The cave is silent as everyone is asleep together. Ryuu transforms into a more full dragon when sleeping, and all the other dragons sleep around him. A habit so old, it just seems natural for them. Dragons are typically nocturnal; however, the siblings are hybrids, so they get mixed traits from both sides randomly. The cave itself is lined with sapphire, very similar to the scales found on the family.
One of Ryuu's magical wards detected something alerting Ryuu telepathically. He could see what was in front of it, and it was a very fine paper with "This is Benjamin Roths. I am seeking an audience with Master Sapphire Ryuu. I wanted to discuss a recent incident, along with discussing details on further land development. I'll have a private portal prepared for a discussion. I will have an envoy, give you more details." Ryuu attempts to fall back asleep when William lifts Ryuu's head with one hand.
"It is time to get up. That message was sent by another high-ranking landlord. We should inquire more about this matter." William said.
"It's so early. He can wait another 10 hours, right?" Ryuu said while yawning. William just looked at him without saying a word. Ryuu has known William since they were kids; he even knew Ryuu's dad. He could tell what William was thinking without hearing a word. "Alright, I'm getting up. The business matters never end." Amatesa head drops straight to the floor as she was tilted on his arm, Turquoise rolls off his back. Tatsuya is lifted up, being on the opposite side of Amatesa. Lea was already up drinking tea. Amatesa, despite hitting her head on the floor, remains asleep and unbothered. Nobody is concerned about it either.
Ryuu shifts back to a humanoid form. "I shall get cleaned up and prepared to meet him." He starts stretching his whole body. His humanoid form being slender but athletic in built, he's a lightweight built with mobility in mind.
After getting dressed in a nice suit, black with sapphire trimming, with 1 ring on each finger, he returns to the resting area. Amatesa is still sleep. Tatsuya had left and was practicing with his swords outside. Turquoise was eating breakfast.
"Lea, could you please teleport me and William outside of the forest?" Lea nods and then places one hand out and closes her eyes. She started to glow, and then a circle appeared under Ryuu and William. A gust of wind blows from underneath them, and then they vanished. Lea then sits down at the table with Turquoise, who has prepared tofu sausages.
Outside, they land on the outer barrier of the forest. Where the magical ward detected the letter. They are far from the nearby city. There is a grassy area that people would travel through.
"Hey Darius, we're over here." Ryuu shouted to Darius, who was a few meters off from where they appeared. "You got here in good time. Thanks for coming out."
"No problem Master Ryuu. I traveled here as soon as William contacted me about the message. I'll be here to help protect you as always." Darius puts his fist to his chest. I am excited and bright-eyed to be working with Ryuu. His face and expression still covered in innocence.
A portal opened, and out comes a man in a mask. "Master Sapphire, I will be guiding you right this way." He gestures for everyone to enter. Ryuu entered first, followed by William, then Darius. The man enters and the portal shuts, leaving no signs of it every existing.
"Please come this way; this is the door where the meeting shall take place." Inside the room is a human man with a suit and gold jewelry. He's smoking a cigar while sitting down. Late 30s with a little grey in his beard. Surrounding him is his 2 bodyguards. A 4 armed minotaur with red hair and a young lady with a light blue robe and long silver hair. The minotaur towered over everyone in the room while the young lady was barely 5 feet tall. The positioning of everyone in the room indicated that the minotaur was the primary bodyguard for the wealthy man.
Ryuu sat down in the chair, and William and Darius stood to one on each side. Benjamin took a deep breath and blew out smoke. He motioned to offer Ryuu a cigar. Ryuu accepted the offer, and the envoy proceeded to light it for him. He took a deep breathe and once completed, Benjamin finally spoke. "Welcome, glad to meet up with you in such a short time. You don't mind if I get straight to the point?" Ryuu shook his head. "Great, so I just wanted to get a little info on a situation regarding a subordinate of mine. He came back with a messed-up hand and tail, and I just wanted to know what happened, your side of it."
"The guy who tried to fight my sister? The lizardman with brown pants? From how she described it, he was upset because she collected funds that were due to us and tried to fight her and failed. He broke his own hand, trying to hit her. He even attacked while there was a little girl in her arms." Ryuu explained.
"Hmmm, I could see that. So, you're saying he started the problem then, right?" Benjamin asked while looking puzzled.
"That's how both sides saw it. She felt pity for him, so she didn't even bother to do anything else. When anyone at this point dumb enough to attack her can't be the brightest." Ryuu said in a relaxed manner. Ryuu has been calm during the entire explanation. Speaking matter of factly the entire time, Benjamin sat there listening and thinking then.
"Yeah, that sounds about right. He was a hot head who didn't size up anyone right, so that's pretty normal for him. Well, with that out of the way, I wanted to speak on a different matter privately." As he says privately, his 2 bodyguards walk through a door behind them. Then William and Darius came back out the room they came in.
"Who are these people?" The young girl asked the minotaur.
"The man with the scales on his body is Master Sapphire Ryuu, also known as N.D. 4. He's completely mastered the field of combat water elemental fighting. He spent several years in the field and flew through the ranks very quickly. The dark-haired man with glasses is his long-term business partner, probably an early friend. He's been rated as an S tier blademaster."
"S TIER!" The young lady shouted.
"Not so loud. But yes, he's highly rated as well. He's a terrifying presence. The one with gold-black hair is Darius. He's only reached A tier status, but he is young and skilled. Plus, his nature element is Lightning, which is such a rare and powerful ability; it usually scales up. But fighting wise, he's around B-."
"He's so young looking that's surprising. You're A+ in strength; do you think you could fight them? I feel we might be outclassed." The lady said as her voice softened.
"Don't get so focused on the letters. Everyone has a weakness, so anyone of a lower grade could still be a threat. My endurance and stamina would give me an edge if need be. I could take the blademaster, but Master Sapphire, that I'm not sure. He's always so relaxed and calm. It just seems like nothing is a threat to him. You saw he came in first before his protection, right? He wasn't the least bit afraid of what was on the other side. We could have had an ambush for him, and he's the type of man to walk in it and leave unscathed." Minotaur explains
"Would we have needed to fight him if he got angry?" The lady asked
"Typically masters don't fight, as they are supposed to be teachers and role models. To guide others to knowledge. Benjamin knew he wouldn't fight, but he wanted solid protection in case the others decided to. But it seems we were a little unnecessary." Minotaur sighed.
On the other side with William and Darius, they were having a similar conversation.
"That minotaur was huge. That was my first time seeing one. And he had 4 arms. The outside world is full of all kinds of creatures." Darius said excitedly.
"He's very strong, but I believe you'd be stronger. With the training you've been receiving from Ryuu, I don't think someone of his skill level could handle your talents." William stated.
"You guys are always so nice to me. But we won't need to fight, right? Everything got handled?" Darius questioned.
"The original topic was just a formality. It was an unexpected topic he wanted to clear up before going further. However, there's a reason the 2 of us had to come. This discussion could have taken place through a message; however, he requested a private meet-up." William stared at the door while speaking.
"What could reason could they have to meet in person?" Darius being completely confused, and it's written across his face. While William has already started figuring what is about to take place, "Hey, who was that woman? She didn't seem all that scary. She looked completely normal."
"I would imagine someone with the power to enhance someone else's skill or power. She could give a boost or, in short, a buff to her ally. She could either enhance his strength or fix up a weakness he may have. Possibly even pass off a resistance if need be. But we will see shortly. I'm sure the real reason we're here is about to reveal itself." William said while looking at Darius. Unlike Ryuu, who always looks calm and collected, William's face is always stern and calculating. Even though he's not upset or bothered, his demeanor always comes off as such.
Out the room, the two men exit. Smoke left he threshold at the top. "Hey, Fourmin, you down for a little tussle? Ryuu says that his new guy could take you. You not going to stand for that nonsense, right?" William could be seen smirking as he knew this would happen. "You and Darius here can have a little sparring match. Don't have to be to the death. But he's strong, so don't hold back." Benjamin walked over and started patting his back. He had a big grin on his face. Fourmin picks up on it and nods his head in agreement.
"Darius, you are okay with sparring, right? It would help give you some more real-world experience, but you don't have to." Darius looked at Ryuu and had a big smile.
"I'm ready for this." Darius exclaimed.
They then relocate to a different part of the bounded area. It was large in size as it had a whole second floor beneath where they came in. The walls on the first floor were lined with wood panels; however, the second floor was lined with cement. The first floor was more luxurious in layout, while the second floor was more gritty. There were definitive signs of fighting throughout the whole second floor, almost like it was used to cage something.
"Darius and Fourmin will take to the center area. The rules for this match will be simple. Step out of the square ring, and you lose, take more than 5 direct hits to the body, and you lose, and obviously surrounding is a loss as well. Anything else is allowed, besides purposely aiming to kill." The envoy is now acting as a referee for what appears to be an underground fight. The area is in a closed off pocket dimension, so only someone who can locate them could find it, and even then, it is a challenge based on how skilled the creator is.
Darius didn't come dressed to fight or entertain. He was wearing a casual shirt and shoes made for running. He had a hoodie, which he took off. A comparison between the two fighters is very telling. Fourmin is a solid foot taller than Darius, who is already on the shorter side compared to everyone else. He's even shorter than Amatesa.
William whispers to Ryuu, "What exactly is riding on this 'sparring match?"
Ryuu whispers back, "There's this new area that leader got recently killed. We both had some contracts with him and decided this would be a fair way of deciding who gets to take his land in accordance with the agreements. There is nothing to lose on our part, but you know we won't lose. Not to this." Ryuu just confidently looked ahead at Darius, who was preparing to enter the square.
Benjamin whispers to the silver hair woman. William takes notice but doesn't say anything. Again, we can see a smirk on his face.
Darius and Fourmin meet in the ring. They both bow and take their stances. Fourmin has his feet apart, ready to leap forward with his two upper arms closer to his face and his lower two arms balled up in a fist in front of him. Darius puts one finger above his head, and then lightning strikes him, giving him extra power. Fourmin, once he sees Darius finger up, he rushes towards him. Darius eyes open, wide shocked at how fast Fourmin can move. The ring is big enough for him to jump back 3 times, but Darius knows moving backward won't work. So instead, he waits for Fourmin to close in. Fourmin uses his lower left arm to swing first in a jab. Darius shifts to his right, and as he does, Fourmin prepares his other left arm to with a wide blow to catch his side movement. Darius, however, shifts his body and bent backward to dodge the overhead and, in the same motion, uses his right arm to throw lightning square at Fourmin chest. Fourmin uses his lower right arm to block the attack and then pivots his body around to keep himself completely aligned with Darius. Darius side steps around him to Fourmins left side, maintaining the momentum he gained and trying to prevent him from lining up again. Darius goes to kick Fourmin in the stomach, only to get grabbed and lifted up in the air. Fourmin punches him square in the face as he is then shocked by Darius's lightning, forcing him to drop him. 1-1.
Despite being hit hard by lightning, Fourmin seems unbothered while Darius stumbled a bit and then caught himself. "That punch was something else. It almost knocked me clean out." But Darius still smiled, ready to fight more. Fourmin was steady with no emotions. He was zoned in and watched Darius every move. He knew he couldn't take more of those lightning strikes.
Darius rushed in this time, and Fourmin went to a defensive stance, and as he did, Darius emitted a bright light blinding Fourmin. He covered his eyes with his hands, but then Darius charged his leg with a bolt of lightning and kicked Fourmin out of the ring. "Victory Darius!" The envoy called the match. Ryuu smiles and looks at William with a "I told you so" face and walks over to Benjamin.
"Such a good, fair fight. Definitely an exciting time and a great talk. We are going to head out while we still have some energy." Ryuu extends his hand out for a handshake to an angry Benjamin. His teeth gritting, but shakes his hand anyway.
"Yes, I'll be seeing you around Master Sapphire." He said begrudgingly.
The group heads to the exit where the silver hair woman opens the portal for them to leave. As they arrive back on the other side, Turquoise was awaiting with Tatsuya for them to come back. "I see you made it out fine bro. Lea was able to track where you guys were, so we were ready if you needed us. But I should have figured you were fine. You've always handled things well on your own." Tatsuya folds his arms behind his head and starts to walk off.
"It's always great that you have my back just in case." Both the brothers just smile at each other.
"Dad, I hope you didn't forget, mom is coming tomorrow. I don't want you guys fighting about who gets me again. I want to stay here with you. I like having a smaller family around me." Turquoise said with her hands on her hip.
"Don't you worry, I'll make sure everything looks good so she won't argue." Ryuu pats her on the head.
"Oh, aren't you still married, Master?" Darius asked
"That is a long story; we simply don't have time for today. I'll let Chel look over you and make sure you're good. They are still visiting, and she's healer dragon in our age group. She's better at it than I am anyway." Ryuu explained to Darius.
The group then all heads back to the cave to regroup for the arrival of Turquoise's mom.