The figure came into the light, cape and shoulder-hooked jacket flapping behind him. His eyes glowed white as a distorted white Needle, blade-length, appeared in his hand.
'Is that an Insight Application?'
Yidhra calmly wiped the wound with her other hand, stepping away from Jared.
"Oh, uhm. I think there's a mis-"
"Yeah, shut it."
With a swift flick, tossing his sword toward Yidhra, Aizen's blade slid into the ground, morphing the floor as it entered. Stumbling to react, her body fell from the displacement. Yidhra barely raised her hand in time, body tucked, Aizen's fist grazing her arm. Her vision snapped as she grabbed Aizen's other hand before he could grab his sword.
Thrusting her knee up, Yidhra crushed a barrier Aizen threw up around his chest. With almost all her movement restricted, locked and displaced, she screamed.
"ORE!!"
Flying over her shoulders, two orbs suddenly appeared, exploding as they made contact with Aizen's shoulders, pushing him back.
Backflipping to her feet, Yidhra's hands came up like she'd already read the move.
Aizen's arm zoomed past her face as she grabbed it. With a strong tug, she yanked Aizen's neck toward her elbow, witnessing another barrier materialize.
With milliseconds to respond, she flicked her palm, jabbing it into Aizen's elbow. The sounds of shattering glass played as the partially prepared barrier crumbled under her force.
With his chest open, arms injured or out of the way, she slammed her knee into Aizen's stomach, bursting the air behind him.
Leaping back with her hands up, her eyes flicked to the side. Quickly changing her decisions, she wrapped her arm around Jared's shoulder, flicked out her dagger, and placed the blade inches away from his neck.
"Just listen!"
Before he could hesitate, a barrier blocked her blade. Aizen leaped into the air, his needle materialized, facing the ground like a rapier.
'Shit!'
In a panic, Yidhra jumped back, letting go of Jared and dropping her weapon.
The ground distorted as she slid away from the already shifted parts of the battlefield. Aizen fluidly drew a circle around Jared and him, his eyes glued to her movements.
"Don't!" Jared screamed, gripping Aizen's arm.
Aizen snapped to Jared in confusion. "What the hell are you doing? Let go!"
Seizing the opportunity, Yidhra turned and ran. Only the dark hair tipped with salmon and those red-indigo gradient eyes were left behind in Aizen's memory. Breaking free of Jared's grip and trapping him in the barrier, he raced after her, but with two orbs slamming into the floor, she shot upward through the window and into the dark.
"I can't believe I let her get away."
With frustration, Aizen turned to his brother.
"What the hell were you doing? Did those guys do anything to you? Did they hurt you?"
"No, I'm fine."
Jared held his Textbook close to his chest as the barrier disassembled.
"But why did you stop me? I had them pinned."
"I was just scared, ok… Nothing else."
Aizen gently rubbed his brother's head.
"You don't have anything you need to worry about, alright? Your brother is strong; remember that."
"Yeah…" Jared kept his eyes on the window while Aizen talked.
'Yeah… Maybe I shouldn't have been sorry and worried.'
"Alright, let's get-"
Blood dripped from the corner of Aizen's mouth as his legs shook. Dropping to one knee, he covered his mouth.
"Aizen, are you ok?"
Swallowing something, he spoke softly.
"I haven't felt this weak since my last serious fight with Miss Koto. I didn't last half as long, but this feeling is all too familiar."
Aizen continued to cough a couple more times.
"Let's just get going. I need to patch this up and report what happened today. Ugh… so much more to do… yeah, sleeping this off just sounds like a good idea."
…
The sun came up. Light seeped through the curtains of Jared's room as he sat up to read the first few pages of his Textbook.
[ What makes people, people? What makes us so different from the animals who kill? The beast we slay, the plants we plant and harvest, and the machines we make? You may develop your own answers, but one thing remains consistent. Because we think, so therefore we are. Those were the first Concepts of Existence, the first concepts broken down by one's Subjective Experience.]
'Concepts of Existence? Subjective Experience?'
[ Concepts of Existence is the idea that humans can perceive living and understand that although they are small, they can impact the world. ]
[No one knows when it started, but it is believed to manifest physically by realizing one's existence. To this day, all matters of core, functions, application, etc., can be broken down into fundamental elements of the Concept of Existence, also known as a Subjective Experience. ]
[These two terms define a creature's ability to speak, think, feel, understand, and comprehend the things they interact with in this world.]
'Ok, so fundamental things that allow us to live. But does that mean you can train something to have all the basic concepts of life? Is that what pets are?'
Jared's eyes started to flicker, entranced by the information he was learning despite it only being an introduction page. As he turned the next page, a sharp pain lanced through his head. The bookmarks glowed red as the swift, painful experience turned into a mild headache.
Jared calmly rubbed his head, closing his book.
'That's enough for the day.'
The sun rose and shone light onto his sheets. Jared looked out the window.
'A lot has happened…'
The first thing that came to him was Yidhra's eyes. Second, a picture of him being saved. And finally, a clear picture of Yidhra's face.
"Is every day going to be like that with her?"
With a slight smile, he opened his dresser, sorting through his clothes.
"Aizen should already be out of the house by now. Mom and Dad should have been assigned another mission, considering what happened yesterday."
A quick memory of Aizen collapsing on the floor flashed in Jared's mind. Blood dripped from Aizen's mouth, arms clutched around his torso.
Walking out of his closet in a rolled-up blue shirt and beige pants, Jared hyped himself up in the mirror.
"Alright, mission today, get myself a pet and start setting it up. I should also swing by Amber's."
…
Running through the city of Precast, where no one bats an eye to a young lady being chased. For a very luxurious setting, an aura of greed and selfishness surrounds all its citizens.
The sun radiated without a cloud in the sky to block its rays. The birds chirped songs that soothed the souls of those who heard it.
It didn't take long till Jared got to Marvin Street, a well-known shopping center for adventurers of all kinds.
He went store to store, amazed by the variety. Half an hour later he was at the P.E.T. shop, working up and down the aisles.
'Most pets are extremely cheap and come with a lot of features and a great sorting system. Honestly, they should charge more for these things.'
"Oh, this doesn't look too bad."
Jared bent over and reached for a box way in the back of the bottom row. The box showed a plain-looking fox. Without a second thought, Jared picked it up.
'Sounds great. I still don't see why everyone just doesn't have one. Either way, they're too useful, plus this one has some type of transformation.'
Jared looked at the box a little longer, and all that was inside was an orange ball with no description of its personality. Jared hesitated, picking it up.
'It's the best option for sure…. Screw it, nothing ventured, nothing gained.'