True Welcome
"Kneel"
Impossibly cold command left the boy's lips as the same boy looked down on them with golden eyes devoid of emotions. Instantly the room was flooded with a heavy feeling of power that rolled off of Rikuo in waves and the four other occupants of the Ceremony hall were kneeling down before they even realized their actions.
Shuuji struggled to get up from his kneeling position. He wasn't sure what was happening but whoever was inside Rikuo was definitely not the teenager himself. The other teen had been powerful, yes, it was obvious in the way it subtly seeped out of him. But now, waves of power radiated off of the boy like he was the sun.
The ravenette could barely breathe and from the corner of his eyes, he could see Kousuke and Irina on their knees, bowing to the unknown being. He couldn't see Old Ninenji but he too was most likely in the same position.
The sound of water rippling reached his ears along with another command from the blond teen.
"Raise your head."
Shuuji's head shot up to see Rikuo standing on his own two feet in the middle of the pool with no assistance. 'Did it heal his condition?' He thought, unashamed of how he gaped. If the being had healed Rikuo then the blond would no longer need the medical care and be afraid of falling over.
The blond hadn't mentioned it at all but Shuuji had seen the way his face lit up when he first took a step during that fight with the Baku. And how the boy kept a constant hand on his emergency inhaler. So if whatever was inside did indeed heal Rikuo then Shuuji couldn't be more grateful for them.
He noticed the way the being was watching him in amusement but did not have time to dwell on it before the being was telling him something again. In the back of his mind something whispered 'Catch him' then at once his body was freed from the invisible strings tying him down.
Shuuji jumped into the water to catch his friend just as Rikuo's eyes fluttered closed and the boy collapsed. He caught the blonde before he hit the water and started dragging him out of the pool.
Seeing the raven teen leap into the water, the power keeping them in place faded out with the collapsing of the blond teen. Irina was the first to move. She quickly rounded the small pool and helped Shuuji place the blond on the floor.
Kousuke followed the russian, rapidly chanting a healing spell into the pale boy shivering on the floor. They watched with bated breath as the blond boy coughed out the water inside his lungs due to the spell.
Ninenji Nishiya was the last. The elder man knocked his cane against the tiled floor, drawing the attention of the other two adults.
Shuuji did not acknowledge him but he let that pass. There was no need for the boy to do anything at that moment.
"Rostovich! Take the boys to med bay and then have him registered! Gatou come with me! We need to inform the council of what happened today." He barked.
Irina nodded, lifting up unconscious but breathing Rikuo then took the boys out of the room while Kousuke stood up to follow the Elder.
The council needed to know the events of the day. Tsujimura Rikuo had the Absolute Authority and they needed to decide what to do with him.
…
When Rikuo came back to himself, he noted three things. The first thing he noted was that he was feeling so full of warmth and freedom that it almost made him go back to sleep. The second was the all too familiar smell of antiseptic that filled him with instant anxiety.
He was still processing everything to know for sure that he hadn't just dreamt everything up. And finally, the third was the slight pressure on his chest that seemed to jump around at random, digging into his skin lightly like small needles every time.
The blond let out a tired groan as he opened his eyes to see a bird the size of his forearms peering down at him from his chest with intelligent green eyes. The bird was covered from head to talon with shiny golden feathers. The only other colors were the milky white feathers in the chest area as well as pitch black beak and talons it had.
"Chirp?~" it chirped, alerting the ravenette who stood by the end of the bed.
Shuuji was beside Rikuo in a moment, helping the boy sit up before he handed him a cup of water to drink. The blonde greedily gulped down the offered water, shoulders sagging as the stinging feeling in his throat eased.
"W-What happened?" He asked in a raspy voice. Shuuji shrugged, not taking his eyes off of the other boy.
"You fainted."
"Oh. And the bird?" He asked, even though he had a pretty good guess already. The ravenette nodded.
"She's your Lwa. You called her-"
"-Ruhia. Her name is Ruhia, I think." Rikuo interrupted him. At her name the bird nuzzled the blonde's hand affectionately.
"Chirp!~"
He let out a soft laugh, patting the now preening bird. Ruhia chirped at the show of affection happily. Rikuo turned his attention back to Shuuji who softly conversed with Jor. He had noticed how the other was hiding something from him but didn't think he should bring it up yet. So the blonde asked.
"I noticed that Jor can talk. So why can't she talk?" Shuuji hummed.
"Mmmh, it's because she is-"
"It's because the hatchling is still young~ In time, she will grow with you. Then she will learn to speak human tongue." Jor hissed from his place around Shuuji's neck.
"Chirp!!~" Ruhia seemed to agree with the statement.
"Ah."
Awkward silence once again enveloped between the two boys. Rikuo felt like he had done something wrong but he wasn't sure of what and Shuuji cursed himself for being unable to tell the boy what exactly happened. Old Ninenji had forbade him from saying anything to the blonde until the Elder Council finished conferencing.
"So, uhh , what kind of bird do you think Ruhia is?"
"Oh, maybe a hawk of some kind? I've never seem a bird like her before."
"That my cute little students, is because Ruhia is a mockingbird and not a hawk."
Irina answered from her place by the door. The Russian woman closed the door behind herself as she entered the room fully. Walking up to the bed, she threw a small hexagon shaped talisman with a blue crescent moon crystal in the middle. A student's identification badge, Shuuji recognized.
"Student's badge?"
"Disciple?"
Irina snorted at the way they asked the same thing without realizing it.
"The Council came to a decision 5 minutes ago. From now on, Rikuo is my student.
They decided that it was best for him to be trained after what happened during the awakening ceremony." She explained.
Shuuji nodded, tension finally leaving his body as his shoulders dropped. Rikuo, who saw the reaction, gripped the blanket tightly.
"What happened during the ceremony?..." he asked, hesitant yet unwilling to brush it aside. Irina sighed.
"You used Absolute Authority and from what Shuuji disclosed, it wasn't the first time either." Rikuo's head shot up, his turquoise eyes wide.
"But that's not anything bad is it? It purified the monster after all." He argued. Irina blinked, filling away the info for later. He had said 'purified' and not 'exorcized'.
"While you can do that, you need to understand Absolute Authority is a dangerous ability to have. It allows one to exert their reiki and will over another forcefully. And if left unchecked can cause unimaginable havoc in the world."
"But I would never-"
"He would never-"
"Yes Rikuo would never do that but that doesn't mean he won't in the future. It is an ability that, if left alone, taints the user into going out of control. You know what happened with Kazue, Shuuji. You know how dangerous Absolute Authority is."
Shuuji tensed again, turning away from Irina with a stubborn "Tch." She sighed, turning back to the somber boy.
"Listen Rikuo, aside from you. There are only 4 other people in the world with this ability. 2 of them are world renowned criminals. And while the other two, now three including you, are on our side, they still caused a huge amount of damage when they lost control of the ability. The elder council wanted to execute you but Kousuke and Old Ninenji argued for me to take you in instead."
"Oh." The blonde teen mumbled, not even daring to raise his head up to look at her. Irina groaned a bit.
"Anyway! Now come on get up! I'll drive you to Shuu's apartment." She shooed the boys off, pulling Rikuo, who protested off of his bed.
"B-But I can't- …"
Naked feet hit the ground and the teen didn't immediately crumble down. Instead he stood up on his own two feet. And this time, it was for real, unlike the dream world with Shuuji.
"I- How?" He asked breathlessly. Irina grinned at him brightly.
"It's amazing isn't it? Standing on your own. Awakening usually heals people of any illness they have to some degree. Not to mention you spent a long time in the blessed spring. It completely cured your body." The lie slipped off of her tongue easily. Rikuo didn't need to know what really happened.
"I- I.."
Shuuji and Irina watched the boy stumble over his words with tears swelling up around his turquoise eyes with a matching soft smile.
Shuuji nodded towards his teacher who in turn ruffled Rikuo's hair.
"Now with that, let me be the second person to tell you this. Welcome to Midnight Tokyo! Tsujimura Rikuo, my disciple."