A/N: I'm back and first let me say thank you so much to everyone who read the first Chapter, I honestly didn't expect this to get as much support as it got in less than 2 weeks. I read all of the reviews and for those few of you that have questions about the story I'll address them in the authors note at the end. For now I hope you enjoy this next part.
The Training Begins-Tatsumi vs Budo?
Yesterday, for the most part, was pretty uneventful to the newest (and more than likely youngest) recruit to the Imperial army. After he joined the empire he received his uniform, which consisted of a pair of black shorts, a short sleeved white t-shirt which he choice to forgo putting on, a black long sleeved zip-up jacket with a hood that he left un-zipped, and his own personal addition to his look a pair of spartan sandals (since he hated having his feet too restricted in any way and would go bare foot if he really wanted, but thought better of it at that moment). Like the T-shirt that was provided for him the armor too was omitted from his attire, as the boy had long since grown accustomed to letting his body breath and also saw no real need for it, in his case at least. After getting changed and giving himself a once over he left the room that he was escorted to within the palace to fix his state of dress; which hardly changed with only the addition of a jacket and sandals, the boy was greeted by someone else, a girl who was a few years older than him named Esdeath. The older girl seemed to be a nice enough person from what Tatsumi could tell; even going out of her way to show him around the capital since he was still new to it. All and all his first day was pretty easy…well mostly.
The next morning was odd to Tatsumi as he woke up to the unfamiliar surroundings of his personal room, which was just a glorified separate shack that was converted into a private barracks; but Tatsumi got his own room so he wasn't about to complain. The reason he had even received the small shack as a living quarters in the first place was because of how some of the other soldiers treated him in a 'less than positive' way because of the boy's age. It also didn't really help that he stabbed out one of their comrade's eye, which to Tatsumi's surprise meant that some people actually liked the prick. Now normally in a situation like that Tatsumi would have complained about this unfair treatment to one of his superiors and had gotten the issue sorted out that way, but he knew the situation he was in and understood how most of the older members of the army saw him, and so he figured that if he did send in a complaint it would be seen as nothing more than a child whining about something they disliked. So with no other choice available to him Tatsumi proceeded to beat the ever loving hell out of every member in the barracks that tried to make his life shit on his first day there without even using ran's abilities.
Needless to say that whole situation didn't end well for those on the receiving end of the child's beating and Tatsumi was given separate lodging because of it.
Getting up, Tatsumi swiftly got ready for his first real day as a soldier. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, and got dressed in his uniform. After that was taken care of he looked at himself in the mirror and sighed.
"*sigh* and I couldn't get my hair cut shorter why again?" he asked as he touched his somewhat shorter brown hair.
'Because I told you I like your hair long like that, I think it makes you look quite adorable' Ran told him.
"And I told you that it was annoying" Tatsumi said as he began tying up his moderately lengthed hair into a ponytail.
'It's called compromise dear, it's something that is very important to have in any relationship. You wanted your hair shorter and I wanted you to keep it long, so when you went to the barbershop yesterday we found a common middle ground'
"But it's my hair! Why should I have to compromise anything when it's mine? And why do I still feel like I got the short end of the deal? I still want it cut shorter while you're completely content with it all" Tatsumi said in a more frustrated tone.
'Isn't that how every healthy human relationship is like? The male gives more to the female and insures that her wants are satisfied least he faces her ire?' Ran questioned.
Tatsumi took a moment to think that over and thought about all the times his mother would get mad at his father. Whenever that did happen his father would go above and beyond to get back on his mother's good side….in fact, now that he thought about it every married man or man that was in a relationship period in his village was much the same. This thought made a small bead of sweat roll down Tatsumi's face once he realized how whipped most of the men he knew where.
"Are women really that scary or where all the men I knew just cowards? Hmmm perhaps women just have a natural advantage over men or perhaps they all have something that makes them do what they want, and if that's the case and they do have some kind of trump card against us I wonder what it could be? Ah fuck it, I'm only 10 and something tells me this is something that will either go over my head completely or is better left alone at the moment" Tatsumi thought to himself.
'Master?' Ran said since Tatsumi hasn't talked in a while.
"Anyway you say that like it applies to you, you're not human nor can you call yourself a women, you are a trident damn it!"
'That's so mean Tatsumi, is that any way to speak to your life partner, your soul mate? And here I was going to offer myself up to you for being so understanding of my feeling in regards to the hair situation' Ran said in mock sadness.
"Would you cut it out with the inappropriate flirting and implications!? I'm only 10, doesn't that mean anything to you?" Tatsumi asked.
'That hardly means anything to me, I can tell you're going to grow up to be quite the handsome young man once you get some gruffness to you and I'm going to be stuck with you for the rest of your life, so why wouldn't I just flirt with you now? Besides you never know, I might just be a shotacon" Ran replied.
"A-a what?" Tatsumi asked confused.
'It seems you're still a little too young to know about such things huh? Oh well' Tatsumi could practically feel her say that with a shrug and a condescending look to match her tone.
"You know what I don't care, we need to go" Tatsumi said as he grabbed ran and left the shack to head for the palace.
XxXxX
*clink*
"Another one please!"
*chew chew*
"So good~"
*clink*
"Hey honest can I get some more?"
"S-sure…go right…ahead" The portly looking man replied month agape at what he was witnessing "And people call me a glutton"
"Thanks!" Tatsumi said as he dug into 83rd plate that of food that consisted of his breakfast that morning. When Tatsumi met up with the small child who rules over the capital and the prime minister that also acts as his advisor, the two asked him if there was anything they could offer him as sort of an apology for the man that refused to let him in, in response to that he only had one request.
"'while I'm here in the capital I want to eat the best food' is what he said at the time, I didn't think much of it at first and just agreed but now I might have to reconsider this deal" Honest thought to himself as put on his normal Cheshire grin "I guess we'll just have to see how useful he is first, if he's a waste of time we could always kill him and take his teigu"
"I've heard about what happened and I'm sorry about the inconveniences you've suffered during your time here Tatsumi" The younger child emperor said to the gorging brunette.
"Think nothing of it your highness if anyone else tries to start something…" Tatsumi allowed his bangs to sink lower on his face casting a shadow over his eyes "I'll just…put them to rest" He regained his composure and looked back at the boy with a bright smile as he said those last words.
The child smiled back "Just try not to knock every soldier and recruit that picks on you out, we still need people awake to guard the palace and train" he replied back obviously not understanding what Tatsumi was implying.
"But of course your highness. Hey chef get me another plate!"
"This child has some wit to him, perhaps he'll fit in after all" Honest thought.
'That was pretty dark of you master, I didn't think you could act like that in front of someone younger than you' Ran commented.
"So what? If they continue to be a nuisance after everything that happened to them yesterday then they're obviously too stupid to understand that strength is different from pride and arrogance, if that's the case than they would die from their own foolishness sooner or later, so why not help them along? Tatsumi said under his breath to Ran.
'You really don't like people treating you like your weak, I admire that, and you don't take any shit….well except from me of course'
Tatsumi was about to repute her on that last comment when the door to dining hall they were in opened and the same blue haired girl Tatsumi met yesterday walked in. From a young Esdeath's perspective all she saw was a young child emperor who was still enjoying his breakfast, a fat pig of a man that still had crumbs in his bread and around his mouth, and a stack of recently used plate piled on the table near him, so with only those visual bit of information to go on she spoke.
"Well you're certainly packing it in earlier than normal aren't you Honest? Don't you typically wait till early evening to gorge yourself silly? And even then you normally don't eat this much, what happened did something stress you out?" Esdeath quipped with a devious smile plastered across her 13 year old face.
Honest gave the promising young warrior girl a dry laugh "Ha ha, if you must know it was are new recruit that made and is continuing to add to this mess" He clarified not losing his large toothy smile despite the blatant jab at his excessive eating habit.
"Huh?" sure enough the boy she met yesterday leaned back in his chair and greeted her with a good morning, is body being completely hidden by the pile of dishware moments prior.
"Morning Esdeath" he said after finishing the food that was in his mouth "did you come for the food too?"
She smiled at him shaking her head in the negative "Morning Tatsumi, but no I actually came here on orders from my commanding officer" she turned back to Honest "He was too lazy to come himself so he sent me to see if our squad had any more assignments"
"Unfortunately we do not have any more missions for your group to undertake at the moment, so you all are free to take a break until we come up with something for you to do" upon hearing this a slight scowl came on the bluenette before she swiftly banished it from her features.
"I understand, well if you'll excuse me" she turned on her heels and prepared to leave when she heard a loud sound.
*Clap*
"Thank you for this meal" Tatsumi put his hands together and gave thanks for his meal, before grabbing his trident that was leaning against the table and scooching out of his chair. He walked over to Esdeath "Let's go" before heading for the door.
Esdeath just looked at the boy walk ahead for amount before just shrugging and following his lead.
"So what was that about Tatsumi?" she asked him as she caught up.
"What?" he asked confused.
"Why were you eating with the emperor and the chubby minister?"
"Oh that? That was one of the deals I made with them yesterday, as apology for the inconvenience at the front gate and the fact they were going to look for me eventually and I decided to come here myself they asked me if there was any one request they could fulfill that I wanted" he answered.
"And that's all you wanted? Just breakfast for today?" she said raising an eyebrow.
"The deal actually is that anytime I'm in the capital they're required to feed me the best food breakfast, lunch, and dinner" Tatsumi reply with stars in his eyes thanking about what he'll be eating for dinner "why? Is it weird that I eat with them?"
"Sort of, That honor normally goes to people with more political power, nobles that visit the palace, and Higher ranking soldiers" 'Though from what I saw in there that slimy bastard probably didn't think a kid could eat that much, more than him from the looks of it, when he accepted that request' Esdeath thought to herself, she really didn't like Honest but he did give her place when she had none and recognized her strength even if he was using her in the end.
"So Tatsumi, I didn't get the chance to ask yesterday but why did you join the army?" she decided to through the question out.
"Why?" he put his free hand to his chin to give it some thought "well I had nowhere else to go really, my home was attacked and everyone was killed, I would have been to if my father didn't chuck me on a raft and set me a drift in the ocean. So with no home or people to go back to I become a wonderer for a year"
'You mean you got lost trying to find this place' Ran corrected.
Tatsumi's eye twitched at that but he kept going nonetheless "well to make a long story short, I had no better place to be or go to and despite the rumors surrounding the capital or the conflicts it often gets itself involved in I came here anyway. I don't give a damn about the capital, their enemies, the internal conflicts they have, the rumors of corruption, or anything else I heard about on my way here and to be quite honest I think I'm way too young to worry myself about complex matters that don't directly involve me. I came here to have money in my pocket and a pillow to lay my head on and if all I have to do is join an army and kill what the capital deems are threats then so be it" the boy finished speaking.
Esdeath couldn't help but stare at the boy, not because what he said was weird or anything, but because the boy that was in front of her right now was so similar to her, even their reason for being here was almost identical.
"You and me are a lot alike y'know" She said to the boy.
"Really?"
"Yep, I actually came from the north and was a part of the partas clan, but like you, my clan was attacked and killed leaving me the only surviving member of our clan" She turned to look at him "guess that puts us in the same boat huh?"
"Yeah I guess your right"
"By the way, where are we heading? I just decided to follow you since you seemed to be on your way to somewhere"
"I have to have a skill evaluation before I can go through proper training, so I'm heading to the practice field to meet up with some guy named Budo" Tatsumi answered.
"Budo? As in General Budo?" 'That would be overkill for him unless…' she looks towards the trident in his hands 'of course the rumors about him' "say Tatsumi that weapons a teigu right? What does it do?"
"A wha-ooof" Tatsumi exhales as he bumps into something and falls over.
"Hmm?" exclaimed the person who Tatsumi just bumped into. She was a young women in her late teens (19 years old) that had messy white hair; a majority of which she kept and a braid that ran down her back, she had purple eyes, and a black cigarette hanging out of her mouth that she was about to light with the lighter in her hand. She wore a black zip-up jacket/skirt one piece that was broken up at her mid-section by a white belt, black high heel boot that went up to just below her knees, and a white trench coat. She also was carry what looked to be some strange rifle on her back.
"Hey watch where yo-" she turned around to see a small a the ground behind her "a kid?"
"Lieutenant general Najenda, I see you're back in the capital as well" Esdeath spoke to her superior officer.
Najenda turned to look at the girl standing next to the downed boy "Esdeath right? I heard you've made quite a few waves in your short time here, as for me, I just got back a while ago" she then turned her attention back to the boy on the ground "are you alright?" she afford a hand to help him up.
Tatsumi stared at her for a bit "This women, she's not like the people I've met so far. I don't feel any hidden fear of something from her like I did from some of the people I saw out and about in the capital yesterday nor do I feel any twisted darker persona that could come out and stab me in the back at any moment like I felt from most of the soldiers I met. She doesn't even give me the same feeling Esdeath does, then again Esdeath seems to be unique in that regard as well, though how she is I haven't figured out yet' Tatsumi then proceeded to get lost in his own thoughts.
"Umm kid?" Najenda asked confused still holding her arm out.
"Oh! Sorry about that" Tatsumi took her hand and let her help him up "Thanks you"
"No problem" she said as she lit the cigarette that still hung on her lips and pocketed the lighter "but what's a kid like you doing here?"
"I'm actually a new recruit to the army and todays my first official day, the names Tatsumi by the way"
"They hired another kid huh? Pretty soon we'll be flagged by the people for supporting child labor" she said off handedly "Well my names Najenda and welcome to the force, I guess"
"Speaking of I should probably hurry, I wouldn't want to keep that Budo guy waiting" and with that Tatsumi hurry his pace to his next destination.
"Wait did he say Budo? Why would Budo be waiting for that kid?" Najenda said more to herself.
"Apparently that was who was assigned to evaluate him" Esdeath answered.
The cigarette in Najenda's mouth almost dropped at that "But he's just a kid, why would they have a general test his skills?"
"I don't know honestly and from what I've heard about Budo he'll be none too pleased about this at all. That being said I'm kind of curious how this is going to go down, so I think I'll go watch" and with that Esdeath raced to catch up to Tatsumi.
"What are they thinking? Are they trying to get that kid killed?" she looked in direction she saw the two kids head off to. "…..ah damn it" and followed after them as well.
XxXxX
The tension in the air in the practice grounds was so thick it was suffocating when Tatsumi arrived. The soldiers where all off to side staring at the one solitary figure standing in the center of the grounds quaking in their boots and for good reason, the man's very presents was intimidating. He stood over 6 feet tall, with short spiky blond hair with two long segments of it that flowed backwards on either side of his head that made him appear as if he had horns, and he had stern looking blue eyes that was set on a face that looked like it was set in a permanent scowl. He wore a black skin tight long sleeve shirt and white pants, however in a rare showing, he chose to not wear the armor he usually wears that completes his look opting to only have his golden gauntlets on his arms at the moment.
Tatsumi walked up to the imposing man and looked up to him, the top of his head barely reaching up to his knee cap "Are you Tatsumi?" he asked the child with trident in hand.
"Yes sir" Tatsumi responded instantly.
Budo turned and started heading somewhere else "follow" was the only thing he said as he went on his way.
And so Tatsumi wordlessly follow and apparently it was an open invitation because many of the soldiers that where cowering off to the side along with Esdeath and Najenda followed the pair as well. The decently sized group followed Budo into the woods a couple miles away from the capital.
"So…you're General Budo right? Why are we going all the way out here?" Tatsumi asked as the kept walking.
At first the man said nothing and kept pressing forward but with a deep grunt he responded "If you have want I assume you have in your possession then it would be prudent to not use such a thing near the palace"
"Hmm?" and so they kept going onward until they reached a large clearing that was surrounded by trees; The soldier, Esdeath, and Najenda who knew they weren't involved in what was about to happen standing off to the sides.
"Go stand over there" Budo pointed to the other side of the clearing.
Tatsumi nodded and did as he was told.
"So what happens now?" Tatsumi asks
"The emperor asked me to test you because he assured me that you would be of use to the capital, so show me what you can do, prove that you are not a complete waste of my time" Budo answered.
"So you want to fight?" he was already wearing a smirk on his face and putting himself in a combat stance that Esdeath, Najenda, and Budo all began to study as he did so. He held his trident in his right hand with the whole arm reared back and ready to stab through his opponent, his legs spread apart and bent and now that he had them tense up you could tell just how defined the muscle in them were, his free arm was the one that lead the front of his stance, and if you looked closely at his eyes you could see green electricity crackle off his pupils.
"A fight? Ha sure if you want to call it that brat then go ahead" one of the soldiers said.
"More like a slaughter, I should have brought popcorn" said another.
A simple glare from Budo silenced them quickly "Yes, go ahead and show me what your teigu can do"
"Teigu? I don't know what that is, but if you want me to show you what I got then I won't disappoint. Preparations start" and with that said Tatsumi charged straight for Budo.
"A frontal attack? Foolish" Budo said as he just stood there and waited for the child to reach him but then he did something unexpected.
"Eat this!" He hurled his trident directly at Budo, its aim perfectly aligned with his face.
After seeing this Budo felt a vain in his forehead begin to bulge at the blatant disregard for his weapon "Throwing away his weapon even more foolish"
"What the hell is that kid thinking, if that is a teigu how does he expect to use it if it's not in his hands? Najenda exclaimed as she witness the foolish tactic.
Esdeath just continued to watch without a word, she showed no emotion on her face as she looked on, as if waiting for something exciting to happen.
Budo brought up his right arm to deflect the trident coming at his head, but has he his own teigu came in contact with the polearm he realized it took far more force to more it out of the way then he thought it would "It's heavy"
"Coming at you old man" Tatsumi said as he land a flying kick to Budo's chest, grabbing Ran out of the air in the process, but Budo didn't even flinch at the strike that was dealt "I guess that won't be good enough, then how about this" and then he brought up his other leg preparing to bring it down for an ax kick straight to the top of his skull.
As the child's leg came down however, Budo simply caught it with his free hand then he swung the boy once and tossed him away. Tatsumi was fast to react at the action taken as he point his trident at the ground and stuck it in, then using the momentum from the throw he flipped backwards and land on his feet. The maneuver look smooth and seamless, however it still wasn't fast enough as he felt Budo fist bury itself into his gut, Ran being dropped as he took the hit, and he was flung across the clearing a few meters away before skidding across the dirt and then final being stopped by a tree that cracked from the impact he came at it with.
"Serves you right, you little bastard!" one of the soldiers yelled as the others cheered, it would seem the only one that came were the ones that had an ax to grind with a 10 year.
'And they call their selves men, pathetic' Ran thought to herself.
"I told you not to waste my time" Budo said in a slightly more irritated tone. He then turned his attention to the Trident that was now stuck in the ground in front of him and went to grab it when-
"Don't. Touch. Ran." He felt a presence at his back and was forced to block another kick coming to his head from behind with his forearm stopping the attack in its tracks.
"I told you, don't waste m-"
"Thunderous Impact" and with that a powerful current of wind surrounded his attacking leg and a small current of green electricity ran through it creating a small shock wave that stunned Budo as he was blown back by the force. Budo Dug his heels in the ground to prevent himself from being forced too far back, leaving trench marks in the ground as he did. In that moment all of the hateful soldiers stopped laughing and just stared in disbelieve.
"No way…t-that runt pushed General Budo back"
Najenda too was shocked at what she just saw "Even if Budo didn't activate his Teigu, to be push back by a child less than half his size should be impossible.
"Looks like things are going to be interesting after all" The second youngest member of the group there said as a grin formed on her previously neutral face.
Tatsumi gave himself a once over as he assessed the damage he just took moments prior "Damn old man you certainly didn't hold back did you? You broke serval of my ribs with that punch alone, then when I was rolling across the ground like a ragdoll my arm twisted in a less then natural way, and my back could be better after slamming against that tree"
He had scrapes and bruises from his impact with the ground and a broken arm, but the most odd thing about it was the fact that he didn't act hurt, like he didn't feel what just happened. Then all of a sudden around his injuries dark blue bubble could be seen forming and coming off of his body, his arm started twisting back into place and the scrapes and bruises began to disappear.
"I wasn't playing around or anything, I was just setting up the stage" Tatsumi said pointing up into the sky, Budo followed the boys finger and saw multiple floating orbs of water all around him "Preparations complete"
"That attack he just hit me with and these water spheres, are they the work of his teigu? But how? It wasn't in hand when he knocked me back, even now he isn't touching it so how is he doing this? Budo thoughts were cut short as he heard Tatsumi call the name of his next attack.
"Hazardous Rainfall" and just like that the orbs of water began firing water bullets at Budo at high speed, like auto machine guns forcing the large man to dodge. Each bullet fire had a terrifying amount of force behind them leaving holes in the ground and tearing apart the surrounding trees bringing them down in the process. Now under fire Budo was effectively pinned down by projectiles, but he still didn't look all too concerned.
"This is better, but not enough to warrant me having to train him"
"I guess I should get in there to, it's boring just standing back" Tatsumi looked at Ran who was still stuck in the dirt "you don't mind waiting here do you? We wouldn't want this to be overkill"
'Of course not, just remember your own limit' Ran told him.
Tatsumi gave a nod and turned back to Budo who was still dodging his water bullets effortlessly "Storm shift-Air Gear" The wind around Tatsumi began to pick up as glowing white shackles appeared on around his ankles, wrists, and neck; with the shackles on his ankles and wrists having a small wing jotting out of the sides of them and the shackle on his neck having a linked chain coming out of the back of it that seemed to be waving around in the air as if gravity didn't effect it or as if a powerful gust kept it from falling. Tatsumi's hair changed from its normal blown to a mint green and his eyes changed to light blue color.
"What just happened to him?" Najenda said as she saw the changes that occurred on the boy.
"*sigh* I'm ready" with seemly enhanced speed Tatsumi reached Budo's location avoiding his own water bullets as he pressed the attack farther "let's see how you handle this, Thunderous Impact-Gale Barrage"
Tatsumi then began to hit Budo in quick session with wind and lighting infused strike that put him in a position to get hit by the water bullets he was dodging moments prior.
"From the looks of it he has control over wind, water, and just like me lighting, the strikes he's hitting me with are cover with a dense wind shell that he runs electricity through to create a sonic boom giving his attacks more power" Budo analyzed "And he can do all of it without holding his own teigu"
"Enough!" Budo then activated his Adramelech and created a shockwave that blew Tatsumi back and vaporized the water bullet bearing down on him.
"He can control lighting too!?" Tatsumi attention then went to the man's arms "Those gauntlets?"
"Budo actually activated his teigu" Najenda said as she continued to watch on.
"It would seem so" Esdeath answered. Although she had heard a lot about the teigus and had even seen a few she had never witnessed a battle between two teigu users before, this whole thing got her more excited then she thought she could be.
As for the soldiers that came along they just all stood there speechless as they witnessed what was happening.
"Those gauntlets of yours are what made that electrical shockwave aren't they, I guess they gave you power just like my trident does" Tatsumi commented.
"It's a teigu, Thunder God's Rage: Adramelech to be exact, and you should be proud that you managed to get me to defend with it" Budo then turned his attention back to the Trident that was next to the boy "However I have never seen your Teigu before or even heard of non-living teigu that could be used without it's user holding it."
"Her name is The Cry of the Storm: Ran and she hasn't aided me a single time in this fight. If she did we would have destroyed the clearing"
"What do you mean?"
"Ran stored a portion of her power in my body and that potion is all I can use when she isn't in my grasp"
"So he's fused with his teigu?" Budo realized.
"That was only a portion of its power?" Najenda said in slight disbelieve, with everything she has seen it do thus far it was just hard to imagine it being more powerful.
'Master your wind form won't be strong enough for this battle and I doubt water or Lighting will fear any better' Ran told him 'do you have any plans?'
"Yeah actually" Tatsumi said as he pulled out a lighter "let's heat things up"
'Lame'
"Oh bite me"
"Wait that's…" Najenda then checked her pocket "That damn kid swiped my lighter!"
"Thanks for letting me borrow this" Tatsumi said as he waved over to her.
"You better give me that back kid!"
Tatsumi flicked the lighter on "Aren't you going to try and stop me?" he asked Budo.
"My job is to assess what you can do, so go on" he told him
Tatsumi shrugged "alright then, but just know once I do this you'll need to do more than defend. I'm going to get you to attack with those gauntlets" Tatsumi then ate the lit flame on the lighter then put it back in his pocket. The wings and the chain on his shackles started going black on their tips as if they singed, his hair turn blond in color, and his eyes were a burning red. Ran herself transformed too turning from a trident into a pitchfork that generated an insane amount of heat. "Storm shift-Overheat"
"Fire too huh?"
"Ran can create any type of storm, which of course includes firestorms" Tatsumi brought his right hand right in front of him "now burn Flame Devil" with a snap of his fingers a giant vortex a flame consumed Budo within it.
The sky started to darken over head as if a storm was about to come in "That's not my work" Tatsumi thought to himself as he started flying in the air "The old man's taking my shtick"
"Lighting Crash" a bolt a lighting struck down the blazing vortex dispersing it and revealing Budo, his clothes were slightly burnt but other than that he looked fine. "Flight too I see"
"Now I'm the one mad you aren't taking this seriously" Tatsumi said slightly annoyed.
"I'm taking it as seriously as I need to at the moment" Budo told the child matter a factly.
"I see" then above Tatsumi's head in the sky formed large grey clouds that seemed to fight with Budo's dark black storm clouds for control of the sky "Dying Phoenix Ash Rain" slowly ashes started falling down from the sky like water on a rainy day hitting most of the clearing, as the ashes hit the ground a sizzle could be heard as they made contact. Budo covered his body in more electricity to combat against the burning ashes.
But Tatsumi wasn't letting him off that easy, he swooped down out of the sky towards Budo and began hitting with barrage of punches and kick all infused with flame. Budo block most of the hits, but the one that made it through left burning holes in his clothes. Tatsumi soon stopped his assault and backed away from him, his breathing slightly labored.
"It looks like you've about hit your limit" Budo said as he looked at the winded child "It must take a lot of stamina to use all the power you've been throwing out.
"*pant pant* it does…but I'm not finished yet" He smiled at Budo and pointed down to the ground.
Budo looked down and saw the ground he stood on surrounded in the ashes from before "I'm standing in a pile of soot what of it"
"Firestorm-Phoenix Ash Flame Rebirth!" the ashes on the ground all began to burn hot once more before bursting into a large fiery explosion of white flame, the steam and heat of the fire being so strong it made the storm clouds Budo made earlier produce rain. "I can feel him in the fire, he's still good to go. *sigh* No choice then" He raised his arms in the air and formed a giant ball of fire before condense it down into a palm sized ball of heat energy.
Budo busted from the flaming explosion, his shirt now completely burned off and burn marks showing on part of his arms and chest. As he saw the energy in Tatsumi's hand his eyes widened slightly before a rare smile graced his face. He brought both of his arms forward and quickly channeled energy through Adramelech creating and orb of black lighting in between them.
"So you're going to attack after all!?" Tatsumi said with a smirk on his face.
"It would seem you have forced my hand" Budo replied back.
The boy just closed his eyes and Chuckled a bit before returning his gaze back to Budo "then eat this" Tatsumi just let the energy heat ball float of his hand a few feet away, then when it was far enough away he charge his right hand in his green light point at the ball as if his hand were a gun before fire a current of lighting through it "Twin plasma Railgun"
A powerful beam of pure energy fired straight for Budo and at the same time Budo let loose his own attack. The two colliding forces pushed against one another trying to overpower each other before the two opposing attacks exploded sending a shock wave that blew everyone back. When the dust settled Budo was still stand and looking at a passed out Tatsumi.
"I can see now that those rumors about you may actually have some weight to them" Budo said as he looked around the mostly destroyed clearing with a nod "1 year, that all I'm willing to give this kid in terms of training, I'm for too busy to give more"
"No way…d-did that just happen" One of the spectating soldiers said.
"And we were trying to fuck with that kid? Insane."
"If he's holding the his teigu his attacks become stronger, which means that wasn't even his full strength" Najenda put another cigarette in her mouth and went to light it but forget that Tatsumi had stolen in all the chaos "That child is a monster… and a damn lighter thieve"
The entire time she watched what unfolded Esdeath couldn't help but become excited. The strength the boy showed had her heart racing, and intense gaze and wicked smile aimed straight at the downed boy that she's known for less than 2 days with the only thought going on in her mind being that she wants to fight him too.
"Esdeath" Budo called out to the girl.
"Yes sir!" she shouted answering his call.
"How long is your squad going to be stationed here?"
"For the foreseeable future until we are called onto our next assignment"
"Then you'll be this boy's sparring partner while here, understood?"
The smile on her lips grew farther "Yes sir"
"Good" he pointed at the down Tatsumi "Can you also take him back to his room? He won't be getting up anytime soon"
Esdeath simply nodded and picked the downed boy up off the ground while Budo pulled Ran, who had reverted back into her normal Trident form out of the ground.
XxXxX
The next morning for Tatsumi was odder than the last. From what he could recall he blacked out after using his final attack and then nothing. When he awoke next he half expected to be on the ground in that same clearing or maybe in his own bed when it was all said and done. However when he opened his eyes he found himself in a room he had never been in before, in an admittedly more comfortable bed, with a blue haired girl using him as a body pillow. All of this lead to one question for Tatsumi.
"How?"
A/N:So there you have it, I hope this chapter didn't disappoint. We got a little more of what Tatsumi can do in this chapter and a fight that I hope was somewhat decent. For those that are curious when exactly this part is taking place, I'm going to say it's 7 years before the main story, which means the people who will end up in Night Raid later are still with the capital at the moment. Will Tatsumi meet them all before then? I have no clue yet. As for pairings *sigh* I wanted to leave that up in the air for a while longer to give the story some time to flesh itself out if I continued with it, but to the person that asked whether or not this will be Tatsumi x Esdeath know that she has the highest chance to be paired with him in this story and that's all I'm going to say about that. Well that's it for now, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review if you want, and I see you next time. seeya :)