Breathe in and out. Embrace the wash of the waves as they crashed around you. Let your senses fill with the energy of the water as you sank deeper into almost fathomless depths.

Okay, so it was a bit surreal to be standing on the water while you tried to keep your head on your shoulders from a very enthusiastic swordsman trying to kill you, but damn if it wasn't more fun than simply practicing forms all day long!

Squalo wasn't going to give any quarter, but that was fine because Takeshi knew that any enemies they would face later would give even less mercy. Squalo would at least let him live at the end of the fight.

For the most part their sparring practice went as it always did...right up until a massive fin bigger than even Hayato's demon form emerged from the water. The thing that really worried him was the fact that he knew such fins were usually attached to something even bigger under the surface.

Squalo though, looked at the thing with open annoyance.

"Voi! Not this pest again!"

Takeshi laughed, with genuine nervousness.

He could tell right off the bat from the shape of the tail that this was a massive shark demon and it was heading right for them.

He didn't know why he did it. Maybe it was out of annoyance of the headaches Squalo had been giving him the past week, perhaps it was instinct.

Either way when the shark came to take a massive bite out of the odd platform they had created out of magic, Takeshi kicked Squalo off it and towards the shark.

Squalo's pissed off and started "VOI!" was the last thing he heard before the other swordsman fell into the water.

He sputtered when he came up, before making a new platform with a less than amused look on his face. Takeshi knew he was going to pay for that in spades when Squalo got back.

Strangely, he only felt a strange sort of detachment at the shocked expression on Squalo's face when the shark, rather than try to eat him in one bite (it was big enough to eat cars without having to do more than widen it's mouth slightly!) gave Squalo a flat stare. Almost like it was challenging him or something.

It took Squalo far too long to realize what was going on.

"Voi... are you... are you my partner?" he said in disbelief.

What the hell do you think, human? You were too weak before for me to bother with the first time, and you never took the hint when I kept showing up every time you came within range.

Takeshi laughed.

"Sounds like your partner is one of the primordial demons. That might be why he never came to you before now."

Squalo gave him a cold look not too dissimilar to the one the shark had.

"I'll deal with that stunt you pulled later," said the shark-like swordsman. Clearly he was going to kick Takeshi's ass after this.

Something in Squalo's magic seemed to finally settle as he claimed the partner he had failed to summon over a decade ago.

Didn't mean he was in a forgiving enough mood to let the fact Takeshi had kicked him off the platform towards the damn shark go though. Takeshi considered it worth it...even if his right arm was now broken and would take a week to heal back up.

On the plus side, Squalo finally relaxed on the whole 'no using your demons' part of the training, since he finally had one capable of handling his magic. Besides, he had to get used to the shark before Xanxus about bust a gut laughing at him for having a freaking Megalodon as his partner! No wonder he was never able to summon it directly to him, being a water based creature!

On the plus side, the shark was more than willing to answer when called so long as he didn't have to stay in the human world for long periods of time. Most of the time Squalo was on land, not near water deep enough to hold him.

At least once Takeshi's arm was back to normal, he was able to impress the shark with a skill he had been working on to insure he passed the test against his father. It was something that his ancestor had created a long, long time ago and was the reason he was so lethal in a fight.

Tsubamegaeshi was truly a terrifying trick, especially since it was something that not even Squalo could defend against, let alone copy. And he tried, oh how he tried.

To be fair, Takeshi was only ever able to use the technique while he was in cambio form with his little swallow familiar.

Hayato was running along the edge of the storm, thoroughly enjoying the rush that came from harnessing the power of the hurricane.

While he would never have an iron control over his powers like Fon...his nature and personality meant that his magic was far too diverse (it had come as a slight surprise to Fon that Hayato was just one attribute away from having a full Sky on his own, with storm being the most prominent) however he could learn to control it to the point that he could be an devastating force of nature like a hurricane or a massive tornado.

Hayato barely paid attention to the even bigger dragon with gleaming ruby colored scales and odd ornamentation on it's horns. It flowed like water through the clouds until it surged above and started it's attack.

Once Hayato hit his stride, he was able to send his head towards the dragon, launching fireballs even as his main body attempted to rend the dragon to pieces from another side entirely.

Almost like fireworks in the sky, Hayato's blasts could devastate almost any opponent. He should know...Fon had him challenging the bigger, stronger demons in the Tempesta plains that were annoying him regularly. Most of them were idiots who thought themselves so strong that they could defeat the ruler of the plains.

Even if Hayato didn't kill them, the fact they were beaten by something as 'unstable' as an Inugami was usually enough to make them get lost, a fact that pleased Fon greatly.

Hayato had come a long way from the desperate pup he had been when Honoka found him. Not only was he stronger, but for the first time in his life he could honestly claim he felt at peace with himself.

So he was less than pleased being confronted by his former pack while Fon was dealing with some of the stronger contenders for his title.

Hayato growled, he could easily see more than one Elder who had treated him poorly for his heritage.

"The audacity of this pup! To look down upon his betters!" growled one Elder.

"It would seem he is in dire need of retraining," said another.

Hayato stood his ground. One of the first things Fon had almost beaten out of him was his bad habit of rushing into things without fully assessing a situation first. He let his full senses spread across the area, detecting the ambush of the more vicious hounds in the pack just waiting for their chance to take a chunk out of his hide.

He also smelled a lower-tier familiar, but he ignored that. The little cat wasn't a threat to him at the moment, and they had learned to ignore each other during his training.

He had jokingly called the feline Uri after the fourth time it had tried to steal from him after a hunt. It wasn't like he ate all of it, and he knew all too well what being hungry was like so he didn't mind sharing.

The two had come to a rather amusing understanding after the second week.

Right now though, he knew the feline was pissed at the intruders in his territory. How, he didn't know, but he just knew Uri wasn't going to take their intrusion sitting down.

Which was why Hayato was already moving the second Uri attacked one of the more cruel elders with his claws, and was thrown in the air out of instinct. His head grabbed the small leopard out of the air before he was torn to pieces, while his body was moving in another direction entirely.

Uri apparently realized he had bitten off more than he could chew, because he didn't hiss at Hayato like normal and easily settle between the Inugami's shoulder blades, fire already blazing in fury at the intruders.

With the cat relatively safe for the moment, Hayato began a long howl of challenge. His former pack realized that he had no intention of ever submitting to them again, and reacted accordingly.

They didn't realize their mistake until the bigger, more vicious hellhounds were taken out by Hayato's blasts. More than a few elders would forever sport nasty scars on their faces and muzzles from the vicious little leopard that rode on Hayato's back...it would use him as a springboard, only to launch itself off his victim and back to Hayato.

There was a strange sort of coordination between them. If Hayato could take a chance to consider what was going on he would have recognized it for what it was.

Uri was bonding with him as a lesser familiar.

Fon, who had come in about halfway through the fight, appeared when it was clear that the pack would be calling in reinforcements.

"Well done, Hayato. Your master would be very pleased with your progress. And will no doubt cuddle with your new familiar once she finds out you're bringing home a little friend."

Hayato almost slumped onto his haunches, however the threat around him kept him from doing so. At least until he registered what Fon said.

"Wait, what?"

"The little kitten you've been feeding has apparently decided you would be a worthy master. I'm sure Uri will fall under Honoka's spell rather quickly when we return home," said Fon amused.

Hayato looked at Uri. Uri looked far too pleased at having delivered some rather nasty scars and wounds to the intruders, and was calmly licking his claws on Hayato's back.

Hayato looked at his former pack and growled. Those with sense left, and those without were forcibly removed by Fon before they could try a cheap shot.

They had tried to bring the pup back in line, only for Hayato to make his alliances very clear. While he might have been of their pack, he had found a new one that actually wanted him.

Any claims they had on him had been thoroughly shredded...all they had left now was their bruised pride and shattered egos...and a lot of new scars.

Fon smirked at Hayato, who promptly set the tone of his future relationship with Uri.

And by that he would mean they started fighting like...well, cats and dogs really. Uri might respect him enough to become a familiar, but their relationship would be very rocky unless they found an opponent who annoyed them both enough.

And yet Fon had no doubt that Uri would be a pampered pet cat once he met Honoka, even as he attacked his own master. It was sure to be quite entertaining to watch.

Hayato would spend most of his time in the Tempesta realms training with Uri and coming to an uneasy agreement. They would fight together against worthy opponents and share prey, but other than that they didn't have to listen to each other at all.

Kyouya was in a very good mood. Honoka had made massive strides as a fighter and as a summoner.

Not only could she now keep up with him seven times out of ten, but her skills as a magic-user had shot up considerably since she had a better handle on using her powers even without her jewels.

Even her gloves that she gained when combined with Natsu had gotten an upgrade.

His favorite attack, however, had to be the massive blast of pure magic she could unleash when she was serious. She called that her 'X-burner', and it wasn't something you could readily defend against in a pinch. Especially when she focused it like a laser, which made the power behind it far more concentrated and quite frankly more terrifying.

Kyouya was quite eager for the start of the new school year. With it would come the unofficial tournament, and due to the fact she was his partner Honoka would be able to enter the more serious ones right off the bat.

He couldn't wait for everyone to see the fierce princess that had not only survived as his roommate, but thrived under proper training.

Honoka would show the world that even without her demon partner and using what many considered one of the weakest of the summoner classes, she was a force to be reckoned with.

His smile was wide and fierce, even as his own demon blood sang in his body and demanded to be unleashed.

Spotting the nearby blond that had proven to be a worthy opponent...in more than one way...Kyouya's smirk turned positively devious.

Honoka sensed the shift in his mood and sighed with fond amusement. Dino had caught her partner's interest and was open to the idea. So long as it didn't turn into a colossal mess she could learn to ignore the obvious attraction between them.

"Hayato and Takeshi will be back soon," commented Kyouya.

Honoka smiled brightly. She couldn't wait to see how strong they had gotten in the course of two months. Especially Takeshi... the year had been difficult for him and he had only a month before the deadline was up.

She would admit to cooing at Hayato's new familiar when they slowly and almost painfully made their way back to the human realms.

Takeshi in particular needed a few days to recover from Squalo's intense training session. Hayato just glared in tired annoyance at the way his new leopard cub Uri claimed his master's attentions and acted like a total lap cat, while attacking him on sight if he came too close.

It was very entertaining to watch, since Uri's claws never went so deep as to scar, nor did he use his magic on Hayato. It was more play fighting than actual aggression from the little cat.

Almost without realizing it, the day of Takeshi's challenge against his father arrived.