The next day, Headmaster and I were doing our daily sparring. I ducked, narrowly avoiding a solid right hook, and countered with a leg sweep, causing him to fall. He caught himself, springing back and slamming his feet into my face, the ground cracking as my head went into it. I groaned, kipping up and swinging at my opponent, trying to focus my energy. My entire body was full of energy, and I could feel myself expanding. "Not good…! It feels like I'm gonna explode!" I thought, and I grunted, my movements becoming more labored, and less efficient as my body literally swelled up a little. I concentrated on pushing my energy out of me, thinking of a radiator letting its steam out. I felt my body go back to its normal size, and Headmaster stopped for a second, confused at what he saw; A flame like aura surrounded me, singing the grass beneath me with its intense heat. I used this opportunity to dash around Headmaster, slamming my elbow into his back, sending him into the air. Not wasting a single second, my foot slammed into the ground, pushing me at Headmaster, my fist pulled back in preparation to strike him as I charged my fist with energy. He turned, and my fist met his face, and I swear I saw a tooth among the blob of blood that erupted from his mouth as he violently changed directions, his neck whipping to the right, his body jerking to a stop and dropping. Catching himself on all fours, Headmaster grinned devilishly towards me, blood on his front teeth.
"Yes! That's what I like to see, Jason! You're using your power much better than yesterday! You picked up on it fast, I must say. Almost abnormally so." Headmaster congratulated me, placing a hand on my left shoulder. I let my energy fade down, the aura around me disappearing all at once as I capped my energy inside of me, ready to use. After the dream I had last night, I spent hours practicing my energy use. "Clearly it paid off…" I mused to myself, a slight smirk crossing my face. "Well, I've but one more technique to show you, and you'll be left alone. I have ah…" He put on his signature creepy grin, and in his monster form, it was way more frightening. "Business to attend to at the Academy. Come. I can only use this technique once in a while, so pay close attention." He said, walking out towards a tree bordering the forest. "As you'll soon discover, this uses up a large chunk of energy." Headmaster planted his right foot behind him, holding his left arm to his side, flexing his fingers in a claw formation. His fingertips glowed with energy, and Headmaster looked at me. "Concentrate your energy into fine points. Like your fingers are paintbrushes, the energy will be the paint." With that, he swiped, and five streaks of energy flew from his fingers. They hit a tree, and cut through it in five places, exploding as well. Shakily, he fell to his knees, and I crouched adjacent to him, taking his arm.
"Hey, are you alright?" I asked incredulously, baffled by the technique demonstrated to me. He got up, and panted lightly, his brow beaded with droplets of sweat. He nodded, taking his arm from my grip. He sighed, looking at the destroyed tree. Its remains smoldered lightly due to the sheer heat of the explosion, a couple pieces on fire.
"See that?" I nodded, and Headmaster continued. "That's the technique, what I'd consider a last resort. It uses far too much energy for me to use more than once, unfortunately. It's a devastating technique, but I suppose that's the trade-off, isn't it?" He chuckled, and in one swift motion, grabbed my hand and pulled it up so my palm was facing me. "Your Shinso body will allow you to use this technique many times consecutively, so I suggest you learn it." Once again, he grinned, looking down at me with a creepy, almost mocking expression. "After all, a Shinso Vampire developed this attack~" My eyes went wide, and I looked at my hand, the world behind it going out of focus.
"A…A Shinso did…?" I looked at Headmaster, gulping. My world kept getting flipped around so much, I couldn't tell what was imagination and what reality was anymore, the two instead intermingling. Never in my life had I dreamed I'd be in an alternate dimension learning Vampire techniques! Headmaster nodded, and I looked up at him. "Was it….The one who turned me..? Danag?" I asked, hoping dearly that such a vile man didn't know such a technique. The things he would do with it….The atrocities he would commit… My blood chilled at the thought.
"No, though I wouldn't have put it past him. The Shinso who invented this technique was one of the so-called Three Dark Lords: Akasha Bloodriver." His expression turned to one of…Sadness? I hadn't ever seen that from Headmaster, his moment of weakness getting to me. I frowned slightly, and he continued. He must have seen my question coming, and he gave me a sentimental smile. "She was a dear friend of mine from long ago." He said softly, and shook his head. "But, we can't dwell on the past, now can we?" He smiled walking to my left side. "Now, try the technique for yourself." He watched me eagerly, awaiting my action.
"Sure thing." I casually said, and I took a deep breath through my nose, closing my eyes. "Fingers are the brushes…Fingers are the brushes… That would really itch in the down under!" I smirked, holding back a chortle. I concentrated once again, feeling energy moving to the tips of my fingers. I felt them begin to get warm and surge with energy. I pushed the energy into fine points, my muscles burning as my energy strained my body. This wasn't like anything I had done, and my fingers now felt like knives were being stabbed through my fingers. "Hyagh!"I screamed, swiping my hand in front of me, my fingers tracing where the energy should go. The streaks of energy flew from my fingers, hitting the tree before me. Instead of cutting through them, they merely contacted and exploded. I frowned, and looked at Headmaster. "Damn… I thought I'd get it, too." I sighed, looking at my hand. "Guess I have a lot of work to do, huh?" I chuckled, and walked over to Headmaster.
"Well, you'll be here for quite some time. Another four months, if all goes accordingly~" He said, and I smirked, thinking about it. "Training here all alone for four months…? That's a long time! Maybe I'll really be better by it, but…I want to see my family as soon as possible, too." I thought to myself, in conflict with my own fears and desires. I closed my eyes briefly and nodded, opening my eyes again.
"Alright. I'll stay here. At the first sign of trouble for my family, or my friends, I'm leaving." I said sternly, looking Headmaster square in the eyes. He nodded, and soon a sly smirk crossed his face.
"I'll warn you, Jason. Once you leave, you'll find it very difficult to come back if you choose to~" He warned, a grim tone in his voice, yet his smirk made it seem as if he was scheming something. "He knows something I don't…?" I asked myself, and I nodded. Those consequences would be well worth the benefits of helping my family, or my friends. "Or should I say friend. Only one who even remotely likes me in that gaggle is Tsukune, and even he just likes me because he's too damn friendly." I thought, frowning slightly in response to my inner voice. I walked towards the familiar rock wall that lead up to the cave, and I floated upwards into my pseudo-home. Headmaster soon joined me inside, and he sat across from me, the fire pit separating us. I looked out towards the sky, seeing that the sun was just beginning to lower in the sky.
"Headmaster…" I spoke as I looked back to him, seeing his head raise in attention. "I need to know something." My heart began feeling heavier as I thought of what would happen to me…What would happen to my family, now that I was this monster, cursed to a life of suffering and bloodshed. "What… What will happen to me now? Moka and the others?" I asked him, concern in my eyes. Moka brought on a feeling I hadn't felt before… It was like a hole was in my stomach, and my heart was being pulled towards it every time I thought about her. My mind and feelings clashed constantly about her, my mind thinking that she was just cruel and cold, but my feelings… She makes me feel a certain way that I just can't explain.
"Well now…why do you ask about them?" Headmaster asked, chuckling lightly to himself. "They have their own set of issues before them. And you have yours. Wasn't it you yourself who didn't care much for Moka?" He asked coyly, a question which annoyed me simply because he was right. I was dreading even being around her when I first learned that I'd be training with her. Even afterwards, I still didn't much like her. Maybe she reminded me of someone that I had once liked, but couldn't be with, Maybe it was some sort of odd twist of fate, the forces behind the universe deciding to mess with my life even further.
"I know, but…I think she's helped me more than I realize, and…I don't have any way to explain it. As much as I'd like to dislike her, to spite her, to hate her!" I grit my teeth, a heavy sigh escaping my lips. I shook my head, looking down. I opened my mouth to speak again, but Headmaster heard enough.
"I know the feeling of being attracted to a woman too, Jason. I may be an old man, but I'm not that old.." He smiled sentimentally. "Honestly, Jason, I'm a bit of a strategist, but even I don't know how to factor in emotions. So, when the time comes. I believe you'll make the right decision. Now." He smiled, standing up, and walking over to a small brown knapsack on his side of the cave. "I have academy business to attend to. Stay alive, and keep training." He smirked, and began wrapping another set of Holy Locks around himself, reverting to the mysterious man I first met. He put on his white robe, and climbed down the rock wall, leaving me with my thoughts. I wasted no time in getting into bed, falling asleep fast.