The Impact of the Double Buff

Karakura Elementary School. A short-haired girl stood with her hands on her hips, glaring angrily at Tsunayoshi.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi! Where did you disappear to over break? You weren't at home, you weren't at Ichigo's place either—didn't we agree to hang out together?" The speaker was Tatsuki Arisawa, voicing her displeasure at Tsuna's solo fun during the holiday.

"Don't be mad, Tatsuki. Mom said Tsuna had something important to do," Ichigo defended him from the side.

"Mom, Mom—you're always clinging to Ichigo's mom. When are you gonna grow up a little?" Ichigo's defense didn't get Tsuna off the hook; instead, it redirected Tatsuki's fire onto him.

Ichigo showed no anger at Tatsuki's words. Instead, he just grinned sheepishly. To him, liking to hang around his mom wasn't a bad thing at all.

"Tatsuki, let's go to your dojo after school today. Your new special move won't work on me."

Tsuna saw right through Tatsuki's little scheme. With her tomboy personality and her family's karate dojo background, she loved picking fights with the boys. Ichigo was her usual target, but she'd never once beaten Tsuna.

Tsuna knew Tatsuki must have spent the break practicing some killer move, hoping to finally win against him.

But no matter how hard she tried, Tatsuki could never imagine that Tsuna, as a Fullbringer and Quincy dual-ability user, was someone a normal person like her couldn't beat no matter what tricks she pulled.

"Hmph! Just you wait!" Tatsuki tossed her head proudly and returned to her seat. Class was about to start, and once today's lessons ended, Sawada Tsunayoshi's defeat would begin.

The teacher hadn't arrived yet. Tatsuki's gaze wandered aimlessly until it landed on the window. A bead of cold sweat suddenly dripped from her forehead. She saw a portly man in a suit floating above the schoolyard.

What was that? A ghost?

Tatsuki couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her rational mind told her there were no such things as ghosts in this world, but her eyes clearly saw that drifting specter.

"Tsuna, Ichigo, do... do you guys see that thing too?" Tatsuki's finger trembled as she pointed out the window, turning to the two boys beside her for help.

"Oh, that guy? Don't worry. Aside from the occasional prank, they're not dangerous. No need to be scared," Ichigo reassured her, completely unfazed.

"How are you so familiar with this?" Tatsuki found it strange that Ichigo showed no fear at all.

It wasn't just Ichigo who wasn't scared—Tsuna wasn't either. But Tsuna was more surprised. The Chains of Fate on that soul's chest were almost completely eroded, and the soul itself seemed barely conscious. That was a sign it was about to become a Hollow.

Once the Chains of Fate were fully eaten away, a hole would open in the soul's chest. The heartless soul would then transform into a Hollow, losing all reason and existing only to devour Reishi.

While Ichigo was explaining the quirks of souls to Tatsuki, Tsuna slipped out silently. That soul was beyond saving. There was no way Tsuna could help it fulfill its last wish and ascend in such a short time. All he could do now was stop the Hollow it would become from destroying the school.

Tsuna couldn't understand why Soul Society hadn't stationed a Shinigami in Karakura Town. He'd only been at the Ishida Residence for a month, and already another soul was failing to ascend and turning into a Hollow. If a Shinigami were here, they could use a Zanpakuto to force a Konso. Now, Tsuna had no choice but to forcibly send this soon-to-be-Hollow soul on its way.

As Tsuna ran down the hallway, he silently added acquiring Shinigami powers to his to-do list.

The floating soul—under Ichigo's confused gaze and Tatsuki's horrified stare—opened a fist-sized hole in its chest. Its body began to contort grotesquely. Claws fit for a monster sprouted from its form, and a white mask completely covered its face. It had fully become a Hollow.

As the Hollow's claws lunged toward them, Tatsuki let out a frightened scream, drawing the entire class's attention to their corner.

Suddenly, the sky went dark. Or rather, from Tatsuki's perspective, it went dark. The terrifying claws seemed to vanish as if they'd never existed.

On the roof of the elementary school, Sawada Tsunayoshi's left hand was clad in a silver gauntlet. The gauntlet bore the Vongola Family crest and the words "Primo." From the gauntlet, black fabric extended, long and vast, covering the entire school building.

The sky that dyes all, devours all, embraces all—the Vongola Primo's mantle.

The mantle's supreme defensive power blocked the Hollow's attack. Tsuna pulled a long, rod-like weapon from his waist—the Soul Cutter Ryūken had just given him.

Tsuna's Fullbring allowed him to use all of the Vongola Primo's weapons, granting him versatile tactics. But the drawback was that he could only use one piece of equipment at a time. To switch weapons, he had to change his Fullbring's form.

Right now, with the mantle blocking the Hollow's attack, he couldn't use another weapon against it. And the Reishi bow he'd learned earlier was half-useless. Fortunately, Ryūken had given him this Soul Cutter, which was more than enough to handle this newborn Hollow.

A blade of Reishi extended from the Soul Cutter. Tsuna hurled it fiercely at the Hollow's mask. Under the vibration of high-density Reishi, the newborn Hollow's mask split like tofu, dissolving into Reishi particles. The Soul Cutter embedded itself in the center of the schoolyard.

Tatsuki's vision cleared. All her classmates were chattering about the strange, sudden eclipse, staring up at the sky in confusion. Only Tatsuki kept her eyes fixed ahead until she caught a familiar figure flashing by.

Tatsuki prided herself on her dynamic vision. She recognized that figure. No wonder that nosy guy had disappeared when the commotion started.

When the teacher arrived, the chaos gradually subsided. Tsuna slipped back into his seat. The moment he sat down, Tatsuki whipped her head around, her gaze sharp.

"Where did you just go?"

Tsuna hadn't expected Tatsuki's observation to be so keen. Look at Ichigo—he was still sitting there grinning like an idiot. But Tatsuki was already grilling him.

"Stomachache. Went to the bathroom."

"Oh, really?" Tatsuki wasn't so easily fooled. She silently filed it away, planning to question him after school.

After school, Tsuna and Ichigo walked Tatsuki home as usual. It was their routine. Once they parted ways with the other classmates and were alone, Tatsuki finally had room to interrogate her two friends.

"You guys... can both see those... ghosts?" Tatsuki hesitated, unsure how to describe the floating soul.

"Tatsuki, I think 'soul' is a better word. I see them all the time. Nothing to be afraid of," Ichigo said.

"Nothing to be afraid of? What about that thing that turned into a monster? That's not scary?" Tatsuki shot back at Ichigo, then turned to her ally. "Tsuna, you tell me."

Tsuna hadn't expected Tatsuki to start seeing souls so soon. In the normal course of events, Tatsuki wouldn't see spirits and Shinigami until high school, under Ichigo's influence.

Tsuna thought it over and could only attribute it to himself and Ichigo. Tsuna himself already had Ichigo's innate talent. Add to that the fact that Masa hadn't died, Ichigo hadn't withdrawn into himself, and he still hung out with Tatsuki—under their combined influence, Tatsuki had awakened the ability to see spirits.

In Tsuna's memory, Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado had also started seeing spirits because of Ichigo's influence. Later, they even awakened Fullbring in dangerous moments. Could Tatsuki develop Fullbring too?

But the definition of a Fullbringer was a human with a fragment of the Soul King inside them. These humans, while in the womb, had mothers with such strong Reiatsu that they attracted Hollow attacks. Some believed that those whose mothers were attacked by Hollows could develop Fullbring, but in truth, only those with the Soul King's fragment could.

Yet the story never explicitly stated that Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado had Soul King fragments, and they still developed Fullbring. Still, Tsuna didn't want to actively push Tatsuki into trying Fullbring training. Battle was a life-or-death struggle. Fighting Hollows wasn't as easy as it looked on the surface.

"Hey, Tsuna, what are you spacing out for?" Tatsuki noticed him staring blankly at her. A faint blush crept onto her cheeks as she spoke in annoyance.

"Don't overthink it. Maybe you just saw wrong," Tsuna deflected.

"Saw wrong? I'm not done with you yet!" Tatsuki poked his chest with her finger. "Was that you who suddenly appeared in the schoolyard? How did you appear and disappear like that? Superpowers?"

"Superpowers?" Ichigo hadn't seen Tsuna's stunt.

Tsuna hadn't expected Tatsuki to catch the moment he picked up the Soul Cutter—just a silhouette, yet she'd seen it clearly. Anyone else would've dismissed it as their eyes playing tricks.

Tsuna decided not to argue further with Tatsuki. He sidestepped her attack and sprinted off. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Tsuna's attitude made Tatsuki stomp her foot in frustration. She grabbed Ichigo and chased after Tsuna's retreating figure.

At Tatsuki's house, after the after-school roughhousing ended, Ichigo dashed toward home. Tsuna was about to pack up and leave Tatsuki's place when, at the doorway, he narrowed his eyes and glanced back at the corner of the wall. A small cat was hanging back there.

"Come out. It's already late—are you still playing hide-and-seek?" Tsuna called out.

Tatsuki crept out from the corner, pretending to look up at the sky with an innocent air. "What are you doing? Why aren't you heading home?"

Tsuna didn't say a word. He ducked straight into Tatsuki's blind spot and waited. Sure enough, she appeared right in front of him a moment later.

"Little Tatsuki, where are you off to? Need any help?" Tsuna said with a smile.

"Oh, I'm just going to buy something. No need to trouble you."

Tsuna looked Tatsuki up and down. She was wearing her karate gi—nowhere to hide any money. He simply pulled out 1000 Yen from his backpack, pressed it into her hand, and ruffled her hair.

"It's too late. If you want to tail me, pick it up again tomorrow." With that, Tsuna turned and walked away coolly.

Staring at the 1000 Yen in her hand, Tatsuki pouted in frustration. She knew Tsuna had seen right through her. She'd planned to sneak after him and catch him off guard.

Tatsuki was certain the silhouette she'd seen was Tsuna's. He definitely knew something and was deliberately hiding it from her.

For now, she'd have to pick another time—wait until Tsuna let his guard down, then try her tracking plan again. Tatsuki silently decided: since Tsuna wouldn't tell her, she'd find the answers herself.