Chapter 17

Asters

Felix softly opened his blue eyes and found himself in a hospital room. He turned his head and saw a familiar face sat on a chair and curled up on the left of his bedside. Her head peacefully resting on the bed that he was in.

He turned to the right as he caught the faint scent of coffee, where he found a cup standing atop a small white table, and next to it was a vase full of half-wilted flowers.

“Asters?” He muttered out with a quiet, gravelly voice

“Felix…you are…” Maria gleefully snored out.

He smiled lightly and reached his hand to pat her head, but the memory of her with a blood-stained smile flashed in his head, stopping him. He pulled back his hand with a nervous expression.

The door slid open and a nurse entered. With black hair tied into a bun, she walked to the counter.

“Good afternoon, Mister Aster. You’re finally awake. How are you feeling?” She asked with a soft voice as to not wake up Maria.

“Still sore, and a little uncomfortable with her sleeping on my bed.”

The nurse placed her palm on her cheek, “Truly now? That sounds rather cold considering that she’s been by your side this entire time.”

“This place is... a Golden Lion hospital?”

“Correct. Lauren Williams, at your service.” The nurse smiled.

“Where’s my stuff? My necklace?” He panicked as he scoured his chest frantically, only to stop and gaze at his right hand in disbelief.

“Try to relax. It’s safely placed there in the cabinet with the rest of your belongings.”

“So, how long have I been here?”

“You’ve been asleep for almost nine days now.”

”Urgh, nine days? How bad was my condition?” Felix rigidly dragged his body to sit up.

The nurse picked up the clipboard from the desk as she explained,

“You were in pretty bad shape when you got here. Three broken ribs, one of your lungs were punctured, internal bleeding, and your entire body was covered in bruises.”

“Is that all?”

“There’s also this unusual concentration of caffeine in your body which we believe to have contributed to slowing down your recovery.”

“It hurts to be betrayed by something I hold so dear to me.” Felix jokingly lamented out loud.

“When you arrived, your body was already undergoing some form of hyper-accelerated healing, and by the time the doctors were about to begin operating on you, you were already out of critical condition. We’ve never seen anything like it. It’s amazing how quickly you’ve recovered. But that’s probably thanks to Professor Tetsuya’s genius.”

I don’t know why, but listening to her praise the professor felt like listening to a grating noise.

“R-right… if that’s the case, then I should probably get some exercise. Nine days is a long time— urgk!” He grabbed his stomach.

“Nope, you should rest for a little while longer. Your body burnt itself out by accelerating the healing process.”

“Is that so?” Felix plopped back down to the bed.

“Now that you’re awake, I’ll need to perform routine checks on you, so would you please wake up Miss Readman and ask her? I’d do it myself, but truth be told, she scares me.”

“… She does tend to do that. Hey Marie, Marie…”

“Mhm… five more minutes…”

Felix scowled and gently placed his hand on Maria’s head, but as he did, he stared at his hand. His eyes widened, and his mouth parted.

His memories began to flood back in. Of his battle against Moritz, Beast, and Oscar.

Felix began hyperventilating, and sweat dripped down his face as he remembered his hand being turned into a burnt, empty stump.

“Ow, ow! I’m up, I’m up.” Maria yelled out. Felix then snapped out of it, unknowingly gripping Maria’s hair tightly.

“Ah… Marie… I’m sorry.” He said as he let go of her head.

“I see you’re awake, how you feeling?” She mumbled out, still half-asleep.

“Alive. It’s all foggy, I can’t remember much after I fought with that one guy, Moritz. What… what happened?”

“Well, we failed our mission.”

“I see…” He clenched his hand with a hint of frustration in his voice.

His eyes then widened with the realization as he looked at both of his hands. Looking front and back before pressing it against the back of his head as he remembered the beam of light, “Is… my hand…”

“Your hand is fine. Calm down, I made you some coffee… but… it’s probably cold now.” She glanced at the small white table beside him where the wilted flowers lay.

Felix pressed his hand against his forehead, “Oh, thanks.”

“Now let me get back to sleeping...” She blurted as she placed her face back to his bedside.

“Actually, you kinda have to go at the moment.”

“We’re going to do some quick medical exams to see if he’s a hundred-percent alright now. You’re free to return as soon as we’re done.” The nurse said as she held up a syringe.

Felix felt a mild chill crawl through his spine, but as his eyebrows furrowed with discomfort, Maria smirked.

“Want I should hold your hand before she sticks it inside you?”

“Leave.”

“Well, it’s good to see you’re already getting better. But before I go…” She said as she handed him a mirror before leaving.

“Huh?”

Maria pointed to her own left eye before leaving the room. As Felix looked into the mirror, he smiled and placed his hand on his cheek. His left eye had finally turned blue.

“Finally.” He sighed, “Took it long enough…”

But his time to revel was cut-short as the nurse spoke, “Mister Aster. Your physical exams.”

“Oh, um… right.”

A few moments passed and his physical exams were finished.

The nurse wrote as she explained, “Everything seems to be in proper functioning order. The soreness should go away after two days or so, and we can discharge you immediately. I’ll leave you some pain killers here, just in case.”

“And… my right hand?”

“It appears your hand was in pretty bad shape, but by the time you arrive, it was already recovering.”

His eyes lowered as the memory flashed to when he was younger, where a bleeding hand reached out towards the sky from the rubble.

“Well, call me if you need anything.”

“Alright. Ah, wait… Can you leave the pen?” Felix asked as the nurse who was about to leave.

“Alright then. I’ll be back in a bit, okay?” She cheerfully replied before leaving the room.

“…Stars, huh?”

Felix fiddled with the pen with a blank expression on his face, but while he did, he began to recollect the memories of his last mission, as well as the humiliation that he was put through.

Though as he lowered the pen, a thought still persisted to linger in his mind, “What it means to be an esper?”

These words leave him stranded and clueless, yet his frustration could not be seen in his face. He brought the pen up again. His blue eyes focused on the pen between his fingers, waiting for it to lift.

“Come on, come on…”

He looked to the side where the wilted asters were. With a sip of his coffee, he whispered to himself; “Again.”

He picked up the pen once more.

“A fire that doesn’t burn…” He took a deep breath.

A surge of heat began to course through him, from his arms, focusing on his palms. The pen between his hands began to radiate with blue particles of light, lifting in the air.

As he kept it steady, his empty expression turned into a smile. However, it didn’t take long for the pen to shake rapidly between his hands, evidently growing unstable as the light that surrounded it overflowed like a wildfire. It shook more and more violently, yet Felix was unaware of how to stop it.

There was a knock on his door as a voice called out, “May I come in?”

The door slid open, and Isabelle took a step inside with flowers in her arms. But as she walked in, the rogue pen struck directly above her.

A scared whimper escaped her lips as her knees gave up on her.

As the flowers scatter around to the floor, Felix could only mutter two words

“Ah… sorry.”

*

Awkwardly, Felix greeted, “Ah hi, Isabelle.”

“H-hi, ahem, high there. How long have you been awake?” Isabelle asked as she replaced the flowers in the vase.

“About an hour ago. So you must’ve been the one who left these flowers.”

“It was actually Nero, he visited yesterday while you were still asleep. I wanted to visit sooner, but Maria was around, and… to be honest, she scares me.”

“Understandable. I appreciate the thought.”

“I’m glad. Do you like them? They’re asters. I thought you would like them since...”

“Since it’s my name?”

“Now that I think about it, it’s a little tacky, isn’t it? I-I think they’re alright, your eyes remind me of flowers, after all.” She said as she twirled her hair with an embarrassed smile.

“It’s fine. But I’m surprised you’re alone.”

“I actually came here with Nero, but he went to the lobby. He told me not to disturb him while he’s busy watching.”

“So then, why did the two of you come here?”

“We came here to formally thank you for the help. We were probably still green and ill-prepared to deal with such a mission.”

“…Speaking of ill-prepared…I actually saw one of Jackal’s fangs.”

“Yeah. Maria’s report did mention that, though the details are messy and all over the place. Are you sure it was one of them?”

Felix placed his hand on his throat, “Yeah… without question, he was the real deal.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I’m glad you survived.”

“I’m glad I didn’t get to meet another Lewis.” He jested.

Isabelle’s eyes widen slightly, “Um, about that.”

“No…”

“I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but… Lewis Shaw broke out.”

“Again?”

“… As expected of a master escape artist.” She answered with passing interest.

Felix let out a sharp, annoyed glare.

“R-right. He’s still dangerous and should be put behind bars.”

He stood up, and pulled the pen out of the wall it was buried in and handed it to Isabelle, “You told me that you’d show me what it means… to be an esper?”

“Ah, that… I did say that, but you’re still recovering, so it’s probably not the best time right now.”

“I see, but… can you at least show me?”

“Okay, but I’ll have you know I’m not exactly the best teacher.” She answered with a glimmer in her crimson eyes, flattered by the request despite not knowing how to go about it.

She sat next to Felix, handing him the pen that was stuck to the wall, “Now, show me a demonstration first.”

Felix took a deep breath.

A memory slipped in as he tried once more, one with coffee, where Luna sat before him over on a wooden desk. Her ember-lit eyes looked like they shimmered in the cold snow. With a fire-like haze, orange and burning, yet transparent, she lifted up a clover necklace without ever touching it.

“It’s a fire that doesn’t burn, it’s a force that lets you bend objects to your will. One day, when you’re able, I’ll teach it to you.” Luna said to him.

“A force that bends objects to your will.” He mumbled.

The pen once again began to radiate with a blue light between Felix’s hands.

Isabelle, who sat inches away, gazed in awe at the light that flowed from his palms.

“Your aura is… overflowing…”

As Felix watched as the bright blue flames of psychic energy enveloped his hand. His eyes played tricks on him, and he started to hyperventilate.

“My hand… my hand is gone!” He yelled out and closed his eyes tightly.

“Calm down, calm down.” She grabbed his hands, and from it, a crimson light enveloped his psychic energy and as the two transparent fires collided, they fires disappeared. “Your hands are still here, see?”

The pen fell to the ground and Felix opened his eyes slowly, “What… how did you do that?”

“Aura cancels out aura. It’s something I learned while experimenting with Nero.” She explained with a soft smile.

“So aura is what it’s called?” He asked with haggard breaths.

“That’s just what we call it. Did something… err, what happened during the last mission?”

“They had...” Felix gulped and looked at his hand, “They had some sort of weapon. A bright stream of light that… destroyed my hand.”

“Don’t worry, it’s here. You’re alright. It’s alright.” She smiled reassuringly.

“Isabelle… Thank you.”

“Ah— Sorry about that…” Isabelle suddenly lifted her hands from his own with a flushed face. “Ah, a-anyways, I need to find a way to properly explain it… mhmm… It’s like, it’s sort of um, in a way, the light we emit is sorta like water, but at the same time it’s like fire.” She said with a flustered expression, as she was stringing together her messy explanation.

“That’s confusing.” Felix fiddled with the pen in response.

“Sorry, it’s was a little difficult, but I think I got it. It’s something more you feel rather than explain.” She twirled her hair.

Still confused, Felix replied, “I see…”

She took the pen from Felix’s hands, her eyes shined with a piercing crimson.

“The aura you apply, the light your body releases… you have to balance that, and then you make it move, and make it flow.” She said as she waved her finger around, the pen danced above their heads.

“That’s... wow.” With childlike amazement, Felix gazed.

He looked to his own hand, opening and closing it.

“I don’t know what it is that they put inside of us to let us be able to do these things but… it’s a good feeling. It feels like I’m able to express myself better through this power…” She said with a calm, happy voice.

“I see…”

“Sorry, I rambled a little there again… I think that the best way to learn is by having the Black Hound teach you.”

Almost instinctively, Felix responded, “Who?”

“Eh?” She blurted out in shock, “David Soldier? The top one?”

“Oh, right. Him.”

“Did… you not know?”

“Of course, I know. But… It’s just easier to pretend he doesn’t exist.”

“Did something happen? Between you and him?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

“Please be direct with me. I don’t want to be messed around with.” She pouted.

“Sorry… it’s just… force of habit. Something did happen, but it’s something I’d rather not talk about.”

“I see. Sorry for prying…”

An uncomfortable atmosphere surrounded the two. Neither could open their mouth to start a conversation. Felix mustered his strength to remove the tension.

“W-well, um…”

The conversation came to a halt, but Felix forced himself to avoid awkward silence, “So, um… do you like coffee?”

“Well, I can’t say I dislike it.” She answered with a forced reply.

“I was actually given some imported coffee the other day, would you like to have some with me?”

“I think that’d nice.” She answered reservedly.

Felix let out a tired sigh and decided to speak his mind.

“Still, what you did was pretty amazing.” He said with genuine praise.

“Th-thank you.” Felix let out a bright smile as he turned to her, her face turned ever so slightly red at the compliment

“To be honest… my mentor taught me what she could. She told me that the basis of all of this was movement. But she never actually taught me what it was like. How it worked… how it “felt.” I wasn’t able to use it on command, and teaching me theories would have amounted to nothing if I couldn’t experience it myself… so I wanna learn how to do this as soon as I could.”

“I see…” She tilted her head and smiled, “I’ll be glad to help you.”

“Let me try it again.” Felix took hold of the pen.

“I think it’s better to rest.”

“Just one more try…”

He insisted as he eagerly tried it again, turning into a projectile that flew through the opening door. Only to be caught in the hand of a familiar figure.

“Your smile is really creepy. Stop it, stop being happy.” Maria walked into the room with a dissonance between her indifferent expression and her annoyed tone.

“Oh, hey Marie.” Felix waved innocently as his closest friend entered the room.

“Ah.. I—” Isabelle’s heart started weighing her down with every beat.

“Sigh, I was gone for twenty minutes and you’re already getting swept off your feet by some vampire wannabe.” Maria tossed the pen back to the silver-haired girl, who awkwardly caught it.

“Huh?” Felix shrugged his arms calmly.

Isabelle stood up, “Vampire— What’s that supposed to mean?”

Maria sighed dryly as she walked into the room “Here, I got you your coffee.”

“Ah, thanks…”

“We were supposed to be sent for our new mission, but…”

The scent of smoke emanated from the air as the chief stood beside the door, cigarette in hand, “But seeing as you’re still recovering, I’m sending Maria out on her own for now. Besides, you still haven’t written your side of the report. So tell me, Felix Aster. How was your first failure?”

“You don’t have to rub it in…” He sighed.

She leaned in and asked, “Then tell me, how did it feel facing a Jackal’s fang?”

Felix’s hands clenched above his knees. His head lowered as he tensed up, “… Exciting.”

“Oh? Good answer.” The chief responded, her eyes could be seen through her orange-tinted glasses, her expression a wry grin. “It’s time for you to train for real.”

**

Lauren Williams headed back to check on Felix’s condition with a clipboard in hand, where she saw two women standing up at his door.

Her eyes focused on the older woman in the deep green vest with a cigarette in her hand.

With a shock-ridden expression, the nurse stormed into the room and confiscated the cigarette from the chief’s hands.

Chief’s orange-tinted glasses dropped slightly as she reacted, “Eh?”

She announced, “Miss, this is a no-smoking zone!”

“Ah… r-right.”