The Dragon's Bounty

Chapter 10

Khan and Kai glared at one another, smiles on both of their faces. When the buzzer sounded, they launched at one another, Khan leaving a crack on the ground from using his strength, Kai leaving a small blackened spot from his flame launch. Khan launched a super fast punch at Kai, who flipped over at top speeds to kick the fist out of the way, punching Khan in the gut with his own flame propelled fist, sending Khan flying a few feet upward. Khan dashed over to Kai and kicked him in the side of the head, giving Kai a light jolt as he counterattacked with a flaming kick to Khan's chest. Khan blocked it and grabbed Kai's leg, flipping him over and slamming him into the ground. But before Khan could even get to the ground, Kai launched back up and head butted Khan in the head, launching him down into the ground as well. Kai blasted himself into the ground, creating another crater in the hard earth. Emma and Aro's jaws hung open while Andrew sat at the edge of his seat, barely able to hold in an excited squeal. Khan dashed up and tackled Kai into the ground, both rolling into the wall, making a large indention. A large explosion of flame bursted out of the hole, Khan launching to the other side of the arena, crashing into its wall. They both launched at one another and Kai readied a downward kick while Khan readied an uppercut. When they met in the middle in midair, Khan's fist met Kai's ankle, stopping them both and sending out a wave of air, blowing against everyone in the audience's hair. Khan punched Kai in the chest, launching him backward. Kai blasted himself back over, rapidly punching Khan in the chest four times before he flew backward. Khan jumped up and punched Kai in the same spot five times before he flew into the ground as well.
"They still aren't going completely all out." Andrew said. Emma and Aro looked over to him.
"Whaaa?" That was all Aro could get out.
"They're letting one another counterattack. But it's only a matter of time before Kai switches to a mindset that tells him not to play fair. And Khan knows that. So when that happens, Kai will let loose, and so will Khan." Emma and Aro simply drifted their gaze back to Kai, who was zooming back towards Khan with flaming extremities. He let out a shout and slammed his shoulder into Khan's chest, sending them both onward and upward. Khan grabbed Kai and sent an electric jolt through him to stop his flames for a moment, long enough for Khan to flip him over and throw him deep into the ground, making large and long cracks in every direction around the crater. Kai blasted back and Khan got ready, holding his arms in an X in front of him. But to his surprise, Kai just blasted past him, barely being able to pass him in the air with the blast power he was able to project. Kai put his hands together into one fist and slammed them into Khan's back, sending him speeding into the ground. Kai blasted downward with his foot outstretched. When Khan launched himself out of the crater, Kai's foot slammed into his face, sending them both back into the crater. Khan grabbed Kai's tail and flipped him over.
"Hey! That hurt!" Kai whined. Khan smiled and punched him in the chest, sending him flying into the air. Khan launched upward and revved back his fist, sending Kai back into the ground with an electric punch. Kai growled as he launched back into the air. Both began punching each other at top speeds for a moment before both launched backward into the opposite walls of the arena, sending a shockwave through the entire thing. Kai wiped the small stream of blood from his chin. Khan wiped the blood from his nose. Both launched back at one another, their elements completely surrounding their bodies as they flew toward one another with a shout of anger. Their fists collided, both of their powers disappearing. Khan's eyes grew twice their size as a flaming sharp object flew toward his face, giving him a small scratch and sending him backward. Kai pulled back his tail and put on a wild grin. Khan grimaced and his eyes turned into cyan lightning as he and Kai both planted themselves back into the ground.
Andrew let out a quiet but shrill screech. "I love watching fights." He said. "It's about to get good." Kai surrounded his feet in flames, a circle around his ankles. Khan coiled lightning around his limbs. They launched at one another once again, slamming their fists into one another. Kai shot back first, letting Khan recover by only sending him a few feet. Khan planted himself into the ground and popped his neck, Kai jumped out of the wall and rotated his shoulder, chuckling maniacally.
"You're gonna lose sparky!" Kai shouted, his voice low and gruff.
Khan smiled. "Oh yeah, firefly? Who's gonna beat me?!" Kai growled and lit his fists ablaze. Lightning surged around Khan's fists. They launched at one another again, Khan going for the flurry punch. Kai blasted to the side at the last moment, Khan sighing. "Why can't you just play fair?" He asked. Kai simply laughed as he sent a blazing kick into Khan's back, sending him flying into the wall once more. Kai dropped back to the ground, breathing a little heavier than normal as he had a few moments to rest. Khan stepped out of the wall, rubbing his head and shaking the rubble out of his hair. "I thought we were doing a flurry fight!" He shouted.
Kai laughed. "I didn't agree to anything but a fight! So I'll fight you how I want. Old times mean nothing to me!"
Khan sighed and shook his head. "You asked for it." He said. Kai motioned for Khan to come at him. Khan placed his middle finger and his thumb together, pointing them at Kai, who slapped his hands to his cheeks, acting like he was afraid. Khan chuckled. He snapped his fingers, sending out a lightning bolt at high speeds. Kai was hardly able to dodge it in time, feeling the static run through the short hair on the side of his head. He opened his eyes with another wide grin. Khan fired a few more bolts before finally hitting Kai, who flew backward as he jittered and shook through the air, slamming into the ground. Kai vaulted himself off the ground with flames jetting from his shoulders and upper back, his grin flipped upside down.
"You're gonna get it!" He shouted. He blasted himself with flames from the back of his entire body, sending him flying at top speeds toward Khan, who held up his arms in an X. Kai bodyslammed Khan, who smiled. Kai gasped through his clenched teeth. Lightning ran through Khan's arms. Kai growled as Khan sent his arms downward, splitting the X. A large explosion of electricity sent Kai flying into the stands on the opposite side of the arena. Kai got up and shook his head, beginning to step back in.
"And the winner is Lhan! What a fantastic fight, everyone! Give em a round of applause!" The crowd erupted as Kai stormed over to his friends in the stands, sitting down with his arms crossed.
"He cheated. That move really hurts."
Emma laughed. "You did so well, though. You were incredible!"
Kai looked at Emma with glistening eyes. "Really? You truly think so?" Emma nodded. Khan bounced on the balls of his feet as he watched Duros walk out into the arena.
"Whataya say, folks? How about a break before the final round, huh? We know you don't wanna miss this. Go and grab something to eat and we'll ask you back before the fight starts!" Back at the tavern, Emma began walking into the kitchen.
Kai held out his hand in front of her. "I failed. Let me prove myself to you all." Emma shrugged and sat down. Kai entered the kitchen and there were plenty of fiery explosions in the half hour it took him to cook it. When he opened the door with a large plate of some sort of food, the smell of the delicious meal filled the air, making everyone start to drool. He sat the plate down and everyone took a bite. "Well?" Kai asked, not a trace of emotion in his face. Everyone's faces lit up.
"This is amazing." Aro said, getting a few more bites before everyone nodded and started shoveling the food into their mouths. Kai sat down at the bar and chomped on an apple.
"Kai, you gonna eat some?" Emma asked.
Kai shook his head. "I deserve nothing." He said, taking another bite of his apple.
"Oh come on. You fought well. I only won cuz I used that powerful technique." Khan said.
Kai glared at him. "I would have won if you hadn't."
Khan nodded. "Indeed you would have. Next time, be ready." He winked at Kai, who looked away and continued to eat his apple.
"Say, Kai?" Kai glared at Andrew. "What is this?" He asked.
"Sautéd mushrooms with steak and a few various spices and rice. Just something a whipped up from things I saw."
Andrew looked intently at him."You're saying you just randomly put something together just now?" Kai nodded. Andrew smiled. "You two should cook together. I'll bet you could make some good stuff." Kai shrugged.
Emma held up a hand. "I only know how to make known meals, not random stuff he thinks will taste good."
Andrew shrugged. "You should still try." Kai finished off his apple and set his chin on the bar as everyone shared a laugh.
"Hey, Duros, how did you control the earth? Do you have multiple magical abilities?" Aro asked.
Duros swallowed his food. "Actually, I'm an Oread. My race has a strong connection to the earth, allowing us to manipulate it to a degree. It also gives me strength while I'm connected to it. It's amazing. I can't imagine all your races not being able to, must be annoying."
Aro shrugged. "I guess that's fair. I can't imagine other races living without enhanced senses and three types of vision."
Duros shrugged. "I guess everyone has their perks and weaknesses, huh?"
Andrew put his chin in his hands. "Humans don't seem to have an advantage at all. You guys are lucky." Everyone laughed. Even Kai switched modes and fell on the floor laughing.