**Hello readers, I would like to apologize for some of the spelling, and general word mistakes I've noticed while reading through. I will try to fix as much as I can, and I hope these things don't stop you from reading any further. I will try to improve it from now on, so I don't lose future readers.
For those of you who have made it this far, thank you so much for your patience!
Your all awesome.
Enjoy Chapter 34! :)**
Chapter 34: The Hidden Prodigy, Shisuta's Beast
Chihiro walked by Eiji as he was reading. She stopped, and looked at the piles of books he had finished. She saw that he was nose deep in a book on trigonometry.
"Hey Eiji? How are you liking those... Books?" She asked.
He smiled. "I love it!" He exclaimed.
"Honestly? I never thought it would be so interesting! Thanks Mom!"
He continued to read.
Chihiro walked out of the room. She leaned her head on Haku's chest.
"What am I going to do?" She asked.
Haku laughed. "Does he like the books too?"
Chihiro sighed. "Yes. He does... Haku, he's such a good kid! It's so hard to punish him, because he just... He just enjoys it!"
Haku sighed. "Then let's leave it at that. He is a good kid, and this will just put him on the right track..."
Chihiro smiled, and gave him a soft kiss.
"You're right, maybe I am worrying too much..."
...
Eiji was a good kid, but they should have kept in mind that he's also a teenage boy.
He had already finished trigonometry, and pre-calculus. He was in truth, reading something under the cover of the book... He was in the Altar room, reading away.
Shisuta walked in. Eiji hardly noticed her.
She looked over his shoulder.
"What are you reading?" She asked.
He quickly closed the book.
"N-Nothing!" He exclaimed.
Shisuta was suspicious of the lump in the center of Trigonometry.
She grabbed the book, and pulled out the other book from within.
She gaped. "The... The Karma Sutra!? EIJI! You are FAR too young!"
He turned red. "Please don't tell my parents! I finished the others, and I'm even moving on to calculus! But... Even I need a pastime... Ugghnnnn..."
Shisuta gave a warning look.
"Okay, from the papers filled with advanced calculations, I can see you're not lying..."
She sat next to him.
"I might have to tell your father, considering your age, and the circumstances..."
"Please don't!" He begged.
"I won't do it again!..." He looked to the side.
That WAS a lie
She sighed. "Yes you will, because you are a teenage boy."
He turned dark red.
"No...? I won't..."
She slapped her palm to her face.
"Eiji you are a terrible liar."
He sighed with defeat.
"Yeah, I know that. But... Can I at least keep the book...?"
"No! You can NOT!" She exclaimed.
She blushed slightly. "Besides... It is mine."
Eiji thought about Shisuta and Karo in the book. His eyes went wide, and he turned multiple shades of red and green.
Aaahhh! NO! Stupid VISUALIZATION SKILLS!
He turned pale. "Y-You can keep it then... Excuse me, while I... Inject bleach into my brain..."
She laughed. "Maybe I do not have to tell his parents."
She looked down, and saw his equations. Half of them were equations, half of them were...
What were those...?
They were multicolored lines and shades of different thicknesses. They streamed across the paper in a flowing pattern. Some pages had lines that looked more ridged than others.
They were marked, 'Clashes'.
The ones that seemed to flow seamlessly in and out of each other were marked, 'Harmonies'.
There was a black sheet with the colors going across it in longer strides.
On the sheet was a note.
"My mother had described northern lights... I have never seen them, so I waited until it was dark, and played a soft chord... I think I had the right idea."
Shisuta gaped. "The colors are chords? Northern lights... Is this what he sees?"
...
Eiji tiptoed his way up the stairs. He looked around to make sure no one was watching... He then activated an old elevator hidden behind some shelves, and walked inside. He pulled the lever to the side, and it went up.
This was Eiji's secret space. He had discovered it, and the elevator soon after he had returned from thpitit.
The attic space was dimly lit, and there was a single grand piano there.
He sat on the bench provided, and smiled as he lifted the covering.
"Maybe one day I'll play this for her, but... It needs work."
...
Shisuta had followed him up the elevator. She had assimilated herself, and was able to walk and watch freely.
She was curious of how these beautiful colors sounded as sounds.
What he played started out soft and peaceful...
Then it shifted. The tone became darker, and the chords more skillfully played.
It rose in intensity, and you could barely see his fingers move across the keys.
His face seemed to smile for a moment, then fall.
A bittersweet melody filled the room, filling Eiji's eyes with tears. It was almost a nostalgic feel, and Shisuta felt herself tearing up.
This was wonderful...
Why had he not shared this talent?
I should just ask right now. Listening to this, it seems very personal. I almost feel bad for sneaking around him like this, when he thinks he's alone...
Curiosity has always been a strong trait of mine, as well as a weak point.
Oh well, I hope this doesn't upset him too much...
She dropped the assimilation, and Eiji immediately saw her.
He jumped. "Sh-Shisuta!?..."
His look became harder. "Why would you sneak up on me? This is MY sanctuary."
She looked down. "I was just curious... Can you really see sound? The piano was amazing! And-"
"Don't." He said. "I don't want everyone to find out about this... Everyone would harp on me, and nag me to learn how to read notes, and show me off like some trophy. This is my only escape right now, don't take it from me, because you're curious."
That made some sense...
Shisuta nodded. "Alright then... But, I like listening to it. Would you mind if I come up here every so often, just to listen?"
He nodded. "I guess that's fine."
"Why don't you want others to know?" She asked. "Besides the nagging and what not, that could be solved. Is there any other reason?"
He looked down. "It... It's hard to explain. There are a lot of reasons, actually. For one, crowds make me extremely uncomfortable. This was one of the many drawbacks of the pit, where the Leviathan's lived. I often spent time with Hiro, and a few select Leviathan's. I never really liked to jump into their party's..."
"Everyone has stage fright to a certain extent." Shisuta commented.
"It's more than that!" He exclaimed.
"It's like I... Like I shut down! It's what's going on in the crowds that bother me the most. The constant sound, banging in my head. Everyone's so close to me, and it's like I'm suffocating! Everyone talking and yelling, and bantering! The noises mixing up in the air!"
He held his head in his hands.
"Just thinking about it! It's too much!"
He began breathing slowly, but it seemed forced.
"I come up here sometimes, just to freak out. I... I can't help it. Sometimes it's just too much... No one would understand why I was shaking or... Just freaking out if I did it in front of them! Somehow everyone else is fine with all of that, but I'm not. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I don't want anyone else knowing either..."
He sobbed. "Ever since I fell, and became mortal... Everything has changed. This world is so loud, and... Bright. Just... So much..."
Shisuta didn't really like doing this, but this situation sounded familiar.
She dredged up some of the deeper knowledge of the brain, and analyzed it...
What could this be?
Was it psychological, or physical?
Both?
It seemed to be a multitude of things.
Cognitively, he was highly capable, and had as much potential as he set.
The world around him was intense, and he seemed to be able to soak it up... Too much in fact.
Not only did ordinary senses affect him to the extreme, there was more than that.
His ability to see sound was an amazing optical feat, but added to the sensory problems that were already present. Something she did not know before, was that he was also an empath. Not only would all of the physical sensory issues be at play, all of the emotions in the room were flowing through him.
The space he was in now made more and more sense as she delved deeper into these things.
She opened her eyes.
"How this has not driven you insane yet is beyond me..." She said.
He sniffed. "Maybe I am... Who knows."
She shrugged. "Well, no one's normal. Not completely... In fact, to a degree we all have our insanities."
She smiled sadly. "I mean, my brain is a living dictionary. I tend to go on tangents, and I can be quite irrational at times... As far as I'm concerned, you're a normal, overdramatic, troublesome teenage boy."
He sighed. "I'm not that troublesome..."
She grinned. "Oh really? Are you sure, little Karma Sutra? You may want to re evaluate that statement."
He looked away. "Seriously, I'm sorry. I had NO idea that was yours!"
She shook her head. "You really shouldn't educate yourself in such ways yet. You're so young... Enjoy being young. You don't need that yet..."
He blushed softly.
Well, I mean... That could be part of enjoying it...
Maybe she's right. I mean, I'm trying to stay out of trouble...
Maybe instead of thinking about making things right, I should just do it.
I hate how much I'm sneaking things lately, and I know if my parents knew, they'd watch me twenty four seven. The only difference between Hiro and I lately, is that I'm better at not getting caught.
Sometimes I wonder if she's more honest than I am?
"Okay, I understand." He said.
He just felt so rotten lately, like he was really messing up. He didn't feel like he could tell anyone what was running through his head, so he kept it in...
Now it was time that the balloon full of this burden was let to burst.
There was no stopping it.
"I... I know I should tell them, but I never tell them anything! They always tell me how proud they are, but if they knew how much I'd been lying, they'd be ashamed... Part of me wants to listen to them, and be that person. I really do enjoy all of this! But then I remember how much they don't understand. I find myself thinking, who are they to make me out as someone I'm not! Then I remind myself it's my fault, because I never tell them anything... Where would I even start! I don't know..."
She put a hand on his shoulder.
"Eiji, you are by no means shame worthy. I think you really are looking too much into this! You should just start being trustworthy, instead of beating yourself for past mistakes."
Eiji laughed nervously.
"Well that's a relief! He he... Umm... You wouldn't be mad if I had jacked some of your alchemy supplies to make explosives would you?"
Her eye twitched. "What did you do.
"Uuhm... Well, you see... I wanted to see what would happen if I ignited solid Oxygen with... Um molten lava... Yeah..."
Shisuta stopped.
"Did you try it? And at what solidity is the oxygen?"
Eiji walked over to a wall, and moved a panel. It revealed a closet with a pressurized chamber. It seemed to have been recently finished.
"The more advanced math and physics really helped with this... It's metallic oxygen, but there's also red and black."
He removed another panel, and she saw an oven made with her... The rocks she had collected that seemed to have an impossibly high melting point. There was a thermos made out of the same material, most likely used to contain the molten rock, and insulate it.
She noticed something about all of his contraptions. None of them had temperature or safety dials.
"Eiji, how were able to pressurize the oxygen, and melt rock at such accurate levels? There are no dials, or numbers..."
Eiji shrugged. "I don't know, I guess extreme temperatures give off certain sounds? I can't hear them, but I can usually see when I've got the right one."
She looked at the vials of metallic oxygen, and the molten rock samples.
She grinned.
"I'll take you off the grounds, and we will call it a field trip. On one condition..."
Eiji eyed her warily. "What condition...?"
She laughed gleefully.
"We will blow up a quarter pound of it!"
He gaped. "Are you insane!? A quarter size is enough!"
She giggled maniacally.
"No, it's never enough! We NEED more explosions!"
She was kind of insane... But Eiji was curious...
He calculated the distance at a quarter pound. They would need a LOT of space! Eiji could use his threads to administer the lava from far distances...
"Alright, let's do it." He agreed.
Eiji took a quarter pound sample of metallic oxygen, and a quarter of that in molten liquid. Shisuta's assimilation abilities did wonders for getting past the others.
They went to a large open space, and Eiji reached his threads, setting the sealed metallic oxygen far away. He held the molten rock over the oxygen...
He hesitated.
"This is a bad idea, we should stop! I've never attempted this, and it could really hurt someone..."
She stopped.
"Perhaps you are right... This could have disastrous-"
Eiji's threads slipped. He pulled them back as the molten container opened, it's contents heating up the metallic oxygen.
"Oh NO!" He exclaimed.
The vial blew, and a colossal explosion almost blew them away. Were it not for Eiji's threads pulling them away, they would've been vaporized.
"Not again!" He gasped.
He stood, and his knees were wobbly.
"THIS was a bad idea!" He exclaimed.
"Aren't you supposed to be trying to get me NOT to mess up!?"
He threw up his hands.
"I knew it. I shouldn't have told you!"
He clenched his fists.
"Metallic oxygen can also be used to conduct electricity, other liquid forms are medically useful. You just had to blow it up though!"
Shisuta felt unexplainably horrible.
She had endangered both her life and Eiji's, and he was right. This had been a bad idea. She had to make it up to him, but she didn't know how... She got so wrapped up in the scientific fascination of things, sometimes ethics completely escaped her.
The others ran up.
"Is everyone okay!?" Linn exclaimed.
Haku and Chihiro ran up to Eiji.
"That was a big explosion!" Chihiro exclaimed.
"Eiji, you should know better than to play with such fire power." Haku scolded.
"You scared the hell out of us!" Kuhn exclaimed.
Eiji stuttered. "I.. I didn't mean to-"
"You did, or you wouldn't have done it." Haku continued.
"Someone could have gotten seriously hurt."
"What were you thinking!?" Chihiro exclaimed.
"How could you be so-!?"
"STOP!" Shisuta cried.
"It was my fault, not Eiji's! He was the one who had advised against it, and we were going to stop. The issue was, that there was an accident, and it combusted anyway... I was intent on using Eiji's scientific prowess to cause an explosion. It was wrong, and you should be yelling at me! Eiji is twice the genius I will ever be."
Karo stared at her. That's not something she'd just readily admit. He knew that at times her mind was prey to fits of insanity and split persona's... It was getting worse, the knowledge was finally eating holes in her mind.
...
I looked at Shisuta, and she looked just about ready to burst. Something was very wrong.
Haku looked about ready to explode. He took a step forward, and I held out my arm.
"Hold on..." I said.
I walked up to her, and snapped my fingers in front of her face.
No response, just more shaking. She grabbed her hair, and began to pull.
"There's something you should all know about Shisuta." I said.
"She has been cursed by a deal she made with a demon called Sasageru..."
Haku froze.
"S-Sasageru...? But... But that's suicide!"
I nodded, and my expression grew grave.
"Yes, it was at a darker point in her adolescence... She gave the Karmic price, and made three deals with the demon, one of which, was access to amazing knowledge. It seems to be eating away at her sanity as we speak. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the illness and curse, I can never heal her."
Karo stood there frozen.
We both knew this day was coming, and I knew he would take it hard...
He breathed slowly, but tears were streaming down his face.
He walked up to her, and knelt down. He held her face in his hands...
He gave her a soft kiss. She didn't notice, she was too far gone.
He leaned his head on hers, and sobbed.
"Sh-Shisuta... Not now... Please...? Just one more day love... One more day!"
I felt tears spilling out of my own eyes. I had wronged Shisuta in the trial of tongue's, and I had never made things right...
...She was my little sister, blood, or no.
I had to do everything I could to save her... Everything.
"I can try to break the curse, but it's risky. Her brain would have to temporarily shut down. I don't know if the act of this alone will cause an immediate death, or not..."
Eiji looked down. His eyes were teary.
He looked at me. "That won't be necessary. If you simply want to stop brain function enough to preserve her, then a state of hibernation or comatose would work better. I could arrange that, the curse breaking would be up to you."
I can't believe I hadn't thought of that before...
"I can help on that end of things." Said Chihiro.
"Curses and charms are my specialty after all."
I nodded, and we carried her back to the Warrior's Respite. Things were looking bleak, and all I could do was my best...
...Praying to gods that most likely despised me.