“I hope this isn’t it.” Natsumi walked them toward a building that looked like it had been around for several decades. Tsuna’s nose twitched, the repugnant scent of bark wrapping around him as they walked closer.

With a wave of her hand, Natsumi escorted him towards the door. “After you.”

Faltering, Tsuna’s palms became moist. “Yup, definitely doesn’t seem like a trap.”

“Are you regularly this sarcastic?”

He strolled towards the door, placing his fingers around his chin. “Naturally.” A push and the door swayed opening easier than Tsuna expected. “Can I say that I’m pretty disappointed? Every other building on this block reads like a place that would be considered ‘modern’ where I’m from. This is a shack like some rundown warehouse that hooligans hideout in.”

His reply provoked a shoulder slumping sigh from her. “Such an immediate judge you are. Have you ever considered that we could be hooligans?” Natsumi said with a squint at him.

“Twice or thrice.”

“Whatever. I’ll go first. Just don’t fall too far behind.”

Natsumi walked forward with Tsuna on her tail. As his foot stepped onto the dark wood floors, he felt a chill run through his body from the ground up. Already getting great vibes about this! He pressed on, following Natsumi’s path into what emerged to be a bar. Several patrons preoccupied themselves with their drinks or conversation, oblivious to their existence. “This is doubtless a den for rogues. All that’s left is for someone to try robbing me on the spot.” Before him, sweeping the floor, was a youthful Elven girl attired in a maid outfit topped by a bomber jacket with a strange design along its back and sleeve. The interior was predominantly wooden, except for the tables and counters, still it appeared to be in pristine condition compared to its exterior. There were large runes carved into the walls stretching around to the sides of the bar. Behind the counter, an Elven woman eye’d them. Her stare forced Tsuna to shift his eyes elsewhere until he drove them back into her beguiling stare.

“Welcome back to Infinity, Natsumi!” She announced their arrival loud enough so that the entire bar would hear. “I didn’t expect to see you until later tonight. Rylen said you were off on urgent business and made it seem like you were going to take all night.” Her gaze drifted over Tsuna.

“Wait here.” Natsumi said to Tsuna, patting his chest. After a nimble hop and skip, she leaned over the bar counter. “I had my work cut out for me. Him and I had to tie up some sloppy ends before we made our way back here and the strangest thing happened.” She cupped her hands around her mouth and whispered. “Check out the guy I walked in with. He’s another one of Rylen’s grand plans.”

“Is that guy the ‘business’? What kind of work would involve a young boy? It’s been a while since you’ve had a bodyguard gig.” She skimmed back over at him, her eyebrows lifting for a flash before returning her calm expression. “That dumb look on his face screams he’s some kind of outsider. More so than the way he’s dressed... Where is he from?”

“You know, I never asked. People should really inform you of that kind of stuff when you first meet them. That way, I don’t have to work so hard to learn about them. Life would be so much simpler. Imagine if the bad guys just told us they were bad! We wouldn’t have to investigate their plans or anything! I’d get to kick way more ass!”

The woman developed a big grin and sighed. “Never change, Natsumi.” With finesse, the woman plucked a bottle from a panel in the wall behind her, holding her other hand open on the counter. She tipped the bottle towards her hand, a glass sliding from the end of the counter and capturing the substance before it could spill. A steady push sent the glass back where it came, without a drop escaping.

“Thanks, Leora!” The customer said as he raised his glass.

She gave him a wink. “Coming back to the topic. If that boy is one of Rylen’s plans, why are you back so quickly? If the work was that easy, I’d imagine he’d have done it himself.”

***

Across the room, Tsuna gawked about. Feeling out of place, he moved from the entrance to a vacant table. Didn’t expect to find someone in a maid outfit here. The jacket she’s wearing is pretty cool. Deadpan, her gaze collided against his. A silence moved between the two of them, when abruptly the girl changed her grip on the broom in her hand to that one would employ to hold a club. The rustling of a chain sounded off from the inside of her jacket, making Tsuna gulp.

“What are you staring at? Got a problem?” Her bluntness contrasted with her sharp dialect.

The vein in Tsuna’s throat thumped as the chains in her jacket brushed further. As a result, Tsuna spat out the first thing on his mind with a crack in his voice. “N-nice jacket!” The Elf’s ears moved up and down, her grip on the broom reversing again with a smirk that gave Tsuna a chill on her face.

“Thanks!”

The girl returned to sweeping the area, leaving Tsuna by himself with a chest full of hot air he exhaled soon after.

***

“If I’m being honest, he scared me.” Natsumi rubbed her head and looked back at him. “He told me about where he came from and why he’s here. That he couldn’t handle his ether and he was doing it to protect the people he cares about. But from what I saw, not much an hour afterward, it’s definitely not true. The way he spoke was too sincere to be a lie. Yet at the same time he was on his knees and surrendering, he could see the ether on my body. My ether! Natsumi the westward wind, The ethertwisting prodigy!”

“Self proclaimed prodigy.” Leora gently pivoted the bottle in a circle, then took a swig and set it down. “Seems like he left a respectable impression on you then.”

“The idiot hollered something about helping the Minhki on the ragged side of town. It’s not like he’s the first to do it, but some of them actually believed him. After dozens of Humans have come in and vomited their garbage about helping them, this one is different all of a sudden. Maybe it’s because no ones heard of him”

“And you’re trying to find out what it is about him that made that happen?”

Natsumi nodded. Leora downed the rest of the bottle in a gulp, then set her hand on the Minhki’s shoulder. “Allow me to resolve that for you. Rylen and Zio are upstairs. Deliberate the next move with them. I would like to hear what this boy has to say about himself.”

“Don’t do that thing that you always do!”

A pleasant hummed laugh resounded in her throat. “What thing? I merely wish to know more about his character. What’s the matter? You didn’t try to sleep with him already, did you?” Natsumi’s ears stuck up as a confused look appeared on her face. “Don’t play dumb. He falls right into your rough looking loner type.”

A smug smirk washed her confusion away as she brushed her thumb under her black nose. “As if! This guy has a long way to go if he even wants a lick of my attention. Besides, he’s got a wife.”

“Hah… We’ll pretend that would stop you. Call him over.”

Natsumi wave in his direction. “Tsuna, come here!” He got out of his seat and made his way towards the bar, where he leaned next to her.

“What’s up?” Natsumi placed her palm on Tsuna’s chest, making him raise an eyebrow.

“Sit here so you don’t look like a lurker at that table by yourself. If you drink, Leora can help you out.”

“And just what will you be doing?”

“Finding Rylen.” Her tongue slid between her lips as she suddenly took off towards a door that led to the back of the building.

“Couldn’t even say anything if I wanted to.” Tsuna said with a sigh. As he took a seat, Leora’s gaze greeted him almost instantaneously. Her face expressed as smooth as limestone. Hands as delicate as butterfly wings. Eyeballs bouncing to every exposed part of his body. What she was going to state was obvious to Tsuna, allowing him to prepare a response.

“You’ve got an unfamiliar look about you.” She spoke. “By that, I mean you’ve been staring like a lost puppy. Almost pissed Cassandra off, too. Do you act like this normally, or is it your first time in Morath?”

Well, that took a turn. Tsuna smirked, still confident in his response. “First time. I am here on some sort of business my colleagues neglected to tell me about.” Leaning on the counter and gawking at the woman’s magnificent blue eyes. I can’t shake the feeling that she knows exactly who I am. Better play it cool. Get in a character.

“Don’t need to pretend here. I knew all about you as soon as you stepped on my floors.”

The alarms in Tsuna’s head blared, recalling the sensation of when he first walked in. Is that what that was? The Elf’s gaze remained stern and powerful. Watching him balk.

“Enlighten me. With the truth and not this facade you’re displaying. Who are you?”

Tsuna abruptly felt as if he needed to escape. But even if he could run, where would he go? He bit his lip, tempted to walk away, but wiped his face instead. “What do you know? That is the better question.” Without breaking the lock they had on one another, she set her hand on the counter. Suddenly, a mug slammed on the table and provoked Tsuna’s awareness. It slid easily into the woman’s palm, her grin and eyes still on Tsuna as she wiped it with a rag. “Okay, consider me intrigued.”

“Jumpy, are we? Morath has never had a prestige for crime, despite the pirates and what not that sail in and out of here. That doesn’t mean there’s people here who won’t start trouble. Fists get thrown behind closed doors and people wind up missing. Cross the wrong group and worse could crop up.”

Pursed lips, she lifted her chin at him, exposing her chiseled jawline. Tsuna’s frustration dropped to his core, chaining him down to where he was standing. While pointing at his face, he felt a warmth roll off of his tongue. “Before I acknowledge your question, tell me this. How many fists do you think have been thrown at my face? I’ll give you a hint, enough that a few more won’t scare me off.” The woman exposed her gleaming teeth through a hearty laugh.

“Coming right up then!”

Her back turned and Tsuna’s puffed chest deflated as he exhaled quietly through his nose. The hell is her deal? He turned around in his chair, catching a woman blocking the entrance with a chair. Ah shit. A man several seats down from him rose from his chair and, with no sign, charged in his direction. With a swift crack of his fingers, Tsuna pressed himself up from the counter and met his opponent. The two swung punches at one another, grazing one another’s face as they crossed. He forced Tsuna back with a thrust, knocking him into a table, and renewed his assault. The punches flew like a storm, most missing but few landing on Tsuna’s rib cage and face. Tsuna braced himself, dividing the two of them with a side step and sliding a chair between them. “You okay, man? Those punches felt weak and I don’t think you should fight while drunk.” The other patrons spread from their tables and withdrew into a corner away from the fight.

“Stop talking, you haven’t hit me yet!” Shoving the chair out of the way, he continued his offensive.

Tsuna’s eyes strayed to an adjacent table, then back to his foe, who was mid swing. He seized hold of a mug, evading to the side of the man’s punch, and struck it into his face. The attacker stumbled, grasping onto his face where the mug hit. A clasp of Tsuna’s fist made his chest roar, driving a blow into the man’s face. An upsurge of energy thumped his arm. Soon after his punch connected, a torrent of fire covered his fist. A sway of his hand expelled the flames. Well, that happened. The man was now on the floor, holding his freshly burned face. Now that I look at him… He looks younger than me.

“Cassandra, you can remove the chair from the door!” Rylen’s voice reverberated around the room. “I hoped that’d last longer, but congrats, lad! You proved Zio wrong and right at the same time! That itself warrants a reward. Leora, could you please take Alecsander to the back and fix that burn?”

Tsuna searched around the room, finding Rylen, Natsumi, and Zio above on a balcony. Zio had his back turned while the others watched over at him. “What did I prove?” Leora, from the bar, circled around the counter, pulling up the man in front of him.

“A joy to meet you, Tsuna.” She effortlessly lifted him on her shoulder. “You turned out to be more of a sport than Zio made it seem. Apologies for the antagonizing behavior.”

“For starters, you proved you can fight. With no motive, no hesitation, and you fight dirty. That was the right thing. The wrong, however, your ether spiked. To an incredibly dangerous level. You might’ve burned Alec’s poor face clean off had it gone any higher.”

Shocked, Tsuna looked at his hands. The power no longer flowing through them. He clamped them twice, to be certain.

“There’s a lot of work to be done. You’re practically at peak age where the control of ether is unattainable. But with the information we have, you’re an irregularity. That standard may not matter with you, which is why it’s crucial that we find answers as soon as possible.”

A grimace on his face, Zio spoke with rage. “I told all of you he’s a problem more than a solution. He’ll kill us all before we know it. How long do you think it will take for the dragon to take hold and end us here? Who’ll stop it then?” Zio exhaled through his teeth, turning to face Tsuna. Their red glares clashed, a fire raging between them.

“Slow down, Zio.” Rylen placed a hand on his shoulder, but Zio immediately brushed him off. “You said that the time would’ve expired hours ago. Tsuna’s well within the clear for us to trust him.”

“Bullshit. There wasn’t enough pressure for him to surrender to it yet, but the question is when will he give in to the dragon. He needs to be pushed to his limits. It’s the only way we’ll know he won’t just switch on us.” He undid the belts on his vest and tossed it aside, revealing the brown shirt he wore underneath. Leaning over the balcony, he fell to the first floor and landed on his feet. “I’ll fight the bastard. And if he doesn’t have the control to not shoot a single spark at me… I’ll kill him.”

Tsuna’s chest felt heavy, his breathing becoming erratic. “I’m sick of it.” Zio raised an eyebrow in response. “Whatever your problem is, I’m sick and tired of it.” Thrusting his fist forward, Tsuna spoke louder. “I’ll beat the shit out of you and shut that damned mouth of yours!”

Panic showed on Natsumi’s face after the two exchanged words. “Stop this! There’s no need to fight” She turned to Rylen. “We’re not gonna let them do this, are we? Zio will murder him!”

Rylen observed the two of them. A scratch of his head accompanied by a brush over the handle of his pistol. “Let them fight. Zio’s right. We have to know his limits.”

“But-!”

“But! Be ready to jump if it goes too far.”

The room’s temperature rose as tension held. Zio slid his right foot forward, tightened his fist, and lifted it close to his face. Tsuna took a heavy breath, moving his arms in front of his body, the sight of Zio’s torso slightly above his knuckles.

“We can only hope from here.” Rylen said. “Because if something goes wrong. Someone will die.”