A Loyal Mutt

Eternal Flame

"Madoka, we reached a dead end." Ginga said to Maru's monitor. "It's getting hotter, but no signs of any dragon."

"Same here." Kite said into his own gadget. "We found a lava stream, but it slips under the rocks at a wall."

"We don't want to break anything in case it'll cause tremors." Shinobu stated.

"What about Sakyo's group?" Eight asked. "Any word from them?"

"Not yet." Madoka shook her head. "Takanosuke's the one who held on to the device, and he and Sala stopped halfway because of the heat, so Sakyo and Chi went on ahead."

"Guess we should head to their cave then." Zyro muttered. "Man, if only we'd known. We wouldn't have walked this far for nothing!"

"It can't be helped, Zyro." Maru's voice came. "These tunnels are just too deep for the scans Miss Chi did. We had to do it manually or else we might miss something."

"I know that, but still..."

"Let's all just hurry on back." Kenta stated.

Kite was panting quite heavily. "Yeah, it's getting way too hot in here!"

"Then take off your lab coat." Ren deadpanned.

"Never!"

~~~~~

"I want to say I'm surprised, but this isn't the first time you've interrupted me now, is it Chi?"

"Sir Ryuga..."

Chi felt her heart pound at a rather rapid pace. She was ecstatic. After eight long years of searching, she has finally found him.

He jumped down from the upper platforms and landed right in front of them. He looked down on her clothes. "You copying my wardrobe now?"

She shook her head and a frown appeared when she saw his own attire. "You're missing your gear..."

"Go figure." He rolled his eyes, but when they landed back on her, she wasn't looking at him anymore.

Instead, she was rumaging through the bag she was carrying. She took out a pouch and held it up to him. He had a questioning gaze, and it grew even more apparent when he saw what was inside.

"How did you- You know what? Don't answer that."

He took out the golden gauntlet and headpiece, placing them where they should be, before grabbing the belt and buckling it around his waist. He placed L-Drago into the gauntlet and it glowed a red aura.

"This feels so much better than having it burn in my pocket."

All the while, Sakyo stood a bit further back, watching their interaction silently. Despite their light exchange, the air around him was heavy. Very heavy. He was impressed with how she was able to stay so calm and casual. They share a deeper bond than he thought.

"Hey." His red eyes suddenly met with piercing golden ones. "You're the kid I gave Ronin Dragoon to, right?"

His eyes narrowed as he took out his bey, nodding. "Sakyo Kurayami."

"I knew I felt another dragon." He smirked, the flames glinting in his eyes. "You're not that strong yet, but I kinda figured since we're raised differently."

"Raised differently..?"

"I've been training to master the forbidden bey, Lightning L-Drago, since my earliest memories. In contrast to that, you've only started when I gave you that bey."

He wasn't wrong there.

Right when he was about to reply, Ginga's voice rang out from the tunnel. "Chi! Sakyo! Did you find anything?"

Ryuga's expression went from smug to annoyed. "Out of all the people in the entire world, why does it have to be him?"

"There's a whole lot of us actually." Chi warned him.

"Of course there are."

One by one, they fled into the cavern, complaining about how it became much hotter than when they were in the tunnel.

Catching sight of them, Ginga smiled. "Hey! You guys are here!"

"What's taking so long?" Zyro called out.

Takanosuke's eyes widened. "Wow! This is one huge cavern!"

"Well, they're safe, so that's a good thing." Kenta smiled. "Let's head on out, Madoka's worried."

Chi blinked. Did they not see him? She turned around and found no one there. She took out her bey, but it was no longer glowing. What... Why? How?! She felt her insides bubbling up. She lost him again... or maybe she never saw him to begin with.

Seeing her expression as she passed him, Sakyo softly muttered under his breath. "I saw him too."

That one thing made her doubts wash away. She nodded in thanks and they walked out of the cave.

She placed the jacket back on properly. If he disappeared like that, then that means he doesn't want to be found just yet. That was fine with her. Now that she's seen him, she could keep her hope alive.

I'll give it to him next time...

~~~~~

"Hm..." Ryuga watched the group on one of the higher platforms. He has no reason to go and join them. So what if they thought he was dead? It's better for him. He gets to rest in peace.

He gets to let L-Drago rest in peace.

He took out his bey from the gauntlet. It was still a battered piece of metal after his fight with Nemesis. Sure, maybe he could go with Ginga and get his girlfriend mechanic to fix it for him, but he wasn't too keen on being recognized. His hair, eyes, and tattered clothes would give him away immediately.

Besides, L-Drago barely had any strenght left. Scaring away intruders? Sure. But, as much as he hates to admit it, he would be weak in a battle. He couldn't even teleport, hence why he had been stuck on this island for the past eight years.

He watched as Chi's disheartened face went back to her usual stoic one after a few words from Sakyo. He smirked. Maybe next time, kid.

He had been watching her for a long time. Well, them actually. The fragments of L-Drago that he had given to Sakyo's Dragoon and Kenta's Sagittario lets him keep track of them, just like Sirius' fragment.

Kenta never had any problems after the event and continued his studies. Sakyo had been following his footsteps quite well, even if he wasn't as strong as he is yet. And watching Chi try so hard to find him was... touching, not that he'd ever admit it.

He had gone soft over the years, he knows full well he has, but it didn't matter. He was proud of the man he had grown into, and he was happy at where that led him... Not that he'd ever admit that either.

"Well, well, if it isn't you... The self proclaimed dragon emperor."

He was caught off guard by the voice. He turned around to see who the person was, but his vision suddenly became blurry.

"There's no use in fighting sleeping gas. Just close your eyes and come quietly."

That son of a...