The Titan Trials

Chapter 8: Clash! Elemental Duel- Fire vs. Water

After lunch, Raven and Cyborg takes us back to the training area while Nightwing and Starfire seek the help of the wings. We are currently standing in the training area now and waiting for what to do.

"Alright, everyone! Are y'all ready to begin?" Cyborg asks.

"Okay." I answer.

"Yeah! Lets do it!" Jing Ti cheers.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Alexander says.

"Yeah. I can't wait to get started." Shiroto grins.

"Okay. So while Nightwing is out and tryin' to think of a plan, for now, y'all will spar against each other to show us your stuff. Any volunteers to go first?" Cyborg takes a look around at the four of us patiently.

I look around at the other three and realize how outskilled I am. If I get paired up with any of these people, I'm sure to get beat. The only one I could think of having a chance against is Alexander, and that's because he hasn't really said much about his power. I overheard Shiroto has a fire zanpakuto, and Jing Ti said she could bend two elements and wield a sword, so my chances are pretty slim.

"Hey, miss bender." Shiroto speaks up, "You said you had a sword?"

"Yeah, I do."

"How about a friendly sword fight?" he proposes.

"Yeah, your on!"

"Looks like we have our first match up, ladies and gentlemen!" Cyborg announces. "Let's get out of their way."

I take a deep breath as I move away from Jing Ti and Shiroto to take a seat at the edge of the arena. As long as Shiroto doesn't give in to the infamous Squad 11 bloodlust rage, Jing Ti should be safe against his power and be able to hold her own.

"You ready, miss bender?" Shiroto asks, drawing his sword.

"Yeah, let's do this!" Jing Ti says, drawing her Firebane.

"This should be interesting." Alexander says next to me. "With Shiroto's zanpakuto being a fire type, and Jing Ti being able to bend water, this match should belong to Jing Ti. However, if Shiroto lives up to his self-proclamation of a master swordsman, he should have the upper hand in that respect."

"Take your stance, miss bender." Shiroto grins. Jing Ti does so, which appears to be a variant of a fencing stance. Jing Ti's front is perpendicular to Shiroto, with her blade only facing him. The only difference is the placement of her other hand, which is loosely placed at her other side, next to her waterbending canteen.

Shiroto raises his eyebrows at this unfamiliar stance, and takes his own, which is a straight on stance where he is facing Jing Ti head on with his zanpakuto held out in front of him.

"If your not moving, then I'll go first." Shiroto says. "Here I come!" He starts running straight on to Jing Ti. When he comes to a certain distance, Jing Ti simply tucks her katana in and squats down to Shiroto's feet. There, she uses her free hand to grab his foot and trip him over her. At the speed he is going, Shiroto flies into the wall behind her.

"Whoa... that did not just happen..." Shiroto muffles into the wall. He drops down from the wall with a bloody nose. "Hey! What happened to friendly sword fight? HUH?!" He yells at her.

"What are you going on about?" Jing Ti asks him nonchalantly. "If you weren't going so fast, maybe you wouldn't have hit it so hard." She smirks at him.

"That's it..." Shiroto gets up, "if your gonna play dirty, then I'm not holding back!" He makes a movement with his hand across his zanpakuto. "Pierce the scarlet horizon, Fenikkusu!" He releases his zanpakuto. Raeshi erupts from his sword in a bold orange flame, making it transform within. When the shikai transformation is complete, the zanpakuto is no longer in a katana shape. It is a glowing orange longsword with kido runes emblazoned on its hilt and blade.

"Whoa..." Jing Ti muses.

"Hey, Soul Reaper! Doncha think that's going a bit overboard?" I shout to him. "It was you who said friendly sword fight!"

"Yeah, well now the gloves're off!" Shiroto shouts. "We'll fight until one of us gives up."

"How about you fight until one of you drops your sword?" Raven says. "We don't need any unnecessary injury here!"

"So be it." Shiroto says. "The first one to drop their sword looses."

It is now that the duel really begins. Shiroto waves his sword around in a battle cry and flames erupt from its blade. As this happens, Jing Ti's Firebane senses the fire, and starts to glow red. With a determined look, she does something that I have never seen before in a bender. She summons the water from her pouch and freezes it into the glowing blade, making it glow a faint purple colour. Then, she runs up to meet Shiroto. "My turn!"

Water meets fire as Jing Ti's blade clashes with Shiroto's. Locked in a battle of strength, Jing Ti is stronger than she looks, even if she is a bit shorter than her opponent. Steam appears in between the two blades, and to tip the balance, Jing Ti uses one leg to momentarily break her stance and hit Shiroto with a surge of water, making him stagger backwards.

With a twirl of her hand, Jing Ti makes the water freeze into ice on Shiroto, and slowly encase him in ice. Shiroto grins and exhales deeply as the start of the ice begins to melt, and starts walking slowly to Jing Ti. However, as he approaches combat distance to her, his zanpakuto drops from his hand and falls to the ground.

"Wha--? What is?" Shiroto stammers as he looks down his arm. He sees a horrific sight; his hand is completely encased in ice, severing the fiery connection between him and his zanpakuto. "I win." Jing Ti smiles as she returns her element. "Good match." Shiroto's zanpakuto returns to its previous state and Jing Ti's sword does so in kind.

"Wow. She's good." Cyborg muses.

"Indeed. I think Starfire picked her for more than her optimism." Raven agrees.

"How did you beat me so quickly?" Shiroto runs up to her. "What's your secret, huh?"

"Easily." Jing Ti replies. "Even though I was born in the Earth Nation, my fighting skills are very Water Nation. I adapted. You run faster than you can handle, and your root is easy to break. That's all."

"Huh. Yeah well, if I was trying, I would've beaten you even before you unsheathed your sword." Shiroto scoffs.

"If you say so." Jing Ti resigns, sitting down with us. Shiroto does the same. "Who's fighting next?"