A/N: You might want to listen to the music as you read. Lol.
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"Those that will try to help the candidates would be punished, understand?" Lay sternly said, and the boys solemnly nodded. I could literally feel their competitive auras already fighting off each other. I was starting to believe Lay. If they're already this serious in a practice, then what more in evaluations? Could it be that blood shed is normal there? If then, I would never dare tag along with them.
"Suho, do you want me to give you a head start?"
"No, I can manage," He answered with predator eyes set on Chanyeol. Lay chuckled, before snapping his finger to indicate the start of the first match.
Chanyeol did not waste any second and his eyes glowed a bright orange as he started throwing fireballs at Suho. The older man couldn't do anything yet but run around and avoid the attacks. I was starting to worry for Suho. He wouldn't be able to concentrate on bringing down water if he had fireballs to watch out for. Then after a few minutes, I noticed Chanyeol slowing down.
"Here comes his blisters," Lay mumbled with eyes sparkling in amusement. Suho noticed his opponent's pained expression as well, so he took the opportunity to close his eyes and lift his hands to the sky.
"Come on Channie, I've given you enough advantage already. Don't tell me you would still lose?" Lay mocked, but Chanyeol wasn't in the mood to joke with him. Hissing, he tried to endure the pain and started throwing fireballs again. But since they were a lot slower (and smaller) than before, Suho was able to kick them away even with one eye closed. Hissing at his continuous failure, Chanyeol decided to collect the bonfire flames. It took quite a lot of time and his twisted face showed that what he was trying to do was far from easy. The cold atmosphere slowly turned into a miniature oven, and if I were complaining about the biting cold earlier, I would be complaining about my dripping sweat now.
"Lay, shouldn't you stop them already? Suho's going to be toasted in there!" I still couldn't see any rain starting to build up above, yet Chanyeol's mini tornado fire was almost ready.
"No, not until one of them is on the ground," Lay stated calmly. My jaw dropped at his cold statement. Was he serious? Would he really be able to unblinkingly watch a blood brother die right in front of him? I was about to say all those things to him aloud, when I noticed a ticklish sensation down my arm. I froze for a moment as I watched a drop of my sweat slide down, but strangely, it wasn't following gravity. It was following... Suho. Then it clicked in my head.
Suho wasn't collecting rain. As gross as it may sound, he was taking advantage of the heat Chanyeol was causing since the spectators would surely sweat. Real smart. When Chanyeol finally released his fire onto Suho, he was smirking as he was sure of his victory. My breath got caught in my throat as Suho disappeared in the sea of flames. The water he has collected might not have been enough to counter Chanyeol's attack. But I was confused when after the flame died, Suho was no longer on the other side of the ring. Before Chanyeol could even look around, though, Suho has already pushed him and grabbed his arm from behind. He could only groan in defeat as Suho triumphantly sat on his back.
I get it now. It's not just about using the ability. It's also about understanding it and being able to use it in different ways. When Lay approached the frowning Chanyeol, it made me wince when I saw how red his body was. He looked absolutely sunburnt, and his hands had severe blisters. Lay immediately healed him, but what couldn't be healed was the disappointment. He silently sat on the side with his head dropped.
"Second match would be between Baekhyun and Xiumin-hyung."
Without hesitations, the two went inside the ring. While Xiumin only had a straight face, Baekhyun had a smug smile on his face as if he was confident that he would win.
"Do you wanna build a snowman?" He sung, and Xiumin only laughed at him. At the bat of an eyelash, the match already started, and annoying flashes of light flooded the night. Nobody was able to watch any part of the fight, except for Lay who was smart enough to bring along shades. We only know that in the end, Baekhyun won with Xiumin already sitting on the floor in a shocked state. Turns out, he wasn't able to use his ability since all the water Suho has previously used already evaporated into thin air. Good thing he was a cool-headed guy and didn't get insulted, since Baekhyun only toyed (or annoyed) him with those flashing lights.
The third match was between D.O and Sehun. If during the previous fight, we only had to cover our eyes to avoid going blind, this time, we had to cover all of our faces to also prevent inhaling dust and cough to death. During the first few minutes, their attacks only went nowhere since every dust that D.O threw only got blown away by Sehun. Sehun couldn't shove dust into D.O's eyes, though, and a simple wind wouldn't be able to topple him over. Do you want to guess who won? The person that pushed himself to the limits and made a sinkhole under his opponent's feet: D.O!
"Keep up the good work guys," Lay stated lifelessly while clapping. I think it had a hint of sarcasm somewhere, but I'm not sure. "Maybe we should take it up a notch. Luhan-hyung and Chen, take the stage."
"You know, Lay, you really scare us sometimes," Luhan said while shaking his head and chuckling in amusement.
"I know exactly how that feels," I nodded in agreement. Lay only chuckled and motioned for them to begin. Right from the start, everyone was already incapable of breathing while watching the spectacular fight. It was raining purple lightning and it was beautiful how they crawled around the force fields Luhan was making. Their eyes glowed with their emblem colors, further completing the bad-ass scenario. Honestly speaking, I was surprised that Chen knew his ability that well. Knowing that Luhan could distribute his ability anywhere, Chen made the smart move of spreading thin lines of electricity so he could track where the invisible forces were going. Luhan still won in the end, but Chen surely put up a nice fight.
"It's time for the highlight," Lay whispered so only I could hear.
"It's not yet the final match," I whispered back, and he chuckled.
"It's not the final match that matters, Maeji. It's Tao." This made me freeze in utter confusion. "I know he doesn't have a chance in winning against Kai, but what we're aiming for is his improvement. So it's a good thing you're here."
"Me," I repeated blandly. He nodded.
"Yes, you. Pinch me if he's able to time-freeze. So at least I'll know."
Kai and Tao stood still as they gazed at each other. I don't know if there was some mental threatening session happening, but to me, they looked like they were wondering how to destroy each other. As Lay snapped his finger, Kai immediately teleported, but Tao was unbelievably quick. He dodged the incoming punch Kai tried to send as he reappeared on the left, but when he tried to counterattack, Kai has already disappeared again. I couldn't help but watch with a hanging jaw as Tao fought like a Shaolin master or some amazing martial arts expert. It was like he was fighting a hundred Kais, but for every punch and kick, if not blocked, was missed. It seemed like it would never end.
"Tao, this is not a physical training." Lay warned. This made Tao glance at him, then just at that moment, I saw a flash of red in his eyes. As Kai reappeared behind him, he was able to move first and land a punch on his stomach. Though it sent him to a slight shock, this wasn't enough to make Kai fall. Lay glanced at me with a questioning look.
"He might have looked ahead," I shrugged.
"Not enough," he stated coldly, much to my surprise. "That's already basic to him. He just prefers not to use it unless necessary. Just like relying on the ability too much, excessive reliance on the physical capacity is bad as well. What I want to see is an improvement."
"You'll be the scariest elder of your generation, I promise you that." He just chuckled at my remark and returned his attention to the fight. Once again, the high kicks and mad punches seemed to go on forever, and neither of the two looked like he'd be tired soon. Then my eyes brightened up as a crazy idea popped in my head. I know I still don't understand how this anima-thing really works. But if Tao was able to freeze time due to panic when I almost bashed my head onto a rock, would he be able to do that again if I make him panic now? I know Lay said that whoever that would help a candidate would be punished, but that's supposed to be my job, right? He wanted to see an improvement, so that's exactly what we would show him. And so, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, before letting go an ear-splitting scream.
"TAAAOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
I opened my eyes and saw him running straight to me at lightning speed. I let out a loud *oof* as we fell down on the ground together. There was a second of silence as we both tried to comprehend the situation, and he lifted up his face from the crook of my neck to look at me with brows furrowed. I think my heart stopped for a moment as I felt his breath blow on my cheeks due to our extreme closeness.
"What happened? Are you alright?"
"N-nothing," I tried my best to hold back my laughter, since he looked so worried and horrified. "I just thought I could help you so...."
His brows furrowed in confusion, but after he realized that I wasn't actually in danger, his concerned face turned to an annoyed one. He unwrapped his arms from my waist and sat up, rubbing his forehead. "Help me with what?"
"With that," Still trying to hold back a smile, I lifted my finger towards the battle ring. He followed my gaze and I felt delighted when I felt him stop breathing. Just like that day when he first was able to freeze time, Kai stood frozen, halfway finished teleporting. The black dust floated beautifully around him, and his fist was aimed towards the spot Tao was in before. He was able to do it again.
As he sat there, frozen in awe, a proud smile finally formed on my lips. "I knew it. You have to be scared to death to be that awesome."
"Pabo," He grumbled as he flicked my forehead, though he was starting to turn red. Grumbling, I rubbed my forehead and tried to stand up, but realized that I couldn't because Tao was still practically sitting on me.
"Um, Tao..." I tried my best to hold back my blush. This was wayyy too awkward. Good thing the others were still frozen, or I would've died of embarrassment already. And to further make the situation undesirable, instead of getting off me, Tao narrowed his eyes and planted his hands on both my sides. He leaned forward to bring his face near mine once again.
"Try to scare me like that again and I will—"
"I-I did that for you! I just wanted to help you as your anima!" I quickly explained with eyes wide, before he could let out a death threat. He seriously was starting to scare me again. He blinked for a few times at that, but unlike letting me off the hook like I expected, a playful smile formed on his lips. Oh God no. Not the sexy Tao. I know I get annoyed at his overly serious sidw, but it's still a lot easier to deal with than this other side of him!
"You still owe me something, right?" Still quite in a trance, I slowly nodded, and his smile slowly turned to a smirk. Slowly, as if to tease me, he shifted his head to the left to place his lips right next to my ears. Then he whispered with his low, forbiddingly sexy voice, sending my mind to the scariest, most dangerous parts of my imagination.
"If you scare me like that again, I'll make you pay that debt. You'll never know what I have in mind, Maeji."
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Oh my God.
Just trying to imagine already makes me blush so much >///<
Please stay tuned! >///<