Climbing a Mountain

The cloying scent of incense stirred Kellen from his slumber. He woke up with a sneeze, and blearily he looked around to find he was in his bed back in his apartment. 

"Oh, he's finally awake." The familiar voice roused him further from his sleep as he opened his eyes fully and glanced around. The smell was a comforting one, even if it tickled his nose and caused him to sneeze, but he was surprised as well. They weren't supposed to be home yet. 

"Kellen sweetheart, breakfast is ready." He sat up at those soft words, moving his gaze to the right, and passed the screen he used to separate the small dining and kitchen space from his bedroom. 

There, sitting at the small two seater table, were his parents. Each was smiling at him, with a cup of tea in front of them. There was a third chair pulled up to the smaller table, with a plate of breakfast and another cup of tea waiting. His Mom had lit the incense holder she'd gotten him when he'd moved into this space, and he watched as the trail of smoke curled in the air lazily. It gave the surreal scene a sense of normalcy. 

His parents had been gone for about two weeks on what they called a 'vacation'. That was their way of saying the government had asked them to take care of something. Kellen knew this since his parents had been taking 'vacations' for quite some time since they had settled down, stepped down as active members of a Guild or government organizations. 

His mom had gone into law and while she wasn't an active duty Esper anymore, her knowhow and knowledge as a veteran Esper made her in high demand. Especially since she worked with Espers so they didn't get fucked over by greedy people or organizations. 

His Father had taken on the role to raise him and his sister while his Mother flew all over the globe. It had been a great trade off in his opinion, and had also given the general public a break.

The reason why it was so crazy that Kellen's parents had retired and formed a semi-normal life after all their work was because Espers and Guides rarely did so. It was almost as if there was a block preventing them from stopping and growing happy and old. 

Most died in gates or other terrible circumstances. But his Mom and Dad were Imprinted, if one died, so would the other, and as some of the first publicly accepted and advertised Imprinted couples, they hadn't wanted to go down the normal route. They wanted to live long enough to see if they were going to get any grandchildren from either of their kids. 

So, they retired, and every once in a while took on a couple of 'vacations' when Kellen's Mom wanted to stretch her legs so she didn't get rusty. Kellen couldn't believe there would ever come a time when that was true. After all, she was the one who took over his and his sister's training when they were kids. He'd also never been able to beat her in a fight. She had teased him that if he had ever been able to beat her, she'd tell him where they went for 'vacations'. So, he didn't ask where they went anymore, since his father just smiled and played along with her whims. 

Exhaling slowly, Kellen ran his hand through his hair, before glancing down at himself. He was in a black t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Given what he had been wearing before, he had a feeling his Father had something to do with this. Taylor had probably called him and told him what had happened, which would explain why they were back so soon, but he wanted to hear why from their mouths. 

"Mom, Dad. I didn't expect to see you so soon. When did you get back?" Tossing the sheet off of himself, he made his way past the screen and sat down at the third seat. His Father pushed the plate towards him, while his Mother did the same with the cup of tea. She was smiling at him, but her blue eyes stared right through her son. 

"Taylor told us there had been an accident at your Guiding Center, and that you had been involved. You told us it was the safest one, Kellen." He gulped. 

Out of the two of them, he would always find his Mom scarier. It wasn't because she was an Esper, it was because she had coddled him the most since he was her Guide son. His sister hadn't been as coddled by his Mother, but instead by their Father, for being his Esper daughter. But even then, she was given more freedom than he got. 

His sister was an A Class Esper with the same invisibility powers as their mother, and was doing a televised recruitment event, hoping to get into Captain Thatcher's Guild. She'd have to really fuck up to not get in, given there were very few with her powers and her Class.

"I can't predict when these things happen, Mom. I don't have prediction powers." She didn't smile at her son's shitty attempt at a joke, and his father took a sip of his tea, hiding his smile. 

Kellen was an exact copy of his mother, with her sharp, blue eyes and dark brown, almost black hair, but temperament wise, he was more like his calm, Guide father. Gwen, his sister, looked exactly like their father, with soft brown hair and gray eyes, while personality-wise she was like their Mother. It wasn't lost on anyone that they'd basically gender swapped themselves and the media had ran with that story all of their lives. It had popped up once again since Gwen was in the tournament. 

"We know that Kellen, but we still worry about you. Taylor said you had a couple of broken ribs from being thrown, and a light concussion. Were you dealing with an elemental Esper? I'm going to guess...wind or earth?" Kellen glanced at his Father, only slightly spooked at his ability to guess correctly. One thing he had inherited from his Father about his powers was the fact that he wasn't very compatible with elemental types, just like him. 

"Yeah, it was. They were a wind type. There was a moment when it was close." He'd tried to make it light, but his Mother only narrowed her eyes at him. Even his Father seemed concerned. Kellen wasn't aware of the concern and raised the cup to his lips. 

"What do you mean by that?" Kellen froze, realising he'd messed up. He really wasn't hoping for a lecture so early in the morning, especially after a weird day like yesterday.

"W-Well...the Esper was going to target the elevator holding all of the B Class Guides inside, and that could have been a disaster. In my panic, I had tackled them and forced my powers into them with more force than normal. So, I was reckless." He shrugged, trying to brush it off while his father's eyes widened. 

"You were able to notice a shift in their behaviors while they were surging? You didn't suddenly gain the ability to sense the flow of powers, did you?" Kellen shook his head, shoving a mouthful of food into his mouth. 

"No, it's the same as usual. Honestly, if I hadn't been so close I wouldn't have noticed it I think." His Father frowned. 

"How did you notice?" He asked, and Kellen's mother shifted in her seat. Kellen casually gestured to his eyes. 

"I was able to see a shift in their pupils. It was like there wasn't anything there for me to see, before suddenly their gaze became sharper. I was surprised I noticed it too." His Mom ran her hands over her face, sighing, before glancing at her clueless son. 

"Who knows about this?" She asked, and from her tone, Kellen could tell something was up.

"Oh, um, Captain Thatcher does, and I think Gerald from my Guiding Center, so it would be safe to assume that the manager knows as well." His Mom pulled out her cell phone, getting to her feet. 

"Honey, make sure our beautiful son eats his breakfast while I go make some calls. I think it would be a smart idea to get Kellen tested again. They do say sometimes powers shift." Kellen froze while he processed the words she had spoken. She hadn't said it with a hopeful tone, only a practical one. 

His parents had never, ever belittled their son for testing below them in terms of Class. It had been everyone around them that had been disappointed. 

Despite that, it didn't mean that Kellen wanted to get retested again. His Mother didn't let him get a word in edgewise as she left his small apartment above the garage to make her phone calls. His Father took another sip of his tea, watching Kellen as he finished eating, got up, and got dressed for work. Taylor had done a good job healing him so he wasn't worried about not going to work today. In fact, he felt better than ever. 

"I don't know if that's a smart idea Dad." He finally voiced and his Father chuckled. 

"Why? I know you've almost passed out several times over the years Kellen. You know using your powers to such extremes can sometimes cause your powers to grow stronger." He grimaced as he continued getting ready. 

"That's only a new theory. Plus, wouldn't I have felt different or something? The jump between C and B class is huge." His father chuckled again at his son's concerns. 

"But if you've been slowly climbing a mountain, it isn't until you look back that you are aware of how far you've come." He paused to take a sip from his tea. "It won't hurt to get retested, Kellen. We won't be upset if nothing changes, and you are still a C Class. We love you no matter what. We'd love you even if you had no powers at all. Your Mother is just worried that you might need more protection or guidance if you are manifesting more powers as a Guide. I know that they go over all the classes in school, but the difference between C Class and B Class is the ability to be able to see small changes in Espers who are surging. it's the clearest sign that someone has breached the B Class wall, the same way when A Class Guides use their powers their eyes turn blue." The way he spoke made Kellen relax. 

He wasn't making it about the upgrade in Class, and more about the concerns the jump in Class would mean in the long run if it was true. Kellen had been pushing himself for the last several years on the front line. There were several times on some pretty difficult missions that Kellen had almost passed out like yesterday. It was a little embarrassing actually, now that he thought about it, that it took so little to put him in danger here. He must be getting soft. 

"I just don't want to be disappointed Dad." He admitted quietly. His Father's eyes crinkled as he smiled at his son. He reached out his hand to cup his face and Kellen leaned into the touch. 

"My sweet boy. You are never a disappointment to us, understood?" Kellen nodded at his kind, but firm words. 

"Thanks Dad." He muttered and his father tapped the table with his free hand. 

"Now, I made some extras and put them in the fridge. You should eat them since you're awake now. You seem to have really expended a lot of powers yesterday since you've shrunk like a vacuum seal bag. If you don't pull out the food for you to eat, I will." 

Grinning at the change in tone, Kellen did what his Father asked of him, since he couldn't argue with him. He'd noticed his clothes were quite baggy on him, and the only way to fix that was by upping his caloric intake. 

Kellen's Mother came back from her phone calls as he was finishing up the third plate of food his Father had prepared for him. 

Once he finished that, he put his foot down and said it was time for him to head to work. His Mom agreed, since she also had to start her work day. She kissed both of her guides on the cheek before heading for the main house, while his Father stayed with him. 

Honestly, he was quite grateful for how his parents had raised him. He had a safe and secure childhood, and he probably had a soft life in comparison to others, but if his parents had deviated in any way, he was sure that both him and Gwen would have grown up to be little rich monsters. The fact that they had this space above the garage was a sign of that, since they weren't taking money from him for rent. The only reason the apartment was so small was because the other half of the space was used for storage. 

They had even offered to expand it when he told them he was coming back into the city, but he had been living in temporary living while on the front lines. This small room had been enough for him. 

Kellen sighed. He knew his parents were probably right about going to get retested. It wasn't normally a big deal, especially since in the last five years or so people had been making jumps in their power levels. Mostly Espers, but a couple of Guides had done it. Going from C to B Class was 'common'. No, the reason for the hesitation and worry was because of Kellen. 

When it first came to light that he was a C Class Guide and not even a B Class, he'd been in shock. 

There was a part of him that as a teen just didn't believe it. That it wasn't right. That the machine had gotten it wrong. From the feeling that something wasn't quite right, he'd gone back over and over to get rested, to the point that the sneers of the testing center doctors and Guides had been obvious to even his parents. It wasn't uncommon for children from powerful Espers and Guides to awaken as lower Classes, Kellen just never thought it was going to happen to him. 

It had taken a very long time for Kellen to work through his inferiority complex, and the front lines was the only place where Kellen knew that it was a sure fire way to do it. Kellen learned quickly, and harshly, that even if you have a decent Class on the front lines, that still didn't matter if you were an idiot. Anyone could die at any time.

The Captain's comment about Kellen had been right. He was always injured whenever he ran into the man on the front lines, but he was also alive. Kellen had incredible luck, where he somehow managed to get into impossible situations but always made his way back out. He was who you sent to look for you if you got lost in a gate, because his successful retrieval of others alive, and safe, had been more than anyone else on the front lines. 

Because of this, Kellen had learned the true weight of a blessing of that kind of luck. It was one of the more valuable assets in his arsenal, but he also knew it wasn't a forever thing. That was one of the reasons he decided to leave the front lines, along with wanting to settle down. Try to have a peaceful life, maybe get married. Buy a house, support his parents as they aged. A simple dream after pushing himself for years. 

He should have known his luck didn't work that way.