Aberration

Chapter 9: Isn't she lovely?

As previously discussed, Ami, Arash and Yukimura had found their way to the teacher's lounge alongside the new addition of Jade Huang. They all sat around a wooden table, comfortable school chairs working as seats, though Ami found a beanbag chair, something that would have been in abundance in an elementary school. "So, have you exorcised the remaining souls downstairs?" Asked Jade, facing Arash. "Yeah. From what I picked up, the kids moved to the first floor. Maybe it was because their lingering emotions just wanted to go home, so they instinctively moved to the bottom floor. But you know how it is with poltergeists."
    "Can't leave a certain area. Yep. And the hostile Aberration was exorcised by me... what about the two adults?"
    "Ami actually took care of them herself. I was pretty impressed."
    "Oh? How interesting." The woman with a dozen piercings spoke with a quiet grin. "Hey, sweetheart. Come here for a sec?" Ami pointed to herself, unclear as to who "Sweetheart" was. Standing up, she walked towards Jade and immediately found a hand pressed on her chest. "Oh. You're pretty nicely developed, little lady." She snickered, "I'm just kidding... I wanted to see what Medium category you were in! Jack, right?"
    "Y-Yeah. How could you tell?"
    "There are seven major chakra points, right? Starting from the bottom and going to the top, there's the Root Chakra, Sacral Chakra, Solar Plexus Chakra, Heart Chakra, Throat Chakra, Third Eye Chakra, and Crown Chakra. People are born with a particularly dominant chakra and that's where the largest amount of their Ki pours out of. Therefore, depending on which major chakra your Ki flows out of most will determine the way you control your Ki. In your case, your dominant chakra is the Crown Chakra. That's the one at the top of your head. The chakra that allows us to understand that we're one with everything and in harmony with everything: the characteristic of the Jack of all Trades." Jade's hand was warm and though it touched Ami's heart, it was Ami who felt a soft pulse. "Yukimura is an Outfighter, so his most dominant chakra comes from here," she spoke while touching the center of her throat, "The Chakra that projects thoughts from one's body into reality. Then there's Mr. Sensitive. Sensors have a dominant Third Eye. Go figure." Just like her throat, she moved her finger to her forehead just between and above her eyebrows. "Technically, there are seven different Medium categories, but Sensor, Outfighter, and Infighter are the most common..."
"You mean 'the most predictable'. Old people don't like to take into account things they can't predict and stamp their 'tradition' on." Arash rolled his eyes from the peanut gallery. "You're such a rebellious spirit, sweetie. Who hurt you?" Jade smiled, "But he isn't wrong. The remaining four categories are blurry since they're both genuinely rare and potentially dangerous. Heh. The incredibly strong Mediums never want to listen to a bunch of old guys, so they withhold some pretty juicy info from us. Luckily, Jack is the most common uncommon category! So they thought it was fine to keep you alive under Arash's watch... mmm... for now, anyway." That last remark drew Arash's eye. Of course she knew that, but she continued as if it didn't faze her.

"So, knowing all of that, I bet you can't guess what my category is."
"Well there are three unknown types, right? Three types that don't have enough information for The Church to feel safe about... knowing that... I'm guessing you're an Infighter?" The pseudo-intellectual's bubbly expression soured as if the wind had been taken out of her sails. "How'd you figure that out so fast..?"
"Well... you just took the time to explain all of our Chakras, but you kept referring to them in the singular. You never included yourself in the explanation. You kinda seem like the type to brag about being one of those unknown types, but you didn't... so it makes the most sense that you're an Infighter. Oh! Plus when you did that knife-hand chop, your Ken seemed super strong!"
"Ken..? You thought that was just Ken..?" The poor girl whimpered, resting her head on the table. "Ash, you can explain. Now I'm just depressed..."
"Jade excels in medical Spirit Arts. It is what it sounds like. Basically, she made a scalpel with her finger and stabbed its soul. She's actually pretty talented even though she's a delinquent from the medical branch: her Ki control is pretty much as good as mine, so instead of just her finger, she can extend her scalpel throughout her hand. I can't think of anything she can't cut through." Ami looked surprised. Up until now she had assumed that Arash was one of the stronger Exorcists, but for him to praise this woman, he must have really thought a large sum of her skill. "So... sir Tsukichi is stronger than all of you, right?"