Aether

Chapter Twenty-Four

Hikaru's Pov

I had gone home to pack and left at the same time as Cole. All I brought was some extra clothes and the necessities for any trip. Dad- I mean Mr. Brookstone- was a tad confused when we left late, but we just told him we were going on a bonding trip together with the guys. I hated to lie to him, but we had to because we were to not tell a soul of these events. Cole had worn his old gi- like his very first one it looked like. You could tell the gi was a bit worn out, but what do you expect after like two years or more with being a ninja? Getting into fights and everything was gonna leave a scratch after all. I had decided not to and worn something more casual. I know I should've worn my gi since the others were doing it, but I didn't want to get them messed up more than they were- and if this was another adventure- then we'd probably get new ones soon anyway.

As me and Cole were walking up to the pier, we noticed more elemental masters around us, and Kai groaned. "I told you we shouldn't have worn them." He said as we looked to Lloyd who finally joined us. Sora was standing off to the side, dressed casually as well as I noticed Emara and Anna. I hummed and walked over to them and frowned. "Got invited as well?" I asked to which Emara nodded, Anna narrowing her eyes as she looked around at the others around us. "I don't like this one bit." I couldn't help but agree with her as Emara sighed. "She thinks it's a trap." Sora nodded as he whispered to the two. "Don't worry- we suspect the same thing, but our fortunes mentioned Zane so we have to go." Their eyes widened when he said that, but before we could talk any more- a ship pulled up to the dock.

I noticed an older man standing off to the side where they put a plank down so we could cross over the water and get onto the boat. I had a bad feeling about him and just as I thought that, my vision changed for a split second. In that second- I saw a dark aura around him, causing my eyes to widen. What was that? And why do I see things like this every so often? "Since you're the master of aether, you can basically feel the aura of those around you. You're able to tell if someone is good or bad. Him for an example, he's most likely up to no good. I can sense evil from him." I heard my mother tell me, to which I narrowed my eyes as I continued to look at the man. "I am glad that you're talking to me again, I could use your guidance, monul." I told her in my head, but I didn't receive a response back which caused me to frown.

I rolled my eyes at Kai when I saw him already falling in love with some chick he doesn't even know. He'd probably correct me and say not yet. "We can't let anything distract us. You hear me, Kai?" Lloyd said quietly so only we could hear- but it was directed at Kai who didn't even look back at us as he said. "Huh? Uh y-yeah. Got it. Whatever you said." I looked at Lloyd who narrowed his eyes as we walked up to the plank. I decided to hang back with Sora, Emara and Anna, but we went on the ship before the ninjas, seeing as they tried to deal with Kai real quick.

"Master Chen will be charmed to see you've accepted his offer." The man said as I walked up to him. I frowned when he didn't bother to stop the others, only me out of the small group, minus the ninjas. "He knows more about you than you may think, Master Hikaru." I didn't really like the vibes I was getting from him at all. He held out a slip of paper and handed it to me. "I believe you will understand what is written up here that others will not, yes?" He said, causing me to raise an eyebrow. I glanced at the paper and unfolded it to find it written in the ancient language. I thought I was the only one who knew it currently! My eyes widened and he smirked upon noticing it. "Master Chen had asked for you to read it as soon as you got upon the ship, knowing it would intrigue you." I frowned at him and didn't say anything as I continued onto the ship. I didn't like this one bit.