Chapter 5 - Natsu's Life Chapter 5

Within Omitarou's walls were the quiet and thoughtful meditations of students going about learning the day's material. More specifically though was Natsu's classroom. Each student focused to varying degrees while the redheaded teen's eyes tried to remain on his assignment but his gaze drifted to Ryuji as he appeared quieter than usual. 

That made Natsu hum with uncertainty, 'The guy's probably thinking about how he should just rat me out!' he thought with an enraged sounding inner voice.

From Ryuji's perspective he was focusing on the subject matter for class but there was a distant look in his eye as if he wasn't exactly looking at his teacher but more so looking beyond him. 

Ryuji's mind couldn't help but remember that beautiful smile on Natsume's face and that thought alone that he was going on a date with the one girl he had finally felt legit attraction to, 'Natsu said she might actually like me! I know Natsu probably had to beg her and who knows if she'll even agree but even then why doesn't Natsu just tell me the truth? I mean, sure it helps me get to know a girl I'm interested in to date me but maybe he's got a good reason so why would he resort to using his cousin?' the fang-toothed teen thought with a slight blush on his face.

Suddenly he imagined Natsu going up to Natsume and clasping his hands together, "Look Cousin! I messed up and now I need to get you on a date with Ryuji!" 

"What!? How come I gotta'!" Daydream Natsume argued as she leaned back. 

"I could get expelled! Please ya gotta' do this for me!" Day dream Natsu pleaded, clapping his hands together and rubbing his hands as if he were holding prayer beads.

Dream Natsume leaned back with her eyes wide in shock, mouth slightly agape and one of her eyes twitching. 

The brown haired teen's eyes trembled as he blushed, clearly a bit bothered but unable to forget the fact that he'd finally have a chance to move on from that blurred memory of a girl, 'I know it's wrong but if I can at least make Natsume a friend maybe she won't haunt me as much, hell, ever since she's shown up, it's helped me sleep more soundly and the fact that she hasn't lost to me either just means I have something else overcome, hell two others to overcome…' He thought with excitement and anticipation as Natsu and Natsume flashed over his eyes.

Natsu had been watching Ryuji the entire time, his troubled expression then eventual relaxation hadn't gone unnoticed. During the troubled time he grew anxious, his lips resembling a snake in motion before giving a perplexed look before a determined look filled his rival's gaze, 'The guy's thinking about Natsume isn't he? On some level I can't blame the guy, as a girl I'm kinda' pretty, I'd like to think…' he reluctantly admitted to himself then looked back at the teacher hopefully not missing much.

Though he didn't like to think about it, he was still a guy himself and couldn't lie to himself, his girl form wasn't your typical beauty but a beauty nonetheless, 'Now I just gotta' go on a date with the guy and make it seem like we're not meant for each other, the guy loses interest we become friends and then after getting drunk long after we've stopped seeing each other admit it was me he went on a date with,' Natsu concluded to himself with a nodding of his head.

The end of the day the school bell rang, the various students began slowly pouring out like a river going downstream. Friend groups clustered, chatting about the new hot thing or whatever caught their attention. Among the crowds stood Natsu with his hands in his pockets as he watched Ryuji hurriedly run past him when he had a head in the clouds sort of look. 

"Can't settle the score today Honoki! Tomorrow!" Ryuji remarked as he let his rival know he'd be busy, running past the crowd and out the front.

"Whatever! Just don't be late!" The redheaded teen declared, hand near his mouth as he called out. 

"It's a date!" That same voice that had teased him from before said, doing her best to vanish into the hordes of students.

"Dammit! Who's got the nerve–" Natsu began, once again finding his rage being summoned by that exact same voice.

"Honoki!" Haruka's voice echoed out behind the thinning swaths of people.

"Takayama?" Natsu muttered then looked over his shoulder to see the daughter of his Mom's boyfriend.

"Do you have a second?" The raven-haired beauty requested as she stopped in front of Natsu, clasping her hands together while holding her book bag.

For the first time Natsu saw Haruka looking relatively feminine and vulnerable looking, definitely not something he was used to when it came to her. "S-sure. Whaddya need?" 

"If you have some time, can you help me train?" Haruka asked with an embarrassed blush on her face.

"Yeah, as soon as you tell me what you did to the real Haruka…" Natsu absentmindedly said aloud, earning a surprised and slightly taken aback girl.

"Hey! Like it or not our parents are dating so we should get along!" Haruka pressed onward, pointing at Natsu with a slight glare before dropping her hand back to her side.

"Alright, I'm convinced you're the real Haruka now." Natsu answered plainly, looking off to the side as he placed his hand on his chin, tilting his head back as he gave it some thought.

"If there's anything I can do to help you train me," Haruka offered with a stern face, determined to at least make some progress not only with her family situation but with her rivalry between Ryuji and herself.

"You just wanna' take down Araya, don'cha?" Natsu questioned with a skeptically quirked brow.

"You're the closest to beating him, you're my only hope of even making a dent in the guy!" Haruka admitted with an annoyed blush of embarrassment, having to swallow her pride in hopes of swaying her co-rival to Ryuji.

Natsu's left eye twitched as if it had been jolted to life, his mouth agape he opened his mouth to say something but paused to then close his eyes and sigh deeply. That was until his eyes opened in realization. 

"You said we should try and get along, right?" Natsu asked, followed by this by looking off to the side before looking back at Haruka.

"Considering we could become family someday, yeah, but something tells me there's more to this," Haruka remarked with a hum, crossing her arms with a suspicious but somewhat concerned look.

"Well, how about I make you a deal, in exchange, there's something I need your help with." Natsu began as he turned around and gestured for her to follow with a wave of his hand.

Uncertain what Natsu had in store, Haruka stood for the briefest of seconds before jogging to catch up with the stern redhead. 

"Should have known there's no such thing as a free ride," Haruka remarked with her eyes closed then she placed her hands behind her back; bookbag in hand.

"I need help with something, there's someone I know who's going on a date and the girl's got no clue what to wear so…" He began with uncertainty.

"You do know you're asking the girl you once called, and I quote, 'some uncute tomboy'," Haruka commented, raising a skeptical brow in Natsu's direction at the odd turn of events.

"I'm aware of the irony, it's not like I got many options considering how I'm still pretty new here and everything," Natsu answered as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Too bad, I don't spend my time worrying about things like fashion," Haruka replied before looking up, her lip pouting a little as she was in a sense admitting she wasn't as ladylike as she'd liked.

"So you can't help?" Natsu asked, then looked at her, blinking a few times.

"I never said that, I do know someone though…" Haruka's voice trailed as she neared the end of her sentence.

Later…

From within the Takayama residence resided a room with a red door, a door which released black ethereal tendrils of wicked aura from its frame. A sinister spine chilling laughter echoed from within, sounding like the distant wails of the most foul witch ever.

"Here we are," Haruka announced as she reached the top of her stairs and pointed in the direction of the crimson door of damnation.

"You're not suggesting who I think you are, are ya?" Natsu knew where he was and there was only one person who could possibly help her given that they were at Haruka's home.

"Yeah, trust me, she may not be a martial artist but she's her own kind of danger," Haruka remarked as she strode over to her sister's door.

"What kind, black magic?" Natsu asked with wide vacant fear filled eyes.

"Worse, blackmail…" Haruka began then immediately her voice started trailing as she opened her sister's door, the black aura spilling out and engulfing them whole.

"Like I told you, if he refuses to pay what he owes, I'll release all–" Mitsuru stopped mid-explanation to stare at her unannounced guests. "Hold on, I'll get right back to you and yes, you heard me right."

"Sorry to intrude on your business plans Sis but I got someone here who really needs your help," Haruka stated before Mitsuru could hang up her call and remove her earbud. 

Clack!

Mitsuru's earbuds case shut as she had put away her audio devices, pocketing them as she then smiled much like a type of mafia boss might. "Oh? I take it this is worthy of barging into my room?"

"I could get expelled if I don't do this right, so yeah, I got a feeling my problem is worth bugging you," Natsu explained as he crossed his arms.

"Glad to know this will be worth something to you," Mitsuru commented as she then pocketed her earbuds.

Natsu shut his eyes and gave a somewhat nervous smile, honestly regretting his first choice of words. "Look I need your help but I ain't made of money so don't go thinking of me like some kinda cash cow, ya got that?" 

"Let's worry about your dilemma first, shall we?" Mitsuru asked as she leaned back on her swivel chair, crossing one of her legs over the over.

"How much?" Haruka asked, closing her eyes with a deep sigh.

"It depends one how much our friend here can afford but honestly because his Mom is making our Dad so happy, I'm more than willing to let em' off with a discount or even for free, depending on how severe his need is of course," Mitsuru concluded as she intertwined her fingers together on her lap.

"Do you mind if we can talk about this in private?" Natsu asked with a slight blush on his face as his eyes gestured to her sister, who immediately got what he meant by privacy.

"Hey! You go all this way to try and get along and you don't even want me to know what all the fuss is about!?" Haruka demanded to know, especially since she was the one who helped him.

"Trust me! I got my reasons and I swear I'll uphold my end of the deal!" The blue-eyed stoic answered, pumping his fist assuredly before turning to look at the younger Takayama sister.

Haruka at first leaned back in shock before looking at Natsu straight in the eyes, sighing she figured that if he wanted to keep her from knowing then as long as he trained her like she was promised, the raven-haired girl had no reason to be so upset. 

"Fine. We start tomorrow then." Haruka affirmed, her expression defeated but at least she had the potential to close the gap between her and Ryuji.

"After this I'll give you my number so we can set up what time," Natsu instructed as Haruka nodded her head and took her leave, closing the door behind her with a light creaking noise following it.

"Good luck, you're gonna' need it." Haruka warned as she left Natsu and her sister alone to negotiate.

"So what is it you need?" Mitsuru asked with a coy smile as she closed her eyes.

"I need help picking out clothes for a-a date…"

"You're a guy, it's a first date, don't waste my time with these sorts of things-"

"It's not for a date with a girl…"

"Wait, word around the school was that Ryuji was cheering because he beat you and won a date with…" Mitsuru's eyes widened, she then laughed and smacked her forehead with her hand before laughing aloud.

"Don't go rubbing it in!" Natsu demanded as he grit his teeth in annoyance, a blush of embarrassment.

"Okay-okay!" Mitsuru said in between gasps of air as she held her gut and then wiped a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye.

"Just tell me how much and keep this to yourself!" Natsu ordered as he wanted to leave already.

"I'd say this would be enough to use as blackmail but since I'm feeling nice, say three thousand yen?" Mitsuru inquired as she charged the equivalent of twenty bucks American.

"I can barely manage that," Natsu replied as he took out his wallet and fished out the money, handing it to her as she took his money.

"Alright then. First off, you're not dealing with some high class rich stuck up, you're dealing with Ryuji and if he likes you then he isn't into you because you're like the typical girl." Mitsuru began.

What's wrong with liking another martial artist?

"That's an understatement, weird, cause I figured a guy like him would probably have girls throwing themselves at him all the time," Natsu remarked as he crossed his arms. 

"Since you haven't been here too long to know this but Ryuji has had girls throw themselves at him but he's always respectfully declined," Mitsuru commented and then smirked.

"Have you tried?" Natsu pursed his lips and crossed his arms.

"Do you know how good I could get it if I could? But yeah, I failed, though I think it was just because he could see through my intentions,"

"Why not just blackmail the guy?"

"Son of the Hero, remember? Besides, I've tried, there's no dirt on the guy I can find because he doesn't go around fighting for no good reason, hell the guy risks his life for others outside of school in his free time." The elder Takayama sister revealed.

"And I just had to go and get caught by the guy," Natsu began sounding frustrated, Ryuji was clearly a do-gooder.

"So he's got some dirt on you and now you, in your infinite wisdom, decided that going on a date with your male rival could solve this?" Mitsuru dared to fathom but she was sure their house guest hadn't truly given this all the thought it warranted.

"It's not like I don't have anything in mind!" The redheaded teen spoke in his defense, blushing.

"Please enlighten me," Mitsuru goaded with a stern voice.

"I figured if I act like a total bro he'd get the message that not only am I not fit to be a girlfriend, that we're totally incompatible and maybe friends at most, then after that win him over as a friend and maybe when we're in our twenties and drinking I reveal it was me," Natsu outlined his changing plan and smiled confidently as he finished, his eyes closed in an oh-so-smug way.

"And that's not counting on him accidentally finding out anytime in between, though if you could prove to him that your girl side isn't worth chasing then why would that matter?" Mitsuru pondered the situation until she ended with a rhetorical question.

"Exactly! So! How do I act? I gotta' pull this off without making it too obvious that it's me," Natsu said, glad to be on the same page.

"Since you're trying to make this believable just honestly be yourself, I mean, you're not actually into him, right?" Mitsuru questioned as she placed her hand on her cheek and leaned her elbow on her swivel chair's resting arm.

"O-of course not!" Natsu denied any possible feelings, crossing his arms over his chest with his eyes shut, a light dusting of pink to his cheeks returning.

The clear inflection in their house guest's voice caused Mitsuru to open her eyes and stare at him blankly, her eyes shrinking to tiny pin drops as she saw the display. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much…" Her muttered voice trailing as she smiled.

"Who are you calling a lady!?" Natsu, the not lady, protested thoroughly, dropping his arms to his sides and stomping his right foot out in front of him.

"I'm just messing with you, anyway, I have some clothes I could sell you at a discount but I'd need your measurements first so I'm gonna' need you to change real quick," Mitsuru said as nonchalantly as she could, although the anime-sweatdrop near her head suggested otherwise.

"How much are we talking about?" He asked with an annoyed sigh, reaching into his pocket as Mitsuru stood up and casually went over to her walk-in closest.

"First outfit is on me actually, who knows when you'll need me in the future?" The business woman chuckled as she pulled out a flexible measuring tape.

"Thanks," Natsu blinked and then let go of his wallet. "And I just can't transform whenever I want, you saw how it worked, sorta," Natsu added near the end.

"Let's put a theory of mine to the test then, huh?"

"What do you have in mind?" Natsu questioned uncertainty.

"Go on, insult me like you did Haruka!"

"Uh, you're an uncute tomboy!" Natsu said starting out slowly but finishing his suggestion with some actual effort near the end.

"Nothing happened. Guess using the same old line doesn't work, huh?" Mitsuru placed her hands on her hips. 

"Maybe something more personal? Your bad boss bitch way of doing things makes you come off as manly-and annoying as hell!" Natsu began but stopped when she could hear that her voice had gotten much more feminine.

"So it's gotta' be personal and insulting to women?" Mitsuru questioned, her eyes twitching but scoffed, whatever, she knew what she was and she had come to accept it.

"It worked!" Natsume exclaimed as she looked at her hands and then down to her bust and then finally down to the contour of her own hips by touching them and dragging her hands down them.

"Measurement time!" 

Resigned to her fate, Natsume held her arms out in a T pose before allowing Mitsuru to do her thing. The reluctant redhead became a worried one when she felt her mounds being measured.

"H-hey! You don't gotta' worry about those! I ain't wearing no bra!"

"What would you wear instead?"

"I got bandages!" 

"All the outfits I have are low cut, so unless you're either going braless you're making yourself way too obvious," Mitsuru made clear.

"I ain't wearing nothing too flashy!"

"If it isn't convincing Ryuji will catch on!"

"He knows I'm a tomboy as a girl!"

"Yeah but he'll think you're not taking him seriously if you go on your date all casually like!" The Eldest sister of the home asserted.

Natsu's lip resembled a snake slithering across sand before she shut her eyes and lowered her head in defeat, "Fine. I ain't changing in front of you though," the gender shifting girl answered with a sigh.

"Alright, use my closet and come out when you're ready, and use it to change too," Mitsuru said as she closed her eyes as she walked over to her closet and began to pick out her customer's duds.

"Wait, you already said–" Natsume felt as though she was a door being knocked on when it occurred to her what Mitsuru's words had implied. "Hey!" Natsu argued with one of her eyes twitching.

The redhead's anger was met with little more than a stifled laugh from the cheeky girl. 

"You know, what's stopping me from just buying my own clothes?" Natsume questioned as Mitsuru picked out a lovely low-cut sundress.

"Sure you could but then again, you could turn back into a boy while shopping for girl's clothes and who knows how long shipping them would take, plus, to sweeten the deal these clothes and anything else are for free…" The cocky businesswoman said, looking at the redhead with one of her wispy bangs covering her eye as she tilted her head to him in a smug way.

"I hate it when you make sense," Natsume mumbled in mild annoyance. "Where do I leave my clothes?" The unlucky cursed teen asked as she made his way over to Mitsuru.

"There's a basket in there where you can leave your clothes. Also, there's a black cabinet with your free bra at the second to bottom drawer," Mitsuru explained as she handed the other girl the clothes she had for her.

"Got'cha," Natsu said with a sad inflection, taking the clothes he sighed before stepping into the closet.

"Panties are in the drawer beneath the bras," The resident Takayama alerted him from behind the closest door.

"Gee, thanks." Was heard from the inside of the makeshift changing room.

Draped over her arm was Natsume's free clothes, looking around she found it to be just as intimidating and as shady as the businesswomen she was dealing with. From what she could tell, focusing too much on her environment could lead her into trouble as everything in that room gave her the sneaking suspicion this was where Mitsuru kept a lot of sensitive information.

There was even a locked filing cabinet that even with her insane strength couldn't open.

"Why ain't I surprised?" Natsume muttered to herself as she went over to the black drawer in the room and placed her date clothes on it. 

Starting with her black uniform blazer she slipped it off easily, closing her eyes as she began with her left arm then her right. 

The fabric of her clothes rustled as she allowed it to hit the carpet below, following that she started unbuttoning her shirt. During the process however, something caught her eye, from where she was standing she could see a mirror above the drawer and in the reflection she could see a security camera.

Natsume's mouth went agape, only having gotten the first button beneath her neck undone she turned around and pocket up her black blazer, picking it up by the back of the collar she tossed it over the surveillance device.

Letting out a deep breath Natsu didn't even know she had been holding, she began to hurriedly unbutton her dress shirt with almost unnatural precision. Before finishing the final button she closed her eyes and dodged the sight of her own cleavage as she then began slipping out from her uniform and revealing the black muscle shirt beneath.

After that she continued, unbuttoning her pants to reveal the thoroughly plain looking boy's boxers. 

Her mood was honed and tempered, treating her body with the respect a temple shrine would call for. Lifting her head, she looked straight ahead of her then reached out for the drawer and without looking she lifted a bra but then her eyes bugged out as she could see from the corner of her eyes how lacey and frilly the red bra was.

"Not happening," Natsume commented in a spiteful tone, shoving it back in and reaching in again, digging out anything she could feel wasn't so frilly. 

Her eyes widened but what she was holding was better than the first–at least, she thought so at first. The fabric felt smooth, lacking the intricate lace she dreaded, but as she adjusted the grip, she felt the subtle padding and the slight rigidity of an underwire. Confused at first, she pulled it out, only to be greeted by a deep plum-colored push-up bra, the sleek satin catching the light just enough to make it look almost… elegant so to say. But to Natsume, it was just another irritating problem.

Her brow twitched. "Are you kidding me?" she muttered, turning the bra over in her hands, as if somehow seeing it from every angle could make it more tolerable for her. 

Swallowing once before looking down she scanned through what were her options and she noticed what she thought was the least worst offender. 

It was a shimmery white satin bra with a mesh texture, she hummed and then looked back at the pile. "Why does that one have holes where the…?" Her eyes widened as she blushed and then sighed heavily, closing her eyes as she braced herself by taking off her muscle shirt. 

Her impressive set bounced out for her to see but she paid them no mind as she slipped the bra on one arm at a time, keeping her gaze towards the ceiling, her lips pursed as she could feel the fabric of the undergarment grip her chest.

"Hmm?" Natsu's eyes opened as she fumbled around with the bra hooks, sighing as she missed the proper hook, 'Stupid bras! This is why bandages are better!' she thought with an annoyed inner voice.

Humming to herself she looked down at her boxers then at the panty drawer that Mitsuru had told her about became the object of her study. Narrowing her eyes at it, already dreading what was inside she opened the drawer and did as she had last time but as she went through them with her eyes she saw that they were all matching sets with the bras she had seen before. 

Blushing a little she sifted through them until she found the panties that matched with her bra and when she picked it up she saw that sadly it was a thong much like the others. 

"I hate my life…" Natsume muttered quietly to herself, lowering them in front of her she closed her eyes and with one hand she grabbed the waistband of her boxers and dragged them down until they reached the widest point of her hips before cascading down in one fell swoop.

This allowed Natsume to step out of them and to hold out the thong in front of her before stepping into the lingerie style panties Mitsuru had given her, tugging them up until on all the way.

Opening her eyes she looked down and leaned forward a little.

"Hate to say this but damn, these make me look fine as hell…" Natsume admitted to herself sounding embarrassed as she raised one of her brows at how much of her muscle she retained as a girl.

"Hate the wedgie they give ya though! Man girl's put up with weird things!" The cursed redhead said before letting go of her thong as she then tried to tug her underwear from behind her out a little so it wouldn't ride so high. 

Placing her hands on her hips she made her way over to the gifted set of duds. 

At the Araya Residence…

The afternoon sun shone above the Araya Dojo as a chorus of strenuous grunts and groans filled the relative silence. Each student's actions flowed harmoniously with each other. Stomping their right foots all at the same time before they swing their right arm, followed by their left, finally they end with a roundhouse kick before stopping and coming to a stand.

"Excellent work! Dismissed! Your forms have been improving so much that it was almost like watching nature in person," Matsumoto praised his class, punching his fist into his hand before bowing.

All the while Ryuji stood by the sides as he waved to his Father's students for the day, giving a fangy smile as they returned it. Once the clutter in the room died down, Ryuji approached his old man with his arms crossed.

"I can really see why our style flows like water," Ryuji remarked as he gave his Father a quick bow, which Matsumoto returned. 

"Glad to see you're home so soon, I take it you're as eager as ever?" Matsumoto asked, closing his eyes and he allowed himself to chuckle quietly.

"Course. I forgot my sweat rag though so if this is one of those strenuous training sessions, let me know if I need to go get it," Ryuji confirmed as he uncrossed his arms and punched his fist into his palm.

"Worried about sweating? I take it you got that date you wanted?" Ryuji's Dad asked one question after another, hands on his hips with a knowing look.

"M-maybe…" Ryuji looked off to the side, chuckling nervously. 

"You're in luck then today is more about preparation," The Proud Flame advised him as he gestured for his Son to follow.

"Whatever it is Dad, I'll be ready." Ryuji said calmly as he allowed his Father to lead them.

"This shouldn't take more than an hour or two, really depends on how quickly you can grasp these ideas," Matsumoto began.

"So is this like mental training or like the times we've had physical endurance training?" The focused sipling asked of his Father.

"Guess you could say mental, though, it's very necessary for mastering all sorts of things I've been tapping into. Do you want to know what I call it?" He asked as they made their way into a smaller training room.

"Of course," Ryuji smirked, revealing his cute little fang.

"Aura sight. Sounds simple but its uses help lay the groundwork for all sorts of other techniques, like aura based attacks…" 

"You mean like how you've been able to do it sometimes?" Ryuji questioned, his mouth going agape as his calm complexion broke.

"Yes. Except, here's the twist my boy."

"Such as?" Ryuji inquired, a brow raised.

"I can call it at will now…" Matsumoto said as his hair gently drifted as though there were a gentle fan beneath him, a faint but visible white smoke hovered above him.

"I can see it," Ryuji gawked in astonishment.

"You're not seeing it at its fullest, don't worry though if this goes as planned then you should at least see it more clearly after this session." Matsumoto said as he bent his knees and pumped his arms at his sides.

"We can control aura, that's amazing…" The blown-away teen remarked happily.

"Allow me to demonstrate, please go get the Gohao in the corner and drag it out in front of me." The aura surging Father instructed, increasing the intensity of his visible aura as his Son did as he was told and grabbed the wooden training dummy before letting it go and getting at a safe distance.

"Hoooo," Matsumoto's voice trailed as he breathed out heavily, his visible aura expanding outwardly as now his eyes began to let once unseeable aura to now display itself only to anyone watching them.

"That's new," Ryuji remarked, looking surprised as he dropped his crossed arms in complete shock, watching his Father's hair swaying as though a gentle wind was coming from his being, looking as though he embodied the very element of the wind.

"Kaaazzzeeee Keeeennnnn!" The Golden Sun roared out, his voice booming to a point Ryuji even wondered if his Old Man had in fact put concentrated aura into his vocal chords.

Whoosshhh…!

Moving far beyond mere human limits Ryuji's eyes struggled to witness what his Father was doing but still, he couldn't believe his eyes as he even struggled to keep them open. Shielding his eyes from the intense burst of wind that followed his Dad's movements as his very presence rattled everything.

All of a sudden Ryuji's excitement awarded him with the ability to see his Father's form slicing through the air, appearing to be stretched to insane lengths before reeling his fist back to slam it straight at the center of the training dummy. 

Crrraccckk…!

The pressure upon impact was so great it caused the iron base to rattle but the wooden base to explode outwardly, the base pieces flew backward whereas the arms and legs flew off in other directions.

Ryuji saw the leg headed to him and he narrowed his eyes and punched the single piece of the Gohao that had been coming his way, splitting it in two and deflecting the debris. 

"Good eye boy, but do you feel like learning aura sight now?"

"Hell yeah," Ryuji responded with a smirk, tilting his head back a little and standing proud.

"Then prepare to reach the next step on your ascent my boy," The legend spoke, he then pointed behind him with his thumb towards a decorative wooden stand.

Ryuji turned to see where his Father was gesturing to, when he caught sight of it he casually strolled over and noticed a pair of wired headphones. Attached on the other end was an old school cassette player which caused Ryuji to pause and stare.

"These are best for drowning out any noises or distractions," Matsumoto commented as he went over to a mat he had left in the room.

"So am I supposed to meditate like usual during this part?" Ryuji asked as he reached for the odd training gear, taking them into his arms before going over to his sensei.

"You could choose to meditate like that but I'd advise against it," Matsumoto replied, sitting down next to the mat with arms and legs crossed.

"Why's that?" Ryuji inquired.

"You could end up flopping to the side and waking up, so it'd be best to meditate while resting on your back, it'll allow you to tap into your complete focus." Matsumoto explained a light hearted chuckle coming from him.

"Huh, well, if that's what you think could help." Ryuji remarked as he sat down with his legs crossed before putting the cassette player down next to him.

"Now the rest is up to you," Matsumoto said as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

Immediately after slipping the headphones on and pressing the play button, he waited until he heard humming and beeping noises hit his ears. It sounded like some retro 1980's super computer technical noises. 

Ryuji gave himself to the moment, listening as the mechanical computer noises died down, replaced by ocean waves that would rise and fall. 

"Ryuji, this will be your first steps towards aura sight, your journey towards understanding who and what you are, now we must make some special preparations." A pre-recorded track of his Father's voice spoke after some computer noises bombarded her ears.

The fang-toothed teenager breathed normally as he heard the waves in the background, he remained still and hummed once to himself.

"Now listen closely my Son, the following sounds you're about to hear need to be heard in the proper ear, so if you're not hearing my voice out through your right ear take a second to make sure it is. Take this time to enjoy the sounds of nature in motion, use it to bring yourself into a state of absolute relaxation."

Allowing himself to take a deep calming breath, the student did as he was instructed and did his best to relax. His eyes looked so relaxed it was as though he was asleep.

"The sounds of the ocean, something many find pleasing. The sounds of natural energy in play when the ocean meets the shore, motion in action, this is why you will hear it every session. So you may learn to control your own waves, learn to focus your aura, even learn to direct these waves that even as we speak are a part of you, your very own beating heart for example."

Ryuji focused on the sounds of crashing waves hitting the shore as well as his Father's voice, squinting his eyes before relaxing them again.

"It creates waves of blood flow throughout your entire being, a gentle vibration of aura at play, when you breathe in and out, pulsing waves of energy that you use and to create other faster waves of that energy in the very air you breathe as you listen, like you're doing now, each ear takes in one flow of energy and creates another you can understand, all these natural forces and many more are naturally generated by you every moment you continue to be, even if you yourself aren't aware of this.To help you develop your own clear mind and spirit, there are specific vibrations you must hear, pay attention to how they work, first my boy, a demonstration, here's a tone in one ear…" Ryuji's Father's voice said before becoming silent. 

The Son of the Proud Flame breathed calmly as he focused on nothing but the sound hitting his right ear, his head leaning back, 'Steady and calm…' he thought.

"Notice how even it is and without any interruptions, now for the next sound but it'll be a little different but familiar. Hear how it too is steady too, without interruption, but the key difference here is, that you'll start to hear a wavering, something called a vibrato, when you're hearing this that means your mind and soul are beginning to align, the two halves beginning to act as one…"

The fang toothed teen at first felt like it was all just noise to him, his mind couldn't help but imagine the sound waves like two separate waves of water coming out a wall at the bottom of Ryuji's mental screen, the louder sound to his right side and the lower one in his left side, coming together for him much like listening to a TV or using a phone with audio at the same time.

Ryuji's mind remained calm, breathing calmly, until suddenly instead of phasing through each other like ghosts the waves crashed into each other but created a netlike pattern and a different sound from two separate sources.

Though, as his mind began to wander the sound separated, squinting his eyes and sighing he relaxed again and found the balance again the net pattern and proper attunement achieved, 'This is the difference, it's so subtle, you really have to be listening to hear it.' his inner voice thought in a calm but trance like voice.

"This greater spirit mind power is what you need to master, so take a moment and bask in it." Matsumoto's voice advised.

All Ryuji could hear was a light humming sound, although, the difference was he could hear what he was supposed to but faintly. His mind was calm, as silent as a mute. 

"Now you should be much more comfortable, your body relaxed, your mind at ease but ready for anything. It's time for the next step, conjure in your mind a mighty chest. Imagine it's a large strong treasure chest with a heavy lid. Open it and place within it all your worries, fears and doubts, they'll only hold you back…"

Ryuji imagined a giant obsidian colored steel chest, it shimmered before Ryuji allowed a seemingly infinite long film reel from the sky began to fill the box with images of his training, his battles with Natsu and finally the image of Natsume's smile. 

"Now close the lid tightly, then turn away from it. Now say to yourself, I am more than my body. I truly desire to expand, to grow, to understand, to control, such greater forms of aura. Now here is the next step on our path, we call it aura resonance training. For this, breathe as I tell you, as you inhale imagine yourself as a standing empty container filling from the bottom up, filling all parts of your body and up into your head Son."

Not a single verbal thought passed Ryuji's mind as he listened, only seeing the visuals asked of himself.

"After that, exhale through your mouth, pursing your lips like you would when blowing out a candle, imagine all your exhaustions, negative thoughts, all your stale unused energies flowing out in a mist of black smoke." 

The green-eyed martial artist merely remained still, the sound of ocean waves in the background.

"Now, inhale, eyes open. Hold your breath." Matsumoto said suddenly. "Now exhale, releasing that smoke we spoke about earlier." 

Ryuji did as he was told, inhaled when he was told to and exhaled as instructed over and over again. In his mind he pictured a black void but he too was a black void, though what separates him from the world around him is the thin white line that shaped his silhouette. His eyes were shut but his eye lashes betrayed their place on his face.

He could feel something, it was as if he was learning to focus on the sensations of his body and fill his mind with a vibrant yellow light filling his empty container as if being poured in invisibly.

Ryuji immediately would then picture himself returning as he started, an empty void but as he breathed out smoke he was always followed by a gentle sigh of relief.

"Now begin to breathe at your own pace. However, while exhaling use your vocal chords to hum along with the aura resonance sound. Begin now…"

Ryuji hears some odd almost ominous sounding echoing groans, though, rather than terrifying they almost sounded like they were wordlessly chanting something, 'Sounds like a wordless ritual,' the fang toothed teen thought briefly before managing to hum along with the music.

Finally, after what felt like quite a good while the wordless song that once played so loudly was now reduced to light background noise until eventually fading.

"Now you should be ready. Take the time to experience this new state of being Ryuji. Be patient and take a moment to bask in your new balanced mind and spirit." Ryuji's Father's voice spoke up again after a long silence.

Ryuji looked as though he were on the verge of falling deeply asleep, his mind persisted, remaining calm and focused yet completely silent. All he could hear were faint sounds of distant ocean waves.

"It's time to take you to what I call Concentration stage three, the first step towards finishing this training session. I will count from one to three and when I end it on three your mind and spirit should be in unison enough to see aura or at the least make it easier to see."

Ryuji remained as still and as quiet as a stone.

"I'm going to start, one, two, three…" The Lost Teen's Dad spoke calmly and respectfully. "Now relax, explore, and enjoy the sensations that come with this practice, the unified mind and spirit." 

'I feel like I want to go to sleep but my mind is so focused, I feel at peace, this is sooo nice…' The Son of the Hero looked as though he had just finally taken a vacation, taking it as easy as he could.

"Ready yourself, because there is one more thing we must do."

Ryuji didn't know what was coming next but whatever it was he would wait patiently.

"I will count but from three to one this time. When I reach the count of one, all your physical senses should be working clearly, sharply and amazingly, you'll be completely awake, both in your spirit and mind. Then inhale once more when you open your eyes but concentrate your aura into your pupils when you do!"

Ryuji imagined his human-shaped inner self becoming a void again, 'It's like I can feel all parts of my body all at once, energy surging that I didn't have earlier,' the Hero in training thought.

"Three, two," Matsumoto paused as he waited for a second before continuing with. "Your senses are waking up, everything about you is becoming more aware. You will feel the aura which burns bright within your body and soul! All when I reach the count of one!" Ryuji's Father's voice took on a dramatic tone.

To which Ryuji just hummed in confirmation, doing as he had been told and before opening his eyes and inhaling he focused the energy all throughout his person into his eyes. 

"Huh!?" 

"Seeing your own aura is really something, isn't it? So surreal at first," The Proud Flame chuckled with his eyes closed.

Ryuji stood up and looked over his shoulder to his Father and gasped as he saw a powerful Golden Aura coming from him, no longer was it that color from before it was far more defined than he thought like a smoky dim flame. 

"Do you see my true color now, boy or was I wrong in assuming you got the first step?" The Elder Araya questioned. 

"It's a golden yellow and mine is a light green sorta color," 

"Exactly."

"Does the color mean anything?" Ryuji asked.

"I'm not entirely sure about that, depending on how drastic one's mindset can be their aura can sometimes change to fit that mindset but besides that, how does it feel?"

"It feels like there's a pulsing in my head but it doesn't hurt or anything," Ryuji then closed his eyes and found that his mind was so calm, not one intrusive thought surfaced.

"You're learning to balance both your spirit and mind, the longer you can maintain clarity the higher you'll go,"

"Can I really manipulate something like this?" He will know that's a silly question. "Still, everything feels so clear and calm…" Ryuji's voice trailed as he opened his eyes, speaking so calmly.

"Now that you can at least see it you've gotten an idea behind it, now sometimes you can accidently channel aura into your body and your attacks, depending on how much of a natural you are," Ryuji's Father revealed a neat possible perk.

"Just like you did before," The Fang-toothed teen's eyes widened. "Can we learn the next step now?" He said, eyes focused keenly on his Father's as they trembled with controlled determination.

"That's for another session, for now, get used to this, the spirit gets drained far more heavily than the body especially if you're as green as you are," Matsumoto joked before realizing he may have made an accidental Dad joke.

Ryuji rolled his eyes and smiled, suddenly he got a call, inside his Gi pocket he pulled out his cellphone and saw that it was an odd number, he answered it with a quizzical look. 

"Hello?" The younger of the two martial artists asked the caller. 

"Is this Araya Ryuji? I'm sure you remember me, Mitsuru Takayama? I believe you know my little sister pretty well." The voice on the other line said, revealing herself to be the blackmail queen herself.

"How did you get my number?"

"That's not important. Guess I should tell Natsume you don't want to talk to her…" Mitsuru immediately sounded disinterested with Ryuji's questioning.

"Natsume!? She's there with you!?" Ryuji's eyes widened as he then looked to his Dad and placed his hand over his phone mic. "I need some privacy." 

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'm not black mailing her, in fact, I'm doing her a favor by getting her in contact with you, she'd like to ask you something…" The Eldest of the Takayama sisters said as he did that though, he heard something.

"Don't make me sound so eager," Natsume's agitated voice said on the line.

"Natsume!?" Ryuji almost shouted as he held the phone closer to his ear while his Father in the background stood up and walked away with a knowing smirk.

'He's all yours," Mitsuru's voice said in a sing-songy way before the phone was heard being handed over.

"Yo Araya, Ryuji, whatever, I only got time today for our date so we either do this today or it ain't happening and no I don't gotta' explain, take it or leave it…" Natsume's voice seemed composed but he was sure she was constantly on the verge of stuttering. 

"Can I at least get like thirty minutes to get ready?" Ryuji asked, his eyes narrowing and seeing this a challenge.

"Alright, so, where do you wanna meet up?" Natsume's voice was soft and nervous.

"The park closest to the school, meet me at the front and from there I'll take you to our first spot," Ryuji advised her of where they'd meet up. "Maybe you ought to give me your number so if something happens you can call me…" Ryuji suggested a little nervously himself as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Real smooth way of asking me for my number but fine, here it is–" Natsume started out as skeptical but decided that maybe it'd be for the best.

"Alright. Got it. I'll text you where we'll meet." The romantic martial artist alerted as he entered her number and name under his contacts.

"Guess I'll see ya soon, huh?" Natsume's voice cracked a little. 

"Yeah. See ya soon…" Ryuji said as he put his phone away and then pumped both of his fists out in front of him. 

"I did it! I got a date with Natsume! Could this day get any–"

"Worse?" Natsume asked herself as she's dressed for her date, standing behind a concrete pillar archway by the front of the park closest to the school.

"Here I am all gussied up and the guy is like twenty minutes late?" She asked herself as she then gestured to her outfit, which was a peach colored off the shoulder sundress with a ruffle collar and a slanted ruffle hem.

"Whatever, I should take this time to make sure I know how I'm gonna handle this, come on Honoki this is just like any challenge the old man could make go through," Natsume reminded herself as she crossed her arms, 'Battle plan, I just do what Mitsuru told me to before, be myself and there's no way he'll want a girl that's actually a guy! Now all I just need is for him to show up!' 

"Did he get lost?" She asked herself and reached into her blue purse, pulling out her phone and texting him.

Natsume: Hey! Where you at? Are we doing this or what?

Ryuji: I'm almost there! Any second now!

Natsume hummed in annoyance and sighed. "What did I expect? The guy is known for getting–" the perturbed redhead didn't finish as she squinted her eyes while she clutched her phone, 'Damn thong! Riding up my! Ah!' she thought as she looked around to make sure the coast was clear. 

Seeing as she was standing on the inside of the park but behind the large entrance archway she turned to her right first then reached behind herself.

"Sorry for being late, someone was getting mugged and–" Ryuji began as he had calmly walked in with his eyes closed before opening them to see Natsume immediately turning around with a bashful face and hands behind her back.

He had to take a second to appreciate how lovely Natsume looked, in his eyes she was so stunning especially with that peach-brown eyeshadow she had too. A peach colored off the shoulder sundress with a ruffle collar and a slanted ruffle hem. On her shoulder was a light blue purse.

"Stop staring! This is my first ever date and I didn't know what to pick to wear. Okay!" Natsume shut her eyes in embarrassment, 'And I still didn't get that wedgie out! Weirdly enough… I think I'm getting used to it!' she thought as she fought with herself but glanced up to see that he was wearing a jean jacket with dark green cargo pants.

"What?" Ryuji leaned back and then held his hands out in front of himself defensively, 'She looks so cute like this, is she really that nervous?' he thought quickly, blushing lightly himself with his mouth slightly agape. "I think it looks good on you!"

Natsume stared at Ryuji and blushed the smallest bit, the barely noticeable dusting of pink vanished as she shook her head but slowly smiled, "Yeah. I ought to own it! I make this look good!" the cursed redhead boosted, placing her hands to her hips and looking away with her eyes closed, a proud smile as light blush persisted throughout.

"Sorry if it looked like I was standing you up, you know I wouldn't want to miss this considering all I had to do," Ryuji clapped his hands together in mock prayer. 

"I'll let it slide, I know how you can be, I should've expected a little wait…" Natsume's voice trailed as she opened her eyes then softened her gaze, 'I'm really on a date with a guy right now and guess it ain't so bad, could always use a little appreciation, too bad for him I ain't a real girl,' she thought, unknowingly letting her poker face down.

"You okay?" Ryuji asked as Natsume had a rather defeated look on her face.

"Y-yeah! So where are we headed?" Natsume said before asking, reaching a hand behind her to rub her head, though he paused before reaching out to take her hand before it went back down her side.

"You'll see!" Ryuji exclaimed as he smiled with his eyes closed.

"H-hey! T-this is a first date!" Natsume reminded him with a blush and closing of her eyes as she was forced to run in women's flats.

"What's the problem?" Ryuji asked as he looked over his shoulder and smiled at her.

"Are we supposed to be holding hands!?" The embarrassed redhead pleaded, with her eyes closed as she ran with her rival.

"It's not far from here!"

"Do you actually know where we're even going?" Natsume asked hurriedly. 

"We're already here!" Ryuji said as he finally slowed down and let go of Natsu's hand.

Natsume looked around them with shocked eyes, scanning for anyone she might know or worse anyone who might be looking at her, 'Is there anyone I know here!? Oh good…' she thought with a sigh and then looked at the smiling fang toothed boy.

"Sorry if that was a bit forward but since I got caught up with that mugging, there was a chance we'd miss all the showings," Ryuji admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"Showings?" Natsume looked to where they had stopped and saw that they were standing in front of a movie theater.

Before them was the standard sized Cinema, people coming in and out, men and women and even some children accompanied them as they went about getting ready for their reels. 

Ryuji casually strolled over to one of the movie posters with the airings for the day written beneath. "So I was thinking maybe this one…?" He tried to say non-chantantly, turning around in front of it before gesturing to it with his thumb.

"Fists of love, huh?" Natsume questioned as she crossed her arms, giving him quite the skeptical look as she noticed him blushing and then putting his hand away in his pocket.

"J-just making a suggestion is all," Ryuji countered before chuckling nervously and looking off to the side, his cute little fang poking out.

"If that's just a suggestion then…" The focused redhead said as she looked through their options along the wall before stopping at the poster. "How about this one?" Natsume asked with a smirk as she pointed at what was clearly a slasher movie by the clawed hand and man with a shadowed face and piercing red eyes that seemed to borrow into the souls of those who looked at it.

"Nightmare Street Slasher 2, huh?" Ryuji inquired as she stared with his mouth agape. "Are you sure that's a good idea for a date?"

"Oh yeah, who knows how scared I'll get! I might need a big strong man to hold me!" Natsume said dramatically and as girly as she could, clasping her hands together in front of her and looking into Ryuji's eyes, giving him two big beautiful blue orbs worth of puppy-eyes, 'Sabotage attempt one! Pretend to be girly as hell for now only to show em' how unfit I am to be a girlfriend! Besides! I'm pretty sure I got this! It's just some stupid movie!' she thought confidently.

Ryuji at first was unsettled then at the mention of his date holding onto him came, sighing heavily he narrowed his eyes and then looked at Natsume. "Sounds good then, it's only been called the scariest movie of the year but I've taken on guys with guns and come out on top! What's this compared to that?" Ryuji asked his lovely redhead.

"Exactly!" Natsume chirped up and to help her cause she ran up to him and held his arm, chest pressing against his side, her busty bosom squishing against the now flustered and distracted boy.

"L-lets get going then!" Ryuji said on the verge of a nosebleed, his eyes currently resembling uzumaki swirls.

"Lead the way!" Natsume smiled knowingly before looking away and placing her closed hand over mouth, giving Ryuji the appearance of a shy maiden but sadly not all is always as it seems.

In reality, Natsume was trying to contain herself, she really wanted to bust a gut laughing but knew that now wasn't the time.

'I've soooo got this!' Both thought in unison.

A few moments later said a disembodied fluently french accented voice… that no one noticed.

Ryuji and Natsume sat in their seats next to each other, their eyes in terror at the sight before them. They couldn't take their eyes off the screen, the chilling atmosphere making the hairs on the back of their necks stand on edge like frightened cats. 

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH…!

Natsume and Ryuji both screamed as the terrified redhead instinctually turned to face Ryuji and he also without thinking held his arms out for her, to which she immediately buried her eyes from the sight. 

Although Ryuji was holding Natsume like he would have really liked, it was more like despite being scared he couldn't help but shield his frightened date. His mind was far too in a state of shock and panic, eyes closing briefly before the terrible dance of interest and fear had him running between being fully engaged to being too scared to keep his eyes open; much like the girl in her arms.

"No… don't! Please!" A woman with short spiky hair and blue eyes said before the killer kicked her hard enough to send her rolling on the ground on her side.

Ryuji's date suddenly stiffened up and started to tremble, his right hand closest to her upper back patted her reassuringly before he could feel Natsume become brave enough to look at the screen again.

"Welcome to my nightmare!!!" The redheaded woman in the movie had managed to say before setting off explosives and falling through a trapdoor in a cabin so only the inside blew up at the top.

The audience all flinched at the same time, various hiding behind their bins of Popcorn or looking away with their eyes closed. The slasher monster's massive body was heard splattering on the screen.

After the sound died down, the audience watched as the latch to the trap door opened, the last remaining cast member limping out and doing her best to stay conscious as she held her bloody wound with her one good arm. Her other hung limp, a few of her fingers were twisted in unnatural ways.

"Rest in peace, Hanabi, Junichiro and Hanzo…" The survivor of the Nightmare Street Slasher said her goodbyes, crying while reeling her head back, walking off into the morning sun until she was no longer visible over the horizon.

There was a silence in the audience before the camera on the screen focused on the wreckage, until suddenly, a stirring in the rumble happened before a clawed hand bursted through before a wicked laughter followed.

That's when the credits started rolling.

"Bwahaha!" Natsume and Ryuji laughed along with the others that had enjoyed the movie.

Some clapped, others continued to laugh while holding their sides, some could only stare at the screen, surprised that they even made it through the entirety of that nightmare. 

After a little while longer their laughing died down and they breathed in sighs of relief, all while still holding each other which caused both of their brains to turn back and and shriek before pulling away and putting their hands on their knees in their seats.

"Can't believe we made it through that," Ryuji added in hopes of lightening the mood, blushing as he couldn't help but remember how nice it had felt to hold Natsume.

"Yeah, gotta' admit that laughing was more from relief that it was over…" Natsume's voice trailed as she looked down, immediately her surprised blush began to vanish as something dawned on her, 'I was so scared out of my mind I ended up forgetting the plan…' the cursed woman thought in defeat and shame.

"I might need a big strong man to hold me!"

Her own words haunted her as she felt her eye twitching. 

"Hey Natsume…" Ryuji's voice trailed as he broke her from her thoughts.

"I know that was terrifying and everything but," The fang-toothed man paused before looking up again. "I kind of enjoyed the experience at the same time."

"Really!? Me too! I couldn't look away and my heart felt like it was going nuts and-and when it was finally over…" Natsume began then found herself remembering how much of a relief it was to be done with it.

"What made it worse was it actually gets you invested in the characters so when they die you're just!" Ryuji explained as he found the confidence to look at her again, relaxing his posture and sitting up right.

"I know! Hanzo was just two weeks from–" Natsume replied softly before hearing someone clearing their throat.

"Can you two horror nut fans get going?" A male janitor asked politely as he was at the end of Ryuji's row of seats.

Both stared blankly before nodding their heads.

After leaving their seats Ryuji and Natsume walked in relative silence. Ryuji was taking the lead, Natsume was just following him with her hands swinging by her sides. Both with their minds on the fact that they had been holding each other during a good portion of the movie. No words came to their minds, only the memory replaying again and again.

"You know, I-I wasn't holding you because I like you or nothing," Natsume made clear.

"I-I get it! I was the one that said it was terrifying…" Ryuji defended as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking away.

"I can't believe I needed a big strong man to hold me," Natsume mumbled in defeat, eyes closed.

"If only it was because I was brave, honestly it really was like a test of courage and sadly I don't think I passed," Ryuji remarked.

"You still tried to make sure I was alright, pretty manly thing to do to protect someone other than yourself, even if you're scared outta your mind." Natsume replied, opening her eyes and looking ahead.

"That's right, even if it could get you killed, sometimes, you don't have any choice and if you've lived a noble life then it was a life worth living," Ryuji commented as he looked ahead with newfound strength.

"Whoa! Mister Poet here! Where'd you get that?" Natsume questioned as she looked in his direction, catching up to him so now they were walking side by side.

"My old man had me listen to him about philosophy." Ryuji replied, trying to recall what specific proverb he was thinking about.

"So I take it he's one of those sharp mind, sharp body types?" Natsume inquired casually. 

"Yeah. I just wish it stopped at the simple ones, philosophy can get so complicated the more you dig into it, honestly makes my head spin but it's important he says." Ryuji vented, although, stopping to realize that he was comfortable enough to reveal that.

"I learned all that sorta stuff from my old man, except they were just rules to live by like the warrior's code…" Natsume's voice trailed as she spoke, she then looked to her side and saw that Ryuji was staring at her.

"I live by the warrior's code too," Ryuji remarked as swallowed thickly before looking away and hoping he hadn't been too obvious.

Natsume didn't know what was possessing her but she couldn't look away for a while, she only managed to bring herself back because Ryuji had been the first to break eye contact, 'Dammit! The guy's got me wishing he could be a girl! He gets why I like martial arts! He likes to talk about movies! Doesn't mind me being a tomboy as a girl! But! I gotta' break his heart by the end of this date!' the redhead desperately reminded herself that this was all just an act.

"Are you hungry?" Ryuji said suddenly, hoping to bring back their focus.

Natsume blinked her eyes and was thankful for the distraction, closing her eyes nodded her head and tucking her hair behind her ear before realizing that she had been doing something so casually effeminate in her eyes, 'Glad I'm looking away right now, but seriously, why the hell couldn't have been the daughter of the hero?' she thought before composing herself and turning to face her date.

"Yeah, I could eat, uh thanks…" Natsume replied softly, giving Ryuji a gentle smile.

"I know another place we could go to close by," Ryuji offered as he pointed with his thumb behind him.

"If you know where we're going, lead the way." Natsume said as she watched Ryuji gesture for her to follow.

After a few blocks they were pulling up to what looked like a pretty nice looking restaurant in the distance, 'Alright! New battle plan! Gross him out by eating really fast! Showing him I ain't a good choice as a girlfriend and he shuts up about what happened with me as a guy!' she thought, pumping her fist determinedly when Ryuji wasn't looking at her.

"Here we are! I did want you'd like it and well, my old man here gets a discount here too!" Ryuji offered as Natsume stopped to see what kind they'd actually be going too. 

"Discount? This place is still pretty fancy." Natsume remarked as she checked the place out, then pulled out her purse and looked in her wallet to see that at most she had seven hundred and fifty(Roughly $5).

"I've got this!" Ryuji said as he was looking where Natsume was looking.

"Thanks. I appreciate this so much." Natsume said, letting her hands fall down to her sides and then bowed, closing her eyes.

"D-Don't be so formal! We're on a date after all!" Ryuji reminded her as he scratched his cheek with the tip of his pointer finger.

"What? Do you want a curtsy or sumthin?" Natsume joked with a roll of her eyes, only to see when she was done rolling them there was a blush on Ryuji's face. 

"I mean, I wouldn't mind…" Ryuji's voice trailed in uncertainty.

"No." The redhead blushed lightly but answered firmly. "You already know this dress isn't even my style," she added further.

Ryuji couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her acting like this, 'She's so cute, but yeah, a curtsy would've been overkill,' the Hero-in-training thought to himself. "Come on, let's get in before it gets too crowded."

Natsume couldn't help but smile and cross her arms, looking away before she followed him inside. 

Taking up a quaint spot near the window furthest from anyone else, where it was thankfully nowhere near as crowded, that worked Natsume as she was constantly checking anywhere for anyone who might know who she was or from her school she could recognize. 

Thankfully Natsume could breathe a sigh of relief while she approached the table Ryuji was already pulling up to with his two plates. Once she sat down, Ryuji joined her in splitting their chopsticks and clapping their hands together before giving thanks.

Eating in calm silence they took the time to savor their food, for once each seemed to be lost in their own little world, 'I know I said I was gonna' act gross but imagine after this when trying to become friends or, why do I even wanna be friends with the guy? Maybe being expelled would be better than hurting the guy but damn, it's probably too late to back out now, I really want to see and talk about the original Nightmare Street Slasher with him and-and…' Natsume thought then came her memory of being held so tightly.

"Are you okay…?" Ryuji asked as he put his green tea cup down.

"Y-yeah!" Natsume blushed and answered far too quickly before looking away. "I just got a lot on my mind is all," She picked up some orange chicken before placing it in her mouth to keep herself busy as she chewed.

"Would this be about, no… nevermind…" Ryuji brought it up but decided against it.

"What's up?" Natsume asked when she finished chewing then swallowing.

"I can tell you're being a little reserved, is it because of how Natsu got you to agree to this?" Ryuji asked as he lowered his chopsticks.

"What? N-no! He meant what he said! I-I've just never had any guy interested in asking me out before!" Natsume defended as she waved a hand in denial.

"So you think you might actually like me?" Ryuji asked for confirmation, his voice choking up near the end or at least it was until he looked at Natsume and saw her face gazing down with wide eyes and a deep blush on her face.

"I-I don't know yet but-but shouldn't we be getting to know each other first?" She asked him as she averted her eyes and picked up her chopsticks, 'Come to think of it, I've never really cared much for dating, being a warrior's all I've ever really known…' her thoughts trailed as she recalled training herself to the brink, in order to surpass the normal human limits.

"You make a good point. You already know a little about me but I'll answer any questions you want to know," Ryuji offered with a soft smile.

"So, what are you into besides good fights, tomboys, good horror movies, training and uh… good food?" Natsume started listing off the things she knew about him then not thinking of anything else she admitted that she liked where he had taken her.

"I like anything to do with camping, having cookouts at the beach, watching the fireworks every year at the festivals, prize stalls, lately I've started getting into playing the guitar, video games…" Ryujia looked away as he counted the ways he could spark some sort of connection.

"Oh? Video games?" Natsume asked as she listened more closely. "What console do you got?" 

"I got the Gameportal 5, what about you?" Ryuji thought for a second before answering, then he followed it with a question of his own.

"The Gameportal 4," Natsume revealed while looking away, scratching her cheek with her index finger.

"Isn't that last gen? I thought they were shutting down their online servers last year too." Ryuji questioned before outlining a fact he had heard online.

"They delayed it by another year and probably another year after that. If it makes money, it makes money!" The passionate redhead outlined with a smile before picking up her cup and taking a sip.

"Too bad, it would have been nice to play some co-op games, do you have any cross platform games?" Ryuji suggested.

"I could get one if it's one of the free-to-play and if not sharing my Gameportal code could let us see if we got any games we both play," Natsume reached for her purse and opened it, pulling out her phone and tapping a few icons before turning it around to show a gamer code.

"Oh! Sure!" Ryuji replied as he took out his phone and angled his phone's camera over it before he pulled it back and looked through their profiles. "Wait, is that, BloodScorn?" Ryuji's eyes widened when he caught sight of a gothic horror action adventure game, the title on it was written in Old English and was tinted red.

"Y-yeah, I heard a lot of good things about it and stuff but I couldn't finish it because it was just so hard alone." Natsume regretfully informed him.

"I had the same problem! So maybe we could, maybe, I'm getting ahead of myself. We don't even know how this whole date is gonna' go," Ryuji clearly wanted to keep going with what he was saying.

"Even if it doesn't, it'd be really nice to have someone to play it with," Natsume offered as she spoke softly.

"Does it have a couch co-op mode?" Ryuji wondered aloud and somewhat bashfully.

"Why do you wanna know…?" Ryuji's date found her voice trailing when her mind reminded her of earlier times when she was being held by Ryuji in the movie theater.

"No reason," Ryuji shook his head as he tried to start eating again.

"You hope because people say it's scary I'd freak out and need you as my big strong man again?" She questioned with a catlike smirk on her face, batting her eyelashes at him.

Ryuji almost choked before swallowing hard with the help of some of his tea, blushing brightly at how alluring Natsume was currently. "N-no! I'd just like to hang out in person, ya know? If that happens to happen then, who am I to complain?" The Son of The Hero tried to play it off as nothing, averting his eyes from hers.

"Suuurrreee!" Natsume mockingly assured with an adorable rolling of her eyes, chuckling at how frightened her rival could get.

"Enough about me! W-what can you tell me about yourself?" Ryuji asked as he picked up a piece of broccoli before putting it in his mouth and chewing.

"I guess there isn't much I could say about myself, I've spent most of my life living in the woods surviving off the land and whatever we could get our hands on. But ever since I could remember I've loved martial arts, video games, besides that, I enjoy learning how to cook, for a while I was really getting into monster hunting too but…" Natsume continued but stopped as she took a moment to consider her next choice of words.

"But?" Ryuji asked, tilting his head to one side.

 "My mentor kind of packed up and left so I never got to finish learning," She answered, looking down at her plate and letting her hand with the chopsticks lower a little.

"That's a damn shame. If you're into something you should be able to find out if it's for you." The light brown-haired boy offered some kind words.

"There are lots of videos online but I guess I'm a hands-on kinda learner," Natsume interjected, leaning forward a little.

"I've trained against wild animals and monsters before too, but mostly in how to take them out quickly but still I admit that can get messy when they manage to land a bite," Ryuji admitted. 

"Oh yeah. That part does suck so you can see why it'd be good to know what you're dealing with."

Natsume agreed with her eyes closed as she took another bite of her food before taking a second to consider what else to help him get to know her, 'Hmm, think that's all I can really safely say, the rest is just the old man and his training, man would he hate me right now,' she thought but the fun times she had with her rival came to give her strength, on top of the times he's held both her guy side and girl side.

"Natsume, there's one last place I have in mind for after here if that's fine. After that, well, I-I guess we'll see…" Ryuji spoke softly but his voice didn't waver, but his eyes were gentle but strong.

"Okay. It's getting pretty late so that's a good idea." Natsume looked into Ryuji's eyes and could tell, despite him remaining strong she knew what this was boiling down to, 'I ain't even making good on my sabotages anymore, what's the point? Even if we totally get along that just means we'd be friends as guys, the second he knows I'm Natsu, he'd flip and hate me for lying and on top of that getting expelled…' She thought, knowing she was up against a strong eventuality; running the clock as long as she could in hopes of a favorable outcome.

For what felt like the longest time the two remained in silence, after having paid and bowed to show their respect from the building they left without much of a word as Ryuji took the lead and pulled out his phone to GPS their way there. 

Ryuji and Natsume both appeared rather shy and timid, their once plotting and genuine interest now replaced by a deafening silence. 

For once Natsume wasn't fighting how she was feeling, she was confused by it, why was it suddenly harder to breathe? Like she was choking but inside her chest, there wasn't anything she could really do to stop this impending dread.

Natsume's date stole a glance at the beautiful redhead, she really was something else, 'I hope this can go somewhere but I can't help but feeling like maybe I should've waited and not just accepted Natsu's offer, does that mean I'm using Natsu for my own gain?' he thought then looked away when she almost noticed him.

"Where we headed?" Natsume inquired softly, speaking in a way that Ryuji could sense meant she knew her answer was coming.

"The park that's close by," Ryuji replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sounds good," The worried redhead replied, locking eyes with her date for a moment while looking away with a light coloring of pink on his cheeks.

Thankfully, there wasn't much distance between them and the lovely late night stroll. Normally this would be where a couple finally unraveled but it felt like there was something big coming, what it was neither was exactly sure anymore.

"We're here," Ryuji announced as they reached the front archway into the park.

"Why didn't we just start here?" Natsume asked, raising a perplexed eyebrow as they went down a dirt path.

"I'll be honest, I added this at the last second because…" Ryuji began speaking softly then slowly his voice died down as it trailed.

As they walked, Natsume couldn't bear to see the look on Ryuji's voice. Narrowing her eyes slightly as she imagined her words, 'Probably gonna' say he just wanted to spend more time with me as if this needs to be any harder,' Natsume thought sighed inwardly as she looked ahead. 

"Because?" She asked, sounding scared as she spoke a little sheepishly.

"I wanted to talk to you about Natsu asking you to do this, I still feel like there's something you're not telling me." Ryuji said as he stopped, watching as it took a second for Natsume to stop and look over her shoulder.

"I already told you, I'm just not sure, for now please forgive my cousin for going into the girl's bathroom and-and maybe we can have another date!" Natsume urged Ryuji not to overthink it, shutting her eyes as she looked away from him.

"Stop lying to me! Please! I know you feel something for me like I feel something for you! If Natsu even has half the personality you do then I'm sure whatever his reasons are he can just be honest about them!" The dashing fang-toothed man couldn't stop himself anymore, he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"What, so you can get my cousin expelled if it's not good enough!? Did you ever think he has a super embarrassing reason for why he was there! And that his family cares enough to save him even if that means going on a date! And what do you mean!? You don't know me! How could you know me!? So what if we got a lot in common! So what if we can talk about movies! So what if I want to watch the original Nightmare Street Slasher with you! So what if I have the time of my life fighting with you! I don't need you to be my big strong man! I'm more than strong enough to be all-all alone!" Natsume started out angry, taking a step closer in hopes of scaring Ryuji back but it hadn't worked. 

The brown haired man stood his ground like a prideful wildcat.

Throughout her rant he remained calm and focused but as she started listing out what they had in common and how earnest her denial managed to be.

"Even you're saying it! I like you! You like me!" Ryuji demanded to know as he met her denial with the truth.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Natsume demanded with her eyes shut, stomping her foot and clenching her fists to her sides. "Even if I did! You wouldn't want me! H-how could you…?" The distraught redhead continued, shaking her head with her eyes closed before opening them with trembling eyes and grit teeth.

"How do you know that if you never try!?" Ryuji shut his eyes as he thought back to spector girl with flip flops in his mind, she appeared next to him in his mind, only to put a digit up to her bottom lip, looking to be thinking it over, 'Why the hell is 'she' haunting me now of all times?' he thought before perishing the thought.

"Because I ain't what you think! You wouldn't accept me! No! You c-couldn't accept me!" Natsume tried to talk sense into her enemy and to keep herself in check, opening her eyes and fighting the welling up of emotions threatening to break out.

"You're the one who can't accept themselves," Ryuji looked at Natsume with longing, hurt eyes, he took his right hand off her shoulder and placed his hand on her cheek.

He looked into her eyes, their eyes watered as they both got lost in the torn apart emotions swimming through them. The girl in his arms didn't pull away from his hand, instead, she allowed it as she couldn't look away. 

"Why are you doing this to me?" Natsume questioned with her voice choking as she closed her eyes, tightly gritting her teeth in some vain attempt to fight the inner turmoil.

"Then stop me, hit me, make me regret it…" Ryuji suggested without fear, choosing to bring himself closer to her, leaning in he closed his eyes. 

"No… please, don't…" Natsume opened her eyes, a deep blush on her face, her face trembled at first as if trying to put on a brave face.

"Then please stop me, you've beaten me before…" Ryuji said as he was less than a few centimeters away.

Natsume braced herself to, ready to accept her fate that her first kiss was going to be stolen by someone she had such conflicted feelings for. Her face softened, her teeth no longer grit together.

Though nothing happened, his lips didn't meet her like she expected, it felt like it was just going to happen whether she wanted it to or not.

"I can't…" Ryuji's face pulled away from Natsume's, his lips no longer ready to take Natsume's first kiss.

The bewitched redhead slowly opened her eyes and saw that the kiss she was dreading hadn't come, instead, she felt him removing letting go of her. 

His eyes were hidden by the front of his hair, his mouth portrayed no emotion.

Natsume closed her eyes and allowed her tears to fall from her eyes, she looked down while she couldn't read Ryuji's expression. 

"Thanks for stopping…" Natsume added as she wiped her tears, though, one thing she noticed was that she couldn't stop wiping her tears.

"I got lost in the moment," The Son of the hero admitted, though his voice was in clear distress as he turned so she couldn't see the shame on his face.

"If you promise not to get Natsu expelled, I have something for you." Natsume finally managed to dry her tears as best as she could, 'I'll just give him this one thing and hopefully that buys me some time to become his friend,' Natsume's inner voice spoke in a hoarse and sad tone.

Although Ryuji was silent, his inner world was the opposite. He was lost once again, his mindscape acting as a pseudo-hell, colorless, still, lonely, even Natsume wasn't there in his mind anymore.

"Ehehehe…" 

A sudden but soft young voice giggled from behind Ryuji before floating behind him with her hands behind her back, her face holding a wide and knowing grin. 

"Did you really think you could get rid of me?" She asked before appearing from behind his right shoulder. "Aww, that's cute." she remarked.

Ryuji said nothing, he finally tilted his head back enough to reveal how timid he had become, a look of painful longing plastered onto his face, 'No! If I can't remember properly then I have to move on!' Ryuji thought before he heard Natsume say something, so lost in his thoughts, the last thought he had was of Natsume's slightly puckered lips and how much he wanted so desperately to seal the deal and to accept no romantic future between them just hurt him so much.

'Just one little kiss on the cheek…' Natsume thought as she leaned in and puckered her lips.

'I can't let us end up as just friends!' Ryuji thought as he closed his eyes and looked to his left.

"Natsu–" He only got so far before he felt Natsume's lips pressed against his as her right hand ended up on his shoulder.

It was then that both opened their eyes, shocked to see what had happened, completely by accident. They were kissing! In that split second both closed their eyes. Not having expected this turn of events, each had their reaction.

For Natsume her reaction after her initial shock was to try and push him away with the hand on her shoulder, 'What the hell!? Th-this isn't what I w-w-wanted-wanted…' she thought frantically before finding her inner voice fade into a mental abyss.

However, For Ryuji, the second Natsume kissed him the colorless void shattered around him and his heart caused time to slow down for him. The specter of his mind gasped as she vanished.

'Am I finally free…?' Ryuji thought before closing his eyes and bringing the redhead in his arms into a tight embrace, his hands pulling her in by the small of her back before settling on their hips as they continued to kiss.

Both were finally at peace as their minds shut off, the hairs on the back of their necks rose before settling as they opened the floodgates of their feelings.

"Mmmph…" Both moaned before pulling away and gazing into each other's eyes.

Natsume was so beautiful, her tear stained face no longer held that pain he saw when he tried to kiss her but was instead replaced by someone who didn't know what else to say.

"Mmm!" They both moaned as they kissed again devoid of any hesitation, Natsume tilting her head to the side as parted her lips but only because she felt Ryuji take the lead.

She was opening up the heaven in her heart to let him in, Ryuji in return, did the same. 

There was no longer any tension, there was only motion and stillness. The motion of their passion and the stillness and peace within their minds as their hearts melded to become as one.

Suddenly, unbeknownst to them, black electrical energy began to crackle around their heads, neither paid that any mind as they were too absorbed into each other.

Without warning their eyes squinted for a brief second as the black energy began to crackle wildly before fizzling out.

A faint but silent shockwave burst forth from their heads and dissipated immediately as they both leaned their heads back slowly.

'Why am I thinking about…' Natsume pondered but was unable to finish her thought as the image of a younger version of her rival near a lake with a setting sun stayed in her head.

'A younger Natsume…?' Ryuji's thoughts trailed but mirrored the redhead's as he envisioned his rival also near the same lake.

Unveiling a younger looking Natsume in the same sundress as the girl that had plagued his mind.

To be continued...!

Seated on a mountaintop near Mount Fuji was a woman sitting with her legs crossed, across her chest was bandages , she wore black loose-fitted pants. Over one of her eyes was a white square-shaped eyepatch. Her right hand was in a meditive pose while her other was a wooden and martially steel prosthetic closed into a fist.

A faint but silent shockwave passed by her head, making her open her eye revealing it to be a sapphire blue.

"Natsu..." The woman muttered as the wind blew her spikey, long black hair.