Return of the Childhood Friend

Tatsuya woke up to find his bed occupied by both Aika and Kanjomizu again. He silently got out of the bed, careful not to wake the sleeping dragon princesses, and got ready for the day. He came out to the kitchen, yawning and still a little sluggish, and opened the fridge to take out a water bottle. He opened the water bottle and took a sip. As he closed the fridge door, he was greeted by a familiar voice.

“Long time no see, Tatsuya.”

“Ah, yeah, long time no see, Arashi” replied Tatsuya lazily. It wasn’t until he reached the living room entrance that it finally hit him. Tatsuya quickly turned back to see a new visitor sitting atop the counter. She was a teenage girl with short soft silver hair like fluffy feathers and stormy grey eyes that exuded both a free spirit of boundless energy and a rebellious attitude that opposes the natural order. Her skin tone was of a slight silver hue and was as smooth as a clear sky. She wore a silver and green dress that stretched to her her thighs and outlined her body in a very suggestive manner, silver-green pumps, and silver gloves that stretched to her elbows. Tatsuya knew exactly who the girl was. She smiled at him mischievously and waved. “A-A-Arashi?!” shouted Tatsuya in surprise.

Arashi jumped off from the counter and approached Tatsuya with her hands behind her back. She was no taller than him and had a nice slim figure. “Miss me, Tatsuya?” she asked him mischievously. She leaned forward into Tatsuya’s face, causing him to blush. “I missed you too, Tatsuya,” she told him.

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” Tatsuya replied with a nervous chuckle, all the while screaming, ‘Too close! Too close!’ in his head.

“Darling!” screamed Aika, standing in the doorway to the kitchen with Kanjomizu behind her. The fire dragon princess quickly ran in between Tatsuya and Arashi and pushed them apart. “This is not allowed in this household!” she announced vehemently. Aika then quickly turned to Arashi and asked accusingly, “What do you plan on doing to my Darling?”

“D-Darling?” questioned Arashi. She glanced from Aika to Tatsuya and back, and a smile formed on her face. Arashi nonchalantly walked up tot Tatsuya and leaned forward into his face yet again. With a sultry expression of pure lust, Arashi closed her eyes and slowly inched forward. Tatsuya was caught off guard by this development and swallowed a loud gulp, his face reddening like a tomato. Both Aika and Kanjomizu was dumbfounded and fazed by the scene developing before them. They were speechless and was frozen stiff in their places, unable to prevent this from proceeding further. And just when Arashi was only centimeters away from joining her lips to Tatsuya’s, she placed a finger on his lips and smiled. “Just kidding,” she told him. Everyone’s head exploded in a storm of emotions: disbelief, relief, anxiety, envy, and shock. Arashi clutched her stomach, laughing heartily to herself and brushing away a tear of joy, enjoying the unexpected looks on everyone’s faces.

“W-Who are you?!” Aika asked in a shaky tone, slowly recovering from her shock.

Tatsuya quickly recovered back from his shock and shook his head. “This is Kazeryu Arashi,” introduced Tatsuya. “She’s a childhood friend of mine.”

“Childhood friend?!” exclaimed Aika and Kanjomizu in unison in worried tones.

Arashi held onto Tatsuya’s right arm and pulled him closer to her. “Exactly,” she told them with a wink.

“I-I-Impossible!” muttered Aika with bewildered eyes, her head was literally smoking like a crashed computer.

Kanjomizu quickly ran up to Tatsuya and pushed him away from Arashi while clinging to his chest. “No!” she cried. Little tears were dripping from her eyes. “You can’t take My Love away from me!” she announced.

“Eh? My Love?” mused Arashi with an intrigued smile. It was amusing for her to see her childhood friend in this unprecedented situation. Kanjomizu still clung tightly to Tatsuya without any intention of letting go. Aika was still stupefied by the reveal and stood standing like a broken-down machine.

A door opened from the living room and Ingrid and Umi stepped into the kitchen. Umi yelped in surprise over the presence of a new visitor. Ingrid wasn’t that bothered, or maybe she was, though she didn’t show it on her face. Both maids greeted Arashi with a bow and went about their business like normal. Ingrid brought out three prepared lunches out of the fridge and handed them out to Tatsuya, Kanjomizu, and Aika. “It is time,” Ingrid told Tatsuya to his ear.

“Of course!” Tatsuya grabbed his bag from the living room and left the house, dragging both dragon princesses along; Kanjomizu was clinging desperately to his left arm; Aika was still in a stupefied state, leaving Tatsuya no choice but to drag her along by force.

Today’s school day started out like any other. For first period, which was chemistry, the class was learning about chemical reactions. It quickly turned into a debate when Aika and Kanjomizu argued over the “superior” chemical reaction—combustion vs precipitation—much to Tatsuya’s embarrassment. Their argument, of course, used little scientific facts and was mostly an insult contest between them; Aika was very aggressive and bold with her statements, while Kanjomizu used more subtle words with clear condescending undertones. Unsurprisingly, their argument took up all of class time.

The first break arrived and Tatsuya found himself staring passively at his friends Sasuke and Daiki being approached by their female admirers. He wasn’t necessarily envious of their positions or popularity; he’s used to seeing his friends surrounded by romantic pursuers. In fact, it would be weird to not see this same scene repeated every day. Sasuke was kindly holding conversations with his admirers, oblivious to their true intentions. He was as dense and romantically detached as ever. On the other hand, Daiki simply brushed off his admirers with blunt statements of rejection. He wasn’t forceful with his words, yet his words still carried enough weight to be respected by his pursuers.

And then there was Manami. Tatsuya watched with amusement at his friend’s dangerous relationship with the school’s female population and the unwarranted attention he receives from the school’s male population. One second, he would be chased by girls for attempting some sort of perverted trick, and the next, he would be approached by male admirers to receive their confessions.

Both Aika and Kanjomizu, meanwhile, sat on either side of Tatsuya. The former happily clung onto Tatsuya’s right arm. The latter sat demurely with a soft smile as she happily stared at Tatsuya for no reason other than love. Tatsuya sighed but didn’t do anything to change his situation.

When the bell rang for the next period to start, the teacher entered and announced the presence of a new transfer student. Tatsuya, Aika, and Kanjomizu wore distressed expressions on their faces. If it was who they thought it was, then the trio will be in for a dark ride. The new student walked in. She was a teenage girl with a slim figure, short soft silver hair, and stormy grey eyes. Her skin tone was of a slight silver hue and was as smooth as a clear sky. It was none other than Kazeryu Arashi. She introduced herself and was placed by the teacher in a seat two columns away from Tatsuya and one row above. She flashed Tatsuya a wink. Tatsuya could feel his heart rate increasing to dangerous levels.

All throughout class, Aika glared menacingly at Arashi with daggers; the heat of her fury could be felt by Tatsuya. A dangerous atmosphere began to form of which he knew there would be no going back from. Once again, he found himself in a compromising position to an unavoidable situation.

When the next break arrived, Arashi was approached by more than half of the class. She happily conversed with them and fitted in pretty well into the class. She glanced at Tatsuya and excused herself, making her way to his desk. Aika watched Arashi with eyes of pure fury, but restrained herself from causing a scene in the classroom—she wouldn’t want to do anything that would make her Darling mad. Kanjomizu looked on with sad yet suspicious eyes, but her natural timidity and emotional instability forced her to dispense with action and to just sit and watch. All the other students watched on with intrigue. “Tatsuya, how do you like my surprise?” she asked him, sitting atop his desk with her legs crossed.

“S-Surprise?” he stuttered.

“I moved back to Tokyo so that we can hang out again,” she told him with a smile, “Like how we used to when we were kids.”

“Oh, yeah, right!” Tatsuya laughed nervously.

“We didn’t really get a chance to catch up this morning,” she said with faux-sad eyes. “Bet you didn’t know that I would be coming back and transfer to your school.”

“Well, that was really a surprise,” admitted Tatsuya with a smile.

“But now, we get to be together again,” she told him. Those words immediately sent a shock up Aika’s and Kanjomizu’s spine.

“That’s nice, Arashi,” agreed Tatsuya with an awkward laugh.

“Hey, call me by my nickname,” Arashi told him with pouting lips. “You know, the one you gave me when we were children.”

“Eh?!” Sweat poured down Tatsuya’s face like crashing waterfalls. Suddenly, embarrassing moments from his childhood began to flash through his mind; memories that was kept away in a locked chest within his mind, never to be opened again. But now, those cursed memories flowed through his brain like an unforgiving current, reminding him of past events worthy of a thousand cringes. “I-I-I can’t possibly call you that!” he stuttered with a flustered face.

“Eh? You’re mean, Tatsuya,” whined Arashi with a frown. “I thought we were friends?”

“We are!” reassured Tatsuya.

“Then call me by my nickname!” she demanded.

“Okay!” Tatsuya surrendered. He inhaled deeply and exhaled, bracing himself for what is to come. “Acchan,” he called her.

“Yes?” replied Arashi happily like a little girl. She faced Tatsuya and bent down till their eyes were level. With alluring eyes, she slowly undid the first button of her uniform and said in a low, sultry voice, “For your reward, I’ll give you some eye candy.” As she said that, she undid the next button and Tatsuya could catch a glimpse of her undergarment.

Everyone in class held their breaths in bewilderment at this development. The girls were buried in deep confusion; the guys were filled with raging envy. Manami himself was empowered with rage and jealously, desperately wishing to be in Tatsuya’s place; yet the pervert in him also wants to see where this was going and get a chance to enjoy a delicious view without any repercussions.

Once again, Aika and Kanjomizu exploded with a stew of emotions that left them in a catatonic state. They were yet again unable to act and was forced to remain simple spectators to this dangerous development. It was as if every time Arashi puts on this sexy act, both Aika and Kanjomizu unconsciously knew they were outmatched and was forced to surrender without a fight.

Tatsuya’s face grew redder by the minute as Arashi inched forward, her chest filling his line of vision more and more. He could feel his heart rate rising above dangerous levels, the hot rush of blood was starting to drive down his nostrils—his head was beyond the verge of exploding! And just when her glistening chest was centimeters from covering his face, Arashi quickly pulled back and laughed. She laughed wildly and hysterically like a madman, filled with boundless joy and satisfaction. Her sudden laughter surprised everyone in class and cleared the room of its silent and anxious atmosphere.

The girls heaved out sighs of relief and the guys groaned in disappointment. Manami, in particular, was frozen stiff like a tree; his jaws were dropped in disbelief and his eyes became blank slates. Aika and Kanjomizu were still stuck in their catatonic state, unable to comprehend just what the heck had happened. Tatsuya was embarrassed beyond his years, becoming redder than a crimson ruby. He remembered how Arashi would love to tease him as children, but now with how their body and mind had matured, her jokes had become even more lewd than before and her delivery evolved to become more subtle to the point where it became hard to discern whether she was just teasing or telling the truth.

Arashi finally calmed down with a content smile. “I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me, Tatsuya,” she told him. She leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek. This random action sent a shock-wave of bewilderment throughout the entire classroom. Aika finally snapped out of it and her body grew extremely hot.

“Arashi!” exclaimed Tatsuya in surprise.

Arashi groaned and said, “I thought I told you to call by my nickname.”

“A-Acchan,” he complied, blushing.

“That’s better!” said Arashi happily with a nod.

“Stop!” announced Aika, rushing forward and pushing her Darling away from the newcomer. She turned to Arashi with a snarl. “If you lay another hand on my Darling, I will hurt you beyond needing medical assistance!” she hissed.

Arashi was more amused than hurt by Aika’s romantic zeal. “Oh, how cute!” she said condescendingly with an amused smile. She got down from Tatsuya’s desk and approached Aika slowly like a lion ready to pounce. A bead of sweat formed on the fire dragon princess’ forehead; she felt a strange intimidating atmosphere exuding from Arashi. Arashi got within a feet from Aika and leaned into her face until their eyes were level. “I love cute girls like you,” she said in a soft, sultry voice. Aika quickly turned a bright crimson color. The comment stirred her heart and made her mind go blank. It was as if those words had a magic to them that made her become putty in the hands of her enemy.

At this time, Kanjomizu had also unfrozen from her stupefied state and quickly rushed to her Love’s side. “A-A-Are you going to take My Love away from me?” she desperately cried.

Arashi turned to the water dragon princess and noticed that she was tearing up. ‘Maybe I can play with her a little more,’ Arashi thought mischievously to herself. With a nice smile, she simply said, “Well, Tatsuya and I are childhood friends. It would make sense for us to get together after all this time.” She finished with a wink at Tatsuya.

Those words struck Kanjomizu harder than a cannonball. She could feel her heart breaking into a million glass pieces. Her entire future disappeared before her very eyes. With a disturbing chuckle, she slowly turned to the classroom window. And without any warning, she opened the window and jumped onto the shelf, ready to end her miserable life. If her Love is going to be taken away from her, then she has no more reason to live.

The entire classroom erupted in an uproar. Everyone rushed forward to talk her out of doing something so dangerous and reckless, Tatsuya being at the forefront of it all. “Come down!” they all cried.

“Mizu, come down! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Tatsuya shouted.

“If you must leave me, My Love, then I too must leave this cruel world!” she replied dramatically. She leaned an inch forward, causing everyone to literally be on the edge of their feet.

Aika, being at the back of the crowd, could care less about the water dragon princess’ demise. ‘That idiot fool!’ she thought to herself. ‘What does she think she’s doing?’

Arashi was totally caught off guard by everything happening before her and thought to herself, ‘Shoot! I guess I went too far.’ She decided to end this farce for the safety of her new friends. Also, she couldn’t possibly let a new toy get broken just after playing with it for one time. She cleared her throat, and announced bright and clearly, “I’m only kidding!”

Kanjomizu glanced back at Arashi and saw her smile sheepishly in apology. She then glanced at Tatsuya and saw the fear in his eyes, begging her to stop this recklessness. Her heart sunk a bit when she realized just how much anxiety she had caused for her Love. Kanjomizu jumped off of the shelf and right into Tatsuya’s arms, crying aloud, “Forgive me, My Love!” Streams of tears flowed down her eyes, expressing how sorry she was for causing trouble for her Love.

“S-Sure, Mizu,” responded Tatsuya, blushing brightly.

Aika quickly separated the two and flashed the water dragon princess a deadly glare. “Don’t forget your place, you directionally-challenged basket-case!” she snarled. She then quicky grabbed onto Tatsuya’s left arm and pulled herself close. “I will always be your first and only choice, Darling,” she declared with a happy smile. Tatsuya couldn’t help but shudder at the thought.

Arashi smiled with amusement at how her new toys were playing with each other. It seems that she made the right choice to come back. The entertainment was just getting started.

Kanjomizu peeked over at Arashi and noticed the smile on her face. The look of amusement and contentment Arashi had scared her deeply. She had almost died for the enjoyment of some else’s because of their sick joke. It was here and now that Kanjomizu came to truly fear Arashi. The newcomer was a demon who relishes on the suffering of others. And Kanjomizu knew that she herself would be the perfect target. Arashi was bad news and a person the water dragon princess would not want to cross paths with ever again.

During fourth period—gym—Aika and Arashi engaged in a not-so-friendly game of volleyball. They basically took control of the entire game and focused more on hitting each other in the face rather than scoring points; actually it was more one-sided on Aika’s part: she was deeply motivated to cause bodily harm as revenge for those scares she suffered earlier. Arashi, who was more athletic and agile than Aika thought, proved to be an equal match for the fire dragon princess and answered every attack back in kind. Meanwhile, Kanjomizu knew that she was out of their league and meekly stayed in the back, watching the exchange with terrified eyes.

When lunch break came a little after, Arashi placed herself into Tatsuya’s group, much to Aika’s chagrin and Kanjomizu’s fear. She settled in quite easily and it took Tatsuya’s friends less than a minute to accept her as one of the guys. Her strength as a woman was even more pronounced when she took Manami’s perversion in stride and messed with him back, to the amusement of the other guys. But she still kept her focus on Tatsuya and cheerfully recounted many stories of their childhoods, all the while teasing him flirtatiously. Aika sat through the entire ideal with grinding teeth and a seething fury. Kanjomizu didn’t pay much attention to the stories, focusing instead on hiding herself from Arashi’s view by using her Love as a shield. Tatsuya suffered the most of all—he was constantly being pulled in by Arashi’s teases while also being embarrassed out of his mind having to listen to his childhood stories, such as the time he was chased by a group of dogs who were after his corndog and Arashi had to save him by driving the dogs away; or the time when he was chasing after an albino squirrel only to have his head caught between the pickets of a metal gate and Arashi had to come save him again by pulling his head out with all her strength.

And now, we’ve come to fifth period. When the teacher entered the classroom to begin the class, he first made an announcement. “Owatatsumi Tatsuya, Hiryu Aika, Suiryu Kanjomizu, and Kazeryu Arashi” he called, “please go see Mr. Urushihara in the social studies room.”

Tatsuya quickly got up and asked, “What is this for, sensei?”

“Mr. Urushihara said that he has something to discuss with you four,” replied the teacher with a shrug. “That was all he told me.”

Tatsuya and the three girls left the classroom and proceeded down the hallway towards the social studies room. All along the way, Arashi held onto Tatsuya’s hand with a satisfied smile. Aika and Kanjomizu were force to walk together behind the couple. The former was literally burning with envy. On the other hand, the latter felt that it was safer to distance herself from Arashi as much as possible, therefore allowing the newcomer this much leeway was necessary.

When Arashi whispered something into Tatsuya’s ear with a cute giggle, Aika couldn’t take it anymore and stopped in place, shouting loudly, “Why did she have to come with us?!” She pointed at Arashi with an accusing finger like a whining child.

“Well, the teacher said that Mr. Urushihara called for me too,” replied Arashi. She smiled at the fire dragon princess condescendingly and patted her head like a parent to a child. “Now, now, stress is not good for your beauty,” she said in a patronizing tone. And then, with an evil smile, she added mischievously, “You wouldn’t want to spoil your beauty before your Darling, now, would you?”

Once again, Aika froze in place after suffering another mental explosion. Arashi had beaten her again with words, a cruel but very intimidating method that even Aika can not overcome. Kanjomizu noticed the frozen state Aika was in and panicked. Despite the fire dragon princess being her rival in love, Kanjomizu was too scared of Arashi to continue their rivalry right now. She quickly fanned Aika and scurried here and there to revive her. When that didn’t seem to work, she thought for a minute about what to do in this situation and reached a conclusion. She raised her right hand and released a stream of water straight for Aika’s face. The stream immersed Aika’s face in water and, for better or for worse, woke her up immediately. Unfrozen and angry, Aika clenched her fist and shook it in front of Kanjomizu threateningly, screaming, “What did you do that for, you directionally-challenged basket-case?!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” apologized Kanjomizu, bowing her head in quick succession.

“Sheesh,” scoffed Aika.

“Listen, Aika,” began Kanjomizu.

“What is it?” replied Aika in a lighter tone.

“Even though we are rivals in love, I want to offer you a proposal,” put forth Kanjomizu.

“Proposal?” inquired Aika with a raised eyebrow.

“Um, well, you see, um, er, I-I-I, um,” stuttered the water dragon princess.

“Spit it out already!” yelled Aika.

“I want to suggest an alliance!” squealed Kanjomizu fearfully.

“Alliance?” Aika thought for a moment with closed eyes.

“You see,” continued the water dragon princess, “we both now have a common enemy.”

“You mean Kazeryu Arashi, the childhood friend,” inferred Aika. When she gave more thought as to what the water dragon princess could be suggesting, an evil smile formed on her face. “I get it!” she said. “We should form a pact to protect Darling from her evil clutches!” concluded Aika with a superior smile.

Kanjomizu applauded at the fire dragon princess’ quick understanding and said, “Yes! Yes, exactly!”

Aika nodded in agreement over the proposal and said, “Alright then. I guess this is the only way. It’s for Darling’s sake! Separately, we are no match for her schemes. But together, we stand a chance!” Kanjomizu eagerly agreed with a nod. Aika held out a hand and announced boldly, “Let’s agree to put our rivalry on hold until our Darling is safe from Arashi’s evil clutches.”

Kanjomizu took the hand and shook it. “For My Love’s sake!” she said in agreement.

Aika laughed giddily over their new alliance, which gradually evolved into an evil howl of laughter. Kanjomizu didn’t take notice of this development and smiled along. Suddenly, Tatsuya’s voice called out to them, shaking Aika out of her demented joy. “Come one!” he called. He and Arashi was already at the end of the hallway.

“Coming, Darling!” said Aika cheerfully. She grabbed Kanjomizu’s hand and the duo met up with the others at the end of the hallway.

Tatsuya noticed the two dragon princesses holding hands and smiled. Never before had he seen them so close before. “Glad you’re getting along,” he told them, gesturing to their hands. Their bickering had always got on his nerves every single day, so seeing them in a more cordial relationship signaled to him that they had reached some sort of middle ground. But more so, he was glad that from here on out, his life would become a little more peaceful and tolerable.

“Of course!” agreed Aika with a bright smile.

Arashi, however, wasn’t amused by this at all. It’s not fun at all if her toys would not work the way she wanted them too. The two princesses flashed her a glare that was full of determination and fury. Their glares piqued her curiosity. A bright and amused smile formed on her face. ‘I see,’ she realized, ‘they must’ve formed an alliance to team up against me. They see me as the enemy. Great job, girls. You just made this all the more entertaining for me. Thank you.’ Arashi decided to take advantage of this development and thought of brand new ways to play with her toys. If they think that they could beat her by teaming up, then all she needed to do was subtly break up their alliance. Indeed, instead of stopping Arashi from getting her way, the princesses just gave her a new toy to play with. “That's great that you two are getting along!” she told the princesses with a smile.

“Thank you!” responded Aika with a smile just like her enemy.

“Alright, let’s get going,” Tatsuya told them.

The group arrived at the social studies room and walked in. Sitting in a desk at the back was Urushihara Jin, the school’s world history teacher and Tatsuya and the others’ sixth period teacher. He was a fairly tall man with a rosy tan skin tone, short dark crimson hair, and bright reddish-brown eyes that shone with the brilliance of obsidian. He was dressed in a dark red collared shirt, black slacks, and wore a dragon ring on his left hand. Mr. Urushihara is a very popular teacher and highly respected by the entire student body. He is very charming and treats everyone, coworkers and students alike, with equal respect. His classes are very easy to understand and very engaging; leading to many students regarding him as the best teacher throughout the entire school. And when it comes to administering discipline, he is very fair in his judgement. However, there have been stories of Mr. Urushihara losing his temper against certain transgressions, especially cheating and bullying; the common warning for all students is to run for the hills whenever you see his eyes burn brighter than a wildfire lest you become charred like a piece of charcoal.

“Glad you could make it!” greeted Mr. Urushihara. He is known to be very casual with students outside of class, another reason why many students find him easy to approach and talk to.

“You asked for us, Mr. Urushihara?” asked Tatsuya.

“That’s right!” agreed the teacher with a smile. He then bowed before them and said, “It may too late to say this, but I welcome you to the human realm, Princess Ashira of the Draco Tribe, Princess Kinara of the Naga Tribe, and Princess Arina of the Quetzalcoatl Tribe. May the Draco Tribe, the Naga Tribe, and the Quetzalcoatl Tribe forever be glorious and prosperous till the end of all time.”

Tatsuya was completely taken aback by this. Just what the heck was going on? This all seemed to surreal to be true.

“Ah! No wonder I thought you smelled familiar!” exclaimed Aika, pointing a finger at Arashi. “So you’re the Quetzalcoatl princess!”

“Guilty,” sang Arashi with a faux-bashful smile.

“Arashi?!” exclaimed Tatsuya in utter surprise. “Y-Y-You’re a dragon princess?!”

Arashi nodded in answer.

“Quetzalcoatls, dragons of air, are very good at hiding their scents by scattering them in the wind,” explained Aika.

“It’s more of an unconscious thing, really,” corrected Arashi.

“You’re telling me that my childhood friend is really a dragon?” This was too much for Tatsuya to process. “How is this possible?” He looked at the air dragon princess and asked suspiciously, “You really are Arashi, right?”

“Yes, I am,” answered Arashi. “I’m really your childhood friend Kazeryu Arashi.”

Tatsuya could tell that she was indeed telling the truth. It appears that his world will only get more and more weird and frustrating from here. He turned to Mr. Urushihara and said, “So I’m guessing that you’re a dragon too?”

“That is correct, Tatsuya,” replied Mr. Urushihara. He held out his left hand and revealed the Draco symbol, the same as Nobi’s symbol minus the crown. “I am a Draco,” he told them. “I am also an agent of the United Front.”

“Wait a minute, you’re the friend that Nobi told me about?” wondered Tatsuya.

“Exactly!” responded Mr. Urushihara with a nod. “First things first, let’s move this conversation to an empty classroom. That way, you guys can sit while I talk.” He led the quartet to a nearby empty classroom and locked the door. Tatsuya and the others sat down while Mr. Urushihara took to the stand in front of the classroom. “The first thing on this agenda is to discuss the Dracolax incidents,” began the teacher. “I’m sure that Prince Nobi has already informed you of the incidents.”

“Yes,” responded Tatsuya with a nod.

“We received an update on the situation and have gotten closer to the identity of the underground organization with ties to both victims,” explained Mr. Urushihara. “We have confirmed that they are linked to certain banks with ties to confirmed Ouroboros members.”

“If you already know who the members of Ouroboros are, then why don’t you start arresting them?” suggested Tatsuya angrily.

“That is not an easy task to do,” Mr. Urushihara told him.

“Ouroboros is more than just a radical organization,” explained Aika grimly. “It has ties to powerful people. Many of its members are nobility and aristocrats.”

“Seriously?” said Tatsuya with a puzzled expression.

“The organization is very ancient and champions a very antiquated ideology that is still treated favorably by the elite,” added Kanjomizu timidly.

“That’s why Ouroboros is a very powerful and dangerous organization,” concluded Arashi. “If we want to take them down, we have to do right. Otherwise, we’ll lose to dirty money and sleazy politics.”

“Tatsuya, you are the Dragonborn,” said Mr. Urushihara. “Prince Nobi told me that you possess the Mark fo Marduk, the sign of the Dragonborn. Only you have the power to take them down.”

“Why me? What do I have to do with it?” argued Tatsuya, getting up from his seat.

“You see, there is an ancient prophecy,” explained Mr. Urushihara. “The prophecy states that a great war between dragons and humans will occur, which will lead to the destruction of the universe. However, there will be one hero who will possess the power to prevent this from happening. He will unite dragons and humans and preserve the universe. That hero is known as the Dragonborn. A hero born from the union of a human and a dragon.”

“Don’t other dragonborns exist?” reasoned Tatsuya. “You just need a dragonborn, a person born from the union of a human and a dragon, right?”

“We don’t need just any dragonborn,” responded Mr. Urushihara. “We need the Dragonborn.”

“What the hell is the difference?” Tatsuya asked him.

“There are three signs of the Dragonborn,” Mr. Urushihara explained. “The first is the Mark of Marduk, of which you are the owner.” Tatsuya sat back down, knowing that he lost in this battle of reason and logic. “The second is Fafnir, a legendary impenetrable armor that grants divine strength to its wearer and is immune to all forms of magic and divine powers. And the third is the Seiryu Blade, an unbreakable blade imbued with the divine powers of past dragon gods.”

“I don’t really get it,” admitted Tatsuya. “Are you saying that this mark is only the beginning?” Mr. Urushihara answered with a nod. Tatsuya glanced at Aika and the other princesses and asked, “How about the dragon princesses?”

“The dragon princesses are targeted victims of Ouroboros’ plans,” Mr. Urushihara told him. “Their role is twofold. According to the prophecy, the dragon princesses are important in helping the Dragonborn to unite the thirteen tribes. Ouroboros plans to disrupt the prophecy and will use any means necessary to that end, even if means abduction and possible execution.”

“They’re willing to go that far for some antiquated ideology?!” exclaimed Tatsuya.

“They are radicals, after all,” reasoned Mr. Urushihara. “Secondly, if Ouroboros succeeds in abducting the princesses, they will have leverage against the tribe kings. It will also undermine the natural order among the tribes and illustrate the kings as either incompetent fools or foolhardy tyrants.”

“What about uniting the thirteen tribes? What’s the problem with them?” inquired Tatsuya curiously.

“Since ancient times, the thirteen tribes have always been at war,” explained Mr. Urushihara. “You will learn the history of it all in due time,” he told Tatsuya, “but one thing I will say is this: the thirteen tribes have been at peace for a long time now, albeit tentatively. If this tentative peace is disrupted, the entire dragon realm will be buried deep in war and chaos. This is exactly what Ouroboros wants.”

“So how are the princesses supposed to help me unite the tribes?” asked Tatsuya. He was still unsure on that part.

“It will all make sense in the end,” answered Mr. Urushihara. “Now, there is one last matter I want to address.”

“What is that?” asked Tatsuya and the girls in unison.

“In order for us to exchange information and work together in this venture,” began Mr. Urushihara.

“Wait, where are you going with this?” asked Tatsuya suspiciously.

“I propose we form a school-sanctioned club,” finished the teacher.

“What do you mean by—?” Tatsuya was quickly drowned out and ignored by the teacher.

“You girls aren’t in any clubs, correct?” Mr. Urushihara asked the princesses. They replied with a shake of their head. “Good!”

“Wait a minute, Mr. Urushihara. Since when did we—?” again, he was ignored by the teacher.

“Tatsuya, you aren’t in any clubs either, correct?” asked Mr. Urushihara.

“No,” replied Tatsuya. “But listen, I—.”

“Great!” exclaimed the teacher cheerfully. “Now, I know we need a minimum of five people, but don’t worry! I know three more people we can add. And I’m sure they’ll be of great help.” He winked knowingly at Tatsuya.

However, Tatsuya didn’t know what the teacher meant at all and he was extremely infuriated for being constantly ignored by him. ‘I’m guessing all Dracos are like this,’ he grimaced.

“Alrighty then! Dismissed!” happily announced the teacher with a clap of his hands.

When they were out of the classroom, Aika clasped her hands together with an extremely happy smile, joyfully announcing, “I get to be in a club with Darling!” She casually took hold of Tatsuya’s right hand and said, “We get to spend more time together, Darling! Isn’t that great?”

“Um, sure,” replied Tatsuya disinterestedly.

It came time for school to end and Tatsuya was changing his shoes when he noticed a shiny silver pen in his cubby along with a note attached to it. It was from Mr. Urushihara. The note read: “Here is a gift from the United Front. Use it wisely. This gift is the most treasured item among the coveted Fifteen Dragon Treasures. Good luck, Urushihara Jin.” Tatsuya grabbed the pen and analyzed it. It was a silver capped ballpoint pen the size of a large highlighter. On its side was a clean black drawing of a dragon. Close to the top of the pen were black etchings of the words “Divine Judgement” (Kami no Sabaki). The cap glittered brilliantly like a diamond; near the tip was a golden circle with many symbols. Tatsuya looked closer at them and could make out a flame and a wave. Those two symbols were illuminated like fireflies; the rest were too dark to make out. Content with his examination, Tatsuya took the pen and left for home, accompanied by the girls. Though it would make more sense for him to question everything that had just occurred: from the reveal of Arashi’s true identity, to Mr. Urushihara’s unexplained passionate motivation to start up a club as a cover for their activities, to Tatsuya’s involuntary appointment as the chosen one, to the gift of the silver pen treasure; Tatsuya knew by now that his life isn’t going to be getting any easier, and the questions he have will be answered…eventually. This is why he decided to take it all in stride and hope that his life won’t get any messier than this…hopefully.