Chapter 2- Infinite

"THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG, MIGUEL!"

Cassia's shout took over the kitchen in the morning after the test. She still hadn't accepted the result. In fact, none of them had accepted it. The newspapers were quick to report the emergence of an S rank and a Bloodless in the same family. Two brothers, the fiftieth S rank and the other the twenty-sixth F rank in the world. Two rarities in just one day.

"THEY ARE CALLING MY SON A BLOODLESS! NOBODY IN THIS FUCKING WORLD CAN SAY ANYTHING ABOUT MY SON! I WILL KILL THEM, MIGUEL! I'LL KILL THEM ALL!"

Cassia's muscles tensed and her eyes glowed a bright red, the sign of a warrior's blood. Miguel, who was sitting at the table with Kaito that morning, gazed at his wife and sighed heavily.

"I know this is all difficult, Cassia. I honestly want to take action against these people as much as you do, but we need to sort some things out first."

Cassia threw the newspaper hard on the table.

"And what's more important than that, Miguel?!"

"Our son!"

His short, sharp speech caused Cassia to turn to her son. Kaito had deep dark circles under his eyes and was paying attention to nothing but his own pain. The boy just fiddled with his cereal with milk, but did not eat it, as if there was some answer in there that he had not yet found.

The mother stooped down beside her son, placed her hand on his thigh and looked into his grayish eyes and white hair.

"My little son... what they did to my son... no... it can only be a lie! My son would never be an F rank! He is not a Bloodle-"

"CASSIA!" Miguel yelled.

The woman stared at her husband and saw a stern look of disapproval coming from him.

"The blood doesn't matter! Our son is our son! Do you understand?! Don't make this harder for him."

She wanted to accept that, but her anger was ferocious. Getting up, Cassia picked up a long sword and walked to the exit in heavy steps.

"I'm going to ask for a re-examination! This will not stand!"

"Cassia, please don't do this!"

As soon as she opened the door the flashes of cameras took over the place with the various reporters spitting out countless questions on top of each other. The warrior felt her blood heat up all at once and an aura of red power coated her body. Cassia held the hilt of her sword ready for the attack, but before she could act, she felt something touching her arm from behind.

"Mother... can you stay home today?"

She turned to Kaito and as she focused on her son's expression her chest ached like the day she adopted him. Cassia wanted to fix everything that was wrong and shut up everyone who hurt him, but she couldn't go out and leave him alone like that. She couldn't go out and refuse his first request in twelve years. And so she hugged Kaito, who for the first time in that family, cried.

"It's going to be all right, my love... your mother will take care of you! I swear I'll take care of you forever..."

* * *

As Kaito had expected, his first week as a Bloodless had been horrible. With only a month left of school he was treated badly by everyone. The third year students with classes mocked him, beat him and called him a freak. He didn't fight back. He was a Bloodless. A classless, powerless, someone with no strength and no ability to live in that world. The teachers ignored him, his books were gone, the students threw water on him in the bathroom, and there was nothing he could do about it.

On the soccer field Kaito was getting his eighth beating of the week. Usually everyone beats him as a form of repudiation and fear, but Bairon and his henchmen did this more than anyone else. They took pleasure in getting back at him and made this clear in their stomps while he was on the ground.

"What does a cleric's sole look like, Bloodless?" said the new Bairon, with yellow hair and eyes of equal color, stomping Kaito's face hard "You didn't see that coming, did you, you classless trash? I'm C rank now, you piece of shit! I can stomp on you!"

"If you keep stepping on my brother I will kill you and regret it later!"

Elynor's voice sounded different now. He was no longer that frail boy. Everything about him now displayed power and strength. He was much bigger and more athletic, his skin darker and his jaw wider. But what changed most about him was his aura. There was a power around him, as if he could defeat everyone without the slightest effort.

"Get away from Kaito now!"

Bairon turned away in astonishment and his henchmen joined him.

"Are you showing off your rank, Elynor? Now you think you're better than us!"

Elynor went to his brother and lifted him carefully, looking at how dirty and injured he was. Kaito's white hair was stained with blood and that made Elynor's blood throb in hatred.

"Even a worm is better than you! And I can't wait for the day when I can force a duel against you. Maybe I won't be able to hold my own and something will go very wrong... but that's okay. That kind of thing is forgiven for S ranks."

Bairon wanted to answer, but the pressure from the battlemage was so great that he could only do what he was used to, run away. Elynor helped his brother stand and cleaned his clothes, but Kaito was unresponsive.

"Didn't I tell you to walk with me until the end of class? By the lineage... what was Dad thinking when he sent you to school?"

Kaito didn't show much reaction, he just existed and acted mechanically.

"I'm the one who asked to come...I didn't want to stay home," he said in a low voice.

"So you're going to work at the bar and walk around with everyone beating you up and humiliating you?!" questioned Elynor.

Kaito shrugged and Elynor held him by the arms, glaring at him.

"I won't let my brother go through that! You've always been there for me, Kaito, and now it's my turn to protect you!"

Kaito disengaged himself from his brother's grip and faced him with an expression taken with pain.

"I managed to be lower than the lowest rank! I'm an F rank! So...Elynor, go live your life! I'm going to live like a Bloodless lives...I'm going to District D and make my way...as for you...you need to live well and be happy, understand? Be happy."

Elynor wanted to stop his brother and wake him up, but nothing he and his family were doing seemed to work. It was as if he had just accepted his future. Eleanora still hadn't returned from the Tower and everything seemed to get worse, but Elynor would still move on. He would not give up on his brother.

"No, Kaito... I will only be happy if you are happy too... and I will not give up on you."

* * *

The 2 Doses was a bar with all kinds of costumers, and like a simple bar it had only a counter, a few tables, a dark shade and a red neon with the name of the bar. At the age of fourteen Kaito started working there in the afternoon, setting up boxes and tables and leaving before dark, but as time went by he ended up doing other jobs. Even though it was strange to have someone so young there, no one cared. Rubra was a city of classes and ranks. Age had never been a priority.

"Are they still letting this Bloodless guy work here?"

"Yeah, what if this thing of his is contagious?"

A rogue and a warrior were talking without any discretion in the back of the bar, but Kaito just lowered his head and listened without answering anything. It had been like this recently, but somehow no one ever got around to physically assaulting him. Maybe the owner of the bar had some influence and power.

"Kaikai! My beautiful, wonderful, cute little one!"

Kaito could recognize that voice anywhere. Through the door came Amara. Like every cleric she had yellow eyes and hair of the same color, but in her case the shade of yellow was somewhat lighter. She was a beautiful woman who wore party clothes and was always drunk on some level.

She walked across the bar catching everyone's eye and sat down on the stool in front of the counter, staring at Kaito with a silly grin.

"I love your hair! It looks super cute! It looks likes a bad boy? A little bit. But I think it's going to take all hearts!" she said, reaching out and touching Kaito's hair.

"Don't do that, Amara... better not..." said Kaito taking her hand away and watching the weight of everyone's gaze there.

Amara followed the boy's gaze, understood the situation and shrugged.

"And do you really care what anyone else thinks, Kaitie?" she said, bending over the counter and picking up a bottle of cachaça "Is this really how you're going to do it?"

Kaito smelled a sweet scent coming from her, something nostalgic and comforting. Still he could see no reason to feel better.

"And is there anything I can do about it? I don't think you can change my blood." he replied dejectedly wiping a glass.

"So that's it, you've discovered your blood, and now you're going to get all gloomy? Let me guess... you're going to move to District D, live in the dump, and die beaten to death or sick! Is that what you're planning?" teased Amara.

"Do you have a better idea?" asked Kaito with a sad sarcastic smile.

Amara stared at the boy with defiance in her gaze, took the entire shot of cachaça, and walked over to the table with the two men who were badmouthing Kaito. They both looked to be over thirty, one of them was a red-haired warrior and the other was a dark green-haired rogue. When the two saw the woman stand in front of them the warrior gave a lewd smile.

"Look Carlos, I think another hot cleric has sensed our rank and wants to do some service..."

"By the heritage... it happens so much, but I don't get tired of it." said the rogue as he bent forward over his arms and looked at the woman with his green eyes "That's right, babe, we're B rank. I know clerics have a thing for high rank people, so I'll tell you what... do a special job and we'll help you with whatever you need..."

Before he could finish speaking Amara's fist went through the air and hit him full in the face, throwing him backwards. The warrior was not angry to see his fallen friend, he just laughed, finished his drink and stood up wiping the corner of his mouth.

"So the blondie wants to fight? Look, I don't know what's better for a warrior, fighting or se-"

Amara landed a straight punch to his chest and hit him full on, but his opponent didn't move or show any reaction.

"Strange... your punch is too weak for a cleric. What is your rank?"

Finally the cleric showed some emotion, smiling teasingly.

"Sucker, sit still and help me teach my little Kaitie!" using the same arm as the punch, Amara holds behind the warrior's neck and with the other hand she slaps him hard on the ear, leaving him bewildered and making him retreat a few steps. "Today is the day to teach that rank isn't worth shit!"

Kaito watched the whole thing in disbelief. He wanted to interfere, to help or separate, but he couldn't help but be impressed by what he saw. A cleric, the class considered to have the least attack power, was defeating two combatant classes unarmed.

He saw the rogue walk through the shadows and attack Amara from behind, and just as swiftly she kicked back and hit him, using his high speed as a trap and leaving him slumped over moaning in pain. The warrior was annoyed and went at her with his fists scratching the air from top to bottom, but Amara stepped back and hit his chin soon after with a powerful knee strike.

It had been a short fight, of planned and strategic blows, as if Amara knew everything that was coming. Soon both men were on the ground in agony and she was standing there looking at them triumphantly. The other patrons stopped drinking to watch this and were as dazzled as Kaito. Bar fights were common, but a cleric doing what she did was totally new.

From the back of the bar came Isabelle, the owner of the 2 Doses, no one knew her class or rank, for she was always wearing a cape and sunglasses. She approached without any hurry, looked at everything, and gave a smile.

"That'll make a good story to tell."

The warrior who had been defeated stood up with his face red with hatred and shame.

"Are you going to leave it like that, Isabelle? She assaulted us and that's just going to be it?!"

The bar owner just stared at the man for a moment and shrugged.

"Look, I saw you bad-mouthing my employee. If she defended the boy's honor, who am I to complain? And are you really going to press charges and make it clear that you were beaten by a C rank cleric? Because I'll be honest here, I'm about to do it myself just to see the whole town talking about this embarrassment for days.

The rogue stood up using his friend's arm for support and said already pulling him out.

"Let's go, Nathan! It's not worth it."

The warrior stared angrily at the two women and then left the bar with his friend. Amara watched the two walk away and said without looking back.

"Thanks Isa, you're right on time."

"And don't I always? Anyway, control your anger!" Isabelle replied, going back to the back.

Kaito watched this with astonishment. He saw Amara go to the counter, take a bottle of whisky, put it inside her jeans jacket, and look him in the eye.

"After centuries of a people fighting and acting the same way and doing the same things, do you really think they wouldn't have a pattern? Do you really think I beat both of them because of my strength or superior C rank cleric speed? Answer me that, Kaito!"

The boy gritted his teeth and stared her down, feeling something inside him connect.

"No... you won because you were smarter."

Amara stated thoughtfully, stood up and headed for the exit, but before she left she held the doorknob and said without turning to Kaito.

"Cleverness, strategy, training, technology, effort... unlike rank and blood, none of it has limits, Kaito." she turned to him and showed a serene and protective look accompanied by a sweet smile "You are as big as your goal, my little boy. So think big!"

She left having the notion that her words would make Kaito something bigger. What she didn't expect was that in that moment he would feel infinite.