For the girls of Gamma, this is a wonderful chance to have some fun and test their mettle. For Evangeline, this is a wonderful chance to violently release years of pent-up resentment/anger at her "caretaker"/jailer.

Sorry for the long wait, but I'm… not that good at fight scenes.

-CHAPTER START-

Mahora Tournament Stage

June 21st, 2011

"Whoa! An amazing, single-strike victory for Ku-Nel Sanders! Let's give him a hand as the medics cart poor Daigōin off to the infirmary!"

"Man, that might have even been more one-sided than Kotarō-kun's fight against Mei-chan" Mai said.

"Okay, up next we have a match between two of the most powerful ki-users on campus – hell, maybe the country: the pint-sized powerhouse Kū Fei (Fei: "Hey! Since when is 1 ½ meters and 40 kilos pint-sized-aru?~!") vs. the kind-hearted kickass kunoichi Kaede Nagase!"

The two combatants leisurely walked onto either side of the stage, waving to the crowd a few times. Kazumi stepped off of the ring/stage, and several seconds later the starting bell rang. Immediately the two flash-stepped toward each other, blocking each other's starting blows as they met in the middle. They flew into a series of rapid-fire close-combat attacks, each one blocked or dodged. They broke off, sizing each other up.

"So…" Yūna, currently in the stands, said to her compatriots. "Aren't you all glad that Zazie-san and those friendly soldiers that Teana-san somehow knows volunteered to hold the fort at 3-A so we could all come watch the tournament?"

Around her, Ayaka, Ako, Makie, Akira, Misa, Madoka, Sakurako, Fūka, and Fumika all nodded. Ayaka had to admit; the dog boy adhering to his personal 'no hitting women' code by somehow generating a burst of air pressure to launch Mei clear out of the ring was a little impressive. Now, the twins cheered on their unofficial sensei, while Makie and Sakurako seemed to be rooting for Kū Fei.

Back in the ring, Kaede formed a sequence of hand-seals and shot out eight shots with Katon: Hōsenka. Fei retaliated by forming a few seals of her own, and then slamming her palms into the ground while calling out "Doton: Doryūheki!" A seven-foot-tall, meter-wide, 10cm-thick slab of rock shot out from underneath the ring, shoving tiles aside as it rose and blocked the incoming attack. A tad odd how Kaede Fuyō had taught these two techniques to each of them, yet now they were using them against each other… if only for sport.

Fei ran out to the side, approaching Nagase diagonally. When she got close, she caught Kaede off-guard by using the sash around her waist as a whip, which Kaede barely managed to dodge. The last hit wrapped round her ankle, and Kū used the grip to whip-slam her into the ground.

"And after a sweet display of element-based ninjutsu from the both of them, Kū Fei deals a solid hit with the use of fusōjutsu" said… that commentator guy from the Tournament Arc who sat next to Chachamaru & Chisame and made comments on techniques. (AN: I don't have any copies of the manga, and MangaFox is a tad misbehaving, so I'm winging things from memory)

Kaede leapt up and back, none the worse for wear as she'd reinforced her body with chakra during the split-second of impact. Kū responded by thrusting her palm forward.

"Rekkūshō!"

A fist-sized bolt of ki shot forth toward Kaede, who barely managed to dodge, feeling the heat on her face as it zoomed past. Several more followed, each one launched by a palm thrust by Kū Fei. Kaede formed three Shadow Clones; one took the hits, while the other two threw the original into the air before being dispersed by the shots. Kū ceased fire, as up above Kaede formed another Kage Bunshin who swung and threw Kaede down at Fei at high speed, Kaede readying a punch to go with all that momentum. Kū barely managed to solidly catch the punch, and the dispersed energy caused the tiles beneath her to shatter explosively, a light crater forming beneath her as the power was distributed into the ground.

Both fighters leapt out of the small dust clouds, staring at each other through it. And then they charged again.

-SCENE BREAK-

"Everything is progressing nicely"

"What about Negi-kun and his girls?"

"If they don't opt to join us, I've already developed a way to get them out of the way. And the same goes for Lanstar-san's team"

"I just hope this plan of yours is foolproof"

"Never underestimate the ingenuity of fools. But I feel that this is as close to foolproof as we can afford to get."

-SCENE BREAK-

Kaede stood, panting noticeably, as Kū Fei struggled to her feet again.

"I…" Fei wheezed out. "I think that's enough for now-aru. I can… tell that I'm running on empty, while you still have some… ow… fight left in you. I… I give-arune."

And she allowed herself to fall again, rolling over to stare at the sky… once she got enough energy to open her eyes again, that is.

"And there we have it! After a truly superb taijutsu battle – yet strangely lacking in any more flashy blasts or element-slinging – Kū Fei has voluntarily withdrawn from the match! Kaede Nagase will advance to the second round!"

Kaede walked over and tried to lift Kū Fei so as to carry her to the infirmary, but she was at the moment a little too sore to do so, and thus she had to leave Fei to the two medics who came out; Kū declined a stretcher, opting to have the young gentleman and lady drape an arm over each of them and walk her to the med-bay. Kaede walked off soon after, and Konoka discreetly healed what she could, which wasn't everything (the match had most definitely gone on for longer than three minutes). As the repairmen got to work fixing the broken tiles, Kaede walked over to the group and nestled in, using a railing for support until she got herself together again.

Makie and Sakurako each forked over 400 yen to Fūka and Fumika, respectively.

10 MINUTES LATER

"Okay, ladies & gentlemen! Now that the stage is in working order, let's move on to the next match. In one corner, we have the Mercenary Miko, Ms. Tall, Dark, & Beautiful, the Markswoman of Mahora, Mana Tatsumiya! And in the other, say hello to one of our fair academy's newcomers, this beautiful and gifted redhead, the Crimson Sword, the Red Ace, Teana Uchiha-Lanstar!"

The two young women walked onto the stage, Teana feeling more than a little pride at being called an Ace; she didn't know who came up with the titles for the tournament, but she liked said person already.

"Go get 'er, boss!" Marie shouted, waving a tiny little flag with the Uchiha symbol on it.

"Now, folks, we have something very special for this match." Kazumi stepped out of the ring, and hit a button on a remote near the judges' table. A transparent energy field shimmered into place, forming 'walls' surrounding the ring. "This energy field is made to stop stray shots. It is here because Ms. Lanstar paid the tournament a not-insignificant 'donation' in exchange for allowing her and Mana to have a full-out gunslinger fight. They will, of course, be using only rubber bullets and stun bolts. And this is only for this particular match."

"Mirage" Teana whispered to her Device, currently in dual-pistol form in a pair of holsters on her hips. "Status?"

"Magic-shooting-mode attachment ready; magic bolts set to non-physical damage."

The two combatants walked toward each other, stopping about 12 feet from each other; both of them had their eyes closed. The bell rang, and they remained in silent position for several seconds. Then, both snapped their eyes open at the same time – Sharingan for one, Magan for the other – and charged, both drawing their pistols. Teana dashed forward, left gun pointed at Mana, and Mana used her right wrist to shove Teana's aside, the bolt of orange energy missing Mana's head by a few centimeters. Mana pointed her shot at Teana's forehead, and Teana moved her head to the side and her wrist into Mana's, pushing the taller girl's shot aside; an ever-present protective spell kept Teana's eardrum completely undamaged by the shot's sound next to her head. All the while, the defensive shield surrounding the ring stopped the shots with barely a ripple. The speed of their attacks and counters increased, narrow-miss shots hitting the surrounding field, accompanied by the light sounds of 'impacts' as they shoved or slapped each other's hands/wrists off-course at the last split-second. The crowd watched in awe.

"Man, I think I saw this in some '02 American movie" Mr. Commentator said.

"They're not gonna start reloading by launching bullets out from between their boobs and catching them midair in their guns, are they?" Haruna half-snarked; from what could see, these two definitely had the 'talent' to match Rushuna's titillating trick.

"Nah" Kotarō responded. "Teana-nechan lent Mana-san an attachment for that 'magical armory teleport' thing or whatever it was. Besides, those are semi-automatic pistols, not revolvers."

"…How did you know that what I mentioned involved revolvers, Kota-kun?"

Kotarō blushed. "I… I caught it on TV once, and it… caught my interest. …I'm not a pervert! I was watchin' the fight scenes!" He would not mention that he had found himself imaging Chizuru in the show's heroine's costume, spinning and shooting and… bouncing… He shook his head, hoping Haruna hadn't seen the light blush on his face and the glazed look in his eyes. Judging by the Cheshire-cat grin Haruna now had, she had indeed seen.

Mana leapt back, firing several shots; Teana, with the aid of her bloodline eyes, intercepted the shots with her own. Teana then mentally incanted her next spell, before then calling out the attack:

"Sagitta Magica: Series Ignis!"

A barrage of 17 projectiles of fire magic formed and shot forth from the air surrounding Teana, blazing through the air and flying straight toward Mana. She shot three out of the air, but had to take evasive action to avoid the rest. Six hit the ground, but the remaining seven arrows turned and tracked, chasing her. She pulled out several yen coins from her pocket and 'fired' them at the incoming shots, taking them out. She then fired several at Teana, who dodged with ease. Teana then formed a sequence of hand-seals while breathing in.

"Fūton: Shinkūgyoku!"

Teana threw her head forward, shooting/blowing a barrage of small, high-speed 'bullets' of wind chakra. Mana dodged most, but a few got through, and even with a constant flow of protective chakra and magic surrounding her, the hits still drew blood and/or left little bruises; she knew that, had she been completely unshielded, those shots could've torn through her body just like bullets. Apparently, lethal-type ninjutsu couldn't be set to 'stun' like lethal magic could. As Teana cut off her barrage, Mana straightened up, staring the six-inches-shorter girl in the eyes.

"I've been looking through some of the Headmaster's notes whenever I visit his office to collect my pay," Mana said, "and I've come across a few very interesting things. Here's something I think you'll like, Lanstar."

She raised her hand, pointing her palm with outstretched fingers at Teana, and at Mana's feet came into being a dark-blue magic circle… a Midchildan one.

"Crossfire…"

Teana stared in shock as several spheres of deep-blue shooting magic sprang into existence, all of them surrounding her. Mana moved her fingers ever so slightly back, and the spheres pulsed.

"…Convergence!"

And Mana snapped her hand closed into a fist, and every single sphere of magic rushed in at Teana, attacking her from every direction and throwing up a cloud of smoke. Teana had managed to snap a defensive shield up and to harden her body's defenses with chakra, but a few shots had gotten through before she could do either, leaving her in a not-unnoticeable amount of pain. That pain was compounded when, through the smoke, Mana's punch smashed into her jaw, sending her hurtling back; she caught herself mid-fall, back-springing to her feet. If she hadn't had magic protecting and anchoring her chompers, that blow would've definitely knocked a tooth or two out.

Unfortunately for Mana, Teana now decided to cut the crap. She flash-stepped toward Mana, who saw the incoming punch and ducked… into a kick to the gut. She drew her guns and tried to get Teana point-blank, but the shorter girl dodged and then… vanished from sight.

'Where did sh-'

BAM. Teana's spring-kick sent Mana flying up into the air. Teana then flashed up, appearing in the air behind Mana. At this point, Teana set about performing the motions made by her younger cousin in that video from the Chūnin Exams three years ago. An arm strike feint was blocked by Mana, leaving the taller girl open to a falling kick that started her downward descent. As they fell, another arm strike dealt more damage and increased rate of fall. Finally, just as Mana hit the ground, Teana's leg came down into Mana's torso, slamming the older girl hard into the arena floor.

"Shishi Rendan!"

Teana rebounded from the strike, flipping through the air and landing on her feet a few meters away, breathing a little hard. After 10 seconds, Mana had not been able to get back to her feet; the arena-surrounding field shut down.

"And with a superb taijutsu combo, Teana-san advances to the second round!"

As the medics helped get Mana to the med-bay and Teana walked slowly over to join the group, Haruna turned to 'Aka'.

"So… I've been told pretty much everything… except for one thing: who you are, Aka-chan. They refused to tell me, saying that it's your choice. Any reason why?"

"Most likely," Ahsoka said, absent-mindedly making sure her disguise cloak was still hiding her features, "because unlike the other girls of Gamma, I'm from a universe that is fiction in this universe. And that you have seen the series that I'm from. I've had the others hold off because I don't want you accidentally cheering me on with my real name during the tournament in front of all these people. It'll… cause trouble. I promise that once I'm out of the tournament, I'll show you who I am."

"…Okay, fine. Can I at least try to guess?"

"I won't answer even if you guess right. But you can try to compile a list of suspects, and when I show you who I am you can see if you were right."

"Fair enough. Isn't your match next?"

"Huh? Oh yeah"

The magical-cloak-wearing Jedi teen walked out and onto the ring, as the black-clad blonde girl came up on the other side.

"Alright, then, folks, let's get the next match going! In one corner, we have another of our mysterious newcomers, though I can personally say that despite the shifty cloaked look she's quite friendly and sociable, not some freaky stoic loner like you'd think from the cloak. The Cloaked Heart, the Crimson Fist, 'Aka'! And in the other corner, our ever-serious by-the-book junior security commissioner, the Shadow-Seer, Takane Goodman!"

The two girls walked up to the middle of the stage, staring each other down. This close, Ahsoka could sense – and, for that matter, see – that something was odd about that dress Takane was wearing.

'Solidified shadow-magic as clothing? Not sure that's a wise idea. Let's hope for her sake that Takane never goes up against Asuna in close quarters. Or any mage with strong light-element magic.'

The bell rang, and immediately Ahsoka shot forward; her opening punch was caught by a flattened tendril of shadow that sprung up from Takane's clothes to protect her face. A few more blows came, harder this time, and Takane actually winced almost-imperceptibly upon blocking the lightning-infused right cross. Ahsoka leapt away, stopping several meters back. She lashed her hand out, and several bolts of lightning magic formed around her and then shot forth.

"Sagitta Magica! Series Fulgoralis!"

The 23 bolts of magic zoomed toward Takane, who dodged some and blocked a few others. By this time, Ahsoka was weaving a few hand-seals, and then thrusted her right hand forward.

"Raiton: Rairyōken no Jutsu!" (AN: ryōken = 'hound'… I think; it's my name for the officially-unnamed jutsu Kakashi used against Deva Pain)

The whitish-yellow energy formed into the front half of an attack hound, 'running' toward Takane at great speed, zig-zagging to dodge the girl's shadow-bolts as it closed in. When it reached her, she raised a shield… which the hound merely flashed around, sinking its electric fangs into Takane's arm. The blond girl screamed as the electrical energy coursed through her. As the hound faded into nothing, she glared angrily at the cloaked teen, her hair standing up a little from the shocking. She shot both hands forward, and a barrage of 50 spears of shadow shot toward Ahsoka at high speed. The cloaked teen ran around, narrowly dodging the shots as they tore into the ground upon missing her. Finally, a few wrapped around her leg, and soon Ahsoka found herself being flung through the air and then slammed into the ground, kicking up a small dust cloud.

After a few seconds, Ahsoka got to her feet, shaking off the pain (thankfully the cloak's magic kept it from being dislodged easily, so her head was still hidden. A hand seal later, and Ahsoka & two Illusion Clones were charging Takane, the two mirages and the real Ahsoka shifting back and forth to make Takane lose track of the real one. A shadow spear shot out, hitting one of the Illusion Bunshin and causing it to vanish. Takane took a swing at one of the two, only for her chop to hit air, the Bunshin vanishing just in time for the real Ahsoka's kick to slam into Takane's midsection. Ahsoka pressed her attack, using an unarmed version of her lightsaber combat style, landing several quick and punishing blows on the blond. She finished by dropping to her hands, reaching up and grabbing Takane's neck with her feet, and throwing her over, the blond landing head-first several feet away.

As Ahsoka dropped to the ground and then jumped to her feet, making sure that her hood was still up, a pulse of powerful magical energy came from Takane, who clapped her palms together and held them in a praying position as she focused her magical energy (working to trick magic-ignorant onlookers into thinking it was a ninja technique by using the spell's Japanese name):

"Kuchiyose: Kokui no Yasōkyoku!"

A huge shadow familiar sprang into existence behind Takane, a few of its tendrils snaking around and in front of her, forming a very potent defense. Takane sneered as she showed off her trump card: Nocturna Nigredinis, the most powerful close-combat technique in all of shadow-type magic.

"What…" Teana said. "What is this? Susanō lite?"

"Sorta" Takahata replied. "The Nocturna Nigredinis is, like the Susanō mentioned in Hatake-san's notes, a powerful defense & offensive summon, which supposedly provides an 'ultimate defense'. However, Takane's summon is inferior to the Mangekyō's ultimate jutsu; its defense can be broken through by sufficient force, but more importantly it will only respond to overtly hostile actions by the enemy or to the user's overt will to attack. Lastly, it does not shield the entirety of the user's body simultaneously; a sufficiently-fast attack directed at an exposed point will hit the user before the Nocturna Nigredinis can react."

Ahsoka was quickly figuring out the same thing; she noticed how the summon only attacked when Takane moved her hands a certain way, or whenever Ahsoka launched an attack. She noticed how when she got close, the familiar remained dormant until the moment she attacked. It didn't take long for Ahsoka to think up a plan. She went through a few hand seals.

"Raiton Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Two masses of lightning chakra formed and then coalesced into the shape of Ahsoka, and then dashed forward. As they leapt up, attacking from above, Takane's summon struck, smashing them aside… and being stunned by them as they dispersed into lightning energy. The real Ahsoka took the chance to flash-step forward, landing directly in front of Takane. She reached out, grabbing hold of the front of Takane's dress; Takane's eyes widened in horror as she realized what was happening.

The point-blank Light-element Sagitta Magica shot blasted Takane, and she slowly began to fall forward, her summon disappearing… along with something else. Three seconds after the 10 count reached its end, Takane opened her eyes, realizing that she was being held up by Ahsoka. And then she realized that it felt more than a little drafty. She looked down. Her shadow-magic clothes had disappeared; she was naked as the day she was born. In front of hundreds of people.

"KYAAAAAAAA!-!-!-!-!"

Several seconds later, clad in Negi's robe (which was too small for her, which meant that she was still way more exposed than tolerable), Takane ran off the stage and into privacy as fast as she could.

"Sorry!" Ahsoka called out to the girl as she ran.

"Well…" Kazumi said. "I guess that, after teaching Takane-san the hard way not to rely on clothes that require consciousness, 'Aka' will advance to the second round!"

Ahsoka walked back to the group, to find Haruna still laughing her ass off. Asuna would've told her to stop, but she was too busy stifling her own giggles. Negi had already donned his spare robe.

-SCENE SKIP-

The groups watched as Asuna and Setsuna continued to lock 'blades' while in those ridiculous (yet strangely alluring) get-ups. The match between Negi and Takahata-sensei had been quite exciting… though Ayaka had almost fainted more than once upon seeing her little sensei being so seriously injured. Teana had been more than a little dumbfounded upon learning of Kankahō, the fusion of magical energy and chakra that gave Takahata such extraordinary power. Whatever it was, her Sharingan was unable to copy it. Negi's crater-making finisher had been pretty epic, too, all things considered. Now they'd seen as Asuna displayed abilities that surprised everyone.

Now, Asuna's footing slipped as she dodged a swing from Setsuna, and the back of her head hit the arena floor. A memory flashed through her mind.

A forest

'Yo, Takamichi… can you give me a light? This is… my last smoke.'

'Master…'

Blood. So much blood.

'Now, go on. I'll manage here somehow. …What's that, young lady? Are you actually crying? Showin' your tears… that's a first. …I'm glad.'

'Master…'

'Takamichi… about her memories… seal up the ones about me, will ya?'

'Wh-what are you talking about, Master?-!'

'She won't be needin' 'em from now on.'

'No… Nagi-san is… gone… now uncle too… no…'

'Live a happy life, young lady. You have that right.'

'No… Please, no! Gateau-san! DON'T DIE!-!-!'

Setsuna stared in shock as Asuna's harisen flashed, being replaced by a humongous greatsword that cut through the handle of the broom she currently wielded. Asuna's eyes held unshed tears, and a look of inexplicable rage was in them, the pupils shrunken.

"Holy shit!"

"What in the name of-"

"Asuna?-!"

Setsuna leapt back, and Asuna got to her feet, a dark aura surrounding her. She charged forth in a silent rage, making strikes that would've been fatal had Setsuna not dodged them. However, Setsuna saw an opening.

"Ukigumo: Tsumuji Issen!"

Setsuna took the berserk Asuna's momentum and turned it against her, sending her into a violent flipping spin. The sword came free and landed on the floor with a clang, turning back into its harisen form, as Asuna spun through the air and landed head-first on the ground. After 10 seconds, she did not get back up.

"Regardless of whether or not that humongous sword counted as a disqualifiable offense, Asuna-san has failed to get back up after 10 seconds, so Setsuna-san wins the match and will advance to the second round!"

Setsuna walked over to her fallen student.

"Ow…" Asuna said, back to normal and rubbing her head. "What… what happened?"

"You went into some sort of berserk state" Setsuna replied honestly. "It looked like you had no control of yourself. Your fan turned into a sword longer than you are tall, and you tried to kill me."

"I… oh my God, Secchan, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay. You weren't yourself. Besides, I managed to KO you. Sorry to say, but you were out for the 10-count."

Setsuna helped Asuna to her feet, gathering the girl's discarded harisen and walking her off the field. On the other side of the field, Evangeline slumped in relief. After she gathered herself, she turned to 'Sanders' triumphantly.

"Ha! Well, how's that?-! It doesn't matter whether this is a bet or not, it's foolish to think you could win against me!"

"Well, I'm also just satisfied with watching you panic like that after so long"

"Wha… YOU BASTARD! That was your plan all along, wasn't it?-!" She leapt onto 'Sanders', bracing her feet on his chest as she grabbed hold of his cloak and screamed at him up-close.

"I would have given you the information even without the bet."

"You son of a bitch! You did this just to fuck with me?-!"

"Language, my dear" he said as he physically pulled her off and held her at arm's length. "Not very becoming for one as high stature as you."

"Hey! Let go of me, damnit! Where is that intel?-!"

"Well, we have some catching up to do, so maybe after the festival…"

"Stop screwing around!"

"You've already waited 15 years; what's two or three more days?"

"…Shut up…"

"Alright, I'll tell you the conclusion." His face grew serious "…Nagi Springfield is alive. But… the day may never come that you see him again."

Before Evangeline could respond, Kazumi's voice rang out over the speakers.

"Will the two competitors of Round 1's final match please come up to the stage?"

With that, Evangeline completely forgot about her current hatred of Albireo, as her mind shifted to her hatred of another… one that she was about to fight. She, uncharacteristically silently, calmly walked onto the stage, the roiling storm of emotion within her being expertly concealed. On the other side, the old man in his dark blue suit calmly walked up onto the stage, his body brimming with his unique form of magical power. He smiled warmly at Evangeline; Eva made no reaction, no move, no words, just stared coldly at him.

"Okay, for the final match of Round 2, to decide who goes on to face Setsuna-san in Round 2, we have two competitors known for possessing power and skill that belies their eccentricities. One on side, we have the ever-calm Dean of Engineering at Mahora College, the Immovable Object, the Calm in the Storm, Sebastian von Klaus! On the other side, we have the Disciple of Dark Tones, the Icy Fury, the Twilight-Walker, Evangeline McDowell!"

"Word has it that there's some bad blood between these two" Mr. Commentator said.

"One-sided, but yes" Chachamaru replied over the speakers. "Klaus-san likes Master, but Master hates Klaus-san. I must admit; I do not know what she will do with this chance."

'Come now' Klaus thought. 'Hates me? I wouldn't go that far. I irk her, and she tosses those threats out, but I merely work to show her the locked-away light in her heart.'

Evangeline was like a stone; the rise and fall of her breathing was nearly indistinguishable, and it almost looked like she wasn't blinking. If one looked closely, one could see a slight ripple in the air immediately surrounding her. Teana and Ahsoka noticed, and extended their senses… and felt as if they had been physically struck by the sheer, raw amount of killing intent radiating from Evangeline. They turned to each other.

"This… could be bad…" Teana said.

"Ready…"

Klaus expected one or a few of several things. He expected a snarky taunt. He expected a (doomed to fail) attempt to psychoanalyze him like Eva-chan did to many of her opponents.

"Set…"

He expected perhaps a head-on charge, or a usage of her combat strings. Honestly, he expected her to do what she usually did: take the anger she had at herself and ineffectually lash out at him with it.

*STARTING BELL SOUND*

He did not expect what she did.

The split-second after the bell rang, Evangeline's arms flew into motion… forming hand-seals.

"Suiton: Suigadan!"

Klaus stared in shock as several tendrils of water shot out from the moat bordering the arena's north edge, spiraling through the air toward him at high speed. He narrowly dodged, and the rapidly-spinning jets of water punched/drilled down into and through the arena floor.

'How did she do that?' Klaus thought. 'The curse should've… wait. …The Infernus Scholasticus only seals her magic; it doesn't affect chakra! But that shouldn't be an issue; she never learned chakra-based techniques. When did… the newcomers! She must've gained access to their scrolls!'

Evangeline made several more seals, and then thrusted her hands forward.

"Fūton: Kami Oroshi!"

A focused vortex of wind shot forth toward Klaus, and he barely managed to get out of the way as it tore past him; it clipped him on its way, shredding the left arm of his suit.

"Suiton: Suikōdan!"

A huge shark-shaped mass of water flew at Klaus, and this time he couldn't dodge. He called up a shield spell, using it to block the attack, but his arm shook from the effort. The leftover water flew through the air, hovering around Evangeline. She made a few hand-seals, and it froze into 100 senbon of ice.

"Hyōton: Hyakusatsu Hyōsho!"

The ice-needles shot at Klaus with great speed. A few got through his defenses, stabbing into the flesh of his arms and legs, while the rest shattered upon impact with a shield he threw out. He quickly pulled the few stuck in him out, ignoring the bit of blood. Something wasn't right. That attack could have been lethal. In fact… all of her attacks so far were potentially-lethal ones.

'This can't be right' he thought. 'She wouldn't actually try to kill me, would she?'

She flash-stepped toward him, wielding an ice spike in a reverse grip, and he barely managed to block and catch her attack. Then he looked into her eyes, and beheld a darkness and fury that actually frightened him. Klaus extended his legilimency, peering into Evangeline's mind and heart… and was horror-struck. There was no competitive spirit. No desire to test his power in an honorable duel on the field. No annoyance and acceptance toward him cloaked in irritability and anger like he suspected.

There was only ice-cold hatred and white-hot rage, and the desire for bloodshed. She wasn't just fighting him. She truly, deeply hated him. And she was trying to kill him.

'How did this happen?' Klaus thought. 'How could she… I only worked to help her break free of the walls she has built around her heart; to free the light within her darkness. How could this have made her hate me so? How did it come to this?'

Unfortunately for him, Evangeline felt the intrusion into her mind, and this just made her angrier. A growl, too low to have been made by any human, much less a small girl, came from her throat. She lashed out with a chakra-charged kick, and the impact nearly broke Klaus' ribs. Thinking fast, he grabbed her by the arms and physically threw her across the ring; she landed on her feet effortlessly. She then pulled out a scroll, sliced a finger on one of her teeth, and ran it across the scroll. She then slammed the blooded scroll down onto the ground. The ground began to rumble, and walls of rock suddenly shot up around the arena ring, soon forming a square wall 10 feet high that surrounded the ring. Evangeline then made another sequence of hand-seals, rearing back and shouting the next technique:

"Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!"

She slammed her palms into the ground, and gallons upon gallons of water sprang into existence, quickly filling the boxed-in arena until the water was around seven feet deep. Overhead cameras connected to holographic big-screens allowed everyone to watch the fight, regardless of the earthen obstruction. Both combatants stood upon the water's surface, Klaus' confused and hurt eyes meeting Evangeline's… and noticing that the irises of her eyes had turned gold. A pitch-black aura came into view, surrounding Evangeline, as she embraced her rage and hatred, and willingly brought forth the darkness of her Heart.

CHOOSE YOUR BATTLE MUSIC!

OPTION 1: Naruto Shippūden OST 2 – "Kakuzu"

OPTION 2: Kingdom Hearts II OST – "The 13th Dilemma"

OPTION 3: Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST– "Extreme Encounters"

WHICHEVER ONE YOU, THE READER, THINK FITS BEST, LISTEN TO IT OR IMAGINE IT DURING THIS FIGHT

Evangeline made a few hands seals and then thrusted her palms forward.

"Fūton: Daitoppa!"

A tremendously powerful gust of wind shot forth, and Klaus struggled to brace himself against it. Before he could regain himself, he felt a vicious hammer-blow to his stomach, and when he reflexively doubled over a mighty kick caught him in the side of the head, sending him tumbling. He leapt away from another punch that would've probably shattered whatever bone it hit, and retreated a bit. He now realized that this was no longer a tournament fight; his opponent would not accept surrender. Klaus would have to knock Evangeline out somehow, or otherwise hold out for 17 more minutes and the judges declared a winner. Or else he would die. He called up his magic, and fired a barrage of 29 Light-element magic arrows.

"Suiton: Suishōheki!"

The column of water surrounded Evangeline, protecting her from the shots before returning to the artificial pool they stood on. Eva then made a sequence of hand-seals and pressed a hand down onto the water's surface.

"Suiton: Goshokuzame!"

From each of her fingers and her thumb, five bolts total of chakra went into the water, rapidly taking the form of five solid-water sharks, their outlines an unnatural violet due to darkness energy. She then formed more hand-seals, and thrusted her palms at Klaus again.

"Fūton: Kamaitachi!"

The slicing wind, charged by Evangeline's darkness, sliced through Klaus' shield and began cutting his flesh. The drops of blood landed in the water, attracting the five water-sharks. One tried to grab hold of his ankle, and he kicked it in the 'face'. He leapt up just as two more tried to chomp down on his legs, launching a barrage of light arrows at the sharks; the two beasts went underwater, using the water around them to patch up the damage they took. Klaus landed, and noticed that the water around Evangeline was becoming even more turbulent, and that she was flashing through a complex sequence of seals.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan!"

An enormous dragon of water sprang forth from the waters, roaring and charging at Klaus. He raised a double-stacked shield, and the dragon smashed into it with bone-crunching force, shattering the first layer almost instantly. The second, stronger layer held for a little while longer, but it too shattered, and the last few seconds of the attack hit Klaus directly, and the old man felt as a few ribs were cracked. And then Evangeline was in front of him again, and her fist was in his face, and he was tumbling end over end through the air.

Over the next six minutes, the spectators watched – first in excitement, then in surprise, then in nervousness and a little fear – as Evangeline put Klaus through the wringer, effortlessly shrugging off his binds and attacks, and hitting him mercilessly. Eventually, everyone watching realized that the girl was fighting for real… too for real to be just a tournament match.

"Shit…" Mr. Commentator said. "Is she actually tryin' to kill him?"

"Sadly, I believe so" Chachamaru said, worried that her Mistress might succumb to the darkness.

Klaus stood on the surface of the water. He was panting for breath, his suit was in bad condition, and several wounds marked his body.

Evangeline growled, as she then formed a Shadow Clone. The Kage Bunshin began charging wind chakra, while Evangeline gathered water chakra, both of them lacing it with darkness. After several seconds they fired together, a huge swirling column of water focused & pressurized by wind chakra, giving it extraordinary strength, speed, and destructive power. Klaus managed to partially dodge it, but he still took a great deal of the attack. The attack kept going, smashing into the rock wall and busting through it. The water rapidly began to pour out of the arena, quickly evaporating as Evangeline willed it to. The rock slabs lowered back into the ground.

Klaus stood, barely capable of standing, and gasping desperately for breath. His last-second shield spell had saved him from instant death, but the force absorbed had left him quite drained. Evangeline glared and growled.

"We end this" she said lowly, and formed a three-seal sequence before then grabbing hold of her right wrist with her left hand and holding her right hand down. After a few seconds, chakra began to build, and Teana gasped as she recognized it.

"That's Sasuke's and Kakashi's technique!"

Evangeline's head was lowered, meaning that her vicious stare at Klaus looked even scarier as the bluish-white chakra gathered in her hand in the form of lightning. A pulse of energy came from her, and the lightning chakra turned violet. The sclera of her eyes turned black, and her gold irises glowed lightly with dark power, her rage fueling her strength.

"Revenge…" she spoke with a growled tone. "For everything you've done to me. …Zettai ni yurusanai…"

The attack finished formation, a violent mass of violet chakra in her hand. And then she moved. The tiles beneath her feet shattered as she pushed off, charging toward Klaus.

"NOW…"

Klaus used the last of his strength, calling forth a complex seven-layer shield between him and her.

"YOU…"

Evangeline flared her dark aura, and with her speed she smashed clean through the first four shields like they weren't even there. The energy in her hand gave off a horrible screech.

"DIE!-!-!"

There was a massive bang and a bright flash, and a dust cloud kicked up.

"Damn it…"

The dust faded, revealing what had happened… and horror filled the stands.

"Those last two shields… I was aiming for your heart."

Ako had gone worryingly pale at what she now saw. Negi, not expecting his master to have snapped so badly, began shaking lightly.

Sebastian von Klaus stood, twitching and staring at the blond head below him in horrified disbelief. Evangeline's electrified hand had punched clean through his left shoulder; a spray of blood and bone fragments was behind him, and his blood ran down Evangeline's arm. People in the stands began to murmur fearfully and in disbelief.

And then Evangeline jerked her hand upward with great speed and force, completely severing Klaus' left arm. Time seemed to flow in slow motion, as a horrible silence descended upon the arena. And then his detached arm hit the ground, and people began to scream. Ako fainted; Fumika joined her in this action. Evangeline leapt back, landing on the other end of the arena.

"I…" one of the judges spoke with a shaking voice. "I suppose… th-that this means that… Klaus-san is unable to continue fighting, so… as per the rules of the tournament, I… h-hereby declare Evangeline the wi-"

Another Chidori sprang into existence in Evangeline's palm. People began panicking again, now realizing that she still wasn't satisfied with 'just' maiming Klaus.

"Eva-san! Stop!" Kazumi cried out in a panic. "The match is over! You win! Stop!-!"

Evangeline did not heed the young woman's words. She snarled and took off, sprinting toward Klaus again. Several people began to scream and/or weep, realizing that they were about to watch a man die horribly.

And then a white-robed figure suddenly appeared 10 feet in front of Klaus, less than two seconds in front of the charging Evangeline. His hood was down, revealing dark-purple hair in a ponytail, his ever-shut eyes now wide open, a deadly serious look on his face. Albireo raised his palm, pointing it at Evangeline.

"Shinra Tensei"

The solid wall of gravity slammed into Evangeline, cutting off her charge and sending her careening backward, tumbling through the air like a rag doll. Her Dark Chidori dispersed, her concentration ruined by the sudden attack. She glared at the man, the ground beneath her cracking from her aura.

"Don't interfere" she snarled out.

"Your anger is justified," Albireo stated, "but I will not allow you to kill this man."

Amongst the mages watching the events unfold, the true identity of 'Ku-Nel Sanders' was now very much apparent, as they recognized the famous figure.

"Holy crap…" Setsuna said. "It's Albireo Imma!"

The name was muttered amongst several of the spectators, shocked that such a legendary hero was right here in front of them.

"Who?" Marie asked.

"Albireo Imma" Chamo said. "He's a member of Ala Rubra, Nagi Springfield's team of elite super-mage heroes."

"A companion of my father's?" Negi questioned. "But what's he doing here?"

Chachamaru ran onto the stage. "Master, please calm down!" she pleaded. "The fight is over! You've shown Klaus the strength of your hatred already! Don't let it consume you! Negi-kun is watching! Do you really want him to see you like this?"

At the mention of her apprentice, Evangeline's eyes widened slightly… and the sclera returned to natural white. The black aura surrounding her disappeared, and her irises returned to their normal blue. There was a thud behind Albireo as Klaus collapsed unconscious from shock and blood loss. A team of elite medics rushed in immediately with heavy-duty life-support gear, calling for a MEDEVAC. They placed the man on a stretcher, one of the medics, a mage, carefully gathering up the severed arm. He looked at the torn end and at Klaus' mangled shoulder, and sighed sadly. The damage was too catastrophic; there was no way, magic or not, that the arm could possibly be reattached. Klaus was now crippled.

Evangeline walked down off the stage with frightening calm, passing by Team Negi. She looked lazily at them, her eyes currently dull and weary as she looked at the various pale and shaken faces of those looking at her. She turned and walked away, gazing down at the blood that covered her hand and arm. And she smirked.

-CHAPTER END-

Next chapter is the rest of the tournament (or maybe part of it, depending on how long it is)