Learn Your Legacy

Emilia walked quietly down the corridor, her average frame carrying strength to it. Her hair, a flowy, straight, long and brown with two locks on both sides of her head. Despite her piercing gaze, she seemed to be able to move unnoticed, as if she was a ghost. The doctors and nurses gaze never seemed to land on her as she walked past many of them.

She wore dark, fitted jeans, paired with a deep blue, long-sleeved blouse that complements her brown, straight hair. Over the blouse, she wore a lightweight jacket with multiple pockets and sleek lines that hinted it had concealed armor. A silver locket peeked out from beneath her collar, an item she treasures.

She opens the door to a patient's room and places a brown paper bag onto the bedside table of the patient.

"There. Your cheeseburger." Emilia said, her thoughts racing with irritation.

"Thank you…" Katsuki softly said as he opened the bag.

[Kolt said he should be my Junior but… Just one look at him and he's just… Sad.]- Emilia thought to herself as she watched Katsuki scarf down the cheeseburger from a local shop that gave away free cheeseburgers for those who were affected by the disaster.

"Did you give it thought?" Emilia broke the silence.

Katsuki paused from eating and swallowed whatever food he had left in his mouth. "Uh… Y-Yeah."

"And?"

"I… I don't know."

Emilia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Katsuki, I'm offering you a lifetime opportunity here. Not every day a Slayer asks someone, let alone a Human, to be their Junior."

"I know, I know. But my mom needs me here. I'm all she has and she might just lose if I suddenly up and went."

Emilia slightly nods her head, comprehending his decision. "I understand. Well, I suppose I'll leave and let a higher up know that your decision was made. I'm sure you'll be discharged by the end of the day." Her voice carrying kindness as she walked out the room.

Katsuki smiles, nodding his head as she left the room. Then he raised a brow, "S-She was actually nice?"

Emilia met with Kolt near the front doors of the hospital with a large crowd still formed outside of the wooden barriers and police officers standing guard.

"Congrats on your new Junior!!" Kolt cheered as he clapped.

"He said no."

"No? Did you scare him off with that new mean attitude of yours?"

"No. He's just worried about his family and wants to stay to support."

"I see… He's worried about his family."

"His mother to be more exact. I'm guessing there's no father in the picture."

"Ah. One of those situations. Did you want me to go back to the Guild and let them know?"

"Please and thank you."

"Don't worry, kid. You still got time to find a Junior. You're still a rookie." Kolt then opened a portal to the Guild and stepped through, leaving Emilia alone by the hospital doors.

Taking a moment to think to herself, she remembers when Katsuki told her where he and his mom lived so that she could check on her while he stayed at the hospital. Albeit, she never did check on her and lied when he asked, but she remembered the address. She opened a portal instantly to the lcoation and found an apartment door in front of her.

She stepped through the portal, with it closing behind her, then she put her hand on the doorknob, twisted, but didn't budge. It's locked. She then put her finger up to the keyhole and the door suddenly unlocked from the other side.

[Nobody's home.]- Emilia had taken a moment to sense for any Essence, no matter how little it was.

She stepped onto the carpet and took quick glances at the walls. Only photos of Katsuki, his mom, Katsuki and his mom, and Katsuki and a dog he had when he was younger.

[I'm guessing the father left when he was born… Or died.]- Emilia thought to herself as she came closer to a picture of a younger Katsuki and his mom.

She made her way around the whole apartment except for the bedrooms, inspecting photos, seeing what food they have, drinks available, and judging their cleanliness. So far she's impressed by Marya's cleanliness.

When she made her way to the bedroom corridor, she stopped in her tracks when she noticed one hanging photo was different than the others. It's a photo of a teenage Marya and two teenage boys. The first thing she noticed about the photo were the clothes they were wearing. It wasn't normal clothes that Humans would wear, it was a Slayer uniform.

A sudden shiver ran down her spine, the hairs on her neck stood up, and she quickly placed her hand on the hilt of her sword that hung on her hip.

"Don't unsheathe that sword." Marya's voice came from behind.

Emilia does what she's told and releases her grip.

"Who are you? Did that bastard Lyon send you here?" Marya spoke with anger.

"No," Emilia spoke, some calmness in her voice. "I came here out of my own volition."

"Well, you can leave now. Or I can report you to the Guild."

Emilia turned around and saw Marya standing a few meters away from her in the darkness with only her eyes visible due to the small flame erupting from her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Emilia bowed.

"Go."

Emilia made her way to the front door but before she left she told Marya, "Your son will be coming back soon. He'll be discharged by tonight I believe."

Marya then grabbed onto Emilia's wrist before she could even react.

"Have you spoken to him!? How is he!? Is he okay!?" Marya's motherly instincts kicked in and now she panicked over the well being of her son.

"Y-Yes. He didn't want to be my Junior so… He'll be discharged."

"W-Wait, what did you say? Your Junior?"

"Correct."

"Come back inside." Marya practically dragged Emilia back inside the apartment, locking the front door.

Marya flipped the light switch and the two sat down on the sofa with throw pillows on both ends. Marya then looked to Emilia for answers to her previous questions.

"W-Well, he's fine. Now. But-"

"What do you mean, 'now'?"

"Erm… I don't know if you know this but… Your son is quite the anomaly."

"I mean, he didn't have friends and worked a lot of hours to provide for the both of us." Marya gave a small chuckle after.

"No, no, not like that. During the Tower incident, we ran into a Warden."

Marya's eyes widened. Her face changed to concern.

"I could've sworn that he was within inches of his life. Nothing could save him. And yet, when I saw him, he was perfectly fine."

"I see… That's a problem." Marya softly spoke, her face showing discomfort.

"A problem? Why?" Emilia tilted her head.

"What was your name again, Slayer?" Mary's asked first before answering her question. She wants to know more about this Slayer before proceeding.

"Emilia Talva."

Marya then took a moment and inspected her face.

"O-Of course! You look almost exactly like your mother!" Marya smiled and now saw Emilia as a close friend due to her resemblance to her mother.

"Y-You knew my mother?" Emilia leaned forward.

"Yeah, I met her when I first started. She was my few friends in the Guild. She was the only one that treated me nicely and defended me. How is she? I haven't been able to get the fill since I last talked to her."

A sudden wave of sadness took over Emilia's face and body language. It pained her to say the next words, "S-She's dead. It's been a couple of months now."

Marya's heart fell to her stomach and she frowned. "Oh… My condolences, Emilia…"

They both took a moment of silence before Marya spoke, "Emilia, can I tell you a secret? This has to stay between us forever."

Emilia wiped tears that had formed around her eyes. "Y-Yes, you may." Her voice cracking slightly.

"The reason Katsuki is an 'anomaly', for lack of a better word, is because he's not really a Human."

Emilia wore a confused look on her face.

"He's part Antarctican."

Emilia's face changed to surprise, "B-But aren't they dead?"

"He's the last one. I trust you with this secret. If you look so much like your mother then I'm sure you might keep a promise like her."

Emilia furrowed her brows and nodded her head, "You can trust me. I'll keep it secret to the day I die. In the honor of my mother."

"Back to Katsuki and the Tower, if what you said is true, about him being in perfect condition when near death, then what I fear is might true."

"And what is that?"

"He's beginning the process of unlocking his powers and there's nothing I can do to stop it from happening again."

"What do you mean stopping it again? You suppressed his powers?" Emilia raised a brow.

"His father and I sealed his powers then I sealed my own. The only way that our powers would come back is if an extreme amount of Essence came into contact with us, hence Eyon being the option I chose to live at with Katsuki."

"Because of the lack of Towers." Emilia came to the conclusion whilst rubbing her chin.

"Correct. But I didn't think it would happen due to Eyon being a safehaven for so long."

"And where's his father? Surely, he must've heard the news by now."

"I… I don't know. After I left the Guild, he stayed and since I'm no longer considered a Slayer, I don't get any information of his whereabouts. I'll only know how he's doing when he's dead."

Emilia couldn't believe what she had heard. She didn't know the Guild was so top secret about everything they do.

"Convince Katsuki to change his mind. What good is him having powers if he can't hone them? If he got caught using them anywhere in the world, who knows what the Guild might do to him."

Emilia automatically took the weight of Marya's concern and worry on her shoulders. Despite knowing this woman for not that long, she felt comfortable knowing that Marya knew her mother and was a friend of hers. So why wouldn't she trust Marya the slightest bit?

Emilia stands up and sighs, "I'm not really allowed to do this. So let's be quick about it." She then opens a portal to a hospital room.

"What are you doing?" Marya watched the portal open.

"I won't be able to convince him, maybe you will."

A voice came from the portal.

"M-Mom?"

It was Katsuki. He was peering through the portal from the bed to see his mother and Emilia in their living room.

"Katsuki!" Marya shouted, tears forming around her eyes, and she immediately sprinted through the portal to hold her son.

Emilia stepped through and the portal closed behind her. The view that laid before her was Marya and Katsuki embracing each other. Her heart felt a little heavy, but she must focus. Marya is not allowed inside this room since she is not associated with the Guild.

"Katsuki, are you okay? How are you? How do you feel?" Marya bombarded Katsuki with more questions.

He was overwhelmed with the amount of questions she kept asking so he kept saying that he is okay to calm her worries.

"What are you doing here anyways?" Katsuki asked Marya.

Marya then sat on the bed Katsuki laid on, "Emilia told me that she wanted you to be her Junior."

"Oh, I said no. I was gonna stay here and help you. What if another Tower shows up? How will you pay for the apartment? How-"

Marya smiles from Katsuki's concern about her, "Katsuki. I'm gonna tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Not to be mean, but I don't need your help to protect myself. I can finally tell you after so long."

Katsuki tilted his head as Marya placed her hand out near Katsuki, her palm facing upwards, as an orange flame erupted from her hand. Katsuki couldn't believe what he's seeing but the flame was most definitely real.

The heat, the crackle, the smell, everything pointed towards the conclusion that this is REAL.

"Y-You're a Slayer…" Katsuki spoke in awe.

"Yes and your powers are beginning to form. Take this opportunity, Katsuki. You can't have powers but act like a Human. The Guild will punish you severely and I don't know where they might take you. So, please, be her Junior and grow strong." Marya's voice was soft as she pleaded with him.

He couldn't believe it. It's real. He has powers just like he always wanted when he was a child. He has the chance to be a Slayer just like he wanted when he was a child. He can finally do the things he's always wanted to do and not work at some café. His excitement went through the roof and now that little boy's heart that always wanted to be a Slayer pumped.

"I'll do it." He said, his will to become strong resonating with his words.

"Someone is coming, guys!" Emilia panicked.

The door opened and a nurse came in with a clipboard. She put on her glasses to read her notes on the clipboard, clicking her pen. "Alright, Mr. Evertree, you're currently in the process of being discharged. Is there anything else we can do for you?"

She looks up from the clipboard to only see Emilia and Katsuki.

"Well… I changed my mind. I'm her Junior now."

The nurse's face changed to a "what the fuck" face and she sighed.

"Great." She said with attitude as she walked out of the room.

"Sorry!" Katsuki yelled, hoping she heard him through the walls.