History Lesson: New Teachings

Introduction
The morning sun rose high over the mountain, shining down on the Bronzo Estate as the birds chirped, announcing the arrival of the new day. Inside the estate, servents and maids were busy cleaning up and making the house shine for when their Bronzo Family awoke from their sleep.

The first to wake up was Yuri as she sat up in her new bed and stretched, feeling well rested after the day she had yesterday. After arriving in the estate, Yuri had been given a lot of answers to the questions she wanted to know about her heritage, even with some tears, she felt at peace being part of the family.

Getting off the bed, she heard the sounds of maid's entering the room as they all stood there, "Good morning Mistress Yuri" They all said making Yuri a bit shocked.

"What... what's all this?" She asked with confusion in her voice.

"I can explain this" A voice said as Yuri looked over to see her grandmother already dressed in her formal attire.

"Good morning grandmother, explain what?" She asked looking at the maid's. "Explain the morning routine," replied Yana with a soft smile,"When the family is all together like this we typically have breakfast together in the mornings. It's a very rare occasion we're all home at one time, and since you're here it makes it all the more special. Besides, there are still some relatives you haven't met. Now come, get dressed, breakfast starts at ten o' clock."

Yana then got to work and helped the maids dress Yuri for the meal.

"Uh grandmother, not that I don't appreciate it, but I am more than capable of getting dressed myself" Yuri said as she had finished her shower and was now getting dressed by some of the maid's as they were looking through her clothing.

"Oh these will simply not do Head-Mistress" One of the maid's said as she threw Yuri's normal clothes onto the bed. Yuri looked a bit offended,"And why is that?" she asked. "Don't mind her dear, she means no harm. Believe it or not, I was once just a commoner, and because the Bronzo Family isn't as old as those other, snobby nobles makes them look down on us, so we try to seem as classy as possible during things like family meals to make up for it," replied Yana as she sorted through her granddaughter's bag as well.

"I understand, though this kind of treatment isn't something I'm used to" Yuri said as one of the maid's measured her endowment and called to one of the other maids to bring in the dress with the larger chest, making Yuri blush a bit.

After some time, the maid's all backed away as Yuri looked at herself in the mirror, her entire appearance went from being any normal mage to an elegant princess, showing some of her features, which made her blush a bit.

"Grandmother, not to sound ungrateful, but is all of this really needed for a simple breakfast?" She asked looking at her dress.

"Well at least for a family breakfast. We have to show all those other snobs we're just as fancy as they are, or at least make them think we are," she said with a chuckle. "Don't wory, this doesn't happen often so you can usually sleep in, okay? Now come, it's already ten-fifteen, Duney'll be annoyed by the time we get up to the dining floor." Yana led her granddaugher out of the room, and they were taken up to the dining room by Coma.

After a while of walking in heels, the maid's opened the door to find many people around the dining hall, all wearing very elegant clothing as well as expensive jewlery. All this for breakfast, I wonder how mom managed to put up with this Yuri thought in her head as she walked with Yana to where her cousin's were.

"Well, look who finally got changed" Byakko said with a smile as he was dressed in a sharp tux with his hair in a ponytail along with a glove over his prostetic arm.

"Sorry, if I had known that there was going to be a ball for breakfast, I would've woken up sooner" Yuri replied with a smile on her face.

"You look so pretty," said Bella. She was dressed in a light blue gown and had a elegant tiara on her head. Sitting next to her was a tall man in a pitch-black tux, with shoulder-length, black hair slicked back and in a ponytail. Duney was sitting next to the head of the table, and sitting another seat down, next to him, was an extremely tanned young man with blue hair, and a warm smile on his face. "Okay everyone, it's time to begin," announced Yana.

Sitting down at one of the empty seats, Yuri's eyes began to wonder around where she was sitting, in the same room as she was were some of the most elegent and famous people known in Fiore. To her surprise, some of them were looking at Yuri as if they had a sense of deja vu, which stopped when Yana took her spot at the end of the table and began to speak.

"Everyone, this is Yuri, Yuri Bronzo. Turns out she's my granddaughter. You all know about Brina, this is her daughter, and I want you all to treat her like she's been here all her life, got that?" Yana said the last part very sternly. She then turned to face Yuri. "Yuri, this is your cousin, Haretzu Gyuki," she said, pointing to the man with the slicked-back hair, who smiled warmly at her upon being introduced,"We just recently learned of his relation to us as well," added Yana.

"And this young man is Gero Nakagi," she said, pointing to the dark-skinned man next to Duney. "Nice to meet you," said Gero kindly. "He's not related but he might as well still be family," said Yana,"Now, let's eat!" The wholed table cheered, which kind of surprised Yuri as the maids began to pass out plates to every individual at the table.

"I must say, this is something else" Yuri said as a plate of exotic food was placed in front of her, making Yuri drool a bit from smelling.

"Well you don't want it to get cold do you?" A voice said as Yuri turned to her side to find Haretzu sitting next to her with a soft smile on his face. She nodded and began to dig into her meal, overhearing some conversations around the table. "Delicous! Who made this?" Yuri said with a joyful expression as she continued to dig into her meal.

"Well along with the team of chefs here, Coma pitched in," continued Haretzu. He looked over at Duney, who looked like he was a bit scared to eat it now, upon hearing Coma made it. "What's the deal between those two anyway?" Yuri asked Haretzu. "I don't know much," said Haretzu,"But I think Coma has thing for Duney, but hides it behind hostility."

"I see" Yuri said, in her mind she was wondering what would have happened to the two of them to get them in this situation, an answer she would have to get later as the servers came with juice tray's, placing one in front of each person to drink from.

"So tell me about yourself Haretzu" Yuri asked as she took a sip and immediatly fell in love with the drink. "Well, I guess I should start with the fact that I grew up as an orphan in the woods," began Haretzu. Yuri raised an eyebrow, intrigued by her cousin,"Go on," she said. Haretzu took a sip of his drink and continued, "I was eventually found by a woman named Minka Hubasa. She trained me to be a mage for about a year, then, when she thought I could take care of myself, she enlisted me in the Dragon Scale Guild, that's the last I saw of her." He paused for a second and took another sip.

"Sounds familiar, so in a way we both found ourselves coming to this family, blood or not, we're family and I'm starting to care for every one of them" Yuri said with a blush as she finished her juice, causing one of the maids to come near here and pour some more into it. "Though to be honest, I think the maid and the helpers are a bit much for me, it'll just be something I have to get used to" She said chuckiling a bit.

"Trust me, you'll get used to it soon enough, but it is quite a change," said Haretzu as he took a small bite of some kind of delicous looking food. The meal went on and Yuri met several other people, all of whom seemed very nice thankfully. When it was over, Yana directed all the people to go to their respective rooms and change into something more casual.

"Oh man, early in the morning and already my feet are killing me" Yuri told her grandmother as the two walked back to her room. Opening the door as they saw Bella waiting on her bed, "Bella, what are you doing in my room?" She asked kicking off her heels as she went to the closet to get changed out of her formal dressing and into something more relaxing.

Bella jump up from the bed, and Yuri noticed a certain fire in her eyes that she hadn't seen before. "I've come to a realization," said Bella with a grin. "Oh no," muttered Yana under her breath. "You're Brina's daughter, and from the story Grandma told us yesterday, your dad sounds strong too, so you must be strong, right?" said Bella.

Yuri immediatly realized where this was leading, she wasn't a stranger to fighting, her parents were both mages when they were still around, so naturally she had to learn how to fight and use magic. Even when she became a member of the family, she knew at some point she would have to earn her keep around here, but she didn't expect it to happen on her second day.

"I'm very strong, mom and dad wanted me to have the strength to make sure I could handle myself in case anything ever happened to me" Yuri said with confidence as Yana saw the same smile that remind her a lot of Brina.

"Well you're no the only one with strong parents, so how about we just show eachother how good we are, you up for?" replied Bella. She was getting excited. Bella didn't usually show her competitive side often, but battling with Yuri was to tempting to pass up. Bella walked over to the balcony doors and opened them,"Follow me then," she said, leaping off the balcony and towards the back lake.

Yuri felt a bit of excitement as she quickly ran after her, jumping from the balcony in her training gear she often wore when she was training with her mother. It was seen to be skin tight, revealing her muscles and her large endowment as well.

"Ready when you are cousin" She said getting into position. "Right!" said Bella enthusiastically. A purple magic circle appeared under Bella's feet, and from her back sprouted two gigantic, black wings. He hands and feet began to morph into murderous talons. "A partial Take Over huh?" said Yuri. When her transformation was done Bella charged with remarkable speed at her cousin, aiming her claws with deadly percision.

Yuri ducked down, just missing the claws as she passed by her, but before she could make a return trip, Yuri used Lash Magic and aimed her magical whip at the wings of Bella, hoping to tie them up. The whips hit their mark and Bella's wings were caught, but she quickly turns around, throwing her cousin into the air. The whips loosened and Bella launched herself into the air, talons poised. She was grinning from ear to ear, enjoying the fight immensly.

Feeling the sudden rush of the wind, Yuri felt herself losing her grip on the energy lash as she saw Bella aiming right at her. Smiling, she placed her hands together, expanding them into a redish shield around her, "Magma God Sphere!!" She said as the talon pierced it, but started to slowly burn Bella's arm. "Owie! Yuri, that hurted," said Bella in a very childish voice that made Yuri chuckle. Bella then stood up again, back to her battle mode, and completed her Take Over into a large bird-man creature. "This is my Take Over: Garuda," she said braggingly.

She flew up into the air again and then, all of a sudden, shot down at Yuri at extreme speed, spinning like a topedo.

Yuri smiled, focusing her magic back into her whips, this time she waited until the perfect moment as Bella continued to dive towards her. Right before she could, Yuri slammed down one of her whips, creating a powerful shock wave that sent both her and Bella across the field. Both Bronzos eventually skidded into the back lake, but Yuri stood up first, and Bella just floated in the lake for a minute before splashing up. "Wow," she said "You might be even stronger than Duney. You're definately stronger than me."

"Maybe, dad did teach me his strongest magic and mom did teach me that, though I still have trouble holding back from time to time" She said helping her cousin out of the water and smiling. "Okay, okay," said Yana as she walked up behind her two granddaughters,"You've had your fun, now it's time for Yuri to learn a little more about her heritage. Are you ready?" Yuri nodded with a bit of surprise and followed her grandmother toward the woods, with Bella close behind.

Yana walked silently into the tree-line, not telling her grandchildren where they were going. She eventually came to a gigantic tree, with thin beams of light cascading through the canopy, and a small structure of rocks built at the base. "This was your grandfather's favorite place," said Yana, finally turning around,"I figure it will be the best spot to tell you more about him."

Yuri could feel the life around the area, something about the place made it seem more safe than any other place in the estate, especially to the animals as a fox came out of the hole with a few of it's kits. They all looked at Yuri and went running as the mother fox went to Yana's side, watching the kits trying to play with Yuri's legs. "Aw, you guys are so cute" She said taking one of them and holding it close to her chest, "I can see why grandfather loved this spot".

"Yes," said Yana,"He was a very gentle man. People and animals alike seem to gravitate to him, even in death. Now let's see, where should I start?" Yana looked up through the canopy of the tree and began to remember.

Flashback to Sixty Years Prior...

An eighteen year old Ered Bronzo, along with his newly-wed Yana walked into their guild. It was unusually quiet for some reason, which made both a bit uneasy. Then they saw their guild master, Master Ban, come out of the back room, looking very tired and sickly. "Master, are you okay?" said Ered as he and Yana walked over to their elderly friend.

"Oh Ered, I am afraid I have some unfortunate news, after some disturbing news, I am afraid that today will be the last day of our guild" Ban said as he grabbed the half-empty sake bottle and slammed it in front of him as he sat down on one of the tables.

"But Master, why so suddenly?" asked Yana, who felt tears coming. The young couple sat down across the table from their master, beginning to understand why their guild was so empty. Ban coughed violently and answered.

"My time is nearing...." He said drinking from the bottle, "After years and years, I'm reaching the end of my journey among the living, it will be time for me to ascend to the next life" Ban replied through the coughs as he took another drink of sake from the bottle. "I don't wish for anyone else but you two to know this, which is why I am disbanding the guild, so that everyone may be free to choose their next paths in life".

Hearing this, Yana broke down and fell into the arms of her husband, crying for their master. Ered shed a few tears as well before pulling himself together briefly to ask his master a question. "How long do you have Master? I mean, we've only been gone for four days. You seemed fine at our wedding four days ago."

Ban looked out the window, seeing the sun set down on the horizon, "A few hours at most, I had already told everyone to leave the guild, you two will be the last people I see on my dying day" Ban said taking in a deep breath as he finished the sake bottle and grabbed a glass of water. "All in all, despite everything that happened to me, I enjoyed living, I enjoyed being a mage, but most of all, I enjoyed seeing you two find your happiness" he said with a smile on his face.

Yana got up and hugged her master for one last time. Ered and Yana both were in tears now, while their master just stayed as calm as ever, hugging Yana back as if it was just another day. "But Master," started Yana,"Isn't there anything we can do? You've helped us so much, can't we help you?"

"I'm sorry my child, but even magic can't fix what time has done to this body, nature must take it's course and it is time for me to ascend. My dear young ones, this may be an ending for me, but it is a beginning for you two, I know that you two will have a greater family and a better place to call home. Don't ever forget the lessons I taught you, always look for each other, and never forget the memories that brought you two together with us" Ban said with a smile as tears came down his face, making him stand up and walk away from them, closing the door behind them as the sun set enveloping the guild in darkness as the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of crying from both Yana and Ered.

Back to the Present...

"As Master predicted, he died within the next few hours, and our guild died with him. The next day, Ered and I set out on our own path. We were broke at the time, but we managed to get by long enough to make it to Ered's family, who we stayed with for the next few years," concluded Yana.

"Wow, it must have been deveastating, but wait I'm confused about something grandmother, how did you two come to have the name Bronzo?" Yuri wondered as she drank from a canteen that Yana provided for her in case she got thirsty.

"That was Ered's family's name. Without them the Bronzo Family would've never been founded, so to repay them, we named it after them."

Flashback to Fifty-Six Years Prior...

Yana sat out on the balcony of the giant, cliff-side tree that she, Ered, and his entire family now called home. Her belly was slightly swelled and round from being three months pregnant. Ered came into their room, carrying some freshly sown baby clothes from his mother. Yana sighed loudly, seeming unsatisfied, which caught Ered's attention.

"Is something wrong my darling?" Ered asked walking over towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist and slowly carressing her belly as he placed his head on one of her shoulders. "Is everything alright? Have the maid's been giving you trouble?".

"No, the maids are lovely like always, it's just," she faltered, "It's just, we're going to have a child soon enough. And your family is wonderful, but, I always pictured us living in a bit more," she paused to find the right word, "Stable place, big enough that our children and us wouldn't be crammed into one room." Her lip started quivering. The mood swings had started.