They stood in the middle of the old town.
"The first thing you have to know about the Essence is that it requires a sacrifice. A sacrifice of emotion, to be specific."
Shirou listened, confused but intently.
"When you first awoke the Essence, you must have unconsciously sacrificed whatever emotion you felt at that time for anger, granting you powers. Your powers are completely tied to your emotions, being that each emotion that is granted for trading another has a different power."
She had a sad glint in her eyes, like she just wanted this to be over with.
"Could you maybe...slow down?" Shirou asked, trying not to intrude on her explanation.
Pausing, embarrassed, she nodded.
"Basically all you need to know is that in order to use your powers, you need to trade one emotion for another. And each emotion that you gain grants you different powers."
They stood there for a couple of seconds, silently.
"How do I show emotion?"
It was such a simple question, yet Sakusei couldn't seem to find an answer.
"That's something you'll have to figure out by yourself."
A harsh voice came from behind him. It was Kanashi.
"Normal humans are born with them, so we never think about them." She put a hard emphasis on the word "Normal."
Her remark didn't even register with him, making her irritated.
"I really don't like you, you know. Why are you even here. We don't need you. Just lea-"
SMACK.
Sakusei hit her with a palm to the face that sent her to the ground.
"I thought I told you to get along with him! That last thing that we need is hate among ourselves!"
Kanashi began to say something back, but seemed to decide not to. Instead, she got up and silently walked away.
Continuing their lesson, Sakusei explained what power each emotion gives you.
"As you already know, any form of anger gives you brutal strength. This power takes the form of whatever you wanted it to. In your case, it took the form of fire. Anger can be dangerous, but if used in moderation, it is extremely powerful. Next up is sadness. Sadness allows you to mask yourself in shadow, momentarily. Overall, sadness is not very useful, except for in specific situations, so don't worry about that one."
Why bother even telling me… He felt a twinge of boredom.
"Curiosity allows you to create. What you create depends on what you want to create, and your experience with creation."
Her expression turned dark for a few seconds.
"But there is something you must never attempt. The creation of another human."
Her eyes burned into his, locking contact. Realizing how threatening she must look, she returned to her normal self.
"The final emotion that is possible for me to teach you is...love."
She looked away, hiding a red face.
"Love allows you to heal anyone you deeply care about, even if they are on the brink of death. But the bigger the wound, the more love for the person it requires. Due to this, someone who doesn't feel emotion may have trouble with this one."
Sakusei looked away once again, regretting her last statement. When she peeked a look at him, Shirou sat there, unbothered. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Should I have been offended by that?
"Anyways, I think that you should start with curiosity. It's probably the easiest power to master. "
Shirou nodded.
"First, think of something that you want. It can be anything, as long as you can physically see it."
He searched his mind, looking for something he wants. Remembering back to the restaurant, there was a food he wanted to try.
"I have something."
"Now, what emotion are you currently feeling?"
"Boredom," Shirou answered, completely serious.
Sakusei's eye twitched in annoyance, but she pushed her emotions away for the time being.
"In your head, repeat the words "I want to know" while picturing what you want to create."
I want to know...I want to know
After repeating that phrase in his head for a few seconds, he felt a strange energy surging.
A green light blazed in front of him. Shirou and Sakusei stared in amazement.
As the light disappeared, an object appeared. It was the food he wanted to try.
He reached down to pick it up, but to his surprise, it turned to dust as soon as he touched it.
Sakusei stifled a giggle, staring down at the confused Shirou.
"It seems you aren't powerful enough to create actual matter."
He looked down, disappointed.
"But don't worry," She said with a smile. "For some, it can take multiple months to even begin to materialize. You'll be fine, just keep practicing."
She walked off, going to find Kanashi.
Time passed, and Shirou continued his tedious training.
Kanashi, being that brat she was, refused to stay with them. She opted for living in another old house, about a block away from theirs. She only returned to eat dinner, and quickly left after that.
Pretty soon, almost a month had passed.
"We should probably move on," Sakusei said. "I'm surprised the government hasn't found us already."
Shirou had basically mastered Creation, able to create full course meals, clothes, and the like.
"But there's one thing we should do beforehand."
"How's this?"
Sakusei turned the mirror towards their faces.
The people staring back at them looked completely different.
Shirou's hair was shortened to about half its previous length, and Sakusei's hair was bleach-dyed blonde.
"Wh...Why'd you do that?" Shirou asked, confused.
"Do you want the government to come after us after every corner? They'd recognize us in seconds."
Shirou stayed silent, unsure about his reflection.
Am I...still me?
He didn't know the person who was being reflected. It felt strange, staring at a person that looked vaguely similar to him.
Sakusei seemed to notice his inner turmoil.
"It's too late to regret."
These words struck something inside him.
She always manages to say the right thing.
Looking up at her new appearance, Shirou felt an unfamiliar feeling. He couldn't quite explain what it was, but it felt as though his heart had been lifted to his throat.
Has she always looked...so bright?
"Hey, lets go."
Sakusei looked down at him, only to directly meet his eyes.
"What?"
"Whenever I look at y-" Shirou's words were cut off abruptly.
"Let's go," Sakusei said once more, abrasively.
Shirou looked at her face from the side. She looked like she was holding something in, or that she wanted to say something.
They walked over to Kanashi's house, and yelled out to her.
"We're leaving!"
In the corner of my eye, I saw a face appear for a couple seconds, and then disappear again.
The front door opened, and Kanashi's head popped out.
"I'm not going with you," she said rebelliously.
Shirou wasn't surprised, but Sakusei on the other hand was visibly angry.
"Would you stop being such a brat? Just get over it already."
This made Kanashi very mad.
"How come the second someone new comes into your life, you just forget about me?!"
She was on the verge of tears.
Sakusei didn't really know what to say.
"I-it's not...like that…"
"Oh really? It's not like this hasn't happened before! You always leave me behind for some random person."
Sakusei stared at the ground.
"And you know what? Go ahead, leave! I've survived the 2 years on my own just fine!"
Kanashi was practically screaming.
I'm going to try something.
"...I don't know what's happened between you two, and even if you told me, I wouldn't understand."
Shirou said that in what could be considered a strong voice.
"But can you solve this after we move on? The government could be here soon. Plus, I feel something when you're around us."
Both Sakusei looked over at him, shocked.
"Isn't that what I should say in this situation?"
Sakusei smiled at him.
"Hmmph. I still don't like you," Kanashi butted in, "But fine. I'll go with you. Don't expect me to help you in any sort of way."
Shirou felt a sort of triumph, like he did after mastering Creation.
Kanashi took a little while to leave, but eventually made her way to meet with us.
"Where are we going now?" Shirou asked
Sakusei looked back at him with a smirk on her face.
"No clue."