Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Fire and Ice. Enjoy the 1200-word chapter. I don't own FF; Atsushi and a few others do.

Seko blinked before looking up at Maki who stood above him before the girl sat down next to him. There was a tank of water in front of Seko which several tendrils extended into.

"They want you on a mission." Maki stated once more as she hummed. "You know, it's going to be weird with someone like you being part of this mission…. No offense." Maki added to which Seko shrugged while he looked at the girl.

"I've never been on a mission with military soldiers to begin with, Maki." Seko said and crossed his arms. "I'm starting to get better with these powers, though." Seko added while holding a sphere of water up.

Maki watched as the orb slowly shifted, becoming more like a crystal ball which, he held up with interest. Seko slowly sat up, losing the concentration on the orb which caused it to splash down back into the tank.

"You know that this power could be dangerous, right?" Seko questioned as he hummed. "I don't know what will happen when it comes down to it… Anyway? How are you?" Seko asked while raising an eyebrow before walking with Seko.

She and him entered the training room, shedding their boots and socks at the door before Maki launched a kick. Seko blocked the kick, pushing her leg aside as he hummed and then turned and punched, knocking Maki back half a step.

"I'm good, I'm glad that you're ok." Maki stated to which Seko only hummed and nodded. "Your training is getting better." Maki added as Seko hummed and smirked once more.

He knew for fact that she was good at teaching him. He wasn't getting better; his skill was simply improving when it came down to it. Something that made Seko question if he'd be ready to fight when called upon.

Sure, it didn't sound that bad… But to Seko? Being sent into a war against monsters who were beyond their comprehension? That was something no normal warrior would ever be able to handle… Yet here he was, taking on said creatures.

"Well, I have a good teacher." Seko said, dodging around a punch that would have knocked a filling loose. "You're a soldier, yet you don't act like one. It's surprising. I didn't think I'd be asking why that's the case." Seko said as he grabbed Maki's arm and flipped her.

The brawler was quick to catch herself with her other hand, backflipping into a crouch as Seko hummed. He was not quick to rush her, knowing that Maki was several times stronger then him when it came down to it. That was not going to be a fight that he had any hope of overcoming head on.

"Did anyone see these monsters again?" Seko questioned which got a shake of the head from Maki who flipped into a spring kick that almost broke Seko's arms if he didn't dodge backwards. "That's good, their dangerous. I don't know how much damage it would do if they're not taken down as soon as possible. Ice creatures aren't normal…. Then again? Plenty of things we've run into aren't normal at the moment." Seko stated as he slowly danced around the brawler, throwing the occasional punch here and there.

He knew for a fact that things would be different. New monsters coming from the frontlines? That was terrifying to him, they couldn't be understood or fathomed which made things far more dangerous. They couldn't be contained if Seko was right, they couldn't be defeated without a weakness.

A punch to the stomach brought him out of these thoughts as he groaned and turned around, pain tracing his figures as he hummed before looking around with pain and annoyance.

He rubbed at his stomach once more. Maki stopped for a moment to allow Seko to regain his breath for a moment. He cracked his fingers, being curious about the next move to be made.

"You can't keep getting distracted you know." Maki stated as she balled up her fists. "They aren't going to wait for you to make a move." Maki added to which Seko only raised an eyebrow.

"Your well aware that YOU with all due respect DO?" Seko questioned as he dodged a kick which caused Seko to roll to the side while he looked at her with interest. "Besides, I'm not a soldier like you. I don't know much about you when it came down to it." Seko stated and got a hum from Maki as he could only hum before rushing forwards once more,

Maki knocked aside another of his punches before he could react and knocked him to the ground. He groaned in annoyance and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Then again…" Seko muttered as he slowly picked himself up and looked at the girl with interest. "My point still stands, you're a soldier, your used to this. I keep switching back between understanding what they are asking of me and wondering if I can do it at all." Seko stated to which Maki raised a eyebrow as she turned around and hummed.

He said nothing at the moment, more curious about what Maki was thinking about. Seko wanted to meet the rest of the team… But he had no bond to them yet besides being on the same team. There was no loyalty, no sense of camaraderie… But if he didn't make an effort to try? He'd not make it past this first hurdle to begin with.

Seko managed to dodge a pair of punches thrown by Maki. He managed to sweep her leg to the side, unbalancing her as he hummed and slowly approached her.

"You know, you have abilities and yet you never use them on me." Seko stated, trying to keep a fighting stance ready in case he needed to use it. "If we're going to be fighting with these monsters? Shouldn't I be exposed to the worst early so I'm not thrown off-guard by it later?" Seko asked and brushed off his shirt.

Maki was silent, on one hand? Seko did have a point. She couldn't claim he was ready for the field if she didn't make an effort to try and show the others why he was ready for it. Maki looked at Seko who had his fists balled up and ready to face her in combat again if needed to.

"Are we done?" Seko questioned before getting a shake of the head in reply. "Just checking to make sure." Seko stated with a hum, interested in how this fight would be going.

Maki flipped to her feet and gazed at Seko who was already ready to brawl with her if needed.

Author Notes

Phew. Another chapter done! I want to apologize for the chapter being short which I plan to hopefully change next chapter. Next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show Seko tapping into his powers and starting to show them to Maki. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!

P.S: Next chapter is anywhere from 1200-1500 words or such at the moment.