Chapter.21: Four Way Dance

Everyone still cheered for Ryuji as he limped back to his seat with Alexandra helping him on the way. Medics brought him a cold towel and medicine for his head. They also brought him some water and food as well along with his regular supplements he would take. Ryuji accepted the offer, he scarfed down the food after all the energy he used in his match. His body was feeling better, he could see one of his hands turn metal again after his metabolism broke down his food and pills.

"Material acquired. Iron deposit filled. Iron chassis available for use."

'I see. So if I ingest anything that has the basic element in it my body will break it down for me to use to make that armor. It's the same with me using stone to form the armor I originally made. Only now it's evolved to an advanced state. I'll have to test it more to see what else I can use or ingest safely.'

Ryuji changed his hand back to normal,

He tried to relax his body after that brutal beating. Even with the loss he still felt like he gained something out of it, that being realizing what his real skill was.

"You did well in your match. You evolved from a meathead to an anvil." Hiro complimented with a sarcastic tone. He gained some respect for Ryuji but still felt like giving him a hard time a little. A few moments Hiro would do something mischievous from his usual calm self.

"Huh, stuff it rich boy. You go next than if you're so tough."

Hiro smirked, he did want to go next, he was getting anxious to see how the other ones would fight. Hiro stood up to make his way to the arena, but Ren stopped him by blocking his path with his sword sheathed in front of him.

"Wait, I'll go. I want to fight Kurosawa-Sensei, it's a rare opportunity to learn from a Master like him."

Hiro wouldn't budge, he wanted to fight too, his desire for knowledge was unquenchable.

"You've been quiet this whole time and now you wish to say your peace when it's my turn to fight. You're either selfish or sneaky for a bodyguard."

Ren's eyes looked sharp at Hiro's behind his glasses. Both of them were usually the calm ones, never showing animosity to another. This time they were doing that. Hiro's drive for collecting information on strong fighters was insatiable, he wanted to become stronger for the sake of his mother who raised him with tenderness, and the patients in his family's hospitals who relied on him. Ren wanted to fight just as badly, as a swordsman he wanted to improve his skills by fighting a real Master. He promised his own Master he would get stronger for the sake of him and giving him his treasured sword, and the family who raised him.

Both boys emanated an intimidating aura at each other. Neither was backing down on who wanted to go next.

"Well then, how bout you both fight us."

Ren and Hiro turned to look in the direction of the ring. Both Barnaby and Gentaro were standing there staring them down while they were having their little pow-wow.

Natsume, who was sitting next to Anna was confused about the situation.

"Headmaster, is that allowed? I thought it was supposed scheduled as a one-on-one fight?"

"They make the rules. I agreed to let them call the matches as they see fit. If they want two on two I can't stop it. Besides with how stubborn those two are I doubt we would speed up these processes anytime soon."

Natsume looked worried, Rina, and Itsuki were in the same row as her and they agreed as well it could be bad for Ren and Hiro.

They probably wouldn't get along in the fight to work well with each other and may end up attacking each other in the process, be it intentional or unintentional.

Ren and Hiro looked back into each other's eyes, they didn't need to say anything but they agreed the same that this was a better arrangement for them.

Ren and Hiro walked up to their respective opponents. Ren bowed to Gentaro for his admiration of his reputation and skill.

"It's an honor to spar with you Kurosawa-Sensei. I look forward to your wisdom."

Gentaro bowed back in respect. "Let this match test our mettle as warriors."

Hiro looked up and down at Barnaby, he didn't seem impressed with him, in fact, he had a question that was gnawing at the back of his mind, that would also be used as a means of getting under his skin in a way.

"Excuse my rudeness, but how did you get the name Barnaby Morales? It seems rather odd."

"Ha, not the first to ask me that. My Mom was Latino and my Dad was Caucasian. So I'm kinda of a mix if you say."

Hiro smirked. He knew that from first looking at him during the introductions, it just was funny that was actually the reason and he laughed inside a bit thinking it was such a weird joke in it all.

"Hi everyone! In a new twist, we will have a two on two match. This should prove to be exciting as all four men are strong combatants. From the guest team, one is an American soldier who was hailed for his perfect marksmanship and mastery of Projection Magic, leading to the popular use of Gun Fu only seen in movies. The other a hero in our beautiful country who many have sought, for his wisdom and martial arts skills. A man hailed by many as the peak of the martial arts world. Here they are, Barnaby Morales and Kurosawa Gentaro!"

The two men gave their respects to the crowd. Next up was Hiro and Ren.

"And from the home team. Our school's top student hails from the Five Families. With brains, handsomeness, a talented Kyoduka who's arrow never misses its target. Standing by him is our own lone wolf of the Kendo Club, a wielder of a sacred blade, his sword skills are as beautiful as his face. Here they are, Yagami Hiro and Mitsurugi Ren!"

All four combatants took their places, Ren got into his stance ready to draw his sword. Hiro generated a silver short bow, Gentaro cracked his neck and knuckles psyching himself up, while Barnaby's hands were itching to create his guns.

"Ready, BEGIN!"

Barnaby projected revolvers in the design of the Colt Single Action Army with perfect creating speed. He fired multiple shots at Hiro, who fired back with his arrows made of magic. Both opponents were spot on with their firing, every bullet and arrow hitting each other with perfect precision.

Ren dashed to Gentaro, his sword aiming to strike at Gentaro's legs.

"Mitsurugi Ryu, Ichi no Kata(First Blade Form), Suishin(Water Needle).

Ren's sword created water on its blade, as the dragon engraving on the blade and kanji on the handle glowed, he swung a fast motion at Gentaro, firing water in the shape of a large needle that shot out toward Gentaro. Gentaro was already ahead in predicting a mid-range attack to distract him.

He didn't need to use any magic to fight back or defend, he was going to use his skills as a martial arts master alone.

Gentaro used his trained reflexes to dodge each stinger, he then used Aikido wrist lock techniques to attack Ren, followed by switching to judo to quickly flip Ren over into an over-the-shoulder throw slamming his body down. Ren spun himself back up using the momentum to make three fast kicks to the calves of Gentaro, but Gentaro used low kicks to hit Ren in the ankles to stop the flow of attacks. Ren got back up to attack again, Gentaro's years of experience made it easy to predict what swings Ren would make against. He struck Ren in his vital points with finger jabs, paralyzing him for a second, then a palm strike that hit him in the chest with incredible force knocking him back.

Ren stopped himself from falling by sticking his sword to the ground. He wiped the small blood from his mouth that slipped out from the attack.

"Impressive, you're just as strong as my Master said you were."

Gentaro chuckled, he appreciated the compliment.

"However, I have to get stronger. There's someone who needs me and I can't let her down."

Ren got back into his stance, sheathing the sword for a quick draw strike. Ren dashed once more using the speed of a quick draw to Gentaro. The marks on the sword sheath and blade glowed again, he rotated his body in a rotational spin, using another of the Mitsurugi moves.

"Mitsurugi Ryu, Shi no Kata(Fourth Blade Form), Noboru Mizu no Ryu(Rising Water Dragon)."

The sword created a spiraling water strike in the shape of a dragon that aimed at Gentaro, swallowing his body in the watery vortex. He removed himself from the water before any more damage could be done. Ren went to strike again trying to keep the rhythm going.

Gentaro went back to dodging, he once more struck the vital points on Ren's body halting his access to his Ki flow.

Ren fell to the ground. He didn't understand what just happened, he recovered quickly from before. This time it was slower.

"I see. The SuiRyu. That is indeed a rare sacred blade. You must have inherited it from Mitsurugi Sousuke. I must pay respects to my old friend sometime, he's the only one to beat me at chess. It's a shame though you don't have his skill."

Ren grumbled, he tried fighting back again with his trained speed. Gentaro dodged effortlessly, and in the end, he grabbed the tip of the sword with just his fingertips. Ren was taken aback that he was able to do that.

"Don't be ashamed child. It takes years of practice to master a sacred blade. You're just not there yet."

Ren's eyes gaped open. Gentaro went for another palm strike, only now it was aimed at Ren's face.

On the other side, Hiro and Barnaby continued their fight. Hiro meticulously analyzed Barnaby. Every step, wave of an arm, and how he handled his guns were stored in his memory.

Barnaby was smiling, he was enjoying his fight with Hiro. He was hitting all the arrows, every one of them was perfectly aimed at his hands to stop him from being able to use his guns properly.

"You're good kid. Working up a sweat fighting you. Haven't had the pleasure of fighting someone who can shoot as good as me before." Barnacle praised Hiro for his accuracy and skill level.

"Why thank you, I'm honored by your words."

"But, a bit of word of advice, being smarter than someone else and focusing on studying people doesn't guarantee a victory. Let me show why that is my boy."

Barnaby's guns shot the ground below him, he used them to launch himself upwards, then his guns morphed into one, turning into an AK-47 assault rifle.

Hiro didn't see that coming, Barnaby's Projection speed was faster than he anticipated. The shots from the rifle fired at high speed, faster than his arrows could keep up. He had to take evasive steps to avoid the shots he couldn't hit. At least a few bullets scraped Hiro's legs.

Since Anna asked for nonlethal attacks, the bullets were blunt-ended, making the hits hurt more like being hit by large ball bearings at 40mph.

The rifle changed again, now it was an M79 grenade launcher, Barnaby fired rounds with burning gas in them at Hiro, the blast radius was strong, and his eyes and nose were stinging from the gas. They disoriented him and he couldn't keep his feet stable on the ground to evade anymore.

Hiro tried to use healing magic to cure his symptoms. His face was returning to normal, now he was trying to look at the firearm to figure out its design for weaknesses. But Barnaby was gone, Hiro saw from his side view Barnaby was there now holding a speargun. The gun fired a charged blunted bolt at Hiro, Hiro barely dodged in time with only his glasses taking a hit.

"Get it now Hijo. You can spend you're entire time reading your enemy but if your enemy is a relentless storm there's no amount of studying that can stop it from blowing you away."

Hiro stared down at Barnaby, he tried to fire another barrage of arrows, but Barnaby morphed the speargun into a Jericho 941 pistol, rapidly firing at the bow itself destroying it.

Hiro was out of his league. For the first time in his life, he met an opponent he could not keep up with his analysis.