Whoa! Guys, I'm sooo sorry the update took so long! *sobs in a corner* I'm a terrible person…

Chapter Sixteen: Lion vs. Dragon

"Why don't you talk to him?" suggested Alice, turning to meet Hikaru's gaze with big, milky blue eyes. She put a gloved hand on the girl's shoulder when she didn't answer, her grimy fingers leaving dirt smudges on Hikaru's bright red jacket.

"I ca –" Hikaru broke off with a gasp as another voice spoke loud and clear, intimidating, with a kind of high-pitch scratchy growl.

"You must be Kyoya Tategami."

Hikaru hadn't even seen the white haired boy round the corner of the castle, his left arm lifted to reveal a golden dragon gauntlet on his forearm that reflected the bright sunlight. He wore a black jumpsuit with a few gold buttons, and a long-sleeve jacket tied around his neck that hung down behind him. Despite his rippling muscles and penetrating amber eyes, this new guy was kind of dazzling, Hikaru realized.

Kyoya smirked and stepped toward the boy, reaching for his Leone and bey launcher. "And you must be Ryuga, the so-called number one blader."

"Humph. So-called?" the white haired blader challenged, a big smirk spreading across his flawless tan face. "Doji's told me a lot about you. Maybe you'd like to show me your real skills, hm?"

"Gladly." Kyoya held his launcher out, ready to pull on the rip cord.

The door behind them swung open, and Doji burst out, with the sporty young girl behind him. Both looked exhausted, their faces glistening with sweat, loose strands of hair clinging to their cheeks and foreheads.

Hikaru, Shuske, and Alice huddled together in silence, barely daring to peer through the leaves in fear that Doji might catch them staring.

"Why can't I just battle him?" muttered Shuske. He started to move forward to break his way out of the little bush, but Hikaru wrapped an arm around his neck and covered his mouth with her hand.

"Shut up!" she scolded under her breath. "We're outnumbered here; we don't stand a chance."

"Don't tell me you lost the prisoners?" Ryuga was saying, glancing over his shoulder.

"They ran down here," Doji told him, voice and gaze unwavering. "You haven't seen them?"

"I'm a little tied up at the moment." Ryuga faced Kyoya again, but continued to give orders to the taller man. "You and Ayumi need to get out of here and find those rats. I can't take over without every ounce of power."

"I won't let you down, sir." Ayumi knelt to the ground on one knee and bowed her head so that her messy golden hair fell from its ribbon. She rose again and turned, brushing dust from her shorts and sweeping her hair out of her eyes. "They'd probably head for the front of the castle. That's where their best chances are. Let's go."

Doji watched the teenage girl take a few steps before he called out to Ryuga and Kyoya. "Don't do anything foolish." Then, he followed Ayumi off toward the front of the castle.

Kyoya raised his voice. "Ryuga! Are you ready to battle me?"

"I Was born ready," he snarled, flexing his muscles as he straightened up and held his launcher out. "Three!"

"Two!"

"One! Let it rip!"

Hikaru let go of Shuske and tensed, clenching both hands into fists so that her knuckles turned white.

"He'll be fine."

She gave Alice a weak grin, grateful for her optimism, and she turned to look back at the battle that would soon be raging before their eyes.

"I'm surprised you haven't attacked yet!" Kyoya taunted, his eyes burning with confidence and his lip curved up in a smirk as Ryuga started to chuckle.

"Don't get so cocky. I'm just hoping you'll give me a little entertainment, as opposed to the weak opponents I'm so used to." Ryuga laughed. "Are you man enough to take me on?"

A growl erupted from Kyoya's throat, the same rippling noise that made him sound just like a lion in his battle with Ginga. A shiver went down Hikaru's spine; normally, he would sound so playful, but now everything was fueled by greed and strength. She sighed. There was no way to hide her longing for the Kyoya she knew, but she'd been through this war many times before. It was starting to get repetitive, her desire for Kyoya's love, even though she knew it would never happen.

"I'm not a coward!" Kyoya snarled back. He clasped his hands into fists and narrowed his sky blue eyes. "It's time to find out which of us truly is number one. Leone!" As if in response, the little green bey picked up speed until three tornadoes sprang up from it and rose into the air, twisting maliciously.

The wind whistled in the leaves on the trees beyond the fence. A rush of air blasted everyone in its range, and Ryuga took a step back at the amazing power of the blader he once mocked. There was an inkling of surprise that flashed in his eyes as the dust cloud settled. Ryuga looked up from his bey and grinned, shadows dancing across his face. He chuckled.

"What power," Ryuga leered. "I must admit, I'm amazed that you were able to push back L-drago at all, even if it was only a few millimeters." That cruel smile resurfaced and he narrowed his golden eyes at Kyoya standing before him. "Fun's over, I guess. What a pity; it kind of seems like that's the best you'll be able to do against me." While his furrowed brow was yet another sense of mockery, his gaze was absolutely merciless.

"Ha! You haven't seen the extent of my power quite yet, Ryuga!" Kyoya growled, infuriated. "Come at me all you like! I won't quit as easily as the others, you hear?" He tilted his head so the bangs fell into his face and all that was visible was the thin line of his cold smirk. "I will not go down without a fight!"

"I think I've heard that somewhere before." Alice poked Hikaru in the side, disturbing the girl's thoughts. Hikaru gave a feeble smile so as not to seem rude, but focused all of her attention on Kyoya once again.

"I don't have the time to listen to your arrogant speech!" Ryuga called. He fell quiet and allowed an uneasy silence to drag on for several moments while the wind made his jacket flutter and rustled the leaves of the hedge where the escapees continued to watch anxiously. His hand was balled into a tight fist, and he punched at the air in front of him, snarling, "L-drago!"

Such immense power in such a tiny purple bey. L-drago charged toward Leone, spitting out black and violet smoke behind it. As it struck Kyoya's beyblade, dust billowed into the air, separating the two opponents behind a thick mass of dirt and fog. Following the metal crack of bey on bey, Kyoya's cry ended with a gasp and a thud.

Ryuga smirked. "Clear the smoke, L-drago." His order was carried out in a matter of seconds, the strong winds thinning out the cloud until Ryuga could see past it to Kyoya. And instantly, his expression went from arrogant to one of surprise.

"He's okay!" Shuske whispered, striking blue eyes glazed over with admiration.

Relaxation flooded through Hikaru's tense body, and she melted back against the woven branches of the hedge. "I should've known something like that wouldn't stop him," she sighed.

Kyoya rose to his feet as though he had never fallen, but the pain shone in his crystal eyes. He gritted his teeth and spoke with determination. "I told you, I will not give in as easily as the others."

"If this is what it takes to break you, then I'll come at you again and again!" shouted Ryuga. "Go!"

L-drago tipped forward and raced toward Leone at breakneck speed, striking Kyoya's bey with an unbelievable burst of strength. Leone held its ground, barely shifting at all, while Kyoya was blown a few feet back. It was obvious that Kyoya was persistent; while his pants were ripped at the knees and caked with blood from the previous blow, and his skin was discolored form dust and bruises, he still advanced and glared toward the evil blader.

Ryuga's hair flapped to and fro in the fierce wind that had been created from their battle. "You getting tired?" he spat as L-drago crashed with Leone. Kyoya kept his feet on the ground, but was sent sliding back from the force of the blow. "Huh?" Ryuga's beyblade recoiled and struck again, forcing Kyoya to lift an arm to block out the dust and smoke. "Don't give up yet!" Another powerful hit dealt damage on both Leone and its master. "This is only just getting fun!"

But Kyoya was prepared that time. He called out to his bey while he stumbled to his feet from Ryuga's last attack, and Leone veered off to the side just in time to avoid L-drago.

The white haired boy narrowed his eyes. "Don't let him get a chance to retaliate," ordered Ryuga.

Kyoya blinked. "I have the floor this time, Ryuga!" His eyes flashed with excitement, and the wind carried his harsh voice through the air as he gave Leone its orders. "Lion Wild Wind Fang Dance!"

A fat twister swirled up and reached for the sky, with ferocious gusts of wind that tore at the few unlucky plants within its range. It danced around in an almost zigzag pattern, the deadly gale aiming right for the little purple bey rotating near Ryuga's feet. The evil blader was unmoved, and he kept his hateful gaze fixed on Kyoya as he started to speak.

"Leone will crush your bey! There is no doubt about that!" the teal-haired boy yowled over the sound of the war that raged before them.

"You will be sorry you ever picked a fight with me!" bellowed Ryuga. The sudden surge of power from L-drago sent both Kyoya and Leone flying. While Kyoya landed with a smack against the hard metal castle walls, Leone managed to touch the ground and continue spinning with a slight wobble.

"Oh, come on, Kyoya," Shuske spat in disgust. "Don't tell me you're going to lose to this guy?"

"Yet you continue to continue to try…" Ryuga shook his head at the blader across from him, who was staggering to his feet despite his bruised body, ragged clothes, and bloodied hands and knees. Ryuga gave a half-earnest, half-mocking smile. "I'll tell you what. As a reward for your strength and courage to fight against me, I won't take your blader spirit."

With blue eyes narrowed down to slits, Kyoya lifted his head so that his bangs no longer blocked his view of the cruel and powerful teen who challenged him mere yards away. He gritted his teeth so tight that he thought they might shatter, while pressing his palms to his khaki pants to leave smeared bloodstains. He wrinkled his sharply pointed nose in disgust. "I don't need you to go easy on me! Nor do I want you to! Leone, take another shot at it!"

A rush of wind sprang up from the ground, and, as though rising after a long nap, the lion spirit within the beyblade stood up. It parted its jaws in a roar that sent powerful gusts at Ryuga and L-drago, before shaking its long golden mane and bounding toward its opponent on heavy paws. A vicious cyclone surrounded it so that the lion's beautiful hair would whip back and forth, and a thin trail of green smoke highlighted where it had been only moments before.

Ryuga didn't give his bey an order, but with a small flick of his hand, L-drago dodged Leone and roared to life. Black and violet smoke billowed around L-drago, along with a thick cloud of dust kicked up from the performance tip. It started with a single dragon, spiraling into the air, its jaws snapping and eyes full of hunger. Then, two more followed, mirroring each other's movements perfectly as they weaved around the first, following its frightening gaze to stare down at Kyoya.

"L-drago, knock him down!" Ryuga pointed a finger as his opponent, and while Kyoya showed no fear, there was no doubt that somewhere deep inside, he was afraid for his life.

Ryuga didn't have to tell his dragons twice. Like eagles, they swooped down and struck at Leone first, throwing it up against the wall of the castle. Then they turned and aimed for Kyoya, and his cries of pain were the only indication that L-drago hit its target, as smoke and dust blocked their view.

His screams carried on for several long, painful seconds, and his voice finally faded from exhaustion.

Hikaru's heart wrenched. "Noooooooo!"

Credits.
Ayumi Sang belongs to primed-pandemonium.
Shuske Masamori belongs to Arttailfox021.

Review, please?

(:Mizune