Chapter 5 – What We Are

“You’re here too!” Sayuri exclaimed. “Let’s catch up abo—”

“Now that everyone is here we can start the orientation,” Moyasu announced in English, cutting her off. “Please gather around and I’ll begin.”

‘He’s the one doing the orientation?' Yuki thought to himself.

“What’s he saying?” Sayuri whispered to Yuki.

Yuki repeated the instructions to her and went to sit on one of the couches that rested around a coffee table in the center of the room. Sayuri followed closely and sat right next to him. The others in the room followed Yuki’s example and sat around the table.

Moyasu stood in front of them and began to speak.

“This orientation is going to be really simple. I’ll be explaining about who we, Aether, are and what it is we do and what it has to do with you. Then we will be conducting one more exam to confirm whether or not you can join us.” He pulled up a beanbag and sat on it while he continued his speech. “I’ll just start this off by saying that there is more to this world than you think. In this world, there is magic.”

As he said this he splayed out his right hand and when fire ignited in his palm, there were gasps of shock.

"This magic is used to manipulate the elements of this world. Through the use of mana, people can create miracles. They can create funnels of blazing fire, call down storms, freeze lakes, and blow away ten ton trucks. We call these people elementalists."

“But where there is magic there are monsters. Terrible monsters that can level towns and massacre dozens. And there are people that use magic for harm instead of using it to help. Those beings are the enemies of our organization and our purpose is to stop them. What we do is subjugate monsters and capture people that intend to hurt society.”

He looked at each and everyone of the kids that sat before him and said, “Our job is important and we are always in need of more help. Every year we set out across the world in search for those that have the potential to become one of us, those that could become elementalists. And you five that sit here are some of those people.”

Moyasu stood up. “That is why we will be doing a fourth test. We must confirm whether or not you are capable of using mana. Once you are confirmed, we will determine what kind of elementalist you are based on the results from the test.”

He took out from his pocket five small crystals that size of a clicker and displayed them in his hands.

“When I tell you to, close your eyes and focus on the crystal. Something like what happened with the magni orb will occur. You will see images of things or places; do not be afraid,” Moyasu said. “However, if you can not see anything then that means that you do not possess the capability to manipulate mana.”

“Um, what’s a magni orb?” asked the white boy. He was fairly tall teenager with broad shoulders and seemed to be an athlete. Yuki, who was translating what Moyasu was saying to Sayuri, looked up as he also was wondering the same thing.

“A magni orb is the crystal ball that all of you held during the third exam. There are many different types of magni orbs that each have various functions. But that specific magni orb detects whether or not your body contains any free mana. All beings have some mana flowing through them. Otherwise they would be dead,” Moyasu explained. “That orb sees if there is any extra mana stored away in you that is not being used to keep you alive. The crystal I’m giving to you will see whether or not you are capable of using that free mana.”

After saying that, Moyasu passed the crystals around to each of the kids. Some received the crystal with apprehension on their face, others with disbelief. Sayuri on the other hand had the expression of a kid being given a new toy and Yuki took his crystal without any reaction at all.

They all closed their eyes as Moyasu had instructed and began to focus. Yuki felt slightly uncomfortable doing this as he wasn’t sure what it was that he needed to focus on. He decided to do what he did with the magni orb and just hold the crystal and wait. 

Before long, a strange yet familiar warm sensation began to bloom and spread throughout his body. Yuki could feel it flowing through his very being, swirling and bending and gathering. On instinct, he pushed some of that energy into the palm that held the crystal and that crystal, like what happened with the magni orb, began to warm before suddenly sucking Yuki’s consciousness into it.

But unlike what happened with the orb, Yuki didn’t fall unconscious. Instead he found himself sitting in front of a cozy campfire being caressed by a gentle breeze . Around him were ancient trees and behind was a roaring river. Under his hand he could feel the soft touch of grass and somewhere off in the distance the sound of thunder could be heard. Looking at the horizon, he saw the dark blanket of thunder clouds but also the image of a massive mountain with a snow covered peak.

All of these things called out to him. He could feel something coming from them. They pleaded with Yuki but not in words. He felt as if they were asking him to touch them, embrace them, understand them. But the strongest pleas came not from the river or the fire or the grass or the air or any of them. It came from the very earth he sat on.

From the earth he could hear faint whispers that wrapped around him and hugged him in an embrace that tightened the more he focused on them. But rather than feeling constricted Yuki felt liberated. He felt a freedom and comfort that he had never experienced before in his grief ridden life.

“Yuki,” a beautiful voice called out suddenly, its source untraceable and its gender unknown. “You’ve finally found yourself.”

It was the same voice he heard before he had fainted at the high school.

“But it’s not the time for you to be found by others just yet. I’ll do what I can to hide you,” it said.

Then the unidentifiable voice sighed.

“I really wanted to talk to you but right now isn’t the time. Let’s chat tonight then,”  the voice said brightening. "You have to wake up right now.”

“Wait,” Yuki said. He could already see his surroundings become fainter and fainter and knew that he was about to regain consciousness. “Who are you?”

As the world blacked out, Yuki heard in his ears a gentle whisper that said, “Your partner. And friend.”

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Yuki opened his eyes only to find that the others had not. They had looks of complete focus, their brows drawn together and their mouths making small frowns. In their hands, the crystals they held were emitting a soft light. The one that Yuki held was a scarlet red. Looking at the other crystals, he saw that one was yellow, another green, and another a grey color. The one that Sayuri was gripping was glowing a deep blue.

One by one, the kids opened their eyes filled with wonder and confusion. Moyasu smiled when he saw that all of them had finished.

“So, what did you see?” Moyasu asked in a knowing tone of voice.

“It was amazing,” a girl said softly. She looked European but had lightly tanned skin that suggested that she went outside often. “Images were flying past me. I could feel the lightning.”

‘Images?’ Yuki thought, confused. ‘I was camping.’

“Nagisa-san, what did you see?” he whispered. He wanted to make sure before he decided whether or not to speak up.

“Oh, me? I saw images of the ocean flashing in my head. It felt like it was trying to talk to me you know? I felt like I was floating as well,” she said. She must have been quite amazed as she didn’t ask Yuki any questions in return.

‘So what I saw might be unique,’ Yuki concluded.

This meant that he shouldn't say anything as it would attract unwanted attention. Besides, didn’t that voice tell him that he should be hiding himself? If that being that called itself his friend could be trusted then he shouldn’t bring attention to himself.

“This is great news,” Moyasu said. “All of your crystals had a reaction. That means that you guys are all capable of using mana and becoming elementalist.”

Everyone looked at each other with excited expressions.

“The element that you have an affinity with is determined by the color of the crystal and the images you saw,” Moyasu went on. “Red is fire, dark blue is water, brown is earth, light green is wind. Those are the four elements that people usually know. But there are three other elements and those are naturae1Latin for nature. Naturae could be thought of as the grass element., ice, and lightning whose colors are dark green, light blue, and yellow respectively.”

He looked at the grey crystal the white boy was holding. “That color means that you are unique. Can you tell me what you saw?” he asked the boy.

“I saw tornadoes. Thunderstorms,” the boy replied in a distracted voice.

“Then that means you are a dual wielder of wind and lightning. Dual users are very rare. You have double the amount of work in order to learn two elements but you’ll be able to become powerful. A person with a wind affinity is also a rare occurrence. We seem to have found a special one,” Moyasu said. He turned to where Yuki and Sayuri was sitting.

“That blue means that you are of water affinity,” he said pointing at the crystal in Sayuri’s hand. “Those are almost as rare as people with wind affinity.” Moyasu then told the others what their element was based on the color of the crystals they held. Yuki was told that he was a fire user. The other two were naturae and lightning users.

“Now that we have finished the testing, I want to know if any of you do not want to stay here to learn and become a member of Aether. You all have the capability but if wish to not join then we will send you right back home. So, is there anyone?” Moyasu asked.

When no one spoke up, he pointed at a small hallway connected to the lounge. “Then you will be staying there. In the hall are five rooms, each have someone’s name on them. Whatever you brought with you will be in that room as well as some essentials that we have provided. Tomorrow you will be going to the main hall. Just go to the elevator and hit “M”. I hope you enjoy your time here.”

With that said, he dismissed them and left. The group of teenagers looked at each other, not knowing what to say or do. An unspoken agreement was decided upon between them and they stood up and went to the hall to find their rooms.

Yuki’s room was at the end of the hall, his name written out on a small screen on the door. In place of a handle there was a black panel the size of book. When Yuki put his hand there, a beep was emitted and the door slid open. Apparently Aether also had his fingerprints.

The room itself was quite cozy. It was bigger than the room that Yuki stayed in at his apartment and like Moyasu had said contained all of the necessities. A bed in the back with a nightstand next to it. The doors to a closet could be seen on the left and a desk was placed to the right. Besides the desk was a door that Yuki assumed lead to a bathroom.

Seeing the bed made Yuki aware of just how tired he was mentally. He dumped his duffel bag onto the floor and fell face first into the soft mattress.

Today was an interesting day. Too many things happened that Yuki could not understand but for the first time in a while he was excited. The feeling surprised him but he liked it. He could understand how Sayuri was feeling now when she kept asking him questions. Maybe he was too cold to her?

With his mind wandering, Yuki fell into a pleasant sleep.

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“We have one fire affinity, a naturae affinity, one lightning, and surprisingly a water affinity,” said Moyasu. He was giving a report of the day’s findings to Robert who was lounging on the chair with his feet on the desk. “But the most exciting piece of news is that we have a dual affinity. The American boy is both wind and lightning.”

“Hmm? Ah, that’s very good. Yes, yes very good,” Robert replied distractedly, puzzling over other things. “Can you tell me what affinity the boy that was just in my office is?”

Moyasu looked up from the paper in his hand.

“Are you talking about Mayumi Yuki?” Moyasu asked. “He’s the fire affinity.”

Robert laughed quietly to himself, his shoulders moving up and down.

“Fire, eh,” he said. “That seems quite ironic, if I do say so myself.”

“Ironic? How?”

“Fire represents emotions, Moyasu. The heart,” Robert said, tapping his chest. “It burns with joy or anger or sadness or sometimes all of them.”

Robert leaned forward, replacing the feet on his desk with his elbows.

“But that boy has none of that,” Robert said quietly.

“Emotions?” Moyasu asked.

“Yes. He has no emotion. I could tell from his eyes. When we were discussing the death of his aunt he had no anger,  no sadness on his face. I thought maybe he was hiding it, burying it with that stone face of his. But when I looked into his eyes I saw nothing. That poor child has no feelings.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Moyasu said troubled. “Emotions are what make us human.”

“I agree,” replied Robert. “That’s why I’m worried. I’m worried of what that child might do. You need to watch carefully, Moyasu. Make sure that he doesn’t hurt himself.”

Moyasu nodded.

“I will.”

FriendlyDragon