"Come on, Jack. Let's go."
Alfie turned around and started walking.
"We're going to figure this out by ourselves."
Jackson followed him down the stairs.
"Thanks for that, Alfie."
He looked at him.
"But you don't need to back me up and lose your chance of getting stronger."
"Stronger?"
Alfie glanced at him.
"They're not that strong."
Jackson raised an eyebrow.
"You can take that guy if you train a little harder."
Alfie continued walking.
"They're nothing special. Just rude guys who think everybody is weak because they're not called Silenters."
He paused.
"The bow guy is kind of cool, though. He seems different."
The two boys continued toward the building where they had been staying.
Then.....
"Well, well, well..."
A voice suddenly came from above the building in front of them.
"If it isn't the new kids in town."
Alfie and Jackson immediately looked up.
Seating on top of the building was the masked man who had teleported them here.
He jumped down.
His feet remained slightly above the ground for a moment before finally touching it.
He stood in front of them with both hands behind his back.
"That was impressive, Alfie."
He smiled.
"Really impressive."
Alfie frowned.
"Why did you say that?"
He crossed his arms.
"Was I supposed to fall to the ground and beg for their mercy when they tried to mock me and my friend?"
The masked man shook his head.
"Not really."
He paused.
"Just more like... you know, polite words to calm them down and resolve the issue."
Alfie scoffed.
"That's not what they wanted."
His expression became serious.
"They wanted to feel dominant and all-powerful."
He looked toward the building.
"That's not the way of a true Shinra."
The masked man remained silent.
"You don't flex your strength like that on your fellow humans."
The masked man stared at Alfie for a few seconds.
Then Jackson spoke.
"Here's the thing, Mr."
He clenched his fist.
"If they don't want me to train with them, then fine."
Jackson looked down at his hand.
"I'm going to figure something out sooner or later."
He tightened his fist.
"I won't be a liability to anybody."
He looked toward Alfie.
"Not to Alfie..."
Then toward himself.
"And not to myself."
Suddenly....
BOOM!
Three pillars standing in front of the building shattered apart.
Alfie's eyes widened.
Jackson froze.
The masked man looked toward the destroyed pillars.
Before the building could collapse.....
WHOOSH!
The broken structure rebuilt itself.
The pillars returned to their original positions as if nothing had happened.
Alfie stared at Jackson.
"What..."
He pointed at the pillars.
"...was that?"
The masked man smiled.
"Finally..."
He stretched his hand toward Jackson.
"Finally, it's here."
Jackson looked confused.
"Come on, Jack."
The masked man stretched his hand,pulled Jackson toward him, without getting close to him.
"Hey!"
Jackson's mouth opened in surprise as he was dragged in mid air towards the masked guy.
"HEY!"
Alfie shouted.
"Where are you taking him?"
The masked man flew away with Jackson toward the mountain town.
Alfie watched them disappear into the distance.
"First Mr. Reaper..."
He sighed.
"Now Jack."
He shook his head.
"Damn it."
Alfie turned around and walked back to their room.
The moment he entered, he threw himself onto the bed.
Within minutes, he was asleep.
---
Hours Later
Several hours passed.
Alfie slowly opened his eyes.
"Huh...?"
He sat up.
The first thing he noticed was Sasaki and Jackson sitting together and eating.
Their mouths were both full of food.
They looked at Alfie.
Alfie stared at them.
"You guys are eating without me?"
Without waiting for an answer, he jumped straight toward the food.
He grabbed the bowl and started eating.
Rice.
Meat.
Vegetables.
Everything on the table disappeared quickly.
Sasaki and Jackson stopped eating and simply watched him.
They picked up their water and drank.
Then....
BURP!
They both looked at each other.
"My bad."
They said it at the same time.
Alfie finished the remaining food and sat back down on the floor.
He looked at them.
"Why didn't you guys wake me up to eat?"
He pointed at Jackson.
"You're becoming more like Mr. Reaper now, Jack."
Sasaki frowned..."
"Hey... why's that?"
"Am I that bad at everything?"
Alfie and Jackson immediately burst into laughter.
Jackson shook his head.
"You just ate our food with us."
He laughed.
"And we're going to eat yours with you."
Sasaki reached into his Storage Ring.
He pulled out a bowl of food and handed it to Alfie.
"When they brought the food, you were asleep."
Jackson explained.
"So Mr. Sasaki decided to keep yours."
Alfie looked at the food.
He let out a long sigh.
"I hate sharing my meat."
They began eating.
After finishing their meal, Sasaki stood up.
"I'm taking a bath."
He walked toward the bathroom.
Alfie looked at Jackson.
"Oh..."
He remembered something.
"Where did that weird guy take you, Jack?"
Jackson leaned back.
"To some old place."
He thought for a moment.
"It was filled with fallen pillars and different broken statues."
He paused.
"Just like a destroyed building."
Alfie looked interested.
"To do what exactly?"
Jackson smiled.
"Let me break this down for you."
He pointed at himself.
"Something finally came to my rescue, Alfie."
"And..."
Alfie leaned forward.
"Back then, when those pillars were destroyed..."
Jackson paused.
"I was the one who did it."
"Unknowing.."
Alfie's eyes widened.
"Wow!"
Alfie leaned closer.
"How did you do it?"
"The masked guy explained it to me."
Jackson looked at his hands.
"He said I lifted the pattern that had been disrupting me from using spiritual energy."
Alfie frowned.
"Spiritual energy?"
He tilted his head.
"Pattern?"
He looked confused.
"What does any of that mean?"
Jackson looked at him.
"You know the Art of Mojito?"
Alfie thought for a moment.
"I think I've heard of it."
"The Art of Mojito is accessed through spiritual energy."
Jackson continued.
"It works on your imagination, turning your imagination into reality."
"Just like when I imagined destroying those three pillars in anger..."
He paused.
"And they were destroyed."
Alfie's eyes widened.
"I still don't fully understand the patterns yet."
Jackson continued.
"But he said they're deep inside my spiritual energy field."
He raised his hand.
"The more patterns I lift, the more I open the road to more spiritual energy."
Alfie stared at him.
"Wow..."
He suddenly jumped to his feet.
"That's what I'm talking about!"
He pointed at Jackson proudly.
"I knew you'd definitely come up with something."
He smiled.
"That's the Jack I know."
Jackson laughed.
"Calm down now, will you?"
Just then.....
The bathroom door opened.
Sasaki stepped out.
Alfie and Jackson immediately turned toward him.
They froze.
Sasaki was wearing a strange red pajama outfit.
The pajamas were covered with pink flowers.
Alfie stared at him.
"What are you wearing, Mr. Reaper?"
Sasaki looked down at himself.
"Some trash Beatrice forced me to wear."
He walked toward the sofa.
"She said it would help me meditate in my sleep."
Jackson stared at the pajamas.
"That doesn't make any sense."
Alfie and Jackson immediately burst into laughter.
"Those are for women, Mr. Reaper!"
Alfie pointed at the pajamas.
"Why would you wear pajamas designed with pink flowers?"
"Shut up, both of you!"
Sasaki sat on the couch.
"It's part of the training."
The boys continued laughing.
"Can you shut up?"
Sasaki shouted.
"People are trying to sleep!"
They slowly calmed down.
Alfie wiped his eyes.
"Mr. Reaper is so funny."
He looked at Sasaki.
"That woman is just tricking you into wearing those pajamas."
Jackson laughed.
"Maybe she made them herself and wanted Mr. Sasaki to test them."
"No, no, no."
Alfie shook his head.
"She wouldn't make them for him willingly."
He looked at Jackson.
"Maybe they were too big for her..."
Jackson immediately understood.
"...So she decided Mr. Reaper was big enough to wear them."
They both burst into laughter again.
Sasaki sat there in silence.
He didn't know what to say anymore.
He simply stood up.
Then he walked toward the bed and lay down.
"When you're done, turn off the lights and sleep."
Alfie immediately interrupted.
"No, no, no. Not so fast, Mr. Reaper."
Sasaki looked at him.
"You need to tell us how your day went."
Alfie grinned.
"Did she give you some kind of uniform to wear while you trained with her?"
Jackson was already laughing again.
Sasaki looked completely defeated.
"Okay..."
He sighed.
"You boys win."
He pulled the blanket over himself.
"Can you please sleep now?"
"I have a busy day tomorrow."
Alfie smiled.
"Alright... alright."
He waved his hand.
"We'll allow you to sleep."
Jackson calmed himself down and yawned.
"I trained all day."
He stretched.
"I'm so tired."
He began walking toward his bed.
"Oh, yes!"
Alfie suddenly remembered.
"Before I forget, what was the training like?"
Jackson stopped.
"It wasn't easy."
He climbed onto the bed.
"I still haven't made any good progress."
He raised his hand.
"The best I can do now is..."
Jackson focused.
The bottle of water sitting nearby slowly moved.
It lifted from the floor and floated toward him.
Jackson controlled it carefully until it reached his hand.
Alfie's eyes widened.
"Wow!"
He looked genuinely surprised.
"That's a good start."
He smiled.
"Soon you'll go on to lifting bigger things that can actually be effective in battle."
"Yeah... yeah."
Jackson nodded.
"That's the plan."
He sat on the bed.
"To lift and create bigger things."
Smaller things that will be effective in battle as well..."
Jackson then jumped onto the bed.
"I'm glad I finally found something to cling to."
He looked toward Alfie.
"And thanks to you, Alfie."
He smiled.
"You played a big part in it."
Alfie shook his head.
"No, I didn't."
"You figured it out yourself."
Jackson smiled.
"Just shut up and accept the compliment."
He pointed at Alfie.
"And say you're welcome."
Alfie laughed.
"Alright... alright."
He raised his hands.
"You're welcome."
"Good."
Jackson lay down.
"Now let's sleep."
Sasaki was already asleep.
Jackson soon followed.
Alfie sat quietly on the couch.
He looked at both of them.
Then he exhaled.
I was the only one who didn't make any progress today.
He crossed his legs and sat in a meditation position.
I need to figure something out.
His eyes closed.
I can't waste my time.
The room is completely silent.
Alfie focused inward.
Hey, Light Buddy...
He waited.
Can you bring me in?