The sword erupted with flames which singed the hairs from her hand, the intensity of the heat had been so strong that her regeneration wasn’t enough. Layers of skin lit up with a bright pink from the rapid burning and then healed up, she was caught in a back and forth pain that wasn’t able to shut off.

Fei stumbled back and attempted to fling the sword away, her footing on Kira had disappeared so he took the opportunity to twist around towards the sword and desperately clung on to it.

Both he and his weapon were tossed up into the air with ease; she examined her burning hand still wrapped in flames. No matter how much she swung her hand around the flame wouldn’t go out, it only grew larger until it wrapped further around her arm.

With 7 frantic swats through the air, the fire spread quickly up to her elbow. At first it was an annoying sting that was bearable but extremely annoying however with the degree it had escalated to it was more like a writhing pain. No matter how much the skin burnt away it would only grow back and then burn away again, her regenerative abilities were matched by the fierce power of Kira’s flames.

“Tch, what did he do to me?!” She panicked.

Fei panned her gaze around and focused on the rushing water of the stream ahead of her, without a second thought she fell onto all fours and raced towards the water. It only took a moment for the pain in her arm to slacken her running.

Kira was still high over the ground without any way of slowing down but as he twirled through the air he locked eyes onto Fei. He became visibly annoyed by what she had just done to him, he had thought that he had won but now everything would be wasted if she could reach the water.

He stiffened his body into fighting position and struck down with a heavy motion. “Midnight slash!” A small pulse of shadow-like flames emitted from his sword and cut through the air.

Seconds before reaching the water, the flames struck the earth and cut her off. A wall of flames sprouted up before her that burnt with the last remainders of his strength, Fei stared into the void of the shadowy embers burning inches from her and flinched.

Kira smashed into the stone layered ground and created a loud crash, Fei had no place left to run and instead turned towards him with a feral growl. “Fix this now…!” Her face went scrunched up with rage as she had been backed into a corner with the searing pain from fire over her arm.

‘That healing is sapping her dry, only a bit longer and she should be too weak to fight.’

Suddenly she darted forward with her flaming arm raised; he had little to no time to react so he dropped his sword and raised a flimsy cross guard. Fei’s fist crashed into his arm like a meteor striking the earth, every ounce of her weight and anger was pushing her forward and forcing him back.

Even with all the energy she was being forced to expel in order to keep healing, Fei’s punching power still sent shivers down his spine as he felt his guard swiftly failing. The knuckles wrapped in fire sunk deeper into his block and were only inches from his face. Sweat begun to race down the sides of his face and his body trembled.

‘I’m almost all tapped out- shit there’s nothing left!’ Kira thought with panic.

The situation looked dire and Inari watched form the side lines, she thought of jumping in to help with over a hundred different thoughts crossing her mind. She knew that none of them would be able to help though; she stared with widened eyes as Kira fought to protect her.

Someone she knew little to nothing about, that she had only just met was throwing his life away to help her and she wasn’t able to help him at all. If she did step in it would only through away all the efforts he had gone through to save her.

A burning passion to help welled up inside her and forced her forward, she slowly made her way towards the two titans clashing at the other side of the burning wall of fire.

She could no longer stand by and watch so with every pent up feeling she had holding her back she grit her teeth and released it. Her pearly white hair rose up and shone with a spectrum of colours that cycled through it. Her hair colour became holographic as it levitated up and down in place.

Her eyes lit up with a bright white shine as a tear filled the corner of her eye. “This is all I can do. Help him. Help…him!” Inari let off a determined look as she focused her attention to Kira.

With both her arms raised in front of her as if something were about to shoot out from her palms, the flames around his body flared up with an intense rush of energy that exceeded anything he had made before.

Both Kira and Fei were surprised by the sudden burst of power and locked eyes once again. Kira who had been forced down into the ground before had turned the tides of the battle and repelled her back.

‘The fire in me is seriously huge, where did all of this come from? It feels like I’m holding the sun inside of my chest…I won’t go down.’ Black flames concentrated around Kira’s arms into a large spiral.

The spiralling void of flames spun and spun only growing larger; it didn’t take long for Fei’s crushing force to be completely negated and was now sucking her in. She tried to resist it and break through but there was no chance, it had already exceeded her own size and grew well past the point of stopping.

Like a void it only continued to grow and showed no signs of stopping, to be honest Kira didn’t have full control of it from the start. It just appeared out of an instinctive response from his body, based on his urge to beat her.

When he was being forced back he continuously repeated the line ‘Don’t get crushed’ over and over until, that happened.

“How are you growing so strong, this isn't possible?!” Fei summoned all her strength and ripped herself off the spiral, the skin around both arms had been wrapped with flames that exceeded her healing. “I must escape…” Her eyes filled with fear and Kira knew instantly what was to come. Fei made a run for it with all her speed but didn’t get far.

She rushed off on all fours but the fire had already spread well past her shoulder and restricted her from using her arms to run. As she tried to run the pain caused her to collapse over and skip across the ground like a stone on water.

Kira picked up his sword with haste. “I have you- ugh!” The flams around his arms grew uncontrollable; he felt a familiar pain rushing through his arms that he recognised straight away. The flames around his arms that were out of his control were burning him with an intense amount.

The air around Inari lifted up and seemed as if time had stopped, flat white stones and droplets of water floated around her almost motionless through the air.

“I’ll bring down the amount for a second but when I give the signal you have to let loose like never before!”

He snapped his attention towards her and spoke out with a confused tone. “What, what the hell does that mean?”

“We don’t have time for this, just do it!”

Just like Inari had said she would, the flames reduced down to a controllable amount. Even with the flames gone he was still able to feel the lingering sting running across his forearm.

Fei rolled around in pain while screaming off into the sky as the fire spread into a wild flame around her. As Inari lowered the flames in Kira’s hands, the flames around Fei shortened in response.

Fei huffed in and out with deep breaths as the skin and fur on her body slowly grew back, every inch of her was throbbing with sudden stings and aches. Out the corner of her eye she noticed the glistening white aura surrounding Inari and pieced the situation together.

Every other sight and sense had long vanished and the only thing she locked on to was the prey before her. “THAT HURT YOU LITTLE RAT!”

Fei gripped into the ground with her massive claws and ripped out chunks of dirt as she propelled herself forwards. With a swift speed she barrelled towards Inari with killing intent, Fei grew closer and closer with seconds away from reaching her.

She broke through the flames against the stream and Inari’s eyes lit up, as Fei reached the two meters away mark, Inari let off a terrified command. “Now!”