Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Two: Remember the Name

"Over the next seven days, these, our sixty-four surviving competitors, those who have been victorious in the preliminary struggles, will battle for the championship of the 19th Kalan Lockeheart Cup! Each day, a single round will be fought, each competitor will engage in one battle, and the winners will advance to the next round on the next day…each day, there will be fewer battles, but they will be even greater and grander than those before! And with one day of preparation and rest before the final, culminating match, we will savor the battle of the ultimate warriors!

"Now, our judges have ranked each of the battles of the preliminaries, and from this our seeding for the great Memorial Tournament has been set! Let's reveal them all…!"

Koto was giving her announcement from the stage, with a great screen behind her. The screen began to roll random characters around on its surface as the victorious fighters watched from the wings and the audience waited with anticipation.

Finally the characters began to become names, which scrolled down in descending order, starting with the 64th seed.

Most of them didn't mean anything to Kain. A few he vaguely recognized because of their apparent fame, but he knew they wouldn't be much to worry about—it was only the later names that would mean anything.

Natsu Dragneel occupied the 20th slot. Delryn Rylack came in at 15th. Kôjirô Tanabi was 11th rank. Then, in the top three: Kalan Lockeheart, #3; Byakuya Kuchiki, #2; and Aiden Rylack, #1. Following this, the screen changed to show a full bracket of the tournament.

"Hahaha!" Natsu laughed. "I'm higher than you guys!" He pointed at his new friends of Delryn, 'Kôjirô', and 'Kalan'.

"That's actually bad, Natsu," pointed out his ever-present companion Happy. "In this situation, the lower ranks are better."

"Huh? Is it like that? Man…."

"Fifteen, huh?" Delryn murmured, a glint in his eye. "Well, just gives me more to prove, then…."

Kain spared Delryn a quick, sideways glance and then murmured to Kenjirô, "Are you also feeling disrespected? You probably should have been four, or 5 at least…."

Kenjirô shook his head. "No…there are a few other real elites here. Just look at the number six…if all goes according to plan, I'll face him in the third round…right before I face you…."

Kain scanned the name. With Kenjirô calling attention to it, he caught his breath as he recognized it: Kôtarô Hanatabi.

Instinctively he glanced sideways through the crowd. There, he saw the figure he had seen in that movie a few days earlier: the tall man in the fine kimono, with the long silver-white hair tied in a ponytail. The man turned sharp yellow eyes towards the two aged youngsters, smiled slightly, and then turned and made his way out.

"Tomorrow the great battle commences!" Koto exclaimed. "We hope to see you all there!"

8-8-8

Chisame, Nodoka, Ami, Mai, Momo, Kagome, Inuyasha, Shippô, Myôga, Kain, Kenjirô, Kajirô, Hinagiku, Renji, and Rukia all consulted over a copy of the bracket.

"We thought it was going to be so easy," Chisame murmured. "But this is where the real complication starts…."

"How nicely prepared," Kajirô remarked. "So…Kenjirô-kun has a date with his father in the third round, and then he and Kain-kun will face off in the fourth. After that…unless that Delryn is stronger than he looks...the semi-finalist goes against Kuchiki Byakuya. And after that…Aiden Rylack…."

"His side seems barren of notables," Ami added. "Natsu-san, if he makes it that far…."

Mai glanced over at Kain. "Will you really be okay? This looks…."

"I'll have to," Kain said quietly. "We'll see." He glanced over at Kenjirô and nodded. "Still, it may finally be time for that rematch you've always wanted…."

"Don't get ahead of things," his friend replied. "I still have to survive my third round. Well, we'll see."

8-8-8

The next two days passed swiftly.

There were battles—thirty-two the first day, then sixteen the next. But they were almost a blur to Kain, insignificant. He vanquished two foes who wouldn't even rate his four hardest battles of the week. Kenjirô made his own way past, the favored heroes generally going far, and even Natsu had no problem with his first two opponents.

And then the third day dawned. In the early morning the first battle began.

"It is now the third day! The pretenders have been vanquished! The real warriors now battle for pride and honor as we welcome the Sweet Sixteen! We begin today with our most significant battle yet: on this side, a second-generation hero, the bloodline of one of the champions of this city, this Festival, this tournament: Delryn Rylack! This superb swordsman has proven that his family's talent is living well within him! And his opponent: more than second generation, the most famous captain of the Seireitei, of Soul Society, a hinigami who traveled alongside Delryn's own father and Kalan Lockeheart: the incomparable Kuchiki Byakuya!"

"Always with that," Delryn grumbled as Koto continued her announcements. "'The son of Rylack lives up to his family's name'. No matter what, I can't even call my accomplishments my own."

Byakuya stared at Delryn. He was dressed as he usually had been, but since the beginning of the tournament he had accompanied his appearance with an expensive-looking silk scarf. "How amusing," he said in his calm, neutral tone.

Delryn glanced up at Byakuya with narrowed eyes, and he dressed himself in his armor. "What's that?"

"You are quite different from that other boy, Kain Lockeheart. While he worships his father's name, you seem to despise your heritage. How utterly base of you. The name of Rylack has importance and meaning…yet you treat it as if it is a burden, not a blessing."

"…What's that? I thought you and my dad didn't get along…."

"Aiden Rylack is a man with the disposition of a scoundrel," Byakuya explained. "He and I did not see eye-to-eye on most things. However, I acknowledge his skill, talent, and accomplishments. He has no nobility or legacy in his history, yet he made the name of Rylack into one that is to be respected and feared. To seek for one's own honor and glory is a worthy cause…yet to neglect to honor the name you carry, to refuse to acknowledge the inheritance that has benefited you is to trample upon the pride of that name. As the head of the Kuchiki clan, it is insulting to see such foolish neglect."

"Is that so?" Delryn shot back. "So, 'be thankful for what you have', eh? I never asked for any of this…true, I've benefited from my father's fame, from his wealth and works. But because of that, nothing I ever do is my own. If my name is an anchor weighing me down, I'll cut it off, and build my own name here."

"I see. As I said, there is no harm in seeking one's own place, in justifying one's existence. But for a pup like this to strike out so early, yet ignorant of the significance of the world his father walked…I will teach you the dearth of experience that you must overcome to take that road."

Delryn raised his sword. "Bring it, then…you're just the step I need to prove my place."

Koto finally announced the start of the match…and Byakuya stepped past Aiden. His sword came out at that impossibly-fast speed…but Delryn managed to whirl around and parry the blow, and threw his attacker away. As Byakuya stared neutrally at him, Delryn explained, "Senka… one of your signature moves. Using your shunpo offensively with some iaijutsu, to step in at lightning speed and critically or fatally wound your foe before he has a chance to do anything. It's incredibly well-trained…but I can see it. I've been studying it quite a lot for the past week or so, after all."

"I see…so you have not only watched my battles, but your father showed you that thing. You know many of my skills, then…but even if you have some skill, knowing my abilities does not mean that you can counter them." He raised his sword to a salute-like posture. "Scatter, Senbonzakura."

The blade melted into glistening pink petals, which began to swarm in on Delryn. Delryn watched them calmly. "Strike first, Raijin!"

In a flash, with his transformed sword in his hand, he was past Byakuya, far past his petals, and attacking the Soul Reaper's unprotected flank. Byakuya stepped away in retreat, avoiding the thrust, but Delryn pursued him almost instantly. However, he had to withdraw his attack before it was complete in order to avoid the swarm of Senbonzakura that was there to intercept him.

"Interesting," Byakuya murmured. "As rumored, you are a Soul Blade, a human with zanpaku-tô-like powers. Your release greatly enhances your speed; quite appreciably so. However…."

Delryn again darted behind Byakuya and swung on him, but Byakuya turned and blocked the strike with his left arm. "Your speed means nothing if you cannot hit your opponent. You are strong, but your ki is not strong enough to penetrate my own focused reiatsu, let alone my more advanced defenses. You can spar with me, but if that is the extent of your power, you cannot dream of defeating me."

"I guess we'll have to see, won't we!?" Delryn shot back. He focused his power and began to drive his sword in, finally reaching and just starting to cut into Byakuya's flesh. He was again forced to withdraw, however, as the swarm of Byakuya's Shikai came at him from behind.

As he hit the ground, Byakuya suddenly snapped out, "Hadô 33: Sôkatsusui." A blast of blue flame fired from his outstretched hand, and Delryn was forced to retreat from this attack as well.

"We've got a pretty incredible duel going on here!" Koto declared. "I can barely follow what's going on! Kuchiki Byakuya, who so far was ended each of his fights with just a single invisible sword thrust, has been forced to release his sword against his old comrade's son, Delryn Rylack! Delryn is running circles around the hinigami, but it seems he can't cause any damage to his foe! Is this just going to be one long-running stalemate, a test of endurance!?"

Byakuya seemed to dodge and block each of Delryn's strikes calmly, without emotion or apparent effort. Delryn was avoiding all of Byakuya's attacks with his speed, but because of that swiftly-moving cloud of death, he couldn't spend more than a moment in any of his attacks.

"Well, as long as I can keep attacking like this, eventually I'll find a weak spot in that defense of yours!" Delryn declared.

He retreated again…and this time, incredibly, Byakuya was standing behind him. He calmly put two fingers to Delryn's back before the young man realized what was happening. "Hadô 1: Sô (Thrust)." There was a blast of reiatsu, and Delryn went sailing across the arena, bouncing and rolling. He managed to come to his feet, only to find the pink cloud engulfing him, and zipped into the air to escape that…but Byakuya was once again behind him, and backhanded him back down to the ground.

Byakuya settled back on the floor of the arena as Delryn wearily picked himself up. "Your speed is impressive, but do not drown in your pride yet," Byakuya cautioned him. "Even if it is beyond the level of a lieutenant of the Gotei 13, even if it is nearly the equivalent of a captain-class hinigami's flash step, it is still far from enough to overcome one with my skills. You do well, but you have no hope. This is simply a test of honor and base entertainment—there is no need to risk further injury or death here. You should surrender."

Delryn spat out a small bit of blood and rose with fire still burning in his eyes. "Really? Well, you're right…going at this with just my Shikai is a bit silly. You're not someone I should expect to take down easily…you are, after all, one of the Red Wings."

Byakuya raised an eyebrow at this comment. "Oh? That means…."

"This is far from over," Delryn said. "I wanted to save the best for the finale, but you are Kuchiki Byakuya, after all…I can't really expect to do less than this." He raised his sword. "Bankai! Tenrô Raishin [Heavenly Wolf Thunder God]!"

A golden light engulfed Delryn and exploded outward. When it departed, there was…quite a visible change. Delryn's gauntlets that had always arrived as accompaniment to his armor were gone, and strange golden sigils burned visible on his palms, casting an obvious light. A single wing emerged from his back, hooking to the left, a rather strange skeletal frame with singed-looking dark golden feathers adorning it in a patchwork fashion, with a lighter golden flame-like light flicking over the surface of it. In contrast to his regal appearance, however, his sword was now astonishingly plain, almost worn-looking, with little more than leather scraps around its handle, a small and almost damaged guard, and a blade that seemed dull and aged. Yet Byakuya could now more clearly feel its power.

"So, you have already achieved your second release," he intoned. "But is that enough to cut me?"

Delryn stared at him. "Shall we find out?"

He advanced with that same remarkable speed, but Byakuya retreated swiftly. "Hadô 4: Byakurai." The Soul Reaper's lightning ripped out towards Delryn, but the man vanished before the attack.

The boy came in at Byakuya again from the side, but the other man dodged back lightly and let his swarm flow around him and into Delryn's path. Delryn raised his off hand and the sigil in his hand flared brighter. A blast of bright light energy dispersed the cloud, and Delryn immediately pushed in again, swinging at Byakuya, whose blank face had become slightly shocked. Byakuya retreated with a step from this attack…but as he lighted back down on the arena floor, blood flowed lightly from a small wound in his lower torso.

"I've cut you," Delryn announced, settling across from him. "And that's just the first step."

Byakuya stared back, still calmly and devoid of emotion, his earlier surprise already gone. "So you have," he replied. "While this is an accomplishment, however, it is far from a victory." He raised his hand to the side and let the cloud of pink petals coalesce back into his blade. "Allow me to demonstrate."

"No, allow me!" Delryn charged in again. Byakuya blocked the blow with his sword. Again Delryn forced himself against the parry and eventually threw Byakuya away.

The Soul Reaper retreated to the air, and Delryn continued to pursue him. As he approached, Byakuya snapped out, "Hadô 31: Shakka-ho." The blast forced Delryn back, and as he recovered, Byakuya followed it up with another spell that blasted him and forced him to the ground. Byakuya was on him in the next instant, and there was a fierce exchange of swordplay.

"A-and this fight is really getting intense!" crowed Koto. "Since he assumed that strange 'one-winged angel' form, Delryn Rylack has only gotten stronger and faster! Kuchiki Byakuya can't seem to keep up! But every time Delryn gets close to him, Kuchiki releases a hinigami spell to counter! Which way is this fight going!?"

Koto was playing to the drama, but for Delryn, the answer was painfully obvious. ('I still…can't manage anything significant. I have just one chance…one trick I can try….')

Delryn countered the next spell with a blast of golden flame from his off-hand, then pursued his attack. When Byakuya retreated, instead of pursuing, he launched another shot from his sigil, which Byakuya blocked with his usual Dankû barrier. In response to this, Delryn stepped behind Byakuya. He reached out, not with his sword, but with his open hand, the sigil flaming with pulsing energy….

The hand closed over Byakuya's coat, but the captain was not in his haori. He reappeared some distance behind the shocked Delryn. "Bakudô 61: Rikujôkôrô." Six rods of light intersected around Delryn's middle, freezing him in place.

"You have done well, Delryn Rylack," Byakuya intoned as the boy struggled against the spell. "Your Bankai is impressive. Your sword-skills are well-honed, despite your youth. Your courage is exemplary. If you continue on this path, you will indeed bring honor to your own name. However, you are not yet at that point. I will show you now just how presumptuous you were…you did not, of course, forget that I, too, have a Bankai…?"

Byakuya held his sword up, the point facing down, and released it. It fell into the arena floor, disappearing with a ripple as if it had been slowly, calmly dropped into a stream. And then the arena filled with the rows and rows of massive blades that flowed out of the ground behind. "Bankai. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

Delryn could only watch helplessly as the mass descended upon him, engulfed him, covered him. Then it parted…the spell was gone, but Delryn was yet still and unmoving, too injured to stir, covered in wounds and blood. The sigils, the wing—all the semblance of that brilliant light he had been sporting were gone, and his armor was torn to shreds. He finally collapsed to his knees, refusing to fall, but unable to rise or move forward.

Byakuya stared at the lad. "Do not be ashamed. I did not hold back. You endured the full force of my Bankai, and you retain not only your human form, not only your life, but even your pride and determination, even if that fragile form betrays you." He reached for his throat and plucked off the scarf around his neck, and tossed it over the boy. "I shall watch your progress with interest. Next I must educate a boy whose error is opposite…who clings too tightly to the image of his father."

Byakuya turned and began to walk away, his Bankai swarming down and reforming as his sword inside its scabbard, as Koto hurried up onto the stage. "A-and it seems that it's over! K-Kuchiki Byakuya just unleashed…an amazing attack, and Delryn cannot even respond after it! He barely seems alive, so we'll quickly count! In the meantime, c-could someone get some medical help up here, please? O-one! Two!"

Kain watched without expression as the count finished, Delryn was loaded up by medics and carted away, and Byakuya disappeared into his chamber under the arena. "That was something," Kenjirô murmured to Kalan. "That Delryn guy isn't bad…to even have a Bankai, he's definitely impressive, but Byakuya took him down without too much effort. Are you going to be ready for him?"

Kain smiled slightly. "We'll see," he murmured, then turned to his friend. "But you, first. This is the fight you've had your eye on. Are you ready for it?"

"Well…I wonder. I guess we'll see."

8-8-8

"Delryn-san," Nodoka murmured from her seat.

"I suppose we shouldn't be surprised," Ami replied. "Delryn-san…he's strong, but…to compare him to a hinigami captain like Kuchiki Byakuya…it's impossible…."

"As strong as he is, Del-chan still can't match up to a captain-class hinigami," Momo sighed. "Still…to even have a Bankai…he's really grown…."

"The son of that man…no, Delryn the swordsman still showed that he is a worthy warrior," Shinji pointed out. "During any other year, that might have been enough to win this tournament. It'll be worth watching your pupil develop, Momo…."

"That guy's really scary," Lucy said. "Can…Kain really beat someone like him…?"

"What a silly question," Erza scoffed. "Haven't you seen it, Lucy? Well, I suppose we can't say for sure. But we still have a lot to see before we'll get there."

F I N

Author's Note: Byakuya vs. Delryn

Each of the important battles in this piece will be a single chapter, along with any reaction to it. I'll be spotlighting the noncombatant members of the party a few at a time, one group of characters offering commentary on the match. The rule of these is that the speaking group members are all located near each other, and are usually playing off of each other's comments. Most of these separated groups of students are guarded by one or two Soul Reapers, as they are potential targets of both the law and the Obsidian Star.

I'm not even giving names or thoughts to most of the battles—with manga, unimportant characters appeared in a few snapshots of 'Nagi' and 'Kôjirô's tournament trek, but without pictures here, it's more trouble than it's worth to do anything more than the merest mention of meaningless battles, steps in the road of our champions. And so I made the first step here…Delryn against Byakuya.

Although I carefully calculated the proper seeding of the tournament, I positioned everyone in their ranks so that they would meet up according my predestined Deus Ex Machina points. But my ranking makes sense, at least with only a half-dozen fighters to make the comparison—Natsu is a Dragon Slayer, a famous mage from the most powerful mage guild of Fiore…still, it's a tiny country, so while he's in the upper third, 20th is about right for him. I also could have ranked him 4th, 5th, or 13th and he'd end up with the same destiny, but 20th sounds about right for him. Delryn is 15th—his showing was impressive, and he has that 'famous name', but he's still just a mostly unproven boy. 'Kôjirô' was an impressive partner of 'Kalan', but he got minus points because a few judges assumed he was just riding the coattails of his more famous partner, so 11th is a fine ranking for him—not quite the top ten, but on the edge. And 6th is a very famous fighter—one who hasn't been seen since he was seemingly killed by Kalan almost 25 yeas ago. Kôtarô Hanatabi has finally returned to the fighting scene, and seems not to have lost a step…but it has been a long time, and with the other impressive fighters here, 6th is the best he can do.

And so the top three: 'Kalan', Byakuya, and Aiden. Normally, Kalan would be #1 due to his unmatched skill, undefeated record, and the fame of his name, but there are TWO members of the original Red Wings here…far more proven heroes. Aiden narrowly edged Byakuya for a variety of reasons, the major one probably being a slight prejudice simply towards the fact that Aiden is human and Byakuya is a mostly mysterious hinigami.

Delryn was introduced with the intent of becoming a heroic friend addition, but I instantly decided his road to glory would end right here. Delryn's strong, but he's not in the top fold yet…and this is a painful lesson the proud young man needs. Byakuya does more than simply beat him down—he instructs him on his greatest flaw, more than his pride and (minor) lecherousness, his displeasure with being measured only against his legacy. Byakuya, a man who lives by the pride of his name as the head of an important noble house, is greatly displeased by this. He is far more than a match for Delryn, but allows him to try his hardest and demonstrate all his skills. As with Kain before, he fights without really pulling his punches—his final shot is a truly hard one, but one he feels Delryn is strong enough to take.

I wanted to make this fight rather similar to the Renji/Byakuya fight that I mostly skipped in the flashbacks…but I ended up deviating, which isn't terrible by any means. I like it when things grow out of my expectations as I write. Only the finish was similar—and completely appropriate. After taking all of Delryn's best, he finally paralyzes him and unleashes his full Bankai on him for a finishing blow. Delryn's attempt right before this was his Bankai's 'ultimate attack'—well, I should phrase this again. Delryn (as the character was originally designed by his creator) originally was a paladin born with a fuse of 'holy light' power in his body, which had outlets through the sigils in his hands, and because of this magic light, he was declared a holy child and taken and raised by the church. This Delryn, of course, is far different, but creator Ryan thought Delryn's Bankai could be a return to his light power. So he receives his sigils again as his main attack. One rule of Bankai is that it has to be large in size and intensity, in some way or other…Ichigo's was the only one that seemed to be small, a normal blade, but even in his case his robe was technically part of his Bankai. So I added a single flaming wing, an image of a wing consuming itself in flame. A single wing is similar to the 'one-winged angel' motif of Cloud and Sephiroth in FF7, and that single wing gives a 'fallen' or 'rebel' angel feel, especially since it's a self-consuming gold, not pure white. It fits Ryan's view of his characters—antihero-style. Although, as mentioned, my main reason to make it was simply to give a 'larger' feel to his Bankai image.

Well, that's the deal this time. Now, it's time for Kenjirô to face up to some of his demons and history….