Chapter 5

✧Sasuke✧

"Can I get up yet? Mom's mac and cheese smell is making me hungry," I ask, starting up at the ceiling. My mom makes it from scratch and adds chicken and veggies in with the macaroni and cheese.

"Not yet, son," Dad says, his hair pulled back in a hairband as he's over the top of me. We have the blinds shut to the house so no one can see inside.

"Are you feeling better, at least?" Shiro comes into my view and looks down at me.

"I am for my sick feeling anyways," I nod.

"It's good that it's helping with that. That's what the star element is known for. But it's not helping me find anything…" I pick my head up, and dad pulls a hand away from my chest and pokes my forehead, pushing my head back down, "All the way down."

"Would switching to the water element help, sir?" Shiro suggests to dad, and I look over at Shiro, and he locks eyes with me.

Sighing heavily, I see dad rock back into my view and lean back on his hands as he looks up at the ceiling, clearly frustrated, "I don't know. I don't think that water will solve anything, I'm not the prodigy for water, so I can't use the rare ability to that element. And that's the only thing that I can think of that would get close with the water element. The healing part of water won't solve anything."

"Sight or maybe spirit?" Shiro asks as I sit up.

I've never seen dad so frustrated before. Just what exactly is going on? What happened to me? It would be stupid to ask if he's figured anything out because clearly, he hasn't.

"Why don't we take a break for now," I offer looking at dad, "Thank you for making me feel better."

"Boy's dinner's ready," my mom yells from the kitchen.

Sighing, dad leans forward and gets up off the floor without using his hands. "I'll try more after dinner," pulling the hairband out of his hair, Dad lets bangs fall back into place as he walks towards the kitchen, "Come on, boys."

We all sit down, mom and dad opposite each other, so I sit opposite Toshiro. Dad hands Shiro the food first since he's the guest in the house, and then we all start eating. Mom and Toshiro start talking, and I stay quiet as I eat. "Why are you so quiet, Sasuke?" I look up from my plate to see dad looking over at me.

"Will you answer my questions?" I have more questions than just what the hell is going on with me.

"After dinner, son," He responds, sighing slightly before taking another bite of his food.

"It's always later," I mumble more so to myself.

"Sasuke, you know I don't like mumbling," Dad comments, and I look over at him to see his golden eyes locked on me.

"Why is it always later. Something that's this important and you keep saying later or after this or after that," I speak up so dad can clearly hear me. Toshiro and mom fall quiet.

"Sasuke stop making a scene," Dad comments, looking at me with a monotone expression clearly not happy with me.

"I'm not making a scene I'm making a damn point," I glare over at him.

"That's enough, Sasuke," He orders, breaking eye contact with me.

"No, it's not enough, dad. You've been like this ever since I got into that damn accident when I was little. And when I asked why I was getting picked on or why I feel so different from other kids you have always told me I'll answer you later Sasuke, I'll tell you a secret, later son. It's always the same with you. Why do you hide things from me? You're my father, the least you could have done is tell me I was an elemental. You knew I was. Why didn't you tell me to help me remember? I don't know what I am because you and mom kept it from me. Do you think I'm thrilled that I feel like, for my entire life, I feel like I've been living a lie?" I snap at him without meaning to, but it all just spills out.

"SASUKE THAT IS ENOUGH!" Dad yells, making everything else I want to say get caught in my throat.

Knots bubble up in my stomach and move up to my throat. The longer I sit here, the tighter my throat becomes. Standing up from my seat and keep my eyes on my barely eaten food, "Can I be excused…please?" My voice cracks as I ask. I don't wait for an answer from either of my parents and leave the table.

"Sasuke…" I hear Toshiro say quietly as I pass him, leaving the kitchen and skipping every other step to get to my room as fast as I can. Hot tears run down my cheeks once I step into my room. I gently close my door behind me and grip onto my shirt.

Why does everything have to pile up on top of each other like this? Why am I like this? Why do I have to just hold things back? This would have been avoided if I could have just asked dad before when he wasn't busy to sit down and talk with me. Every time I would say something, he's busy…and now I just went and pissed him off when he's already frustrated with what's going on and why he can't figure it out. I make my way over to my dresser and got a pair of gym shorts out. My quick short breaths and blurry eyes make it difficult to focus and try to calm myself down at the same time.I need to calm down and breathe with slow breathing. Breathing in through my nose, I take a slow and deep breath and then exhale as I push my dresser drawer closed. Grabbing my towel from the end of my bed, I wipe my eyes and wander to my door.

Opening my door, I jump a little seeing dad standing in front of me, his hand raised ready to knock. He looks down at me, and he looks a bit shocked because of my timing.

"Hey…dad…" I say kinda quietly and break eye contact with him, looking down at my feet.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you. It was wrong of me to do. A lot has happened today, and you're scared and confused about all of it. You're right; I really should have been more open to answering your questions and not just brushing them off. I'm sorry about that," Dad apologizes for making me look back up at him, and he drops his hand to his side.

But, I'm the one that blew up. I'm the one that should be apologizing, not dad. Did mom make him come up here and apologize to me? "N-no, it's fine. I was pushing it. The entire thing is my fault," I shake my head quickly.

His hands lightly land on my shoulders, and he pulls me into his chest for a hug, "You have every right to want to know more, son," He whispers to me and holds me tighter. I pull my left arm out from between us and hug him back. After I hug him, he pulls away and holds me out at arms-length, "Go take a shower and try to relax a bit."

"Okay…" I said quietly, looking down at my feet.

I feel his hands slide off my shoulders. Still, one of his hands slide under my chin and lifts my head up to look at him, so his golden gaze locks with mine, "Let me tell you something someone that I admired told me a long time ago," He places his free hand over my heart. His other hand lets go of my chin, and I continue to look up at him. "When your minds a mess and you feel lost, listen to your heart. It will always guide you back to the light, even in the darkest of nights."

"Are you sure that someone said that to you, and you didn't just get it out of a book?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

Cracking a smile, he chuckles and messes up my hair, "I wish you could have met Jaden. I think the two of you would have gotten along really well."

"What happened to him?" The question just kind of slipped out before I realize it.

"I wish I knew son. One day he just disappeared. I haven't seen him since I was young," Dad answers his expression fell from a soft smile to a sad, small frown.

"Oh, well, maybe he'll show up again one day. If he was a good friend, you should know who it is, even if he looks completely different, right? Didn't you tell me that when Hale and Tate had to move away, that best friends always find each other again?" I said, trying to cheer him up. It's hard seeing my dad sad like this.

What I said brings a smile back to his lips, "Ya know Sasuke sometimes you act older and wiser then you are," He messes up my hair once more, then turns on his heels and heads back over to the stairs, "Go take a shower."

I what? I'm only sixteen. I'm still going through puberty how the hell can I possibly be wiser than what I am? Heck, I haven't even had my first kiss yet. I was just repeating what he told me when I was little. Meh whatever it's time to shower.

The cold water helps me relax from all of what happened today, "Do I even want to ask questions after this?" I question myself quietly as I finished drying off and changing into my gym shorts for the night. I grab my clothes from today off the floor, toss my towel over my shoulders, and then went back to my room.

Putting my stuff in my hamper, I head back downstairs to see Toshiro grabbing his bag and tossing it over his shoulders, "You're leaving?"

"Yeah, I still have some homework that I have to get done, and I should get back to the dorm before it gets too dark," He answers with a small smile.

"You live in the dorm?" Well, that was a stupid question.

Nodding slightly as his smile stays on his pale lips. "Yeah, the dorm's not as good as the ones we have at Elemental Academy back on Amoura, but I'm here to help out, so I think I can manage."

"It's not a very exciting name for an academy now that I think about it. Couldn't they have come up with a cooler name?" I groan a little, and my shoulders slump.

Toshiro chuckles at my reaction, "Well, think about it, what school really has an exciting name?"

"I guess you're right," I agree, shifting my weight over to my left.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school, Sasuke. Have a good night," He places a hand on my shoulder. I can feel how cold he is through my shirt, but my skin quick counters his cold and heats up that part of my body more.

"Why do you have to be so freezing?" I ask, laughing a little as his hand slides off my shoulder.

"Your base is fire I think you can handle my chill just fine," He smirks at me with a raised brow, bending down he slips his shoes on and then stands back up and waves, "Have a good night Sasuke, try to get some sleep okay."

"Night," I wave back as he opens the door and heads out.

"Sasuke sweetie," Mom calls from the living room, so I walk in.

"Yeah?" I answer, and she and dad are sitting on the couch, and both have tea. Well, dad's cup is sitting on the coffee table empty, and he's leaning back with his head on the back of the couch, staring at the ceiling.

"Come here, dear," Mom has her raven black hair up in a loose bun with some strands falling out. Wearing a soft blue dress, it helps frame her delicate frame. She gently pasts the couch cushion next to her, so I come over and sit down between her and dad.

"What's up?" I ask a bit confused, and mom wraps her arms around me and pulls me into her.

"I'm sorry we've been keeping things from you," Mom strokes my hair softly.

"It's fine, mom. I got to thinking about it, and you two were probably doing it for my own good. Not wanting to force me or anything like that," I hug mom back.

"I've got it!" Dad pops up, and it makes me jump.

"Um…got what?" I ask as mom lets go of me.

"Let's see if I can figure it out this way," Dad says, placing his hands on my temples and tapping his forehead to mine.

Taking a sharp breath in, I feel like my subconscious pulls away from my body.

What's going on? Everything is flashing by me. Why are today's events going backward? Oh god, this makes me feel not exactly the greatest, things are going way to fast. I hear a giggle of a women's laugh fade off as fast as he came. "Wait, stop!" Everything stops, and it's paused.

"What is it, son?" I jump like a snake crossed my path, and dad starts laughing.

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU COME FROM DAD?" I scream at him clutching my chest, "Don't scare me like that."

Dad laughs and pats my back, "Relax son, this is one of my abilities for the time element. It's my base element since I'm a moon elemental. We're simply looking back at your memories. When did you say you were feeling sick?"

"Just after lunch," I answer.

"Which you didn't go to and just roamed around the halls," I look up at dad, and he has his arms crossed over his chest with one arm up and a finger against his bottom lip.

"Um…y-yeah. Can we go forward slightly, please? I thought I caught the sound of a woman's laugh. It was faint, but I heard it when you were whizzing through my day in reverse," I ask, and dad nods.

My memories start moving again, and I hear it again. "There, did you hear it?" I ask, looking over at dad.

"I did…" bringing his hand away from his mouth. He swipes his hand, and there's the laugh again. "There, after the laugh for a moment, you completely stop…as if you were stopped in time. But I was nowhere near you at the time to do that myself…no…" Dad trails off and seems to be thinking.

"Dad?" I ask his image fades from my sight and the sight in front of my shatters.

Gasping, I pull away from dad's grasp and look up at the ceiling panting. I'm sweating, why am I sweating.

"What is it, dear? Did you find it out?" Mom asks.

"Someone or something can use limbo… But I haven't seen a new time prodigy…whatever is going on and whoever used limbo, they ensnared Sasuke while he was at school. I was dealing with some kids at that time, so I know that my guard was down. I don't know how, but at that moment, someone forced the cores of the other elements into his soul. It's why he suddenly felt so sick, and it wasn't going away. Someone forced him to become a moon elemental," Dad explains to us.

"W-What? But, but I thought I was just a fire elemental like mom," I point at myself.

"Yes, you were. You are still the fire prodigy. Hold out your hand and make a flame," Dad commands, and I stare at him completely confused and blink a few times.

"Hold out your hand like this and think of a small flame above the palm of your hand," Mom answers me quietly and with a soft smile.

I nod and close my eyes—a small flame floating above the palm of my hand. I draw an image of just that in my mind and feel the heat on my palm and fingers. Opening my eyes, there's bright blue flame floating there gently moving like a campfire but contained at the same time. "Your blue flame and red eyes signify that you are the prodigy of fire. It is embedded in your soul and your body. Your soul was trying to fight off the new elements that were forced in you because of your natural heat. When you grabbed hold of Toshiro's skin to run away from everyone, you fill the empty core that was an ice element. This made your body go even more haywire and why you couldn't control the ice because you are, well, were never meant to in the first place. I was able to stabilize you when I used the star element to get rid of the sickness. Still, how long that will last, I honestly don't know," Dad sighs heavily and crosses his arms over his chest.

"What does that mean?" I look between mom and dad.

"It means we're going to have to start training you right away to start getting you to strengthen your abilities. Your mother will focus on your first training with you. I'm going to start teaching you moon elemental skills as well. Maybe with the combination of the two, we can keep you stabilized. If you can help it, don't use whatever other elements you accidentally end up receiving. I'm going to try to get to the bottom of this," Dad responds very seriously.

"What's the other solution?" I question nervously. Dad's grim face makes me shrink back towards mom.

"If we can't keep you stabilized, there's only one other solution."

"I'll have to ask my friend to get rid of them by pulling out your soul and get rid of them that way." My heart feels like it stops as my stomach drops from how cold that statement slips past dad's lips.

"We're not starting your training tonight. It's late, and you have school in the morning, mister. We'll talk about more of this another time," Mom hugs me to her again, and I hug her back, "Everything will be alright."

"I know. Thank you," I feel dad against my back, and it's a big family hug.

After saying good night, I help turn off the lights, and we all head to bed. I close my door, walk over, set my alarm first, and then flop down on my bed. "Sleep sounds nice right now…" I mumble. Everything will be okay. How can everything be okay when even dad doesn't know who or what did this to me? By what Toshiro said, being a prodigy is rough enough. Now I have to deal with being a moon elemental on top of it? Ugh, my head hurts…I should just go to sleep. Inching my way under the covers, I close my eyes and end up drifting off to sleep.