In a flash, Tsuna found himself in the plane of his mind. Within, the man who claimed himself the Deity of Fire observed passing reflections through a glass shard floating about. Emiko’s reflection bounced off of his eyes as he studied what Tsuna could observe as their first date.

As Tsuna walked closer, Infernus turned to him and quickly checked his tense posture. “This young woman, she comes regularly in your memories. More often than any I’ve seen so far. Who is she?”

The voice entered Tsuna’s head, but his lips didn’t move. “Emiko is her name. To put it in a way that someone like you could understand, we were partners. Destined to be together for the rest of our lives… Before things happened…”

Infernus didn’t bother to glance at him, overly fixated on the actions that were transpiring in the glass. He saw Tsuna’s unsteady hand stretched forward as he held a glass of water, spilling it on the table before Emiko and her, giggling in response, then aiding him in cleaning the mess. “Paired for life?” An unexpected smirk curled on his face. “Dragon tradition had it so pairs would cover one another in fire. One’s ether fusing with the others, making them practically indistinguishable if you sought to sense them. Their power shared and turned over to their offspring, culminating in a more powerful dragon.”

Infernus released a powerful sigh, shoulders easing as his sadness in his eyes. A feeling Tsuna could relate to, as his shoulders also eased. “That’s… romantic, in its own way, I suppose. But that’s not the way we humans do it.” Tsuna walked closer to him, stopped when the man stuck his hand out in his path.

“Can you recall an occasion like before? When your body was in control of itself with your will pushed out? If you cannot, then I will go through every corner of your memory until I discover an answer.”

Tsuna’s calm face turned stoic. “Straight to business then? I assumed we were having a moment.” Strange. It seemed like he’d wanted to open up about something at first. Maybe I can get it out of him. “The answer is no. None of this went on until you invaded my body. If what you said before is true, that you’re not the one who caused it, then there’s something deeper and you were just the catalyst.”

An audible hum rumbled in Infernus’ throat. Raising his hand, the glass reflected the motion and flew into the light. “Have you considered the trigger should you need to call upon that strength again? Or how it can arise again?”

“Why? We see there’s a reason my body controls itself, but why would we want that to happen? Especially when we’re both not in control.” Infernus seemed to turn to more urgent matters, as a stern look grew on his face. My body not being in my control didn’t happen until today. Though this guy suspects it could’ve happened much sooner. If that were the case, then I would know about it. Wouldn’t I? Is he suspicious of what could happen to him if it came up again?

“The contrary.” Infernus shocked Tsuna, forgetting that he could hear his thoughts. “That influence is something you need to manipulate on command. Danger creeps closer and you will require an edge over your enemy in order to survive. The two of us jointly, that instinct of yours combined, could turn into a power that could overthrow mine.”

“Overthrow you? But you’re right here, in my body. You’re the sole thing I could associate with danger right now, so what you said makes no sense. What is this danger?”

Infernus’ deep red eyes locked onto Tsuna. A minute of doubt washed over his face, as if his mind had changed. The focus came back, the words steadily slipping away from his lips. “My son.” A stream of black smoke escaped Infernus’ nose as he breathed. The ground shuddered as his feet turned in Tsuna’s direction. “He’s coming to kill you, to claim my strength as his own. That tower, the false idol, was the mere factor that preserved the core of my power from his clutches and now that I’ve escaped, he’ll be on our tail before you prepare.”

“Your son wants to kill you? Well… you’re already dead. But, what would he gain from taking your strength?”

“Vengeance. Talion is brash and relentless. His fury drives him to border the line of unhinged. War shaped him, but it pushed him to the threshold when it changed for the worse. The suffering and loss of other dragons was much for his young mind that war was the only thing he yearned for. It was observing his descent when I realized a younger me wouldn’t understand the beauty that is life and death, only the desire to avenge the fallen. My death led to my failure as a father, and it served as a spark to ignite his resolve. If his purpose still rages as strong as before, there’s no breaking him the way you are now. Not even the spawn of my demise, the red-haired one you travel with, stands a chance.”

“Don’t expect him to do much with us floating in the middle of nowhere. A dragon flying out here just to attack us would be a problem, but the water should give him trouble because dragons can’t swim.” Tsuna paused. “Can they?”

“A strike could happen at any moment.” Infernus sat and crisscrossed his limbs. “I advise you figure out how to summon that power if there’s any hope for either of us.” Smoke billowed from his nostrils as he closed his eyes and angled his head skyward.

Is he serious? Tsuna paced around the man, flapping the smoke away as it swelled the area. “That’s it? That’s your idea? So while you rely on me to figure out shit I don’t know, you’ll sit here and meditate doing nothing to help?” Silence was the response to his disputes, then Tsuna’s eyes grew upon spotting the smoke becoming fuller. “Let me guess, you’re going to kick me out again? Isn’t this my mind? How can you kick me out of my head?”

As Tsuna expected, the dense smoke clogged the room, blinding his vision and packing his lungs.