Disclaimer: Can I not?
It was early morning, before the sun rose, with a slight cool breeze passing through the area. There on the roof, sat a person, alone, with dark hair that had a slight tint of purple to it. His scarf fluttered in the breeze, and his expression was hidden under his goggles. There he sat, until the first rays of sunlight came out of the horizon. Rustle On the ground, near a tree, there was a rustling sound. The boy with the scarf jumped to his feet in a flash, and scanned the area by the tree. Out of the tree, flew a sparrow. "…." Lowering his hackles, the boy sat back down on the roof…
Anrya's P.O.V.
Be-be-be-beep, be-be-be-beep… I woke up to the sound of my alarm beeping annoyingly on my shelf. "Ugh…gotta wake up…" It was 6:30 a.m., and I was tired. Giving myself a moment to completely wake up, I rolled out of bed, turned my alarm off, and headed for the bathroom somewhat like a zombie. I soon washed up, changed into some fresh clothing and headed out the door. Huh, everyone must still be asleep… Glancing backwards towards the other bedroom doors, I pondered the thought of waking the others up, but then thought against it. I walked towards and down the stairs till I got to the ground floor. Turning to the left, I went towards a door marked: Keep Out, which was Gris and Gray's laboratory. Opening the door I walked in to say 'good morning'… Boom…CRASH! "What the—" Unsure of what was happening, I ran into the large room. Empty? Looking around, I saw the door to the downstairs lab was open. Running down the stairs, I turned the corner. "Gray! Gris! What's going on?"
On the other side of the room, said people were coughing. "Ah, don't worry Anrya-chan, we're fine." Gris came out of the smoke and smiled reassuringly. His safety goggles were crooked, his lab coat was slightly singed, and his hair was sticking out on ends.
"Yep," Gray added, "it's only a small explosion of an experiment that we were working on."
Yeah, um…ok, but…what exactly were you working on?"
"Oh, we were just testing out a beam drone that we created…just for fun," Gris answered.
"A beam drone?" For fun?
"Yeah, it shoots out beams of energy from all sides and it has heat sensors to locate its target…We wanted to work with flame detection and flame usage, but since no one can really light their flame yet, we can't really work on that," said Gray. From the smoke, Gray pulled out a spherical object which was now severely damaged. "There seems to be some kind of defect in it."
"Uh, ok," I answered. What would they possibly want to make that for? "Well, I'll be upstairs making some breakfast. Be there by 8 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. ok?"
Gray glanced at my direction. "You do know it's still 6:49 a.m. right?"
"Uh, yeah…I guess I'll just…do something else for the meanwhile…" Quickly saying goodbye to Gris and Gray, I went out of their lower laboratory, to the ground floor lab, and then went out the door. What should I do? I wondered. Glancing towards the entrance, I decided I would go outside for some fresh air. Checking to make sure I had the mansions keys with me, I walked out the front door and left.
-Outside-
Hm, nice weather today~ I thought as I wandered around the perimeter of the mansion. When I got to a clear area with a sturdy tree and not many bugs, I stood around and looked up at the clear sky. Then remembering yesterday, I took out my boss ring from my pocket and observed it. It was metallic and very well crafted. The ring had a sky blue tint to it and orange gems were embedded on opposite sides. Around it were gold and silver etchings that made the ring look majestic. It's so pretty… I thought. Then putting the ring on the middle finger of my right hand, I found that the ring fit quite snuggly. "Hm… I wonder if I can light it up…" Filled with curiosity, I tried lighting up my flame. Flicker A small, weak sky flame, but a flame nonetheless, lit up on my ring. My heart raced with excitement as I tried to experiment with it more…but was then disappointed when my flame died out. "Aww…" I kicked the ground in frustration and whirled around to head back to the mansion. Pffft~ "Huh?" I turned around in mid-step to see who it was that chuckled. The clearing behind me was empty except for the birds that chirped. "Hello, is anyone there?" There was no reply. Huh, I guess not…maybe I was hearing things… Shrugging, I turned back towards the mansion again and went inside.
When I was back in the mansion, I walked into the living room and sat down for a while. Then, glancing at the clock, I saw it was currently 7a.m.. "Better prepare breakfast…" I muttered. Walking into the kitchen, I prepared the necessary items to cook with, as well as the necessary ingredients.
After 30 minutes of cooking, breakfast was ready. That took a while. Cleaning my hands, I stepped away from the set table and took off the apron. It feels weird cooking for other people… "Hmph, it's already 8 a.m. …better call everyone to eat." I turned to go wake the others. Ding dong From the front, the doorbell rang."Huh?" Changing my course, I walked towards the front door and answered by opening it.
"Good morning Anrya-chan~" Zero's face was the first thing I saw as I opened the door.
"Oh yes Anrya-chan," said a voice behind Zero. It was Ren. "Sorry to have disturbed you this early in the morning, but I brought the ring for Ryo-kun."
"Ah, not at all Ren," I said, "but why is Zero here…?"
"Hm~?" Zero said.
"Ah, err…it's just I didn't expect to see you Zero."
"Well I hope you don't mind us being here Anrya-chan~" said Zero, "I do have some things I want to say to your family~"
"If that is fine with you Anrya-chan," Ren intervened.
"Yeah it's fine…Um, let me get the others down here." Quickly escaping, I went up the stairs to get everyone up for breakfast.
-Second Floor-
Knocking on each girl's door, I asked them to all wake up and come downstairs. When I was finished waking them up and making sure they were up, I went for the stairs to get to the guys' rooms.
-Third Floor-
"Yo guys, wake up and come downstairs ASAP." Then making sure they got the message, I banged each of their doors.
-First Floor-
When I got downstairs into the kitchen, I looked for something to do. I saw Zero and Ren already seated at the table for breakfast, and wondered if I should join them. Seeing nothing to do, I awkwardly stood around.
"Why don't you join us Anrya-chan?" Ren said.
"Yes, join us Anrya-chan~" Zero said. Then he chuckled. "Funny how the guest is inviting the owner to the table~"
"Errr…hehehe," I said as non-awkwardly as possible, "True that." Oh…this is awkward… Walking to the table, I took a seat on the opposite side of Zero and Ren. An awkward silence hovered in the air…or maybe it was just me because Zero seemed content on eating his fork-stabbed toast, and Ren was calmly sipping his tea. Aw…people get over here already… Thankfully my wish came true…sort of. Walking into the kitchen was Darke. Maybe it was his aura or the way he held himself, but Zero and Ren seemed to have noticed him entering before I did.
"Good morning," I said.
"…." As usual, I got no reply.
Without turning around, Zero only slid his eyes toward Darke. He smiled. "Hmhmhm~ Well, it seems you came Darke-kun~"
I couldn't see the expression on Darke's face, but seeing how he coldly passed by Zero without a word, I guessed he didn't quite welcome Zero. Still sipping his tea, Ren calmly sat without a word. "Well Darke, take a seat," I said. Darke walked towards the opposite side of the table just as I did, and sat two chairs away from me.
"Hm~ Anrya-chan, won't you be eating~?" Zero munched on his toast, chair leaned back, his red and silver eyes glittering.
"Ah, well…I'm just waiting for the others to come down so that everyone will have enough to eat…"
"Don't worry," said Ren, eyes closed, sipping tea, "Your family will be arriving shortly…"
I obediently ate. Then, just as Ren said, the others came. First came in Rai and Selina. Rai brightly said his 'good mornings' and took a seat next to me on the left. Selina said her 'good mornings' too and took a seat between me and Darke. Next came Ryo, alone and quiet. He sat next to his brother as well as Ren. Then Esa, Jasmine, and Crystal came. They took a seat as well. Esa, not wanting to sit next to Rai or too close to Zero, sat in between Jasmine and Crystal. "Now we only need Gris and Gray…" I said in between chews.
"—What? Someone said my name?" In came Gray, and Gris right behind her.
"Hmhmhm~ Speak of the devil," Zero purred.
Gray stopped mid-stride and took a moment to critically stare at Zero. Then frowning, she turned to me with a looking asking Why is he here? I just shrugged. Gris continued to walk towards the table and took a seat beside Zero. "Hmph," Gray said, and walked to the table and took a seat.
"Hmhmhm~ You shouldn't frown Gray-chan~ It gives you wrinkles when you get older~" Zero took a bite out of his toast after finishing his comment.
"Shut up you freeloader…" Gray retorted, and then we all went to eating breakfast.
"So Zero, you said you wanted to tell us something?" I looked at Zero expectantly and waited for a reply.
Zero took his time finishing his toast. Then he replied. "Well, Ren and I feel that we should teach your family now, the basics of the flame and how to light one~"
This surprised me because I didn't think that Zero was the teaching type. "Heh? You guys?"
"Do you have any other connections or teachers to teach you~?" Zero asked.
"No…but do you guys usually do this?" I asked.
"No~" Zero's eyes glittered deviously.
"Then why?..."
Ren intervened. "Seeing how your newly formed family has absolutely no connections or knowledge, it seems you need some guidance. Previous families, who registered to us, had some sort of connection with the mafia or knowledge of some sorts. Of course in this era there really aren't many new families being created because there are older, more powerful families around. Most people will just try to get into these families or in other cases; they will serve in the family's branches. Some new families that are made however are usually either street gangs with the mafia-like experience, broken up families, etc. But of course no matter who you are, if your family is not strong enough (and that is in all ways) you will not survive. Seeing how we don't have many families that are contracted to us left…we decided a clueless family like you should be at least prepared."
"Oh…that's nice," I commented.
Zero smiled and seemed to share a private thought with Ren in an exchanged glance. "If you are done eating by now, shall we get started~?"
Everyone nodded and started to put there dishes away.
"Don't forget your rings~"
We all gathered outside. Everyone seemed pretty excited at the thought of learning how to light a flame on their rings. I had to admit, I was pretty excited too. Then Ren spoke up.
"Ah Ryo-kun, this is your ring…though you may not be a guardian, you should probably learn how to light a flame." Ren handed Ryo the ring and headed back next to Zero. "Now let me explain the flame. The flame that one lights is called a 'Dying Will Flame'. The Dying Will Flame is a high-density form of energy that is refined from one's own life-force. Due the way how it resonates with one's emotions, it has been regarded as a type of battle aura. However, unlike the aura, which is a supernatural phenomenon that can only be seen by a few individuals, the Dying Will Flame is, in many ways, more alike to a real flame, possessing even its own destructive properties. As you know, there are seven types of flames of the sky: Sky, Storm, Sun, Lightening, Rain, Mist, and Cloud. There are other types of flames as well, but we'll get into that another time… A flame's power is measured by its purity, and the purity level is controlled by one's resolve. The stronger your resolve is, the purer your flame will be, thus stronger. But before we even go into purity, we need to learn how to light our flames." Ren pulled out his right hand which had a ring on the middle finger and lit a rain flame. "Now to light a flame, you need to have a resolve…Keep in mind of your resolve and try to light your flames."
I lifted up my right hand and tried to light my flame. Nothing. Frowning I tried to light it again, but it didn't work. "Huh." I glanced around at the others. Darke and Ryo had already lit their flames and Ren nodded approvingly. Next to me, Esa glared at her ring, willing it to light up. As for Jasmine and Crystal, they seemed to be having trouble too. Ok…I guess I'm not the only one having trouble… I looked towards Selina. She seemed to be speaking with Zero. I couldn't hear their conversation, but I could tell that Zero was brief in his talk. Selina nodded and looked at her ring. After a moment of concentration, a flame lit up on her ring. How did she do that? Wondering how Selina lit her flame, I then turned to look at Rai. … What the heck… Rai had a…strange expression on his face. Rai's face was all screwed up in concentration. His cheeks were blown up as he held his breath, and his face was turning red. Staring intently at his ring, Rai stood in a rigid position. "Um…Rai?" Rai didn't answer me and continued to stare at his ring. "Rai! I don't think you're doing it right…" I know I didn't even light my own flame but…I'm pretty sure he's doing it wrong… Crystal, Esa, and Jasmine laughed slightly beside me.
"Ah…uh…what?" Rai said.
"Well Rai, you look like you're…" I said, "In pain."
"Constipated," Esa said.
"About to explode," Jasmine added in.
"All of the above," Crystal said, laughing.
Rai gave an embarrassed, lopsided grin and shrugged. "I'm trying to light my ring, but it's not working…"
"Well, you need a resolve," said Ren, walking towards us, "What is your resolve?"
"Uh…" Rai trailed off.
Understanding how Rai felt, I spoke. "Well, like Rai, I can't light my flame either. I understand the resolve part…kinda…but I don't quite understand what my resolve would be. I mean, I know what resolve is, but at the same time…I don't. I'm not sure if I have one or what it exactly is." I shuffled my feet slightly.
"Same here," Crystal said. Esa and Jasmine nodded.
"Knowing what resolve is and actually having one seems like a whole different thing to me…" Esa commented.
Ren sighed and adjusted his glasses. Zero came walking up towards us. "Hmhmhm~ Perhaps you should explain some more and give some advice Ren-kun~"
Ren looked directly towards us. "Resolve. I would consider this to be your will, strong emotion, goal, or ambition…"
"Yeah but what exactly does that mean?" I cut in. Seeing how rude that was, I apologized. "Sorry about that but…what kind of goal or will, am I supposed to hold? To protect the people I love? No offense but that only happens in story books, mangas, and animes. Plus that kinda sounds corny…"
Ren sighed. "Your resolve doesn't necessarily have to be noble," Ren said, "It can be simple, and if your resolve happens to be a noble one, then it's fine. Your resolve is unique to you, so it'll be different for each person." Then Ren muttered quietly so that no one heard, "But in some cases there are some ridiculous resolves…"
"Oh…ok…" I replied.
"Yay!" Beside me Rai whooped in joy. His ring was lit with a steady lightening flame.
"What!" Esa said.
"How did you…" I trailed off.
"Rai-kun, what was your resolve…if you don't mind sharing," Ren questioned.
"Ah, that's simple! I just want to have the best time with this family, always have fun, keep everyone smiling, and even get Esa-chan to hang out with me~!" Rai beamed.
Esa made a face.
"Oh ok…" I replied.
"But Rai-kun~" Zero cut in, "Not every event in a mafia life will be pleasant. At times, things will not be fun and sometimes even painful~"
"But we can still have fun and I can help people smile~" Rai's flame did not waver.
Zero and Ren exchanged glances. Ren sighed and shook his head saying, "Rai's resolve seems to be firm and legitimate…"
"…." Rai's resolve sounds…like something you'd read in a book. Sighing, I continued to try to get my flame to light up.
"Agh, this is taking forever~" Crystal whined, "What if it never lights up?"
"Just be patient and keep trying," I replied. I felt my patience waning, but continued to concentrate.
"Ugh, this isn't working," Jasmine groaned.
By now all those who had already lit their flames were indoors.
"Yeah, I know right?" I said, "And it's almost already lunch time too."
"Wait a second," Crystal intervened, "It's almost lunch time, and today is Saturday…OH MY GOD THE NEW ANIME EPISODE IS COMING OUT NOW! I need to go!" Crystal's flame lit up with a sun flame. Without noticing it herself, Crystal ran into the mansion.
"You have got to be kidding me," Jasmine said.
Ren shook his head once more.
More time passed as we tried to light our flames, ask questions, ask for advice, etc. Soon Jasmine and Esa were able to light their flames.
"Agh, what is this?" I mumbled, "Everyone lit their rings' flames except me."
"Don't worry Anrya-chan," Ren said, "You'll eventually light your ring with a sky flame."
I doubted that in my mind, but continued to try to light my flame. Nothing. Sighing I wondered what could possibly be my will. But thinking of a will seemed…hopeless. What could I possibly have a will for? Oh…but wait…a goal or ambition seemed simpler… Something clicked in my mind. Something I said before… I smiled. I knew what my resolve would be…Actually, I had this resolve for a while, but just didn't think of it as one. Looking back at my ring, I thought of my resolve and held fast to it. My ring lit up. I smiled even wider in delight.
"Well done Anrya-chan," Ren looked at me.
"Thanks!" I replied.
"So~ What was little Anrya-chan's resolve~?" There came Zero's voice as well as Zero himself.
"Er…um…" I thought for a moment and wondered if I should share it or not. Why not… "Remember how a day or so ago we spoke of making a family name?"
"Yes~"
"And how before that we…er…lost to you on that trial you gave to test us?"
"Hmhmhm~ Yes Anrya-chan~"
"Well honestly…I don't like losing…plus I want our family to live up to its name because: A. I don't want to look stupid and B. Cause living up to that name would be awesome."
"Hmhmhm~"
"I guess it's kind of like studying for me…Sometimes I doubt that I'll ever be number one in the school…but I still want to…"
"So~ Your resolve is a goal or an ambition~"
I nodded.
"Interesting~~~" Zero turned away from me so that the only thing I saw was his snow white hair. "Ren-kun and I will be in shortly for lunch, why don't you go ahead in~?"
"Ah…but I didn't cook anything and I don't think the others—"
"Not to worry Anrya-chan," Ren said, joining the conversation, "We ordered food to come to this manor."
Surprised I stumbled over my words. "Oh…um…thanks Ren...uh I'll be heading in and…yeah…come quickly." I ran towards the mansion.
"Hmhmhm~" Zero chuckled as he saw Anrya run towards the mansion. He turned to Ren. "Ren-kun, what are the results~?"
"Well Zero, from how I observed each of their flames, they seem to have gotten the basics of lighting flames." Ren adjusted his glasses. "They learned to light their flames quite quickly though. Usually an adult won't get the hang of lighting a flame that easily…"
"Hmhmhm~ Well if you think about that Ren-kun, most of them are somehow connected to the mafia (though not all), and they're all still children. Unlike most adults, children have dreams, ambitions, goals, desires…Adults may have these too, but a child's desire is stronger and rawer." Zero's eye glittered. From afar, if the sun's rays hit Zero's eyes in a certain way, his eyes looked like a red glitter in the forestry. "How about their flames' purity Ren-kun~?"
"Their flames don't seem to be quite pure…their strength levels are low, though Darke's flame seems to have the most purity out of all of them." Ren trailed off. "I still have concerns about the flames that each person lit. It indeed lit, but those resolves aren't quite firm, but rather based on emotion. I think it would've been safer if they had a firmer resolve…" Ren sighed.
"Interesting~" Zero had a smile played on his lips. "Well, we should be going in now Ren-kun~ The others are waiting~"
Ren nodded. Then he and Zero walked into the mansion.
Jasmine's P.O.V.
Agh…so bored… I had been sitting on the living room sofa for ten minutes now. After somehow lighting my flame, I came into the mansion. Selina had gone up to the library with Ryo (from what I had heard from Gris), Crystal had undoubtedly gone either to her room or the library to watch her anime, Rai was pestering Gray, and Darke…well he's always disappearing so I didn't really mind him. Sighing, I took out my iPod and listened to some K-Pop. "Ah…"
"You sound like a zombie Jasmine." The voice belonged to Anrya who had just come in.
Turning my head, which was leaning on the sofa, I just stared at Anrya and said, "I'm bored." I probably had a dead expression on my face. "Hey, so did you light your flame or…"
"I got my ring to light a sky flame."
"Congrats."
"Thanks."
There was a silence between us for a while, but it was broken with the entrance of Zero and Ren.
"Hmhmhm~ Hello ladies. Oya Jasmine-chan, why the long face~?"
I didn't reply.
"Hmhmhm~"
"Anrya-chan, Jasmine-chan," said Ren, "Can you proceed to the dining area? We prepared lunch this time."
"Sure," I answered. Anrya just nodded. We then proceeded to the dining area.
"Hey Jasmine," Anrya whispered to me.
"What."
"Don't you think Zero and Ren are sort of an odd pair?"
"I guess…" I shrugged.
"Zero is very…unique in personality while Ren is very polite and critical in thought…"
I shrugged again.
"Well what do you—HOLY MOTHER…WHAT IS THIS!" Anrya gaped at the dining table and soon I followed. On the table were piles, literally, piles of food, neatly placed on fine silverware. The types of food on the table were various. Foods from different countries and cultures were placed on beautiful dishes. All the drinks there were exotic and different too. I'm pretty sure that Anrya and I stood in front of the doorway gaping like idiots, and that if it wasn't for the rest of the family, along with Zero and Ren to come in, we would've stayed like that for a long time.
"Woah!" Crystal exclaimed.
"This looks delicious!" Rai excitedly said.
"Wow," Esa said, surprised.
"Nice," Selina said with a smile.
"…." Darke and Ryo remained silent as usual, expressions unable to be read.
"Let's go in and have lunch everyone~" Zero stood behind us with Ren at his side.
"Er…ok…but where's Gris and Gray?" Anrya said.
"They will be here shortly," Ren replied.
We all went inside and took a seat at the dining table.
"Ah…thanks for the meal Zero, Ren," Anrya said, taking a seat, "It's very extravagant…you really didn't have to really…"
"Yes he did." In came Gray and Gris right behind him.
"Hmhmhm~ Welcome to lunch Gray-chan, Gris-kun~"
"Gray!" Anrya gave Gray a look.
"Freeloaders need to cough up their payment at one point," said Gray indifferently. The two took a seat.
"Well now that everyone is here, let us eat~" Zero smiled. We all dug in.
In the middle of our feast, Zero made an announcement. "Hmhmhm~ Hope you're all enjoying the lunch. Just to tell you, Ren and I will be staying at your mansion for some time."
Esa choked on her drink.
"Are you ok?" I asked.
Esa nodded and continued to drink.
"Because we thought it was necessary," Zero continued without missing a beat, "Ren, I, and the others will tutor you for the time being. We will teach you the things you need to know. After that, you're on your own~~~"
There was a silence in the room.
"Hmhmhm~" Zero smiled and stabbed a piece of steak. Holding the fork-stabbed meat in his hands, Zero's eyes glittered, and then he devoured it.
Cited a bit from: wiki/Dying_Will_Flames