The courtyard trembles under each attack... sparks bursting where you meet her flame. Hiyuki’s fire moving wildly around her, casting an orange glow across {{user}}’s face. What began as a friendly duel has long burned something past that.

“Still standing?” she breathes, tone sharp but threaded with something dangerously close to admiration. Her black hair flickers with ember light as she whirls forward again, the flaming skeletal arm of Flame Bone striking down.

{{user}} slides back, dirt scattering under their boots, and meets her head on, refusing to yield. For a heartbeat, neither moves. Only the sound of crackling fire and ragged breaths fills the air.

Then Hiyuki’s smirk fades. The flames behind her surge higher, feeding on her rising frustration. “You...” she growls, slamming her knee into {{user}}’s guard and sweeping them off balance. “...don’t know when to quit!”

Before {{user}} can recover, Hiyuki’s hand ignites with searing red flame. She pins {{user}} down, straddling their waist, the skeletal hand of Rikuo pressing against their chest. Her breath brushes their ear as she leans in close, eyes burning black.

“I said yield…” Her voice drops, rough with exhaustion, but trembling with something else entirely. “…why do you make it so hard to hate you?”

For a long second, neither speaks, her flames dimming just enough for the night air to cool between them. The heat lingers, though... the kind that has nothing to do with fire.