For once, he did not feel the need to rip a ticket immediately. His day had already started off like shit, but the whole mess with Yamamoto had him feeling like a cornered animal. Was it wrong to feel the overwhelming urge to hit something right now?
Tsuna clenched his fists, taking deep breaths over and over to calm himself. He rubbed the ticket in his hand before he grit his teeth.
He did not save the idiot for a ticket, so ripping one so soon after that talk just felt wrong.
Like the only reason he did things was for the reward.
"That child, I don't know how to describe his foolishness. So fragile, but there is a hint of steel. A born blade, but one so dull it is worthless in its current state."
Again, Tsuna rolled his eyes. He was not in the mood to listen to Luci's cryptic words.
"I was not trying to be vague, Master. That child really is a blade, a born killer. It was not just despair that pulled him into the depths. It was his own nature. He wanted to repent for his sins, and in his focused madness, he saw death as the simplest form of repentance. It was only your words and actions that knocked him out of that state. He is capable of becoming the coldest machine if he wishes, not even valuing his own life."
Tsuna paused before letting out an irritated scoff. So the idiot was just a moron, not a despairing one. The guy had mental issues that ran a mile long, hopefully that beating taught him to think more about others instead of his own messed up thoughts.
Thankfully, Luci took his lack of interest to heart and dropped the subject.
He was still feeling rather angry, and going back to class was just going to kill his mood further.
"Hmmmm, I can offer to help, Master. I can take care of all that aggression, really make you work out all that stress."
Luci's voice rang out in his head, soft and breathy in a way that had his spine shivering. A blush spread rapidly across his face, and he felt a familiar heat building in his stomach.
What the hell are you talking about, Luci!?
A laugh rang out in his mind, mocking and almost teasing.
"I was talking about a sparring match. I may not be as strong as that baby, but I am the ruler of Hell. I am more than capable of fighting you at your peak, Master. What did you think I was talking about?"
The teasing lilt in her voice made it clear she knew exactly what he had thought, and she one hundred percent meant for it to be heard that way. Tsuna continued to blush and scowled, letting that heat leave his stomach.
A spar sounded perfect right now.
As soon as he thought that, a portal opened up in front of him, and he entered without much thought. His instincts and the familiar feel of Luci coming from it told him all he needed to know.
He was greeted by a wide arena, the surrounding forest making it clear this place was in the middle of nowhere. Tsuna raised an eyebrow. How quickly did Luci get the funds to build something like this?
The familiar laugh rang out in reality this time as Luci stepped out of her own portal in her suit, an amused smile on her face.
"I did not need funds for this, Master. My magic was more than capable of building something like this. But we are certainly not lacking funds anymore."
She declared smugly as she stretched lightly.
"Good to know."
Tsuna said as he started to swap abilities. The Trio of Speed, Time Accel, and Shock Absorption slotted in. Desperation might have worked, or it might have been useless since this was just a spar.
Luci just smiled lightly at him as if she could see through everything he was doing, which honestly might have been true. The widening smile on her face did not dissuade that thought.
"Are you ready, Master? You had better go all out. Father may sing praises for you humans but I'm truly his most perfect creation."
She spoke slowly, that teasing tone front and center. She stretched lightly, calm and easy and the stretch did interesting things as her tight suit hugged her curves.
Another blush built on his face but he smothered it, as his blood boiled in an entirely different way. The blood pumping feeling of a fight, and this time his partner was far sturdier than Hibari.
The all-devouring flames of Wrath poured out of him like a cloak as he rushed toward Luci, a punch aimed straight for her face, uncaring whether she could handle it.
She smiled and tilted her head, letting the fist pass by, a mirror of his own fight against Hibari. As if to reinforce that, she gripped his elbow and spun him over her shoulder in the same motion.
His eyes sparkled, and a grin spread across his face, not because of the ease of her movements but because of the skill behind them. She was better at it than he was.
An immortal bearing the Sin of Pride surely would not be satisfied until she mastered a field.
Unlike Hibari, he had an answer to his sudden loss of footing.
A solid platform of Sky Flames appeared beneath his foot briefly, and he pushed off it to attack Luci with another strike, this time moving in close for his own grapple, not wanting to give her the chance to toss him around all day.
A strange dance unfolded as the two of them tried to grapple and throw one another. Her skill was far beyond his, but his intuition leveled the field slightly. He would lunge for a grab, and she would dance out of the way, trying to capture him in return. He would then slip away from her grasp.
Back and forth they went, with Tsuna panting in excitement and Luci merely smiling lightly.
"Alright. Your intuition is too sharp for me to play like this, but I am more than a fighter, Master."
She warned lightly before snapping her fingers. Balls of sickly black flames appeared, flying toward him at speeds far beyond Luci herself.
His mind screamed warnings, and he contorted his body out of the path of one of the fireballs before using his flames to leap away from another.
He narrowed his eyes slightly. If she stood back and bombarded him all day, he would never be able to win this.
Another fireball swung past him as he sidestepped and ducked.
Then he needed to return the favor, and he had one flame he knew would affect her.
The white Flame of Purity appeared in his hand, and he started to shape it into a fireball to throw. But Luci's assault stopped as the woman raised her hands in surrender.
"Whoa, calm down, Master. I am not connected to the Underworld here, so my powers are far below their greatest heights. I cannot handle something like that. Just being in its presence has me shivering."
She spoke quickly, clearly not wanting to fight anymore.
Tsuna blinked and looked down at his hand in confusion.
"It's just a Dying Will Flame. Surely you can handle it," Tsuna hedged awkwardly, only for Luci to shake her head emphatically.
"No, not even close, Master. That Flame was based on the Sacred Flame of Olympus, guarded by the oldest maiden. That level of purity would trouble me even in the Underworld. Out here, I would be a fish waiting to be chopped up."
She stated it simply, and Tsuna felt nothing but disappointment.
[Feat achieved, defeat Lucifer in a spar.]
[Receive one silver ticket (Downgraded from diamond due to familiar status).]
And that was not making him feel any better, either.