Chapter 3: Dragon Training

The last bite of tail meat slid down my throat, a lingering aftertaste of spicy dragon clinging to my tongue. It was… surprisingly good. And also, deeply, deeply disturbing.

Before I could even formulate a coherent question about the origins of my breakfast, Tohru grabbed my hand and yanked me towards the door.

"Come on, come on, come on!" she chirped, her golden eyes sparkling with an unsettling level of enthusiasm. "The early dragon catches the bison! Or… whatever. The point is, we're late for your training, and I'm not gonna let you be a wimp forever!"

She reached out a hand and, with a casual flick of her wrist, tore a hole in the air. It wasn't a metaphor. It wasn't a figure of speech. It was a literal, gaping tear in the fabric of reality, revealing a swirling vortex of colors and energies that made my head spin and my stomach churn. My sanity, already teetering on the edge, took a nosedive.

Tohru, oblivious to my internal screaming, placed her hands on her hips, her expression a cheerful blend of drill sergeant and excited tour guide. "Now, let's hurry it up! We don't have all day to turn you into a dragon-worthy specimen!"

I genuinely tried to escape this time. I wasn't going to just meekly follow a dragon lady into a swirling vortex of… whatever that was. It looked like a unicorn had thrown up a rainbow and then that rainbow had decided to become a portal to the abyss.

"Tohru," I protested, my voice rising in pitch, "there is nothing that can make me just… just… through that unicorn barf-colored anomaly! It's an affront to all that is good and aesthetically pleasing!"

Tohru, however, seemed utterly unfazed by my artistic sensibilities and my desperate pleas for self-preservation. She just grinned, her golden eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Oh, please, Takumi-sama," she said, her voice dripping with playful condescension. "It's perfectly safe. Mostly. And also, it's the fastest way to the training grounds. So, you know, quit being such a wimp."

I risked a quick glance back at Mom, hoping for some support, some sign of parental intervention. But her eyes were fixed on a distant point somewhere over my left shoulder, her expression strangely vacant. She waved a hand weakly, a gesture that was more like a twitch than a farewell. It was the wave of someone who had given up on understanding reality and was just going through the motions.

And then, before I could even blink, before I could formulate a coherent argument, before I could even scream, Tohru grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and tossed me through the swirling portal like a particularly unruly sack of potatoes.

"Now, let's hurry it up!" her voice echoed after me, followed by a sound that could only be described as the tearing of reality.

The last thing I saw before the vortex swallowed me whole was Tohru's cheerful grin and the unsettling sight of her hand still holding a sizable chunk of my shirt collar. And Mom's distant, thousand-yard stare.

"Oof!"

That was the first sound I made as my back connected with something surprisingly soft. Grass, I realized, my eyes fluttering open to a surprisingly peaceful scene. A bright blue morning sky stretched above me, the swirling tear in reality a small, fading anomaly in the otherwise perfect expanse.

Then, Tohru came floating out of it.

She didn't walk, she didn't run, she levitated, her long blonde hair swaying gently in a nonexistent breeze, a beatific smile on her face that made her look both angelic and utterly terrifying. It was like a scene from a fever dream, or a particularly bad anime.

The portal, if that's what it even was, snapped shut behind her with a sound like a rubber band breaking, leaving only the gentle rustle of leaves and the distant chirping of birds.

Tohru finally touched down, her feet landing lightly on the grass. She clasped her hands behind her back, her golden eyes scanning the clearing as if assessing its suitability for… dragon-related activities.

"Alright, Takumi-sama," she began, her voice taking on a more instructional tone, though still laced with that playful undercurrent. "You need to learn what you have and how to use it. Last night, you were able to save my life, and now I am your maid until you die. Don't you think it's a waste if you just keep over, after getting me, an awesome dragon, as your personal maid?"

I just nodded, still a little disturbed by the way she was just… floating there. And also, by the lingering image of that green-scaled stump.

"Good!" Tohru exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Then first, we need your Sacred Gear to activate again. Think of the most powerful thing to you, in your mind. It can be anything."

I, still a little dumbfounded by my situation and the general weirdness of the morning, closed my eyes, trying to do as she said. I had no idea what a Sacred Gear was, or what it was supposed to do, or why this dragon lady was so insistent on me not dying. But, you know, dragons.

I searched my mind for the most powerful thing I could imagine. And… well, last night came to mind. Seeing the massive dragon form of Tohru for the first time. And even her proud, almost radiant look when she first stood in front of me in human form. It was… memorable. In a way that was both terrifying and… hot.

Almost immediately, a weight settled around my waist. An obsidian black belt with a vibrant pink gem as the buckle manifested into existence,. It felt… strange.

As I look at the new fashion statement that appeared on my waist, Tohru begins explaining what it is I'm looking at, "That is a Sacred Gear. Tools crafted by the Abrahamic God to be used by humans. There are many of them and I don't know all of them, or even close, but if we can figure out what yours does, we might figure out how to keep you alive."

"A Sacred Gear?" I repeated, still eyeing the belt suspiciously. It didn't exactly scream "divine artifact of salvation." More like something a particularly edgy magical girl would wear. "Abrahamic God? Like… the one from the Bible?" My brain was still trying to catch up with the whole "dragons are real and my breakfast was sentient appendage" thing, and now we were throwing religion into the mix?

Tohru nods, her expression surprisingly serious for a moment. "Yeah, most religions or mythologies are real. Some can be confirmed because a Sacred Gear is made from the corpse or body part of something from another religion or myth. Most of the gods and beings exist too, just not in the average human's worldview."

Tohru says the word "God" with a particularly spiteful tone, but I let it go so she can continue her explanation. "Okay, first we need to see what the thing does... so start trying things."

I look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Trying things? I don't know, Tohru. I was expecting more guidance here."

Tohru huffs, annoyed. "Well, you should've been born with a more famous Sacred Gear, like the Boosted Gear! At least then you wouldn't look like an edgy magical girl!"

"Hey!" I protested, feeling a little stung. An edgy magical girl? Was that really the vibe I was giving off with this black belt? I know I thought it too… but I'm starting to feel self conscious here.

I grumble to myself slightly before taking a breath and focusing on the belt. Tohru just said try stuff. Here goes, I guess. First, I flex my arms and shout at the top of my lungs, "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

But all that does is get Tohru to look at me with a raised eyebrow and some nearby birds to squawk at me. She sighs dramatically.

"Well, that was... certainly enthusiastic," Tohru drawls, a hint of amusement in her golden eyes. "But I don't think raw vocal power is going to unlock the secrets of your divine artifact, Takumi-sama. Unless your Sacred Gear is the 'Ear-Splitting Scream of the Righteous' which, frankly, sounds pretty lame."

Next, I try punching and kicking into the air with all the grace of a newborn giraffe, but still nothing happens. I even start making the web-shooting gesture Spider-Man does, figuring, hey, you never know! Maybe this belt is secretly a portal to the Marvel universe. But alas, no sticky white substance shoots from my wrists, just the continued chirping of unimpressed birds.

Tohru watches my increasingly bizarre movements with a mixture of fascination and exasperation. "Are you… cosplaying now, Takumi-sama? I appreciate the dedication, but I'm not sure how flailing your limbs and pretending to shoot webs is going to help us figure out your Sacred Gear." She taps her foot impatiently.

"Then hit me!" she says with a wide, slightly manic grin.

I freeze, my arm still mid-air from my ill-fated Spider-Man impression. "Wait, what? Hit you? Tohru, are you serious? You're a dragon! I'd probably break my hand on one of your… well, anything!"

Tohru rolls her golden eyes dramatically. "Oh, for the love of… Takumi-sama, do you think I'd ask you to do something that would actually hurt me? Honestly, sometimes I wonder about human intelligence." She puffs out her chest. "Just a little tap! See if your fancy belt does anything when you try to attack. Maybe it's defensive? Or maybe it reacts to intent? Come on! Just a little boop!" She gestures to her arm with an encouraging wiggle of her fingers.

I still hesitate. Hitting a dragon, even a human-sized one, just felt fundamentally wrong. But she did have a point. We weren't getting anywhere with my flailing. And she seemed strangely confident.

"Just… just a light one?" I ask, cautiously raising my fist.

Tohru beams. "Like a butterfly kissing a flower! Now go on!"

I decide to finally listen to her and close my eyes as I take a hesitant swing. I feel my fist connect with something surprisingly soft and springy, before a loud, booming voice erupts from the belt: "Collapse!"

Suddenly, a rush of heat floods my core, and the persistent weakness that had been my constant companion vanishes. My limbs feel… lighter, stronger.

"Huh? That's interesting," I hear from Tohru, her voice a mix of surprise and intrigue.

I open my eyes to see my fist buried surprisingly deep in her chest. My face instantly flushes crimson, and I yank my hand back as if burned.

"S-sorry! I didn't—" I stammer, my gaze darting anywhere but her chest.

But Tohru seems completely unfazed by my accidental (and rather intimate) assault. Her golden eyes are wide, and she's flexing her arms experimentally.

"I think you just doubled my weight…" she murmurs, a thoughtful frown creasing her brow. Then, she looks at me, a playful glint in her eyes. "...Which is rude, by the way! Now I feel all… dense." She wobbles slightly, exaggerating the effect. "Try again! See if you can make me heavier!"

I take another hesitant swing, connecting with her arm this time. Again, the booming voice from the belt echoes, "Collapse!" Tohru's weight visibly increases; her feet sink slightly into the grass, though she doesn't seem particularly strained. The heat in my core intensifies, a pleasant warmth spreading through my veins, and my muscles feel even more powerful, buzzing with newfound energy.

Tohru grunts playfully, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Alright, Takumi-sama! I think we're onto something! Your Sacred Gear makes things… heavier! And it seems to make you stronger when you use it! That's actually pretty cool!" She takes a step, her feet leaving slight depressions in the soil. "Okay, maybe noticeably heavier. Could you… un-heavy me now?"

Authors note: Hello and thank you for joining me on this journey. I am unfortunately in between jobs so to fill in the time I've taken back up writing. please excuse any poor writing or mistakes i make and be sure to leave a comment for any advice! thank you for reading!