Baptism by Fire
Quiet snoring rose from Aaron as he slept at his desk between classes. Students grouped up and talked amongst themselves. Some used the desks to play cards or eat snacks that they had kept with them. The words 'Test Next Period' were written across the board.
One of the girls broke off from her group and stood by Aaron's desk, putting her hands on her hips. "I thought you told me you don't snore." She said, accusingly.
Aaron blinked his eyes open. "Huh?" He yawned, sitting up.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to sleep in class?" She said, straddling the chair in front of him and resting her arms on the back of it.
"Believe it or not, Kiera, I have a reason to be tired this time." He said, looking her in the eyes.
She leaned closer to him and lowered her voice. "I don't care what your reason is. I try very hard to convince all of my friends that my 'best friend' Aaron over here isn't a loser. You aren't making it any easier."
He leaned down, lowering his voice as well. "You really do that?" A large grin crossed her lips and she smashed her head into his. Aaron reeled back in pain. "Ow, what's wrong with you?"
"For all your brains, you can never tell when I'm messing with you. Why would I need to justify our friendship? I don't care that you're a loser." She said, fixing her ponytail. "Still, you shouldn't sleep in class. And put your glasses back on. You look weird without them." She said, getting up and hurrying back over to the group of girls she had been with.
Aaron watched her brown hair bounce back and forth as she left. "No Kiera, slamming your head into mine didn't hurt at all, don't worry about it." He said to himself, mockingly. He sighed and slouched down into his chair. He was glad that she didn't ask about the necklace, he wouldn't have known what to say. He would also have to figure out how to explain his lack of glasses once she realized they weren't off for sleeping purposes. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed again. He had only slept an hour and his legs were sore. Magic apparently didn't change the fact that he was doing more than his body should be able to do.
Kyubey suddenly jumped onto his desk and Aaron felt his heart skip a beat. He managed to contain the urge to jump out of his seat or yell. 'You really have got to stop doing that, Kyubes.' He thought at Kyubey.
"Why are you calling me that? You did it yesterday as I left as well." Kyubey asked, cocking his head to the side.
'I thought it was obvious. It's one syllable less. I'm lazy.' Aaron thought, figuring it was self-explanatory.
"Humans are weird." Kyubey said. "Either way, something's come up. We need to go."
As Kyubey was talking, the teacher walked into the class behind him. "Alright, take your seats and make sure you have a pencil. I'm going to start passing out tests as soon as everyone has sat down."
'Kyubes…I mean, Kyubey. Give me some time. I have to take a test.' He thought, sitting up straight and taking his pencil out from behind his ear.
"Humans lives are about to be lost. Your test is insignificant." Kyubey insisted.
Aaron reached out and took the test as the teacher walked past. 'Don't worry, Kyubey, it's just chemistry.' Aaron looked at the test for a second, then started circling answers.
Kyubey watched him circle one answer after another, not stopping to read each question. "Very impressive. You barely look at each question."
'Quiet.' He thought, pausing to find his place. Kyubey waited patiently, and after a few moments, Aaron stood up and walked to the front of the class. He set the paper on the desk and wrote his name on it. "Can't forget the name." He joked at the teacher.
"Excuse me, Mr. Sato, where are you going?" The teacher asked, but Aaron had already made it out of the door.
Kiera watched the exchange from her desk, and quickly got up to follow after him. "Bathroom, sorry!" She ran out past the teacher. She looked down the hallway and Aaron was sprinting across the hardwood floor. "Aaron!" She called after him.
Aaron heard her and slid to a stop. "No, ignore her! We're busy!" Kyubey said, running down the stairs ahead of him. He let Kyubey go on ahead and went back to meet Kiera.
"Where exactly are you going?" She asked, scowling at him.
"Um, yeah, I'm not feeling well, so I'm just going to go home." Aaron nodded, trying to assure her he wasn't lying.
"What about the test?"
"I finished it. The teacher's answers are always in the same pattern. It's not that hard. Bye!" He said, turning and running back to the stairs and sliding down the railing. Kiera stood in silence and shook her head in disbelief.
Aaron met Kyubey at the bottom of the stairs. "I told you not to go back." He scolded, leading the way.
'Sorry, she's important. What's the rush? Who's dying?'
"A witch has taken over a church and is orchestrating a ritual suicide. The church has hundreds of members." Kyubey said, sliding through a closing door. Aaron slammed into the closed door to force it open.
'How far to the church?' Aaron thought, feeling concern and worry build up inside him as he imagined the different ways hundreds of people could end up killing themselves.
"It's not too far, but on the way, I can explain about the item you picked up from the witch you took down yesterday."
'Lay it on me.' Aaron though, starting to feel his legs burn from the sprinting.
"The item you collected is a grief seed. Over time, and as you use magic, your soul gem begins to cloud up. If it completely turns black, you're in trouble. The grief seed is used to clean the clouding."
Aaron thought for a moment. 'So, I fight witches and my reward, besides helping people, keeps me alive. Sounds good.'
"I suggest that you cleanse your soul gem before this fight. This witch is a little more powerful than I would have liked for you to face so soon, but I had no other choice." Kyubey said, taking a sharp turn.
Aaron reached into his pocket and pulled out the grief seed. He held it up to his necklace and saw blackness spiral out of it and into the grief seed. As soon as it had all left the necklace, the grief seed shattered. 'Seems I can't just keep using the same one.' Aaron chuckled.
"No. The amount of cleansing it can do depends on the power of the witch." Kyubey said. "We're almost there."
A steeple rose into the air above the buildings of the city, and Aaron guessed that it was where he was headed. Sure enough, Kyubey stopped in front of it, and Aaron skidded to a stop, breathing heavily. The church's walls were covered in an array of black cracks. The stained glass window was black and bloody. 'Kyubey, other people can't see this, can they?'
"No, only us. We must hurry." Kyubey ran up to the doors and waited for Aaron to open them. Aaron hurried behind him and swung the doors open, stepping inside. He felt the walls start to shift around him. His hand went to his necklace immediately, changing him into his suit and coat. He pulled his pocket watch out and saw a mixture of red and green dots. The red ones were moving towards him.
Aaron looked up and scanned his surroundings. Pews floated through the air, covered in black spider webs. A black haze hung in the air, cutting his vision short. Red colored windows occupied the walls.
The red dots on his radar were getting closer fast. Aaron put the watch away and tried to see what was coming. A black spider the size of his head crawled along a pew close to him. "Should have guessed." He muttered, wondering how gross it would be to squish it. The spider shot a web at him and he leaned to the side. The web connected to the wall behind him, but remained connected to the spider. He smirked and yanked the web. The spider came flying towards him, and he smacked it to the ground. It hit with a spray of blood.
Several more spiders came into view. "Oh come on…" Aaron whined.
"We don't have much time, Aaron!" Kyubey's voice sounded through his head. Aaron decided to ignore the spiders and run ahead. Webs shot at him, but he managed to dodge them clumsily. He yanked his pocket watch open. The first green dot was close. He ran in the direction of it, but met a wall of webs. He tried the same magic he used on the stalactites, but the web just shook peacefully.
His pocket watch showed a green dot moving towards him, followed by red ones. "Here's hoping that green one is you, Kyubey." He said, staring into the haze.
"If it's running at you, then it is." Kyubey said, appearing from out of the haze.
"Good. I can't get through these webs."
"You'll have to go another way to find the witch then."
Aaron peered through the web. A person was roped with black web, trapped in a kneeling position. They looked like they were praying. "There's someone in there though!"
"Kill the witch and you'll save them all."
"Whatever you say…" He said, as web came flying and hit his shoulder. He grabbed it and swung the spider against a wall. The web disconnected from his shoulder when it died. 'Probably something to take note of.' Aaron thought to himself.
His radar showed a larger dot past all of the green dots. He figured it was the witch, and if not, it was the best place to start looking.
Aaron started running in the direction of the larger dot, putting his pocket watch back away so his hands were free. He rounded a corner and faced a hallway constructed of webbing. Every pathway leading closer to where he wanted to go was sealed, no matter how far he ran down the hallway looking. He growled his annoyance and threw himself at the closest web. It only gave a small amount of slack before throwing him backwards. He tried it several times before finally accepting that it wouldn't work.
Scanning his surroundings proved useless. All there was were more webs. Then he smirked. Kyubey came running up from the haze. "It's no use; I can't find a way in."
"Back up, Kyubey, I got this." Aaron lined himself up with the entrance, then threw all of his weight into the web across from it. As it was about to ricochet him backwards, he planted his feet on the web. He waited to feel it push, then he jumped off the web as hard as he could and flew through the web into the next room.
"Good work, Aaron. This building isn't that big, so the witch should be close." Kyubey said, running on ahead. Aaron picked himself up and brushed himself off. He quickly followed after Kyubey, seeing a large room with a crucifix through the webs.
Kyubey stood by a doorway without webs on it that led into the large room. "Good luck." He said to Aaron as Aaron caught up to him. "It will be safer for me out here. Go beat the witch!"
"I'll do my best, Kyubey." Aaron said, pushing the door open.
The door slammed behind him. He glanced backwards as spiders sealed it with webbing. He cracked his neck and walked all the way into the room. Several people, kneeling and tethered like the first one he saw, were scattered about the room. An altar sparkled in the red light at the front of the room. The witch floated above the altar, in the mock reverence. Large black wings sprouted from her back, set apart from the rest of her by a white robe. 'Something is off about the wings,' Aaron noted.
"Come, my child. Take your place at the foot of the altar and prepare to be saved." The witch said, spinning towards him.
Aaron was taken aback by the witch's face. Each eye had an extra three below it, with a mouth spreading from one ear to the next. "I didn't know witches could talk." Aaron said, putting his hands in his back pockets.
"What do you mean witch, my child? Witches are the devil's work."
"Then I suppose it's about time for you to meet your maker." Aaron said, grabbing a pew and lifting. It was way heavier than he expected, and he stumbled backwards with it.
The witch cackled with laughter. "Seems I'm found out. I suppose you thought yourself a hero, coming in dramatically with cocky one-liners, ready to slay the witch. I'm afraid it's about time I stopped you before you hurt yourself." Her wings split apart into eight, spider-like legs. Her dress ripped apart and dozens of spiders crawled out.
"That has to be, the most disturbing thing I've ever seen." Aaron said, dropping the pew. Its usefulness had ended.
Cackling echoed around the room while haze spread from the witch's mouth. Webs shot from the spiders that had positioned themselves on the walls. Aaron tried dodging them, but three caught his leg from the right. He was dragged across the floor, bumping into pews as he went. He aimed his hand down the webs and tried using magic even though he couldn't see the spiders. The webs went limp, and he let them fall to the ground.
A pew flew out of the haze at him, and he narrowly rolled out of the way. "That's how you throw a pew, boy!" He heard the witch yell out.
As he stood up, the witch appeared in front of him and grabbed his tie. "Hey! You're gonna stain it. Who knows where your hands have been?"
"It's already black…" The witch started, but was cut off by Aaron's fist colliding with her cheek. She hissed at him and threw him across the room. He bounced off the wall and slammed his back on the ground, knocking the wind out of him. Webs connected to his chest and lifted him upright as he gasped for air. The witch walked up and held his face in her hands. "Such a scrawny boy."
"Side effect of gaming." He choked out.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to let my babies eat you, since you declined to join the ritual."
Aaron frowned. "Nah, not feeling it." He spat in her eyes, and as she reeled back he crushed the spiders with magic. He quickly grabbed one of the falling webs and jumped at the witch with it held out in front of him. It collided with the witch's neck and he let himself wrap around her neck and planted his feet on her back.
The witch fell to her knees and her spider legs writhed. "How did you destroy…my babies?" She asked, panicking.
"Magic, of course." He said, pulling the web tight.
The witch coughed and wheezed. Spider webs hit Aaron from all sides, but he held his ground, holding the webs tight to not be pulled over. "Only…girls can do magic." She choked out.
"Your information's old, and it has cost you. I'd advise you to be more prepared next time, but there won't be one for you." He said, pushing his foot down on her neck and tightening the web. The witch twitched violently, then stopped moving. The walls faded, and the spiders all shrieked and disintegrated along with their mother. All of the people who had been captured crumpled into heaps.
Kyubey walked in and sniffed at one of the churchgoers. "You made it in time. Good job, Aaron."
Aaron picked up the grief seed and transformed back into his normal clothes. "I'm going home."
"What about school?"
"Shut up, Kyubey." Aaron spat out, limping towards the door.
"Aaron, are you upset with me? What's wrong?"
Aaron turned on Kyubey. "You knew I wasn't ready! Why the hell am I here? I nearly died!"
"A body is easily fixable. Your magic will take care of it for you." He said, wagging his tail back and forth.
"It's only fixable if it's alive!" Aaron yelled at him.
"You did win, didn't you?" Kyubey said casually. Aaron scowled and limped away. "I won't be giving you your next witch. It'll be up to you for a while."
Aaron just waved his hand over his shoulder. "Yeah yeah, I got it." He got to the door, straightened out the best he could, and walked home.
Aaron lied curled up in his bed. He stared at the grief seed. It hadn't shattered after using it this time. He frowned at it. He was angry at himself for killing someone and not feeling bad about it. "I suppose the witch was about to murder tons of innocent people." He muttered to himself. It was also not a 'someone'. He sighed and put the grief seed back in his pocket.
There was a knock at his door. He groaned, and the door swung open. Kiera walked in, holding her books in her arms. "I brought you the work you missed." She said softly.
Aaron rolled over to look at her as she sat down. "Thanks." He said carefully, trying not to sound in pain.
"Geez, you look awful." She said, setting down the books and putting the papers aside.
"I told you at school, I didn't feel good." He said, happy that he was no longer lying. He hurt all over.
"Well, the way you were sprinting, I didn't really believe you. I was gonna give you an earful, but your mom said you collapsed when you got home. Do you know what's wrong?" She said, touching his forehead.
"Yeah, more or less." He said. 'Just got tossed around by a witch, no big deal.' He thought to himself.
"If it happens again, I'll walk you home. Don't strain yourself."
"Yeah, sure." He said. "Hey, do you work out?"
Kiera hesitated, caught off guard. "Y-yeah. For volleyball. I go to a gym every other day."
"I wanna go. Take me with you next time you go."
"Where is this coming from?"
"Do you go tomorrow?"
"What are you saying? Calm down." Kiera said, confused.
"I'll be better then. So, come pick me up. If you don't, I'll tell all your friends you have a crush on me."
She scowled. "Fine, I'll pick you up tomorrow. It's your fault if I have to drag you home." She said, grabbing her book and heading for the door. "Anything else?"
Aaron grinned. "Sure you don't want me to tell them about your crush anyway? It would make it easier." He teased.
"Good bye, Aaron." she said.
"Wait." He said. She stopped and looked at him. He was silent for a moment, then spoke up. "Stay with me till I fall asleep."
"What? You're sixteen. Not a child."
"Please." He stared up at her hazel eyes.
She sighed and set her books back down, sitting next to him. He closed his eyes and relaxed, letting exhaustion do its work.