Chapter 27: Like Water

Chapter 27:

"___" - Speech

(___) - Thoughts

{___} - Internal Voice(s)

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"Mother, are you sure it's alright for me to watch?" A child with crimson hair and bangs framing his face looked up at a woman with long braided silver hair donning a maids dress. "If I'm a bother I don't want to force them." 

"First I'll talk with them, if they say it's ok then I don't mind you spectating. But under no circumstances should you interrupt, clear?" Millicas smiled as he hummed affirmatively. "Good." Grayfia sweetly ruffled her son's hair as his expression brought a certain warmth to her face. 

As they continued to stroll towards the training grounds something caught her attention, the only ones who were supposed to be present were Sairaorg and Jin. However, her senses had picked up on a third being. 

"Is something the matter?" Millicas questioned, noticing that his mother's expression had stiffened ever so slightly. 

"It's nothing sweetie, just stay close." Jin had already spent three days at the Gremory household, but since she had been called out for a mission at the request of her spouse, she wasn't familiar with the signature unlike the rest of the Gremory's present. "Did anyone else come to the residence whilst I was away?" 

"Oh right, did you know that Iwata brought home a Dragon? It's a baby one and it only speaks by making these strange growling sounds, but somehow he's able to communicate with it by doing the same." Millicas stretched out his arms as if to mimic Raon's size, and it didn't take long for him to deduce the root cause for his mothers unease. "Wait, is it at the training grounds as well?" 

"The aura definitely matches that of a Dragon, so it must be." Grayfia swallowed the urge to grip her nose-bridge as she pondered why Venelana had neglected to tell her of the development. "You didn't get too close to it right?" 

"No, Iwata said it would be too dangerous." The concerned mother heaved an internal sigh of relief as she silently thanked Jin. "It was still really cool to look at though." 

"He made the right call, listen sweetie, believe it or not hatchlings are supposedly a lot more temperamental than the adults. If it can't communicate with anyone other than Iwata like you said, then chances are that it'll be even more agitated than usual if you approach it." Though strength-wise the adults were undoubtedly more dangerous, the only time they would be much of a threat is if one were stupid enough to encroach on their territory, or somehow lack the survival instincts to stay away from their offspring. 

"I understand." Grayfia's expression softened as she saw the somewhat dejected look on her son's face. In all fairness, even an adult would find it hard to not want to get close up with such a revered being. Having a child emulate such restraint, would be a challenge if nothing else. 

"Listen, maybe under his supervision there might be some way for you to get a little closer." Befitting of his age, Millicas's eyes gleamed with excitement almost instantaneously. "I said maybe." She reaffirmed. 

Truth be told, even a stone-faced maid like her had the itch to get a closer look at a Dragon. Though she had encountered a handful during her lifetime, never had she been given the chance to get face to face with a hatchling. Only ever learning about them from word of mouth, or catching a faint glimpse of them snuggled under their parents wing. 

Eventually, they were close enough to hear the sound of fists clashing against each other, bones cracking, and the constant barking of orders in the distance. "Mother, how long will Iwata and Sairaorg stay with us?" 

"We'd have to ask, but as I said, you mustn't disturb them." 

"I won't." Millicas watched with glee as a young man with spiky chestnut hair sprinted around the track, all the while being chased with significantly more toned man who would punt him in the calfs each time his speed dropped. "That looks painful, each time Iwata comes home he's always covered in bruises from head to toe." 

"Everyone has their circumstances, with his relationship to Grigori there's likely much expected of him." As Grayfia looked at the turf they were using, for a minute she considered pulling her son away from the sight. Patches of blood had stained the grass and asphalt around various parts of the grounds, and she was well aware of the fact that it only came from one person. "But you mustn't replicate any of this sweetie, you've been doing wonderfully with your studies so far all you need to do is maintain your consistency." 

"Got it." He nodded. "Mother, what's that?" Millicas pointed upwards at a silhouette circling around in the sky, like some sort of bird. 

"I imagine that must be his Dragon, let the two of them finish up first and then you can politely ask him about it." The two found a relatively pleasant area of greenland to sit down on as Grayfia pulled out all sorts of snacks and beverages for her son. 

. 

"How long have the two of you been here?" Both Jin and Sairaorg approached them as he squeezed the sports bottle in his hand. As per usual, the Fallen Angel was completely covered in purple bruised-patches and sweat throughout every nook and cranny of his body. 

"My son wished to see the two of you train Iwata, I hope that we aren't a bother." 

"Not at all." Sairaorg tossed him a towel to wipe himself off with as Jin found a place to rest momentarily. "Thanks." 

"Look how big you've grown Millicas, last time I was here you were only this tall." He chuckled as he motioned towards his knee. 

"Don't worry, it won't be long before I'm taller than you." Millicas ran up for a hug as the Bael playfully ruffled his hair. "How long are you and Iwata going to stay?" 

"We'll still be here for roughly two weeks and a half. How's your sister? I've been wanting to catch up with her but she seems rather occupied at the moment." 

"She's been studying pretty hard, I think it's to help her develop her commanding skills." 

"I see, judging by that look in your eyes I'm guessing there's something else you wanted?" The young Gremory let out a nervous laugh as Sairaorg had seen right through him. "Let me guess, the Dragon." 

"How did you know?" 

"It's a Dragon, who wouldn't want to see it? Jin, c'mere for a second." The exhausted [Gold General] groaned as he sluggishly approached them. 

"What is it?" 

"Would it be possible for Millicas to get a little closer with Raon?" Jin rose a single brow as he spared a glance to Grayfia, receiving a nod of approval in turn. 

"I suppose." He shrugged, light-silvery scales forming around his throat as he cupped his hands around his mouth and looked upwards. "RAON!" The silhouette in the sky abruptly halted its circling, quickly diving downwards straight towards Jin at speeds that would put even a peregrine falcon to shame. 

"You better have a good reason for interrupting my hunt, halfling." As if it were second nature, Raon halted his speed right before he landed on Jin's shoulder, hardly causing so much as even a slight impact. 

"You caught like two birds, I wouldn't really call that a hunt." 

"The number matters not halfling, for what I do is beyond your tiny brain's comprehension." 

"Sure sure, there's someone who wants to meet you." Jin pointed towards the crimson-haired youth as Raon's head shifted in his direction. 

"You can come closer if you want." Millicas's face beamed as he inched towards Jin, Raon sticking his head out to sniff the air around the young Devil. 

"Halfling, what delectable treat is that animal holding in its hands?" Raon's sights were laser-focused onto the sandwich Millicas held in his hands, prepared by none other than his mother. "Tell him to offer it to me." 

"That's not how it works, you have to give him something in return if you want his sandwich." The little Dragon raised a paw to the base of his maw as if the concept genuinely needed pondering. 

"Is that so? Then I shall grant him five minutes of me sitting on his shoulders in return." 

(Well, he did technically want to get closer.) 

"Millicas, do you mind if he has a bite of your sandwich?" 

"Not at all." Jin motioned towards Raon as he leaped from his shoulders onto the young Gremory's, immediately reaching for the sandwich as he eagerly nibbled away at it. "Woah, he's heavier than I expected." 

(You're lucky he doesn't understand you.) 

"Can I pet him?" 

"Erm, maybe first wait for him to finish eating. If he's comfortable enough then I suppose you could give it a try." Jin shuddered at the looming feeling that Raon might attempt to bite his fingers. "But be careful, he's very temperamental." 

"Understood." 

"Break's over Jin." The Fallen Angel groaned as he waved Millicas goodbye, setting aside his bottle and approaching the track. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Sairaorg furthered. 

"Oh right." Jin summoned his gauntlet as he allowed his power to double, adding to the burden on his stamina as he ran. "Remind me why I have to do this again?" 

"Training your body is definitely important, but in order to achieve [Balance Breaker], especially with the time-frame we've been given, improving your direct control over your Sacred Gear is a must. You're actually rather fortunate that your ability can be incorporated so seamlessly into your current training, most Sacred Gears would require an entirely different regiment on top of conditioning in order to make use of their skills." Sairaorg pulled out a stopwatch as he motioned for Jin to start running. 

"Last time you only managed five minutes whilst having your gear active, you shouldn't need me to tell you how poor that is." When it came to training, the lion certainly wasn't one to sugarcoat things. "Now get going, you're burning daylight." 

.

.

"You lasted a minute longer, not terrible, but not enough." With no more gas in the tank to burn, Jin had been completely laid out on the grass below, deprived of the energy to even stand up on his own two feet. "Get up, we're sparring." 

"You can't be serious?" He replied, hardly even having the breath to get the words out of his throat. 

"I can, and I am." The firmness in his voice made it evident to Jin that he wasn't joking around. "Now are you going to get up or would you rather I force you?" Using what little energy he had, Jin forcefully hauled himself to his feet, his legs still wobbly from the running he had just done. 

(Forget [Balance Breaker], I'd be lucky to even still be alive after this is over.) 

"Remember, be fluid when you're fighting. Having technique is all well and good, but if it limits how freely you can use your abilities then there's no point." Though Sairaorg was merely offering his instruction, Jin had already gone into fight-or-flight mode, his mentor had a habit of abruptly launching attacks out of nowhere, forcing him to react purely on instinct. 

And just as expected, it came. 

(Not this time.) 

By observing his trajectory, Jin predicted that Sairarog's fist would be gunning for his chin, clearly aiming for a quick knockout. Knowing that he lacked both the finesse to counter, and the speed to dodge, his only option would be to try to block the attack. 

(He'll probably crush my arms, but I'd rather let him hit them over my face any day.) 

He rose both arms in front of his face in a cross-guard, clenching his teeth together as he steeled himself to face the Bael's mountain-like punch.

(Huh? Where's the punch?) 

His eyes lit up with horror as he saw Sairaorg's figure jetting towards him from below. 

(He changed course!? From that distance!?) 

Crackle!

Unable to dodge nor shift his guard in time, he faced an earth-shattering blow to the rib-cage head on, crushing his bones into a fine-powder as a mix of saliva and blood darted out of his mouth. 

(Ah, I might be dead.) 

"I told you, be fluid." As Jin fell onto the ground like a lifeless corpse, Sairaorg sat down next to him, waiting for him to wake up before he continued his torture session.