“Ginchiyo Tachibana.” The words flowed from the tip of his tongue easily under his heavy breathing, as it was one he was very familiar with. Staring at the floor, his mind stirred in a vortex of confusion. Rylen doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Ginchiyo’s been dead for hundreds of years. There’s no way she could be my mom. I mean… How would she even have gotten here? Tsuna bit his lip. Inspecting Zio’s unconscious body, he saw he was no longer in danger and took a seat on the floor to recover.

“Snap out of it!” Leora’s voice was furious, as she threw her hands towards the near empty room. “You’ve no time for squandering about in your head when you have a debt to settle for the damage you’ve done.”

Rylen intervened before she could continue, urgently stepping his way in her line of sight. “Whoa there, Leora. Don’t blame him for what Zio and I had planned. None of us could’ve known things would get so ‘heated’.” A snickered grin cracked on Rylen’s face. “Seriously though, I know how much this place means to you, so just add it to one of our tabs and we’ll take care of it when time comes.”

“Oh yes, I’ll pile it on Zenith’s most broke.” She raised a finger. “The two with the heaviest debt.” She raised another finger. “One who has a reputation for forgetting but wants everything added to it. And the other… Yeah, but no. I’m holding him accountable for the damage he caused, and he’s not going anywhere until he either pays up or fixes it himself. I’ll die on this hill, Rylen! Don’t fucking play games with me!”

Rylen placed a hand on Tsuna’s shoulder, shaking him out of his trance. “Leora and I will work something out, so you shouldn’t worry too much. Not to brag, but I have a reputation for being the negotiator of our band. I’ll keep her price low, I promise.” He winked.

“Low?! I’m broke!”

Rylen laughed heartily and patted Tsuna on the back. “No need to worry I said! Cmon, get up and go get you a proper rest. It’s been days since any of us have been able to lie on a bed. Take a room upstairs and kick back for the rest of the day.” Drifting his eyes to Zio, who was being picked up by Natsumi. Near his body, he spotted two small pellets. Both cracked with a small light irradiating from the center. “Natsu, don’t worry about Zio right now. He blocked my bullets. He’ll wake up in about three minutes. Show Tsuna a room and meet back down here.”

Gently placing Zio back on the ground and striding calmly by the three of them, she jumped to the top of the stairs. “The room will be up here, Tsuna.”

Tsuna looked at the eager Rylen and the disgruntled Leora before he moved.

“Go on.” Leora snarled. “I’ll hear what Rylen has to say. He won’t save your skin. You will make up for these damages, but I want to see what insulting offers he’d throw at me.”

Tsuna climbed to his feet, then followed Natsumi. The mystery of Ginchiyo weighing on his mind. It can’t be true. Ginchiyo Tachibana. She’s buried in Ryosei temple, never had kids, and died nearly four-hundred years ago. Was there a gap in time she went missing? Why am I even considering that? How could she be my mom? He took a deep breath. “I need to sleep…”

***

The door shut behind Tsuna as he walked into the room, his worry vanishing upon hearing Natsumi step away rather than the clicking of a locked door he expected. The room was cozy, though as simple as a room could be. A fluffy mattress, soft and as spotless as if it’d never seen use, lay in the center of the room against the wall. Two dark brown nightstands surrounded the bed parallel to a desk with a bundle of papers in the corner. The sun shone through the window, still high in the sky but slowly descending into the mountains west.

“Never thought I’d be glad to have some alone time.” He stroked the back of his left hand. The glossy gem vibrated, though he was unsure if that was his own body trembling instead. “Imagine if I knew a world like this existed sooner. I would’ve had so much writing material. But who am I kidding? Except for that tower, everything’s been generic. You could find something like this anywhere.” He reached for the paper in the desk's corner and stared at its blank face. The chair smoothly slid across the wood floor as he pulled it back, then took a seat at the desk. “I’ve only written the same story for four years. With everything gone, I’ll start from the beginning again.” A knock sounded from the door, opening by the time the third knock. The green ears of Natsumi peek in first, followed by her concerned eyes.

“They can wait.” She said, bringing her full body into the room and closing the door behind her. Approaching him, she grabbed onto his face, Tsuna leaning away as he reached for her wrists. “Just stay still. You’re still bleeding.”

“Why are you worried about me? Zio’s hurt. That guy I burned too. You’ve known them longer than you’ve known me. I’ll take care of myself.” The Minhki’s thumb moved over his eyelids and slid them shut.

“There’s a lot I’m learning about you today. Stop worrying about them. This is about you. They’re used to these kinds of things. You are not.” She grabbed his hand and forcibly led him into another room, which turned out to be a bathroom. “Now take a seat on the toilet while I clean you up.” Her finger guided him towards a toilet seat.

Tsuna released a sigh of relief as he sat down. “Would it be weird to say I’m glad that there are toilets here?”

“Do we seem that barbaric to you? Hmph, I would consider our group one of the more classy you’d find around.” Taking a cloth and dampening it in the sink, Natsumi wiped away the blood around his nose. “I didn’t know there was such tension between you and Zio. I’m pissed off that Rylen said nothing about it sooner. It didn’t need to be like this.”

“No. I think it had to be like this. After the fight there are a lot of questions I need answered. Like, why does Zio hold a grudge against Infernus. What more can this crystal in my hand do? And now Rylen tells me he knows someone who might be my mom when I only just discovered this world existed a little over a day ago. These questions need answers, but I think more questions will arise from these.”

“Well, Rylen wants you to be a part of Zenith. You’ll hardly have the time to search for anything. Mastering your ether and discovering your anima will take its time too. It could even take years.”

“How lo-” He winced. A stinging sensation pulsing throughout his face.

“Sorry! You have a lot of cuts!”

“It’s fine. Like I said, I’m used to it.” Is this crystal the reason I didn’t die on that island? It gave me such a boost. I felt like I could’ve lifted this entire building if I wanted. I wonder if this could be the key to controlling the ether that I have. “What’s the fastest you’ve ever heard of someone mastering their ether?”

Natsumi stopped to think. “There was a story once. Some years ago, a man, considered the worst fighter his town had seen, departed for the Gigan Mountains with nothing but the clothes on his back. After a week, people suspected he had perished on the Deities mountain until he returned six months later with more control over earth ether than anyone had ever seen.”

“Another Deity? Is that one like Infernus?”

Natsumi waved her hips from side to side with an indecisive grin. “Eh, yes, but no? Atlas is his name. Unlike Infernus, he bears no grudge against humanity. The most secluded of the Deities, he slumbers deep underground to keep the lands together. Resolved and unmoving, users of Earth anima are some of the toughest users you’ll meet.” She pulled the rag away and gave his face a thorough look. “There. Don’t bite off more than you can chew next time! I may not be there to clean you up, so I want you to promise me this. Stay safe. Or else I’ll kick your ass myself!” Her proclamation came with a contagious energy while setting her hands on his cheeks and giving him a peck on the forehead.

Tsuna’s legs trembled as the floral scent of the Minhki brushed his nose. The thumping in his ears grew louder while the sound of his roaring heart overtook any other noise around him. He grabbed Natsumi by the hands and towered over her as he stood up. “Don’t do that.” The words left his lips far easier than his anxiety left his chest. Natsumi blankly stared at him. “I’m going to rest now.”

“R-Right…” Natsumi bowed, placing Tsuna’s hand on her head. “Sorry.”

“No harm done, Natsu.” He rubbed her behind the ears. “I promise, I’ll be careful.” He saw the light in her eyes illuminate when he said her nickname.

“I’m gonna go downstairs then. I’ll be back with food if you’re awake!” She pranced out of the bathroom. “And Tsuna? How old are you?”

“Twenty-one.” He answered with a groan-like sigh. The door closed, giving him a moment of reprieve from her affection. “Cats are weird.” His thoughts wandered to Emiko’s smile, transforming into the horror in her eyes as she witnessed him being dragged away. Shifting his thumb over his index finger, he pressed down with enough force to crack it. Blood pumped through his hands to the point he couldn’t keep them still, and a zealous vigor overtook him. “A new start!”

***

“Look, none of us foresaw this outcome.” Rylen shrugged. “How were we to know a man who fell out of the sky would be the son of the woman who saved us? At first, I had to be sure. I saw his face and thought nothing of it. Then Zio told me of what transpired at The Crossing. It was from there, I was almost certain. Fast forward to now and the original plan was to test Tsuna, but learning the lab’s relocation, we had to improvise.” Rylen leaned on the bar counter and scratched his chin. “I expected it wouldn’t pan out smoothly unless we upped the risk and used Zio as a gauge without his knowledge. It all needed to look as natural as possible, the bar setting, the fight, setting a scenario where he’s backed into a corner and his survival instinct would take over rational thought. The results differed from what I expected, but far more yielding than I had hoped!” An earnest smile grew on his lips.

Leora stroked her coiled hair and sat on the counter beside Rylen. “Rylen, Ginchiyo disappeared at the beginning of the Ikon War. Even if the numbers almost add up, we don’t know what happened to her once she closed that portal. She could’ve perished, become lost.”

“Or she could’ve landed elsewhere and started a new life and made a son! What could’ve happened doesn’t eliminate the possibility of that being true. She had to have survived. Maybe Tsuna came from where she went!” His smile left, closing his eyes while he tilted his head. “If she sent him here, could something be happening? Like the Ikon war or the portals returning? There’s more that I need to figure out before I can be sure.”

“Rylen, you’re clinging so hard to the past, yet you’re forgetting what she said to you again and again. Every problem in the world is not yours to bear alone. She’s gone, but don’t let the lessons she taught go to waste. Feels like yesterday when she scolded us about wanting to return to Yggdrasil. ‘Living under a great shadow won’t let you see what’s on the other side.’ The time came where we did. And because of it, we’re better off, are we not?”

“Maybe one of us is. One of us could rest their resentment, going on a spree that turned their once called ‘God’ into an embarrassment. I finally have my chance to be happy and I won’t throw away my shot.”

A groan reached their ears, Zio coming to his senses. “Shit… My neck is so stiff. What happened?”

Natsumi turned up at the top of the stairs, shuffling towards the three of them. “Tsuna said he’s going to rest.”

Rylen clapped his palms together. “Excellent. Now that we’re all here, we can discuss the future. Zio, I’ll tolerate no more aggression towards Tsuna. Unless it’s training related, any other hostility will be deemed as a disobeying of direct orders.”

“That’s bullshit! Why are you protecting him!? That monster has done nothing but kill ever since he set foot on this land?”

“Which monster, Zio!? The boy in tattered clothing or the one he holds within? We know where you’re coming from, Zio. We’ve grown far past the boundaries of being just co-workers to understand your troubled history with that dragon. This is not a dismissal of what you feel is right in your heart of hearts. I am simply asking you to be patient until we can formulate a plan to make him a capable fighter.”

Zio grit his teeth as he picked himself up off the floor. The three surrounding him could sense his ether rising from his body. “Just what is your goal in all of this? What good is it if we drag around a deity of destruction with us?”

“The good that he’s in our hands and not anyone else’s.” Rylen’s usually light-hearted face turned so stern that Natsumi’s ears dropped flat to the sides looking at him. “If that bothers you and you feel that your adult self-control is slipping away from you, then I have another task for you. Find where the boss is and relay his information to us. You’ll know how to find us.”

Averting his eyes and letting out a huff, Zio walked towards the exit of the building.

“Are you sure that’s the right move?” Natsumi asked. “I’d be better off searching for the boss. Zio is too much of an asset if something happens.”

“Until he learns to cool his head, he’s a detriment.” Rylen watched as the doors closed behind Zio. “He still hasn’t learned to forgive himself yet and until that happens, I cannot have him and Tsuna in the same place.”

The popping of a cork provoked their minds, Leora holding a bottle towards the two of them. “Considerate of you not asking Zio to leave, but you may have done more harm than good giving him the choice. For what he’s been through, it’s been obvious he wants an easy release. And he’ll find it alright, when his end comes.” She took a sip of the bottle with Natsumi coming closer to take a sip as well.

“I almost want to call it a trend.” Rylen sighed. “Don’t either of you find it funny that more often than not, users of fire anima are hotheaded?”

“The commander of the Tarragon isn’t.” Natsumi said.

“I said more often than not.” Unbuckling his pistol, Rylen opened the barrel and shook it around. “Back to business. What will you have him do, Leora? There’s not enough time to restore what he broke through ceremony. You’ll need a whole new piece and a root to the realm is a day away. Guards won’t just let us walk up to the tree, either.”

Leora patted her cheek as she spied Cassandra walking from the back room and giving her a thumbs up. Suddenly, Leora’s face lightened up as she pinched her arm. “I have somewhat of an idea. What do you think of the Qu Long?”

Natsumi folded her arms. “The black market guild filled with Minhki? Never came across them as much as I heard about them, so as a Minhki, I’ve had a problem with them.”

“Not a guild, black market is right, but it’s more of a band of nomads.” Rylen turned around. “They’re unofficial, but that doesn’t keep people from working with them. We don’t see them too often because they cross the land in some kind of mobile fortress. That recently, before we left, I heard can now traverse water. With a moving castle, it allows them access to close shelter to find resources even in the most dangerous of places, even those closely tied to the remnants of the Ikon war and the etheric distortions it created. With those resources, their leader has a tight grip on the black market, making them virtually untouchable by any kingdom unless they’d like to live on finite power. The Qu Long have made themselves indispensable.”

“Right. A few of their scouts have been snooping around town. I’m not sure what they’ve been doing here, but that grants us access to them without needing to track down their fortress. Cassandra knows some things, like where they like to hang around. If you can take that boy with her and he can cut a bargain, then he can consider the debt paid.”

“Sounds like we hardly needed to do any negotiating at all, Leora. This works to some benefit on both our ends. Give me a moment.” Rylen thought over her offer. Closing his eyes while gathering his thoughts, he spoke. “Natsumi, do you have any opinions on this idea?”

His question came in the middle of her lifting the bottle with two hands. She took another big gulp of alcohol and blinked several times at him. “I uh, think Tsuna has a way with words. We could take him there to see what he can do, but not alone. Or rather, just him and Cassandra.”

“A way with words you say? I’ve experienced the opposite, so maybe he has more luck with you than me.” Rylen let out a soft chuckle. “You’ll go with them. It’ll be a chance for more lessons on ether as well. I can count on you, right?”

Another quick swig, and Natsumi threw her free hand up stiffly up to her forehead. “Yesh sher!”

“Damn it, she’s drunk already!? Do you put honey from the root of the realm in your drinks?”

Leora winked. “Wouldn’t pull as many customers if I didn’t. Gives it that sweet taste.”

Rylen exhaled as he buckled his gun back in its holster. “Nothing more to say. Get some rest, everyone. Tomorrow’s a new day and a new life for our newest member. Nowhere to go but up from here!”