CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Nathan rolled up his sleeping bag as quietly as he could and used it as a pillow. Around him, Reed and Christian slept soundly, the three having taken the living room of the Japanese house to sleep in as opposed to finding a hotel. Though Reed had been curiously excited to be able to sleep in a tiny capsule that was intended for a bed, Kristen's offer of staying in the house had won as the boys found themselves to be more exhausted than they originally thought.

There was no point in trying to get any sleep that night. He had too many thoughts running through his head. Too many things that Akito had been told to himself, Christian, Kristen, Renee, and Reed. Some of it really made sense; everything else went over his head and frustrated him even further than he thought was possible.

It was interesting and so strange to see how many things had surrounded him had to do with Elementals before he was aware of it. Or maybe he was thinking too much into it. The weather patterns that quickly changed were from elementals right? Or had the weatherman really been wrong? Or did the greenhouse affect really have to do with the polar ice caps melting quicker than anyone had anticipated?

There was a whole world of things he hadn't known before.

Were the animals that ran around everywhere really animals or were they guardians?

He wasn't sure. Even Akito's guardian, Huritt, the fox was a different kind of guardian. As the revelation of Elementals in his family had been so small, he decided to stick with the Hiroshima family, being the guardian for it as well as Akito in general. When Renee asked her grandfather how it was possible, even he couldn't' figure out how it worked.

But that's what made it more exciting and what thrilled him as a scientist, not being able to explain everything thrust his way. The biggest question he had after having talked to Akito for as long as they were permitted, even being able to see him use his powers as the night went on, was what made it that specific people to become Elementals?

Were there specific characteristics they had or didn't have? Certain experiences? More importantly, what would the outwardly effect of the public knowing be? If it was kept under wraps by the government so well, as he had accidentally stumbled upon it while doing research for a class, there had to be something wrong.

If not there being some risk of it being released to the public. And what about the evil thing that Akito had fought and lost against before. What was it if it had managed to take over Professor Trethaway as well?

It wasn't long until Nathan was engrossed in his thoughts to figure everything out. You can't figure out how something works without experimenting on it. If we're going to test who is more likely to become an Elemental, is it possible to create your own Elemental?

And thus Nathan mentally worked himself into tiredness, thinking of the different ways an Elemental could be created rather than born.

A/N: And now you see where Nathan first got the idea of creating his own Elementals, which is what resulted in the rest of his work down the line. At some point you'll see how he started to go by the name Core, but that's for another day. There are some other things that I need to show, plus this arc is going to finish with chapter 20, and then a new arc will start from there.

Cheers,

-Riles