The Unwitting Guardian Ch 08A 1

This is a repost with a few minor changes that correct logic mistakes, and adds it to the series (the other one wasn't due to a name error) Enjoy, and please, please, leave comments with what you think!!

*

It took a month before Ryna's mistake came back to haunt him. To be fair, he had had more pressing matters on his mind, such as surviving Sensara's anger at being left hanging, and how he had made it up to her afterwards. Oh, and school as well.

"Thinking back, I accidentally walked through the upperclassmen's hall, didn't I?" Ryna exclaimed as he and Sensara were headed out of their door one morning.

"That was a while ago, but yeah, you had to, if you wanted to see me. Even though it was a waste of a trip in the end anyway! But why is that such a big deal?" Sensara replied, oblivious.

"In every school I've ever been to, walking through the upperclassmen hallways was a sign of disrespect, unless accompanied by a teacher or an upperclassmen. If someone did that, there were usually serious repercussions," Ryna explained.

"Like what?" Sensara asked curiously. She was glued to his arm, as usual.

"A beating of either the kid, or one of his friends, and a spraypainted 'keep out'-type message. The thing is, this is a military school, so it will probably be a lot more violent," Ryna said, shuddering at the thought.

"Well, I don't really know if that happens here, but, if it does, I will do everything in my power as Student Body President to administer punishment," Sensara announced poetically.

"That sounded almost scarily official," Ryna commented sarcastically, earning a punch in the shoulder.

"That was how I got elected!" Sensara joked.

"I thought it was just Gramps engaging in some good, old-fashioned nepotism," Ryna replied. By now they had arrived at the school building. They kissed goodbye, then made their way to their respective classrooms. Ryna slid open the door with a perfunctory "good morning". However, instead of the usual response of "Boss! Your back!" and etc., Ryna was greeted by the sight of several unfamiliar people holding up Ulgo by the collar. Even without being able to see the bruises that covered his face, Ryna knew immediately what was happening.

"Hey, let him go, he didn't do anything," Ryna said, causing one to jump from surprise.

"I thought you told all the gang members to stay out of here till we left!" the human holding Ulgo up declared threateningly.

"He isn't a gang member... he's our boss!" Ulgo exclaimed, his voice filled with pride. "Boss, leave these guys to me, they aren't anything you need to trouble yourself with."

"Big words from the guy hanging a couple inches off the ground," a female voice said from behind the guy holding Ulgo off the ground. A second guy stood next to the first, flexing in an attempt to be menacing.

"Why don't you let him go, you all have beef with me, right? Just mess with me, and leave," Ryna said, desperately trying to reach a compromise before things escalated.

The big one is partnered with the girl, I feel their connection. The girl is charging some kind of power boost, and will hit her max in a couple seconds Carl chimed in, surprising Ryna.

"No need to use any abilities or anything, just drop the kid, and leave peacefully," Ryna pleaded. The girl seemed taken aback, causing her to lose focus for a second.

"Boss, I'm alright, don't worry about me!" Ulgo exclaimed, comic admiration filling his eyes.

Now! Carl practically screamed into Ryna's head. It was in that moment the big guy charged. His speed was abnormal for a man of his size, and it almost caught Ryna off guard. He barely managed to deflect the first punch away from himself before he spun away, setting himself for the next charge.

Thanks, Carl. Ryna thought to the demon. The upperclassman charged again, covering the short distance between them quickly. But this time, Ryna was ready. He grabbed the arm flying in to punch him by the wrist, and twisted, hard. The opponent was forced to spin to prevent fracturing his wrist, exposing his back to Ryna. Ryna brought his knee up into the small of his opponents back, then snaked an arm over his throat.

"Do you even lift??" Ryna asked teasingly, gripping his captive's throat in a manner that betrayed his true emotions.

"We're here to pay back the disrespect you dealt us last month, and we aren't leaving till we've settled, in full!" the girls exclaimed. Ryna shrugged, then judo-chopped his captive's throat, and shoved him back toward the other two combatants. Ryna grabbed the stumbling man's shoulder, and pulled back. A punch so quick that no one else saw it connected with his jaw, lifting him off the ground easily. Ryna spun, kicking out.

There was a blood-curdling crunching sound as his foot connected with the midair man's ribs. He was sent careening into a classroom wall, which he remained slumped against. The rest of the fight was over soon after that. The man holding Ulgo had dropped him and charged clumsily, and was met by a open palm to his jaw, a left jab into his exposed stomach, then a side knee to his head that knocked him out cold. The girl backed away, frightened by the overwhelming display of force.

"Leave. I prefer not to have to hit girls," Ryna said menacingly. She turned and ran out of the classroom, leaving her companions behind.

"Boss... That was incredible! But now the second and third years will be coming down here to get revenge," Ulgo remarked. Ugly purple bruises covered his face, causing Ryna to look away unconsciously.

"Yeah, I know. I'll go have a... chat... with them, and see if I can't get this whole thing sorted out," Ryna replied, sighing heavily.

That will be really dangerous... How many of us are you taking with you?" Ulgo asked excitedly.

"All of you. Wait here for everyone else, then head to the 3rd year's floor," Ryna said in a tone that announced his determination.

"Alright Boss! Also, not to interrupt your cool moment, but, what are we gonna do with the two guys you just knocked out?" Ulgo asked.

"Put them in the dungeon!" Ryna declared, turning to leave.

"Can do Boss!" Ulgo replied excitedly as Ryna left the room, "Wait a minute, we don't have a dungeon..."

Ryna had already left the classroom, leaving Ulgo to ponder where to take the injured men. He made his way to the stairway, then walked through the air onto the 2nd year floor. He ignored the astonished stares from the students in the halls.

"Carl," Ryna thought, "you can pause time, correct?"

Uh, yes, I can. Do you want me to enable you to? Carl answered. He sounded rather surprised that Ryna knew he had that power. Ryna momentarily put the thought aside.

"Yeah, I have the feeling I'll need it for the next few fights..." Ryna thought back. He felt something click inside of him, and a surge of adrenaline and power rushed through his body.

Just think of the time-related command you want and it will occur. For example, Time:Freeze! Carl explained. All around Ryna, people stopped in their tracks. In fact, they stopped doing pretty much anything. Ryna stepped in front of someone and poked their lower lip, testing for a reaction.

"How long does this hold?" Ryna asked, still testing his unwitting victim for a reaction, or movement of any kind.

As long as you want. All you have to do is use the command form and "resume" to start everything again. Carl explained. Fully convinced that time was frozen, Ryna moved on down the hallway. Systematically, he searched each classroom for a large group of thuggish-looking people. Not surprisingly, they were located in a beat-up looking classroom at the far end of the building. He passed the sentries and opened the door, not bothering to try to conceal the noise.

The members of the gang were absorbed in a card game, ignoring the couple making out on the couch on one side of the classroom. Ryna took a seat at the card table, and shuffled through the deck of cards, pulling out a royal flush.

"Time:Resume!" he thought. As soon as the thought had finished, movement began all around him again. It took several minutes before they realized that a stranger had appeared in their midst. In fact, they didn't notice he was there until Ryna won all of their bets with his Royal Flush.

"Whoa! Who are you?!" one of them yelled.

"I'm the leader of the 1st year gang. I am here to, uh, settle a debt," Ryna announced, remaining in his seat as every other member of the card table jumped up and backed away. He smiled kindly at the group, hiding his anger.

"Why are you here? You're fickin mental!" another member exclaimed, startled.

"Hmmm.... I wonder about that...? In any case, I am here to talk to your leader, not you trash." The kind smile never left his face.

"Trash?! How dare you! We won't let you talk to the Don until you prove your worth!" yet another gang member, the dealer, announced. In an instant, Ryna had left his seat, and his fist was crashing into the dealer's nose. Spinning, Ryna's elbow connected with another card player's temple.

For a few precious moments, the entire group was stunned by the ferocity and speed of the attack. A few moments was all it took for Ryna to take out two more people. Finally, someone struck out, an ill-timed strike that smashed into the jaw of a falling teammate. Ryna grabbed his outstretched arm, and pulled him over his shoulder and into the last of the card players.

"Am I 'worthy' yet?" Ryna asked mockingly to the mostly unconscious group on the floor. The couple making out paused slightly, then resumed, deciding that engaging Ryna was not in their best interests. Smart.

Near the front of the class, something coughed.

Ryna whirled, expecting a fist to be flying at him. Instead, an imposing looking 2nd year sat on a teacher's desk with an unlit cigarette in his mouth. His uniform jacket was on the chair behind him, and the sleeves of his shirt were ripped off, revealing several well-done tattoos.

"This is quite the mess, little 1st year," he said to Ryna.

"But it wasn't a mess I started," Ryna replied angrily.

"Are you suggesting that someone else just mopped the floor with all of my top men?" he asked, incredulous.

"No, that was me," Ryna said, allowing himself a small moment of pride.

"Than what other mess are you referring to?' the boss asked, genuinely confused.

"The one that ganged up on my Lawkeeper this morning," Ryna stated flatly.

"Wait a minute-- Your gang has a Lawkeeper?!" the boss asked, chuckling.

"That is what I said the first time too! Listen, you seem like a cool guy, but I have to beat you up before I move on to the next floor," Ryna said apologetically.

"No you don't. Your subordinate got beat up; my subordinates got beat up. Plus I had no clue there was an order to mess with your gang. I say you just move up now, save us both some pain," the boss suggested, in a significantly lighter mood than just a minute earlier.

"Hmmm... I guess. You don't seem like the type that would order a beating for no reason. You're sure it was the 3rd or 4th years that did this to my gang?" Ryna asked, feeling that he could trust this guy.

"Probably the 3rd years, as the 4th years don't really get involved with anyone else," he said.

"What the hell, he seems to be telling the truth," Ryna thought.

I also detect no deception in him. Carl's voice boomed.

"Alright, I'll let you off the hook," Ryna said, turning to leave. He made his way up to the third floor of the school building, and was greeted by the sight of his gang members at the top of the stairs. All of them were clutching some sort of makeshift weapon.

"Put those down you idiots!" Ryna yelled as he came up behind them.

"Ummm, what was that Boss?" one of them asked disbelievingly.

"It is disgraceful to attack an enemy caught unawares with weapons. It is one of your goddamn gang rules! And it is just plain cowardly," Ryna said, glaring down any protests. They dropped the weapons, then seemed to become inspired by their leader's braveness. They crept through the hallways, sneakily approaching the classroom used by the 3rd year delinquents. They arrived at their destination, and took up positions for the breach. Using hand signals he had learned from Ulgo a couple days earlier, he communicated that he would bum rush the leader, while they were to engage the cronies. Then he put his ear against the door, listening for any sign that they had been discovered.

"--oh dear Sensara, I can't have that," a female voice said from inside. The mention of her name made Ryna's blood freeze.

"I won't let you get away with bullying my boyfriend! I'll punish you fairly, so give up!" came Sensara's familiar voice through the door.

"Fuck! What is she doing here?!" Ryna thought to himself. He was faced with the difficult choice, the stakes being the safety of his girlfriend.

"If you don't call him up here, I will have to do something very unpleasant to you," there was a long pause, then, "boys, could you come here for a second?"

In that second, Ryna was decided. He slammed open the door, instantly taking in the entire room. There were about 12 scary-looking guys on his left, walking toward where he was going. Directly in front of him, was his girlfriend, her hands bound, and her uniform sliced open in several places, and a 3rd year girl, holding a knife, which was in the process of cutting open the front of Sensara's shirt.

Ryna covered the distance between him and his girlfriend's captor so fast, he probably beat some galactic speed record. He grabbed at the knife, and caught the blade through his palm. Ignoring the pain, he instead focused on bringing his other hand into the girl's stomach in an open-palm strike. He felt it connect, as well as all of the air in her leave at once. As she crumpled, Ryna's knee flew into her face, crunching her nose and sending her flying backward. She caught herself on a bookshelf, her hand on her newly-broken nose.

Ryna ignored her momentarily, and pulled the knife out of his hand. He grabbed Sensara's hands, and cut the bindings. She stared at his hand in amazement, watching as the skin drew itself back together as soon as the knife had been completely removed.

"Carl--" Before he could tell her to leave, a flying kick connected with his chest, forcing back a few steps.

"Hahaha, this is too great! I didn't even need this stupid girl, you came right to me!" she said, laughing maniacally.

"You bitch, why the hell did you order an attack my gang?! And abduct my girlfriend!?! All I did was walk in your stupid hallway!" Ryna roared, not even fazed by the previous blow.

"Simple! I wanted to get your attention," she said, making it seem as if this was the most obvious answer.

"What the fuck? You couldn't have done something more normal, like, I don't know, talked to me?!" Ryna said, unable to resist giving a smart answer.

"But that simply wouldn't do! I wanted the ceremony where you join my harem to be magnificent!" she exclaimed, managing to look just as crazy as she sounded.

"Now, hold up a second. Who the hell said anything about joining your harem? You tried to filet my girlfriend just a second ago, and you attacked Ulgo, this morning! Who the hell would then date your crazy ass?!" Ryna asked, utterly confused.

"Come to me! Join my harem. I'll even kill this bitch for you!" she exclaimed, drawing a knife out of her pocket. She turned to face a terrified looking Sensara, and began to fall on her, knife-first. Adrenaline flashed through Ryna's veins.

"Time:Freeze!!" Ryna shouted. The world halted all around him, and he calmly located a piece of paper and a pen. He scribbled down a quick note to the third year, then grabbed a small book, and placed the book in her breast pocket. He stabbed the note with her knife, and then stabbed them both through the book.

Why not just kill her? Carl asked.

"Cuz that is rather frowned upon in this establishment. And because I don't particularly like to kill people, not really my thing." Ryna said out loud.

But it would solve your problems, and keep that girl safe. I know you care for her deeply, so why not just kill the threat? Carl asked.

"If I kill her, I get expelled. Sensara is a popular person, meaning that she probably has more than a few enemies. And she is the heir to a major corporation. So, if I get expelled or incarcerated, who is there to protect her?" Ryna replied. He picked up Sensara's frozen body and carried her away from the murderous woman. When he had gotten a safe distance away, he turned to survey the other battle.

Things were looking good, relatively speaking. 10 of the 13 men he had come in with were down, but only one of the enemy combatants remained standing. "Good work men, I'll treat you all to something after this is over," he mumbled.

He turned back to his opponent, still frozen in her murderous lunge at where Sensara had been. "Time:Resume!" Ryna exclaimed. The woman completed her lunge, but hit nothing but empty flooring. Then she noticed the knife protruding from her breast pocket. She flailed frantically, trying to dislodge the knife from herself, but it held tight in the book. Ryna turned, and strode to the fray between his remaining three men and the big, well-muscled enemy. With a single well-timed kick, Ryna sent the man sprawling.

"Boys, gather the wounded. Any that can walk, make your way to the infirmary. Carry any of those that can't," Ryna ordered. Immediately, the men began to follow his orders. About 6 men struggled to get up. The remaining 4 were distributed between pairs of the others. All the while, overdramatic moans and shrieks of pain sounded behind them as the girl rolled around, proclaiming her imagined wound, and forthcoming death. Ryna ignored them, instead leading the procession back to the infirmary.

"I am able to walk, just so you know," Sensara said quietly in his arms. Despite her words, she snuggled into his chest, grateful for his warmth.

"I am not letting you down until I am sure you aren't going to run off and do something stupid," Ryna chided. She momentarily looked dejected before recovering.

"They told me you were hurt! I couldn't just ignore it!" she exclaimed.

"It would take the entire school body plus most of this planet's defences to even scratch me--"

"She hit you without any help--"

"--except when I'm distracted by saving your retarded ass," Ryna said. His voice was steady, but Sensara felt his arms trembling underneath her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get in the way," Sensara said meekly, trying to gain forgiveness.

"I'm taking you home, it isn't safe for you here right now." Ryna stated.

"Grandfather will not be happy if I skip school!" she exclaimed, fearful of her grandfather's wrath.

"You just almost lost your life, and you are worried about what Gramps will say about me taking you home? Are you crazy?" Ryna asked disbelievingly.

"No! I mean, yes, I was, but... I don't know!" she said, fumbling with her answer. Then it hit her. "What do you mean I almost died?"

"Do you not remember the crazy knife-wielding girl who tried to kill you about, oh, 2 minutes ago?" Ryna asked, confused.

"She... she... she was trying to kill m-me? I thought, I thought, I don't know what I thought, but, she tried to KILL me?" Sensara asked.

"Did you get hit in the head?" Ryna asked, growing concerned.

"NO! I-I just didn't realize... Oh my god!" she exclaimed, belatedly comprehending what had just happened. She erupted in tears.

"Time:Freeze," Ryna thought. everything froze around him, but Sensara continued to cry. "That is strange, Time:Freeze!" She continued to sob, shaking badly.

I forgot to mention, that when you are holding something, and you use the regular command, they are able to move as well. Carl boomed.

"That is really helpful nowww," Ryna said sarcastically, without even thinking.