GAIA

Chapter 2: Cores

He climbed as quietly as he could over the gate and up the tree that grew just outside his window. Once he made it through the window, Kyrien gave a sigh of relief as he collapsed onto his bed. He could get about another four hours of shuteye before school started in the morning.

The words that Asura had left him with were ringing in his ears. The man had mentioned his sister. What would his sister know about Gaia users? She was just an English major student. Kyria was one of the most normal people he knew. Their parents had died during the Bloody Christmas incident five years ago when one of the largest nuclear plants had blown up due to a malfunctioning reactor. She had taken care of Kyrien since, working shifts at a local bar so that she could pay for his school fees and their expenses.

He tried to imagine his sister, with her perfect alabaster skin, angular face, waist length midnight coloured hair and the same piercing sea green eyes that he had but he failed. Kyria was athletic and at times violent but she was not a fighter. She possessed no core in her palms as far as he knew. So what could she possibly know about Gaia fights?

Kyrien rolled over and growled into his pillow. It was not long before he fell into a disturbed sleep with flashing images of cores and a tune that sounded vaguely familiar.

“Kyrien!” Kyria called sharply, shaking her sleeping brother lightly and then called in a louder voice. “Kyrien! Wake up!”

“Urghhh..” Kyrien groaned as he rolled over, shielding his eyes from the sunlight that was streaming through the open curtains of his room. “Whattimeisit?”

“About time you got out of bed. I left your lunch on the table do remember to take it. I’m leaving now. Don’t be late for school!” She gave his forehead a friendly flick before leaving his room.

Kyrien let out another groan as he finally extricated himself from the sheets and prepared to head to school. Today was one the days that he just wanted to lie in bed all day long without having to go to school and see Asura. That’s right. That was the reason he was feeling this terrible anyway. “Damn you, Asura.” He cussed out to no one in particular before stepping into the warm shower.

Once he had straightened out the last of his uniform, Kyrien grabbed his boxed lunch from the table and slammed his front door closed harder than he intended to. The world of Gaia was too complicated for him to understand at the moment but he needed to understand it. Especially when Kyria was involved. He was not about to let anyone hurt his sister.

“Kyrien!” A familiar voice came from behind as he halted his board and turned around only to have Jem pounce onto him and put him in a headlock.

“Jem!” Kyrien laughed. Having his friends around him made him feel a littler better. Just a little more at ease and it made it easier to face Asura later in school. Kyrien gave an inward sigh; he was not looking forward to that at all.

“Did you manage to talk to your sister about it?” Shin asked, pulling up beside the two in his blades. They all lived along the same road and would often skate to school together.

Kyrien shook his head lightly and continued the rest of the journey in silence while listening to Shin and Jem’s idle chatter in the background. He had to talk to Asura about his sister if they met. He had to find out what the man had meant the night before. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that told him to move on from the topic and it was bad news, but Kyrien knew that unless he knew the truth, he would never be at peace.

“We need to find Asura before first period.” Kyrien said as he kicked harder, racing against time.

The trio served dangerously round the corner and through the school gates with practiced ease. They did not have to look far before spotting the menacing presence of Asura Leigh. He was the head of the discipline committee after all and here in school, they were the ones that people naturally avoided.