"Alright..."
He tried again.
This time, a tiny flame, no bigger than his thumb nail, flickered into existence. It was a pale orange, almost white, and it hovered just above his skin. It didn't burn him. It felt like a part of him.
Then, just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished.
Exhaustion washed over him, a sudden and profound weariness that had nothing to do with physical exertion. Creating that tiny flame had taken more out of him than an hour of intense combat.
He leaned against the fence, breathing heavily.
He had a long way to go.
But he had a start. He doubted he'd be able to replicate that fire mutant's feat anytime soon, unless he, maybe, absorbed another fire-attribute core. He'd always thought it was cool to wield fire, even back in his old world. Firebender type shit.
Now he could.
He flexed his fingers, looking at his palm.
He was going to master it. No matter what. Shooting fire beams from his palms, or even from his halberd was simply too fucking cool to pass up on. Like, imagine decapitating a horde of zombies, and their decapitated heads igniting one after another, an entire sea of living, dead burning from the aftermath of one slash? Or an aerial carpet bombing with fireballs? The applications would be near endless. And yes, maybe it was power hunger and not survival instinct. But who fucking cares?
It was the apocalypse, he was going to drop napalm on the undead hordes if he so goddamn pleased.
Horde-wrecking flame explosions would simply be an icing on the cake.
Just as Tysone began to get carried away by his imagination, the sight of movement near the house caught his eye.
Rei was seated on the back porch steps, staring at him with wide eyes, her mouth slightly agape.
His hand dropped, and he gave her a knowing grin.
Rei snapped out of her stupor, blushed, and scurried away.
"Looks like I've got an audience."
He muttered.
And, it turns out, Rei wasn't the only one whose eyes were glued to him and his act of elemental mastery, despite his failure. Except that this time the woman in question decided to approach him too.
Long, flowing black hair. Blue eyes. And a perpetual scowl on her face. It was the usual look she carried on her lovely visage. Mai Sakurajima. Child star. Failed idol. And Tysone would never forget the sight of her in the library, wearing a bold bunny costume. The mental image was permanently burned inside of him.
"Can't believe that the blockhead who wrote me lyrics is now some sort of superhero." She mused, her hands stuffed into her pockets as she came to a halt beside him. "Let me guess, you can also fly, shoot laser beams from your eyes, and talk to fish?"
Tysone snorted. "Just fire. Still working on it. The laser beams are a stretch, but maybe one day. And the fish aren't very talkative." He quipped, leaning against the fence.
"I'm sure." She replied dryly. "So, 'fire', huh? That explains why you're always so warm."
"Come on, drop the formality. We're not strangers." He said, pushing himself off the fence. "You're my little bunny now."
Mai scoffed. "That doesn't mean I'm going to start calling you 'Daddy' like the rest of them."
Tysone chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of it."
There was a comfortable silence between them. Tysone could feel her gaze on him. They sat down on the grass, close. His hand inched closer and hovered her own.
She didn't move away.
His fingers laced through hers.
A jolt of heat shot through him, and not just from his new powers.
He had yet to do it with Mai, but she was different than all of the others. In the sense that Tysone knew how much it gnawed at the young actress to share him with an entire group of women. It was totally normal, and he accepted that. It hadn't been that long since the world ended. But in this short period, it felt like an eternity. In the end, he found himself pulling her in for a kiss.
He had wanted to do this for a while.
Mai's lips were soft and tasted faintly of strawberries. A strawberry lip balm, maybe. She stiffened for a moment, then melted against him, her fingers tightening around his. She could've resisted, and he wouldn't have insisted. Instead, Mai was the one to deepen the kiss. Her tongue, warm and wet, parted his lips. She could feel the heat, the very same heat he had been attempting to conjure. It seemed to radiate from her now.
His hands roamed her back, tracing the curve of her spine.
Mai moaned into his mouth, her body arching into his. Seeing her more than willing to take it one step further, he pressed his fingers to her neck, thumb grazing her throat, eliciting a faint gasp from the pretty actress. His tongue continued its exploration, sliding along the roof of her mouth. She opened willingly for him, kissing him back as her own hand tugged him closer by the shirt. He pressed a thumb lightly under her chin, tilting her head for a better angle, his tongue slipping between her teeth to meet hers.
She was clumsy, clearly the girl, before him, had never kissed anyone prior. Which made the moment more intimate, in his eyes, at least.
Her hand pressed flatly against the bare expanse of his chest, feeling up his muscles for the very first time, making his mouth twist into a lopsided grin against her mouth. Her eyes fluttered as the heat from his mouth shot straight down to her core. He sucked on her tongue, making her whimper sweetly and tug him forward.
Her entire body felt heated from the sensation.
"Shit." She cursed as they slowly parted.
Her cheeks were flushed. A bead of sweat ran down her temple. Her hair was mussed.
She was beautiful. Then again, anime physics made most of the girls Tysone had gotten to know, well, absolutely jaw droppingly perfect.
"Didn't take you for a kissing bandit." She teased, running a hand through her long, smooth hair. Her eyes were a little unfocused, and her thighs were shifting uncomfortably.
"Blame the core." He shot back, trying his damnedest not to make it painfully obvious he'd been thirsting over her. "Besides, a certain 'bunny' here isn't really against the idea."
Mai glared. But, honestly, it looked rather cute on her.
"Idiot. Pervert." She huffed. "It was not bad though, so I'll let it slide, just this once."
"Right. Very forgiving. Just don't go and blame a man for giving in."
Mai stuck her tongue out, not at all maturely, in return.
"Why don't you go train or something? Leave a girl alone already."
"You sure, baby?~" Tysone cooed, enjoying watching her reaction.
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Try to keep your hands off the other girls, at least, or else the 'more lenient than normal Mai Sakurajima' might transform into a terrifying 'Killer Bunny of the North'."
"I'd pay to see that." He said softly. "Especially in a bunny costume."
In reply, she whacked him on the head.
"Don't ruin the moment, pervert."
"Seriously though, I'd like it if you could don that costume for me again. You look so cute. Like a cute, little bunny with its fluffy tail and all."
A vein throbbed on her temple, her hand grabbing his shirt, but refrained from attempting any violence. Mai sighed, releasing her grip on him, instead interlocking their fingers together. "Fine, I will, when we have our alone time."
"Oohhh, can't wait for the first round."
She blushed, looking away, muttering her typical 'pervert' over and over.
"..."
Still holding his hand, she pulled him upright.
"Alright, enough of that. You look so shaggy, so come with me and I'll fix that mess you call your hair."
With those words, she tugged the shirtless Tysone indoors.
"Whaaat, I still have to train. Tch." Tysone flicked a finger in his ear. "Saeko would give me a stern, disappointed frown."
"Quit yapping, brute." She rolled her eyes. "Trust me, your training was already more than enough for today. You shouldn't try and do much, or you will burn out or something. Literally."
She tugged on him insistently, pulling him down a side hallway toward a room that, based on its amenities, could have easily served as a personal makeup artist's room. A vanity mirror. And all sorts of tools he had no doubt Mai employed skillfully.
All the while, Tysone couldn't help but stare at that swaying piece of ass in front of him, and sighed, because damn it all these fire powers were affecting him.
And he was painfully aware that there was no such thing as fire-proof condoms, or fireproof panties, for that matter.
Author's Note:
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead or support my work, you can check out my P@treon at [email protected]/LordCampione. But don't worry—all chapters will eventually be public. Just being here and reading means the world to me. Thank you for your time and support.