Chapter 347
The training took awhile. As it turned out, having an actual Kinetic to teach me tips and tricks was incomparable to researching on the net. For one, he was definetely a real Kinetic. No telling how many people giving advice were just mundanes bragging and lying about a power they didn’t even have.
‘Course, he didn’t turn me into a lightning monarch all in one go. It wasn’t that radical of a change. He did give me quite a bit to think about though. Some stuff would have to change, but some would still stay the same.
The biggest change was actually my combat capability. I’d been forced everything out in one burst through my enemy and hand-holding the electricity the entire time. Kinetic Bursting, as it was apparently known, was a vastly inferior technique.
Thankfully, the change wasn’t too complicated. It was something I’d already been unwittingly doing, even. When I shorted tech and stuff in the past, I was exceptionally careful and allowed the charge to flow with the tech. I just had to start taking that approach in general.
”One more time,” Akito called lazily from his side of the table. He lifted a cup of water and took a sip, though his eyes never left me for a moment.
I shuffled around to build up a charge, and then pulled it out of me. I forcibly held it for a moment and brought it up above my head into a bright ball of brilliant white.
Instead of grabbing onto the electricity itself and forcing it into a circle, I moved ahead of it. I still wasn’t sure if it was controlling electrons itself, or simply an extension of my electrical control, but I induced a small charge into the air and created a path. It was weird being able to do something without knowing the exact principle by which it worked. The silver fur all over my body rose slightly.
It started as just a branch. I took the static and moved it along, ionizing the air to create a circular circuit for the electricity. Once it fully looped, I let loose the original ball of lightning.
TZZT!
The electricity flowed much more fiercely than it usually did. It buzzed and hummed loudly while tearing apart the air. Parts of it detached and forked through above me, but for the most part it followed the ionized air in an ugly, jagged path of rough light.
It completed the circuit almost immediately, and then it took far more effort to keep it flowing in a circular path. After sustaining it for a moment, the circle shattered and the lightning back flowed through the air into me. No matter how much I tried, it always wanted to plummet into the earth. It just so happened I was the closest target.
“Ugh.” A small tremble went through my body at the sudden reintroduction of charge.
“Better.” Akito nodded his head in approval and set down his cup. “It’s not quite as smooth, but the power should speak for itself.”
”Chek.” I shook out my fluff and replayed the attempt through my mind.
My biggest issue was always power. I always thought it was just me and that my ability hadn’t grown enough yet. As it turned out, I was approaching from the wrong direction entirely. By forcing the lightning to move through uncharged air, I was losing a lot of my power while it burned a path. Unionized air was a suprisingly strong insulator. Logically, it all made sense. I felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner.
This method, where I ionized a path with static beforehand and then let the lightning rip, kept the charge much longer. It still wasn’t perfect, and it didn’t look nearly as pretty as the smooth beam of electricity I dredged up by hard controlling it. With time, though, I was hoping I’d get there once more.
Part of my issue was basing how I operated after other elemental Kinetics back when I first started learning. They didn’t have nearly as big of a problem with their element diffusing into the ambient air as I did with electricity. Fire Kinetics even strengthened with more oxygen. And considering Fire was a predominant Kinetic type, it was no wonder I was led astray.
Akito checked the time. He downed his cup and slid his phone back into his pocket. “We’ve made good progress this time around.”
”Time to go?” I yawned lightly and stretched out my body. I couldn’t wait to turn back to human and go flop onto my bed. Ah—wait, I had a few more things to do today.
”I can’t stay much longer.” He stood up and likewise stretched out.
Right, Aether Sickness was still a thing. Although I didn’t have a problem thanks to being a sprite, he still would. He wasn’t even a Magi or Adept in the first place, so it was impressive his tolerance was high enough to last this long.
”Thank you.” I stood up—admittedly not raising any higher thanks to this body’s tiny stature. “Vulpes!”
The Greater Sprite appeared almost as soon as I called her. Her eyes flicked around the room with a slightly guarded look, though settled once they fell onto me. “Finished?”
”Chek.” Akito answered for me and moved for the door. He paused just before going through and looked over his shoulder. “I’ll be busy coming up, but I’ll try and make time for the next session.”
“I’m in no rush.” It’d take me some time to break old habits and experiment. Getting help was good, but according to my teacher, Kinetics were ultimately on personal paths.
The man nodded and then disappeared around the corner. Vulpes stepped in between me and the door and tilted her head to the side cutely. “How’d it go?”
”I’ve got so much to think about.” As if I didn't already have my plate still overloaded with things I needed to handle.
“That’s good… that’s good…” Vulpes shifted from paw to paw. “Listen, milady, uh, wants me to escort you to the exit.”
”She kicking me out?”
“Till she feels better.” Vulpes’s voice sped up slightly like she wanted to ensure there were no misunderstandings. “Milady is worried about you catching what she has.”
“I could just sleep it off.” I had yet to get super sick since I picked up Quick Healing. Truly, it was a miraculous Trait. Not to mention I also had Perfect Donor now too.
Vulpes turned to the door and looked over her shoulder to make sure I was following. “If it were a mundane sickness then probably. She’s worried it might affect you differently since it's of the Aether.”
I looked up and down the hall to make sure I was clear and then let the sprite form drop. A shiver went down my spine as I turned back to skin and cloth. The cold air hit me, causing me to burrow back into the plush silver hoodie. “Okay. I’ll head back then.”
“Sorry…”
I waved a hand. I kinda wanted to go poke and mess around with Fox while she was sick, but this was probably for the best. ”It’s fine. I probably need to get back to work anyway.”
— — —
In the back rooms of the Speakeasy, I sat around and idly messed with stuff for about an hour while waiting for Mira. Noise from the actual bar part of the place would’ve alerted me to an intruder if I hadn’t been tracking her progress with the Packheart Ring all along.
Mira showed up at the door a few moments later. The crazy girl was in just a sweatshirt and pants instead of something actually warm. “Sup.”
”’Bout time.” I stood up and moved to a different room. It was slightly cleaner than the others, and had an array of stuff laid out in preparation. I patted a harness with my new model of Drop Chutes connected up to it. “Come try this on. Chutes go on your back.”
“Nice to see you too.” Mira shook her head and pulled off her beanie. Her hair had steadily been growing in. It wasn’t back to its long locks of brilliant gold, but it was slowly getting there.
“Oh, yeah, nice to see you.” I waved a hand and leaned back in my chair to close my eyes for a second. “Sorry… I’m really tired.”
”I can see that.” She chuckled and moved over to me to pick up the harness. It took her a few seconds to get it on. “It’s really tight.”
“‘Sposed to be.” I rolled over in my chair and looked over it all. I pulled at some of the straps and adjusted them. Her thighs, in particular, bulged out on either edge of the strap in an uncomfortable looking manner. “How is it now?”
”Still a little tight.” She shifted and moved around. Everything looked stable enough. “These are the same things in your bag, right?”
”Chek.” I’d already transferred all of her data from when she jumped with them last, so they should be ready to go. “Ready to jump off a building?”
”Um…” She shifted from foot to foot. Her usual confidence and swagger were completely gone. “You sure this is safe?”
”As safe as face tanking a grenade.” I chuckled and rolled back over to my table. “I already tested them. They worked fine for me.”
”Yeah, but you’re also pint-sized and weigh a fraction of what I do.” She pulled at the harness uncomfortably. “T-thanks for the gear, though. How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head and scrounged around my work table for a measuring tape. Not just a tape either. I had a full array of measuring stuff prepared. “How much do you weigh?”
”Asshole.” Mira shot me a glare and covered her stomach with her arms like I was some kind of hungry pervert after her innocence.
“Pfft!” A light laugh broke out of me. Something about her face just tipped me over the edge. “I don’t even know why I asked.”
Although I could only guess at the rest of her measurements, her weight was something I extrapolated from my Drop Chute’s saved data. Of course, I also subtracted my weight as a fox and all of her gear from said data.
“You better not publicize that information if you know what’s good for you.” Her voice dropped a pitch and nearly growled with her threat.
I raised my hands in surrender. ”Of course, of course… I’d never tell everyone you weigh exactly—“
“Shiro.”
“…” A chill went down my spine. Not quite Insight, but something close to survival instinct. It was almost like she was the one with Fear the Reaper and not me.
”Good.”
I stood up and moved over to her. I’d been planning this for a while now. Power armor never fit me. It was unfortunate since I loved the stuff. It was just so badass. Power armor, though, didn’t really go with stealth. It did go perfectly with a frontal fighter like Mira, though.
Not to mention I’d been thinking a lot about this recently. Mira and I—our style of handling things didn’t exactly mesh well. It was unfortunate, but forcing myself or her to change would just make us weaker in the long run. Not to mention it’d build up resentment and—
Well, I’d been thinking a lot about it, okay? While she was doing stuff out of my sight, I wouldn’t be near to protect her. That got me back on this power armor track. If I made her a seriously impressive set of power armor, then I wouldn’t have to worry so much. Not to mention it’d just enhance what she was already good at. Win-win, really.
”Hold still.” I crouched down and started with the Shift ExoCore sticking out of her calf. Although it went under her skin in more delicate places like her fingers, toes, and joints, the ugly black metal stuck out almost everywhere else. “I really do need to take your measurements.”
”Fine.” She went silent while I moved around her and noted down her information. At least, as silent as a loud mouth like Mira could be. She shattered the silence after just a minute. “Hey, I’ve been thinking—“
”That’s dangerous.” I pulled away and dodged a half-hearted swat with far too much ease. Was she just that easy to read these days?
“Har har… listen, I’m being serious here.” She sighed and held out a hand to stop me from approaching to keep measuring. “I think I might move out.”
I froze. “U-um… yeah? What, uh—y-you’ll be fine on your own?”
She dropped a hand onto my head and lightly ruffled my hair. For once, I didn’t pull away. “I’ll be fine, skunkstripe.”
The moment was ruined just like that. Mira truly was full of talent. I swatted her hand off me and got back to work. “What brought this about?”
“Just—after our, uh, our spat.” She shrugged. “Look, I love you. You’re like my sister. Even blood families get sick of living with each other, though.”
I wouldn’t know… all my memories of mom and dad were full of longing and sorrow, not annoyance. I didn’t say that out loud. No point in guilt tripping her. “Love you too, bitch.”
She chuckled lightly. “I figure it’d be the best for both of us if I moved out before we get to the point of arguing everyday. Distance makes the heart fond.”
“You sure?” I’d be a little sad to see her go, but I was ready to have my own space back. More than anything, I was worried about her being on her own again, though. She hadn’t been truly alone since the lab.
“We still have this.” She waved her finger at me. The frozen-lightning ring gleamed in the light of my workshop. “And it’s not like I’m moving out of the city. I’ll probably still drop by everyday to annoy you.”
“You don’t—“ I cut myself off before I could finish that lie. “You are oddly good at that.”
“Right?” She grinned broadly and her eyes lit up. “So… what do you think?”
“It’s up to you.” I wrote down one more measurement and then stepped away. I put on my best serious face. “I think you should see a counselor, though—“
“Shiro—“
“Hear me out.” I raised a hand to stop her from. “Please.”
”… fine.”
”The Crusade runs a free service specialized around Savant victims.” I’d been doing a lot of research into it after Hope said something. It was just hard bringing this kind of thing up. “Completely anonymous. You won’t have to worry about that. I-if you just go talk to someone, it might help.”
”I don’t need a shrink.” She sighed and took a step away. She stopped before she could take another. “Are your measurements done?”
”I need to get your torso and chest, but for now.” I waved a hand and tossed the tape onto one of my tables. I followed it a beat later and jumped up, swinging my legs loosely.
Mira nodded and leaned up against the wall with her arms crossed. She stared at me intently for several uncomfortable moments. “I’ll go if you go.”
”What kind of bullshit reasoning is that?” I threw my hands up into the air. “I’m perfectly fine and stable anyway. And! And I’m not a Savant victim!”
”I’ll pay for an actual one.” She shrugged with a triumphant look on her face. “If you’re serious about me going, that is.”
I glared at my mikata. She thought I wouldn’t do it. I could see it in her eyes. She was assured that I would never go see a quack, so she wouldn’t have to either. Sorry, my dear Mira. You miscalculated. Really, it was that self-assured look in her eyes more than anything.
Pure spite and rebelliousness drove my words. “Then it looks like we’re going. Your first appointment is in a week.”
The triumphant expression immediately shattered. It almost made me feel better about shooting myself in the foot. And then the dopamine kicked in from bringing down the mighty. “Y-you—!”
”Should’ve thought that through more. Don’t you know suffering loves companionship?”
”I—fuck… fine. I’ll find someone.” Mira ran a hand down her face and shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
”That’s my line.” I jumped off the table and picked up my measuring tape once more. “Now, I’m almost done. Hold still for real this time.”
She pushed off the wall and slid over to the center of the room once more. ”Just don’t touch anything you shouldn’t.”
“Please. Like I want to touch you more than I have to.” I shuffled over to get back to work.