Logan could feel cold sweat on his back. Depending on how he might act now, she might discover something or another.
No matter what, he had to keep his cool. If Logan acted too seriously, she might notice the change in him and if he acted to carefully, she might suspect him for hiding something.
Logan knew he had to control himself and act like the old him would do.
- Sister Maria?! - said he as he tried to sound surprised. He then proceeded to get up and hug her.
Now, it was time to wait and see.
Tic.
Toc.
Tic.
Toc.
It seemed like time had slowed down. It was very stressful for Logan.
He could feel her gaze on his scalp.
"I have to follow up with something or it will turn bad"
Logan separated from sister Maria, looked directly at her face and with the eyes of a puppy asked:
-What is wrong sister?
She still did not respond. As if he was trying to read his soul, she stayed quiet and never looked away from Logan.
All this while, Locus watched the scene with basked breaths. She knew she had to help Logan with something but how? That's when she realised something.
When the pressure was getting to much to bear.
.....
Sister Maria's face softened. Her usual smile appearing on her face.
- How's your training going Logan? Any progress?
Logan had calmed down, but he couldn't let this affect him. He couldn't show a flaw that she could exploit. It's when one is most tranquil that one's weakness show.
- It's not going very well sister - said he as his face displayed a hint of sadness - I still haven't managed to feel any of the spirits or elementals. Any advice you could give me?
- I've got no previous experience with dealing with this so I wouldn't know what to tell you.
- ....That is.....bad....
- That reminds me! Where were you last night Logan? I did not see you when I turned off the lights.
He'd been cornered. Logan had been expecting this question. He knew that his answer had to be made from half truths and half lies if he wanted to avoid further suspicion from her.
But he had to strike a balance.
How would he do that? He didn't have much time to think.
- Sister Maria!! - All of a sudden, A child from a group, Bucky called Maria.
Maria looked towards Bucky, which also made Logan do the same.
Something was brightly shimmering with a radiant green on Bucky's hand. It was the piece of metal Maria had given the kids. Compared with the other children's piece, this was shimmering with an even brighter colour and was lasting a lot more.
Maria had pure surprise on her face.
- Genius. A genius - she murmured.
Seemingly having lost all interest on Logan, she abandoned him where he was and went to Bucky.
Logan could see from his position that Maria was praising Bucky quite heavily. The other kids were swarming and also praising Bucky. Logan could admit that this made him feel sad but he held it in. They were all enemies.
But Logan could see the truth. It wasn't by Bucky's own effort that he could make the piece of metal shine to such a degree. Locus intervened.
Locus seeing that Logan was being slowly cornered, started thinking of something that would take Sister Maria's attention away. The solution needed to also last a long time.
The conclusion she arrived to was make it seem as if one of the other kids were a genius. Fortunately, they were holding a device that could make this possible. All Locus had to do was to infuse elementals into the piece of metal. She realised that Sister Maria would prefer truth rather than speculation and as such would lose interest in Logan for the time being.
Locus smiled smugly once she saw Logan's gaze. Logan responded with a thumbs up.
*****************
Having lost Sister Maria's interest, Logan enjoyed his daily life more calmly. He trained diligently at feeling elementals at morning and learned how to command them with Locus's help at night.
When he returned to the dormitory the day after he met Locus, he saw that his bed was not in a good condition, so he lost all interest towards sleeping there. Instead, he passed his nights at the courtyard with Locus training. Sleep was altogether taken away from Logan's schedule.
He still got bullied every so often but apart from that, everything was calm.
That's until he arrived.
*****************
It was a morning like any other.
The kids were divided into their respective groups and went to their classrooms.
It was time again for Logan to be force fed with elementals by Locus.
That's when he noticed that Maria was not left alone to teach the 7 year olds. Instead, in this case, a man accompanied her. The man looked to be in his thirties. He had a pronounced beard and fierce eyes. His body, well toned. He did not look like a spirit contractor.
Logan looked at the man with interest. Even though he could not display his own abilities, martial arts was a must for him if he wanted to improve.
He was introduced as Cloud, and he was to be their martial arts instructor with Sister Maria.
It was normal in the region of Gand for someone to know martial arts; they needed to have some kind of self defence method for when the enemy approached them. Their powers could not be used at a short distance. Chanting took time and they would also be affected by the blast.
That is why martial arts was important for the blessed in Gand.
- So, what's the plan for today Logan? - asked Locus.
Logan thought. He could join the martial arts training and see how he would get on or return to the usual spot and train with Locus.
Now, what could he pick?
But, before he could decide by himself, sister Maria approached him.
- Logan, I think you'd be better returning to your usual training. The martial arts training is conditioned for spirtualists. Once you've achieved contact with the elementals, tell me and you'll be able to train with your friends.
"What a blatant lie" - Logan thought.
He could not show her or anyone anything so he readily agreed with her proposal.
He was angry but he suppressed the inner desire to complain.
It was then that Locus seemed to decide upon something.
- Do you really want to learn martial arts Log?
- Yes - said he as he smiled to her - I think it'd be very useful. Mouu... I won't be able to become strong enough if I don't learn. Or that's what I think.
- Hmmmm..... Do you want me to teach you then?
This had come as a surprise to Logan. He did not know spirits could learn martial arts. Locus had the figure of a human child so it was to be expected.
- What martial arts are we talking about here? - he had to know. What martial arts would someone like Locus learn? - I thought you had amnesia.
- Humhum. Did you expect to be the only one to achieve a breakthrough throughout all our sessions?
It seems whatever has been sealing my memory has began to crack; some of my memories have returned. (("Although they are a bit bizarre") murmur)
- What did you say last? I did not hear it. Sorry. Could you repeat it?
- What is important here is that I remember a form of martial arts I once practised - She avoided his question - I'll teach you tonight!
Logan was overjoyed, which is why he didn't realise that the one called Cloud was shooting glances at him every now and then.
***********
With the martial arts training that Locus gave him, Logan's schedule became even more hectic. The elementals nourished his tired body so it did not bother him.
Slowly but surely, Logan grasped what Locus taught him about her martial arts. Fighting distance, stances, defending moves and others became a part of Logan.
He was far from being a master, but he was advancing.
But there was a problem. Something that Locus realised as he taught Logan. At this rate, Logan would become extremely lacking on battle experience. Locus could become his partner but this would limit Logan's scope of learning.
But Logan wasn't troubled, for he knew a way to acquire battle experience without being to conspicuous.
A yearly event that occurred in Duskae and which the St Gaia's orphanage children could participate in.
Yes, he was thinking about the...
********
The saint Gaia's orphanage wasn't the only orphanage in Duskae. In all, there were 6 other orphanages in the city. All of them being branches from the Main St Gaia orphanage located in the centre of Riarath.
Every year, there would be a major tournament. A tournament where everyone in the city could participate in.
The tournament was divided in two sections of only martial arts and martial arts plus elemental combat. Each section containing age divisions of 7-9, 10-12 and so on and so forth, whereas only those of equal or lower age could participate in.
The structure of the tournament allowed every person to participate in at least 2 age divisions.
It was a grand tournament with equally grand prices.
The orphanage was the one inscribing them in the tournament so Logan could obviously not allow himself to go wild and display all that he learnt. He only wanted to evaluate the battle prowess of the people around him.
Hearing that, Locus had an obvious but peculiar question going through her mind.
- Will they allow you to fight Logan?
- For better or for worse, all the orphans aged 7 and above are inscribed in the tournament, with or without their consent. It's a rule of this orphanage. I think it might be the same for the other institutions. To give everyone the opportunity to work a job as spiritualists, all orphans are given battle experience. No exceptions made.
The orphanage though, was no spartan institution, so they would only be inscribed into their age group for both sections. Special permission was needed to fight in a higher age groups than one's own.
But Logan could not accept that. He was infamous in the orphanage by being a sinner, one bold move and something bad might happen. The circumstances limited how much he could display himself. This was not going to be enough for battle experience.
That's why, in order to provide himself with enough battle experience. Logan decided to sneak out of the chapel and inscribe himself in the 10 year old's tournament. Of course, with an alias and a mask.
And so under the expectation and preparation of many people, the day of the tournament arrived.
***********
Cloud observed his surroundings as they went through the city. His main objective for now was to assure that no kids were lost in the way towards the main plaza of Duskae; the place where the tournament would take place.
The city was always bustling with people and always had a vibrant atmosphere, but it was even more so today.
Stalls were set left and right, a band playing a tune with a fast rhythm, laughs, hubble and bubble, dancing dragons, confetti everywhere, caramelised apples; all of this were set all over Duskae. Kids could easily get lost on this atmosphere so Cloud did not take his eyes off the kids even for a moment.
Cloud used this moment to look at the kids carefully and assess them and their skills. It would be a failure of him as a teacher to not know the extent of the abilities of his pupils.
There were 2 kids that especially grabbed his attention among the orphanage's kids. One named Bucky who was considered a genius among his peers, both in elemental control and martial arts. Maria had told him to put special attention on Bucky. He was a fast learner, a prodigy even. He was leagues above everyone else in the same age and by Cloud's assessment, could even fight equally with the best 10 or 11 year old's.
The other one was a child by the name Logan. Nothing was special about the child. From the moment Cloud put his eyes on Logan, he'd only given him the impression of being meek and taciturn. He'd be bullied by the other kids and would not fight back. He also didn't seem to have any interest in martial arts. But, that was what made him special in Cloud's eyes.
Logan was but a normal child at this point. By Cloud's knowledge, he had not formed a contract with any spirit and thus had not gained the influence it gave him in his intelligence and body and thus had the mental age of a normal 7 year old as compared to his peers which had that of an 10-11 year old.
A child like that ought to be curious. Logan should have shown some curiosity towards martial arts.Why was he not then?
Logan's aura was also different from other kids his age. He appeared more mature than the others. It was obvious the kid was hiding something.
"Which of the 2 is your son old friend?" - thought Cloud. A melancholic smile on his face.