Kei-Kei Yuki: Hello everybody! I know it's been a while since I last posted anything on Fanfiction, but I ran into a bad case of writer's block. It was terrible, seeing how even though I so badly wanted to type, I couldn't find the motivation for any of my fanfics. Let's not forget, I've recently taken a break from anime, but I dug down deep I have found my love for KHR once again. I've also been wanting to write something with a fantasy element, so here I go and I hope you all enjoy my new story!
Tsunami: Yay a new story!
Reborn: So basically the fantasy version of Sky Reborn
Kei-Kei: Hey, just because they might share a slight similarity do not make them the same!
Reborn: Whatever you tell yourself.
Tsunami: Reborn be nice to Kei-san! Her and her friends who lend her their help worked hard on this story.
Kei-Kei: Thank-you Tsu-chan! Enjoy the new story, everyone!
Beta by: Ana-DaughterofHades
I once dreamed a dream
A colorful dream of splendor and wonder
It was a magical world of awe, joy, and vision
But like all dreams, it began to fade away, and soon it was forgotten
Becoming nothing more but a forgotten dream
Chapter One
Forgotten Dreams
Unaware that she had fallen asleep, a young girl, the age sixteen, dreamed about a long and almost forgotten memory, remembering fondly of a little girl, standing in the forest with her parents. She wore an expression of awestruck when she saw her mother say a short spell, and instantly in seconds, colorful and vibrant fireworks lit up the night sky. Seeing such an expression on the little girl's face, the father decided to show off, saying a spell that was unfamiliar with the young child, but her attention was stolen when she saw the fireworks take the form of cute dancing animals in the sky.
There was more than just the private firework show that was remembered fondly, but also the summoning of a beautiful mermaid with an angelic voice, fairies dancing, and other magical beings as she was surrounded by the splendors of magic. The eyes of that little girl spoke of undying love for both her parents and for the magic itself. A little girl who had a dream, a dream to one day to be a great mage like that of her parents. Not the failure that she had mistakenly turned out to be.
"Sawada Tsunami! You're up next!" Brown eyes jolted open at the angry sound of her teacher, who was glaring at her from where he stood at the front of the class. Standing before his desk, facing the rest of the class was a cute girl with short orange hair, who just got through saying a spell which demonstrated her skills as a Sole Mage, a type of mage who possessed Sun Magic, allowing one to utilize its pure force and enhance it physically or into weaponry. Sole Mages were also capable of casting spells based on light and could perform healing spells.
Tsunami recognized the girl to be Sasagawa Kyoko, a very popular, sweet, and kind girl, who had just got through healing an injured bluebird. Now it was Tsunami's turn to appear before the class; along the way, Tsunami was nothing but a bunch of nerves, aware of the treatment she would receive if she failed. Upon making her way to the front, Kyoko wished her good luck, before taking her seat beside a girl wearing a bored expression with long dark hair who began chatting with her.
Tsunami was aware of Nezu-sensei's ways of embarrassing students, who were, in his eyes, complete failures, in front of the entire class. "Since you are a Cielo Mage, I would like you to demonstrate a fire spell to the class," ordered Nezu-sensei, aware that fire spells were one of Tsunami's weak spots, only able to perform a few basic spells, but she was proficient when it came to healing spells.
Tsunami was a Cielo Mage, a mage who possessed Sky Magic. This type of magic allowed her to manipulate the various aspects of all other magic types and can purify everything it touches. There's a reason why amongst the different types of magic there were in the world, it was the rarest, and only a limited amount of people were seen to possess this type.
Taking out her wand, hands shaking slightly, anxiety getting the best of her, she ended up dropping her wand onto the ground. This action caused her to flush from the embarrassment of her own clumsiness, hearing a few of her classmates' snicker, hearing "Clumsy Dame-Tsuna" come from a few who were saying teasing things about her. Trying to block out all of the negativity that came from her classmates, Tsunami took a deep breath, closed her eyes to relax her nerves, and once she was calm enough, she said the spell out loud.
"Magnus Igne Ardens!" Seconds after the spell was said, nothing but pitch-black smoke filled the classroom. Students were rushing out of the room from inhaling the black fumes while others began opening the windows. Poor Tsunami was confused at what she could've done wrong, seeing how she said the correct spell yet the end result was not what she expected.
"Sawada Tsunami!" Tsunami flinch at the angry tone of Nezu-sensei, "You are nothing but a failure of a mage! Look at the mess you made in the classroom. You get nothing but a failing grade for this assignment!" he yelled angrily in her face, each word, no matter how redundant, was a sting at Tsunami's inability to be a proper mage. When school was finally over, Tsunami was happy to see the familiar sight of her mother's bakery, especially after the hard day she had at school.
"Welcome back, Tsuna-nee!" a voice greeted Tsunami eagerly. Walking through the front door, Tsunami spotted her mother's assistant Fuuta. Despite his young and cute appearance, Fuuta was twice Tsuna's age. This was due to him being half-human and half-elf, beings known and recognized for their extraordinary magical abilities, along with their eternal lives. Elves aged a lot slower than humans, the same for half-elves, though just a little faster than a pure-blooded elf, yet still slow for a human. Returning the greeting, Tsunami saw that Fuuta was placing a tray of freshly baked peach tarts into the display out front, sweeping her eyes over the small crowd of people that were inside the bakery today.
"Is it only you down here today, Fuuta?" Tsunami asked, making her way behind the counter to place down her school bags.
"Yep! Business has been slow today, so not many of Mama's summonings are around. Those that are, are upstairs helping out Mama in the clinic," he answered Tsunami, before greeting a new pair of customers that just walked inside. The establishment that Tsunami's mother owned was both a bakery which was downstairs and a clinic which was upstairs. To access the clinic, one could take the flight of stairs located inside the bakery right behind the counter after walking through the door. Or they could enter through the door located outside, on the side of the building, which would lead them inside to the reception area that would later take them upstairs.
Taking the flight of stairs, Tsunami made her way to her mother's office, bypassing a beautiful woman with long luscious curls of light-pink hair, fish-fins for ears, and wearing the assigned yellow and white nurse's uniform. The woman smiled and waved at Tsunami, who recognized the woman to be one of her mother's summonings. Reaching the office, Tsunami saw her mother standing there, holding a dark-blue crystal vial in her hand that she was examining when a wide smile appeared on her face once she saw who was standing in the doorway of her office.
"Tsu-chan! Welcome home!" her mother cheerily greeted her like normal, placing the vial back down on the shelf and picking up another; this one was pink and shaped like a heart. From a sole glance at both mother and daughter, one could tell that Tsunami inherited most of her looks from her mother Sawada Nana, such as their large warm chocolate eyes and brown hair that was kept at the same length, along with their petite and thin build. Though unlike Nana, Tsunami's short locks were more tousled and just slightly spiky, which she inherited from her father.
"I talked to Fuuta-kun downstairs, and he told me how there weren't that many customers today." Tsunami watched her mother place the pink vial on the desk, giving all of her attention to her.
"Mm, they're not many customers here, but I do believe Fuuta-kun could probably use your help down in the bakery," Nana jovially advised, when she suddenly snapped her fingers. "That's right, I believe we are running low on Rainbow Pastel Cheesecake. Tsu-chan can you run to the kitchen and began making some more? Those are our number one top-selling desserts," Nana kindly asked of her daughter, who simply smiled and agreed.
"Sure. No problem, Kaa-san!" Tsunami left to attend downstairs, making her way into the kitchen but not before grabbing an apron first. Once her frilly orange apron that Nana got for her as a birthday present was tied around her waist, she set off to work, starting with making the crust first. Tsunami was so busy, caught up in what she was doing, that she didn't notice how much time had passed. The cheesecake was almost finished when she heard Fuuta called out her name, asking her to fill in for him while he went and made an errand.
Placing the finished cheesecake in the refrigerator to cool, Tsunami began filling in for him, welcoming customers and taking their order. When there were no more customers left to greet or take orders for, Tsunami just stared out the window, deep in her own train of thought, sometimes, even recalling all of the assignments she failed in school today. "Sometimes I wish I was a Sole Mage, then maybe things would be easier for me," Tsunami vaguely wished, elbows pressed down on the counter, hands placed against her cheeks.
Tsunami was aware that she possessed one of the rarest magical types in the world, yet why fawn over something that she couldn't even use properly. Beside healing spells and a few basic spells, Tsunami was an inadequate Ceilo Mage. A mage who couldn't even grasp the full potential of her own powers. Sometimes, Tsunami was angry that she inherited her father's magical type and not her mother's, who was a Sole Mage and one of Namimori's top five healers.
While Tsunami at least inherited some of her mother's healing abilities, she was nothing like her father, who was a well-respected and powerful Ceilo Mage. Tsunami only felt worse, seeing how graduation was soon approaching and her grades weren't looking all that great, meaning she couldn't fail any of her finals. If some student's grades were not high enough, he or she would need to pass all three finals in order to graduate.
"I really hate my life sometimes," sighed Tsunami, then she heard someone enter the bakery, catching sight of a large familiar frog hat.
"Yo! Usagi-hime," greeted a monotone voice, belonging to a boy with light green hair and eyes of the same color. Under his eyes were blue triangular markings. Tsunami knew the boy's name to be Fran, someone who appeared once a month and always ordered a large number of desserts.
"Hello, Fran-kun. So, will it be something different today or the same as usual?" asked Tsunami, by now familiar with his order which seemed to always be the same.
"Today it's different. The 'Self-Appointed Prince-Who-Is-An Idiot' would like a slice of the Strawberry Mousse Cake. The 'Flamboyant-Perverted-Drag Queen' would like a slice of the Lemon Meringue Pie. The 'Loudmouth-Idiot-Commander' a Peach Tarte, and a few Strawberry Eclairs for the 'Money-Lover-Baby,' and a slice of the Triple Chocolate Devil cake for the boss." Every time Tsunami heard Fran's nicknames for his friends(?), she couldn't help but wonder who exactly were these people and if they were aware of the nicknames he had given each of them. Which were insults, except for the one who he called the boss.
"Okay, and what would you like Fran-kun?"
"Usagi-Hime."
Upon hearing this, Tsunami shot Fran a blank stare who returned her stare with his normal deadpan expression. "...Fran-kun, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not on the menu."
"Until the day you realize my true intentions. Which is never because you're too oblivious. So just get me two slices of Rainbow Pastel Cheesecake." Fran's words left Tsunami confused, not understanding the true meaning behind what he said. Then again, she barely understood half the things Fran came up with, but nevertheless, he was good company. He casually mentioned to her how his companions were nothing more than a gang of complete nuisances, especially the 'Self-Appointed Prince-Who-Is-An Idiot,' who seemed to love throwing knives at his head.
Upon hearing this, Tsunami felt a little worried for Fran's safety as this 'Fake-Prince-Sempai,' another name for this prince-person who Tsunami did not know the real name of, sounded as if he was bullying Fran. Once all of the desserts were neatly and safely placed in a large pale pink bag with the bakery logo printed on the front, she wished Fran well when it came time for him to leave.
For the rest of the day, things were slow at Nana's Bakery; Tsunami saw how the sun had at least an hour and a half before it would set. In the kitchen, Fuuta was washing the dishes, while Tsunami was still at the register when she heard the bells from the door jingle, signaling that a new customer had arrived, but when she looked at the door, no one was standing there.
"Weird. I could've sworn I heard someone walk in." Tsunami was so busy staring ahead that she didn't notice the tiny figure down below who made his way inside, hopping up on a chair that sat close to the counter. Grabbing a menu, he began looking it over. Tsunami, on the other hand, went back to daydreaming and dreading the thought of going to school the next day when she felt something smack her in the face.
"Ouch! Why did a menu just hit me?" Tsunami stared at the bakery menu confusedly, when she heard the demanding voice of a child call out to her. "Oi. Dame-Tsuna, get me a slice of Mont Blanc Cheesecake and an espresso." Upon finding where the source of the voice was coming from, which was nearby, Tsunami was taken aback by what greeted her.
"... Oh, you so gotta be kidding me." Tsunami didn't know why, but the moment her eyes made contact with those large soulless onyx eyes, she felt a disruption in the air, a premonition, her 'woman's' intuition blaring the alarms, all of which told her to be aware of this small tiny person.
Tsunami felt a fork smack her in the face this time.
"Dame-Tsunami, stop daydreaming and get me my order already." The talking infant sounded as if he was getting annoyed with the way Tsunami was just staring at him. She didn't know if she should either feel insulted, confused, or... scared as something in the back of her mind warned her against upsetting him.
After regaining her cool, Tsunami tried to gently talk with the infant, who, for some reason, was wearing clothes made from high-quality material, an all black four-piece suit with the exception of the clean and crisp orange collar shirt peeking out from underneath. Concealing most of his hair, except for the adorable curly sideburns, was a black fedora with a thick stripe of orange going around it. Sleeping on the brim of the hat was a chameleon, and worn around his neck was a yellow plastic looking pacifier.
"Umm, did you perhaps lose your mom? I can help you find her if you want?" Tsunami smiled, thinking back to one of her mom's most famous and younger client. A little boy named Lambo, who would make a fuss when his dad would bring him in for his yearly vaccine shot or whenever he caught a cold.
"Dame-Tsuna, I knew you were slow, but I didn't think you were this slow," came the harsh insult from a mere one-year-old.
'Well excuse me for trying to be nice and to save my own sanity!' Tsunami mentally defended herself, turning around to make his order. Though, it was a bit uncomfortable as she felt him following everything she did with keen eyes. This set her a bit on edge, but soon his order was handed to him.
First, he took a bite out of the Mont Blanc Cheesecake, before reaching over to grab the espresso to take a sip. The next seconds were spent in tense silence, the infant said nothing but just stared at Tsunami, who was nervously awaiting his verdict, feeling as if she was nothing more than some lowly servant waiting for her master's opinion.
"The dessert is good, but you could've done better with the espresso," the infant gave his honest opinion as Tsunami released a sigh of relief upon hearing his verdict.
"Tsu-chan, you can-Oh, and who is this handsome fellow?" After making her way downstairs, Nana stood beside Tsuna as she caught sight of him.
"Ciaossu Reborn." the infant, who introduced himself as Reborn, greeted her mother.
"Oh, that's right! Papa said that a friend of his, named Reborn, might be popping in for a visit today! Well, hello, my name is Sawada Nana, and this is our adorable daughter Tsunami. I do hope you enjoyed your dessert. Tsu-chan helps make the majority of the desserts here," Nana casually informed their guest, talking to him like she would any normal customer, not minding the mere insanity of the situation but rather rolling right along with it.
"Tsu-chan, Mama has to stay overnight as I have a client who is arriving late and is in need of my help. I'm going to have Fuuta-kun stay with me since I might need his assistance, but I want you to head home as this is a school night and you have to get up early tomorrow," Nana informed Tsunami, who later, after wishing both her mother and Fuuta well, headed home, missing when a certain someone began following after her, but not before Nana said something that made Reborn pause.
'I hope you find someone who will help rid you of that awful curse, Reborn-san.' Tugging on the brim of his fedora, Reborn hid a smirk. "Sawada Nana's reputation isn't just for show it seems," said Reborn, following after the younger brunette as she headed out.
Tsunami was halfway home, just about to reach the forest, when she felt something hop onto her shoulder and saw it was none other than Reborn, casually sitting there. "What are doing here? Why are you following me home?" Tsunami questioned the infant, entering the forest where her house was located.
"I'm a guest and your newly assigned tutor." Hearing this Tsunami almost tripped over a log. Thankfully she was quick enough to regain her balance. "Tutor?! What could you possibly teach me? I mean, I'm older than you! You haven't even begun school yet!" she pointed out.
"Sawada Tsunami. A failure of a Cielo Mage. In most of your classes, you score the lowest, and if you don't pass all three of your finals coming up soon, you'll fail and will not graduate. I might not look it, but... I know a lot more than you think." After hearing this, something told Tsunami that she should believe him. Walking farther into the forest, Tsunami spotted something small and gray lying on the ground, and when she looked closer, it was an injured small gray kitten.
"Poor thing, what could've possibly happened to it?" Just as Tsunami reached out to it, the kitten opened its eyes and began glaring at her. It struggled as it tried to get back on its feet but was too injured to do so.
"It's okay. I won't harm you. From the looks of it, you've lost a lot of blood." Tsunami examined the large bleeding gash on its side, along with a few minor cuts on its four legs. "I should be able to fix you up, but I got to take you home in order to do so. Trust me. I will not harm you." She smiled gently at the animal whose green eyes stared back up at her with reluctance, but after weighing its options, it knew it'd at least be better in her hands than staying out in the forest to die.
Sensing the animal placing its trust in her hands, Tsunami extended her arms out to it again, though before she could touch the cat, the sound of a twig snapping caught her attention, followed by the sound of wolves howling throughout the forest. Listening closely, Tsunami began to panic as she identified what creatures those howls were coming from.
"Night Wolves," Tsunami muttered fearfully; looking at the sky, she saw how the sun had set. The sky had turned to night, voidless of any clouds. She wasn't the only one who was paying attention to the sky, Reborn was too, hopping down from her shoulders. Not that Tsunami noticed, as she reached down to gently pick up the injured animal and was about to continue on her way, only to pause when a bright glow of light caught her attention. It was short-lived, but the burst of yellowish light was blinding as Tsunami had to cover her eyes until the light died down a second later.
Unshielded her eyes, Tsunami felt her jaws drop in utter shock at what she was seeing before her. "R-R-Reborn?" she questionly called out his name, only to flinch when eyes darker than a black void peered down at her from underneath his fedora. The man standing before her was no longer the cute little infant who had walked into her mother's bakery and who could ride on her shoulder. His imposing height towered a few feet over her own; the infant had transformed into a man. A man who possessed an aura that spoke of authority and commanding power. It was unlike anything Tsunami ever encountered in her life.
This man terrified her to the core, despite his devilishly handsome looks, that Tsunami only regarded at the last second. The fear that his presence brought to her heart was overwhelming. "Calm down, Tsuna. I won't hurt you." No longer did he possess the cute voice of an infant, but a strong voice of a man. Upon hearing this, Tsunami calmed herself, noticing that Reborn posed no ill-intentions to her. After inhaling and exhaling three breaths, she was calm once again, though it was only short lived as the growling of wolves got closer.
"We have to hurry and get out of this area. Night Wolves are known for being ferocious creatures that prowl the night. Once they find their prey, they will not rest until it is captured. We must move. Now!" Reborn urgently ordered. Tsunami began leading the way to her house when she saw a black blur jump out in front of her.
Blocking their path, growling at them, was a large black wolf with angry slanted red eyes. Tsunami didn't know what to do, caught off guard when a gunshot rang through the air and hit the wolf in its left eye socket. Turning to look behind her, Tsunami saw Reborn holding a pistol in his left hand, before shooting her a look. "Move!" he ordered, "A mere bullet won't do anything to stop them. The only thing that can put an end to this is fire."
While the wolf howled from the pain of the bullet, the socket of his left eye regenerating, Tsunami made a break for it, Reborn following after her, but they couldn't stay free for long. Soon the wolfpack caught up to them and surrounded them in a circular formation. Tsunami heard Reborn curse underneath his breath, shooting a wolf in the head when it pounced in their direction, followed by another and another. The wolves were getting relentless, and Tsunami didn't know how Reborn could keep on shooting them.
"Rebron, you have to do something! Shooting isn't going to work for much longer. There are too many of them!" Tsunami cried in a panic, screaming when a wolf came charging up at her and was about to bit her head off with its sharp long canines if the feisty kitten in her arms didn't leap and scratch its eyes, causing the wolf to miss its target.
"There's nothing I can do. I have no magic. The only one who can save us is you, Dame-Tsuna. You are a Ceilo Mage. You hold the power to all magic. You just got to be desperate enough to bring it out," said Reborn. Without taking his eyes off of the wolves in front of them, he moved his pistol to shoot the wolf that came charging up at him on his left, without even bulging or blinking an eye.
"But I'm useless!" cried Tsunami.
"Then stop being useless! Stop being Dame-Tsunami, the girl who always runs home crying because she screwed up. The failure Ceilo Mage who can't even perform a decent spell to save her own life. If you can't survive here, then there is no way on Earth you can survive in the real world." Reborn harshly told her the cold-hearted truth that Tsunami was already aware of about herself.
'I am a failure. A screw-up! I can't even perform a basic fire spell to save my own life. Even this kitten is braver than I am. I'm so pathetic.' Tsunami felt angry tears well up in her eyes as she clutched her hair in frustration, hearing the repeated gunshots that echoed from Reborn's stared at the blurry figure of the small injured kitten that stalked defensively in front of her, who had twice the resolve that she did.
'I'm scared.'
'Someone.
'Anyone.'
'Mama.'
'Papa.'
'Please save me!'
Tsunami shut her eyes tight, praying for someone to save them when she heard something softly hit the ground. Opening her eyes, she saw the injured gray kitten lying on the ground, having exhausted itself and was still mortally injured. Tsunami tearfully called out to the kitten when she spotted two Night Wolves eyeing its defenseless form.
"No... Stay away from it," Tsunami softly whispered, knowing in her heart that her prayer would go unanswered, that unless something happened, that poor animal was going to end up chewed and eaten. The wolves took a step forward, and as if they had some sort of telepathic communication, they charged towards the poor injured and defenseless animal. Tsunami watched with wide eyes, desperate and frustrated tears running down her cheeks.
"No... No... NOOO!" came the desperate cry from Tsunami.
'I'm weak. I cannot do anything to protect myself, but if I can at least protect this poor creature, then that is good enough for me.' In the depth of her mind, she recalled an old memory of when she was a little girl. After arriving home crying to her mother asking why was she such a useless mage, she remembered how her mother smiled and brought her into her warm and comforting arms and said, "You know, Tsu-chan, sometimes magic isn't just about reciting spells but about what lies in here." Her mother pointed to her chest, where her heart lied beating underneath.
"Magnus... Igne Ardens!" Tsunami poured all the emotion she had into the spell. Reborn took notice of the bright glowing orange circle underneath his feet and saw that it covered the entire area as orange flames burst forward and consumed all the wolves in the forest, reducing them to mere ash in a matter of seconds.
'What power. I didn't expect her to take out the entire pack by herself.' Reborn couldn't help but take in the lumps of ash that now covered the forest's floor. He pointed his eyes over at Tsunami, who seemed to be too weak to even walk, crawling over to the injured gray kitten and gently taking it into her arms.
"I saved you. I managed to save you. I'm so happy that you're still alive." Green eyes saw his savior cry tears of happiness all because she managed to save his life. Reborn wasn't surprised when he saw Tsunami's eyelids drop as she passed out from exhaustion, which resulted from the overuse of magic she used in executing that fire spell.
"You're not as spineless as you may think, Dame-Tsuna," smirked Reborn, bending down to lift the passed out and exhausted small teen, who was still holding the kitten, into his arms. "Now let's see if I can find your house within this giant maze of a forest," muttered Reborn.
When Tsunami opened up her eyes, she saw sunlight peering into her window and sat up as she sleepily rubbed her eyes. Removing the covers off her, Tsunami slipped on her slippers and groggily made her way downstairs; halfway down she smelt the delicious aroma of food being cooked. Entering the kitchen, Tsunami sleepily greeted Reborn, who was back in his infant form, sitting on top of a stack of pillows, and sitting beside him at the table was a mysterious silver-haired teen, eyes lighting up upon Tsunami's arrival. She said a quick greeting to her mother who was preparing breakfast and took a seat at the table.
"Dame-Tsuna, you took your time getting up. Mama thought you were gonna have to miss school today after what happened last night." Tsunami was still sleepy, so she didn't really understand whatever Reborn was talking about. Then she felt someone suddenly grasp hold of her hands, green eyes staring up at her with nothing but adoration and love expressed in them. The sight of it took her off guard, wondering why such eyes were aimed at herself.
"Please be my mate!" blurted out the mysterious silver-headed boy that Tsunami just now realized had matching silver cat ears attached to his head.
'Wait a minute. Silver? Cat? ...Last night?!' Those key-words seemed to have been the jump start to trigger Tsunami's memories of last night, beginning to tremble all over as she recalled what happened. Removing her eyes off the mysterious boy, she stared at Reborn, unaware of how her mother was watching all of this play out with keen interest, even squealing like a school-girl at the silverette's proposal.
"Reborn, just what the heck is going on?!" Tsunami demanded to know.
"Well, Dame-Tsuna, you were just proposed to by a werecat," Reborn stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, taking a sip of his espresso.
"What? Huh? HIEEE!" This was sound that echoed from the white two-story house, waking all the creatures in the forest.
End of Chapter One
Hope you all enjoyed the story! :)