Remembrance

I turned to look at the blonde woman with the bow before saying "Whatever you have to say can wait until we get back. I want to get this process over with." The woman went to open her mouth, but shut it immediately after before walking away with her hands in the pocket of her hoodie. I watched as the masked men put bags over everyone's heads until they got to me.

As soon as the bag went over my head, I felt myself being lulled into a deep sleep. I didn't try to fight it, for I didn't want to go through the process of being punched multiple times until I was knocked unconscious. I woke up soon after and found myself inside of a luxurious room with a large bed, located in the center of the back wall, a closet to my left, and a bathroom to my right.

The entire bedroom was covered in a thick, soft red carpet and there was even a chandelier above. The light was on, so I immediately assumed whoever dropped me off was still here. I carefully got off the bed, making sure I made no noise, and began to silently walk out of the bedroom and into the living room. The lights were on all throughout the place, and there was even a pot of boiling water on the stove in the kitchen.

I carefully made my way over to the couch sitting in front of the TV before grabbing whoever was laying down. "Hey, chill the hell out!" It was a woman with elbow-length red hair and ruby red eyes. She sounded more annoyed than afraid or angry, which surprised me at first, but I didn't let up. "Who the hell are you and where am I?" My hand was now engulfed in flames that radiated a cold heat.

"Relax, you're in the Academy of Light's dormitory. Every examinee was put into a dorm room to help them recover after the tests." I let go of the woman before letting my flames disappear. I checked my pockets to make sure I had everything before walking toward the door and saying "I'm leaving." in a flat voice. The woman shrugged her shoulders and said "Oh well, more food for me then." as she continued to watch her show and eat popcorn.

I walked out of the door and into the carpeted hallway, which was just as, if not more, fancy than the room I was just in. I walked down the stairs and into the main lounge before walking out the doors and into the night. It was a rather cold and breezy night, but it felt perfect to me. Before I could go to far, however, a figure stepped in front of me and said "You're really going to leave before we chat?"

My eyes adjusted to the dark and I saw the same blonde haired woman from before. "What do you want?" I asked. The woman scoffed and said "You need to loosen up, y'know. Ladies don't like stiff guys like you for the long-term." My expression didn't change as I asked "Can we get this over with?" in a slightly annoyed tone.

The woman clicked her tongue before guiding me over to a nearby bench and sitting down. I sat on the opposite side as she began to speak. "I know you're not from America. Where did you come from, if you don't mind me asking." I glanced over at her and immediately said "Okinawa..." I heard the woman gulp slightly and I continued. "If that's all you wanted to ask, I'll be leaving."

The woman grabbed my wrist as I stood and said "Wait! I-I'm sorry for asking. I didn't mean to cause any harm, I just wanted to get to know you better..." I narrowed my eyes and tried to find any trace of double meanings or ulterior motives, but I only saw genuine curiosity. I sighed and shook her hand off before sitting back down.

"My name is Kenji Yanai, I'm eighteen, and I've had my powers for seven years. My family died in the attack on Okinawa, and I've always been a shut-in since then; doing nothing but training for the time when I can finally get my revenge against the Shadows. There's nothing more to be said besides that. Pretty bland, aren't I?"

The woman let out a small laugh before extending her hand and saying "My name is Ava Cyr, and I'm your senior by one year. I come from a rural area here in Tennessee and I'm trying to get into a good Exploration Team so I can provide for my parents and siblings. I hope we can get along and help each other out in the future!" I shook my head in exasperation before shaking her hand and standing back up.

"I'll get going now. Take care." Ava stood and dusted her pants off before waving goodbye as I walked away. My heart was thumping in my chest as I fought to keep cool long enough to at least get out of sight. 'Holy shit, that was...unexpected. She actually took the time to try and talk with me instead of trying to flirt with me...I don't know if I should be down or happy...'

I reached my car and unlocked it before starting it up and driving home. I unlocked the door to my house and immediately made my way to my room before plopping down onto my bed. I took my phone out of my pocket and began to search for which academy had the highest chance to get you into a high ranking Exploration Team, and the first result happened to be the Academy of Light.

Although they have strict policies, their facilities and training regimens are top notch. Soon, I fell asleep thinking about the many ways I could use my powers to finally put my family to rest. I woke up feeling refreshed and better than normal before doing my daily jog and exercise. I then showered and ate breakfast before checking the mail.

There was the usual garbage inside, but there was one letter with a large sun-like seal on the front. I tore it open and found it to be my scores on the tests at the Academy of Light. I scored fourth place with a total of 5201 points, making me eligible to be in almost anything I wanted, including the VIP rooms in the dorm. However, what I was most interested in was the free 24/7 access to all training facilities in the academy.

'I wonder if Ava will join the Academy of Light...' I slapped myself for having stray thoughts before muttering "No...I have to focus on my goal...I can't lose sight of it now, not after I've come so far..." I shook my head and immediately set out toward the backyard to begin training, however, a voice from behind me made me stop in my tracks.

"Kenji Yanai, 18, and an orphan. I believe you were in the top five for the Academy of Light's entrance tests, were you not?" I turned my head and saw the same red haired woman from the room I was in at the Academy of Light. "What do you want?" I asked as I turned to face her completely. She shrugged and said "I'll be your roommate if you decide to join, which I know you will, so I wanted to get to know you better."

She strode past me and stopped in front of my door before motioning toward it with her head and asking "Can I come in?" I sighed and said "No, you can't. I was going to train a bit before going to the academy, so you'd just be in my way." as I walked past her and unlocked the door. "Don't worry, I won't speak to you while you're doing whatever. Like I said I just want to judge your character so I won't be so anxious when sharing a room with you."

I gave her a side glance before opening the door and walking in, opting to say nothing in order to see how she would react. Looks like I'm not the only cautious person here. Now that I think about it, actually, it's even more weird how I was put in Tennessee, where the nation's best academy was. The Government pays for my stuff and I get to do basically whatever I want. Something's up here, and I had a feeling that I wouldn't like what it would be.

The woman walked in and shut the door behind her before following me outside while saying "As I promised, I won't interrupt you while you're training, but I figure you'd want to know my name since we'll be seeing each other quite often from now on. My name's Lydia Slater, it's a pleasure to meet you, Kenji."

I ignored Lydia's words as I opened the sliding door to my back yard and took my hoodie off, as to not burn it when using my powers. I sat down in the middle of my backyard with my hands together while trying to draw out my powers. I learned that if I sit still and focus, I can draw out more power than if I was running around in combat.

A cold warmth filled my body as black-blue fire began to snake up my arms all the way up to my shoulders. I felt a calming sensation enter my mind as I took a deep breath and opened my eyes before standing up. I knew that most of my moves revolved around close quarters, so I needed a few ranged attacks to help make up for the weaknesses I had.

I swiped my arm out and a line of fire shot out, but it disappeared after going a few inches away from my hand. I tried it again, but with a thin tendril of flames attached to my hand. I was able to control the flames, but they still disappeared after they went a few feet away. It was most likely due to the size of the flames I was trying to release, but the attack had to have a wide range or else it would be virtually useless against the Shadows.

It would take too much time to kill a pack if one arrived.

I tried to thin the line out and contort it into different shapes and sizes, but the results were all the same. Suddenly, a tap on my back made me lose concentration. "What. You said you wouldn't interrupt me." I said as I glanced back as Lydia. She waved her hand and said "I couldn't sit back and watch you fail at something so simple, so I came to give you pointers.

She held her index finger up and a ball of crimson flames flew into the sky before exploding like a firework. I held my index finger up and did the same, and I found it easy since it was a small sized ball, but she only repeated the trick with a larger ball this time. I did the same with a bit more difficulty, but I felt like something was beginning to click.

She once again did the same, but this time with a ball of fire the size of my body. I shook my head and said "No use. I can't make anything of that size..." Lydia flicked me on the forehead, annoying me more than hurting me, and said "Just do it you dolt. Trust me, I can tell when someone is catching onto something."

I threw my hands up before trying to mimic her, but the ball only got to around a quarter of the size of hers before my body started to ache. "I know what you're trying to do, but I can't do it. I've known my limits for the longest time, and I can never push past them. You're wasting your breath." I walked over to my hoodie and tossed it over my shoulder before glancing back and saying "I'm going to take a shower. There's beer and food in the fridge if you get hungry."

I walked inside and up the stairs toward my room before grabbing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to wear after my shower. 'I've been training nonstop for seven years, and I can't even do something as simple as make a ball...' I thought as the water hissed when making contact with my skin. I looked at the black-blue flames on my hand as memories of the Shadows invading Okinawa once again entered my mind; like a nightmare than never ends.

I remembered staring out of the helicopter as the city went up in flames. Flames that emit a cold heat and never stopped burning unless they were told. Flames that were darker than night with a dark blue mixed within. I remembered the feeling of being watched and, when I followed my gut and looked over, I remembered the face of a Shadow staring at me amidst the chaos.

And I thought I saw it smile and wave as the helicopter flew away, never to come back.