Chapter 5

Battle to the End

What had they gotten themselves into? Wait what had Naomi gotten them into?! The day had been going by reasonably well then they showed up wanting to fight, it was pretty annoying but looking at them both they didn't seem like much. One looked like boy looked like a druggy and his sister looked like the daughter of Dracula, no big deal. In the crowd however Tsukune and the others could heard people asking what was going on and if it was a show for them or not, little did they know it wasn't.

With the sun still shining bright as ever they both stretched their muscles as their opponent watched for they had no idea how long it would take and they didn't want to pull a muscle while fighting. With their arms by their side their eyes connected with their opponents before they looked at each other.

"Ready to start this thing?" asked Ryo.

"Well if we don't we'll be stuck in here so why not."

At the same time they got into their battle positions but there was a problem, their opponents had disappeared. Their eyes scanned the area until they got a nice little surprise. From the ground they both sprang and used their feet to kick them back into their backs.

"You two should know better than to fight a Shadow Runner let alone two at the same time." said Danni as he warmed up his fists.

"Shadow runners...you disappeared into the ground cheaters!" grunted Ryo as he sat back up.

"There's no cheating here darling anything goes until one team looses." she said as she cracked her knuckled.

Suddenly their own shadows began to betray them as they started turning into small beads. In a matter of second two giant hands floated in front of them before one grabbed Ryo and threw him to the other side of the arena and the other simply threw his lizard friend into the ice wall behind him. Not only were they trapped but they had turned the field into one giant cage match!

"Alright ok, alright ok you want to go let's go!" shouted Ryo as he jumped to his feet.

If he was so hellbent on kicking his ass then he wasn't going to hold back. Looking down at the seal though he knew it would drain him so it was best not to use it, it was ham time. Kicking off the ground he disappeared into a thin beam of light that ripped around the hooded punch before he delivered a hard punch to his stomach.

"Heh heh heh nice punch..." grunted Dani as he flew backwards.

Just before he hit the ground though he disappeared where only a distorted shadow appeared. He watched it carefully as it zipped towards him faster than he thought before waves of spikes began rising over him.

"Come on Ryo you can stop this..." mumbled Minami as she watched closely.

If he wanted too he could have ended it in a minute or two but instead he wanted to have a bit of fun. As the spikes came down upon him the crowd gasped as he disappeared under the flood. He was merciless as his own father watched with no words to speak.

"That's weird, you OK?" asked Tsukune as he waved his hand in front of his face.

"Huh? Oh sorry just zoned out for a bit." he said as his eyes focused back on his son.

Suddenly the spikes vanished into a cloud of black dust and standing perfectly OK in the center of the cloud was their electric friend with only a few scratches along his arms and face.

"Oh thank goodness." said Minami as she let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn't over yet as the dust cleared he looked down at his hand.

"Whew thanks you old perv." he said as he looked back up.

Figured the guy had already disappeared. As his eyes scanned the ground though he heard a loud high pitched war cry come up from behind him. At the very second he turned around he saw nothing but a skull with little yellow circles for eyes staring at him as it raised its arms. Quickly he jumped back out of the way of the large scythe before he could be struck.

"Ho man she wasn't kidding when she said you were fast, but let's see how well you can dodge this."

From out of the shadows a mini gun made from his own shadow appeared as he began firing. If he didn't stop the bullet god only knew what would happen so with both hands he opened them up as a electric barrier opened up and trapped them all before he gave it a punch. Bullet by bullet they flew back at their master but just like before he disappeared into the ground.

"Alright come on out and fight me like a man!" he yelled as he prepared for his opponent.

From what he was taught by Pervy Otaku in order to seek victory he had to be alert one hundred percent of the time and no matter what he could let his guard down. Closing his eyes he focused only on the sounds around him, nothing more blocked his brain. From what he could hear there was a faint buzzing sound coming from behind him.

"Heh nice try but..."

With a quick turn he summoned forth a blade of lightning and just in time stopped his attack before the scythe could hit him.

"you need a bit more training before you can touch me with that thing." he said with a grin as his own blade sliced right through the shadow weapon.

Quickly he slashed at his enemy but instead he jumped backwards and disappeared into the ground once more.

"Naomi this is getting out of hand, at this rate they'll kill each other!" shouted Minami.

"It's the only way, this is more than just a fight to them it's a test. A test of whether they are skilled enough to face the best of the best." she replied.

"That's ridiculous, what if he kills him?"

"Oh don't worry he won't kill your boyfriend."

She would have blushed and knocked her out at the same time but then the crowd erupted into a single gasp as their attention turned back to the fight. He hadn't noticed it before but by cutting his scythe the shadow material had spread all over and now he was trapped inside as it whirled around him. His body was lifted up as the air around him got thinner and thinner, he was losing his breathe and fast. That was only stage two though, as soon as he tried to move a force began to surround his body as if a giant hand was squeezing the life out of him.

"Ugh if I don't think of something fast I'm finished..." he thought to himself as the area around him got blacker and blacker as the shadows surrounded him.

The pain was pretty intense and he would have been lying if he said he wasn't impressed. Not only had this guy surprised him but he also had a plan to stop him. His victory wasn't lost completely though as he looked down at the glove around his right left hand.

"If you overuse your power you're body will grow weak. Just like a warrior without a sword or shield you'll be vulnerable, but if you use your time wisely than you might have a chance." the words of Pervy Otaku ran through his mind as he tried to lift his left hand.

"If that's the case then bring it on. I'll face whatever challenge comes my way!" he thought loudly to himself as the darkness closed around him.

Everyone watched as the young hybrid was trapped inside the giant sphere of shadows. How were they to stop him from unleashing his attack? There was no way they could break through the giant wall of ice, even with her vampire strength by the time they got through it would have been too late.

"Damn it Naomi stop this right now! How can you just sit here and watch this happen to one of your own friends?!" she exclaimed as she began punching away at the wall.

Watching as the ball got bigger and bigger everyone in the crowd began to speak about how the match might have been over and if he was still alive. Tsukune and Kyra on the other hand could feel it, something was changing on the battlefield.

"Come on you can do it. Just release the power and let it out." thought Tsukune as his own father stood and watched.

That's when everything turned around. A wave of energy began to radiate from the sphere as Danni struggled to control it.

"Wha-What's going on now? What's with this pressure?" he asked as he tried to close his fist.

Suddenly from out of nowhere his spherical shadow shattered as his foe jumped from through the air and using every bit of strength gave him a nice kick to the stomach. In his mind Danni didn't know what to think. No one ever escaped from his Eclipse Barrage, but somehow he managed to do it. As he sat up he noticed something wasn't exactly right with his little friend. His eyes now glowed with the light of the red moon, the tips of his hair had turned white and two small fangs could be seen as he grinned.

"I feel...the same. Odd but I'll roll with it." he said as he balled up his hands once more.

"Heh I'm not sure what you are exactly but since you're so intent on taking me down I'll give you the pleasure of witnessing my special attack. An attack I've been saving for a guy like you."

Whatever he had to throw at him he was ready for it. The power of the blood coursed through his veins as the power of the vampire embraced him. What he wasn't prepared for what was to come next. He only watched as his opponent unbuttoned his uniform only to show him his exposed ribcage black smoke leaked out.

"You think I've just been hiding from you to protect myself? No, my forces are here and their ready to eat!"

"Fingers crossed." replied Ryo as he crossed his fingers.

Oh what the hell he could at least see what he was talking about before he took him down. Using both hands Danni pulled open his ribcage like it was some sort of cupboard but within the emoty space it what intrigued him. As the mist flowed from the black void ten red eyes began looking at him as he backed up a bit.

"You keep your pets in there?"

"Oh I'm afraid these aren't just my pets, their my allies as well!"

From his chest burst five separate creatures all with different appearances. Some had more eyes than the others while some had more rows of teeth but all looked vicious nonetheless.

"Now my friends, feast."

It would have been quite simple to defeat them all with his spark gun or even his blaster but where was the fun in that? As the beasts rushed towards him from all around he folded his arms up as the crimson lightning began to outline his body. The poor pooches, once they were close enough he opened his arms up as a large shock wave knocked them all back including little Danni.

"Such power, when did he learn to do all of this?" asked Kyra as they watched him walk over to one of the beasts.

"You would be surprised what kind of untapped potential your boy has. He trained day and night in hope of getting stronger. No matter how much pain we put him through though he always endured it. He's coming along and hell he may surpass you before you know it." teased Tsukune who turned his attention to his daughter who was watching intensely. Once the beasts were on their feet he prepared to end it all with his new secret weapon. As soon as they kicked off the ground he vanished into another stream of light before he reappeared behind little Danni.

"What's up Danni man, ready to surrender?" he asked as he wrapped his arm around his neck.

Oh he wasn't going to let him go, in fact he had a little surprise for him. Once he tightened his grip around his neck he snapped his fingers and one by one the savage beasts vanished from sight.

"But when did you...? No wait, that's what you were doing? You tazed my friends?!"

"Yeah, but then again they did try and, you know, kill me."

And with that he grabbed his opponents boney shoulders and threw him to the ground with as much strength as he could.

"Damn I have to escape now!" thought Danni as he began to sink back into the ground.

"Oh yeah time for a bit of fishing." said Ryo as he revealed his little secret.

At first he thought he had escaped but as soon as he felt something wrapped around his ankle he was pulled out from the darkness and tossed to the ground. How had he caught them? Then he saw it, a string of electrical energy that led from his ankle right into his opponents hand.

"As long as this is wrapped around my wrist you aren't going anywhere." replied Ryo as he gave him a toothy grin.

"I see, well it looks like this final struggle will determine the winner huh?" he replied as his own shadow began to turn into a mini twister in his hand.

"Seems that way."

He remembered full well what move he was apart to use would come to bite him in the ass afterward, but the after effects would be worth it to take him down. Opening up his hand they both glared at each other with such intensity that it felt as if they were fighting the battle in their minds. Once they both kicked off the ground though both were intent on finishing the other off.

"Come on and show me your hand Danni man!"

As soon as their attacks collided their energy began spiraling out of control as everyone cheered for either side. There was no questioning it, the newbie had skills but at the end of the day he had his gift from his friend, the blood she gave him. Using every bit of force they pushed harder until both eventually exploded and sent both flying back. Thinking quick though Ryo used his feet to slow down before he stood up. As Danni began to regain his composure though he saw what looked like seven clone of his opponent as they began running towards him.

"Well crap..."

It didn't take long for them to subdue him as they punched and kicked him until finally with tied up his arms and leg and just for good measure the real Ryo sat down on his back to keep him there.

"Dude that's totally bogus." said Danni before he blacked out.

Now that his battle was over there was only one left to end but could his friend really defeat someone he couldn't even tough?