Luis and Nick

"I don't think I've seen you two since I've become a Pro Slayer…" I then say as I turn to face Gabby and our mom.

"What, do you think you're too cool for us now?" Gabby sneers as she rolls her eyes at me, causing our mom to giggle.

"You may be more popular…more athletic…and more attractive than me," I begin to say with a smirk as I point towards Gabby. "But, uh…" my voice trails off.

"But what?" Gabby sneers.

"Sorry, I just reminded myself how pathetic I am…" I sadly answer, and this time Nick laughs. "-But I'm strong now!" I then finish. "I'll kick anyone's ass! I can protect you and mom from any demon now!"

Gabby turns away from me and blushed. Yeah?" She asks.

"Yeah!" I answer.

Gabby then turns back to me and smirks. "Then let's take this outside!" She exclaims,

"Hell yeah!" I reply.

Gabby then leads me into the backyard, and I walk to the opposite end of the fenced-in plain of grass.

"You might want to take a step back!" I call to Gabby.

Gabby takes a few steps back in response. "This good?" She calls back to me.

"Even further!" I answer as I wave Gabby back.

"Now?" Gabby asks, clearly annoyed.

"Keep going!" I answer as I wave Gabby back. With a sigh, Gabby continues walking backwards until I hold my palm up to her, telling Gabby to stop…once she's standing on the opposite end of the backyard.

"Is this really necessary?" Gabby asks with a sigh.

"Yeah!" I answer. "You'll see!"

I then turn my attention away from Gabby and back towards myself, towards my Cursed Power. I clasp my hands together for a moment -charging them with my dark- blue Cursed Power- before bringing them apart. Once I do, a small tornado has formed in between my two hands. As I bring my hands farther apart, my tornado grows larger and larger.

"Woah…" Gabby marvels as my tornado grows even larger.

The winds around us begin to swirl rapidly and howl due to the intense force of my tornado, and everything around Gabby and I is kicked up into the air by the circulation of my winds.

"WAHHH!!!" Gabby cries as my winds begin picking her off of the ground as well. "What's happening?!" Gabby cries as she grabs onto our fence to keep from blowing away.

"Ah…sorry…" I apologize as I allow for my winds to dissipate, causing all of the objects that my tornado kicked up -as well as Gabby- to fall to the ground.

"OOF!" Gaby winces as she falls to the grassy floor on her butt.

"So how's that?!" I exclaim as I proudly place my hands on my hips and peer down at Gabby. "Cool, right?!"

"What…was that?! Gabby asks as she pushes herself off of the ground and turns to face me, while rubbing her sore butt.

"That was my Cused Ability," I answer as I stroll over to Gabby

"Cursed Ability…?" Gabby asks as I stop before her.

"It's, uh…" I begin to say, but my voice trails off. How do I explain Cursed Power to Gabby? "Basically, er…it's what us Pro Slayers use to slay demons."

"So like a super power?!" Gabby excitedly explains. Unlike me -a loud and proud nerd- Gabby is a colested nerd, you see. She's always been infatuated by Pro Slayers, and while no one except for me knows, Gabby actually wants to be a Pro Slayer. Unlike me…

Maybe it would be better if our roles were reversed?

No. I refuse to put the tragedy of my duties on anyone else's shoulders.

"How do you get a Cursed Ability?!" Gabby asks, sparkles in her eyes. I see what Gabby's getting at here. But poor girl, it looks like I'm going to have to break her heart…

"Sorry, but not everyone can develop a Cursed Ability," I explain as I sheepishly rub the back of my head. "Only certain people can develop Cursed Power, which evolves into a Cursed Ability."

"Oh…" Gabby sulks as she lets her arms flop downwards. "So what is your superpower?" Gabby then asks as she peers back up at me.

"It's called Wind Control," I answer with a small smirk.

"What's it do?" Gabby asks.

"I think you can take a guess, dimwit," I grumble, causing Gabby to roll her eyes.

"Wind? Why? Wind is so laaame," Gabby asks, causing my heart to shatter.

"WHAT?!" I snap. "Wind is cool! I can create tornadoes, and blow people away, and fly, and-"

"Wait, you can fly?!" Gabby excitedly exclaims, cutting me off.

"Ah…no, but not yet…" I answer as I sheepishly rub the back of my neck, causing Gabby to roll her eyes.

"Only my brother can make having super powers lame!" Gabby sighs as she turns away from me and crosses her arms.

"Hey!" I snap.

***

Gabby and I walk back into the kitchen to see my mom laughing heartily as she playfully slaps Nick's chest, who's chuckling as well.

"But I ought to get going now," Nick continues as he pulls up the right sleeve of his suit jacket, revealing the expensive silver watch on his wrist.. "Rest up, Luis, tomorrow's the big day."

"Big day?" My mom gulps.

"Luis and I have a big mission ahead of us tomorrow," Nick answers. "But don't worry, it's not a combat mission." And with that, Nick turns and exits my house for good. I say nothing as I watch Nick leave, but when, my feet begin to move on their own.

"Hey!" I call to Nick as I rush over to the doorway.

Nick pauses as he gets into his car, before turning to face me. "What's up?" he asks.

I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. Saying what I want to say… it's going to be much harder than I thought it would be. A blush begins creeping up across my face, and I spin around to hide it from Nick.

"I can't do this on my own," I begin to say. "My mom and sister really like you, you seem to be good for them in a way that I can't provide. And I can't become strong on my own, either. I can't accomplish my goals of protecting my family on my own. So thank you."

Nick stares at me in silence for a few moments, before a grin spreads across his face. "Think nothing of it. I make it my policy to help kids and hot women," Nick says as he hops into his car. "But you're welcome, Luis. I enjoy the time we've been spending together."

I take a deep breath in…then out, as Nick speeds away. He's a reckless driver, probably because Nick's used to moving as fast as lightning when using his Cursed Ability.

"I'm proud of you, kid," Nick then says, breaking the awkward silence and causing my eyes to widen. "Air Control, and the second stage of your Wind Control… you truly have what it takes to achieve Rule Breaker status."

I haven't been that open with my feelings in a long, long time.

Wait a minute…did Nick just call my mom hot?!

***

"Oh man, how long has it been since all of the Cards were together?" A large, gruff man asks.

"It's been at least a year, hasn't it?" A woman in a fluffy pink coat answers.

The man is known as Clover, of the Cards of the King. And the woman, his younger sister Diamond.

"No need to get excited. This isn't some fun reunion, we're walking into serious business," replies an annoyed, short man in black.

A sleepy woman yawns in response.

The man in black is Spade, of the Cards of the King. And the tired woman, Heart.

These make up the upper echelon members of the Cards of the King. These four members are walking into a meeting to discuss their leader, King's, plans.

"So all of us are going, right?" Clover asks.

"No, Ace and Joker won't be making it," Spade answers.

"Oh that Ace. He never shows up to our meetings! I would say that I'm far more worthy of the title of Ace," Diamond wines.

"Ace is King's favorite, after all," Heart yawns.

"Look who finally woke up," Spade teases.

"Out of the four of us, Spade is the most worthy of being called Ace. I would say it's Joker, but she's a tad too free spirited to be called a reliable Ace," Heart explains. 

The four then enter into a large meeting room and take their designated seats. At the head of the table, sits a noble looking man in a flowing black cloak, called King. To the left of King sits his wife, a beautiful woman in a black dress, Queen. To King's right lays an open seat for his second in command, Ace. At the opposite end of the table is another open seat, for Joker, Treasure of the Cards of the King.

Once the four take their designated seats, King begins to speak. He has a deep, thunderous voice, perfect for public speaking.

"Since Ace will not be joining us and Joker is nowhere to be found, we will now start this meeting," King booms, his perfect voice echoing across the room. King's perfect voice echoes across the room.

"Before we start, may I suggest this: I should become the new Ace!" Clover shouts as he jumps out of his seat, slamming his fists on the table in front of him.

The rest of the Cards of the King gasp. "Clover, don't talk back to King!" Diamond nags.

King laughs. "Now, now, Clover. I understand how all of you have mixed feelings about our Ace, since he rarely appears. But when I need Ace's power, there is not a time that I cannot count on him" King explains.

"And besides, if we were to elect a new Ace, it would be Spade," Queen adds.

Clover's face begins to flush red, like he's trying to hold back his shouts. But when Diamond puts her hand on Clover's arm, he lets out a deep breath and collects himself. "Yes, my King," Clover says, then takes a seat. King smirks approvingly at Clover.

"Ha! Clover the next Ace? Spade is one thing, but Clover? Don't make me laugh!" A kid laughs as they barge through the doors. They wear a bright orange top and bottom as well as a matching jester's hat, with a blue ball and a red ball dangling from each side. Underneath their orange shorts, we wore colorful white tights with splotches of red, blue, yellow, and pink, as well as matching sleeves under her shirt. "If we were to elect a new Ace, it would obviously be me!"

"Ah, Joker, you made it! Come take your seat!" King booms. Joker does as they're told.

"Oh please, at least Ace has the power to make up for him not attending the meetings! What do you have?" Clover asks.

"Oh, don't be like that! Come on, let's shake on our differences!" Joker laughs. "I'm not falling for your joy buzzer again, moron" Clover snorts as he rolls his eyes.

"Oh man, got me there! I guess I'll just have to do this-" Joker begins to say. Clover sits back down, and when he does, his rump lands on a whoopee cushion, sending a loud farting noise echoing across the room. Joker bursts out laughing, King chuckles. "Oh man, that never gets old!" Joker laughs.

Heart wakes up, startled by the loud whoopie cushion noise. "Huh? Is the meeting over yet?" She asks.

"Not quite, in fact, it hasn't even begun," Diamond sighs.

"King, why must you keep this imbecile around?" Spade asks.

"Oh, you know the reason! Joker's Cursed Ability, Game Show of Doom, it's priceless" King answers. "Plus, money!"

"You know what they say, no one's ever won my game show!" Joker adds.

"And if we're on the topic of useful abilities, Clover, your Arena of Caution is by far one of the least valuable here. It's only useful for traps," Queen says.

"Oh come on, it's at least better than Heart. Her Cursed Ability is just a generic shooter type!" Clover snaps.

"You're right. My Sloth-Like Reflexes is a generic, useless Cursed Ability. Much like Spade's Pop-Off, it can be replaced with ease. Fighting power doesn't always equal usefulness," Heart yawns.

"Not as useful as my Miracle Mirages," Diamond smugly laughs.

"Or as strong as my Puppeteer," Queen cackles.

"Well raw power is what dictates one to be the Ace, which I have!" Clover snaps.

"Now, now, let us not fret," King booms. When King speaks, his voice instantly demands the attention of all those in ear range. "Let's let the meeting of the current status of the Cards of the King's master plan...begin!"