Takabi pulled into a parking spot just across the road from the mall. Switching the car off and stepping out, followed by the girls, the three made their way across the street and inside.
The last time Shine was here, she stopped a criminal for stealing from one of the stores nearby. She felt embarrassed, assuming she would be bombarded by people from the day.
The image was clear in her thoughts.
The store owner would rush to her side, showering her in a bunch of cute clothing. The ability to have the first serving of any new shipment without worry. A forever discount, to the point the most expensive clothes were dirt cheap for her. The image of Shine sitting among mountains and mountains of clothes and jewels, feeling as beautiful and confident as many have told her she is.
Shine had been laughing since they stepped into one of the phone shops. Takabi and Frannie exchanged worried looks, but shrugged it off. Looking around ever so slowly, he spotted two identical android phones. Newer models, but average compared to the rich. He grabbed both and made his way to the register.
Frannie looked over his shoulder at the phones, hands cupped behind her back. "What for?"
"You and Shine. Switching your numbers to keep you hidden better." He pulled out his wallet. Frannie took a quick glance inside, and momentarily forgot to breathe at the amount of bills she saw stuffed into the white leather. He took out exactly a grand, paid off the phones, their accessories and their plans in moments as if he had done it before, then gave both to the girls and left the store. "I'm going to wait in the car."
Shine, who had come back to reality, watched her brother silently.
He had something on his mind, but it was hard to guess what. From the short time they reconnected, she knew how much he worried about his comrades. The people close to him were a true treasure in his heart, it was obvious from how he beamed with happiness around any of them. She assumed Nana was the whole reason his attitude waned so negatively randomly each day, but right now she was so sure. It played a fracture, but it wasn't all that plagued him.
On the surface, since she learned to control her power in that little time frame, she sensed something dark in his bright aura. He was happy on the surface, and hurt inside. He was hiding an intense, cold hatred that has yet to be released.
What was it from?
That was her question.
"If you two need me, hollar. I'll come running." He flashed a warm smile. "Don't blow through all your money either, please."
"No promises. We'll call if anything goes awry." Shine clenched her fist, watching as he turned and moved through the crowd of people. The girls exchanged looks, before whipping around and racing to the nearest store.
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It was three o clock. The pair sat at a booth in the food court. Seemingly out of breath, drenched in sweat and bag after bag of clothes and shoes. All in all, it seemed like a successful day for the two. Frannie pulled out her new phone, quickly running through her settings to make it more comfortable to use. They sat in a long silence, in the sea of noise from the people around them, before Shine spoke up. "We should go over battle strategy."
Frannie glanced up from her phone, catching Shine's eyes, before returning them to the screen, biting the wrist of her sweater. "Sore from losing today? I mean I am too, but there's no way we can take him."
"We can catch him off guard though. Work on our teamwork and knock him flat on his ass." Shine's tone held something unreadable. Nothing malicious, but odd for her personality. "I was thinking maybe we swap between offense and defense constantly, and support one another as it goes on."
"You understand how ridiculous that sounds at our level, right?" Frannie placed her phone down. "Let's just let him teach us what he knows first, then we can talk about beating him. Right now, all the planning in the world wouldn't help us if he's still that far ahead of us. Keep in mind he beat us both without trying."
"And he can still transform," Shine groaned, placing her head on the table. "If I could learn that, I know I could beat anyone."
Frannie watched her friend cooly, arms and legs crossed. Her face was blank, and her attitude seemed oddly matured compared to how she was earlier. Shine noticed, but chose not to comment on it.
It could just be her time of the month, She thought.
Shine picked her gaze up, resting her head on her knuckles and tapping her fingers on the table. Frannie cracked a smirk, and the two laughed quietly at one another.
They felt relaxed. The air was calm, civil. Any sense of dread or anger or negativity was washed away from the feeling of normalcy that gripped them.
Frannie missed her parents. She would learn to live with that feeling and grow a stronger mind and heart.
Shine wanted to be able to fend off any and everyone. Her sexual assault had left her feeling powerless and weak. She couldn't fight them off, and if she didn't get any stronger, never would be able to. Orion would sniff her out eventually, everyone knew that. The only thing that would guarantee her safety is if she could fight or not.
There was still the obvious risk of her father sensing her mana. Takabi drilled it into her head that each time she uses magic, to any degree, their father would pick it up and track her down, and Takabi wasn't always going to be around. The thought sent a chill through, along with an odd breeze.
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Takabi opened his eyes and sat up. Stepping out of the car, he looked around and exhaled. Snow was falling from the sky. Normally he'd brush it off, but there was something off. Not a single cloud in the sky, and it wasn't exactly freezing. In fact, it felt warm. Way warmer than it should be in winter months.
A sizzle. He glanced at his car, taking a massive inhale of a mist in the air, before he flipped back, the vehicle igniting in a massive gust of fire. He landed on a car a few spaces down, eyes locked on the burning metal. The first thing in his mind wasn't questions of who did it and why, in fact, the first thing he said was, "Did they really have to torch my fucking car?"
He stood straight, eyes glowing and field of vision altering. A massive trail of mana was left behind. Ametuer assasination attempt, but maybe it was anything but.
A distraction at best.
The trail of mana moved past the gathering crowd, through the doors and into the mall. Takabi swore loudly, leaping through the rising smoke and pushing through the people.
Once in the mall, his eyes looked all around, for the people who watched him, for anyone who might be suspicious. "There," He yelled, pushing past the people to his left.
The trail was heading straight for the food court. He had no doubts that whoever trashed his car was after Shine. It couldn't have been their father. He can't track them without a signal of Mana, and Shine hasn't used her powers. That leaves natural tracking, like scents.
Something struck him in the back of the head. Sharp, like a heel, jammed into his skull. He flew forward, hitting the floor face first, groaning at the fading pain. Steam rose from the injury, his skull repairing itself quickly and any traces of blood vanishing into nothing.
Looking back, a woman slammed her heels into the floor, hand on her hip and a twisted smile on her face. She was evil. Pure evil, and he could sense and smell it all over her. That's not what shook him though.
Her face. Her features were a strong resemblance. The hair was a different color, black up top and white towards the tips. Her skin was a fair shade brighter, but the brown eyes completed the face. A beauty mark, small and almost unnoticeable, was in the corner of her mouth. Glossed lips, somewhat bustier and wider hips. Her black leggings hugged her lower half, leaving very little to imagination. A crop top, with tattoos of demons killing angels wrapped around her left arm.
The face left him shocked.
Her face. The smile in front of him was utter evil, but it was soon replaced by the smile he missed, that he longed for. Tears built in his eyes, and uttered her name, his heart breaking as he spoke. "N… Nana?"