Les yelled and backed into the counter of the general store. The poor manager passed out behind him. But Kenta stayed with his face pressed up against the glass, frozen in horror and fascination.

"Ya gotta calm 'im down if ya know what 'es lookin' fer, son!" yelled Les. "It's all up to ya now! This lil' city needs ya! We cain't hold our own 'gainst this kinda power. Believe me, I tried, and I seen 'em go down...GET BACK FROM THE WINDOW, SONNY!"

Kenta raced backwards as the dragon crashed his head through the window, unhindered by the shattering glass. His great scaly shadow loomed terrifyingly over Les, Kenta, and the unconscious manager.

"CALM 'IM DOWN, SON, NOBODY ELSE KIN HELP US NOW!" Les yelled. Kenta rushed forward and the dragon swung its head over, glaring down at Kenta through enraged eyes. Kenta reached a hand out.

The great beast snorted at him, steam beating against the palm of his hand. Kenta was afraid. But he pushed on.

A cautious step forward, and then another. But as soon as his palm made contact with the dragon's cold scales, it reared, bashing through the ceiling of the general store.

"WHOA! WHOA, OH WHOA WHOA WHOA..." Kenta scuttled backward, falling on his behind and going back on hands and knees.

The dragon extended his neck, puffing at Kenta, his face inches from the boy's. He closed his eyes and could feel warm steam flowing over his face.

He opened his eyes cautiously, surprised that he wasn't hurt. The dragon sniffed at him suspiciously, tentatively. A spark of recognition came into its eyes and it warbled softly.

Kenta reached out a trembling hand. "That's it, okay...easy boy..." he stood up slowly and the dragon backed off, hostility sparking in its eyes.

"No, no no no, it's okay. Hey! Are you looking for Ryuga?"

The dragon snorted and its eyes widened. Kenta could've sworn it nodded.

"He's not here", Kenta said softly. "Nobody knows where he is."

The dragon looked sceptical. As if it didn't trust him.

"I promise you, he's nowhere in this city. Go look somewhere else." He shoved at its nose lightly. The dragon bared its fangs at him, but he kept on pushing. "Go on, go. There's no reason to tear down this city over one single person."

The dragon backed out of the general store, knocking down several signs and lampposts with its trailing tail. It cast a long glance over its shoulder at Kenta before it spread its great wings and leapt into the lightning, vanishing into the top layer of clouds at bullet speed.

Kenta and Les stood in the rain, watching as it trailed down around them, as the crackling lightning illuminated one last glance of the beast's head and the pavement and rubble of the general store gathered wet spots around them

Les looked over at Kenta. "Let's agree that this was a earthquake, all right? Them dragons probably doesn't want nobody ta know they was here."

Kenta nodded quietly. "And let people think the store owner was hallucinating?"

"That sorta stuff happens all tha time. It'll be tha talk o' tha papers fer awhile, but it'll die down eventually. And if anyone else saw it...it's probabilty 'gainst myth, eh?"