In the village of Buraun, a teenage boy with jet-black hair could be seen walking down a rocky pathway, passing multiple concessions and stores as he was lost in thought.
This particular teenager was Tanjo Nozomu.
As of late, he had been both furious and stumped with his progress using his Aura Sense. The stress it had put on his body, only to either blow up in his face or seemingly gather a mind of its own and blast off meters from where he stood.
"I just need to find a way to handle my Aura Sense, then I might be able to find what my Aura Print is!" Tanjo exclaimed, his fist clenching subconsciously.
'You put too much pressure on a small amount of magic.'
Keeping what his teacher, Mr. Oshieru, had said to him in mind, Tanjo was determined on configuring his magic to a point that the jet-black-haired teenager could use of his own volition.
His classmates had been improving at rapid rates, outshining Tanjo tremendously. At most, Tanjo could only keep up with some of them in hand-to-hand combat. However, in any other spar induced by magic, he may as well be bringing a knife to a Genso-Kyu fight.
"Maybe the old man could help me wi—"
"Yoo-hoo!"
Breaking Tanjo out of his thoughts, a feminine voice that sounded vaguely familiar called out to the jet-black-haired teenager with mirth.
Turning around, Tanjo's eyes widened as the owner of the voice came into view, emerging from a crowd of people with a bright smile and a bag of groceries dangling from her left arm. She also wore her familiar white cloak that hid her entire body, excluding her feet. Her Cyan-colored hair on the other hand fell outside of the cloak, revealing its long length.
"...Ms. Tassei?"
The woman named Tassei, who had come to a halt meters ahead of Tanjo, gave the child a mocking stare. Then one of her cheeks puffed up with air, as if she was about to chastise Tanjo for no apparent reason.
"So you do remember me!" Ms. Tassei whined childishly, her grocery bag swaying as her arms moved frantically. For a woman of her age, this certainly garnered the attention of villagers passing by.
Tanjo adorned a nervous expression, rubbing the back of his neck as he asked, "Y-yeah! How could I forget about you!?"
"Well, considering that you haven't paid me a visit in quite some time, I'd take that as enough of a notion that you either forgot about me or... you were avoiding me!" Ms. Tassei accused indignantly, narrowing her eyes at the jet-black-haired teenager before her.
Fear struck Tanjo like a mallet slamming against his skull, words nearly becoming incoherent as they left the boy's mouth.
"I-I didn't mean to ignore you, Ms. Tassei! I j-just left for a field trip with my class at the academy! Honest!" Tanjo proclaimed hastily, putting both of his hands up in horror.
Ms. Tassei suddenly lingered at the boy's excuse. "Tanjo, you had visited my training grounds before your departure, so I was well aware of your little trip. However, you have been back in Buraun for quite some time now, and you never even thought of coming to see me!"
Tanjo froze, gazing at Ms. Tassei questioningly. "You knew I was back?"
Ms. Tassei then waved her index finger in front of Tanjo's face. "You, mister, aren't in the right to ask any questions of me."
Bowing, Tanjo apologized incessantly, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry that I forgot! I just have been so lost lately, so I never spared a second thought at much! Sorry!"
"Lost?" Ms. Tassei questioned abruptly, changing the topic in an instant. "Why are you lost, Tanjo?"
Straightening his posture from his bowing, Tanjo stared at Ms. Tassei with a wavered look of certainty as he said, "It's nothing, Ms. Tassei. I assure you."
Once again, Ms, Tassei narrowed her eyes. "Don't make me force it out of you, Tanjo."
Tanjo squawked and froze in response to Ms. Tassei's abrupt threat. Could he truly tell this woman how he felt? He had been to her house twice before, one for trespassing and the other for a botched training effort. Tanjo's emotions, on the other hand, were assaulted in waves by this woman. Both negatively, but with a bigger positive wave.
Ms. Tassei could recognize Tanjo's uncertainty. Looking around at the people around her, she quickly waved her hand and started walking.
"Follow me, Tanjo. We can discuss this at my place."
Tanjo jolted out of his mental dilemma, his eyes following Ms. Tassei as she walked away. What was weird about the situation was the fact that all of the people that once populated this specific pathway had disappeared.
"O-okay…"
XXX
Sitting nervously in a white chair, proving itself to be more comfortable than the furniture at home, Tanjo watched as Ms. Tassei situated herself on a similarly white couch adjacent to him, holding a cup of hot tea in her hands.
"So," Ms. Tassei started slowly, swirling her tea around with a silver spoon. "What's made you feel "lost" lately?"
Contemplating what to say, Tanjo slowly opened his mouth to speak, "Well, ever since I've returned from the trip, I had sworn to myself to become stronger. But, I quickly came to discover a blockade in that declaration."
Gazing at the boy softly, Ms. Tassei ushered Tanjo to continue with a nod.
"As we've talked about last time I was here, it's my Aura Sense." Tanjo revealed, and most of his nervousness was instantly replaced with a form of sadness.
Smiling, Ms. Tassei continued from the boy's venting, "Oh? And what seems to be the problem with your Aura Sense, exactly?"
Tanjo's Aura Sense had fascinated her from first glance, garnering all of Ms. Tassei's attention since day one. This has been unknown to Tanjo, of course. But the question still remains: What is Tanjo's Aura Sense?
"The truth is…" Tanjo started, hesitating slightly. "... I don't know."
Ms. Tassei's face fell at those mere words. The build-up had lost all of its excitement as soon as the cyan-haired lady heard what the boy had claimed.
"You… don't know?" Ms. Tassei asked, her brow knitting in confusion.
Tanjo nodded apprehensively. "My magic... I don't know how to control it. When I try at the academy, it always ends up going in the wrong direction. When I practiced using my Aura Sense today, each time I released magic, it either blew up in my face or went haywire—blasting away without any warning."
"Go on." Ms. Tassei advised, gesturing for Tanjo to resume with her hands, albeit holding her tea.
Tanjo didn't bother glancing at the woman, his eyes glued to the floor. "Ever since the beginning of the year, I have had issues with my magic. However, my old man had told me not to show it at the academy. I haven't been following those instructions all that well, it seems."
Ms. Tassei remained quiet, listening to Tanjo with a monotonous expression.
"My magic comes in short spurts, either as weak blasts that don't go anywhere or in large blasts that destroy everything in its path. My instructor suggested that I ease up a bit when releasing my magic, but I'm not sure if it'll work."
As Tanjo continued with his ranting, Ms. Tassei slowly placed her tea on the glass table sitting between her and the jet-black-haired teenager. Even as she set it down, her hold on the cup did not falter.
"My old man… He had told me that it was a condition of some sort. But, he never said if there was any cure or way to resolve this issue." Tanjo explained, raising his watch from the floor to Ms. Tassei.
Ms. Tassei then curiously asked, "What is this 'condition' that he said you have, Tanjo?"
Tanjo's shoulders fell slightly. Looking Ms. Tassei in the eyes, Tanjo hesitantly, but surely, answered.
"Something called an Aura Amalgamation."
*CRACK!*
Suddenly, the cup that Ms. Tassei was holding on the glass table cracked, shattering and spilling tea onto the surface below. Ms. Tassei's eyes were locked as her entire body seemingly shut down.
"Ms. Tassei! Are you okay!?" Tanjo asked in worry, his hand extending outward toward the cyan-haired lady sitting across from him. However, his hand never reaches her.
Ms. Tassei's breath suddenly became labored as she clutched onto her cloak tightly. Tanjo's worry only grew from those actions. The woman hadn't responded to the boy, forcing him to just sit and observe the cyan-haired lady.
"... Did you say, "Aura Amalgamation", Tanjo?" Ms. Tassei finally spoke, eyeing the boy with an expectant look.
Tanjo fell back into his chair slowly, retracting his hand. "Uh, yes?"
After a few moments of silence, Ms. Tassei muttered words that came out incoherent to Tanjo.
"So that's what I saw that day…"
"What did you say, Ms. Tassei?" Tanjo asked, leaning forward slightly.
With no warning, Ms. Tassei's right arm surged toward Tanjo's chest, slamming flat against his shirt.
"Wah!?"
*THUD!*
with that fluid motion, Tanjo collapsed, falling unconscious in his chair and nearly toppling over onto the table.
"Please don't hate me after this, Tanjo."
XXX
And that's the conclusion to this chapter! How does it feel to be back with the main character? With the fight out of the way, I can resume the plot in other aspects of The Village Disciples! What will the rest of the plot look like? Stay tuned to find out more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_