Author’s note- So, how am I doing so far with the romance element? Not too shabby, eh? Well don’t worry, there are some sweet feelings in this chapter as well. And our first battle scene. :D Enjoy!

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Ability

Waking up, I found myself in a hospital style bed. The tv was on some sports channel, and if I looked to my right I could see the sun setting through a window. Strangely enough, it was open, letting hot air in. And if I looked to my left, I could see a woman in a black suit staring at me.

Wait, what?

I scooted back on hospital bed only to realize that I felt like crap all over. Especially my back. It felt like I had been hit by a car.1 But this was irrelevant at the time, as I could feel a threat from that woman.

(1: Quite literally! I crack myself up.)

Woman in black- “Tell me your name.”

I almost answered, but I held it back in my throat out of instinct instead. I kept silent, looking for the woman’s response.

Woman in black- “Nathaniel Belair, we won’t get anywhere if you are so adamant in refusing basic courtesy. Now, do you know where you are?”

I shrunk back at her saying my name, yet I mysteriously felt compelled to answer.

Me- “A hospital?”

Woman in black- “And do you know why you are at this hospital?”

Me- “You, and those in black… They knocked me out. Brought me here.”

Woman in black- “That was the how. Not the why. You had just been through a car accident or more accurately, a bus and a car accident. Our intention was to check you for hidden injuries, if, you had injuries.”

Me- “Why?”

Woman in black- “You have an ability. We detected it’s usage twice today, and on both occasions you shouldn’t of survived. Yet you did…”

Me- “Yes I did. Is that a problem?”

I was becoming more and more hostile to this woman and the group that backed her. They knocked me out and brought me here against my will, they had obviously gathered my information without my volition, and they might be behind the ‘accidents’ that almost took my life and Chloe’s. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got.

Woman in black- “We have nothing to do with those accidents, at least not in the way you think. Our name is C.H.I.B.I., and it stands for Charm, Health, Intelligence, Battle, and Innovation. We diagnose and organize those with abilities for the betterment of society. We mainly deal with other ability users, and we work with the american government to take care of anything out of their jurisdiction. Such as those with an ability, like yourself.”

I felt like I was being influenced to believe her words,. Unfortunately, the knowledge of being influenced did not help me in any way.

Me- “So, then what am I to you. And why did you contact me?”

Woman in black- “Unlike most with an ability, we haven’t been able to diagnose what yours is exactly, nor do you have the ability to control it. At present nobody knows what you could do, because your ability is fully under the control of your subconscious.”

Me- “And? That doesn’t change anything. I must have been living my whole life without knowing, so why change now? If it even exists, the only thing it seems to do is protect me while I’m in danger.”

Woman in black- “True, and you don’t have anything in your record. That’s exactly the reason that we are speaking to you after doing you a kindness, instead of the alternative.”

I seemed to already know what this ‘alternative’ was, so I kept silent.

Woman in black- “Good. You’re smart. So, do you know what I’m going to ask you next?”

Me- “Something along the lines of recruiting me and testing me. Or letting me go free while you gather information about my life and observe my actions.”

Woman in black- “Try both together, and you’ll have it right.”

Me- “You’re also going to let me go first, and you’re about tell me to keep this confidential.”

Woman in black- “...You’re too smart for your own good. And yes, you will not tell anyone about us, or you will suffer the consequences.”

It seems she didn’t need to use the influence on me for that sentence. I already fully believed it.

Sarcastically waving goodbye, the woman left, out of my sight. But I knew they had me under surveillance, especially at this time. So I waited for a bit, and in about a minute, a janitor came into the room. He made a hand motion, and I came into his cleaning cart. Draping the cloth over the cart, he escorted me out of the complex.

The man must of taken a couple of detours to confuse me, because it had already turned dark when I got out of the hospital. I patted my pants pockets and my stuff was all in there, it was just they were all in different pockets than I had them in before. It seems they were trying to let me know that they went through my stuff. Not that I wouldn’t know if they put all the stuff back in the right place, but this only reaffirmed their sheer arrogance.

I took out my phone and checked my gps. It seemed I was about a mile away from my house, and the time was 7:30. If I jogged, it said I could get to my house with enough time to take a shower before bedtime. So I did just that.

************

Nothing eventful came about during the run, but when I got home I could see my parents through the living room window. They were accompanied by a tear stricken Chloe and an unfamiliar, middle aged couple. I assumed they were Chloe’s parents.

Gripped by a strange stroke of curiosity, I pressed my ear to the area right below the window. I wanted to hear what they were saying before I came in.

Mom- “...is Nathaniel? I just…”

Chloe- “I- I told you… He was taken away by those people; they gave me no chance to react! They didn’t say anything, and I don’t know where they went. I couldn’t even get up to call you guys!”

Dad- “I’m sorry Chloe… It’s just… We might need to call the police. So we need a clear story… Ugh, I need to go somewhere to clear my head. I miss my son…”

I got up from my position under the window and walked towards the sidewalk. I then acted like I was walking towards the door shortly before it opened.

When dad saw me, his eyes brightened considerably before rushing over to me for a bear hug.

Dad- “Nathaniel! Where were you!? After I heard you were kidnapped I, I…”

I just smiled and leaned into the hug. It had felt like so long, even if the time hadn’t even been a day.

And as I closed my eyes from comfort, I noticed my mom’s hands went around me as well. It felt so nice in between; I just stayed there for a minute, an hour. It didn’t matter because when the hug ended, it still felt too short. My mom was the first to break from the hug.

Mom- “Come, come inside. I’ll get you some water.”

Dad- “Yeah, come inside, Chloe and her parents are inside as well.”

My parents went inside first, and as I came inside I saw Chloe by the door. I didn't know what to do, so I stayed silent. Chloe ended up speaking first.

Chloe- “I never thought I’d see you again. After you pushed me out of the way… I was overjoyed when I saw the roof get stuck on the rope. But they came and…”

Hearing her speak, I found the courage to do so myself.

Me- “For me… I knew I just couldn’t see you get hurt.”

And before I could react, Chloe came in for a hug. I didn’t hold back and squeezed her tight. After the hug broke up, we came into the door holding hands. And although we were also both embarrassed, the situation had brought us closer than ever before. And I liked it…

We sat on the couch together, and Chloe squeezed my hand tight. And for some reason I knew what she was asking me. I needed to explain what happened to both her parents and mine. So I started with the car accident.

***********

I ended up explaining everything except the stuff about abilities. That included the majority of my conversation with the woman in black. All I really said about her is that she was a government official of some kind, and that the rest of the information she told me was confidential.

But honestly, I don’t think they were really interested in my story. They were just happy to know that I was alive. And after I told everyone, we just went into a normal conversation.

Chloe’s mom- “Well, I’m glad you’re ok. And thank you for taking care of our daughter.”

Chloe’s dad- “Ha ha ha! It seems you really are taking good care of my daughter! Did you two have some sort of moment before you went inside?

Chloe and I both blushed, yet we didn’t let go of eachother just yet. Hand in hand, I felt reassured that I was still a person and not just some unpredictable and dangerous weapon. I just wished I could stay like this forever.

But good things always come to an end. In the end, Bella1 ended up jumping in between us, and she started snuggling against me while whining. I swear sometimes, these dogs get jealous!

(1: Bella is the main character’s dog.)

Anyways, I went to bed feeling warm on the inside; I had a great night of sleep…

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Like usual, I woke up to my alarm the next day. But after shutting off the alarm, I waited for about half a minute, pretending to be asleep. This was because somewhere in my mind, I expected Chloe to pop in my room and wake me up.

But after I waited for a minute or two, I realized that this was not an anime or something written by an author who has no life. Real life couldn’t be as awesome as an anime. She wasn’t just going to come through the door an-

Chloe- “Good morning Nathaniel!”

Yes! Yeah that’s right! Who said real life couldn’t be as awesome as an anime! I didn’t! But now I have to play the part!

Me- ‘yawns’ “Good morning. What time is it?”

Yes, I know I just turned off the alarm. And right now it was about 6:02. But I had to look like I slept in so…

Chloe- “The alarm clock is right next to your bed. Nathaniel, you weren’t just waiting for me to come in, were you?”

Urk! She said it jokingly, but the listener is guilty!

Me- “...I have dreams too!”

Chloe- “...Well, I’ll be waiting on the couch. See you soon!”

I nodded my head, and she closed the door, giving me freedom to get ready. To get ready, I usually take about 45 minutes. But with Chloe waiting for me, I couldn’t have her waiting for that long! So 20 minutes later, I was seen walking down the stairs, ready to eat breakfast.

Mom and Dad gave a knowing smile, and pointed to the table where Chloe was sitting. Breakfast was already served, and it consisted of eggs, pancakes, and turkey bacon. I guess my parents really went all out when Chloe came over. Usually I have to get some cereal. Well, time to dig in!

After I had eaten breakfast, Chloe and I left out for school. As we walked, the conversation ended up moving to Chloe’s ankle.

Me- “So, how has your ankle been? I noticed you still have the bracer on.”

Chloe- “After I left your house last night, we went to see the doctor about my ankle. And apparently we are now back to square one. I can’t do anything but slow walks, and it hurts everytime I step on it. But thankfully it did not get worse after the incident, so I don’t need crutches or anything like that.”

Suddenly, I felt an urge to help her. To protect her. I wouldn’t let anything like yesterday happen again.

Me- “Let me carry your backpack.”

Yes it was a demand, not a question. I was not interested in courtesy right now as it involved her well being. No would not be an answer.

Chloe looked directly into my eyes, and seeing the serious determination within, she handed over her backpack.

Chloe- “...Thanks.”

Me- “Always.”

I slung her backpack over my own, and we walked hand in hand the rest of the way to the school.

We arrived about 10 minutes earlier than when classes start, so Chloe and I were able to sit down in the library for a short period of time. We had a pleasant talk, and after the bell rung we each went our separate ways. I had to go to physics, while she had to go to language arts. But we also had classes together later in the day, so it wasn’t like we wouldn’t see each other until after school. Still, I felt like I didn’t want to see her go. So I ended up walking her to her class first, before finally handing the backpack to Chloe.

Like most main characters in anime, I always chose the seats next to windows. They loved to see the scenery, and I loved to feel like a protagonist.... Don’t judge me!

Anyways, the period went by quickly, but as I was finishing up a worksheet, the teacher got a call through the school phone. And I got a bad feeling as his face grew darker and darker. Finally, he nodded his head and motioned to me to gome to the front of the class.

Physics teacher- “You need to go to the gym, right now.”

Me- “Why?”

Physics teacher- “I don’t know, but I got a call from the higher ups. Here, I’ll write you a pass. And I don’t think you’ll be coming back, so take your stuff with you.”

I nodded and grabbed my stuff. I didn’t think I could refuse C.H.I.B.I.’s summons, and even if I did, it wouldn’t end up well for me. So I walked over to the gym obediently, and met a man in black who shook hands with me. After that, he opened the door. And waiting there was a familiar face, the woman in black.

Me- “What do you want?”

Woman in black- “Well, I think we collected enough about you. You have a background in martial arts.”

Me- “When I was young. I doubt I’ll remember much of it.”

Woman in black- “You aren’t telling me everything…”

Me- “If your information networks are as connected as you say, won’t you be able to figure it out with time?”

Woman in black- “Sometimes, we don’t need to dig deep within records. Sometimes, we can just bring it to the surface”

After those words, the woman walked to the side of the gym and brought out two karate gis. She passed one to me, and the other she passed above my head. Behind me!?

I turned around and met face to face with a man. He had a total lack of presence, and his shirt was off, showcasing his streamlined muscles. He caught the gi and put it on in a swift, practiced movement. A formidable opponent.

Me- “You must be joking! I can’t beat that! Look at me; I’m out of shape! And I didn’t even learn martial arts! It was only self defense!”

Woman in black- “We will see. But for now, you must fight! I will give you 5 seconds to prepare.”

I put on the gi, and I was struggling with the belt when the time was up. The man inched forward in a stance, so I abandoned putting on the belt and went into a fighting position.

As we circled each other, I mentally went through the moves I had learned. Foot stomp, shin kick, neck chop, over head smash, and roundhouse kick. But looking at the build of this man, it seemed that the best approach would be to stomp on his foot, and follow up with a chop to his neck. Then I would keep him at a distance, and kick his shin if he tried to advance. That way I could disrupt his breathing, and keep him wary of going into close combat. Then I would exhaust him, and finish him off a bit later.

As soon as he stepped forward, I drove down my foot with all my power. Stamp! But instead of feeling the softness of flesh, I felt like I had stomped on a board. He had a steel toe shoe!

But I had no time for regret, so I tried to continue with my original plan by fluidly following up with a neck chop. And like I expected, it was blocked. It would've worked if the man flinched from the footstomp, but my plan was destined to end in failure as soon as I realized he had the steel toe shoes.

The man knocked me back with an elbow strike to the chest, and then followed up with an overhead smash. Damn it!

I barely dodged the overhead smash and kicked at the inside of his knee to make him lose his balance. It hit, but the man seemed to be expecting it as he squatted down to gather his strength, rendering my strike ineffective. Then as I was recovering my balance, he sprung out like a mountain lion and kicked at my midsection!

I had no time to think, no time to dodge! The only thing I could do was block!

His kick smashed into my half formed defense, and knocked me back while I was off balance. I did the best I could, and took multiple steps back just to mitigate the force! I had lost out in that exchange.

The man made a provocative gesture, as if telling me to come on! But I kept my head. I was at a disadvantage, and I would just be digging my own grave if I didn’t recover my breath before attacking him.

Dissatisfied, the man started inching forward again, leaving no openings. I drew into a stance, this time deciding to stay on the defensive. The man opened up with a foot stomp, which I dodged. I countered with a shin kick, but the man dodged by swaying and swung his arms out to grapple me.

There was no way to dodge since we were in such close quarters, but I spun with my arms out as a counter grapple. We both grabbed each other at the same time, and it became a contest of strength! Unfortunately, although I was much stronger than the average high schooler, I was not a match for this man.

He overpowered me, and threw me onto the ground. Then he followed up with a stomp to my private area! No you don’t! A warm energy flooded my body, and I suddenly felt revitalized!

I rolled over, and he stepped on my half tied belt instead. This caused him to slip and fall flat on his nose while I spun to my feet. The tables were turned!

“Shua!”

Not wasting a single moment, I charged forward as he hurriedly tried to regain his balance and struck out like lightning! Overhead smash!

“Bam!”

The man was knocked back onto the floor, dazed, and as I was still angry at his previous dirty move, I kicked at his crotch!

Woman in black- “STOP!!!”

Her words had a very strong coercive effect, and my body stopped rigidly against my will.

Woman in black- “The fight is over.”

The man scrambled to his feet, and backed up a few steps before regaining his composure.

Streamlined man- “I’m much stronger than him! He just got lucky. Give me another chance, and I’ll beat him thoroughly!”

Woman in black- “This boy has been getting ‘lucky’ a lot lately. And,”

The woman checked an alert on her phone. Smilingly, she started to speak again.

Woman in black- “And we have detected another ability usage at this area. I doubt his victory had anything to do with luck. Instead, you lost to his ability. If you fought again without using your ability, you would lose again, to a different ‘lucky’ coincidence.”

The man didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t say anything else. And the woman didn’t look concerned on how he felt either. With a cold look on her face, she turned to me and asked,

Woman in black- “Did you feel anything when you fought just now? Something unfamiliar?”

Me- “No. Nothing unfamiliar.”

She observed me closely; I had a feeling she knew I lied. But a hunch was not enough to report to her superiors, so I could gain a bit more time.

Woman in black- “Well. If you were to have felt an unfamiliar feeling, I would of told you to grasp it and try to reproduce it on your own. But since you didn’t, we are going to have to resort to more drastic measures. Blaze?”

The streamlined man walked up with a vicious grin on his face and cracked his knuckles.

Blaze- “Shouldn’t of lied boy! Now you’re going to taste my fire!”

He wiggled his bloody nose, and then bashed his fists together.

“BOOM!”

His fists caught fire, and he sliced his finger across his neck. Then, taking one step forward, an explosion of fire burst out from underneath his feet, and he turned into a blur. Danger!

Without thinking about anything at all, I dropped to the floor and rolled out of the way. Then I looked behind me and saw blaze with his fist stuck through the wall. That attack would of exploded my head like a watermelon!

Me- “Hey, we can talk about this! No need to do so much!”

Blaze smiled viciously, and a rippling tattoo of flame snaked along his arm and reignited his fists.

Blaze- “What happened to ‘let's talk about this’ when you tried to crush my crotch? HUH!?”

“Bam!”

Blaze disappeared from my sight, leaving only a figure of flame behind! Left, right, behind, above me!

I dove out of the way, but it seemed I was a too late as the shockwave pushed me further than expected!

Thankfully, I was able to turn it into a roll, but I had lost sight of him! Not good! I spun out of the way while taking off my gi and leaving it where I was. It was a gamble; a risk I had to take. Come on b*st*rd!

“Woosh!”

A blurred figure went straight through the white gi and rammed into the wall.

“Boom!”

I dashed forward to the newly made crater, a sharp steel rod in my hand! All or nothing!

Blaze- “You and your cheap tricks! Why don’t you fight me like a man!?”

Gripping the steel rod harder than ever before, I stabbed forward!

Me- “Take this!”

Woman in black- “STOP!”

The rod stopped in midair, held by an invisible force. But I was NOT going to leave him unscathed; he tried to take my life!

‘Thump’ Blaze got up, letting the ruble slide off of him.

‘Thump’ Cracks extended from the area he smashed into, circling around the metal score board.

‘Thump’ Blaze looked up.

‘Thump’ It fell down.

“BOOM!”

The redness in my eyes slowly faded away as I realized that Blaze was not coming back. He was dead. And it was by mostly his own doing.

But the woman looked at me with eyes of horror.

Woman in black- “Y- You! You killed him!”

My eyes grew cold, as I knew this woman was an accomplice.

Me- “The way he died was completely of his own doing. And he, he was trying to kill me as well. He got what he deserved.”

Woman in black- “No! You were supposed to die, and he was supposed to get promoted! It wasn’t supposed to happen this way! Die, die, DIE!”

She pointed at me, and a black mist rolled forward. It enveloped me, and the only thing I could see was a shadowy silhouette approaching me slowly. I tried to move, but the rolling mist formed innumerable chains around me.

But suddenly, a strange feeling flooded forth through my body. Yes, the same one that was at the car accident, the theater, my fist fight, and when I defeated Blaze. And instinctively, I knew exactly what to do to win.

A burning flame emerged from my body, melting the chains surrounding me. Then I walked up to the silhouette, while the rolling mist retreated at every step.

Me- “You were never able to kill me.”

I grabbed her forehead, and made a golden glow emerge from her body. She groaned, and clawed at me desperately as her body grew increasingly stiff.

Woman in black- “Give it, give it back!”

The cold look in my eyes grew stronger, and I quietly whispered to her.

Me- “Your words have no power over me any longer.”

I tapped her forehead, and cracks lined up all across her body.

Me- “Shatter.”

She burst apart into a million pieces of glass. And I walked away, leaving a myriad of frozen shards in my wake.

Me- ‘sigh’ “It’s finally over…”

???- “You pass.”

The ruined remains of a gym distorted around me, and I found myself standing instead of walking. Then I looked down, and I was holding hands with the man who opened the door for me.

Me- “What is going on here?”

He let go of my hand, and smiled at me.

Man in black- “An illusion. You shook hands with me before you came in the gym, remember? That was when it took effect.”

Me- “But how?”

Man in black- “Nathaniel, you’re not the only one with an ability.”

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Author’s note 2- Well, that came out at a lightning speed. That’s surprising, considering the speed I write The Elements of Terra chapters. It must be because I’m making this story in real life, whereas my other story is totally within my fictional universe. Or maybe it’s because I just started this one… Well either way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I will see you later!