My exams are finally over! My dad's health is much better too….Well, I never expected to get so many reviews and so many supporters. I would like to thank all of you guys for your continuous support and understanding…it means a lot to me….also, from now on Alicia is going to call Catherine 'Cath', its like her nickname…..u could say that her name is too big and I'm just lazy so I don't want to type all of it…..hahahaha lol….anyways, on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kaze no Stigma. Just this fanfic.

Ch. 8 - Battle!

With Alicia and Kazuma( They met each other and teamed up as mentioned in the previous chapter.)

Alicia's POV

This guy was strong. There was no denying that. She could feel the immense amount of magic power emit from his body. Well….he was good looking too…..oh no what was she thinking!

She was busy making weird expressions the whole time. Her face went from astonished to embarrassed and back again. Suddenly she noticed Kazuma look at her with his eyebrows raised. I suddenly felt ashamed and walked with my head bent down. He looked away and suddenly stopped. I looked up to see what stopped him. OH NO! A dreadful feeling overcame me.

With Mayumi and Yuji

Mayumi's POV

We were walking in silence…..trying to walk as fast as possible due to the effect of the magic that made the way longer for us. We turned a corner and stopped.

"Fancy running into u here Kazuma Yagami ! Ohhh and Alicia McDonald is here too! What happened to Ayano chan, Kazuma? Got separated?" I asked the contractor and his temporary partner in surprise.

"Yeah we did."

No one's POV

This was it. According to the rules of the maze, once two teams met each other, they would have to fight. Alicia's brow dripped of perspiration. She never liked fighting very much unlike her obnoxious cousin Catherine. She looked at the couple that stood opposite them. They were strong. Defeating them would definitely be very tough. But on the other hand, they themselves weren't that weak. After all, she had the legendary contractor on her side. This thought had Alicia heave a sigh a relief.

Suddenly Mayumi screamed "THE FIRST ONE TO ATTACK IS THE WINNER!" With that, the ground under Alicia suddenly transformed.

Alicia's fighting instincts suddenly took over. She quickly jumped out of the way. She looked over to see what Kazuma was up to. She saw him fighting against Yuji. 'So defeating Mayumi is all up to me then.'

Alicia summoned a fire ball in her right hand. Even though she wasn't as strong as Catherine, she still was powerful. The ground under her started transforming into lava (like how Ren defeated Yuji at the beach).

"You seriously think that your little trick is going to stop me?" Mayumi mocked "I am not the heir to the Tsuabuki family for nothing. So what if I can't transform the ground under you….I can still transform the ground around you!"

The ground around Alicia's lava started transforming. Alicia let out a grunt of frustration. 'She had to win this! Not for herself but for her family …..no more importantly for her aunt!'

The ground around Alicia transformed into a cage. Alicia was trapped. She tried firing fireballs at the cage walls but they still did not budge. She tried until most of her magic was gone. She fell down on her knees, head held down in despair.

'I'm trapped! This woman is certainly strong. But that doesn't mean I can just stop fighting. I have to win this! I promised Aunt Rosella.' Alicia thought.

Tears started forming at the corner of her eyes. Her Aunt Rosella was the only person who completely loved her.

Her parents had died when she was just a toddler. Ever since that day, her Aunt Rosella, Catherine's mother and her mother's sister had decided to take her in and raise her. Her Uncle Robert was always against this. He believed that Alicia was no more than trash as her parents had run away from home to get married. Her Aunt Rosella had always defended her. She had argued with her husband and finally convinced him to take Alicia in and promised him that taking care of Alicia would only be her responsibility.

Alicia was given the surname 'McDonald' by her aunt so that she wouldn't have any trouble in society. Her Uncle continued to ignore her. He loved his children and praised them for their good deeds, if they ever did any. But not Alicia. When she succeeded in studies or her training, her aunt was the only person who congratulated her with a sweet smile. The servants treated her well, but not with happy faces. Apparently they had been told that Alicia's priorities were only second to her cousins and other family members. So if any of the maids were called while attending to Alicia's needs, then she left immediately without a word or greeting. Alicia never took much help from the servants unless completely necessary.

Alicia's aunt was strict but kind at heart. She never pampered her children nor did she pamper Alicia. Though she did treat her niece like the rest of her children, and for that Alicia for forever grateful.

When her aunt had arranged for her to accompany her cousin Catherine to solve some maze, Alicia had immediately agreed. The words her aunt told her still sounded in her ears.

"Alicia my dear, I've arranged for you to go to Japan with Catherine and solve the maze mission that I told you about. The opponents will probably be strong, but you must win. You must prove to your uncle that you're as good as Catherine when it comes to magic. Try your best dear and you will succeed. You must give it your all. It doesn't matter if you lose or win. All that matters is that you give it your all and do not stop attacking until you are completely defeated!" These words kept circulating around Alicia's head and soon became a mantra. 'I have to win.' That was all that the poor girl thought about.

Alicia started to gather the fire spirits. She was going to finish this in one single blow. A gigantic fire ball appeared in her right hand. She threw it with all her might at a surprised Mayumi's face. There was a huge explosion. After the smoke cleared, she saw Mayumi lying on the ground unconscious.

Alicia breathed a sigh of relief. She looked up to see Kazuma walking towards her.

"Wow! That was some move that you just did!" Alicia blushed at the compliment. She looked over to see Yuji unconscious.

"So you won as well, I see."

"Yeah he was tough, but not strong enough." Kazuma answered while smirking. "So let's get going then."

"But…..what about them?" Alicia asked looking towards the currently unconscious Tsuabuki family representatives.

As if in answer to her question, Mayumi and Yuji's bodies started glowing. Afterwards the glow disappeared along with their bodies.

Alicia blinked once, then twice. "What just happened?"

Suddenly in front of them words started appearing in thin air. They said 'You have managed to defeat one opponent. The losers have been disqualified from the maze. From now on, only two teams will be competing. However, a new rule will therefore be introduced. If the members of the two teams get separated then even if one partner reaches the finish line, his or her team will not be declared the winner. Remember, you will have to reach the end of the maze with your allotted partner within the time limit to attain victory. ALL THE BEST. MAY THE BEST TEAM WIN!'

"So if we don't get reunited with Ayano chan and Catherine then even if one of us reaches the finish line, we won't be the winner right?"

"Right." Kazuma confirmed from her.

The words slowly started disappearing the way they had appeared.

'I have to find Cath and win this. I'll give it my all!' Alicia nodded her head in determination, fire burning in her blue eyes.

With Ayano

Poor Ayano was still walking in the darkness. The only light coming from her fire lit hand.

'How much longer is it going to take?' she thought 'It's been almost two hours. The place Baba oba san mentioned must be close.'

Her fire slowly showed a deep cave. The shadows made by her fire were giving Ayano the creeps. But she couldn't put out the light. She sighed, walking slowly into the tunnel. So far she had not felt any supernatural power, but you never knew.

Eventually finding no mysterious powers, she began wondering if this really was the place that the old lady had mentioned. Her doubts were soon confirmed. A second later she saw something that made her eyes widen in horror. She stood in shock. In front of her were about a hundred monsters and worse of all, all of them looked very powerful.

Well, I managed to finally write a chapter. I must say, it took me a lot of time. I hope you guys liked it. I tried my best to show a fighting scene. I know, Alicia's past is very sad but I wanted to give her character more background.

Thanx to SapphiRubyCrys , Just dance, Uooooonsinkgia, Uooootjsibfos, Lucy, trueblue51, dearheadlights, sweetserenity13, tomoyo545, Koalo, Scarlet Ammo 19, animecrazylover4ever, RanmaAndAkane4Love, A-ccentric, Moonbunny1 and others for reviewing to the previous chapter. I think I included all the names!

If you like what I'm writing then please review. Any advice or corrections are gladly accepted. I'll try to update as soon as possible. Guests please write a name while reviewing.

Until Next Time!