Chapter 14
Growth
Jin took his stance facing Saga. Neither made a move. They both studied each other waiting for the other to make a move. Saga came out of stance and just stood plain. Jin was suspicious of his reason for doing this. Saga saw the confusion on his face and smirked.
Jin moved forward, ready to attack. He moved in with to punch Saga when his attack was suddenly halted. Jin’s fist was being held by a shadow tentacle. “You can’t reach me,” Saga said as he hit Jin in the stomach with his palm. Dark blue energy sparked from his palm and knocked Jin back.
By this time, the class had begun to take notice of their fight. The other apprentices stopped sparring and turned their attention to the two. Ares also stopped to watch. Jin got up and brushed himself off. He moved in again but was halted as shadows gripped both his arms. Jin struggled, but couldn’t get free. Then he got an idea. Red energy sparked from his palms, causing the shadows to melt off of him.
Saga looked on in surprise as Jin broke free. Jin charged at Saga and was tripped as a shadow tentacle reached up and grabbed his leg. It picked him up and began spinning him around. Jin’s palm sparked and he reached down gripping the shadow. It melted away, freeing him. He fell, but managed to catch himself as he hit the ground. Saga began to get annoyed. Shadow tentacles rose up around him as he became more serious.
One of the apprentices walked up behind Ares. “Those guys are getting serious. Maybe we should stop . . .” he began.
“No,” Ares responded, cutting him off. “This is just what those two need. This rivalry is pushing them farther then they would get by themselves. Just watch them; Jin has already mastered the technique and learned to apply it against Saga. Saga’s ego is a bit out of control, and it looks like Jin may open his eyes and show him he has more to learn,” he explained.
Saga began attacking with his shadows, as they began to whip at Jin. Jin moved in closer by dodging the tentacles. He was distracted as two came at him at once. Jin raised his arms to block. He suddenly found himself surrounded as the tentacles bound his body. Jin was trapped and couldn’t move. “Isn’t it time for you to give up?” Saga asked, tightening the grip of the shadows.
Jin yelled as red energy sparked from his whole body allowed him to brake free. He ran up to Saga and kicked at his head. Saga reached up and grabbed his leg. At this point, Jin exhausted most of his power. He poured the rest of his energy into a final strike, as he hit Saga in the stomach with an energy palm. It landed, but Saga held his ground. Saga grunted in pain and looked to Jin in anger. Jin smirked in defiance. Saga struck back at Jin with an energy palm of his own. Blue energy sparked off Jin’s body as the current ran through him, covering his body with cuts. Finally, the massive energy field shot Jin back.
Jin fell limp to the ground. Saga was panting hard and began to calm down. “It’s over,” Ares said. “Now someone take Jin to the medical office, and everyone else get back to work!” he commanded.
Jin once again found himself in a familiar place. He was lying on the ground completely surrounded by darkness. Jin stood and looked around, but there was nothing around. “Where am I?” Jin said to himself. His eyes eventually adjusted to the darkness and made out a figure in the distance. “Hey!” Jin called out to the person. There was no response.
Jin began to run toward the person. He finally got close, but he began to feel a weight pull down on him. He couldn’t move. He tried to call to the person, but he couldn’t speak. Then the person turned his head toward Jin. The person suddenly opened their glowing red eyes and stared at Jin. “Ahh,” Jin said as he was jerked out of his sleep. He cringed in pain as he lifted up. He looked around to see he was in the medical room in an area that was surrounded by a curtain. Kara was sitting at a desk beside him.
“You okay?” Kara asked, turning her attention to him.
Jin leaned back with a loud sigh. “Yeah, I guess,” he said. Kara walked over to Jin. A light green energy surrounded her palm as she went over Jin’s body to analyze his wounds.
“Well, you seem to be all right. It’s mostly minor damage over a wide area. Just take it easy for now and you should be back to normal in a day or two,” Kara explained.
Jin sat up and let his feet hang over the side of the bed. “Okay, I will; thanks,” he said as he stood.
“All right you can go back to your room. If you have any more problems, you know where to find me,” Kara responded, as she made her way out of the area.
Jin got dressed and made his way back to his room. He walked in to find the room empty. Upon further inspection, he saw a large black envelop on his bed. Jin sat down on the bed, opened the letter, and began to read through the contents.
The first thing he saw was the people in his group. Jin was to be paired with one-star rank apprentice, Liz Faraoh, and the group would be led by two-star rank apprentice, Saga Dimyo. Jin dropped the envelope and all its contents onto the bed. “What!?” Jin said aloud in shock.
Jin rolled his eyes and fell back on the bed, letting out a sigh. Great, I’m on a team with the two people who hate me the most in this place. This is going to suck, Jin thought. It took him a while, but he eventually realized he couldn’t do anything about it, so he was just going to have to deal with it.
Jin’s curiosity got the best of him, so he picked up the contents of the envelope and continued reading. Apparently, a village to the west called Hamelin has been having a problem with kami. The kami were in the form of massive rats. There were various reports of seeing them in the woods outside the town. The townsfolk fear that the rats will begin moving into town and attacking the people. Jin’s group is to be deployed to the village and clear out any kami they encounter.
Rats, huh? So I’m pretty much an exterminator now? Jin thought to himself, as he looked over the documents. It said that their group would depart tomorrow afternoon. At that moment, Saga walked into the room.
He glared at Jin. “So I guess you know already?” Saga asked.
“Yeah,” Jin responded.
“Look, just do what I say when I say it and stay out of my way the rest of the time,” Saga commanded angrily. He then walked over to his bed and laid down. “Now get some sleep,” he said, pulling the sheets over him.
“Whatever,” Jin said as he placed the contents back into the envelope. He then laid back on his bed and tried to get some sleep.
The next day Jin awoke to see that Saga’s bed was empty, and he had already left. Jin sat up and looked at the clock. Realizing he was late, he jumped out of bed and hastily got dressed before speeding off to the meeting spot. Jin ran toward the front entrance of the academy. He arrived to see Saga and Liz waiting for him.
“You’re late,” Liz said, annoyed.
“Well, I’m here now,” Jin replied.
Saga just sighed. “Let’s just go,” he added, also annoyed. Saga took the lead as the three headed to the gate.
Poart turned to see the three walking up. “State your business,” he said.
“We have business to tend to. We are going on a mission and have received permission to leave the premises,” Saga said, pulling out a scroll and handing it through the gate to Poart.
Poart opened the scroll and read it. “Okay, you have permission,” he responded, as he put the scroll in his jacket. Poart opened the gate and let the three through.
“Thanks, Poart,” Jin said as he walked past. Poart smiled and waved to the group as they left.
ToC
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