If Takeshi was a bit surprised by how Honoka, Hibari and the demons all managed to live together in the odd apartments that were the dorms, he didn't show it. If anything it was something of a trial and error for him to adjust to their rather...odd... schedules.
Honoka and Fon, for instance were early risers and were usually up either by the time the sun rose or slightly before it. As a rule, the one who woke up first made the tea, with coffee as the 'emergency wake up' drink of choice. Unless Hayato managed to drag himself out of bed, because he was the only one who actually drank the bitter liquid that early in the morning.
He generally went to the cafeteria to get a cup, rather than mess with the coffee maker since it would have gone to waste otherwise. Honoka only had it for the late night study sessions when she needed to cram more than she needed to sleep, which was at least once or twice a month.
Hibari and Hayato usually woke up next, right around the time Honoka started putting breakfast on the table, as Fon tended to lie around and soak up the early morning sun. More often than not a sleepy I-Pin and Lambo would cuddle up next to him in their human forms an wake up once the smell of food filled the room.
Takeshi, while not being an early riser much, generally woke up roughly between the time I-Pin and Lambo moved from their spot on Honoka's bed to lay next to Fon and when Hibari and Hayato finally dragged themselves out of bed.
If he were at home he would normally do some stretches and maybe get a quick bite to eat before possibly hitting the batting cages for some practice. Here, however that was impossible as the cages were too far from the school for him to reasonably get to class on time.
Fortunately Fon didn't mind giving him some stretches to play around with that would help him limber up and get a good work out before breakfast, since he had been in something of a rut for a while now when it came to his sword practice.
It was...nice. And almost made up for the fact that until he beat his dad in a sparring match after declaring his intent to swear his sword to Honoka, that he was banned from the clan grounds. Which included his own home and his dad's restaurant.
Takeshi was therefor somewhat surprised when Fon stopped him from leaving for class right after breakfast.
"I have contacted an...acquaintance...of mine. They know a very skilled swordsman who might be willing to give you a bit of extra training so that you may come up with new techniques for your sword style. I know for a fact he's faced it before, and it never hurts to have a proper sparring partner."
"'Might'?" repeated Takeshi.
"The man is rather...dedicated...when it comes to fighting with a sword, and only using magic as an enhancement at best. He also has the same magic style you do, even if his is somewhat inverted. He will not tolerate someone who's dedication to the sword is half-assed and he will push you to your limits. If you genuinely wish to get stronger, he would be your best bet without switching styles. However that is entirely dependent on you impressing him first. He is rather...devoted...to his own partner, though whether or not it has ever gone past that of admiration and respect has never been proven."
"What's this swordsman's name?" asked Takeshi with open interest.
"Squalo Superbi, the current Sword Emperor."
Takeshi's eyes almost bulged in shock. Even he had heard of the Sword Emperor, so the chance to train under him was a rare thing indeed! He wouldn't just take on anyone.
Seeing how seriously Takeshi took the news, Fon let him leave for class.
Two days later...
Honoka, true to form, took one look at the absolutely handsome specimen of a Sky Liger and nearly squealed.
The Liger's human master snorted, waiting for the inevitable praise for such a rare demon as his familiar.
What he got instead threw him for a total loop, so much so that it took him several moments to properly register the fact she was openly praising his immaculate care of his familiar.
"You are absolutely gorgeous! Look at these claws... they're perfectly sharpened to rip someone into shreds and your fur is so soft and shiny it's clear your summoner genuinely loves you! It's nice to see someone else cares about their familiar enough to keep up their appearance. You easily outclass most of the students in this school," she beamed.
It took her a second to find his owner. Red eyes stared at her with confused amusement.
"Hi, I'm Honoka. What's your name?" she said brightly.
"Xanxus."
"You have an absolutely handsome familiar. What's his name?"
"Bester," said Xanxus with amusement. The girl was not only completely unafraid of him, but she was praising his familiar for all the right reasons. Seeing her little lion cub, he watched with open amusement as the cub went over to Bester and started mock-attacking the larger cat's tail.
Bester pinned the little thing with his paw, a look of tolerant amusement on his face.
"Cute kitten."
"His name is Natsu. He's been with me for years," she said proudly.
"What's your specialty?"
"Jewel Summoner. I don't see why people call it a difficult summon class to be in. It's not that hard to channel magic through gems or care for multiple demons."
"Most summoners barely care for their demons at all, and leave it to the groomers," rumbled Xanxus. "You would not believe the number of times I have to get on some young idiot who thinks that they just need to make sure their demon is fed and healthy is enough and that grooming can be done by the professionals."
The groomers in his group were all too happy to charge through the nose for the service, all while giving the main demon in charge of accounting a healthy cut every time they did it.
Most newcomers learned to care for their demons the hard way, just so they had even a fraction of their check left since the demon liked to slip in extra charges for damn near anything. Rookies got paid the least and either shaped up or found a new job.
He didn't tolerate slackers.
"I know what you mean," said Honoka with sympathy. "I can't count the number of times the girls in my class complain that I don't have nearly as much trouble with my more temperamental familiar or that my demons all look better than theirs do even after shelling out all that cash at the groomers. As if it never occurred to them that demons like affection just as much as humans do."
"What kind of familiars do you have?" asked Xanxus, curious. He liked this girl, he could tell. She wasn't some useless trash who treated their demon familiars like pets.
"I have a half-Inugami, half-hellhound named Hayato, Natsu, and a baby bull demon by the name of Lambo," replied Honoka.
That made him sit up.
"You actually have something as unstable as an Inugami hybrid as your familiar?" he said with interest.
"Hayato is a bit grumpy, but he's very loyal and hardworking. I honestly don't see why people disparage him because of his heritage," said Honoka flatly. "And Lambo is a good little boy who just needed love and attention to properly flourish, even if he is a bit energetic. He's still a baby after all."
Xanxus grinned. Anyone ballsy enough to take on an Inugami as their familiar was someone he could grow to like.
"So what are you here for anyway? I didn't see any lectures from experienced summoners on the board recently."
"My partner got word of a kid who might have potential, if someone can knock his head straight and a swift kick in the ass. I mostly came along because I need a break from the idiocy and paperwork."
"What's your partner's name? My partner is the 'demon prefect' Hibari, though why people are so terrified of his bad mood I'll never understand. He's more like a grumpy, territorial large cat like Bester than an evil beast."
"You're the one who managed to survive more than a term as his new partner?" said Xanxus in disbelief. Even he had heard of Hibari, and that was mostly because he was scoping the kid out for when he graduated as a potential member of his group. The kid would be a good asset, he knew.
Honoka pouted at that.
"Why does everyone keep reacting like that when I tell them who my partner is?"
"The kid is a vicious brat who gets snippy every time his nap is so much as interrupted and he makes the weak-willed piss themselves in fear of his bad mood. He's almost as bad as Squalo whenever the new idiots ruin the training rooms doing something stupid and he has to fill out the paperwork for it," snorted Xanxus.
"Oh, so Squalo is your partner, which means he's here to see if Takeshi is worth training," said Honoka.
"You know the kid Squalo was asked to do an assessment on?" asked Xanxus in surprise.
Honoka rubbed her neck sheepishly.
"I'm the one he's planning to swear his sword to, and got kicked out of his clan compound for," she admitted. "I still don't understand half of what that means exactly, but I'm not going to leave him to deal with this alone since I know it's something very serious and not to be taken lightly in the least."
"To a serious swordsman, their sword is their life. Offering it is akin to a knight of old swearing eternal fealty to a king or queen," Xanxus clarified. Squalo had done the same for him and he had spent quite a bit of time researching the subject after to understand the depth of that dedication. "For him to swear his sword to you, it means he'd be willing to put his life and magic at stake in your name, even if it meant losing his honor. For good or ill, once you make that sort of oath you follow the person you've sworn to until the bitter end."
Honoka's eyes were wide, as she hadn't really known it was that serious. However her resolve was the same...she would stand by her friends regardless of the cost. Even if she didn't understand what the implications of it meant at the time, she trusted them with her life.
With Squalo and Takeshi...
Squalo wasn't very impressed with the kid. While he had started to get the proper look in his eye for a true swordsman, he still needed a lot of work.
The kid had made a decision to put his life and sword down on the line for someone he barely knew and he was planning to follow through with it. The question was if his dedication was strong enough to survive the test his clan had to hammer home how serious such a thing was for their children.
Squalo openly approved of the practice. Nothing tested a teenager's dedication level more than forcing them to survive without the safety net of their families in the real world. At least the kid's chosen master had already made the best first step.
The girl had openly accepted him into her home and was treating him like family, rather than allowing him to potentially suffer without support for the year-long deadline. And she openly helped him to train for the eventual match between him and his father.
Not only were they starting to forge the bonds needed, but it gave the teen real world experience he clearly needed.
"Voi. You're a half-trained whelp who's only now starting to grow some fangs, and your resolve is almost pathetic. You're almost skilled with a sword but I don't see any reason why I should waste time on a young pup like you who has never seen true combat," said Squalo flatly. "So explain to me why I should."
Takeshi looked him dead in the eye and said flatly, "I can't."
Squalo was silent. The brat needed to impress him, so he would give the kid a chance.
"Nothing I say or do would impress you in the least, I think. You've likely seen it before from people far more experienced than me. Hell, even I barely have any idea what I'm doing and I've already started the test!" said Takeshi, his easy-going smile missing and a more serious one in it's place. However there was a hard glint that said volumes of how easily he would cut someone down if they threatened his chosen master.
This was someone who was naturally inclined to kill without hesitation or remorse.
"But...there's something about her that makes me think she's worth it. She not only embraced my hobby but she found a way to make me stronger using skills I had never considered combining with my usual training. She genuinely cares about her people and I know she would never hesitate to back me up when I need it. The sort of loyalty that most people only hear about, but are lucky to find even once in their lifetime."
Squalo was silent, but there was a pleased glint in his eyes. He knew the look that the brat had in his gaze...he had the same one when he swore himself to Xanxus as his partner all those years ago and he had never regretted that decision once. Xanxus could be an asshole, but when your back was to the wall and you needed a hand to get out alive, he was the first one to jump in the fray and the last one out.
"Voi. If I train you, I better not hear any damn whining. I'm going to kick your ass so often you'll grow to like it and come back for more, and at the end of it you might be called competent."
Takeshi's eyes glinted a bit at the challenge as he laughed, a dark sound to it. Squalo recognized it, because he often had the same glint.
"When do we start?"
Squalo knew the kid had found a proper master to swear himself to when he found his own boss chatting easily with the girl in question. There was a lazy grace that said volumes of how comfortable Xanxus was around the petite girl who didn't look like much of a fighter.
However one look at the hybrid hellhound (which made him do a slight double take when he realized the thing had no neck) and the way her familiars looked, and he knew the girl was a lot more interesting than she appeared at first glance.
Squalo had the feeling Xanxus would be giving the little Jewel summoner training of her own while he played around with the baby swordsman.