of those big business guys from The Conglomerate."

"Huh? What's a Conglomerate?" Cinder inquires with a tilt of her head, pocketing the comb and smiling happily at her newly acquired souvenir, "That's a company, right? You mean he runs a business?"

"No, I'm talking about that massive island off of the eastern shore that is covered in technology and shoots anyone who gets too close," she says in reply, pocketing the silver coins and giving a shrug, "Never been to the place, but some of them show up here in Tengoku for some reason or another. A few of them have even bought from me and my neighbors here."

"So they're...a country?"

Rolling her eyes, the artist nods her head and gestures behind her with a hand, leaning back in her seat, "Yup, and they're that way. Unless you get rich, don't even think about trying to go there. You'll just die...or worse."

"Worse than dying?" Cinder asks with a soft frown, not liking the sounds of this Conglomerate in the slightest, "What else do they do? Torture?"

"Enslavement. If they don't kill you, they'll take you and sell you off at their auction houses. Or so I've heard, but that's the rumor," the artist replies, shrugging again and glancing to the side, "Either way, I recommend staying clear of them. They tend to like anything considered rare, and...well, you are a Magic-kin, and that's pretty rare."

"...noted. Thanks for the warning, I appreciate it," Cinder says with a soft smile, mildly unnerved by what she heard from her, "It's something to keep in mind. Thanks for the comb, too."

"Don't thank me, thank your mysterious noble. Who is currently being tailed by those four guys over there," she says with a chuckle, pointing towards the path that the fox man went, "I'm pretty sure they're armed, too. Perhaps someone could assist him, hehehe."