On Fire (Power Rangers Samurai)

113 - Between / Dilute

~~ flashback continuation ~~

"This is between samurai rangers." Daisuke asserted.

Throughout history, rangers have had many disputes, which were sometimes settled in combat. So Daisuke wasn't all that worried.

The students looked at each other with highly concerned and confused expressions, but knew they had to get out of the way. They lifted Terry and scurried off to a safe spot to spectate.

Looking past trees and bushes, they watched the unmorphed rangers stare each other down.

The tension raised as both stalled the fight, leaving the spectators restless.

But even though there wasn't much going on physically, there was a lot going on mentally.

Both of the rangers knew their opponent a little too well.

Kevin knew that if he were to charge at Lauren with his spinsword, she wouldn't have a hard time countering him.

Rather than putting himself in a vulnerable position by taking the offensive, he would wait forever for her to attack first. That way, he could defend himself against her until he saw the perfect opportunity to strike.

But of course, Lauren knew his strategy. And Kevin knew that she knew it.

With no other choice, she closed in on him with her blade, swinging it toward him to get a reaction.

Kevin jumped backward, letting the sword slice the air in from of him. He kept letting Lauren swish the air around him, occasionally using his spinsword to defend himself.

Getting tired of Kevin's game, Lauren put distance between them. Though it was interesting how level-headed he remained all while being furious.

Kevin ran off into the woods, letting Lauren chase him. He knew Lauren was low on power and energy from the state she was in, so getting her to waste energy would work in his favor.

Lauren didn't mind being on the offensive. She caught up to him, bringing her sword down towards him.

As Lauren approached, Kevin clashed with her sword while pushing his foot into her gut.

Though it hurt, she remained firm in her stance. But it wasn't enough to stop her from being pushed back into a tree by his foot.

As Lauren's back hit the tree, Kevin swung his spinsword at her. However, his sword was stunted, then yanked out of his hands.

Lauren had summoned her night chains and forced Kevin to let go of his sword.

But before Lauren could get the chance to catch him with her chains, Kevin quickly summoned his hydro bow.

Kevin stepped back further, shooting a bunch of hydro arrows, which all flew in different directions but had one target.

Lauren swung her chains, swinging to the left, above, then right, but not quick enough to fully defend her back.

"Kksh," Lauren was hit by an arrow on her back.

Maybe a sense of victory should have came over Kevin, but it didn't. He realized who he was fighting and came to his senses.

"Lauren, let's stop." Kevin faced his weapon down.

But Lauren didn't. Her chains were still swinging. She then approached him with his night chains. As she got closer, Kevin realized that her back was bleeding.

"No Lauren, come on." Kevin pleaded. "We can't do this."

As much as Kevin would step back, Lauren would approach.

Rather than try to catch him again, she swung her night chains, almost as if she was dancing. The chains seemed like a dragon, whipping through trees.

Those trees would start to make their way down, all towards Kevin.

Kevin swapped out his hydro bow for his spinsword, slicing the trees that leaned toward him.

Right as he made the final slash, he saw Lauren push through the broken trees, scarring them as she swung her kusarigama.

Kevin immediately stepped away, summoning his hydro bow once again to use as a shield of some sort.

"Lauren!" Kevin yelled, yet she wasn't fazed.

Kevin tried to study the way her chains moved, but there was too much variation. What is would hit next was unpredictable.

In a way, he thought it was like water. What if darkness was something that swayed like water, pushing and pulling like tides.

Maybe if darkness was like water, he could dilute it.

Accumulating a great amount of symbol power, he began to draw a symbol.

As Kevin flipped the symbol, a great wave was summoned from behind Kevin, coming over both him and Lauren.

Unable to escape, Lauren was carried by the wave, letting go of her night chains.

The wave even reached Daisuke and the other students, merely reaching their knees and soaking their shoes.

As the water dispersed and the wave had flattened, Kevin got up searching for Lauren. He spotted her laying on the floor and coughing.

"Lauren!" He ran towards her and kneeled, realizing that it was highly likely that she wasn't able to swim. What he did was dangerous.

"I'm sorry..." Kevin helped her sit up and patted her back to help her cough. "Let's go back to the Watanabe House."

"Rangers!" Daisuke yelled. "Terry is awake!"

Terry stood, slowly straightening his back. A dark aura encompassed him.

"He's not himself!" One of the students yelled!

"Get back!" Daisuke instructed the students. "Run away!"

Kevin feet automatically fell into a sprint, but he lost his energy quick and fell to the floor. He had used up his symbol power on that huge wave.

Seeing Kevin fall, Lauren got up. She spat out water before morphing, then dashed to Terry.

"Don't go any further." Lauren told Terry.

Terry glanced at her shortly through his white eyes, then refocused on the Watanabe House. He then began to charge toward the house, leaving the scene behind.

Huh?

a/n
sorry if this chapter is a bit of a mess. i dreaded writing it so i hesitated. but ultimately i decided to work on it quickly and put it out