[7] Team Reijin - Watchtower

[Reijin]

Reijin grumbled angrily as he walked forward with the rest of the group. What the hell had he done to cause himself to be slapped? He had no idea, but the woman that had slapped him immediately began to strike up a conversation with Kami. Reijin picked up that she was Akira Dezmon, the sister of Katel that they had been trying to find earlier. Reijin glared a bit. ?Isn?t she supposed to be on Brim?s side?? he whispered to Uub. Uub shrugged in response as they listened to the conversation.

The two had greeted themselves like old friends, and Kami immediately voiced everyone?s concerns. ?What did your sister do to get you back?? he asked her.

The beautiful woman gave her sister a look and then replied to him in a manner that purposely kept the details vague. "Brim had me on a leash, but Katel was able to break me free. Details only bog it down and make it more complicated than it needs to be." Kami simply shrugged, accepting the reason.

Reijin wasn?t sure of his opinion on the answer, but he understood how these things went and wasn?t willing to press the issue for the moment. The two continued their conversation for a few moments while Uub simply walked over to the Watchman that was standing nearby, watching them with a wise sort of curiosity. Reijin glanced up at Katel and gave her a questioning look, receiving nothing more than a giggle for his troubles. Sighing, he sat down and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

Suddenly, Akira Dezmon appeared above his view. He swallowed and then leaned forward, rising up to meet her on even ground. ?Hi,? he greeted her cautiously. He had indeed changed. If he was his former self, he would have simply ignited her on the spot. It was a shame for her that he had no such ability as igniting someone.

She smiled at him innocently and reached up slowly, watching him flinch, as she touched the slightly burned red mark on the side of his face. ?Does it really hurt that badly?? she asked, concerned.

The Saiyan pulled back awkwardly from her touch, turning away to walk towards the side of the tower and look off in the distance. He had realized by now that she was not going to try to get herself killed, but he was still unsure as to her intentions. ?It?ll be alright?? he finally grumbled. She reappeared at his side, giving him a slight look as she leaned down onto the side of the tower as well. He gave her a sideways glance. ?What? Is there something more that you wish to say?? he questioned roughly.

She smiled, shaking her head. ?Nah, just curious.? She reached her cool fingertips up to slide along his cheek again, and he felt a cool affectionate sensation spread throughout his face. He pulled away unconsciously disturbed, and continued to look at her. She gazed up at him, with a smile that could disarm Satan himself, and Reijin could not help but feel a slight amount of empathy for her having been controlled by Brim. ?So do you? Do you feel anything strange?? She giggled slightly as she said this, her eyes shining.

Reijin spun around, grabbing her hands and looking at her a bit paranoid. ?What the hell do you mean? Why would I feel strange?? he finally growled. What bothered him more than her words was the warming sensation that was spreading throughout his body. He released her arm and pulled slightly at his uniform, trying to allow for more air to flow in between.

?You don?t feel the slightest bit warm? You are turning a bit red,? she revealed.

Reddening further through humiliation, the youthful warrior shot her a glance of warning. ?What did you do to me?? he asked her.

Disarmingly, she drummed her fingers on the railing of the building before turning once more to look at him. She seemed almost as if she were studying him. ?I passed some of my power to you.?

His eyes could have bore holes through her. Before questioning the truth of the matter, or what exactly these powers were, he immediately attacked the point. ?Why??

She turned to look off into the distance and her face took on a sorrowful expression as she gazed off into the distance. ?Because, I felt the need to return some of what I had taken from others. I feel as if I owe everyone for the sins that I committed during my time under Brim?s control. I wanted to do what I could to give back some of that.? She finally turned to him with a resolute expression upon her face.

Reijin snorted in response. ?You owe nothing. It wasn?t you that committed those acts.? She gave him a surprised reaction, not at all expecting to hear this from him. ?It was Brim?s choices and actions. You were nothing more than a vessel. Not everyone does things by their own choice. Some people will commit the most heinous atrocities in the name of their goal. I would know, as I?ve done it myself. I?m a Saiyan.?

She gave a tight lipped smile at him while maintaining sorrowful eyes. ?I know.?

Strengthened by getting that out of his system, he changed the subject. ?So what exactly did you pass on to me?? He tried to feel it within his system, but it was a sensation so alien that he had yet to determine what changes to his aura had taken place.

Smiling, she held up her soft hand as a ball of flame ignited within it. She playfully tossed it up and down into the air, and Reijin?s eyes became captivated by the swirling ball of fire as she began to explain. ?I have control over a few domains of power. This is part of what Brim found appealing about me. I have allowed you to have a bit of my ability to control fire.?

Reijin?s eyes wandered from the ball of flame to her own retinas. ?You mean I can create a ball of Ki energy that looks like Ki, right??

Akira shook her head and spoke quickly. ?No, you have the ability to actually create flame itself.?

The Saiyan spat denial at her with a rapid fury. ?That is impossible. I know it to be so due to the training I have received. You cannot control heat or things like that, you can only control Ki energy.?

Her eyes seemed to bore holes into his skull. ?Then you have limited yourself into a blind spot within your beliefs.? She gave him a moment to respond, but he merely watched her for any further explanation. She nodded slightly, and continued on. ?It is the ability to use your Ki energy in order to manipulate the flow of atoms in such as way as to create a quick extremity of heat, producing flame. Will that explanation suffice??

Reijin could do nothing more than shake his head with a puzzled look. ?So you are saying that by doing this, I can simply will fire into existence??

She nodded. ?More or less, yes. It?s a little more difficult than that, but you get the right idea.?

?Show me.?

She turned and began to walk off towards the other direction. She called back over her shoulder to him. ?No. You show ME.? Reijin stared at her retreating form as he saw Uub standing in the distance, tightening his fists before her. She began to talk with him while he shot a look to Kami. The Namekian didn?t nothing more than give a puzzled smile of his own and Reijin walked back to the edge for a moment, looking out into the horizon. He wasn?t completely sure, but he could feel the energy of Olibu in the horizon coming closer. Reijin didn?t particularly care, as long as he never saw Bojack again, or else he would have to continue what he had started with the pirate on Dante.

He tried to question himself inwardly, using the training he?d received for such matters, but he could find nothing that would allow him to handle such an intangible feeling. He felt as if he were burning up with a form of the flu, and yet he felt as if there was nothing different on the inside. ?Perhaps this isn?t something that comes from the inside?? he finally mumbled.

He turned around and began walking back to the center of the watchtower. ?Akira,? he called. She turned and looked over her shoulder from her conversation with the tanned human warrior. ?I need you to show me what to do.?

She shook her head, rejecting him on the spot. ?No. If you are simply wanting me to teach you how to do, then you will not be able to. All that I can do is guide you in learning for yourself.?

Reijin aura began to burn around him in a small Ki fashion. ?I learn quickly. I know a lot more about aura control than most people do, and I transcend my abilities beyond that of my race. I am trained in the Gaean arts of Ki manipulation.? Akira raised her eyebrows curiously at these words, and she finally relented.

She gave the Watchman a look. ?Is there any chance that that training facility can be put to use by us?? A wave later and they found themselves deep underground in a very dark and metallic training area. Before Reijin?s eyes had the opportunity to adjust, a trickle of a flame surrounded her body, burning in a way that made his own aura seem dim in comparison.

The Saiyan swallowed a small drop of water from the back of his throat as he powered his own Ki aura around his form. She walked up to him and held a finger out to him, his eyes focusing on the small amount of flame that surrounded it. ?Show me,? she spoke. ?Show me what you think that you can do.?

The raven haired fighter took a step back and confidently began to will a flame to surround himself. He closed his eyes, imagining the heat of the flames to be coating him, and for the very walls themselves to be surrounded in a glow. His skin began to sweat slightly, and he continued to keep his eyes shut. Calling forth his deepest energies, he imagined the flames penetrating his sweat pores and soaking his entire skin with their power, covering his body until he was nothing more than a creature of living flame.

Slowly opening his eyes, he gave her a confidant look. ?Well?? he asked, leaving any comments for her to make. She just continued giving him a look.

?Well what? You haven?t done anything.?

Reijin quickly looked down to see that his entire dark suit of armor was unscathed, and his cloak was simply hanging loosely around him, forcing him to have trouble breathing. He growled in anger, and then reached up to the clasps of his uniform, releasing them and pulling off his cloak. He turned towards the distant darkness, and tossed his cloak to the ground. Shortly after, his armor and shirt followed.

After a moment, he flexed his chest muscles and turned back around, giving Akira a determined stance. ?Perhaps now that I have rid myself of those extra layers?? he trailed off.

She smiled. ?You are kinda cute.? Reijin?s brow rose in surprise, and she immediately leapt back to cut him off. ?So make sure that you concentrate. First off, what did you learn from that experience??

The Saiyan warrior?s first impulse was to shrug ignorantly, but he was never one to follow his initial thoughts. A few seconds of silence passed as she continued to watch him, her fire burning all over her body. She seemed pleased that he was thinking about it instead of simply giving her the first answer that he came to. Finally, after a bit of thought, he smirked. ?This power is not something that comes from the inside? It is something that I must learn to manipulate indirectly.?