Damn, Alice, Jason thought with raised eyebrows. She looks like a teen even though she's a tween, not some middle-aged woman. How's she old?

Jason tried not to grin as he attempted to blend into the background; he didn't want to be caught between the two, which was quite difficult since each of them was holding an arm of his while staring at each other. Melanie looked at Alice for a moment, observing her carefully. She felt that Alice was like her, someone who had a pretty and sweet demeanor that was merely a facade for others to see. Unwilling to stoop down to Alice's level, Melanie ignored her jab and turned to look at Jason, opening her mouth to speak when he gestured at her to remain silent.

"Give me a moment," Jason said to Melanie, who gave him a nod. Jason took Alice by her hand and led her to the school while the latter looked up at his face, her face changing.

"You're leaving me for her," Alice said and Jason looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. Why did her words sound like he was abandoning her?

"It's nothing like that, kid," Jason explained. "She's a … work colleague. And we need to talk … work. About work."

As he spoke, Jason used his Esper powers to create a blue flower while Alice looked at Jason in dissatisfaction. Did he really think she was so gullible? She knew that her father was fickle with women and assumed that Melanie was Jason's new conquest.

Jason was unaware of her thoughts, he was too focused on the flower he was creating. It was a beautiful sky blue flower with a yellow center. He lowered himself to Alice's height and showed her the flower that was resting in his palm. Her eyes widened in surprise as Jason spoke softly. "This is a forget me not flower, do you know what it symbolizes?"

"Don't forget me?" Suggested Alice cheekily.

"Well, Yeah. Sorta," Jason replied. "It symbolizes remembrance, love, and long-lasting connection."

While he spoke, Jason tucked the forget me not flower into Alice's headband. The blue flower melded with the headband perfectly and made Alice look more cute, especially when she smiled shyly.

"Thanks, dad," Alice said quietly, she understood the significance and reason behind Jason’ actions.

"I'll leave you with your aunt for a sec, I'll be back soon. I promise," Jason only stood up when he saw Alice nod. Looking up at the windows, he easily found Alina's classroom. He could see her staring out the window, gazing at the blue skies with her head resting on her hand.

Using his SEC gun, Jason cast a spell. A magic circle formed on the ground below him and he jumped up after a moment. The spell lightened the strength of gravity around him, allowing him to jump into the fourth floor and into the window to Alina's classroom.

"And this is for - Jason?! What on - why - did you just jump in from the window?" Sylvia, who was teaching English, looked at Jason in shock and stuttered.

"Oh, Silvie. I got lucky," Jason said. "I, uh, have something to do. Can I leave Alice to you and Alle?"

"Normally I'd refuse requests like these," Silvia said after recollecting herself and fixing her glasses. "However, I know how well-behaved Alice is, so I'll consider it this time. Only this one time, Jason."

"I owe you one," Jason said before leading Alice to the back where she sat beside Alina. Next to her Asami winked and Michelle, who was sitting ahead of her, turned and smiled.

Alice also smiled gently at Alice while the latter gave each of them an apologetic look. After she sat down, Jason crouched to her eye level and patted her head.

"I'll be back, kid," he said before giving a soft look to Alina. He patted her shoulder and she placed a hand over him before he jumped out the window.

Alina watched him go but stopped smiling when she saw him moving to Melanie. She looked back at Alice and knew why he left her in the classroom; he didn't want Alice to know about him being a Phantom. With a sigh, Alina patted Alice's head while turning to focus on Ms. Silvia's teaching. Asami inched her table and chair closer to Alice and Michelle returned to taking her notes, her concentration fully on Ms. Silvia’s teaching.

***

"Hey, look! That's the combat teach with the student Prez!" A student cried out and several girls immediately made a beeline to the windows.

Emily, who had a migraine and a runny nose, was walking down the corridor when she heard the cry and she quickly moved to a window to see if it was true. Her heart sank as she saw Jason walking down the schoolyard with Melanie. While his hands were in his pockets, Melanie wrapped both hands around an arm of his as they walked and spoke to each other.

"So, do you think they're dating?"

"Why not, they make the perfect couple!"

"Damnit, he's only dating her cause she's in university. If only I was older!"

"You wish."

Snippets of conversations seeped into Emily's ears as the hand that gripped the window tightened.

Why? Thought Emily agonizingly. Why is he maintaining a distance from me but not her? Am I that worthless? Is it because I'm weak?

Negative thoughts continued churning through her as her watery eyes became more determined.

I'll prove it then. I'll get stronger and prove that I'm not some weak damsel in distress. That I can stand next to him, just like her.

***

"Interesting look," Jason said once he met up with Melanie again. "It suits this … you."

Melanie gave a coy smile while lowering her head and tucking her bangs behind her eyes. She looked back up at Jason with upturned eyes. "Thanks, I wasn't sure you'd like it."

Jason smiled woodenly while gazing at the distance above her head, unable to look Melanie in the eyes.

"Was there something you needed?" He asked tersely. Melanie gave him a second look while a hint of her brow furrowed in confusion.

"No … not really," she replied in a perplexed manner. "Is there something wrong? Are you alright? You seem … distant."

With her sharp intuition, Melanie picked up the slight guard Jason had put up, making the latter sigh at how attentive she was. She had accurately guessed that he was intentionally being brusque. Jason already had enough trouble with women, his issues with Elizabeth and Katelyn were troubling enough and he didn't want to add another woman, especially one as imbalanced as Melanie, to the mix.

"I'm fine," Jason answered indifferently, his eyes refused to make contact with her doe-like eyes. "Was - how are the children?"

Melanie noticed his attempt to change the subject but didn't push him further. Instead, she frowned a bit before smiling daintily.

"Let's walk around and talk, mhm?" She suggested cheerfully as she grabbed his arm and locked both her arms around it. Jason didn't say anything and continued walking with her taciturnly. He understood that she was attempting to misdirect any sightseers from knowing the contents of their conversation.

"I've taken the children to a welfare center that doubles as an orphanage," Melanie said quietly. "There's nothing else I can do. There's too many for me to handle, so the best I could do was support the orphanage."

"Were you not able to find their parents?" Jason asked. His face was completely placid, however, a glint of sorrow flashed through his eyes.

"The traffickers were smart. They only targeted vulnerable children," Melanie answered. She shifted her hands, pulling one away from Jason while sending the other to his hand, where her fingers interlocked with his. The two had their hands clasped together romantically, but Jason could feel Melanie's restlessness as her hand tightened its grip over his. "The children were orphans or outcasts. Most were picked from the Undercity."

"The Undercity? I thought - weren't those restricted maintenance areas?" A perturbed Jason asked. A two-line wrinkle formed between his eyebrows which were scrunched up.

The Undercity was the lower levels of the city, the tunnels and access centers that were connected to the sewers, underground energy plants, and maintenance tunnels. The city was artificially made, meaning that the ground below was full of pipes, wires, and metal. If one were to look at it perspective, the bottom was like the hull of a spaceship from a sci-fi series. That place was rumored to house a refuge for the homeless and the hapless, but Jason hadn’t heard any substantial intel, so he assumed it was heresy.

"Originally, yes. But for the unfortunate …" Melanie smiled bitterly as she leaned her head against Jason's shoulder. She could feel his steel-like muscles underneath his soft skin and smooth shirt. "It's better than anywhere else. It's dark, sure, but you get a dry, clean room. One that's got walls warmed by fusion reactors. Makes a good, hard bed."

Jason squeezed Melanie's hand and she looked up at him and smiled despondently. He realized that she was speaking from experience, probably when she first arrived in Sanctuary, and he couldn't help but sympathize with her. How many times did he sleep out on the streets when he was younger? His Esper power and Practitioner level allowed him to resist the cold that would chill a normal child, making him more fortunate than others. Even then, he wished for a dry spot whenever it rained or snowed.

"Will you be visiting them?" Jason asked quietly while they stopped in front of the garden outside the greenhouse.

The flowers which should have been wilting from the cold were being attended to by students, of all ages, who used spells to keep the flowers alive. A couple, two older students from the university curriculum, exchanged knowing looks while watching the two amusedly and a few younger high school students peeked at Jason and Melanie from the corner of their eyes.

"Yeah, every day if I can," Melanie said with a choked laugh.

"I'll join you in visiting them," Jason mulled for a moment before saying slowly. "Tell me the next time you go there."

"All right," Melanie replied. When she noticed Jason moving, she called out to him. "Jason."

"Hmm?" Jason stopped and looked at her. Melanie leaned close to Jason's chest, resting her head against it while placing a hand atop. She could feel the steady and strong heartbeat under her hand, echoing through her ears and warming her own heart. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself as Jason quietly stood without moving a muscle.

"Thanks," Melanie said quietly after enjoying the moment for a time.

"Yeah," Jason answered before leaving.

Huh. Isn't she around 5, 5.2? Jason thought as he walked away. How was she able to reach my chest?

Melanie's smile faded once he was gone and she tilted her head while watching the direction to which he disappeared to, her eyes turning frosty despite the sweet smile that lingered on her face.

Something happened last night, Melanie thought calmly. He must have met those tramps … a vixen he's slept with … meaning they're in the city. If so then …

"Then I can't wait to meet them," Melanie hissed quietly, a vicious look in her warm brown eyes. Her eyes traveled to a window where she saw a familiar figure standing there watching her.

"Mmm, it's time to team up," Melanie whispered as Emily, after a moment of eye contact, left the window and walked away.

***

After returning to the classroom, Jason thanked Silvia before acting like her assistant, helping her teach the students English skillfully. After their English class was finished, there was a half-hour break for the students to prepare for his three-hour combat class.

Jason led Alice to the gym after taking her to the Dome and getting her some snacks. He stifled a yawn while pulling a flask out of nowhere. His energy consumption had exceeded his absorption ability, the life energy within him was exhausted during the recent fight and now, he needed to reinforce his body with the liquid inside the flask. He opened it and sniffed for second before pulling back.

“Damn, that’s strong,” he muttered as he took a reluctant swing from it while Alice, who was sitting beside him, moved away almost immediately when her sensitive nose caught a sniff of his flask. The drink was a poultice, a special concoction of his that helped him stay alive throughout the years, but it's putrid smell and taste was due to the fact that he decided to mix it with cheap alcohol years ago.

“How old is this thing?” he muttered, unaware of Alice abandoning him. The latter looked at him with reproachful eyes but said nothing.

Students were trickling into the gym for his class, which would begin in less than fifteen minutes. Many students began to plan a strategy with other schoolmates while checking on Jason’s attitude. If he was acting lazy then they could assume that he would go easy on them but if he was grinning or sleeping then they were in for hell. As Jason took another sip from his flask and blew the burning air out of his lungs, Olivia approached him and Alice sent her a pitying look that was unnoticed by everyone.

“Mr. Sage isn’t it against regulations to drink in- augh!” Olivia was about to remind Jason that drinking was prohibited but failed to continue when she started gagging from the smell emitting from both the flask and his mouth.

“You were saying, Ollie?” Jason asked with a grin as he intentionally blew more air towards her as he spoke. Olivia shook her head while covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve. She pulled away from him as fast as she could before gasping for air, her knees giving out from the stench.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t really alcohol. Well, it is, but it’s mixed with a nasty medicine,” Jason chuckled as he shook the flask with an arm stretched towards her. “And don’t be so stiff. Rules and regulations are like ... guidelines. You don’t need to follow them so religiously.”

Ignoring Olivia’s glare and mutterings, Jason stood up and walked into the gym storage, a room filled with several types of mock battle armaments. Thinking it was time to arm himself and increase the students suffering, Jason started looking for a blade type weapon when he heard muffled moans. With a cocked eyebrow, he walked to the furthest shelf and looked behind it.

Asami was atop another girl, kissing her passionately while caressing the girl’s breast. Both had the upper part of their tight under-armor pulled up, exposing their bras. Jason, amused, quietly leaned on a piece of equipment and didn’t interrupt them. Instead, he waited for them to realize that they were caught but, unfortunately, they were too occupied with themselves to grasp his presence. After a while, Jason started to feel bored from watching their clumsy intimacy.

“Mr. Sage, I wanted to ask wha- WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!” Olivia wanted to ask Jason a question but discovered the tryst that Asami was having. “How could you two do this in a gym? Have you no shame?! And in front of a teacher no less!”

Olivia continued her admonishing while the two girls pulled away from each other in a hurry. Asami sheepishly used her arms to cover her chest while the girl, absolutely red with embarrassment, quickly pulled her shirt down.

“Honestly, this is enough to have you suspended! Don’t you agree, Mr. Sage?” Olivia turned to Jason expectantly and the latter covered his face with a hand as he looked up sighing. Asami rolled her eyes, expecting him to also lecture her.

“Honestly Asami, I’m disappointed. I really am. I thought you would be better at this,” Jason said while shaking his head.

“Exactly, you should be better at thi- what?” Olivia stopped and turned to Jason, looking at him with an incredulous look shared by the other two.

“You heard me. I’m impressed that you picked the gym storage, I definitely need to try it out myself. But ... you’re a disgrace at comforting women!” Jason pointed a finger at Asami exaggeratedly to emphasize his statement while she stood shellshocked.

“You were too soft! You kept making the same moves and kisses! For five whole minutes! Five!” Jason declared while Asami fell to her knees.

“No, that’s not possible,” she muttered defeatedly. “I’ve been practicing for two years and now you say that it was for nothing?!”

“You weren’t wrong though,” Jason said in a Jedi-like manner. “Your technique is correct when you first start off. However, when a girl is aroused, you must move in a more rough but gentle manner! You kiss her softly like she’s fragile but squeeze her breasts roughly! Pinch them! Get her to squirm underneath you! Use your other arm instead of supporting yourself! Use it to stroke her between the legs, where she's overflowing!”

“I see! You’re a genius, Sensi! No, master! Shishou!” Asami said with glittering eyes. Her partner, on the other hand, was literally bleeding red from their conversation and took off, almost sobbing with shame and embarrassment.

“What is wrong with you two? This an educational institution, not some obscene ... establishment! And pull your shirt down, Asami!” Olivia yelled at both of them with horror.

“Huh? But that’s exactly why I’m teaching her. Have you never heard of sex ed?” asked Jason bemusedly with a tilt of his head and Olivia felt like cracking his head open to see what's inside.

It’s not that kind of sexual education! Thought Olivia as Jason continued his explanation.

“Besides, can you imagine what would happen if she doesn’t learn how to give pleasure? One day, her wife would cheat on her with a guy. I’m trying to prevent that!” said Jason in a righteous voice stunning Olivia once more.

“Did you ... you did something like that before, didn’t you?” Asami asked while pulling her shirt down.

“Well, I, uh, - heh - might'a slept with someone who was … taken. Mind you, I did not know she had a girlfriend,” Jason answered without shame. “But don’t worry, they fixed everything up once we had a threesome.”

“You mean they were ... with you ...?” Asami asked disbelievingly.

“I sorta turned into a dildo for them,” shrugged Jason. “But it doesn’t matter, everything turned out for the better. They worked things out and decided to stick together. After all, love conquers all!”

Olivia collapsed from shock, muttering nonsense while Asami looked at Jason with gleaming eyes.

“Now I’ve got to hear the entire story,” Asami said as she followed Jason who was walking away.

“I dunno, it ain't a story for kids… I’ll tell you about it ... ten, twenty, years from now,” replied Jason with his hands in his pocket.

“Please Shishou, I promise not to tell anyone else! You can trust me!” Asami pleaded.

“Yeah, and I’m married,” Jason retorted sarcastically. This blabbermouth would probably write an article and publish it if she could.

“You are?!” Asami asked excitedly as her eyes gleamed with gossip. The thought of Jason being married was exciting, she could imagine how many girls would resort to using voodoo.

“Course not!” Jason denied as a certain red-head appeared in his mind. He felt sullen when he remembered her smile. That soft but firm body and the sweet, sweet cries she would make.

I should pay her a visit, Jason thought. But then Katelyn … fuck.

Jason decided not to think about it for the time being and he left the gym storage while bickering with Asami, leaving Olivia, who was still muttering incoherently, alone.