War of the Tsurekin

They all headed toward the Tsurekin infirmary as a group. Tala was laying on one of the tables under a light. The person examining her was a man named Patrick. They had met him a few days after they moved into the mansion. He was more of a mechanic than a doctor, but that was okay since Tsurekin were essentially machines anyway. He was a tall, lanky man with glasses and a scruffy looking face.

Skylar went over to the metal wolf and placed a hand on the side of her head. "How is she, Patrick?" she asked.

"She'll be okay," he said. "That other Tsurekin bit pretty deep, but Tala's regenerative strands are already at work. She'll be moving around again tomorrow, but I suggest she doesn't walk around for the rest of the night." Regenerative strands was the name Patrick had given to the little glowing threads that heal a Tsurekin's wounds. From what he discovered, every Tsurekin's strands were a different colour, but other than Ryukin and Sahara, he had never seen a Tsurekin with red regenerative strands.

Skylar nodded and looked at Tala who looked at her. "I'm fine." Tala said as she closed her eyes. "I'm going to shut down so it'll heal faster. See you tomorrow." Skylar nodded as Tala grew silent. She bit her lower lip and looked at Ivy.

"Now what?" She asked.

"It's been a long day, go and rest. Hang out in the game room, whatever. We'll start training in the morning." Ivy replied with a nod of her head before disappearing. Skylar turned and looked at Kai.

"Any ideas?" She asked rubbing the back of her neck. It was starting to hurt, she hated how it hurt whenever she was stressed.

"After exams and an attack by Tsurikansen, I'm bushed. I think I'll just head in for the night."

Skylar nodded. "Good night, I'm going to the games room for a bit before I turn in, too."

"Okay, see you in the morning."

Kai went back to his room with Ryukin in tow. He took off his shoes before crawling into bed. Ryukin now had a small bed of his own placed beside Kai's. It had been a gift from Ivy. She had said since Ryukin was trying so hard he should at least have a comfortable place to sleep.

Kai began to drift off to sleep, but his thoughts kept returning to their conversation with Ivy and Akira. They still had such a long way to go. Kai looked over the edge of his bed to Ryukin and said, "Ryukin, are you still awake?"

"Yes. Is something on your mind, Kai?"

"Some of the members of Tsurikansen must already know how to use Soul Fusion."

"One would assume so."

Kai sighed. "We have to get stronger, for everyone's sake. That means we have to learn Soul Fusion as soon as possible."

"Ivy said it would take the whole summer to train just to learn how to use it," Ryukin said.

"She also said if we do more than what she tells us with training, we may learn it quicker."

"I know what you're thinking, Kai." Ryukin lifted his head to look at him. "I'm behind you one hundred percent."

Kai smiled. "Thanks, old friend."

Skylar chewed on her lip before walking out of the room and then up to the living room by her room. She couldn't do anything so she walked to her room and laid down. But she couldnt' sleep without Tala at her feet. She tossed and turned all night before getting up and walking down the hall to the doctors office. She snagged a blanket and pillow and laid on the huge counter next to Tala before falling asleep.


**All I had, sorry, I'm running back and forth for mom and dad taking care of my dog and my sisters dog which she has abandoned here again.**

(No problem. I've been pretty distracted from posting lately. For my birthday I got Final Fantasy Dissidia for the PSP, Dragon Quest Master for the DS, and Prototype for the PC. I've been playing Dissidia the most, and Prototype is a cool game, but likes to chug a lot. I'll try to get back up to speed with my posts.)


Kai and Ryukin were up around six o'clock, much earlier than anyone else. Kai was determined to become strong enough to use Soul Fusion, and he needed to do it as soon as possible. He was the leader of The Aushaulten, and being a leader it's his responsibility to protect everyone else. Last night, if that man hadn't shown up they would have been done for. Next time he might not show up. Kai had to be the one everyone relied on, and he couldn't let them down.

Last night that man had perfect control over his fire. When it touched other surfaces it didn't spread. Kai needed that level of control, he needed to be able to command his fire to that extent.

Kai released his fire through his hand until there was a decent sized ball. He concentrated on moving the ball. It began to float out of his fingers until it was in the air in front of him. When he moved his hand up and down, the flame followed it.

Next he concentrated on putting out the flame. It was easy to make the fire, but he found it was much harder to put it out. Once the fire was going it was like an entity, and making it disappear proved difficult. But, he managed to pull it off, and the flames evaporated.

"What are you doing, Kai?" a voice asked. Kai turned to see Becky watching him. She held her Tsurekin, Usagi, in her arms.

"I didn't see you there, Becky. Why are you up so early?"

"Something woke me up, and I couldn't get back to sleep."

"I see," Kai said. "Well, I'm practicing controlling my fire."

"Can I watch?" she asked.

Kai smiled. "Sure. Just keep your distance in case something happens."

Becky nodded and took a few steps back before sitting on the grass and watching Kai start to practice again.


(Just so you know, when our characters start their sparring training the conditions for winning will be knocking the other Tsurekin's master off their feet.)

(((Sounds good to me)))

"Skylar, you better wake up." Tala said nudging her. She opened her eyes and yawned sitting up and groaning.

"Probably not the best idea I've ever had." She sighed as she popped her neck and then her back.

"Come on, you better get a shower before anyone sees you." Tala laughed. She rolled her eyes and they walked back to her room where she got changed and splashed water over her face. She slipped into the shower and washed off real fast before stepping back out and brushing her hair. "Ok, that was whacked up."

"What?" Skylar yawned.

"You got dressed, put water of your face, then you undressed and got in the shower. It'd have been easier if you just put your clothes in the bathroom and took a shower." Tala laughed.

"Shut up. I'm tired and sore." Skylar replied popping her back again and then walking outside. She saw Kai practicing using his fire and Becky was watching. She breathed in deeply, she could smell Kai's firey smell, and then the burning smell of the fire he messed with. Becky smelled sweeter though, but Kai didn't stink. She could smell everyone else in teh house and she slowly worked on figuring out where they were in the house. She smiled and then walked over and sat next to Becky.

"Has he burned anything down yet?" She asked popping her neck then rubbing it.

"Nope." Becky smiled.

Kai practiced a little longer with the one ball of fire. He felt he was getting the hang of it, so he decided to try with two. He formed another ball of fire in his other hand and began moving them both up and down. Then he started moving them around in circles, making them move closer to each other with every rotation until they became one. Then he pulled on it and the one flame became three. He started making stronger movements with his arms, essentially juggling the flames.

As the moments dragged on he started feeling more and more tired. He decided to take a break and start again in a few minutes. He concentrated hard on the fire and extinguished it. When it was gone, he let out a tired breath and turned around. A was surprised to see Skylar and Tala sitting beside Becky.

"Skylar, when did you get here?" Kai asked.

"Maybe ten minutes ago." She yawned. "Tala wouldn't let me sleep anymore." She replied as she laid her head down on Tala's hard back.

"She was sleeping in the infirmary on a metal bed." Tala growled.

"So?"

"So? You will be hurting all day." Tala replied. "I've learned enough about the human body to know that sleeping on metal is something you shouldn't do."

"So?" Skylar yawned. "Anyway, Kai, that was pretty cool."

"Thanks." He replied as she sat up and popped her neck again.

"Any idea when Ivy plans on starting training today?" Skylar was kind of regretting the sleeping on metal, but she didn't want anyone to make a big deal of her being sore and Tala wasn't helping any by blabbing her secret. Which would've been secret if Tala had kept her jaws shut.

Kai thought for a moment. "She'll probably wake everyone up around eight o'clock at the latest. We've got about an hour until then."

"So, how come you're up so early?" she asked.

"I'm getting some extra training in before the day starts," he said.

Ryukin added, "Kai wants to be able to use Soul Fusion as soon as he can."

"Ivy said we'll be able to do it by the end of summer," Skylar said. "You don't have to worry about it."

"That's not soon enough for me. I'm the leader of The Aushaulten, so I have to be strong enough to protect everyone. Last night we survived only because that guy showed up, next time we may not be so lucky. If I can't even protect my friends, then what good am I as a leader?"

Skylar frowned and then nodded. "Yes, long as you don't wear yourself out in the process." She laid back looking at the sky. "Long as you don't drain yourself to much, I say go for it."

"I won't." Kai replied. She sat up and looked around.

"Ok, well this is boring sitting here. Anyone want to go for a run?" She asked with a smile.

"No thanks." Becky said shaking her head. "I couldn't keep up if I tried."

"I agree, it is a tad unfair." Kai smiled a little.

"Right, well I've got to find something other then sitting here." She sighed standing up. She was suddenly restless and she didn't know why.

Skylar ran off with Tala beside her. As she ran she couldn't help but admire Kai's resolve. He was determined to become stronger no matter what it took, because he wanted to keep everyone safe. He was willing to put in extra training on top of what Ivy was making them do, which was really something considering how hard her training was. If he was working that hard to keep everyone safe, then maybe she should work a little harder, if only to make his own job a little easier...

"What are you thinking about?" Tala asked, pulling Skylar out of her trance.

***Sorry I don't have anything right now. I've had a long/good/bad weekend. Sorry***

(I understand, take your time.)

***Thanks, I think I've got something***

Skylar took a deep breath as she stopped and looked at Tala. "We've got to pick it up too."

"Whats the motovation? What will keep you going?"

"We have to make it easier on him, if we step it up, then he will have one more set to worry about." She replied softly.

"Then lets get to it." She replied with a smile.

Kai continued to train for the rest of the hour and Skylar decided to get a head start on her running. Eight o'clock soon rolled around and Ivy and Sahara woke everyone up. They spent the first half of the day with their basic training, then after lunch Ivy gathered everyone in the field beside the pool.

"You all know the rules," Ivy said, "to win you have to knock over your opponent's master, either with your Tsurekin or by yourself. Do not under any circumstances seriously injure the other Tsurekin or master. If you do, you'll be going to bed tonight without dinner. Skylar and Elise will be the first two up."