Not Strong Enough
Chapter 2
Slowly, the world around her came into focus. However, when under a roof one did not recognize, panic tended to occur.
Where was she? What time was it? Did her mother know where she was? Did anyone know where she was? Was she in danger?
Aleta shot up, then vertigo decided that was not a good idea and she sank back down into the surface she lay on, groaning.
"I see you're awake. It's a good thing I treated that foot of yours. It could have been infected badly."
Looking over to the source of the voice, Aleta then saw that she was in a bed, a large, soft pillow obscured her vision slightly, and she moved it aside to see the man sitting in a wooden chair next to her.
Warning bells rang in her head at this.
She passed out. And the general rule of sleep was that when you fall unconscious, you wake up. Why was she still dreaming? Unless she had woken up and couldn't remember it. A dull throb from her foot, as clear as day, was enough indication things were a bit too real. Almost to creepy levels.
"You were out cold for a little while, I'd say about an hour and a half. How do you feel?"
Words still couldn't properly form on her tongue.
"Er, can you talk?" the suspiciously familiar man asked.
Aleta nodded.
"Well then, I'm-"
"Wing." Aleta blurted out.
Wing looked taken aback.
"You've heard of me?"
"I…yes.. I-I mean. I. I-uh. I have. A-and Zushi is here, isn't he?" Aleta bumbled out. Her voice a bit hoarse, she cringed and cleared her throat.
"Here have some water." Wing offered.
Getting up slower than before, Aleta accepted and tried to speak properly this time.
"You're Wing. And, uh, Zushi… is your student. I know, but, this…You're not real." She said with much more confidence.
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Not real?"
"None of this is. It's a dream. So now that I'm self aware, I should wake up. All I gotta do is sleep, or die which wouldn't be that great, and I wake up. Wow, so this is what you'd look like non animated. Kinda weird… oh well, nice meeting you!"
Aleta closed her eyes, laid back, and concentrated on the darkness. And concentrated. And nothing happened.
"Er… Miss?"
Aleta opened one eye nervously.
"Why am I still here?" she squeaked.
Wing chuckled softly.
"You're uh, not dreaming. Did you hit your head out there or something? I mean, I was worried when I saw you in such a state. Unfortunately Zushi's pants might be a bit small for you and mine would be too big. Do you have a place nearby? I could call a taxi so you won't have to go out so exposed. "
Aleta gave the other man a long look. Reaching out, she poked his cheek and flinched away when, indeed, she felt soft, warm skin.
"I'm not dreaming."
At this, Wing laughed. "Now you're getting it. Ah, what's your name by the way? I'm not sure how you feel about getting called Miss all the time."
Blinking, Aleta lay back again and stared at the plain, beige ceiling. Dream or no, she was going to just see how this played out. In the end, if she was dreaming, she would probably forget it all happened anyway.
"Aleta."
"Well then, do you have a place?"
"I… no. I just… got here."
It wasn't a lie.
"Oh? So you're staying at a hotel?"
Aleta shook her head.
"No, I mean literally just got here. No home, no mone- I mean jenni. " Aleta looked over. " I'm more off the records than someone from Meteor City."
Wing looked shocked. His friendly countenance changing from friendly to cautious. At this, a plan began to formulate in Aleta's mind. She didn't watch months worth of anime just to fall prey to something as common, by fiction standards, as popping into a new world.
There were the good characters who took others in, and the bad ones who killed you. The random people in the background did nothing, always. So it was do or die. Get the good guy on your side, or fall prey to the bad one.
"I know… about Nen."
It was as though a dead body had been found in the room. Tension, mainly from Wing, began to creep everywhere, causing Aleta to shudder. Before the other man could get a word in, she spoke again.
"But I can't use it. In fact, I think, I couldn't even try water divination. But I know you're an Enhancer. Biscuit Krueger was your teacher, and Zushi is your student. "
"And just how do you know all of this?" Wing asked icily.
It was a tone Aleta had never heard from a person before. Sure she made others mad from time to time, but their heated responses could never intimidate her. Perhaps this was a bad idea? No! She had to keep going. Either she make this dream but not a dream as fun as possible or wake up and forget it all.
"I'm psychic." She lied.
"You're lying."
Damn.
"W-well. I just know these things! Though… I admit there are some things I don't know. Like your favorite color or snack. But I know the important things. I'm not gonna do anything bad. I just…" need to survive long enough so I can wake up."…need help to survive."
Wing studied her under a steady gaze.
"If you don't believe me. Then tie a nen infused thread on my pinky. You can name the terms. But if I go against them, you should know when it'll break, right?" Aleta sat up fully, giving Wing a pleading stare. It was hard to hold that gaze, but she couldn't back down. It didn't help that her senses noticed just how cute he was.
Finally, Wing nodded and retrieved a string from his pocket.
"Alright, though you must promise not to attempt to harm Zushi or I. You will also do as I say, and if you can't keep up, then I'll just have to let you go. If you know so much, you should be aware of who and how I teach."
"I promise."
The man nodded as he tied the string in a criss-crossed fashion. In a way, the blue thread looked nice.
"However, you won't be living here for free. You will train, clean, and earn your stay. Do you understand?" Wing said, completely serious.
"Yeah. I understand." Aleta agreed, trying to hide the uncertainty in her voice.
"Good. It's mid day, so the stores are still open. For now you're going to need some clothes… and…" Wing looked down."I can't exactly shop for you. So I'll let you borrow a pair of pants. I'll give you the money, and Zushi will guide you through the city. You will get what you need, and return."
"Sure!" Aleta smiled.
It looks like this dream or whatever was actually going to work out!