The 'E' Mark

"This mark right here, right on the center of my chest. I wanted him to check this out." Hiyochi said.

"Well, Hiyochi, you can't just show off your chest to taken men. Sky, Hiyochi has a weird marking on her chest that resembles an 'E' of some sort. Where did you get it from?" I asked her. I forcibly put down her shirt as Sky started to walk around to look at her, and she began to explain.

"Well, it was a fairly recent injury, only happening two years ago. I was hit with Essence Strands, or so I thought, and I've had this mark ever since. Some other people have it, like my friend Eden, and two of the kids I take care of, Piper and Colt. But, I haven't seen it anywhere else. And, the attack didn't hurt nor raise any concerns, but I've been keeping a close eye on the four of us to see what it would do. Do you know anything about that, Mister Asterio?" Hiyochi asked him.

"No, sorry. I just wanted to visit my friends, I'm not sure I can be of much more use. But, I do have things to learn from you, Doctor." Sky said. Hiyochi stuck her thumb up and left the room while waving. Sky, on the other hand, turned his head back to Rin to watch her stomach move.

I'm not sure why, but I was feeling jealous right now.

"An 'E' Mark... no, I don't know it... why does it seem familiar?" He mumbled to himself.

We all started to move from the hospital rooms back toward the Group Home, purposefully avoiding the cage in the barracks to hide Sky's identity, and returning to the room.

"Wow, actual beds... this seems nice." Sky mentioned, sitting down in one.

"What was Hiyochi's deal?! She would really show off her chest like that?!" I asked Lia with a concerned tone. Sky didn't hear, but Lia couldn't help but laugh, which did alert him.

"Hiyochi is just like that. Lily and I have to slap Griff and Jeff back into a concentrative state since they get distracted so easily about it. I swear men have no self-control." Lia and Lily scoffed at the same time, looking at Griff and Jeff, who seemed to be excited about something... how odd...

"Ah, this is tough to do with one arm. Hey, Dani, can you help me?" Sky turned to me and I immediately responded.

"I guess putting on a shirt would be pretty tough... as would taking it off... here, lift your arm up," I told him. I lifted his shirt up after walking over and now that I noticed his body... he seemed to have gained a little muscle since I last saw him without one.

Focus! I can't stare for too long!

"There. Good?" I asked him. Obviously, I would help him if he needed anything else, but I didn't want to be stared at for too long.

"You guys don't have to awkwardly watch Dani and me. Gosh, have you all seriously not started to split off yet?" Sky said, scoffing. I felt hot.

"What?! Do you seriously think we would split off with one another?!" Alex asked with an upset tone.

"Yeah, have you not started that yet? You don't know others as well as you know each other, and I know there are a ton of girls in our group. Charlie, why don't Mandi and you just get together already?" He asked.

Charlie's face turned red and he almost tripped up his words while asking what Sky was talking about. Hehe, now this was funny.

Even Mandi's face was red now... don't tell me?!

"I heard it from both of you, that you liked each other. Don't beat around the bush anymore! Hmph." Sky said. His sassy attitude was out of place... but it was funny, and I liked it.

The whole room started to laugh and for the first time in what felt like forever... we seemed to be smiling, laughing, and enjoying our time as a group together.

"Sky, those aren't things you can really say out loud, you know?!" Carl said in a concerned tone. He got close to Sky and nudged his shoulder while looking at a loss for words.

"Maybe so. But, I just wanted to see if Charlie would make a move." Sky said, smiling deviously.

"I don't really have a choice now, do I?!" Charlie said. We let him have his alone time with Mandi, and I closely observed Sky. He did act differently now, but I guess that's due to his time in The First Trial. Through and through, he was still the person who used to be on the Isle.

"Are you nervous about Cole at all?" Lia asked. It seemed that for the first time in a while, Lily and Lia were split apart.

"No." Sky flatly said. He didn't seem to be nervous, but I know he was only saying that to keep up his appearance. I respected him for that.

"I've been meaning to ask about your time in The First Trial. What was it like? Was it... better...?" I asked him.

I figured he would save me the trouble by answering with some sort of complex explanation, but I still wanted to hear what he would come up with.

"Well... all of my friends were away from me. Sure, I might not have known about my past life, but I certainly don't regret my time there... I met Shike, Belle, Alexia, Boo, Mitra, Myth, Owen, my mom and dad, and so many other strong people. They were all important pieces of my childhood, just as this group is. I don't really know if it was better. In the end, people still died and I had to fight pretty hard to survive." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

His Mom and Dad... I forgot about that for a moment. Ali Asterio, his mom, gave me my powers. I wondered if I was making her proud.