Author's note: Hehhe, yeah sorry guys about this late update. Let's just say I try to be honest with my dates, but you know sometimes things just come up. Anyways thanks to a certain review I'm now including more than just small camos of the elemental Masters , in fact there will be a lot of more conflict and that juicy stuff, so stay tuned!
Neuro gazed up at the large building with its massive marble columns holding up the magnificent concrete structure. This was where he had spent most of his days collecting and sharing knowledge to the ignorant. 'Shedding the light into the darkness", one would say as quoted from one on his favorite novels. Though regretting the day he had left such a perfect place to participate in Chen's barbaric competition, the old building had managed to stay in one piece while in his absence. The library was his sanctuary.
Yes as ironic as it was he the master of the mind actually owned a Library. Admittedly it really wasn't a big shocker. Dismissing his comical thoughts, he made his way up the stairs which lead up to giant doors guarding the entrance. With a final breathe, Neuro pushed the doors open to be greeted by the sweet aroma of books. Oh how he had missed this place. The peace, the tranquility, this was was where he felt like he was in his element. "M-m-master Neuro, you have returned from your trip?!
He was alerted by the voice of his apprentice which he had appointed to keep watch while he was away. She was undoubtedly loyal always willing to lend a hand, regarding that he use to run the library by himself until one girl had offered to help every other weeks, Which turned to days then became more consistent. Over time he had learned to trust her, not even having to read her mind to know wether she was telling the truth." Indeed I am." He finally answered the astonished girl.
Pushing away the hair out of her eyes, she ran up to great her teacher. "How was it? What did you see?"
"It was an encounter I shall soon never forget. Also it is nice too see you as well Emily." He revealed, his hands behind his back staring down at the young burnett. " On the island I saw many things such as non-indigenous plants, new friends, and even the green ninja." The girl's eyes shot open, there went two surprises in one day.
"You saw the green ninja?!" Her voice echoed through the library causing an uproar of "Shhhhsh", from those around either reading or studying.
It brought him joy to see his apprentice in such high spirits. " Saw him? I talked and fought along side with him in the corridor of elders. Have you not been listening to the news?"
"Well yeah, with Chen and his anacondrai army reeking havoc on the local villages it was kind of hard to miss." She this time lowered her voice to avoid a herd of angry glares. "I'm glad your okay though, weird things have been happening while you were gone."
Weird? From the small town they resided in things were considered to mostly be normal. " How so?" Neuro was now intrigued to know.
"Maybe we should go somewhere more private." Standing at the doorway having a conversation was a bit too conspicuous. "Follow me." She ushered, leading him to one of the rooms which laid towards the back of the building. This was where Neuro came often to keep his own stash of books or just to meditate on a few things. In the center of the room there was a table set up with four chairs.
The atmosphere had already changed from light to heavy, as the master took a seat at the table with Emily sitting on the opposing side. "If you have taken me back here, I sense this must be something serious."
Emily searched for the words to say, her mouth constantly forming words and sounds. "I wouldn't say it's serious, but it sounds like the type of thing you and your elemental buddies like to handle ." Already Neuro could read the worried vibes from her mind, though he chose to remain quiet and simply listen. "You see my sister and mom live in that little village over by the that stream. Araluen is its name I think, let's just say I haven't talked to them in a while. Anyways people have been saying that during the night villagers mysteriously disappear without a trace. The issue has grown so severe that a curfew was actually put into place to keep the inhabitance safe, yet they still continue to vanish. As you can tell its become a real problem now, but no one has a done a thing about it."
"Hm, I see." Neuro quickly began to now speculate around what could possibly be the cause. The only solution he could see of now would be to investigate. Though he frankly wanted to spend more time at his home, his first duty as a master was to protect. "I will most certainly look into this, thank you for informing me of this."
Sleeping really wasn't a problem besides the constant chirps of the crickets, yet Ash still had feeling at the pit of his stomach. He wasn't nervous or anything because c'mon he was the master of smoke! He feared nothing. But it had been a while since he had actually spent time with his mother, he really did want her to believe he had changed . Though of course Ash would never show this type of sincereness on the outside due to keeping up his 'tough guy' reputation, it was still the whole and total truth. That' why the first thing he did when he got down stairs was warm her with best smile he could give. She was actually just cooking a small little breakfast of biscuits and eggs, but he could feel that the kind silent greeting was well appreciated. Boy was he glad that none of the other elemental masters were around. In some cases right now he could be considered a momas' boy, but aren't all sons protective with the intent on taking care of their mom?
"What's the agenda for today?" Ash questioned, breaking the silence. Both were just about done with their meals.
The woman glanced up from her plate, surprised at her son's eagerness to get to work. "If don't mind, I need to go out to the market to get some food for the house. And oh, I also need to go do some window shopping, visit mrs. Leah... Wait you remember her don't you? I use to drop you over her house all the time."
Great. They had to go doing shopping. Like any man he couldn't stand to be in a store of any kind for too long, especially if its the lady was doing all the shopping. It could almost be considered torture. Just by hearing the words 'window shopping', he knew today was gonna be a long so he might as well saddle up for the ride. While caught up in his thoughts, he failed to notice his mother staring at him waiting for an answer. "Huh?" He responded half heartedly.
"Mrs Leah? We going to visit her today. As I recall you two use to spend a lot of time with each other."
Ash frowned. " Oh I remember her." He almost hissed trying to hide his anguish toward the said woman. Memories actually began flooding back as he began taking note on why he despised the lady. When he was like seven or so, she'd always pinch his cheeks until they were red! As for being over there , it was a nightmare! There were always these animal heads mounted all over the wall and she'd always be blasting her Oprah music to the max. Now her daughter was another story because if there was one thing he hated most, was being told what to do. That girl was the queen of drama queens when she didn't get her way.
"It'll be nice to let her get a look at you now that your all grown up." She expressed excitedly."Ooooh and that reminds me, speaking of the past this place sure could use some cleaning. It is around the times after all."
Scratching his head he nodded. "Sure sounds like fun." Not really, though it actually sounded boring. "Hey maybe after we're done doing all this we can go out for a nightly-"
"No!" His mother interjected standing up. " I mean we could do something else, like play a board game inside. Walking outside in the dark just isn't that great you know with all those pesky bugs."She laughed nervously.
Ash looked at her with a brow raised. "Something you need to tell me?"
"Of course not! Everything is normal here. Yup completely normal!" She took this time to collect the two empty plates and place them in the sink. "How about we get a move on, the markets are busiest at this time you know?"
For a moment the young master paused. " Eheh." His voice sounded a bit unsure by the response given. Though before he could find out more, the woman had already grabbed her shopping basket and was ready to head out the door. Today was going to be a bit more interesting than he had first thought. Outside the air was damp, the presence of the sun was almost non-existent from the thick cloud cover. Ash kept up a pace alongside his mother while they walked along the busy streets. "Where to first?"
" I was thinking we could go to the clothing banquet first. This old worn down dress is just getting a bit too bland. That's alright with you right?"
Forcing a fake smile he lied through his teeth. " Yeah that sounds great."
Author's Note: So how was this chapter? Are you guys more intrigued? Well I hope so, also if you have any suggestions at all on what or who should either be seen or mentioned in the next chapter, just let me know. Also while on your way out, don't forget to hit that little review button there on the bottom and let me know what you guys think.