Iemitsu Sawada went back out to the convenience store to buy a case of beer, while Noel quietly returned through the window of her room. After putting away her equipment and closing her guitar case, she walked back to the study.
The study door was half-open. Without even going inside, Noel could clearly see the situation in the room. Tsunayoshi was not waiting there.
Was the person in the distance really Tsunayoshi Sawada?
With that question in mind, Noel walked toward the living room. The place where Tsunayoshi had shot the arrow from had been farther away than her own position, and considering her own flying magic, Noel believed that as long as Tsunayoshi had not appeared at home, the person who saved her had to be Tsunayoshi Sawada.
Before Noel's guess could deepen, she heard Tsunayoshi's voice from the living room. Tsunayoshi was chatting and laughing with Tatsuki, showing no signs at all of having just gone through a battle.
"Yo, Niihashi-san. Dinner's almost ready. Get ready to eat." Tsunayoshi raised a hand and greeted Noel. His attitude was completely different from when he had questioned her earlier.
"I understand." Noel suppressed the curiosity that made her want to ask questions. Nana Sawada was right beside them, and Iemitsu Sawada did not seem to want to involve Nana in these strange incidents for the time being.
"Is something the matter? If you need help with anything, you can just tell me." Seeing Noel's hesitant expression, Tatsuki spoke up. As another girl, it would probably be more convenient for Tatsuki to help.
Tatsuki had noticed the sound of Noel flying out earlier. She was quite interested in Noel's flying broom and was looking forward to talking with her.
"It's nothing."
Noel simply stood there quietly. Just as the atmosphere was about to become awkward, Iemitsu Sawada returned.
"Ah, it really has been too long since I came back. Karakura Town has changed so much that I even took the wrong road." Iemitsu wiped the sweat from his forehead and lied through his teeth.
Iemitsu Sawada's performance was fairly effective. At the very least, Nana accepted it, assuming one ignored his filthy clothes and the sweat covering him.
Iemitsu briefly washed up and changed his clothes. The meal proceeded as usual, and everything developed like a perfectly normal family gathering. During the dinner, only Noel's gaze kept falling on Tsunayoshi.
Tsunayoshi and Tatsuki exchanged a glance. They understood that Noel was about to lose control of her curiosity. Since that was the case, they might as well lay everything out in the open.
"Mom, there's no rush to clean up. Let's sit in the living room for a while." Tsunayoshi stopped Nana, who was about to clean up after the meal, and pulled her along with everyone else to sit on the living room sofa.
"You brat, acting so serious like this… You two aren't about to drop some huge bombshell on us, are you?"
Iemitsu's eyes kept sweeping between Tsunayoshi and Tatsuki. Since he often had to be away from home, the only thing he could never stop worrying about was these two children. He was afraid that, when their emotions ran too deep, something might happen that they could not control.
"It really is a huge bombshell. Old man, this isn't your first time encountering Hollows, is it?" Tsunayoshi asked seriously.
"Hollows?" Iemitsu's expression changed. He immediately connected the word to those monsters that had suddenly appeared before. Without leaving a trace, he glanced at Nana. "What are you talking about?"
"Old man, excessive protection is not truly effective protection. The fact that you can attract Hollow attacks means Mom might also be attacked."
Tsunayoshi's words immediately changed Iemitsu's expression. Only Nana still looked innocent as she asked, "Little Tsuna, what are you talking about? Why don't I understand?"
"The first time I encountered those monsters was in London. It seemed no one else could see them, and they only chased after me. Later, I was saved by someone wearing a military uniform. From them, I learned that those creatures were called Dragons," Iemitsu Sawada slowly told them the story of what had happened to him in London.
"After that, we became neighbors with Noel-chan. One morning, I was attacked by another Dragon. Thanks to Noel-chan's help, I survived."
"From Noel-chan, I learned that I have a constitution known as Dragonclad. It attracts attacks from Dragons. I kept hiding this matter because I wanted to protect Nana." At this point, Iemitsu suddenly screamed miserably. "Hiss! Ow!"
"Dear, aren't you looking down on me too much? Before you left on your business trip, didn't we agree that no matter what we encountered, we would face it together?" Nana rarely wore such a serious expression as she lectured Iemitsu.
"I'm sorry, honey…"
"Enough. Take your flirting back to your room." Tsunayoshi forcibly stopped his parents from openly showing affection, then asked Noel, "That creature that attacked my old man earlier — you call it a Dragon?"
Noel nodded and said, "Yes. A Dragon. Under normal circumstances, Dragons are divided into two types: Light Dragons and Dark Dragons. Light Dragons do not harm humans, while Dark Dragons may randomly kill or injure humans. That humanoid Dragon from earlier was a Dark Dragon."
"My guess is that Dragon is your London term for them. In Japan, that kind of creature is called a Hollow. The vast majority of Hollows may attack humans with high Reiatsu. My old man falls into that category."
"Tsunayoshi, how do you know about these things? Wait, Noel-chan said someone saved us. Don't tell me…" Iemitsu's mind was quite sharp, and he immediately connected the cause and effect.
"I was the one who shot the arrow that killed the Hollow." As he spoke, Tsunayoshi lightly tapped the ring hanging around his neck. His Fullbring activated, and G's Bow and Arrow appeared directly before everyone.
Needless to say, the Sawada couple were shocked. This was the first time they had seen their son possess such a miraculous ability. Noel was equally astonished. It was her first time seeing a power other than magic.
"To be honest, this is partly my fault. Old man, your Reiatsu being higher than normal is due to my influence. Likewise, as my family, Mom's Reiatsu must also be different from an ordinary person's. The reason she hasn't been attacked by Hollows yet might simply be because Mom's luck has been too good."
"Eh? Me?" Nana pointed at herself adorably and asked.
"There's a way to verify it. Niihashi-san, can you call out that Hollow you brought with you? The one you used as a flying broom."
Noel froze for a moment. The reason she had hidden her flying partner was to avoid the eyes of unrelated people. Now that everyone present already knew the truth, there was nothing left to hide.
Before long, Noel's Dragon companion arrived in the living room, immediately drawing cries of surprise from Nana and Tatsuki.
"So cute!"
Tsunayoshi gave his old man a look. Iemitsu immediately understood that there was no point in hiding it. Nana had the same constitution as he did.
"Tsunayoshi, why do you know so much about Dragons — no, Hollows?"
After accepting the facts, Iemitsu's mind was extremely clear. With her husband's reminder, Nana also looked at Tsunayoshi with concern.
"Little Tsuna, you haven't been fighting those monsters all this time, have you?" Although she had not seen the Hollow that attacked people, the thought that her son might have been in danger made Nana inevitably worried.
Seeing Nana like this, Iemitsu sighed. This was exactly why he had not wanted Nana to know. He did not want her to worry about them all the time.
"Don't worry, Aunt Nana. Tsunayoshi already has ten years of combat experience. There isn't a Hollow in Karakura Town that can defeat him," Tatsuki comforted her.
"Ten years… Don't tell me!" Nana covered her mouth, unable to believe her own guess.
"Yeah. Ever since we moved to Karakura Town, I've been fighting Hollows," Tsunayoshi admitted directly.
"Little Tsuna, you've been doing such dangerous things all this time?" This was the first time Tsunayoshi had ever seen anger appear on Nana's face.
"I had no choice. If I didn't fight, Aunt Masaki might have died."
Tsunayoshi's explanation immediately pulled Nana's memories back to all those rainy nights when Tsunayoshi was in elementary school.
"Don't tell me… every time it rained and you forced yourself to go out, it was because of that?"
Nana was not stupid. Back then, how could she not have noticed that there was something strange about Tsunayoshi going out every time it rained? However, since Tsunayoshi always returned safely, she had accepted his explanation that it was club activity. Now that she connected everything together, Tsunayoshi had clearly been fighting monsters in the rain.
"Mom doesn't blame you. But protecting others must begin with protecting yourself first, all right?" Nana returned to her gentle self. No matter what, Tsunayoshi's importance in her heart could not be replaced by any outsider.
"Aunt Nana, Tsunayoshi has saved many people along the way. I was also able to walk the path of protecting Karakura Town because of Tsunayoshi's help," Tatsuki said, patting her own chest.
"Little Tatsuki, you have a miraculous power too?" Iemitsu asked in surprise.
Tatsuki did not answer. She directly released the first stage of her Fullbring, draping herself in an illusory karate uniform.
"This is the reason I'm laying everything bare with you and Mom. Tatsuki also grew up spending all her time with me, so her Reiatsu is higher than that of ordinary people. With my help, she gained the ability to fight Hollows. We call this power Fullbring!"
"Old man, you still have work overseas. Rather than living in constant fear, it's better to grasp a power that allows you to fight them. By the same logic, you don't need to worry about Mom's safety either."
After listening to Tsunayoshi's answer, Iemitsu finally understood why Tsunayoshi had chosen to reveal the truth. He sat upright and asked solemnly, "Can we also learn this kind of power?"
"If it were someone else, I wouldn't dare say. But the two of you have lived with me for too long. You've long since met the conditions for learning Fullbring."
"The reason I didn't teach you in the past is the same as what you were thinking, old man. I didn't want to drag you into the world of fighting Hollows."
"I just didn't expect that even after going abroad, you would still be in danger. In that case, the power of Fullbring has become necessary."
"I understand. Please make sure to teach us." This was a request from a father to his son.
Seeing that Tsunayoshi was preparing to begin teaching Fullbring, Noel, who had been silent for quite a while, asked, "Do I need to leave?"
"No. On the contrary, Niihashi-san, I'd like to have a proper exchange with you as well. I'm also very interested in that last shot you fired," Tsunayoshi said.
"You mean Magic Number 31?"
Hearing Noel's wording, Tsunayoshi thought for a moment, then raised his hand flat.
"Magic, is it? I wonder whether this move looks familiar to you."
"Hadō Thirty-One: Shakkahō."
A crimson fireball appeared in Tsunayoshi's palm. Judging purely from its shape, it looked extremely similar to the blue projectile Noel had fired, only with a different attribute.
Even Noel's mind was filled with confusion.
"Magic… is called Hadō in Japan?"
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