Tsuna’s mind twisted in his slumber. The swirl spread through his body like a maelstrom of nerves. Doubt had set in. The thought of a dragon hunting him produced a hindrance both physically and mentally. A touch led him back from the nightmare. A slight nudge on his shoulder, followed by a wry voice calling out to him.

“Wake up!”

A euphoric wave washed away his worry, drawing him back to a point where his mom often woke him. He welcomed the memory, himself in his room, his mother furious yet forgiving. The dream vanished, taken over by a sky of light. The Crossing looming before him. Rylen’s voice came clear. The feeling on his shoulder returned and jerked him out of the vision. Swiftly, Tsuna grabbed hold of whatever was producing the push. “Alright already! I’m alive!” As his eyes opened, he peered towards the object held in his shoulder. Rylen held a handle, while Tsuna held a barrel. It was a gun. Moving the weapon away from his shoulder, Tsuna yelled. “Hey, watch where you’re pointing that thing!”

Rylen looked at him quizzically, drawing the gun back to his lap. “It’s dysfunctional. I’d been tinkering with it while the two of you appreciated your rest. Being left solely with my thoughts allowed me abundant time to figure out the tweaks needed to diminish the recoil! When I originally considered the idea of a gun smaller than a rifle to shoot, I estimated it would require more force! While that may be the case, a shortened barrel and a weaker hammer would provide the same functionality, but at a shorter range, therefore reducing its recoil by nearly double!”

He spoke the truth of his experimenting, as the bags under his eyes clear indicators. Though it didn’t exempt the odd method of waking him. And I originally thought you were the normal one, but you definitely remind me of a manga character. “Congrats, just don’t go pointing guns at people while they’re asleep. How long was I out?”

Rylen yawned. “We’ll run over the definition of the term ‘dysfunctional’ later. In the case your vocabulary may differ from ours, though it seems unlikely. It’s been about eleven hours. By the way, did you know you talk in your sleep?”

Tsuna shot him an indignant glance, still annoyed about being awakened at gunpoint.

“There’s no disguising that anger on your face, then I do owe you an apology. However, I made that decision for an excellent reason, I assure you.” Rylen pointed ahead. “We’ve reached land. This isn’t a sight that many get to see. A spectacular view of the coast from the sky!”

Tsuna’s head streamed to the direction of his finger, experiencing the sea above ending and being replaced by a golden sun that burned in the cloudless sky. The coast spread far in front of them, harboring a town on its shore with docks crowded with frigates styled like pirate ships. Beyond the town, snow-carpeted mountains lie. He whirled back, checking out the upper sea, how it curved upwards as if there were an unseen barrier preventing it from reaching further.

“Natsumi. Are you there?” Rylen held a finger to his ear as he chatted. “We should touch down at the dock shortly, head to Leora’s and we’ll regroup there… Huh? You already informed her? You knew we were in range and Zio hasn’t responded? Let me check.” A brief look at Zio, his arms curled and his eyes closed, gave him his answer. “Yeah, he’s awake. Alright, see you soon.” His hand came back to the steering wheel. “I figure I should caution you before we arrive in Morath. Though it’s clear that you’re not under any influence of the dragon, others will want to run tests to be sure. Is that okay with you?”

Tsuna raised his eyebrows. “Do you think they’ll be afraid when they learn what I am?”

“You still look like a man to me, so no. They’ll really want to know how a situation like yours can exist. So, if you can do us this favor, we’d appreciate it greatly and compensate you.”

“What kind of corporation do you work for anyway?” Tsuna averted his eyes. There’s no reason for me to doubt them, but I don’t know enough about them yet.

“We’re not a corporation, though we may seem like one. Do you know what a Zenith is?”

“No, but you’re probably going to tell me.”

“A Zenith is a celestial sphere that’s above an observer. That being said, we oversee anomalies in the world and deal with them before any real disaster can occur through an upsetting of the balance of ether. As one of its founders, I see to matters myself to ensure plans go smoothly.”

“Like what was happening at the tower?”

Rylen nodded with a stiff head scratch, then moved it over to his ear. “The Crossing wasn’t as pleasant as we’d hoped. The Carouser guild had a notorious reputation, however, that wasn’t what set them in our sights. Reports of theft of ethertech, sacking towns on the borders for food, got their name around. It wasn’t until they stole an Elysian Airship prototype everyone knew about them.” He reached inside his pocket and revealed a square chip, which he took a bite of. “More on topic. I want to see how you’ll fit into the fold. Recruits are troublesome to come by these days and you need a place to stay with food to eat. It’ll be a fair trade.”

Tsuna bowed his head. “Thanks…” Keep one eye open. As they flew closer to Morath, he scanned around for familiar-looking faces. Humans and cat-like humanoids filled the area around the docks, working as they transported crates onto and off of ships. The people moved aside as a commotion arose within the crowd and a body went flying and fell into the water.

“Man overboard!”

The events received a reaction from Zio, his attention snapping over to where the man had splashed. On land, a girl ran, a group of men and women chasing her. “Rylen, the dock! Right side, take us there!”

***

Dodging over a barrel as a shot of lightning blew it to pieces, a cat-like girl ran. She leaped on her way through the crowds, hurrying for the nearest alley. The crowd panicked, clearing out the area as the pursuers closed in on the woman. The crowd impeded her path and plugged into the alley, forcing her to turn to the pier. Bullets whistled by her, crashing into the docked ships, the crews quickly climbing on board for cover.

From above, Tsuna could see that she was obviously not normal. As she ran, a green tint followed behind, only becoming clearer the faster she ran.

“Stop that, Minhki! Kill her if you have to!”

Other men showed up with their rifles and began firing at her as she ran. She bounced from one pier to the next, evading the bullets as she hopped to the deck of a ship, then down. Surrounded on the pier, her enemies closed in. Spying the pod approaching from the sea, she faced her pursuers and brought her hands to her sides. The first to reach her attacked without hesitation, the girl vanishing from sight after he swung. A shadow shrouded the man, soaring through the sky. The girl fell over him with a heel drop to his head. Distant attackers aimed their rifles, their fingers grazing the trigger. A gust of wind snatched them over the water and right in front of her. Disarming them with blinding speed and discarding them into the ocean. Three more stood in front of her, spacing themselves apart from her space so she couldn’t take them down at once. With a smirk, she brushed her hips and hopped on her toes as the remaining riflemen pointed their weapons. A squeeze of the triggers and bullets flew, and at that moment, she danced around every shot, waving her hands as a green aura surrounded them. Her arm reached out, then pulled back. One man flew towards her, seeing her grin up close and personal. “Headbanger!” A punch straight to his head connected, and a shock wave flew from the blow onto her next enemy and then the next.

“My head! I can’t see!”

The girl walked by the rest of the enemies and thrust them into the water. “Tell your boss he should just get better at cards and you goons won’t end up swimming with the fishes!” The roaring of an engine overhead made her tuck her head down naturally. Their pod passed over her, eyes going wide at one passenger in specific. “ZIO!”

Zio leaned back in his seat, the look on his face that of a man desperate to escape. “Shit!” Out of options, he jumped ship before it could land, nearly reaching the ground before the girl tackled him and clung to his arm.

“Zio!”

“Get off of me!” He vigorously shook, helpless to get rid of her. “God damn it!”

The pod descended on the edge of a pier. Rylen flinging open the door and urging Tsuna out. “Never expected you to get along with a group of idiots, Natsumi.” Raising his foot and placing it against the pod, he pushed it into the water. “That’ll keep Elysia off of our tails.”

“Rylen! It’s been ages!” The girl shouted, still clinging onto Zio’s arm. Dread passed over his face, knowing he couldn’t shake her off. “Those fools didn’t have a clue about me! Their boss was just upset that he lost some Drax in a card game. And by some, I mean one thousand!”

“One thousand Drax!? That’s an enormous pot for a card game. They looked like your typical pub thugs with beer stained shirts I could see and smell from a mile away, but they must have been pirates.”

“Ding!” She raised a finger up in reaction, shaking for a moment as Zio attempted to wrestle himself free. “They lose a few games of cards, then choose to up the stakes. I win, they accuse me of cheating, then suddenly attack me! I was on a real streak until they pulled out ethertech.”

A conniving grin erupted on Rylen’s face. “Oh ho! I assume you did that old trick I taught you by shuffling the deck with the wind. Glad to see you taking unprofessional incentive! With that, I’ll be taking that Drax for funds for our Morath members.”

The olive green ears on the top of her head shot up. “Quit whining! I’m using the money for an excellent cause! We have to take care of our best fighter, Zio!” Squeezing him tighter.

“Can you let me go now?! I need to go piss and you’re holding me up, Natsumi!” To his surprise, she released him. Zio walked towards the city.

Does he yell at everyone? Tsuna scanned the dock as people walked back to the area now that the fighting was over. A stretch forward and he felt like it had cured him of years of pain. Didn’t realize I was so stiff. He walked in front of Rylen, who was about a head taller than him, to get his attention. “How far is this place you’re taking me?”

Natsumi glared at him as she walked in his direction, staring up at as she asked. “Who’s the kid?”

“Introductions. This is our newest candidate, Tsuna…” Rylen’s voice lingered.

“Tachibana.”

“Tachibana! A curious lad, who had a tremendous impact on our mission in the past moon. Consider him one of us now. Show him the ropes and all so that he’s ready for whatever goes on. Tsuna, this is Natsumi Lu’Kara, one of our best in ethertwisting.” He coughed, silently muttering in Tsuna’s direction. “She’s also one of our most rebellious.”

“W-w-w-w-w-” Natsumi stuttered as if dumbfounded, then gestured her arms in his direction then towards town. “A newest member!? We already have Alec to teach and now you want another? You’re gonna end up spreading us too thin with manpower. Besides, who gave you the authority to just recruit people without an interview or background check!?”

“Well, I am your boss. Trust that his background is clear. You might need to whip him into shape concerning the rules of engagement. This is your chance to step up to the plate in absence of the twins.”

“Fine. But you’re going to owe me for this being so sudden! I’ve hardly prepared physically or psychologically for this load you’ve dumped on me!”

The cat-girl stepped closer to him, too close to his liking. Tsuna took a step back and studied her long ears on the top of her head, identical to cats but also very distinct as it looked as if he were a part of their hair. They twitched, showing their flexibility, then laid nearly flat on her head. Her eyes were as sharp as knives and their cheese-like color reminded him more of cats from Japan. Like himself, she had a brownish complexion. Dressed in a loose shirt with a pair of goggles resting on top of her collarbone. Her head poked around to his side, giving him a moment to notice she had a tail curled around her waist. Natsumi’s eyes met his.

“He’s darker. I thought he was Minhki hiding his tail or something, but he doesn’t have the ears either. Is he a southerner?”

Tsuna’s mouth opened but with a wave of his hand, Rylen stopped him. “There’s nothing more to suspect. We know where the boy is from and there are some things he needs to do before we move along. Come with us back to Leora’s so we can get people acquainted with him. I’m certain his days are going to get much more interesting from here on.” Rylen walked towards the city.

Natsumi looked at him, then at Tsuna with furrowed brows. “Can’t argue with the boss. I guess you’re mine now. Let’s go. And don’t get lost.”