Recovery, Fate, and a Plan of Attack

“Alright, that’s everyone!” the United Front agent told Shizo.

Shizo nodded and reported it to Mr. Urushihara in the classroom. He then walked back out into the hallway and joined his fellow Council members. “We’ve got everyone out safely,” he told them. “How is the battle outside?”

“Ever since the arrival of the United Front agents, many of the scourges have been defeated and treated,” answered Kenjiro. “And the many volunteers we’ve secured helped our cause a lot too,” he added.

Shizo nodded with a smile of relief. “That’s good to hear,” he said. He looked at his fellow Council members and was happy to see that they were safe and sound. He was more happy to know that the school is safe from harm with the many people fighting outside to protect it. As he happily looked over each of his fellow Council members, he realized that something wasn’t right. He frowned and asked, “Where is Yukari?”

The other members looked around and noticed that the Council Historian wasn’t with them at all. They shook their heads, unaware of where their fellow Council member could be. This was indeed a problem considering the current situation. Could she be outside in the battle? Could she have been hurt? Just where could their fellow Council member be?

“This is not good,” said Shizo. “We have to find her soon. Who knows what will happened to her if we don’t?”

The Student Body Council exited the school as a group and came out to the school grounds. They desperately searched their surroundings for some clue as to where their fellow Council member could be. When it became apparent that she was nowhere near the school at all, the Council started to get anxious and assumed the worst. “What if she is caught in the middle of a battle?” asked Sana fearfully.

“We have to look for her no matter what,” said Shizo. “She is a fellow Council member, an irreplaceable friend and colleague. I’ll be damned if I let one of our fellow Council members suffer under my watch.”

“But what if—?” said Sana sadly.

“Don’t say it!” interrupted Kenjiro. “We won’t know until we confirm it for ourselves.”

“That’s right,” agreed Shizo, “Pray that Council Historian Sanada Yukari is well and out of harm’s way.”

“Excuse me, but did I hear you say Sanada Yukari?” came a voice near them. The Student Body Council turned their attention to a new duo they have never met before hidden in the darkness. The duo slowly walked up to them and their identities were revealed.

Shizo automatically knew who the speaker was upon seeing their appearance. “You,” he snarled with a scowl. “What are you doing here in the human realm?”

“My, my, if it isn’t Zino Kur,” said Aris, bowing before the Council President. “I did not expect to find you here in the human realm.”

“How your kingdom allows for your betrayal, I will never know,” said Shizo with a scowl. “Just what are you planning, Aris?” he asked.

“Everything has already gone as planned,” said Aris, holding out his hands grandly as if he was giving a very grandiose presentation. “Now, the human realm will crumble and dragons will once again rule the universe in its entirety!”

“Do you really think that you’ll succeed in the end?” asked Shizo spitefully.

“Oh, I think that’s already been established,” said Aris, tilting his head upwards with a mischievous knowing smile.

Shizo abhorred that smug smile on Aris’ face. However, now is not the time for him to engage in pointless conversation. “What do you know about Sanada Yukari?” he asked suspiciously.

Aris snapped his fingers and Eron opened the brown bag slung across his shoulder—he had previously acquired it from a United Front agent he had killed just moments before. The Bakunawa brought out a strange blue object. He presented it to the Council and it became apparent just what it was. The object was icy blue like a frozen lake and about the size of a large rock; it had dark blue veins wrapped around it and two valves protruding from the top, and its shape was reminiscent of the bottom half of an American football. The Council members were utterly disgusted and horrified by the object and tried their best to avert their gaze from its blasphemous presence.

“You bastard! What the hell is that in your hand?” asked Shizo furiously.

“This treasure of mine is a heart,” answered Aris brightly. “More specifically, it's the heart of your comrade, the Okami.” He flashed the Council a demented grin filled with malice and horror. “You see, you’re very own fellow Council member is a spy for Ouroboros,” he revealed to them like a giddy child. “She was planted in your group by the higher ups once they heard that many of the bigwigs from the various tribes were monitoring a school that was located in the same city as the Dragonborn.”

“Impossible,” said Kenjiro with a shake of his head. “Yukari was an agent of Ouroboros? That has to be a lie!”

“I’m afraid it’s not!” replied Aris cruelly. “Sanada Yukari—actually, let me start over. Human names leave a bad taste in my mouth.” He spit onto the ground to his right to illustrate his hatred for human culture and faced them again with a more calm but still demented grin. “Karella, as you all know, is a devout member of Ouroboros. She was the one that told us the Dragonborn’s true identity. Before, all that we know of the Dragonborn was his area of residency—this drab and disgusting place known as Tokyo. It wasn’t until a week ago that we received information regarding his name. Once word was spread among the royal families and nobility about the Dragonborn, thanks to that stupid Draco prince, we now knew that the Dragonborn was a human named Owatatsumi Tatsuya. But the real icing on the cake was when Karella learned that Owatatsumi Tatsuya was a student at this very high school. And it was all thanks to you, Zino!”

“My name is Kurokomo Shizo, president of Heiwa High School’s Student Body Council!” shouted Shizo insistently.

Aris’ expression suddenly turned dark and loathing. “You human loving bastard,” he cursed in a scary voice.

Shizo touched his wrist and brought out his Dragon Regalia: a pair of silver and green chakrams (circular metal disk with sharp blade-like edges) with golden handles in the middle and serrated edges. He gripped tightly onto the handles and got into a battle stance. “Come on, Aris! Why don’t we have a battle for old time’s sake?” challenged Shizo.

“Believe me, I would,” began Aris, “but I’m done for today.” He took the dragon heart from Eron and held it up to the sky as if he was beholding a jewel. “Say, Zino, do you know what the price is for dragon heart on the black market?”

“What are you going on about now?” asked Shizo with glaring eyes.

“If I remember correctly, a very healthy heart go for 900 million gilds!” said Aris excitedly. “That’s a little over half of the royal family fortunes!” He smiled greedily to himself and let out a demented chuckle. “Imagine how much I can make if I sell this little treasure of mine! I can rule my own kingdom!” Aris turned to the Council and said, “Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you that this little treasure was harvest by none other than yours truly.” Those words sent a shocking chill down the Council’s spine.

“What do you mean by that?” asked Shizo in a horrified voice.

“Karella was already on the verge of death,” began Aris, “She had injected herself with Dracolax and still lost a battle to those princesses. Seriously, there are no good help these days! With the drug running through her veins, I believe she only had a good hour or even a little less before her body would implode and become nothing more than a rotting pile of bones. I was there when she had succumbed to the drug’s fatal side effect. And when I saw lying there helplessly, an idea popped into my head. Like, really, it came right then and there. If she was going to die anyway, then why don't I make a little profit out of it? She was useless anyway so the least she could do to be of use to me before she died dishonorably is to let me use her body to make money. So I ripped her heart out of her chest and thought about selling it on the black market. It’s a good thing that I harvested before her body gave up too, otherwise her heart would’ve disintegrated with the rest of her organs.”

“You monster!” shouted Kenjiro furiously.

“If you think that I’ll let you get away with it,” began Shizo in a low voice, “then you’ve got another thing coming!” he yelled out wrathfully. With murder written in his eyes, Shizo dashed forward with his chakrams poised for slicing Aris to pieces.

Aris simply dodged the attack and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, Shizo found himself tripping on his own feet and falling onto the ground. “Sorry, Mr. President, but I’m rather tired from my battle a while ago,” said Aris, faking a yawn. He turned around and gestured for a Eron to come. He handed the heart back to Eron, who then zipped it back up in his sack. “Oh, I forgot to ask, did you catch my announcement from before?” he asked the Council with a hidden smile.

“What are you talking about?” asked Hikari.

“I suggest that you surrender yourself now,” Aris told them. “Your hero already did it.”

“Hero?” asked Shizo with a frown, who was now on all fours on the ground while in the process of getting back up on his feet. He then realized what Aris meant and quickly looked up at the Yellow Terror with a look of terrible disbelief. “Impossible!” he declared.

“When did you make that announcement?” asked Kenjiro fiercely.

“My, helping the human world has really dulled your senses,” criticized Aris, shaking his head in an act of pure disappointment and pity. “You’ve already lost, you heretics!” announced Aris triumphantly. He laughed maniacally to himself as he disappeared with Eron into the night.

The Council couldn’t believe what they just heard. Shizo couldn’t find it in himself to get up on his feet anymore. ‘This can’t be,’ he said to himself. ‘Owatatsumi Tatsuya, just what happened to you?’ Shizo hit the ground with his fist in frustration and anger. Silence filled the atmosphere, creating an air of dread that was heavier than a thousand pound lead weight.

“What does this mean?” asked Sana, breaking the ice.

“We’ve lost,” decided Kenjiro spitefully.

“But—,” attempted Hikari.

“We’ve lost!” repeated Kenjiro angrily. “There’s nothing we can do! This is it!”

Hikari couldn’t stand Kenjiro’s stubbornness and clenched his fists tightly. “Why do you have to be so negative all the time?!” he yelled at the Council Vice-President. “You’re stubbornness is thicker than a savra’s skin!” he insulted his superior.

“Why you,” grumbled Kenjiro through gritted teeth, his anger rising up out of him like a volcano ready to explode. “Ah ain’t gat time ta fool with cha!” he yelled back at his subordinate. “Ya ain’t gat no respekt fer yer supers and yer lil cheeky ad’tude is hella annoyin like bullshit! Ana yer lil pos’tive all da time ad’tude is nuttin’ but a stup’d pain in da ass! Ya ‘ear me, ya lil stup’d whippersnappah?!”

“Yeah, yeah, grandpa hicks, I heard you,” mocked Hikari with dead eyes. “But you really got to do something about that accent of yours if you want me to take you seriously.”

“Wha, Ah betta knock sum ov yer teeth loose,” threatened Kenjiro with gritted teeth. Both Council members bumped chests with each other and were squaring up.

“That’s enough!” ordered Shizo. He got up on his feet and the other Council members turned their attention to him. “We’re not going to lose,” he told them. “It’s not over yet. I believe that we will win this in the end.”

“But—,” protested Kenjiro.

“I ask you all to put your trust in the Dragonborn,” pleaded Shizo, “Please.” The others were surprised by their leader’s request. This was the first time they’ve ever witnessed their leader in a very humble and sincere light. It was out of character for Quetzalcoatls, which made it all the more surprising and sincere to the others.

“Of course, President,” said Kenjiro with a nod and smile. Hikari and Sana also agreed with a nod of their own.

“Owatatsumi Tatsuya,” began Shizo, looking out at the blackening sky, “we all believe in you to save us. Please, Dragonborn, guide us to our victory. We all place our faith in you.”

Darkness. That was all Tatsuya could see. His entire surrounding was nothing but a black void of emptiness. Has death come upon him? Was this the afterlife? He felt cold and anxious, yet his surroundings emanated a comforting aura that caressed his body like the hands of a caring mother. It was drawing him forward, tantalizing him with its false sense of safety in order to sink him deeper into the unknown. Tatsuya was afraid to obey, but he couldn’t fight at all against this comforting desire. He found himself wanting to follow the darkness and become one with the void. This is what he wants…. To release himself from the stress that had been building up inside of himself and accept the darkness’ comfort to live a life free of strife. This is what he wants…right?

Meanwhile, back in the infirmary, Kanjomizu and the others were ready to begin the Nine Jewels of Naga. Torahime had used one of her talismans to wrap her body in vines—Dragon Slaying Ninja Art: Intertwining Branches of Life; the vines wrapped around her body like a natural plant dress. Everyone got into the positions as dictated by Kanjomizu: Aika stood near the top of the bed on Tatsuya’s right; Kanjomizu stood next to her near Tatsuya’s right chest; Arashi stood next to the Naga princess near Tatsuya’s abdomen; Sunaji stood next to Arashi near Tatsuya’s right leg; Torahime, clad in her dress of vines, stood in front of Tatsuya at the foot of the bed; Miryu stood next to the dragon slayer near Tatsuya’s left leg; Manami stood next to the Sanryu leader near Tatsuya’s abdomen, straight across from Arashi; Daiki stood next to him near Tatsuya’s left chest; and Sasuke rounded out the group by standing near the top of the bed on Tatsuya’s left. With the semicircle completed, Kanjomizu told everyone to channel their elemental powers. The others nodded and did as they were told, thus the Nine Jewels of Naga has been activated.

Ryujin and Yong stood near the window, far away from the group to give them space to perform the ritual. Kiryu and Iwaryu stood near the door opposite the Celestial Dragons and had their focus on the recovering Druk princess lying in bed before them. Nekoyashi stood near the back of the room just enough to where she can still see what was going on without being too close to the action. “This is the moment of truth,” said Yong to Ryujin. “Say, how did you know that the Naga princess knew the ritual?” she asked curiously.

“I know that the ritual is passed down the Naga royal family and is taught to their heirs whenever they come of age,” answered Ryujin. “Although it is apparent that the Naga princess possesses the Hollow, the ritual requires less power than it does focus and concentration. Therefore, once you connect the dots, it is not at all strange to assume that she knows how to perform the ritual.”

“Maybe I should peek my head into the mortal world more often,” said Yong. “And not just to have some fun, either,” she added mischievously.

The group all had their eyes closed and they concentrated deeply on the task at hand. Each of their bodies glowed a different brilliant color along the color spectrum. They had their hands held out in a ball-holding gesture. The channeling of their energies finally took material form: in Aika’s hand was a ball of fire; in Kanjomizu’s was a ball of water; in Arashi’s was a ball of wind; in Sunaji’s was a ball of earth; in Torahime’s was a ball of vines; in Miryu’s was a ball of light; in Manami’s was a ball of golden energy (luck); in Daiki’s was a ball of pure silver energy (magic); and in Sasuke’s was a ball of lightning.

Kanjomizu opened her eyes and instructed the group what to do next. “Now, we must carefully pour our materialized energy into My Love. When we do, we cannot lose focus, otherwise our energies will disappear and we must start over again. We must also be united in mind and heart.” The others nodded along to her instructions. Everyone then carefully pushed their energies forward. Kanjomizu closed her eyes and began to chant: “When life is lost and can’t return. Reach for the immortal soul which still burns. We offer nine jewels, our sacrifice. To pray for Death’s release, we pay the price. Wheel of rebirth, cease your endless cycle. Return to us our holy miracle!”

As Kanjomizu chanted, the energies each of the members materialized gravitated towards Tatsuya’s body. The bright colored balls were then absorbed into Tatsuya’s body, turning it into a hodgepodge of bright rainbow colors. Sweat suddenly proliferated from Tatsuya’s body and his entire being was literally steaming like burning coals.

“Darling!” exclaimed Aika in terror.

“Don’t lose focus,” Kanjomizu told her. Aika turned her head to see Kanjomizu wearing a very determined expression that was unlike her. Sensing the strong will and determination within the Naga princess, Aika nodded and did her best to not break away from the ritual.

In the world of darkness, Tatsuya was being swallowed deeper and deeper into the abyss. He was completely enraptured by the cozy darkness. As he sank deeper into the black nothingness, he felt a slight change in the atmosphere. A warmth he had not felt in so long grazed his back. It made him turn around and want to chase after it. He reached out and could feel the warmth softly caressing his hand and slowly wrapping around his entire body. He wanted to hold on to this warmth and never let it go. As it carefully led him away from the darkness, Tatsuya could feel a wave of vitality flowing through his body and reinvigorating him. The farther away from the darkness he got, the more energized he felt. Suddenly, in front of him he could see a small opening of light. The opening grew bigger and bigger at an exponential rate as he got closer and closer to it. The warmth still enveloped his body and he wasn’t going to let go of it now. It carried him further towards the opening and once he finally crossed over, his entire view turned bright white.

Back in the infirmary, the ritual was completed. Now, all everyone had to do was wait. Tatsuya’s body had stopped steaming and was laying in the same state as before. Nekoyashi glanced over from her position and noticed a miracle happening before her eyes—the bruises on Tatsuya’s body was slowly disappearing like they were being erased from existence. “Look!” she exclaimed to the others. Everyone followed her gaze and watched with elation and fascination at how Tatsuya’s body was being miraculously healed and repaired: the bruises disappeared from his body, the scratches and cuts sealed up, the bloodstains dried up, and his breathing slowly returned to normal.

Inside of him, Tatsuya’s organs were also healing up and recovering very quickly and efficiently too. A great weight had been lifted off of his internal systems, releasing him from the stress and pressure that ached his entire body. But the greatest of all recoveries was the reconstruction of the broken bones in his legs. The ritual mended the injury and patched up the broken gap like new. The two pieces were joined once again, and the blood vessels and nerves that suffered damage from the broken bones were quickly repaired, returning mobility and feeling to his legs.

Now that his entire body was fixed up, everyone waited patiently for Tatsuya to regain his consciousness. Tatsuya’s body suddenly twitched, which made the others all the more anxious for him to wake up. And then, slowly but surely, Tatsuya opened his eyes like a fawn entering the world for the first time. The light that he had previously found himself absorbed in dissipated and he found himself looking at a blurry world. His vision slowly corrected themselves and the blur disappeared. With his vision now clear, Tatsuya looked at his surroundings and realized that he was lying on a bed in some strange room. His body felt light but reinvigorated, like he had just downed four bottles of energy drink but without any of the negative effects. There was no pressure or stress on his body, and he felt no pain at all. He could feel warmth coursing inside his body like a soothing stream. It took him a few seconds to get reacquainted with his return to reality and to realize the legion of faces that were looking at him with emotions ranging from elation to fury to relief.

“Where am I?” he asked aloud without meaning to.

“Darling!” cried Aika. She grabbed Tatsuya by the neck and pulled him in for a very tight hug. “Oh, you’re okay! I was so worried about you!” she told him excitedly.

“Aika…can’t…breathe…,” squeaked Tatsuya.

Sunaji grabbed Aika’s shoulder and said, “Can’t you see that you’re hurting him?”

Aika immediately released Tatsuya from her grip and apologized. Tatsuya rubbed his neck and looked around. “Where am I?” he asked.

“The infirmary,” answered his father.

“What happened?” asked Tatsuya.

“You were badly beaten,” explained Ryujin. He then turned to Kanjomizu with a smile and added, “It was Kanjomizu who saved you. She and your friends healed you from your injuries.”

Tatsuya lightly lifted his left leg and found that it was good as new. He felt no pain when he moved it and the bones felt like they were whole again—it was as if they weren’t broken in the first place! “My legs are healed,” he announced with a smile. He glanced over at Kanjomizu and said, “Thank you, Mizu.” Kanjomizu had her head down and blushed with a smile.

“Hey, I helped too,” said Aika with a pout.

“Thank you,” Tatsuya told her with a smile. “Thank you, everyone, for helping me,” he announced to the room. His eyes then turned sad and he hung his head with a depressing expression. “I’m sorry,” he said repentantly. His eyebrows furrowed into a frown. “I don’t deserve your kindness,” he told them. “I lost to the enemy and betrayed you all. Now, the world is in danger and it’s all my fault.” This was the truth that Tatsuya accepted. He was the one responsible for letting his enemy claim victory. He was the one responsible for handing the human world over to a madman.

Despite Tatsuya’s display of apologetic self-pity, Aika raised her hand and brought it down upon his cheek, slapping him hard across the face with the force of a truck. “That is not true!” she told him furiously. The pain and shock from the slap took a moment to travel through Tatsuya’s body, leaving him in a state of agony not too different from getting his body hit by a car. But once the impact exited his body, he took in Aika’s words and processed them. Although he very much wanted to believe her words, he knew that they were just too good to be true.

“She’s right,” joined in Sasuke. Tatsuya looked up at his friend and could see that he too, along with everyone else in the room, wore serious and determined expressions. “This battle isn’t over yet. Don’t sell yourself short just because of one loss,” said Sasuke. Daiki nodded along with the sentiment.

Torahime walked up to Tatsuya and looked him straight in the eyes. “You are the Dragonborn, aren't you?” she asked him. Tatsuya had no answer. She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him while saying, “You are the Dragonborn, aren’t you?! You told me that those dragons outside are innocent victims and that dragons and humans aren’t so different after all! I’ve watched you protect countless human lives from raging dragons during our times fighting together, and, I hate to admit this, but you were actually doing a very heroic job protecting both races! And now, just because of one loss, you decide to surrender everything and just accept your fate for what it is?! What kind of hero are you?! Now, the human realm is going to be destroyed while you’re here feeling sorry for yourself! You say that this is your fault, but it’s only when you give up that it’s really going to be your fault.” As she lectured him, Tatsuya had his face turned away and wore a sad expression. Torahime raised her hand and slapped his other cheek hard like a hammer to a chisel. “You are the Dragonborn, aren't you?” she repeated in a defeated voice. She hung her head in defeat, yet her hands were still gripping hard onto Tatsuya’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” Tatsuya told her.

Those words sent a chill down Torahime’s spine and she gasped. She then released him from her grip and said in a quiet voice, “You know, I didn’t slay any of the dragons I defeated. When I tried to do it, I kept hearing a voice that told me no. You may not believe this, hell I don’t want to believe it myself, but...the voice I heard was yours. I didn’t slay those dragons and allowed them to be recuperated from their condition. You changed me. So don’t go thinking that you’re useless and can’t do anything to change what has already been done.”

Yong had heard enough of this and walked up to Tatsuya. “You’ve been slapped in the face too much already so I’ll go about this another way,” she said. She raised up hand to Tatsuya’s head and flicked his forehead. Tatsuya was prepared to suffer another major painful injury to his healed face, but the pain didn’t come. Contrary to all of the megaton slaps that he had suffered just moments before, this flick was light and normal. “Are you going to be a servant to fate?” asked Yong, “If this is how Fate wills it to be, are you really going to just sit out and let it happen?”

Tatsuya thought for a moment and let those words sink in. “I can’t do anything now,” he answered with a sigh. “I’m no hero. I’m just the guy who surrendered.”

“You told me before about not wanting to be hero,” said Yong. “So what? Is that what you’ve decided? Are you just going to give up? Are you saying that you’re satisfied with taking a loss and discarding your will as a hero? If you think that this will allow you to escape your fate as the Dragonborn, then you are very wrong. In fact, this just means that you’ve accepted your new fate as a loser incapable of coming back after a loss. But you know what? This is just perfect for you!” She smiled and giddily brought her hands together like a little child. “You’ve already disgraced yourself, so what’s the point of embarrassing you further? Just take your loss and go live a quiet peaceful life as a loser. I mean, that’s what fate decided for you and I assume that you've already accepted it. Am I right or am I right? We don’t need to bring you back from the dead, so you can just live as the ghost of the hero you used to be.” She then cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, “Alright, people, the lead character lost and is asking for an early retirement! We need a new lead character, so who’s ready to play the new hero? We’re holding auditions right here and right now! Everyone is welcome to join, especially if you’re a stock anime hero with weird hair and crazy powers, specifically the kind that allows you to transform into a superhuman version of yourself and take out the enemy with one punch!”

Tatsuya couldn’t bear it anymore. “What do you want me to do?!” he screamed out. His burst silenced the room.

“Take responsibility,” Ryujin told him. Tatsuya looked up at his father with a questioning gaze. “Take responsibility for your loss and come back stronger than before. If you think that you can just accept responsibility for your error by wallowing in self-pity, then you’re no better off than a beaten dog who gave up on surviving. Yes, you lost, but are really going to let it get to your head and dictate how you should live your life from now on?”

“Didn’t you say before that you don’t believe in fate?” added Sasuke. “If you give up right now, then you’re just subjecting yourself to fate and your argument before will lose all validity. If you don’t want to be a servant to fate, then change it with your own hand! Don’t let this fate or whatever tell you to give up just because it showed you one loss.”

“Why let fate decide how you live when you can decide for yourself?” offered Yong wisely.

That’s when a statement from before replayed in his mind. “At the center of your being, I have the answer; I know who I am and what I want,” he recounted confidently. Those words reinvigorated him with newfound confidence like a very powerful and soothing waterfall. He could feel their power and it made him rethink his current situation. “I’m the master of my own fate. Only I possess the power to shape it how I want. If I don’t change it, then how can I call myself my own person? I’ll just be subjected to the will of another,” he said confidently, nodding his head in understanding of what he has to do now. “I’m not going to let one loss tell me that I’m no good. In fact, the battle isn’t over yet, it’s just getting started,” he announced to the room.

“Darling/Tatsu!” said Aika and Sasuke in unison with huge smiles on their faces.

“I can see that you’re finally coming to your senses,” said Torahime with her hands crossed over her chest and her face turned away in typical tsundere fashion.

“We’re going to defeat the bad guys once and for all and protect the human realm,” declared Tatsuya heroically. Everyone cheered along with his statement.

“I don’t mean to be a party pooper, but how are we going to do that?” asked Manami reasonably.

“Let me do it,” said Tatsuya. “I have to pay him back for what he did to me and for manipulating Mizu, as well as for trying to destroy our home.” He wore the determined face of a warrior.

“Ah, Tatsu-chin can just turn into his dragon hybrid form and take that bastard out with one punch!” proposed Manami, proud of his bright idea.

“Hybrid form?” asked Ryujin and Torahime curiously in unison.

“Tatsu-chin can transform into a cool human-dragon hybrid after kissing the princesses,” Manami told them. Expectedly, Manami got what he deserved in the form of a twin uppercut from both Sunaji and Arashi.

“Don’t you dare spout out any more of those lies, you loathly beef-witted blackguard!” shouted Sunaji angrily.

“Say anything else, and I’ll introduce your little friend to my chop shop,” threatened Arashi with a very discomforting smile.

Aika immediately grabbed hold onto Tatsuya and said, “Me! Me! Me! Darling, kiss me! I’ll give you the power of the mighty Draco tribe and you can burn that little bastard to ashes!”

Kanjomizu lightly leaned in close to Tatsuya until they were shoulder to shoulder and bashfully said, “I-I-I think that the Naga tribe would be better in this situation. That is, if you’re okay with me, My Love.”

Both Arashi and Sunaji couldn’t believe how quick their rivals were on the draw and immediately attacked Tatsuya from the other side. “I wouldn’t mind sharing with you some of my powers,” offered Sunaji. “I mean, this is for your own benefit only. You really are a lurdan without someone to aid you, aren’t you? But I guess this is for the greater good. Therefore, I shall give you the quality powers of the Python tribe,” she said in her typical elegant lady fashion. (“Lurdan” = “an idle/incompetent/foolish person”; “Quality” = “high social standing”).

“Or…perhaps…you could…I don’t know…maybe you would like my powers instead?” offered Arashi bashfully and at a loss for words. She was still a little embarrassed about her feelings and didn’t know exactly how to convey them, unlike the more open and shameless expressions of love from Aika and Kanjomizu or the weirdly effective tsundere style of Sunaji.

“Um—I—uh,” stuttered Tatsuya, overwhelmed by the girls’ requests.

“Owatatsumi Tetsuya,” said Torahime through gritted teeth. Tatsuya looked up at her and she flashed him a very scary look that made him flinch in his seat. “Are you really some kind of hero or just a pervert who needs to have his masculinity tore to shreds?” she asked him like a terrifying demon.

Suddenly, a very great announcement caught the attention of everyone in the room. “She’s recovered!” announced Kiryu.

The curtain that separated Tatsuya’s bed from the next one over was pushed to the side to reveal Shurai sitting up in her bed. She had fully recovered from her intense over-exhaustion and returned to her usual state of lethargy and boredom. She turned her head to Tatsuya and smiled upon seeing his return to conscious life. “Tatsu-kun,” she said happily.

“Shurai! I’m glad you’re okay,” he told her with a smile.

His words made Shurai blush and her cheeks turned a dark red. “T-Thank you,” she told him bashfully. Again, that weird feeling from before entered her chest and filled her stomach with butterflies.

"Looks like we're all here," said Sasuke with a nod.

“Alright then,” said Tatsuya, turning his attention back to the entire room. “I have a plan. What I learned from my battle with Aris is that he is a madman who thrives in chaos. His style is undisciplined and wild, which is why he was able to catch me off guard. But I think now that I understand him a bit more now from that battle, I can take him on with knowing what I’m getting myself into. However, I want the dragon slayers to help me a bit with something when I fight him.”

“You want us to aid you in a one-on-one fight?” asked Torahime disgustedly. “You call yourself a hero, but where is your honor? That is disgraceful!”

“I know,” agreed Tatsuya grimly.

“But this is the only way, nyan?” said Nekoyashi with a smile. She walked up to Torahime and said, “Himeko, it’s more honorable to help your friends when they’re in trouble than to take care of things yourself even when you know the odds against you are great, nyan?”

Torahime had her face turned away and frowned. “I-I guess,” she grumbled back in answer.

“Besides, I’m pretty sure Owatatsumi Tatsuya-kun isn’t asking us to fight his battle for him, nyan,” said Nekoyashi.

“I just need some help with distracting the enemy and catching him off guard,” said Tatsuya. “Once he gains the advantage, that’s it. But if we can somehow leave him open for even just one second, I can exploit that weakness and will have a greater chance of landing more hits to take him down. I know this may sound weak and cowardly, but it’s the only chance we have.”

“What’s so cowardly about wanting to exploit the weakness of a powerful enemy?” asked Yong with a smile. “In fact, the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him,” quoted Yong wisely.

“Alright,” surrendered Torahime reluctantly, “we’ll help you in your battle against the enemy.”

“Thank you,” said Tatsuya kindly.

“But how are we going to draw out the enemy?” wondered Sasuke.

“You can leave that to me,” said Yong mischievously, looking at her three servants.