Author’s note- A chapter is ready for consumption! Enjoy~

__________________________________________________________________

An Understanding

During the shower, I washed the blood off my body and my shoes. And after I had finished, I grabbed the towel and dried myself off. Walking into my room, I put on some new clothes.

I started to rest on my bed, thinking. What exactly was the ‘gift’ that I had been given? And how would it help me survive?

I summoned my golden aura, and I started to examine it. It seemed thicker, and almost like a liquid. I could still only stretch it out 3 feet from my hand in a cone shape, although the cone formed faster. But what was this, benefit?

Suddenly, I started to feel extremely tired. I tried to use the hot feeling to fight it off, but it seemed to have no effect. I fell asleep soon afterwards.

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

Opening my eyes, I was lying down in the space. And I heard my own voice, coming from behind me.

Me?- “You seem to be confused.”

Him again!?

I jumped up, and looked at my reflection. He had a playful look in his eyes, without any malice. Then he rose up from underneath the water and stood in front of me, face to face.

Me?- “You should already know what I gifted. Can’t you sense it?”

He took something out of his pocket, and he glanced at them for a moment before tossing them to me.

Me?- “I don’t think you know the true nature of our power yet. That may be a problem in the future, so I will have to clarify for you.”

Me- “Isn’t my power telekinesis of some kind?”

Me?- “In a way, yes. But it is different. Look at what I tossed to you.”

I looked at the three cubic objects in my hand. And each side of the cube had a different number of dots, ranging up to six. They were dice.

Me- “What’d you give me these for?”

Me?- “I want you to roll a 15, three times in a row. Go ahead.”

I shook my head; how was this going to help me? But the other me continued to keep his stubborn stance.

Me?- “Just do it. I’m showing you this for a reason.”

I nonchalantly threw out the dice, and it landed on a 3, 4, and a 5.

Me?- “Look, you can’t just throw them out like that. You have to will it to happen. Try again.”

The dice appeared back in my hand, and the other me sat down, waiting.

Frowning, I threw them down again, this time hoping for an 15. And surprisingly, when I released the dice there was a faint golden aura on them! They landed on the ground, and the numbers were a 6, a 4 and a 5. FIfteen…

Me?- “Do you get it now? What does our ability do?”

Me- “My golden aura works to accomplish my desire by moving objects in the appropriate ways.”

Me?- “Not quite, but you’re almost there. Try to roll a 2 by throwing out 3 dice.”

I started to grasp what he was trying to convey to me. If my theory was correct, then one of the dice wouldn’t leave my hand or float in the air.

I desired to roll a 2, then threw out the three dice. They all went out successfully, and two of them landed on the next best thing: a one. The third however, landed on a 4. That gave me a total of 6.

Me?- “So?”

Me- “My golden aura works to accomplish my desire by subtly influencing elements of chance. If there is no chance however, it won’t happen. But how does that explain my ability to control heat, regenerate, strengthen, or kill with a touch?”

Me?- “You have 2 separate abilities. One is connected to your mind, namely the golden aura. The ability to control heat stems from this, as temperature is defined by the speed of the random movement of matter. Any place with heat therefore is our playground. And killing with a touch? It’s really stealing their luck.”

Me- “How would that kill them so quickly?”

Me?- “There are an almost infinite amount of things that could go wrong with the human body, and it is only by chance that people continue to survive. By stealing their luck, you steal their chance at continued survival. From then on, it’s only a matter of time before they die. And the only reason other ability users survive longer is because their ability is rejects ours. But I’m stronger than all of them; nobody can block me.”

Me- “And the body strengthening?”

Me?- “That was inherited. And I’m pretty sure you can figure that one out on your own.”

Me- “Inherited?”

Me?- “Well, you are only 5 percent of me. It makes since you haven’t figured it out yet… Listen. Our whole family is made up of martial arts fanatics, except that dad married out of the clan. Is there a reason?”

Was he proposing that abilities can be passed down to offspring? Viola! She was from the Lynch family, right? And that was why Mrs. Kim was so respectful to her. That ability, Barrier, was inherited.

And that would mean that it was more than likely my ability was inherited as well! Did dad know about this?

I knew I was going to have to ask him about it later.

Me?- “That’s a good idea. I was just about to suggest that to you. I guess I don’t give myself enough credit.”

Me- “What do you mean, myself? Who are you?”

Me?- “I guess it’s time to send you off now… Have fun dreaming; I have a nice dream, prepared just for you! Oh yeah, who was Alice again?”

Me- “Who?”

Why was he mentioning that name? I had a bad feeling about it…

Me?- “I guess you locked her away again. It’s really not fair; I have to deal with her while you get to have fun with Chloe…”

With a wave of a hand that was identical to mine, the world shattered into blackness.

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

I woke up, bewildered. Was this his definition of a ‘nice’ dream? I still had a ‘tent’ standing up in my covers; what if Chloe or my mom came in!?

(Author’s musings: If you’re a guy, I’m sure you know what this is a reference to. If not, don’t think about it too much. Please.)

Sitting up, I wrapped myself up as thickly in my cover as possible, and waited for it to pass. Thankfully no one seemed to be awake yet, as it was still pitch black outside, so it was likely that no one would see it. I thought…

Bashing the door open, Dad flew in the room yelling,

Dad- “Nathaniel! Wake up, it’s time for training!”

He looked at me for a second, and realized I was already awake.

Dad- “Well… It seems you already know the drill. Put these on and meet me downstairs. We have a guest.”

Throwing over a gi, some wraps, and a green belt, he closed the door when he left. Leaving me with a strange look on my face. Who came over, and why was dad over enthusiastic about it? Usually he’s a bit more chill. A bit…”

I put it on quickly, and wrapped it up tightly. Yes, the robes were pretty baggy, so I could afford to have it on correctly. And then I came down stairs, only to find both mom and dad sitting on the couch. Across from them sat a bald old man and a woman a bit on the fatter side, my grandma and granddad. My granddad was even more muscular than my dad, surprisingly.

I had seen them last when I was still in middle school. He had given me some pointers and a bloody nose, but he didn’t mean it. His strength was just too much for me, and he had overestimated me when I had gotten lucky. But now he didn’t seem so scary; he was just a normal, kind old man.

Grandad- “It seems you have become fatter than when I last saw you. But that fat must hide some serious muscle! Come’re son!”

He held out his arms for a hug, and I obliged, activating the hot feeling. Just in case, you know? Better to be safe than sorry.

Like I expected, he tried to squeeze me as tight as he could… But thankfully, my body was enhanced by the feeling, and I was able to squeeze him back.

Granddad- “Agh! Damn, it’s like holding a steel block! What do you feed him?”

Dad- “Heh, it’s his talent; I’m telling you. We tried to train him, but he was able to outlast even us! And all we were doing was barking orders!”

Granddad gained a sharp look in his eyes, and Dad responded with a knowing smile.

Granddad- “Hey Rachel, I have some things I need to talk about with your son. Clan matters. I’m not trying to be rude, but…”

Mom- “It’s ok. I knew this might of come up someday, but I didn’t realize it’d be so soon. Nathaniel, don’t be frightened by anything he says. Just listen to him and your father and be truthful. You have nothing to hide.”

Mom walked out of the room, and it was just us guys in the room. And I already had some ideas about what they were going to ask.

They both turned to me, and dad let granddad take the lead. He was pretty blunt with me.

Granddad- “Nathaniel, have you had a strange feeling? Something that wells up from within your body?”

I answered honestly, knowing there was no point in hiding it from them.

Me- “I call it the hot feeling. It has been slowly making me stronger, and when I activate it, it provides an insane rate of regenteration. With it, I don’t think I can run out of stamina. And when I am cut, the bleeding stops within a few seconds, and my wound heals at a visible rate. Everything grows slower in that state as well, so I can easily grasp an opponents moves.

Granddad looked shocked, and dad did as well.

Dad- “Better than the main bloodline? That should be impossible!”

Granddad- “He shouldn’t of inherited it at all. You mixed with an outsider, not a clan member. And you are only part of the side branch, so it should be incredibly unlikely to have a child with the enhanced body, even if you married back into the clan.”

They exchanged glances, and then regained their composure.

Dad- “Have you been contacted by anyone?”

Me- “By an organization named C.H.I.B.I. It happened the day I was kidnapped.”

Dad- “I should of known…”

Granddad- “That’s out of their juristiction! Clan members belong to the clan; they can’t just take our members!”

Dad- “No, they’re our allies. They must have another reason for this. Nathaniel?”

Me- “They said they couldn’t investigate my backround for some reason. But they contacted me when I showed something different than the hot feeling. It was this.”

I gathered a flame point in mid air and let it burn for them to see. And granddad immediately stood up, incredibly surprised.

Granddad- “A dual user!”

His hands started shaking, and dad came to calm him down. But granddad shook him off, saying,

Granddad- “Do you know the significance of this son!? He’s a f*cking absolute genius! Greater than the heir! We have to take him back to the clan, right now!!! Before they realize his talent, quick!”

But I didn’t share his sentiment. I was the only one keeping the heat away from Chloe, and I wouldn’t forgive myself if I came back to find her missing.

Me- “Wait. I’m not leaving.”

Dad- “Why not!?”

Me- “I have unfinished buisness here. If I’m not here, then there is no buffer for her.”

Granddad- “Can’t you make her come with you? You’re asking because she is your woman, right?”

Me- “Granddad. She has a family, just as I do. And I don’t know what you mean by ‘my woman.’ Chloe is my girlfriend.”

Granddad- “So? Why would she be targeted?”

Me- “She is my contractor…”

Granddad- “Sh*t.”

He paced around the floor, thinking.

Granddad- “Meet me at the front of the garage. And keep on that gear; you’ll need it.”

Once he was out of sight, he said to me, his voice echoing from the garage.

Granddad- “We have a saying in my clan. If you don’t have the strength to back up your words, you shouldn’t talk. And if you don’t have the strength to beat me, then you don’t have the strength to talk about acting as a buffer for that girl. You’d be better off safe in the clan. Agreed?”

He had a point…

Me- “Agreed. Prepare or whatever, I’ll give you five minutes.”

Granddad- “You arrogant brat; you’ll regret it!”

I sat down and waited, a confident smile on my face. He didn’t know what was coming to him.

__________________________________________________________________

Author’s note 2- Eh? Why am I stopping right before the fight scene? Well sometimes, Mr. Cliffy contacts me for a contract. If I write a little bit less, Mr. Cliffy will come along and torture you readers! It’s a win-win situation!