30 Chapter 29
The sound of dull but violently chirping birds rang out in a forested area. It played on for a few seconds before it stopped. There was a few seconds pause before it began again.
In the forested part of kuo kuana, a duo could be seen performing different activities. A panting Reid was clutching his left wrist with his right as lightning was being generated from his hand.
His entire being was focused on this task. He had made progress in transforming aura to lightning. [Lightning Aura Transformation] was now at level 7 and the difference was clear. The amount he could generate was much more than when he first started.
The process was not as rough and aura tasking as at first but it was only by a little. At the moment he was trying to increase the amount being generated even more by channeling aura from both hands into one.
Although the amount increased, it was so small that it couldn't be considered an improvement. It also took a lot of aura, aura that he would need for other things so he crossed it off the list of attempts.
At the side Blake sat on the floor, leaning on the body of one of the trees. She held a book to her face but it was obvious that she wasn't paying any attention to it seeing as she hadn't turned the page in over 30 minutes.
Her eyes were focused on Reid with hidden childish wonder. After all what child wouldn't be amazed at something so 'cool'. Although she was amazed, she was also worried. This was the third day after his first success and he barely took breaks in training.
At first he was reluctant to allow her follow him and watch, it turned out that he couldn't avoid it. If he didn't allow her, she would simply search around until she found him and he couldn't keep changing the venue for his training as that would take out of his time.
After the first day, he didn't bother stopping her from following but he made sure to practice a bit away from her to prevent stray arcs of lighting from reaching her. He didn't think it was possible but it was better to be safe than sorry.
The sparks in his hand extinguished as his aura was finally depleted. Due to [Gamer Body] he only felt slight exhaustion as he felt his empty reserves.
He hadn't solved the issue about his aura reserve, neither could he try and level up [Combat Mastery] as he would gain no more levels practicing alone. Sparring with Blake wasn't an option seeing as how she only had the smallest clue on how to fight.
Due to all of these, he was forced to sit and wait patiently for his reserves to fill up once again.
"You're doing it again." Blake spoke, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Doing what?" He asked, half of his attention on her and the remaining half on his aura meter.
"That thing where it's like your in a trance. It's like you're not even there. It's…scary." She explained, adding the last part quietly.
Now that got his attention. If he had been spacing out so much that even Blake noticed then that would mean that anyone who happened to be spying on him would also be aware. He had to be careful to avoid it happening when he was in enemy territor-
'I'm doing it again.' He complained as he now noticed it. Now that it had been pointed out, it was easy to notice.
"Why do you train so much?" Her second question caught him off guard as he didn't expect that to come from her.
"That's…" He started as he trailed off before his eyes refocused.
"That's complicated. You wouldn't understand." He responded, not willing to go into detail. He saw her face scrunch up as he said that but it didn't really make a difference to him. His goal wasn't something easily comprehended.
He tended a bit as he felt someone enter his range of perception. A few seconds later, sounds of hurried footsteps made its way towards them.
"Miss Belladonna!" A voice called out, startling Blake who didn't have an abnormal sense of perception like Reid. The owner of the voice made their way into sight, revealing themselves to be a guard.
Reid had recognized him as the guard who had been assigned to watch Blake ever since the incident.
"What's wrong?" Reid asked the slightly panting guard. Said guard, turned to Blake, completely ignoring Reid.
"Your mother is calling you back home. She asked that I bring you back as quickly as possible." He answered in one breath.
"Hn." Reid grunted at his blatant rudeness but didn't bother causing a scene. He simply got to his feet and walked in the direction of the Belladonna house.
"She also asks that you bring your friend with you." He added, putting emphasis on the 'friend'. He spoke loud enough for both of them to hear but Reid didn't stop his steps and continued moving.
A look of irritation flashed onto the guards face but disappeared as fast as it came. Reid, already being in front didn't notice it and neither did Blake, being the mostly oblivious child she was.
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The walk didn't take long at all but the guard's attempt to stare a hole into the back of his head made it seem longer.
Upon getting to the house, the guard then took the chance to lead them to the room where Blake's mother was. He stopped just outside the living room. Just as he was about to knock, Reid simply opened the door and entered, not even sparing the guard a glance.
Reid let a small smirk show on his face as the guards face squeezed into a violent grimace. The room as devoid of anyone besides the three of them.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The guard asked furiously.
"You've got some nerve kid, just waltzing around like you own the place. Do that again and I'll throw you out!" The guard continued as he tone got more aggressive.
Blake looked at the scene warily. A lot of faunus were hateful of the human race. This guard just do happened to be one of them. He just didn't understand why the Belladonna family didn't kill these humans where they stand.
'If it were up to me, they'd be dead the moment they set foot in menagerie!' He thought menacingly as his eyes revealed his dark thoughts. Blake took a step back while watching this change in the guard.
Her time around Reid, trying to decipher his thoughts from his expressions had allowed her to be able to figure out the violent thoughts of this guard.
The full story of the attempted assassination was released to the public. What they knew was that the assassin was stopped by someone working for Ghira and they accepted it like that. Nobody would be believed that it was this human child in front of them that killed him, neither did Reid want his identity known.
This guard thinking that he could fight him just filled him with amusement. With [Area Sense] he already knew that there was nobody inside. He did it only to aggravate the hostile guard and it worked.
"If you have something you want to say then say it." Reid spoke plainly, not turning to look at him. He instead chose to observe the room which made the guard more furious but he could do nothing about it.
Before the man could respond, the door at the other side of the room opened as the parents of both Blake and Reid entered the room with Lisa in tow.
They noticed the atmosphere around them but chose not to comment seeing as how Reid looked unbothered. Ghira already knowing this man's tendencies before picking him already had an idea of the situation and so gave him a meaningful look which caused him to back down quickly.
"Well, since everything is in order, I guess it time for us to take our leave. We've spent quite a lot of time in menagerie as it is." Miko spoke.
"What do you mean?" Blake asked, confused. Miko bent down to Blake's height level and explain.
"Reid and I have been away from home too long. We really miss our home and we need to go back." She explained in the simplest and gentlest way possible so as not to hurt her feelings.
"So you're leaving?" Blake asked softly, now turning to Reid.
"It seems so." Reid answered not willing to face her. Blake looked as heartbroken as a nine year old could be. Being the daughter of the chief, she didn't really have any close friends.
Reid was the first person she could actually call a friend and he was leaving so soon.
"Don't worry Blake. Reid will come back to visit once in a while." Kali said to Blake, to comfort her.
"Really?" The little girl asked with hope. Reid didn't look directly at her but answered.
"Of course." His response and his actions caused the adults to smile in amusement. Only the guard looked in disgust but he was ignored.
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"Where are Ashton and Silva? Aren't they coming with us?" Reid asked, remembering that Silva was practically the owner of the ship.
"They're waiting for us at the ship. We need it to be prepped up to speed up our trip back.
They were already on the outskirts of menagerie, close to where they parked the ship. The parting with the Belladonnas was a sad but yet happy one.
Reid looked forward and saw the father-son duo up ahead beside the ship. His mother and Lisa looked to be in a hurry even though they tried to hide it.
'Looks like we're going back.' The face of a black haired boy appeared in his mind as his face set into a frown.
'Where do you fit in all of this? If you're somehow involved in this, I won't spare you!' He thought with his eyes flashing red for a second. He restrained his aura from pouring out at his violent thoughts.
