Streets, Rogues, and Underworlds

Chapter 3

When I was younger, during the summer of my fourteenth birthday, I was sitting on the porch of the Fujisato estate, looking out aimlessly at the yard.

It had been a hard year. By spring of that year, the elders had already begun giving up that I would acquire any gift in summoning. The reality of me not being a summoner was beginning to sink in. They had stopped all of my training and had resigned quietly, leaving me alone as if I had never existed in the first place.

The other family members began to avoid me as well. They would only converse to me only if it was awfully necessary and would look away when they passed me through the halls. I wasn't meant to be seen or heard, a plague that they wanted to disappear. I was alone and I've never felt that kind of worthlessness before.

I still didn't know how I had managed to survive those past few years. I remembered how empty I felt. My overlook of the world was bleak and I couldn't seem to find a way to console myself. No one seemed to be able to accept what I was but unbeknownst to them, it was me who found accepting that fact hardest.

I wanted to be a summoner and realizing that I wasn't going to ever summon was a reality that I would never be ready to face. I envy the other children who were already up and running with their respective ability, laughing as they summon. Summoning was a part of them, they create magic from their fingertips, conjuring things that weren't meant for the average men. Summoning sets us apart. Its what makes us intriguing, mysterious, and powerful. Summoning was an essential and vital part of any summoner.

Yoshino-sama had stopped seeing me then. He had stopped calling me for practice or training and he hadn't spoken to me for months then. It was a shameful thing, considering how I used to be considered as his favorite prodigy. It was as if the whole house was scrutinizing me for the fact, looking on with unhidden disgust and contempt.

Some were already vying to get their children to replace me.

I cursed underneath my breath. None of this would've happened if I could summon. I would still be Yoshino-sama's protege, instead of a shadow of the girl that I had once been. The only reason that they hadn't bothered to kick me out of the house was because I still had a semblance of Fujisato blood running through me.

There were some night when I would dream of awakening my summoning abilities. All of this was a mistake, I was a summoner and the elders had to immediately admit the mistake and take me back into their good graces. It always ended well, the dreams, until I woke up. When I open my eyes the fantasy would shatter and I would find myself staring at ceiling as reality slowly sank in once more.

I jumped from my thoughts as a loud crash sounded from behind me. A sliding door opened and Lady Hoshi stumbled out of her quarters. I stood up, stumbling a few steps back. Lady Hoshi's face was beet red, as she swooned. Her hand was on the door-pane as she grappled it for support. She was obviously drunk and everyone in the house is aware of Lady Hoshi's reputation; especially when she had been drinking. It was always best to avoid her at that sort of state.

Her eyes laid on me. "You," she hissed, pointing her index finger at me. The way she said it had made my skin crawl.

She grabbed me by the arm, her long fingernails digging into my forearm. I flinched. "You come with me," she said as she dragged me into her quarters before I could even protest. She roughly pushed me inside as I stared at the mess of her room. It was as if a typhoon had decided to appear and wrecked havoc. The low table at the center of the room was filled with empty bottles of alcohol. Clothes and various objects were strewn all over the place and empty jugs and glasses were piled up in the floor.