Chapter 11: Shooting Star part 1
One year ago
"I look forward to our next meal together."-A man in a fancy suit said, walking towards the door of a large mansion.
"The honor was mine."-Another man said inside the place. He's a tall slightly overweight man with short blond hair and a lot of wrinkles on his face despite only in his mid-forties.
"I really hope you consider my proportion Mr. Marigold. My son and your daughter really do make a nice couple don't you say?"- The first man turn around.
"They're still young. We shouldn't rush something like that, Julieta is probably more concerned with what dress is her favorite than marriage."-The now identified Julieta's father, Mr. Marigold, replied.
"Oh kids these days are more forward thinking than you give them credit for Mr. Marigold. Just earlier I saw the way Julieta looks at my son. I'm telling you I see love in those eyes."-The man insisted.
Julieta overheard this conversation. She hate that man's boy with a fashion.
"I'm sure you're just over exaggerated things."-Mr. Marigold
"You never know."-The man.
"...Save travel sir."-Mr. Marigold coldly.
"Well, good night to you too Mr. Marigold."-the man leaves.
...
"SON OF A BITCH!"-Mr. Marigold yells in rage. "This is the sixth time, sixth fucking time this month some fake-fancy-looking motherfucker tried to steal MY fortune through this bullshit rule. This wouldn't have happened if that bitch has gave me a son before she died but noo. She has to give me a daughter. Hell it would've been better she didn't give me anything. At least then I don't have to deal with this bullshit."
He turned around and noticed his daughter who runs away.
"You."-Marigold spits. "You must love the don't you? Fawning over every boys you met, like some form of whore. Just so you can see your old man suffered."
"No father." Julieta cries.
"Don't lie to me." He runs after the girl. "I know all your secrets, all the plans your mom left to you to fuck me over beyond the grave."
"Sir please calm down." Etha runs up to Marigold pleading.
"You shut the fuck up." Marigold scream. "I know you're in tandem with her. You and her planned all this and now you're gonna help her see it through. You're lucky I even let you stay here."
Taking advantage of Etha's distraction, Julieta runs to her room locking it. She started crying.
"Just a little bit longer, endures just a little bit longer."-Etha has promised that she's working on a way to get them both free from here. Julieta is trying her best but she can't keep up much longer.
She walks over to the window and looks up at the stars. She was told that if you made a wish by a shooting star, that wish may one day come true. But she has looked for many nights and never once has she spots one. All she wish for is to be free of this place. To never have to return ever again.
Most of the passengers were relatively fine, for the most part, suffering only minor injuries. The train staff begins contacting the authorities for support.
In the compartment where the attack came from, half of the compartment were gone and as the smoke settles.
"Good reflexes you got there. Especially you, kid."-The attacker
Laki and Max had created a sand and vine wall a good distance away from the train while Keenan grabbed both Etha and Julieta behind the wall. In front of the attacker, Romeo could be seen standing, breathing hard, his hands hold onto the blade, bleeding, as the blade was now aiming up instead of at them. His motion sickness now gone.
"Despite his motion sickness he still push himself to move and divert my attack. Impressive willpowers for someone his age, I'll admit. Also to only have this much injury after grabbing directly on the blade as it firing. The boy might be more trouble than I first believed." The attacker think to himself.
"Who are you?"-Romeo
"You can call me Toji. Though I guess people nowadays refers to me as the sorcerer killer."-The attacker
Hearing this cause both other mages to turn pale.
"Romeo run. He's an S-rank threat!" Max yell.
Before Romeo could react, a knee to his chest sent him flying towards the others. He landed face down. Coughing up blood. Everyone froze at the sight.
Romeo just lay there coughing. Never felt something like this. Astery has hit him with stronger attacks before but none of them were as painful as this.
He also experienced something completely foreign to him. The closest he ever get to feeling like this was when he truly got Astery angry, which weren't very often and weren't as potent as this.
Everything in him felt this feeling, all his cells, his fibers and even his mind and heart felt it and was screaming for him to run. Fear. Fear on an instinctual level, fear for his survival.
Toji suddenly appears in front of them.
Julieta is shaking, tears starting to fall down her face.
"Please! Don't take me back."
"But why not? Your father really wants you back you know. So much so he's willing to have you back even as a corpse. Though there is a 30% pay cut if you return that way so I rather not go there if I possible."-Toji
Everyone can't believe what they just heard.
"Please, you don't understand. She can't go back."-Etha pleaded
"Oh I understand plenty alright. Her mother was once heir to the Marigold Estate but her inheritance was transferred to the father when they married. It's an old tradition of the family, that whenever a female heir marries off, the groom becomes the benefactor to the fortune, correct? And since little miss Marigold here is the only heir for the fortune, once she's married of all the fortune goes to her groom and Mr-not-Marigold don't want that so he wants to keep her locked away. I'm tempted to just keep her myself until she's old enough to marry then take the fortune that way I won't lie. But even I'm not that sick so I'll just settle for this."-Toji smirk
"No you don't. Her father is paranoid about loosing the fortune. He mistreats Julieta, believing her to be a part of some plans her mother made to robs him of his fortune. He constantly yells at her and even beat her."-Etha pleaded now crying
"Children hated by their parents huh. I can relate to that. Unfortunately I also don't care so we can do this the easy way, the hard way, or the extreme way. What will it be?"-Toji
Something about Toji just frightens Romeo. He sense no magic from him, yet his strength and speed is unnatural, it doesn't even feel like that man is a living being, more like a moving object. Yet he's clearly a living being, Romeo can hear his heart beat, his breathing, and feel his temperature like any normal human.
Romeo can't move. On one hand he wants to listen to his instincts, to run, to get away from that man. But on the other hand, he can't just leave everyone, but his fear of that man is too overwhelming.
But when he looks at everyone, he sees Laki and Max, standing between Toji and everyone else. He could tell that they're scared just like him, but he's also feels their determination. They refused to back down from this man.
"Like we let you take her that easily."-Max yells
"Children her age deserve a loving home, not whatever you're taking her back to."-Laki yells
They launch their attacks at Toji. Laki binds him with her strongest vines while Max buried him in a constant wave of sand.
Toji is unfazed though. Easily breaking from the vines, he stomps on the ground which sends a powerful shockwave knocking everyone back and blow away the sand.
Max and Laki however, got up and continued their assault.
"Ahhh"-Romeo scream.
He's currently practicing aerial combat with Keenan. Astery is having them maneuver between obstacles when Keenan suddenly runs out of magic, dropping the two.
Luckily, Astery managed to catch them, chuckling a bit.
"Scared?"-Astery
"No. I'm just shock, not scared. Brave boys don't get scared."-Romeo retorted.
"Oh but they do."-Astery
"They do?"-Romeo
"Indeed. To be brave is not about having no fear, it's about doing something despite of fear."-Astery
Romeo says nothing.
"Son. Eventually you'll have to face with powerful threats, forces that will make you feel like a frightened child. You will be scared of them and that's ok. But you will have to face for those you care about. That's when you show that you're brave. Not because you're not afraid to face them, but because you're facing them even if you're afraid."-Astery look at his son with a warm smile.
Both Laki and Max are down. They can't even move anymore. Toji is facing Julieta, who's crying, holding onto Etha, too scared to move.
"Please, don't take me back."-Julieta shaking.
Toji just stares at her
"Listen kid, life is cruel. You can't wished upon a shooting star and get everything you want that's not how things work."-Toji with a look of slight sympathy.
Julieta just stay quiet.
"I'm giving you this one offer. Consider this my one act of mercy. I could bring you back to continue your suffering, or (he point his blade at her) I can end it all for you now. I'll accept the pay cut, ending your suffering for good."-Toji
A blast hits Toji's side, knocking him over.
"She's not going to die, and she's not going back. She's gonna live her life away from that pain and I'll make sure of it."-Romeo got up, a determined look on his face.