It's been a few weeks since Tobi decided to stay with the Inoues. The adjustment period didn't take long because he knew this family since he and his best buddy were still kids. Raf's mother has always been very accommodating to him as well as Raf's sister. It's as if he's already a part of the family. But, Tobi couldn't help himself to think of his own family. Even though both of his parents are still alive, they're both extremely occupied with their jobs as researchers making him live alone for years and they barely have communication with each other.
"Good morning, Tobi!" A familiar girly voice greeted Tobi early in the morning as he sat down on the sofa for a rest after taking the vaccine the Professor gave him. He realized that it was Raf's younger sister.
"Morning, Eden." He replied as he noticed Eden already suited up with her gardening tools and it seemed that she was ready to start the day bright.
"Have you seen my brother?"
"He's in the bathroom. Why?"
"I just need him to move some of my plants in the garden. They're kind of heavy for me."
"I can help."
"No, no. Raf can do it. Just rest yourself a bit more. You're still half a sleep." She chuckled. "Just tell Raf that I'll wait for him in the garden. Thanks!" She requested then ran off.
As he was left alone, he suddenly noticed a soothing aroma of hot chocolate somewhere. Smelling this made him energized already and it seemed to him that this was the same hot chocolate that his mother usually made for him a few years back. He then noticed a rolling sound of wheels. He immediately realized that it was Raf's mother in her wheelchair and he confirmed that the hot chocolate aroma was coming from her as she held a cup and it seemed that she was coming towards him. As always, Mrs. Inoue has this motherly smile that her kids love and Tobi is longing for.
"Tobi, my dear." Mrs. Inoue said. "I made you a sweet drink I know you'll love." She promoted as she rolled her wheelchair towards him. Tobi didn't want to tire Mrs. Inoue that much so he rushed towards her to get the drink.
"Thank you, Mrs. Inoue. You shouldn't have." Tobi said.
"Oh, please. Call me Auntie Lyn. You're not stranger to our family Tobi, dear."
"Ok, Auntie Lyn." He chuckled feeling a bit awkward but he knows that he'll get used to it. "Thanks again for the drink. It's my favorite."
"I know. Your mom told me."
Mrs. Inoue and Mrs. Liu had been close friends since their school years so almost half of their lives were shared with one another. They've been so close that they treat each other as sisters but even though they're that close, Mrs. Liu is not sharing any work-related topics with Mrs. Inoue because aside from Mrs. Inoue couldn't keep up with all the scientific stuff, Mrs. Liu is not really that open with those kinds of things.
"Uh, Auntie Lyn. Can you tell me more about my parents? I just want to make sure that I'm still remembering them right." He smiled vulnerable.
Stories of Tobi's parents started to pour out from Mrs. Inoue. She remembers his parents as strict, ambitious, perfectionist yet family-oriented ones. The two were great parents to Tobi even though they've been very busy with their work. She also recalls where Tobi took his serious side and it was from both his mom and dad. But, even though his parents are known for being serious, this behavior changes when they see their kid. Tobi got his eyes teary hearing these stories from Mrs. Inoue.
"Thank you, Auntie Lyn. Now I know I'm not forgetting any of those details."
"No problem, dear. I'm always here whenever you need to talk."
"Mom!" Eden suddenly yelled from the garden. "Never mind. I found it!"
"Ok!" Mrs. Inoue responded then laughed a bit. "That always happens to her. She can't find what she's looking for unless she calls me then those things suddenly pop ip specially with her gardening tools."
"Mom, I'll go help Eden with what she's doing so just stay put." Raf said then headed to the garden and Mrs. Inoue nodded in response.
"You should go too, Tobi." She suggested. "Those two could use your company." Tobi agreed and then headed to the garden as well.
Right after heading out of the house, Tobi immediately saw the siblings from the vast garden in the backyard. Different types of flowers in colors, shapes, and sizes are seen. It is said that the garden was a gift from their grandmother to Eden before she passed away because Eden has this strange fascination with plants and surprisingly, she managed to cultivate what was originally a small garden to a much larger one with several species of plants.
"What do you think about my ever dashing flora family?" Eden asked as Tobi walked further into the garden and saw some uncommon finds.
"I'm impressed." Tobi responded. "I never thought you can do something big like this. I remember your garden as a small portion of your backyard when we were kids but now it's almost uses up half of the backyard space."
"I know right! Well if you have a green thumb, might as well make the most out of it." She boasted a little pertaining to a not-so-unusual skill of taking care of plants with certain ease compared to other people.
"Yeah, what she said." Raf butted in trying to shrug off his sister's almost annoying tune as if he's always hearing these kinds of things from her especially when it's something about plants.
Eden continued to tend to her garden while being assisted by Tobi and her brother. Raf is somehow getting annoyed as he is always being scolded by Eden that he's not doing things right like watering the plants, cutting stems, taking out weeds, etc. It's a good thing Tobi's with them to lighten up the mood a bit even though he was scolded by Eden at times as well. They just pointed out that they're not as talented as she is when it comes to taking care of those things.
"Are we done yet?" Raf asked feeling exhausted.
"Almost." Eden responded. "Just put those flower pots along the entrance." She added as she pointed at the two huge flower pots that already are full of soil and were at the far end corners of the garden.
"What? Are you kidding me?" Raf exclaimed. "You know that's very heavy, right?"
"I know but I know you can manage." She encouraged his brother. "What's the use of going to the gym if you can't lift heavy objects?"
"Yeah, me and Tobi here lift heavy objects but not that heavy. That's not how it works."
"If I could only command my plants to move on their own, I wouldn't be asking my dear brother." She said showing her puppy eyes. "Or do you want me to ask mom instead? Mom!" She scared Raf.
"Okay, okay!" Raf finally agreed to lift those pots to the garden entrance. "T, you up for it?"
"Of course." Tobi responded.
The two brawly bastards went ahead and did what Eden asked for. Even though the pots were twice as heavy as them, they managed to move them from the far end area of the garden to its entrance. Eden did her final touches to the garden and then finally finished the gardening business. As the three of them wrapped things up, they heard the doorbell rang.
"Are you guys expecting any guests today?" Tobi asked.
"Eden, is that one of your online orders again?" Raf asked her sister. "Mom told you to save your allowance, right?"
"I didn't order anything." Eden claimed. "That's probably Mom's personal checkup with her doctor."
"Oh, right. That's a quarterly thing." Raf realized.
Since Mrs. Inoue is dealing with her physical challenges, she also needs to be mentally stable given the fact that her husband recently died and she was left with two lively children. Even though she seems to be having a hard time and being stressed out, she still shows that she's very much emotionally stable for the sake of what's left of their family. Good thing Raf and Eden are not making anything too negative to make their mother's state worse as they do their best to support each other however they can even though it's not obvious at times due to all the sibling ruckus. Eden and the boys went back inside the house to take a break. Tobi was in shock after seeing who was the Doctor visited them with a familiar silhouette of the assistant.
"Hi, Dr. Montgomery!" Eden greeted the man.
"Hello, Miss assistant!" Raf greeted the assistant and the assistant just looked at us and then showed us her sweet smile.
"Good day, kids!" The Professor responded positively as he and his assistant checked on Mrs. Inoue. "Tobi." He mentioned Tobi's name in particular as a greeting then smiled.
Tobi couldn't believe what he's seeing because he only knew that Professor Trevor is not a Doctor but a rich individual that runs a some kind of a foundation for their kind. He wasn't surprised that Anastasia knows something about some medical stuff due to her background but he didn't knew that she has commitments outside their school. Due to the Inoue's history of the Anomaly, Tobi played it normal as he should be but he still asked Anastasia about the situation.
"Don't panic." Anastasia thought in response for Tobi to hear. "This is just us helping individuals with our medical work. This has nothing to do with our Anomalies and don't worry the Professor is a licensed practitioner of some occupations and being a Doctor is one of them." She added making Tobi admire the Professor for a second.
"Why them?" Tobi asked as he and the siblings assisted them to appear that they were not having any interaction. It's a good thing Anastasia is deaf and mute to the rest of the world so this act is pretty easy for them.
"It's not just them." She answered as she cleaned some of the medical tools they've been using still just having a sweet smile on her face. "It's all of the townspeople who are in need of our help. It's a quarterly basis for most of our patients so it's not a hustle for us."
"The check up is done, folks." The Professor said after some time. "As always Mrs. Inoue, you're very healthy. There are no indications of any muscle fatigues, infections, and even a small flu. Keep up living healthy!" He concluded.
"Thank you, Dr. Trevor." Mrs. Inoue responded. "Oh, I'm about to set the table for lunch. You should join us." She invited the guests.
"Yeah, you should join us!" Eden seconded.
"I don't see any problems with that but I'll ask Anastasia here if we have any other schedules first." The Professor responded and then talked to Anastasia in sign language to appear normal to the others but one. "We're delighted to join your meal. We don't have any other appointments for the next few hours."
Mrs. Inoue continued to cook their lunch as the siblings set the table. The Professor, Anastasia, and Tobi were left waiting in the living room. Since it was their time alone, Tobi thought of talking about something else. He wants to know the true reason why they're doing the quarterly checkup for some of the townspeople because he's not convinced that it's solely out of goodwill.
"Tobi, our intentions are pure." The Professor said. "We just want to help this town whatever means possible and right now, one of those means are doing quarterly check ups with our patients. Don't worry yourself too much because I'm a true licensed Doctor." He explained.
"I'm a certified Medical Assistant to add to that." Anastasia said as she cleaned up the medical tools they'd used.
"Fine." Tobi replied. "But I'm still watching you. If something went wrong that has to do with what you're doing, I won't join your foundation and I will expose you."
"Now that's pretty harsh." The Professor said but sounded confident. "But that's fine by me."
"Good luck!" Anastasia butted in as she chuckled.
"Anyway, let me change the subject. Are you hearing any news about the military rounding up the alleged Anomaly users?" The Professor asked.
"Alarming." Anastasia commented.
"Is that a real thing?" Tobi asked in surprise because the topic was very familiar to him. "I thought that's just a series. Are you guys so into the series that you thought that it's a real thing?" He added making himself laugh.
"Don't be foolish child." The Professor said with a poker face. "We know that there's a series circling about that topic but our sources say that it's actually happening in reality." He confirmed.
"We've been getting reports that the Anomalies who ran havoc for the past couple of months were put under the custody of the police force and eventually being surrendered to the military. The series that you've been referring to and everyone's anticipating for is backed up by the government to let the people know that what they're doing is right and just." Anastasia explained.
"However, this has not been made official to the public yet so only a few number of people has their hands wrapped on this practice." The Professor pointed out.
"That means, military men rounding up our kind is a mere act in a television show." Anastasia added.
"No way." Tobi responded in shock. "If what you're saying is true, what is the government doing with all those people?" He asked.
"That's what we want to find out as well." Anastasia said.
"Are they responsible for the attack from last week?" Tobi asked thinking that the military had something to do with the previous ambush they'd been in last time.
"Attack?" The Professor asked as he clearly didn't know about what happened in the Liu household. "What attack? Anastasia, do you know something about this?"
The two told the Professor what happened that day from the dark shadow figure to how the attack ended. Anastasia confirmed that she didn't report the incident to him because she wanted to figure it out by herself with the help of her brother by them looking for leads as to who pulled the strings of that incident. Unfortunately, they didn't go far on the investigation even though they exhausted all their efforts. This is also the first time the Professor heard about Tobi's Anomaly.
"I am very glad that you kids are safe." The Professor said in worry. "It's too bad we didn't know who is behind that awful act."
"My apologies, Professor." Anastasia apologized pertaining to their failing to pinpoint who did it.
"I am also glad that it seemed that you somehow awakened your Anomaly." The Professor excitedly said as he thought of things to put Tobi's Anomaly to good use. "Now, we have to cultivate your gifts and put them into practice. I once again invite you to be one of us." He said. He and Anastasia waited for Tobi to respond but nothing was said. It's clear that Tobi is still unsure of what path to take.
A series of exchanges happened to the three of them that solely circled around encouraging Tobi to join them but the already members seemed to have a hard time doing so. Pros are presented by the Professor to have Tobi be more interested in joining like finding out new ways to harness his ability and keeping him safe from the dangers of the outside world but, Tobi's also considering the Cons if he joins like keeping away from his real life, from his family and from his friends. Everything that he's used to doing will be taken off from his systems and he'll have a new artificial life to live so he hasn't made a decision yet.
"Lunch is served!" Eden called out then Tobi and the guests headed to the dining area. Then, all of them said their graces and finally dug into the food.
"So Miss Assistant, how long have you been working with the Doctor?" Eden asked Anastasia. Tobi was surprised as Anastasia acted like a normal deaf and mute individual. Anastasia acted like she didn't understand Eden's question and then asked the Professor's help via sign language. The Professor answered Eden's question and explained Anastasia's situation aside from her as an Anomaly user.
"T, have you heard the news lately?" Raf asked in excitement.
"News about what?" Tobi responded.
"About the military hiring recruits." Raf said. Tobi, Anastasia, and the Professor paused from eating after hearing the topic. "They said that it's kind of like a basic military training just incase a calamity struck our nation so most likely it's for search and rescue skills. It's posted in the Academy's bulletin too. You should check it out." Raf explained.
"Do you think it has something to do with the Anomalies?" Tobi heard Anastasia's thoughts but he's not sure how to respond.
"Can you tell us more about this recruitment, Rafael?" The Professor asked.
"Based on what I can remember from what I've read, interested students should fill out the registration form and submit it to the Academy Head. On Summer Break, participants should wait in front of the Academy and they will be fetched by military trucks then will head to a Camp Site and the training will begin. I'm not sure what the trainings are exactly but I bet those are most likely physically demanding ones." Raf explained. "We should sign up, T! We don't have any huge plans this summer anyway."
"That seems interesting." Tobi said but sounded otherwise.
As they continued to dig into their meal, the doorbell once again rang. No one knows who that might be because they don't recall having someone invited but Tobi eventually checked who that was. He didn't think that they would be visited by their ever so cheerful classmate randomly holding what seemed to be wrapped food.
"Hi, Tobi!" Saoirse greeted.
"Oh, hello." Tobi responded. "What brought you here?"
"I just happened to be by myself back at home so I thought it would be a good idea to visit a friend. I brought some salad!"
"Great timing! We're having our lunch. You should join us."
"That's sweet. Thanks for inviting me in. By the way, are you here to visit Raf too?"
"Well, you can say that. I'm more of a tenant here actually."
"Why? What happened?"
Tobi starts to tell the story of why these all came to be to Saoirse as they both head towards the dining area where the rest are still enjoying the meal Mrs. Inoue made. Raf greeted the new visitor and Eden helped fix the salad on the table so everyone could have a bite. Due to Saoirse being a classmate of Raf and Tobi, she is not a stranger to the women of the Inoue family.
"It's great to see you here Saoirse!" Eden exclaimed in excitement. "I can finally talk to someone." She jokingly added.
"I'm glad I'm here too." Saoirse replied as she smiled warmly.
"The girl seemed to be nice. Very nice actually." Anastasia commented through her thoughts. "I'm having an urge to read her mind." She added out of curiosity.
"Yes, she is the nicest person in the Academy I've met." Tobi responded through his thoughts as well. "But don't even try digging her mind up. You said you respect people's privacy, didn't you?" He pointed.
"I was just kidding." Anastasia defended herself. "Besides, I'm just curious to know how can someone be so positive as she is so I can share a few tips with Thandiwe." She explained then she, Tobi, and the Professor chuckled a little making the rest of the group look at them but the Professor was quick to change the subject.
They've finally been full after taking a few more bites of their meal and the visitors are set to take off to their next appointment. Saoirse was asked by Eden to stay for the night and with Mrs. Inoue's blessing and the fact that she'll be home alone, Saoirse agreed to the invite. It's a fun idea that even though Saoirse is still quite new to the neighborhood, she managed to have a lot of friends.
"Eden, can you help me unpack the things your Uncle sent us at my room?" Mrs. Inoue asked Eden. "Leave your brother and his friends for a while."
"Oh, alright." Eden responded and both of them went to the room.
"So T, any thoughts of signing up for the military program?" Raf asked as the three of them were left in the living room while keeping themselves occupied.
"Is that the one the Academy's sponsoring this summer break?" Saoirse asked while busy reading a book.
"Yeah, that's the one. Are you planning to sign up too?" Raf responded as he watched the television.
"I'll say pass to that. I'm not a physical person." Saoirse answered. "Will you two go?"
"I'm interested actually but I'll go if Tobi goes. I might die out there from boredom you know." Raf confirmed then chuckled.
"I'll pass too. It does sound exciting but I think I prefer more to relax somewhere outdoors instead of being physically, mentally and spiritually beaten up in that program." Tobi said sounding like he really didn't care about the program but at the back of his head, he's thinking that he could discover something that can put him in danger like being known as an Anomaly user, beaten up, and locked up somewhere.
"Oh well, fine by me." Raf responded.
"I think my brother's interested though but I doubt he'll join. He's a kinda like a loner." Saoirse commented.
"You have a brother? We didn't know." The guys reacted.
"Well, you didn't ask so I didn't tell. But yeah, I have a brother. He's not much of a people person so I really doubt he'll join that program." She explained.
"Is he in the Academy too?" Raf asked in curiosity
"No he's not." She confirmed. "He's online schooled so the outside world doesn't see him much."
"How boring." Tobi whispered to himself but Saoirse heard.
"I know right!" She agreed. "You know I told him to study at the Academy with me but he just can't stand too much crowd. I think there's a phobia about that but I'm not that certain."
The phobia Saoirse is referring to is the Agoraphobia in which as she explained, people who have this condition have a fear of crowded or even open places. Their family decided to have her brother be online schooled to avoid panic attacks that may lead to some unpleasantness like a sudden urge to run away, hurt people, or even hurt himself.
As the three do their things to make themselves entertained, Raf hears an odd rustling sound from a window but doesn't bother to check what that might be because there are high chances that it is just a squirrel, the wind, or something else. The rustling sound got his complete attention when it became louder with every second but it eventually stopped.
"Did you hear that guys?" Raf asked to confirm that the rustling sound was not just in his imagination.
"It's probably some draft, Raf. Don't scare yourself." Tobi said. "Besides, it's supposed to be a windy day today as per the news so chill out." He added.
"Yeah, it's just probably the wind." Saoirse agreed then her phone rang as someone was calling her. "Excuse me for a second. I'll just take this call." She went out to the front yard to talk to whoever it is that she's talking to on the other line and it seemed that they're having an argument based on Saoirse's facial expressions and body language which were new to Tobi and Raf because they're used seeing Saoirse with bright expressions and gestures as she was the most positive person in the Academy they know but it all seemed different with that phone call. Saoirse came back inside as if nothing happened. Her bright and positive aura came back right away.
"You cool?" Tobi asked after seeing Saoirse's expressions moments ago.
"You having a fight with your boyfriend or something?" Raf followed up.
"I'm fine and I don't have a boyfriend. That's my brother." Saoirse answered. "He's getting into my nerves lately."
"We didn't recognize you back there with all the grumpy expressions of yours." Tobi pointed out.
"I just lost my cool there a little that's all but I'm fine now." She said. "We'll get along eventually so you shouldn't mind our quarrel much."
The three then went back to what they were doing to kill some time and to hang out. They didn't realize that they killed too much time that they reached dinner time. Eden called them out from the living room to invite them to dinner with what she and her mother helped prepare. The meal became merrier having the five of them share it with each other but it went downhill when Saoirse asked an inappropriate question.
"Guys, what would you do if one day you discovered you're an Anomaly?" Saoirse thought that it was a funny question. Mrs. Inoue and the siblings were silenced in shock by what they heard and Tobi knew the reason behind it.
"I will kill myself if that happens." Raf answered from silence, poker-faced.
"Rafael." Mrs. Inoue said as she tried to calm her son down. Saoirse didn't feel good about the atmosphere and started to get uncomfortable.
"Well if that would be the case for me, I'll probably over use it until it die down and never come back. If that's possible." Tobi butted in to at least lighten the mood a bit. "So Eden, how's your plants today?" Tobi asked to change the subject.
After they ate their dinner, Raf immediately ran off to his room and Mrs. Inoue headed to the living room to do her knitting. Tobi, Saoirse, and Eden volunteered to clean up. Saoirse is still flustered about how Raf reacted to her question earlier. She thought that the idea is supposed to be fun since most of their classmates wished to have a special ability of their own. Tobi and Eden explained why and how it all began. They told the tragic story the Inoue Family faced in the hands of an Anomaly and Saoirse apologized to Eden right after.
"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean any harm." Saoirse said.
"That's fine. Raf's a strong dude even if he doesn't look like it. He'll get over it eventually." Tobi comforted Saoirse.
"You know what?" Eden said. "If in any case I am to became an Anomaly and have a special ability of my own, I'll do whatever I can to keep my family safe." She declared with utmost conviction.
"It's nice to hear that from you Eden." Tobi said thinking that he needs to think like Eden. Using his Anomaly for good is what he needs to do.
"How sweet." Saoirse commented then they finished cleaning up.
As Tobi prepares to sleep, he goes back up thinking of what Eden had claimed if she becomes an Anomaly user. Even though she doesn't have a special ability she has a strong resolve of keeping her family safe. He thought of considering in joining the Professor's group again since he thought that they could help him put his ability to good use and they're the ones who completely understand the perspective of an Anomaly.
Right before Tobi completely dozed off, someone called his phone and he didn't have much choice but to answer it because it kept on ringing even though he ignored it multiple times. "Are you still with the Inoue's?" Thandiwe said on the other line, sounding like he was in a hurry.
"How did you know I'm with them?" Tobi asked but he realized that he might've known from Anastasia.
"I'll take that as a yes. I hate to ask you this but we need you in the mansion. Now!" Thandiwe exclaimed.
"What? What's happening. Why do you need me?"
"No time for chitchat. Anastasia will pick you up and she'll tell you our situation on the way here. I have to go."
Just a few minutes passed after the call ended, Tobi heard a car horn from the outside and immediately thought that it was Anastasia so he put his jacket on and ran towards the gate. He did it quietly yet swiftly so no one from the household would notice that he'd be going out. As he reaches the front door, he already hears Anastasia's thoughts telling him to hurry and that's what he did then they took off after Tobi took his seat.
"What's happening Anastasia?" He asked. "Why am I needed in the mansion?"
"We need your Anomaly to suppress someone else's" Anastasia confirmed as she drove at full speed.
"Are you kidding me? I can't control my Anomaly yet remember?"
"You have to. Dozens of lives depends on it."
"So we're talking about death now? Can you just tell me what's going on?"
"Okay, listen carefully. We came across an Anomaly along the alleyways of the east border and just like you, he's not completely in control of his ability so it manifests at random and it's very dangerous. He can produce explosions from his palms. We asked one of us from the mansion to take this guy in. She carefully wrapped her hair to this guy then rushed him inside the mansion's living area. Thandiwe was mildly injured by one of this guy's explosions."
"This 'She' that we're talking about is the one I saw in the mansion's fields last time right? The one who can manipulate her hair."
"Yes, that's her."
"How's your brother?"
"He said it's just a small wound but I'm still worried."
"What do I have to do with all that? Are you expecting me to stop the guy from using his Anomaly?"
"Yes. That's what we want to ask you to do."
"I can't. Can you just inject him with some kind of a tranquilizer to cool him down?"
"We already thought about it but we realized that what was left with our tranquilizers were already used so we need you and your Anomaly to help save this guy and save the other Anomalies in the mansion. You're the only one who can do it."
"Fine. I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you."