Chapter 38 : Sparring Match

Sho stood up out of the bed, saying, "Familiar..you say? Why the hell isn't she talking?"

Red replied, "She can communicate."

"Her standing there with her fucking arms folded is communicating?"

"Kinda, well, I mean, she's an odd case. She's been like that for as long as I can remember."

"That reminds me, I've gotten stronger. Way stronger. Do you remember anything?"

Red sat there for a few seconds, then responded, "No. Sorry."

"Tch. I'm not worried."

Vaelle was floating around Sho's room with her arms still folded, and she was looking through things, looking interested in everything.

Sho asked Red, "Explain more about this creature."

"Vaelle communicates with body language. She's very curious about things, always wants to be involved in things. She's very protective, and she loves to be rewarded with a pat on the head. Oh, and she's really competitive. You'll see her getting competitive with me and the other future familiars."

"Odd behavior for a familiar."

"Right?"

"But why the hell does she look so angry?"

"She's on guard. She's in a unfamilair place, it's natural for her to be like that. And she senses other people here, she's on guard for them too, to protect you."

"And..what does she think of me?"

"She's bound to protect you by any means necessary. She still has to fully warm up to you as well."

"Ah, fucking great. How do you know all of this?"

"As I mentioned before, familairs have a link with the hosts, hosts as in you, Sho. And because of that, us familiars have a link with each other, always knowing what the other familiars within our sect is feeling."

"How come I can't understand her?"

"She has to fully warm up to you first. As I mentioned, she's curious."

"What's she feeling right now?"

"She feels like slaughtering something."

"Huh?!"

"She's also trying to figure out why your favorite colors are black and red?"

"Because they just are. Why does she care?"

Vaelle turned around, and looked straight at Sho.

Sho said, "What?"

Vaelle floated to Sho, and out her face close to his.

She was really close, and Sho asked Red, "What doe she want?"

Red answered, "She's inspecting you."

"Inspecting me? What the hell?"

"She's intrigued by your appearance. She doesn't think you resemble the other Takahashi Conqeror's before you."

"Uh.."

Vaelle looked down, and she looked at Sho's pants. Then, Vaelle grabbed Sho's pants and tried to take them off.

Sho's face got super red, and he jumped backwards, saying, "Oi?! The hell does she thinks she's doing?"

Vaelle started to stare at Sho with her arms folded.

Red chuckled, "She wanted to see what your genitals looked like."

"Why?!"

"Just because."

"That's not a good enough reason!"

Vaelle was still digging through Sho's things, and then she floated to the TV.

She saw herself in the reflection.

Red said, "Oh shit."

Sho responded, "What? What's going on?"

"Vaelle is about to destroy the TV."

"Why?!"

"She's not used to mirrors, so she thinks her reflection is mocking her with some unknown power."

Vaelle made a long glowing red and black javelin form in all four of her hands, and she pulled them back, ready to destroy the TV.

Red said to Vaelle, "Vaelle don't!"

Vaelle slammed her javelins towards the TV, but Sho stood in the way, and that made Vaelle stop in her tracks.

Red sighed, "Dammit, kid. She wants to know why you're standing in her way."

Sho looked at Vaelle, saying, "No destroying things in here unless they are attacking anyone in here. Got it?"

Vaelle tilted her head, and she made her weapons go away.

Sho asked Red, "What's her deal now? She understands me, right?"

"Sort of."

"The hell do you mean?"

"She's trying to figure out if this is really you, or if the mocking reflection is trying to manipulate her. She's at a crossroads."

Sho grabbed Vaelle by the arms, saying, "Oi! Listen to me. This is me, Sho Takahashi. A descendant of the Conqeror family I guess."

Vaelle floated backwards, and started floating straight through walls.

Red said, "Vaelle is waiting on you to prove your worth. She hasn't fully accepted you yet."

"Prove my worth, you say? Tch. Whatever. I don't need her roaming around the house right now either. She's weird as hell."

"It's best to call her back here. No matter how far a familiar is from you, just say their name and call them back, then they'll hear it and come back at will."

Sho said, "Vaelle, come back."

Vaelle appeared back in the room again, and she stood in front of Sho.

Red said, "Vaelle thinks I'm a tattletale now, and she wants to have a duel with me."

Sho responded, "Are you two even allowed to fight each other? Can you two even fight each other?"

"We can't kill each other, but we can most definitely fight. Mostly because it's our only way of honing our combat skills. We spar as training regimens. That's it."

"Do you wanna fight her? She looks like she'll kick your ass."

"Huh? Of course I do. I'm no sissy."

"You're a mutt actually."

"Oi..create the training room. I'll teach you something one of these days, brat."

[Sho's Training room]

Vaelle was standing on one side of the training room, and Red was standing on the other side.

Red thought, 'Haven't sparred with Vaelle in ages. Let's see if her style is the same.'

Sho was standing off to the side, leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

Sho thought, 'I'm supposed to be asleep right now, I've been running all day. But this right here..caught my attention. A new familiar, some woman being thing. She doesn't speak, but she can communicate. She also doesn't fully trust me, but she'll do whatever it takes to protect me as a familiar should. And on top of that shit, I'm curious to see what her powers are. She was holding glowing javelins earlier, all red and black.'

Red called out to Sho, "Vaelle won't start fighting until you give her a signal."

Sho rolled his eyes, saying, "You guys can beat the shit out of each other now-."

Vaelle wasted no time dashing forward, her speed made Sho's hair flick, making the floor vibrate a little.

Sho and Red thought at the same time, 'She's fast!'

Vaelle created glowing red and black javelins in all four arms, and she started spinning to hit Red.

Red started to strafe all over the place while Vaelle chased him, smashing her javelin's into the walls and floors as she missed her attacks due to Red's dodging.

Red thought, 'Attacking straight forward without hesitation, huh, Vaelle? Okay then. You're a lot faster than I remember as well.'

Vaelle swung all four of her javelin's at Red all at once, and Red grabbed the middle of all of them with his mouth, and ran around in a fast circle.

He did a very fast turn, and slung Vaelle to the wall.

Vaelle phased through the wall.

Sho thought, 'She can phase through walls..she's fast..and she has javelins as weapons. Not fucking bad.'

Red panicked, thinking, 'She' phased through the wall! I gotta-!'

Vaelle phased from under Red, and she turned and slicked Red in the side with her javelins.

Red was hit, grunting as he flew backwards and hit the wall.

'Dammit! That packed a punch! If she gets anywhere close to a wall, it's out of the question if she'll phase through it or not. But what I remember is, she can't phase through people or familiars! So I don't have to worry about her phasing through my attacks. And she also can't phase through things if she's holding someone else or if someone else is just touching her.'

Vaelle started to dash forward, leaving Red to think, 'She's gonna charge straight at me, and I'll use my bark on her!'

Vaelle phased down into the floor smoothly, and Red gasped, leaping off the wall, and jumping onto the ceiling, and then he jumped off of that and landed on the other wall, and he made black and red fire come off of his body.

'Where is she? She hid her presence, which is something she can do. That makes it even more difficult, that she can hide her presence even from us whenever she wants.'

Red's tail flickered, and he jumped off the wall and turned around, and he saw Vaelle right behind him.

Sho thought, 'Red is thrown off track by what Vaelle just did. It threw me off track as well. What's that mutt gonna do now?'

Red barked loudly, Valle gritted her teeth as the force pushed Vaelle back to the wall.

Vaelle phases through the wall again, and Red slides on the floor.

Red started to twirl and accelerate around and around like a pinball, as the flames increased, and his fur shot out in flaming needles, shooting all around him.

This was the same skill he performed at the flaming western town fair, this skill was called "Hell Thorns."

Red started to roll around the walls, and Sho exclaimed, "Ya better not hit me, mutt!"

Red replied, "I won't brat! It won't even affect you anyway! All familiar attacks towards their owner/host will just avoid them completely! I'm gonna teach you something one of these days!"

"Tch!"

Vaelle appeared in the middle of the floor again, looking down at Red looking at her.

Red and Vaelle pressed forward, with Red rolling ahead with his thorns in flames.

Vaelle extended all four of her arms out, and red crests the shape of a moon appeared all around them. And then a large red moon crest appeared behind Vaelle.

Vaelle said out loud with an epic tone, "Dead Ronin."

Dead Ronin was a skill where Vaelle creates red moon crests all over her, and red glowing corpses of her slain enemies come out and attack her opponent, and then explode in a few seconds. But as they explode, gamma bursts out and causes the enemy to blind and deaf for 3 seconds. But her enemy would only be affected if they are seriously damaged by the explosion.

Red thought, 'This is-!'

Sho sat up, thinking, 'Um, she just spoke.'

Sho exclaimed, "Oi! She just fucking spoke!"

Coming out of the moon crests, were glowing red humans and monsters and otherworldly creatures, some with animal and insect heads, rabbit heads, bear heads, and just humans.

Dozens of them sprawled out of the red moon crests, and they hurdled towards Red.

Red made his flaming thorn fur shoot out faster, and once they stuck to the glowing red corpses they sucked them straight in, and blew up.

Red thought, 'The explosions will definitely affect me, once I kill off the corpses, I'll shoot up into the air still in this spinning ball form.'

Red was up in the air with flames still racing off of him, and the glowing red corpses jumped up to try and get him.

'These things are truly tough. But as long as I keep hitting them with my fur, I don't have anything to worry about. Tch..Vaelle is just standing there looking at me. What's she planning-?'

Vaelle vanished in quick speed, leaving Red flabbergasted.

Vaelle was behind Red with all four of her javelin's and she pulled them back, and red and black sharp teeth stuck out of her javelin.

Red thought, 'Those things?! Those teeth will paralyze someone for 3 seconds if stuck with even one of them!'

Vaelle said, "Toothless."

Red continued to think, 'Not good! I won't turn around fast enough! And she's dodging my shooting fur at the same time! There's only one thing I can do then.'

Red covered himself fully in the red and black flames, and he ate the corpses that were right under him, chomping on them fast as he was stuck in the side with the Toothless ability from Vaelle.

Red started to grow largely, and Sho was looking up at him.

Sho thought, 'He's eating the corpses from Vaelle's ability..does he finally have a real plan?'

Red kept growing, but he was parlayed.

'Gotcha.'

The corpses exploded inside of Red, and there was a huge blast of red and black flames and red corpses.

Sho yelled, "Red! Vaelle! Huh? Why the hell am I yelling their name like I'm actually worried? The hell's gotten into me?"

Suddenly, Red and Vaelle fell to the floor, and steam and smoke was coming off of Vaelle, and Red was grunting.

"Ahh, shit that hurt," Red whined.

Vaelle was slowly getting up, and made all of her skills go away.

Sho stepped in between them, saying, "Alright. That was…decent."

Sho walked right up to Vaelle, saying, "Now I see what you're working with. I don't want any shit out of you."

Sho stuck his hand out to shake her hand, but Vaelle didn't shake his hand. Vaelle bowed her head slightly.

Sho asked, "Huh? The hell are you doing?"

Red said, "Kid, she wants you to pat her on the head. This is a good way for her to fully accept you."

"Tch! As if!"

"Brat."

"..Fine! Whatever!"

Sho patted Vaelle on the head, and said, "There there you bastard.."

Suddenly, Sho had a red holographic screen appear above Vaelle's head, saying:

*Vaelle is extremely content at this moment.*

Sho asked Red, "There's a system screen appearing above her head telling me how she's feeling. The hell is it?"

Red answered, "Vaelle is a special case. That's how you'll be able to kinda communicate with her."

"How come this doesn't happen with you, huh?"

"Not all familiars are the same, some cases are a little similar, a lot unique. In my case, me being able to talk to you is unique. Some familiars don't talk."

"But I heard Vaelle say something earlier. Explain that."

"She can talk. But only when she wants to. If you try and force her to talk, she'll lose interest in you, despite you being her owner. She doesn't like talking a lot either. The system screen above her just shows you how she's feeling, because you'll NEVER hear her tell anyone physically how she's feeling. And she doesn't really like to talk in front of unfamiliar people."

"Why?"

"She gets nervous."

"Ah. I'm sleepy."

'Learned new shit today. That's progress. How do I feel about the new familiar, Vaelle? I don't know yet. There's still a lot of work to be done. By the way..I still have 27,000 Fighter points, maybe I should..'

Sho fell down on the floor, and he fell asleep, and because of that, it closed the entire training room, and they were back in Sho's room.

Red said, "Geez, brat."

Vaelle picked Sho up, and she laid Sho on the bed, putting a blanket over him.

Red and Vaelle stared at Sho, staring in silence for about 10 seconds.

Vaelle said, "He's awfully young."

Red responded, "Yeah he is. You doubt he'll pull off the family goal? Whatever the goal is?"

"I do."

"But he's not a bad child. He's the youngest Takahashi we've protected and been assigned too. Dealing with him will be tough because of it."

"…"

"But look on the bright side, he's getting stronger rapidly."

"…"

"You ever get the feeling..like why are we familiars to the Takahashi's in the first place? Like why are we actually assigned to them?"

"..Yes. It will be a day when we find out. I feel we are far from it. Good night."

Vaelle flew to Sho, and she slowly descended into his body, and Red did the same.