Jared made his way through the front of the crowd of people. The people around him made no effort to hide their disgust. The viewers didn't know him by name, but when they saw his face, all their thoughts became clear.
Jared wasn't well-liked by the Senior Casters.
Having knowledge and information is the closest you can get to some people.
In a family whose whole deal is transmitting and collecting data from others' minds, secrets don't last long, especially for the higher-ups.
His attitude toward his family was one of their pet peeves. For someone to be born into the purest bloodline of their ancestry only to hate everything they stood for was more than unheard of. It was borderline treasonous.
Why couldn't he be more like his older brother? Aizen would die for the family name if asked, though no one would dare throw him away so carelessly. Aizen had done unspeakable miracles at the age of 13. Aizen had awakened Distortion as his Core at the youngest age in recorded history.
Standards were set long before his birth, but nothing was expected after Aizen's achievements.
Melinda's expression had already settled into something mournful.
'It's a shame that the nation's hopes and prayers were also put onto this poor child.'
'Don't listen to them. I'm me, and I'm absolutely nothing like my brother. Just get your ability, leave, and never turn back. There's nothing here for me anyways.'
Jared had to try very hard to brush off the glares of the spectators and push on. After all, that's all they were… Spectators.
Melinda patted Jared on the shoulder and smiled lightly. "You're going to do great, kid."
As Jared reached for the bookshelf, an intense burning sensation engulfed him. Jared felt it wrapping around his hand, the pain gripping him. The room went quiet and all that was heard were the faint drops of blood hitting the floor. Unable to withstand the pain any longer Jared dropped to his knees, facing the floor, white flames radiated from his face.
Bursting into flame, books and transcripts from their shelves ignited in balls of white embers. Water ran from under the shelves. Wood planks snapped into pieces as if something was fighting its way from the deepest depths of the secret shelves.
[ IT HURTS!!!!! IT HURTTTTTSSS!!!]
Fighting the need to protect her mind, Melinda grabbed Jared's bleeding hand, squeezing tightly, lifting him to his feet as Jared continued to cover his face and eyes.
[It's going to be ok!]
Melinda held on, offering only her grip. She had never seen anything like this. Jumping from the second floor down to the podium, a short old man, 5'6 stature, rushed to Jared's side. The man's dreadlocks were firm and compact. He began to levitate as blue and white energy transformed his black hair into something celestial. Melinda, still taken aback, collected herself as the old man she quickly recognized as Charles glared at her.
[Next time you should listen to your elde...]
Charles' eyes widened, grabbing his neck. The light pulsing from his hair died instantly as the air around him disappeared.
People screamed and yelled in panic as sudden shards of glass rained from the roof.
Instantly dozens of men and women alike smashed into the pews, all tattooed with linked sawteeth, none of which were enough to form a full saw blade, but were still wrapped around by a snake.
With the snap of someone's fingers, more white flames smoked the entire Cathedral, swallowing Charles in the flame.
Melinda's eyes pulsed as she opened her mouth, speaking, but not a sound was created from her words. Gripping her chest, feeling the oxygen not only being sucked from around her but from within her. Melinda turned to the jagged figure standing still in the midst, hidden behind the wall of flames. Dozens of kids' and adults' eyes rolled to the back of their heads as many of them were knocked out with a single punch.
BANG, BANG, BANG!!
Bullets flew into Charles' chest. Each shot closer to his heart than the last, emptying the clip.
Melinda snapped to Jared.
[ Get out of here!]
[ AH!! It won't STOP!! It's just getting worse!!!!]
Pressed for options, Melinda grabbed and tossed Jared away by his arm as the same orange flames encased her.
Jared stood hollow in the smoke.
In the midst of the chaos and smoke, a figure tore through the smoke, holding him tight, lifting him off the ground. Mentally collapsing from the stress, Jared looked up, caught again by the deep indigo of her eyes, the color shifting lighter toward the center. They disappeared into the smoke together.
As one familiar figure left, two others, more familiar, came charging in. Feeling more like family.
She slammed through the door with an army behind her, armed for every angle of attack. The lady's dark caramel hair was light and flowing, as the forces rushed in with a single command. Her intense amber eyes pierced through the smoke and flames, commanding them to vanish. In an instant the battle turned, the enemies stripped of cover.
The battle erupted. Intruders raced forward, capturing hostages, while others secured their escape, defending the reinforcements. The smile on the figure's face vanished. He gestured once, and his people began to fall back.
Aizen slid across the floor, grabbing both Melinda and Charles in one motion, jumping into a slightly safe room. Gliding his hand along the floor in front of them, a shield of Distortion appeared.
[ Can you understand me?! Teacher, are you responsive?!]
Instantly, oxygen returned to her as a big gasp of air sent Melinda into a coughing frenzy.
[Don't worry about me!~~~~~ That man!]
Aizen turned his attention to the Elder, Charles, one of the five who single-handedly created this kingdom and protected it from being captured. Blood oozed from his stomach, seeping through the old man's shirt and onto Aizen's hands.
"Damn it! Did Elder Nichole dispatch medics?!"
When put under stress, the human mind will fight for a solution.
Aizen looked down at Charles. Creating a distortion at the tip of his finger, he circled every open wound he could find in Charles' chest, sealing each one with barriers that were tiny and hard-to-maintain. With every circle, he could feel his concentration split.
Hearing the warfare on the other side of the half-broken door, Aizen stood to his feet.
[Now that your safety is assured, I'm going to help Nichole.]
Melinda looked up, watching Aizen walk to the door. His eyes burned gray as part of his shoulder, chest, and back glowed with the same color.
[I'll kill whoever did this to you.]
[ AIZEN NO!]
Unable to hear her words, Aizen closed the door, setting another barrier around the room, blocking all noise.
…
The sun dipped beneath the horizon, golden-orange light stretching across a dense tree line. Jared lay unconscious on a pile of leaves. One sound cut through the breeze, careful fingers moving through his belongings.
"There we go," she whispered, eyes narrowing in focused satisfaction.
All that was there to see was a singular smirk. With ease, she slipped the journal from his bag. Her thumb grazed the spine, its leather cover cracked and faded from overuse.
"That could have been way worse." Her voice sank, as if contemplating the worst possible outcome. Her eyes turned to the boy with a surprising level of relief. "I guess I should be thankful…"
'I should have just taken my journal and left.'
"There was no logical reason for me to carry him all the way here." She settled beside him and lifted his head onto her lap.
"I guess gramp's teaching is still weighing on my conscience." Without much thought, she unbuttoned his shirt, examining him for injuries.
"Doesn't seem to be physical… Kid might have just passed out from the trauma. Kinda pathetic, but maybe that just comes with being born into one of the most influential families of the world."
"... Ugh, or maybe I'm just being too critical." Saying this, the figure reached down. Her hand gripped her ordinary blade, that was safely tucked by the side of her leg. With a delicate touch, she pressed the surface of her blade against his finger, before doing it to her own. Gently a stream of blood lifted from the finger's wound, flowing into Jared's cut.
"Calling my childhood normal would be blasphemy." She laid Jared into her sleeping bag, watching the finger wounds close. "The blood should be making its way to his vital organs now."
The smell of her food drew her attention away. The bowl rested near the cooking fire. She took a scoop, served herself.
Her eyes landed on Jared. His body was visibly shaking. His face, lifeless, crumpling as the seconds ticked by. "Stop whining. My blood is just checking if anything is wrong. It's no Anima family healing, but it's not poison."
Letting the blood finish its work, Jared slowly regained consciousness. The shadowy figure above him took shape.
Still struggling to breathe and keep his eyes open, Jared thought.
'Is this the girl from the T.V.?'
With a damp rag in hand, the figure casually placed the fabric over the child's head. She watched him, already braced for what was coming. 'Is he waking up? Oh, please don't be one of those kids.'
Jared screamed as the lady already had her hands on her ears.