konan248: Glad you're looking forward to it. Here's the next update.
The results of the poll so far:
Hibari Kyoya: 4
No one: 1
Suguro Reiji: 1
Right now, Hibari's in the lead. The deadline for voting is the chapter where Shura is introduced. So keep it coming!
I don't own Blue Exorcist or Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
Taking Care of Others
"So I'm able to train myself here?" Tsuna looked around at the wide, empty room that Hayato showed her to.
Hayato nodded. "The Academy gave this room to us because we all need somewhere to spar, especially Kyoya. It's fortified with high-level protection wards, so you won't be able to destroy it."
"Alright, so what should I do?"
Hayato rubbed his chin in thought. "Your skill primarily lies with your hand-to-hand combat ability, but that's not effective against most demons. So us Vongola members went and got you these." He tossed a package to Tsuna.
She unwrapped it, gazing at a pair of metal-like gloves. Slipping them on, Tsuna marveled at the surprising flexibility the gloves allowed.
"Do you remember Irie Shoichi? That wimpy kid who keeps on needing to get rescued from bullies?" Tsuna made a noise of agreement, and Hayato continued on. "It turns out that his family makes a living creating weapons and armor for exorcists to use in battle against demons. Once he listened to our request, he agreed to make that for you."
"I see…" Tsuna murmured. "I'll have to thank him the next time I see him." Out of habit, she started her stretches. "So what kind of training should I start with?"
Clearing his throat, Hayato unfolded a piece of paper. "Hand-to-hand combat is best done with Kyoya or Ryohei. The baseball idiot would help you with using your sword if he was here. Mukuro and Chrome offered to help you practice against demons. Lambo just does whatever he wants. Since I'm the only one available right now, I'm going to help you with controlling your flames. Not your blue flames, I don't know much about that, but your orange flames I do know about."
"Really?" Tsuna finished stretching and turned to Hayato. "What do you know?"
"Would you let me see your sword for a minute?" Tsuna barely hesitated before tossing it to him. Hayato turned it around in his hands, then unsheathed it. On cue, blue and orange flames burst out of Tsuna. He sheathed it, and the flames vanished. "Has the flames ever appeared even when you didn't unsheathe this?"
"Um…" Tsuna thought back to the few moments where they had appeared. "When I met a demon for the first time. And when I was fighting against hobgoblins with Ieyasu. Those are the only times, I think."
Hayato hummed thoughtfully. "Was there any connection between the two?"
"Hmm…I felt strong emotions during both of them, if it counts."
"And has anything you would consider strange happen to you?"
"Shiemi-chan told me that my eyes changed color once."
He drew in a sharp breath. "What color would that be?"
"She said that it looked orange, like the color of a sunset." Tsuna frowned. "Is there something important about that?"
"This would mean that your orange flames could be released separately from your blue ones, and the opposite would be true. On top of that, since your sword was used primarily to seal Satan's flames, it became weak enough to be mixed in with the Sky flames, due to the Sky flames' accepting nature." He continued muttering to himself, losing Tsuna completely. "Of course, the change in eye color has to be taken into account. It's the color that commonly occurs when Sky flames are used. And if that's the case, then-"
"Hayato." Tsuna interrupted. "Can you please explain it in a way that I can understand?"
"Huh?" Hayato looked at Tsuna in surprise. "Oh, sorry. Basically, since your sword was supposed to seal your blue flames, your orange flames aren't affected. They happened to show up because part of it was already mixed with Satan's flames. Though with practice, you should be able to call out just the orange flames, or just the blue flames if you want."
Tsuna slowly nodded. "So how do I call out just my orange flames?"
"They're easy to call out if you have a strong conviction." Out of nowhere, he pulled out sticks of dynamite. "Trial number one: Determination to survive!" Then he lit the sticks of dynamite and threw them at Tsuna.
"Why do I have to go through this again?!" She yells out as she ran away for safety.
Tsuna and Hayato both gasped for breath as they laid sprawled out on the undamaged floor. Protective wards are really useful, apparently.
"Thanks for…" Hayato coughed. "…saving me…again…"
Tsuna groaned. "That was the only time I managed to call out my flames."
"You just started training, so it's to be expected." Hayato glanced down at his watch. "Cram school starts in five minutes."
Silence.
Then Tsuna screamed as she sprinted out of the room. "I'm going to be late!"
Miraculously, she barely made it in time.
Ieyasu raised an eyebrow at her torn and singed clothes, but made no comment. "Soon you'll break for one and a half months of summer holidays, but before that there's this year's exwire authorization exam." He said to the class. "Since its purpose is to provide combat training rather than just to make you exwires, the exam won't be that easy. Therefore, I will be holding a one week training camp for the examinations, starting next week."
Passing out sheets of paper, Ieyasu continued. "If you wish to participate in the training camp, then please fill in this form with acquisition hope 'meister' and submit in to me on Monday."
"Meister…" Tsuna muttered quietly as she looked at the form. What was that again?
…Darn, she can't remember.
"What's a meister?" She asked Suguro, having gotten up and walked over to his table.
"You don't even know what that means and you're trying to become an exorcist?" Suguro said incredulously.
"There are five categories for exorcists." Konekomaru began, ignoring Suguro's protests. "Knight, Tamer, Dragoon, Aria, and Doctor. You can become an exorcist if you acquire the title of 'meister' in any of the categories, so depending on the 'meister' the fighting style changes."
Tsuna smiled as she pulled up a chair. "Thank, Konekomaru-kun. I get it now. So what are you guys picking?"
"Shima-san and I have our eye on Aria." He answered. "They're the type of meister who recites the bible and sacred sculptures to fight."
"Bon's gonna push himself until he gets both Aria and Dragoon." Shima cheerfully joined in.
"Eh, really? That's just like Suguro-kun!" Tsuna laughed.
"By the way, didn't Sawada-sensei also get Doctor and Dragoon?" Konekomaru asked.
Tsuna gasped. "Wow, that's amazing…so what does a Dragoon and Doctor do?"
"You are such a pain in the ass!" Suguro yelled. "Doctors are a meister that heal injuries made by mashou, and Dragoons specialize in fighting with ranged weapons. Tamers summon demon familiars to aid them in battle, and Knights uses swords to fight demons."
Tsuna sighed, scratching her head. "I still don't know what I should be…"
"What about a Knight?" Konekomaru offered. "Since you carry that sword of yours around all the time."
"Yeah, but I don't know how to fight with swords. Not yet, anyway. Maybe I should put that down." Tsuna circled the Knight option on her paper.
"Hey, Tsuna-chan. I was wondering…why are your clothes all torn up like that?" Shima asked, gesturing at her shirt. "And where did you get those gloves?"
"Oh, this?" Tsuna held up a hand. "Got them as a gift so I don't hurt myself punching demons. As for my clothes…" She gently tugged at her shirt. "Bombs."
Seeing the boys' flabbergasted expressions was worth it.
"Okay, I'll be summoning my familiar now." The teacher said as he finished drawing the magic center on the floor. "Don't step on the drawing. If you do, the magic circle is broken and it loses its effect."
Pulling his sleeve down and revealing a bloody and bandaged arm, he continued. "Your blood and an appropriate appeal is also necessary for a successful summoning." He dripped blood onto the circle and began chanting. "The son of Typhoeus and Echidna, answer my request and come out!"
From out of the magic circle rose a monster that one would usually see in horror games. Tsuna covered her nose in disgust.
"There are incredibly small amount of humans who can summon demons and make them work as a familiar. Sheer fortitude is needed to tame the demons, but natural talent is also essential." The teacher briefly glanced at Tsuna. "I'll be testing you now to see if you have the talent. On the paper I gave you a while ago, drip your own blood where the magic circle has been roughly sketched. Then try to recite the words that come to mind."
The pigtailed girl, Kakimi Izumo, easily summoned two foxlike creatures called byakko. She attributed it to the fact that she was related to a miko.
Tsuna pricked her finger on the needle given to her, and dripped the blood onto the paper with the drawn magic circle. Closing her eyes, she could faintly hear a soft melody, and the lyrics came to her easily.
"One with the flames of the sky, answer my call and aid me!" She sang, and with a puff of smoke, a small orange lion with fire for a mane and a silver visor appeared in her arms. Tsuna opened her eyes and stared disbelievingly at the cute demon she held. "How adorable!" The lion purred.
"You summoned a sky lion. How impressive, Sawada Tsunahime." The teacher's tone indicated otherwise. Tsuna really didn't care about what he thought.
She glanced at Shiemi, who had also summoned a demon and was trying to show Izumo, to Suguro and his friends, who had failed to summon a demon, and back to the sky lion. A grin appeared on her face as the lion tried to lick her cheek.
"There seems to be a bumper crop of tamers this year. There are only a few tamers among the exorcists who can control demons and fight. They're pretty valuable." The teacher continued. "Demons never follow humans that are weaker than themselves, and they are especially keen on attacking those that lack confidence. But like I said before, if the magic circle is broken, the familiar is relieved of its post and disappears. If you ever feel like you're in danger, and you summoned a familiar with the paper, just tear the paper up."
Tsuna held the lion. "I don't want to send you back…what should I call you?"
The lion mewed, and Tsuna blinked as a name popped up in her head. "Your name is Natsu?"
Natsu purred. Tsuna took that as a yes. She grinned.
"Nice to meet you, Natsu!"
"Alright, time's up." Ieyasu announced. Most of the class were in the dorms where he and Tsuna lived for a camp session. "Please flip your worksheets over and pass them around. Tomorrow, get up at six o'clock, and we'll do the answers to our question and answer session for one hour before attending school."
Tsuna rested her head on the cool surface of the table, letting out a breath. Finally, she could take a break from studying.
There was the feeling of warm paws climbing onto her head, and then a weight dropping down to rest on her hair. Tsuna couldn't help but smile. It seems that Natsu's favorite place to relax was on top of her head. She didn't mind at all, it just means that her head would get really warm sometimes. She could hear the footsteps of the other girls as they left to use the baths.
"A bath full of women? How nice." Shima laughed, looking off in the direction that lead to the girls' baths. "We should go and take a peek! Training camps are supposed to come with that sort of fun, right?"
"Shima!" Suguro yelled. "You're supposed to be a Buddhist priest!"
"Yeah, yeah. You say that but you guys want to do it too."
Konekomaru sighed. "It's Shima-san's bad habit again."
"Please bear in mind that there is a teacher here." Ieyasu cut in.
Shima leaned in. "Teacher, yeah. But aren't you basically a high school freshman? Don't be unreasonable."
"I'm not being unreasonable!" Ieyasu snapped, turning to face Shima. "I just…" He caught sight of something behind Shima and paled. "Oh no." He whispered with a horrified expression.
"Hmm?" Shima looked at Suguro and Konekomaru, who were also deathly white. "What's going on?" He turned around.
There stood Tsuna with a cold smile and a predator's gaze. She seemed to have a deadly black aura around her, and no one's really sure if they were hallucinating the translucent demon behind her. Natsu resting on top of her head did not offset the image at all for some reason.
"I thought I heard something inappropriate." She said, smile still in place. "Please be reminded that we are still on school campus grounds and any breaking of the rules reinforced by the disciplinary committee," She cracked her knuckles as she said this, reminding everyone that she was in the committee, "will be dealt with accordingly. Do you understand?" The room temperature seemed to drop, even though the air conditioner wasn't on.
"C-crystal." Shima shakily gave a thumbs up. The aura around Tsuna dissipated and her smile turned warm.
"Great!" She chirped, and everyone in the room could hear the sigh of relief coming from Ieyasu. "I'm going to go join Shiemi-chan and the others now. See ya!" And she left.
No one wanted to talk for a while after that.
Meanwhile, Tsuna noticed Shiemi standing outside the baths. "Shiemi-chan, what are you doing? Aren't you going in?"
"I…just have to go buy fruit milk." She tried to walk away, but Tsuna caught hold of her arm.
"Shiemi-chan, please stop this. Stop being her errand runner." She could see Shiemi hesitating.
"I'm not an errand runner. I'm helping my friend!"
"That's not helping her!" Tsuna argued. "Do you really think friends do that to each other?"
"I'm always hiding behind someone and being helped. I hate it." Shiemi started. "I just want to be strong and help someone! This is the first time I've made a friend!" She freed her arm from Tsuna's grasp and ran off. Tsuna ran after her.
"Do you not count Ieyasu and me as your friends!?" She yelled once she caught up to Shiemi.
Shiemi didn't get a chance to answer, for they heard screams coming from the bathroom. Tsuna immediately turned around and started running back. "Go tell Ieyasu!"
Dashing into the girls' bathroom, she punched the byakko that were going to attack Izumo.
"Hurry up and tear up the paper!" She told Izumo. The byakko vanished moments later.
"Tsuna-chan!" Tsuna spared a glance at the out of breath Shiemi. "While I'm treating Paku-san, you go distract the demon!" She ran over to Paku's side.
"Okay!" She dashed forward and punched the ghoul in the face, driving it away from Shiemi and Paku.
"Pr…in…cess…" The ghoul growled, and Tsuna froze. That was enough for the ghoul to grab her face and throw her into the shower area, Natsu hanging on to her hair tightly and yowling in protest.
Tsuna barely had time to get up before the ghoul was on top of her, deformed hand pressing against her throat and making it hard to breath.
"For…give…me…this…is…also…the…bidding…of...my…master…" Tsuna scratched at its arm weakly, the lack of oxygen making her dizzy and unfocused. She could faintly see Natsu growling, then unleashing a roar. Orange fire sprouted from its mouth and covered the ghoul's upper arm, and it howled in pain. The area the fire touched turned grey and unmoving, as if it was stone. So Tsuna clenched her hand and struck the area, cleaning breaking through it. The pressure on her throat disappeared and she tossed the limp hand away. The ghoul tried to attack her again, but was driven away by bullets.
"Nee-chan!" Ieyasu rushed over. "Will you be alright?"
"Ah…Ieyasu…" Tsuna coughed, rubbing her throat. "I'll be fine. Paku-chan's the one that needs to be looked at."
"I understand." And he rushed out again.
Tsuna slowly sat up, checking herself for any serious injuries. Other than some small cuts, she'll be fine. Natsu nudged at her, mewing with a pitiful face. She picked it up and petted it, standing up to leave. "Thank you."
The mewing changed to purring and Natsu clambered up to the top of her head again. Entering the locker room, she noticed that Paku was alright, and was about to leave the bathroom to give Natsu treats when she saw Izumo hiding behind one of the lockers in nothing but her underwear.
"My appearance is mortifying." Izumo sobbed. "I don't want anyone to see me like this."
Ah, right. She was friends with Paku. Tsuna took off her shirt, careful not to knock Natsu off, and tossed it to Izumo. She looked up at Tsuna in surprise.
"Put that on. Then no one would have to see you like that." She smiled gently.
Tsuna wandered back over to the group gathered around Paku. "Let's get her someplace where she can rest."
"Yes, that would be the best option." Ieyasu glanced over at her and did a double take. "Nee-chan!?"
"Yeah?" She looked around, seeing everyone's faces turning into a nice shade of cherry red. "What?"
"Y-you…" Shima choked out. "A-abs…" Suguro smacked him.
"Result of constant training with demons in disguise since elementary school." Tsuna said nonchalantly. Briefly, she had the thought of kicking Shima's legs out from under him.
…Nah, there's still shards of glass on the floor.
So I was looking up Natsu's abilities on the KHR wikia and one of his skills was purring. That's adorable.
My theory about being able to summon just Sky flames or just blue flames is based on the Sky flames' Harmony ability. It can draw all flames to it. So summoning just Sky flames is easy, but summoning just blue flames is a bit harder because it already mixed with Sky flames a bit.
So I've been looking at stuff recently, and please tell me in the reviews if you guys want a bit of Shiemi/Izumo on the side! I think that pairing's kind of cute.
Also, here's a little extra on what if Tsuna summoned one of the Vongola members instead of Natsu.
"Lord of the storms of ruin, answer my and aid me!" She sang, and with a puff of smoke, Hayato appeared in front of her. She blinked. "Hayato?"
"Jyuudaime! You summoned me for the first time!" Pulling his dynamites out of nowhere, he turned around and glared at the other students. "So who do I have to take out first?"
"Don't take anyone out! Don't light up the dynamite! Put them away! No, Hayato, stop!"
Cue explosions.
"Swordsman of the tranquil rain, answer my call and aid me!" She sang, and with a puff of smoke, Takeshi appeared, with his sword out.
He blinked, then grinned. "Hey, Tsuna! When did you show up?"
She sighed. "It's the other way around, Takeshi."
"Haha, you're right!"
"Champion of the blazing sun, answer my call and aid me!" She sang, and with a puff of smoke, Ryohei appeared. While in the process of taking off his shirt.
"Oh, Tsuna! Ready to join me on an extreme run?"
"Uh, no thanks. I-ahh!" She was dragged out of the classroom, the only sign of them being there was the shirt on the floor and the faint shout of "Extreme!"
"Charger of the fierce lightning, answer my call and aid me!" She sang, and with a puff of smoke, Lambo appear lying on the ground, dozing.
He yawned, blearily blinking his eyes open. "…Tsuna? D'ja need something?"
Sighed, she replied. "No, nothing. Go back to sleep." And tore the paper.
Lambo disappeared in another puff of smoke, already in dreamland.
"Skylark of the wandering clouds, answer my call and aid me!" She sang, and after a puff of smoke, shrieked as she ducked to avoid a flying tonfa. She ran away, chased by a pissed off Kyoya.
"I'm sorry I summoned you during your afternoon nap please spare meeee!"
"Magician of the illusionary mists, answer my call and aid me!" She sang, and after a puff of smoke, Chrome appeared, clutching her trident tightly.
"Boss?" She asked quietly. "Is something wrong?"
Tsuna shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I hope I didn't interrupt you in anything."
"No, you didn't."
"Conqueror of the six hells, answer my calls and aid me!" She sang, and with a puff of smoke, a very familiar pineapple-head appeared.
"Kufufu, I see you have summoned me." Mukuro laughed, leaning on Tsuna. "Have you finally agreed to let me possess your bod-urk!" He crashed to the ground, having been delivered a strike to the groin that made many people in the classroom wince.
Tsuna smiled coldly and picked up the trident he dropped. "I thought we had an agreement. I guess I'll have to confiscate this again."
Mukuro was in too much pain to protest.
