Acion Nakamiji
Aurelia Nakamiji
The sky had turned red before she realized it. The radiant sunlight of dusk peered into the small glass window of the young female hero’s office as she quickly finished her paperwork for the workplace rental. She wasn’t usually this focused on her job, but rather preferred to take it loose and engulf herself into the night. But today, there was one particular thing that she had to do, had to prioritize over anything.
The papers were finally finished, as Aurelia clicked on the tip of the ball-point pen and literally threw it on the desk where she worked. Stretching her lower back loudly, she obviously had been adopting to this a little bit too much, detrimentally. After all, the Sky Knight’s specialty was more of larger-scaled threats. And not every villain out there were planning to take over the world or extinguish humanity. In fact, those villains that young children usually see on the TV screens were among the rarest of all villains. Crimes now took place at a much smaller scale, and with a lot more difficulties in tracking them. As a result, one who thought that her hero group was a place of excitement of adventure were horribly wrong. In truth, the life of a ‘Sky Knight’ is a constant period of patrols and routined activities, even boredom, with only brief intervals of challenge and danger. Villains seldom act like how they usually do on some Hollywood blockbusters. It was the heroes that must become a hunter, searching and investigating with craft and patience. Successes were often achieved by a confluence of small things: stray facts, overheard conversations and careless small evidence. Only that would the routine be broken by combat.
Now that she had her entire evening schedule emptied, she immediately set off to where her home used to belong. Her second home. After leaving a note notifying her colleagues her whereabouts, she walked to the windows. And from her back, a pair of soft and beautiful white wings slowly spread out, growing steadily in size. The same pair of wings that had carried her through thousands of winds. Reaching her most powerful length, three meters long each, her back muscles began to unleash its magic. The wings flapped, up and down, up and down, gradually but powerfully, with the strength of a hundred men. Her figure looked no different from a guardian angel, preparing to soar through the sky with finesse and grace.
And finally, she took off. The movements that she had practiced for so long, and for so many times felt so light and intuitive. After a second gaining her momentum, she rotated her body, letting the physics do the work, as she turned westward, towards Komei’s Hero Academy. It was far, for a normal commuter, but was near enough for Aurelia, for she had her ability, and the privileges to use it. If she were flying this freely just three years ago, if caught, she would be fined pretty harsh for it. And with all honesty, she thought that the rule to forbade people from using quirks in public is…stupid. Of course, the likelihood of criminal activities, and perhaps some foolish daredevils making a ruckus out in the open, would increase as a result, but this would restrict a lot of services and practices that would benefit society. And if criminal activities increases, what were hero’s groups for? There were dozens of these organizations out there who were looking for a chance to prove themselves, and yet they were rotting in some places out there. Hero’s Academy produces heroes, but the output was simply too much. They simply admitted too many students. This had been something that Aurelia had also been debating, sometimes petitioning the court for it, but didn’t really produce any results.
But for now, it didn’t matter, as the school had come into her sight.
’He’s at dorm 1. If my memories do not fail me…’She immediately turned to her right, her adjusting her rear feathers so that the airflow would make her body automatically move naturally. Approaching the dorm, the ‘Sky Defender’ landed gracefully onto the hallway of the dorm, the second floor. Figuring that Acion would be having dinner around this time, as he was already used to at home, she headed downstairs to the general dining room, to witness a crowd of students massing at tables, wolfing down their food and happily chatting with their dorm members. And they were all hero students, all bright and promising. For a moment, she was slightly taken away by the feeling that she used to be one of them. Time passed so quickly
Aurelia gazed around the room, noticing the dorm mother, Retha, whom she personality really adored. If Komei was Aurelia’s second home, then Retha would definitely be her mother. She’s kind, warm-hearted and motherly. Her trainings were a little bit excessive though; Aurelia still had PTSD about it, but knowing that she did so because she recognized the girl as a student with great potential, and hoped with her whole heart that she would succeed made Aurelia feel even more thankful. And a part of her feel proud to be standing here, with the infamy of achievements behind her back, and gladly inform her that her dear ‘daughter’ had succeeded. She would definitely be happy. But since her main purpose here would be to talk to Acion, she would have to wait. Nevertheless, she gave Retha a hello wave with a smile, being persistent until the dorm mother had noticed her, before approaching Acion.
”Sister?”Acion’s face was a definition of surprise, with a little glimpse of fear and nervousness, as the person who had inherently raged right onto his ear a few hours ago were there, without his knowledge.
”Sorry guys, if I interrupt your conversation. Acion, do you mind if we have a walk outside?””Of course…” His voice was a bit uncertain, but went for it anyway as the two left the dining room and walked down the hallway.
”You probably have already guessed what I am going to talk to me.””The incident earlier today, right?””Precisely.””You see, I wasn’t intending to-””I know.” Aurelia said, as she turned to look at her younger brother in the eyes.
”I know that you honestly want to take out that guy, and get the boy out of there. I know that, because that is in your blood. You have that blood of a hero, that is the most important thing, because it places you on top of everybody else.””But I failed to- Acion was about to speak, as Aurelia placed her finger on his lips.
”Yes you did, but can you expect him to still be conscious and has a gun hidden? When I think about it, even I might not be able to anticipate it.” She said, with a gentle and sisterly tone.
”No humans can anticipate everything that happens around us, and no contingency would be able to fully compensate for it. So you can simply boil it down to simply your luck being very dark at that moment.”Acion bit his lips as he looked away. It was true. After all considerations, the words were pretty much right...And yet, he didn’t feel anymore better. It was still painful. To see that the boy, who should have been with his family right now, was probably in a hospital, full of medical equipment attached onto him, probably motionless and had to to be fed. It pained him just by thinking about it.
”You know what, let me tell you a story…” Aurelia said, noticing the sorrow.
”It dates back to the first year after I get into the pro hero league, and a few months after establishing Sky Knight. At the time, there were less members than we do now. Only Albert, Forte, myself and one more. He used to be a close friend of mine, along side those two.””That’s nice.” Acion said, noticing the weird touch in her speech.
”And used to?”Aurelia inclined her head; her eyes became glassy and transparent, as the sorrow and pain of those time resurfaced to eat her heart once again.
”Used to, because…” She had to take a moment to prepare herself, not for Acion, but against her own painful memory.
”He died on a patrol mission.””Died?” Acion was genuinely surprised.
”What happened?”He instantly regretted his decisions to ask her, but the question had already slipped.
”He ran into the Sword Saint.” She said, as her eyes became more and more distant.
”He was the one of the most notorious criminal of the time, having killed countless heroes before. And his presence in the region placed the entirety of the hero groups into high alert and standby position.”She said, her head hung lower by the time, her eyes fixed firmly on the ground.
”On that day, all of us sorted out on a mission to search for clues and evidence, just basically scanning around the area for anything. And he voted to take the outskirt region, which was one of the most dangerous place. Albert and Forte protested against going alone, but since I thought it was merely a patrol and scouting mission, I accepted his proposal. He also seemed very determined about it, so I just let him go, without much consideration.” She said.
”Hours later, we receive an emergency distress call from him. But as we were rushing towards the sight, the communication line suddenly went completely silent. I already had a really bad feeling at that moment, but deeply in my heart, and everybody else’s, I still hoped that he was still ok.””As time passed by, I became more and more worried, but still believed he was alive and fighting. Scenarios began to play out in my mind of how the com link could be shut off during the fight. Some were very silly, but it was because I dearly hoped that he was still well…But all my hopes were betrayed.”Acion now noticed a line of tear coming down her left eyes. And another one, coming from her right. It really discomforted him to see his sister like this, but what could he possibly say here that was appropriate? It was uncomfortable, but he let her finish her story.
”By the time the three of us reach his destination, there was nothing left. No sight of the villain, no trace of the escape route. Only his lifeless body remained.” Aurelia continued, the resentment had reached her climax.
”And was he caught?”Aurelia shook her head lightly.
”Still out there, still killing people.””That night, I locked myself inside my room, and cried for hours. Cried until the fatigue and the darkness of the night consume me, cried until I could not cry anymore. The following day I couldn’t bring myself to work, because the guilt was overwhelming me, about my decisions that brought him his doom and how I wish I could reverse the hours of the day back and stop him. But the reality was there. He was dead, and there was nothing that can be done...”Aurelia finally finished, as she raised her hand to wipe the tears from her eyes. And the winged boy was silently watching. It was truly a tragic story. He was Aurelia’s friends, along with Albert and Forte. The quartet had studied at Komei together, had endured through high school lives, had fought together and had been through countless joy and sorrow together. They moved on to work together, and lived the working life together as one. Honestly, one wouldn’t be blamed if he or she would imagine them grow old together, have kids and watch them grow up as well, playing together, like in any fairy tale. But reality was cruel. One mistake and that innocent dream had been ripped into pieces, and the bond of friendship that they had solidly built with theie whole heart now had a hole that could never ever be mended, or refilled. Acion stared at her, as the story, her sorrow, her tears had opened something in him. A realization.
Aurelia turned to look at Acion, her eyes gazed into his with sympathy and compassion, drawing the line for him to go.
”You’ve heard it and seen it. I also did not anticipate that he would run into him. However, I knew that the area was dangerous, but I let him go anyway. And the price for it was a lot more dear than your scenario. While the boy is only someone you just met, in my case he is my best friend for years, and I have to bear the guilt in front of both myself and his family as well. Sure, they weren’t cynical like some, but the feeling like they are resenting you was there. And it hurt.”He couldn’t believe it.
”What I want to say from the story, you see, is that no one is immune from failure.” Aurelia said, as the door slowly opened for her little brother.
”Even when you reach the league of professional heroes, you will still fail from time to time. You can’t be infallible. And what is most important for a hero is to never dwell on it. You let the memories of your failure to show you the errors of your way, but never let it eat on your heart or your mind. Because there is no use in that. I despise failure as well, but its equivalent in many cases isn’t the end, or that you would fail again and again. I know that because…”She continued staring into him, pausing a bit to let the words sink, before finishing.
”...because I know you will not let yourself fail again.”And that was it.
He had walked into the light.
Acion listened to his sister’s words as if it was the words on an angel. To be honest, if he had looked at it more poetically, his big sister may actually be an angel in disguise. There was a little irony, since Acion usually perceive her sister to usually be quite childish, hot-headed and a bit rash, and the winged boy himself was usually the more even-tempered older brother type, but after hearing her words, he couldn’t help contemplating how wrong he had been. She was a lot more mature than he was, and even after all the differences in appearance and actions, she still proved to have more life experience and wisdom than he did, and have been through a lot more than him. And this made everything he had believed in so far felt nothing different from an immature and irrational perception of a child.
It was clear, in the end, Aurelia was the older sibling, and Acion was the younger one.
”Now this is really embarrassing…” Acion said.
”I really hadn’t thought that you would be this way.” Aurelia’s expression turned drastically. Negatively.
”Huh?! Then what exactly do you think I usually act?” She had returned to her normal self, as she glared at him.
”Not that way…” Acion said, noticing the aura from her glare.
”Your answer doesn’t make any sense! Let me guess, it’s father who told you about me, didn’t you?” ”Uh, yes...” He answered, reluctantly, as Aurelia gave herself a facepalm, and a deep exhale.
”I guess I will be the one to teach you everything about life. He has softened you too much” She said. That also sparked something that Acion had to speak about.
”Hey…” He said quietly, as she turned to him.
”I couldn’t help but notice that you and father don’t really resemble. In thoughts and so. And your words also contradicts his. So was he wrong all the time?”He wasn’t exactly sure himself. There were two opposite views from two of his dearest family members, and he couldn’t really decide on who to follow. Aurelia found this a bit surprising, but simply smiled.
”There were meanings in his words that was to be perceived in a different way. But he, of course, wasn’t wrong.” She said, as she stopped walking, as Acion stopped in her track as well.
”You do know that you cannot fly until you are the age of nine right?””Yeah.””And do you know that many people were disappointed because of that?”Eh?
Acion was baffled.
”Yes. It is the truth.” Aurelia said.
”You used to be a great disappointment to everyone, while I have to compensate for that. But your father and mother refused to let you be influenced by that, and as a result injected you with all that destiny and god thing.” ...
’Was that even real? That mother and father…’”I, of course, don’t approve their methods. But it surely has proved to be beneficial. You have indeed grown to become a powerful fighter. I mean, if you keep on like that, you are fully eligible to come see me the moment you got your graduation degree. But the inevitable result is that you have become a super awkward and crazy traditionalist.” She looked at him, as he turned away. Embarrassment was the exact word to describe him now, as he reflect on his earlier action during the day, and earlier on as well. He even thought that was cool at the time. How stupid…
”I see…” Acion said.
”I’ve been so stupid…””Yes you have. But…” She slapped her palm into his arm.
”You’ve come to realized that soon enough. A lot sooner than I expected. Hopefully, it will make you a lot more ‘appealing’ to the students than you are currently now.” Acion’s face turned a little red.
”Appealing? What do you mean by that?””Look at yourself.” She told him as if she was mocking his own ignorance.
”I doubt no one actually care about how your hairs are good-looking. By your age, the boys are already getting for themselves a girlfriend that they can dick around with for their entire life.””Hey! I have a future to work for.” He protested.
”But don’t tell me you do not find anyone around you particularly attractive?”Her words stunned her little brother, as his face got redder, a mixture of anger and fluster.
”...Two…” He replied.
”There are two that I appeal the most.” ”Geez, you sure are hopeless. Some of the boys are making a harem of their own. Look at where you are right now. Pathetic…” Aurelia shrugged her shoulder as if she wasn’t even paying attention
”Hey, hey! I’m working to get into Sky Knight just like you wished, and what are you complaining?” The rant back and forth would continue on for a few more minutes, but eventually it died down, and the two siblings once again walked down the hallway of the dorm, as the radiant red of the sun were having its final glory before being enveloped by the starry night.
”You know…I had wished for a moment like this for a while now.””You do?””You remember the time when you were still all about the strong and the weak?
“”Ah…” It was Aurelia’s turn to be embarrassed. Those time were pretty much the lowest stoop of her life path. Even mentioning about it made her feel a little bit shameful of herself, since she was prideful of herself, and the Nakamiji bloodline. But after all, everyone had these memories like this, and it was through these that one’s individual would grow to what people would call ‘maturity’.
”You were like that all the time, distant from me, and everybody else. Sometimes, I just wished to have someone of my age to play with, but you were never there. And when you snapped out of it, you were already gone.””Hmm…” Aurelia nodded, feeling a little down and guilty.
”If we can remind ourselves of those times, do you mind if you and I can go outside. Tomorrow afternoon, after class. To do me a favor. I was not able to do it today because of, you know, that.””Tomorrow is quite a busy day for me…” She mumbled, but after some considerations…
”...but I can manage.”She understood her brother’s intention.
”However, to prevent clogging my schedule, you would have to patrol the city along with the Sky Knight as well.””But you know perfectly well that I cannot go out on my own for the whole semester. I’ll need you to escort me out, and even then they won’t let me go anywhere beyond your sight.””Ayy…” The Sky Defender sighed audibly.
”How inconvenient. Fine, I’ll stop by the school by then, and I’ll file you a leave.” ”Thanks, nee-san.” Acion said.
Noticing the sudden and unusual way Acion addresses her sister, Aurelia was believed to give one of the kindest smile she had ever given, as she slowly walked to her brother’s side.
”You probably felt lonely after all those years right? Let me make that up to you...”She then stood on her heels, right next to her brother, one of her hand placed on his shoulder.
And she kissed him...
On his left cheek.
It was a short one, lasting only a few seconds. But for him, who knows how long it lasted.
”There we go. See you tomorrow, little brother.”With that, she quickly departed, as her wings once again soared with might and beauty, leaving Acion with a couple of feathers slowly descending onto the dorm’s balcony.
The winged boy, after recovered from Aurelia’s sudden behavior, found himself completely bare. His sadness didn’t completely vanish, but most were now replaced by a renewed confidence. A new Acion Nakamiji. He had become a different person, and hopefully, a better person than he had been before. And he was now ready to face what was to be thrown at him, what was to be taken away from him.
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