Accessory Wars

Chapter 42-Felisa

            The following day, Kami and I lingered behind at the gym to work more on our own once our joint practice finished. Garreld and Seline said their farewells while Kami and I made our way to the privet rooms. A common theme kept coming up during our doubles practice: Garreld and Seline had more synergy than we did. Even after months of training, Kami and I sat at fifteen percent. If we wanted a better chance of getting farther into the Trebbin tournament, or any tournament, we needed more abilities. That meant forming more synergy bonds. I struggled with opening up about myself. I wasn't alone, though. Despite how open she was on the outside, Kami kept a lot hidden away. It left me wondering what she didn't want people seeing.

With Kami still equipped, I took a seat in the middle of the privet room. I'd seen other people sit similarly. From what Garreld and Seline told me, it was because sometimes people reacted when they formed synergy bonds. If the Elicits kept themselves stationary, it reduced damage to surroundings and themselves if bad reactions happened.

I adjusted my tights so they didn't pinch my legs. I could feel Kami stretching, although maybe feel was the wrong word. Sensed? Subconsciously knew? It's hard to explain. Once she settled, I closed my eyes and slipped into the void next to her.

"What should we cover today?" Kami asked, clapping her hands together.

I gave it some thought. While the internet was filled with plenty of tips on how to increase synergy, I found most of it vague or contradictory. I asked Garreld and Seline about it during our Saturday practice and they suggested working with themes. While two people can get synergy out of similar memories, such as breaking a bone, going to a wedding or losing a loved one, everyone reacts differently to those memories. A good example would be the recent Waterliep tournament. Kami associated it with strength and renewal. I associated it with fear and dedication. Those contrasting emotions made it difficult to match up similar memories. That and we were both timid about revealing our secrets.

As I thought of what our first theme might be, I found myself thinking about Ki. How he, like me, survived a terrible past. I didn't know if Kami faced anything similar but it was worth to try to find out.

"Endure," I said. Kami's cheerful face straightened into her unreadable expression and she gave me a nod. I took a deep breath, summoned my courage and called up my memories.

I winced as the familiar voice shouted around us and images faded into view like holographic television screens. Scenes of my father yelling at me, my brother and my sister. Images of him breaking my things with the look on his face he always had: smug, condescending, knowing. He knew my secret and used it against me. Ordering me to cook, clean and do the laundry while he chugged unlabeled bottles. I winced as the sound of a leather belt cracked and I felt the ghostly scars on my back. Kami's eyes filtered between the screens, taking in every sight. When the images grew near Nathaniel's death, I shut them off. I didn't want to see it again.

I turned my focus to my mother. Of me entering the house with her lying naked on the floor in the middle of sex with a stranger. Rutted up against the wall with the neighbor from down the street. The local priest. The grocer. A couple of tourists she decided to fuck on my bed. The times when people asked me to join. The time my own mother, high off her mind, raped me as a man pinned me to the bed. He raped me afterwards. The few times I gave in because we either needed the money or I was too tired to fight back. I grew numb to it over the years. I don't even remember when it started anymore. It used to make me feel disgusting. Then I got used to it. Often times, as soon as they were done with me, I'd redress and go about my day.

As I let the images fade, Kami said nothing. Wordlessly, her own images appeared in the void for me to watch. Her parents dressed in suits and polished shoes lecturing Kami why she needed to wear the dress they picked for her. Their constant nagging towards Kami and her sisters about appearance. They scolded bad manners and forced them into stiff postures for hours. Once scene had her mother looking over Kami like an inspector and getting sent to her room for not passing. From the bits and pieces, I gleaned her mother was a lawyer and her father an entrepreneur who worked with wealthy businesses. I saw more parties, dresses, jewelry and suits than I'd seen in movies.