"...Are they arguing again?" Tianyu asked no one in particular while her gorilla friend and the gorilla's sibling yelled at each other. Wendao, or Will, occasionally tried to attack his sister during their verbal argument with each other. Shion, who was leaning against the post of the family's gates watched with boredom. Fights were fun, only if blood were drawn in the end. From what he was seeing, Valeria wasn't going to do anything but dodge, flip her middle finger at everything and everyone, as well as screaming. Actually, in a sense, it was intriguing to watch a crazy gorilla flip everyone off.

"Yes." Shion replied absentmindedly.

"I JUST WANTED TO SAY HI!" Valeria ducked a kick and blocked a punch.

"I don't care. Don't you remember that the moment you meet someone, the proper greeting for 'hi' in this place is to fight?" Wendao scowled.

"Wha- How long ago are you talking about? For god's sake Wendao, there's a low birth rate because pregnant women kicked each other upon greeting and that the city is always destroyed. At least take it to the Iron Arena."

"Tradition is the identity of the Longhu clan. You're always a coward and you run away from everything." Will stopped his attacks and he pulled his hand away from his sister's grip. Valeria felt herself slump in sadness as she watched him leave.

"Break's over, go back to training." Shion waved his hand around. Tianyu watched Valeria grudgingly sit down in the middle of the courtyard and meditate.

"How's her Nen training? Couldn't have been easy." The aura pulsed around Valeria aggressively, but eventually contained itself and quieted down. Shion shrugged and glanced over at the clay pot with a leaf on top. A week in, and the male already made Valeria perform water divination. Shion thought that Valeria was an Enhancer and maybe a Conjurer. He didn't expect Valeria to be a Manipulator type. He narrowed his eyes. Being a Manipulator would suggest Valeria is someone who could be subjected to emotional attachments and more importantly, wanting to be in control.

"Nothing's impossible but, Tianyu," Shion stared into the girl's eyes with a very icy and displeased look. "Keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't get any ideas. Right now, she will only train. For the sake of the clan and her brother."

"...Was this why you trained Will? Even when he is...someone who doesn't meet the clan's standards?"

"Just say failure." Shion smiled cryptically. He then reached his hand out and patted her head, his hand firm and also menacing. "You know what will happen if you don't carry my orders, right? Plus, the Emperor's Dragon Parade is coming soon too. We need Valeria prepared by then."

Tianyu felt the colour drain from her face. The Dragon Parade...she knew exactly what he meant.

—

As weeks and months progressed, Valeria learned of how to use her Nen. She tried to process Shion's explanation but the dumb male only knew violence and had a painfully straightforward reasoning for the use of his Nen. Of course the idiot didn't choose just regeneration, he chose to enhance his whole being. Whether it be cell regeneration, firmer muscles, etc. And his reason was? To be stronger.

Valeria had told him: "Yeh, well you're a simple Enhancer bud. I'm a manipulator. I'm not supposed to think simply like you, dimwit." She received a broken rib from a kick. Later on, the redhead approached the girl after her two days of recovery and asked if she had anything she felt a connection too.

Valeria felt grossed out.

"What is this, a girl talk about feelings?" She received a blow to her face by her visitor's knee. He then explained to her that controlling things with more emotions or special meaning behind it might be easier to control. At least for a dumbass gorilla like her. Valeria tried to stab his eyes with her finger but he ended up grabbing her fingers and bending it the other way. The girl clicked her tongue in annoyance as she thought about it. Shion had also made a suggestion, which was something that Valeria didn't like. He suggested that since she was so emotionally attached to her friends, why doesn't she just use them as puppets. Valeria then successfully stabbed her two fingers up his nose and threw him across the room. After a few brief exchanges of words and a series of violent actions from both parties, Valeria had figured out what she wanted to do with her Nen.

Days later, Valeria confronted Shion and Tianyu, as she lead them to a forest.

"Punch me." She grinned, smugly.

"Would love to." Shion grinned his usual smile, as he lunged at the girl, obviously not holding back to damage her face. The girl then twitched her index finger and swung her arm to the left. Shion felt slight annoyance as he thought that the girl tried to swat him but missed, which is embarrassing for a renowned warrior clan. And at the last second, his eyes glanced to his right and saw large roots, leaves, and branches bundled together and attacked him, knocking him down into another five trees. Tianyu watched, with her mouth agape as she had watched a perfectly beautiful patch of grass suddenly collapse with this monstrous arm of whatever the f*ck plants and other crazy things that built it.

"Now I can grow whatever botanical thing I want as long as I get a sample. And I'm gonna grow them even when everyone else is gonna complain. I'm gonna turn my house into a living jungle and no one can stop me and my plants BAAHAHHAA." Valeria laughed.

"Plant...enhancement? Or is it plant manipulation? No, Valeria is clearly a manipulator that's what Shion said from the trial." She glanced at Shion who had his usual smile on his face. He dusted himself and walked towards them. "Amazing! Tell me, what is it that you discovered with your Nen?"

"...Plant manipulation."

At her response, Shion began to release all of his murderous intent, which was so pressuring that Tianyu fell to the ground with shaking legs and Valeria fell onto her knees.

"That's no good...lying is no good. And for what? Just to study motionless fragile little plants? Valeria. You should realize that you can't play house and friendship anymore. Studying plants? Don't screw with me."

"Plant manipulation. I'm not lying or are you so disappointed that I can grow little succulents with my Nen that you're growing crazy? I'll feel so bad for your future child and wife if they have you as an influencer in their life." Valeria retorted, despite her shaking.

Shion paused momentarily before he retracted his murderous aura. "Okay! But if I found out you're lying," He cracked his knuckles while laughing in a "good natured" way.

Valeria waved her hand dismissively and watched the redhead leave. Tianyu turned to Valeria and asked: "Why did he accuse you of lying about your skills?" Valeria looked at her and forced a smile. "I don't know. But even if I did, I wouldn't tell the current Tianyu."

"W-what?" Tianyu stuttered as she pointed at herself in confusion. Valeria stood up and stretched, cracking her neck and rolling her shoulder. "It was nice having you to sympathize with me so I could avoid any unnecessary temper tantrums by Shion, that chili headed bastard." Valeria picked her nose and glanced at the direction where the target of her insult left before looking back at Tianyu with her dead fish eyes. Tianyu felt a shudder down her spine as Valeria knelt down to talk to her face to face.

"Ye think I didn't know? That you're so scared of the chili head that you would report the behaviour of your childhood bestie? You were always a coward, but at least the little kid that I knew would still stand by her ideals." Valeria wiped the booger on a nearby tree bark before standing up. She turned and left the girl behind. "Go take a dump on that sadistic asshole and say I'm done with his shit."

—

"Of course she said that." Shion smiled as he said cross legged on the table instead of the chair. He swung his legs back and forth before hopping off. "So, where is she now? We've got to ask her about the coming of age ceremony she's going to have soon. How would she like her funeral done? How does she want to dress for the big day!"

"...About that...do you know what day it is today?"

"Hmm? August...Oh. You didn't stop her?"

"...It's the most I could do for her." Tianyu smiled nervously, as she then pulled out a mask and then cut the wall behind Shion. The redhead opened his eyes and grinned, with a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his temple. "Oi oi, this is more than just attachment…" Behind him were Valeria's collection of Nightingale flowers. They were one of her experiments that were enlarged during Valeria's testing period. Their sleeping pollen is several times more effective. Tianyu had hung out around Valeria and did her part of research on plants to know that this will have a heavy toll even on the monster of the warrior clan. He felt his consciousness slip and he breathed out his final few words before he goes into a deep sleep. "That's fine, I'll let her get a head start before I drag her back."

"...I hope you get a chance to hang out a little longer with your friends Valeria. As someone who admires you but is also too much of a coward to even be able to become your friend, this is what I can do for you."