Miracles in a Lifetime

IV • PHASE ONE ☓ ACQUAINTANCES

     I run as slow as possible to fit in with the others, albeit the fact that they're very average and weak in comparison to me. The longer we run, the more impatient I become. The small glances of belittlement anger me by the second, but I'm trying my best not to snap and go on a rampage. To calm myself, I breathe in and out slowly, and someone starts a conversation with me.

     "Hello! I'm Gon Freecss. What's your name?" a kid asks with a bright smile. How can he smile like that? It's very evident that this boy has the potential to be great. However, I get a brooding feeling that in the future, something bad's going to happen to him. I try to foresee it deeper, but a waving hand cuts off my train of thought.

     I look at Gon, giving him a once-over, and decide to be his acquaintance. Then, I glance at Ren and give him a slight nod. Ren looks at me with a shocked expression, surprised that I wanted to converse with a boy weaker than me. He reluctantly obeys and slithers out of his hiding place, popping his head out of my hood.

     "His name is Tenji, and he's pleased to make your acquaintance," Ren declares politely as Gon gawks in surprise and awe.

     "Wow! Is that a talking dragon? That's so cool! What's your name?!" Gon sputters with excitement.

     "My name is Ren."

     "Whoa," he drags out in admiration with a shimmer in his eyes. Then, he shakes his head in realization. "Wait! Why're you talking for him?"

     Gon then turns to me, asking, "Do you not have a voice?"

     "He does have a voice, however, he has some difficulty speaking. So, my purpose is to aid him in conversing with the people he wants to," Ren lies, Gon nodding in obliviousness.

     "Killua! Leorio! Kurapika! Come look at this," he calls out to three of his friends. They jog over and Ren goes back into my hood, resting his head as he watches.

     I remember some of these people. It's the boy with silver-white hair who seems to be the same age as Gon, the older looking man in a suit who wants to be a doctor (his briefcase gives away the scent of medications and other medical materials), and the third boy was someone close to my age.

     I look closely at the blond teen's attire to see that it's the Kurta clan's traditional clothing. He must be the sole survivor from the massacre that I've heard about from Ryouko. Apparently, the Phantom Troupe slaughtered the clan for their beautiful scarlet eyes. Ryouko tortured me for a longer period of time the day she told me, since she was upset that someone else took her job. She was the one who wanted to kill them and gouge their eyes to herself.

     "This is Tenji, and he has a talking dragon that speaks for him. Isn't that cool?!" Gon says excitedly.

     "Gon, there's not such thing as a 'talking dragon.' Baka," the silver-head accused, annoyed with his friend. Gon pouts at this.

     "I'm not lying! He actually has a talking dragon! It talked to me and even told me that his name was Ren!" he protests with a sulky expression.

     "Okay, you two. Calm down. Let's see for ourselves if it's true or not," the blond states, putting a hand on the two kids' shoulders. They take a deep breath and turn away from each other.

     "Tenji, can we talk to Ren please?" Gon asks. I look at Ren and nod at him. He slithers out once again, but this time with his whole body. He perches himself up on my raised arm with a flick of his tail.

     "See? I told you, Killua baka!" Gon sticks out his tongue at his friend who's apparently named Killua. Killua gets a bit annoyed that Gon was rubbing it in his face.

     "Ren-san, you're very long for a dragon," Gon gawks in admiration. His reaction is amusing, but for some reason I couldn't laugh. I'm getting tired of this empty feeling. I'm just like a walking doll that just kills the people she was ordered to.

     I close my eyes and sigh in annoyance at myself, knowing that the kids can't hear me. But when I open them, the blond Kurta's eyes were on me. I shouldn't be uncomfortable by his gaze, but for some reason, I feel as if I'm going to melt. An unusual chill runs down my spine, my back burning under his scrutiny.

     "Tenji-san, are you sure your voice isn't okay?" Gon asks, a little too blunt for my liking. I look at Ren and give him a signal. He nods in understanding.

     "Yes, Tenji-sama's voice is very dangerous. When I first met him, I felt very mesmerized by his voice. It's not displeasing to the ear it's quite the opposite, actually. His voice is very enchanting," Ren says, seeming to have reminisced about when we first met.

     "Whoa! So that's why you don't use your voice? You're just protecting the people around you, right?" Gon asks. I nod in response.

     What Ren said wasn't completely true. I just don't like the result of the effect of my voice on people. They would be put under a state of hypnosis and want to serve me, which would lead to me having more responsibilities. Ren was an exception, however. He's the first one to have ever resisted it. I really admire that about him. I gave him the choice to come with me or not, and he chose to follow me.

     He said something along the lines of, "You're more than worthy to be my master."

     "Oh, look! There's a light up ahead. That must be the finish line!" Killua exclaims. I almost forgot he was here. "You wanna race?"

     Gon smirks with playfulness and nods. "Last one has to pay for dinner!"

     They start to sprint to the end of the tunnel as I continue my slowed pace. I can already tell that they're going to tie, considering their footsteps match each other's. The blond boy suddenly runs up next to me.

     "Tenji-san, no offense, but I still don't know if I can trust you or not. Just keep this in mind, if you so much as harm Gon or Killua, I will surely make you regret it," he says lowly, his eyes flashing a scarlet. I see Ren glaring at him for disrespecting me. Though I don't want to cause trouble, I let Ren get upset at him — like a test of loyalty of sorts.

     Ren turns into his original size and towers over the Kurta boy. I can feel both the boy's shock and courage, and also Ren's rage and power. Analyzing the situation, I conclude that the blond wouldn't be a match for Ren in his current state, so I stop him immediately.

     I raise my hood just enough so that Ren can see me and I give him an assuring smile, telling him that it's okay. He starts to relax and shrinks once more, snuggling his face into my hand and cuddling into my neck.

     I pull my hood back to its original state and begin running a little faster to get away from the awkward situation. The people around me didn't help, slowing down and staring with a baffled expression. Maybe I shouldn't have let him rage, it's attracting too much attention. I roll my eyes in annoyance, now expecting a good majority of the other contestants to fear me.

     I make it to the top and flash over to the side of the building, leaning against it as I watch everyone else start kissing the ground in relief.

     "Don't celebrate now, we're only halfway to the site for Phase Two," Satotz states. Almost everyone groans in unison.

     I start to think to myself as I pay no attention to my surroundings. This is taking way too long for my taste. I thought it's supposed to be difficult? It's so easy and boring. I just hope this exam hurries up so it's not a complete waste of my time.

EDITED ON: Sunday, October 13th, 2019