A Frail Child
'My precious child… Do you know who those two are?'
'…'
'Can't you sense them? 'Bonds'.'
'…'
'Ah. You hardly have your own will anymore. Very well. I'll do what I can for now.'
The words that came out of my mouth when I saved them were not mine. The Deceiver took over my body to save them. When they came to thank me, I saw the shadows around them and I was terrified.
Why were shadows born? They hide and swallow everything they can find. I hardly remember anything from my past except shadows. I dreamed that I would get out of the shadows so I can live in the light. All dreams must come to an end I guess. It would be nice if I had a dream and then realize it is not an illusion.
"Hello? Teal are you paying attention?" Road was waving her hand in front of Teal's face.
"Hmm?"
"You're drawing a picture in my textbook. And it's somewhat creepy."
"Uhh… are you supposed to be freaked out by this or what?" Teal raised an eyebrow. When she looked down, she drew a shaded picture of the nightmare she's been seeing.
"I told you I suck at functions." Teal started erasing it.
"You said you were good at math." Road whined.
'I still don't know how I ended up helping Road with her math.'
"I never said I was good at everything in math." She glared at Road. "Well, since I'm of no more use to you, I'll be going now." Before Teal left the room, Sheryl just came in the door way.
"So are you two done?" He asked.
"I helped her all I could, so I'm going."
"Where are you going? Not making another run for it again, are you?"
"I'm just going out. No big deal."
"You know, since I'm practically your father, I should know where your whereabouts are until we can trust you not to do something reckless."
Teal turned her head to him and gave him a death like glare. "I'm not your kid. And what the heck am I gonna do that is reckless?"
"Let's see, sneaking out to pick fights, I believe that's what yankis do."
"I'm an EX-yanki. Note the prefix 'ex'."
"How thick is your record?"
"My record is… HEY! You can't start asking questions like that!"
"I rest my case. You're bound to do something reckless."
Teal slapped herself on the head. 'I'm not gonna go black… I'm not gonna go black… I'm not gonna…' Teal heard a loud heart beat and her nightmare vision was starting to come back then it faded away.
"Fine… I'll continue helping Road with homework."
"Good girl. You're such a good daughter." He smiled then walked away so he could avoid Teal's death glare.
Teal felt like she went deaf for a minute and her nightmare vision came back. This time, a shadowy figure of a person was in front of her. They were covered in shadows and the only thing visible on this person was something on their forehead.
'A Noah? No… It's not stigmata… It looks like… eyes?' She shook her head to snap out of it.
"You alright?" Road asked.
"Uh… yeah. So what other homework do you have?" She moaned.
Road put about four books on the table. There was geography, Shakespeare, and two others that Teal couldn't read.
'Damn. Why do I have to do the ones Shishou didn't teach me? I don't even understand this Shakespeare stuff. I shouldn't be doing this, I should be training! I should be researching about the Curse! I should…'
"Teal are you…" Road was sounding a little annoyed.
"I'm awake! I'm paying attention!"
"You're writing on my book and the table again. Ugh, you're worse than Jasdevi." She complained.
"Uh…" She gave a bit of a nervous smile.
"What's this? Do I hear that your education has been put down to our level?" Jasdevi came in the room.
"The difference between you and me is that I actually TRY."
"Heh, maybe if you were the smart you would make her do her own homework instead of doing it for her. Oh but wait, since you're doing it for her, I guess you're probably stupider than us since you let someone manipulate you so easily."
"How about you split up so I can beat the living hell out of which one said that? If you tell me the truth, it won't be as bad as it sounds." She gave an evil smile.
"Somehow, I don't believe you're that threatening." He was referring to her somewhat lack of mobility.
"True, I may be stupider than you in a couple of ways but due to some circumstances, I wasn't able to learn a lot of things. So I kind of want to do it now. But that doesn't mean I want to do EVERYTHING." She glared at Road.
"Oh, real smooth. We're not buying it."
"What?" She turned her head to Jasdevi.
"You're just trying to show us you're not manipulative."
"Oh… Well, that wasn't my intention."
"Now I'd say you're on Tyki's level. You couldn't figure that out until we told you." Teal threw her shoe at him but his hair caught it. Then she threw the other one at him right after that his hair caught it again.
"Not falling for that one again!" He stuck his tongue at her.
"Oh that's real mature. Hmm… come to think of it, when I was outside this morning, I might've stepped in porcupine crap. Or was it skunk crap by a skunk den? Plus I was wearing them all day while I was sitting here helping Road with her homework. Geez, I can't remember. Isn't ironic since I'm the Noah of Memories?" She shrugged.
Jasdevi had a disgusted look on his face and quickly separated into Devitto and Jasdero. They were both holding a shoe by the laces.
"That's disgusting! Now we got shit in our hair!" They threw Teal's shoes back at her.
"Well, you know what they say; a man's most valuable possession is a bar of soap. Or something along those lines." They stormed off down the hall.
"Wow, I didn't know you had it in you." Road was slightly amused. "Pulling something dirty like that."
"I just wanted my shoes back."
"Did you really mean that? About you stepping in poop and being near skunks?"
"Mmm… Yeah. I don't think I was able to get all of it off though."
"Ugh! That's gross! Go outside and clean them!"
"Alright, have it your way." When Teal was out of the room and down the hall where Road couldn't hear her, she couldn't help it but laugh a little bit.
'That got me out of doing homework.'
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'Okay… So tomorrow I should start over there… By that log that is somewhat slanted… Then I can train my legs by going up the branches… And then… I got nothing. I might as well go on the roof for a while.' She sighed.
'Oh yeah. I have to use a balcony. I can't climb these vines. And I have nothing to help me here.' She started walking around the wall to see if there was another entrance inside the mansion. 'Or on second thought, I'll go down to the lake for a bit. It's easy access and easy to get back up.'
On the way there, she stopped due to a pain in her chest. She found it hard to breathe and she had a vision. It was pitched black and she could hear someone saying 'Such a frail child.' And she could hear herself saying 'I don't want to die. I don't want to see the scary shadows.'
"My memories…" She gasped. She continued on towards the lake but stopped at the ledge. It was too dark to see where she was going.
'It's cold… I shouldn't be out too long. I might be coming down with something.' She was wearing a short shirt and shorts so she could move around more easily. The sound of the small waves was calming her a little.
'I'm kinda thinking of staying until I find something about the curse and reactivate my Innocence. But that means I might have to become a Noah myself. Since the Earl is using the others to spy on me, two can play at this game. However, if I'm caught, he'll erase my memories for sure if he's not going to kill me.'
"I'll do my best!" She said proudly. She heard a rustle in the trees. She couldn't tell who it was and she was starting to get scared.
"Who's there?!" 'What if it was that guy who was trying to kill me? I dropped my knife last time and I have nothing to defend me with.'
'Scary… The scary shadows will get me…' Teal was clutching her head and praying for that voice to stop. The thing in the bush was right behind her. She swung her arm at him as hard as she could and hit it in the stomach. When she turned around, it was Tyki.
"Ah! Um… I'm sorry,"
"If you're that scared of coming out here, you shouldn't have come out at all." He said as he stood up.
"No, I'm not scared of coming out here. I thought you were a psycho killer."
'Oh great…' "So is that how you see us?" He gave a half chuckle.
"No, that's not what I meant. Well, you did almost kill me twice, but I didn't mean that. It's just that I'm on edge…"
"Oh, I see. So are we that frightening?"
"No, no! I admit the Clan does scare me a bit but I swear that's not it!"
"Alright. You're quite different than I pictured you to be." He turned away from Teal.
"Eh?"
"I'd figure you'd want nothing to do with us since you hate us so much." He said as he was lighting up a cigarette.
"I did hate the Clan. But now… I'm not so sure. I've noticed that you're so much like humans and I never asked myself why I've hated you."
"So you're accepting your fate?"
"Not yet. Once I find what I'm looking for, I'll consider fighting for this side."
"What are you looking for exactly? I hope it's not Innocence."
"Heh. I'm not that stupid, Tyki. Later." She waved as she headed back to the mansion.
Her legs were starting to get tired and it felt like she was going to collapse any minute. When she walked up the small hill to the mansion, she noticed a ladder leaning against a wall that wasn't there before.
'A shortcut… That is if I can climb it.' It was fairly difficult to climb a small ladder. When she reached the top, she noticed that Jasdevi was on a lower part of the roof.
"Dang it, you stole my spot!" She said after she slid down to meet him. He didn't say anything to her.
'He's probably still mad at me.' "Erin was the one who taught me that prank. I had to come up with something to get of doing homework."
"Ever consider that you talk too much?" He said.
"Mmm… nope."
"So stop sucking up to me. You're the one who pissed me off so why should I pay attention to you?"
"You don't have to. I'm just talking to you, what's so wrong about that?" She was finding it slightly hard to breathe and her heartbeat was very loud to her. 'I don't think that was my imagination this time. I'd better go back before…' Blood was starting to appear on the roof and the air was heavy. Her hand was twitching and she felt like she was dying for some blood.
"I'm going back in…" She struggled to stand up and she only took a few steps before everything was covered in crimson and the air was so tense it was almost impossible to breathe.
"Teal, are you alright?" Jasdevi asked. Teal collapsed before she could answer.
"Teal!" He supported her so she could sit up and she was breathing heavily. "Dammit, you have a fever don't you? You know you're not supposed to overdo it you idiot." Jasdevi let her go because he was holding her by her arm and her Innocence was rejecting his touch.
'Dammit. Her Innocence is still in tact…' His arm was getting worse when he came in contact with her Innocence.
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'Huh? I'm back in my room?' Teal slowly sat up and something fell from her forehead. 'Oh… It's a cloth… I still have a fever.' She felt really dizzy but she had no problems breathing again.
"Oh! You're awake! Are you feeling okay?" Jasdero was in her room and he was hiding something behind his back.
"I'm alright… It was just a light attack. Thanks for helping me. Also, you still mad at me for pulling that prank on you guys?"
"That? Not really. Although, it was a good one. Hee! You said that you're friend taught you that?"
"Uh-huh. When Erin pulled that on me, I was freaking out for hours." Teal gave a small smile.
"Is Erin one of the exorcists?"
"Oh, no. She's my friend from when I met Shishou."
"And you were still a yanki at the time were you?"
"Yeah. I can't remember why I became a yanki in the first place. Shishou and Erin were able to help me. At first, I felt a little uncomfortable but I got used to it. Erin was trying to be a mother like figure and Shishou was…" Teal looked the other way to think for a moment.
"A father like figure?"
"Um… I don't like to refer to him as my father. I wish I could say that he was but I just can't for some reason."
"But you refer Erin as your Mother?"
"Ah! No… When I started to live with Shishou, I told Erin that I never been around 'proper' girls so Erin started to act like a mother to me. Although, she's my age."
"Sounds like you had an interesting life. We basically lived here and learned how to control our powers. Hee! It was kinda great since we didn't have to do anything except fight and we could do whatever we wanted to. Hee! And we got to eat at high star restaurants often too! We also had to attend balls occasionally." He shuddered.
"Uh… What's so great about attending a ball? Do people just stand in a circle and watch a ball roll around? Doesn't sound very fun."
"Hee! Hahaha! You're funny, Teal." Jasdero couldn't stop giggling.
"What did I do?!" Teal coughed.
"A ball is basically a party where nobles gather. There's a lot of dancing." Devitto was standing in the doorway. Teal could see there was something sticking out of his face or something.
"Wait, when you say dancing…"
"Social dance. Guys with girls. And most of the time it's a pain in the a- What the?!" He noticed a string was hanging from his nose and pulled it out. It was one of Teal's toiletries. Teal pointed at Jasdero quickly and when he stopped giggling, he said "Lero did it. You're a really heavy sleeper, Devi."
"Grr…"
'Social dance… guys and girls…' "Oh my god!" Teal was freaking out.
"What now? You're fever's not gonna go down if you panic like that all the time, idiot."
"I'm not panicking… I was just thinking too hard…"
"You're freaking out over nothing. That's panicking. Or am I just that good looking?" He smirked. Teal turned red.
"Teal, you're such a pervert!" Jasdero pointed at her.
"You're the one who stole one of my 'things'! While I'm on the subject, give me back my bra."
He gave a nervous laugh then hesitantly handed it over.
"Again with the bra. You said I was the pervert?" 'I have to find a better hiding spot. Better yet, I'll get a mouse trap.'
"Actually, you know what, I'll make you a deal. 'Scuse me." Devitto moved away so she could reach for her bag under her bed. She grabbed a pencil and handed it to Jasdero. If you can make this pencil stay on your chest for 30 seconds without any kind of help, I'll get you your own bra. But please don't do it here."
"How the hell do you come up with these friggin' ideas? You're insane!" Devitto said.
"Who said I wasn't? Besides, everyone can be insane sometimes." A vision suddenly came to her without warning. She saw the same man with white hair and a shadow hovering over him. '*Wi…*bzzt*…er *bzzt*' 'cu*bzzt*'
"You alright? Was it another attack?" Jasdero asked.
"No. I just saw something. It wasn't that clear so I can't say what it was."
"You're lucky. I kinda wish I had ability like you have." Devitto said as he leaned against her bed.
"Eh?"
"The ability to see the future or anything at all." Jasdero finished. "It sounds kinda neat."
"Young masters your time is up." An akuma servant knocked at the door.
"Hey, we can stay here if we want to. So get lost!"
"You should let Miss get some rest. That's why Master Tyki asked me to throw you out."
"Screw Tyki!" They both shouted. Teal started to laugh really hard and couldn't stop it.
"S-sounds like you guys have some issues. But yeah, I should get some rest."
"Alright. And if you do something stupid and you're not fully recovered, I'll beat the crap out of you." Devitto said.
"I'd like to see you try. I fight back." Teal made a fist and put her hands together showing that she accepted his challenge. "Later."
'Man, I haven't laughed like this in a while.' She fell back on her bed. 'It's like déjà vu…'
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I don't remember much being with Justin. My earliest memory that I remember clearly was when I was nine. I knew my name, my age, what I dreamed of, what I loathed and nothing else. The last thing I remember before that was Justin died. I was six when that happened and it puzzled me that I was nine and I couldn't remember what happened for three years.
I was wandering the streets aimlessly. It was winter and I saw that some children were laughing and they were with their families. I had nothing. I was full of envy and hate and I acted like I didn't need anyone.
One day, I went into a yanki turf and they were about to beat the crap out of me but they stopped and decided to recruit me instead. When they explained the rules, I was terrified because I would surly fail the trials over and over because I'm a weak child. I did fail a few trials but I overall passed the tests and I became a rookie yanki known as 'Shark Bait' or I was practically the Scape Goat.
Every night, I'd hear these girls talk about their 'horrible' lives and why they were here. They fought every night to ease their frustrations. I fought because I had to survive and I was venting my anger as well. What pissed me off the most was the fact that I was left with nothing and it felt like the world was taunting me with what I don't have. I started to get angry over the tiniest things and I would beat others mercilessly.
Over the next couple of years, I moved up in the ranks because I was one of the most brutal members in my group and I had earned the name 'Shadow Siren'. My temper was the one to thank for that. I knew then that I was still not satisfied after becoming a strong fighter. I was still weak. I acted like I didn't need anyone but the truth was, I wanted to be noticed.
One day, I got separated from the group because the cops were chasing me. I scaled a wall to get away from them and what I found on the other side was a dojo. I went closer just to look around a bit and I had my wooden sword ready if there was somebody.
I heard a phone ringing and small footsteps running towards me. I hid underneath the deck just before someone came into the training area. I heard a voice of a small boy. He was talking to his parents or someone and he shouted to someone else. I came out when I thought it was safe and that boy was standing on the deck.
"Hiya! Where'd you come from?" He asked cheerfully. I drew my sword and threatened him.
"Shut you're friggin' yap, you little brat. If that damn cop finds me here because of you, I'll beat you black and blue."
"Whoa, how old are you? I don't meet kids my age very often." He just kept on smiling at me.
"Why the hell do you keep on doin' that?! Don't you know who I am, dammit! Now shut you're friggin' yap!"
"A girl like you shouldn't be saying things like that." A man appeared out of nowhere. "And please put that thing away. I'm sure your parents wouldn't approve of this." He wasn't scolding me.
"Well, obviously they wouldn' give a damn because if they did, they would do somethin' 'bout it, wouldn't they? I don't need your concern you old geezer so go to hell!"
There was a knock on the gate and a cop announced his name. I fled into the bush and I got stuck. I was cornered like a rat. The man went to the gate and talked to the cop and I thought I was dead for sure. But the cop left and the man helped me out of the bush.
"Why'd the hell did you do that? You could've gottin' rid of me."
"Because I think it's wrong for a child who has been in the wrong direction to be arrested. You're scared and confused, aren't you?" He still didn't scold me. I could feel a warming aura around him and it was uncomfortable for me.
"I don't need anyone! I'm not lost or confused! I don't care about anyone just like they don't care about me! I just wish everyone would die."
"Actually, you do need someone." He bent down and touched my shoulder. "You do want them to care. Is that why you're in so much trouble?" I started crying for no reason. What he was saying was true. I nodded.
"I see. Well, if you like fighting so much, how would you like to be my apprentice? You have potential and I can see you like fighting but I can teach you to control your fists. And I can probably teach you more about how to use your sword. How about it?"
"I'll-I'll think about it."
Our group was staying in this city for a while. A tournament was coming up and the winner got a very special prize that led to treasure. I played hooky for a few meetings to visit that man and that boy. I mostly watched them from a distance and rarely talked to them. When I finally made my decision to become his apprentice, I thought the group would be happy about my decision. I was dead wrong. They were appalled that I was a strong member and I was going to leave. They held me down and everyone in the group beat the living crap out of me.
After I started living with Shishou, I started to see more clearly. One thing I was wearing but I never noticed once was the black and gold ribbon around my neck. Something told me that someone special gave this to me but I couldn't remember who.
When I first met Erin, he asked me if I had spent any time with women other than the yanki members. I was quite surprise what happened after I said 'no'. He did everything he could to become a girl and then the day that I started living with Shishou I thought that someone else had come to live with us. I was laughing harder than I ever laughed before.
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'My chest doesn't hurt anymore. So it's as good as any time to start my training.' She walked around a little bit so she could get used to her legs then she grabbed her coat and headed outside. Jasdevi's chicken was right outside her door. And it attacked her when she woke it up.
'Sheesh! What the heck is up with this chicken?' She grabbed it by its neck picked it up. She had a firm grip on it but it was far from death.
'Geez, where's their room? Is it down here or is it on a different floor?' She looked at her map in her coat pocket and she studied it for a minute. 'Oh, it's at the far end of the hall. I only go as far as either the stairs or the balcony area.'
The chicken was still trying to attack Teal and it bit her finger pretty hard. She used her other hand to hold the chicken so she could see if it drew blood from her or not. It gave her a small cut and it bit her again and made a large cut in her other hand. On top of that, her left wrist was bleeding again. The nightmare vision was starting to return and something inside her was lusting for blood.
'No! I have to resist! I don't care if it kills me, I won't do it!' Teal brought her left hand up and was about to drink her own blood but she forced herself to put her hand down.
When she got to the end of the hall, she concealed her map contents and headed to a door that was in somewhat bad shape and had signs of death threats, skulls all over and a big red 'Do Not Enter' sign at the top.
'This looks promising.' She muttered her silencing spell and went in. 'Where am I supposed to put this thing so it's not going to get out again? What the heck am I stepping on? I don't even want to know.'
She noticed that Jasdero was sleeping right next to the wall on the bottom bunk. When they were younger, hardly anything could wake him or Devitto up. Teal was extremely nervous because she was pretty sure that they were more alert.
'I guess this stupid thing wouldn't jump down from there. Where's Devitto head? I see his back but… ' She took one step on the ladder and put the chicken on his bed, where his shirt and coat were. Before Teal got off the ladder, Devitto grabbed her left hand and was holding on to her wrist.
'Oh no. He's awake! Wait, no he's not. But still, he has a tight grip on my wrist.' She reached for her own hand so she could pull it away put she stopped and then gently touched his stigmata.
'I remember that when they started transforming, I couldn't even begin to imagine the pain they were going through.' Without realizing it, she was stroking his hair. 'I stayed up late many nights until they fell asleep. I wanted to cherish them and help them any way I could. I wonder if I really made a difference.' The chicken was starting to get restless and her silencing spell would wear off any time now due her magic is limited.
'I'd better go.' She pulled her hand that Devitto held on to then quickly went out of the room. She tripped over something while she was heading out. It felt really slimy on her leg and she thought for sure that would wake them up but her spell didn't wear off just yet. She forced herself up then went out the door just before the spell wore off. The chicken went berserk the moment it did.
After about 20 minutes, Devitto couldn't take its constant clucking then hit it as hard as he could as if he were to break an annoying alarm. "Dammit, you stupid chicken, shut the hell up! You better have not have wrecked my shirt again! Hold on, how the hell did you get up here?"
He checked underneath him but Jasdero was still in the same position he was in when Devitto fell asleep.
'Then…' He noticed something dark on his hand and he could tell it was fresh blood. Just then, he heard someone scream "Help Me!"
"Teal…" He just put his coat on and bolted out the door. He went on the roof and he saw Teal bloody and motionless on the roof. When he ran up to where she was, she just vanished.
'I think I was just hallucinating.' He was about to head back to his room to get back to sleep then he heard something crash in the forest.
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'Ah crap. First my legs won't jump then I run into the tree face first, now I'm caught in a trap the stupid akuma forgot to remove.' Teal was hanging upside down by her ankle by a vine trap that one of the akuma set up back when she made her first escape attempt.
'Okay, if I can reach that rock, I might be able to snap it.' She started swinging towards a branch that was nearby and grabbed it. She reached for a large root that was underneath it and then she used her arms to crawl down the root.
'C'mon, don't give up on me now. Keep going…' Her arms gave a sharp pain and couldn't move them and she let go and she crashed in the tree.
'This could take a while.' She sighed.
"Can't you go one day without making trouble or being in trouble?" Devitto asked.
"This time, this was not my fault. It was the stupid akuma's fault. After my first escape attempt, they forgot to remove this stupid booby trap."
"You might want to hang on to something." He walked over to one of the big roots to the tree on Teal's right.
"What?"
Devitto snapped the vine where it was tied on the root. "I told you to hang on to something." He said.
"…Thanks." Teal was clutching her head.
"Hey, were you in our room earlier?"
"Uh… Yup. It was only to drop that crazy chicken off, that's it!" She kept her head down and was a little red. Devitto sat down beside her.
"Care to explain this?" He held out his had that was covered in blood. Teal froze and couldn't answer.
"Remember what I said last night?" His voice was calm then he suddenly was furious. "If you're not fully recovered, I was going to beat the crap out of you!" He looked like he was about to hit her.
"Wait! Wait! I am recovered! My wrist was bleeding again! When I put that chicken of yours back, you grabbed my wrist!" She said quickly. 'I'm at my limit and I can't even lift my arms to block.'
"I don't buy that. You're still pale and that tells me that you still have a fever and you could have another attack. It takes more than a few hours to get rid of a fever."
"Uh… Well… I recover more quickly than most people. But I'm fine!"
"Okay, I got it! If you start panicking you're fever's gonna come back." He gave her a small light hit on her head.
"Just don't overdo it. I don't want to have to carry you again. It's a pain in the ass." His voice was calmer and he sounded a little concerned.
"You alright?" Teal asked.
"Why are you asking this now? Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"You don't seem yourself. Normally, you'd be pissed for a while but you're kind of out of it and you're the one who's pale. I'm starting to wonder if you have a fever. Here, hold still." Teal put her hand on his forehead.
"You are a bit warm… I guess we both shouldn't overdo it." She smiled.
Devitto gave a small hard laugh. "I don't really get you. You still are able to smile even though you have to live with something that makes you a monster."
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Hey guys! I want to say thank you to all my readers and I'm really sorry for the length of time it takes me to write this. Between school, work and lack of ideas, it's just… AHHHH!!! I couldn't think of anything but somewhat dirty jokes. Could you guys tell me what you think of my 'dirty' jokes? It's okay if you don't like them. So I'll hope you like this chapter and I'll get the next one up as soon as I can. Later!