Hedgesville, West Virginia
Caspian Residence
Friday, August 30, 1996
8:02 AM

"Morning, Rem!" Jennie called out as she raced around the kitchen. In her hands was a mixing bowl as she was trying desperately to blend the ingredients for pancakes. "Have a seat and I'll get you something to eat in one second."

Standing in the doorway of the kitchen with a confused expression on his face, the youngest esper in the household was eyeing the Seraph with uncertainty. He looked to the other persons in the room: Nikol and Nahele.

"Okay," Rem mumbled, "Where's everyone?"

"Rachael had classes this morning," Jennie said, throwing up the spoon she was using to mix in order to point to the refrigerator. Batter sloshed against the fridge's door then began to slide toward the ground.

"Oops," she whispered.

"Riley and Nick went to work," Nikol remarked, standing up from where he sat while grabbing for the washcloth near the sink. He went to clean up Jennie's mess.

"So what are you two here for?" Rem asked as he slipped past Jennie who returned to cooking.

"Training, bra," Nahele said, giving Rem a thumbs up.

"You're giving Jennie a training bra?" Rem said, looking over his shoulder to the girl who was pouring water thin batter onto a skillet. "About time she started on one."

"No!" Nahele exclaimed, "you need some training."

"I don't have man boobs!" Rem shouted.

"Would you give it a rest," Nikol muttered. "Your dad wants us to try to get you used to not having your right eye. And it's pretty obvious that Reikoku can't do shit for you. The two of you just bicker and go at each others' throats."

"No kidding," Jennie whispered. "Hey, are these things supposed to run off the pan?"

"You're putting too much on it!" Rem screamed, jumping up to grab the bowl from Jennie while flicking the pan off the burner before the pancake could catch on fire. "Can't you do anything right?!"

Jennie glanced up at the angered boy who was dumping everything into the sink. She frowned.

"I have no idea who the fuck decided to leave you in charge of the house," Rem shouted, "but they're retarded as hell. The house could've burned down. Or?let in strange people?"

Turning around, he eyed the two at the table. "Then again, you already did."

"If you're done with your bitching, let's go outside and get started," Nahele muttered, getting up.

"Then should I, maybe, you know, start on making lunch?" Jennie asked.

"No!" Rem yelled, whirling on his feet. "You're coming outside with us. Stay in my line of view. Got that? My line of view."

"That won't be far, huh?" Jennie snapped, glaring at him. "Should I hold your hand?"

"Should I?"

"If you two want to go upstairs and fuck, I can wait outside until you're done," Nikol said, motioning toward the garage door.

"Don't give them ideas," Nahele snarled.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone in the room stilled as they turned to see Reiyl standing with his hands crossed over his chest. His eyes were filled with definite annoyance.

"I thought you went to school," Jennie whispered.

"I did," Reiyl replied, "but then I began to think that it wasn't such a good idea to leave the Seraph among questionable men."

"If everyone is done with bickering," Nikol sighed, rubbing at his temples, "then let's get outside and down to business."

As Rem left out the garage with Nahele and Nikol, Jennie stood with Reiyl behind her. She looked back at him as he eyed her with a somber face.

"You pissed off at something?"

"No," he whispered. "I need to get out of my uniform then I'll go help out with Rem."

Before he could turn to leave, the cat demon stopped and eyed her carefully. "You can stay here, okay?"

"Why?" Jennie asked dumbfound.

"You don't need to watch us," he replied, "understand?"

"And you don't need to get rough with him!" she shouted as she clenched her fists.

"And you can't go easy on him!" Reiyl yelled back. "He's our leader. And I will not work under someone who will pity himself for some handicap that can be easily overcome."

"But?"

Reiyl threw up his hand, silencing her.

"I'll make him get over this," Reiyl declared. His orange eyes were focused on Jennie as she watched him in awe. "But only for you."

Jennie's eyes widened as she watched him leave, heading up the stairs. Her heart was racing at his words.

Biting on her bottom lip, she let out a slight whimper. "What's wrong with everyone?"

10:12 AM

Jumping high into the air, Rem dodged the low sweep of Nikol's staff, but was met with a swift hit to the back of the head with Nahele's koa spear. The green-haired demon dropped to the ground in a severe plummet, rolling across the backyard.

"Pay attention to both your attackers!" Nikol roared. "You are an esper demon. Just because you cannot see with your right eye doesn't mean you can't see with your inner eyes. Visualize mentally."

"I'm trying," Rem groaned, "but it's kind of hard to do when I'm being bashed around every two seconds."

"Get past that," Nikol bellowed, crashing his staff downward. He barely reached Rem when the younger boy rolled out of the way.

"You're going to have to learn to multitask, dude," Nahele said, "attack, guard, and keep your mind open."

"You're not making this easy," Rem choked out, escaping another assault from the surfer only to be smacked in the back of the legs by the monk.

"We're not supposed to make it easy," Nikol mumbled. "Who was the first person to teach you to fight?"

"Riley," Rem replied, pushing himself from the ground, "and dad when he could."

"Your combat sucks ass," Nahele replied calmly, "I seriously doubt that you listened to what they said."

"Shut up!" Rem screamed, lashing out with a balled fist. When he missed, he staggered forward then tripped over his own foot. His whole body toppled over, crashing face first into the earth.

"And you need to chill out," Nahele said with a whistle. "Anger ain't getting you nowhere. 'Cept straight to the morgue and you'll be taking Jennie with you."

"I don't give a fuck about that bitch," Rem said, "I just want to be able to fight back when I have to."

"Good," Nikol remarked.

Glancing up, Rem found Reiyl walking toward the group. His face scrunched up in disgust as he fought his way to his feet, brushing off the grass and dirt from his clothes.

"You decided to take another crack at me?" Rem inquired when Reiyl neared.

The cat demon snorted. "Hardly. But I did do you a favor. I spoke with my sensei."

"Eh?" Rem questioned as his face twisted into a look of perplexity.

"The teacher who helps Kasei and I afterschool," Reiyl replied, "I asked him to take a shot at instructing you. I can't promise that you'll understand everything, but he should be able to give you the basic knowledge of martial arts."

Everyone stared at Reiyl with stillness.

"Are you okay with this?" Reiyl asked, eyeing Rem with grimness. "Or should I call him back and cancel?"

"No," Rem choked out, "it's fine. Thanks."

Reiyl cracked a smile. "It's not for you."

"I know," Rem mumbled, looking away.

"And when you can admit that to yourself," Reiyl replied while twisting his head upward and observing Rem at an angle, "you'll be one step ahead of the rest of us. Handicap or not."

Nahele sidestepped toward Nikol and nudged the monk in the bicep. "What the hell are they talking about?"

"Adversaries," Nikol replied, pointing at the two, "after the same hole."

"Ah," Nahele replied, acknowledging what he meant.

11:32 AM

"Reiyl made this call after he came downstairs and was talking for about an hour or so," Jennie said while she chewed her sandwich.

Sitting outside on the back porch with Rem, she was enjoying some alone time with her guardian while having lunch. She glanced over to the esper to find him staring reluctantly at the sandwich.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"You make this?" he questioned, pointing at the food.

"Yes," she remarked bluntly. "It's just bologna and cheese. Not like I can really screw that up."

"You say that now," Rem mumbled, "then I bite into it and find someone's finger."

"Whatever," Jennie snorted.

After a few bites of her sandwich, she again looked over to Rem to find him staring off into the distance. The corners of her mouth dropped as she let out a sigh.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," Rem answered, "just thinking."

He leaned forward, pressing his hands to his forehead. "I told you to never leave my sight and yet I let you just wander off. I break a promise to myself and I get punished for it."

"But?"

"It's for a reason," Rem replied, not allowing Jennie to finish, "For me to get stronger. So I can become a better man. All to protect you."

Jennie stared at him as Rem glanced at her with a mellow eye. He forced a smile.

"Right?" he asked.

"I guess," she whispered, "but I just want you to get better. I?I don't want to see you hurting all the time. And everyone is always picking on you."

"Bah," Rem mumbled, leaning back on the porch while gazing up at the sky, "I ask for that shit. Being a dumbass all the time."

"At least you recognize it," she said, eating the final bite of her lunch.

"You can live with a guy with one eye?" Rem inquired.

"Didn't I already?"

"Honestly?"

"Of course!" Jennie shouted. "Two eyes, one eye. You're my friend. Geez, you're so damn stubborn. Just get your balance back. Get ready to take on Rowen. 'Cause you know that when you get back to school, he's going to make fun of you. And you're going to have to show him that you're no different than before. Got that?!"

Taken back for a moment, Rem laughed. "Right."

"If you're finished with gushy chatter?"

Both teenagers looked up to find a man walking toward them. Neither had seen him before, but it was obvious that he was the one Reiyl had called.

From his long, unkempt hair that was pulled up into a ponytail to his tattered clothing, the man didn't appear to be anything special. On the other hand, he looked more like a bum. He wasn't even wearing socks or shoes.

"You're Reiyl's sensei?" Rem asked.

"Shoji to you," the man remarked in a composed manner. He didn't show any emotion on his face. Rather, he seemed detached from the world.

"By your leave," he said, bowing to the Seraph. When she nodded, the stranger motioned for Rem to follow him.