For those of you wondering what Fon's relation to Hibari is, this is the chapter. Also, BEWARE OF FLUFF!
Lambo didn't know what to make of his current master. She was genuinely nice to him and put up with his bad behavior with a stern reprimand and she never actually hit him like some of the jerks used to do before I-Pin almost set them on fire. She also didn't let the dog familiar to do more than yell at him, though she allowed a few light spanks when he was being particularly bad. Never more than two or three though.
Honoka was really nice. She let him eat all the grapes he wanted and even snuck him a few pieces of grape candy when he got bored during her class. She didn't mind if he snuggled up against her at night to keep the memories of the bad people away and she let him play with I-Pin all he wanted after class hours when she was done training with Fon.
Lambo loved snuggling into her side and rarely fought against nap time so long as she would stay there with him. She even knew how to brush his coat properly and trim his hooves and horns! None of the others had ever done that before...they always shoved him on the school groomers before doting on I-Pin. She hated it, since they insisted on dressing her up in ridiculous outfits to show her off, while they made him wear cheap clothes. Then they got mad when he tore them while playing.
Not Honoka. She bought him something simple, but durable that would stand up to the roughhousing he so enjoyed and merely sighed in exasperation if they got dirty or torn.
Lambo looked at I-Pin.
"I really like this master," he admitted.
I-Pin was very leery of anyone who adopted them, if only because of how many masters wanted to use her to show off and ignored Lambo. Against her better judgment, she was starting to trust this human.
"She's different," admitted I-Pin. "I still don't trust her though."
"Now, now little one," said Fon, picking her up and letting her curl up against his side. "Actions speak louder than words...so try to give her a chance."
"Human masters are mean. They ignore Lambo and treat me like simple pet to show off," grumbled I-Pin.
"If Honoka wanted something to show off, she never would have contracted Hayato as her second familiar. His time at the school was about over, and instead of letting him return to a place he wasn't wanted, she gave him the chance to make something of himself on his own terms...even if his heritage made him less than acceptable to a majority of people."
I-Pin looked at Hayato, squinting a bit before she saw what he meant. Even she knew inugami were dangerous and unstable.
Then she pointedly looked at Natsu, who was clearly from the Sky Realms and thus highly valuable.
"Honoka did not summon Natsu. He was given to her by the ruler of the Helios Realms, who has taken a firm interest in her," said Fon patiently.
I-Pin's eyes widened though it was difficult to see. Her proportions had always been off, though no one could explain why and most humans assumed there was something wrong with her egg.
Fon hadn't cared... it merely meant that once she hit a proper growth spurt she would turn into a very beautiful and charming dragoness.
For someone like Reborn to take an interest in her, she had to be interesting or would become so within a decade. He rarely took an interest longer than that.
Honoka pulled out a brush, which had Lambo happily scrambling onto her lap. There wasn't much she could do with how curly his hair was, unless he allowed her to cut it down to a more reasonable size. Lambo hated scissors, mostly because he didn't feel even remotely comfortable around their previous masters to sit still long enough for them to cut his hair...he was always afraid they'd go past slaps and punches and cut him with them and claim accident after.
Once she was done attempting to tame his mess of hair, I-Pin cautiously sat in her lap for similar treatment. She would admit the older girl clearly knew what she was doing, if her master Fon submitted to a proper grooming session and actually purred during the entire thing.
Honoka had her hair brushed and then braided in a similar manner to Fon's human form, which was how she liked it.
Honoka then pulled out a box. I-Pin had seen enough of similar ones to guess what was in it, and tried not to scowl.
"I got you and I-Pin matching outfits, and something Lambo can wear while playing that's easily washed," she said smiling.
Fon looked at the box curiously, before smiling at what was inside.
It was a long, almost robe-like outfit in his favorite shade of red and a pair of white pants.
There was also a smaller outfit that would fit I-Pin perfectly that was in a similar shade of red with sunny yellow trim at the bottom. The shirt was clearly very maneuverable for someone practicing hand to hand, and the pants were a nice navy blue that complimented it along with two pairs of slippers that were good for running for both of them.
Lambo's outfit was a cow print onesie that came complete with a little tail. It was in black and white and was a size too big so he had plenty of room to grow in it.
Once he put it on, he loved it immediately if only because of the cute tail that he could wiggle about. Best of all it didn't itch like most of the outfits he was used to wearing.
I-Pin cautiously put her outfit on and found she liked it. She liked it a lot, especially when compared to her master. The matching outfits made it clear she was his apprentice. It wasn't some tacky outfit that was more for show than real use...she could tell from the feel of the fabric that it was meant to be worn regularly during actual work outs.
However what endeared I-Pin to the older girl wasn't any gift or grooming...but the way she acted when Lambo was being particularly bratty and knocked over the valuable jewel case, scattering the precious gems that were the life blood of any real jewel summoner all over the floor and even under a few pieces of furniture.
Hayato had spotted the entire thing, but rather than yell at Lambo for what was clearly an accident he sighed in exasperation.
Lambo flinched when the older boy walked up to him, clearly expecting a hit. He had been slapped for far worse.
"Come on, annoying cow. If we clean up most of these then Honoka won't have to track down as many and you might get dessert later," he said quietly.
Lambo peered through his hands at the older familiar in disbelief. He wasn't going to be punished?
"Honoka would be pissed at me if I went after you for what was obviously an accident," he said in way of explanation. "But you will help clean these up."
I-Pin was already gathering the gems, mostly in the hopes of avoiding her friend being hurt. More than one of their previous masters had used Lambo's durability to take a hit as an excuse to hurt him for messing up or making a mess of things.
So she was very shocked when Honoka guessed at what happened... and never once raised her hand against the little cow.
Lambo was already bawling his eyes out in the hopes of avoiding a painful punishment.
Honoka made sure he saw what she was doing as she calmly picked him up and laid him against her chest.
"There, there little one. I'm not angry with you... I should have put those up a bit higher anyway," she said soothingly, rubbing his back until the crying stopped without caring about the mess he was making on her shirt.
"You're not mad at Lambo?" he sniffed.
She gently held him away from her so he could see her face.
"I'm not angry... to be fair I never had a little brother growing up so I'm unused to keeping valuables away from where little boys can accidentally knock them over. If anything I should have kept them someplace you couldn't reach. You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" she asked with concern.
Lambo sniffled.
"Lambo didn't hurt himself. The grumpy dog helped to pick up the pretty stones with I-Pin," said Lambo.
"Thank you for helping Hayato clean up, I-Pin," said Honoka gently. "Now how about you two get cleaned up? I can get a bubble bath going for you to play with while I finish locating the rest."
Lambo cheered up almost immediately. He almost never got to play with bubble baths.
I-Pin had to admit, the summoner was far different than the fools she had to deal with before. She was actually nice to both of them and treated them like younger siblings rather than 'pets' like most were wont to do.
And Fon liked her, which was already a plus in her opinion.
What cemented her as a good master was her actions that same night. Lambo, already upset that he had done something to warrant a beating from previous masters, started to have a nightmare.
Honoka was a light sleeper, so the second he started whimpering she woke up.
I-Pin had already expected this to happen, and thus was already awake to watch what the girl would do.
Honoka rubbed her eyes, saw what was going on and gently scooped Lambo from where he was curled up against her side. She hugged him gently and started humming something quietly, rubbing his back.
I-Pin watched as Lambo slowly relaxed in her arms, until he was fast asleep, the nightmare chased away for the night.
Fon watched the entire thing with a gentle smile from the girl's pillow, and felt amusement when I-Pin came to the decision to curl up against the older girl in her dragon form.
Honoka was coming out of the shower when she saw it. A picture of an attractive enough woman and a boy who looked far too much like a younger Hibari.
Hibari looked pissed at the woman for some reason and if she was reading the scene correctly at the people behind him.
Hibari saw what she was looking at, and a slightly awkward silence passed between them. Once again, Honoka said nothing. It wasn't her place to ask, and if he wanted to tell her she would listen then.
Something seemed to linger, before he finally spoke.
"My mother, at the suggestion of the clan, summoned someone from the demonic plains in order to conceive an heir. They thought my father was a summoner who simply preferred to live in the demonic realms and happened to have a large amount of demonic ancestry and had wandered through the portal by mistake. They wrote up a contract with him to stay for a year in the hopes of siring an heir for the family... he was quite enraged when they deliberately broke the contract a week before it was due for renewal two months after I was born. My clan was very shocked to learn my mother had summoned the ruler of the Tempesta plains, rather than a random high level demon," said Hibari quietly. He scowled. "After he was sent back, Fon made very sure that no one in the clan would be able to find a demon partner or anything except mindless familiars to contract with, at least until he was allowed to see his son."
"I can understand why. Breaking a contract under false pretenses would have pissed off a normal high level partner, never mind a ruler of the seven plains," commented Honoka. "If they were stupid enough to do that to him, then it meant they were entirely untrustworthy with you being the unfortunate victim of the whole mess."
"It wasn't until I came here and summoned Fon that the children were allowed to find partners, but all the previous contracts were immediately annulled leaving them with a massive blow to their family honor. And regardless of how they attempted to spin it to us, we all knew it was the elders fault as well as that of my mother for their foolish actions," said Hibari.
She could only imagine the shock and relief Fon must have felt seeing his son again, even if he had missed over a decade's worth of time with him. And the rage someone as proud as Hibari would have felt for the betrayal, especially under false pretenses.
Honoka gently put a hand to his cheek.
"If you just want someone to talk to without it being held against you, let me know. I won't say anything."
Just like she kept her silence on the fact Hayato knew his mother was still alive, but in hiding.
Hibari said nothing, but the fact he started relaxing in his dragon form a bit more often or letting Honoka put him through the same treatment she gave Fon and I-Pin said volumes.
He wasn't ashamed of his heritage...he was pissed at the dishonor his mother placed on his shoulders with her stupidity.
Hibari's purr was ridiculously soothing, and he was such a cuddly creature even if he'd deny it with his last breath if anyone called him on it.
Fon thought it was adorable, even if Hibari... Kyouya, he allowed her to call him...still hissed if the older, red dragon tried to join in too close to him.
Kyouya's scales were a deep, royal purple color that was was made even more beautiful by the thick indigo tints along the edges. After she had cleaned them she had been struck by what a beautiful creature he was in his dragon form.
Fon felt like a wild, barely controlled storm with his deep red scales the color of pure fire and almost ruby-like sheen when buffed.
Hibari's coloration made her think of wild, untamed clouds that could stir up the most beautiful, if terrifying storms. The wild ferocity of clouds just about to break and create a thick, deep mist when it was all over.
"What is it with you and dragons?" asked Hayato when he spotted all the lizards around her.
"I have no idea," she admitted. "I think they like me because I show them proper respect without trying to show them off."
"That...and whenever you're relaxed you let off the feeling of a sky untainted by restraints. The fact you're so good with a buffing cloth and know just how to scratch our horns is just a major and very pleasant bonus," said Fon, draped around her neck, which he had claimed for himself. He didn't mind playing the part of a very unusual scarf. I-Pin and Kyouya might curl up in her lap, but the shoulder area was his.
It was a good thing the dorm rooms were so big, because with the way Honoka kept collecting new strays Hayato had serious doubts they would all fit.