Hebikaze

After an hour, Heat walked out of the dark room.

Waiting for him outside was Supido.

"Done?"

"Yeah, were you waiting for me this whole time?"

"Nope, I've not been here for up to a minute. I'm done, heading out. Wanna leave together?"

"Sure."

They walked into a small room and were teleported to the forest above. Waiting for them were Aquila and Ursus. Together, the four friends headed home.

"So…when's school starting?" Ursus asked.

"Probably in about four days," Aquila answered.

"What's next for me? Some transformation?" Heat asked Supido.

"Probably, but let me use this opportunity to fill you in on something; there are different ranks in the Hebite army. We have the newbie or trainees, like you and the division members like us. There are six main divisions; the First Division; the Tracking and Black ops Division; Technical Division; Ground Division; Back up Division; and the Center Command, which is of the highest authority. Each has its own captains. As time goes on, you would become familiar with the flow of power. Each position depends on your kind and level of power."

"I'm not interested in that, what I'm rather curious of is why you guys are called amen. There are thousands of cooler names, but you chose amen. It's like if I was named Michael."

"Michael is the name of an archangel in Abrahamic religions," Aquila responded.

Heat scoffed. "Like they're real."

"Just so ya know, it doesn't stand for animal men," Ursus said.

"Amen is the word you know it to be," Supido said. "The Hebrew word meaning 'so be it' or 'let it be' or 'truly' or whatever which book you're reading says. The origin of that word is Lis'shan, an ancient amen language."

"The name of your race means 'let it be'?" Heat mocked.

"Pretty rich coming from the guy whose race's name has no reasonable meaning in most of their languages."

"Ha! Can't argue with that. Why that name though?"

"It was a prayer, said at the end of a plea to the Creator."

"What did you ask for?"

"To have a place by his side in the end of days. Because our knowledge and wisdom stems from an act of the Dragon, some people believed we were doomed to him for eternity."

"They decided to pray, hoping that was not the case…"

"…and that's where the name amen comes from—a prayer. It acts as a reminder."

"Interesting…I bet the Dragon is offended." Heat chuckled.

"You're an idiot," Supido replied.

"I have another question; what position does Shishio hold?"

"He's the captain commander for our plane of existence, and the one I'm looking to surpass at the moment."

"How can a wolf surpass a snake? Snakes are superior!"

"Yeah sure, keep telling that to yourself." Ursus said.

"If you boys are going to continue your conversation on the most superior of species, good luck, but I'm off," Aquila said and walked in another direction.

"Yeah, I think this is where we part ways then, see you guys later," Heat said as he headed in another direction and the others moved with Aquila.

"Oi Dan, Debbie, where are you guys?" Heat asked.

When he entered the home, there was no one before the television; a rare sight when he was not at home.

"We're here!" Dan said. "Where were you?!"

"I uh, I had somewhere important to go to."

The couch's cushions made noise as Heat landed on it.

"By the way, you should clarify to your friends why you're black," Debbie said.

Heat paused for a moment, Debbie was only ten years, but she spoke unlike her age mates.

"Why?" he asked.

"Another one showed up here."

Debbie chuckled. "It was Mira, she didn't expect two tiny white kids."

"She came out of a really cool car!"

"She said something about going to the Kami forest with her parents for some kind of camp. She couldn't find Aquila so she wanted to see if you could come along instead."

"Doesn't she have any friends?"

Heat dragged himself from the couch. "I'm going to go prepare some food for you guys then have some sleep. Anyone asks of me, I'm out okay?"

Heat walked into the kitchen.

"And please, don't say anything else."

"Okay," Debbie replied.

"I'm talking to you Dan."

"Fiiiiine."

Sleep. How much he cherished that now.

Very early the next day, Heat sat on the forest floor where he remembered disappearing. He had his legs crossed in a meditation pose. Another thing which set him apart from the normal teenager was his understanding and love for meditation. It's an act older than many world religions and is mentioned in two of the oldest texts known to man; the Upanishads and the Torah. Heat never believed in any religion, but meditation was one of the few things he agreed was an upside to religion's existence. That and incredibly selfless people like Martin Luther King Jr... To him, meditation unlocks doors unknown even to the person meditating, no matter what it is you are meditating on. Heat had loved it since childhood; it provided an escape from all that surrounded him.

With his eyes closed and his entire surroundings one with him, something suddenly swooshed past him.

"Huh? What was that?"

He slowly rose to his feet.

It came again but this time he could tell it was aiming for his legs, so he jumped but found himself on the ground, as if he never attempted to jump. He could hear snarling among the trees in front of him. He used his heat sensing ability and saw a wolf. It rushed to attack; Heat shut his eyes and, in that instant, snakes sprung from his sleeves and started spinning like a fan attached to his arm, just below his fist, without wrapping themselves. Only the upper half of the snakes appeared, with their lower halves disappearing into the sleeves. The wolf paused, like it was beginning to resize its opponent. Heat stood sideways and stretched one arm in front and the other behind. The snakes on his arms kept spinning in unison. The wolf could feel the pressure and spa that the snakes were releasing, and it seemed impressed.

"Like it? I called it Hebikaze."

The wolf looked unimpressed.

Heat already had the ability to sense and predict movements on the ground. The pressure and spa released by his new technique allowed him to predict movements above ground level. All that combined with his precision, made Heat certain he would stop the wolf in its next attack.

The wolf attacked Heat's sides, but he wasn't there. Heat moved with the snakes from his left arm, using a burst of spa to force himself forward. Right away, the wolf appeared above him, about to strike him. In that short instant, two snakes each from his left arm and right arm, extended in length, aiming for the wolf; it managed to dodge quickly enough.

"When did you learn all this?" the wolf asked.

Hearing an animal speak would've surprised Heat a few days ago, but now it seemed normal.

"Yesterday after my lunch I kept training and next thing I know, I can do this. Fascinating isn't it?"

"Well Heat, I guess I underestimated you."

"How do you know my name?"

"Wow, you're still an idiot. Oh well, fight's over."

The moment he said that, Heat saw Supido holding him up by the neck.

"You're on time Heat, I'm impressed."

"Supido! You were the wolf?"

"Ding ding!"

Supido dropped him.

"How are you that strong? You are a friggin' wolf. If you were an elephant or something I'll understand," Heat said.

"Do I really need to explain everything to you, Heat? Figure it out yourself."

Supido started walking and Heat followed him.

"I still can't believe you learned that in a day."

"Some people are just born with the gift."

"Oh, I get it. You killed someone with the gift and took it? Interesting."

"Ha."

"By the way, why didn't you enter when you arrived? Don't you have a pass?"

"A pass?" Heat asked. "Oh crap. That's what that lady meant!"

"Can't wait for you to not disappoint me someday."

As they walked, they both disappeared and re-appeared below.