What Lies Beneath Her Mask (REWRITE)

Chapter 12: Practice Makes Perfect

     "So this is the young lady you were talking about! It's very nice to meet you! My name is Clara Ambrose," Kai's mother introduced herself excitedly as she shook my hand.

     "Hello, my name is Derek Ambrose, nice to meet you," Kai's father said after a long pause.

     "It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose," I should bother of their hands respectfully.

     "She's got a strong grip, she must be strong. Is she a good instructor?" Kai's father eyed Kai.

     "Yeah, she is. She even kicked my ass earlier when we were training! It was crazy!" Kai exclaimed.

     Kai's parents looked surprised as they now shifted their attention to me.

     "So this is the other-," Kai's mother started.

     "Yes, she's the Peculiar I was telling you both about!" Kai cut his mother off, wanting to tell them more about me.

     "Then she really must've kicked your ass! Wow! It's an honor to be in your presence...Miss?" Kai's father almost squealed with joy.

     "Oh, how rude of me! My name is Nevaeh Mizuki. You may call me whatever you wish, Sir," I replied straightforwardly.

     "No need to be so formal, child. We're just ecstatic there's another person like Kai around to teach him how to control his Peculiarity! Come, come, tell us more about yourself Mizuki-Chan!" Kai's mother ushered me towards their couch.

     "Yes, Ma'am."

     "Please, Clara is fine. So, I heard you are the leader of Gen Z?" Clara asked.

     "Yes. I was the strongest in my group. Though, I did have a hiccup or two whilst trying to lead them."

     "Don't worry, we all make mistakes," Clara reassured me.

     "I have a question," Mr. Ambrose started.

     "Yes, Mr. Ambrose?"

     "How come you wear that mask?"

     "It's a long story."

     "We have the time, we have a lot of time, actually before we go on another trip again," Mr. Ambrose explained.

    "Come, why don't we chat over some dinner?" Clara urged us all to the glass dining table.

     After a few minutes, the question about my mask came up once more.

     "So, would you mind explaining why you wear your mask?"

     They were all staring at me at this point, which didn't help my anxiety one bit.

     "We had to wear gas masks whenever we would train together. One of my teammates, Ahma, and I can make certain things toxic to the point of combustion, collapsing of the lungs if you breathed it in, being lit on fire, or even melting. My teammate could make acidic black rain. My tears are made of flammable acid if my Peculiarity is set off. Though we were immune to the acidity and flammability, the workers didn't want to take any chances and made me and my other teammate breath in Tranquilizing Gas so that we would stay calm to avoid another incident," I explained wordily.

     The three of them gasped in unison, clearly interested in what I was saying.

     "What incident?" Kai's father questioned curiously.

     "I already explained this to Kai, but I will go more in-depth this time. When we were five, we were sold to the government and kidnapped to be trained in Newfound Canada. We were taken deep in the woods where nobody would find us because what the government was doing was illegal at the time. All five of us were raised around each other, we grew up together and were practically family. As soon as we all turned ten, we were forced to be trained to get our affairs in order. One time, I messed up during practice and a worker hit me out of frustration, I started to bawl even more so than I already was and accidentally set my Peculiarity off. My tears were starting to melt the floor and set everything on fire, including the workers, my teammates, and me. We all had to get plastic surgery to look normal again, the rest of my team and the workers' surgery were successful and they were left without scars. Yet my burns were all over my body and so bad that some scars are still there. I twitch sometimes because I get the burning sensation and think that I'm on fire again. After that, we all had to take Tranquilizers. The rest of the team took two forms of Tranquilizers, one for the day, one for the night. Me and Ahma, on the other hand, had to take three forms of Tranquilizers, pills, Tranquilizing Gas, and liquidated shots. After a while, after we got used to our Peculiarities, we were allowed to take our masks off around each other. I got addicted to the gas and kept leaving the mask on, even at night, which almost killed me. Eventually, they made a more modern prototype of the mask, the one I'm wearing, and gave it to me, but they made the Tranquilizing Gas less strong so that it wouldn't harm me. Sometimes I turn on the Gas to calm me down whenever I'm stressed or anxious,"

     They all stayed silent, trying their best to comprehend what I just said.

     "So they practically gave you...drugs?" Kai's father asked slowly.

     "Yes. The Tranquilizers not only kept us calm but kept us awake and energetic during training," I laid it out on a silver platter, assuming they would understand.

     "Oh, you poor baby!" Kai's mother yelped, leaping out of her chair to hug me unexpectedly.

     I flinched slightly when Miss Clara hugged me, as she had accidentally touched the scar on my right side.

     "O-Oh!" My arms hovered in the air as Miss Class continued to hug me.

     "I'm so sorry you had to endure that! But I'm extremely glad that those monsters didn't find out Kai was one of you as well. I can't imagine what I would do if I found out that that is what he would have had to endure!" Miss Clara exclaimed.

     I couldn't begin to explain the surprise she must've felt when I told her and her husband what it was really like in Newfound Canada's facility. It must've been shocking, horrifying even. I suppose they all thought we were treated like nobility by the looks on their faces. But to be frank, I would be shocked as well to find out that we weren't treated well if I was a stranger. For some reason, when I looked up at Kai and his family, they all looked at me as if I was crazy.

     "Yes? Is something the matter?" I questioned.

     "It's just- all you had to go through. I-It's terrifying to think of it," Miss Clara answered willfully.

"Yes. It is indeed tragic to think about. But it's the past and I cannot permit myself to dwell on it any longer. Kai, I have yet to teach you how to regulate the amount of heat your Peculiarity produces. That is what we shall work on tomorrow morning."

"Okay," Kai answered softly.

I could sense from his expression that his mind was reeling along with his parents. They felt pitiful towards me. I felt pathetic. I felt as though I had opened up too much. I never should have told them.

'So they practically gave you...drugs?'

'Oh, you poor baby!'

'I'm so sorry you had to endure that!'

My mind took me back to the time where I had gotten burned. Everything in the room was spinning and I fell to my knees. I kept visualizing the color of the fire, how it flowed, and burnt me and everyone else. I felt the heat against my skin, causing me to twitch dramatically. My vision kept flashing back to reality, then back to the past.
I felt so queasy and unable to move. I had to endure this. My chest grew tighter and tighter by the second, it was getting harder to breathe, I was now forcefully willing myself to crawl to the front entrance. I crawled and crawled, I kept violently flailing my arms as I felt the burning sensation on my arms and legs. Once I had finally managed to crawl my way to the door, it automatically opened and I was able to feel the cool breeze on my skin, which felt like cold water extinguishing the flames that had once engulfed my figure.
The Tranquilizing Gas released a significant amount of the Tranquilizer. I felt the Gas make my throat dry, as it had the first time. I felt it in my lungs which felt as if they weren't used to it again. I hesitated at first, but then made my mind up and ripped my mask off, I was tired of being addicted to the only form of Tranquilizer that calmed me down in these situations where I was having a panic attack. It helped me in situations where I felt like I was dying all over again.
I inhaled the fresh air the made my hair fly off of my shoulders and whip in the air. I now dropped to both my hands and knees, gasping for air. Begging to be released from the prison that held me. For years, the fire that kept me imprisoned within my mask and the Gas was gone. It was extinguished, but only temporarily. Miss Clara, Mr. Ambrose, and Kai rushed outside, huddling around me.
Kai grabbed my mask and handed it to me, not looking at my face out of respect for my wishes. I pushed the mask aside, still panting heavily. I saw out of the corner of my eyes Kai studying my mask and seeing the faint mist of the Gas be released. He sniffed the gas and nearly passed out. He wasn't used to the sweet scent and how powerful it was.
I was used to it so I didn't fall asleep anymore, I only calmed down a significant amount. My eyes were still bloodshot, wide with fear instilled with them. The beads of sweat that surrounded the edge of my forehead dropped onto the pavement floor. I wiped my forehead as Kai's parents repeatedly asked if I was going to be all right.

Pathetic, I thought to myself angrily as I gritted my teeth. Pathetic!