29. Ann Bunchui

" And why did we come here ? We could have stayed at home. "

"There is too little space. I don't want you to ruin my library with your clumsiness. "

" HEY ! "

At the moment, Adam and Ann were deep in the forest, in a small clearing. Today Adam decided to start a special workout, just for Ann. He noticed that physical exercise is good for her, but on a small scale.

"Today we will have a special training session. I've noticed that you've been stagnating lately. "

" Yes....I'm too tired from training. Plus, I also noticed that they do not benefit me, like for example Sasha. Because of this, I'm a little....upset. " – she herself did not notice how her eyes turned slightly blue

"... it means emotions after all. "

" What are you saying ? "

" Nothing ! Let's get started, sit down. " – Ann looked around

" For what ? There is only one land around. "

"So sit down on the ground. Do you want to get a new experience or not ? "

Ann muttered something and sat down on the ground. She just recently washed this skirt and now it 's back in the dirt ! Adam has no sense of tact at all.

"Okay, today I'll teach you....how to control your power. " – Ann 's eyes sparkled

"Seriously?! But you said we 'd start when everyone was here ! "

"Yes, so I'll only teach you the basics. I don't want any of you to go ahead, you have to walk smoothly and not overtake each other. " – he broke off a stick from a tree and drew a circle around Ann

"So there are three forces. Emotions, Body and Mind. I have already determined that you and Sasha have an Emotion and a Body. You have the power of Emotion. " – he finished drawing and stuck the stick at some distance from her

"Then Sasha has a Body, and Marcy has a Mind....in principle, everything is logical. Nothing has changed. " - Adam chuckled

"Yeah, but let's keep going. All this power is buried deep in you, sleeping and waiting for you to use it. But what you have here.. " – he pointed to his chest

"... this is just a grain of the power that you possess. " - He placed a familiar object in front of Ann

" The box ? " - She raised an eyebrow

"No, the stones. " – he poked at three gray stones

"Your power comes from the stones. You can use the force without them, but then it will be much weaker. "

" And your strength ? How did you learn to control it ? "

" Long training sessions and pure luck. I was mastering the force step by step on my own, afraid that I would kill myself in the process. You don't have to be afraid, because I will guide you. "

Adam poked something on the box, twisted the key and one of the stones came out of its setting. He threw the stone to Ann and she barely caught it.

"This is your stone, the blue stone of Emotions. So far, it is useless, because there is no power in it. Today I will teach you the basic techniques of force control. He sat down opposite her with the box in his hand

"Each force has its own training method. You're an Emotion, what method do you think you should use? "

" Mmmmmm....maybe something related to my emotions? I have no idea, if Marcie were here, she would probably definitely tell her to do it. " – Ann clutched her chin and thought

"I don't care about Marcie's opinion, I need YOUR opinion. What method should you use ? "

"I'm saying I don't know. " – she looked at him like a fool

"I have no idea, I don't even know where to start. Usually Sasha does the planning... " – she lowered her head

[ BANG ! ]

Adam stamped his foot, drawing her attention. The ground beneath his feet was covered with cracks as his golden eyes stared at her.

"I told you, I don't care about the opinions of others! " – he pointed at her with his finger

" I need your opinion ! "

" But I don 't know ! " - She stood up and looked at him

" I'm not smart like Marcy, not as strong in tactics as Sasha, I just follow the wave! "

" TELL ME ! WHAT! YOU! WANT ?! " Adam roared

" I DON 'T KNOW ! " – Ann could not restrain herself and shouted the answer

[ WHOOSH ! ]

Ann stamped her foot. From her blow, blue waves spread out in a glare, which grew. Ann's eyes turned bright blue, while her hair turned blue and lifted a little, small sparks like stars could be seen in them.

Ann stared at the blue wave in complete shock. She looked at her feet and noticed that her body was covered with a transparent blue film.

"Wow.... " - she waved her hand, thinking it was a hallucination

"Emotions, that's what you need. " - She turned to Adam

"Your strength transfers all your emotions into a force capable of protecting people close to you. Whether it's anger, rage, hatred, indecision, laughter or joy, all your emotions will become your strength. " – he pointed somewhere to the ground

Anne looked down and saw a gray gemstone that was burning with a dim blue light.

"This is your strength, Ann Bunchui. " - She picked up the stone and looked at Adam

"It's not Sasha's or Marcy's strength, it's your strength. And you're not them. You have to learn to walk next to them, not behind them. " – he approached her, but did not enter the circle

"Over the past month and a half, I've noticed one annoying thing about you. You're indecisive. You doubt all the time, you think, instead of doing something, you stand and just watch. Today, I will teach you how to overcome it." – he took the stone from her hands and inserted it into the box

He put down the box, then took a stick and broke it off alone. He tossed it to her and struck a pose.

"Today, I will beat all indecision out of you. I will beat and beat, without ceasing. Until you understand one thing. " - his eyes shone more brightly than before

"Looking at their backs, you will never be decisive. "

[ BANG ! ]

-----------------------------------

" HARDER ! HIT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT ! "

" AAAAAAAAA ! "

When Ann and Adam came to the clearing, it was day and the clearing was full of flowers, grass and trees. Now, when they were fighting on sticks, it was almost night, there was nothing left of the clearing. The grass was trampled, the flowers were torn down by their blows and the trees were felled by Anne's blows.

Their clothes were in a deplorable state. She was covered in dust. Dirt, some parts were torn from the blows, exposing bare skin.

[ BANG ! ] – Adam dealt another blow to Ann

"WHAT DO YOU FEEL?! Speak! TELL ME! "

" WEAKNESS ! "

[ BANG ! ] – she bounced off and his blow immediately landed in that place

"WHY DO YOU FEEL WEAK!? "

" BECAUSE I 'M USELESS ! "

[ BANG ! ]

The stick in Ann's hand turned red with a blue glow, after which Ann hit and a huge blue wave flew into Adam. But he only waved and the golden one swallowed the blue one.

"I'm not as strong as Sasha, not as smart as Marcy, and certainly not as wise as you. There is nothing unusual about me to allow me to stand proudly next to you. I'm just....me. And it makes me feel worse. "

"Repeat the penultimate sentence. She looked at him strangely

"I'm just... me? " she said softly

"Louder, I can't hear. "

"I'm just me. "

" Once again ! I can 't hear! "

" I 'm just me ! "

" LOUDER , DAMN IT ! I CAN 'T HEAR A FUCKING THING ! "

"I'M SAYING I'M JUST ME!"

"THAT'S RIGHT, DAMN IT! "

[ WHOOSH ! ]

Adam took a stance and swung his stick. The stick was completely covered with gold, shining with a bright light. He swung and a huge wave flew into Ann. She didn't have time to react and she pushed her away, throwing her straight into a tree.

" Kha ! " - She spat out a small lump of blood

Her power immediately evaporated, returning her to her original form. She tried to get up, but felt a foreign object on her neck. Adam stood over her and held a stick near her throat.

"You're fucking Ann Bunchui. You're not Sasha or Marcie, you're Ann! Each of them has its own path, its own destiny and its own power. " – he removed the stick from her throat, but grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and lifted her up

" So stop whining and find your way ! A path that will not depend on the opinions of others. " - He pushed her back against the tree

"You have to stop being dependent on the opinions of others. You always catch every sideways glance, respond to every rudeness and do not try to challenge the opinions of others. I will tell you one technique to cure your illness. "

He squatted down and whispered it in her face.

" This is my own development, called " fuck. He nodded solemnly while Ann's mouth twitched

" Someone doesn't agree with your opinion, " fuck it." Someone throws a sidelong glance at you, "fuck it." Some bastard is trying to fuck you, what are you doing? " – he turned his open ear to her face

".....I'm sending him the fuck. "

" That 's right ! Well done, you're learning fast. " - He stood up and looked at the sky

"I think it's time for us to go home. I'm hungry, I hope this time Sasha was able to cook something useful. "

He slowly began to come out of the forest. But notice that there are no other people's steps behind him. Turning around, he noticed Ann, who was looking at him in embarrassment.

" And why are you sitting ? He raised an eyebrow

"….I think I overdid it a little. she turned her head away from him in embarrassment

"...you must be kidding me. "

-----------------------------

"Sorry about that. "

"It's all right, after all, I myself forced you to go beyond your limits. "

Two figures walked slowly through the forest. More precisely, it was one figure on which the second was sitting. Adam carried Ann on his back because she couldn't even move her legs. Everything would be fine if Anne's two virtues didn't rest right on his back.

He was both pleased and disgusted by such closeness. And now he was torn apart by different emotions, such as embarrassment and disgust at the same time.

".....thank you for today. I needed it. " – her head was on his shoulder while she looked around with a lazy gaze

"Your problem is that you're too... passive. You always follow the decision of others, instead of finding your own. I hope that today you have at least understood something for yourself, if not....Then I'll do another workout. "

"No, I understood everything perfectly. But I'm interested in one. Why did you teach me how to use the force if you just wanted to give me a lesson? She raised an eyebrow at which he chuckled

"Of course, so that you don't die. If I hadn't taught you, you would have just died in our battle. "

" That 's it ? Just for this ? She looked at him in disbelief

"Just for this. He nodded gravely

".....pf! She giggled and looked at the moon

"... did I tell you that you look like a friend of mine? " he rolled his eyes

"A thousand times you and a thousand times Sasha. And I am sure that when we meet the third one, she will also remind me of this a thousand times. "

"So, this acquaintance also tried to help me with my... indecision. He tried to stir me up, but it worked with varying success. The last time we met, I became a little confident, but all this confidence immediately disappeared when he disappeared. " - Adam flinched, but she didn't notice

"He disappeared, more than four years ago. There was no note, no letter or farewell video. Just one day, " bang" and he's gone. " – she smiled sadly

" What exactly happened between you ? Sasha said that he disappeared because of you. " - he tried to reduce the topic to a convenient one for him

"A mistake, our common huge mistake. And for this mistake, we are paying to this day. At that moment, I lost my friend and my most reliable support. And then I realized what it was like to be completely alone. "

The conversation trailed off for a moment while she gathered her thoughts.

"I broke into a thousand pieces when I realized my mistake. Thousands of little versions of me that were struggling inside of me. Shard by shard, I collected myself, restoring myself. But no matter how the fragments lay down, no matter how I turned them and folded them, the mirror still remained cracked. " - a small tear rolled down from her eyes

"That Ann Buchui is no more. In her place came me, a broken, broken traitor who turned away from her friend. I realized that I can't assemble a mirror until I see another person in the reflection, the one who helped this mirror to form. "

" This is....sadly. Listening to your story, I wonder what happened to your friend. He couldn 't just disappear , could he ? "

"No, he's still in our hometown. " – he stopped for a moment, then continued walking

" And how do you know that ? "

"I feel it....I know he's nearby, but I don't understand where. When I think about it, my heart is getting stronger and stronger. "- her eyes began to slowly close

"I know he's around.....my dear friend....Adam..."– her eyes closed, plunging her into sleep

In the silence of the forest, only Adam and the bright Moon that shines on him from heaven remained. Adam looked up at her and his thoughts were wandering somewhere far away.

".....what are you doing to me? " - He turned to Ann and ran his hand over her face

".....and what should I do now? How should I treat you now ? " - He looked up at the moon

In the silence of the forest, there was only Adam of his thoughts, which devoured him from the inside. His emotions are entangled in a tangle that he will not be able to untie soon.