Chapter 13: Where to next?

SHADOW!!! SHADOOOOOW!!! No no no… Please stay awake… please… NO~! The screaming turns faint.

I grew in shock… "Katy…"

Immediately got up and went inside the house, "JACK!"

Nina looked at me, "What do you want so early in the mo-"

"Get out of my way" I pushed her away. "JACK!"

I was looking around the house. I was in the living room and Jack pops out of a room, "Up early? What do you want?"

I put my head down and I walked to him. It took a moment for me to raise my head. I was taking deep breaths. After this, I knew there was no going back. After this is said, I got to be fully committed. No turning back, no leaving it to the side, and no excuses. I have to put all my attention on this before I can resume my normal life.

Jack snapped me out of my head, "Come on boy are you going to say something or you are going to stand there wasting my time." He took off his glasses that he was wearing since he stopped reading a book that was in one of his hands.

I looked at him straight in the face, "... I'm sick of this shit. I want to kill those demons once and for all."

Jack twisted his head and studied me, "Oh yeah? Prove it."

I couldn't hold it back, "They took the one human being I ever loved on this earth and now I know they are planning to kill me anyway. Plus they are willing to kill all of you too for taking care of me. Even when I was defenseless and in a coma, you still took me into your home. I have to repay my debt. I have nothing to lose anymore. I'm ready to give it my all to the very end."

Jack then threw his book into his room, which landed perfectly on his front desk. He put his glasses hanging on the collar of his shirt. "Finally. Been waiting for more than a year. You seriously take too much time to get ready."

Linda shows up out of nowhere and pops up behind me, "Is he finally ready?"

Jack rolls to his cane. He grabs his cane and he gets up to start walking. "Yup."

Linda agrees, "I'll let you handle him for the first few weeks. Train his body well because he is going to need it before I deal with him."

I turned my head sideways, "Wait what?"

"Yep, I got it." Jack grunts as he tries to walk his steps.

Nina came in to check on her father, "Oh my God, Dad are you okay?

"Yes, my girl. Shadow, come with me. We are going to start with your physical fitness. Your body looks like a skeleton after sleeping for a long time. I don't want your body to give up on you yet, since we have so much hope for you now."

I walked right next to Jack, "I'm ready for anything… sir."

We walked to the backyard on the open grass, passing by the open pool section. The first day was to get me to do the easy stuff. But even doing that my muscles started to sore. Each day it gets harder, increasing the set by ten or increasing the run by a few more miles. It was as painful as I remember the training was where we went through all of it but ten times more than now. My muscles were trying to recover every night I got a chance to sleep. And I started to eat way more than I usually did. I was trying to fill up my stomach as much as I could. Linda even told me she was having a tough time feeding me. She understood that being asleep for a year and waking up all of a sudden can have this weird black hole effect in my stomach. It has been a month of just training my physical body and I feel so much better now. My body isn't at its peak but it is in good shape. I had to wake up extra early for the training. Jack was slowly not letting have any more comfort. Though Jack's alarm was a little girl to wake me up before the sun rises. She would wake me up and run away from me. After a couple months went by, something changed.

"Mister shadow… Mister shadow." She was shoving my arm as much as she could to wake me up.

"Mhm," I replied

"Mom wants you downstairs to train with her right now."

"Oh um okay. Yes right away." I got up and started to wear my shoes. "By the way, what's your name, little one."

"Oh, it's Yanni."

"Awh, that is such a cute name."

"Thanks." She ran off presumably being shy.

I got up from the bed and went downstairs to meet up with Linda. She was in a nice flowing long dress. Nina was outside, by herself using her time to train her magic. I walked up to Linda, in the kitchen, and she noticed my presence.

"Are you ready for your first lesson on magic?"

I answered, "Yes, but how badly does magic affect your body?"

Linda replied, "You need a lot of Chakra to be able to use magic. Since you have barely used magic before, it is going to be exhausting for you. Especially now since you have two different types of magic in your body and trying to control such power in the palm of your hands is not easy. Also, keep in mind that these two powers are fully against each other. They will not work together. But we will not worry about that right now. Think of magic like a muscle, the more you use that muscle the more it becomes easy to do a set task. The more you use magic, the easier it is to perform it."

She handed me breakfast which was a simple egg and toast with some hot chocolate. Linda looked at me and said, "You should get yourself cleaned up, there is a bathroom right next to your room. Get yourself fixed before you come to me. I will be waiting outside." I looked at myself and remembered that I got a bushy beard and longer hair than I normally had. I still looked like a mess but since my motivation is up. It isn't a bad idea to go back to how I normally look. I see myself in a mirror as some homeless man off the street with all this facial hair and disorganized hair. I shook my head to signal that I understood her. Linda walked outside to the open field in their backyard which was beyond the pool. As I was eating my breakfast, I took a look at Linda and saw her practicing her magic. Some form of dance as the magic starts flowing around her. There seems to be some sort of flow so I took note of that as a technique. I finished my hot chocolate and got to my room.

When I opened the door to my room, there seemed to be a brand new set of clothes on my bed. A nice color shading black and gray T-shirt, dark blue jeans and some new running shoes as well. I was moved by the fact they bought me new fresh clothes. It really feels like I am part of this entire family, and they are doing their best to take care of me. In return, their investment is for them to get their normal life back. I have to do this. I want to give them a big present. It just only seems right. I took my shower which is longer than usual since my hair needed some extra scrubbing and conditioner. I shaved my beard, shaved my mustache hair, and even plucked some hair out in between my eyebrows. I looked for a hairband in the bathroom. I found one in a black drawer so I guess I am lucky today. I tied my hair the way I usually did it and found out my hair is all the way down to the middle of my back. Before, if I remember correctly, my hair would reach my shoulder blade and hang there like a little kitten sitting on my shoulder. But now it is all the way down my back. I let it settle and it reaches below my chest. I found it a bit cool to have my hair like this. I looked so different. I felt old but now I feel like a new person. A new man. I went downstairs and came outside with my new clothes on as I met up with Linda.

"Ready?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Alright get yourself ready and activate your Chakra because I am going to test you with a fight." As Linda said that she started to fix her blond hair with a hair tie.

She tied her hair back to a ponytail. I nodded my head and waited for her attack. She started to smile and I was getting worried a bit. I widened my stance and tried to focus my chakra. But my mind got distracted from her angelic smile and face. It reminds me of a soft mother that I will never have. Someone, I should feel relaxed with. All of sudden, I feel a force pushed into my stomach. At this point, my blanked face was gone and I was back to reality. I do not know if I was even thinking at this point. But right now I know I just slammed into some trees and I can feel some sharp bones cutting my chest. I think my rib cage is broken. How much of her power did she use on me?

Linda giggled, "It's okay young man, it will just take some time for you to get used to it." I knew she was laughing at me but trying to be supportive.

All I can tell from that is she is faster than Katy and maybe even stronger than her. Must be the amount of experience she grew with using her magic. I wonder how many battles she has been through in her life. She damn well is stronger than anyone I have ever faced. After some training and some lessons, I was getting a hang of it but still very shaky. They were rough as I could barely get any rest. No food or water is a way for me to be uncomfortable but still be able to focus on using my magic at the worst of times.

"Alright now you can eat. Come on in and let's get you fixed on a big meal. I can hear that stomach growling from here." Linda didn't keep that in a low voice. Even Nina heard that and I got embarrassed.

Nina said out loud, "What a weirdo."