4 - Training

With her will to protect others, Kaika begins to train herself to correlate with her Spiritual Pact.

Kaika's POV

Sleeping peacefully the first second, then the next second the eruption of my alarm clock blasts away. With the fact that I was sleeping that close to the alarm clock, I sprung out of my bed away, my eyes snapping open just like that. Like any morning, I slammed my hand onto the snooze button of the alarm clock, and the loudness of the clock stopped.

“Urrrrgggggghhhhhh...why the hell do you have an alarm clock? It’s way too early...” Luki apparently woke up from the alarm clock too, but sounded like a pissed off sleep-in. Well, she might as well get used to it, because we’re sharing a room now and I’m the one with the alarm clock. In response, I chuckle lightly to myself, finding it a bit funny of Luki’s complaining in the morning. Well, she’s going to be wondering why I’m up so early for the first day of summer vacation, so I have to get my lying on.

“Sorry about that Luki-san. I’m just going to do stuff today, need to get out of the house,” I apologized for the alarm clock, and I walked over to my suitcase to change my clothing to something that I’m flexible in. And when I come back, maybe fix up my suitcase to one of the empty drawers.

“It’s all cool. I just need some more sleep,” Luki groaned before throwing her bed sheets over herself. Guess she’s going to sleep in today. No wonders. I only finished dressing up, and grabbed my cell phone before walking out of the room silently so I wouldn’t bother Luki. Going downstairs, I had a feeling that everyone else was still asleep.

“Hey. Miki. You there?” I whispered while going down the stairs. No one was really awake to hear me “talk” to myself, but I had to be quiet before waking anybody up.

“I am present. Are you prepared for your training?” Miki appeared to me in a blink of an eye. Seriously, I blinked once and she appears in-between that small time period. Usually, I would find it weird that I’m talking to a spirit when I’m alone or something, but now it’s starting to feel normal for me. I guess it’s starting to embed into my mindset or something.

“Yeah. Luckily I know a secretive place that’ll be perfect for the training. So don’t worry Miki, I’ve got this,” I remarked while walking out of the house, and I had a perfectly confident grin on my face. Yeah, I was actually excited to do some training, since it would mean some new combat skills and experimenting with my powers. With the idea of not abusing my power in mind, of course. I was familiar with the city anyways, so I knew all of the deepest and most secret hot spots around here. It explains sorta why I knew about the secret underground tunnels that I used to get myself and Sota away from the Shadow Replicas yesterday.

“Ah, then lead the way towards the destination, Kaika-sama,” Miki nodded and levitated alongside me silently. Erm, it did feel awkward whenever she called me “Kaika-sama,” but I guess it’s some sort of habit or norm when a spirit talks to their pact bearer. Speaking of pact stuff, I was that curious on what kind of training Miki would put me on, since all I knew what to do is create energy blades and sense all sorts of Soul Energy around me. It was important and obvious that I needed training, being worth it in the long run later on. The walk from the house to the training spot wasn’t that far of a distance, which is why I decided on that specific location...even if it meant a shower once I get home too. Pretty soon, we arrived at the training destination, the city dump. Yup, training in a dump. No one really goes here, and the people that work here are off for the day. So it was perfect timing to go and freely use my powers without being discovered. The rigid stench of rotting material reached my smelling senses, and I immediately pinched my nose in response to that stench.

“A bit of a filthy atmosphere, but it is secret from outside attention,” Miki had an idea on how it would be here for her if she had a sense of smell. I guess she got the idea of it from either past experience or my general reaction to the smell.

“Yeah. Let’s get deeper into the dump, the exact center of this place is completely empty and far from the public,” I told her and began to head towards the dead center of the dump. Next time would be an abandoned building, because this smell was going to be irritating each other time I would come here for training. At least it’s private for this kind of training. Anytime soon, we made it to the center of the dump, where all of the piles of garbage weren’t spread around and that it was a clear and spacious area to do stuff in. In my case, supernatural power training time.

“I believe we can commence here for the training. I am most sure that you are comfortable with energy focus, sensory, and the basic formation of the energy manifestation. Shall we begin?” Miki explained to me, already knowing all of the areas that I’m all on a head start with due to the Shadow Replica fights I’ve been in...which was only two of them. Yeah, don’t see any problem ahead of me to not start the training.

“I was born ready! Where do we begin?” I grinned in confidence. Just so I’m in the clear, I began to focus energy throughout my body as another head start.

“Then pay close attention to my words,” Miki nodded and floated a distance away. Oh, I have a feeling that I might cover some good distance and ground with the new stuff I’m going to practice and get used to.

“I can tell that you’ve already focused energy throughout your body. Good, then transfer the energy into your hands. Do so before my next piece of directions,” Miki explained well in depth on what I should do immediately. Without a doubt, I smoothly transferred the pink glow of energy around myself and into both of my hands, having both glow vibrantly with the pink glow. Since this was a large amount of energy from what I could tell, a sudden change happened when I continued to focus energy into my hands. Sparking up as small pink flares of energy, that pink flare sparked up in front of my eyes, one pink energy flare for each of my eyes. In immediate amazement, I stared at my hands as they were emitting a constant fumes of pink energy mists as much as the flares in front of my eyes.

“Ah, you adapted to this state with haste, a quick learner. You’ve entered into your Partial Energy mode, and it is only the sheer manipulation of your affinity. Hence the name of “Partial”, that you aren’t ready for the mode of your Full power. Even with a partial amount of your power...you can still do many feats with that power. For now, I will tell you the base of basics, so then you will grow on your own by then at your pace,” Miki explained with much surprise to my fast adaption to the powers. I had the same reaction as Miki too. If only I could figure out this more easily than normal history lessons or something like that.

“For a beginning start, try to transfer that focused energy throughout your body, and integrate it’s well-being into your body. this would trigger a supernatural reaction with you that would enhance your strength, agility, and durability for a short time’s while,” Miki then instructed me to do this, which doesn’t really sound too hard, right? I stare at the palms of my hands, and focused that energy to flow throughout my body. The pink mists of energy around my hands began to spread itself around me, and then all of that energy is slowly absorbed into my body. From there, I began to feel different in a good way. A powerful sensation of energy sparked from inside me, it was like I could do anything and that I was some power house. Curiosities scrambled in my mind, just what are the limits of this “enhancement” that Miki told me to do. She hasn’t said much since I managed to do so, so I guess I could try it out. I immediately walked over to a broken refrigerator that was nearby in the piles. With a deep breath, I clenched my right hand into a fist, and sent forwards a swift punch to the refrigerator door. Well, I expected myself to be blocked off since I wasn’t that great in physical arm strength, but my expectations were reversed. My fist went straight through the metal door as if it were only paper, and I carefully pulled my hand out of the hole that I’ve created. I also noticed that the impact of my punch didn’t harm my hand at all, proving the durability part as well. Looking back at my hands, the energy that I felt around it began to disappear, as if I used it up by doing that punch.

“I believe you are used to using energy manipulation to enhance your physical ability. Then we shall move on to another basic that may seem simple as well. Try to focus a set of energy within you, and manifest that energy in a semi-physical form. In that state of form, you have your own will to make the energy’s object able to go through certain things or not. Give it a try,” Miki gave me the next set of instructions. Sounds easy, but a little advanced compared to the enhancement one. I sorta agreed with her too, I was fluent using that enhancement technique. Even if Miki says that I should practice this next method of energy manipulation, I had a feeling that I’ve done this before from the earlier fight. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to try again. Situating myself once again, I take one deep breath before beginning to focus my energy to the palm of my hands. Remembering what I did during the first fight I was in, I held out my hand. Just like that, the pink glow of the energy formed around my hand and then expanded into the shape of a transparent energy blade. I held the newly created weapon in my hand. Yeah, it was exactly alike to the one I created during the first fight.

“Alright, time to try out this little guy!” I exclaimed with a grin, and decided to test out it’s strengths and weaknesses. Swinging the energy blade at one of the totalled cars nearby, I saw the blade tear through the metal without a problem, and easily cut the vehicle in half horizontally. Well, I know how to create a blade with this energy manifestation, so I’m sure there’s other stuff I can do and create with the energy. In order to try this out, I had the energy blade to be disbanded to save the energy for whatever I was going to do. Preparing for this feat, I cupped my hands together, and began to focus energy to the palms of my hands. When I felt that I focused enough, I uncupped my hands to see a transparent energy orb. It was like a ball of all of the pink mists, and I could see through it like it were colored panes of glass. Alright, let’s continue this test run. I sent this orb a far enough distance from myself, near a large pile of garbage that was straight ahead. Good, it’s in place, now I began to charge my energy into the orb, forcing me to focus on that single orb and not myself. What I was trying to do with this? I wanted to see if the charged energy of my own would cause an energetic explosion from the energy I give into it. Well, I kinda got way different results than what I anticipated. Dizziness began cloud my mind, I couldn’t tell what was going on. Did...did my test run actually put me in something alike to a drugged state? Before I could question this any further, I noticed that the orb and myself had...switched places!?!! I thought it would explode, but it actually switched our placements. So, I was standing in a pile of garbage while the orb was where I stood before, and it disappeared instantly afterwards.

“Ah, I never expected this for you to figure out such an extensive ability like so. It’s been called many names by past pact bearers of this affinity, but it’s been recently dubbed “Energy Transmutation” by a fellow pact spirit. For an advanced ability, it is a clever trick on teleportation and useful in tight situations of the battle’s midst. You must keep on trying to practice this method, as it can “transmute” other placements of objects and people than yourself. As well as many other methods and feats, including Energy Enhancement, Manifestation, and Transmutation, you have plenty of time to practice and experiment with them. We have plenty of time before the fate comes to reality,” Miki began to explain with detailed information. Wait, an advanced ability? Doesn’t that mean that my Soul Energy is above average for this kind of pact? I’m taking that as a good things, because I’m moving up the skill range with this pact.

“Cool, then I’ll just further this training session with all that I know with the pact, and also combine it with the physical skills I know,” I grinned at Miki, as if I was ready for anything. I was, but I had to prepare, so I was pumped up for training. Taking a deep breath, I began to charge up more energy within myself.

*~*~*~*~*

Heck, I’m about done after 5 hours of non-stop continuous training. I pushed myself in all I could do, creating more skills with the methods I already knew within my pact. I combined all of my gymnastic reflexes with the Enhancement method. This gives me more mobility, and maybe help me out in being evasive in battle. It could even help me out in some of the parkour I knew also. Also incorporating this into my fighting style, I’m used to having energy blades and blasts out of orbs from what I can make out of the Manifestation method. As for the Transmutation method, I’ll do more on that later since it takes up a lot of energy of mine actually. Long story short, I’m stopping the training here for the day. I always have the other days to focus on training, but I couldn’t do it all in one day.

“I suppose that this is the conclusion of this training session,” Miki spoke, assuming that I was done. Well, I should call it declaring instead of assuming, since Miki can read my thoughts. Like right now, so I shouldn’t be so surprised with her anymore.

“Yeah, and since I still have the time on my hands for other stuff. I’m just going to kick back for the rest of the time I have,” I declared, and began to walk out of the city’s dump. Hopefully no one would mind that I absolutely smell like some homeless guy, I doubt that but I just didn’t want to get that reaction from some people. So...where exactly should I go? I mean, there’s no way I’m going to the cafe and the smell would probably get to people. Somewhere outside... Aha! The city park, there’s no way people would smell me like I am there. Heheh.

“Location sighted!” I exclaimed and began to walk towards the city’s park. I’m sure enough that there aren’t too much people there already. Plus, it’s the perfect timing to go and rest up there before it gets crowded. Without a do, I made it to the city park, and saw a vacant bench in the open. Like that, I got myself comfortable on the bench, lying down on it as if it were a bed outside. Knowing myself, I would quickly close my eyes and fall asleep here, and that feeling to fall asleep was drawing in. Might as well take the nap, I earned it after all of the training I did, yeah! While feeling a slight breeze of air brush on my face, I was warding myself to fall into a peaceful nap...er, until I guess someone decided to interrupt that chance.

Out of the blue, a certain familiar figure could be seen from a distance, and I could definitely tell that this person had some interest in me since we made eye contact. Even if my eyes were half open, I could definitely read that interest from his face. By “his face,” I already know who this person was already. Great...out of all the places, it has to be here...when I’m trying to nap up.

“...erm, can I help you?” I plainly said with a questioning look, staring at him as if he bothered me...which he did. Whether this disturbed me more than the “stalker” Shadow Replica from a few days ago, guess I have another stalker on my hands.

“Yeah you do, you definitely forgot about me. Can’t you remember? The guy that sits behind you in history class? The name Peyton Dalium, does it ring a bell at least?” the boy grinned, and began trying to make me remember something. Oh...now I remember. Peyton Dalium, the dude that stalks me in my classes. Even if he looked attractive, with his slick curly blonde hair, blue eyes, and the “bad boy” get up, something made me think that he has a crush on me or something like that.

“Oh yeah, that name is familiar now, thanks for the wake up call. Can I get some shut eye?” I roll my eyes sarcastically, and try to make myself comfortable with the bench as my “bed” once again. I swear to god, if he’s not going to leave me alone, I will...

“Whoa whoa whoa, slow down tiger,” Peyton was now trying to get me off my sleeping bench. Oh, how I wanted to curse back at him, but my conscious had the better hand at me this time. God d****t...I glared at him with all rage I held in, I wanted to sleep now! His reaction, not much, but I could tell he noticed the death glare I had going. I think this is why I don’t do well with stalkers...no wonder I couldn’t remember at first.

“Sleeping your a*s off while things are going on here, what kind of reward is that after training?” Peyton grinned, and patted my head if I was a dog. Oh hell no! What makes him think that I’m a lazy bu-.....wait, did he just say “training?” As in, my

training? Oh god, did he spy on me while my training went on in the dump?

“And what makes you think that stalking a girl 24/7 is okay,” I sarcastically replied, trying to ward him away from the “training” topic. If he really knew about my “secret” status, then I would have to...entrust him with the secret. Knowing him and his big mouth...that’s almost impossible. Also...where the hell is Miki during all of this? I mean, she was just with me earlier...and now she disappears when this is going on. I need her advice to drag myself out of this corner, and convince the stalker that I’m not into anything “supernatural.”

“Oh, my bad there, but c’mon. I can keep a secret, especially when it involves myself too,” Peyton chuckled, and purposely pushed me more into that corner. Oh, so he really wants to know...or wait. He said that it “involves” him too...what does that mean? Stop trying to mess with my head and say what you really mean d****t!

“Er, can you say that in perfect English for me? I did not catch what you said moments ago,” I said with a serious face on. Just so I properly get it this time, I sit up on the bench, and said nothing else. I wanted to hear his answer, and I wanted to know what he knew. I’m not going to be revealed by him one day, because that would be somewhat an end to my Spiritual Pact.

“Sure thing. What I’m saying is that, you don’t have to worry about the secret coming out...I’m a pact bearer too, you know,” Peyton only flashed another grin at me, and then whispered the last part of his sentence to me. Alright, if I was drinking water right now, I would have a spit take at this very moment. The stalker from my freshman year...is a PACT BEARER too! How am I supposed to know that this is going to come up? And if he is a pact bearer...what affinity does he represent? After this encounter, I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone I knew was a pact bearer of some kind.

“Y-You’re...you’re a pact bearer? Wait, how can I trust you though?” I sounded quite out of breath, since I didn’t have much reason to go and yell this time around. I needed to know these answers, it was that important. And if he was really a pact bearer, I might have to make an alliance with him since we both have the same goal in mind as pact bearers: beat the crap out of the Shadow Replicas.

“Oh, want the proof huh? Allow me to convince you. I will admit, I spied on your training session, pretty good for a rookie. Maybe you’ll pass me in skill. Also, I took care of the Shadow Replica problem in the downtown district yesterday while you were making love with that Sota dude,” Peyton gave me a look as if he were rubbing all of this “proof” in my face. Just because we have the same status and purpose, doesn’t mean you have to go and make me look like an idiot for the first place! However, there wasn’t anything I could do to nullify that proof, it was like he was there for everything “unnatural” to happen near me.

“First of all, just for stalking me for almost every moment thus far,” I sighed and got up from the bench. A little reward I wanted to give Peyton for admitting to “stalking” me, I immediately slapped him right across the face. He was a little wide-eyed at me, a blaring red imprint of my hand on his left cheek. Oh, I think I know what to do if Peyton tries to do any funny stuff at me.

“Secondly, if you’re really a pact bearer, show me what you could do. I need to be sure. Of course, we could go to some secluded area so no one would see us,” I sighed and gave him a serious look. I still needed to know if he spied me with an intention of acquainting me, or that he figured this all out and is pretending to be a pact bearer. Like hell I’m going to be revealed from under my nose...

“Alright, then it’s a deal. Might want to come with me if you want to see the proof of my pact,” Peyton grinned and winked at me. Oh, how I was tempted to slap him again, but I restrained myself from doing that again. Well, at least he’s actually going with showing me proof, but...

“A deal? Since when did I say that there’s a deal in all of this,” I inquired while walking along side him out of the park. While it made me wonder where exactly he wanted this to take place, what the hell kind of “deal” did he had in mind when I didn’t say anything like that.

“You know, I’m letting you see what my pact affinity is, which means you gotta keep you mouth shut and that you’ll spend time with me,” Peyton gazed at me, and pulled off a flirty impression at me. Well, guess this calls for it. I slap him straight across the face again, and continued to walk with him.

“Next time, I wouldn’t hesitate with a punch,” I plainly sigh, crossing my arms. Sure, I need answers from him about the pact, but I’m not getting myself into a freakin’ love triangle. I’m fine with being friends with him for this...if that happens, but I’m already in a relationship with Sota. However, I decided not to mention that since I wouldn’t want to bring that kind of info to his head. He only nervously laughed, and scratched the back of his head. The rest of the walk was awkwardly silent. Peyton probably didn’t talk since he was apparently afraid of my physical strength, and I didn’t talk since I really didn’t find the reason to. I mean, all I need from him right now is to see if he really is a pact bearer. If he is, I’ll consider an alliance with him. If not, then god knows what would happen with my secrecy. I took the notice that we were nearing the abandoned parts of Tachikawa, seeing the rundown apartment and business buildings and the lack of landscape maintenance here. From the looks of it, he wasn’t kidding with the placement of where no one would see us. Like a secret base, I suppose. Wait, if it is like a secret base, wouldn’t that mean that there is another pact bearer hanging around there besides myself and Peyton? Well, only one way to find out, we’re almost there...I think.

“Alright, we’re here Kaika. The little hideout I made when I first got my Spiritual Pact,” Peyton spoke after the long span of silence, snapping me once again out of my own thoughts. Upon hearing that we were here, I glanced over to where he was looking at, seeing the hideout he was talking about. It seemed...decent enough for now, it’ll have to do for the time’s being. It appeared like a rundown warehouse-style shed, the doors and windows were all boarded up with aging wood as if this place closed down a long time ago. I examined the warehouse shed that we were to meet up at...it seemed like an abandoned place from first glance, but I began to see the secret entrance that Peyton had set up. So that it seems this place is untouched, there was several large scraps of metal and car parts covering up the hole in the wall that would lead into the shed. Even though I was able to figure out how Peyton did this, I would give him credit for keeping this place undiscovered by anyone else for this long.

“Not bad, not bad,” I mumbled as I walked up to where the secret entrance was, pushing aside several scraps of metal out of the way without hurting myself. Peyton only chuckled a bit, and walked over to help me push the metal away. It was no time that we got the secret entrance open, and before taking out sights to the interior of this “hideout, Peyton made sure to close off the hole in the wall with the scraps of metal from the outside.

“For a hideout, this looks like some cheap apartment,” I commented as I saw that there wasn’t much inside. It was all filled with debri and whatever was left in this shed before it was abandoned from whatever projects happened here, but it was like Peyton was able to sneak in several things inside. Such as a few number of makeshift beds, a dusty couch, and a working cooking area in the old break room inside the warehouse shed. Makes me wonder if the hideout was like some kind of “second home” for Peyton, considering that it seemed like he was the only other Pact Bearer that knew about this place. He set up this place...so it wasn’t that much of a surprise anyways towards me.

“Pretty much. Just decided that the hideout would need some common needs so in case something major happens, we can camp out here,” Peyton explained to me, throwing himself onto the couch and pulling out his flip cell phone. Oh god, he forgot about the reason we even bothered to show up here. So, if we’re Pact Bearers and stuff, and this happens daily, I have a lot to deal with when we’re working together.

“Not much to rain on your business, but you did say we came here to privately showcase your Spiritual Pact, right?” I reminded him, crossing my arms across my chest. One thing I know for sure, I came for one thing only, and that’s seeing his pact’s prowess. If he totally ripped me off or something like that, I’m heading out. No joke.

“Oh yeah, almost forgot about that. Sure, follow me,” Peyton nervously laughed, and got up from the couch. No s**t you forgot, that’s why I’m even here in the first place. I silently followed them down a hallway in the building, and we stopped over at a very empty and spacious room that only had pieces of junk scattered in piles. Some of the junk in this area were pretty much beaten and worn out, as if these were fighting targets for practice. I think I get the idea here, and what Peyton could be doing to demonstrate his Spiritual Pact’s limits. And since I have an idea that this would become some hot spot to me, I think this would be a training spot for me.

“This is definitely the training room, so let me demonstrate the power of the Spiritual Pact Bearer of Electricity!” Peyton exclaimed as he walked to the center of the spacious room this was. Electricity? Not bad. Wonder how exactly does he use that affinity in fighting combat. Unfortunately, for people who want to observe this training, there isn’t any proper place to be at to watch and not get harmed in any way. Heck, there isn’t even any chairs lying around that I could sit on. A sigh escapes my lips as I stayed near the door, sitting criss-cross style on the dirty ground. Let’s see what he had in store to show me, but I guess he would be a little better than me since I just got my Spiritual Pact a few days ago. He slowly closed his eyes and from what I could guess, he was probably focusing enough electricity to activate his powers. Moments later, I began to hear crackles of static electricity, his affinity was starting to come into play. With my special ability of “sensing energies of people,” I noticed that this was a large amount of electricity that he was focusing towards himself.

“Activate....Full Mode!!” Peyton opened his eyes and shouted out. I was able to sense that his energy just sky-rocketed in mere seconds. This is more than I achieved in my simple training earlier!?!! No wonder that he had his Spiritual Pact longer than me, but I never thought that he would have his “Full Mode” mastered by now. I’m still on my “Partial Mode,” and soon I would achieve that stage too. Oh wait, there was more that Peyton’s “Full Mode” had to offer. Once the sparks of high voltage electricity died somewhat down around him, Peyton seemed to have a costume change. I’m not kidding, and it doesn’t sound that ridiculous as it sounds. The outfit had that “ancient” feel to it, probably relating to the fact that Spiritual Pacts are that old. With the flair of occasional crackles and sparks of electricity around him, this is Peyton’s Full Mode.

“Hn, impressed Kaika-chan?” Peyton glanced to his side, towards him, and gave me a playboy expression at me. Is he serious with this s**t?
“You’re really pushing it, I didn’t say anything about coming onto you. So cut it with the sassy honorifics,” I groaned, a sweat drop going down my face to go along by how annoyed this got me to. Not that I hate him with all of my anger, but it’s a little annoying with a guy trying to hit on me when I’m already in a relationship with some guy.

“Fine, fine,” Peyton laughed a bit. Going on with the training, he held out his hand, and drew in certain amount of electrical sparks to his palm. As this duration escalates to an electrical ball in his hands, it began to form into a certain shape that resembled a “L”. The sparks of electricity then gave one last bright and loud crackle before dimming it’s frequency, showing that all of that electricity revealed a customized and modified pistol by the appearance of it. It wasn’t like any other normal and plain pistol either. There were little small crystals that seemed to be storing in rapid electricity, and I had the guess that all of that electricity in that pistol is the ammo...so there really wasn’t any real ammo bullets in there.

“Now that’s settled, allow me to show you how I roll,” Peyton winked at me, and finally began to show some attacks after all of the transformations and flirt fail attempts. Like any other target practice with guns, Peyton began shooting rapidly at a single pile of garbage. The electrical shots came out of the pistol, causing a small electrical shock wave upon contact with the garbage pile. This continued for a bit until that pile was completely diminished into a pile of black remains, since the excessive contact of the electrical shock waves were that much. That seemed like a lot of electricity already, so this really is his Full Mode. He kept on the shooting target practice going on, showing off that his accuracy was nearly perfect with the manipulation of electricity. It was his main affinity after all. Knowing that, I wonder what kind of other tricky attacks he can do with just the pistol as his primary weapon. Like he read my thoughts or something, Peyton paused for a moment to send a spark of electricity to alter the functions of his pistol. Again, he pulled the trigger and sent an electrical ball at a pile, but instead of shock waves, it stuck onto the dirty surface like a sticker. Before I could guess what can happen next, the electrical ball seemed to summon a mini lightning bolt, shocking the garbage pile and leaving it as a burnt up pile of garbage. He repeated this several times with the combination of the electrical shock wave to rack up even more damage done. Since most of his attacks are from his pistol, it’s like all of his offensive abilities are long-ranged. Even without using a gun, he still has to summon it from a distance. Yet, his extensive use of the electricity affinity is absolutely a powerhouse as a Pact Bearer. That sorta means that I’m the close-combat type, since I’m not a good aim but I’m great with swords and some martial arts.

“I would do more, but that would be forcing too much. I did handle the Shadow Replica horde at the downtown district yesterday,” Peyton sighed as he shifted out of his Full Mode, and stretched his arms for a moment. Oh, that was it? I was expecting more, but I didn’t want to be a little rash. He would be my partner or teammate for later on since we’re both Pact Bearers.

“So, that’s it?” I asked, just having the habit to ask before concluding my curiosities all together. At least a few more things before stopping, but then again, I didn’t even know how much limitation or strain does the Full Mode put on him. I only knew Partial Mode, so it could be a whole different story for him.

“Yup. Gonna chill out and snack on some buffalo wings. I need a refreshment after that showcase,” Peyton simply put it like that, and walked out of the training room right away. Buffalo wings, oh god I know that is his favorite in some way. Like when I spotted him during lunch at school, I would always see him with a set of buffalo wings no matter what. It questioned me on how much of that stuff he would actually eat, but I assumed it would be a lot. There really was no other reason to stick around here anymore, because I didn’t plan on training even more today and there was no one else there that seemed important enough to talk to. I sigh to myself as I rose from the ground and dusting all of the dirt off my skirt and legs. Even if I’m not gonna stick around here for today, I’m still going to use this training room more often in the next few days until something happens...I guess. With that in mind, I strolled out of the training room and found myself back in the main room, where all of the stuff was at. I didn’t bother on talking to Peyton again, he was already chowing down on buffalo wings. I rolled my eyes at that, and was about to be on my way out.

“I suppose you’re the new pact bearer that my spirit has spoken about,” a voice greeted me gently, and I immediately turned around due to instinct to see another boy here. He had dark brown hair that reached all the way to his chin, and had brown eyes. He wore a thick green sweater and baggy tan pants. Geez, does this guy ever get hot in that? It’s pretty warm outside too. Never mind the strange clothing choices, is this guy another pact bearer that sticks around here too? I think that’s the case, since he did say that I’m a pact bearer, and that he has a spirit somewhere that told him about me. So...by spirit, I’m guessing a spirit that follows me around, like Miki.

“Yeah, I’m a pact bearer. Why else could I be here for? To accompany Peyton for some odd reason?” I joked a bit, mentioning Peyton even if he’s several feet away from me and the new guy. He only focused his entire attention towards his buffalo wings, just amazing.

“Good point. For customary reasons, I’ll introduce myself to you, and the same must be done by you,” the boy said, sounding a bit more reasonable and modest. Such a contrast between the two before me, one that’s trying to be a show off and flirty, and the other is the casual gentleman. Contrasts, huh?

“I’m Monoso Yakao, Spiritual Pact Bearer of Forest. I also have a part-time job at an electronics retail store, so I can get the supplies needed for this hideout and all of the necessities that we would need. Now that I’ve introduced myself, how about you?” the boy said with a pleasant manner, bowing a bit to me as if it were a curtsy. Geez, what a BIG contrast here.

“Errr...sure, my name’s Kaika Cho, a Spiritual Pact Bearer of....erm, Life Energy. It just so happens to be that I already somewhat know Peyton by now, classmates and stuff,” I introduced myself to Monoso. From my assumptions, he seems like the oldest out of all three of us, seeming like he could be in college.

“Then nice to meet you, Kaika. I’m sure that you’ll start to get used to the whole “being a pact bearer” soon. Honestly, I hope it wouldn’t be much of an experience like I did with Peyton when he discovered his pact,” Monoso said, sighing a bit in dismay when mentioning Peyton. Again, the buffalo wing lover was so distracted by buffalo wings, he didn’t even notice or bother to correct us on our views on him.

“Wait...doesn’t that mean you’re the first pact bearer out of all of us?” I asked curiously, since he did say when “Peyton got his pact.”

“It does technically, in our generation and in this city of Tachikawa. I don’t know if there’s more pact bearers besides us, but it’s plausible,” Monoso said, saying that he wasn’t so sure if we were the only pact bearers in the city. There could be more...but in hiding or in some other method of keeping it away from us.

“Alright, I can understand that. You know, I don’t have much business here, so I’ll be off for the day,” I said, feeling that it was getting late now and that I needed to get home before I would get the suspicious looks.from Luki’s family, Luki, and Kuro. I didn’t want to be in the situation, as I haven’t thought up of a good excuse to cover up my Spiritual Pact Bearer identity.

“Ah, that is fine. You certainly seem like there is something you have to cover up, don’t want people to figure out your newfound calling,” Monoso winked at me, and walked away from me. He hinted the “calling” part as my Pact, which is exactly what I had in mind when I realized how late it was. So, that’s my cue to leave the hideout. Sure enough, I’m coming back here the chance I get to see if I could train a little bit here. Hopefully I can handle being in a team, since I didn’t do so great in group work in any situation.

*~*~*~*~*

It was almost complete sun down when walking all the way back to Luki’s house, or more like my house since I would be living there until I move out for college. That was like the time I have to speed up my pace, because I don’t feel like getting a cold shoulder tonight due to all of the events I had to go through myself today. I mean, I’m already tired out from my own Spiritual Pact training, and meeting Peyton and Monoso at the secret hideout. I didn’t have enough patience for one more tiring event, and that’s not happening tonight. I’m sure of it. All I had to do is get there before it’s really late and the consequences from my secrecy occur.

“It is grateful that you have found other Pact Bearers besides yourself. In the proximity of the upcoming Reality War, it is needed that you have allies on your side,” Miki finally reappeared at my side, and it was the first time since the solo training at the city’s dump. She did say that I am the only one to see and hear her, so why the hell does she have to disappear when I talk to others and only appear when I’m alone?
“I only appear at times like this so that your focus wouldn’t be distracted or disorientated by two main focuses in your view,” Miki literally heard my thoughts, which I should had known, and answered me with a knowledgeable sense of logic on the topic. I should had seen that coming.

“Yeah, knew that...” I sighed, scratching the back of my head. It was okay to be talking right now, since everyone’s asleep probably, and there was no one outside to hear me talking to technically nobody. Of course, Miki would know that I’m lying about that. Geez, how come she has to be like a lie detector?

“It is only natural for a spirit to be able to sense your thoughts, feelings, devotions, etc. You will experience the same traits as me once you become a spirit. That is, if fate is kind enough to give your that chance,” Miki once again uses my thoughts against me and answers my doubts. Oh yeah, here we go again with the “fate” factor of my Spiritual Pact. I don’t know much about the fate that I’m stuck with...but it’s like saying I have a death coming up and I can’t avoid it. I think that’s what it is...but I’ll see later on if that’s true when I really get used to the Spiritual Pact in my life. Strangely...I glanced at Miki, and she didn’t have anything clever to say to me on what I had in my thoughts. To support on that, Miki wasn’t actually giving any attention to me at all...she was staring towards some random house’s roof. Was she seeing something that I can’t? If she notices something out of the ordinary that I can’t see...it has to be serious. She was clearly the brains besides me, so I had the right to be worried right now.

“Errrr...Miki, you okay? You went all “silent treatment” on me all of a sudden,” I said out loud, since I knew that she wasn’t listening to my thoughts. Verbal speech was the only option if she was that occupied.

“Yes...I am fine. Thank you for your concern. We should be going, you do have to keep up appearances with your family so they would not have suspicions on you,” Miki said as she turned her attention back to me. Usually, Miki had no emotion for me to read, even when she speaks...but this time, she had a slight hint of worry on her face. Again, not sure what that would mean, but it could be something bad. Or it could be something that’s not my business. Meh, I’ll figure out tomorrow. I mean, I do have my own business to take care of, the people at the house. Don’t want them to get very mad and suspicious with me, because I have already a lot of stuff on my back to take responsibility on. Still, it got my worries on the edge by Miki’s sudden change of pace. What did she really see that I couldn’t? I bet she isn’t even listening to my thoughts right now...again.

*~*~*~*~*

???'s POV

Well this is quite the surprise, no doubt it is. For a frail and underdeveloped mortal, this girl that the Spirit of Life Energy chose is the main surprise. I would make this quick and make a meal out of the new Pact Bearer right now, and call it the end of the Life Energy affinity. Alas, I could not...I am not allowed to the privilege yet. It’s a shame, the girl is fresh and vulnerable to a feasting, I can’t help myself...but I must obey orders. Even if I cannot make my own move now, this girl, Kaika Cho, and the Spirit of Life Energy, Miki, are in the open...open for any predator to snatch upon them for delectables. It will almost be clever if this is a teaser that both are putting upon me as of now. It is truly frustrating.

My task was to specifically eavesdrop on the new Pact Bearer and the accompanying Elder Spirit, which is not the type of task I would prefer. I am the one to be the type to immediately strike...but I must hold back that tendency to do so. I take a spot onto the top of a house, and lurked in the shadows of the night. It is certain that I cannot be seen clearly by the naked mortal eye. I had no worries that the girl will be able to see me...but the spirit is a different story. The Spirit of Life Energy, Miki, was the more wise and knowledgeable one of all of the Elder Spirits. As most Elder Spirits don’t seem to worry of the possible harms of another War, Miki is the only one aware of it, and is more efficient to be in the way.

Ah, like my worries were together, the spirit turns her attention towards my direction, but has a feeling of uncertainty. I know that my cover was found out...but my true identity couldn’t be found out so quickly. Not now...but it will be in haste. Keep guessing away Miki, it’s only a few moments away if you keep that up. It is the most amusing to see such a “powerful” spirit ponder at my secure presence, which will not be revealed so simply. The spirit continues to stare in my direction, left in uncertainty if I was truly present in the flesh. The more time that passes by, the more it appears as if this spirit were to give up on the uncertainty and leave me be.

Then, the girl begins to realize the unsettlement that Miki displays, and it leaves a small smirk upon my face. To see this girl finally gain a sense that there was a being watching over them, and that I would be the one to end the girl’s life and finally defeat the Spirit of Life Energy. They are only “this” close to unveiling the veil of lies that hides me. It is most amusing to see such things act like so. It was obvious that the spirit would know the consequences for going offensive on me at this time. So, the spirit tells the mortal girl that it is “nothing” of her own concern, and then grows silent of sound. The girl heeds her words...and continues her way to her household. Ha, as if it were so easy to shake off a powerful spirit and a high-potential pact bearer.

The night becomes mine as they leave, and allows the chance for me to unveil my hiding spot for a short time. I stare up into the starry sky, and see the moon light fall upon my dark red eyes. My face was quite concealed by the white hood of the cloak I harbored, but locks of blue hair peep out of the hood’s shade.

“I will allow the duo to rest for this night, as the next may truly show that there will be no hope for their eyes. As much as I would rather enjoy tearing them apart, limb by limb...boss wouldn’t be so pleased as I would be. At the least, I am allowed to do the same to several Livings....and it would give a realistic representation to them both that I can do the same for them. Best of all...I get to enjoy this all to myself~! It’s just too good!...” I spoke to myself in a style related to a monologue. Thoughts are useless if I can’t sound it out myself. Even if I was alone...I preferred to be heard by me than to keep it contained in a mind that I have no longer use of. Now...imagining the elegant bloodshed I must set as bait...the crackling and fragments of bones scattered around...the gooey bits of mortal organs ripped apart from their origins... Oooo, all of the possibilities that I could enjoy upon taking a life...I’ll have to be wise with choosing the best way to bring an end to this newly born Pact Bearer......... Heh heh heh....ihihihihihi...ha ha ha ha HA!!! KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!?!!