~Chapter 2~
After they were settled, Lucar and Razan brought Jirro and the other kids to an open clearing on the mountain with the intent of training them, one with an area that could act as a racetrack. Lucar had agreed to let Razan teach, he had much more bravado than him.
Jirro and Aero sat cross-legged, with Razan standing in front of them. Ruben, Corri, and Lucar watched at a distance. Jirro was eager to begin.
"We've realized we haven't pushed you boys hard enough. You weren't strong enough to take care of yourselves when we were gone," Razan said, doing his best to sound like an instructor, "Which is why you two will be training nonstop while we stay on Platt Mountain."
"What about me, dad?" Corri asked.
Razan frowned, "You don't have to worry about anything, sweetheart. You can count on your brother and Jirro to protect you."
Corri furrowed her brow and pouted her lip.
Razan yelled loudly at the boys, "Do you two want to get stronger!?"
"Yeah!" Jirro and Aero yelled in unison. Razan knew how to get them pumped up.
"Let's see here..." Razan looked around the area until his eyes stopped on Ruben, "Would you like to help the boys train?"
Ruben hopped to its stony feet, "Sure."
Razan walked over to Ruben, squatted down, and with a single hand, lifted the Densius's round body up into the air. He effortlessly lifted Ruben up and down a few times to get a feel for its weight. Razan looked around the area before setting Ruben down and turning enthusiastically to the boys.
"Alright then! Every other day, you boys are going to do a lap through that terrain while carrying Ruben," Razan gestured to the terrain that would act as their path, "On your days off you'll refine your technique with me and Lucar. Now, who'd like to go first?"
Aero didn't hesitate. He ran over to Ruben, put both hands beneath him, and tried to pick up the boulder child. Jirro was angry at himself for not being first.
Aero planted his feet and slowly picked Ruben off the ground until he stood straight. He began down the path with the young Densius in his arms, wobbling from side to side until he gathered his balance. The rock child's weight must've been similar to that of a boulder. Aero traveled the path at a snail's pace.
"It'll be challenging at first, but I know you boys will adapt," Razan proclaimed.
While Aero took his lap, Jirro tapped his father Lucar.
"What is it?" Lucar asked.
"I learned a new technique while we were separated!" Jirro said proudly.
Lucar raised his eyebrow, "Oh really? Well, show me."
"Okay! Okay, one minute," Jirro began to pick up rocks and stack them into a pile. Lucar and Razan wondered what he could possibly be doing, but Corri was excited to see their reaction.
He stacked a satisfactorily large pile of stones and distanced himself from them by a few meters. Jirro took a fighting stance, a deviation of his father's.
Jirro punched at the air, and a faint blue light emitted from his fist. When the light struck the rocks, they toppled over as if Jirro had punched them.
"What do you think?" Jirro asked excitedly, his breath slightly labored from using Focus. But when he looked at his father, he seemed to be in a stupor. He wasn't just surprised, he looked scared.
Lucar belted out, "Never do that again!"
Jirro jumped. His dad didn't usually get angry like that, "Bu-But why?"
Lucar stammered for a moment. He looked pained by whatever came to his mind, "It doesn't matter why! Don't do that again! That goes for Aero and Corri too, understand!?" Lucar shouted.
Jirro's lip quivered, "I-I understand."
Lucar, still caught in fury, said, "Good." before storming off. The mere sight of the ability made him violently angry.
Razan awkwardly looked back and forth between the kids and Lucar.
"Err... Just finish up your training, alright?" Razan said as casually as he could before he followed after Lucar.
An exhausted Aero returned after completing a lap and quickly set Ruben down. He looked at Jirro and Corri, who were still in shock from Lucar's outburst.
"You two okay?" Aero asked.
"My dad said we can't use focus anymore," Jirro said quietly.
"Why?" Aero asked, still catching his breath.
"He just said not to," Corri added, "He got really angry when he saw Jirro do it."
"That's not fair. He used it when he fought Modi."
Jirro and Corri's eyes turned promptly to Aero, "He did?"
"Yeah, he used Focus to break out of handcuffs!" Aero explained.
"Who's Modi?" Ruben interjected.
"The old lady who tried to kidnap us," Aero answered.
Corri played with her hair as she thought, "Why would he act like that if he used Focus too?"
Jirro thought quietly for a moment. When his dad yelled at him, there was anger... but it almost looked like there was a twinge of fear as well. Sadness even.
"Knowing that makes me want to use Focus even more now," Aero said defiantly.
"Don't. If my dad doesn't want us using it, it's for a good reason," Jirro defended him absolutely. He trusted him. But he could tell he was hiding something. 385Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcRXRyq0EE
