Chapter 25: Old Spark

The two families followed Piromi to the wide-open fields. It reminded Eryn of Track and Field. Long red paths circled around as far as his eyes could see. There was an empty peachy-colored field in the center. Faint scents of smoke and ash traveled by his nose. Was something burning here recently?

"And here are the open fields," Piromi exclaimed. "It's where I have my physical sessions with the students!"

"It's pretty… massive," Kazumi said in awe. "The school has an entire field like this behind it?"

"But of course." Piromi puffed her chest out proudly. "We used to have a smaller field back when we only received human children. After we started getting monstergirls, the school had the entire field expanded."

"Do you… take advantage of the entire field?" Eryn asked, curious. This seems like overkill. He couldn't quite imagine even monstergirl children running around the tracks. Then again, Piromi does have impressive stamina. He has yet to see the fullest extent of a monstergirl's capability.

"Yes, we do!" Piromi nodded. "With the many kinds of monstergirls here, we encourage them to use the fields and try out their abilities in a safe and controlled manner."

"Their abilities…?" Eryn raised a brow. His ears perked up at the word. Wouldn't that mean…

"For example…" Piromi turned to them. She snapped her fingers and a ball of flame appeared on her palm. "Monstergirls who possess elemental characteristics, such as myself, can try and draw out our elements."

"Eryn, Eryn!" Melty's eyes sparkled with excitement. She pointed at the flames. "Look! Look! She can create flames like me!"

You are both hinezumis, after all. Eryn chuckled. "You're totally right, Melty." It was cute to see her express excitement at another monstergirl like herself.

"Can you create your own flames, little one?" Piromi asked the younger hinezumi.

"Yeah!" Melty let go of Eryn's hand and stood a safe distance away from him. She snapped her fingers in the same manner and created a smaller ball of flame in her hand. "I can do it, too!"

"Impressive!" She grinned, shutting off her flames. "How about this?"

Piromi's tail curled around to her front. Flames ignited at the base of her tail and crawled to the tip, shrouding itself in hot sparks.

"W-Woah…!" Eryn instinctively took a few steps back. She can ignite her entire tail on fire?! That could prove to be a deadly weapon! Can Melty do that, too?

"Wow!" Melty stared at her own tail as it wiggled around. Being able to fire up her tail sounded awesome! She wanted to follow Piromi's style.

"I can also do this!" Piromi flexed her arm and ignited it in flames. Searing heat radiated from her body.

Now that's a literal firearm! Eryn's eyes widened in surprise. Melty had ignited her entire body in flames at one point, but never a specific area. That must take a lot of control.

"Us hinezumis have evolved for combat." Piromi turned to the open fields. She took several steps forward, making sure she stood far from anyone. "When you grow up, little one… you'll be able to do this!"

Piromi slammed her fist downwards, unleashing a burning wall of flames that crawled in front of her, scorching the fields. The others could feel the intense heat; they weren't even standing close to her!

"That's impressive, Piromi!" Kazumi folded his arms, unfazed by the fiery explosion.

"That's crazy!" Yuki clasped her face.

"That's so cool!" Melty hopped up in joy. "Look, Eryn! Isn't that awesome?!"

"Wow." Iris and Lofie stared at each other, then at the wall of flames.

"Oh, God…" Eryn was absolutely terrified yet amazed at the same time. She could literally wreak havoc and destruction if she wanted to! She could take out entire buildings and set them ablaze! And she was just a single monstergirl! I never knew they were this monstrous…! Suddenly, the monster in monstergirl made perfect sense. It reminded him that monstergirls are still part-monster. I have yet to see what monstergirls are truly capable of…!

"Will I be able to do that like you?" Melty asked.

"Of course." Piromi nodded, shutting down the flames. "With practice, you'll be there in no time. You might even do more amazing feats!"

"Eryn, Eryn." Lofie grabbed fistfuls of his hair.

"What is it, Lofie?"

"Can I create flames like that, too?"

"E-Er…" Eryn crossed his arms. Nothing about an Anubis screams fire to me. "Maybe? I'm not sure."

"Hum…" Lofie rubbed her chin against his head. Her dog ears draped downward with a hint of sadness.

"You're not a hinezumi, Lofie." Eryn patted her head to cheer her up. "You and Melty are different. I think you might be able to do different things that are just as amazing."

"Oh!" Her dog ears perked up.

"That's right." Piromi walked to him. "All monstergirls are capable of impressive feats, and that includes you two." She pointed at the little Anubis and catgirl.

"Me, too?" Iris pointed at herself.

Iris, as well? Eryn raised his brows. Compared to her sisters, Iris seemed to be the most grounded. She doesn't look like she'd have fancy powers. After all, she takes after a cat. But looks can be deceiving…

"Can monstergirls fight each other here?!" Yuki asked, excitement bubbling in her body.

What kind of question is that, Yuki? Kazumi rubbed his temples.

"We do have practice sessions once our monstergirl students have decent control over their abilities. But they don't fight each other." Piromi explained. "Some monstergirls have offensive-based abilities while the others are more defensive."

"Oh, interesting." Eryn nodded. I suppose Melty, being a hinezumi, is a full-on offensive monstergirl.

"Ms. Piromi!" Melty ran to her. "I want to know how to set my tail on fire!"

"Haha, are you sure you can handle it?" Piromi crouched down to her and grinned.

Eryn observed the two hinezumis. They're having fun. It was nice to see Melty interact with someone of her kind. When it came to raising them as monstergirls, he wouldn't know how to teach them to explore their monster side. Maybe bringing them to school will be a good thing. Not only will they experience school life, but they'll also learn more about being monstergirls.

"If you attend Little Flower, we can learn together." Piromi ignited the end of her tail on fire and whipped it around. "I would love to teach you as a fellow hinezumi."

"That's so cool!" Melty stared at her own tail, trying to do the same.

Seeing the little hinezumi trying to use her own abilities reminded Piromi of her younger days. This sure takes me back. It's been many years since she could interact with someone like herself. It made her feel young again.

"… Melty," Piromi said softly. "Is that your name?"

She nodded. "Eryn gave me that name!"

"Eryn…" Piromi cast a side glance at him. "He adopted you, is that right?"

"Yeah!" Melty grinned brightly. "Eryn found me and my sisters at a monstergirl shelter!"

Sisters. Piromi understood the three monstergirl children were of different kinds. Melty sees them as her own sisters. She wondered what they had to go through before they met Eryn. A bond stronger than family…

"Is he taking care of you well?" Piromi asked with a curious tone.

"Yeah!" Melty bobbed her head. "Eryn is very kind. He's given us a wonderful home!"

"… Is that right?" She stroked the little hinezumi's hair. That's great to hear.

"How about you, Ms. Piromi?" Melty asked. "Do you have a kind owner like Eryn?"

"… I do." Piromi smiled, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. "I'm actually married to my owner."

"… Mar–ried?" Melty blinked, pondering the unfamiliar word. "What does that mean?"

"It just means that we are… very close." Piromi giggled softly. "He loves me and I love him very much."

"I love Eryn, too!" Melty puffed her chest out proudly.

"And I'm sure Eryn loves his monstergirl children as well." Piromi created a small flame between her hands. "Have you ever lost control of your powers, Melty?"

"… Oh." Her little mouse ears twitched as she bowed her head. "I made Eryn worry about me before…"

"I see." Piromi patted her head between the ears. "Don't feel bad. I've lost control before too. It's why I've practiced a lot to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Practice…" Melty whispered to herself. Maybe that's what she needed. She didn't want to cause an accident again. She especially didn't want to hurt Eryn in any way.

"And another reason why I've practiced a lot…," Piromi gazed into her fiery eyes, "is so I can protect others."

"Protect others…?" Melty tilted her head to the side.

"We hinezumis have a lot of power." Piromi gently held her hand. "This power can hurt others… but it can also protect them."

"Huh…" Melty stared at her little hands. She helped Eryn to cook a chicken before. Did that count?

"Eryn can get himself to unnecessary trouble." Piromi caressed her hand. "The closest people that can be there for him now… are his monstergirl children."

"No, I won't let Eryn get into trouble!" Melty pouted. "Eryn has kept me safe! I will keep him safe too!" She wouldn't dare let anyone bring harm to her family!

"… I know you will." Piromi chuckled. I appreciate her little spirit. She patted her shoulders and stood up, turning to the others. At least with the monstergirls by his side, I don't have to worry too much.

"A rather dumb question, Piromi." Kazumi stroked his chin. "I assume the human children aren't involved in the same activities as monstergirls?"

"Some activities are kept separated." Piromi raised a finger. "It's usually outside of the classroom where education gets diverged. But in class, both human and monstergirl children learn together."

"Will we learn about monstergirls?" Yuki asked.

"Of course." Piromi nodded. "There will be subjects that teach you about monstergirls and their diverse culture."

"Sounds like something you'd enjoy." Kazumi ruffled his daughter's hair.

Come to think of it, I still don't know much about monstergirls in general. Eryn thought. As far as monstergirls were concerned, he knew a bit about catgirls, hinezumis, and Anubis. Maybe I could use a few lessons myself…

"Anyhow, I think this covers the fields!" Piromi clapped her hands. "Would you like to move on to somewhere else?"

"Sure." Kazumi agreed. "What's next?"

"I was thinking of the library next." She suggested, turning away from the fields. "Follow me."

"There's a library here?" Yuki asked. "I bet there are so many books about monstergirls!"

"I guess we'll find out." Kazumi held her hand. Eryn adjusted Lofie on his shoulders, then held Melty and Iris's hands in each of his hands.

"What do you all think so far?" Eryn asked his monstergirls as they followed the teacher. "The fields alone are pretty impressive."

"Yeah!" Melty clenched her fist. "I want to learn how to use my powers and do cool things!"

"Me too." Lofie raised her palms. "Maybe I can do the same."

"I don't know if I have any… cool powers." Iris bowed her head, her cat ears depressed. Melty was like a fire mouse. Lofie's kind came from wolf creatures who ruled the desert (at least, that's what she heard from Aiden and Amber.) And she believed herself to be just like… a house cat. Or a kitten, even.

"Do you need cool powers to be cool?" Eryn gently squeezed her hand. "You're cool enough to me, Iris."

"Really…?" Iris raised her head. "But I'm just like a normal cat."

"And there's nothing with that." He smiled softly, rubbing his thumb over her little hand. "I like cats. Cats are cute and they're fluffy to cuddle with." Although, they can be very annoying as well. But they were still endearing, nonetheless.

"Oh…" Iris's lips curled into a little smile. His words were reassuring. "Eryn is really kind…"

"Eryn, that's not fair!" Melty furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm cute, too!"

"Humhum." Lofie chomped on his hair. "I'm also fluffy."

Of course, they would say that. Eryn let out a deep sigh. If there's one thing that hasn't changed yet, it's their jealousy of each other.

Next up on the tour… is the library. Maybe I can learn more about the monstergirls.