Outcasts

Chapter 8

Akane slammed the front door behind her, her body buzzing with new adrenaline.

"Excuse me young lady!" her mother yelled in Japanese. Akane turned to face her mother. Emiko's stern expression was pinned on her daughter, her thin arms crossed over her chest.

"I would appreciate if you respected the things in this household," she said and Akane rolled her eyes, stomping up the stairs to her room.

"We aren't finished!" Emiko yelled, to which Akane defiantly ignored. She was used to constantly doing what she was told. It's time for a change.

She entered her attic bedroom, the window overlooking Tokyo open and a cool breeze ruffling Akane's hair.

What surprised her wasn't the fact it was open. No, it was more so that there was someone sitting on the window sill.

"Who are you?" Akane said in her best English she could muster.

The man tipped his hat toward her, a gloved hand reaching out to shake. 

"Doctor Jones, at your service," he said with a slight smile.

Akane took his hand, shaking it slowly. The man let go and put his arms behind his back.

"Oh, right," he said, pulling a tablet out of his bag. "You must be the girl with the telekinesis?"

Akane narrowed her eyes. She wasn't sure whether to trust this Doctor Jones, but something pulled her towards him. She felt safety near him, and shelter.

Doctor Jones clicked on the tablet and a few images appeared in a hologram. One of a dead body. The nurse Akane had stabbed in her adrenaline-fueled rage.

The next was the lockers she'd thrown at Jin, the asshole who had decided it would be funny to test her.

Doctor Jones watched her expressions, Akane giving nothing away that she knew what they meant.

He finally closed the hologram, tucking the tablet into a pocket in his trench coat.

"I know nothing of what those are," Akane said, preparing her mind for a fight if need be.

"Hm," Doctor Jones said. "You're lying."

"Excuse me?" Akane said and narrowed her eyes at the man.

"Well, I kind of have a knack for this stuff," he said. "And I can sense your energy from a mile away."

Akane cocked her head; the man had a point. If he was so intent on her powers, she better give him what he wanted.

Akane focused her attention on any small object in the room, just enough she could levitate all of them. With her eyes pinned to Doctor Jones, she jumped into action.

A few books on her desk began to rise, along with the contents of her bed side table. Some pillows lifted and Doctor Jones flicked his eyes to them, the ghost of an impressed expression dancing on his face.

Akane felt her control slip, swear dripping down her temple. She dropped the objects and staggered back, embarrassed at how she showed her lack of a grasp on her power.

"I can teach you how to control it," he said, his attention once again going to Akane. "And so much more."

He handed her a small business card and Akane studied it. The card was pure white, with 'Doctor Jason Jones' printed in elegant writing on the front. A phone number was written below.

"Do you have a bathroom I can use, perhaps?" he said. For all the tech this man had, his old fashioned watch was a stark contrast. "I'm running late."

Akane directed him to the adjoining bathroom, about to shut the door when she gawked at how he stepped into her shower, adjusting his tie and twirling down the drain.

You see something new every day, she supposed.

Akane looked at the card again. She wasn't safe here, she knew that.

And if this man spoke the truth, it would be worth it to train with him, to learn what he knew.

Akane levitated the card to her bedside table and pulled out a backpack.