The Will of Fire

45...Saiaka's Determination

Toneri and Saiaka stood across from Wu Zhang and his wife, ZhenZhen. The sky had turned into night, and different sounds filled the South of Senzu Forest.
"Come on you two, make your first moves. Because those will be your lasts!" Said ZhenZhen.
Toneri looked and saw Honda and Ganryu still unconscious.
"I wish those two would wake up...useless. I guess me and Saiaka will just have to do." He thought to himself.
"You heard my wife" Wu Zhang said. "Make your first move!"
Saiaka looked at Toneri and nodded her head. With a quick nod back from Toneri, Saiaka dashed towards ZhenZhen. Toneri quickly followed, but was running head on towards Wu Zhang.
"You stay here Měilì. Mommy will take care of this alone. You worry not either, darling." ZhenZhen said with a smirk.
Her red panda companion, Měilì obeyed and sat down, patiently waiting for a command. Wu Zhang smirked and listened to his wife as well. Saiaka and Toneri began to close in on ZhenZhen and Wu Zhang, but quickly were intercepted.
"What the hell?" Toneri said, surprised.
ZhenZhen had appeared in front of both of in the blink of an eye. While standing, she lifted one leg over her head. With force she swung it down, her heel driving into the ground with massive power. Pieces of the earth went everywhere, creating dust that  surrounded the area. When the dust cleared, there was a huge crater in the ground, but no one in the center of it 
"Hmm. Pity. They got away." ZhenZhen said, shrugging carelessly.
Toneri and Saiaka were up in a tree, looking down below at the destruction.
"The power in that axe kick. It created a crater in the ground. If that had connected..." Toneri said.
"The only way she'd possess that kind of strength is by being a Superhuman. Good thing I grabbed you and got us out of the way." Saiaka said.
"Okay, so perfect. She's a Superhuman like you are. You can take her, and I'll take the pretty boy over there." Toneri said.
"Not exactly" Said Saiaka. "Yes, I'm a Superhuman of the Strength Type. But, that isn't my first Type and Class. I'm more experienced in my initial Fire Type."
"Damn that's right. You're a Mysticmancer of the Fire Type first. So that means we both will just have to work together on taking them down. But how? Not to mention that red panda of hers. I'm sure it's not just for show." Toneri said.
Saiaka looked intently at Wu Zhang and ZhenZhen.
"Okay, they don't know where we are. We need to plan an attack from this range to catch them off guard. Then, attack up close" Saiaka said. "We need to subdue Wu Zhang. We know his abilities already. With him out of the way, it allows us to strictly focus on ZhenZhen and the red panda."
Toneri sighed as his mind raced with thoughts.
"Damn. I really could use a cigarette right now." He said.
Saiaka grimaced at him, which silenced him quickly.
"They actually dodged your Hell Heel attack" said Wu Zhang. "It has been a while since anyone was quick enough to escape from that attack unscathed."
ZhenZhen laughed softly and flipped the right side of her hair behind her right shoulder.
"Okay. I'm ready." Saiaka said to Toneri.
While in the treetop, Saiaka created an orb of fire in front of her.
"I don't think so!" Wu Zhang shouted, quickly turning his head, staring directly at Toneri and Saiaka.
"What?! He knew we were up here?!" Saiaka shouted in shock.
Suddenly Wu Zhang moved his right hand in a horizontal line in front of him, four long swords appearing and levitating. ZhenZhen smirked and chuckled a bit. Without another word, Wu Zhang sent the four swords directly at Toneri and Saiaka.
"Quick, move!" Toneri shouted.
The two dropped from the tree and landed on their feet. Without hesitation, ZhenZhen was charging directly at them.
"Shit, here she comes!" Saiaka said.
Toneri quickly dashed in front of ZhenZhen and began to engage her in hand-to-hand combat, both blocking each other's strikes. ZhenZhen quickly spun and did a sweep kick, tripping Toneri.
Now standing over Toneri, she raised her leg over her head as she did earlier.
"There's that move again!" Saiaka said to herself.
She looked up and saw the orb of fire she created in the treetop. She quickly teleported the orb from the treetop to directly over ZhenZhen's head. When ZhenZhen looked up, she couldn't believe she had let her guard down.
"Exploding Orb!" Saiaka shouted.
The orb of fire had burst and spread above ZhenZhen's head.
"The flames will spread all around her. There's no escape. Got her." Saiaka thought to herself.
Toneri ran over to Saiaka.
"Thanks. You saved my ass there. Had I got hit with that Hell Heel of hers..." He said.
Suddenly, ZhenZhen opened one of her Cherry Ribbon Fans, allowing its sparkling pink ribbon to elegantly blow in the wind. Leg still raised, she spun on the other leg. The sparkling pink ribbon of the fan had now turned to a sparkling blue, and twirled around her beautifully as she spun on one foot. The flames closed in on her from above and both sides of her, but did no damage.
"What? Impossible!" Saiaka shouted.
Toneri looked closely and nudged Saiaka.
"Something isn't right here" he said. "The ribbon on the fan. It turned blue. It was pink before. It seems to be shielding her."
Saiaka looked intently and noticed her teammate was correct. She bit her bottom lip in anger.
"Just what the hell kinda fans are those?" She thought to herself.
The flames had vanished, and ZhenZhen had stopped spinning, lowering her leg back to the ground. The blue ribbon returned back to pink as she stood there grinning.
"My turn again." Said Wu Zhang.
In the blink of an eye, he launched a barrage of swords into the air. He was a distance behind ZhenZhen, controlling the swords.
"Um. Toneri?" Saiaka said slowly as she looked up at the sky of swords.
Toneri swallowed hard as a sweat bead rolled down his temple. The swords then began to fall from the sky, headed directly towards Toneri and Saiaka.
"Run! Now!" Toneri shouted.
Together, the two warriors ran in the opposite direction. Swords began whipping past them as they descended from above, stabbing into the ground. Toneri and Saiaka both ran in zigzags, dodging the falling swords the best they could.
"Its way too many of them at once! We're going to get impaled!" Saiaka shouted as she felt the sword whip past her head and into the ground.
"No, we're not!" Toneri said. "We just have to keep running until we-"
Suddenly, Toneri let out a scream of pain. Saiaka instinctively stopped running and turned around to see what happened. Immediately, she became worked up.
"Toneri, no!" She shouted, running towards him.
"Saiaka, keep running! Don't come near me!" He shouted, now on his knees.
A sword had stabbed through Toneri's back, though it didn't come out through any part of his body in the front. Saiaka ignored Toneri's order to keep running. She screamed as another sword shot into Toneri's back again. Toneri, still on his knees, fell forward on the front of his body. As Saiaka looked up, noticing Wu Zhang. He was hopping from tree to tree, following them from above.
"He's been following us and controlling the swords. Seems he's directing them only towards Toneri now. He's specifically targeting him." She said to herself.
She clenched her fists and a purple energy surrounded them. She noticed Wu Zhang had directed more swords towards Toneri. She quickly ran and stood over Toneri.
"Saiaka, what're you doing?! I said keep running!" Toneri yelled, trying to stand but just was too hurt.
"No! I won't run away from you! I'm going to protect you, Toneri!" Saiaka shouted.
Toneri lifted his head and looked at Saiaka.
"Her fists. That's that herculean purple energy. She's finally tapped into her secondary type and class. Superhuman Class of the Strength Type." He said to himself.
Swords began to near Saiaka she stood over Toneri.
"Guarding him from my Rain of Steel attack will never work. You'll die along with him now." Wu Zhang said from the treetop above.
"Not quite, ponytail boy." Saiaka said sternly.
Wu Zhang's facial expression shifted quickly to disbelief. Saiaka began punching every sword that fell out of the sky towards them, shattering every one.
"Impossible! She's breaking my swords! What amazing reflexes!" Wu Zhang shouted angrily.
Toneri began to stand, staying behind Saiaka. He stared in amazement. Saiaka moved just as quick as every falling sword, never allowing a single one to harm her, or further harm Toneri. With every punch she grunted vigorously, putting all of her strength into every strike. Eventually, the swords stopped coming at them, and Saiaka desisted. Breathing heavily, Saiaka stood tall. Toneri walked up beside her.
"That was incredible." He said.
Saiaka squealed a bit.
"Toneri! Don't move so much! I have to get those two swords out of your back!" She shouted, turning Toneri around.
Wu Zhang dropped from the trees above them.
"How? How dare you do that!" He angrily shouted at Saiaka. "No one has ever destroyed my steel swords. I forged them myself, and not once have I ever had them destroyed. You'll pay for making me lose thirty-six swords."
"Thirty-Six huh? I guess that doesn't make you The Man of A Hundred Swords anymore does it? Man of Sixty-Four Swords Now." Toneri mocked.
Saiaka pulled the two swords from Toneri's back very carefully. Fists still glowing purple, she snapped the swords in two like a twig.
"Sixty-Two actually." She said, staring at him angrily.
Toneri felt something wrap around his body.
"What the hell!" He shouted.
Saiaka looked behind her, and saw ZhenZhen standing there with Měilì on her shoulders.
"What the hell?! How did she get behind us?!" Saiaka shouted.
She noticed ZhenZhen had Toneri restricted by the ribbon of her fan.
"What? The ribbon is yellow now. What in the world?" Saiaka said.
ZhenZhen laughed as Měilì snarled.
"Forgetting about me will prove to be your biggest mistake!" She said with a devilish grin.
"Cherry Ribbon Fan: Instantaneous Shockwave!" ZhenZhen shouted.
The now yellow ribbon of the fan had began to glow a brighter yellow. Toneri screamed in agony as the ribbon seemed to be electrocuting him.
"Let him go!" Saiaka shouted, running towards ZhenZhen, purple energy still covering her fists.
Quickly, Měilì snarled and jumped from ZhenZhen's shoulders. Saiaka became face to face with the growling red panda to her surprise. Suddenly, Měilì spun while in air and smacked Saiaka hard in the face with her tail, causing Saiaka to lose her footing a bit. Měilì then struck Saiaka in the face with a strike from her paw similar to a palm strike. The force was incredible considering Měilì had knocked Saiaka on her butt with that attack. Saiaka couldn't believe it. She stood back to her feet and saw Měilì standing between her and ZhenZhen as she still electrocuted Toneri.
"This red panda. It has strength. That tail whip stung incredibly. And that paw strike hit like a small car. It isn't going to let me pass to get to ZhenZhen and free Toneri. Damn, we've got our work cut out for us here." She thought to herself.
ZhenZhen laughed maniacally as she relentlessly electrocuted Toneri. Wu Zhang whistled, causing Saiaka to notice that he was behind her.
"Damn! Him too!" Saiaka shouted.
Wu Zhang began spitting many small sharp swords as small and thin as needles.
"As I thought, he can hide swords in his mouth. Its no myth." She thought to herself.
Saiaka quickly covered herself in a clear reddish sphere, shielding herself. She noticed Měilì was standing above her and on top of the sphere she was in, snarling and looking down at her.
"What?! How is the red panda able to be on top of my Mystic Barrier Sphere?! It burns anyone or anything that comes in contact with it!"
"Foolish girl! Měilì is resistant to any fire! She can't be burned!" ZhenZhen shouted.
Saiaka was in disbelief. Měilì drew back a paw and struck Saiaka's barrier sphere repeatedly, while Wu Zhang continued to spit the needle like swords at the barrier as well.
"The red panda is working with Wu Zhang. They're trying to drive me out of this barrier" she began to think to herself. "I'll either be stabbed many times by those swords he's spitting, or attacked with no way to defend by the red panda. Damn it! I don't know how long I can keep this barrier around me. My power energy is getting low. And Toneri...those fans of ZhenZhen's...just what the hell kinda power do they possess?"
Toneri was still screaming in agony, unable to do a thing. His arms were restricted at his sides along with his body.
"Think Saiaka...think...think!" Saiaka thought to herself.
Saiaka already had both arms extended outwards on both sides to keep the barrier up, so she took to other methods. With all of her strength to keep the barrier around her at the same time, Saiaka began spinning. Měilì dug claws into the barrier to try and stay atop the barrier sphere, but the velocity flung her away. Quickly, Saiaka had vanished, leaving embers of flames in the air. Wu Zhang stopped his onslaught and looked around.
"She vanished?" He said out loud.
"I said let him go!"
ZhenZhen looked up and saw that Saiaka was directly above her, one fist covered in purple energy and the other covered in a wavering flame. Saiaka's fist slammed into ZhenZhen hard, also hitting the ground with herculean force. The ground crumbled as fragments of the earth went flying about and everyone's vision became briefly obscured by the dust in the air caused by this clash. Flames sprayed about as well. The trees in the forest began to even tremble from the force caused by Saiaka. As the dust began to clear a little, an enormous crater in the ground became visible. This was bigger than the one ZhenZhen had created earlier with her Hell Heel attack. The crater released smoke into the air as the flames in it scorched the earth. Saiaka stood in the middle of it, breathing heavily.
"That's it. I'm done. My Power Energy is just about empty." She said.
Toneri laid inside the crater safely next to her. Though, he was extremely hurt by ZhenZhen's electrocution. Dust still obscured most of their vision.
"Toneri? You alright?" Saiaka asked with labored breaths.
"I don't know. My body feels kinda numb. Stings bad. But what on earth did you just do? That attack was incredible." Toneri said, struggling to stand.
"No clue. I've never done that attack before" Saiaka said. "I just knew executing an attack using both the herculean energy and fire would do damage. Either way, there's no way she survived that. Her lifeless body lies right in the center of this crater. We'll see once the dust clears. It should have knocked away Wu Zhang and the red panda as well."
The remainder of the dust cleared and Saiaka and Toneri waited to see the fates of their enemies.
"Impossible." Toneri said.
"She...she's...they're..." Saiaka stuttered to talk.
In the center of the crater was nothing at all. Just small flames and smoke.
"You two really will have to try a lot harder than that."
Saiaka and Toneri looked above them and saw their enemies standing tall on a tree branch.
"No way. There's just no way" Saiaka said in disbelief. "I was directly above her...I know I hit her...I had to have hit her!"
"That had to have taken incredible speed to dodge that. Just what the hell is with these people?" Toneri said.
ZhenZhen laughed as Měilì grinned as well. Wu Zhang smirked and chuckled a bit.
"I think they're finally realizing they're bested here." He said.
"Foolish Japanese pests" ZhenZhen said. "Have you not noticed our power yet? Are you that ignorant to power stronger than yours?! You aren't the only one with the ability to vanish and reappear!"
The words from ZhenZhen cut Saiaka deep.
"That's how. That's how she did it..." Saiaka said, pointing at ZhenZhen's fan.
Toneri looked and was caught by surprise.
"The ribbon of the fan. Its green now" he said, frustrated. "It went from pink...to blue...to yellow...to now green. Just what the hell kinda weapon is that huh?!"
ZhenZhen laughed maniacally, shoulders jumping up and down with every laugh.
"Awww, you two are afraid. As you should be. I can tell you both are very close to complete exhaustion. You're power energies are extremely low." She said.
"Can you handle them alone?" Asked Wu Zhang. "I'm going to return to the other part of the forest. Wake up Goldee and Léon, then seek out the others."
"Go right head, dear. The Chinese Coalition should be in full effect, I'm sure they'd love having you there as aid as well. Me and Měilì has this one." ZhenZhen smiled.
With a smirk, Wu Zhang turned away and hopped through treetops in the other direction. ZhenZhen and Měilì dropped to the ground from the tree. Saiaka and Toneri got in a fighting stance, readying themselves.
"I have a feeling she's nowhere near finished. This fight is far from over." Toneri said.
"My Power Energy is close to empty. I have enough to perform only a couple level 3 attacks. Anything higher will exhaust me completely." Said Saiaka.
"I'm hurt, but I have more Power Energy than you do at this moment" said Toneri as he walked in front of Saiaka. "Stay behind me, Saiaka. I'll take care of most of this. You be my support."
"Okay. Got it." Saiaka responded.
Suddenly Toneri shouted in pain once again.
"What's the matter?!" Saiaka shouted to Toneri in a frantic tone.
Toneri fell to one knee, breathing heavily as Saiaka knelt beside him.
"My body. I feel as if I just been electrocuted again. I can't feel my right leg." Toneri responded.
ZhenZhen's high pitched laugh pierced Saiaka's ears again.
"What the hell did you to him?!" She yelled.
"He's still suffering from my electrocution" Said ZhenZhen. "In minutes, his entire body will become paralyzed indefinitely. It isn't basic lightning that my Cherry Ribbon Fan possesses. This lightning is very different from even your fallen Emperor Tskune. This lightning focuses on paralyzing the muscles and tendons. In actuality, my Cherry Ribbon Fan has many different abilities thanks to Emperor Kuan of Vietnam. His sorcery is amazing. Sad thing is, you've only experienced one."
ZhenZhen quickly reached behind her back and revealed another Cherry Ribbon Fan, its pink ribbon blowing in the air.
"Damn it! I forgot she has two fans!" Saiaka thought to herself.
Toneri winced in pain as he now held his left arm.
"I can't feel my left arm now. I can't...move it at all." Toneri struggled to speak.
He suddenly fell forward on the front of his body.
Saiaka clenched her fists together.
"You think we've came this far just to lose here? You don't know the power us Japanese warriors have. It is NOT to be taken lightly! You'll pay for what you've done to Toneri!" Saiaka scolded.
Again, ZhenZhen did her signature laugh.
"Oh please, who do you think you are? I'm a former Empress of China!" ZhenZhen shouted. "I am a Superhuman of the Strength Type, as well as a Weaponry Type with my Cherry Ribbon Fans. My power is not to underestimated little girl! I thought you'd figure that out by now!"
"Oh trust me. I know you're strong, ZhenZhen" said Saiaka. "But your cockiness will be your downfall. Believe that!"
The two ribbons on ZhenZhen's fans had now both turned purple.
"What? Purple now?" Saiaka said, confused.
"Again. I am a Superhuman as you are. However, I am so strong that I can transfer my Herculean Energy into my Cherry Ribbon Fans." ZhenZhen responded.
Saiaka gulped hard.
"No way! How the hell can she do that?! Its never been heard of that a Superhuman can pour their energy into a weapon of choice. She really is strong..." Saiaka thought to herself.
Měilì stood on all fours next to ZhenZhen, snarling and showing her teeth.
"Now! The battle truly begins!" Shouted ZhenZhen, both fans at her side. "Let me bring you to your demise, Saiaka!"