My Sister, The Chosen One

Seventeen

Shinedown- DEVIL

Ace:

It's not every day one sees the only person that's ever meant anything to them walk away the way she did. That makes two, by my count. The first time I laid eyes on that girl, it was through bloodied eyes. My father had sent me to collect some money from one of his clients and forgot to mention that they were arms dealers. After fighting a group of them, I was stabbed. To make things even worse, I cornered myself in an alleyway with a dead end. I didn't know the area as well as I thought I did.

The raven-haired beauty was working in the restaurant whose trash I had been laying in. She walked out with a couple of trash bags and tossed them in the bin to my left. She turned back to go back into the building when she caught sight of me. None of us knew what to say in that moment. We were all momentarily stunned when she walked out nonchalantly. I didn't even know who she was. Thinking about her blank expression as he looked at me covered in blood with a hunting knife in my shoulder makes me laugh.

"We have air dynamics together," she shrugged. She had bangs then. I miss those.

"Y-yeah. I think so," I nodded, trying to get back on my feet.

"Get lost, little girl. We're busy," one of the henchmen tried to get rid of her. She ignored him and helped me up.

"You okay?" she asked. I must have looked like a total mess. My hair was waist length then and I had it up in a ponytail that was stained in the blood from a cut on my forehead. Looking back at the moment, that's what caught her attention the most. My hair.

"Been better,"

"Get her out of here," the henchman ordered.

The guy closest to us stepped forward. Before he could put his disgusting hands on her, she ripped out the knife in my shoulder and swung at him, spinning around like she'd been fighting for years. She cut him from his chin to his eyebrow, making him stumble back. The second guy came at us. I grabbed her leg pulled it out from under her and pushed off the wall, head-butting the guy in the face. I took the knife from the tip of the blade and threw it at the last guy, hitting him in the chest. It all happened so fast. I looked down at the girl who had fallen over. She picked herself up and dusted off her pants as if this was the most normal thing that could have happened to her that day.

"I have to get back to work. If my boss sees this, she's going to call the cops," she went over to the door and smiled. "I'm Sasha by the way,"

"Sesshomaru," I introduced myself.

"I know. We have Air dynamics together," she laughed and walked into the restaurant.

She has been wearing an apron then. She had a pretty face, beautiful golden eyes. Her dark hair made her look demonic in certain angles. I tried my best to stay away from her. My life wasn't, isn't something I wanted to involve her in but the more I tried to avoid her the more I found myself thinking about her. Not to mention the fact that she did in fact sit behind me in Air Dynamics. She was always around the popular kids. She laughed and joked with everyone. They all knew her name. It was dangerous associating with her. For me, for my friends, for the teachers working under me. She would become a problem if I addressed her in school but I couldn't help it. She lured me in and I wanted to hear her voice. To have the warmth she provided me with-in that alley completely engulf me. I wanted to be overwhelmed by her the way I had been when she stepped out of the restaurant.

"The girl that saved you in the alley," Knuckles handed me a file. "I couldn't dig a lot up-on her but she has three jobs and a little sister. She lives in the Elite Tower. She works at Dandelions as a waitress. Cashier at Labels. A sales rep at June's Furniture,"

"She has three jobs but she lives in the Elite Tower?" I asked.

"Mhm, she lives there under an alias. Whoever she is, she's hiding something. She could be the kid of a dead aristocrat maybe a royal. Government affairs always hide their kids in good places,"

"Hmm," I nodded.

"Sess, she could use the money," he tapped the table. "Let me dig into this. I can get you the information you want with my military contact. If you want her-"

"No," I waved him off. "Give me the bag. I'll give it to her and offer her a job. If she says no, then we leave her alone. Got it?"

"Yes, sir,"

I waited for her after class. It was the end of the day and she usually rushed out to get to her first part-time job on time. However, that day she took her sweet ass time. It was like she knew I had finally decided and she was drawing it out, torturing me. When she finally walked out, she was crying. Her hair was a mess and her uniform looked like someone had tried to force it off.

"Sasha, right?" I intercepted her. I had never felt that kind of rage before. Seeing her as vulnerable as she did at that moment. I didn't like it.

"What?" she bit out without meeting my eyes. I didn't dare touch her. She would have bolted in the state she was in.

"I never got to thank you for helping me,"

"You had it," she scoffed.

"No, I didn't," I shrugged off the bag and offered it to her. She looked up at me confused and my rage just grew. Her lip was busted and a bruise was forming on her left eye. With her fair skin, it was going to be obvious. "What happened to you?"

"None of your business," she snarled taking the bag. She slung it over her shoulder without asking or looking inside. "I'm late for work,"

"I want to offer you a job," I called after her. She stopped walking. "Fewer hours, better pay than all three of your jobs combined. I don't know who you're hiding from, Sasha but I want to help,"

"Why? Because I saved you?" she turned around angrily. "I know who you are. I know who you work for,"

"Then you know what I'm offering is real. You could have walked away you know? You could have pretended it never happened and let me die. No one would have even known but you saved me. You know how to fight. You know how to take a hit. You have good instincts. It's hard to find these days. I bet no one says no to a face like that,"

"That's the f*****g problem," she turned away angrily. I stepped to her that time and made her look at me.

"With me, no one will dare put their hands on you again. I can teach you things a school can't. How to survive. How to defend yourself properly and you make a little extra money for you and your sister. You'd also have more time to yourself,"

"What's in the bag?" she asked.

"Money,"

"I'll think about it," she shrugged, taking a step back.

"Who did this to you?"

"It doesn't matter. They won't be doing it again,"

She killed three students that day. No one knew who had done it. From the looks of it, they tried to force her into something she didn't want to do. She stabbed on in the eyes with a pencil. It went deep enough to kill him. The other one broke his neck when he fell down the center of the spiral staircase from the fourth floor. The last one she shoved into a window and a piece of glass pierced his neck. Since she walked away without saying anything, he bled to death. A few days after that incident, I caught her looking at the spot where it happened with a smile on her face.

"What are you thinking about, Sess?" Knuckles is the only i***t who likes to bother me when I'm alone.

"Aquarius," I lied.

"Sure," he scoffed. "Pinky is here,"

"f**k," I groaned.

"Not too happy to be here myself, ice boy," she walked into my study dressed in jean shorts, neon green knee-high sneakers, a pink long-sleeved crop-top, and baseball cap. At least it's the Aldea Knights and not something as stupid as her outfit.

"What are you nineteen? What the f**k are you wearing?" I bit out angrily.

"I'm twenty-four," she rolled her eyes brilliant red eyes at me. "We're not all multi-billionaire crime lords. Besides, this is cute. Watermelon colors,"

"Knuckles, get her something appropriate to wear. I am not going to be walking around with f*****g child. Watermelon colors," I sneered.

"One, I am not going to pass on you spending your money on me. Two, I happen to be the best-dressed captain in the aristocrat armada. Three, why are you such a hater? You had trash fashion sense when you were my age. I've seen the pictures," she laughed. Knuckles tried to mask his laughter as a cough. I glared at him and he walked out to do as I asked.

"Why did he send you?"

"To make sure you don't kill the target. We want to do that. Are you sure it's just one guy? This kind of magic takes a tremendous amount of skill. Our target has to be a water tribe mage. Not a lot of those anymore. It's one of their dying traditions. It takes too much power to keep them around,"

"How do you know that?" I asked, stunned. It's true. Not very many can practice Ice mage craft anymore with only one Elder tree left.

"I'm an ice fairy," she shrugged. "Water basics is a mandatory study for me. I'm still studying to push rank," she shrugged and sat down in an armchair and slumped into the backrest very un-lady-like. "What's that look on your face?"

"What look?"

"You look shook," she smirked. "I am starving. I'm a busy body. If you don't have food made, I can make some,"

"What? No, I don't keep food in the apartment,"

"What? Nothing? Your fridge is empty?"

"There are drinks in there but no I don't keep food in here. I have no need to,"

"You don't cook?

"I don't know-how,"

"What?" she sat up straight. "Where do you eat?"

"At work or, I order room service,"

"That's lame," she slumped back.

"You cook?"

"Yeah, I can't afford to be eating out all the time. I have things to pay,"

"Sage is in the military and she seems to be doing well for herself,"

"Yeah, she's the Guardian of the f*****g Realm. Her salary monthly is and without mission bonus is more than I've made my entire life. She's also super rich now that her wings came in,"

"What? Why is that a pay factor in her income?" I asked. She sat up looking me over.

"Oh, so you're not as close as I thought you were. Forget I said anything," she chuckled.

"You can't just do that. You can't just bring something up and not elaborate,"

"Yes, I can. It's Sage's business. Your nose doesn't belong in it. You two aren't together anymore. Between me and you, good. You guys look like a yin and yang mark. Not very flattering for either of your images,"

"You think she looks better with Redwood?"

"Are you kidding me?" she sat up with a wicked grin on her moronic face. "They look amazing together. They exude power. Their compatibility is through the f*****g Realm. I hate them. Who is that perfect together? Tell me. Who? It's un-f*****g-believable. You messed up. Time to move on. Find someone in your league,"

"Excuse me?" I scoffed. She fell back into the chair.

"Oh, come on. Sasha is a princess. She might have been down here slumming it with us but she doesn't belong here. The fact that she even knows our names is astonishing. Once her military training is over, she's not even going to step foot on these streets again. She's probably going to own the block I live on. You had to have known that she wasn't going to sit around here all of her life. She's outgrown you. People like that want the world not the sticky part in the corner of the fridge,"

"You haven't really gotten to know her have you?" No, I've never thought about that. There's not a single thing that I can't give Sasha. At least, that's what I've always told myself.

"It's not about that, Ace. It's just the way things are. Even being down to earth. Even if she did love you down to her bones. There's a massive gap between us and those born into the hierarchy. They don't live their lives like the rest of us. We're just the little side missions on their way to the top. Just a couple of sweats trying to keep up with the pros,"

"On top of all the craziness you are, you're a gamer too?" I scoffed.

"What do you have against games?" she sneered.

"They're a waste of time,"

"That's the point, genius. It keeps your mind off the ugly s**t in your head. Keeps you grounded. It burns that extra energy that suffocates you when you're alone. I deal with bullshit day in and day out for a living. I don't want to go home to keep thinking about it. I want to shoot zombies, go on adventures, build things, and make people rage quit. It's hilarious,"

"You could be doing so much more with your time,"

"Like what?" she challenged.

"You can travel,"

"Can't afford it,"

"What can you afford?"

"To play videos games," she rolled her eyes. "Come on. We're not leaving the realm until tomorrow,"

"Where would we be going?" I asked when she swung her legs up and then jumped up onto her feet.

"My place. I am going to cook for you. Bomb food is one way to mend a broken heart,"

"I am not going anywhere with you,"

"Come on, snowball. You got something better to do?" she asked. I sighed getting up. "Didn't think so. Question, are you super picky about your food?"

"No,"

"Is that I have a sophisticated pallet and my meat better not be overcooked, no? Or an I will eat anything you place in front of me no?"

"You're a cherry blossom fairy," I noticed. How didn't I see that before? I pulled the cap off her head. Her soft pink hair fell over her face.

"Rude," she complained trying to fix her hair. Her bangs fell forward. She shook them out and glared at me. I never noticed how adorable she is either. A little young and naive but surviving. "Yes, I am a Cherry Blossom fairy. My dad was half-ice, half-wind. My mom was half-blossom and half-wind,"

"Was her hair that same shade of pink?" I asked.

"Nah, hers was darker. Magenta. Mine is lighter because of my wind abilities. They're dominant,"

Captain Lilly Airstrike is a strange girl. The world hasn't been kind to her. She knows the difference between her and the people around her and she still chooses to play. She gives her all despite being alone. She is a busy body. There's a skip in her step. She's humming as she walks in step with me. Yet, she's very aware of her surroundings. This girl has been causing me trouble left and right for the past two years. She intercepted a few of my deals. Arrested a lot of my guys. Every time she signs off on their bail she laughs at me. I've never wanted to kick a girl in her face the way I want to kick her. Except maybe, Breeze.

"What are blossom abilities?" I asked.

She lives in midtown. This is where all the middle-class fairies live. It's classic. Timeless even. The houses all look the same. White picket fences, shutters, and tire swings. There are kids running around. Some are playing wing ball. Others are riding their skateboards.

"Hi, Captain Lilly," one of the little girls ran towards her.

"Hey, cutie," Lilly caught the little girl when she pushed off the ground mid-sprint. The two of them grunted when her little body collided with hers.

"You haven't been home in a long time. Nico and Luke both did a bet. Nico bet you died and Luke bet you didn't," she laughed.

"What did Nico lose?" Lilly laughed as if it weren't a big deal.

"The new pink juh-juhs,"

"That's it? What a rip-off. Make sure you tell Nico to pay up," she set the little girl down.

"Who's the big scary man?" the kid pointed at me.

"This is my friend from work. He doesn't have food in his house so he's going to eat mine,"

"Lame," the little girl laughed. "Laters, Captain pinky. I'll tell my mom you're backsies,"

"That's my landlord's kid," she sighed. "I just got paid and there goes my money,"

"Charming," I smiled at her.

Her house looks like the kind of place that raises kids that want to be weird things like lawyers and doctors but ultimately end up being cops or nurses. The kind of place where people have real choices. Unlike the rest of us who have taken after our parents without knowing much else.

Her yard is well taken care of. The grass was freshly cut. There are sunflowers and wind tulips growing along the white picket fence. Her front door is bright red. She has little gnome statues all over the place. There's a wooden swing on her porch with a stack of books on the floor next to it and a little table with an empty glass waiting to be used. She opened the door. A soft vanilla scent surrounded us.

"This is my place. It looks like a living person lives here," she spun around with her arms up.

The walls are a soft gray with portraits of herself and her family all over the place. The sofas in her living room look a little worn out. The coffee table has a vase with decaying lilies on it along with stacks of textbooks and paperwork. She's right, it looks like someone lives here. She opened the curtains letting the light in making the room look lively. I followed her into the next room.

This area has a small white wooden dining room table for four people. There's a small bar counter that divides this area from the kitchen. She motioned me to take a seat as she went over to the fridge. It's different from anything I've ever encountered before. I wonder what her story is. What happened to her family? What drives her? Who the hell is this girl and why was she put in my path?

"You live here alone?" I asked trying to ease the silence.

"Nope," she answered as she put a couple of pots on the stove. Before I could ask her who she lived here with a tiny white furball walked in. It stretched, letting out a little yawn before it meowed at her. "That's Blitz. I live here with her,"

"You have a cat. I'm not surprised," I admitted.

"You should get one. It's like having a needy roommate," she smirked. After putting something on the pans, she opened up a can of food and fed the cat who was more than happy to go over to her for the treat.

"No, thanks. I'm rarely ever home,"

"That's the beauty of cats. They require little attention. As long as they're properly taken care of, they pretty much mind their own business. She leaves for days on end too. There's a cat door in the back. I come home sometimes and she's having a f*****g party with the neighborhood cats," she laughed.

"And you just let her?"

"Well, yeah. She's a grown woman," she shrugged as she washed her hands to get back to the stove.

"Where are your people?" I finally asked. She tensed up before she glanced back at me.

"The former Ace killed them," she shrugged. "I was on a school trip or I'd probably be dead myself,"

"f**k," I shook my head. "Do you know why?"

"Mhm," she nodded.

"Are you going to tell me?"

"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," she smirked. "This is fun, isn't it? I'm not giving you a hard time. You're not thinking of ways to kill me and make it seem like an accident. To think that befriending Sage would bring us closer, Snowball. You seem like a decent guy when you're not pointing your handgun at me,"