Certo twitched slightly. He felt really warm and somewhat cramped. He began to stir from his slumber and was interrupted when Kyubi moaned.
"Sit still will you?"
Certo stopped squirming and opened his eyes. Lying there in front of him was Kyubi. She hadn't gotten dressed after her bath and had fallen asleep beside him. Seeing her there caused Certo's blood to boil and his heart rate to spike. He swallowed hard and didn't move a muscle. His muscles seemed to lock up from seeing her so close to him. As if to sense this Kyubi opened her eyes and seemed to glare at him.
"You know I can feel how tense you are." She muttered. "If you must get up then do so."
"Um..." Certo muttered and rose to his feet. He stepped over Kyubi who kept her gaze straight, trying to pretend she didn't care that she had been woken up. All at once she felt his hands on her back and thighs. The Knight Caster squeaked in alarm and tried to whirl around to strike but found herself already caught up in Certo's grip as he lifted her off the bathroom tile.
"What are you doing?" She demanded, her cheeks burning red. Certo only walked out of the bathroom and set her down on his bed. Kyubi watched with wide eyes and the flushed color of her cheeks seemed to spread to the rest of her naked body. Certo covered her with his cool blankets, trying not to let her catch him gazing at her bare, slim figure.
It wasn't until he saw the clock that his attention was yanked away from the naked girl in his bed. "Aw bloody hell! I'm late!" He shouted and hurried to get dressed and grab his school items. Kyubi watched him curiously. Her fierce blue eyes seemed to soften as she found him clumsily stumbling over her makeshift blanket nest and falling on his face.
"Still just as clumsy. But still..." She thought to herself. At last Certo had gathered his belongings for school and was headed for the door. "Wait." She ordered and Certo froze instinctively. Kyubi got out of bed and Certo's temperature began to rise as he saw the blankets fall from her delicate skin as she walked towards him.
"Um... Kyubi..." The Caster stopped in front of him and pressed her finger into his chest.
"Fly." She said and pointed to the window.
"What?"
"If you're going to be late I suggest that you fly so that you're not late." The fox girl explained. "I don't want you getting in trouble with your other superiors."
Certo looked from his partner to the still open window.
"Go!" Kyubi snapped and Certo sprang for the opened sliding glass door. He soared over the balcony and his wings burst from his shirt with a piercing rip. Kyubi shook her head as she watched him go from out on the balcony. "You're such an idiot Certo." She shook her head with a smile before turning back inside.
Certo landed on the rooftop to the main building of his campus. He breathed deep as he felt his wings such back into his body and immediately felt a breeze hit his back. He shivered and turned his head around to see his ripped shirt before silently cursing himself. He put his uniform coat on over and entered the building through the stairwell to the roof. He dashed down the stairs and into his classroom seat just as the bell rang.
"Safe." He gasped as he hit his head on the wooden desk surface.
"Running a little late today buddy? JT asked.
"Yeah, long night." Certo groaned as he turned his head to the side to look his friend in the eye. His sister glanced over at him from the next row over.
"Have you been getting enough sleep lately?" Miumi asked gently.
"Well," Certo started. "I've been working really hard as of recently so I guess I need to step back and take it easy for a bit."
"Sounds good to me." JT chuckled. "Maybe then the teachers will stop comparing us to you and give us a break."
"JT!" Miumi scolded him and elbowed him in the shoulder.
The morning went smoothly as usual until it came time for P.E. As the boys changed into their gym outfits, Shin glanced over in Certo's direction as he removed his jacket. Certo was moving quickly to try and get the tattered remains of his shirt stashed away; but Shin noticed the large rips in his shirt where his shoulder blades were. He was tempted to go over and talk to him about it but decided against it. Having a tattered shirt was definitely suspicious but this wasn't the place to confront him about it. The upperclassman left the locker room and met Nerene out in the track as they waited for the rest of their class.
"I think you may be right about Certo. There's definitely something going on with him other than what we've seen at school here."
"Oh? And what suddenly changed your mind about it?" Nerene asked. She was somewhat glad Shin was finally listening to her but still rather irritated that it had taken him this long to get him to agree with her. Shin went on to describe what he'd seen in the locker room but this information only confused the girl. "That's definitely odd but why would he be wearing a shirt with holes in it?"
"I don't know." Shin shrugged as they spotted Certo, JT and Miumi walk out onto the rack. "But we'll find out soon enough."
"I'm home." Certo called as he landed on the balcony to his home. The glass door was open giving a fresh atmosphere to his room.
"Good you're back." Kyubi chirped almost joyfully. She walked up the stairs to his room wearing a pair of his black Dickies* and a dark blue tank top that hung rather loose on her. The outfit would have been perfect for her is she hadn't been so small but Certo couldn't help but notice how cute she looked in it.
"You look good in that." Certo pointed out, trying to be casual about it.
Kyubi's cheeks flushed and she glared at him, clearly embarrassed by his statement. "Well I don't have any means of washing my clothes and you've never objected to me wearing yours. So I thought it would be all right with The Imperial if I went ahead and donned some fresh garments."
Certo cracked a smile. "That's fine with me. I only wish I had some shoes for you to match." He and Kyubi stared down at her bare feet.
"Can we stop talking about what I look like and get on with our business?"
"Oh, right." Certo nodded and kicked off his shoes and socks. His bones creaked and groaned as his legs bent back at the knee and became covered in glossy, black scales.
Kyubi waved her hand dismissively. "Not today Certo. We're not going to be training together."
"Huh?" Certo gave her a perplexed stare. He didn't know if he should be disappointed or worried. Kyubi had always been very insistent in training him, so why had this sudden change come about?
"I want you to do me a favor."
"Anything." Certo nodded dumbly. "I'm glad to hear that." Kyubi nodded. She sat down on Certo's bed and pulled on her boots before walking out to the balcony after slinging her sword. She waited for Certo to come before climbing onto his back after he reverted to his dragon form.
They flew on in silence. Her mind pondering what she was about to do and Certo's thoughts rattling about, unsure what to make of the sudden situation.
"Down there," Kyubi pointed. Certo glided down to the park plaza in the late afternoon sun.
"What are we doing here?" He asked as he looked around.
"I'm going back." Kyubi answered.
"What? Going back? But why?" Certo exclaimed. "What ever happened to being partners and the need to protect me?"
"Certo calm down." Kyubi ordered causing the black dragon to fall silent. "That has not changed one bit. But over the last couple weeks I've been noticing things about you that have made a lot of questions come up in my mind."
"Is that bad thing?"
"I'm not sure." Kyubi hung her head. "I don't know right off the top of my head. But that's why I need to go back and get some answers from The Order. They're the ones who supposedly know the most about you. And if I'm your chosen familiar I should know as much as I can about you so that we can work together better."
Certo knew she was telling the truth but he still was not buying into this whole idea. Kyubi sensed this and walked up to stroke his long, narrow muzzle.
"Don't worry about me. I'll try not to be gone too long. I have no doubt that you'll be able to take care of yourself while I'm gone should anything happen."
"Really?" Kyubi nodded and Certo gave a pleasant, growl. "Thank you Kyubi. I won't let you down."
"You never do." The Knight Caster whispered softly and rubbed her cheek against his before stepping back into the center of the plaza. Certo spread his talons across the pavement and a low growl resonated in his throat. As his magical energy spread out from his body the runes lit up and the orb of light appeared in the center of the plaza. Kyubi stepped closer to it. After a moment she glanced back over her shoulder. "Be well Certo." The Imperial only nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on her. Kyubi turned back and reached for the orb and vanished in flash of light. As the glow of energy died away Certo sighed.
"I'd be better if you were here." He spread his wings and flew back home.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Kyubi stretched and looked around. She was glad she had asked Certo to use his energy to open the portal in case enemies were waiting on the other side. The cave of the wolf twins still wreaked with their scent and the fox girl curled her nose and lip. She walked out of the cave and gazed across the vast landscape of her home world. The soft breeze made her feel at home again. The last rays of light cast a golden glow across the fields of grass spread out before her.
"Well," she sighed and took in a deep breath. "Time to get to work."
Two days passed by at a snail's pace for Certo. He spent most of the time in class staring out the window and gazing up at the sky. He wondered what could be going through Kyubi's mind when she broke the news to him that she was going to talk to The Order. Would this 'Order' even be willing to help her? Especially if she was in association with him? His mind was so plagued with questions he didn't hear the lunch bell ring.
"Hey buddy." A sudden elbow brought him back to reality. Certo turned to see JT and Miumi staring at him. "You alright? You seem kind of out of it."
"I'm fine." Certo sighed. "Just a little tired I suppose."
"Tired from working so hard lately?" Miumi asked.
"I don't know," Certo muttered. "I have the energy... but for some reason I don't feel like I have the will anymore."
"What's on your mind?" Miumi got up and sat in one of the empty chairs in front of Certo and leaned in close to him, her dark eyes glistening like onyx in the midday sun.
"It's nothing really." Certo muttered and law his head down in front of her.
"Come on man. You know you can talk to us about anything." JT objected to being shut out.
Certo sighed. "O k, if you must know, I just feel like something is going on somewhere and I don't know what it is about."
"You mean back home don't you." Miumi pointed out. She knew how Certo's family treated him and the fact that he was still worried about his family bothered her. She knew it wasn't in his nature to dislike anyone but she couldn't understand why he would want to be a part of a group of people who didn't care about him like family should.
Certo paused a moment before speaking again. "Yeah. It's at home." I'm not sure what's going on, but I just get this feeling it's something big."
"Big as in bad?" JT leaned closer trying to hear his friend's lowered tone of voice.
"I don't know." Certo shook his head. "I just want to know if it's me being paranoid or if there's really something wrong."
"Why don't you call home after school and find out?" Miumi suggested, rather reluctant to the idea herself. "That might put your mind at ease."
"I suppose so." Certo bobbed his head slightly and lay his head down to rest.
"Hey, aren't you hungry?" JT asked, trying to rouse his friend.
"No, I'm not." Certo murmured and drifted off to sleep.
"Well that's not very much like him." JT pointed out as he jabbed his friend in the shoulder with his finger a couple times.
"Stop that!" Miumi scolded and swat his hand away. "Leave him be. We can always find Shine and Nerene and have lunch with them. I think right now Certo just needs to time alone."
"Alright, alright." JT surrendered. "I was just saying that he doesn't usually fall asleep like this."
"Yeah well, let's just go." Miumi got up and ushered her brother out of the room.
Certo's eyelids twitched in his sleep. His body felt arm; very warm. He could hear the throbbing of his heart and a growl rumbling deep inside him. His dragon side was growing restless and beginning to rise up. Certo's lip curled and the growl grew louder. His relaxed hands curved into claws and his talons began to form. The pressure on his feet began to increase as his hind legs began to grow more muscular. There was a loud rip and suddenly Certo's eyes snapped wide open. He sat straight up in his seat and looked around. The classroom was empty but it was still lunch hour. Certo looked down to see the seams of his pants had ripped and his shoes were beginning to split open. It was then he noticed the black scales covering his arms and the long talons that made up his hand.
"Uh oh." He nearly choked and shoved his hand into his jacket. He jumped out of his chair and dashed into the hallway, running as fast as he could to the nurse's office.
"I wonder where Certo went." Miumi shook her head as she and her brother walked home after school. "He didn't return after lunch hour."
"I know." JT nodded. "He's been acting strange for the past two days. I wonder what's going on in his life to make him so out of it."
"These past couple months have been a big change for him. Ever since his disappearance he's been acting differently."
"But that's natural." JT pointed out. "Even you're more cautious after that incident downtown."
"I suppose so." Miumi sighed. "Maybe we should go by and check on him just in case."
"You really think we should?"
"We're his best friends right? Of course we should be concerned about him."
"Alright then. Let's make it quick though. It'll be getting dark soon."
Certo stared at himself in the mirror. He had explained to the school nurse that he was not feeling well due to severe cramping against his rib cage. It had taken some convincing for her to agree to let him leave the campus and not a moment too soon. As soon as he set foot off the school grounds he began to change even more. By the time he had made it home his clothes had all been shredded and now he stood before himself, fully dragon again.
"I don't get it." He muttered to himself. "I've never had trouble controlling myself before. So why now of all times?" He sighed and looked down at his long deadly talons. "What am I going to do? I've been trying to return to normal for the past couple hours and not so much as a hair has gone back to normal."
The Imperial paced in a tight circle being careful not to knock anything over with his long tail. "Maybe this has something to do with the Dark Ki. Maybe it's some sort of spell to expose who I really am." He glanced outside his sliding glass door. "If that's the case then I need to find them before they find me, but..." His voice trailed off. Something about tis situation didn't seem like the works of the Dark Ki. The more Certo thought about it the more he came to realize how little he knew about them. He was deep in thought when wave of energy swept through his body. He groaned and collapsed to his belly.
After several long aching minutes he rose off the floor and staggered over to his dresser. He clumsily used his talons to pull open his drawers and pull out various clothing items and roughly stuffing them into a large backpack. After nearly tearing the zipper off trying to close it, and gathering several other supplies, Certo managed to get himself all packed up. He snatched the bag up in his jaws and slithered out onto his balcony. The black dragon hopped onto the railing and sprang into the air with wings spread wide.
JT and Miumi hustled through the side streets of Certo's neighborhood. For some odd reason, Miumi was running with a particular kind of urgency. They were about a block away from Certo's home when the twins looked up to see a figure in the sky heading towards them. They squinted at it against the sun and soon the sound of wings beating the wind could be heard.
JT seemed to sense something and pulled his sister into a side street.
"JT, what are you..." Her brother clasped a hand over her mouth and listened as the wing beats grew louder. There was gust of wind as the creature flew past them. The twins stared in wide eyed shock as the great beast shot past them carrying a back pack in its mouth.
"What the hell was that!" JT gasped almost unable to believe what they had just seen.
"JT, I think we need to find Certo. Now." Miumi stammered. She already had an idea of what was going on but she wanted to push on to be sure.
"Y-yeah." Her brother nodded dumbly. "Let's go."
The twins ran on and arrived at Certo's home in a matter of minutes. JT reached out and banged on the door.
"Hey Certo! You in there? It's us!" There was no answer. "Certo!" He shouted again.
"JT," Miumi called. Her brother stepped away from the door and his sister pointed to the open sliding door on the balcony. A moment later JT found himself groaning beneath the strain of lifting his sister up to the balcony. After a couple failed attempts and falls he was able to hoist her up high enough to allow her to grip the railing. Miumi pulled herself up and clumsily tumbled into Certo's room; it was a mess. Certo's clothes and drawers were strewn about the room along with his bedding which was wrapped up almost like it were a nest.
"What do you see?" JT called from outside. Miumi didn't say anything. She walked downstairs and opened the front door for her brother. Once inside, JT looked around. The small kitchen had several pots knocked over and packets of food were scattered about the countertops and linoleum. "Wow, I hope Certo hasn't changed his living style. He's normally such a neat freak."
"It has been a while since we last visited him here." Miumi nodded. She glanced around the lower level and her eyes fell upon the key hook next to the door. On one of the hooks was a large piece of paper with crude writing on it. She gently unhooked it and looked it over.
"Hey, look at this." JT broke her concentration as she tried to decipher the hand writing. She looked over her shoulder to see him looking at one of the cabinet doors. Embedded in the wood were claw marks; fresh claw marks. JT looked at his sister and they exchanged looks. "You don't think..." JT started but didn't need to finish. He and his sister often thought very much alike.
"I think it may just be a possibility." Miumi nodded and handed him the note. JT spent several minutes looking it over and at last raised a brow. "What is it?" Miumi asked, the worry in her voice very clear.
"It's a note from... Certo." JT replied skeptically.
"How can you tell?" Miumi took the note again and looked it over. Her brother pointed to the bottom scribble. It was Certo's name alright but written very poorly.
"He says that it's an emergency and that he'll return as soon as he can." JT translated the writing for her seeing the confusion in her eyes. "He doesn't say what the emergency is. Just that he'll explain what's going on when he gets back."
Miumi was silent for a long time. She trudged up the stairs to Certo's room and looked around again. Certo had been acting differently lately and she was really worried about him. He rarely talked about himself and home and now she was beginning to regret not asking him more frequently. When he had first come to Japan her mother had suggested he live with them but Certo had insisted on living on his own and achieving his own independence. Now more than ever she missed him; but it was more than just a friend. She gripped the crinkled note in her hands as tears began to trickle down her cheeks. JT came up the stairs and sat down next to his sister who looked up at him with glossy eyes.
"What do we do?" She sniffled.
JT sighed as he thought about that. "I have no idea. But for now I think we should be there for Certo as much as we can." He smiled and hugged his sister close to him. "After all, we're friends right?"
His words seemed to make Miumi feel better because she smiled. "Yeah. We are." She hung her head on her brother's shoulder and sighed. "Hurry back Certo." She thought to herself.
The Imperial dragon landed in the park plaza and folded his wings. He paced around until he found the spot he was looking for. Without hesitating he expelled his magical energy and lit the runes surrounding the plaza. The orb appeared and crackled with lightning and the wind roared. Certo narrowed his eyes as he pondered his next course of action, almost unsure of following through with his plan. After a deep growl of a sigh he reached out and vanished in a flash of light.