"Here." Chizuru set down a cup of tea in front of Orihime. It was the kind that she liked in the cute little duckie cup that said 'You're the sweet tea!'. It always distracted Orihime in the 'aww, that's adorable!' way.
"It's just so cute !" Orihime couldn't help but to gush. She traced a finger along the edge of the lip. "Awwwww~"
"Oh, my precious Orihime…!" Chizuru rounded the table and wrapped her arms around Orihime, rubbing against her chest per normal. The hand that was around her side kept brushing the side of her breast. Again, classic Chizuru. "My dear, precious Hime-chan!"
"Chi-chan! Now isn't the time to coddle her," Chizuru's mother said as she walked in. Contrary to her words in her hands were cookies which she set down in front of Orihime.
A taller woman, her dark brown hair was done up in a bun while she wore a traditional green and purple kimono. Why she was always dressed up Orihime didn't know. She just always was. While she normally had a cheery smile on her face, now it was all serious business. There was a toothpick in her mouth that she was chewing on incessantly.
"I, ah…" Orihime settled her hands back into her lap once Chizuru let go of her. Deciding to get right to the point, she asked, "That was a dragon?"
"Yup! A living, fire-breathing dragon," Chizuru noted as she sat down on her side of the table. Chizuru's mother also sat down across from Orihime.
"You say it so obviously!" she complained back at Chizuru.
"They're more common than you think," Chizuru's mother said gruffly, the toothpick shifting in her mouth. "They aren't all the same, either. Categorization of 'dragon' has so many subsets under it it's mindboggling."
"So dragons...are real? All the stories?"
"Yes." Chizuru took a cookie and ate it in two bites. "They're real. All the stories are real."
Chizuru's mother butted in, "Dragons can breathe all sorts of things besides fire, by the way: ice, lightning, plasma, poison...it all depends on what disaster they were born from. Same goes for their colors and scale strength."
"Huh? Disaster they were born from?" Orihime asked. "Chizuru's mother, I don't understand."
Chizuru's mother puckered her lips. "My name is Yuri."
"Oh. Uh, Yuri, I don't understand."
"I wouldn't expect you to. Your brother, bless his soul, did you a disservice taking you from your parents," Yuri said. "Your parents were bad, to be sure - all of us in the Circle knew - but they were also the best dragon slayers we had."
"Dragon slayers?" Then it clicked. "You knew my parents?"
Yuri nodded. "Yes. Violent lot that could behead a Grand Dragon in the blink of an eye." She shook her head. "They should've never had children. They simply weren't built for being parents."
"So my relatives...that pay for my living expenses…?"
"They're part of the Circle as well. They took care of you in spite of you showing no powers, so don't go down that road of them only holding out for you developing them!" Yuri said before Orihime could even think any of that.
Her head was spinning. This was all so much . They were rushing like they'd never had to explain this sort of thing before, like it was all so obvious!
Outwardly, Orihime said, "Oh." Going back to her previous question, she asked, "Dragon slayers? My parents were dragon slayers?"
"Yes. The longest unbroken line of dragon slayers in the world." Yuri pulled the toothpick from her mouth and set it on the table. "The powers ebb and flow in the world. Being able to slay a dragon is a hefty task that requires one heck of an alignment of luck and karma to even get the power to do so. For a line as long as your family's? Unthinkable. Yet, here it is." She sighed. "Here you are."
"But…" Orihime thought for a second. "...But I don't have dragon slaying powers."
"Your hairpin summons, Hime-chan," Chizuru said gently. "They aren't soul reaper powers. They're not Hollow powers. They're manifestations of your dragon slaying powers."
"What?!" Orihime sputtered, "But, but they're for fighting Hollows!"
"Ha! Hollows…" Yuri leaned forward and tapped her finger on the table. "Let me tell you a thing or two about 'Hollows' and those Soul Reaper folks." There was a sharp glint in her eye as she complained, "They all are involved in their little back-and-forth sputtering fights. Hollows are a dime a dozen and easier to beat than running a mile.
"You'd think that with all the help that the Soul Reapers have that they'd be able to spare some for other people that need help, like us and the witches. But do they?" Orihime jumped as Yuri suddenly slammed her fists into the table. "Hell no! Too busy with their cliques to help the living. So we keep to ourselves and they keep to themselves."
"I didn't even know about them until Ichigo started getting involved," Chizuru said.
"They're footnotes," Yuri grumbled. "They're meaningless to our fight against dragons."
"So, why fight them?"
Yuri and Chizuru looked at Orihime, confused. "What?"
"Why fight the dragons?" Orihime asked again. "Why not let them live their lives free from human interference?" The other two looked confused for a moment before Yuri burst out laughing. A bit put out, Orihime asked, "What's so wrong about that?"
"Oh, you sweet summer child." Yuri shook her head.
"I was born in September," Orihime corrected.
"No, what I mean is that you're so adorably innocent." Yuri looked at her daughter. "No wonder you have a thing for her! I thought it was mostly looks. She's definitely your type. It's a shame that you couldn't get together like you would've before."
"What does that mean?" Orihime asked, again lost.
"I'll explain that after I explain about dragons," Yuri said. "Though I think Chizuru might want to take that topic up herself."
For the first time in a long time, Chizuru actually seemed nervous. Before Orihime could press the topic, Yuri began.
"Dragons. Mythical, unyielding forces of nature. There are tales of various types of dragons from around the world. Quetzalcoatl, hydra, Western, Oriental...every region seems to have their own type. For good reason!
"You see…" Yuri's finger suddenly lit up. She swiftly drew in the air a small diagram. "Dragons are born from natural phenomena. Disasters, if you would." The first picture portrayed something exploding and a small red lizard appearing in the smoke.
"The greater the calamity, the stronger the dragon." The second picture was a tsunami hitting the shore. From the swirling frothy water a long, serpentine blue dragon flew up, flying by unknown means.
"They seek out destruction in the world. They feed off of it." The next picture was of a dragon destroying something with lightning breath. It feasted on the strange mist that formed and grew.
"Don't consider them alive; they aren't. There's nothing 'living' about them beyond their drive to destroy and consume. To pity them is to pity something as inanimate as a loaf of bread." For some reason, there was a literal loaf of bread in the next picture.
"I know you didn't want to hurt that dragon," Chizuru said, a small smile on her face. "I know you don't like hurting anything or anyone. Don't feel that way about dragons."
"I…" Orihime's fists clenched. "I can't say for sure if you're right or not. All I have is your word for it."
"They don't reproduce. They don't appear to care about anything beyond destroying. The only thing that stops them from hurting people for their own gain is us." Yuri frowned. "It's taken a lot of hard work by those of us in the Circle to bring society to where it is today."
"What is 'the Circle'? Is it a club?" Orihime couldn't keep the frustration out of her voice with that question.
"It's what those of us in the dragon slaying business refer to ourselves as. A circle, unbroken by force or anything else, that winds around itself. No beginning of our mission, no end of our mission. Just the mission."
"No beginning...or end…" Orihime swallowed. It was like asking about what life was about. There was no beginning or end. Just the trudging middle where nothing actually happened.
"The mission is to control the dragon population." Yuri picked her toothpick back up. "The fewer dragons there are, the more stable humanity's existence is."
"That's why you don't see dragons anymore. Why they're considered a myth." Chizuru chuckled. "We've all done a pretty good job at containing them, eh, Hime-chan? Of course..." she scratched her head "I probably would be better if we'd gotten together like we were supposed to."
That brought them back to the statement from earlier. "Why would we have gotten together?"
"I was supposed to be your squire," Chizuru admitted with a chuckle. "Backing you up when you needed it."
"Squire?" Orihime blinked. "Why would you just be a squire? You totally defeated that dragon earlier!"
"Dragon slayers...they aren't common." Chizuru bit her lip. "My powers? Pathetic in the face of a true dragon slayer. In fact…"
"...There are no dragon slayers around now," Yuri finished for her.
"Whhhaaaaaaat?" Orihime bounced up onto the table. "Then who's stopping all the dragons?! And...why do you need dragon slayers then?" she asked, connecting some frayed loose ends. "It seems like you have a handle on alllllllll of the dragon slaying!"
"You don't seem to understand," Yuri grumbled flatly. "Dragons are born from calamities. The bigger the disaster, the more powerful the dragon. We can handle these smaller dragons just fine. Big ones? Hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes...those many of us squires die trying to defeat before they move on to the big times. That's when you " she pointed at Orihime "come in."
"So, my powers are supposed to be for slaying dragons?" Orihime confirmed.
"Yup. One hundred percent," Yuri confirmed.
Orihime chewed her lip for a moment. "But...I'm not that powerful. And…" she looked over at Chizuru "...Did you just become my friend so you could stay close to me? Because if I had powers we would be teammates?"
"It's a little more involved than 'teammates'," Yuri chortled as Chizuru flinched as if she'd been hit.
"Hime-chan! Did you really-do you really think that little of me?!" Chizuru cried. "I love you! You're so smart, and beautiful, inside and out, and precious and adorable and cute -"
"The truth is, initially, yes," Yuri said bluntly, busting through Chizuru's gushing. "We stayed close just in case."
"But I love you beyond that!" Chizuru boldly declared, jumping across the table and knocking the plate of cookies off to hug Orihime. "My beloved Hime-chan~"
"As for powerful, I think it's more you're doing it a little wrong." Yuri chuckled at Orihime's look. "You have an axe that you're trying to use like a pair of scissors. Sure, you can technically manage it. But why use your powers in a way they weren't intended to be used for?" Her gaze darted to Orihime's hair clips. "Let's take a look at your powers."
"Shun Shun Rikka?" Orihime couldn't help but put her hands to her hair clips.
"I'm not going to eat them," Yuri complained. "I just want to see them!"
"Tsubaki? Lily? Shun-"
"Relax, will ya? You don't have to individually call us out like that!" Tsubaki grumbled as they all took form around her.
"Interesting…" Yuri murmured as Chizuru fell backwards away from them. "They're just blobs of light with wings!"
"Blobs of light with wings?!" A vein in Tsubaki's head throbbed. "Ex cuse me, lady!?"
"I can hear it saying something, but I have no idea what it is!" Yuri said excitedly.
"Oh my g-HELLO! HI! I'M FREAKIN' TSUBAKI, YOU WITHERED CORPSE!"
"It sounds like jingling bells!" Yuri giggled. "How adorable."
"Can I hit her? Just a little?"
"Tsubaki, be nice!"
Yuri blinked, then asked, "Tsubaki? Did you say 'Tsubaki'?"
"Yes…?"
"Interesting…" Yuri chewed on the toothpick. "It's just, the greatest squire to have ever existed was named Tsubaki. He died 237 years ago next week!"
"Uh-huh." Tsubaki gave Shun-ō a flat look even as the others practically fell over laughing. "I couldn't have been a dragon slayer?"
"Aw, don't be like that. I'm sure she didn't mean it the way you're taking it!" Shun-ō laughed.
"Whatever."
"So then…" Yuri whipped out a spyglass from her robes and shoved it right in Hinagiku's face. "Hmmmm…" She looked around Hinagiku's face at Orihime. "This looks like one end of a guard."
"A guard? Well, I mean, he does help form a shield-"
"No, I mean a sword guard. Like on the handle."
Orihime blanched. "Eeeeeeh?!" Nervously laughing, she waved her hands in the negative. "Nope! No inanimate objects here! These are my friends, Shun Shun Rikka."
"They can be your friends and your weapon," Yuri said. Her finger glowed again. This time, it grew brighter and brighter until Orihime had to cover her eyes. When she was able to look again, she saw that Yuri was now holding a knife. "This is Bob. He's my knife."
"Ah. Uhm, hello, Bob," Orihime said, bowing slightly.
"Tch! Like that can compete with us," Tsubaki boasted. "That little thing? HA!"
"The fact that you have six that seem to come together is...strange. Very strange. In fact," Yuri flicked her wrist and Bob vanished, "I've never seen it before! Normally it's one to one. Rarely two to one. But six ? Crazy."
"Come together?"
"Into your weapon." She played with the toothpick more. "I hear they have different powers in different combinations."
"Yes! They do!" Orihime said cheerily.
"Only one of them is offensive."
"Yes…?"
"So, what that and the fact that I saw a guard would mean is that they come together into one form." Yuri chuckled. "Did you want some help forming your weapon?"
"I, ah…?" Orihime didn't know how to respond to that.
"Here. Let me try." Yuri darted forward then, grabbing both Shun-ō and Ayame in her hands.
"Ah! Hey! Be gentle!" Shun-ō shouted.
"Tinkling bells~" Yuri cheered as she started examining the two spirits closely. "Hm...okay. I think I see…" She shoved them into each other, practically forcing them to kiss. "If I put you here…"
"I don't think-" Orihime cut herself off as the two suddenly poofed into what looked like a sword hilt. "...What just happened?"
"This is the base of your weapon." She looked Shun-ō and Ayame over. "Hm. Looks like a sword of some sort."
"AAAHHHHHH!" Orihime snatched the two back from Yuri and cradled them. "Are you okay?! Knock once for yes, two for no!"
"We're fine," Ayame's quiet voice said from the hilt.
"Yeah! Somehow. Though I think my lip's bloody now," Shun-ō added.
"Oh! Good. Uhm…" Orihime looked at the rest of Shun Shun Rikka.
"Ohhhh no! You aren't gettin' me to shove my face in someone's butt!" Tsubaki growled.
"Is there a way for them to do it themselves?" Orihime asked, hoping to save them from being manhandled.
"Yes! Of course! Here…" Yuri poked the handle in Orihime's hand. It poofed back into Shun-ō and Ayame. "They should be able to lead the rest into forming your weapon."
"She's right," Shun-ō said. He waved at the rest of them. "Here! Come together, everyone!"
"Nnnnngh...fine!" Tsubaki closed in with the others around Shun-ō. "I guess if it'll actually do somethin' it won't be a waste of time."
"Okay. Ready?" Shun-ō and Ayame both grabbed the rest of them. They all started glowing. "Feel that?"
"Yeah. I do! Huh," Tsubaki said even as he lost his form.
All of them flashed several times, their forms fading into the light. Yuri and Chizuru had to cover their eyes, but Orihime was able to watch them. Watch as they all came together hovering over her hands to form…
"...That's supposed to be a sword?" Chizuru asked flatly once she was able to see.
Chizuru's confusion wasn't a slight. They had come together to make a hilt, a guard, a pommel, and other words that Orihime didn't know. It was obviously supposed to be a bladed weapon.
...But the blade. It was a thin curved thing that had almost no substance. It was like it was only the sharp part of the blade with nothing behind it!
"That's stranger still!" Yuri exclaimed. "Could you hold it in front of me?"
"Okay…?" Orihime carefully picked up the sword and held it up.
Yuri pulled out her spyglass and looked closely. "Ahhh, I see."
"What?" Chizuru asked. "What's wrong with Orihime's weapon?"
"A piece is missing," Yuri noted as she shifted her gaze to her daughter.
"What piece?" Orihime pressed.
"...I dunno," Yuri answered cheerily.
Orihime and Chizuru facefaulted. Recovering first, Chizuru asked, "You don't know ?!"
"Nope!" Yuri broke her spyglass down again. "It could be anything! Another little faerie, conviction, self-respect...really, it could be anything ." She flicked Tsubaki's blade, making him yelp a noise that sounded like reverberating metal. "This is dangerously sharp, but without the solid piece to hold it it won't really be able to cut anything."
"You don't know until you try!" Chizuru defended.
While the mother and daughter began bickering, Orihime looked down at the sword.
It was an interesting design. Iron-wrought flowers twirled around the hilt with spirals rounding the side. More decorated the pommel and reached up along the blade, even as thin as it was. The entire thing was blue and white, like it was covered in a glowing coating. It looked like a misshapen fencing sword.
Orihime frowned. A piece was missing. What was it?
"ANYWAY!" Yuri suddenly said loudly, cutting off Chizuru's complaints. Orihime hid her frown; there was no point in worrying Chizuru. The mother looked sternly at Orihime. "I don't think it's coincidence that your powers have manifested now."
"Huh?" Orihime asked, "What do you mean?"
Yuri sighed. It seemed like whatever it was weighed on her. "There's a problem to the south…"