The red eyes of a young girl widened as she dropped her cup.
The glass shattered into tiny pieces, her mouth opened, unable to utter a sound.
Her ears rang as her vision went dark. Her body was hot to her, but cold to the touch.
"Young Amaia" She heard faintly, slowly looking up at Jasper.
"Rina!" Jasper called as Rina snapped out of it.
"Huh?" Rina grunted as she slowly looked up at Jasper completely.
"Your parents… they're gone…" Jasper said in a sad tone. "I'm sorry, they're gone…" Jasper said again as he hugged Rina.
She never blinked her eyes, or stopped looking into the distance. "Oh." Rina said as she just stood there.
##
Rina snapped out of it as Sumi explained to the class about powers.
"Much like Rina, her flames are meant for fighting." Sumi said, as she pulled down a projector screen.
Daiki raised his hand, Sumi pointed to him "Yes, Daiki." Sumi said, giving him the room to ask his question.
"If Rina is a demon, and those creatures are demons… why do the two look different?"
Daiki asked, squinting his eyes.
"There are many different subclasses of Demon." Sumi said as the lights turned off, the projector from the back of the room lit up displaying a chart.
"While yes, I am a demon, I take on the form of a human. Much like Eri is a demon, or Ayumi" Rina said as Ayumi blushed a bit.
"Demons are ranked on a scale. Rank 1, that'd be humans that have the flame, or inherited traits from their ancestors. Much like Eri, who is related to the Dundra region." Rina explained. "Rank 2 would be me. Someone who possesses the flames naturally, but still takes on the form of a human '' Rina explained farther.
"And then Rank 3 and 4… coaltars, and demons like Mozoku." Sumi said in an upset voice. Looking down in regret.
"Kuma, as well…" Rina said. Ayumi's eyes widened as she looked down in fear.
"Coaltars…" she said quietly to herself.
"The coaltars are the ones taking on forms of different kinds. Bats, giant beasts, animals of different traits." Sumi explained, "what gives it away however is their flames, usually taking on a dark blue flame." Rina added.
"What about Kuma, what flames did he have?" Koji asked.
"We don't know, we didn't encounter him…" Sumi said as Rina gave her the side eye. Concerned about the lie she had just said.
"What we do know is that we are trying to train you to avoid a situation like the dimension leak. To avoid what happened in Amaia" Sumi said as Ayumi looked sad. Daiki looked embarrassed, almost like he regretted asking the question.
The projector shut off as the screen went up. Izumi opening the shades to let natural light in.
"Anyways, that's it for today." Rina said as Ayumi stood up.
"Miss Amaia…" Ayumi asked. "Please, just call me Rina." Rina responded.
"What of the other topics on the subject. Powers, Support and Field?" Ayumi asked.
"Well, Sumi might not be able to teach powers, but she might be able to help supervise." Rina replied.
"What kind of user are you, what role do you play?" Rina asked Ayumi as she smiled.
Ayumi sat on Daiki's desk, raising her hand slightly. "Me and Daiki would probably be fighters!" She said as Daiki looked up with courage.
"I assume you too, Koji?" Sumi asked.
"No, I'd be field." Koji said as he glinted at her.
"Ugh, does that mean me and Koji are teamed up?" Izumi asked as she rolled her eyes.
"It seems so. Okay, we got our fighters." Rina said as she clapped once. "Class dismissed!" She said as the students got up and walked out.
Sumi erased the chalkboard behind her as Rina crossed her arms. "We didn't get close enough?" Rina asked. "They can't know we were involved, not when we're presented as terrorists back in Amaia." Sumi replied.
"You mean Ryuu. Not us." Rina said as Sumi stopped in place.
"I mean US. We had just as big a role in letting all those people get hurt as anyone." Sumi said as she turned around, throwing the eraser on the ground.
"At least Ryuu tried to warn us, to save us from your little group of traitors!" Sumi said as she clenched her teeth.
"You're right, I should have listened to him. It's just that these people were my only family for so long that I couldn't just not believe them…" Rina said as she looked down, her eyes looked sad and troubled.
"Jasper was the traitor, not Ryuu…" Sumi said as she looked back at Rina, closing the door with a look of hurt.
The door clicked as Rina sat on the desk in the middle front of the class. The clock ticked as the room fell silent.
##
"We know that crime has gone down 15 percent since last surveyed. All parks are clean, taxes have stayed down. Everything seems good… except…" Jasper said as Rina looked at him with tired eyes.
"Except what?" Rina asked, tilting her head slightly. "Well, the people still don't approve of a politician that's so… young." Jasper replied as Rina tapped her finger on her leg.
"Am I supposed to let them be lead blindly as they wait for me to age?" Rina asked.
"No, but maybe if you put things in place while someone doubled for you…?" Jasper suggested as a woosh of purple flame flew by him.
"Absolutely not! We do not use smoke and mirrors. Our residents don't deserve such lies! Approval or not, I am their queen. I protect and serve them. I took my parents' place to fulfill their dreams of a utopia realized!" Rina yelled as Jasper looked down at her.
"Completely out of the question…" Rina replied, looking out the window overseeing Amaia. "I was named after this city… I can't let my people down." Rina replied.
"I understand my Queen." Jasper said in a gentle tone.
"Now, tell me of this boy you've kept eyes on." Rina said as Jasper showed her a photo of Ryuu. "W-What makes him special?" Rina asked as she blushed.
"We believe he has royal blood." Jasper said as Rina looked at the photo, her heart skipping a beat.
##
Rina looked melancholic at the picture as she closed her eyes.
"What do I do, Ryuu…" Rina asked as she started to silently shed tears.
"I'm not as strong as you were…" Rina said as she fell to the floor, with her hands covering her eyes.
The sun rose from behind the pink pedals hanging on the trees, the air was crisp and chilly.
Daiki yawned as he sat between Ayumi and Kolira.
"So why do you guys have a separate class from us anyways? Aren't we learning the same stuff?" Daiki asked Kolira as she turned her head.
"Well, we aren't in the same groups as you'd be. We learn field tactics, almost like a medic." Kolira replied.
"Aren't you gonna be fighting though? Isn't that what our class teaches?" Daiki responded.
"Think of it like different subjects. Like history or science class." Kolira replied.
Daiki looked up, then back down.
"Ah, okay. So like… we're learning to fight, but only some of us can use powers, right?" He asked.
"Precisely!" Kolira replied, smiling.
Claire walked into the class and sat next to Kolira, the two began talking inaudibly from the others as they whispered.
Daiki squinted a bit as he looked at the two.
"Are you two like…" Daiki said as he trailed off. "What?" Claire asked.
"Are you two dating?" Daiki asked as Claire and Kolira stared in disgust.
Daiki sat back as he looked anxious.
"What?" Daiki asked quietly.
"We're siblings!" The two said at the same time. Daiki looked confused, Ayumi gave Daiki the side eye as she dropped her head on her desk.
The door handle turned as the remaining students walked in, followed by Sumi and Tano.
"You're late!" Daiki said to Koji as he smirked.
"Piss off, I'm gonna smoke you in the field!" Koji replied as he sat down.
"Ugh, you two are so childish!" Izumi said as she sat behind Ayumi.
"This isn't a competition. This is a bonding experience for you all since… frankly, you all suck at being a team" Tano said as Sumi set down her books.
"He's right, you're all full of potential, but your teamwork is shit. If you're out in the field fighting, they'll kill you before you even have a chance." Sumi said with a worried look.
"Who's 'they'?" Izumi asked.
"Coltars. There's an infestation of them a few blocks away. Not harmful on their own, but in groups, they're like a billow of smoke." Sumi said.
"Ingest too much, it'll attack your lungs and make you sick… if you're lucky…" Tano said as he leaned back.
"We have some experts handling it, but it's spreading a lot. We have an hour to see what you all can do, what skills you have." Sumi said as she walked over to the screen door.
She slid the door open to lead to the field.
"Me and Rina requested a field to train in, and they delivered." Sumi said as she gestured outward.
"Welcome, students! We have one hour to test your strengths!" Rina said as she stood in the field holding a staff.
"What skills are you looking for, exactly?" Koji asked as the students walked onto the field.
"Well, if we told you, you'd be aiming for that. We want you to aim for your best. Show us what skills you have." Rina said as she raised her arms.
Sumi and Tano stood beside Rina as she leaned over to Sumi.
"Bringing back memories?" Rina asked, "Simple days of watching you make moves on my brother." Sumi smirked with a melancholic look in her eyes.
Rina laughed out of embarrassment.
"Yeah well, I meant more about training." Rina replied.
Rina stepped forward as she held her hands out.
"Some of you may have powers like me, using flames and energy as a base for a weapon." Rina said, turning her flames into a sword, then to stone gauntlets.
"Flames are multipurpose. They are usually the first trait demons use." Rina explained.
"Different colors represent different levels. Green is usually low level, used for medical healing. Red is standard, used as just flames. Purple is one of the highest levels, used for weapon creation and heat. But blue…" Rina stopped, looking down at her hands.
"Blue is the highest level, used for all of the above and more. Usually a sign of a strong demon." Rina said.
"So you want us to find our levels?" Koji asked.
"Yes, I want you all to focus and see where you reside." Rina replied, "and first up is you!" Rina said, passing the staff to him.
Koji caught it, a bit unready, not wanting to be seen as weak.
"Just focus." Rina told him as he closed his eyes, focusing on his powers.
Koji focused hard, feeling pressure being watched. Then, small sparks formed around his hands, the staff electrified itself as he shocked himself, dropping the staff.
"What… what was that?" Koji asked.
Rina picked up the staff. "You don't have flames, but you sure as hell have power." Rina said.
"Alright Koji, go ahead and take a seat." Rina told him as he stared for a second.
"Koji doesn't share the same demon attributes as some of the others. I think we failed to account for that." Sumi told Tano.
"Think it'll affect how Rina grades this?" Tano asked.
"We'll see…" Sumi replied.
Rina continued to test the powers of the students, some stronger than others.
"Okay, so here's what we have!" Rina called out as the students sat on the ground, tired.
"Koji, you don't have demon attributes from a traditional sense. Your powers are more emotion based, causing an energy shift within your body. So I'm giving you these" Rina said, handing Koji a case with two pistols.
"Pistols, huh?" He replied, "they're powered by energy, they don't take bullets. But be careful because they do have a limit of energy they can take." Rina told him.
"Izumi, your powers are low level, you're the medic of our group." Rina told her, handing her a staff. "I can't believe it… I thought I was stronger than this, but a staff? How am I going to defend myself?" Izumi asked with a disgusted look on her face.
"You aren't weak, you just need to find that power in yourself." Rina replied, putting her hand on her shoulder.
"Claire, Kolira. You two have unique powers that I'm not actually sure of yet, I'd like to train with you more if that's okay with Tano." Rina said as Tano nodded with a smile.
The two looked somewhat worried, "don't worry" Rina said to ease their troubled minds
"You two have a lot of potential!" Rina said as she walked up to Ayumi and Daiki.
"You two are the fighters! Daiki, you have level 2 powers. Ayumi, you have an interesting case of powers I've only seen from one tribe!" Rina said as she gave the two a sword and scythe respectively.
"Ayumi, do you happen to come from a tribe? The Yari tribe has similar levels as you." Rina asked.
Ayumi looked nervous, "N-nah, I'm not". She said as she looked away with a nervous smile.
"Alright, well you two will be sent out with Tano to help aid in the Coltar infestation." Rina said as the two walked with Tano.
"The rest of you take a rest for the day!" Rina said as the others walked away.
Sumi leaned from the tree behind Rina, kicking herself away and walking towards Rina.
"So… you saw it too, yeah?" Sumi asked, crossing her arms.
"Yeah. These students aren't exactly normal…" Rina replied as she looked over her review. The two walked inside the classroom.
"Claire and Kolira definitely stick out. It seems like their powers could involve time manipulation, but I'm still unsure…" Rina said as she read closely.
"Ayumi is another interesting case, her power levels are… something else…" Rina added.
"What about Daiki?" Sumi asked, "you noticed it too… he reminds me of Ryuu, but he didn't reach his level." Rina replied.
Sumi knocked on the desk, walking away.
"Definitely keep an eye on them. If anything, we have to keep them in line." Sumi said as she walked away.
Rina looked down at her papers as the wind started blowing lightly. The leaves in the tree behind her rustled lightly as light pierced through.
Rina started crying without reaction, like she didn't notice.
No expression on her face.
##
Outside the palace in the training yard, Rina and Ryuu practiced using their powers.
Ryuu threw his fire at the targets while he rolled and dodged Rina's powers.
"You've gotten stronger in the few weeks you've been here" Rina said as she kept throwing fire his way.
"Stronger? Or more determined to not get hit and catch fire?" Ryuu asked as he continued to dodge.
Rina stopped for a second while she aimed more accurately, throwing fire ahead of where Ryuu dodged, Hitting his shoulder.
"Shit!" Ryuu yelled in fear.
Ryuu's shoulder lit up in a purple flame, Rina snapped and the fire extinguished.
"Don't worry, I won't actually hurt you." Rina said as she walked over to him.
Ryuu held himself up by putting his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
"You did good today. I can see you're getting better at seeing oncoming attacks. Not everyone that is half human can do that." Rina told Ryuu as he chugged his water.
Ryuu used his hand to wipe his mouth as he exhaled loudly.
"Yeah, but I'm not exactly human, am I?" Ryuu asked, looking up at Rina.
Rina looked at him for a moment, looking intensely, then looking up at the sky.
The clouds lightly covered the orange and blue hue of the sky as the sun was setting.
The leaves in the tree behind them rustled moderately as a cool breeze swept over them.
Rina's hair blew in front of her face as she softly moved it behind her ear.
"No, you aren't." Rina said in a monotone voice. "You have powers on a level I've never seen before…" Rina said. The wind continued to blow, calming down as the wind chimes in the trees sang their song.
"I worry about you, Ryuu…" Rina said as her eyes grew heavy, she squinted sadly as she looked over at him. The wind stopped as Ryuu looked at her with a concerned look.
"I've seen what this kind of power does. And I'm afraid people will antagonize you, make you out to be something you aren't" Rina said as she blinked. Looking down the second she opened her eyes.
"You don't have to be afraid of me becoming something I'm not." Ryuu said with a determined look, almost like he was angry at Rina for entertaining that thought.
Rina chuckled a bit, "Yeah, you're right." She said as she thought back to her teen years, watching over him.
Rina looked back at him as he smiled.
"Come on, let's get everyone together and have some dinner." Rina said as the two walked inside the palace.
"Hey, is it normal for demons to smell like strawberries?" Ryuu asked, Rina laughed.
"That's just me." Rina said jokingly.
##
Rina sniffled as she wiped her tears, still unphased by her crying silently, emotionless.
"You never did change, I just didn't understand you were hiding how you felt" Rina said to herself quietly.
Rina looked at the papers as she stared at Ayumi and Daiki's reports.
She worried that they too would be hiding something in them, worried they'd become strong enough to be a problem.
Rina shook her head as she gathered her papers, walking inside with a stride of anger. Mad at herself for thinking that of her students.
"I have to trust that me and Sumi can keep them on the right path. I have to trust that they won't end up like that!" Rina thought to herself as she walked out the classroom, down the hall.
Rina zoned out as she walked, bumping into Kuze.
"Oh, sir! I'm so sorry!" Rina said as she looked embarrassed.
"Oh don't worry about it! I should have paid attention" Kuze said as he smiled.
"Sorry sir, I was distracted. Not myself today." Rina said as she sniffled again.
Kuze shook his head as he smiled. "Don't think anything of it. You and Sumi go above and beyond for your students." He said as Rina looked at him, half smiling.
"Thanks again for approving the training yard, It'll help a lot with teaching them." Rina said as Kuze chuckled a bit.
"Oh think nothing of it! How did the evaluation go?" Kuze asked as Rina exhaled a bit.
"Well, they all show promise. Some more than others. I wasn't able to pinpoint exactly where Tano's students rank, but they have some high levels." Rina explained.
Kuze clapped his hands once as he folded them.
"Wonderful!" He exclaimed in excitement.
"It's nice to know that our talents and work into this school have been working. We have some gifted students indeed!" Kuze said as he unfolded his hands. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some CPD* business to attend to!" Kuze said as he walked past Rina.
(*Civilian Protection Department)
Rina raised her hand, gesturing a goodbye.
Rina walked into her office, Sumi sat at her own desk as she stared out the window.
"One student we didn't evaluate was Eri, I think we should request she come in this weekend." Rina said as she sat down.
"Yeah, I agree. I think we need to make sure we keep all our students in check" Sumi said as she sat forward.
"You have the same concerns as me, I take it?" Rina asked as she looked over at her.
Sumi looked back at Rina as she looked worried, Tired.
"We can't let them become Ryuu." Sumi said.
Rina stayed quiet, but she noticed Sumi had bags under her eyes. Her eyes looked slightly swollen as if she had been crying.
"Yeah, that's my thought too…" Rina said as she looked down at her desk.
Sumi sat up as she walked to the door.
"I'm heading home, Call if you need anything." Sumi said as she put her coat on.
"You know" Rina said as Sumi stopped in her tracks.
"I'm always a call away." Rina said as Sumi looked down, almost depressed like.
"Yeah, I had a friend who said the same thing before." Sumi said as she looked at Rina for a moment, Walking out the door.
Rina sat in silence for a moment, worried for Sumi.
"Maybe it's you I need to make sure doesn't become the next Ryuu…" Rina thought to herself.
Sumi walked through the city as the sun set.
Walking past where the Coltar infestation was. "It seems to have calmed down." Sumi thought to herself as she looked over at the building.
Sumi put her hands in her pocket as she looked ahead, "Hey!" She heard.
"Sumi!" Tano yelled as he waved at her. "We're just wrapping up! You wanna grab a drink or something?" Tano asked.
Sumi looked down as she thought about the offer, blushing a bit.
"Sure." Sumi said as she looked up at him. Tano smiled at her. The two walked through the city as the neon colors reflected on the wet pavement below their feet.
Cars rushed by, honking and splashing the water from the rain up.
"You know, It's been a while since I got to hangout with anyone." Sumi said as she kept her hands in her pocket.
"What about you and Rina?" Tano asked, "Well, we get to see each other at work." Sumi explained as Tano looked at her. There was silence for a moment, Sumi could tell he had something he wanted to ask, but was embarrassed to.
"What?" Sumi asked as she looked at him. Tano laughed nervously. "Well" He said, itching his nose. "Are you and Rina… you know…" Sumi blushed out of disgust.
"No? No! God No!" Sumi shook her head as Tano laughed.
"You two are always hanging around each other!" Tano said as he laughed more.
"I never even thought about that. No, me and her are just like… sisters." Sumi said as she elbowed Tano a bit.
"What about you and Kuze? You two are always talking when class isn't happening!" Sumi teased. "Okay, Okay, you got me there." Tano chuckled.
"Nah, I was actually married before." Tano said as his eyes grew heavy, he continued to smile despite looking tired.
"What happened?" Sumi asked as she looked at him, Tano looked down at her for a moment as he smiled. Sighing.
"Well, let's play a game. Let's see who gets drunk and talks about their past first." Tano said as the two walked towards a cozy quiet bar.
The two sat, Sumi wrapped her coat around her hands as she looked concerned.
"What if he finds out I'm a Ghost? I can't get drunk!" Sumi thought to herself as her eyes widened a bit.
"You a smooth drinker?" Tano asked, "Something more calm?" he added.
"Yeah, just a Kahlua and Club" Sumi replied
"Sounds good, Two of those" Tano said to the bartender.
Sumi sighed with worry. "Bottoms up." Tano said as the two took a drink, Sumi closed her eyes, hoping she could pass off being completely human.