Reincarnation BOOK 2 (Shidge AU)

Chapter 10- Mutuality

Takashi took Rover with him to travel down the sidewalk to go meet up with Pidge since that was what was agreed upon, and Shiro would do anything to meet up with her. He knew he was excited, the feeling bringing a skip to his step and a unconscious force that brought a smile to his face.

The dream he had was still fresh in his mind from the night before. Another memory of being Shiro. He dreamt of a moment not known by most—not by the school nor Katie herself. The moment Takashi Shirogane realized he had helplessly, utterly, and remarkably fell in love with his pretend girlfriend.

It was a moment where Shiro was observing Katie simply spending time with her long-lost brother, Matt. They had retreated to the grand library of Allura's mansion home, pulled out a book that Matt had grown fond of during his stay. He was excitingly showing Katie the book, allowing her to read what he had multiple times while Shiro watched from across the grand room.

At that moment, the two looked so happy. Katie had this grin Shiro had never seen before lighting her face up. He could feel his chest tightening, and he had slowly acknowledged that he could not look away from her glowing face.

She was beautiful and she was his first love.

Coming back to the present, Takashi noticed Pidge already at the bus bench, waiting for him. She did not wear her beanie nor her gloves today. Instead she wore her hair up in a ponytail that revealed the entirety of her face. The face of Katie Holt.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Pidge was right. They were not Shiro and Katie. They were Takashi Holt and Pidge Gunderson, two individuals who have to make something of the memories they possess of their past lives. They were also two people who had the fate of magic revival resting on their young and delicate shoulders.

"Pidge!" Takashi called out, waving with his free hand. Finally seeing him, Pidge stood to reveal the half-used dog food bag lying next to her. Her eyes were puffed and the cheek he could not see until now was slightly bruised and swollen.

His heart dropped and his feet picked up pace. "What the Voltron!? What happened?" His hands ventured upon her face, brushing her bangs out of the way as his examined the wounds.

"My mother was mad at me because I took too long to help my sister make cookies. She said that while I was gone, she had to leave work early everyday and for me to come home and not do as I was told...," the younger trailed off, gently pushing Takashi off of her before offering an unconvincing smile.

Takashi only held her eyes for a couple extra moments before Rover finally had enough of being ignored and jumped up onto Pidge's chest, taking her breath from her.

Suddenly, Takashi blurted out, "You should leave your home."

At his outrageous comment, Pidge laughed. "You're really mad! I'm barely sixteen. I cannot just leave the home of my parents. She may have slapped me, but that can hardly count as domestic abuse. She was just frustrated from overworking. We have our off-putting moments, but she is my mother and I love her. I... I know she loves me too," she admitted, rubbing Rover's ears and pressing her nose to the pup's wet one.

She cleared her throat and pushed Rover's paws off her. "Anyway, let's start this lesson, yeah?" She offered, changing the subject, "What shall I do first?"

Takashi slowly nodded, finding it hard to switch his gears from worry and disbelief to the matter at hand. "Right. Yes. Let's start with trying to conjure your sparks. Your sparks are the epicenter of your magic. You've done it before and from what I understand, it is different for each sorcerer. Think of what you did for that tree... on a smaller level," Shiro began, not sure of himself.

Pidge raised a brow at him. "That does not sound as helpful as you think it does, witch-lover," she remarked, scowling at the instructions. Once seeing his deflated expression, she added, "But I'll try. However is this really the location for it? A bus stop?"

Realizing her words rang true, Takashi nodded his head. Then he clapped his hands together in front of his face and began to rub them against one another. The wind picked up around them, thrashing around Pidge's shirt and hair. By time the wind died down, they were in another location. One luscious and green, a deep forest with plenty of looming oak trees.

The temperature was back to its normal warm and dry air, the forest smelling particularly odd because of the weather. "What... the... heavens!?" Pidge drew out, eyes wide.

Takashi gave a light chuckle. "It's a trick I learned after a fight with Adam. Apparently air manipulation can also mean transportation... in the form of a tornado," the football captain explained, a goofy smirk decorating his flushed face.

"Yeah, your hair shows it. Definitely looks like a tornado hit your hairstyle," Pidge prodded as she stepped forward to fix Takashi's unruly hair. She kept giggling when his follicle strands wouldn't go down and just popped right back up. He couldn't take his eyes away from her face.

For a moment he didn't breathe, afraid to ruin the moment and her concentration. However, Pidge eventually looked down and met his eyes. She immediately withdrew her hands, holding them now tightly at her sides.

She coughed awkwardly and stepped away. "Alright, I guess it's time for training to begin?"

"Yeah, uh, just focus on your hands, envision them sparking like they did before. Remember to have that time with the tree at the back of your mind," Takashi told, not meeting her eyes, but peering intensely at a bird nest above their heads.

Even though he was not staring directly at Pidge, Takashi could see the green glow from where his line of sight fell. Quickly, he transferred his eyes to her form, where her hands had swirling green speckles dancing around her palms and between her fingers.

A smile bloomed over his face as he walked over to her, Rover in tow, so he could lean down to beside her shoulder and whisper, "Open your eyes,"—almost afraid to scare her.

And she did open them. And for once, the magic before her didn't scare her. It felt like home—something natural and familiar to her.