CHAPTER 4

Mage

He could sense them, despite being outside of Honnou City. They were strong despite being barely in their adult stages. But they were not exactly the brightest of their age. Satsuki gets that one. Yet, he felt something, off about one of them. An eldritch power that was older than even the dragon. That didn't bode well, especially considering what Ragyo had planned for them.

But now was not the time for scemeing, he had to intervene before they got themselves killed. Or worse.

He vanished in a flash of fire.

Ryuko was waking up when she felt another presence come into focus. Except this felt more like a blaze than the feeling of life she had previously seen. She absorbed its warmth for a moment, growing more awake with each passing second.

She stood up and looked at Yruo, a fire brimming on the surface of her skin. Under Houka's control however, Yruo could do nothing but stare blankly back at her. Houka grinned. "Yes! More data to collect for Lady Satsuki." This was what he was meant for. Now to test it.

"Yruo, if you would be so kind as to collect some information on Miss Matoi's fighting prowess, that would be appreciated."

Wordlessly, Yruo shot across the battlefield once more without warning or time to react as he pivoted and drove his heel into Ryuko's exposed stomach. Having the wind knocked out of her, Ryuko flew back and hit one of the walls of the academy courtyard. Groaning, she removed herself from the stone and glared at Houka, the fire burning brighter.

"Ryuko, what are you doing? I don't like the feel of this power, don't use it!" Senketsu cautioned.

"I have no choice! And besides, why shouldn't I use it? It's mine, and I'm going to beat that chip out Yruo!" She exclaimed. Her body glowing with an unholy blue and orange light, she grasped the Scissor Blade, the glow running along it as well, and put her right foot back as she prepared to do battle.

Silence.

Then the two combatants zoomed towards each other and clashed, bare fists against hardened fibers. Their bodies were a blur as they flew around the arena, their collisions creating shockwaves that rocked the academy walls.

Houka looked on with glee. This was perfect! He could remove Matoi from the picture, and gain more data.

"Lady Satsuki's going to promote me for this!" He said with relish.

Then a new voice chimed in, "Oh? Really? Because it looks to me like Ryuko's winning."

Houka jumped as he whirled around to face a boy of about fourteen with messed up brown hair, tan pants, and a red collared shirt. He then looked back to see that, yes, in fact, Ryuko was winning, and winning solidly at that.

"YAY! RYUKO'S WINNING! YOU GO KNOCK SOME SENSE INTO HIS GNOGGIN!" Mako exclaimed enthusiastically.

Looking at Yruo, however, Mage saw three things that were of importance. One; he wasn't human. Two; he was Super Saiyan. And most importantly three; he was the source of the ancient power. Any of these alone would be cause for alarm, but together was an abomination that Mage didn't like. He had to take care of it. It was his job after all. God, being a fictional character stinks at times.

Ryuko swung her red sword at Yruo's neck, just barely missing as he ducked only to rise again in an uppercut that nearly sent Ryuko's neck back if it weren't for her blocking with the flat of the Scissor Blade. That failing, Yruo simply drove his knee into Ryuko's gut. Unfortunately it had little effect, Ryuko punching him to the ground with a sound like thunder.

Yruo looked up again, this time his mind was active. He was thinking of countless strategies to take Ryuko down. Then the light in his head flicked on.

He crouched.

"Looks like he's about to jump." Observed Senketsu.

"Maybe. We won't give him the chance to though!" And with that she rocketed down at Yruo.

His response?

He brought his hands together in front of him and roared, "KAMEHAMEHA!" A blue beam of death heading straight for Ryuko.

Crashing head first into it, Ryuko stopped, her momentum gone. Then she used the last of that fire to push forward, against the blue beam. "KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAAAAA!" She screamed, pointing her hands forward dropping her Scissor Blade, and then she felt the godly power of her super form, a mix of the fire and ki. A beam of pure gold shot from her hands, and for a moment, it looked like she would fail, doomed to turn to dust. But it was not so! She shined like the sun, blinding all who looked directly upon her, then started to force her way through Yruo's attack.

"HRAAAAAA!" Both she and Senketsu yelled as one, breaking through with an explosion that shook the earth, sending up bits of rubble and any idiotic bystanders. The two Kamehameha's clashed and created a large blue and gold dome of energy that pushed against each other like water and oil. The dome slowly grew and mixed, swirling and making the sky change with it. Yruo's blue beam seemed to be the more dominant taking up more of the dome. Suddenly, Ryuko's golden Kamehameha took on a more fiery tint, as if it were replaced with a flame thrower.

Ryuko and Senketsu repeated the battle cry, finally starting to gain some ground in this clash of power and might. Then, everything went wild as a high pitched beep was heard.

Houka looked on in shock. The boy was dominating Matoi, then she gets lit on fire, then she starts to become stronger than him. What was going on?

When the dust settled, Ryuko was in her normal state, cradling Yruo's head in her arms.

"You used my attack? Well done. You'll need it. Thank you," Here he looked off to the distance and a tear rolled down his single eye. "Wizard, for protecting my family. I ask you to help them further, as a last request." And with that he sighed and looked at his sister and grabbed her shoulder. He pulled himself up and kissed his sister on the forehead, and then smiled as he wiped his sibling's tears away and he went limp. Then he passed quietly and peacefully holding his sister's hand.

Ryuko screamed in rage and agony and she screamed for her brother to wake back up. She cried for what seemed like forever. She kissed his forehead several times, just the same as he did to her whenever Yruo greeted his older sister. She hugged his lifeless body and laid her forehead upon his and cried quietly. Then, she swore she felt his hand brush her shoulder gently, but when she looked, he was as still as stone.

Why did he have to say that? Being a reincarnation of Zahn, Mage was bound to him by an old oath. Mage looked down at the girl, sighing at one more thing to take care of. But, he felt it was his responsibility, Zahn annoyed him, but he was like a brother to Mage. After Zahn though, he was getting tired of teens. Maybe ancient kau would be a thing to try? Never mind that though.