Chapter 24

The sound of violently chirping birds played on continuously as the masked assassin felt his body grow weaker with each second.

"H-hhow…?" He managed to breathe out. He could barely talk as one of his lungs was also pierced and the still raging lightning in his chest didn't help matters.

"How was I able to pierce your aura? It's quite simple when you look at it." Reid started with a slightly mocking tone.

"You have a weak aura. I noticed you following us the moment we got within range of the marketplace. The fact that you were immediately there tells me that you've been waiting for us."

"I got a glance at your aura levels for a brief moment and it was average. When you revealed yourself after your shot, you aura took a sharp dip from when I last saw it."

"Your sniper uses your own aura instead of actual bullets. I noticed that when I didn't find the bullet. You were feeding your aura into the spear the whole time leaving a meager amount for defense." Reid explained but the man wasn't satisfied yet.

"H-how did y-you know…w-where I w-was?" He questioned again.

"Your semblance…when you move, you leave an aura imprint at a certain location and when you disappear, you appear in place of that imprint. A semblance perfect for hit and run if used correctly but there was a flaw in it." Reid paused before continuing.

"There is a one second delay from when you disappear and appear at each place and during that one second, you're unaware of your surroundings. That made it a lot easier to use this." He explained while opening the palm of his hand still radiating lightning to reveal a yellow crystal.

"Dust reacts with aura in many ways and this is the most basic. You only ever used your spear to attack us, never once using your arms or legs. This proves that you're not used to fighting without your weapon and more importantly…your body is weak." He finished and caught his breathe.

"You g-got…all of that…f-from that f-f-fight. M-monster…!" The man tried to exclaim before he choked on his own blood flooding his throat.

"Don't underestimate the Uchiha!" He said with pride as he violently ripped his hand out of the man's chest. The standing figure of the man fell to the ground with a dull thud as only the sound of chirping birds were heard.

This was the scene that his mother, Ghira and the guards of kuo kuana stumbled upon. Reid looked at them with cold eyes as the assassin's blood that splashed on his face slowly dropped down. The ominous light and sound cause by his crackling hand didn't make the scene any better.

"You're late." He said casually, as if he didn't just kill somebody.

"Blake told us what happened! Are the both of you alright?" Ghira spoke in a hurried manner. Miko simply rushed forward and snatched the dust crystal from his palm, ending the lightning show.

She began to silently and thoroughly inspect him for injuries. Her search ended with her only finishing bruises and small cuts. His hand though, was a different story.

She looked at his hand which had a few minor burns on it. He flinched a bit when she touched his skin around that area.

"Explain, now." She said, her tone leaving no point for argument. Reid simply looked away and his eyes found Ashton who was now back to his goofy ways as he was fast asleep on the floor.

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"That was reckless and irresponsible of you. You could have been killed. Look at your hand!" His mom ranted as they were now back within the walls of the belladonna house.

They had moved them away from the scene of the fight to get treatment. She gestured to his hand which was bandaged from his forearm to his fingers.

Dust isn't meant to be used so directly, not unless you have a semblance that can help you with it. Obviously, Reid didn't have that so he suffered burns on his arm. The arm was also now very sore and sensitive to make matters worse.

"Calm down, Miko. They got out of it alive, that's all that matters right now." Silva spoke, trying to calm her. Seeing that she didn't stop pacing to and fro, he changed his approach.

"It could have been worse. He could have destroyed the nerves in his hand…" He trailed off as Miko finally stopped her pacing and let out a heavy sigh.

They both knew that the damage to Reid's hand could have been much worse than he put it. Fortunately, he was smart enough to cover his hand in a thick layer of aura to protect it from the backlash.

"I know. Where's Ashton?" She asked after calming down a bit. Silva suddenly gave her an exasperated look.

"He ate everything in the house and fell asleep." He said tiredly. A vein throbbed on his head as he recollected the way his son raided the fridge the moment he got back.

Miko shook her head before kneeling in front of Reid who was sitting, coming to his height level before speaking softly.

"Are you okay?" The atmosphere turned serious as they all knew what she was talking about. He just killed a man. That kind of thing could mess with someone's head if they're not mentally prepared not to mention that he's just a kid. He isn't even close to his teen years.

There was silence for a while before he answered.

"I guess I'm alright. I know what I did and I don't regret it. If I didn't kill him, he would have killed us. It was a simply curtsy." He said simply.

"Reid, what is your opinion on…killing." She asked after a few seconds. She already had an idea of his answer but she wanted to be completely sure. It didn't take him more than a moment to reply.

"Anyone who draws their blade against me must be ready to receive the same. I won't go around, needlessly killing but should I see a potential threat…I'll end it before it starts." He finished darkly.

Silva flashed a worried look to Miko who conflicted about how to feel. She was in between worried and relieved. She took a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking.

"This isn't the kind of thing kids at your age should be thinking of but I can't say I disagree."

"Miko!" Silva shouted only for her to continue.

"Don't worry about it. It's not like I was any different…" She trailed off at the end, causing Silva to also quiet down.

"Enough of the boring talks. You're good enough to move so let's get something to eat. You must be hungry after everything that has happened." Miko said in a more upbeat tone as she opened the door.

She opened the door to see one of the guards kneeling in front of it. He seemed to be waiting for them to come out.

"Forgive me for disturbing you. Lord Ghira wishes to see you." He said with his head bowed which raised eyebrows all around the room before she answered slowly.

"We'll…be on our way." She answered, looking at Reid and Silva to make sure it wasn't only her seeing this. Silva and Reid simply shrugged their shoulders and followed her out.