Kemuri

Chapter 7: 145th duel

Pyro was sitting in one of the open spots of the dense rainforest, the grass was shorter and drier. Mexi, the largest of the 16 great trees of the jungle loomed over him, its foliage starting 5meters from the grounds but reaching over 40 meters in the sky. Its leaves were blue-green all year long, and it's bark lighter than the other trees. Pyro was gazing at its tall branches, waiting. Finally, his peace was disturbed.

Somebody landed on the ground heavily, raising some dust. They tried to push their body up with severely damaged arms, they were both bruised and blood was flowing from their left arm, pooling around their fingers. Their body was shaking and their breathing was unstable. Pyro stood up, flicking dust off his pants. "Finally... you really can't ever be on time," he chuckled as a shadow jumped out of a tree

Huitzi landed with a loud THUMP, sending debris flying. His chain clinked as it settled around his neck, he lifted his head quickly, flicking his hair backward. "Sorry for being late," he beamed. "I was huh... distracted."

"Yeah, yeah, me too, yet I'm still here, right? How many?"

"4."

"That's low."

"Huh? How many you got?"

"5," he smirked.

"That's the same!" he replied, somewhat upset.

"Not at all!"

"Yes, it is!" They were ready to start another bickering match but both remembered what they came here to do. "Anyway, ready or not?"

"I was ready yesterday!" replied Pyro, he was as excited as Huitzi. Both friends got into position.

The wind blew softly, birds were flying overhead and a small lizard reared its head from beneath a tree root, it seemed nature stirred in the wake of their 145th duel. Huitzi's eyes were locked on his opponent. His brow was sweaty and his clothes were dirty but he was too focused to let it bother him. A bead of sweat fell from his chin, twinkling in the sunlight. As it touched the ground, they dashed.

Huitzi took three long steps then jumped, his right foot leading the way and Pyro met him with his right fist. Time seemed to freeze as they clashed, they were both smiling from ear to ear. Huitzi spun using his friend's fist as a boost to throw a spinning left kick, sending Pyro flying into Mexi despite being able to block in time. He just tipped on the ground and dashed towards Pyro, aiming once again to land a flying kick. Pyro just tilted his head to the side, Huitzi only landed on Mexi, his leg now exposed. Pyro grabbed his exposed leg to throw him to the side, Huitzi rolled on his back but managed to stop on his knees. Before he could lift his head, Pyro landed a head kick that sent his body flying backward, blood bursting from his lips. This time he landed flat on his back, disoriented. Shit, he landed the first hit, thought Huitzi, half-upset.

Pyro stood over him and threw a powerful right aiming for Huitzi's head but only struck dirt. Huitzi grabbed his collar and pulled him in to deliver a powerful headbutt, blood flowed out of Pyro's nose. "You didn't think i would be the only one bleeding right?!" exclaimed Huitzi as he jumped back up, spitting blood with every syllable.

"Of course not!" he replied, blowing blood out of his nose. "But I'm just getting started!"

"So am I!" and they were back at it. Exchanging blows, parrying, and counterattacking, the intensity of two men fighting with everything they had filling the air, as well as the light-hearted atmosphere of two friends having fun. Nobody bothered them for the remainder of their duel, only the occasional wildlife rearing its head. They fought until dusk.

The Clock Tower rang 6 pm and the end of their duel. Both men stood silent on shaky legs, their breathing was loud and heavy. Their knuckles were bruised, their clothes dirty and ripped here and there, their hair was wet and messy and they were covered in bloodstains. The sun shone above, it had shifted to light orange, reflecting off of their glistening skin. A Luces was the one to disturb the peace. "Phenomenal fight!" he said as he jumped down from a branch. "You boys sure had a fight for the ages. Now it's time to head back, you definitely deserved it."

After a few more instants, both friends walked towards each other as steadily as they could. They stopped in front of one another and looked at each other in the eyes, Pyro had dark brown eyes but in the summer sunlight, they seemed almost orange. They bowed, stood back up, kept their composure for about a second before bursting out laughing. "Wow! Your blows have gotten a lot more powerful! And that kick at the beginning, where did you learn it?" started Huitzi.

« I don't know, it just happened in the moment! And your kicks too though, you were flying!"

"I've been training with my dad! I'm gonna have to thank him!" Both friends walked back to the village, laughing and joking despite the exhaustion.

Back on the village square, Cenit gathered all the participants that could still stand, some had already passed out and were good to sleep until the next day. "Brilliant! Incredible! Stunning! Prodigious! You men and women have shown resolve and might worthy all the glory there is to obtain! Now go and rest, you have deserved it, but be ready for tomorrow's events!" He puffed his chest, a proud smile on his face. 

After his speech, the participants could finally head home. Huitzi high-fived Pyro and Honoka goodbye and headed home on shaky legs. He went into his room without a word, took off his stained clothes, and fell on his bed. 

He dreamt he was fighting a jaguar bigger than him, under the pouring rain.