CLANG!

"What… how… why-" Benji stammered.

I smirked. I was holding the blade of the sword with my hand. And wow did it hurt. The sword was definitely magical, I could tell, as I was struggling not to pull back in pain. But I kept a strong hold on the blade as blood dripped from my hand.

"Pathetic. That sword should be able to slice through me. I have to admit I expected better, kid. In the hands of a true swordsman, and in the hands of someone who can wield a magical weapon, that sword would be pretty tough to beat. You have a lot to learn, squirt, until you can do damage with it." I told him, my voice calm. "But I came all the way here, because I have a quest to finish. Now you're going to give me that sword, release my nakama, and let us be on our way. Got it?"

My voice was indeed calm, but no one could mistake the venom beneath the calm. There was a reason Water Dragons can switch emotions so fast. They say the calm comes before the storm, after all.

"B-But I can't lose to you!" Benji exclaimed, his eyes shining suddenly, "Your beauty empowers me, and I shall make you my girlfriend!"

Levy made a face and so did I. I couldn't believe this goofball. "Listen kid, I'm not going to be your girlfriend. That's not how you love a girl. You show the girl you can protect her, you can laugh and smile and be kind to her. You show the girl how much she means to you. You DO NOT act like she's a trophy." I lectured him, still having a tight hold on the sword.

"Mona-Chan, why don't you finish this fight? We need to hurry if we want to be done by nightfall." Levy reminded me.

I sighed, "So Troublesome. Fine." Benji's eyes widened as I took a deep breath. I could feel the magical power in me welling up, the water in my belly rising. I leaned back slightly before opening my mouth and leaning towards Benji, the huge gush of water rushing forward, "Roar of the water Dragon!"

The water hit him full force, making him let go of the sword and fly back, hitting the cave wall.

I smiled in my little victory, a part of me wanting to do a childish little spin. Instead I flipped the Sword into the air so it spun, and I grabbed it by the handle, flinching slightly because my hand was still bleeding.

The sword seemed to glow just slightly, as if it knew it was in the hands of a mage.

Benji was lying flat on his back, next to the slightly crumbled cave wall. He was definitely down for the count.

"WOOHOO WE'RE FREE!" I heard two male voices cheering. I turned to look at Droy and Jet. The runes had disappeared and they were skipping around like idiots.

"Don't be so happy about it. You're only free because I beat this brat." I said, my mood turned sour because of the throbbing stinging pain in my bleeding hand.

Jet and Droy looked depressed now.

"She's right, we didn't even get to fight." Droy whined.

"We're sorry Mona, thank you for freeing us. We'll fight on the next mission!" Jet declared, though he looked like a sad puppy.

I rolled my eyes, "Tch. Don't thank me, it's what Nakama do."

Levy-chan had noticed my wound, "Oh Mona-Chan! Your hand is bleeding!"

I sighed, glancing at my hand, "It's fine, I'll bandage it in a minute. First thing is first, Levy-Chan. Can you summon a solid script rope or something?" I asked, glancing at Benji.

I saw Levy raise a hand and the word Rope appeared in Japanese writing. She spoke the word out loud, "Rope." A long brown rope appeared in front of me in the air. I grabbed it.

"Thanks Levy-Chan!"

"What are you using it for?" Jet asked me.

I looked back at the unconscious Benji. I kind of felt bad for the kid, I mean he easily was knocked out by one hit of my roar. And he looked so defeated and he really had wanted to win, I could tell.

"I can't leave him here. We'll drag him with us and leave him in the lobby of whatever hotel we go to… and then we'll leave for home. I mean we got done early, so we can camp out somewhere and take the first train in the morning." I explained, quickly making a new plan in my head.

Droy looked irritated, "Why can't we just leave him? He trapped us in runes!"

Levy turned toward him, "Don't be rude Droy, Mona-Chan is right."

I handed Levy Excalibur and sat the unconscious Benji up, tieing him up with the rope. Levy made a solid script, "Clean." And the sword was wiped clean of blood.

"Alright, now we can get going." I said, relieved, but levy shook her head.

"No way, first you need to bandage that hand." She ordered, "Sit down, I'll get some solid script bandages and fix your hand up."

I scowled, "But Levy Its really fine I don't need-"

"Jet, Droy." Levy ordered, interrupting me.

"Aye, Aye, Levy-Chan!" Both the boys echoed, and grabbed me by the arms.

I struggled like a little kid as they picked me up and plopped me down on a big rock to sit, "Come on guys I'll be good, let go!" I whined childishly. I could have gotten loose but I guess Levy was right, I can't just let my hand keep bleeding. I would have healed it myself with the little bit of healing magic I had, but it was a magical wound, and it would cancel out my healing magic.

"Just sit still, Mona!" Jet scolded me, as Droy grabbed my wrist to hold my injured hand out to Levy.

I pouted and tried making a cute innocent face, "Please let go of me Droy, Jet…" I pleaded in my softest voice.

Droy stared at me before making a determined face, "That won't work on us, Mona! We only have eyes for Levy!" He declared, and Jet nodded.

Levy didn't seem to notice, busy writing out the word for "Bandage."

I scowled, "Traitors." I muttered in a childish tantrum kind of way. I hated looking weak and needing bandages.

Levy made a Tsk sound as she cleaned my hand up and wrapped bandages around the cut from the sword. When she was done she looked seriously at me.

"Mona-Chan! You better be careful with that hand, okay?" She warned me.

"Don't worry so much. I'll be fine." I assured her.

Jet and Droy glanced at Levy then at me. They reminded me of Meerkats, the way they stood tall like that looking from side to side.

Jet spoke, "So, are we going to get going? It's going to get dark soon, but if we can catch the last train, we might be able to get back tonight and camp out closer to our next job."

I sighed, "Alright, let's go. We'll drop Benji off at the nearest hotel, and then we'll go to Irvin."

And so we walked out of the cave, with me dragging the unconscious and tied up Benji along.

When we reached the hotel I said, "You guys go ahead to Irvin's Swordship, I'll drop Benji off inside."

"Are you sure, Mona-Chan?" Levy asked me.

"Yeah. I'll catch up." I told her. "Watch after that sword."

They headed down the street and I grabbed the rope that held Benji, and pulled him to his feet, dragging him into the lobby.

Thankfully no one was there, it was such a small hotel that there wasn't a need for anyone at the desk, not at the moment.

I plopped Benji in a chair as he began waking up.

"Huh? Mona… Why did you bring me here?" He asked groggily, as I began untying him.

I rolled my eyes, "Do you really think I'm so awful I'd just leave unconscious in a cave? I might have won but even I wouldn't do that."

He looked down sadly, looking like a lost puppy now, "But I lost… I don't deserve your kindness, nor do I want your pity."

I could tell he was surprised when I placed my hand on his head. He peered up at me in astonishment.

"I'm not pitying you. And I'm not being kind. If I had left you there I wouldn't be worthy of a rematch. Listen kid, If you really are serious about wanting to beat me, then try your hardest. You train, You improve your magic, you make something of yourself. Maybe you could even join a guild." I gave a soft smile, "I'll be waiting for you to get better, and then we can have a proper rematch. What do you say?"

He was speechless for a moment before his eyes became all starry and he looked like… well he reminded me of a devoted guy to his hero, kind of like how Droy and Jet act around Levy.

"I promise, Mona! I'll get stronger and someday I'll show you how much I've improved!" He swore to me.

I laughed lightly and patted his head, "Good. See you around, kid."

And with that I removed my hand from his head and made a thumbs up with my bandaged hand. I turned and left, raising a hand in goodbye as I went out of view.

I was being honest when I said I looked forward to a rematch. He might be a dork now, and I certainly don't see him as boyfriend material, but he had a spark of determination in his eyes and I could tell with a bit of training he'd be a great mage.

Who knows, maybe he might actually beat me someday. But considering I took him out with one hit, he'll need to improve quite a lot.

Now to finish up this job.