The fire died down as Leo was standing there.
Transformed, he moved his tail.
He looked around.
He looked at Kotaro, then at everyone. "Yeah, I see what's my trigger".
He looked at Kotaro. "The trigger is not what you think, it's what lets you get control"
Kotaro froze.
The words had left his mouth before he could stop them.
The entire training ground became silent.
Several elders exchanged looks.
Aoi blinked.
Ryuji looked genuinely surprised.
Leo simply listened.
For once, he wasn't cracking a joke.
He wasn't interrupting.
He just listened.
Kotaro clenched his fists.
"You have always been better."
Ice began spreading across the ground.
Slowly at first.
Then faster.
"You learned techniques faster."
More ice formed.
"You adapted faster."
The air temperature dropped.
"You fought stronger enemies."
The sky above started frosting over.
"You mastered things before I even understood them."
Kotaro lowered his head.
"And every single time I thought I caught up..."
Ice exploded around him.
"You were already ahead."
The entire training field shook.
Several elders jumped backward.
The ice wasn't out of control.
It was responding.
Listening.
For the first time.
Kotaro wasn't fighting his emotions.
He was acknowledging them.
"I never hated you."
His voice cracked slightly.
"I admired you."
Leo's eyes widened.
"I wanted to stand beside you."
The ice cocoon around Kotaro thickened.
"I wanted to prove I could keep up."
Cracks formed across its surface.
"I wanted to be the one you chased for once."
The cocoon trembled.
"I wanted you to look at me and think—"
The ice shattered.
"I need to catch up to him."
BOOM!
The cocoon exploded.
Ice fragments filled the air.
Blue-white energy erupted into the sky.
For a moment nobody could see anything.
Then the mist cleared.
The first thing visible was a wing.
Then another.
Then the rest.
Kotaro stood there.
Fully transformed.
Not rampaging.
Not unstable.
Not a monster.
Controlled.
Awake.
His Devil Trigger had answered him.
Not because he wanted power.
But because he'd finally admitted why he wanted it.
Leo stared for a moment.
Then laughed.
Not mockingly.
Just genuinely.
"Dumbass."
Kotaro blinked.
"What?"
Leo pointed at himself.
"You know why I kept getting stronger?"
Kotaro frowned.
"No."
Leo shrugged.
"Because I was trying to catch up to everyone else."
Silence.
Kotaro stared.
"What?"
Leo pointed toward the village.
"Mom."
Then toward Ryuji.
"Dad."
Then toward Asagi.
"Asagi."
Then toward the elders.
"Half the village."
He rubbed the back of his head.
"I thought everyone else was ahead of me."
Kotaro looked horrified.
"You thought that?"
"Yeah."
"That's insane."
"Probably."
Kotaro stood there.
Trying to process this.
Trying to process the fact that for years he'd been chasing Leo.
While Leo apparently thought he was chasing everyone else.
Ryuji suddenly burst out laughing.
A loud, uncontrollable laugh.
Aoi immediately sighed.
"Oh no."
Ryuji pointed at both boys.
"You idiots."
The laughter intensified.
"You're both idiots!"
Kotaro looked offended.
Leo looked offended.
Then they looked at each other.
Then realized what Ryuji meant.
And immediately looked away.
Because unfortunately...
He was right.
Aoi shook her head.
"Well."
She looked at the two transformed cousins.
"Congratulations."
The boys looked at her.
"You've both achieved controlled Devil Trigger."
One elder nodded.
"Something many Fuuma never accomplish."
Another nodded.
"A significant achievement."
A third elder adjusted his glasses.
"And you achieved it through emotional self-reflection."
The entire training ground paused.
Then Leo raised a hand.
"Actually we achieved it through childhood insecurity."
Kotaro nodded.
"Mostly childhood insecurity."
The elder lowered his glasses.
"...That's unfortunately more accurate."
For the first time since the Nomad incident, both cousins stood there in their transformed forms.
No rage.
No loss of control.
No desperation.
Just confidence.
And as the two looked at one another, there was no rivalry.
No jealousy.
No need to prove anything.
Just two cousins who had finally realized they had spent years trying to reach the same place from opposite directions.
Unfortunately, the peaceful moment lasted exactly seven seconds.
Because Ryuji cracked his neck and drew his sword.
The cousins immediately felt danger.
Ryuji grinned.
"Excellent."
The grin got wider.
"Now we begin advanced training."
Leo groaned.
Kotaro groaned.
Aoi smiled into her tea.
The hard part, it seemed, had only just begun.
After the training session finally ended, Leo and Kotaro discovered something.
Unlocking Devil Trigger?
Difficult.
Controlling Devil Trigger?
Very difficult.
Turning it off?
Absolutely miserable.
The cousins stood in the training field, still transformed.
Aoi stood before them.
"Relax."
"We are relaxed," Leo said.
"You are literally on fire."
"...Fair."
Kotaro raised a clawed hand.
"So how do we turn back?"
Aoi thought for a moment.
Then gave an answer that somehow made everything worse.
"It's like turning cooked food back into raw ingredients."
Silence.
Leo stared.
Kotaro stared.
Ryuji stared.
One elder dropped his tea.
Leo finally spoke.
"...Mother, that is impossible."
"Correct."
"What?"
Aoi pointed at them.
"The transformation is your natural state expressing itself."
Leo blinked.
Kotaro blinked.
Neither understood.
Aoi sighed.
"You're thinking of the transformation as something you activate."
"It isn't."
She walked around them.
"The Demon Mark responds to your heart."
She poked Leo's chest.
"When you transformed, your desire to protect manifested."
She poked Kotaro's chest.
"When you transformed, your desire to prove yourself manifested."
The cousins nodded.
"So?"
Aoi crossed her arms.
"Now you have to let go."
Both stared.
Neither had a clue what that meant.
Three hours later.
Nothing had changed.
Leo sat on the ground.
Still transformed.
Tail moving irritably behind him.
"This sucks."
Kotaro nodded.
"This really sucks."
Ryuji walked past carrying lunch.
Still human.
Still normal.
The cousins watched him with envy.
"Enjoying yourselves?"
"No."
"Good."
Leo threw a rock at him.
Ryuji dodged.
Aoi eventually returned.
After watching their suffering for a while, she finally decided to help.
"You're both making the same mistake."
Leo immediately pointed.
"Then tell us the answer."
Kotaro nodded.
"Please."
Aoi sat down.
"The Devil Trigger is your emotions taking form."
The cousins listened.
"You transformed because you focused on what mattered most."
Leo thought of Asagi.
Kotaro thought of Leo.
Immediately they both looked away.
Neither wanted that conversation.
Aoi continued.
"But now you're holding onto those feelings."
Leo blinked.
"...We are?"
"Yes."
Kotaro frowned.
"So what do we do?"
Aoi smiled.
"Trust yourselves."
The cousins groaned.
"That's not an answer."
"It is for Fuuma."
"It really isn't."
Another hour passed.
Then something finally clicked.
Leo stopped thinking about protecting.
Not because he didn't care.
Because he knew they were safe.
Asagi was safe.
His family was safe.
His home was safe.
The reason he needed the power wasn't here anymore.
The tension left his shoulders.
The fire around him weakened.
Then disappeared.
The armor faded.
The wings dissolved.
A few moments later, Leo stood there in human form.
He blinked.
"...Oh."
Across from him, Kotaro saw it.
Then he understood.
He didn't need to prove himself anymore.
Not today.
Not after everything.
Not after Leo had literally crossed half the ocean to save him.
The pressure he'd put on himself finally disappeared.
The ice around him melted.
The wings faded.
The armor dissolved.
And a few moments later, he was human again.
The two cousins looked at their hands.
Normal.
Human.
No claws.
No wings.
No tails.
Just themselves.
Ryuji nodded approvingly.
"There."
Aoi smiled.
"Now you've learned the first lesson."
Leo immediately became suspicious.
"First lesson?"
Kotaro became suspicious.
"Why did you say first?"
Aoi and Ryuji exchanged a glance.
The kind parents give when they know something horrible is about to happen to their children.
Leo immediately pointed.
"I don't like that look."
Kotaro pointed too.
"I really don't like that look."
Aoi smiled.
"Because now we start learning Devil Trigger techniques."
The cousins groaned.
The elders started laughing.
Late that evening, the Fuuma Estate had finally become quiet.
The training was over.
Everyone had eaten.
For the first time all day, Leo was actually relaxing.
He sat on the porch with a cup of tea while watching the sunset.
Asagi walked over and sat beside him.
She studied him for a moment.
"So..."
Leo looked over.
"So?"
"You can control your transformation now?"
Leo nodded.
"Yup."
Asagi let out a relieved sigh.
"Good."
Leo raised an eyebrow.
"Why 'good'?"
She looked at him.
"Because it means you can use it freely now."
Leo thought about it before shaking his head.
"Yes and no."
She tilted her head.
"I can willingly transform now."
He took another sip of tea.
"But that doesn't mean I've mastered it."
Kurenai walked onto the porch, having overheard the conversation.
"That makes sense."
Leo nodded.
"Think of it like learning how to drive."
"I know how to start the car."
"I know how to steer."
"I know how to stop."
He smiled.
"But that doesn't mean you should put me in a Formula One race tomorrow."
Yuuko chuckled from inside the house.
"That's... actually a surprisingly good analogy."
Rinko looked up from her laptop.
"So what can't you do?"
Leo held up three fingers.
"I don't know how long I can stay transformed."
He lowered one finger.
"I don't know how much energy it consumes."
Another finger lowered.
"And I have absolutely no idea what abilities I haven't discovered yet."
Kotaro walked into the room carrying a bowl of snacks.
"Same."
He sat down beside Leo.
"I can transform."
"I can punch things."
"I can make ice."
He shrugged.
"That's about the extent of my knowledge."
Ryuji walked past, overhearing the last sentence.
"Which is why you're both still in training."
Leo groaned.
Kotaro groaned.
Asagi laughed.
"So you're saying you two unlocked a legendary Fuuma power..."
"...and have no instruction manual."
Leo looked at her.
"Pretty much."
Yuuko smiled.
"To be fair, I don't think ancient bloodline powers usually come with one."
Rinko closed her laptop.
"They probably should."
Kotaro nodded.
"'Congratulations on awakening your Devil Trigger. Please read the safety instructions before use.'"
Leo immediately joined in.
"'Warning: May accidentally level islands if operated incorrectly.'"
Kurenai folded her arms.
"'Do not attempt to punch your cousin unless absolutely necessary.'"
Everyone looked at Leo and Kotaro.
The cousins looked at each other.
"..."
"...It was necessary."
The room erupted into laughter.
Even Aoi, who had just entered carrying a tray of tea, couldn't hide a small smile.
"You joke..."
She set the tray down.
"...but the clan archives actually have a warning very similar to that."
The laughter stopped.
Leo blinked.
"...Seriously?"
Aoi nodded with a perfectly straight face.
"The wording is older."
She thought for a moment.
"'If two awakened Fuuma engage in earnest combat, evacuate everyone else first.'"
Silence.
Kotaro slowly looked at Leo.
Leo slowly looked back at Kotaro.
"..."
"..."
"That's fair."
Nobody in the room could argue with that after watching the two of them accidentally turn an entire Nomad base into rubble.
The next morning, the Fuuma training grounds were packed.
Word had spread quickly.
Two members of the younger generation had not only awakened the legendary Demon Mark, but had also learned to control it.
Naturally, nearly every Fuuma wanted to see what they could actually do.
Leo and Kotaro stood opposite one another.
Aoi stepped forward.
"Today's lesson isn't combat."
Leo smiled.
"That's a relief."
"It's experimentation."
Leo's smile disappeared.
"...That's somehow worse."
Kotaro nodded.
"I agree."
Ryuji folded his arms.
"Your Devil Trigger isn't just stronger muscles and wings."
"It changes your entire body."
"The question is..."
He pointed at them.
"...what else can it do?"
Leo and Kotaro nodded.
They closed their eyes.
Pink flames surrounded Leo.
Blue ice spiraled around Kotaro.
A second later, both transformed.
Unlike before, there was no explosion.
No loss of control.
Just a calm release of power.
Several younger Fuuma watched in amazement.
"So that's the Demon Mark..."
An elder nodded proudly.
"Controlled."
Aoi walked around them.
"Start simple."
Leo flexed his clawed hand.
The claws extended another few inches.
Then retracted.
"Huh."
Kotaro copied him.
His claws did the same.
"So they're adjustable."
One elder quickly wrote that down.
Leo then concentrated on his back, flames erupted as the pink flames made wings.
They folded tightly against his back.
Then spread wide.
He gave them a flap.
The resulting gust knocked several spectators backward.
"...Sorry."
Ryuji laughed.
"Good."
Kotaro experimented next.
He concentrated.
The on his wings hardened.
They became as sharp as a blade.
He flicked one.
It embedded itself halfway into a boulder.
The entire training ground went quiet.
Kotaro blinked.
"...I don't think that's supposed to happen."
Ryuji grinned.
"Oh, it definitely is."
Leo looked interested.
"My turn."
He focused on his tail.
It slowly changed shape.
The blade at the end widened.
Then narrowed.
Then split into two smaller blades.
Leo stared.
"I can modify it?"
Aoi nodded.
"Your Devil Trigger is alive."
"It adapts."
Leo immediately heard Alex's voice in the back of his mind.
'Adaptive biology.'
James sounded impressed.
'Your Blacklight and the Demon Mark are complementing each other.'
Leo smiled slightly.
'Thought so.'
Meanwhile, Kotaro was still experimenting.
He held out his hand.
Ice gathered.
Normally it formed into spikes.
This time—
It became a sword.
Perfectly balanced.
Kotaro swung it once.
The blade cut through the air effortlessly.
He smiled.
"...That's useful."
Ryuji nodded.
"Very."
Leo raised his own hand.
Black water gathered around it.
Instead of becoming a wave, it condensed.
It wrapped around his arm.
Then solidified into a gauntlet.
Leo tapped it with a claw.
It sounded like steel.
Kurenai whistled.
"So your Water Arts become armor."
Yuuko adjusted her glasses.
"The Hell Blade's Black Water is evolving alongside the Demon Trigger..."
She quickly began taking notes.
"As expected."
Asagi smiled proudly.
"Looks like you two are only scratching the surface."
Ryuji walked into the middle of the field.
"Exactly."
He pointed at Leo.
"You."
Then at Kotaro.
"You."
"You've spent all this time thinking your Devil Trigger was a transformation."
He shook his head.
"It's not."
"It's a toolbox."
The cousins looked at each other.
Then back at Ryuji.
He grinned.
"And you've only found the hammer."
The entire training ground suddenly became much quieter.
Because everyone realized the same thing.
If this was only the beginning...
Then neither Leo nor Kotaro actually knew what their Devil Triggers were truly capable of.
To be continued.
Hope people like this Ch an Give me power stones, and yes I did deleted my Alucard story, I lost interest in that story and everything about it, so yeah, anyway check my New Fanfiction, Yu-Gi-Oh: WATER