Throughout the duration of the cooking class, I would occasionally slip my hand in my skirt pocket and run my finger over the necklace feeling the jade on it. I badly wanted to take it out and hold it up to the light letting it gleam in the flourescent light.
As soon as cooking class was over I quickly packed up and dashed to study hall. I didn't have the desire to talk to anyone, I had to visit someone for some more answers. I slid open the door with a bang and breathed heavily from running so fast. Out of all the people to see, why did it have to be her?
She nodded at me then noticed my flushed expression, "You seem like you were in a hurry to tell someone something."
Damn! I hate her whole mind reading thing. But I cleared my throat and went along with it anyway, "I need to ask you something and if you say no I will find a way to find out."
Sakura nodded, "My address is actually not far away from your house."
Again with the mind reading! I hope this doesn't become a habit...
"Sometimes I think it's more like a burden then a gift."
"Whatever," I said with a wave of my hand, "I'll walk home with you and then you have to answer my questions. I'm still not sure what to expect of my so called "powers over fire."
Sakura turned away from me then looked down at her desk, "Trust me. You'll find out soon. But I don't think you're going to like it."
The warning bell rang and kids started to pour into the study hall. Yuko came in and spotted me before I had time to get to my desk and walked over, "Yukari-chan where were you? I couldn't find you in the cooking class after it let out and I got worried. You weren't in the hall either...but whatever. I was hoping that after school-"
"I won't be going home with you," I said bluntly cutting her off, "I need to find out about my powers and I'll be going home with Sakura...no hard feelings?"
Yuko blinked at me then grinned, "Well as long as you two are getting along then it's fine with me. I'll call you later then?"
"Sure."
Yuko gave us one last grin before skipping to her desk. What excited Yuko more than snacks was seeing her friends get along, typical Yuko behavior.
The bell rang a final time for everyone to get to class. Sensei walked in and everyone automatically went to their seats and quietly worked on homework. My mind for some reason kept wondering from my english and thinking what Sakura meant by "you'll find out soon." I was also wondering what I "wasn't going to like." So far those things were homework and my brother with my brother being at the top of the list. Whatever it was, it was making me nervous...and I didn't like it.
Once study hall let out I quickly packed and strode over to Sakura's desk. Whatever it was that I wasn't going to like, I didn't care. I was more concerned with the questions starting with "Why is Sensei Tsuyori helping me?"
Sakura packed her bag, but took longer making me impatient. She had warned not to talk about it anywhere unless we were alone and could discuss it among ourselves. I surely wasn't taking any chances with all these people here.
"Ok. I can't tell you about your powers, you'll have to find out on your own. However, you can train them and one way of doing that is by fighting."
"Fighting what?" I asked.
Sakura looked around frantically. Apparently no one heard my outburst. She frowned and put a finger on her lips.
I rolled my eyes, "Oh, sorry." I said sarcastically, then lowered my voice, "Fighting what?"
"Like I said, you'll find out but won't like it."
I sighed in defeat, "You know I hate when you talk circles around me. It's confusing and making me more nervous."
"Sorry, but I'm not allowed to give you too much information."
Was it so hard to get a straight answer from her? The answer: extremely hard. Oh the irony.
We walked downstairs and out the doors of the school. My head was still swimming with questions and I wanted to ask them, but I was scared she'd give the same 'sorry I can't help you there' expression and move on. I dared myself to ask them anyway, "How do I activate my powers?"
"I can't give you that."
"How do I use my powers?"
"I can't give you that."
"So what can you give me? Seriously! I don't have a lot of help here!"
Sakura gave me a sympathetic smile, "You figure that out on your own. I can, however, tell you that your powers were supposed to be told to you by your mother. However, we didn't expect that she would die so soon before you became 16. You would've handled it better if your own mother told you instead of a guardian angel you barely even know."
I hated to admit it, but she was spot on. I didn't trust her and if I was told by my mother about my powers, it would be easier to take.
As we neared my street Sakura stopped unexpectedly. Her face had gone pale and her eyes went wide. I shrugged and moved on, but she grabbed me by the arm and pulled me close, "Don't. You. Dare. Move." she hissed in my ear. The shock was of her menacing voice was enough to make me stay put.
I started to shake a bit. There was obviously nothing there, but Sakura was gripping my arm so tightly her nails were digging into my flesh. I winced and she loosened her grip. She cast a menacing stare to the nothingness in front of us then whispered in my ear, "The necklace. Hold it up in front of you."
I didn't dare disobey and I quickly fished the necklace from my pocket and held it up in front of me. unbelievably, an object appeared before me. It had a grotesque look with wrinkly green skin and a hunched back. One of its eyes gleamed gold while the other one was red. The look was enough to want to make me run, but somehow, I stayed rooted on my spot and tried to hide behind Sakura. She was the only one who could see it when it was invisible, so she had the power to get rid of it.
"The power. I sense it. In you little girl." the monster sneered pointing a chubby horribly chipped long nail in my direction, "Now I kill you!"
The monster lunged at me but Sakura stretched out her hand and put a shield around us. The monster tried to claw its way in, but as gross as it was stupid, it failed to break the shield.
I thought we were completely safe, but I looked at Sakura and to my horror saw that with every blow the monster inflicted on the shield, Sakura seemed to be getting weaker.
She turned to me slowly with a pained expression on her face, "Your powers. Use them before my shield is gone."
I was stricken with fear, "B-but, you never told me how to! You never demonstrated! How am I supposed to know?!"
Sakura winced, "The fire in your heart fuels your temper. Try to go from there..."
The monster screeched as the claws dug right through the shield and was just inches from Sakura's face. Finally the monster dug its other claws on the other hand in the shield and tore it apart. I screamed as the shield blew sending Sakura flying toward me.
We hit a tree and I bumped my head into the back of the tree. I winced as I rubbed my sore spot, then looked at Sakura. To my shock, she used her wings to wrap around me and keep me from getting further damage, but she was completely unconscious. Now I was alone with no clue how to defend myself.
The monster gave a screechingly loud laugh, "You poor thing. It looks like your guardian angel took my powerful monster blow and she can't help you now. All the better to kill you now!"
The monster started to run toward me with suprising speed. I felt like at any moment I was going to die. I quickly glanced at Sakura, then back at the monster getting closer, and felt the rage she was talking about. I clenched my fist, my eyes flashing with anger, "You hurt my friend, and you'll pay with your life!"
I closed my eyes just as the monster got close. I thought I felt a breeze, as if the monster had nearly missed me. I opened my eyes slowly, praying gratefully that I was still alive, then looked at the sight. My fire, appearing before my very eyes created a shield that burned the monster. It drew back quickly then lunged toward me again. This time I put my arms up in an X symbol and concentrated. The fire appeared from both the fingertips of my hands and formed the X symbol as it speeded toward the monster knocking it down.
It quickly regained its composure then speed. I tried another move but tried too late. The monster grabbed my arm, its claws digging hard into my flesh and leaving marks that started to bleed. I winced from the pain, "M-my arm..." The monster laughed and took its other clawed hand, "It looks like you have fire. A fierce element. It's good that I'm killing you now, otherwise you'll cause problems for me later when I find the other elements."
It lifted its clawed hand and was about to lunge for my heart. But I was fueled with rage again and could feel my body heat up hotter than it usually did when I was sick. The monster screeched in searing pain and I took the opportunity to release myself from its grip. My goal was to grab Sakura and flee before he gets the chance.
The monster recovered and its eyes glared at me with fierce determination, "Why you little bit-" The monster was cut off by a sudden kick from Sakura who had apparently recovered and used her high kick to send him flying into the air. It landed even faster bruised up and in pitiful condition. Sakura turned to me, "Finish him."
I concentrated one last time and could feel the now familiar fiery sensation as fire shot from my fingertips and raced toward the monster sending it in flames. It gave a terrible hiss then a screech that would've made dolphins and bats jealous. Then it finally was nothing but ash.
Sakura nodded and turned to me, "Any questions now?"
My eyes went wide at the deed that I had done. Then I slowly shook my head.
"Good. You now know how to channel your powers. Now your goal is to find the other girls with the other elements. You might feel tired because you channeled some of your energy into every fiery blow you issued. But once you start training, it'll wear off and you can use less energy."
"Wait a second! How did you know I was channeling energy into every blow?"
Sakura smirked, "That monster was so below me. I could've taken it down with my eyes closed. But it was your one chance to try out your powers. Did you really think that a pitiful blow like that could kill me?"
She strode past me toward her own home. I stared at her open-mouthed as her pink hair swished with every step. Apparently, I did, I just wouldn't admit that to her.
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Translator Notes:
There is none! This story is pretty straightforward and easy to understand.
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Well this is the 5th chapter! I honestly didn't think I could get this far.
Thanks to my friends who are reading this over my shoulder and giving me ideas and playing Goofy Goober in my ear.
I would love to know what you think of the story so far so plz plz plz comment! :D