A New Face (Ryouji + Shana)

Ryouji walked through the open plains of Earth, looking for something to do. He had just returned from his most recent journey, which kept him from training. The boy stood at the top of the large hill next to his mansion. At the bottom of the rolling hill as a rather large crater where grass was just starting to grow once again. It was the sight where the man, Ian Lancaster, was going to build a training camp for his personal soldiers.

It was Ryouji who had put a stop to that, he had killed Ian. Those who refuse to embrace the change Ryouji was bringing about would find themselves with a similar fate. The boy had to find someone to stretch his muscles and get back into his training. Soon he would go in search for his comrade Broly and together make their move against the Organization.

A purple magic circle formed just beneath the boy’s feet. A bright purple pillar of light shot up into the sky and parted the clouds. Ryouji let his aura flow freely, so that he would be easily detected. It was time he came out of hiding and back into the world. Hopefully any nearby warrior would come flocking to the immense amount of energy Ryouji was expending.

(WC: 215)

"Sarah, no!" The shriek that escaped Shana's lips wouldn't work. It never worked. If she was lucky, she would escape the hellish nightmare that plagued her sleep now. She didn't want to see... The sound of a rifle firing exploded into existence. As if everything had slowed down, the girl could hear the bullet scraping the chamber of the rifle. The hammer of the rifle falling... A tide of blood escaped Sarah's skull as the bullet shattered the crown of her head.

"Hey!" With the new voice. Shana woke with a scream, sitting upright in bed. The lights were on. It took a moment for Shana's rapidly blinking eyes to adjust to the flood of light. Tremors shook her body and a cold sweat filmed upon her brow. A shadow crossed the room.

It was Blackfire. The Saiyan sat down on the edge of Shana's bed, gazing worriedly at the human through her piercing amethyst eyes. "Same nightmare again?" the host of lightning asked. She put a hand on Shana's leg. "Listen. Those people were a bad group. They killed my mentor in cold blood. I know what you're going through. I carried that burden for a long time, but got over it. And you will too."

The Saiyan's words brought a bit of comfort, and Shana felt her quivering body begining to still. "Are we training right now?" Shana managed to ask. The human didn't feel like being dragged to the gravity chamber again. Not until she could purge the chaotic images from her mind, at least. To her relief, Blackfire shook her head.

"Are you kidding? Look at you! A puff of wind could knock you over! Rest for a bit. You can use the Astral Crystal that I gave you if you want to stretch." The Saiyan got up and moved to leave, but Shana called out to her before her form vanished entirely.

"Blackfire!" At the call, the Host of Lightning glanced over her shoulder. "Um, thanks..." A smile crossed the Saiyan's face, but she said nothing. Soon, the human child was left alone to her own brooding thoughts.

It was almost a full hour before Shana left her bed. Though the human wanted to go back to sleep, she was terrified of what would happen if she were to close her eyes. So she stumbled out of the bed wearily and slipped into some street clothes and sneakers. Was it morning? Couped up in space for so long had messed up Shana's sense of time. All she could see out the window of the Saiyan War Ship was an endless void of space. She decided to explore. Her footsteps hastened as she passed the gravity chambers; in one, the human overheard Tork'thal. By the sounds of it, the behemoth of muscle was putting Gosai through a tougher training regime than Blackfire had put her through!

But a small tingling sensation crept up her leg. Frowning, Shana plunged her hand into the pocket of suspect and yanked out the Astral Crystal. Already? Was there an opponent waiting for her? The human briefly contemplated ignoring the signal, but imagined Blackfire scolding her for doing so. Wrapping both hands around the crystal, Shana closed her eyes and focused her ki through the crystal.

Shana hated the sensation of leaving one dimension and entering another. The only thing she could compare it to was a toilet being flushed. And the thought of that was unpleasant enough. But when Shana was tossed into the Astral Realm, (and the toss was hard enough to make Shana fall to her knees) she looked around in awe.

The scene was something straight out of National Geographic. A tropical rain forest surrounded her at all sides. A rushing river gurgled through the rocks. Birds sang gloriously to one another. But even though the scene was breathtaking, Shana couldn't feel a power near her. The human frowned. The Astral Crystal had pulsed, didn't it?

Word of Shana: 659

He kept up the expenditure of energy for a solid five minutes, but with no response. Apparently today was not the day he was able to stretch those aching legs. Suddenly and unexpectedly a large wave of energy flowed up through his body. It was a warm and tingling sensation much like what he felt when he was in the Realm of Magic. Why was he having the feeling, what could it have been about this very moment that connected the young boy to the Magic Realm with such intensity? With a flash of magical power, Ryouji aura exploded around him, sending rays of purple light across the sky.

As his vision returned to him from the blinding light, Ryouji noticed a small purple crystal floating just off the side of the hill. It was a small stone with a brilliant shine to it. The magical properties of the object were apparent as it radiated a purple aura similar to Ryouji’s. The boy reached out and grabbed a hold of the floating gem. A purple arc of lightning danced a crossed his fingers and up his arm. He could feel the tiny shocks as the electricity traveled up his body. The hairs on his arm stood on end as the static filled his body.

Dark clouds formed around the boy as his body was enveloped in electricity. Various magical energies combined within the dark clouds and without warning, a large bolt of lightning shot into the sky. Leaving nothing but a scorched mark on the ground where Ryouji once stood.

As his sight returned to him and the ringing in his ears fading away, Ryouji was surprised to see that he was no longer atop the hill, but in a dense forest. The fresh air was refreshing, but the sudden teleportation was still rather unexpected. Where had he been transported to and how? Could his recent exposure to Kami’s Pendulum Room cause his connection to the Realm of Magic to increase so dramatically? Whatever the reason, he was now in a new land, a land of which he knew nothing.

Ryouji started to make his way through the thick forest. He pushed back the branches and coming to a small clearing in which he saw something he had not expected. A little girl was standing there and she appeared Human. It was a curious sight to see someone so young so far away from civilization. She had to have arrived in the forest someway; perhaps she knew a way back to West City.

“Excuse me Miss,” Ryouji called out gently, he did not want to frighten the little girl. “Can you tell me just where we are?” He was also curious as to why she was alone with no guardian, but he rather not discuss such sensitive matter with someone he had just met.

(WC: 474+215=689)

Still, nothing around the human stirred. For a single fleeting moment, Shana felt fear flutter in her heart like a caged bird. What if she was stuck here? How could she get out? Hopefully, the answers to her questions would come into light soon. But until that moment arrived, she was left looking around nervously with a worried look upon her face.

“Excuse me Miss.” Shana nearly leaped out of her skin at the sudden voice. Lost in her own thoughts, the host of flames had let her senses slip, allowing someone to sneak up on her. Or perhaps the speaker wasn't sneaking. Either way, she had been caught completely off guard. Okibi would have been displeased, Shana was sure.

She spun around on a heel, sliding away a couple of feet to see who was behind her. A man. At least, he looked like one; by this time, Shana wasn't as quick to assume that everyone was from Earth. “Can you tell me just where we are?”

Shana frowned. Trust nobody in the Astral Realm... Blackfire's voice rang within her mind. But his question seemed innocent enough. What consequences could possibly unfold from her answering? Her mind was swiftly made up. She gazed at him with her brown eyes.

"The Astral Realm," she responded. "It's some kind of sparring realm, I'm told."

"The Astral Realm," the young girl had responded to his question. "It's some kind of sparring realm, I'm told."

Astral Realm? Wasn’t that where Kami had sent him when undergoing one of the trials? The transportation magic from Kami’s Lookout must have been absorbed into his aura. Then somehow his aura must have taken that magic and crystalized it to form a gem that is able to transport him to and from the Astral Realm.

“What a strange place,” Ryouji pause and took a look around, surveying the scene. He neither saw nor did he sense anyone. They were apparently alone in the forest, but where were this girl’s parents? She couldn’t be any older than twelve. “I have come only by mistake. Is there any way to return back?”

He wasn’t sure exactly what he should do. He hated ignorance and this new experience left him totally in the dark. Once he returned back, he had to research this Astral Realm and its purpose. The girl spoke of it being used for sparring, but in order for that to be true, then a plethora of warriors had to be able to freely come and go. Surely not all of them traveled there in the same manner as he.

(WC: 209+689=898)

Shana began to relax, letting her power drop slightly. If this man had sensed her energy, he had shown no sign of it, but the human felt as if he wasn't a threat. At least not yet. "This is my first time here," she admitted, scratching the back of her head with a sheepish grin. "I'm not sure, really." A wind swept through the forest, sending Shana's long hair billowing backwards. The child struggled to straighten her hair, but when she finished, it ended up looking a bit disheveled anyway.

She glanced around. There certainly wasn't an exit sign anywhere pointing to an escape. Only trees, rocks, water, birds, and the sunlight that dappled through the thick canopy of trees above. She rested her brown eyes on the man once more. Curiosity spiked within her.

"My name's Shana," she suddenly announced. She was sure Okibi would have disapproved of her sudden friendliness; the god of fire wasn't much of a trusting creature. "Hey!" Shana's eyes lit up unexpectedly as she turned to the man. "We're here in the sparring realm, right?" She swept on without allowing him to answer. "Maybe we have to spar first!"

Yep, she was being as naive as a twelve year old could. Okibi would have been proud.

Ryouji knew not how this girl or anyone else would come to this realm. Where there multiple ways to travel there? Surely not all of them were sorcerers.

"This is my first time here. I'm not sure, really." She said with a grin.

So they were both new to this world. What a strange coincidence. Her carefree attitude was refreshing in comparison to Broly’s killer intent and Cell’s cutthroat behavior. Ryouji had almost forgot what it was like not to worry about keeping up with his comrades.

"My name's Shana," the young girl introduced herself. "Hey! We're here in the sparring realm, right? Maybe we have to spar first!"

“Your logic seems sound, Shana,” Ryouji replied with a nod. He placed his finger on the bridge of his glasses and pushed them up. “I am Ryouji, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

The boy took a few steps back and prepared himself for combat. He took a deep breath and calmly placed his arms by his side. He felt the magic flow through his entire body. The rush of warm energy started at the bottom of his feet to the top of his head.

“Come girl,” Ryouji waved his hand motioning for her to begin. Though he was sure that the young one would not be here if she didn’t have some power, he was not about to strike a little kid without first seeing what she could handle.

(WC: 240+898=1138)

Excitement. Exhilaration. Fear. Apprehension. There were a plethora of feelings and emotions swarming within Shana all at once. And it was for good reason. Like a baby bird stretching its wings out for the first time, Shana would be fighting- no, sparring- without external help. It would be her own wits. Her own guts. Her own skills. She couldn't rely on Okibi this time.

“Come girl." Shana felt a small twinge of annoyance at Ryouji's tone. It was obvious that he wasn't taking her too seriously. Then again, considering her young age and small size, who would? She had taken down many foes who had severely underestimated her. But that was with the help of Okibi. With her constantly telling her when to twist away, when to strike, and when to block, she fought like a seasoned warrior.

Now, she had to rely on everything that Blackfire and Tork'thal had taught her. She slipped into a stance, narrowing her brown eyes in thought. A frontal attack seemed fitting for the first blow. After all, the girl was fairly confident in her speed.

"Here I come..." It was a warning that she was about to start. With a small grunt of effort, she pushed off of the leafy ground. The young host of fire swiftly closed the distance between Ryouji and her. Cocking her right arm, she aimed a tiny fist at his cheek before following it up with two blows aimed at his gut. Another punch was thrown to mirror the first before she pivoted in the air, throwing a powerful kick at his chest to hopefully send him flying.

Actions
1: Pummel
2: Rush Attack

The purple haired youth was surprised to see hoiw quickly the small child had initiated her attack. With a quick burst of speed, she closed the gap between them and with lightning fast movements, her fist connected with his face. He felt her other fist collide with his stomach, not once but twice. She followed the volley with a quick kick to his chest, sending him flying back into the wooded area.

Time seemed to slow as he felt the wind across his face looking up at the sky. His lip was bleeding and his chest burned. How was this child so fast? If only he had been more prepared and less carefree, then perhaps she wouldn’t have been able to land so many hits. This child was no stranger to battle, her speed and strength was certainly impressive for such a young girl. He knew he had to get serious.

A large orb of energy surrounded the boy as he crashed into a large oak tree. The orb snapped the tree in half and created a small crater within the ground. His body was slowly rotated upright and floated gently to the ground, the orb of energy fading.

Ryouji extended both arms in front of him as a large ring of purple magical energy formed just in front of them. The circle had an ancient text within it, with lines connecting the outer circle with itself, forming several smaller shapes. The text slowly started spinning, removing itself from the circle. Slowly the words separated from their strands and formed small orbs of violet energy. The circle snapped as a large crack of thunder echoing through the forest and sent the orbs flying in small beams of light.

Each beam found its way through the forest, piercing the trunks of trees and shattering rocks that dare get in the way. They quickly made their way toward the young girl, where hopefully they would hit the target. In case they wouldn’t, Ryouji sent a large ball of energy to follow the blast.

(WC: 341+1138=1479)

Actions
-Take Actions 1+2
1) Flash Bomb
2) Ki Ball

Uh-oh... Did I use too much power? The thought crossed Shana's mind briefly. Her attack had certainly done a number on the landscape. Shana could see upchurned earth and broken trees before her. But Ryouji's life force was still strong. The man wasn't down. To make matters even more interesting, a glow of energy radiated in the distance just as his energy swelled.

Then, all hell broke loose.

A barrage of energy blasts tore their way through the forest towards Shana. The host of fire narrowed her eyes. Why would Ryouji use such a wide attack in the forest? Many of the blasts crashed into rocks or trees. Still, a number of them found their way to the human, forcing her to respond. With a small hiss, the girl weaved her body around the multiple blasts that wreathed through the forest. Explosions roared in the human's ears, but she kept up her defense nonetheless. She was even starting to feel a bit confident. That was until a blast slammed into her shoulder. Although the singular orb of energy was weak, (it caused Shana to grunt slightly) it was still enough to throw her off balance. The result was simple. The other blasts honed in onto her, and Shana was unable to do much about it. Blast after blast slammed into her until she fell to the ground.

Finally, the assault ended. Shana pulled herself up to check her injuries. One of the blasts had burnt her shirt sleeve and blood ran down an abrasion on her shoulder. A gash had been torn into her jeans, revealing a bloody knee. Shana's body ached from the collection of attacks she had just taken. But just as she was about to go on the offense, yet another orb of energy whizzed through the air. Shana gritted her teeth. She wasn't about to let this one strike. Bringing her arm up, she slammed the side of her hand into the orb. It contorted before it was sent into the atmosphere. Her lithe form blasted forward. Eyes blazing with fire, she was upon Ryouji in seconds.

Her hands glowed with elemental fire as she struck out with a barrage of punches. Her arms were little more than a blur. Each attack caused the air to ripple from both speed and heat. It was her signature attack. Though it wasn't as powerful since Okibi wasn't infusing her fists with his own power, the assault was nothing to sneeze at. Her arms worked like pistons; each pump delivered yet another devastating blow until she finally reared forward with her leg, attempting to swipe it across her foe's chest to send him flying once more.

Actions:
Free: Take action 1
1: Deflection on action 2
2: Wolf Fang Fist

Ryouji walked calmly out of the now deforested area. Shards of wood lay across the area from the nearby trees that were unfortunate enough to be hit by Ryouji’s last attack. Several chunks of rock from the nearby boulders also lay scattered. The area was cleared of its natural state; It would have been a gruesome seen for any tree hugger.

Now that the area was clear, the genius sorcerer may now cast his spells without worry of them being thwarted by the landscape. He always preferred to do battle in an open area as there were far fewer variables to consider when no one has any place to hide; his eyes could always remain on his foe and any attempted surprise attacks would be far easier to spot.

Ryouji paused when he saw his orb fly into the air. He looked at the young girl whose hands were now ablaze. Another wielder of the flame? What was it with people and fire? Sure, Ryouji could summon a magical flame, but to what end? It surely had the destructive force necessary for his end game, but unfortunately the damage it would create would not heal quickly enough for his dream to be realized in his lifetime; he was after all, on borrowed time.

She closed the gap between them in the blink of an eye, her hands swollen with an intense heat, far greater than that of Rex, she released upon him a fury of punches that would devastate him, for all of Ryouji’s training could not prepare him for her assault. She was as quick as lightning, yet her strikes packed the power of a freight train. His training with Broly allowed him the knowledge of taking a powerful blow without damaging the internal organs, but never from someone as fast as she.

It was over in a matter of seconds, his white leisure suit was burned away at the torso and he was looking up again, at the sky. Had she kicked him? He was not sure, it all happened so fast. What power could this young girl possess? Surely it was not her own. No, he knew it couldn’t be her own. Not even his power was his own; it was simply borrowed from an ancient relative. The only being he knew that wielded true power was Broly and this girl was as opposite of Broly as one could get.

Ryouji crashed into the ground, splinters piercing his back and forearms. It was a painful collision, but the boy had felt far more intense feeling of pain from Broly. That man could sneeze on you and cause internal bleeding. The boy slowly rose back to his feet a sharp pain now ran through his back. He was far more injured that he had previously thought. The flames must have numbed the pain, but it was definitely there.

“I see I have underestimated you Shana,” Ryouji confessed. “It would seem as though your power is of a mystical nature as well.” Ryouji paused as he started to brush off the wood and dirt that now adorned his clothing. I wonder, what is your goal? What drives you to gain such strength and power? What makes you strive to better yourself?”

(WC: 542+1479=2021)

Many warriors would have found delight - no, pleasure in the satisfactory feeling of striking their opponent down. But Shana was merely human. While one might argue that her race had nothing to do with the matter at hand, it did to Shana. She had often listened to Blackfire's tales of glorious battles she had taken part in. And the Saiyan was not the only one to reminisce on past battles. Tork'thal, Je'sheln, even Omega often spoke of their past glories. Hell, she even had to listen to Okibi. And he was a lion.

But as Shana surveyed the damage around her, (despite it being a telepathic scene brought upon by the gem that brought her to the accursed Astral Realm) the young Vessel of Fire only felt a sickening apprehension. It was now as plain as the daylight filtering in through the few branches that had survived the spar. She was strong. Blackfire had told her so, but Shana had never thought too deeply into it. Sure, there was a thrill found in testing her abilities; the girl had often wanted to see what she could do without Okibi barking at her constantly. But now... Shana shook her head as if trying to clear cobwebs from her hair. She brought up her hands and stared at them for a moment. Her attack... it had been destructive. Was this her true destiny?

Part of her wanted nothing more but go back to her ordinary life. Her ordinary life where the most she had to worry about was bringing back good grades from middle school so that she wouldn't be scolded by her dad. But all that had changed. With a single moment, she had been swept away from all of that. Now she was part of something legendary. The Conclave of Elements: a group that few new about, and even fewer dared to challenge. Was this her responsibility? To cast aside everything she had thought to be normal? To become part of an organization sworn to protect the galaxy from evil that would have destroyed it without an intervention?

So lost in her conflicting thoughts, Shana hardly registered when her opponent had picked himself off of the ground and approached her. Only when his shadow crossed over hers did she swiftly throw up a defensive position to prepare herself for an attack. But something was wrong. She could sense no hostility coming from the man. His eyes seemed curious. But what he said... it completely threw Shana off. Somehow, he seemed to know. How much he knew was unknown at this point, (as cliche as it may had been) but it was enough to unnerve Shana.

Slowly, she lowered her stance and stood up straight, trying not to wince as pain lanced down her right arm. For a while, she didn't answer. Instead, she struggled to come up with an answer. Her power? Yes, Okibi was the one who drove her, but she was not a full Vessel yet. The gateway that hung around her neck was cold and lifeless; Okibi had provided no help here. Shana doubted that the god of fire could even reach her in this realm. Even so, the girl couldn't help to wonder if that last thought was even true. Her last attack... something had kindled her.

Shana frowned. Would it be right to tell Ryouji about her position in the Conclave? No. She doubted he would even know what she was talking about if she tried to explain. Besides, Shana doubted that Okibi or Alextrasza would appreciate her spouting out a secret that had remained concealed from the galaxy for almost a thousand years. When she considered it more, it put her into perspective. She was only a tiny piece... a tiny part of what the Conclave stood for as a whole.

Finally, she spoke, choosing her words carefully. "I've only recently discovered... I mean..." Well, that came out great. Frustrated, Shana shook her head before starting over. "I'm a human. And like most humans, I lived my life unaware of what was outside of Earth." A shadow crossed Shana's face. There was a small twinge of bitterness in her voice. "I would have preferred it to have stayed that way, but somebody seemed to have bigger plans for me. She showed me... another possibility." She glanced up, trying to read Ryouji's face. Was she making any sense? The words felt heavy on her tongue; the girl was hardly a gifted speaker. Hell, she was only twelve.

Taking a deep breath, she continued. "Even though I resented being pulled into something huge, the same woman who did it also inspired me. She seemed to know how I felt and was there to comfort me as well as strengthen me. She's saved me from so many instances where I would have died. I owe it to her..." Shana's face hardened. Blackfire... The Saiyan had shown her how to fight. Over and over again, she had trained Shana even though the human had shown no interest or instinct for battle. The characteristic that drove Saiyans to enjoy battle simply didn't exist in her.

"That's why... I want to prove myself to her. Th-that I can handle myself. I don't want her to babysit me when she's poured so much effort into bettering me. I want her to acknowledge me as something besides a child... I want her to be proud." A smile crossed her face. It may had been sappy emotions. Hell, her dialog may had been too vague for Ryouji to even comprehend, but it mattered. At least, it mattered to Shana.

And that was all that mattered.