"Hey you, new boy! Number 207!" A high pitched voice reached Nagisa's ears. He really didn't like the sound, but he had no other choice.
"Yes sir!"' Nagisa placed down the crystals that he was carrying and replied to the owner of the voice. "What is it, sir?" Nagisa tried to sound as respectful as he could so that the disgust he felt inside wouldn't show.
"You're a pretty hard worker eh?" This man had been in charge of the cells from number 20-29 ever since Nagisa arrived. Well, to be fair it has only been a week. Nagisa and Kaede were in cell number 22 and therefore under his charge.
"Thank you, sir," Nagisa said instead of going into his question. He tried to keep the conversations short since he wasn't confident that he won't say anything suspicious without him realizing.
"Good, keep up the work." The man nodded and sent Nagisa off.
"Thank you, sir," Nagisa said again and went back to his cart of crystals to deliver them.
When he was brought back to his cell, Kaede was already there. "Hey." Kaede greeted him with a weak smile, she seemed really worn out. The guard left after reattaching the iron balls back to Nagisa's legs.
"Hey." Nagisa smiled back and sat down next to her, "hard day?" Nagisa asked her since she shouldn't be this exhausted.
"Hmm, not really, every day has been like this." Kaede thought about it for a second and shook her head.
"I've noticed... but how come?" Nagisa was slightly confused. He was exhausted as well, but Kaede looked like she would collapse any second.
"It's been fine at first..." Kaede wanted to reply, but she was a little bit too exhausted to talk.
"Hmm, rest for a bit, we can talk later." Nagisa realized Kaede's bad condition and said. He then placed her and his blanket over her. Her tiny body was shivering and Nagisa didn't really need his blanket now.
"..." Kaede seemed really surprised when Nagisa did that and stared at him for a second before her eyes gave in and closed themselves.
Nagisa simply smiled at her and turned around. They have talked quite a lot in the past week and Nagisa did quite like her. Since they still had quite some time till dinner, Nagisa decided to close his eyes as well.
"Hey, Nagisa." A soft voice and a light tap on his shoulder made Nagisa open his eyes again. He's been counting the time while he had his eyes closed, it's been a bit more than one and a half hours.
"How are you feeling?" Nagisa asked while turning towards her.
"Way better, thank you... for the blanket." Kaede blushed a little while holding Nagisa's blanket towards him.
"It's nothing," Nagisa said taking the blanket out of her hands. "So, how come you're always so exhausted?"
"I'm not really good at mining. It takes me an hour to get one crystal..." Kaede said with a rather sad expression. "And it's getting worse and worse, I used to be able to get one in half an hour."
Nagisa spaced out for a second hearing what she said and looked at his right hand. There were already blisters on it, if he kept up working like this he would slow down eventually as well. "How long have you been here?" Nagisa suddenly remembered.
"Not sure anymore... I guess about four weeks?" Kaede answered while her eyes looked even sadder.
While they both got captured in the same month, Kaede was caught right at the beginning of the month and Nagisa at the end.
"Hmm..." Nagisa hesitated for a second and just hummed. Her sad face made him want to promise to get her out of here, but he couldn't trust her completely yet. "Can I see your hands?" Nagisa asked out of curiosity.
"Huh?" Kaede was clearly caught off guard by the sudden change of topic, "w-why?" She eyed Nagisa with caution as she guarded her hands with her body.
"Sorry, I'm not trying to be rude. I'm already getting blisters after the first week, so I thought maybe I could help you somehow." Nagisa scratched the back of his head and explained.
"Oh... my hands are fine." Kaede said after showing Nagisa her hands, "remember? I learned some basics of healing magic... ... ...oh god! I completely forgot to ask you because I got used to it, if you want I can heal your hands too, I'm so sorry!" She offered with a shocked and apologetic expression.
"That would be great, but does it drain a lot of your stamina?" Nagisa asked her. Now he was completely confused why she would slow down with time if she could heal herself.
"No, it only takes mana from my mana pool." Kaede explained, "you've never learned magic?" She was slightly surprised.
"Ha... nobody would teach me." Nagisa said in a slightly self-mocking way, "All I learned was element control." Nagisa lifted his hand and showed Kaede how a small water pearl started to form in his hand as he drained the water from the air.
"How!" But to Nagisa's surprise, Kaede's was really impressed or rather shocked that he was able to do that, "water dragons aren't supposed to be able to do that before they reach the second stage!"
"Second stage?" It was the first time Nagisa heard of that, "what's that?"
"You don't know?" Kaede's was even more shocked, "dragons can raise their mana pool through meditating, and there are 9 stages with 9 levels each for that." Kaede explained.
"Ehh? Never heard of that." Nagisa just looked at Kaede completely dumbfounded.
"..." Kaede looked at Nagisa like looking at an alien, "your parents were supposed to teach you that when you got 6." Kaede said in disbelieve.
"..." Nagisa's expression instantly darkened after hearing that, "yeah... that explains a lot." Nagisa sighed.
"Hmm? What is it?" Kaede looked at Nagisa being slightly confused.
"Nothing." Nagisa just shook his head, "but yeah, nobody has ever taught me that." He didn't really want to talk about his parents
"Hmm, want me to teach you?" Kaede asked after thinking for a second, "I was actually quite an honor student back at the tribe." She said with a proud but at the same time sad expression.
"You would?" Nagisa asked her, being a little bit surprised, "yeah, that'd be great!"
"Sure!" Kaede replied with a sweet smile, "but let me heal your hands first." She said while taking Nagisa's right hand and closing her eyes.
Nagisa couldn't see her the last time she healed him, as she closed her eyes and started to concentrate, the scale on her hand started to glow making it look like an emerald.
And then the blisters and wounds on his hand started to disappear at a noticeable speed. "Wow." Nagisa looked at his hand and clenched it into a fist a few times, "this is amazing!".
"Not really but thanks." Kaede smiled as she wanted to take his other hand, "like I said, it's only the basics."
"Oh, this one is fine." Nagisa quickly pulled his hand back, "I'm wearing a glove on this one, see?" Nagisa said as he showed her his other hand.
"Are you sure? You might still get blisters even with a glove." Kaede asked him a little worried.
"It's fine, thanks!" Nagisa said while he moved both his hands a bit, he was wearing the same glove since he could remember. He never asked, but he was pretty surprised that the glove actually grew with his hand in size. Also, the glove was incredibly durable. "so, about the stages and levels, what do they indicate?"
"Hmm, let's see. Like I said before, there are 9 stages with 9 levels each. The level is decided depending on how much you've increased your mana pool." Kaede started to explain. "You're only allowed to call yourself a mage when you've reached stage 1."
"Huh... so what stage are you at?" Nagisa looked at Kaede while lifting one of his eyebrows.
"Hey! I pretty much know everything in theory! Being able to teach something doesn't necessarily means being able to do it!" Kaede instantly complained.
"Haha, sorry. I'm wasn't doubting you, I swear." Nagisa laughed as he blocked her tiny fists, "so that's simply an indicator of the size of your mana pool." Nagisa asked just to be sure.
"Pretty much yes." Kaede nodded, "Unlike humans, we dragons are ALL born with a certain amount of mana in our pool. It's essential for enlarging your pool, that's why not all humans can become mages, but dragons can." Kaede explained, "try to sense it, it should be around here." She said as she placed her hand on Nagisa's right chest.
"There?" Nagisa was a little bit surprised by the position. He expected it to be somewhere near his stomach.
"Yeah, the mana pool is somewhere near your right chest. A lot of people get this mixed up. There's a pool near your stomach as well, but that's the Ki-pool or energy pool. It's the pool combatants rely on." Kaede explained.
"Huh... wouldn't it make sense to train both then?" Nagisa asked while touching his stomach.
"Theoretically, yes, but most people decide to concentrate on one since they don't have the time and effort. People who try to improve both at the same time usually end up being mediocre in both categories." Kaede said.
"Oh ok." Nagisa nodded while narrowing his brows a little bit.
"What is it?" Kaede asked him after seeing his expression.
"So, I'm basically stuck with being a mage if I start learning from you?" Nagisa asked after hesitating for a short moment, "not that I don't appreciate it, it's just..."
"Hmm, sure I said it's not efficient to train both at the same time, but you can still switch later on. Why would you waste your time right now?" Kaede asked, "having some magic basics doesn't hurt you. And it's not like you know how to train as a combatant right now."
"You're right." Nagisa nodded after hearing Kaede's explanation, "so how do I meditate?"
"The biggest difference between a combatant and a mage is what they focus on, while mages focus on training their mind and spirit, combatants focus on their body." Kaede continued after giving Nagisa a small nod.
"Mind?" Nagisa asked slightly confused, "how do you train your mind?"
"Uhmm... I don't really know how to explain..." Kaede stopped for a second and stuttered with a slight blush.
"Uh..." Nagisa was doing his best to hold back his laughter. "I mean, don't worry, it's already impressive how much you know." Nagisa comforted her.
"I told you I was an honor student," Kaede said with a smile, but it really bothered Nagisa why she looked so sad every time she mentioned it.
"Right, so tell me how to train, Ms. honor student." Nagisa decided to ignore his weird feeling, he was probably only imagining it anyway.
"Everyone has his own way of training. What you basically have to do is to create a connection with the element you're compatible with and try to become friends with it." Kaede said while creating a tiny whirlwind around her finger. "They might be slightly hostile at first but judging how you were able to extract water from the air, you should be fine."
"Huh..." Nagisa gave Kaede's speech a little thought, closed his eyes and formed a bowl with both his hands while he concentrated to collect water from the air.
Kaede watched him with quite some interest and she was definitely surprised how fast Nagisa was able to form a water pearl in his hands, "that's right, now keep it there, you should feel how the elements are sharing their energy with you. Absorb it."
But what happened next made Kaede scream out of terror. As Nagisa tried to do what she said and wanted to absorb the energy the water elements had, the water pearl in his hands disappeared and Nagisa felt how a huge portion of energy rushed into his right chest, "whoa!?" Nagisa was clearly surprised by that but he was equally surprised by the scream Kaede let out.
"Ehhh?! Y-You drained them dry?!" Kaede looked at Nagisa like looking at a monster, "h-how did you?! And even if you can, how could you?!"
"Huh? I don't know!" Nagisa wanted to know what happened as well! As if he had any idea how or why that just happened. "You said that they'll share their energy with me! But when I tried to send the request, they just dissolved and rushed into my body!"
"I told you to become friends with them! What did you feel when you absorbed them?!" Kaede was still really upset that Nagisa just absorbed them entirely.
"Ehh... like, fear?" Nagisa wasn't so sure himself, they disappeared so fast I couldn't really tell. Nagisa shrugged with his shoulder.
"Ehh?!" Kaede had a complicated expression on her face, after hesitating for a while she finally opened her mouth again, "c-can you try not to do that? I feel sorry for them..."
"I-I don't know... I guess I can try." Nagisa said as he closed his eyes again. This time he tried to send a gentle message towards the elements he had gathered instead of directly asking for their energy.
Since they didn't get instantly absorbed this time, he had more time to confirm his feeling, "yeah, they definitely fear me for some reason." Nagisa said to inform Kaede.
After Nagisa kept sending them the sign that he didn't plan to harm them and that they could calm down, the elements finally opened up to him more. Nagisa then asked them to share their energy with him while he specifically mentioned that he only wanted a small part of their energy.
With everything he did, the elements still gave him almost 50% of their entire energy as the water pearl in Nagisa's hands was only half as big as if used to be. "Thank you..." Nagisa said sincerely before releasing the elements back into the air. "This is soooo complicated!" Nagisa complained as soon as the elements left his hands.
"I'm sorry... if it's too hard you don't have to..." Kaede said slightly against her will. She did feel really uncomfortable when Nagisa basically devoured the elements.
"No, it's fine, I kind of feel bad too when I completely absorb them." Nagisa smiled, "so how did I do?"
"Say, how high was your compatibility with your element?" Kaede asked him while smiling happily that he agreed not to devour the elements.
"Uhh... 12..." Nagisa looked to the side slightly embarrassed, he didn't know what Kaede expected from him, but he definitely wasn't meeting her expectations.
"Whaaaaat? But that's impossible!" Kaede screamed in disbelieve, you have to know that the scale goes up to a 100! 12 basically means not compatible! "The way how you're easily able to extract water elements from the air already shows how high your compatibility is!" Kaede stared at Nagisa.
"I'm telling the truth..." Nagisa said while shrugging it's his shoulders, "maybe it has something to do with the fact that they fear me..." Nagisa took a guess.
"Hmmm maybe, but even if you don't absorb the elements entirely, you should still be able to improve drastically." Kaede said to him, "you're definitely faster than all the other kids in my tribe."
"Huh, how do I know what my level is?" Nagisa asked her before taking her word. She could just be telling him anything, maybe she just had horrible potential?
"Just focus on your right chest and check how full your pool is," Kaede said.
"About 30% I guess?" Nagisa said after doing what Kaede told him to do.
"...level 3?!" Kaede stared at Nagisa with her mouth slightly opened. She did look pretty cute that way.
"What?" Nagisa couldn't say that he enjoyed being eyed like this, he felt like he was being a monster or something.
"Are you sure this was your first time meditating...?" Kaede asked him after gulping.
"Well... I did something similar from time to time when I used to be bored..." Nagisa told her, "it felt funny to gather water in my hands, but I had no idea that this was how you meditated."
"Oh, ok." Kaede sighed out of relieve, "still, you're pretty good." Kaede said while nodding.
"Hmmm... you still haven't told me what Level you're at?" Nagisa couldn't help but ask, he needed to know for sure.
"...Stage 2 Level 9." Kaede answered after hesitating for a second, "but I've been doing this for a few years now, so... I am doing pretty well though." Kaede told him but she didn't seem proud. As a matter of fact, she seemed rather sad as she said it.
Nagisa didn't comment on that one, she definitely wasn't telling him something, but so was he, they only knew each other for a week after all.
Khem... I know, I know, I updated the wrong story :S. I know I'm supposed to finish "Last Assassination" before working on this one but I couldn't help it! I really wanted to introduce this story a little bit more!
But now I swear I'll go back working on "Last Assassination" before continuing this one :P I hope you got a slightly better picture of this story with this chapter :D
Thanks a lot for your support :D! Please review, it's super important for me to hear your opinions since this is a new story! And I'll see you in the next... uhh... other story :P.