Chapter 5: The Jubilant Woman

I stand idly, staring at the dark walls that surround me. I contemplate asking Kitani and Kurogane about it. My hand reaches for the knob but hesitates.

"Isn't this a college or something," my hand caresses the warm wood where my panicking body leaned against. "Why didn't I get a welcome or anything, why am I all alone right now." I let my hand fall from the door. I've always wanted to go to college, meet friends, have sleepovers in each other's dorms. I guess it's not all that the movies made it out to be.

I slide into the cold sheets of the neatly made white bed. I find no comfort in the barren room, I lay in silence and begin counting at the indents made on the ceiling. Waiting in silence until the sun's warmth gently washes over me in a painfully long sunrise.

"Hey," Kurogane leaps from the corner of my eye, I fall to the ground slamming my back on the solid floor. He smiles with a training bag in his hand. He's not wearing his usual uniform, he's wearing a tank with sweatpants and running shoes.

I look down at my clothes that I have worn for a good 3 days now. "Is there any way I can get some new clothes?" I ask with a tinge of embarrassment.

"Sure you can borrow some of mine," he says, opening the door to my door, gesturing me to exit.

"You're taller than me but it should be good in the meantime." We enter his dorm, Kitani is lying on his bed scrolling through Instagram."Hey man," Kitani's eyes light up as he rushes to throw his arm around my neck. "Why didn't you room with us last night?" He asks as he playfully punches my back.

"You know the rules, Kitani," he continues looking for a shirt. "Two to a dorm, you know that."

Kurogane tosses a shirt at me, followed by shorts. "These should be good for today." I quickly change in their bathroom, tying my hair into a haphazard ponytail.

"Oh you're such a bummer you know that," Kitani groans as he hops from his bed.

As we walk down the corridor Kitani and Kurogane engage in light banter, spanning from jokes to training ideas. We reach a large field, in the distance I can see steaming craters riddling the field.

"Looks like Priya beat us here," Kurogane dons a determined smirk. He tosses the bag into Kitani's chest then disappears from sight. I spot him running downhill, his agility defying the steep incline.

"Ugh there he goes," Kitani chuckles as he begins to sit on the pristine grass. "This'll take a while Armani, " He lays in the grass, his beautiful black hair spilled out into the verdant sea. I sit beside him, watching Kurogane's fervent rush.

"PRIYA!" Kurogane's voice echoes throughout the field with sheer determination. That familiar blue aura surrounds his hands, morphing around his fingertips into knuckle dusters. They gleam silver with menacing spikes. He surrounds his fists in that mysterious aura and rushes at a smoky crater.

"What is he running at?" I look back at Kitani who is already asleep. I look back to see Kurogane on the complete other side of the field, buried in a dirt crater.

"Once more," a commanding voice booms. "You there," my heart skips a beat. I point at myself in disbelief.

"Tag in and assist your mate," the voice commands me, my feet trembling with each step toward the lower part of the field.

"Should've played dead," Kitani whispers to me, it earns him a scornful glare.

The field is eerily quiet, a swift breeze carries throughout my hair, I extend my hand out to Kurogane. He brushes my hand away and begins reforming his weapon.

"I don't need your help," He darts at her with alarming speed, charging with renewed vigor.

I follow right behind him, adrenaline starts pumping through me as I begin reliving days of track. I sprint past him, I could tell it surprised him. I throw a punch at her face, it goes straight through her, striking air.

"Oh my," she chuckles at me. "You have a lot of spunk, I love that in a fighter," She playfully leaps into the air. A metal object encircles her foot, she's unaware of it.

"HAH!" Kurogane swings down, a rope attached to the metal hook sharply brings her plummeting down in a large shockwave. He mirrors her leap from earlier, the rope gleams as the mystical blue aura reforms into his knuckle dusters.

"Still laughing now?" Kurogane plummets instantly causing a shockwave, doubling the force of the previous one.

Dust billows into the air, lingering like thick fog after his onslaught. Just as the dust begins to settle, a sudden movement disrupts it. Suddenly Kurogane slams into my body sending us both backwards into the ground. We skid across the field for a while before laying on the grass exhausted.

"What's your problem with me Kurogane?" I rise up, my frustration skyrocketing.

"It's nothing personal, you're just in the way," a shockwave pushes me back as he dashes toward the woman once more.

"This just won't do, when there's turmoil in the team," Kurogane continues his charge.

 "It rots it from the inside out," she forces her palm into his face, a wave of energy splashes across the field.

Our bodies collide and we soar across the field, I hold onto Kurogane and absorb the force of the fall. We sprawl out and tumble in opposite directions.

"Excellent work Banshee Boy," she exclaims bouncing up and down, her gaze hones in on Kurogane once more.

Footsteps that tap the grass like a violent shower approach us. I look to my side, Kurogane is out cold. I look back to the woman encroaching upon us. I stand to face her but in a flash her face appears before mine. I fall backwards and I gaze upon her unsettling smile.

Her teeth are perfectly white and flawlessly aligned. A subtle piercing on the inside of her bottom lip catches my eye. Her violet hair fans out wildly onto her face like a stormy sea. Her eyes, a deep magenta, that captivate you in its depths.

She has a shimmering golden nose piercing coupled with a striking red diamond that sits boldly on her forehead. Her rich caramel skin shimmers in the sunlight like the sand below clear pristine waters.She wears a turquoise robe that leaves her abdomen exposed. Her shorts torn at the knees and her sandals are rusted from expired sands of her journeys.

"Great work today, first year! It's been a while since someone has had the gall to face me!" Her hand gracefully embraces my own and pulls me in for a hug. 

She rustles my hair, her curiosity evident in her touch. "Such beautiful hair, can I ask where you hail?"

"I'm from Michigan ," I say, still a bit terrified of her. "Ahh yes America, I remember now!" She throws her hands up enthusiastically. "You know in all my years I've never met an American who speaks such fluent Japanese."

"To be completely honest, I don't even know Japanese," my gaze falls to the side. "Whenever I got this "Banshee" thing I've been able to speak it supposedly." I finish as I look down at my open palm.

"You truly are a mystery Banshee Boy." Her eyes now sparkle like a violet galaxy. "You are now to train under me!" She proclaims across the vast field.

"Train me?" I look at her in utter disbelief.

"Yes of course, you have the potential to be something this world has never seen," her gaze wanders to Kurogane's unconscious body. "Kurogane has the ability as well."

"What about Kitani?" I ask, she laughs for a bit, her laughter devoid of malice but sincere. "Dear Kitani is catered to his own talents, I just don't see in him what I see in you two." I stammer for a second, I mean for sure Kitani can be lazy but it seems a bit harsh.

"The curse you inherit has been lost to time, and has resurfaced back into the world. Time does funny things to such forgotten things, it changes them, strengthens them. To the untrained eye you're another sorcerer, but I see you Banshee, and I will bring forth your voice once more!"

I feel my chest, searching for the steady thrum of my heart. It's there, and it's loud, my eyes go to meet her unending stream of elation.

"When can we start," I ask her, eagerness lacing my voice.

"Once more then," she smiles and thrusts an open palm signaling me to attack. We train for several hours, Kurogane and even Kitani join.

"Return to your quarters," she laughs heartily, holding her hip. "We'll resume this another day!"

As we walk back Kurogane avoids my gaze off and on.

"Hey Armani," Kitani and I stop and turn back to see Kurogane holding his head low. "Do you wanna stay at our dorm from now on." He says in a slightly embarrassed voice. I fix my mouth to respond but Kitani rushes ahead of me.

"Of course he does," Kitani rushes off to the room. I stay back and walk to Kurogane.

"Thanks Kurogane, I really appreciate it," a smile returns to his face, as does mine.