Fion shrugged in response to Araki's challenge.
"Eh, sounds fine to me. Not like I've much else to do today." He said casually, one foot still out the window. "We going to take this outside, or do you feel like vandalizing a classroom and endangering children?" He continued in his normal tone and with absolutely zero hint of sarcasm or irony, further proving that Araki's slander of him was rather correct.
Fion's acceptance was met with great enthusiasm by the class, as the children burst into chatter and scrambled about. At the very least, it meant Araki didn't have to shoo some away and off him like usual whenever he wanted to stand up. "While I'm sure people would love to hear about a monster slaughtering a classroom full of children, Dean Courtright might not like it very much," he muttered dryly as he jerked his head towards the window, indicating it would take place outside.
He couldn't exactly fit through Fion's method of entry, so he had to leave the building in the ordinary way, namely through the front door. His classmates followed alongside him, spreading out over the fields as soon as he pushed open the front doors, and a buzz filled the air from their excitement. No doubt the other classes would eventually be drawn to the spectacle; he could already see curious faces lining some of the windows. "So, how's this going to work?"
Unlike a reasonable person, Fion opted to simply leap down to the ground from the window instead of walking down the stairs. When Araki and his classmates finally reached the field, he took a moment to contemplate the crystala's question, shifting around beneath his cloak.
"Well, considering that armor thing you conjured up back in Talze Utera and the fact that I'm pretty sure I can't take multiple punches from you, anything beyond first blood is off the table. How about if I pierce that armor of yours, I win, but if you land a hit on me, you win?"
Araki blinked a few times as he recalled what Fion was referring to, but shook his head quickly at the suggestion. "Whatever happened back in Talze Utera scrapped most of my magic, left me with... supportive abilities, I guess you could call them that." Just to demonstrate he clenched a fist tight enough so his claws drew a faint trickle of blood. Immediately afterwards a green glow bathed his hand, and when he opened it, there was no sign of injury.
Fion blinked right back in response. Well. That was significantly disappointing compared to when Araki had been going toe-to-toe with that swordsman like an armored juggernaut. "So...let's just beat each other until we get bored, then. At least you can heal us right back up." He drew his scimitar, eliciting oohs and ahhs from the various children present. "Sound good to you?"
Araki scratched at the back of his head as he thought on it; frankly it wasn't much more different than what happened at Tamamo's dojo. Well, except for the higher chance of actual injuries and what not thanks to the actual weapon Fion would be using. "Eh... why the hell not? Just give me a moment." He turned back to his classmates and waved for them to back away before he moved out into the center of the field. Stopping the fight each and every time one of them got hurt badly enough to warrant it was likely to result in a very stop-and-go show for the other children. This alternative would be more taxing, but at the least it would allow for a continious "show" to be held.
He closed his eyes and calmed his breathing, allowing for magic to gather around his hand. Placing it palm down onto the ground, the green energy raced out and over the earth until it stopped just shy of the school building. Wisps of energy drifted upwards, the air had a green tinge, and there was a soothing sensation in the magic-afflicted area. While there was an inital drain of energy, after the field had actually been set up, the effects of simply maintaining it weren't too taxing. Once the field had to heal one of them, he would feel it more substantially, but Araki didn't think it would be an issue.
"Okay then, whenever you're ready." Having said that, Araki dropped his casual stance and settled into basic martial stance; hands raised and body lowered. The mane of white hair stiffened as he stared at Fion and waited for the swordsman to make the first move. It might have been difficult to pick out amidst the magic already in the air, but there was definitely another layer of energy around Araki's body.
Fion was rather intrigued by the field of magic that Araki had set up, but eventually concluded that it was probably intended to heal whoever was in the area, considering the soothing feeling he was getting from it. Well, that would make this more convienent. Less chance of accidentally killing each other from going too far too quickly. With that in mind, Fion charged at Araki with sword in hand, not bothering to enhance any of his abilities with magic. It'd be good practice for him to only use his natural abilities anyways.
Even without his magic, Fion was still fast by a layman's standards, and he closed the distance between himself and Araki rather quickly, slashing at his chest.
The fact that Araki could follow Fion's movement without losing sight of the swordsman meant he wasn't enhancing his natural physical capabilities. In the same vein, Araki hadn't employed any magic that could be called a buff. While he was confident that reinforcing his skin until it could resist, if not turn, the scimitar was possible, there wouldn't be much of a show to be had if he did.
The hybrid managed to step back and away from, though not completely out of, the first blow. What might have been a nasty wound was reduced to a barely noticeable scratch, that vanished in a blink of the eye; no doubt thanks to the magic that permeated the air. He leaned back in towards Fion instantly, bringing his fist in for an uppercut to the swordsman's gut. Normally it would have been unthinkably stupid for him to dive back into the sword's effective range, but between the self-cast and area-of-effect magic, only fatal wounds would be of severe concern to Araki.
The gut punch came quickly, and Fion let out an oof in pain as it forced him back before he brought his sword back up, wincing. If anything, taking that hit confirmed that his magic was starting to be a bit of a crutch. Well, that was what this spar was for, anyways. Recovering quickly, Fion dived back into the fray, bringing his sword around towards Araki's side.
Araki grinned in satisfaction as the blow connected cleanly with Fion and forced the swordsman away. Still, just because he had managed to get a good hit in, didn't mean that his sparring partner was a push-over. Before he could rush the smaller, if older, male Fion was already ready and making a swing. While he could have tanked the numerous wounds inflicted at the cost of some suffering, it probably would have been insulting. For that reason, instead of continuing onwards and bullrushing Fion, he lashed out at the incoming blade and tried to wrap his hand around it. The skin there was considerably thicker, and even without magic, quite resistant to being cut through.
Grunting in surprise as Araki caught his blade, Fion tugged back for half a second before realizing that the crystala's raw physical strength was greater than his own and abandoned that idea. Resisting the urge to just cheat and coat his blade in razor wind, he brought his knee up and rammed it towards Araki's gut.
The blade's edge cut deep into Araki's palm, but the fact that his hand hadn't been cleaved in two went to show how tough he had physcially become after the numerous transformations he had undergone. Despite himself though, Araki couldn't supress the wince that followed, even if he had expected the pain. The delay in his follow-up let Fion return his previous uppercut to the gut with a knee, causing the hybrid to bend forward from the blow. The motion was not wasted though, as Araki whipped his head downward to counter with a painful headbutt. Crystalas' skulls, like the rest of their bones and body in general, were denser and thicker than humans' after all. His grip on the blade, slick with his own blood, was loosened though and Araki could feel the metal slipping free as he tried to headbutt the swordsman.
Although spoiled from using magic as a crutch for so long, Fion's natural reflexes had been quite sharp in the past, and he was starting to react faster, if only just to avoid the pain from Araki's blows. He still wasn't quick enough, however, and Araki's headbutt took him in the side of the head when he tried to dodge, sending him reeling to the ground. Fion still kept his grip on his sword, however, and thrust it up at Araki's shoulder even as his back hit the dirt.
While it wasn't the head-on hit that Araki had aimed for, seeing Fion drop to the ground was nevertheless quite satisfying. The pain from having a sharp blade slide free of his grip was still fresh and burning, which dampened the feeling somwhat. It was fully doused when it turned out that despite being dropped to the grass, Fion was still quite intent on making him bleed. Araki had to spin to avoid having the scimitar thrust through the shoulder, though the blade still cut through to the collarbone despite his best attempt. Grimacing, he lashed out with a sharp kick at Fion as he finished the spin that had let him partially dodge.
Fion was finally able to react in time, and he rolled to the side to avoid Araki's kick before pulling himself back up, clutching his head with one hand as his vision spun. Araki's healing field soon relieved the effects of what could have been a concussion, though, and Fion saw straight once more as he brandished his scimitar with a grin. "Are your little classmates entertained enough yet, Araki?"
Araki wasn't all too disappointed when his foot caught nothing but air, and he quickly caught his footing. The drain on his reserves of magical energy weren't notable just yet, but it was certainly noticeable now that the field was fulfilling its purpose. As Fion got up to his feet, Araki spared a quick glance to the sidelines where his classmates, and evidently a good portion of the school watched. Surprisingly, their reactions were somewhat subdued; though Araki quickly realized that he and Fion had been essentially brawling. Not quite the most exciting things for children to watch.
"Eh... they seem fairly disappointed. Give'em a flashy end at the least?" He suggested it with a shrug, as he closed his eyes and let the magic in his body flow. Even if Fion wasn't all too willing to have a dramatic close to their little spar, well consent wasn't really required.
"Well, if you insist." Fion replied, raising his sword and pumping magic through it. He'd gotten what he wanted out of this spar, so he might as well indulge Araki and the children. Wind erupted around his scimitar as more and more magic coursed through it. Fion shoved as much mana into the sword as possible without the resulting attack being fatal, and swung down, sending a shockwave of wind flying towards Araki.
The onlookers seemed to appreciate the effort put in by Fion as the clamour died to a hush. Satisfied that he wouldn't be mobbed by a disappointed crowd tomorrow, and knowing it would likely just be enthusiastic and excited, Araki figured he should do something about the technique Fion was about to send his way.
The magic within him pooled towards his hands, and the concentration was high enough that his hands were literally engulfed in a green aura of magic. Raw as it was, it wouldn't help him much and Araki quickly began to refine it with spells. The aura diminished rapidly as the gathered energy was expended to reinforce and toughen his hands. The end result was visually the same as usual, but the changes were shown when he clashed with the shockwave hands first.
The infused magic allowed him to grab hold of the wind as if it was a physical thing, and though he couldn't tear apart the spell in an instant, he did manage to start working away at it. Sharp gusts broke off from the main technique and lacerated his arms and upper body, but Araki didn't flinch from the pain; he could feel the energy behind the technique wanning. With a grin as he finally felt the give under his hands, claws finally tore through the gathered magic and sent the winds scattering harmlessly in every direction.
For someone who had been on the receiving end of such a technique, he actually looked fairly decent thanks to the field that had been set up. The inflicted wounds were minor enough that the healing magic in the air had sealed them before blood had even been spilt. All in all, aside from the shoulder wound, it would have been hard to tell Araki had been in a fight.
The stiffened mane softened, individual strands falling down to his back until it looked like nothing more than just hair once more. He dabbed at the blood on his shoulder with a small frown; he didn't want to have to explain it to Gael if he could avoid it. The children obviously approved of the ending if the noise and ruckus they were making was any indication, so Araki decided to check on Fion instead.
For his part, Fion actually looked rather miffed that Araki managed to simply power through his attack. He hadn't been going full power with it, but he hadn't expected the crystala to simply stand there and take it. Clearly, he'd have to improve the shockwave technique for when he used it in an actual battle. But he could do that later. Looking Araki over, Fion noted that he had already recovered rather nicely thanks to the healing field.
"Well, that was fun." He said, sheathing his blade. "Nice seeing you again. We really should be doing this more often too, considering we live in the same bloody house. Anyways, I should probably get out of here before a teacher comes and yells at me. Enjoy the lecture, Araki. Getting in trouble for stupid things is what school's all about, after all!" Fion finished with a cheeky smirk, tossing Araki a salute before leaping away, abusing his wind magic to hop from rooftop to rooftop before a responsible adult could chew him out.
Before Araki could say anything in response Fion had already taken off, making great use of his wind magic to vault over the fence and quickly out of sight. With the stranger, or perhaps idol to some now, gone Araki found himself surrounded by his classmates and schoolmates. Any plan to escape for the day with the excuse of being tired was dashed, as the children didn't seem like they would be content with anything less than his presence.
Oh and look, Gael had come out to check what the commotion was about. Joy...