" It is Nice to meet you Mrs. Gautier, Nickolas." Nikolas Gautier shivered, not from the Surprisingly young new counselor, but from his Mother's angry stance. Like always, she expected the worst of him. Naturally it didn't help that he had, technically, cost his mother her job two days before. Still she got a job, thanks to his boss, so really she didn't have too much reason to be angry with him. Too much of a reason..." My name Is Mika Shreeve, you Can call me Mika. Now I know you may be wondering why I called you down here, well the answer is quite simple. I want to give Nick a completely clean slate." Yeah, it was safe to say that Nick was completely thrown.

His eyes turned to the six, massive thick, files on Mika's Desk... they all had his name on them. His Mother puffed up at the mere sight of them, turning to give him another death glare. He clenched, closing his own eyes in misery. Most of those files contained proof that his teachers loathed him, giving him punishments for half assed reasons and spite. Most of the Students hated him and mocked him, and his Mother, and he wasn't allowed to so much as be annoyed by that without being punished for it.

" Uh, Mr. Shreeve, why are you giving my Nicky a Clean Slate? Not that I am ungrateful, but that is a lot to erase. " The down right embarrasment in her voice made Nick want to wretch, and hide somewhere underneath the heaviest rock he could find.

The Answer they recieved blew Nick away. " Because Peters was a moron, with a temper problem and a mission to persecut any one who isn't filthy rich. Your son was but one of many victims to his vile behavior." His Mom was gaping, looking like a stunned goldfish. " After his Death, I was called to help with the greif counsling since many people were either attacked or new somone whom was attacked. When I was going through the files, looking for the students with the most vunerabilities and who may need counsling more then the others, I realized that all of the Scholarship kids had ridicilous records. Punishments for everything, From back talking to assult... it varied slightly but only they had it. It was too conveniant, so I presented my case to the school board, and am now premoting a full on investigation onto these records. Your son's records were by far the worse, so I took the time to go through video footage and honestly only about half of the Fight he was in, did he throw the first blow and that is only after being repeatedly prevoked. The Teachers ignore the downright sociopathic behavior many of the Student's showcase, it is quiet problamatic. We already had Nick's French and English Teachers removed from the School for showcasing tremendous bias and predijuce towards those of Creole and Cajun descent. Honestly Nickolas, this school owes you a great debt, clearing your personal record was the least we could do."

The words alone would have thrown him off, but the Down right warm smile he received tossed him to another universe, Far, Far away. His mom may have been worse off, he could practically smell her wheels spinning so fast they were making scorch marks in her brain. She never could be told that she was in the wrong, she had never been able to process it. It was satisfying in a way that disgusted him, especially when the tears followed...

" Uh, Why... why would he do that. I'm so sorry Nicky." Her sudden begging forgiveness threw him for a serious loop, even his damn of sarcastic quips and fluffy comments went dry. Why was she being so nice when just a moment ago, she was glaring at him in intense anger. He was sure she was bipolar, not that he would ever mention that... he enjoyed living thank you very much. The Wrathful midget who birthed him would return him to her body, via massive chewing on his hide.

" Actually ma'm, there is another reason I called you. " The Kind, warm tone, shifted substantially, turning cautious but also oddly cold. It made his hairs stick on end. " It has been brought to my attention that Nick, more often then not is forced to go hungry while at school, he comes to school covered in sweat and honestly he is quite malnourished. Many people on the Board considered calling CPS to have him removed from your home, which is in a building known for cockroaches and worse."

Panic bombard Nicks, he stammered and stuttered, Horror stories exploded from his memories. Horror stories his mother told him about the System, about how lucky he was to be with her, something he firmly agreed with. " No, I'm Fine, You can't take me from my mom." This, this was the worst fear he had and it overwhelmed him entirely. Black dots exploded around the edges of his vision, he couldn't even breathe...

Then it all went away, calm rushed through him as a cold, strong hand touched his shoulder. As his vision cleared, Mika Shreeve's kind face appeared. " Nickolas, you need to calm down, you are not be removed from your mother's care. I only said that to show you how bad the situation already is." Glad, Nick did as he always did, and turned his head towards his sobbing Mother, cringing once again in Guilt. " Nick, I need you to go outside, your not in trouble, I simply need to calm your mother down long enough to explain the entiritey of the situation. There is no one else outside of the Room, if you need to cry you can so without fear anyone will see or hear you."

Hesitantly he stood, reaching out towards his Mother, feeling lower then dog shit as he walked out of the Room. God, he was worthless...

The Moment Nickolas Gautier closed the Door, Mika turned his head and shut up Cherise's annoying sobs with a single jab to her mind. She disgusted him on levels that simply surpass damn near any other being had met. " Listen to me Cherise, If I had my way, I would boil your blood and simply take Nickolas from you. You have no business being a parent, your near psychotic determination to destroy your son's mental well being is as astounding as it is terrifying. The kid is entirely unable to feel actual anger towards you despite the fact that you see him as his father half of the time, and a huge issue the rest of it. You, like most abusers, mask you abuse with pretense of intense love... and the really sad part is that you actually believe that what you are doing is for the best... you disgust... that being said, I have to thank you for creating the perfect battery. The Raw Emotional energy wafting off of the boy is unlike anything I have ever come across. Anger, Fear, Intense Self loathing, desire... a bevy of emotions that fuel me entirely. He alone makes it so very much worth it... of course I cannot allow you to remember this, not that you would be able to. Your Mind is frighteningly weak...which is why her obsession with region didn't surprise him. " With that, he blasted her memories, and put on a kind but stern face. " Ms. Gautier, I need you to calm down and listen to me. I understand that your life hasn't been easy, but the general lack of care your son has received thus far in his life in inexcusable. Did you at least attempt to look for bettering paying work, wither that was still as an exotic Dancer at a better paying club, or literally any place that paid you better. Or try to look into his many fights, at least ascertain the real reason for them? Honestly, did you even try to be a parent past controlling every action he committed?"

Naturally Cherise was thrown back by his cruel, cold words, but her own temper rose and she stood to yell at him. " I did all I could, do you have a child, I assure you that being a parent is incredibly difficult! I had Nicki at Fourteen, I had to figure this all out on my own, I grew up with Nicki!"

" Your right, I don't have kids, but nothing I just said really have anything solely to do with children. If you see someone your taking care of is getting nto fights, you learn why to see if you can find a way around it. The fact that nothing has been done on your side, through the school I mean, shows little interest or care. As for the Money, correct me if I am wrong but your Catholic?" Cherise nodded, huffing lightly." Then more then likely, you gave money to the church? Money that could have been used to by food, clothes or More?" She nodded again, though it was clear she wasn't as bold as before, guilt twinkling in her eyes. " The little money you had, to take care of your child, was wasted on so called Holy Obligation? Of course that leads me to my next point, I am sure you could have gotten a much better paid job literally anywhere. Your Son has missed School Lunches Fourth Seven Times in the last year alone, according the school Physical he is about thirty pounds underweight and shows signs of extreme malnutrition."All of the air leg Cherise, she collapsed back onto the chair, with tears in her eyes. " Why didn't you attempt to get Government assistance, yes some of the people in the various government buildings are not the kindest, but it would have been a large help."

The answer burst from her chest before she could stop it. " We can't accept Charity! You don't get anything in this world for free.'

One eye roll later, and Mika debunked that part of her speech. " Of course you don't that is what Taxes are for. Government assistance would have massively helped in your efforts to raise your son, that you didn't bother is unacceptable and honestly distressing to me. Your excuse of not accepting Charity, makes absolutely no sense since you Holy Obligations is a charity, that is mostly used to better the Church. Your Pride almost cost you your son." He ignored her sniffling, deciding to instead grab several files from his desk. " These files are applications to government assistance of various types... still, Nickolas said that you have a new job. Depending on it's pay, you may not need all of this. Regardless, I want you to take them anyways, just in case. As for Nick, I guess you can say that you are under probation. I want to speak to your son three days a week, for at least an hour a day, to assess his mental state and get a firm grasp as to the abuse of his teachers and peers. Should I see improvement, I won't call CPS, should I see nothing... I will personally call CPS."

The Exquisite anguish that pumped through the air, from Cherise's body, made him shiver in anticipation. He dived into her mind fully, only to rip his way out in anger. Even now, she was comparing this whole incident to her being kicked out of School! Was she incapable of not being overtaken by self pity?

Overwhelmed by Disgust, he set clear orders in her mind. " Send in Nickolas, and read through those files." She obeyed without question, her mind to weak to even detect his influence. Nickolas would be able to detect such influence, that is, had Mika been able to enter his mind in any manner. He was one mental blah, a wall of mental power unlike anything Mika had come across in his Nine years of practicing Magic. If his specialty wasn't drawing on Emotional energy for spells, Mika doubted he would ever be able to detect that Nickolas was in fact supernatural in some way. A Ripple of Red Lights informed Mika that Nickolas was entering his Office, the heavily spelled walls drawing and storing the immeasurable emotional energy that wafted off of the boy. " I'm Sorry for all of this, but I truly believe that Honesty is the best path to go in such cases. Your Mother needed to know that she was messing up, terribly, before it reached an Apex."

The glare he received was definitely beyond normal anger. " You know nothing about my Mom, or me. You have no right to judge or run your Mouth, or call CPS." Nickolas was shaking, his knuckles breaking against his skin as he clenched in an attempt to not explode. Mika knew he couldn't allow the boy to be violent, so he tweaked the spells on the wall, so they started to drain Nikolas directly, forcing him to calm down slightly.

" I know enough, the Safety and Well-being of you and every other student is my business. Your hardly the only person I am worried about, your just the worst off currently. Of course, it doesn't help your case that I am aware that your Supernatural, and that your Mother isn't." The boy's stiff, scared look confirmed all Mika needed to hear. " Don't bother screaming or trying to leave this room, it is spelled to prevent that. "With a Single thought, he banished Nickolas into the chair behind him. " Now, would you care to explain what you are? I know that this building is filled to the Brim with Werehunters, and at least three Psychics, but you... you I can't pinpoint. All I can really gather is that your not entirely Human, your Aura is far too advanced for that."

Just as expected, Nickolas' aura spiked, but it was contained by the spells on his walls. Truthfully, Mika was ranked third among all North America Witches, and Fifth among all Fully Human Magic users in America. He wouldn't have been dumb enough to risk New Orleans, Home of many retired gods and one of the many epicenters of Magic, without such skill. He was far from Stupid...

Nick Shivered, he had just gotten a grip on the fact that he was a demon, or half demon... the little control he had on his life had pretty much faded into nothing, leaving him breathless and angry." I'm...I'm Half Demon, but Other then that I'm not sure. " He knew no one could figure out what he was, after Ash had not a clue and Nick was pretty sure he was top of the Line Powerful, like one of his Cars! Lying would save his ass, and at least buy him enough time to escape alive. " I only found out a few days ago, before that I thought I was like every other Catholic boy, minus the Naked party time with the Priests."

Cold, Cobalt eyes stared at him intensely before softening. " I believe you... And I want to help. No not because I am super generous or kind, but because your power is intense and losing control could have problematic effects. You ever consider practicing Witchcraft?" Oh, the horrors his mother would inflict on him should she know. " All magic is the same, it just has unique filters based on species and such. I can teach you the basics when you come for your sessions, help you get some control over your powers. In return, you tell no one about me. I only want to help the kids here stay safe, I can't do that if my secret is spilled out for the world to know. "

He almost said no... but the idea of learning to control his powers, to fight back against all of the horrors he knew would be attacking him... it was too tempting. " Can I give it some thought?"

" Yes, I'll see you every Monday, Wednesday and Friday after school for one hour. We can talk about the assholes in this school while I teach you the basics of the Craft, I may even throw in some combat training if you behave." The Grin he got was taunting, but in a playful sort of way that eased some of his tension. " Now get out of here, I have to beat some sense into that Flaming Moron Stone. I need time to prepare..."

Despite how he felt, Nick burst into Laughter, happy that an adult agreed with him on Stone... it was nice, to see that someone may actually care... still he wouldn't trust him, he had no clue whom the guy actually was, and honestly his mama hadn't raised any fools.


Chapter End, Tell me what you think... Yes, I hate Cherise. This is a few days after the First book, but before the Coach turns out to be Evil...

I hate Cherise, she annoys me on all levels...

I usually let Mika grow where he is, but honestly that just doesn't work here. Not with all of the powers Nick is going to face in the series...he is no match for Ash, Ambrose of Adrian... but he is a serious threat to even Caleb. Yes this is possible, but it is rare...

If I ever did another version of this though... I would Make Mika Nick's age, sending his conciousness back in time, piggy backing on the Older Nick's Signal so to speak to ensure his time isn't hell...

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.